The Combs Krewe

On our recent trip to Alabama to pick Keeleigh up from my parents' house, Keeleigh mentioned to me that she'd found a blackberry patch and really wanted to go berry picking. So I donned my best berry picking outfit and we set out... (Borrowed socks and shoes since I didn't bring any appropriate for traipsing through thorny berry patches. Don't they look lovely with my extra loud pants?!) It wasn't long before we found what we were looking for: sun-ripened blackberries! It also wasn't long before we discovered another little creature that loves blackberries: June bugs! They were absolutely all over the plants apparently chowing down on the juicy berries. Keeleigh also found some honeysuckle and enjoyed it's sweet juice right off the vine. Jathan was able to reach a few of the berries but wasn't quite as excited as Keeleigh was about being out in the hot sun reaching through thorny bushes for a few tart bites! I mainly enjoyed taking in the beautiful scene

Last night during our family devotional time, the subject was kindness. When Jackie read, "God commands kindness," my first thought was, "YES! Maybe the kids will listen up and quite smacking each other and calling each other weird." Ha ha! Today I used last night's devotional as a gentle reminder that God COMMANDS kindness. It's not just a suggestion from your parents; the sovereign creator of the universe expects it from each one of us. This is something that I think even (especially?) adults forget. In fact I was recently reading a personal devotion about how we Christians will endure hardship and persecution from "the world" and my first thought was, "Who needs the world when we have other Christians to hurt us." = ( A while back the thought had occurred to me that the metal cover on the vent for the air conditioning unit at the end of our hall would be a good place to display Bible verses. You can't help but look at it as you w

Last night at 11 o'clock I said to Jackie, "Do you know what we were doing 8 weeks ago at this time?" "Having a baby," he replied. Yes, it would still be about an hour and a half before we decided to go to the hospital and I didn't realize it yet but I was having a baby. (That is to say, I knew I was going to have a baby sometime soon just not so soon.) At 12 o'clock last night we were still awake because for some reason Ryland was wired and had woken up Jathan because he wanted to be in the same bed with him. It would have been annoying but he giggled furiously when he did it and that softened the blow considerably. Piper was awake as well but I took that as a good sign--she was going to nurse soon and then sleep 5 or 6 hours just like the night before! Or, you know, not. At 1 o'clock Jathan and Ryland are asleep and Piper is dosing off and on. Jackie and I are laying in bed wondering when we'll sleep. "What time was Piper born?" I ask

Today has been wonderful. I may be jumping the gun a little bit saying that since it's only 3 p.m. especially given the fact that we crawled out of bed at 10 a.m. but those few hours seem to have marked a change or at least my recognition of that change whenever it happened. Or, heck, maybe it's just a good day. See, things between you and I haven't always been everything they should be which saddens me because I wanted you in my life so very much. I prayed and prayed to God that He would put you in my life and He did so what right do I have to complain about anything, huh? But I do complain. I complained and said rude things to you both in my head and aloud when you were tiny and wouldn't sleep and your dad and I were so, so tired. I complained and screamed and cried when you threw toilet water all over the place and most of those times when you dumped out your entire plate of food in the floor. And you know what? I wasn't totally , really sorry every one of those

The clock says its morning but even the light coming in the window is still tired. It glows only a soft gray having reluctantly fought its way in through the blinds guarding our sleepy sanctuary. A little pink creature is curled up beside me and her rhythmic breathing is whispering to my eyes, "Close. Close. Close ." Past the door and down the hall--which really could be miles and miles for all I know--I hear little voices and a bigger, yet quieter voice and the sounds of pots and pans and spoons clanking. The sweet smelling creature stirs; her hand brushes against her soft mouth and suddenly a tiny tongue licks it like a lollipop as she peeks at me through one slit of an eye. Sleep wins out and the slit closes. Rain taps gently on the window. I breathe in deeply in some effort to inhale all the wonderfulness of the moment. " Almost two months," my mind tells me. I lay a hand on her round protrusion of a midsection; it rises and falls, rises and falls comfortably. I

I've had the itch to try a new style for a while now. My hair has been long for the last couple of years and although I really like long hair (as does Jackie), it gets old to me especially in the heat and humidity around here. I've always been one who enjoys doing all sorts of different things with my looks. In fact this is probably the longest my hair has been the same in years and years. I recently cleaned out our closet and couldn't resist going through our big box of pictures when I came to it. I thought I'd share some of the pictures of my hair-dos throughout the years with you guys! From the start I was a gutsy girl. Here I am sporting a statement-making mohawk: Soon I moved on to a trendy boy cut. In kindergarten I tried out some blunt bangs. (I really thought I was smiling in this picture. I think I was scared every single day of kindergarten.) By 3rd grade I'd loosen up enough to smile in school pictures. Perhaps because of my stylin' bug-deflector bang