Easter Eggs and Spinach...

Saturday night we went to grab a bite to eat and had to hurry home to dye the Easter Eggs...On the way home, Brenly decides to ask us if the Easter Bunny is real? (I mean, she JUST turned 5) We asked her if the Easter Bunny brought her stuff and she said yes...and that seemed to end that conversation...Then she needs to know where the Easter Bunny lives? Ray and I look at each other and cracked up, not having a clue what the answer "should" be...Ray finally said that he lives in a big garden somewhere, and Brenly didn't buy it...She said,"I don't think that you have that right?" (KeKe called and said that he lived in Bunnyville, North Carolina and she half believed her)and then she decides that we need to go home and make cookies for the Easter Bunny (YIKES...forgot that on the list) However, we have been eating lots of lettuce/spinach at our house, so I told her that the Easter Bunny would probably enjoy a plate of Spinach better and she thought it was a great idea! Man, this Easter Bunny thing is hard work :)
Anyway, we get home to dye the eggs and I snapped a few shots...








and this is my favorite...right before Brenly went to bed, she decided that she needed to write the Easter Bunny a letter, with the spinach and blueberry muffin...and here it is-

she wrote all of our names down, Happy Easter and then worte Jesus is ALIVE! Is that not the most precious thing ever! Praise the Lord that He has RISEN!

A busy weekend...

filled with lots of fun things...makes for lots of cute pictures!
This weekend we left Thursday night to go to MiMi and Grandfather's house. When we arrived Aunt Jenna and Uncle Jay, Aunt Donna and Uncle Scott and Papa Mac and Grandma Mildred were all there. We were so excited to see all of them! and my children were cracking us up! Especially Avery...she has sprouted this new personality that is hilarious! Here are a few pics from the weekend and I guarantee that you can "see" her personality in them!
Here is a little "sassy"ness...

Here are "Daddy Eyes"

Here is Brenly's big ole smile


Crazy Face...

Me and My Babies...God has blessed me like crazy!!

Uppercase Living...

is now my new side business...Ray and I are SOOO close to being completely debt-free for the first time in our life, and so I have started selling Uppercase Living (vinyl wall stickers that you can stick ANYWHERE...and take it down when you are ready for something different. It doesn't damage the wall, floor etc.) to get us there even faster, AND because I love it! Not sure if you have ever heard of it, but it is pretty cute stuff. I bought one for my office, My mother-in-law bought some and then I bought my sister-in-law one to go in Rowan's nursery...so I thought that I would post a few pictures so you could see ...







If you are interested in anything for yourself...feel free to check out my website or contact me at kdmac02@gmail.com. I would love to let you look through a catalog!

Sunday April 19, 9:00am

I am getting baptized!

I know...its crazy...but really exciting to see God moving so powerfully in my life...

We have been doing a series at our church (www.highpointmemphis.com) on addictions...and how we ALL (because we are human) are addicted to sin and are in need of recovery! (we just started Celebrate Recovery this year) Anyhow, the pastor has been going over the 12 step program of recovery that Celebrate Recovery uses to help addicts! It has been a very powerful series and Chris (pastor) has reminded us that we can either be addicted to the deeds of the flesh or that we can be 100% addicted to God! However a large majority of Christians tend to stay in neutral, not really being addicted to sin, and not addicted to God either! The problem with being in the middle is that we have become comfortable with our sin...not realizing how even the "smallest" (not that any sin is "small" to God) sin can separate us from Christ! While being in the middle we tend to start comparing ourselves to other Christians (I am doing fine because my sin is nothing like theirs) instead of comparing ourselves to CHRIST...and when we do, we start realizing that we are NO WHERE near where we should be! So my prayer over the past several weeks would be that I would just be ON FIRE for Christ, being 100% addicted to HIM and Him alone!
The night of Avery's 2nd birthday, God woke me out of a dead sleep and needed to have a conversation with me. Not that I audibly heard him, but in my heart He gently asked this question "I know that you are SAYING that you want to be 100% addicted to me, BUT what are you going to DO about it! How are you going to show me that you are willing to get our of your comfort zone and truly be addicted to me?!" My response was to get baptized (I was baptized as a child, but I feel like God has called me to "get dunked" again to profess to HIM and everyone else that I am willing to serve God 100%!) I then had to "wrestle" with Satan for the next several hours...I kept questioning my response to God...I've been a Christian ALL my life, I have served Him in ALOT of areas in my church, I have already been baptized, etc... and then I realized that because I had again stepped up my decision to be 100% obedient and addicted to God, that SATAN was on the prowl...trying to get me to back down from the promise that I had made with God!
ISo Saturday, April 19th at 9:00 is when I am getting baptized. If you are in town and can make it, I would love to have you stand to support me. If you aren't able to make it (which is completely fine) Please pray for me as I share my story.
I pray that God will work through me..that my words would not be mine at all but that they would be HIS words, and that out of my obedience someone else might be able to resonate with what God has told me! In my video I talked alot about my mom who passed away 10 years ago to breast cancer( I struggled for the first year after mom died. She was most definitely my spiritual leader in my life...and all of a sudden I was without a mom, best friend and spiritual leader! But God, as always is faithful and has brought me on a journey of a lifetime and I have come to know who I am in Christ for myself...and what a wonderful think to know!)...and I feared that I would look like an emotional idiot...and I did...but I hope that God will still be able to use me even through my emotional meltdown :)
I love each and everyone of you and I am so thankful that each of you has played such an important part in who I am and who I have become!
Love in Him,
Kim<><
"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer"
Psalm 19:14

Changes are coming...

and my baby is registered as a Kindergartner :(
2009 has already been a year of changes...and it promises to continue that trend throughout the rest of the year!! I can honestly say that I don't LOVE change, but all of our changes have definitely been from the Lord, so who can't be excited about them! A while back I posted

this

about us trying to make a decision on where Brenly would start Kindergarten...and at the time, we truly felt like God was calling us to stay put and give Macon Road a try...and we were very willing, trusting that God would allow the extra money for that to take place! The more we prayed about it and truly thought out the logistics of it, we realized that it just wasn't going to be possible! I am not sure how many of you know our schedule (or how many of you actually care? just remember that I use my blog as my diary! :)but it is CRAZY and HECTIC, even without Brenly being in school! I get up every morning at 5:30 (well, that is suppose to be the time that I wake up...most days it is probably more like 5:45ish:) I get ready, have to start grabbing the children out of bed by 6:15, leave my house NO LATER than 6:25, drive an hour to the baby sitter's house, drop both of the kids off, fight rush hour traffic, and arrive at my work right at 8:15 (which is what time my first patient should be seated!) In case you aren't good at math, or don't feel like adding all that up...I am in the car for approx. 1 hour and 45-55 minutes every morning (except Wednesdays...I'm off!) Now, all of that is WITHOUT dropping Brenly off at school...so we would have to leave even earlier-YIKES!!!!
Our afternoon is just as crazy and I will spare you all the details, but we usually don't arrive home until 6:15-6:30 (again, that is without having to pick Brenly up separately...It would probably end up being like 6:30-6:45ish, if not 7:00) As soon as we got home, I would have to fix dinner, eat, bathe the girls and Brenly would immediately have to go to bed...after all, she would have to get up at 6:00 the next morning! (Even typing all that gives me a big headache!)
So about a month or so ago, as we were praying through all of this craziness, Ray came to me and asked me to talk to Kristy about living with her in Collierville for a few weeks, until he could get transferred! I remember standing in the kitchen, looking at him like he had lost his mind. To know Ray, you would know that SHELBY CO. would be the LAST county in this state that he would ever want to work! and here he is asking me about living there! The following day, he follows up on what I was suppose to have accomplished and I explain that I hadn't done my research b/c I really didn't think he was serious! Well, I was wrong...He felt like God was pointing him in this direction (even if it is ONLY for a season!), he continued to explain that the girls and I had sacrificed ALOT for the past year and a half, so that he was able to have his DREAM JOB...and now it was his turn to sacrifice a little for the sake of our family! He will still be a wildlife officer, its just when you live in a metropolitan area, the job completely changes! He was talking to Brenly about the possibility of us moving...asking if she wanted to move closer to church (he used church because she complains that it is SOOOO far!) and her answer was this, "Yes Daddy, I do want to move because I have to be in the car ALL the time!" He felt like that was God confirmation in this decision! SOOOOO all that to say....WE ARE COLLIERVILLE bound! CRAZY, I know...and yesterday happened to be the day that we had to pre-register Brenly for Kindergarten...

It's official...Brenly is a Collierville Dragon!!!and she is a little nervous about the whole idea. Good thing we have 3 1/2 months to prepare her!
Please pray for all of us as we work through all the changes...and more importantly that we would be in God's will through all of it...AND if you have a house in Collierville that you want to GIVE us, that would GREAT! :)

NOOOOO, its a sheep!

If you have read any of my previous posts, OR seen any pictures of my Avery...You will know all about "Lamby" and how important he (Avery claims its a boy!) is in her life...He has experienced almost every milestone in her life, always being right by her side! We were at a baby shower for Heather and Rowan and she happened to get a present that was a cuddley lamb! Heather looked at Avery and said, "Oh, look, now I have a "lamby"! Avery shot her a look and proceeded to be very adamant and confirmed, "That's not a Lamby...that's a SHEEP!"
A couple of days ago...Avery found a beany baby lamb that was laying around...Ray said, "Where did you get that Lamby?" Again, disgusted she hollered, "It's not a Lamby...It's a SHEEEEEEP!!!!" and this is the face she made as she was explaining it...

So for you own sake...please KNOW the difference...Hers is a "Lamby"...ALL others are SHEEP!

I'm gonna be an aunt...

in a few short weeks! I can't believe that my sister-in-law is due to have her baby boy...Rowan Charles is due to be in this world anywhere from April 30-May 5 and we are soooo excited! A few weeks ago we attended a shower for her and Rowan and had a great time! I had to snap a few pregnant pictures, because something tells me that she hasn't taken alot of them!


Rowan...we cannot wait until you finally get here...We pray that you will be a happy and healthy little man...and very laid back...because, well, your momma is NOT! (Love you Nay Nay!)

She ALWAYS remembers...

every holiday, every anniversary, every birthday...ALWAYS so thoughtful, recalling memories that she has, how much she loved her, and how much she still misses her...and it just helps! It helps to know that just because she is gone, that she isn't forgotten...that although its 9 1/2 years, there are other people that miss her as much as I do!
I am talking about Mary Simpson, my mother's very best friend in this world...and she is about the sweetest, most thoughtful person that I have ever met in my entire life!
Almost every memory of mom's childhood included Mary...they met very early on, I want to say in first grade, when mom (along with her family of course) was transferred to Memphis from the small town of Sharon, TN. (feel free to correct me Mary, you should write a book :)
They were inseparable from the start (and who wouldn't want to be friends with such a thoughtful girl!) Later in life Mary was dating a boy named Chester...Brenda (mom) was spending the weekend at Mary's house and Mary was dying to go spend time with her boyfriend! Mary's dad refused to let her go, UNLESS there was a boy that mom could hang out with! Mary assured her dad that she had already taken care of it! They wind up spending the afternoon at Chester's house...and little did Mary know...that the first meeting between Brenda and Chester's brother (Mike) would be (that would be my dad and my mom!) the first day of the rest of their lives...OBVIOUSLY they got married...however unfortunately enough, Chester was killed in a automobile accident involving a drunk driver and so Mary's dreams of marrying Chester weren't quite fulfilled! God has certainly blessed her with an amazing husband, Jeff and they have a beautiful life together. And although Mary and Mom didn't end up being sister-in-laws as they had dreamed of, they did remain lifelong friends to the very end...And Mary continues to be an amazing friend of mom's! I can't emphasize to you enough about how thoughtful she is...and always has been!
Since mom's death, there has never been a holiday, a birthday, an anniversary, a birth (Brenly, Avery and Baylee--she wasn't physically there...but she has always been there for us (Chad and I) in spirit!)that she has missed, she thinks all of us, she prays for all of us, she loves all of us...ALL THE TIME! She sends Chad and I (as well as our kids)notes/gifts all the time...reminding us how much she loves us!
She has even given me items of her own to remind me how much she still loves mom and misses her just like we do! She presented me with a strand of REAL pearls that Chester had given her for Christmas the year before he was killed, she sent me a book that mom had written in after that tragic event in her life, She had a Bible (the exact same Bible that mom had given to Mary and Jeff for their wedding present..and it had mom's handwriting in it) rebound and had our names (Ray and I) embossed on the cover... I mean....I could go on and on about all of the ways that she has been so thoughtful over the years!
Tomorrow would've been mom's 60th (wow!!) birthday!


I can't believe it...I just checked it with a calculator...and what a party we would've thrown! But God had other plans and she will again celebrate her birthday with Jesus in heaven (I am sure that Jesus probably throws a better party than we could ever imagine!) I remember exactly 10 years ago...Dad, Chad and I came up with this elaborate plan to throw mom a surprise 50th birthday party...and we were going to surprise her with a brand new car...My brother worked for Chrysler(as still does, for now...Praise the Lord!) and so he brought all of these car brochures home and said that Chrysler was doing a survey on what kind of car people would like...make, model, color, etc...little did mom know, that she was actually picking out her very own car...Dad and Chad worked on that end of it, while I was busy planning a huge birthday bash at the Tutor's house...With much help from EVERYONE...we were able to pull it off without a hitch...Mom was SO excited! I remember the look on her face when she saw everyone that she loves in the same room...all there to celebrate her life, and the last birthday that she would celebrate on this earth! What an awesome memory! (however that was NOT the subject of this post...OOPS!)
ANYWAY, tomorrow is mom's birthday and when I got to work this morning, this email was waiting for me...
SUBJECT: Thinking of you and your sweet mom...
Hi, Kim! You have especially been on my mind as I always remember your Mom's birthday on April 7th. From the earliest days of our friendship, we would always celebrate around Easter which has stuck with me all of these years! I remember birthday games and Easter egg hunts all wrapped up with the same candied eggs! They are still my favorite indulgence!!
With the sweet memories of her in mind, I have sent a bracelet to you from Laura Gibson Designs. Laura is a jewelry designer in Tucson, Arizona, and she and I worked together at IBM many years ago in San Francisco. Laura became a jewelry designer some years ago, and if you go to her website, you will see that she has enjoyed recognition in many circles.
Laura designed the bracelet in commemoration of breast cancer victims and in support of the cure of the disease. At Laura's website, www.lauragibson.com , you may see a copy of a an issue of Ladies' Home Journal where Robin Roberts (Good Morning America) is wearing this bracelet.
Bren was the sweetest woman I have ever known, and I hope that this gift may be a reminder of what a dear friend she was to me. I am so grateful to remain in touch with you and your dear family. God has blessed me greatly by the most special of friendships with your Mom. It was forged from the moment we met!!
I hope all of your family is well and happy and that you have the Happiest of Easters! Please give your beautiful girls a special hug from me!! :)
Much love,
Mary
P.S. I'm guessing you will receive the bracelet by mid-week.
(Can you imagine that I am a little emotional today after receiving such an amazing email, from such an amazing woman!)
Mary, I can't thank you enough for who you were in Mom's life and who you continue to be in our lives! You have remained a constant source of support for Chad and I and we can't even begin to express our gratefulness to you! And even though mom isn't here to celebrate her 60th birthday with us...We will certainly remember her tomorrow...recounting all the things that we love about her, all the fun memories we have about her and how God blessed her life...one of those many blessing is YOU! God really out did himself when her blessed mom with a friend in you...and because of that...Chad and I are still reaping the benefits!
Thank you for ALWAYS being so thoughtful...One of my many prayers is that I, too can learn from you in how to be so thoughtful and so self-LESS ALL the time! May God bless you ALWAYS...and may you remember that you are LOVED more than you will ever know!


...and yes, she STILL looks like a million bucks :)

Jesus will help me...

certainly, right? I really feel like that is what Avery must have been thinking yesterday! We have been TRYING for weeks, perhaps even months to get Avery to understand potty training...and she really gets it- well, the concept anyway...she completely understands that the you pee pee in the potty and she has that down for the most part! The "other" she just can't grasp...or let's just say that she WON'T grasp it...she is red-headed, ya know! Yesterday we let her run around without a diaper b/c she just seems to get that there is nothing down there to catch whatever falls! So later in the morning she realized that she needed to poo, BUT she REFUSED!!! We made her sit there for 30 minutes and she just cried and cried REFUSING to do what needed to be done. So after much deliberation, we let her get up and placed a diaper on her bottom and put her to bed (it was her nap time, not for punishment!) She sleeps forever, and when Ray finally went in there to get her! He got her down and was loving on her and then all of a sudden she wanted down and went "to hide" I called for her and she slowly proceeded to make her way to me and immediately we smelled what she was up too! I looked at her and went through the same spell that we go through everytime
Me/Ray :"Where do you go poo poo?"
Avery: "in da potty"
Me/Ray: "why didn't you go to the potty?"
Avery: "Be-tause (or Because)"
Me/Ray: "Because WHY?"

Except yesterday in the middle of our "same ole" conversation...she could tell that I was very frustrated at her and she looked up at me in mid sentence and started whispering. "JE-JUS, JE-JUS" As if to say... I know you are mad...but remember Jesus...he forgives and forgets...Why can't you?!?!?!

My kids truly crack me up...and I love it that they are relying on JE-JUS to save them in the midst of there battles :)

"It has given me great joy...

to find my children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us" 2John 1:4

This week I have seen witnessed two separate instances when both of my girls are 'walking in the truth' and I don't think that there is anything else in this world that makes me happier! The first time was Monday morning... we were making our daily journey from home to Denise's house and I had K-Love on and I was just singing away! Usually both of the girls sleep until we arrive however, Monday was a little different! Avery has this terrible cough that wakes her up (alot) and so she had just gotten over her coughin spell! This song from Mercy Me "FINALLY HOME" came on and I love it because it reminds me so much of my momma...so I sing it even louder!


I'm gonna wrap my arms around my daddy's neck and tell him that I've missed him and tell him
all about the man that i became and hope that it pleased him there's so much i want to say
there's so much i want you to know.

[chorus]
When i finally make it home when i finally make it home.

I replace all the words that need to be replaced to fit my situation...I'm gonna wrap my arms around my momma's neck and tell her that I've missed her, etc...

I was just singing away and when the song got to the chorus...I heard this little voice behind me singing even louder than me..."WHEN I FINALLY MAKE IT HOME"


...and it made me smile! what a wonderful imagine that I had in my head...When we finally get to heaven and my momma FINALLY gets to meet my kids! Oh my goodness...it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it! I mean don't get me wrong...I am EXCITED about seeing Jesus for the first time...I CANNOT even imagine that, but I also CANNOT wait to see my momma-and for her to meet my kids! So exciting...and to hear my little one belting out about finally making it HOME...to heaven! She has lots to learn, but I fully believe that she is on her way to grasping even a little about the truth!
On Sunday, Brenly brought home this envelope that was sealed and all she would say is that it was for Grace (her cousin) I kept inquiring what it was and she just kept saying, we need to mail it to Grace! Well yesterday Avery found it and decided that she was going to be just as curious as her momma and she tore it opened...Brenly found the paper on the floor and was distraught that we couldn't mail it!

I promised her that I would bring it to work and mail it...so since it was already out of the envelope, she decided that she would add a little to it! She found a sharpie marker and started asking me how to spell all these different words...None of which seemed like they went together...words like to, from, swing set, grace, more, cross...I finally asked her what she was writing and she said "I'll show you in a minute...and how do you spell "O"...I snickered to myself and replied "O"...frustrated she gave me a look and said, no I mean, like OH YEAH!!!...I responded by telling her, "O-H"...so after a while she brought me the paper and this is what she had come up with all by herself...


It originally said
to grace
from Brenly
Love you

then she decided that she was going to draw her swingset (or sVing in Brenly's case :) and draw her and Grace playing on it...and then she decided that she needed to tell Grace this:

OH one more thing (I had to add the word 'thing' because she had forgotten to write it in) Jesus' cross for Grace (although the for was after Grace's name! AND nevermind the fact that her J and her S's are backwards...well worry with details later:)

Is that not the cutest thing ever! That she would think all by herself to remind Grace that Jesus' cross was for her (and everybody else...) but what encouragement!
Do you realize that Jesus cross is for YOU ?!?!

It just made my heart happy yesterday! To know that both of my children are hearing the word and absorbing it...even though they may not FULLY understand!

Lord, grant me the wisdom to continue growing my children for your glory! I pray that you bless our efforts and that you would allow them to live life to the fullest, praising your name forever!