Hot in the Deep South

As noted in my last (and possibly most succinct post ever!) it is hot here in the South right now. April was especially warm, but then we got a break in May. It actually cooled off and rained a bunch. June came back with a vengeance. Now, July is upon us, and I fear for mortal man if it does not cool down a bit. We were promised there would be no more earth-wide floods. I don't think there was anything mentioned about the possibility of us melting.

I don't know if I have just gotten to be a big wimp or what, but I just cannot take the heat like I could when I was a girl of 16 playing softball in all kinds of heat. Wednesday night, I got so hot getting ready for church that my asthma, which I have not had a problem with in years, reared its ugly head. This house of mine is hard to heat and cool to proper temperatures. If one room is comfortable, another is not. We are making progress in the war of the temps, but it has been slow-going.

I heard a great joke the other day. It seems the good Lord was graciously giving audience to a group of scientists who claimed that they had figured this whole "evolution" thing. One scientist said to God, "Yes, we have even figured out how to make man out of the dust of the ground." "Oh, is that so?" replied the Lord. "Show me how you do it." The scientist stooped down and began to pile the dust into a heap. "Ah,ah,ah!" said the Lord. "Go get your own dust!"

I marvel at all the stupid stuff scientists come up with these days, when it would just be so much easier to believe what the Bible says about how things came into being. They act like you do not have to have any kind of faith to believe their theories! To me, it is more of a stretch to believe their wild tales than it is to just take the Bible and believe what it says. Yep, fellows, go get your own amoebae!

Well, the next couple of weeks are going to be "killer!" Kids will be off to camp, Mommy and Daddy (that's us) will be celebrating our 8th anniversary, Tim's going to take a week of vacation, and Daniel will be coming home to determine if he wants to come back to TN and go to school! Squeezed in the middle of all of that will be a few doctor and dental appts., while I have some good babysitters around. In a family of 7, someone is always up for some appointment. I need to have a yard sale in the worst way, but I am afraid I have fooled around and let it get too hot to have one this year. I don't think fall yard sales do as well as spring ones. I may just price it, box it, and wait til the Spring, Lord-willing.

We went in my mom's pool last weekend for the first time this season. Can you believe it was cold? It takes about a month for the pool water to catch up with the season, I think. Anyway, I found it more enjoyable to lounge on the lounge chairs in the shade (away from those cancer-causing rays!) Yes, I am getting old. It will get better as the summer progresses. Of course, we may all melt by then.

Work continues on our new church building. We had to have all the doors taken down and have them put up so that they open outward, for fire codes. Painting is about done, and pretty soon, the call will go out for us all to show up and move the furnishings of one place to another. Thankfully everything only has to move a mile or so down the road. It should not take long. I am ready to be in the new place, where I can have one classroom for one group of kids, instead of two groups meeting in each classroom as we have been. Try keeping 9 kids focused when the adjoining class is singing all the cool little kid songs you get to sing in church.

Well, that is the update for today. Best wishes to my friend Jennifer who has been feeling a little green around the gills in more ways than one! That strep stuff is a booger...in fact, I think I am shutting down before we once again pass a virus through the net! :)

The Heat.....

"Scientists Say Earth Hotter Than it has Been in 2000 Years!"

I say, "Duh! Ya think so?"

Happy Birthday, Sammer!

Oh, how Sam's nurses loved him and hated to let him go after his 18 days in the hospital when he was born!


Newborn Sam, before they shaved off what little hair he had!


Well, another "baby" is legal today! This day, 18 years ago, at 4:53 in the morning, 7 lb. 5 oz. Sam was born into this world. Today, he stands about 6'4" and has not gained a lot of weight since his birth, relatively speaking. I call him my rail!

They are just getting away from me faster than I can stand! Sam is the kind of boy that every parent longs for. He is strong, smart, sensitive, and just plain old good! He has been a joy to me from the time he was a baby up until this very day! I can't remember him having a "hateful" period in his teen years.

Sam has a gift for healing! His hands are magic on a headache, and he has conforted so many who were sick or dying with his special touch. Maybe it is because he had so many healing hands on him the day he was born. I did not know if my little blue baby was going to breathe, but he finally did, and he continues to touch lives.

He drove solo last weekend with his brother to the next town, and sang until curfew with his peers in the Lord. It was a heart-tugging thing to send another little bird on his first "long-distance" solo flight, but he returned to the nest unscathed and jubilant and ready to do it again A.S.A.P.

I don't know why it is so hard for me to let go of my kids and send them off into the world, which is the natural order of things. I guess the more profoundly you love them, the harder it is. Wow! Shouldn't that tell us something about God's love in sending his Son down here?

Happy Birthday, Sammer! We love you!

Father's Day

When I started to write this post, my first inclination was to title it "Happy Father's Day!" Then, I realized that for some, Sunday won't be a very happy day.

For many of us, the day is a joyous one, full of ugly ties and useless homemade ashtrays given by tiny tots to their biggest superheroes. Family gatherings are used to pay tribute to dads, and preparing for the day causes us to reflect on the love of our earthly fathers.

I've heard that a lot of people view God based on how their earthly fathers treated them. That's not really fair to God, because He does not have failings that mortals do. He is perfect in His love and care for us. Unfortunately, some men can mess up the concept of a Heavenly Father for their children. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have a father who lovingly raised us to adulthood should thank God in Heaven every day.

Some have recently lost a father. That will make it hard to get through the day. For others, growing up in a home with a less than perfect or even abusive father makes the day an unpleasant reminder of days past.

We all need to be sensitive to those around us on "holidays" because these made-up days have different meanings for us all. The person sitting next to me in church may have to summon every ounce of strength to just make it through the day with the raw emotions they are feeling. Many of us who grew up "in the church" had the best of the best fathers, and it is out of the realm of our experience to understand, let alone sympathize with, those whose familial experience was more of a nightmare! Many times, we turn up our pious noses at broken families, as though they are not deserving of the Heavenly Father's love and grace.

Let us all help one another to see that our Heavenly Father is so much greater than any man; He will never let us down or hurt us or stop loving us or fail to provide for us, and he will never, never leave us! While our earthly parents deserve our honor, God deserves it so much more...and that is what this Sunday is really about....

Click here to watch 'Youve-Got-a-Friend-in-the-Family'

10 (or thereabouts) Guesses!

Over a year ago, my good friend Jennifer across town prompted me to get into blogging. Yes, she is the one responsible for this rambling, tangled mass (mess) of incoherent thoughts.

We've had a lot of laughs and a few cries out of each other's posts. We have also theorized that it IS indeed possible to pass real viruses (and a few cyber ones, too) through the computer, because no sooner does one of us announce a new plague in our house than the other one's 5 kids come down with the same thing! This has happened more times than we care to count! She can tell you that when I announce a new vomiting virus, she runs for her buckets, because she has only minutes to prepare for the coming onslaught of upchuck.

Having 5 kids each and both being homeschooling moms, on again and off again, we have had a lot in common. It also helps that we share a common faith and a common hope of heaven! You can see why Jennifer is a special friend....(that, and she is one of my two faithful readers!)

Anyway, this week, Jennifer announced that she has some fantablulous news, but she won't share just yet, because apparently, it is not an absolutely done deal, and she doesn't want to jinx it or something. I totally understand the concept, but I am anxious for the reveal!

Jennifer said that as long as we don't know what the news is, that we have the right to keep guessing!

So, without further adieu, and to keep her Haloscan comments box unclogged, I am here posting my new top ten guesses as to what Jennifer's good news is! (Remember, she said it involved phone calls, emails, filling out papers, lots of excitement and a little jumping up and down!)

Possible Sources of Jennifer's Good News!

Guess #1: We all know how hot an issue illegal immigrants are these days. Our town has gotten many immigrants in the past few years. Some are very nice and sweet people, and some are not. I think Jennifer is deeply concerned about how much longer it takes for the average citizen here in Gravyville to get to Wal-Mart now. Trip time has doubled or tripled for some folks because of the impossible traffic situation here in our little overcrowded county. Therefore, Guess #1 is that Jennifer has joined the Border Patrol and is shipping out to go train very soon. Single-handedly, Jennifer will return Gravyville to its former tranquil state, and it will once again be possible to get to Wal-Mart in under 5 minutes!

Guess #2: Al Gore called Jennifer and wants her to join his "Stomp Out G.W. Team!" Jennifer, an avid environmentalist (but a faithful Republican,) is flattered, but is not sure whether the "G.W." stands for Global Warming or George W.! She is withholding her gleeful jumping up and down and her reply until she is sure!

Guess #3: Jennifer got one of those emails from a Nigerian on the Space Station. He assured her that just as soon as she wired him money so that he could pay for a Space Shuttle to come and get him, he would split all of his back astronaut pay with her. Having wired a bajillion dollars to him, Jennifer is waiting for her confirmation email on where she can pick up her funds.

Guess #4: Jennifer has been so proud of her nephew Bryan and his service to our country with the Marines, that she, too, has decided to enlist. She has passed the first several enlistment tests and is now waiting for her guaranteed permanent assignment to Hawaii to be verified before she leaves for boot camp!

Guess #5: Jennifer, an avid Tennessee Titans fan, has agonized over the quarterback struggle between veteran McNair and newcomer Vince Young from Texas. Being the peacemaker that she is, Jennifer has graciously offered to arbitrate the "family feud," and she is awaiting news on whether the Titans take her advice and send McNair to someplace like, say, Baltimore.

Guess #6: Jennifer seemed to rather enjoy her recent travels South to meet blogging buddies she had never met before. Needing a replacement for Carmen Sandiego, PBS has contacted Jennifer with a possible t.v. contract. Jennifer is probably jumping up and down because she is anticipating all the wonderful music she is soon going to be hearing through her cochlear implant from the "too cool" group Rockapella!

Guess #7: Being the consummate eBay shopper, Jennifer has been hand-picked by the executives at eBay to be a guest speaker at eBay Live! this month in Las Vegas. She will ask her good friend D'Lee (moi) to come along, where we will both speak on clothing 5 kids and a hubby on a budget with the tremendous deals off of eBay!

Guess #8: Paula Dean, wanting some time off, has contacted Jennifer about guest-hosting her show on that cooking channel for a while. Jennifer, with her Grandma's sumptuous recipe's in hand, did not have to be asked twice!

Guess #9: Fisher-Paykel, being envious of all those great Maytag commercials with the bored repairman, has contacted Jennifer about being their new spokeswoman. (For those of you who don't know what a Fisher-Paykel (pronounced like Michael) washer is like, just trot on over to Jennifer's to see one of these babies in action!) Jennifer is quite excited about the possibility of a new t.v. career, as an even more-bored Fischer-Paykel repairlady!

And finally, Guess #10: Since my recent blog on the missing "Nun Bun," Jennifer has been tracking down every lead on our missing Nashville icon. I believe that she may have found the lost "Immaculate Confection" and is just waiting on confirmation that the kidnappers have been taken into custody so that she can go get the infamous treasure and bring the Bun home to Tennessee where it belongs!

So tell me, Jennifer, am I close? :) Maybe you can post the answer to this mystery so that we can all quit this speculating and jump up and down with you!

So, Do You Have Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia?

My husband accuses me all the time of using words that he thinks I make up. 99.99% of the time, I am just using a word that he never heard when he was skipping most of his high school classes. I have to admit, though, I would never be able to spell this one, let alone tell you what it meant.

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

It is defined as the fear of the number 6-6-6.

06-06-06!!!! That's today!!!! (O.k., honey, if you are reading this, you can start shaking now.)

I can hardly wait to see what "lovely things" happen in the world today. I think there are a few towns that are pushing the envelope with The Almighty if you ask me.

Over here, today's "rapture index" is 157, meaning that it is "fasten your seat belts" time. Well, I am not a Premillinealist, but I do await the return of Christ, and at the rate this old world and its occupants' morality is deteriorating, I would not be surprised to see Him in the clouds any day now, though Jesus Himself said He does not know when that will be....


And there are still people who ask me why I homeschool?

So, I thought in keeping with the six theme today, I would give you six things I WON'T be doing today!

1. I won't be going to see "The Omen."
2. I won't be visiting the nurseries of area hospitals to see if any of the sweet little ones are born with the mark of the beast.
3. I won't be freaking out if my groceries, McDonald's Value Meal, or any other purchase totals $6.66 today.
4. I won't be a bit surprised if California breaks off and falls into the ocean, or worse, after the church of Satan "celebrates" a satanic high mass tonight. (How low can you go?)
5. I won't be buying any books that come out today or attending any heavy metal concerts of groups starting their tours today.
6. Come to think of it, I don't think I will be going out in public if I can help it today, because I am too afraid that somebody is going to get struck by lightning out of the clear blue sky, and I don't want to be anywhere around!

Finally, (and remember this is very tongue-in-cheek) if you can have a sense of humor about all this rot, check out someone's sense of humor:

A Collection of Numbers of the Beast


666 Number of the beast
668 Neighbor of the beast
660 Approximate number of the beast
DCLXVI Roman numeral of the beast
666.0000 Number of the high-precision beast
0.666 Number of the millibeast
1/666 Common denominator of the beast
666[-/(-1)] Imaginary number of the beast
1010011010 Binary number of the beast
29A Hexidecimal number of the beast
-666 Negative number of the beast
00666 Zip code of the beast
$665.95 Retail price of the beast
$699.25 Price of the beast plus 5% state sales tax
$769.95 Price of the beast with all accessories and replacements
$656.66 Wal-Mart price of the beast
$646.66 Next week's Wal-Mart price of the beast
$333.00 After-Christmas sale price of the beast
$222.00 Going-out of business liquidation price of the beast
Phillips 666 Gasoline of the beast
Route 666 Way of the beast
665 Older brother of the beast
667 Younger brother of the beast
666 UP Soft drink of the beast
666lb cap Weight limit of the beast
666 F Oven temperature for cooking roast "beast"
666k Retirement plan of the beast
666 mg Recommended minimum daily requirement of the beast
6.66% 5-year CD rate at First Beast of Hell, $666 minimum deposit
20/666 Vision of the beast
1-800-666-6666 Toll-free number of the beast
999 Australian number of the beast
6"X 6"X 6" Lumber of the beast
66.6 GHZ Computer processor of the beast
666i BMW of the beast
666-66-6666 Social security number of the beast
6/6/66 Birth date of the beast
666.AC.com URL of the beast
IAM 666 License plate number of the beast
Formula 666 All-purpose cleaner of the beast
666 calories Diet of the beast
969 Dyslexic number of the beast
WD-666 Spray lubricant of the beast
66.6 MHz FM radio station of the beast
666 KHz AM radio station of the beast
Chanel No. 666 The beast's favorite perfume
666% What the beast gives in his game



Have a good day, and try to stay away from lightning, earthquakes, Armegeddon and such! :)