A new face....

Hey ya'll!!! I'm so EXCITED to announce that this blog is getting a makeover by the most amazing Jenn!! You can check out her work here. Tomorrow there may be a period of time that you can't quite view the blog... but soon afterwards there's gonna be the big "reveal!" I'm so excited with the job Jenn has done and she couldn't have been more amazing to work with! In addition, stay tuned, because next week there is some exciting news!!! (maybe some good stuff and all) So for now... goodbye ol' blog look... you've treated me right nice like....

Another Week, Another Highlight....

While I truly want to "skip" the highlights of the week, I just CANT! I want to jump on to another post I want to write... but we will do it another day!

This week was great! Just the right amount of good times mixed with productivity!

1. Friends and waterslides...

2. I started working with a GREAT gal to give my blog a "makeover" ... and all I can say is... SHE. IS. AWESOME! Can't say much more than that... there's gonna be the big "reveal", including something super FUN!! Stay tuned...

3. Garage Sale: Preparation, and the execution of it! Good times... Friday STUNK! Saturday ROCKED... so I guess we did pretty good! That's the last of our things, and an organization is coming to pick up the left overs in the morning. They pay $.15 per pound and allow us to choose an organization to donate the $ to. We chose to donate it to Walking in Grace Ministries here in our town. They helped widows and their families. It was nice to have their help to get rid of our stuff... and feel good about helping widows, also.

4. STAR WARS: The Mr. felt that it was "time" to introduce the kids to STAR WARS. I was hesitant at first, but I have to say it has been fun. The unexpected part is that there have been some spiritual applications surrounding Anikan Skywalkers big fall into the dark side....

5. Our house is officially "a mess"... and today Z told someone "I don't have a bed anymore, I get to sleep on a blanket." They don't seem to mind! (don't worry, I'm borrowing air mattresses this week)

For next week? AWESOMENESS with a splash of nasty. VBS... All 3 kiddos for 3 hours per day... I have to say that is going to be GREAT all around! Monday the dentist... Wednesday afternoon we go to get our travel immunizations. (that's the splash of nasty). AND then my parents come in town for 5 days!!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Here's to a good week for us all!!

Lifting my mind beyond today...

When I'm exhausted, overwhelmed at my to do list, sad to see all the adjustments my kids have to make, and worried about how things might go tomorrow... God reminds me of this...

And then I know it's all gonna be worth it....

When we started...

When we started loving each other it was like this...

We then started to realize... Yeah, this is it... so we did this...

And soon after that, we did this...

and this...

and this...

5 years later, we really learned what love was.....

and a year later...

and a year later...

and now, 9 years later... this....

all because of this...

So grateful to be spending my life with a man who loves fully and honestly, and who isn't afraid to lead his family where God leads us... 9 years of amazement...

Am I really that hungry?

Mmmmm.... pizza

Chocolate ( not biased... chocolate cheesecake, chocolate candy, chocolate pie....)

chips n' dip

Pei Wei

Those are the things I LOVE to eat... I CRAVE them. I've never been terribly disciplined in my eating style. I come from a long line of Little Debbie Lovers. So much so... that yes, my MOM did run her car into a field while trying to bend down into the passengers floorboard to reach one of those delish little fudge rounds (our faves)!!! Hilarious. I come from the South, where food is just a part of culture... good pies, cookoffs, and Sunday dinners at Mamaw's. Food=Happiness where I come from.

Recently, that's not really done me so well. ha. Apparently things are slowing down and taking root in places I didn't anticipate. So, I've found myself asking God (because I can't do it without Him) to show me the things about my eating that are unpleasing. Now, I'll be the first to say that He without a DOUBT wants us to eat and enjoy! None of the things listed above are sins. That's true!

Here's what I'm learning, though. I've recently been taking this issue before the Lord, and being very disciplined and committed to a certain style of eating for a bit now. What I'm noticing is that really, I probably eat 20% because I'm actually hungry and the other 80% is for alternative reasons: to be Social, to make me "feel" happy, and out of habit (well, it's time to eat!). The idea that really, I'm not THAT hungry, crazed me out! I "THOUGHT" I was hungry... but I'm really not. hmmm... It hit deeper.

Could it be that I THINK I'm hungry for Jesus when in reality it could be mixed with ALMOST the same alternative motives that my actual eating has? Am I serving/worshiping to be social with others? Am I studying the Word because it makes me "feel" a certain way? Do I attend church because "it's that time to do it?" How much of what I do comes from PURE hunger for the Lord. Nothing else. All the other things: community, feelings of peace & joy, etc... are all BI-products of the purest form of worship:

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled." Matt 5:6

The hunger comes first... as the motive... and the filling comes from the Lord. Sometimes I just go straight for the filling...

Weekly Highlights: brought to you by Walmart

Man, time flies by... and honestly this week seems like a blur. When you start to write down all that has happened in a week, you either think "How did I do that?" or "What in the world did I do this week?" Unfortunately, mine was the latter this week. There are days that I'm certain me and 3 small humans could disappear for 9 hours a day and NO ONE would notice!! But seriously, with all the change going on in our "environment", I'm trying super hard to keep our daily routine just that... routine. The kids need predictability and they need my attention and time... so ... this week was just that. A usual week with a few things added in...

1. We celebrated Memorial Day with AMAZING friends and GREAT BBQ... swimming, etc! Quite the treat!

2. I did get all the homeschool stuff I ordered... which made me realize how great of a nerd I really am... wow. Scary how exciting one can get over educational material. ( a total shocker if you knew me 15 years ago)

3. I took the kids to the pool several times this week, along with a spray-ground... tons of fun... and yesterday Z started to swim underwater on his own!! A HUGE accomplishment!! Check out this video:

4. We sold our beds, bike and trailer, and camping gear...

5. The Mr. took E to get his hair "cut" and ended up getting it BUZZED... that's the last time Mr. McB takes E to a barber shop and says "whatever you think is best..." eek!

6. I did schedule travel immunizations for 2 weeks out! (you can start praying now, thanks)

7. And possibly the funniest thing of the week....

We are cleaning out for the garage sale (yeah, the one I SHOULD have had this week, but seriously this coming week we are DOING IT!) and so I took some of the money from selling the bed and went to replace some stuff we will need in Zambia. For example, we are selling all of our dishes and glasses... and we are taking some plastic, yet cute, to Zambia with us. We figure they are light-weight and durable. (one certain friend can lecture me about buying and eating off of plastic later... you know who you are ;)) Anyway, the Mr. also asked me to get a couple of towels to take because ours are 10 years old and on their last leg. So, I had my cute Better Homes and Gardens PLASTIC plates in the cart, with PLASTIC cups, and some towels. Yes, they are cute. So.... I'm waiting in the checkout line and the lady in front of me and the cashier start commenting on how cute my stuff is. "Thanks"... I say. Then the cashier says "I'm doing good if my towels match my shower curtain!" The shopper in front of me says "Yes, some people care too much about their stuff." Inside my head I'm trying to process this... I realize that I guess I LOOK as if I am just out getting the next cute thing. I just say "I'm moving and we are getting rid of our glass stuff." She walks on and the cashier then asks, "Where you moving to?" I say "Africa" and the guy pipes up behind me in a very *Chris Wheeler country voice "What in the #@* are you going to that hot place for?" I quickly tell him and the cashier. He said "Have you ever heard of that Craigslist? You can really sell stuff on that." (BTW, I LOVE people like this man... good country man trying to be helpful... LOVE it) I say "Yes, i think we are selling some stuff there." The cashier then asks "Do you have a TV?" At this point I'm thinking... who needs Craigslist... just come to WalMart... and didn't this conversation start by accusing me of being attached to "stuff?" Just makes me laugh... and No, I didn't sell my TV to the cashier.

On the books for next week? You guessed it! GARAGE SALE... our anniversary, our last supper with the amazing HFO staff, and a surprise... working on a "facelift" for this here blog. ;)

Acceptance-with-Joy

I'm excited that the kids are finally able to sit and listen to "chapter books" with great anticipation rather than antsy movement. :) Last month I found the book "Hinds Feet on High Places" for kids. (the adult version is one of my all time favorite books) Today we read about "Through the Desert and Loneliness"... when the path your walking seems to take you so far off course from the promised destination.... can we move there with full confidence and trust in the one who leads us? When we are asked to move in a direction we don't want to... can we do it with "Acceptance-with-Joy?" Such a GREAT lesson for me today... and for my kids, too. It sparked a great conversation with my 5 year old about complaining vs. "Acceptance-with-Joy". Sometimes we call it "doing it with a happy heart." Boy... did I need that today, too. The laundry, the dishes, did I just clean the floor again?, and about the garage sale (which I put off again, yes I did), and our supporters, and how can i get it all done... starts to sound like complaining vs. "Acceptance-with-Joy." I'm gonna share a clip from the chapter today... maybe it will speak to you like it did me.

"On the last morning, Much-Afraid made a lovely discovery as she went for a walk. Behind one of the huts in the desert was an old pipe connected to a water tank. In the pipe was a tiny hole from which drops of water fell one by one. At the place where they landed was the first growing thing she had seen in the desert. It was a beautiful little golden flower. Much-Afraid knelt close to it and asked softly, "What is your name, lovely flower?" The tiny plant seemed to answer at once with a voice as golden as itself. "I am Acceptance-With-Joy."

Much-Afraid thought of the things she had seen in the pyramid: the threshing-floor, the potter's wheel, and the fiery furnace. The worlds of the little golden flower echoed in her mind and she said to herself, "I too want to be Acceptance-With-Joy. Whatever He lets me go through, I want to trust Him and allow Him to have His way with my life. And I want to do it with Joy in my heart."

Here's to hoping that in this day... whatever tasks He brings our way, that our names become "Acceptance-With-Joy."