Harry's Birth

Still haven't downloaded pics from Murfreesboro due to spring cleaning. It's been a great week for this and I've enjoyed it. I have to say that I have a ton of trash that needs to be carried off on the deck and a ton of other things I need to donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army. If the Salvation Army will pick it up, that's where it's going.
Hannah and Harry have been with mom all week and both got sick with sinus junk on Monday. Harrison did good after a couple of days, but Hannah is still sick. I have an appointment for her tomorrow morning, but she said she doubted she'll need to go so we'll see about that in the morning.
Anyway, other than my babes being sick it has been a productive week, I think. i am ready for them to return home. I've missed them!
~~~~~
Anonymous requested to hear about Harry's birth and start to life, so here it is....

I had an early morning appointment April 10, 2000. When I got there, my entire body was swelled up and my vision was as though i was looking at things under water. I had a splitting headache and felt miserable. Just six more weeks to go and I'd be better. Wait...six whole weeks? 'Fraid so.
I had only been in the examination room for a few minutes when the doctor came in. She shut the door, turned the light out, with the exception of a small lamp, and told me to lie down. I remember thinking, "Well, this is new."
She told me that my blood pressure was so high she didn't want me to move and that we were going to have a baby today. That two nurses were coming in to dress me and take me over to the hospital, which was attached to my OB office. So they dressed me, lifted me into a wheel chair, and off we went. My husband and older two children following behind me as I cried all the way to my room.
After several hours of monitoring, they put me in an ambulance and took me to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte. When I got there, there were five doctors waiting for me, each with their own little staff of nurses.
Last I heard, my blood pressure had reached 271 over 248. I have no idea if it got higher than that and, quite frankly, I really don't want to know.
One by one, the doctors came in for an ultra sound and each one had the same disturbed look on their faces as they viewed the monitor. Their eyes would become increasingly larger and their neck would extend as though they were trying to figure out, just what in the world, they were looking at. That wasn't scary at all. (rolling eyes.)
To be honest, that's about all I remember, except when they first rolled me into my room, my daddy had already beat the ambulance there and was sitting in a chair in my room waiting for me and praying. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing this was one time he took advantage of having a car with blue lights and sirens.
They had me on so many drugs I don't remember a whole lot of Harrison's birth except them waking me up every now and then to push. Bruce's face was the first one I'd see when I opened my eyes and he would always whisper he loved me before I would go back out.
When Harrison was finally born I did wake up and beg Bruce to follow him out. His lungs weren't fully developed yet and his little cry was so weak. But they wouldn't let Bruce back until they were finished doing what they had to do to him.
Six weeks early, and my preemie weighed more than I did when I was born on time. He was six pounds, nine ounces. If I had gone six more weeks, he would have been huge. He was the biggest baby in the NICU. I remember looking at him next to the tiniest little people I had ever seen and thinking what a miracle each and every one of them were!

For days my vision was horrible and, from what my mother, former pastor, and Bruce said, my face was pretty well distorted from the medications I was on. I couldn't see to make my way down the corridors from my room to the NICU. My mom was taking care of older two children, daddy had to work, Bruce had to work, and my in laws had gone on vacation a day or so after he was born. So, needless to say, I was by myself and no way to get to my baby without the help of bothering nurses, who were already short handed. Most days I would just lay in my bed and cry for him. I wanted to be with him so bad. I think that time in my life was the absolute loneliest time in my life. Bruce would come up in the evenings after working fourteen hour shifts and I would be so happy when he walked through that door to take me to see my baby.
The next hardest thing we had to do was leave our baby at the hospital and come home over forty-five minutes away from him. That was the quietest ride home and I think we both cried all the way as we held hands.
He had some really tough nights and turns. It was like a roller coaster ride. One day he would be doing marvelous and the next we would get a call that he had a bad time of something and they had to do "this" for him. It was scary and I still couldn't drive yet to get to him. Bruce was supervising and his time of leave wasn't up for a few more weeks. It was HORRIBLE! But then we got a call from the hospital and they wanted to see us. So we went up and they had moved him from NICU to another nursery. He was doing very good. We were happy. He looked wonderful laying there without all those tubes. It was nice to be able to pick him up without permission.
After several days there, we got another call that he was ready to come home. So while Bruce was working, mom drove me to the hospital and we picked up my baby boy to bring him home. I was thrilled to be sitting in the rocking chair facing the front door. When Bruce walked in, we were the first ones he saw and he smiled from ear to ear, knelt down beside us and we cried a little bit again.
By the way, I had lost fifty three pounds within three days after his birth. That's how much swelling I had. The troubled looks on the doctor's faces was because my placenta, which should have weighed, on average, four pounds, ended up weighing four times that. Yep, a whopping sixteen pounds. They had never seen that before. This was one of the reasons I had to have him naturally and they refused a C-section. They really weren't sure what it was. But it was completely covered in blood clots and calcium deposits. They were amazed that Harrison had survived as long as he did in the womb and that neither of us had died. God. was. good.
~~~~~
Around six months, I believe it was, he came down with the Rotovirus. For thirteen solid weeks, my baby lay lifeless on my chest. I thought he would surely die in my arms. I had him to the doctor several times and each time they told me to take him home and keep doing what I was doing. So I did. I would pump him with pedia lite to keep him from becoming dehydrated. I bought every flavor/color they had and alternated between feedings. No sooner would he begin to drink the orange flavored, his diaper would be filled with orange color. The same went with all the colors. It was crazy. Without him being sick, we went through forty-two diapers a week. During those thirteen weeks, he was going through approximately five times that much. We were changing his diaper every thirty minutes to an hour. He was such a sick little guy. But God saw him through that. He had literally spent thirteen weeks with me holding him in my arms, sitting in a chair. Then one morning, he looked up and just felt better. I was so glad that ordeal was finally over.
~~~~~
When he was in the hospital after he was born, there were some things they found and he did require surgery around eight months. This was another ordeal this mama could have done without. The thought of him going into surgery, for what he was going in for, was very frightening for me. It was a long several hours that day and I was never so glad to see him wake up and smile.
~~~~~
So Harrison's first year was a rough start. But he sure has made up for it, let me tell ya! What a character he is. God brought him through all these things that first year and I know He has something very special for Harrison. He's a special person and I can't wait to see what the future holds for my baby boy. Well, he's not much of a baby anymore. But you know what I mean.

Happy Birthday and Spring Cleaning

I'm spring cleaning this week.  yippee.  I mean YIPPEE!! 

I shipped the two older ones off to mom's house for the week for their spring break and thought I'd take the time to declutter and dedustbunny the house.  I started in Hannah's room.  So far, so good.  The boy's room, I keep avoiding.  You know, because they're grub worms.  But I know when it's finished I will be so happy and so will they.  And just a thought here...  is it too much to ask my youngest to put dirty clothes in the hamper and not back in his drawers?  I'm sure my child is the ONLY one that does this.  Right?  LOL  Ohhh, gotta love boys.  All joking aside, I'm enjoying the quiet cleaning time.  It's been nice.

Last week was a big week.  Wednesday was Harry's birthday.  He started the celebration Tuesday night when his brother and sister camped out with him on the trampoline.  Which was a big deal, let me tell ya.  It was a rather chilly night, but they all seemed to survive. 
Since Bruce works second shift, I decided to have the grandmothers over for lunch, Wednesday, and we were able to celebrate as a family.

 The items requested for his menu was tacos and Spanish rice.  So tacos and Spanish rice it was.  And it was pretty good, if I do say so myself. 

Harrison likes the game Angry Birds.  So I decided this would be a fun cake for him and I was right.  He loved it.  I did too, actually.  I have a thing for Angry Birds also, in case you didn't know.  I kept the pieces from the cake and I'll make my own Angry Bird cake when my birthday rolls around.  You think I'm kidding, don't you?  :)

  We had a great time with the Grandmothers, but then it was time to say goodbye to them and see Bruce off to work and get ready for Patch and church.  I had asked Harrison's Patch teachers if we could bring cupcakes, chips, and drinks and they said it would be fine.  So after Patch class was over, they were able to have those things for a snack. 

Hannah made orange supreme cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  She piped icing through the bottoms of the cupcakes so there would be cream in the centers.  From what I've heard, the children were pleasantly surprised. 

 Hannah loves to make things for Harry's patch class.  She's such a good sissy.

 We have a tradition in our home that when you turn twelve, you get your first set of house keys.  So when the grandmothers left, daddy was off to work, and sissy was making cupcakes, Harry and I went to our local hardware store and had his keys made.  When the two older ones turned twelve, Justin picked out UNC keys and Hannah picked out tie-dye.  Harrison chose Green Bay Packers.  That's my boy, right there!!   

 After church that night, he went home with my mom and spent the weekend with her, while Bruce and I headed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee with our youth group.  Of course, Hannah was with us, and we were blessed to know that Justin was able to get off work and attend the meetings there with us as a sponsor.  I have a lot to tell about our trip and I'll share that soon.  I haven't downloaded my pictures from the trip yet and I have a ton of things going on with spring cleaning.  So I'll get to it when I take another break sometime this week.

I love my boy, Harry.  He has a great sense of humor and keeps us in stitches most of the time.  He had a rough start to life, but seems to have taken a good hold of it now.  He's taller than his mama, and I'm pretty sure by the end of summer he might be as tall as his brother.  Wouldn't surprise me one bit.  I no longer purchase clothes or shoes from the children's department.  This is kind of a bitter sweet thought.  I've always enjoyed my babies growing up.  And I'm proud of all three of them.  I just wish they could stay little for a little while longer.

The Monday After

After Easter, that is.
Before Bruce and I went on our date Friday, we stopped and visited with both of our mothers for a while and took them some beautiful tulips. They opened up so pretty and there were several colors in them. I loved them. When they die, I might go get the plants and replant the bulbs. I wonder if they would come back next year. Anyone out there know?
Saturday, Bruce took the kids to the trade lot to walk around a little bit while I did some errands. For some reason my brain was malfunctioning all day. No sooner would I get home I would remember something I forgot and had to go back out for it. This happened, I know, four or five times. It was very frustrating. I made a couple of apple crisps. One for my sister in law and brother and one for us. They were really good. I'll share this easy recipe soon. You will love it, I promise!
It was a long Resurrection day, but it was sooo good! God showed up in both services and we had a time, let me tell ya!! After the morning service, we went to my mother in law's for dinner. It was good to see everyone. My niece Britt and her family wasn't able to make it and we missed them. But it was good to see everyone else and have some laughs together. Brother Johnathan preached the Sunday evening service and did a spectacular job. I love to hear that boy preach. He has been the acting youth Pastor for a while and has done a great job. We are so proud of him and Mrs. Jennifer and are so blessed. We love them bunches!
After the morning service I was asked to take some pictures of a couple of families outside. My friend, Missy, and her family was one of them. This was just so funny, I had to share it. See the goofball in the back? Yeah, that's "big Chad." He's such a dork. But Missy loves him, so we tolerate him. haha

And check out Faith's literal hair bow. Missy found a tutorial online on how to make a bow with your hair. It turned out really cute.

I do love this family. LOL

~~~

Today has been an extra long day, I think. Been busy doing school work, editing pictures, making CDs, meeting clients, working on picture orders, cooking lunch, cleaning a house, doing laundry.... I really don't need more hours in the day. Just more energy.

Just finished icing my knee and now I'm shutting it all down and going to bed!

Happy Easter

Well, here we are wrapping up the first week of April, can you believe it?? I can't!

I've had several photo shoots recently. One for the granddaughter of a friend who wanted to surprise her daughter with the pictures, one for some missionaries going out of our church, and one for a young nursing student that graduates soon. They all turned out beautiful and I'm excited for them to see their pictures.

I've done something to my knee. On one of the shoots I bent down and when I did I heard my knee pop. It didn't hurt or bruise, but ever since then it snaps and swells throughout the day. I've been icing it and taking ibuprofen when I need it, but I think I'm going to have to go to the doctor. I don't want to, but... you know how that goes. So pray that I'm better soon! We have a trip coming up with our youth soon and I sure don't want to have to put up with a bum knee on that trip.

Bruce has been studying to get his CDL so he can start helping drive the bus when they need another driver. He's been talking about it for a while and finally getting around to it. We've been trying to get Justin to do the same. I'm sure he will eventually.

So tomorrow is Easter. The day we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. I am looking forward to being in church tomorrow and singing songs about Him raising from the dead and hearing the message that God has given my Pastor to give to us. It will be a beautiful day, for sure. After church we'll go to my mother in law's house for Sunday dinner with the family. Looking forward to some time with them, a little rest, and back for evening services.

What are your plans for Easter?

I hope you all have a good Easter and remember that, although bunnies and eggs make the day fun, it's all about an EMPTY TOMB! Praise God, He got up for me!!

SIGMA, Progressive Supper at OneTrueMedia.com

This is a video of pictures from our youth activity this past Friday night. We had a progressive supper. We had a good time. Enjoy!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Wow, What A Great Weekend!

We had a terrific weekend. Several of us have been busy recently, getting things ready for the twenty-fifth anniversary of our dear Pastor and his precious wife being at our church. It was a beautiful day, Sunday, and everything went great. The only thing Pastor asked for, is that we don't allow the special day to get in the way of old time worship. And that's exactly what happened. We had spectacular meetings, both services and it was a blessing to be a part of both of them.

One of the special things our church did, was to make a book of personal letters from the congregation to Pastor Goodman and Mrs. Ava. Along with those letters were pictures of some of the people that wrote letters. I tried to get everyone's pictures, but some of them just didn't make it in the book. We did, however, have a good many to add. We also had some that turned in old pictures, but I didn't add those to the video below. These are just the ones I took. You'll notice I titled the video "Koala Pictures." There's a story behind that.

We didn't want Pastor and Mrs. Ava to know what we were up to, so Brother Johnny asked the congregation to give him a code word, one Wednesday night when Pastor and Mrs. Ava were out of town. The word was "Koala" and given by one of our youth, Jordan L. Jordan's grandmother also came up with "Epistles." Both were great, but people loved using "Koala." So that one stuck.

We had Brother Preston Moore and his wife for the special services. I love hearing him preach. He is a good preacher! Brother Moore was the first Pastor that our own Pastor served under his first associate pastor's job. He learned a great deal about being an under-shepherd from Brother Moore and references him often when preaching. Pastor Goodman loves and respects Brother Moore very much.

I have more to tell and lots of pictures to share, that I'll post later. It was a busy and wonderful weekend! One I am trutly thankful to have taken part in.

Robbed of a Gallon of Gas

I am way too busy to be blogging right now, but something happened today that kind of blew my mind. And made me kind of upset too.

So, I'm in Shelby running errands and eating lunch with the kids and had a check to be cashed. The check was from the bank, 5th 3rd. I do not bank there, but since my bank was in the other direction and I was right there at the Shelby branch on East Dixon, I decided to get it cashed there.

I signed my check, put it in the canister with my picture ID and sent it through to the teller. She asked if I banked there and I told her no. Then she proceeds to tell me that since I want to cash that check there it will cost me $4.00. The check was barely $20 and they were taking $4. Seriously???

First of all, we live in an economy where $4 right now is the equivalent to a gallon of gas.
Secondly, I have never, EVER heard of a bank charging someone to cash a check from an account that bank holds.
And thirdly, did I mention it was a gallon of gas?

I had an account with 5th 3rd a few years ago and I am so glad I decided to close that account. They are a no good bank. Always coming up with some scheme to rip people off. And in these day and times, that is just the low of the low.

So now that I have vented on the Internet, I will copy and paste a link to this post in an email to 5th 3rd and get back to my busy life. See y'all later.

Date Night With My Super Hero

Tonight was date night. We went out to eat supper then dessert at Swooger's (a local ice cream shop), hung out at Books-a-Million, and walked around the new Target in Gastonia.
We found these awesome masks in their dollar isle. We didn't buy 'em, we just wanted to play with 'em for a little bit. lol
Bruce has always read comic books. Spider man was always his favorite. This is the closest he's come to being Spider Man. But he's the sweetest Super Hero I know.

While we were at Books-a-Million, I was finished looking around, so I sat down with a couple of ladies and was reading some things on my Kindle Fire. The other two ladies were talking and then I joined in. We were having a fun chat until another woman snipped, "Have y'all exhausted all subjects yet? I'm trying to read." She was so serious. But it was one of those moments where my brain was telling me to just be quiet and act normal, yet I suddenly heard myself burst into laughter. She, on the other hand, was not cracking a smile, which made my giggles grow a little larger.

Other than that little kerfuffle, which was still a high light of the evening, we had a great time together. I love date nights with my super hero. You just never know how they're going to turn out.

<3

Local Field Trip Day

Hannah has spent the week in Tennessee with my mom, visiting my Aunt Janice. They've had a really good time. They were able to visit Brother Tony Hutson's church, Middle Tennessee Baptist, Wednesday night. My Aunt loved it and is looking forward to visiting again on Sunday with mom and Hannah. They've decided to stay a couple of extra days and won't be home until sometime Monday evening. I'll be glad to see my baby girl again.

Harrison and I decided to take a field trip today to our local museum. We didn't know what the exhibit was until we got there. It was the Girl Scouts from the year they started to present date. It was interesting to see how the badges and uniforms have changed over the years. They had a table set up where you could make a paper pocket knife so we did that. I told Harrison it gave a whole new meaning to a paper cut.

Next we stopped at the Library. For some reason, both Harrison and I were not in the system and we ended up having to get new library cards. Which was fine. Harrison finally checked out two books he's been dying to get for months. Everytime we go, the entire series is checked out. So he was glad there were two there and has enjoyed reading them today.

After the library we met Bruce at Love's Fish Box for lunch. Love's is the BEST fish camp in our area, in our opinion. We had a great lunch together and then home for a little rest before Bruce had to leave for work.

A friend came over for a visit this afternoon and it was so nice to sit and chat for a while. I enjoyed it very much!

Now we're just waiting on Justin to get back from practicing with one of the groups at church. I know he'll be exhausted when he gets here. He's been up a long time today and I'm sure he'll be ready to hit the sack when he gets home.

I'm outta here. Y'all have a good night/morning/evening.... whatever. :D

Happy Valentine's Day II

Bruce's mom had gone to lunch with good friends on Valentine's Day, so Bruce ended up missing her. But he did go see her when he got off work that night.
But later in the afternoon, the kids and I went to see her to take her a card and some candy and visit a while.

My great niece was there. She is so beautiful and gives the sweetest little hugs. And obviously she enjoys her McDonald's ice cream sundaes.

My brother in law was dropping her off for my mother in law to sit for a few hours while he went back to work and his wife was busy at the florist shop. Valentine's Day is their busiest day, you know!

We had a good visit and before we left, my sister in law and her two sons showed up. It was good to see them too.

When we left my mother in law's house, we picked up some pizzas and went to mom's to deliver her card and candy. We watched some love stories from back in the prairie days while we ate our pizza and had a great time with her.

It was nice being able to spend some time with our moms and letting them know that we consider them to be our valentines.

Love you, Mom! Love you, Marie!

A Happy Valentine's Day!

When the children went to bed last night I put a pink table cloth on the table with a vase of flowers in the candy heart vase I found a few weeks ago, and put the kid's cards and chocolates on the table. I also left Bruce's gift bag and he left my gift box.


This morning I had a house to clean before meeting Bruce at the gym. We came home and while he got ready for work, I finished cooking lunch.


For dessert, I gave everyone someone a friend of mine posted about. Heart-shaped Little Debbie cakes with strawberry swirl ice cream, topped with chocolate drizzles.

Obviously, they liked it.

After dessert we opened our gifts and this is what I got. Of course, we already knew what we were getting because when we went out Friday night, we each picked out our own gifts.
We had a very good day and there was more to it, but I'll share about that later. Right now it's late and this wife and mama is tuckered out.

Swinging With My Sweetie

The theme for our Valentine's Banquet was inspired by a greeting card. It was really cute and we had a great time in our new banquet room for our first Valentine Banquet there.
Here's a pic of me and my sweetie pie. This was the entrance to the banquet room.


This year's skits were so hilariously funny. Brother Johnny was a former boxer being interviewed by "Hambone." It was great.


He was also a former inventor. He showed us many of his inventions. The one below is a nice hat to wear in church when you need a tissue from crying or have a runny nose.

My Pastor and his wife also did a VERY FUNNY skit. I don't think I have ever seen them be so funny. It was great.

And here they are without his hat/hair. Aren't they sweet?

We had a good time. Several people worked hours on the meal. We had our choice of steak or chicken, salad, baked potatoes, drink, and dessert. It was all fabulous!!

And of course I had a great time with my sweetheart.

I love him. <3

A Little Better

I spent another day in bed, with the exception of putting a roast in the oven for lunch. I do feel better and hope that tomorrow I will feel even better than I did today.

When I heard on the news that the sickness going around is due highly in part to an early spring and unusually high levels of pollen in the air, I decided to try some allergy medication instead of taking the usual head cold meds. I started on a 24 hr allergy pill. I take it in the morning and a few hours later I start taking Musinex every four hours with a Vitamin C every four hours also. I think it's really helped. Tomorrow we'll know for sure.

Since I've been in bed the last few days I decided to update my picture blog and organize the sidebar. If you want to view the pics, just click here and choose which album you want from the sidebar. I still have a lot of albums to add but I'll have to get to those when I have more time.

So far, no one in my family has gotten sick from me. Keeping a close eye on that though. Looking forward to this weekend and hoping I get to go to the Valentine Banquet with my sweetheart.

Hope y'all have a great weekend too. :)

A Turn for the Worse

So my cold has taken a turn for the worse. I've been in bed since just after 2:00 yesterday. Bruce went to the gym by himself this morning and is bringing me back some orange juice and Cepacol. Nothing says *lunch* like medicine, right?

I had Harrison bring me some disinfectant wipes so I could wipe down my computer keys. As I was sitting here doing that my nose started running. No tissues, no toilet paper (nearby, anyway), so why not use a disinfectant wipe? As I told friends, the lemon scent is nice and my nose has never felt so clean. ha!

I've been doing my blog reading and that's been nice to pass time. OH! Have y'all discovered pinterest yet? I LOVE it! There are so many great ideas on that site. I don't know that I'm as addicted as some of my other friends, but I do like Pinterest. Sometimes I forget to pin things I find on the Internet and then later I think, "MAN! Should have pinned that!!" If you haven't checked it out, you should. It's a great way to find recipes, crafts, etc.

Our Valentine's Banquet is this weekend. This year we decided to do two nights of the banquet. So the Young Adults class, Newly Married class, and Still Married class will be Friday night. And Saturday will be for those that couldn't make it Friday and Brother Johnny's Sunday School class. We're in the Still Married class, but we'll be going Saturday because Bruce has to work Friday night. I've been able to help some on the decorations for the banquet. It is so cute! Mrs. Amy Leonard and Mrs. Ava have had some awesome ideas, all inspired by a greeting card. I'll have pictures to share, Lord willing, next week. I hope I'm feeling much better by then and we get to go.

I think I'll go back to reading some blogs now.

Here's something to look at for a minute. :)

Pork Alfredo and A Fun Family Shoot

I really don't know what to call this recipe, if you can call it a recipe, that is. LOL A friend of mine taught me how to do this a few years ago and as I was telling another friend about it, I thought maybe my blog readers would like to try it also.

Grab a pencil, because this recipe is quite long. Here's what you need:

Pork chops, boneless or bone-in, doesn't matter.
One jar of Alfredo sauce.

Ok, so you don't need a pencil. It really is that simple. Easy, easy!! Place your pork chops in a pan, cover with Alfredo sauce, and cook at 350 degrees until pork is done.
I like to serve mine with Angel Hair pasta and some kind of green. I prefer steamed broccoli. But I'm out of that today so we'll probably have a side salad. If you try it, let me know how you like it.
~~~~~
This weekend, I had the privilege of shooting the Vaughan family. They were such a fun group of people to be around. Mom and dad Vaughan were obviously use to the shenanigans of their daughters, because they pretty well let their playful ways roll right on without batting an eye. It was hilarious. Each daughter has such a different personality and they all just fold right into each other. I never had a sister, but if I did, I'd sure want that kind of relationship with them. It was very emotional for me at then end. We did a daddy/daughters shot with them and they were so playful with their dad that it was fun, but after all was said and done and I found myself missing my dad so much I couldn't fight back the tears.
They were a sweet family to shoot and I'll never forget this one!

~~~~~
After the shoot I had a date with my main squeeze. :) We decided to go to Don's Italian in Shelby. Bruce loves their turkey subs. They have awesome burgers so I had the bacon cheeseburgers with their homemade chips and ranch dip. I could make a meal just off the chips and dip. lol Anyway, I started not feeling well and by the time I got up Sunday morning I was REALLY feeling bad.
My eyes were swollen and with each blink the water would just flow from them like the Hoover Dam busted. As a matter of fact. I was oozing from every hole in my head. Gross, I know. Sorry. So I stayed home from church. We were having a family get together at my mother-in-law's after morning service. I met my family there after church and by the afternoon I was feeling some better and knew I could make it to church. Come to find out, we had over a hundred people out with this crud. They said the choir was puny Sunday morning and I believe it, because it was puny Sunday night. LOL But it was still good. And the service was excellent. Better than ANY Super Bowl. The Holy Spirit was in our midst and the alters were full. Three people were saved and seven were baptized. I was so glad I made it!
~~~~~
As for the Super Bowl, we made it home as New England was leading the second half. We were pulling for the Giants. It was a crazy game but in the end, the Giants won. And there you have it! YAY.
~~~~~
Other than being sick, I had a really terrific weekend and hope you did too.

Do I Care?

While we were working out at the gym today, I noticed someone's t-shirt that read

I used to care. But now I take a pill for that.

On a t-shirt or a bumper sticker that little saying makes us smile. After all, I did make a silent chuckle when I read it. Obviously there is not really a pill that keeps us from caring. But what does keep us from caring?

As I was treading away on the treadmill and thinking about what I read, the thought did occur to me that many of us.... Christians, that is.... have stopped caring.

We've stopped caring about what Bible we carry.
We've stopped caring about how we dress.
We've stopped caring about the language we use.
We've stopped caring about what we put in front of our eyes.
We've stopped caring about the music we listen to.
We've stopped caring about whether or not our children are involved in their youth activities.
We've stopped caring about whether or not our families are in Sunday school and church services.
We've stopped caring about whether or not the alters are full.
We've stopped caring about souls being saved.
We've. stopped. caring.

Sometimes I think we become oblivious to our carelessness. But we need to be aware of it because it damages the cause of Christ.
It chokes the Word of God, gluts the soul, obstructs the Gospel, hinders the work of Christ, and manifests unbelief.

I have been guilty of carelessness in my Christian walk. And as I pondered these things, I was overwhelmed with guilt at the thought of causing others to fall because of it.

Referring to the "pill" mentioned on the t-shirt, I guess you could say that spiritually, the pill of carelessness is a poison. But there is an antidote for that poison, if we are sure to care about the things of God.

First of all, we have God's protection. Psalm 37: 4-11 tells us to delight ourselves in Him, commit our ways, trust in Him, rest in Him, and when we do these things, He will bring to pass the promises of those things He only gives his children. Such as the desires of our hearts, righteousness and judgment, inheritance of the earth, and peace.

Secondly, we have God's provision. Matthew 6:25-34, we hear it straight from the LORD, that He will take care of our needs. We don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or whether or not we'll be clothed. We are compared to "...the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. ARE YE NOT MUCH BETTER THAN THEY?" Again, we are compared to the lilies, "...how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." And in verse 33 we are told, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." When we stop caring about His kingdom and His righteousness, we begin to forfeit the gifts He has in store for us.

And thirdly, when we care about the things of God, we have God's promises. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Everything we do should be entered into with earnest prayer. Christians that do not care do not have much of a prayer life, if any at all. Much less an earnest one. Christians that care, pray. When we are earnest in prayer life, we'll be earnest in our daily life. And when we are earnest in those things, we are Christians, caring for the things of God, resting in the assurance of His promises.

I don't want to stand before the Lord, guilty of not caring. So I have to ask myself...

"Do I Care?"

Our First Love

As I was waiting for Bruce to come out of the men's locker room today, I glanced up at the many tvs hanging from the ceiling. One of them was showing the Jerry Springer show, which was just coming on. Why anyone in their right mind would watch that absolute garbage and filth is beyond me. Although I could not hear without headphones, the title of the episode popped up on the screen and my first thoughts when I saw it were of being thankful. My next thought was of this verse:
Revelation 2:4 "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."

When I think of this verse, I immediately think of my relationship with Jesus Christ. The flesh of the Saint is prone to leave our First Love. We deny Him the thing He desires most from us and that is our praise, our worship, and our loyalty. He never betrays us, but we betray Him often. Daily.

It is easy to betray Him when we become so down and tired in our Christian walk. When things don't go our way, or when we feel everything around us is falling apart. Maybe you've become burned out in your service or weary in your well doing. Maybe you're discouraged from someone's gossip. Or you feel you have been working in your ministry all alone, for far too long.

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

There are many things that tempt us into betraying our First Love. Being tired, weary, and discouraged can be a temptation to laying everything down and walking away. But hang in there! Your First Love will be your strength, He will lift you up, and He will encourage you in His Word. And at the end of your journey, you will receive that crown of life!

And what girl doesn't desire her own crown?

Tips For A Brighter Day

I borrowed this from Mrs. Carolyn, our youth choir director. She carries it in her Bible. She is one of the SWEETEST ladies you will ever have the privilege of knowing. She has a genuine Christian character and I love her so much. I am continually blessed by her. Anyway, on our way to the youth rally tonight, she handed this to me to read and said for me to post it. As I read it, it sure did step on my toes a few times and it's definitely worth sharing.

Tips For a Brighter Day

*TODAY I WILL FORGIVE:

I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

*TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY:

I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain that I do not spread gossip.

*TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT SECRETLY:

I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

*TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK:

If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind... I will not respond in like manner.

*TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE I DISCOURAGED:

My smile, my words, my expression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling life.

*TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY":

If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor, co-worker, or a stranger.

*TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE:

I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

*TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED:

I will practice the golden rule-"Do unto others as I would have them do unto me" -with everyone I encounter.

*TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY:

I will eat less; i will eat only healthy foods. I will thank God for my body.

*TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY:

I will spend a little more time in prayer today: I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational today; I will find a quiet place and listen to God's voice!

I Ain't Gonna Leave My Pea Patch!

Our Pastor was asked to preach a chapel service at Hyles-Anderson College last week. He and Mrs. Ava flew up there and had a great time being with the students and staff.

If you'd like to listen to his sermon, please click here. The title of his sermon is I Ain't Gonna Leave My Pea Patch Anymore! from the January 20th chapel service.

Enjoy!

Sigma All-Nighter

This past Friday night we spent with our Sigma group having an all-nighter. It was a lot of fun and the kids were great to be with.

We met in our new facility at 6:00 pm and headed to a local mall to play some courses at the Lunar Mini Golf and do some window shopping.

Our junior sponsors (Justin, Jeremy, and Ashley) were able to make it and help us through the night. I love it when they're able to be there.

The hearts on Nicole's socks were shining brightly!

And they say that pregnant women have a glow about them. That was so true of Mrs. Jennifer. :)

Bruce had to work Friday night, but showed up sometime after we got back from mini golf. There was plenty of coffee and caffeine filled sodas to help keep him awake.

I'm so thankful for our gym and I know our boys are too, because they played hours and hours and hours of basketball. You'd think they'd get tired of it, but nope, no way!

We also divided all the kids up and played some kickball.

We popped popcorn and watched a Christian film that had us laughing and crying too. It was very good!

As the night progressed, we noticed the teenagers beginning to drop like flies and finding anywhere to lay down.

I found Brandon stretched out on the bottom of this table. I have to admit that at 4:30am, I liked his idea and wished I had thought of it first. haha

Gary planned ahead and brought a blow up mattress. Now that was some pretty smart thinkin'.

Christa plopped down in the floor. At least she didn't try laying on the tile.

And Dustin was totally passed out on the floor. The caffeine in that Dr. Pepper behind his head did not do its job for him.

Just a few of them went to sleep. For the most part, they were all awake through the night. Here they are just waiting for 6:00 am to roll around so we could go to breakfast.

We had several board games and video games that were played through the night also. Here I found Bruce and Brother Johnathan playing baseball, I think?

And if basketball in the gym wasn't enough for these guys, they played it some more on this little hoop in the banquet room.

Six o'clock did finally roll around so we loaded the vans and took them all to Ken and Mary's for breakfast. Ken and Mary's is a local establishment with down home cooking.

Brother Johnathan was the only one drinking tea at our table so he just drank straight from pitcher. lol

Some of them waited sleepy-eyed for their hot breakfast, while others dozed off on the table.

And this is the kind of behavior you get from the adults when they've stayed up all night.

Bruce loves breakfast, so he was more than happy to order all the breakfast food on the list. He got all of his favorite breakfast foods of eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, and perfectly fried livermush. Boy did he enjoy it all!

I had two of their buttermilk pancakes with a glass of chocolate milk. They were very good.

We got home and in bed by 8:30, slept until just after 2:00, and finished the day off on a date to Northlake Mall in Charlotte and back home to our little town. I gotta admit that I did great Saturday, but Sunday morning I thought my body was ready to shut down. I made it though.

And that was our weekend with the youth group. We'll be going with them this Friday to hear them sing in a revival meeting at Brother Chris Emory's church. I haven't heard who is preaching there yet, but I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Click here to listen to them singing Redeemed.

*Blink* YAWN *Blink*

So tonight we're having an all-nighter with our Sigma youth. We'll be playing some indoor putt-putt and then making our way back to the church for a lot of gym games and other activities. Hopefully we'll have plenty of caffeine and snacks to keep them up all night. Then again.... maybe we should have no caffeine and they'll all pass out no later than 3:00. That would be great, but I remember being a teenager, and I really don't think that will happen. We'll go to breakfast in the morning and then they'll all go home and crash. Well. WE'LL all go home and crash.

We're taking Harry's iPod back tomorrow and hopefully they'll exchange it for another one if it can't be fixed. He's missed it so much. He'll be spending the weekend with his Grandmother and he's looking forward to it.

I haven't been feeling well the last few days. Kind of sick on my stomach. Nothing happening, just nauseated all the time. I almost WISH something would happen just to relieve the nauseousness. Hopefully it will pass soon.

God is so good and He is perfect in all His ways. I have several prayer requests on my heart and would appreciate your prayers with me.

I think I'm going to take a wee nap before I'm up all night with a bunch of crazy teenagers. Maybe we should have signed up our junior sponsors for tonight. LOL Looking forward to being with them and hopefully some of their youth will rub off on me and I'll manage to make it through the night!

My Mirror

My Aunt gave me a secretary (desk/table) and it is so beautiful. It's at my mom's house right now. I wanted a mirror to hang over it and this one is perfect.

Bruce made this one. He saved us lots of money on it too. Let me tell ya how, 'cause you know how I LOVE to pinch my pennies. The mirror, itself, had no frame around it and was hanging in the children's bathroom. Bruce made the frame using the chair railing we pulled off the wall when we were painting before Christmas. I think the only thing we bought to make the mirror was paint. It's so heavy I can't lift it and he had to make a brace to hang it on the wall. It was really brilliant how he did it, I must say. He's quite creative when it comes to things like this. Anyway, pricing these mirrors, one this size and this heavy would go for around $300. I'm happy at how pretty it turned out and I'm proud of my hubby for doing such a great job!

Love you, hon!

His next project is working on my windows. See the curtains in the mirror? He's making me a wooden box (valance) to go around the top. I'm very excited about it. I'll tell you why I'm excited about it when he gets it finished.

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I think I told you our youth choir was singing at a revival next weekend. Click here to hear them singing Redeemed. Hope it's a blessing.

Monday Meanderings

Why call this post Monday Meanderings? Because it's Monday and I'm wandering all over the place with this post. So....

I'll be hanging out with my mom tonight at her house. Eating supper and whatever else. I'm looking forward to it. Love my mom!! She's the best. A few other ladies will be there too, so we'll be sure to have a great time, I know.

Remember when I blogged about Harrison's iPod Touch he was saving up for and bought? Then a few weeks ago (sometime before Christmas) it stopped working. So we finally got around to calling Apple today and they are sending us to their Apple store in Charlotte. They'll run a few tests on it and if they can't get it to run, they'll replace it for him. That's good to know. I'm glad I bought that warranty! Harry will be happy to get his iPod back and start playing the games he had on there.

I bought Bruce the Kindle Fire for Christmas. I'm beginning to think I should have asked him for one, myself. I really like his. I haven't messed with it much, but I love all the features he's been showing me. Maybe if I'm good between now and my birthday, he'll get me one. That's a long time for me to be good, though. So we'll have to wait and see. LOL

Justin is off on Mondays, so when Bruce and I got back home from the gym, I started cooking lunch. Since Bruce works second shift, I try to cook a hot lunch so we have a sit down meal together as a family. Monday is about the only day we get to do this, unless you count Sunday, which I really don't, because my two older ones don't always come home with us after the morning service. I enjoyed having my whole family at the table, laughing and talking together. I live for those moments! :)

I took some videos of our youth choir singing last night. Lord willing I'll be able to get those uploaded to Youtube soon. When I do, I'll post them here. They were asked to sing at a service next weekend for Brother Chris Emory. We're looking forward to it. We love Brother Emory and his family, and the people there at his church.

This weekend we have our all nighter with the youth. It's been a while since I've pulled an all nighter and I'm not sure I'll make it. But we'll see. I'm looking forward to it, nonetheless. Lunar golf, bowling, and then games and snacks at our church's gym. Should be a good time.

And that's it for today. Trying to get back into this whole blogging thing is a killer sometimes. But I have to admit that I am finding it easier to write about things the more I do blog. Hope y'all have a great evening. I know I'm going to!

Chili Recipe

As we were leaving the gym today, I had to stop at the store and pick up a couple items for supper. I thought a pot of chili would be good tonight. Not to mention it would be there tomorrow night, which means NO COOKING tomorrow! :) And since date night is Saturday evenings now, that's two days in a row. I loooooooove cooking, don't get me wrong. But come on... even Martha Stewart would like this plan. Anyway, I shared my recipe for Taco Pie with you yesterday and thought I'd share this recipe also. It's really not a recipe. Just more an "add a little bit-o-this and a little-bit-o that" kind of thing.
I use the large bag of pinto beans when making my pot of chili. Especially if I want it to go a couple of days. You can add a jar of kidney beans and/or stewed tomatoes too. I love those, but my family, not so much.
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1 bag pinto beans
2 lbs of ground beef (try ground turkey or even shredded chicken if your family isn't opposed those)
1 jar of medium to hot salsa
1 medium jar of vegetable juice. V8 Spicy is good if you want a little more spice and today I used the low sodium.
Hot Mexican chili powder, to taste
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Cook pintos to tender
drain most, if not all, of the water out of the beans
Add cooked meat, salsa, vegetable juice, and chili powder to taste
Simmer for about thirty minutes to an hour
Top with chopped onions, saltines, a blend of Mexican cheese, and sour cream.
Makes a hearty meal for all!
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And for those of you who have trouble getting your family to eat leftovers, a tip I read in Women's Day magazine a long time ago said to spray muffin pans with cooking spray, spoon in the chili, and freeze. Then pop 'em out, place them in a gallon zip lock baggie and put them back in the freezer for a cup of chili anytime you want, during the upcoming winter days. I've done this before and it worked great. Bruce would grab a couple of them from the freezer, place them in a tupperware bowl and take them to work. By lunch time, all he had to do was heat it up and chow down. Of course this works for any soup. So enjoy!
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And last but not least.... Today's workout was the thirty minute circuit plus thirty minute cardio. The thirty minute circuit is thirty minutes of alternating between step aerobics and weight machines. There's a green light/red light you watch on this one. You begin with step aerobics when the light turns green. When it turns red, you move back to a weight machine and begin working it when the light turns green again. When it turns red, you quickly clean the machine and move back to the step again. It's fast paced and works both upper and lower body muscles. We like it. And then we followed it up with thirty minutes on the bicycle and treadmill.

And there ya have it!
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Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with
salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

Recipes, This and That, and Such

In yesterday's post, I mentioned we had a young man from our church over for supper Monday night and that he liked my Taco Pie, which by the way, I found in our church cookbook a few years ago. It became a family favorite and I haven't fixed it in forever. So when I knew he was coming over, I decided to fix it. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to try it.

1 tube of original crescent rolls
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 packs of taco seasoning
16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 bags of Mexican cheese
1/2 bag of Doritos
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Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with crescents and roll edge to edge
Brown ground beef, drain, and add taco seasoning and water according to seasoning pack. Cook for several minutes. Drain. Pour taco meat on top of crescent rolls.
Spread sour cream on top of meat
Spread cheese on top of sour cream
Crumble 1/2 bag of Doritos and sprinkle on top of cheese for top layer
Cover with tin foil
Bake until Crescent rolls are done
If you find yourself without tin foil, like I did last night, just bake until the crescent rolls are done and cheese is thoroughly melted. Then crumble your Doritos on top and bake just a few minutes for the Doritos to set in the cheese.
Add a green salad mix with fresh tomatoes on the side. Yumm-o-licious!
I haven't tried this yet, but I'd like to do a fajita variation with shredded chicken.
This stuff gets gone fast. So.... ENJOY!
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Today we had one hour of cardio on our schedule. I did thirty on the bicycle and thirty on treadmill. Bruce did his full hour on the treadmill. It was a nice break from weight machines considering the muscles in my arms are aching from yesterday's workout. LOL Gotta tear 'em down to build 'em up, right?
I did discover that icy/hot is great for when my ankle is hurting. It felt fantabulous this afternoon. So that's a good thing.
When Bruce's doctor told him that his cholesterol and triglycerides were high, I googled some ways to lower them naturally and was reading where a handful of nuts a day can play a role in lowering your cholesterol. Yes, there are some bad nuts out there, but even they have some good nutritional values. Right now he takes high doses of behind the counter Fish Oil and it has helped a LOT. But I thought we could incorporate the nuts too. So everyday after our workout, I give us each a handful of mixed nuts. I'm nutty, but not really a nut person. Bruce loves nuts, so he loves his after-workout snack.
Tomorrow is thirty minutes cardio with the thirty minute circuit.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting about our schedule. I post those who, for whatever reason, can't make it to the gym and want a routine. It kind of gives them an idea of what they can do each day on their own. I learned something about working out, too. You can't have just a target area. You need to work everything! You also need to give your muscles a day or two to rest between weight machines or you cancel out what you did the day before. I haven't asked this yet, but I'm not sure if that's just for beginners or for everyone.
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A friend of mine is making halo headbands for when I take pictures of baby girls. I saw one they made the other day and it was adorable. She was able to get a little crafty so that I could have just a few headbands with interchangeable flowers, feathers, etc. I can't wait to see them all! In turn, I'll give her family a photo shoot.
Bruce bought me some new photo editing software and I think I'm going to love it. It was a little difficult to figure out at first, but I did eventually figure it out and have played with a couple of pictures. In two words I would have to say, "me likey."
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Tonight is SIGMA night. I'm glad we were able to keep a SIGMA night on Wednesdays and the youth still be in the church service. I love having them in there. I need to start getting ready. Hope you have a great evening!

Gym and Homeschooling

Today we worked on the upper body. Can I just say ow? When I got up this morning my sides were feeling the abs workout from yesterday. I'm sure I'll be feeling today's workout in my triceps and biceps tomorrow.

The trainer gave us a chart to show us exactly what machines to work and what days we're to use them. It lists the machine and you fill in the pounds and reps you do. So next time we work those machines we'll be able to look back and know what we did last time. Also, we'll be able to watch our progress.

We eat lunch shortly after we get home, so today I had thrown some chicken tenders in the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. We had that with stewed potatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and a dinner roll. For Bruce and me, I sliced a piece of tomato and laid it on top of the roll with a little garlic and parsley sprinkled on top. It was pretty tasty. It gave the bread a really good flavor.

The kids are getting back into the groove of school after being off for a long Christmas break. They should have their next tests by the end of this week and/or middle of next, providing they stay on schedule. I may need to push them a little harder since end of grade testing will be upon us before we know it.

We had a young man in our church over for supper last night. He likes my Taco Pie, so that's what I made for him. Then we watched a movie with him, played a little bit on the Wii, and laughed at his craziness. We had a good time and it was fun to have him here. We'll have to do that again soon.

I think a nap is on the agenda today. Yes. A nap. On the agenda. Sounds about right to me.
:)

WHEW!

We had a good first day on the routine the trainer gave us. Today it was lower body and abs plus thirty minutes of cardio.

I didn't realize this, but he said it's always better to start your routine with a five minute cardio, then do your weights, and end with the cardio. So that's what we did today. I'm glad Bruce was with me today because figuring out these machines and which ones do what is a little confusing. But we figured them out and I did enjoy the workout. I'll admit that there are a couple of machines I wouldn't miss if they decided to do away with them. LOL But, all in all, a good workout and I do like going in with a plan for each day. And the great news from today is, I lost three pounds since last week. YAY!
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We had two great services yesterday. There was a woman saved last Sunday morning. Her parents have been coming to our church for several years. Her daddy had gone to the alter to pray for her and a minute later she had followed him there, knelt down, and just got right under his arm and repented. It was precious. On the other side of the alter was a man doing the same thing. It was so sweet. He had such a humble spirit when he stood up. His sweet wife was saved Wednesday night, and one of the foster children in our church accepted Christ yesterday morning. It's been so good seeing all these new converts and witnessing their baptisms and their growth in Christ. What a blessing! Praying for many more this year!

Brother John O'Malley preached the evening service last night. I love to hear him preach. He always brings out things in his sermons that make me think, "Man, how come I never thought about that before?" We love the O' Family.

Brother O' and Pastor Goodman will be leaving for Burma here soon. Pastor is really excited about this mission trip. He has been to the Philippines several times and has a great heart for the people there and for missions, in general. I'm sure when he gets back from Burma he will leave another piece of his heart there with them. I'm looking forward to seeing his pictures and hearing about his trip and the experiences that God will allow him to have there.

Reese's Cups, Captain America, and Valentine Vases

Bruce has always loved comic book heroes so when I found this shirt at Wal Mart a few weeks ago I bought it for him for his birthday. He was so happy.
He is also a great lover of Reese's cups. So when Justin found this GIANT pack of 1/2 pound Reese's cups he got them for his dad. Again...he was so happy.

When he took the first bite he said, "They finally made it the way I always knew they should." LOL By the way, this picture was taken before we joined the gym, just in case you were wondering.

Speaking of the gym, we met with the personal trainer today to set up a routine for us. I'm excited about getting started on that Monday. I do best when I have a plan and I think this will work out great.
So we're sitting at the table with the trainer and three other gym members when the trainer asks us what our goals are. He makes his way around the table and gets to Bruce who answers, "Well, I've always believed that underneath this exterior is a Captain America. And THAT is my goal."
He's so crazy. I don't know what I'm going to do with him sometimes.
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Now that New Year's is over and we're beginning our flight into 2012, I'm ready for the next holiday. VALENTINE'S DAY! I love that day. I guess because I have the sweetest Valentine, EVER.
After some encouraging prods from a couple of friends I decided to go ahead and put out a few Valentine decorations. I have a heart wreath I'll hang on the door this weekend. I found a cute foam "I LOVE YOU" at a store tonight that I'll go back and get later. I'm going to place it in the middle of the wreath. I think it'll be cute.
And I found this candy heart vase at a thrift store this week. I thought it was so cute. I didn't buy it when I saw it and then decided to go back for it the next day. I'm glad I did because I really like it. :)

Sitting Next To Dad

There's really not a day that goes by where my dad doesn't cross my mind several times throughout the day. There are many things that trigger my thoughts of him, but today was just a funny experience I had with an elderly man and something that would have happened between my dad and me. Remember "Mr. Happy Fingers"?

Today was our third day working out at the gym. I did the 30 minute express with Bruce and then we each moved on to different activities. After working on some of the upper body machines I moved over to the bicycles. The way they have things set up is several bicycles all in a row with tv's up above for all to view, each one on different stations. You plug in your earphones, set your box to the station you want and you can enjoy a little tv or even radio while you work out. While I pedaled my little feet away, I watched all the political mambo-jumbo on FOX News. In my own little world, I was taken off guard by an elderly gentleman that had taken the bicycle next to mine and gently tapped me on the shoulder. Our experience went like this:
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Him: My tv won't work.
Me: You have to keep your machine going or it'll cut off.
Him: Oh. (tries vigorously to get both feet in the foot straps.)
Me: (Stops pedaling to help.)
Him: Thank you.
Me: You're very welcome! (Pedaling....pedaling.... resets tv settings.... feels tap on my shoulder.)
Him: (pedaling) The tv still isn't working.
Me: (noticing his earphones in his hand...) You have to plug your earphones into the box.
Him: OH! (plugs in earphones, still pedaling)
Me: (Pedaling....pedaling.... feels another tap on my shoulder.)
Him: I think there's something wrong with it.
Me: Did you push the power button? It's that one right there.
Him: (Stops pedaling to look...pushes button) No, it's still not coming on.
Me: You have to be pedaling.
Him (Pedals... pushes button...) There it is!
Me: All right!
We pedal and watch Fox News together and all was, once again, well in bicycle world. :)
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As we sat there pedaling and "watching" the news I couldn't help but think of how this situation would have happened with my dad and I got a little tickled. I never did get the elderly man's name, but I plan to next time I see him. Sitting next to him was just like sitting next to dad.

2012, Here We Come!

I was glad to see 2011 go. It was a good year, but it was a long one. There were a lot of "firsts" without my dad in 2011 and, although nothing will ever be the same without him, those "firsts" are brutal.

We had a great Christmas. Our churchwide fellowship was the Wednesday night before Christmas and I think it was the BEST one we've ever had. At least since we've been members at Faith. It was so nice to be in our new gym. We have a lot to be thankful for with our new building. And another blessing that night was when my husband showed up. He had four hours left he could take for the year and they approved them so he could be at the fellowship. I was really happy when I saw him come in.

The 22nd was our 21st anniversary. It was a really good day, too. We were able to spend the whole morning and early afternoon together before he had to leave for work. I collect nativities and so he bought me the wise men I needed for my Willow Tree collection. As a matter of fact, he finished that collection for me this year between our anniversary and Christmas. I love it. It's so pretty.

Christmas Eve, we had my family over. I thought it went ok. One of the games I chose was fun, but I wish I had revised it a little to save time. It was kind of funny. You write down things, not necessarily pertaining to the holiday, and tape them to the player's heads. It could be people in the Bible, celebrities, cartoon characters, inanimate objects...you get the idea. The person has no idea what or who is on their head. Only the other players do. So you can ask the other players yes or no questions until someone figures out who they are and when you figure it out, you win the game. We also played a game where someone had to wear reindeer antlers until someone else heard them say anything pertaining to the word "yes." Then they could take the antlers. Whoever had the antlers at the end of the night won a prize. Brandon, my niece's boyfriend, was the winner of that game. It was nice having Brandon with us this year. I hope he's able to spend many more with us. We missed those that weren't able to make it.

We had three services Christmas Day. Two morning services and one in the evening. We attended the early morning service since we were spending the afternoon at Bruce's mother's house. Attendance was low for that morning service we attended, but I heard they packed 'em in at the second morning service. So I'm glad to know that people still love church, even when it falls on Christmas. Which, in case you're interested, is still the Lord's day, AND not to mention the celebration of His birth. I think time spent in His house is a good thing, don't you? It was sad to see so many churches close their doors. Anyway... we had a very good morning service and we had a fabulous time with Bruce's family, despite the fact that I had come down with some kind of cold virus, lost my voice, and thought I might just die that very day. No, I didn't really think that, but it did begin to feel like it. Needless to say when we finished up at my mother in law's and opened gifts here with our children, I went straight to bed and stayed there until sometime Monday afternoon. I'm still not fully well, but much, much better, thank the Lord!

We spent New Year's Eve here at home. We did absolutely NOTHING all day long and into the night. Bruce and I both dozed off for a little while and woke up for a kiss at midnight, and then hit the sack. It had been a couple of long months and it was just nice to do nothing. But we made up for it with our Sunday school class New Year's day at our afterglow, following the evening service.

And today, Bruce and I joined Planet Fitness. We've never joined a gym before, so it was an experience. I've worked out at the YMCA, and it was ok, but I think I like Planet Fitness much better. They have a lot of rules concerning noise, dress codes, and other issues, but they are rules that benefit your experience there. My ankle is throbbing from cleaning a house before we went and then walking on the treadmill. But I knew that would happen. I may stick to the bicycles tomorrow. Anyway, it was fun to go with Bruce and we both enjoyed the experience. Looking forward to going back with him tomorrow. And in case you're wondering if that was some kind of New Year's resolution, no, it was not. Bruce's doctor told him his triglycerides and cholesterol levels were way too high. So we're going to do everything we can to get those down. He doesn't want to go on medicines if he can get it down by doing what he ought to do in the first place. As for me.... well, I don't go to doctors unless I really, REALLY have to, but I'm guessing my counts would be bad too. LOL So, in order to help him and us both, we decided to make some changes.

And that's all she wrote, folks. Praying you have a wonderful 2012. God was good last year and He'll be good this year too! No doubts about that.