Happy Birthday, Dad!

Last night we celebrated daddy's sixty-third birthday. Mom's legs and back give her so much trouble that her totally awesome lasagna was out of the question, but she did manage to serve up some good Stouffer's lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. Daddy wanted green beans with his, but EWW!
I was feeling drained and like I'm getting a cold so I wasn't feeling well, but we still had a lot of laughter last night.


Amy made this great John Deere logo cake for daddy. If you've read his blog, you know he's a John Deere man and goes by the name "Mow Man." That was the name of his lawn service when he did that. Anyway, the cake was delish and as usual, we were blown away at Amy's handiwork.
THANKS, AMY!!


Dolly enjoyed John's leftover ice cream. She is ridiculously spoiled!


My sweet mama...


After supper and dessert, daddy opened his gifts and cards.


He's lost so much weight over the last few months that his pants are huge on him. So John bought him a pair of cargo pants, which he looked great in. So he posed for us with a hammer haning on the side.


Then he posed for us with his hard hat and safety glasses. lol


The hat needed to be adjusted because it kind of sat right on top of his head. So John adjusted it for him and then it sat on his head like a lamp shade.


John left while I cleaned the kitchen...(how convenient)...and then we watched some of the Olympics. Well, they watched some of the Olympics. I passed out on the couch. And Harrison snuggled in the chair with Paw Paw.


Dolly felt like I did and passed out behind daddy's chair. That's her spot when Bruce is around. She's scared to death of him for some reason. He has that effect on dogs. All dogs but Tipsy. She grins at him when she sees him coming at her.

Daddy, I'm so glad we were able to celebrate another birthday with you. I love you very much!

Good News and Family Genes!

Daddy is doing pretty good these days. He is still very weak, but all along he has kept up his spirits. The other day he had to go for some blood work and they told him they wanted him to see an Oncologist for a bone marrow test. But, praise the Lord, they called him today and said his blood work came back great and there's no reason for him to go. This was certainly great news!!

Justin did a wonderful job on his ACT today. He was really nervous and said he was just glad he didn't throw up. Bless his heart. He starts his computer course Friday.

I was thinking how time does fly by when you're having fun. It's been such a blessing to homeschool my children from the very beginning. My friend, Velda (HI VELDA!), mentioned that out of her six children, she only has one left to homeschool now. I felt sad for her and then realized that not too far down the road, I'll only have two, and then one. They just grow up so fast. Like Kristy asked in her post today, why don't our children listen when we tell them to stop growing??

I was thinking back to when Justin was a little baby and how much he looked like his daddy. This is Bruce when he was a baby. He was six weeks old here. His mustache had already started growing. It's a rare family gene, you know.

Of course, Justin's didn't come in until he was about seven.


By the time Bruce was in high school, he was quite dashing, although the black mustache seemed odd with his golden locks.


And although Justin did get his mustache from Bruce's side of the family, he bares a strong resemblance to my mother's side of the family as well.


I received a call today from Parker Brothers. They want Justin to pose as their new Mr. Monopoly.

Yes, they do grow up too quickly.

Harrison and I picked Justin up from work and made it just in time to attended Brother Rector's funeral today. I haven't cried so hard at a funeral in a LONG time. I wasn't crying because Brother Rector is gone and we won't see him again until Heaven. Although that makes me sad, I was crying for Mrs. Rector. She was his sweetheart for sixty-two years and he was so loving to her. Always calling her his sweetheart, his bride, his best friend. My heart is truly breaking for her. I really lost it when, through such sorrow and sadness, Mrs. Rector raised both of her hands into the air in praise to the Lord while the trio sang When He Reached Down His Hand For Me.

After the funeral, Harrison left to spend a few days with mom and dad. I guess I'll get him Friday when I go clean. Hannah came home with me after the funeral and tonight she spent a little time with her daddy while he practiced with a group at church.

This picture doesn't do this dessert justice, but trust me, it was good! My brother, John came over tonight and when he came, he brought along a gallon of ice cream and ALL the fixins' for a Banana Split. It was so good.

Thanks, John!

As if the banana splits weren't enough, John graciously helped Justin with some Algebra solutions. Justin is taking his ACT tomorrow and needed a little refresher course.

Again...Thanks, JOHN!!!!

Well, I am very tired!! So I'm off to bed. I think I'll sleep in tomorrow!

OH YEAH! If you know my dad's cell phone number, give him a call!! He got his new cell phone and since he can't get the old one to turn on to retrieve your numbers, he wants you to call him. If you don't have his cell phone number, let me know!

Dinosaurs, Youth Meetings, and Sweet Surprises

Daddy sent me this picture last week. It was taken of Harrison several years ago at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. At the time he was into dinosaurs. What little boy this age isn't? When he saw this little statue he thought it was a baby dinosaur and wanted to hug it. So cute.

Love Valley was hosting the 2008, Redigging the Wells Youth Rally. Brother Lee Davis preached and he was really good. I had never heard him before and would like to hear him again. Our youth, as well as the youth from other churches that showed up, were invited to join in with Love Valley's youth choir. They all sounded wonderful and it was good to see our kids just jump right in on the worship service and worship like they do in their home church. That was a blessing. It was also a blessing when Brother Philbeck asked the preachers in the house to stand up and tell where they were from, to see Jeremy pop up and say for the first time, "Faith Baptist Church." He announced his surrender to preach when they came back from Puerto Rico.

I was sick all night Saturday night and all day Sunday, sleeping pretty much all day long until about 8:30 PM. So when my mother called and said that my niece Taylor had come to spend the day and night with them Sunday I was so upset that I missed her. I haven't seen her in FOREVER. She's growing up!! :(

Mom and dad brought Hannah home Sunday night to pick up clothes and so both girls stayed with their grandparents for the night. Apparently they stayed up WAY TOO LATE giggling and chatting. I'm glad they were able to have that time together.

"We Are Confident, I Say,...

...and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the LORD!"

2 Corinthians 5:18

Brother Rector was a dear, sweet man. He passed away Saturday morning after losing a battle with pnuemonia. It almost doesn't seem real. I think we all expected him to recover soon. But God saw fit to take him home.

He was one of those people you truly missed when he wasn't at church. I enjoyed watching him from the choir while we sang. He would raise his hands in the air and praise the Lord. He always had an encouraging word. He was a prayer warrior. He was a friend.

He was a good husband to his sweet wife. Treated her like a true princess. Pray for her. I can not even imagine what she is feeling right now.

There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind that Brother Rector is in Heaven. He will be greatly missed.

"Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints."

Psalm 116:15

Rescue 911, Friday

Each night, Brother Johnny was swarmed by children requesting to hold a flag.


Here you see Brother Johnny helping K with her flag. He was about to have a heart attack every time it came near the floor so he decided to help her hold it up. Good job, Brother Johnny!


Our Pastor is so American, even his dog, Bubba, says the pledges. What is UP with those eyes, though?


Tonight was hot dog night. The children AND the workers were glad to have dogs and all the fixins. Brother David and Brother Greg manned the grill. Thanks, y'all!



Mom and dad even made it tonight. They haven't missed teaching Bible school in almost 40 years and it was really nice to see them there tonight.


Red icing on a napkin was all that was left from daddy's cupcake. And I hear there wasn't much left from his dog either.


This is a newer member to our church. She is quiet, but has been helpful and has a great smile to share with others. She's a go-getter too, bringing new people to church all the time. We have seen several of her visitors give their heart to Christ.


Sadly, I did not recognize this little fellow until his grandmother told me who he was. Last time I saw him he was a pudgy little baby in our nursery with blonde hair that stood up on end and waved at ya. He's growing up!


And once again we have Faith posing silly with icing all over her. What a little Missy she is!



The three year olds were decked out in their crowns tonight. Aren't they cute?


The penny war of 2008 ended tonight and the buckets weighed.
The girls total weight: 92 pounds
The boys total weight: 180 pounds
Yep, that's right...the boys POUNDED the girls in pennies tonight. Needless to say, Jennifer got the pie in the face. I felt bad for her at first, but then didn't feel bad at all once she made her entrance onto the platform.


In all fairness, Brother Johnny made her take off the face shield.


When Jonathan went to smash the pie in her face, she jumped up and retaliated with a can of whipped cream.


Yes, a match made in Heaven, these two. Should make for an interesting marriage....less than 45 days away!


It's been a wonderful week and I was blessed to teach such a great and funny class of five year olds. And I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Kellie, Linda, Amy, and Carla for helping in the class this week. What would I have done without y'all?? Y'all were GREAT!

And to close out my week long post on VBS, I think this picture of little Ethan is a great example of what each VBS worker is looking forward to tonight!

Rescue 911, Thursday

This is one of the cutest little guys in our church and he is absolutely hilarious to watch. He has so much energy and life. We love him bunches!


Selina is one of our bus kids and she is in my class for VBS. She's been sweet.


The little ones really do love the puppets!



Bro Greg, Bro Brian, and Bro Joel


Mrs. Rebecca and Mrs. Crystal were getting the popsicles ready for the younguns.


Melissa and Bradley. He's our sound man. They're sweethearts.


The temperature was not as hot as it has been. But the popsicles were still appreciated.



Water break with Sgt Major Ross (Hehe, Kellie, your words, not mine. Love ya!)


For crafts tonight, we did the children's painted hand prints on carpet swatches. They were also allowed to dip sponge shapes into the paint and add them to their carpet. Lemme tell ya...not as easy as it sounds!!


Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah!
Praise ye the Lord!


Penny war time!


Boys won BIG tonight. Not lookin' good for Jenn!

I hope she likes whipped cream.