a little town called guntown...

that's where you would have found our family this week...we were hanging out with the Roberts!  We were relatively home bodies this week.  Steve did lots of stuff out in the woods that involved a 4 wheeler, mud, and sometimes a gun :)...Ryleigh and I hung out with grandma and gran gran!  We had a few beautiful days that were followed by serious thunderstorms.  I saw golf sized hail for the 1st time ever in my life! Here's what Ryleigh was up to all week...

hanging out with her sweet cousin kaylee

sleeping on grandma's shoulder

practicing her talking with gran gran

learning to sit up on her own (for a few seconds anyway)

 spending time with her great mamaw, aunts, uncles, and cousins!

Steve and I completed our insurance list and customs list for the crate this week (this is MUCH easier said than done) - which was the last big thing that needed to be finished before we crate.  Crate date is this upcoming Thursday!!  It's gotten here super fast and we're anxious to see it packed and in the right spot!  I'll be sure to upload pics of all the boxes...it's almost comical!  We'll be speaking at a church in Blue Springs tomorrow night and then it's back to Clinton for a little while...home (for now) sweet home.



a mental break

Writing has often been a "break" from reality for me...i can't explain it but i love it - always have.  this blog is probably not the greatest example of my writing but more so like a journal of sorts...anyway - even though the past month has felt mostly like a vacation, in the sense that we have only slept in clinton for probably 3 nights, my mind has been constantly on the go.  For those who know me, you may laugh, since my thought process have often been called "one of a kind"...but it's true that my mind has been in overdrive here lately.  Every day is a day to think of something else that needs to be crated...or put in a suitcase for virginia...OR put in a vaccum seal bag for the flight to Mada...did i mention the bags we're currently toting around from meridian to baldwyn and back??  I should have an adorable picture of Ryleigh sitting in a suitcase right here but i don't...oops!  this post is seriously not going to amount to anything of real importance...i just needed to type...to put down into words all that goes through my head.  this makes me slow down and relax...not sure the reasoning behind it all - but it works!

what else calms me down? music.  i used to be a big fan of country music...knew every lyric, every artist...and LOVED watching music videos - lol - now, i'm not saying it's evil by any means (well, not all of it anyway) but i'm definitely the most relaxed and at peace when i'm listening to my favorite christian songs.  music has always had a way of transporting me to His throne room...i can block out the rest of the world so easily when i'm singing (or maybe the world is blocking me out because it's listening to me sing...hmmmm).  shane and shane will always be one of my favs because of their use of scripture in every single song.  i love proclaiming His truths to music...currently their song "Over the Sun", is speaking volumes - i've always enjoyed it but just the reminder that we need to get "over the sun" because everything under it is meaningless.  all in all it doesn't matter what i pack where...the Lord will provide - He always has, and i have no doubts that He always will.  everything in the crate or in the suitcase (any of the 10 or so) - it's just stuff...no doubt it will probably make life easier in some form or fashion and will definitely make ryleigh one of the most fashionable kiddos on the island :)  BUT it's all stuff we can live without...if we forget something, it'll be alright.  soooooo (my mom really wishes i'd quit using that word to start every.single.sentence. ha) that's life right now - this time next week our crate will be "crated" - we won't see it again till september or so once we've settled in mada. 

for those of you who stuck with me through this rambling mental break - thank you - you can breathe a sigh of relief...i'm going to stop now.  i hope all of you have  a splendid weekend and here's a picture to hopefully make reading this worth your while ;)

Meridian

The remaining weeks leading up to leaving for Virginia will be spent with our families and friends all over MS and TX...this past week we found ourselves in Meridian!

No matter where we are...she is SUCH a daddy's girl (pretty sure, he's wrapped around her finger too!)!!

The newest thing she's learned?  Her ABC's...well I think that's what you'd call them - it goes like this...

A........B.........C........LHI LHI!!!  :) guaranteed giggle everytime!! 

Ryleigh met the future husband...mr.max stark...he's already teaching her new things :)

She had her 1st fishing trip with my mom's side of the family - Rock is showing her how it's done!

Ryleigh with her "great-Pop"  :)

She was stylin on St Patty's day thanks to Big J and Little A!



We spent the end of the week packing up all of our stuff for the crate...SUCH a big task!!  I know we'll be grateful to get the crate once we've been in Mada for a few months though!  We're loving traveling around, seeing everyone, and having opportunities to speak at churches.  We are thankful for all of the prayer warriors out there!   Keep checking back - more updates will be on the way since we're in baldwyn this week!  This time with family and friends is priceless...we're grateful to be able to spend time with them - and love them so so so much!  Rest assured anytime Ryleigh isn't in someone else's arms, this is where you'll find her...right in her momma's arms :)

Late Night Ramblings

Everyone in the house is asleep.  I'm awake, but probably shouldn't be.  Exhausted doesn't begin to describe how I feel at the moment, but it's a good thing.  I enjoy the feeling of marking things off of my to do list (those of you who know me are currently smiling).  Today = lots of marking things off = smiley face (like the one below)

Doesn't that just make you smile too?  I'm realizing that I have become such a "mother" - I showed a picture of Ryleigh to the lady who was helping me find shoes today at the mall - pathetic I know, but bless her heart atleast she pretended to be interested.  No matter how stereotypical I may now be - I love it.  I love being a mom.  I enjoy looking at my baby girl and guessing what's going on in her mind.  I like going for a walk with her in the stroller, putting on adorable outfits, playing with her, singing to her, having conversations with her (she does talk back sometimes...well coos anyway), and the list could go on.  I could have never understood the way she makes me feel until now...and i'm a fan - a huge one actually.

(picture from dedication service 2/27)

There's a lot to do - back to that to do list - before we leave.  It can be overwhelming if I stop and think about it too long - so I just try and put it in list form...it seems that I feel like I can conquer it that way.  Trying to think through what we might need for the next 3 years is crazy...just so you know.  I'm trying to find that line of being reasonable and realizing that we're going to be in a foreign country - everything will be different, but people are currently living there and have been for longer than I've been alive - so guess what...we'll make it just fine.  The Lord has always taken care of us and He will continue to - absolutely no doubts about that one.  So...I'll do the things that need to be done - by His strength and grace.  Everything else?  Well, I don't believe it will just take care of itself but I do rest in the fact that He will supply our every need.  Therefore, I will act on what He needs me to act on and otherwise I'll just rest in Him and enjoy the journey...looks like Ryleigh already has that under control...

Goodnight.