Sweet Southern Belle

Lizzie Sue is growing so fast! Here are pictures from our trip to the Atlanta Zoo last May and from this week. It’s amazing to me how much older she looks this year than last.

Yesterday marked the seventh year since I was married to my husband. There are many things I could say about the past seven years however, I’m not very poetic so I think I’ll not try. My thoughts on marriage are summed up into a phrase a friend recently said.

“Marriage is hard work but anything worth having is”

A good marriage does not just happen. It takes effort on the part of both people to make time for one another, compromise on issues, and to apologize when you are wrong.

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day with my family! I am so grateful for my grandmothers, mother, and my sweet child. Here is a fun link to determine what your monetary value as a mother should be. It allows you to add the money you make in a paying job as well. After entering my “real pay” I should be making over 200,000 per year for my services. If only………..

Being a mama is the hardest job I’ve ever had but it’s the best!

My family has been in a particularly busy season the past few weeks as we bring all our “school-year” activities to a close Little Belle’s preschool (and my job in her class), church preschool choir, Run4missions, and hand bells. So, Lizzie Sue and I have been in the road more than we’ve been home. I was excited to just “stay-home” today so I asked Lizzie Sue what she wanted to do with mama today after she woke. Her answer was “yets make a princess cake, mama”. My first thought was no, we’ll do that for your birthday. Then I thought……why not? Life’s short you don’t have to wait for your birthday to make a fun cake. So, Lizzie Sue and I whipped up a cake and pulled out the princess cake toppers. It was a fun morning….I’d say “fit for a princess”. J

I just thought I would let all of my readers (all three of you ;0) ) know that I’ve decided to include Little Belle’s pictures on my blog. I still have my fears about her picture being on the world wide web but have decided that the risk is minimal and being on this blog is really no different than face book, e-mail or other “protected” web sites.

I’m sure my blog will be better by including my precious Little Belle’s pictures! So, come back and look for pictures of a cute little girl!

My dear friend, Queen Kelley, wrote a beautiful post on her blog about life at home with small children. Kelley’s post about her appreciation of life reminded me of another one of my “favorite” Kyle Matthews songs, Let the Ordinary Make You Happy.
Big shot, yes you are
Big dreams got you this far
Never let the small stuff slow you down
Time wasted’s money spent
Fun is for retirement
There’s no time to think about that now
But even though you’re running late
Your two-year-old wants patty cake
And if you’ll stop to play
It just might make your day
All the joy you’ve missed
Comes in moments just like this
Let the ordinary make you happy
Let the little things cheer your heart
When the search for something special
Makes you miss the things that are
Let the ordinary make you happy
Be amazed by this life we live
And you’ll start to see each day
As the gift it is
Browsing fancy stores
All you need is just one more
Something to make others envy you
But parts and warrantees
Storage and accessories
Make you wonder who is buying who
And all this trouble’s such a waste
Of this lovely summer’s day
Brought to you for free
With everything you need
Take the money you have saved
Buy a stranger lemonade
Rich kid on a plane
Used to being entertained
There’s no Playstation at this altitude
Making matters worse
An old grandmother and her nurse
Sit down in the seats right next to you
She says she hasn’t flown in years
And talking sometimes calms her fears
And to your great surprise
Her story’s quite a ride
And before the journey ends
You’ve somehow made a friend

This song speaks to me on many levels because by nature I’m a “fast” person. I thrive on being busy and always seem to take on more than is necessary or healthy. I also tend to look ahead to the next phase……when I get married, have a child, get a bigger house, finish school, and on and on and on….I’ll be happy. The truth is my gift is now! The “happy” moments are the ones I sometimes miss while racing around.

I also relate to the verse that begins with “Browsing fancy stores”. I admit I like nice clothes and accessories though I can’t afford them much anymore. I sometimes browse stores I used to shop in and long for the items on the rack. It really does make me wonder who is buying who!?!?!? The truth is however that in this day that is free to me, but bought for a high price I have everything I need and much more!

Not long ago my church had a Kyle Matthews concert which was fantastic! The whole concert was Kyle singing while he played the piano. I fell in love with his music so I bought a few cds. The lyrics to Kyle’s songs are heartfelt and honest and the music is grand. I have three favorite songs that really speak to me on the album, The Main Event. All three of the songs speak to my heart on different levels so I’m going to share the words here. My next three posts will be the words to each song.
Every Little Thing I Have
When I feel selfish, I tell myself this
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
The taste of ice cream, the breath I’m breathing
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
Though I ignore it, my planet orbits
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
And though I’m sleeping, my heart keeps beating
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!
I have to thank you for…
New understanding, music for dancing,
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
The way a hug feels, the way my hurts heal
Every little thing I have is a gift
I know that life can be sad, even tragic
Frightening and unfair
But it’s because we’ve become so accustomed
To the goodness around us everywhere
Forgive me each time, I’m slow to realize
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
This kind of reverence makes all the difference
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!
I have to thank you for…
A word to guide me, loved ones beside me
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
Help in disaster, the sound of laughter
Every little thing I have is a gift
I never asked for my friends or my family
The peace a prayer can bring
How could I pay what it’s all worth to me?
Why on earth would you give me everything?
Freedom to leave you, wisdom to need you
Every little thing I have is a gift from you
Courage to trust you, privilege to love you
All of this is a gift! All of this is a gift!
All of this is a great big gift!

I love this song because it is a reminder that many small treasures in life I take for granted are gifts from God! Just like the lyrics say…when I’m feeling selfish I try to listen to this song to remind myself just how many gifts I have. And, after my previous post I thought it fitting to start with this song first!

I had every intention of writing an inspiring post today for my return to the blog world but my day was less than inspiring. It started with the news that a part-time job I took at my daughter’s preschool for the year actually cost us money. After doing our taxes and taking out her tuition we realized that my working there COST us money. Now this might not be such disappointing news but the job has been so hard on my family and my only consolation was that it was “extra money”. Oh well!

Then it was one of those days where being a wife, mom and homemaker was just plain hard. My child did not want to cooperate, my husband misunderstood me, my house was disastrous and I forgot to take anything out for dinner so we had to eat out. It was just one of those days that I’m glad is over. I’m so thankful that God created my body for rest and gives us a fresh start each morning. I’m headed to bed, ready for rest and thankful for the promise of a new day.

I’m sure I have no one left that checks this site but I still think I’ll start blogging again. I have all these random thoughts and no where to put them.

Since this is the last year I’ll live in my twenties I’ve been thinking a lot about age lately. I’ve always heard people say that you’re only as old as you feel but I’m not sure that’s true.

Here’s why……… I think I stopped feeling like I was aging since I was 22-23. While I have a few more wrinkles, and a few (actually a lot) more gray hairs I still feel like I’m in my young twenties.

 I’ll give you an example….I would easily categories myself as a “young married” despite the fact that my dear husband and I will be 29 and 34 this year and have been married close the seven years. But, this morning at church it was proven that no matter how old I feel others know I’m aging. When I started attending Mt. Zion six years ago I started going to the “young married” Sunday school class with people my age or a little older. The class still has the same people and guess what they announced on Sunday?!?!??!! They are starting a “young married” class…what, I thought we were the young married class????? Apparently, not! They want a class with people who really are young and newly married. The nerve! So what are they going to call our class……the middle age married couples class? No way, no how, not me!