Where have you been?

I can still remember my grandmother asking me that very question almost every time I walked in her door.  It was her lovely way of making me and my sister feel guilty about not coming over enough.

Over the last couple weeks, I have asked myself that very question many times--not audibly mind you. It has been a CRAZY month and I have felt guilty over not blogging.  However, I have been taking care of the hottest fires in my life and to be honest feeding my children and washing their clothes has been a hotter fire than blogging.  I have sooo many blog ideas to share, so when I have time it will roll out like butta!  I am talking a pantry redo, a new command center, braces, birthday parties...oh the list will go on.  Until then, check out a few pics from the last month!

Brayden at Lake Gaston! 

I grew lots of tomatoes in my new garden...this was my biggest one!

We did crafts.

We took these boys to Go Ape in Williamsburg....AMAZING!

A few Busch Gardens trips.

Brayden's team celebrating after his first out of the park home run! YES

Bold

This week has been one BOLD week!  Let me give you 3 reasons why!!!

1.  The kids and I declared last Wednesday Bold Day for the Hodges!  We spent the afternoon doing bold things all over our area.  I thought that I would show you some pics:

We started our day off with making a card and giving our mailman some Twizzlers!

We made tons of homemade salsa!  So, we delivered some chips and salsa to our principal and her office staff that are working so hard this summer to make the school year a success!

I took the kids out to lunch.  We tried to buy lunch for the gentleman behind us but he wouldn't let us.  Oh well!  The lady at the cash register royally messed up the amount that she charged my credit card, but I was feeling BOLD and exhibited much kindness instead of frustration.  So, I guess we were still BOLD at Subway! 

This is just a pic of Brayden having a good hair day! Handsome boy!

We bought school supplies for STUFF THE BUS!

We went to the Dollar Store and like little fairies, we stuck $1 bills in various things around the store. Someone will be very happy when they can purchase something from the Dollar Store with that dollar.

We put quarters in the machines at Kmart and didn't turn them.  We left them for the next happy customer that wanted a treat!

We went by the Waters Edge Church offices and delivered home made salsa and cookies!  Taylor made them a poster and a note too!  We have the best staff at Waters Edge.  They work so hard and we wanted to be BOLD and let them know just how much we appreciated them!

To end the day we delivered cookies, chips and salsa to my mom and her neighbor.

The kids kept saying, "Mom this is so much fun.  This feels so good to give."  I love that.  There isn't a better way to live a BOLD life than to be gracious, kind, appreciative and giving!  

2.  This past week, my mom had a family member visit from out of town.  My mom had the privilege of leading a family member to a relationship with Christ.  The family member listened to Stuart's message of BOLD from last week and cried and said that she wants to know Jesus!  Wow.  BOLD.  It makes me so thankful that I have a husband that is so faithful in listening to the Holy Spirit and is obedient in being BOLD on Sundays.  It also makes me grateful that my mom was so BOLD to share with her how to become a Christ follower and how to read her Bible for the first time!

3.  I probably should have ended on that note, but I can't!  Stuart had the privilege of pastor swapping with a good friend of his, Pastor Daniel Floyd at Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, VA this weekend...talk about BOLD!  I don't get to visit other churches very often, so this was a special treat for me.  We felt so welcome at Lifepoint Church and they were absolutely amazing hosts.  On the flip side, our church loved having Pastor Daniel Floyd speak at our church.  It was a very neat experience!  

So there you have it!  I think that this sermon series will go down in history as one of my favorites...and it is not even over yet!