Sunday, December 18, 2016

Raising kids to win in life.

Here in Tn it is in the 20's today and this southern Alabama girl does not like the cold. So when my son asked to go play in the snow dusting before church I responding with a quick no.
There was very little push back as I walked away thinking "why in the world would anyone want to play in that?" He showed me his toy he wanted to use in the "snow" and I thought about it. I don't wont to get in the cold but he doesn't care, so why am I raising him based on my likes and dislikes.
I know my kids will go outside in thin pj pants and a light jacket and I am freezing just looking at them. Each year we argue about the perfect amount of clothes to wear to make playing outside even worth it....in my mind.
I recently read that as parents we should let our kids make the decision to wear the full on winter clothes or the t-shirt and shorts. We, as their parents just need to make sure they have the warm options available to them. Once a child gets past the baby stage they are usually able to regulate their body temperatures and when they are cold they will fix it and get out of the cold or dress appropriately . I decided since we are going to the late service at church that he had plenty of time to play, freeze his butt off if he so chooses, come inside and warm up, and even change and get ready in time for church. I gave him suggestions on what to wear and helped pull it out of the closets where he chose his final attire. I was very pleased with his choice.


What I am learning is that not everything has to be a struggle, things that I like or don't like are just that ...mine.

As their parents I :

raise them in the best way I know how

I daily ask God for wisdom on what He wants me to do with these sweet babies

* I answer after I have thought it through and not off an emotion.

I am willing to change my mind and apologize to them if needed.

I treat these little people with respect because how else will they learn to treat others that way if not shown at home..

*I trust that God is God and that he cares about my crew more than I do and he speaks to their hearts in a much deeper way than I ever could.

*I pray that they hear God speaking to their hearts.

Being a parent is the most______

-fill in the blank.....it is the most of every single emotion and job you have ever had.
Life is all about battles, you pick and choose what you want to teach your kids and sometimes it feels like a battle in the teaching process.
Today this was hardly a battle because I feel like we both won and really isn't that the goal, for us to be the leaders of our kids but they still feel like they have victories and have a say in what goes on in their life.


The battle of cookies for breakfast.

I LOVE sweets, I mean I LOVE eating it is just sweets seem to be the biggest food group that I like. I also love feeling good and having clear skin and no joint pain. So the biggest question I battle is which do I love more. To be honest sweets seem to sneak their way into my life and by the end of a weekend I realized I went crazy on the eating and I feel like crap. I am trying to find a balance and I thought that eating clean during the week and having the weekend as my splurge would work but it is not. For me and so many people sugar causes inflammation and being that I am 9mths past major back surgery inflammation is something I want to stay far, far away from. We had two Christmas parties this weekend and I did great compared to the me in the past but I still am learning that I have to change things to feel better. This morning as I walk past my kitchen I see cookies that I promise you were calling my name. Yesterday I had an oatmeal cookie for breakfast and so why not have another kind today??
I walked away and thought about is that cookie worth bed rest and a face that breaks out....no, it is not.
I made a good decision today and praying I can do this all day and find a balance that works for me.
I cant follow what anyone else is doing because God made us unique and that means there is a base line of wisdom we all need for health but the tiny details come into play with each person and their needs.
So for now I won the battle of cookies for breakfast or eggs. I did not choose cookies. I may need to remove the cookies all together because the battle gets harder the longer they stare at me.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Poem: Race unknown - heart the same.

*Race  unknown - heart the same*

Stories on the news causing thoughts to swim in my head.
Another life is gone and it's he said she said

It's this war of the race with no way to win
Each fighting for a cause unsure of how it will end.

The color of my skin should not change the words in your mind
It shouldn't make you clutch your purse or to treat me unkind.

My skin is no different then the crayons in a box
It is simply one color but it screams louder then my walk.

I am judged for a path that I did not create
and I am born into a time still drowning in hate.

I want to make a difference but I am confused on where to stand
Can I show love and forgiveness while still supporting my neighboring man?

The issue is not with authority or any type of race.
The issues is with man's heart and the hurt it has faced.

Every death that goes down another brick gets put in place.
I now have a wall so high leaving very little space...

Space to forgive and space to heal,
Space in my heart so I can continue to feel.

I want to celebrate this life with my fellow man and
no matter the race walk with them hand in hand.

-written by Charlene Turney. August 31,2016

Monday, November 28, 2016

Time has changed me

I have been giving one body, one mind, and one heart. It is worth the argument to say that I am stuck with this person, it is who I am and who I will always be. I used to say that I am not organized, that I am sporadic, and can't stick to a schedule. While this is hugely true about my natural tendency and my personality it does not mean I have to be stuck in that if I don't want to. I wanted to change. I wanted the comfort of knowing that Thursday is laundry day and Monday is -go through the mail-day. I wanted to know that at 9 I go to the gym and work out. I didn't like getting a phone call that my water would be turned off because I haven't paid the bill in a month, or having no clean laundry because it has been forever since clothes have been washed or put away. I didn't like feeling sore and weak over simple activities because I had no muscles.
Year after year I would sit down and set a schedule only to fall short after 2 weeks. I became the Queen of the 2 week plan.
I planned out days for going through bills. I planned out days for cleaning clothes and cleaning bathrooms. I planned out days for working out at the gym, at home, outside, and even with a friend. I have tied and tired and always failed. It would be safe to ask my self..why keep trying?
Because.
Because I am worth it.
I know that God has giving me the ability to grow in who I am. I wanted to grow and never gave up.
This year I am so far past the 2 week mark of sticking to something that I am patting my self on the back for this small victory. I have prayed for years for things and even when i failed again and again I kept at it. I knew God was faithfully and it would happen, I just didn't know when.
I am still on a path of growth...shouldn't we all be? But I am encouraged because I see tiny changes. Every Thursday I have all the laundry washed now and the kids put theirs away. Every Monday ( mostly) I go through bills and file away papers.
I am still working on the regular gym time but My husband and I do walk every Wednesday and Friday now. This is huge for me.

What things have you told yourself won't or can't  change? Do you get angry like your father and just assume -like father like son?
Do you spend all your money on clothes and shoes just like your mom?
Do you stay so strict to your schedule that you never have spontaneous fun?
Or do you live so spontaneous that your life feels chaotic and you are never on time, always forget dates, and can't plan ahead for your future?

The point is...that may be how you naturally bend in your personality but it doesn't mean you are stuck.
You are in control of your actions....no matter how out of control you may feel at times. You have the ability to grow into a better you. It may take time, it may even take years but never give up on YOU.
Take a day and write out dreams you have had. If you can't figure out how in the world to reach those dreams, let me know, let someone you know that can help you and pray with you. Having accountability with your thoughts and ideas is the best place to start.
You can do this. Even if you have to take it so slow that the rest of 2016 is thinking about your dreams, planning out your dreams, and talking about your dreams so that you are able to hit the ground running in 2017 than that is A-OK. You work at your pace but just keep moving. Remember a baby step forward is better than no step and sitting on your butt.
I am giving myself and my family a new me.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Walking the fence of this election.

You may have strong emotions about this whole election thing or you might care less. You may be wondering " What election?" If that is the case though, I would say you have been hiding in a cave. The election has stirred deep emotions in almost every human on this planet and not a single one of those will change a thing now. The stories that I am hearing of whites being horrible to blacks is mind boggling. I can't even imagine hating another person or race like that. I do know though that Trump becoming president did not cause that. The cruelty and evil that is being displayed was already in the hearts of those individuals way before Trump even decided to run for president and probably even before Obama was in office.
I admit, I am a privilege white lady living in the privilege country of America but guess what? Every single one of you who live in the USA are also privileged men and women. I don't get involved in politics and even fasted Facebook the month before the election so I am sure I missed some important information but I am confused as to where this over whelming fear is coming from with Africn Americans. Excuse me, but when did you forget that God is in control? The moment Trump won? It seems to me that the enemy of this world has us exactly where he wants us.....angry, bitter, hurt, scared, and fighting against one another.

 If you as a white person hate blacks then I suggest you move  to a place where they do not live. Oh ya, that's right, you can't because God loves them and continues to create amazing people of all cultures and colors and we are ALL equal. If he thought whites were the jam then there has been plenty of generations to wipe out any race but that is not happening and will never happen. God did not make a mistake when he created blacks. He didn't mess up when he created Asians or any other race. He perfectly created each and every person, no matter their skin color. If you only see mean black people then you need to expand your sphere of people you hang out with bc one or two or 100 mean black people do not determind an entire race.

If you are black and have fear then I suggest you cry out to God or find someone who will cry out for you if you have no relationship with Jesus. I then suggest you ask them how to get a relationship with Jesus and do it quickly. It is the only way you will get peace in your life. If the only white people  you are in contact with are spitting curse words at you please don't give up on the whole white race. There are some good ones out there.

Trump winning the election may be a shock to you but it isn't to God. He allowed it to happen just like he has allowed Obama to be in that seat and the leaders before him. If you know that bible story of King Nebuchadnezzar you know that he was not a great leader. He killed men because of different opinions and forced everyone to serve a god he chose. Daniel was an average man who prayed to God in all situations and he was raised up and made a difference. He didn't rebel in angry, he didn't lash out in hate, and he didn't hide in fear. He prayed for his people and for his leader and God used him.

You want to change who the president is....pray for the heart of Trump to be changed and you will find that at the end of this four years you will have a different president. Pray for righteous people  to be placed around him just like Daniel became the King's right hand man.  God has a plan so don't you dare ignore it because you fear, your hate, your rejection you feel towards all your so called friends who voted  different than you, gets in the way of what God wants to do though you.
Be the color of  your skin to the best ability you can be by showing love, kindness, and most importantly forgiveness.


Friday, October 28, 2016

Why do I have to do it every. single. day???

The other day I brought a pot of dirt inside the house. It had been outside for months and I wanted to plant my basil in it to keep inside. The problem is that the dirt was bone dry. I set it in my sink and soaked it with water and let it drain. I did this at least 4 or 5 times so that it would get all the dirt wet. I wanted the basil roots to really flourish once I planted them.
I grabbed a spoon and started to dig in the dirt to get it moved some for the plant. I was surprised to find that it still had so much dry dirt in it. I had soaked it sooo much and yet, it still had major areas of dryness.
It was only when I dug deep and up rooted the dry dirt, bringing it to the surface, and than soaked it, was it able to fully get wet. I had to dig, soak, dig, soak, dig, and soak to fully saturated the soil.

As I was doing this I thought of how this is such a good analogy to so many Christians walk with God. We go to church on sunday. We get soaked. We come home, go about our week, and never water ourselves. We go to church again on sunday and we get soaked in God's presence with scripture and worship. We come home and live another week with a lack of victory in our lives. We do this week after week. We feel that this soaking on sunday was enough to get to all our dry places but just like this pot of dirt, we have to dig deep and uproot all the areas of our life to get it full saturated. We have to dig, soak, dig, soak, dig, and soak to have long lasting change.

If you hear a great msg and want change and you go home and make changes and than wonder why it doesn't seem to stick....you may have some dry places in your heart that are killing these newly planted roots.

 How do I practically soak those dry places you ask?

I am so glad you did.  Find someone who can walk with you, who can ask the questions about how you are doing. Read your bible daily and then talk with someone about what you are learning. Pray daily. You dont have to be weird, you can talk to God throughout your day as if he is your best friend sitting right next to you. Worship God. Make choices to listen to music that is uplifting.

To get this pot of dirt fully saturated it took me many times of watering.
Do not think that one time at church or a conference, or revival is enough.
Do not think that one week of daily bible reading is enough.
It is an amazing start but imagine if I got the dirt fully soaked, planted my basil, and than never watered it again.
The basil would dry up.

We need to stay watered, stay in God's word, stay in his presence, and dig up those dry places in our heart so that we can heal and live a life of victory.  



Thursday, October 27, 2016

"If I can just distract her, I can make her forget"

-My youngest child is wonderful in all of her ways and can even be a little dramatic. Years ago she fell down and scraped her knee....scraped....her....knee. She did not break anything and there were no need for stitches and there was hardly any blood but Miss Ava could not walk. She cried so hard and the idea of walking was to much for her little self. I am not joking when I tell you it took half a day to get her up and walking again. She was doing everything she could to avoid using the injured leg. By the end of the day it had gotten so ridiculous that I had to re-train her and distract her. We held hands and "walked" up and down our hall. When I say we walked...what I mean is I walked and she hopped the whole way. I showed her that bending the knee was ok and I had her standing on both legs to teach her that it in fact could work. We started out very slow where I was making her use both legs and by the end of our "training" I was running so that the only thing she could do was use both legs and run along side me or fall and get pulled behind me. She ran. She laughed at finally being healed and being able to use her full body again. Funny enough, this was not the only time we had to distract her, she had to do the running along side me a few more times to learn that a scraped knee was not the end of the world.

This was a good reason for distraction

-Gabi and I have this joke and any time one of the younger kids have any questions about drugs, where babies come from, or what does a word mean we always say "Who wants ice cream?" I always answer the question but the joke is all about distracting them so they think of something else.

This was a funny reason for distraction.

-Jerry and I love to surprise each other for our birthdays and special holidays. One year I invited lots of friends to come have dinner with us but not to tell Jerry because I wanted to surprise him. I told him part of the truth....because we all know the best lie has some truth to it. I told him that I invited one of his best friends to come into town for dinner and they were not able to make it and that just he and I were going out to dinner. I told this story with tons of conviction b/c it was truth and he believed. We got to the restaurant and walked to a side room near the bathrooms and lots of his other friends were there. The surprise worked b/c of the distraction with the half truth. He never thought to look for the real truths.

This was a sweet reason for distraction.

 -A girl was walking down the street and sees someone fall, she stops to help and gets jumped from behind. The person falling was a distraction.
-A car is broken down on the side of the road with a woman standing beside it. Someone stops to help and gets attacked by a person hiding in the woods. The lady was a distraction.
-I made a goal on Monday to not have sweets until the weekend but Ava wanted ice cream after her drs appt and Gabi wanted a starbucks after her appt. So did I. Those things were distractions.
-A person makes a decision on Sunday to do better and spend more time with God but this week was hard, they are exhausted and just want to watch the new episode of Scandal. These hangups are a distraction.
-You used to go to church but haven't in awhile. It is ok though, you still make good decisions and think about God. You don't feel bad, in fact, you feel pretty good about where you are in your walk.
Contentment is a distraction
-You started a new diet and this is the year for you to make changes that matter. But, you got yelled out today by a stranger, your car got a flat tire, and your job just cut back your hrs, and oh ya,  you have a cold. You only want comfort food now and so you tell you self it is ok, you deserve it, it was a hard day, except so was the weeks before. Life is a distraction.

These are derailing distractions.


-You are done, your spouse has ignored you one to many time. You vent to your co-worker and a friendship builds and you entertain the thought of a relationship with them. Maybe you married the wrong person and this is your true soul mate.
-You accidentally click on a link and it pulls up porn sites. You explore out of curiosity, until the next time.... when you explore bc you choose to. Now, you are looking at the sites daily and it is the only thing you think about. It is not a problem though b/c you get your work done, you are not cheating on your spouse with an actual person, and it is not hurting anyone.
-You are in charge of the petty cash at work and no one ever uses it. This week you spent your money on a new jacket and you are only borrowing the money until you get payed again so you can pay your water bill.
-Bills are so tight this month and when you have extra money you give some to God for tithing but now it just seems impossible. God understands, I mean you have to eat right?

These are the enemy's distractions.

We are ready for a big fight. If someone takes our child, we fight. If someone tries to kidnap you, the natural thing to do is fight back. If someone steals your money, you work at getting it back. If someone stole your identity, you get the authorities involved and clear your name. We are quick on our toes for the -bold, in our face- fights. The enemy knows this and for many situations he doesn't do that. He is slick and a master of distraction.
My last blog was about setting goals, even if they are baby goals. We sometimes need tiny steps to keep us moving in the right direction. There will always be distraction and many times even with our eyes wide open we fail to see it but the good news is you can start new each day. Each morning wake up with a thankful heart that you woke up and get to try again.

DO NOT LET THE ENEMY WIN.

Jesus died for you so we have already won 

The enemy of this world will distract you with every trick of the trade so that you do not know or your forget that we win.  If you do not start each day with the mind set to keep your eyes on Jesus and the goals you have for your life than you will always be swayed by life's distractions and never get from point A to point B.

Do not let distractions prevent you from having victory in your life. 


Monday, October 24, 2016

When did we give up?

Every year most people start out with goals for their lives. We make big plans to get things back on track and do things better. Many people reevaluate their lives at the start of a new season and even the start of each month or week. We all have big dreams of doing more and doing it better than the year before. So, I ask the question, When did we give up?  Why did we quit?
For so many people this thing called LIFE gets in the way. That pesky little thing, it does that from time to time.
How many of you set a goal to work out more? What about the goal of spending more time with family and friends? Did you set a goal to eat better, make more money, be happier, travel more, read your bible and pray more?
How is that going for you? We are almost done with this year and for so many of us we are back in the same loop as the year before. The same habits that we have done year after year after year we are doing now and our dreams, our goals, are a major thing of the past.
Why?
 Maybe you know this and can skip this part but maybe you don't know this...you are worth it, you are strong enough to change, and you matter. No matter how crappy you feel b/c another day went by and you didn't do your to-list and no matter how defeated you feel b/c someone keeps telling you that you are a waste, you are worthless, you need to know that it is a lie. You might have even laughed at that but it is true. If you feel anything less than valuable, worthy, amazing, and wanted, than you are believing a lie.
You set goals and have dreams b/c you want more for your life and everything in the entire world will feel like it gets in the way to keep you from those dreams coming true but keep at it. Don't stop my friend. A baby step in the right direction is better then sitting on your butt moving in no direction. 

My youngest parked her self on the sidewalk the other day and was done walking. She was mad about something and tired from the long day and was done. She was not going to walk another step. But, just like life does with us, I kept on moving leaving her behind. She eventually got up bc the idea of staying there all alone was not something she wanted to try out.
How many of you stay there though? How many of you get tired from the long day, the long season? You get mad about how things are going or maybe hurt or scared and you just want to give up, you are done. Life keeps moving though and you have let your emotions stop you in your tracks.
It is ok to pause for a moment to catch your breath, to get your barrens, but DO NOT STOP!

This fall break we went to Gatlingburg and did the hike Cling man's dome. Once again, this little lady, the smallest of the crew, did not have the strength to hike up this huge hill in one swift walk. Many people around her were giving it their all and reaching their goal way before her. We all had the same goal, get to the top, but for all of us it looked different. Caden, kori, and my self got to the top with little trouble but Ava had to make many, many stops along her journey. The key to her victory is that she DID NOT STOP.

She made big strides and rested, she made little strides and rested. She stopped all together and had to get motivated  by her peers (aka daddy and siblings) and she got back up again and took baby steps. She kept moving and rested when needed but finished her goal.
What are some goals or dreams that you have set to the side that need to be picked back up again?
Did you want to exercise more, eat better, have coffee dates with more friends, read more books, or just rest more? If setting a huge goal is not working it is ok to set baby goals and hit those. If you are not exercising at all than set a goal of 3 times in a month..it is better then nothing. If you goal is to eat better and you eat out every meal then pick once a mth to plan, prepare, and cook a meal at home.
You can do this with any goal you have. Give yourself the chance to have some victories and don't you dare tell your self that you cant do it. Even if you believe you will fail, don't tell your self that. We all get concerned about what others will think of us but really the opinion that speaks the loudest is our own thoughts. Tell your self you can do it, even if you failed. Get up and keep walking bc you are worth it.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

My kids just ate brussel spouts and didn't even know it.

I know all about how eating healthy can heal the body and I stay on point for a big part of my life.

But, getting my kids to eat the right things is sooo much easier said than done. Their school provides free breakfast and free lunch for everyone. It is some program with no kid goes hungry and it last for about 3 years, I am pretty sure we are on the last year for the program. I feed the kids breakfast at home but there is still food for them at school that they grab. The free lunches just saves us tons of money so we just let them get that. I am pretty sure I will be starting to make their lunches on tuesday when they go back to school

Their eating sucks.
 Miss Ava just finished her 3rd round of antibiotics for strep throat and I am pretty sure it is not gone yet....I am fed up with the way they eat and starting tonight we are cutting tons of things out of their diet. Since they have a few more days on their fall break it will be easier to monitor what they eat. I have giving my kids fair warning that we were changing the way we eat. For example, last week we finished off the last of the sweet cereal and we are not buying more.
This has been a battle for a long time, Jerry thinks it is fine to have it just on the weekend and I want it gone forever. I am fine with a balance but it seems that there is always something sweet to eat and it blends right into the weekend with crap cereal. I think he is seeing the need for change.




I wanted to start our healthy eating asap. I do not want to take Ava to the dr one more time. I want to heal her with prayer and food. Tonight's dinner was the start of that. It was a soup packed full of nutrients.
I made a soup because it is one of the easiest ways to get veggies into my kids.  I had left over chicken and homemade chicken broth in the fridge. I also found some Brussels spouts and had an idea. They are packed full of vitamin C and we need that right now.
I already took some onions, garlic, and bell peppers and sauteed in a dutch oven. I chopped off the end of the brussel spouts and tore off the top leaves. I, then chopped them in half and threw them into a food processor and added a bit of olive oil.
I pulsed into it was fully chopped and threw it into the dutch oven and sauteed and stirred into all heated through. I also add one sweet potato and salt and pepper. When it was all heated I threw in about 6 cups of broth and brought to to a boil until potatoes were soft.
I transfer it in batches to my vitamix and pureed until completely smooth. -be careful b/c the steam will be very hot-

In another dutch oven (bc I still had un-pureed soup in the other) I added about 2tbs of butter, a bit of diced white onion, and diced one white potato (this was simply for texture in the soup) and stirred to heat up.
All the pureed soup got poured on top (through a strainer) and again brought to a boil to cook the white potato.
When fully done I added the already cooked (left over) shredded chicken. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, herbs, and/or old bay seasons to your tasting
I also took some gluten free bread and toasted it and chopped to make homemade croutons.

Gabi went to the grand parents for the night but all the other kids ate it all!! I told them I don't even care if they eat the chicken and potatoes in the soup but that they had to drink all the broth. 
This may be a tiny step but I am happy we are moving in the right direction. I will be updating here on how it goes. Ava and kori will no doubt be my most challenging kids. They are extremely picky eaters and veggies are far from the "yes" list.
Pray it goes well...mmmmkay












Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Clingman's Dome and views worth any hike.


Today we got a late start and changed our mind a few times on what we wanted to do with our day. We settled on Clingman's Dome because it was closer than other options.
We drove up the mountain and the temperature dropped 20* Say what??? It felt awesome though.
I took lots of pictures with my phone and real camera and will post the best of both.
The hike to the top was 1/2 a mile and a super steep incline. Caden and I got to the top first. I was pretty happy with myself.

When I pause and think about the fact that I had major back surgery 6.5 mths ago and went a few weeks with some paralysis in my foot and severe nerve pain for mths and now I am hiking up mountains....I am blessed and feeling so much stronger.


Here are pictures from today. Since I am breaking from posting so much on facebook and instagram I am using this blog as a place to write about our day and post the pictures.
I am so happy we did this vacation this week during the kids fall break. Yes, the kids complained but all in all everyone had fun together and made memories.

This morning started out great with late sleep ins, worship music playing while breakfast was being cooked and the littles did their devotionals.
We then packed up and headed out. The drive was so beautiful and we wanted to stop at every single pull over spot..but we didn't.
Here is our day in pics.
Miss ava did not feel so well after the curvy drive.

 My boys....being boys..
 Lots of names signed to mark their place in time.









You would never know by this picture of me and Gabi that she didnt want to take a picture with her mama...on top of the mountain...
 After our mountain adventure we headed back down and went straight to Pancake pantry. We got there 7 mins before they closed. 
Ava some how managed to eat her chocolate chip pancake without going through the edges. 
We then walked around and looked for a cost efficient place to play with our large family. 
We settled on Treasure island putt putt golf. 
Girls against boys....boys won.
                                                      Winner Winner chicken dinner!!



Monday, October 3, 2016

A look at the Turney's on the Biltmore Estates.

Miss Gabi, my sweet first born is almost on her own and it breaks my heart. Soon she will be in college and fall break vacations will not work with her school schedule. This could be her last one with us. I pray it is not.
Caleb, my first son. He is the person who taught me about unconditional love from a male. He is one of the funniest people I know. His ability to mimic accents and sounds is like no other in our family. He should definitely seek out a job using this skill

Kori, is the most detailed person I know. Her ability to notice things around her and her creativeness is beyond what I could ever do. She sets goals for her self and hits them. I see a bright future for her.
 Caden, my little miracle surviving twin boy. He is the sweetest talker, he tells me daily how amazing and beautiful I am. If a flower is called wonderful, he responds.."like my mommy" What a gift he is to my sou.
Ava, the cream of the crop, is the perfect add on to our family. She is loved by every single one of us and has a sense of humor to match all of ours. She has big dreams of dancing, singing, and being a gymnast one day. She will do awesome at all those things.
So blessed God gave her to us after 2 losses and major health problems, she has changed us for the best.

 
Jerry, my sweetie of 20 years. We are so different and the enemy likes to get it my thoughts and wants me to focus on all those ways. But, when I remind myself that his differences are the very things that I totally suck at and would never thrive at, I am reminded at how blessed I am. God always knows what he is doing when he places you with someone. You will be very different and that is so together you can fill in each others weaknesses and together, with God, can be a strong force. 











We all had a really good time at Biltmore today....except for the end when I thought kids might be lost and spent forever looking for them...and didn't have cell service to call and check. They were not lost...I was apparently.


 These two pictures here are from the gardens. There were tons of mums here.
 And one final shot of the full Turney crew.