Sugar and Spice or Snakes and Snails?

Our house is beaming today with the news of what our first grandchild will be. The Big reveal last night was so sweet. I am proud...and amazed our daughter was able to keep their secret for so long...24 hours! This baby is going to be one loved little...

Before I tell you let me say how proud I am of my daughter and her husband. They are going to be really great parents and we all look forward to watching them grow their little family. It only seems like yesterday that I was celebrating our little bundle of a firecracker (July 4th is her b'day). Yes... she lives up to her birthday nickname!  She came into this world with two older brothers and did her best to keep up with everything they did. No fear Emily should have been her name. She has the amazing ability to set her mind to a goal and do what ever it takes to achieve it! I have loved watching her grow into the beautiful young woman who has worked hard and achieved so much. I pray her greatest accomplishment becomes being a mother to her children. I pray that her greatest guide to parenting will be God's word. Finally she will understand how her greatest accomplishment will become the greatest tug on her heart, mind and soul!

There is something so special about watching our daughter become a mama. There is something so special about watching our children as they get excited about becoming aunts and uncles. But what I really look forward to is seeing my husband when he finally gets to hold his first little granddaughter and then I'll remember the moment he first held her mama.

I would like for you to meet....

Our Grandbaby......This was a few weeks ago and now

This was Yesterday....

The whole family finds out this evening in a big reveal that our daughter and son in-law are cooking up. Good thing it's the day after because this baby's mama can't keep a secret to save her life! The girls are taking bets and picking out outfits to show their choices....Blue for a boy and pink for a girl. Although Mackenzie said she's wearing blue and red because she thinks it's twins! Friends and family are chomping at the bit to connect with this baby on a more personal level. Up until this point it has only been known as baby puddin or any other name this kid's crazy aunt (that would be Mackenzie) could come up with! Being the first grandchild on both sides our families are more than ready to cuddle with this little bundle of joy! Just 20 more weeks and all the waiting will have the aunts...and uncles behaving like fools as we watch this little one join our great big family!

Baby Puddin we are ready and waiting to finally hear whether you will join the Jackson/Holcombe manliness club or grace us with the girl craziness that we have all become accustomed too! Either way this grandma can't wait to meet you!

Check back and I'll let you know what we find out!

Time to turn

It's no secret about the decision the Supreme Court handed down today concerning the Health Care Law. As I'm watching...and reading the reaction to all this, my heart is breaking. Breaking for the country that I love. The country that I call home. Our country has fallen prey to the choices we all have made. Our choices have separated instead of uniting our country.  We have become a self-centered moralless nation instead of the nation that was built on a foundation that honored God. We have taken our eyes off the One who has an amazing love for us. His eyes can see far greater than we can. Why have we stopped allowing Him to lead our families? Our Nation? Our hearts?  What a messed up bunch we have become! I remember my mom quoting the Bible verse ....Children obey your moms and dads if you want to live a long life....Ephesians 6.  At the rate we are going if we don't humble ourselves and obey God's commands....We as a nation won't live a long life. Our country will be destroyed  by our very own disobedient hearts. We need to get our heads out of the sand and get on our knees. Humbleness starts at home!

This is what I wrote on my Facebook wall today.....

As I'm watching family after family fall apart. I'm seeing our country following that same path as well. I can't help but wonder if maybe we all have missed something.
Maybe it's time to lay down our pride and self-centeredness? Healing of this Country will only start with us getting on our knees!
If we believe God's word is true....then why aren't we following His commands? Tired of the fight? Tired of the struggling?
 
2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Public Service Announcement....Never leave candles unattended !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many years ago I was a nanny for a family. That is when I was introduced to matches in the bathroom and the role that they played....but not that anyone should play with matches in the bathroom. After all... I came from a family with just girls. I had no clue until I had sons. Many years ago I would have been horrified to even share this! But as a lesson learned it is very much needed.

 We have become one of those families who keep matches in the bathroom. However, my mistake is having left a candle next to those matches. The candle had been burned before but was no longer safe to burn unattended. Just a tall square candle on a metal plate. Along with a ribbon tied around it. It just served as a decoration on the cute little table. I guess you get the point. I never liked those smelly sprays but maybe it's time to find an alternative!?

Well, while we were gone our son arrived home from a long weekend trip, with a few friends. A suggestion was made to please light a match as a kid entered the hall bathroom...I guess this kid didn't come from" A keep matches in your bathroom kind of family." Instead this candle was lit...and forgotten. That was until over an hour later when the phone rang....not the kid to say he had forgotten to blow out the candle. Our son's room is in the basement and he had to come upstairs to answer the phone. That's when he discovered the smoke alarm...he hadn't even heard it. I'll just let my pictures tell the rest of the story. But first did you see the miracle in this? The phone that rang alerted our son to the fire in the bathroom! My God is good and so worthy to be praised even in the worst of situations. My heart is so thankful! What a beautiful thing to be able to find gratitude even during a trying moment. I had been wanting to redo this bathroom. I just wasn't quite ready! But oh well...Every girl needs a little motivation! Hmm....maybe I should have put that candle in my kitchen!
Now.... to count my blessings as I get the black soot off the walls and door. Goodbye Americana....Hello... I"ll just have to do an after bathroom redo post!

My Daddy....just memories of a time that is gone

I have been thinking about this post for a while. My sister's post inspired me to put it into words. I guess dinner and that coffee on the screen porch will have to wait. We need a pilot and a plane in the family!

Fading memories are all I have left of the man whom I called dad for a very short 13 years. The sound of his voice is barely a whisper now. For my sisters even less. I sometimes wonder how different our lives would be right now if the choices he made had been different. But then again...we wouldn't be the women we are today if our past journey hadn't happened.

This post if for my sisters and my children.

This is the man I remember:
A Tucker High School graduate who held many records in track,football and baseball
Married his high school sweet~heart...I think she's the most wonderful lady that there ever was!
They had 3 beautiful daughters..He he!!!
Loved horses
Loved hunting...quail,deer,pigs.
His dad's pride and joy...only son
He loved his mama....We did too!
Welder by trade
Loved to have fun
Loved motorcycles and took many long trips with my mom to Gatlinburg. He even took us on many rides.
I think two of the funniest things I remember was watching him ride our go-cart around the neighbors dirt bike track late one evening...he had drank a few beers before that. I often share this next story with my kids and our youngest has found this to be her most favorite hiding spot. One evening we were playing hide-n-seek. My dad, who was maybe 5'11, hid while it was my turn to find him. I will never forget seeing him perched on top of our refrigerator with a big ole grin on his face! A smile I often see on my own two son's faces.
Played the guitar..mostly country and bluegrass
He liked Hank Williams Jr's music
He smoked
Loved Pepsi... The highlight of our day was to get him a glass of cold Pepsi when he got home. And served it to him as he sat in his recliner. Often fighting over who would get to serve him.
Loved popcorn...and popcorn seeds
Gardened a lot with his dad(Grandaddy Melton) Not sure how much of this he enjoyed. But he was a devoted son. They did make a beautiful garden!
Let us work in the garden with him....well maybe a strong request. We hated picking green beans that were climbing on the corn stalks!
He loved boiled peanuts!
I remember hunting snapping turtles with him and grandaddy for turtle stew...it really wasn't that bad!
Those dirty work boots at the door...we all liked to step inside them. Especially Kathy!
Levis jeans were his pants of choice
Always had a hat on....to hide the hair he lost.
He used hair spray for ...yes he had a comb over! That explains the hat!
Kelly always liked to do anything he did. You could always find her by his side. I think she would have gone hunting with him had he let her.
He loved baseball and was still playing on a company team up until the day he died.
The day of his funeral I remember looking back as we drove down 78. All I could see were cars for miles and miles with their headlights on. Thinking... all these people loved my daddy!


I wish I could say so much more about him and the things he did that had eternal value. I wish I could say what a Godly man he was and what a strong leader he had been in our home. But I can't. The man I knew at 13, I loved. I thought he hung the moon. He worked hard to provide for our family so our mom could stay at home. For that I am very thankful! But I'm sad to know all that he has missed because of the choices he made. And didn't make.
Drinking,driving and no seat belt played a role in his death that last day. A choice that changed the lives of 4 women who loved him dearly.
My dad made many poor choices in his life. Many that cost him his family and ultimately his life. Had he known June 20th would be his last day...would he have chosen differently? Only God knows.
I do have a memory of him at the altar with my mom. Did he truly surrender his life? That's between him and the Lord. I guess his life was so much more than my earthly heart can comprehend. Because of his choices....I weigh mine much more carefully. My poor kids know my feelings and fears. They can thank their grandad for the warnings of what making poor choices can lead too. I guess in some way he has left an influence on the legacy I will leave. Also, my husband can thank him for my constant encouragement to be a better father and leader in our home. My family may see this as nagging but I see this as a road I never want to repeat. I don't have many memories of the man I knew as daddy. I wish I did. But I have come to realize that the weakness that I knew in him has become a strength that I otherwise may have never obtained. Learning to count the cost in every thought and deed. I guess in some strange way what he has left does have some eternal value.

I guess Fathers Day is a bitter sweet time in my life. But it is also a reminder of the mercy and grace my real Father has shown our family for the last 33 years. He has truly been that father that my heart longs to know.

Surprise! Unexpected Harvest!

Let us not

Grow weary

while doing good

For in due season

We shall reap if we do not lose heart....

About 12 years ago, I sent off to the Arbor Day foundation for a  pack of seedlings to plant in our somewhat treeless yard. Every year since we have watched as those seedlings have slowly transformed into real trees. Several summers questioning if they would even survive this dry Georgia heat.
Our land consist of about 1 1/2 acres of grass. Cutting the yard takes a while. It's funny how you can be surrounded my something so beautiful but never really take the time to notice the details. Until today! You would think after our weekly trips around the yard we would have noticed. On occasion I even walk the tree line just to look at the health of the trees. It took my husband nearly being knocked in the head with the branch of what we thought was just a flowering tree to see this amazing treasure. It turned out the branch was loaded with apples! They weren't there last week. I thought this was a Washington Hawthorn, just a flowering tree that put off beautiful purple buds in the spring. This tree has taken 12 years to get to the size it is today and we have never seen a hint of an apple on it. Why today?

Had I known 12 years ago this tree might produce fruit...I probably would have given up dreaming of the day we might actually harvest something sweet and beautiful! Talking about never lose heart! 12 years to reap a harvest?! How many times have you prayed for someone or for God to do something in your life and just gave up hope because it was taking a very long time? Thinking He wasn't really listening?  God's seasons are different from what our Earthly minds can comprehend. He never gives up hope!  He's working on the details and our eyes are blinded to the beauty of the transformation that is taking place.

I listened to a story of a lady who had prayed for her sister for many years. A prayer for her to surrender her life to Jesus. For years and years this lady laid her request before the Father on her sister's behalf. Never giving up hope! Many years later this sister in her 80's said yes to call. Yes, to the prayer! We shall reap if we do not lose heart....

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

I must confess I do lose heart at times. I'm not a very patient person. I really chuckle when someone says"You must be a patient woman to have so many children!" Ha! If they only knew! I too, wonder at times if God hears my cries! I am a worrier...not a good thing with so many children  under one roof.  But He's teaching me little by little to trust him. To NEVER give up hope. To NEVER grow weary. For in HIS season I will reap the very best harvest!  Even the unexpected ones!

So thankful for the reminders God gives to never lose hope! Maybe you too have prayed for someone for years....NEVER give up hope! Maybe you have prayed for a job....NEVER give up hope! Whatever it is you are praying for....God hears and He's working to ripen your request to perfection.

 Keep planting those seeds....you never know what you might get  might happen!

Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper

Learning to let go....time to step aside

Remember this post...The Day She Fell ? This past weekend at the lake, our son...the one whom I have had the pleasure of escorting to the emergency room countless times over the years, fell as he was wakeboarding. Landing with his head sideways into the water. Thankfully I wasn't present on the boat at the time. The fear came as our daughter came running back up to the house saying her brother couldn't remember some bits of time. As I looked at him walking up to the house...he looked ok. But as he got closer, that mom in me knew and the fear became real. Flash backs from Mackenzie's accident clouded my mind as I let fear set in. His struggle and agitation with trying to remember was more than this mom's heart could take. Knowing he needed to make his yearly ER visit, I took the reins and told him he was going and to go change.  A mom never stops mothering just because her children are grown.What I wasn't prepared for was his agitation and voicing his opinion that everyone didn't need to go. Everyone wasn't going to start with. Just his dad and I.  I guess I just assumed that by being his mom I would automatically be included. I asked him who he wanted to go with him and he pointed to his fiance'. So at that point I knew it was time to let go. I just thought it would be after they got married. So with my broken and struggling heart I stepped aside. Left to entertain those left at the house to wait. Trying really hard to not let resentment become a stronghold in my heart. I know this wasn't about me. But for the first time, our history with the ER visits has ended and now I'm left waiting like everyone else. Left feeling like I'm just another bystander in my son's life.

The crazy thing is, our daughter was married a few years ago and this has never been an issue. I have always felt included. Why hadn't someone warned me of the feelings I would have with my sons?  After all they have never really dated a whole lot. Having a girl in his life is new to me. I was just getting use to all this.We have had a lot thrown at us in the last few months. Now I have to share and become second fiddle. I don't like it! I'm sure that all these feelings will change with time. I am happy for him. I just wasn't prepared with the initial shock of being forced to let go. Forced to step aside so soon. Again...why did I have to blink? I miss my little boys! It's so hard to think of them as grown men. Especially with them still under our roof.

The diagnosis was a ruptured eardrum and a concussion. We have a lot to be thankful for! His memory has returned and his ear is on the mend. Hopefully my heart won't sink the next time he slips his wakeboard onto his feet. I guess I wouldn't be his mama if  I didn't worry just a little as he tugs at my heartstrings.

Again...A mom's work is never done! Even if her children are grown and don't see it.