Thoughts for Thursday

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I had something completely different prepared for today, but last night my heart was led in another direction. I was reading through the end of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and I suddenly had to pause as my eyes soaked in this verse...

"I will bless you...and you will be a blessing."

Genesis 12:2 (emphasis mine)

Today I'll be saying goodbye to my sweet summer and begin the tasks of a teacher once again. This summer has been filled with odds and ends, both family and work related, and while there were some long days, these last couple of months have gone by in the blink of an eye. Suddenly the fact that life is truly but a vapor made a solid connection with my heart. I got to thinking (which isn't that what Thoughts for Thursday is all about?) about the immeasurable blessings that I have received, not just over the last couple of months, but years, and then daily. Every day I am blessed to an incomprehensible degree.  

Just take a look...

A best friend who'll run after my dreams with me...

I get to be married to the man who truly is my best friend, the love of my life and a dream come true.

A little red haired, blue eyed itty bitty to call my own.

A beautiful family

Generations of strength and support

A God-art sky

A job I love!

Of course there is not enough screen space in the world to capture all that I'd love to share. I can't overlook my amazing church family or the other friends that we hold so closely to our hearts. These things don't even scratch the surface.

In One Thousand Gifts she goes into detail as to how we are given all blessings in order to be blessings for others. We are to empty ourselves in order to fill others...and yet, in doing so with the love of Christ, we will never feel depleted. God continually restores us...even in the midst of wait and heartache. He willingly fills our lives so that we can then pour out His love to others. Every act of service is testament to God's goodness in our lives. The joy found in our service to others can be found in simple tasks...even the things we do without thinking such as wiping a snotty nose, washing dishes, opening a door for another, bringing a meal to a shut-in...the list is endless. There are numerous ways everyday that we can pour ourselves into others. While not everyone will appreciate our service, God takes note. It pleases Him to see His children "spread the love."

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We're only given today and we have ample opportunities to make the most out of what may seem the mundane. I challenge you, along with myself, to selflessly pour yourself out. Bring your reservations to the feet of Jesus and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you to bring some goodness into the life of someone else. Make it a family affair. Teach your children the truth behind less is more and the joy that comes from giving. Change starts here. How will you be a blessing today?

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Linking up with Annie and Natalie for this week's Thoughts on Thursday.



Five on Friday!

It seems that life has been going at warp speed these last couple of weeks so I'm glad to finally be able to sit down and reflect on our summer so far. We've had some ups and downs and we continue to make plans for the near and distant future. I'm joining with Darci and others for this week's Five on Friday. I hope you'll join in!





[one]

I bought this material back in April (I think) with the intention of sewing G a couple summer dresses. I finally made good on my intentions this week. I found these adorable prints at JoAnn Fabrics.

[two]

While on our trip last week, we made a pit-stop in Tennessee. One of my favorite places to visit is the Christmas Place. We picked up a few personalized ornaments for family, as well as our family ornament for this year. We have a tradition of buying an ornament on each of our vacations. It's nice to have them as reminders from year to year of the good times we've shared. Also while at the Christmas Place we discovered this adorable canvas print on clearance. We got it for less than half of it's original price and it will go perfectly in G's play room (which I realized I have not blogged about since completing most of the room).

[three]
Over the last few weeks I've gotten a lot of use out of our old clothesline. There is just something about laundry that smells like sunshine...

[four]

Our precious miracle turned 14 months old on Thursday. I can't believe how much she has grown! She has a few words: "nana" (for all things food), "mouw-mouw" (the cats), "woof-woof" (the dogs), "Belwa" (Bella, her moose and best buddy), "this" (for most things she points at or wants), "uh oh" and "no". She is really testing the limits (maybe this means two will be a breeze?) and is becoming even more brave in her endeavors. She is almost at the point of walking. She holds on to the wall and furniture throughout the house but has yet to let go. She loves: giving and blowing kisses, playing in her pool, music, bananas and grapes, macaroni and cheese, Bella, her blankie, and animals. She is learning: to walk, how to color, and new words.

[five]

Last week we took a 9+ hour trip to visit my mom and sister in Georgia. I miss them dearly and while our time flew too quickly, I treasured every memory made. Feel free to catch up on our eventful Road Trip.

Three generations

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A Little Southern Comfort Day 3

I've been really looking forward to this part of our trip. We woke up and got everything ready for another mini road trip.  

She found Granna's phone

We loaded everything and everyone in the car and hit the road. We were heading to Ashland Alabama. 

G and Granna catching a nap on the road

What's in little ol' Ashland you may ask? Here is where you can find my long time friend and former college roommate and her adorable cupcake shop, Just a Little Frosting.  If you remember from Day 2, we make a point to visit local cupcake shops and even though this one required a two hour drive, it was well worth it. Good friends are always worth it. 

She and her mother own and run the shop. It is filled with cute decor and tasty treats. If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop in for a a cupcake or two or three. They also provide breakfast and lunch sandwiches and catering services.

After enjoying our treats and saying our goodbyes, we headed an hour north to my college Alma Mater, Jacksonville State University. 

Upon entering Jacksonville we knew we'd head to the notorious Jeffersons for lunch. This place was and remains a college student staple. They are most famous for their wings and then of course you have to get their fried pickles. Yum!

Once we ate our fill we headed to the campus. We drove by some of the buildings in which I had spent many hours.

We also stopped by my old dorm...oh the memories.

There are so many fond memories from those years. It's crazy how time flies.

You can catch Days 1 and 2  our trip if you missed them. Be on the lookout for more to come!

Let's Go Play

My days of endless summer as a youngster are but distant memories. When did I grow up and become so "busy"? When did I stop taking time to smell the roses or jump in mud puddles? How, as a busy, working mother, can I instill the love of God's creation and the desire to create, imagine and play in my little girl? These are questions that I have pondering the last few days.

 I was speaking to a friend the other day about how difficult it is to have my first graders create original or semi-original stories/writing. Sure, I believe children innately have imaginations, however if they are not fostered appropriately, they lose originality and an overall sense of quality.The majority of my students base all of their writing off of video/computer games or cartoons they watch on television...and don't get me started on some of the movies and television they wish to write about. It breaks my heart to see the imaginations of these young children being stunted when at this point in their lives they should be coming up with amazing characters and wild adventures. How do I keep the whimsy and creativity of childhood in my own children so that they don't fall victim to the unimaginative or unoriginal?

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These thoughts crept into my head as I was busily working on a wedding cake pop order for Saturday. There is much to do when you have 250 cake pops to bake, form, chill, dip, decorate and package. G has been at the sitter this week so that I can accomplish this task without her ending up covered in chocolate and sprinkles...after all, she is sweet enough already.

 

With all of these thoughts running through my mind, I finally decided to stop being busy. I finished up my task and informed my husband that it was time to go get the baby...and that he needed to put on his tennis shoes. We were going outside to play.

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We take G outside often, especially with the weather being so amicable. However, today I had this overwhelming sense of urgency to get her out beyond our yard. My husband and I decided to take her on a local walking trail to enjoy the great outdoors. Despite the humidity, the venture was quite pleasant.

 The honeysuckle was blooming everywhere and the scent was intoxicating. Everything was so green and the trail was teaming with wildlife. In fact, I was startled by an adventurous squirrel that bolted out along the path.

 

 

G adored the wildlife as evidenced by her laughter and shouting as she pointed to birds that flew across our path and the rabbits that jumped into the bushes. My heart was overjoyed as I watched her senses, one by one, become captivated with the world around her.

I just kept thinking, "this is how I make that difference." I must engage her and allow her to experience the world around her...get her outside the four walls of our home. I must guide her in imaginative play to create a foundation for her own creative thinking.

It is my wish for my daughter to love the outdoors (and if for some reason she doesn't, it won't be because she did not get the opportunity or encouragement to do so.) I wish for her mind to have endless limits in creativity and imagination. It is my wish that she get dirty and climb trees and sing at the top of her lungs. It is my wish that she experience the goodness of this world so that when tragedy or disappointment befall her, she will remember that life has more to offer and that beauty can come from ashes.

While this all may seem a bit much from the mother of a one year old, do know that this comes from a mother who knows that her one year old will not stay one forever and that the foundations I begin to set for her now will greatly influence her outlook and interactions in the future. By all means, please join me and let's go play!

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Over the River and Through the Woods

What's something you can do on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning? Why hike of course! It's the perfect way to get in some great exercise, take in God's creation and make new memories. To top it off, I got to do all of these things with our Youth Group. Talk about an awesome group of young people. The Lord has blessed our church with a growing number of teenagers on fire for the Lord. What an honor it is to walk with them through the journey that the Lord has them on.

We met at the church early this morning. After loading the kids onto the church van, we were off. We made our way to the trail head at Crabtree Falls. I've done several hikes in our surrounding area and this was another great one to add to the list.

Everyone grabbed water and their packs and we were on our way. There were several lookout points along the trail which made the ascent well worth the effort. The elevation change was just enough to give a little burn to the muscles but not enough to make you want to turn around and just roll back the way you came (I've encountered some of those steep climbs.)

We stopped for a few photo ops along the way. The kids had a blast (as did the adults).

After about an hour, we reached the top.

The falls were gorgeous and the view was breathtaking. I'll never understand how anyone could think that this amazing work of God art was formed by anything other than our Creator.

Here are a few of my favorite sights from along the way.

 

And our view from the top.

We eventually made our way back down and patted ourselves on the back for making the 4 mile round trip.

My day didn't stop there. My little red-head and I headed to a local farmer's market to grab a few items. While there, we discovered that there was a folk trio providing entertainment. G loved the music and proved her excitement by kicking her feet to the beat and clapping her hands. She tried to "sing" between bites of her peach ice cream.

G intently listening to the music

 

Clapping and singing to the music

 

Peach ice cream...yum!

Afterwards we headed home where we both grabbed a nap. I grilled out for dinner and played several rounds of tickle monster, sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and grabbed some sweet baby snuggles before bath and bedtime. Tomorrow should prove to be just as wonderful. We have church and then will be heading to my work's end of year cookout. Have a blessed weekend everyone!