Pattyville

Softly and Tenderly

2011-12-07T17:33:00.001-05:00

Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son - who he wants her to help raise - Jade's life is turned upside down.
She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There - while her mother's health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger - Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn't rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.
I didn't realize that Sara Evans, the country singer, wrote books. So, I was surprised when I saw that she had a book available for review on the Thomas Nelson site. Not knowing that Softly and Tenderly was actually a sequel to another book written by her, I went ahead and ordered it.
I found this book to be hard to get into. I think had I read the first book, this one would have resonated with me a little more. I liked the characters, and felt like she gave them depth of emotion, but thought the story could have been a bit more lively and engaging.
This book is classified as Christian Fiction, but is not overly religious so that anyone could pick it up and still find a positive message of Jesus throughout without the feeling of having been preached at.

fall festival and halloween

2011-11-07T01:37:00.000-05:00

Steven and Staci...good looking pirates!

beautiful M and A

gorgeous H

lovin' the skater dude

R looks all grown up!

M and S are too, too cute!

Emma is a beautiful ballerina

These boys are ready for some CANDY!!

I love this pic!

making hooks to go along with the pirate theme

I have no idea what Luke is doing....he snuck in here!

2 of our trick or treaters (we only had 5!)

princess party

2011-11-06T01:26:00.000-04:00

While the Brandhorsts were here visiting, their youngest, Abigail, had a birthday. Well, you know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to host a princess party....although, it had to be thrown together, and we just had to find kids who weren't in school and could come. We had two little boys and one little girl come to the party and we were very grateful! Abigail had a good time being the princess, and I had a good time joking around with her that I was the princess (she quickly reminded me each time that SHE was indeed the princess!). She is a sweetie, that one, and I miss her!

paperless library?

2011-11-05T09:49:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity a week or so ago to visit a school in Columbia that is trying to be "less paper" or paperless. All of the teachers and students have Ipads, and their curriculum content comes from apps that the teacher finds. The library has about 1600 books, but the rest are e-books. I didn't like it. The school was pretty, and the teachers are probably great, especially since they were hand-picked to work there, but I wouldn't want to be there. One of the people I was with felt like it was a science experiment. There were a lot of glitches, but the thing I liked least was the fact that with e-books there is no contact with students. That's my favorite part of my job!! I love talking books with them, recommending books and then hearing what they have to say about them. Sometimes, they even recommend books to me! All of that is gone if they are left to download books on a device. Most of the students I've talked to, and even the ones who were reading that day in the library preferred a book that can be held. I am all for technology when it makes life easier, but taking away the human component is sad. I hope this is not the wave of the future!

tell me about Brazil

2011-11-04T09:24:00.000-04:00

Charlotte talking to a group of our ladies about the food in Brazil.

This purse is made from seeds. It was very pretty!

couple of musical instruments

money

she talked a lot about the fruit, and man it sounds yummy! I can't wait to go to taste everything!

We all had a great time listening to her stories and learning about living on the Amazon! Thanks, Charlotte!!

company

2011-11-03T09:24:00.000-04:00

October was crazy busy! We had the Brandhorsts, missionaries from Brazil, whom we knew in TN come to visit and stay for 11 days. We had a fabulous time talking, laughing, and spending time together; and felt blessed that they got to come! Here's come pics from our week.....although, we didn't get a pic of the whole family together :(

Stevie playing with Abigail

Charlotte and Sara

Rachel

Joshua


Looks like Abigail finally warmed up!

blessed

2011-10-03T07:53:00.000-04:00

Looking at these pictures makes me feel so blessed! I am one proud momma. Thanks, Tracy, for taking the time to do these.

If you live in or near Suwanee, you should check out Tracy Anderson Photography!

thunder dog

2011-10-02T06:45:00.000-04:00

I recently read a book that I didn't really think I was going to like, but since I had gotten it as a review copy, needed to read it anyway. Thunder Dog By Michael Hingson with Susy Flory was amazing! I was captivated with the story from the beginning until the final page.

I was so impressed with the life of Michael Hingson and the courage he and his parents had in the face of his blindness; and how he chooses to live a full life with the help of his seeing-eye dog. While he touches on the relationships with several of the dogs, the most obvious one is with the dog who helped him to escape on that fateful day, September 11, 2001 when America changed.

Roselle, the guide dog, did not like thunder and would whimper and cower when she heard it. However, in the tower that day, she behaved like a champion~as though unaware of danger~ and led Michael to safety in the knick of time.

I highly recommend this book, whether you are an animal lover or just a lover of good stories......it's worth the time!

orphans

2011-09-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

Brush to Berries from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

"Simply giving this person money is treating the symptoms rather than the underlying disease and will enable him to continue with his lack of self-discipline... a better solution would be to develop a relationship that says, we are here to walk with you and to help you use your gifts and abilities to avoid being in this situation in the future'" (An excerpt from the book, When Helping Hurts)

Lifesong is serving the people of Zambia... the orphaned, the at-risk, and the poor... by utilizing the land that is, like the people, so full of potential. Lifesong farms-Zambia reaped its first strawberry harvest in June, and local grocers have been purchasing the berries. With additional acres to farm, we are hoping to process some of the berries and begin marketing Lifesong Farms Strawberry Jam.

By harvesting fruit, we are able to serve more orphans by providing the gift of a job at Lifesong's gardens and self worth to an orphan's caregiver. We are also able to provide future employment for our kids as they transition into adult living, develop a system to raise funds to help cover operational costs, and develop expertise that can be replicated in multiple countries where Lifesong serves. Most of all, we are seeking to glorify Jesus as we teach others how He walked.

**GIVEAWAY:

1st PRIZE: Lifesong is giving away a 1-night hotel stay for the LIVE ORPHAN SUNDAY event in Kansas City!!! Let me just tell you, this event will be FABULOUS!!!

2nd PRIZE: Lifesong is giving away FREE Gobena Coffee for 1 year - 2 lbs per month shipped straight to your home.

HOW do you enter? Well, I'm glad you asked! There are several ways to enter. PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT ON THIS LIFESONG POSTING FOR EACH ENTRY, including your email address so Lifesong is able to contact you!!!

1. Share how the Lord is working in and through your adoption/orphan care ministry (1 entry)

2. Re-post this Zambia blog posting on YOUR blog to share what the Lord has been doing at Lifesong Zambia (1 entry)

3. Tell about an Orphan Sunday event you had or attended in the past (1 entry)

4. Tell your plans for THIS YEAR's Orphan Sunday on Nov. 6th (1 entry)

5. Re-post this on your facebook wall (1 entry)

6. Re-post this on your twitter page (1 entry)

7. Post on YOUR blogs, facebook, or twitter and tell Lifesong that I sent you (1 entry)

8. Tell what you think about the 'Brush to Berries' video - what moved you, what stood out to you, what are you excited about? (1 entry)

9. Become a fan of Lifesong on facebook here (1 entry)

10. Send an email to info AT lifesongfororphans DOT org asking to receive our monthly updates (1 entry)

PLEASE leave a separate comment on Lifesong's post for EACH entry, including your email address so they are able to contact you!

***Giveaway starts immediately and ends at midnight on Monday, October 3rd.

when a man loves a woman

2011-09-28T02:29:00.000-04:00

Well, this post could have any number of titles, but this is the one I chose. This is something that has been on my mind and my heart lately; I just felt like God wanted me to share these thoughts with you. A week or so ago I started getting this little "Boaz" story on my Facebook page. I'm sure you saw it, and I'm sure it's probably gone around a couple hundred or so times. This time, however, it got me to thinking. First of all, the story of Ruth and Boaz is one of true love. He provided for her, cared for her and her family, and loved her. He cherished her. The Facebook story takes his name and kind of turns it into a cuss word using "-az" in lieu of "ass". So, okay, I get the point that girls looking for men should be looking for someone like the true Boaz; but I guess I just found if offensive and felt that there had to be a better way to get the point across.

Then, my sweet little newly-wedded friend, Sara, wrote this on her blog:

I'm guessing that what I'm going to write isn't going to be what some people want to hear. Truth is, it has become cliche' to say, "You just need seek God so that you can figure out who you are (in Him)" while single. However cliche', it's still the truth, and a truth that many women want to ignore. If you want to know how I did it, how I found a man I wanted to marry, a man God sent to me, here ya go: I worked to get my life together apart from everyone but God. I was tired of being miserable (about life in general) and determined not to date another guy who wasn't worthy to date me. I knew there were changes in my life that couldn't happen if I was wrapped up in another person or in some daydream about the future. I had to live in the present and allow God to strip away all the junk from my life. I didn't wallow anymore about being single. I didn't cry. I didn't ask, "Oh God where is the man for me?" There was no point. I knew God was calling me to focus on him. So, I focused on allowing God to make me in to who he wanted me to be. He did the rest. He did the changing, and he sent me Micah.

On the surface, Micah is not what I would have ever picked out for myself in a million years. He was not my "type" at all (I wasn't his type either), and he loved country music. Eek :). Our relationship was difficult from day one. We were both determined not to date another "wrong" person, and that meant we were constantly evaluating our relationship and asking hard questions. We enjoyed each other's company, and he treated me well. He was (and is) so sweet and he would kiss me on the forehead 17 times in a row (or so it seemed). But, things were still hard as we sought God's will and tried our best to be understanding of each other. Each of us processes things in different ways and at different speeds. We began officially dating in November, and in January I felt God telling me that 1) I was going to have to choose to love Micah, rather than "feeling" in love first and 2) I was going to have to fight for our relationship. Those were intimidating and scary thoughts. I wondered what they meant, but as time went on, it was revealed to me. Choosing to love Micah meant I must make a conscious decision to love him and stick things out until/unless I felt God telling me to move on. Fighting for our relationship meant choosing to stick through the hard times while he sorted things out and choosing to confront baggage in my own life so that our relationship could succeed until/unless God told me to move on. I told God "ok" to loving Micah and to fighting for us in January, and I finally "felt" like I loved him a couple months later.

Our relationship remained tough. We were both trying so hard to keep our hearts open and unencumbered so that God could continue to grow and change us. We were learning how to not put God on the back burner as we learned how to love each other. We were learning how to get rid of relationship baggage that we were still hanging on to. It came to the point that though I had come to love Micah very much, I told him that if it ever came down to choosing between him and God, I would choose God. It was the first time in my life I could ever honestly say that I would choose God over a relationship/friendship with someone else. I wasn't scared what would happen without Micah. I knew that regardless of what happened, I would be fine. I trusted God to lead me. We made it through a rocky, long distance summer, and a couple of months later we were engaged. There were many times along the way when I prayed, "God, what are you doing? I don't understand this. God, this is so hard. We are so different! I trust you, Lord. I trust you to lead me." Trusting God in my relationship with Micah is one of the biggest leaps of faith I have ever taken. I had never trusted God with a relationship before. Micah and I both know we would never have made it if we hadn't sought God all along our relationship. And now we're married :).

Lest you think that now everything is sunshine and roses every day, I will let you know that things are still hard. Micah doesn't make things hard, and I don't make things difficult for him. It's just that God is still working on both of us. We love each other infinitely, and I am so thankful for Micah. I like waking up in the middle of the night and knowing he's there. I like snuggling up next to him and kissing him on the back or neck (because he's sleeping facing the other direction). But we are now learning what it means to be married, while still dealing with baggage from our past. We are done dealing with old relationship baggage and now dealing with hurts/misconceptions/etc picked up from 25 and 28 years of living. It has brought us closer together, and God is honoring our efforts to let go of the junk. God has done a mighty work in both of us starting before we knew each other and continuing today. God has used Micah to reveal His unconditional love for me. I wouldn't be who I am without God working through Micah. I am grateful, blessed, and in love; however, I know God could have chosen to work through different people or in different ways. I am so happy he chose to use Micah in my life!

Moral of the story: If you think you will ever be happy, single/married/whatever, without dealing with junk in your life and without allowing God to restore and redeem you, you are kidding yourself and allowing the enemy to deceive you. No man can make you happy or can love you the way God can. If your expectation is to go from miserably single to infinitely happily married, you will be expecting more from your husband and marriage than either was ever meant to provide. You will be sorely disappointed and just has miserable as before.

I don't say this to be mean or harsh. I just want to be honest. I'm tired of women telling other women what they want to hear when we're telling each other lies. We need the truth. We have to know and believe our worth and identities in Christ. I am finally figuring out who I am in Christ, and it is liberating! God has used countless people in my life the last couple years to help me see myself as He sees me. It's not me who did any of this. It has been all God. I just simply said, "I'm willing." You have to be willing to allow God to change you, for him to become all you desire, before you will ever be ready for marriage.

I didn't ask Sara's permission to use this, so here is the link to it just in case she wants me to take it down: http://fodderforthetellall.blogspot.com/

After reading that, I felt like there wasn't much to say on the matter except for this:

Don't chase after the man of your dreams, chase after the man of God's plan....Then all of your dreams will come true (and that doesn't mean it will be easy! just that the love will be amazing!).

another update from the dr

2011-09-27T07:06:00.000-04:00

Are these posts boring? They kind of are to me, but I am trying to chronicle what happens when and this is just as good a place as any! So, I had to have some blood work done last Tuesday, and right after I got home that afternoon, the Dr. called. My white blood cell count has dropped to 1100 (normal is 4800-10800). He put me on some new meds...another prednisone taper and Cellcept. Then a couple days later, they called to say that my platelets had dropped from 7.1 to 4.4 (normal is 15.0-45.0). Okay, then. Steve and Shea are a little more upset than I am only because they feel like the doc should be a bit more aggressive. I trust that he knows what he's doing. I go back in a couple of weeks and I guess we will see then the tactic he wants to take. I'm just praying that I don't get anymore infections or having adverse medicine reactions so that we can at least give this a chance to bring them up. What does one do without these things in their body? I don't know...............

2011-09-26T07:01:00.000-04:00

If you haven't found pinterest yet, you should. It's like a corkboard of great ideas that you keep digitally. I have various things I'd like to try, lessons I want to teach, and I had each of the girls make wish list for things they'd like to have. You find things as you are browsing the web or their site, and then you "pin" it to one of your boards. It's fun and addictive. I don't have that much time to browse and pin, but I really like seeing what others like. It's made me see my girls differently, that's for sure! Sometimes, I think I have forgotten that they are adults now and want adult things...haha! There's lots of great recipes that we want to try and just dozens of other categories.
I know of one certain sis-in-law that needs to get one, because we ALL know that this girl needs a wish list if anyone does!! I'll not mention names, TA, but you know who you are.

oh so proud!

2011-09-25T02:59:00.000-04:00

Sometimes as moms (and dads too I guess) our kids make us so proud our hearts could burst, and that has been the case this week with Luke. He played a solo on the baritone sax at revival on Tuesday night and it was beautiful. I don't think he really wanted to do it, but he did it because I asked and I am so grateful!
Then, we got his interim report and he had all A's, found out he is #6 in his class, and has a 4.3 GPA. Later in the week, he was invited to join the Beta Club. My goodness...it ended up being a fantastic week for him! He is everything I ever wanted in a son, and I am so blessed that God chose to give him to me. Thank you, Jesus for this very special gift in my life!

update from dr.

2011-09-06T21:03:00.000-04:00

So, my blood counts continue to go down. I am now on prednisone for about 2 weeks, but off of the Imuran, hopefully for good. I went off of it when I got that horrible leg infection, and seriously...I thought I'd been healed...I felt that good! Of course, I jinxed myself...haha!

I am super busy with work and school right now. So, I am sure that my blogging will be mostly about school whenever I have to highjack it to put projects up somewhere. One day, I am sure, I will get back to blogging regularly!

Yeah for football season!!!!

2011-08-26T14:46:00.000-04:00

fun!

2011-08-12T14:07:00.000-04:00

This thing is from voki.com and it is fun, fun, fun! I don't really like the voice on this one, but I am planning to revamp it and put it on our school site!

china cabinet redo

2011-08-10T13:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, so pinterest is totally addicting. I've already made a couple of things that I've found on their DIY boards, and have many others that I am looking forward to trying. Like changing up my china cabinet. I remember when my parents bought this dining room suite. I don't have the table and chairs anymore, but still have the cabinet and it is soooooooooooooo 1970! Not my taste at all. I'm a little scared of it. What if I mess it up? I like the look of this one:

I love the antique finish. Mine actually has a hutch with glass doors, and I think I want to take the doors off and either paint or wallpaper the inside. Have any ideas? Ever done this before? I may have questions!