I get to marry my best friend....again!

I guess I'm a sucker for radio station contest. I have entered a few over the years and won some amazing things. Our local Christian radio station has a special Valentine vow renewal ceremony every year. I have always wanted to renew our vows. Somehow being married at the age of 18 I really didn't understand what all marriage was about. I had no clue,except that I knew this is what God wanted for me..for us. I am so thankful that I obeyed that calling!.

So I entered this contest. Sharing with them the reason we should be chosen. Was it the 9 kids that got their attention? Maybe being married 28 years? Was it the fact that this last year of multiple surgeries has stretched us as a couple more than any other years? Or the fact that I want to show our children that loving someone for this long can be done? That working through those most difficult times is possible. That leaning on the one who put us together in the first place is where you can survive and grow through any trial. That the enemy wants to destroy but God wants to shine through it all! Whatever the reason doesn't matter....We're getting married! Again!

I shared this past week that I had come to a point of needing a change. Needing to make my husband a greater priority, more than I have been doing for a while. That I really desire to learn to communicate to him how much he is treasured and loved. To communicate more. I really struggle with this. But I'm learning.

As we watch our children grow we realize we need to find more opportunities to do things together. New hobbies. New roads of exploring and learning together. After all,our arms and time have been full of babies and life. Our time together without interruption has been less than we would like but understand this is just a season....a very long and cherished one. But now it's time to learn to be a party of two every once and a while. We still aren't done raising our family. We have a few years yet. But it's an important lesson for our children to see that we put our marriage at the top of the priority list. I think they would agree. To teach our daughters to love their husbands unconditionally and our sons to cherish the loves of their lives. 

All in all I have seen the hand of God in this past week. He has reminded me time and time again that He is in control. I just need to let go of that wheel.That He does hear me when I pray and knows the deepest desires of my heart. I am loved so very much!

I'm sure our vows will be very different than the first time. For it's this time that I can truly say "I wiiill" (My kids love to tease me about this statement.) understand that there is nothing to be taken lightly about marriage while loving someone until death do us part, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.

So Kelley Holcombe.....I can't wait to marry you again! Although we are two very different people than when we started...thank God!... It's because of you that I am who I am today. I pray that God grants us many more years to learn and grow together. To treasure what we have been given. To love without expectations. To smile just because you hold my hand. To see the hand of God in all that we do and say. To be a light in this very dark world. To leave a legacy of two people that chose to follow God with all their hearts, trusting Him to write their story of Love, Faith, Hope and Grace. I now understand what it means to love you with all my heart! Now I can say...I do!

Growing pains with that man of mine....

I remember as a kid waking in the night with terrible leg cramps. Running to my parent's room for the comfort of my mom. She always knew how to make the pain go away. Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. As I would lay there allowing her to rub the calves of my legs she would whisper....."These are just growing pains. In order to grow there has to be a little pain every now and then." She was right! The leg cramps stopped. I grew!

The growing pains are different now. I'm much older and unfortunately my legs have done all the growing they are going to do. This pain is the pain of taking my eyes off the ministry that I have been given. The pain of getting my focus off. Carrying way more of a burden than I should. The pain of a much needed priority change. Needing to set aside those things that are keeping me from being the wife and mom that I should be. It's in the pain that we grow...right?

The past few years have taken a toll on our marriage. A year of multiple surgeries and health issues. House full of kids young and old... Bills...Life.This last week I came to a place where I really wanted to look at Satan in the face and punch his lights out. So I did....down on my knees! What I found....Our focus has been way off. So far off that we have just been living with an OK marriage and not the one God intended. I have allowed our friendship to take a back seat. As a wife I have allowed the stresses of life to consume the joy of loving the greatest gift of a husband that God created just for me. I have often heard the best gift you can give your kids is to love their dad. Really love him! Be his greatest fan! To LIVE 1 Corinthians 13 is my greatest desire. To love this man and really show him how important he is to me. Allowing the growing pains to heal this brokenness so that God will shine His brightest through us.

Surrounded by marriages that are falling apart all around me...becoming one of the statistics has gripped me with fear. I see how living in this world, the reality of it, can sneak up on you and suck you in....tearing the very years you have invested completely in two. Let's face it....we are consumed with things, stuff and business. Things that steal our time and joy. Distractions that turn our eyes from the ones we love the most.

I love this man of mine! He has endured more craziness than any man should have too. He lives in a house FULL of women (7). The estrogen runs rampant in our house!  I really wish I could go back and regain all those wasted moments...but I can't. I can't live in the past but I sure can look to the future of loving the man whom I have shared a last name with for the last 28 years. I hope he not only knows but feels the deep abiding love that I have for him. I hope that through this deep pain from growing, the love I have for this man of mine will challenge our daughters to love their husbands.

Growing pains are a necessary road we must all walk. No one is immune. Whether it is in a marriage, friendship or just your very own personal self walk. It's in the brokenness and pain that God shines the brightest...and it starts by getting on your knees!

Yes, I punched his lights out! So thankful the light that should have been on in the first place is now burning bright! My growing pains aren't through. I still have a lot of learning to do...learning to be the best wife that my husband needs. Until my dying breath I will continue to allow these growing pains to mold me into the woman that God called me to be...that would be my husband's wife!

Christmas past...

 

My sister and I were talking one day, reminiscing about Christmas past. I’m sure our memories are way off the mark. Similar to remembering the creek and waterfall on our childhood property. That waterfall was so steep. The big rock that we would sit on at the top and have picnics with the neighborhood friends is now a measly little rock, the creek… a little trickle of a stream. I’m sure someone must have played a mean trick on us. Shrinking the past to make way for the future.

Childhood Christmas was what we lived for throughout the year. Exchange gifts at school. Decorating Christmas cookies with our mom. The smell of the fresh cut tree, wood stove and toys that made the room look like a toy store had thrown up in our living room. Christmas morning rides to our grandmother’s house and then good ole Uncle Joe’s. Making our Christmas tour to the world of family, food and cousin fun! Traditions…. Oh how I love thee. Oh how I miss the road we have traveled.

Now here I am on the other side of it all. I’m the mom and now the grandmother! I love that last part! Traditions have now changed. Loved ones who made that sweet feeling of family are now gone. New members and traditions have taken their place. Aging means letting some things go. Often, we waste time trying to recreate that feeling of the past while throwing out those new opportunities to create new traditions. New memories.

The toy piles are not all that I remember as a kid. I'm sure they too were much smaller. There were only 3 kids in our family…I now have 9!  The economy has stolen a part of my ability to give. But how can I really put a price on giving? It’s not about the amount of things that cost money. When the checkbook is low it’s amazing how you learn to be real creative! Learning to make new traditions and laying the ones from the past to rest. Rising later to bring smiles to the hearts of my awesome children. What good is it anyway if I fill their worlds with thrown up toys that break after a week and not give them Jesus? He’s the gift that never goes away, rots or breaks. He’s the gift that changes all that’s selfish and wrong in this big ole world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our kids are now growing and moving in different directions. Their time of waiting on the stairs has come and gone. The older ones now share their time with other families who have embraced them as their own. My son who use to say ….ha ha ha the jokes on you …now lives in Israel. Missing his mama’s cooking makes my heart do more flips than I care to admit. He now has to recreate what he longs to experience from his childhood memories, that sweet morning of ham and all the trimmings. Skype conversations about gravy making. I sure do miss that boy! Ha!…I know he misses his mama too! The distance that we now share is good. It grows us, allowing us to see where the real heart of our family is that brings us rest.

The Christmas morning breakfast has now dwindled in numbers. Yes…my heart is drifting to Christmas past. It’s in the learning to let go,that I learn to lean into the new traditions, new ways of giving, new times of being content with the future of my children’s childhood memories.

 

 

 

All the time, money and energy spent just for a few moments of a memory….It’s all an investment in the stories they will tell. Reminiscing with their kids of that special moment in time ,when they sat quietly awaiting their turn to make a memory.

 

 

Introducing to you our sweet little gift....

 

           

 

Our beautiful new granddaughter....Miss Reese!

 

My heart has done more flips in the past few weeks....9 months....than I ever thought possible. For the past couple of weeks we have been on go ...then stop ...then go...then stop. I have nick named her Tarmac. She has had our whole family in a holding pattern....it has been like being a child and waiting on Christmas morning! This sweet little gift has rocked our world!

 

 

As her uncles and aunts have surrounded her this past weekend....she has 8 aunts(soon to be 9) and 4 uncles...she already has them competing to wear the title of the favorite aunt or uncle. But there is one title that only one can wear and that would be the title of the Crazy Aunt....

 

Here she is meeting her for the first time. Miss Reese had a brief stay in the NICU. No one under 12 is allowed onto the NICU floor. God in His amazing ability arranged for us to be in the hall when the nurses were wheeling Reese back to the unit, after having a few test. Mackenzie had waited so long to finally meet her niece. So this just made her night! Being the youngest of 9 kids, this will be the closest she will get to feeling like a big sister. I think being the aunt who is closer in age than the others, they will become BFF's.

 

 

Then there is seeing this.....

 

Reese and her grandpa....there are no words. So many memories flooding our minds.

 

 

 

 

Reese with her mom and dad. It's hard to put into words watching our daughter become a mama. I am so proud of her and her husband. They did an amazing job in the delivery room!

 

I wouldn't be a grandma(I'm still needing suggestions on a grandma name....No Lindsey not Abuela!) If I didn't get in a few snuggles and sweet little whispers of secrets, just her and I! Yes, I am smitten!

 

 

Welcome to this big old world little girl and to our big old family!

 

A time to be.....

I awoke this morning to a private message with the news of airstrikes and very close calls. Then to hear the news of a dear sweet friend's unexpected death. Today has been a day of trying my best to grasp life while juggling mine. Mine consist of a very demanding 5 year old,a husband who is still healing from surgery while awaiting the next, a son overseas...among the airstrikes, bills, dishes, Etsy orders that need to be finished asap and a grandbaby due at any moment. Yes, my head is spinning!

Unexpected moments have a way of forcing you into reality. Is there a such thing as reality anymore? We run run run but never really seem to catch our breath. What good does all the running do anyway? Wasted time doing meaningless things. I get so caught up with the doing that the doing has stolen the valuable moments of life. The moments of investing in those friendships. The moments of really living life with the ones we love. Who cares if the floors are dirty and the sink is full? Life is way too short to waste on petty things and attitudes. When is the last time you told that friend how much you loved them? When is the last time you cut out all the business of life to just enjoy being with that friend or family member?

Today I lost a friend and quite possible almost lost a son. I had a friend tell me this evening that she was up at 1am cleaning up after a sick child. As she was cleaning she began to pray. Praying for our son. Little did she know at that exact time missiles were flying over the city in which he now lives. I am now determined that when faced with a real tough moment I'm going to just face the battle and pray...pray like there is no tomorrow. There's nothing like fighting an unpleasant moment while changing eternity.

The day that started with bombs and a death has ended with a time of learning and growing. Reflection. A time to just be lost in His unfailing love and mercy. God only knows what tomorrow may bring. Praying for His eyes to help me see the turning of the hands on time.

 

A Time for Everything....Ecclesiastes 3

3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

An uncertain tomorrow...

As I read Ann's post this morning I realized how true this statement is.... When an uncertain tomorrow is trusted to an unchanging God...you will have an unwavering peace!

1984....I graduated from highschool,went on a long term mission trip, became engaged and married and I voted for the first time. I don't really remember the feeling of uncertainty. Reagan/Bush and Mondale/Ferraro ticket. We all know the outcome of that election. Oh my how time have changed!

Today I have two kiddos who are voting in the presidential elections for the first time. As I watch our children and hear them doubt ,wondering if their vote matters. I see fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear that maybe the country that once was will be no more. Their vote means so much more than they realize. How blessed they are to live in a country where they have the freedom to cast their choice on the future leader of the United States...even if the choice is not what they had hoped for.

Really isn't our hope suppose to be in the one who made us? Doesn't He hold this world in the palm of His hand? I have watched over the last many months as this election has divided friends,family and neighbors. How can we allow a mere man to unravel something that is so much more important than an office of leadership? The truth is...We have placed our future hope in the hands of man and not God. We have allowed the division to creep into our lives and homes. Stealing our peace.

No matter who wins this election today...I will not be dismayed. My future hope is placed in the one who holds my life in His hands as I soak in His unwavering peace! Tomorrow when I wake up...I will still be me...The mom of 9,wife to a wonderful man who loves me and daughter of a great King! I will still live, love and place all my hope in the only true leader that I know...Jesus! Maybe we should place Him on the ballot?

Joshua 1:9

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

 

7Southern Sisters... Way More Than GRITS!

 GRITS.....Girls Raised In The South

 

Our girls would say it's way past time to have a new "Sister" photo taken. Trying to get this many girls in one place for a photo is....let's just say it requires a lot of time and energy. With miss little bit (Reese) due very soon it may be a while. Our oldest daughter is due to deliver our first grandbaby very soon. Yes we are a family full of women! With Kelley recouping from ankle surgery and Justin's sudden trip to an overseas school for a year...Let's just say I'm ready for a little down time from all this excitement. Down time meaning...Just me and my sewing machine! If you haven't checked out our new name for the Etsy store 7Southern Sisters head on over and see what's new! For the next few weeks we're offering a 10% discount on all orders in honor of  Miss Reese. Just add the coupon code Reese2012 at checkout. Looking for something special ?  Just message me with your ideas. I'm always game for a custom order! Don't forget to like us on Facebook...7Southern Sisters 

 

Below is from our About page in our Etsy store...

 

                                                                      7Southern Sisters

 

 Just One Southern Mom's Journey Sharing The Gift That She Has Been Given....

I grew up in a family of women who loved to sew and craft. I grew to have a great appreciation of beautiful fabric while watching my mother and grandmothers sew many things.  Becoming a mom has inspired me all the more. I have spent many long nights sewing, just to finish an outfit for my kids to wear the next day.
I love my job as a stay at home mom. Out of a desire to earn a little extra cash for those unexpected things...that would be often...I stumbled upon Etsy one day! From that moment on I was smitten! Our first shop Karen's Kidz started with our many tote bags and diaper bags. I often call sewing my therapy. My kids know when the machine is running, that is my time to think. But I always welcome the interruptions as they too sit and watch, asking questions as they inspire my next project. Sewing girls clothing...I guess you could say I have had plenty of practice?This is where I have the most fun. What girl doesn't like a new dress or outfit? My goal is to expand our designs in the near future.
I recently decided to change our name to 7Southern Sisters. Over the past year I have gradually added more home decor items that are rustic and southern inspired. My plan is to continue offering children's clothing too, but you will be seeing a lot more southern inspired gift items.
With our new granddaughter due November 2012, I will continue to be inspired all the more and hope to add many new designs and a section in my shop called Reese's Korner. As the seasons of life change, I hope you will continue to shop with us or even just stop by to take a peek at what's new.

Thanks for taking your time to visit our shop. We hope you see that we take great pride in the quality of all our shop items. Please message me with any request. I am always ready for any challenge of custom orders.

Blessings,

Karen