Where Were You When...

We've all heard, and even said, "I remember where I was..." when such and such happened. It may be a song that takes us back, or a smell, or just a moment where time stands still and we remember. For me, I remember where I was when our country changed forever...when evil took over and lives were ripped from families and fear replaced security. I know where I was on September 11, 2001. We lived in Dillon, SC and I was expecting my third daughter, Avery. I was so close to my due date that I was miserable. To compound everything, I had been on about six weeks of bed rest already and I just wanted some relief. My Mama had traveled down from Richmond, VA to take care of me and relieve my mind of all I needed to do. We had gotten into a morning routine of breakfast for the girls and sipping coffee and watching the Today Show for us. The mood of the news everyday at 8:30-ish was always low key, entertainment related, but this particular morning the mood was so much different. The air was heavy with tension and attempts to remain calm, but it's as though we knew in that moment that our lives would be forever changed. Fear immediately overtook me as I sat, without blinking, watching the news. I thought, "Surely they are talking about some other country...NOT ours!!" The truth of that day just kept getting worse and worse as more attacks were later reported. No one could believe it.
For me, bringing a child into the world...very soon...I went from wanting to have her right then, to "stay inside forever, my precious girl...stay where you are safe." I don't know how long it takes for us to truly grasp all that day has changed for us, because I definitely think the changes are still presenting themselves to this day, but this one thing is what I took away from it all.
People were flocking to churches, to spiritual friends, and whatever and whomever could offer them peace. I remember looking across the street from my bedrest spot and seeing more cars in our church parking lot than I ever remember seeing before. People were coming out in the droves just to talk to God. It didn't take a whole lot of time, however, that we, once again, forgot that He's never changed from being the Peacespeaker. He speaks it everyday. If we only knew how He speaks it over our life each day, we would be shocked. It took horrible events, that in no way He ordained, to draw our attention back on Him and our need for Him.
I remember when I lived in Venezuela, I longed for my country, the United States. I would hear the national anthem on TV, or on trips back to the States, and I would bow my head and weep...I still do. I believe in "one Nation under God." I believe in a country that was founded on His truth. No amount of attacks or terrorism will change that for me. Today, I am remembering lives lost, places changed and more than anything, a God who never has changed.

In our church this month we are doing the 30 challenge of "One Month to Live." It's true that sickness, death, attacks on our country all shape how we live...how they serve as reminders of why we are here in the first place. Today, as you remember 9/11, what is God showing you? Is He reminding you of something...a promise, a conviction, a truth...that would prompt you to live your life differently? I pray that today you take time to remember...not just horrible events of a day 7 years ago, but that you remember the horrible, yet REDEMPTIVE, event of thousands of years ago when Jesus came and gave His very life so that we'd be set free. It's an event I cannot forget.

Fall TV

I have never hidden the fact that I am a little addicted to TV. I have been known to plan my life around it...at least I did before I had DVR. I enjoy lounging in front of the tube watching my favorite shows, while sipping some good coffee, year around! Here's a little of what I have been watching lately:

Deal or No Deal: Was I the only one that got a little excited to see Jessica Robertson win the first million on the show. I have nothing to hide from you...I CRIED! I love to see people happy. She was pregnant with her second child. I am so surprised she didn't go into labor right then!



Prison Break: I've told you before, Jeff and I love this show. We planned to be home by 8pm on Labor Day just to see the season premiere, which was two hours long. We ran a little late from being at a friend's house, so I was really grateful for my DVR that night.







Football: We have been watching some football around here lately. Our season started with a Thursday night game for the Gamecocks. They looked like a bunch of girls playing the first half, but played a little better the second half...good enough to beat NC State (with love, for Resia!). We have been watching some Wake Forest football, too. That's on the agenda today. We have a special friend who plays for them. Look for #67. We think he's great! Oh, and Resia, we'll be cheering for Wake when they play State, too!

Rachael Ray, Oprah, etc: My talk shows start back up on Monday! Yay. I know that Oprah is not everyone's favorite, nor is she mine, but I can't wait to see her time with our US Olympic gold medal winners on Monday. Rachael Ray starts up, too, and I'm just a sucker for a new recipe.

So much more TV to come...Biggest Loser, Lost (in the winter); Survivor; American Idol (January); ER ( I have watched this show since it premiered in '92, as I was studying for a psychology exam); House; Tori and Dean (that's a bit of a guilty obsession, but it completely amuses me)
Oh, and for the inquisitive minds out there, my girls go to bed at 8pm, so yes, I do have time for all of this TV!!

There's so much great TV to watch. What are you looking forward to?

UpsideDown!

I am just having one of those weeks, I guess. I wanted to post pictures to prove it to you, in fact, but I have no batteries for my camera, so I'll take some pictures later. The second I get past the fact of what just happened, something else happens. I guess you eventually get to the point that you really don't care anymore and you can just laugh things off, like I'm trying to do.

It all started on Tuesday. Jeff and I were to host our Life Group that night, so I had some preparations to do, some errands to run, and some organizing to do so that I could even let people into my home that night. Was it a full moon on Tuesday? I really don't know, but if I was a bettin' person... My kids were under the influence of something, bless 'em! As I was trying to cut up sausage, lay out ingredients and peel my shrimp for the shrimp and grits dish I was making, everything else around me just exploded. The girls were in and out, in and out. They were calling each other names. Everyone kept getting hurt, so there was a lot of crying going on...not to mention the constant "Mama, can I...?" I was getting a little on edge, let's say. I needed Jeff home to take care of crowd control. Did I mention the entire neighborhood's kids were coming in and out, in and out? But Jeff wasn't due home for another thirty minutes when all of this was going on. So, I just tried to plug along and "git 'er done." I managed to get my prep work done and my friend, Beva, came over a little early! Thank the good Lord above that she did. I put on the grits and they decided to clump, so Beva patiently stirred and stirred some more and got those clumps all out! I put on the sausage and shrimp, and as Beva will testify, one of those shrimp jumped right out of the pot! I threw it back in though and "took care of it."
Dinner miraculously was finished without another hitch, but when I went to pour myself some water, I lifted the cup to my mouth and tried to drink it from my neck instead! There was a witness. Allison saw it all. Had a little giggle at my expense, but I'm OK with that. If you can't laugh at yourself...really! Little did I know that once everyone left that I'd find yet another mess I was responsible for. I had put up my mildew cleaner from cleaning the bathroom that afternoon. It, apparently, tipped over and leaked out all over my brand new bath rug, giving it a nice new white circle! I was irrate! Do you know how much bath rugs cost? Yes, I laughed it off...until I went to the bathroom and discovered I had my underwear wrong side out all day. Full moon?? Pun intended, yes! Thank goodness the rest of the evening went on without me making another mess of things, but there's always Wednesday....

I woke up Wednesday super tired, but really ready to get some stuff accomplished, so I headed out to be productive. Jeff called me and told me that he needed his football shirt for the game they were having last night, so I told him I'd take care of it. Well, I took care of it alright. I had not washed it yet, so I decided to go ahead and do that before I met my sister for lunch. I unloaded some things that I had been keeping in the washing machine waiting on a full load, and did a load of whites/lights instead. I discovered, however, when the load was done that I apparently had not removed everything. I did not see the cherry red rug underneath a light colored sheet that I had left in there! I can now officially say that I have pinkened my first load of laundry, and Jeff's football shirt now looks like he coaches a girls' football team instead of a boys'. If anyone knows how to remove pink from just about anything, let me know. I have used OxiClean and bleach....FIVE TIMES! I got just about no change...very little change!

You know, it's just things like all of this that make me wonder if McKenna's "zip zero" comment (see yesterday's post) isn't true. I am almost scared to face today. I have already sneezed 192 times this morning and my eyes are watering something awful. I did knock Quinn over...pretty hard...but I didn't see her there. Maybe I should crawl back in bed! I don't know, but I know one thing. I will be taking a closer look at my underwear, my rugs and my cooking from now on.
Yep...if you can't laugh at yourself...

Zip Zero

We had our life group last night at our home. We meet here every Tuesday right now until our host's home gets ready...they just moved in. Anyway, after group McKenna came down from staying upstairs with the babysitter and she stood in the kitchen talking to my friend, Beva, and me. We were discussing Beva's root canal that she had had earlier that day. Beva was explaining to Kenna the procedure done, and it prompted Kenna's memory of learning about cells during science class that day. She began to explain how simple, small blows to the head could cause a warp in brain cells. I really was half paying attention to the particulars, though. I hear "science class" and I have bad flashbacks to my own days in science! I did tell Kenna that having babies makes one lose a degree of brain cells. She was like, "huh?" I told her that each time I had a baby, I lost my brain cells and couldn't think straight, to which she replied, "Mom, you must be what they call a 'zip zero'." Beva and I busted out laughing. McKenna was being serious about her studies, but didn't think how I must feel to be called a "zip zero." Well, I didn't feel too good. I told her now must be the time for me to just lay up in bed and never move again. At this point I pretty much feel like a "good for nothin'" thanks to my four kids. Wonder what they would call me if I had a fifth kid? Let's not find out!

Library Time

Quinn and I have now tried to start going to the library every Tuesday for Toddler time. We didn't get to go last school year because Quinn always napped during that time of the day, so now we needed something to do to make this little bundle of energy FOCUS! :) She has not, up to this point, gotten the purpose of going, which is to listen to the stories. Thank goodness that every other book, there is a song. I think my baby is musically inclined. She likes to boogie, so when she hears the songs in the library time, she completely FOCUSES! My friend, Barbie, takes her boys, Aiden and Austin and Quinn now thinks that she goes to see them so that she can steal their snacks! Yes, I take her snack for all you moms sitting out there questioning my parenting right now. She just doesn't like the snacks I take her, OK? She likes what everyone else has instead. I think I am going to have to start slipping Barbie a $5 each month so she can buy snacks for Quinn. Anyway, library time today was slightly stressful for me because of Quinn's insistence on getting Aiden's snack. Even when the librarian passed out Animal Crackers, Quinn couldn't manage to FOCUS on those either. As a matter of fact, she walked around with them until she tripped over a mat and horses, rhinos and dogs went flying everywhere! It's funny how when it's your kid that "acts up", you get all of these stares from the other mothers and you just wonder what they are thinking. My thoughts are, "if you would've just made her sit down" or "she must not be read to very often" or, quite possibly this is the one "she must be the baby in her family." The looks are the reasons that I shy away from these mom's groups in the first place. Most every one I have ever been a part of results in the LOOK! I despise the look. By the fourth baby, you pretty much could care less if your child eats what is "right", has a clean face all day, or has 6 hours of stimulation each day. As a matter of fact, I'm letting my child sit in front the TV in the other room right now as I blog. There may be food all over the floor when I return, but I'm good with that.
Let me, in turn, tell you what I love about Quinn right now. She definitely talks all the time. Yes, she talks all of the time because I talk all of the time to her. She sings all day long...something to the sound of "do, do, do." She goes down for nap and bedtime each day wanting to pray.."pay, pay," she says. She calls me "Mama" all day, too...then it's on to "Daddy" when Jeff comes home. She picks up a camera and says, "cheese." I just really love everything about this baby. She is a hoot, and she knows it! I am so thankful for this little ray of sunshine that God blessed us with. She might be a stinker in the library, but I'll think we'll keep her! :)

One Week Down, and on to Week One!

Yep, you read the title of this post right..."One Week Down, and on to Week One." While the girls have their first week of school under their belt, Jeff is on to week one of (cue the football music) Football!!!!! Here's the lowdown on what's going on at the Hickman Home and at the places where the Hickman family goes. The girls really did love their first week of school. I, of course, have had numerous reservations about moving them to a new school to once again adjust, but why do I worry? God always answers exceedingly above what I can imagine. I have moved my whole life and readjusted just fine, but it's different when it comes to your babies! I have just chosen to see it this way...we are right where God wants us...each of us! So, they all love their teachers, made some new friends along the way and threw a few surprises in for us to boot! Here's a few highlights for each girl:
McKenna - as we mentioned, she's in an all girls' class and is really loving it! Her favorite class, she says, is orchestra. This year she is playing the violin and I may be premature in saying, but the girl may have found her passion. I've not seen her this excited in a very long time. She is looking to play soccer in the near future, so I'm just really thankful for how far God has brought her. She, once again, made dinner last night. We enjoyed London broil, lima beans (which the girls thought were called Lyman beans), mashed potatoes and gravy and chocolate chip cupcakes with strawberry icing!! Yummy! She is such a servant and we're so proud of the way that she desires to serve us with her love of cooking!
Bailey - always the most optimistic out of the girls, she hasn't had a negative thing to say about school at all. She is the social butterfly and knows who likes whom in her class and keeps us up to date on all her friends' lives. She is still very much in summer mode though and hasn't quite been ready to settle down and do homework! ;)
Avery - well, she is staying so sleepy now that school is back in. She tells me she almost falls asleep every day at school, and she goes to bed every night at 8!! She does love school...especially recess, she says, because it's the time she gets to see her BFF, Addie, and play!
She has been practicing her writing, though, and seems determined to hunker down and be serious about her schooling! :)
Quinn - she and I have just really enjoyed spending time together these last few days. She is a booger, don't get me wrong. She can singlehandedly destroy a room in seconds, but she does it with a smile on her face! We've enjoyed playdates and today we anticipate a trip to the library. She just soaks up life each day and makes her Mama happy just smiling at her and saying, "OK." It's the cutest thing you've ever heard!
Jeff is back to coaching at DR Hill. He is enjoying it and it fulfills his inner football star! :) He is adding another dimension to his love this season by being the color commentator for Byrnes' High School Touchdown Club radio/internet broadcast. He's been "practicing" his radio voice! :)
Log on to Byrnes' Football and check him out. We anticipate a lot of his "Green Pond" accent coming out! :)
As for me, I'm fighting a bad back, so all of my glorious plans once school started have kind of been on an ordered HALT by my chiropractor. I am grateful for the time to kick back and relax though.
Church is going so well, too. We have now moved to two services on Sunday mornings and it has been a great change. Jeff is faring well, so far, with more preaching. He is usually so worn out from once, I wondered how twice would be! So far, so good. We were blessed this past Sunday to hear a message on The Covenant and as a symbol of covenant, we rejoiced to include a wedding in our service of a couple from LifeSong. We are so blessed that they wanted to share their special day with us and use it as a testimony to everyone. I personally think Sunday weddings are wonderful. What a way to worship.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our family. God is blessing us more than we can even imagine!

Living Very Loud for Jesus

Well, it's here...the first day of school. I guess the summer flew by in some ways, but there were moments of "lazy days of summer," too. All in all, I think I am ready for school to be in and for there to be somewhat of a routine to live by. I know this about myself...I need a time to be somewhere and a time to leave somewhere. I just am NOT that disciplined of a person to accomplish things without a time frame to work with.

The girls were pretty excited today to begin school. Bailey was the winner of the most excited award. She pretty much flew down the stairs this morning with a huge smile on her face. Avery bounded down in her usual fashion, but really her eyes were somewhat open, somewhat closed. She did pay close attention to the details of her wardrobe, however, and for that there's cause to celebrate. The first day of school is about the only day Avery chooses to look her best. The rest of the days are all up to chance! McKenna was probably the least excited, yet was also the most visible answer to prayer for me. I worry so about her on the first day of school, and well...just about everyday of school. She stays a little nervous, but this year she is in an all girls' class and seems to be excited about it...especially after we met her teacher and saw her room. The sign on the door when you enter her room reads, "It's a Girls' World...Boys Just Live in It." This should definitely be the mantra of the Hickman household, don't ya think? We may have found the answer for McKenna. She just might not like boys...period! For all you readers with boys, don't take offense. We very much...every time I was pregnant...wanted boys, but we sure do love our girls around here. It's what we're used to. The way I see it, we're REALLY gonna love the men our girls marry one day because they will already have lots of practice of loving only one boy in our home, their Daddy! Anyway, McKenna should be fine today. She didn't make me walk her in class...Thank the LORD!!! They might not have let me in once they took a look at me. I am NOT a morning person and I dress like one, too!

On a serious note, as I was driving home today I heard a little spot on the radio by Max Lucado. He was talking about the influence our children have on the friends and world around them. He made a statement to the effect of how our kids must live their lives loudly for Jesus in front of others. I heard it and I was like, "yes, there's the words to my heart today." I want my girls to live unashamedly for Christ in a world that tries to silence their teachers from sharing their faith...to a world that needs them to be a light. As we were given permission to prayerwalk Bailey's and Avery's school this past Saturday, I thought about not taking my girls with us. Jeff and I both asked ourselves, "why would we NOT take them?" They need to pray over that place just as much, if not more, than we do. We went from room to room that they would be in during their school day and let me tell ya...the Holy Spirit fell on that place, right in the midst of our family as we joined hands and petitioned God on behalf of the school. It was the moment that Bailey prayed that I most sensed His presence. She prayed boldly for the teachers she would have, that if they did not know Christ, that they would know Him...for the protection and salvation of her friends...and for fun at school! It touched my heart so profoundly. I used to want to shield my kids from the world and keep them up under my "wing." Bailey's prayers confirmed what has been in my heart for the five years we have lived here, and that is that I want my girls to be the ones to lead their teachers and classmates to Christ. If they are not in there doing it, who will be? As our church teaches us to GO to the people and don't expect them to come to us, that is where I want to find my children, too...GOING to the people and living very loud for Jesus! They will have influence that I may not have. So, that is the prayer of my heart today, that the girls, of course, will be protected and full of peace today, but most of all that no time would be wasted sharing the love of Jesus with those around them. I hope and pray that I am teaching my girls to not be afraid of the world, but embrace it and love it. Our prayer on Saturday was that at the end of the year the blessings of this year would be too numerous to count. I sure was excited about today being the first day of school, just like Bailey was, but I already can't wait until the last day of school because I know my God has so much He is ready to do! I can hardly wait, can you?