A little over two years ago, during a small group ice breaker, someone posed the familiar question, "if you could spend a few hours with anyone (and it can't be Jesus), who would it be?"

We circled the room to hear everyone's answers, "John Calvin - I'd love to hear about the reformation through his eyes." "C.S.Lewis - favorite author, his writing has really impacted me." "The Apostle Paul - would love to really know what that thorn in his flesh was." And so forth.

With several hours to kill before we had to report back to Border's we did what any well adjusted, estrogen filled, trio of women free from their daily responsibilities would do. We shopped and ate. Ikea, Trader Joe's (where, by the way, my two friends were carded for buying alcohol and I WAS NOT -this is important for you to know as you read how the rest of the day unfolds), DSW, Anthropology, and a delicious mexican meal.

It was a fabulous day and the cherry on top was meeting The Pioneer Woman.

Ree has the sweetest voice and personality, she was just delightful. And then. Then, something happened.

While Caroline (in the white sweater) and Dorothy and I were standing in front of Ree's table gathering our books Ree said to Caroline, while gesturing to me, "This is your mother?"

Simultaneously the following comments were made:

Me: What?! Mother? No!

Caroline: No, no, no, she's my friend!

Dorothy: *laughter*

Ree: Wait. No, nooo. Of course you're not. You would've been, what, like 12(?) when you had her! No, It was a misunderstanding.

Ahem. Way to recover, Ree.

Of course. . . I forgave her. I mean, she couldn't have possibly really taken a good look at me, right? Don't answer that.

After gathering our books our next stop was to meet Ree's sister, Betsy, and her friend Hyacinth, who were handing out PW t-shirts. They had been chatting it up with the people ahead of us and did not hear the, ahem, misunderstanding concerning my relationship to Caroline.

Aren't they super cute?

While the three of us were picking out our t-shirt sizes and gabbing with these two lovelies Betsy said to Dorothy, gesturing to me, "is this your mother?" (I know what you're thinking. . . "she had to have heard what just went down with Ree. She's playing off that." I assure you she did not hear any of it.)

Again, in unison the following comments ensued:

Me: What the hell? Really? No. . . do I look that bad tonight? Your sister just asked if I was Caroline's mother!

Dorothy: No, we're friiiiends.

Caroline: *laughter*

Betsy: Wait? What? Noooo. . .

Hyacinth: No, no. . . You look like 'A' mother, not 'HER' mother. 'A' mother, NOT 'her' mother. Right, Betsy? You are 'A' mother, right?

Me: (laughing) Um, yeah, that's making it worse Hyacinth.

We all laughed. Some of us more nervously than others. Then we left, me feeling every bit my 40 years. Plus 20.

It was such a fun day! No, really, it was. :) I wouldn't change a minute, or word, of it! But I do think Ree, Betsy, and Hyacinth need to invite me to the Ranch for a girls weekend so they can experience my youthfulness.

After a debatable number of years, dinosaurs have returned. And they have made their way to our Southern City.

Last night, Spinner went Walking with the Dinosaurs. And my Aunt Susan brought home evidence.




Couldn't have been more thrilling for our soon to be seven year old!

and this

and this

and as much of this

as possible!

Skipping rocks.






Picking the perfect rock to throw.

Looking for trouble.

Running in wide open spaces.

Playing on the tractor.

Riding Beau.

Stopping to take it all in.

"You know what I really don't like about life?" "Night time. You can't talk. There is nothing to play with. You just have to lie there. In the dark. Doing nothing and saying nothing. It's boring."

"I think Miss. Sherah (a college student attending our church) is named Sherah because she is good at sharing."

"Dormant is my favorite word because it feels good on my tongue. And in my mouth. Dormant, dormant, dormant, dormant. Try it. Don't you think so?"

after I put butter in the wrong batter mix while baking together. . . "Seeing you do that reminds me that adults can make really big mistakes too."

"It will only take a momentary signal to finish this." "Timothy needs a momentary signal before his bath." "Wil, would you like a momentary signal before we go outside?" "I'm coming in one momentary signal." Luke, what is a 'momentary signal' and where did you learn that phrase? "I made it up. It's a good one I can use to say a lot of things."

"Sometimes I feel like someone is watching me. I don't know where they are though."

"I just cannot help all this burping that is going on. God must really want me to be a good burper."

"I don't like the quiet game."

We played. We toppled. We laughed on our Rody's.

We went to the Zoo and took a spin on the Carousel.

I hope you, too, enjoyed Christmas, your family, and your friends!

Happy New Year!

1. Luke is really taking off with his reading. It's a lot of fun to witness. And the best part is his own excitement over it. He is particularly proud that he is now reading "chapter books!" So are we.

And here's Papa bringing up the rear.

Along with Aunt Tracy.

And finally, Santa, who apparently prefers horseback to a sleigh out here in the country.

4. A little news on our church plant. After much deliberation we have a name. Riverside Community Church. There are three rivers that run through Columbia: the Saluda, Congaree, and Broad. They merge in the Downtown area and run along the west side of the city. So while we don't have riverfront property we consider the city to be "riverside." So there you have it. We are loosing our meeting place at the end of this month so if you think about it please pray that we will find new space that will serve us well long term and as we grow.