HOW SHOULD I HANDLE THIS?

As many of you know by now, I am venturing out into the work world. I will begin teaching preschool the day after Labor Day at HillDale Christian School. I have been so excited about this part of God's wonderful plan for me. I am very much looking forward to it. Last friday night, we had a dinner meeting with all the teachers and the principle where we all received our class list. I have 8 kids in my class, and I finally know their individual names, which has made it more real! I can now pray for them all by name! After talking with each of the teachers about the students that had been placed in their perspective classrooms, one of the teachers offered up a piece of advice about one of the boys in my class. She knows this family personally and has told me that he is VERY attatched to his Mommy, and will probably have a really hard time adjusting to school. So basically, I see myself having to pull him apart from his Mom every Tuesday and Thursday! Something I don't want to do! I, myself, have never had to deal with this because my kids were always happy to go to school. As a matter of fact, Ryan used to cry to GO because we'd drop off his big sister and not him. I guess if it had been an issue I had to deal with, I would have been heartbroken to see my child screaming and reaching for me as I left the buildin. So if this sweet little precious boy has separation issues when the first days of school starts, so be it. I will do my best to make him feel comfortable and earn his trust. Hopefully if won't last long. My main concern is also making the parents feel at ease with leaving their babies with me. After all, they are only 2 and 3 year olds!!!

If you have advice on how I should handle it...pass it on. It's greatly appreciated!

HAIRSPRAY

So, today, my sweet hubby let me outta the house for a bit to meet my best friend at the movies to watch Hairspray. What makes that sweet? Well, he wanted to see it too, but we didn't have anyone to keep the kids, so he let me go without him. (all together now...."AAAWWWW!")

Well, I've always wanted to see the Broadway show, and when it came to town, for one reason (no money), or another (no money), I wasn't able to go. But springing the movie ticket price was more doable, so off I went with only a slight tinge of guilt. (hey...it's a "mommy" thing)

First off....the girl playing the lead role of Tracy Turnblad was PHE-NOM-ENAL! It's hard to believe that it is her very first movie! She looked like a true pro and I couldn't stop smiling whenever she was onscreen! She's so cute! She did a great job, and I can't imagine any other girl (celebrity especially) playing the role!
Secondly, JOHN TRAVOLTA, aka Edna Turblad, was unreal! First off...he had the goofiest expressions on his face and I'm sure it was due to "overacting" since most of his body for the movie was FAKE! (haha) I was also amazed at how "light on her feet" Edna was, considering she was a pretty large lady (shemale)
The other "over actor" was the highly popular Zac Ephron, who is best known for his "High School Musical" fame (loved that one!), but even his portrayal of Troy Bolton was a bit over the top. I think he's a cute guy, but his "contemplative, I'm in a quandary and need to make the right decision" face didn't get any better in Hairspray as he portrayed the heart throb "LINK". But even still, he was fun to watch....and the boy can def. dance.
Also, even though I consider him to be a totally creepy guy, Christopher Walken was really good in his role as Tracy's dad. There's just something about him that gives me chills, yet I feel awkwardly drawn to him as a performer. He's the creepiest kinda cool, ya know?
But once again, one of my most favorite performers was MS. QUEEN LATIFA! She rocks! I loved her as "Mama" in Chicago several years ago, and I loved her in this movie....the only problem was that there was just not enough of her!
So, basically, I've never heard any of the music other than the famous "You can't stop the beat" that plays with the trailers, but I've bee singing (more like humming since I don't know the lyrics) "Good Morning Baltimore" all day! The opening number was great!
I love musicals. The only musical I recall hating was EVITA with Madonna. Yes, the story was interesting, but OMGOLLY! It was horrible having to listen to every line being sung! The absolute only line that is spoken is when her husband says "Eva, you are dying"! AAAAAHHHH! The only thing I find hilarious about musicals is the fact that they break out in song and dance, yet EVERYONE knows the lyrics to the songs, and the movements to the "spontaneous" dance! Or if they are singing/dancing as a solo in the movie, everyone around them is going about their business as if it's completely normal and no big deal! Can you imagine if you had started singing and dancing in the middle of the halls of your high school! The men in white coats would be coming for you with a special made jacket! haha
Well, here's the trailer. If you like musicals, and have the chance, be sure you check this one out! I will definitely be adding this one to my movie collection when it's released on DVD....and, if I can talk Jon into it, we might try to get away on a date to go see it together!

WHAT IS IN YOUR BUCKET???

Get ready...ramblings late at night from a thirsty soul.

Since Pastor Ryan is on vacation, the next few weeks at church will be filled with guest speakers on Sunday mornings. It's not that I don't like guest speakers, or that I don't "get anything out of their message", it's just that when you are under the leadership of an awesome man of God as my pastor, you miss it when he's gone. But alas, he deserves a rejuvinating vacation, and I pray he comes back more rested and ON FIRE for the Lord. This past Sunday's first "guest speaker" was certainly no guest. He is well knows to many CrossPointers, and has filled in many times before. Tim Tidwell is an awesome guy. I love to hear him preach. He brought lots of fruit to the table today, and I must say, I'm still feasting! Here's a few points that I'm still chewing on...

Scripture: John 4:1-29

Theme: The Woman At The Well

Now how many times have we all heard sermons preached on this particular scripture? For me it is far too many to count. And as Mr. Tidwell said in his sermon, there are so many different messages that can come out of these words and there's not enough time to get to them all in one day. That's just like God, huh? To fill us full of the scripture, and have it mean something in so many different ways, to so many different people, in so many different stages of life, so many different times of our life! I like the angle presented in this message...

How many times do you think this woman had come to this well with her bucket?

This was a routine for her. (remember that point...I'll come back to it) She probably drew water from this well daily, if not more than that! She carried her bucket to the well-probably a long walk from her home-and all the way there, her thoughts of her life surrounding her. When she get's there...a Jew is sitting near by and asks for a drink. "Wow! What's he talking to me for?? He's a Jew, I'm a Samaritan!" (as scripture references, Jews and Samaritan's have nothing to do with each other...much like many of the racial divides throughout time-black vs white, german vs jew, muslim vs christian, etc).

The verses 7-15 tells us alot about this woman's relationship with God...for she didn't recognize just who it was talking to her. Jesus tells her that if she only knew him, He could give her living water! Jesus is referring to her life style...not her physical thirst. If she would know, trust, love and live for Jesus, he can fill her heart so full that she would not thirst for anything else! (That whole "God shaped hole" that we all try to fill with worldly things at some point in our lives-nothing can fill a God shaped hole but GOD HIMSELF!). He "calls her out" when he asks her to go get her husband in verse 16, and she LIES to Him. Well, she told the truth by admitting she had no husband, but lying by omission is still lying! In fact, she'd had 5 husbands, and was shacking up with a dude even then! When Jesus confronted her with her sins, and offered her a drink from His well, she left her bucket at his feet and ran off telling everyone! (v. 28-29)

So let's turn this into a lesson for the day (one of the many)...as was asked of us in church, I ask you to ponder now...

"WHAT IS IN YOUR BUCKET?"

What is on your mind when you find yourself face to face with the Saviour? What to do bring to him? What do you pray about? What do you anticipate when you approach the throne?

• Do you fill your bucket with your bills and debts? An overly stressed financial situation can cause problems in more than just your checkbook. Marriages become strained over the fight of money, your availability to be used by God is lessened when you're strapped down and can't give to others to help His cause, you can't be obedient to the Lord and give what you want, or should give as commanded!


• Is your bucket filled with all your relationships? The good, the Bad, the Ugly? Are you astrained from your parents, siblings, or inlaws? How about the relationship between a husband and a wife? There is nothing more important than to protect and annoint a marriage with the Grace and Love of God! A couple who comes together before the Lord on a regular basis is taking steps to ensure they're remaining close to each other, and are seeking God and his will for them. Separatly pursuing God is good too, but when you draw nearer to God together, you also draw closer together! (see image below)

• What are your desires? Perhaps a better question would be, are YOUR desires HIS desires? Psalms 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The closer one draws him/herself to the Almighty God, the less desire you have of your own, and the more desires you have of the Creator. His desires become your desires. So I ask again, WHAT DESIRES ARE IN YOUR BUCKET?

The woman at the well was going about her ROUTINE. It is imparative that believers not get mixed up in a routine! Christ didn't come here and die for us to have a routine! It's just not about a routine, it's about a RELATIONSHIP!

This message gave me conviction and I've been thinking of it all week. Far too often, I get mixed up in the day to day grind, that is not nearly as hectic and bad as I might believe it to be...especially when you consider the hectic, chaotic, and torn up lives of others. Ashamedly, I get so wrapped up in outside influences...TV (tivo is a great invention, but should be used wisely more wisely in our home! We watch far too much tv now!), internet (i.e. blogs, MySpace, etc...while they are excellent resources for connection to the outside world, too often I find myself spending many many hours surfing the net when I could be surfing the word of God and finding more of his desires for myself). I realize that these are all tools used by the greatest deceiver of all time to thwart my use to the Kingdom of God. My goal is to connect the desires of my heart with the desires of my head. My head knows the logic of turning the tv off, and setting limits for those outside influences. But apparently my heart has not caught up. It's time to draw near to God. I put my trust in the Lord, and not in the deceit of my enemy.

I leave you with this verse:

Psalms 145:1-4,10

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

May blessings from the Lord be abundant in your favor today....

SOOOO PUMPED!

So today, the kids and I went up to the school because Megan had been asking to see my classroom and she wants to help me decorate. I intended to go up for an hour or so, maybe clean a few shelves and then go over to a friends house to let the kids play. Once I arrived, there were other teachers there that had their children with them, so our kids got to play together...basically, we weren't leaving anytime soon when they were having such fun! I started cleaning out the desk, the cabinets, and before I knew it, I had a mountain of junk in the center of the room! This room had not been fully cleaned in several years, because I found multiple teachers names laying claim to many items in those cabinets....many of whom haven't taught at this school in several years! But, I had a great time cleaning out and deciding what to keep, what to toss out, and what to put in a pile for "fair game" in case any of the other teachers needed it. At one point, one of my dear friends, and FAVORITE teachers at the school, Mrs. Cathy Hunt, came in and she gave me a great deal of help trying to decide what to decorate the room with, what to put on my bulletin boards, etc. Then we decided we needed to go to the Teacher's Pet store just up the road. It was so much fun going in there and getting things for my classroom. I didn't buy much, because I wanted to wait and see what all had been left for me, but I will definatly need to go back! After heading back up to the school to work on our classrooms some more, the kids got settled in and actually layed down on the nap mats to watch a movie, and Ryan fell fast asleep! (I wish it was that easy at home...at school, he's always out so fast!). Before I knew it, Jonathan was calling my cell phone to ask where I was...He'd been calling me at home and I wasn't there....it was 5 o'clock! I put in a good hard day up there and time flew by so fast! I still have so much to do, and it will take such a long time to get it all ready like I want it, but it has just created so much spark in me that I can't wait to get back up there!

Who knew I'd be soooo excited about getting back into work! When I left my ambitions of teaching many years ago, it was for no other reason than, I WAS BURNED OUT! Even when I sent my precious 2 year old Megan to school, I admired the teachers then, because I just didn't have it in me! But what a transformation the Lord has done on my heart! He's given me a fire and desire for it again and I am so excited. Perhaps when I was in childcare before it just wasn't the right direction....I thought I was interested in running a childcare development center (NOT daycare...I hate daycares...they have low paid workers which create low "care" for the children....believe me I was one of them at one time!). But now, I'm going to be teaching Pre 3K (2 and 3 year olds), and the only drawback is that I'll be pottytraining them! But hey, it's nothing I've not mastered before!

What's more, is the group of ladies I'm privileged to work with, are all truly hand picked by God! The director of the kindergarten has lead so well over the years that she's been there, and she is really great at fostering close relationships between all the ladies by scheduling "girls nights", luncheons, and weekend retreats. I believe that God had this planned for me all along, and I am really excited to finally be part of it all!

Praising God for a job sent from HEAVEN!

IT'S INDEPENDENCE DAY!

One of my FAVORITE Family holidays has now come and gone. Independence Day is always a blast in the Barrett/Vinson houses. My parents started this tradition several years ago, and it's one day that is talked about for months leading up to, and for months well after it's gone. My entire family comes together for some awesome BBQ, mom's potato salad (even though I've got the job of bringing it now), Jon's famous Baked beans, and for dessert, Mamaw's banana pudding, and Aunt Sherri's famous Chocolate pie. IT'S AWESOME!
Now that there is a pool at Mom's house, there's always swimming involved, and this year we added, CMT KARAOKE REVOLUTION in which Lauren kicked our booties singing Martina McBride's "Independence Day" (although, I think Mary got her back later!), and my Dad has bought another 4 wheeler that is just the right size for the kids, so they had a blast with that! The day was awesome! I love any chance I get to spend time with my family, because whether we realize it or not, these are memories in the making. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day hassle and even overlook the times we all come together, but I am proud to say that we all have started making the most of our time together. I know this is special for me, and I hope that my kids will grow up knowing just how special it is when they look back on pictures taken through the years....here's a slide of a just a few pics I managed to take today!

AND HERE IS A LITTLE SOMETHING I SAW POSTED ON MYSPACE TODAY...THOUGHT I'D SHARE THIS TOO...

TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

-- Happy 231st birthday!!--

I'm honored to be a citizen within your borders.--

Thanks for my freedom.

TO ALL AMERICANS WHO SERVE IN UNIFORM:

-- You are heros. --

I wish America honored you every day like they have today, because you continue to be heros the other 364 days of the year.

-- Thanks for my freedom.

TO MY JESUS:

-- Without you, there would be no America.

--Without you, our troops would have nothing to fight for.

-- Without you, we would be nothing.

-- Thanks for our freedom!!John 8:36

-- So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

LOVE, PAIN, AND THE WHOLE CRAZY THING!!!!!

OK. So I let it happen. I let my CRAZY sis in law Mary talk me into trekking over to Atlanta to see Keith Urban in concert. For those of you who know my wacky sis in law personally, you know that Keith Urban is a package deal when your are friends with her! It doesn't matter if you only know her at church, play in the bunco group, or whatever...eventually you hear KEITH talk! She's been a fan for a long time, and she's nuts for him.
So anyway, back to the story. A few months ago, she found out he was coming to the Phillips Arena in ATL, and sent out a bulletin here on MySpace asking if anyone was interested. I remember showing a slight amount of interest, and POOF! All of a sudden, I was an honorary Keith NUT! She had us tickets, emailed me the seating info and even had a 360 degree camera angle at the Arena! I was a little excited, because the seats were great, and we were bordering front row with the placement of the stage setup! Granted...I don't know a lot of his songs. I certainly have heard them. I just don't listen to the radio a bunch, and therefore I barely know his lyrics.
Well, before I even GOT to the concert last night, I had been given the 411 on all things Keith! Everything from what kind of water he drinks (only drinks Figi), to the fact that he carries a trailer behind his bus that holds his motorcycle ( a Harley that he rides while out on tour). After we parked, we happened upon his tour bus, and stalked them waiting for a glimpse of his golden locks in the 90 degree Atlanta heat. Finally after giving up on that chance, we went to find nourishment to continue the Keith Hunt! We walked about 10 blocks to get to the Hard Rock Cafe and sat down for about an hour to cool off, and rest. (For the record, if you're planning to visit Hard Rock anytime soon...get the "Joe Perry's 'ROCK YOUR WORLD' Quesadilla...they're DIVINE!) I always love my visits to the Hard Rock and this was no different.
After a very good lunch, we walked around ATL and visited Centennial Olympic Park. At first glance, it was huge and majorly crowded, but we went in anyway, and it was really pretty. The Olympic fountain was still there, and it was a perfect day for it to be up and running. There were tons of kids jumping in it everywhere, and it made me wish my kids were with me because they would have had a blast. We then walked back to the Phillips Arena area and stopped in at the CNN building. I had no idea what we were walking into when we got there, but I just wanted to get out of the heat and have some air conditioned relief. We walked in and realized that it was also one big Food Court Mall! Haha! We could've saved ourselves the long walk to Hard Rock and just eaten there, but OH WELL! We walked around in the shops and wasted time, and then Mary had to take one last stalk of the tour bus! We went and watched the top of the bus for another 20 minutes or so to no avail. We did however see a drum line of a local High School band rehearsing to what we later saw on stage was a performance with KEITH! Kinda neat!
Back to the CNN building, we waited in the air conditioned comfort for the Arena to open....and finally THE CONCERT BEGAN. Mary did a great job getting us seats. We were right on the side of the stage, but we were so close to everything, we saw everybody as they were getting ready to go on stage to perform. The Wreckers opened up for him and did a great job. We saw them standing below us waiting for their time to go on, and it was neat to see that side of everything.
Keith put on a great show, and being as that was my first time to see him live, I had nothing to compare it to. Mary said it wasn't his BEST performance but I thought it was great. He gave alot of attention to the fans in the crowd. He sang a lovely song and dedicated it to his wife who was off filming a movie in Australia. He did an awesome encore...and got a new kind of "wave" going....everyone did the wave but had their cell phones all lit up & held up high, and it looked sooooo cool!
So, did I enjoy myself? YES! Would I go again...probably. Will I stalk him like Mary? Nah. Will I ever have to bail Mary out of jail for jumping onto the top of his tour bus....QUITE POSSIBLY!
BUT...THAT'S LOVE, PAIN AND THE WHOLE CRAZY THING!
THANKS MAR! HAD A BLAST!!!!

Anticipation....

As so many of you who read this blog know by now, I am slowly venturing into the work force beginning this fall. I will be teaching a preschool class made up of precious 2 and 3 year olds at the same school my kids attend. This is a blessing from above, because I have long prayed about what to do once my children began going to school. Should I work? Should I continue to stay home full time? What would I fill my days with if I didn't work and they were at school all day? I must admit, I am totally in love with my job as a stay at home (but work your butt off) Mom. While it's a challenging job in many ways, its also the only thing I've ever wanted to do...have a family and fill my days taking care of them. I am so fortunate that the Lord has allowed me to stay home with our children and he has taken care of our many needs over the last 6 years despite our lack of income. A little more than a year ago, I made a request to the principle of the school, that I would be interested in teaching a class if there were ever to be an opening. While it didn't work out for last school year as I had hoped, I still made sure everyone knew of my interest, and I volunteered up at the school as room mom, sub teacher, office assistant...anything I could get into. I developed a good relationship with many of the teachers, and then finally one day, the principle called me into her office...but that was a good thing! (haha) Unbeknown to me at the time, I had several little "angels" cheering for me at the school in the form of those sweet new friends I had made. The teachers all kept dropping my name, and the principle prayed about it and VOILA! I have the job I'd prayed about!

So now....I have to get my classroom ready! I am planning on waiting until after next week or so to start inquiring about it, but I am ready to begin planning my days out, decorating the classroom, and just jump in! I think I will only have 8 students in class, but their day will include lunch time and nap since the class will be until 2pm those two days during the week.

I am already praying for my students, and for the roll I will have in their families lives this school year. Sometimes, it excites me when I think about the job I have, and many other times, it reminds me that it's a big job! It's more than just "babysitting" a kid for a few hours! I am investing into the lives of those kids, and their families when I teach the ABC's, the Bible verses, the songs, etc. This class is laying a foundation for all of their learning abilities, and if I can make this fun for them, then hopefully the will carry it with them and always love learning!

This is exactly what happened for my sweet precious baby girl, and I see it happening with my darling son too. There was never a doubt in all the times I left my kids at school that they would be loved. I believe those teachers were hand picked by God for my children, and I am ever so grateful that He chose the ladies He did! I just pray that the same will be for the children I teach this fall!

Well, that's all for now! That seems to be on my mind a lot lately, as the first month of our summer vacation is over, and we are itching ever so closer to the school bell ringing again!

FUN WITH AIDAN

It's been a fun week so far around here. Our little friend Aidan came to stay with us for a few days while his parents were at work, and the kids had a blast together. They entertained each other so well, that they were completely worn out by the time the afternoon came around and we ALL took a great nap! (Yes, Me included!) While Megan went on an overnight trip with her dad on Monday and Tuesday, me and the boys had a great time playing in the backyard, and we went to play at Chick Fil A (or "chick-a-lay" if you them) on Tuesday.
Today, the backyard started getting a little more boring, so I dug out the little "baby wading pool" from the back of the barn, and despite the drought, they had fun splashing away. We put the slide into the pool and they had more fun doing that than at a water park!!!! Little by little, they got more and more brave, and started going down the slide BACKWARDS! Aidan was supposed to come back tomorrow and Friday, but his Mimi didn't have jury duty the rest of the week, so he's going to hang out with her. But the good news is, he's coming back next week! I know the kids (especially his best bud, Ryan) will be so excited to have him over again! They all get along so well, and Aidan is so good, we love having him around!
I've included a slide show of all the fun we had, and I'm experimenting with a new kind of program, so let me know what you think. This one is like a virtual scrapbook and it's interactive. You'll need to click the "book page" or a picture to be able to enlarge it to see them better. Hope you enjoy...

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

HAPPY 35TH BIRTHDAY JONATHAN

Yesterday was Jonathan's 35th birthday. Of course he was up and out the door before anyone in our house was awake yesterday, so we didn't get to shower him with a "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" song until later. The kids and I made him a birthday banner and hung it up in the kitchen so he would see it when he came home from work. I drew the lettering, and the kids colored it up with crayons, and drew pictures, etc. Dad nearly ruined it by coming home early, but luckily he had his sunglasses on when he came through the door and didn't see it immediately, and we yelled at him to "CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!!!"
As soon as we could get ready, the 3 of us stood in front of the sign and sang Happy Birthday to him as we allowed him back into the room! (phew!, moment saved!)
We joined his Mom and Step Dad for dinner at O'Charleys and some yummy cake afterwards. Perhaps it wasn't the most spectacular birthday, but Jon says he doesn't really care for much. He says he's 35 years old and doesn't need a big deal. But Ryan says Daddy needs a "DEAL OR NO DEAL" party (after the popular game show that we all watch frequently).
Maybe we chose "NO BIG DEAL" as his party theme! hahaha
Here is a few pics...enjoy

Mercy VS Compassion

Here's a funny little story that's been happening as of late...

During the school year, my kids were learning different stories from the Bible. The story of Moses was one of their favorites and they covered it extensively. Ryan loved talking about baby Moses in the basket, and when the teacher announced to all the classes that they were going to watch the movie "The Prince Of Egypt", Megan was so excited. I'm not sure what made her so excited, except the fact that we already have the movie and she had watched it dozens of times as one of her favorites. But of all the stories both of the kids learned about, nothing has taught us as a family more than the story of Jonah and the Whale. Mrs. Lea is obviously a great Bible teacher, because both of the kids would come home talking about what they had learned with great excitement. When I commented to their teacher how much they were enjoying learning from her during their Bible class, she told me that they were going to be watching the Veggie Tales Movie by the same name. Since Ryan had latched onto this story so emphatically, Jonathan and I decided we would buy the movie to add to our family collection here at home. The kids have watched it incessantly. It is absolutely one of Ryan's favorite movies ever! The movie chronicles the story of Jonah, and highlights two elements in the story that my daughter latched onto very quickly: Mercy and Compassion.

One day, after watching the movie, we were eating lunch, and Megan proudly informed me that she knew the difference between compassion and Mercy.

"Really?" I asked, "Why don't you tell me?"

"Well, COMPASSION is when you see someone that is hurting, and you feel bad for them and want to help them out" Megan stated. "And MERCY is when you give someone a second chance, even when they don't deserve it".

I was so proud of her, she'd learned it from an animated tomato and cucumber, but it had seemed to grasp her heart and she had learned an important lesson in life!

Or so I thought.

Her next statement has had me in stitches laughing every since.

"So, Mom, that means that when you get mad at me, you just need to show me more MERCY and give me a second chance!"

Jonathan and I have heard this statement from her right in the middle of discipline numerous times! It seemed for a while that she was using it as a means of getting out of trouble...or at least trying to. She'd get the "talk" after getting into trouble about doing something wrong, and under her breath she is whispering, "You just need to show me a little mercy and give me another chance". As of recent days, I think she is finally getting it, but we've had to explain to her that showing mercy to her does not give her a reason to behave badly to begin with...she must still obey the rules, use her manners, and be kind to others.

I've even gone as far as telling her that I've shown her enough mercy every time I warned her to stop doing something (a sassy mouth, talking back, etc.), and by the time I have come to the point of punishing her, it's too late!

But still, she reminds me, she needs compassion and mercy from me.

How often do I act like this to my Heavenly Father? How often to I disobey him, and go my own way. And when my own way leads to disaster, it's always HIM that I beg to show me mercy and compassion and "get me out of this!"

I'm so glad, that I have a God who loves me that much, because it is never a question, he readily gives me mercy. It's the reason I'm HIS CHILD. It's the reason I have an eternal home. It's the reason I am where I am today.

So, it's also the gentle, loving, probe of the Lord that turns my thoughts to that fact every time I'm in a position to disciple one of my children. As I hear myself saying "It's because I love you and want the best for you that I have to teach you this lesson", I also hear a whisper in my heart from God saying the same thing to me.

Praise the Lord for COMPASSION AND MERCY!

BARRETT BEACH VACATION

So, as it turns out, we got a last minute beach vacation from this past Sunday to Wednesday. Well, it was half vacation half work for Jonathan, we just tagged along. The kids were so excited to learn that our hotel had bunk beds for them to sleep in...they struck GOLD! The hotel was just the right size for us, and it had 1 and 1/2 baths, and a full kitchen. We did our best, lubing the kids up with Sunscreen, but for poor Megan, we didn't reapply soon enough and the tops of her ears got burned pretty bad. By Tuesday, we had to go find her a big hat so she could stay outside. They aren't bothering her now, but they sure look painful. Anyway, we were able to spend some time with Jon's parents since they've moved down to Foley, and it was great to be able to see their new house. They had us over and cooked shrimp for us, and it was delicious. I think the kids would have lived down there if we'd left them, because they certainly didn't want to come home! Megan had big tears pooling up in her eyes Wednesday morning as we left, and I wasn't sure we'd make it outta Orange Beach without some serious protests happening. Ryan didn't understand what was going on until we pulled into the driveway at home to which he immediately began crying as if someone just killed puppies in front of him! He kept screaming "NO, I WANNA GO TO THE HOTEL". It was really sad and broke my heart. Jon says there will be another opportunity to go down because when the job progresses a bit, he'll be needed again. I'm just hoping that it happens before the middle of August when Megan has to start school! Below is a slide show and you can see just how much fun it was!

RYAN FINALLY GOT HIS PARTY!

Since we were out of town camping on Ryan's actual birthday, we weren't able to hold his party on the same weekend. Then, life gets in the way, as it often does, and between weddings, parties, beach trips, etc, it was already the month of May and we finally were able to schedule the party. He'd been looking forward to his "SuperMan" party for months. It was a little hard to find SuperMan stuff in all the stores since the release of the new SpiderMan 3 movie has all the toys stocked with SpiderMan and no Superman...and the thought crossed my mind to have a Spiderman party instead, but I just had to give Ryan what he really wanted. After all, SuperMan is his guy!

All in all, it was a great party. We held the party at home. I played it smart and bought all the supplies at the dollar store and saved the money on the SuperMan themed plates this go round. I did get him a SuperMan pinata, and luckily it stayed in tact and survived the game, thus providing a nice decoration for his bedroom! I came up with a couple of crafts, & games, since I didn't have anything to distract the kids. As the guests arrived, I let them all make their own "SuperHero capes". It was great! I found flower sack napkins at the dollar store, and set them out with some markers and let the kids decorate them. Tie them on, and UP, UP, AND AWAY! Then, a friend let me borrow their mini moon walk (aka "jumpy thing"), and we labeled that as the "leap small buildings in a single bound" stop of the party. And we had a "USE YOUR X-RAY VISION" game where there were objects placed in paper sacks labeled "RYAN'S SUPERMAN PARTY" and each object started with the letter on the bag. Each kid reached their hand in and felt the object and then tried to guess (use their x-ray vision to see) the object. It was a great game for the older kids, but the younger ones lost interest (as I thought they would) The party games ended with the pinata, which was a blast for the kids and no one got hurt, so no video's to send in to America's Funniest Home Video's this year! The cake was PHENOMENAL, a la Cassandra. It looked as wonderful as it tasted! Then Ryan opened his gifts and made out like a SUPER HERO! He got a lot of cool toys. It was a wonderful party, and I'm glad we were finally able to "clear our schedules" to have it! hahaha

Here's a slide:

Megan Graduates Kindergarten!

On May 17, 15 years to the day after I graduated High School, my baby girl graduated kindergarten from HillDale. For weeks leading up to the graduation ceremony, the classes rehearsed continuously and the teachers were able to convince the kids that the songs they were learning were a "secret". Whenever I would ask Megan about it, she absolutely refused to talk about it "because the teacher said not to!" I was amazed at how well my 6 year old was able to keep a secret, because up until the actual ceremony, I had absolutely no idea what they were singing! Both of the K5 classes were so adorable, and I can't wait until my DVD of the graduation ceremony comes in!!! I am so proud of Megan. She got straight A's on her last report card, and was one of the top in her class. I sure hope that she continues to love learning, because I am afraid that one day in the VERY near future, she will have more book smarts than her father and I and we won't be able to help her with her homework!!
After the ceremony, we stuck around to take several pictures, and then went out to eat with Jon's parents (Granny & Big Daddy) to Red Robin. It was a great night!
Here is a slide of graduation night:

LOOK, IT'S "JEANU"!

HAHA! I'm dying laughing at this pic posted below! My longest and dearest friend, Kellye, knows that I have always had a "thing" for Keanu Reeves. To me, he's just a nice, handsome, fine speciman of a man to look at. Well, she put her photo shop program to good use, and LOOK! I'M WITH MY HOTTIE! HAHAHA!

THANK YOU KELLYE! I LOVE IT!

FUN IN THE SUN DAY AT HCS!

This post is all about RYAN!

His class had "Fun In The Sun" day at school yesterday, and they were able to use the big water slide that HillDale Church had purchased. Yep, if you've seen the big one from Sam's as you walk in the store, THAT'S IT! It was so much fun, and the kids had a blast! No surprise, Ryan was a little scared to go up the big slide at first. But in his defense, it was a bit of a steep climb! He was perfectly content with going down the smaller slide that was a little more his size. Once he got used to that, he was ready to try conquering the big one...and after a few slips, and a few more times of "getting stuck at the top", he finally did it! Once he went down the big slide that first time, THERE WAS NO STOPPING HIM!
I'm seriously trying to find a way to earn a few extra hundred $$$, because this thing would be a BLAST to have at our house all summer! My kids would take wonderful naps everyday! I think it's time to clean out the attic, and sell all the baby stuff to fund the slide...what do you think????

BEACH BABES BASH 2007

I had the most amazing weekend! I was feeling really, really guilty when it came time to leave last Thursday. Megan had come down with a Stomach bug on Wednesday and got sick at school! JUST MY LUCK! She ended up having to stay home from school on Thursday when we left, and thanks to some lucky timing that her Granny happened to be on vacation this week, Regina came over to keep her for me so I could leave as planned! (BIG HUGE THANKS!)
So despite a little "mommy guilt" for leaving (which I would have anyway, but it was heightened since I had a sick kid), off I went and had a great time.
There lots of memories I could share, but as was stated in an oath before leaving Birmingham "What happens at the beach STAYS at the beach"! Ha!
Here's a few pics of our awesome weekend! A BIG THANKS TO RHONDA FOR PLANNING IT ALL FOR US! I truly hope that it becomes a yearly tradition, and one day we are some hip old ladies partying at the VIP MARTINI BAR! (insert laughter here)
I LOVE YOUGIRLS!
Kodakgirl

Daniel & Cynthia's Wedding

Jonathan was a groomsman in Daniel Isom's wedding on April 21st. We had the Rehearsal dinner the night before, and I dieted all day in preparation for it! By the time dinner arrived, I WAS FAMISHED! Everything was great! Saturday, Jon had to be at the church by 2:30 pm to begin pictures, so we decided to take a drive out to the Odenville/Ashville/Branchville area just to look around and see what kind of housing developments are coming along out there. We feel like the Odenville/Moody area is the place we'd like to move out to one day, but who knows where the Lord will have us. It was a nice drive, and at one point I told Jon that I felt like I was on vacation because we seem so far out in the country and I didn't know where we were at! I dropped Jon off at the church at 2:30 and took the kids home for a nap, so we could be rested up and ready to party at the reception. The kids were dressed in their Easter clothes, so look closely and you can see what they wore on Easter since I didn't even take pics that day!
Daniel and Cynthia had a beautiful wedding, a phenomenal reception, and the food and dancing was absolutely fantastic! The kids had a great time, and even though it was 10pm before we made it home, we were so honored and proud to be a part of it all!
Here is a slide of a few pics from that weekend as well:

McWane Center & Easter

After we got home from our amazing camping/scenic drive trip, We decided that we were still on family vacation, and skipped church on Sunday to go to the McWane Center. After all, it was a rainy day, and we needed some indoor fun. The kids love going here, and thanks to a wonderful Christmas present, we have a yearly pass that will allow us to go as much as we want! This time we took in an IMAX movie called Hurricane On The Bayou. Ryan did better than I expected, but he fell asleep mid way through it. Megan was bored with it. I found it very interesting, as it recounted the events leading up to Hurrican Katrina, and reasons why there was so much damage. The premise of the movie is to restore and save the Louisianna "WetLands" that usually provide a buffer to strong storms, thus saving the cities above it from taking a brutal hit. Unfortunatly, the wetlands are diminishing, thus the reason Katrina was so catastrophic.
OK. Enough environmental lessons. It was an interesting film. We enjoyed our day, as we always do. This was a wonderful Family Day/Weekend!
A few weeks later, it was EASTER! And my silly-headed self didn't even take pics! It was once again, a cold, rainy Easter sunday, and I didn't get any pics of us at church with the kids dressed in their Easter best, and standing in front of the flowered cross. It was a crazy day! But, it was still a good day. We ate lunch at my Mom and Dad's house, and all my family, Mamaw, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings, all came at some point during the day. It's nice to get together with family.
Here is another slide show of pics from these two events:

Camping at Guntersville For Ryan's Birthday

Ok, so I'm finally getting around to posting a few things....

On the weekend of Ryan's Birthday (March 30), we took another Camping trip up to Guntersville State Park. Guntersville is our absolute favorite place to go! We like the layout of the campgrounds, we love the fact that the deer come out at night and walk around the campsites looking for food, and it's nice and quiet. We had planned to stay Friday through Sunday, but after watching the weather forecasts, Saturday night had storms predicted, and 100% chance of rain on Sunday....just our luck! We got to camp around lunch time on Friday, and had a full day of fun. Megan and Ryan both caught their first fish, we played at the playground, went into the nature hut where Megan made a new friend, Bella, the cat of the lady that worked in the nature hunt. We grilled hot dogs Friday night, S'mores for dessert, and Jon cooked an awesome breakfast Saturday morning. After another fishing trip to the pier, we decided to pack up and take the long, scenic route home to save us from a repeat of our last camping trip! We drove up to Buck's Pocket after leaving the campgrounds, and there were lots of pretty mountains to look at. Ryan and Dad nearly stepped on a snack that scurried across the path that led back, so after that we were all looking for snakes with every step we took! We drove up to DeSoto State Park, and found lots of scenery there, then we went to Little River Canyon, where tons of people were milling through the water and even swimming in the river below the falls. The kids loved walking among the rocks and watching the Water Fall. And to end our scenic trip, we stopped at Noccolula Falls. I had never been there before and always wanted to go. I found it surprising to learn that the falls are named after an Indian Princess who jumped to her death on the day of her arranged wedding because she was in love with someone else and her father was forcing her to marry into another tribe as a peace offering. CRAZY! Since it was so late in the day, we didn't stay long, and only walked around on the upper half, but it was really nice. We fed the ducks swimming around, and shielded the kids eyes from the "duck love" we witnessed...after all it is spring time!
All in all, we had a great time. We are trying to plan another camping trip for the end of May, and hopefully it won't be RAINY! We'll see!
Here's a slide show:

I'm a busy little BEE these days!

Much has been going on in the Barrett Household these days! Although I could, I will spare you of too many lengthy details, but here is as small a breakdown as I can do!
FAMILY CAMPING TRIP!
On the weekend of Ryan's birthday, we decided to take a family Camping trip to our favorite place, Guntersville State Park. The kids (and mom and dad) were very excited! Megan was out of school that Friday so we packed up and left by 10am. It's not a true family vacation unless Ryan and Megan are asking "Are we almost there?" every few minutes. We arrived, set up camp and took a walk down to the water to scope out the fishing options. Ryan had gotten a Superman fishing pole for his birthday, and he was eager to use it. Megan had her Princess fishing rod ready, and she was the first to catch a fish! She and her daddy had a great time! One more milestone happened for Megan...SHE LEARNED TO TAKE A SHOWER! Haha! It was quite a feat to get her into the bath house and get a shower, since she's never taken one by herself! For some reason she has always been afraid of the shower, but I had no choice but to force her in there after she played in the ashes of the fire pits in the vacant campsites next to us! Once it was over, I was proclaiming her to be such a "BIG KID" and at first, she didn't want to talk about it, but let's just say that for the last 2 weeks, she only takes showers, and regularly informs us that she is a "Grown Up" now! After watching the rain predictions, we saw there was a good chance we'd get rained out again, so we wanted to avoid a repeat of our last camping trip! We decided to pack up and go home early, but we made a day of it. We drove up to Buck Pocket, Desoto State Park, and Little River Canyon, and stopped at Noccolulla Falls before heading home. All in all, the kids were great, and we all had a wonderful time.
EASTER WEEKEND

The next weekend was Easter Weekend, and it was awesome! It started with my WONDERFUL sister in law, Mary, offering to not only keep BOTH of my kids for the night so that Jonathan and I could go see an Easter Drama at a friends church, but she also came and got them around 11am that morning so that we could have the whole day together! WOW! What a wonderful treat! Jon and I attended the Good Friday service at our church and it was great. It made me very hungry to get to Easter Sunday and Celebrate what my Savior has done for me! After the service, we went to a movie! Yeah, we don't get to see movies at the theatre much, unless it's one we're taking the kids to. We saw the movie "Wild Hogs" with Tim Allen, John Travolta, William H. Macy, and Martin Lawrence. It was hilarious! As a matter of fact, I don't think I've laughed quite that loud in a movie theatre before. We really enjoyed it. After the movie, Jon and I kept asking ourselves..."What do we do when we don't have kids...all day or all night????" Well, I'd love to tell you we did something fun, but we only went to the Grocery Store! HA! We walked around Publix, looking at their fine selection of produce, made small talk with the Seafood guy about how to cook different types of fish, bought a few items and went home! Sad, huh! Oh well, we still spent time together! At around 5:30 we picked up our friends Kellye and Matt and drove up to Hanceville to visit a friend's church because they were performing an Easter Pageant Drama. Her husband played the part of Jesus, and he did a spectacular job. We really enjoyed it, and once again, it made me hunger for Sunday to get here so I could truly celebrate! After the Drama, the four of us drove back into town (because there is nothing to eat in Hanceville!!!), and ate at a Mexican restaurant. Good food, Great Margarita's! It was nice to be out, and not have a curfew to get home and relieve the baby sitter! By Saturday, I was very ready for my babies to come home! Aunt Mary brought them home around 10 am and as I went to the door, I heard Ryan crying "MOMMY! MOMMY!" When I opened the door, he had big tears in his eyes and an even bigger smile on his face! He was so happy to see me, and I was overjoyed too! How sweet! Easter Sunday was spent at Mom's. We had a great time eating, visiting with family, eating, laughing with the family as we watch old home movies, eating, and hanging out. ...did I mention eating??? Yea, I ate a lot that day. Later that afternoon, Jason and Mary were able to get there, and Mary had one of the best games on earth! KARAOKE REVOLUTION....AMERICAN IDOL VERSION! It is the bomb! I'm begging Jonathan for a PlayStation 2 for my birthday next week so I can get one of the other versions of Karaoke Revolution. My whole family laughed all night long as we played this game, singing our hearts out and getting critiqued by the likes of RANDY, PAULA, AND SIMON!!! It's awesome!

My biggest fault of Easter weekend....NO PICTURES! I had a camera with me the whole time, but we just kept forgetting to take pics! TERRIBLE! It was really too cold to stand outside and get pics by the flowered cross at church, because Megan's dress was sleeveless and we were all chilly anyway!
So this weekend, we were scheduled to go camping again, but the 100% chance of rain has changed those plans. Right now, we're just planning on relaxing at home for once. This week is Spring Break week for the kids, and we're looking forward to the break. The busy weekends begin again next week as a good friend of ours gets married, and Jon's in the wedding, so we'll have Rehearsal dinner Friday, Wedding on Saturday and my birthday on Sunday....I'm tired already.
So there's your update! I'll try to find time to post some more later on! Thanks for reading!