2013

2013 in review-

January: I began a new job with ARTreach 180 working with middle school youth. What an impact that has had on my life! ARTreach students, I love you. I hope I have had a fraction of the impact on your lives that you have had on mine.

February: Taylor started a new job that stretched us with juggling family roles. 12-8 is a tough shift!

March: A tough month working on my boundaries, what I can control, what I can't, what I will accept, what I won't.

April: The hardest month of the year. It didn't start out that way. Taylor planned a trip to Callaway Gardens and we did the tree top adventure. Ziplining is fun! Traci Robinson, I think of you so often. My heart hurts often still, missing you. The image of your radiant smile I hold dear. I wish I'd said more the day Sheena and I came to the hospital. Many lessons you taught I will forever hold dear. I'm still working to grasp that you're not here with us.

May: This was the month that I got to rejoice with a few friends and their pregnancy announcements! My first baby turned 9!

June:  I took a summer position with ARTreach 180 that combined North Campus and South Campus and also allowed me to work with some high school students. Truly a remarkable experience! Hubby and I enjoyed a little time celebrating our anniversary.

July:  We celebrated Taylor's birthday. We spent a day at West Point Lake. Some sunglasses were lost. We can laugh now. We weren't at the time. Let me tell you Twilley men are serious about their sunglasses! Taylor went with the youth from our church to a conference. Life changing for him. Life changing for us.

August: The beginning of August took me to Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC for the last time. Mom, Paula, Parker, Grant, and I met Terry, Donna, and Brandi to welcome home TJ from Okinawa. We were joined by Billy and Mariel Nelson who brought Luke. They had graciously taken care of TJ's dog while he was away. TJ and Luke's reunion was the best!
I also began working at McDonough Methodist's  Moms Morning Out program with my dear friends Allison and Angela. These 1 and 2 year olds are darling!

September: TJ finished his time in the Marine Corps and moved back to Georgia! The Twilleys love that! The new semester of ARTreach 180 began. South Campus is doing 7-12 grade now. I began a new position as Assistant Director. Kelly rocks in creativity. Tony rocks the drama and encouragement. I keep it all organized and try to get the students talking on topic every day. Have I said how much I love these kids and my job? We got involved in a lifegroup with some other families from our church. Let me say that these people are such a special group. 2014 is going to be great as we continue having fellowship with one another.

October: We moved! We are  grateful for the connection that led to this. Brad amd Lanie  Beth Sinclair have truly been a godsend. TJ and Luke joined us. It took 3-4 days before Luke decided it was okay to be left home alone with me. He loves me now. I started spending Fridays with 2 special little girls. I've quickly come to love them.

November: We traveled to Naples, FL for Austin and Emily's wedding. She was of course beautiful! TJ saved the day by going imto the dumpster to get something that meant a lot to the bride. He made a great best man, and Grant was such a cute ring bearer. Taylor got a promotion and new working hours! Having him home in the evenings is going to be fabulous! We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. It wasn't nearly as stressful as I thought it might be. We enjoyed it!

December: Brandi came to visit and stayed with us for 3 weeks. It was lovely. (It would have been better if she had stayed!) We did a little hosting with my aunt and uncle just before Christmas. I  sure do enjoy hosting! My baby turned 5! We rounded out the year building a fort in the living room to spend a cozy New Year's Eve with the boys.

God has great plans for us in 2014! That I am sure.

September

Fall. Autumn. Whatever you choose to call it, it is my favorite time of the year. That's what I say. That's what I think I think. This time of year, I always find myself going back to 1996. This year that makes it 17 years ago. The worst time in my life. It usually begins on the 23rd. The day I got the call. I clearly remember most conversations and most places I went. Then the 24th gets here. I remember the hope I had. The worst case scenario isn't really going to happen in my life. I remember dinner out with my dear friend and roommate. We talked about all the things we wanted to do in our lives before the world as we know it comes to an end. "Hey God, wait on us to do what we want." Oh the path we have each forged through since that evening. I remember we both ordered the same meal. I got water. She got sweet tea. The bill came and both our totals were $6.66. I was charged for sweet tea. I got that changed and she ordered dessert. The updated call that night wasn't so good. The 25th was a day of riding to Virginia and not eating and getting a headache and eating a grilled ham and cheese from a hospital cafeteria. The 26th? A grim yellow painted room with boxes of tissues placed strategically throughout the room. Planning a funeral for someone I could still go see but who couldn't respond. The 27th is what I refer to as the worst day of my life. I suppose because even though we've already planned the funeral the doctors have stamped a date and time and so it's official. I reflect on this week every single year. For 17 years I have spent time this very week thinking and remembering so many details of the same horrific event. Tonight I am asking myself if in doing this am I missing out on capturing brilliant details of today! Autumn. Crisp mornings. Warm afternoons. Beautiful colors to be seen. Pumpkin smells. Spice smells. Apple and Cinnamon smells. So many of my favorites. Yet, I spend almost a week every year during my most favorite season remembering every little detail of the worst time of my life. Today I began getting things in order in our new home. What a blessing. So much present to work with.

A sweet pup found his comfy spot

Motherhood. Aunthood.

I'm not really sure where this is going tonight. Whew! What a day in the land of motherhood!  Attitude. Disobedience. Whining. I had to look up some scripture on joy. The joy of motherhood was being sucked dry today. Grace. Thankful for the abundance of grace He gives when I'm struggling to provide the same for my boys. He loves. Oh how He loves. Just the perspective I needed after a long day of parenting. How often does He say the same thing about me?! Why won't you just LISTEN and DO?! Oh yes, that.

As the summer break comes to a close here in GA, the Twilleys have a few things to look forward to. Our favorite Marine returns from overseas in the next few weeks! Parker will miss 2-3 days of school for it. I consider a Marine Corps battalion homecoming quite educational! This will be the second one my boys have witnessed. I hope it helps instill love of country and an understanding of the immeasurable value of our military. The homecomings are definitely better than the send offs, which they've witnessed as well. I'm sure the memories will remain for Parker. I'm really hoping that the lovely niece is present for this homecoming! We need a few things to fall into place for that to happen. Middle of the night excitement waiting on a company of Marines to arrive should be interesting. Of course, I'll update with that!

A little reminder of their sweetness:

The Stripping of Positive Expression in Schools

 Some of you know that I work with teens. My heart has been broken and eyes opened to the struggles and situations of local youth. Today a young man sat down at a piano and played his heart out. My first instinct was to tell him not to touch the piano. It is in a church that offered their building for our ARTreach 180 program for the summer. Thankfully my team member stepped in and asked the young man if he had asked if he could play. The church representative said YES. I was lost in a moment listening to this young man play. He was absorbed in his playing. Over the last few months I've seen local youth considered at-risk become alive in art projects and drama presentations. Not everyone excels in science or history or math or english. Not everyone has someone at home encouraging them and beside them guiding them. Some kids only have a God given talent of music or art or drama. And that is being taken away from them! The one positive medium they have is being torn from the curriculum! These kids have so much against them, and the one joy they have, the one thing where they can be extraordinary in a place where they usually feel less than ordinary is seen as unimportant. I beg to differ. The cutting of these programs is contributing to a sense of hopelessness and encourages these youth to look at school as having absolutely no purpose since they struggle with the basic academics. Now I ponder on what all of this means for those who are creative and artistically inclined but who encounter so many struggles and obstacles.

A shout out to Volunteers

Cub.Scout.Day.Camp. Whew! This mom is thoroughly impressed (and grateful) for those who volunteer to help the entire week. Monday we had some light rain. (Much better than the thunder storms in the surrounding area!) The temperature was pretty nice that day. Today? Well, I think saying that the heat index was 103 should explain everything. Ya know some man cut various sized pieces of wood for about 50 3rd grade boys to make tool  boxes, and he whittled that many pieces for the handles of these tool boxes. That is A LOT of work. Large coffee cans were painted to make stilts for 20 2nd graders. Those are just the things I helped the boys put together in my 2 days of volunteering.

All that to get to my point of how much volunteering has helped me see how much work goes on behind the scenes of so many things. Your church? Probably much you don't know that happens to make your and your children's experience a great one. But what a beautiful thing it is when the kids walk in and then leave with their craft, having a little something to do at home with parents, and knowing a little bit more about the love of Jesus. And my job?Our volunteers are priceless. Freely giving up an evening or two a week to spend time with children who really need to feel and know they are important? Yes, those volunteers are priceless to those kids. I'm not a seasoned veteran to volunteering. It's actually just been in the past year or so that I have truly been a consistent volunteer with anything. I can say that it has opened my eyes and heart to the reality that volunteers are so necessary in making so many things successful. It's definitely given me a huge appreciation for those that take the time to do it.

 

Woodland Christian Camp- volunteers loving on some kids and teaching them about Jesus

One Sided and Moving Forward

There comes a time when you're studying something and you realize God is saying, "That's right, I am talking to you." You ponder it. A few days go by, and then Bam! There it is again. There are people that I've known for years that are truly great individuals. At some point the term friend isn't really appropriate. Not from the fault of any one person. People move. People grow. Some don't. Some go one direction on the path. Others go a different direction. The husband has commented to me a handful of times about my use of the word friend when referring to certain people. Not that one has acted in an unfriendly manner toward me or vice versa, but at this point in life what do she and I share. Friendships, or relationships of any kind, cannot grow and continue when one person does the contacting or keeping up with the other. It has to be a mutual interaction, a mutual effort. Sometimes there is going to be the realization that life growth and changes bring an end to a friendship. No one did anything wrong. It just is. The purpose of one's presence in your life has been fulfilled, and it is now time to move forward. No looking back. The other people are still amazing people, but God is directing you to put your energy and investment elsewhere.

I did a little stepping back in time, if you will, recently. The realization of my growth in life and how blessed I am with the people who are truly invested in having a relationship with me became quite clear to me - people that encourage me to grow, to be better, to strive for goals and dreams. I left from "visiting my past" with mixed emotions as I saw the deteriorating lives around me. Thankful for God's grace, love, forgiveness, and peace, and a prayer that those people will know His peace.

I'm learning. Friendships that aren't mutual aren't friendships. When your path separates from others, as long as you are on the path God called you to be, you just have to keep moving forward. I can't invest in the lives of everyone, but I can give a big portion to those God has in my path right now.

A Day in the Life

P is home from his second year at Woodland Camp. This year T didn't volunteer due to work, so P had his first year of camp without parents. Of course he had a blast! His favorite? Gaga Ball. You'll have to look that up. It sure looks like a game created for T and P!   G was looking forward to having big brother home. You know about 20 minutes down the road the shrieking voices and crying began. Yep, that's my glorious life with my little guys! It's been a low key afternoon. (I even got a nap while they played their electronics sitting on my bedroom floor.) We are ready for T to be home from work and having a nice weekend. Monday brings the beginning of a week of Cub Scout Day Camp. Even G gets to spend a couple days there when I'm volunteering. The next 2 weeks provide activities for my little guys. What else can I find to get them involved?!

What G did while P was at camp.

Rocked

I'm not sure what direction this blog will go or what purpose it will serve over time. I'm a thinker with a lot of emotion. Gift? Maybe.

Today I spent a couple hours with a little boy who rocked me to the core. He has these big brown eyes like his momma. Multiple times he said to me, "I need you mom." I'm not his mom. I can't go get his mom. My friend is keeping him this week while Dad is at work. He called her mom, too. Suddenly I was 19 years old holding a 6 year old hand belonging to a boy whose eyes are also brown who said to me, "I need a mom." I couldn't get the boy's mom either. This boy can tell you his mom is in Heaven, but what comfort can that bring a 3 year old? He doesn't understand. Sweet boy, I don't understand. You are 3. One day you will be 19 like a blue eyed girl I know who still hurts because like you her momma went to heaven when she was 3. My heart is broken for you sweet boy because I know you will have no memories of your momma. Many will tell you she lit up a room when she walked in. Many will tell you she was one smart lady. Many will tell you she had this way about her that got her what she wanted. A few will tell you her secrets. Sweet boy, the loss of your momma punches me in the gut sometimes. When I think about you and your sister and your brother I feel fear. You have a great daddy. I pray that will be a factor in there being less turmoil and more stability for you than there has been for my brown eyed boy and blue eyed girl.