found TWITTER!

Yay i'm so excited to find something i can FINALLY keep up with. I know you thought i fell off the face of the earth but really i've just been enjoying my girls and my peaceful home so much i never get on line anymore. It's really great actually. love it. But i still have these great moments during my day that i would love to share with you. I just send pics to Brian all day at work so he can be a part of our day.

Lets just be honest here, i can't keep up this blog. who am i kidding. i make these great posts in my mind with amazing pictures and storys, really you would love them if you could get into my head. Face book doesn't work for me either i just can't keep up there's too many people to be in touch with.. ahhh. I have to make choices all day on how to use my time wisely. SOO in an effort to stay in touch with you my friends.. i've signed up for twitter you can find me here or pics here. The great thing is i never have to get on line! yay! i can send you sweet little tiny msgs to tell you what we are doing FROM MY PHONE! yay since we are connected at the hip. um.. literally.. my phone NEVER leaves me. My computer, that's a different story.. i just can't be trusted when i open that bad boy up. i get on and wooosh 2 hrs later.. what the heck just happen? i had to fold laundry and shower and eat but now...there's no time for that.

till further notice i'll be twittering.. ta-ta

then there was Ramey

and we will never be the same.

OH Give thanks to the LORD for He is good!

Ramey Kate was born Thursday Aug 21st at 6:57 am. 7.1 lbs 21 inches long. It was probably the most peaceful and wonderful experience of my whole life. My Lucy story was so different! Terrible labor, but amazing delivery. But this - this was so fantastic i almost feel guilty about it.



Here's the Ramey story: Contractions started Wed afternoon when i woke up from my nap. I was timing my contractions at Thayer Botham's memorial service. Went to dinner at Water Stone Pizza down town. i just had this feeling it was the night. I had to hold the table and breath thru even at the restaurant. We stopped by the bible study group that i usually go to Wed nights cause i wanted to tell them i was in labor and that i wanted them to pray for me and Ramey. They were so thrilled and everyone laid their hands on me and prayed for Brian, Lucy and i. we were all there together. It was beautiful. Lots of people i didn't know there that night but I knew that His presence was over us all. So when we got home i just knew there was going to be a hospital visit during the night so i finished up packing and took a shower. They were getting pretty intense so i called mom to come over and sit with me while i let brian take a nap. We timed them for an hour they were like 5-10 min apart.



I was so afraid that they would send me home so i just kept doing what i could to get thru them. One of the things that i loved was, I had told Brian that i wrote some scripture that i wanted to focus on during labor so i asked him to try picking one of them and just reading a phrase to me as i rode the wave of the contraction. I asked him to give me the Bread of Life. I didn't know if i would be able to hear him or concentrate on it or not but it totally worked! It was great. Some of the phrases were: The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent (Exo 14:14) Abide in Me, apart from Me you can do nothing (Jn 15:15) not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake (Phil 1:29)

We got to the hospital around 1:30am.They admited me cause i was dilated at a 5-score! hooked me up to an IV got my epi and was chillen with my peeps by like 3am. Deaven went to stay the night with Lucy. Mom, Kim and Steph were with us. Brian fell asleep on the little couch and the girls and i just enjoyed the night together. We spent some time being thankful and sharing about the day. It felt like we were just sitting in Gods presence together hanging out. I have never experienced the Peace of God in such a great way before. It was thick in the room. Rm #8. He was there waiting for His sweet little Ramey to come into the world. Once i was ready it only took 3 pushes, i had no ripping and she was out. Perfect, Beautiful, Blessed. OMG i love this kid. She nurses great and she is just the most peaceful baby you have ever seen. When things are crazy around here i just hold her and she centers me. I am reminded of His presence and i am so thankful for this gift.

I know this is already a long post and if you have gotten this far - I LOVE YOU! but i must include my thankful list for the week. Some girls and i joined together in Thanksgiving in the weeks leading up to Rameys birth and we committed to each-other to work on cultivating Thanksgiving. We met 3 mondays and gave our anxieties to the Lord and shared our thankfulness with each other. We now send emails of thanksgiving during the week and it is the most uplifting thing to receive their lists. Especially when some are in hard places in their journey and they still choose to be thankful. It is such an encouragement to me! Since i am just BURSTING with thanksgiving i must post my list here. I invite you to comment and post your own thankful list. It is amazing how great it feels to be thankful.
Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phil 4:6)

- for a storybook birth
- for the amazing father of my girls who loves me and walks with me even in hard times
- my mother for being my best nurse and caregiver when i need her.
- my BFF Kim for sacrificing and being here 3 entire days to help me with the girls so i could rest
- my sweet Steph helping usher in the Kingdom of Heaven into my delivery room and work thru my stormy emotions these first days home.
- my sweet Deaven for coming to be with Lucy that night and being here with me even when i was in a funk last night and still just seeing me.
- my sweet Jen for stopping in just to say hi while i eat lunch. I felt so loved. (she threw my shower too)
- the rain filling my house with a cool breeze
-my new windows love my sweet screens!!
- my fridge i have been filling up my water jug (they give you in the hospital) all day
- my sweet Lucy and the way she loves her Ramey already. loves to give her kisses
- the cuddling that Lucy's fever brought. I hated that she was sick but she never sits still enough for me to hold her anymore and it was so precious to sit with her. She has never had a fever like this before and it happened after i had Ramey which means i had a lap to put her on. It was so special to be close to her.
- Candace & Tim for bringing dinner
-this great house. I. love. every. room! I hate leaving i love it so much!
- baby cloths, dirty diapers and spit up... ahh i'm so happy. (i know i'm crazy but i looove it!)
- sitting here on the couch with my sweetie listening to the rain, on our macs, the girls are sleeping. I've been wanting to blog forever! and he is working on his school. His degree in learning to be more like Jesus. I love that he finally found the right program for him.

ok i could go on all night seriously! your turn Make known His deeds among the peoples! (1Chron 6:8) Women shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts and will tell of Your greatness (Psa 145:5)

Thanks for reading! Lord Bless you this night
ps:i knit the blanket in pic #3 love the way she looks in it :)

Pool time with my sweeties

We have been enjoying this house so much. The front yard is one of my favorite things about this house. I mean the whole house is my favorite place i have ever lived. It just feels like we've been here forever! This summer we have been enjoying our little pool out front. Not so much in the past few weeks it's so hot out there i can't breath plus i'm swelling real bad lately too! here's some shots of a Saturday we actually got daddy to join us in the pool. Yay for Saturdays with him!
my huge belly -this was taken in June i feel much more stretched now only 2.5 weeks to go!! i can't wait to meet my little Ramey (thanks Tim & Candace for loaning us your sweet camera - the first 2 pics are with that camera)






she waits expectantly..





I feel so blessed to have the family i do. I'm so excited to meet this baby and to see the way Lucy is going to love her. Brian is just such a great dad, i know he will be just what the girls need in a dad to teach them what a man of God looks like. Thank you Jesus for my family.

Crafty Lucy

I figured it was about time i posted some Lucy luv on here. She has been so much fun lately and loving hands on stuff. I love to watch her play and explore. She gets such a kick out of little things. I really am going to miss my alone time with her. Enjoy my Luce - i do every stinking day!

Of course Cinderella has to finish her chores before play time every day.. such concentration.


She will literally play with these beans up to 45 min. i just lay a table cloth on the floor and give her the baggy of mixed beans and she's just scoop, poor, pick out the big white ones (?) scoop, poor, pick out the big white ones, wait for mommy to clean them all up and do it all again.. Jen got us started on this. Thanks for the beans Jen!


Then there's play dough time. looooves her some play dough. She does like to sniff it and put it in her mouth from time to time but we try and keep that to a minimum :)


nice smoothie mouth Luce...



I love when she pretend feeds her little dough dog... so cute!


we have fun with our water color too. I love this myself. It's nice to find something we both like.



On another random note. Brian, mom and i watched The Bucket List, last night. Oh my gosh i laughed & cried so hard. it is such a great movie. If you or anyone you know has lost someone to cancer it is a must see. I just really love the dynamic between Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicolson.. some hilarious lines! my favorite one of his was "never trust a fart" check out the trailer

Ramey Reeves

You will be missed by all who knew you and knew of you. I prayed for you at Grace that Sunday but i didn't stay to introduce myself cause i thought i'd have another chance, and that you probably wanted to see all your buddies. I wish i would have said, "Hi Ramey, I'm Joy. I'm having another girl and i'm naming her after you cause your name is so cool and i think you are so great" I hope my little Ramy loves Jesus the way you did. I hope she lets Him fill her life with music, love and laughter the way you did. We will pray for John and Judah and the rest of your family loving and missing you now.

If you wanna know Ramey go here, here and here
An amazing video about her battle with cancer here

If you wanna hear her angelic voice go here.

Her name is...

Ramy Kathryne or Ramy Kate for short. I am so thrilled that my baby will be here in less than 2 months. I just can't contain myself i'm so happy about it. I am so Thankful for another little girl growing inside me. Thought i would share her name with you so you can join me in praying for her coming and her little heart to be inclined to trust and obey God. Jen made these for the girls. I love to see their names together.

I know i've been MIA. All is well and my house and i are getting to be best friends. I love living here, i love what it does to me and how the Lord has already allowed us to use it. I will post pictures soon of our home. When i sit to blog there is always something else that is a priority, like eating, playing with Luce, sewing, or sleeping. I will blog again, soon. Pictures of the Lucy and my huge belly to come too.

Have a great 4th of July! May the Lord Bless you & your families as you celebrate the independence this country has enjoyed for many years.

So much to do!

This is my once beautiful craft room that has been renamed "the junk room". Looking at this mess is getting me no were, sitting at the computer isn't either. Moving day is the 24th and i feel it closing in on me. There is so much i want to blog about. Lucy and i have been everywhere cause the weather is so great and the renovations on the house are really coming along. There is still so much more to tell about France, just to name a few things i really want to post about. But they can wait. I need to clean out the cabinet under the sink, call the exterminator, buy paint for the kithchen and start packing the closet in the junk room... um, today, ahh so much to do. I'm tired just thinking about it.

We are having a painting party Saturday and i have to get supplies for that too!! I'll be glad when this part is over. And I actually think i'm going to get a Prince Caspian date with Brian tomorrow - yeah right!! I'll post more pictures of the house soon. You are gonna love it!