American Girl Doll Cafe- Atlanta Girls Trip

And we were off again... this time ATLANTA was the destination.  We planned a girls weekend trip to going to The American Girl Doll cafe with Pressley and some of our best friends! But on Saturday when we arrived we took the chance to go to Lenox Mall and take Karoline to an actual Pottery Barn Kids store.  She loves the catalog so it was fun to go in the store... I think her obsession is because she spend 6 months in utero in that store... Osmosis :)  haha... I did love my job there when I was pregnant with her!

We got her a few little things for her room (big surprise coming at some point soon.. ) and then she just wanted to ride the escalator!  She had so much fun!  Funny girl...  

After we settled into the hotel we went and met my cousin Maggie and her sweet girl for dinner!  I hate to stay but it was the first time we had met Darcey May!  Isn't that horrible!  We always dash in Atlanta and dash out barley getting to see Brent and Leigh so we were SO excited we were able to get together and we will do it more often!  She was so cute and about to celebrate her 2nd birthday!

Good Morning Atlanta!  She likes the "big city"...

I really wanted to go to church, even got a tweet back from Louie Giglio telling me when Passion City Church was meeting, but Buckhead Church was literally around the corner and since I know I would be back at Passion City Church in 2 weeks we went to see Andy Stanley (on a screen).  It was WONDERFUL!  Karoline was really into trying to take sermon notes and it was so cute!

                 

After church we got to meet up with Brent, Leigh, Jackson and Pressley for lunch and then we stole Pressley and headed to The American Girl Doll Cafe! Kim, Kylie, and Mrs. Debbie, Natalie, Emma Raines, Finley, and Mrs. Judy, Mrs. Carol, and her daughter Anna came!  We had a BIG group! 

Karoline bought her first doll.  She plays with my Molly doll (24 yrs old!), so we thought it would be fun to get Molly's best friend, Emily.  Karoline was SO excited to pick her out! 

 Sweet cousins... 

 Mrs. Carol, Anna, and Mom  - For those of you who don't know Carol, she is mom's best friend from high school that actually married dad's cousin, so she's a Perkins :) Anna is one of her beautiful daughters... her other daughter is Ellen (see post before- we got to see her in Charleston!)

 Mrs. Judy and Finley can't decide what they want...

 Kim, Kylie, and Mrs. Debbie

 Emma Raines and Natalie

 Kim, Natalie and I with our big girls!!  How did they get so BIG!?

 Kylie showing Mrs. Debbie what else she wants :)  haha

 They sang Happy Birthday to Kylie and Karoline

 Molly got to go to the salon.  Her hair needed major work :)

 We were so thankful for our time with everyone!  What a memory that we made with our big girls!  When we got back to our hotel Pressley took out her Kit doll and lookalike doll, and along with Molly and Emily the girls played for hours!  Such a fun, FUN trip!!

 Thank you Gammy for such a fun girls weekend!

Legacy

 One of my absolute favorite picture of Charles and Melda

Sadly I woke up this morning to a little boy at 5:30 am wanting to play football and some tragic news.  My cell phone was bright so I looked at it and saw a text from my brother.  My heart sank as I read the words.  Just minutes before my little man was ready to go tackle someone outside in the dark, my brother said that my sister-in-laws father, Charles Collins, was hit by a car last night (Thursday around 6:30pm) while walking near his home.  Brent and Leigh were not notified until around 4am.

I was deeply sad, shocked, many tears where shed.  TJ came home an hour later from his Cross Fit workout (yes, that early) and I told him the news.  I had to call my parents who had not heard the news yet and tell them.  It was all such a blur...

Later while I was getting dressed I was just thinking about the good memories I had of Charles, and not only Charles, Melda too.  Melda was Leigh's amazing mother who passed away 8 years ago of breast cancer.  My family knew them while we were growing up at East Side Baptist Church.  Little did anyone know that many years later Brent would ask Leigh out their senior year of high school and get married 5 years later.  We have known the Collins family for many years.

Charles and Melda both made HUGE spiritual impacts on my life.  Melda was one of the godliest women I know, always hospitable, loved you and wanted to encourage you even if she just met you one minute ago.  Charles was an amazing man of God.  He was the head football coach at McEachern during the 70's and early 80's,  and he was the Chaplin for the Atlanta Falcons.  He played football at Auburn so we got to sneak in the "Letterman's Club" during football games because we were "with Charles Collins".  We spend many Easter Sunday brunches at their home and I actually had the honor of having my bridesmaids lunch at their house.  It was beautiful and perfect since their family meant so much to me.

Melda struggled with breast cancer for many years and Charles took amazing care of her.  They had such an incredible love for one another.  I remember (I think, haha) that once when Melda was so sick he had bought her a new wedding ring, got down on one knee and asked her to marry him again :)  Something like that... don't quote me.  I just remember that it WOW'ed me.  They were in LOVE.

I didn't "blog" 8 years ago but I remember when we lost Melda and she got to go celebrate ultimate healing with her Heavenly Father.  It was the most incredible funeral services I have ever been to.  Mac Powell from Third Day sang and I feel like a saw a little glimpse of heaven. What a worship service it was!

Melda, her mother MiMi, and Leigh

Today I was comforted by this scripture... "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! .... Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:4 & 7


Also, as I was thinking back to Charles and Melda I wonder and don't understand why bad things happen to good people... and we won't know that answer fully I think until we all are with Jesus.  But this is what I do know, both Charles and Melda lived their life for Christ and for The Gospel to be known, they both showed love and lived love, and they both knew this earth was not their home.  I pray the same for my life.  


Jeff, Leigh's brother, wrote this on his Facebook along with the photo below... " Greatest Father in the world! Thanks for showing me how to be a man by living it."  

Their older sister, Tricia, wrote this..."Best Dad ever - what a blessing and what a childhood! For us to be so loved by him still is such a treasure!"  And I'm sure if Leigh was on Facebook (wink, wink) she would agree and say the same.  


Tonight I rocked my little man to sleep, telling him about Aunt Leigh's daddy, Mr. Charles.  I told Anderson about him playing football at Auburn, coaching football, and that the coolest thing was that he got to teach football players about Jesus and how much he loved them each individually.  I hold Anderson how Mr. Charles got to pray with football players and that because Mr. Charles asked Jesus into his heart that he is now in heaven with Jesus.  Anderson said that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart one day and he wanted to be a coach too.  Thankful that even tonight I was able to share Charles life and the gospel with my son. 


I am thankful for the whole Collins family.  I'm know Charles and Melda are singing and dancing together in the streets of heaven praising the Lord.  They are completely healed, they are in glory... They both have been and will be missed and they both left an amazing legacy! 


Please read this wonderful article in the AJC... McEachern Mourns Death of Former Head Football Coach

National Championship weekend... Snowed in in Atlanta at the top of "the hill" of now Jeff and Ivy's house which is the home of Charles and Melda and where Leigh grew up.  Charles is right above my nephew Jackson in the middle.

Valentines Day!

We had a lovely Valentines Day at the Goff house.  Mom came to join us for our "fancy" dinner because dad was on a business trip.  Costco had heart ravioli so we cooked that, mom brought a salad, and I even made heart shaped ice cubes and got some sparkling cider (which the kids hated because they don't like carbonation, but I tried!).  We had yummy brownies and strawberries for dessert then the kids opened their little gifts.  It was a fun day and I think the kids have enough candy to last the whole year :)

  Valentines we made for their classmates... little bags with candy and their Valentine card TJ designed.

  Karoline's Valentine Art from her art class... she loves Buster and her ZuZu pet :)

 My card from TJ.  This really shows me how much he really loves me and knows my heart!  I love him!

Charleston, Girls Trip

I called Stacey one day when I saw a Groupon for the Cinderella ride through Charleston.  We thought it was so cute and a great deal so it was a great excuse to get down to Charleston and spend some time with The Bowens. Mom came with us too so it was a fun girls trip.  Karoline, Ava, and Landry played so well together.  It was so fun!  Stacey and Brandon took us to Hominy Grill for an amazing dinner, which also happened to be mom's birthday dinner!  Happy Birthday Mom!  :P This was trip 1 of 2 for the girls... We are headed to Atlanta this weekend for girls trip 2!

 Karoline read Ava a book then it was off to bed...

 The next day we headed downtown, had lunch at East Bay Deli, and went on our magical Cinderella Ride through Charleston.  The girls loved it.  The funniest part was everyone on the streets taking pictures of us.  There was even a lady holding up her iPad running down the street to get a picture. haha...

 After we had cupcakes, even though Stacey and I had a hard time eating a cupcake in a barn but the girls loved them.  We had to say goodbye but we were thankful for such a fun trip and can't wait go come back!

 Enjoying The Market

 We also got to meet up with Ellen.  My mom's best friend married my dads cousin, so Ellen is a Perkins... she's family and we are thrilled she is in Charleston doing her residency.