Playing Catch Up

Hello out there in blogland! (Do you remember that voice on Nick at Nite that would say "Hellooooo out there in TV land!"?) A lot of life has happened in the last week. Jackson and I drove down to Houston to spend some time with my family. Mom and Dad are leaving for Africa soon and we wanted to see them before they go. We had tons of fun, as always. It just went by way too fast.

We celebrated my sister's 25th birthday with a Thanksgiving feast. The food was so good but my son was in rare form. He was chucking the precious dressing and the yams across the table. There I was, with a delicious green bean casserole to my left and a cheeky little toddler to my right, trying to find my happy place. Then my dad decided to try to coach me on how to deal with it and it just went downhill from there. (I love you, Daddy!) It is really weird that my sister is 25. We are getting up there!

Dad and I went to visit my Pappaw in the hospital. He's really not doing well and it kills me. He is in a terrible amount of pain. Hopefully he will overcome this but I just don't know if it's going to happen. It was hard kissing his forehead when we left, thinking that it could possibly be the last time. I don't know what I will do one day when he's gone. He is very high up on the list of people who love me the most in this world. And vice versa.

Last Saturday night we concluded our Saturday night service. Today was our first Sunday back in the morning services. We have been a handful of times but it was like coming home from college or something. It was probably two months ago when Curt first told me he thought we should cancel it. It has been a hard couple of months for us.

"Hard" is all relative though. Sunni's younger sister Tiffani is having open heart surgery soon. Please keep her and her husband (of only two months) in your prayers. Sunni's in a tough spot because she needs to be in Houston with her sister right now but she cannot have Ava in the hospital. Please ask God to provide for every need.

In about a week we will head to Missouri where Curt will speak at the youth camp for his home church. We will also get to spend some quality time with his family. We can't wait! It will be our first trip up there since Thanksgiving.

Jackson has been doing a lot lately, like trying to say more words. He learned "cracker" yesterday and has been saying "ball" and "dog" somewhat clearly. It's very crazy to realize how much he understands of what we say. Seeing him learn is so exciting. My mom had him counting to four. Well, she counted to four and he said "two" over and over. He was mostly interested in playing with the rocks mom was using to teach him.

Friday night I got to help Janelle coordinate a wedding at our church. The bride, Ashley, was one of our college students when we came to our church. She and her friends welcomed me with open arms and loved on me from day one. They are all very special to me. We got to witness Ashley and Brant fall in love, so it was neat to be there on her big day. I remember eating lunch with her at Chick-fil-a one day and analyzing whether he could be the one. Ashley, you were a beautiful bride and you are going to be an amazing wife!

Saturday was family day. We took Jackson to Bedford Splash and had the best time. The two adults to one child ratio worked really well. Jackson is so adventurous in the water that it made it much easier to have two extra eyes, arms, and feet to tend to him.

This evening I conquered the grocery store with my long list of ingredients for three meals. So I have one week to make taco salad, chicken spaghetti, and chicken cheddar rice bake. That is a lot for me in one week, folks. I am so out of the habit of cooking. It's shameful, really. Tonight we had taco salad and a very pathetic version of strawberry shortcake. It was so pathetic that soon I will have to find Simri's recipe and try to mimic this masterpiece.

So with this last week at home before our trip, I am asking God for the June Cleaver anointing. Really, the Wonder Woman anointing. I need to do excellent work, be a good mommy, clean, cook, and be an attentive, loving, and selfless wife. Oh, and work out. I cannot imagine how I'm going to earn gold stars in all of these categories in the next 7 days. BUT, I have Christ in me, the hope of glory! Amen? And when I overcook the chicken, you better know I'll be praising Him for His grace. I may not be around much this week, but I plan on blogging more after camp. Have a great Monday!