shabby blog

Saturday, December 24, 2011

a light in the dark

I want to be sure and write down my take away from todays Christmas Eve service before I forget it because it was fantastic!

Life can be tough at times.
This world is fallen, it can be icky and confusing and disheartening.
There is darkness in our world and in our own hearts and minds.
And our society tells us that we can find life in dark places.
But Jesus came close to give us light and life in the darkness.
To be our wonderful counselor through it all.
To give us hope.
And what struck me most of all was Andy's point about being a parent.
That at times we will see darkness in our kids.
We will see things in them, sometimes big sometimes small,  that we know will lead to more darkness if not spoken to.
So as a parent it is up to us to shed light on their darkness.
But it can be hard as kids get older to shed light into their darkness for fear that they may run the other way and disregard you.
For fear that your relationship with them may falter.
But God loves us so perfectly and so much that he is not afraid to shed light into our darkness.
He's not afraid of what we might think or what direction we may run.
But his love is relentless.
I pray that Trip and I would have the courage one day to shed light onto our kids darkness.
That we wouldn't take the easier road for fear of them not liking us.
And I'm thankful that God let there be light again in a dark world.

Merry Christmas!


(he turned 10 months last week, he's pulling up and I think his first tooth is about to pop through)


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

fan the flame

I'm thankful for my husband.
It's easy to get sucked into the ho hum of life and being complacent in marriage.
When you first start dating someone the little things just come easily.
You don't even think about doing the little things... you just do them.
And then life continues to happen and it's easy for the little things to fall away.
Especially with a child in the mix.
So we have to be intentional about the little things that make the big thing of marriage work.
So Trip brought me my favorite flowers home the other day.


And he took me on a date to the Buckhead Diner. And then to see a movie. (so what it they were both on gift cards)
And we left the little man with Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren and cousin Lanier


I am so thankful we have family to return the favor with and allow for mommy and daddy time. 
And on our date it felt like the way it was in the beginning. 
So here's to date night....... free of charge!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

life in the fast lane

I just had to document this momentous occasion!
Brooks first time behind the wheel at the grocery store.
I felt like such a new mom taking pictures of my son at the grocery store.

This kids not joking around

cruisin' the freezer aisle, no big deal


It made for a great ride, but the cart is freaking enormous! It's hard to make the turns in this thing

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

simplicity

The basis of Christmas.
The Christmas story is simply a story of an event in history, that is good news. period.
We don't have to do anything with it. it's not a call back to the church, or a call to do better things with your life, or a call to become a better christian or to become more spiritual. It's simply......
good news.
Hear it,
and that is all.
God loved
God gave
We believe
We receive
What do we receive?...... eternal life.
What is eternal life?......... knowing God and having a relationship with him.
John 17:3- "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent"
It's not just living forever and ever...... thank goodness. I don't want to live forever and ever.

This was my take on the message at church last week and I loved it! Simplicity.

Monday, December 12, 2011

standing

He's standing people! Almost 10 months. Not sure how I feel about this. Things are about to get crazy up in here! I need to get some bumpers for the lovely STONE fireplace we have here. it seems to be his favorite spot in the house.

and some lovely footage to capture this milestone... seems he has lots to say about it. does he sound like a boy or what!


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

somedays....

Do you ever feel like somedays you're not sure if you want to laugh or cry?
Brooks does..........

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Deck the Halls

"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."
Psalm 145:8
This verse was given at church today and I really really love it. It was a sweet reminder of the tenderness of my God. 
I LOVE this time of year so much. I love the magic of it! I confess I do love the wordly stuff: Santa, gifts, elves, christmas cookies, christmas music, lights, Christmas trees, nutcrackers and all that is so not Jesus centered! It's fun, it reminds me of being a kid and the pure joy and excitement of it all! 
Even though so many people do not truly grasp the meaning of Christmas, I love that our world makes such a big deal about this holiday, more than any other  holiday because ultimately...... it is because of the magnitude of the true meaning of it all. 
Our savior was born, 
a savior for all of us 
who desperately need a savior. 
I know we have a few years but I can't wait for Brooks to understand it all. 
I can't wait to see his excitement for Santa and to see his eyes light up on Christmas morning. 
I can't wait to teach him the true story of Christmas and to celebrate the birth of his savior!
Merry Merry!
first carousel ride



Our niece Maizy was in town and we rode the carousel at the mall with her. Here is some footage of the big ride. It's riveting. I did get a little nauseous standing backwards filming this on a moving carousel. Listen closely to Trip's sound effects.............



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving and a birthday

So much to be thankful for this year. I always have a hard time grasping how blessed we are. We don't deserve any of our rich life. But God is gracious! We had our first Thanksgiving with Brooks. What a blessing he has been. And on my side of the family we had 4 babies this year. A big change from just one last year! I loved time with the family in the mountains. And we got to celebrate Lanier's 1st Birthday! The first year is a special one for sure! Hard to believe we'll be doing the same for Brooks in just 3 months!


grandmama and d-daddy with the 4 kiddos

first time behind the wheel

relaxin' in the hammock



feeding the horsies

the girls

party time


birthday girl!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

9 months

Little man reached 9 months Friday. He had his 9 month appointment and is about 27 inches long and 19 lbs 13oz. His height and weight are in the 25-50th % but his head is in the 70-90th %. He must be really smart!!! We have really high hopes! And he just started crawling! Still working on our form but he's movin'! I am afraid I am really going to miss our simple stationary life!

waiting at the doctors office, looked like a tornado hit the table after we left!



looking forward to our first holiday season with the little man!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Baby Mason!

Brooks has a new cousin! Mason Allman was born on Monday! Brooks is so happy to have a boy to play with! We woke Brooks up Monday night to be there for the big news! 

Brooks waiting in the hospital for the big arrival!

meet Mason

proud daddy!

welcome to this big 'ole family Mason! You are an answered prayer!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Sharptop

We went to Sharptop this weekend because Trip was helping with program for NW atl weekend camp. It was Brooks first trip of probably many to Sharptop! We had a great time. I loved seeing everybody and personally really enjoyed time just sitting and talking with some friends that were there. As difficult as it can be to pack everything up that Brooks needs for just a weekend and having him sleep in the room with us it is so worth it to be there. I could have stayed home with Brooks and had two good nights of sleep and not have to pack up my entire car but going to camp just gives me that feeling of purpose, and reminder that life is much bigger than wordly things. It gives me eternal perspective again and brings me back to a place of humility.
I am so unbelievably blessed that Trip and I get to be surrounded by such great community of believers and that he gets to have a job that gives highschool kids the opportunity to hear the truth about God and his love for them.
I also told a friend this weekend that there is nothing greater than watching people love your child. I pray that Brooks will have a young adult one day that will walk beside him and that will live out the gospel and spur Brooks on to do the same.
I do think I have an even greater respect for watching leaders love on highschool kids now that I am a parent because I imagine if these highschool kids were my own children, how much I would appreciate their love poured out onto my child.
It was cold!

Watching the program team practice


Beautiful weekend!!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Brooks first Halloween

Halloween is so much more fun with a baby! Babies in costumes are the best. Too much cuteness! We went to the library in costume with our neighbor buddies Sally and Daye. The local library has a 30 minute baby bear lap time every monday morning! It's so fun, Brooks LOVES it. Stories, songs, bubbles, a color parachute..... 30 minutes of free entertainment! And he even got a free rubber ducky this time. SCORE!




cutest lady bug and monkey i've ever seen!



Then I took my little monkey to the grocery store with me......

and for our Young Life bowl-o-ween Brooks was UGA



Monday, October 31, 2011

GA/FLA

We had a great long weekend at the beach for the GA/FLA game. It's always more fun to come home with a win! I love being at the beach in the fall.






Mathes, Lanier, Brooks

such great daddies

wouldn't be Ga/Fla without cornhole

sweet Bowdre loving Brooks


bulldawgs at play



Lanier is a very entertaining eater