First up, Kaley! Kaley is our first born, the child who gifted us with parenthood. She is a typical oldest child. She is kind, responsible, honest, consistent, confident, resilient, a rule follower, an educational overachiever, & always putting others above self. She doesn't take many uncalculated risks. She isn't our brave adventurer but will definitely speak out about what she believes in. God is her pilot. We are forever thankful He chose us as her earthly parents. We both have a special relationship with her. She confides in us, & we share openly with her as well. Her heart is big, & our love for her overflows. Recently, she witnessed racism first hand from an adult that she cared about towards an innocent child. Later she shared the issue with me. I asked her why she didn't come to one of us right then. Her answer was simply, "I handled it." & that she did! I cannot share every detail but I can say that although my heart sank from the reality of her seeing such ridiculousness, I was overjoyed at her being the brave one to speak up for such nonsense. Of course on the morning of her big day, Meme was calling before we awoke & quickly showed up with presents, cards filled with to much cash, lunch at Olive Garden, & shopping. Upon our return, Nathan had bought her an ice cream cake (their favorite). Per her request, we had officially planned to celebrate with special friends in Macon a few days later.
Shopping in Macon with this crazy crew
before meeting to celebrate at Skyzone & dinner at Cheddars!
Celebrating 5 birthdays with special friends~Jack's 5th,
Kaley & Brianna's 14th, Graham's 4th, & Mallory's 10th!
That night ended with us bringing home one less of ours but also gaining another.
Brianna & Kaley have been childhood friends since birth. They made their debut just 12 days apart in the same hospital. We were friends with her parents long before then. Brother Willie Guthrie preached their joint baby dedication at Westside Holiness Church. Since we pastor, they no longer see each other every week but are still so much alike in many ways & pick up exactly where they left off as if no time at all has lapsed. Brianna went to bed at our house as a 13 year old & woke up 14! I enjoyed treating the girl's to Ruby Tuesday & a little shopping before switching kiddos back.
& then there was Graham! WOW! Our 5th born turns 4! Even though we didn't "plan" him, God knew exactly what we needed. He is our baby boy. He loves cuddles & wanders his way onto our pillows most every morning around daybreak to finish his sleep. What a wonderful way to start the day as my morning view:
Most of the time, we talk of our boys collectively. They are both ALL boy & so rambunctious! Our home didn't quite know how to deal at 1st. Now we just go with the flow of activity. They are both very smart & really showing off as they master Kindergarten skills, even if that means spinning in circles as we repeat this or that. One of my favorite things to watch them do is singing so big & loud for God. With all of their like qualities, they also sport several differences. Graham is much calmer & less stubborn. He listens & communicates effectively. I'm really proud of him learning how to read so young. He has a talent for memorizing & applying scriptures. Very often you will hear him quote, "Be ye kind one to another. Ephesians 4:32," or his latest phrase, "Liars go to hell." We just have to laugh at his brutal honesty. He says it with such authority & confidence, shaking his head yes the whole time. I pray he keeps his love for Jesus strong & all things heaven kindled with mercy & grace. We love living life with him! He keeps us all on our toes.
When Graham's actual birthday rolled around, we had previously celebrated his 4th with more ice cream cake (his choice) & presents. That day couldn't just be filled with school work & normality though. We quickly decided Mondays were made for birthdays, beach days, & FUN! This is one of the great perks of homeschooling. We each throw on our swim clothes, pack play clothes, & drive a little ways for some family fun. Fall is upon us & hot 100 degree weather is finally dwindling here in south GA. This will possibly be our last beach trip for 2016. After playing in the ocean, we visited Tidelands Nature Center, a few historic sights on the island, & hiked in to Driftwood Beach. So far the cost=gas & not even a whole tank at that. Afterwards, we decided to splurge a little & eat Mexican food sea side at Tortuga Jacks & call it a day! For very little $, this was such fun! We just enjoyed what nature offered us close to home & being together. As I've said many times before on here, love isn't about $ but about time. I want my children to grow up knowing that we only put God above family here. We don't even have to leave the house & play games in our pjs as we laugh loudly & have the best time or go on one of our little excursions & hardly spend a dime having a blast together. Together is what each scenario has in common. Sure, we could stay home & catch up laundry from the weekend or complete some chores but our vision for our family is much larger & more fulfilling than that. We regularly put aside all of the mundane tasks that claim our attention & focus on one another. That's where it's all at, LOVE!
This post content & similar posts are mostly for our own memories. I am thankful to have this little space on the world wide web to share my thoughts, views, & also a peek into our lives. I much appreciate all of you readers. Without you, there would be no blog. My heart is humbled as South GA Mama nears 35,000 reads as each post is regularly viewed by hundreds of people. I am truly honored & amazed. I felt God tug at my heart strings years ago & look how He has blessed! Thus far, I have only received negative feedback from 3 like minded individuals. At 1st I sadly allowed their opinions to hinder my sharing. However, I know I never would intentionally throw stones or step on toes. As God's children, we are all in this together to help one another. With God's leading, I quickly recovered, typed on by faith, & have seen this blog soar to new heights ever since! I soak up each positive comment, both public & private. When I am embraced by one of you with kind words of support, it means the world to me. I leave teary eyed & thanking God. I give Him all of the honor & glory. Without Him, I have no idea where my life would be. With Him, it hasn't always gone as I would've planned out BUT without fail, led to greater blessings than I ever could have imagined!!! God is so good! Life is a blessing! Find time to enjoy yours too even if there are naysayers! As Graham will grow up to figure out, there's definitely a place for them too! Rise above!
