One Haircut and A Yummy Dinner!

I took Nathan to get a haircut today. He did amazingly great! He even sat patiently and waited for thirty minutes, which is no small feat for him! Of course, he always gets a sucker during his haircut if he is good. Having a sticky  four year old beats holding a kicking and screaming four year old. I could do that when he was two or three years old but it gets harder every year. And, somehow, having a sucker makes all the difference! We always get his hair scissor cut as short as it will go so we don't have to go back for a while.

Here is are before and after photo's:

(Before.. the pictures were taken from my phone so they are a little blurry)

(After... He always has a cow lick on one side that we can't get rid of :)

And he actually let me take his picture without crying!

And then............ Hannah made this for supper:

All in all a GREAT day!!

November

Okay, since I have blogged since November 5th, I will post about everything that happened in November. Well, almost everything. I'm sure you don't want to hear about what I had for lunch everyday :)

I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I have a picture but I am NOT going to post it ;)

Nathan got very sick with the stomach bug the weekend before Thanksgiving and, therefore, I did too. Thankfully I was better by Thanksgiving, which was spent at the Ledbetter house.

Thursday night/Friday morning after Thankgiving dinner and a few card games, Alyson, Hannah, Josey, and I went to Old Navy for black Friday. Josey and I had never been before and it was quite an experience!

Then Friday morning (about 5 hours after going black Friday shopping), Hannah, Judah, my mom, and I went to Camden, AL to see my moms side of the family. Here is a picture of me and my great uncle who, in his 80s, still runs a farm with the help of his wife, my granny's sister:

And here are pictures of my Grann Ann (great aunt) and Granny. We had to sneak them because neither one likes have their picture taken:

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went to the Christmas tree farm with the Ledbetters, Hicks, and McConnells. It was tons of fun! And I would post a picture except that Alyson took the pictures and we don't have them yet. It was quite funny trying to get a picture of all of us (kids included). It went something like this "Addie Beth, get your thumb out your mouth". "Will, you can cry after the photo, just smile.... okay, don't smile. Just look at the camera" "Everyone squeeze in tighter". "Anna take you sunglasses off". "Gabe, smile just ONE time and then we can be done". Very funny!

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree.... leaning and not in too good of shape at the time :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and November!

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Mission House Work Day!!

Today was the Mission House Work Day for MWP. I got there early so I read a few chapters in my Bible. Then I thought maybe no one was coming because it was about fifteen minutes past time for us to be there......... until I saw a guy pull up with plants, mulch, dirt, manure, ect, ect. We dug holes, planted bushes and tree's, and mulched that section of the yard. It was a real blessing being around people who's hearts are burdened for the same thing mine is. I got to just sit back (dig holes) and listen to them talk about stuff going on in Sudan and other places where Human Trafficking is very high. I was impressed with how much they know about the government and the ways of the people there. The coordinator, Kevin, and his family lived in Sudan for at least a couple of years. Abigail, their 2 1/2 year old daughter knows more languages than I do. She is the sweetest little girl. She helped me spread mulch and plant a few plants. She and I threw leaves in the air, dug in the dirt, rolled acorns down the driveway, and went exploring. I wish I had a few pictures to share but I don't.

I can't express how fulfilled and light I feel in having spent time with Gods people, planting and taking care of Gods creation.

Until later...

-Rachel

Volunteering

About two months ago I applied for a volunteer position with Make Way Partners, an organization that helps women and children who are at the highest risk for human trafficking, forced prostitution and other forms of modern-day slavery and where little to no other help is available because it is considered either "too" dangerous, "too" expensive or "too" remote for most people to go. It required sending in a four page detailed application and having a few people send in recommendation forms.  Because it had been so long I didn't think I would get the position. I prayed and asked God to open this door if it is what He has for me. One month went by and I still had not heard back from MWP. I kept praying and trusting that God knew what He was doing. I told Him that I didn't know where to go from here if I didn't get the volunteer position and that I REALLY wanted to help out in that area because human trafficking has been on my heart for a couple of years and I want to do anything I can to help in ending it.  Another month went by. Then, FINALLY, I got an email about a week ago from the director assistant of MWP. She told me that she wanted to meet me but I first needed to take a personality quiz and she needed to ask me a few more questions. After all of that we set up a time to meet- which was today. She asked me a lot of questions that caught me off guard during the  interview. But she was very nice and I answered them the best I could. And, guess what?! I got the position! My first volunteer opportunity is this Saturday helping to clean up the Mission House and doing yard work- that sort of stuff.

God is so amazing! He knew that if I just waited then it would all work out.

Sigh...

"My" kids part two.

Nathan Aaron:

This is an old picture of him (he was about 2 1/2 years old) but I have always liked it because I caught him smiling.

Where to start? I guess I will start with his likes and dislikes. His favorite foods are ziti, fruit of any kind, ketchup with/on anything, and "jelly bread". His favorite things to do are count, play with his trains and his train table/tracks, write letters and numbers, swing, cuddle, and copy his sister. Oh, and eat. He doesn't understand the concept of answering questions yet so I don't know what his favorite color is- though I think it may be pink. His favorite songs are We Are The Body by Mandi Mapes and Let It Out by Chris and Conrad. His favorite tv shows are Super Why, Little Einsteins, and Mickey Mouse Club House. He loves kisses and hugs! He is autistic so he interacts in different ways than most kids. He plays with other kids by copying what they do. He is a very cuddly little guy. He will ask me if I will go sit on the couch just so he can sit in my lap and me hold him for a few minutes. He is a very loud and energetic boy, yet at four and a half years old, he still takes a two hour nap nearly every day. He has no sense of what an "inside voice" is ;) He likes to do things on his own and I hear him say (A LOT) "No! I can do it! Let me do it!". He is beginning to be independent. I left him in his room to put on his pajama's by himself for the first time today. It took him about ten minutes but he did it! The only thing he needed help with was putting his arms in the right places in his shirt. Now, I know that at four and a half this should be pretty easily done but for him it is a huge accomplishment. He has come a long way at the Burkett Center and especially loves his teacher Miss Dianna!

(here is a recent picture of him)

Nathan, my cuddle buddy, my little man.

"My" kids.

I wanted to write about the kids that I am a nanny for. Just because I love them very much and I can. Since Kylee is the oldest I will start with her.

Kylee Rose:

At four and a half years old, she is the oldest twin by three minutes. She will do almost anything to make Nathan, her brother, stop crying. Whether its getting him his blanky or giving him the toy that she's playing with. She is very spunky and will argue for hours if I will let her- that's usually where Nathan comes in. They will argue back and forth for the longest time and think its the funniest thing. She loves being a peer helper at the Burkett Center and talks endlessly about her teachers and friends there. Her favorite color changes almost every day. Her favorite things to do are: be swung upside down, wrestle with Nathan, color, play outside, and, recently, she has taken an interest in caring for her baby dolls and stuffed animals. Her favorite foods are eggs and any kind of fruit or vegetable... she will even eat raw green beans. Her favorite song is In Your Arms by Mandi Mapes. She has the sweetest little voice when she sings. Her favorite TV show's are Super Why and The Backyardigans. She really likes helping me fold the laundry and helping me bake. She also likes to pick out her own clothes. If me or her Memom (grandmother) pick something out for her to wear she will most likely not come out of her room wearing the same thing we picked out- even if its just a different pair of socks.
She is a very sensitive and expressive little girl and will cry if all you do is give her a mean look. She will often come to me with big tears rolling down her face saying "Raaaaaaaachel, Nathan yeeeeeelled at me".

My dear, precious, Kylee Bug.

To start off with..

I told my sister that the first thing I posted would be about her. So here goes:

Hannah: She is my twin. Older by two minutes. She is very caring and hates it when she hurts someones feelings. She is one of the nicest girls I know. She likes (loves) getting splinters out of anyone's skin that will let her. She is going to be a nurse- the perfect job for her. She absolutely adores kids. She is super silly but can be very serious when she needs to be. I will often find her prancing through the house in some weird concoction of clothes just to make everyone laugh. She is athletic and really likes to run- especially if its for a good cause. She can do a cartwheel and a round-off... both of which I cannot. She is a part-time nanny and hard working college student. She really likes to fish- as you can see by the great big fish she caught in the picture above ;) If you ever need help with anything- Hannah is one you want to call. I would say ice cream is her favorite food but lately she has been eating a lot of blueberries (hence the blue mouth). Her favorite color is blue and she finds it hard to sleep without her old, raggedy, stuffed elephant named Snuffleupagus, AKA Snuffy.

She is my other half. She is my twin.