We are Back

The top is Mo,me,and Kay in front of Jackson square in New Orleans and then bottom two are Mo and Kay on her grad night and me and Kay in New Orleans trying on sunglasses.

We arrived home safely late Sunday night and spent the majority of memorial day just chillin with the kiddos. It is funny when you go away for that length of time(which I don't often do) you come home and everything looks different. I was actually excited to get back to doing the dishes. I missed our kiddos so so so much. I knew they were in great hands it's just I saw so many things that I would've loved to have shared with them and the whole trip would have been that much richer if they were there. I am not saying that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the break from them it's just that they are all at such fun ages right now and so traveling and seeing new things wouldn't be as hard as it used to be, but that was not for this trip. The time with the Giant was so great and we really got to have alot of time with our niece, Kaylanne who graduated last Friday night.

Some highlights from the trip were

Niece graduating

Nashelles' Restaurant

9 abandoned cars in a matter of a few minutes

House filled with antiques for 100,000

6 turned over dead armadillos

The town of Stonewall

shopping at Dirt Cheap

Meeting new people named Doo and :)

The soon to be famous swimming pool in Stonewall

New Orleans

and lots of late night chats

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and our kiddos while we were gone. I missed you all and look forward to catching up with everyone. It seems like it's been a long time since seeing all your friendly faces.

Mississippi

We leave tomorrow for Mississippi to see our niece graduate from high school. I don't know how much access I will have to a computer so I probably won't be bloggin for a bit but upon my return I promise a few pics from the trip and also the highlights.
We are leaving the chillins here so could everyone please be praying for them as 7 days is a very long time for those that are under 10 years of age(well it is also a long time for those that are 32 years of age but that's another prayer request.) I know that they are in very good hands and I know that the time with my hubby is going to be fabulous but I just want to cover all the basis here at the homefront and it helps me to know that people are praying , so thank you in advance.
See ya when we get back.

A truth that is self evident

"The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us. " Oswald Chambers
I read this quote today and it really struck me to the core because I believe and have seen this to be so true. The people who have influenced me the most in this life (in a positive way) are the ones who are just living thier lives the best way they know how but purely and simply. They are the people who are not striving to be or to do but they are confident in thier uniqueness and they teach with thier actions rather than thier words.
This isn't a new concept, "Actions speak louder than words" is something we have all heard before, but I guess the way that Oswald said it this time made me stop and take note. This is not something hard or at least it shouldn't be. We should be able to just live life like the signs of nature that never change thier purpose. The stars and the lilies are pefectly simple and unaffected and that is something I want to be perfectly simple and unaffected by lifes circumstances. I want to know deep within, my lifes purpose, so concretely that life is not a series of stressful striving attempts to know who I am, but rather a life so simple, at peace, and unaffected by the elements around me that I continue to remain who I am whether or not the world around me likes it or not.

John Alvin Ford Munnerlyn

OH HAPPY DAY!!

My treasure friend Allie gave birth to baby FIVE today and I am so thankful that even though I couldn't be with her Jesus was. Thank you to everyone who prayed for baby and mom and please continue to pray for healing for momma and health for that baby boy who has no name yet but when he does I will be sure to announce that as well. What a precious, precious thing life is.

Semester coming to a close

I can hardly begin to explain the joy I feel knowing that I am almost done with this semester of school. I love school but this semester was unusually difficult for me, not because the classes were hard, they weren't, but because the timing of these classes got sandwiched in between a very, very busy season of life for me. There was also a little issue with one of my instructors that has been very hard to navigate through without getting bitter or discouraged about school in general, but today I took my final online exam with that instructor's course and I WILL NEVER take another course from her again in the future. I am so glad that I am finished with that chapter of my life. The words of my freind Mindy ran through my head all week, "Finish Well!!" she said it in passing but those words have encouraged me so much in the last few weeks that I thought I would just give a shout out to her and tell her, Thank you! Also, I just wanted to thank my best friend for helping me so much and for just being the incredible Giant of a person that he is. WHOO HOO!!