Dreams

"It is pleasant to see dreams come true"

or another version:

"A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul." Prov. 13:19

I have silly dreams:

~ having my entire house be completely clean and for longer than 10 minutes (hey, while we are dreaming, I'll add to my dream that it is cleaned by someone other than myself who looks like Matthew McConnaughey)

~ weighing 10 lbs less and having super cute hair

~ sleeping in until 10am

~not picking up 12 pairs of OTHER peoples shoes a day (albeit, they are cute OTHER people)

I have dreams I pray constantly:

~ that all 3 of my precious girls love and walk with Jesus

~ that those same 3 sweet girls grow up being best friends as children and as adults

~ that I love the Lord in a way that makes others want to love Him too

~ that my kind husband would hunger and thirst after God's Word

~ that the Lord would graciously protect and provide for our family

And my new dream from just the past 3 months or so (drum roll please):

In honor and in memory of my incredible mom, my dearest friend in the world,

I would like to put together gift baskets full of snacks, water, magazines, books, etc. to take to families who are having a child go through open heart surgery (like our sweet Reesie a year ago) or who are battling cancer like Mom.

I remember the number of people who visited my mom in the hospital and what an encouragement it was to her. I remember what a huge blessing it was at the hospital last year with Reese when her school sent a gift basket full of snacks and water up for our friends and family in the waiting room.

I'd like to place something in the baskets that can be an introduction to Christ, nothing to over the top, but something that might give them a taste of His loving kindness even in the midst of a raging storm in life. I'd like the baskets to be cute. My mom loved decorating and loved making people feel special and I want these to do the same. I'd like to name my little project something having to do with God's Graciousness. First, because of the graciousness He gave me through the life of my mom. Secondly, because of the graciousness He bestowed on us by allowing Reese's heart to be healed medically. Thirdly, because my Mom's name Jean means God's graciousness.

I'd love y'alls feedback. What do you think? Do you have ideas about what to put in the baskets? What would be the best "taste" of Jesus in material form? How is the best way to get things at a reduced price or donated? Would you be willing to donate and help give some of God's graciousness to other families? Just as I am doing it in honor of my mom and our Reese, if I posted on my blog your name and a loved one you are choosing to honor would you want to be a part of this? If God were to have this dream take off in big ways, does anyone know anything about creating a non-profit? Anyone have a creative name for this dream?

Come on...I don't ask often, but will you leave me a note. Even if you are a friend of a friend who checks in every now and then who I've never met... (you know we all do it), I want to hear from you.

"The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does." Ps. 145:13

Fall Festivities

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather, but am so glad it's not cold. I love the sound of leaves crunching under my feet when we go on walks around the neighborhood. I absolutely love fall decorations more than any other type. I think it's the best to leave the screen door open. And I truly love having a season of thankfulness. It does my heart and soul good. A couple of weeks ago we headed out to a pumpkin patch. The girls always enjoy it, and we ran into unexpected friends from ACU and Laney's class at school. We even saw Cowboys player Jason Whitten and his family.
I'm thinking it would have been nice if the kind woman who offered to take our picture would have told us about the horrible shadows...whatcha gonna do?
Every year at Laney and Reese's MDO they have a hayride and little pumpkin patch where they get to dress up and pick out their own little pumkins. Here are my cutie-patooties.

Laney was a little German schoolgirl. It's an outfit my aunt and uncle came back for me with many moons ago. Sweet Reesie is wearing a clown costume my mom made for my brother when he was little. (Okay, I added the little flower buttons...even back then Andy was all boy). I love that in little ways my precious mom still gets to be a part of things even though she isn't with us any more.

Jason and the girls had their fun converting our pumpkin into a jack-o-latern. Reesie loved squishing her hands in the middle. Ashlyn drew a picture of what she wanted the pumpking to look like, and Laney helped wherever she could.

And here is our girly jack-o-latern, complete with eyelashes, a heart nose, and some

botox-filled lips :0)!

The artists...
On Thursday the girls wear their cute Halloween outfits that MiMi and Papa D sent them. I love the picture because it expresses the love they really do have for one another.

And here is my only decent picture of trick-or-treating. It's become a tradition for us to join our friends the Whittles and trick-or-treat around their neighborhood. This was our third year. I'm so sad that my camera was almost completely out of battery. Maybe I'll be able to snag some from Drew. Ashlyn was a go-go dancer. Laney the German schoolgirls. And in honor of her Uncle Andy's beloved horned frogs...Reese was a TCU cheerleader. She would even say "Go frogs!" It was so sweet to watch her this year. She looooved it! She would walk confidently up to the front door, open her bag, and say "trick o eeet." Then she'd smile and say "thank you"!

I hope to be back soon. I want to share a dream I hope to see come to fruition in the near future...

ACU Homecoming

Last weekend we headed to Abilene. It has been over 10 years since I've been back to ACU and felt it was time to make the trek and show my sweet girls the place where I have so many fond memories.

We started out at the carnival they put on every year, meeting up with friends, riding horses, and getting their faces painted. Ashlyn got hers as a puppy. Isn't it cute? Laney had a unicorn painted on her cheek but it's hard to tell in the picture. We stayed the first night at a hotel.

The next morning we went to the Homecoming parade. The girls got a ton of candy, I ran into a few people I haven't seen since graduating, and we met up with some of our favorite Wildcats right now. We have had a lot of students from Bent Tree graduate and go onto ACU. It's so great! We saw a couple of them in the parade because they are pledging and we had Annie and Jessica meet up with us. It was good to see them!

Here are Jess (holding Reese) and Annie (with Ashlyn and Laney).

Maybe I'll have at least one of them become an ACU Wildcat in the future :). Aren't they just so sweet?

I really love this family pic. I'm not

sure what Reese had in her mouth at the time

but it was a beautiful day and I simply love

having down time with my family. This year

we have been more intentional in taking some

family breaks and getting away together. I've

really enjoyed it and hope we make it a habit.

This is part of a memorial area right by a

statue on camus of Jacob's ladder. You have to

stand on a stone that says "one thing" from a

passage of Scripture in order to see this cross.

It is a beautiful area and a wonderful reminder

that the "one thing" most important is Christ.

Saturday we headed over to my friend and old roomate Karen's home. We relaxed, laughed, talked, and talked some more...until 1:30 in the morning. All 6 of our girls are weeks or months apart so we always have a great time together.

Saturday night Jason stayed home with the 2 little ones, Reese and Haven. Houston was out of town...missed you! Then Karen and I took the 4 big girls to the Homecoming Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. I think they felt so big and grown-up.




Here are Ashlyn, Matalee, Laney and Emery before the musical.

All 6 girlies. Karen called me a couple months ago letting me know that they were surprised and expecting another little one. We've been pregnant at the same time with all of our girls and she keeps trying to talk me into doing it with her one more time... I've got baby fever bad, but I'm not sure we can join in on this one :).

My sweet friend, Karen. Love you and love your friendship. Thanks for letting us crash at your lovely home.

(I'm having spacing issues once again that I can't figure out. Sorry about that.)

Alive in Christ

"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin." Rom. 4:7-8

The above Scripture is what Ashlyn chose on her own to have read at her baptism. I told her we needed to find a Scripture that was special to her and passed her her bright pink Bible. I turned around to do something real quick in the kitchen and figured I would come back and help her begin in Psalms to find something that stood out to her as special. Within 1 minute she called to me and said that she really liked this verse in Romans. Romans isn't the easiest book to understand but as I read the verses my heart was filled with joy. What a perfect verse to describe the priceless gift of eternal life we are given when we accept Christ as our Savior. There isn't a thing any of us can do to deserve this lavish love and gift. Yet, he makes His gift available to anyone who wants it.

Our Ashlyn Jean is young. However, God has revealed Himself to her in a very real way. She actually accepted Christ as her Savior over two years ago now. She was full of questions and we would talk about how Jesus made a way for us to have a relationship with God the Creator. How out of love for us, He chose to come and die on the cross in order to wipe our sins away, and rose again 3 days later so that we can be made alive in Christ! She got it. We had the discussion many times over and I never suggested that she pray to accept Christ. I just presented her the Truth and the Lord gave her a childlike faith to trust in Him. She asked me if she could pray and so I helped her along.

She has asked quite a few times over the last few months when she could get baptized. We wanted to make sure she understood what it meant first and on Sunday night, October 4th she took the plunge (literally). We don't believe baptism is a necessity to salvation but rather an obedient step to show the world afterwards that you have chosen Jesus and aren't ashamed. I heard an analogy once that baptism is to salvation, like a wedding ring is to marriage. Wearing a wedding ring doesn't make you married, but it does show those around you that you belong to someone. In the same way, baptism doesn't make you a Christian, but it does show those around you that you belong to Him!

Ashlyn chose to get baptized with our high school students which was special for me. The youth were so supportive and encouraging and cheered loudly for her as she followed through in baptism. My friend and the senior high pastor, Dylan, baptized her. Jason and I were given the privilege of being in the water with her as people who help her in her spiritual growth. The baptismal pool is in the center of our church lobby area. She couldn't touch the ground with her feet so we brought in a little stool for her to stand on. After we were done and changing clothes I asked if she heard everyone cheer so loud to her. She looked at me a tad confused and said "no" but grinned when I told her they did. Poor girl was just nervous with everyone looking at her(you can tell by her serious expression in all the pics)...a trait she got from her Daddy who also was nervous about being in front of everyone.

I can't describe the joy you experience when you see one of your children fall more in love with Jesus.

Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for the life and hope you have given us. Thank you for allowing Ashlyn to choose you. May she always walk closely with you and may others around her come to know you too because of her life. Praise You, my Savior and my God!

There is a white-bearded Gampa whose girls love him very, very much.

He takes them to favorites like IHOP and reads to them 'til mom says "time to stop."
He swings them real high and cheers while they ride.
He even brings lunch to their school.

He plays lots of games and tells them they're smart.

He is, by their definition, so cool.

A Gampa like you is one to adore.

Please visit us more all the girls do implore!

I wish I could tell you Ashlyn was studying poems at school and so I decided to join in her efforts just now. But no...just decided to do something different. My dad will enjoy it though. Hopefully, he won't send me any editing back on my post however...right Dad?!

As you can tell Gampa came to visit us a little over a week ago. He took Ashlyn lunch and ate with her at school a couple of times, read more books than you can count, and treated us to Mexican food a couple of times. Poor guy can't get Mexican food up in Pennsylvania. There are quite a few reasons why PA isn't where I'd want to live (sorry, but true) and that's got to be up there on my list. I'm amazed he hasn't whittled away since moving up there a few years ago. What am I saying? The man will eat anything. In fact, while he was down in Texas he ate livers and onions twice. Thankfully, not in my presence. Because, well, to term a four year old..."Eeeew!"

He started a tradition when Ashlyn was itty bitty of taking her on dates Saturday morning to IHOP. She loved it and looks forward to it every time they are together. Each granddaughter has been added to the venture and it's a special time for all of them now. Yes, the old man managed to take all three of them by himself!

Reese over the past week has said to me several times "I want Gampa." I know how she feels...I stood on the corner and cried after he drove away. We love you Dad! So glad you came!

The spirit echos still

Today, seven years ago, the greatest woman I know went Home to be with Jesus. It's a day I won't ever forget. My mom is a woman I will never ever forget.

On Sunday we had a student in our youth group lose his own mom to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, just like my mom. I had been following their blog for a few weeks because I wanted to best know how to pray for their family, pray for his mom, pray for him. Last week I read a post that took me back directly to the last couple of weeks with my own precious mom. I quickly hid myself in a bathroom stall and cried. It's so amazing how grief can hit.

About three weeks ago I read a verse in Hebrews 11 that captivated my heart and made me think about my mom. It's verse 4 and says, "Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith." There are so many things my mom was an example in. She was one of the most kind, humble and giving souls you'd come across. She was queen of hospitality and knew how to make any and everyone feel comfortable in our home. She rejoiced when we rejoiced and cried when we cried...okay, and even at most Hallmark commercials and when missionaries spoke too.

Yet, more than anything, her example of faith still speaks to me. She loved Jesus. She loved Him with a child-like faith. She loved Him when everything was going well and she continued to love and trust Him when she was so sick with the cancer that absolutely ravaged her body. She didn't want to leave us here but she wasn't scared to die. She knew her Lord and she knew He would be there to take her Home. Her legacy of love...for Christ, for my dad, for Andy and I, and for those around her lives on and it always will. I am a better person because of her.

She had a laugh that was contagious and everyone recognized without even having to that it was coming from her. She had a way of burning rolls in the oven most of the time and laughing at it still. She had a way of rearranging furniture every few weeks. She had a way of cheering loudly for her son. She had a way of loving her man. She had a way of making me feel more loved and at home than any other person on the planet ever has. She had a way...a way I long to have myself.

"Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her. There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised! Reward her for all she has done." Prov. 31:28-31

Momma,

You are a woman to be praised. While I miss you terribly, I am so glad you have received your Reward in Him. Thank you for still speaking to us by your example of faith. I love you!

Forever,

your Kimberly

(Friends, please also pray for the Howell family I mentioned above and for the Jacobs family too...a friend who lost their baby at 34 weeks)

God of great wonders!

This picture of sweet Reesie was taken just a few moments ago...
This was of her last year...

You see, on this day last year at this time of day, I was lovingly surrounded by family and friends. I was watching a tv screen that told me what part of the open heart surgery my baby girl was in. I was just waiting for a kind nurse to come out and let me know that everything was going okay. I was praying for an amazing surgeon named Dr. Mendeloff.

The picture above actually isn't of her on the day of surgery. It's the day after. I don't have any of her after her surgery that day because I, in wonderful fashion of a mother who loves her child desparately, passed out when I saw her with all the million tubes coming out of her body, and had to be taken to the E.R. Nice, huh?! Thankfully, I sat down realizing it was happening and didn't hit my head on anything.

Can I tell you the one of the things I remember most about that day and the couple of days before hand? I had never felt the truth of Philippians 4:7 which tells us "you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" until this time. I wish I could explain it but I can't. But it was totally supernatural. I literally felt carried by the Lord because of the prayers people were praying on our behalf.

I mean, let's be honest, I am a (not proud) worrier. I love my kids more than life itself and thinking about something happening to one of them scares me to death. Here is my normal day to day life: when I walk down a flight of stairs carrying one of my daughters I think about what would happen if I tripped. When I drive through stoplights with the girls in my car, a lot of times I think about the horrendous possibility of an accident. God has rescued me from a lot of my fear, but there are days where these thoughts creep in. So to be completely at peace on a day where my child was being cut open, her tiny heart stopped and operated on,
and then prayerfully it starting again...well, it's nothing short of a miracle.

And that is the God we serve, a "God of great wonders!" (Ps. 77:14)

Father, today we celebrate the life of precious Reese Ellery Mills, that you have given us not just once but twice. And we celebrate that you are a God of miracles...big and small! You deserve all praise! Thank you.