Nickels, Dimes , and Quarters....

One of the ways the Lord has been working the most in my heart over the past few years is in "breaking my heart for what breaks His"...which more specifically has been for the poor, orphaned, and the "least of these". I read "Ministries of Mercy" by Tim Keller about 3 years ago and in a lot of ways the Lord really changed my perspective and gave me a true sense of compassion for others. Ever since then I have really wanted to get more involved in actively living out James 1:27 and Micah 6:8. What does it look like to "look after the orphans and the widows in their distress" and to "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God"? Well the other night (bare with me here...I promise this is going somewhere! ha) I was reading several blogs (obsessed with "Babe of My Heart") and I was so encouraged yet at the same time discouraged because I feel like the Lord has given me this heart for "the least of these" for several years now yet I feel like I have not "done" anything with it! I have these awesome ideas of doing something glorious....but never follow thru with it! I haven't started some huge ministry or fed the poor on a regular basis or adopted a child or given away the shirt off my back to a homeless person....and I was just feeling like such a failure. In tears, I was telling Andy about this and he reminded me of something our pastor said..."God wants your life in nickels, dimes, and quarters....not your $1k check every once in a while" We went on to talk about the "nickels, dimes, and quarters" that the Lord has led me to give like taking meals to people in our church that have adopted (even if I don't know them personally), buy groceries for a single mom that works at publix that I have gotten to be friends with, to pray for the orphans around the world and for many friends I know that have/or are adopting, to show genuine love and compassion to a 17 year old kid that works for us that is having a difficult time....sometimes it just doesn't "feel" like enough....I want to do something "grand", I want to "change the world"...I want do something "radical" (read parts of that book which is amazing too)....but for now, I know the Lord's calling me to waltz through my days a nickel at a time.

As many times as I've heard James 1:27 I think I always ignore the second half..."and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world". Isn't that amazing that that phrase comes right after "Look after orphans and widows in their distress"? The more I am concerned with the things of God's heart ("looking after the least of these") the less I am polluted by the world- the less I long for "stuff" and the more I long for Him! It's pretty amazing how that really works!

Ok, so clearly I won't be writing any devotional books anytime soon and I'll keep my day job of cooking....but I hope that made sense to someone out there!(:

Oh...and two other great books I'm reading now..."Generous Justice" by Tim Keller and "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp....both truly life changing! So grab a copy if you your wanting a good read!

Where did my baby go?

My baby turns 19 months next week and isn't looking like a baby anymore! He is ALL boy...especially when it comes to the outdoors.

Here he is mesmerized by the fish in my Uncle's pond....he might grow up to be a fisherman and a hunter like his Uncle Scott!

18 Months!

Little Ryder just had his 18 Month appt last week....and as expected is growing like a weed!

27 lbs- 65%

33 in- 85%

It is such a complete JOY to be his momma! He talks a ton and will all of the sudden say words that I didn't even realized he knew! He is very observant and will copy things that I do (like he knows how to open the dishwasher, open the compartment and put the dish tablet in...it's one of his favorite things to do...wish I could teach him how to load the dishes!)

Above...his new little smirk when he's doing something silly or something that he knows he shouldn't be doing! Wow..they sure to learn that early!

How to Host the Perfect Party

We had a perfect get together.

The ham was stone cold for too long and refused to get hot.

I had one drape out of 4 hanging.

Our yard was 90% weeds.

Most of the 30 people had never met each other.

There were believers and non-believers.

There were happy marriages and hard times.

New Yorkers and die hard Southerners.

Babies and teenagers.

English and Spanish words.

There were 4 different colors of paint samples on the walls.

Real plates and paper plates.

Store bought food and homemade.

I didn’t even remember to take a decent photo.

But, we connected.

It was absolutely perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.

by The Nester, Nesting Place

I saw this title when I was blog hopping and decided I wanted to check out her party tips- but wow, I got so much more than that! Totally made me smile reading that and hope it encouraged you too! I just hosted my first sit-down dinner party for 20 people (our ashley mac's staff) at our house and I really wanted it to be perfect- and it was- but not in the way I intended (ie. my house wasn't/isn't decorated, the rolls didn't turn out as good usual, the crab cakes weren't all hot at the same time, I couldn't make the plate presentation perfect because I was trying to hurry and get everyone's food to the table, there are still boxes and piles of stuff to unpack in the rooms etc...but we had a GREAT time and enjoyed serving our wonderful employees and letting them know how thankful we are for them- and that's what it was all about! Thanks Nester for THE BEST party tips I've ever gotten!

Above is 14 of our 21 employees- wish we could have gotten everyone but a few were sick and some had to leave early. We love each of these people so much and are so thankful for them.

above- playing some "get to know you" games...lots of laughs!

Still alive over here.....

above (loves playing hide and seek...ha!) below- eating like a champ...some kids eat spaghetti...Ryder prefers the Barefoot Contessa's Bolognese- LOL

And bringing in 2011 with lot's of exciting things going on....

1. Goals- Andy and I always take some time in the new year to set some goals personally and for our family. One of them is memorizing scripture together on a regular basis (which we say every year...but we'll keep trying!). Our first one:

"So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

2. A baby? I need that verse because I am fearful. I'm fearful that it is going to be another long road for a baby. We are praying about starting the fertility and/or adoption track soon. Although fear creeps in often, we are mostly excited about it this time..as we can look back and see how the Lord provided Ryder and we wouldn't change a thing about the coarse the Lord took us on for him. Pray for us if we come to mind and that the Lord would give us wisdom and patience.

3. Business and the Gospel- it's just completely crazy to see how the Lord continues to grow Ashley Mac's and it is also amazing to see the Lord bring out a passion in me that I didn't know existed....I'm learning so much about running a business and all the ins/outs of it from customer service to business plans etc and I absolutely love it (well, most days) and look forward to seeing how the Lord uses Ashley Mac's for HIS kingdom. I'm less concerned about the bottom line and more interested in how can we glorify the Lord through our work. Our church is starting a group to meet about Entrepreneurship Initiative http://www.faithandwork.org/ei that was started by Redeemer/Tim Keller so we are excited to be a part of that. I always pictured myself to be a part of "playgroups" but not necessarily a part of a "business owners group"....I love how the Lord leads us on wild and crazy journey's in this life...never a dull moment! Of course, with the exciting parts come LOTS of difficulties...it's not the easiest thing running a business with your spouse! LOL

4. Ryder- is so much fun and talking all the time now! We have SO much fun together! He is getting so silly and we are loving this stage. He brings us so much Joy and laughter. He LOVES to be around people and he immediately takes anyone who comes to our house to his room...he always wants Andy and I to come in there with him so he will tug on our clothes if we don't get up immediately!

5. Organizing- just like many of you...I'm determined to get organized! Especially since we are still sifting through boxes and trying to get our rooms put together from our move. Share your tips if you have any!! I think I might buy a book...

6. Wedding Bells- my little bro is about to get married in 3 weeks.. super excited....then my cousin Patton will be getting married in April, best friend Becca in April too, and cousin Meg in May! So thankful for the Lord's hand in each of these couples.

7. Welcome back Aunt Jules!!!- Andy's sister, Julie, moved back to Bham after being in Mobile for a year and a half...we are so excited to get to see her more!(:

Hope everyone's new year is off to a great start!!!

Simple Christmas Fun

In all my spare time (i.e. 9-10 at night on a good day!) I love to read up on blogs..mainly adoption blogs because I love reading the stories of God's faithfulness to care for the orphans-and of course I love keeping up with friends and their families.... but I also love this blog "The Nesting Place" that I found from my friend Rachel. She recently did a "Holiday Home Tour" and I love seeing all of her fun ideas. Anyways, I hardly decorated at all this year because we just moved (well, it's been 3 months...but I'm still incredibly unorganized and no room is completely put together yet!) but I thought I would share the little that I did- and in between are other random things... Also, speaking of unorganized, I lost my camera charger in the move so these are all with my phone :(

Ryder "made" this at mothers day out! How cute is that?

Terrible pic but there's the tree! I'm going to be so sad when I don't get to plug those lights up every morning!
I copied this magnolia wreath out of southern living...it was SUPER easy and took me about 20 minutes...which is about the only kind of crafty project I can handle! this is after it was in our warm house for 4 or 5 days and the leaves started to curl and turn brown but I think I like it even better this way (before pic is down the post a few)
Once again, I'm a copycat....saw this in the Potter Barn mag and this one also took only about 20 minutes (and the only money I spent was on the ribbon and the spray paint)- I have a magnolia tree in our yard so that made it convenient!
How cute is he? Andy said "please don't ever put my son in rainbow pants and Uggs. ever.again." I mean come on...he's a one year old right?!!!!

Loving the tree! He's actually been really good about not yanking the ornaments off...

I'm obsessed with Davis Wholesale in downtown Bham....they have such unique stuff- especially for Xmas...anyways, I had been wanting a square wreath and they had tons...I had some ribbon and gold branch things so another quick and easy project! For some reason I was obsessed with wreaths this year...I actually bought reindeer moss to make some square ones of those but I ran out of time! Maybe next year!
Below is the magnolia wreath on the day I made it...before it got brown and curled...you can keep it looking green in fresh by just drenching the whole thing in water..but that's too much trouble and effort so I'll just stick with the rustic look!
Oh my gosh, he was the cutest thing when we went to Santa! He did not know quite what to think! He kept looking back at him like "who are you?"!!!

Dollar Tree has awesome just plain ball ornaments so I got several packs of silver and mixed it with some sparkly pears that I already had.
My colorless mantle....I'll have to throw some color up there next year!
Hardly did anything in the kitchen but here's a peak!
Now, I'm just counting down the hours til December 23rd at 6pm when Ashley Mac's closes for 4 whole days and the Christmas orders all OVER!!! It's been completely insane!

I'm still trying to get a good pic of Ryder for a Christmas card but time is running out!

Hope you and your family are enjoying this wonderful Season to remember Christ and how he came to earth to rescue us! Wow- we are so blessed!