Our Heavenly Homecoming

I am a fan of Beth Moore, and I am currently doing her To Live As Christ Bible study.  If you haven't done it, I highly recommend it.  It is about, as she puts it, "a journey into the life and heart of Paul the apostle".  Today as our Bible study group was doing the video portion of the study I was reminded of how miraculous and special our heavenly homecoming will be.  And Oh boy, does it make me so excited to think about.

I just got so excited as she was talking to us about it, that I had to share a small portion.  The very last point that Beth made was that "All Christians will be with the Lord FOREVER!!  Won't that be glorious?!  We will see him face-to-face.  We know longer have to imagine what He is like.  "We will see Jesus not as we have imagined Him, but as He is."  She finished up with this scripture in Job.

Job 19:23-27
"Oh, that my words were recorded that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead or engraved in rock forever!  I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes- I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!"

Wow!!  We are going to see Jesus with our own eyes.  Doesn't that just make you excited to think about?  It sure does me!  Oh, "my heart yearns within me" for that day.

Just Playing

"When I'm building in the block room please don't say I'm 'just playing.'  For, you see, I'm learning as I play... About balance and shapes.

When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, don't get the idea I'm 'just playing.'  I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint, or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay.  Please don't let me hear you say 'he's just playing.'  For you see I'm learning as I play.  I'm expressing myself and being creative.  I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair 'reading' to an imaginary audience, please don't laugh and think I'm 'just playing.'  For, you see, I'm learning as I play.  I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, don't pass it off as 'just playing.'  For, you see, I'm learning as I play.  I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle, or some 'plaything' at my school, please don't feel the time is wasted in 'play.'  For, you see, I'm learning as I play.  I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate.  I may be in business someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods, please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is just 'play.'  I'm learning to follow directions and see differences.  I may be a chef someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, please don't say I'm 'just playing.'  For, you see, I'm learning as I play.  I'm learning how my body works.  I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today, and I say, 'I played.'  Please don't misunderstand me.  For, you see, I'm learning as I play.  I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in work.  I'm preparing for tomorrow.  Today, I'm a child and my work is play."  by:  Anita Wadley

Ansley's First Day of Preschool

Ansley started preschool August 20th.  I can not believe she is already in preschool.  She is excited about going to school! She will be learning all kinds of things this year.  She will be learning Spanish and music, numbers and letters, about the different holidays, and so much more.

I have enjoyed hearing her walk around the house singing her ABC's and counting everything she can! Maybe she will enjoy math like her Mama!

Although it is a struggle every morning that she goes (there has not been one morning yet without tears), she is ALWAYS waiting on me with a smile when I pick her up!  I LOVE it.  Her teacher even said that she smiles the whole time she is there!  I am so glad that she is enjoying learning.

Happy Birthday Ansley!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Ansley's party.

We had a couple of visitors!!  They were a hit, and added so much to the party!!

We had a great time!

A HUGE thanks to my parents for helping me clean and decorate, and to Coley for saving the party!!!  It would not have happened had it not been for my very talented brother.  He did the cake and helped with the cupcakes, decorating, and on top of that he cut the yard.  {Kip was out of town for two weeks and got back just in time for the party.} Also a HUGE thanks to Kip's Aunts Diane and Sherrie for dressing as Donald and Daisy!!  That was so much fun!! I really could not have pulled it off if it were not for my brother, parents, Aunt Diane or Aunt Sherrie so THANK YOU!!  I LOVE YOU!!

The printables came from Amanda's Parties To Go

World's Longest Yard Sale turned Big Nightmare

http://press.tnvacation.com/news-archive/875/25th-annual-worlds-longest-yard-sale-aug-2-5/

My mom and I decided to take an adventure yesterday and try the world's longest yard sale.  We had never done it before. We thought it would be fun and something different for us to do.  Well....here is how it played out.  First of all, we had to take both Ansley and Abby.  They were troopers!!  We decided that we should start out in Ft. Payne and make our way to Chattanooga, and then we would head back home.   Both mom and I thought it was going to be a little different then what it was, or at least the way it was in Ft. Payne.  Who knows, it could have been very different any where else.  Once we got to Ft. Payne, we made our way to where the yard sale seemed to be, at the top of Look Out Mountain.  We got out, a little umm... questionable...or at least to mom and I, especially with two young girls.  We looked around at a few venders, got back in the car and drove a little further.  It did not take us long to come to the conclusion that this was not our cup of tea.  I think we probably were only there for 30 mins., and we decided to head back towards home.  We probably would have kept going if it were only mom and I, but having both girls we thought heading home was probably the best. Thank goodness, we decided to head home when we did!!  

Where we were on the mountain, there was not very much around.  One gas station, houses, and land.  At least that is all we saw.  On the way down the mountain, my car starts making this beeping noise, lights that I have never seen start flashing on the dash board, and the air goes out.  This happened around 12:15.  Our plan was to go down the mountain, get lunch, and head home.  The lights stayed on all the way down the mountain.  As we got down the mountain the lights went off.  Mom and I were not sure what to do.  We decided, like any wise person would do, to keep going at least to where we were going to eat.  We weren't going to go that far.  We were going to go eat at Cracker Barrel.  I typed it in my GPS, and it was saying that we had already passed it that we needed to turn around.  Well, instead of doing that we decided to keep going and stop somewhere on the way.  It turned out that we missed a turn somewhere to head home, and by this time the lights on the dashboard had come back on several times.  We had only gone about 10 miles outside of Ft. Payne  There was nothing around us except a few houses.  Mom was driving, and she says "Erin, I can feel it.  The car is about to die."  We pull over in someone's driveway, and sure enough, the car went dead.  It was now 12:30 12:45ish.  We are hungry, and hot!!  

Thank the Lord, that where the car went dead, the people were home, and willing to help.  The man did so much for us.  He tried to jump the car off, but the car would not hold a charge.  He tried putting in a battery from one of his trucks but it did not fit.  He called several mechanics in the area, but they were not opened.  We were about 2 hours from home. I did not have very good cell service.   Finally, the guy decided that we could just ride with him, and take our battery to the nearest mechanic that was opened.  We are now approaching 1:30 or 2.  Still no lunch, which is fine for mom and I, but poor Ansley and Abby.  We get to the mechanic, they check the battery, and tell us that it is almost fully charged.  WHAT???  How could this be?  He gives us another battery to try, so that we could bring the car there.  The battery works in the car.  We get the car to the mechanic, and they check it out.  It is the alternator.  So, the mechanic begins to call around, and there is none in the area in stock.  The closet one in stock is in Alabama City, which is near Gadsden, about 45 mins away.  You have got to be kidding me, right?  No...so Kip's mom, thank goodness, lives in Gadsden, picks the alternator up, and brings it to us.  We finally get lunch at 2:30 or so, and we finally get the car fixed around 4.  It made for a very long day!!  Poor Ansley and Abby, and what troopers they were.  So blessed that I was not by myself with the girls when it happened, and so thankful for the man that helped us out so much.  And thankful for Kip's mom bringing the alternator to us.  We made it home finally and safely!!  The Lord knew what he was doing when we missed our turn to head home, and by having us decided to come down the mountain when we did, and by letting the nearest alternator that was in stock be in stock somewhere where we could have someone bring it to us.  Thank you, Lord, for letting the pieces to this crazy puzzle fall into place. :)

Rainy Days

A few weeks ago, we had some much needed rain.  I was so glad to see the rain, but I was also a little worried because I was not sure how I was going to entertain an almost 3 year old and an almost 1 year old for 2+ days in side ALL day.  Well....my mind started turning.....

 We love to paint on rainy days so, I pulled the paint brushes and paint out.  I ALWAYS use washable paint, and put a towel down under them.  This was Abby's first time to paint.  As you can see from the picture, she enjoyed it.  It did get all over her, me, and the floor, but it was well worth the memory that was made.  Immediately after painting was a much needed bath time!!  And, by the way, the paint that was on the floor wiped right up with a wet paper towel.  Easy clean up!!  That is what I like.

I remember when I was a little girl making forts out of blankets and chairs.  I use to love that, so I thought why not do it with Ansley and Abby.  And, what a better time, then when it is raining!!  They absolutely LOVED it!!  This was the biggest hit ever.  We watched movies in the fort, played with dolls, blocks, and whatever other toys would fit.  We read books, and their favorite thing to do was to hide from Daddy when they would hear him coming in from work.  I think Ansley ask to build a fort every day now.  I will definitely be doing this again.

'

One other thing that we did while it rained, as you can see, was play in the rain.  This was A LOT of fun!!  We all enjoyed it.  I thought just because it is raining, why do we have to stay inside?  Ansley loved trying to catch the rain in her mouth, splash in the puddles, and just run in the rain.  Abby loves the water, so she really enjoyed splashing in the puddles, and letting the rain fall on her face.  

Our rainy days turned out to be great days, with great fun!!!  We definitely made some great memories.

Oh the things Ansley says!!

Ansley is always surprising me with what she says and comes up with.  I wanted to share a few with you.  

Coming out of the doctor after Abby's check-up, there was another little girl walking into the doctor's office. Ansley looks at me and says,  "Awe, Mom, that girl has to go to the doctor.  She fell off the bed."  Where that came from, I don't know.

The other night Kip and I were tucking her in bed, and saying our prayers.  Kip likes to stick his nose on her and tickle her (not real sure if that makes since or not, it is kind of hard to explain).  Anyways, she says to him, "Daddy stop smelling me."  

The things she says to Abby are priceless.  Abby makes a BIG mess every time she eats, even when Kip and I feed her, the food still some how finds its way all over everything.  Ansley loves to say, "Oh my goodness, Abby.  You are such a mess."

When she wants Abby to go with her to her room.  She will look at Abby and say,  "Come Abby, come.  Come on you little stinker."

Ansley is at that stage where she fights taking her naps and going to bed at night.  We had already tucked her in bed.  Kip and I were sitting in the dean, and  Ansley comes out saying in a little whinny voice, "Mommy, my shirt came off.  My shirt came off."  I looked and her shirt was not off, so I was a little confused.  The top button of her pajama shirt just was not buttoned. This was her last attempt to stay up with Mommy and Daddy.   Kip and I thought this was so cute and funny!

 These are only a few.  I will try to remember to share some more with you later.  We love this girl, and love the things she comes up with!!! 

Tea Parties and Tutus

It has been a while since I have blogged.  Sorry!  I love having girls!!!  All the girly things that they want to do, or at least that they agree to do.  Ansley LOVES to have tea parties with "Mommy's babies" (which are my American Girl dolls from when I was a little girl), Abby and Mommy. 

Not only have we enjoyed having tea parties we have also enjoyed dressing in our tutus.

What GREAT joy these two bring to my life!!  

Update

It has been a few weeks since I have updated my blog.  Sorry about that.  It has been a crazy few weeks.  If you did not know, we are now back in Alabama!!  Very happy to be home.  "There is no place like home."
Our last week out in Arizona, Kip's mom (Terrie/Noana) came out to go to his graduation and to help clean and pack everything up.  Also my brother (Coley) came to drive the car back for us so that Kip could fly back with the girls and I.  Got to love my sweet brother for doing that.  I am so glad that Kip finally got to fly with the girls.
Our last weekend there we took Ms. Terrie and Coley around and showed them a few things, and even got to do somethings that we had not done while we were out there.  One thing that we did was go to the border.  We lived about 5-10 minutes away from the border.  We also hiked some mountains to see the border from their.   Which I nor Kip's mom knew we were going to be doing and definitely were not dressed for that.  It was beautiful scenery.  (I do miss those views!!)   We also went to another small town called Bisbee.  It is known for its mining and art.  Very interesting.

 This is the view from the top of the mountain.  Gorgeous!!

 Uncle Coley and the girls.

 Noana and the girls.

 Behind us is Mexico.

 That black line is the border.

This is the border up close.  The border does not look like this all the way.  In some areas it is just a barbwire fence in which of course has been cut.  I don't know why they would use a barbwire fence for a border.

 This is one of the mining areas in Bisbee.

And of course the best part of it all was Kip's graduation.  We are so proud of him, and thankful to the good Lord for providing a job for him for when we returned back home.
Here he is presenting a plaque.

This was in front of our house.

We had a great time while we were in Arizona.  We were able to do so many things that we probably would never have had the opportunity to do otherwise.  We are however very thankful to be home!

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game..."

Last Saturday the Braves played the Diamondbacks, so Kip and I thought it would be fun to go to the game.  That morning we got up packed a bag and headed for Phoenix.  Phoenix is about 2 and half hours north of us, not a bad drive.  Once we arrived in Phoenix, we went ahead and checked into our hotel.  Our hotel was only about two blocks from the stadium.  You could actually see it from our window. 

 We then went and grabbed a bit to eat, and then headed to the game.  We were all excited to go to the game.  Ansley would say she was going to see the big boys play "bayball". 

 I am not going to lie...although we stayed for the entire game, we did not get to see very much of it.  Both girls got tired.  Ansley kept wanting to go play in the kiddie area.  Which by the way she got kicked out of because she kept going up the slides the wrong way.  We walked around for majority of the game.  Once we finally set down, got Ansley something to eat, and feed Abby, we had a much better experience.