A Pajama Mama

All I did was blink. And we went from  here.... to here.... in one 7 year fell swoop.  Seven pounds to seven years in the blink of an eye. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Doodle : Remember when Rayray made a purse out of juice pouches? The Boy: Maybe one day you can knit yourself a purse with your own juice pouches. Me : You don't knit juice pouches together, you sew them. Doodle : Mama, why haven't you ever taught me how to knit? I have two knitting sticks and am ready to go! Me : Because I don't know how to knit that good. We'll have to get Mema to teach you. The Boy : Well, Mama, when you get to be an old lady you will know how to knit because allll  old ladies can knit!   And you can knit me a warm, fluffy sweater with love in every stitch!! Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a sitcom.

The Boy, age 10, came to me as I was finishing up dinner tonight and asked with sincerity, "Mama, can you get me some of that stuff I can spray on my skin to make me smell like a MAN?" This morning, I started school by asking the littles, "What is that smell!?" I had them each close their eyes and sniff whatever it was I waved under their noses. I had honeysuckle blossoms from the yard, apple pie spice from the kitchen, the BBW lotion I use every night, the body spray their teen sister uses, and the menthol chest rub (that stunk up the entire juvenile end of the house last night bc of all their COUGHING!). Anyway, all were very familiar scents to them. Then we read and talked about these verses... 2 Corinthians 2:14, 15, 17 says: In Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those being saved and  among those pe...

We have a precious new friend. Her name is Jenny . She's a young wife and mother to a beautiful baby girl. She's also the very real, transparent, and talented lead singer for Addison Road . And...Addison Road just so happens to be our most favorite band. And we just so happened to drive 5 hours to see them in concert a few days ago. Awhile back, we watched a 20/20 show on country teen star Taylor Swift. Camera crews went backstage with her before one of her concerts where we saw a plush lounge area set up complete with fully stocked snack bar, expensive furniture and candles lit for a luxurious, relaxing place to wait until time to go on stage to sing. Let's just say this isn't exactly the same picture for our Addison Road. Traveling on the road for months at a time in a borrowed tour bus with the baby...setting up their own equipment.....eating Ramen Noodles before a concert?  No, not the lap of luxury by any stretch of the imagination. So why do they do it? Is...

Inside today's egg was a silver chalice. (aka a cup.) First we discussed the first Passover as recorded in Exodus. And how the Jewish still celebrate a passover meal each year. One day, we are going to have a full passover meal at our house. Rayray is fascinated with Jewish tradition and one of our favorite movies is Fiddler on the Roof. I digress. Jesus and the disciples were in Jerusalem during and for Passover. They went to the Upper Room and together had what is now known as The Last Supper. After washing the disciples feet in a most humble act of servant-leader, they had their passover dinner. Communion. The Lord's Supper. The broken bread symbolizes Jesus body, broken for our sins. The wine symbolizes Jesus blood, spilt to cover our sins. The Blood of the Lamb. I did a study a few years ago that fascinated me on broken bread and poured out wine .  In Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest" devo book, the phrase kept popping up over and over. I deci...

The pink egg. Such a fun colored egg with such a heartbreaking symbol inside. Today - 3 pieces of silver representing the 30 pieces of silver Judas bargained for in return for turning over Jesus to the Jewish leaders. Matthew 24:14-16 is the scripture reference. Betrayal. A betrayal is a violation of a friendship. A break of trust. Being unfaithful. Disloyal. A breach in confidence. To deliver into the hands of an enemy in violation of a trust or allegiance, as in the case with Judas. After discussing the judgmental, selfish, prideful religious leaders and their hatred of Jesus and Judas' ultimate betrayal, our discussion took a different turn. Was Judas forgiven of his betrayal? We didn't get into a deep theological discussion about this issue...But I touched on a couple of things to ponder. First, Jesus knew what Judas was up to before it ever happened. It was an ultimate betrayal, but no surprise. Secondly, even Judas, who committed the ultimate betrayal, is...

It's time to pull out or Resurrection Eggs. We've been using our eggs to anticipate and celebrate the Easter season for at least ten years now. I say Easter season instead of Easter DAY because there's so much more to learn and talk about than one day can afford. We use our eggs kinda like we do our Advent celebration at Christmas....except we don't light them up like the Advent candles or anything..... Day 1 - The Donkey. Our scripture: Matthew 21:1-11....When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey....and the people laid their coats and palm branches for Him to ride over. In those days, when a king rode in on a donkey, it meant he was coming in peace, not war. The King of Kings rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to bring peace, hope and forgiveness to His people. Yes, he knew what was coming later in the week....but the Prince of Peace wanted the people to know how much He loved them. He wanted them....and us, today, to know that our sins are forgiven and as we tru...