Dear Bibby

Dear Bibby,

It has been a great ride, but this letter is to inform you of your termination as of September 21, 2010.  You have been such a key part of our family and especially to our son Taylor.  You have supplied a lot of quiet moments, for which we are so grateful for.  You were there for our son when we just could not seem to make him happy, you supplied us with some really good nights rest.  But we are now at a crossroads, you have become a bit of a burden.  I mean we can not even understand when he talks because you are there and we are ready for our big boy to truly become a big boy.  But please do not worry we are also soon going to have to let the diapers go too. J  I am sorry we were unable to give you a proper good-bye, I had planned on having one but when we could not find you and now had a dinosaur to sleep with, he just said you were no more.  Thank you for making this so easy for us. We will be happy to write you a letter of recommendation if you need one.  Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Taylor’s parents

Days with his bibby :)

Below are pictures with his new dinosaurs.  They are the first 3 nights without his bibby.



Labor Day weekend fun!

Well my friend Emily at Speaking the truth in love and laughter asked at the end of her blog what are you proud of lately and well I have quite a few things.  This weekend was Labor Day weekend and man did I have a great weekend, even though my sweet hubby was gone L but he was having a great mans weekend. I just want to share a few things that happened this weekend in the Gregory household.

On Friday evening after we had finished a yummy dinner, Caleb asked if we all could play a game of football in the front yard.  Well it was Pop as the QB and well actually I could not tell you what I or anyone else was because I have no idea I just ran around trying to tackle everyone =)  It was alot of fun and hearing the boys laugh made all my pains feel better =P. 

On Saturday thanks to Josh's mom and dad I got to go to the very first game of the Rebels season and while I would like to tell it was a great game it was disappointing.  But I really did have a great time with Jessica as she would tell me about the plays that were going on.  And it is always funny to see Jeremy and his dad get into the game.  I do wish that Josh was there because when all three of the Gregory men get into the game it makes me chuckle.   It was the great weather for a football game when we first got there it was kinda hot and not a cloud in sight but then as the sun was going down, the sidewe were stting on started getting some shade then it was perfect!   He is a picture of Jessica and I at the beginning of the game

Sunday was a good day, we had a great service, came home and took a small nap then I went and made dinner.  The menu meatloaf(which was really good cause I mix in sausage mmm...), homemade mash taters and some really well seasoned green beans. Delish!   We had an arts and craft time after we ate dinner and boys made some really great pictures for their Uncle Aaron and Nana, it was for their birthdays.   Well if Josh is usually away I will let the boys come and sleep in our bed, which I do not know why I do I never get that much sleep.  But Sunday night we had a movie night in bed and watched The Incredibles.  Caleb was asking ALOT of questions about superheros and how they got their super powers.  I had just told him that superheros with special powers were not real, they were just pretend.  Well this little ink stink who always surprises me with his wisdom said to me, "Mommy there is one superhero"..."Who?"...."Jesus mommy, He is our superhero".  I now stand corrected. J

Monday was a day I was really looking forward to because the boys had been so great for me, I wanted to do something special for them.  So there was this park that I had not been to but it looked really neat and I had wanted to take the boys for awhile, just waiting on a beautiful day.  Well we got it on Monday is was so nice outside you really just wanted to spend all day outside. The boys and I had a great time at the park and we can not wait to take daddy to the park with us!  Well as you know the park can build up quite the appetite so we went to Chicka-fil-a to eat.  The boys ate all their lunches, had some ice cream and played on the playground there for awhile.  We knew is was time to go because Taylor was telling us we was tired and ready for his nap.  He is so funny!  Speaking of Taylor that little boy has become quite the little mama's boy and I can't tell you how I absolutely love it.  I think it is because around this age Caleb was detaching from his mommy and just loved to be with his daddy, which is ok he still shows his mommy so love. I just think I have two of the sweetest boys! Oh and before I forget I have to mention that Taylor has been using the potty like crazy, every now and then he has an accident every now and then but he is starting to get it!! One step closer to no diapers.  Anywho sorry for the derail but after our nap I woke up to find that Josh had just gotten home and we all we beyond thrilled!  Well the men folk were having a dove hunt since it was opening season and Josh and Caleb went.  Well Nana had just walked down there with them and she started to head back to the house and Caleb said "Nana wait, will you please tell my mommy I love you her".  Can you say melt my heart!  

We grilled out that night and after we ate we were all headed to bed and Josh said hold on he wanted to show me something.  He walked me out to the front yard and he had a blanket set out with a pillow so that we could watch the stars.  I was so surprised we had not sat outside to watch stars in a long time.  It was perfect outside. We sat outside for awhile just looking and talking about God's marvelous work!  So I had a really great weekend and could not ask for anything more.  I pray that you alls weekend was good too!!  Thank you for listening to me brag and rant on and on.

Here are a few pictures from us at the park

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.~~Luke 6:23a

Connectedness

You know when I was on vacation, one day I got to just sit outside of my grandparents house (yes it was that nice outside) in the quiet and read!  I have been reading this really great book by John Ortberg called “The me I want to be”.  There was this chapter on connectedness and how much we need it. 

At the beginning of the chapter it actually talks about the way the a theologian named Abroham Kuyper talked about the way the Temple was set up

And how our hearts are like each section:

The outer court is where everyone had access just like that is our public self, the part most people see of us.

The inner court was called the Holy Place not everyone had access to this area, we too have this place where we allow certain people like friends and family to see this part of our hearts, where we share some of our deepest thoughts/feelings.

But there is one place a very guarded place, deep inside.  It was entered by only the chief priest and it was only him and God. We too have this place where it is you and God.  Now please do not think I came up with this reference it is a reference from the book I am reading.

Is this not the most beautiful illustration of our hearts, when I read this it gave me chill bumps and opened my eyes to see something new. 

For this blog I kinda wanted to focus on the inner court where we allow certain people in but doing some thinking, I think I want to also talk about the beautifulness of the Holy of Holies in our hearts.

Having a relationship with someone is really important to the human body, when we are in company with people we love, I know for me I feel so comfortable and like I can share anything and that person will never judge but just continue to love me for me! 

Love brings the power to become the me I want to be.-JO

For myself I really want to try harder to make long, loving and lasting relationships with friends and family.  I know that we won’t always be singing kumbaya  all the time, but I don’t want to have a lot of contacts in my life I want to have true friendships.  In the book it gives some ideas on how to help build those relationships.  One way is what he calls the gift of delighting, I call it the gift of servanthood.  Have you ever noticed when you do something out of love for someone whether they know you did it or not, that it just fills them with a lot of joy.  For me when someone does something for me and I know it was truly out of love it makes me feel special and in forth I want to pass that along to someone else.  Kinda like the pay it forward system J  When we can observe the words that flow from others, you can actually read part of their heart.  John says when love grows people grow!

Another is the gift of love, have you ever noticed that when someone tells you that they love you how that makes you feel, or how about seeing the face of a person who is down and needs a bit of encouraging and saying those three words they mean a lot to that person.  I was feeling pretty down the other day and on fb said that I was a little down, and when I was on the next day I had some of the most uplifting messages from some awesome friends and it made me feel loved!  Love is not an emotion it is an action of the heart. 

Do you ever feel like you take God for granted?  I know that I feel that way and sadly enough I also do that.  I take for granted that He is always there for me and will always love me.  And I do not come to his throne with humbleness and brokenness, that really bothers me.  How can I take for granted a God who has pulled me out of the toughest times in my life with love, and by love I do mean when He is being just too.  Seeing this beautiful illustration of the place of my heart the Holy of Holies just seemed to click in my head and strive to make each day a step forward.

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love~~Ephesians 3:17

A birthday party on Onion Mountain...? Ramblings from my trip to NC

Well I am now back from my trip to North Carolina to go see my granny and grandpa, and to celebrate my great granny’s 99^th birthday!! I had a really great time, it made me miss my grandparents so much. I am thrilled too because I got to take this trip by myself, my missed my boys(including my hubby) but it was nice to just spend time with my family and do some thinking, please say some of you mommies out there understand J

Well since I got to do some thinking…and some reading! I would love to tell you a few things I learned, realized and just plain random thoughts of mine. J

On the way, there I was cruising along and this cop pulls out a couple of cars ahead of me and all of sudden I see an array of red brake lights, well that made me giggle. I wonder if cops ever get a kick out of people slowing way down from them and trying not to pass them even though they are not going above the speed limit. Then I wondered if they ever go really slow just to see if others will follow suit. J

why is it when you are coming over a hill and you see the sight of all the HUGE buildings, that it just seems so intimidating?

see what I am saying :) yep that is kinda intimidating!

Oh did I mention that I had a TomTom with me and it got me lost…in the mountains!!! I have not been so scared in a long time. It was so winding that I could not remember where I came from and that stupid GPS lady kept telling me to turn…off the stinkin mountain! But I was proud that even though I freaked out a bit and bless my hubby’s heart for having a psycho wife sometimes, he finds a way to always calm me down, that I was able to get myself back to where I started without the GPS. Afterwards my grandpa told me that my uncle Kenny got lost on the very same mountain because of umm yep you guessed it, his GPS and when my parents came up their GPS tried to do the same thing. So lesson learned don’t turn onto Onion Mountain. J

My grandpa said the sweetest thing to me, when we were going to the store to get the fixins for the enchiladas I was making for him, we walked in and I was just going to grap a basket and he went for a cart. I told him that I could use the basket and then he said “No I want to feel like I am still needed from you!” That made me just smile and filled with JOY! So he walked around the store pushing the buggy for me, and I really cherished that time.

I realized what an inspiration my granny is, she goes and sits with her mom just about everyday just to spend what time she can with her. My GG does not quite remember who we all are so most days she does not realize who my granny is but that does not stop her at all. I just that so inspiring, I saw my granny in a different light this trip.

When I come to spend time with my family in North Carolina, they make me see how special family truly is. And how blessed I am to have so many, Aunts, great Aunts, cousins, second cousins, of course my grandparents and my GG.

I had such a great time with them and thankful for all the time I got to spend with each of them and can not wait till I can spend more and bring my boys to see them all! So this is just a little bit of my trip and the ramblings of it, I pray each of you has a family member that is just as special to you and if you have more you are truly blessed, and I feel truly blessed!

I apologize for the randomness of the photos blogger is acting up and I just can't seem to make it do what I want it to do!

This is the view from grandparents porch is it not beautiful!

My gg loves this babydoll, I think it is so sweet!

here she is with ALL of her children!

These are some clouds I saw coming home, are they not just beautiful, what a majestic God we serve!

Just one of those great weeks!!

Man what a great week this has been at the Gregory household.  You know that old say “if the momma ain’t happy ain’t no one happy” well I am actually starting to think it should be “if the children are grouchy EVERYONE is grouchy”.  They really have a way of changing your moods.

The boys this week have been in the best moods and have been the sweetest, most respectful children this week and that has made everyone just a bit happier in the house.  I have heard a lot of “mommy I have missed you”, which just does my heart in! And so many yes ma’am and no ma’ams (and yes and no sirs).  They have listened right away, no arguing!  And they have said the funniest things like Caleb saying the sun was in a time out and that is why it was not out.  To when you ask Taylor why he needs something he replies with a “because I LOVE it!” And I have been in the best mood because almost everyday this week either both or one of the boys have woke up before I went to work so I got to see them and get the best hugs to start my day!!! I also got to eat lunch with them yesterday and that is so special to me!  So I know all you mama’s out there fully understand why it has been such a great week.

I kinda think that they have actually had a pretty good week due in part to a little girl who came to visit and who the boys got to play with a lot!  Her name is Mary Dogen, is that not the sweetest name, and Caleb just thinks the world of her.  And in true mommy fashion am already planning a pre-arranged marriage J 

On Wednesday they played all morning on the huge slip-n-slide and had a blast, then had a picnic outside.  I am told Taylor kept looking at the two of them like “really guys”.  They also said they looked like a bunch of teenage kids, so Mary’s Aunt Courtney walked over and asked what they were talking about and Caleb said “fatness!”  I believe I need to tell Caleb there are just some things we do not talk about with girls J 

Yesterday they got to go to the fire station, I think at first they were all alittle taken back by everything that was there but I am told that soon after warmed up and then got to pretend they were driving the fire truck, spray the water hose (which I must say I am a bit jealous of this one J), play on the fire truck and took a tour around the fire station.  Well being a firefighter for the day will build an appetite so we all went to Chicka-filay-a (that is how Caleb says it) for lunch.  That lunch made my day wait make that my week!  So thank you Nana for asking me to come!! 

Mary Dogen is leaving to go back to Jackson today but I know that we will get to see her soon and I really do hope that they do get to grow up together alittle even if they are alittle bit apart.  They are just so darn cute together.  But that was most of my week and it has just been one great week!  I hope you all have had a blessed week too!

JOY Story! VBS week

Man what a great time we had a VBS this past week. Want to know what the theme to ours was…JOY STORY!! How awesome is that and our church staff came up with all of the material themselves, it was so awesome. We also did something different this year (I say we but really this was our first year) we had live music, my very talented hubby played the music on his guitar, he did an awesome job. A friend of mine at church named Shari and I were to come up with the moves for the songs and of course we gave ourselves plenty of time to come up with them, I think we started around the beginning of April well time got away from us, then she had to go out of town a couple of weeks for her work, so now it is the week before and I only have like one song down and it is the one that already has moves J ha. So Josh and I stayed up for most of the night Saturday and on Sunday night coming up with these moves for the songs, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how they came out! Now since you see I had Josh helping me you know there were a couple of moves that we just WAAAY too funny, but I enjoyed them all. We were under great leadership with our friend Melissa who led the music to the kids; God has blessed her with an amazing voice! I had a great time sitting in with the music and teaching the kids the motions. It just did my heart in when I would see my boys singing and doing the moves. Taylor is still going around singing some of the songs, he sounds so sweet!!

I really wish you all could have been there for our kick off day the Sunday before we began. Every year our staff does some kind of skit to get the kids pumped up for VBS and this year was so funny. Our youth pastor drew and painted these HUGE cardboard cuts of the characters on the stage and they were just awesome, God blessed him with the talent to draw. Well our pastor dressed up as Woody and it was funny to see a like 6’3 man dressed like a little cowboy! Our children’s pastor who came up with our theme and wrote the materials dressed up as Buzz, man that was some funny stuff. He showed the church that he was so mad dance skillsJ. Then our youth minister was Zurg and he made his costume himself and did a great job. Their skit was so funny and cute, I guess since it is men that were in it I should say it was umm funny that’s it funny.

Monday came and went along with the rest of the days. It was a lot of fun to be in there with all the kids not just a few kids that you have in your class. I loved getting to see Caleb and Taylor singing, just warmed this little mama’s heart! On Thursday night which we call Gospel night 2 children came forward to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior!! Can I get an AMEN, I have always wanted to say that. Friday was water day. Water Day is a huge day for the ending of VBS. They set up a big water slide down the side of the hill. But I think the adult girls had the most fun, we planned a sneak attack against some of the uh umm older men, and we succeeded. We poured buckets of ice water all over them. JThen I got caught off guard and bam I was hit with lots of water guns and balloons, then some of the teen girls poured a bucket of water right on top of me and it was cold! Well my little poesy ran off without me and ran through the church to the Jenny’s house (youth pastors wife), see they live in the church parking lot too EmilyJ.

The other girls thought they got off with no worries but Jenny came back into the church to put away the buckets we took and got stuck in the church. She kinda got tricked into coming out and when she did BAM! Hit with a 5 gallon bucket of ice water. Melissa too thought she got off scratch free but that was sooo not the case. When everyone had left it was our family, hers and a couple others that were left well a couple of youth boys and my hubby got the bright idea to get her at her house when she returned so she pulled in, opened the door and BAM! She was hit by her own son and umm my hubby.J So now the only girl left was my friend Maria. We had a Sunday School lunch that afternoon and we told her hubby to bring an extra set of clothes for her. So we got the youth boys together and they were waiting inside the fellowship hall and when she went to open the door to go in BAM! She was hit too! It was so much fun and so funny!!

We had a blast this VBS, not just me but I think my kids had a great time too! I can’t wait till next year to see what they have instore. So what is your JOY Story?

These are the bigger than life drawing/stage props Scott did!! Just amazing!

 

Josh leading the music, isn't he handsome ;)

WATER DAY!!!

 

Caleb was trying to sneak attack me :)

In better hands

Let me just start this blog by saying we serve an faithful and mighty God!! I just want to give you all an update on Caleb. May of last year Caleb started having these random fevers(reaching as high as 104.something at times), then in July of last year they started coming once a month we noticed a lump about the size of a golf ball under his chin. Well at the present time we could not really go to a specialist because we did not have insurance. We heard about this program in MS that would help you with medical insurance if you qualified. Well we did indeed qualify and come to find out alittle later we actually had full on Medicaid and did not have to pay for a single thing that Caleb had to go through this year. Where some people might be ashamed to say they had Medicaid, I am just thanking the Lord that we did and I do know it was his plan for it to happen that way because Caleb went through some rough patches and we did not have to go deeper into debt because of it. I just find that so awesome! Ok sorry got a bit off track, so we took Caleb to a ENT and said that is was some kind of non-cancerous tumor and needed to be removed….(insert sobbing mother) So in January of 2010 Caleb had his first surgery and had his lump removed. So we thought this would take care of the fevers he had been having but he continued to have fevers so I took him to his doctor and she ran some blood work and one of his test came back abnormal, she thought he could have rheumatoid arthritis. My heart just broke and I just kept thinking what next, what could happen to him next(note to self not a good thing to ask) So in May I sat at work and was reminded of times where God just brought Caleb through many things and will do it again. I checked out for lunch and then received a phone call that Caleb had cut his face open and for those who read that blog, I was surprisingly not worried because of the things God reminded me of that morning. Well Caleb got a plastic surgeon to stitch his little face up and his face his healing up great! Oh and that would be surgery 2 we would have had to pay for but God had a plan!! Well at the beginning of June he got referred to a pediatric rheumatoid specialist. And I am so beside myself to tell you that his test came back normal and he had not had a fever since April. I just love the times shows himself directly because his stubborn children (me J) forget how great He is! Thank you all who prayed for my little man, we felt every one of them. When I think of this chapter of our lives I am reminded of a song I love by Natalie Grant, “I’m in better hands now” ~~ “There is hope when my faith runs out cause I'm in better hands now” I heard this song on the way home from work yesterday and just started crying funny how God will place something even like a song to make Himself known, I just love that! Well you also said something that seems to fit for the end of this blog…God will always get the last word!!

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this~~~Psalm 37:5

Billy the Bee

(I wanted this in color but the file was too big :P, I also wanted some others but again were too big :) )

Man you look at that picture above and you might think that everything looks peachy keen. Well I not trying to brag but I will brag about what God has done with my family. Remember that God’s glory will always shine!!

See about 8 years ago our family was torn apart and from the outside you would think that there was no way to repair it, but that is where you never say never when God is in control. At one point I really thought like Naomi did when she said the Lord as dealt bitterly with me. Little did I know what He had in store. He worked through my bitter heart and a lot changed for me at a Life Action Revival and our speaker was talking about when people squeeze you what comes out and what would you like to see come out! Man I was like I do not want people to see nastiness coming from me and I prayed and prayed for my bitterness to be taken away and over time it became easier and easier. Now my family is on a road if you asked me 8 years ago if we would be on that road I would tell you there is no way.

Josh(he is an amazing storyteller J) told the kids a story before bed the other night about a bee name Billy, so he was named Billy the Bee and he had gotten lost from his beehive and it was becoming dark and he was afraid that he would not be able to find his way home. So he stopped and prayed asking God to help him find his way home. So God lit one flower and Billy hopped on, then God lit another and another. Billy had hopped on a dozen flowers and said God I am tired and just want to get home, and about that time he looked up and saw a light to a house and the light of that house lit up his beehive. Funny how a story my husband told our kids encouraged me! See too often I feel as if I stay on a flower and just tell God I am too tired and miss out on all the growth and blessing He supplies to me along the way. So I love looking at my picture above because we still have many miles to travel but God is in control and I think I will be a Billy the Bee J

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ~~Romans 5:1-3