A week with Granddaddy

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of hosting my Granddaddy for nearly a week. He has recently moved in with my mom and I have enjoyed several opportunities to spend time with him. Like most people in my generation, relationships with the grands had become reduced to holiday visits and updates both ways through the middle generation. Granddaddy came to Mobile to visit with us and help me with my garden.

Granddaddy is an avid gardener and it's one of the things that sticks out about him from my childhood. I remember he had the biggest garden when I was a kid and the one thing that sticks out the most was watching him bury his garbage in the garden...I thought that was so weird, but he seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

We had a blast having him here. We picked out seeds and planted my first ever garden. Granddaddy went to swim lessons with us and to watch the green truck outing of the week. I get my sweet tooth from him, so we enjoyed brownies after dinner, popcycles after working in the yard, and an outing to Mobile's famous Old Dutch ice cream shop. Granddaddy spent many relaxing hours on our back porch reading in the shade and helped Haley to master her peddling skills on her tricycle. We had a fun week...one that I will always treasure.

Haley "helping" Granddaddy pull weeds by handing him handfuls of dirt. She insisted on wearing her sun hat, just like Granddaddy.

Sues chef Haley helping to make brownies for Granddaddy's visit. It would be a shame to let any go to waste.

A well deserved popcycle after a hard day's work.


Learning from a pro. First, you dig a row and drop in the seeds...

Then you cover them up...Ta Da!

Planting bell peppers. We took a little short cut on these.


Old Dutch Ice Cream Shoppe.
Granddaddy is quite pleased with his ice cream choice.

Haley and I polished off a delicious banana split!


In the navy, Granddaddy served as an airplane mechanic. When Haley's vacuum needed repair (aka new batteries), Granddaddy was just the man for the job!


Watering our newly planted garden.

Are you invisible?

A friend shared this clip with our MOPS groups several months ago, and it touched my heart deeply. I've held on to it until the right time to share it with you and I think today is a great day...on the heels of celebrating all that our moms and wives do for our families.

Often we women do so much for our families that seems to go unnoticed...cooking, cleaning, endless loads of laundry, planning for company, packing snacks for a day out with the family...there are so many things that a mom has to do, many of them never receiving recognition. In addition to the chores of a homemaker, a Christian mom has the added duty of raising her children in a way that leads them to the Lord...soothing their fears, teaching them to take their worries to Jesus, not making a horrible face when they try a new look, and repeatedly speaking encouragement when frustration is really what lies on your tongue. It's not the husband's fault that he doesn't comment and reward each sacrifice and day of seamless planning. First of all, he's a man and he's often not going to perceive needs as we do. That's just how we're wired. Also, many of these actions take place in secret...planning things out in our minds as we run errands or choosing our words carefully in the quiet places of our heart. But above all this, these sacrifices and acts of love and service never go unnoticed by the One who matters most. Abba sees it all!

This doesn't just apply to women either. Often men feel like their actions are often overlooked...extra time and effort expended at work, taking the trash out at home, putting aside "down time" to play with the kids. As a wife and mother, I am guilty of not always acknowledging Toby's acts of service and love, even if I do notice them. I often treat them as expected duties and don't offer the gratitude he deserves.

Please take a minute to watch this video and be encouraged. Let's all try to do a better job of verbalizing our appreciation, but in the mean time, know that your actions are never passed by and never made little of by the One who sees them all.

The Invisible Woman - courtesy of You Tube

Haley's heart

My heart overflowed yesterday with it's sweetest moment to date...

My daughter, Haley, and I were headed to her room for quiet time and she started pretending there was a crocodile chasing us down the hall, like in her Little Einsteins movie. I played along and we ran fast into her room and I quickly shut the door behind us. We ran and jumped on her bed and I told her that she was safe on the bed...the crocodile couldn't get to her if she was on the bed. I felt the Spirit pushing me...

"Haley, can you say this? 'Do not fear...for I am with you.' " Her sweet voice repeated each phrase. I asked her, "Do you know who said that?" She just looked at me, a little confused. I told her, "Jesus said that!" We've talked a lot lately about how much Jesus loves us and how He's always with us. She started patting her chest and said, "Jesus is in my heart." I think this statement may be a twist on what I had taught her earlier...Jesus talks to us, but we can't hear Him with our ears, we hear Him with our hearts.

"You know what, Haley? Jesus can live in your heart. Do you want Him to?" To which I received an enthusiastic, "YEAH" as she rolled back on her bed. I said, "Ok, repeat after me...Jesus...please come live in my heart...and love me forever...and I will love you forever." I pray that in all of my days, I never forget the sound of those sweet words coming out of her mouth!

I recognize that she's only 2 1/2 and that there is much she doesn't understand, but I also think these little people understand far more than we give them credit for. So as the years roll on, we will continue to worship Jesus, to love well, to read scripture and incorporate it into every aspect of our lives, and I will hold fast to the promise my God made..."Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov 22:6)

Thank you, Jesus, for loving Haley so much! I recognize that she is not mine, she is Yours. You have entrusted her to me and Toby to teach her, love her and lead her to You. I pray protection over her sweet heart and blessings over her life as Your remarkable plan for her life gets under way...even now, at 2 years old!!