An Aha Moment

This past week has been such a poweful and enlightning time for me.  I have been struggling lately, and couldn't really put my finger on it.  I couldn't name exactly what I ws struggling with.  It has taking me six months and this book to figure out that I have been struggling with TIME! 





Not necessarily managing my time or running late, but there just wasn't enough hours in the day.  I know that anyone reading this has felt like this at some point or another.  I would wake up and almost instantly get in a bad mood when I would start to "plan" my day.  It was really affecting me.  So I started working out thinking I needed a stress reliever.  Well that only made things worse.  Although I feel great physically, it was just another thing to do in my day and one more thing added to the calendar.  Anyhow, time has been getting the best of me.


SO, I started this online bible study based on this book by Ann Voskamp. 



My sister asked me to do it with her and relunctly I accepted another item on my ever growing to do list.  You may be thinking I need to learn how to say "no"  and you could be right.  However, last week I read chapter 4, and the answer to this problem was staring me right in the face.  So I wanted to share with you with some excerpts from the book and this partiular chapter, chapter 4 'A Sanctuary of Time'

"Time is a relentless river.  It rages on, a respector of no one.  From the time the alarm rings and I stir on our pillows touching, stretch over his bare back and check those relenetless hands keeping time on that clock.  The time, always the time, I'm an amateur tring to beat the time...We race.  The barn...and hurry.  The breakfast....and hurry.  The books, the binders...and hurry.  In a world addicted to speed, I blur the moments into one unholy smear.  I have done it.  I do it still.  Hands of the clock whip hard.  So I push hard and bark hard and I fall hard and when their wide eyes brim sadness and thier chins tremble weak, I am weary and I am the thin clear skin, reflecting their fatigue, about to burst, my eyes glistening their same sheer pain."

{A little side note, so some of the above makes since, Ann Voskamp is married to a farmer and they have 6 children. }I can't tell you how the above excerpt hit home for me.  I have been noticing my patience dwindling faster than usual at my kids and always always when we were pressed for time. 

"The hurry makes us hurt...They say time is money, but that's not true.  Time is life,  And if I want the fullest of life, I need to find the time...I don't really want more time, I just want enough time.  Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long, time to give You the glory and rest deep and sing joy and just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it all done...I just want time to do my one life well"

How many of you are shouting "Amen" right now!?!?   I know I am.  :)   She continues...

"In Christ, don't we have everlasting existance?  Don't Christians have all the time in eternity, life everlasting?  If Christians run out of time - wouldn't we lose our very own existance?  If anyone should have time, isn't it the Christ-followers?"

Okay, that does make sense!

"When I fully enter time's swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention, I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here.  I can slow the torrent by being all here.  I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment"

I know, I know.  We have all hear this a million times from one another, in songs, poems, books, etc...But here is the rest of the answer and my aha moment...

"[the present] This is where God is.  In the present.  I AM - His very name...I AM so full of the weight of the present that time's river slows to a still...and God himself is timeless."

WOW!  I can't tell you how powerful those words were and are to me. 

"Giving thanks...is ultimately an invitation to slow time down with weight of full attention.  Thanks makes now a sanctuary...Thank God for the time, and very God enter that time, presence hallowing it.  True, this, full attention slows time and I live the full moment, right to outer adges.  I awake to I AM here.  When I'm present, I meet I AM, the very presence of a present God.  In HIS embrace, time loses all sense of speed and stress and space and stands so still...and holy."

This struggle that I had been dealing had such an easy simple answer...Enjoy and relish in the present, the only time I have.  Notice the smallest of things and give thanks to Him for every bit of it!  By the way, thats the premise of the book, hence the title...One Thousand Gifts.  I highly recommend getting a copy for yourself and taking part in her same journey!  I am very much enjoying the book and journey myself. 

Anyhow, I'm off to lay down with these sweet girls of mine...and giving thanks for sunny afternoon naps!!

Take 2

Ummm, yeah.  So my sister texted me last night to inform me that none of my pictures were showing up on my last post.  Instead of clicking save I clicked post, hence the crazy post from yesterday.  Anyhow, the pictures are now up and the post should make a lot more sense!!  :)  Sorry! 

A Better Spring Break and Baby Swim Suit Bottoms

So after a disasterous Day 2 of spring break, I am happy to report that the rest of the week was great.  We went to the park and the zoo and ended our week with a weekend trip to Memphis.  I had lots on our to do list and was able to do most of it.  It was nonstop from the moment we arrived.  We left Friday around lunch time, took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up driving the back roads of Alabama for a while, but still made it on time arriving around 4 to our hotel...




we unloaded, unpacked, freshened up, and headed here...




We met some dear old freinds and their daughter at the restaurant and enjoyed their company.  Ash and Jason have been freinds since they were 10 years old...



The kids played in the alley during our suprisingly short wait...





and then, Yum, Yum, Yum.  They have the very best ribs in the whole wide world and as soon as the food got to the table, there was silence...





After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, visited a while longer and headed to bed.  Did I mention, that we were on the 25th floor!?  I'm not a big fan of heights and was freaked out to be up so high, so I spent half the night figuring out every possible escape route from the 25th floor for every possible situation requiring escaping!  :)

Saturday we woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, had breaksfast at the hotel and then ah-uh headed to see the King!



or his house at least.  Landon is on an Elvis kick so we paid the hefty price to see his digs.  All I can say is that I have been there and done that.  Here are a few pics of his plane and his house.




















A few facts for you...did you know Elvis was a twin??  Unfortunately his twin brother was stillborn at birth.  And did you know that Elvis is buried at Graceland?



Anyhow, I can sleep easy at night, knowing I have seen Graceland!  :)

Later that night we went to see the Memphis Grizzlies play. 




This was Landon's first NBA game and he had a ball...no pun intented. 



We had pretty good seats and Memphis won!



After the game we headed here for a bit...



we got there and then remembered we had Landon with us (ha!) and instead went to the Peabody for desert.

It was late when we got back to the hotel, so we all went to bed and slept in until 9 the next morning...unheard of for my clan!

Sunday morning, we ate breakfast again at the hotel, packed up, checked out and made our way to the Memphis Zoo.



This zoo is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. 
















We were there a good 4.5 hours and still were not able to see everything.   We all had a blast and were sad to leave, but had to get on the road.  Within minutes, both girls were asleep and we were back on the highway headed back to the ham.  So, spring break '11 ended with a bang!
Swithcing tunes, at one of our shows, a customer ordered our bloomers without the ruffle as a swim suit bottom for her 18 month old little boy, which is perfect for babies!  So we now offer swim suit bottoms for baby boys...



Since, my model cannot walk and can barely sit up we had a hard time displaying these cute bathing suit diaper covers...but you get the point...






At only $15, you can't beat it!  Contact us to order yours today -sales@marymichaelclothing.com 
And we are working on a little something for all the baby girls out there...so stay tuned...

Spring Break (only 2 days in) ...help!!

Ummmm, what exactly do you do with an 8 year old, a  2 year old, and a baby?? No, really! This is not a hypothetical question. I'm really stumped. And, since the rest of Birmingham is out of town there is NO ONE for Landon to play with, which leaves him hanging with me and the baby girls. I thought about McWane, but then quickly remembered how crowded it is during any school break and just as quickly nixed the idea. Thought about the park, but with all the rain yesterday and last night, figured the equipment would be wet. Almost went to the zoo, but have a play date scheduled Thursday for that and are planning on hitting the Memphis zoo this weekend. So, we ended up doing absolutely nothing! It is almost 4:30 and Landon is still in his pajamas and has pretty much been parked here all day...



The baby is still in her pajamas, although we changed into a new pair after breakfast. She is all over the place lately...







And no, shes not all beaten up, the marks on her face are from all the fun she had getting into the mess Lucy made with her crayons and markers....



and Lucy is well, just a mess in general...




She has been dressed today and we are currently on outfit number 4!




And I have had the most productively unproductive day!  And even though I feel like the worst mom ever today, I think they have enjoyed doing absolutely nothing! They better enjoy it now, because we will be making up for it tomorrow and I have  have been working on our itinerary for Memphis this weekend and its nonstop the entire weekend. Alright, I'm off to go attempt to at least cook for my children today!  :)

The Dentist, Warm Weather, and a Birthday

I bet you have no idea what this post is about! What, with such a clever title and all. :) ha So, its no surprise that I'm not the most dedicated blogger...I always have great intentions, just not enough time. My excuse this month was the fact that our second home was at the pediatricians office. I may have to take a second mortgage out to pay for all the doctors office visits and co-pays. I feel like we lived up there in February and I really think our co-pays added up to equal our mortgage payment! In addition to all the doc visits we also paid a visit to the dentist. We were all overdue for a visit and Lucy is now 2 and has never been, and well, I really don't care to ever go back with her! Whew! Well, you know he did just fine...



...no cavaties, straight teeth, needs to work on the flossing, but other than that, perfect!



He let Lucy watch so she wouldn't be scared...



But the poor girl had a cavity and I'll leave you guessing on how that went. Here's a clue, I have no pictures of Lucy at the dentist! :)

So, now we are all over the flu, strep, ear infections, crazy rashes, etc, etc, etc and we also have clean and healthy teeth and gums. And hopefully the warmer weather will keep it that way.

Speaking of, we have thoroughly enjoyed the warmer temps and sunshine. We have enjoyed playing outside with trips to the zoo and park...



and taking morning or afternoon walks.



Looks who is sitting up in the stroller!



Lucy is really starting to conversate and loves to point out all she knows...literally!



And finally, lil man had a birthday. He's really not so lil anymore as he informed me "I'm not really little anymore because I'm like 8!" Oh lordy. And instead of toys and video games this year he asked for a pair of shoes "all black with a red rhino on them" So, I googled that and ummmm no! I went looking for a comparable pair that were still cool but not gangster and ended up with a pair of All-Stars and he loves them!



He is such a laid back and easy going boy! I love him for that! I also love what a good great brother he is...



and for that smile thats always on that handsome face!



He melts my heart with his big heart and sweet demeaner, and he keeps me on my toes with his competative spirit and brains! That combination has lead to a lot of talking back lately, but sometimes his "logic" stops me dead in my tracks! :) He's one smart boy.

Anyhow, we had his favorite, tacos...



and opened up more presents...some more shoes and shorts...





...and some money!



Since he was turning 8, we each gave him eight dollars in the form of one dollar bills! He loved it if you can't tell! :)



Happy Birthday Landon...I love you more than you know!!

I'm headed out now to work in the yard...enjoy your weekend and the beautiful weather it brought!!