Little Bitty Things Make a Thankful Heart

I thought I would share a list of little bitty things that I am thankful for tonight. So, in no particular order, here they are:

1. Making it home safely tonight: A sure sign of my age, but my level of anxiety while driving home in the pouring rain in the middle of the night was unbelievable!
2. Sleeping in my own bed: Just a sense of happiness being back home and less chance of waking with a stiff back in the morning - again, another sign of age. Hmmm.
3. My mom's comment that Aiden's new school is doing him good: Yes! He's doing so much better. I'm glad that others (and myself) recognize this!
4. My dad's biscuits this morning: I think that means that he liked our adventure. They were delicious!
5. The Children's Ministries meeting last Thursday: Each week I'm reminded more and more how happy I am that we have finally found a church and are becoming more involved.
6. A good weekend with my parents: This is not small, but it means a lot!
7. Cooler weather! No A/C. Cheaper utility bills (hopefully).
8. Blogging: Despite my initial concerns about blogging, I've found it very addictive. It's been a while since I've written anything other than dictation for case files. It's a nice change of pace.
9. Sleep... I'm exhausted and I figure if I can fall asleep right now, I have a full 7 hours before having to be up in the morning. Sleep.... Ah, to dream.
10. And of course, you can't end a list like this without being thanksful for your husband, son, family, and friends! But I do mean it!

Birthday Biscuits for Poppy

It was a slightly belated birthday gift to my dad but well worth the wait - Saturday, we spent the morning in a southern biscuit making class through Southern Seasons. What can I say? I absolutely loved it. I left feeling so empowered, like I could conquer the world or at least biscuitville (not the store... just the land of biscuits).

The instructors walked us through making all of the southern favorites - sausage gravy, jam and grits. Then came the grand finale - two different styles of homemade biscuits, both old family recipes. Amazing... And I have recipes to boot - Feel free to email me if you're interested. I can't believe how easy they are!

The Birthday Boy

Biscuits & Jam

Man, I love carbs!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Wow, 1 already?! This year has flown by. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were all sitting around the waiting room for your arrival. You are a beautiful child. I hope this birthday, and the many more to follow, are filled with joy and happiness always!

With all our love,

Jenny, Jamie & Aiden

It's Not You, It's Me

[Advisory: I've debated creating another blog for these types of post. But here's the deal - this is me. Sure, I wanna share the cute stories (they are cute, aren't they?) and pictures of the family, but I want to write about the real things and not the postcard picture of my life. So, I'm laying it all out on one blog - the good, the bad, and the shameless because that's how I roll. ...ugh, never thought I'd actually say that...]

Two weeks ago, we began a small group study with our church. I have hopes of building ties and connections, making the church our home. It's been a good experience, as I'm not sure if I've ever been involved in any type of Bible study since the days of Sunday School. However, I spend a great deal of the time feeling inadequate in my Biblical knowledge and even in my faith.

We are studying 1 John. And the question has been posed: Am I Enough For You? Is God enough for us? Enough that we can put our complete faith in him, letting go of all else. But it's hard to let go - To take that step to release it all to him, to trust, to know what you are letting go to, to let him carry you.

Am I there? Nooo. Even people who are must still struggle to let him lead. Just as humans (or maybe Americans), it's our nature to lead, to want power, control to set our destiny. But it's greater than us.

But the question has been weighing on my mind. Am I Enough For You? ... Am. I. enough. for. you? It occurred to me tonight that the reason this has bothered me so much is because to me, it's not a matter of whether He is enough for me, but am I enough for him? Am I worthy of such love? Is my life worthy of that type of unconditional, never ending love? Do I deserve love like that?

In most, ...no all... areas of my life, I question this daily. Am I enough as a Wife? Mother? Daughter? Sister? Friend? Worker? And the doubt does not stop there.

So God, it's not you, it's me. But you're not the only one I'm failing. I feel as though I fail my family, my husband, my son, my friends, myself. But why? Or how? Why do I fail myself? How do I change what and who I am?

Recently, I read the lyrics of a song, Beautiful by Bethany Dillon.

I want to be beautiful

Make you stand in awe

Look inside my heart,

and be amazed

I want to hear you say

Who I am is quite enough

Just want to be worthy of love

And beautiful

Doesn't a part of you just want to know that for once who you are and what you do IS enough. If you could just hear these words from your mom, husband, child... If you could just hear these words and believe them. If you could tell this to yourself and know it to be true. In the end, the one thing I must accept is that God loves me as I am now, that I am enough for him. But that seems so difficult to accept when the rest of the world feels out of whack.

And I'll leave you with the last verse of the song and a little You Tube action.

You make me beautiful

You make me stand in awe

You step inside my heart,

and I am amazed

I love to hear You say

Who I am is quite enough

You make me worthy of love and beautiful

Switches

Tonight after dinner, Jamie and I were sitting around the table chatting while Aiden was beating the mess out of his toy guitar/violin. Here's how the conversation went:

Aiden: Can I have an after dinner snack for eating all of my food?
Me: No
Aiden: Don't make me spank you with a switch.
(okay, where did he get that from? Never in my like have I made a statement like that to him! But he did say it in good fun)
Jamie: You don't even know what a switch is.
Aiden: Uh huh. You turn it on and off like this. Off went the lights.

Okay, maybe it's one of those 'you had to be there' things. But we laughed for the longest time.

11 Candles

I seriously can't believe you're 11. I have pictures with you the day after you were born. And that feels like it was only yesterday. Okay, maybe not yesterday, but definitely not 11 years ago. I'm not old enough to have pictures that are 11 years old. Am I? Okay, enough about me...

I want to wish you an absolutely wonderful birthday. You are becoming a beautiful person (not that you weren't already) and I can't wait to see all of the spectular things your future holds for you.

With lots of love,

Aiden, Jenny, & Jamie

Remembrance

Photographer: Carol Guzy

My thoughts and prayers are with each family touched by the

tragedy of September 11, 2001 and to all of the men and women

protecting our country - both at home and abroad.

Cogito, ergo sum

I have a tendency to be less than stellar in my will to be an optimistic, positive thinking person. It's not that I'm a grouchy ole' skunk, I like life - just think it stinks sometimes and can't help myself but to tell you. Sorry... I'd probably be more popular among my friends and family if I didn't. This is one of those things on that never ending to do list that you'd love to change about yourself, you'd love to get right, much like my dieting. But to do so, you must change your thought process, your frame of reference. Cogito, ergo sum, I think therefore I am. (No, I did not remember that from 4 years of Latin) However, I must remind myself that what I think or how I think about things determines who I am.

Several months ago an email made its way around - Tips for an Exceptional, Superb & Powerful Life. A typical email is quickly deleted from my desktop, a practice instilled by my dad from days of ole' when computers had virtually no memory space available (a habit of mine that drives Jamie crazy!). But I didn't delete this one. It struck a cord with me. It offered small gestures to make life a happier place. No, I'm not posting them all here. But I am posting the ones that I enjoyed the most. I felt moved by them. Maybe you will too?

*Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

*Do the right thing!

*Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides remember?!

*No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

*Ladies - Go on and burn those 'special' scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good china and wear our fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Everyday is special.

*Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

*Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

*Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. (except maybe starbucks... but that’s a long story)

*Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

*Dream more while you are awake.

*When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to ________ today.' Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements, 'I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.'

Saturday Night Fever

Just the talk of a hurricane and curfew was enough to give us cabin fever. So we set out for the one place that I new would wear Aiden out - the local jump till you drop spot. Here's a few pics to show what a good time he had.

And, no one has this much fun without getting hurt! Tip #1 to bouncy house fun: Always maintain your personal space!

Surviving TS Hanna

Call me a weather geek. As a kid, I wanted to be a 'wet water forecaster' (aka meteorologist). I love a good storm, hurricane, any type of weather crisis. Snow would be nice - not necessarily right now. But good luck getting some of that around here any time of the year!

Aiden and I had a good time with it while we let Jamie sleep in a bit. I thought we'd share our storm damage and give you a taste of the wind.

Wooo... Hanging on for dear life... Maybe we slept through the worst of it

or it missed us completely again (can you feel my disappointment?)

Storm Damage - This is the worst of it. Now stop laughing, of course people still have these?! They make perfectly good cupholders while grilling.

In other news, Gigi shipped out today. She's been deployed to help with the preparation and recovery from Hurricane Ike. We will keep her and all those in it's path in our prayers.

A Greener We... A Public Service Announcement from the Vertically Challenged

I know some of you dismiss all this talk about the environment, but I've taken it to heart. We each have a responsibility to each other and to the earth. We each must do our part. How can I teach my son respect of others and for our belongings, if I also don't teach him respect for his environment, for the land around him, for the air we breath, and for generations to come? It may only seem like small steps, why the bother... but what if we were all to take small steps? Imagine what we could do together.

My first challenge was where to start. It all seems so overwhelming, when it's really not. So, I wanted to share some of the small steps we're taking. They are small, but slow and steady wins the race, right?

A Reusable Water Pitcher. A birthday present from my mom. The Brita Pitcher filters regular tap water and you always have ice cold water waiting for you. I'm surprised how much more water we drink now. Thanks to Jamie, we no longer keep soda or kool-aid around the house, it's all 100% juice, milk, water, and an occasional pitcher of tea. That's not to say, if you were to come visit, we'd splurge.

Reusable Grocery Bags. Love these from Whole Foods - The Better Bag. Why? Should they get a hole or tear, Whole Foods will replace them for *free.* And on top of that, they are no more expensive than a reusable bag you'd buy from any other grocery store. Besides, they are made from 80% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles - finally a good use for all those old bottles!

The Clothes Line. Jamie attached this to our patio and I can dry a load of clothes in the same time it takes to do so in the dryer. I can get double the laundry done in 1/2 the time essentially. And I'm saving money by not using the dryer as much. Plus, you can't get that straight off the line freshness anywhere else!

Reusable Lunchbox. The Laptop Lunchbox was another birthday gift from my mom. Can you see where my birthday wish list was going this year? My youngest sister introduced us to these at Christmas when one made her Wish List. You guys know my issues with foods - can't have it touching. So this was a winner in my book. They are made with safer plastics that do not contain phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), or lead. And they are dishwasher safe (top rack only, girls)!Reusable Water Bottle. This is the newest edition to our home. Saturday the mail man arrived with my package in hand - a Sigg bottle. And yep, you guessed it, I've already left it at my parents. Lots of good it's doing me there. These bottles are made from a single piece of aluminum with an interior lining that prevents leaching. Now, these are not cheap by any means. So we're still working toward getting one for each member of the family. Until then, we're still doing our part by using traditional water bottles and less disposable items.

There are other things that we've incorporating as well - trips to the farmers market, buying in bulk rather than individual packaged items, meal planning (somehow I figure this fits into the theme, right - Waste not, Want not? What does that really mean anyhow?) I know it's just a beginning. But I have to remind myself how many plastic bottles or grocery bags have we already saved. There's more that I want to do. But it will all come with time.

Dear Jamie,

I had a wonderful time Saturday night - dinner and company were fantastic! On our next date, I promise not to make you go grocery shopping. Can't wait to do it again.

All my love,
Me