More Blast Ball

Jesse looked forward to each and every one of his blast ball games. And me? Well, I took tons and tons of pictures! These photos are from his April 16th and April 27th games. The team received their hats at the game on the 16th and Jesse was so excited to have a hat all of his own. He was pretty good about wearing it too. For about the first five minutes of each game. Then. He wouldn't touch it for the rest of the game!

Youth Sunday 2010

Sunday, April 25th was Youth Sunday at Pine Level FWB Church. The children did almost everything during the service and did an outstanding job! Not only did all of our children's choirs sing, but many of the children stood up to give their testimony as to why they enjoyed camp last year. As Camper of the Year last year, Trey was the first one to speak. The children will be heading to camp again in 3 short weeks. And I'm not any more ready for it this year than I was last year! Please keep them all in your prayers for a safe, fun-filled, and most importantly God-filled week and that God will bring them all home to us safe and sound:-)

Trey giving his testimony of why he enjoyed camp. I didn't know that they had a table set up on the other side for the kids to stand at:-) You can hear him, but not see him.

My favorite song that they sang, Don't Make a Monkey Out of Me!

I've Got a River of Life Flowing Out of Me

Could He, Would He

This Little Light of Mine

Here fishy fishy!

My boys love to fish!!! Given a choice on just about any Saturday and they are going to ask to head to the coast and fish with their Daddy! And Mommy certainly doesn't mind. Fishing trips mean that Mommy gets a day of relaxation while the boys are gone and a fish fry at Papa and Ah-ee's the following week (i.e. I don't have to cook:-)! On April 17th, Daddy loaded the boys up early & then met Papa at the boat ramp! Needless to say, they had a blast, as always!

Jesse Turns FOUR!

As I've already blogged, we started celebrating Jesse's birthday a month early. We had his party, and a celebration at Papa and Ah-ee's, but Jesse was still very excited when the big day actually arrived. He was 4! We celebrated at school with Mickey Mouse cupcakes and then after school we went to DQ with Daddy, Grandma Gwen, Da, Aunt Janie, Cora Jane, Vera Kate, and Whit! Lots of big celebrating for our big 4 year old!!!

~~Our School Celebration~~~~Our DQ Celebration~~

Upsy Daisy!

I was blessed to spend this morning with the amazing women of my church at our annual Mother's Day brunch. And it struck me, how amazing it is when God works out the little details of our life. We generally hold our Mother's Day brunch the Saturday before Mother's Day. This year we decided that since Mother's Day weekend is so busy, that we would have our brunch the weekend after. And I fully believe that God knew that I would need this time with our church women this weekend, not last! You see, the past week has been very trying to say the least. Last Saturday night we hit a small speed bump in our little world. Phil was on the way home from the coast with our boys, and he got stopped because a tail light was out on the boat trailer. It wasn't a big deal until the officer informed him that his license had been suspended since June 2008. We were flabbergasted and confused! We had no idea why or what it would take to get him his license back and were very worried that it would take a great deal of time, effort and money. God had already blessed us by having the officer let Phil go with a ticket, rather than putting him in the backseat and hauling him in right in front of our boys. Now I prayed that God would work out the rest of it and He did. It turned out that it was something to do with a ticket that we had paid on June 18, 2008. By Tuesday afternoon, Phil had his license back and life was normal again.

Then Wednesday afternoon disaster struck! Around Trey's first birthday we decided to move our family from our home in McDonough back to our hometown. It took us a year to work out all the details, but in January, 2004 Phil and his brother bought a warehouse to run their new businesses out of and we made our final preparations to return home. It also worked out perfectly, as we now had a place to store all of our stuff! Over the past six plus years, they have operated several businesses from there, and as with all businesses, there have been many ups and downs. Some businesses are now gone, while others have grown, and there have been good times and lean times. Currently Phil and Cory are farming hay. Both of them love the farming life, and the farming life has been good to both families. The headquarters for the hay operation was the warehouse and things have been going really well this past year. Then came Wednesday! Around 2:00pm on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, a forklift caught fire due to a small explosion that occurred when it was cranked. Thankfully, the man on the forklift was able to walk away without injury. However, the fire quickly spread and by the time I arrived around 3:30 pm it was apparent that the whole building was gone. Now, some may say that it was just a business and that they can rebuild. And they can. And they will. However, it was a place where my hubby and his brother and their families have united over the past six years. We spent many of the past six July 4th's there, eating watermelons, cooking hot dogs, and watching fireworks. Our kids have sat in the doors of the water filled loading docks and fished. When we were first getting the offices together, Trey helped paint the hallways and the pink bathroom getting paint all over himself and having a grand time. And we had lots of stuff stored there, all of us, and our extended family. Everything from our wedding, including my wedding scrapbook is gone. Everything from high school. Everything Winnie the Pooh from Trey's nursery. The twin bed that was my Dad's when he was a kid. The ficus tree that we had from Phil and Cory's grandmother's funeral 12 years ago. The swing that my step father built us when we lived in McDonough. And that's just some of the stuff that I had stored up there. My sister in law, my Dad, Phil and Cory's aunt, and friends of the family all had stuff stored there and it is all gone now. Things that can never be replaced. All we can do is move on. Thankful that no one was hurt, and a little sad and emotional over what was lost. And we're also counting our blessings. No one was injured in any way and for that we are very thankful! I am so thankful that Phil never took most of our Christmas decorations back to the warehouse. They've been a pain to walk around in the laundry room for the past five months, but now I am so thankful that they are there. While I lost a lot of my childhood Christmas things that we no longer used, I still have all of our boys ornaments. I am thankful that Phil took our boys fishing last Saturday because it means that the boat was at the house, and not at the warehouse. And I am thankful that my sweet nephew Hinson is using all of our baby furniture because it is safe at his house instead of stored in the warehouse where it has been for much of the last 6 years. And I am very thankful for the strength and positive attitude of my hubby and brother in law. They are moving forward with faith and determination and looking forward to all the good things that God is going to bring out of this tragedy.

So you see, God knew that I would need my church family today. And He sent us the perfect devotional. Our theme this year was gardening, and gerber daisies decorated the tables. This past week, my friend Jessica was searching the internet for devotional ideas and came upon one titled Upsy Daisy, perfect for our garden themed brunch. Before we began the devotional, we passed a gerber daisy around. Each woman picked off a petal and said, "He loves me, and He has blessed me this week with...." Mine was, "He loves me, and this week He has given me strength, and peace over things that I can not control." After every woman had spoken, Jessica read aloud the following devotion. It was perfect for this upsy daisy time in my life and I want to share it with you.

Upsy Daisy!

Written by: Julia Bettencourt

"I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up…" Psalm 30:1

I'm sure you are familiar with the expression "upsy daisy". It's the phrase we use when we want to give encouragement to our children when they are learning to walk or when they've had a fall. It means "up you go". When my own kids were little and learning to walk, I'd let them hold on to my fingers and I'd lead them along and as they'd start to fall, I'd help them and say, "upsy daisy".I think that God does the same with us. We go walking along in our Christian life and hit some bumps in the sidewalk or maybe we even fall into a big hole and God helps us up and says, "upsy daisy". He brushes us off and tells us everything is going to be okay.It's not fun when we are down and we find and our lives turned upside down. It's sometimes hard to see everything in the right perspective when we aren't standing upright. But we have a God who cares about us and is there when we get down and He helps us up. There are some great examples in the bible of some people who had some "upsy daisy" moments.

Job. I think of Job first I guess because when he went down, it was with such a sudden force and a big thud. Here he was, going through life so blessed by God and all of a sudden, Job was laid low. So much happened to Job in such a short time but God was with him all the way and in the end said, "upsy daisy, Job".Job is such a great example to show that when we don't see God, God still sees us. It's like when a toddler falls down and doesn't see his mother because she's out of site for a little bit while he's lying on the ground after he's fallen. It's kind of scary. But then after a few moments when he sees the face of his mother and knows she's there to help him up, he's okay again. Job might not have been able to see God but God could see Job and Job knew God was still there within reach. What’s worth remembering is that even though he couldn't see God, Job still obeyed God. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward,but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work,but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand,that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take:when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. 23:8-12 It's so exciting to see how God said, "upsy daisy" to Job. The Lord had a way of showing Job that all was okay. God lifted up Job and put him upright on his feet once again and "the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10).

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters,and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. Job 42:10-12a

David. David had some times when he was down in his life. I think about how when Saul's army was chasing after David. Some of us worry over a few unkind remarks that just one person hurls at us. That sometimes can get us down, but here David was with a whole army in hot pursuit of him. The path for David was bumpy and he had some falls.What I love about David is that when he was down, he still kept the conversation going with His Lord. Some of us find that so hard. We hit a bump and get knocked down and we just stop talking to God altogether. We let our relationship and time with the Lord just slide downhill. David kept talking and crying out to God. We can see that throughout the books of Samuel where David's life is recorded but also in Psalms where so many of David's songs and psalms are written for us. Some of those psalms were written during some very low points in David's life. God just kept picking David up and saying, "upsy daisy". Through it all God was always with him and had a way of lifting David up and blessing him.

And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. 2 Samuel 5:10 Through this David knew that God was the one that picked him up and put him upright. And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake. 2 Samuel 5:12 These few verses mentioned in Samuel of course weren't the end of bumps for David. He still had a war to fight with the Philistines, a great sin to commit where he fell big time, and a lot of other things. But through it all, God was there to brush him off, lift him up, and gently remind David of His presence.

Naomi. Naomi is another great example of how God just gently lifts us up when we are at a low point in our lives. Have you ever been at that grieving stage when all you can do is cry? Sometimes we get like a small child who's fallen down and is left crying with his hurt and pain. We have to be reminded that there's a God who will eventually lift us up and say, "upsy daisy". Look at Naomi. Her husband had died and her sons. It seemed like death surrounded her. I love this story because it shows that sometimes God doesn't want us to walk alone after we've had an "upsy daisy" moment. Sometimes God may give us a friend to go through something with us or He may provide a church of loving people who are there to encourage us right when we need it. Like Naomi, we may think we don't need someone else to be there for us but God knows best. God had Ruth, Naomi's daughter-in-law there for her to be with her and even travel with her back to Naomi's homeland. I think that's just so great that God gave Naomi a traveling companion. Sometimes when we've had those "upsy daisy" moments, it is hard to get walking straight again and sometimes we may need a friend to walk there beside us. God's aware of what we need and whom we need in our lives. It's His way of laying His hand on us and gently telling us that it's going to be okay.

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go;and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people,and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. Ruth 1:14-20

In the end and through circumstances that only God could have brought about, Naomi was put back on her feet. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth, gave Naomi a grandson. It was one of God's ways of telling Naomi that He was still there with her lifting her up.And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. Ruth 4:14-15

Conclusion: Maybe you feel like your life has been turned over on its head and you are feeling the pressure of an "upsy daisy" moment. Just hold on. God knows you are down. He's not far from you. I know it's hard to be thankful for those "upsy daisy" moments in our lives but don't you just love the fact that it is God that does the "upsy" part. It is Him that lifts us up. It may be through several circumstances that work together but God has His hand working in all of it.There's been many a moment that I've wondered why I'd been brought so low but those are the moments that I've seen God the closest and had to rely on His encouragement the most. If I just look around for Him and listen to His voice I know He's there even when I'm down and I know I can get through anything when I have Him with me. God has that way of giving us His presence and saying, "upsy daisy". It's all going to be okay. You'll get back on your feet again. Up you go! So, are you thankful for your "upsy daisy" moments?

Copyright ©2010 Julia Bettencourt

Scripture References are from the King James Version.

http://www.juliabettencourt.com/

I got one gerber daisy last Sunday for Mother's Day. I got another one at the brunch today. They are now both reminders of how God picks us up and puts us back on our feet during those "upsy daisy" moments.

Happy Mother's Day

Our children grow up way too fast. Every mother knows this. However, lately it has been heavy on my heart that my boys are no longer babies. It has, at times, been a physical ache watching my children grow up. Of course I want them to grow, learn, become independent, but it is with a heavy heart that I let them grow and go. I want to hold on to them, cling to this time I have with them. So, sometimes I do cling a little bit more, squeeze them a little tighter, hold on just a little bit more. Their childhood is so fleeting. We will never get these moments back, and I know that I am gonna miss this when it's gone!

========>B*L*A*S*T*B*A*L*L<========

The Tuesday after spring break, Jesse started blastball!!! This is a version of t-ball for 3 & 4 year olds in which they hit the ball off the tee, run to first base, and jump on it. Why jump? Because the base squeaks, of course! The teams are co-ed with five children each. Everybody on one team hits, and then we switch sides and the other team hits. It is too cute watching these little ones run around the field. My hubby says it's like trying to herd ants, and it sorta is! But the kids are having a BLAST, and that's what it's all about! And it's a good thing that they only play six "games" because I've taken a ton of photos at every single one!!! These are from his very first game on April 13, 2010.

When we arrived at his very first game, I wanted to take some photos of Jesse in his uniform. He told me, take a picture of my back and then he promptly turned around, and said "CHEEEESSSSE!!!" So, although you can't tell it, he is smiling very big in this photo:-) He is very proud of the fact that his Daddy and Uncle Cory sponsored his team and we are certainly blessed that they did. He especially likes having "Tyre" on the back of his jersey.

Once we took a photo of the back of his jersey, Jesse was much more cooperative with taking a face forward picture.

Crushing the ball!

Making that base squeak!!!

Ready to catch the ball!

I got it!!!

The last time the kids hit the ball during this game the coaches let them run all the way around the bases and I got it all on video!