soapy pup

When my little cousin Ashlin was a little baby, maybe 2, she would call Sophie, soapy. It made us laugh. I got reminded of it tonight because I was giving Sophie a bath! I'm gonna show you guys how this usually goes.

Sophie doesn't mind getting a bath. I just go in the bathroom and tell her to "come on! it's time for a bath." She comes in there and lets me take off her collar and then she gets up in my lap so that I can brush her out before I stick her in the tub.

The first thing she always does is drink the water. I guess the warm bath water tastes better than the water in her bowl?


Then she gets soaped up with puppy shampoo. I use the puppy kind still because it is supposed to be gentle and isn't supposed to burn her eyes. It smells like lavender.


Then I have to scrub her face good and rinse her off. I like the fact that the cup I use to rinse her off is the same cup I've always used for giving my dogs a bath..it's a batman cup that came from McDonalds. It's from the Batman Returns movie that came out in 1992. So, this cup is nearly 20 years old! It is important to getting a dog clean! And, I love Batman's steely blue eyes.



Here is Sophie giving me the "is it over yet?" look



Next is blow drying..which Sophie actually likes. She comes into the bathroom during the winter and wants me to just blow dry her for fun. But, think about it. Who wouldn't want to be all warm and have someone rub your back? Because I always give her a backrub while I'm drying her.



when the drying is done, Sophie always kinda demands her collar back. She wants it back on!



Then she wants to crash and take a nap because she's all relaxed.



On a side note, notice the houndstooth and red flower pillow on my couch! Made by my mom.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this Sophie story!

love,
KBT

Who are the least?

Hi friends! So, I was listening to NPR on the way home (as usual..i'm a nerd) and I honestly can't tell you what they were talking about lol. I don't remember. The topic stuck in my head (and maybe they were talking about this? I honestly do not remember!) was Alabama's new immigration law. Again our state has made headlines for what can be boiled down to racism and intolerance. And I know those are strong words. I am not going to begin to get into the politics of illegal immigration simply because I don't know enough about all of the issues to carry on what would likely lead to some kind of debate with my good friend Adam Lamar in which I'd just have to end with "YOUR MOM!" So I'll just keep it to what I know.

Jesus tells us in Matthew very clearly to care for the "least of these." They are all around us. They are the hungry, the sick, the ones in prison and strangers just to name a few. These categories aren't some I've made up. Jesus said...

"35. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

So, I hopped over to dictionary.com to just make sure I had the definition of a stranger correct:

stran·ger  [streyn-jer]  

noun

 1. a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance: He is a perfect stranger to me.

2.a newcomer in a place or locality: a stranger in town.

3.an outsider: They want no strangers in on the club meetings.

4.a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed by to ): He is no stranger to poverty.

5.a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest: Our town shows hospitality to strangers.

 

I think you guys can see where I'm going here. Jesus told us (and I'm paraphrasing) that when we do for the least of these, we do for Him. He said that. And I don't see where it says when you invited only strangers who had the proper documentation in, you did for Him. I can't imagine wanting to leave my home to go to a country where I don't know anyone or even speak the language. So, it must be a desperate decision when someone decides to do such to try and have a better life. 

  

I'm not meaning to be on a soap box. Seems like I am always asking you guys to think about something! But, I'm just sharing with you the thoughts that stick in my brain. I have to remind myself constantly of God's Word because I promise every day I do 10 things wrong for every 1 thing I do right. So I thank God for His Grace! 

 

I just mean to say that as Christians we are charged with following God's Word. Not just the Words that are convenient or that fit what we already wanted to do anyway, but all of them. And I just don't see how this Immigration Law fits into this.  

but the greatest of these is what?

so, I've been having one of those days. it was a dreary start to the week and it continued through to today. it was hard to keep a smile on my face so I let it slip right into a frown today..maybe even a bit of a scowl like this >:( but eventually the sun came out and my smile came back. On my drive home I was mulling over the day and feeling irritated at some things I witnessed. It happens every day though. People judging others. Sometimes over stupid little things. And I am definitely guilty of this myself more often than I'd care to admit. I know I've posted about this before, but it's a resounding theme in my life right now - WHY IS LOVING OTHERS SO HARD?

I know we've all read or heard 1 Corinthians 13 enough that we should all know it by heart. It's a favorite at weddings. The parts I usually remember are "Love is patient, love is kind..." but the parts that I seem to have really overlooked until now are the lines before that.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.        2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.           3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

WOW. how have i missed this? How did I miss the part that says I can have FAITH ENOUGH to move a mountain, but if I don't have love, I'm NOTHING. nothing. not a thing. Or, if I can solve life's greatest mysteries and have the wisdom of Solomon, but don't love others, it doesn't mean one red cent. And, it's great and all if I help the poor, but what is my motivation for doing so? Is it because i LOVE them, or because i LOVE thinking that I am such a good and noble servant. HEY, look at me over here! Giving to the poor! :) yep, that's right! I'm soooo good and sweet to do it.

I mean, crap. Yeah, I like to think that I love others or at least try to. But how can I say I love others and then curse the person who cuts me off in traffic? How can I love others and then not cut them any slack when they are rude to me? And, it isn't just in the blatant ways i'm not showing love to others. It's in the little things. The eyeroll behind someone's back. The snide remark to someone who rubs me the wrong way. All of these things reflect my "love" for others.

So far, I'm not looking all that great. It's in the last part of this scripture that God spells it right out for us just to be sure that there is no confusion:

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
the greatest of these is LOVE. Faith, Hope and LOVE. So, loving others must be pretty important. I wish we could all love others just a little bit more every day. If everyone did this, think of what we could do! So this will be my prayer...

Father God, I pray that you will let me see people through Your Eyes and reflect a true love that can only come from You in me. I pray that every day You would help us to love others more than we did the day before. Thank you for loving me!

i LOVE you, friends!
kbt

my life in lists

So, a while back I bought a journal of sorts called a Listography. I like the idea of keeping a journal but since I am a procrastinator, it would go about as good as this blog. I'd write in it maybe once a week. :) And, I wouldn't have anything profound to say! Not that it would have to be, but you know if I'm documenting my days in an effort to preserve my memories, well I would like to think I had some good thoughts every now and then. Here are some of my favorite list topics.

1. List your favorite books: pride & prejudice, LoTR trilogy, Blue like Jazz, this could be a long list so i'll just move on...

2. List your best purchases: hmm..this one is tough. my house? i like having my own space. i just bought a Rowenta iron which could prove to be a great purchase! (thanks Lauren for introducing me to this)

3. List your favorite TV shows of all time: Modern Family is quickly becoming a favorite of all time. Little House on the Prairie is still one of my faves even though I know it makes me a big nerd.

4. List the things people should remember you for: this one is hard! So, I don't know what people should remember me for but I do know that a handful of folks will remember the video of me singing at the Avett show for a while

5.List the websites you visit most often: facebook, pintrest, here, msnbc, you tube (because i cannot stop watching the honey badger video!)

Well, you get the idea! So far I've only filled in a few. Maybe one day I'll fill them all in.

Hope you guys had a fantastic Sunday!

Kaci

Change the World!

Friends! I hope you guys notice the new banner in the upper right hand corner! It is from the Compassion website. :) This makes me very happy! I wish I could get this on my facebook!

My family is quickly becoming a Compassion family. I sponsor Julienne in Rwanda, my mom and dad sponsor the CUTEST little girl named Linny in Honduras and now my Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike have joined the fun and are sponsoring a little 4 yr old girl name Rakhi in Bangladesh!

COME ON Y'ALL! JOIN THE FUN! Sponsor a child today!!!

I and Love and You

This blog is about my favorite band THE AVETT BROTHERS!! Y'all know I LOVE them! A few weeks ago I went to their free show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta with Cassie Lamar, Cari Moyer, my brother Jon Tidwell, and his buddies Josh Campbell and Wes Duren. Now, because this was a free show, we had to get there REALLY early to get in line to make sure that we got inside. So, I spent my Friday afternoon sitting in Atlanta for 5 hours just to see them perform. But it was so worth it! Here are some pictures from the show.


Possum art outside of the Tabernacle


Alabama ghost! This was a sticker on the lightpost next to where I was standing in line.


See, I am not the only one who loves these guys! If you haven't checked them out you really need to. Their music is smart and fun and can make a bad day better!


Our awesome seats next to the stage!!


Scott and Seth (Seth is the one in the front)


Scott playing piano. He plays the banjo, harmonica, piano just to name a few! And he designs the posters.


Scott Avett




Inside the Tabernacle. This venue used to be a church.


Me!! loving the show!!

football is here!

Went to my first high school football game of the season! My cousin Hunter is a senior at West Point High School. The team played Curry last Friday night. Here are some photos from the game! Hunter is number 63.





One thing I learned is that I need a better zoom lens for future games.

Also in attendance were the Hamms - TJ, Tara, Ashlin and Ella! Here are some pictures of the littlest Hamms.

Ashlin being silly!





Ella was being a mess!





I look forward to more games...and a better lens. :)

Hulkamania!

Here are some pictures from the TNA Impact wrestling that I went to with the Lamars last week! Hope you enjoy!


HULK HOGAN


STING

just think about it..

Ok friends, I've got something on my heart I have to share with y'all. It's been over 2 months now since I've returned from Rwanda and the children of East Africa are weighing heavy on my heart. I know we all see and hear about the poverty and suffering every day it seems like and sometimes we just get tired of hearing about it. We just want to hear good news. I am one of those people myself! I never watch the news just for this reason. But, God has opened my eyes to the hurting and now that I have seen, I am responsible. I can tell you lots of stories of the things I heard and saw in Rwanda. I'm gonna show you some pictures as I go along.

One of the things that will stick with me forever is the love that these kids poured out for me.



The kids in the photo above were not kids sponsored by my co-workers at WAKM. These kids were just school kids that were on a break from their studies. You can see though they rushed to get a hug. From me..a nerdy accountant from Cullman, Alabama. Nothing special..but to these kids I looked like hope. You see, in Rwanda, American's are "rich." And the fact that a "rich" person came all the way to see them let them know that someone cares. Someone took notice that life isn't always easy for them.



This young mother was eager to talk with me and Webber about her family. They had very little by the looks of their home, but they were happy to let us visit with them and love on their children.



This little guy was named Michael. We fed him a peanut butter cracker and it took him a while to chew it with his two teeth but look at his sweet face..





These children were not Compassion sponsored children. Their mothers told us they hope and pray that one day they will be sponsored to help them have a better life.

Friends, those of you who know me well, you know I'm not a cheesy person. I am a bit of a cynic to be honest. So when I tell you that you can make a difference in lives just like these...I really mean it. For $38 a month you can raise a family out of despair and give their children a fighting chance! You might think that $38 is a lot of money and it is really when you are giving it monthly, but what if that was all it took to make sure your child could go to the doctor when they were sick. What if that's all it took to send them to school and make sure that they have loving Christian adults in their lives that took an interest in them to make sure they were ok.



I know I spend at least that much eating out once a month. And I can tell y'all, it wouldn't hurt me one bit to miss that meal. But the meals it provides for these kids can make the difference in them going to sleep at night hungry or having enough to eat. Y'all know I'm addicted to diet mountain dew, but if I gave it up and gave the money I saved from buying those drinks to a family in need, I could help make sure they can have clean water to drink. And if I gave up the money that I spent buying just one more outfit or one more pair of shoes (when I already have so many) it could go to a child who doesn't have any shoes and walks barefoot every where they go.



Please pray for these children around the world. Not just in Rwanda. There are children just like these all over the world. I know you've seen the statistics, but you guys know me. I have been there and I have seen what just $38 a month can do! It changed my sponsored child Julienne's life and the lives of her whole family! But it changed my life too. Please join me in being a good steward of God's blessings. Please consider giving up eating out once a month or buying a few less cokes to save a life.

(image from google)

Because y'all, what if the shoe was on the other foot? What if this was your child? I know you would be praying and trusting God to send some help! And YOU might just be the help that a child in need is waiting for. To sponsor: www.compassion.com

If sponsorship isn't something you're interested in, then please consider donating to help the famine in East Africa! I won't bombard you with photos of these starving children, all you have to do is google it to get enough to make your heart break. Please just do something to help if you can! www.unicefusa.org here is where you can go to donate now! If you can't afford to donate then please just pray and ask God to send those who will.


PLEASE JUST THINK ABOUT IT

love,
kaci

Art in the atrium

 My church has art classes in our atrium from time to time. Tonight was my first time to go and we made Ink block paintings. Here are mine:

I think the blue is my favorite but i like them all. This was very interesting and i think I will do some more ink block art in the future. We traced stencils onto Styrofoam then i added some flair to mine with the swirl and details on the inside of the cross. Then we put on the ink and then placed it on paper like a stamper. This is how printing presses work (kinda). Anyways, it was a lot of fun! Sorry my post is scattered but I'm very tired!

Here's a picture of the action...

The lady in the black shirt above was our teacher Ms. Mona Ivey. She teaches art at West Point High School. In the blue shirt is Rev. John Richter. This was in our beautiful new atrium at St. John's. LOVE IT!

Goodnight friends!

sophie

this post is dedicated to my sweet little pup sophie....



This is her face when she doesn't want me to take her picture. As I type this she is in the bed. She's a very smart little dog. She has trained me how to get up and put her in the bed at night. She's also trained me how to get up and get her a treat.



this is her "safe spot" she loves this pink bag. She gets in there when she's scared or if she thinks we're going somewhere.



this is what she does during the day (IF i leave the drapes pulled back, which during the summer is rare b/c it warms up the whole house) she loves to sit and watch the neighbors though. It's also a prime spot to watch for Granny or her Auntie Cassie to pull up.



this is one of my favorite pictures of her. she looks so sweet and warm.

sophie is scared of thunderstorms so i got her a thundershirt to try and help with this....so far it's working...since i bought it we haven't had a storm to try it out with...lol



She is also dramatic. What should have just been a little blood drawn during her yearly check up turned into lots of bleeding and this bandage...



but she's the best!! She's always happy to see me!



LOVE HER! :)

new post

So my time in public accounting is coming to an end. After this week, I will no longer be working in public. Now to non-accountants that isn't anything special. But to those of us who are, this is a big change. I am really excited about this new opportunity, but I have to be honest; I'm a little bit nervous. I guess I just don't know what to expect. But that's how life goes! Things always change.

I have to share a picture of my Sunday school kids with you!

This is Jack and Dante. These two little guys are regulars in my second grade Sunday school class. Today I showed up and found them wearing matching outfits. lol. These boys are a handful! They are very hyper every Sunday. I ask them if they eat sugar for breakfast or hyper beans every week. But they're fun. These pictures are blurry because they wouldn't be still long enough for me to snap a good picture!

Today's lesson was about a lot of things I guess. We talked about treating people how you would like to be treated; showing compassion, kindness, humility; being thankful for our blessings and showing forgiveness to others.

Then during class Jack hit Dante. Dante said he might forgive Jack for that in about 3 months but not anytime soon. It made me laugh. :) At least he's honest.

But I totally feel like that sometimes. I  know we're supposed to forgive others but geez that's hard sometimes! Also, why is it so hard to always be nice and kind to others. One of my favorite Avett Brother songs asks "what makes it easy to treat people bad?" I think that's a good question. The answer to that question in the song is that "Love gets lost." I think that's true. The scripture today was Colossians 3:12-14:

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I asked the boys about love. What was love?

They said making out with girls. I said that romantic love is one kind, but that wasn't the one we were talking about today. Loving others is what we were talking about (to which Dante said that he didn't love Jack. Jack said he loved his sisters which I thought was sweet! And both agreed that the love their parents and grandparents) Then Dante said we're supposed to love others like we love ourselves. Smart kid! (maybe he HAS been listening during class). So, as I sat down to post a blog (and sorry y'all that sometimes they're long) this conversation came back to me and it has lead me here. I think that maybe that's the problem. Maybe it's hard to follow God's instructions to love our neighbor like ourselves when we aren't sure what that should look like. I always say I "love" this or that. I love naps! I love those shoes! I love bacon! Oh I love diet mountain dew! Maybe overuse of the word confuses it's meaning. But, God tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 what love should look like.

Patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, keeps no record of wrongs just to name a few. I need a constant reminder of these things I think.

I think the Avetts are right. Love does get lost. I'm gonna do my best this week to keep that in mind.