My little Kindergartener

Well...it is official my little girl is now in Kindergarten. I must say I don't know where the time has gone and I look back and can't believe that she is now 5 1/2 and has started "Big Girl School". She started on Monday, Aug.11th and has loved it ever since. I heard yesterday on the way home that she already has a boyfriend too....that makes three now (one from church, one whom she met this summer, and one from school..whew!). The big day came bright and early for us all...especially Luke. He wasn't real sure about getting up when it is still dark outside when he has gotten quite used to sleeping late over the summer. Sophie has a new alarm clock that has helped her get up right on time. She has been excited everyday to go to school and I am so excited for her. I must say it has been hard this summer realizing that she is old enough to start school. Also realizing when I shop at Target that she is no longer in size 5T, but rather a 6 which is the "big girl" sizes and they look MUCH older than the toddler items. I have cried some all through the summer and of course last May when she graduated from preschool. She is ready though and ready to begin a new adventure. It is just hard for a mom who watches her child grow up from a newborn and realizes that it is time for her to take a new step a step that will make her more mature and more grown up. It is bittersweet as I know it is time and God is going to bless her so much at her new school. However, it is hard to let go at times. She is my little girl.
We'll have new adventures to share over the coming weeks as she now has P.E. two days a week, library day, music class, chapel, and computer time. I get so excited each day I pick her up to hear about all of the days events and activities. She is so excited to share with me, which I of course LOVE! Luke misses her too and can't wait to see her when we pick her up. The other day he saw her come out of the building and said "Sissy!" before she got in the car. Keep checking back as I am planning to post more often now that we are back into the swing of things again.

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD."
Psalm 89:15

Sweet Little Feet

The feet of little children are one of the sweetest things to me. Especially the feet of my children! I took this photo a few days ago and just wanted to capture how small my children still are. Sophie is of course growing quickly and will be starting "big girl school" soon, but she is still little to me. And Luke still has those sweet baby feet that I kiss on all the time. One of his toes in the photo has a little bit of dirt on it and I love how that shows he is a perfect little boy. His feet are chubby and so soft while Sophie's are longer, more tan, and very girly! I also love the way her nails are polished in the photo - that is sooo Sophie! Their feet are so special to me and I love taking photos of them. We also got some precious photos of their feet at the beach this year that I'll have to share in another post. I look at their little feet and they make me smile. I love watching them run, walk, and wiggle those darling toes. They are getting bigger everyday and before long they will be teenager feet and then adult feet. The neat thing is that they'll always be just as special and precious to me.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
Isaiah 52:6-8

College Days...

Since joining Facebook I have reconnected with lots of old friends. One of the biggest blessings has been reconnecting with college friends. I have a lot of friends that I had stayed in touch with before, but Facebook put me back in connection with people I had lost touch with. Sometimes I really do miss college - the amazing friends and experiences I had. I wish it had lasted long and I wonder why I was in a rush to finish up. God blessed me with a wonderful sorority that I was able to be a part of and a fantastic Wesley Foundation where He grew my faith tremendously! I learned so much about God and how truly great He is through the Wesley Foundation at UGA while I was there. I also made some unbelievable friendships through Delta Gamma (my sorority) and the Wesley Foundation. Those years of my life are some of the most important to date for me and I look back and feel so blessed by them - it was so much fun. It makes me miss my friends. I don't have a lot of really close friends that live close by (in the same community). I have learned as I get older that it really takes time to make those close connections with people. College is such a wonderful place for fostering friendships, because you are all together in the same community everyday. I guess I never realized once you get out of college (and for me seminary too) and move to a new place it really takes time to make deep and meaningful friendships with people. People that you feel comfortable calling up when you need help with a problem or help picking your children up from school. People that you can laugh really hard and totally silly with. People that love you even when you make a dumb comment that you regret making. Friends that you hop in a car with late at night to go get TCBY or coffee with. I miss having those friends so close by like I did in college. It was just such a life changing, unbelievably good experience...I hope that Sophie and Luke have that one day. I wouldn't trade it for anything! It helps that I met Nick in college too - that is the icing on the cake!

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16

VBS - what a blessing!

One reason I have been out of the loop with my blog is that I volunteered to help with VBS (Vacation Bible School) last week. I helped with the kindergarten class that Sophie was in. The theme for the week was SonWorld Adventure Park and our class name was the Twirling Teacups! The theme was centered around a theme park and the main theme for the week was "Choose Jesus!" It was so cute and the kids had so much fun. They had assembly, art class, snack time, lesson time, recreation, music class, and closing assembly each day. Each day every child got a "ticket" that they got to put on a necklace that they took it home at the end of the week. Each ticket had a different theme - Choose to Believe, Choose to Act, Choose Forgiveness, Choose to Obey, and Choose Jesus. The kids just loved the necklaces and were so excited Friday when they got to take them home. They also got to do lots of fun art projects during the week and they brought those home on Friday as well. They learned lots of songs and the motions that went along with them. On Friday there was a closing ceremony and they performed the songs and motions for family and friends. The Kindergartners were asked to dress up in cowboy/cowgirl outfits, because the particular song they sung had a "country" sound to it. The kids even got to take home a burned CD of all the songs. We listened to the CD every morning and every afternoon on the way to and from VBS. Sophie just loved the music and motions! Everyday when we would get home she would go into her room and close the door and have VBS time where she was the teacher! It was so cute and such a blessing to see how much she loved it. I got to lead her group to each activity and be a part of it with them. We had a group of 11 and they were adorable! It was so neat to see their eyes light up when they sang songs and made art projects that helped them learn about God's love for them. It was such a wonderful way for me to spend my week and I feel so fortunate that I got to spend this precious time with Sophie. I know that one day I'll more than likely have to go back to work and I feel so blessed that I get to be with her experiencing these things with her right now.
"God sent His Son to be the Savior of the World. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and He in God." 1 John 4:14-15

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Well...I have neglected my blog for a few days! I hope that I still have some readers out there :-) We have had a lot of fun things going on and now I am busy packing for our trip to Hawaii! We leave later this week and we are so excited about it! We are going with my family - my mom, dad, sister, brother and his family are all going...there will be 11 of us total together! Keep us in your prayers - we leave this Friday. So, trying to pack for a flight with a 15 month old and a 5 1/2 year old? I am used to going to Florida each summer and just throwing everything in the car...we always look like traveling gypsies...so I am having to downsize. In my carry on bag I am packing single doses of benadryl (doctor said it was ok) to make the flight a little easier and restful for Luke. I am also packing some new toys (small and not too noisy ones) that Luke and Sophie have never played with and coloring books and triangle crayons - so they won't roll off the tray on the plane. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know! I am also packing extra clothes, lots of snacks, and we are going to have a portable DVD player. So here's hoping to a safe, happy, and peaceful flight!! I will have lots of family with me to help and Sophie will be sitting with her cousins Rachel (10) and Sarah (8) so she will be in heaven! She loves those two girls so much!
Sophie took some swimming lessons in preparation for our trip to Hawaii so she would be ready for the pool! She has taken them every summer for the past few years, but this year she did really well and came so far in two weeks. I was so proud of her! It might have helped that she had a young guy as an instructor! His name was James and she was delighted to see him each day :-) You will see photos below of her swimming lessons on the last night.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

The Return of the Slip 'n Slide

Nick and I saw a Slip 'N Slide a few weeks ago in a store and decided to purchase it for Sophie. We were so excited about it, because we both have very fond memories growing up playing on a Slip 'N Slide. I used to have friends over and we would play for hours on it. I would end up with scrapes, bruises, etc., but I loved it! My parent's have a ton of pecan and walnut trees in their yard so you can imagine that I went over a lot of little bumps, because the walnuts and pecans that had fallen were not all removed from the ground before we started sliding! I think the Slip 'N Slide has to be one of my favorite toys from my childhood so I was very excited about getting one for Sophie (and Luke...even though it says for ages 5 and up on the package). We opened it up and put it out in the yard today and the kids had so much fun. Luke loved it too, but did bust his little bottom a couple of times where he slipped and fell into the pool of water at the end. Sophie loved sliding even though she sort of had to pull herself down, because she doesn't weigh enough yet to really go fast. It was fun and brought back so many memories of my childhood. We also brought out my crazy sprinkler bug from when I was little! Somehow my parent's had saved it after all these years and it still worked! It is the funniest sprinkler and it makes me crack up laughing whenever we use it! It is a blessing to watch my kids experience some of the fun things from my childhood. I think next time we pull out the Slip 'N Slide and sprinkler I'll put on my suit and go for a slide...I just hope I don't break anything! Ha!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth." Psalm 100:1

Missing my blog...and other neat things...

Ok so I miss my blog so much! I am itching to write more, but I have been so busy lately and haven't had time to write....and I am being good...I am cleaning instead of getting distracted...besides the fact that I am on the computer now - ha! I have so many fun things to post and photos...so hopefully I'll get to it soon...maybe tomorrow??
Oh I do want to share something really neat that God has been putting on my heart: That He can use ME. Me - little 'ole me??? I mean I know this may sound crazy, because in High School I felt God's call on my heart into ministry and I also went to seminary and graduated with a Masters in Youth Ministry. I have been involved church, ministries, etc. since I was born. However, I have always struggled with a fear that I will fail. I feel a since of uncertainty and wonder as to how can He use me? I get caught up in my insecurities...my thoughts that I don't know His word as well as I should...or comparing myself to other Christians. It really and truly is a struggle that I deal with and I want to overcome. I know in my heart that God can use me and wants to use me....BUT my flesh creaps out and trys to stop me from doing what He truly desires to do through me. It is amazing how God can use different things and people to speak to you. He has used Facebook recently to speak to me. Through my joining Facebook I have understood lately that God really wants to use me. That He desires for me to minister to others and that He can use me even in my weakness and boy I am weak! However - He is strong and I must always remember that.
Hope you all are doing well out there in blogger world...
God bless you...
Merri

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:10