Annie's Hammock

"Mary tilts her head down, staring into the face of her newborn son. She is tired - taking care of her baby by herself is exhausting.  With no mother, sister or women friends to assist her or show her what to do, she has to rely on her husband to help her with newborn care.   But her fatigue cannot quell the deep emotions she feels as she looks into his dark eyes.  What a beautiful child he is - how perfect in every way!  At least, that's how SHE sees him. Mary is no different from me in that way.  I remember the strong, overwhelming, indescribable, breathtaking feelings of love that came over me when I looked at my babies.  ( I still get those feelings on occasion when I look at my grown children).  But Mary is different from every mother in history in a way that none of us can fathom.  She is the mother of the Son of God!  An ANGEL appeared to her with the news of his conception  - and that was just the first of many unbelievable...

 

Many Sundays our pastor offers us a challenge based on something he preached about. During Advent, he preached on the book "The Advent Conspiracy". WORSHIP FULLY, SPEND LESS, GIVE MORE AND LOVE ALL - are the basic guidelines from the book. As a reminder for us to try and live these guidelines during the next year, he proposed this challenge: when packing away the ornaments, choose one to be placed in a prominent place in the house. Let this ornament serve as a spiritual reminder to "live" Christmas all year. Simple, right? For some, the ornament may be enough. But for me, I think I'll need something more - something bigger - more "in my face". My guys gave me more pieces for my "Willow Tree" Nativity set. It's on the baby grand downstairs in the living room. I will see it every day, several times a day. Can't miss it, even if I tried. I have challenged myself to stop and look at it every day. To pick a different piece -...

Bob gave me a wonderful Pawney's Island hammock for our anniversary on August 23rd. It's so comfortable and I have already enjoyed a few naps in it and look forward to more once the weather finally cools off. Annie has her very own hammock at last!

What a wonderful family reunion we had this year. All my siblings, except for sister Stephanie, were there with most of the kids and grandkids. We stayed at the Crystal Tower condos on West Beach next door to the Daugherty cabin. My sister, Leah and her boys, Ben and Jack and Ben's girlfriend, the beautiful Becca; brother, Ward, his wife Theresa and their daughter, Audrey; brother, Harding and his son, Thomas and my sister, Lyn. Daddy and Robin drove down from Demopolis. We had the traditional Howard Daugherty Fourth of July BBQ at the cabin. The Daughertys, Johnsons and Patricks were there - except for Jordan - who is in the Marine Corps stationed at Parris Island and could not be with us. We missed him but are so proud! The grandchildren - Molly, Leah and Dylan Sullivan - enjoyed playing with their cousins. Ray and Stephanie flew into Pensacola from Los Angeles and Jake and Juan Malave drove in from Houston. All the older cousins played board games and partied every nigh...

We had wonderful week with our 14 kindergarten kiddoes in our crew. The music, the lessons, the children, the adults and teens and the fellowship - all such blessings! FEAR NOT! was the response to all our Bible verses and you could hear it being yelled all over the church all morning long.