Nanny

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, And a time to die;...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

My Nanny passed away yesterday. I have tried to keep updated and so some of you may have already known she was not doing well. We knew that she had started a turn for the worse. She was suffering and we did not want her to continue that way. It is a relief and comfort to know that God went ahead and took her to be with Him. She was such a dear lady! When I think of her I think of strength and hard working. I have never known her to be one to not be busy. She was either working outside, fixing a meal, taking a friend to the store, tending to something. Nanny loved to work in the garden and she could cook some of the BEST meals!! Nanny had taken care of my papaw for 10 years as he battled alzheimer's. She loved him dearly! She has seen two of her own children pass away. When her youngest son passed is when God began changing her heart and her life. I remember many times her and I talking about the Bible and even her passing her sunday school lessons on to me. So many memories of her have come to mind the past couple of days and those memories I will forever hold dear. Some of those memories are of her with my children. When we lived in Alabama she was always willing to watch the kids if I needed her to. When Timothy was an infant and I would take him to get his immunizations she would watch the other kids for me. It was usually lunch by the time I would make it back to her house so we would either go get a bite to eat or she would have something for us. My Elijah loved to go to Nanny's and would not hesitate to stay with her. If any of my children went to her house they always left with candy (usually chocolate). :) She lived behind my parents so it will be sad when we visit with my parents and not be able to visit with her anymore. Nanny has come to Tennessee a couple of times with my parents and I am so thankful for those visits. Thinking back over these memories reminds me of just how important memories are. I pray that in the years to come our family makes more memories with family and friends!! Nanny will be missed so much!

Something to smile about!

... that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus

and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

Back in May Isaac got braces. We knew that he really needed them but didn't realize the difference it would make. He got them off a couple of weeks ago. Yes, we will probably have to have them again at about the age of 13. Can you see the difference? He is so proud of his straight teeth! Such a handsome boy with a great smile!! :) Our desire is that Isaac will use his "smile" (mouth) to glorify the Lord and honor Him!

A trip to the Zoo!

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures,

and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

... And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying,

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind:

cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”;

and it was so....And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20-25

We live about an hour from the Nashville Zoo. We decided to get a membership and we could take the kids often this year to the zoo. Bryan took them during the summer. A friend of mine called me up on a Wednesday night and asked if we wanted to go to the zoo. They are a homeschooling family and the mom keeps a little girl......so that is a grand total of 2 adults and 10 kids that would be going to the zoo!! Of coarse we said YES! We love this family and enjoy being with them so we knew it would be lots of fun! :)

These birds are beautiful! Love their coloring!

The elephant is always a popular animal to visit at the zoo!

Isaac took this picture and was very proud of his photography!! :)

I always think that the flamingos make great pictures!!

Our last stop that day was to the petting zoo. The kids enjoyed getting to see the farm animals! I let Isaac and Sarah take some pictures. Since I am not a last minute person and this was a last minute trip I felt that I was constantly miss placing something ALL day! We really had lots of fun and can't wait to go back and see the rest of the animals! Hoping we can go soon!

Three Boys!

My son, hear the instruction of your father,

And do not forsake the law of your mother;

For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,

And chains about your neck.

Proverbs 1:8

The Bible is full of testimonies of Great men of God! When I read the stories of Isaac, Elijah and Timothy I am reminded of my Isaac, Elijah and Timothy. These boys have been such a source of JOY and a source of growing my faith in the LORD! When I was pregnant with Isaac I could not imagine having a boy. What would I do with a boy? Ten years later God has blessed us with 3 boys and I can't imagine life with out them! They are all different and unique, special in their own way!! My heart is so full with prayers that I need to consistently lift put to the Lord everyday. Prayers that these boys will hunger and thirst for God and His righteousness, for a God-fearing mate, for friends that will strenghten them in their walks with the Lord (Proverbs 27:17) and prayers that as a mom I will train and lead them in the ways of the Lord!

Elijah can make Bryan and I laugh so hard! He is always doing something funny! :)

Timothy is not afraid to try whatever Elijah has done! He thinks he is as big as Elijah. I am so thankful that God gave them each other, they are so close and for that my heart leaps!

These three boys will one day be men, husbands and fathers! I want to chersish every moment that I have with them! I love these little guys that God has given me! :)

Here I am with two of our boys....Elijah took the picture! He did a pretty good job! Isaac is usually my photographer but Elijah had to try it too!

What a week!

Should I post it all?

Last weekend my Nanny (dad's mom) was not doing so well. They said her kidney's were almost failing and things were not looking good. My parents informed me that she was recognizing them and could respond some. I knew that I wanted to see her before it was so bad that she would not even recognize us. Bryan and I decided Monday at lunch that we would leave that afternoon for our 4 hour trip to Alabama. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 and we all got to see her. Nanny just smiled at the kids and talked some to them, so I know she knew we were there.

Let me back up a couple of days....Sunday morning after sunday school Joanna had a temp of 102! She ran fever all day and would not eat. I took her Monday morning to the DR and she has hand/foot/mouth! Yuck!

Here Joanna is not feeling the greatest and we are needing to be in Alabama. I wanted to be there with my dad also! He was going to have to make a decision to do surgery or just take her home. They gave her a 20% of making it if she had surgery and with her kidney's not functioning great it was not looking promising! Tuesday morning when I got to the hospital my dad said he had decided to let them do surgery. He felt that this decision was doing all he could do to help her. On Tuesday night we went to eat with my parents and Sarah and Elijah didn't eat well. They both were complaining with sore throats! My first thought was they have what Joanna has.

On Wednesday morning the surgeon came in and saw my dad. He told dad that he would do surgery mid morning (to the dr's that means between 10 am- 4 pm). By lunch I felt awful! I started running a fever and sore throat. Elijah and Sarah both were running fever too! :( I knew I needed to stay through the surgery and be there with dad. Surgery started at 2:15 and at 4:15 the surgeon came and let us know that she had made it through and would be in ICU for awhile. We were praising the LORD that He had seen her through and beat the odds!! He is GOOD!

We headed home first thing Thursday morning. Took Sarah to the Dr on our way home and she has strep. I saw the Dr and mine is hand/foot/mouth (they say if an adult gets it it is ROUGH). My boys were still not feeling great this morning and Isaac even was vomitting this morning. Around supper we looked at the boys (all 3) throats and we saw puss pockets on Elijah and Timothy and red dots (crazy) on Isaac's. Bryan loaded them up and headed to the after hours clinic and they all 3 tested positive for strep!

Nanny got off the breathing tube this morning and seems to be doing well. Tonight she was tired and a little confused. If she makes out of ICU she will need dialysis. We are praying for the best! Thanks so much to all of you who have been praying for her and our family!

9 months!

Today Joanna is 9 months old! I just can not get over how fast time has gone by! Wanted to post about our big girl! She weighs 20 pounds, has 4 teeth, and thinks she is as big as the others! :) She has started pushing around a push toy and loves to do that. Joanna would play with the little boys in their room all day! Bryan and I have said lately that she is a great combination of Sarah, Elijah and Timothy when they were babies. So here we are at 9 months!

Seasons of a Mother's Heart

I am finishing up this book and have been very anxious to blog about it. Of coarse I could take one whole month and blog about this book twice a week atleast! My cousin lent me this book and I am so very thankful (Thank you Dodey)!! It was so what I needed during this season of my life. I do believe that I will purchase this book to have on hand and refer back to often. The author (Sally Clarkson) does a GREAT job in encouraging Moms and especially Homeschooling Moms! She is so real and shares her own personal up and downs during different seasons of her life. I have come to realize that I am in a season of my mothering that has a wide variety. I am in a season with some older children who are needing more detailed direction. I have two younger children (boys) that need my attention pretty much all day! Then I have one who is going to be 9 months old this week! Because I have a baby who is breastfeeding, it causes me to be with her pretty much all the time....and that is OK because this is the season I am in! I am in a very busy season of mothering. There are so many JOYS about this season. These precious children will only be little one time in their lives. God has given me a great opportunity to impact their lives and point them toward Him! One day (I am afraid it will be here too soon) I will be in a new season of life. The older children will be young adults, the two little boys will be entering the teen years and the baby will be entering into the 2 digits in age. I have come to realize that to others the season I am in may look overwhelming and "NO FUN" but its not that at all! There are days that are very challenging, yes more than one day a week. LOL! But there are days (lots of days) that are so rewarding! God is teaching me to enjoy the journey and make the most of the season I am in! What season are you in?

A quick trip to Alabama

Please pray for my dad and my Nanny. My dad's mother (Nanny) has been in the hospital for over two weeks now. I have struggled with the decision of when to go and make a visit. My heart hurts for my dad and mom as they take care of her because I know it saddens my dad to see his mom this way. Being 4 hours away is not convienent for me just to "run" to the hospital. This past Monday morning as I woke up I pondered the thought of the kids and I leaving Thursday and going down for a couple of days, but then I realized that Isaac has a game on Saturday and we would have to come home on Saturday. So I made a last minute decision to leave right after breakfast. I am not a last minute person, I LOVE planning! We threw some things together and was in the van leaving at 8:45 (Thanks to my dear hubby's help!). We arrived in Alabama around 1. I didn't mention to my parents that we were coming, I wanted it to be a surprise. We have not seen my parents in a whole month! :( After we arrived at my parents house (they were still at work) we rested some and then we went to the hospital. My dad had went to the hospital when he got off work. He was so surprised to see us! We got to spend some time with him and my Nanny. She knw who we were and the kids got to talk to her. I could tell she enjoyed seeing them. :) When my mother got off work she came to the hospital and she was so surprised to see us! We spent three nights with my parents and got to visit with my Nanny 4 or 5 times! It was so good....much needed! I am so thankful that the kdis and I were able to make this trip.