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

Sunday, October 28, 2012

{Celebrating MaMa}

Romans 14:8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Last Friday morning, my special Great Grandmother, MaMa, went to be with Jesus. She also got to be with PaPa again...a day I'm sure he's been eagerly anticipating. I'm sure he couldn't wait for her to see how wonderful a place the Lord had prepared for her after she enjoyed a long and healthy 97 years here on earth.

I remember many special things about MaMa....

She ALWAYS had candy bars. She loved chocolate more than anyone I've ever known. She loved to give us Milky Way's and Three Muskateer bars when we visited. And we loved eating them!

She had a beautiful display of pictures in her home. A whole shelf that was FULL of framed family photos. I always loved looking at all of them and wondering what life was like for her and PaPa throughout all of those years and memories.

She loved beauty products. From a young age, I loved going into her bathroom and looking through all her body powders, lipsticks, and perfumes. Sometimes she would share her Clinique free gifts with us and we felt so fancy:) Perhaps that's where my obsession began...:)

She would not let her pocketbook leave her side no matter what. At family functions, if she lost sight of it, she would ask where it was and insist that someone bring it to her. She was buried with a purse in hand...they only way she would have wanted it. We loved hearing her hollar for that purse :)

She gave us all of her spare change. As I grew older, the change started going to the younger children and they enjoyed it like we had for all those years. I would always wonder if MaMa had a bag of change when she came to visit :)

I am so thankful to have these happy memories to help me remember my MaMa. I feel so blessed to have had a Great Grandmother for 29 years. I can't wait to tell my own children stories of MaMa and PaPa one day. 

Today was MaMa's funeral. Throughout the day I was reminded of the blessings of family. MaMa  lived an incredibly blessed life and thanks to her and PaPa, I also got the best papa (grandfather) in the whole world, too! Each generation is such a blessing to the next and each carries on the legacy of memories of those who have gone before them. I think it's so awesome how God designed families to work in such a special way:)

As I said goodbye to MaMa, it was with a full heart and much gratitude. I looked around at all the people I loved who were gathered around her and thanked the Lord for the blessings her life brought us all. 

MaMa is surely alive with the Lord. I can't wait to see her again one day!

Love,
Laura

Monday, October 15, 2012

{In need of a ROUTINE!}

Travis and I really are a match made in Heaven.

There are so many reasons why but tonight's post involves one that allows us to live in peace and harmony most of the time...

We are both incredibly messy, unorganized (sort of), and "fly by the seat of our pants" (totally!) kind of people. Since we are both this way, we never argue over who left their shoes laying in the hallway or who left the cap off the toothpaste. At any given time either one of us could be culprit. Since neither one of us is really that concerned with the proper way to load a dishwasher or the linen washing schedule we are never nagging each other to get things done. Although this kind of laid back lifestyle makes for lots of excitement...it can also lots of chaos!!! (As in--OMG!!!!---What happened to this house!???!!)

For example, we both need to be at work by 8:30 am and we're rarely out of bed by 8:05. This means, to make it to work on time, we run around like mad people, throw on some matching clothes, and hobble out the door with a slung together pb&j breakfast (if we're lucky:) and a cup of coffee---which Travis normally spills on his work shirt going out the door. Not again....

We have absolutely no rhyme or reason to our day. (other than going to work since their are bills that seem to show up in the mailbox every month for some reason:) There are no chores we do daily, no wake-up times, no bedtimes, no nothing...and this is scary because we don't even have kids yet and barely manage to get everything done in a day. Yikes! We do try to feed the pets most day. Kidding.

On the other hand, since we often DON'T get around to "important" things like laundry, breakfast, and doing the dishes, we are able to make time for the fun stuff like long walks with Glory, watching movies and snuggling, going out to eat late at night, playing family feud on the laptop until 2 am, and the list goes on and on.

What we need is a balance of the two. So I'm setting up a schedule that I think will help us manage to live like normal people while still having tons of FUN time, too!

New Rada Rules:

1. We will empty the sink and dishwasher every night before bed.
2. We will finish all laundry that is in the washer or dryer daily, including folding and hanging it all up.
3. I will shower at night and put my outfit together the night before.

These are so simple that implementing a PLAN to do these things might seem silly to some but for us they're a necessity. I think these three simple tasks will make all the difference in the world for having a tidy home and peace of mind...and more room for more spur of the moment fun stuff, too!

Hopefully, since we're also trying to start a family, this will help us prepare for the SHOCK of being a Mom and Dad for the first time. At least I hear it's quite the adjustment. Probably even more for us extremely left-brained couples:)

Well, since it's 11:15 now I'm thinking it would be wise to implement the bedtime rule now.

Love,
Laura 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

{Hunter's B-day + Pumpkin Carving Party}

Perhaps the best part of the day was the new church we visited this morning!

We went with family to The Bridge and we are super excited about visiting again next week:)

After church, we went to Carson's for Hunter's birthday lunch--Happy Birthday Hunter!!!
Bette ordered a sweet potato and asked the server to take this back and get her the right thing. However, upon tasting, it was actually an albino sweet potato...who knew?

Later in the afternoon was Nikki and Andrew's pumpkin carving party:)







Icky Guts!!!

YUMMY seeds for roasting!
One big happy Jack-O-Lantern family:)
                                               
Camryn won first place with her little grinning pumpkin! Mom and Dad's monster pumpkin and Morgan's "Let your light shine" creation tied for second:)
My silly creation got a whopping ZERO votes...which was quite comical actually:)
After carving, we were all hungry! Dad made homemade soup and Fran made chili, topped with Granny's cornbread muffins:)

...and for  a consolation prize, Mom and Dad gave me their 3rd place treat---they're so sweet!
Love,
Laura 

Saturday, October 13, 2012

{Piece of Cake!}

So far this weekend I've eaten so much good food...
Who says Chinese has to be unhealthy. I asked for the chicken and broccoli steamed with no sauce and it was DELISH!
Egg Drop Soup---one of my favorites!
Free BBQ sandwich at the park:)


We went to a fall festival sponsored by North Anderson Baptist Church in the park beside our house...

We fished...
...and met the firemen...








...and watched a puppet show:)

 ...and then Makayla and I won the CAKE WALK on our first try! Lucky # 12! :)
So...that's what's for dessert!
...and that just might be what put such a big smile on this guy's face, too!

Have a Fabulous FALL Weekend!

Love,
Laura

Thursday, October 11, 2012

{...fat slice of humble pie}

One thing I love about my job is that I'm constantly reminded of each tiny blessing in my life and that helps me put even the biggest "problem" into perspective. And then I realize...there wasn't even a problem to begin with....

I'll tell you about a real problem.

A problem is when you're only 11, you have lived in Foster Care for years, your parent's rights have been terminated by the courts and you can't call them, write them, or even think about them without your heart falling apart---

So you try to put your heart back together-------uhh-gin.

You can't communicate with anyone in your "old family" because legally, they no longer exist.

You move from place to place to place until someone finally decides they'll "keep you"---like a new pet.

But then you aren't as easy or as cheap as they thought you'd be...so they send you on your merry little way.  

And slowly, you forget what it's even like living in a family and decide that the whole idea is just stupid anyway.

THIS.BREAKS.MY.HEART.

But then....I see a little bitty bit of joy hiding on that child's face. It's there somewhere.

Sometimes I find it with cool new pair of shoes, a pat on the back, a genuine smile, or a shared glance that says "I understand"...

Sometimes I find it with  a Happy Meal, a silly face, a new sticker, or a great big hug that says "you ARE special!"....


And that's when he has hope that this problem wont' last long...

---only until he's part of a family that lasts forever.

~My heart is heavy tonight for children who are trying to put their hearts back together at this very moment---Lord, please BLESS them and glue their heart's back together for good!~


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

{Ok now....SMIIIILE}!

This face....
...and this face...



...say it all:) It's been a great week!

Makayla came to play this afternoon while Molly worked late and guess what we found?!?
 !...Itty-Bitty-Kitties...!

Glory sniffed them out and we discovered them in the bushes. Awww!

Mama Kitty has already moved them to a new spot but I hope we can find them again and socialize them some. We don't need any more wild cats in our neighborhood and if we do end up with more I'd like to at least be able to pet them:)

And now it's time for bed 'cause this girl has to get up at the ungodly hour of 6 am. I may not survive. But to ease the pain, a bowl of this might put a smile on my face ---at the crack of dawn ;/
Nighty Night:)

Love,
Laura