"Pizza Pie"

A few days ago Austin and I decided it would be fun to let Bailey help us make a pizza for supper. She was so excited, as you can see in one of the pictures above. She did a great job. She loves to cook. Every time we cook supper now she wants to pull a chair up so she can help.

BIG GIRL BED!!

Austin is carefully reading the instructions before constructing Bailey's new "big girl bed".

A project this big requires a lot of concentration.

Bailey is proudly posing on her new bed. Now she wants me to take a picture every time she goes to bed. She got a little upset when she realized that her baby bed was coming apart.

She is showing us how she is going to lay her first night in the new bed.

Fast asleep after only one attempt to escape. Bailey followed me out of her room after I tucked her in. She told me that was not her bed, it was some other kid's bed. Nice try. She has done wonderful. That was the only time at night that she did not just get into her bed and go to sleep. She has slept all night until about 8:30 every morning. Yeah!!

Nap time has been a different story. She will lay down for about one minute and then come out and say she is awake now. The second day I found her asleep half way in her book shelf and half on the floor. This picture is day three. Here she is sleeping half in her bed and half hanging out. She plays for about an hour and finally konks out. I am hoping this will improve over time. If I had to choose though I would definately pick nap time to be our struggle.

Daddy's Girl

Bailey loves her daddy! And why shouldn’t she? He adores the ground she walks on. From the moment she was born he had a new twinkle in his eye. It thrills my heart to see the relationship between my husband and my daughter. You would think that I would get a little jealous when I say whose girl are you and Bailey replies Daddy’s, but it gives me warm fuzzy feelings. God has really blessed us by giving us the life that He has. We are able to serve Him in the ministry and Austin has a “full” time job as well. You would think that a family given these circumstances would have very little time to spend together. That is definitely not the case for us. Austin’s full time job is wonderful. We have our own business. Austin is a dealer of fundraiser products for Country Maid (who are of themselves a blessing and wonderful people). He has worked very hard to make our business what it is today. The business has become very successful, but what I like best about it is all of the time it allows us to spend together as a family. We work as a team in the ministry trying to build relationships and make disciples for Christ. We realize that the most important disciple that God has given us is Bailey. America’s society seems to think that the most influential person in a child’s life is the mother. I don’t want to discount moms, of course, but I believe dads are of equal influence. A friend of ours recently shared a story with us about a man he knew who owned a strip club. The man was talking about how he had recently come to the realization that all of his “girls”, in some way or another, had a poor relationship with their father. Some never knew their father, some fathers abused, some neglected, some were extremely overbearing. This really makes me thankful for my father and my husband. That father-daughter relationship is so crucial. Austin takes his role as a father very serious. He spends so much time with Bailey teaching, playing, and just loving. About a week ago Austin let me sleep in. I woke to see him and Bailey snuggling in the recliner watching Sesame Street. They had just returned from I Hop where they went to eat breakfast in their P.J.’s. How sweet is that? Its times like this that I want Bailey to remember when she thinks back on her childhood. These are precious memories! For those who didn’t have this kind of father my heart breaks. Praise God that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Everyone has access to the ultimate Father, God Himself. His love, mercy, and grace are endless. His love doesn’t hinge on what you look like or what you have done. His love hinges on who you are, His child. I am grateful that I can call Him my Father. He has never failed me. If you need a Father like this you know how to reach me. I would love to introduce you to my Father.

Just catching up

We have been in Southaven MS for about 10 months now. This journey started about 3 years ago when I was working with Youth @ Calvary in Magnolia AR. That is where Jeff Rhodes and I first met. Jeff came to Calvary to be the full time youth and education director. We hit it off really well and it wasn't long before we began discussing working together in the future. We began church planting training together and began to pray and discuss where we would go. We began looking at the St Louis area but that door did not seem to be open. Then we were approached about going to MS. We visited the area and knew that this was it so 10 months ago we loaded up our families and moved to the great town of Southaven MS, a suburb of Memphis. I will be publishing a few post about the past milestones in our lives so friends and family can catch up. I hope you enjoy. I will also be putting some of my favorite videos on the sidebar just click on it and it will play so you will have music as you read. I will try to change the videos out from time to time. Austin