It's Monday!

* Last week was the first time we received weather cold enough to use our fireplace. (By cold, I mean around 50 degrees...we do live in Atlanta) Keith and I enjoyed a wonderful evening relaxing and listening to Christmas music -- it was perfect. :)

 

 * Speaking of Christmas! There are only 61 days until the big day! Is it bad that I already have my sponsor kids' stockings hanging over my fireplace? 

* A few weeks ago I wrote a post about figuring out who I want to be, which dreams I should focus on instead of always yearning for more. Well, I am excited to say that God is doing some amazing  things!!!! I have received clarity on the direction I should move towards, and am anxious to share with you guys about the recent happenings! (That's a post for later this week!)    

* Last week Keith and I had our 20 week appointment and were able to see Baby Gavin. I never thought that it was possible to love someone this much, but man is it ever! I am beginning to feel Gav's little flutters and on Friday Keith felt him kick! It was priceless! I'm halfway there and I can't wait to meet him!!!

Happy Monday sweet readers! 

A Lovely Miscellany Monday

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* I'd like to wish a Happy 1st Married Valentine's Day to my yummy husband, Keith. Baby, thank you for putting up with my sometimes crazy, mostly stubborn self. I love you more than you know...you are amazing. :)

* While last week wasn't the best, it really wasn't the worst either. It was just kind of blah. I started the week sick and ended it exhausted. School is really kicking my behind, but these classes will wrap up in two weeks. Thank God. (And thank you guys for your kind words on my "blah" post. They really made me feel better. :))

* On Saturday I received a magazine from Compassion. In it, I read some very alarming statistics about water. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I wanted to share these facts.

  

- 50% of the world's hospitalizations are due to water-related illnesses such as cholera

- One in five children worldwide die from diarrhea -- that's more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

- 800 million people do not have access to clean water.

- 1.5 million children die of waterborne illnesses every year.

I don't know about you guys, but these stats make me sick. It's hard to believe that in the year 2011, something as simple as clean water is causing so much sickness and death. To be honest, it's really hard to comprehend this. How many half drunken bottles of water do I throw away without thinking twice? How many nice, long baths do I take per week? Three or four? How many times do I let the facet run while washing my face without even thinking about how wasteful I'm being? 

These statistics definitely put things into perspective, but more than anything, they empower me to do something about it. Whether that's raise money, sponsor more children, or bring awareness to these facts, I do not know yet. What I do know is that something has got to change, and I'd rather be part of the solution than continue to contribute to the problem. (Sorry to be so heavy on a Monday, but it's been on my mind all weekend.) 

Hope you lovelies have a wonderful Valentines Monday!

.M.O.N.D.A.Y.

* Well, I finally saw Inception...and to be perfectly honest I wasn't that impressed. It's not that I didn't understand what was going on -- it's just not my cup of tea. I thought it was a good concept for a movie, but I just didn't see what all of the fuss was about. Oh well, at least I can scratch that one off my 30 Before 30.

* Today is my oldest sponsor child's birthday! She turns 13 today and is officially a teenager. (Eeek!) I've only been sponsoring her since last June, but knowing this little girl has made me a better person. Her letters always seem to brighten my day, and she is a wonderful child of God. :)

* On Friday I was given an award by the lovely Chloe at Tryin' to Throw My Arms Around the World and the wonderful Jodie at Bursting at the Seams!

The rules:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award. 

2.  Write seven things about yourself.

3.  Pass on to seven other bloggers.

4.  Tell the seven awardees of their award!

Chloe and Jodie! Thanks mucho for thinking of me when it was time to pass this award on. I am so grateful to have bloggy friends like you in my life who are always so encouraging and lift me up when I'm down. I have loved getting to know you both through your blogs! :) (Chloe - I'm hoping that the hubs and I can make it to VB soon!)

Seven Things

     * I used to be the girl that couldn't boil water, but now I like to think of myself as a pretty decent chef! I love to cook and love having people to cook for. My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but I love making casseroles and Cajun dishes! This weekend I tried out a crock pot Lasagna and it was delicious! :)

     * I was born and raised in Louisiana, but have been living in South Carolina for two years. Here's a little secret: I am craving boiled crawfish extremely, very badly.

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     * The 1940's is without a doubt my favorite era. Lately I've been asking my Maw-Maw tons of questions about life back then, and I am falling more and more in love with this time frame.

     * I not only admire Audrey Hepburn for her beauty and grace, but more importantly for her heart and the work she did with UNICEF. Her love for children and those in need is forever inspiring.

     * I love to read, but thanks to my hectic schedule I don't get to do so very often. :o(

     * I've always wanted to have a short pixie-like haircut, or even shave my head for charity. I pray that one day I'll be brave enough to try one of these out.

     * My right foot is slightly larger than my left foot. So. weird.

I'd like to pass on this award to:

Cait at The Blessed Life

Emma at Legally Lovely

Melissa at With All Creation I Sing

Christy at 25 Before 25

Elle at Elle Sees

Lauren at The Lucky Layman's

Happy Monday lovelies! 

Bits and Pieces

There are a few things that I've been meaning to share on my little blog, but instead of turning each topic into a separate post, I wanted to just unload everything today. :o)

* I have booked a photographer to shoot my Trash the Dress session! Back in July I asked you guys whether or not I should keep my wedding dress, or trash it. I got a great mixed response and ultimately decided to trash it. While I think it's beautiful and would like to keep it, I am more of a picture person and feel like this is the best way to "keep" my dress. The session is at the end of October and will be held at the beach. Yay! Does anyone have recommendations for waterproof make-up?? The pictures below are what I have in mind.

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* Speaking of trashing my dress...this means I'll have to fit in my dress again. Boy do I wish that I wouldn't have lost 10+ pounds right before my fitting. I'm pretty sure I gained that amount back on the honeymoon. (Okay, maybe not, but you get what I'm saying) I have a little over a month to get my lazy butt back in gear and I'm pretty excited about it. This is just what I need to stay committed and to jump start my plan to eat healthy and exercise regularly. **Pray for me.**

* Back in June I told you guys about my oldest sponsor child, Wilkemberg abruptly leaving the sponsorship program. My heart was broken and I felt like I could have done more. I could have written more often, donated more to his family, gone visit him....just more. Well, on Monday I received the most amazing phone call from Compassion! They told me that Wilkemberg has rejoined the program!!!! :o) I am beyond exited about this!! Wilkemberg will be going back to the project and begin to learn about Jesus again! When I found out this exciting news, I was overcome with emotion. I felt pure joy, love, and embarrassment. I felt God say "Did you think I couldn't handle this?" This was a very humbling experience, and I cried for a long time. Praise Him for this amazing little boy coming back!

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* Marathon training began a few weeks ago, and I have already hit a very large bump in the road. In 2008 I injured my IT band in my left leg after my first 10 mile run. While this is a pretty common runner's injury, it is very painful and makes it very hard to run. I have been taking it easy with running in general, but I'm worried if it doesn't get better soon that I won't be able to catch up on my training. I am hoping that this gets better soon so that I can rejoin my team! Check out this article that was written about Team SP's efforts to raise money for clean water projects. Yours truly interview for this! :o)

That's pretty much all of the tidbits that I wanted to share. I want you guys to know that I really do appreciate all of you. Your kindness, support, and honesty really makes my days so much better. You are all lovely and I hope that today is wonderful. <3>

A Letter From Luz

See that beautiful face? That's Luz, and she's amazing.

Keith and I began sponsoring Luz in June through Compassion Ministry and this week we received our first letter from her! :o)

Luz is a beautiful 12 year old from Colombia. She's is the oldest child we've sponsored thus far, and I am excited to be able to have conversations through letters with her. (We sponsor two younger children and sometimes their letters don't make sense...still absolutely wonderful though.) This is what her letter said:

"Lindsey Christmas. Hello, I thank God for sending me a new sponsor because I know that with you, I will share about my life and about God, who I trust in a lot because he is like our Father because he was who gave us life and the daily bread. I leave you with it, may God protect you and keep you. Bye-bye, bye-bye. Luz."

She also answered the following questions:

Favorite Hobby: VolleyballFavorite Food: All of them (LOVE this girl!)
Favorite Subject: Math, Dance, and Physical Education
Favorite Animal: Dog
Favorite Color: Blue

Drawing: TQM (It stands for I love you so much)

I cannot describe the joy I felt when I received this letter. It's completely indescribable. I have never met this child, nor have I built a relationship with her yet, but already her heart is open to me. I cannot wait to build a relationship with her and read about her life. I cannot wait to talk about our God and share our favorite verses. This child has already brought so much joy to my life, and I am so thankful that God led me to her. :o)

updaaaaate

For starters, thank you guys so much for all of the kind words and support I received about my staph infection and losing Wilkemberg. I really do appreciate all of you. <3

I'm happy to report that my infection is MUCH better. For about a week I was unable to sit on my right side, walk correctly, or even take a bath. (Don't worry, I did shower with difficulty) The wound is still open, but is almost completely gone. Praise God that this infection was not worse and I am being healed. A little bit of advice - don't scratch mosquito bites, especially ones on your butt. Also, wash your hands a lot!

As for my sweet Wilkemberg, I wrote a final letter, sent a picture and final donation, and said my goodbyes. He is a very special little boy and I am happy that I was given time to get to know him. Keith and I discussed whether or not we wanted to sponsor another child, and to be honest I was a bit hesitant. Why on Earth would I want to get involved again when at any moment the child could leave me? That's when I realized this isn't about me. At. All. This is about those children in need. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." And that's exactly what we plan to do.

We decided to not only sponsor one child, but two. My newest sponsor child is named Luz and she is a beautiful 12 year old from Columbia. It isn't easy going on Compassion's site and seeing the faces of children in need. However, I can't explain it, but I feel a connection to some children. (I felt it when I began sponsoring my Michael) When I realized Luz had been waiting for 6 months or longer I knew that I wanted to be apart of her life.

The second child was a bit of a surprise. I received a packet explaining that I had been assigned another child since Wilkemberg had left. At first I was really shocked and bit offended. Did they really think Wilkemberg was replaceable?? Once I calmed down I realized that this was not meant as an insult, but as a way to help me continue impacting the lives of children. The child's name is Wesley and he's 8 from Brazil.

I am excited to begin building a relationship with my 2 new children, and continue corresponding with Michael, but I will never forget sweet Wilkemberg.

I hope you all have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend! Today is my sister's 22nd birthday and tomorrow we are headed to the beach to celebrate! :o) On Sunday, I leave for a 5 day business trip to New Orleans! (No really, it's for my work, I promise!)

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I'll be working at a conference all week, but just being back in the city that I love so much is very exciting. Plus, I think I may get to see a few family members and friends!Not to mention that I'm making it an urgent matter to find and eat as much boiled crawfish as possible! I'm hoping to write a bit next week when I have some down time. Until then....

one week

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A lot can happen in one week.

Since I last blogged I have been dealing with two situations in particular that have been weighing down on me. While I had no control over either, I feel like I could have done a lot to help prevent these from happening. Let me explain...

Last Friday, I noticed that I had a mosquito bite in a very unexpected place. This bite was on my tushy...right at the part where I sit. This bite was not special, just itchy. I tried not to scratch but I couldn't help myself. It was driving me nuts!! By Monday, my little mosquito bite was very irritated and was no longer responding to the Benadryl and Neosporin. On Tuesday I went to the doctor and was told that my bite was now a staph infection.

I am going to spare you guys the disgusting details, but I will say that they had to cut the infection out. I've had surgery once before and suffered in the past from Endometriosis, but I have never felt pain like this. It is a constant shooting/burning pain and the only thing that helps is when I lay on my tummy and take my pain killers. I am heading back to the doc this afternoon for a checkup so that we can make sure my infection is going away and not getting worse.

Needless to say, I am not a happy camper. If I would have just left the bite alone I would not be going through all this pain. (Forgive me for being Captain Obvious)

The second situation also occurred last Friday. I was online fixing to pay my contribution for my 2 sponsored children, when I noticed that my oldest child, Wilkemberg, was missing. My heart sunk, and at that moment I knew something was very wrong. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time this happened to me. I immediately called Compassion to find out what was going on. What they told me next broke my heart.

The man I spoke with told me that Wilkemberg's parents removed him from the program. He is no longer attending school, Bible class, or church. He did write me a final letter, and they suggested that I do the same.

This is a picture of sweet Wilkemberg. I didn't have a digital file, but I did want to share him with y'all. For the past 2.5 years Wilkemberg and I have written letters back and forth. I have received pictures and drawings from this precious little boy. In February, I wrote about Wilkemberg calling himself my sponsored son and the joy I felt when I read this. One of the last letters I received from him was the one below...

Dear sponsor Lindsey. I'm so happy, I took an outing with the project, it was so nice. I like Luke 18:27. The impossible for men are possible to God. I'm learning English with an American teacher, I'm loving the project, the school front is beautiful, how are you? I'm fine. You look beautiful in that photo. My favorite sport is soccer. From your sponsored son Wilkemberg. Happy Birthday and a good wedding. Be happy! Many Kisses.

Compassion is an excellent organization that helps children all over the world become sponsored. However, this is the second time a child that I have built a relationship with leaves. I know they have no control over this, but I am heartbroken. Just recently I was talking to Keith about taking a trip to Brazil to meet Wilkemberg...I thought I was going to be able to watch him grow into a man...I thought I'd always be able to help him.

I don't know why his parent's removed him from the program, but I feel like there's something I could have done to help them out. I feel like I didn't pray enough or write to them enough or send enough to them....the list goes on and on. The only thing I can do is cling to the fact that God has everything under control, and that includes whether or not I understand the situation.

***Please pray for Wilkemberg and his family. Pray that the Lord consumes their lives and that He would keep them safe. Also, please pray for my staph infection to go away. I would really like to be pain free again...***

i have a son

Two years ago I began sponsoring a child through Compassion. His name is Wilkemberg and he's 9 years old from Brazil. I'd like to say that we "met" by chance, but I don't believe in coincidences. I was at a Christian music festival in New Orleans and Compassion representatives were there handing out packets. I received mine and instantly felt connected to this beautiful little boy. I receive letters from him on a pretty regular basis, but today's letter was different. Today my sweet boy referred to himself as my sponsored son. :o) There are no words to describe the joy I felt when I read those words. I'd like to share with y'all his letter and a picture that he drew for me.

Dear sponsor Lindsey. I'm so happy, I took an outing with the project, it was so nice. I like Luke 18:27. The impossible for men are possible to God. I'm learning English with an American teacher, I'm loving the project, the school front is beautiful, how are you? I'm fine. You look beautiful in that photo. My favorite sport is soccer. From your sponsored son Wilkemberg. Happy Birthday and a good wedding. Be happy! Many Kisses.

If you are able to sponsor a child, I highly recommend it. Check out www.compassion.com for more information.