...OMG!...

i wasn't kidding when i blogged about the abundance of ticks up here in the boonies. STEVE JUST PULLED A TICK OFF MY HEAD.  i'm definitely weirded out. seriously, i cannot believe between the two of us we've had THREE ticks in the last 2 weeks. 

ultimately, we probably won't die, but i will admit that i have been reading about all sorts of diseases that can be contracted from a tick bite.

here are just a few:

babesiosis

ehrlichiosis

lyme disease

rocky mountain spotted fever

southern tick-associated rash illness

tick-borne relapsing fever

tularemia

so, if you don't see any blogs posted here in the next few weeks, you'll know why. be sure to call 911 please...

... you go girl!...

here is the monster slide at our neighborhood pool. anna katherine has been eyeing this thing since the moment we drove into the neighborhood! the first minute we walked through the pool gate, she headed immediately up the large hill (alone even!) to conquer this challenge. unfortunately for her, the lifeguard said she was too little and sent her back down.
the NEXT time we went to the pool she gave it another shot. and the lifeguard on duty at that time let her do it. hello, y'all, my baby is only FIVE. i was so proud of her! she must have climbed the hill and gone down this slide 6 or 7 times that day.
so, in honor of her great achievement, i'm documenting this adventure on the blog. these photos aren't of the first trip down, but, hey, i'm just proud of myself for actually taking these at all. :)

that's her at the top, ready for the flume

the fall into the pool
emerging victorious and proud! that's my girl!

i just joined a revolution-- a 40 day fast. 80 bloggers (2 per day) will each fast for 1 day and blog about an area of need in the world (either a cause or a country) and an organization that strives to meet that need.  

the purpose behind it is to give people an opportunity to:

1.  experience a bit of need

2.  learn about the need in the world

3.  do something about it

it starts today and ends on August 1st.  i'll be blogging on July 19th.

if you want to follow along and read the blogs each day, go to inspired to action and check it out. they have just a few more spots left if you want to participate!

...before and after...

ok, so the gauntlet has been thrown. and i'm up for the challenge.. especially since i've been formulating a plan for the last 4 weeks.  i like the paint color "tobacco road", but come on, yall, not on every square inch of wall space.

boomama has blogged a decorating challenge. and i'm in. internet accountability is good!

soooo, here is what i'm gonna do (hopefully by July 25th):

1.  paint and decorate anna katherine's room

2.  paint and decorate sara's room

3.  paint and decorate their bathrooms

4.  paint the master bedroom

that's ALOT of painting and decorating to do in ONE MONTH, but do you know me? a. i love painting (maybe not 5000 hours of it, though), b. i'm a "get her done" person, and c. i'm ready.

so i'll blog some before and after photos, and post them on july 25th. anyone else up for the challenge?

...get your thinking caps on please...

we need help! our girls are overwhelmed by fear in our home, and we are out of ideas.  anna katherine is really the one affected the most, but now sara is following her lead and is scared as well. 

i'm not just talking about being frightened on occasion. like after a scary movie or something. i'm talking about being too frightened to go to the bathroom down the hall alone. even during the day. they will not consider going upstairs to play in their rooms without one of us going as well.  they won't even run upstairs to get their shoes or ANYTHING.

bedtime? forget it. terror. the process is ridiculous, and anna katherine has been waking up with nightmares usually 2 or 3 times each night.

this fear is ruling their lives, and it's killing us.  and it's not a new thing, really. they were doing this in orlando as well, although it is worse here.  we actually have an upstairs which requires them to go a little farther away, which makes the drama bigger and more constant.

they no longer watch anything scary on TV (as much as we can control). we've tried to rationalize with them- explaining to them how we always protect them and would never send them to a dangerous place, etc. we also use scripture as encouragement and a declaration.  we pray over them individually each night also, asking for peace and joy, and we pray against fear.  

we are at wits end. and feel awful for them.  we believe it is NOT manipulation, but true fear. 

any pointers for us, internets?  

...lovely welcome gift...

ticks. what the heck? we've been here almost 4 weeks, and steve has already found 2 ticks on his body! YIKES. i have to be honest, and tell you that this grosses me out. i don't want ticks anywhere near me. i'm a certified chicken. i don't think i've ever had a tick, and i'm horrified at the thought of pulling one out of my body.

 

see that pic? a feeding tick can increase in size more than twentyfold in just a few days. it's really quite disgusting. AND, ticks lay 4000 to 6000 eggs at a time. even more frightening.

something else i've recently learned of georgia-- the state of georgia boasts the world's largest tick collection in statesboro at the smithsonian institute tick museum. what?? you've GOT to be kidding me.  i'm quite surprised there is such a place- a TICK museum? 

welcome to georgia, where you can have a tick of your own. or maybe even two or 4000. and bonus-- learn about them in the process in statesboro.

...your new favorite song...

Song of the Day/Week/Month/Who knows how long:

How He Loves Us-- Kim Walker

Ready to be undone, internets? Amazing lyrics. I can't even handle it.
Lyrics (for your enjoyment, cause that's the kind of friend i am):

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.
Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so.

Yeah, He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves.

So we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

That he loves us,
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us
Woah, how He loves us

My favorite line:
"when all of the sudden i am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and i realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me."
WOW.

oh, yeah.. also the line that says
"i don't have time to maintain these regrets when i realize the way he loves us"

yes lord!

so take a listen and worship this morning. thanks kim walker for ushering me in to the presence of jesus today~

...my two favorite men EVER...

it's fathers day and i've spent most of this day reflecting on two things:

1.  the awesomeness of my husband, especially as a father to our girls; and

2.  the things i loved about my own dad.

a few things i love about steve:

1.  in many ways he is still a kid at heart, so he is usually much more playful with the girls than i am. he is a GREAT dad. he does his fair share of bath times and book readings (and butt wiping for that matter).  he takes the girls fishing, to the pool, and to bass pro shop.

2.  he has an amazing laugh. it's definitely my all-time favorite laugh.  have you heard it? if not, you must. it will make you smile. :)

3.  his humility.  you know those arguments you have with people that make you want to dig in your heels and fight? that's my response most of the time.  steve, on the other hand, is much more likely to choose humility and grace, even when he has the right to fight. he's not impulsive and rarely spits out things he later regrets.

4.  spiritually he is a trailblazer, looking for what God wants to do- now- in these days.   he is seeking how, where, and in what ways God is moving and wants to move, and doesn't put Him in a box.  he's not one who is a follower of trends, but one who genuinely seeking the heart of God for a fresh move of His kingdom here.  he's a lover of Jesus and one who pursues him wholeheartedly and a man i am gladly willing to follow.

5.  he's my best friend. and he shares all of his life with me, and cares about all of mine as well. he's an amazing partner and co-laborer.

a few things i loved about my dad:

1.  he loved me.  he went to countless numbers of concerts, amusement parks, political fundraisers and the like just to be with me.  while i was at the university of alabama, he sent me newspaper clippings and notes just to say he loved me. all the time. and when my brother and i were growing up, he took us to six flags on wednesdays (his day off) just to goof off together. not just once mind you- he bought season passes.

2.  he loved my mom.  they fell in love when they were 16, and stayed that way until his death in 1996.  they modeled a healthy marriage of passion, love, friendship, and grace.

3.  he was a hard worker, and could do just about anything.  many a time i called him in the midst of a stalled out home repair project, and he would rush over to complete the job.  i'll always be able to picture his beautiful, strong and calloused hands. 

4.  he was loved by everyone who knew him.  i know people say this about others, but it's true of my dad!  his funeral was one of the largest they had ever had in town, and that makes me proud because i know that means he was loved and respected by other people.  

5.  he was likable and  fun to be around. he loved a practical joke, and had a willing cohort in those (my brother).  he was the life of the party, and never met a stranger.

two men, not too terribly different. both captured my heart and still hold it. i'm thankful this father's day for the fortune of having the BEST of the best. 

...our pale pink ain't so pale...

"AAAAAHHHHHH!! That's some serious PINK!!!"

if you've followed our blog at all, you know that we just moved to georgia last month.  the interior of the house is a duron color, tobacco road.  it's a really great neutral color, but it's covering every square inch of wall space in this house.  and that's just too dang much of one color, no matter how fabulous it might be.

so we are painting four rooms: our bedroom, the dining room, sara's room, and anna katherine's room.  

our room and the dining room are going to be a fabulous brown benjamin moore color called "cambridge riverbed", sara's room will be a yellow yet to be determined, and anna katherine's room was going to be a pale pink.  

we picked benjamin moore's "posy pink", but it was crazy bright on the walls so we lightened it up with a GALLON of ultra white and went with it.  it's still somewhat of a shocking pink, but hey- it's DONE. 

after 9 full hours of non-stop painting i am finished.  2 coats, blisters on my hands, and all. praise Jesus for good worship and alone time in the midst of accomplishing a time-consuming task on the to-do list!

I plan to paint Sara's room asap.  Any great pale yellow colors you've used? I'm considering benjamin moore's historic color "hawthorne yellow."  

If you know of any, send them my way. come on internets, help a friend in need~

...it's the small things in life...

so i've been debating about writing this blog because i know you'll think i'm weird.   i've been waiting and waiting to get over the excitement of my new toilet paper holder, but alas i can not. it's been two full weeks and i still can't help but think about the wonder of this new product every single visit to my bathroom. so i must blog and tell you about the upgrade available in the tp holder department. 

at first glance this looks like a standard holder, right? well, this new holder is amazing! and why should you care? just be honest and tell me how much you dread changing the toilet paper roll. you don't want to be the one who takes the last piece of paper because then you have to deal with the wretched springy thing in the middle. right? it may or may not pop off and land on the floor. or stay in the holder once you connect it again. well, let me introduce you to your future new best friend.

 

with a simple lift, you change your roll. no fumbling around with a cheap plastic spring holder. 

i must implore you to head to your nearest home depot RIGHT NOW. and take your checkbook because these babies ain't your typical $5 holders.. they are 25 bucks and worth every cent. brushed nickel and all! unfortunately i was unaware of my impending future fondness with my holder, so i tossed the box without noting the brand. forgive me please.

here's a parting shot of two new BFF's...

...are you one of THOSE?...

people stress me out sometimes. 

especially ones who act all freaky around kids-- specifically MY kids. 

"don't go in there", "don't touch that", "come sit over here", "careful!", "don't give my daughter that", watching their every move as if my 4 or 5 year old will destroy their garage or house (or child) if they lose site of one of them for 5 seconds. 

annoying. 

and then i'm all wigged out, worrying what my kids are doing and what the heck they could be touching. ugh. i get tense and tangled and no fun at all. can you say STRESS?

sometimes i feel like just holing up in the house. forget the polite chatter- i'll just stay indoors.

call me when you've taken your valium.