My 29th Birthday

My friends were so sweet to me this year for my birthday. I felt very well, probably over-celebrated. My birthday fell ON Father's day this year, and look at all the people that came to celebrate with me. It was very kind. We went to a place called HopJacks. It was wonderful and fun. Several friends also took me out for coffee a couple of days later...again, one of my absolute favorites. Thanks, everyone!

Here's the crew at HopJacks. Notice the ENORMOUS pan of cupcakes...thanks Amanda!!
It was so, so hot in there that night...sorry about that!
Thank you all for your kind gifts...It made me feel very known and loved. You really gave me many of my favorite things: a coffee mug (extra large!! yay), a new book (definitely one of my fav things), a bottle of wine (my favorite kind to be exact), and a new picture frame (love it!). I also can't forget the pedicure...yes, please. Thank you all for your friendship...You are all truly an answer to prayer.

Boots, Hats, and Prayers

Sportin' daddy's hat and a kool-aid stain.
Check out the cowby & rain boots & the "cowboy" hats. We've been dressing like this a LOT lately.

These boys crack me up. They've been riding their toys & dressing in their boots and hats for several days now. I think it's hilarious. Also, they've been arguing every meal about who gets to pray. Isn't that sad? I think they argue about everything. Here are some of Hudson's recent prayers. He's a funny kid.

H: "God. Tank you sooo much for the woooonderful day. God please just give us ooonnne more woooonderful sunny day and theeeyun a rain day to water all the plants. And tank you for this food. Amen."

H: "God. Tank you for this wooonderful day. And God please help our plant that died. Please help it to grow again. And please help us remember to give it water. Amen."

L.O.L. Sad. He's devastated about our plant that died. I hate to say that I'm not quite that devastated. So sad. Micah looked at it yesterday and said we should water it...Hudson replied, "No Micah, (with the saddest face) it's too late."

New 'Do

Before...sweet little baby boy.

After...looking WAY too grown up. Sad.

Matt has been dying to buzz his hair for months now. We cut Hudson's when he was about the same age. It's amazing to me how different their hair is...Micah's is so soft that it just lays down. Buzz cut and no spike for him. I think it makes his cheeks look even more scrumptious.

Thankful Thursday

Prom pose, anyone?? Ignore the huge glare...I thought this picture was too funny not to share.

This Thursday I am thankful for this man. The pic was taken on our SEVENTH anniversary back in May. Wow. I can't believe it's been 7 years.

Lately he has been taking up a LOT of my slack...this preggo woman has been sick sick sick at night. So, he has bathed our children and put them to bed almost every night...with no complaints. I am so thankful for him. He is kind, generous, and serving.

Children up at the CRACK of dawn =

Chick-fil-A in my near future. Seriously. Why, oh why must my children rise with the sun? I mean, the sun is rising before 6 a.m. Am I awake at that time? Yes. Do I want to be interracting with my children at that time? No. A resounding no. It usually does not work well for us to begin our interraction with each other this early...I see a whiney day in my future. And a whiney day calls for Chick-Fil-A...whaa whaa.

In honor of the chick a lay, I thought I should post our Cow Appreciation Day pics. I love Cow Appreciation Day: dress like a cow and receive a free combo meal. That's right. Awesome.

The kids and their friends. Boat load of little cows.
Ya think he's happy??

I could eat him up. Too stinkin' cute.

Cheese...

He's looking so grown up these days.

HOW is Mr. Spivey not in this pic??? How in the world did I let him escape the photo op of him in his hot cow attire? Sigh. So sad. If you do need to see a pic of him (to prove he participated with a good attitude), we did make the website. That's right. Sure did.

So, if any of you wanna join me. You'll know where to find me.

Who Knew??

Who knew there was a splash pad in Mobile??? I had heard a looooong time ago that there was and I searched and searched for it to no avail. Well, last week LaJuan found it. Hooray!!! Soo exciting. We took the kids today and they loved it. It was H.O.T. for the mammas, though. I think that a cloudy day will be a better choice for this activity, but all in all the boys had an awesome time. So, we will be back!

Please Pray

Remember me telling you a while back that Matt is changing jobs this year? Well, school has begun this week and it is off to a rough start. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but it is evident that it's gonna be really hard. The above pic is of a few girls that committed to a Bible Study with me in the month of July. It was amazing. God is at work, and we know without any doubts that He has called Matt to that middle school. Would you pray with us? Pray that God's presence would surround Matt as he teaches...as he steps out of his comfort zone? Would you pray that hearts would be moved by the Gospel? Would you pray specifically that today some of the kids in his class will come to our Bible Club at the Community center? Would you pray that they would see a difference in the way Matt relates to them? That God would receive glory and that they would see Jesus? I know with everything in me that the Gospel changes everything. It changed me. It changed Matt. It changes lives and changes communities. Pray with us, please, that the Gospel would rule in his classroom and that there would be seventh graders that give their lives over to Jesus...and that generations would be changed. I believe it can happen. And you can also pray for these girls (many of whom go to that school), that the Gospel that they heard this summer would take root in their hearts. I love those girls.

I am Wishing For...

• Fall Weather


• The pukey phase of pregnancy to be finished


• A nice, cool run


• Dinner to taste good again


• Smelly things to go away

And that's all for now, I think. I'll try to have something a little more interesting tomorrow. Today, this is where I'm at.

This is how I feel

It's been one of those days.

Thankful Thursday...You'll wanna read this one.

This Thursday I am thankful for......another little bambino due to arrive in March. Yep, you heard me. I'm preggo. And sick. And tired. And sick. And growing. Did I mention sick? I'm very excited and very thankful to the Lord for one of His blessings. I can't imagine my life without little (0r not so little) Hudson and Micah. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for our family. Soooooo....can I blame my preggo hormones for not totally following through with my 30 days of blogging?? I hope so. Still planning to continue : )

And can I say to you friends that earnestly long for a baby that I am praying for you? I have been reminded so often of you by the Lord and I am praying. Praying that God fulfills your hearts desires and gives you the blessing of a baby. Don't feel forgotten. The Lord hears and He is reminding His children to pray for you.

I feel like posts are better with pictures, so this pic is totally unrelated : ) Hudson was drinking his gatorade and said, "Daddy, did you know that this drink washes your mouth off?" Ummm...I don't think it does, buddy. Love him.

Waterville

Nice family pic. Right.

Here are all the kiddos...the Steedleys went with us. Not sure what Hudson is doing.
Hudson and Ruby. They were two peas in a pod all day.

Micah and daddy.

I love this pic of Hudson. He's such a busy bee.

They loved this thing.

Another attempt at a family pic.

And this is the ride home. We wore them out!

All in all, Waterville was very fun. A big thanks to Mary Frances for giving us free passes! The boys loved it. I couldn't believe that if you're over 42'' tall you are considered an adult. Which means you a) pay the adult price, but b) can ride EVERYTHING. Whaat? That meant that Hudson could ride all the big rides. I was shocked that he went down all the huge slides. Shocking. Also shocked that he rode the rollercoaster. Sad. He's growing up way too fast.

Little Photographer

Micah posed and Hudson took the picture. Hilarious. Maybe this'll be good for me. Maybe he'll document our lives for us : )

Funniest Quote of the Day

We took the boys to Waterville today. Super fun. I'll give a whole post on that tomorrow, but for today, I'll leave you will the funniest quote from the funniest little boy ever. He was a trooper and did EVERY slide/ride at the park. I was amazed. In this pic Micah is holding his ears because he's afraid of the sound of the rollercoaster. Sweet boy.

M: "Hudson, did you have fun on the rollercoaster?"
H: "Yeah. It was makin me scary though. Cause it went sooooooo fast.......and it didn't have a driver."

Bahaha. I love that. He didn't understand why the rollercoaster didn't have a driver. But it totally made sense to him that nobody was up there to put the brakes on. I love this kid.

Living Water

Do you ever hear someone speak so rightly about God that it resonates with your soul? This interview did that for me. The two pastors are David Platt (the pastor from Birmingham that I told you about) and John Piper. Amazing interview. I am shocked at how young Platt is.

It's such a great reminder...makes me think about what the Lord could do with my life. I could live a middle-class American lifestyle and I could be the soccer mom and spend all of my days dreaming about how to re-decorate my house. I PRAY that I do not only spend my life on these things. I pray that at the end of my life I will have invested it in lives for eternity. I so much want to live my life in a way that shows my treasure is in heaven and not here on earth. I want people to look at the way I live and know that I believe in an eternity with my Lord...I don't want them to think that this is it. It is so hard to live like this is not the end...our culture screams at us to milk our lives for everything they are worth and look for every comfort imaginable because this is the end. I want my life to look different. Lord, give me the strength for it to be different.

So take a look at the interview if you're interested. These men love the Word of God. It's inspiring and challenging.

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/john-piper-interviews-david-platt

Summer Reading

This was an awesome summer for reading...I've really tried to read more because it restores me. Here are some of my pics in no particular order:

This book is by Kathryn Stockett and is a must read. I highly recommend it. It is eye-opening, set in the 1960s Mississippi, and forces us to face the reality of what happened then and is still happening today. Pick it up. You won't be able to put it down.
I know, random, right? Well, I am not ashamed. I read Shania Twain's autobiography...let me explain why. I saw her on the Today Show and she was saying that she wrote the book in an attempt to move past the grief over the loss of her marriage. She said that as she stepped back she realized that her life was not defined by that one moment. I respect her for that. And I am struggling to write out my own story- a different one-but a story nonetheless. So, for me, it was a great read. She is brutally honest about her past, her family's struggles with extreme poverty, her fame, and the loss of her marriage. It was great for me to see her write from a very honest perspective...SO...if you are interested, read it. It was a good read for me.

This is an ah-mazing book. It is written by a pastor from Birmingham, AL and he basically is talking about the church and the 'americanized' dream we have created for the church. He is talking about what it would look like to live 'Radical' lives for Christ. It is challenging and thought provoking. I loved it.

This one is a book that I bit off in little chunks. It is very full and very thought/heart provoking. Its premise is about the 'counterfeit gods' or idols of our heart. Wow. Each one I thought wouldn't be about me and they all managed to touch a piece of my heart. And you can't beat a Tim Keller book.

This is my last read for the summer. I am still reading, but I am really enjoying it so far. She also writes from an honest place and it is about living a life of thankfulness. I know I need that.

So, there you go! What have you been reading? I soooo love to read new books. There were a few on my list that I didn't get to. I am a part of a book club and we re-convene in the fall, so any ideas of books we should read?