BigNanny

Anticipation

2012-01-03T19:30:00.001-06:00

I’ve been planning a mission trip for almost a year. Yes, I stepped off the plane on January 12of 2011 and declared it would all be done again. Many go on mission trips to provide medicalhelp, some to teach English, but me, I get to throw parties.

I enjoy planning and going to parties. But mostly, I enjoy the anticipation of aparty. I plan this event like I would ifI were planning a party for my own children.

It’s not every day they get to eat meat so the finestEthiopian cow will be served and each child will have their very own bottle ofCoke or Fanta. All children should getto drink Cokes at Christmas. I wouldspend many weeks talking about the price of sheep/goats and how many sheep can$100 buy and He gently whispered…you’renot buying sheep this time.

The kids in line for Christmas dinner

A new shirt that was designed just for them. We would take a great team picture with allthe kids, but He again whispered…you might not be in the picture.

They're all getting a new t-shirt that looks like this

And some will get new shoes because God has a great sense of humor and never lets any team that I'm leading to crossthe Atlantic without shoes.

My favorite guy getting some Spiderman shoes last year

He never said I couldn’t go, so I just continued on with theplanning because I didn’t have any reason not to go. He knows how I like to anticipate these daysof party planning and seeing all of the children that have captured myheart. Then came a reason not to go. Two years ago I walked on to a planebecause God clearly told me to go. Obedience meantgoing when He gave me the big and loud: GO! But obedience also means staying when He gave me the quiet and gentlewhisper: just stay.

The morning after I made the final decision, I read this quote:

Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience. (Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick)

Project 61 January Team

I’m praying that God does extraordinary things with this group!

So I just gave out 19 hugs and put all these people on a planewithout me. They will have a greattrip. They will buy sheep, tell the manychildren that I love about Jesus, place shoes on dirty feet, and take lots ofpictures of the Ethiopian Christmas Extravaganza. They will be gripped by His grace as theylove hundreds, and I will be gripped by His grace as I love one.

Weep With Those Who Weep

2011-12-26T14:51:00.000-06:00

A fewweeks ago my friend Alicia wrote a blog post titled: Rejoice with those who rejoice. The month of November had beenfilled with much rejoicing as good friends came to the adoption finish line. Long days of children waiting in orphanages were now replaced with sweet tears and cheers in an airport waiting area. I spent almost the entire month in aweof a God that would allow 3 children to go from having nothing to having everything - afamily. I was left with an intense feelingof gratitude to a God who knows every detail of our lives and knows what each of His children need before we even ask. I must have listened to Travis Cottrell’s "Thanks Be To Our God" at least a hundred times...

Hallelujah! Everlasting songs will rise For all you've done.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thanks be to our God!

And thencame December. On December 6th, I found out my mother has cancer. The days of rejoicing were shut down and a season ofweeping began. I'm not really sure if anyone is truly thankful for days like these, but I’m trying my best to remember all He's done and be thankful in all moments. Each moment of pain and suffering is filled with His grace, and I just ask for more...more grace, more days, more moments. I know that He is here, and I'm confident that He knows exactly what I need even in this place.

This moment, this place, is none otherthan a gate to heaven, a window of grace. Even here, a place of God. Ann Voskamp

The journey of 5000 miles must begin with a ride to the airport

2011-11-07T16:17:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday I took my friends Tracey and Keith to the airport. Usually taking someone to the airport can feel like somewhat of a chore but not on this day because they were going to Ethiopia...to pick up their CHILDREN! Yes, children, as in plural, as in two big boys are now going to have a family! Needless to say, things were a little hectic with all the things that you have to remember when you're leaving 5 children at home with family members, packing for 2 adults, packing the clothing items for 2 new kids and various and sundry items. It was a lot of stuff but at this point, I know how to get people packed and shipped off to Africa...it's one of my gifts.

So we're riding along and there was lots of anxiety in the car. The type of before going on a big trip anxiety because you're worried about forgetting something and then there's the anticipation of can you believe this day is finally here and we're going to pick up our children! I think I asked them 5 times if they had their passports because I have an obsessive compulsive disorder of always worrying about forgetting or losing my passport. So anyhoo, we get to the airport and we're pulling all the luggage out of the car and Tracey says...

Oh no! I forgot my SHARPIE!

As soon as I heard the word FORGOT, my heart started pounding and I was like OH NO! And then I heard the item she forgot and my heart settled quickly but she immediately said, "You have one of those in your car, right? I bet you have one in your car and it's okay if you don't but you know how I like to travel with a SHARPIE so I can write names on water bottles."

And yes, I had two Sharpies in my car because like a good girl scout, Big Nanny is always prepared.

No one guessed Sharpie!
What did Tracey forget? Leave your answer in the comments or in the Facebook comments. The first one to answer correctly will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. Let the guessing begin :)

Tuesdays at Target

2011-10-25T07:12:00.000-05:00

If you're anything like me you spend a lot of time and money in Target. It's a convenient place to pick up everyday items like toilet paper, or the latest fancy designer clothes like that fancy Missoni brand stuff they came out with last month. I personally thought all of that Missoni brand stuff had some high price tags to be sitting on a Target store shelf but then I saw the price on these and realized that sometimes you just have to dole out the cash to get the good stuff.

Pajama Jeans now selling at Target for just $39.99.

As seen on TV!

Favorite Thing Friday

2011-09-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love this cup. It's my favorite.

I like to drink from a straw and this cup makes me drink more water.

I only drink water from this cup.

I'm not OCD but this cup is for water only.

Not for Cokes, not for Diet Dr. P and definitely not for tea because

I don't really care for tea. I spend lots of time with people that like tea.

Specifically, one unsweet tea with 3 lemons and one Splenda...

that's why I don't drink tea. It's too complicated.

You can fill said cup with water from your tap or fridge...

yes, from your tap.

You'll save lots of money and not have to buy bottled water.

You can buy the cup at Kroger.

Give your bottled water savings to a worthy cause.

Give the cup with a cute tag to your favorite teacher!

Confessions of a Lost and Found Shopper

2011-09-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

I sometimes find myself shopping in the rarest of places...

The lost and found box at church. Yes, I know it's tacky to admit such a thing, but I find good stuff. And that good stuff is free if no one comes to the box and claims it after 30 days.

But this kind of shopping can also get quite awkward...

Like when someone compliments the item you're wearing and you wonder if they used to own it?

or

Someone comes up to you and says, "I lost a pair of sunglasses, you haven't seen them have you?" and you're wearing them on your head...awkward.

or

Someone says to you, "My sister has a pair of sunglasses like that." And then you have to awkwardly admit that they might be your sister's sunglasses because you got them out of the lost and found.

But it's a chance I'm willing to take. I sported a great scarf all last winter and received many compliments. Yes, I just don't just take the sunglasses. I'm not too good to wash and wear your accessories to spruce up last year's sweater dress.

A recent sunglass acquisition was a pair of Ann Taylor Loft sunglasses that were left on the kitchen counter at church. They had been sitting there for a good while, and I had asked several people about them and no one claimed them. They were great sunglasses.

And then one day someone asked about the location of some Ann Taylor Loft sunglasses...

The downside of this type of shopping is sometimes the glasses belong to your friends and the right thing to do is to give them back.

Teenage Tuesday

2011-09-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

First day of 8th grade...

August 8, 2011

Why Rich People Should Not Make Hotdogs

2011-08-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to the beach, we decided to visit the quaint/affluent/trendy town of Seaside, Florida. The Lil'Nanny and I decided to get a hotdog from Wild Bill's Beach Dogs. Wild Bill's Beach Dogs works out of silver bullet trailer and I took that as a good sign. My years of hotdog reviewing and stats have proven that a lower quality style establishment produces a better dawg.

I ordered a hotdog with chili, cheese & onions.

The Lil'Nanny ordered her dawg plain.

Did I mention the sign said the dawgs were organic? That should have been the first piece of evidence to indicate that these would be the worst tasting hotdogs in the world. Our second piece of evidence was the appearance of the dawg. It looked like the worst hotdog in the world, but they don't show you the dawg before you buy it. My third indicator should have been the words...no fillers, no nitrates, no hormones and no antibiotics. I've done the research and I know that you can't make a good hotdog without those essential ingredients.

But here is the kicker...

Two hotdogs and two drinks cost a total of...$21.65. The economy has been hit hard and this is why the rich have gone to makin' hotdogs.

The Longest Mile

2011-05-07T09:31:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, the 30th day of April in the year of our Lord 2011, I ventured out on a journey with one of my best friends to walk 13.1 miles. As always, I want to give you the behind the scenes scoop of how a marathon works.

The journey started when I woke up at 4 a.m. and made the decision to get out of bed. I hadn't felt well the day before and I wasn't even sure I could make it to the shower. My game plan was that I would pack a credit card in my backpack and if I started feeling bad during the marathon then I would call a cab to take me back to my car. I picked up Alicia and we were on our way. I had a Gatorade, a banana, and a pack of GU gummies on the way for a little pick me up. We arrived at LP field and then had to ride a bus to our "starting corral". On the way to the corral we decided to make a little stop to the Port'O'John. It was in this Port'O'John that I had to do some quick maneuvering and thinking because this was by far the nastiest restroom experience that I had ever had in my life. In.my.life. From my observations, I think there are some runners (no pun intended) out there that might need to seek the wise counsel of a gastroenterologist. IN.MY.LIFE!

Here we are in our corral. The race starts at 7 a.m. but everyone can't start running at the same time so you get sent to a corral according to the number on your shirt and how long it will take you to ~~run~~ walk the race. And no, I'm not wearing a shower cap and thanks to Shawn Hanks, I now know there is not a swim segment during the race. I'm wearing a headband that we bought when from a booth when we went to pick up our number bibs. And those numbers are called bibs in the marathon world.

The starting line. It's just us and 30,000 other people going for a stroll.

Before we had even finished mile one I started getting hungry because we kept passing fast food restaurants. I seriously considered going in McDonald's for an egg mcmuffin because I really was feeling like I was going to need some protein to endure this day of misery, but I decided that it was just too early in the game to do that. This race was seriously lacking in water and snacks so by mile three I had all I could take and told Alicia I was going into the next convenience store to get some Gatorade and something to eat. I bought 2 Gatorade's, 2 power bars, 1 bag of beef jerky, 1 pack of peanut butter crackers and a bag of chips. Yes, I shared with Alicia. I didn't sit down to eat, I just kept on walking and snacking. I would also like to mention at this time that when you're walking through all of the Nashville neighborhoods there is a yard party like atmosphere and people are out drinking it up at 8:00...that was somewhat irritating. I'm ~~running~~ walking a marathon and people are kicking back the jack and having a good ol'time.

I did feel better after my snacks and Gatorade. Our legs and feet were burning because we had never walked more than 3.5 miles at the rec center and we never practiced walking any hills. Would have been nice to know about the hills. We did try jogging two segments of the marathon just so we could get it over sooner but it's hard to eat snacks while jogging. Here is the mile 10 marker just for official documentation purposes. (I would really like to have this blog post notarized just so people don't ever try to say..."you didn't do the Country Music Marathon" I can pull out an official document from the state of Tennessee to prove it.)

And here is the glorious finish line. Our official time from start to finish was 3:47:54. They give you a little tag to put on your shoe so it knows exactly when you cross the start and finish line. You can view this official document here. And you might be able to view some pictures and video here.

And here we are with our medals. It is at this time that I would like to point out that a 1/2 marathon is really 14.1 miles if you count the time you have to walk from your car to the shuttle bus and then from the finish line to your car. We followed up this marathon with a celebration lunch at Five Guys Hamburgers because again there was not an appropriate amount of nourishment offered during this marathon.

A big thanks to Alicia for talking me through the race and picking me up at 5:55 a.m. for the last 3 months.

Goals

2011-04-07T22:44:00.000-05:00

Many of you know that I have committed to ~~run~~ walk the Country Music Half Marathon this year. Yeah, I'm not sure what got into me. One day the thought crossed my mind that I should challenge my almost 40 self with some sort of fitness goal this year and the thought immediately left my mind within 30-40 seconds...as it should have. But then...I logged on to my Facebook account and noticed that my friend Alicia had posted that she was running in the marathon. And then I got all commenty and left a comment that said...

I was thinking about doing that too!

And before I knew it I had an email from Alicia in my inbox with all of the registration information and yes, we could do this together.

And let this here be a handy dandy reminder that the Facebook can get you into all kinds of trouble because I'm now signed up to ~~run~~ walk...

The country music marathon!

But in true Big Nanny fashion, I kept this on the DL because I knew what my people would say...

The first comment comes from my assistant Awesome Amber after finding the training plan printed out on the office copier...who printed this out??? who's running a marathon???? are you running a marathon??? Note to self: If you print anything at the office, you better run and get it off the copier ASAP!

The second comment arrived via Facebook from the one and only Teresa Wood...

I don't even know who you are anymore? Did you get malaria on your trip or something?

The third comment arrived in a room full of friends when someone mentioned that I was running a marathon. It came from Checkers: You're running a marathon? How come I didn't know about this? It's like you're cheating on us with exercise???

But now the cats out of the bag and everyone wants to know the status of my training. Like how far are you on the training? How's it going? What are you up to? How many miles can you do? I'm just going to let everyone know right now that I'm not a professional marathoner and I don't know the answer to any of those questions.

Alicia and I have discussed it, and we only have one goal. Here it is...

To not send a text to each other at 5:55 a.m. with some lame excuse that says we can't go to the rec center. That's the goal. So far, we're making the goal!

On the first day of Ethiopian Christmas

2011-03-26T13:53:00.000-05:00

It has taken me a sweet forever to put into words the special time that my team had in January celebrating Christmas in Ethiopia. It would be the longest blog post ever so I'm just going to divide what we did into several posts.

On the first day of Ethiopian Christmas...

We loaded up the vans with all the goodies and headed to the countryside. Okay, I didn't really load any of those vans. Some very strong Ethiopian men did that. I just went around looking in the windows of three different vans making sure I had all my people. I did that a lot. At some point during this time someone asked Sumer, "Will we get nauseous on the van ride to the countryside?" Sumer replied, "You will only get nauseous if you are afraid you are going to die." That one sentence sums up a van ride in Africa. :)

On our super, fast, speedy way to the countryside we stopped and took a team picture under an African tree. I thought it would make a cool pic. You can see how cool I look carrying that rainbow bright purse. You too can be that cool if you run into Marshall's the day before you leave for a mission trip.

We stopped for a quick bite on the way to the school...

Well, some had a bite to eat. Some were led to believe that there would be another opportunity to eat that day. This right here is a learning point that I would like to impress to future team members...eat when given the opportunity, you don't know when or where your next meal is gonna happen.

We arrived at the school and it was time for meetings and greetings...

This is Candace meeting Buzyeah for the first time. She sponsors her and she now attends school and no longer depends on the local dump for food. This was one of my favorite pictures from our trip.

This is me introducing my Birhane to some of the team. Several team members met their sponsored child for the first time.

After we got settled it was time to hand out the shoes that Soles for Jesus sent with us to give to all the kids.

Missy and one of our happy customers...

The team trying to find sizes and get everyone fitted...

We started in daylight and ended at dark. By the time we left the school it was too late for dinner so we checked into the resort and packed the stockings for Christmas day!

The Office: Inter-Office Memo

2011-02-17T06:00:00.006-06:00

Way back in thee olden days I used to work in a corporate office, and we had what was called an inter-office memorandum. Hold still if you're under 30 because this is going to rock your world...we didn't have email! We had a handy-dandy manila envelope that had a note inside and lines on the outside of it and you would sign it when you read the material. This would let the originator of said memo know that you had read the material and it was now your responsibility to pass it to the next person. It was like tag and it required us to get up out of our cushy office chairs. The great thing about the inter-office memo was that no one could reply all. You couldn't reply anything. You had to keep your snarky comments to yourself.

I now work in the technical world of email and countless reply all emails. We can put just about anything out there on the "all staff" email for everyone to read. We get many announcements and requests in the "all staff" email box. Here is my most recent favorite "all staff" email from the local senior pastor...

Subject: SUV

Hey gang,
I am looking for a full size suv. Most likely a chevy or gmc. 4 wheel drive. Something along the line of suburban or tahoe. I would love the quad seating (buckets in the middle row). Preferably one in mint condition driven only to church and Kroger by a little ole lady. Somewhere in the year model 2004 to 2006 or a really really clean 03. Under a 100k miles. If you see one for sale on the side of the road in front of the nursing home or something please let me know. Thanks.
pt

So if you just so happen to find out about a Tahoe or Suburban driven by a little ole lady (because all the grannies are driving Tahoes these days) or see one sitting in front of the nursing home (because I'm sure the nursing homes allow their patients to pull up their old Suburban and put a for sale sign on it out in the parking lot.) let me know and I'll send out an "all staff" email.

Taking Care of Business

2011-02-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

On my recent trip to Africa I found myself in one of the most glorious places on earth...BUSINESS CLASS!

Yes, I got bumped up to business class because I had the good sense to have my friend/former teacher, Anita, who has some kind of gold/platinum/diamond member status at Lufthansa Airlines join me on this trip. She just flashed her shiny membership card, and I suddenly found myself on lifestyles of the rich and famous. For all of you little people that didn't get to sit on my side of the curtain, let me give you a little peek into my world...

Check out all that beautiful leg room footage! I could have planted a garden on that row. I'm not going to mention any names but a certain mission's pastor had to sit in coach across from a puking child during this time.

This is my slightly medicated self in the seat that reclines out to make a bed. It was during this time that we had a two hour delay that I didn't even notice. (That's just funny because I have some issues with patience. At one point during this trip, one of my friends asked me if I had read my Bible yet that day because I was being so impatient over getting a Pepsi. Just for the record, I was really tired, cranky and thirsty that day.)

The meals in business class are fancy too. Everything comes on glass plates and you get real silverware. No boxed meals for me and no plastic wrappers to open. I wasn't crazy about this fancy salad but that pat of real butter for my bread made up for it. No chemical laden margarine products for me. I like my butter, and I like it real.

This is Anita. Anita brings the funny wherever she goes. She quickly found out that I just didn't take her to Africa, I took her to secret fat camp. Thanks for going to Africa with me and thanks for taking me to the land of reclining seats and leg room!

Teenage Tuesday, Hellister

2011-02-15T06:00:00.005-06:00

There is a place in this world that no mother in her right mind wants to go. A place of torment. It is loud there and no one wants to help you. This place is in the mall. Some call it...

I call it Hellister.

My 13 year old daughter requested a sweater for Christmas from this institution of snobbery and mediocre teenage sportswear. I had been to this store before and knew that going to this place alone was not an option especially during the holiday season so I brought some supportive friends with me. All of these people had preschool children and had no idea how bad this place was going to be.

I walked into the store and made my first move...

I asked for help. Something so simple but so difficult to get. At one point, I had to give the boy the hand. Like a hand wave with a hey could you help me look. Because no one offers you help there. Or maybe they don't offer help to anyone over 30, I'm not sure.

My second move...

I asked for the "navy" sweater that was on the display. Not gonna happen. They will not sell you an item that is on a display. Obviously, the economy is not that bad if they won't sell you the item that you need.

My third move...

I saw a table of black sweaters and asked if they had anymore of the same sweater in navy? She told me the sweater I was holding was navy and not black. I looked at it and said are you sure? It looks black? (Note to self: do not question sales associates.) I was immediately given a look of disgust and ignorance when the teen sales associate told me, "We don't sell anything black in this store; it is navy."

You might think this would deter me from buying said sweater from snobby establishment. Nope, I'm willing to suffer through Hellister to get daughter her navy (it can't be black!) sweater.

Mission Monday, Ordinary Hero

2011-02-14T12:07:00.005-06:00

Ordinary Hero is a great Nashville non-profit organization that does child and orphan advocacy around the world. Their motto is change the world for one. They were a huge help in finding sponsors to get our Project 61 kids out of the dump and into boarding school. You can click on this link and check out their website here: Ordinary Hero. They also have a list of children on their website waiting to be adopted.

My friend Avery is participating in their shirt design contest. They are creating a new children's shirt and letting a child design it. Here is Avery's design...

You can click on his picture and it will take you to the Ordinary Hero Blog so you can look at all the pictures and vote for Avery. You need to go today and place #27 Avery in the comment section. Or you can click here Ordinary Hero Blog.

I might have to get this shirt while I'm over there voting :)

Mission Monday, Soles for Jesus

2010-12-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

My friend Ashley suggested that I come up with some themes to get back to blogging. She actually suggested that I do Menu Monday, but we all know that no one is going to come knocking on this blog door for recipe and weekly menu plans. But I came up with another "Monday"...

Welcome to Mission Monday!

Today I will tell you about an upcoming mission trip or an organization that is changing the world. It might be the organization down the street or it might be an organization that travels around the world.

Today's organization is Soles for Jesus, and my mission team gets to partner with them. It was just like Christmas in December when the UPS man showed up with these 6 boxes this past Wednesday. Oh, it was Christmas week and it was December, I guess that's what made it just like CHRISTMAS! I felt a little bad for the UPS man who had to carry them to my front door and then had to carry them to my garage...(Hello UPS man! My name is High, last name, Maintenance.) I wanted to say hey, this isn't your typical Pottery Barn delivery. The contents of my special boxes are for orphans and you should be excited! but I did not because I'm cool like that.

Wanna peek inside...

250 pairs of shoes from Soles for Jesus!

The founder of Soles for Jesus, Diane Studer, sent me these last week. She has helped Project 61 with shoes before and we are so thankful. My team that leaves next week will get to put these on the feet of our boarding school kids for what I'm calling Ethiopian Christmas Party Extravaganza 2011. The great thing about this year's Ethiopian Christmas Party Extravaganza is that it's not located in a dump, and we're not slaughtering any goats...I think:)

If you are reading this blog and you have no idea what I'm talking about then you need to go here.

Check out the Soles for Jesus website and watch this video to hear Diane's amazing story...

P.S. I was very impressed with the Soles for Jesus boxes and how they were organized. All the shoes have rubber bands around them and then there was a slip inside the box that said how many shoes were in the box. I think everyone knows how much I love an organization with some organization :)

Losing my Bloggin' Mojo

2010-12-23T11:00:00.001-06:00

Dear Blogger,

I would like to apologize for my blog slacking ways. Not sure how this happened, but I've always been annoyed by people that start a blog and then never blog. I'm sure it bothers your organization as well because those people that start blogs and never blog are taking up valuable space on your super big server.

But you see...

I don't have a tiny tot to blog about and you can only take so many pictures of a 13 year old...she really doesn't change much from day to day. Well, she changes her outfits often, but she would not think I was cool if I took a picture of the outfit every day and posted it here.

I've been doing this job for almost four years now and I think I've covered all I can without getting fired. I could write a really long dissertation on the 101 excuses I've heard to get out of serving in worship care but you don't have that much space on your server. And it's really only 100 anyway...you know how I like to exaggerate.

You all know that I've got some fruity friends and we're funny when we're together, but we're all running in different directions right now, so we're rarely together.

It's not summer so I don't have any pics of Lawnmower Man mowing the lawn.

The Medium Nanny is at university doing all that studying...which doesn't really make for funny blog material.

I've blogged about Africa and blogged some more about Africa, but I'm not sure how much more anyone can take. But I'll be back there soon, so you never know.

So, I'm at a loss of what to blog about but if you will keep me on your server a little while longer, I'm willing to try to get back to my mediocre brand of writing.

Your friend,

Big Nanny

P.S. Dear Blog Reader (Yes,I'm assuming there's only one left.), I could use some topics :)

Thirteen

2010-11-08T13:40:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, on October 6, this girl turned 13!

I'm so thankful that this girl was born after September 30 and not before. If she had been born before, she would be an 8th grader right now. But the Lord is wise in all His ways, and I'm very thankful that she's a 7th grader right now. I want to keep her at home as long as I can :)

We got together with my photographer friend, Heather, for a mini photo shoot. My girl loves to get her picture taken so I'm not really sure why she put on the shy show for Heather. Heather still managed to capture her personality.

A little black and white drama.

Heather is doing Christmas card photo shoots.

$99 for a family photo shoot

You receive 5 poses of your choice (color a/o black & white) on a disk, you print as much as you want!

You can check out her website...

http://www.wix.com/hwagoner/photography

or email: hwagonerphotos@gmail.com

Orphans with Names

2010-11-07T13:08:00.005-06:00

Firfirey & Tracey this past September

His name is Firfirey and he was living at the dump until this year. I can still hear him saying my name in his thick African accent...it makes me giggle and my heart melt just thinking about it. I know his name and he knows mine.

Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend their not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes." - David Platt

The post below is from my friend Sumer. What can you do this Christmas season to help the fatherless?

I still so clearly remember standing in the trash dump on January 7th of this year. I remember the smells, the noises, the exact spot where I stood, and the names of all the people standing around me. I remember God so clearly saying, “This is it, this is where I would be if I still walked the Earth, and this is where I want you to be.”

And then later as I walked into my room, and saw the outline of her sunglasses on Angela’s ash covered face, I remembered the prophetic words of Isaiah…“Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.”

I had two boys in mind to begin the journey, a beautiful young girl had captured the heart of my friend Tabby, and another guy on our trip was partial to an older boy. And so it began, we were going to move 4 kids out of the trash dump. I don’t know how it happened, I have no good explanation other than divine intervention, but word started to spread and we started to get people committing to sponsor other children.

My initial hope was for 100 kids. But for a long time that seemed like an unattainable goal.

And when we got in a new set of profiles that almost doubled our initial list I started to worry, but thankfully the plan was not dependent on me…God had a plan and I was just along for the ride.

And as you all know, 9 months after my first trip to the trash dump on Ethiopian Christmas day, we moved 250 kids to a boarding school in the beautiful countryside.

We have had some growing pains, and faced a steep learning curve. About running a ministry, and dealing with the local culture. A major bump in the road was when the school informed us two weeks before school started that the cost of yearly tuition had increased by over $100. Now initially that took the cost of tuition alone up over the amount of the sponsorship, and I again started to get very worried.

Thankfully, we serve the One who calms the storm with a word, and the very next week the value of the local currency changed in favor of the dollar and we were back to the original amount! Not good for the local economy, but good for us.

And we have learned that one or two outfits is not nearly enough. Their clothes are constantly dirty and wearing out quickly. They do wear their uniforms to school, but only during school hours, and then they wear their personal clothes. The children all need more clothes.

Nonetheless, along with the blessing of 250 kids, comes the strain of the getting them their necessary supplies. Our teams have paid thousands of dollars in excess baggage to take over clothes, shoes, and school supplies. We will continue to pack shoes over because the quality of shoes in America is so much better, and we are so grateful for the donations of shoes that we receive from Soles for Jesus.

We have decided that it is best to buy their other necessities such as clothing, toiletries, and school supplies in their local community. Usually the items are cheaper, it supports the local economy, it saves us money in baggage fees, and it opens space for sponsors to keep sending fun packages and letters and for teams to bring over other necessary items such as medical supplies.

Therefore, we are asking for monetary donations to purchase more clothing, toiletries, and school items for the children. We are hoping to get every child another pair of pants or a skirt, and two more t-shirts. They each also need a towel, and we will continue to buy body soap, laundry soap, notebooks, and pencils for the children every two months.

All donations will go 100% to the needs of the sponsored children at the boarding school, and all donations are tax-deductible. Please mail donations to:

Project 61
PO Box 126
Thompson Station, TN 37179

Or if you are a member of my home church, you can make out your check to Project 61 and place it in the offering on Sunday morning.

Third World Woman

2010-10-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

She is 19. She lives in Africa.

One year younger than my oldest daughter. Both are smart and beautiful but that would be all that they have in common. They're world's apart and the gap is wide.

Her hand touches mine. She wants to talk. My immediate thought is she wants to tell me about her little boy, like any other doting mother. I was wrong.

Her question for me was heavy and cut me to the core. It was not said for reaction or for drama. She just wanted help for a world wide problem...

Can you tell me how to help girls in my country not get raped by their fathers, brothers, uncles and nephews?

I'm no stranger to questions from young mothers but they usually are more simple in nature...

Can you help me with my baby? Can you tell what to do about this diaper rash? Can you tell me when I should start potty training my daughter?

Those are the questions from my world. But I had left suburbia. I was now sitting in a mud shelter in the third world. Where the questions are not simple and the answers seem impossible to find. I awkwardly searched my mind for something to say but my mind immediately went to the size of the problem and the size of the continent that I was sitting on. I knew that she was not the first woman to ask this question, but she was the first woman that asked me.

I had to tell her that I didn't have the answer, but He does and that He loved her so much. We prayed, we cried and we embraced. And now my heart holds her suffering.

She's just a typical woman that wants an answer for her suffering. Don't we all want to know why God allows the tough stuff to happen. Why babies die, why cancer strikes the good people and why children are abused?

When I left this young girl, Satan wanted me to feel discouraged and hopeless...as I have felt before while in Africa. I did not. My immediate thought was I can't change the world, but I can help one woman. One woman who wasn't asking to help herself. She wanted to know how to help other girls. She knows the Lord, she reads her Bible and she prays.

She is now my friend, and she's a third world woman...

Mothers' Day Out

2010-09-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

Today all over the greater Williamson county area there are mothers of preschoolers raising their hands up in a shout of praise to God because this week is the start of Mothers' Day Out! As many of you know, I was the MDO director at my church for 7+ years. I thought I would review a few of the MDO rules just as a friendly reminder to preschool parents. I'm going to use the handy list format because MDO teachers like to make lists. This list could help you get into a MDO or they can keep you in the MDO. Review them at your own discretion.

Here goes:

1. Please be at your child's classroom door by 2 p.m. and pick them up. MDO teachers want to clean up their classroom and go home. They have been in the room with 7+ children all day and are ready for a break. No, really they don't go home. They want to go to their own child's school and pick up the children that actually belong to them. And they want to be on time.

2. Please pack child friendly foods in their lunch box. Handy tips:

Most one-year-olds cannot feed themselves yogurt. Most one-year-old teachers cannot feed five, one-year-olds yogurt at the same time. And yes, that's how it works at MDO. One person cares for numerous children at one time. If you've ever had trouble feeding two kids lunch at one time...imagine trying to feed five+ kids that are not your own at one time.

Please do not send 2 Little Debbie cakes and a pack of Ritz crackers for lunch. This is frowned upon even by the former preschool director that thinks LD cakes are suitable sustenance for most every occasion.

Cut grapes in half and don't send your child carrots if they do not have an appropriate amount of teeth. A child choking is a big fear in the MDO teacher world.

No Cokes in the lunchbox.

3. Please do not send your child sick. If I had a dollar for every child that was brought to my desk for a temperature check and told me that they threw up in the middle of the night, I WOULD BE A MILLIONAIRE. Okay, maybe just a thousandaire. When the director calls you to tell you that your child is not well, please do not try to analyze your child's illness over the phone with the director, just come pick up your child...quickly. The director is responsible for 60+ children and has work to get done.

4. Pick up a Starbucks card for your child's teacher or the director. It's the year 2010 and no one really wants an apple...unless it's an apple with a touchscreen:)

The Perfect Cheer

2010-09-02T22:12:00.003-05:00

The Lil'Nanny has been working hard all summer, and she was finally ready to cheer for the first big game.

They wear their uniforms to school on game days but they can't show any legs at school :)

This was the very first time I watched 13 year old girls lift my daughter up and then do the bounce and catch thing...yes, I gasped. It's very similar to watching pizza dough being thrown in the air.

The Squad

Hoping that we get some football weather soon...nothing like watching football in 90 degree heat!

First Day of School, 7th grade

2010-08-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

It's just another Messy Monday

2010-08-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

Messy Monday is back by popular demand. Okay, so maybe 2 people told me that they want a Messy Monday project to inspire them. Popular means different things to different people. Okay, we all know that I won't be able to keep this up for more than a couple Mondays so enjoy. I've been putting this off for at least a year...

THE FRONT CLOSET!

Now that you've seen the picture you can see why. I've tried to put this closet out of my mind but everytime I walk past this closet it screams....help me! Please get your handy dandy label maker out and give me some attention. But I ingored the plea for help. First I want you to know that I do not use this closet for coats. It's not wide enough to fit very many, and we live in the south so coat storage isn't a top priority. I use it for your basic indoor tools and household items.

Here is the system: Each drawer holds various household items. One drawer has items that you would use for painting projects. One drawer has a drill, various screwdrivers and a hammer. One drawer has tape measures, extension cords, etc. One drawer has nails/screws/anchors/hardware. One drawer has flashlights. One has lightbulbs. In the shoe holder below are various items like spackle and a few other odds and ends.

I don't know about you but that picture makes me feel better. Now go clean a closet!

Go ahead and grab the button!

2010-08-05T15:45:00.003-05:00

Click on the image and it will take you to the P61 blog. You can get the code for the button and post it on your blog.

DIY Decorating Tip: Always wear protective eyewear

2010-07-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

It was the last night of VBS, and I was done. All my nice had run out, it was after 10 p.m., and I was tired! We were doing the last of the VBS tear down and un-decorating. The decorating is always fun but the un-decorating…not so much. So we were on the last room, and I was standing on a step stool to cut down some inflatable blow-up marine animals that were hanging from these circle things…

The circle things are part of the normal décor. When we came up with our theme for preschool church, we decided to go with a jungle theme and call it Jungle Journey…where kids are wild about God. (And sometimes the kids are just plain wild about everything.) Sumer and I placed all of these circles (placemats) on binder rings and fishing line, got on a scissor lift and hung them up. It was quite a job, but Alicia will tell you that I’m always willing to drive the scissor lift. And it’s true because not everyone can put scissor lift operator on their resume.

The ceiling in the Jungle Journey room is high…like 30 feet high and the scissor lift only went so high. So we tied a very large, heavy bolt to the end of the line and then tossed it over the pipes that are on the ceiling. It worked great, and we were quite proud of our design on a dime idea…placemats, fishing line, binder rings, and bolts! (Honestly, I had a phone consult with CraftiMama. I told her my vision, and she told me how to make it happen.)

Anyhoo, back to VBS. I was standing on the step stool, stretching my arms to cut the string and looking straight up. My scissors must have tugged a little too hard because the circles starting falling and the bolt at the end of the fishing line hit me in the eye (from a very high distance).

And then Kim, Alicia and Ashley got to witness the most dramatic episode of VBS 2010…

It kind of happened like this…

I dove from the step stool, straight to the floor, grabbing my eye and screaming…..oh, oh, oh, oh, my eye, my eye, my eye! Ashley and Alicia came running over to me, and Kim went to grab a phone. I waited for a moment for the pain to subside. At this point, I was wondering if I still had an eyeball? The bolt had hit my eye so hard that I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. Pain, loss of eyeball, blood, trip to the ER, etc. I sat up and there was confirmation of a small amount of blood and a tiny cut. And then I slowly opened my eye, and I received confirmation that my eyeball was still intact.

And it was at this time that someone started to laugh a bit because I was sitting on the floor crying, mascara running down my face, and I was dressed like this...

Quite a sight...it was a crazy day indeed :)

How Big Nanny got her joy back

2010-06-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

The days following Sumer's departure were quite sad.

Like, excuse me God, but I'm not going to get over my friend moving to Africa sad. I'm not going to forget that You did this. And I don't have to be happy about it. I can just sit in my sadness and just be a sassy miss sad pants.

You can obviously see that I have very deep theological talks with the Lord.

Anyhoo, it was time for Sunday. This would be the real test. Walking into church and not seeing my friend where I always see her. But the Lord was good to give me some distractions that day. Quite honestly, I have about 400 distractions every Sunday (all my normal distractions are under the age of 6 and I'm responsible for their safety) but these distractions were different. I was able to keep busy and go on with my day.

And then I got an email from Sumer that said that I could give her a call whenever I had a chance...

I called her on Sunday afternoon, and we talked for an hour. (I don't advise that you make a habit of talking to anyone on the phone for an hour when they live on another continent. That handy dandy international phone card is about to run out.)

And during that hour she told me all the things that they had been doing, how the boys were doing, what they had been eating, etc. And then she told me what she was going to be doing on Monday...

I'm going to see if I can find Habtamu and then we're going to find these two street kids to see if they want to come to the summer program.

And then she said this (not an exact quote but close)...

And I can't think of anything else I would rather be doing with my day than that.

And then I smiled a real smile for the first time in 5 days. The Lord quickly told me that He knew what He was doing, and it was time to stop being a Sassy Miss Sad Pants.

The Lord gave me a release from my sadness, and I've felt better ever since. I still miss my friend but there was joy in hearing her plan for Monday and knowing that she is experiencing the joy of doing exactly what God has called her to do.

Leaving On a Jet Plane

2010-06-15T07:54:00.008-05:00

This past week has held lots of emotions. I originally planned to title this post...I'm really mad at Francis Chan right now and don't buy his book or your best friend will move to Africa but that seemed slightly childish and immature.

So instead of all that nonsense I'm just going to tell you how I spent last week.

On Monday I dropped the Lil'Nanny off for camp and went to work.

(Someone took this picture of her at camp and put it on Facebook. Obviously, camp is a good time to start wearing heavy eyeliner.)

Later in the day we had some fun party time for our Africa missionaries. We had a few of Sumer's favorites: Zaxby's chicken tenders, chocolate cake, Coke and water.

On Tuesday, Sumer needed to run a few errands and eat her last Cracker Barrel Meal. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel on Sunday, and I had assumed that would be her last Cracker Barrel meal, but I was wrong. I always joke that any meal that Sumer orders almost always cost $12. She didn't hold back on her plan of fattening up for Africa and on this day her bill was more than $12. I joined her for many meals over the last few weeks, and I'm now "fattened up" for Africa too. The only problem is that I'm not going to Africa anytime soon.

After our meal, we hit the Target to pick up a few items that she needed for the big flight. She was savoring her last Target run so we took our sweet time...

We picked up some stuff for the boys to play with on the flight. And I tried on an outfit...

Fun times. In my book, you're a real friend of mine if you're willing to wander aimlessly through a Wal-Mart or Target with me. We spent the rest of the afternoon helping her get the 10 containers ready.

Then it was time. Time for Wednesday. The day that I had been dreading for weeks. So I picked up Alicia and we went on our way. I had borrowed a redneck truck that I literally had to climb into and the ten containers were loaded up, a prayer was said and then it was time to load everyone up. Sumer climbed in with us for our last outing together.

Yes, two people were wearing sunglasses for a reason. We drove to the airport and chatted about random stuff because there was a slightly large elephant in the truck that kept shouting:

We're taking you to the airport and we're going to have to say good-bye!

We said our goodbyes with lots of hugs (generally, we have a no hugging policy) and lots of tears. She handed us each a card, and two women left the airport crying the ugly cry.

When I got in the truck I opened my card and read the first sentence...

You've got no one to blame but yourself.

And I laughed. Because one day last August I got on the internet and typed this in a google search engine: babies Africa orphans Please note that I didn't type this: friend Africa moving.

I recently heard this quote in a Bible study: God's character is always the same, but His activity is always surprising. I can say for a fact that is true and be careful what you type in a google search engine.

Stay tuned for part 2:)

Let's Make a Deal

2010-06-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

Some may look at this picture and say: someone is obsessive compulsive and needs to buy 6 deodorants at one time and that might be true. But I just look at it and see 12 dollars. Yes, I got them all for FREE!

A couple months back we had a coupon event at my church. Deana and Angel showed us how to save big bucks by using coupons at the right time. You have to use the coupons when the items are on sale so that you get the item for the lowest price or sometimes FREE! Free is good.

This was my great deal last weekend. I have to say that I didn't like carrying my handy coupon holder box into Publix (where shopping is a pleasure and it would be if it didn't take me so long to find the Q-tips) because I thought everyone was going to think that I was one of those crazy coupon ladies. And I fully believe that I have the potential to be a crazy coupon lady especially after I got my good deodorant deal at Kroger. On sale for $2 each and I had a $2 off coupon for each one. I used http://www.southernsavers.com/ to make my list.

Many of you have jumped on the coupon bandwagon...what was your deal of the week?

10 Containers

2010-05-28T15:26:00.008-05:00

Over the last 5 months I have walked beside my friend Sumer as the Lord called her family to leave the American dream behind and move to Africa to care for orphans. It was last fall when the Lord told them to sell their house. It was their first step and yesterday they walked into a closing to sign the papers and arrived at a destination called obedience.

I know that Sumer was fine with selling the house but when the Lord confirmed they were going long term to Ethiopia; they had to get rid of everything in it. Her house held the contents of 12 years of marriage and 3 youngins' so you know how much "everything" was in it. I watched her sell away her life 50 cents at a time, and I know that it was a little harder than expected. It's all just stuff but much of the stuff we have sitting in our house is there because it holds a memory.

And some memories just don’t fit in containers…

I’ve watched Sumer make lots of choices this week. She has had to sift through the boys things and decide things like…3 pajamas, 10 shirts, 6 pairs of shorts, a few toy cars, 3 sippy cups, etc. because they just can’t take it all. I've sat beside her as she placed the necessities for their new life in ten containers.

(Yes, of course, I labeled those containers. You don't think I'm going to let her go all the way to Africa and not label the containers. When she puts it in a container, I go behind her and take it out and reorganize it...that's how I roll.)

Many friends have asked me what they could get as a gift for Sumer. We’ve packed and rearranged these containers several times and I’m here to testify that there is no room for sweet gifts or mementos. After talking to Sumer yesterday, she told me that they are just $5000 from being able to provide one meal a day for each child that will attend Sumer’s summer school at Great Hope Church.

Teaching school in a church that has tarp walls, a dirt floor and no running water is going to be a new challenge but teaching school to a child that is weak from malnutrition and has a rumbly tummy will be the real challenge. If you want to give a gift that will warm Sumer’s heart and have lasting value, please consider donating to the Project 61 summer feeding program. And if you don't know Sumer but love orphans, we'll take your money too:)

Your tax deductible donation can be made payable to:
Thompson Station Church (Project 61 in the memo line)
Attn: Angela
PO Box 218
Thompson Station, TN 37179 or I'll take it in person too:)

Psalm 140:12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

Extreme Makeover Blog Edition

2010-05-23T13:31:00.007-05:00

I know it's going to take a moment for your eyes to adjust so go ahead and take a look around.

It's still pink here at my house.

My friend Tabitha is doing blog designs to help with the cost of their adoption fees. I emailed her last week about giving me a makeover and this is what she whipped up for me. She was nice enough to let me call her and say...could you move that little thing over there and could you get rid of that over here and could you make this a little lighter. It was kind of like picking out a new comforter. So much fun but a big commitment. Or maybe I'm the only one that thinks picking out a new comforter is a big commitment....you have to look at it for at least 2 years so you want to make a good decision.

I sent Tabitha some blog designs that I liked and this is what she came up with. You can email her here to get your own extreme blog makeover.

Thanks Tabitha!

P.S. Now I actually need to get back to writing on this blog:)

A Good Name

2010-05-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

It was just two weeks ago today that I was making my tentative plans to jump on a plane to arrive just in time for the delivery of this little girl, my niece, Aubrey Christine. Tammy Faye sent me a text on Friday night that said she just had a prenatal massage that included pressuring spots that could induce labor. And I thought to myself...what's the chance that will work?

It works. At 1:15 a.m. I received a call from CraftiMama saying that Tammy Faye was on her way to the hospital. So I called Tammy Faye to see how fast this labor was progressing and I knew immediately by the lack of words and intense moaning that I was not going to be there to cut the cord. Yes, I was to be the official cord cutter because my brother in law has issues with the cord cutting. I received numerous text through out the night and a phone call around 5 a.m. with the news that she had arrived. I booked a flight that morning and was there by the afternoon...

Meeting Aubrey. We share the same middle name. Aubrey's great grandmothers had the same middle name too. We all know that a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. And being named after your favorite aunt is way better than a million dollars:)

Aubrey meeting her big brother Josiah

Tammy Faye and I tend to get carried away with the monogramming. The blanket, the bow, the diaper bag. You name it; we monogram it. In fact, we would both probably get tattoos if we could get them in hot pink and a cute font.

I got to practice my swaddling techniques. I watched some swaddling videos on youtube to refresh my memory.

Pure sweetness! Congratulation Misty, Eric & Josiah!

P.S. Yes, I stopped to get a hotdog on the way to the hospital.

Making the Team!

2010-05-05T21:17:00.005-05:00

Big news for the Lil'Nanny today...

There are no words to describe her face when she saw her name on this list.

She's been on cloud nine all night:)

Local Woman Gives Birth to Giant Baby

2010-04-22T09:13:00.001-05:00

It was just yesterday that I found myself in a very familiar place...

Baptist Hospital

I go there often to meet new people...

Big Nanny meeting Tytus Paul and admiring every roll.

Yes, I changed him out of that muscle shirt and into a baby gown that he will probably only wear once because gowns only go up to 12 lbs.

(He told me the newborn diapers were for lightweights.)

rolling in at 11 pounds (ouch), 1 ounce (ouch), 22 inches(ouch)

this past Tuesday night.

Proud Father: Pastor Reagan, Strong Mother: Heather

Big Sister: Reese Cup

Don't get on the boat

2010-04-20T15:42:00.001-05:00

I have a little product review for you today. It was just last week that I found myself sitting under the Bahama sunshine without an ounce of sunscreen. Yes, I didn't take sunscreen with me to the Bahamas. Huge mistake. My thinking was that I didn't want to check my luggage, and we all know that the H*m*land Security Team is looking for bad girls just like me who are trying to smuggle large cans of spray-on sunscreen into their carry on bag. I'm an obvious threat to international security.

So we arrived Wednesday afternoon and sat in the sun for just a little while. We then got ready for some shopping and dinner, and I decided that I would pick up some sunscreen. Surely to goodness there is a Bahama equivalent to Walgreens somewhere on the island. NOT SO MUCH. When we finally arrived downtown, all the little stores were closing up shop. I still thought there was hope when Lawnmower Man spotted a little shop outside the restaurant we were sitting in, and we would just run in there after we were done. (I would like to make a note that we were eating dinner during the 7 p.m. hour.)

So we finished up dinner and we headed to the little beach shop, and I saw a sign that said: CLOSED

This did not deter me. I could see that there were still people in the store finalizing their purchases, and I politely knocked on the door hoping that they would want one more sale for the day. My polite knocks went un-noticed. We then realized that there was another door so I marched over to that door and may have kicked up the knocking a notch. I made eye contact with the store clerk and said to her through glass: can I buy some suncreen with a big smile on my face. Her eyes said all that they needed to say: NO SUNSCREEN FOR YOU!

So we went back to our hotel, and I walked into the hotel gift shop and made this purchase...

Banana Boat Sunscreen

$21.50

(Dear Medium Nanny, We are so sorry that we cannot make your next college tuition payment. We made the mistake of buying sunscreen in the Bahamas.)

This was the only can of spray-on sunscreen that they had. I knew that this was my least favorite brand of sunscreen because every can that I have purchased gets clogged and comes out in a stream instead of a fog. Then you have to rub it in with your hands and it's hard to get it evenly distributed. And then you have bright red spots/hand print marks on your legs. Not the best look. I was hopeful that this was going to be the one good can. It was not.

Just for the record, I highly recommend Coppertone Sport in the blue can or it's Target brand equivalent. It sprays perfect, just like my can of Big Sexy Hairspray.

This is an unpaid endorsement.

Pocketful of Sunshine

2010-04-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

It was just last week that Lawnmower Man and I did what all good baptist parents do on spring break. We dropped off our child at the church so she could go on a mission trip and high tailed it to the airport to find a pocketful of sunshine...

We found it and within a few short hours two of the whitest people on earth were sitting on a Bahama island.

Sittin' in the mornin' sun, I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come

(No computer and no phones. I logged lots of hours in this chair.)

Watchin' the ships come in and and then I watch'em roll away again

I could not post this picture and not include that classic song line. You can't get this cheeziness just anywhere.

We rode around town on a city bus to go shopping and to restaurants. Lawnmower Man told me not to click my gum or we I would get kicked off the bus. Lawnmower Man was in shock over the crazy bus driving but it didn't phase me one bit because it was calm compared to the roads in Africa ;) Although they didn't have that gum clicking rule in Africa.

We were solicited many times to go on the booze cruise. We obviously look like two people that would enjoy hanging out with a boat full of 20 year old spring break drunks.

Two people that are hopeful that their child will go on another spring break mission trip.

P.S. I will report later this week about the bahama sun, my forehead and the cost of sunscreen on an island.

FYI Friday

2010-03-19T11:43:00.000-05:00

This post is just me rambling about what's going on over here at Big Nanny's House...

1) Last night I went to a dinner and Nicole C. Mullen was there. And yes, she sang. My friend Andrea hosted a table for the Fruit Bowl Girls, and I won a Nicole C. Mullin Ultimate Collection CD. She sang with her Baby Girls’ Club Ministry. You can read about them here.

Nicole singing with the Baby Girls' Club

2) My pastor’s wife is having surgery this Tuesday. You can pray for her and also read about her unexpected journey over here.

3) Today I’m taking Lawnmower Man to an oral surgeon today for some dental work…please pray for ME. Yes, my compassion has limits. There will be drugs involved and if I have enough, I’ll give him some too.

4) I have my appetite back, and I can’t stop eating. It’s really bad when you call your assistant during her lunch at Cracker Barrel and say, “Could you bring me back a piece of Coca-Cola cake?” and she knows exactly why you’re calling as soon as your name pops up on her caller id. And no, the cake thing was not in the job description...I conveniently left that out. But she brought me back some cake and that’s why I call her Awesome Amber.

5) Softball season has begun for the Lil’Nanny. She’s always stressed about her softball playing performance and wants me to practice with her in the back yard all evening long. It's going to be sunny and 70 today so we have a good weekend for practicing.

6) Lawnmower Man and the Lil’Nanny have spent lots of evenings hanging out at the rec center this winter and they’re always trying to get me to go. It’s like I suddenly live with Bob & Jillian from the Biggest Loser. I’ve only gone about 5 times all winter and the last time I was there I accidentally walked into the men’s bathroom. And yes, there was a man in there.

7) March Madness...I wasn't sure if the boys at work were going to let me in on the bracket thing this year because of last year's victory, but I got my bracket completed and turned in. Yesterday I told Lawnmower Man to turn on that CNN so I could check my scores…he said, “Don’t you mean ESPN?” Yes, that’s exactly what I meant…ESPN. (whatever)

8) A few of my preschool ministry peeps went on a mission trip to El Salvador last week and did some real ministry. They treated orphans for lice. They combed out nits and live lice...Now that’s a mission trip! I have to give a big shout out to my pal Sonja Morgan who is a bit of a germophobe. She now has “sympathy” itching, but I checked her hair for nits and live lice on Wednesday night and didn’t find any. You can read their mission trip blog here.

That's all for now. Enjoy the sun!

Twin Day

2010-03-14T06:00:00.003-05:00

Please know that we don't do this on purpose. It just happens. Often.

Thinking Outside the Bun

2010-03-12T06:00:00.005-06:00

It seems that some people seem to think that I'm a picky eater. In fact, some people might have been a little humored by the thought of me eating who knows what for ten days on another continent. So, I thought I would share a few pictures of our outing to experience a traditional Ethiopian meal.

Me at the all you can stand buffet.

Our Ethiopian friends would title this one...good for me, not for you.
That's not a taco buffet. That red stuff is raw meat.

I bet Tabby wrapped that piece of bread up and stuck it in her purse to make a peanut butter sandwich later. Thankfully, she had some peanut butter crackers to pass across the table. Every time I walk down the peanut butter aisle in the grocery store, I think of Tabby.

Two Americans...thinking outside the bun and hoping Tabby has more crackers.

Captain D's PLEASE!

2010-03-10T06:50:00.005-06:00

I'm not a big seafood lover but occasionally I get a hankering for a 2 piece fish dinner. I prefer to get my seafood from high quality places like Captain D's or Long John Silvers. I know some of you seafood aficionados do not consider that "real" seafood, but it's as deep in the ocean as I'm going for my fried fish and cracklins. But I don't think you can call yourself a "real" seafood lover unless you are willing to eat your seafood like this...

This is Africa fish. If you are a "real" seafood lover, you must be willing to let your fish look at you. Again, just to keep things straight here...I'm not a real seafood lover because any fish product that I consume must be battered at least 5 times, deep fried in grease and of course, call me picky, but I absolutely insist that the head be removed.

Sumer is a "real" seafood lover.

We have a winner!

2010-03-03T17:30:00.000-06:00

"Me" comment #4 is the winner. You can email me here to claim your prize!

A Bloggy Give-a-Way: This Little Prayer of Mine

2010-02-28T21:55:00.001-06:00

When my girls were little, I loved to read them books that rhymed.And I'm here to tell you why...because I was tired and if the book was a rhyming book there was a good chance that I could memorize it!

It all started with the Medium Nanny and her love for that crazy family called the Berenstain Bears. These books were available at the grocery store and I would let her pick one as a treat. We had a collection of bear books and we read them on most nights. The problem with those pesky bears is they were always getting into predicaments that took them 30 pages and lots of words later to figure out. Sometimes I would occasionally try and skip a page but then we would find the bears in a big mess of boysenberry honey and we wouldn't know why.

When the Lil'Nanny came along, I chose my books wisely. For example, Brown Bear and Good Night Moon were on the reading roster. These were books that I could memorize because they had a nice rhyming pattern. Not exactly life changing literary material but we enjoyed reading them just the same.

But today I get to show you a book that has a nice rhyming pattern and talks about something important...

Prayer

Here is one of my favorite lines from the book...

I want to help the poor and sick and show them that I care. And if you give me riches, God, that fill a treasure chest, I promise to be generous and share what I possess.

Anthony DeStefano sent me a copy to give away. Leave a comment and I'll announce the winner on Wednesday. If you do not have a blog id, just leave your name and email address.

I would tell you that I'm going to put them in some form of a random generator number thing, but I don't know how to do that. I've only given away a tube of mascara from my bathroom and a Chik-fil-A coupon that I had in my purse so I'll just throw them all in a hat and let Lawnmower Man draw the winner.

If you don't win, you can click on over here to get your own copy of This Little Prayer of Mine

Africa Trip, Part 11: Love Stinks

2010-02-22T10:40:00.000-06:00

If you’re a child of the eighties, I’m sure you can remember that song. And if you are not a child of the eighties then I can only hope that you’ve seen the whatever brand of trash bag commercial so you can play the tune over and over again in your head and it will always remind you of the pictures that I’m about to share.

Honestly, I can tell you that I really didn’t have any desire to go to the dump. By this point in the trip, I was ready to go home. I had already had an episode of what I'll call "mission trip meltdown" the night before and I was done. Anyhoo, what would we be the point of going in there for one day and then walking away from children that have to stay there and are dependent on the local garbage truck for “fresh” food. We would just walk away from them and they wouldn’t be any better for our visit. And I would just walk away with the memory of another hungry child in the most desperate of situations. I was wrong. Many lives were touched on this day through love, prayer, provision of food and salvation. But mostly our lives were changed on this day through His grace, His blessing, His presence and His call.

This is the dump. We thought we were going to a dump. We were wrong. It was a landfill. I would love to tell you how big it was but I never saw the starting and stopping point. It was that big and there are no words to describe the smell. You pray to God and say, really God, really? I can't do this. And He says...My Grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in your weakness.

Meet Blessing. Yes, that's his name.

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.

His Presence.

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord.

All I can say about the picture above is that some of us are southern baptist which means...have flannelgraph/will travel. This is Nancy from Alabama. She knows how to tell a Bible story and reminded me of Nikki Witt. (Sidebar for TSC members: Aren't we all glad that Nikki Witt is bringing her flannelgraph back to TSC?)

Our team was able to provide them a traditional meal of "fresh" goat for their Ethiopian Christmas dinner. (When I say "fresh" I mean slaughtered on sight.)

The boy on the right can now claim: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear.

Yes, that's me with the feed 1 shirt on. This is a very special picture that I didn't even pay any attention to until we got home. It's not special because of what we're doing, it's special because of the girl in the green shirt. That's Sumer. We've been working side by side in my ministry for the last two years. And on this day, she clearly heard God's call and now I have a picture of us serving side by side in her ministry. While some people (myself included) were ready for this day to end. She wanted to come back the next day and the day after that and the day after that...She is taking her family back to Africa this summer to work with these children. I'm sure this won't be my last post about Sumer spending her summer at the dump:) Go read Isaiah 61:1-3...that's the plan.

P.S. This is my final big installment about Africa. I have some silly stuff to share like "mission trip meltdown" and some funny pictures of me consuming foreign food that I will share in the future but this is the final big story.

Africa Trip, Part 10: Six Mondays

2010-02-15T17:05:00.011-06:00

When I got off the bus to visit the children of the Karamajong Village, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by what I had only seen on commercials until this day. You know the commercials where kids are standing in line with a dirty bowl waiting their turn to receive their portion and someone on the screen is saying...for just 30 cents a day.

Except I was no longer sitting on my couch with clicker in hand and ready to move on to another channel because really it can't be as bad as they make it out to be in those commercials...surely not.

Six Mondays ago, I was walking in the midst of real poverty...

I was holding some pure religion in my arms.

So here I was in Africa to do what I do...hold babies. And here I was with one on each hip. They were the dirtiest children that I had ever held. They were half naked and they smelled. They fell asleep within minutes. The one in the green shirt first. Then the one in the red shirt. I found a step to sit on and I just sat there. Holding them. I was quick to think they fell asleep fast because they both had snotty noses and didn't feel good. But I really think they fell asleep because they had some arms to hold them.

Pure religion is hard. Everyone makes it out (including my former before Africa self) to just going and loving on some orphans but it turned out to be so much more than that. Normally when I hold babies, I have a mommy to hand them back to. I walked to the food line and handed them to kids who in my world aren't even old enough to hold babies. And then I left.

This wasn't a commercial. It was real life and this time I can't change the channel.

Katie Davis of Amazima Ministries started feeding the Karamajongs last spring. You can read about how God led her to these people here.

Africa Trip, Part 9: Singing hymns on long bus rides

2010-02-01T17:57:00.000-06:00

As some of you know, one of my favorite things to do is sing hymns on long car trips. Some of you know all too well:) I own a travel hymnal. Although, most of the classics are stored in my head.

Anyhoo, we lucked up on this trip because we had us a really cool worship singer songwriter girl named Mandi and she brought her ukulele. Yes, her watermelon ukulele. Mandi led us in some really great worship as we traveled along and she also sang her testimony song that she wrote and it was all kinds of awesome. She told me she didn't really know very many hymns because she had only been saved a couple years. But she knew the song Here I Am To Worship, and I will always think of Africa whenever I hear it.

Jesse led us in some hymns on the way to church. I tried to video our hymn singing but my camera was having issues. And I was thinking...I'm actually singing hymns on long bus rides in Africa.

And then Sunday afternoon, Christian music artist, Britt Nicole hopped on the bus and the singing continued. Yes, I don't just go on mission trips with regular people, I go on mission trips with music artists. I'm not down with what the cool kids are listening to these days, so Britt's music was all new to me but when I told the Lil'Nanny that I was going to Africa with someone named Britt Nicole she immediately said, "She sings: I Wanna Set the World on Fire and they play her on WAY FM." ummm okay...thanks for the 411. Britt is a genuine Christian girl from North Carolina and she knows every word to the hymn What a Day That Will Be and that just makes her good people.

You might want to go on over to iTunes and check out Britt. Here is her latest single (single is music industry talk for latest song) The Lost Get Found...

Africa Trip, Part 8: Color Your World

2010-01-30T15:01:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the crayons!

post signature

Africa Trip, Part 7: Worship, Connect, SERVE!

2010-01-19T16:54:00.009-06:00

We arrived at the Jinja Full Gospel Church on Sunday morning, and I have to say that I was quite excited about going to church. In fact, it was one of the things that I was looking forward to on this trip...sitting in church. I've missed a few services over the last three years and that's okay, but I thought this would not be an issue in Africa. I was wrong!

Go read Sumer's post here to hear how we "taught" Sunday School in Uganda. It was quite a hoot, and she forgot to mention the chickens that were walking around behind the children or maybe she didn't notice them, but I did. In fact, if I were a true southern baptist...I would have counted those chickens in attendance;)

I have to say that this was one of my favorite moments on the trip. It seemed so funny that God would bring us all the way to Uganda to do what we do every week. But in that moment I knew that God didn't want me anywhere else but standing on a concrete ledge with just a few children "teaching" Sunday School.

This is the song they taught us:

A few more pictures...

Africa Trip, Part 6: There Is No One Like My God

2010-01-16T01:56:00.001-06:00

All this week, I have struggled with Africa. I'm not sure what to make of the place. I was expecting for God to give me a huge word and a big vision for a ministry that I would partner with there...I got nothing. I was expecting to love every minute of my time there, and I did not. I was going to have this huge mountain top mission trip experience, and I did not. Life in Africa is hard, and I have to keep reminding myself that God didn't send me to Africa to fix the place:) Today I looked back to see what I wrote in my journal for January 3, 2010 and it said this....

Met Nabukeera Mary yesterday, and then I saw a double rainbow...only God.

My friend Teresa decided to sponsor a child this past November through Amazima Ministries in memory of her daughter Rebekah. Her family does something special for someone else on Rebekah's birthday each year and they call it Rebekah's Rainbow. You can read the background here. Teresa received the information about her sponsored child just a few weeks before I left and sent me with a small package and letter to give to Mary just in case I met her when we went to Katie's house.

I mentioned to Katie early in the day that I was looking for Nabukeera Mary. I actually showed her the package with her name on it because I really didn't know how to say her name. She immediately knew who she was and started asking around for her. She wasn't there yet. I mentioned to her again around mid-day and still no Mary. We were nearing the end of our day at Katie's house and were getting things cleaned up. I had layed the package on the table, and I thought that Katie could just give it to her the next time she was there. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to meet her because I knew that it would be a thrill for Lydia to have her picture.

And then Katie walked in the house and said, "Who was looking for Nabukeera Mary? She's here."

So I met Nabukeera Mary.

I read her the letter from Teresa. Many have said that she looks sad in this picture. I'm not saying she's happy, but I would just like to point out that I'm a crazy excited white woman with a package and tears.

Little stuffed bears and rainbow bracelets cross all language barriers.

We brought her in the house and sized her up.

And gave her a new pair of shoes.

New shoes cross language barriers too:)

We said our good-byes and I thought that was the end of meeting Nabukeera Mary. We left Katie's house and when we got back to the Kingfisher, our leader had reserved us a boat ride on Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is beautiful and we saw lots of colorful birds and creatures. The sky was clear and sunny for most of that Saturday and about halfway through our tour of Lake Victoria, we saw this....

Rebekah's Rainbow in Africa...

He was speaking all the time, and I just wasn't listening.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Africa Trip, Part 5: Beautiful Feet

2010-01-15T09:20:00.000-06:00

It was finally Saturday morning, and we would walk the dirt road to Katie's house a little early to get the 400 pairs of shoes that Soles4Souls had donated for Katie's Saturday program in some kind of organized fashion.

We weren't there long before we met Katie, and she informed us that she had not had power for the last two days...this is Africa:) She quickly found Sumer this really cool flashlight and we started unpacking the shoes.

We had some happy helpers along the way.

We had a footwashing station.

We had a shoe sizing station.

And we had a shoe fitting station.

I was a shoe fitter for a good part of the day, and I loved every minute of it. It was nothing but pure joy to put a brand new pair of shoes on a child that walked in the door barefoot. I sometimes had trouble getting these hard stiff shoes on their barefeet and often wondered why they had such trouble getting these shoes on their feet. I desperately needed a shoehorn;) I would say wiggle a little bit or push a little bit or stand up and maybe it will go on then. (Of course, they couldn't understand a word I was saying so I did the old tried and true method of JUST TALKING LOUDER.) Katie was sitting next to the chair and said these words, "I could just cry over these kids getting these shoes because most of them have never had shoes before."

And then it hit me...

They didn't really know how to "try" on shoes because they had never had shoes. They didn't know how to do the wiggle, push & run down the aisle and make sure they fit right routine. When you finally found a good fit and they were all done, some would thank me and some would just look at me like why is this crazy white woman yelling, "I need a size 8, can you get me a size 8 in black, this size won't work." And then there was the little girl that popped out of her chair, wrapped her arms around my neck and said these words with the most thankful and joyful heart...

Thank you, Auntie!

And I started the ugly cry because of her thankful heart. She was thankful for her ugly black shoes that looked like boy shoes that she needed to have for school. And I will thank my God everytime I remember her...Phillipians 1:3.

Africa Trip, Part 4: My Home in Uganda

2010-01-13T12:46:00.000-06:00

We arrived at the Entebbe airport and we stepped outside to find these little guys...

Monkeys at the airport...only in Africa;)

How many white people can you fit on a bus in Africa?

Not enough because some had to ride on the luggage truck.

Normally, I'm a ride in the back of a truck kinda girl but not in Africa.

We finally made it to the Kingfisher in Jinja.

It truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

It was time to check into our hut;)

Sumer & I shared room #1 in the hut and Tabby & Alicia shared room #2 in the hut.

We had a bed and our own bathroom.

and of course, we had our mosquito net. We got into bed and tucked our mosquito net in around the edges to keep the creatures out. Not mosquitos but frogs, lizards, spiders, etc. We laughed because here we were in Africa sleeping under a net. It seemed like it took so long to get to this place and we were so ready to get to the real reason we came to Africa...to care for orphans. It was almost time to go to Katie's house.

Africa Trip, Part 3: Flightpath

2010-01-13T11:51:00.000-06:00

Finally! We had landed on the continent that I had been thinking about for so long, and I was anxious to get my first whiff of the African air...

but before we could smell the african air we had to wait.

When we got in yet another line of waiting it was then that Sumer looked at me and said for the first time, "This is Africa" and indeed it was. We were now in the land where no one and I mean no one is in a hurry to do anything. It took a long time to get outside and smell the air. When we finally got outside it was very dark, and I have to admit that I felt a little scared. Dorothy was not in Kansas anymore. While many think that Africa smells like I wood, my memory of the smell of Africa will always be of exhaust fumes and smoke.

We stayed one night at the Ethiopian Guest Home and the next morning we were on on our way back to the airport to take our flight to Uganda. By this time, I was feeling good and excited to get there. I was also feeling more comfortable about flying. The plane was not very full, and I even sat by myself so I could maybe take a nap.

Let's just say that I did not take a nap on this flight and by the end of it, I was white knuckling the seat in front of me and praying out loud in Jesus name for Him to get control of the plane...my comfort about flying was gone. Forever gone. I made it very clear to God that I wanted to go to Africa, I didn't want to die there.

I read this passage about Peter this morning, and I immediately laughed at my fear...

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and[c] worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Next time I'm taking a boat;)

Africa Trip, Part 2: The Chicken is Finished

2010-01-12T08:05:00.000-06:00

It was now time for us to get our seat assignments so that we could leave on the one and only Ethiopian Airlines...

And I'm just going to be honest and tell you that I was more nervous than an Ethiopian lamb sitting next to Sumer Yates with a $50 dollar bill in her hand.

We were handed our tickets and the Lord allowed me to sit between Sumer & Alicia. He knew that I needed to feel the security of sitting between two of my best friends to make it through my first 15 hour flight. Sumer was always prepared to sit next to me during the flight because her exact words were... I prefer to sit next to the crazy that I know.

Mission Trip Tip #2-No one gets on a 15 hour flight without one of these handy dandy neck pillows. (Tracey-I washed it last night and it's all yours.)

And then it was time for our first taste of Africa. Sumer had mentioned earlier that surely they would not serve fish on the flight because oh, the horrible smell of fish would be trapped on the airplane.

This picture is titled: The chicken is finished, you must have fish.

Our tickets were booked at different times so Tabby's seats were not always close to ours. She had to sit next to a stranger and I felt guilty about this. (Tabby-God knew that you were more mature then me and more mentally stable.) Tabby would probably suggest that you make a "do not disturb" sign for your face because they don't care if you're sleeping or not, if it's time to eat, it's time to wake up and eat.

So you may wonder what you do on a 15 hour flight? Some read, some listen to iPods, some watch movies, some talk, some play games and some sleep. Jesse Lee took this picture, and I have no memory of sleeping in this position. Sumer would tell you that when I did sleep, I layed all over her and then she just had to figure out how to sleep around me. FYI-Alicia has perfected how to sleep in the upright position without touching your neighbor. You might want to consult her for a few travel sleeping tips.

I made it through this flight, and I was so ready to finally be in Africa. Little did I know that my first taste of Africa would be what Africa is really all about....

Waiting!

I know some of you are wondering how long it will take to get to the real reason we went to Africa. We really do get to work with orphans eventually. Your patience is appreciated:)

Africa Trip, Part 1: The Airport

2010-01-10T15:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm finally home from Africa. My big plans to blog along the way didn't happen, which is all kinda funny now. I had also checked with my cell phone provider and was assured that my phone would be able to send and receive text messages while I was there too...many phones worked, mine did not. I'm quite sure that it was God's way of cleansing me from my cell phone addiction so that I could focus on what He wanted me to do and see while I was there. It was quite freeing never having to keep up with that cell phone. So much so that I forgot to take it to church with me today:)

But I'm home now and it's time to tell the story of my time in Africa. It seems like we left so long ago but the time went by so fast. I'm going to try and write about this trip like I would anything else. I know many of you have trips planned in the near future so I hope to give you a little glimpse of what's in store and maybe you'll even get a few helpful hints along the way.

So, it all started with a trip to the airport...

Visiting Orphans plans trips all over the world and anyone can sign up to go on a trip with them. These are all of the people from the Nashville area. This is right before we got on our plane to DC. When I look at this picture now, I think everyone looks so clean and fresh. And my hair looks like it should...nice & poufy. It never looked like that again.

We got on our puddle jumper plane and headed to DC. We quickly scoped out the restaurant situation for lunch and dinner. We had lunch at Chipotle and then we spent a lot of time walking around the airport. I decided that I needed to buy a wedding ring because I had left my diamond at home and my hand felt necked.

Here I am buying a sterling silver wedding band for $20. Nothing says redneck like buying your own wedding ring in the airport. I also bought some Obama postcards for some special people. I hope the man at the Borders book store really mailed them like he said he would.

We were anxiously awaiting for Jesse, the final member of the TSC team to arrive. He was flying in from Raleigh so we decided that we would greet him at the gate. For future reference, it's a smart idea to take a 6 foot 5 redneck from North Carolina to Africa. He was just handy to have around. This man carried many bags for us and made sure that we were always safe. We ended up nicknaming him Papa Duck because he was always making sure we were where we needed to be and we followed behind him wherever he went. We spent the rest of our time meeting the other members of the team that were flying in and then we ate our last meal at Five Guys Cheeseburgers.

We spent the last little bit of time freshening up in the DC bathroom before the big 15 hour flight. Have I mentioned how clean the bathrooms were in that airport? I have a new appreciation for bathrooms and toilet paper wherever I go.

Mission Trip Hint #1: When they give you the list of things to bring on your trip and you see toilet paper...fyi- they really mean it.

Stay tuned for the next Africa installment as we find out who gets to sit next to me...the very nervous flyer.

Oceans Apart

2009-12-29T07:48:00.000-06:00

Today I'm feeling kind of anxious about the trip. I guess as we get closer to our day of departure, it all becomes a little more of a reality and less like a big crazy plan that God sparked in our hearts this last August. I'm great with a plan, a vision, a list, etc. but eventually you have to put your plan into action, take your list to the store, share the vision with your people...all of this requires movement.

God does not want us to just sit and talk about our plans for a sweet forever. He does want us to have a vision and a plan because where there is no vision the people perish. (It says that somewhere in Proverbs and if I were really spiritual, I would go find the text, but I'm not, so look it up yourself.) but now it's time to pack up and get going or to quote a favorite movie from the preschool crowd...it's time to move it, move it.

So I'm starting to move it...

I have a suitcase packed with too many clothes, hand sanitizer and shoes. And I've got crayons, oh my word have I got crayons...THANKS FOR THE CRAYONS!
I have a list of all the things that I need to remember to take like my passport and yellow fever card. (Please note before you travel internationally, it is impossible not to have ~~dreams~~ nightmares where you leave your passport at your house.)
I've taken every live virus that medical experts say is needed.
First malaria pill will be taken today.
I've got fun friends to travel with.

But the greatest movement is happening in my heart...

A heart that is being prepared to love on the least of these and know that I don't have the answer to solve the problems in their world. I like to fix broken things, and I have resolved that I can't fix Africa in 10 days:) I'm just to be the hands and feet of Jesus for a few days.
A heart that is being prepared to be oceans apart from my family.
A heart that is being prepared to give up my plan for His plan...for my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, saith the Lord....again, you'll have to look that up somewhere in Isaiah.

Those who know me well, know that my brand of anxious is different. My anxious looks like this...

Is it time to go yet?
Can we get this show on the road?
I may or may not sometimes sit out on the porch waiting for someone to pick me up.
I also have been known to call someone and say could you come get me right now because I'm tired of waiting for you to come pick me up.

That's how I roll. So tomorrow is the big day and don't call the authorities if you see someone sitting in their driveway at 5 a.m. in a snuggie blanket. I'm just sitting there waiting for the Harry King carpool van to pick me up and take me to the airport. We originally all planned for our husbands to take us but with all the airline drama from the last few days, we now have to be at the airport extra early so we decided it would be best for our kids not to have to get up at 5 a.m.:) So Alicia's sweet dad is going to pick us all up at 5:30 a.m.

The planning has been fun but it's time to get the show on the road.

See ya in Africa! Yes, there might be some blog updates along the way. We'll see.

15 LBS

2009-12-27T17:44:00.000-06:00

When we first signed up to go to Africa, one of the first questions that we asked was how much luggage could we take? It was an important question after all because myself and my travel buddies pride ourselves on being good girl scouts...always prepared.

The first time that we asked the question, the answer was 30 pounds in a carry-on bag. I thought I was going to have to pick Alicia up off the floor when she heard the words: 30 POUNDS. I think her first words were: I won't be able to take my big study Bible. Smaller Bibles do not have good cross referencing. She also had some concerns about shoes. She likes to have a variety of shoes. And I can't say I blame her for that.

After some airline research, we quickly found out that 30 pounds was not the limit...

lucky us, the airline had changed their carry-on policy and now the limit is 15 pounds!

It's like I signed up for Survivor or something?

While Alicia had some concerns about the weight of her Bible (Please note: I just weighed the study Bible that I have and it weighs over 3 pounds.) I had some concerns about serious items like shampoo and hairspray. Friends that have gone on trips before us, have told us to pack and then unpack half...you won't need all that stuff. Well, I've packed and repacked several times, and I just seem to find more stuff to pack.

So, I thought I would take a few pictures of the things that I think I need to take to Africa...

I'm going to be hitting three airports, three continents and a whole lotta germs in a 24 hour period, so I think this is justified.

These are a few toiletry type items that I've packed so far.

And yes, that's a can of Big Sexy Hair Spray. I may be going to Africa,

but I ain't going there with flat hair.

I like to call this the Big Nanny survival kit.

Some people think I'm crazy for taking a can of beef stew, Chefboyardee and a canned chicken salad pack. When I bought these, I was looking for vienna sausages, but I got sidetracked by all of my canned food choices and forgot them.

This is my carry-on suitcase and my McGyver style backpack.

Please know that I'm more of a tote bag kinda girl so this backpack thing is all new.

And last but not least...

you can't be warm and cuddly without your snuggie.
Great for travel!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T20:50:00.000-06:00

I didn't get cards mailed out this year so this will have to do!

Print it out and hang it with all the ones you got in the mail and just think, I saved you a trip to the mailbox. Or you can be like my CraftiMama and make it your screensaver:)

Merry Christmas!

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball

2009-12-18T09:14:00.000-06:00

So last Saturday, I participated in a youth dodgeball tournament. Our church staff formed a team and of course, every team needs a girl who is willing to let rubber playground balls be thrown at her by a bunch of teenage boys at warp speed...

This is when you start humming the tune...

I'm Every Woman by Whitney Houston.

and yes, you're supposed to look like this when you play dodgeball.

We call ourselves the

Staff Infection

(you could also call us the biggest winner of the day, I'm just sayin')

We're infected with just a slight case of the competitiveness.

(And yes, we are missing our fearless leader. He showed up for practice on Friday but had trouble keeping up with the big boys, so he was a no-show slacker on Saturday. Did I just type all that out loud?)

This is what we call an action shot.

When Nike sees my awesome athletic skillz, I'm sure they will be calling me to take over Tiger Woods endorsement deal. I'm sure you would agree.

After we whooped a bunch of teenagers, we started knocking off all the adult teams.

These are the Tree Huggers, our biggest rival of the day.

You would also call them the biggest losers!

So, how did I do it? Well, I watched a how to play dodgeball video on youtube because you can learn to do almost anything on the internet, and then I just dodged the ball. A lot.

Bob Ross ain't got nothin' on me

2009-12-16T10:29:00.000-06:00

Last week I had the pleasure of going out for a night on the town with some of my favorite people. It was time for the annual Kids on the Korner teacher party. Kids on the Korner is the preschool program at our church. For many years, I was the director of this program, and I started the tradition of planning a Christmas party for them and everything was always a surprise. The restaurant, the entertainment, etc. is always planned by the director and they spend the entire month before trying to figure out where we are going. It's always loads of fun. Except, I'm not the director anymore, and I'm not in on the secret. I now just join in on the surprise.

We started out with a great dinner at Carraba's Restaurant and a not too competitive game of dirty santa. I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new, the chicken marsala and garlic mashed potatoes. I think my taste buds are maturing because I actually liked it. Then we were off to the main event...

Sips & Strokes

Here is the description for Sips & Strokes - bring your favorite beverage and paint a picture along with one of our instructors as they show you step by step how to paint a beautiful masterpiece that you will take home at the end of the evening.

I will now unveil my "beautiful masterpiece"...

Don't be jealous! You too can sign up with your friends and create your very own beautiful masterpiece.

We were in a class with a large group of people; so after we were finished, I decided to go take a look at the pictures of those who were a sippin'. I thought that maybe the sippin' loosened them up a bit but after checking out their "beautiful masterpieces" something tells me that the Goodwill store is having a huge liquidation sale on floral paintings. Please know that my favorite beverage is Diet Coke, so my hand was quite steady and it still turned out like this.

By the way, the instructor said that it would look better in the morning. Lawnmower Man says it looks better at night.

P.S. If you are too young to know who Bob Ross is click here.

Meet the newest member of the Hairbow Mafia

2009-12-08T06:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday my sister Tammy Faye had her long awaited ultrasound and we were surprised that "it" was a girl. We were thrilled because we haven't had a girl in the family since the Lil'Nanny was born in 1997. CraftiMama has had her fill of little boy grandbaby clothes and was ready to start buying pink and making hairbows again.

I'm amazed by the clarity of this picture...

Looks like we got a thumb sucker. I think my sister is still in shock but maybe the pink bow will make it real.

Congratulations! You're the newest member of the Hairbow Mafia.

By the way, I'm not sure if anyone has noticed but my Lil'Nanny has started sportin' bows again...looks like I'm back in.

No Crib for a Bed

2009-12-06T21:31:00.000-06:00

Tonight as I watched over 80 adorable preschoolers sing Away in the Manger at church, I was reminded that our Savior did not have a bed.

Alicia recently connected me to an organization called Sweet Sleep. Sweet Sleep raises money to buy beds, mattresses, sheets, blankets and mosquito nets for children in third world countries. They also take mission teams to go and set-up the beds in the orphanages. They're not trying to buy them better beds...they're trying to buy them beds...as in they don't currently have beds. Imagine life without a bed. Here is a video of one of their recent projects in Uganda:

Jen the founder of Sweet Sleep needs help. She is getting ready to go to Uganda again and here is how your family can help:

She needs a team of people who will commit to pray for her and the work that her organization does.
She needs notes of love to give to each child she encounters. They can be notes of love, encouragement, your favorite scripture. She will pack, take and hand deliver to the children.
She needs to buy 218 mosquito nets at $8 each.
She needs to buy 218 mattresses at $50 each.
She needs to buy 218 blankets at $30 each. (A mattress without a blanket is like a cupcake without icing.)

You can buy a whole bed in Uganda for $88 bucks! I bought a new mattress a few years ago at the Mattress Firm and they were not making those kind of deals. Because I can't pass up a good deal, I just bought a bed in Uganda.

You can go here to donate to Sweet Sleep. Or you can mail donations or encouragements to:

Sweet Sleep
c/o Jen Gash
PO Box 40486
Nashville, TN 37204

Away in a Manger, no crib for His bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head. The stars in the sky look down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus no crying He makes. I love thee Lord Jesus, look down from the sky, and stay by my cradle, Til morning is nigh. Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, close by me forever, and love me I pray, Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and take us to heaven to live with Thee there.

Preferred by teachers and CraftiMamas

2009-12-02T17:21:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if you've heard or not but I'M GOING TO AFRICA IN 28 SLEEPS! I know that I haven't blogged about Africa much because I've just been too busy with work, doing fundraisers, cooking a Thanksgiving meal and getting my crafts ready for Africa. Yes, I'm the crafts leader for this trip so I've been trying to get all that in order. When I signed up for this crafts assignment, I thought I would load up some fun foam and a glue stick and we'd be good. Wrong...crafts x 1000! CraftiMama was in town last week and helped me get some of my things organized.

Anyhoo, one of the things that we want to do is give every child at Amazima Ministries a box of crayons. When we first talked about this, we tossed around the idea of getting a restaurant to donate some of those little packs of crayons. Then we thought that maybe we could buy a bulk box of crayons and put them in ziplocs but then we were concerned about breakage. Sumer & Alicia kept saying wouldn't it be nice if each child had their own box of crayons. Doesn't everyone like to have their own brand new box of crayons? And then I talked to my CraftiMama and she said nothing colors like a Crayola crayon and shouldn't the kids in Africa get a good box of crayons.

So, we're collecting crayons. They must be the 8 count size boxes because of weight restrictions. We've collected over 300 boxes already and I'm trying to get to 500. I'm not asking you to buy 100 boxes but if you're at the Target, the Kroger, the Wal-mart, the Hobby Lobby, the Michael's, the Walgreens...you get the picture. Pick up a box or two and send them my way!

Let me know if you need my address. Or you can drop them off by the preschool welcome desk at church. Thanks!!!

P.S. Your eyes did not fail you...I cooked most of the Thanksgiving meal.

Baby ON Board!

2009-11-30T05:00:00.015-06:00

Over the last year one of the most overheard expressions at my church has been...

Don't drink the water!

I would also like to point out that you hear that a lot when you are preparing for a mission trip. I've got it, and I'm not drinking the water.

Anyhoo, we've been saying this at TSC for many years but this past year has given new meaning to the expression. We have had over 30 babies born in 2009. I realize that most churches would be frightened by this number, but I say the more the merrier. I also know that it provides great job security in these tough economic times...I'm just sayin'.

So it was just 3 weeks ago that I found out that we were getting one more...

Meet Baby Hollie!

This time it's my assistant Awesome Amber and her husband, Bryan.

Congrats!

P.S.Amber-I'm gonna run to Target right now and buy one of those baby wearing slings because we're gonna need it come June;)

You can email your congrats here.

So it was kinda like a Tupperware party but not

2009-11-10T05:00:00.001-06:00

So the other night I loaded up with some of my Africa mission trip buddies and some future Africa mission trip participants and headed to Columbia to feed some orphans. Yes, we went to Columbia, Tennessee to feed some orphans.

We walked into a house that looked like this. It kinda reminded me of a Tupperware party or any other home party. The kind of parties that I don't go to anymore:) I spent the latter part of my twenties and early part of my thirties attending various parties that sold: candles, jewelry, make-up, plastic containers, scrapbook supplies and my all time favorite...cookware. The last "cookware" party that I went to I purchased a $10 oven mitt. I didn't really need any cookware because...hold on to the seat of your pants because I'm about to reveal a startling revelation. You don't really need cookware when you don't cook! I do have to say that the oven mitt has served me well because my bakers are still using it to get the brownies out of the oven.

No cookware for me, I purchased a strand of these...

These beads are made from recycled magazines. Amazima Ministries is training the women in the Karamajong tribe to make these necklaces. The women who run 147 Million Orphans buy their beads, sell them, & then send a portion of the proceeds back to a feeding program for their children. They also sell t-shirts, hats and bags to help feed the orphans in Uganda. This one strand of beads fed a child in Uganda for a week. It's just like that old saying...

Give a woman a bead; and she's got something nice to wear. Teach a woman to bead; and she can feed herself and the kids...or something like that:)

Here we are with Suzanne & Gwen. They are the volunteer administrators of Katie's Amazima Ministries. So we got to hear all about Katie and the work that she is doing in Uganda. They started 147 Million Orphans website to bring awareness to orphans and adoption. By the way, if you aren't reading Katie's blog yet, click here.

You can click on this button to see everything they have...

It's the Et Cetera that has me worried

2009-11-09T05:00:00.009-06:00

This past week I set out on a adventure with some members of the Africa mission team to get some vaccinations. It seems when you go into third world countries, its important to get your shots. So I had been researching on the internet (it will get you in trouble everytime) for a travel clinic because it seems that the local doctors prefer not to have a bottle of the live yellow fever virus sitting in their fridge. I also was looking for a bargain on the shotz because their kinda pricey. Please note: bargain hunting for vaccinations is not advised.

Anyhoo, Alicia, Jesse and I traveled over to Bellevue to a place called Shots Etc. When I pictured the establishment, I pictured what one might call a traditional medical center with I don't know...maybe a private room. But a private room it did not have. In fact, it was in a strip mall. Ya know the kinda place where you usually find clothing stores and nail salons.

Not a private room...

This is me getting ready for my shots. Yes, it is November, and I didn't leave the house with just a tank top on. I wore a button up shirt over this tank but couldn't push the sleeve up so I had to remove it. Classy, I know. Again, please note that this is not a private room but it's an office/patient check-in station/vaccination station/lunchroom....Et Cetera. If you can serve one patient, why not just serve them all at the same time.

Also, something tells me those Clorox wipes have never been opened. Why would I think that? Oh, I don't know, maybe its because my nurse didn't bother to put on a pair of gloves when she administered my shots. And she was waving those needles around like they were pom-poms.

Alicia didn't get the nice relaxy chair but she did get to sit next to the fridge. Ya know the fridge that holds the live virus', a Diet Coke and a Lean Cuisine.

Before you get your shots you have to review all the risk. You get a laminated sheet for every shot you're getting. I have five sheets because I got five shots. A certain member of our trip was making fun of me because I was getting every shot that they offered and even suggested I get the hang nail vaccination just to be on the safe side.

Please count the number of sheets a certain member of our team is holding. He ended up getting the hang nail vaccination after all.

The Princess and The Peep

2009-11-07T20:47:00.000-06:00

It was Halloween 2009 and the Lil'Nanny and I set out to find the perfect costumes.

Meet the Candy Corn Princess & the Peep

Please note: I'm not expecting. I stuffed that costume with a pillow to get the full effect.

Look it's my Africa Peeps. Don't you just think of Africa when you see our faces:)

We got to host concessions at the Fall Festival to raise money for our Africa mission trip.

We convinced some people to be ~~slave laborers~~ volunteers.

We all know that when you work with volunteers, you sometimes run into some issues.

I'm sure this is not breaking any health regulations.

I ran into a Thing 2 and another one of my Peeps in the hallway.

Vitameatavegamin

2009-10-28T05:00:00.002-05:00

I've always had a love/hate relationship with vitamins. I think I need to take them because some might say my diet is a little lacking in some essential nutrients. I buy vitamins, and I don't end up taking them because they always end up being horse pills that I can't get down without someone wrapping it in a piece of cheese and stroking my neck. Some people in my family are just not willing to go the extra mile. Anyhoo, I recently discovered the best vitamins ever. Gummy vitamins for adults. Their magically delicious. I have the mult-vitamin, vitamin C and vitamin D. I got them all at the Superb Target. The Lil'Nanny loves them too. I would recommend that you place them on a high shelf because they taste just like gummy bears, and I could see a kid downing an entire bottle in one sitting. Honestly, I have a hard time only taking my alloted 2 per day. Obviously, you can see that when it comes to candy, I have the maturity of the average 3 year old.

Fall break, Anniversary, Mice, LIFE, Fun, Freezing Yard Sale and Dedication

2009-10-25T22:12:00.002-05:00

I've got no clever title just a whole bunch of week wrapped up into one very long blog post...

Monday was fall break day for WCS & Tennessee Tech. We had a low key day at home. I finally decided that showering was going to be a necessity when I got the call that Checkers was delivering. No Nashville hospital visit would be complete without a stop for dinner at a local dive called Rotiers. I wish I had pictures. It's one of the only places left that has an old school cigerette machine...and we all know that adds a special touch of class to any restaurant. I believe that we now have laws in place about smoking in restaurants but my nose told me that someone was sneaking a smoke in that restaurant. It's one of Sumer's favorite Nashville eateries and she ordered us up some hot fingers, a burger, fries and hash brown casserole. Alicia Jordan did not eat...that's. all. I'm. sayin' :) Also, nothing says, "Let me hold your newborn baby" like three southern baptist women that smell like smoke.

Tuesday was our second day of fall break. It was also mine and Lawnmower Man's 20th anniversary. Lawnmower Man was a little under the weather over the weekend and still was not feeling well so we spent the day at home and ordered up some Applebee's carside to go for our anniversary dinner. And someone may have spent the entire day in a pink terry cloth bathrobe. But that's okay because it matched my awesome anniversary gift...

I've kind of had my eye on this for a while and the traditional 20th anniversary gift is china. Seriously, who really needs china on their 20th anniversary? He specifically picked this one out because it didn't have any complicated gears. Apparently, I'm getting too old and a little gear switch on the handle bars would prove to be too much. We'll be going out for our anniversary at a later date. If there are any new Nashville eateries that you think we should consider, please leave me a comment. (Please note: LM prefers restaurants that don't have cigerette machines.)

Wednesday-I went to work. Let me rephrase that...I went to work and didn't get anything done because I spent most of the day running out of my office or sitting on my desk...

Nothing says professional like sitting on top of your desk at the church office.

(Please note: I was talking to the one and only Tracey Jones.)

You might wonder why I'm sitting on my desk...

Apparently, my office is now the hangout for all the local church mice. Yes, that's mice. As in PLURAL. I got a heads up about the situation when Awesome Amber sent me a little email with this picture and it was titled: the scene in your office. There are two church maintenance men & an education pastor that think they have a gift for trapping, but I don't fool around with these silly little 99 cent rat traps. I made a stop to the Tractor Supply Company on my way to work and picked up four sticky traps because nothing brings me greater joy then to see the mouse that defecated on my desk suffer a slow and painful death on a good ol'sticky trap. I have what I like to call a zero tolerance policy for those that break that rule. You also haven't seen anything until you've seen the local student pastor run and scream like a girl because he saw the mouse run down Cindy's arm when she was trying to get it out of my blinds. Cindy is one of our ministry assistants and lives life in the country. Need I say more? I had a squealing mouse stuck on a sticky trap by 11:59 a.m. (Please note: The local senior pastor has stated his concern for the joy I find in killing God's creatures and is probably meeting with the personnel team right now.)

Thursday-I went to work and I wasn't there long before I headed to the Grace Pregnancy Resource Center with some of my office peeps.

Robin, Angela, Brian Best, Alicia, Cindy (the mouse whisperer)

Calm down. No one in the picture is pregnant...that I know of.

We went there for the 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigel that is happening right now across our nation. Brian Best attends our church and has worked for the Tennessee Right to Life Organization for many years. He gave us a tour of the facility and told us the amazing story of how this pregnancy center was recently relocated practically next door to the abortion clinic. Sometimes pregnant women are on their way to the abortion clinic and end up at this place accidently because it says pregnancy resource center on the sign and it's the first place they see. They are given wise counsel and babies are saved. We spent an hour praying across the street from the abortion clinic. Please know that this is not a protest but an honest to goodness peaceful prayer vigel to pray for innocent lives. I was amazed by Brian's commitment to this organization and how God is blessing his obedience to work hard and protect LIFE! Sign-up to pray, you'll be blessed.

Friday-for just a brief moment I could not remember what I did on Friday but then I reviewed the pictures and it all clicked...

I hung out with like 50 + preschoolers and their moms for preschool Friday fun day at Let it Shine Gymnastics. It was Friday and it was fun. Friday is my day off...or not;) but if you have to work you might as well jump into that spongy pit thingy and almost lose your socks. Well, hold onto your socks because after that I went to a real live grocery store, bought real food, and actually did some chopping and such to make homemade soup for my family for dinner. And they liked it. Shocking, I know.

Saturday-we had our mission fundraiser yard sale and it was the coldest day ever.

I didn't take any pictures of the sale because you would be so jealous of all the cool stuff you missed out on buying. As always, the first things to go are always the things that I laughed at and thought no one would buy. Had I known there was a big market for a 1970's duck lamp and ceramic statues from Mexico...I would have priced them much higher than a quarter! I did however get a picture of me trying to ride the green machine and Sumer riding my new bike. After you spend the day out in the freezing cold, you just get silly.

Alicia was probably sitting around a heater somewhere counting quarters;) If we didn't have her, we'd never make it to Africa on our own.

And today was Sunday. Some people call it their day of rest...I, however, call it my busiest day of the week. We had our baby dedication and prayed a special verse over each of the 31 babies. Obviously, I'm trying to make it into the Guinness books for the world's largest baby dedication. Have I told you people how much I love sweet babies in pink, blue and white outfits? Here is a picture...

This is sweet baby Ava.

You can tell by the look on her chubby little cheeks that she knows she's getting a Word from the Lord.

The end. I'm so glad tomorrow is Monday!

Who cares about Thursday's baby, I've got Monday's baby

2009-10-19T23:48:00.000-05:00

I know it's hard to believe but some people don't have Facebook or blogs so this here blog is like a newspaper and today we have a little birth announcement.

Introducing...

Andrew Leighton

born on October 19, 2009, 6:27 p.m.

8 pounds 6 1/2 ounces

20 inches long

He smells like fresh baby. Like 2 hours old fresh.

Oh, I guess he's not really mine and I should tell you who he really belongs to...

He belongs to these people...

Proud Parents: Checkers & Jonathan

Big Sister Sophie is not pictured...(she was out picking up some donuts)

For those of you not from the Nashville area, every Thursday, the first baby born at Baptist Hospital is "Thursday's Baby" and is featured on all the news stations that night. It's a Nashville tradition and kind of a big deal. But it's my blog so I can make up my thing called "Monday's Baby." It's not exactly the same as being on the news but it's the best that I can do;)

I helped design these shirts, and I'm sure they'll want me to be on the next Project Runway

2009-10-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

Mission Trip Fundraiser

This shirt is light pink with black writing and a hot pink heart.

I'm wearing a medium.

I know that you were totally expecting a blue shirt but those other girls insisted on pink.

Same shirt close up.

Sizes available are medium, large and x-large.

This shirt is gray with black writing and a gray heart.

Large and X-Large only.

This is the other missions t-shirt that we designed for our church.

Stone blue with white and black writing.

Adult sizes: small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large

Child sizes: small, medium, large

All shirts are $10 each and you can make checks payable to: Thompson Station Church.

If you live out of the area and I have to mail your shirt, please add $3 to cover the cost of shipping.

Email me here or leave me a comment if you want one and thanks to all of you that are already sporting the pink around town.

So you think you can cook?

2009-09-28T11:45:00.001-05:00

So, I spent some time in the kitchen this past weekend doing some baking. Cupcakes. I heart cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese icing. Like most of my cooking adventures things don't always go as planned and I usually call Lawnmower Man into the kitchen with this statement:

Where do you think I went wrong?

I wasn't terribly wrong this time and I followed the directions to a tee, but I just thought the cupcakes should have risen a little higher and not have that sunk in the middle look. His first diagnosis was, "Did you use baking powder?" "Yes, yes I did." "Maybe it was out of date?" "Nope, the date is still good."

We're still not sure what happened but he said he's going to start his own blog called...mywifecan'tcook.blogspot.com...too bad for him. I looked and it's already taken:)

I came across this quiz on the AOL news page and took it. I scored 8 out of 14. I don't think my score is so bad considering I can't cook and someone wants to write a blog about it. I'll be eager to hear what some of your scores are in the comments.

http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight/cooking-quiz?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl3|link3|http%3A%2F%2Ffood.aol.com%2Fdinner-tonight%2Fcooking-quiz

I'm longing to have my feet rubbed by a Vietanamese man

2009-09-20T23:40:00.001-05:00

Today is the day that I will admit one of my addictions.

I'm addicted to pedicures. There I said it. And I hear that the first way of dealing with your problem is admitting that you actually have one.

I find that it's a source of comfort to have my feet scraped, scrubbed, exfoliated, rubbed and moisturized while sitting in a chair that rubs my back electronically.

In fact, this was something that I was doing frequently. What's frequently you ask?

Well, it all started out as a special occasion thing. Lawnmower Man purchased me a gift certificate for a birthday or mother's day. Just like any addiction, it's hard to remember exactly when it all started.

Then it turned out to be a special thing when I was going to wear really cute sandals. Like Easter or to ring in the spring season.

And then it was a ~~summer~~ tri-seasonal thing. If you're going to wear flip-flops from ~~June, May, April,~~ March- ~~August, September, October~~ November...your feet need to look good.

And then it was a once a month thing. A special treat because I deserved it. I have a job, I'm a hard worker, etc. Why not?

And then, like all addictions, I needed more. I started stopping by the Luxi Nails on an every other week basis to get my fix because when you wear $1 Old Navy flip-flops, your feet don't hold up very well. I kept justifying my addiction because the price kept getting better and better.

Then I took it to a new level. $19.99 if you bring a friend. So, I drug my friends into my world of temporary pleasure and comfort. That made it even better. And then, just like good ol' Brittney, I involved my kids. Oh, you say you'll never take it that far. That you won't ever let that happen and then one day you're sloshing your feet in a basin of sudsy water while your children are getting bling designs painted on their big toes right across from you. Exhibit A...

But that was all before Africa. Before I knew that I was going to the land of starving children and that I would need to save money to get there. So, I've quit. Cold turkey. I haven't had a pedicure since August 6. Exhibit B...

I'm taking it one day at a time.

P.S. And please don't leave me a comment saying to let Lawnmower Man or the Lil'Nanny paint my toes. I've been there/done that and my feet looked like a prop from the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This is the day that the Lord has made

2009-09-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

After viewing this video, I, of course, have two questions:

I wonder if I can talk that kid into letting me play the bongos or talk that muzungu girl into letting me hold that baby on my hip while we sing. I think we all know which one I have a better chance of doing:)

You can check out Sumer's blog over here for details on Amazima and Canaan's Children Ministries.

Crazy Travel Companion #2

2009-09-11T00:11:00.002-05:00

I've re-read this post this morning and Craftimama has also pointed out that saying: We've spent many evening hours walking the streets of Campbell Station...doesn't really sound good. I'm sure Alicia thought the same thing. I also forgot to include a picture of Alicia, so I'm adding that.

Today is the day you find out crazy travel companion #2...the one and only, Alicia Jordan.

Direct, Forceful and Preachy.

These are the three words that Alicia used in one of her own blog post to describe herself. And I'm here to tell you that she is all those things and more.

She's the kind of friend that loves deeply from the heart and she has always been there for me. We've known each other for at least 10 years now, but we didn't become good friends until I moved to her neighborhood, 4 years ago. We've spent many hours walking the streets of Campbell Station.

And I'm going to let you in on a little secret...sometimes we only walked one circle around the neighborhood and then we stood on the street corner and talked for an hour. That's kinda the reason we never lost any poundage. We've stood on that dark corner, under the street light and talked because we like to talk. But we've also stood on that corner many days and prayed over whatever had us bound up for that day. I'm sure the neighbors have seen us out there before and thought, "Why don't those women just go to Starbucks...and sit down?"

I don't have any sweet sappy words to tell you about Alicia, but I will tell you this...

Alicia is a mighty warrior for the Kingdom. She has a desire in her heart that all captives be set free by the power of Jesus Christ.

In fact, I think she is this kind of woman...

Can I get a witness?

Alicia is not going to like that I just used the word crap in the blog post about her. Sumer said this was completely appropriate because only adults read my blog and Satan probably uses worse words than that about her.

Alicia has already been to Africa. This is a paragraph that she wrote on her blog when she returned from her 2008 trip...

I can relate because part of my heart is there and always will be. I can't describe it except that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I think of my girls in Africa. When my tummy gets a little hunger pain, I think of my girls in Africa. When my kids complain that there's nothing in the pantry (come on, it's full of food), I think of Africa. I dream of Africa. I smell the wooden items I bought in Africa because the smell reminds me of Africa (I know it's crazy, but the wood really does smell different). I pray and plead with God that I'll get to go back in 2009 and 2010 and 2011 and until He calls my heart somewhere else.

Alicia, You didn't think 2009 was happening but it looks like your prayer has been answered...exceeding abundantly. Not only are you going to Africa, you're going with me :)

Go over and check out Alicia's blog to hear about her crazy heart.

P.S. Alicia hates hotdogs and that really gets on my nerves.

Crazy Travel Companion #1

2009-09-10T00:05:00.001-05:00

Today is the day you find out about one of the crazies willing to travel with me to the far away land of Africa. She is one of my sweetest friends, and I believe that God placed her in my life so her sweetness would rub off on me.

Meet Sweet Sumer…

The first thing I must tell you about Sumer is that our relationship is based on food, work & Jesus. And not necessarily in that order but sometimes in that order:) Everything I do with Sumer is planned around the when, where and what we will be eating. If I tell her that we need to meet about something, I know that the next question out of her mouth will be, “So, are we planning to get something to eat on the way?” I’m sure we will have lots of Africa food stories to share.

We first started working together when she showed up at my house because I was looking for some volunteers to join my preschool ministry team. She had no idea what she was getting into the day she said yes and stepped into my world. She has always been willing to take on any project that I’ve cooked up and is constantly challenging me to make everything better. I think most people don’t realize that she is what I like to call a "go BIG or go home" kind of girl. (So God is sending us to a BIG continent called Africa...it was either go BIG or stay home.)

She’s also what I like to call “slightly granola” -- because she feeds her kids hotdogs but washes their sweet heads with organic baby shampoo. And yes, that only makes her “slightly” granola and yes, I do make fun of her.

The Lord has allowed us to serve together over the last two years, and she is one of my forever friends.

Please go over to Sumer’s blog and read why she is going to Africa. Also, know that she doesn’t just go around telling this story all the time…I drug it out of her once over tears and a Starbucks.

http://sumerwithonem.blogspot.com/2009/09/it-was-spring-of-this-year-when-i-went.html

Big Nanny goes to Africa

2009-09-08T00:00:00.010-05:00

Yes, those words above are the words of a woman that loves America and desires to stay on the soil that we so often call the land of the free and the home of the brave. But on December 29, 2009, I will head to the airport and enter into a land that I know nothing about all because...

God moved my heart into action.

For several years now I have watched close friends go on international mission trips. I’ve often thought, “I have no desire to do that, why would I want to serve on another continent when I have plenty of youngins' to care for in Thompson Station, Tennessee?" One does not have to go to the other side of the world to "minister."

I admitted to my peers that my preference is to serve in a clean preschool building where I have an abundance of Goldfish crackers and baby wipes...

I don’t do third world countries.

Here's a little tip:
Never tell God that you're not a third world country kinda girl.

The Lord began to change my heart over this past year when I began reading about Katie Davis, a 20 year old girl from Brentwood, Tennessee, who has given up earthly treasures to follow God in obedience. Her story (kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com) has moved and inspired me to go on mission to...

Uganda & Ethiopia

(at this point in this post, I know that I have some close friends who are snickering)

I know what y'all are thinking...I can't eat out at Shogun's without giving a complicated order and asking them to identify & explain the vegetables that will be used in our meal. How will I make it in Africa? I ask myself that same question everyday.

So this is where my "Big Nanny goes to Africa" story begins. I hope you'll pray for me and follow along as I prepare to go on my very first mission trip. Oh, but wait, there's more...I'm not going alone. Soon you will find out who is crazy enough to travel with me to Africa?

Longing to be crazy for Jesus, (if you have not read Boomama's post about super spiritual closings, click here & laugh)

Mission Trip Cowgirl

2009-09-06T00:01:00.003-05:00

I bought a cowboy hat recently to wear to the TSC youth launch event. I made plans to attend because the student pastor rented a mechanical bull. I figured since I don't hang out in redneck bars this would be my only chance to ride a mechanical bull. Here I am in all of my redneck cowgirl glory...

You can only imagine the pride my parents feel when they see a picture of me riding a bull in front of a cross at the local baptist church.

Some of you may wonder why our student pastor rented a mechanical bull and the only thing I can tell you is that I live in Thompson Station, Tennessee, and I go to Thompson Station Church and that's how we roll.

Anyhoo, back to the hat. I purchased the hat to wear to the youth event but I've been planning on buying this hat for a long time. I've walked by that hat countless times in Tar-jay and told myself that one day it would be mine. And this week, God told me it was time for me to own...

My mission trip cowgirl hat.

You see, I've been reading lots of blogs and one thing I know for sure is this: you must have a really cool hat when you go on a mission trip.

I give you exhibit A:

and exhibit B:

Please notice that the natives don't have hats on but the mission trip workers do. Obviously, it's a mission trip pre-requisite. Please also notice that some hats are cooler than others. You can also tell that I went with the cool one. I also decided that wherever God sent me to do mission work that I would wear the hat. Even if He sent me to Russia. I would look silly wearing my mission trip cowgirl hat in Russia, but I would still wear it if that's where God sent me.

Stay tuned to find out where in the world is Big Nanny going?

Taste and see that the Lord is good

2009-09-03T07:07:00.000-05:00

Last week I found this surprise on my front door step. Last spring I had a little run in (pun intended) with my friend Heather's dog, Smitty the Schnauzer. You can read about it here.

This is my favorite brand of dawgs and this brand is not sold in the great state of Tennessee. I may have mentioned this a least 20 times on this blog in the last two years. Heather did some online research and had 24...count'em 24 dawgs shipped in for me.

This is tonight's dinner. I already told Lawnmower Man that these dawgs will not see the firey flame of a grill. They will be rolled around in a pan of butter, placed on a grilled butter bun and topped with chili, cheese and onions.

Is it weird that I have a folder on my computer labeled...hotdogs.

Thanks Heather!

Our trip to Jelly Fish Beach

2009-08-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics and captions to share about our recent trip to jelly fish beach...

I took the Medium Nanny & the Lil'Nanny to get pedicures the night before we left.

They got a little bedazzle for free on their big toe, much to Sonja's dismay.

We sunbathed like the Hollywood Divas.

(SPF50 was used all around, and I did not come back with my famous Big Nanny burn.)

Lawnmower Man caught some rolls at Lambert's Cafe.

I submitted to Lawnmower Man and ate chicken wings at Hoot*rs.

I was obviously trying to fit in by wearing the orange/brown combo and showing all the strappage.

Their chicken wings are horrible and nothing like my favorite chicken wing place, BW3s.

Our waitress could seriously not answer any questions about the food on the menu.

Her response to every question was similar to my answer to every Algebra question in high school, "I'm not really sure."

I did not take my laptop on vacation and turned the email off on my phone.

This is me accepting the one and only work related phone call that I received.

I thought some people might enjoy seeing "the clip".

I had to drag the Lil'Nanny into the water every day because

we had our own little episode of the Fear Factor going on because of these...

Jelly Fish...lots & lots of really large jelly fish.

I've put a square around the ones in the pic.

Every night the Lil'Nanny was ready to go out and hunt for creatures.

She likes hunting for prey, she just doesn't want to swim with them.

And this one is just for my memory book:

The Lil'Nanny wore this outfit out to dinner and when I looked at her and said, "Are you wearing that?"

She said, "Yeah, I'm at the beach, I don't care what I wear."

I never expected to hear her say those words, so I wanted

to make sure that it got recorded in the books.

We also did a little tax-free back to school shopping too, but other than that, all we did was eat, sleep & sit on the beach.

Stuck in the Middle

2009-08-21T09:15:00.005-05:00

The Lil'Nanny started her first day of middle school on Thursday, August 13. So far, so good. These are the things that are important to her in middle school:

1. The skinny jean - this is her daily uniform. I don't know how she can stand wearing them when it's 90 degrees when she gets out of school.

2. A cell phone - this one hasn't happened. Two of her close friends received brand new cell phones their first week of school. She gives me a daily update of who has gotten a cell phone when she gets in the car each day. I think my new line is going to be...Did you send them a congratulations card? I'm so tired of hearing about it.

3. Make-up - I caved on this one. I had planned to wait until 13, but I agreed to the use of clear mascara and some eye shadow. I figure I've got bigger fish to fry...see #2. Also, this is my new favorite mascara. $5 at the Wal-marts. I sent Tammy Faye a text to tell her about it.

4. Lockers - locker placement is important. She was hoping for a top locker on the 6th grade hall, but she got a bottom locker on the 7th grade hall. Learning to work the combination has been quite a task. Lawnmower Man gave her brief locker opening tutorial before she left for her a second day of school. Now she's helping others with all of her locker opening knowledge.

5. Football - any social opportunity is truly appreciated by the Lil'Nanny. As soon as she got home from school, she announced that she needed me to drop her off at the high school for the middle school game. I took her to the game and sat in my car in the parking lot. I would have attended the game, but I didn't have enough money to get in the game. I always forget that these things aren't free, and I don't usually carry cash. So, I dug around in my car and was able to scrape enough change for the Lil'Nanny to attend. I did have to borrow a quarter from a church member that I passed in the parking lot to get to $2 in change...classy, I know. Yesterday, she attended her first after school tailgate party. This is an after school program sponsored by the school on football game days. She had a great time.

6. The phone - our house phone rings non-stop. This is our first time to experience this because the Medium Nanny is not a phone talker at all. Lawnmower Man and I don't even move when the phone rings...what's the point, it's not for us.

7. The hair - it always comes back to the hair with this girl. She spends lots of time washing, conditioning, ironing, curling, braiding, brushing, and stressing over her hair. She got a cut with lots-o-layers a few weeks ago and she contemplated/researched/printed pictures for days before the big appointment. On most days, she is not completely happy with the state of her bangs.

Happy Middle School! The Medium Nanny leaves in just a few days for her second year of university. It was a year ago yesterday that I was experiencing The Great Sadness. Time flies!

I might as well start shopping at Whole Foods

2009-08-01T14:36:00.008-05:00

A couple Christmas seasons ago, my friend Robyn, gave me a gift card to Wild Oats for 50 cents. Yep, 50 cents. You might think that it's tacky to give someone a gift card for 50 cents but Robyn knew that the look on my face when I opened my Wild Oats gift card would be priceless...and it was. I think I was even speechless and I know that my face was saying... "oh no, this is awkward, she gave me a Wild Oats gift card, and I'm going to have to pretend like I like it." Everyone allowed the awkwardness for just a moment and then the laughter ensued. Hahaha. LOL. I was just relieved that it wasn't my real gift.

Anyhoo, if you were to find me in a grocery store, you would most likely find me in a Super Target. My cart would be laden with drinks filled with aspartame and snack cakes laced with an assortment of trans-fats. That is until the government stepped in and took away all of my partially hydrogenated fun. But I'm here to say...

I'm changing my ways. At least for this week. Meet my new love...

Brother's All Natural Apple Crisps

My co-worker, Sumer, purchased these for all the tiny tots to have for their VBS snack. And let me just say that I might have just gotten into them a couple or ten times. And let me say this...their delicious and I don't even like apples. And Sumer would pipe in and say that their just apples, nothing else, nothing added, just apples. Well, how about them apples. You can buy them at Costco but I just ordered a case online...yes, I think their that good. I ordered the strawberry banana ones, too. I know, I'm out of control. Look what else I was caught doing at VBS...

Yes, I'm a baby wearer now, too.

(Please know that I didn't drip a drop of Diet Coke on that baby like some thought I would.)

It's a slippery slope, and I'm just a few steps away from an all natural organic lifestyle. Someone stop me before it's too late.

VBS: Worth a thousand words

2009-07-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and as I was going through my VBS pics, I couldn't help but add my own captions to a few that I thought were interesting...

Good morning and welcome to Big Nanny's Boot Camp. And all these people thought they were coming to Vacation Bible School.

Share? Nah, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Do these people not know that I'm the senior pastor?

Why do they make me wear this everyday?

I know that I'm in here to tell the Bible story, but please raise your hand if you have a question about Algebra.

I don't care what my Daddy says...
I'm going to Texas, and I will be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

When your mom looks at this, just smile and act like you did it.

VBS, Day 1: How PT got his groove back

2009-07-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Some people have moments when God speaks to them while their driving down the road.

Some people have moments when God speaks to them in a dream.

Some people have moments when God speaks to them through a sermon.

Some people have moments when God speaks to them through a friend.

Some people have moments when God speaks to them through a song.

And some people have moments when God speaks to them while their wearing a furry chipmunk costume. So glad you’re back!

The Deep End of the Ocean

2009-07-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

On Monday, we headed over to Ripley's Aquarium. The great thing about this trip was that because the Medium Nanny is a Dollywood employee, we didn't have to pay admission to the places we visited. Thanks Dolly!

Could this place get any classier?

2009-07-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

Donuts...is there anything they can't do?

2009-07-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

After spending a long day at Splash Country, we headed to Gatlinburg. Lawnmower Man had heard about this donut place on the food network. I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with their donuts but...

we're the Spencer family...

in our world, there is no such thing as a bad donut!

When horses fly...

2009-07-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

On Sunday morning we went to the First Baptist Church of Sevierville. I spend most of my Sundays in the jungle;) so it was a nice to sit in church with my family. After church, we went to eat at The Flying Horse Grill. They give you a ticket to ride the merry-go-round after dinner. We didn't actually go round...I'm no rocket scientist or anything but that just sounds like a bad idea??? Wouldn't want to be the janitor of the Flying Horse. Why don't they just call it the Puking Kid Grill?

Working 9 to 5

2009-07-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

This summer seems to be super busy. This week is VBS and I'll spend my week wrangling 300 preschoolers at Crocodile Dock. Stay tuned every day this week as I tell you what we've been doing this summer, a little at a time.

Father's Day weekend we went to Pigeon Forge to visit the Medium Nanny. She is working at Dollywood for the summer. When she left our house in May, she had high hopes of getting to work in a 50's diner because she would maybe get to wear a cute pink and black uniform.

She got stationed at some kind of lumberjack snack station and this is her uniform. We went to pick her up at Dollywood and from far away, I didn't even recognize her in these cool Dickie brand overalls and plaid shirt. She's holding her employee mug. She knows the price of every size drink at her station, and I can assure you that she is very annoyed when you ask her the prices over and over and over again and still can't decide what you want. She has Sunday and Monday off but works 9-5 the rest of the week.

While the cats are away...

2009-07-07T22:40:00.004-05:00

When one leaves for a ministerial staff retreat, a certain worship pastor should maybe:

a) lock his car doors

b) never leave keys in the hands of the one you have scorned

c) maybe he shouldn't have been bragging about all those "practical" jokes he's been playing on Mrs. Willett. Obviously, Mrs. Willett knows how to...

BRING IT ON.

Not

so

practical

the mice will play!

Our Elvis is Dead

2009-07-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

It’s been a week now, and I’m just now getting used to the fact that the King of Pop is dead. It has reminded me of when I was 6 years old and my CraftiMama lost her beloved Elvis. Yes, my parents were pretty strict baptist churchgoers, but when people walked into our house and saw our awesome 1970’s console stereo system…there was no denying that we had the Elvis vinyl up in our house. No doubt about it. You don’t buy a big ol’stereo like that to just play your Jimmy Swaggart records.

Anyhoo, our children are suddenly hearing us talk about this music icon and the music that we loved so much. And let’s be honest, we really haven’t talked about MJ for the last 15 years or so because of all the...how could we say it best…AWKWARDNESS. But now, we’re all reminiscing about days of hanging out at the Rolladium Skating Rink and getting our Billie Jean on. And the hours we spent trying to learn the Thriller dance. Notice I said “trying” because we all know that I’ve yet to master any “group” dance. (If you’ve seen me try to do the Electric Slide, then you are completely aware of this and if you haven’t seen me try to do the Electric Slide, then you should consider yourself one of the lucky ones.)

I have to say the one fact about death is this…someone dying makes you appreciate all the good times that you had and you try your best to just forget all the rest. So last week when all of the news stations were including a different MJ tune with every story, I was remembering all the good times we had in what we 80’s kids like to call the pre-Thriller days. It makes you realize that some of that music is totally awesome and that just hearing a bar or two is not gonna be enough. So what do you do? You have Lawnmower Man make you a mix tape.

Yes, a mix tape. (Except for it's really a mix CD but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.) I didn’t give any special requests for specific songs so it was a big surprise when I got in the car for the first time and listened to all 10 songs. I was happy with all of his choices except two and the Lil’Nanny was a little perturbed that he missed one of her favorites (Beat It) but here’s what he came up with…

1. Billie Jean
2. Bad (not one of my favorites because it’s post Thriller and I was so over him at this point.)
3. Human Nature
4. Thriller
5. ABC
6. Wanna be starting something
7. The way you make me feel (again, not a favorite because it’s post Thriller.)
8. Rock with you
9. Don’t stop til you get enough
10. PYT

But my all time favorite is this one and it’s even before my time…

What's your favorite? And yes, the Lil'Nanny is now a big fan and wants to listen everytime we get in the car.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-01T12:23:00.001-05:00

For those inquiring minds that want to know: We were on our way into Atlanta's World of Coke when we spotted this Royal Carribean give a way booth. They give you each a mesh bag and you have to go in and try to spell Royal Carribean. Not all of the balls have letters. It was a difficult task and needless to say, we were not winners.

Big bubbles, no troubles

2009-06-25T09:22:00.001-05:00

post signature

Breaking News Rocks Local Church

2009-06-17T00:09:00.007-05:00

Big news for all of my TSC readers...

This is the kind of church news that people will be talking about for years to come. The kind of news that causes the parishioners to get on the phone and talk. And TSC is just like any good southern baptist church...news travels fast. Why, it was just yesterday afternoon that I received this blog tip via an email from an "unknown" source.

The email subject line stated these very words: "Girl, I've got something for you to blog about!"

I think the "unknown" source knew that things have been a little slow around here and that I needed this tip. It's just like when those National Enquirer paparazzi people get a phone call tip saying where Brangelina is...JOURNALISM GOLD! I immediately sent a text to the "subject" to confirm the report and to tell "subject" that I would be posting a blog about this news.

Because inquiring minds will want to know and those same inquiring minds will need time to process this before Sunday. You can't just let this all out on a Sunday morning without any warning! People would not be able to focus on the sermon if I didn't get this out now.

I can't wait to hear what you think.

Meet your "hip", "trendy", "Chipped out" Pastor!

I heard he even bought some product.

Summer Camp

2009-06-13T09:36:00.004-05:00

The Lil'Nanny was at Cross Camp this past week and we're glad to have her home. Lawnmower Man and I spent all our grocery money touring the various restaurants in our area, and I now have a few extra pounds to lose. I really needed her to come home so I could wear my new swimsuit before I out grew it:)

I've done 3 loads of stinky, damp laundry. She came home without 1 fitted sheet, 1 bath towel & some washclothes. She did come home with 2 tank tops and 3 Cross Camp shirts that do not belong to her. How does one lose a fitted sheet? It's mint green in case anyone has it.

This is my happy camper at pick up time. She had a great time. Thank you to Melissa & Ashley for taking care of my baby. I appreciate Melissa for saving her life on the kayak trip, and Ashley for dealing with her tears when she wasn't feeling good. She has been very chatty since she got home. Was she not allowed to talk at camp?

This was her surprise when she came home. She had been wanting this for a while now, so I decided to do this while she was gone. I might be taking this monogram thing a little too far.

Feliz cumpleaños

2009-06-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

Someone turned 19 this morning! Hope Dolly is treating you right:)

I had my own little earth day last week

2009-05-28T05:00:00.001-05:00

I got all earth friendly last Saturday and took a trip to the Farmer's Market in Franklin.

I got some really pretty peonies. I just had to have them.

I got some local honey. I have a thing for honey these days. I probably need it to make me sweet. No one has ever mistaken me for a honey biscuit.

Sumer got some organic veggies. She smiles about veggies...I do not. I kept asking her what she was going to do with them. However, I did know that you need to place those asparagus sticks upright in a glass of water, in the fridge, until ready to use.

Hours later...on the exact same day, my parents came to town and we made a trip to a strawberry patch and picked some berries. Lately, whenever I eat grocery store berries, I itch. I'm not allergic to the berries just some toxic chemical that they spray on them. These berries are not certified organic but are not sprayed with any chemical. They have received in-ground fertilization. I'm really not sure who typed that last sentence...Look at me throwing around the term..."certified organic." No adverse reaction from these berries.

I think this picture needs to be on the cover of one of those cooking magazines.

We also took Wingtips & CraftiMama to eat at Marcy Jo's. Here is CraftiMama with Marcy Jo after she had just ordered the Elvis cake. CraftiMama loves all things Elvis, including this cake.

Marcy Jo's Mealhouse. Located on Hwy 431.
The burgers are awesome!

Sew Many Blessings...

2009-05-26T22:27:00.003-05:00

Click on the logo above and check out my friend Leigh's adorable embroidery items.

C is for cookie...that's good enough for me

2009-05-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

You remember last year when I wrote about my responsible baker and how the Lil'Nanny would be taking over her slave baking responsibilities. Well, it hasn't exactly been working out for us because the Lil'Nanny doesn't take it too seriously. I can only hope that as she matures that she will realize that I'm a much nicer Momma when some one's feeding me chocolate.

Anyhoo, since the Medium Nanny rolled into town, I've been eatin' good in the neighborhood. Last week she made brownies and this week it was brownie cookies. She made that apron she's wearing, too...it's got little teacups on it. She made me one too, it's a full front apron out of the same material. It looks really cute hanging in my kitchen. I should have a picture of me wearing it, but, well, I've never actually used it. But it looks cute!