Sanctuary B.K.A. the Kitchen

sanc·tu·ar·y

ˈsæŋktʃuˌɛri/ Show Spelled[sangk-choo-er-ee]

–noun, plural -ar·ies.

1. a sacred or holy place.

For the last several mornings, our little kitchen has been transformed into our own little sanctuary.  We have begun our mornings during our ritual where everyone in the house gets medicated for various ailments (it really is quite a process!), to praise,dance, and sing to a song called "In the Sanctuary".  The first time I heard this song was at a Beth Moore conference, sung by Travis Cottrell.  I recently rediscovered it and introduced it to my kiddos and they loooovvveeeeee it!  They now wake up asking for the "morning song"!  Here is the link if you want to listen (I'm sure there is a much more sophisticated way to have the actual song on here where all you have to do is click play, but I'm doing well just getting my pics on here!):
http://traviscottrell.com/music-player/?plid=1

I, of course, grabbed the camera, to capture our sanctuary moment.

In this moment, our kitchen became our holy place as we began our day praising Him!

"We lift our hands to give You the Glory!"


Lissie was watching from the living room trying to figure out what all the excitement was about as she was patiently waiting for her breakfast!

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20

You just know He was there jamming right along with us!

                                                             "In the Sanctuary" Lyrics

We lift our hands in the sanctuary

We lift our hands to give you the glory
We lift our hands to give you the praise
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our days(2x)

We clap our hands in the sanctuary
We clap our hands to give you the glory
We clap our hands to give you the praise
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our day

We sing our song in the sanctuary
We sing our song to give you the glory
We sing our song to give you the praise
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our days

Jesus we give you the praise
Emmanuel we lift up your name
Heavenly father coming Messiah!
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our days

Hallelujah in the sanctuary
Hallelujah we give you the glory
Hallelujah we give you the praise
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our days

Jesus we give you the praise
Emmanuel we lift up your name
Heavenly father coming Messiah!
And we will praise you for the rest of our days
Yes we will praise you for the rest of our days

Yes lord for the rest of our days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Tour of Tears

This summer is set to be a very emotional one for my family.  I have been hoarding tissue coupons in preparation for the tears!  This "Summer Tour of Tears" was kicked off with Gracey's preschool graduation. In other words..............     my.baby.is.going.to.start.kindergarten.in.the.fall.  Yep, I am in a deep state of denial!!!  She will be gone ALL DAY LONG, 5 DAYS A WEEK, FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 13 YEARS OF HER LIFE!!! I can not even begin to grasp the concept that she will not be with me during the day.  The biggest part of her days will be spent guided by her teachers; consumed by her friends, school work, and sports.  I can't deal with this emotionally yet. My heart literally hurts to even think about it. So, for now, I am choosing to ignore this day is coming!

               Gracey's First
                     Day of
                    Preschool

             Gracey's Last
                  Day of
                Preschool 









Next, the Tour of Tears is heading towards my youngest sister, Katie's, high school graduation. Katie, the one that used to sleep on my belly when she was a baby while we napped together. The one I taught to potty train, shave her legs, and to play tennis. The one who Gracey imitates and is identical to in mannerisms, speech, and thought. The one who is graduating 3rd in her class and wants to will be a physical therapist. The one who I think of as more of a daughter than a sister. Do you see why I am going to need those tissues???


In July, the Tour of Tears will welcome a new baby- NO IT'S NOT MINE, HALLELUJAH AND AMEN!!! My cousin Angie will welcome her first baby girl into our girl-dominated family.  And you can't see, hold, smell, touch a new baby without tears.  It's a requirement.


A yet to be scheduled stop in the Tour will be Lissie's baby dedication.  When choosing my children's names, I always paid special attention to the meaning behind the name.  Elisabeth means "consecrated to God".  Without going into Lissie's whole birth story (which I will at some point attempt to do), I felt the urgent need to give her back to God before I even held her in my arms.  I knew from the beginning that she is not mine- any child we get is a gift from God, and they are ultimately all His children that He blesses us with.  We both came close to meeting God on the day Lissie decided to bust onto the scene- 6 weeks too early.  I know in my heart that without the Spirit's constant urge to pray for our little one and myself during my pregnancy, Lissie's birth could've turned out with us both meeting our Maker on that day.  While we have recognized this privately, we still want to do it publicly with our church family.
                         
                                                         Our sweet, little miracle baby....

Who has turned out to be a sassy little girl who loves to give kisses and is as laid-back and as easy as a baby can be!

The Tour of Tears will be concluded with a whirlwind last 3 days.  That is, in a matter of 3 days in mid-August, Gracey will start kindergarten, Thayne will start preschool, and Lissie will turn one!  Three major milestones that will make this momma's heart proud, while hurting, as her babies are growing up. 

Just a few photos to reminisce.....

Yep, those last 2 pics did me in.  Tears cometh freely.

I guess I better start putting those coupons to good use and start stock-piling the tissues now, because I know it does not get any easier!

Food Memories

This is a totally random post that stuck in my mind and grew to the point where I was not going to stop thinking about it until I actually wrote about it, even though it's a little weird and will probably mean nothing to anyone who is not included in the memories- but hey, I write for myself, right? 

Not to sound Oprah-esque, but it is about one of my favorite things- FOOD! Not just food, but memories, and probably more important, people, that are tied with foods- foods that evoke emotional ties.  It never fails that I will eat something that reminds me of a certain time in my life, and then I begin to daydream and reminisce about who I was, who I thought I was going to be, and who I have become.  Weird how the brain ties things together in our minds, right?

So here it is...the foods and the memories they evoke.  Since I do not have pictures to go with the memories (I really need to invest in a good scanner so I can scan old pics and make hard copies, but I digress.  Add that to the list of "when my kids are older..."), I will sporadically interject pics of the cutest kids God ever made! :)

1.  The earliest food memory- Ravioli and my dad.  I remember him asking if I ate the whole can by myself, and my mom saying "Of course, she's a big girl now!"  I think I held my head a little higher that day.

2. Sour Cream and Onion Chips and my Papaw- he had a green, 60's style tupperware container that always set on his table that ALWAYS had those chips in them.  The smell of them makes me think of him every time.  Oh, and club crackers.

3. KFC- volleyball at Fairdale High School.  They delivered to the school and there were many home games that we ordered it to eat before a game. 
                                           
5. Allen green beans- my first physical fight with my sister Jessie.  We were picking beans in a garden and we could not finish until the bucket was full.  She got mad at me about something I said and SHE KICKED MY BUCKET OVER.  It was war, and I won.

6. Peanut butter sandwiches, taco bell Doritos, and big red- every day after volleyball practice, I would walk to my friend Jenny's house and we would eat this meal. Before dinner. Oh, to have the metabolism of a teenager.

7. Frozen pizza, funjuns, and big red- as a teenager, most Sunday's after church were spent at my friend Amanda's house eating this meal that we picked up at the Pic Pac, and playing Paper Boy on Nintendo.  Yes, the original Nintendo. Good times.

8. DQ ice cream- there was one right across from the church I used to attend and there were many trips across the road before and after church.  It was in this church that I fell in love with Jesus and became a Jesus Freak. (little reference to the iconic DC talk there for those who aren't familiar with that phrase)

9. Powdered brownies and Frito cheese dip with Nacho Doritos- the second youth group I was in that taught me how to play Euchre and taught me what a relationship with Jesus was supposed to be like (not that the first church didn't- i just wasn't ready for that yet!)

10. Chicken n Dumplings- my cousin Matt who knocked my two front teeth out and used to torture me in my grandparents basement like only cousins can do- I remember vaguely being pushed around in a wheel chair at reckless speeds.  He taught me to be tough and not put up with any crap! (Oh, chicken n dumplings is the meal that he always asked my mom to cook for him)

11. Pizza Hut- the hubbs proposed to me in the parking lot of the Pizza Hut in New Albany.  I was with my sisters and he met us there after school and told me he had gotten something for me.  I assumed it was a bag of peach rings because that was the candy I was stuck on at the moment.  Boy was I wrong!  It was also the first time Jessie broke the law...she had to drive home because I was shaking so bad.  She had her permit, but I was not 21.  Sorry mom!  Anyway, when we later married and lived in our teeny-tiny first apartment, we ordered Pizza Hut every Friday night and played Scrabble.  Funny how pizza is now my kiddos favorite meal!

12. Big Red- the foreign exchange student Luisa who came and lived with us

my freshman year of college who L O V E D big red gum- which they do not have in Germany.  She became a sister to us during those months she spent shaking up our home!

13. Homemade biscuits- my mom.  She would have flour up to her elbows while making this treat for our family.  I have refused to make them thus far because someone else should learn some of her secrets too since I have most of them, but no one has offered so far, so I guess I'll eventually have to break down and learn the way and inherit the bowl.

Two last pics to even out the number (and it is ALL about things being even and fair at this point in Gracey and Thayne's lives.  I have yet to break it to them that life is never fair, but I think I'll just let life show them that...)

She kinda looks like my mom in this pic...I think I may have 2 pics that my mom is NOT sticking out her tongue!

                                       My mischievous little

                                        man who makes me

                                           smile every day!

                                        

So now that I am done writing a book, I think I'll go make a cake! (um...weddings, birthdays, showers.....)

Bub and the "Mostest"

Bub is actually Thayne's nickname.  Sounds redneck, right? Can't help it.  Gracey came up with it and it has stuck.  When he was a baby, he responded to Bub before Thayne.  It has morphed into Bubbe, Bubba-boo, and all types of others that I'm sure will embarrass the heck out of him when he gets older, but for now, he's stuck with Bub.

Anyway, Thayne and I had a great conversation in the car today on the way to the weekly grocery shopping trip.  We starting talking about what we were going to eat for Mother's day and ended up with how we should love Jesus the "mostest".  It began with discussing our favorite foods (his- "yellow pizza", which is Tony's brand frozen pizza and cheeseburgers; mine- anything Chris cooks, which is usually something on the grill) and then he went through the list of the people he loves (which I will NOT list because it is too long, but if Thayne loves you, trust me, you know because he will tell you every chance he gets!).  I had that little light that goes off in my brain that reminds me to use moments like these, and I told him he left one person off the list.  He looked thoroughly confused and I could hear him whispering  the list back to himself, and then he said, "Nope, I got them all!"

I then told him that the Bible tells us that there is one person that we are supposed to love the most, and of course, since he is 3, interrupts me and says, "I know.  Its the mommy and daddy!"  I had to say no.  It tells us that we must love God the most.  God is first.  That did not sit well with him.  He then asks what love is.  How in the world do you explain love to a 3 year old?  So I attempted to.  He then added, "Love is like when you miss someone? Well, I miss Jesus.  We talk about him all the time.  When does he get to come home?" (To understand his question, you have to understand that Thayne is a homebody, and his favorite part of the day is anytime we are heading home, or when someone else gets home)

Wow.  I have had more theological discussions with my 3 year old son than probably any other person in my life.  I again attempted to explain that Jesus is already home and HE is waiting on US.  That seemed to suit him just fine- as long as his family got to go with him.  And this time I got to say with assurance that YES, his family gets to go!  I am just continually amazed at how God has used and is using my kids to remind me of His simple truths-HE should be loved the mostest!

"Jesus said, 'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself'. These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."
Matthew 22:37-40 (The Message)


                                      For some reason last summer, Thayne started doing this
                                                    face  E V E R Y time I took a picture...

In the McCrary household, boating and fishing are serious business

Thayne's fascination with anything Star Wars (and yes, he prefers the old ones to the new ones) manifested in his Halloween costume

My sweet boy who loves music, cuddles, and anything he can push around on the floor!

                                                           And he also loves a good laugh!

                                                      I don't have a cute caption for this pic,
                                                           but I just couldn't leave it out!

                                             "Discipline your son, and he will give you peace;
                                                         he will give delight to your heart!"
                                                                Proverbs 29:17, NIV

Crying it out :(

So I know it's very controversial in the baby world on whether or not is ok to let a baby "cry it out" when doing sleep training.  Before we (ok, I) decided on the tact we wanted to take when we had Gracey and were desperate to get her out of our bed after co-sleeping for 12 months, I pretty much read about every type of sleep training method known to man-kind.  After trying several that did not work, I decided to let her cry it out.  With Gracey and Thayne, Chris was out of town when I did it, so by the time he got home- surprise! They were sleeping "like babies" (really, the person who came up with that misused phrase obviously did NOT have kids!).

Well, Chris is not out of town. And as I type this, Lissie is "crying it out".  And I guess I should confess that she did not start crying until I went in to check on her because she WASNT crying---that is until I left and shut the door....I know, I know.  But I was just positve she was sticking her nana blanket down her little throat, but of course it was laying at the other end of the bed!

I tried the method with the first two when you go in every 5 minutes and then lengthen the time out until the baby gradually falls asleep. This never worked for me.  I literally let them cry themselves to sleep.  Sounds harsh, cruel, right? Well, it's all worth it after 3 days when you lay your little one down and she sleeps 12 hours straight and still gives you that sweet baby smile in the morning- loving you nonetheless! 

While I do not do the "go in every so often and reassure them" thing, I do do the establish a routine and stick to it thing.  Here is what has worked in the past for us, so we are trying it on our third, precious bonus baby Lissie:

First, we do a bath.  This is actually her first sink bath- why? I have no idea. It just slipped my brain that she is still able to fit in the sink.  Let's blame it on it's-the-third-baby mommy brain.....

We then moved on to the bottle and her breathing treatments.....

Isn't he such a sweet daddy? :) And yes, her arms are restrained or she tries to "help"!  Daddy did a quick diaper check while I took pics of her lonely crib that have been privy to all of my beautiful babies tears, dreams, and yes, all forms of bodily functions!

Lissie's Nana blanket- she made one for all of my babies, and they all sleep with their special blankets

It really is the softest thing I've ever held- one of those you-have-to-rub-it-on-your-cheek kind of soft.

We traded Lissie's crib for Gracey's mattress in our bedroom until Lissie gets used to sleeping in her own room.  Lissie and Gracey share a room, and we didn't want Gracey to have to listen to Lissie's crying, so she gets to camp out on our floor for a while.

(She thinks this is the greatest idea E V E R and she told me she wouldn't mind sleeping on our bedroom floor forever.  I introduced the word temporary to her tonight)

                                                       
                                                           Monitors were set up and ready

The cd I searched for for a good 15 minutes that has sung Gracey and Thayne to sleep.  It is MIA.....

so we settled for Chris Tomlin's Hello Love

One last picture- sleepy eyes and all.  Sweet baby has no idea...

Well, as I end this post 30 minutes after I had begun, Lissie is sound asleep gripping her nana blanket with her little legs tucked underneath and her bottom stuck up in the air.  I thought about sneaking in for one last picture of her asleep....nah. So not worth it!

Sacred Moments

There have been many times in my life that I have been in a moment that I just wanted to freeze and dwell on for a while.  To record the sight, sounds, feelings associated with those seconds that I knew would soon pass.  Those moments that tears creep up and threaten to expose you.  Those moments that catch your breath.  Those moments that change you just enough that you know you will never be the same.   Here are a few of those moments for me that God led me to share today.  And if you think and remember nothing else from this sacred weekend of life, remember that HE IS RISEN! HE IS ALIVE JUST AS HE SAID!

• Nap time- now, stay with me here! For those parents who have small children, you know what a blessing and necessity nap time is!  I once said God created children with the need to nap for parents reprieve!
• That first sleepy baby smile of the morning that makes me feel like I am the best mommy in the world
• Watching my husband play with my kids and falling all over again
• Little rubberband-wristed and dimpled 3 year old hands pulling me down to his size saying, "Mommy, I want to kiss you!"
• Listening to my children pray- not only the prayer that I taught them to get them started, but the first time they say their own prayer all on their own while they are thanking God for every person they have ever know.  All the while, I am thanking God for letting me be their mommy!
• The first time my first born, diva, girly-girl of a daughter hits a ball from a pitch rather than a tball stand, looks over her shoulder to make sure I'm watching and to hear, "Good job baby!" before she runs to first base!
• Giving that kiss and squeeze good-bye while looking into their scared eyes on the first day of preschool
• Teaching my daughter to cook like mothers and daughters have for generations in my family
• Looking down at my hands to see my mom's, hoping and praying that they will be as strong and consistent as hers are
• Taking pics of my littlest sister before she goes to prom- I mean, I potty-trained this girl and taught her how to shave! She's not old enough to go to prom, graduate, move away to college.....
• Registering my oldest for kindergarten and watching her walk away for her assessment with confidence while other soon-to-be kindergartners are wailing, lying on the ground in fear
• Watching my other sister get married to a Godly man and feeling that I may have played a little part in their happiness- she caught the bouquet and he caught the garter at my wedding years before they even started dating!
• Being in the room with both of my grandparents when they passed away.  I was extremely young for the first, and 16 for the second, but the remembrance of the feeling of peace was so strong at both times
• Listening to my son sing to Jesus in the car and not missing a note or word, knowing that my prayer to God while he was still in the womb for him to be a lover of music was answered
• Seeing those 2 pink lines for the first time telling me my dreams to be a mommy were happening
• My manager at work telling me that I can work part-time---closer to the goal of me being able to stay at home full time
• The sound of the hospital doors closing behind us as we got to take Lissie home from her NICU stay after finding out just how close we both were to meeting HIM face to face
• Being completely broken, on my face on the bedroom floor praying to God to take the pain away- and He did in the form of Gracey coming to join me face down too and praying to God, "to make her mommy feel better"
• The feeling of peace knowing that today, when I asked my kids why we celebrate Easter in the midst of discussing dying eggs, my 3 year old and 5 year old babies showed me that they have already grasped a concept that many adults struggle with their entire lives---they both looked as me and said, "because JESUS IS ALIVE"  Out of the mouth of babes, right?

                                                                           AMEN!!!!

Intro, Worship and Monkey Bread

All of the research I have done on "the basics of blogging" stress that you need to pick one topic and stick to it when choosing the general theme of a blog.  Well, that is not this type of blog.  It will be about my life- which is not predictable, stream-lined, or able to be narrowed down into topics.  All aspects of my life cross-over into who I am.  I can not separate the mom, from the daughter, from the wife, from the friend....you get the idea! So, if you are looking for a craft themed, photography themed, advice themed blog, this is not for you!  I will simply be sharing about our lives in whatever seed God plants in my mind for the day. Eventually, I will be sharing a kind of biography that lets you know who I was, where I came from, and who God has made me today, but honestly, I am not sure I am prepared to write all of that down to share yet.  So, for now, if you want to share a little of our lives with us, read on!


For those who are mommies, you know what a true blessing it is to be able to get a full night's sleep! Well, last night was one of those glorious nights for our home.  Our youngest, Lissie who is an eight-month-old mess of a teething baby right now, slept all night.  I woke at 6:30 and proceeded to frantically jump out of bed and run to check and make sure she was breathing like any normal mom would do! She was still in baby dreamland.  It briefly crossed my mind that since everyone was still asleep, it would be a good time to sneak in a little early morning Bible reading.  That thought quickly escaped as my head hit the pillow for another hour of sleep.  Seriously, where do people actually get the willpower to forgo sleep to study? I have never been one of those people.  Maybe when the kids are older... (which I added to that ever-growing list- maybe when the kids are older I'll take photography classes, or start scrap booking again, or go to a gym class, or take a vacation with a good group of friends..anyone other moms out there have this kind of list???)

It truly was a peaceful morning, which in itself is another blessing in a home that includes 3 kids under 6.  I had a request for monkey bread for breakfast, (which suspiciously taste and looks like McDonald's cinnamon rolls on a larger scale...) so I began the quick prep for it and turned to the living room and saw this peaceful sight:

It is very rare that all 3 are playing at the same time, side by side in harmony, so I took a pause from monkey bread making to snap a few photos:

(Please ignore the mess of cords in the background- the never won argument with the gamer of our home to put away the controllers and it's pieces is a battle that I have forfeited!) 

If you are on a diet, I deeply apologize for the next photo, but it turned out so pretty, that I couldn't help but include the pic of the monkey bread!

After snapping the photos, I felt a gentle nudging that said, "stop and play...", but I reasoned that I still had to clean up from breakfast, prep the swiss steak to go in the crock pot for dinner, feed Lissie her cereal- all the excuses we as moms make that make us miss opportunities to play because of our "lists" of things that we feel we need to get accomplished for the day.  I missed that opportunity this morning, and have made a promise to myself and my babies that after the sacred hours of nap time, they will get their mommy time!

While I continued my kitchen duties, I flipped on the radio to a Christian station.  Now, I just have to stop and say that my kids are in love with music, especially Thayne.  He came into the kitchen and stopped playing just so he could sing along.  Gracey shortly joined him, and pretty soon we had a jam fest to "How Great is Our God".  I may not have a sweeter moment in my day than my kids singing at the top of the their lungs how GREAT their God is!  It was truly a moment of worship right in our little kitchen. I am getting little goosebumps all over just writing about it!

So, I guess the lesson for the day is the sweet reminder that worship can happen anywhere.  One of my personal goals that God brought to me a long time ago was to be in a constant state of worship.  As I cook.  When I am knee-high in diapers.  While at work.  Playing with legos with the kids.  He wants everything I do, am, say, think to be in response to Him as worship and love.  I hope your day is filled with just that- worship wherever you are!