"Skipper"

In college, particularly in the first semester of my freshman year, I was amazed at the freedom that college life provided. I could stay up all night for no other reason than to play go fish with my new friends. Unfortunately, I did not take school seriously. I somehow enrolled the first semester of my first year away from home in a 200 level Biology course. It was too late to drop it by the time I realized that it would not count for my pre-med curriculum. So - I would show up for this 8:00 AM class whenever I wanted. As I recall, it met twice a week and had about 300 students in it. There was also a lab where we disected a sweet furry animal. I attended the lab more often than class simply because I liked the time of day and the students there. One of the cheerleaders for UA was in my lab section, and nicknamed me, "Skipper." It stuck, and the rest of the class did not know my name - but knew me as Skipper. (Side note - when I would go to football games, I would walk down to the fence before the game to get shakers from the cheerleaders and that same cheerleader would yell, "SKIPPER!!!!")

I am telling you this random story because I will have accomplished something amazing tonight at 9:45 PM...I have not skipped one of my MBA Finance classes for this summer term - not a one! The truly amazing part is that this class has been in session since June 1st, and meets 4 nights a week from 7:45 to 9:45! I have to say that I really am proud of myself for making it this far, coming from someone who would much rather be curled up on the couch at home watching the Food Network.

There are two very important people that I must mention for helping me attain this lofty goal.

1. Professor Walker gives 2 bonus points for each class attended
2. Welles drives me and picks me up. It gives him an opportunity to work out at the Campus Recreation Center for 2 hours while I am in class.

So, thank you Professor Walker and thank you especially to Welles for helping me reach the status of my first course EVER to attend every class.

Praising God in the Storm

I have been reading the blog of a young mother (MckMama) for the last 3 months or so. I can't remember how I started reading this blog, but it is addictive. Jennifer Mckinney has 4 children, the youngest of whom has a heart condition called SVT that was diagnosed in the womb. She was told that her son would not be born alive, but hers and her husband's decision at the time was to glorify God no matter what. He was born healthy and without cardiac symptoms, and they named their child Stellan which means "calm". Unfortunately, at 4 months old, he began to have chronic SVT, and has been in and out of the hospital since (he is 8 months old now).

The entry that she posted the other day as her son had been hospitalized speaks depths of our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and I wanted to share some of it with those who read our blog. She is a wonderful writer and very strong in her faith, and I appreciate the life lessons that she shares through the struggles with an infant diagnosed with a life threatening illness.

What I'm about to say may or may not ring true to you. Just as everyone's DNA is different, so is everyone's walk with God. Maybe you know Him personally, and maybe you don't. Maybe what I say strikes a chord, perhaps not. In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those" who don't know Him. But for Christians, "it is the power of God." And even Christians view things differently.

I definitely don't fancy myself a preacher by any means. I simply love to talk about what I love. And I love my husband, our children, my camera, bright colors, healthy food, mothering, and most of all, God. And, have you noticed, I seem to talk more passionately about Him, more often, when our family is in crisis mode? Part of that is too bad, I think. I wish I was so on fire about God all the time. But on the other hand, I really think that's how it is. At least for me; I don't know about you. The times in my life when I've been in the lowest valleys are also the times in which I have experienced the heights of spiritual growth.

Think about it. I know I have been; The times when it feels like the bottom is dropping out of my life, such as now with our son Stellan back in the PICU at Children's Hospital, are the times when I try to cling to Jesus the most. When I feel helpless, what other choice do I have than to cry out "Lord, help me! Lord, help me! Lord, help me!" And as I frantically grasp for Jesus' hand with my own, clawing to get a grip as I'm gasping for breath in the darkness of the valley I find myself plummeting into, God meets me. As I grope about in my darkest hours, God lights a lamp of hope. And only then is there light enough for me to see that, although I am searching with my hands to find God's so that I won't fall any further, He already has me.

His powerful, righteous hand is always holding me, and not just by the hand, either. He has such a tight grip on me that there is no way I'll fall where He can't reach me. In the past year most notably, God has proven that He meets me in my valley experiences.

So, even now here in the PICU, as I am "hard pressed on every side," I am "not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. And never am I so aware of God 's presence in my life, and in my desperate, continual need for Him, as I am when the going gets tough. And let me tell you, the going has gotten tough.

As humans, we often tend to think, "Okay, it's okay God, I got this," when life is easy. But when we truly need help because we feel we are at a dead end, we often cry out, perhaps to Him. Ought I to constantly be aware that God is holding me each and every day, and strive to be in His Word and to draw near to Him all the time, even when the biggest stress of the day is running out of hummus? Absolutely! It's just as one of my favorites hymns sings, "I need Thee every hour." When life is peachy keen, I still have a need to keep Jesus at the forefront of my life.

It's just that, for me, that takes more work. A concerted effort. That, too often, I don't put in. But when I'm up against a brick wall like I am tonight, worried sick about Stellan, his racing heart, and what will become of this hospitalization, I "do not lose heart. Though outwardly [I am] wasting away, inwardly [I am] being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16. I feel I have no other options any longer. I am keenly aware of my desperate need for God tonight. In a way I can almost say I'm thankful to be in this place of desperation. Out of this ripping open of the soil of my being, a seed will be planted.

God is faithful like that. The molding God wants to do in our lives in our valley experiences may not be fun or painless. Indeed, it will be neither. But the spiritual growth and accompanying peace that follow are enough treasure to make the trials worth it.

As we watch Stellan walk this road, and our family walks it along with him, I am trying to remember that "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:17. A closer, more personal, deeper walk with the Lord is an amazing relationship that, at times, seems to grown and thrive best in seasons of deep pain and hurt.

I choose to praise God in this storm. In fact, I will praise Him for this storm.

Good News

Just a few days before Christmas in 2009,

A gift will be delivered, but not by Santa this time!

A precious baby, a gift from above;

A sweet little blessing for us to love.

We don't know yet if it is a girl or a boy;

But we know this child will bring so much joy!

So whether or not we buy pinks or blues,

Rejoice with us as we share this good news!

What our dogs can teach us

Last week I "won" a new devotional at a silent auction that was planned to raise money for some friends who will be missionaries in China for the next couple of years. I love this new devotional! See below for the lesson I read this week - I have changed it up a bit to read "Lessons from Missy."

When you're happy, let the world know. Missy is a cute little corgi-beagle, and it is not hard to tell when she is happy. I love when Welles comes home from work because I get to see Missy's reaction. She barks, leads me to the door, and wags her tail like it might just fall off - she is so happy! Her joy is contagious, and there is no reason to keep it in!

Hold your tail up. Dogs exhibit confidence by walking with their tails held high. Missy is a confident dog, and when we used to take her to daycare regularly, the petkeepers there would place her in a kennel with dogs that were sad or needed to hang out with a balanced dog. We should hold our heads high with confidence.

Play, Play, Play. Missy reminds us that we should always take time to play and enjoy the moment.

Be thankful. Last night, we had some pretty bad storms in Birmingham. If you know Missy, you know that she was under the bed for a good portion of the night. In the midst of the storms, we must have forgotten to feed her! Aroud 2:00 in the morning when the coast was clear of storms, Missy rang her bell wildly - wanting us to feed her. After I fed her, she came back to bed and licked the back of my hand, "Thanks, Mom!" We should be thankful for every meal, every walk, every nap, and every friend.

Stay in the now! Missy greets each day as if it is the greatest adventure of her life. If we even go near our tennis shoes, she is whining for a walk. In fact, today Welles and I were planning to go to Dawson to work out today. We put on our shoes, and Missy sat at the top of the stairs while we picked up fallen branches in the driveway. We just couldn't leave her! So - we took that sweet puppy on a walk. Staying in the moment is the only way to experience God in my life. He is here now, in the moment, the greatest adventure life holds.

Thank you, God, for Missy and all the ways you use her to teach us life lessons!

Part IV: Reasons to Cruise

1. Chocolate Melting Cake - the best dessert and I had it almost every night!

2. Food is available at all times and is very good; and the best part is - you don't have to cook it!

3. You don't have to worry about cleaning your room. If you leave the room for 20 minutes - come back and it will magically be spotless.

4. Towel Animals on your bed every night

5. Meeting new people - we met some really fun friends on the cruise.

6. Travelling to new and exciting places in the same trip

7. So many activities on board the ship - Welles took golf lessons, I went to the spa, and there were great shows every night!

8. Opportunities to participate in contests. Welles won a trophy on a game-show and we entered a put-put competition one morning. Also - I won $250 playing BINGO the first night.

9. Beautiful Sunsets

10. Waterslides

Part III: Cool Places

The cruise left from New Orleans, and Welles and I woke up bright and early Saturday morning. We left at 5:00 Am and arrived at the cruise parking deck around 10:30. We decided to walk to Cafe Du Monde because Welles had never had these:

They were so good! After a walk through the Riverwalk mall, we decided to board the ship. As I mentioned earlier, that was not the best experience. Some lady made us get in the wrong line - no matter that I kept protesting - and we were 2.5 hours waiting in line to board the ship. Upon boarding the ship, I felt it was finally time to relax and just wanted to take a nap in our room. HOWEVER, nobody told me about the DRILL! We had to get our life jackets and head to the muster station that we were assigned to so that we could be led to lifeboats. It was not fun, but we did find a great spot to see the sunset as we headed down the Mississippi River.

Since we had the cruise drama, we did not arrive in Key West until 1:45 on Monday - we were supposed to be there at 7:00 AM. Unfortunately, that meant that we only had about 2.5 hours in Key West. We cancelled our kayak excursion and just walked around picking up souvenirs and a case water. (Note to all of those that want bottled water on the ship...you must bring your own or risk paying $2.25 for a .5 Liter bottle).

The following day, we cruised to Nassau.

I will say that someday when we have kiddos we both really want to take them to Atlantis! What a cool place! Check out the following pictures from Atlantis and then the Queen's Staircase in Nassau.