The Brady Family Adventure

All in the Response

2012-01-01T20:48:00.000-06:00

Before Preston could even say a complete sentence or walk well he could dribble a basketball. I have video to prove it. Now I can't show you that video because it is on VHS but someday when I get them converted to DVD I will show ESPN when they interview me before his NBA draft. Just kidding. I mean they will probably want the videos before then. All joking aside he really has loved basketball from the beginning.

During one of Preston's games a mistake was made in the official's book and Preston was given one of his teammates fouls. This caused him to foul out of the game. He was upset but handled himself very well. The neat thing was that earlier in the week we had talked about how it is not what happens to you that defines your character but how you respond to it. So after the game I told him how proud I was at how he responded to the situation.

Bennett loves it just as much. They both play with incredible excitement for the game. Over our Christmas break both of their teams have been in tournaments. So we have spent a lot of time in a gym. Bennett made the all tournament team. You could not have wiped the grin off of his face.

So fun. We are proud of both of them. They both are improving and learning. God has given them both such gifts and abilities and our prayer is that they use them for His glory and honor.

Their sister has gifts and abilities as well, her's just range more on the sassy, adorable, you know you want to be like me ~~gifts~~ or whatever you might call those. For example while we were at one of the basketball games this little boy walked up and said hi to Miss Priss, I mean Emma Sanders. Her response? She rolled her eyes. I quickly said, Emma Sanders that is so rude, he is just saying hi and wants to play with you. Now how should you respond? She then without hesitation looked at me completely serious and said, "Mom, I just rolled my eyes because I was chewing ice." We have a lot of work to do...a lot of work.

4 Years in the Making

2011-12-09T09:28:00.000-06:00

Emma Sanders Brady turned four on November 20, 2011. Her school does a great job of celebrating girls and their life and during the chapel program on Thursday she got to go up front and receive her birthday pencils. Two pencils, one blue, one white. Nothing special about them to the average human but to a St. Mary's girl they are magical. And we loved watching Emma light up with all the joy in the world to go tell the student body how old she was and to receive her pencils.

We had her birthday party on Friday night at Little Gym. A perfect place for a girl with more energy in her little finger than I have in my whole body. She loved it.

Emma Sanders you are a joy to our family. You have been such a gift to us. You are absolutely hilarious and we never know what is going to come out of your mouth. You are kind, curious, spunky and very smart. You like to play with your dolls and do their hair. You actually like to do everyone's hair, including your cousin Wyatt. Your smile can light up a room and your laughter is contagious. My favorite thing you say lately is when we laugh at something you do you say, "I know, right?"

We are grateful that the Lord chose us as your parents. We pray everyday that you will know the Lord's love and that you will follow with passion and zeal his plan for your life.

Not His Home

2011-12-09T08:43:00.001-06:00

Mid October I chaperoned a field trip with Bennett's class to the zoo. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time learning about all the different animals. The class first started out in a room where a zoo keeper brought out snakes, iguanas, and a rat. She took them around to let the kids see up close and they could even pet them if they wanted. Bennett did not, that's my boy.

After the class we were split into groups and had a list of clues to read and then guess which animal the clues were about. It was really fun and we were even given an itouch to record the boys finding the answer to each clue.

Towards the end of the adventure we found ourselves in the polar bear exhibit, which at the Memphis zoo is incredible. Another mom and I noticed that this one particular bear was doing odd things. He would move towards the wall, slightly bump into it, shake his head, walk backwards about 10 steps and then repeat.

We watched him for a few minutes and then this mom said something that has stuck with me ever since. "This is not his home." She went on to talk about how nice his surroundings are, how well he is taken care of, how much food he gets, how the zoo vaccinates and takes amazing steps towards providing for him but it is still not his home. It is not the wild where he belongs. That maybe his captivity makes him behave strangely.

Last week I served on jury duty and was actually picked for a trial. It was a very interesting week to say the least. I actually enjoyed it and aside from having to juggle kids, carpool, basketball games and a guitar recital would love to do it again. During the week the other jurors and I were asked not to discuss the trial during our breaks. So the conversation turned toward our on personal lives and getting to know one another.

In the midst of those conversations I shared with several of my co-jurors where I live and why I live there. Their initial reaction was some very strange looks. Like, have you lost your mind? Why would you chose to live there? That is crazy.

And so my mind went back to the zoo. And I was reminded that this is not my home. That in 1992 my heart was captivated by Jesus and a love that has never let go and because of that sometimes my behavior seems strange. And sometimes Braxton and I do what seems crazy in the eyes of the world and we make decisions that seem odd or go against what everyone else might be doing.

There is a reason for our craziness as it may seem. This is not our home. And our hope and prayer is that our actions and behavior point to the One who has promised us an eternal home with him.

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
Philippians 3:20

I just wrote that

2011-09-30T17:11:00.006-05:00

Bennett and Emma are our musical geniuses in the family. Bennett loves to play the guitar and Emma loves to sing and dance. She picks up on song lyrics pretty quickly and sometimes will even write her own version.

Braxton and I argue over which one of us they got it from. I mean Braxton might be able to sing but I've got Moves like Jagger. Ahem. seriously, I do. Or did at one point in my life when my hips had not been moved to other worlds from child birth. I digress.

On Wednesday nights our family sits down with Operation World, http://www.operationworld.org/ and picks out a country to talk about and to learn more about what is going on there. We then stick a pin in that country on our world map in the playroom and pray for it.

Emma is still and quiet because she is so intent on listening and learning. Or....she knows that if she is still and patient her daddy will let her sing and dance for us afterwards. Kind of her own little version of America's Got Talent. For example the other night she wore a camouflage hat, pj's, and shook a blue and white pom pom while singing her rendition of This is the Day combined with Jesus is Lord. She is a prodigy.

This was practice time in the kitchen before. She wanted to warm up and asked me to tape her so she could watch. It was pre costume and there was a little bit of song change up from her final performance. My favorite part is when she sings, "he lives riiighhtt here" and puts her hand on her throat.

She has also coined the phrase recently "I just wrote that" in our home. Did you catch it in the song? Just in case anyone was wondering, this thing has been copy righted.

For example at lunch the other day she wanted to pray all by herself. She started out singing God our Father then took a hard left into Jesus loves me and ended with thanks for this day and my singing. Not sure she ever even mentioned the food, Nonetheless, at the end she looks up at all of us and says, "Did y'all like that?" Then says, "I just wrote that."

We are going to be rich people, rich. She also likes to cook. So we have got that as a back up plan if the singing/song writing thing doesn't pan out.

Friday night Braxton was out of town and it was just me and the kids. Emma wanted to make cup cakes. Red Velvet cup cakes. Don't ask why. But we did it. We had so much fun and Bennett helped as well. They were actually quite yummy. On Saturday we shared them with some kids in the neighborhood.

If you will look closely Bennett has huge black triangles on his face. Earlier he had ask me if he could paint his face. I said yes and he went upstairs and 10 minutes later I thought I was being visited from one of the band members from Kiss. I think he is getting jealous of his sister's talent and is worried she might one up him on the whole song writing thing, so he is going into costumes. I'm not sure.

Good times. The hits just keep coming at the Brady house. Never a dull moment.

Go Home Whitey and Other Advice from the Hood

2011-08-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

About a year before Braxton and I moved into our neighborhood we had dinner with a friend that had moved in about 2 years prior. He was telling us about a time when he was walking down his street and a man called out "go home whitey." We laughed at the irony of the situation as this was our friend's home. There is great advice given by neighbors here. Some warranted and some not so much.

A year later we found ourselves living in the same neighborhood and about six months later I found myself chasing a much younger and faster 10 year old who had just stolen Preston's scooter. About halfway around the block and completely out of breath, I was telling myself, "go home whitey." Good advice.

We have joked several times about how we should write a book on all the funny stories and things that people could not only enjoy but benefit from by our experience. I think I would title it Gunshots from the Lumber Yard. But that is another story albeit piece of advice for another day.

Definitely part of the book would have pictures. On several occasions we have seen things that you would not believe unless you could see it yourself. I recently told my friend Erin, "we will never be bored here."

For example:

This is a man on a horse. On our street. He lives here. In the middle of the city. The horse lives in his backyard. Our lots are roughly 50 X 150, not bad space for a swing set but maybe not so much for a full grown horse. You can't make this stuff up. I think this man's advice would be, "when gas is expensive, make the best of a bad situation. Buy a horse." No gas for a lawn mower, no gas for a car. I like to call him an economist.

Exhibit #2

Tuesday night as I arrived home from picking Bennett up from football practice this was the scene in our guest bathroom. Apparently Emma Sanders had emptied an entire bottle of her shampoo into the upstairs bathtub. And when a catalyst such as this is added to previously stopped up plumbing, well this is the result. I guess if you are going to have a toilet overflow, bubbles is better than the alternative.

Braxton was in the front yard with a flashlight and a wrench for the better part of an hour. Then because my husband is acutely aware of his strengths and weaknesses, he called a plumber.

Only in our neighborhood can you make enough noise with a plumber's snake to wake the dead at 9:30 at night and no one complains. Around here things are just getting crankin' about that time.

Turns out we were clogged up with close to an entire box of baby wipes. I like to call us multi-taskers. We clogged a toilet, provided free entertainment in the hood, and cleaned a bathroom floor all at the same time.

I think I am already working on my 2nd book, What you can't do in your neighborhood, you can definitely do in mine.

An Eagle, Crusader and a Turkey

2011-08-19T08:19:00.000-05:00

An Eagle, crusader and a turkey all walked into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, doesn't it?

Well the bar is not exactly right. More like all walked into a school.

Yesterday marked the first day of the 2011-2012 school year where all 3 of our children were in school for a full day. They were all excited and I was too. It was time. I love the summer and spending time in our PJ's watching movies, staying up late playing games but I also enjoy the serenity of everyone being in a routine and having a little schedule up in here.

Preston is 13 and in 7th grade this year at ECS and they are the Eagles. He is proud to be an eagle. This is a new school for him and after being there a week and a half he is doing great. He told me last Friday night that he felt like he had known these guys all his life. Such an answer to prayer. He is playing football and is loving going to a co-ed school. I have not once had to ask him to brush his teeth or put on deodorant.

Each year Braxton gives our kids a word for the school year. We talk about the word throughout the year at dinner or different times. It starts great conversations with them and we are able to talk about how they used their word or how they saw their word in action for that day or week. Braxton does a great job on his blog explaining it http://www.strategicdads.com/blog

Preston's word for this year is example. We want him to be an example to others in his words and actions.

Bennett is 8 and in the 2nd grade this year. He is at PDS and they are the Crusaders. He moved to the upstairs hallway this year which is where his dad is. He is so excited and told Braxton the other day, "dad, I will just be able to drop by your office anytime." I love it, like they are co-workers and he can just pop in his office for coffee or lunch. I'm sure Braxton will have a conversation with him about the frequency of just "dropping in." Bennett is playing flag football this year and loves it.

Bennett's word for the year is respect. We want him to be respectful to authority and to learn a respect for others as he puts others ahead of himself.

Emma is starting school for the first time this year. She is 3 and in Pre K at SMS. They are the Turkeys. She so far loves school. She is only going 3 days a week, and LOVES it. She was hilarious the first day. Emma how was your day? "Mom, it was like 5 minutes and that girl with the orange hair and blue dress pushed me." Emma how did you respond? "I asked her to please not push me again." That was great Emma, did you use your word that daddy gave you, kind? "Yes." "Mom, can I change my word?"

She has now decided she wants to have the word polite. I think we will stick with kind and hopefully by the end of the year she will have grown into it. :)

We are excited about a great new school year. Braxton received a new title at PDS. He is now the Director of the Building Boys Making Men Institute, he will remain as the Chaplain and Bible teacher as well. I am so proud of him. He works really hard and is a great teacher, father and husband.

An Eagle, Crusader and a Turkey walked into a school. And behind them stood a momma with a tear on her cheek and a smile on her face. It was going to be a good year.

Summer's End

2011-08-10T12:12:00.001-05:00

The summer is winding down here at the Brady house. School supply shopping, buying new shoes, kids arguing on a constant basis, going to orientations at schools, football practice starting, kids arguing on a constant basis, filling out my new August to August calendar, going over schedules for the fall, did I mention kids arguing on constant basis?

It has been a great summer. And my kids have all really gotten along well until this last week. A sign that it is time, time for everyone to go back to their corners and start school!

Here are a few highlights from the Brady '11 Summer:

Preston traveled with two friends to Chattanooga for a Lacrosse camp. First time to go to camp that far away. He had a great time and learned a lot about Lacrosse.

Bennett went to Victory Ranch for a week, this was his 3rd summer to go to camp there but the first time to go without his big brother being there.

4th of July party in our neighborhood. So fun, thanks to the Parkinsons for hosting this year. We really enjoyed the fellowship and pray that it will continue to grow!

Braxton and Preston traveled to Honduras for a week. A father son missions trip with our church. It was an amazing experience and they both came back changed forever.

Me, Bennett, Emma and my mom traveled to Starkville to visit my brother and his wife for a few days. It was fun to see their new apartment and spend sometime with them there!

Our entire family traveled to Santa Rosa Beach, FL at the end of July. All 5 of us, my mom (Nanach), my sister Lauren, her husband Andy, the best nephew ever Wyatt or Super Wy, and my brother Ross and his wife Anne Todd. It was so fun! The first time we have ever done this. What a great time, lots of great memories of eating great food, playing fun games and watching hilarious Youtube videos. We hope to do it again next year.

Oh and I can't forget one of the greatest memories of the summer was going with two of our greatest friends and neighbors in the world, Brian and Erin to see Back Street Boys and New Kids on the Block. Awesome memory I will never forget.

We look forward to a great fall. Preston and Bennett are playing football and Emma Sanders is starting PreK!

Thank you Lord for a great summer, we are grateful for the rest, playing and traveling. And Dear Lord we now especially thank you for the schedules, routines and schools. Momma loves her some routine!

So Big

2011-07-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

When our kids were about 11 months old we could say "so big" and they would reach their arms into the sky and just grin. Truth is they were really so big to us then but little did we know that within the blink of an eye "so big" turns into standing eye level with you with a size 9 shoe and weighing in at 103 lbs.

July 14,2011 Preston turned 13. It is hard to believe. One of his favorite t.v. shows is Man vs. Food so for his birthday he wanted to go to Kooky Canuck where he had seen a recent episode of the show filmed. If you have never seen Man vs. Food it is this guy who goes around the country and does food challenges. Kooky Canuck has just one of those challenges. The burger pictured above is called the King Kookamanuga and if you and a friend eat the 6lbs of beef with bread and side in under 60 min you get it for free.

It didn't happen. 6 people split the burger and still could not finish it. It was crazy big, but to wash it all down we also ordered the Birthday Avalanche which consist of 18 scoops of ice cream with all the toppings.

They even give you these cool glasses to wear and take your picture to be put on their website. It really was fun.

This morning Braxton and Preston left for Honduras on a missions trip. They are going to spend a week with POI ministries in Honduras doing everything from playing with kids at an Orphanage to building a home for a widow and her children. I am excited for them and truthfully a little bit jealous. I know it is going to be an awesome trip and God is going to use it in mighty ways.

Preston is kind, thoughtful, hard working and funny. He brings much joy to our family. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming. Yesterday he told me he was a little nervous about the trip, mainly his fears were in the plane ride. We talked about the story in the Bible where the disciples go across with Jesus in a boat and a huge storm comes up. The disciples are fearful and wake a sleeping Jesus for help. Jesus calms the storm and then talks to the disciples about their faith.

Preston looked at me and said, "I get it, Jesus is in control." Exactly.

Preston, you are a joy and delight as a son. We love you and have loved watching you grow over these past 13 years. You really are "so big."

Where's the Love?

2011-07-07T13:01:00.000-05:00

This morning I sat down for a few minutes to watch the news. This past Sunday while our family was at a redbirds game there was a tragedy across the street at a hotel. A Memphis police officer and another man were shot and killed. In my opinion part of the reason this is such a great tragedy is that the people of Memphis have become numb to this type of situation. I heard several comments from fans at the baseball game, "typical Memphis," "it figures another Memphis murder," or even "this isn't even breaking news anymore, it is just Memphis news."

At some level and with a repentant heart I say I am guilty of feeling some of these things myself. I have thought a lot about it the past couple of days and have watched the news off and on to find out the latest details. Partly due to just plain curiosity and partly due to my heart feeling heavy for everyone concerned.

It seems that officer Timothy Warren was a Christian man who loved his Savior, family and this city. I am grateful for men like him in our city and sad for the loss of his life. I pray that somehow through this some good will be found and God will be glorified.

As I flipped on the news this morning there was an interview with a Memphis woman who is a singer/songwriter. She was singing a song called "Wears the Love" As I listened to the words it made me think about the past few days and where my heart is.

I strongly believe that if you are a believer in Jesus it is our call to "wear the love." This city is hard and sometimes hard to love but if you put on the love of Jesus it becomes much easier. I think Timothy Warren understood this and lived his life as a testimony to it.

Where's the love? Something I am going to start asking myself more often. Where's the love for this city, my fellow neighbor and the world?

Jill Dyson is the artist of this song and if you download on itunes today part of the proceeds go to a ministry that she supports to bring young children from other countries to LeBonheur in Memphis for life saving surgeries. You can read more about it here http://sweetshirtbyjilldyson.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/monday-stories-wears-the-love-the-story-behind-the-song/

Great song with a great reminder. Thank you Jill Dyson for the reminder and thank you officer Timothy Warren for wearing the love so much that you gave your life to protect our city.

Smiles like this

2011-05-20T08:41:00.002-05:00

Last week started the first of three weeks of May craziness. Just that busy time that is jammed packed with recitals, school programs, sports banquets, end of year parties....the list goes on. It is an exciting time as we end the school year of 2010-2011. Especially for us this year because Preston is graduating from 6th grade and from PDS. We are so proud of him. He has worked hard and had a great work ethic with a grateful heart during his PDS career. We are excited about what the future holds for him as he enters Jr High and High School. His Sports Banquet was last week. He has played Football, Basketball and Soccer as a PDS Crusader. He received a medal for playing all 3 sports, plus he received an award for best offensive player on the basketball team. You are an incredible young man Preston, we love you. And for the record when you are looking back on these pictures you chose that haircut not us.

We also had our first musical recital in the Brady household this past week. Bennett started taking guitar lessons in January and has done great! We are not sure where his musical ability comes from but he definitely has it. He is really doing well. He did tell me on the way to the recital that he was nervous he might "freeze up." Luckily for him there was a well placed piano and lectern right in front and unless you were 6 ft tall no one could see you playing. So no freezing up. He played Ode to Joy, and though no one could see his face or body during the actual song, I was able to snap this shot before he performed. Bennett you are such a blessing to our family. You are kind and sensitive. Great qualities in a young man. We love you and can't wait to see you live out your dream of being the next American Idol.

We spent Saturday at Madji's soccer game. Madji is a great soccer player and we enjoyed getting to see him play. Our doorbell was ringing bright and early on Saturday morning with him telling us the time and location of his game. I naturally grabbed my camera just like I do for my kids events and we headed to the fields. Madji lit up with that bright grin the minute he saw us. We cheered him on and even though his team lost he never lost that winning smile. He is so sweet and cheerful.

This is Madji's brother Amour cheering with Bennett. Amour is one of the brothers that Braxton takes to the bus stop each morning. He is shy and quiet most of the time. Until he gets around my boys and they just laugh and laugh together. Amour is quite the soccer player as well.

After the game my kids rushed the field to hug Madji and tell him good game. Madji plays goalie and he wanted my boys to try to get one past him. It was fun to watch. I was telling one of my aunts yesterday that my kids have no idea how different life is for Madji and his family. I think they are starting to slowly understand but what warms my heart the most is to watch my kids treat Amour, Madji, Lerah, Imelda, Pulcherie, Leraeni, Laureen, and Larissa just like family.

For me to bring my camera to a sporting event, for people to be cheering my kids on, for Braxton to have a pep talk with one of them after the game, that is just our normal. My prayer as we live and love on our neighbors is that it can become part of their normal as well.

If you look closely at the picture below you can see Madji's grin as Braxton tells him what an great athlete he is what, what a smart boy he is and how proud we are of him. And nothing in the world can compare to smiles like this.

Shattered Glass

2011-05-09T14:08:00.001-05:00

This past week was a little bit of a trying one in our neighborhood. It was also one full of lessons and reminders of exactly why we live here. One of our new next door neighbors Madji has become fast friends with our kids. He is 11 and plays outside with our boys almost everyday. This past week Madji along with our boys learned a valuable lesson on grace.

Wednesday afternoon Bennett, Preston and Madji were playing in our front yard. At some point they, being boys, decided it might be a fun idea to hit rocks with tennis rackets. Bad decision. Madji hit a couple of rocks up and they went perfectly into our other neighbors car window. Picture above :(.

Braxton and I went outside to talk to Madji and the car owner. Madji was visibly shaken and was worried about what his mom would do. Madji's mom came outside and we explained what happened. My boys were watching from the front door and then without us knowing they ran upstairs and emptied both of their piggy banks. Preston and Bennett ran outside holding a ziplock full of money saying, "Mom, here take our money, please pay for the window. We don't want Madji to get in trouble.

Braxton then tells Madji's mom that we will pay for the window we will take the punishment for Madji. Madji then collapsed into Braxton's arms crying. In fact we were all crying. Even the car owner.

It was a beautiful picture of grace. Paying a debt we did not owe. My boys giving without being asked. The car owner even took a very minimal amount of money saying he would go get a piece of glass and fix the window himself.

That night as we tucked the boys in we talked about grace and how that is exactly what Jesus did for us.

I'm glad it happened. I'm glad my boys and Madji got a true picture of grace. Of what it looks like when Jesus takes the shattered glass in our lives and makes it whole again.

Parched Soul

2011-04-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

My soul was feeling parched this morning and so I spent some quiet time praying and asking the Lord to refresh and renew my spirit. To empty me out of myself and fill me up with Him.

Two hours later a sweet friend (not knowing my prayer) sent me this devotional by Max Lucado in an email. It was a waterfall of refreshment. Thank you Lord, thank you for your loving kindness that comes through even in emails.

Jesus’ final act on earth was intended to win your trust.

This is the final act of Jesus’ life. In the concluding measure of his earthly composition, we hear the sounds of a thirsty man.

And through his thirst—through a sponge and a jar of cheap wine—he leaves a final appeal.

“You can trust me.”

Jesus. Lips cracked and mouth of cotton. Throat so dry he couldn’t swallow, and voice so hoarse he could scarcely speak. He is thirsty. To find the last time moisture touched these lips you need to rewind a dozen hours to the meal in the upper room. Since tasting that cup of wine, Jesus has been beaten, spat upon, bruised, and cut. He has been a cross-carrier and sin-bearer, and no liquid has salved his throat. He is thirsty.

Why doesn’t he do something about it? Couldn’t he? Did he not cause jugs of water to be jugs of wine? Did he not make a wall out of the Jordan River and two walls out of the Red Sea? Didn’t he, with one word, banish the rain and calm the waves? Doesn’t Scripture say that he “turned the desert into pools” (PSALM 107:35 NIV) and “the hard rock into springs” (PSALM 114:8 NIV)?

Did God not say, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty” (ISAIAH. 44:3NKJV)?

If so, why does Jesus endure thirst?

While we are asking this question, add a few more. Why did he grow weary in Samaria (John 4:6), disturbed in Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and angry in the Temple (John 2:15)? Why was he sleepy in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:38), sad at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35), and hungry in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2)?

Why? And why did he grow thirsty on the cross?

He didn’t have to suffer thirst. At least, not to the level he did. Six hours earlier he’d been offered drink, but he refused it.

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but *he did not take it.* And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. (Mark 15:22–24 NIV, *emphasis mine*)

Before the nail was pounded, a drink was offered. Mark says the wine was mixed with myrrh. Matthew described it as wine mixed with gall. Both myrrh and gall contain sedative properties that numb the senses. But Jesus refused them. He refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of his suffering.

Why? Why did he endure all these feelings? Because he knew you would feel them too.

He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief-stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul … pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is—he understands.

And because he understands, we can come to him.
-Max Lucado

Face Lift

2011-03-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago UPS delivered a package to our house. No, it was not this precious baby in above picture. It was something for work but during the delivery the UPS man started a conversation with me. He was new on the route and completely confused at why I was living in this neighborhood. We have had these conversations with other delivery men in the past but during this particular talk he said something that has stuck with me.

The conversations usually go something like this, "Umm...(as they look around the neighorhood) nice house?" Yes, it is in the form of a question. Like, "are you Dorothy and did you know that your house is not in Kansas anymore?" I then reply, "Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" Then I go on to explain why we live here and yes I knew about this neighborhood before I chose to move here.

He listens and smiles and then says, "I get it, you're giving this place a face lift." I kind of laughed and as he turned to walk away I heard laughter coming from our nine neighbors, I saw our across the street neighbor Caleb walking towards my house to quiz Braxton on the latest Grizzlie scoop, I saw a cute young couple who were just married in December and that we have come to know well walking down the street smiling, and I thought yes, that is exactly what we are helping, praying, hoping to do here.

It was not to my surprise a couple of days later I read this in scripture: "And now my head shall be lifted up above all my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy, I will sing and make melody to the Lord." Psalm 27:6

Thankful that the Lord has called our family here to watch Him give this place a face lift!

Limited Vision

2011-03-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

When I was in third grade I had to start wearing glasses. At first it was just for reading but before long I was wearing them non stop. I had limited vision. Looking back on pictures I realize how big those glasses were back then. Good grief! My sister says it looks like I had a scuba mask for glasses. So pretty.

Last night we had an SOS group come over for an exposure visit. This is where a college group that is doing work with SOS for Spring break comes to hear about the neighborhood. They ask us about our story, how we came to live here, what it is like to parent in this atmosphere, what others think, etc... We always enjoy these visits and the opportunity to share what God has done and is doing here. What an amazing privilege.

After they left last night I started thinking about being limited in our vision. You see when I was younger I had completely different sight than I do now. And not just in a literal sense. It was not until my mid twenties that I truly believe God started clearing up my vision and showing me some things. Things about His heart, His plan for my life, etc... I looked at those young college kids last night and thought there is a whole world for them to digest, they are eager, excited and I believe God is just now starting to peel back the scales from their eyes and show them His perfect vision.

And as much as I look back and see more clearly now I still believe we all have some limited vision. And this side of heaven we always will. Because of that there will always be things that don't make sense to us, like why young kids get cancer www.erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com, why earthquakes and tsunamis happen, why sometimes our plan doesn't work out.

But at the beginning of each day I put on contacts (not so ugly glasses anymore) and take the hand of the one that has perfect vision and trust he sees more clearly than I can and in that I find rest.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." I Corinthians 13:11-12

And Then There Were Nine

2011-02-27T21:07:00.000-06:00

A few blog post ago I wrote about getting new neighbors. Well, one of the houses that was for rent is now occupied. We have 9 new neighbors. One mom and eight children. They are refugees from Cameroon. We are still getting to know them and learn their names. Their ages range from 16 to 2. We have already had some great conversations with our kids about being intentional with them. And the fact that our kids are seeing 9 people live in a 2 bedroom 1 bath home is a great lesson in itself on being grateful, selfless, humble, etc...Starting tomorrow morning Braxton will be driving the two oldest to the bus stop at 6am to catch the MATA (Memphis public transportation system) to ride to school. I am praying for some great conversation time and for God to use that ride each morning to show those kids His love.

One of the ladies from our church who helped this family move in and get situated was telling me how thankful she was for this family to have great neighbors and thanking us for our time. She said she hoped we didn't get overwhelmed. I told her it is a large part of why we live here and that we were glad we could help. We were excited for the opportunity to love, teach and neighbor.

I hope to get the opportunity soon to photograph them. Maybe blow some of them up for them to have in frames. They are beautiful children on the outside and I can't wait to share with them about how they can become beautiful on the inside as well. A beauty that never fades.

Name Dropper

2011-02-07T23:35:00.004-06:00

So I just watched this music video and have to share it. Never was a huge MTV fan back in the day but I love me a good YouTube video at least once every other week. Ahem..especially when it is someone I know. Or maybe don't know directly but know their mom or dad. Or at least see their mom and dad in church every Sunday.

Anyway, just watch and listen. Great song. Great Video. Worth your time. Then you can say, I read a blog of a girl, who goes to church with the mom and dad of Drew Holcomb from Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. Go ahead drop that name, drop it like it's hot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RnGqjSWNEk

We're Getting New Neighbors!

2011-02-01T09:18:00.002-06:00

One of my struggles I constantly battle living in this neighborhood is pessimism. You hear gun shots and you assume someone is dealing drugs, you hear a police car and you assume domestic violence, you see an ambulance and you assume the worst. It is a battle to keep your attitude in check and remember that there are rainbows and that our creator has put them there as a promise.

Over the weekend two "For Rent" signs went up on our street. One right across the street and one next door. The minute I saw them my mind went to pessimism. In general rental properties are not a positive in our neighborhood. Transient people who have just enough cash to get them through a month or two. People who are usually earning their money in not so positive ways. It is discouraging and frustrating.

As I was looking at the two signs and pondering who our next neighbors would be Bennett, our middle child, came into the room. Bennett is a rainbow in our life. A reminder of promises and hope. He is a positive child always seeing the silver lining. He can miss a wide open lay up in a basketball game and still be just grinning. He can miss the bonus on the spelling test and laugh at they way he thought it was spelled. So as I am drifting towards the negative about the future of the rental property Bennett lights up and says with all the excitement of winning the lottery, "We're getting new neighbors!"

Like the Lord himself was taking my shoulders and shaking them saying "Don't you get it?" "New neighbors, new opportunities to share the gospel, new people that I have created for you to be my hands and feet to." The very reason we moved here in the first place.

In Proverbs 4:23 it says "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." This is our family scripture this month and as I reflect on it I am reminded to guard my heart from pessimism. To look for the rainbows and the promises of God. And to have the pure joy that my 7 year old has even when negative assumptions rule our thoughts.

Here's a Story of a Girl...

2011-01-27T08:47:00.003-06:00

It has taken me over a month to get my act enough together to write about the past 6 weeks of our life. On December 18,2010 my baby brother Ross got married to Anne Todd. She was a beautiful bride and he was a dashing and handsome groom and the wedding was breathtaking.

But this is not about them. This is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world....and when she smiles we absolutely love her. Well the morning started with donuts, the afternoon took off with no nap, and the wedding pictures started at 3. So being a 3 year old with no nap, not much lunch and lots of sugar for breakfast, she was quite disagreeable. To say the least.

She did have moments like the picture above where she would light up, I think it had something to do with the 150 hershey kisses we were giving her to make her cooperate, maybe. The problem is that she would crash from the sugar high and everyone would pay.

At one point I left her in the room (which was the nursery of the church) with Ross and the groomsmen. My only instruction was to not let her leave the room. (that would be my mistake) I went back to help with wedding details and when I came back in the room she had a Dr Pepper in one hand and a brownie in the other. She was fully dressed. How in the world she did not get any on her was by the grace of God.

She did walk down the aisle and looked beautiful. Hand in hand with me. Because as it was her turn to walk she looked back at me and said, not so quietly, "I'm not going without you." Who can argue with a 3 year old jacked up on caffeine and sugar?

When the wedding and pictures were over the tears began. She cried, and cried, and cried, and cried. I think it was due to extreme exhaustion and sugar withdrawals. I'm not sure. But she literally cried the rest of the night. She would stop, dance, fall down, and cry some more.

On the way home she was crying so hard that Braxton turned on the radio to help calm her...or drown her out and she said and I quote "Turn the radio down, I can't hear myself crying." Seriously?

We made it home and as I put her in her bed she said, "Mom, I don't feel good." I believe you baby. In two minutes she was out.

It was a beautiful wedding and we will forever look back and smile at the memories.

Nothing You've Done

2010-12-07T08:40:00.005-06:00

Personally for me one of the biggest struggles after moving into Binghampton was self righteousness. You have all these people telling you how great you are, how awesome it is you have picked up your blonde haired, blue eyed children and moved them to the hood, how strong your faith must be that you would choose to live in a dark, poverty stricken, crime ridden, drug infested neighborhood.

And you start to believe it. There is not a thief in the world that can slip in the back door of your life and rob you of a heart like Jesus' like the thief of self righteousness.

"Do not say in your heart...it is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land...Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart."

Deut 9:4-6

As we head into Christmas full swing I hope my heartbeat is, nothing you've done. I pray that as we live, teach, neighbor and friend, we continually remember, nothing you've done.

Jesus came to this earth as a baby over 2,000 years ago and it is not because of anything we did or could have done. Nothing I've done or will ever do deserves a love like this, deserves redemption so great, deserves mercy so abundant, grace so overflowing or such a Savior.

But because of Him. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved...so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus."

My prayer for this Christmas is that we all realize there is nothing we've done to deserve it, nothing we can do to earn it, nothing we can do to pay it back, but a perfect gift is for each of us to receive, that asks.

So I write what I write and live where I live, with a humble heart and a grateful attitude that He would call me, so that He might be made known.

Where does the time go?

2010-11-29T16:03:00.005-06:00

I can't believe so much time has passed since I blogged last. Honestly part of it is I read other blogs like Kisses from Katie, Hood Mama, and others that are full of meaning, purpose, written with words that keep you on the edge of your seat and it makes me not want to write unless I have something REALLY important to say.

Today is not that day, nothing major going on I just thought an update was needed.

Halloween was fun. My kids were funny. Emma Sanders who if you will remember is my snacker was in love with the idea of people handing out candy. She went dressed as a fairy princess. Bennett was a skeleton and Preston was an inflatable sumo wrestler. I know, last year we had a theme but I couldn't think of a cute one this year. We could call this rock, paper scissors. You know skeleton scares princess fairy, sumo wrestler squashes skeleton, fairy princess waves magic wand and shrinks sumo wrestler. A stretch I know.
One funny story is that we went up to a lady's house and she gave Emma some candy. I said, Emma what do you say to which she responded "Do you have any kit kats?" Not exactly what I was going for but oh well.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Mimi's. Lots of food and family. I for the first time in history did not take a camera. My sister did though and I will try to post pictures later.

We ended Thanksgiving weekend with a wedding shower for my future sister in law Anne Todd. She and my brother are getting married December 18. We are so excited. Emma Sanders is the flower girl and she has been practicing. I am sure that promises to be a good blog post. Stay tuned.

Pardon the Interruption

2010-10-19T16:46:00.007-05:00

Excuse me for a few moments while I brag on my amazing, loving, caring and godly husband. I know some of you just threw up a little bit in your mouth, sorry.

13.5 years ago I married Braxton Dale Brady. We were young, in love, stupid, clueless and naive. We had love and about $50 bucks and that was it. 6 months into our marriage we found out it would no longer just be the two of us but we would have a baby in 9 months. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary and I was 7 months pregnant. Nice, that always makes for a fun anniversary. We still had love but now we had more like $25 dollars plus a lot of bills. Awesome.

We made mistakes, a lot of them, we struggled through the next 3-5 years before we finally started seeing light. I would like to call it grace, redemption, the divine plan of God and lots of mercy but somehow we pulled it together or God pulled it together for us and we started making fewer mistakes.

Year 6 of our marriage Braxton started teaching at PDS. For the past 7 years it has been an amazing environment and God has been so faithful to teach him so much about parenting, teaching, and life there.

This past year he and Lee Burns, headmaster of the school, wrote a book together. Flight Plan is a great resource and tool for dads raising sons. It is written specifically geared toward boys ages 13-18 but really it can take them through life. www.theflightplanbook.com It gives a clear picture of how dads can help usher their sons from being a boy into manhood.

I am proud. I can't help it. Braxton works hard, studies hard and truly seeks the Lord in guidance for our marriage, raising our children and living life.

Sometimes when we look at our wedding picture hanging in our bedroom we laugh. We don't recognize those people. They were young, immature in a lot of ways and unclear of what a gospel centered life truly looks like. They had fewer wrinkles and more defined waist lines as well, just a side note.

We still make mistakes but we are so different and so grateful that God in his mercy has guided our steps. I think most importantly we are learning more everyday what it looks like to die to what we think is best and live for what God says is best.

If you know someone who has a young son or if you have a young son I would encourage you today to pick up your copy of Flight Plan. It would make a great Christmas gift! You can get it from Amazon, Davis Kidd, Borders or by going to the website.

Don't be passive in the raising of your sons or daughters but be challenged to give them a godly worldview and guide them into becoming Men and Women that live with purpose!

Y'all got any snacks around here?

2010-10-18T17:28:00.005-05:00

We come from a long line of healthy appetites. Or big people. I think healthy appetites sounds more PC. Nonetheless my great grandmother's name was Big Mama so you get the picture.

This past weekend Emma Sanders had a tonsillectomy. After many episodes of tonsillitis and strep throat we knew the tonsils were no good and had to go. So Saturday morning we headed to the hospital. I was a little anxious about it but also knew she was in good hands. On the way to the hospital she asked her daddy, "Are you taking me to bretest?" (this is how she says breakfast) Then when we pulled up at the hospital she said, "Is this a hotel, do they have bretest here?" Well, kind of sweetie, we are going to spend the night here :).

We checked in and when the admissions clerk said, she is here for a tonsillectomy Emma said, "No, my tonsils are not sick anymore." Oh boy. The surgery nurse was amazing and spent a long time with her talking to her and making her feel secure. So when it was time to go back to surgery she went right with her, not even a tear. I think she thought she had food on her.

She came through surgery great and the first thing she asked for when she woke up was Chik fil A. She said, "Daddy I need some chik fil a sweet tea." She also asked for chicken minis and french fries. You see where I am going with the healthy appetites.

About 2 hours after surgery she was asking for pancakes then at lunch she ate mac and cheese and for supper mashed potatoes and jello. The SAME DAY she had surgery. Big Mama would be proud.

The next morning when the nurse walked in she said, "y'all got any snacks around here?" I thought the nurse was going to hit the floor. Seriously, you just had a tonsillectomy.

Bless her now she just keeps asking if things are soft or not. Mom, are oreos soft? are crackers soft? are frosted flakes soft?

Needless to say I think we have had the best case scenario for a tonsil removal. The hardest part has been keeping her still and from falling. She is not even on pain medication anymore although I have considered taking it just to help my nerves. If she is supposed to take 3/4tsp how much do you think an adult would take. Kidding. But really, would the whole bottle be too much?

Meet Eugene

2010-10-15T20:33:00.005-05:00

At the beginning of this school year I decided to sign up to do something I have been wanting to do for the past 3 or 4 years, tutor at Lester Elementary School. Lester is located in our neighborhood and is a K-8 school. Thanks to my friend Joanie who has been tutoring for a long time at Lester it was easy to jump right in and get started.

I have been going for about 5 weeks now and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite things I do each week. I go each Friday to Mrs. Allen's room and pick up Eugene and we go to the tutoring room for about 30-45 minutes. He is all smiles when I pick him up. He is in Sr K and we work on his letters, numbers, writing his name but most importantly we just hang and get to know each other. I know he likes motorcycles, fruit punch, and playing outside. A few weeks ago when my boys were out of school I took them to meet Eugene. They read to him and played a game. Mrs. Allen says Eugene still talks about them.

The past two weeks I have taken snack to the class. One week I took raisins and pretzels and fruit punch. Today Mrs. Allen told me that the next Monday after I had brought snack that there was an extra box of raisins left and she let Eugene take them to lunch with him. She went on to say that he came back to the class room with the empty box. "Eugene, you can throw that box away now, " Mrs. Allen said. Eugene looked up at her and grinned and said, "No ma'am, my special friend brought it and I want to take it home and show my brothers and sisters." He carried that box around for a week.

A box of raisins, Kroger generic brand at that, nothing special but it made Eugene feel valued and cared about. When I first started tutoring Joanie said, this is a little bit about the tutoring and a whole lot about the relationship. I don't know what Eugene will grow up to be, he lives in one of the worst apartment complexes in our neighborhood. I don't know if Eugene will remember his letters or numbers the next time I meet with him, I don't know if he will even make it through school, sadly a lot of kids in our neighborhood drop out. But what I do know is that Eugene is created by God, loved by Him and each week that I spend with him I am going to show him his value in my eyes and more importantly in the eyes of God, even if it is just through a box of raisins.

"He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror and vast wilderness: he led him about, and taught him, and he kept him as the apple of his eye." Deuteronomy 32:10

Mud Luvn' 2010

2010-10-12T19:05:00.008-05:00

An amazing godly couple from our church started a ministry called www.habitatforhope.org
Their ministry is for the purpose of supporting, serving and caring for families facing the serious illness of a child. I first learned about this ministry after meeting Mark in church one Sunday and I was blown away by what they are doing. I continue to stand amazed at all the people they are bringing hope to during such a difficult situation. If you don't know about it read about it. What a blessing to our city and so many families that come here for treatment of their child.

This past Sunday they held their first annual fund raiser 5K race at Shelby Farms called Luv Mud. It was AWESOME! You could sign up individually, teams of two or teams of four. My boys including Braxton and a friend that Braxton mentors signed up. Part of the fun of this race is participating in costume. The team name for the boys was the PDS Mudsaders and they dressed in PDS football uniforms.

It was not your typical 5K, there were obstacles along the way plus at the end right before the finish line you jumped, as a team, into a huge pit of mud. Boy heaven! My boys could not wait for the race and ever since the race that is all they can talk about. They are already planning costumes and strategy for next year.

Today I washed my bathtubs and cleaned out my washing machine. If you could have seen the post ring from 3 very muddy males and the damage their clothes left...disgusting. But oh so worth it. I think next year I may even join them!

Great job Habitat for Hope, can't wait for next year!

A Fairy Tale of Sorts

2010-09-29T16:08:00.006-05:00

Once upon a time there was this young 30 something mother who thought her life with a husband and two children (at the time) would be complete with a dog. She thought it would be sweet to get a small hypo-allergenic dog for her allergic children. She searched and searched and found said dog, purchased the dog and brought the dog home to live with her family.

It was fun for about 6 months and then the newness wore off. Her kids were over it and so was she. The picture she had painted in her head of days running, playing, skipping with the dog were renewed with reality of pee, poop and messes in the floor. Not to mention vet bills, incessant barking, annoying dog habits and expensive food and medicines for the dog.

She spent the next 3 years trying desperately to convince herself that she liked the dog, that her husband and children liked the dog. She and her husband even added another child into the mix to see if maybe that child would attach to the dog. Nothing worked. The dog was still more of a nuisance than anything and she was coming undone.

Then one day in a park near her home she met a crazy lady. Crazy about dogs that is. The lady talked of love, chipping her dogs, cooking chicken for her dogs and walking them until her hearts content.

So the 30 something mother loaded up that dog in the crazy lady's car dusted off her hands and bid farewell. After all it was a promotion for the dog and a detour from a life of Prozac for the mom. A win win if you will.

Some thought the young mother to be cruel but in reality keeping that dog would have been cruel. Some people don't grow up with dogs they grow up with people. And no matter how hard they try to have the American dream of 2.5 kids and a dog it is to no avail. It is not that there is a dislike for dogs it is more of a need for sanity in the home. Because one more Monday morning of stepping in dog poo or pee on the way out the door for carpool and sanity would have collapsed.

And in a world of fast paced technology, busy kids and life, well serenity is a must.

So don't judge but know that the dog is living Happily Ever After and the Young Mother is one less day away from having to move to the funny farm.

The End.

Goodbye Sweet "Pass"

2010-09-11T20:56:00.004-05:00

All three of my children have been attached to a paci. Emma has been more attached than any of my three. She called it her "pass" and am I telling you it was a very part of her breath, life and soul. We knew giving them up would be a big deal.

So after having yet another episode of infected tonsils and realizing we were going to have to buy more of the dreaded paci's, we decided tonight would be the night. We prepared ourselves with scripture, prayer request and some chanting. Just kidding, sort of. Anyway, we went through our normal bedtime routine of bath, books and bed and then she said and I quote "Hey, we need my pass." To which I responded, "No, no more passes." And this is what ensued right after...are you ready???

Nothing. She simply said, "okay" laid her head down and went to sleep. Are you kidding? I almost woke her up and said, "wait a minute sister, I was ready for a fight." I had all this arsenal of tricks, pleading, bribing, etc...prepared and you just say, "okay???"

Wow, don't they surprise us at the very last minute? I am still in shock. I came downstairs and told Braxton that was way too easy. And then I warned the boys, if you see a pass throw it away immediately, and if you say the word pass, make reference to a pass, put anything in your mouth that might make her think of a pass, you will be grounded for 6 months. Just kidding again, sort of.

Then I started looking for pictures with her and that "pass" in her mouth and I am honestly a little bit sad. Another chapter done. And for the Bradys we are forever done with the paci. I am a little sentimental about it.

Starving

2010-08-24T11:07:00.003-05:00

Now that I am back to reading and catching up on blogs I just sat down to read one of my favorites. http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com if you get a chance read it. In one of her recent post she shares about a young girl that is dying from starvation. She is 23 years old and weighs about the same as Emma Sanders who is 2 1/2. It breaks my heart.

Last night I went to the grocery store. As I was standing in line I read an email from a precious friend telling me to read the kisses from katie blog about the starving girl. As I moved forward in the line and my groceries started to be rung up the girl working there says this, "You know, it seems like grocery shopping has become a hobby to some people." I am not sure if she was talking directly to me or speaking of something else she saw but I took this word straight from the Lord. I think for me it was a lesson on not taking things for granted. There were certainly things in my basket that were not a need. Things that I bought because I knew it would bring smiles to my kids faces but really had nothing to do with their nutritional need. A hobby. Very convicting.

Then I started to think about starvation and what that means. This morning as I was praying and thinking through the past blog read and conversation I thought, I don't know anyone who is starving. Not anyone who will die because they don't have enough food. But then the Lord put this on my heart. You do know people who are starving. Not from the standpoint of physical food but spiritually starving. People who are constantly filling themselves with things that they think will make them feel full. Clothes, cars, jewelry, relationships, etc...all to find that it doesn't satisfy. From the outside they appear very full but inside they are discontent, unhappy, bitter, and hungry. And if you are a believer in Jesus then we know what does satisfy, what does fill you up. The bread of life.

In the last line of the email that my friend sent me about Katie's blog she said, "When are we going to Africa?" As much as I would love to hop on a plane tomorrow and go help with Katie's ministry or any other one there, I know that for now that can't happen. So what to do? Well, I think our response should be twofold. 1. Pray, send money, and help how we can from here to Katie's ministry and others like it. 2. Help the starving people you know here. We all know them, they are in our schools, workplaces, families, and even in our churches. Seek them out and show them that there is someone that fills even the deepest hunger.

Summer 2010

2010-08-24T10:58:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been awhile. Honestly I purposely took a little blogging break. I was starting to get a little sucked in to technology and putting things that were way more important on the back burner. So after a break and some realigning of priorities I'm back! A lot has happened since my last post so I am going to make a list just as a sweet reminder when I look back over this in the years to come.

1. June 29,2010 my sister gave birth to the sweetest, cutest, most adorable baby boy. Wyatt Andrew Ikerd. We could not love him more.

2. July 14-Preston Carter Brady turns 12. I don't have enough words to describe what an incredible young man he is. Smart, talented, kind, encouraging, helpful, those just scratch the surface.

3. July 25-August 4 we went on an amazing family vacation (including Nanach) to Snowmass, Co. Beautiful, gorgeous, breathtaking, relaxing, did not want to come home. Pictures on my smugmug. www.bradybunch2.smugmug.com

4. August 18-School starts!!!! 2010-2011 School year. Preston 6th grade, Bennett 1st grade, Emma Sanders in PDO at 2nd Presbyterian church. We are excited about a great school year!

Change in the City

2010-06-09T16:25:00.005-05:00

I just finished reading an article in the New York Times about our city and the trouble going on here with race and socioeconomic issues. Some things never change, unfortunately. And yet some things do change, slowly but change nonetheless. Read this article if you get a chance and pray for our city, for people being taken advantage of, for people that would rather turn their heads and walk away than to help change this place for the better. It is part of the reason we live in the neighborhood that we do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/business/economy/31memphis.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business

What this article did not report on is some of the good going on in this city, some of the change that has been for the better. Every morning last week I would wake up and see 9 young adults work on Ms. Farris' house next door. They were here with a group from SOS, www.sosmemphis.org, who were giving Ms. Farris a new roof but much more than that when you look below the surface. They were giving her a glimmer of hope, good change in the midst of bad, a picture of Jesus. Each afternoon they sat on her front porch, sharing lunch and a devotional with her. They gave her warm smiles each morning as they arrived and hugs each afternoon when they left. They were young adults who have given up a week of their summer to be in the extreme heat of Memphis not because they had to but because they wanted to, because they know change is a good thing or at least it can be.

Apathy is probably one of the worst problems we see here in Binghampton. Either people are so far at the bottom they don't care anymore or they think that no one else cares so why should they. I believe that if we eradicate this apathy we will begin to see big change here. When people like Ms. Farris see that people love her and care then she starts to care. And hopefully there is a ripple effect.

Yes, there are problems here. Problems with the economy, problems with race, problems with drugs, crime, the list goes on...and truthfully it can wear on you, make you feel like we have taken one step forward but two steps back. But I believe in a God of redemption and restoration, one that is alive and well in Binghampton, Memphis and the world.

Insight

2010-05-13T15:46:00.004-05:00

This week was an exciting one for the Brady family. Tuesday morning Tim Tebow spoke at PDS chapel and then Tuesday night we were invited to go meet him in person. The boys were practically walking on air. I am pretty sure Preston's face hurt him the next day from smiling so much.

I can honestly say after meeting Tim Tebow he is as true as he seems. I remember two years ago watching his acceptance speech of the Heisman trophy and standing there with tears in my eyes thanking the Lord that there was a great athlete that my boys could look up to. Someone that loved Jesus more than he loved sports, someone that recognizes where his athletic ability comes from and gives thanks for it everyday. Ever since then our family has been following Tim Tebow. Several times I have used him as an example after Preston or Bennett have lost a game or had a poor sportsmanship attitude. But in the back of my mind I have always wondered, is this guy real? Is he saying all the right things, smiling, wearing scripture under his eyes, etc... but what is really in his heart?

Well, I met him firsthand on Tuesday night and what comes out of his mouth is due to an overflow of his heart. He is in love with Jesus and not afraid to share that. He was one of the nicest guys I have ever met and it was a joy to get to spend some time with him. When I met him I asked him to tell me two things that he thought his parents did to raise him well and for him to be the man of character that he has become. Here was his response.

"It is hard to narrow it down to two things. But if I could just give you two off the top of my head it would be to build confidence in your kids and to teach them to have their own faith." He went on to say that peer pressure was never a major problem for him or his siblings because his parents taught him from the very beginning that their identity comes from Christ. His parents constantly pointed out things that they saw that were gifts from the Lord in their children and instilled a sense of self worth and confidence in them that can only come from Christ. Tim said, "When other kids were doing things that were wrong, I would think, I don't need that or for you to think I am cool. I know who I am in Christ and I know what he thinks of me and that is all that matters."

He went on to say to make sure your kids have their own faith and can stand alone. Don't let them rely on your faith so much that when they get in the world they really don't know what they believe. Teach them how to stand up for what they believe in and make sure never to force them into a religion.

I have been thinking a lot about that conversation over the past few days. And I have started trying to point out to my kids what I see in them in as gifts from the Lord. Yesterday we were riding home and Bennett saw some run down apartments, he made a comment about how if we could help people take care of their property, cut their grass, pick up the trash that maybe they would feel better about where they live. I said, "Bennett you know what? God has given you a gift of great insight. That means that you see things that other people don't see. That you look through eyes that want to help people and see the good in things and what can be done to make it better, not the bad. We are so proud of you and love that you have great insight."

Bennett turns to me puts two fingers in front of his eyes. "I can see through my fingers too mom." Okay, so not the point but hopefully someday he will think back and understand what I was telling him. Preston who was sitting in the front seat looks at me after a few minutes of silence and says, "Can he really see through them mom?"

Wow, we have a long way to go.

Speak into your child today a confidence that comes from Christ. Let them know the gifts He has given them and guide them into making their faith their own. Tim Tebow's parents did and it has made all the difference.

Why?

2010-04-14T21:31:00.003-05:00

We have been living in our new house for 2 months now. Crazy! It has really been a whirlwind and I think we all finally feel settled. Emma is now in a big girl bed, Bennett has adjusted to sleeping in a room by himself and Preston has grown 2 inches stands at 5ft tall and sleeps in a Queen size bed. 3 more inches and he will be standing eye to eye with me. He is not even 12 yet if that gives you an idea of what I am going to be looking up to.

So many times people ask us, "what do you do in Binghampton?" To which we respond, we don't "do" anything. We just live our lives according to the gospel, love our neighbor as ourself, love each other, love Jesus, etc...It is what we should all be doing. No matter what your zip code.

But over the past two months it has hit me several times why we live here, not what we do but why we do it. The bottom line and easy answer would be to tell you that we do it because it is what God has called our family to. But here is the hard answer and much longer one. So for those of you that like easy you can stop now.

A couple of weeks ago I spent 20 minutes having a conversation with Precious ( a girl in our neighborhood) about how we don't hit to get our point across. I then spent another 20 telling her cousin that you don't ask people what they bought you when they get back from the store.

The next day I spent a good chunk of time explaining to one of the boys that you don't cheat in a game just to win. That you should play by the rules. A couple of nights later Erin and I fed 3 kids on our street pizza, carrots and fruit. Kids that otherwise might not have eaten supper. We talked to them about being gracious and kind. Last week I called code enforcement on an empty lot that people had started using as their own personal trash dump, it was cleaned up a few days later.

Every night we pray with our kids and ask for God to bless our neighborhood, to help us share Jesus with our neighbors and for the poor. We talk to our kids about injustice and what the Bible teaches on how to take care of the orphan and the widow.

Tonight my 11 year old shared about Jesus with his two year old sister. He told her how much Jesus loved her and asked her if she loved Jesus. She said No, but that is beside the point. She says no to just about everything these days.

Here is what I am really trying to say. Why do we do it? We do it because someone has to. If Precious, Marquavius, Keisha, etc... are not taught about grace and love, if they are not taught how not to cheat, steal and use their words instead of their fist then they will not know to be or do any different. They will turn into teenagers, young adults, men and women who steal, lie, cheat and maybe worse because no one will have ever shown or told them any different. If someone does not watch out for the elderly like Ms. Farris, she will be taken advantage of. If someone doesn't call code enforcement and get streets, lots and houses cleaned up then this neighborhood will continue to decline.

We do it because we believe that Jesus is bigger than any problem the hood has ever seen. We believe that by our kids watching, learning and growing up here they will learn how to take initiative for the benefit of others, how to share Jesus ( it is already happening with Preston,) and they will know they are not better than others because they are white, live in a "good" neighborhood or get a good education.

I don't know that we will ever see any fruit from the relationships that we build here. And honestly sometimes it feels futile. But I am told to put my trust in eternal things to put my hope in the unseen. So are we making a difference? I don't know, I would like to think so, but if nothing else it is impacting my family to count the cost and realize that this life is not about us. And I could not be more grateful for the call to be here.

That is why we live here. That is why we do what we do. It is why we are who we are.

Full Swing

2010-03-21T17:10:00.010-05:00

We just finished up a great weekend of beautiful spring weather, well almost. Friday and Saturday were beautiful, Sunday was cold, wet and dreary but hopefully it won't last. The Brady bunch was in full swing of sporting events and busy weekend activities.

On Friday when Bennett came home he had a note in his bag saying that his art work had been chosen by MAIS (Memphis Association of Independent Schools) to be in an art exhibit on Sunday afternoon at Baptist Women's Hospital. We were thrilled and so proud! I said, "Bennett what did you draw?" His response, "I have no idea." So not only was it an exciting event but an unveiling of sorts as all of us waited in suspense to see what the art work would consist of.

Saturday morning Bennett played in the first soccer game of the season. His team lost and lost bad, friends. He was all smiles until he got in the car he said, "I think I'm done with soccer, I want to play lacrosse like Preston." Well, much to your dismay son, you signed up for soccer and you are going to finish what you started but you can play lacrosse next year. He wasn't too happy with that response but hopefully after a win he can move forward.

We left the soccer field and went straight to the lacrosse field to watch Preston play. This has become my new favorite sport. It is soo fun to watch, like football with sticks. I find myself becoming that aggressive mom in the stands (what Braxton likes to call the Bartlett coming out in me-if you are from Memphis you will get that) the one that yells a little louder than the others, and embarrasses her husband and children but I only do this when the game gets a little rough, usually. And if you know anything about lacrosse it can get a little rough. A few times I found myself yelling "hit him Preston, knock him down." Yes, I did just turn 34 and not 13 but sometimes my competitive spirit takes over. Covered by grace people, we are covered by grace.

All in all it was a great weekend, no stomach bug, no floods, no lady bug infestation, and no busted chins. We did go today to the art exhibit and Emma rubbed two ladies' behinds. I think she got distracted and walked up to them thinking they were me and just gently started rubbing their behinds. Just a wee bit embarrassing but not quiet as embarrassing as her standing in the middle of the exhibit pulling up her dress and trying to take her diaper off. For real, Emma? For real.

Bennett's art work was beautiful. It is a tree house made from popsicle sticks and painted in bright colors. He was so funny, he walked up to it and said, "Oh yeah, I did that, can we go now?" He's got a real appreciation for art if you can't tell.

Here are a few pictures from the weekends events.

I love this one, doesn't she look so proud of him?

Bennett with his art work

I love this, look at that tongue hanging out!

Preston plays middie in Lacrosse, I have no idea what that means but I figure if I am going to scream I might as well look knowledgeable!

Boogers on my Pillow

2010-03-17T21:56:00.004-05:00

The past week in the Brady house was completely exhausting. 4 out of 5 of us had a violent stomach bug. And I don't use the term violent loosely. Picture what you may in your head and I promise it was worse. Much worse. I am pretty sure I reached whatever legal limit may be on the consumer warnings for Clorox. The only good part was that the bug hit us during spring break and so everyone was out of school, oh wait a minute, that's not good news according to my children. We all survived and I must say I do like the "skinny" feeling you get after that much of an exodus from your stomach and intestines. I had that thought as I shared a donut with my children Sunday morning before church. Oh well, skinny like happy is a fleeting feeling, I like chubby and content much better or at least I have worn them well for the past 34 years.

In the days prior to the above mentioned Bennett glided into age 7 and I slammed into the "thirty somethings." I guess there are some things worse than that, like cleaning up vomit and other unmentionables for 72 hours straight.

This morning I woke up with a two year old turned sideways in my bed. Feet in my chest, her head in her daddy's chest. As I started to get up I noticed her boogers on my pillow and I had to laugh. It seems that there have been lots of boogers on my pillow lately, both literally and figuratively. I think sometimes that is just life. You wake up and there is some yuck you have to deal with.

I also think there are two options of how to respond. I was reading in Colossians yesterday and in chapter 1:9-13 it talks about walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him. So I think we can respond to these "boogers" by being discouraged, frustrated, angry, bitter, etc... or we can seek wisdom in the Lord, trust in Him and respond how he would have us to respond.

It doesn't matter how old you are, where you are in life, what you do or even if you have children, at some point you are going to wake up with boogers on your pillow. I pray that my friends, children and husband see me handle them having "patience with joy and always giving thanks to the Father" even when it means cleaning up vomit for what feels like the 10,000 time.

Chin Up

2010-03-01T20:53:00.006-06:00

Today was a rough day for our Emma Sanders. At approx 10am she took a spill from one of our barstools and hit the concrete chin first. Split it wide open. It was traumatic and in case you don't already know your face bleeds a lot more than other parts of your body. I managed to get the bleeding to stop for a little bit and then it would start up all over again. I took her to our pediatricians office and they cleaned it up and glued her back together. It took me and a nurse to hold her down while the doctor worked on her. It was so sad, she was screaming her head off and there was nothing I could do. That's the hard part of being a momma, or one of the many hard parts I should say.

She was a trooper and we were both worn out when it was all over. One cute highlight while we waited on the doctor was that she kept kissing herself in the mirror. I am not sure if she was kissing her boo boo or if I should worry about her being a little vain but it was cute nonetheless. Hopefully the rest of our week will be a little less uneventful. I think we are due for some boredom.

Floods, Ladybugs, and a Sick dog for starters

2010-02-22T21:37:00.004-06:00

It has been a week and 3 days since we moved into our new home. I sat down several times last week to blog about the move but was just too exhausted to do so. Not to mention we had a few natural disasters that made things a little extra stressful.

On Saturday as we moved 18,000 boxes into our home along with furniture and other assorted goodies we decided to start a load of wash. I thought it would be helpful if we could wash the sheets and get the beds made, you know so we would all have a place to lay our tired heads. Well about 15-20 minutes into the washing cycle my friend Susan, who was helping us move, did a flying leap through the air towards my laundry room screaming at the top of her lungs. I went into complete shock and paralysis as I watched water rise, quickly mind you, from my laundry room throughout my kitchen, dining room and den. I could not move. All I could do was watch boxes and furniture start to get wet.

Braxton runs to cut the water off as I quickly gain control and move into action. We managed to get all the water cleaned up and nothing was ruined. Did I mention that our floors are stained concrete? So all it did was cause my floors to smell like Tide, which was not a bad thing.

The next day Rudy, the dog that no one in this family likes but we can't seem to get rid of, begins to have diarrhea...everywhere. As I chased her around the house she continually pooped, she thought I was chasing her to spank her I guess, not sure but she literally pooped all over my newly cleaned by my washing machine floors. And again, we are praising God for concrete.

And as if that were not enough the next day I happened past our bedroom window and noticed a swarm of ladybugs had come to live with us in our room. I guess they saw how much fun we were having and thought they would join in. And when I tell you a swarm I mean swarm, like 100-150. I immediately called the pest control people who told me two things. One, they don't guarantee flying insects only crawling ones and two ladybugs only have a life span of one day. So no worries they would all be dead by in the morning. To which I responded oh well good, because I was getting bored and was hoping I would have something to do tomorrow, like clean up 150 dead ladybugs, on second thought maybe my dog will just eat them and get sick again because according to our vet, she was either stressed due to the move or ate something she was not supposed to.

I am just wondering if we sprayed those ladybugs with insect killer and then the dog ate them, could we kill two birds with one stone? Just kidding...don't go run and call PETA, this dumb dog lives better than I do.

So we are getting settled. The boxes are just about all unpacked and the kids are loving their new rooms. Our new home is beautiful and we are so grateful for all we have. We can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can meet more of our new neighbors and begin to build relationships here.

Snow Delays Make for Falling Dominoes

2010-02-08T17:11:00.009-06:00

When you are building a home if one thing gets delayed it can cause a million things to get delayed. For example or for real however you want to look at it: today the landscape guy was suppose to come and grade the yard and lay gravel so the inspector could give us a certificate of occupancy so the bank could send our paperwork to underwriting so we could close on our loan.

We all woke up this morning to 4inches of snow on the ground which equals a domino effect of delays in the Brady household. The snow was beautiful and my kids were excited but for the adults in the house it was a wee bit discouraging.

We made the best of it and went outside for some winter fun. We had a snowball fight which was pretty aggressive and painful due to the type of snow we had. We tried to build a snowman but his head kept falling off. The kids jumped on the trampoline which is pretty funny when it is covered in snow and ice but not near as funny as the snowman's head falling off. Then we came in and warmed up by playing cards, Farkle and building a fort.

Here is the link to our snow pics...www.bradybunch2.smugmug.com

Not sure when we will get to close on the house now but we have all decided to have good attitudes about it and trust that regardless of our plan that God's plan is the best and we will move in on his timing. And as one of the pastors at our church says, "God is never late, rarely early and ALWAYS on time."

Here are some recent pictures of the inside of the house...

A Chicken has gotta hatch and a Bird has gotta fly

2010-02-04T20:59:00.004-06:00

My kids are hilarious. All three of them, and you never know which one is going to come up with something funny to say next. Today as we rode home Bennett said, "Mom, I need a hug." Bennett is definitely my most affectionate child. He is always asking for a hug and I love it! I joke with friends that Bennett would climb back in my womb if I could let him.

I responded Bennett, I love you. "Mom, I am never going to grow up and leave you and dad, I'm never going to get married. I want to live with you forever." Oh, Bennett you will change your mind. You won't stay with us forever. "No, mom, not ever gonna leave."

"I will" Preston chimes in. "I am going to grow up and get married and leave." Thanks Preston, I appreciate your honesty. "Well, Mom, (as he puts his hand on my shoulder) a chicken has gotta hatch and a bird has gotta fly."

He is pretty smart and mature for an eleven year old. Someone asked me the other day if I was dreading him becoming a teenager soon. And I can say honestly we are not. Braxton and I both feel that helping him walk into becoming a young man and then an adult is a blessing. We know that there will be times of frustration, tears and probably anxiety but we plan to spend A LOT of time on our knees. And we are excited to see what kind of young man he will become and what paths God will put him on.

I just pray that as he hatches and grows wings that he will remember who takes care of the farm :).

Almost Home

2010-01-24T19:38:00.004-06:00

We are in the final stages of building our home. Which is great and terrible all at the same time. Great in that we are sooo excited and ready and can't wait to live back in the hood. But terrible in that these final stages seem to take the longest and be the most tedious.

I go in and see things that overwhelm me and think there is no way this can be finished in several days and then I leave and come back a few hours later and some of those things are done. Which is incredible to see! It is weird to think back just a few short 6 months ago and think we were just praying for the Lord to sell our house so we could someday build on this lot. Now here it is the end of January and we are almost home.

And yet we are constantly reminding ourselves and our kids that this is not our home. That our final destination is not this house, this street, this city or even this world. Yes, this is where the Lord has us for now and it is our job and our joy to serve him where he has us. But to always keep in the back of our mind where our "real" home is. To live with the end in mind.

Thank you for all of your prayers, words of encouragement and help picking out paint colors, Leigh and Brooke :). We are truly blessed by friends and family and can't wait to have you over to our new place. It is beautiful and we wait with great anticipation for the day that we will live there!

The Mayor Ain't Payin' for Chicken

2010-01-12T17:37:00.002-06:00

Last week I said a prayer and asked God for opportunities to serve Him and to have a "gospel response" in every situation. Well, it wasn't long after that I had to run into the grocery store to grab a few items. As I got in line I noticed the lady in front of me. She was an older lady, with dirty hair, tattered coat, beat up shoes and a worn out look on her face. As I was standing behind her I felt the holy spirit nudge me in my heart and whisper, "pay her bill."

At first I thought maybe I just made it up and my heart was just feeling for her. She then proceeded to pull out a card out of her little change purse that was a food stamps card that would purchase her groceries. The clerk rang her up, she swiped her card and loaded her groceries in her basket. She was starting to walk away when the clerk called her back. "Ma'am, your card only had a $39 balance on there and your total was $44.45, you have a balance due of $5.45." The lady turned to him and said, okay, take off the chicken. I won't buy the chicken. I looked at the clerk and said, "I will pay her bill, just put her balance on me." Both of them stared at me for a few moments and then the lady said, thank you and God bless you."

I paid for my groceries and her balance and then headed to the car. I told my kids the story of what happened in the store and told them that it could be related to what Jesus did for us. He paid our balance, one he did not accumulate, one he did not have to pay, and for nothing in return. Just like I paid for that stranger's groceries, I did not pick out her groceries, I did not have to pay the bill and I was going to get nothing in return. But I did it because as Christ followers our call is to model the gospel in every opportunity we have. Shane Claiborne says, "The gospel is best spread not by force but by fascination."

Yesterday Bennett came home from school and told me that he had told his class what happened at the grocery store. Mom, I told our class that there was a lady in the grocery store and she had a card where the mayor would pay for her groceries but the mayor ain't payin' for chicken, so you bought her chicken for her.

Not exactly Bennett, but close. I pray that even though they may not completely get it now that someday it will sink in and take root in their hearts that our calling is to love like Jesus and "do unto the least of these" even if it means paying for someone else's chicken.

Evacuation

2010-01-08T08:41:00.003-06:00

The definition for evacuation as defined by whatever site I googled says this:

Emptying: the act of removing the contents of something; leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection and elimination: the bodily process of discharging waste matter.

For the Brady family this whole entire week has been about evacuation both on a literal and figurative level. Oh where do I begin....

Tuesday of this week started out as a normal day. Kids got up and went to school, I started my daily routine of laundry, playing with Emma, picking up the house, etc... I went up to the school about 2:30 to pick up Bennett a little early due to the fact that he and Emma would be getting the 2nd half of their H1N1 shots. I knew that may cause a little drama but I had no idea what I was in for and that it would have nothing to do with a vaccination. In fact their shots went really well. Bennett did not cry at all and Emma only cried for a second. We left the room where they were giving shots and headed to the gym. Braxton was coaching a 4th grade basketball game and Preston was in an after school Math help session. Bennett asked to stay and watch some of the game and I needed to wait on Preston anyway so I thought it would be a great idea to hang in the gym. Emma and I climb to the top of the bleachers and sat against the wall. I hand her something to play with and begin a conversation with a mom next to me. Approximately 5 minutes later the fire alarm at PDS begins to go off. I look at the mom I am talking to and say, umm...I wonder if someone pulled that. We then begin to question if we should leave the gym. In fact you can see on everyone's faces the same question. It is at this juncture in time where I turn and for the first time look at my two year old, who I thought was playing quietly next to me. (It has been approx 3 minutes since the fire alarm first sounded.) Emma looks at me and with all the elation of someone who has just won the lottery she exclaims, "I did it!" with both arms raised in the air. Oh sweet goodness, it hits me and I am pretty sure I turned 18 shades of red and my blood pressure sky rocketed as I realized, yes in fact someone had pulled the fire alarm, my child. I pick her up and run to the front desk to let them know that Emma is the reason for all the panic. The girl at the front desk tells me that the fire truck is on the way. NICE. I then proceed to take Bennett and Emma and head for the car, trying to dodge their daddy on the way out. As we step into the parking lot I see two people headed our direction, okay, several people evacuating the building, but two that I locked eyes with. One was Lee Burns the headmaster of the school and the other was Preston. It is here where an already embarrassing situation gets worse. Bennett sees Preston and from across the parking lot shouts at the top of his lungs..."Preston, our sister did it." He does this with hand motions pointing to Emma drawing EVERYONE'S attention to us, including Lee Burns. I immediately shove Bennett's head into my jacket pretty much smother him as I hiss...SHH....you don't make announcements like that. At which he makes a giggle a muffled giggle because I am still smothering him.

So that was the first of our evacuations. One I am sure I will never live down.

The 2nd evacuation actually was of a planned type, my sweet father in law had knee replacement surgery on Wednesday. So his evacuation was that of a bad knee. Not nearly embarrassing as Emma evacuating an entire school and church on a Tuesday afternoon but as defined by Webster's an evacuation nonetheless. He is doing well and hopefully after some rehab will be doing better than ever.

Another evacuation happened yesterday as I went to an ENT to have my ear checked. My right ear has been stopped up since before Christmas and was starting to hurt. I put off going to the doctor as long as possible thinking it would clear itself up. Yesterday I gave in and went. The ENT looked in my ear and found the problem immediately. Both of my ears were clogged with an "excessive amount of wax." Excessive, really? I thought, surely not. Well, he then begins to use a suction tool and evacuate the wax from my ears. He then shows me the wax. I am not kidding it was the most disgusting, discolored and disturbing thing I have seen ever. I was so embarrassed. Now that I can definitely hear better and my ears feel wonderful I am thinking about going into the candle making business. Seriously.

Challenged

2010-01-04T11:40:00.002-06:00

Today we got back to a little routine. Amen. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah! I have never been one for flexing when it comes to lack of schedule. Now don't get me wrong I love to have a change of pace, sleeping in late, wearing PJ's until 10, not making lunches, etc... but after two weeks of that I welcome the routine. Today everyone was up and running despite the frigid temps outside. After I got everyone off to school I had about 15 minutes of time to read my Bible and pray before Emma woke up. It was refreshing to read in Psalms this morning and in Ephesians. Part of what I read was in Ephesians chapter 5, where it reads that we no longer live in darkness, we are children of light and we should live that way.

About two hours later I get an email from my husband telling me about a blog I should read. It is a blog from a girl who lives in Uganda raising 12 girls and mentoring about 150 more. Read it sometime if you get the chance.http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/ I read through tears as I read about her challenges, her excitement and her passion for Jesus as well as for the children of Uganda. And then it hit me. Children of light. We no longer live in darkness. And I started thinking. What am I doing? Truly, what do I do that shows tangibly that I am a child of light. Nothing to even compare to what Katie Davis is doing. I am not saying that we should all hop on a plane to Uganda but I do think if we know the truth of the gospel then it must compel us to step outside into the light. It commands us to be extraordinary in our living and giving.

I don't want to get to heaven and have the Lord say, "what did you do with the resources I gave you on earth?" And for my response to be, "well Lord, I bought a really nice T.V., I sent my kids to a great private school, I had a nice car and some amazing vacation time at the beach." I want to live boldly, I want to do things that make people say, "Is she crazy?" So I spent some more time praying and asking the Lord what that looks like for the Brady family. What opportunities does he have for us? It is a scary prayer because it is one of total surrender. And control, just like routine is hard for me to give up. But it is there where I find the most peace, the most fulfillment, the most light.

Be challenged today in your living and your giving. If you are a child of light, live that way and ask God how he would have you do that. I know on Katie's website it says that it only cost $300 a year to send a child to school and give them three meals a day. $300??? Some of us spend that at the hair salon. Not me sweetheart, if you are reading this, just some people. :)

Good friends and neighbors of ours are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia and are trying to raise support to do that. She is asking for 250 people to step up and give $100 each.

http://crenshawcrew.blogspot.com/

Those are just a few ways but there is so much more and a thousand more ways you can give of yourself and not money.

I don't want to live in darkness when He has called me to light and I don't want to waste this day before its time to say goodnight.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-11

All that and a bag of chips

2009-12-27T23:04:00.003-06:00

Well Christmas has come and gone again. It is always amazing to me how it seems to take forever to get here and to prepare for and then in a flash it is gone. We had a good Christmas this year. In some ways it was hard, we had a huge void in our family this year with the absence of Braxton's cousin Lauren, who was tragically taken from us in a car wreck in May. I could hear her laughter and see her smile in every present opened.

This year Emma was absolutely hilarious! She has the best facial expressions of anyone in our family. This picture was taken after she got a new bracelet. She is a laugh a minute. I have tried to capture her saying or doing something on video but the minute I pull out my camera she clams up and acts like she has never done anything funny in her life. Ever.

We have spent the last few days relaxing, eating, playing games, eating, hanging with family, eating, sleeping late, eating. If we are nothing else we are consistent. I have also spent some time catching up on some blogs I like to read, while I am eating a snack :). If you want a good laugh you must go to http://boomama.net/ and read her blog from December 21st titled I have so many thoughts. Trust me it is worth the read/watch. I have laughed for the past 10 minutes. I wish I was that quick witted.

Happy New Year to all of my 5 readers! Can't believe it is 2010. We are hoping to be moving at the end of January to our new home. I will go by this week and take some updated pictures to share!

Future Embarrassment

2009-12-14T19:39:00.004-06:00

Someday what I am about to blog about will embarrass my oldest son, it would probably embarrass him now if he read my blog. I don't write it to embarrass him I write it because I want to remember it and because I am his momma and recalling funny moments that are somewhat embarrassing is in our job description.

Saturdays during the winter are filled with basketball in the Brady household. Last Saturday was no different. Bennett had a game first and then Preston several hours later. We came home in between games to put Emma down for a nap. During the 3 hour lay over Preston comes in and asks me if he can take a shower. I said, son, in about 2 hours you are going to play basketball why in the world would you want to take a shower? He said, "I don't know, I just want to." Well, I thought an 11 year old that wants to be clean, why should I discourage him.

It was about 15 minutes later that I heard the choking coming from the bedroom. It was coming from Bennett so I was not too concerned, due to the fact that he is my more dramatic child. But I went to investigate nonetheless. As I walked in I began choking myself, on all the Right Guard Sport Deodorant spray. Preston was spraying enough deodorant to keep the entire Memphis region from having body odor. I am not exaggerating. There was a thin fog covering the room. I managed to wave my way through and find Preston on the other side. I said, sweet heart what are you doing? Bennett said, "MOM....make him stop, I am dying over here. "

Here was Preston's response. "I am becoming a man." I had no idea how to respond. A part of me wanted to laugh and a part of me wanted to cry. But before I could respond at all he said, Mom, look do you think I am growing pit hair? I said son, that stuff you are spraying is deodorant, not fertilizer, so I am not sure if you think it will help you grow pit hair or not but no need to spray anymore.

Sadly enough he is right. He is becoming a man. And I am learning more and more what that looks like and what my role is in the process. I am proud of him. He has a kind heart, a gentle spirit and absolutely no body odor!

Not So Tigeriffic....

2009-12-03T21:34:00.003-06:00

So the past few days have been filled with news about Tiger Woods. And although I have never been one to really follow any sports figure much less comment on their life for some reason I can't get Tiger off my mind. Braxton and I talked last night about the latest rumors and mud slinging that has been in the media about Tiger. "He has cheated on his wife, several times apparently." One commentator said, "Tiger doesn't need to worry, his endorsements will still hang on to him." I hope that is not at the top of Tiger's worry list right now but who knows.

ESPN, The Today Show, ABC, NBC, etc...everyone is headlining this story. And for what? What is it that peaks our interest and consumes our conversation with something so tragic and sad. Is it that Superman in our minds has fallen off of his pedestal that we put him on? Is it that somewhere deep inside our souls we secretly are glad that he is not as perfect as he seems? Maybe a little more human like us? Is it that his sin brought into light makes us feel like maybe our sin is not quite as bad? Maybe he can hit a golf ball 350 yards, maybe he is the most unbelievable golfer the world has ever seen, but at the end of the day he is not as good of a person as we think we are? And therein lies the trouble.

Sin is sin. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It also says there is no one righteous, not one. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that some sinners are worse than others. That these sins are the "really bad ones" and these are the "okay" ones. No. Tiger is a sinner. No news flash there, or should I say it shouldn't be. We are all "spiritually bankrupt" and until we realize it and mourn over it we will continue to point fingers and make ourselves feel better by categorizing sin and throwing stones.

So what do you do with Tiger? Well, we should have never put him on a pedestal in the first place. But since we did we should not be surprised that he fell. He is not Superman after all at least not in life, maybe just on the golf course. We should get on our knees for two reasons, 1. To pray for him and his family and 2. To give God praise that we are spiritually bankrupt and because of that he sent his son to die for us that we might have life. I am going to drop my stone and walk away because my sin is no different than that of Tiger Woods. I am just guilty of doing the ones that are a little easier to hide.

"So instead of loving what you think is peace, love other men and love God above all. And instead of hating the people you think are warmongers, hate the appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed—but hate these things in yourself, not in another.”
- Thomas Merton

Not Just Any Ol' Moon

2009-11-22T21:59:00.006-06:00

Last Thursday night I did something that someone who is in their 30's with children probably should not do. I went with 5 girlfriends to see New Moon, seeing the movie is not the problem. Seeing the movie at 12:06am and not getting into the bed until 3:30am....that is the the problem. Today is Sunday and I am still feeling the effects. In fact they seem worse today than any other day. I am exhausted. My body is saying, "please girl don't you know we passed this phase of life up years ago?" Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

We all met at Huey's first for some great hang out time plus a little quiz. My friend Ashleigh had some great review questions just to see which one of us really was the psycho, I mean fanatic. Tona won by a long shot. She even remembered Bella's birthday. After leaving Huey's we proceeded to the theater, which I would like to add here that they had 6 screens at the midnight showing of the film. All 6 were sold out. Some people are sick. Oh wait, maybe that was me, I was there too :).

The movie was actually pretty good. Much better than the first one. I would definitely recommend it. While we were all sitting at Huey's we began talking about how it is the "scenes" in life that you remember. The memory makers, not the day to day mundane stuff. I am grateful to have a life full of family and friends to create "scenes" with.

Braxton and I have been to a couple of parenting events lately and they all say that same thing. Create memories for your children. Give them experiences. When they are in their adult life they won't look back and remember how much laundry you did, how clean your house was, or if the lawn was neat and tidy but they will remember the experiences, the "scenes" you created for them.

I will forever remember the night I went with my girlfriends at midnight and watched New Moon. Thanks girls! Let's never be too old to make a memory like that!

House Update

2009-11-18T21:02:00.002-06:00

Our house is coming along great. This week they are finishing up the drywall. You will notice from this picture that there are two windows missing. That is on purpose. It is a new design technique that allows for a woodsy dark feel to your home. Just kidding. They are on back order and just have not come in yet. The big mound of dirt you see in the front of this picture is what Bennett refers to as the biggest ant hill EVER. Hopefully it will be gone soon, much to Bennett's dismay. He begs to jump in it every time we go by the house. But Bennett, what if there really are ants in there? It's okay mom, I am not allergic. The child has never been in an ant hill and has never been bitten by an ant to my knowledge but somehow he knows he is not allergic. Whatever. I personally think there is a better chance of mice being in there than ants. No real reason I think this, just the fact that our city has stopped killing mice or shall I say rats (cause letting disease infested rodents run rampant in a city makes great sense...here comes the rat flu, you watch) and one of our friends who lives on the street says he has had some in his house lately. Do mice like sandy dirt? Could someone google that for me and let me know, last time I googled some sort of creature (more specifically Camel Crickets) I had nightmares for weeks.

Sorry for the rambling. We are so ready to be back in the hood. Mom's house has been great and I really don't want to move before the holidays but if we could move in January that would be awesome. Today I was in the gym at Bennett's basketball practice and a kid from our neighborhood ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug. He said, "I have not seen you in FOREVER." It is good to feel loved like that. I hope he knows we love him just as much and can't wait to get back.

Someday

2009-11-09T21:48:00.005-06:00

Tonight I rub your back

because someday comes too soon

Tonight I sing you a song

because someday won't be long

Night Night blankies, toys and pacifiers

traded in for friends, dates and tires

Tonight I rub your back

because someday you won't ask me to

Tonight I sing you a song

because someday you'll be too busy for me to

Missing teeth, giggles and bedtime kisses

traded in for that special girl or prince charming wishes

Tonight I rub your back

because someday you'll be grown

Tonight I sing you a song

because someday I hope you'll have your own

Birthday cakes, buzz cuts, and pigtails

traded in for wedding cakes,tuxes, and veils

Tonight I rub your back

because someday comes too soon

Tonight I sing you a song

because someday won't be long

-Carrie Brady

written for my three beautiful children

I love rubbing your back and singing you songs

November 9,2009

Risks

2009-11-08T20:46:00.005-06:00

It was my 20th time into Sherwin Williams paint store. Okay maybe not 20th but close enough. I could not make a hard and fast decision about the exterior paint color of our home. I thought I had my mind set on something but if you have ever painted anything you know that sometimes what the paint color looks like on the little card is not necessarily what it looks like on your wall or on the siding of your home. But it was about 2 weeks ago when I had decided I was walking into this paint store for the last time. To decide an exterior color at least, I knew there would be more drama ahead for the interior but this was the final decision for the exterior. I had gone round and round between light browns, dark browns, medium browns, I was playing it safe. Because that is what I usually do. I am not generally a risk taker. I like control, organization, and safe colors thank you very much. But I had a weak moment and in what I would like to call, giving in to my builder(he wanted red all along), I took a risk. I went with red.

Now part of my worry was that this house already stands out enough, I did not need to paint it barn red to bring anymore attention to it. But I went with Rustic Red just to show I can be a little crazy every once in awhile. Well, last week the exterior was painted and it is absolutely gorgeous if I do say so myself. It has turned out better than I could ever have expected.

Tonight I was reading a newsletter from Bob Lupton. Bob started a ministry in Atlanta www.fcsministries.org a lot like the Binghampton Development Co in Memphis, in fact the BDC actually studied Bob's ministry before they got started. Braxton and I have a lot of respect for Bob. He is a very wise man with lots of "hood" experience. We even had the privilege of having him come to our home one time. He has written a book called Return Flight that I highly recommend. Anyway, in his newsletter this month he speaks of risks. Not paint color risks but real risks. It made me laugh because I realized that truly I have been a risk taker all along I was just wondrously covered in God's grace so much I did not even realize it.

This is what Bob says when speaking of cross-cultural ministry, "If we were aware of all the potential pitfalls, if we understood all the risks, if we waited until the way ahead was safe and predictable, we probably would never embark on the journey."

I am so glad that God did put some risk taker into this obsessive compulsive, type A, pick a safe color so your neighbors won't gawk, body. I am glad because so far this journey He has had us on for the past 4 years has been amazing and just like the red paint color of my home, it has been better than I could ever have expected.

Along Came a Spider

2009-11-01T21:36:00.004-06:00

We like themes in the Brady household! So this year for Halloween our children went as a theme. Braxton wanted them to originally go as a Sonic combo, Emma the tater tots, Bennett the cheeseburger and Preston a route 44 drink. Well, two things about that. One, I don't sew and two I did not have the time or the money to put that little ditty together. So we went with option 2. Emma was a spider thanks to my aunt Laura and a great spider costume find at Marshall's. Preston was the spider web and Bennett was the exterminator. He wanted to be Dr. Toxic and he wore Preston's costume from 2 or 3 years ago when he was Dr. Toxic. But I told Bennett the exterminator was way more cool and he could carry around a squirt bottle labeled, THE EXTERMINATOR. He agreed but proceeded to go around the rest of the night and tell people that his costume doubled as "Dr. Toxic/The Exterminator." Kind of like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. And by the sugar high at the end of the night he was acting much like Jekyl and Hyde.

We had a fun night. We met over on our new street with the Parkinson family and three other families. We had pizza and then went over to a friend's neighborhood to trick or treat. Currently there is not much trick or treating in our neck of the hood but we plan on changing that next year when we move in. Braxton has great thoughts and plans on what we can do for the neighborhood to make it fun. Emma and her friend Romey were so cute together. Romey was a bird in a nest, Romey's mom does sew, so her costume was cute and creative.

The kids got a ton of candy. Emma was hilarious. As we approached the first house she took off running to the front door. Well she got tangled up in her costume and went flying through the air and landed on her belly. Luckily there was so much padding in the costume she was not hurt at all. She jumped right up and said, "I okay, I okay." And went right on up to the door. She then took some candy and started walking right in the person's home. I mean if they are nice enough to give out candy why not go in and sit awhile. It was so funny! It brought back memories of when Preston and our good friend Camille tried to do that when they were that age at the Dorman home. Luckily when that happened we knew the Dormans. I had no idea who these people were. Anyway, we grabbed her up and put her in her stroller to go to more houses. She was not interested. She just sat in her stroller and ate her skittles, very content with one bag. I kept trying to get her to go to more houses and then it occurred to me that I was encouraging gluttony in my 2 year old. So I let it go.

Halloween was also a treat in itself this year that if fell on a Saturday night, not a school night and it was time to turn our clocks back. So the sugar shock was able to wear itself off in plenty of time for church this morning.

Focus

2009-10-22T12:34:00.005-05:00

The house is coming along well. I was glad to see the rain back again today because 3 or 4 days without it and I start missing it. Please hear the sarcasm dripping from that. Anyway, luckily most of the outside is done, with the exception of the roof being finished, a few windows, and some paint. So even when it is raining they should be able to get a lot done.

I am really enjoying the process, I know there are moments that are frustrating and I will probably run into more in the future but for now I have enjoyed building another home.

This past week my growth group Bible study was on focusing on things that are eternal and not temporal. I struggle with that. It is just so easy to see things here on earth and get caught up in them because they are tangible and we can literally see them. The study was a good reminder that our life is fleeting and most things only last for a moment.

I heard about a man yesterday who is 84 years old, still works 3 days a week and is currently in Uganda leading a dental clinic. Talk about a life not wasted. I think he gets it for sure. It would be the norm for him to be retired, enjoying doing nothing, traveling for his own pleasure, sitting in a rocking chair on a front porch somewhere, and I don't think anything of those things are wrong from time to time. But I do believe we are called to live for eternity and not for now. David Montague likes to say live for the line, not for the dot. Meaning all of our lives are a dot on a line, the line extends from the beginning of you life through eternity, the dot is your 70+ years on this earth.

Our new home will be an old home 100 years from now and possibly not even be there, it's temporary. But the relationships we build there, the way we share our faith, how we give ourselves away is eternal. I want to invest my time, resources and life wisely so that I live for things eternal and not temporal. I want to live for the line and not the dot.

What are you doing in your life right now that will make an impact in eternity? Is your focus on eternal things or temporary? I am going to start asking myself those two question more often.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.

Double Whammy

2009-10-22T11:54:00.004-05:00

Wednesdays are in general pretty good days. Busy and I try to cram everything I can into 5 hours, because this is when I am completely childless for a day, but a good day nonetheless. Yesterday started out pretty normal. I dropped Emma off at her PDO program, went to work out and then to run a few errands. I stopped to look at paint colors for our house and what I thought would take me 30 minutes ended up taking me almost an hour. Then I rushed down Poplar to pick up Emma, as I did I was running late, which at her PDO program they charge you by the minute if you are late...those three dots back there are my comment on how I feel about that.

Anyway, I got there and was informed that a babysitter of another child had picked up Emma's bag. So we did not have a cup, paci or anything on us. I wanted to ask if they could credit my minutes running late since they gave my child's bag away at the very least. She did have her "night night" on her which saved much blood shed. We then went to pick up Bennett where he greeted us with a big smile, he had received a DOUBLE WHAMMY Happy Gram. Now, I was not educated on the double whammy happy gram but he quickly caught me up to speed. Happy Grams are what the teachers at PDS give if you have had an exceptional day. Like if you have done something out of the ordinary, done really well in a subject, etc... Well, a double whammy is like receiving two of those, they are much coveted and rarely given out. Bennett received his DWHG for being the best vocalist in music practice for the grandparents day program. On a side note, I have no idea where he gets his singing voice, I cannot carry a tune in a bucket and Braxton is not that much better. So we were elated for him!

Here is where it starts going down hill. We get home and I am tired, the kids are hungry, Emma Sanders is in a horrible mood, Bennett has a melt down about a happy meal toy, and then it gets really bad. I start cooking supper. That is not the bad part :) My mom walks in and decides that I should not cook on the front burner of the stove but on the back. She picks up the pan and places it on the back burner (I keep wanting to say eye, but I am not sure if it is really spelled eye). I then walk in the kitchen a few minutes later pick up a pot holder to check on the tenderloin in the oven, then put the pot holder on the eye, the one that is still on, but I did not realize it. I walk into the den and about 5 minutes pass. I start to smell something burn. I head back into the kitchen and see smoke bellowing out from under the pot holder. I literally stand there for a few minutes in shock then proceed to pick up the smoldering pot holder and run out the back door. My throat was burning and I was coughing, no joke, that is how much smoke there is. All I could really think is, great, I am burning my mom's house down. Now we all are going to be homeless.

My mom comes running from the back, semi-freaking out. She grabs every box fan she owns, which is 2, and turns them on high. I am still outside hacking. She then opens the back door for air to flow, because none, and I mean none of the windows in her house open. The cat runs in the back door, now this is important because we have spent the last 6 weeks keeping the cat outside due to Preston's allergies and asthma. Braxton and Preston walk in the door about the same time all of this is happening. Braxton starts chasing the cat, my mom's kitchen is still covered in smoke, and I am trying to decide whether I should laugh or cry.

We manage to get everything under control, get the kitchen aired out and still had dinner by 8pm. It was at dinner that I really laughed out loud because Preston goes hey, guess what? I got a Happy Gram today for the best vocalist in the 5th grade! I think God just knew my night was going to be hard and since he has a great sense of humor, both of my children got vocalist of the day yesterday.

I felt like yesterday was a DOUBLE WHAMMY in more ways than one.

Gimme A Break

2009-10-19T11:08:00.014-05:00

http://www.televisiontunes.com/Gimme_A_Break.html

I used to love this show growing up. It was one of my favorites, I remember thinking that I wished Nell could come live at our house. I still wish she could :)

The Bradys took a break over fall break. It was amazing. We traveled to the Great Smokey Mountains. We enjoyed fresh air, blue skies and gorgeous mountaintop views. It was a good getaway for us as well as for my mom. I think she enjoyed having her house to herself.

We spent one day in Gatlinburg eating, playing, riding an Alpine slide down the mountain, riding a chair lift up a mountain, etc... We also walked along downtown and as we did we came upon a magician. He was set up in front of his magic shop and doing shows every hour or so. We decided to take a rest and watch.
Preston was chosen from the crowd to go up on stage and help with one of his tricks. The particular trick happened to be cutting Preston's head off. Preston was such a great sport. At one point as he has Preston's neck in this contraption he said, "Is there anyone that objects to me performing this trick?" Then without being told to do so, Preston raises his hand. It was hilarious, the crowd went nuts. The basket you see in the picture here is one that he placed below Preston to catch his head, he took off the top and a fake head popped out. Poor Preston, he jumped up and lifted that entire contraption with him, once again, he was a great sport, he just smiled and laughed with everyone else.

It really was a good break. All of my pictures are up at www.bradybunch2.smugmug.comWe were excited to get home and see the progress on the house. It really is coming along. The siding is going on this week along with the roof. We are continually amazed by God's provision and grace.

Please continue to pray for our family as we build and prepare to go back to the hood. We really do miss it. Our friends, the Parkinson's, moved in a couple of weeks ago and now my kids are really excited to get back and have friends on their street.

Hopefully I will get by there this week and take some updated pictures.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Purpose = "Going Back This Way"

2009-10-06T13:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Bennett and I were on the way to check on some things at the new house. I had picked him up from school and we had discussed the events of the day. He had a great day with the exception of telling me that he did not like the pizza in his lunch. Might I add here, I told him not to take pizza in his lunch because he would not be able to heat it up, he disagreed and I decided to let him see for himself. There are lessons best learned by experience. Needless to say I don't think he will take pizza again.

I was driving back towards our neighborhood and he got really quiet. I noticed because the child is usually NEVER quiet. After a few minutes he said, "Mom, I will be glad when we are going back this way." It took me a minute to understand what he was saying. I said, "Oh, Bennett you mean when we are coming home this way everyday?" He replied, "Yeah Mom, I miss it."

He went on to tell me how he misses his friends, Ms. Freddie Mae, Dennis (two of the greatest next door neighbors ever.) I told him that we missed it too.

It made me start thinking, I think if he could verbalize it well he would say that he misses what our life is about in Binghampton. How everyday is filled with a sense of purpose and wonder. How each day we live there we talk to our kids about what it means to step out in faith, to share Jesus with others and to build relationships that go beyond the surface. About forgiveness, mercy and grace. We are all created with that deep longing for purpose, for our life to mean more than just mere existence.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think you have to live in the hood to have purpose. But I do think we are all called and challenged to find purpose each and everyday regardless of where you are. We were created by a loving creator who created us with a "work to do." A purpose in this life, one that is filled with excitement, challenges, wonder and gratitude. That is why our family motto is "Taking Initative for the Benefit of Others"

I am glad my kids are getting opportunities at young ages to understand their purpose. This life is not about us. We were made for so much more. Even my six year old gets it and can't wait to be "going back this way."

Movin' On Up

2009-10-03T21:26:00.007-05:00

When Braxton calls my cell phone his ring is the theme song to The Jeffersons "Movin' On Up."

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.Movin on up
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Fish don't fry in the kitchen;
Beans don't burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin'
Just to get up that hill.
Now we're up in the big leagues
Gettin' our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it's you and me baby
There ain't nothin wrong with that.

I just got that song stuck in your head didn't I? There are actually several reasons for this. There are a lot of little inside things to this song that mean something to me. I will give you a few. One is that there are two sides to Binghampton, a East side and a West side, we live on the East side. Another is that what the world sees as movin' on up and what the Bradys see as movin' on up are two completely different things. (Matthew 6:19-20) I have never really understood the whole fish fryin' or bean burning thing so there is nothing there that has any meaning but I like the song nonetheless.

This week we literally started movin' on up on our house building. It has been so fun to watch. In fact I am a little on the obsessed side and every time I even get near the street my car has some sort of strange magnetic pull that forces me to go look at the house. Weird. Anyway, it has come a long way in a week but I am not naive' to think that it will all go this fast. I am very aware of how the outside goes up really fast and then the inside moves somewhat like a slug.

And if I did not know, I would have figured it out this week because everyone that I have told that they started the framing has said, "Oh, let me tell you this part goes so fast and then the inside takes FOREVER.(they literally say that word like that)" Thank you encouraging friends. Don't call me, I will call you the next time I need a reality check.

There is a spider that lives in my mom's backyard. A huge spider I might add. A couple of weeks ago my mom was outside at like 0 dark thirty (5:30am) and saw his huge web that goes perfectly with his huge body. She commented on it and said we needed to show my kids.

Well that night we walk in the backyard and it is gone. About an hour later she is back outside and she comes in and says, "you have got to come see this." So we walk back outside and this same spider is spinning his web. It was amazing how big it had gotten in such a short amount of time. So I run back inside and grab my camera.

Now this picture does not do justice to the size of the spider or his home. It literally spanned about 8 feet wide between two trees and his body was about the size of a quarter, no lie. And he literally spun this baby in about 5 minutes. It was really cool to watch. And a little bit on the scary side, I mean should this dude decide to come inside, not even going to go there. Just know that this blog would end because I don't think you can blog from heaven.

Now I say all that to say, wouldn't it be awesome if our house could go up that fast? It is here where my very witty husband would say the chances are "slim to none and slim has left the building." Hopefully with the spider :)

Mouth Breather

2009-09-27T22:28:00.004-05:00

Exciting times in the Brady/Lockwood home this past week. Bennett lost his first tooth. It had been hanging by a root for days but if you will remember from a previous blog the matter of teeth makes me weak in the knees. He would come home everyday and say "Mom, look at this I can push it almost all the way over with my tongue." I would respond and say, Bennett, I told you I don't like to talk about things like that. Seriously, it makes me queazy. So Thursday night he got his dad to pull it. It just simply one of those things I cannot do. He was super excited and could not wait to put his tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy, who has still not stopped by. What can I say, she is a slacker and does not easily remember those things which make her nauseous to think about. I told Bennett tonight (Sunday, 3 nights later, nice)that I think the tooth fairy did not realize we had moved and if he would put it under his pillow one more time I was sure she would come. Promise.

Last week in school Bennett's teacher stopped Braxton in the hall to tell him about a conversation that she and Bennett had. It went something like this...

Miss Glenn: Boys, stop talking, I mean no talking at all. I don't even want to see your mouth move. If I see your mouth move, I will assume you are talking.

(Bennett raises his hand)

Miss Glenn: Yes, Bennett

Bennett: Miss Glenn, I just wanted you to know that I am a mouth breather and so my mouth might move when I am breathing and I just did not want you to think I am talking, I am just breathing.

(Miss Glenn walks out of the room because she is laughing.)

We are not sure where he comes up with what comes out of his mouth. He is the funniest 6 year old we know, that is for sure. I am so grateful for his quick wit and joyful personality. I just hope it does not keep him in trouble.

He does think however, that the newly acquired hole in the bottom row of his teeth will help with the whole "mouth breathing" issue. Look mom, I can breathe right through this tooth and I can fit a Capri Sun straw in there too!

Who knew he was multi-talented.

A New Do For Sister

2009-09-24T21:08:00.008-05:00

Our little Billy Ray as we had started to call her due to her lovely mullet(pic above) got a new do today. I have been working up to it for a long time. I had people on both sides either telling me not to do it or to do it. When her daddy said, "get the child's hair cut" I decided it was time to pull the trigger. It seriously was a little bit of a stringy mess. Bless her she has received my genes of baby fine hair. So today was the big day. I took her to Neuvo, which is where I go. Jodie does an amazing job and since she has children herself I knew she would do great with Emma.

My sweet friend Meredeth once again saved the day by going with us. She lugged all the gear, video camera, digital camera, diaper bag, etc...I must mention here that I was prepared for the worst. I even wore a white shirt in case I started sweating profusely. I totally expected flailing arms, stiff back, weeping and gnashing of teeth if you will. But sister stepped up to the plate. She even seemed excited to be there. Like she could get used to the idea of being pampered (that's my girl.) And pampered she was. While in the chair she received a cookie, cup of water, a comb in which she got to brush Jodie's hair, some clips and LOTS of attention.

She did not shed one tear the whole time. And then when she was done she walked around the salon like she was the queen that everyone was waiting to see. She was walking up to strangers saying hello, telling people she is "almost two", etc... I was blown away by how well she did. Her hair looks adorable and I am so glad I went through with it. I see lots of salon mother daughter dates for us in the future. Just wait until she learns about a mani/pedi!

Let's Recap

2009-09-22T14:50:00.006-05:00

Lately I have run into a few people that had no idea that we had even moved. Not sure if that is my fault or theirs but nonetheless I thought it might be a good time for a recap. If you want to read the story in it entirety you can find it on a previous blog called New Adventure. I am going to spare you from all the gory details and just give a list of the main stuff going on in our life.

1. After living in our home in Binghampton for 3.5 years and much prayer the decision was made to move and build a new home. Old hood, New home. Ummm..that might could be a new reality series...

2. We sold our house way faster than we thought we would without starting to build our new home. (Which I might add here, that some skeptics said we would never be able to sale our home and if we did we would end up in the red, well we sold it and made some money, God is way bigger than any skeptic I know.)

3.We needed a place to go. I talked to mom and asked her what she thought about 5 new roommates :)

4. September 1st we closed on our old home, closed on our new lot and closed on a construction loan. Big Day. Oh...wait, even bigger day was the day before when we moved 90% of our stuff to storage and 10% to my mom's.

5. We have been at mom's for 3 weeks now and are starting to feel settled. Everyone seems to be adjusting well. Even the cat that had to find a new home (another Oprah show for another day, thank you Jerry Wing. )

6. We hope to be in our new home sometime in January, back in the hood where we belong.

Here are a few lessons we have learned along the way and are still learning:

1. Patience is a virtue and a pain in the rear to learn

2. The rain will put off construction on a new home

3. Camel crickets are hairy and big and if you have one then you have 10,000(don't ask)

4. James Pest Control knows how to kill camel crickets

5. Sometimes a good thing can turn into bad thing if you make it the best thing

6. My kids LOVE the trampoline at Nanach's house

7. Purging is good when it comes to stuff

So thanks for the prayers and words of encouragement, or the look of shock and awe I get when I tell people we are living with my mom and our 22 month old is sharing a room with us. It actually has not been bad at all, we are grateful and are looking forward to the future.

What You Must Know About My Momma

2009-09-20T21:12:00.007-05:00

One of the things that you currently know about my momma is that we live with her. Only for a "few seasons" says my middle child. He is learning all about seasons in school and so instead of referring to how many months we are going to live here he says "seasons." He was at first saying 6 seasons but we said..umm..no, hopefully just two, fall and winter. I digress...

There are a few other things you need to know about my momma. I could list about a thousand things that I love about her but I have whittled down the list to 2 for now. I am sure I will blog about more in the future. These are by no means the most important things about her but important nonetheless. Are you ready?

1. She is very spontaneous and does not like "plans"

2. She LOVES Willie Nelson...(I remember being a little girl and singing Willie songs on our tape player, 8 track.)

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago I found out that Willie Nelson was coming to Mud Island in Memphis. And for a little, thank you, for allowing our family of 5 to invade her space I decided to surprise her with tickets. See the two things she loves, surprises and Willie, I am a good daughter. :)

Last night was the big night. We got on our cowboy boots and proceeded downtown with the rest of the Memphis redneck community, which is quite large I might add, and prepared ourselves for a good ol' time. We had a great time! Her friend Anita went with us. We laughed and sang and enjoyed the break from the Memphis flooding that has been going on for the past week. It was a perfect night for an outdoor concert. (Except for the humidity and the fact that my hair looks like a frizzy Texas hair model when it is humid, oh wait, never mind, I fit right in.) Here are a few observations that I thought you might enjoy:

1. There are a whole lot of really hairy men in Memphis that happen to be Willie Nelson fans.

2. There was one particular woman who thought she was at

a worship concert and proceeded more than once to raise her hands or clap in worship of Willie. (Seriously)

3. If you ever buy tickets to a Willie Nelson concert know this, he plays for about 45 minutes and then he is done. He finishes his last song, waves to the crowd and then literally gets on his bus and moves out. No coming back, no matter how long or loud the crowd chants Willie. And drunk people can chant really LOUD for a really LONG time.

4. There are a lot of people who apparently care more about Willie Nelson than they do dental hygiene. I am not being ugly, that is just the truth, I saw it with my own eyes.

5. Even if the venue tells you not to bring a camera in, you can do it anyway, about 3,000 flashes were going off last night, when the sign clearly said, "no cameras." We were one of the rule breakers but we used it to take pictures of ourselves and not Willie, so I think that makes it okay.

All in all it was a good girls night out. I hope mom knows how much I appreciate and love her. Not every daughter would brave the hairy drunk crowd just to let their momma know...you are a good hearted woman...

Someone is Always Watching

2009-09-13T21:14:00.012-05:00

We are wrapping up another weekend. It was a good one with a little strep throat sprinkled on top. :( Emma started running a fever Saturday and by the time 8pm arrived she was having a very bad, no good, horrible day. Running 101.6, crying, clingy and looked awful. We managed to get her in the bed and about 3am she woke up crying and coughing like a seal, if you are a momma you know the kind of cough I am talking about. It is a barky cough (if barky is a word.) I opened up the freezer and we stood there for awhile until she could get under control, her fever at this point was 102. A little tylenol, a little freezer time and two hours later she was back in the bed. Took her to the doctor this afternoon and she has strep. Which is actually a relief because I thought she either had croup or flu and you can't treat those with antibiotics like you can strep. So needless to say the weekend did not end up as well as it started. But let me just tell you how it started...

Friday night our family met up with 3 other families at a local pizza place. The Parkinson(moving down the street from us) family, The Trotter(sweet friends who are great prayer warriors)family, The Bridges(Avery is our builder) family and us. We had a great time hanging out and spending time together but there was a bigger meaning behind our fellowship. We left the pizza place and headed to our new street. The first stop was the Parkinson's new home which they will be moving into in about a month. We took a tour and then spent about 30-45 minutes praying over their new home. Praying for patience, joy, encouragement and safety. We then loaded up all the kids in our mini-van and drove a block down and stopped at our lot. All the kids (all 8 of them) sat in our van and watched a movie while the adults got out and prayed over our lot. We prayed for Avery Bridges, we prayed for laughter in the walls of our home, for hospitality and understanding and for people to see a difference in the families that will inhabit that street. Then a few of the adults went over and prayed over the Crenshaw(our old friends and neighbors who are building across the street from us, they could not join us but will next time) lot. While we were praying several people stopped, some we knew and we spent some time talking to them and telling them what we were doing. Some we had no idea who they were but they were watching. I have no idea what they were thinking but I hope they saw glimpses of light as we prayed over that street and over them. It was an amazing time and makes me really want to be back in the hood.

Saturday morning and afternoon we spent time on the football field. PDS had their annual jamboree and Preston played a mini game and then Bennett had his first flag football game of the season. His team did not win but you should have seen him. He was grinning from ear to ear and when they did score their one touch down at the end of the game you would have thought they had just won the national championship. They all jumped on top of the kid that scored and cheered and laughed. After the game we talked about what a great attitude Bennett had even though they lost. We told him that people watch you all the time and watch your reactions and that we were proud of him for being such a good sport.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8ZoevMJQc

I just finished reading an article on Serena Williams and how she threatened a line judge at the US Open semi finals last night. The youtube video is above. After watching the display of her actions it looked to me like an almost two year old I know throwing a tantrum when she doesn't get her way. (Exhibit A)

Now I also would like to point out that to me it does not look like a "foot fault" it looks like her foot is behind the line when she serves but that is not really the point. The point is someone is always watching. Regardless if you are famous like Serena, Tiger Woods or Paris Hilton or if you are a group of friends praying over a street laden with drugs, poverty and crime or if you are a 6 year old who just lost his first flag football game 24-6, someone is watching. And whether or not it is fair they are making judgments on your character, maturity and beliefs.

I hope that my kids did a lot of watching themselves this weekend. I hope they saw what it means to be a family and to be intentional where you live and to live out what God calls your family to do. My prayer for this week is that my actions will shout to the people around me that I am a Christ follower and that my life is not about me but all about Him.

Worth a Thousand Words

2009-09-06T21:02:00.002-05:00

Do you remember a few blogs ago when I talked about starting a new school year and Preston and Bennett having words for the year? Preston's word was Honesty and Bennett's was Obedience? Well, I thought I would give you an update on how that is going.

In 1st grade at PDS you move a bus according to your behavior. Your bus starts out on green everyday, (thank you Lord for new mercies each morning) and if you misbehave or have an "issue" then your bus moves to yellow and then if it continues to happen it could move to red. Bennett has done a little traveling in his bus this first few weeks of school. After day two of moving to yellow, he walks in and gently slings (because he knows the consequences of throwing) his book bag down and says, "I don't have any trouble with these hands, it's this mouth." At least he knows the root of the problem. We have a long talk about the importance of not talking when you are not supposed to be talking. I think, so far so good, until today when we run into our good friend and pastor of our church, whose son happens to be in Bennett's class room. He smiles and says, "I hear Bennett and Myles were co-conspirators this week in school and got in a little trouble." I wish you could have seen the look on Bennett's face, it was a mixture of shock and one that said, "I thought this preacher guy was a guy you could trust." Needless to say, we have had another talk. I am still not clear on the whole story of what happened but somehow Bennett did not have to move his bus. If I had to guess he probably pulled the sympathy card, with "we just moved and I am having a hard time." Trust me, he has used this before. Remember? It is not his hands but his mouth...

Preston on the other hand has lived up to his full potential of "Honesty." Last week in school during one of his classes he raised his hand and when the teacher called on him this is what he said, "Ms. X (not her real name but I will protect the innocent here) all those rumors about you are not true, I think you are real nice." Bless him. His next word is "Filter."

Beneficiaries

2009-09-03T21:42:00.004-05:00

Well well well...we are moved, in with my momma that is. This has been one crazy and long week. Seriously this could probably be two or three blogs but I will spare you from all the gory details. It all started last Saturday and Sunday when we started to pack up and move to mom's. We finished Sunday night about 10:30pm. Exhausted and still have not recovered. My in laws picked up our kids Sunday afternoon and brought them back to our house about 8 on Sunday night. By this time our entire house was empty except for that last few loads of stuff when you are like, what? Where did this stuff come from? Why are my material possessions making babies and every time I turn around there is a new pile? Anyway, my kids come home and Emma runs to her room and the bottom falls out. It was heart breaking. How do you explain to a 21 month old that she is moving and no, no one has stolen all your stuff we have just moved it and in about 6 months we are going to do it all over again. Sad. Anyway, she went bananas and then would not let me out of her sight. So we all got in the car and traveled over to Nanach's house, (that is what my kids call my mom, another blog for another day.) We got inside and I could not put her down. She was crying and would literally not peel herself away from me. So I did what any mother would do. I sat on the couch and cried with her. We both just sat and cried for about 30 minutes. It felt good. There is a part of me that will forever be with that Hopkins house. It is a huge part of our faith journey and there are memories there that will never be forgotten. I am grateful for our time there and grateful for new adventures in the hood.

Monday I woke up and was paralyzed with an overwhelming sense of not knowing where any of my belongings were. I am a very OC type person and for me not to be organized and to be living in chaos about puts me over the edge. I would like to send out a big thank you to my friend Meredeth who kept me from going insane by coming over with a chick fil a sweet tea and biscuit. I love you Mere and am forever indebted to you. I also had to make a Target run with Bennett and Emma, which was a disaster from the beginning. Basically I had to buy so much stuff that Emma would not fit in the basket which she thought was wonderful and proceeded to run around and grab everything she laid eyes on. At the end she was walking out with a Milkyway candy bar and as I was paying the lady behind the counter said, "umm where you going to pay for that?" I wanted to respond and say, "no, I bring my 2 year old to shop lift the candy bars while I have you distracted paying the $300 for all of these other items." I refrained with some great self control and said yes, and ate the candy bar as soon as I could. It was so worth it.

Tuesday we finally closed on the house. Praise the Lord!!! It felt good and weird all at the same time. I took the keys over to Marcus after we signed the papers and stopped to hug a few of my neighbors on the way out. Sweet sweet relationships, that's what happens in the hood that the media does not report on.

Wednesday Preston came home with a fever and a cough. I was sure we had the swine flu but we do not. Just a bad viral cold. Truthfully I think all of our bodies are wearing down from the stress of the move. It's funny but when you tell people you are moving, not one single person looks at you and says, oh, that's great, but everyone says...bless your heart. And here is the bad part this is just phase I, we have to do it all over again.

So this week is coming to a close and I have learned a lot. A lot about friendships, what stress can do to a body, how a 2 year old responds to a move, and how to roll with the punches of not being organized. But here is the greatest lesson of all. Last week I heard someone read

Psalm 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

That one verse has carried me through every emotion this week. We are beneficiaries and beneficiaries of the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. So when I am tired, wanting to cry, scream or whatever I remember who I belong to, what it cost Him, and how I benefit from it. And if nothing else good ever happens in my life, He has done enough.

Stone of Remembrance

2009-08-26T22:04:00.018-05:00

Today "The Beast" came down. It actually started on Monday, it has been a three day process and actually I think they still have more to do tomorrow. We have watched the process all week long. I would drive by twice a day and take pictures of the work in progress. In some ways it was kind of sad to watch. It was a big ol' boy of a tree and if it had been in the back of the lot it would have made a wonderful tree house.

Today when we drove by they were cutting the last part down. We watched for a minute and then rushed home to get my camera. I had already told the boys that I was going to get out of the car and go ask for a piece of the wood. Braxton and I both think it is important to have "stones of remembrance." It is another way we can be intentional with our kids. We share with them that in the Bible when the Israelites were crossing the Jordan River that the Lord told Joshua to take 12 stones one for each tribe and place them on the other side as a way to remember all that the Lord had done for them. "And someday when your children ask you, what do these stones mean...you can tell them the Lord your God did..." Joshua 4:19-23.

I got out of the car and took a couple of pictures and then proceeded to walk up to the workers to ask for a piece of the tree. It is important to note here that they spoke very little English and I speak very little Spanish. I told the one who spoke the most, which was like 4 words that I knew he would think I was crazy but I would like a piece of wood to have as a memory because I was building a house on that lot and I wanted to be able to tell my children about it someday. As you can see that was way more than 4 words. I think he understood crazy and tree. I pointed and spoke a little louder, because that helps when there is a language barrier, and he finally got the picture. He reached over and gave me a piece of the wood. I smiled and said gracias, that is the one word I speak and went back to the car. I explained to my children how this piece of wood would serve as a reminder of one of the many ways God provided for us in Binghampton.

We then tried to count the rings on the piece to see if we could tell how old it was. We got to 57 and then it was too hard to see them. We came home and I put the piece of wood in my bedroom. About 4 hours later I walked in the bedroom to do something and smelled a foul odor. I mean foul! Did you know that wood stinks that bad? Oh my goodness, like major dirty diaper/wet dog bad. Not to mention that my mom said there were probably microscopic bugs living in my little "memory stone" and she could not believe I had even brought it in. So as of right now our stone of remembrance is sitting outside on the front porch. :)

Then Samuel took a stone and set it ... and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." I Samuel 7:12

My kids make me sweat

2009-08-24T20:47:00.004-05:00

I am not sure if I have a gland problem or if it is truly my kids fault. I also can't remember if the sweating was happening before I had children or came shortly thereafter. Those of you that don't have kids yet take note and see if you tend to sweat in situations where no one else seems to be sweating. If you are not and then you have child #1 and start to sweat, well I would stop there, it gets worse.

My first real sweating incident occurred in 2004. Bennett was about 17 months and I was taking him for his 3rd or 4th haircut in his lifetime. My kids are horrible at these. I mean HORRIBLE. They scream, cry, swing their arms, stop breathing, the whole nine yards. Well, I knew this would be the case so I decided to try a new tactic, I would sit him in my lap and hold him. Maybe that would comfort him and it would not be such a bad experience. I also need to mention here that it was mid-August and hot as all get out in Memphis. I was wearing a sun dress (you need to know this fact later in the story.) So I sat down and put Bennett in my lap. I immediately began to apologize to the stylist explaining to her that this would be a nightmare of an experience and she would probably quit her job when we left. She proceeded to cut his hair and the wailing began. He bucked and kicked and screamed like he was being beat. He cried so hard at one point that he sucked in a huge wad of hair and then began to choke and almost vomit. I began to sweat and I mean sweat like a man. The back of my hair was wet, my under arms were dripping wet, it was bad. Well she finally finished and gave him a sucker, which bothered me a bit, why would we reward such behavior but whatever. I was thinking if he gets a sucker momma gets a whole bottle of wine. Well at this point I started to stand up and dust the air off of my lap and it was at that moment when I turned around that I realized I had left two sweat rings in the shape of my bottom on the chair. I immediately turned to the stylist and asked for her towel, she said, "oh no, it's okay, I will get it." The problem was she had no idea what "it" was. I was mortified. And as if I was not sweating before now I was pretty sure I was sweating about as much as a marathon runner does. I hurried out and left an extra big tip when I paid.

Today was not as bad as that but it came close. I took Emma with me to the grocery store. She is awful at the store. She screams and tries to climb out of the basket. I again start sweating as all eyes look at me. Today I gave in and bought a package of Oreos just to keep her quiet. Then people were really looking at me like I was a bad mother. You know what? You do what you have to do. As we were getting in line I stepped in some water and slid about a quarter of a mile through the check out line. I recovered only to have the grocery clerk look at me and roll her eyes. No joke. I wanted to say something ugly but to make my husband proud, I didn't. I did notice the sweat rings under my arms when I got in the car.

There are some things that you say you will never do. For example my husband announced to me this weekend that he will never wear a white short sleeve button down, never. As we left the grocery I told Emma I was never taking her to the grocery again. Obviously that is not as true as my husband not wearing a short sleeved white shirt but I have decided this. The next time I take her I am wearing a stronger deodorant. www.ceraindri.com I make no money from this company but I do know it works and if you have a mommy sweating problem like I do, feel free to try it.

A Ripple or a Splash?

2009-08-22T20:39:00.014-05:00

About a month ago one of the teaching pastors of our church, John Bryson, talked about our funerals in the text of his sermon. "Will you leave a ripple or a splash on this earth?" Will people forget about you several hours after you are gone or will you have created this ripple of a legacy reaching out to generations to come? Will there be generation upon generations who know of the Lord and his goodness because of how you lived while on this earth?

Braxton's grandmother passed away on Thursday, August 20,2009. Ruth Brady was one of the most kind, caring and gentle women I have ever met. She loved Jesus, her family and her friends dearly. She always had a smile on her face, a smile that would light up a room. Seriously, I have been married to Braxton for 12 years and I don't remember ever seeing her without a smile. She was so full of energy and life. She was hilarious too! I remember going to see her in Nashville and we would pick her up and take her shopping. She loved to shop. She would wear me out walking all over the Opry Mills mall, I would be almost running to keep up with her. One time we spent about an hour in the Dress Barn, one of her favorite shops. She picked out about 8 outfits, tried them all on, modeled them for me and then decided she did not need a thing! She would look at me with those bright eyes and big smile and say, "Carrie, I love shopping with you."

Today at her service it was obvious the people's lives that she had touched. The gospel was shared during the service, just like she would have wanted it. Every time we would spend time with her she would share something that God had taught her or just tell me how good He had been to her. She was a blessed woman, not because of material possessions but because she had an eternal hope. A hope that she shared with many. Ruth Brady left a ripple. I have no doubt that people will be talking about her for years to come, her compassion, her generosity, her love for others and for her Savior.

I hope I live my life like Ruth Brady, generous, energetic, in love with Jesus, and caring for others. I pray that I leave a ripple and not a splash. She did.

We will miss you Grandmother but thank you for the legacy you left and for the smile that I remember every time I close my eyes and think of you.

Jitters

2009-08-20T10:47:00.010-05:00

This week school started for my kiddos. They were excited, I was thrilled. They started yesterday and today was their first full day. Tuesday night we had a small case of the jitters. Probably more excitement than jitters but you could tell by some of the questions there was a tad bit of nervousness.

"Mom, where do you think my locker will be?"

"Do you think I will sit next to the same friend I sat to last year?"

"Mom, do you think I can pass the first grade?"

"Is changing classes hard?"

I love the innocence and truth of children. I also love my husband dearly and his intentionality with our children and with me. You see, not only have my kids had the jitters this week but I have as well. We have had a few minor set backs with the closing of our home and just the packing, starting a new school year, trying to be organized, trying to control everything, well it creates...jitters. So Tuesday night, my amazing godly husband feeling the jitters in the air took charge. We put Emma Sanders in the bed and then just me, Braxton and the boys went into their room. We talked a few minutes and answered those questions and then Braxton told my boys that each of them had a word for the year.

"Preston your word this year is honesty. In everything you do son be honest, no matter if you mess up, fail a test, whatever, just be honest. It doesn't mean there won't be consequences but we can move past anything if you are honest. Bennett, your word for the year is obedience. In everything you do be obedient. Do what your teacher asks of you the first time." We then held hands and prayed a precious prayer for the new school year.

As we were praying, I felt this amazing peace come over me. I think those words are for all of us. Honest and Obedient. So as I have been praying through my anxiousness of house stuff I am learning to be honest with my Father about my fears and learning to be obedient to Him, knowing that patience is part of obedience.

Lumber Yards and Gunfire

2009-08-12T13:48:00.003-05:00

This week I have been cleaning out clutter and packing boxes. While doing those two things I have had some moments of reminiscing over this house. I can hardly believe it has been 3.5 years since we moved in. In some ways it feels like yesterday and in someways it feels like we have been here forever.

We have gotten used to some things in the neighborhood and some things I don't think we will ever get used to and probably shouldn't. A couple of nights ago I heard gunfire as I was getting ready for bed. I don't hear it as much anymore, not sure if it is just happening less or it is like living next to train tracks, after awhile you just don't hear it anymore. I did hear it the other night and it made me think of our first night here.

We were worn out from moving but as I laid in bed that first night I could not go to sleep. I laid there wide awake being amazed at God and how much he had done in my heart to get me to this place of "rest." I was excited about our new adventure and truly felt blessed that God would allow us to be in this neighborhood to do some exciting things. It was about 3-4am when I heard the first bang. Followed by several more bangs in the next few minutes. I closed my eyes and began to pray. Was this an attack from Satan? Was I being tested for just feeling a few minutes before confident about my new surroundings and responsibilities? As I prayed I felt a sense of calm and peace wash over me and I fell asleep.

The next morning I had almost forgotten all about the gunfire when I saw my friend and neighbor Kim down the street. I walked over to ask her if she had heard the gunfire. She and her husband Nathan moved into Binghampton a couple of years before we did, so I felt sure she would give me words of comfort and reassurance. As I explained to her what I had heard and what time it was, she broke out in this big grin on her face. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, you know that lumber yard at the end of our street?" "Well, they get a delivery every day of lumber at about that time, it sounds just like gunfire." I did not know whether to laugh or cry! I asked her to please make a list of any other important items such as that one that might be beneficial to a newcomer in the hood.

Well we have come a long way from lumber yard noises. I have chased a kid down for stealing a $10 scooter (ridiculous, I know), I have been stared down by an angry grandmother who did not want her grandson in my backyard, and I have been to court to be a character witness for one of our neighbors, just to name a few.

I am glad that God gives us opportunities to laugh and learn all at the same time. I know so many people reading this probably think we are crazy and on some level we are. And even though there is not a specific scripture that says, "Go be crazy for Jesus," I believe that you find it all in the new testament. I believe that the apostle Paul yells it out to Timothy in I and II Timothy.

¹²Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. ¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

¹⁵Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress... I Timothy 4:11-15

So your crazy may not be my crazy. God may not call you to live in the hood, he may not call you over seas, but I do believe he calls us to be crazy. Crazy in love with him, so much so that when the world looks at the things we are doing for his glory and honor, they can clearly see the radical difference in us and it points them to the one who did the craziest thing of all and died to save us.

Be crazy today!

Family Beach Vacation

2009-08-09T21:26:00.004-05:00

We just got back from a wonderful vacation at the beach. It was so fun! The kids had a great time and were so good. Preston and I enjoyed some great time out in the ocean catching fish with his net, the water was amazingly clear. Bennett and I tried surfboarding, ummm, lets just say, I am too old and too fat. Bennett on the other hand did great. Emma was not crazy about the sand but each day she got a little braver. We went with Grandad and Mom Mom as my kids call them.

One night we took the boys to a

restaurant called Poppy's. It has a great atmosphere and the kids loved it. The waiter was awesome and brought out a live lobster and let us hold it and the kids sword fight with it. He then told us that when cooked it would cost $180. I promptly took the lobster and put him back on the tray. I could just picture one of my kids dropping that and having to pay for a dead lobster. I had a plan if that happened, we were going to bring that sucker home and put him in a glass case and make up a good story about how Preston and I caught him. Luckily, the lobster made it back in his tank.

We had some great quality family time and it was good to get away right before school starts. We did get a phone call from Marcus, who is buying our home, while we were there and he said the bank has set a closing date for August 18th. We also got a call from our bank saying that our house plans had come back with a great appraisal and so all is set for our construction loan to start on the new home.

We drove back Saturday. Let me tell you the ride from Water Sound, Florida to Memphis, TN feels like about 24 hours in the car when you have kids. The boys were actually pretty good, well until about 4 hours left. Then they started fussing, asking when are we going to get home and Emma was screaming to "unbuck" that is what she say for unbuckle, every 5 seconds. I am pretty sure Satan has all of those sounds on a loop and plays them. Speaking of Satan, one funny moment on the ride home, this gave us a chuckle and made the ride a little more bearable. Somewhere in the state of Alabama is a sign that says, "Go to Church or Satan will get you." I so wish I had known that sign was coming up and could have taken a picture. Is that poor teaching or what? I will be ready on the ride home next year, I want to put up a sign next to it that says, "And if Satan gets you, he is going to make you listen to a tape of screaming, fighting, tired, bored children on a 9 hour car ride." Now, that will make people go to church!

Surgeon General Warning on Colgate Spin Brush!

2009-08-09T20:59:00.002-05:00

First of all you need to know that I don't like going to the dentist. I love my dentist, like if I see him in a restaurant or in a grocery store but not when I am at his office. Not sure why, it has always just been a phobia of mine.

So it all started about two years ago when the dentist told me that I brushed too hard and was wearing away my gum line. At that point I had to make another appointment and have some of my gum line replaced, not sure how they did it, like I said earlier, I don't like the dentist and it makes me feel faint just to type about it. Seriously, I can't even pull my own children's teeth. Anyway, I went back to the dentist about a week ago and was told I really do need to start taking it easy on my gums. The hygienist (I had to use spell check to type that word, would you have ever spelled it that way?) told me that I should invest in a tooth brush that does the brushing for you and then I won't be able to brush as hard. She said they are great and really get your teeth clean.

So I decided to take her advice, mainly because I recently heard of a horror story where a friend's husband had to have some of the roof of his mouth removed to replace his gum line because he did the same thing I did. HOLY COW!! I am feeling dizzy, right now. I bought the Colgate spin brush, it was not the top of the line $50 Sonicare toothbrush but I felt like it would do the job and in six months when I go back to the dentist I will see if it is working or if I need to skip buying my kids new tennis shoes for school in order to save my beloved gums.

Well, the first night we met at the sink I was in love. This thing was amazing, it made my teeth feel so good. I had read the directions and it said, "brush as normal." So I was thinking, this thing is awesome it does all the work for me and leaves me feeling with a "just left the dentist feeling" without the nerve pill I have to take before I go (Just Kidding!)

Day #2 This is where the Surgeon General comes in. Well, he technically has not placed a warning on this toothbrush but I am pretty stinkin' sure that if he had been standing next to me at the sink he would have this little warning posted all over the packaging. Here is what happened, remember when the directions said "brush as normal?" Well, night #1 the first time I used the brush it was late and my kids were in the bed and I was taking my time and not having to think about anything else. But here is reality. I am the mother of 3 kids, work a part time job from home, currently in the process of moving, and have a list of things everyday to do that is about 6 miles long. So as I brush my teeth I am usually, talking on the phone,washing a load of clothes, helping pour milk in a cereal bowl, changing a diaper, etc... Sometimes all at the same time (I am quite the multi-tasker)So it does happen on occasion where I will stick my tooth brush in the side of my mouth while I do one of the above listed. NOW TO THE WARNING! IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE READ THIS. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES STICK A VIBRATING TOOTH BRUSH IN THE SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH AND TAKE YOUR HAND AWAY!

I still cannot believe I did not chip one single tooth. I am not kidding you that thing jumped around in my mouth like a jack hammer vibrating teeth, skull and nearly mutilating my tongue. It all happened so fast. There was toothpaste slung from one end of the counter and mirror to the other, including all over me, not to mention I was in complete shock! It was the craziest thing ever. And then I started thinking, I am "that" person. The one that when people read the warnings and go, "that is ridiculous, who did they have to put that warning on there for?" Apparently that is me.

So for all you fans of that type of toothbrush, you are welcome, one of us has to be idiot enough to help save your teeth.

Two Horses and a Camel

2009-07-28T09:35:00.003-05:00

About a month ago Braxton and I were driving our kids to Victory Ranch so he could speak at camp that night. All 3 of my kids were watching a movie, reading, and playing with toys. My children are multi-taskers, just like their momma. Anyway, we were driving through a small town in the middle of nowhere and I look out into this field and in a say in a loud voice, where I draw my kids attention immediately out the window, "look kids a camel!" (I need to preface this by saying my eyesight has been bad since 3rd grade, I cannot see anything without my contacts and apparently not well with them) Well at that very second I realize it is not a camel but two horses, two dark black horses one on top of another. I will stop there, if you need more detail then either you are too young to be reading this blog or too old to be any fun. But nonetheless I had just drawn all 3 of my kids attention to an act of, lets call it nature. Immediately my sweet husband starts laughing uncontrollably as do I, as I realize the mistake I have just made. My husband says, "really, you just thought you saw a camel in Somerville?"(Well, you never know what those out in the country might buy.)

Last night we had dinner with some of our sweet friends, without kiddos, and as we laughed, talked and shared memories, we had some of those stories. Stories that you cannot share with everyone, stories that only you and your friends get. Mainly because you are so close to them that there is no worry for "what they will think" but also because they know you so well that they get you, they get your personality, life, goofiness, quirks etc...(love you C and H, thanks for getting us!)

I was spending some quiet time this morning and it got me to thinking. Our relationship with the Lord should be that way. We should be so close to Him that when things happen in life, funny, sad, scary, good, etc...He should be the first person we go to. We should run to Him first to tell all of our life stories to. We don't have to worry about what He will think, He already knows and we don't have to worry about if He will still love us, that can never change. I also think He laughs with us in the funny stories, He after all created the horses and camels ;)! So whatever happens to you today, whatever story your life writes today, run to the one person who gets you the most!

A Productive Day

2009-07-25T20:03:00.015-05:00

Well I guess today was our first official day to pack up stuff and move it into storage. We got up this morning and went to rent a storage unit. Once we got all of that squared away we started up in the attic. It was as hot as blue blazes up there (I never really went up there, I just stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched Braxton hand me stuff down but I could tell from the huge sweat rings on his shirt and the dripping brow, bless his heart) but we managed to clean out our entire attic. There is zip, nothing, nada up there. I love the feeling of having things cleaned out and organized but good grief the process of getting there is hard. Very similar to another process of cleaning out but in a spiritual sense. I love the feeling of when I have confessed and repented of sin in my life, cleaned out the attic so to speak but the process is not always fun.

After two trips to the storage unit we picked up our adopted son for the summer. Every summer for the past several years we have adopted a summer staffer from SOS www.sosmemphis.org It has been a huge blessing for us. We enjoy getting to know these college students. It is so encouraging to see their passion for service and for the Lord. This summer our "son" is Tremaine. Tremaine just graduated from High School in Jackson, TN and will go to Union University in the fall and play basketball. He is an amazingly mature young man who we have really enjoyed getting to know. Treamine came over tonight and hung out with the fam. My kids love having him over. I love what Tremaine is teaching them about being in love with Jesus, humility, and service over self.

We are now ending the day watching The Iron Man Race. It is always something so inspiring to watch. Especially while eating a piece of Carmel Cake. I get the same kind of feeling when I am eating a bowl of ice cream watching The Biggest Loser. Someday, I think, someday I will get there, just kidding I don't ever want to run that hard unless something is chasing me. In all seriousness I do seem to get choked up every year watching. Watching these people work so hard for something and then watching some of them succeed and some fail. It makes me cry every year, the commentators, the music, the watching of people cross the finish line with tears in their eyes and fist pumping in the air, I hope to finish the "good race" that way someday.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Switching Over

2009-07-24T20:52:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I switched from wordpress to blogspot. It could be due to the fact that I could not figure out wordpress and blogspot is so user friendly, or it could be that I was feeling a little like I was using Cricket phone service when everyone else was using AT&T (no offense to Cricket users but you know what I mean) or it could be that I had lunch with my friend Wendy today and she said I was much cuter than my current font and I could not figure out how to change my font on wordpress. I guess at the deep root of me I am a little vain and everyone that I know uses blogspot and not wordpress. Call it peer pressure or whatever you want, I switched.

Woo Hoo

2009-07-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

Huge answered prayer!! The tree on the lot on Allison affectionately referred to as the “beast” is coming down by the city!!! We are so grateful! Thanks to those of you that hit your knees to pray about that. It was going to be a huge expense out of our pocket if the city would not remove it. There were 3 major power lines running through the tree so it was a burden for them as well. There is a picture of the tree in a previous blog. It is massive and a shame that it was not in the backyard instead of the front, it could have been a great tree house tree!

New Adventure

2009-07-24T20:49:00.002-05:00

About 6 or 7 months ago we started to talk and pray about our next steps. We love our home and as you know it is such a huge part of our story/faith journey (especially with the full court ) but we started rapidly running out of room. Preston now stands at 5 feet tall and is only getting bigger; Bennett and Emma are growing like weeds as well. So we thought we would have to do one of two things. We could add on to our existing home or we would have to sale this home and build another house a little bit bigger. So we meet with a couple of contractors and talked to some people about what our best options were. We came to the conclusion that truly our best bet would be to sale the house on Hopkins and build again. In late May we met with Robert Montague, director of the BDC, and discussed where we could go. He told us about some available lots on Allison, just about 4 streets up from where we live now. We spent the next few days praying about what God would want us to do.

After praying and talking to some close friends we decided Allison was where we felt God moving us. We committed to Robert to purchasing one of the available lots. In this was also a blessing in that The Parkinson family (Ben is one of the pastors at our church) and The Crenshaw family (great friends that live on Hopkins with us now) are moving on Allison as well. We then started to pray about selling our current home. I really did not think it would happen fast at all. In my head I was thinking we would be here for about another year before we could move or start building. But God always is surprising me! We sold our house within about 2 weeks of talking to the BDC and making plans of where our new house would be. (Thank you Soup Campbell!) Is that affirmation or what??

The last 2 weeks have been filled with meeting with bankers, builders, architects, tree people (we have a huge tree that we refer to as “the beast”) that has to come down on our new lot. New prayer request, we are hoping that the city will take this tree down for free, otherwise it is going to cost us big!!!! It has been a whirlwind roller coaster ride for sure. But isn’t that the best way? I was having lunch with a friend on Friday and was telling her this story and I started saying, when you give your life over to Christ and die to yourself, you are not made any promises about what the future will be here on this earth. So there are times when it is smooth and straight, fast and downhill, slow and uphill, sometimes you are laughing your head off and sometimes you are scared to death but here is the best part, I know who runs my roller coaster and I trust Him. And at the very end of this ride two thing will be for sure, it will not have been boring and I will end the ride spending eternity with my King.

People are always asking us, “What do you do in Binghamton?” And the answer is simply this; we don’t “do” anything other than live out the gospel. We love Jesus, each other, disciple our children, take care of our home and family, love our neighbors, and give God the glory for all he has done. We hope by just “living” and not necessarily “doing” people can see Jesus in us and want to know what is different. All we know is that he has called us to live in Binghamton and regardless if that is because of something he is going to do in our lives or someone in the neighborhood we are going to be obedient to His call.

Our entire family is so excited about our move, okay so Emma has not a clue but the rest of us are super excited! We have loved being a part of this community and truly could not imagine living anywhere else. We believe God is doing a new thing in Binghampton and in Memphis and we are thrilled that he would allow us to be a tiny part of it. We don’t feel like we Have to live in Binghampton we feel like we Get to live in Binghampton. We pray that our kids will learn they are blessed to be a blessing here and that everyone deserves a loving neighbor-Mark 12:30-31.

We would ask that you pray for us in these ways:
1. That everything with the selling of this house would go smoothly and we would close and be able to transition without any roadblocks. (My mom has graciously offered for us to move in with her until our home is built.)
2. Pray for my mom as she gains 5 new roommates Peace, patience would be just a few things I could think of for her -Love you mom!
3. Pray for our new home on Allison
4. Pray for our builder and that everything would run smoothly in the building process
5. Pray for that “Beast” of a tree to be taken down by the city
6. Pray for our new neighbors on Allison (I will let you know names as I learn them) some of them…are Chris, Taurus, Jackie and Phil, The Parkinson family (Ben, Aimee, Abigail, Anna, and Allie), The Crenshaw family ( Brian, Erin, Austin, Olivia, and Eliana)
7. Pray for our neighbors that we are leaving and for Marcus who is purchasing our home. Pray that it will be as much of a blessing to him as it has been to us!

What the World Values

2009-07-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

We had the appraisal on the house we are selling a couple of days ago. I spent all day cleaning like a mad woman, dusting, sweeping, picking up and lighting every candle known to man. I thought if the appraiser walked in and saw a clean house and it smelled good then it would definitely raise the value, right? I even imagined him in my head going back to work and saying to his co-workers, “you are never going to believe the house I just went in, it was SOOO clean and it smelled of cinnamon and freshly baked cookies.” I was so proud of myself! My poor children only had a few toys they were aloud to drag out all day. Well the time came and the man came in and I don’t think he even noticed my candles, he pulled out his tape measure, zipped through my house in no time and then was gone. He did however in a round about way ask why I lived where I live. I was able to share with him the short version of our story. After he left I started looking out my window and noticing some of the houses around me. I started thinking about how the world we live in places value on the way things appear. Any “normal” person coming into our neighborhood would not see value in the run down house around the corner, they would not see value in the dirty 9 year old in my backyard that probably has not had a clean shirt in weeks, they would not see value in the 75 year old woman next door who lives on a fixed income, doesn’t have central heat and air and still hangs her clothes out back to dry. But there is someone that places great value on those people. There is someone that looked down on humanity when we did not look so pretty, cleaned up and definitely did not smell good and saw value in us. So much so that he sent his only son to die for us that we might live! I am so glad that I serve a God who does not place value in what the world values.

The Beast at the End of the Hall

2009-07-24T20:25:00.002-05:00

We took Preston for his eleventh birthday on a trip to Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. We left Emma with my mom and just took the boys. We had a great time! The boys loved it. I think we rode every roller coaster and water ride (I truly hate these, there is nothing worse than being cold, wet and walking around in full clothes) known to man. I would like to personally thank the person that invented the “family dryer” for a low low price of $5(I am being sarcastic) you can fit your whole family inside of this contraption and it blows warm air on you for 3 minutes. Does not dry you at all but you feel a little less inappropriate walking around. Preston and I rode the Beast, which was the funniest thing ever, well the ride wasn’t funny but the picture they took of us riding was well worth the price of admission. Preston is eyes wide open, grinning from ear to ear and loving it, I on the other hand have my eyes glued shut, mouth wide open and look like something at the beginning of a horror movie. Shortly after we rode they shut down the ride for “mechanical issues” see, so my face just knew something the rest of the people did not…the ride was apparently breaking, NICE! I should have paid the $12.99 for that picture in case The Beast never re-opens. All in all it was a great trip. I am so glad I am married to a man that is anything but passive. He is so incredibly intentional with our children, not wasting one minute of precious time with them. There were signs all over that park of passivity in men. Several teenage boys were walking around with multiple piercings, tattoos and shirts that said things that would make you blush and I wanted to walk up to every one of them and say, tell me about your home life, tell me about the role of your father in your home? I would venture to guess that the answer would be the same, absent. It breaks my heart and makes me so thankful for a husband that is not absent.

We stopped at the Creation Museum on the way home. I would like to give it a rating of somewhere between cheesy and pretty good. If you drew a line straight down the middle of those two that is where this museum would be. We were greatly encouraged to buy a seasonal pass and for the life of me I could not figure out why someone would want to do that. Seriously, once is plenty.

We arrived home late last night and mom had kept Emma up to see us. She looked a little confused and excited all rolled into one. Like, hey, where have you people been? It took us forever to get her in the bed, I think she was afraid we would leave again. I have to go now there is a beast at the end of my hall called laundry and for some reason I don’t think they will shut this one down…ever.

From the Beginning

2009-07-24T20:22:00.007-05:00

I realized a few days ago that I just started this blog willy nilly without really starting from the beginning. Some of you know the story others of you may have lived part of the story with us but for the sake of documenting and for the few of you that don’t know I will now “tell the rest of the story…”

It all started in early 2004, okay truthfully it started way before then but trust me you don’t want to know the WHOLE story. So it was 2004 and Braxton was on the missions committee at Christ Methodist. We had some close friends that had moved into the neighborhood and I pretty much thought they were ridiculous but I also knew that they did not have kids yet and the minute they did they would not want to live there anymore. Why in the world would anyone want to raise kids in the hood. So he comes home from one of his meetings and says, “I really feel like God is calling our family to move into Binghampton.” I said, “Yes sweet husband, you lead and I will follow.” (That is what I should have said) Okay, here is the truth… Insert bug eyes here…WHAT?!?!?! You have lost your mind, we have two young children and we cannot do something like that, please pray about that some more because if you go you go alone. Insert me putting my foot down. (I was so wrong for this!)

I thought that was that, surely he would listen to reason. Reason being his wife that would constantly bring up all the bad stuff that was happening in Binghampton and then put in front of him his two beautiful angelic sons.

About 3 months after he dropped that little bomb shell we signed up to do a missions blitz with our Sunday School class. We volunteered with the BDC, Binghampton Development Corporation. We met on a blazing hot Saturday in August in the front yard of another set of our radical and crazy friends who had moved into the neighborhood. Brian Crenshaw who at the time was working for the BDC welcomed us and said, “thanks for coming today. we are going to walk across the street to this yellow house and do some work on it. The BDC has purchased the home and we are trying to fix it up to move in an intentional family. Before we begin let’s pray.” Well as we started to pray I had one of those moments that I will never forget, in fact it still gives me chill bumps to this day. The Holy Spirit in a still small quiet way said in my heart, “that is your family.” Well, we finished praying and I was hoping to heaven that my husband had not heard the same thing, I was pretty sure I had just made that up in my head. So no sense telling anyone, right? We proceeded to walk across the street and work on the house. The minute we walked in I felt sick, no way I could ever live there. It was incredibly small, dirty, messed up floors, ceilings, etc..

Fast forward to October 31st, Braxton and I have been looking around at houses. We are preparing to buy a home finally, it took us 4 years to sale our house in Ripley. We found a home that I simply loved. It was so cute, in a great area and had a screened in back porch with a swing. Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE a swing. So, we were going to sign a contract on the house the next day. Well that night I could not sleep at all, tossed and turned, had bad dreams, the whole nine yards. I woke up the next morning and was in the worst mood. I went to work without even really speaking to Braxton. It was at about 2:00 that day that Braxton calls and says, “I have not been able to get a hold of the mortgage guy or the real estate agent all day.” At this point I burst into tears and say, I know why, we are supposed to live in Binghampton, I just don’t want to. He sits there in silence for a few minutes and then says, “I know, I have known that all day, I just did not know how to tell you.”

We talk for a few more minutes and then I tell him I am going up to talk to Robert Montague, director of the BDC. I walk into Robert’s office and begin to sob again. I am pretty sure he thought at first I had gotten lost on my way to the counseling office, but once I was able to complete a sentence I told him Braxton and I wanted to live in Binghampton.

We talked for awhile and in the next few weeks we rode around the neighborhood looking at lots and talking about options. In the meantime, I still had not told a soul about what the holy spirit had placed on my heart back in August. Also, we had decided not to tell anyone about us moving to the neighborhood until we knew for sure where that would be and what it would look like. We knew it was going to be a shock for our families. It was right before Thanksgiving and I was on the phone with my sweet friend Erin Crenshaw, Brian’s wife, and she said, “Oh, I meant to tell you, you know that house that your Sunday School class worked on? Well they are going to tear it down and build another house. It needs too much work to fix it up.” I about freaked out!! I had heard right, this was the place where the Lord was leading our family. I immediately called Braxton and told him. We then called the BDC and told them we wanted to build on that lot.

So after much prayer, paperwork, telling our families, etc… we started to build in June 2005. We moved into our home on December 18,2005. It has been a journey and one that I am so glad I did not miss out on. I will tell you now that by maturity in the Lord if my husband comes home tomorrow and tells me we are moving to China I will follow without hesitation, maybe with medication but without hesitation ;)