Whoopie Pies!

My mom put some whoopie pie mix in our Christmas stocking this year.  I'm not sure if I had ever had whoopie pies.  The other night when Landon was gone, James and I needed a project.  I found the mix in the cabinet and decided to go for it.  They turned out great...although James only wanted to eat the candy and got mad once the candy was actually rolled onto the icing.  

A big helper!

YUM!

Getting ready to put the icing in between.

The finished product :)

A Great Man, Mr. Hank Rowe

A sweet, dear man went to be with Jesus this past week.  Hank and Lane Rowe attend our church and over the past couple years have become more and more precious to us.  Hank has been sick for quite some time - although he has been able to have pretty great quality of life until here recently - but last Wednesday morning, Jesus took him to Heaven.  Now, although Landon had the opportunity to get to know Hank better than I did since he would visit Hank and Lane sometimes during the day while he was working, I got to know him a little bit :)  And, I sure did love him.  He is one of the warmest, just genuinely kind people I have ever met.  You know when you meet someone who just exudes sincerity, just general "fun-ness", and friendliness??  Well, that was Hank.  I remembered as I began to write this short blog about Hank and Lane that I had written a blog about them when went to dinner at their house quite a while back.  That blog is here:

http://frymires.blogspot.com/2011/09/fenomenal-family-friday-rowe-family.html

We were very thankful for the opportunity to meet Hank and Lane's children and extended family.  They were wonderful.  They had so, so many stories about Hank - his love for them, funny - crazy - funny stuff he had done over the years.  They were a blessing to be around.  Pray for Hank's wife, Lane, as she begins a new journey now.  Pray as she starts to find a new sense of what normal looks like, that the Father will envelope her with His love and comfort.  Pray that we will faithfully and deliberately show love to her - to be Jesus with skin on.  This is one precious family, and it is our privilege to know them!

For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face. 
Now I know in part,
but then I will know fully, 
as I am fully known.
1st Corinthians 13:12

Got it together???

Confession time.  I hate this drawer.  It's a drawer that starts out pretty organized in the kitchen, but it's the "catch all" drawer (because I let it be) and over a month or two, it just gets out of control.  Company's coming...oh, shove it in that drawer.  You get the drift.  I want to be a good house cleaner.  I want to be a perfect mom.  A perfect wife.  A perfect part time employee of Ronald Blue & Co.  A perfect pastor's wife.  A perfect drawer cleaner.  But, I just can't.  I can't do it, and when I hide the mess for a while, it ends up looking like this picture above.  Finally, I get sick of it and clean it out.  Does anyone identify with me?  If not, just please don't judge me.

Just two nights ago, it had been ONE LONG DAY.  I had been with James, of course, (which obviously is a great blessing - but also tough!), Landon had eaten dinner with us and then gone back to the church for a men's Bible study they are doing right now, so I had James again.  Then, when Landon did finally get home for real, he needed to go out and work on staining the deck.  This legitimately needs to be done, so I was thankful he was doing it, but yet again, no break for the momma.  I had finally gotten James in bed, and I quietly sneaked down the hall to get a shower.  I step out of the shower to hear Landon, outside, hammering something...LOUD.  I mean, LOUD.  And then...wait for it...James started crying.  OOOOH...I was SO MAD.  I took part of my clothes I had yet to put on and went to the french doors in our bedroom that go out to the deck and threw my clothes at the window and told him (mouthing in a LOUD but silent way) "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? BE QUIET.  HE IS CRYING!!!!!!"  Poor Landon.  The man is working as hard as he can, then coming home to try to do something that needs to be done, and my cup was just too full that day.  Most days I get a lot more help than that, but that day....my junk drawer just felt like it was overflowing.

I've been reading this book called Captivating.  And, truthfully, it's taking me quite a while to get through it. I read in snippets at night if it's not too late.  But, the book is good.  We're going to study it this fall on our Women's Retreat at church with one of my favorite women in the world teaching us - Melissa Haas.  If you are interested in coming. let me know.  That was an aside.  The point is, this book spoke to me the other night, and I just want to write out some of what it said.  Because it just fits with my junk drawer overflowing mood.

from Captivating...
"A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worth or enough.  She knows in her quiet center where God swells that He finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in Him, she is enough.  In fact, the only thing getting in the way our being fully captivating and enjoyed is OUR STRIVING.  A woman of true beauty offers others the grace to be and room to become.  In her presence we can release the tension and pressure that so often grips our hearts.  We can also breathe in the truth that God loves us and He is good.

Proverbs speaks about two different women, two archetypes.  One is Lady Folly; the other, Lady Wisdom. Both are lovely.  Both set their tables with fine food and aged wine and dress in fine linens.  Both call to the passersby to come in, taste, eat, linger.  Lady Folly's door is the mouth of an open grave.  Lady Wisdom's home is the passageway to discernment, holiness, and Life.

A woman who is striving invites others to strive.  The message - sometimes implicit in her actions, sometimes explicit through her words - is, "Get your act together.  Life is uncertain.  There is no time for your heart here.  Shape up.  Get busy.  That's what's important."  She does not say, "All is well.  All shall be well."  Her fear doesn't allow it.  She is withholding the very things her world needs.

A woman who is hiding invites others to do the same.  "Don't be vulnerable.  Hide yourself."  A woman who makes herself vulnerable and available for intimacy invites others to do the same.  After all, Eve is the incarnation of the heart of God for intimacy.  She says to world, through her invitation to relationship, "You are wanted here.  We want to know you.  Come in.  Share yourself.  You are wanted here.  We want to know you.  Come in.  Share yourself.  Be enjoyed.  Enjoy me as I share myself."  A woman who is controlling cannot invite others to rest, to be known.  They will feel controlled in her presence.  It won't feel safe there.

A woman who is unveiling her beauty is inviting others to life."

So, what do you think?  Maybe to you, my junk drawer and this passage from a great book are unrelated.  But to me, my junk drawer illustrates me trying to be Lady Folly.  Attempting and striving and working and not enjoying life.  What am I doing?  I long to be Lady Wisdom. I long to invite others to life.  I'm praying God will continue to work in me and change me and make me someone new - someone who actually RESTS in Him.

Lakeyard & Tahti's

I do not know why I have not posted these yet.  Ridiculous.  I uploaded them into this post a long time ago and then just never wrote anything about them to publish it.  We went home what seems like forever ago...maybe 3 weeks?...and had such a great trip.  It was short - which is pretty stressful - but sometimes it's just good to get in the car and get out of town, you know?  Not because of problems, but just because it's good to get away once in a while.  

One morning, while Landon visited with his good friend, James and I went to the lakeyard with Landon's dad.  We had the best time.  I had forgotten what a GREAT place it is.  Goodness, I was so lucky to grow up there. 

James' favorite was when Grandaddy would swing beside him - not when he was pushing him.  

James also loved visiting Wise Equipment.  That man loves him some tahti's.  Seriously.  Anytime we see one from the car he starts asking about riding it.  Ride Tahti???  Ride Tahti????  We had a great time, and Daddy even had time to take us for a ride on a Gator.  James was a little afraid, but once I got on and held him, he did GREAT.

Why are these two lakeyard pictures at the bottom?  Who knows, but I don't feel like fixing it :)

We had a great trip home!

Easter or "Eatr"

It feels like this past month has been a whirlwind.  We had a great Easter.  A great Easter service at church, and just generally, a really good day.  James was really funny about Easter.  I would say, "James, what is Easter about?"  And then he would say, "Eatr Bunny."  And then I would say, "I know, but what else?"  And then he would say, "Jesus (which sounds like Eeus) rose, owie."  I taught him to say Jesus rose, but the only "rose" he knows is how he walked through the rosebushes one day outside in the flower bed and got an owie.  I thought how funny and fitting it actually was for him to say owie about Jesus dying and rising from the dead.  Interesting.  Out of the mouths of babes, huh?

We had a really fun Easter egg hunt at church the Saturday before Palm Sun.  We had a great turnout and lots of fun!  And, lots of candy - which is what mattered to my friend, James.  

Here I am trying to get James to hunt eggs instead of playing on the playground.  He did not understand why he should want the eggs.  Finally, I busted one open and showed him the candy.  It was still a toss up between hunting and playing.

Landon hung out with the preschoolers for a lot of the time and they played with this parachute.  See James watching them?  He thought it was really, really fun until they all went under the parachute - then he started freaking out screaming.  ha.  I think it scared him when they all disappeared, and he thought they were hurt.

Um, what, do you think you are like 5 years old or something, Buddy?  I am trying for broken bones to stay away as long as possible for us...

RIGHT.  These eggs have candy.  See, James, I would never steer you wrong!!!

Sweet Nanda and James!

More parachute fun (guess I should have organized these pictures better)

Fun with pizza in the fellowship center before watching a Veggie Tales movie.

The Sat. night before Easter, Eric and Kelli and Caroline came over - some of our favorite people in the WHOLE world.  We ate dinner together and colored eggs.  James just kept cracking his eggs - because he's watched me do our boiled eggs in the mornings - or he kept throwing them because we bought special coverings for the eggs that were like balls.  Basketball, football, etc., so he wanted to throw them hard.   Every time he put one down in the colored water, he heaved it in there as hard as he could.  Good thing it was just vinegar and coloring.

Our family.

James and Landon Easter morning.  Ah, how things have changed since I took this exact picture last year :)

James' Easter basket.  He was pretty excited.  A bubble gun (That he thanks God for every night when I ask him what he wants to pray for).  The Little Engine that Could DVD, a watercolor paint book,

a chocolate bunny that we got because it was like a basketball, and it took numerous times of James playing with it until finally part of the foil came off, and he gasped, "CHOCO KETTY!"  He had no clue :)  Some bath fizzies to color the water.  Veggie Tales books,

Some Barney books, and a great tool kit.  I got most of these things for his basket at the Methodist Church consignment sale a few weeks before - awesome!  The drill is the best because it makes noise and everything and lights up!!!!

Some pictures of James in his Easter outfit before church...

The eggs James colored:

Easter egg hunt at Nanda's house:

A GREAT Day!!!

It's the Simple Things

Sometimes I feel ungrateful.  I know we all feel that way at times.  Sometimes I wonder why life is hard.  I was just telling Landon a few minutes ago while we were eating dinner that God has been reminding me of all the great blessings He's given me this week.  I've been mad for a couple of weeks about something - I just hate dishonesty, any kind of shifty-ness in people, shady-ness, you get the drift...and that's been going on with someone we know.  I've been frustrated about it - and honestly, it's been sort of consuming me.  I've prayed about it and prayed about it and prayed about it.  And a couple of days ago, I started to actually feel better - you know why?  Because I think God started reminding me how grateful I am for the life I have and the blessings in my life...and that this one situation is minuscule compared to the overflow of blessings around me.  He doesn't desire for it to consume me.  He desires for me to let Him handle it, and for me to move on - to live in His power, and for His purposes, and not get bogged down by someone who just doesn't seem to get it.  I know He'll handle it - just like He helps me along every day.  I even started thinking of dumb things...and some not so dumb things that I was thankful for today.  I'm in a better place than I've been the last couple of weeks emotionally, and I just want to make a list of things I've thought of that I'm grateful for and even simple things I just like.

1.  I like that when I walk around the corner in the mornings we have windows along the back of the house and I can see the trees and the sun coming up.  It was so beautiful last winter when it snowed so much.
2.  I like drinking coffee with peppermint mocha creamer.
3.  I like James yelling " Momma HOE-EEEE" a million times a day...even if it does begin to drive me a little batty.
4.  I like my family needing me and me have a specific role in their lives.
5.  I love my Monday night Journey ladies and what God is doing in them.
6.  I love that God walked with me through a scary month last month when I found a nodule on my thyroid, had to go to an endocrinologist, have a biopsy, and it ended up being benign.  I know He has good plans for my life, even when I don't understand why stuff is happening.
7.  I love this church journey we are on.  Boy, it's a challenge.  It's a roller coaster - victories, defeats, learning to surrender every single situation to God even if I just know for sure I could handle it better myself :)
8.  Friends in our lives - the family of God that surrounds me at every turn for support.  I need them desperately.  And I am most thankful when I can just be myself and don't have to wear a mask.
9.  Watching our family or friends pull into the driveway when they visit from FL!
10.  Clean sheets.
11.  The sound of the dishwasher running at night.
12.  The door God opened for me to continue to work for my company - the best company ever - in an even better role than I was previously in (I did not think this was even possible!!!!).  And, the co-workers I am having the opportunity to get to know.  Amazing.
13.  Sitting with Landon on the couch at night knowing James is sleeping and watching our shows together.
14.  Dates with Landon - especially when they involve eating :)
15.  Chili cheese fries at Longhorn.
16.  The smell of Wise Equipment.
17.  Surprising my mom at school when we get home.
18.  Special cards people send in the mail at just the right time when I need encouragement, and God laying people on my heart to send cards to.
19.  Watching my husband preach God's Word to people each Sunday.  I am a very lucky wife. Period.
20.  God's grace - that He saved me - that He's kept me through a whole lot of crap - hurricanes and marriage stuff - and that He doesn't want to get rid of me.  I don't have to be perfect.  He just wants ME.  That's it.  Nothing else.  No performance necessary.

I have one good life.

(and note to self:  I should reference this blog MANY times in the future when I am needing some things to be thankful for :)...which probably will happen tomorrow knowing me!)

I See Daddy!!!! in....the Spooky Schoolhouse

Things have been busy around here...busy, busy, busy.  I have some other things I want to talk about in another post, but this is just for fun, something I want to remember.  James is really loving books right now.  Usually books that don't have a ton of words, and his main favorite books are about trains - Little Red Caboose, the Little Engine that Could, etc.  This book, The Spooky Schoolhouse was one of my books as a kid, and I brought it home with us a while back.  It's really for kids that are a little older, but for some reason, James LOVES it.  It's about these two kids who move to a new town and their school is really old and they think there might be ghosts there, but obviously, there aren't and it ends up being that the heating system in the basement is really old.  Sorry if I ruined the book for you.  The plot is not the point of the my blog today.  The point is that on every page, James calls different people "Daddy".  He doesn't do this with any other book, and he clearly knows who his daddy is.  That's why is CRAZY FUNNY.  

So, here's the cover of the book with brother and sister, Samantha and Brian.

Here they are leaving for school - the first time James calls this person Daddy...which is accurate.  The man waving bye is Samantha and Brian's daddy.

Ah, but here's where the fun begins.  This is the kids' teacher, Ms. Witchner.  She is on two separate pages and James insistently over and over says Daddy, Daddy about this older lady - hahahahaha.  

Then after those two pages with Ms. Witchner, we go to this page.  James then insists that this little African American boy with the paper airplane is his daddy.  I try to tell him it's another student in the class with the brother and sister, but to no avail.  

In conclusion, who knew that James' daddy is an African American little boy, an older woman teacher with white hair, and his real daddy, a Caucasian 32 year old man :)  James has really enlightened me on this one.