Taco Soup!

Hot temptations on a cold night!















Well, Wilma has come and gone from Florida, and thankfully, my parents are still earth-bound. It has been a trying week for the family, with several members of our extended family having passed away, including two sisters from Columbia who died in the same week last week! And they were both in their 40's to boot! Hey, these days, I don't take one day for granted. There have been a huge number of 45 year olds dying right in my own town. I think there were three last week listed in one day's obituary. One was 42 and two were 45.

I've spent the night writing the eulogy for my grandmother's brother-in-law who passed on Sunday. My brother will preach the funeral tomorrow. Sometimes we share these projects since I am the family historian, writer, and photographer. Maybe if we all had to write a eulogy every so often, we would think more about our eternal state instead of always worrying about all this earthly lunacy.

We made taco soup tonight. We had tried it last week but did not like the recipe, so we tried again tonight with much better results. I am going to have to watch my fat intake. I did very well at the hayride/birthday party Saturday night! I only ate one S'more! I've cut out most sweets and all sweet drinks, and hopefully the changes will do me good. I've got Hannah's birthday party and another hayride this weekend AND Halloween to get through----horrors, it is going to be hard to stay away from all the sweets! :)




Anyway, here is the recipe for Taco Soup as we like it:






TACO SOUP

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef, browned
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can red kidney beans
2 cans Mexican-style tomatoes (Rotel)
1 small can chopped, green chilies
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. dry, Ranch Dressing mix
grated cheddar cheese
taco chips

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef in a skillet and chop up into small pieces while cooking.
2. Drain off grease from the ground beef after browning.
3. Put the ground beef into a crockpot. Add corn, beans, tomatoes and chilies. Do not drain any of these items.
4. Stir in packages of sour cream, taco seasoning, and Ranch Dressing mix.
5. Cook in crock-pot for four hours. If not using a crockpot, use a large dutch oven pan and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
7. Taco chips are a good addition to this tasty soup.

Hanging On.....

News Update!

Mom, Dad, and my grandfather are holed up in Pappaw's condo in Sarasota and "holding on." So far, so good there. The electricity is still on. That's a good thing. My grandmother was evacuated to the hospital and is there with her sister til Wilma passes over.

My Dad lost an aunt and an uncle yesterday---one from his Dad's side and one from his Mom's side. Uncle J.W. passed in Tennessee at roughly the same time Aunt Grace passed out in Texas. We are scrambling to see which of my brothers will preach J.W's funeral on Tuesday here. Everyone is displaced right now, and it is going to be tricky to get everything done from where we all are.

I called Mom and Dad last night, last thing before I went to bed and told them to please be careful, as we did not need any more relatives called home right now. Thankfully for our family, anyway, the storm has passed to the south of Sarasota. Now, I just worry for my aged friend Alice in Miami, who is getting too old to keep sleeping on the floors of shelters.

We had a very pleasant Sunday. For the second time in as many weeks, we went to morning services, ate lunch out, and then went to the afternoon special services of churches in our area, and then went back to our own evening service. I got to see an old friend I have not seen in 15 years, and that is always neat! Of course, I was back in my hometown church as well, and I am always overjoyed to see the folks that are still alive after all these years! They are amazing folks. The water is truly special in that town. They all claim that is the secret to their longevity. Hmmm, maybe I need to move back there! I think the water here in Gravyville is killing me.

The kids and I are beat, and I am going to do nothing today except schoolwork, lots of laundry, and perhaps writing a eulogy for my brother to give tomorrow. That's a slow day for us! Remember to pray for those in harm's way today! :)

Sage Words

Thought O' the Day......

"Don't sweat the petty thingz, and don't pet the sweaty thingz."

Are you totally inspired now?

www.Loose Ends

Thursday's Thoughts...more questions than answers....

Well, my parents made it to Florida. My grandmother is very weak and very critically ill, though still being cared for at home. I am concerned that all the chaos involved with a possible evacuation to the local hospital might just be her undoing. It also presents problems for my mom who has been battling with lymph node problems and probably should not be exposed to all the different diseases present in a hospital, especially a hospital that may not be able to maintain the usual standards of cleanliness. Then there is my 85 year old granddad and my 65 year old dad, both with heart problems. I hope this storm will not scare them into some kind of a spell. I'm still hoping that somehow this monstrous storm will weaken, and leaving their home will not become necessary.




My grandparents in a 2002 photograph











On a happy note, Tim's brother Kevin called us from Mississippi today where he is training to go to Iraq. It was so good to hear his voice and to talk to him! Kevin is a true Patriot who is keeping his chin up despite the dread of leaving his wife for a long-term assignment in a war zone. His wife is having to hold down the fort up in Wisconsin.

I'm still waiting to hear on the "going back to work thing." I think that the lady who is currently running the place is not sure if she wants to give it up or not. The boss is not happy with the way she is running it, but I am not sure he has the energy to fight her to take it away from her. I'm in no hurry. I'm leaving it to the Lord to work this one out! This is one situation where I can truthfully go either way and be perfectly happy!

The clothes sorting continues. Arghhhhh! How one family can grow out of so many clothes, I do not know. Little girls outfits are notorious, too, for having several pieces to them, and I hate to store them until I have found all the pieces and put them together. So I am doing a lot of "where did I see that blouse?" Sometimes, I think I will perpetually be sorting clothes the rest of my life. Currently, Hannah is bringing me a stack of sorted dresses, one at a time, and wanting me to put them on her. She does not understand that they fit her a year and a half ago.

Speaking of Hannah, I have less than a week to plan her second birthday. I can't get in the mood with the events unfolding in Florida. I think I will have to know that my parents and grandparents are safe before I can proceed. Gratefully, she will only be two and won't know the difference if we wait a few days, one way or the other. Meanwhile, little niece Lauren is patiently waiting for her family celebration of her 1st birthday.

The news made me sad today. I hate it when I go to my Fox news on the net or CNN or both, and all the news is sad. Mother throws babies off of pier. Ford laying off workers. Earthquakes and Hurricanes everywhere. I am trying to figure out if it is just me or if lots of people are very somber and serious right now. I have to watch it, because sometimes, I think it is just my perspective. But it seems like every blog I go to, I read another sad story and see that there are lots of desperate people right now. I will get enough of it and back off of viewing any news for a while. Sometimes you just have to stop the negative sensory input.

I guess if I had one of those little icons on my blog that said "Today I feel...." that today's answer would be "philosophical." I am trying to figure out a lot of things right now, and there just don't seem to be any good answers. However, from the looks of my email today, and the tone of aforementioned blogs, I am not alone. I have faith, and I know that God is ALWAYS in control of everything from government to weather. Yet, I cannot help but wonder if this old earth is winding down.... If that is the case, or even if it is not, there is not one thing I can do about it.

Those of you who know me know that I usually profile my loved ones on their birthdays. Today is the birthday of my ex-father-in-law, and it is amazing what a gigantic mess he has made of his life. While I won't be doing a tribute to him, I ask that you pray for him, that he will see the error of his ways before his life is over and change. He has lost everything...his kids, his wife, his material possessions. Despite the fact that his son (my ex) is a louse, he was always pretty decent to me. I wish him no harm and do pray that he can get in the Light before the end of his days.

At any rate, life goes on, and this weekend, we will take Sarah to her much-anticipated birthday celebration and hayride for one of her little "boy friends." I hope the rain and storms do not interfere or Sarah is going to be to bury. It is so cute. She has a string of potential suitors, all of whom have asked her at one time or another to come over and have a sleepover, much to her father's horror! The sweet little ones do not know yet that boys and girls do not sleep over together, and in their innocence, they do not exactly understand why not! I often wonder if one of these young men will be the men our daughters choose to marry some day. Oh, well, that is WAY too premature. Yet, I know from having a 19-year-old and a 17-year-old how fast it goes by.

Well, that's the update for now. Hopefully, tomorrow will produce more answers than questions as well as a much lighter blog for your reading enjoyment.

"Edwards Luck"

(O.K. This is not REALLY the storm track, but rather what could happen if the hurricane takes a Tennessee turn, in hot pursuit of the Edwardses.....By the way, note the advisory number---this becomes relevant as you read on.....)


What do you call it when your parents are headed to Florida and the worst hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin is headed right at them? You got it! Edwards Luck! We have had a joke in my family for a lot of years. It is along the lines of Murphy's Law, but just for our blood relatives.

It is not enough that I have 5 children to worry about, along with one very busy and accident-prone husband. I have to agonize this week over the safety of the brother who decided to go to Myrtle Beach and the parents who are on their way into harm's way. We had quipped at the last family gathering before they all left that one or the other would probably run into a hurricane. Of course, that was not a hard prediction to make, considering this monstrous hurricane season we have had.

My step-grandmother is ailing and has been for some time. Her sister, who is over 80 as well, has been almost single-handedly caring for her for well over a year now since a sizable stroke. My grandparents are in the 85-year-old range and surely not able to get themselves out in a disaster. Sister called Dad and told him they needed to get down there, as Grandmother is slipping away. What do you do? You almost have to go. I just wish they were all up here, where the family is concentrated so that we could care for them. But they are not. I am terribly worried for the safety of them all.

Mom and Dad called tonight, and they had made the full drive today---about 16 hours worth. When they got to their hotel, the clerk tried to put them in room 313. My Dad said, "No Way!" They got moved to 325. It is not so much superstition as it is that a lot of bad things have happened to him on the 13th. I don't blame him for being a little nervous with a Category 5 Hurricane staring at him with her big pronounced eye.

After all the Katrina and Rita mess, I can only imagine what pandemonium is going to ensue when they tell people to evacuate. The highways of Florida are going to be a parking lot.

I tried to get my parents to reconsider. After all, it is already pre-arranged that my grandmother would be carried to the hospital to weather the storm. She will be as safe as people can be in a hurricane. But my mother had already paid her money on Priceline.com for a room, and she was going! That is the difference in my mom and me. I guess she is a little more gutsy than I.

So, tonight, I long for all my family members that are displaced. I pray that God will keep them all safe until we can be together again.

Lauren

My little niece, Lauren, youngest of the pack so far, was born one year ago today! Happy Birthday, pretty girl!!!!



Lauren and Hannah are going to be pretty good friends, it looks like, just in the same way that Sarah is close to Kelsey. Sarah also loves Ben, and hopefully, in time, Ben will have some other boy cousins!




It is going to be interesting to see what Lauren will be like when she is older. Right now, her Mom describes her as "busy." She and Hannah ARE a lot alike!



I loved these pictures from July 4th! Lauren was especially happy in this one. Hannah was not! I think she did not like something Ben was doing!





Above are some of my favorite pictures of my darling niece! Now why did I not get those blue eyes? :)

Auntie D'Lee loves you, baby!

Side by Side

SIDE BY SIDE


They lie on the table side by side
The Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.
One is well worn and cherished with pride.
Not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
As the pages are turned, what shall they see?
Oh, what does it matter, turn on the T.V.

So they open the book in which they confide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
The Word of God is seldom read.
Maybe a verse before they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be.
Not from reading the Bible, from watching T.V.
So then back to the table side by side,
Lie the Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,
The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.
But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,
Is found in the Bible, not on T.V.

- Author Unknown

They "Unpaved" Paradise and Put up a Parking Lot....

Thursday found Tim and me on our way to the big city for an appointment with the endocrinologist today. I love my endocrinologist. He is one of the smartest, kindest men I have ever met. Unfortunately, my last blood tests revealed that my battle with cholesterol is going badly and that the enemy is winning. I must now up my meds, and he insisted that I begin an exercise program. Horrors! Whatever shall I do now? If I don't, he warned, I am going to be turning into a full-fledged diabetic, and we all know how bad that can be. Sooooo, exercise and diet change, here I come. I guess all those years of grit gravy are catching up with me!

After the appt., we ventured down south to check out some of the cities we never travel through any more since we moved to Gravyville. We stopped on the way to see the parents' old homeplace. Of course, it was my homeplace too for some 30+ years, except of course when I was in college and stuff. The new owners have it up for sale again, because the posh little community it is in just legislated that homes there cannot be multiple family homes unless the residents of the home are close family. So the people that had bought it had made it liveable for about 4 families, and then this legislation happened. While I heard they made our unfinished attic into a master bedroom and bath, they took down all the bushes out front and they "unpaved" paradise and put up a parking lot!!! By that, I mean that they took out all the nice landscaping and brought in a load of gravel and dumped it in the front yard and made a parking lot right in the front yard! Dummies! Then, they painted the shutters and the front door some pukey color that looks faded, and, well, the place just does not look the same. THEN, they tacked on a hundred thousand dollars to the price they paid my parents and put it back on the market! Somehow, I don't think they are going to get it! But then again, the housing market is crazy!


The "Home Place" as it was when I last left it, posh, green, and shaded


Same house after the parking lot crew came in..... Get a load of the yucky-yellow door and the faded shutters....

After seeing my old house, we continued on our trek southward to see the development of another community that was just a hole in the road at one time. I could not believe how it had changed in just a few years. Within half an hour, we were in my late grandmother's town--the town where we now worship, about 45 miles or so from where we live and to the west.

As we passed the funeral home in town, we saw my 2nd cousin and her husband going into the place. We drove in and found out that they were having visitation for some friends' 54 year old son. So we stopped and visited a while with the family, and that was good for all of us. It is a terrible thing to bury a child of any age. I was glad that Tim was off today and that we were able to "weep with those who weep." I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 7:2 which says, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" and Ecclesiastes 7:4 which says, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure." I was glad that we got to spend some time with Ted and Mary and the rest of the brethren who showed up while we were there. We were in the same room where the funeral for my grandmother was held last year, and the sweet memories of that day came flooding back. We had at least 9 families present from the church on a Wednesday morning the day before Thanksgiving who did not know my grandmother but loved me enough to show up. I'm sure they will do the same for this aged couple who has now lost a son.

After leaving the funeral home, we passed by my grandmother's old house. It is being remodelled as well after just having been sold. Mammaw's toilet was out by the front curb! We had a little giggle about that. I think Tim was afraid I was going to ask to bring it home as a keepsake! I'm not that bad of a saver, yet! On a positive note, it looks like the fixer-uppers at Mammaw's old house have much better judgment! The place is shaping up quite nicely. I hope they will let me in to see it when they are finished!

We came home, and I had not been here very long before the phone rang. Of all people, it was my old boss! I worked for this man for nearly 10 years before I married Tim. We have kept in touch, and he is in his 80's now, but still doing what he has done for many, many years. He wants me to come back and run the place I was running before I married Tim and moved off. What a shocker that was! He flattered me to the max (that always helps one decide these kind of things :) and told me I was the best and most honest person that had ever worked for him. Despite the fact that he is very, very old, I am very tempted to just jump back into this job that I loved more than anything I have ever done in my life. It fit me like a glove. I can take my kids to work with me----how much better can it get?

I guess we have some negotiating to do, but if we can work out the details, I may be going back to selling monuments. I will still be schooling the kids, and it is going to be challenging, I know, but I think I am up for it. Besides that, the little boy who helped me "run the business" from the time he was about 5 is now 19 and can help me do it in earnest this time, that is, if he does not move away to become a preacher-man. His plans are still in the works, too, but if he decides to stay on in Gravyville a spell longer, I will teach him how to sell a tombstone! He probably has it down pat already! He used to stand out in the monument yard and tell the customers that his favorite design on the stones was the one that said, "Precious Lord, take my hand...." I sold more of that design than just about anything, mostly because my little blondie was so cute. Now, I have got the two little gals with the most gorgeous pleading eyes you have ever seen. Those customers won't stand a chance against them!

So stay tuned, folks. Will D'Lee, the confirmed and happy stay-at-home, home-schooling mom take another thing on her heaping plate of gravy and biscuits? Guess you will have to come back and read on....

What I need.....

For the brain-dead of Bloggerville, here is my list inspired by the popular meme called "I Need." Put your name and the word "needs" (i.e. "Susie needs")in a Google search box, and then copy the funny remarks that are fit to print to your own blog! Thanks to Jennifer for the heads-up on this one!)

Search results for "Dana Needs" (that I can print):

"Dana needs to test out her new device which measures volcanic activity...." (would that be the mild explosions going off in the boys' rooms?)

"Dana needs a webcam!" (Uh-uh! NOBODY needs to see me first thing in the morning!)

"Dana needs a Splackavellie!" (Only if it is a form of chocolate....)

"What Dana needs most of all is a highly structured family; one that can offer her patience, guidance, and love." (Do they take trade-ins?)

"Dana needs to chill." (That is definitely true, most of the time!)

"Dana Needs to Download Slots." (Don't believe the LIE! Between chocolate and coffee, I have enough addictions!)

"Dana needs everyone’s fall schedule to plan next year’s monthly meetings." (I trust you will all get them to me...)

"Dana needs to get "Iran" and "Iraq" straightened out." (Today, Iran and Iraq. Tomorrow, all the Third-World nations, Saturday, the Mexican Border problem......)

"DANA NEEDS HOUSEKEEPERS" (Now we are getting somewhere!!!!!)

"Dana needs more sleep!" (Always! I have been sleep-deprived for 20 years now, with only 18 to go. Think I will go back to bed now. Nighty-night!)

Dougie!

My brother Doug


Everyone has someone who seems like they have always been there. I guess for me, outside of my parents, the only other person who has always just been there would be my brother, Doug. Doug was born on the true Columbus Day, 42 years ago today. According to my parents, since I do not remember, I did not especially welcome him into our home. But for their sakes, I tolerated him.

Doug was always 100% boy. Maybe it was more like 120%! He was always getting into something, and he was always getting taken to our local emergency room. I don't know how my parents survived raising the boy! Besides having to have stitches on numerous occasions, he also climbed up and jumped off the house in his Batman cape as a frantic neighbor called my mother and reported the event live on the phone, locked himself in the clothes dryer, and sniffed gasoline from the lawn tractor until the "flowers were singing and dancing." He drank a whole bottle of Benedryl to impress our mother with his medicine-taking skills, and of course that landed him an all-expense paid trip to the E.R. while our Dad was away on a National Guard weekend. It supposedly took the entire staff of the E.R., the doctor, and my mother to hold him down so they could pump his stomach. Another time, he jumped off a neighbor's shed and landed on their grill, cutting himself down his thigh and narrowly missing important parts of his body! And all of this he managed to do before the age of 12!

While Doug managed to settle down some in his teen years, he did not get any nicer (he thought the same thing about me,) and our sibling rivalry only escalated. I think we actually inspired one another to reach higher and further to simply outdo the other! We competed for the best report card, the most accolades, the most trophies, etc. We were both "over-achievers" by nature anyway, so competition came naturally.

Doug had an impressive list of credentials coming out of high school. He had been Captain of the football team, President of his senior class, and Youth Governor of the state of Tennessee. Were it not for some nasty teachers at the private school we attended, I think he could have achieved even more. He would have loved to play college football, but his evil coach had set him up purposely to be injured, and that injury ended not only his senior year's playing, but all future football chances.

Doug did not let these setbacks get him down. He went to Vanderbilt for a year, and then decided that Engineering was not his strong suit. At that point, he was offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go up and work on Reagan's re-election campaign and be a driver for the man who would go on to become our ambassador to France. Reagan was re-elected, and Doug got an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Doug finished his four years there which were nothing short of rugged and brutal from a physical and mental standpoint. He went on to take up his commission as an Army officer, and he served for several years until a medical retirement was necessary. He left the army with mixed feelings at the rank of Captain. He liked what he did, but it was always hard, and he was stationed at some pretty rough places. Down in the swamps of Louisiana is probably where he contracted some foul thing in his lungs which diminished his breathing capacity and caused him to have to retire early.


O.K., so Doug would not be caught dead in a Navy hat, and he was really, really sleepy when I swooped down and made this picture of him, but is that not what big sisters are for?

During this time, he met and married a girl from Kentucky. Though they were married for eleven years, she only lived with him for around 7 of those years, and not full-time at that. Having not entered into marriage until her early 30's, it seems she had spent too much time with her parents and could not break free of them. She began to return home and stay longer and longer each time until she just left Doug entirely. Doug and I both learned the heartache of divorce---a shared experience that we would have never wished on one another.


Doug with more hair than he has now....

A funny thing happened to Doug and me as we got older. We began liking one another! We still had our moments from year to year. He had a hard time when I divorced my first husband. His possessiveness of his sister kicked in, and he wanted to kick ex-husband's behind. I felt a similar emotion when his wife began her antics and had to exercise extreme restraint not to hurt her as well. Doug and I both have those Irish tempers, and you don't want to push too many buttons with either of us. I think we also share an extreme sense of justice---always wanting truth to prevail and the good guy to win. But we have also shared times when the good guy didn't win, and we have held each other up when we could.


How Doug desecrated my baby picture on my 40th birthday with black crepe paper (the pudgy little baby to my right is Doug as a baby!)



How I desecrate Dougie's picture

In our adult lives, we have shared some happy times and some sad ones. We got to share one of the funnier ones the other day when we celebrated Doug's birthday a little early on Sunday. We had the bakery make us up a cake that looked like grass and dirt in the icing, and on that, we placed a bunch of little green army men, jeeps, and helicopters in a battle scene. My Daniel decorated it while the women got lunch together, and he took the candles and made a "4" and a "2" instead of trying to count out 42 candles. Still, when we lit the thing on fire, it was like a towering inferno. I ran and practically threw the cake in Doug's lap and told him to blow the candles out quick before the house went up in flames. Some of the little green guys on the cake were casualties of the intense heat. I nearly laughed myself to death, and Doug suggested we light the candles again so that I could complete the job! That's my brother!



O.K. I know this is a really hideous picture, but the kids were taking it with the camera phone which was not set to the right picture size, and I had forgotten my digital camera, so this is the only picture which recorded the near-fatal birthday cake!

So, today, I wish my brother a happy, happy birthday and great things in the coming year! By now, he has probably picked up his personalized singing birthday card and is plotting how to get back at me next August.

I love my brothers, all four of them, very, very much. Doug and I have probably been through the most together, which gives us a special bond. Though we still have our rivalries, like who can send the most annoying greeting card for birthdays each year, we stick up for each other, too. Woe be to the person who tries to injure my brother. Happy Birthday, "Little" Brother!


Doug at a recent family reunion with our cousins, wondering why he is the only kid who did not get red hair!

My Hero!

Today is Tim's birthday! For those of you who don't know, Tim is my husband. We just celebrated our 7th anniversary July 4th! Tonight, we celebrated by going to our favorite restaurant---The Olive Garden! We all have our favorite dishes. I love the shrimpy dishes; Tim loves the pastas with red sauces. We had a great time!!! However, I did threaten him once that if he got his "blackberry" out one more time to check on work-related stuff that I was going to make a loud scene with all the waitresses, waiters, and our friends at the next table singing "Happy Birthday" in our loudest Italian voices! (We ran into our car saleslady there, and she had a party of 7 as well!) So, he smiled, knowing that I would do it, and he hates attention like that in restaurants, so he was a good boy and enjoyed his family time. We had a lot of fun!


Tim with Hannah.....one of my favorite pictures!

I've already shared the story with you how Tim and I met. I will always believe it was very Providential. We came from very diverse backgrounds, but our parents all had a lot of the same values (and both sets had a ton of kids, of which Tim and I were both the oldest child in the family.) I think that is why we are alike in a lot of ways now.

Perhaps the way that we are the most alike is in our ethics. Neither one of us can stand someone who is dishonest. It does not matter if they are blatantly so or just dishonest to themselves. No one is perfect, but if you cannot trust someone, what have you got with them?

I think the way that Tim has impacted my life the most is to restore my faith in at least some men! My first husband was very dishonest at every level, and it shook me to the core. I feel like I can trust Tim to never, ever betray my trust in him to keep his marriage vows. You probably could not say that for more than 10% of the population these days. Everyone cheats, it seems. But I know that Tim is not made that way, and it is a wonderful thing not to have to worry about that.

Now he is not perfect. My "absent-minded-professor" forgets to do things like pay the phone bill every once in a while, and I have to call him on the cellphone and remind him that he goofed! :) But I am far from perfect, too---just in different ways. Tim rarely ever complains if he has to step over a pile of laundry or toys. He just takes it in stride and goes on.

I think our little Hannah gets a lot of her seriousness from him. Sometimes, he can be quite jovial, but when he is down to business, he is intense. His co-workers know that about him. He's good in the corporate world. Very few people would know, just from looking at him, the level of responsibility and trust his company has placed on one man. He does not fail them. Yet he likes to keep a low profile so that his potential enemies---the people he protects against do not know him or target him for being a loud, pretentious person to go after. I rest in the security that he brings to our home because he is a good provider. It's also a bonus that when he puts on his sunglasses and walks behind me, he looks like an Italian bodyguard! No one dares to mess with me!


Tim with Sarah on Dan's graduation night in June

Tim and I are 10 months apart in age, so for a few months, he gets to be a year older! :) I marvel all the time at what a wonderful daddy he is and how he has also courageously taken on the role of step-dad to my three boys without complaint! I know that God brought us together, and we have each given each other gifts beyond words.

Tonight, before we left for the restaurant, the girls and I gave him one of our gifts to him. We made him a photo show complete with sound, music, voice clips and pictures of their lives. It made him cry. I guess it was either really bad or really sweet. If I ever figure out a place to download it to that carries that type of files, I will post the link here on the blog.

So, for tonight, it is sweet dreams to all the rest of you, and Happy Birthday to my hero, the father of my kids, my love, and my best friend.


Tim with Sarah when she was but a babe

A Few Notes

Sorry to those of you who tried to visit my blog and got NOTHING! My template was acting up. It is a good idea, by the way, to save one's template as a Word document, so that you can cut and paste on days that Blogger is cantankerous. All appears to be working now. My links are at the bottom of the blog, which I hate, but I have to sacrifice that to have my pictures the size I want them. My columns won't accomodate large pics, so it drives the links section clear down to the bottom. Oh, well, I hope to have a better template soon.

Everyone pray for our country right now. With two major threats going right now (The possibility of a pandemic with the Avian Flu, and the threat to the New York subways again,) we need to be doing some praying for safety. God is still in control!

Reflections From a Wedding....

"Travis Loves Ashley"

Since my last installment, the family loaded up and went to the wedding of Ashley, the daughter of my cousins Paul and Becky! I have to say I am really feeling my age now, having attended this function. Ashley was the flower girl in my first wedding, and she was just shy of two when she did that, if my feeble memory serves me right. That has been 23 years ago.... Ashley is all grown up now!



Ashley in a recent photo

Ashley has always just been the sweetest young lady. That is not surprising, considering how sweet her mother Becky is! When you look at Ashley, the first thing you are struck with is her height! I believe she is about 6'1". Travis, the guy she married, is taller than that! He has to be about 6'5" or something! Ashley looks like a model. They are just a darling couple who look like they were just made for each other.



I understand that Travis proposed to Ashley by taking her up in a small plane and flying her over her family's farmland, where he had cut out the words "Will you marry me?"
in the grass below. Isn't that just sooooo romantic? :)


They did a powerpoint slideshow during the reception (which I thought was neat!) and I really loved their pictures that were made on a beach---they were the engagement pictures. The close-ups revealed their dazzling white smiles and their gorgeous blue eyes---both of them.
They were just the sweetest things! (If you go look at the pics, be sure to biggify them and click the little white arrows to see the next page of pics.) Living in TN, I always perk up when I see a beach, because that is the one thing I wish TN had. Yet, as the last month has shown, being in the center of the country has its advantages too.

Another unique thing that Ashley had at the wedding was "congregational" singing--well at least for one song. They had a song called "The Greatest Commands" that they had the wedding audience sing. It was so beautiful! I had heard about the song before, but I had never been anywhere where it was done. You can hear it here if you like. (This is about the only place on the net I could find the whole song. Sadly, it is linked off the funeral page of a little girl.) There was a good crowd present, and I would bet that at least 90% were Christians, and a lot of us that did not know the song can read music, so we learned a new song!

Paul and Becky, my cousins, with Ashley and little sister Kelsey

The wedding was full of both touching and funny moments. Ashley's little sister, Kelsey, who I understand is about to turn 12 (but who looks like she is 17 or 18) got us all bawling when she saw her dad, Paul, bringing Ashley down the aisle. Paul was crying, and Kelsey said it takes a LOT to make her dad cry, so Kelsey got to crying, and you know how that goes. But we soon got ourselves composed and moved on. Robert Jackson performed the ceremony. If you know him, you know that in these parts, he is rather legendary. I can remember him preaching when I was a little girl. He was one of those evangelists who made an impression on little kids. I imagine the adults were equally as affected by his fiery sermons. I thought he was "old" when I was a little bitty girl, because his hair was white then, and that was 40 years ago! I don't know his exact age, but he is definitely in a disappearing class of preachers. I bet it has been 25 years or more since I heard him preach. He preached a sweet wedding for this pair despite the fact that he has been in very frail health as of late.

The funny things that happened were that after all the groomsmen had come in, we were all facing forward and waiting for the girls to come in. All of the sudden, the groomsmen got the worst expression on their faces, and I realized that a partition in the back of the room, around which all the attendants were coming, was falling forward into the crowd. Fortunately, some people caught it and set it back up before Travis could get a premature view of the bride! Then, they had a little guy who was the "bell ringer." He came forward, rang his little bells, and then tried to take the rope of the white runner for the bride to walk on and pull it to the back of the aisle. He was unable to do it by himself, so one of the groomsmen assisted him, and another wedding tragedy was averted!

Bro. Jackson did something I did not think I had ever seen before. When he asked Paul "Who gives this woman in marriage?" and Paul replied, "Her mother and I," bro. Jackson replied, "Step back!" He did it with such authority that I think it took Paul off-guard, and he stepped right on her dress in his haste to obey that stern command! It was funny at the time. We halfway expected Paul to say, "Sir, yes sir!" Later, I thought to myself how many marriages would benefit if parents did more than symbolically "step back." It is a time to let go of your kids when they wed and cease from interfering in their marriage. If more young people would "leave and cleave," and the parents would be content to let them do just that, everyone would be better off. God said it, I believe it, and that's that. Sorry, I digress, but I just had to throw that in.

Then, during the sermon, brother Jackson was having Ashley say her vows, and he told her to say, ...And I promise to be your faithful husband...." Of course, Ashley caught it and made the change in wording! Then, when he was doing the "ring speech" he told Ashley to say, "I take you Travis, to be my wedded wife...." Again, they had a few giggles out of that!

Another strange thing that happened at the wedding was that while I was getting punch, I felt a hand on my arm, and a voice called me by my first name! It was one of the bridesmaids. I felt like I knew that face, but I did not know her. She asked if I knew who she was. Of course, I did not. She said she was Kayleen, the middle child of some friends we have known all of our adult years. We first met her parents out in New Mexico, and worshipped with them. Now, they all reside in Texas. Kayleen was probably 9 or 10 the last time I saw her. Now, she is all grown up with a two-month old baby! Unbelievable! I asked her how she recognized me, and she said that she just looked out in the audience and saw me and said, "That's Dana!"
She is really good, because I know I have aged a bunch! She said when she was little, she always thought I looked like Snow White! Of course, that comment sent my brothers into hysterics, because I "sure ain't Snow White now!" Happily, some aged people there also thought my brother Doug was Fred Thompson! (You know, the actor, Law and Order...the senator, the actor, you know him, right?) I told Doug, "Yeah, if you are Fred Thompson, I am Snow White!"

Yes, the wedding was quite fun. I got to see my long lost cousins Mary Ann, Lisa (with Keith, her husband), Amy, Beth (with Murray, her husband), and Laura and lots of their kids! I saw people I have attended church with through the years. No one could believe that I had big ole boys and little baby girls! Hopefully, soon, I will have some pictures from the wedding to post!

Of course, we wish Travis and Ashley a wonderful life together. I hope and pray that they will always be as happy together as they seemed to be on Saturday! One of my favorite things in life is to see two people who are truly in love look at each other. I saw it Saturday, and I pray that it abides forever!

Eight Whole Days?

Has it REALLY been 8 whole days since I posted last? NO WAY! WAY! And just when I thought I was doing better!

Well, I have a series of really good excuses! We have attended church on 5 of the last 8 days. Is that a good enough reason not to have the time to blog?

We enjoy traveling around as a family and attending gospel meetings in our area. (Lots of our friends equate these with "revivals.") Although we don't call them that, that is what they do for me. They revive my spirit! We caught two of them in different neighboring cities, and obviously with different speakers last week. One speaker taught on the dangers of human creeds, and the other one spoke on "grace." Both were just excellent lessons.

Last Sunday night, we enjoyed a little get-together after church with some friends. We went out to "Wade's Mansion" as the brethren affectionately refer to the place that our friends Wade and Leigh Ann recently bought. It is way out in the middle of nowhere, and it is quite an "estate!" I think they said they got 37 acres with the 3 story house. It is one of those places that has the brick walls at the entrance to the driveway. I could not see much of the outside because it was monsooning at the time with the remnants of Hurricane Rita. I am happy for them, because they have five kids now, too, and it is really wonderful when you can spread out in a house. I think the only thing that I would be afraid of is those places in the house where the banisters hang over the floor below. My kids would jump. No doubt in my mind. Action figures would be thrown over balconies to the floors below as test dummies to see how much abuse one figure could take.

That reminds me of the olden days when Micah was about 3. He went through this phase where he placed action figures in the funniest places. You would open the freezer to get something, and there would be Captain America submerged in a clear glass of water and frozen into a block of ice. The refrigerator, I soon learned, was the place where bad action figures went. If they did not perform as Micah wanted in his imaginary action figure fights, into the vegetable bin they went.

The harshest punishment, though, was reserved for the badest of the bad. Those poor guys got flushed. And I, a single mom at the time, had to learn to take up a toilet and re-set it with the seal and all, because it became too costly to call the plumber each time that 30 G.I. Joes got stuck in the plumbing. The first time Micah did it, and I called the plumber, as he found the offenders of the clog---and it occurred to me what Micah had done, I was just shocked. I put the little guys in the bathtub and began to wash them off, and the plumber just looked at me and said, "You aren't really gonna keep those, are you?" I replied, after some visions of a three-year-old putting the action figures in his mouth, "Ummmm, no, I suppose not."

Thankfully, it was a phase, and it finally passed. Micah still has his action figure collection, and sometimes, when he is really, really bored, he will still pull them out and play with them. That is the kid still left in him.

Anyway, tonight we had a different experience. One of my good friends up in the "'Boro" had called me yesterday to let me know that today, they were going to go ahead and induce her to give birth today. I just assumed she would be having it at the big hospital in our little region---the same place I birthed our last two babies, but upon calling them this afternoon to see if she had delivered, they did not have her listed as a patient. A few calls later, we had located her at a newer hospital closer to Nashville.

After Tim got home, we loaded up the family and the baby gift to go and see their family. Tim had talked to the nurses, and he assumed from what they said that she had already delivered. When we got there, I went in first to see if my friend, Wendy, was decent. She was all alone, and I did not see a baby. I asked how she was and she kind of pouted and said, "Not too good." I said, where is the baby, and she pointed to her belly under the cover. I then realized that little stinker was still hiding out in the womb! Here it was 8 o'clock at night, and she had been laboring since 7 a.m. Ben, her husband had finally gone to get supper, and so it was good I got there when I did.

I hated for Wendy to be alone, as she just lost her mother 6 weeks ago. Her mom's sister died last week, adding insult to injury. Her grandmother has buried two daughters in 6 weeks, and I knew this was weighing heavily on Wendy.

We talked a while, and we discussed the possibility that she could have to have a c-section for failure to progress. She started shaking, and her teeth were just chattering. Then, she said she was sick to her stomach. I had never had this happen to anyone that I was watching go through labor. Then, her blood pressure dropped dramatically. Thankfully, about that time, Ben came back, and the nurses came in. They flew into action and got her some meds to stabilize the blood pressure. They brought warm blankets. Shortly, things started to improve. Wendy relaxed and even dozed a little.

Her contractions had been 5 minutes apart when I got there. By now, they were going to 3 minutes apart. By this time, it was 9:15, and I had not had supper myself. Ben's sister, Lori, arrived, and she is a maternity nurse at that very hospital, but she was not on duty. Still, she looked at all the machines and computer read-out and told us what was going on. I decided it was a good time to slip out and get some supper and then come back.

When I returned about an hour later, Wendy said they had just checked her and she was at 7 cm. I went and sat down. I figured we would have another good hour. Then the nurse came in and checked her again, and she was all the way dilated and ready to push! I exited, because I did not figure the family needed me there gawking, and it was no time before Ben came down the hall to the waiting area to tell us that little Julie Brooke was born! She weighed 6lb. 14 oz.! She is a doll! When I got to go in, I took Sarah with me. The baby was looking all around and just taking it all in! We laughed and said that at 8 p.m. none of us had thought that Wendy could get her out before midnight! But she fooled us all and pulled it off.

Wendy affectionately had a picture of her mother on her chest as she labored and birthed little Julie. I know we all wish that her mother could have lived just 6 more weeks and have seen this baby. My heart just went out to that scared girl giving birth. I know that I had my mother with me 4 out of 5 times I gave birth. The only one she missed was Daniel, and she could not have seen his birth anyway, as they took me to surgery and did a c-section. (Well, I guess technically, she was not right beside me with Hannah's c-section, either, but she was there to see her get to the nursery.) One time most girls want their mother is when they are giving birth. They don't want the husband's mother, most of the time. They want their own mom. I guess if there was any sadness tonight, it was because Wendy's mom could not see this.

Yet, today is a new beginning for little Julie Brooke and for her mom and dad. I pray that they will have happier days ahead, and that this little girl will be a comfort to her mom and to her great-grandmother in their times of sadness.

So, that is my account of the last few days. Am I exonerated for not blogging? Hopefully, snow days are not that far ahead, and maybe I will get more done. It's getting cooler! Yeah! Sweater-weather approacheth..... Until next time.......

The New Revised 2005 Map of the States

Yes, I have been playing in Paint Shop again. And yes, I am bored out of my mind.

Blah, blah, blah!

Sorry I have been A.W.O.L. lately. I have been a little uninspired, a little under the weather.

I do a double-take every time I look at when I last updated my blog. I cannot believe how fast the time passes. I gauge the days by how often I have to go through my phone messages and re-save them, which the phone company has made me do every five days every since I subscribed to their computerized message-taking system. I have a couple of messages on there that I have saved every 5 days for about 2 years now. Well, there are actually more than a couple there. (And yes, I am aware that is very, very sad.)(Just because I have been raising kids for 19 years now and have roughly 16 more years to go does not mean I have lost all touch with reality.)

There's the one where Micah called me from school and was sick and needed me to come and get him. His little voice was so sad, so needy, so absolutely pitiful and yet so precious at the same time that I have to find some way to save that snippet of his little 4th grade voice. It is priceless, and I just cannot bear to hit that delete-message button---not until I have saved that message.

Then, there is the one where my Mom called and said my sister-in-law was on the way to have a baby. That has been a year now. I thought that might be a keeper for Little Lauren in this age of technology. Most people save newspaper clippings. I save voice mails. Go figure.

I saved a voice message from my brother Don in Germany, calling to talk at some point. I like to hear his voice every five days just to hear it. I know; that's so sad. I have been begging him to come back to the good ole U.S.A. for years now. Somehow, I don't think it is going to happen. Ma Bell keeps us connected.

I have another from my brother Dan, because catching him on the voice machine was about the only way I get to hear him too. Everyone is so busy these days. Dan is working 4 jobs, preaching full time and getting his Master's Degree. He is not a bad brother---he's just a little busy. I understand, but I miss him.

Every so often, there's a message from Mom or Dad. It is usually nothing special--just a call to check in or to deliver a little news. Sometimes I have a hard time hitting the delete button, because I think, "What if that is the last voice message I should ever get from him/her?" I would love to hear so many voices from my past that are long gone now and ring only in my memory. I wish there had been more ways back then to just save their voices so that I could hear them whenever I felt like it.

Yes, some day soon, I will tape these voices off some way or other onto tape and not have to push the buttons every 5 days to keep the old calls from being deleted. Maybe if "little" Dan starts working at Radio Shack, he can hook me up with some techno-something-or-other that will pull the call off the voicemail. I'll find a way.

I have not posted in a few days because time and space finally came together and I was able to get the dreaded endometrial ablation. If you don't know what that is, consider yourself lucky. All you need to know is it involves sharp knives, a blow torch, and my uterus. Enough said? Yeah. Ouch. Time will tell if it was all worth it.

We're really rolling now with home school. Probably about the time we get going really smoothly, the present hurricane in the gulf will be over Tennessee. Bet you didn't know hurricanes bothered Tennessee, unless of course you live in Tennessee. Yes, indeedy, they do affect us here. In fact, sometimes, they just come on up and stall over us for about 3 days, and everything floods, but somehow, CNN and Fox News don't know about Tennessee's existence yet, so we never get covered for anything.

Back when we had cable, I used to get so mad, because the Weather Channel just left Tennessee entirely out. They would cover the East and the Southeast up about as far as Atlanta, skip up to the Northeast and tell what was to become of them the next day, and then after the commercial break, it was on over to California for the Western report. They would skip over the entire middle of the map most of the time, unless of course, they had to give a tornado warning for parts of Kansas. Then, Kansas might get mentioned. But Tennessee? No, never. My kids used to sit with their little noses pressed against the screen waiting to see if a foot of snow was going to fall on Tennessee the next day. But it never happened. They never acknowledged the Volunteer State, and now, all the kids are sadly nearsighted to boot.

I have no idea what has become of my dear 90-year-old friend Alice in Miami. I sent her a letter from Ohio while we were up there, but she has not answered yet. Katrina had just brushed Miami, but the story around New Orleans grew into a drama so fast that little was said about the condition of Miami. If you are out there, Alice, I hope you and Kirb are o.k.---and check in soon!

So now Rita is coming this weekend. (The Hurricane, not our dear Great-Aunt.) Yee Ha. I just love driving 50 miles each way to church in the middle of a September monsoon. We may just take the yacht this Sunday. (That's our above-ground pool with the tool house floating in it, all of which will probably be drifting happily down the Duck River by Sunday.)

Like a Vapor.....

Our "travel trailer"


Well, I know that I have been making sparse appearances in Blogville lately and then vanishing for long periods of time. Life has been a little more hectic than the usual chaos that surrounds a family of 7, and that is saying a lot. I've just come to the realization that I cannot be everywhere at one time, so sometimes, "Grit Gravy" will be a few priorities down the list.

We just returned from about 9 days of being up North. While I am not generally a fan of the area above the Mason-Dixon line, I felt quite blessed not to be mixed up in the drama of the South over the same time period.(i.e. We actually overcame Murphy's Law for once and did not book our vacation in New Orleans!!!!) While we felt a few pangs from the gas "shortage" and experienced humongous gas prices while North, that was about the extent of our sufferings, other than just crying for the pain being experienced by our sister states in the South.

Since I do not have cable at home, I was quite pleased to be able to view the drama in New Orleans as it unfolded. I guess I am a news/weather junkie at heart, and I was happy to at least be "in-the-know" as opposed to being at home trying to adjust the rabbit ears to get a weak news report off a local channel. While the images were heart-breaking, I am glad that I got to witness this little bit of history, and it gave the kids and I a chance to talk about it together. We surely are counting our blessings while re-living a little bit of our experience with Hurricane Hugo.

I did not announce our vacation online, as I did not want to advertise that the house was going to be vacant until we decided to come back. Since the date was open-ended, I decided to just wait til I got back to tell you all we were gone!


Our suite in Akron....and oh, you should see the bathroom....

Before we left for Akron, for my husband's business end of the trip, I called to try and find where a family of 7 could get a suite in Akron. It was not easy, and it was looking like we were going to have to book two adjoining rooms, until one spectacular customer service person found me the best suite I have ever had! It was awesome! The master bedroom had 2 KING-sized beds, and the den had a pull-out sofa for some of the kiddies. The den also had its own t.v., a huge desk for Daniel to use his laptop on, and a kitchen area with refrigerator and microwave and sink. Both the den and the bedroom opened into the HUGE bathroom. When I get to design my own one day, it will be a lot like this one. The sink area was huge. Three people could stand there at a time, which came in handy when combing hair for church. This part also had a full-size jacuzzi, in which I could stretch out my entire 5'7" body. No scrunching up here! That was my favorite place---letting the jets of water melt away years of accumulated fatigue and stress. (Haven't had a real vacation since '98!) The guys had their own shower room complete with potty. So it was really like having 2 bathrooms in one. So while we waited for "Dad" to come "home," I had the bedroom t.v. and the kids had the den one, so all were happy. And the best part was that we paid for ONE room! If you are ever going to Akron, get with me, and I will give you the details!

Tim was there for a company audit, which his team passed, we think, so he was happy with that. We worshipped three times with the Brown Street church, which was a pure delight. I have not seen services run with such respect and honor for God in a long, long time. I grew up "old school" and I still have a really hard time these days worshipping in places that take more and more of a casual attitude toward worship to God. I mean, really, it is the Almighty we are talking about here, but anymore, people come to services with the attitude and dress of coming for a slumber party. While I am equally against stiff and unfeeling worship toward God, I hate it when people treat God as though He is unworthy of any special effort. While I cannot know the heart of every member of Brown Street, I was impressed by their worship services and Bible study, and the elders are super! They just got a new preacher, too, and he was there for his first Sunday. He was as bleary-eyed as we were, as we had all driven well into the night to get to Akron Saturday night.

Thursday morning, we left for New Jersey to visit Tim's family. What a treat the entire visit was. The cool breezes were outstanding. There was enough sun to warm you, while all the time, cool breezes blew through the windows or across your face! I loved it, after the heat we have experienced this summer down here. They treated us like royalty the entire time we were there. Ginny, Tim's mom, and her sister, our Aunt Rita, planned and made some of the most delicious dinners! On Friday night, Lisa, our sister-in-law, made a wonderful Mexican dish for the entire family--and that is saying a lot. Tim's brother Billy, his sister Mary and husband Anthony, brother Pat and wife Lisa and three girls, Kelsie, Maggie, and Emma, and our family of seven, and of course Tim's parents, Bill and Ginny and Aunt Rita were all there! So that was a lot of Mexican! We celebrated Mary's birthday while we had the whole family together!



Aunt Mary with all her nieces...Hannah, Maggie, Emma, Kelsie and Sarah

We enjoyed just relaxing and sitting out on the deck with the aforementioned cool breezes by. Bill and Ginny have bird feeders at strategic places through the back yard so that cute little birds are constantly showing up to feed, and it further relaxes one to watch the sweet little things come to feed. The cooler was stocked with cokes and the coffee pot always had a fresh pot brewed. Bill made us steaks and salmon and burgers on the grill. Ginny made a hot chicken salad that was killer! Aunt Rita took me to some of her favorite stores on a Saturday afternoon shopping extravaganza! How much better can it get?



Bill and Ginny's friends and family love to go to their house and stay a few days because they know that there will always be refreshing times waiting. The only thing we did not get to do that I would have loved was to play some cards. We stayed on the go all the time or were doing other things and just did not get to the cards. That was o.k., though, as maybe we will get to do that another visit, either here or there.


A view out through Bill and Ginny's tranquil back yard...

Sarah and Hannah had a blast playing with their NJ cousins! They got to go to the park together several times, and Kelsie, Maggie and Emma were not only good playmates but also were good protectors and watchers of their younger cousins. Aunt Lisa and Hannah bonded really well, and Hannah would cuddle into Aunt Lisa's shoulder whenever she got the chance.


Aunt Lisa helps the wee ones make chalk drawings on the pavement and blow bubbles

Everyone who knows Hannah knows that was unusual, as Hannah does not warm easily to everyone. Hannah did learn how to say "Rita" before she left and was using Aunt Rita's name liberally as we packed to leave.



Sadly, we started back for home Monday afternoon. We drove as far as Bedford, PA the first night, then stopped and stayed the night. We brought it on in the next evening. It was kind of hard to come back to my bathtub without the jets and to making my own coffee again! :) We commented that we wished we could have had longer in NJ, but we were afraid that if we had stayed much longer, Ginny and Rita would have worked themselves to death! Ginny washed and folded all our dirty clothes while I was out shopping and when we went to church. She is an amazing woman!

Ginny also presented us with a book she has done on the genealogy of her side of the family. We got the Nolan side last year. These books are several inches thick and just filled with countless hours of research and work she did to put these together. They are real treasures, and we appreciate them so much. Our daughters will have a good start on knowing their "roots."

Everyone could not get over how much the kids, especially the boys, had grown. On Sunday, we worshipped with the Wharton church that we had worshipped with for a time when we lived in NJ for a year. Many of the members there have died or drifted back into the world, but a staunch group of believers is still faithful there. After services Sunday night, they all took us out to dinner at a true NJ diner! We were able to catch up a little bit on the news with the brethren there and enjoy a good meal with them! We were also touched that Gemma, wife of the preacher who died last September 11th, gave us some of his books. We will put them to good use as we homeschool this year. Jon was an avid history buff, so he had more books than we could fit in the car, but we brought what we could. We will appreciate their gift for years to come. We had to share some tears with Gemma. Jon was surely a special man. He baptized Tim, and beyond that, he just was a wonderful human being. We have every hope, I told Gemma, that he is waiting on the rest of us in heaven. People like Jon are my inspirations to keep going when the old body fails and times are hard. Jon never gave up, and we will never forget him.

All-in-all, we had a nice little get-away. While it was not a full-blown vacation, it was the closest thing to it we have had in a while! Now it is back to reality in Gravyville, with homeschool getting into full swing, boys looking for jobs, etc. We have much to do this fall to ready for the winter, so we will be busy. Hopefully, I will be able to update more, when I can wrestle the computer away from all the kids.

On the Lighter Side.....

Everything seems like it has been really "heavy" lately. Sometimes it is just like that. My mom tells me that sometimes, it is one's perspective. I guess I can agree with that. But how do you ignore it when things are happening right in front of your eyes? Especially if you are the compassionate sort????

So today, kiddies, we are taking a break from all the illness and death (what husband encountered on the way to work today) which is all around us and slipping off into the fantasy world of Disney princesses and such. I have to say this test is pretty accurate, though I am not sure that my friend James is really Cinderella!!! :)

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Irony of Ironies...The rest of the story....

My previous post was written in the early hours of last Friday morning. It was my 43rd birthday, and a dear and special friend had called to say she was stopping by with my birthday present on her way to work. I told you how I reflected that she and I needed to take a little time to stop and smell the roses together, as we both have a tendency to let all the responsibilities of life keep us from seeing each other as often as we would like.

I introduced you to Debbie, a good friend of mine for around 15 years now.

I had no way of knowing how her life would change before the end of the day.

I went through my weekend pretty much as usual. Our dinner plans got scrapped on my birthday, much to my chagrin, because of a fierce storm that surrounded us and turned our car back for safer roads several times that night. As we had traveled towards the north, a black cloud with some of the worst lightning coming out of it that I have ever seen blocked our safe passage to the interstate and dinner. We turned back to the south, and it came at us from the west. Finally, we stopped and got burgers for the kids and just came home. My fearless husband was even bothered by this storm. Local law enforcement thought that a small tornado may have even come through, as it netted a tree through one of their windshields while they were out on a call.

Sunday, we made our usual journey to worship and on to my parents' home, then back to worship, and then back to the parents for the birthday celebration with family. I was so tired on the trip home Sunday night that I fell asleep, something I don't normally do in the car. When I got in, I was too tired to even check my email...something else I rarely fail to do.

When I got up early Monday morning, I had a shock waiting in the inbox. Debbie had emailed me to say that late Friday afternoon, her husband got a lab report back that a growth removed from his head was malignant. Melanoma.

Isn't it ironic how you can go weeks....months....without interacting with people, and then all of the sudden, you feel compelled to find them? I have learned to listen to my impulses to make that phone call or write that letter or card, or just get in the car and head on over to a friend's house, because the impulse is usually for a special reason.

Debbie and I talked yesterday, and our porch swing session, still scheduled for Thursday, is bound to include a lot of prayer. We are going to hang on to the hope for now that this is all a big mistake (Deb's husband says that there were others in the Dr.'s office getting moles removed, and his was not grey, as the doctor reported but instead a very distinct shade of pink. We all know that lab tests can get mixed up....) And if Tony is indeed afflicted with this problem, we are going to pray to the Great Physician for his complete healing so that he may go on to do great things in the kingdom of the Lord someday. This is my hope and prayer, and I hope it will be yours too!

(If all this makes entirely no sense to you, please read the previous post.)

Please keep my mom in your prayers, too. She goes to the oncologist today to see what they are going to do about the swollen lymph nodes in her neck. I will keep you posted.

I Challenge You.....

Moi with my neighbor and best friend, Debbie


Debbie came to be my neighbor sometime around 1991 or 1992. I don't even remember exactly when she came down from Michigan with her husband and family for his job with Saturn. They moved in next door, and our kids were very close in age. When her Amber was in 4th grade, my Daniel was in 3rd, her Sarah in 2nd, and my Sam in 1st. We both added an addition son later on that are a year or so apart in age. Micah and Kyle love playing with each other when they get the chance.

Life was always crazy for both Debbie and me, mothering all these kids, taking care of husbands and extended family and friends. We were both very active in our respective local churches.


Debbie with Sam last year at her daughter's graduation party

Debbie and I lived next door to each other, and we used to joke that we just needed to get together and have tea or something. We rarely ever got the time to do that. Once or twice, after I divorced, I snuck over to her house late at night, and she and I and all the kids would have a late night movie fest. It did not happen as often as I would have liked.


Debbie with Daniel last year

Debbie always knew how to be there when I needed her most. One day, when I was going through my divorce, I was out in the yard feeling pretty sorry for myself. I had a brand new baby, an acre and a half to mow (with the baby on my arm) and it was hotter than Hades. (not really, but TN summers are brutal.) I was just finishing up and thinking how lousy it was going to be to have to go in and cook dinner after slaving on the yard. Out of the blue, here came Debbie, hot plate of food and cool drink in hand. I thought of the bible passage about someone giving someone else a cup of cool water in His name. She revived my body and my spirit more than once in her special ways. I don't know how she just knew when I was at the end of my rope, but she always did, and she was always there.

We had a yard sale together the day my ex got married. She kept my mind off the negative things and helped me rise above all the pettiness that one can get into in divorce situations.

Debbie slaved washing windows and bought herself one of those fancy gliders for the front porch so that she could sit and watch the prettiest sunsets on the face of the planet. She said that we should get together some afternoon and just sit and talk and watch the sunset. But we never did it. Eight or ten years we lived beside each other, and we never slowed down enough to take in a sunset together.

The day came when I remarried. Debbie was right there beside me. She got me through the wedding. She ironed my dress, partied all night with me and the bridesmaids at my house as we made bouquets for the bridesmaids and put finishing touches on the homemade dresses. She stood beside me with her two beautiful daughters as I took my vows.


Debbie (top, far left, and her girls, far right in white,) were with me on my special day, 1998



Debbie and I share a hug after my wedding, 1998

A week later, when I got back from my honeymoon and had inner ear problems so bad that I could not stand up, she came over and packed up my house for New Jersey. We sat in my empty bedroom floor and cried and hugged and lamented the fact that we never had tea in the porch swing.

A year later, I unexpectedly and delightedly got to move back to Tennessee and that house next to my dear friend. But I had a new baby on the way, and we were growing out of that house. We bought a new house and moved across town, and chances to see each other pretty soon became confined to Christmas, each other's birthdays, and special children events.


Debbie's family with Daniel at his graduation, 2005

Debbie called me the day her husband had a heart attack and asked me to be the one to intercept the kids when they came home from school and keep them until she could get to them. She called me when her daughters were in a devastating car accident. She came to me when I nearly died in the hospital. We are on each other's school contact list for emergencies with the kids. That's the way it is with a true friend. You know they will be there whenever you need them.

We have managed to maintain our friendship from a 5 mile distance, but we never have done that porch swing gig.

Debbie called last night and said she was dropping by today with my birthday present. I called her back this morning and asked her if we could get together for a sunset or something. We made an appointment for Thursday evening. Lord willing, we are going to share a cup of tea and a sunset next Thursday.

Isn't it terrible that we don't take the time to do the things that mean the most to us? Debbie and I have shared 15 years of kids and laughter and tears and weddings and graduations, but we can't find the time to sit for tea. I don't want to wait until one of us gets told that we only have a little while to live...or until one of us is suddenly and irreversibly gone for good. Maybe that day will never come, and maybe it will. I am not a betting woman.

So today, on my birthday, my wish for you is that you should think up one thing you have been meaning to do for a while now, and make an appointment to do it. I triple-dog dare you to do something adventuresome--like having tea with your best buddy! People don't live forever. Sometimes, they are gone before you have the chance to tell them what they really mean to you. Do whatever it takes....put it on your overflowing calendar if you must, but just do it.

The Meaning of Life?

I turn 43 tomorrow. I know it is not common for a woman to tell her age, but I am not so sensitive about it that I mind anyone knowing. The day after tomorrow, my class is having its 25th reunion. I decided not to go, because honestly, I did not like them much 25 years ago, and I doubt things have changed that much. Plus, I have not forgiven them for the punch-spiking incident at my 5th reunion that left me near comatose. That's another story.

It is at these milestone events that we tend to take stock of our lives and what they mean. Each day, I cannot help but recognize that I am one blessed gal overall. Yet, the very human side of me mourns all the sad things that go on in this world and sometimes leads me to question what it all means, especially on the "special" days.

I don't mean to doubt God, His Wisdom, His Providence, or His Plans for me. He has been awfully good to me. I have not had a perfect "golden" life like some people I know, but that's o.k. My life has been good enough. I've never known material wealth--at least according to this country's standards, but I know I have been blessed beyond measure compared to so many who have lived in this world. I was a happy child in general, and my parents did a good job of protecting me and providing what I needed spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Then I grew up and made some choices that were not the wisest (i.e. first husband) which affected the course of the rest of my life.

Still, if I had not married my first husband, I would not have my 3 precious boys, so I cannot be too unhappy with how things went. They are such a blessing to me and to others, and I cannot imagine life without them. Besides, I have not done so badly since the divorce. I first found out that I could make it without a man if I had to, and just when I was comfortable alone again, God sent me....a man!!!! And just when I thought that I was finished with childbirth and would never have a daughter, this new man gave me two extraordinary girls.

I just got through sending my husband off to work this morning, and as he left, he happily carried two little drawings the oldest girl left at the foot of the door for him. He told me that lately, she has been making drawings and leaving them by the door so he will find them in the morning. She is uniquely gifted at age 5 with a sense of color and balance and composition on the paper that leaves her dad and me in awe of her talent and the sweetness of her being. The spirit in this little girl is without a doubt the sweetest one I have ever known in any human. Her works of "art" leave us breathless and feeling so blessed.

Then there is the other daughter--not quite two---and the total antithesis of her sister. (She has a sweet spirit, too, but unfortunately, she got her mother's Irish temper!) Her little voice is sultry-sweet. Her vocabulary is wonderful. Her pronunciation needs some work, but it is getting there. Behind those huge brown eyes, you can practically see the cogs moving as she reasons things out. She is extraordinarily tactile. She MUST touch everything. Texture is her life. Her little hands are constantly moving from one item to the next, seeing how it works...what it feels like between the fingers....then discarded for the next item. She can turn a house to shambles in nothing flat if not assigned a protector from her pool of siblings. Nothing holds her attention for more than a few seconds, and this is exhausting for the rest of us who marvel at her energy.

I look at them all---all 5 precious kids...and the precious husband God provided, and I say....this is what life is all about....loving the ones God has entrusted to you....

I don't have too much energy left at 43. It has been a hard decade for me, these 40-something years. I came as close to death as I want to come in 2003 with Hannah's birth, and I am still climbing back up from that pit. I have told Tim that if it feels like this to be 43, then how will I ever tolerate how it feels at 63 or 83 if the good Lord lets me stay here?

Mom is nearly 66. I was just looking at her the last time I visited her. She looked so pretty. When we drove up, she was out watering her beautiful plants. She was brown as a biscuit from living in the new pool she and Dad put in, and she looked so happy and at peace. It was good to see her like this, because she and Dad worked their tushes off for 45 years to get to where they are now---retired, happy, blessed with grandkids, and working in the Lord's kingdom without a lot of outside distraction.

And then the bubble bursts. The illusion of paradise is shattered by the reality that something is wrong. There is swelling in the lymph nodes. It is worsening by the day. Mom is sick.

The memories of my 40th birthday come flooding back. Mom was sick and in the hospital. Nobody knew what was wrong. She was an enigma to the doctors. It was not West Nile, not Castleman's, not lymphoma, not hystoplasmosis...but they did not know WHAT it was. Eventually, she got better, but she had to retire. It was a long, slow battle to regain her strength. And just when we all thought that she was the best she has nearly ever been...now this.

The pathologist she worked for for years and years will get a biopsy and take another look. This may be a whole new deal. He does not think this is just an infection.

It is amazing how you can hear of one thing after another--other people's trials--but until you have your own crosses to bear, it does not really get real to you. I have worked through the years on trying to really care about my brethren, especially, and not have my eyes glaze over as they tell me about the trial that is torturing their soul. You know, you listen to the little old lady who is grieving the loss of her husband, but you are young and strong, and it really does not sink in about the depth of her despair. Or you ask that new divorce' how she's doing now that she is on her own with the kids and that louse of an ex-husband doesn't even bother to support the kids, and you don't even really hear her answer because you cannot focus on someone else's pain for five minutes without getting a headache. Or you feel bad for the family across town that lost their soldier boy in Iraq, but it doesn't really register until you get the call that your son or brother or very best friend is the latest casualty.

Then, all of the sudden, it is you who is divorced, and now you know what that girl was agonizing over. Out of the blue, it is your grandmother that has died. Now you "get it." You sit in church week after week, listening to the announcements, and you surely are sorry about so-in-so's mother that passed away, but it does not mean much until you have lost someone close to you.

I have not figured out the meaning of life yet, but I have drawn some conclusions based on the revelation of the mind of God through His Word. It really is not all that hard, as they are spelled out in the Bible. You just have to notice them and then unequivocally believe them. Here are some of my favorites:

1. "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

2. "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-38)

3. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."(John 13:35)

4. "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble." (I Peter 3:8)

5. "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (James 1:26-27)

6. "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (I Thessalonians 4:11-12)

7. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." AND "For every man shall bear his own burden." (Galatians 6:2 and 6:5)

8. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

9. "Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. (Psalm 39:5) AND "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14)

10. "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." (I Timothy 6:6-8)

11. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:1-6)

12. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21


About the only sense that I can make out of life is that God created us, and He put us here to serve Him and to serve each other until our short little vapor of a life goes "poof!" We can either accept that, be grateful for our blessings and live peacefully and obediently, or we can fight it, be ungrateful, and be prepared to face an angry and disappointed Father in Judgement.

I haven't found all the answers in 43 years. I doubt I will find them all if I should live another 43 years. But I am learning, accepting, growing. As the old cliche' goes, I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow in His hands. And I guess that is really all I need to know.