Dearest Christian Family...

Stop.

Just stop making it about you and what you don't get to do/be/say/think/feel. Because, after all, it isn't about you (or us, because I, too, am a Christian). It never was.

It's about Him.

It's about showing others Him through our every thought, action, and word. It's about belief in something greater by being something greater. It's about reaching out, helping more and lifting up those that we don't agree with or understand.

It's about love.

You know what it is NOT about?

A red cup. A chicken sandwich. The right for a person to love another. Or use a restroom.

We fail so many times when the spotlight is on us. We just get it wrong.

Acceptance of others isn't meant to be at the expense of us. What acceptance can (and should) be is the light of Him through us.

Jesus himself loved the lepers, the prostitutes, the thieves and liars. He touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable and sought the persecuted at the risk of persecution. And while I am no biblical scholar I do know that He teaches us to love. (There's an actual whole commandment about it). I do know that to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we need to be willing to do what He did. Love who He loved.

And He loves us all. Every single sinner. (That's you and me by the way).

Why is it so hard for us to do the same? Is it because we feel threatened? Unheard? Unloved? Probably so. And I get it - I understand.  We so desperately want to be recognized that we sometimes forget we already are. We are the majority in a world that is working to include the minority. And that's difficult because it feels like it is "at the expense of". I work at a public institution where my personal beliefs are hard to manage with my professional philosophy. But you know what? We are not being made to sacrifice OUR values, OUR choices, OUR faith because someone else doesn't share our ideals.

A red cup doesn't take away Christmas. It keeps your coffee warm(ish). And if we are going to choose a battle against a big 'ol giant company, let's just ask them to cut the price a bit, eh?

No one can take away the right for us to say Merry Christmas. To believe He died for us. To know that He loves us. Stores saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" isn't to spite you. They aren't doing this to leave us out - quite the opposite actually. They are doing it to include everyone in celebrating the season. It's to create an environment where we all feel loved. We all feel heard. We all feel welcomed - and I ask you... what's so wrong with that?

After all, if we want everyone to sit at Jesus' table with us... shouldn't we first send them an invitation?

All IN...

We had a first last week, we dropped Radley off at his first overnight camp and Carolina Creek.  (Which happened to fall on Emersyn's fifth birthday, because one milestone just wasn't enough for us.) Our nerves were eased immensely when his buddy, Davis, was able to sign up too and they were bunk mates! 

I would love to talk all about the drop off process and how sad he was to see us go, but it was basically this:

Counselor: Camper's name?

Us: Radley King

Counselor: WE'VE GOT RAD RADLEY KING in the MONKEY CABIN LEVEL 2!!

Us: Ok - so we just walk him in?

Counselor: Yep! Just walk him up and his cabin counselors will be in there.

And we walked him up, dropped him off, took a picture, said goodbye and walked away. 

And had a good ol cry on the way to drop off his mail. Y'all. This kid is my first born and I was leaving him at camp in a town that has a FEDERAL prison for people on DEATH ROW. When did that become a thing?!?

Yeah. Have I mentioned my tendency for drama?

Cindy and I were sad. But the kids were alright, which is clearly what matters most. 

The camp uploaded pictures every day so we got to peek into what was going on. Ryan and I found Radley by the color of his shoes and were not shocked to see that he was having fun, singing, dancing and making friends.

He also managed to to wear the right clothes that I had picked out for him each day - so I'll count that as a win! (Although he opted out of the $10 (TEN DOLLAR) sweatband I got him for "headband" day because he didn't like the way it made his hair lay.) SMH.

It did my heart so good to see that smile and know that he was in good hands and having fun. And in case you are wondering, this day's theme was plaid. 

Exactly. We got Rad some plaid swim shorts because it's Texas. In the summer. And y'all - PLAID? 

The theme for the camp was ALL IN - how can you be All In for God? I was eager to hear about what this meant for him and to him and couldn't wait to get him home!

We all met for an early breakfast in CS and caravanned back to Huntsville to pick up our crew. This session of camp is called "The Wild" and each cabin is a different wild animal. And yes, it was the most precious thing ever in existence of all things precious. Because clearly.

We 5 Kings reunited! (Shout out to Gigi for driving with us but managing to escape a picture - how did you do that?)

(Also, your eyes aren't crazy - Radley is wearing the same thing we dropped him off in. His clothes apparently got all wet because he "had" to put his towels and bathing suit back into his suitcase and he put them on top of his clothes. And well, next time I'll pack his wet bag.)

Each camper is given a cabin award that is a character trait in the Bible. The counselors connect this trait to scripture and as soon as they started handing these out, I just knew Radley would get the award for enthusiasm, but I wasn't sure how this would relate to the Word. 

Sure enough, our guy is the last one to go and they start talking all about how enthusiastic Radley was all week long - just like Peter was excited and enthusiastic for God. They spoke of his leadership and how committed he was to getting the group to buy-in to the activities of the day. 

His scripture was from 1 Peter 3:13

Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

We ended pick up by moving into the gym to witness what their chapel looked like during camp.

And y'all - our kids hands were raised in worship, singing out loud for Jesus and having so much fun doing it. Talk about a milestone!

All 4 of these precious lights were ALL IN and taught us so much about being patient, being enthusiastic, putting yourself after God and others, and being helpful all in the name of Him.

And as we were making our way to leave, a hand reached out and tapped Cindy on the shoulder and asked her if Radley was hers. I'm pretty sure she said, "I claim him, but she's his mom." This woman came up to me and wanted to tell me about chapel the night before. It seems as if they were going to tell the story of the prodigal son when Radley raised his hand and said, "I know that story." The chapel leader then invited him up to share the story with everyone and Radley lead chapel in front of the entire camp. My seven year old son spoke to 200 people about Jesus. 

Y'all. I've never spoken to 20 people about Jesus. 

I had tears in my eyes as I listened to her tell me that she had chills while he spoke - that she hadn't witnessed something like this in all her years at camp. Radley explained to her, "it's because I've read my bible three times!" And he has - on his own, sat and read his bible. And I take no credit for this - but I do give thanks for this.

Isn't it crazy what kids can teach us?

To be patient in the Lord. 

To be enthusiastic for the Lord.

To be helpful in the name of the Lord.  

To be third behind the Lord and others. 

Funny how we sent them to camp to learn something and it turns out we were the ones being taught.

Sunday Funday...

Today was spent enjoying the slow drizzle of rain and the comfort of a fall breeze. We got a few plants at the pumpkin patch because the kids wanted to plant a new "garden". 

(Side note: Our tomatoes are still chugging a long - actually doing amazing. Weird).

Everyone had a job and each kid got to pick which pot their flowers went in.

Emmy thinks her job is basically to be cute.

Radley really likes to help.

But we all managed to work together and now our front porch doesn't look so depressing.

(For now).

They grabbed a few tiny pumpkins to paint (bc we clearly like a paint project around here)...

And all stayed busy designing their own masterpiece.

Emmy even let me put her hair up because oh the thought of not wearing it down these days.

And Daddy even managed to steal a few kisses, too.

Hope y'alls Sunday was just as sweet!

D is for dirt...

Radley asked if he could work in the yard this weekend. SCORE! The age where they WANT to do physical labor and think that it's fun!! WAHOO! 

Sunday afternoon we were happy to oblige this request and after a quick run to Lowe's we were ready to plant a garden. 

(And by garden, we mean a giant mound of dirt that we think would make a swell garden someday. For now it provided hours of entertainment. God - 1, Parents - 1, Kids - 1. That's called a win-win-win).

Ryan also had the brilliant idea to put the trampoline next to the picnic table so they could climb off and on BY THEMSELVES. We basically could have left them home alone and no one would have cared. 

Even Princess Emmy was having fun in the dirt.

They found all sorts of treasures... a marble with a nail in it, a sea shell (?), some seeds, doodle bugs (or do you call them roly poly's), and this guy... 

She maybe even had dirt in her adorable ankle creases. 

Hudson got in on the fun while me and Maegan chatted it up on the porch and Ryan grilled.

Basically this day was a day of perfection.

With a giant sibling bear hug on top. 

Soulful Sunday...

Every now and then I am called to really just relay a message. Maybe not a big message. Maybe not the most powerful message. Maybe not even an eloquent message. But a message nonetheless. 

And here they are... 

What? You don't see the message in these beautiful new washer/dryers? 

Look closer. 

I see an amazing, overwhelming, beautiful answered prayer. 

Well, three actually. 

Last week our dryer broke, and like most things - we weren't really "prepared" for that to happen. No one likes repair of any kind, right? And no one likes to spend money on things that they "need", right? We surely weren't looking forward to it. 

After a long debate and a few pro/con sessions, we decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new dryer. We read tons of reviews, talked to the nice folks at Lowe's, and made a decision. We settled on a dryer right in the middle of "bottom line" and "holy cow it texts you when the cycle is done". (that last part is true y'all). And we weren't really happy about it. Ryan was going to make the purchase on Thursday. And then Wednesday rolls around and I get a text from our awesome neighbor with a picture of these beauties asking if we were interested. 

Long story short, her sister worked for someone that was moving and didn't want to bring these with them and was selling the entire set for a steal. Seriously. All of this for less than the price of the actual pedestals. We clearly said YES!!! The only catch was we had to get them from San Antonio. 

And here is the message...

Small prayers - {BIG} answers. 

1. While it sounds silly, this just proves that no prayer is too small. What a tiny prayer in the grand scheme of life, "Dear God, help us figure out this dryer situation. Help us make a smart choice." And His answer was HUGE. 

2. I've already gone on and on and on about the blessing of our new neighbors. But, they are awesome. 

3. We continuously pray to be surrounded by good people in our lives.  On a whim, I posted on FB that we needed help getting these to CS. Within 5 minutes a sweet sorority sister sent me a text and said she would be happy to do it. Isn't that amazing? We haven't seen each other in 4 years and still she was willing to take time and effort and money out of her schedule to help us. 

Answered prayers indeed. 

So the next time you're thinking, "that's silly - I don't need to pray about that" just do it. You will be amazed at His response. 

Simple Sunday...

We enjoyed a simple Sunday around here!

Church goin'...

big girl walkin'...

water spraying...

splish splashin'...

face dunkin'...

popsicle eatin'...

cutie cheesin'...

ice slurpin'...

summer bucket listin'...

Simple Sunday FUN!

Where two or more are gathered...

Let there be a party!

(Just kidding ... I know that's not the end of that sentence)

(Mostly because I hung out with some baptists this weekend - I know they let us hang out with them!)

I talked about how amazing dotMOM was a few weeks ago. One of the best parts was the new friends that I got to meet from Cindy's Sunday school class (see baptist joke above). I was thrilled to get to know these women as we not only absorbed lessons on this crazy ride of mommyhood but also to worship with a new group of friends. 

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and an evite pops up in my inbox from one of my lovely new friends inviting us to her parents ranch for an Easter Egg Hunt. We knew that the kids would love it and of course made plans to attend. 

The ranch is beautiful - sheltered among layers of trees and winding roads. As soon as we entered their property Radley and Emmy were convinced it was heaven - dirt, sticks, and a giant playground complete with a splash pad - yes this was a "ranch" for my people. ;) 

 Melissa and Jennifer's dad had let us know that they had a heated pool so we brought the swim gear just in case.  I was not; however, convinced that anyone needed to actually get in the pool. It was a gorgeous Texas spring day but really windy.

Guess who won that battle...

and....

Guess who was the smart one and didn't try to get in...

About 17 seconds later they decided it was cold and they were going to die from hypothermia. 

These are my kids, afterall... we do love a good exaggeration. 

We quickly gave them a big fat I-told-you-so and dried them off. They ran back outside to play and make new friends, eat some home made deer sausage and yummy southern sides from all the party goers...all the while patiently awaiting "the hunt".

Melissa and Jennifer stuffed and hid easily 200+ eggs and the kids LOVED it! They had a hunt for the little kiddos...

Landry didn't qualify since she refuses to walk.

And then the big kids were lead out in "the woods" for their turn.

(please note the stick in Radley's hand. We now have enough twigs and branches in our backyard to start a fire big enough to melt the remaining icebergs).

 Radley almost didn't get to compete after an immediate injury due to a run-in with a cactus. But I lovingly told him to suck it up shake it off and he forged ahead...

I may have to adopt Easter as a year round event...

They could hunt eggs for hours.

After the eggs were all picked up from obvious view found - it was time for the kiddos to test out that playground they saw on the way in...

Mills was the only HMM to sit still long enough to let me snap a pic!

We had a great day with some new friends...

I'm so glad for this small community of people that He has given us and thankful for the blessings of new friends...

and old, too! 

(Not as in you are "old" Cindy...just a seasoned friend!)

:)