Check out the Garden!

Check out the "Garden" tab if you're curious to find out how our garden is growing this year!

My 30th Birthday!

Well, it was a wonderful day. I got flowers from David (aren't the peonies gorgeous!), wonderful friends watched my kids so I could go to dinner and a movie with another dear friend, and I had tons of Happy Birthday calls and cards. Here is a picture of me with my little cake the Golarts got for me--yummy! Who could ask for more (except David home, of course!)? Thank you, all, for a wonderful day!

Military Appreciation Day...

...or week, rather. Let me tell ya, Montgomery does an awesome job supporting their military! Both last Wednesday night and this Saturday night are military appreciation nights at the Biscuits baseball games, Montgomery's minor league baseball team. Wednesday, was military appreciation day at the Montgomery Zoo. Military and their families got in for free, and Jim N Nicks BBQ along with Golden Flake snacks and some other organizations and companies all worked together to provide a great free lunch on that hot, hot day at the zoo. Posted are pictures of us on the train along with our dear friends the Bergrens.

You know, it's taken me eight years to feel this way, but I never knew until recently how good it feels to be appreciated specifically for our military service. I know that sounds crazy, but I think it's because, until now, I've never really felt like I've sacrificed very much in it. If someone told me thank you, even as a spouse, I don't think I really took it to heart. I've thought to myself, "Lots of people have hard jobs, we're not doing anything all that great." And, besides that, the AF has treated us well, meaning we haven't had to endure a lot of deployments on a frequent basis. Until now, I don't really feel like we've sacrificed a lot. But, now we've turned a corner. We are actively sacrificing 15 months of our life, by choice. We have had opportunities to get out. Yet, we have chosen to stay, in the midst of our greatest sacrifice, knowing there will be more rough times in the future. And, so somehow, it really is touching when a person I don't even know, much less my whole city, works to express their thanks for making the choice we have. When someone thanks me and I realize the gravity of our decision and all it encompasses, it nearly causes me to weep. It is very comforting to know that our family is not alone or our sacrifice going unnoticed. Thank you all for your unending support and prayers! There are people all over this great country praying for us! We are so blessed!

~Rachel

Andrew's missing teeth & Casting Crown's Pics

Casting Crowns

Some dear friends are in town for the next 3 weeks or so, and last night we went to an outdoor concert on the river. It was surprisingly the coolest night we've had here in the south in a long while. Casting Crowns glorified the Lord and edified the Body here and the three of us were moved by the music and the Spirit. All 7 of the band members are involved in some sort of youth ministry in the Atlanta area. They are not the most polished group, yet it was so real listening to their perfect harmonies, the awesome violin, guitars and vocals. It was a joy listening to songs I've listened to in my living room or my car for several years become personally meaningful as I took the time to focus on them a little more.
I hope you all take the time to focus in on something commonplace like music or the weather or your lunch and see what the Lord is trying to say to you. But more importantly, spend time with Him in His Word, and guard that time with your life! Keep the faith! ~Rachel

First and Second Lost Teeth!

Well, it's a day for the books, folks! Andrew lost his first tooth biting into his favorite food: an apple. We put it in a small envelope. That was right after lunchtime. Then at dinner, I sent him to the bathroom for something and he came running back saying that he pulled his tooth out, but he lost it down the drain rinsing the blood off it, and could I come, QUICK, to get it out! So of course I went running. It actually had gotten lodged right at the top and if I had used the right tool from the get-go the slippery little thing wouldn't have fallen all the way down. Well, being the problem-solving mother I am, I figured out how to open the drain below the sink and I got that tooth out! Well, just as I had begun to clean up from dinner and was patting myself on the back over getting the tooth out, Andrew came running in again. "Mom, somehow, when I was getting my first tooth out of the envelope, it must have fallen out somewhere in my room and I can't find it!" So, the tooth fairy will only be giving money for one tooth tonight. Maybe the other one, the one he lost in the apple, will eventually show up... I'll post a picture of the little darling with his holey smile soon.