Crawling when we could be walking

Go HERE for a great Mommie Moment by Priscilla Shirer!

When Mommie Moments become Mammie Moments...

[Thank you, Mammie Teresa! At least you still have your sense of humor!--Melanie]

I asked Melanie if I could write this week’s Mommie Moment, except this week it might be called a Mammie Moment, J because what happened when I kept Bella on Monday and Tuesday is hilarious—at least to me.

Monday was pretty outside, so as Bella loves to do, either with her Mammie or Pappaw (usually Pappaw) we walked to Aldi’s. I love to take her to Aldi’s because she can push her stroller, investigate the entire store, ask me a million questions and we can kill at least 30 – 45 minutes just going on a “field trip,”--literally, I guess, because we have to walk through the field to get there.

Anyway, on Tuesday it rained, so we couldn’t go to Aldi’s. We just had to do inside stuff, which included watching a movie. She loves the Polar Express and since I figured she hadn’t seen it since last Christmas, and I owned it, we would both sit down and watch it. For those of you who don’t know, I have a bladder disease called interstitial cystitis which is the professional term for a bladder that feels like it has an infection in it all the time, makes you feel like you have to pee RIGHT NOW and has no mercy if you don’t go at least once an hour. The bladder lining is wearing away; the inside of my bladder is red, when it’s supposed to be a whitish pink and I’m in pain most of the time.  Anyway it’s treatable with only one drug; I hate having it. But, it just goes with the rest of my body. L

Oh well, I knew I had set there too long and had needed to go to the bathroom for a long time. But, I just wanted to sit there and watch the movie with her. Finally, enough time had gone by that I thought I’d better get up and go—I just couldn’t take it any longer. Bella asked if she could go with me. I said “yes.” For those of you who’re my age and have a bladder problem you already know what’s getting ready to happen.  Yes, before I even get to the corner I started to pee. I could not stop. With interstitial cystitis, no amount of puckering is going to work so you might as well just “go with the flow.” Lol  So I did. When I sat down on the commode I said, “Bella, Mammie wet her pants. Look at Mammie’s pants.” I can’t remember exactly what she said, but surely she must have thought, “Now what’s wrong with this picture?” I asked her to hand me the hand towel hanging on the wall and she reached up and grabbed it. I told her I guessed I was going to have to walk naked to the bathroom, which is at the other end of the house, which also meant I had to walk in front of all the windows and front door. Nobody came to the front door, thank goodness. I put the hand towel in front of me as far as it would go, grabbed my pants and underwear. Bella snickered and said “Mammie, you’a nek-id.”  And off we went to the bathroom in the opposite end of the house, that’s in my bedroom.

How funny! How funny! How funny! and ironic that only on the second day that I had kept Bella, car seat and all, that Mammie had an accident and Bella didn’t. Hopefully all of you Mommies out there, who’ve never had your own  “leaky” problems, can appreciate all your “working faucets” that turn off and on at your command and can thank God that you have something this funny (humiliating) to look forward to when your mommie moments turn into mammie moments.

Late, but worth the wait!

My little 16 month old Luke cut his hand on a piece of glass on Tuesday and required 5 big ol' ugly stitches in his sweet chubby hand. The ER was not where I had planned to spend day 2 of Fall Break. I did not get to post a Mommie Moment that day, but I think this is much better than anything I had to say anyway.

I've known Michelle for many years now and am so thrilled to see her family growing and growing! Ella Kate (who is super-extra special...and also has Downs syndrome) became their forever child last year. They will also soon complete the adoption of 2 more precious daughters, Gracie and Anna Beth. I am so encouraged by Matt and Michelle's hearts and their ability to see so many blessings in a process that has not always been easy. This blog post is just one of many examples of the everyday lessons Michelle chooses to see in her sweet Ella Kate's life. What a blessing Ella Kate is to her family, church family, and the world! I hope you are as encouraged (and challenged) as I am!

Click here for the link to Michelle's post

Nothing But the Blood

My sweet Maddy said yesterday, as I was helping her with some very challenging math homework, "Mom, can I sing a song for you that my friend Jamie and I like to sing together at school?" I assumed she was procrastinating finishing her math, but I let her sing it anyway, because there is not much sweeter than my girl's voice to me (singing, that is...I could do without the whining and sassing!). She sings or hums (which she gets from her sweet Dani) while she is doing most anything. But rarely does she stop and sing a specific song for me. In the middle of math work, we enjoyed a little taste of heaven, as her precious voice sang, slowly and with great care,

"What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

Words that I have heard all of my life, made even more precious by hearing them sung by my child. Learning that she's not the least bit shy about singing them at (public) school with her friend? Priceless. And an encouragement to be more childlike in my faith today.

*Since I didn't post last week...*

I just read *this* and it really encouraged me! I immediately thought of Mommie Moments! And since I didn't post last week, read this and we'll call it even.

Just Do It 09.15.09

Mommy to Jack: {and more importantly, God to Mommy, through her own stinkin' words!}

Honey, don't worry about what comes next, just do what I have already asked you to do. Yes, now. Yes, that. No, don't worry about what your brother is supposed to be doing. He's not you, and you're not him. Yes, it is good for you even though you don't enjoy it. Please just trust me and obey. No, you don't have to do the whole thing, only what I asked. Well, after that, we'll see what the next thing is. But don't worry about that yet. You have everything you need. Quit stalling and get to it!

Oldie but Goodie!

**Someone who reads here asked me the other day if Jack was my only child! She knows better and was kidding, but this one's for you, S.D.!**


06.11.07 Monday
Oh my goodness, precious Noah! He’s watching me type and just saw that some of the words are underlined in red (names or things not found in the dictionary) and he said, “Wow, are those the words God is speaking?” I am laughing so hard!! Maddy taught him the other day that the words in red in his Bible are the words Jesus said, so I guess he remembered that.


What funny things have you remembered lately that your kids/grandkids/friends/husbands/self have said? I know we all have some oldies but goodies to share!

He knows not what he says

Jack: "We can go the place where we feed the ducks! Then we can feed the ducks and then see if the fish want what's on our poles! What do fish like to eat? I don't think they like bread. I think fish hate bread."


[His eyes wide with surprise]


"OH, I didn't know I was going to say hate! I'm sorry!"


Oh that I would be so quickly convicted, and honestly sorry, when ugly words come out of my mouth!


Perhaps I need to meditate again on Psalm 19:14...


May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Because I can now share pictures...

...I just had to share this one:

It really almost defies explanation, but here goes. This was July 2007, when Jack was 2 & 1/2. Jack was in the habit of waking up around 5 am and sneaking into the kitchen to get gum. I should have been wise enough to just ban gum from our house and be done with it, but for some reason I thought keeping it on top of the refrigerator out of reach would be enough. Rookie mistake!

And I also should have known better than to leave a full gallon of paint (which was supposed to go on the living room/dining room walls) on the countertop next to said refrigerator. In hindsight, it's all so clear.

Well, Jack determined on that particular morning (not at 5 am but soon after Daddy left for work) to climb up onto the counter and use the paint can as a step up to reach the gum on top of the refrigerator. You can see how well that worked out for all of us.

Does any of this sound familiar?

"I want that [thing, relationship, house, job...]!

Why won't He just give it to me?

Well, then I'll just get it myself!"

And so I do what it takes to get it.

And in the process I make a giant mess.

Like Jack, I often realize my mistake about the time the paint hits the floor. And then I wallow all over the kitchen trying to keep it from spreading, trying to cover my tracks.

Maybe it was the look on his face that said, "I have no idea what I have done here, but I am fully aware that it is 14 kinds of wrong" but after taking the picture, I did NOT in fact cause any bodily harm to that precious little boy who had made such a mess of himself and the entire kitchen.

Thankfully, our God doesn't have to call someone and cry his eyes out because He doesn't even know where to begin to clean up the giant mess we've made. It's not His first spilled can of paint.

Mommie Moments 8.11.09

Mommy: {to Jack, #3, age 4 and 3/4 yrs} It's time to put your shoes on so we can leave for school.

Jack: {already in the midst of throwing a tantrum for reasons unknown} But I'm not done throwing my fit! Just leave me alone!!
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I know you're thinking, "That is so like a four year old!" And it is. Unfortunately, all too often, it's so like this 31 year old. In fact, THE NIGHT BEFORE, I read this quote from "Me, Myself, and Lies" by Jennifer Rothschild, p 35:

"We give Satan the greatest weapons he uses against us: bitterness and unforgiveness. Pause and ask God if you would benefit from forgiving someone...or yourself?"

And responded this way [seriously, yall, I WROTE this in my Bible study book. I am just that mature.]: "I want to but I'm not finished throwing my baby fit. SO MATURE."
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So God has been using many people {including my own 4 yr old} to step all over my toes this week about a couple of issues I need to address in my life. None of them are huge, except that I've been letting them be a foothold for Satan to sneak his way into my life. After periods of feeling like He had nothing to say to me, I'm trying to be grateful for the bloodied toes. But they do make it kind of hard to walk sometimes...
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"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of GRACE and TRUTH...For the law was given through Moses; GRACE and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ." John 1:14, 17 (emphasis mine)

Mommie Moments 8.4.09 Details

First, read this wonderful post about how God is into the details of our lives. The comments are full of stories of how this is SO true.

After I read this, I thought something along the lines of, "Yeah, He's just not that into my details right now." I knew that wasn't true, but I've been feeling sorry for myself lately. There's really no good reason for my attitude (is there ever??) but I think it's the end-of-the-summer overwhelm-ed-ness. I've been feeling guilty for all the things I didn't get to this summer with the kids, all of the playdates we did not make happen, all of the situations in which I did NOT handle myself with grace and patience {that's putting it SO nicely...I was U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly, yeah-yeah, you ugly}, etc, etc, etc... {"MommyGuilt"}

And we were in the midst of VBS. I "taught" the 2 year olds, who were wonderful and cute and busy and playful and darling. But something didn't sit right all week. I couldn't get motivated with them. I just wanted to run away. And then it hit me Tuesday night that this was the class Ruby would have been in. These were supposed to be her little buddies. And she was not there. I don't always feel the void so tangibly, but I did that week.

I let myself be sad, cried a while, and felt much better. Somehow I just needed to recognize what was going on with me to be able to move past it. Wednesday night I had a much better attitude and was excited about the last night. {It might have helped that my big 3 had been with Memaw all day...ya think?!}

And God saw fit to send a precious little girl named Kin to our class that night. She had not been there the other nights. Her mama was at church to help translate for a group of refugees from Burma who were at VBS this week. That is a whole other post, but let me just say that being in the presence of souls who are hearing about our Mighty God and Sweet Savior for *the first time* is a pretty powerful thing. {Possibly the biggest understatement ever.}

So this darling little Kin came to class, bringing some {additional} spunk and...um...busy-ness to our little class {of 16 two-year-olds}. We glued cheerios to a picture of a mouth as we learned to thank God who made our mouths and sang "O Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say". Kin preferred dancing around the room while *eating* the cheerios {and who can blame her?}. She was here and there and everywhere, just enjoying herself wherever she went. I loved every minute of watching her be her busy little self.

And then all of a sudden, she was done with the busy-ness. Her little brown eyes turned toward the door and the tears began to flow. I picked her up, assuring her that her mommy would be back soon, and LOOK! Snacktime! But she was done. I held her like I do my one-year old, Luke, and gently laid her head down on my shoulder, just like I do him. But he usually pops his head right back up and wants down. She did not. She laid her sweet head down and fell fast asleep.

And for the rest of the night, I got to hold this darling little sleeping 2 year old ball of life, while I felt my wounded heart heal with every sweet sleepy breath. "He's into the details..."

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31

Mommie Moments 7.14.09 Ruby

I miss Ruby. How can you miss someone you never really knew? Never spoke to face to face? Whose voice you never heard? I don’t know her favorite color. Or what her hair smells like. Or whether she sticks her tongue out when she’s really concentrating. There are a million tiny treasures that I take for granted every day in every relationship I have, those mundane moments that I will not have with her here on earth.

So how can I miss someone I never really knew? I felt her little feet and hands and elbows and knees inside me. I felt her rumble around whenever I dared lean forward and invade her space. I felt her life. I am her mommy.

If you have walked (or rather crawled, or possibly been dragged kicking and screaming) through losing a child, I mourn with you. Whether it’s been 3 months or 30 years, the wound is still there. It may be fresh and gaping, or it may be long-since healed with a scar only you can make out. Or it might be like mine, appearing to be healed, but in reality being easily reopened. If you have not walked this particular road, you’ve undoubtedly suffered some loss or pain and can relate on some level.

My heart hurts today in a selfish way—for the daughter who no longer needs her mother because she is in the arms of her Father. For all of you who know this pain, I ask the Father to wrap us in His loving, capable, and sovereign arms today. May our pain be transformed into a “display of his splendor.”

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV

Mommie Moments 6.23.09 "It had to be said..."

"Please don't put your brother's toes in your mouth."

"Please quit saying the word 'hookers' over and over. It's called a 'hook'."

"No, you cannot throw that wrapper out the window."

"No, the police will not send your brother to jail for littering, but he might get a ticket."

"No, not a ticket to the movies, a ticket that says you have to pay $50 to the police."

"No, you do not get a Nintendo DS from the police when you give them $50. You just give them your money to help you remember not to throw trash out the window again."

"Please don't wipe that on me."

"Yes, that cheese does make you look like you have a mustache."

"Please don't put your feet above your head."

"It's probably just gas."

"Would you like it if someone held *your* nose closed and tried to breathe into *your* mouth?"

"Don't put your hands in the toilet again. Ever."

"Those peppers are very hot. Please do not even touch them."

"I know you *can* eat bugs and not die, but I'm asking you not to anyway."

"Remember 5 minutes ago when I suggested you not eat the peppers? Yep, this is why."

"Because I'm the mama! That's why!!!"

Mommie Moments 6.16.09

{Jack loves to tell stories! He tells me one--or twelve--every night before bed. I guess my bedtime stories got too boring, so he's making up his own. Usually they involve him *not* being scared of monsters or the dark or bugs. It always starts with, "Mommy, it's time for me to tell you a story."}

"Mommy, it's time for me to tell you a story. This is a story about something *very* important. This is the story about Jesus."

{Picture proud Mommy, thrilled to hear my four-year-old "tell me the story of Jesus"}

"One day in the morning, I picked up my room and cleaned the dishes and picked up the laundry. Then, a book was broken and I fixed it with tape. I tested it and it worked-ed. Then, one of the toys was broken and I fixed it with tools. And I squished *all* the flies. The end."

{At this point, I wonder what happened to the story about Jesus, but I'm thankful it's at least a story about helping instead of being scared monsters...AGAIN. And then, out of the same little mouth that not ten minutes prior had been saying things like, "Noah, you are a stink-brain", he spoke with faith like a child:}

"Mommy, wasn’t that a great story? I did ALL your chores."

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5

Mommie Moments 6.2.09

The difference between 7 and 4:

Noah (age7): Jack, guess which superhero I am…

Jack (age4): Uh, I don't know.

Noah: He's a DC Comics hero.

Jack: What's DC?

Noah: It's the people who make some of the characters. You know, like Spiderman is Marvel?

Jack: [blank stare]

Noah: Okay, here's another hint, he's the leader of Robin.

Jack: Robin!

Noah: No, he's the *leader* of Robin. Not the *answer* is Robin.

Jack: You mean Robin?

Noah: Uhhhhh! Okay, he has a foe named Joker.

Jack: What does "foe" mean?

Noah: "Foe" means someone who's bad and versus the good guy. {Can he verb the word "versus"?}

Jack: Oh, Joker!

Noah: No, his *foe* is Joker. Not the *answer* is Joker!

Jack: It's Joker!

Noah: Come on, Jack, he's the leader of Robin, he has a foe named Joker, and he's active at night.

Jack: You mean Robin's active at night? Or Joker's active at night.

Noah: Jack, his name starts with Bat and ends with Man.

Jack: Ummm….Joker!

Noah: No, it's Cat Woman, come on! {He's obviously inherited his daddy's sarcasm!}

Jack: Oh, Cat Woman! That's what I thought!

Noah: Uhhhhh! Jack, it's not Cat Woman. Is she the leader of Robin? No. He has pointy ears like this…boom!

Jack: Cat Woman!

Noah: HE, Jack, HE has pointy ears! Cat Woman is a SHE, not a HE! Here, I'll show you this action figure that looks like him…[holds up Batman figure] See?

Jack: OH, you mean Batman?!

Noah: Yes! You got it right, Jack! Great job!

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If this is the patience God gives a 7 year old with his little 4 year old brother, how much more does our All-Knowing and All-Understanding Father have with His beloved children?

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Mommie Moments, Interrupted

My Mommie Moments this week have taken on a new, for lack of a better word, preciousness. Instead of running to grab my camera or find a scrap of paper to record the latest funny thing someone said, I'm being driven to my knees in gratitude for another moment, and in prayer for Laura's healing.

Please join with Teresa, if you are able: "Would you please join me in a fast from 6:00 tonight (Wed.) to 6:00 tomorrow night (Thurs.)? At 9:00 tonight would you please pray with me either on your face or on your knees so God will hear a resounding prayer, and by our faith Laura will be healed? I believe if God told the apostles that this kind can come out only by prayer and fasting then this is the perfect time to see. Expect a miracle."

Mommie Moments 5.19.09

My maiden name is White, so my parents' house (actually a log cabin) is referred to in our family as "The White house". On Sundays as we were leaving church, we kids would ask if we could go somewhere to eat, and Dad would say, "Yeah, how 'bout the White house!" *Groan* Now the White house is about my favorite place to eat, although Jared will tell you I try my best to make up for lost time when it comes to eating out.

The rock at the White house {see photo on main page} is one of the main attractions. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are 127 trees {I could be exaggerating} on this 1+ acre lot.

When I was a kid, it was awfully important that the sticks be picked up off the ground before Dad could mow. Now that there are no kids living there, it's somehow not all that important :-)

Jared found the same to be true at his parents' house about the picking up of apples in their yard. . . it was an absolute necessity when HE lived at home, but once he moved out, suddenly it was not.

Dani {my mom} told the kids she'd pay them a penny a stick for what they picked up {MY kids get paid, I did not, just for the record}.

Maddy {firstborn} immediately picked up 175 and promptly requested payment in full.

Noah {middle child} picked up about 16 and spent the rest of the time complaining that there were just too many sticks and he's always the one who has to pick up sticks.

Jack {then baby, now younger middle child} picked up a single stick and spent the rest of the afternoon using it to find 28 different bugs.

That pretty much sums up the Smalling children. So which one are you?

Whatever our natural birth order, Romans 8:29 calls us "to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers".

Romans 8:15-17 says, "…you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Jesus is the firstborn, but God has allowed us, whatever our birth order, to essentially become co-firstborns with Christ. If ever a child deserved to be favored in a family, it’s Jesus the Son. But instead of giving the Firstborn the riches He alone actually deserves, the Father gives the rest of His children what we do NOT deserve {not even a little bit!}, a joint share of the inheritance that the Firstborn Himself paid.

Jesus did it ALL. He picked up ALL the sticks. Yet the Father offers us His inheritance. God doesn’t want us frantically picking up sticks, whining about how many sticks we have to pick up, or blatantly unaware that there are even sticks to be picked up. God wants us picking up sticks WITH HIM, not so much because the sticks need to be picked up, but because picking up sticks makes us LIKE HIS SON. If you will, we share in His “stick collecting” in order that we may also share in His glory.

I’ll confess that I’ve been a whiny middle child lately {even though I’m actually *not* the middle child}, complaining about the sticks I need to pick up right now. Let’s resolve together to pick up the sticks He’s laid out for us for this day and let Him use them to make us more like Him. Let’s enjoy His company, and let’s allow ourselves to believe Him when he says that He enjoys ours, too!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. *In love* he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with *his pleasure* and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:3-6

Mommie Moments 5.12.09

Have you ever had one of those days where you went to bed relieved that your house was so totally spotless {or just cleaner than the disaster area it usually is} that you actually think you might just manage to keep it that way for a few days {or at least minutes}?

And then on that very next morning, your husband takes the 2 school-age kids to school without waking you up? And before he leaves, he sets the preschooler up with marathon episodes of educational programming {or Scooby Doo}?

And by some miracle the baby sleeps until 9:00? And what are the chances that said preschooler would be quiet and not wake you up asking for a snack, a drink, to help him in the bathroom, to exclaim that Scooby just said, “Ruh-roh!” and isn’t that soooo funny!?

And so after sleeping until NINE in the morning, and waking up to a relatively clean house, and realizing that there is a strange glow streaming in your windows that has not been there for several weeks {hello, sun!}, could you even imagine that both of your boys would take simultaneous naps from 11am-1pm?

Then during that magical 11am-1pm timeframe, you have the luxury of checking email and reading blogs, while eating the last of the delicious tabouli leftover from the weekend {that no one else in the family would touch with a ten foot pole! Score!}?

And then you even have time for a nice uninterrupted phone conversation with your husband while he is eating his lunch in his car because it’s nice outside and there’s nowhere else at his office to eat outside?

And then you sit down to do your meditation for today {in peace and quiet, which is kind of important when trying to, you know, meditate} and are totally blessed by studying a single word {praise} for no less than a whole hour?

Have you ever had one of those days where even though your day was surprisingly relaxing and wonderful, you still have no idea what to write about for your first “Mommie Moments” post?

No? *blush* Umm, me neither…

Mommie Moments Introduction

My name is Melanie Smalling. Teresa has asked me to write a Melanie’s Mommie Moments column for the Titus 2 group. My first instinct was, “Thanks for asking, but no,” but after her very convincing email {if you’re here, that probably means you know how convincing she can be when God is leading her!} I also read, in an unrelated Bible study, “Perhaps God has opened a door for you, but you have no confidence. Is insecurity holding you back from the ministry God has for you? Oh, Beloved, God is faithful.” Well, I couldn’t very well ignore that, so here I am, insecurities and all!

I know Teresa through growing up at Greenwood Park and because she is a wonderful friend to my mama, Jeanne White, who has been serving at Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for 5 years with my Dad. We are excited to have them back in the US starting June 1st. Through the Hilltoppers for Christ at WKU and mission trips to Central America, I met and then married Jared Smalling 10 years ago on May 29th. We have 5 children: Madeline Jean, age 9 {yep, you did that math right}, who is the child that my parents wished for me when they said, “I hope you have a child just like you some day!”; Noah Murl, age 7, who lives life as a superhero, using his powers for good; Jack Everett, age 4, who is a verb in and of himself; Ruby Anne, who was born into heaven September 6, 2006, and whose brief life has forever changed us; and Luke Wesley, age 11 months, who is a bubbly bulldozer of a baby. I’m posting some pictures of my family in the photo section.

I am a stay-at-home mom {though I don’t actually stay at home most of the time} and so thankful to be doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do in this season of my life. We lived in Tennessee {Hendersonville and then Nashville} until November 2008 when we moved “to the farm” in Kentucky, where we have 25 acres, 6 cows, and 5 calves. As a reluctant farm wife who has a decidedly non green thumb and prefers to appreciate the outdoors from, well, the indoors, I am seeing God working in my life in a different way than I had envisioned. I’m trusting that God will continue to use the Titus 2 group to unite and encourage us as women of God. If at some point my writing is not accomplishing that, I will gladly go back to being a reader and commenter {which is where I’m comfortable!}. Look for my first Mommy Moment on Tuesday, May 12!