"....I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~James 10:10~

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thursday Night Fun!!!

Trav and I took Rex out on the town tonight and he had a great time! He loves riding in the car! He begged us to stop at Papa Dukes for a cat nip cocktail but we told him he'd have to wait until next time! lol!!! I in no way condone cocktails of any kind! haha! Just kiddin'! He's always trying to get into something...lol!

Oh Yeah...You may have already seen it, but you gotta check out this HILARIOUS You Tube visit!!!

Click Here to watch!!!

Me and Travis died laughing...I think you will too!

Well...YOU KNOW WHAT THURSDAY NIGHT FUN LEADS TO RIGHT....FRIDAY!!!! I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say TGIalmostF! We are going to my little brother's basketball game tomorrow night and I can't wait. Last time I walked in the gym he stopped dead in his tracks under that basket and yelled..."Laura, Laura, Hey! I'm over here!!!" and then I heard him yell..." Laura, watch this!" So we are sure to be entertained! He made six baskets last time..what a BALLER!!! How Fun!

Goodnight and have a great FRIDAY everyone!!!

Yea for Fridays, Yea for fat white cats, and Yea for a good laugh!!!


One more thing...Have you seen this BABY BELLY???

Monday, February 9, 2009

SK8R CHICKS!




I'm 26 now!



What a Wonderful birthday weekend!


I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband, so many GREAT friends, and such a loving family...all of whom made my birthday such a very special day! My Birthday started with a very special gift from Travis. We went to the "Marriage God's Way" conference in Greenville at First Pres. It was put on by Greg and Erin Smalley and it WAS FANTASTIC! I can't think of any way I'd rather spend my birthday than with my husband as we learned how to love God and each other even more! During the break on Saturday we had lunch at Chicora Alley and walked around Falls Park for awhile. It was a beautiful day and it made me feel like God was smiling down on me on my special day. We strolled around a little more, got to play with a beautiful Burmese Mountain Dog (i would have never known that except for his owner told me...lol!), and just talked about the wonderful things we had learned during the conference. Then...HOORAY...Trav took me to the Goodwill and I found a HUGE box full of Fourth of July decorations for 5 bucks! LUCKY ME! JACKPOT! Watch out Lakewood...our campsite is going to be DECKED OUT this summer! (Like that mom? haha!)

I also found a couple of Berenstein Bear books which I've been trying to collect for awhile now so I guess I hit the double jackpot! After Goodwill we went to Dick's sporting Goods and Trav got to use the giftcard he got for his birthday to buy a new golf bag and we browsed the camping section for awhile. (I'm practically stalking the Corn Hole game there!) Our sweet tooth kicked in about the time we checked out there so we went to Marble Slab and got some icecream. Oh yeah, word to the wise, be careful next time you have samples there because surely someone else has made this same mistake. Here goes....

I was having a VERY HARD TIME deciding between the snow cream, cheesecake, and birthday cake flavors so I tried them all before finally settling with cheesecake (Yummy!). I put my little spoons in the container on top of the counter where all the other little spoons were and happily went on about my business deciding between butterfinger or cookie dough mix-ins. BUT as soon as I looked up in satisfaction that I had make the perfect dessert I saw the woman behind the counter reach into the little container I had "properly disposed" my germy little spoon in, scoop out a hearty-sized sample of triple fudge for the eager woman behind me and hand it to her....

"WAIT!!!...THAT WAS MY SPOON!", I screeched! "And you should probably go ahead and dump that out and start over with a fresh batch of little spoons because somewhere in there are my other two licked-all-over spoons." Ooops...I was just trying to be nice and clean up after myself! Lol! Luckily the lady behind me had a great attitude and got a really good laugh too...but I promise you she is going to be very cautious the next time she reaches out for a sample!



So after my Marble Slab fiasco it was time to head back to First Pres for the Banquet that closed the conference. We had steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, salads, and cheesecake and it was delicious! We really had such a great time!

Sunday morning, the day of my actualy birthday, Travis surprised me with my favorite breakfast, a Bojangles biscuit (on your birthday you have the right to eat lots of trans fats infested foods, right?) and we went to Sunday School. My friends, Jessica and Ray, gave me a SNUGGIE and I was so excited I almost peed my pants! I've been wanting a Snuggie since Christmas and they remembered! They are great friends and it just meant a whole lot to me! THANKS JESSICA AND RAY! After church we went to my Granny's house for a big sunday birthday lunch! My Granny is such a good cook and she fixed all my favorites including a strawberry shortcake birthday cake! I also got lots of nice presents! I got a new wreath for my front door from my Gran and Pop, money from Amy, Eddie, and Meagan and more money from Fran, Carl, Morgan and Camryn, a wrought iron picture collage already filled with pictures of me with my family from my mom, dad, Nikki, Ali, and Brian, a heart shaped back scrubber also from the Mercers :) , a visa gift card, also from the Mercers:) , a valentine gown and coffee mug from Molly and John, an awesome hand made elephant bracelet from my Aunt Fran (she makes gorgeous sterling silver jewelry), a beautiful hand made bracelet from my cousin Morgan, an elephant picture holder that was on my cake from my Gran and Pop, and other various knick knacks! Bette and Nun Nun gave me a beautiful cream sweater, I got a cute stationary set from Vanessa, Tim, and Hunter, and MOOLA from Ken and Lynn! My little brother Brian gave me a one-eared plastic moose, a bouncy ball, and a "bubble gum scented necklace, bracelet, and earring holder" which was his empty bubble gum container! It was too cute...and thoughtful too I might add!

I found the perfect place for my one-eared plastic moose too, just incase you were wondering!



After lunch my mom and I took pictures of her parapro's children for Valentine's Day. We had such a great time setting it up and later making all the edits and crops. We also worked on her website for awhile. Me and Ali went to the new Ingles in Elberton (this is a very big deal people!) and got some stuff to make homemade Nachos!

We got home around 12 am and February 8th turned into February 9th...and I fell asleep thinking about what a great day it had been! I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Yea for such an awesome weekend!

Update on Jenna!

Reading this update this morning at Caring Bridge made my heart sing! We have a God who is still in the "miracle business" and we give him all the praise for this great news! Please continue to pray that Jenna will be completely healed!

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"Jenna went to Duke on Thursday and Friday, February 5 and 6. She got news that she would receive radiation for about 6 weeks and chemotherapy for 4 months. She will have to stay at Duke for the duration of the treatments, and is planning on getting an apartment to stay in temporarily while she receives the treatments. She is returning to Duke on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 for her stem cell boosting shots at the chemotherapy clinic. She is receiving these shots so that the doctors can harvest her stem cells before the radiation treatments, and re administer them during chemotherapy. She received her spinal tap during her previous visit, and one of the tests came back clear and not showing any cancerous proteins. We are still waiting on the results of more tests, and Jenna will be receiving more scans and tests when she returns to Duke on Wednesday. She will actually start her radiation treatments Tuesday, February 17. Jenna is improving daily and is recovering very well, and she will continue with her physical therapy with therapists at Duke. The doctors have said that her mobility and vision will improve as the swelling from the surgery continues to subside. Radiation therapy should not interfere with her recovery. Jenna is still very high in her spirits, and we all continue to appreciate all of your prayers. Please keep on praying that Jenna's recovery will be swift, and her reaction to the treatments will be mild. We will keep you updated on her progress!"

Reflections of Grace Photography

FYI:

I'm so EXCITED I just wanted to share this with all of you guys! My mom and I started a photography "venture" recently and we did our first official sitting yesterday! We had a blast and I think the photographs turned out great (which isn't too hard when the kids are so darn cute)! We truly just enjoy it SO MUCH and have such a great time working on this together! The picture below my mom took of my little brother in his football "gear"! I just wanted to brag on her work a bit and let everyone know where you can go to see our portfolio. My mom is naturally very artistic and began taking pictures as a hobby several years ago. Since then she has progressively "moved on up" in the photography world and invested in a FABULOUS camera, specialized lenses, ect. Check it out at:

http://myreflectionofgrace.blogspot.com/ or click on the photo to be redirected to Reflections of Grace Photography!

"Center" of Attention
~Original Photograph by Kathy Mercer~


Oh yeah....I almost forgot...GO DAWGS! hehe....

Monday, February 2, 2009

Grace at the Ole' Grindstone!

Today was my first day back at work after two WONDERFUL, RELAXING Weeks off! As a social worker at DSS I was at the point of almost despair about going to work, thinking about work, DOING WORK (lol!), ect. You get my drift...

Everyday I went to work I started sending those familiar text messages to Travis...."I have just GOT to get a new job!" "I just can't take this anymore!", and so on and so on....until I was just about at the point of tears....

But in all HIS POWER, God opened a new door for new and brought me to this day when I went back to work with a fresh mind, spirit, and perspective on what it is that He has called me to do. Sunday night at church, God used Pastor Tony to help convict me of this terrible work attitude! Part of the sermon was about how no matter where you are, at what time, or for what reason, God has DIVINELY planned that very moment. It's an opportunity, not a burden. It's a gift, not another long night at work. I am not working for the state of South Carolina, I am not working for my boss, I am not even working for a paycheck when it comes right down to it...I am working for JESUS and for the over 400 foster children in our state that HAVE NO FAMILY, HAVE NO SECURITY, AND SOMETIMES HAVE EVEN REACHED THE POINT OF NO HOPE...

I pray that God will continue to guide me as I attempt to walk in His will, knowing that doing so is only by HIS GRACE AND HIS STRENGTH, to try my very best to be his hands and his feet...

So... that's when He "snapped" me out of my selfish mindset and renewed my focus and purpose on why I even do this job at all. There are SO MANY children who have suffered so much more than I've ever dreamed of, and NEVER AT THEIR OWN HANDS, but at the hands of those who were given the job of protecting, loving, and nurturing. Their little lights of faith in love, family, and belonging were snuffed out before they even had a chance to burn. That leads me to this question...where can you take over? Where can you step in and do the job that their parents were supposed to do...but didn't...Can you be the light that leads them out of the darkness of pain and abandonment and into HIS LIGHT?

Can you help? Can you be that loving, nurturing, protective person to rescue a child and give hope back to a little, hurting heart? Can you heal the wounds of self doubt and cover them with the bandaid of a kind word, a warm bed, and a compassionate heart? More than EVER children in our state need the open arms of a caring foster parent to be the smiling face they DESPERATELY need to see! After all, in my line of work, a smile really is worth a thousand words! That's all it takes...a willing heart, a compassionate spirit, and the LOVE OF CHRIST TO RESCUE A WORLD IN NEED!

There are so many ways you can help...please join me in looking for opportunities to step up to the plate and pick up the bat for the ones who can't pick it up themselves! It's up to us....we're all they've got...and HE is all we've got...LET US SHARE WHAT WE HAVE WITH THE WORLD!

Yea for CHILDREN, Yea for JESUS, YEA FOR HOPE!!!