Mercy & Grace

Hey all, just wanted to let you know, I'm still alive! unfortunately, my computer is not....it died 2 weeks ago. oh, well, i thought i would just die without it, but actually been pretty nice not getting sucked in to the interenet!

Also, just wanted to let you know that Dwayne had a big boo boo this weekend and totally freaked me out! He was under a van and the jacked popped and the van fell on him! Thank the Lord that our neighbor was outside & came to lift off the van. I was trying with all my might and I don't think I moved it a cm! This has been the most traumatizing thing in my life so far on Planet Earth. For 1 split second, the thought occurred that I could be a single parent, but thank you Lord, you had other plans! Dwayne could not breathe at the time it fell on him b/c it fell on his chest! I'm here to tell you, i have never been so scared! Please pray for his recovery......he checked out fine at the ER, just badly bruised. We had alot of mercy & grace at our house on Saturday.

Prayer Request

Hey all,

I wanted to ask you to lift up my brother & his wife today. Danielle's father took his own life yesterday. Apparently, he was struggling with a very bad case of depression. He was 42 and also had 2 other children..a teenager & a 3 year old son. Danielle's grandmother & grandfather raised her from birth so her grandparents are really her "parents" if you know what I mean. We are very close friends with her grandparents and cannot even imagine what they are going thru right now. That was their only son. Now he's gone.....please pray for all of them. He was a nonbeliever....so how do you say anything comforting to them at all? I mean, what can you say? I don't know. I'm just praying for God to intervene in this situation.

Baby #2 is here!

Daven was born today at 2:30 p.m. He was 8 lbs. & 2 oz. He was a big boy too! He is sooo cute! I can't wait to get some lovin' from my 2 new babies!

Eleven Years Today!!!

Eleven years ago today, my sweetheart & I said "I do" to each other & "goodbye" to everyone we knew! We were headed to DisneyWorld for our Honeymoon and then on to our new apartment in Jackson, Mississippi. I can almost remember like it was yesterday. It was truly the happiest time of my life. We lived in Jackson for about a year, then made our way to the big state of Texas...Houston where we lived for only 5 months then were transferred to Charlotte, NC. This is where our lives were changed forever. Thirteen months later after moving to Charlotte, we had our first child, Drew. Then we moved to Gastonia a little later on and 2 1/2 years later had our 2nd child, Mara. We also found the most wonderful church while here.....Hickory Grove Bapstist Church and has been our home church ever since! We've been here for almost 9 years now, and Charlotte is definitely "home", even though to this day, our families back in TN really don't understand that concept.



Anyway, I am cooking Dwayne a special anniversary meal tonight with his favorite homemade banana pudding that my momma & mamaw taught me how to make for dessert! Yummy!



You just can't imagine when you marry your husband, where you will be 1 year, 5 years, or 11 years from that day....but I can tell you, that there is no other place I'd rather be. It has truly been a journey, one I wouldn't trade for anything. God truly had Dwayne in mind when He made me. He has brought us so far and the journey has been amazing! Can't wait for the next 50 years!



I found this cute little poem that I thought I would share:



A Good Wedding Cake



4 lb. of love

1 lb. butter of youth

1/2 lb. of good looks

1 lb. of sweet temper

1 lb. of blindness for faults

1 lb. of self forgetfulness

1 lb. of pounded wit

1 lb. of good humour

2 tbs. of sweet argument

1 pint of rippling laughter

1 wine glass of common sense

1 oz of modesty




Put the love, good looks and sweet temper into a well furnished house. Beat the butter of youth to a cream and mix well together the blindness of faults. Stir the pounded with and good humour with the sweet argument, then add the rippling laughter and common sense. Work the whole together until everything is well mixed, and bake gently for ever.

Just call me Auntie Monica!!!

My brother & his wife had their very first baby on July 15th!!!!! It's a Strapping Baby Boy!!!! 9 lbs. & 12.4 oz.. Welcome Jaxson Lee! I Love You!! We are travelling to TN next weekend to see him!




Isn't he the cutest????

If it's not broke, don't fix it!

Well, mine broke today, just when I had sorted out aaallllll the laundry and had put my first load in......it washed ......then I didn't hear anything. Hmmmm, what's going on with this thing! It won't spin or drain or anything but agitate! (In more ways than one...trust me) Of all days for my washer to break, yeah, it was today. Oh well, Dwayne can kinda get it to work a little...when he sticks his hand underneath clickerdoodle thingy and pushes down the clicker with an ink pen! Much to my dismay, I ended up going to Home Depot and picking out another. It will hopefully be here on Thursday. Thank the Lord above that they were having a sale and 12 months same as cash! Yah!!!!!! My how we take for granted just throwing our nice store bought clothes into this thing that automatically washes them & then dries them too! Thank you Precious Lord for letting me live in the United States of America where washers & dryers are plentiful and that I am able to buy one. Mine was 11 years old....yes, I've been married that long! My new one is a Maytag and I really hope I never see the Maytag man!

Happy July 4th!

Well, we started off our day by going to the July 4th parade in the Coulwood area. Drew & Dwayne were in it along with their Boy Scout Troop. Whew! It was sooo hot out in the sun even at 9:00 a.m.! We picked an excellent place to sit and we got hit with tons of candy, gum, cold drinks,flags,and even a chew toy for my little CoCo...which was the highlight of her day! Then we came back, cleaned out the garage.......oh, did I mention that I saw a black widow spider in my garage on Wednesday? Totally scared me to death....but at the time, I was running late and didn't have the time to deal with it. Anyway, Dwayne sprayed our garage yesterday, but still haven't been able to sleep just thinking it was going to get into our house somehow! So, today I decided I was going to clean out the garage until I found Ms. Black Widow! And to my satisfaction.......I did! And I made sure that she was disposed of properly! Whew! I totally have arachnaphobia! Then later we went to see the fireworks at Carowinds. Nothing too impressive....hey, when you're used to the fireworks show at Cinderella's Castle, nothing really compares! And anyway, it sure did beat what happened to us last year. On our way to Lowe's Motor Speedway to see the fireworks, our van died...the battery...and we spent 2 hours trying to get one and then get it changed......missed the fireworks.....went home and went to bed. Not really something that I ever want to repeat.
I am so thankful that we live with freedom in our country. Today, we watched one of my all time favorite movies..PollyAnna. She sings "America the Beautiful" in the bazaar scene. Mara sang this song in her end of the year program. As I am sitting here typing and she is in the next room, she is singing this very song as she is in her bed moments away from falling asleep. How precious to here my child sing such ans appropiate song on July 4th! Good Night!

Fun Stuff #1

Well, here goes for the first of our fun adventures! I'm still so new to this, I almost forgot how to add pictures! Well, let's see.....our favorite trip to start out the new year was to DisneyWorld. Dwayne's mom was diagnosed with colon cancer last March and she went thru surgery, chemo...the whole 9 yards. So while going thru all this depressing stuff, she decided that she was going to plan a trip for her entire family....to have something to look forward to and when all her tests came back cancer free!!!!!!!!....she and everyone else was ready to hit the sunshine state wide open! Oh, did I tell you we left the day after Christmas? (Just a side note, not a very good time to go, we were packed in Magic Kingdom one night like sardines!...and that's not good when you're claustrophobic like me! Yikes!) Anyway they say that dreams come true at DisneyWorld and this trip they really did!

This has always been a dream of mine! Taking Mara to see the Beauty & the Beast show and sitting on the front row. We got there and it was already packed, but we made our way up to the front and there were a row of seats just for us! Yah!!! I was so excited! Mara loved it and so did I. I cried thru most of it. It was truly a magical moment!

Here Drew is a Pirate! We just got off of "Pirates of the Carrabean" ride and Drew got selected to get a prize!

Oh my word!! This was something we had never done before! Eat ice cream on Main Street at 2:30 a.m.!!!!!! The parks stayed open until 3:00a.m. and we were all hungry...so we pigged out on the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had! Quite magical!




Mara had chocolate ice cream all over her face! Hey....even princesses get messy every once in a while!





A profile of a Princess! Our cousin, Angie, did all the girls hair, I did the makeup! We saved about $200.00! They do this same updo and makeup inside the castle at the new Boutique. It's about $50 a child!







Here's almost all the kiddos! We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's...a favorite of the kids'. You can see their swim suits under their princess dresses...we were hitting the pool soon!

A Family Portrait!

We had a blast! We have already made our reservations for this December(the 1st week) compliments of Dwayne's mom & dad.......our Christmas gift! Wahoo! Can't wait! 5 months & 2 weeks...but who's counting!

Fun!!!!!!!

I am going to start posting some pictures of some fun stuff we have done already this year....soon, when I get enough time to actually sit down and do it! Just a note on this past weekend.....we went camping! Yes, I was soo excited! It was a family campout with the Cubscouts and we had a blast! Can't wait till next time! Yes, I know it may be hard to picture me camping since I am such a girly type, but I also have an athletic, competitive, outdoorsey side too...that most of you have never seen and probably won't, unless you decide to go camping with me! ;) Pictures coming soon!

my heart is breaking........

i just learned the news....Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest child was tragically killed yesterday. Maria Sue was 5.....that's how old Mara is....i just can't imagine what they are going thru. Her teen age brother didn't see her in the driveway when he was backing out. i just want to lift up this family in prayer today and Pray that God will be their mighty Comforter thru this horrible time. Maria was adopted from China and had 2 other sisters from China that were also adopted.

Mother's Day

Well, I just wanted to tell everyone that my precious little Drew(who is not so little any more) is getting baptized this Sunday on Mother's Day at our 10:45 service! What a wonderful gift for Mother's Day to see my son get baptized! Wow! He is quite nervous being in front of that many people....and I don't blame him! My children are truly gifts from God. Loving my children as much as I do makes me understand just an inkling of how much my Father in Heaven loves me. Knowing that when I mess up, He will unconditionally love me no matter what. He is an Awesome God!

I hope everyone has an awesome Mother's Day Weekend!

In the Midst..............

Well, we heard from the doctor yesterday and Mara's sed rate was still kinda high, but she said it was way lower than before and that it looked like it was coming back down to normal. Praise the LORD! She also said that we did not need a follow up check up, which I was really surprised. Mara's throat is still not better and she has started coughing again....so I still am somewhat concerned about her throat. My next move.......on to Ear, Nose & Throat I presume. She acts pretty normal, except for being very moody and having tantrums quite often, which is now about every 5 minutes(not really) but it seems that way sometimes! She pulled a good one last night at our very last class of WZone.....Thank the Lord we were fenced in b/c she wants to just run off and be by herself when she gets mad!!!

Through all of this testing and waiting for the last 6 months, I have however grown to be so much more patient & understanding with my children. You know, I heard along time ago that you should never pray for patience or God would send something into your life that you would need more of it than you ever thought possible. I have also learned the value of focusing on God and not my problem, praying and then not worrying, and most of all trusting God (which I am still working on). I have always been such a control freak. I like having total control over everything AND I am a huge problem solver.....I love to solve problems....by myself. Handing everything over to God has been really tough for me.....which I am sure why I am going through this season in my life....to learn the lesson of TRUST. We only go through trials so God can make us stronger, but we have to learn our lesson in the midst. If everything was easy, we would remain WEAK! And that's really not where I want to be! I just want to thank everyone who prayed for Mara & our family. You all are precious! I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such Godly women! I know that God has crossed our paths on purpose and I am so thankful!

Well, we went for Mara's test yesterday. She did great. Now we get to wait, which is not my favorite thing.

Ouch......that had to hurt!!!!

Well, I finally took the time to sit down for a minute and write. I haven't taken Mara yet for her test. I guess Friday will be the day. Anyway, I went to eat lunch with Mara yesterday and when I got home, her teacher called me saying that Mara had bumped heads out in the courtyard while they were playing. Not only did she fall to the ground after hitting her head with the other child, but when she started to stand up...she got dizzy and fell again and smacked her head on the concrete!!!! Whew, it's a good thing we live 1 minute away from the school! When I got there, they were scaring me telling me I needed to take her to the doctor right away or maybe the ER! Well, to make a long story a little shorter, I called the doc's office and after talking to them several times, I decided she was o.k. and didn't need urgent care. The bump on the side of her head is not bad at all today, I think she just got a pretty good jar!!! I had one of those when I was in Kindergarten and I still remember what it felt like, especially after yesterday! I was pushed off of a very, very high metal slide and fell down and hit my head on a rock and busted my lip. That's one of the clearest memories I have being 5 years old.

Mara is doing great today, after getting 11 hours of sleep last night and being in a good mood this morning when she woke up! Thank the Lord!

Update on Mara

Well, I heard from the doctor yesterday with disturbing news. They want us to bring Mara for another blood test. Something in her blood is not normal. I had a really rough day yesterday dealing with this news....you know sometimes our minds drift away to think of the worst. Well, after dragging myself out of the pit, I researched the Bible to find all of the scriptures dealing with healing. I wrote them down on paper, but what I really wanted to do was paint them on our walls! GOD's word is so powerful, and I love reading it. I just ask that everyone who reads this will say a prayer for Mara and us as we wait for the results. I am not taking her until next week and haven't even told her yet. The boys are going camping this weekend with boyscouts, so it will be a Mommy & me weekend........I didn't want to spoil it. I am expecting great results this time and am also praying like never before! Will you please join me in praying too? I will be praying for all my blogger friends as well. I love you guys!

My First Tag!!!

Well, I'm so new to this blogging thing anyway, I'm not sure how to link yet and all that other stuff.....but I'll try. I guess since I'm the last one to be tagged I'll skip the directions! Thanks Amy for the tag!

Seven Random Things........hmmm.........

1. I am very shy..in fact ,I was voted most shyest in my senior class. I also battle social anxiety...so when I see you at church and for some reason don't speak, please don't take it personal. I'm just probably trying to find the easiest escape route to get outside(i'm claustrophobic too!)

2. I am a Mary Kay beauty consultant. This has helped me deal with my shyness. I love helping women feel beautiful and giving them back their self-esteem and making them feel better about themselves.

3.My fantasy dream has always been to be a Pop Star! I know....shocking, right? Music( & DisneyWorld) has always been my escape from the real world!

4. I play the piano. I did take a few lessons my senior year and then taught myself to play by ear. That is.....I used to could....I never take the time to play anymore.

5. My junior year of high school, my friends & I were in our yearly Talent Show. We performed "Love Shack" on stage for the entire school (we choreographed it & everything!) Til this day, it has been one of the highlights of my life! Oh, and we did win 1st place!

6.My favorite sport is Volleyball. It took me forever to learn how to serve, but finally conquered it. The 1st year I decided to play in our church tournament......we won the championship!

7. I love to cook....southern style that is! My mom & grandmother taught me everything I know about cooking, canning, & freezing. I fix homemade biscuits usually once a week or sometimes twice if I'm in the mood. It's almost strawberry season, and Mara & I are looking forward to making strawberry jam! Yummmm!

Well, there you have it.....now the only option I have is to issue another tag with another topic! Let's see........how about giving me the top 10 things you love about your husband! I will tag JenB....have fun!

My Precious Mara

I week ago today, I took my sweet Mara to the doctor for a recheck on her throat from 3 weeks ago of having Strep. Even though All 3 tests came back negative, our doctor swore she had strep anyway... I was convinced she was right. We took the usual round of Amoxicillin(chewables) for 10 tens and I thought that would be it. Spring break came, and she was still coughing a little, her throat still looked awful, and her lymph nodes under her jaw were still swollen, especially on the right side. I was constantly asking her......."Mara, do you feel o.k.?"....she always replied .."yes, mommy....I'm fine". She still sounded all stuffy and like her throat was swollen when she talked. Then, when we did arrive at the doctor's office, we had three more tests.......mono, strep again, and a blood test. Mono came back negative, so did strep, and they couldn't tell anything about her blood. So where did we end up? At the hospital Lab to draw blood from her arm. This is the second time we have been there. Last time, she had iron-deficiency anemia, and they drew out 2 vials! The child really had no idea what was going on the 1st time and she did great, considering I played it up as a game....the magic blue rubberband,etc,etc. This time, she new what was coming and oh my goodness........I had WWIII on my hands. She started screaming saying she did not want to go to the hospital and get stuck again! and she was not going!

Do you have any idea how this made me feel? I just about lost it...emotionally. I was trying my hardest to stay strong for her because I knew if I started crying, it would be a mess. My 5 year old is crying not to go to the hospital and let them hurt her, of course, I didn't want to take her, but I had to. I'm a pretty good deal maker, so after about an hour of trying to get her mind off the subject and eating at Chick-fil-a, I made a promise if she went in with no crying and was a big girl, we would immediately go to the Disney outlet at Concord Mills and get her "Boo" (the little girl from Monsters Inc)that she sooo wanted. Well, she did awesome and now we have a new little one in our house......"Boo"!

In saying all of this, we have not heard any word yet, and I would just ask for everyone to pray for my sweet little Mara. I'm quite anxious about the whole thing, naturally, especially having to wait for so long. Last time I had to wait for almost 3 weeks before we found out anything!

Conquerored what?

Well, I decided to follow in the steps of my sister friends at church and started a blog. I can't really believe it, I still don't know what in the world I am doing! Any way, I am sitting here in silence(miracle at that)reading my Bible and I am reading that we are more than conquerors and it got me to thinking.........let's see......what have I conquerored today? Hmmmm......got the kids off to school, a workout, shower, lunch, picked the kids up from school, refereed a fight between my kids, and maybe a few other things. This to me doesn't seem to fitting of the title of this blog. I am still working on it though, it seems like there is a ton of stuff to do in a day and before I get up, I can think of how easy that will be to do. But what I have learned that as soon as my feet hit the floor, it is on.....you know....the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. I think to myself..."ahh, I don't need to do that now, I'll do that tomorrow...and then it never gets done for maybe a week! Am I the only person who does this? Just wondering. I have grown more in the past few years with my walk with Christ than all previous years and I am so thankful for it. I know that Jesus is with me every day, every moment, every second. I ask God to help me conquer my feelings when I don't do what I know I am supposed to. I can't live my life on my feelings......they are fuzzy, and distract me from what we are called to do. The enemy loves to play with our emotions and get us all caught up in something else that will keep our eyes off the goal. I am soo working on that. And I challenge everyone, feel the feeling and do it anyway! Well, I think that's enough for my very 1st entry. Have a great day!


......oh, I do have one major thing to conquer tonight, that's my 4 year old W-Zone class!

Monica