thank you and God bless

on this memorial day i'm stopping to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom. i don't ever want to take my american freedom for granted or forget how our country came to be… our desire to see other nations be free so their people can live with dignity… how we come to the aid of the hurting…
i don't always agree with every military policy, but i recognize the honor and courage that exemplifies our american servicemen—both the living and the dead.
thank you from the bottom of my heart for your willingness to put yourselves in harm's way on my behalf. thank you to those who gave everything for our country. may God bless you and your families… and may we never forget…

life of the party

heading over to a pre-memorial day get-together tonite with instructions to bring either an appetizer or a dessert. since i'm desserted out after tuesday's extravaganza, i thought an appetizer might be more fun.
it's hotter than blazes out today, even though my little computer application thingy says 82°… i seriously beg to differ.
i'm going to prepare a little sesame crusted pan seared sashimi tuna with mango salsa. it's a cool dish with a little kick. refreshing and tantalizing all at the same time. mmmmm.
here's a recipe for the mango salsa… i add 2-3 tablespoons of mango marinade (pick your favorite) to add a bit more tang/pizzaz. it's super yummy!

Mango Salsa 

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño chile, minced (include ribs and seeds for a hotter taste if desired)
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Also good with diced red bell pepper and jicama.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the salsa ends up being a little too hot or acidic for your taste, you can temper it by adding some diced avocado.

many thanks to simplyrecipes.com for the recipe 

are you lost, too?

lost.
it ended.
and if you are still lost… i'm thinking you're not alone…
here is the best summary i've seen. three minutes. with a cool accent. amazing.

so there you have it.
you're welcome.

summer book club

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. Colossians 3:1-2


beginning a new summer book club with some ladies in my area. a diverse group of women. 


women. 


not girls.

as a high school leader and someone who has been in student ministry for ten years, i have found myself to be too busy pouring into students and investing into the leadership community to have the time or energy for another bible study.
then six years ago, i began BSF, or bible study fellowship, an international bible study that focuses on studying the bible by using scripture to interpret scripture, discussing it in a small group, hearing a lecture, and enjoying fellowship with those in the study. each year a different topic or book, and each year a different small group and leader.
what i found was that the fellowship aspect of the organization isn't exactly what my heart needs. since i spend so much time with kids, i really need a group of women with whom to be accountable. i need ya ya's. i need community my own age. i hated to quit BSF in the middle (over halfway, actually) of the eight year study, but i just needed to feed my heart differently.
so this is my new group. i'm excited to begin this journey. not only with our book, the good and beautiful God, but also with these women. 

gotta get this baby on a schedule!

the party was a rousing success.
all five people showed up.
out of the sixty that were invited.

glad it wasn't my shin-dig, or perhaps my feelings would have been hurt.

my friend and her husband are on staff with campus crusade and asked us to host a "meet and greet" for them where they could touch base with their supporters and give an update on their ministry. they're in town for a big family wedding so thought this would be the perfect time… apparently many of their supporters will be in attendance at the wedding as well so opted out of the party.

understandable. may is one crazy month. almost as action-packed as december, so it's not surprising to me that people stayed home.

i just wish they would RSVP to tell me that.

it's a good thing i have kids at the house all the time, because i made lots of desserts! (which was fun)

the painter left in time for me to put my house back together. there were no paint fumes lingering in the air. my house is clean, the moulding is gleaming white and we have a huge job (for us) finished. now it's to the outside to paint our new front door and the outside trim. that's a job that's been waiting in the wings for a few years, so before our trim rots off the house and costs us alot more cashola, we'd better tackle it now. and by "we" i mean the painter. if it was up to us, it would take another ten years.

today is a new day.

and it's time to get in the groove. after a few weeks of trying to balance work/kids/personal time, i think i'm about to get it together. it's all about the schedule. and the kids' schedule. and it's all coming together. boy wonder is now working his job as a camp counselor which gets him up and out before 8. bamagirl's summer school begins next week and she'll be out and in class by 8 as well. having them out isn't critical to my focus, but boy, it sure helps!

i'll be down on UT's campus today sampling petro's to all the kids in town for the global finals for destination imagination. that should be fun. and they boys (ie the hubs and his brother) are at georgia tech taking measurements and making plans for our new petro's that is going into the georgia tech stadium by the fall (insert jumping up and down here). and we have plans to expand to auburn soon, too. {squeeee!!} all this hard work is going to pay off… all this hard work is going to pay off…

stick em up

yep, it's tuesday, and i'm in for my not-so-regular PINT with supah. you know you wanna play along. go here and make your own. then link up with supah.

it'll be fun. and if i can do it, anyone can!

break

taking a break from the insanity that is my life to update my blog, which has been seriously lacking in content lately. and my blog-stalking moves are off by a mile… i haven't lost my mo-jo… just time.

have i mentioned that i'm finding it difficult to balance motherhood with this crazy new pace of my job? if i haven't, it must be because i am too busy being a mom again to my returning college children and a crazy-busy marketing director for a growing company.

life may return to some sense of normalcy (ha, like that has ever been the case in all my married years!) after this week…

hosting a dessert party for a friend who is on staff with campus crusade. she and her husband and new baby are having a "meet and greet" for their east tennessee supporters. i'm happy to help but always fail to see that this little shin-dig will require a clean house, prepared desserts, brewed coffee, iced tea and i may need to be showered and dressed appropriately. what. was. i. thinking?

if only i had nailed down what to prepare…

if only the people who have been invited would bother to RSVP (grrrr)…

if only i wasn't organizing/attending bible 'n a biscuit at chick fil-a tuesday morning for my small group…

if only i wasn't having the crown moulding, baseboards, trim and doors painted… TODAY…

the kids are more in a groove of working. boy wonder is a counselor for 7 year olds at an educational/adventure camp here in town and bama girl is (reluctantly) working for us. she'd rather be nannying, but the jobs haven't materialized quite yet. she's only in town for another 8 weeks. (sounds like forever, but it's only until the end of july) she begins summer school next week, so both of the kiddles will be occupied for the better part of the day which means i get more/better work done.

end of year stuff is done. graduation is over, parties have been attended. i'd like to think the funerals are finished, but just found out one of our neighbors died in a motorcycle wreck early yesterday morning. because it was a motorcycle and it happened at 1:30 am, i immediately thought it was the son. but it was the dad. another untimely death…

i'm finding that the little things don't matter as much as i thought…

like dust bunnies {so big you can ride them} hanging out in my living room. of course, they'll be gone in time for tomorrow's party. but the little things that i usually obsess over don't seem all that important anymore.

our 15 minutes of fame.

doesn't seem to be more to say… this pretty much sums it up.
i may not be from nashville… i might be 150 miles away in east tennessee… but we band together.
we. are. nashville.
let's not forget, okay?

life goes on…

in the midst of a tragic death of a 49 year old father, life goes on.
his son played a spectacular baseball game the night after his father's death, with his mother, brother and a host of supporters cheering him on.
his funeral will be today. his wife wanted closure for their son, who is graduating from high school on friday.
and we'll be hosting the opening game of wiffleball 2010. the boys have even managed to get the mayoral candidate to throw out the first pitch. the local CBS affiliate will be on tap to capture the moment.
i love that this is the vehicle that keeps these guys and girls together… engaging in exercise, fun and fellowship. love it.
yes, life goes on.
as much as we may be inclined to curl up in the fetal position and wait until we can go home too, life goes on.
and i'm thinking i'd like to go to graduation on friday night and yell like crazy when a certain son crosses the stage.

as the stomach turns…

it began when my kids left for school… preschool.

the phone would ring and i would hear the director's voice (this was before caller id)… and an adrenaline rush would course from deep in my stomach through my entire body in a nanosecond. 

oh, boy wonder is fine…

whew. visions of projectile vomit and please come get your child are averted.

but next time, could your first words be:

your kids are fine, this is school director. do you think you could bring an extra change of clothes for bama girl tomorrow?

if you have kids, you know what i'm talking about. give me the kids are fine first. then you can say what's on your mind.

when they're not with you, and the phone rings, you get that little jolt. for just a second.

it happened to me almost twelve years ago. i had just dropped the kiddles off at the rec center. i was fixing dinner when the phone rang. only this time, it was a your-kid-isn't-fine kinda call. in fact, our 8 year old son had been introduced face-first into a brick wall and had had all four of his brand new permanent teeth knocked out at the hand of a 12 year old. 

i realized even though i got the phone call that every parent dreads, Jesus gave me the peace, control and strength to handle it. supernatural, God-given peace. 

there were plenty more opportunities for our kids to branch out, and it wasn't too long before our kids started driving.
every time they were out of the house, i just dreaded the phone ringing.
we've had a phone call about a wreck, and it was alright. boy wonder handled the entire situation with grace and peace (again, thank you, Jesus!). we were thankful that he was unharmed even though the car was toast.
the kids are out on their own now, and you'd think i'd react a bit better when the phone rings, but i still feel that familiar jolt.
this sunday, boy wonder was out of town, visiting girl wonder for the weekend. he was due home to kick off the opening day of wiffle ball. the phone rang as we were coming home from church. his daddy answered. and it was quiet for a minute, and then the hubs told him to calm down… it's okay… you can tell me… it's alright… breathe…
about this time, i'm feeling my lunch start a revolt at the pit of my stomach. it was pouring torrents of rain and all i could think was accident… but he was talking (or trying to) so that was a good sign. turned out he needed a little man-talk with the hubs about woman issues and everything was alright. i got to keep my lunch, but it took a minute for my heart rate to return to normal.
sometimes, i just hate the phone.
yesterday, bamagirl called me. she was at work. i wasn't too worried, but it's unusual for me to hear from her in the middle of her shift.
she was quiet. and upset.
a friend's dad died in his sleep. he was 49.
and in good health.
his son is due to graduate from high school on friday.
a call like that can just kick you right in the gut and knock the air right out of you.
it did me.
so my house was filled with very upset girls. bamagirl's best friend is friends/neighbors with the family. her parents are the couple's best friends. and they're in greece. on a cruise. so bamagirl's friend was on the phone, hysterical, trying all day to reach her parents.
it was a drama-filled day.
my heart hurts. and there is little i can do to help the situation… other than pray, which i did and am doing.
it's going to be a long week.

times like this make me so thankful that i know Jesus and that my friend is now at the banquet we all long for… but his family is grieving, as we all are…
yeah. times like these don't make me like that phone any more than i already did…

dude, i've been tagged.

kimber, my favorite who-dat girl from nawlins tagged me. i'm sure my list isn't going to be nearly as entertaining, but i'll give it a shot. here's a list… and it's all about me. {many would argue… isn't it always?}

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? i'm not sure. maybe kim darby (some old and ancient starlet of the 1950s/60s) which explains why i ended up with one of the most popular names of the early sixties.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? this morning. {sad, sad situation here. more on that tomorrow.}

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? for the most part. it's nothing to write home about. {ha! get it?}

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? peanut butter. ick on lunch meat.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? yep. two. and they're almost all growed up.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? um probably not. impossible to get a word in… dude. take a breath!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? it is literally the sin that slays me. and keeps a size 9 shoe in my mouth more times than not. {sigh}

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? nope. lost em when i was five. i went all linda blair after surgery, too. it was quite the vomit spew.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? can't say i would. i'm sorta afraid of breaking my neck.

10. what is your FAVORITE CEREAL? steel cut oats. 

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? nah. why bother?

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yeah, almost to the point of being too self-reliant.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? is "all of the above" a flavor? if not, probably sweet cream with fresh raspberries mixed in.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their smile

15. RED OR PINK? pink 

16. WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE OUTSIDE? after days of rain, we've got a pleasant sunny day. grass is finally  mowed, and of course, there's a dozen boys playing wiffle ball in my front yard. 

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? hmmm. diet coke. margarita {but it's too fattening, so diet vodka tonic}

18. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? barefoot. i'm always barefoot. but when i'm not, i ♥ my chacos.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? bowtie pasta with spaghetti sauce.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the boys yelling in the front yard and the thunk of the plastic bat.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? periwinkle blue

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? fresh cut grass, sliced cucumbers, little baby necks {nuzzle}

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? bamagirl. she called for directions. did she say thank you? nah… mom, it's good. we've plugged it into the gps. gotta go.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? college football. followed by nfl. 

27. HAIR COLOR? brown. and yes, there's gray creeping in. 

28. EYE COLOR? blue{ish} but sometimes looks green or gray. 

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yep. and i'm wearing multi-focal torics. i think it would be cheaper to get lasik than buy those dumb things.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? i ♥ chinese food and all food asian. love me some sushi!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings. not a fan of scary movies, but oddly, like the saw series. 

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? theater: crazy heart (major disappointment) home: bottleshock

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? purple/pink sleeveless sweater

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer {no contest}

35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs. there's something wrong with me. kissing creeps me out. 

36. CAR OR TRUCK? car. wouldn't mind a solara or a sebring. and make it a convertible, mmmkay?

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? so long insecurity by beth moore and the used world by haven kimmel

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? my mouse? duh.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? dancing with the stars. i'm obsessed. 

42. FAVORITE SOUND? my kids telling me they're okay when they call. and preferably they'll say that before they say hello.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? john mayer

44. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO TO NEXT? back to china. bad.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? not really. i can fit a size 9 foot in my mouth!

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? appleton, wisconsin {birthplace and home of harry houdini}

now for the tagging…

debby at just breathe
ellen at the art of losing myself
sarah at sojo life
erin at the mother load
anna at an inch of gray

if y'all can/want to play along, that's great. if not, no worries. it's just fun to do a post like this every once in awhile!

mirror, mirror

summer is fast approaching, and we had our last small group last night with our sophomore ladies. in a week or so, they'll be our juniors. no longer able to pass themselves off as sorta-newbies, but real-deal upper classmen.
we've been journeying through captivating, by stasi eldredge, and it's been a sweet journey. i love being a leader… even though i often feel ill-equipped or unworthy of such a huge responsibility. i feel like i grow as much as they do through our time in the Word, or just in sharing life with these young ladies.
we had a great time last night… time rich with conversations and sharing hearts. no agenda, no lesson… just honest (and sometimes gritty) words straight from the heart. these are my favorite kinds of nights because oftentimes the leaders can tend to want to do too much (like read the book to the girls because they oftentimes will come quite ill-prepared) and it's not long before we're noticing the glassy eyed stares of girls who've checked out.
some of the things we talked about as we were recapping the ideas that have resonated from this semester is the idea that we women are created in His image. that we represent the kinder/gentler characteristics of God. that we are the jewel in the crown of creation. that adam wasn't enough… God created woman to be adam's help-mate, his ezer kenegdo, or his life-saver who walks beside him (not two steps behind). that we are beautiful… a masterpiece made by the master-craftsman. and despite what we think of ourselves, that we are beautiful. God made us singularly, uniquely us. just like it would be unthinkable for a painting to go back to the artist and ask him why he put the flower there, in that color… why not make it blue instead of purple… how rude for the creation to ask the creator what were you thinking, making me this way?
unthinkable, but we do it all the time.
my co-leader then brought up something that i've really been chewing on since last night…
do you know when in history women became so captivated by how she looked and how others perceived her?
right about the time the mirror was invented.
and now, beyond the mirror, we are inundated with images of what we're to be. it's no wonder we struggle with body image and lament about our looks.
how would life be different if we didn't have mirrors? or images telling us what we're supposed to be like?
would we be so intent on comparing ourselves to others around us? comparing looks. homes. paychecks. kids. accomplishments. wardrobes. vacation destinations…
what if…

the boys are back (and the girls are, too!)

adjusting to life as a mom again has me strapped for time, thus making me very M.I.A. from blogland. between being much busier as an employee since my kids left for college, and then readjusting to being a mom again, i have found that i just don't have the time to do some of the things i was accustomed to as an empty nester. i'm lovin having the kids home. hope our neighbors are okay with them home, since this means there are lots and lots (and LOTS) of cars parked up and down the street.
our yard has been greening up and recovering from last summer. it's looking good…

i did some yardwork earlier this spring and found seven wiffle balls stuck in our hedges. it was a fun reminder of the excitement in our front yard last summer!

this week the boys of summer were busy at work in the front yard transforming it into Widmer Field™

their field of dreams. you know, if you build it, they will come. 

and they do. all summer long.

yesterday they had a little pre-season scrimmage.

i'm thinking the hubs is going to like having his office at home…if he can manage to tear himself away, he can join in a quick game if he's able. now there's a work-at-home perk! 

tonite is the second annual wiffle ball season kick-off banquet. country club attire. it's a fun nite… catered by petro's, of course!

it's great having my kiddles home, and to be honest, i've missed having all these guys around… they're simply the best!

we are tennessee

The below post was written by someone from Lipscomb University... which i was alerted to by a michael w. smith tweet and found on his blog. they'll post the proper credit the moment they receive it... and i'll give credit as well, but i thought it so aptly described the state i've called home for thirty years. i don't usually like to copy and paste, but whoever wrote this said it all:


It’s Monday, May 3rd. The rain has stopped, finally. What happens next shouldn’t come as a surprise. Almost instinctively, after a long night of restlessness, volunteers spring into action. It’s in their blood. They’ve been trained to do so by their parents and grandparents. From Waverly to Cookeville, Winchester to Cross Plains and in the capital city of Nashville the sights and sounds are the same.

Without being asked, fishermen launch their boats into the muddy soup, joining the rescue efforts. Business owners and supervisors tell their employees to take the day off and jump in and help wherever they can. Neighbors, many of whom helped empty entire houses in brigade fashion the night before, transition into cleanup mode. Sump pumps and generators whirr. Drywall, carpet and ruined floors are ripped out. Elderly ladies gather at the church to make lunches for workers. Teenagers distribute bottled water. Pickup trucks, trailers and storage units are loaded with what could be salvaged. Photos and documents are spread out in the sun to dry. Wads of $20 bills are slid into pockets of those affected. Checks are written. Hugs are given. Prayers are said. Tears are shed.

This is Tennessee.

Almost 200 years ago Tennessee first earned the nickname “Volunteer State.” In 1812 More than 2,000 Tennesseans volunteered to fight for Andrew Jackson and were the main part of Jackson’s army that destroyed the British three years later in the Battle of New Orleans. A generation later the U. S. Secretary of War asked Tennessee for 2,800 soldiers to fight a war against Mexico. 30,000 volunteered.

This is a state where faith comes first. We don’t ask why. We know there is a reason and look forward to it being revealed. We are guided by scriptures such as Philippians 2:3-5 which says:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus.”

Family is a focus, not an afterthought. Don’t bother trying to do business with us the week of Christmas or July 4th. We’ll be with family. When our kids have a school play we will be there. We throw big birthday parties. We teach our kids right from wrong and aren’t afraid to give them a whippin’ when they need it.

Here we say “Yes ma’am” and “No ma’am.” We try to leave a place better than we found it. We put our hand over our heart when the national anthem is played. We pull over on the side of the road when funeral processions pass on the other side.

We are savvy business people. We are farmers. We are teachers.

We drink Coke here. We like gravy with our biscuits and potatoes.

We are serious about our sports. We keep score in little league and we still have all-star teams and MVP trophies.

We are givers.

You won’t hear us wailing about where the federal government and insurance companies were in all of this. We’ll get by just fine without them.

Right now we have a lot to deal with here in our backyard. We will handle it with dignity and class. We will sacrifice for each other in ways that are unfathomable to most. We will stand together. We will stand tall. We will come out of this stronger than we were before it.

One day in the not too distant future a hurricane, tornado, fire, flood or other unspeakable disaster will strike your community. As you struggle to put the pieces back together we will be there.

We will volunteer.

We are Tennesseans.


please support the nasville 2010 flood victims. 
Samaritan's Purse to volunteer and donate
Nashville's American Red Cross to donate directly to the nashville flood recovery efforts
and of course, the home of super cute tshirts that support recovery efforts 
PRAY it's free. and effective.


i ♥ tennessee. and nashville. and thanks mws. i hope it's okay that i copied and published. too awesome to pass up.

H2010

Because some stupid whack-job tried to set off a bomb in times square, the torrential rains over the weekend that dumped an astounding amount of water on nashville causing massive devastation went largely under reported this past week.

i can't believe the beautiful opryland hotel is/was buried under 10 ft of water. or the ryman auditorium. or I-24 or half of ding-dang nashville. too unbelievable to even fathom.
my neighbors to the west are hurting, and i'm sure there's lots of relief going their way, but seriously between haiti, chile, china and soon louisiana and the gulf coast… there are so many areas that have been hard hit by natural (and man-made) disasters and only so many resources.
so that's were we come in. americans always rise to the challenge. we band together to lend a helping hand to those in need. i love to see the clever way people use their talents and gifts to help others.
today, i purchased a nashville flood tshirt to help the victims there. plus, it's a super cute shirt!

and they're each available in both blue and brown. 100% of the profits will go to help victims in the nashville area.

tweet about this. blog about it and link to the site. put this on your profile page on facebook. get the word out. but more imporatantly, get your own shirt. or buy one for the man in your life for father's day. let's flood nashville with our support, love and help.

sandpaper people

i've heard recently that God puts "sandpaper people" in a person's life to sand off the rough areas in one's life.
i've got more than one of those scratchy people in my life right now.

gah.

i'm sad that i'm so rough that i need really painful sanding.
and i wish i wasn't so busy that i could just focus on getting smooth.
or is this me running in the opposite direction?

growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown. George Shinn

transitions

thanking sweet Jesus for dodging all of the bad weather we had coursing around the south this weekend. boy wonder and i left town saturday morning to go fetch bamagirl. i was cursing our laisez-faire attitude in leaving over an hour later than we intended, because the sky looked threatening and i knew big-time rain was headed our way. about two miles into our trip, huge splats of rain assaulted the windshield as we headed towards chattanooga. i envisioned five hours of potential hydroplaning and white knucked passenger angst as boy wonder gripped the wheel.

sometimes i wonder why i worry. why i waste the energy on such an unproductive activity when i could pray (which i did in between kicking myself for our tardy departure and nervously watching boy wonder drive quite capably).
and God kept the miserable weather at bay and our trip to alabama was mercifully dry and uneventful. i enjoyed having some one-on-one time with boy wonder as we talked about all kinds of stuff. i look at myself at that age and remember how clueless i was about life in general and how unwilling i was to take advice or even look pragmatically at my choices and direction. not so, boy wonder. we talked about budgeting, car shopping, relationship issues (or really, how to avoid issues), faith, ministry, life goals, future vocation, apartment/house hunting, and even politics. it was so awesome to hear his heart. (my heart at that age was so self-focused and kind of crispy around the edges… i marvel at how i even survived those years)
made it to the university of alabama without incident, and loaded up the suburban with all of her world's belongings (i swear we loaded at least half of the entire world's belongings!!) which were almost packed and ready to go. the goal was to get the car packed as much as possible before the monsoon hit. we quickly checked out the weather channel to see what was going on in nashville because i had received so many tweets about nashville collectively floating down I-24. the videos were astonishing. all of that destruction in such a short period of time. it proved to be a rather deadly week for the south, weather-wise!
bama boy picked us up and the four of us went to dinner, picked up a few things for the storage unit her roommate wisely secured for the summer, and then went to a movie (back up plan… not gonna waste alot of time recapping the movie… it was funny, but much of it relied on cheap humor, and i'd say this movie could easily wait until rental {or never}. shoulda seen clash of the titans or nightmare on elm street).
we were up early the next morning ready for her to be checked out of her dorm and off we scurried back to east tennessee in hopes of beating the next wave of bad weather.
other than a slight drizzle at the beginning of our trip along with a plea to Jesus to guide our trip back home with a minimal amount of moisture (not tellin' ya what to do Jesus, we're just sayin'…). stopped in chattanooga to have lunch with girl wonder and wondered if perhaps our car might blow away while we ate {although with bama girl's world in the car, it would have taken an F5 twister to hurl that car into the air}.
home sweet home without any kind of weather incident and again, the Lord allowed us to unload without having to dodge any raindrops. about thirty minutes after closing up the car, the heavens opened and we received plenty of rain, but no violent winds.
there are bins in our family room from boy wonder's move-in on tuesday. there are bins in the living room, entry way, and hallway from bama girl. as i peruse my home and put away glassware from the girls who were over to the house within thirty minutes of bama girl's return, i recognize that the life i had become accustomed to for the past nine months is changing again.
i'm thrilled to have the kiddles {and their vast entourage} home again. i am.
but i'd be lying if i said that my heart isn't having a bit of trouble adjusting to being a much busier working woman than i was when they left in august. and i'm wondering how that is going to fit in with all that comes with being a good mother.

and while i'm prone to begin that hand wringing worrying, i think i'll just take it to the Lord and ask him to calm my overwhelmed heart.

new toy{s}

i know. i've been a real bloggerslacker lately. work has a way of interrupting my socializing. 

the hubs was out of town all week doing strategic planning. i was moving a child home from college.

and playing with a new toy. well, two new toys, actually.

not too long ago, an e-quaintance (you know, a new blog friend) put up her nikon d40 for adoption. she had fallen on some tough times and sacrificed her baby for dollar donations. i made a modest donation and took my chances, so to speak. i'm not usually very blessed in the "winning" category, but this time, i came out on top and received her precious camera nestled in bubble wrap. sigh.

i've always wanted a telephoto lens {not like i know how to use it} and want to acquire new skills, so i ordered one online.
it arrived yesterday, and i'm just playing around with it.
i got a nikkor AF zoom 70-300m f/4.5-5.6g {if that means anything to you} in my naivité i expected something a little more…uh… automatic… but since i'm a total newbie {and am not a very good researcher} i bought it.
is there something out there that is automatic? or do i need to just suck it up and learn old-school hand focusing.
i had some fun in the backyard and took ayanna (my orchid) out to play. (ayanna is african for beautiful flower)

she liked it outside.

and so did bailey.

now it's off to go get bamagirl… but before i do, i'm gonna have a piece of fresh-baked banana bread!