Swimming Lessons

Anne Parks took swimming lessons this summer and absolutely loved it. We'll probably sign up for a fall class because every morning she asks if we're going to swimming lessons that day. She's learned so much, and we've both had a lot of fun.

Waiting for our class to begin...


Still waiting.


Climbing out
Hanging on the wall



At the end of each lesson, the kids would swim for a cookie. Here's Anne Parks enjoying hers.

Rocks In My Dryer

I have found a blog that I absolutely love and want to share. It's "Rocks In My Dryer". I found it while researching Corrie ten Boom for the 8th grade English class I teach. While I don't share her knack for writing, nor her wisdom, the author and I have many things in common. She blogs about motherhood, her love of books, and her Christian faith. I can totally relate to her posts and, from her site, always take away some sort of inspiration.

Here is a post that have inspired me lately, but for more, click here.

Why I Believe (from "Rocks In My Dryer")

There are times when I wish my faith in God was perfectly box-shaped, with the corners tucked in neatly, and the whole thing tied up with a big, red bow.

There are times I wish I had bite-sized answers for the hard questions. Answers that make easy sense within the framework of my humanity. Answers that don't stretch me too much.
But it doesn't work that way. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that can get messy. Young mothers get sick. Husbands leave. Terrorists fly planes into buildings. I follow a God who has promised me peace and comfort and joy, but on His terms, not mine.

And I know--I really do know--that this is a tough thing for some people to swallow. From the outside looking in, it looks like a blind faith, or a crutch. I've traveled that road of skepticism more times than I can count. I wrestled until my soul was bruised. There were times, when I was younger, that I didn't think I'd ever be able to believe again.
But I do believe now. I do, with all my heart. Even when it's messy. But how? How can I follow a God who doesn't always stop suffering?

I don't have a theologian's answer to that question, because I'm not a theologian. There was I time when I needed that kind of answer--the facts, the explanations, the persuasion. I've heard them all, and those answers are all an important part of my faith journey.
Now, all I really need to see is His track record in my life. I believe because I've seen what He's done, in my own life--my peace in the storms, my journeys out of the wildnerness. I don't doubt His goodness, simply because He's proven it to me so many times, through my own circumstances, through Scripture, and most of all, on the cross.

My daughter hates it when I make her hold my hand to cross a parking lot. She hates it when I have to tug a little to get the tangles out of her hair. She hates it when I say "no" to snacks right before dinner.
I do all this because I see the big picture. She doesn't.

Yet in all of this, she still loves me and prefers me. Why? Because she knows that the same momma who says "no" to snacks is the same momma who makes sure she's always well-fed. The same momma who grabs her hand in the parking lot is the same momma who kisses her scraped-up knee. I have a track record of proving my love for her. When I do something that makes her angry, she ultimately accepts it as coming from the hand of a mother who always acts with her best interests at heart.

Is that too simple an analogy? Maybe. But faith is simple. It's taking a leap and suspending disbelief just long enough to see if God is who He says He is. If He is, He can handle the tough questions. If He is, He'll meet us on our journey, taking a thousand steps toward us when we take just one toward Him.

From the bottom of my heart, I'll tell you--He's worth the risk.

American Idol

I've been a terrible blogger lately. We've started back to school, and that has kept me pretty busy for the last two weeks. Once things settle down, I'll be posting more often, but for now, I want to tell you about my cousin Alli.

Last weekend, she was chosen as one of the top 4 in the FOX 40 Idol Road Trip competition. Check out the article below. Then click here to see a video of the audition and vote for her on their poll.

FOX 40 Idol Road Trip Results Are In
Four Mississippi hopefuls to compete for the American Idol top prize
By Jessica Larche

Mississippians duked it out on the audition stage at the FOX 40 American Idol contest Saturday at Antonelli College in Flowood, but only four hopefuls are making it out of Jackson toward potential American Idol victory.



Click here the watch video link on this story to see the four Mississippi American Idol hopefuls auditions. Contestants in the video appear in this order: Spencer Askew, Marion Barnes, Allison Porter and Shelby Price.

After watching the auditions for yourself, vote in the FOX 40 Web poll on the FOX40now.com homepage to tell us which of our four local contestants you think is most likely to be the next American Idol.

Flowood native Spencer Askew claimed the top prize, getting a guaranteed audition before American Idol producers in New Jersey on August 19.

Do not count out the three runners-up from FOX 40's Saturday contest. Shelby Price of McComb, Marion Barnes of Winona and Allison Porter of Dixie impressed the judges enough to get paid hotel accommodations at the New Jersey Auditions. However, the three will have to wait in line for a chance at American Idol at glory in front of American Idol producers.

Sixteen-year-old Shelby Price just made the age requirement to audition for American Idol, and said she has a secret weapon for the next set of auditions.

“I hate to say I'm over confident, but I'm pretty confident because of I've done this since I was probably eight,” Shelby said.

Marion Barnes is no stranger to the stage. The former theater major said she would have made the long trip to Jacksonville, Florida if Saturday's audition did not go her way.

Allison Porter said singing in front of the local judges Saturday was a feeling hard to put in words.

“To me, that feeling is like no other,” said Porter who hopes everyone in the Magnolia State will see her on FOX 40 contending for the American Idol title.

The American Idol contenders all have one thing in common: all agree that there is a lot of work ahead in the the next week and half before their next shot at American Idol fame.

Mamaw's 80th

Before all of the excited of Smith's arrival, we celebrated Jason's grandmother's 80th birthday in Gulfport. The birthday girl enjoyed the festivities, Anne Parks had a wonderful time with her cousins, and we enjoyed some good food and a great time with family.

The Birthday Girl


Anne Parks wasn't quite sure how a flashlight was supposed to work.
Anne Parks doesn't like lemons...
Maggie does.