a little more swimming

We didn't make any major plans this week. Scott has recovered really well from his minor surgery on Monday. He is playing in the Greenville County Amateur Golf Tournament this weekend. JP and I wanted to be around the house to celebrate OR to cheer him up when he gets home from that every day! Today was good. He shot a 75 with a triple and two double bogeys. If you understand golf, that's pretty good. He wasn't too excited, but I was proud of him. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

JP and I are heading to the beach Monday morning. I will definitely have some good pictures to share! I am not sure if I will take my computer, but I probably will. We will be at Pawley's Island until the following Sunday.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

family day

Scott, JP and I spent the whole day together today! It was so nice! We went to Kid's Planet for JP to play on the playground.

Excited! Me, excited to have my husband for the whole day!

Surprise! Mrs. Connie called to talk to JP. He misses her so much...she got an earful! ;)

On the way into the park.

Couldn't stay in this swing very long; almost fell asleep!

We have spotted the sprinklers!

Feels good!

JP wishing I would put the camera away!

Wiped out on the way home.

Dead to the world on "mommy's big bed!"

note to self

JP's new thing is to be in the bathroom by himself when he poops. He is so funny. I usually walk in there with him. I put his little potty "insert" on the toilet for him to sit on. He pulls down his pants and I help him sit down. Then, he tells me to LEAVE! He says, "Mommy, you leave and I will call you when I'm done."

These pictures are a result of him "doing it by himself." I am so proud of him for wanting to be independent, and it does make it easier on us. We will, however, have to lose the toilet paper roll before he is allowed to poop alone! ;)

taking care of daddy

Well, thanks to everyone for your calls and prayers! Scott's procedure went very well. He is having very little pain. So, needless to say, we are both very happy! JP has been very sweet and helpful. Today he washed Scott's hair for him. It was too cute not to share pictures...

Okay, so I finished my book! It was AWESOME! I have been slack on the pictures lately. I have not been taking any lately. We have been to play with Luke twice and both times I forgot my camera. I will get some from Angela and post them ASAP.

FYI...Scott is having outpatient surgery at 2:00 today. I'm not gonna go into details of the procedure. Everything with Scott falls into the category of T.M.I! We would appreciate any prayers that could be offered up!

Have a great Monday! ;)

book reviews

Reading is my all time favorite past time. Some of my favorite authors include: Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, Max Lucado, Jennifer Garner, Beth Moore, Erwin McManus, and the list goes on. Clearly, it's a very diverse list!

Well, now I have a new favorite! His name is Ted Dekker. He is actually a Christian writer, although I have not been able to figure out why. Probably because there is no language or any other content that would be considered inappropriate. Dekker writes mostly suspense/murder novels. I will tell you that he is very wicked. His themes are very twisted and will ALWAYS catch you off guard in the end. It's incredible. I highly recommend his books to anyone who likes suspense.

This was the first book I read. Crazy! It has actually been made into a movie. This was the second....

And this is his newest one! I just received it via mail (eBay) yesterday. I am SO EXCITED about it! I have wanted it forever, but was not willing to pay twenty five dollars for it at CrossWay. So, my mother in law, aka EBay champion, found it for me for LESS than ten dollars! WooHoo!

If anyone is interested in joining me in reading the psychotic works of this man, email me and I will be glad to pass the books along!

lazy day at the pool

Today is a lazy day. We have spent the morning at the pool. We are about to head home for some Chef Boyardee (sp?) ABC's and 123's! Nap, library and then VBS tonight. I am really enjoying summer and being at home with JP every day....(for the most part!) :) Enjoy the pics and I will post again as soon as something profound jumps into my head!

Apparently, I plopped him down into he chair too hard. He hit his elbow on the chair. Scooby-doo band aids, here we come!

a child at calvary

It was so hot that day. You didn't have to be outside long before the sweat began to form above your lip and eyebrow. Everyone was screaming. Some were yelling obscenities, others were pleading with the men to stop. By no means was it a quiet day. I was off to the side alone. I did not want to be in the middle of everything. I only came to see if what I had heard was true. I turned to see Him. He was being led up the hill by Roman soldiers. He was carrying His own cross. It must have been really heavy, because as Jesus carried it, He fell to the ground several times. I wanted to run to him and try to help. He had helped me so many times. I knew there was nothing I could do. If it was too heavy for Jesus, I certainly was not strong enough to hold it. He is a much stronger person than I am. He was bleeding. He had really bad bruises all over His body. I had never seen Him like this before. I was a little bit afraid. As the men approached, I ducked behind a bush. It felt safer there.


Once they were at the top of the hill, the guards stabilized the cross into the ground. I understood what they were doing, I just didn't understand why they were doing it to Him. What had He done? The whole seen was ironic, really. There were people there who I know for a fact had followed Jesus and told Him that they loved Him. Now, here were those same people screaming at the Roman men to crucify Him.

I don't know that I can replay the events that took place next. It was very gruesome and emotional for me. My point in telling you the story at all is to share with you some of the last words that I heard Jesus speak. It was after He had been hanging on the cross for a few minutes. He was wailing and moaning in pain. I don't know how I heard Him, but I did. I guess I was supposed to. With spit, gravel, dirt and blood on His mouth, he spoke to His Father and said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing!"

To this day, I cannot get the picture out of my head. Jesus forgave those who cursed Him. As unbelievable as it sounds, it's true. Being there that day and seeing everything that happened to Jesus and knowing He asked His Father to forgive those people, makes it a lot easier for me to forgive those who have hurt me.

Hmmm...I wonder if that's why he made sure I heard Him?


"Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is at all possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'it is Mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:17-21

sunday

It's been a good weekend. JP spent time with his grandmother last night and I was allowed some "mommy" time!! I went to see the movie "The Proposal." It was good. I have always enjoyed Sandra Bullock. I would recommend it. I don't know that it will win any awards, but it was funny!


Tonight we are heading to Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church to see Mary Elizabeth be baptized! I will post those pictures soon. It is always exciting when a child accepts Jesus as their Saviour!


I wanted to share a comment that stuck out to me during the church service this morning. The sermon was packed full of great stuff, but the pastor made a comment that nailed me right between the eyes.....

"The only difference between a Christian and an unbeliever is Jesus!"

God reminded me through His message this morning, that while we are busy pointing our holy fingers at others, He's shaking His head and wishing that we would remember that we were all formed from the same dust. We are NOTHING without him. Shameful, sinful, ugly, and two-faced!


Enter...God's grace! Thank you, Jesus!

In preparing for my bible study tonight, I came across a very comforting passage in Max Lucado's book, "Facing Your Giants" on death. I shared it with my good friend who lost her husband, and our friend Brian, back in May of last year to cancer. I wanted to share it with you too.

"God has the last word on death. And, if you listen, He will tell you the truth about your loved ones. They've been dismissed from the hospital called Earth. You and I still roam the halls, smell the medicines, and eat green beans and Jell-0 off plastic trays. They, meanwhile, enjoy picnics, inhale springtime, and run through knee high flowers. You miss them like crazy, but can you deny the truth? They have no pain, no doubt, and no struggles. They really are happier in Heaven! So, go ahead, face your grief. Give yourself time. Permit yourself tears. God understands. He knows the sorrow of a grave. He buried His son. But, He also knows the joy of resurrection. And by His power, you will too!"

We've all lost someone we love. Someone close to us. Rather it be a spouse, a child, a best friend or a parent. This passage reminded me that we were not designed to stay here on Earth forever. We have a much higher calling! Although it's painful for those of us left behind, some finish earlier than others. While I know it's healthy to cry over them, let's remember today that if we are children of God, death is only the beginning!

"There is no need for you to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope..." 1Thess. 4:13

"...carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word." 1 Thess 4:13

"There is....a time to mourn." Eccles. 3:1,4

little bit O' everything and a few jp-isms

little bit O' everything:

• We have been lazy the past few days. Today we went to Shannon's sister's pool and played for most of the morning. JP is a little fish! We had a lot of fun.
• Went to NewSpring Greenville again on Sunday morning. I'm probably going to write the pastor and tell him that he needs to film us leaving church one Sunday morning- JP is a GREAT advertisement for their children's program. He pitches an all out tantrum every time! I guess that's a good problem to have.
• Scott's having a little bit of outpatient surgery on the 20th of this month. Pray for him. Also, he is playing in the Greenville Amateur golf tournament that same weekend. He's really excited about that.
• JP and I are looking at heading to the beach for the week on the 27th. I am looking forward to getting my little man back to the ocean. And that will mean more pics for you guys!! :)

I guess that's all the "news" for now. I thought it would be funny to list some of the crazy/unique/weird/funny things that JP is doing and saying now.

• He smells everything. He loves the way Scott's deodorant smells, therefore, he sleeps with it. The other night he put it on his lips like chap stick. (I know...I told you, weird!)
• He has several phrases that he uses. Most of them are COMPLETELY used in the wrong context. It's really cute... "Mommy, I need 3 seconds.", " I don't understand", "I need options.", " Good boy, Sandy girl!" (When talking to the dog)
• After we wash him in the bathtub, he wants to fill the tub up with ice cold water and play in it.
• He knows every landmark in Greenville County. Seriously! We were riding past WYFF the other day on the way home. He said, "Look...it's live, local, breaking news!"
• His diet consists of chicken fries, pop tarts, yogurt, spaghetti noodles, popcorn and cereal.
• His new favorite movie is WALL-E. I don't know how he was even introduced to it.
• He is completely potty trained. We are working on him going without our assistance now.
• He loves to drink soda (sugar, caffeine free) out of the can.

I guess that's all for now. This may not interest everyone who reads this blog, but some of you may think it's funny! I hope everyone is having a great week so far!

happy 4th of july!!

Look at these sweet babies holding hands!! Precious! Hangin' at the pool on the lake.

Brian and JP playing with the football!

Luke's cheesy smile.

And then they were tired....

Me and Kathi on the jet ski.

Mom at the pool.

Lovin' on Kathi.

Me, Angel, Kathi and Angela.

Luke and Angela.

Me and my baby.

Angel and Kathi.

Me and Pickle Dave

Playing in the pool with bubba.

JP loves his bubba!