Gifts 155-159

Gifts I am thankful for today:

~Irene finally gets to start taking violin lessons, after three years of asking!

~I'm thankful for Abby...so glad to have you in our family! I know we can't be the easiest to live with but I am so happy that you're with us!

~ God's timing is always perfect. He knows what we need all the time, always before we do. He is in control of who the pastor of our church is, and He is in control of where I live, and He is in control of how many breaths I take in my lifetime...I am so glad that He knows all of these things and that I can trust in Him!

~cheap peanut butter at Publix this week....Abbie goes through some pb & j 's!!

~a warm cuddly bed to get into at night

Panola Mountain

This weekend was nice...nothing very pressing to do. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, and for the first time in a long time I felt the itch to get out into the woods. Matthew was spending the night with his friend from Boy Scouts, so I went with Rachel, Irene and Abbie up to Panola Mountain to hike the exercise trail. I don't know who came up with these exercises, but not one of us seems to have the know-how or athletic ability to do them correctly...we misuse every piece of equipment on that trail, but it still makes for a great Saturday afternoon!



I hope Rachel doesn't hate me too much for this one:




As you will note, I mostly just stood around with a camera and laughed at them while they did the exercises, but once in a while they were able to drag me out to "participate" in a very non-strenuous fashion.





And last but not least, I took a picture of this tree just because I thought it would be cool to mat & frame a tree that looks like an "H", to stand for....wait for it.....HOLLINHEAD! I would really like to try and get a bit more artwork to fill our walls, but I tend to be a little perfectionistic when it comes to that. What I mean by that is, I want to do it right, and since I feel like I am not very good at choosing and placing art on the walls and decorating in general, I tend to just not start. (Also, it is really expensive!) Pinterest has been giving me some good ideas for inexpensive decorating, and I am hoping to get moving with a few of them soon. That's really a totally irrelevant tangent, though!

In Honor Of....

In honor of Rachel starting college, officially, this week, I am reposting an old post from her graduation...

 

Not only is this one of my my favorite graduation pictures of Rachel, it is one of my favorite pictures; ever. Some pictures capture a single breath in time that is symbolic of much more. I look at this picture and a flood of thoughts rush through my mind.

My Rachel is GRADUATING.
My mom looks so small.
Everything changes.
One day each one of my children will stand in that gown.
Years in this life fly past like seconds.
When she was three, the doctor said she may never talk.
That yellow Honors cord means so much more than Straight A's.

All of those things are true, but none more so than the last statement. I know that pride is a sin. But maybe there is a different kind of pride? Maybe it is better described as joy. But I can't help feeling pride, joy, and love well up in my heart when I look at the expression on Rachel's face, at the demeanor with which she wraps her arm around her Nana's shoulder. It is just so her, through and through. She is tender, caring, gentle, soft and sweet. Kind, generous, thoughtful, loving. She is an "Honors" student, but what means so much more to me is that she is a student of honor. She honors her father and mother. She honors her siblings and friends. I can honestly say that she is a young woman of character, faith, integrity and honor. Not perfect. Just willing for God to change her. Just willing to take up her cross and follow Jesus. I am honored that the Lord saw fit to let her come live and grow with us. Truly, I do not deserve her.
Thank You, Lord, for this one of many blessings.

Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

2011 in Review

Whew! It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. We are already sailing headlong into the new year, and I have yet to put up any pictures of Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas. If this blog is supposed to reflect my real life, then I suppose it is fitting. Recently, there has been no time to document...life has just come at us too quickly. A quick look back over 2011, and just a few of the events that are worth remembering:

~A February snowstorm



~Meeting Henry (my very adorable nephew!)



~My first grandchild born, sweet Madison Renae !



~Took many, many field trips...to name a few: Museum of Biblical Antiquities, Spivey Hall Children's Concerts, Tellus Museum, Southern Belle strawberry farm, Nash Farm Civil War museum, Greenville Zoo, Southern Railway Train Museum among others!


~Rachel turned 19

~Rachel graduated from Veritas Classical School and homeschooling,


...so Nana, the aunts & uncles and the cousins came



~Irene turns 8 !


~Abbie & Irene's first ballet recital with Miss Anna's class




~Summer fun with friends




~Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street !




~ We said a hello in our hearts to our sixth child, and then said goodbye until we meet our sweet baby in Heaven. If I could speak to our child now, I would say that you are loved every bit as much as your brothers and sisters, and we miss you greatly. We look ahead with rejoicing to the day when we can meet you face to face!

~Ben & Kayla's wedding




~Mike turns 40 !!!!!



~ Wished the Means family blessings as they moved ahead to the next chapter in their lives!

~ Matthew turns 13 !




~Matthew's FIRST CONCERT !!! (Third Day & Tenth Avenue North @ Macon Arena)



~Abbie & Irene send "baby Moses" down the river (that was funnier than a blog post can capture...one of the reasons I love my girls so much is because they think up crazy stuff like this!)


~Abbie turns SIX!


~Fall fun and festivals






~Trip to Covenant College and camping at Cloudland Canyon (Land of a Million Steps)



~Mickey, Abby & Madison come to stay with us for a while, just in time for Thanksgiving!



~South Point Youth went to Windy Gap Camp, in N.C.


~Went with Madison to go see Santa on the Square:



~Spending Maddie's first Christmas with her and her mommy & daddy was such a blessing!!


Goodbye, 2011...you were a good, crazy, terrible, wonderful year! Thank you Lord, for sustaining us with your grace through another year of life's joys and pains!