Will You Be My Valentine?

A few weeks ago,  we celebrated Valentines Day with our new friends at the new daycare. This is our favorite bachelor and he will be for another 20 years!  (No dating until 25, right?)

He said he had fun playing with his friends at school.  I couldn't make it to the party this time, but hopefully I can make the Easter party. 

When we got home, we opened presents!  

Oh cool!  A Thomas the Train cup! 

Playdough! 

Mama was a little silly by this time.  

The next day we went to Bryant to see Mimi and Pops.  They had been in Honduras all week and were dying to see Mr. J.  They had a great trip, but glad to be home.  

And I found this little gem in my desk drawer the other day.  I think we've celebrated our 9th Valentines Day together.  My how time flies.  Not sure what happened to these young people.  Brent said they've been beaten down by jobs and a kid.  LOL.  He's pretty right, but I wouldn't trade them for anything! 

Women's Ministry: Cupcakes and Cocoa

Since last fall, I've been involved on the leadership team with Women's Ministry at my church.  At the first of January we had a retreat at this beautiful house in Sherwood and there is where we planned all of the events for 2014.  Of course, I am the event planner since I had the most experience in planning parties.  Our first event was Cupcakes and Cocoa and it was an introduction to the new ministry.  We had about 70 ladies in attendance and the cupcakes were a big hit!  (They were from Sugarbelle's).  The cocoa wasn't so much of a hit because it was about 70 degrees outside, but that's ok.  

Of course I looked on Pinterest for inspiration and from there came up with all of the decoration ideas.  I wanted it to be a rustic winter scene with pops of red.  We collected a variety of serving pieces, and I even lucked out with leftover Christmas items that were 90% off at Hobby Lobby.  If that's not the Holy Spirit guiding you in the right direction, I don't know what is! 

Our mission is "Know, Grow, Show" and we have corresponding verses to go along with that.  

At each table, the ladies had a goodie bag and a cocoa toppings station.  

Snowman marshmallow Peeps?  Yes please!  

We played Ice Breaker Bingo and it literally lasted 4 minutes.  I had expected it to last longer than that, but that's OK.  We gave away some cool prizes from The Humble Thread and Hobby Lobby. 

We also highlighted the upcoming bible studies. 

When I tell you that there was not a crumb left, that's exactly what I mean.  Not one single chocolate chip left.  Luckily another team member grabbed 4 and put in the kitchen for us to eat later.  I had Boston Cream Pie and it was amazing. 

These ladies have been prayed over since the fall, and we're excited to see what God does with all of us over the next year.  It's been a big blessing to help serve these ladies. 

Goodbye Old Daycare, Hello New Daycare

I haven't had time to update much on the blog lately because I've been so busy, but basically we found out about a new daycare in Cabot that had recently opened up about 8 months ago and they had openings.  At the end of December, we visited about it and felt good about it, so we decided to make the switch.  I don't have anything but good things to say about the Child Development Center in downtown Little Rock.  Jackson started there when he was 8 weeks old, and never had any major issues.  They loved on him, taught him, and cared for him when I was at work.

Here he is on his first day of daycare.  My how time flies.  The weeks leading up to our last week were pretty rough on me.  I'd been the main one picking him up and dropping him off every day for the last few months, so that last week it hit me.  I was happy that God had answered our prayers about finding a good place in Cabot, but I hated that he was leaving a familiar place with his friends.  For about a week, I bawled my eyes out going home.  I knew deep down though that he couldn't graduate high school from CDC and that life is about change.  So I had my cry, then we moved on.

This was his teacher Ms. Chasity (he would not cooperate at all for a picture), and his teacher, Ms. Carla,  from last year is in the background. 

Oh this broke my heart (and still does).  Every day when I ask Jackson what he did at school, he'd say "I play No-no".  Noah was his big buddy, and I hated to split them up.  Luckily I'm friends with his mom on FB, so I can keep in touch there.  They were in the same room since they were 8 weeks old.  

Jack-Jack and No-No - all grown up. 

This is Jackson's friend Ethan.  They were buddies too. 

He had to give everybody a hug on his last day. 

Digging for gold, eh? 

His last day was January 10th, and he started his new school on January 13th.  We had taken him to visit during Christmas and he seemed to like it.  Our new schedule allows me to go into work early, so Brent takes him to school, and I can pick him up around 5.  It has made a world of difference in our every day life.  Getting home at 5 p.m. and not having to deal with a lot of traffic has made me a much happier person.  I've had to be more diligent about getting up earlier, but I've found it's not been that difficult.  

So his new daycare follows the same curriculum as CDC does, and also has lessons about the bible and Jesus, which I definitely wanted.  His morning teacher, Ms. Diane, is precious and has a gift for teaching these kids.  His afternoon teachers are also sweet - Ms. Christa and Ms. Hailey.  In the past month, I've noticed that his vocabulary has grown and learned some new songs and is starting to learn letter sounds. 

The first day he didn't really cry or make a fuss.  They went to the bathroom and we slipped out. 

Since his commute now is about 5 minutes, he no longer watches the iPad in the mornings.  This has allowed him to realize there is things to look at out the window - like Harps, the donut place, someone else's church, Jackson's church, Sonic, and my new school.  (In that order from him).  It's so cute.  

All in all, I believe God provided this for us at the right moment that we needed it.  It amazed me at how doors opened right when they were supposed to.  I am very grateful for this center and that they are teaching him about Jesus as well as his ABC's.  We're excited to see what the future holds! 

Community

I've lived in central Arkansas now for over 10 years, and in that time I've worked hard to find a community in the places that I've lived.  I still don't think a lot of people truly understand what it means to be a part of a community, but where I grew up, it meant you had a history with the people who lived in your town.  You had personal relationships with each other:  friendships, marriages, school, church and family.  All interconnected and intertwined by one common denominator.  We lived in McGehee.

This week a former coach and teacher of mine passed away and when I heard the news, long forgotten memories of softball and 9th grade PE came rushing back like a flood.   We called her "Tuck" and she spent her life in service to the kids of McGehee.  From the time I remember playing little league softball, Tuck was the umpire, and I held on with bated breath for her strike and ball calls.  I can even remember when we would do something funny, she'd drop her head and laugh.  We played for one month in the summer, and she called every single ball game for both the little and big girls teams.   I truly don't remember a time when she wasn't behind the plate.

In junior high, I wasn't the most athletic, but that didn't keep her from trying to make an athlete out of all of us.  I remember playing basketball and running around the track in the middle of the day.  It was torture, but there was no slacking off.  I had to finish - even if I was dragging up the rear.  She also taught health class, and I remember sitting in a classroom with all the other 9th grade girls learning about the birds and the bees.  She had this no-nonsense type of attitude that I still remember to this day.  She also coached basketball and cheerleading, but I was involved in other activities and didn't get the joy of her yelling "Do it again" like my sister did during cheerleading practice.

After reading her obituary this week, I realized there was a lot that she accomplished in the last 15 years since I've left McGehee.  She was the elementary school principal, taught drivers education, raised two great kids, and served her church faithfully for many years.  I read posts on Facebook about her organizing vacation bible schools and teaching Sunday School for years.  In a world today where it's so easy for working moms to say no, she said yes.  That is servant leadership at it's core, and it's how we all should strive to live.

I wonder if any of my former classmates who have moved off have the same longing and desire to find a sense of belonging that mirror's that of McGehee?  I suppose it's a rose-colored-glasses sort of memory when we were happy, didn't have any worries, and all of our loved ones were still alive.  I know I can never go back, but I miss the slower pace and the slower traffic.  I miss going to Friday night football games and seeing the entire town.  I miss going out to eat and knowing almost everyone in the room.  There was a time where I was anxious to get away from it, but now that I'm older, I long to get back to that place.

So as I think about my hometown community, I pray that God will continue to bless that small town in southeast Arkansas.  They've had ups and downs, but through the years we've learned that it's not always about where you're going, but where your from.

January Fun

Too short undershirt • Fun at the park • Buzz dropping low • Wearing Mommy's glasses