Gingerbread Day!

Last Friday after co-op, my good friend Kim came up with the brilliant idea of reading the story of the gingerbread man and making one with the kids. So we had about 12 kids and 5 mommy's. The kids had a great time making our big gingerbread man and then finding him after he escaped out of the oven! They all got to make their own smaller ones too. Some made them headless ( one of Kims children!), some made them into monsters, while others tried really hard to make an accurate gingerbread guy. All in all fun was had by all. Thanks for the idea Kimberly Sue!

Facing the Giants

This weekend Stacy and I watched the movie "Facing the Giants." I truly believe that the Lord used that movie to minister to me and to help me through some difficult things this week. I know it sounds strange, but let me take you on my thought train. It's a long train.
Stacy and I have had a pretty rough weak maritaly speaking. It goes beyond, "Stop leaving your clothes on the floor!" type stuff. There was real hurt, real pain, and real emotion. So real, that Sunday I had to just take the day off. So I went to Oak Mountain State Park for the day. Just me, my Bible, a notebook, and a nice cold Mtn Dew! I had issues and feelings that I needed the Lord to help me through. I really went through a type of cleansing process while I was there. Even the weather cooperated with this process. It was raining when I got there, and sunny by the time I left.
While I was there, I kept going back to the movie. There is a seen were the coach is really trying to make a point with his star defensive lineman. Coach wants more out him. Player says he's giving all he's got. Coach says, you've gotta give me more. So they do these things called the death walk. Big player gets down on all 4's and carries smaller player on his back. Only, the big player cannot let his knees touch the ground. They do this for 10 -20 yards.
Well this particular time, coach says "I want 50 yards". Of course the player thinks it can't be done. So the coach blindfolds him. By being blindfolded the player had to fight harder and he HAD to rely on the coach to guide him and cheer him one. The scene is really touching. The poor player is hurting, he's fighting, he's wanting to make it to the 50, but he can't see it. The coach is there the whole time, yelling, screaming, I need more out of you. You can do it. Give me all you've got. You can do this. 20 more steps, 10 more steps, 5 more steps. Now drop your load, you made it! The coach is down on the ground with the player, he's telling him, look you did it. I knew you could do it. I knew you had more in you. Imagine the players surprise to find himself in the end zone. He went not to the 50, but all the way.
I say all of that to say this. I am so guilty of telling the Lord, "I am giving you all I've got. I can't give anymore, I can't do anymore." But He is there, and He knows me, He knows what I am capable of. He's saying, "Thats not true. You have more. Give me more. Take it to the 50." But I fight it, I say it's going to be too hard. So He put me in a situation were He just had to blindfold me and say, "You don't think you can do this, so I'm going to have to slap this thing on you and make you see what I can really do in you." So I carried my load. And it hurt. It hurt like crap. It burned. It made me want to quit. It made me want to scream and yell and say forget this. I don't need to make it to the 50.
But you know what. God, was and always is, right there in my life, cheering me on. Making me go further than I think I can. Making me reach for more. Making me fully dependent on Him and His voice leading me to the 50.
By the end of the day yesterday, I was suprised to find myself not at the 50, but in the end zone. I was suprised to find myself completly wiped out and spent from the battle that I was fighting, only to end up in the end zone, in the arms of my Saviour who had been telling me all along..."Give me more".
Marriage is hard. Sometimes it just plain sucks. But when I am willing to pick up my load, carry it on my back, and let the Lord cheer me on to the end zone, suprisingly, the difficult situation in my marriage is not just dead weight, running around a field with no direction, but it's a load with a purpose and a direction meant to fulfill God's glory in me.
God's word best sums up (as it always does) this picture.
Psalm 66:8-12
" Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
Make the voice of His praise to be heard,
Who keeps our soul among the living,
and does not allow our feet to be moved.
For you, O God, have tested us.
You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net.
You laid affliction on our backs!
You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
BUT YOU BROUGHT US OUT TO RICH FULLFILLMENT!"

I am excited. I am thankful that the Lord, with our afflictions on our backs, going through the fire, is refining us and bringing us to HIS rich fullfillment.
I pray for His rich fullfillment in my life, in my kids, but mostly right now, in my marriage. That His glory will be shown through the fulfilling of a Godly marriage.

Trade Days

To all of you living in the area, do you remember when we used to have trade parties? Those were awesome...we brought our own junk, and left with somebody elses. What could be more fun? I don't know about all of you, but I could use a fun night of fellowship and junk trading. I was thinking we could do it someplace kind of central. Someone with a big enough house, in particular a downstairs area that has been nicely renovated. Someone that has recently been accused of being an alchoholic. Someone with a new cat. If you know of anyone that fits that description, let me know.
And if you don't let me know, and if you don't want to participate...you'd better look out or Gelissa and Gichelle might get ya!

Mud, Flies, and Comfortable Living

Such adorable little girls my nieces are. This is the kind of picture you would expect to come from missionary children living in Africa doesn't it? They've had a rainy week. My sister is 33 weeks pregnant and on bed rest.(or supposed to be! Rest Laura!) They live in a little tin shack...so you can't really contain them can you? Can you imagine the mess after they came in from playing in the mud?
How about this...when I was in Africa, there were flies everywhere. I'm talking, sitting in the outhouse trying to do my thing, and flies are swarming but butt. Flies are always around the kids. Its like the kids are immune to them. They don't even try to shoos them away. You see them sometimes in their nostrils, on their eyes, on scabs. Always on food.
With this nicer weather here the past few days my kids have been playing outside more, which means more opening and closing the doors, which means more flies in my house. It also means, dirtier kids at the end of the day, which means more sweeping and mopping and laundry, and vacuuming, and scrubbing. More complaining at night when Lana can't sleep because of the fly buzzing around in her room. The night that this happened and daddy was trying to kill the stupid fly, I lay in bed thinking about the ridiculousness of this situation.
Here I have a house with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a washer that I don't have to hand crank, a dryer, a vacuum, a TV, any many other creature comforts. And yet, we are having trauma over a stupid fly buzzing around the room.
Good grief. How pathetic is that. Remember that old Steven Curtis Chapman song, "We will abandon it all for the sake of the call."?
What in the world am I abandoning for the sake of the gospel? I sure do have a lot to abandon and yet here I sit on my butt, that is not being swarmed by flies in my nice bathroom that I complain about cleaning. (not that I am sitting on the toilet currently and typing!!! you get my point right?!)
So here is my challenge, to myself, and to everyone that reads this blog. What can I abandon this week for the sake of the call? What does that mean to me?
I mean, I guess I could let some more flies in and abandon a good night sleep, but what will that prove in the light of eternity?

Ice Cream and Boo-Boo's

What is up with Ice cream and boo-boo's? Why is it that whenever my child goes through a "tramatic" experience, my answer for a reward is Ice Cream.
Everytime that I've taken Logan to the E.R., we go get Ice Cream after (yes, I said everytime...he's a bit accident prone...although it has been a while!)
After shots, we go get Ice Cream.
And today, after a HUGE, not splinter, more like piece of wood, got stuck in Lana's foot, after the drama and the trauma of getting it out, you guessed it, we got Ice Cream!
Maybe I'm rewarding myself more than I am them. Good job Missy, you made it through another unpleasant part of parenting. Although, I must confess that todays incident, while I know was painful for her and frustrating for me at times, was also very entertaining. I actually had to load her up in the van and take her to Daddy at work because I couldn't even get the dumb thing out. It was huge. And she had these enormous, cute crocodile tears and was sreaming like her foot was being cut off. Thankfully Daddy's work is only 7 miles away, because it just wasn't happening with me.
So I guess thats why we had to get Ice Cream afterwards. I mean, we were already out, and Sonic is right across the street, and I had a whole $7 burning a whole in my wallet, not to mention the fact that someone had been hurt and that REQUIRES Ice Cream.
Come on, someone PLEASE tell me that I am not the only horrible mother that is teaching my children to reward lifes little incovience's with Ice Cream!
Somebody? Anybody?
Oh good grief, I'd better go finish my Ice Cream!

Jazzing it up!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

I was hoping that this was going to post clear enought to read, but it didn't. So just click on it to see what I am saying!

Pictures from my Africa Trip

This is some of the pictures from my trip to Africa to visit my sister this summer. Hope you enjoy!

Homeschooling 101

In case you don't know, we decided to homeschool this year. We are in our 4th week now. Somedays I think "I am so stupid. I could be free right now!" But all in all I have enjoyed it thus far. It's funny though the plans we make. I decided this week to change up my lesson plans and make things more "hands on and fun". Today I planned this great #s scavenger hunt. I was so proud thinking that this was really going to get Logan motivated at Math. We are learning about counting forwards and backwards with odd and even #s. So I sent him out into the yard to find only even #s. (I had laid numbered cards all over the yard) Frustatingly enough, this seemed to take up half of our school day. I didn't even get to some of our other stuff. He was making it so dadgum hard, that he missed out on the fun of it and the fun that the rest of the day could have been. I guess we're all like that though. God has this great day planned out for us and throws us all of these tidbits, waiting for us to pick them up and run with them. But for some reason, I get hung up on one miniscual thing and miss out on the rest of the lesson. Logan is very analytical, so just picking up "even #s" isn't enough for him. He has to analyize why I put the numbers on the card that way, shouldn't it have been this way. Why didn't you do it like this? Things that don't matter. I really can't blame the kid. I do it everyday...God says "Here you go Missy, here is my lesson for you today." And I say, why is it packaged like that. I can't work with that. Thats not how I would do it.
All I wanted Logan to learn today is how to count in odds and evens. I guess we'll try again tomorrow.
I know I missed out on some lessons today as well. Thanks be to God that I'm a work in progress and he's got lesson's planned for tomorrow too!

I've been tagged!

Ok...So I've actually been tagged twice, and I think what I'm supposed to do is say things about myself based on the amount of words in my middle name.
So lets go.

R- Ridicuously Clumsy (I.E. I tripped on the back part of my goucho pants and fell down the stairs just the other day!)

E- Entertaining to myself ( I may not entertain any of you, but sometimes Stacy comes home and I am laughing at noone but myself!)

T- Tired ( all of that falling and laughing wears me plum out!)

A- Appendix ( I don't have one, it ruptured years ago leaving me empty inside!)

So now I wil tag 4 new people. I will be tagging....
Marhas Musings, Garden Gal, The Dawg, and Adam, if he ever decides to read this. (you can do it on your my space account)

Love to you all. Going to the grocery store... one day early, and by myself. God must be smiling down upon me today!

The Seasons of My Week

My weeks feel more like seasons than weeks! Lets start with Sunday...I don't particuarly care for Sundays anymore. Working at the church and pretty much being stuck in the preschool the whole time doesn't make for a worshipful time for me. It probablly should, but it doesn't. So I consider Sundays winter.
Monday's I'm tired from Sunday. But life must go on, school must be taught, laundry does pile up, and the nerve of them, my family is hungry and its time to go to the grocery store. So Monday I do what I have to do to get through the day, but I see spring in the horizon.
Yes Tuesday. Tuesday is my spring! For some reason I love Tuesdays. Usually the shopping is done, the laundry is kind of done, and the week is in full swing. There is no were I have to be on Tuesday and I can go at my own pace. Just like a breezy spring day. But oh, no, that hot stiffling air of summer is now upon me.
Its Wednesday. I have a love/hate relationship with summer. I hate the heat. It suffocates me. Wednesdays suffocate me becuase it is the "Busy day". I go do my work. If Stacy can't get off work, I take the kids and then I'm more suffocated. Its hot, but its also Sunny and fun. I like my work because it gets me out and moving. But when that work it over, there is Lanas dance class. Fun for her....glad she gets to do it...love the end result of the recital....but the sitting and waiting. It bores me. I try to read, but all I usually think about is what I could be doing. Logan goes to art class, and right now Stacy takes him. But the day is coming again when he won't be able to get off work and I will be in a mad dash between Art and Dance. Again, the love/hate of summer. Its then time to run home, get something to take to church for covered dish dinner, and then spend more time in the preschool. My should be happy with it, but not job/ministry. So now I am nearing the end of summer.
Thursday the fact that I have to get my typing for my job looms over my head. I should do it early and then get on with my day. But I never do, and then theres school with the kids, laundry again, and usually errands to run. I dislike the "heat" of Thursday. The deadline I have to meet. BUT, the good thing about Thursday, just like Summer, is that I know that FALL is on its way!
FRIDAY!!!! I love Friday. I love FALL! Friday seems nicer to me, even if its storming. Friday I know I am free. Free to go to our classes. Free to go to Kims for lunch. Free to do what I want. I feel like I've been hit with a reguvinating gust of autumn wind. The kind that makes you feel like you can walk that extra mile.
That gust takes me into Saturday. Still liking Autumn, still free, but can sense that Winter is right around the corner. Its time to start storing my pervurbial nuts. Saturday nights are family nights in the Lowery house. I look forward to them, but they don't happen if I don't plan something. So I prepare, and we have fun, and then everybody goes to bed, and then I prepare for Winter again!

New Orleans

This slide show is from our fateful trip to New Orleans in July. It was one week before I was supposed to leave for Africa and I still had not recieved my passport.(that I had applied for in March!) So we loaded up and drove to our "Nearest State Department" to get one that day. I had never been to N.O. and have been told you either love it or hate it. Well I loved it. Of course I didn't love all of it. But its such a different enviroment. The kids really liked it to. It was a super quick trip...we were only gone for 24 hours total. But seeing how that was the first time we have been away together as a family in3 years, we loved all 24 hours! Even the part when our Air C0ndition broke in the van in July in the deep south, and the part when we finally get to our hotel all hot and sweaty from no air in the car, to our air not working in our room. But other than that...we loved it. And if you've never tried Beignets...come on over, I bought a box of the mix and I'll whip some up for you!

Africa

Let me tell you a little bit about my trip to Africa. First of all it was amazing! Being able to see my sister and sweet nieces again was awesome. I had as far as the wildlife goes, one of the best experiences you can have in Africa. I pretty much saw it all. And some of it up close and personal! Not everybody gets to chase Giraffes and Zebras on a 4 wheeler, or stare down an elephant until your so scared you want to pee in your pants! I mean that stuff was pretty cool. The People was the greatest part though. The Masai people were great. The kids are adorable, and will break your heart. The first time I went out into the village I cried my eyes out. My heart broke for the conditions they live in. The flies on their faces, the sores on their bodies, the dung huts they live it, the smell. But these kids seem content. They don't know any different. Thats why Laura and Travis and the other missionaries are there. To show them the Love of God, teach them in the ways of the Lord, and help them carve out a better life for themselves and generations to come. Only through the saving blood of the Lord Jesus Christ do any of us have hope, and only through us actually going out and sharing with others about that saving blood and amazing grace, will others experience eternal life with Him. I was proud to be in the Masai Mara and to go out with my sister and see the work and the people that God has carved out for them. It was great to go and have mental images, something more real to pray for. Actual names and faces. It really was eye opening and I hope to go back again.

Why "Plates a spinning!"

I've finally done it! I have a blog. So some of you can stop bugging me now! I have now added one more plate to my already full collection of plates. Yes my life is full of plates, and they are all spinning. Sometimes I drop them and they make a big mess. Sometimes I'm able to keep them spinning and it looks really cool. Thus the title of my blog. Congratulations on now being able to be privy to my spinning plates and hopefully you can help me, with your expertise, continue to keep these plates going!

YUM YUM!!! Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans! We ate platefuls of those things!