Sunday Morning Phone Call

Anyone who has ever served as church leadership knows about Sunday morning phone calls. They are not something you look forward to.

Church pianist: "We have the flu..."

Nursery worker: "I forgot to get a replacement for today..."

Pastor: (inaudible due to laryngitis)

Kevin and I have experienced all of these at one time or another. So when the phone rang last Sunday morning, I answered it less than enthusiastically - until I found out who it was and why they were calling.

Rewind a bit to over two years ago. The property just past Unity sold to a truck driver named Joe. Joe had a little boy who was almost the exact same age as Owen (9-10 months), and Joe had just been through an awful divorce. He told us that he had a sister in Florida named Abby who urged him to visit Unity. She was a homeschooling mom of seven and attended a Reformed Presbyterian church.

Joe attended off and on. We sent clothes and food for him and his son often. I would occasionally receive phone calls from Joe, who understandably had many parenting questions. A few times Kevin also ended up chatting with him, encouraging him to find relief from his difficult circumstances in Christ alone. It was apparent that Joe did not know Christ, but we prayed for him. With Kevin's permission, I gave Joe the NIV Bible that Kevin had bought me a year or so into our marriage. My name was even engraved on the front. But I had moved on to the (in?)famous Reformation Study Bible in ESV and was happy to share. I practically wrote a novel in the front of the Bible and gave it to Joe.

Shortly after, Joe disappeared and we didn't hear from him again. Until...

His sister called me last Sunday! I could tell that the lady on the other end of the line was a bit hesitant. She explained who she was and told me that Joe had just gone through another difficult time and had asked her to take his son. Abby said that at first she said no. After all, she had seven children of her own! But in her words, God "changed her heart" and the little one has been "nothing but a joy to their entire family."

Abby went on to tell me the best part - Joe has recently repented and has accepted Christ as Lord of his life! He has apparently been wearing out John Piper CDs to the point of memorizing them - a by-product of the many hours a trucker spends on the road. The boy is still with Abby, and Joe is renting out his house beside the church, spending time with his son in Florida on his days off.

The most touching thing for me was the reason Abby decided to call me - a complete stranger. She knows NOTHING about me; I could be in some snake-handling Calvin cult. (Just go to Wikipedia, type in "snake handling," and click on the comments where I stated my opinion two years ago about THAT, lol!) But she called me because she read the note. She looked in his Bible, the one with my name on the front. The nice one my sweet husband gave me for Christmas when we were young and broke. And she read the note. Then she found my number, because Joe had written it down so he could ask things like "do I need to brush his teeth three times a day" and "how much formula should he be drinking?" And she called me.

For that, I give thanks. Soli Deo Gloria!

And if you think of it, pray for Joe and his son.

Celebration Sunday 2008 (Part One)

Unity Baptist Church celebrated 20 years of worship and service this past October. We were blessed to have music by Terry Abney (our first pastor) and a sermon by Shaun Sipe (our second pastor). Stuart McCollough, our former music leader, was gracious enough to sing a duet with me.

It was a beautiful day for dinner on the grounds, and there was plenty of delicious food to go with the conversation and laughter. So if you missed out (mean ol' Kendalls, helping start a church plant is NO EXCUSE!), sit back and enjoy these photos.

I told Foozy and Bob to "act like they liked each other." Apparently that was amusing!



Lovely Ladies



Stuart was such a good music director that when he left, we retired his position! We miss him and Ashley, but it was great seeing their family take up TWO FULL PEWS! (They serve at the Baptist Children's Home.)



Beautiful Betty and "Worthy" Shaun



Bro. Terry, Mrs. Sandra, and the ever-stunning Lee Anne

Celebration Sunday 2008 (Part Two)

Of course, the BIGGEST talk of the day was Chris and Laura's candy apples!



Apparently, going by Owen's reaction, Blake was being weird AND loud....



It was great to see Donna and family!



I think Trish was threatening me or something here. I AM UNSTOPPABLE, TRISH! Bwahahaha!!!!



Kevin and Jason look mighty impressed.



(Stay tuned for more church photos; I still have to format some great ones from the hayride, a double baby shower, and a baptism!)

A Veritable Hotbed of Viral Disease

Earlier this week, my friend B.J. at Blind Man's Fancy posted some thoughts regarding Communion. I read it eagerly with the anticipation of partaking in the Lord's supper today. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to church. There has been a major stomach virus traveling around this community and my family was not immmune.

Apparently, Unity's fellowship meal last Sunday evening was one that will go down in church history. I have only spoken to some our church family this week, but the percentage of sick Unity-ites (started to type Unitarians...THAT would get some rumors flying!) is staggering. Let's see. Paul, Alex, Hunter, Heath, Daniel, Dalton, Joe, Trish, Krystal, both of Kevin's parents, Kevin, myself, Katie, Audrey, and some of Dax and Christi's family who were in town for a visit. Todd tops the list by having to go in and get IVs, although some of that might have been from the test tubes of protein he's been living on. Could it have been a germy football? Contaminated Legos in the boys' class? Whatever it was, we will just call it the PotUNLuck. (Yeah, yeah, I know; we don't believe in luck. But Pot Providence just doesn't have the same ring to it.)

As for my own family, Kevin woke up sick in the middle of the night on Monday. He missed Tuesday and half of Wednesday at Guardsmark. Audrey was sick on Wednesday and was recovering on Thursday. I got sick on Friday morning and recovered on Saturday. Katie woke up with it this morning and has thrown up six - scratch that....SEVEN - times in about three hours. (I feel especially badly for her because she had fever and croup last week.) Owen has been spared so far but I predict he will get it Tuesday, just when Katie wraps up. He did wake up with his first cold sore this morning but I'm not sure if that means anything. Kevin went on to church this morning but we decided to keep all the kiddos home today, just in case.

So blogging has gone by the wayside, replaced by spraying Lysol, squirting Germ-X, emptying trashes, cleaning toilets, washing bedding and other contaminated laundry, changing lots of diapers...and of course, dealing with my own battle for two days.

Reflecting on a quote from B.J.s article:

(Might serving one loaf and from one cup help us better celebrate Christ?)

Unity had better stick with shot glasses this week!

Fellowship With Grace Church

Our fellowship with Grace Church was like a taste of heaven to come. Thanks to someone's suggestion of name tags, I had the privilege of saying hello to everyone. What a joy to hear so many conversations centered on Christ as I walked around; to see our children - and men! - playing together; to witness Grace members ministering to Unity's children (and vice versa). May God receive glory from our continued partnership in spreading His name!

(All of these photos have been uploaded in full resolution, so if you would like to download any of them, just open the full photo and save away. Apologies if I got any names mixed up; I'm going on memory. And the babies didn't get name tags so I don't remember their names! Maybe next time.)

Susan "Queen of the World" plays on the new playground with the kids....and Roger!



"The most beautiful sound that I ever heard.....Maria....."



Benji and his little one



Bryan and Angie's sweet baby



Paul and Bryan playing ball

More Fellowship Photos

Josiah cooling down with a frozen treat (GREAT IDEA, whoever brought those!)



The Grandma Club



Janet, Bucky and Chris in serious conversation



Brandy, Gina,and Amy watching the babies...and the football game...



Although I can't remember this baby's name, I DO remember his daddy was at work! LOL!

Final Fellowship Photos

Another sweet Grace Church baby (and I've heard there are SEVEN more on the way!)



Football Game (Tell the Tucker guy that I have video of his touchdown. LOL!)



Football Fans, including "Miracle Mike"



Rachael and Lissa enjoying the new slide (and some girl talk)



Pigpen (Oh, wait....that's my son under all that dirt and ice cream!)

The Youth Group That Wasn't

Excerpts from another email to an inquiring friend:

We don't really have a "youth group" like most churches. Almost everything at Unity bypasses age restrictions. Let me give some examples.

Kevin teaches the boys' class, ages 6 and up (!). They have two teachers and could split, but the boys want to stay together. They had a lock-in two or three weeks ago. First they played basketball at FBC gym from 6-10, then went back to Unity and had pizza and snacks. Everyone brought gaming systems and they had play-offs. I'm not sure what else they did because I don't ask about those things. LOL! But I do know that the youngest boy there was seven and the oldest was nineteen. Three of the men were there, one who doesn't even have children yet. Any fathers who wanted to come were invited.

When Kevin was working on the playground, four of the youth boys showed up to help and did hard, manual labor alongside the men. The project covered several months and the boys continued to come (when they could be there) up until completion. The girls serve, too. One lovely young lady, who is 16, usually prepares the elements for the Lord's Supper. She also sings with me on the praise team and faithfully attends practices. The nursery rotation includes several of the girls (ages 9 or so and up).

There are also all the "little things" that I see from week to week. The boys' class has a "special handshake" and during the greeting I watch from the platform as boys of all ages go around greeting each other. When a new boy starts attending, I've noticed almost immediate inclusion, so it is not a "clique" sort of thing - more of a male bonding.

About a month ago at a fellowship meal, the youth were all outside, sitting and standing around in a circle (surrounded by chatting adults and running children). All of them who had cell phones had them out and were punching numbers. I asked, "What in the WORLD are you guys doing?!?!" They shouted at once, "Trading numbers!"

And of course, the older boys play on the mens' softball team (I'm sure it was just a coincidence that we placed last!)....and they all go out and play football and softball at the fellowship meals...and I watch as an eighteen-year-old hoists Owen on his shoulders and runs around with him...or as another older youth shows a little guy how to swing a bat...or as several youth girls play a board game with some of the seniors. It's just like that. Not really a youth group. More like a big family.

Confession

(These thoughts come on the heels of Nathan's sermon from yesterday. His preaching has been such a blessing to everyone at Unity.)

I do not find my joy in Christ.
I look for it in the behavior of my children.
I expect my husband to provide it for me.
I seek it on a crossed-off to do list.
So foolish. Temporary, fleeting joys!

Children sin.
My husband is NOT a mind-reader.
Things happen, plans change, people call or drop by or have needs.
To do lists get longer and longer.

Seeking my joy in any place besides Christ alone is idolatry. Oh Lord, keep me from it!

"One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." ~ Psalm 27:4

Lord's Day - Sweet Fellowship!

After having the guest preacher over for lunch, Kevin and I invited, well....the whole church (!) to our house for an evening fellowship. We have done this in the past, before Audrey came along. In fact, we used to do this once a month all summer long. We'd generally have two or three families show up.

I didn't count last night, but there were a lot of people in our 1200 square foot house. Let's see....there was.....

Betty
Jim
Mary L.
Gracey
Paul
Emily
Alex
Mom Hinton
Dad Hinton
Trish
Todd
Krystal
Pam
Greg
Tony
Cathy
John
Elizabeth
Dave
Mary S.
Janelle
Jenna
Kristin
Kegan (I think?)
another Mary (I think?)
Chris
Roger
Elisabeth
plus my clan of five!

We were a little squished but it was so much fun. And now I'm a bit less worried about hosting part of my homeschool support group's progressive dinner. LOL!

Unity Baptist Church

It seems that every month or so I type an email similar to this in answer to questions about my church. So I thought it would be easier to compile a few emails I've sent out previously and post them here on my blog. Of course, it is not possible to cover everything someone would want to know before visiting or becoming a member of a church - so come and visit us. See for yourself! I'm not trying to proselytize, but if you do not have a church home, or if you just want to come visit a sister church, you are most welcome!

Unity Baptist is my church. I love it. I joined on January 19th, 1997, the day after Kevin and I married. Kevin has been a Unity member since middle school, when his military dad moved his family to Millington.

Unity is a Southern Baptist church, part of the SBC and the Mid-South Baptist Association, but we are “Reformed.” We teach Reformed doctrine and also have elder rule instead of congregational rule. The elders abandoned our former constitution, which leaned towards legalism. Instead, they prayerfully decided to adhere to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. You can find that entire document on the Unity website, listed here on my blog.

We had five elders. One retired from his work and moved to Mississippi (he was actually Unity's first pastor). One is about to retire and is building a house in Alabama, so he went inactive. Then Dax Hughes, our pastor, announced that he had been called to be associate pastor of a church in Kentucky, which puts us at two current elders. My husband, Kevin, is one of them. We are currently searching for a “preaching elder.”

A former Unity member, Nathan Sawyer, is one of three pastors who have started a church plant for John Piper's church in downtown Memphis. He is preaching all but one Sunday a month. (His home church is Grace Church Memphis, listed on my Blog Roll Call). The Sundays that Nathan is absent are times to hear prospective pastors. So far we have had five, with one to three more on the way. Jim and Kevin are both VERY methodical, intelligent, and thoughtful, so the process will likely be slow - but there really is no need to rush with Nathan helping. I thank God for his willingness to help and have been blessed so much by his preaching and teaching. If you can believe it, we’ve actually grown in this time without a pastor. We have had a family recently join and three more families who are “unofficial members.” None of these four came until we were pastor-less, which is amazing to me.

Let's see....what else? Our service is variable. If you took a poll of the congregation, you would probably find paedobaptists and credobaptists (although the official church stance is credo), pre-, a-, and post millennialists (no official stance here). We are casual in dress but recite the Apostle's Creed together weekly. We have home schoolers, private schoolers, and public schoolers. We have piano-led, traditional hymns but also have a worship team with guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, and drums. I've heard the drummer is very handsome! (It's Kevin….he's probably the only Baptist elder drummer on the planet.)

There are age-appropriate Sunday School classes but we do almost all activities together; young boys were playing on our men's softball team (okay, so what if we lost every game?) and teen girls came to the women's luncheon. Another example - Kevin teaches the boys' class.....ages 6-18. They have two teachers and plenty of students, so they could split into two groups. But the boys don't want to be split! I enjoy seeing them all giving each other their “official boys’ class handshake” during the greeting time.

Unity is also extremely hospitable and we love fellowship meals, which is why we bought a commercial playground . We don't have a bunch of children's programs, but the kids can all play outside while we visit. After a Sunday morning service, it is not unusual for people to still be sitting around visiting at 1:00, when the pastor finished at noon!

I always forget to add that our facilities are beautiful, because it always seems to be such a superficial thing. But when I read the Old Testament I am reminded that God put emphasis on beauty in worship. When we were considering what type of building to construct, the leadership decided that our main focus should be on the worship of our Almighty God. And so our church is beautiful. My own prayer is that the church body will reflect that beauty in our thoughts, words, and actions.

And…..we are STILL GROWING. This last part is important. There will always be a few things for the elders to hammer out. But we pray that those things will be handled with grace and love.

I thank God every day for my church family, and hope that He will grow His church in His time, both spiritually and physically.

The Greatest Act of Service

Yeah, you think this post is going to be labeled under "Jenny's Crazy Theology," don't you? Well, think again.

Unity has a mascot. A "church cat." Because every church should have a cat. She wandered up a few months ago and we've all been feeding her ever since. She's really nice, too; she lets the kids drag her around and never claws or bites them. I think someone named her Roger, but I'm not sure why.

Last Saturday I drove by the church to run the bulletin. That cat had puked right in front of the door! I really wanted to just ignore it. But then my mind wandered.....what if visitors come? What if they get there before anyone else and have to step over cat barf? NOT GOOD. I really, really, really did not want to clean it up. But after the bulletin was on the copier, I went back out with some scrap paper to scrape it up.

That cat.....had eaten.....a SNAKE. A small snake, yes, but IT WAS A SNAKE! And as I scraped it up, it was looking straight at me (because of course, the entire head was intact).

I later told Kevin that I was DONE. My service to Unity Baptist Church had ended. Someone else could take over the bulletin and sing with the praise team.

Kevin said he thought I could do more.

A Taste of Heaven

Yesterday I went for a walk for the first time in months. It was such a beautiful morning! As I walked, I thought about a hymn that one of my voice students is singing right now. The last verse is the best one:

This is my Father's world
Oh, let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father's world
The battle is not done
Jesus who died shall be satisfied
And earth and heav'n be one.

I have always enjoyed walking for exercise and hope I can get back on the bandwagon. It is just so quiet and peaceful and gives me time to think and meditate on God's word. The exercise is just an added bonus, really! I try to do a mile a day. Of course, this requires getting up and going before Kevin leaves for work because I can't push both of my kids in a stroller (too hard with my ruptured disk).

Today was Celebration Sunday at church. What an incredible service! Stuart McCollough sang a song that I just must find on CD...something like "how great the Father's love for us"? The sermon was on Christ's sufficiency. The trap of legalism....ah, yes. I needed to be reminded of that. It is so very easy to point that particular flaw out in others, but so easy to overlook in ourselves.

The Kendalls, Pruitts, McColloughs, Abneys, and Tom and Stacy were there. I couldn't help but think, "This is a taste of heaven...everyone worshipping together again." I really missed the Sipes, though.

A Camping We Will Go!

The church camping trip was a lot of fun, although it was hard on me physically. Totally worth it, though.

Katie absolutely LOVED eating picnics every meal, sleeping in the tent, and playing in the sand and water at the beach. Kevin did a bunch of group water games with the church kids ("Bucket Head Water Soft Ball"). I mostly took pictures and sat in the shade, although I did get in the water later.

I hope my siblings had fun. I know my brothers did. Melissa got her first migrane, though, and laid in the hot tent all day on Friday. She threw up about 6 times. I felt SO sorry for her! But Friday night she was able to eat and hold down some Anacin, which kicked in and made her feel like a new woman.

And Abby didn't really have anyone her age to hang out with, so she mostly stayed with me. I don't know if she enjoyed that or not, but I certainly did! It was nice to spend some time with just her (she is 13).

Other than that, there isn't much to tell. The girls had helped me do all the prep work beforehand, so cooking and such was fairly easy (like soup in the crock pot and grilled cheese on the griddle).

Oh! And Jesse, who is 9, got on a tire swing and spun around for about 20 minutes. I kept saying, "You are going to make yourself sick!" And he would laugh and say, "That is what I am TRYING to do!" I think he thought it was an old wives' tale. But he found out later that it wasn't! He got sick twice (with Twizzlers!) but felt better after that.

Sunday really was a day of rest. We went out to eat after church with a new family (the Dingmans - they have been visiting for several months now). Then we went home and I took a long nap - aaaah!

Today is groceries, tomorrow finishing up housework, and Wednesday I take Dad to Southaven. I am hoping that this is his last appointment. Thursday is my next OB appointment and then I have to start going every week.

Everyday Providence

Sunday was nice. Leah came to church and played the harp for us. BEAUTIFUL! Nathan Sawyer filled in for our pastor, who was away at bank school (he works as a loan officer and is part-time with us right now). He was AWESOME! Then the Watkins came over for lunch, along with Kevin's parents. In the evening, Kevin and I opened our pool (almost, anyhow). We came in and ate dinner, then Kevin played guitar for me while I leafed through my Quick Cooking and Family Fun magazines (of course, this was after we put Katie in bed!). It was really a nice, restful day!

Yesterday I got a lot done around here, then took Dad to his PT appointment. That was okay. He got a good report. It looks like he will just need one more PT appointment, then the next week get his stitches out, and then we MAY be all done! I am so thankful. He is planning to drive again and lifted his right leg without assistance to show me he could. I don't think it is a good idea and I do not plan to ever ride with him, but whatever.

Today I have to get groceries and get a nail hole plugged in my tire. Katie is driving me nuts because she has to be constantly entertained. I have gotten up at LEAST a dozen times since I started typing. And that was even with my enforcing "room time" for some of it. Sigh. I guess I could let her watch TV or play on the computer, but I am trying to keep her from being so media-dependant, lol! SOOOOO I had better sign off now.

Preserving the Body

At our church we take communion once a month. It is typically placed on the communion table at the front of the sanctuary. There are two plates with the bread (wafers) and one with the wine (grape juice). Then there is a tablecloth placed over the whole thing.

Well, two months ago, when the elders tried to uncover it, one guy grabbed the tablecloth below AND above the plates and almost dumped one of the bread plates into the floor.

So this month, the elders decided that it was too clumsy to remove the tablecloth. Instead of covering the communion plates, they left the tablecloth off and lit two pillar candles on glass pedestals. It was really pretty, if you ask me.

We took communion and then had a scripture reading. Next I had to lead a hymn, which happened to be the offertory hymn. On the last verse, the ushers come forward to pray over the offering, and then they "pass the plate." As they pray, I always go down the stairs and sit with the congregation. (No one wants to look at the pregnant music director for the whole sermon, ya know?). The usher who was praying said "Amen," and there was total silence as I walked down the steps.

Only......I knocked the pillar candle over. The glass pedestal flew into the plate with the bread in it and the lid went flying about three rows out. The candle turned over into the plate, sealing the bread to the bottom with wax.

I calmly put the candle back, picked up the lid and re-covered the plate, and went to my seat.

Then I laughed all the way through the service, thinking about how funny it would have been if I would have set the whole plate on fire.

Everyday Providence

Dad took me out to eat at Captain D's today. That place is a grease pit! I felt sick all afternoon. But I cured it with a good dose of oven-baked pork chops, parsely potatoes, and turnip greens for dinner.

Again, the weekends make it hard for me to eat right, and I feel so gross in the evenings. And I have no idea how much I weigh. I'll just wait until my OB appointment on Thursday.

I am a little nervous about my back. It feels really unsteady, like something might slip again, or like I might fall down. I was really scared when I was leading the music on Sunday, because that would just be awful to fall in front of everyone! So I am really taking it easy now...okay, well, as much as I can, given what all I need to do this week.

Kevin's dad did really well during the surgery. I wasn't sure if they were even going to do it. The anasthesiologist kept coming back with more questions and more lab requests, and then going to consult other doctors. It went on like that for 1 1/2 hours. Finally they decided to go ahead with it. One blessing is that it forced Dad to come off the walker. He does just fine with the cane and probably didn't even need to be ON the walker.

Friday night was really nice with my parents. We were all able to visit without all the noise and kids everywhere.

Saturday was super-cool. Mom Hinton and I went to a luncheon. The speaker was fabulous; she talked about the different seasons of our lives and God's plan for each one. Then we went downstairs to eat. Each table was decorated VERY VERY VERY nice, all with different themes. We sat at a table with three other ladies from church and two ladies we did not know. It was so much fun!

Then she and I went back to my house and picked up Kevin and Katie. Kevin had given Katie four pony-tails - pretty funny! We loaded up and went shopping for outdoor stuff. It took almost all day, so we ended up just eating dinner there.

Then on Mother's Day we had a great church service. Our church is small (maybe 60-80 people?), so it was a real treat to have a lady from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra come to play her violin in the service. Her student Katie goes to our church, and they played two duets and then accompanied the hymns with the piano and keyboard. Beautiful! My favorites were "O Sacred Head Once Wounded" and "All Hail the Power." It was also cool to lead the music with them playing - I had to be extra careful to make sharp entrances and cut-offs!

Kevin's brother grilled burgers for us for lunch, and then we helped Kevin's mom plant some flowers. Then Kevin and I went to see "Kingdom of Heaven." It was good, but there was an awful lot of battles. Lastly, we dropped by my Mom's house to wish her Happy Mother's Day and give her a gift.

Monday - Took Dad Hinton to his cardiologist about an hour and 15 minutes away. He wanted to eat out afterwards and the rain was POURING, so I ended up very wet after getting him out of the car (so slowly!) and escorting him, then Katie, inside. Food was so nasty! Got home around 1:30, put Katie down, made some phone calls, paid the bills, did some run-around stuff with some medical bills that no one seems to be able to take care of (I call it "pass the buck enough and maybe Jenny will just pay full price and not worry about insurance covering 80% of it"). Made out my meal plan and grocery list for the week; went through coupons. Cooked dinner.

Tuesday - Must get groceries and run by the bank in the morning. Going with my new neighbor to the park in the afternoon.

Wednesday - Home blessing (meaning extra housework like the bathrooms) and then take Dad Hinton to have his hand incision checked out at his doctor's office about 1 1/2 hours away.

Thursday - My OB appointment and lunch with Lee Anne.

Friday - Type and run the bulletin.

Whew! I am tired already!

Everyday Providence

We are flooded here from lots of rain. But the sun is halfway out today.

Yesterday I just took a break and regrouped from my bad back. As soon as I finish typing this, though, I am going to try the Prenatal Pilates again. I figure you can't take it much easier than that! Can't hurt, might help? I really don't want to just give up altogether. Katie is saying right now, "Find Mama eke-sizes!" because I told her I was gonna do it. I guess she is my motivator...I should tell her every day!

It has been a while (almost two years?) since I discovered FlyLady. I really like that site. I still use it, although I modify it somewhat. Here is my Daily Routine, which I stick to pretty faithfully:

Daily Routine
·Make bed
·Devotions
·Shower and dress to shoes
·Get Katie up and ready (Katie helps make her own bed.)
·Breakfast (We also read a chapter of Proverbs together, go over a catechism question and sing "The B-I-B-L-E" while at the table.)
·Exercise
·Check calendar
·Thaw dinner
·Start laundry (Katie puts clothes in the washer and dryer, and puts in detergent and the Downy ball.)
·Trashes (I check them and take them out if needed.)
·Dishes (Katie sorts the silverware.)
·Zone work (15 minutes of work in current "zone"; this week was the kitchen so for example one day I might wipe out the fridge...)
·Lunch
·Katie's naptime (I lay down with her until she falls asleep, at least while I am pregnant.)
·Finish laundry (Katie puts away her own clothes that go in drawers.)
·Pick up house (toys, etc.)
·Dinner

Katie also sits on the counter and "helps" make the meals about 50% of the time. She likes to dump ingredients and stir, mostly.

Then I have a To Do Weekly list, which I fit in as I want:

To Do – Weekly

·Groceries
·"Home Blessing" (floors, bathrooms and dusting)
·Bills/medical bills/checkbook

Then I have my church responsibilities, which I also fit in as I want:

To Do – Church

·Bulletin (type, copy, and fold...)
·Bible Drill (Plan my lesson.)
·Visitors (Keep track of visitors to the church and send cards.)
·Service music (I plan music out for the service a month in advance and go over what we are doing that week --- I lead the music at our church.)
·Nursery schedule (Yeah, I do that, too!)
·Website (I am not quite finished with it, yet, so I need to do that and then keep it updated.)
·Directory (This is just a current project that will soon be completed; I am making a pictoral directory.)

Between all that, I do stuff with Katie, play on the computer, sew, whatever. I also have stuff that changes from week to week that I add to my list, like yesterday I got my oil changed and visited my FIL in the hospital. Today I am sending out invitations for a Family Group Meeting of church friends at my house (Kevin is an elder and has people he is "over," meaning we talk to them about their needs, vision for things at church, service at church, etc.). I also am going to a children's clothing sale this afternoon, dropping by the dry cleaners, and I have to make a veggie tray for Kevin to take to work tomorrow...

WOAH I am busy! I had better go get my Pilates in!

Everyday Providence

Sundays are my "day of rest" and I do not plan to exercise any on that day. I haven't exercised today, either - at least, not yet. I did get groceries at the Super Wal-Mart which SHOULD count. But since we have daylight savings time (which I love), I will probably go tonight when Kevin gets home. My original plan was to go in the morning before he left for work, but I didn't sleep well last night. SOMEONE thinks it is funny to give me false labor pains all night and then kick the stew outta me!

Also, to clarify my eating habits (since I said I ate too much), when I say I am eating a ton of food, it is usually food that is good for me. I just can't stop eating it. We eat pretty healthy around here (lots of whole-grains, leafy greans, lean meats, etc). So I am not sure if I should practice some self-control or just go for it.

(I hope no one thinks I am vain, since I do realize that my current pregnancy weight isn't even a lot. It really has NOTHING to do with my shape, looks, or anything like that. It has EVERYTHING to do with my back, which has been in awful shape since I fell about 15 feet onto a wooden beam when I was 12 years old.)

My husband is SOOO nice. For my birthday, he ordered maternity clothes and got certificates for four pre-natal massages (since my back is bad). He also made me a card on the computer (!) and got me a bunch of sweetheart roses and two Twix bars (one for me and one for Owen, he says). Then he took me out to eat at a local restaurant and then to Starbucks. The Starbucks thing was a big deal, because I love mochas, but the nearest Starbucks was an hour away. Then we got one in Millington --- while I had hyperemesis! SIGH. So I just now had my first mocha at the new Starbucks. And we met Steve and Camille, who will be moving soon, to chat with them. They have seven kiddos so it was cool to be able to visit in the quiet.

The fellowship meal at church yesterday was AWESOME. A new lady who has been visiting came, and I spent a lot of the night getting to know her. We ate outside and watched all the kids (and MEN! LOL!) play dodge ball. They played for two hours! The pastor hit Katie in the face with the ball, and she came to me and RATTED on him..."Brudder Dax hurt ball FACE!"

Okay, I really need to put away my groceries.