WAKE UP!

Our state has been ravished this week. Our neighbors have been killed. Our children have been orphaned. Our fellow Alabamians have witnessed horrors that we couldn't begin to imagine. I have been speechless until today. I have been staring at the TV watching these nightmares unfold before me and I've done 
nothing until today. What have I been waiting on? I don't know. It has been so overwhelming...there's so much NEED. Where do you even start?


I may be the only one just waking up from my stupor but in the event I'm not, I wanted to encourage anyone reading this to wake up. Do something. Even if it's digging out an old blanket or a can of food. Take it to a drop off point to be delivered if you are unable to take it yourself. Give blood. Give $5. Call 211 to find out where you can volunteer. Take a bar of soap or a few diapers. Fall on your knees and pray to God for peace and mercy for these people.


Go HERE or HERE to find out what you can do. Go HERE to donate. Just please GO!

Pucker UP!

My sweet, precious angel of a child has been SO cuddly lately, I could just eat him up. Saturday we were at Mimi's Cafe with my mom and he did something so sweet I just had to share. He was sitting in his high chair and I was next to him. I leaned down, puckered up, and said "Harris you wanna give Mommy a kiss?" The child looked up at me, opened his mouth as wide as it would go and planted one on me! I could have melted into the concrete right then and there. The best part? He kept doing it! My mom grabbed the camera and started snapping. Oh my goodness.

There's more! Tonight as I was rocking him to sleep I was considering the possibility that he may one day decide he doesn't want to rock before bed. I was then thinking how ridiculous this was...afterall, OF COURSE he'll want me to rock and sing him to sleep when he's 16. Duh...  Anyway. I kid you not, just then my darling little boy stirred from his slumber, looked me dead in the eyes, smiled and planted another one of those sugary kisses right on my lips. I, of course, teared up and he just laid his little head back down on my shoulder. Now, I know all Mommies say this BUT Harris really is the sweetest. little. boy. ever. At least as far as I can see... ;) This Mommy is so in love.

My Hope

Easter is almost here! I'm so excited to spend this wonderful time of the year with family and friends. The significance of Easter becomes more and more important to me every year. I once totally overlooked the beauty and love that Easter brought to the world but over the last few years it has easily become my favorite holiday. As a new mom to a beautiful baby boy I am reminded even more the weight that this day holds. I look into my baby's eyes and wonder if I could love ANYONE enough to sacrifice my angel. I'll tell you right now..NOPE. As humans we can't begin to fathom that kind of love, selflessness and sacrifice. God loved us so much He gave Jesus up for us. We say those words all the time. We know the scriptures. Do we really see what that means?

There are times in my life when I obviously DO NOT see it. I have days where I think and act as though the world is coming to an end. I get tired and frustrated over mundane things. I feel lonely and isolated when Eliot is working all the time. I get my feelings hurt and I'm sure I hurt feelings, too. Those days can be awful. Terrible. 

But wow! I have something so wonderful, too marvelous for words. I have a God who loves me unconditionally. I have a Savior who gave Himself up for me. I have a love that no human can comprehend. I have it all. I have hope in a cross and a resurrection. Praise God! When I'm down or lonely or sad I have a reminder of the hope and love God brings. This world and the things in it are so temporary and so insignificant. Thank you, God, for the reminder this morning. 

Need Some Cheese With That Whine???

I need to whine. I'm so tired today. Not necessarily sleepy, just mentally and physically tired. It has been one of those days. You know the kind...you wake up and think it is going to be a great day and it is until the afternoon nap rolls around. When said nap ends the baby wakes up completely irate that I've somehow tricked him into sleep. He proceeds to punish me for the remainder of the afternoon by screaming and spitting green beans at me. This is after I attempt a shower in which he pulls the curtain back and cries so terribly I have to cut the shower short. Very short. I don't think I washed the conditioner out of my hair...Greasy hair anyone? I have eaten microwave eggs for lunch and dinner simply because taking time to cut up chicken and cook dinner was not in the stars. I. Am. Tired. 

All the while, my mind is racing. I'm not worried or anxious about anything I just can't seem to put everything in order. This morning during my 5 minute "quiet time" I began feeling guilty because I don't feel as though there is much scheduled time in my day for God. I feed Harris and myself. I change diapers and try to take showers. I let Emmie out and I let her back in. I play with baby toys and check Facebook on my cellphone. Where is my mission??? 

Then it hit me! THIS is my mission. This crazy day and all of the silliness that goes into it is my mission. A very wise friend, Hilary Gresham, told me when I was pregnant that raising Harris would be the most important mission in my life. I've remembered that and I think about it but I haven't really applied that to everyday. What does this mission look like? Pretty sure it isn't showing Harris my frustrations and huffing and puffing. I also feel confident it isn't whining to Eliot. No, I think my mission is something much better than those things. 

Colossians 3:23 says that I am to work at everything as though working for the Lord, not for men (or baby for these purposes) Would I have these negative attitudes with God? Nope. Definitely not! Would I complain that I didn't get enough down time to HIM? Prrrrobably not!! I have the privilege and honor of being the first person Harris sees God through. WOW. That is a huge mission and wonderful responsibility. It is my job to show Harris joy and love and patience and kindness and every other wonderful thing that we are given through the Holy Spirit. It is a challenge that I haven't really taken seriously. So tonight I will go to bed. I will recharge and rest. I will rinse conditioner out of my hair and brush my teeth. Tomorrow I will show up and face my ventures head on! 

~Colossians 3:17~

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Safari Harris

We had yet ANOTHER illness this week. The suspicious "fever virus"  came for a visit on Friday morning and showed up with a 104.3 fever! Poor little Harris was lifeless. After three hours at the doctor's office, blood work, strep test, urinalysis and more screaming than my baby could handle, Dr. Brannan came in to report it was just a virus with a fever and we would just have to wait it out with lots of Motrin, Tylenol and cuddling. Because of it being viral though, we were told he was highly contagious and he didn't need to be around his buddies until he was fever-free for 24 hours. All of that equates to quarantined baby, Mommy and Daddy which usually leads to stir-crazy baby, Mommy and Daddy. I'm happy to report he has not had fever since 3:00 this morning and he seems to be on the mend. To celebrate and regain sanity for little Harris we decided to treat him to a few hours at the ZOO! This was his first trip to the zoo and although he couldn't appreciate the majority of it he was greatly amused by a few critters!

The Toucan was really cool because it made noise!

Who doesn't like Flamingos??

These giraffes were just amazing to Harris.

Who needs a stroller when you've got Daddy's shoulders?

We went on a train ride which he LOVED, of course!

Harris was pretty interested in the horses

Now, above ALL of the animals he saw and the awesome train he got to ride he was MOST interested in.....THE BUCKET SWING! Doesn't get much better than this...

Aaaaaaand I'm pooped.

I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Who made the flowers? God did! God did!

I have always loved spring! What's not to love? Flowers, green everywhere, Easter, the first hint of warm weather and baseball! Its just beautiful. This spring has been so different though. Seeing all of this beauty through Harris' eyes has been such a blessing! He is so amazed by flowers and sunshine. I get to see his eyes light up at the sight of any and everything and it just makes my heart smile. I guess we can take God's beauty for granted when we see it all the time and honestly, it becomes mundane. Having a front-row seat to Harris seeing it all for the first time reminds me of how awe-inspiring God's creation really is. I've also been challenged to slow down and really drink it all in. We sing songs like "Who Made the Flowers" and at the end I always say, "Thank you God for the flowers" which usually gets a smile out of little man but until recently I don't think I've actually told God, "Thank you for your beauty!" There really isn't anything like seeing the world through a child's eyes.

Watching Daddy plant flowers

"That isn't quite like my bathwater.."

Mr. Gordon introduces Harris to the livestock!

Nothing better than bubbles

Checking up on the tree Daddy purchased

Even Emmie is becoming more and more interesting!!

I had to do it. Sorry Harris.

Happy Spring!!

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

~Genesis 1:31~

My Time or Hers?

It was 8:30 Friday morning and there I was. BACK at Partners in Pediactrics. The last time we were in that office was last week and that FIVE hour trip to the doctor ended with my baby in Baptist East hospital and our car in the shop after it had to be towed from the parking lot due to a bum battery. I was SUPER pumped about coming back (not so much). Harris and I were there for a 9 month check up this time; not ear infections or wheezing or yellow snot or any of the other repeat offenders we're used to. I walk to the desk, sign Harris in and make my way to the "Well" side. I quickly tried to find a seat that would give us the best view of Disney TV only to discover they had replaced Handy Manny and Mickey with some Dinosaur show on PBS or something. Not good. It was 8:30...AKA nap time AKA melt-down initiation. OK, fine. We settled in with some puffs and as many toys as I could drag out of my diaper bag-turned-magical Mary Poppins-bag. I thought, "It's 8:30! How long should we have to wait?" Famous last words...

Fast forward to 9:30. Still there, still listening to Dinosaurs and still no "Harris Murray for Dr. Brannan!" By this time, the other mamas in the waiting room were beginning to huff and puff. I hear the typical "good grief, how long does it take?" and "I don't think Dr. Brannan is even here!" Just as I began to feel some frustration myself I heard the call for Harris to come on back. I turned the corner only to discover it wasn't our sweet nurse we're used to but Dr. Brannan, herself. Strange but whatever, we were back. Dr. Brannan sent us to a room and told me our nurse would be there shortly. 

Now, you know how you have those moments when you KNOW that the Lord has you in a situation for a reason? You have those times when the Lord uses you to speak wisdom and love to someone. Well, Friday morning was my time. 

My nurse came in immediately apologizing for having us wait for so long. I felt this overwhelming urge to tell her it did not matter in the least to me that we waited and that Harris and I were having a good time watching Dinosaurs (not entirely true since we prefer Mickey but hey...) She continued to apologize explaining that the schedule was confused and she had called back the wrong patient and that she had been working in this field for 20+ years and took great pride in her work and..... I said, "I promise, its ok!" By this time I'm thinking "Gotcha. You're sorry. Now, can we please move on so I can get my 9 month old out of this office.." Just then I looked up at her and saw BIG tears rolling down her cheeks. I quickly asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to tell me:

Her 29 year old daughter had died 9 months ago from health problems related to her diabetes. When she passed away, her 10 year old son was left with his grandmother AKA our nurse. She was exhausted mentally and physically she explained. In that moment, I felt the weight of the world that poor woman was carrying. She was trying to stay positive for her grandson and make life somewhat normal but all the while mourning the loss of her daughter. Her baby, her child. I can't imagine.

We talked for a long time after that and Harris was content to eat puffs and listen. We talked about the goodness of God and how He delivers you in times of distress and trouble. We talked about when you hit a brick wall all you can do is pray and ask the Lord for peace and understanding. Now, when I say "we" I mean "she". You see, SHE was the one explaining all of these things to ME. She was the one enduring one of the hardest things any mother could possibly go through and she was the one ministering to me. Talk about putting things into perspective...she was a basket case and could still muster the strength to praise God. I have petty things happen everyday that I claim hinder my time with God and here she was praising Him in the biggest storm there is. 

Yes, He had me there for a reason...to listen to her and be there but it was HER time to speak wisdom and love.  I'm not sure who was blessed more by that conversation...