To Be So Inspired....

It's hard for me to believe that we have been in South Carolina for over a year.. Time flies when you are having fun. It was Feb. of 2008 when we decided that moving into a preaching ministry position might be the step we needed to take.

On the way back to West Virginia from visiting South Carolina for the first time, on Feb. 26th, 2008, Adam and I were discussing the changes that making such a move would mean for our life.. We talked about the stories that I've always heard about "PK's" aka, Preacher's kids. I talked about how I would break the preacher's wife mold because my disposition is the furthest thing than what one might expect from a preacher's wife.. We talked about a lot of fears that I had in my mind about taking such a huge leap but we also talked about the possibilities of being with a church and in a position that we wanted to stay with long term and how wonderful it would be to have a church family for our children to grow up in. We were contemplating all the big things that the future held for us and how our lives would change forever and then... I got a phone call on my cell phone... And all the thoughts and fears about what a career move would mean for our family became so small and irrelevant because of what I heard on the other end.

Dana, this is your cousin Tracy. April went to the doctor today. They couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. They are taking her in for another ultrasound but it isn't looking good. Please be praying... I'll call you back when we know more.

I am the youngest of 15 grandchildren. Ten on my mother's side and five on my father's side. My cousin Rick was the closest to my age being three years older than me. My mother is from Illinois. Since we have lived in locations that required a lot of travel to see our immediate famlies, we haven't made many trips to see our extended family up north. April is my cousin Rick's wife and I had only met her one time at a family reunion.

My take on life when things go wrong has always been, "it's okay, nothing that is precious to us has been harmed. We still have everything that is dear to our hearts and we can make it through anything else".. But, what would I do if we didn't? Honestly, I can't answer that question for you.. And, I pray that I never will. But I have seen upfront and personal, someone that can...

I got a phone call back just a little bit later telling me that just a week and half before the scheduled c-section, Jacob was gone.. Tracy and I sat there trying to answer all the questions that there were no answers for. When we finally got off the phone, I sat there, driving (I get terribly car sick so I always drive) trying to see through my tears. Tracy and I had not even talked on the phone for a couple of years but at that place in time, faith was our bond. In the following days, as April and Rick were living the most terrifying experience they have ever faced, Tracy and I talked helplessly on the phone and prayed.... We prayed prayers begging God for comfort and prayers of anger with a lack of understanding. Chloe was six months old. I sat and held my baby in my arms and as she looked up at me and smiled, I sobbed at the thought of the longing I knew that would be in a mother's heart that would never hold her baby and see him smile.

I saw April once again at my grandmother's funeral in Dec. of 2008. Chloe and I had made a very long 12 hour trip by ourselves to Illinois. Emma was still in school and with Christmas being just around the corner, we felt like the best thing to do was to have Adam stay here and take care of things at church and with Emma. He did a great job with filling in for me as room mother for Emma's class Christmas party btw. When we got to the funeral home on the same day that we had travelled, Chloe was not in the mood to sit still. I pretty much spent the time that I was there chasing her or trying to hold her still. By the time that we got to the graveside service for my grandmother, Chloe was done and was making no attempts to hide it. I sat in the van with her while she screamed. I have to admit that I was extremely frustrated. Even though I knew that behavior like that was to be expected from a 16 month old that had travelled clear across the country, I was frustrated that I had made that long and exhausting trip only to miss the whole funeral. But as I sat there feeling sorry for myself, I caught a glimpse of April out the window. She was standing there, with empty arms. And, at that point, the only thought that came into my head was, "I'm sure that April would love to be sitting in the car with a crying baby".

There have been several things that have happened lately that have put things in perspective for me. Our little bout with Chloe and the cardiologist, other family members that have had trying times, and people that I love considerably that are having marriage problems at this very moment. I think we often get to thinking that we are above those sort of things happening to us. But, I have become all too aware that we are all only one event away from having our lives turned upside down. When I think about the small things that aggravate me that don't really matter and how there are people out there who truly have a reason to be angry about their situation but choose a better way, I know how very far away I really am from being the person that God wants me to be. I'm so thankful that God has given me glimpses into what could be to show me how very blessed I truly am. And at the same time, I pray that He never lets me see that full picture.

A couple of weeks ago, I got the privilege of really getting to know April. Rick and April and their four children (April tells that story on her blog) stopped for a night's stay at our house on their way to Orlando. I really think there should be some sort of class that one can take that will tell them the things they should do and say when talking to someone that has experienced such a loss. I have to admit that I was a little nervous. I didn't want to ignore such a huge event that no doubt changed forever the person that she is but I also didn't want to bring up something that she wasn't yet comfortable talking about. I have a baby bed in our guest room. I wondered if having it there would bring up memories that she didn't want to re-live. Thankfully, April eased my anxiety about the matter very quickly. She talked about Jacob open and honestly and in just a few hours, we had poured our hearts out to each other and I knew without a doubt that April would be someone that I would continue to feel connected to long after that night.

I marveled at April's faith and how somehow even though she had experienced the worst pain possible, she had been able to see the good that had come from such a horrific experience and unselfishly seen through her pain to think about others. She talked about the difficult months that followed losing her child and how it was at my grandmothers funeral where the preacher talked about how our grandmother would be there to greet us with our favorite breakfast that "something clicked" and she was able to finally see that she would one day be with Jacob once again. And most importantly, she talked about the need to honor Jacob and make good come from such a horrible situation. She talked about how she felt that God wanted her to speak out to others that are hurting. She said that she would one day like to write a book and mentioned my blog and how she had wondered if the place to start was starting a blog of her own. I encouraged her to do just that. So, that is where you come in. Please go and visit April's little space in our cyber world and welcome her. Leave her a comment and click on follow and add her to your list. I feel sure that you will be blessed by her as well as she will be blessed by you.

I didn't end up taking the baby bed down as I had contemplated. I wanted April to know that when she does have the baby that her heart is longing for, there will be space for him/her in our home as well as the rest of the family. I hope that I get to spend more time with April in the future. I pray that April will always know the impact she has on other people's lives by sharing her experience. I know that because of my experience with her, my life has forever been changed.

And for the rest of us, may we never forget those who are hurting, may we savor every blessing that God gives us and may we be a blessing to those we encounter.

Blessings,
Dana

Are we there yet Papa Smurf?

Will you be traveling this summer? I don't know if traveling with your family is as fun as traveling with mine but, I would almost rather have a tooth pulled. Neither one of my girls have the ability to sit still so after a few hours, the whining sets in and I myself don't have the ability to tolerate whining. So, I thought it was quite ironic that I came across this site right after a road trip to Alabama. But, I thought that just maybe, that there is some poor mother out there that is carefully packing suitcases to make sure that her lovely's have everything they might possibly need. She will no doubt forget some necessity of her own in an effort to make sure that she doesn't forget the stuffed lamb that is missing an ear and once was white but now is brown and smells of who knows what because it's absence will result in a vacation of sleepless nights. But, maybe, just maybe there is hope that she can keep her sanity in the car...

And I will definitely be printing off some of these fun little games for our next trip.



You can print them too by clicking HERE

Fun Friday = Giveaway

Since I have been so sporadic in blog postings lately, I decided that I needed to try to win back some bloggy love by doing a giveaway.

My criteria for fashion these days consists of trying to find something that is fitted enough that it doesn't make me look larger than I am but not so fitted that I look like an old woman trying to pour myself into teenager clothing. I must be able to bend over to pick up small toys without showing my tail. It shouldn't wrinkle after children have wallered (there's a southern word for you) on me and if ironing is necessary, you can forget it! Honestly, by the time I get my girls dressed with their matching outfits and pretty hairbows, I resort to whatever is clean and can be put on without a fuss. Usually, this amounts to jeans and a t-shirt. As far as jewelry goes, I rarely stray from my silver hoop earrings, silver pendant necklace and wedding rings (I know, stylish huh?)

So, when I approached Adam's Aunt Vicki who owns the etsy site, SoMuchImagination, asking her if she'd like to give away a piece of jewelry on my blog and she asked me what I had in mind, I gave her the above description. I further explained that it would be nice for all of us hard working moms to have something that we can throw in with our hard working wardrobes to spice things up a bit. But most importantly, since most of us have kids pulling on us all day long, IT MUST NOT BREAK EASILY!!!

So, I now bring forth to you, the super fun, TUSCANY BRACELET. Aunt Vicki not only made a bracelet for me to share with my fellow bloggers but she also made one for me! Yea for me! Thanks Aunt Vicki!




So, here's what you need to know about the giveaway.. It is open to everyone within the continental US. You do not have to have a blog to enter. Winner will be randomly picked and announced here on Thursday July 2.

How to enter:
1. For one entry: In a comment, leave me your e-mail address for Vicki's address list so that she can e-mail you when she's got a new piece of jewelry. If you aren't comfortable leaving your e-mail address here, you can e-mail me at everythingpictured@gmail.com.

2. For one entry: become one of my followers and leave me a comment telling me that you did. Or, if you're already a follower, leave me a comment telling me you are.

3. And for 5 entries: blog about my giveaway on your blog and comment telling me that you did.

4. For 5 additional entries, go to Vicki's etsy page and come back here and tell me what your favorite item is and why.

So, you can potentially have 12 entries.

Blessings,
Dana

Do you have a unique product? Let me help promote your product by hosting a giveaway for you. Contact me at everythingpictured@gmail.com.

I'm so sorry....

my dearest Emma that your heritage lies in Alabama. I'm so thankful that your daddy came along and rescued me from my redneck family. And also my dear, I must beg for your forgiveness for the way that I am about to sabotage your birthday. I just can't pass up the chance to expose the humiliation that these significant women in my life have caused. Especially when one of them just posted a picture of me on facebook. IN A BATHING SUIT... But dear Emma, just remember, it could be worse. Think about your sister... She was born in West Virginia.

Emma and my mom planned out Emma's birthday party over the phone months before we made our trip. Emma had very specific requests for a tea party. I am still in contact with several friends that are still in the area but every last one of them have boys. Wanting to keep all of their masculinity intact, we decided that my mother, sister, my Aunt Nancy, myself and Chloe would have to suffice as her tea party guests. My mother had a list of items that she was to obtain. I must make it known that I do not allow my daughter to give me orders nor did my mother, her daughter. But as you might know, grandmother's tend to throw every motherly instinct that they have out the window and let their grandmotherly instincts take over, therefore, making a 180 turn in the direction of spoiling the involved child ROTTEN. In an effort to keep up her reputation of being at Emma's every becken call, my mother made a list as Emma named off the items that were of upmost importance to make her tea party a success. Among other things, the list included: fans, gloves, crystal tea cups and plates, roses, and mixed flowers. My mother and Emma talked regularly during the weeks that led up to the charming event. Pretending to be sure that she hadn't forgotten a detail, Emma repeatedly asked my mother to read her the list. I'm pretty sure that it was actually her clever way of making sure that my mother really did write the items down and that she was making it a top priority to keep up with the list. But my mother, being true to her word, found every last item and the the birthday party was set in motion.

It started out fairly normal. Emma opened gifts and blew out the candles. We all sang the traditional birthday song and even skipped the banjo accompaniment.


But, as fate would have it, trying to get my family to have a sort of sophisticated party could probably be equated to the difficulty of taking a monkey to the opera...

And here is where it all began to go off course.. My parents got a great price on an RV a couple of years ago. And Emma's favorite place to play at my mom's house is in the RV. It just made sense that with the RV being Emma's favorite, that we'd have the tea party in the RV. This story would maybe be what you would get if say, the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" and the movie "RV" had a baby... Did I mention that the reason my parents got a great price on the RV was because it was made in 1986?
I promise that we do not allow alchoholic beverages at children's birthday parties..

Besides, my mom and dad had finished up the last of the moonshine earlier that day.

Emma must have inherited some class from the Ellis side of the family because that child did not deviate away from the English accent that she has perfected in anticipation of this great event..


Somewhere, the crystal became paper plates. But if you look closely at the picture below, you will see that Emma did drink out of a very pretty pink crystal cup.

I know my dear Emma that you had imagined that you would have a tea party fit for a princess. And I promise my dear, next year, I'll make it up to you and splurge and have you a real nice party at McDonald's.

And I myself, sat and watched in horror and disbelief that I could have come from such uncivilized people. Because I myself am much too regal to ever participate in such shinanigans..


WHOOPS.. Who would have thought that my simple daddy could use my fancy camera???

PS: We visited many people that we love on our tour around Alabama. I have many more pictures to post including lots of pictures of cousins and friends and some of my beautiful niece and some shots of my handsome nephew doing his awesome wakeboard stunts and I hope to get those up soon.

Hello from Birmingham!

There are a lot of thoughts and questions running through my head right now..

1. Will heaven really have streets of gold and if it does, won't that be kind of tacky? I mean, haven't you seen pictures of Donald Trump's place? Surely that was a metaphor.

2. Have you ever met the kind of person that is frequently wrong but never in doubt? man that annoys me.

3. Or worse, have you met one of those people that has to out do you on everything? Those kind of people seriously make me want to take up poop scooping as a hobby just to watch them try to do it better than me.

4.What makes mother's feel the need to compete? Why can't we all just say, "hey, this is hard. Some days are better than others" and support and help each other?

5. Why is a parkway called a parkway when you drive on it but a driveway is called a driveway when you park on it?

6. Alabamians really do have a thick accent..

7. Was God just bored and decided to jazz things up a bit when he created women to fall in love with a species that couldn't possibly understand them?

8. Should I really expect my husband to understand me when I don't understand myself?

9. Does having a minivan really make me old and uncool?

10. Why didn't Obama respond to my e-mail where I laid out the most fabulous stimulus plan ever? Doesn't he know how important I am?

11. Why won't they close Walmart and let me shop alone without having to wait thirty minutes to get to the feminine products that I can't do without while the little blue haired lady reads all the ingredients on the package of the hemorrhoid medicine. Don't they know how important I am?

12. Why wasn't I thankful that it was the blue haired lady instead of the little old man that tested out every single one of those cheap Walmart colognes the last time I was brave enough to venture into Walmart. OLD SPICE, JUST GET THE OLD SPICE!

13. Did throwing the starfish back in really make a difference?

And so many more random thoughts and questions.. But, I can't land on anything specific so feel free to answer any of the above questions. It would be fabulous to check some of these of the list of things that keep me awake at night. But tonight, since I've not posted in a while, I thought I'd just give a good old fashion "we're still alive and kickin" update.

I am in Alabama at my parents. Adam went to camp and I just couldn't bring myself to drag two little ones and wasn't up for another week of single parenting. The four of us left on June 4th, and went and had a great visit with Adam's family (Yes, I do sing "The Adam's Family" theme song in my head every time I say that). Then, we went to our college Christian Student Center reunion at Troy where we got to see some of our old college friends. I was also very excited to see Stephanie, one of the girls that was in our youth group in Panama City that married one of the guys that we went to college with (that isn't as weird as it sounds. He is only five years older than her. We were very young when we were PC) My parents came and picked up the girls and me in Troy (no that is not incorrect grammar. It is the girls and me, not the girls and I. My parent's wouldn't come to pick up I). Adam will come over here to get us next week. Anyway, we miss daddy terribly but we're having a nice time living on central time, sleeping late but, realizing that it's still early when we wake. It's been nice to be away from everything. We had gotten so busy there at the end of the school year and I really needed some time away where my cell phone gets no service so that I can focus on them. And, of course, having doting grandparents around that consider it a favor when you let them do something for your kids is awesome! We are so blessed to have both sets of our parents so active in our lives. I've also got the chance to hang out with a friend from high school and I'm hoping to meet up with a few more before I leave. I have of course taken tons of pictures but, I had gotten backed up on some portraits I had taken and needed to upload them and my parents computer is as slow as getting off those last few baby pounds (Christmas comes quickly to me these days) so, hopefully, I will get them uploaded one day. But no promises, because we all know by now that half the time, I never get the pictures uploaded. It's like the modern day version of those thirty rolls of 35mm fill my mom has sitting in her middle dresser drawer still not developed.

And if you are the one person that has realized how important I really am and are just dying to get a hold of me. Even out in the boonies in Argo Alabama where my cell phone gets no service, windstream somehow made their trail up a red clay dirt road somewhere and I do have access to the internet.

Blessings,

Dana

Happy Mother's Day-- A tribute to my mother...

Yeah, I know it's two weeks late. But our job is hard! I think we should be celebrated every day. Besides, better late than pregnant right? Okay, since like 80 percent of my friends are pregnant right now, for most anyone that would read this, that isn't true but for me.. oh yes, better late than pregnant.

I really have trouble writing for a specific date.. It kind of reminds me of my honeymoon. It's like you have an appointment to well... you know... It just takes all the spontaneity away.. Nothing like putting the pressure on like having an appointment to have sex. Yes, I did just say that on my blog. Seriously, like you didn't know what people do on their honeymoons?

But, I did think about what I wanted to write on my blog about Mother's Day on Mother's Day and I'm actually proud of myself for writing it because well, I still haven't written a New Years post.. Anyway, this is how my Mother's Day went..

I woke up with a presentation from Emma and Chloe of a homemade coupon book. Since my love language is not gift giving and is totally, acts of service and because I like to pinch a penny until it screams, this was right up my alley. On the front of the book, it said. "Re-usable and never expires". And inside were the coupons: free hugs and kisses, clean the playroom without complaining, clean my bedroom without complaining, and free foot rub. With no expiration! Man, this is going to bite them in the tail. Don't think I won't be pulling those things out when they are teenagers. And when Emma is thirteen and she gets out of the car at school hoping that her friends don't notice that her mom dropped her off in her pajamas oh yes, then I will be whipping out my free hugs and kisses coupon. And I hate to see what Chloe is going to do to Emma when she figures out the mess her big sister has gotten her into. Wow, the feeling of power is addictive! Then, Adam also gave me some coupons for various helpful things. Now I realize that this would totally tick some women off but I really get irritated when someone spends the money I have carefully budgeted on something that I didn't budget for. Even if it is for me. Adam also made me breakfast and it was just a sweet moment between us all.

Now Adam has to be at church an hour and a half earlier than me because they are having a book discussion before church. Since we don't have classes in the morning, I don't go since there would be no book discussing if my kids were there. So, the moment didn't last incredibly long and soon, the chaos began. On most Sundays the girls play nicely until Adam leaves and the second he does, they are right under me the whole time I'm trying to get ready. I just love the fact that I can find a pair of flip flops with a little bit of a heal on them and some beads on the straps and call them dress shoes. So, I put on my "dressy" flip flops and noticed that my toe nail polish was chipped on the ends. In my normal Sunday single mother rush, I ran into the bathroom and grabbed the nail polish and touched up the ends of my toes. Declaring it a decent job unless someone looks closely, I moved on to the mirror for makeup. About that time, Chloe, stepped on my toe.. My freshly painted toenail!

I started to get irritated, but repressed the irritation, in honor of the day, feeling the need to be a sweet, patient, mother, therefore earning my Mother's Day coupons. And, I began to think about a particular Mother's Day with my mother.... I was about seven years old. I had only a few dollars that I am assuming that I got from her in the first place. So I went to Family Dollar with my dad and I bought my mom the most beautiful I had ever seen- three dollar-pept0 bismal pink- plastic set of beads. Both necklace and bracelet. Nice job of guiding that one dad..

Now I'm pretty crafty at handling this type of situations with my children. My solution would be something of this sort: Oh wow, these are the most beautiful beads that I have ever seen. I don't have a dress to match this color of pink but I have the perfect pajamas! So tomorrow night, we are going to have a candlelit mother daughter pajama dinner! And I am going to make all of our favorite foods and then we are going to talk about all things that we love about each other and I am going to wear these beautiful beads. Now I have no doubt that this would work with Emma and she would think I was the coolest mother in the world for it.

But heres the thing... Twenty four years later (yes I did count on my fingers), I remember the dress that my mother pulled out of the closet saying that it would go perfectly with those beads. That dress was not pink it was more of a rose color and it did not match those horrible beads.. And I remember how she ooohd and ahhd as she had me clasp that necklace around her neck. And when we got to church and I realized that all the other mothers had corsages and I hadn't gotten my mother one. My mother told me not to brag because the other mothers only got a flower and not beautiful beads that they could wear over and over again. And I sat there next to my mother not yet fully understanding why she was truly the best mother in world but feeling confident that I was definitely the best daughter in the world. And you know what? When I called her this year on Sunday morning to wish her a Happy Mother's Day, and mentioned the beads, she told me that she still had them and she still thought they were beautiful. And really, that's probably been the most influential thing in my life. No matter how bad I fumble, my mom is always there, cheering me on, thinking I'm great. And I know that I will always have that security.

So there were all of those thoughts over a simple smudge in toenail polish. And inspired by my mother, I reached down and fluffed Chloe's hair and took a step in the direction of being the kind of mother mine was and wore my smudge to church. And it was a wonderful day!

Kellum Family

I've been following the Kellum family around for a couple of days now. Check out this momma below. Would you believe that she is the mother of five boys? And the wife to a med student which means that she often plays the role of a single mother. I think she is just beautiful and looks way more rested than I know she really is. I somehow managed to miss a picture of one of the kids. Only because at the baseball field, he was out being in social and definitely not because he isn't as equally handsome as the other boys. Baby Evan is four months old now and is growing like a weed. He's such a beautiful baby.

Pictures from the weekend.

Our friend Matt is here for the weekend. I've posted these pictures on facebook but for my mom, who hasn't braved facebook yet. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Here is Matt having a tea party with Chloe

Sunday after church, they were playing ring around the rosies in the rain. I ran in and grabbed my camera. I didn't have time to change my settings so the color was horrible. The moment was too sweet to discard so I converted to my trusty black and white. I still like black and white best anyway. Especially for memories like these.

On Saturday, we went to eat at one of our favorite local restaurants and then let the girls play at the playground on the river.

I love this picture of Emma. She is flushed in the face and maybe that's what I like so much about it. That it looks so real. She looks like such a big girl these days.

You wanna know what?

As anyone who reads this knows by now, we bought season passes to Six Flags. We have made three trips already and the summer hasn't even began. Atlanta is about half way between here and where my family is so it works out as a great meeting place. I'm sure at some point, we're going to get bored with it but so far, it has proved to be a great investment.


We were on our way down there on Saturday when Emma announced that she had to go to the bathroom. As most mother's have learned the hard way, I have too learned that when nature calls, you are going to answer. You only have a choice in which method you use to answer it. For the sake of any of you that might have a weak stomach, I'll skip the descriptions and just stay that the gas station restroom that we stopped at wasn't the finest of establishments.


But out of desperation, we entered into this tiny restroom with two stalls and about six ladies packed inside. I attempted to quickly push my inquisitive 5 years and 3.75 quarters (that's how she puts it) old child into a stall in hopes of avoiding sight of the machine that is holding certain contraceptives hanging on the wall but quickly realized that I had failed because the stalls were occupied.


We were standing there as I tried to point out the pretty pink color of the hand soap (opposite direction of contraceptives) in anticipation of what was about to happen. As you can guess, Emma turned to the machine and said, "Momma, what is in that machine"? Not wanting to totally lie to my child but also not wanting to have the conversation about the birds and the bees in front of six complete strangers, I replied "that's a machine with medicine in it". She then asked, "why"? to which I replied, "In case someone has an emergency and needs it right away". The whole room erupted into laughter and one woman congratulated me on ability as a mother to field hard questions. It was only later that I realized how fortunate I was that she didn't think to ask me what the medicine helped with.


When we got back in the car, I made a mental note of the exit number to be sure to avoid the stop on the way home and then waited until Emma put her headphones back on to watch her movie before I relayed the experience to Adam.


These kind of questions really aren't that rare for Emma. We tackled the "where do babies come from"? question when she was three and I was pregnant with her baby sister. It's not my fault that she some how deciphered that God took Chloe out of my belly button from my honest yet not complete explanation. Boy is she in for a surprise! It seems like I've should have taken some kind of class on these kind of things. And before you suggest any books for me to read, the stack of books on my nightstand is getting pretty tall. I don't go through them near as fast as I used to. Some kid at school with an older brother or sister might give her the information before I get to it. Book suggestions probably won't do us much good. However, I would love to hear any clever tips or funny stories you might have about these sort of topics.


Anyway, pictures from the trip. Not pictured: the medicine machine..

Sorry guys... maybe next year.

Click HERE to watch this video about me winning mother of the year. I promise I'll nominate you next year. I'm most concerned about the pony tail study.

Thanks Hannah, So cute!