The Cat and the Bee

10-29-07

Not much time for a post, but pictures tell 1000 words, so you guessed it... Halloweed is here. Gracie is a cat and Addie is a bee.

For those of you keeping score at home, Gracie has woken up the last two nights and come downstairs. Last night she tried to climb in our bed. Fun fun. I miss my good little sleeper. I thought if I threatened to buy her a crib like Addie I would make a point to her, but it backfired...she got excited about it.

The Imperfect Pose

I bought myself an iphone a couple weeks ago and I have been testing out the camera. Cindy sent the girls these cute little outfits and so I tried to snap some pics this morning. The iphone does not have a flash and is a tad slow. When you have a two year old and one year old as your subjects you need quickness and a good flash. Enjoy the proof.

10-23-07

Newsom

Les Newsom (RUF Ole Miss) preached at Trinity Sunday. His Sunday School lesson has really stuck with me the last 24 hours. The lesson was on suffering and the scripture reading was from I Peter 1. In Christ we can only be tested by fire, but not burned.

"in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you(AE) by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,(AF) things into which angels long to look." I Peter 1:12

The angels long to look at God's plan of salvation and the work of Christ. Jesus took on the full wrath of God so that in our suffering, if we are in Christ by faith, we cannot be burned by the fire. We will survive into eternity. Any suffering we endure is but temporary, no matter what or how bad it may be! One day we will be...

before the throne of God,
and(U) serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne(V) will shelter them with his presence.
16(W) They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
(X) the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne(Y) will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of(Z) living water,
and(AA) God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:15

I could say so much about this lesson, but alas, I must go bill some hours. Praise be to God our Father who loves us so much that he undertook to pour his full wrath on his own Son in order that we may one day be with him. And he will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Sleeping Disorder

10-19-07

Everyone who has ever spent any time with us the last two years knows the Lord blessed us with a couple kids who love to sleep. AB and I always joke that its because the Lord knows our limitations--that we would never be able handle having a bad sleeper. Well, we're about to find out. It seems one week of sleeping with Mom in Uncle Brian's small New York apartment was enough to totally disrupt two years of blissful uninterrupted rest. Ever since Gracie has been home she has been scared of the dark. The other night she begged me to sleep with her. She told me she was scared the dogs would bark (I know, it didn't make sense to me either). Later that night I heard the pitter patter of feet and heard the door to her room slam, but I was in the middle of a Monday Night Football game so I waited a few minutes to go check on her. I walked upstairs and she wasn't in her bed or in her room! My heart skipped a beat, but then I looked out in the upstairs living room and she was curled up asleep in the chair. She was so out that she didn't stir when I picked her up and took her to bed. As I layed her down, without opening her eyes, she grabbed my arm. I gently moved it and she slept through the night.

Wednesday, Savanna (the nanny) said Gracie did not nap well at all. She would wake up screaming and tell Savanna she was scared.

Last night at about 3:30 I awoke with a start, hearing the sound of feet pounding across the upstairs floor. I walked upstairs to find Gracie sitting at Anita Beth's desk--wide awake! She said "Hey Daddy!" as though it was time for breakfast.

This morning, for the first time that I can remember in her short life, Gracie came downstairs before I went up to get her. Not good.

Note to parents everywhere: DO NOT EVER SLEEP WITH YOUR CHILDREN! IT CAN ONLY LEAD TO TROUBLE!

So much for my perfect little sleeper.

Special Family Time

Rachel sent me some pictures from the week that we gathered as a family to be with and remember my grandmother, Evie. It was really a special time. We were so blessed to be able to come together as a family to say good bye to dear Evie. Libby and Brian traveled all the way from Savannah twice, once to tell Evie they loved her and once again the next weekend for the funeral. Seeing them two weeks in a row was really great. Funerals are actually a weird mix of sadness, sorrow, and joy. It is fun to be around people you love and don't see very often. I guess that is part of the reason we have funerals. God gives us community to love one another and be with one another. Imagine how sad it would be to say good bye to someone if you were all alone. We really are blessed.

10-01-07

New York

AB took the kids to New York last week and somehow didn't come home with any good pics for me to share. Here are the highlights as I know them:
1. They visited the Bronx Zoo where Gracie and Grannie rode a real live camel together.
2. So much asian food was consumed that Anita Beth came home requesting American food.
3. Gracie got carsick in a taxi on the way to visit our friend Cory and Kari Jo and soiled herself and Addie. Luckily KJ had a washing machine. Gracie said she "throwed".
4. Gracie got her own digital camera. She takes my picture now.
5. Addie, Gracie, and AB rode the Farris Wheel.
6. They all rode the subway.

Guys Weekend

I joined my buddies Kirk, Ryan, and Matt for a guys weekend in Oxford. We saw Ole Miss almost beat Alabama. What a heart-breaker. I think we were robbed. Obviously the guy that posted this video does, too.




After the game we hit the Grove. Luckily, beer still tasted good. And co-eds were still pretty. After an hour or two of that we headed to the car, which was parked in Matt's "secret" parking spot. As we rounded the corner to where his car should have been parked, we were a little shocked to observe that it was very noticably missing! The towing company was nice enough to leave a sign with telephone number on the curb where Matt's car should have been. When Matt called the wrecker service guy told him that for the low low price of $125 he could have it back. He even offered to come pick ole Matty up.

While Matt was bailing his Tahoe out, the rest of us hit this great bar on the square called the Library. It was around when I was in school ten years ago, but not near as cool. They had TV's everywhere. I don't think I would have ever left if it had been around when I was in school. What a great place to watch games. We saw Kentucky upset LSU and Auburn's narrow victory over Arkansas. I am looking forward to another guy's weekend.

10-15-07

Evelyn Grace

10-3-07

This has been a sad time at our house. Gracie's great-grandmother is almost gone. We drove to Jackson for the weekend to say our goodbyes. Gracie gave Evie a big kiss on the forehead and said, "I love you Evie" with her best smile. Evie seemed to smile and said, "I love you, too." It was a precious moment that I want to memorialize. Addie was there too, contributing joy in her own way, mostly just by looking cute and posing for more chocolate chex from Pam Pam. Of course, Anita Beth and I both told Evie how much we loved her. I read Psalm 139 to her and she seemed moved by it though it was hard to tell.

Anita Beth and Gracie love Evie so much, which I find so endearing. Gracie has never known Evie outside of a small sanitary room in a nursing home and yet Gracie loves going to see Evie. St. Catherine's village is "Evie's House" to Gracie. Anita Beth's first memory of Evie is watching Tennessee win the national championship on her sofa back in 1999, when we were still engaged. I had taken her to Evie's to show off my my bride, score some visited with grandmother points with Evie and Mom, and simulateously catch some college football action. I am so self-centered. Anyway, Anita Beth has always been good at making conversation with Evie, one-sided though it may be, when I could not think of anything good to say and just wanted to look at the television for an escape. I did have a chance to share my favorite memory of Evie with her last weekend on one of our visits. It's when I was 15 years old and just starting to drive. She let me drive her all the way home to Jackson from Destin in her big Lexus--fully equipped with a radar detector. I'll bet the speedometer never read anything below 80 the whole way. She never said a word other than, "You sure are a good driver Jake." That was a great day for me. We will all miss Evie. We love you Evie and we know we will see you again one day someday, in glorification.

Monday we drove home to Selmer. That night Granny brought the girls ballerina outfits. They created some good picture opportunities.