I don’t have a problem being openly honest when talking to people face to face, but when blogging I sometimes wonder how much to share. Who will read what I am writing? Will they understand the context?

Today, my three amazing boys went back to school. It was already planned that my 7th grader would ride the bus. I had it in my head I would drive the 3rd and 5th grader to school. The 5th grader wanted to ride the bus, so he did. I drove the 3rd grader to school. Next year, I may have to bribe my last child in elementary school to let me drive him to school on the first day.

My boys are growing up and I am having to deal with my changing role. To the mothers with little ones enjoy the time you have with them and cherish every stage. It does seem like you blink and they are taller than you are.

I just finished listening to the message my husband brought yesterday. Wow! It was a great word about where we are headed. Even if you heard it once go download the podcast here and listen to it again.

 Remember the two commandments: love God with everything and love others as much as yourself.

If we do these two things we cannot fail to reach our city.

How many days will we pass by the hurting person before we reach out to them?

I love the opportunity for Millie Holloman Photography to shoot pics of my family. She and her photographers are great! So today, we went out and had a blast with them.

Being a mother to three boys, there is a little work that goes into getting everyone ready. It doesn’t just happen.  I usually pick out what I am going to wear first and then coordinate the boys with what I am wearing. Not so we look like we match just in the same color family. I make sure everyone wears solids and leave the pattern to Bryan. 

Of course we have hair to deal with. Gabriel’s hair requires alot of product and styling. I use the same products on his hair as I do on mine, texture shine, headrush, and masterpiece. Noah has great hair, but it requires me to blow it dry since it is so long. Adam’s hair just needs a good combing. I leave my hair until last.

I made sure my toes were painted a pretty color. They like feet shots so I wore some cute platform sandals with hot pink toes. I like to be prepared for whatever they may do.

I had a little mishap with the sun yesterday and missed some places with sunscreen. Covered those up with some great makeup and blended it all in with a sponge. Millie couldn’t even tell.

I carried a bag with snacks (almonds and granola bars nothing messy) and water due to the warm humid weather. This really helps keep the boys happy and hydrated.  I also carried the styling products, makeup and brush in the bag just in case.

We had fun just being together as a family while they took pictures of us. The boys did great and I was so proud of them.  Can’t wait to see the pics

Preparing and organizing dinner seems to have become a chore. I love to cook, but coming up with a meal each night that everyone in my family enjoys can be a daunting task. I have been stuck in a rut making many of the same dishes over and over again.  I am on a quest to try new recipes and make dinner exciting again.

Last night I tried a Lemon Pot Roast recipe. I marinated the roast in a ziploc bag over 24 hrs. Gabriel loved it and declared it the best roast ever. It was very tender and flavorful.

Here is the recipe for Lemon Pot Roast

2 1/2 lb chuck roast
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c lemon juice
1 onion, chopped
1 t salt
1 t celery seed
1 t onion powder
1/4 t black pepper
1 ea garlic cloves, crushed
3 slices lemon

Marinate for 4 to 24 hrs. ( I would recommend the 24 hrs.) Cover and Bake 325 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. You could also cook it in a crockpot.

The last week has been a little overwhelming. Coming back to work and trying to take it slow. If you know me well slow is not a part of who I am, but I am having to learn.

Here is what I have learned during all of this:

• God has given me an amazing team of staff and volunteers
• I am almost dispensible (need some worship leaders)
• When you are sick enough,  you will be still and quiet
• My children are old enough to know what was going on
• Family and friends are precious treasures
• God is my healer
• I don’t like being a patient
• My husband is the best caregiver on the planet
• My friends can COOK! Even Helen!
• There is no place like home and my bed
• A semi-private room is not for a person with a complicated migraine
• I do sometimes miss being a nurse and it is ok to admit it
• I love what I do working with our kids

I am wearing my contacts, makeup, and earrings today. I cannot tell you how grateful I was to be able to fix my own hair! On Thursday, when I left the hospital I was unable to hold the blow dryer long enough in my right arm. So thankful that God is my healer.

Lisa, my awesome summer nanny, has gone above and beyond through all of this.  She has even become my chaffeur! What a blessing she is to me!

Today, I needed to go by the office to pick up a few things. There were errands and appointments that also needed to be taken care of and fortunately most were close together. Thank goodness gas prices are dropping!

Of course we made a stop at Starbucks!

Megan and the boat from the "Shipwrecked" set

Today, I am home still recovering. Each day I feel clearer and more like myself. It was a hard decision for me to not  be at The ROCK, but Bryan and I felt I wasn’t strong enough yet.

I have the priviledge of working with some great people as the children’s ministry director of Kid’s ROCK. My assistant, Megan, has done a great job. She has stepped up to the plate and handled my responsibilities well. Today, we go live with Fellowship One for check in and she has it covered. She has trained the volunteers, has the staff in place and is ready. I am so proud of her!

Last week, ROCKstars our 4& 5 yr old class started a new curriculum and they made it happen. Dot, Fran, and Felicia all rocked Spy Chase Jr from Elevate jr. This is the preschool curriculum for Elevate that we use in Club ROCK.

Norman, LaShawn, Heather, Jonathan, Dane, Tony and Hannah went all out in Club ROCK with the new Spy Chase theme and a newly structured team. Rodney volunteered and it wasn’t even his month to help out. He knew they would need help without me there.

Volunteers who are not currently serving this month have called to see how they can help out and what they can do. I have had phone messages just telling me to get better and not worry about anything they’ve got it covered. I cannot even begin to thank all of you and tell you how much your love, concern and help means. 

We know it’s all about making Kid’s ROCK the best place  all week for each child so they have fun falling in love with God and getting to know him.

The last 8 days have been quite interesting and not at all what I had planned. I had not been feeling right for the last few weeks, but attributed it it many things.

Yesterday, when Bryan went home to get some things I had him download
the song Healer for me. I played it over and over yesterday worshipping my Healer for my healing.

I expect to go home today. Thank you to those of you who have called and I
appreciate your understanding in my need to rest.

If you want to bless me or help me
you can call my assistant Megan and offer to help her. She has done an
awesome job in my absence, but I am
sure she would love some reinforcements.

You can contact her by calling the church office today 910.602.5300 or
leave a comment here.

To check out the song healer and a more in depth picture of the last 7
days go to Bryanmcgee.com I don’t have the new wordpress app on my
phone and I am not quite there to figure anything out new. Shhh! My
digerati is sleeping.

My mother, Kaye Green, used to make Chicken Divan different than I have had anywhere else. This is what my family is having for dinner and is one of my favorite comfort recipes. It reminds me of so many great memories at home. Dinner every night with my family was quite entertaining! I have great parents and love them dearly. I can’t wait to see them and my sister at the end of August.

Here is how to make Chicken Divan:

2 cups of cooked chicken cut up
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg of chicken rice a roni cooked according to package directions
2 boxes of chopped broccoli (this is sometimes hard to find- I use baby broccoli florets)
kraft parmesan cheese in the can

 In a 9×13 pan, put the cooked broccoli, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, next then the chicken and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, next spread the sour cream over the dish and then the chicken rice a roni and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

The last few weeks have been very busy for the McGee family. With our “son” getting married and so much going on things that I normally do on the weekend were a now mountain staring me in the face.

Have you ever needed to buy groceries, but first had to straighten the pantry, clean out the refrigerator, and organize the freezer to figure out what you needed? Here I was this morning trying to figure out did we really have 3 boxes of granola bars or were they all empty and had just been placed back on the shelf.

Fortunately, I don’t need as many groceries as I thought, but there were just too many things in the way for me to see what I had. It feels so good to have a clean pantry, refrigerator and freezer. I can find everything and know where it all is. I am sure my Nanny will be happy on Monday too!

There have been times in my life when I have needed to clean up some areas in my spiritual life. Maybe I needed to be more disciplined in an area or get rid of some unforgiveness.  I am so thankful that God is more patient that even my family has been, and they have been really patient. He meets me right where I am and loves me through getting rid of whatever clutter I have in my life.