This weekend was so busy, but so much fun. Saturday started out with some laundry and house cleaning but progressed into fun when Momma Carol and Whittani got off work. We headed out shopping for a couple of hours and then had a quick lunch. That night we had dinner at The Melting Pot for Whittani's birthday. We had so much fun. After dinner we walked through The Old City and up to The Mast General Store where Sam and I indulged into some ice cold Nehi's. Mmmm, they were delicious. We decided that was going to be our Saturday night thing; general store and Nehi's. You can't beat a cold orange Nehi on a hot summer day...and they are only $1! After our walk through the general store we headed up to Market Square and visited a few of the shops. 

Sunday morning was church. The preschool was hoppin' with a lot of little ones. Sarah was sick so I was on my own with running the preschool. God blessed, as always, and things were smooth sailing. The kids are really loving our study on Moses, and so am I. There are so many fun things to do with Moses' story and they are really "getting" it. I love it! 

Our family adventure for Sunday afternoon was a little road trip. We headed up to Kentucky Splash for a little water park fun. We had a blast! This year is the park's ten year anniversary so tickets to get in are only $10! Granted, it's no Splash Country, but for $10 and a fun 45 minute road trip it was well worth it. They had 3 water slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river so we were content. Ana and Steven tagged along with us so the 5 of us had a blast. We came back to Knoxville and headed to Alcoa for a little dinner at Cheddar's. We stuffed our faces and decided on a movie. 'Salt' won the vote and off we went. I wasn't sure what to think of the movie once we decided to see it, but after it started I was all in. It was a really good movie, so 2 thumbs up from me. 

Lettie update: Sweet Lettie made it to Atalanta. She is now at the rehab facility. She had a few setback of not eating or taking her bottle well enough so they had to put the NG tube back in. They are keeping her busy with various types of therapy so please pray for patience of the therapists, strength for Lettie, and rest for Summer. Please pray that Lettie will continue to develop her swallowing habits and that they are able to remove the tube soon and she can start drinking and eating without it. Also, please continue to pray for no more seizures. Thank you all so much for your prayers for Lettie. She is a miracle and to see how God is using her in so many ways is humbling. 

Time

Time is what is lacking in my life right now. I feel like I have zero time to do anything once I get home from work. In reality, I have a lot of time. However, by the time I actually get home from work and sit for a minute, I don't want to do anything! On a normal night, after work and grabbing a bite to eat, I'm usually home around 7pm. Sometimes a little later. After being up since 7am, the last thing I want to do is come home and do laundry or pick up. All I want to do is sit. Normally, that's what I end up doing. By the end of the week, my house is a disaster and my laundry is piled sky high. Not pretty. It actually stresses me out when things are such a mess.

Tonight, I have made a list of things that are going to get done tomorrow. I'm determined not to stop until I finish folding every last piece of clothing, putting away clutter, and reorganizing my desk.

The Fall/Winter catalog for Thirty-One debuts on August 1st, so I'm trying hard to get things taken care of for that. It's proving to be a big task in itself. I have 2 parties scheduled for the very first week of August! My blood pressure goes up just thinking about it. I have tomorrow, and maybe 2 days next week to prepare for them. I'm going to be one busy little person tomorrow and next week.

Does anyone else have trouble sticking to a schedule and using their time wisely?

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. -Hebrews 4:16

What a fitting verse for all of life's problems. 

I encourage you to approach the throne with confidence....you WILL be blessed!

Fancy Fourth

I made it back to Greenbrier for the 4th for the first time in a few years. It was great to be back home with family. We had a very busy weekend filled with The Turnin' of the Pig, church, family cookout, and church picnic and fireworks. I loved being able to spend time with my sweet family the whole time. I was able to share with everyone about my trip to Guatemala and even got a few family members excited about and interested in a trip there next summer.
Lance and his new girlfriend came in on Saturday. We spent some time at the Turnin' of the Pig together walking around, playing games, and catching up. I miss him so much so I was very glad to get a day with him. We spent most of the time watching Davy play games and laugh and run around. He loved riding the pony and got to ride it two times that night. There is just something about small town life. It's the little things, like hearing the train come through town, and homemade ice cream by the sweetest ladies in town. Such a great night!
Sunday was church day and family day. We had a cookout at Granny's house after church with a lot of food and fun. After filling up there we headed back to church for a cookout and fireworks. My cousin, Josh, always puts on a good show with the fireworks and this year was no different. Although this time we almost had a few fires...they turned out awesome. The show gets bigger every year it seems like.
The only thing missing this year was my sweet Daddy. He is still in Iraq, watching the sand blow by. Most of his squadron are home. He is on the last leg coming back, so he still has a few more weeks in the sandbox. I can't wait for him to come home! The Turnin' of the Pig was NOT the same without him. I am so proud to call him my Daddy

Power of Prayer

This is sweet Lettie. I've asked for prayer for her a couple of times here, and thought it would be nice if you could put a face to name. So here she is. 

Tonight, and the coming days, please lift her and her precious mom and dad, Summer and Mark, up in prayer to our ultimate Healer. He will receive all the glory and honor for her healing. 

Right now, Lettie has experienced some setbacks. You can follow her story and leave Mark and Summer a comment to let them know you are praying for them. I know they appreciate them and are humbled at how quickly their story has been passed along.

I was talking to a friend of mine today, and she couldn't have been more right. God is waiting for the time to "show up and show off." He is a healer and performer of miracles. I have no doubts that the bigger picture in Lettie's journey is going to be amazing. Already, her story has touched the lives of many. 

It would be so easy to give up on God in a time like this. Satan is coming from every direction. Emotions are high and Mark and Summer are weary. Their faith in God has never wavered. God has shown His hand on Lettie's life in more ways than one since her journey to today and I don't think anyone in her life can deny that. I can't wait to see the day that Lettie is healed completely...able to tell her story about a God bigger than the universe that healed her little body. 

Thank you all so much for the prayers you have prayed for Lettie and her family. It's humbling to know how many people have lifted her up.  

Exhausting Week

I did not do a single updating on my Guatemala blog...so if you have clicked over to read...SORRY! It has been one of the most busiest weeks ever for me and sleeping in this morning was AMAZING. Even more amazing than that though, was this special guy was my wake up call this morning. It made me smile just hearing his sweet little voice. The first thing out of his little mouth? "Mimi-are you coming to MY house today?" Precious. I had been up and down all week about driving to Nashville today to spend the 4th with my family. Um, that pretty much nailed my decision. Of course, I'm coming to your house. Who could say no to the most adorable baby boy (whose not such a baby anymore)? I'm excited, because tonight, we'll head over to the City Hall in my sweet little town and listen to some good 'ol music, play games, have homemade ice cream, and hand turned BBQ with all of the folks in town. I think tonight alone will make the drive there worth it. Which means....I must get going!

Back from Guatemala

I made it back safely from Guatemala late Sunday night. We had the best trip and God worked in so many ways. I learned a lot about myself, made some great friends, and fell even more in love with the people and country of Guatemala. It's amazing how different my life is now. I never, ever, would have thought that I would have a heart for foreign missions...but I LOVE it. I'm downloading pictures now and working on updating my Guatemala blog...so hop on over {there} to read all about it!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone that supported my trip, prayed for me, and encouraged me along the way. It truly means the most to me!

Little Colette

Those that are reading, please be in prayer for a sweet, precious 2 year old from my church, Colette. She had brain surgery today at Vanderbilt Hospital. She is now out of surgery and the doctors said that it went great! She will be in the ICU for a few days and then on to a regular room. Hopefully we'll have her home soon! You can read more about Colette and her sweet family {here}. Thank you all so much for the prayers!

Another day at the zoo

Last week a few of us loaded up for a little trip to the zoo. Foster, Sanders, and Madi had so much fun. The weather was great. It was a little hot, but cloudy enough so it wasn't miserable. I think the most fun they had was at Kids Cove playing in the water. All three of them are such water kiddos...they LOVE it.

June Bug 2.0

The month of June is our VBS time at Northstar. Instead of the normal week long VBS we spend every Wednesday night in June learning about what "bugs" God, getting messy, and singing buggy songs. The sweet little children have had a BLAST. I love watching their little faces light up each week.