The M&M Incident of 2011

So last Thursday afternoon turned out to be very eventful for me! James Henry and I had gone grocery shopping, while we were in the checkout line he picked up a tube of mini M&M's. I purchased them for him and off we went. We got home and I was unloading the truck, James Henry walks up to me and says "There a num-num in my nose" I should probably tell you that num-num is what he calls M&M's!

It took me a minute to come to grips with what he was saying and then I was like "What"!

I looked in his nose and there it was,a yellow M&M! It was actually pretty far up there! I tried to get him to blow it out  and instead he sucked it up farther.I called my friend, she said it may melt. Then I started thinking what if it doesn't or what if it's lodged somewhere? So I called our wonderful pediatrician and he said to come in. So I quickly grabbed the kids from school and headed to the doctor. Sure enough, he pulled out what had not melted and what remained of the yellow M&M!

It is funny looking back! It was also a very odd phone call to my husband who was of course working away. James said "There's a what in his nose?"

I'm sure this is a story we will tell for years! Here is a video I took of James Henry recounting his day. James and I are calling it "The num-num interview" Enjoy!

Tri-State Fair Parade

Last Saturday Makayla (and I) marched in her very first parade! She has been waiting to walk in a parade since she joined Girl Scouts last year! She was over the top excited!
  We marched in The Tri-State Fair and Rodeo parade which celebrates the kick-off of the fair. It was a mile and a half long and we saw so many of our friends along the way! It was a blast.
  We then went to the park for a picnic lunch with her troop and we toured the Amarillo Botanical Gardens.  We finished off with frozen yogurt and an event at the Girl Scout office! It was a great day! I love what girl Scouts is doing in Makayla's life! She loves it.

Scouts

Along with back to school, comes the start of Girl Scouts! Makayla loves Girl Scouts and it has been great for her. They started their year off on 9-11-11, taking food to the firemen at a local station. James and I were so proud of them for doing this! Girl Scouts does alot of great things in our community.

This was the year Christopher has been waiting for...First Grade! In first grade you can join Cub Scouts! He is overly excited. We have never seen him so excited over something before. We officially signed him up last night, with his first meeting next week. He got his pack t-shirt last night and had to wear it to school this morning!

We love the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and what they represent and  what they have brought out in our children!

Writer....

This is a re-blog but it really spoke to me and it explains how I feel alot, my thanks to the writer!

I’m not really a writer.”
I say this to people all the time. It goes something like this, “Oh, I’m not really a writer, not a ‘writer, writer’. I have ideas, but I’m not a writer.”
Chop.
I just chop myself off at the knees every time.

I disqualify myself. I believe my core lie that I’m not good enough, in this case, to be a writer. But I’m not going to say that anymore because I’m learning something. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have perfect grammar. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have to write like the writers I admire. Being a writer doesn’t mean I always like to write. Being a writer doesn’t mean I have to write long blog posts.

Being a writer means…
I write.
And I do that, I write. And I believe that God has a message for me to share with women, and so I write it.

What do you do that you disqualify yourself from? Might I encourage you to do the thing, and be the thing, and not be afraid to say it? You are.

By Sarah Mae, writer.

Friday Night Lights

It is that time of year, time for those Friday night lights. It is in the air, the weather is cooling down , what little leaves we have in the panhandle are changing colors and the fair is one week away! I love this time of year, the fall colors, pumpkins,corn mazes, hoodies and football!

Okay let’s be honest we live in West Texas, football is life around here! Friday nights are a big deal. I just found out that they sell season tickets to High School Football games! There are people (most likely you) that plan all week for their Friday night games. For most of us it is a family affair. This got me thinking about the number of people who enter gates to a football field on Friday nights, more importantly the number of lost people!

How many people do you come in contact with at a game? Think about it..the parking attendant, the person taking your ticket, the people you walk by, the person you are sitting next to, behind, in front of. The players on your team, the cheerleaders, dancers, pep squad. We can come in contact with a lot of people on a Friday night and chances are most of them do not the love and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to plant so many seeds, to be a light in someone else’s life just by telling them “Jesus Loves You”.

Philippians 3:11 tells us “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” This verse works for football and soul-winning.

So tonight at whatever game you are at, in whatever stadium, for whatever school, be a light. Smile, be polite, shake someone’s hand, tell them Jesus Loves Them, invite them to church on Sunday! Do not miss a chance to further the kingdom of God. Tonight, under the Friday Night Lights could be your chance to plant a seed in someone’s life.

MOPS

James Henry and I started MOPS this year and yesterday was our first formal meeting. MOPS is Mothers of Pre-Schoolers but really all children below kindergarten. It is a wonderful faith based group. There is only one in all of Amarillo, I'm so lucky they had a spot for us.
   We meet formally twice a month. The kids go to their own area, pre-school rooms to be exact and they actually have a Veggie Tales Curriculum that they use, as well as play time etc.
  The moms meet downstairs in the church and we start with prayer, coffee and breakfast. We then have prayer requests and a devotional. Yesterday's devotional was on patience something I need alot of for sure! Yesterday we also did a fun craft, took pictures for the MOPS directory and had alot of fellowship! My discussion group is called "Trouble" based off the board game but it is kinda fitting!
   There is also several chances during the month to meet for play dates, like yesterday after the meeting we let the kids play at the indoor church playground, while we fellow shipped a while longer.
  I am so excited to get involved in MOPS and see what the year has in store. I feel very blessed to meet and spend time with other women and Moms who love the Lord as much as I do!

The Power Of Forgiveness

Once Saved, Always Saved, this is the power of forgiveness.

The bible tells us in Romans 8:38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height nor depth,nor any other created thing,shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The definition of forgive is “to pardon”. If you look up forgiving the definition is “able to forgive, allowing room for error or mistakes”. Why does it seem like forgiveness is at times the hardest thing for us to do?

The bible tells us in Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his Grace. God has forgiven us, he has wiped our slate clean. God is truly the only one who knows us inside and out, he knows how black we have been, our every sin and he doesn’t care, he doesn’t hold a grudge, no matter how big or small the sin is,he forgives.

So, why is it we cannot show the people around us the same grace and mercy? Everyone sins, we are human, we will make mistakes, we will hurt other people, are we all not the same? Is one sin bigger than another?, the bible tells us no. We as humans tend to really hang onto the hurt other people have caused us, in the long run this only bonds us to the past. We need to forgive others, to let go of the past and the hurt and anger. We can often set ourselves free when we forgive others. Who in your life do you need to forgive?What in your life do you need to let go of?