{what's in a name}

April 21, 2014

I have always loved names.

I've made lists for as long as I can remember of what names I would give to my children.

Nomi. 

{I was a young teenager trying desperately to avoid fitting into a mold.}

My second son was named Saylor for about two weeks when he lived in my uterus.

Ultimately, I ended up with 

Karli Blayne 

{She's named after my godfather.}

Drake William Elie 

{ He's named after Freddie's 2 grandfathers.}

Brant James Lee 

{ He's named after Freddie Thomas James and Freddie's parents- both who have Lee as a middle name.}

Aubree AnnaLynn

{She's named after my grandmother and my godmother.}

Their names are very significant to me.

Their first names are names that I liked. 

Names that settled into a place within me that just felt right.

I have always taught my children to treat their names with respect.

Especially their family name.

My boys need to be certain that they give that name to the right girl.

Their names are significant and special and important.

When their name is spoken, a thought will be come to mind.

It is important to make sure that those thoughts are honorable.

Maybe, they will do so much with their life here on earth 

that their names will live on like many others before them.

Abraham Lincoln.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mother Theresa

Moses

Jesus.

But what if they don't?

Will their name fade away into history, 

etched only onto a headstone never to be spoken again?

I believe that no matter how long their names, 

or mine,

is spoken of here on earth

it will never sound as sweet or mean so much 

as when our name is called in Heaven!

I will hear Jesus present me to His Father one day by my name.

What about you?

"Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I'll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels." Revelation 3:5

{it's raining, it's pouring}

February 4, 2014

{LOVE}.
It's where I've purposed to live this year.
But the funny thing is, God is full of surprises.
I thought that I was going to be the only one exercising my heart.
And then, He sends the showers to drench me, violently and swiftly~
everywhere I turn it's thundering and lightening with those who rain {LOVE}.
What a blessing it is to know that I am {LOVEd} by the Creator.

Sometimes it's hardest to {love} yourself.
Or to let yourself be {loved}.
I'm learning that it may be one of the most important parts of being able to {love} others well.

I find myself in a season that I don't particularly want to be in.
It's a hassle.
A change.
An awakening.
And as soon as I reach out for help, just the tiniest bit,
I've got an army of girls, armed to the teeth,
standing at attention, ready to go to the Throne on my behalf.
They empty their hearts of {love} all over me.

This is a lesson.
I must mark it down in red and underline it.
Even the smallest gesture I can give in {love}~
Like an encouraging word,
Or an earnest prayer~
Can make such an impact and help to lighten the load of the weary.
{love}
It's that simple.
Who would've thought that this journey would begin with me receiving what I've set out to give?

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." 1John 4:16-19

{twenty thirteen}

December 17, 2013

What a year we have had!
This is the year that Aubree FINALLY turns 6. She has been waiting and dreaming of being six for as long as I can remember. This year was filled with so many new friends for her~ and our social butterfly has enjoyed every minute of it. She is learning to read and I am pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. She is doing mostly first grade work.

Brant has been making such large strides in spite of his dyslexia. I am so proud of his progress. It has not been easy at all. We have both cried our fair share of tears, hung on for dear life at the end of our ropes, and climbed our way back up. This year, our little man played Quarter Back for his football team. He did such a good job and it was pure joy to watch him week after week.

Drake is turning into a teenager before our very eyes. This year, I have seen him struggle with saying good-bye to the child and try to find himself as he grows and matures. He could not be more excited as the first signs of facial hair begin to shadow his lip. If you know Drake at all, you know how THRILLING this is for him. He has wanted "man hair" forever! He aged out of rec ball this year and joined a Home School football league {AHSA}. It was precious to see the transition. He still has a lot of growing to do over the next few years, but I am eager to have a front row seat to see how it all unfolds! He struggled so much at his first practice and it was simply amazing to see my kid doing such a good job by the end of the season.

Karli has had such a wonderful year. She has not ceased to amaze me. With the help and support of so many of you, our family and cherished friends, she was able to attend Model & Talent EXPO this past summer. The experiences she had there both rocked her to the core and strengthened her spirit. She tried out and made the competition team at her dance studio. Every single week it is evident that all of her constant hard work is paying off because she is consistently improving so much as a dancer. It's been so special to see her finding herself and settling in to who she really is~ and it's even more beautiful to see her drawing close to God and building a personal relationship with Him.

Freddie & I celebrated 21 years of marriage this year. I am proud to stand next to this man as his wife. I love him more each and every day, and I pray he feels the same way about me. This year we were able to go on a family vacation- our first one in four years. It was an amazing time and we completely enjoyed every moment. As a family, we were able to sponsor a little boy from Honduras. He is a precious six year old and we pray God's favor on his life. The kids are so excited to love on him in letters and share God's love with him. I spent a lot of this year giving of myself and my time. I have gotten back so much more than I could ever give. It has been so important for me to be a good example to my children this way. This year I also reached a personal goal of reading the Bible through. It was a lovely experience and I hope to go deeper into Scripture next year. Freddie has been working as hard as ever, and our hope is for him to be able to take a little more time off and work like "normal" people are supposed to. We are continuing to be committed to becoming debt free and look forward to what God has in store for our family as we faithfully serve and worship Him.
This year has had it's share of challenges and disappointments, but it has given us BLESSINGS running over! We are honored to have made so many new friends and share another wonderful year with old friends and family. We enter the new year in prayer for you and yours for health & favor for the New Year. Thank you for sharing 2013 with us. You are forever a very important part of Our Story!
Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!
Love~ the CALVERETTE's

Merry CHRISTmas from the CALVERETTE Crew!

{our year in pictures in no particular order}

New Year's 2013

my goofy girls

Ariel

someone turned FORTY this year!

Karli's awards from the Model & Talent EXPO 1st Runner Up: DANCE; 1st Place: SWIMSUIT; 1st Place: RUNWAY

Brant's faux-hawk

reading a book for FUN!

CYT: Karli was in a scene from The Sound of Music

Brant's birthday trip to the movies

photo shoot for MT EXPO

Car Wash fundraiser

Karli & Drake's birthday party

my April babies

Easter bunny is brave to show up at the hunting club

my little Picasso

Painting with a Twist with friends

appendicitis scare

dinner to celebrate Daddy's birthday

our meteorologists

this is how we play

duck lips

I'm gonna miss this

bow hunters

Aub's birthday party

Drake and his pet iguana, Elvis

vacation: New Orleans

oh, you know, this is just what dancer's do when they are waiting in the car

vacation: Destin

and we've got asthma

new friends

first day of football practice. High School football is serious

what she loves

dancer

joy

one proud football mom

my love's still got it

rescue

me and my love!

31 Days {day 21}

October 21, 2013

describe your relationship with your parents

My relationship with my parents.

Can I just skip this one?

My relationship with my dad....

It's cordial & friendly.

I guess kind of like what you might have with an uncle.

I had a really rough childhood.

There was abuse. Lots of it.

There were some happy memories with my dad, 

but the ones that were not happy were very not happy.

There has been forgiveness.

But some wounds are too deep to forget.

I love him because he is my father,

however I cannot have a close relationship with him.

My relationship with my momma...

It's evolving.

We have our ebbs and flows.

She has worked so hard the past few years to improve many areas of her life

and I am incredibly proud of her for that.

It can be difficult at times to be her daughter.

Sometimes it is draining and frustrating.

The thing about my momma is that there is not a mean bone in her body.

She truly is kind.

Her intentions are good, 

but there is something that stops her sometimes from acting them out.

So here's the rub... 

I love her. I really do.

I trust her. She will always love me.

I will care for her. She has a fear of being alone & I will never let that happen.

I will not quit trying to make us better.

And quite frankly, sometimes, the problems we face are not her fault but mine.

The relationship we have is not necessarily one I want to have with my adult kids,

but it's ours.

It's the best either of us can do at any given moment.

And there is love between us- even if we struggle to show it well sometimes.

"Keep your love for one another at full strength, because love covers a multitude of sins." 1Peter 4:8

31 Days {day 19 & day 20}

October 20, 2013

{day 19} how did you feel the moment you became a parent?

My road to becoming a mother was  long and difficult one.

I've always wanted babies- lots of babies for as long as I can remember.

However, getting to that point was not as easy for Freddie & I as it is for most.

We struggled for 6 years with infertility.

The moment my first born child was placed in my arms was surreal.

I remember thinking, "Wow. This is it. I'm really a mom. She's my baby."

She looked so perfect.

Her face was round and smooth and perfectly pink.

{the photos of those first few moments look very different from what my eyes saw}

I kissed her. And I loved her.

I felt confident that I could take care of her well.

It's almost as though I started to live that day.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5

{day 20} describe 3 significant memories from your childhood

1. I remember that my mom would let me dip my kid-sized play mop in her mop bucket. It made me feel so grown up. I wanted so badly to clean house like her. I always was so jealous that her dirt pile was always so much bigger than mine. 

2. At CHRISTmas we would decorate our tree with our usual ornaments and colored blinking lights. Then, we would put silver icicles on the tree. Momma always wanted them placed neatly and strategically. But Dad would throw them with us on the tree- the thicker the better! It was so much fun and we absolutely LOVED how the tree looked when it was drowned in icicles.

3. One year for CHRISTmas we were at my grandmother's house for our annual family get-together. Only this year, when we got home, we discovered that Santa had passed while we were gone. This made my doubting mind wonder, but then I remembered that Dad and my uncles had left for a little while to go the store for something. 

*In order to keep it real, I combined {days 19 & 20} because they were both written today.

31 Days {day 16}

October 16, 2013

what are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

1. Okay. If you know me, you know I am going to say my kids. I am so proud of each of them. They are smart, and beautiful, and compassionate {most of the time}. It was not an easy feat to have children at first. There were several years of infertility. Countless doctor visits, money spent, injections, and graphic invasions of my {uh um} privacy. I cannot tell you how many prayers were prayed or tears were shed. I begged & pleaded with God. And if I had to do it all over again? I would go to the ends of the earth to get the four children I have now. The exact ones. There is nothing about any one of them that I would want to change.
2. I had a rough social experience in school. Some days were pretty good. But when they were bad, they were really bad. In all fairness, I wasn't the only one who had this experience in my school. It was common and we all took our turns being the outcast. Nonetheless, my self-esteem suffered greatly. In part due to the brutality of my school life but I was also terribly abused at home. Some would say that I did not have a fighting chance to walk away from my youth unscathed. But I did! Okay. There are scars that remain. But I wear them as reminders of what I overcame. 
3. I have been faithfully married to one man for over 21 years. Listen y'all- this is BIG!
4. I managed to withstand labor and childbirth four times without the aid of any pain medication at all!
5. None of these things would be possible if not for one thing- my greatest accomplishment of all. I gave my heart and life over to God several years ago. He is why I have children. He is why I made it out of childhood alive. He is the whisper that was always deep inside that knew I was lovable when no one else did. He is how my marriage has withstood the testings of this life. All glory to Him, it is not I but He who lives in me.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

31 Days {day 15}

October 15, 2013

describe how you knew your spouse was the one

Freddie & I have  been married for over 21 years now.

We have officially been married longer than we have not been married.

So how did I know that he was the one?

I'm not sure that there is a specific moment that I knew.

It was more of a series of things that just made sense.

The first time he kissed me I literally felt my heart melt and pour into my toes.

{I wish I could say that he is the only boy I've ever kissed.

I don't think you should get that personal with someone you are not very serious about-

but that'a a whole other blog post.}

Anyway, that is the only time EVER in my whole entire life that has happened.

Another important thing is that we were literally the best of friends 

long before we had a dating relationship.

I knew him in a totally different way because of this.

You tend to be a little more real with your friends 

than with the person you're trying to impress as a potential date.

We dated in high school and went our separate ways.

It would have been very easy for that to have been the end of it.

But, when God has a plan it will come to pass.

After I graduated from high school I moved out of my parents house.

I moved to a totally different city.

I should not have been able to have been found.

But, he found me.

He had it set upon his heart to find me and that's what he did.

There was a connection that we shared that was not easily ignored

and time [and apparently distance} could not erase it.

And then there's the test.

When a man's mother asks you to marry him

what are you going to say?

Yes. My mother-in-law popped the question, initially.

What had happened was...

Freddie was in boot camp.

No cell phones. No internet. Old fashioned pay phones and snail mail.

He called intent on proposing to me but I was not there.

His mom was.

So, too impatient to wait, or too afraid he'd chicken out, 

he told his mom to ask me if I would marry him.

Wow!

You can judge all you want.

But you know it's real 

when you don't even hesitate in that circumstance to scream YES!

{okay. I didn't answer her. I waited for him to ask the next time he called. Needless to say I rarely left the house until I got that next phone call from him, not knowing when it might be.}

So it would appear that we are what you might call destiny.

Even so, our life together has not been easy or without trials.

We have often had to fight to be together.

We have had to fight to stay together.

We have faced the scary reality that sometimes

 being apart was the only thing harder than being together.

This was our first Christmas as a married couple.

So there it is.

Our Story.

Our beautiful, story.