Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween!

My Favorite Halloween Pics of Years Past:


Sarah Princess 2001

Sarah the Princess on her first Halloween

Sleeping Princess '01

The Sleeping Princess waiting for her Prince's awakening kiss....

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Sarah the Bee 2002

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Hannah the Bee, in the recycled costume 2004

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Every Dark Knight needs some love.... (Sarah and Micah 2002)

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Sam the cool...always cool!

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Daniel's head on a platter...disgusting!

And finally, proof that Halloween has gone to the dogs.....

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Friday, October 27, 2006

The Measure of a Year

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hannah Faith!

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(1. birth 2. first Halloween 3. first Christmas 4. stubborn on the 4th of July 5. Hannah's birth photo, wrapped in my baby blanket 6. first birthday 7. second birthday 8. those eyes! 9. those dimples!

It was reaffirmed to me recently that on this side of heaven, we have a little something called "time." Someday, there will be no more measuring of seconds, minutes, days, years, etc. When we get to that point, it is called "Eternity" from there on out!

On this side of heaven, we are told, one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Now some people have interpreted that to mean that one day is exactly the same thing as one thousand years with God. I don't buy that. God didn't take six thousand years or 6 million years to create the earth. He took six days.

I think that the point is that, with God, there is no need to count seconds and minutes and days, because God operates out of time and space. He has no beginning and no end. Our little minds cannot even begin to comprehend it, though we try. I will say that I have lived through some days that seemed like they were a thousand years long, and some of them came around the time that my little Hannah, child number five, was born.

I say all of this to lead into my post today in honor of Hannah's third birthday. I simply cannot believe it has been 3 years since she came into the world! The week following her birth was the most turbulent week I have experienced in my life so far, and that is saying a lot! What a week it was! Actually, that week turned into six months, and now, in another blink of the eye, we are at the three-year mark!

Hannah's coming into this world changed my life in so many ways that I can hardly begin to list them. Her birth caused great trauma to my body (which was no fault of hers,) and I have spent the last 1095 days trying to gain some semblance of normalcy physically. It was 6 months before I was even able to take care of Hannah by myself. I was not mentally prepared for a "near-death" experience, and I think I still have some sort of post-traumatic stress deal that occasionally rears its ugly head. (Just ask Tim, who will tell you I cannot stay in hotel rooms that look like my dreadful hospital room that I had for two weeks!)

I also was not prepared for the extraordinary spirit that God would entrust with Tim and me, housed in the child we named "Hannah Faith." I have often quipped that the Lord knew that just anyone could not have handled the 5 spirits he sent me in my children, because other people would have choked them by now! They all possess extremely rare and precious spirits that challenge every moment of my existence in some way. The Lord knew I was up for the test. (You know He never gives us more than we can bear, though at times I have thought I was pushing the limits of my abilities!) For these children, I prayed. And I have made it my purpose to so embrace them, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, that they would have the best shot possible at making it successfully to the other side of the Gulf, where time no longer defines us.

I lay, in the dark hours of the morning, thinking about how much change has come about in this house in the space of one little year. We've lost everything from baby teeth to grandmothers. Daniel, who was present in Hannah's last birthday photo, moved out to begin his own life, got his first "real" job, and moved back to start college--all in the space of this time we call a year. I have gone from shedding tears daily over the dwindling headcount around here to calm acceptance that one child, at least, has come into his own as a man. Somewhere in all of this, it seems like a few lifetimes have passed, but it was really just a sliver of one lifetime.

In this 365-day span, I have probably done another 730 loads of dishes, 1200 or so loads of clothes, and kissed a few hundred boo-boos of all shapes, sizes, and degrees of seriousness. I've gained and lost friends, brethren, family members and pets. I've sadly left one place of worship and happily joined myself to another group of believers. I have achieved some of my goals for 2006, while miserably failing at others. I have thanked the Lord that, at the end of the day, I can still pick up the phone and call my parents and my in-laws, all my brothers and all my sisters, and the ever-expanding pool of nieces and nephews who tickle my soul. I can kiss 4 of my children goodnight and instant message the other one and spend yet a few more minutes listening to the collective hopes, dreams, and prayers of my wards. And when I fall into bed, in whatever hour of the night I finally find sleep, I rest beside my soulmate, the one who gives me huge doses of moral support, laughs and cries with me, and urges me heavenward most enthusiastically of all--just like he promised he would, 8 of those lifetimes ago!

Yes, today, Hannah is 3! One has only to look at her pictures to see the depth of her soul. If the eyes are windows to the soul....then, WOW! Look out! Hannah is in the building! Her daddy calls her 'a destroyer of worlds.' He is just going by what the den looks like at the end of the day with her. I see her future more as a builder-- but of what, I am not sure. Madam President? Nobel Peace Prize winner? Another in a long line of strong women? Just as surely as her female ancestor brazenly took on the Indians at Fort Nashborough, which later became Nashville, with little more than dogs and boiling water, I trust that Hannah will show her challengers the same level of determination, courage, and resourcefulness. What a privilege to be her Mommy and get to watch from a front-row seat as she moves towards the marvelous things the Lord has in store for her!

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Birthday Wishes for One Niece, Prayers For the Other!

Happy 2nd Birthday "Baby" Lauren!!!!!


Lauren at just a few months old

Lauren in July 2005



Lauren at fair 9-29-06

Lauren at the fair this year with brother Ben and sister Kelsey

It is hard to believe that my little niece Lauren is two today! Lauren is a lot like her cousin, Hannah--very active, very bright, and very inquisitive! They are also very serious a lot of the time, but we do occasionally get a smile out of them! Lauren's mommy, Steph, and I compare notes all the time about our October babies! Usually, while we are comparing notes, Hannah and Lauren are climbing to the top of something or coloring our walls in new Crayola colors or disassembling something! If they weren't so sweet, we would probably lose our minds trying to keep up with them!

So, on this, her second birthday, we send happy birthday wishes your way, Lauren, and we look forward to celebrating with you soon!

We would also ask that you keep my other little niece, who is still in her mommy's tummy, in your prayers. Little Emma, baby of Drew and Brooke, is trying to make an early escape. At 28 weeks, it is just not time yet. Hopefully, Emma will be content to keep "baking" and Brooke will be able to keep her in there until an arrival is safe. I saw this picture a while back, and I laughed, because for some reason, when I heard Brooke was pregnant, I had an image of a little girl with red hair! And I don't know how long she is right now, but she only weighs about 2 1/2 pounds, so I know she is still tiny. So please keep baby Emma and her parents in your prayers.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Birthdays, Fishies, and "Haunted Houses!"



Well, we had a busy 3-day weekend. Every so often, I have to go to a couple of doctors for 6-month follow-up appts., so Tim takes off and accompanies me. He is such a good driver that I prefer for him to drive in Nashville traffic!

Friday, Sarah, Hannah, Tim and me set off for an early appt. with the dermatologist. He looked over my incision from the skin cancer and pronounced his work as imperfect. Meanwhile, he set two of his assistants to taking off two other places, one on my arm and one on my left neck. So while one lady was applying this freezing stuff to my right forearm, he was sticking a needle in my right jawline, and nurse #2 was poking me with deadening needles on the left. I felt like I was in "Attack of the Needle People!" Within the space of 3 minutes, all was done, and another followup appt. was made for a month to do some cosmetic things to the face.

Meanwhile, Tim was off to the nearby Dept. of Motor Vehicles to renew his license which was expiring on his 45th birthday on Saturday! Except for a minor incident with the license getting stuck in the printer, Tim said it was a better than average visit to the DMV! With both of our "missions" accomplished, we set out to find some lunch.

We ended up at the neatest place in a nearby mall that sits on the ground where the themepark "Opryland" used to be. This restaurant is called "The Aquarium" and turned out to be the greatest lunch experience we have had in a long time.
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aquarium restaurant
You eat in a very wonderfully-themed atmosphere with aquatic life everywhere! There is a huge tank with every size of fish and sea creatures swimming by during your meal. Our waiter put us right by the tank at a great table, and the girls were so beside themselves with wonder that they did not eat very much! Tim mused that maybe ordering the "catch-of-the-day" might not be such a good idea.

There was a marine biologist in a wet suit in there feeding the fish while we ate. That gives you some idea of the size of the tank! There were sharks, sting rays, manta rays, eels, and beautiful colored fish galore! They said there were over 100 species of fish there alone! Everything from the lighting to the decor was so neat, and we had a great experience. We bought a disposable camera at the gift shop just so we could get a few pictures. I have not developed them yet. I am anxious to see if they turned out.

Afterwards, it was on to the endocrinologist to get my semi-annual lecture about better diet and more exercise. I am insulin-resistant, so I have a high level of insulin in my bloodstream. That may be part of the reason I stay tired. We discussed ways to get that level down, lest my poor little pancreas wear out.

A trip to Books-a-Million and the park rounded out the day, and we came home and died.

Saturday was Tim's birthday, so in the afternoon, we decided to go over to "Historic Franklin," my old stomping grounds. Tim is very interested in civil war history, because we had quite a few relatives in the war. We went to a place called Carnton Plantation, a very historic house that ended up serving as a make-shift field hospital during the historic and deadly Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864.

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Back porch, where the bodies of Generals Adams, Cleburne, Granbury, and Strahl rested the next morning before being carried south for burial.


I had heard about this house all my life, since part of the legend centers around the fact that the place is supposed to be haunted. During the battle of Franklin, hundreds of soldiers were brought there throughout the night. The McGavock family opened their home--every room of it, for surgery and tending to the soldiers. When the house could no longer hold any more bodies, they were piled on the porches and then out in the yards. Eventually, the McGavock's gave nearly two acres of land so that around 1,500 of the Confederate dead could be properly buried there. Mrs. McGavock made it her life's work to try and find out as many names of the dead as she could and comfort the families. She kept a detailed journal of the specific details of the soldiers buried in each plot, and many families were later able to find out what happened to their soldiers.

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The tour guide was wonderful. He spoke non-stop for over an hour about the battle and how the McGavock's fit into Tennessee history. It was a good lesson for the four kids, and I am sure they will never forget seeing the place. It was a perfect cool, crisp fall day, just like the day the battle happened. Since the mansion and grounds are out in the "middle of nowhere," it made it very easy to envision the events that happened on that day. I fully recommend the tour for those who are in the area! It is a great homeschool field trip! (And you can snag a dollar-off coupon on their website).

We finished out the day with a trip to "Famous Dave's." We got a wonderfully cozy little room to ourselves with a huge log table and a t.v. playing the U.T. -Georgia game. The ambiance was just lovely there, and I think Tim really enjoyed his "birthday dinner." If I eat this way all the time, my endocrinologist will kill me!

Sunday rounded out the weekend very pleasantly. We did not do anything special--just the same thing we do every week with attending morning and evening worship services and going out with everyone after the evening service. We converge on a local Wendy's, whose staff yells..."CHURCH GROUP!" when they see us coming. :) It's a nice way to end the day most Sundays!

So all-in-all, it was a beautiful and enjoyable fall weekend. I think we made some memories with the kids that we will all have for a long time to come. Tim was a little pensive about being 45, and he was horified to see in the fair pictures that his bald spot is expanding in back. I laughed and told him that he was lucky I have a thing for bald guys (my dear granddad was bald.) Battlefields and birthdays make you reflective. But sometimes, that is a good thing.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Autumn Happenings!

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above: 1) Impending storm clouds 2) Dan, Jen, and Hannah at Cracker Barrel 3) Jen's parents, Bob and Rita 4) Jen, Dan and Sarah Hope 5)Tim and me 6)Drew and Brooke...and Brooke does not look 5 months pregnant with my little niece Emma, due in early Jan. 7) Mom laughs over the birthday sack incident...read below 8) Tim takes the little ones into the fairgrounds 9) Sarah and Hannah ride the cars at the fair

Well, Fair Week for us has come and gone. It was quite an active week, but we had a lot of fun! We went to Chattanooga and met Daniel's girlfriend and her parents and had a leisurely meal with them. We enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about her father's work at the Weather Channel! The kids had a good time all getting aquainted and playing in the toys at Cracker Barrel.

We drove back to my Mom and Dad's house with threatening weather, which always puts me on edge. Tim is an excellent driver, though, and he can get us through just about any type of conditions. I took some pictures of the clouds out the window of the car.

On Sunday, after worship, we had a birthday dinner for my mom. We all got a big laugh when it was time for the grandchildren to present their presents to her. All the little gift sacks were back in a bedroom where we also change the babies. Littlest granddaughter Lauren came bringing her own special "sack" for Meme, but it did not have what her grandmother expected! Lauren had retrieved a dirty diaper, tied in a sack, out of the trash and brought it along with all the rest of the presents. Everyone laughed so hard and so loud that we scared her and made the sweet little thing cry and run for her mother's arms. It was really cute!

Jennifer stayed with my folks for the better part of a week, and then we returned for a day at the fair! The kids enjoyed it immensely, even though there were wall-to-wall people. I was the designated adult to get an armband, too, and ride the rides when the kids needed to be accompanied. I managed to get myself on a couple of the hairier rides that I wished I was not riding! I learned that many things we can do when we are 10 or 15 or 20 years of age should not be done by 44-year olds!

Finally, on Saturday, we made the return trip to Chattanooga and put Jennifer safely back into the hands of her parents! Our little "Romeo and Juliet" were sad to part company, especially not knowing how long it would be before they could meet again. We came to love Jennifer in the time she was with us. She is a joy to be around, and I hope she enjoyed her time in Tennessee as much as we enjoyed having her!

This week, it is back to the grind---school in full-swing for everyone including Daniel. He is adjusting well to college and his new job, and we can't believe how the semester is flying along! History is going to be his hard class this time, but luckily, his Uncle Dan was a history major and should be able to help if needed. It is great for him to have uncles who have such diverse degrees and can tutor him in just about any subject if he needs it!

Now, we wait for my dad to get news about when and if they will schedule his heart valve replacement. We all have a lot of hope that this is going to help him feel tremendously better in the long run. God has blessed several of their friends in the church who have had serious issues lately, especially David with mouth cancer. They have a wonderful active and praying group who really stand behind one another in tough times.

That's the update! Enjoy your Fall season! We celebrate 5 family birthdays this month, and the kids are already counting down the days 'til "Trick or Treat" time. It looks like I am going to have to wait for snow to slow down!

Below: 1) Uncle Dan collects parking fees at the fair for the Rotary Club 2) Mom, Steph, and the kiddos at the fair 3) Hannah, Kelsey, Sarah, and Ben go for a ride 4) Jen, Micah and Sarah at Cracker Barrel 5) Sam and Micah staring into the sun as I try to take at least one picture of them at the fair 6) We ride the carousel 7) Ben and Sarah take on a pretty tall slide 8) Ben tackles the rock wall 9) Sarah, not to be outdone by her cousin, tries the wall. My camera died right before Kelsey made it all the way to the top!

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