Birthday Party Success!!!

First of all let me say, “I can’t believe Rylee is already one!” It goes by SOOOO fast. Needless to say we had a successful first birthday. We had her party today even though her actual birthday isn’t until July 3rd. I think we’ll always have to celebrate her birthday either a little early or a little late due to the July 4th holiday. Many family and friends surrounded us today to watch as Rylee opened her first presents and ate her first cake. Thank you to all who came, you truly made it a special day.

Let me say, on one hand I think birthdays should happen more often and on another I don’t. Knowing that all of our family and friends were going to be coming to the house really made Phillip and I get our act together to get some much needed work done around the house. (it about killed us too) The past 4 days have been exhausting to say the least. Phillip spent two hot days in the yard cleaning the flower beds, edging, hedging, weed whacking, mowing, blowing, and I don’t know what all else. Thank you Phillip for all your hard work. The yard looks superb!!! While he was outside I was inside redoing our kitchen cabinets, steam cleaning the carpets, hanging curtains, and doing the normal house cleaning items. For all of the above-mentioned items I think we should have parties here more often, our house looks pretty darn good.

On the other hand, I’m completely and totally exhausted!!! Not only am I tired from all the work, but I’m tired from the stress. When we have these kinds of shindigs at the house the perfectionist comes out in me. I want everything to be perfect! Can anyone feel my pain? And when everything is not perfect, which it’s not going to be because I have 2 children, I have a total meltdown. For these above-mentioned reasons I think once a year is enough.

So Rylee, my precious little one, Happy 1st Birthday!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and very thankful that the Lord has entrusted you to our care. I pray that over the next few years you will continue to grow in grace, beauty, knowledge and love of our Lord. I also pray that you know how much your mommy and daddy love you.

Baby Boops

Ok, first let me say that we made it through the week without Phillip! He is now home and getting ready for his own camp this weekend. We're glad to have him back! I have another funny story to share with you all about Savannah Grace. Someone referenced it in a comment so I thought I'd share the story with you guys.

The other day I was trying to put SG in her car seat and she kept pushing on my boobs so I finally said, "Quit mashing my boobs!" And she looked at me in bewilderment and said, "Boops? Do I have boops?" So now that I opened this can of worms I found it hard to shut. I told her that yes, she did have boobs. "Oh, your boops are big and squishy and I have baby boops." was her response. So we've embarked on the whole "boby awareness" thing. I try to keep our conversations steared away from this subject but everytime we take a bath there they are again, so we have to have a conversation about them. Anyways, on with the story. We were at church a couple of Sunday's ago and a guy that Phillip works with asked SG for a hug. He bent down with his arms opened wide for a big hug and she leaned in to give him a hug. As they embraced he picked her up and squeezed her tight. (he was missing his own children who were away at camp with their mom) As soon as he thanked her and told her what a great hug that was she lifted up her entire dress and said, "Look at my baby boops!" I thought he was going to come unglued he was laughing so hard. I promptly pulled her dress down and we had a quick chat about how we don't touch other people's boops and we don't show other people our boops. Then I looked at this guy and told him that he had gotten her first (and last hopefully) "flash." I'm very thankful that we know this guy pretty well and that he has 3 kids of his own so he thought the situation was funny and wasn't mortified. I, on the other hand, was a little embarassed.

Kelly Hubatka

To all the moms out there: you've got to start reading this blog.

www.kellyhubatka.com

She is an awesome mom of four beautiful girls and an awesome christian. Her blog is very encouraging and funny. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Week alone with the girls

After a grueling day at work (church) Phillip hopped in the car and drove two and a half hours to walk on stage and speak to a group of middle-schoolers in his first, of five, talks at this week long camp he is doing for another church. I know he is exhausted!! As he is away this week speaking he is also preparing for his own 6th grade camp that is now, less than 2 weeks away. He is so faithful in doing whatever it takes to provide for our family while also doing an excellent job where God has placed him in the huge staff of NPCC. I love that man!!!

On the other hand that means I am home alone with both of the girls all week!! EEK!! Hopefully it won't be too bad. Savannah Grace has started gymnastics on Monday evenings and soccer/t-ball on Wednesday mornings so we have a few different activities to keep us from getting cabin fever at the house. I also have two aunts with young children that live within a 20-mile radius that we will probably go and visit some. Truly though I don't need to schedule to much because I should be at the house preparing for the upcoming neighborhood garage sale AND getting everything straighten and cleaned before Rylee's 1st birthday party. On that note, can you believe Rylee is almost 1? I can't. That means we have made it one year with two kids!!! Praise the Lord!! It also means only a few more weeks of buying that super-expensive formula!!! (be grateful all you mothers who were able to nurse for the first year) I will be able to buy enough whole milk for a month with what it usually costs me to buy her formula for a week!!!

Well, I’m off to bed. As I end tonight let me just say sorry for being such a terrible blogger lately. Sometimes I think, “I sit at home with two kids all day what do I have to blog about?” or sometimes I’ll get into a rut of wanting to use my blog as my own personal “vent” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t want people to get the impression that all I ever blog about is the negative things, so during those time I choose not to blog.

To end on a light note here is a conversation I had with Savannah Grace, my 3 year old, the other day:

Scene: We were in the car on our way to her first gymnastics class. She had on her leotard with a little sundress over it and a pair of crocs.

SG: “Mommy, where are my special shoes for gymnastics.”

Me: “You don’t wear special shoes for gymnastics like you do for dance, you go barefoot.”

SG (with an exasperated voice): “Mom I don’t have BEAR feet, I have GIRL feet!”

Africa

Dear Friends and Family,

This past February Anita and I began a marriage building Bible study called Intimate Encounters. Our marriage has grown so much since going through this material. Recently we were asked to pray about taking some of the very same study material that has strengthened our marriage to encourage and train Pastors and their wives in Kenya.

Anita and I had been praying for direction as we both felt a passion to serve on a Missions Trip. When Dave Lewis told me about a team he was taking to Kenya to present some of the very same principles that had revolutionized my marriage I immediately wanted to be a part. When I told Anita about this opportunity she began to cry. Being an at-home-mom with a three year old and a less than one year old, she felt a call to serve on a Missions team, but hadn’t found an opportunity, until now.

As we begin the journey to Kenya we need your support. First and foremost we need you to pray for our team. There will be approximately fifty to sixty men and women attending the conference. These faithful Pastors and wives have never had any opportunity to attend a marriage conference of any kind. Please pray for theses couples. Secondly we ask that you pray about supporting this trip financially. We are estimating cost to be around $4,000 per team member. We are trusting God to bring those with time and opportunity in partnership with those with resources to accomplish His will in Kenya. As both Anita and I will be serving we will need to raise around $8,000. This trip is costing a lot because it is a faith venture. This team is simply made of people with a heart to serve God in Kenya. These funds will go to help provide airfare, housing, in-country transportation, food, passports/visas, and immunizations.

God has already begun to provide financially with the translation of the material into the native language Swahili at no cost to our team. We leave for Kakamega, Kenya on August 24th and return September 2nd. This is a considerable amount of time to be gone from our little girls so please pray for Savannah Grace and Rylee as well. We are hopeful to have full financial support by August 16th. Please pray about how God would lead you to support us in this opportunity. God Bless.


Please return to Phillip & Anita McCart 337 Ayelsbury Court, Sugar Hill, GA 30518
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_____ I would like to support you with a gift of $___________.

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