Flashback Friday: Mock weddings to graduation.

This past Sunday was Senior Recognition Sunday at our church. So far, I've managed to do a pretty good job of staying calm and composed over the fast-approaching D-Day (college drop-off day). Until Sunday, that is. I did just fine until they started showing the power point montage of pictures of our seniors, which included pictures from birth to their most recent senior picture. The tears began to pool up when I instantly recognized the baby pictures of the kids who have grown up at our church alongside my daughter. I had an instant "flashback" of rocking them in the church nursery or helping them with a craft in Vacation Bible School.

One child in particular (beside my daughter in the pictures above), is the son of some of our dearest friends (also our Pastor and his wife). We didn't plan to have our children close together, but it just so happened to work out that way. Our first two (boys, now 20!) are ten weeks apart and the best of friends. Our second two (boy and girl, now 18) are like brother and sister. Our third two (boys, now 15) are a few months apart and the best of friends. After that, Donnie and Carolyn went on to have a fourth (a boy) while Keith and I retired and opted for two Yorkies instead. :)

Carolyn and I snapped endless pictures of Hunter and Paige over the years and joked that we would be set for the rehearsal dinner slide show just in case our early match-making attempts should someday transpire. Hunter was also the target groom in many shotgun weddings staged in the early years by Paige and/or the older brothers.




















Today, they are longtime friends and headed to college in a matter of months: Paige to Auburn (like her big brother) and Hunter to The University of Mary Hardin Baylor (to play football and no doubt, turn a few heads on campus!). And so, as I heard their names called during the Sunday service (in the video clip below), you can only imagine what I was feeling.



Part of me wanted to go back to the days where they played together on a blanket on the living room floor under the watchful eyes of their mothers. Yet another part of me is excited to see them take flight from the nest and soar in the years to come, now under the watchful and caring eye of God, their Father.

Congratulations Paige, Hunter, Jessica G., Sean P., and James S.! It was a blessing to watch your journey of faith from the church nursery to graduation. May you treasure the legacy of faith you've been given and never, ever forget that the abundant life can only be found in Christ...and Christ alone. (John 10:10b)

The dog days of summer...

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. I am back from a whirlwind weekend of travel and family fun. We visited Keith's folks in East Texas and then headed to our lake house for the remainder of the weekend. We met up with our longtime friends (Pastor and Worship Pastor and their respective families) and spent the day on the lake and just plain being lazy. My battery in my camera died and I forgot my charger, so there are no pictures documenting our fun.

However, I am posting the picture below of Scout as a consolation. Last week, when Keith and I were headed to the lake house, we stopped to get gas. I went inside the convenience store to get my favorite travel candy (SweetTarts) and when I came out, this is what I saw:



Is he a dork or what? Keith, I mean!

Flashback Friday: Anniversaries.

Today marks my 21st wedding anniversary. Keith and I have this silly competition where we try to be the first one to say, "happy anniversary" each year. I won this year. I woke him up at 12:20 (the dogs were barking) and whispered, "Hey, happy anniversary." He grumbled. Then I said, "Do you wish we could go back to that day and do it all over again?" His response (fully alert, now): "Not even for a second." We both laughed and fell back asleep.

We have a wonderful marriage, but we've had our share of bumps along the way--especially in the first year. When I flashback 20 years to our first anniversary, I remember celebrating that evening at Lamaze class. Ryan was born on June 23rd, exactly 13 months from the day we were married. In addition to a pregnancy that caught us off guard, we experienced numerous other events in that first year that are commonly found on an inventory list of life's most stressful events. Here is a brief inventory in the order they occurred:

*Keith graduates from law school
*We get married
*Keith spends summer studying for the bar exam
*We buy new home
*Keith takes bar exam and passes
*We move into new home
*Keith starts new job
*I find out I'm pregnant
*I graduate from college in 3rd month of pregnancy
*Early labor begins at 30 weeks and I am put on permanent bed rest
*We spend the next six weeks in and out of the hospital until we reach the safe zone
*We deliver baby boy. (Two weeks early and a whopping 8 lbs, 10 oz.--go figure!)

I think my blood pressure just went up from typing the list and it happened two decades ago. Not to mention, by our 6 year anniversary, we would have three kids ages five and under, another bout of early labor with the 2nd child, sold our first home, moved into a rent house, built another home and moved in a month shy of our second child's birth. Not surprisingly, it was in the seventh and eighth year of marriage that we hit our biggest bumps in the road. Actually, they were more like boulders. Honestly, had we not gotten some counseling in those years, I'm not sure where we'd be today.

The blood, sweat, and tears invested in those difficult two years have paid off and today, we have a fabulous marriage. Oh sure, we have our moments, but they are few and far between and when they occur, we have the tools to work through them. God is so good and we owe Him full credit.

In three short years, we will be empty-nesters. Oh sure, we'll miss the kids, but for us, it's kind of like redeeming the pre-kid years that most couples had on the front end. And we're kinda of excited about that. Or a lot. We even have dreams of serving in ministry together someday. Who knows what the Lord has in store... And is it selfish to hope that a white sand beach is somewhere in the script? Maybe even Hawaii. Cuz I've never been there or anything. I think I'll go send Keith a link to this post!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Please pray for the Stephen Curtis Chapman family

Friends, I have just been alerted to an unspeakable tragedy regarding the loss of the Chapman's youngest daughter. Click here to read the FoxNews account. May God hold this family in the palm of His hand as they cope with this tragic loss.

I am truly at a loss of words. Will you join me in prayer?

Update: Here is a link to a site set up by their manager with a video clip of Stephen with his daughter. There is also a place to leave condolences.

Ow-way, ayden-Hay!

About a week ago, I received a notification in the mail that my youngest (aka: the baby) would be receiving an award on May 21st at an awards reception being held at the high school. They didn't give any clue as to what type of award it would be, so it has remained a mystery...until last night. Drumroll, please....

Hayden was recognized for his score on the National Latin Exam with a certificate of "Honorable Merit, Magna Cum Laude." Which I'm pretty sure is Latin for "Hey, this kid is a smart cookie."

I feel fairly certain that we can attribute Hayden's smarts to good ol' Dad's gene pool. Keith hates when I share this tidbit about him, but he was Salutatorian (second in his class) in high school (over 500 students). But wait, that's not all, folks. He graduated Valedictorian of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas with a GPA of 3.96. Let me put it to you this way: He made only one "B" in his entire four years of college. ONE. UNO. And you can imagine that he was pretty upset about that one "B" that ruined his shot at a perfect 4.0. Until he met me and I helped him put it all into perspective. Actually, it was one of few things we shared in common when we met. Only I was mighty excited about my one "B". Oh, I exaggerate. I may have had two.

And while I will graciously defer the majority of the gene pool credit to Hayden's pater (Latin for "dad"--I looked it up) on the Latin award, I am clearly a partial contributor due to the fact that I was proficient in Pig Latin in sixth grade. So, ake-tay at-thay, ad-Day.

Perhaps, my greatest memory of last night, is the video clip below. Hayden's first time behind the wheel with his driver's permit! My older son watched the clip when we got home and noted how much calmer I am on the third go 'round of this....

I got me one of them thar' blog makeovers, y'all

Check out the new look! If you're a regular blog visitor, you may have noticed that Virtue Alert has gone under the knife. Jennisa, at Once Upon A Blog, did a fabulous job! In addition to being a delight to work with, her prices are a steal of a deal. Seriously, I'm thinking of emailing the girl right now and telling her she needs to charge more. Way more.

To celebrate my new makeover, we're doing a big give-away of a library of books (FOUR--all signed!) from fellow author and friend, Jennifer Rothschild. This includes her newest release, Self Talk, Soul Talk which was recently featured on Good Morning America along with Jennifer’s inspiring testimony.

To be eligible for the drawing (a week from today), all you have to do is comment and let us know what you think about the new blog design. Remember, if you don't have a blog profile ID that would enable us to contact you, you must leave your email address.

Virtue Alert 101

I realize that many of you have no idea where “Virtue Alert” originated and the story behind its oh-so-humble beginnings. Consider this a crash course of sorts. The idea for a sound-the-alarm “virtue alert” warning to parents was birthed on February 1, 2004. I was sitting in my game room with a gaggle of teens watching the live half-time performance during Super Bowl XXXVIII. You might remember it. It was the one where Janet Jackson decided to flash her bare bosom to the entire free world without giving a moment's thought to the fallout it would produce in homes across America.

It was in those hyper-ventilating moments following the bosom-flashing debacle that I found myself wishing for a forum to rant about such virtue-less atrocities with fellow concerned parents. You know, like the frustration of having to explain to a ten year-old what a "starburst nipple shield” was (as if I knew!) and why a woman who's nearly my age would feel a need to have one much less show it off to a watching world. Sigh.

Another year would go by before my desire to vent on a larger scale would blossom into an online reality. In 2005, on the heels of countless MySpace creepy predator stories, pantieless popstar mishaps, and more anything-but-virtuous events that left concerned moms and dads scratching their heads in disbelief, Virtue Alert came to be. It originally began as an email "alert" to subscribers and was delivered monthly to their inboxes. At the end of 2006, Virtue Alert morphed into an actual blog where readers could offer their own comments and in some cases, form a unified force to take action against key virtue offenders. If you haven't subscribed to receive Virtue Alert updates in your inbox (now delivered weekly), stop and click here to do that right now! We'll wait for you. (Vicki whistling and drumming fingers)

After getting my feet wet in the blogging world by posting about once every week or two in the first half of 2007, I discovered in the process that I actually love to blog—--and not just about Virtue Alert related-topics. Today, I post entries about 3-4 times a weeks on topics ranging from bittersweet college drop-offs and flashbacks to the past (Flashback Fridays) to an occasional rant about a hoochie mama sighting or one of my adorable Yorkies eating my manuscript (true story). Oh, and just in case my kids (20, 18, and 15) are reading this and accuse me of loving the dogs more, I blog about them too...when they give me permission. :)

As a speaker and author, blogging has also afforded me the awesome privilege of getting to know many of you who are in my speaking and reading audience. And let me tell you a little secret: Sometimes those of us who write the books and stand on the platform wish we could just pal around with you and your posse for a day and chat it up over a cup of coffee. While I can’t stop by on a regular basis to many of your blogs, I love to drop in on occasion and read about you and your sweet family and hear about your own journey of faith.

So, there you have it. That is the story of how this blog came to be. Today, it reaches a wide assortment of folks, including moms, dads, teens, college students, singles, ministry leaders, and even a few dog-lovers who tune in for an occasional (ahem, weekly?) Yorkie post. And while I won't be sending a thank you note to Janet Jackson for providing the inspiration behind this blog, I am thankful to discover that I'm not alone in my desire to see a revival for good-ol'-fashioned Godly virtue.

Thank you so much for stopping by. If you have any topics/questions/news stories you would like to let me know about or see me address in the future, please email my Assistant, Shawna. I certainly don't claim to be an expert, but together, I pray we can join forces in an effort to initiate positive change.

Oh, and if you have a blog, please comment with the address so I can stop by sometime and say “hi.” Even if you don't have a blog, please let me know your first name, so I can say a prayer for you. In the meantime, please accept this cyber gift:



Maybe someday, we can grab a real cup and solve the problems of the world!

Beyonce's new prosti-tot line, stripper pole not included

Oh, how I miss the days when we wrung our hands in worry over Barbie's kitschy clothes sending our girls the wrong message. Just when I thought the raunch fashion trend was a thing of the past, I was alerted to the scuttlebutt regarding Beyonce's new line of clothing for girls called, "The House of Dereon Girls' Collection." One glance at the photo above will give you an overview of this kiddie porn couture that will be bidding for your girls' attention this summer. Tacky just got tackier, Mom. Beyonce has managed to design a line where the red light district intersects the grammar school lunchroom.

The concept of the ad is supposed to be an endearing image of little girls playing dress-up, but the general public concensus seems to be saying, "creepy" rather than "cute." How many adults (including the girls' mothers) stood by at this photo shoot and allowed a photographer/producer to pose the girls in such a way? "C'mon girls, put your hands on your hips and work it. That's it--give me your best, pouty look." Seriously, it makes me want to throw-up. And then call Child Protective Services. Girls this age are supposed to be watching The Little Mermaid and dressing up like Ariel not pretending to be a model in a warped photo shoot on America's Next Top Model.

When I write and speak on today's provocative fashions for girls, I firmly hold to the position that clothing is like a label that sends a message to passers-by. In my book, "Your Girl: Raising a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World," I quoted a newspaper article that interviewed a sampling of teenage boys at a local mall in my city of Austin, Texas. When they were asked to comment on some of the tarted-up teen girls parading by, many concluded that girls dress sexy to get male attention. But I am forever haunted by one boy's perception that the clothes are an "invitation." He said, "They're telling you, 'Come get it.' When girls dress like that, it tells guys they're easy."

This, of course begs the question of why any mom (or dad), would allow their daughter(s) to leave the house in an outfit that screams, “Come and get it!” to every red-blooded male that crosses her path. As if that wasn't enough, couple the boys' sobering remarks to the report by the the American Psychological Association that "the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development." Take a look at some of the fallout the study confirmed:

• Cognitive and Emotional Consequences: Sexualization and objectification undermine a person's confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to emotional and self-image problems such as shame and anxiety.

• Mental and Physical Health: Research links sexualization with three of the most common mental health problems diagnosed in girls and women--eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression or depressed mood.

• Sexual Development: Research suggests that the sexualization of girls has negative consequences on girls' ability to develop a healthy sexual self-image.

And to that, I say, "Shame on you, Beyonce for lending to the objectification of our girls." And while we're at it, let's add a few others to this wall of shame. Shame on Beyonce's mother, Tina, who supposedly designed the line. Shame on Macy's and other stores who are carrying this toddler tramp line. Ironically, when I surfed through girls' clothes on Macys.com, I found these two outfits side-by-side:

















Can you guess which one is part of the House of Dereon Girls' Collection? Seeing both of these outfits side-by-side, illustrates the state of flux girlhood is in and the confusion that has resulted from a culture that is rushing our girls to grow up far too fast.

Ah, but I digress. Back to the wall of shame. Shame on the parents of the models in the ad who pimped their daughters out (literally) in an effort to pad their modeling resumes or make a few bucks. Shame on every grown adult who had anything at all to do with this distasteful line of clothes and marketing campaign. You failed to speak up and protect our girls by stating the obvious: "This is just plain WRONG."

And finally, shame on any parent who would buy this trash for their daughters after seeing such an offensive ad and in doing so, support the objectification of our girls. God has called parents to be their daughter's umbrella of protection. Anyone who would justify or defend this pedophile bait is completely desensitized to reality.

If your blood is boiling, do me a favor and send a note to Macy's letting them know how you feel about the line. Or feel free to give them a call at 1-800-BUY-MACY (1-800-289-6229).

Flashback Friday: Dance lessons.

In the spirit of last week's Flashback Friday post where I compared mother/daughter senior pictures, today I offer this sassy pair of mother/daughter recital pics for your viewing pleasure. Apparently, there is a standard tap recital pose that has been handed down from generation to generation.

Do you have a dance recital picture? I double-dog-dare you to post it and comment below with the link!

Oh deer!

I just returned from running some errands and look what was in my neighbor's front yard!

And in this corner....

Consider this post a follow up of sorts to my post from a couple of weeks ago entitled, "Sugar and spice...and not always nice". Since the original post, I have received numerous comments and/or emails from mothers who unexpectedly found themselves in the mean girl boxing ring. Some were alerted to the match in the early rounds while others became involved when the match neared the final count (and their daughters were showing signs of bumps and bruises). Yet others (such as the mom of the cheerleader victim in Florida), entered the picture after the knockout punch...literally.

As I read some of the more serious mean girl accounts (some moms were so shaken up, they asked that their comments/emails not be posted), God brought to mind a verse of scripture that I believe can be helpful to us all. In fact, the verse was just recently given to me by a dear Christian friend and mentor (Jackie Kendall), who offered it as an Rx to an unfortunate incident I am currently experiencing in my own life. During a short flight layover where we only had a few moments before boarding our separate planes, I poured out my heart regarding the situation. Jackie quickly scribbled down a verse on a post-it note (in the picture above) and tucked it into the palm of my hand. I have clung to that verse ever since and it is currently pasted on my bathroom mirror.

One of the heartaches that I shared with my friend Jackie, is that I have sincerely tried to live my life according to 1 Thessalonians 5:13b ("live in peace with one another"), yet in this situation, I found myself dazed and confused from a sucker punch that came out of no where. When it happened, I was faced with a choice. I could put on the gloves and duke it out or step out of the ring and leave the arena. Let me just be honest in saying that my flesh was initially screaming, "Duke it out!" "You can win this one!" "Go for it!" Fortunately, the Holy Spirit took hold of my heart and spoke through my friend, Jackie before I found myself playing the role of the fool (Prov. 20:3b).

Friends, I believe that the wisdom behind this tiny little verse can be applied to any form of "strife" we may encounter in life, whether it pertains to a mean girl episode our daughters may encounter or a grown-up bump in the road. Let's take a closer look at Proverbs 20:3 and break it down a bit. Here is the verse in its entirety in several different translations:

It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. (NIV)

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. (NLT)

It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling. (KJV)

The Hebrew word for "strife" is riyb (reeb) which can be defined as a contest (personal or legal) adversary, cause, chiding, or controversy. (Strong's Hebrew Dictionary of the Old Testament)

The Hebrew word for "cease" is shebeth (sheh´-beth) which can be defined as rest, interruption, cessation: cease, sit still.

As my dear friend Jackie pointed out, this verse is all about drawing "healthy boundaries." I love the definition of "cease" and for some reason, the phrase "time-out" comes to mind. When our daughters end up in the boxing ring, whether willingly or by choice, it's our job to teach them the principle behind this verse. If they are too young or too immature to "sit still" or take a "time-out" from the "strife," it's our job to intervene and draw the boundary for them. Think about it. If someone leaves the ring, the fight is over. It cannot continue. The real winner is the one who leaves the ring, not the one who is left punching the air!

Now, that doesn't mean that the person left behind in the ring won't follow after and look for a way to initiate another match. Sometimes, it's just not possible to "live in peace with one another" because the other party is not willing to practice the same principle. When this occurs, we must resort to drawing "healthy boundaries" in an effort to avoid further hurt.

Many times, the opponent is an actual friend which can at one moment, be a perfectly loving friend, and the next, putting on the gloves and picking a fight. Of course, this makes the situation all the more hurtful, not to mention, delicate to deal with. If your daughter (or you) find yourself in the ring over and over again with the same person, it may be necessary to call a permanent "time-out" and cease all contact. Some people were just not meant to have a relationship. However, in some cases, I realize this may not be practical (family members, co-workers, etc...), so you might consider a temporary ban on contact so you can take a time-out to deal with the matter.

In more serious situations, it might be necessary to take steps to meet with the girl's parents or school officials, remove your daughter from the ring by requesting a class change, block a phone number on her phone, or having her remove the individual as a friend on the social networking sites. Technology has made it easy to escalate a situation from bad to worse with a few clicks of a mouse. If your daughter is a teen, she will probably be resistant to you stepping in, fearing that it will only make matters worse. And it very well may. Remember though, the key is to act with honor and "cease" the strife. Many times, our girls are not yet equipped with the tools to do this on their own.

Let's face it, strife is part of life. How we deal with it and thus, how we train our children to deal with it, will be part of the recipe when it comes to developing healthy relationships. As our girls learn the Proverbs 20:3 principle (hopefully, from our positive example), they will be better equipped to gauge on the front end which relationships are worthy of their time and which ones should be avoided (or exited when they see warning signs). Whether it involves choosing friends, college roommates, boyfriends, or even a future spouse, this verse is a must-have in their tool belts...along of course, with their mama's prayers. :)

Technology, schmeckology

Grrrr....I woke up this morning to a sick computer. When I went to load my inbox, lo and behold, 2347 emails started to trickle in one by one. Now, don't be impressed. I'm not that popular. I then spent another hour trying to logon to my server (iPower, cough, cough), in an effort to troubleshoot the problem myself rather than sit on the phone for HOURS waiting for someone to help me who doesn't habla la lengua or care if I ever receive another email again. Because, I've never had that happen before or anything. And the calming elevator music they play while you're on hold loses its effectiveness after say, 45 minutes. No, make that 5 minutes.

But alas, my time-saving login efforts were in vain because when I tried, I was directed to a page that said, "page does not exist." Which made me grrrrrr even more because clearly, I'm paying iPower for an account that can't be accessed because it doesn't exist. Do I sound ouchy?

Three hours later, I can finally send and receive email, but have since discovered another computer issue in the process of deleting the bazillion trillion uninvited emails in my account. I got a random pop-up saying that something in Microsoft Office was corrupted and suggested that I run some data manager utility thanga-magig to fix the problem. I had to rebuild the whole database and if you think for a minute that it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, don't be fooled. The most stressful moment was clicking the "continue" button which gave my computer the okay to I guess, fix itself. I was fairly certain that the computer would blow up, since I didn't really know what it was asking me for permission to do in the first place. (Note to Bill Gates: We don't habla your lengua either so take it down a notch on these pop-up messages, k?)

I also discovered that in the 22 months I have had my MacBook, I have somehow managed to use 71 of my 80 gigs. And it seems I remember some tech-wizard at the Mac store saying something about the possibility of running into computer issues when you reach over 3/4 capacity on your hard drive. Does anyone know if that's true? Cuz if it is, it seems I have no other choice but to bite the bullet and go get a laptop with a bigger hard drive. Maybe one like this one:



Because it's pretty. And silvery. And does cool things. And has 200 gigs vs. 80 gigs. And is probably capable of driving my son to school in the mornings so I can sleep in. And oh my, look at the cost! Looks like I better go find some stuff to delete from my hard drive...

Meet my Mother's Day hero...

I had a perfectly lovely Mother's Day. We spent the weekend at our lake house and even attended church at a wonderful little church in Marble Falls (Lakehills Baptist). Normally, we rush back home on Saturday evenings since Keith teaches Bible study at our church, but he had someone cover for him this week. My in-laws met us for breakfast on Sunday morning at the famed Bluebonnet Cafe and spent the remainder of the day with us.

After church, we ate lunch at The Farmhouse restaurant where the kids gave me cards that made us laugh so hard, the waitress had to come back to take our order. The one that sent me over the edge was Ryan's card which was pink and glittery and had My Little Pony on a minibike with her mane blowing in the wind. When I opened it up, it had one of those audible messages wishing me a Happy Mother's Day in My Little Pony's voice. At the end of the message, you hear a "beep, beep" from the mini-bike and that was the very moment the waitress appeared at our table to take our order. I can't think of anything more endearing (um, confident?) than a very macho 20 year-old male giving his mom a My Little Pony card for Mother's Day.

After lunch, we set out for a quick boat ride with the in-laws and the day took an unexpected turn. I decided to bring Scout (4 lb. wonder-pup) along, since it was going to be a short ride. He and Lexie have been on the boat before, but Lexie barks at the other boats, so we normally leave them behind. We were heading out of the cove to the main part of the lake and Scout had his eye on a duck that was swimming by. Hayden and I were in the front of the boat with him and several times, Keith yelled up, "Honey, I think you need to hang on to him."

Normally, I do hang on to him, but since we were moving rather slowly and he had never attempted to jump before, I didn't heed the warning. I think you know what's coming next in this story. The pictures above were taken moments before the rascal JUMPED off the boat! All I could think of was to yell, "Scout...boat...cut the engine!" I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating until the engine was silent and I spotted Scout swimming like mad away from the boat. I think I was in shock at this point and what happened next was all a blur. All I remember is seeing my husband take a giant leap onto the back deck of the boat and without a moment's hesitation, proceed to do the most gorgeous swan dive into the lake to save my frightened little pup.

I don't think I've ever loved my man more than at that moment when I saw him swim back to the boat in his t-shirt and swim trunks, holding Scout up by the handle of his jacket. Tragedy averted. The poor guy even lost his sunglasses in the rescue. Fortunately, this is where his frugality pays off and the financial loss is around ten bucks since he gets them at Walgreens. We turned the boat around and let Keith dry off and change clothes before trying our boat ride again. And yes, we left the dog behind this time.

Last night, the family got so tickled as we replayed Dad's swan dive into the lake. The funniest part about his gorgeous swan dive is that the lake is only about 4-5 feet deep in our cove. Of course, he defended the swan dive by saying that he was trying to get to the dog as fast as possible. I spent the remainder of the evening serenading him with, "Did you ever know that you're my hero..." And truth be told, next to Jesus, he earned that label long ago. The dog rescue just put him into the super-hero category.

Flashback Friday: Senior pictures.

This past week, Paige and I were addressing her graduation invitations and getting them ready to send out to friends and family. While stuffing her senior picture into each invitation, I thought it might be fun to dig out my old senior picture and show her. Let's hear it for the Class of '82! Woot, woot!

When I showed Paige the picture, she responded by falling to the floor in a fit of side-busting, tears-streaming-down-your-face, uncontrollable laughter. In between hyper-ventilating breaths, she said, "Mom, please don't tell me you sent this out. This picture needs to be burned at once." (Which begs the question as to why I am posting it to the World Wide Web)

I responded to her laughing fit with and edge of defense: "Paige, I have you know that I was in the oh-so-cool group in high school." Foolish child.

"Mom, look at your hair. And your shirt." (more laughing) "Is it tucked in? With a belt?" (yet, more laughing) "And that dead grass stuff behind you. And....WHAT IN THE WORLD IS IN YOUR LAP?" Oh. the. shame.

Upon looking a bit more closely at the photo, I proceeded to join her in the laugh-a-thon. What would we have done without our curling irons? And was I channeling Laura Ingall's with my oh-so-proper, high-necked, prairie shirt? Don't let the innocent prairie shirt fool you, folks. Think Nellie Olesen, here. And the dead grass fan burst that appears to be growing out the back of my head? Simply, no explanation for that, whatsoever. It's inexcusable. The photographer should be taken behind his woodshed turned darkroom and beaten with the fan burst. At once.

But the most humorous element of this photo by far, has got to be the encyclopedia that the photographer placed in my lap. Because nothing like an encyclopedia in the lap of a graduating senior quite says, "Hey, I'm a scholar, people." Which um, I wasn't, so go figure.

After having a good laugh, my daughter paid a final tribute to mom's classic senior picture by attempting to mock this fine example of creative photography. And yes, that's her laptop in her lap. :)














Have a great Mother's Day weekend! We're off to the lake...

Pardon me while I have a nervous breakdown

UPDATE: College boy is home! See homecoming pics at the end of this post!


It seems like yesterday, we were making the long trip up to Auburn....


....to move the boy into college...

and say our goodbyes.


It is 3:36 am. Do you know where your child is? Hopefully, my college boy is getting a good night's rest (unlike his mother) before leaving Auburn, Alabama at the crack of dawn. He will begin his long journey home and caravan behind two fellow Auburn friends from Austin, one of which is accompanied by a grown-up mother (praise Jesus). Eight hundred plus miles in one day. He assures us that should he get too tired, he will pull away from the pack and find a hotel for the night.

And yes, I am feeling mother's guilt for not flying up to join him, but was assured that he will be fine. Over and over again. All week long. Unfortunately those soothing words of comfort did little to ward off the near-panic attack that awakened me with a jolt at 2:45 am. And the person who gave me the "He'll be fine, Honey" speech all week? Why, he is sleeping peacefully, my friend. The last 45 minutes of my tossing-and-turning, he was even SNORING.

There is nothing like a good snore to mock a pending panic attack. It just seems to say, "Hey, I'm in deep REM sleep and you're not." Or maybe even "I'm resting on a double dose of peace that surpasses all understanding and if you trusted God as much as me, you might be too." Which is exactly why I came downstairs to blog. Who needs that kind of mockery?

So, here is a small sampling of thoughts that plague my slumber (in no particular order):

What if he doesn't get a good night's rest before his long day of travel?

What if he gets tired and doesn't feel comfortable telling his friends that he needs to pull over?

What if his 1997 Ford F-150 doesn't hold up for the long trip?

What if he encounters a random log on the road and blows out his tire? Oh, these things happen, people. Yes they do. It happened to me a couple of years ago and after thanking Jesus that I survived, I was immediately haunted by the thought of how my young drivers would have handled the log-in-the-middle-of-the-road challenge.

What if it rains? And the roads are slick? And he's fumbling with his Ipod.

Or talking on his cell phone?

Or reading a text message?

Or answering one of my many calls?

Or all of the above and the log-in-the-middle-of-the-road thing happens?

What if, what if, what if....

You get the picture. Of course, I know the answer and I've been praying like a madwoman all week. I just took two Tums and read my One Year Bible daily reading, which I was kinda hoping would be a passage of scripture about a college boy returning safely home after a long journey. Alas, it was not, but I did read this: "A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body." (Proverbs 14:30a) And this: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalm 106:1)

And on that note, I'm going to give thanks to the Lord, pray that He will fill my anxious heart with His peace, and go to bed. I would be so grateful if you could toss up a flair prayer on behalf of my son and his traveling caravan. While you're at it, can you lift up his neurotic mother, as well? I will try to update through the day--more for therapy purposes than anything else! :)

UPDATE #1:Whew. I just checked in on college boy and he has traveled nearly 200 miles! He is 1/4th of the way home. He is caffed up on coffee and in good spirits. I read him my post and he was touched by your prayers. In fact, he said, "Wow, with all those prayers, I could probably just take my hands off the wheel." That boy...

UPDATE #2: It's 6:05 pm (11 hours after college boy began his journey) and he is sitting in traffic in Houston. He is sounding pretty groggy and said he was planning to stop for one of those mega-monster energy drinks once he gets through town. After five cavities last year (yes, you read that correctly) from a year's worth of energy drinks, he had sworn off of them, but alas, I think an exception can be made in this case. Projected time of arrival: 9-10 p.m.!

FINAL UPDATE: He's home! After 14 long hours in the car...he pulled into the driveway. Thank you so much for your prayers. Enjoy the pics!

It's 9:30 pm and the whole family is waiting on the curb for a Ford F-150 sighting.

I think he's been missed...

Father and sons.


Welcome home, Ryan! (Notice the airsoft gun...wonder if he studied?)

The morning drill...

Me (from writing chair, of course): Good morning, Sunshine.

Hayden (a groggy-eyed, starving teen boy): Hey, mom. (snuggling, with Scout) Hello my little Scout Muffin.

Teenager makes way to pantry. A pantry stare-down ensues. Finally, a choice is made.



Whew, we're not out of milk. Ouchy teen outburst averted.



Fruity Pebbles: The breakfast of junk-food champions and a staple in the Courtney home.

Hayden: Mom, why are you taking my picture? You're not going to blog about this, are you?

Mom: (silence ensues)

Hayden: (proceeds to table to eat) Mom, why are you so weird?

Mom: Not sure, son. It's a question I ask myself everyday. Oh, and the neighbors just called and wanted to know if you can keep the smacking down...

Hayden: Mom, you say that everyday. And everyday, I think it's not funny.

Mom: And everyday, I wonder if this is the day you'll stop smacking your food.

Hayden: (walking out of room to brush teeth before heading to school) Mom, don't forget to pick me up after Driver's Ed at seven.

Mom: I won't, son.

Only three more years of the morning drill... And Driver's Ed? Seriously! Make it stop!

Vicki + Cooking = Say what?

Oh, friends. I have found a new hobby. It appears that I am a good cook and I didn't even know it. Had I discovered this hidden talent earlier, well, I just might have made friends with my kitchen years ago and called a truce to this domestic war.

As I've searched deep within my soul to discover the root to my previous aversion to cooking, here is what I found:

* I feel overwhelmed with recipes that contain more than 4-5 ingredients.
* I am not a patient person, therefore, if it cannot be assembled and made with little effort, forget it.
* I have flashbacks of making wonderful dishes like Chicken and Dumplings from scratch in the earlier years, only to have my children whine at the table and ask for fruit roll-ups.
* I can't stand to clean it all up.

And so, as a result, we have managed to live off of fast food and those nifty rotisserie chickens from your local grocer. If I was feeling real Betty Crockerish, I would whip up a box of those Homestyle Mashed Potatoes and a couple cans of fresh cut green beans to go with the chicken. On a really good day the family might also be treated to a batch of flaky crescent rolls with real butter.

Ah, but all that has changed. I'm not sure what led to my making peace with my anti-kitchen past, but it could be one of the following:

1) I overheard my daughter recently tell a friend, "Yeah, I'm a little worried about getting homesick when I go away to college, but at least I won't miss my mom's home-cooking." Ouch?

2) College boy recently commented, "I can't wait to visit Memaw and Poppy this summer because Memaw cooks and I'm tired of eating junk food in college." Ouch? Wait, did he say, "in college?"

3) The reaction I got a few nights ago when I made this pot roast in the picture above. "Wow Mom, this is seriously the best roast I have ever had." (Hayden) "Not bad, Mom. Not bad." (Paige) "Honey, this is amazing. It is falling apart when I try to take a bite." (Keith) "You should make this for Ryan when he comes home. He loves roast." (Keith) And the final blow: "Mom, you're a good cook. You should cook more." (Hayden)

I repent! I repent! Is this seriously all it takes to please these people? Good Lord, all I did was dust the chunk of meat with flour, throw it in the crock pot with an envelope of Beefy Onion Soup mix and a cup of water and cook it on low for 7 hours.



I served it with my signature sides: Betty Crocker Herb and Butter mashed potatoes and Del Monte cut green beans.



I don't recall receiving this much praise since, well, years ago when I managed to turn in a Blockbuster video on time and avoid the late fee. It was a moment worthy of celebration.

So, help me out and share your easy-to-prepare recipes! I've got to give my college kids a reason to come home...and my husband, a reason to stay! And pray for me as I venture into this unknown room in my house called the kitchen. It's a scary place, that room. Who knows, my next book just might be a cookbook. Of course, all the recipes will have four ingredients or less. :)

We have a birthday girl, y'all

Age 1: A tea party!

Age 2: She wanted to sit alone to eat her cake

Age 3: A bike parade!

Age 18!

Goodness. How many milestones can a mother take in six weeks? Here's a quick inventory just in case you've lost count:

April: Senior prom
May 5th: Baby girl celebrates 18th birthday
June: Graduation

She's EIGHTEEN, people. We won't even talk about August which as you know, represents D-Day (college DROP-OFF Day) or more understandably, the day Mom curls up into a fetal position in the passenger seat of the car and sobs her eyes out while Hubs makes the get-away. Yep, fun times ahead.

So, in celebration of Paige's 18th birthday, here are 18 things I love about my baby girl: (I totally stole this from Amanda, who did this for each month of her son's life at the age of two. We're going to go with years, since I figure you probably don't want to read 216 things I love about my girl!)

1. She inherited the shopping gene.
2. More importantly, she inherited the shoe-shopping gene.
3. She could care less about impressing people.
4. She is not afraid to speak her mind, even if she's in a clear minority.
5. She is not into primping and doesn't wear much make-up, saving it for special occasions.
6. She is very level-headed with a capacity for thinking things through and learns quickly from mistakes. Thinking back on my high school years, I'm pretty sure she got this from her dad... :)
7. She is very picky when it comes to guys and has set the bar high. In other words, she has not been (and is not) the least bit interested in having a boyfriend just for the sake of having a boyfriend. (Please Jesus--let her take this quality to college.)
8. She has maintained her purity and has said she will not bother with any guy who refuses to respect her boundaries. (Thank you, Jesus and ditto to above prayer.)
9. She is sociable and well-liked, but not interested in the least in being "popular."
10. She loves having two brothers, but hates being the middle child. She swears she will have either two or four children someday, but NEVER an uneven number. Clearly, not having a fourth child has scarred her for life and the two Yorkies have failed to fill the gap.
11. She plans to get a degree, but unashamedly says her biggest dream is to be a wife and mother. (God's will be done!)
12. She is super-duper organized and if you tell her do get something done, you rarely have to remind her...unless it's doing the dishes.
13. She is a total goof-ball and I have a zillion pictures to prove it.
14. She has some unusual and quirky OCD behaviors. Examples include: Microwaves with flashing numbers -- she can't concentrate until the problem is fixed; TV volume settings must be in increments of five...and the list goes on.
15. She loves children and is a much-loved babysitter and camp counselor. She currently works at a daycare and the kids think she's a rock star. The toddler boys want to marry her.
16. She will serenade her friends with solos and act out motions to the songs that are hilarious. Did I mention that singing does NOT run in our family? It's a sight to behold. (see #13)
17. For the first oh, sixteen years of her life, she lived off bread, flour tortillas, and pasta (no sauce, please). She is the pickiest eater you will ever meet.
18. She loves Jesus and is not afraid to go public with her faith. From her Facebook page: "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe."

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Flashback Friday: Formal playrooms.

We built the house we're living in now, fourteen years ago and moved in when the kids were 6, 4, and 1. It was a standard two story floor plan that amounted to a downstairs living space with a kitchen, living area, half bath, and a formal room next to the foyer. Of course, when you have young children, the word "formal" is absent from your vocabulary, so the front room in the house was quickly converted to a playroom. Over the years, we jokingly referred to it as the "formal playroom." Sometimes it bothered me that the first thing our visitors saw upon entering our home was a room filled with brightly colored Little Tykes toys, shelves filled with books, beanbag chairs, and Hotwheels, doll clothes, blocks, and legos littering the floor.

Over the years, the room morphed to accommodate my children's ages and stages. The Little Tykes toys were eventually moved out and replaced with a gymnastics mat for the budding gymnast. The boys didn't mind it because they had an instant wrestling mat to wallop each other without suffering carpet burn. In the pictures above (1998), the gymnastics mat had been removed and the room had been transformed into a McDonald's restaurant (Dad even built the booth in the picture). This was the year my children were fascinated with the fast food industry and expressed aspirations of someday working at McDonald's. Actually Ryan wanted to own a McDonald's, which I'm sure influenced his decision to major in Business/Entrepreneurship at Auburn. I however, took their interest as a sign that we had eaten one too many Happy Meals.

Today, ten years from the time the pictures above were taken, the "formal playroom" has been converted at long last to a "formal living room." An office was added on several years ago and one of the side windows was sheet-rocked over while the other became the doorway. We also added a gameroom onto the back of our house which is the room where we now gather to play.





As I think back to my frustration in the early years over the always-messy, formal playroom, I wish I could go back and tell that mother that someday, she would get her much dreamed about formal living room. I would tell that mother that her little budding gymnast who tumbles down the mat would one day stand in that same room and peer out the front window while waiting for her prom date to arrive.




I would tell that mother that one day she herself would sit on the pretty sofa in her formal living room and anxiously watch for her son to pull into the driveway after a long drive home at the end of his first year away at college.





But since I can't go back and tell that mother, I will tell you instead. Just days from now, I will sit on my pretty sofa in what was once a formal playroom and again watch for my college boy to return home--this time for his second summer break. The toys now gone and the room eerily silent, I will sit and stare out the front window, watching anxiously for a white pick-up truck to turn into the driveway. And while I will feel a settled sense of peace in my long-awaited formal living room, I will wish for an opportunity to tell mothers with messy, formal playrooms that someday, they may have moments where they miss those toys on the floor and the smudged hand prints on the walls.

Jason Castro, will you marry my daughter?

Dear Jason,

Rumor has it that you are a darling Christian young man who just so happens to be single. I was curious as to how you feel about the concept of arranged marriages? They were quite common in Bible times and given their high rate of success as compared to today's divorce rate, I felt it would be an option worth considering. Because well, I have a lovely daughter I would like to introduce to you. And I think it would be really cool to have you as a son-in-law. (References available upon request)

Since my daughter is weeks shy of graduating from high school, I'm suggesting a four year courtship period. During that period, you are welcome to call, text, or Facebook her while she is at Auburn. At the end of that period of time, should you still love Jesus more than life itself, we will meet you at the Chapel. It's as simple as that. Bring your ukulele.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Courtney

P.S. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to overlook the fact that you attend Texas A&M.

Have a daughter? Get excited!

Whew! I just returned late last night from a whirlwind two day trip to Nashville where I met with my Publisher regarding the 5 Conversations Bible study/DVD. For those of you who are new to my blog and don't know what I'm talking about, I have a book coming out in September called “5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter” and a Bible study/DVD under the same title that will release the following spring (2009). Since I just returned from a planning meeting regarding the Bible study piece, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of what you might expect in the study. Picture this:

*A Bible study where mothers of daughters (from cradle to college) meet together to tackle the unique challenge of raising girls in today’s culture.

*A Bible study where mothers of older girls can be a support and source of wisdom to mothers of younger girls. (Titus 2 in action!)

*A safe place for moms to be honest about specific challenges they are facing in raising their daughters—and no judgment allowed!

*A Bible study where moms are challenged to take a deeper look at unhealed issues of their past (or present) that may hinder them from discussing certain critical issues with their daughters.

*A safe place for moms to admit that more often than not, we feel like we are winging this whole parenting thing and just hanging on by our fingernails. (Myself included!)

*A Bible study where moms will laugh together, cry together, and celebrate the joys of motherhood.

*A Bible study that will leave you challenged yet filled with hope for the future.

Above is a sneak peek of the book that will release in September. Thank you to all my readers who voted on this fabulous cover! As I write the curriculum piece for the study and begin planning the DVD portions, I will be leaning on you in the days to come to lend your insight. In the meantime, I feel led to develop a prayer team for the development of this study. If you feel led to be a prayer partner, would you indicate that in a comment or contact my Assistant, Shawna at shawna@virtuousreality.com? She will email specific requests (monthly) as they arise in the planning of this important study. If you have a daughter and there is something you would like to see this study accomplish, please comment with your suggestions!