MOWING THE YARD!

I hate yard work, the weeding, fertilizing, planting flowers, keeping them alive, and in general cultivating plants of any kind to grow.  I hate it.  Maybe my lack of love comes from the fact that I kill every plant I try to grow.  Seriously, I have a black thumb.  Don’t get me wrong I try, I really do try to make flowers and plants thrive.  I have tried to plant flowers and spruce up the outside of my home.  Then it happens, subtly at first but it happens, the plants die.  They are met with the tragic fate of not being watered, being over watered, and of course cows.  I can honestly say that I can’t get anything to successfully grow in my care; I’ve even killed a cactus!  The only thing that thrives in my yard is grass and weeds.  Grass and weeds are something that I can deal with; I can mow them, and I LOVE to mow!

Yes, this anti yard working woman loves to mow.  Push mower, riding mower, zero turn mower it doesn’t matter, I love using them all.  (OK, I will admit that I LOVE using a zero turn mower the best, I’m crazy like that!)  Maybe this love/hate relationship I have with plants is one of the reasons that I love to mow my yard.  Maybe I love to mow because when I was growing up I’d mow on Saturday and then jump into the pool to cool off and clean it.  Maybe I love to mow because the smell of fresh cut grass first thing in the morning makes me smile and think of the perfect peace of Heaven.  Maybe the reason that I love to mow is deeper than that.

To me, mowing is like walking with Christ on a day to day, step by step, and moment by moment basis.  Think about it, when you are mowing you step out into an area that seems jungle like (or is that just my yard?), and an area that seems unconquerable.  Then you grab your tool and start.  One step at a time, one push at a time, one moment, one path you push on until your first row is done.  Then you turn and start your next row.  As you plod along, slowly but surely, you see progress; you see where you have been.  Looking forward you see the paths that still need to be conquered.  If you look too far ahead you can get overwhelmed.  If you look back you can see the joy of where you have been and if you’re not careful you’ll want to give up and run back to the area that has already been conquered.  So you stop and concentrate on the path you are working on in that moment.  Slowly, step by step, you keep moving forward and moving on towards your goal.

To me, mowing is the perfect summary of the Christian walk.  As long as I am walking the path set before me, armed with the right tool, specifically prayers and the Bible, I can conquer anything.  As my life progresses and I look back, I can see so many victories and triumphs that if I’m not careful will cause me to want to run back to that area.  If I look too far ahead I focus on the jungle, the dangerous area ahead of me that I haven’t gotten to yet and I will get discouraged quickly.  But, if I slow down and walk the path right in front of me, taking each step slowly and deliberately, moment by moment; I will be victorious and a conqueror in time, Christ’s perfect time.

I am not perfect, far from it.  Truthfully I hate summer and the heat and wish it was fall like weather year round.  In spite of all that, I will choose to mow my yard and enjoy the blessing that it yields me, a nice cut lawn, albeit one free of flowers and greenery.  Likewise I will choose to focus on Christ and the path that I am walking on now.  I will praise God for the victory that He has given in the past and purpose to no worry about the paths of the future.  I will be in the now, in this moment, walking this path, and rejoice that I have been given all that I need to do so. 

Mowing and Jesus, they are more intertwined than I thought.  Who knew right?

SHE’S HOME!

My baby girl has been home for a week after a month long adventure with my sister and nieces in North Carolina.  She shopped, went to the beach, visited an army base (where my awesome brother in law is stationed), had a tea party, watched “Frozen” a few hundred times, learned how to sew and start tackling the making of a quilt, and shopped some more.  More than all of that incredibly fun stuff; she got to experience a new adventure, life without Mama and Daddy.

Maggie hanging with my sister and one of my nieces.

Maggie's first sewing project.  She even monogrammed her towel.

Talking to the baby in one of our daily Facetime chats.

Maggie and her sweet ice tea at the tea party.

This experience was new for all of us.  Maggie was away from our care and she had to “fend” for herself.  Well, she wasn’t totally alone, but she was in a new city with different, well different everything.  She wasn’t under our wings, she was spreading her own.  I was here, chatting with her daily and Facetiming her at least twice a day, listening to all her adventures, sewing frustrations, new experiences, and most of all her unmitigated joy at having the chance to spread her wings.  I sat here and listened and mourned the little girl that she once was.  I marveled at her strength, her dignity her courage, her beauty, and her faith.  I listened as she shared her life from three states away, and when we hung up, I’d mourn.

Now please don’t get me wrong.  I was super excited she got to go on this month long adventure.  I will forever be grateful to my sister for taking her and letting her invade her life for a month.  But, even in my joy and excitement over her adventure I realized that I wouldn’t have her much longer.  I realized that in a few more years Maggie would be leaving our home to begin her life.  I am not ashamed to admit, I am not ready for that.

I am the one who slept with her nightly.  I am the one who labored with her for a little over 12 hours.  I am the one who kissed her first boo-boo.  I am the one who was terrified of hurting her and watched while Robert gave Maggie her first bath.  I am the one who took her to her first day of Kindergarten and cried all the way home.  I am the one who stays up until midnight just chatting with her.  I am the one who wears the title Maggie’s Mom like the badge of honor that it is.  And I am the one who is not ready to say goodbye.

As happy as I am that Maggie got to go on this adventure.  As thrilled as I am to have her home, I am not ready to enter this next phase of our lives.  I have never been good at turning anything loose.  Preparing my heart to turn Maggie loose is proving to be harder than I thought it would be.  BUT, turn her loose I must.  Gone are the days of tea parties and dress up, slowly that is being replaced with pedicures and cappuccinos.  In spite of that one thing will remain the same; I adore my one and only daughter named Maggie and I am super proud of the amazing woman she is becoming.  More than that, I’m glad she’s home!

SAYING GOODBYE

Having to say goodbye to a loved one is a horrible charge that we are all faced with at one time or another in our lives.  Rich or poor, young or old, death is the equalizer of us all.  It is the five letter word that sits like an elephant in the room, the one thing that we all have in common and the one thing that none of us want to deal with.  Indeed the Bible tells us that we are not promised tomorrow, or to even purpose to plan for tomorrow.  Instead we are to focus on today and be a blessing to those among us today, in this moment.

Since March of this year, our family has been hit with the loss of five loved ones or family members.  Three of our losses have been children, one under the age of 15 and two were precious babies, one was a young woman around 55 or so, and this last death is that of my Aunt Carole.  Five deaths in four months, it seems overwhelming.  In reality it is overwhelming.

Our latest loss happened last night with the passing of Aunt Carole.  Aunt Carole was really my great aunt.  She was my Grandma Peacock’s sister in law, she was married to Grandma’s brother our Uncle Bob.  I loved Uncle Bob and Aunt Carole immensely.  Where Uncle Bob was out going and gregarious, Aunt Carole was quiet and genteel.  They were a perfect match for each other; they balanced each other in a very complimentary manner.  

Growing up we spent every Christmas Eve at Aunt Carole and Uncle Bob’s house.  Uncle Bob always hid candy canes in the tree and made his infamous shrimp salad.  Aunt Carole always the lady complimented us on our Christmas outfits and took the time to sit and talk to each one of us. 

 We lost Uncle Bob a little over six years ago, and his loss was hard on Aunt Carole and Grandma.  We lost Grandpa three years ago, and again the loss was hard on them both.  Now Aunt Carole is gone, and the loss is hard on Grandma, but it’s especially hard because she doesn’t have her friend in Carole to call or lean on.  Aunt Carole was more than her sister in law, she was her friend.  Aunt Carole called or emailed us on all our birthdays.  She really reached out to Grandma after Grandpa died.   Christmas Eve was no longer at her house, but she always came for a visit at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  She was always the lady, always loving, always kind, and always a friend.

It’s been said to me that the older you get the more you feel and recognize the loss of life.  Perhaps it’s because as we get older we become more focused on our own mortality.   Or maybe, like me, we are all stopping to reflect on what our loved ones mean to us.  Maybe, just maybe we are starting to realize the value of family and the need to stay connected no matter what.  No matter what the reasoning is, we do seem to see life and death more clearly as we get older. 

Once again our lives have been impacted by the sting of death.  Once again we have to say goodbye to someone that we hold dear to us, today it is our beloved Aunt Carole.  Once again we are called to walk the path of loosing someone we love.  Knowing this, I want to challenge everyone to love freely and deeply, forgive freely and immediately, and hold your loved ones close because we are not promised tomorrow, ever.

VACATION OF 2014

If there is one thing that I say is our lives motto it is: BE FLEXIBLE!!  This is something that we hold true no matter if it is a “normal” day, a “special” day, or our vacation.  In our lives we have learned that flexibility is key every day.  This year, our vacation was proof of that!

                                           

Maggie left us in June to go and stay a month with my sister in North Carolina.  Our plan was to head up to Savannah, GA and meet my sister to get Maggie.  Then life happened.  At first it was the work and vacation schedule with Robert’s job.  He had to attend a training class and it was needed before we left.  Then it was funding and the deal of something we had going on not working out.  So we punted, regrouped, looked into air fare, and ended up with my sister graciously driving Maggie to my mom’s and us heading to Okeechobee and Du Bois Park to go to the beach and enjoy some down time.

What a great time we had.  Robert’s mom was gracious enough to let us crash at her house.  We played at the beach and Mama got fried.  Seriously, I put sunscreen on everyone but me!  

Getting the gear ready to snorkel.

Mimi playing with Jacob.

Ethan cruising the mangrove inlet.

John Robert enjoyed the deeper water.

Cole splishing and a splashing!

Daddy enjoying the sun too.

The boys and Papa George went fishing and Ethan caught the biggest fish out of the bunch.  We went shopping hitting Eli’s and the Golden Corral.  

Cole loves trying on cowboy hats!

Then we stopped to visit an old friend who just so happens to be a Lieutenant with the Okeechobee Fire Department.  Adam was gracious enough to let us play with his helmet, climb all over the trucks, and even spray some water out of the hose that they use to fill the trucks up.

The "big" rig.

My boys in the red 1934 Okeechobee fire truck.

It's used for parades now.

John Robert holding the hose.

John Robert and Daddy helping Cole hold the hose.

It was Ethan's turn to hold the hose.

While our vacation wasn’t what we wanted, it was everything that we needed.  We needed to get away from our lives, specifically our phones.  We needed to be able to eat really good food without having to cook all the meals.  We needed to be somewhere else if it was only for three days.  We needed to rest, relax, and recuperate from the hectic thing we call everyday life.  While we didn’t get to go to Savannah, we did get to recharge, have a lot of down time, visit with family, and play.  Can’t ask for a better vacation than that!

MY SONS

I love all my children.   Because of this deep and everlasting love that I have for them, I purpose to do what is best for our family and for our unique kiddos.  Homeschooling was just one of the many choices that Robert and I made in our quest to do what we felt was best for our family.  I love how much our lives have been transformed since we made the choice to bring our children home.  This decision was not made lightly, indeed a lot of prayer and seeking God went into play in the decision of bringing the kiddos home.  For me, it was the best decision that we could have ever made.

A huge by product of homeschooling that I had not thought of or bargained for was the way that my kiddos changed how they all relate to each other.  They aren’t perfect by any means, but they do act a lot more loving, it’s even caught the attention of Robert lately.  Like I said, they aren’t perfect and all of the togetherness is not something that they always want to experience.  There are days when we all need a break from each other.  There are moments when even I need a break from the kiddos.  In spite of this need to be a part, the overall attitude in our home has been transformed into one of servant hood and love.  Today was a perfect example of this unexpected change.

Ethan recently got a late birthday gift from Grandma Peacock.  John Robert has been working at being a responsible young man and purposing to mow some yards to make a little bit of money (mainly ours and Granny and Granddaddy Massey’s).  Both boys got paid this week, and they both had money to burn.  Today we ventured out to do some birthday shopping since Daddy’s birthday is tomorrow and errand running.  We hit the newly opened Rural King and Wal-Mart, our two closest stores and the ones that were on our errand running route.  At Rural King we got Daddy an awesome birthday gift and the animal feed.  At Wal-Mart we got some play things and they were mainly for the boys.

Since they were given different amounts of money, the two older boys had a meeting and decided to pool their money together.  Since Ethan had the most money he decided to purchase two things, John Robert purchased one item, and then they surprised me by purchasing Cole a toy with their change.  I didn’t ask them to do this.  I didn’t ask them to share their money or their resources; they did this on their own accord.

In our home we purpose to show love daily.  I am so thankful that my sons are seeing this and more than that they are choosing to live it out in a real way without prompting from their Daddy or me.  I am so thankful for the example that they have seen through the actions of their Daddy on a daily basis, like looking for ways to work hard and use what you have to bless others.  More than that I am thankful that they are listening to us as we purpose to teach and showcase the life and love of Christ to others.  I am thankful that they want to honor others, even if that person is their younger brother, just because they want to live the command of Christ when He said to “Love your neighbor as yourself”. 

My sons.  They are listening to me.  They are really getting what we are trying to teach.   They really do love each other.  They really are best friends.  As a mama, it doesn’t get much better than this.

PATRIOTIC WEEKEND FUN

We were just blessed with the ability to celebrate the birth of our nation, in other words it was the 4^th of July!  As I already posted, our menu for the 4^th was awesome!  Maggie had a great time in North Carolina with my sister and we had a great time with family here in HOT Florida!

Our day started off with lots of cooking!  We invited Robert’s Granny, Granddaddy, and Aunt Lanie to come and enjoy the feast with us!  As always, we had more food than we could eat.  As good as the food was, and believe me it was phenomenally good, the company was better.  Granny is still recuperating from her shoulder replacement surgery, so it was wonderful to have the family come and visit with us.  Then the usual routine happened, Robert got called into work!  I was slightly disappointed, but that’s the nature of our lives right now.  Saturday was a time of leftovers and Robert once again going to work.  His Aunt Lanie asked to ride with him so the boys and I went and heated all the leftovers (and there was NOT many) for an impromptu dinner with Granny and Granddaddy.

John Robert was my photographer.....I loved all of his close ups!  HA!

Sunday morning dawned with our usual breakfast of cinnamon rolls and church.  Dinner was once again a full family affair with Aunt Lanie offering to cook for us.  We had a yummy meal complete with a visit from old friends, and headed home for a nap.  While Robert snoozed happily, I kept the boys quiet and then came the rain!  I was really worried that our evening picnic would be canceled, but it wasn’t!  It was time for some patriotic fun with my parents!  They attended our church’s patriotic picnic with us and we had tons of fun!  While Nana and Papa held Jacob and helped snap photos; Cole ran after the ball and rode Thomas, Ethan played on the water slides, and John Robert and Robert played corn hole.  Our evening was finished with more yummy food and homemade ice cream. 

As much fun as our family weekend was, and trust me it was a lot of fun, we enjoyed learning and sharing the history of America with our boys.  We discussed the sacrifices of ALL the men who have served in the armed forces and have given their all to make our country what it is today.  This weekend was more than food and family, it was about remembering that we are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world.  More than that, it was about remembering to thank God for all of His blessings.  May God Bless America, today more than ever we need to speak those words over our country!

FATHER’S DAY PICTURES

I found my camera chord!  Here are the rest of the photos from Father’s Day 2014!  Once again I want to say that I LOVE my husband, he is truly the ‘BEST’ Daddy!

KISSIMME STATE PARK

We are so abundantly blessed to have very near our home Kissimmee State Park.  The land that the park is on was once owned by Robert’s family and going there, stepping into the woods, and even venturing into the cow pens is like coming home.  We love visiting the park together as a “large” family, visiting with Robert’s Granny and Granddaddy while he tells us stories of working cows, being in the woods, and using the cow pens as a boy.  More than visiting with Robert’s family, we love venturing out there on our own. 

In June when we had the heart scare with Robert, the kiddos really needed to make sure that Robert was really okay!  I’m not going to lie; I needed that reassurance as well.  So we decided to venture out to the park for an afternoon of uninterrupted family time at the park.  The kiddos climbed the observation tower, climbed trees, and played on the playground. Robert and John Robert grilled some sausages with onions and peppers while Maggie and I took goofy photos.  The best part was that we had no cell service, and thanks to the heat, there were few guests that day.  In spite of it being close to 100 with no breeze we had an awesome afternoon.

I love uninterrupted family time, and I love that we have the perfect spot to venture to so close to home.  More than that, I LOVE that my husband thinks that family comes first and really wants to instill that in his children.   What a blessing family time at Kissimmee State Park is!  We can’t wait until it cools off; we are ready to go back!