Welcome Baby Mims

Most of you know that my Sunday School Class actually meets on Tuesday nights. We started out (with the exception of a few) as mostly young, single guys and gals who were all 20-somethings. Now some people in our group are engaged, have gotten married, and/or are now having children!! I, of course, am excluded in all three of those categories! ha!

Two of our friends, Anna and John Morgan, finally welcomed baby Mims this afternoon.

Walker Crawford Mims

September 29, 2009

7 pounds 7 ounces

Some of our group: Jeremy, Kristen, Ben, proud daddy John Morgan, Lee & Me

** You may want to keep reading... there are plenty of posts below because I'm playing catch up!! I've been a busy girl and haven't had much time to blog about my activities!

SHOPPING...

We had a much needed girls day in Jackson on Saturday! My mom, me, grannie and Jesselyn enjoyed spending the day together!! We started with lunch at Newks (a favorite), did plenty of shopping at Hobby Lobby, Target, DSW, and even purchased clothes!! I think everyone was in agreement that I did the most damage. What can I say? I'm just a young, single girl, with a full time job who likes to have fun :) We finished our day with dinner at Sal & Mookies-- a new favorite of mine!!

**UPDATED: I totally forgot to add these PRECIOUS new shoes I bought at Target! $12.99- so cute, so comfy, SO CHEAP!!

SYATP

I LOVE my new responsibilities in the youth ministry at church. One of the things that I love is that my students invite me to their schools to speak. Last Wednesday was See You At The Pole day around the country- a day where students all gather around the flagpoles at their school and pray for each other, their teachers and the organizations of their school. I had the honor of speaking at Lamar High School. I was going to give a brief devotional on the SYATP passage and sing a song, so I asked my friend, Ben, to come along and play his guitar and help lead in worship. Right after I gave my devotional, I invited everyone to begin singing, and it started POURING!! It had been raining the whole week prior, but we hought we were in the clear because the sun was shining slightly. We stood and sang in the rain, then had to move prayer time under the awning of the school. There were about 50 people in all, gathered hand in hand, praying for each other. That night, the LBA association held a Saw You At The Pole Rally for a time of reflection and almost 600 students participated that night!!

Me, Ben & some of the FBC students that go to Lamar.

Busy Monday

Last Monday was such a busy day for me!! I had to go to Jackson for school of course, but I also fit in a few other things!! I bought the first Christmas gift of the season, bought a few things at Hobby Lobby to make a wreath for a friend and had dinner at KEIFER'S with Lauren D. That same afternoon, I went to Followell Fotography's open house. Robby is one talented friend and I feel like I have watched his business and talent unfold during the last couple of years. I first met Robby in high school where we were both Meridian High School Lamplighters (members of the showchoir). We were also in some of the same organizations on campus. Robby graduated and began his journey at Mississippi College, graduated and developed a passion for photography. He is BOOKED weekend after weekend and I am so thrilled that his business has taken off and done so well.

me, Robby & Kristen (who was also a lamplighter with us)

Girls Night Out

The day that I began to realize that something was wrong with my back, I was supposed to go to the movies with two of my close friends, Daphne and Amanda. Needless to say, while these two got to enjoy a fun night out, I was laying in bed in horrible pain. Well, after being down a week, having surgery and then having to recover for a week, we decided that it was time to try a girls night out again. The three of us met for dinner and a movie-- the new Madea movie. I have to say that it was HILARIOUS!! There wasn't an over abundance of Madea, but just enough to make the movie funny and still have a good story line!

me, Daph & Amanda

It's been quite a while since Amanda blogged... go visit her and tell her to UPDATE :)

Happy Fall!!

It's beginning to look a little more "fall-ish" around Grandview... Now all we need is a little cool weather! I'll be posting more later!!

Recovery Day 2= a lot of soreness :(

sweet Lucy was happy that her sissy was home :)

I think I might've taken the dr's "the quicker you get up and get moving, the better you'll feel advice" a little too quickly. I tried to get up and do a lot the day I came home, but definitely paid for it yesterday. Oh, well! It'll go away soon-- I hope :)

Tonight, my mom cooked for us. Pork tenderloin, pyramid potatoes, ceasar salad and rolls were on the menu. My grandmother and great aunt joined us for dinner. Two weeks ago, my great aunt had eye surgery, so it's been nothing but hospital stays and recovery periods for our family over the past few weeks. When I woke up from surgery on Thursday, I quickly moaned to my mom, "Mom, I just want a piece of birthday cake." She said, "I think you deserve a really big birthday cake." If you know me- even the slightest bit- you know that my absolute favorite food is a piece of birthday cake, be it a cake from the grocery store or a Carolyn Wilkinson birthday cake. I LOVE IT!! So, as part of our celebration tonight, my mom and grannie got me and GP (great aunt) a cake!!

I guess I need to explain the cake!!! It's a known fact in my family that my mom and great aunt are more alike than anyone else. They are quick to put you in your place when you say something wrong but they also are very quick to take care of problems-- anything from making a list and marking things off to addressing bad service in a store or restaurant (in a nice way, though), to just tending to problems around their home or in their life. Well... last Sunday, as I laid in the hospital for 7 1/2 hours, I didn't act very nicely. As a matter of fact, my mom kept saying, "Abby, you're not acting like a staff member of FBC." There, I'm not always nice! Anyway, I even went as far as saying something like, "Mom, do you hear that girl talking out in the hallway?? I can't see her- don't know what she looks like-- but I can't stand the sound of her voice and I really don't like her." I was being really ugly... CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Well, my mom was telling my cousin about it and she said, "Well, I guess we've found the third pea in the pod." So, I guess now I'm officially in the pod! :) Glad we're all well.

One of the highlights to being sick is receiving mail everyday. My mailbox has been overflowing and I've LOVED reading from all of you. Some of you have gone as far as getting your church to send me prayer cards. It's nice to know that people I don't yet personally know are praying for my recovery. The 1st & 2nd graders at my church made this poster-sized card for me. One of the best sayings on the card was..."I hope you feel better- Leighton."

and I just loved how they drew me and were sweet enough to give me THREE teeth :) They're REAL cute!

Thanks for all of my cards and prayers!! I appreciate ya'll thinking of me during these rough days I've gone through.

B.B. King & Recovery

Last Thursday night, I went to see B.B. King at the MSU Riley Center... go ahead, get jealous!! He was amazing!! I love music of any kind... Christian, rock, pop, blues, broadway, gospel, country, you name it- I like it! It's hard for me to believe that B.B. will be 84 this month and is still going strong. Not only is he super talented, he's incredibly funny, too! Unfortunately, the day after B.B. King turned into the beginning of a very long week. I woke up Friday morning, in excrutiating pain but had a few things I needed to tend to at the office. Around noon, I tried to get out of my office chair, but couldn't!! I knew something was terribly wrong. I went straight to my family practice doctor that afternoon, who took xrays, told me he thought I had a herniated disk, and sent me home with pain meds. I was scheduled for an MRI on Thursday, but after 2 days of being at home, decided that I had to get help sooner than Thursday. I went to the ER around 4 on Sunday afternoon at Anderson's and was FINALLY admitted after laying on a hard stretcher for over 7 hours!! I was so ill!! I had an MRI on Tuesday and met with my neurosurgeon who definitely said I had a herniated/bulging disk. He gave me several options. I chose surgery because that was the only way I was going to have TOTAL relief! So, yesterday, I went off to surgery and came out of surgery like a brand new lady! I have several restrictions but all in all, I am pain free and couldn't be happier at home! Thanks for all of your love, prayer, support, encouragement and get well happies over the last few days. So many of you came and called the hospital and sent me everything from flowers, to jewelry, plants, new pj's, magazines, good food, and creative cards!! How grateful I am for each one of you! Above all, I am so thankful that God gave so many people the wisdom and knowledge to become physicians and surgeons and heal people with problems. I told my Doctor this morning, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you," and he replied, "Hey, I was just the messenger!" I told him that I thanked God for that very reason last night!

Beautiful Flowers

My mom, grandmother and grandfather placed flowers in the church in my honor on Sunday.

They were BEAUTIFUL!! So bright, funky and creative... just the way I like things :) Yes, if you look closely, you'll see the top of a pineapple...These are called "ornamental pineapples." Apparently, they ship in on a stem, already colored, and the arranger cuts them from the stem and can use them in arrangements! How cool is that??

I walked into the sanctuary on Sunday and commented on how gorgeous the flowers were. Everyone agreed with me. I went upstairs in the balcony to the sound booth to type in a few announcements for worship and our Minister of Music said, "Your flowers really are pretty." I said, "Who's flowers? I don't have any flowers" to which he quickly replied, "You need to read the order of worship-- they're in your honor." I was totally surprised.

Thanks so much mom, grannie and grandaddy! You made my Sunday so special!! The flowers were absolutely beautiful!! I love you so much!

A little bit of Randomness...

There have been many summers in my time when I've felt as if I had wasted 2 months of my life. There have also been times when I look at my calendar beginning in May and wonder how I'm going to get it all done by August. This summer started that way, but ended up being the BEST summer I thinnk I've ever had. I watched 2 of my best friends get married, traveled out of the country on my first mission trip, directed my first VBS, took my first youth group to FUGE, watched my little baby cousin experience several heart procedures and rejoiced in the fact that she is now healed, met new friends and spent time with old ones, totaled my car, bought a new car, became a minister to students & children, and much more! My summer was jam packed but I enjoyed EVERY minute of it!

I wrapped up my summer last week with a vacation to the beach. I didn't do much but eat, sleep, read & shop! One of the days was pretty rainy, so we went to see Julie & Julia-- PHENOMENAL! Such a good story! We ate at Cobalt, Ginny Lane, Villagio- just to name a few. It was such a great feeling being able to do absolutely NOTHING. The night before we left, I went to eat Chinese-- here was my fortune:

How appropriate :)


One night, we went to Villagio for dessert and I ordered carrot cake... I had no clue it was 7 layers... but OH, SO SCRUMPTIOUS!

Monday, I reported to MC for class but then celebrated my new job with two of my friends who live in Jackson now. We grew up in church together and always enjoy each other's company. We dined at Keifer's and then ended up going back to Lauren's apartment for a tour. These girls are precious to me!

A nice lady at Keifer's took this picture for us, but none of us were really fond of it... so we did the one below Lauren's apartment

I came home this morning from Jackson to find 2 surprises at the office...

a beautfiful plant!

The 2nd surprise was this note! It was stuck on my office door this morning from Mrs. Pat. She's a 3rd & 4th grade Sunday School Teacher in my department and one of the funniest, most dedicated, Christ lovin' women you'll ever meet!

I came home from work this afternoon and decided to tackle my closet! It was OUT OF CONTROL!

Before Pictures:

AFTER:

i wear waaayyy to many bland clothes... too many blacks and browns!

It looks so much better and I definitely feel better!!

I love him, I love him, I looovvee him!

I have completely fallen in love with this song!!! It's been in my head all week at the beach-- needless to say, my company here at the beach has grown to strongly dislike it! I just think it's quite cute :)

I Just wanted to say...

from the beach!! I hope you have a great rest of the week!!

Please be in prayer...

Will you please add two of my friends to your prayer list?? Kristen and Ellen are leaving tonight to head down to NOLA and fly out early in the morning to Trinidad. They will continue to do God's work each day, just as they do in Meridian, only this time, they'll be out of the country. Please pray for safe travel. Not only because traveling is a daily risk, but because of the hurricane and tropical depressions brewing around the island. Pray that God will speak through them to the children and adults of Trinidad as they teach Sunday school and lead in worship. I especially pray that they'll be sensitive to the needs of the people of Trinidad and that they'll allow God to work through them as they lead others to Him. I love you, "K" and Mrs. Ellen-- be safe, have fun and be a blessing!!

What do these...

and these...

and these...

have to do with anything???

I'll tell you... I'm heading to the beach tomorrow!! Pray, pray that the weather will cooperate and give us sunny weather each day!