Lots of Stuff Going On!

This week is going to be a crazy week for us. We have a good many things going on.

Justin's graduation invitations came in today. They look great!

Tomorrow, a friend of Justin's will be spending the afternoon with us and going to church with us. She goes to a church in SC and they met at a revival meeting. She seems to be a nice girl and I'm sure I'll enjoy getting to know her better. We'll also be observing the Lord's supper at church tomorrow night. We don't do the Lord's supper as often as other churches, and when we do it's always very special to me. So I'm looking forward to that.

Then Thursday, Hannah and I will be going to work at the church, helping Mrs. Janet get things ready for revival. We begin revival with Brother Joe Arthur on Thursday. I am VERY excited about Brother Arthur coming. I tell ya, if you have never heard him preach, you've missed out!

Friday we'll be doing some normal things around here, Lord willing getting some things accomplished before the weekend. I know Justin is working Friday, but I'll be doing some needed errands and things before revival that night.

Then at Saturday's revival service, we will be hosting the youth from other churches, feeding them pizza afterwards. We always have a good turn out for that, but I wonder if we will this year, considering it will be Easter weekend. Never know. We'll see!! :)

I'm battling a migraine tonight. I took some Excederin Migraine and went to bed, but got to feeling a little sick laying there in bed so I'm back up. On a nicer note, I feel like the Excederin Migraine is working.

I finally have the pictures loaded from the ladies trip. You can click here to see those. Although I did take quite a few pictures, I'm afraid I didn't get a pic of all of our ladies that went. I hate that. But at least you can see the fun we had. :)

Fill Up My Cup....

We had a great time on the ladies trip and the Lord sure did dump it all over me, just like I prayed He would.

We heard from Kay Chandler, Geraldine Ragan, and Barbara Schultz. They were great!

The theme verse was "O taste and see that the Lord is good..." The decorations was all coffee and coffee cups. Now, I do not do coffee. I don't like the taste or the smell. Especially coffee breath. ICK! LOL But I sure did enjoy how everyone else enjoyed it. We had a good time of fun and fellowship!!

I have several pictures, but I'm not even going to think about uploading them here until Monday or Tuesday.

We had a great time in the Lord this morning and I'm looking forward to tonight.

God is good.........all the time!

With My Hands Open

I'm leaving for a ladies trip tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the fellowship, but I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the Spiritual uplifting part too!

Lately, and especially the last week or so, I feel that everything is knotted up inside of me and is going to burst right out of my chest. I know I'm overly sensitive right now. It's been difficult to control it and I don't know why. Well, I have a few theories, but you know...

I know I don't have to go away to find what He has for me, but I know I need this trip with my Sisters and I know they'll cry with me if I need to. LOL

So as I go on this trip I'm praying the Lord does something for me. I know He will. I'm going with my hands and arms open to receive whatever it is He has for me there. I'm hoping that He will not only fill my hands, but dump it all over me.

S-P-R-I-N-G

Although fall is my favorite season, I love spring too. Everything is fresh and new. Who doesn't like that?

This past Saturday, Brother RJ brought a message to the teens and used each letter of the word spring for a different point. Here is his outline:

Isaiah 43: 18,19 "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

S - Salvation. It must be preached at all times.

P - Preparation. Prepare to know the Word of God.

R - Renovations. Time to renew promises and commitments that you have made to God. Put them into action! You can maintain those promises and commitments if you will trust Him to help you.

I - Inclination. our devotion needs to be more inclined to God's Word. He will show us the things we are seeking and speak to us when we are inclined to Him.

N - Nullification. There are things in our lives we need to kill. Things that slow us down from growing in God. Move those things out of the way. If we leave them there, others will see the deadness around us that is stunting our growth.

G - Godliness. It's time for us to have a Godliness about us. We are either of God or of the world.

Princess Naomi and, Yeah...Another One!!

Naomi won the points in her Sunday School class and she came down in her tiara and wand. She was so proud of herself. She's worked hard to earn her points! Congratulations, Princess Naomi!!

She was awarded a gift bag with some goodies in it.

Pastor and Princess....

We were honored to have the Smiths with us Sunday morning. They are going to the Ukraine to be missionaries. They were a very sweet couple. Their home church is North Valley Baptist Church with Brother Treiber.

And then Anthony joined our church. Since the first Sunday of 2010, God has blessed our church with someone getting saved and/or joining the church. The majority of these joining have been young adults. Some from our local Christian college and some that live in this area. It has been amazing watching these young people come in and GET IN! They have blessed me just watching them.

And here are some pickers. That picker, third from the left, makes me smile real big.

:D

Pics are Up!

OK, Justin's senior pics are up if you want to see them. He told me tonight he wanted to do one more. So....we'll work on that soon. He wants the traditional senior portrait.

Click here to see the pics.

He went to a revival meeting to hear Brother Phil Kidd with a new friend of his tonight, who happens to be a young lady that apparently knows Brother Kidd very well. He threatened Justin about her. ha haaa!!! As a matter of fact, there were several men at the revival that threatened him about her. Now that's funny.

Brother Kidd did give him three of his preaching CDs. So I reckon that makes up for the threats. I dunno. :)

I had a great time with my hubby tonight. We ended up doing some needed graduation browsing for announcements and such. We also had a leisurely outdoor supper at Dairy Queen. The weather was so beautiful.

I am really looking forward to sleep tonight!! It's been a looooooooooong day!

Say Cheese!

Yesterday was a long day of picture taking and photo editing. Today and tomorrow will be the same way. But Justin's senior pics are turning out nice. I'm very happy with them and I've had fun the last couple of days out taking his pictures.

We went to a few places around town in his casual clothes yesterday and today, which by the way is an absolutely beautiful day here, we hit a few more spots.

When we finally got home yesterday afternoon, I had just enough time to whip up some rice to go with the meat I had in the crock pot and then it was off to a jewelry party at a friend's house. We had a good time.

We were up and out early this morning for round two of Justin's pics. This time he was dressed up in his suit and we went to an old church near my parent's home. We were able to get some pics near some crosses in Kings Mountain. They turned out ok, but I think my favorites were the ones at the old church. I'll know when I get around to uploading them.

When we were finished taking pics, we picked up daddy from dialysis while mom went to pick up all of his medications. He's sitting here eating a bowl of cheerios and watching the NCAA. He's doing ok since his surgery. He kind of staggers a bit, but he has numbness in his feet from dialysis and that could be why too.

Mom should be home soon and then Bruce will pick me up here for our date. I look a wreck. No make up, hair needs brushing...he might not want to take me anywhere. lol

The Twinkling Of An Eye

Hannah and I were on our way home from the store the other day and these clouds were in view. Whenever I see clouds like these I look and watch to see if Christ might call us home at that very moment.

There was a time in my life when home was this house. My husband. My children. My parents. My friends. I didn't want the Lord to come...just yet...but maybe wait until my children were grown. Or until I saw my first grandchild, or some other great milestone in life.

Since I have gotten older and developed a better relationship with Christ, this world is not my home. I can not wait for His return. To be swept up out of here in the twinkling of an eye, at any given moment. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to fly.

I Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Taste The Rainbow

Hannah made these rainbow cupcakes for Harrison's Patch class. I thought they turned out pretty.


Ingredients
White cake mix
Food coloring (red, blue, green, and yellow)
Baking cups
icing

Instructions
Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

Purple 9 red and 6 blue drops
Blue 12 drops
Green 12 drops
Yellow 12 drops
Orange 12 yellow and 4 red drops
Red 18 drops

Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.
Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.

Another One and My Incredible Kids

Once again, the Lord added another person to our church. This is Stacia. She is a very sweet young lady. We know she'll get busy being involved in the church soon. You can just tell she's that type of person and we'll be blessed by her, I'm sure!
WELCOME STACIA!


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Brother O'Malley informed us that it is Incredible Kid Day, and wanted us to tell why we were proud of our child and why. Since I have three incredible kids, I'm going to blog about them instead of leaving him a huge comment on his fb status.

My first incredible kid is Justin. First of all, Justin loves the Lord. He is a talented young man that uses his talents for the Lord. He loves to play any instrument he gets his hands on and is all the time singing. He LOVES the bus ministry with his whole heart and loves to teach the bus ministry teen class when Mrs. Rebecca assigns him a day. He loves his church, his family, his friends, and his jobs.

Hannah is my second incredible kid. She also loves the Lord. She loves to be involved with anything our ladies are doing at church. She is also musically talented. She does NOT like getting up to sing in public, but she does. :) She also loves the bus ministry. I think she has developed more of a heart for it in this past year. She loves to read, cook, and anything crafty. And just like Justin, she loves her church and her family. She's having a hard time deciding what she wants to do with her life and praying for the Lord's guidance.

And last, but not least, Harry is my third incredible kid. Harrison is not much like Justin and Hannah. He does love Jesus. But when it comes to music he doesn't show much interest in playing an instrument or singing. However, he does enjoy singing with the youth choir. He loves his Patch class and is faithful to his devotions and memorizing Scripture. He loves to play outside and stays pretty active all the time. He is loving and funny and very aware of people's feelings.

And that's my three incredible kids! I love them with my whole heart.

3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children
walk in truth."

Valid ID, Please?

I had a good time with Bruce yesterday. It was an interesting day to say the least. We stopped at the bank to cash a check from our insurance company and do some other transactions. Everything was going fine until the teller asked Bruce if he had a valid driver's license. "You know yours expired in 2009?" she asked. Bruce's typical response was, "Whaaaaaaaat?" I kind of giggled until she said I could use mine. Then I laughed. Because in, I don't know how long, I left my purse and everything at home since I really wasn't going to need it. And of course Bruce was offering them his fishing license, which they wouldn't accept. Duh! We stood there feeling like two suspected bandits trying to cash a check that wasn't ours. After the tellers laughed and had a good time with us, they finally cashed the check and helped with our other transactions. Then it was off to lunch at Chick-fil-A, a couple of errands, a necessary trip to the DMV, and back home to make some pecan pies.

I had just enough time to whip up the pies and pull them from the oven when it was time to go to a guitar workshop with Doyle Dykes. We had bought tickets earlier in the day. Turns out the workshop was actually a concert. I guess they had to put "workshop" on the tickets because he promotes Taylor Guitars. He did use just Taylor instruments and I noticed that during the concert he kept mentioning Taylor guitars. It was a lot of fun. He could really play his guitar. At one point he was playing two songs on one guitar. It was amazing. I can't break up my brain to do that. HA! I was also happy to see Darrin and Brooke Aldridge there. I like to hear them play and sing. So we had a good time seeing them, Doyle Dykes and his daughter, and several friends that showed up there too.

Afterwards, we went to Don's Italian but they were near closing so we ended up at Applebee's. We ordered their new Philly Cheeseburger. Half of my burger came home. Even Bruce couldn't eat all of his. It was $8.95 for the burger and fries. If you eat at Applebee's give it a try. If you like green and red peppers, mushrooms, and cheese, you'll love it. It's on a hoagie bun, by the way. Not a hamburger bun.

When we got home, the kids were home from spending the night and day with my parents. They were ready to dig into the pies. I'm getting ready to make one now to take to church tomorrow for my parents.

I visited with them for a little bit today and daddy seems to be doing good, praise the Lord. :)

More Randomness

So I was checking my site meter today and came to the conclusion that it must be International Blog Reading Morning. Within just a few hours of each other I've had people from Argentina, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Canada, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, and France on here. Most of them got here from clicking the "Next Blog" button. Which I do not recommend! And then some came from sites that have me linked. And a couple came on their own. So, to these international readers, I say, Hello, good morning, and welcome!
:)

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The children stayed the night with their grandparents and will spend most of the day with them today. It was a rough night for me because I couldn't fall asleep. Bruce was working third and I was in the house alone. I turn my fan on and it helps block out all the noises. But then I can't hear all the noises either. It's a lose-lose situation there. It wouldn't have been so bad, but there were no cars in the driveway. And if someone is going to break into my house, in the middle of the night because they see there are no cars in the driveway, I really don't want to be here when it happens!! They wouldn't want to be here either, by the way. Just sayin'.....

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I woke up having a horrible dream about Harry this morning. For some reason I was putting things in a fish tank that reminded me of my brother, Larry, who passed away a few years ago. Why a fish tank, I have no idea. Like his picture, a flower from his funeral, a piece of jewelry he had given me...and then I started putting things in of Harrison's. In my dream I started crying really hard clinging to what had belonged to Harry and I woke up crying and squeezing my pillow to my chest. Have you ever had dreams like that? I don't use the word hate a lot, but I really hate those kind of dreams. I remember one time, in a dream, I saw a tornado hit our house and all three of our children were in it. Bruce had to wake me up, I was crying so hard in my sleep. I tell ya, dreams like that are just terrifying. Am I the only mom out there that has dreams like that? Total nightmares!

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I read somewhere....and not from Brother John O'....that today was National Pie Day. I'll have to get crackin' on Aunt Sylvia's pecan pie recipe. That will be nice for today. And I'll check with Brother John O' just to make sure. Bruce thinks it's funny that I try to keep up with whatever Brother John O' says is National ____fill in the blank____ Day.

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Some ladies in our church are going on a ladies trip today. Hope they have a wonderful time. I wonder who all is going on this one. I know my friend, Missy, is going but haven't heard of who else might go. We have another one at the end of the month too. I'm thinking the larger crowd will be going to that one. Our ladies always have so much fun on these trips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're crab sitting. Did I tell ya? Who would have thought crabs were so entertaining. They pretty much do nothing all day. But when they do come out and are moving around, they're pretty funny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just heard Bruce's alarm go off. I reckon he'll be getting up here shortly. So I'm going to go and get ready for the day. He may have plans to go play golf, but if he doesn't, I think I'll be his tag-along for the day. We're planning on attending a guitar workshop tonight, so maybe we'll do something fun today. HA HAAA!! I know he'll read this later and think that's funny.

Seriously, honey, I don't mind going to a guitar workshop.

I love my hubster.

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Proverbs 16:20 "He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso
trusteth in the LORD, happy is he."

Random

We paid Justin's Graduation fees yesterday. I guess you could say the ball is rolling now. I have several things in my head I need to get straightened out for his graduation.

Home school is going great. The kids are winding down another year. I'm proud of all of them. It's about time for their state testing. I'm always nervous this time of year but they always excel. Someone asked me recently about our homeschooling and my qualifications. You know, their ability to socialize with people of all ages, carry on decent conversations, and pass their state testing with flying colors should be all the answers they need for that question. Harrison had some problems at the start, but he is doing such a good job this year. And I think a lot of that also has to do with his Patch teachers. I know they're not with him academically, but I think they've helped with his morale and feeling confident. It makes such a difference when a child feels that confidence to try and do something they're not sure of. I think the person that was asking me that question was just trying to make me feel bad for not having some kind of teaching degree. Maybe they're disappointed in their own parenting. I don't know. But so far our children have done an excellent job and I'm proud of all of them on so many different levels.

I'm glad it's Thursday. My favorite day of the week, as you well know. I'm looking forward to spending time with my honey tomorrow. I was able to spend a little time with him this morning. I wanted to go to the dentist with him for his follow up, which was EARLY this morning, because he worked third shift last night and I didn't want him falling asleep on the way to or from his appointment. I worry about that. So anyway, after his appointment we stopped at McDonald's and grabbed a biscuit. It was nice spending that few minutes with him before he had to get home and get in bed.

Justin was going to work at the church today between his classes, but I think the weather will be sending him home. I have a feeling he'll be pulling in here shortly.

And that's all folks. Hope you're having a great Thursday!

Too Much!

Daddy is doing ok, but mom called this evening to say that same place on his neck is beginning to swell again. That's a little scary. So she's watching it closely tonight. He'll have dialysis in the morning and the nurses will be able to keep an eye on it too.

I'm feeling better tonight. I think tomorrow I'll be on the full mend.

Hannah has been reading a great series of Christian teen novels. She's been stuck in a series and waiting for the library to call to say they have the books she's been waiting on. They called, Justin took her up there today, and she came home very upset because they did not have them. They sent them back to the Shelby library. I asked her if she asked the librarian why they did that and was she sure they weren't there? Hannah said, "No, she had a broken arm and was plunking on the computer keyboard and I felt sorry for her so I just walked back out to the car." So then she calls the Shelby library when she gets home and they tell her they don't have the books and they'll call when they come in. I asked her if she told the person on the phone that Mauney Library told her the books were in Shelby and she said, "No, he sounded so nice I hated to bother him." I reckon at this rate she may never finish reading the series. HA!

Harrison scared me to death last night. It's taken me twenty-four hours to recover. I was so sick on my stomach and was laying in bed in the dark talking on the phone with my friend, Mander. There was a knock on the door and Harrison was crying. So I got up and opened the door and he stood there crying holding one hand up in the air. It was kind of dark in the hallway. The only light was coming from down the hall from the light in the living room. But I could tell his hand was swollen and it was extremely pale, like there was no blood flow. He was crying, "My hand...my hand..." It was like a scene from a horror movie. I screamed and grabbed his hand and then realized that he and Hannah had just pulled a prank on me. I should have known right off from the smell of lilac permeating the air.

See, Hannah decided to treat her hands with her hand spa last night. Apparently, she talked Harrison into dipping his hand into the wax and then scaring me. And boy did he!!! After the weekend I had with dad and then being sick yesterday I went into hysterics. I went outside to Bruce's building where he was working on a project and when he saw my face he thought something bad had happened to daddy. So he became upset with me for over reacting and I was upset with the kids for scaring me. Did I let 'em have it? I didn't have to. After they saw how bad it tore me up, they felt horrible and apologized profusely.

I'm cracking up at it now....but shhhhh....don't tell them that. I kind of wish they had thought to capture it on video. LOL

Don't Get Used to the Dark

I started feeling sick with the stomach bug yesterday. It's been nagging at my stomach for about 24 hours now with no reslove. I am considering chugging some milk of magnesia and kicking it into high gear. I don't know if that would help or not. I suppose it's worth a try. That stuff is just so nasty.

Justin is working at the church today helping to clear some trees or something like that. Hannah is with him. She'll be doing her school work up there, helping Mrs. Janet if she needs help, and then Justin will take her for an appointment she has and then a quick trip to the library to pick up some books.

Harrison is working on his studies as well. I can hear him reading aloud. He's so funny.

I think I'll lay my head back here on the couch until he's ready to discuss what he's read and answer some questions.

This is a video of Brother Humphries singing a song he wrote, Don't Get Used to the Dark. He didn't come in when he was supposed to and we got a little tickled at the plunk plunk from the bluegrass group. LOL

"Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk
while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in
darkness knoweth not whither he goeth...I am come a light into the world, that
whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."John 12:35

Sunday in Review

Daddy was one happy camper to get home and get in his recliner! He had dialysis this morning, so I'll be calling in a little bit to check on him and see how he's doing. He'll be very weak after his treatment.


We said goodbye to one of our boys last night. Nathan was called up and he leaves for the Air Force this week.


He's sad to leave, but I think he's ready to go. Pray for the Air Force. They're gonna need it.
Ha haa, Nathan, just kidding. Love ya, boy!


This is Miss. Elizabeth. She's been coming to church faithfully for a while now and made steps to join our church last night.

We also had a missionary family come through. They are on their way to the mountain villages of Thailand, if I understood correctly, and will be working in a children's home there.

This is Kristin and Kenton. Kristin did a great job explaining some things to me on their display table and Kenton was telling me about riding an elephant that he named Fred. I think Fred is a good name for an elephant.


This is Harman and Billie-Jo. Pray for them as they take their family to Thailand. They have a great work ahead of them!

And that was my Sunday!! Minus, of course, the great messages we heard, the time I was able to spend with my family, and an awesome coconut cake made by Mrs. Jane Dover. Gracious, that stuff is good!! :)

Guess What!

Daddy is home!! Mom and I took the kids after the morning service to see him at the hospital and he was signing his discharge papers. So we got there just in time for him to be released.

I have mixed feelings about him being home. I'm glad my mom doesn't have to walk all over creation to get to him, but I kind of wished they had kept him a couple more days.

At any rate, he is home and we are thankful!!

His dog, Dolly, sure was happy to see him too. She was very cautious when he came in, but was happy to see her daddy.

Please continue to pray for healing and for the next upcoming surgery in about a month.

Whew! What a Day Yesterday!

Daddy had his surgery yesterday. We were all at the hospital before 6:00 to see him before they took him. It was about five hours before we heard anything from them. The surgery was to begin at 7:00, but you know how it is...I think it started closer to 9:00.


When it was over and we were able to see him, he looked terrible, bless his heart. Under that ice pack there on his chest, was like a fist under his skin. It was scary looking. They assured us that swelling was normal. But it was scary, none the less. His coloring was not good either. I really didn't not like that.


It had been a long day, especially for mom and my brother, John. I was worried about John as much as I was daddy. His MS was taking its toll on his body. I hope he got some good rest last night!!
As we all were home and getting ready to settle down for the rest of the day, I received a call from mom who had received one from the hospital that the swelling was worse than it should be and they were going to have to take him back in for emergency surgery. This was very upsetting, as you can imagine. They were afraid he was bleeding, but when they vacuumed the area, they found very little blood. The swelling was from fluid building up due to the nerve block they had given him.
When we went back to see him after the second surgery, he looked so much better than when we left the first time. Even his coloring was better!


They delivered his meal and mom didn't want to go until she fed him herself.

Daddy and Bruce...

Daddy and me...

Mom loves the Olive Garden. Not one of our favorite places, but it certainly is one of hers. So we took her there and we had a wonderful dinner after a long and exasperating day! I do love Olive Garden's stuffed mushrooms though. YUM!

Mom and Bruce...

Mom and me...

Daddy had dialysis today and they are moving him to a regular room this evening. Lord willing, if the doctors see he's doing all right, they will let him go home tomorrow. I am not in a hurry, though! :)

Checked In And Ready To Go

We got daddy checked into the hospital this morning. We had a really fun trip on the way. When we're all together, there's no telling what will happen. And a lot happened today. Those poor nurses didn't know what to think.

They checked him in, took him for dialysis, did some of his paperwork, met with his doctor, and fed him. This only took about twelve and half hours. Not too bad. hehe

He will be one of the first ones taken in for surgery tomorrow morning, so we'll be leaving very early in the morning to get up there before they take him back.

Again, we thank you for the many prayers that you have prayed on behalf of my dad and our family.

Just Another "Lucy" Moment

I had a crazy experience tonight trying to get to church. Since Bruce and the kids all had obligations before church, we decided they would take the car and I would drive Bruce's truck. I've driven his truck, like twice, in ten years. So I'm not really familiar with its little quirks.

The family left and I had an hour to get ready. The house was quiet, I was being leisure and taking my time, enjoying the Victorious Valley Girls CD. Everything was good. I made it out of the house just in time to be in my place at church.

I have a habit of taking a drink with me every time I go somewhere. Tonight was no different. I had a large cup of icy cold coke and was looking forward to sipping it on my way to church. I unlocked Bruce's truck and realized he did not have a cup holder. Which, in and of itself, probably wouldn't have been a problem, but it's a straight drive. So both hands were definitely needed. I was going to take it back inside but glancing at my watch, realized I could not do that because I would be late for church if I did. Needless to say, I guzzled it down. A great big cup of coke.

I placed the keys into the ignition and since it was already dark outside needed to turn the headlights on. I looked up to see if Bruce had a light on the roof and, nope, he did not. So I felt all around the steering wheel and could not for the life of me find the switch in the dark. Finally, after about eight to ten minutes and debating whether or not I should get my neighbor, I found it. I thought to myself, OK, let's go! Coke is gone and lights are on!

As I pulled into the church parking lot, the upper lots were full and I ended up parking way down near the end. No big deal. I'm only nine minutes late...I'll run. I turn the truck off, turn the lights off, and go to unbuckle my seat belt. Unbeknown st to me, his seat belt is fragile and needs gentle touching. So when I went to unbuckle myself the buckle fell apart and I was trapped in the seat belt. Since I couldn't see in the dark I couldn't figure out how to get out. I looked up and saw my friend Dawn, who was running a little late too, walking up the hill. She saw me in the truck but didn't know who I was, waving and smiling anyway. I was waving too, but with both hands, trying to let her know I needed help. She just continued smiling and walked on.

Now, I could have gotten her attention by honking the horn, but it was not where it should have been. See, Bruce had to rig up a horn in his truck because the one on the steering wheel stopped working. I couldn't remember where it was. I knew it was somewhere under the steering column, I just couldn't see it. So my hands are frantically searching for the little horn button to blow at my friend, who now is almost near the church doors. Finally I found it!

HONK HONK

But it was too late, she didn't hear it. She had already stepped inside and there I was....at the other end of the parking lot....trapped.

All I could think about was Bruce being upset that I didn't show up for church. What would he be thinking? Was I going to freeze out there? Should I just try to make it on back home? NO! So I just took a deep breath and for another five minutes fumbled around in the dark trying to figure out how to unbuckle the seat belt. And then....I found it!

I was happy that I finally made it into church. But I was so eager to get into the sanctuary I did not realize that the big cup of coke I had guzzled earlier had made its way to my bladder already until I sat down and took a deep breath.

I am not one for getting up and leaving during a service if I absolutely do not need to so I just did my best to hold it in until after church. I made it all the way up until Pastor had us stand for the invitation. I told myself, I can wait....just a few more minutes. But my bladder answered back, No, I don't think so.

I was never so happy to enter a bathroom stall in my whole life!

It's Almost Time

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Justin's upcoming High School graduation. I am so excited and a little sad too.

I need to set a date with our church secretary and hopefully our Pastor will be able to be there to give a challenge to Justin.

I've been working on my "speech" for this and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed everytime I think about it and begin to write it. I'm having trouble getting all of my thoughts and feelings onto paper. Where do you start and where do you end?

Harrison is learning something to recite, Hannah will be doing something but we haven't figured out what yet. And Lord willing, Bruce and Justin will be playing an instrumental on their guitars to play together. There's a song they play together that Hannah and I just love to hear and so I hope that will be the one.

*hint hint* Hubby!

I'm sure Bruce will have some things to say as well. :)

He got news today from his instructor at the college that he will receive his diploma in Auto Body Repair this spring and that he'll need the money for his diploma and cap and gown. So I guess they'll be having a ceremony. That's nice. I'm proud of that kid!

So anyway, it's almost time for Justin to close this chapter of his life and move on to the next.

Another New Member and an Update on Daddy's Surgery

We've had so many new converts and so many new members lately I've lost count. It's just been wonderful. We had another Ambassador student join our church. They're coming in by the van loads now and it has been SUCH a blessing!


This is Chris. We're excited about getting to know him better. I hear he plays the trumpet and may join our orchestra soon. YAY!


Last night at church, our Pastor had special prayer for my daddy, who WAS scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Pastor had all the young boys that have gone through his Sunday School class and are in his class now, come forward to pray. It was so sweet I just cried.

We had a disturbing call from daddy's doctor tonight and the surgery he was going to have Tuesday has been cancelled. They have rescheduled it for Friday. After several doctors from the Sanger clinic discussed his health they have decided to go a different route.

They know that he has recently had a heart attack, although we're not sure when. It could have been within the last year. Because John and I took him to Charlotte about a year ago and all the tests they did on his heart came back good. Nothing was found. They also see where he has a part of his heart that is not receiving the blood flow it needs. This adds to the risk of his surgery. Also, the blockage is near the first vertebrae which makes the blockage closer to the jaw, which makes the passage more narrow and more difficult to get to. Therefore, they have decided to do stints. BUT! His health is so bad that instead of going through his leg they will go directly into his neck. This is very delicate and because of the risk of heart attack and/or stroke, they will not put him to sleep.

The fact that the surgery day was changed was really an answer to my mom's heart's prayer. She has been so sick with the stomach virus that she is very weak and having problems even standing up. She is feeling a little better today, but I am glad she will have a couple of days to recuperate before his surgery so that she can be there with him.

He did his preop today in Charlotte, and his surgery will be Friday.

Thank you so much, to everyone that is praying for my dad and mom, and for our entire family.