Nehemiah: The final verses

I did it.  By the middle of December I finished what I started in January.  I made it to the end of 13 chapters- 406verses- journaling my way through the book of Nehemiah.

The Bible that I keep by my bed quite naturally falls open to that book now.   And I nearly filled a daily planner with my notes- it took me 273 daily pages in my planner-turned-journal.  Which means, I should have finished a couple of months ago.  My journey was steady and consistent until the 13th chapter, or until about September.  And that chapter took me a couple of months to get through.    There are lots of reasons to which I could attribute that decline in consistency, but I think for tonight I will just to choose to focus on the fact that...I made it.  When it comes to Bible Study, I rarely remember finishing anything of this size that I started.  That's sad, I guess, but it made this finish all the sweeter.

And the final verses were worth the journey.  In fact, they tie the entire journey together.  At first glance, unless you have traveled through the whole book, these verses might not mean too much...
" vs 30 So, I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. vs31 I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times and for the first fruits.
Remember me with favor, O my God."

While it seems just another Old Testament ritual, this purification and assignment of duties means that at the end of the day, the end of Nehemiah's story doesn't get tied up with a pretty bow.  There is no definitive conclusion to his work recorded in this book.  In fact, these last couple of verses represent a cycle of years and years of Nehemiah helping the people establish boundaries that will rebuild their destroyed lives, the people repenting and accepting this new life by signing a covenant or agreement to do so, living that way for a while, becoming distracted/negligent/rebellious, falling back into old careless ways and Nehemiah coming back to reestablish boundaries and correct the ways of the leaders. Over. And over. And over.

And at the end of the day, when he must have had an urge to throw his hands in the air and walk away, comes his simple request "Remember me with favor, O my God."

You have no idea how encouraging this idea is to me at the end of 2011.  I'm sure I'm starting to sound a bit like a broken record, but 2011 was a year we experienced the Lord really asking us to do something difficult.  He has probably asked us to countless times before, only this time we walked in it.  BUT what I haven't mentioned much about is that the journey is STILL difficult.  Yes, it was hard to incorporate three additional small children into our home.  Difficult to experience the chaos of doing life with six preschoolers.  To adjust to being a party-of-eight.  But OH MY it was even harder to send them home wondering if a difference had been made.  The truth is we may always be involved with their family and while we believe in MIRACLES, we continue to see a cycle much like that which Nehemiah found himself in.  It seems that at each round of the cycle, new difficulties are uncovered and with such there comes a new temptation for us toward hopelessness.  In all honesty, we must admit that it is possible that we will never, in this life, see a "pretty bow" at the end of this story. 

We are in.  We are all in to this calling that we feel the Lord has set before us.  But that doesn't mean there aren't  days we would like to throw our hands up and say, "Lord, it's useless.  I'm DONE".  Many days.  Yet, we remain.

Remember me with favor, God.  Remember that I have accepted the calling you set before me.  Remember that I didn't always understand what you were asking of me.  Remember that I didn't understand WHY you were asking me to do it AGAIN.  Remember that I offered help, provided resources, offered love and STILL do not see the difference it has made in the story.  Remember me, O God.

Remember that I am human.  Remember that I'm trying.  Remember that sometimes I don't want to try anymore.  Remember that I am learning.  I'm learning how to love truly unconditionally.  I'm learning how to offer help without expecting anything in return.  I'm learning to Trust.  I'm learning to Pray.  And learning to release.  Remember me, O God.  And please, remember me with favor. 

If you find yourself there, seemingly caught there.  Please remember this...We have seen that He does REMEMBER.  And will remember.  Time.  And Time.  Again.

And that was worth the journey.
ABL


Even though I'm finished journaling through the book of Nehemiah, I can't wait to go back through those months and months of notes and start sharing more here.  I can't wait to organize the themes, the lessons learned and see how they might apply in this new season for us.  What an amazing journey it is to study and breathe the Word, the living Word.

Sweet Cbug is FOUR!

Colter was so excited when he woke up this morning.  I do not think he quit grinning all day, he was just that excited about it being his birthday.  He was excited, that is, until he was falling asleep tonight and remembered that he had declared his fourth birthday to be the end of sucking his thumb.  He gripped my hand and snuggled close while he fell asleep.  Every once in a while he would just say "Oh, I REALLY want to suck my thumb" but he didn't.  He never does anything half way and I have no doubt that in that same spirit this end-of-thumb-sucking will be difficult yet manageable for him.  I love that resolve about him.

Cbug-

Your Daddy and I are so thankful for you, our "middlest" son.  We love that you never do anything half-way and that you are passionate about so many things.  You go at high-speed ALL.THE.TIME and often we can not even keep up with you.  We have already seen that the same passion can quickly lead to heart-ache for you when you dive in head first and things do not go the way you desire.  We pray and pray that we will be able to parent that passion in a way that molds and shapes and encourages it so you are never afraid to be excited about the good things that the Lord has in store for you.

You are passionate about your siblings.  You love love love your "Korbs" and would always prefer to pick him as your only playmate in a crowded room of children.  You protect and include your baby sister and just recently the two of you have really enjoyed playing together.  In fact, when you got to choose a Christmas present for her you chose a pony because then she would have two and the you guys could play with them together.  And indeed you already love your tiniest brother, too.  You rarely let us forget to pray for him and you are always quick to be thankful for him.  I love that, to you, family is one of the most important things.

I've never much met a little boy who loves snuggles quite as much as you do.  I can always count on you for some big hugs and kisses...and so can your teachers, your friends and really just about anyone else you meet.  You dish out a very sincere "GUESS WHAT?  I love you" more times a day than I can count.  And somehow seem to know just who needs to hear it most.  This is, no doubt, because of your very apparent passion for people and genuine concern for others.  You love to LOVE.  This summer when your nearly-twin-cousin was heading home, I asked you to choose a few toys to let him take to his house.  You brought me to tears when you chose to give him all of your wooden train track.  Your trains are another thing that you are very passionate about so I was very tempted to talk you out of it, but you were insistent that he needed them because they were "his favorite".  They were your favorite, too, but the choice did not even seem difficult for you because of how much you loved him.  I learned a LOT from you that day, just like I do so often by watching how fiercely you love others.  Sometimes we have to remind you to love a little more gently (to keep you from tackling someone to the ground), but I hope that never takes away from your passion for people.

Another thing you have been very passionate about lately is Heaven.  You ask me all the time when we get to go there, and WHY we can't go right NOW.  You are always wanting to know more about it.  To be honest, I often want to reply, "But CBUG, I want to keep you HERE with ME forever!" But instead, as I snuggle you close and talk about your passion for Heaven, I love that your questions make me too long for that amazing place.  Together we've come up with an answer "I guess God just wants us to tell more people about Jesus first".  So we wait together, and hopefully DO get to share about His great love with others before we go.

C-bug, on your birthday I hope you know just how very much you are loved.  You bring such joy and energy to our lives.  In fact, if we could bottle and sell your unending energy supply or your deep hearty laugh that comes to you so easily we'd be some VERY rich parents.

Then again, I'd say we already are.

I love you more than you can imagine, Buddy!

Love,

Momma

December- "That could have been bad"

I've learned a lot from my parents.  One very important tidbit that my Momma taught me is that it is often beneficial to start a story with "Everything/Everyone is fine, but...".  Taking away the tension of wondering whether anyone is hurt, significant damage is done, etc, eases the blow a bit.  Unfortunately I got to practice that line a couple of times last month.

Everyone is fine, but...
We were in a wreck.
The kids and I were on our way back from across town, in stop-and-go rush hour traffic when the cars in front of us stopped suddenly.  The car in front of me came to a stop, I came to a stop...unfortunately the person behind us did not. And hit us hard enough to push us into the truck in front of us.  It really wasn't that bad, the only reason there was serious damage to the front of my minivan is because the truck in front of me was adorned with a rather large trailer hitch decoration that lodged itself into my front bumper...and pulled the whole bumper off.  Sounds bad, but really, we were smack dab in the middle of one of the busiest interstates in our city at 5pm.  This could have been so much worse.

When impact first occurred, there was a split second when all I could hear was my boys screaming from the back-seat and my heart lodged in my throat.  I turned around to check on them not sure what I would find.  There are not many scarier feelings.  But really the only reason they were so upset was because the toys they had been playing with had scattered and they couldn't reach them.  SERIOUSLY?  I mean, I know they were a little scared, too, but you better believe there was a serious pep-talk at that point about the fact that we need to be so THANKFUL that the Lord kept us safe. It was just an accident and we are ok. The little pep-talk may or may not have ended with "and who CARES about the toys...it probably isn't even safe to have those toys in here anyway."  And you better believe that when I got home I cleaned every single piece of anything I could find OUT of the van.

The ride home after was hilarious.  Kinda.  I mean besides the fact that I was driving a minivan missing its entire front end, the kids' recap was so funny.  KJ was in a constant broken-record-cycle of "Mom, we left our bumper back there on the side of the road.  Mom, we don't have a bumper on the front of our van.  Mom, where can we get a new bumper?  (insert my response of "Mechanics" and his thoughtful "hum, 'mechanic' is an interesting word") Mom, Are you sure it is safe to drive without a bumper. Mom, does Dad know we left our bumper under a bridge?"  ALL THE WAY HOME.   And there was Lou (aka the other Mommy) chiming in with "Guys, it was just an accident.  Accidents happen.  The policeman checked on us and we are fine.  We don't need to cry.  It was just an accident".  Cbug, just wanted to know when he could have his toys back.   And I was just glad we were driving home.

After a vicious two weeks of fighting the insurance cycle, perseverance paid off.  With a combination of pictures, good insight from the truck in front of us and just being plain nice to the adjuster, he FINALLY believed my story that I was in fact STOPPED before the car behind me hit and therefore in no way responsible for paying for the damage to my vehicle or the vehicle in front of me.  That was a huge relief.

No, this is not a picture of our new vehicle.  This is the rental car that my husband came home with.  He "innocently" said, upon return "They offered me a free upgrade".  I was sort-of thinking that might mean a mini-van.  Not this HUGE truck that I got to drive instead.  Oh, Boys.

So, the van is fixed.  Yes, KJ, the mechanic could in fact replace our bumper (that was stolen from the spot I had to leave it on the side of the highway...good thing I thought to remove the license plate).  And in the end we were just thankful that everyone was fine.

Everything is fine, but...

I lost my engagement ring diamond.

Oh i was just sick.  RRL and I were headed to pick up our kids after being at the youth Christmas play at church when I noticed that the diamond in my engagement ring was GONE.  Because of the way my ring is set, I play with the setting pretty frequently, so I knew it had to have happened recently.  But recently could have been in the parking lot, in the bathroom, in the youth center.  Ugh, I was sick thinking about crawling around on my hands and knees all night with a flashlight to find it (totally willing to do it, just dreading that it might not yield the result I hoped for). 

We drove to pick up the kids and I carefully combed over my clothing to be sure it wasn't stuck there.  Then when we stopped I fumbled through the papers on the floorboard while praying that it would just PLEASE BE THERE.  And sure enough, I felt something hard and pointy and there it was.  RRL had it reset the next day and it looks even more sparkly than before in the new setting.  It wasn't so much the idea of the financial burden to replace the diamond that killed me as much as thinking about it being the diamond that he CHOSE just for me more than 10 years before.  To me that was irreplaceable.  And I was thankful it was restored and everything was fine. 

ABL

Christmas in Music City

How can it possibly be too late to blog about Christmas when there are picture treasures like these that have yet to make a blog appearance?

(I still can't figure out why anyone might think these boys are twins)

Before Christmas we celebrated in Music City with my family. 
My WHOLE family.

By a real Christmas miracle we all managed to be in one place at one time for several days.  It has been years since we were all home for Christmas together and it was a true gift.  Our family has grown considerably since the last time we gathered.  Ricky and I have added children and my brothers have added wives (or nearly added) so I finally get to have sisters when we are together!  That said, some of my very favorite memories of the whole season were those when the 12 (including RRL's sister) gathered around the table together laughing about memories and sharing about more recent life experiences.

Another favorite memory is one that gets recreated each year, but always makes my list.

The trip to Lynchburg and Mrs Bobos is always awesome.  Especially when celebrated with this fun crew.

Well, there was that one year...but we won't talk about that. 

I love the fellowship of cousins (old and young)

The fun to be had with Aunts and Uncles.

And of course, anywhere you go with Nonna and Papa J is a TREAT.

Actually, its a treat to be with Nonna and Papa J, even when you aren't going anywhere at all.  In fact, some of the trio's favorite things happen at Nonna and Papa J's house, without going anywhere at all.
Like making biscuits.

And celebrating Christmas.

I love this picture of all of us waiting upstairs before we got to go open presents.  The Aunts and Uncles were great sports about being woken up to head downstairs.  Which is quite amusing to this momma because two of those uncles used to always be the ones to wake ME up to enjoy the morning.

A Christmas highlight this year was going to sing at the nursing home my mom worked for.  The kids LOVE performing for a room full of "grandparents".  Seriously, my kids are naturally not very shy, but this was bold even for them.  They sang, said memory verses, told Christmas poems and just generally entertained.  Must have been the microphone.

And just in case anyone was worried that the trio found some fun to be had while their Daddy and I were off celebrating our anniversary, let me just put those fears to rest.  They had an awesome time being entertained by Nonna, Papa J and Aunt B with everything from adventures outside to going to the zoo to getting to make a special visit to the children's place I loathe most on the planet...CHUCK E CHEESE.  Yep, they were spoiled indeed.

 But my two very favorite memories from the whole week are wrapped up the next two pictures.  They really aren't anything that significant to anyone except their momma, but when I remember Christmas from 2011 these are the two memories I can picture myself thinking back on with a smile.

First of all, around Christmas time, Lou started LOVING to help in the kitchen.  Whether setting the table, helping cook, you name she is right there.  So, when Nonna asked her to wipe the counters after making biscuits she was ON IT.  And even if she didn't quite know how to finish the job, she is smart enough to figure it out...She didn't know that Nonna and I were watching as she meticulously gathered all of the crumbs into a little pile, looked both ways then casually pulled the baking sheet that was on the counter over the little pile.  ALL CLEAN.  Oh, this girl is something else I tell ya.

My other favorite memory of the rascals was getting to sit just far enough away from them at Christmas dinner to hear their conversation.  They were at their own little table, just behind my chair.  Its the first time I can really remember that they just sat and ate and talked and laughed and entertained themselves through the whole meal.  Their conversation ranged all over the map.  I had to restrain my giggles at the things they intently discussed.  It was such a special glimpse for me into the amazing relationship these three are forming.

There ya have it!  Christmas in Music City 2011.  So.much.fun!

ABL

And CELEBRATE we did...

As I mentioned, we had a LOT to celebrate last Wednesday.  Thanks to the sweet gift of over-night babysitting by grandparents and Aunt B, we enjoyed more than 24 hours of just that...

CELEBRATING!

We started with breakfast at one of our favorite places.  It just so happens that this is also the restaurant where RRL asked my Daddy if he could marry me.

 Then we headed out to be tourists in the town I grew up in.  So much has changed since I lived there, even places I visited as a child are much different.  We really enjoyed seeing the sights, but I am fairly certain that we would have enjoyed just about anything that day.  We just have so much fun being together.

Case in point, we even LOVED our lunch of side-of-the road-cart hotdogs and chip.  We giggled and enjoyed our lunch.  It is amazing how good food can taste when you share it with someone you love...and don't have to share bites of it with any little someones.

 As my big surprise from RRL, we checked into this fun hotel that has totally been restored since the last time I was there.  I, of course, loved the tribute to old railroad days.  It was beautiful.

 Next stop, change clothes and head out for a nice dinner downtown.  YUMMY! 

And just because we could (and because we had tickets from Christmas), we went to a late movie.

The next morning, we WILLED ourselves to sleep late...when that only lasted until 8:30 or so, we ate breakfast and went to one more museum (here is where I insert a huge THANK YOU to my Daddy who certainly made traveling as "tourists" in Nville so affordable with passes to museums)

All this celebrating must have putt RRL in an EXTRA good mood because he consented to a girly lunch at one of my favorite places.  The place where I ate with my bridesmaids the day before our wedding.  A place where the median age is somewhere just past grey-hair and the only men in sight are those that have been dragged along.  A place where the common language is barely recognizable because it is dripping with sweet southern drawl...which is only slightly less sweet to me than the restaurant's amazing tea punch.  He let me indulge on this piece of "home" without complaining a bit.  Yep, he certainly loves me.

And I can't think of anyone better to celebrate with!

Loved our day together!!

ABL

Family Photo Treasures

I seriously married into a VERY talented family...and we are totally benefiting from that talent.  We had some amazing pictures taken last fall by one of RRL's cousins who operates Eden Hayes Photography.  If you click on that link to her photography blog you will see an ADORABLE picture of her three children, one of whom was born this summer.  So, rightfully so, she took a break from business for a few months.

When we heard that another set of RRL's incredibly talented cousins was doing mini-shoots this fall we were excited to have updated family pictures taken.  I can't WAIT to share the results with you.  You've seen some of them already.  They took the pictures we used for our Christmas card and the ones on the post about our anniversary.  AMAZING. 

You'll definitely want to check out "Three" for your family photos, but especially if you are planning a wedding.  I L-O-V-E their wedding work.  They also do invitations and signs.  Really, your event would not be complete without them- and I'm not just saying that because they are family.  Check 'em out and their website will speak for itself. Seriously.

I actually have two photo-shoots to share with you.

They took pictures of RRL's whole family this spring and did a great job, especially considering there were 6 little ones aged 5 and under. 

And then they took pictures of our little team of 5 this fall. 

Do you know how rare it is that I walk away from taking pictures and have an awesome picture of every.single.one of my crazies?  And just look at these three...

They also captured some super sweet moments between us with out kiddos

and of our three showing just how much they really DO love each other.

  

Of course like anytime you try to take pictures of three kids this age, there were also moments of

pouting                    sassy-ness              and just plain 'ole running away.

But I also LOVE that they captured those in such a fun and creative way.

These are actually some of my favorite pictures.

Part of what made this shoot so successful, I think, is because the photographers really worked to keep it light hearted and fun.  There was lots of running, laughing, playing, swinging.

(Of course there were also some moments of bribing for smiles)

And in the end, there were so many good family pictures that it was difficult to choose just ONE for our Christmas card.  Not that I'm complaining.  I count it a success when all 5 of us are just looking in the general direction of the camera at the same time.  I'd say this far exceeded that standard.  I was thrilled with the results.

Thanks SO MUCH, Three. 

We are so grateful to have this time season for our family so well documented and captured.  Treasures!

I'm so thankful for talented family!

ABL