Aleena's Going Home!

Aleena with her grandfather

Some have been following the story of little Aleena, the second cousin of Jennifer, my son's fiancee. Aleena has been in the hospital for a while now, hospitalized after a bout with e coli! She really had a terribly rough time. She even coded at one point, but they were able to revive her. Every body system she had, practically, shut down. Most of those systems have recovered, and she is so much better now. Her blood sugar is having problems, and it is likely she may be diabetic the rest of her life. I am sure, though, that her mother is so grateful to just be carrying this baby home. Little Aleena still has lots of different kinds of therapies ahead of her, but she has proven herself a fighter and a survivor, and I am sure that God has great things planned for this little one's life. The family most enthusiastically appreciates all the prayers that have been offered for Aleena and her loved ones during this tough time. Lord-willing, Aleena goes home tomorrow! I know that this will be a much happier holiday season for her family now, and we give praise and thanks to God for sustaining them all through this!

Aleena's Family

Aleena with her mom and little brother Ryan

My "Baby" is 21!

There is no way it is possible, but the calendar says Daniel is 21 today! I will never forget the little boy of 8 who announced when his dad left that "he was the man of the house now, and he would take care of everything and we would be alright." Well, he was a "man" of his word, and he took care of us until his step-dad came on the scene and gave him a hand. And even after that, he never ceased to watch over his smaller siblings and make sure that all their needs were met. He is a wonderful son, and it has been a joy to watch him grow up. Now he is engaged to a beautiful, sweet girl, and his life is blossoming more and more all the time. I look forward to seeing what he will do with the rest of his life as he becomes a husband and a father, hopefully, some day. If the Lord wills, I expect great things from him, both in his life and in the Lord's work.

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Pics from the Halloween Party

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My Baby is Four!

This weekend marked the 4th Birthday of Hannah! It was a busy weekend, between the birthday festivities and a Halloween party with the group from church! On Saturday evening, we went to the very high hills of the next county, to a clearing atop one of the high hills, for the party. One of our members has cleared some land on the top of that hill and put in some fun things for his grandchildren to play on. There is a lighted putt-putt golf course, a tree house, swings, cable lines to go down, and a very nice spot for a campfire. We roasted hotdogs, had hot chocolate, and let the kids do some early trick-or-treating, since everyone will be at church on Wednesday night.

After dinner, it was off to the "haunted" barn and trail that led up to the barn. It was a good long hike, and I could not help but think how it must have been for soldiers during the Civil War, making their way through the woods in the pitch black darkness. It was cold and wet, and that campfire felt great when we got back to it. The haunted barn nearly scared the life out of Hannah. I had no idea she would get so scared, or I would not have let her go in there. I gave her the choice to stay outside with some others who were not going in, and she opted to go. I thought she would have nightmares that night, but I guess she was too tired.

We had a great time, and we did not want to leave, but we all knew that church came early at 8:30 the next morning. Plus, all our young men had sermons to give in a special class they have been doing, so we needed to get back and make the final preparations for that.

Sunday, after church, we came home, made dinner, and had Hannah's cake and presents. She wanted to do it while her brother Daniel was here. Since he had to go back to college that afternoon, we had to hustle and get through the party. She loved everything she got, and fortunately, she does not take a lot of sleep to be in a good mood. She smiled greatly for the pictures!

I can't believe how the years get away. It seems so short since I was making the uncomfortable ride up to the "Boro" to give birth to her! I am just glad it is now instead of then! I would love to have her back as a baby for at least a month, because it seems like I missed out on so much of her first few weeks. She is still a beauty, and she keeps me in stitches all the time with what she says. Enjoy the pictures!

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Happy Birthday, Beautiful Lauren!

One of my dear readers is 3 today! O.k., well really, her mommy reads the blog to her. She just happens to be my beeeee-utiful niece Lauren. If her mother were the material type, they could be making millions in the modeling business. Her hair is naturally curly, and her eyes are blue as the Caribbean! She is a sweet little darling of a girl, too, and I find it hard to believe it has been 3 years already since she was born! Grow up, sweet girl, to be as precious as your mother and grandmothers, and you will do well! Always remember, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

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Need a Laugh?

If you just want to have a real laugh, then check this out. This is the kind of laughter that is addictive! If you can watch this whole thing and not crack a smile, then you are truly a serious person!

Happy Birthday to My Definitely-Better-Half!

Don't fall out or anything, but I am actually posting two days in a row! It is after midnight, and I should be in bed, but before I went I just had to wish my sweet husband a H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y !!!

I was just thinking back to when I first met him. It has been a whole decade now--nearly 1/4 of my life so far! The years have flown by with him.

In 1997, I was a divorced mother of three kids, living in this little country town, relatively happy with my life, but greatly missing the companionship that marriage brings. I was too old and settled to really get into the "dating scene," especially with three little boys, ages 3, 9, and 10. There are not many men who are interested in taking on a woman with 3 boys, let me tell you.

I had dated one fellow, and that did not work out for a number of reasons--one of them being the boys. He wanted me, but he just was not convinced he was man enough to be an instant father to three boys. I can tell you in hindsight, he surely was not.

Then, most of you know the rest of the story...how the good Lord invented the internet so that I could meet my fellow, and how I got a "powerful, mighty hankerin'" to learn how to use a computer and the internet about that time. One thing led to another, and I met my beloved on a now-defunct website called The Christian Connection, to the horror and amazement of my family, neighbors, and church friends. All were sure that I had lost what little mind I had left.

But the reality was, I think that Tim and I both knew that we had something special early on in the relationship. Even though both of us had been severely "burned" in our last relationship, we knew exactly what we were looking for, and we found it in one another. Yes, there were complications. I was not looking for someone way up north, and he probably was not looking for instant children. Those things were not major issues though. Both of us were looking for someone with convictions--someone who was willing to form strong beliefs and hold to them in good times and in bad.

God provided me with a man who had been raised in a family of 6 boys and one poor little sister. He was not intimidated by a house full of noise and stinky socks. Three boys was mere child's play to the oldest of 6 boys! He was already well-versed in breaking up fights, and finding lost snakes, and the best ways to get mud and blood out of nearly anything.

God provided me a man who had character and backbone already built in. It was not optional equipment with him--it came standard on this model of a man. Fortunately, his parents had instilled wonderful values in him, like respect for authority, patriotism, and honor, and decency. He knew what was right, and he chose to believe that you should do right all the time, even when no one is looking.

God provided me with a man who had a great work ethic. He knew his place--providing for his family, and has never shunned to do that, even when I know at times he was physically unable to drag himself to a job. He set out from the very beginning with my boys teaching them what a man is supposed to be by example. Every job change he has made in his life has been a promotion for him. He has great business sense and makes me proud!

God provided me with a man who was not vindictive or set on righting all the wrongs of the past. Even though there were many times when most men would have mopped the ground with my ex-husband, he has always shown great restraint in not taking vengeance and leaving that to the Lord. He has always respected the fact that my boys love their dad and has not spoken evil of a man who really did not deserve much respect.

God provided a man who needed to be saved. When I met Tim, he was so close to knowing the truth that "it hurt." He had taken his Bible and figured out what God had to say on nearly everything, but he just did not understand the true purpose or meaning behind the baptism of Jesus Christ, and he just needed someone to help him see it. I really did not have much to do with that, other than making him mad enough to go home and print out every verse on baptism in the Bible. Once he did that, and then sat down and read it all in one sitting, he was on the phone to me telling me he was ready to become a New Testament Christian! Such is his heart!

And God provided a man to love me, unconditionally and completely! Anyone who knows me knows that is a tall order! I am stubborn, sometimes prideful, and often mysterious. He has done a pretty fair job of deciphering all the female mumbo-jumbo, riding the waves of hormones, and swimming the seas of tears that a woman can put out! (It's a good thing I married a Navy guy!)

We lost a baby together--our first--but survived the grief to see two beautiful daughters come into the world as a result of our union. We have raised the three boys in such a way that sometimes I forget they have a "real" dad. We've blended a family that does not seem to know the meaning of "1/2-brother" or "1/2-sister."

Each of us has had a near-death experience during our marriage, which is not too common among those as young as we are. Both of us have also had other "injuries" which shut us down for a time. It was great to know that the other would keep on and hold things up until we could get back on our feet.

When we married in 1998, the theme of our wedding day was "Let us Begin in God's Presence." Everything we have done in the last 10 years was an attempt to stay in His presence. Tim helps me more than any other person on this earth to be what I should be. When I start to fall, he lifts me up and leans me on his strong shoulders, and we go a little further.

When I met Tim ten years ago, I had no idea where it would lead. The Lord knew. I believe that He, in his great Providence, gave us each other. I never would have believed that, in 1994, when I had to go out and mow my lawn with a newborn in my arms because it was all I could do, that in 1997 and 1998 and every year until the present God would work it all out and I would be so blessed. I share my story, not only to praise God and to honor my husband, but to give hope to any who struggle that God indeed has a plan, and it will come to fruition in His time.

The man who was praying to God that God would show him the way, found the Way, and today, that man is 46! He won't be spending his birthday partying it up. He will be in his favorite place today--with the brethren, and he will be doing what he loves tonight-- it is his turn to preach the gospel. He said he could not think of a more fitting way to spend a birthday--doing something that truly matters! That's my husband! :)

I love you, Tim!

Mom's Birthday

We traveled to my mom's house on Sunday, one day after her 68th birthday, to celebrate a little late! We were so happy that our friends Larry and Brenda could be in town. They used to live next door to us when I was just a little thing of 5 or 6. We played with their kids and were very close until we all up and moved to other places in the states.

I could not help but think about my grandmother "Nanny" as Mom and I spent a few hours together. Mom said that she misses her more every year on her birthday than any other day of the year. My mother looks more like my grandmother every passing day. There is a degree of comfort in that, for it as if you can see a glimpse of a loved one in the eyes or the movements of the one who remains.

I have mentioned before that I am constantly scaring myself when I flip on the bathroom light, and there, staring back at me is my paternal grandmother, my maternal grandmother, and my paternal great-grandmother. I am sure that if I had known the other females in my lineage, I would see them there, too. There aren't any ghosties hovering there in the background. Rather, their features are becoming my features.

It doesn't stop when I leave the bathroom. I go to the closet and look down, and I see my mother's feet. I reach for a dress and see my grandmother's hand. I see myself in a photo and realize that I have the same posture and gestures as the women who gave me genes. I make the same faces in reaction to the conversations around me. I know, because most of those have been captured on film as well.

I pull my little girls up into my lap, and they notice every new wrinkle, every new line, hair or blackhead on my face. I used to do the same thing with my grandmother. She delighted in me giving her "facials" to remove all the unwanted intruders from her complexion! I could not get the wrinkles off, but I think I traced every line with my little fingers thousands of times. In the eyes of the world, she was just an aging woman. In my eyes, she was beautiful. She was grace incarnate.

"Meme, your skin is so soft!" "Meme, you smell so nice." The little granddaughters now dote on my mother like I did mine. I am next, Lord-willing.

Mom on her 68th Birthday.

 

My mother and her mother (Nanny)

All the Places Where my Heart Dwells Today...

September 11th is always a hard day for me to get through. Not only are there so many still-fresh memories of the day when our modern nation lost her innocence, but it seems like every year, something else happens that is just profoundly sad.

Yesterday was no different.


My sister-in-law Lisa lost her mother. To say that Cathy's fight was tough would be the understatement of the year. She fought harder and more nobly for life than anyone I have observed in a very long time. Lisa was beside her every step of the way. Her fight has been years long...not mere days. Lisa's step-dad, and Cathy's husband Jack, is fighting his own battle with cancer and did all he could, too, despite very serious sickness. Cathy needed a liver, and she wavered for a long time between "too sick to get one" or "not sick enough." We had all hoped that she was very close to getting a liver, when a nasty bacteria invaded her, and she just was not able to recover.

Lisa and her mom, Cathy

The last time I got to see her was a couple of years ago on a trip to New Jersey. We had been doing some singing for the grandparents, as they seemed to enjoy our "unusual" a capella style, and someone suggested that we make an impromtu visit over to Cathy and Jack's house. Both had been very sick, and we decided that we had better not get too close with kids, because Jack had been on chemo, etc. (You never know what kids are carrying.) They came out in their driveway, and we stood in the street, and we sang "I'll Fly Away" among other songs. Then Cathy wanted us to try "In the Garden" which was one of her favorites. Jack lended his beautiful voice on that one. We wondered if the neighbors would call the cops on us for standing out in the street singing at the top of our lungs. They didn't, and I just remember the light dancing in Cathy's eyes.



Last Thursday, Lisa sent a beautiful email which recounted this story. It made me cry.



"One of the most beautiful parts of the day was when Jack sang mom the song he always sang to her at piano bars when they were dating and throughout the years. As the EEG leads were being placed and the neuro team evaluated, he sang so beautifully...magically recalling most of the words. It's by Roger Whittaker...called The Last Farewell. This piece tells the tale of a man boarding a ship to England and singing a tearful farewell to his lady love. I always thought as a teen that it was strangely sad love song to sing to a new love. Today it was sad but beautiful....Below are the lyrics Jack sang yesterday. Since I've known him, he has lightly held her chin and stared in her eyes singing the refrain. Yesterday was no different. It's good to see such love."

She then recounted the lyrics.


The Last Farewell"

There's a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbour

Tomorrow for old England she sails

Far away from your land of endless sunshine

To my land full of rainy skies and gales

And I shall be on board that ship tomorrow

Though my heart is full of tears at this farewell

For you are beautiful und I have loved you dearly

More dearly than the spoken word can tell



I heard there's a wicked war ablazing

And the taste of war I know so very well

Even now I see the foreign flag araising

Their guns on fire as we sailed into hell

I have no fear of death it brings no sorrow

But how bitter will be this last farewell

For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.



Though death and darkness gather all about me

And my ship be torn apart upon the sea

I shall smell again the fragrance of these islands

In the heaving waves that brought me once to thee

And should I return safe home again to England

I shall watch the English mist roll through the dell

For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly .

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

Lisa and her mom were as close as a mother and daughter can be. I hope that now, Lisa will have peace, and I pray that somehow, as she looks into the eyes of her three beautiful daughters, she is somehow reminded of Cathy and that she will be comforted. Our hearts are with Jack, too.


My dear cousin, Lloyd, lays his mother (and my grandfather's sister) to rest today closeby to where my grandfather was buried three weeks ago. My heart is with these two dear ones today who have lost their mothers, and with my friend Gemma, who lost her husband Jon on 9-11 just a few short years ago, and all those who gave up a friend or family member on 9-11-01.

Pappaw Carl is gone....

For the first time tonight, in 67 years of living on this earth, my dad is without his dad. For the first time in my 45 years, tonight, I have no remaining grandparents in this world. Those of you who have experienced this particular loss know the complexity of emotions that fill us now. It will take my brain a while to accept this inevitable truth.

Another member of “the greatest generation” has gone on to his reward. My Pappaw Carl was born in 1920. He grew up “dirt poor” but didn’t really know it, and probably if you had asked him, he would have considered himself to be quite rich!



The little guy in this picture is my grandfather. The boys here in the picture were supposedly ready for church. Only one had shoes. The middle boy was Pappaw’s beloved brother Ralph. Pappaw Carl and my great uncle Ralph ended up marrying sisters named Mary and Martha back in 1963, and the four of them left for Florida and never returned (except for visits) to their home state of Tennessee. Ralph died in 1979. Mary, Martha, and my Pappaw continued on together until 2005, when Mary passed away. Martha could have turned over Pappaw’s care to a nursing home, or some of the rest of us in the family, but she remained with him and saw to his care, even though she is now in her 80’s and just had a knee replacement. She was the only one with him when he passed this morning. She had promised Mary that she would take care of him after Mary died, and she more than kept that promise.

Pappaw with Mary (l) and Martha (r) and my boys Dan and Sam about 1991

I will always remember my grandfather as a tall, handsome, charismatic man who charmed folks wherever he went. Many of my dad’s cousins have remembered him as their favorite uncle. He loved to sing and he loved to laugh. He would give you the shirt off his back if he could. He was a talented man in sales. As the old saying goes, he could have sold a refrigerator to an Eskimo. I guess that is where his only granddaughter got her love of sales as well.

He, in my humble and biased opinion, was the handsomest of his clan. There were 8 boys and 3 girls in the family. He stood at least 6'3" or 6'4", and if you wonder where my boys and my brothers got their stature, look no further. He always had wavy, perfectly coiffed hair, and he had a pair of the prettiest blue eyes you have ever seen. He was a Marine during WWII. I wish I had a picture here of him in his uniform. He was something!



This picture was made on the day he lost his father. He’s the one on the middle right with tear-stained cheeks. He felt things deeply. Again, I can surely relate.

He loved nothing better than Sundays. In fact, in his last days, when his mind began to slip, he often got up and dressed for church, always in a suit and tie, and came to the breakfast table. Dear Aunt Martha would have to tell him it was only Friday. I knew something was very wrong a couple of months ago when he no longer knew what to do with the communion when it was passed. The strokes were beginning.

It was only appropriate, I pointed out to my mother this morning when she called in the darkness to tell me that he was gone, that he passed on the Lord’s Day. I think he somehow held out all week for this day. Strangely, emails have been flying all day about various warriors of the faith that passed in the past 24 hours. I pray now that he is in the comfort of paradise, with all these devout men. His sister, the one standing just below him in the picture above, will likely join him in eternity before too long. Of all the eleven siblings, now only two girls and two boys remain.

I’m sad for some of our young people. Many of you have never had the privilege of sitting in an un-air-conditioned house at the feet of a bunch of boring “old men” hearing their stories. You’ve never seen a mother seat a family of 25 or more at her modest table for Sunday lunch, after just making breakfast from scratch a few hours earlier and then getting the whole lot of them dressed and to services on time. You’ve never gotten to see a family of Christians (as plentiful as the sand on the seashore) come home after a funeral for one of their own and burst into songs of praise to God and sing for hours. Many of this generation would call these activities “purely boring.” I was blessed. I came into this world before gaming devices and cell phones captured the attention of youth and robbed them of time spent with men and women of character who impart wisdom and values the internet cannot hold. I would not trade all those days of “boredom” for all the technology in the world.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think that I will ever forget the sound of my grandfather’s precious tenor voice singing and singing as long as someone would sing with him. When his voice failed, and the words no longer came this week, he still managed to use those fabulous baby-blue eyes to communicate his love for his family. When his strength was gone, he still managed to get my mother’s hand to his mouth for one more gentlemanly kiss. Kissing was another thing he loved to do. He kissed everyone on the lips as his ancestors had before him. He taught me best what “greet one another with a holy kiss” might have meant.

It's hard to imagine going on with your life minus someone that has just always been there. I know that, like my other grandparents who are now on the other side of the bar, he will always remain in my heart. His "bird legs," his deep emotions, his charm, his many talents, and the song that was always in his heart...these and many other things about him will stay with me and comfort me and bring a smile to my lips when the tears are finished flowing.

It's Official! I am OLD!

We traveled down the road Saturday to spend a couple of days with my folks and drop the girls off for a week of fun and frolic with the grandparents. It is quite peaceful here tonight, though I miss them dreadfully.

I had a very pleasant birthday, though it seemed like the time we were there just flew by. I never get enough time in the pool, but I was happy to get a little bit in between thunderstorms. You could count the times that it has rained in their town this summer on one hand, and two of them were this weekend while I was there. Perhaps I should hire myself out as a professional rainmaker.

I plan to try to get a little accomplished this week in the way of household organization. We'll see how that goes with the two smallest ones out of the way.

Here are the pics from the weekend. I got some precious ones of all the kids!

My Two Cents on the Bridge Collapse

I'm sitting here this morning with the bridge collapse being described via streaming video. Since I don't have cable, this is a great feature of computers nowadays.

This event is of particular interest, not only because of the obvious human tragedy, but because my dear-other-half grew up in the Twin Cities. In fact, two brothers and their families still live there. In fact, one of them, dear brother-in-law John, could have been on that very bridge yesterday afternoon, as he usually uses it going home every day. Yesterday, he had to pick his mother-in-law up somewhere, so he went home another way. I shudder to think what could have been.

Meanwhile, other brother-in-law Paul is most likely out there this morning assisting in the rescue effort. He works his day-job with the Highway Dept., but he is a very enthusiastic volunteer firefighter, who was, by all reports, just up on the roof of a burning house the other night. Being as heavy as my dear husband (a near carbon-copy,) the fire chief was apparently a little worried about him being up there. But then, apparently, the chief decided that if the roof could hold Paul, it was safe for the rest of them to go up there! :)

Paul is into some form of peril on nearly a weekly basis. Some weeks are worse than others. I heard that he was out fighting wildfires recently. We worry about him, but apparently, my husband and his brothers have very good guardian angels. You will remember that brother-in-law Billy was in the next building when the Twin Towers went down.

Yes, we're counting our blessings in Gravyville today as we do every day. Say a prayer for my cousin Hugh today, please. He is in his 80's and having a tricky heart procedure done to correct the beat. The top of his heart isn't even beating anymore...it is just fluttering at an astounding 300+ "beats" a minute. He should be in surgery by now.

Well, there is lots to do today. Laundry always calls, and I am afraid I just have to answer.

About Time to Update!

This blog is certainly overdue for an update again. I have been knee-deep in outgrown clothes, trying to get one step ahead on organizing for the fall. The weather has been especially helpful, because it is never easy to get motivated to clean out closets when it is sweltering outside.

It has been a beautiful summer in Tennessee. It has been a very different summer, weather-wise. We have had our sweltering moments, but we have not had the 10-day runs of temperatures over 100 like we have in years past. In fact, in the afternoon, sometimes it feels like a fall day.

Tim and the kids and I had a ball this week getting out in the yard and playing Frisbee! All 6 of us were out there, spread over the front yard, throwing it as far ,as we could. Our Frisbee was not the greatest, and we decided it was such fun, that we simply have to go invest in a better one for future afternoons of fun. Hannah did a great job of retrieving all the badly thrown discs, and Sarah was funny putting her "lefty" slant on things. I cannot get used to having a left-hander in the family. My dad and grandfather were lefties, but for some reason that never seemed strange. When it is a child, it suddenly seems strange! Go figure!

However, the next day, as I was going about my chores, I noticed that I had a lot of pain under my right arm. I kind of got worried, because we have been watching some swollen lymph nodes in that area, as well as a spot on the right side of the mammogram. So, you know how the mind starts wandering, and the worrying begins. It took me a full hour to remember that I had been outside acting like a kid playing Frisbee for an hour, and I was paying for it. I told Tim that it was really sad to be so out of shape that Frisbee challenged you!

Tim is still going strong with his low-carb diet. He had really started to slow on his loss, which is around 100 pounds gone now, so he adjusted his carb intake yet again so that he could start the downward trend again. Instead of picking up a low-carb bowl at Hardees in the morning, he got a scale and is weighing anything he is not sure of, and he is tracking every carb. It is a lot of work, but I know the payoff will be great for him.

I think we are going to have to start walking religiously. I need it, and I believe it will take him to a new level with his weight loss. The kids will be happy to break out the bikes and come along. And then there are the two Wal-Mart Mutts in the back yard who need to be walked.

The weather is certainly conducive right now for late-afternoon family interaction. I simply have never seen weather like we have had in Tennessee this year. The drought has been terrible, but I believe that these times have a purpose in the cycle of nature. We have had some drenching rains and even a little thunder and lightning this week. This is the first year in many, many years that I do not recall piling mattresses in the hall nearly every week because of a tornado warning. We just have not had the bad storms at all this year.

Well, it is back to the clothes-sorting for me. It will soon be time to start the home-schooling again, and I would like to have a lot of these little sorting chores out of the way so that I can devote my energies to teaching. It is hard to believe that Sarah is a second-grader, Micah is an eighth-grader, and Hannah is ready to start reading and writing. I think Sam and Dan are set with their college preparation for this year, although a few things with Sam are still up in the air, and we won't have some final answers until 8/15!

Lastly, please keep my grandfather in Sarasota, FL in your prayers. He is not doing well at all at this time. He has a blockage in his bladder, and for some reason, they do not think he could withstand surgery. He had a valve put in his heart back in 1976 or so that was only supposed to last 10 years. It is still there and was going fine. But he is 87 now, and everything, including his mind, is failing. It's so hard when they say they cannot do any more. My dad, an only child, is very sad right now.

Pappaw Carl with Sam and Micah a few years back....

Cuteness in Black and White

Will My Life Ever Be Boring and Mundane Again?

I remember thinking in March and April that I surely could not wait until summer, because it had to get less busy than those months were. I am still waiting for a time when there are not 20 things hanging out there on my "to do" list. It has been an exceptionally busy year for us, and I am craving that snow storm that isolates us from all society for about a week.

When last I blogged, we just got back from a week-long trip to Texas. Tim had to go there on business, and I decided at the last moment to go with him...mainly because they told him to get a rental car, and we had the room to go. The drive out there took somewhere around 20 hours total, I think. You have to consider that two little girls with bladders the size of a pecan were in the back seat. I thought they would sleep like I used to on road trips, but NOOOOOOOOO! We did fire up the video players, and they had a good time watching dvd's back there. We discovered the Redbox thing at McDonald's--where you can rent a movie for a night for $1 and turn it in anywhere they have a Redbox. We picked a few kids movies up along the way and turned them back in when they finished them. It surely is a lot cheaper than the conventional way of renting movies.

One of the highlights of our trip was a stop at a barbecue place where they had a river out back. We got some cute pictures of the girls feeding the turtles. You can see them here:



When we got back, it seemed like we moved straight into 4th of July celebrations. Since the 4th fell on a Wednesday, it seemed like everyone picked a different day of the week in the days leading up to the 4th to celebrate.

We celebrated with the family on Saturday night. Mom and Dad live just behind the stadium where the fireworks are shot in their city, so we usually just pull chairs up in the yard and watch from home. They told us the show was set to start at 9:30, so we were still doing dishes when we heard the bangs start at 9 p.m. In all the chaos to move the entire family out into the yard before we missed the whole thing, Mom's dog got out, and ran straight for the busy road (probably to get away from the noise of the fireworks.) She got hit by a car, but fortunately, the damage was not too severe. She mostly got scrapes on her legs. She has been staying with my brother and sister-in-law, because Mom has been trying to get rid of her dogs for a while now so that she is not so burdened with their care. Well, when my brother's kids heard the dog had been hit, they just started sobbing. It was pretty much downhill from there. I did not really get to see the rest of the fireworks, though a few stayed out there and took some pictures. Sissy, the dog, turned out to be o.k., and she stayed a couple of days with Mom until she could go home.

Tuesday night, we went to the home of some people we worship with for the annual potluck and fireworks show. It was really great! The food and the fireworks were spectacular, and the candles they put out seemed to keep the mosquitoes at bay. The fireworks were wonderful for a backyard show, and the kids were deeply impressed!

Wednesday, the 4th was my ninth anniversary and, of course, Independence Day! We had a leisurely day at home with the kids, resting from the night before and readying ourselves for our classes at church. After church, I urged Tim to drive me into Nashville to see the "big show" up there. We were not sure we could make it by the time it started, but we decided to try. There was no place to park on the streets, and lots of the streets were blocked, so travel was just about at an impasse.

Finally, we found a parking garage that was charging the outrageous price of $10 to park, and we ended up having to go four levels down to find a spot. That turned out to be a huge mistake, for when we came out of there, we could not get to the top. We sat there for about an hour waiting for the line of traffic to move. Then, we spent another 2 hours just trying to get back on the interstate to Gravyville!

On the positive side, the fireworks were splendid and memorable in Nashville! We took lots of pictures, and although the lights are somewhat distorted, I thought it made for some interesting pictures!



Now, we are back to reality-land again, with the usual doctors' and dentists' appointments that everyone has scheduled. The ENT guy is wanting to roto-rooter my nasal passage so that I can breathe better, and I just cannot decide if I want another surgery now or what. Yes, I need to breathe better, but no, I do not want to go through the surgery. I don't do well with surgeries. They are always worse for me for some reason, and my poor kids are left to fend for themselves while I recover! So I have a lot to think and pray about.

Well, that is the update for now, dear three readers! I hope you are having as pleasant a summer weather-wise as we are having. Usually, Tennessee is hot and humid to the point of getting unbearable this time of the year, but for some reason, it has been a bearable summer. We have had lots of cool, overcast days. We need some rain, but on the positive side, we have not had to pay to have the yard mowed as often! :)

Stay well and happy until next time....

Nine Years, And There Are Still Fireworks!

Look how little my 3 guys were in 1998--especially Micah!

Then...nine years ago...and now!

Today, Tim and I mark our nine year anniversary! Wow! Where have nine years gone? Many of you shared the day with us in 1998! It was one of the best days of our lives, we agree! So much has happened in both of our lives since that day, and we have been so richly blessed! Possibly one of the greatest blessings has been the addition of two beautiful girls (much to my surprise) to our family! I really thought I was done after I birthed the 3 boys! We have a wonderful mix of kids now who have no idea what a "step" brother or sister is. I adore the way they love each other, and I would not trade a big family for anything!I never thought I would get any of the "pink" variety, but God had other plans!

4 Out of 5--still at home and growing up!

Wedding bells a ringing soon for kiddo numero uno?

To my wonderful, patient, loving husband--Happy Anniversary, honey-baby-sugarpie (inside joke!) Thanks for putting up with me all these years, and I pray we have many more happy and fruitful years together. It is wonderful to have you by my side as we walk through this life. My favorite thing about you is your zeal for the Lord, and I love worshiping with you by my side! I admire your faith (because you found your own faith through study) and your uncompromising stand for the truth! Thank you for helping me raise my boys (and now the girls, too) in the Lord!

If the Lord wills that we continue to live and work on this earth, I look forward to the possible addition of a daughter-in-law in the foreseeable future and the joys that union will bring! (Grandbabies, etc. hint, hint!)

Our anniversary remains a special day, accented by all the lovely fireworks this time of year! (It surely is nice for folks to do this every year for us!) I'll never forget watching our first fireworks show together, as the whole of New York City was lit with the most beautiful display you have ever seen!

I love this man!

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy 4th! Leave the shooting of fireworks to the professionals as much as possible, and don't open any 4th of July email messages this year, as there is a terrible worm going around! Hopefully, we will all get to July 5th safe and sound.

Guess Where I Am?

I snuck out of town this week on a business trip with
Tim. I will give you 18 guesses as to where we are! (Big clue: Where did it rain 18 inches last night in 6 hours?) When we went to Chicago, it galed all week. I think I am a bad weather magnet! We are in Austin, where up to a foot more of rain is predicted tonight. I have to say, though, that last night, it looked like the hand of the Lord was at the Travis County border (Austin), and just one county over, homes were being swept away, along with automobiles, boats, and everything that was not nailed down. We were very fortunate. We did not get even a trace of rain. The weathermen could not explain it. It went all around us.

Still, the weather has been icky since we got here Sunday. The girls were disappointed we could not get out more, but they have enjoyed vegetating in the hotel room with me. We brought their dollhouse and furnishings which helped immensely.

I got to see my college roommate Sunday. More neat stories when I get back to my computer.

Tonight, even though we had heard of sporadic road closings, we got to church with no problems. Now, outside, the thunder is revving up again. We're leaving for home tomorrow, and I will try to pull some of this moisture with us to back to our drought-stricken home state. The guys who handled the all-night live coverage last night ( I am a sucker for weather stories that are out of the ordinary) said that nearly every drought ends with a flood. Tennessee, get your boats ready.

19 Years Ago Today...

Nineteen years ago today, I gave birth to a very special young man. He gave us quite a scare by not breathing after exiting the womb, and the little guy was very, very sick. He had strep and pneumonia and got to stay in the hospital for an agonizing 18 days. The ordeal left him with mild cerebral palsy, a fact we did not learn for about 3 years.

Poor little Sam with his i.v. lines in to help him recover from strep and pneumonia.

Santa Sam

Just the other day, we celebrated his graduation from high school. Here is what was written in his biography:

The name “Samuel” means “God heard.” God certainly heard our prayers when he gave us Samuel Douglas on June 20, 1988 in South Carolina. Sam was born into an Air Force family which eventually came home and settled in Middle Tennessee, where Sam has spent the majority of his life.

Sam’s loves in life are simple --- God, family, friends, praising God in song, trucks, Pearl drums, taking things apart, sleeping and eating! God has always been first in Sam’s life; he became a Christian when he was 11. Sam enjoys leading the singing at church, and where he has many young people who are special friends. When he can attend a Bible study with the other like-minded young people and praise God in song, he is the happiest! His favorite Bible passage is Philippians 4:11-13:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Not too happy to be dressed up for Easter!

Sam has blessed his family with an outstanding level of devotion for a young man. When his youngest sister Hannah was born in 2003, the baby was fine, but Mother was not. Sam took over a lot of the care of Hannah so that his step-dad could keep working and his mother could recover. What he did not know how to do, he quickly learned, and he never balked at having to take on extra responsibility with care of the siblings and his home. Sam loves his grandparents, Ron and Sarah E., Dan S., Bill and Ginny N., and Juanita “Needy” C. very much! His living great-grandparents, Carl E., Jack and Nina S., and Allene M., and all of his uncles, aunts, and cousins here today love him, too, and are proud of his accomplishments.

Sam plans to enter a Technical College in the fall to continue playing with the cars and trucks he has loved from childhood. With his kind heart, his industrious spirit, his pure soul, and the Lord’s help and guidance, Sam will undoubtedly continue to be the answer to the prayers of many people for the years that God gives him on this earth.

We laughingly realized after graduation that we had left out two of Sam's great loves in life--mechanical pencils and shrimp. The love of shrimp is easy to figure out. When I was pregnant with him, I ate shrimp like there was no tomorrow. We'd go down to Shoney's every week on "All-You-Can-Eat-Shrimp Night," and I know they lost money on me. I haven't the foggiest why he is so fond of mechanical pencils, except that he just loves the cool way they write. Since we live in a town where many writing instruments are manufactured, Sam has been the lucky recipient of some cool writing tools through the years.

Sam has been such a blessing to me through the years. I only wish that every mother had such a pliable, loving son who is so selfless and caring for his family. I know what a gift he is, and I thank the Lord for him every time I am reminded of that fact. Sam was probably my hardest child to birth and the easiest to raise so far. What an irony!

Happy Birthday, Sammer! Drum on, "Drummerboy!"

Four Little Girls

The picture above is of four little girls--two sets of sisters--who only met about an hour prior to this picture. There are four little pairs of arms here, entangled in the tightest of embraces as they prepare to part company. It is no wonder that Christ said that the kingdom of heaven will belong to "such as these."

It follows, then, that the kingdom of heaven won't belong to those who are NOT "such as these."

Children love almost unconditionally. They don't pick and choose who they will love; for the most part, they love everyone. Unfortunately and quite sadly, that quality leaves many people as they grow into adulthood. Love, for some people, becomes a very selfish emotion. They only "love" when it will get them something (usually material) from someone. Being so conditional, it is offered and rescinded so often that the recipient cannot keep up with whether this is an "on" day or "off" day.

When I saw the picture above in a group of shots that was taken last Sunday night, the words of I John 4 and the song taken from it--"The Greatest Command" immediately came to mind.

"Love one another,
For love is of God.
He who's born of God knows God and loves God.
He who does not love, is not born of God.
For God is love, God is love...."

There are a lot of people wearing the name of Christ who do not love. Look at those four little girls up there, then read I John 4 and I Corinthians 13. Those who can go "worship" with some that they cannot bring themselves to speak to, much less love, are certainly an enigma to me.

"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. " Matthew 5: 23-24

300 and Counting

The "Graduates" Sam and Sarah Beth! (Aren't they cute? Too bad they are cousins! :)

Anne and Dana-- Friends reunited after a 20-year separation!

Anne wanted a family picture. Tim (who looks like he is shrinking) was bending over to hold Hannah, who had ketchup on her face. Daniel really isn't losing his hair, he says. The stylist just cut it extra short this time!

Anne and some church friends. Anne's parents are on the left.

The girls made some new friends, too! (l to r) Hannah, Rebecca, Sarah, and Grace.

According to my blog stats, my last post was number 300! That is really not that many in the grand scheme of things, seeing as some of my friends post nearly every day! I'm finding that blogging is a giant effort for a busy mother.

Life is sure full of some poignant moments. I have had a few of those lately, and I will probably be having a few more in the not-so-faraway future, if the earth stands.

Sunday evening, we drove over to a neighboring town to meet a dear friend that I have not seen in about 20 years. Anne and I have managed to keep up with one another somehow, and we have a sweet long-distance relationship. She has watched my family grow and change, and I have watched and prayed a lot as she and her husband fought some terrible battles with health, and tough situations and unkind people. Of course, when we left South Carolina all those years ago, Dan and Sam were just babies. It was rather entertaining to reunite her with them 20 years later, as they have grown quite a bit! :)

We met at a congregation that I attended as a girl. As "fate" would have it, one of the elders started the singing service off with some observations about the history of the congregation. He reflected on the death two weeks ago of his fellow-elder and a man whom I have respected for years, Brother Herb. He said that he was going to do something slightly different and ask all who were present on the day this particular church first assembled in 1973 to stand up. I was 10 in 1973, and my family was there on the day when we started out in an old building that had previously been used by the Methodists in town. We shortly purchased a horse barn, of all things, gutted it, and made a very comfortable church building out of it. There were lots of jokes from the pulpit about meeting in a barn until my dad pointed out when it was his turn to preach (until we found a permanent preacher) that the Lord started out in a stable. After that, I don't remember anyone joking about it anymore. The church met in that place for a number of years until the present building was built and the old horse barn torn down. Now, it is a huge church, so unlike the small group of 50 or 60 who started it. I would imagine that there were about 20 or so of us Sunday night who were present and have made it these 34 years since. It was another one of those "poignant moments" when I looked over and Brother Herb's family stood without him.

The town where I grew up is now so different that it bears no resemblance to my old stomping ground. It is now a very affluent suburb of Nashville, and I marvel every time I go back at the changing face of the city. The old hill above my house that used to boast of the presence of Skeeter Davis' and Little Jimmy Dickens' homes now has mansions that are indescribable. Long gone are many of the modest "mansions" that I admired from my spot in the valley below.

For old time's sake, we drove down my old street before we jumped on the interstate. The old house is still there, but it will only be a matter of time before all those houses are eaten up by "progress." In some ways, that would not bother me, because it frankly does not seem right that anyone else could ever live in that house. We were the first to live in that house, and Mom and Dad stayed 30 years before moving. Across the street, I noted the home of "Mr. Tom" who was lost to cancer a couple of months back. "Our town" has lost some colorful citizens lately.

I'm learning that it is pretty painful to look back, because you want to see things the way they were when you last left them, and that is not going to happen. It seems like looking forward is more productive. I will miss the things I have left behind, but they are effectively dead now for me. I came home Sunday night with both sadness and happiness. I thought about how much I love my family, how proud I am of each one, and how happy and blessed I am to be with the man I love. I had some good times in 1973 when a new church was growing explosively. I had some special times with some good people in South Carolina in 1988. But it is 2007, and I am here, and since there is no going back, I look forward, slightly curious and hopeful about the next of my "poignant moments."

It seems I have dragged some of my "time-travelers" with me, through nearly 45 years of history now, and I would not take anything for the friendships and family ties we still share. However, I think we all realize that we are older, slower, (hopefully) wiser, and many more "-ers" than we were back then. We all seem to be o.k. with it. Most of us share the same goal--that most poignant moment of all, when we look into the eyes of our Savior--and all of this other stuff is over. I am sad that many I have known have grown weary and dropped out of the race. Apparently, our goals ceased to be the same at some point. But I thank the Lord every day for people like Anne who refuse to give up, who urge me on when I get lazy or weary, and who have the guts to stand for something. These folks are the stars of my "poignant moments."

So, onward I trod...301. I was telling someone today that with Sam's graduation, I feel like I have turned another page. It isn't one of those little thin pages, but rather it seems like I have turned one of the thick ones between chapters. The family dynamic is changing again, with another man raised and venturing out to find his way. Sometimes I don't think I will ever survive the little ones. Then, the Anne's of my life email and tell me that I will make it. I reckon, with God's help, that I will.

Graduation Photos

We made it through graduation for Sam! It turned out to be a very sweet and personal program. The speaker, Chris, a family friend and preacher, did an outstanding job, and I think all the moms shed a few tears. Even some of the uncles "got something in their eye!" Sam looked handsome as ever and made us proud. Here are a "few" pictures from his day:

Sam enters....

Sam's brother, Daniel, acts as Master of Ceremonies for the Day....

Our friend Chris gives the Commencement Address

We stand with Sam as his biography is read, and I try not to cry....

Sam gives me a rose and a hug....

One of the neat things about home school graduations is that the world stops for you, and everyone takes lots of pictures! In fact, they insist on it!




The guys of the Heart and Hearth Class of 2007!


The 'Sammer'

Sam has a few refreshments!

Sam with the 86 year old pianist, Ms. Brandon! She was outstanding! Anyone that can play 3 rounds of Pomp and Circumstance live on a piano and hit the notes is A-O.K. in my book!
Sam with his brothers, sisters, and cousins

Sam with his Uncle Doug

Sam with his Uncle Dan and Aunt Steph


Sam with his Uncle Drew, Aunt Brooke, and Cousin Emma

Sam with his maternal grandparents