Amazingly, it’s time to remember…to really recall what the Lord has done for our family.  One year ago today, March 12th, we were moving back into this house.  Not just moving IN here, but moving OUT of our “dream home.”

You can read the whole post from March 30th 2011.  What started as a “dream” turned into restless days and nights as we knew we were off course and needed God’s major help.  We prayed Daniel 9:18 often, “…we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.”

We had set our sights on the temporal.

We worked hard for what we wanted.

I wanted a place we would call HOME forever…a place my kids would come home to for years and years and years….

Josh did a great job with details.  He spent many, many hours at the house during construction.  He spent lots of money to make it what we wanted.

At the time we didn’t have a clue at what kind of adventure we were in for…the route we had chosen, what God had allowed in our life, the lessons we would learn…the hard way.  There were many seasons we experienced during our stay on Gantt Road.  Spring, summer, fall, and winter—-physically and spiritually.

I can truly say that I am thankful for the journey we took to this house, even though we didn’t stay there.  What happened there is nothing short of a miracle and opened up amazing ways for God to show Himself to be extremely personal, overwhelmingly gracious, unquestionably holy, and able to redeem any situation for His great glory.

Just this morning….and just like God…I was reading in Nehemiah where the people were gathered listening to Ezra read the law, which they had wandered from as a people for many years.  They were all gathering back into HOME and realigning themselves with God’s Word.  They read “how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month.”  In Leviticus 23:43 you can read that this feast is called The Feast of Booths where the sons of Israel live in booths (tents) to remind them of how the Lord had delivered His people from their wanderings and out of Egypt.  Here’s what Kelly Minter says about it:  “Though Israelites had regularly celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, which was a time of harvest and celebration, they had not been observing the part about living in booths.  But this was vital to their experience because it was a tangible reminder of how the Israelites had once lived when they wandered through the wilderness.”

I just loved reading about this this morning because here in our home we are doing this same thing—Remembering the faithfulness of our God that led us out to lead us in and to remember the amazing work He did withIN our hearts.  He has continued to be extremely personal, overwhelmingly gracious, unquestionably holy and able to redeem.  And just like in the days of Nehemiah, “There was great rejoicing.”  We are rejoicing around here these days.  So thankful the Lord doesn’t give up on his stubborn people.

Psalm 130:7  “O, Israel/Kristy, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.”

I read an article this morning from FOX NEWS that told of a prisoner that faces execution because he believes in Jesus as the one true God.  I’ve seen his face and prayed for him.  We have posted him on our bulletin board to remind us that we need to pray for him. In fact, I am unsure of exactly  what to do with the verse that tells us to pray for those imprisoned as if we ourselves were there.

Hebrews 13:3  ” Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”

FROM FOX.COM by Lisa Daftari: “Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.”

 

 

We had a full week of school, which included a fun Valentine’s Day and a field trip for the girls to the Atlanta Ballet’s SNOW WHITE performance.  They had a blast!  Mack and Russell stayed here and played—and played hard!!  It is so different around here when it’s just boys.  Lots of grunting and attacking the “bad people”….whoever they are.  

There’s a Valentine post in my head…and even pictures.  Maybe I will get around to posting it this weekend…..

Well, after one week—and as we begin our second week of this schedule and of the kid’s chores–Mack let me know his opinion.

It was time for him to go to his room for a “rest time.”  They had just finished doing some of their chores.  It was not time to eat anything, so I was saying NO to a snack.

He fell of the floor and said, “I just wish you’d never thought of this!!!!”

“Thought of what, Mack??,”  I asked.

“Thought of all this stuff to do, all this work!!!!  I just…I just WISH YOU WOULD SAY THAT YOU GIVE UP!”

Oh my goodness.  He wishes I would say that I give up.  Lord only knows how many times I have felt that way, but I will not give up.  I will endure.

I hope.  🙂

Today marks 11 years of wedded bliss between Josh and me.  I “cheesed” it up and wrote a little poem for him and attached it to a small shovel.  We’ve talked about how we can look back and see how we’ve lived life more on the surface than digging deep…playing it “safe” instead of risking all of our small plans for whatever it is that the Lord might have for us.  I do pray we have the next 11+ years to dig deep into life together.

Eleven Years of Digging and Living Life with You

We married at age 23 in 2001. Little did we realize, the fun had just begun!

We worked, we played, we payed the rent on a sweet, one-bedroom apartment;

(Weren’t those years so dear?)

Then in time we signed the line–(our address is here) Trail– excited for the next fun chapter of our fairytale.

First, Ruby. Then, Molly. And then came Mack! One thing is certain–for babies, we did not lack!

In searching for the next big thing, we set our sights on MORE– then the Lord used restlessness to show us He had a better plan in store.

We lost your mom to Heaven–the loss too much to comprehend, but once again, our Heavenly Father showed Himself to be the One on Whom we could depend.

God has shaped us in ways we never might have chosen, but I love the way He has woven the ups and downs of all of life because He’s made us a better husband and wife.

The shovel is to be a symbol of the goal for (Lord-willing) all the years to come. Let’s go deeper, stay off the surface as we live this life as one.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JOSHUA LEE!

 

Well, well, well…January is about to be over, which is just crazy to me.  Time is such a weird thing.

And here I am trying to catch up on my blog, just wanting to update on our family for our remembrance because things change quickly around here and the kids are growing like weeds.  Mack will be five in about eight weeks, which is just so strange to me.  I’ll deal with the fact that my baby is so not a baby some other time.

Let’s see….January started with that one great home school day we had.  I recorded what we did in hopes to duplicate it for many days.  That did not happen.  Not even a little bit.

My grandfather passed away on the 7th, so I went to Augusta for about four emotionally draining days.  Whew.  Deaths are difficult enough.  Add a little drama and you can find yourself mentally exhausted.  Those days, though, have really been helping me think about some life issues and challenged me to examine the way I “do life.”

We got home and tried to get back into our routine, which did eventually happen.

Josh and I will officially be married 11 years on Friday, but we celebrated last weekend since it didn’t work out for us to be together on the actual date.  It was a fun time away.  I really enjoy spending time with him.  He’s such a good husband and my very best friend.

This week we’ve been doing school and doctoring some strep throat.

Let me see if I can give some personal little updates:

Ruby is SUCH a first born.  I love watching her and the way she bosses leads the others.  She loves to wrestle and run and chase and push.  Quite the aggressive one if you don’t watch her.  She likes to sleep alone (as opposed to how the other two love to sleep in the same room).  She is getting so much better at her math.  She still loves to read.  She still hates taking medicine.  She loves desserts, hates most real food.  She is quiet if I have her one on one, but comfortably so…just likes being with me and doesn’t need constant conversation.  She memorizes well and loves, loves, loves to sing out of the hymn book (whether she knows the tune or not).  She always puts up some sort of argument about why she shouldn’t have to go to bed.  She’s gonna play soccer starting in March.

Molly is a sweet middle child, just like her Mama was.  heehee…..Really, she is sweet to the others, but if you get her mad she really has quite a mean tone of voice that, unfortunately, she really did get from me.  Yikes.  She is growing her hair out to go down to her ankles, or so she says.  She always wants to help me in the kitchen, and she does a good job….she’ll fix breakfast three out of five mornings. She  uses a cane to walk even though she doesn’t need one.  She asked for a wheelchair for her birthday.  (don’t know what that is about)  She can still throw herself on the ground with no control of her limbs when things aren’t going her way.  It’s quite scary.  She helps Mack with anything he asks her to.

And Mack–He is rotten.  There is really no way around it.  Sweet?  Absolutely!!  Funny?  You bet!!!  Rotten?  Yes.  I just love watching him be “all boy.”  Just this past week he had a friend over, and I loved seeing him play so well with Lincoln.  They fought with swords, played with trucks and just had a good time together.  I took them to the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart to pick out a toy.  They liked that!  Mack LOVES the Dollar Store.  He gets little men wrestlers and plays with them. ??  He still thinks he is too little to do any jobs.  I’ll ask him to put away his pajamas or try to make his bed and he says, “But I’m just a little boy” or “I’m your baby.”  What a stinker!!!  He likes to tell Ruby that she is not in charge of him.  He says that little statement often….”YOU are not in CHARGE of MEEEEE!!!!!”  He eats too much junk.  Candy is his friend…gummy bears, peppermints, gum, sweet tarts….you name it, he likes it.

Josh is traveling fairly regularly for this and that.  Each week I have a suitcase to unload, it seems.  He is still teaching Sunday School at this season of life, which makes for almost 10 years of teaching Young Adults.  He loves it.  He still has a great attitude about most every situation we might find ourselves in, which is a priceless gift.  I can tell you the worst thing that can happen….and I can tell you in record time.  He doesn’t work that way….thank the Lord!  We surely don’t need two of me.  He enjoys playing wii with the kids…and beating them.  He still doesn’t know where the laundry basket is after all these years….oh wait, it’s so close to our anniversary….I better be nice.  In all seriousness, he is such a great husband and Daddy and provider and leader of our home.  I am blessed beyond belief with him.

So there’s a little update.  I’m sure you were dying to hear all about us.  Now here are some pictures:

Are these not the cutest little friends?  They were so kind to each other and really seemed to just enjoy being together.  So cute!

Josh took Ruby and Molly to see ANNIE at The Fox Theatre tonight.  They were so excited!!

I stayed home with Mack.  His friend came over to hang out with us.  We ate spaghetti and took a trip to the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart and then to McDonalds for a milkshake.  I’ll have to post some pictures later (my camera battery died in mid-download) and tell some of the stories of hanging out with those two boys.  They were ALL boy!  You’d never know that Mack is over run with girls most of the time…except for the fact that he is so compassionate and aware of other people’s feelings….not a bad character at all.

Can’t wait to hear how the girls enjoyed ANNIE!