Before I write anything else, I want to say I'm praying for the devastation that is in south Louisiana and the floods they are experiencing. So many horrible things go on in our world daily. I don't always post about everything even though I usually try to stop and pray for people because I feel like I would be doing nothing but posting daily about life's events but things weigh heavy on my heart as I know they do for you. Just in the last week there was a cop shot and killed just an hour south of me and you may have heard of the plane crash that killed three couples from Oxford, MS leaving behind 11 kids without any parents. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the loss.
My friend Susie lost her beautiful house and both of their cars in the floods. She makes signs (she made the one that hangs in Will Holden's room) and there have been several pictures on the news of people floating in boats holding her signs. It's like a symbol of hope in a dark time. I love this picture of Susie. She has lost so much but she has so much grace - choosing to look at the positive.
If you want ways to help - these are some places you can donate who are helping people:
It feels a little awkward to talk about such loss and then to talk about our daily life. I think what I see in the people of Louisiana is they realize that the important thing is they are together and safe. Things don't matter - family and friends matter. So we celebrate the time spent together with our people. It puts a lot in perspective. We give, we pray, and we realize that each day is a gift.
Last Friday Hollis went to a birthday party for her friend Kampbell. This is such a sweet group of kindergarten girls. I am hoping they stay friends through the teen years. It helps that I love their mommas too.
Five years ago, just a couple of weeks/months after these kids were born, we had a girls night at my friend Elizabeth's house. We all sat outside on her deck visiting and our babies slept harder than they ever have. I will never forget that. We took this picture of us and our babies (only Laurie was holding the boy instead his mom because she just loves to hold babies). I took this picture of them the week before they all started kindergarten. I plan to recreate this before junior high and high school and college if we all stay here. I'm thankful for this community/tribe/village that we apart of.
Last Friday night, we decided to take the kids to Silver Dollar City the next day for a little back to school celebration. My parents have season passes and live only an hour away so I texted them and asked if they wanted to meet us. It was oddly cool and not crowded in the morning. By mid afternoon it was hot and crowded and I had had enough fun but it was a good day. Our girls are fearless and would ride anything (I hate rides). Will Holden did WAY better than I expected. They have a big room (that is air conditioned) that has all of these balls that kids can pick up and throw and shoot through little cannons. We could have stayed there all day. Will Holden is obsessed with balls so he was in heaven. It was so fun watching him.
It was a nice way to end the summer.
Pray for Louisiana.
