Lift My Noise

Grrrrrr

2012-02-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

A force to be reckoned with. With another one of those open-mouth/astonished expressions that she's into these days

Now, I can honestly say that I never anticipated this phone call.
Checking a few emails before the end-of-day-run to get carpool, my cell phone rang. Esther's kindergarten teacher.

"Hey Mrs. Plotner, everything ok with Essie?"
As every mom knows, 2:30 phone calls from the teacher are not the norm.
"Yes, Esther is just fine. I just have to tell you, I have asked her over and over to quit growling at these little kids, and she just keeps on."
"Oh my goodness - she's been doing that all week!"
"I know. It hasn't been a problem until today. But since it's Kindgerten Roundup, we have all these little 4-year-olds and their parents walking through our classroom, and she's scaring them to death! She's got this big 'ol scowl on her face, growling at them."

Mrs. Plotner could barely get her words out between giggles.
I, too, was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. In and out in our short conversation, I could hear Esther next to the phone with her low, guttural growls.
Just the night before, as Hudson and I were going over his vocab words in my bedroom, Esther came in for "one more hug." As she left, I called out that I loved her, and from the darkened hallway, Hud and I heard Grizzly Adams respond, "I love you too."
Hud and I looked at each other and cracked up.

So on to this crazy phone call, I simply told Mrs. Plotner that I was indeed sorry, but that if she'd have called me six years earlier with my oldest, I would have been mortified. A heap on the floor. But for some reason, I can barely type these words without giggling. Funny how time (and experience) changes our responses.

And for those of you who know me best - feel free to reel me in if you see my sense of humor trumping my parental authority to the point where my little #4 is out of control. Because the way I see it, Essie is simply our future Baylor Bear in training. And bringing much joy along the way.

Practicing Gratitude... 2.01.12

2012-02-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

-Yet another family portrait... a priceless one at that

-This legacy that Papa's building... love, love, love and WHIPPED CREAM

- Star Blazers, a new bond for Hud & Daddy

- Pretty eyes, pretty hearts

- That your presence, Lord, in the present is an endless source of joy, a continual feast. The soul-satisfaction I find in you helps me relate to other people. As I enjoy your abiding presence, I can bless others with my gentleness." Adapted from Treasury of Praise. Thankful, thankful for His abiding presence.

- A particular nursing home spy

- To get to have this one to be in our home, along with his brothers...

- That these notes appear in multitudes, and I can't get enough of them

- Mornings when Corbin drives kids to both schools... his generosity is not normal

- Celebrating Todd's 40 years- foundational friends in our lives - grateful for so many great years of friendship with the Brogdons

- That Basden gets Daboo for her science teacher (and that our school makes this an option)

- Matthew 13, when rocky ground becomes fertile

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Jesus and Lions Don't Need My Help

2012-01-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

"Here, read this book, it's exactly what I believe and what I want to teach my children about who I think God is."
The last part of her sentence was telling... "who I think God is."

In this case, coming from the lips of a self-proclaimed atheist, "who she thinks God is" is quite contrary to the God of the Scriptures. I took the book, thumbed through it, promised to read it, grateful she would share it with me. I watched her children play on a blanket as my thoughts swirled with a silent response that God has already revealed to us who He is, and that description hasn't changed an ounce since He revealed himself to Moses as "I AM."

Later that evening, back in the comfort of my own home, I realized I'd felt a little anxious spending the evening with this family. This couple has welcomed us into their lives, but I feel like I'm walking on eggshells when we're together. They have boldly communicated their disdain for Christ and Christians alike, and well, that includes Corbin and me. I feel like if I say the wrong thing or comment on my own faith they'll be outta there - and our friendship vanishing with it.

Thinking through my anxious feelings, I realized a couple of things. One, I really enjoy these friends. They're funny and smart and tender and endearing. And for some reason they like us. And two, no one cares more about their hearts and salvation than God - I AM - does.

I am again hit between the eyes (and refreshed and relieved) with the fact that I don't have to convince these friends about who God is, or of Jesus' saving grace. I can rest in my faith and in just being myself, and it's not my concern to justify or defend God or Jesus or what I believe. I'm reminded that Jesus is exquisite and lovely and STRONG. He is quite capable of drawing people to Himself (as He did with me), and he doesn't need to be defended. He can and will speak for himself. A couple of Sundays ago in a sermon on Scripture as God's writings to us, Pastor Kitchens concluded, "The Bible is a LION. We don't have to defend it."

Thank goodness.

Practicing Gratitude... 1.25.12

2012-01-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

- Love notes she tapes on my desk

- Watching Basden rest her head on Papa's shoulder in church

- A mouthful of stitches and capable docs and professionals to take care of Hud

- Strong, healthy teeth that remained in tact

- First one tooth, then the next... and now both top are loose. This one a little more difficult to be grateful for... not ready for her to grow up.

- Lots of hands gathered for dinner. Even better when those hands encircle Cousins BBQ

- Tim Tebow's book, Through My Eyes, and how it captivated Bran

- Shared earphones

- Corbin's morning workouts (thank you, Jerry!!)

- New leashes. We can finally walk the pups. Feel like someone just taught me how to get my newborn to sleep through the night

- Max Anders' writing

- Bran vacuuming the pool house without being asked

- The reminder that newborns bring of the precious value of LIFE. And these boys are precious!

- that Father, you will use for good the struggles my loved ones face

- This little darling. Also grateful for her mommy and daddy's outrageous creativity displayed in their new home

- Latrice and her shopping expertise (and a new rug)

- Nursing homes and voice recorders

- Papa and Doug, better (and cheaper) than the experts

- Three and a half years... OVER. The Lord's new mercies, forgiving hearts, hope that doesn't disappoint, and a new start

- Our new favorite thing to do together

- Solar plants south of San Antonio

- That the battles are not ours, but YOURS, Lord (that I put my hope in you, and you act on my behalf)

- Bunch of boys and pizza and poker... believe it or not, thrills this mom's heart

- Rice crispy treats - and that cutie who loves them

- These Birds Nest volunteers

- Corbin's calm presence

- David's shoes found and our faith increased

- My snuggle queen

- That You live in me so that I can love with your love

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Practicing Gratitude... 1.09.11

2012-01-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

- little girls in foam curlers (oh my gosh)

- Rainy Mondays

- Sacrificial husbands

- Tina and her camera

- Corbin taking Bran & Hud for a (quick) trip to the mountains

Bran, Foster and Hudson. I remember dreaming with Mama and Auntie Cam about the day they would grow up and all go ski (snowboard) together... can't believe those days are already here

I know I'm his mom, but he's pretty darn cute

- Meanwhile, a fun Girls weekend here - Menchies topped their must-do list

Yes, she was excited, but Esther has decided to take all of her pictures wide-mouth-shocked these days...

- Boys sleeping in pool house for the first time

- Glimpses of her growing beauty

- Our fireplace... when in use!

- Corbin's Costco shopping trips

- Watching God throw out a bone - a BIG bone

- That even difficult days come to an end. Your mercies are new every morning.

- Years of sleeping together in this queen bed... this marks their last night as twin beds were delivered today

- Baby Giraffe

- A refrigerator and pantry full of good food

- Father, that even the person who is least in your kingdom is greater than the most prominent and successful person ever born. Except from Treasury of Praise

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

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Practicing Gratitude... 12.31.11

2011-12-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

- Cappy & Daboo's full house for Christmas (almost full, anyway - missing our Atlanta crew!)

- That Christmastime can make even veggies a special treat

- Aunt Julie's creativity in merging James traditions... great job, Julie. You make Christmas FUN.

- Cousin banter. These twins bring a fantastic new dynamic.

- Basden's simplicity and contentedness

- Baylor victories - RG3 for Heisman and Alamo bowl. Go Bears! (and Frogs)

- Customized Secret Santa cousin gifts

- Bruce the shark, Aunt Julie hit the bulls-eye with this one

- As Pappy would say, for a minute there these girls had some real power

- Basden never more than a few inches from these babes

- Watching Chris and Crystal maneuver Payton and Naomi's sleeping and eating and playing schedules

- A couple of pretty hours at the park with pretty girls

- Private lessons from Uncle Chris - who can still wow his nephews with his home-run derby

My mind's eye still sees Chris at Hudson's age, baseball in hand, throwing the ball with Luke and dinging up the backyard fence

- Daboo's gift to all the (grown-up) girls - shopping, lunch, and TIME. Looking forward to next year's outing with Amy at the table (and thanks, guys, for watching all the kids!)

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

An Open Gate

2011-12-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

This Christmas photo, circa 1976 or so, takes me back to my growing up years when we spent every holiday in south Texas with both sets of grandparents. Here I am with Pappy, Cappy's daddy. Pappy had more interesting stories than could possibly fill this blog, and loved to tell them over and over into late hours of the night.

Written this year by my Aunt Francine, my dad's sister, this poem wraps up all those memorable Christmases. I don't know how she managed to fit all these family memories into a few lines, except that she's her mother's daughter. No surprise there. Every line represents a hundred back stories.
Thank you, Aunt Francine, for remembering, for writing, for rhyming our stories. Love you much, and Merry Christmas.

An Open Gate

An open gate
under an old oak tree
A quirky little country club
we call family

Sell ice to the Eskimo, be a doctor, a model
build and pilot your own plane
What a trip up past the windmill
to the house at the top of the lane

A fair haired child on a pony
the CEO unloading hay
an artist at living digging a ditch
and pretty people in for the holiday

Someone grand at the piano
the kitchen full around a veggie tray
Triumphant laughter from the game room
as dominoes click and pool sticks go into play

Barbie babes parading braids
Computer guys playful with expertise
A cowboy in his copter flying by
after three tours with the Vietnamese

Cattle dotting the view from the pool
Big Fat and Happy, Sheba, Brahma and Bo
Driving instructors out on the range
And world problems solved out on the patio

Fireworks flaring, coyotes caroling
Hay rides and city lights on display
If you ever got to finish a sentence
No one was listening to ya anyway

Parting gifts include a legacy
Roots and wings inclusively
An open gate under an old oak tree
What on earth could be more Heavenly...

Francine
December 2011

Practicing Gratitude... 12.21.11

2011-12-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

- Amy's LIFE. We'll never know.

- Being reminded of this... There is no greater measure of my work as a woman than the extent to which I serve as the heart of my home. - Nancy Leigh DeMoss

- December 15 - happy happy birthday Dad! So glad you were born!

- December 17 - Trey's birthday - glad you were born, too!

- A night set aside for Christmas lights and Menches

- Bran's natural leadership among his brother and sister... four brooms in action

- That Esther can write her own Christmas wish list - and pin it above my desk to see! ("Costco - Mommy buy some Uggs")

- Yummy Christmas goodness from friends - dropped at our door warm!

- Luke, Julie and boys here, Chris and family coming in tomorrow

- A spontaneous evening in a nursing home, and getting to watch my children's interactions

- Being stretched by house stuff, even when it's "all good," it can be hard to live in. Skylar's (and others') reminder for contentedness and satisfaction in the midst. And, what joy we have to look forward to. Grateful.

- First lost tooth!!

- Watching Christmas movies looks a little different this year, and no one seems to care

- The way a walk revives my heart

- Our dear friends the Brogdons, how much they mean to us, and that we got a couple of hours with them on a whim!

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

John's Gift

2011-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

His thoughtful gift not only took me off guard, but it surprised me how much it meant to me. He met me in the kitchen, eyes bright and expectant, and ushered me to the festive gift bag and generous plate of cellophane-wrapped brownies perched on the counter top.

He helped untangle the mass of grocery bags from my arms while Basden chanted behind him, “Mom, he bought it with his own money!”

“Yeah, Mrs. TJ, I bought it with my money. I hope you like it.”

Seriously, he looked like a kid in a candy store. And his big grin looked just brilliant on his eleven-year-old face. With one child plinking away at piano keys in the foyer (yes, the foyer), a couple of puppies playing tag at our ankles, and a few more kiddos watching our exchange, John stood before me at full attention, arms extending the gift bag in my direction.

“Ok, John, I can’t wait to see what this is. I can’t believe you thought of me on my birthday, and went to all this trouble bringing a gift!”
I pulled out colorful tissue paper and found two homemade cards - one from John and one from his little sister, a couple of years younger. His sister’s was sweet, adorned with stickers and a happy birthday message. John’s was a little more masculine (unadorned) but his scrawled words caught my heart strings.

Regardless of what I would reach in and find, I’d already received his gift. The fact that John likes me is nothing short of a miracle. Yes, he frequents our home. A lot. And we all love him. He’s like a brother to Bran & Hud, and of course the girls as well. But I’m telling you, I speak to him like one of my own children, raise my voice with him right there, and he sees all the real sides of this mom. He’s seen me overreact and overcorrect. And then ask forgiveness because of it. He’s seen me respond to my children at the height of hormones, seen me throw a sloppy meal together in minutes, seen my disgusted reaction when I walk into a messy room. When I bark at my kids to bring in the groceries or firewood, his name is part of the roll call (and for the record, he works hard and happy - often an example for the Wilson kids). What I can mask or disguise for some, John sees it all.

And... he still likes me... the real me.

I kind of expect that from my children, my husband. But it took me back a bit for a neighbor boy to love me despite knowing the real, sometimes-harmonious but sometimes-dissonant me. He is at times shooed out of the house, we’ve said no to spending the night way more times than we’ve said yes, and he’s expected to live by our house rules when in our home.  
And yet he loves us.

Under John’s watchful eyes, I reached deep in the bag, and nestled in the tissue paper were a blue and gray knit scarf and matching gray gloves.
Beautiful.
“I hope you like it, Mrs. TJ! ”
“John, it’s just gorgeous. Thank you so much, this means so much to me. This will keep me warm ALL winter.”
And believe me, it does.

Practicing Gratitude... 12.12.11

2011-12-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

- These eyes. They’re not from me or from her daddy. Just an over-the-top gift.

- Boxing gloves

- Oh goodness - how we love Mrs. Warner! She not only teaches Basden to play piano, but she brings out such sweetness in her.

- Michelle's email

- Friends who remember. A birthday’s a birthday, no matter the age.

- Atlee’s ten years... a golden friend for Basden

- That amidst mounds of dirt, boulders, gravel and mud, there’s a POOL in our yard!

- An Augustine quote shared from a friend just last night, “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write.”

- Tears in my kitchen sink - feeling pain for a dear friend's pain

- These two, inseparable and too funny

- Yummy potato soup that everyone loves (and that's easy to make!)

- That our home opens the door for us to a great public school

- Hudson’s “1st Annual” trip to the coast - ha!

- Bella's generosity

- Two episodes of “World’s Strictest Parents” with Bran over the weekend, sequestered to watching on our bed with popcorn and a laptop because there’s no furniture or TV downstairs

- Jordan

- Toasted chocolate chip bagels with butter

- My awesome Christmas decor. Seriously. Learning some great lessons.

- Aunt Francine's Texas Kiss Almond brittle... makes it seem a little more like Christmas

- Fourteen and counting. These kiddos will ALL inhabit Mom and Dad's home next week - who hoo! And - even more incredible... these stockings are in age order, and all four of mine are at the top. That means there are TEN younger than Esther. Who wants to come and spend Christmas with us??!

- Christmas cards from near and far - amazing people who have shaped Corbin and me over the years. Grateful!

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

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Practicing Gratitude... 12.05.11

2011-12-05T20:48:00.000-08:00

- Hand prints in wet concrete, evidence of those precious souls who inhabit this home

- Psalm 1, timelines, and a bag of apples

- That Adventures in Odessey has the power to draw in my (no longer) reluctant tween

- From Essie, "I just love you so much, I could kiss you a thousand times."

- Another from Essie, "Mom, I really love school, I just wish it wasn't so long." TUGS at my heart. Grateful for the tug, for how much I love this little gal.

- Great basketball teams for both boys

- Hearing Bran laugh at Hud's joke during dinner - instead of rolling his eyes...

- Actually enjoying Cross and Ruby's company at home during the day

- Simple, sweet Advent

- Celebrating 40

- Ready forgiveness from my children

- Our (quite beautiful) Charlie Brown Christmas tree - getting to where I can love and appreciate (and be grateful for) the simplicity

- False alarms at 3 am - and dogs that need to get outside

- No Ordinary Home, that she taught me how to Celebrate His COMING
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

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Practicing Gratitude... 11.28.11

2011-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

- Creative Mama

- Cooking in Mama's kitchen, with people who can really cook

- Uncle Alan's turkey

- Bran and Hud's "man cave" in the suburban

- That the piano never sat silent

- Our Christmas gift from Benjamins

- These awesome yellow things... transformed ice skating with little ones

- Bran getting to help Uncle Alan with this thing - a just-minutes-ago decapitated elk

- Lots of little mouths to feed

- Powerful prayers from a friend

- Painted teapots, needle felting, picture collages, mancala, boys camping in a blizzard

- Corrina! What a gem. Photos from Uganda, India, slum children, goodness...

- Hunting for pine cones - and bringing home three bags of bounty

- That my eldest becomes a BOY in the mountains

- Foster's influence evident with Hudson asking for a Thermarest for Christmas

- A super thoughtful birthday gift

- One night of sleeping in the loft with both our girls, sweet.

- Essie and Rowan BFFs - a new (fantastic) development

- Nickmo saving the day, at home watching Cross & Ruby (no small task)

- Corbin meeting little Pate for the first time

- Corbin driving eleven hours

- Taking the time on road trips (with my husband driving) to organize pictures on my laptop

- Alan and Vicky's easy, generous hospitality, and how much the Wilson kids love being with the Keister crew

- The boys' admission of their favorite holiday tradition - spending time with relatives - something I don't have to "do!"

Missing four from Seattle...

- A week's break from thinking about our home and all the goings-on there

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Practicing Gratitude... 11.21.11

2011-11-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

- Our brand-new little cousin, Brenna Christian, born 11.11.11. She's the youngest of four - all 4 years and younger! Thankful for a new (beautiful!) James gal.

- A friend's reminder, "Love is the willingness to give to the other person what I have that they need, because God wants me to."

- Hud getting to pretend he was a Dallas Cowboy - we all had fun pretending! Way to go, Superbowl Champs -

Final 6-0. Whew!

- Nettie May's eight years... and how she is loved lavishly by her two-week younger cousin...

- One mouse down - thanks to Yukon

- Friendships that take effort. And those that don't.

- Ms. Summey, and the reminder that our faith can bring others before Christ. One day, one friend, one Savior.

- My laundry room - seriously.

- Maggie Boone's arrival. And what her Mama means to us.

- Taking walks here - how it lifts my spirits to be on this path.

- Deut 33:12 - Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long and the One the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. LOVE this.

- Basden's EIGHT years - she is truly my little joy.

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Happy 10th to Hud

2011-11-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

Last week's unique date 11.11.11 prompted a myriad of celebrations around the world - weddings, over-the-top anniversaries, treks to casinos in hopes of extra luck on an extraordinary date... and our family even welcomed a new little gal into the world on that incredible date, Trey & Amy's little #4, Brenna Christian!! Wowzers. But I must say, in the hoopla of 11.11.11, it was the day before that struck our little home as meaningful - my boy turned ten on the 10th. Celebrating his life and all that he means to us this week.

My AMAZING Hudson -

You were ten on the tenth. Your golden birthday, as I’ve learned, since your age falls on your birthdate. And even though you weren’t super thrilled about a golden birthday party (I get that), we managed to throw in some glitter and bling to celebrate this milestone.

Today marked the gift of a decade with you. A full decade of your big brown eyes, your slow grin, your sensitive spirit, your tenacious desire to get what you set your sights on.
You sit comfortably in the background. Until someone needs to be tackled, that is, or until a fly ball zinging into the outfield begs to be caught.

Otherwise, you’re pretty content going undercover, under the radar, giving space to all the others fighting for the stage.

I love that about you.

I love that after a massive play on some sports field, you take a quiet exit with your head down.

I love that when Esther asks me to play Memory and I brush her aside because preparing dinner is more pressing, without a word you set aside your spelling packet and clamor down on the carpet with her, turning over cardboard pictures of Eyore and Pooh.

I love that you exasperate Daddy with your “simple” palate (which, thanks to his insistence, is slowly growing wider.) Some of your favs right now are Root beer, gummy worms, poppy seed chicken, chips and queso, cake and dessert with NO fruit, asparagus, chicken pot pie, beef jerkey, Funions. As for restaurants, Chipoltle and Mi Cocina.

Your favorite lunch, Chipoltle chicken burrito

I love that you’ve learned to wake up with a happy heart, and gone are the days of tears in your waffles because it’s cold and dark outside - too early for any human to be out of bed.

You have a perfect place in this family. You usher in consistency, calm, and a big grin. And with those things, plenty of giggles and silly banter with your siblings and friends. I’ve seen you hyper - plenty hyper - exuberant over a victory or giddy with lots of kids running around. But in general, you are a calming presence for us.

I love your love for God’s word, for your sincere faith that what the Bible says is TRUE. You don’t question moral absolutes, and you have a strong conviction for following rules. You are a strong leader without needing to be center of attention.

I love your linear brain. You think systematically, in precise order.
And yet you exhibit creativity with music, piano, creating, and drawing. But drawing, even so, is fun for you when it’s copied from a source, not so much when free-drawing. Too much freedom kind of freaks you out.
I’ve loved our TEAM HUDSON this fall - cheering you on in football, soccer and baseball while the rest of us lay low.

Thank you for what your bring to our family, our home, our friends. I love being your mom, love being associated with you.

Esther wants to marry you when she grows up. Basden wants to marry someone just like you. And he may not fully realize it yet, but you are the best and most loyal friend Branson will ever have.
I love you with my whole heart, Hud. Happy, happy ten years to you!


A tribute to Cappy's childhood - building model airplanes

TCU parade with student council

Meeting baby Pate for the first time

Tarp surfing in the cul-de-sac

A new pasttime - drawing birds

I love you, Hud. I'm so grateful for ten years of getting to be your Mom!

Living, Active Words

2011-11-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Scripture describes itself as living and active. And it is. I've seen it, experienced it.
But I'm reminded tonight that many words are living and active, that it's not just the Bible that can touch and convict and encourage, in different ways, in different seasons.

Any good work of fiction is alive - transporting us to Narnia or Tarabithia or Maycomb. I love words, the power of them all strung together in just the right way, and how they can touch us at once, then be just what we need months or years later again.

I read this post on Ann Voskamp's blog a over a year ago, and loved it. Bookmarked it. And tonight, searching for a list of must-read books for boys, I came across these words again, under her title of "Figuring Out How to Parent Teenagers."

Parenting isn’t so much about instructing people as it is about invitation into Presence.

For only the Spirit of God can take a child and shape him into a whole and holy person. My parenting cannot do this work. I forget this. I realize parenting is complicated with seasons necessitating instruction, admonition, intervention… but I wonder –
Is my work as a parent less about directing and more about being a friend who’s a spiritual director?
It’s our tender love that woos them back to His.

I needed that. Needed Ann's words, written perhaps when she felt like a failure (?), when she wasn't sure of the next step? Tender love. Grace. Wooing our sons and daughters to their Savior. That resonates in my heart, calms me tonight. Grateful for living, active words.

Practicing Gratitude... 10.31.11

2011-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

- Esther wearing her great-grandmother Esther's dress, which the original Esther sewed herself

- This very special mustard...

- My guy who's as awesome as the one on the book cover

- Tulsa time... rule follower colliding with free spirit

- Being anticipated

- That Broderick, 2, will be a big brother in a few months

- Bogan's big grin - and that he loves his auntie!

- Bogan's first goal
- Bogan's second goal
- Bogan's third goal!

- Branson's sweatshirt from Gap kids, now worn by Broderick... I remember buying this as Bran toddled around the mall, anticipating a long soccer career for my boy. Passed down through all of my own kiddos and now on to the soccer-loving James cousins.

- My heart runs deep for Julie and Luke (and Mom!)

- This coffee table, seasoned with laughter and conversations and tears and stories (and stories and stories...) from Granny's south Texas den. Now surrounded by even more stories in its home in Tulsa.

- Basden wearing a costume my mom sewed for me as a young girl for a piano performance, of all things. I remember my resourceful mother using fabric we already had - red with little white hearts, and coordinating white with red. Darling! (and resourceful - Mom still had it in her attic!)

- Queen Esther. She came up with this one all on her own. "Because my real name is Esther."

- Hud's 1/2 price soldier costume, found the night before at Cracker Barrel!

- Bran coming up with a "friendly" costume. And John the Trix rabbit...

- The fact that Halloween is OVER (notice that all the kids changed costumes in the few days that passed between the school parade and actual Halloween??!)

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Practicing Gratitude... 10.24.11

2011-10-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

- Those Rangers... and those players who make up the team.

- Celebrating the first World Series game (even with a loss)

- Dr. Nelms' generosity

- Napoli's 3-run homer (C'm on! It's the World Series!)

- Nowhere else we'd rather be

- Josh Hamilton, and this book we are loving reading aloud with our boys. Each chapter leaves them begging for more

- A dust-filled home. All points to progress.

- Mama & Papa having a place here in Fort Worth.

- Nickmo!!!

- Skylar knowing the ins and outs of our family, home, dogs - her friendship and service to us

- Taking time to be still

- Hud's quick catch at pitcher

- Many years of celebrating birthdays with Hotchkisses

- Esther's "double" grin - she smiles, then when our eyes connect, it goes even deeper

- Peeking in at the sisters asleep, all limbs a tangle, in that big queen bed

- Nightly routine

- Hud playing memory on the floor with Es

- Cappy & Daboo in the stands

- Bran grateful for being out of a slump

- Cloudy day, cooler weather

- Boxing gloves

- THIS story. HILARIOUS.

- Davis' hospitality - AND theater room to watch the World Series!

- Dependent on the Lord directing my steps. Too many to figure out on my own.

- These two and their love for this

- Open conversations in the bleachers

- The end of an era - Randy and Lindsay taking their dining table to it's rightful home - after a decade in ours. Oh what sweet conversations move along with it.

- Anticipating two more baby cousins (makes 14 for the James side alone)

- Brighton's EIGHT years today. Love you, sweet boy!

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12