not a school problem, it's an attitude problem

I have heard things like this...

"Save OUR children!"
"The city of Memphis has made their own bed, so now they can just lie in it. It's not our problem."
"The news just said Memphis City Schools are open. How can that be when there is no longer any Memphis City Schools?"

But, then I read things like this...

4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7

"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." Psalm 82:3

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Matt 25:44-45

This is not a post about the rights and the wrongs on the surrender of the MCS' charter. This is not a post about where the fault started in the schools. This is not a post about how the charter surrendered is being handled or will be handled.

This is a post about attitude.

The statements I started this post with are statements that I have heard from Christians over the course of the month. And I find it heartbreaking.

As a church family, The Orchard Fellowship, has an ongoing relationship with Ross Elementary, a Memphis city school. They did not even have the funding for a copy machine. And if they were given a copy machine, there is no money for paper. Basic needs of a school, copier and paper, right?

I was so proud of our church family as they gave of their time, talents and money to help Ross. I am thankful for what we have seen God do and what we hope He will allow us to continue to help Him do at Ross.

I have been burdened for the city's education crisis. If the government mandates that public education should be given freely to all, then is it right to assume that it should be the same level of education across the board? If you have have more money and live in a more affluent area, do you have more of a right to better public education? I don't think so. Maybe you have more of an entitlement to a better private education then a public one, I guess.

I don't have the answer to the crisis in Memphis' public education. I do know that if education in the city continues to go down, then that means that poorly educated children will one day become poorly educated adults. And that means for those adults, they will have a hard time finding a good job. That means we have more less educated adults than we have educated ones. Crime rises. Businesses leave our city. More jobs lost.

And that will affect you no matter where you live, suburbs or city.

My prayer for me right now is that God will give me a selfless heart. A heart that is burdened for the poor and needy. A heart that loves my children, but also fights for the rights of others' children. A heart that believes that no matter what the situation is that God can and will work through any situation. A heart that knows that God will get His glory no matter the outcome. A heart the desires to please and glorify God through MY attitude and actions.

i am so loving...

This book is a must read! I love it! I downloaded it to my iPad, and I have slowly been going through it, soaking up every detail of her writing.

By the way, I fought Jason on the whole reading off of my iPad. I told him that I could not imagine not being able to hold the book in my hands and feel the pages. For me, that is so much of the reading experience for me. It's hard to cozy up to an iPad. But, I was so wrong. I'm an avid reader, so I love that I can get books most of the time cheaper and faster. For books that I want to highlight and take notes in, I'll keep on buying the "old-fashioned" kind of book, but I've definitely grown attached to reading on my iPad

I love in the book how she shows you how she reclaims her joy through documenting a thousand things she is thankful for. She is such a gifted writer and you need to visit her blog, A Holy Experience. Not many people write like she does with so much poetry. It is changing my life!

Something else I am loving right now...


BEDHEAD!


(take with my iPhone)
Without fail, this is what Lila's hair looks like every time she wakes up. Precious!

And lastly, I am loving the thought of a vacation! We booked our condo at the beach in Navarre this week. We're going down for the first part of the vacation with my BFF Candice and her family the first part of the week and then we're on our own for the last part. I am so stinkin' excited!

a party for a 1 year old

Finally, we were able to celebrate Lila's 1st birthday this weekend. I just had a low-key celebration planned for her, but we could NOT get the timing right between the flu, snow and surgeries.

The room decorated for the birthday girl...

I really went cheap this year, but I think it turned out cute. I borrowed things,and my BFF Candice made some of the stuff for her birthday. Between the 2 of us we should start a birthday business with all the stuff we have made/bought for birthday celebrations!

Lila's birthday colors were turquoise, red and pink. I made the pennant banner from scrapbook paper, I had on hand. Candice had the tissue flowers from a previous event. The material is some that is left over from Lila's pillows in her room. Some of the other items on the table, I just pulled from her bedroom.

Part of the birthday banner I made...

The color-themed cupcakes I made...

Every month we have taken a picture of Lila in the old rocker that my mom rocked me in. I strung up the pictures from the past 11 months and put a big 8x10 for her 12 months on the table.

Lila was so sweet hanging out with Clinton. This is the stillest I have seen her in a long time!

We completely forgot to get a full body shot of Lila in her birthday outfit. So mad! This is the best picture of it. I had a birthday shirt made for her in her colors, and Candice made a tutu to match it.

Candice also made the birthday hat for me...

Chowing down on her cupcake...

Gift time!

So blessed by family and friends!

lila turns 1

My baby has turned 1.

She is precious, spunky, cute and I can't imagine life without her.

She makes us laugh with her "imitations" of us. She loves to mock what we are doing.

She loves her big sisters. She would follow them anywhere.

She laughs without abandon, coming up from her whole self. She never laughs half way.

And even though no one can make her laugh like Daddy, Mommy still holds the top spot in her heart.

This is a look back at how my baby has grown...

1 month (and one of my all time favorite pics of one of my children)

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

Hopefully, we will finally be able to celebrate her milestone this weekend. It has been postponed due to the flu, stomach virus, and my grandmother's surgery.

Here's to a year that would not have been the same without our precious Lila Kate.

a coonhound

This is how our lunches start... (notice the handful of food that Lila thinks she needs to keep at all times)

Insert Walker, our Treeing Walker Coonhound.

Walker sits and he waits patiently for any little piece that Lila might drop.

Nearing the end of her meal, she always seems to find pity on poor old Walker.

I mean, he is being tortured by his big snout with all the smells of food.

This is the story of how we came to own a coonhound...

Ever since we have moved back to Memphis, the girls have begged and begged for a dog. We have not had luck in the dog department. Jason and I got a dog when we got married and she was proven to not like children. Then, while we were in Tupelo we got a cocker spaniel, a not that smart dog who never would get potty trained after almost 2 years. I was very skeptical as to if we were meant to be dog owners. Luck was not on our side.

However, the girls wore us down and before we knew it we were off to the Germantown Animal Shelter. They told us the sweetest and best dog there was was a dog named Maggie. We were told she was not a pitt bull even though she looked a lot like one. Well... we took her to the vet and she was in fact a pitt. Even though we heard that pitt bull's can be really sweet depending on their owners, we were nervous. So, Maggie went back to the animal shelter (and was adopted quickly after).

We traded in Maggie for a Border Collie/Lab mix. 2 weeks later he attacked Ava for no reason, biting her arm and ear in several spots. He went immediately back to the shelter.

You would have thought at this point that the girls, especially Ava, would have beebn reluctant about owning a dog. But no, the begging continued.

Out of options at the Germantown Animal Shelter, Jason took Emma and Ava to the Bartlett Animal Shelter. He called me asking me about 2 dogs, a bulldog and a lab. I told him to do what he thought best, but remember we didn't have to get a dog at all today.

An hour later Jason calls me and tells me that he decided to go in a different direction. He was bringing home a Treeing Walker Coonhound, a beagle on stilts. He was told by the people that worked there that these dogs did great in the city and needed little exercise.

Immediately after I got off the phone I did a little research. All the research came back saying that these dogs were NOT suitable for urban areas and they required vigorous exercise. Lovely.

I did not have high expectations for our Walker, but he has so proved me wrong. He's lovable and rarely barks and he has never snapped at the girls. He will just let the girls love him all up.

He's officially a part of this family.