Water Blogged (lqtm)

Our neighbors posted this picture the other day and I just couldn't resist putting it on the blog!  John Thomas loves to play with his buddies, Brody and Dare, and you can see it written all over his face!

Last week I made my first road trip to Cincinnati in over a year!  One of my college besties, Jen (the one to the right of me) is getting married in September and they were throwing her a bridal shower.  In case you've forgotten, from left to right: Katie (mother of 3 under 3!), Cara (Nurse and only female in her home of two boys, a hubby, and a dog), me, Jen (busy nurse and fiancee to Trey--the lucky guy), and Mary (a.k.a. Marie and one of the most fashionable and funniest people I know)!  We shared some great meals, good laughs and even some birthday cake!  Love these girls and I can't wait to see them again in just over a month!

In the past few weeks, we've been able to spend lots of time up on Norris Lake.  It is, hands down, one of my favorite places in the world and, it is quickly become one of John Thomas' favorite summer destinations too!  Our first boating experience was on this canoe.  Um...let's just say, it looked like a much better idea on paper.  We didn't flip the boat, but having a toddler on a boat that requires you to sit still and be balanced, was quite a challenge.

Maybe the pontoon boat is more our style, at least for now!  He even got to drive the boat!

Chester even got to partake in this year's lake vacation with Gramma and Poppy.  Even though he just turned 10 in June, he still wants to play in the lake like a puppy!  He ended up being the best swimming coach money couldn't buy, because the second John Thomas saw Chester swimming, it clicked.  He wanted to jump in and "swim like Chester."  Yes, I've been swimming since I was a toddler, have a Master's Degree and my old dog Chester taught J.T. how to swim.  Go figure!

Maybe the best part of the whole vacation was watching my parents delight in John Thomas.  They taught him things like how to fish and drive a boat, laughed at his silliness and tried not laugh when John Thomas learned to climb out of the pack n' play and would peep his head out of his bedroom door at nap time.  Pure joy!

Poppy bought John Thomas his first fishing rod.  True to form,  John Thomas loves to see the fish and pet them.  But he has the patience and attention span of an average two year old, so the fishing lasted about 3-5 minutes and then on to the next thing.

Even though there is only one picture on here of John Thomas and Gramma, these two were joined at the hip most of the week.  He helped her take the dogs out and feed them, set the table, and pretty much anything else she was doing.  What a lucky little boy to have such awesome grandparents!

I have to admit that I wasn't sure how Chester would handle his demotion after John Thomas came along.  But this dog is worth his weight in gold.  He lets John Thomas snuggle all over him, and never even bats an eye.

While we were at the lake, I celebrated my 33 birthday.  Homemade ice cream, surrounded by the most important people in my life, camping gear, a career that guarantees I'll never have to work on my birthday...I am so richly blessed! 

Another REALLY COOL thing happened while we were at the lake.  This gigantic spread in the News Sentinel came out about my book.  I knew they were writing an article,  but I never expected it to take up the whole page!  

In case you didn't get to see it in the article, I will be doing a book signing at Cedar Springs on Clinton Highway this Saturday from 12-3.  I really hope I'm not sitting there for three hours all by my lonesome :).  Thanks to all for the birthday wishes, my cup runneth over!  Oh, and happy 2nd birthday to Lola too!  I love sharing my big day with such a special little girl!

Guest Blogger: Shannon Kelley

If you haven't heard about the Kelley family, get ready for this story!  In a nutshell, they walked out on the limb of faith (where all the fruit is), sold their home, put their jobs on hold, and moved their family to Haiti several months ago.  Recently, they have felt a conviction to be a greater advocate for Haitian families.  This is their story and their plea:

A couple months ago, at an orphanage we were visiting in another village, an older Haitian man saw my camera and asked me to take his picture. He proudly stood with his family, his wife and 4 kids, for the picture. After that I watched as the family hugged the oldest daughter and said goodbye as she walked back into the orphanage. They were there to visit their daughter at the orphanage. Here was an intact family with their child in an orphanage purely because it was the only option they had as they struggled to provide. They gave her a better life because someone offered to give her what they couldn't- at the cost of dividing their family.


That moment was the culmination of God throwing us in the deep end and showing us His heart for us here in Haiti. That was the moment that I knew, deeply knew, that we were here to fight for families.


As we move out to Les Anglais with Harvest Field we are so excited about how what they are doing out there molds into our heart for families. They are actively working on reunification of the kids in the orphanage that have families by lifting those families up to where they can provide for their children. They are focusing on lifting up families through vocational projects so that parents can provide for their kids. They are focusing on education and meeting medical needs so that families have brighter futures. This union of our family coming alongside Harvest Field is something that God has perfectly aligned.

We sit and dream about a day in this community where families know that that when they are struggling that they have options and that there is a community around them who will fight with them to better their situation in a healthy, sustainable way. We want to be love to people and families in Les Anglais and meet them where they are.

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Shannon and her family live in Haiti as missionaries. A former published wedding photographer, Shannon continues to photograph very limited weddings per year and focuses on humanitarian photography as she documents their life in Haiti. They are there as volunteers and, to stay in Haiti and serve, rely on support of people like you who believe in their cause of fighting for families. If you are interested in supporting their family through prayer or monetarily, please go tohttp://www.shannon-kelley.com/blog/haiti/. To give directly through their ministry, go to http://tiny.cc/harvestfield, please mention the Kelley’s in the comment box:)

Beating the Heat

There are only three ways to beat the sweltering heat of Knoxville in July.  Air conditioning, ice cream and swimming pools!  Took my boy on a date downtown to share some Coolato Gelato!  Two scoops: Key Lime Pie and the Azteca (chocolate and Cheyenne pepper).  I was afraid it would be too spicy for John Thomas, but I had to get my own spoon or he was going to eat the whole thing!

It just can't get much cooler than this!

Gramma and Poppy were in town for a few days after Mamaw's funeral.  We soaked up every sweet second of it!  Thanks to Poppy's guidance, John Thomas has been working on his golf swing.  I'm still thinking he's probably going to lean towards soccer or baseball.  This kid has an arm, but he hasn't mastered the catching part yet.

We even convinced Gramma to go to Splash Country!  I'm not sure who loved it more, Gramma or John Thomas!

My two big goals for the summer were to teach John Thomas to swim and to get him potty trained.  I would say that we've made a little progress on both fronts, but haven't mastered either.  

I know this isn't a great picture of me, but you can see how much my boy loves the water!  He's gonna be a little fish, just like his Momma.

As you can tell, when we are at Splash Country we spend a fair amount of time going down the slide.  Thanks again Gramma and Poppy for the season pass!  

Two things about this photo you should know:  Yes, the thermometer is accurate and yes all three of those lights came on and my car went kaput.  Basically, in the last 10 months, Jasmine (my Explorer) had over $3000 dollars worth of work done.  So, in the interest of having a reliable automobile--I had to let her go.

Meet Lexi.  Nope, she's not a Lexus.  She's a Toyota.  I hope to spend the next decade tooling around town and taking a few road trips in this little gem.