Ch-Ch-Changes!

So...we are moving back to Tennessee! Justin made the (tearful) announcement to the congregation here this morning. December 19th will be our last Sunday here and we will be moving on the 20th. He has accepted a position at the Ripley church of Christ. We are so excited for this new opportunity to work with a great congregation and get closer to family. We will only be 20 minutes to an hour from all of our parents! Needless to say all of Reagan's grandparents are VERY excited to get to see her more often.

We are also sad though, because this means we will have to leave the WONDERFUL people here in Demopolis. We are going to miss them terribly. Justin says if we could just pick Demopolis up and move it to west TN we would. We've grown close to many people here and hate to move away from them. We have definitely made some lifelong friendships.

Now we have 8 weeks...8 WEEKS!...to pack everything, buy a house, and get everything set up in Ripley. I will probably start the packing stuff we won't be needing tomorrow. lol I just need to get going so I don't stress too much. Plus now I probably have carpal tunnel syndrome so I'll have to take lots of brakes for my wrists. (I go Tuesday to find out for sure). We are going to look at houses Friday so we can go ahead and find what we want and make an offer. I know the whole house buying process can stretch out for a while so we want to jump on it quickly. Also, this means no decorating for Christmas this year. :( But I think it's worth the trade off. :)

This is something we prayed, thought, and talked a lot about. We definitely feel it's the right move for our family. And for some reason I feel the need to break out in Tennessee by Arrested Development. "Past Dyersburg, into Ripley..." :)

Something I Needed to Share

If you know someone who gets Christian Woman magazine (put out by Gospel Advocate) I highly suggest borrowing the September/October issue and reading the article A Journey for Truth: Rethinking the Pill by Lacy Crowell. She talks about one of the back up methods the pill uses. The pill causes changes in the lining of your uterus so that, should you ovulate, the chances of implantation of a fertilized egg are reduced. This means that it would be flushed out of your body. What she calls "in essence, a chemical abortion."

While Justin was at the Memphis School of Preaching we were told this. There was debate, though, if it was true. We looked into it for ourselves and couldn't find any information on it. I looked at the pill I was on's website and couldn't find anything. We talked to a member of the church who is a pharmacist and we were assured that's not a method the pill used. (I guess it's just not widely known.) Some time after we moved to Demopolis I was having a lot of trouble with frequent migraines, depression, fatigue, mood swings, etc. I was trying to figure out the problem and looked in to the side effects of the pill I was on. It seemed that it was the cause of those things. I also found a section on how my pill worked and there it was. A section on the back up method that could cause a perfectly good fertilized egg to not be able to attach to the wall of the uterus. As someone who believes that life starts at fertilization (Psalm 139:13-14), I was devastated. Had I unknowingly caused a chemical abortion? How many had I caused? Needless to say, I stopped taking the pill.

After Reagan was born I asked my doctor about it as well. I told her I had read that a fertilized egg could be flushed out because it couldn't implant and that I believe life starts at fertilization. She said if I was uncomfortable with that then condoms were the best choice.

I wish I had known this sooner. I wish I had shared this sooner. I don't know why I haven't shared this before.

I encourage you to check this out for yourself. Here is a link to the page for Ortho Tri-Cylen Lo. Click on Secondary Methods and it plainly tells you it impedes implantation.

I just want you to be informed.

A Whole YEAR older!

Guess who's back. Back again.
Well, back for today at least. I'll try to do a couple of updates later about our trip and everything. But today is all about this little lady.

It's Reagan's FIRST BIRTHDAY! I really and truly cannot believe that my little baby girl is now a crazy, busy, solid food eating, whole milk drinking toddler! We'll get to all that in a minute. I really can't believe that it has been a year since she was born. I'm so glad the nights of getting no sleep are long gone! When I go back and look at all the monthly posts it's crazy.

Here she is with her giraffe at the hospital, at six months and at one year. I can't believe how much she's grown!

She is getting so big and turning into this little person. She doesn't seem like a baby anymore. She's seems like a little tiny grown up. I know she's not nearly grown. She's just so much more grown up than when she came into our lives. It's so funny to sit and watch her try to figure stuff out. She is so busy. I can't keep up with her! I never know where she is because she's constantly moving. She is now officially off baby food. She either eats what we're eating (cut into little pieces) or eats a gerber toddler meal. She's also drinking whole milk now. While we were on our trip she stopped nursing so when we got home we gave the whole milk a try. She wasn't too sure about it the first two times but the third time she drank the whole cup and now drinks one at every meal.

She's starting to talk more and more. She can say hi and bye and waves at everyone she sees. When Justin comes home she screams "dada" and squeals because she gets so excited. Sometimes she'll say bible and she says duck. Sometimes it's directed at her rubber ducky in the tub and sometimes it's just random. She also randomly says yuck. :) She likes to watch me play super mario bros. When I die she'll go, "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo." lol She's starting to say uh-oh as well.

She's so sweet. She will run (well, kind of run) up to us and hug our legs or pat us on the arm when we're holding her. She hugs her animals and baby doll.

I know I'm forgetting stuff but it's getting late so my mind is not working too quickly. I wanted to take her down to the river today to take pictures but it stormed off and on all day. But we were able to sneak out in the back yard between storms. Here's what you really want anyway. :)

A few from her party. (if you want more look on facebook)

Her monthly update pictures from the past year.

Overstressed

I've been in some kind of funk lately. I'm not really sure what it is or what is causing it. I keep snapping at the smallest things (of course they don't seem small at the time...to me at least :) ). Justin asked me today if I needed some meds so I could calm down... He was joking of course, kind of. When I stepped in gum tonight in the Wal-Mart parking lot I actually said something to the effect of the universe was out to get me today. First of all, that's not even the type of thing I buy into. Second of all, give me a break self. The best way to describe what I've been feeling is overwhelmed and anxious. I feel like I'm not measuring up, not as good as I should be. At what, you might ask? Life. I dunno. I'm constantly stressed and it's taking a toll on my family. I'm not sleeping much or well. I know that doesn't help. I think I'm going to take a break from the blogging and facebook worlds for a couple of days just to remove those extra things. I think maybe I've just got too many things going on. I'm in the middle of about a million (ok maybe that's an exaggeration) projects. I need to de-clutter life a little and maybe I'll feel better. I'm very much looking forward to getting out of town here in a couple of weeks and even more so to an anniversary trip for just Justin and I in September. Hopefully time away from home will help...we'll see. But for now I'm taking a break from all this. I'll get back to the 30 days of music eventually. No promises about when I'll post again, but I'll be back.

Prayers are appreciated.

I Have Nothing Cute to Say...It's Too Late at Night.

Well, I said Reagan had been teething pretty easily with these two teeth and now I regret it. She has had a horrible day. She was crying and cranky for most of it. I put her to bed early and used the time to make some more bows for her.

I know the navy may seem random, but it was made for a specific outfit. :)

In one of her non-crying moments she was playing in her room and when I went to check on her she was doing this.

I guess she's gonna start climbing everything. Uh-oh. She also likes to step up on the side of her activity jumper.

Day 21 of 30 days of music is a song you listen to when you're happy. I don't necessarily listen to this everytime I feel happy or only when I feel happy, but I think it's a happy song. How can you not smile when listening to it?

Days 19 and 20

Had a migraine last night, hence another catch up post for 30 days of music.

Day 19 is a song from your favorite album. I have lots of favorites but one that gets played a lot is The Shade of Poison Trees by Dashboard Confessional. The song I picked from that album is Where There's Gold. It always gets stuck in my head and I'm singing it forever when it does. But that's ok....because it's a good song. :)

Day 20 is a song you listen to when angry. These days I don't ever find myself angry enough to need this kind of release. But, back in the drama filled days of late high school and early college this was a favorite of mine. I had a lot of things going on then that would build up until I couldn't take it anymore. I would crank it up as high as I could and ride down the road screaming the song at the top of my lungs. It was a really good release for me. I would use the song to get it all out. I actually still love the song, I just lead a much happier and calmer life now. Less need for screaming and such. :)

You Got to Rise UP and Think About Somethin'

Sunday night was a rough night. I couldn't shut my brain off to go to sleep. When I finally started to go back to bed somewhere between 1 and 2 am, Reagan woke up screaming. Her gums have been hurting because her top two front teeth are still coming in. She went back to sleep after a while of rocking but kept crying out through the night. Around 4:45 am a dog got caught in a trap the dog catchers had out in our neighbors yard and he went nuts for a good while. I say all that to say I went to bed early last night so there was no blog post. :)

Yesterday's 30 Days of Music was a song you hear often on the radio. We don't really like the local stations and for a while didn't have xm in our car anymore (now we do thanks to an early bday present from Jeremy to Justin) so we mostly listened to cd's. But when we did listen we would here this song a lot and it's one we really like. I know it's not new, but I really like it!

Day 18 of 30 Days of Music is a song you wish you heard on the radio. Earlier in this whole experience I chose a song by Hanson and told you I'd show you some of their newer stuff later on. This is from their latest album. I really love their sound. And yes, that is Weird Al on the tambourine. :)

Today we made a trip to Tuscaloosa. In case you don't know, Tuscaloosa is the biggest town near us. It's about an hour away. If we want to do any shopping somewhere other than Wal-Mart that's where we have to go. We took the car in to get a switch of some sort replaced and to get it serviced. After that we went to the most wonderful place on Earth...Hobby Lobby. :) I bought some ribbon to make Reagan some more bows and then we went to Michael's to get the stuff to make her birthday present. We bought an unfinished rocking chair and some paint. We're going to paint it up in fun bright colors. I'm excited about this project! I just hope it turns out the way I see it in my head. But, the good thing about paint is that you can always paint over it! :)

Oh, He'll show alright!

Day 16 of 30 Days of Music is a song you used to love but now hate. I don't guess I ever really loved this song. But when it first came out I really liked the sound of it. I'm one of those people who tends to listen to the sound of the music and voices more so than the actual words. Especially the first few times I hear a song. But once I caught about the third line of the song that was is for me. I chose Thnks fr th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy. The whole song really isn't good. It talks about one night stands and that sort of thing. But the line that really gets me is "in case God doesn't show, let the good times roll." As soon as I would hear the first notes of the song I would try to change it before that line played. The flippant attitude toward God just makes me angry.

Another Month Older:11 Months

Reagan is 11 months old today! Wow. In just 3 weeks we will be having her first birthday party! That’s just crazy.

She is getting really good at mimicking words. She never gets them quite right, but she will try to repeat things we say. A frequent one is thank you. She also says something every time we say amen at the end of a prayer. While Justin was gone I said I love you and she parroted it back at me! I’ve not been able to get her to do it again though. Lots of times she will try to say the last word you say. She knows who mama and dada are and when we tell her no no she will shake her head and say, “nananananananana.” She’s so cute.

While Mom was here she got her some Nike tennis shoes. They’re so cute! She’s not real great in walking in them yet, but she’s getting better.

Her walking is getting better and better. She’s getting a lot faster and is using walking as her main mode of getting around. She still crawls some, but usually she walks. Here she is showing off how good she’s getting.

She has mastered the art of pouting.

She loves her bath time!

I love how she looks like she's up to something in that picture! :)

She’s growing up so fast, but she’s still tiny. Today her 9 month jeans were falling off while she was walking around the house. She’s eating like crazy though so maybe some growth is coming soon. She now thinks she needs to eat whatever is on your plate. Even if it’s something she can’t chew. She has eaten mashed potatoes, fries, green beans, and bananas. She gets about half a banana every night and loves it. Here’s a video of her eating green beans today.

Reagan had a great time playing with the zinnias today.

She was pulling the petals off one at a time.

I now have all the parts of Reagan’s outfit for the party! I had shown you the tutu and head band, but now I have some leggings and the embroidered t-shirt. The shirt came in today and it is sooo cute! I can't wait to see her in this outfit and take pictures of her in it! She's going to be the cutest little birthday girl in the world!

A Better Woman

Day 15 of 30 Days of Music : a song that describes you. I love Christina Aguilera's voice. Unfortunately, most of the time the content of her songs is not very appropriate whatsoever and her clothing in minuscule. There is a lesser known song of hers called Save Me From Myself that I absolutely love. Probably a lot of why I love it is because I feel like it completely describes how I feel about the influence Justin has had on my life. He has saved me from myself in just about every way possible. I don't know where I would be today without him. I know I wouldn't have become the kind of person I am now. I love you babe!

Annnnnd of course, there is an immodest scene in the video so I found this one. The photos in it are really pretty.

Did you see this one coming?

Tonight we had a double date with our friends Jeremy and Blythe. We took Reagan over to the Myers' house and had a couple of hours of grown up time. And what did we do with our grown up time? Went to see a children's movie, naturally! :) We went to see Toy Story 3 and it was really cute. I actually rolled my hair and everything. I haven't done that in a while and figured it was about time. These days all Justin sees is the natural curls. Scrunch and go, baby. That's my motto these days. But, I decided to give date night a little more effort after this week's Far Above Rubies post reminded me of how much my husband appreciates my efforts to look nice for him. If you haven't checked it out yet you should. We've been studying through Proverbs 31 and looking at what it means and takes to be a virtuous woman.

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So, Day 14 of 30 Days of Music is a song that no one would expect you to love. I had a really hard time figuring this one out because anyone who knows how random my taste in music is wouldn't really be surprised by anything I like. Since I like pretty much everything, it's not so unexpected. So for this one I enlisted the help of my hubby. He came up with this one and I thought it was pretty good. It is a song I love. And since I'm always saying how much I am not a fan of country you might not expect it. I consider it a classic. :) Listen and learn boys.

It's a random video because she's immodestly dressed in the official music video.

It's a Secret No One Knows

Day 13 of 30 Days of Music is a song that's a guilty pleasure: Hanson-MMMBop. I don't feel guilty at all about liking this song. But my husband hates it and I do sometimes get made fun of for liking this band. However, if you haven't checked out any of their recent stuff (yes, they do still make music) you should. It's actually really good. They have their own label and do pretty well for an "indie" group. They're all grown up and married with kids. I've actually seen them live twice. Once in the Mmmbop days and then again a couple of years ago. Justin will actually admit that he enjoys their post teenage hysteria music and enjoyed the concert. If you stay tuned I will share one of their latest songs with you but feel free to check them out. In the meantime enjoy a flashback to my middle school days. :)

A Band I Hate

Day 12 of 30 Days of Music is a song by a band I hate. This is a band I actually used to like, but now I just can't stand. I picked Nickelback. Back in the day (high school) I actually liked them a lot and really liked their sound. Now most of their songs are about "partying" and acting like idiots or it's full of cuss words. If they're not horrible in lyrical content they all sound the same. It's annoying.

This is actually one of their songs that I don't mind.

Coming Home Again

Justin's home! Yay! I'm so glad to have him back home. After chillin' in the air waiting for weather to clear, waiting a while on bags to get through customs (because of the weather the baggage guys weren't working for a little while), and a Crackle Barrel run, Justin got home late last night. Reagan was already down so he didn't get to see her until this morning. When he did, though, it was so sweet. Usually she wants to get down and play and run around. This morning she just sat in her daddy's lap laying her head on his chest and snuggling him. It was the sweet thing ever. She missed him so much and she was so happy to see him home.

Day 11 of 30 Days of Music is a song by your favorite band. If I had to pick one band it would probably be Dashboard Confessional. I love all of their music, so I picked a song about coming home in honor of Justin's return. :)

The Most Scared I've Ever Been...and a Song to Help Me Sleep

So today was just pretty much a normal day until around 6:00. Let me say right off that Reagan's fine, no harm was done. I was on the computer and Reagan was playing in the hall. I heard her get into my closet and start tearing it apart. "Oh well. Let her have at it," I thought. Then after a couple of minutes I heard tissue paper rattling. She'd gotten into some of my old pageant shoes and the shoes I'd gotten for my wedding. Then I remembered those boxes had silica gel packs in them. You know, those little paper things with the balls in them that are always in the boxes. The ones that clearly say DO NOT EAT. I jumped up and ran back there and of course there was a pack in her mouth and she was chewing it. I grabbed her, scooped it out of her mouth (which she hated), then came running in the kitchen for the phone book. I frantically threw stuff trying to find it. I called poison control thinking my child was going to die of poisoning and it would be all my fault. When someone answered and I told them what she did they immediately said, "She's going to be fine." Whew...then they got some information from me and told me basically all that's in those things is sand and the big worry is a child choking on them. I was told just to give her something to drink and make sure she wasn't coughing a lot or choking. As soon as I hung up the phone I started bawling. I felt like such a bad mother. The guilt mixed with the relief and I lost it. Reagan was looking at me like I was crazy. I called Justin and he told me it was ok, everything was fine. Reagan actually started laughing at me. I guess I sounded crazy or something. I really thought she was going to die or something and then once it was ok and the adrenaline rush was gone it all hit me. I just kept holding her and telling her I was sorry. Like she knew what was going on. She was just mad I took yet another thing out of her mouth. I don't think she even swallowed any of it. It looked like the little balls were all still in the pack but she had dissolved the paper around the pack. It's hard to explain...Note to self: move shoe boxes to the shelf.

On a happier note...

The top two teeth are coming in!

One is completely through the gum, but not all the way in and the other is still coming through some. She's been much better with these than she was with the bottom two.

Today I put her hair in pigtails for the first time.

I'm not sure I like it because it makes her look like a kid instead of a baby! (sniff, sniff) She won't keep clips in her hair (she pulls them right out) and I needed a way to keep her hair out of her eyes. These seemed to work out pretty well. She only tried to pull one out once. I think because she can't feel them as much she forgets about them.

She's getting so big!

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Day 10 of 30 Days of Music: A song that makes you fall asleep

I don't like to sleep with noise(other than a fan), so nothing really makes me fall asleep. But there are songs that are relaxing or could make me sleepy riding in the car at night. I picked Amie by Damien Rice. I love all the stings in his music and I love his voice and the voice of the girl that sings with him, Lisa Hannigan. I really like his sound. I think this song has kind of a dreamy feel to it.

9

I'm tired so this will be short and sweet. Day 9-a song you can dance to. I didn't even know where to begin with this one. You can dance to anything really. So I picked one that's not so much actual dancing, but theatrical reenactment. I guess it could be considered lyrical dancing or something. :) Justin and I have quite a bit of fun listening to this one in the car. Our passengers tend to think we're a little bonkers when they see/hear our rendition. And of course in true Wayne's World fashion there is plenty of head banging...though not real head banging from the one driving...because that would be dangerous. Right? :)




Oh, and while searching for the video I found this gem.

Good stuff.

Justin comes home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! =D yay!

My Sweet and Wonderful Husband

I'm missing Justin sooooo much! I haven't seen him in a week! I'm anxiously awaiting seeing him Monday night. He is such an amazing husband. He always helps out so much around the house and is such a good daddy to Reagan. When he's home I rarely have to do the dishes or fold laundry and he always gives Reagan her bath and puts her to bed. Every night when I put her down I miss him so much because it's so sweet to watch him say prayers with her and put her down. He's always doing sweet things for me. Case and point, these are some of the notes and cards I've found or gotten in the mail since he left.

The cylindrical ones were wrapped around cans in the case of Mt. Dews in the fridge. :) One of the cards he mailed before he left. The others he orchestrated with a friend of ours to be mailed on certain days. There were also a bunch of notes left on windows and mirrors for Reagan and I. He's so cute. I don't know when he did all the ones around the house. He's sneaky sneaky. I underestimated his sneakiness. (I can't remember what that's from, but we say it all the time :)) He's so good to me!

I want my husband baaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

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Ok, anyway. Day 8 of the 30 days of music is a song you know all the words to.

I picked Stay by Lisa Loeb. I think I was in middle school when this came out and it's still one of my favorite songs to this day. It's a really pretty song. I definitely know all the words to this one!

Craftiness, Wealthiness, and Wickedness

I know I didn't post yesterday's 30 days of music but I promise I'll get to it. Yesterday Mom, Reagan, and I went to Tuscaloosa to do a little shopping. We were in search of sleepers for Reagan. She's still too skinny for 12 month stuff but she's too long for her 9 month sleepers. She couldn't straighten her legs out in them anymore. We ended up getting some decent deals at The Children's Place. I'd never shopped there before because I had assumed it was expensive like Gymboree. They were having a really good sale so we got several things. Later we came home and watched Twilight and New Moon. Mom is reading the books and had finished the first two so I got her caught up on the movies. We were up late watching them which is why I didn't post last night. This afternoon we worked on some bows for Reagan. Earlier this week Mom bought her this outfit.

So I made this bow to go with it.

Mom also had made Reagan a dress and made this bow to go with it. I don't have a pic of the dress because it's in Reagan's room and she's sleeping.

I thought we did pretty good for our first shot at making bows! I really had a lot of fun doing it and it was pretty easy for me to figure out. We used tutorials to learn the different techniques. This is something I think I could really get into. Who knows, maybe I could sell some.

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So yesterday's 30 days of music song was a song that reminds you of somewhere. The place is a random spot on the highway between the interstate and Demopolis. You see, Justin accepted the position here in February of his second year in preaching school. We would drive down every other weekend. Making the drive that often can get pretty boring. Plus that section of road is exceptionally dull. Every time, to have some fun, I would play this song and force Justin to sing one part and I would take the other. :) Sometimes I still play it on that stretch if I have it with me. I at least think about this song most of the time we drive on that road. It's fun song that makes me smile...and now think about that boring highway.

If I Had $1,000,000 by Barenaked Ladies

(sorry about the random video but most of the live ones had poor sound quality)

Todays song for 30 days of music is a song that reminds you of an event. A while back Wicked (the musical about who the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz really was) was on tour and came to Birmingham. I informed Justin that I would be buying us tickets with my birthday money and we would be going to see it. He whined a little, like most men do about musicals, but still went willingly. :) Once we walked in and he saw the huge stage and set and the live orchestra he got a little more excited. He had no idea how amazing these productions were. Anywho, I was pregnant at the time and Reagan danced around in my belly the whole time. During this song in particular she moved around A LOT. Who can blame her, it is the best song in the musical. Marcie Dodd, the girl playing Elphaba (the wicked witch) was amazing. Any of Marcie Dodd singing on youtube are not good quality because they were done by people trying to hide their camera and record illegally at shows. I'm giving you the Glee version. The kids on this show can SING! It's a shorter version.

This is the version from the original cast recordings from the musical.

Day 5

Day 5 of 30 days of music is a song that reminds you of someone. This is one of the first ones I thought of. It's kind of appropriate since Mom is here with us this week. When I was little Mom would always sing this to us. And embarrass us in front of our friends while we were trying to be "cool." Something I'm sure I'll take much joy in doing to Reagan some day. :) It became a running joke and every time we told her she was crazy she started singing it. I can't hear it without thinking of her. I'm sure she'll sing it to Reagan and all of her other future grandchildren some day and they'll think she's crazy too. :)

Mom, this one's dedicated to you.

Crazy by Patsy Cline

Reagan's Party and Day 4

Reagan will soon be turning one (tear...sob) so I've been working for the past month or so planning her party. We are going to be doing it in TN so all the fam can come. It's not actually going to be on her birthday which is August 17th. We will be in TN earlier in August so we are going to do it then at my Mom's house.

I was having a hard time deciding exactly what to do, but I knew I wanted to get her a tutu to wear because they're just so cute and fun. When I found this one I loved it and decided just to do everything off of it.

The colors in the tutu will be the colors we use for decorations. We are also splurging and getting her a really nice cake with the same colors and dots and stripes. I promised Justin she wouldn't have another cake like this except maybe when she turns 16. When we were talking about it he said, "Well, she only turns one once...right?" As if to say, "you'd better not be trying to do this every year missy." :) I promised him either I would make her one or we would get a cheap one from wal-mart or whatever. I'm really excited about it! I've got card stock and ribbon to make her a sign and we are going to order a onesie with a big 1 and her name on it to wear with the tutu. I love parties and rarely get to plan birthday parties so I'm having lots of fun with this!

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Day 4 of 30 Days of music is a song that makes you sad. I thought for a while about this one. There isn't one in particular that I relate to a certain event or anything so I just started thinking about sad songs in general that I also thought sounded good. If you know me you know I'm not a huge country fan. But occasionally there is a song or group that I like. The Dixie Chicks is a group I was into especially the Home album. The songs on there are more stringed instruments, not overly produced, not too hillbilly and I love the way the girls harmonize. It's a song called Traveling Soldier.

30 Days of Music: Day 3

Day 3: A song that makes you happy

My pick: "Grace Kelly" by MIKA

This was an easy one for me. This song can always make me happy. It just sounds so upbeat and crazy. It has a silly feel to it. You can't sing it without smiling and laughing at yourself. I love this song!

Happy 4th! and Day 2

Happy 4th of July!!!

Reagan and I had a great day even though we miss daddy so much! We went to Bible class and worship this morning then over to the Myers' for some hot dogs and ribs...yum. We watched some hilarious home videos of the girls as wee ones. One in particular featured a 2ish Kristen walking over to Greg, who was laying in the floor, and purposefully stomping directly on his nose. Priceless!

Reagan and I came home and napped a bit then went to evening services and after we ate supper went to the city river landing to watch some fireworks! Kristen and Kaleb went with us then we saw Melissa and Michael so they sat with us too. Reagan absolutely loved the fireworks!

Edit: the really good part of the video is around the 1:50 mark!

My mom is coming to see us tomorrow! She's going to stay until Sunday so Reagan and I don't get too lonely with out daddy around this week. He is safe and sound in Jamaica. I talked to him earlier tonight and they were about to head to worship. The congregation was waiting for them to start since they were in the air during services this morning. There were supposed to be around 50 people going. They will be door knocking, or as they call it there yard yelling (most people have fences with gates so you stand outside the gate and yell), and they will be having a gospel meeting at night. I know they will do much good for the Lord while they are there.

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30 Days of Music: Day 2

Least favorite song: Lady GaGa "Just Dance"

I've had a little bit too much, much
All of the people start to rush, start to rush by
How does he twist the dance? Can't find a drink, oh man
Where are my keys? I lost my phone, phone

What's going on on the floor?
I love this record baby but I can't see straight anymore
Keep it cool, what's the name of this club?
I can't remember but it's alright, a-alright

just dance

Idiotic...

Need I say more?

30 Days of Music: Day 1

A couple of friends of mine, Kristen and Carl, are both doing this and I thought it looked fun. Each day for 30 days you are supposed to pick a song that goes with the category for that day. This is the list:

day 01 - Your Favorite Song
day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you're angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you're happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you're sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

I always think it's fun to see what types of music different people are in to.

Favorite song was actually kind of hard. My favorite song can change daily, but I picked based on the fact that I love this song every time I hear it. For my favorite I picked "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson. I love this song so much! I can listen to it no matter what kind of mood I'm in and it's just a fun song.

Heaven on Earth

Our group from Canal Heights

This week we went to Indian Creek Youth Camp. It's a Christian camp we go to every year. Our friend from preaching school, Billy Hayes, is the director of the week we always go to. Camp is always fun and uplifting and I always learn so much. It's always great to see so many friends we rarely see and to meet new ones. I love being around so many Christian people. When you are singing praises to God in a room full of 140 people sining their hearts out and as loudly as they can it makes you so look forward to singing praises with all the saints (Christians) in heaven one day!

Mitch being baptized for the remission of his sins!

While it is a week about fun and friends, the main purpose is to grow spiritually. This year the theme was the book of 1 John. I had never done any kind of in depth study of the book. I can now say that it is quite possibly my favorite book in the Bible. There is so much in 1 John about our relationships with each other and with God. This book is about love and how to know that we "have come to know him." One of my favorite passages is chapter 2 verses 3-6.

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."

If we keep the commandments of God we are truly His children. I think that is a point so many miss. In order to know God, you must do what He says! If you have not done an in depth study of 1 John I would highly recommend it. It teaches us how we are to treat each other and how to love God. Those are two very important things for someone who is trying to be a Christian.

Studying for the Bible Bowl

We had a ladies class that was just awesome. Each day we studied a different chapter of the book. It was so wonderful to be taught by ladies who really did their homework and knew the scripture so well. Each night we had wonderful sermons on 1 John as well. All of the men did a wonderful job but, of course, Justin was my favorite. :) He did such a great job and I was so proud of him!

Chance Hicks preaching Sunday night.

We had to leave Thursday morning (camp ends Friday morning) but by the time we left there had already been 7 baptisms and 1 restoration! This doesn't even show the countless number of people this week re-energized and refocused on the important things. I know it definitely made me want to be a better student of God's Word.

Our Jungle Journey

This past week the church hosted our Vacation Bible School. Our theme was Jungle Journey: Exploring the Nature of God. We averaged around 35 kids a day, which is great for a congregation that only has around 6 or so that come every week. We have more children than that but many don't come to class or church every week. We had a lot of fun and most importantly taught children God's Word.

These are some of the decorations we used.

A very talented member, Betty Stephens, did these with pastels.

She also did all of the decorations in the fellowship hall.

This is one from my room.

Another one from my room. The attendance charts and a pictures from our story that we added to the wall each day.

These are a few of my favorite pictures from the week.

The whole group (minus some who had to go to work, etc.)

Reagan had fun too!

It was a great week. We do classes for 3 years old and up so Reagan didn't go to class. I held her while Justin did the opening and singing and then he took her while I was teaching my class. We kept her pack and play in the nursery and put her down for her nap in there everyday. She did really well considering we were not in her normal place. We have put her down in there before when I was working on my decorations so she was somewhat use to it.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Indian Creek Youth Camp!!! I'm sooooo excited! I look forward to camp so much every year and miss it as soon as it's over. Except I don't miss the lack of sleep and being in the heat all day. Thankfully we do have air conditioned cabins! Camp is kind of like a big reunion for us. Many of our friends from Memphis School of Preaching will be there. And for most of them it's the only time we see them all year. I love getting to catch up with everyone. Most of all I love being in a place where most of the people are concerned with living a Christian life and bettering themselves. I love having Bible class and worship everyday. I love all the singing and being present for baptisms and restorations. It's an amazing thing to be a part of someone becoming a Christian and having their sins washed away. Camp is always so uplifting. If only the "real world" could be so wonderful. I'm thankful to have such a wonderful place to go every summer!

I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures and fun to share with you when we get back!