I AM

I came across a song today on a blog I read and it really hit home.

I started listening and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks.

The lyrics are simple and beautiful.

Words that I’ve known and prayed throughout my life.

So when the tears started flowing I was kinda surprised a little bit because I realized that the emotion behind those tears wasn’t just gratitude for who God is. It was something else, too.

This entire year for our family has been an exercise in faith.

With every step of this move we’ve had to step out in blind faith.

Where to buy a house?

What kind of living arrangements do we need to accommodate a family of 7 plus Pastor Margaret?

How do we move 2 households at the same time?

New oncologists for Pastor Margaret?

The normal yet tedious financial and legal issues that have to be dealt with after the loss of our PawPaw?

Schools for the kids?

Job for me?

The list goes on and on.

I can’t speak for anyone else in our family, but for me, the only way to approach a move such as this has been blind faith and one step at a time.

I have literally prayed my way through the majority of this year.

Well, I say I’ve prayed my way through this year and I truly have, but I also realized that I’ve kind of gone through all of these changes in a....well....kind of a robotic way. Sort of emotionless.

I tend to get overly analytical and try to figure out what God is doing and the reasoning behind this and such and so on.

AS IF I could ever figure anything out!

In an attempt to not let the stress of it all get to me I think I’ve power-prayed my way through it all, instead of letting Christ carry me through.

Does that make sense?

Probably not.

I’m still thinking this through even as I type.

But as I listened to I Am by Nichole Nordeman I was freshly reminded by the simple fact that the God who knit me together in my mother’s womb is the same God who felt my tears when I was scared to go to Sunday School as a 3 year old when my Mama had to leave me to go play the organ for worship.

He’s the same God who cheered me on when Stephanie Steckler taught me how to ride a bike without training wheels.

He’s the same God who loved me as my heart broke when I saw 3 girls outside my high school boyfriend’s bedroom window.

He’s the same God who smiled when my Daddy gave me roses for my sweet 16th birthday.

He’s the same God who saw yet forgave all the stupid butt-headed things I ever did and continue to do.

He’s the same God who blessed me with a husband and 5 precious children.

He’s the same God who loved and carried me through the pain of a miscarriage.

He’s the same God who has carried our family throughout this year and through every major life change.

And most importantly, not only is He all of that for me, but He is becoming all of that for each of my children.

At least that is my prayer.

There is nothing that escapes God’s attention.

He knows it all.

And He loves us through every second whether we acknowledge it or not.

I pray that each of my children will come to know Jesus in a very real and personal way.

Ev

So when I think of who God is to me today, I would have to say He is my Friend, Sustainer, Counselor, Protector and Shield.

Who is He to you?

Sometimes I really hate being right.

In my last post I introduced you to our newest family member, Suzy.

Unfortunately, these days Suzy is now sporting a few fashion accessories that she would most certainly rather not be forced to wear.

The look says it all, doesn’t it?

There’s a reason why good ole Suzy has to wear this lovely cone.

(I did at least try to spruce it up with a pink ribbon!)

At the ripe old age of 7 months (at least that’s how old the vet estimates her to be), Suzy has already had hip surgery.

Bless her heart.

So here’s what happened.

A few Saturdays ago the kids played outside for most of the day.

As late afternoon turned into early evening I called for the kids to come in because it was starting to get dark.

“Ok, Mom! Let us finish playing this game!”

“Well, hurry up because it’s getting dark and someone could get hurt! And bring in all the scooters and other riding toys while you’re at it!”

5 minutes passes.

10 minutes.

15 minutes.

Grandma Sandy is getting irritated.

“Kids, it’s too dark to be outside and I TOLD YOU 15 minutes ago to clean up and get inside. It’s dark and someone is gonna get hurt!”

“Ok, Mom, we’re bringing in the scooters now!”

“You have approximately 3 minutes!

Do! NOT! Make Me! Come Out There!

GOT IT?!?”

“Yes, ma’am! We got it!”

Then approximately 2 1/2 minutes later, Middle Man comes running in saying, “Mama, Mama, Mama, we were coming up the hill and you know those rocks? Those rocks coming up the hill? Peanut was stepping on those rocks coming up the hill only one of those rocks she stepped on actually wasn’t a rock it was really Suzy and I think her leg is broken!!!”

Sometimes I really hate being right.

An Emergency Pet Care visit, X-rays that revealed a broken hip, shots, worming and spay procedure totaling close to $1,000 for a dog that we didn’t think we needed but who clearly knew better because we missed her like crazy when she was gone and voila!

Suzy has a bunch of stitches in two different places and a lovely cone to wear for 7-10 days.

Bless her heart.

Unfortunately, Suzy isn’t the only injured member of our family.

A few days before the broken hip incident the kids were once again, playing outside.

Peanut wanted to ride Guitar Boy’s Ripstik.

“Peanut, that’s not a good idea.”

“But Mom, I promise I’ll be really careful!”

“Peanut, I really don’t think it’s a good idea, even if you’re really careful.”

“But Mom, you let me ride it in TN and nothing happened.”

“Peanut, our driveway in TN was like, 2 feet long. There wasn’t much room for you to fall and break an arm. This driveway is not only much longer but there’s a slope to it and trust me. You’ll fall and break an arm.

It’s not a good idea.”

“But Mom, I’ll be really, really careful and I promise I won’t go anywhere up the driveway. I’ll just stay right here and practice riding circles around the cars and stuff.”

I hesitated.

I shouldn’t have done that.

“Ok, Peanut but ONLY if you stay on this end of the driveway.

Do NOT go up the slope because you’ll fall and break an arm and I mean it!”

A little while later Grandma Sandy leaves to go buy some Gulf shrimp so The Chef can make shrimp and grits for supper because our friend, John, was coming over to eat.

I get to the seafood place and realize I forgot to ask The Chef if he wanted me to get jumbo shrimp or medium shrimp so I start digging for my cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, do you want jumbo or medium shrimp?”

“What’s the difference in price?”

I tell him.

“Um, get medium.”

“Ok, I’ll be home in a few.”

“Ok. By the way, I think Peanut broke her arm.”

My mind explodes into a thousand pieces while the shrimp lady is still standing there looking at me waiting to scoop up either the jumbo or the medium shrimp.

“Medium,” I tell her.

"WHAT?!?!?!?” I say to The Chef.

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“No, I’m not kidding. But John is here and he’s looking at it.”

“OhmydearlordI’llbehomeinaminute.”

Upon my arrival back at the Grandma Sandy compound, I find our friend John examining a tearful Peanut’s right forearm.

John and The Chef have been lifelong friends.

John is also our pediatrician.

The Chef says, “Well, she was riding the ripstik and was coming down the slope at the same time that Guitar Boy was riding by on the John Deere. I think she tried to get out of his way a little too quickly and fell on her right arm.”

Down the slope.

Down

the

slope.

Sometimes I really hate being right.

John concluded that a trip to the ER would only result in her arm being put in a splint and an appointment being made to consult an orthopedic Dr. so we made a quick trip to Rite-Aid to buy a splint and Grandma Sandy called the bone Dr. first thing Monday morning for an appointment.

Peanut had her arm X-rayed and we waited for the results.

Dogos was with us and was so excited when she saw “stickers on some toilet paper."

To pass the time, Dogos decided to entertain herself with a “stomp/clap/dance” game.

Soon the verdict was in.

Yep.

Fractured.

As if a broken arm wasn’t enough, our next step was to John’s office because Peanut needed a chicken pox booster.

Dogos started up with the stomp/clap/dance game again.

After our visits to two Dr.’s offices we decided that lunch at our favorite restaurant was in order.

And who can resist a trip to this store?

Finally, we headed back out to the country for home.

The stomp/clap/dance game did her in!

I’m not sure what the odds are of a family having both a kid and a dog with a broken bone at the same time but leave it to the Grandma Sandy family to beat those odds.

Thankfully in just a few short weeks both Peanut and Suzy will be as good as new.

Peanut has learned her (costly) lesson and has realized (I hope) that Grandma Sandy actually does know what she’s talking about.

As a Mom, it’s nice to prove that point.

However, sometimes I really hate being right.

And just in case she should forget, I thought I’d leave her a reminder.

Sometimes I hate being right.

But it’s always nice to have the final word!

Happy Fall, Y’all!

In the loooong time since I last posted, the Grandma Sandy family has been busy, busy, busy.

Which is exactly why its been a loooong time since I last posted!

What have we been doing that’s kept us so busy?

Well, let’s see.....

Peanut has been busy making new friends.

Grandma Sandy is particularly happy about one new friend she has found....

See this cute face?

Cute Face is the daughter of a sorority ( Chi Omega!) sister of mine that lives here in this little town of ours.

Her Mom and I had tried to schedule a get-together several times during the summer so all the kids could meet but we could never come up with a date that worked. As it turns out, Cute Face and Peanut ride the same bus. Once we all figured out who we were, (via texting pics of daughters!) Peanut and Cute Face became fast friends!

Upon further investigation, it turns out that Middle Man and Cute Face’s little brother, Brother Cute Face, are in the same class!!!

But Peanut and Middle Man aren’t the only ones that’ve found special friends.

Dogos has too!

more on that later...

We’ve also been busy trying to figure out a schedule that will accommodate the changes in our lives that come along with a move such as ours. One of those changes would be the fact that we now live on 10 acres as opposed to a tiny yard with barely a twig of grass in the backyard.

All I can say is.......

Thank the good Lord for neighbors like Vance who owns a big honking tractor and bush-hog!

The Chef literally got home one day and there was our new neighbor, bush-hogging our land. The folks in this little town are seriously that nice.

Since we moved here in June, The Chef had been busting his bee-hind by spending pretty much 2 solid days every other week on the big John Deere cutting the front part of the yard as well as around the barn. The previous owners shared that they’d have the majority of the property bush-hogged twice a year. One afternoon in August, The Chef and I had walked back to the barn area for him to show me the work he’d done when we saw Vance on the back part of his property, waving us over.

We were happy to meet the first of our new neighbors!

After we made our introductions, Vance says, “Did the former owners tell you I used to cut all this back here with my tractor every now and then?”

To which we replied, “Well, they said they’d have it bush-hogged, but......”

“Do either of you know how to drive a tractor?”

Trust me when I say you have no idea how quickly Grandma Sandy replied with a very emphatic but polite, “NO, No, no, noooo, no-no-no.”

To which Vance replied, “Well, if y’all don’t mind waiting a few weeks, I’ll get back here on my tractor and bush-hog it.”

I guess he meant what he said!

Thank you, Vance!!

School is now in full swing.

Here are Peanut, Middle Man and The Boss on the first day of school.

The Boss was so proud of her matching backpack and lunch box on her first day of school.

The Boss had a rough start to Kindergarten. She is ridiculously shy and change is hard for her. At the time, I was working as a Kindergarten assistant in a classroom across the hall from her classroom. You’d think that seeing me throughout the day on the playground, in the halls and in the cafeteria would be a comfort to her but instead, was just the opposite. It was really hard for her to see me, then leave me, see me again, then leave me again. Thankfully, as you can see from the photo above, she adjusted after some time and soon was all smiles.

Speaking of school, the school system here is THE reason we chose to buy a house where we did. It’s one of the top 3 school districts in the entire state.

One of the things that impressed me the most about this school district is the emphasis it puts on Fine Arts. Every aspect of their Fine Arts program is valued as highly as athletics and academics, the band program being one of them. The marching band is 175 members strong, competes in 4 marching contests each year and even marched in President Obama’s inaugural parade.

Here is Guitar Boy (second from left) with some of his fellow alto sax players. He was particularly proud when the head band director asked him to play bari sax in their jazz band because first of all, he loves jazz and improvisation and second of all, he’s the only freshman in the jazz band.

YAY, Guitar Boy!

Grandma Sandy is proud of YOU!

There’s no question that one of the main reasons why this school district is of such high quality is because of the strong community support.

This community literally pours money into it’s schools.

At the beginning of the school year I went by the athletic office to get my season tickets. The office is on the 2nd story of the field house so as I came off the elevator and rounded the corner, my jaw dropped when I saw this.....

This is part of the weight room on the ground floor.

Now, Grandma Sandy has admittedly never before been in the field house or weight room of a high school athletic department so maybe I’m unduly impressed, but for a school system that only has 4,000 students in the entire district, I thought that dang weight room was amazing!

After all, we’re talking public school!

In Mississippi!!

Middle Man and I had a date for the first football game.

Folks around here take football seriously. There were 10,000 people in attendance. For whatever reason, this game was on a Saturday and folks were tailgating starting at noon that day.

Tailgating for a high school football game.

I’mnotevenkidding.

Grandma Sandy quickly learned her lesson when she and Middle Man got to the game and literally had to park at the primary school and walk over a mile to the stadium.

Now we go park a car early in the day and drop off whichever family members are going to the game.

(season tickets are $75 each so we only got two!!)

In other school news, Grandma Sandy got a promotion.

I started off the year as a K teacher’s assistant.

And now?

I’m teaching 4th grade Language Arts!!!

The principal at the elementary school here got permission to hire a new Language Arts teacher because of high numbers (30, yikes!) in each class.

Long story short, that new teacher is now ME!

I interviewed on a Friday, got the call the following Thursday, started school the next Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I walked into my new classroom and this is what I saw.

After a slight panic attack, I took a deep breath, ran to School and Carnival

(you can’t very well put up posters of color words for 4th grade, right?)

and got busy.

With the help of the assistant principal and the 2 lead 4th grade teachers,

We were able to create a somewhat decent classroom in just a few hours!

I was sad to leave the little K students I’d gotten to know, happy to be out of the situation I was in, and totally terrified of the situation into which I was headed.

But before I left the familiar to head into the unknown, I was able to use my K skills for one last K class project.

Pretty cute, I think!

One thing that I have not gotten used to yet, are the thunderstorms that roll in from time to time.

Living so close to the Gulf, we get storms with some pretty scary skies.

A few weeks ago we were headed into town to go to church and the weather I was driving into about scared me half to death.

Oh

my

word.

Needless to say, we turned around immediately and went straight back home!!

Clouds like that in West TN would’ve meant tornadoes, tornadoes, tornadoes.

It rained and was windy but other than that it wasn’t too bad.

Since arriving here, the Grandma Sandy family has acquired a new family member.

Introducing.......

Suzy!

Suzy and her flop-eared little self appeared in our carport one day. We have no idea where she came from but she was clearly a puppy. We tried relentlessly to chase her off but she was not to be deterred. We checked with the local vet and asked all the neighbors but no one claimed her.

For whatever reason, Suzy decided to adopt us and we didn’t have the heart to not keep her.

She seriously is the sweetest, sweetest dog and fits right in with all the rest of us.

Even Spook agrees!

(well, most of the time!)

I hope your Fall and new school year has gotten off to a great start.

I have plenty more news to report and will begin a new blog post as soon as I post this one.

Hopefully it won’t take me 2 months to complete it. Sigh.

Nonetheless,

Happy Fall, Y’all!