Around the House.. potty and play..

We have been working on potty training some this week. I am a little OCD to try to go directly to panties to make her use the potty. I am told that she won't like the feeling of being wet so she will start using the potty with in 3 days that way. The reason why I don't want to do that, is because of the mess:). I can't imagine having to clean up pee pee from our carpet, floors, and furniture all the time. (Since we don't have hardwood floors). We also recently cleaned our carpet before putting our house up for sale. So my compromise is to try putting her in panties with a pull-up on top. This helps her to feel that she is wet but the pull-up will keep it from making a mess. We have just started with this and she has done pretty well with this. Don't get me wrong, I haven't been very consistent yet. I haven't really wanted to deal with it when we go out, so I have just put a diaper or pull-up on her when we go out, etc. etc. It's definitely going to take A LOT of time, but nonetheless, we are working on it!!!!;)

We have spent some time just playing outside with our neighbor some and working on finding Grace a Halloween costume. She was being a little difficult about finding one, because every thing I showed her she said "I don't like that one". Today, we finally found her a Cinderella costume from the Disney Store that she loves. It is just beautiful. I am very proud of this because it is so pretty and I got it on sale since I waited to buy it. I figured it would be a great investment too since she can use it for the Fall Festival at our church, Halloween and for dress up for a long time!!! Just wait till you see her in it:)

By the way, The Disney Store is one of our new favorite places to browse. Grace just LOVES going in that store too:) It's a little princess' dream store..

A pic from the other day..

Alabama Part Two-- Great Friends and Two Big Events

A great friend of mine Shea Johnson has been pregnant with her first child. We have been friends with her and her husband every since the two of them met about 6 or more years ago. We have been friends with Shea's husband since high school. So this couple holds a very special place in our heart. We have great memories together and we always love getting together with them when we come to AL because it's like we never left when we get around them. We know each other backward and forwards and still love each other:) So when I found out Shea was pregnant I knew I was going to come to AL for the shower.

Then a couple of months ago a childhood friend's mom emailed me and told me that my long time friend, Valerie Brunson was getting MARRIED!! She wanted my address to invite me to her wedding. Valerie was in my wedding and I have wonderful memories of her too as a child. Every year for her B'day, they would have the biggest slumber party for her that was usually 10-15 girls. They also lived on the river so it was a BLAST! She later went off to Auburn (Boooo!;) for college and I never saw much of her. We have reconnected through facebook but nevertheless, I knew I would like to go to her wedding too!

I knew both occasions would be in Oct. possibly and I thought, "wouldn't it be awesome if both the wedding and shower could be in the SAME weekend so I could go to BOTH?!" Guess what?! It was, they both happened to be scheduled for the same day.. Oct. 2nd, one at 3pm and the other at 6pm. How cool is that?!? So, I made plans to go..

Mom went with me to both on Saturday and Shea's shower went GREAT! She got every thing she needs plus some.. and she was stunning! Valerie's wedding was outside at a golf course (Silver Lakes) and it was GORGEOUS! It was right on the lake there at about sunset.

Valerie looked beautiful, just like she always is, and I was happy I got to go. The reception was great and the Grooms cake was really cute too. Her hubby is a HUGE Bama fan and any body that knows Val, knows she and her family has always been HUGE Auburn fans. So the grooms cake was a AU and AL stadium split in half but the table was decorated in AL since that is his team! Very cute!

Alabama Part One- Family and Friends..

Grace and I took our first trip alone to AL which included flying for the first time with just Grace and I. (Adam couldn't take off work since he has a new job but ended up being sick the whole time with a BAD case of laryngitis.) Grace was VERY good on the plane going and coming back home. It was great that she could actually walk through the airports this time instead of having to be held.

We arrived on Thursday. My Mom and Step-Dad Gary, picked us up at the airport in Birmingham and they even brought my niece, Emily with them (she is 4) and Grace was SOOO happy to see them when we got off the plane and met them at the airport. It was so sweet, she took off running towards them and just giggled and giggled!:) That day also happened to be the day that my step-sister Tracey was celebrating my nephew John-Curtis' birthday so we got to go to his BIRTHDAY PARTY!! Grace was super excited about getting to see all 3 of her boys.. Andrew, Aaron, and John Curtis. It was also a special day for her b/c she got her own cupcake at the party:). The next day my Grandma came over to my Mom's house and visited with us for a while. Emily also stayed home from preschool to play with Grace. The weather was great and we even spent time outside playing. Later that day my Uncle Jerry and Allison came over to visit. It was great to see them too!

Saturday was a busy day. We decided to go to Andrew and Aaron Upwards Soccer game that morning. We left there and went by my Mom's friends-- Marti and Dave's house and their grand-daughter (Mallory) was there visiting. This is the first time we had been to their house and Grace had SOOO much fun there. She just LOVED Mallory (who is 6 yrs), they played so well together. They live on the Coosa River and Grace has never been so close to the river like that and they even have a sand bar where she got to play in the sand and feed the ducks, and see REAL fish in real life:). She really liked it! We soon had to run on though and went to Adam's parents because Grace was going to stay with them while Mom and I went to Shea Johnson's baby shower and then to Valerie Brunson's wedding. She was super excited though to be greeted by her Granny and Papa! They had a day planned with Grace of quality time. Her cousin Vann and Aunt Carey and Uncle Brandon also came over later to visit and Grace finally got to play with Vann! This time Vann could actually play and they were too sweet together!!!

When we got back from the wedding that night, Grace was having the BEST time with all of them. She was all excited and her and Vann were chasing each other around the house and just giggling like crazy:) VERY CUTE!!

On Sunday we went to church and lunch with Mom, Gary and my step-sister, Kelly, and then after naptime we went back to Carey's to spend more time with them since I really didn't get much time to see Vann since we had to get home for bedtime. Vann is SOOO sweet and we had dinner with them that day. After dinner we left to get back and see Emily because she had been gone all weekend to her Daddy's. Grace couldn't get up the stairs fast enough at Nana's house to see Emily. They were all so sweet.

We really enjoyed our time. Leaving Nana and Paw Paw at the airport was a little sad for Grace when she realized they weren't coming with her but she was SUPER excited to see her Daddy! When she met her Daddy at the airport she went CRAZY! It was the BEST! We are glad to be home but thankful for our time there..

We just arrived in B'ham..



Grace and Emily holding hands in the car:)


L-R Andrew, Emily, Grace, Aaron, and John Curtis



John Curtis is 3!!


Grandma and the girls


Mallory and Grace

Mallory showing off the fish she caught:)


Playing on the sandbar


Awww.. cousin Vann



Nana and Grace


Grace loves her Aunt Kelly


Grace and cousin Vann.. is that not the best!!


Aunt Carey reading to them:)


Cousin Emily and Grace


Playing Nana's organ for the first time:)


The sunset was gorgeous..



So happy to see Daddy...

Gaslight Parade 2010 and This and That

Last week was the Gaslight Festival in Jeffersontown. On Thursday afternoon was the yearly Gaslight Parade. We went to it 2 years ago and really enjoyed it so I was planning on at least taking Grace and going to the parade since Adam had homework. But Adam wanted to go too (and we wanted him w/ us too:) so he skipped out on homework and went with us!! It was great quality time together and the weather was just perfect! Grace even got her first Laffy Taffy at the parade and had fun dancing to the the music/ school bands.












On Saturday, Grace and I met up with a great friend and fellow Zimbabwe buddy for lunch at Chick-FIL-A. Grace just LOVES Sarah because she is so great with kids and has always been great w/ Grace. Grace got to play in the play place there while we got to 'catch up'. Good stuff!

Adam and the mission group went out again in Valley Station to invite people to movie night and to hand out tracts, etc. I had to work but I'm excited about Movie night tonight in the park.

Our Wednesday activities at church are going great! We've had a great response this semester in all areas and esp. with starting Mom to Mom. It has been great and I'm sorry to say this next Wednesday will be our last Mom to Mom for this Semester. Already looking forward to plans for next semester. Meanwhile, I plan on helping Adam with Awana.

Adam is doing so great with his new job. I am VERY thankful for his hard work. It has taken a HUGE load off of me, and I am enjoying spending more time at home taking care of the house and our family! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Addendum: Zimbabwe video

This is the other video from The Boma Restaurant that I couldn't get to load on to here earlier...

Experiencing Zimbabwe (Videos)

I never got to share some videos of our trip. I wish I would have gotten more of the children singing and dancing, but at least these are all a tidbit of what we experienced! All of the videos are less than a minute long...

These videos are of some of the children singing and speaking to us the first day we were introduced. The other is some church leaders as they sang during one of our church services.. don't they all, including the children, have such a beautiful sound!!

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A small part of Victoria Falls:



This is from The Boma a traditional Africa restaurant in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. They put on a show for us and it even included teaching all of us how to play the drums.. It was SOOO much FUN!!:)

Remembering Zimbabwe Mission Trip July 2010

I read a note today posted by a dear friend (which I shared on facebook) and fellow team member of our Zimbabwe trip, Kristi. She was recounting our experience in Zimbabwe. A I read it, the memories flooded my mind of the AWESOME experience we had among the Tonga tribe in Zimbabwe. I realized that I never really talked about our trip on our blog besides sharing the pictures.

Adam and I felt God calling us to go to Zimbabwe in the Fall of last year. It took a lot of planning, preparation, and financial support for us to go. It was well anticipated! The uncertainty of it all was a little nerve-racking. Esp. the fact of leaving our 2 year old here in Louisville while we traveled over 7,000 miles across the world to a foreign land.

I wanted to think about what stuck out in my mind the most from our trip and to think about what God taught me from that trip. Once we were on our way, the anticipation began to build. Flying for 16 hours straight from Atlanta to South Africa was not as bad as I thought.. the hardest thing, sleeping on the air plane. The planes were equipped with our own T.V with movies, and the food on Delta was actually okay. We landed in South Africa to find that I was shocked at how COLD it was and how industrialized Johannesburg, S. Africa is. This place looked like America. Nonetheless, I was already experiencing some culture shock the first night as we had little access to a phone or else use our cell phone and pay lots of money to call to the U.S. We also had NO heat in our lodge room the first night and the international blow dryer and plug adapter didn't work in S. Africa so I had NO blow dryer and NO heat. Not a good combo for me:)

Adam and I both didn't sleep well the 1st night in our lodge too because we didn't have a fan for noise. So the next day we were EXHAUSTED. We flew to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to find a very DIFFERENT and small airport. We were warned of customs, etc. in Zimbabwe but it really wasn't that bad. The weather was surprising MUCH warmer just one country north of S. Africa. It was in the 60's-70's. We got in the Overlander and was greeted by some very friendly people (Steven, our cook and guide, and our driver, Andrew). The 4 hour drive to MLibizi (the ministry area) was a sight to see. NOW, it was looking like Africa, the Africa we all know.. poor, and barren. We began to see many mud huts, and ladies and small kids walking down the sides of the road carrying foods on their head. We already could see how friendly these people were as they waved to us..

When we arrived in MLibizi, we found our room to be just adequate. As I looked at some of the other team members rooms, some looked cleaner, better furnished, and better decorated. My selfish self looked at our room and thought about how ours wasn't 'as good as their's. Being that we were the only married couple in our group besides the Missionaries. We got a room at the end to have a room to our selves. Our room appeared to be one that the lodge doesn't use very frequently.:) The pictures really didn't do it justice.

By the next day, when we went out to be among the tonga tribe of people, the Lord QUICKLY 'broke' me! An overwhelming sorrow that I could not control filled my heart as I saw how the Tonga had NOTHING and how they lived. It was like, it didn't even phase them. I thought about all my selfish ways of feeling sorry for my self in the smallest of financial struggles, and then even thinking on how I had been even AFTER arriving to Africa. I needed to BE thankful!

I also remember the very first time we faced the Tonga children and women when we arrived and the teacher let school out early. All the kids gathered on the ground out side the school house and they all looked at us like they knew we had something VERY important to tell them. They sat in eager awe as they listened. They sang songs and we sang to them too. They LOVE to sing, AND dance. I LOVED hearing them sing and watching them dance!! Their sound is ONE I will NEVER forget! As they sat there and Nick (our group leader) spoke to them and Robbie game his testimony with a translator, the realization of what was happening hit me like a TON of bricks. Tears began to stream down my face as I looked into all their beautiful faces and saw their need for a Savior! I realized that the trip we had been planning for so long, was finally here and the HUGE opportunity we had to share the WONDERFUL news of Jesus to a people who needed to hear. My heart ached for them to KNOW Jesus. I was excited to see what God would do..

We went hut to hut sharing the Creation to Christ with a translator, and Adam and I actually got to see 2 ladies get saved that we shared with. We had church services, and leadership training for committed Tonga men who were serious about spreading Jesus among the Tonga. Us ladies spent most of our time LOVING on the Tonga women and children. The pictures I have of them, even in my mind, hopefully, I will never forget. These kids were great!! They flocked to us every time we pulled up. I still miss those sweet Tonga children.. and how they laughed at us as we tried to learn some of their language.

In all, 12 people got saved and we got to hand out The gospel of John in Tonga, and many other tracts while we were there.

In conclusion: When I think about what God taught me from that trip..

1.) I think about how first of all he HUMBLED me! To this day, when I feel caught up in the things of this world, when I think about wanting something/ buying things, etc. etc. the Lord humbles and convicts me to think about what I really need and to spend money wisely. I want to use my money to help serve others, and makes me realize how
blessed I am, when I just look back at those Tonga people.

2.) The Lord has given me an even greater heart for missions and for orphans all over the world that need Him and a better life.

3.) The Lord has shown me that I need an even greater passion for Him and to know Him and his Word more. I was AMAZED at the Tonga men that have stood up and are trying to follow Jesus despite all of their every day barriers. The fact that most all of them don't even have their own Bible. Getting the Bible in the Tonga language is VERY difficult. Some have English Bibles. They don't have their own church building, resources, etc. etc. but they STILL have a passion and ZEAL for God to continue to HUGE work that is before them. They also know the Bible well! This was an AWESOME encouragement to see how God was working in their lives and to see THEIR passion!!

I thank God for these people and what a blessing they were to us while we were there. They still need our prayers....

Week in Review

Last weekend I hosted a Premier Jewelry party to support a friend, Amy Helms with her adoption. She is just beginning the process and I am very happy for them. The party went good. I also ended up getting a good number of outside orders so I was happy with that! The bonus is that I earned FREE jewelry from the sales of the party and orders so I am now super excited about the jewelry I will get for only the shipping and tax cost. I placed my order last night!!:)

On Sunday night, we went to the Pezzullo's for Mission group and had food, and our lesson, and then went out into their neighborhood knocking on doors and handing out tracts and inviting people to church. The weather was great and thankfully A LOT of people were at home. Hopefully, fruit will come from that...

Adam and I both started our new schedule this week. With that, another adjustment but Adam says the job is actually pretty easy.

Grace and I went to the mall yesterday in St. Matthews and she wanted to wear her necklace. She has a long strand of (fake) pink pearls and she wore it in the mall and every one went nuts over her 'jewelry'!!:) She's my girlie girl!!!!!!

We had our Wednesday night activities last night and Grace went to her Honeybees class. (the program for the 2 year old's (like Awana, but catered to 2 year olds). Grace just LOVES it, and she is learning 3 bible verses over the semester too. She has FABULOUS teachers that are very gifted too. When we picked her up she had this sticker on her...:) (click on the picture to make it bigger)

Labor Day Weekend at it's Best!!

Labor day weekend brought about lots of excitement for us 1.) It was a long weekend for all of us! 2.) Football season started 3.) Bats Game with the home groups at our church.

I will start with the Bats game. This is the minor league baseball team here in Louisville. Adam and I had never been to one of their games until last Sunday night. For a little Labor Day special activity all of the home groups/ our friends, met at Slugger Field for the game on Sunday night and we all sat out on the lawn. It was $1 hot dog and $1 drinks that night too, so that was a bonus! They even have a playground and carousel to entertain the kids. I don't think any of us really watched the game... but it was fun for all of us! It ended with a Labor Day firework show!

Some of the group....











Last Saturday, was very exciting, not only was the weather just perfect for the first college football Saturday, but we were all home to watch the game. Thank the Lord for Espn3!:) Grace was even pumped for the game... ha!

She kept saying ROLL TIDE!!.. and that is exactly what she was doing in the second pic..





ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!