A Moment in the Life of a Mother

The Tupperware Lady

2012-01-24T20:24:00.002-06:00

All of us have some kind of dishes in our kitchen be it pots, bowls, plates, flatware, etc. We all like to eat on fine china and set the table with our best silver. But what do you do with all those leftovers that need to go in the fridge or all the extra boxes of snacks, cereal, crackers and such that are crowding up your cabinets?? You call The Tupperware Lady!!

I have a good friend in Florida who is a great Tupperware consultant and has held many parties in my home and my friends home's. I learned very quickly that Tupperware had not gone out with the dark ages but was in fact still the most popular plastic around. Slowly I began to collect pieces and some of them I use daily. Others I keep in the cabinet for those special occasions when they are needed.

This week I have made the decision that I want to try to sell Tupperware in my area. I don't know how good I'll be, but I can tell you that I have the greatest teacher in my friend Sue Skirvin and I know she will train me well to be a consultant. I'm looking forward to stepping out on my own and seeing how well I can sell the merchandise. Right now there are not very many consultants in my area, if any. I hope to monopolize the area and quickly.

So if you live in my neck of the woods and are interested in having a party, please feel free to contact me through Facebook or leave a comment on this page. I would love to book a party with you!! I think it's going to be an exciting adventure for me and hopefully a good source of income.

Thanks for stopping by!! God bless!!

~Gale~

Snow, ice and lots of cold!!! Winter is here!!!

2012-01-21T08:58:00.003-06:00

Winter has arrived in full force. Finally!!! We have waited all "winter" for the cold and snow to come. The girls received sleds for Christmas and have waited anxiously for that "big" one to come so they can slide down the hill...lol!!! Hopefully before winter is over this will happen!!

We are doing well. Tom is working hard getting his dad's building built. It's pretty big so after work and on the weekends he is over there hammering and building. The girls and I are just hanging out enjoying being together. Tom's dad had a tree log fall on his leg and it was broken in 2 spots. He is healing up well but will be on a walker for a couple more weeks. He is so anxious to get outside to help Tom with his project.

School is half over and Tricia is doing great!!! She loves Truth Christian school. Makes me feel good when she is happy. They are getting ready for a big Valentine's Day party. They are having a valentine box contest. We are hunting ideas for a great valentine box for her to take to the party.

Katie is happy all the time!! She never stops talking unless she is singing or asleep...lol!! She has all kinds of imaginary friends and they have so much fun together...lol!! She is doing her Abeka home school material. She is smart and I have a great feeling she will do well in school.

I have been on a low carb diet and have lost about 24 pounds. I went to the doctor in November and she did an A1C test on me and the results were not good. Instead of going on meds as she suggested I decided to make some radical changes in my life. With God's help I have been able to lose the weight and my sugar has stayed down really well. I'm anxious to go back in February to be checked again. I started walking around our house. We have a circle road that goes completely around us. 5 laps around is a mile and I am up to 10 laps. Because of the nasty weather I have been doing Walk A-Way the Pounds inside. I am very happy with the results so far and I am trusting God for strength to keep on losing pounds. It's hard when you like to eat...lol!!

So, I trust every one's doing well and that God is leading and guiding you every day. Without Him we would be nothing. God bless til next time!!!

~Gale~

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:39:00.002-06:00

Today is a very special day to be thankful for all the blessings that God has given to each of us. Our families, friends, homes to live in, food on the table and clothes to wear. Most of all the blessing of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins that we might have everlasting life. We are so blessed!!! It's a good day to reflect on our blessings!!

We are headed to my mothers apartment for dinner. It will only be me and the girls along with my hubby's Aunt Barb and Uncle Don. Tom's father had an accident on Saturday and has been in the hospital through today. He is getting to come home sometime today. Tom and his cousin Jerrod went to get them last night. This will be the first Thanksgiving without my hubby in 11 years. We are just so glad that his dad's leg wasn't damaged anymore than it was. A log from a tree fell on his leg and broke the same bone in two different places. He was up last night and this morning walking with a walker which is a wonderful sign that he's healing. We have so much to be thankful for.

I can't help but think where we would be as a Christian nation if the Pilgrim's had not made that long journey to the United States so they could worship in freedom from government oppression. We might still be there being forced to worship in bondage. Thanks to those brave men and women who sacrificed all they loved to come here for our religious freedom.

I want to thank all of our service men and women for their dedicated lives to keeping our country a free country. I know that you are missing Thanksgiving with your family and friends, but we truly honor you for your bravery!!! God's blessings on each and every one!!!!

I hope and trust that each one who reads this blog has a wonderful Thanksgiving day!! Reflect on your blessings!! Count them one by one!! Thank God for you very life!! He deserves all our praise!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

It Is Well (As was told to me)

2011-09-26T17:22:00.001-05:00

Many years ago just after the civil war, there was a lawyer who lived in the Michigan area. He had five children and loved God with all his heart. He was an extremely intelligent man and was friends with good men such at Dwight L. Moody. This man was a lawyer for doctors and was well loved. One day his little boy became gravely ill and had an infection that could not be treated. The little boy died. His father and mother were so sad over losing their precious little boy. But life goes on.

A few months later this man purchased a strip of properties along Lake Michigan. He intended to transform these buildings into housing and one in particular into a YMCA for his friend Mr. Moody. While making plans, a fire broke out along the water and completely destroyed all of the buildings on the property that this man owned. Feeling so discouraged and broken he sought out his good friend Phil who asked how he was doing and suggested that he take his family to Europe where Mr. Moody was in evangelistic work. This friend thought that he could use a get a way and would like to work with Mr. Moody. So the man made plans with his wife and four daughters to sail to Europe.

The night before they were to sail a knock came at the door and one of the city officials was there. He told this man that he would need to come to a meeting about the property that had been burned. The man explained that he and his family were to set sail the next day. The city official told him that if he didn't show up in two days to the meeting he would possibly lose his land. So he had no choice but to stay behind while his family went ahead to Europe.

While sailing the next day to Europe, there was a great fog that came up on the water; so bad that they could not see where they were going or anything in the way. Fog horns began to sound and bells began to blow as the great ship came into collision course with another ship. They could not avoid each other and the ships collided. It only took twelve minutes for the ship to sink. Most of the passengers were saved but this man's children were all lost at sea. Only his wife was saved.

When the man heard that his family, save his wife, was gone he bowed his head and wept. Why could this have happened? First his little boy, then his property and now his four beautiful daughters. How heavy this mans heart was. He made plans to sail to Europe to join his devastated wife. The grief that this couple shared could only be imagined. How their hearts were broke.

While aboard ship he asked the steward to please let him know when they reached the place where the first ship had gone down. When they reached that spot this man went to the top deck and stood by the rail weeping in agony over the loss of his dear children. It was then that God gently reminded him that He too had lost his Son Jesus. He whispered to this mans heart of the grief that He bore as He watched His Son die on the cross at the hands of cruel men. He then gently reminded this man that He was the peace giver.

Thus, Horatio G. Spafford wrote the beautiful words that we all know so well, It Is Well With My Soul. He sent them back to his friend in Michigan who put the words to music and it will forever be a great hymn of the church.

When peace like a river attendeth my way.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet,

though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded

My helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood

for my soul.

My sin--Oh the bliss of this

glorious tho't.

My sin--not in part

but the whole.

Is nailed to His cross

And I bear it no more

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

O my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day

when the faith shall be sight

The clouds be rolled back

as a scroll.

The trump shall resound

and the Lord shall descend

Even so--it is well with my soul.

God is so good!!!

2011-09-09T21:59:00.000-05:00

We were in need of a few things and had a desire for some others...lol!! Since it's 2 totally different things are start with one and then go to the other. Does that make sense???

Tom wanted to can make some home made ketchup. Don't ask me why!! So the neighbor told us to get our tomato's from his vines as he didn't need them. When Tom went to get them today they were for the most part rotted. He was so disappointed. I told him we could do it next year or maybe someone else might have some extra they don't want. He gave up on the idea for the time being. We had a meeting at the school for Tricia and after we were done the Pastor asked us if we wanted some tomatoes. Tom perked right up and said yes. The pastor gave us about a bushel or so of tomatoes. We were flabbergasted!! God knew Toms desires and He gave Tom the tomatoes he needed. We were so thankful!!

Since moving here we knew that we would have to get some winter clothes. I mean, who needs winter clothes in Florida??? At least not like you need them here. Anyway, we were going next week to get some coats and shoes, etc. The same pastor at Tricia's school has a thrift store. He doesn't charge for clothes, only furniture and nic-nacs. He suggested that we come down and look at the store. We went and God again answered prayer. We found 2 long wool coats for church - one for mom and one for me. Also found 3-4 sweaters for Tricia and 2 coats for her. Tom found work pants and a work coat. The pastor found a box of shoes and gave me a practically brand new pair of winter shoes. I also found 3 dresses which I am planning on giving 2 of them to mom since they are her size.

What a blessing this trip to the school turned out to be. We were really worried about this meeting and God took the whole meeting and made it a blessing for us!! Now ain't God good??????

There's always a rainbow after a storm

2011-09-07T06:35:00.002-05:00

Tom and I have realized since moving to Ohio that sometimes we just have to grab the end of the rope and hold on til the storm passes over. We have been here since the first of June and we really like the area we are in as well as the beautiful lush green land that is all around us. Looking at all of the beauty that God has created has reminded us of just how much He loves us...more than all His creations He loves us the most (and by that I mean human kind). Sometimes through the storm clouds it's hard to see the love of God.

Work has been slow for Tom. When you work construction you never know what will happen from day to day. The weather plays a big factor in whether you get a full day of work or not. We have seen some not so good weeks since being here. The devil knows how to use that against us. We have struggled quite a bit after moving here. On the other hand, we were working ourselves to death in FL and our kids never saw us. I guess when you think about it we are with our girls more since being here and we haven't starved. We have a lot to be thankful for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we have been really discouraged and we feel like we are hanging on by a thread. Our one sustaining power is the knowledge that God has not forgotten us and He is supplying our every need. We are working to strengthen our faith and to trust Him more. He is always faithful to our needs and His promises are true. He will not let us down!! We are doing our best to believe this!!

So every day I am finding something to be thankful for. Believe it or not once you start being thankful for one thing, you can find lots more to be thankful for. When we are thankful for what we have in the hard times, God will lift us up and encourage us and we have felt that encouragement. There is a rainbow coming our way!! We are trusting!!

Beans, beans and more beans!!

2011-08-29T19:40:00.003-05:00

Finally!! We have beans!!! We planted our garden about a week after we moved here in June and we picked our fist batch tonight. We started a little after 6 and finished a few minutes after 8. We are so blessed!! We probable have enough to can about 14-16 qts. It has been a lot of work but we have really enjoyed it. Now we are just waiting for our corn to produce and hopefully we will have corn to put in the freezer. God is good and we are so very thankful!!!

A big job!!

2011-08-25T19:45:00.004-05:00

In thinking of all the things God has asked us to do and has given to us to care for I have found that none of them are greater than our children. They are such a blessing and a beautiful gift to us and we are to take the best care we can of them. God says in His word that we are to "train them up in the way they should go and they would not depart from it." Sometimes that is hard and we have to make some tough decisions, but if we are training them God will take care of the rest.

Tom and I believe 100% in Christian education. We have had our girls in Christian schools since they started. I heard a preacher preach one time on training our children up for Christ. He made this statement "Why would you raise your children in Jerusalem and bus them to Egypt for training?" I have never forgotten that comment. It is our duty as Christian parents to train them first and foremost at home. Teaching them about Christ and His love for them is the most important lesson we can give. I believe that sending them to a Christian school only strengthens the training that we as parents are giving our children at home.

We recently had someone comment about how we are spending too much money sending them to a Christian school. I was rather put out with that person and had to ask God to help them with their ignorance. It is money well spent!!! I worked a lot of hours this past year so that my girls could go and I wouldn't trade one moment for anything else.

Doing it the old fashion way

2011-08-24T10:08:00.002-05:00

I have heard so many people talking about making their own laundry soap and I've kind of scoffed at the idea thinking that I couldn't live without my Tide...:):) I finally broke down and decided to make some home made soap. I had been give some recipes and had googled laundry soap and found even more recipes, but I just wasn't happy with any of them. I mean, who wants to spend an entire day trying to make laundry soap? I wanted something fast and efficient that would get the job done without the big expense I had been paying.

My friend Deborah Mershimer posted a recipe on facebook stating that she didn't melt and boil and squish stuff together but rather she just did a dry recipe. She made it sound so quick and easy that I wanted to try it too. I bought the ingrediants and made my first batch. I was so impressed. It was easy to make. Each batch is one grated bar of Fels-Naptha soap, one cup borax and one cup washing soda. All ingredients now available at our WalMart! Yay! You can also use Zote soap or castille soap. Today I made mine with a bar of Ivory soap because I had forgotten to get the Fels- Naptha bar while shopping on Monday. It usually takes about 2-3 tsp. of soap per load and you can add vinegar, bleach and oxy clean if you so desire. It is about 5 cents a load. You can't beat that.

So, I did my first load with this new home made soap. I think that load was towels. After they were done they smelled so fresh and clean I was impressed. But I knew the real test would be on my husbands work clothes. He works construction, mows the hay fields and sweats like a horse. I knew if his clothes (which I do not allow in my clothes hamper) came clean then I was sold on this soap. His clothes came out super clean!!!! They even smelled fresh!!! I was sold!!!!

Now that's all I use. I have 2 little kittens in the house right now because one has a broken leg and their bedding gets yucky!! They come clean and smell fresh!!!

So there it is. I love it and I would encourage you to try it for yourself. You will find it fantastic just like I did!!!

Hello friends

2011-08-19T11:34:00.006-05:00

It has been quite a long time since my last update on here. I was so shocked and pleased to see all the comments on my last blog. I had not been to this site and didn't know so many of you were reading my blog. Thank you for your kind comments.

Summer is over and school is here. It's been a wonderful and fulfilling summer with lots of changes in the Wheatcraft household. It would take a book to tell you everything, so I will just highlight the events of our lives for you.

We moved from Florida to Ohio this summer. After 7 yrs. we felt that a change was necessary for our family. So we packed up and in June moved to a very little town in Ohio where there are no street lights and the only public building is the post office. A very radical change for us. We were one mile from Jupiter Island in Florida where all the stores were in walking distance from us and people were everywhere. It was so dry that everything was brown and ugly. Imagine the culture shock (in a good way) when we came to Ohio and everything was green and lush. The trees are so full of leaves and the grass is so soft and green. It took us a while to adjust to the beauty of God's handwork. Not to say that Florida is not beautiful. I love FL and would move back in a heart beat. We just had been used to the brown and dry yards in contrast to the lush green here. We moved into an old farmhouse with 4 bedrooms and lots of space. It has been an experience let me tell you.

You can see how old this house is but we have lots of beautiful yard and even planted a garden. My corn is high as an elephants eye...lol, and my beans are so bushy. They are getting ready to produce and I'm ready to pick...lol. This is another new experience for us because in FL we had nowhere for a garden. I'm looking forward to canning some beans and putting up corn.

Another thing that we are having a hard time with is gas in the vehicles. In FL we hardly had to fill up the cars because everything was so close. Here, we drive 30 minutes to get to Wal-Mart. It's been a challenge to say the least. After moving here and realizing this, we began to plan our trips so that everything we need was bought during that trip so we weren't making unnecessary trips to town.

My Tricia loves horses with a passion. We have never been able to give her a horse for lack of space and money. When we moved here there were 3 horses around the corner from us. Two of them kept getting out and grazing in every one's yards. One morning they found their way to our yard and my garden. I didn't know how to get rid of them and not wanting my garden in their bellies, I called the police. To make a long story short, they came and went and a few days later my hubby was talking with the horse owner and she said she was getting rid of the horses. When he asked her how much she said she was just looking for a good home for them. Tom was so excited to hear this and said we would take them. We took them out to the farm and Tricia is in love.

We are in the process of trying to buy our own place right now. We are hoping to be able to build a home on the farm that Tom's parents own. It's a slow process but we are patiently waiting. Last week the girls added two new kittens to our family. They are so precious. Sunday morning Katie accidentally shut the car door on the little females leg. It is broken so we put a splint on it's leg on Monday and she is sleeping in a cage in the laundry room. She is feeling much better. We named her Callie and we named the tomcat Tiger. We all nicknamed him fatso. He is such a roly-poly. He is a blast!!

Well that lets you know what is going on in our house. I will post pictures later of the kittens. I'm finding that blogspot is frustrating when it comes to pictures. Leave me a comment when you have the time. Take care.

Reading, writing, and arithmatic!!!

2010-08-27T12:02:00.002-05:00

Tricia is loving second grade She hardly complains because she has to get up early to go to school. That in itself is a blessing. Who wants to dress a cranky child??? I'm often amazed at how much she has changed since last year. She is so excited to start the reading program again. She really enjoyed it last year. She goes after class on M,W,& F until about 5 p.m. and does all her reading and homework. It gives me a break plus she gets to go to the park and play if there's time. I'm just glad the first week is past and our schedule has been reestablished. Next week will hopefully go a lot smoother.

I'm house sitting this week taking care of two dogs and a cat. I had pictures on here of the animals before but since then one dog died and a new dog is now there. They are both golden retrievers and so they are very gentle natured dogs. My girls love to walk them as long as they don't have to pick up poo...lol!!! That unfortunately is mommies job...lol!! We like staying at this house because it's so big compared to our little house and there's a huge bathtub for the girls to play in with jets in it. They have a blast "swimming" in the tub. They make quite a mess for mommy but that's ok. :):)

We started cleaning at the school to help pay tuition. That has been a challenge. Trying to find the right time for everyone in the family is sometimes a pain. Last night we went after supper and it seemed to work better. We are cleaning 9 classrooms and 8 bathrooms. Its a lot of work but with Tom and I working together it is going faster. Tricia is the trash lady and she does a good job. Katie just kind of hangs out and makes us all nervous...lol!!

Toms parents will be here over labor day and we are excited to see them. Especially the girls. They love to go visit G&G in Ohio and we haven't been since Christmas. It will be nice to have them visit. We plan to go up for Thanksgiving. We're excited about that too.

One thing is for sure, God is good and He is good all the time!! He has never failed us and we are trusting Him for our future. It's so good to know that we have a heavenly Father who watches out for us and loves us so much. I'm glad I'm His and He is mine!! God bless and thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment. I love to read them. :):)

School is in session!!!

2010-08-23T09:58:00.004-05:00

First day of school today and it began so nice. Tricia woke right up and sat up in bed all shaky so I made her lay back down for a few minutes to get fully awake...lol!!! She was so excited she couldn't hardly sit still. Hope the rest of the year goes the same. She is in second grade this year. She was so excited to see her friends and catch up on all the news.

Her back pack was all ready to go last night.We decided to go over to grandma's and say hello before going to school. Katie spent the night at grandma's so I could concentrate on getting Tricia ready. I just can't hardly believe she is old enough to be in second grade. My Katie will go next fall. That will really seem weird.

An update for you

2010-07-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

Hello to all my friends. I know, I know, this is the “lazy mans” way of writing letters but I’m too tired to hand write it so here it is. I thought it was time to say hello and update everyone on all the news from our end of the good ol’ USA!!

We do have some hot weather going on down here in FL but then I think it’s hot everywhere these days. We just had a little storm pass by us and thank God it didn’t cause any damage to us. We sure would have liked to had more rain with it but God knows what we need. I’m sure that the southern part of FL and the Caribbean Islands got plenty of rain. One thing about these storms, even if they are below us or above us, we tend to get some great breezes. That makes our evenings fantastic for bike rides and walks.

Summer has been slow here. My work has slowed down considerably and so I have been able to spend a lot of time with my girls. We have been to the beach several times but we haven’t really gone anywhere. It’s nice to just relax and spend time at home for a change. The girls get so hot when they are outside and Katie isn’t out long til she’s right back inside. She is like her mother. We are homebodies and like to be indoors.

Tricia has started piano lessons. She has had 4 now and I’m really impressed at how well she is doing. She hollers she doesn’t want to do it but I have been encouraging her all the way. She can do it and I’m sure she will one day thank me for making her focus and learn to play. She is also doing very well singing and has decided that she wants to do some voice lessons. This thrills me so much. I thank God daily for the opportunities that He is sending our way. I keep telling her how honored God is to see her using her talents for Him.

Katie is growing and getting more “smarty pants” everyday. She will be 4 in December and we are still contemplating putting her in PreK. I’m not wanting to rush her but yet she really wants to go. I guess we will see how mature she is when that time comes. I think it’s the phenomenon of going and not the work that is involved.JJ Katie recently was dog bit on the left side of her face. We were so scared because her eye was scratched. The dog didn’t clamp down on her face; he kind of snapped and raked his teeth down her face. She was swollen and bruised and two places were bleeding. We took her to the ER and they checked her eye good and cleaned the cuts. She is pretty well healed up now and doesn’t look like she will have any scarring. We just thank God for His hand of protection on her. It could have been much worse.

Tom is doing good. He joined a gym in town and is really interested in working out and getting into shape. Since switching jobs he is not nearly as active as he used to be and I think it’s catching up with him. He’s getting a little pudgy around the middle…lol!! He thinks the world is falling apart. I told him I love him pudgy but he won’t hear it.

I’m not sure how I am. I’m wishing I had more work and yet dreading when Fall gets here and I actually do get more work. We have taken on the cleaning job with the school to pay tuition. It will be about 25 hours a week. We wanted to do it because when Katie starts it will be a big chunk of money to send them both. Since this is why we came we have to work hard to make it happen. Tom is going to help in the evenings and I think with all of us we can get it done in half the time. It’s not hard work we just can’t get in there until after school is out.

We still live at 9085 SE Morning Street, Hobe Sound, FL 33455 if you want to drop us a letter or post card. The girls love to get mail. Every once in a while I send them a letter. They get so excited when they see their name on the envelope.

Buddy is still with us. Hair and all!! He is so adorable. The girls love him so much. Katie is not a bit scared of him after her dog bite scare. She still hangs all over Buddy and lays on him. He is so gentle with the girls and they love him a lot. We have taught them that teasing him is bad and they get into trouble if they start to. He is a good dog and really is protective when he is in the yard. It’s so funny how he just runs to everyone like a lumbering elephant and gives them kisses. Everyone backs up a few feet when he comes towards them…lol!! I guess they think because he’s big and black that he’s mean. It’s quite the opposite.

Well, I guess I will close this letter by saying that we still serve a wonderful Savior who has answered so many prayers and worked so many miracles in our lives in just the past few weeks. One of these days I’ll write and list all the prayers He as answered for us. I’m so thankful that I have Him to turn to and I know that He hears and answers prayer!!!

Take care and write to us soon. We love you all!!! God bless and keep you!!!

Love, Tom, Gale, Tricia, Katie and Buddy!!!!

Why does He love me so????

2010-07-19T10:47:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wondered why things happen??? Why this door closed and that window opened??? Why we have to get sick or why our loved ones have to leave us??

We have so many why's in our life and it's only natural since we are human. Sometimes the questions in our minds can be so overwhelming and we just feel like we cannot hold on.

Jesus said that if we will hold to his hand he will lead us and guide us. He also promised that one day we would "understand it better by and by." Now we see through a glass that is dark, but one day we would see through that glass clearly.

I don't know when that day will come for me and I am one of those people who have so many questions. I am just trying to hold on to the promises in His Word. There are a lot of things that I don't understand and probably will never understand, but the assurance that He will one day give me the understanding I need is healing to my heart and soul.

We recently had to do a lot of repairs to our vehicle. We don't know why this vehicle had to have all the problems it had all at one time but it did. We had no idea where the money was going to come from to repair it. But God did!!!

Our neighbor friends had a truck that was wrecked under very serious circumstances. They were devastated over the truck but were left with nothing but to try to start over with something else. God gave them a little money and they bought another truck which needed some repairs. To make a long story short, they were able to tare down the wrecked truck using the parts to fix the "new" truck. Now the "new" truck runs well and they aren't out a lot of money to fix it. Do you think God might have been looking out for their future???

Not only was He watching out for them, he was watching out for us as well. Our vehicle as I said above was having a total breakdown. We ended up having to replace not only the head gaskets, but the engine heads as well. Would you know that the engine heads were about $500.00 or more but our neighbors had the engine heads from the wrecked truck that they didn't need and they fit our vehicle perfectly!! We only had to pay a fraction of the cost. Not only did they have the engine heads but there was also a cruise control motor that we needed. Another big expense for about $25.00.

Not too many days after the vehicle was back to running we noticed that it didn't want to start. Oh no!! Another problem with this vehicle. Too much!! But, guess what??? That wrecked truck again saved us a lot of money. The starter from that truck fit our vehicle perfectly again and we fixed the starter in about half an hour. It starts perfectly.

We questioned why this had to happen. We didn't have any money to repair our vehicle. Why would God allow all of this to happen to us and all at one time???? Why couldn't we have had one problem at a time???

Questions needing answers. As humans we want to know right now but as children of God we know that He will answer those questions in His own time. We just need to hold on to His hand and trust and believe that someday we will understand.

By the by....

2010-05-25T20:30:00.004-05:00

We are ever pressing on!!!! That's the best way to say it!! School is winding down - just 3 days left. I am so happy to see the school year come to a close and summer to begin. I'm looking forward to no alarm clocks and sleeping in. School does keep us on a schedule, but it's nice to get to relax from the hectic to the laid back slow times.

We are minus a car tonight. Tom sold his beautiful camaro.

Now I don't have a sharp cool car to cruise around in...lol. Tom loved that car but we just couldn't afford to keep it and make payments on his new bike too. I'll have to get some pictures of the bike to show all of you. I'm not happy with the bike at all but he likes it. I just have to pray everyday that God will watch over him and protect him.

The girls are so excited for we are going camping this weekend. They loved it the last time we went (in spite of mommies misery) rain and all. There is a 20% chance in the forecast for rain but hopefully this time we have a tent that won't leak. I am dreading this little trip.

Here are some Easter pictures of the girls. One of them was taken with my Mom. Buddy is doing well. That dog drives me crazy. He is shedding so bad I have to sweep daily to keep it all up. I guess with summer coming on he has to shed some of the heavy coat he is wearing. Just wish he would shed somewhere else...lol!! ***sigh***

I've been trying to do some letter writing. I heard from a postal employee/friend that they are proposing to only be open four days a week with no delivery on Saturdays. The amount of mail being sent is so much less than in years gone by because of texting, emailing, etc. So I have been trying to write more letters the old fashioned way. You would not believe the response I get from people who never receive letters in the mail. It's almost outdated. And yet the recipient is so thankful to get a letter that they almost cherish it. I know when we receive cards during the holidays or on our birthdays, I am so excited to see them. Who would have thought technology would wipe out the post office???

It's been really warm the last few days. I let the girls play in the sprinklers today. They had fun. I was too tired to go to the beach. It's a lot of work getting everything gathered up to go when you have little kids who can't do a whole lot. Still, we will probably go before the weeks out. At least you don't sweat while you're at the beach...lol!!

Well, enough said. We are pressing on!!! God is still in control and He is taking care of us!!! Keep on loving Jesus and smiling!!! :):)

Some pictures from the Mother Daughter Banquet

2010-05-08T21:40:00.004-05:00

These were taken at the Mother Daughter Banquet tonight. I don't know what happened but I didn't take any pictures with the girls. Crazy I know!!

Busy Days!!

2010-05-08T21:13:00.002-05:00

Today has been one of those days when time just would not stand still!! We started out the morning moving my mom to her new place. She was in a two bedroom house and she moved to a one bedroom trailer. We didn't have any help but a dolly and we were thankful for that. It sure helped with the lifting of the heavy appliances. Anyway, she is moved all but some small stuff and plans to spend her first night there tonight. Hope she sleeps well.

Tonight was our annual Mother/Daughter Banquet with our church. I was privileged to sit with my baby sister Brenda, Mom and my two girls. We really enjoyed our meal and the program that our very capable leader Mrs. Vernon provided. It was a fantastic evening and I for one came away stuffed both physically and spiritually.

Tom was supposed to go to town with a friend and eat and get me a gift for Mother's Day but when we came home he was still here. I guess his friend got tied up and couldn't go so Tom left and took Tricia with him. Moral support I reckon...lol!! She was eager to shop with him. I'll see them about midnight...lol!! Like father like daughter...something like that!!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I want to wish everyone a blessed Mother's Day!! We are the caretaker of the children God has so graciously given to us. We are responsible as mother's to raise and train them to be vessels of honor for God. What an awesome responsibility it is to be a Mother. Not only to train them spiritually, but to train them socially, economically and how to be proper young men and women. It's with honor that I train and raise my girls for God. Sometimes I fail and I am not a perfect mother, but I strive daily to be the best example that I can be. That is what God expects from us and if we do our best, all the other aspects of being a mother will fall into place.

Well, I still have floors to mop so I had better close this sermon...lol!! I'm wishing all of you Mother's a wonderful day tomorrow and the days to follow!! Enjoy your day and for heavens sake let someone pamper you!!!!

Happenings and such...

2010-05-06T21:50:00.003-05:00

WOW!! Time surely does fly when you are busy!! The school year is about to wind down. We have three more weeks to go and then it's relaxing time. I'm looking forward to it and so is Tricia. I'll be glad to turn off the alarm and sleep in for a while. Once school is out we are going to be house sitting for a lady I clean for. They are taking a trip to Italy and we are going to stay in their home and take care of the cat and dog. The girls are all excited about doing this. They love to play with Nelson who is a two yr. old Golden Retriever. He is a lot of fun and the cat is hilarious. We enjoy taking care of them and just relaxing in the air conditioning.

Tricia has been on the A honor roll for the last two quarters. I am so proud of her. She is doing so good with her school work. She is now about 4' 3" tall and weighs about 80 pounds. She is going to be really tall!! She takes this after her dad who is 6'2". I'm just a shorty...lol!! Tricia is the tallest child in her class by far. She gets to do a lot of errands and such for her teacher. She really enjoys the trust and attention Mrs. Brown shows her. Mrs. Brown is a great teacher!! I can now ask her to do some things in the house and can trust her to do them. She is a big help to mommy!!

Katie is getting so big!! I look at her and wonder where my little baby girl went too. She wants to go to school with Tricia and is waiting (if a little impatiently) for her turn to go too. I keep telling her that she has to stay with mommy for another year but she is ready to go now. She is forever singing and talking. She carries on conversations with herself all the time. Drives you crazy...lol!! She is my computer child. She is always asking to play games on the computer and many times I've found her at the keyboard just pushing the keys. I may have a genius on my hands and just don't know it...lol!!!

Tom and I are doing well. We just celebrated 9 years of marriage. We went to dinner and to Wal-Mart to celebrate the day...lol!! Exciting right??? Tom has moved to a different department at work. He is only working about 50 hours a week now instead of 60-70 and so we get to spend more time with him than before. He just recently bought a yellow motorcycle. He bragged to me today about filling up the gas tank for $11.00. HA!!! He has a really cool helmet and I'm always on to him to wear it. He obeys me pretty well...lol!!

I have been house cleaning on the island and for a couple people here in town. It's hard work but the pay is great. I'm only gone for about 4-5 hours in the morning so I'm home to spend the afternoon and evening with the girls. I don't mind the work so much but my house does get neglected somewhat. We don't mind though. We aren't too picky. I have made some new friends lately. One of my friends, Cheryl, has been bike riding with me in the evenings. I love to visit with her. She is such a sweet lady.

God has been good to us and we are so grateful for His many blessings and all the provisions He has made for us. We have seen some beautiful people pass away in the past few months and go to be with Jesus. It has just made us want to live all the closer to God so that we can see them again. That is one blessed assurance that will never change. If we will humble ourselves before the Lord and love and serve Him we have the hope of heaven one day!! Exciting!!!

Here is a couple pictures from Easter of the girls. Take care and God bless til next time!!!

2010-02-08T06:02:00.004-06:00

Here are some random pictures taken over the last couple of months. I haven't had time to post any pictures before now and the girls are growing up so fast.

Christmas at Darrell and Sue's in Cincy.

Opening gifts at our house.

Katie was keeping her eye on those cookies. She is my sweet eater.

Katie turned three on December 26th. We had her a party. She wanted Dora. My friend Tiffany made her cake.

This picture was taken at Christmas with their great-grandma Neoma Wheatcraft. She was so excited to see them. We hadn't seen Grandma Wheatcraft for about two years.

We went to the Thanksgiving Banquet.
Me heading to the banquet.
The girls were so excited to go too.
Tricia after she "restyled" her hair...lol!!!
We are having a wonderful time with our little family. We are so blessed!! Tricia was on the A honor roll this quarter. We are so proud of her. She gets all her smarts from me...lol!!!

2010-02-07T07:33:00.002-06:00

Believe it or not, we are still alive. Things have been really busy here in the gorgeous south. Camp has started and this weekend was the 50th anniversary for the college. Lot's of people are here right now. It's great to see lots of friends that only come around this time.

The girls are growing up and I'm sad over that. They will be out and gone before we know it. We are having a blast with them and are so thankful for God allowing us the privilege to raise them. Buddy is still here and the girls still love him. I'd find him a home if I could. The dog hair can be too much at times. But I persevere...lol!!!!

Hoping to see some of you this next week during camp. It's a great time to visit Florida.

Take care and remember that God is still in control. He has never failed us and we are trusting in Him. God bless!!!!

I'm thankful for...

2009-11-26T16:52:00.000-06:00

Here's a couple of things I'm thankful for.

1. My family!!
2. God and the salvation He has provided for me!!
3. Rain!!!
4. My jobs. I didn't think work would ever pick up and now I'm swamped!!
5. Friends who love you in spite of your bad days.
6. Little girls with lots of laughter!!
7. Grandmas and Grandpa's who make you feel special.
8. Especially thankful for a wonderful husband who works so hard to take care of us!!
9. My church and the wonderful messages that feed my soul each week.
10. Last but not least, I'm thankful for the hope I have of heaven!!

Ok. How about you?? Are you thankful today?? Try this. You'll be surprised at how good it makes you feel. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you my friends.

God answers prayers we do not utter!!!

2009-11-20T14:08:00.003-06:00

This is really so true. He knows the desires of our hearts and the needs in our lives before we even breath a prayer. So was the case this week. Here's my story of a miracle working God.

Tom and I bought a couch from our local thrift store during the summer. We were happy with the couch even though we saw a few tares and snags here and there. The nice thing about the couch was the sleeper bed in it that looked brand new. Tricia lives for Friday nights because that is the night she can pull out the sleeper bed and and camp out in the living room. It is great too when company comes. We had noticed that the rips and tares were getting worse but we figured it was because the girls are a little rough on it and Buddy (that bad dog) sleeps on it when we aren't home. He has been caught so many times but what do you do??? Anyway, we decided to move the furniture around the other day and upon inspection found that the couch was really in bad shape. The back of the couch was literally falling off.

So that night we sat down to talk and decided that another couch was going to have to be bought as this one was on it's last leg. The problem was, we didn't want to purchase a new one with Christmas just around the corner and we didn't want a new one because the girls are still small and accidents happen. We didn't see any reason to waste money on a new one that would get stained up with drinks and pee. So we decided it was time to do some more thrift store shopping for another couch.

Tom went over to the church to help with the tree and while working heard a dear lady from the church holler out, "Does anyone need a couch. I have one for sale." Tom told her that we were looking for one and could we come and see it. She said yes but that if we bought it we would have to move it that night as her new one was coming in the morning. Tom called me and we went to her house to see the couch. We were impressed!!! And it has a sleeper in it. The only draw back was money. We had some in the savings for a couch but this is such a beautiful couch we figured we couldn't afford it. When she told us the price, we were overjoyed. Then she told us her story.

Last week she had the couch for sale for a whole lot more money and the couch wasn't moving. She was selling the couch to donate the money to the school and desperately needed to sell it because of the new one coming. When we told her our story she looked at us in amazement. She said that last week God told her to lower the price on that couch. He even gave her a specific amount which just happened to fit our budget. She lowered it over half of the original price. When we told her our story we all exclaimed how good God is and how He knew what our need was even before we asked Him.

That night Tom moved out the old couch and moved in the "new" one. Here are a few pictures I took so you could see the couch God gave us.I've decided to post a warning sign "No drinks, food, dogs or peeing allowed!!"

HA!!!!

Dr. Gordeuk's message in a nutshell...lol!!

2009-10-14T21:16:00.001-05:00

This past Wednesday night and tonight Dr. Gordeuk was the speaker. He is always so interesting because he is very knowledgeable about the political and religious issues in America today. His topic was concerning our families and are we sending them to "Egypt" to learn the heathen ways. Last Wed. he started a story about the yellow school bus that pulls up to the Israelite home with the words on the side "Egyptian Public Schools #666." Then Dr. Gordeuk began to speak about our Christian homes and have we sent our children to "Egypt" to be educated and trained. He said that next door to this Israelite family lived a family who sent their children to the Synagogue to study the Torah. These children grew up knowing the Bible but because of the "Egyptian" influences in their home strayed far from God and lost out.

He then made these points (I'm not sure I will get all of it)

We can send our children to church every time the door is open.
We can send them to a Christian School all of their lives.

But...if we do not teach them at home about God and His ways, then we as families are failing our children. They are in church only a few hours each week. The majority of the time they are in school and home. If we do not reiterate the teachings of the church/school while our children are at home, then we have failed. Then he pointed out the ways that "Egypt" has entered our home.

1. Through the media we allow our children to see. He commented on the VCR and are we controlling what is being viewed on it.

2. Through the literature that lies around that our children see. He brought out an interesting point here concerning boys in the home. He said that it doesn't have to be "bad" magazines to wet a boys appetite for the sexual things of life. Just lay around a mag of women mostly naked for them to see.

3. Through the attitudes and actions we show them.

He also talked about the story in the OT where the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan river and when then got to the other side they began to build a monument to God. This is where we were and this is where we are now. This is an obstacle I overcame and I'm placing this stone here to represent that I do not want to face that obstacle again. Reminders that our children can go to and ask "What is that for" and we can tell them it was victories we have won.

Then he cautioned parents about devotions in the home. I must admit, I don't do as well as I should. Dr. Gordeuk talked about the importance of reading and praying with our children and discussing the principles found in God's word. He called it "laying the foundation" for our children to build on.

I'm sure there was much more said and I can't remember everything but this is the basics. WOW!!!

I have to do better!!!

Women of Worth

2009-10-13T20:29:00.006-05:00

Tonight was our very first WOW meeting for the season. It was a very special time with an emphasis on friendship. We had our table full of some very fine ladies and we had a wonderful time talking and laughing. The food was really good. Once again the cooks outdid themselves. After refreshments we had a game and then one of our ladies spoke on her best friend which was her mother. She gave her two gifts one of which was a crown. It was so sweet. Then we exchanged our Secret Pal papers and ended with a special time of prayer around each table. I think this WOW group is going to be a very special group this year.

Now for some pictures!!!

The refreshments were very good. This table had lifesavers all over it with little friendship quotes. Very cute!!

Some of the beautiful decorations.
The wonderful ladies that sat at our table.

God's protecting hands

2009-10-08T12:43:00.002-05:00

Every morning before Tricia goes out the door for school, we get in a little huddle and have prayer. It's so cute because Katie wants to be right in the middle and while I'm praying I'll peek and see Tricia motion for Buddy to get in the huddle. I guess she thinks that Buddy needs a protecting prayer too...LOL!!

We never realize how important this little "ritual" can be. We pray every morning and nothing happens. No one get hurt and Tricia comes home from school still in one piece. Then one day the very thing you prayed about happens.

Yesterday Tricia was playing in the park during after school reading. When they get done with their work they can play. Tricia was playing with a boy who threw a rock and hit her in the face just below her eye. The boy didn't mean to do it and wasn't even aiming for her. She just happened to be in the way of the rock. Thank God for His protection. The rock didn't hit her eyeball and she just had some blood shot in that eye. This morning a little of the red was still there but nothing to worry about.

Then one day this week while playing ball at PE, the ball went out onto Gomez which is the main road past the school. People drive very fast on this road and children have been hit before. When the ball went into the road, who do you think went to rescue it??? Tricia!! She ran over to the road, stopped and looked behind her, not up and down the road, and then ran out to get the ball. Once again, God's protecting hand at work. She didn't get hit and very well could have. I talked very firmly to her that she was not to go into the road for any reason. Tell a grownup!!

Do I regret all the times we have "huddled" for prayer. Never!!! I know God's protecting hands are on my children and every single prayer is worth the time and effort. I believe we will continue to pray and trust our lives into HIS hands!!!

Fall is here!!!

2009-10-05T20:14:00.002-05:00

I'm so happy to see some "very little signs" of Fall here in the deep south...lol!! We have longed for some cooler weather since April. It seems to have been an overly warm summer. The last few days have been so much cooler. Now to get some sweater weather and we'll be in business.

School is going great. Tricia is doing so good. She is now reading books all by herself and she is lovin it. I'm finding her more and more sitting in her room or on the couch with a book in her hand. She is definitely going to be more like me than Tom. I loved reading but hated math. I see the same traits in her. She is getting along with her classmates well and she loves her teacher. It sure helps mommy's state of mind when I know she is happy at school. We started her in an after school reading program M-W-F afternoons. She likes going to this too.

Katie is growing like a weed. Literally!! She is wearing a 5T in a lot of her dresses. She is not fat just growing tall. I can't seem to find clothes that are long enough. I guess this is a good thing except for the fact that my baby is growing up. She's not my baby anymore she keeps telling me...lol!! Her hair is down to her butt now. I can't get over that. Tom commented one day that her hair was too big for her body...lol!!

The Singing Tree is off to a great start. We are practicing every Monday evening and starting this Sunday we will start on tree music as well as Sanctuary music. I love singing in the choir. This evening I was offered a part in a church trio. I was so honored and gladly said yes. We will sing for the first time on the evening of October 25th.

Tom is working hard and I'm working every cleaning job I can get my hands on. We are saving all we can to go home for Christmas. We haven't been home for 2 years so this is going to be an exciting trip.

Buddy is doing wonderful. He lost some weight when we first got him and then we started him out on a good dog food. He is now the right weight and so glossy. There is no smell!! When you walk into our house you do not smell dog. I think we chose the right food for him. He is loving being here with the girls. They love him too. I must admit, I'm a little partial too...lol!!

Well, enjoy your fall days. All you northerners collect some leaves for me. I would love to see some of fall this year but that will have to wait until next year.

God bless and thanks for stopping by. We are so blessed!!!

A wonderful prayer for your school children

2009-08-18T10:20:00.001-05:00

This prayer is in my prayer book for children and I wanted to pass it on to you. I think it is a wonderful prayer specifically for our children who are returning to school. Just read the prayer and insert your child's name or gender in the blank spaces.

Lord, I pray that (name of child) will have a deep reverence for You and Your ways. May he/she hide Your Word in his heart like a treasure, and seek after understanding like silver or gold. Give him a good mind, a teachable spirit, and an ability to learn. Instill in him a desire to attain knowledge and skill, and may he have joy in the process. Above all, I pray that he will be taught by You, for Your Word says that when our children are taught by You they are guaranteed peace.

I pray he will respect the wisdom of his parents and be willing to be taught by them. May he also have the desire to be taught by the teachers You bring into his life. Handpick each on, Lord, and may they be godly people from whom he can easily learn. Let him find favor with his teachers and have good communication with them. Help him to excel in school and do well in any classes he may take. Make the pathways of learning smooth and not something with which he must strain and struggle.

I say to him according to Your Word, "Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge" (Proverbs 23:12). "May the Lord give you understanding in all things" (2 Timothy 2:7). Lord enable him to experience the joy of learning more about You and Your world.

"All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children." Isaiah 54:13

School days, school days!!

2009-08-18T09:38:00.009-05:00

Can you believe that summer is over and school has started??? Tricia was so excited to go to school this year. Someone else wanted to go too...lol!

She is in the first grade this year. When she got to the school her teacher, Mrs. Brown, was waiting at the door for her. She got a big hug before going into her classroom.

Tricia found her desk and sat down to try it out. She is so glad to have her own desk. In Kindergarten the children shared a large desk, 4 children to a desk. Tricia needed a little more space of her own. Finally, she has that in first grade.

She found her cubby with her name on it and quickly put it to good use holding her book bag and lunch box.

When I left her there she had her pencils all sharpened and was sitting at her desk ready to do lots of writing and learn great things.

Tricia is my social bug and loves to be with other children. I'm so thankful for a great Christian school for her to attend with great teachers and fantastic kids.

A few mobile pictures

2009-08-15T07:34:00.003-05:00

2009-08-15T07:16:00.002-05:00

Some things that I really love.....

1. The way my girls laugh and giggle when I tickle them.
2. The way Tom smiles when I compliment him.
3. The soft sheets on my bed. They have owls on them.
4. The gentle way Buddy plays with the girls.
5. The beautiful sunsets we've been privileged too lately.
6. Tropical Smoothies Kiwi Quencher!!! YUMMY!!
7. The fact that God loves me more than I will ever know.
8. The way that God keeps answering prayers and blessing me daily.
9. The rain. When it is so hot you can hardly breath, the rain is a refreshing reprise.
10. Playing games with my girls and munching on popcorn.
11. When Tom brings me flowers and tries to hide them from me....LOL!!
12. And last but not least, I love knowing that Jesus is my Savior and I know that my sins are forgiven.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

It has been a while....I know!!

2009-07-30T21:33:00.002-05:00

Wow!! I haven't been on here for quite a while. I guess I started on Face Book and haven't looked back. I have been so busy that I haven't really taken the time to blog but I have been checking up on all of you. I was surprised to read about your vacations, birthdays, babies, deaths and reunions that I didn't know about. You all keep on having great changes in your lives even though I'm not reading about them like I should be...lol!!

We have really had a lazy summer. It has been unbearably hot so much of the time that even the thought of swimming cannot cool you down. I have spent most of my summer indoors praying the girls would not ask to go to the park or the beach. Mind you, I took them when they asked but they were so warm at the park they didn't want to play and the storms kept us away from the beach most of the time. We have been to the library some and to some stores but for the most part we have been hermits.

I quit working in May and had no prospects of work. My sister left for Ohio and she gave me some cleaning jobs so I am now back to work. I am really enjoying working. It's not a lot of hours and the pay is really good. I can do a job in the morning and be home to spend the rest of the day with the girls. The extra money is a great blessing. Thank you Becky for the jobs.

Tricia has grown so much over the summer that we are going up two dress sizes for her school uniform this year. WOW!! I can't get over how she has grown. Katie has now graduated to size 4-5 in clothes and is getting so tall. We are potty training and so far she seems to be doing well. Both girls are doing great!!

Buddy is still a part of our family. He has become the light of our lives. We fuss over the hair and the messes he makes, but we love having him here. He loves to play with the girls and they love to lay on him and hug him. He doesn't mind as long as they don't mess with his tail. He is really a good dog.

Tom is still working with Waterblasting and is staying busy all the time. Sometimes I wish he could be home more but I realize that he has a big responsibility and I have to bite tongue and not complain.

We are looking forward to going home to Ohio for Christmas. We haven't been home for almost 2 yrs. It will be nice to see the rolling hills again. We also plan to spend some time in TN in the mountains. We are all looking forward to the trip.

School is just around the corner. Soon we will be in Fall here and the cooler weather will come. So far we have had no hurricanes and we are praying that it will remain that way. A couple of storms have been out there but they have never developed into anything big or scary.

Tom and I moved in March to another house because we had outgrown the house we were in. We really like where we are and the girls love it. It is much bigger and we just recently bought a king size bed for our room and we can actually walk around it without bumping into each other or turning sideways to get around the bed. It's nice to have the bigger house and bigger bed. The girls love their rooms. I haven't really taken any pictures but I'm going to start soon. We still are hanging some stuff up believe it or not. It's always a work in progress when you move.

I guess that about wraps up our summer. I will try to not be so long in posting from here on out. I love to read about all of you. I hope you will keep on blogging and checking mine.

God bless you as you end your summer days and start into the many busy activities of fall. See ya soon.

Tea Party

2009-06-25T16:13:00.006-05:00

Tricia wanted to have a tea party at our house. So last Thursday we invited five girls to come for tea. As it turned out only four were able to come becuase she had cousins come in at the last minute and wanted to spend time with them. The other four girls came however and had a wonderful time.

I wanted things to be as fancy as I could make them without spending a bundle. I couldn't find a tea set without paying a lot of money for it so I opted for clear plastic plates which looked like china and some clear plastic cups. We put a white table cloth on the table and set it with candles. We bought some fancy napkins and I made name tags for each place. We had everything set when the girls arrived. Since Tricia doesn't like bread I had to think of some things for her to eat as well as accomodate her guests. I made little pbj sandwiches along with cheezits, cheese cubes, crackers and pickles. The girls thought that was great!! I had to laugh. We would expect fancy cookies and cakes and little tea sandwiches out of fancy meat. They didn't care. It was just the fun of being there.

After we had our refreshments the girls played in the play room while I cleaned up. Then I called them back into the kitchen where we made princess crowns with their names on them. They had fun making the crowns and I had an opportunity to remind them that they are special to their families and they are God's little princesses. They did a great job on their crowns. Each girl had a different idea and it was fun seeing the amazing talents of each child.

I put on some music for them to listen to. Veggie Tales and a c/d I had bought for Tricia when she was little that played nursery rhymes with quite a nice beat. They had fun dancing around in the living room with their crowns on. When I had the craft cleared away I called them back to the table again for ice cream sundaes and cookies. While they enjoyed their treat I read them two stories.

The girls had a wonderful time and Tricia was so happy to have all of her friends come and play with her. We are looking forward to having another party soon. I just have to come up with a fun theme.

None of the pictures are in order but you can see what fun the girls had.

It's HOT!!

2009-06-17T11:39:00.002-05:00

We are really having some warm days here. I am not an outdoor kind of person anyway and this heat only makes me want to stay indoors more. We are trying to do the beach thing to stay cool. The girls have a blast swimming. I'm not much of a swimmer myself. It will be nice to see October and November come and hopefully some cooler weather with it.

Not much going on around here. Just lazy summer days. Looking forward to a Tea Party tomorrow. Really excited about July 4th and the middle of summer. Not much else.

Just letting you know that we are still alive and serving Jesus. Hopefully something exciting will come along and I can tell you all about it.

Graduation is finally over!!

2009-05-30T10:31:00.004-05:00

WOW!! That's all I know to say to describe the kindergaten class of Hobe Sound Christian Academy. They were awesome. The graduation was fun and the kids put on quite a show with their story of "The Ugly Duckling." The also did the old story of the donkey, dog, rooster, and cat that went to town to sing for their supper. Not only did they do stories but also quoted the 23rd Psalm, sang a song about Daniel, Shadrach and his two brothers and told us all about what they had learned during the school year. If you go here you can watch the whole graduation under the archives. Just click on Live Streaming and it will take you to the archives. You will really enjoy. Here are a few pictures.

My girl

2009-05-27T14:14:00.003-05:00

Today was Award Chapel at school. The elementary classes all met to see what awards they would receive. I was really impressed with the students who had excelled in all of their subjects. Then there were a lot of kids who excelled in a particular subject. Tricia didn't think that she was going to get an award. She was so surprised when her teacher, Mrs. Deckard called her name. She went to the front with a great big smile on her face. One thing I did not do was push her in school. By doing so I might have made her not want to study. Math was a challenge for her but even by now, she has done so well with her math and writing her numbers. She did very well in all her subjects.

Tricia's award was for writing. I think I may have mentioned before that in kindergarten they start out writing in cursive. Somewhere along they way they also learn to write in print but cursive is the preferred writing. Tricia has done very well with hers. I was so proud to see her get an award for her handwriting. She deserved it!!

Here are a couple of pictures. The first one is Tricia with her award.
The second one is one of the pages she wrote last week.

I'm looking forward to no more school for a while. The alarm clock can be shut off for now.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya.
~Gale~

Goodness, Graciouse, Me-o-My!!

2009-05-25T20:27:00.003-05:00

How the time does fly. We have been so busy here in our little town that I have not been able to blog until now. I have been keeping up with all of you but too busy to type a blog for myself.

School is almost over. Thank God!!! I am so looking forward to sleeping in just a little bit longer in the mornings. Tricia has done so well. Her teacher was commenting to me the other night about her hand writing and how nice she thought Tricia's writing is. HSCA uses the Abeka curriculum and it requires kindergartners to start out writing in cursive. I was so unsure about that. I was also very surprised and excited to see how easy it was for Tricia to grasp the cursive writing. She is doing so well with it. She has excelled in her numbers too. At first we were having some difficulty with numbers and math, but she is now doing really good with them. Reading has completely stunned me. She can read short stories with 4-5 letter words in it. She just sounds out what she doesn't know until she gets the word right. She is a little slow at reading but we have been working on speed the past few weeks and she is doing really well. Now when we drive places she wants to read the signs that she sees. I really don't want her to read all of them :):) but she loves to sound out the words so they make sense. I'm pretty proud of her in case you haven't guessed already.

Katie surprised me about 2 weeks ago by telling me she wanted to go potty. Every few minutes she was taking off her diaper and going to the potty. She wouldn't do anything, just sit there and play. I would get her diaper back on and she would take it back off. This kept going on for a few days so I dug out Tricia's baby panties and we started training. She did pretty good the first day and then the second day she had four accidents in the play room. I decided that maybe what she needed was pull-ups. She could take them on and off like panties and still not be in a diaper. From that moment on she didn't want anything to do with the potty. AARrrggghhh!!!! Now we just take it one day at a time. I take her to the potty and sometimes we have success and sometimes we don't. One day she'll surprise me and start going all of the time.

Buddy is doing great. Tom bought him a jute rope to play with. They are not supposed to be able to tare them up but Buddy did. We got him another nylon type rope with big knots in both ends. He shredded it. Tom went to the flea market the other day and talked to a trainer. He talked Tom into this red thing that has holes on both ends. One about the size of a pencil and the other a little bigger than a fifty cent piece. Tom takes a teaspoon of peanut butter and mixes it with dog food and puts it in the bigger hole. Buddy will lay for hours playing with that and licking his treat out of the hole. This one he can't tare up. (My fingers are crossed)

We still have a busy week ahead of us. Tricia graduates on Friday morning. She is so excited. They will be doing a little program with singing and recitations. It's about the ugly duckling. Guess who is the ugly duckling. She cried...:):) I told her not to cry because the ugly duckling grew up to be a beautiful swan. Her teacher told her the same thing. It didn't help...lol. She was so upset. I'm anxious to see the program. Tricia get's to sing by herself and then has another speaking part with a friend. Hopefully I can get some video of the program to share with you.

Well, I leave you with a couple recent pictures of the girls. Hope you are having a great Spring. God bless.

Meet Buddy

2009-05-04T15:06:00.004-05:00

I have dreaded so much every time my husband would go to Craigs list or an animal shelter to start looking for a dog. I think he started way back in February when we were sure we wanted to move to the bigger house. The back yard is fenced in and is a perfect place for a pet and for our girls to play with a dog. I just really dreaded the work that is involved...feeding, exercising, bathing, etc. You get the picture. I did not want the added responsibility to all of the things I already am responsible for.

About 5 weeks ago my husband told me that he had found a dog and he wanted me to go and see it. He said that it was a Black Lab mixed and would be perfect for our girls. The owner was moving and had two dogs. The Lab was the bigger dog and he couldn't take both dogs with him so the Lab had to go.

We drove to PSL to see him. Tom got out and met the owner and dog at the door. When I got out of the truck Buddy was NOT happy to see me. He growled and bared his teeth. I was not really sure what to do because I love dogs and don't usually have any problems with them. He was not warming up to me in the least. I finally went around to the passenger side of the truck to get Katie out when he came bouncing back to me growling. That was the last time he growled. I guess he changed his mind about me and decided I wasn't too bad afterall.

We brought him home and he has adjusted well. The girls love him to death. They can lay on him and lead him all over. They love to go in the back yard and play with him. That is the only reason he is still here. Now I'm too soft to send him away. I sweep the floors every day to keep the dog hair up and believe it or not, there isn't any smell with him.

I guess we will keep him for now. He has become part of the family. Now if I can just keep him out of the trash. ***sigh***

This and That

2009-04-05T15:51:00.002-05:00

It has been said that life is running faster than time. I'm beginning to believe it. The older I get the less time I have in the day to do the things I need/want to do. It get's quite frustrating at times. But I digress.

We have been busy. I started praying for some work and now I'm swamped. Thank God, I can do the work while Tricia is in school and I don't have to miss my afternoons with her. I missed a lot of her baby days because of work. I don't want to miss anymore of her growing up.

We are trying our best to find a dog for our girls. You would not believe how much my husband has looked. He has spent all of his spare time hunting for the right dog. Every dog we have decided would be great for the girls has fell through the cracks. It just seems hopeless.

A couple of days ago, my husband found another dog. This one is a black lab mixed. He is one year old and has been neutered. The owner is moving and can't take him with the family. He said the dog is really well behaved and loves his two small children. We were so excited when he called us today and said that the dog was still available. We told him we would come to see it on Monday night. The girls do not know about this dog. We are really excited about this dog and hoping it will work out. One things for sure, you can't go wrong with a Lab. They are so good with kids.

Last night was my husbands company party. They have a couple a year. We debated going but finally decided too. They had a bounce house set up and a horse for the kids to ride. Then sometime later in the evening Kelly's Ice Cream truck came to the party and gave everyone some ice cream. There was a Mexican group there singing and playing their stringed instruments. I enjoyed the music but not the words as I don't speak Spanish. Then the DJ got started. That was interesting to say the least. We didn't stay too long after that because we needed to get to Wally World before heading home for baths. Saturday's are always busy days for us.

Today has been very restful. We had our dinner alone, just the four of us. Most of the time we have someone over on Sundays. Today we just wanted to be by ourselves. Then Tom, Kate and I took a nap. Tricia never naps but she occupies herself with her toys. She got a new Polly Pocket with a swimming pool. She got in the bath tub and played with those for a while then got out and just played. She's pretty good about keeping quiet and entertaining herself.

The pictures at the top are just random ones. I hadn't posted any for a while so thought I would select a few recent ones to share. Hope you are having a great day!! Blessings.
~Gale~

Getting settled in....I think :):)

2009-03-18T16:34:00.002-05:00

The move is finally over...except for some things in the attic and shed. My parents moved into our old house so there is no rush to get those last few items out. You never know how much junk you own until you move. It's amazing what you collect. We had stuff we had never used. Things that were just bought because "we might need this" and we never needed it. The one thing I want to try to do is to NOT fill this house with extra things. I know it happens every time you go to a bigger place, but I am going to strive to keep things simple and clutter free. I'll let you know in a few months how things look.

Tricia loves having her own room. Katie does not care who's name is on the door she goes in and makes herself at home regardless. Keeping up with her is a full time job. Tricia wants her room done in horses. We found a really nice comforter set online and we are going to get it this week. Her room is pink and purple. She has a really pretty horse border and her grandma got her a string of horse lights. There are several different kinds of horses and they all light up. She has them strung all around her desk. Once we get the bedding done then we will move onto curtains. My sister makes curtains and she is going to make some for both of the girls.

Katie has a small room (big enough for her) that is kind of in the middle of the back of the house. You walk through her room to get to the back family/play/laundry room. With her being so little it doesn't bother her to have traffic going through her room. She is hardly in there except to sleep. She lives in Tricia's room creating messes. Her bed has Dora on it. We have not had the time or money to do much with her room. The walls are in camouflage because there was a boy in that room who liked the outdoorsy kind of look. It is wall papered and I haven't found the paper I want to replace it with. Tom loves it. He doesn't want me to change it. I keep reminding him that Katie is a little girl not a boy. Right now the color of her walls doesn't mean a hill of beans to her. That's the only reason I'm getting away with not doing anything with her room just yet.

We have been so long with out carpet that it is weird and nice to have carpet again. Our room and the back room are both carpeted. We had them cleaned so they look pretty good. It's nice to walk on soft carpet rather than hard tile. Although, we have plenty of tile too. I wanted my room to be painted because the color on two of the walls was a brown. It was kind of dark and not exactly my taste. We painted it a rose blossom. It's actually more of a dark Salmon color. I only painted two walls and the other walls are creme. It looks pretty good with my dark furniture.

We finally got some of the wall stuff up. I have two wood shelf sets that hang on the wall. I'll get some pictures for you to see them. Tom put the shelf up on the wall with the rest of the set and I put some stuff on it just to get it out of the way until I knew what to do with it. The brackets on the back of the shelf broke and the whole thing fell to the tile floor. Thank God, nothing broke. As soon as I get the brackets put back on I can get it hung back up. I'm anxious to get done so I can snap some pictures to show you.

The laundry was on the back porch. We have seen too many rusted out washers/dryers because they are out in the weather all of the time. We did not want that to happen to ours because they are really expensive to replace. Tom said they could set inside with a little work and some adjustments to the electrical wire. He finally got the job done and I can now do laundry here instead of the laundry mat. So much easier.

Well, I will hopefully have some pictures soon to upload. If you live in the local area and you run across some area rugs, I would like to have a large one for the living room. They are so expensive to buy. I need probably a 5x8. Sometimes you can find them at yard sale's and such. Just email me with a location if you see one. I have been looking.

Now on to more important thing like sleep...zzzzzzzz....See ya. Thanks for stopping by.

My word, my word!!

2009-03-04T21:52:00.002-06:00

Things are crazy around here and that's no lie. We are moving to a new place and this week has been busy to say the least. We had been watching the housing around here waiting for a bigger place to move to. If you are at all familiar with Hobe Sound you know that there are not a lot of homes with three bedrooms. Finally one opened up but it was with the college and not Seabreeze Community. We prayed and figured our budget then prayed some more...then figured our budget again. We finally determined that we could indeed make the move.

The house needed some painting done and the carpet in the MB cleaned. We are finishing up the painting tonight and hoping to do cleanup in the morning. Then we move. I hate moving. It's so tedious trying to get everything packed and then you have to unpack as soon as you get to the new place. It's never ending. However, we are really excited about moving this time. We are gaining a third bedroom and a family room. We won't be using it as a family room right now because we need some storage space until we get a building. We will also be putting our washer and dryer in there temporarily until we can get the back porch closed in. For those of you who live in the great North, it's not uncommon to see the laundry room on the back porch here. The weather doesn't get cold enough to freeze the washer up so in small communities people use the back porch for laundry. The bad side to that is they will rust really fast. That's the reason we are going to put them in the house instead of the back porch.

The girls are so excited. Katie doesn't really know what is going on. Her Aunt Becky lived in this house before us and Katie still connects Becky with the house. She thinks Aunt Becky should still be there. It's too funny. Tricia is looking forward to her own room. We pained it pink and purple. She wanted those colors. They look really good together. She has Dora bedding and I think they will match perfectly. Katie wants Blues Clues in her room but I can't find it. Not even on eBay. That's weird.

Well, just a little update from me to you. If you don't hear from me for a while you'll know why. I don't know when I will have my Internet back up at the new place. When I get back up and running I'll try to post some pictures of the new place. In the meantime, if you feel like moving some furniture out yonder way, come on over.

What Gale needs.

2009-02-18T11:56:00.000-06:00

Gale Needs...

Ok, this is really funny. You have to try it. Google your own name followed by the word 'needs', all in quotes, for example I typed in "Gale needs". Then write down what you find. You HAVE to use the quotes or it won't work.

1. Gale needs prayers and connection
2. Gale needs additional therapy and monitoring
3. Gale needs the money!!!!
4. Gale needs anger management to calm her vicious ways...lol
5. Gale needs to go away and take Murt with her. Wouldn't Tom like that...lol!!
6. Gale needs an ace of hearts
7. Gale needs to become more lady like...heeheehee. Like that will ever happen!!
8. Gale needs to find a housewife...OK!!!!!
9. Gale needs to improve but still has a lot of class
10. Gale needs your support.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

2009-02-14T22:32:00.002-06:00

It only comes but once a year
That day that fills our hearts with cheer
We tend to shop and buy sweet things
We think will make our loved ones hearts sing
Roses and candy, cards and bears
Truly bring most hearts to tears
So on this wonderful Valentine's Day
I hope that your loved ones really can say
They truly are blessed to have you as their kin
To cheer them and help them enjoy their day with a grin.

Hope all of you my online friends have a wonderful Valentines Day!!

To a brand new beginning!!

2009-02-11T18:47:00.004-06:00

November 4, 1978 Edwin Eugene Dulaney and Bessie Robinson said "I do" to each other in Bucyrus, Ohio. They did not marry for love but out of necessity. Ed's wife had died tragically six months before leaving him with five small children to raise on his own. His health was not in very good shape and he needed someone to help him with his children. Bessie was a single mom with two children and no money to raise them. Thus, began a saga that will forever be etched in the memory of each of their children.

The years went by with a lot of tears, toil and hurt feelings. Somehow through it all, Ed and Bessie managed to stay together. I believe they learned to love each other even though the odds were against them in a mighty way.

Then five years ago, Ed decided that he didn't want to be married anymore. The love of God had gone out of his heart and along with it the desire for his wife. Their divorce was final the winter of 2004 leaving Bessie with no home or income and Ed with an empty void in his life.

A move to Hobe Sound Florida was in the plans for Bessie. The change was good for her. The warmer weather and more job opportunities was just what she needed. Not too long after her move to FL, Ed decided that he needed to move there as well. Through the help of his children, Ed was able to get the counseling that he needed for his life and eventually found Christ as his Savior. God did a miraculous work in His life and changed him completely.

Over the next year or so Ed and Bessie began to rebuild their relationship. They spent some time together going to dinner, church, etc. Some of his children opposed this new relationship, and so did some of hers. Ed and Bessie did not let that waver them from finding out their feelings for each other. They soon began to bask in the love of each other and on January 31st, 2009 they said "I do" all over again. This time they were bound in Holy Matrimony with love in their hearts for each other and God.

Some of their children opposed this reunion and others felt that it was ok. They all had their reserves but felt that Ed and Bessie needed to do what they felt was right.

So begins a new saga for this family. This one I know will not have the same obstacles that it had before. Their will be new mountains to climb such a failing health and adult children who will have their opinions to pass. But God will be right there with them through it all.

Congratulations Mom and Dad. Here's to a wonderful life together for as long as you both shall live. I think you look great!!

Mommy Survey

2009-02-07T22:17:00.002-06:00

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!

Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? NO. A surprise actually for we had just lost a baby six months earlier and weren't expecting to be pregnant so soon after.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes, a year and a half

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Very shocked.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never!! If you want to abort just kill the one your currently have instead of going through the physical pain. It's the same difference.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 34 1/2

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I was feeling like something was different with my body and I took a home preg test. The results were positive, of course.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Tom, and then the family a few weeks later.

8. DUE DATE? March 5th

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Only for about 10 minutes and not in the morning but around five in the evening. It was June and very warm. I left work every day at that time and went out into the heat. I think that was what made me feel a little queasy. I never vomited though.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Nothing really. I did eat Big Mac's for a week at one point.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? I don't remember being irritated all that much.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? A girl

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Only until she was born. We never wished for anything different once she was in our arms.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? About 15 pounds and it was all baby weight. I dropped 30 pounds in the first week after she was born.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes...we had 2 showers.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? One was from my former church and we knew about that one. The other was from the place I worked and it was a surprise.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? My only complications was sugar and blood pressure.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? O'Blenness Memorial

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? I had a cervadel (sp?) on Monday night and started into labor the following morning around eight. I had her at 10:15 that night. About 15 hours of labor.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Tom.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? There were 15 people in the room including the nurses and doctors. My mom,Toms mom, my friend Tiffany was my coach, Tom's aunt was in the background and couldn't really see anything and the doctors and nurses. I had a nurse who did a double shift because she wanted to see the baby born. It's a story I'll post someday.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural. I had 4th degree lacerations and was really sore for about 2 weeks. The sidz (sp?) bath was nice.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Better believe it. I had Nu bane (sp?) first and then an epidural around 4 centimeters.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 8 pounds 41/2 oz.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 02/25/03 10:15 p.m. The same day as my baby sister's birthday which was what I wanted. Brenda was never able to have children of her own and eventually had a hysterectomy while in her 30's. Patricia being born on Brenda's birthday was very special to us all.

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Patricia Ann Wheatcraft. Patricia after me and Ann after my Grandma Annie Robinson.

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 5, almost 6 this month

25 Things You May or May Not Know About Me

2009-01-27T19:43:00.002-06:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I am the oldest child and the middle child in my family.
2. My hair was cotton white when I was little.
3.I was a thumb sucker until a lady from church offered me a nickel to stop. I did and never sucked my thumb again.
4. The first time I sang in church was when I was about 5. Mom stood me on a chair behind the pulpit desk. The song was "Fill My Cup Lord"
5. I was saved as a small child and sanctified at the age of 13.
6. I play the guitar and the piano. The latter is my favorite instrument.
7. I sang in a trio for about 3 years and we sang all over Southern Ohio.
8. I am not crafty.
9. I married a man who is 8 years and 11 months younger than me.
10. I lost a baby at 11 weeks.
11. I was only sick with the baby I lost. I never was sick with my other babies.
12. I hated being pregnant.
13. I am and have always been a "plain Jane"
14. I need to lose some weight.
15. I'm working on #14.
16. I like to listen to Enya when I walk.
17. My daughter Patricia was born on my baby sister's birthday (my wish came true)
18. I tend to be a very private person. I don't like to air my "dirty laundry"
19. I once talked to Raquel Welch on the phone. She is really nice.
20. I sang for former Pres. Bush's grandmother and shook her hand.
21. I have never been out of the country.
22. I can swim just a little.
23. I love ice cream.
24. I cannot sew and I wish I could.
25. I love my family more than life itself.

If you haven't done this yet consider yourself tagged.

2009-01-16T14:20:00.003-06:00

This is a little slow in coming but I wanted to share with you some pictures of Tricia's Christmas party at school. She is in kindergarten of course and so they get to do some fun stuff. She was so excited about me coming. I snapped this first picture during snack time. I really like it. She has a great smile.
She had two crafts. One was a gingerbread man and the other was a wreath with her picture in the middle. This is the unfinished gingerbread man.
The finished product.

The wreath before it was finished.

The finished wreath.
One privilege I have had is only working part time so I am able to go to a lot of the school functions. I am thankful for this privilege. Not all Mom's get to go to their childrens parties at school. Tricia had a great time. Her teacher gave them these bags to use as a stocking. They were covered with snowflakes. There are 19 children in her class so she had 19 gifts in the bag plus something from her teacher's helper. She was thrilled of course.

I asked another mommy to take this picture of me and my girl.

2009-01-15T07:44:00.002-06:00

We were like last minute getting these pictures done but I thought they turned out fairly good. The background for the pictures was the village scene display for the Singing Tree. The church had a lady from Jupiter Islands to come and paint the scene for the program. She did a great job. Not only did we get our pictures taken there, but so did a lot of other families. I guess this was the most popular scene this year. I don't have them in the exact order that I wanted them, but I am so glad we were able to do this.

We also had some pictures taken with grandparents. My mother is in this one.
Tom's parents were here for the holidays.

The girls with their beloved Aunt Brennie my baby sister.

This last picture is my very favorite. We did this one after church on Sunday night as an after thought and it was the best. Thanks Sweetie for humoring me!!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!!

~Gale~

Christmas

2008-12-29T16:54:00.006-06:00

I'm so thankful for a wonderful and fun Christmas. We were all well and had lots of food to eat and gifts to open. We are so blessed!! Tom's parents came to be with us over the holidays. Tom was on vacation but I worked in the Post Office for several days. We really didn't go out much but stayed home and just enjoyed being with family. Tom and I did some baking to ruin our diets and we really had fun. I have a few pictures here but they are out of order and blogspot won't let me switch them around...bummer!! Anywhoo, I will try to tell you about each one if I can.

I am so thankful for Christ coming as a baby in the manger to give me Everlasting Life. That is what Christmas is all about. On Christmas Eve we went to the church for a special Christmas service. We heard the story of Christ's birth from four different books of the Bible and then a cute story told by Pastor Wolf to the children. It just set us all in the Christmas spirit. Usually, we read the Christmas story at home and sing some carols. Since we had heard them all at church we came home already "full" of scripture and carols and just settled down to some snacks and then gifts. We have always opened our gifts on Christmas Eve and our stockings on Christmas morning. Here are some pictures.

This first one is Tom's dad opening the drill Tom got him. Then Tom used it the next day...nothing like killing two birds with one stone...lol!!

Tricia was really hard to buy for this year. She is too old for toddler toys and too young for older toys. She did like this dog. He walks and swims in the water. She has had him in the bathtub twice now and really seems to like it.

Katie got five dolls. This one makes noises. She slept with all of them the fist night. Funny child!!

Tom with an afghan from Mom.

The story behind this blanket is that Tricia spent the night with Grandma and was cold the next morning. So grandma let her use this pink blanket which was given to her by her sister. My Aunt had made this blanket as a gift for Mom and it is very treasured. Tricia told Grandma she would like to have it for her very own because it was so warm. Mom wrapped it up for her and she was really surprised to open up such a nice blanket.

My husband thought that this was the perfect gift. I had seen this in the store and had commented how I thought that would be better for the toilet than the other kind of brushes you keep and reuse. He thought it was funny to buy this for me and made sure that it was the first gift I opened.

Grandma Bessie was the hardest one to buy for. She kept telling me that she didn't need anything for Christmas. I couldn't let Christmas go by without getting her something. Since she has not been working except for babysitting for me, I thought maybe I would get her some household things. We filled this large bag with all kinds of household stuff. She was shocked and pleased. It was the perfect gift for her.

Our tree before we opened gifts on Christmas Eve.

I have some pictures that we had taken at the church using the village scene from the Singing Tree to post at a later time. If you haven't had time to watch the Singing Tree in the church archives, you will want to watch it. I was so impressed with how well the choir did and all of the drama team. You will really enjoy and be blessed by taking the time to see it.

Happy New Year to all of you my friends. I pray that this year will be all that you hope for and more. God bless.

~Gale~

WOW Christmas Dinner

2008-12-18T08:10:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday evening, our ladies group from church had their annual Women of Worth Christmas dinner. These dinners are always fun to go to because you never know just what might happen. Tuesday nights was no exception.

The decorations were beautiful. The food (prepared by our pastor's wife Sherrie Wolfe) was delicious. The entertainment was fantastic. Now to tell you just what all of these things are.

The Stetler Trio entertained us with piano music, violin and voices in song. They are phenomenal singers. They sang for us as we ate and then did a mini concert for us after dinner. Paul Stetler had our devotions. I thought it was the most beautiful part of the evening.

We then were visited upon by The Crooked Mouth Family. Now these people were really hilarious. They all talked out the side of their mouths pretending that their sister was bringing home a new boyfriend who happened to not have a crooked mouth but instead bucked teeth. We laughed ourselves silly at this "crazy family."

Last but not least, I had the privilege of telling the story. I was so sick with some kind of virus but the Lord helped me so much to make the story come alive. I was so honored to be asked to do this. The Lord let's people know their hidden talent just to make them use it more I guess.

Now for some pictures. I won't take time to describe them all. There are some of the cheese cake bar which I might add was fabulous. Then some of the table decorations. The last few are of my mother and I and my sisters. The last picture is of my sister Brenda. She had left before I could get a picture of her by the fireplace. The two girls with her are Chasity Pittman and Talisha LeBeau (center.)

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Season. We are so blessed for the gifts that God has given us. Keep Jesus first through this season.

Birthday's

2008-12-09T20:58:00.002-06:00

Today is my birthday...OUCH!! I turned 41 today. I can't get over how time flies. Yesterday I was 13 and getting ready for high school. Today I'm raising kids and starting them in school. I guess there are things I would have done differently if I had it to do all over again. I don't know what. I probably would have studied harder in school. I would have finished college. You always hear that hindsight is 20/20. We all can look back over our lives and see where we could have done better. Now I have to look forward and make sure that I do things right.

I told my Tom that I didn't really want a party. Maybe later in Jan. or Feb. when we are not trying to get Christmas gifts bought. Not to mention, Katie turns two on the 26th so there were three celebrations this month. It gets a little hard on the wallet. We are going to celebrate my day later. I don't mind.

Tom did "cook-up" dinner out at my favorite restaurant. My brother-in-law, Darrell, called me to ask if we could go to the Outback for dinner tonight. I told him I would check with Tom all the while having this suspicious feeling that something was not right. I call Tom and he says that he doesn't have anything cooked up for my b-day and yes he would love to eat out. We get to the restaurant and after a fantastic meal, the waitress and her crew arrive at the table to sing to me. My suspicious feeling was correct. I told Tom that he needed to repent for the little lie he told me...lol.

It was a nice night. Then we ended it with Wal-Mart and diapers. How fun is that??? Life must go on even when we turn a year older.

The tree is over...my feet hurt

2008-12-07T21:03:00.003-06:00

The singing tree is officially over. Tonight was the last night and the church was packed. The tabernacle holds about 2000 people and we were putting out folding chairs at the back to accommodate all of the people. We had well over 2000 people. If you weren't able to see it just log onto here and you can watch it in the archives. It may take a week or so to get it on because the tech crew watches each night and then picks the best songs and puts it all together for the archives. You can also contact the church about ordering a DVD of the performance. It's definitely worth watching. We really prayed that God would use our songs and drama to talk to the community that was there. I believe He did.

Now onto another saga in our lives. Back to work and school and getting some shopping (ugh!!) done for Christmas. Not my most enjoyable thing to do...but alas, it must be done. We have hardly started. I plan to go one day and get everything done. My list is made and I am checking it twice...then gifts will be bought and the horrible shopping trip will be over.

This Saturday night we will be having our annual lighting of the candles here on campus. Each house is to line their property with candles. You get some lunch size bags and put sand in them with a candle and light them at dark. It is soooo coooollll!! We did it last year for the first time and everyone had an awesome time. I am looking forward to it. We will have a table outside with refreshments on it and everyone strolls by to see your lights and grab a snack. If you're in the area, stop on by.

Now that the Christmas season is officially here, I hope that you are remembering the reason for the season. We should remember all year around, but somehow in the bustle and busyness of life we forget. He is the most precious gift we will ever receive. Our Savior who came as a baby in a manger and then died on a cross for our sins. Why wouldn't we celebrate His birth??

Have a great week!! Keep Jesus first in your life. Have fun!!

Our Thanksgiving Day

2008-12-01T14:10:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving Day turned out to be a beautiful day. Tom and I worked in the kitchen all morning in perfect harmony. We don't always get to do this and we really enjoyed just being together with each other doing the things we love. The girls were playing and having a great time too. Our weather was perfect!! I think the temp got to around 72 making the afternoon glorious!!

There were 25 people here and we all enjoyed being outside in the fresh air eating our dinner. We had some tables and chairs set up on the drive way and all of the food under the carport. There weren't any flies but we sure fought with the bees. They were everywhere. I didn't take any pictures of the food table but I can assure you that we had loads of food. The menu was:

Turkey
Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Potato Salad
Baked Beans
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Candied Yams
Corn Casserole
Broccoli Salad
Macaroni Salad
Grape Salad
Deviled Eggs
All kinds of pies and desserts
Wonderful dinner rolls

We were so stuffed when dinner was over. That night we ended up at Sue's for more desserts. Blueberry Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake. MMMmmmm good!!

I did get a few pictures. I'll post some later. We had a wonderful day. And all weekend we ate leftovers and relaxed. My mom fixed a pot of beans with the ham bone on Friday night and Darrell (my brother-in-law) made fried potatoes. That was really good too. I didn't have to cook all weekend. Now that's the way to end a perfect holiday!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2008-11-27T07:51:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends today. God bless!!

It's party time!!

2008-11-12T17:46:00.005-06:00

I told you all that Tom had a birthday on Monday. He told me he really didn't want a party but I couldn't let his b-day go by without at least a cake. So I had a friend who learned to make Wilton cakes bake him a cake and her sister decorated it. I invited family and a couple of close friends to come over on Tuesday night (as I had taken Tom out for his b-day on Monday the actual day) and have cake and ice cream. We left the time open because every body is so busy. By 9:oo pm everyone had arrived. Tom was working on a truck for a friend but stopped to have some cake. The whole cake was eaten. Every single morsel, save a very small piece I had put back for my mom. She ate that piece today. That tells you we had a great cake. Gifts were optional. I bought Tom a pair of basketball shoes and the girls got him a gift card for Lowe's. He says he is missing some tools so we were trying to help him replenish. His friend Luke got him this little helicopter that fly's. It's pretty cool. A boy and his toys...lol. His parents sent him money. I think he is planning to add it to the gift card for some tools.

Tom had a great time. He didn't want to take the time for cake but afterwords he was so glad he did. It was a great night and we all had fun.

2008-11-10T21:26:00.003-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEETHEART!!

My sweetie turned 32 today on November 10th. I took him out for dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse and then bought him a pair of shoes he had been wanting from the Finish Line. He well deserved the nice evening.

I love you Tom and I pray we will have many more wonderful birthdays to celebrate together. You are the love of my life and my very best friend. Love you!!

2008-11-05T10:03:00.001-06:00

I am very saddened by the results of the election. I am not a big politician follower. I have never voted before this year. Not in the Presidential elections anyway. I found out this year what I have been missing out on. My chance to make my voice heard. Not audibly but by my ballot I let America know where I stand in this election. Did it turn out the way I wanted it too?? No it didn't. Am I going to bury my head in the sand and refuse to be an American because of the results?? Absolutely not!! This is still America! This is still my Country! I am still an American! I will stay right where I am and continue to be an American. The land of the free and home of the brave.

Do I think that there will be consequences as a result of this election?? There are always consequences by the choices we make. The Bible says that the Israelite children wanted a King. They in fact demanded a King. God didn't want them to have a king but they were adamant. So God let them have a king. The result was a ruler who was a tyrant. The children of Israel suffered greatly under his leadership.

As a christian, I am going to pray for Mr. Obama that God will direct all of his decisions. I am going to support America and trust that God is still in control and He will take care of His people. Will I suffer?? Probably. The American voices were heard. The people cried out for Mr. Obama. Now all we can do as a nation is wait and watch. We will soon see just what Mr. Obama's "change" really is. Let's just pray that it is the right change for America.

One thing I do know, is that while I don't hate the man, Obama, I hate the moral issues that he stands for. The very things that Mr. Obama supports, God abhors. As a christian, I cannot agree with Mr. Obama. As an American, I still have to support my country even though I don't agree.

So I will pray for Mr. Obama and leave him in the hands of a Just God. God is in control!! I do not have to fear. That is a POWERFUL feeling!!

Trick-or-Treat night

2008-11-03T10:46:00.006-06:00

We were privileged this year to be able to stay in our own community to trick-or-treat this year. All the other years we had to go to other communities to collect candy and there were some situations that I felt were not good for my girls. I talked with the board of Seabreeze Community and they voted unanimously to have trick/treat night here in our own community. So this was our first attempt since I have lived here and I have to say it was a BIG success.

We met at the PO at the front of campus where several church families came in and parked with their trunks open. The kids were able to go around to the vehicles for treats before starting around campus. We had some really nicely decorated vehicles. We even had some McCain/Palin representatives here to celebrate as well. The kids were all dressed up and ready for a fun time. We had Little Bo Peep, Cinderella, a pumpkin, an angel, Joe the Plumber, Mr. McCain, several soldiers and knights. We even had a pirate girl. I think the adults had as much fun as the kids did. Here are a few pictures.

I think that everyone had a great time and we're looking forward to next year. Hope your having a fun Fall.

A prayer request

2008-10-24T20:19:00.002-05:00

For those of you who know Darrell and Sue Pittman, you will be interested in this information. The Pittmans had gone to Youth Challenge and today Darrell was going to go see his father in Corden, IN. On the way there about and hour away Darrell recieved a call telling him that his father had diedsuddenly. They don't really know what happened (at least at the time of his death) but figured maybe it was his heart. He had gone in to lay on the bed because he wasn't feeling very well and when his wife checked on him a little while later he was snoring. A few minutes later they found him dead.

Please keep the Pittman family in your prayers. Death is always a bitter pill to swallow but even more so when it happens so unexpectedly. As a result of this situation, Sue will not be home on Tuesday to take over the Post Office so I will be in there through the all of next week. I don't get to blog as much when I'm working but I'll catch you up on what's going on around here when I can.

Thanks for your prayers. As soon as I know some details I will post them for those who are interested. God bless.

Life as we know it (in our household anyway)

2008-10-23T20:59:00.003-05:00

It has been a long but fun week here in our little neck of the woods. I'm afraid I don't have any pictures to post right now so you'll just have to take my word for it...lol. I have been training since last Thursday in the Post Office here on the college campus. My sister Sue is the Postmistress and she needed a backup to take her place when she would be gone. Since I'm not working and could spare the time, Sue asked me to take the job. The funny thing was we couldn't seem to get the board of the college to agree. They have funny ideas I'm here to tell ya!! They tried a couple of other people who didn't work out and finally when it came down to being an absolute necessity, they allowed me to do the job. Sue was leaving for Youth Challenge with her family and there was no replacement for the PO. She told me that she had prayed for God to work out a way for me to be in the PO for her. I think she was really sounding panicky because the Lord worked it out for me to train. I will be in there through Monday and then she will be back for Tuesday. I won't be in there for a while unless she is swamped and needs me. My next time scheduled is Christmas. We are staying here for Christmas this year and Tom's family will be here so I am able to help Sue out again while she goes North to her husband's family.

I really like the job. I was surprised at how quickly I picked up on the routine of the job. There are 333 boxes (which is nothing compared the the big PO) but I had to learn the names and corresponding numbers in a big hurry. That's a lot to put into such a small brain in that short of a time. I thank the Lord for helping me to learn as quickly as I did. Sue was bragging on me to her friends and our family. Kind of made my head swell. Not really. It really is not that hard and it is repetitive. That helps tremendously when you are looking up a name.

After I have gone in at 8:30 a.m. I sort all of the mail that has been put into the inbox. I get it all delivered to the correct box and then get any mail needing postage ready to go. About 9:15 I go to the big PO in Hobe Sound to pick up the mail. All of the mail (or the majority of it) goes into the big PO and then they sort it and have it ready for us to pick it up. This saves our Mail Carrier a lot of time. He doesn't have to deliver the mail himself to outside boxes.

Once I have delivered the mail to go out and collected the mail to go with me, I then check the box that we have rented there. Sometimes it's full and other times it's empty. I bring all of this mail back to our little PO and the sorting begins. Sometimes I may have 4-5 containers of mail and other times I may only have 2.

We have 4 sections of boxes. Mostly college students, faculty, staff and some of the older residents of campus are in the first section. When I say "older" I do not mean age. I mean all of the residents that have been here longer.The second section is college students and the third and fourth sections are campus residents and some staff. The church also gets their mail from us. We have about 12 larger boxes in the hallway for large packages. Since we only operate until 1:15 p.m. it's easier for people to get their large packages if they are in the outside box after we are closed. They then drop the key to the box back into the inbox and we get it the next day. They are able to enjoy their package without having to wait until the next day to get it.

To sort all of the mail I sit down at my desk and I start with the first class mail. Since I have 4 sections I have to separate the mail according to name and section. I have 4 piles when I'm done and then I can start putting the mail into the boxes. Sometimes I get the wrong mail in the wrong box. Hey I'm not perfect, only striving to be...heeheehee. Names can be really confusing when several people have the same first or middle name.

Then today just as I was closing up, the college Development office came in with a box of envelope's to be sent out. There were 238 of them. I of course did not have that many stamps in my drawer so tomorrow I get to take them all the the big PO and put 238 stamps on them while I am there. YEAH!!

All in all I like the job. I hope I can keep it as organized as Sue does. It's fun to visit with all of the students and staff and see my neighbors when they come to get their mail. It's a joy to see the excitement of a college student, who is so far from home, get a box full of goodies from their families. They get so homesick being so far from their families.

The best thing about doing this job is that Tricia is in school so I don't have to leave her at home with a sitter, and Katie loves to go to "brammas" to visit. When I go home my house is as clean as it was when I left. So I'm not stressed out all evening. That's a very good thing!!

Tidbits

2008-10-17T20:03:00.003-05:00

Where do I start. This has been a long and exhausting week. My head is spinning. Life has really become a whirlwind affair. One things for sure...I haven't had time to be bored. LOL!! I guess I will just highlight the main events of this week. You can guess the rest.

I think I told you in an earlier post that Tom left about 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning. He was supposed to be home by Thursday evening. Due to some conflicts with a worker his job was set back a half a day or more. As a result he needed to stay over for today to finish up. Then another job started having problems so Tom stayed up all night fixing their problem. He called me tonight to tell me he wouldn't be home until Saturday. I felt so bad for him because he works so hard trying to get his jobs done well and on time. I think the employee is not longer an employee. That's pretty bad when you get hired one week and fired the next.

On Wednesday my sister called me to tell me that I was to start training in the campus Post Office. This decision had been up in the air for quite some time and the other "candidates" just were not working out. Sue is to leave next Thursday for Youth Challenge and as yet no one had been selected to take her place. When she called me I was really surprised. I didn't think that I was going to get the chance to help her. She was desperate and called the gentleman in charge. He told her to call me and get my training started. Sue told me that she has prayed all of this time that things would work out for me to be her backup. I guess God will answer prayer in His own time even though we worry and are impatient. So I am working in the PO until Sue returns from her trip then I will not be back in there until Christmas. I will have to retrain...lol. **small brain, very small brain**

I took the girls to McDonald's on Tuesday night. Since school has started Tricia doesn't get to eat out much. I felt I couldn't spend a lot of money so we did the kids meals at McD's. While we were ordering our food we found circus tickets on the counter. They are for October 27th with two shows. One is at 5:00 and one at 7:00. I told Tricia that I didn't know if daddy would be willing to go again. We went a couple of years ago and were very disappointed. NO ELEPHANTS!! That's what makes a circus. But this circus says there are elephants. So we will wait for daddy to decide if he wants to go again. The girls are free with the tickets and one adult purchase. It works out pretty good because we only pay for two tickets instead of three.

I was so disappointed tonight because it was the first night of the Marriage Seminar at the church and Tom has to work. We had signed up to go but without him I feel like a fifth wheel with all of the couples there and me all by myself. We were so looking forward to this time of learning. Usually these seminars are done away from the church and you have to go and stay if you want to be involved. We were so excited because we wouldn't have to leave the girls with a sitter and be gone for two nights. And then Tom's job had to mess up. He was as disappointed as I was. We are going to do our best to be in the Sunday morning services. At least we will get to hear the speaker once. We are looking forward to Sunday morning.

I approached Seabreeze Community about trick or treat night. I have lived here almost five years and we have never had trick/treat in our community. The kids always went to another community for that night. I wanted my girls to trick/treat in their own neighborhood because it is a Christian community as well as a safe and controlled environment. I was really overwhelmed when I found out that we had a unanimous yes for trick/treat night. I have had a few people call me to say they will be involved. Not as many as I had hoped for but we still have a couple weeks. Some of the church families who live off campus will be coming in for a trunk or treat party too. They will park in the commons and open their car trunks to pass out candy. The kids will have a blast. And their candy will be safe. That's the main thing.

We went out to eat on Thursday night with my sister's Sue and Brenda. Mom came with us. While we were eating Katie was getting into Sue's salad. She was putting her lettuce in the Ranch dressing dish and then licking it off of the lettuce. After a couple of times she put her little face up in the air and said "AAHHHH this is good" to which we all heehawed. I'm sure the other people in there thought we were crazy. My girls are not quiet girls. When they say something usually everyone hears it. Sometimes that is so embarrassing. We had a good laugh and enjoyed our dinner. On the way to the restaurant, Tricia kept talking to her imaginary friend Kaylee. She has had this "friend" for about a year now. She is forever talking to her. On the way to eat I finally had to ask her to stop. She was giving me a headache. I told her to stop talking to Kaylee for a while or she and Kaylee were going to get into trouble. All of a sudden I hear Patricia say "Patricia." And then she says "what Kaylee. I can't talk to you I'll get into trouble." I had to hide behind my laughter because it was so funny. At least she was informing "Kaylee" of pending trouble if she didn't stop talking.

I must bring this to a close. My girls are tucked into bed and I think I'm going to do the same. YAWN!! I'm tired. Thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment or two. I love to read them. Blessings!!

Did you ever wonder??

2008-10-15T07:29:00.004-05:00

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in another era? I guess the era I would have loved to be apart of would be the middle to late 1800's. When the West was wild and you traveled in a wagon to get where you needed to go. The Indians were on the rampage and the gunslingers were ready to shoot anyone who crossed their path. I have always been intrigued with books/movies that opened up that era to me. But I digress.

A friend of mine found a website that would take you back to 1950 and you can see what you would have looked like at that time. I thought it was funny so I tried it on myself. Now I realize, dear readers, that some of you have indeed lived in the 1950's up to now and maybe this is not what you looked like during those years. Humor me. I wanted to show you what a beautiful woman I would have been...heeheehee. (you might not want to see these while eating breakfast)

1950

1972

19701974198019841986199019942000

Now didn't I tell you that they were beautiful? LOL!! Check out this website and try it for yourself. www.yearbookyourself.com

Have fun.

FYI

2008-10-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

Thanks to those of you who tried to identify my bug. I went on the Internet and found it. It is a Twostriped Walking Stick and it is a member of the palmetto family. They eat green leafy plants such as rose bushes. They are always in pairs - male and female. Isn't that ironic!! Even the animals and insects know the right way to live. They also have a white milky secretion that comes out of the thorax area when they are preyed upon. Otherwise a very harmless bug.

Thanks again for your comments and helping my to figure out my visitor.

We had a visitor on Saturday

2008-10-13T20:11:00.004-05:00

While I am not squeamish or fearful of small bugs or spiders, I do have a problem with the bigger ones. This one in particular gave me the chills. He/she was perched on the wall beside of the back door where I was going in and out of the house. When I saw him/her I was a little annoyed that "it" decided to perch itself right in the path that would take me past it. The girls wanted to play in the pool and of course I was forever running in and out of the house ducking as I went by this thing praying it wouldn't like jump out on me. I was more worried that it might dart into my house unseen by me and be found in my bed. The funny thing was I thought it had a stinger the length of it's body until my wiser and smarter sister corrected me. There were two of them stacked together. We won't go into any details as to what they may or may not have been doing, but suffice it to say I was really glad I wasn't seeing a 3in. stinger. Does anyone know what this is?????

It finally disappeared sometime that afternoon and we haven't seen it since. I pray that it is now in buggy heaven and won't be back to haunt me.

Kitchen Komments

2008-10-10T16:53:00.002-05:00

While I am not Martha Stuart, I can tell you that I am a fairly decent cook. Thanks to a mother who knows how to cook, I fair pretty well in the kitchen. Now trying to figure out what I want to cook is a whole different ballpark. I get really bored some days with cooking. Trying to come up with just the right meal that the girls will like, Tom won't complain it is too "heavy" and I feel will be the best benefit to my family is not always easy. We all have different tastes that are unique to our bodies and what I like Tom may not like. Of course the girls would rather have junk!! Since I do try to keep the "junk food binges" to a minimum, I have to find the right food to satisfy their appetites too.

Tricia is my hardest child to feed. From the time she was born, she would vomit her food out. At one point all she had to do was smell something. She would look at a bowl of cereal and just start gagging. She wasn't sick so much as she did not like the different textures of food. To this day she won't eat bread. This makes it really hard to find food she can pack in her lunch for school. Now she doesn't have quite the problem. I can't tell you the last time she gagged on something that was on a plate. But she still doesn't eat a big variety of food. We just try to make sure that there is something on her plate that she likes and encourage her to eat something she has never tried or may not like. It is a struggle.

Katie on the other hand is a little garbage disposal...lol. She loves food. She will eat any kind of fruit, loves bread and butter which she calls "buddies" and eats most any vegetable you give her. She doesn't care much for meat but she probably will outgrow that someday. She is not hard to feed at all. I just have to be careful as she grows older that she doesn't get hooked on starchy foods and foods with a lot of fat in them.

That being said, I thought I would post a couple of our favorite recipes for you to try. They are simple and easy to do and don't take a lot of ingredients. I love casseroles because it's all in one dish and you don't have so much to clean up after your done. One of these is a casserole and the other is like a soup. So here they are.

Potato Sausage Casserole

1 pound bulk pork sausage

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cups sliced peeled raw potatoes

2 cups(8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Brown sausage; drain and set aside.

Combine soup, milk, onion, shalt and pepper.

In a greased 2-qt. casserole, layer half of the potatoes,

half of the soup mixture and half of the sausage.

Repeat, ending with sausage.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until potatoes

are tender. Sprinkle with cheese; return to oven, uncovered, for

2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese melts. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

We add buttered bread to this and make it a meal. It is so good and it works with hot or mild sausage. It's whichever you prefer.

Sausage Potato Soup

One or two rolls of polish sausage (depending on how many you want to feed)

6 potatoes peeled and diced

Cabbage (however much you desire)

1 stick of butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Put potatoes, sausage (cut into small chunks), butter and

salt and pepper into a medium pot. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 8 minutes. Add cabbage as desired and cook until all vegetables are tender. You can add carrots if you want to but they take a little longer to cook. Add some buttered bread or crackers.

Hope you enjoy. Bonn appetite!!

Chocolate and a lot of laughs

2008-10-08T07:42:00.007-05:00

It's always a privilege to get together with Christian lady's who share the same values and concerns as you do. Last night was our first Women of Worth meeting of the season. The theme was "Friends and Chocolate." We had a great turnout and the best little chocolate desserts. Here's a highlight of the evening.

1. We had a silent Auction. I took some little pictures for the bathroom with teddy bears and they sold. I bid on several items but I only won one of them - a puzzle for Tricia.

2. We did our annual Secret Pal sign up. This is the first time I have been involved with SP here. I had done it several times at other Church's and I'm really looking forward to it with this church.

3. We also had the opportunity to sign up for a ministry. There were several listed and I signed up for three -Secret Pal, Sunshine Baskets and Dorm Refreshments. I'm going to be busy...lol.

4. We were also asked to pick a time for a 15min prayer time for our Nation and the upcoming elections. I chose a time to pray but I may have to do it on the run chasing Katie...lol. It's the effort that counts, right???

5. Mrs. Mary Duren had a wonderful devotion about how our lives should be a sweet savor to God. Her devotional was so encouraging.

6. And last but definitely not least, we had the CHOCOLATES!! I love chocolate!! I have some pictures so you can see how delicious they looked and I can tell you they were scrumptious.

The fellowship was so encouraging. Tom and I have been here for going on five years and we are just now feeling like we actually belong. Sometimes in a church this size it's hard to get to know everyone. We are slowly getting to know more people. That is a blessing.

There were several ladies who sat at our table. Here are some pictures.

Brenda Robinson, Sue Pittman,Cindy Cox and Cheryl LeBeu

Tammy Joslin, Eileen Gerard and Tiffany Peters

Gale Wheatcraft, Brenda Robinson and Sue Pittman. Sisters enjoying chocolate.

Some of the decorations.

Now for the chocolates...

Peanut Butter Reese Cups

Chocolate Cupcakes with a strawberry on top drizzled with chocolate sauce

These were cupcakes and I don't remember what kind. They were delicious.

These were brownies with a raspberry sauce drizzled on them.

The decorations were done by Bev Waits. She always does a wonderful job. Talitha Bolsum made all of the chocolate treats. Very talented.

We had a wonderful time and nobody counted calories. Isn't that fantastic?? We just enjoyed the fellowship with our friends and ate lots of chocolate!!

Admiring God's handiwork

2008-10-07T08:19:00.003-05:00

I was up at the crack of dawn (not literally) getting Tricia ready for school and I glanced out the kitchen window to see this....

I ran to the bedroom for my housecoat and camera so I could capture this scene. This is the sunrise coming up over the ocean. How can anyone claim that there is no God. Only an Omnipotent power could create something so breathtaking.

Those special moments

2008-10-06T15:31:00.002-05:00

I'm always amazed when I see a small child experience the joy of a "first." It doesn't matter if it's something simple like the smell of a flower of something really big like Niagara Falls. The reaction is still the same - wonder, amazement, excitement. Such was the case with Katie.

My friend Tiffany had stopped in to use my computer and she had her MP3 with her. We don't have an MP3 player and don't have a need for those tiny little earphones that come with it. Katie had played with my headset that I use with the computer but they are big and she had never had them on with a sound coming from them. She started playing with Tiff's earphones and so Tiffany turned on her music and put the earphone in Katie's ear. Her brown eyes got as big as a silver dollar. She was so amazed that she was hearing music from those tiny little ear phones. I had to capture the moment to show to all of you. Tiffany had some children's songs downloaded on it for her little girl and Katie had a blast listening to them sing. I thought it was so cute and wanted to share with you. What do you think??

New post to Yahoo 360

2008-09-26T11:56:00.001-05:00

Posted a new blog at my Yahoo 360 with new pictures. Stop by and see.

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-pzxTZvsibqhhdP4gfQYurV_6ER0aOA--?cq=1

The Virtuous Woman

2008-09-24T08:46:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday morning we studied about a Virtuous Woman during Sunday School. I have been reading the passages suggested to go along with this theme and last nights was so good. It was about Esther. WOW!! What a lady!! I am always impressed when I read about her. Some of the points that I got from the passage I read last night are really good. I thought maybe I would share some of them with you.

1. Esther was just a simple yet beautiful girl who had lost both father and mother. She was being raised by her Uncle Mordecai. They were Jews who loved the God of Israel more than themselves. APPLICATION: May I always love the Lord more than anything. May I always put Him first in my heart and life as Esther did.

2. Esther was kindhearted and loved above all of the maidens. She also found favour in the site of the King. APPLICATION: May I always find favour in the site of my Savior. May I always hear Him say "Well done" to me. May my attitude and actions show kindness and love to all I come in contact with.

3. Just because Esther became Queen she did not turn her back on her people or the God she loved and served. APPLICATION: Help me Lord to remember that no matter how important I may become in the worlds eyes, to never lose sight of my heavenly goal or the heritage that I am so blessed with. To always remain true to YOU!!

4. Esther stood for what she believed in and did now cower down when she was needed the most. APPLICATION: Lord help me to stand strong for what I believe in and to not cower before Satan. Help me to not be afraid to be the witness I should be and to stand up for what I know is right even if it's a risk to me.

5. Esther came into the presence of the King not really sure if she would be accepted. She came because she knew that her people were counting on her to make a difference. APPLICATION: Help me to come into the presence of Jesus unafraid with an open heart ready to be accepted. Ready to go out and make a difference in the world around me. To bring others to YOU in prayer. UNAFRAID!! READY TO RECEIVE!!

I don't know about you ladies, but I believe that Esther was a Virtuous Woman whose heart belonged to God. Above all of the riches that she was now a part of, she did not leave God behind but kept her heart in tune with HIM!!

God help me to be this kind of woman!!

God still answers prayer!!

2008-09-22T19:16:00.005-05:00

Saturday was a day for running. I hate to shop, but we had to go and get some shopping done despite my feelings of dread and doom. We were going to find Tricia a new pair of church shoes and hopefully a pair of sandals that would fit Katie's fat foot...lol. When we left the house that morning, it was just me and Katie. Tricia had ridden in the truck with daddy and they were to meet us for breakfast. As most of you Moms know, sometimes it is hard to pray on a Saturday morning. Every one's home and like them you want to sleep in a little yourself. So I hadn't had time for prayer before leaving so I prayed while driving down the street. I told the Lord that my girls both needed some shoes and could He help us to find a bargain today. We had an unexpected dentist bill this payday and things were a little tight. I knew that to purchase an expensive pair of shoes was out of the question. We headed for Rack Room Shoes and found nothing. We decided to try Payless Shoes and we were able to find a pair of sandals for Katie. They were only $7.00 regularly $14.99. We found the same pair in a size 13 for Tricia but she just didn't have any growing room. So we weren't able to get her a pair of shoes. That store did not have a big selection either.

Later that evening after being disappointed about Tricia's shoes, I received a phone call from a friend who happened to clean out her daughters shoes. She had two pair of shoes that she wanted to give me. I was so excited because she mentioned that they were almost brand new and Tricia could wear them to church. I never dreamed they would be this nice.

These are Tricia's old shoes. She loved these so much because they "click-clacked" when she walked. She wore them almost every church day. We told her she would have to stop wearing them because her feet were almost out on the ground. Not to mention we couldn't find another pair like them. She was really disappointed.

These are the shoes that our friend gave us. Look at the heels. They are "click-clack" heels...lol. Tricia wore them around the house dancing and clicking through the living room. She likes them a lot.

These are the sandals we found for Katie at Payless Shoes. They fit really well and what a bargain.

So, I'm here to tell you that God still answers our prayers. And sometimes our wants. We really found a "bargain" thanks to Jesus.

Grandparents Chapel and lunch

2008-09-16T05:51:00.003-05:00

On September 12th my mom was privileged to attend the annual Grandparents Day Chapel and to eat lunch with Tricia. Tricia was in 9th heaven...heeheehee. She had a blast. My mom said that she had a wonderful time also. The lunch was good and I took Tricia's favorite to her from McD's. I did get a couple of pictures to show you. We only wish that Grandma and Grandpa Wheatcraft could have been here for this special day. We miss you and love you Grandma and Grandpa Wheatcraft. I get my turn on the 25th to enjoy lunch with Tricia. I'm looking forward to it.

Getting Tricia to smile and look at the camera is almost impossible. Her big smile says it all.
Grandma was looking very nice as usual. They had chicken sandwiches with fruit, salad and cookies. She is a diabetic and didn't need the cookies but she had her treat anyways.

They sure had a lot of fun. I am so glad that Tricia had one of her Grandma's with her.

I was never privileged to have a grandparent with me for special occasions. My grandma on Mom's side passed away when I was a young girl and we hardly saw my step-dad's mom. So I am really thankful that Tricia has one of her Grandparents living this close. Grandparents hold such a special place in our hearts.

Thanks Grandma for going to Chapel and lunch with Tricia. We love you!!!

A lazy cat and a dancing little girl

2008-09-15T13:12:00.003-05:00

Katie loves our cat Mitsi. She plays with her until she gets scratched then she cries everytime Mitsi comes near her. I don't let Mitsi in a lot. She is strictly an outside cat but when the weather is really warm outside I will let her in to cool off. I guess she's spoiled. She was a hard cat to like until we had her fixed and now she's a big baby. Click on the link below to see a short video of Katie and Mitsi...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz93mbPDfSA

A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...er, ok!!

2008-09-13T20:18:00.004-05:00

It's not every day that a girl gets to sleep in a tent - even an indoor one. Tricia decided that tonight was the night for a "bed tent." She gathered up some blankets and built a tent around the bottom bunk and then conned Daddy into sleeping with her in her tent. They were having a blast getting it all ready. Katie was in her bed but couldn't sleep for the noise of the other two and soon she joined them in the tent too. That is until Mommy discovered that we had a dirty diaper in the tent, then it was off to clean up the poopy diaper. After that Katie went back into her own bed and the lights went out. I don't think they will get to sleep any time soon. Here's Tricia's first attempt at the tent. She couldn't get the sides to stay up very well. Daddy soon had her in tip-top shape. He fixed the tent for her and off to bed they went.Katie didn't seem to be having fun. She kept crawling out and running to Mommy.

If you click on the picture and look at it larger, the blue blanket was handmade for us for our wedding. The lady who made it is now in very bad health and probably won't be around for long. I think the quilt is lovely and I plan to keep it for as long as it will hold up.

Just my luck to have a Saturday evening all to my self. It's so quiet....

We can never forget!!

2008-09-13T14:25:00.001-05:00

My friend Valerie had this video documentation honoring 9/11 and I wanted to post it to mine as we have different friends on our blog list. My heart was broken all over again as I watched the terrible tragedy that happened on that day. I pray we never forget!!

Please don't break your neck!!

2008-09-09T11:51:00.004-05:00

My mom thought it would be fun to buy rollerskates for Tricia. We helped out with the pads and helmet. From time to time Tricia will get them out and practice around the house. She has only been outside with them a couple of times. Here is a video I did of her in the hallway of our house. Her helper is not really sure she wants to stay very close to Tricia. Wonder why???.....

Ike, Noah and a stubborn little girl

2008-09-04T20:39:00.006-05:00

Saying a great big "Thank You" to Jesus that Hanna is going to miss us. Now we are fervently praying that Ike will slow down and down size. He is headed straight for us and boy I'm NOT ready for him!! I think that the worse thing about these storms is that you stand the chance of loosing your electricity and that can be so tedious because of the freezer and fridge. Not to mention that the weather is still really warm and with no A/C the heat can be so depressing. Then there is the chance of loosing your belongings. I guess that is important too. Never the less, we are surely hoping that Ike turns or gets smaller before hitting us.

The college has been in school revival this week. I was there last night but didn't attempt it tonight. The girls were so tired by the time we got home last night and they were fussy so I thought I would wait and go tomorrow night. The speaker for this year is Randy Hines. He is doing a wonderful job. I watched the service via Internet tonight and he talked about Noah who didn't question God about the job he was to do but obeyed each command without murmuring or complaining. WOW!! Did this ever hit home!! When have we obeyed the explicit command of our Lord without complaining?? I fall so short of what I should be...but thank God, He doesn't throw me out for it. Noah didn't care what the world thought about the job he was doing. He just kept following Gods commands and his household was saved. I want to be that kind of person. No matter what the world may think, whether my friends agree with me or not, or if everyone is against me...I want to obey the Lord and walk in the light of His Love.

This week has been a little unsettling for us. We hardly slept on Monday night worrying about the results of the situation from last Friday night. Tom called the Sargent who is in charge of the case and he told Tom that he wouldn't be getting to Tom's paperwork until the weekend. We'll see what happens next. Also this week Tricia has had a couple of bad days at school. We are really struggling with her stubborn will. We keep trying to tell her that Jesus wants her to be good and to love Him. She isn't doing anything bad, she just is struggling with someone elses authority besides Mom and Dads. Her teacher and I talked today and we are going to work together to get this issue resolved. She is learning so much...I'm amazed at the phonics songs she already knows and she is learning to write in cursive. At first I thought that was the craziest thing but now that I've seen her writing, it isn't so crazy after all. The letters are actually easier to write because of the flow of the letters versus having to lift the pencil for letters in print. I was amazed at how quickly she is catching on. Her teacher says she will be reading by spring. I am so excited for Tricia and for the whole new world this will open up for her.

Tom has been home now for a few weeks. I miss the bigger paycheck but I am so glad he is not gone all week. Katie is growing faster than I like. She can say anything she wants too. I went to McDonald's yesterday morning and bought the deluxe big breakfast and we shared it. Katie's favorite food is pancakes. That's why we bought the big breakfast. There are three pancakes in it along with eggs, bacon or sausage, a biscuit and hash brown. I can give Katie some of everything and she eats like a little piggy. She calls them "canpakes." I laugh every time she says it. These days will soon be gone and I'm trying to squeeze every drop of enjoyment I can from her. One thing is for sure, they grow up fast. I'm already feeling the "empty nest" syndrome!! :):)

It's getting late and I still haven't had my bag of popcorn so I must go. I'm feeling a little bit sleepy now..."zzzzzzzzzzz." I should get to bed. Take care and God bless.

Gale

Love being a Blonde!! :):)

2008-09-03T06:01:00.002-05:00

My sister thought that since I am a blonde that I would enjoy these little ditty's. She was right!! I hope you can get a good laugh too.

Blonde Cookbook

Monday
It's fun to cook for Dan. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls.

Tuesday
Dan wanted fruit salad for supper.. The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Dan brought a friend for supper!

Wednesday
A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed kind of silly but I took a bath anyway. I can't say it improved the rice any.

Thursday
Today Dan asked for salad again and I tried a new recipe. It said prepare ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Dan asked me why I was rolling around in the garden...

Friday
I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put the ingredients in a bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I left.

Saturday
Dan did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I don't have any clothes that fit it, and for some reason Dan keeps counting to ten.

Sunday
Dan's kids came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast but all I had was hamburger. Suddenly I had a flash of genius.. I put the hamburger in the oven and set the controls for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my disappointment.

GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY.

This has been a very exciting week! I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Dan. If I can talk him into buying a bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with a chocolate moose.

Just another blonde moment...

A blonde goes into a coffee shop and notices there's a 'peel and win' sticker on her coffee cup. So she peels it off and starts screaming, 'I've won a motor home! I've won a motor home!' The waitress says, 'That's impossible. The biggest prize is a free Lunch.?' But the blonde keeps on screaming, 'I've won a motor home! I've won a motor home!' Finally, the manager comes over and says, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. You couldn't have possibly won a motor home because we didn't have that as a prize. The blonde says, 'No, it's not a mistake. I've won a motor home!' And she hands the ticket to the manager and HE reads...
(YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS !!!!!! . I PROMISE!)

'W I N A B A G E L'

I trust each of you have a "blonde" day today. See ya!!

A quick update

2008-09-01T08:19:00.002-05:00

First of all I want to say thank you to all of you who have assured us of your prayers. We are so feeling the love of our friends and the power of prayer. God is so good and I can't begin to thank Him enough!!

Saturday evening a lady from Children's Services showed up at our door. She was only about 25 yrs. old and very sweet. She came in and said that she needed to see the house and make sure that the girls had all of their needs covered. She went through the house and then asked to see the food supply. I showed her the cabinet in the kitchen and then opened the refrigerator. It was really comical the look that came over her face. Tom said her eyes got really big and she asked us if we always kept the fridge this full or had we just gone shopping. We told her that the fridge stayed full like this all of the time. I would have thought she would have realized this when she looked at us...lol. We like to eat and we like to eat good food. Everyone can tell!! :):) I had gone to the store on Friday afternoon before this whole mess started but I didn't tell her that. It's just a routine thing I do every week on Thursday or Friday.

She finally sat down with Tom and talked with him. She filled out her report and then talked to me and Patricia. When she got ready to leave we asked her where she thought this would go now. She very firmly assured us that she highly doubted that it would go anywhere. She said we would never see her again and after her report was turned in it would probably be placed in file 13. She was really impressed with our home and the care that our children receive. She could see instantly that there was nothing but love in our home.

So one hurdle has been crossed successfully. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!

I will keep you updated as to what the State Attorney's office has to say. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy my Labor day and thank the Lord for my children.

See ya.

~Gale~

We need your prayers!!

2008-08-30T11:26:00.002-05:00

Last night my husband and our oldest daughter along with our good friends three boys made a trip to town. They went to meet Brian the boys dad and then they all went to Wal-Mart. After having shopped for a while they were finally ready to leave. Patricia asked if she could ride with Brian and the boys home. Tom said yes and she went to ride with them. Something must have side tracked her because the boys left without her. Tom thinking that Tricia was with Brian left as well and headed home. He went to Brian's to pick her up only to discover that she wasn't with Brian. Tom came rushing home in a panic, yelled he was headed back to Wal-Mart and for me to call the store. I immediately called the store stating that it was an emergency and management answered right away. I told them that Tricia was there and the manager quickly told me that they had found her and they were keeping her safe with them until Tom could arrive.

When Tom got there the police had been called and there were four of them there. They called me right before Tom arrived and wanted to know where he was. I told them that he should be there any minute and they proceeded to inform me that Tom was going to jail for child neglect. I panicked!! They told me to get there fast and to have Brian come too. I called Pastor Loper who beat me there and was waiting in the store for me. When I got there, they were ready to handcuff Tom and take him to jail right on the spot. Tricia had been found wondering around in the parking lot by two teen girls. They brought her in the store to management. It was after 10:00 p.m. and there are a lot of drunks and pedophiles who live in the woods around the store. I can only tell you how thankful I am for those two girls whom the Lord used to protect Patricia.

When Brian got there the police questioned him again. Brian told them that the whole think was an accident. Each father thought Tricia was with the other father and it was a total accident that she was left behind. He also told the police that if Tom had to go to jail they would take him also. They were both at fault for the mess up. This really impressed the officer who then spoke with our pastor. He came and told Tom that he would not have to go to jail right then because he first of all believed in the "man of cloth" and was impressed with Brian's testimony. But that is not the end of the story.

The report was sent to the State Attorney's office and he will have to review it. He will have a lot more questions for us before he makes his decisions. Tom could still go to jail unless the Attorney's office throws it out of court. WE ARE PRAYING FOR HIM TO THROW THIS OUT!! We really need help in prayer that God would direct the Attorney's office in the right action and see that this was just an innocent accident by two very good fathers.

Our other problem is that Pastor Loper believes that the Children's Services will be called in to come and visit us. They will want to questions Patricia about her home life and care and about what happened last night. We are praying that God will intervene and that Child Services will not come. We have nothing to hide and our girls are very well cared for. They hardly ever get spanked. We know that sometimes Children's Services will twist questions to make a child answer in their favor. It has happened so many times before resulting in children being removed from homes when it should have never happened. We are scared and worried.

We are confident that God will take care of this situation but we also believe that the more people praying on our behalf can only help us. We are so afraid of what could happen and only the Lord can work this out. WILL YOU HELP US PRAY??? We need the Lord's help.

Thank you for reading this cry for help and for your prayers. God bless.

Gale

Welcome to a new blogger

2008-08-28T20:02:00.003-05:00

My sister just recently started a blog on blogspot. Her name is Brenda and you can visit her page here. I know she would love to here from you. She just recently became a Christian and has really been trying to do what is right. You can see it in her dress and the way she conducts herself. She has been smoke free now for about a month and the Lord is graciously helping her daily. When we are newborn in Christ we take "baby" steps. This is where Brenda is but she is growing and I know that you will keep her in your prayers. She is going to sing in the Singing Christmas Tree which is a large production that our church puts on each year at Christmas. Brenda is so excited that our Pastor was willing to let her be involved and I know that this will help here tremendously as she searches out the paths the Lord would have her take.

So stop by and leave her a word of encouragement. We all need that from time to time and Brenda's time is now. Thanks for your prayers.

God bless.

Gale

I want to live there!!

2008-08-21T11:42:00.006-05:00

We have this neighbor who is an awesome lady. She has a light house in her front yard and had always wanted a doll house under the light house. She finally had her dream come true and put one under the lighthouse. It is unbelievable. Patricia is fascinated with it as is most anyone who sees it. My sister took some pictures. Mind you that these are tiny rooms but this lady found all kinds of things to decorate with and fill the rooms in her little house. Take a look...

Tonight I drove by the little house and there was a light on inside and you could see in each room. The light had a blue tint to it and it really was cool looking. If your ever in the neighborhood stop by and take a look.

See ya.

School is here!!

2008-08-19T20:14:00.005-05:00

Finally the waiting is over. Tricia was so excited to be able to go to school. Monday morning I woke her bright and early and took her to kindergarten. Tom took the morning off from work so that he could go too. I really did not know how she would react when we got there because when we went to Kindergarten registration, she was so backwards and wouldn't participate in any of the activities. She was like a leach clinging to me and I worried all the summer long about our first day. I started talking to her about all of the fun she would get to have and the new things she would learn. When I took her to class Monday, she went right in and her teacher helped her find her cubby for her book bag and shes. Then we found her chair and she sat and looked at books until time for class to start. She loves to play in the park and when she found out they would go there everyday for playtime, she was overjoyed. For some reason she is equally excited about going to the cafeteria for lunch. I'm not sure why.

I took some pictures but for some reason my camera is giving me fits. A lot of them came out blurry. GRRrrrrr!! I will post the ones that were the best. We missed school today because of Tropical Storm Fay, but we hope to be on track Wednesday. Pray that this storm won't become a hurricane as it looks like it will swing out over the Atlantic and then back into Florida for a third landfall. We can still get the winds and rain if it would become a hurricane and I think that 7in. of water is plenty for now. Plus we don't want to miss any more school.

Here are some of the pictures I took...

When I went to pick Tricia up I asked her how she had liked her first day of school. She said "It was so good, I really had a good time." I'm just praying that she will continue to love school and really work hard at learning. That would make me "pleased as punch"!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Rulers,pencils,backpacks,uniforms and shoes...Shcools here!!

2008-08-16T09:23:00.004-05:00

It's so hard to believe that my little girl is going to kindergarten this year. I don't have any baby pictures scanned into the computer yet so this is the youngest picture I have. Tricia is around 20 months here. And now she is going to school. Monday is the first day and I am so excited for her. She keeps asking me if she can go to school in the morning. I have to tell her not this morning but Monday morning. I don't know who is more excited...her or me!!

I took her to an air show when we first moved here. She is in the cock-pit of a plane in this picture. She was so afraid of the planes overhead and she still has a fear of loud planes. She finally overcame the fear of helicopters. I hope she can soon go back to the air show and enjoy it.

Tricia will be going to Hobe Sound Christian Academy this year and they have uniforms. I will get pictures of her on Monday in her uniform. We didn't really have a lot of school shopping because of the uniforms but we did have to get shoes. Her shoes have to be brown or black. I found these at Payless (the only shoe store to shop for great bargains) and she loved them. We are just hoping the little pink stripes will pass. If not we have to go hunting again. The were only $12.99 so we still have a great bargain and she can wear them for play if she can't wear them to school.

Then my husband had is heart set on a great pair of Sketcher's he wanted her to have. They were at Rack Room Shoes and cost about $40.00. He had seen them a few weeks back and showed them to Tricia. She really liked them too. But when we went to get them, she found these. Tom could not persuade her to change her mind. Not even the Sketcher's in pink...lol. What girl would turn down pink?? Anyway, she wanted these. That suited me fine since they were $14.99 instead of $40.00. Just another bargain the Lord helped us to find. And I think these are a nicer looking shoe than the other one's were. So she's happy and Momma's happy. The only thing we lack are tissues and hand sanitizer and that may have to wait until next week. I don't intend to shop today and those weren't on the list when I did her school shopping earlier. I will have to take them in next week sometime. I'll need a box of tissues for my self too as I'm sure I will be doing plenty of crying. My baby girl is growing up...boohoo!!

2008-07-31T08:06:00.003-05:00

Just stylin!!
Add a cell phone and your in business!!

Anyone need a recipe????

2008-07-18T19:57:00.003-05:00

I read an article one time about a lady who detested her mother's cook book. She complained as a young girl how messy the book seemed to be and wondered often how her mother found anything. Her mother would always say that she new exactly where every recipe was in her cook book. As the young girl got older and out on her own, she vowed her cook book and recipes would never be in as sad a shape as her mothers. Then one day she decided to take inventory of her recipes and cook books and to her amazement her recipes were just as messy as her mothers had been. She soon realized how cherished her mothers recipes had been even though they were in a very disorganized mess and she decided that a messy recipe book could still produce a wonderful meal the same as an organized one.

I guess you could say that I have kind of been like the young woman in the story. My mom always kept her recipes in a box. I thought they were awfully messy but I loved to open the box and just smell the inside. Call it weird, but I love the way that box smelled. Just the other day I went to moms and asked her if she still had the same recipe box and she said yes. I took it down from the top cabinet and opened it up to take a deep long sniff. It still smelled the same. Wonderful!! I snapped some pictures so you could see...

You could always find her recipes in this disarray. How on earth does she find anything in that box?? Then Tom decided I needed a new drawer in the bottom of my cabinet and I had to pull everything out. I was really shocked at the amount of cook books I had accumulated over the years. I don't even know what is inside most of these cook books.
This is the book I use the most. When I want a recipe I go to this book and open it up to all of the many loose recipes that are in it. Every time I get a recipe I just open the book and throw in the paper. I never dreamed it would be this messy and I'm always vowing to clean it up and type all of those recipes onto nice 5x7 cards. I just never seem to get the time.

I guess it really doesn't matter what shape or disarray a recipe book gets into as long as you are satisfied with it. The book that my loose recipes are in is an old church cook book that I bought at a bake sale in Ohio. It has several recipes in it that I love to make and as you can see it is full of all kinds of loose recipes too. It's so fat you can't lay it down but what every thing starts to fall out of it. I love to open the book and just sift through the pages and imagine what each recipe taste's like. If you like to cook you know what I mean.

So take out your recipes and cook books and just take some time to look through them. You'll be amazed what you can find.

HELP! HELP! HELP!

2008-07-16T11:44:00.002-05:00

If you read and saw the pictures in my previous blog about Tricia burning up some Ramon Noodles in my microwave then you will know what is coming next.

Does any one know how to get the smoke smell out of my house? I'm washing the curtains, the microwave is now on the porch, I have all of my goblets down ready for the dish washer (they were above the micro) and I've washed the cabinets on that side of the kitchen. I can't stand the stench anymore. If you have a good idea or have had a similar problem and have an answer please pass it on. I'm desparate.

My microwave is on the car port patio and I heated a bowl of water and vinegar in it as goolge suggested. I left it in there to steam. When I opened the back door to go check on it you could smell the micro all over the carport. I may have to take up an offering to get a new one...lol.

Please let me know if you have a solution. Thanks.

2008-07-14T16:50:00.002-05:00

I have learned my lesson. Never allow a child to cook unsupervised. It was an accident actually. Patricia was in the swimming pool with a friend and I walked across the street to my sisters house. I told Tricia where I was going and that I would be right back. "Don't go in the house" I said to her. I was at my sisters for about 15 minutes and when I left, I was met by my mother who was coming to find me. She was frowning and looking very serious. I asked her what was wrong. She said that Tricia had almost burned the house down. She had gone in the house and after getting dressed from the pool proceeded to fix herself some noodles. She did not get enough water in them and this is what we found...

This is what remained of the noodles. She said she put them on for 3 minutes, but it had to have been for longer. The smell was horrid.

The bottom of the bowl was melted almost through. It's a wonder my house is still standing. The microwave may never come clean again. The smell is really bad when you get near it.

I amaze myself at the smart things I do. I never dreamed she would try to make noodles. And she knew where I was but when she panicked, she ran for grandma who lives the next street over. She came with another sister and you know the rest. I may have to buy a new microwave. How can one person be so dumb. I'm talking about me not my daughter. Don't cry over spilled milk...RIGHT!!

Monday Madness

2008-06-30T13:18:00.003-05:00

HI. I'm back from a short sabbatical in which I have been otherwise preoccupied. In other words, I've been watching a TV series called "Murder, She Wrote" and if I start a continuing series, I can't hardly stop. It's like reading Janette Okes "Love Comes Softly." Once I start, I have to finish and everything else has to wait. Sounds crazy I know, but I'm having a great time solving all the mysteries with J.B. Fletcher. :):)

There really isn't a lot going on here. We are in the middle of summer and every thing's pretty slow. The girls have been playing in the water trying to stay cool. We've been indoors a lot playing games and watching movies. Tricia is really into Candy Land. She loves to play and tries her best to beat me. She also has Don't Break The Ice. That one is her favorite. Katie and I are on one team (otherwise Katie knocks all of the cubes out with one blow) and Tricia is her own team. Katie laughs every time a block of ice falls. She is such a funny little girl.

Tom just returned this past Saturday night from Cape Canaveral. He was there for six days this time. He got in around two a.m. He was really exhausted. He is going back up tonight and then he will be done for the week. His vacation starts on Wednesday. When he came home he brought both of the girls a new toy. Katie's is this barn that plays music and has magnetic animals that she places on the barn door. Each animal says it's name and sound and then sings a little song. What's so cute is you can mismatch the animals and then hear both sounds and then a cute little song about two different animals. Tricia got a hand held game called V-Smile. Tom bought the Dora one and we can switch out the games. She is having a blast playing the adventure games. I think she played all day on Sunday...between church services and dinner. I finally had her go and lay on my bed with it because I was getting a headache from Dora singing and chanting Spanish. Dora is not my favorite character.

I haven't been in the choir here since before Katie was born and I have really missed it. Last night we had a Patriotic service and I was able to sing in the choir. Tricia sang in the kids choir with us. She was so proud to be able to go up there and sing. My mom said she sang her heart out. I couldn't see here from where I was standing, but I'm sure she was singing well. We had a guest appearance by Betsy Ross and her niece Susan as well as Abraham Lincoln. I really enjoyed singing with the choir again and I hope to sing some more.

I started back into Jr. Church. Sunday was my second service with the kids. We had 18 children with about half of them being bus children. I had forgotten how much I like to teach them. They have so much fun in the class. The age of my group is 3-5 and sometimes it is hard to find just the right story or craft for both age groups. The Lord is really helping me with them. Tiffany Peter's is my helper and she plays the piano. The kids sing their hearts out when they have music to sing to. I am rotating with another lady and her sister. That way I can get into some of the morning services too.

Well, as I said things are a little slow right now. I have pictures to show but I will post them another time. I don't like how Blogspot does their pictures. I always end up with gaps and the pictures are not in the spot where I want them. Anyone know an easier way to download the pictures?? Let me know.

Thanks for stopping by. God bless.

~Gale~

Father's Day

2008-06-16T21:54:00.002-05:00

No pictures to show. No big fancy stories to tell. Just a quiet Father's Day with our girls. Tom asked for a pork roast and I added mashed potatoes, corn in a wonderful butter sauce and a scrumptious blackberry cobbler. Tom was so full of dinner he had to wait until after nap time for his cobbler. We relaxed throughout the day and even napped a little. It was really nice to be just usn's.

I do want to note that I have a wonderful husband who is a wonderful father. This past week Tom had to be gone for four days working and we sure missed him. When he came home he went straight for his girls. They wrestled and played for a long time. His girls adore him. He is such a good Daddy. Sometimes correction is necessary but he never fails to sit down with them and talk about why they had to be corrected and hug and kiss them. Tricia of course more than Katie. He is a hard worker and never shirks from any job that needs to be done. Sometimes when he has worked so hard all week not getting home until late at night, he will get up on Saturday and work just as hard on the yard or cars or what ever needs doing.

Sunday morning was a wonderful message (which I didn't get to hear as I was teaching Jr. Church) and Tom was really thrilled with it. He received a nice gift from the church but alas, he didn't get anything from me. We had a mix-communication problem and so what he wanted I failed to get. We have it all straightened out now and I will make the dreaded trip shopping to get his gift.

I love you Tom and really miss you when your gone. Tricia and Katie ask about you all the time and we wait anxiously for your return. We would be so much less without you. I'm so glad you had a fantastic Father's Day.

Gale

Did you say blonde??

2008-06-12T21:24:00.002-05:00

Ok. Talk about having a "blonde" moment...I had mine last night-er-this morning. I went to bed around 11:30 last night and I was sooooo tired. I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed and I remember getting my glasses off the shelf and washing them. What I didn't remember was taking out my contacts. I went to bed and after some restless tossing finally fell asleep and the last thing on my mind was my contacts. I woke up around 2:00 a.m. thinking that I still had my contacts in. I told myself "You can't sleep all night with your contacts in. You have to go and get them out or they will be stuck to your eyeballs come morning."

So I got up and...yes people...I put my glasses on so I could see, and went to the bathroom. I remember opening up the contact case and seeing water in it so I poured it down the drain...not a good thing to do. I took my glasses off and then started trying to get the contacts out of my eyes. There were no contacts just eyeballs and it stung!!

"Oh no!!" My feeble brain at 2:00 in the morning could not understand where in the world those contacts could be. I panicked for just a small moment. I just knew they were floating somewhere behind my eyeballs and I would never get them out...heeheeheehee!! I know you are laughing at me.

I put my glasses back on so I could see (I am very near-sighted) and went back to bed. When I got up this morning I went back into the bathroom and tried to figure out what in the world happened to my contacts. The only solution I could come up with is that I was so tired last night, I didn't remember putting them in the contact case. When I got up at 2:00 and went back into the bathroom to take the "not-in-my-eyes" contacts out, they were already in the contact case and I poured them down the drain. Thank God that I had a box of each contact and could replace them without an eye doctor appointment. I opened up a new pair and all is well.

Now is that a blonde moment or what??

The shining light

2008-06-10T17:41:00.014-05:00

Last week my best friend from Ohio flew in to see me. She was here for a week and we sure had a nice time. We had so much catching up to do that we hardly had time for running around to see much. Judy spent a lot of time just sitting at the beach. She said she came to see me and to sit at the beach. And that's just what she did. We had such a good time while she was here.

One of the things that Judy said she wanted to do was visit the lighthouse. She had never been in a lighthouse (and neither had I so it was a first for both of us) and had always wanted to see one. So we took a trip to Jupiter to the lighthouse and from there on to Juno Beach to see the sea turtles at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Boy was it a hot day. We sweated so much I think you could have wrung out our clothes and filled a bucket. But, the trip was worth every drop of sweat. After going to see the lighthouse I went home and began to ponder some questions. What kind of person would be the keeper of a lighthouse? Is it a lonely job climbing all those stairs to the top to watch for the ships that come into the harbor? There were 105 steps to the top of this lighthouse. How my legs ached for days after going up and down all of those stairs. I wonder what kinds of things the keeper would have seen in all the nights that he sat up there and watched. How many ships he safely helped into the harbor by keeping the light shining in the big dome at the top of the lighthouse. This also led me on another train of thought...

Where would I be if it hadn't been for the lighthouse that directed my weary, sin-sick soul to Jesus? If He hadn't shone the light of His love on the pathway of my life, where would this ship have ended up? I am so thankful for the guiding light of my Saviour and that he was willing to climb that awful hill called "Golgotha" so that He could shine the light for me and for the world and safely guide me into the harbor of salvation. I don't have to be shipwrecked somewhere lost in the sea of sin. I don't have to beached on some forgotten island of despair. I just stay in the light that my Lord shines on the sea of my life and I know that he will safely guide me home. Sometimes the hurricanes and storms of life threaten me and sometimes I want to jump overboard when the burdens get too heavy but He gently reminds me to just follow in the path of the light and He will lead me to safety.

This song says it all...

The lighthouse

There's a lighthouse on a hillside

that overlooks life's sea.

When I'm tossed He sends out a light,

a light that I might see.

And the light that shines in darkness now

Will safely lead me on

If it wasn't for the lighthouse

This ship would sail no more.

Oh I thank God for the lighthouse

I owe my life to Him

King Jesus is the lighthouse

Upon the rocks of sin

He has shone a light around me

That I could clearly see

If it wasn't for the lighthouse

Then where would this ship be.

Everybody that lives around us

says tear the lighthouse down

You know the big ships

they don't sail by this way no more

so what's the use of it standing 'round?

Ahh, but then my mind goes way on back

to that stormy night,

when just in time, oh thank God I saw the light

T'was the light from that old lighthouse

that still stands up there on a hill.

Oh I thank God for the lighthouse

I owe my life to Him

King Jesus is the lighthouse

Upon the rocks of sin

He has shone a light around me

That I could clearly see

If it wasn't for the lighthouse

Then where would this ship be.
Oh, If it wasn't for the lighthouse

Then where would this ship be.

Here are some pictures I took while at the lighthouse...

If you read the sign you will see that for a period of time during the War Between the States, the lighthouse was dark. Aren't you thankful that the Light of Jesus never has to go dark?

This is the first set of steps leading up to the lighthouse. 34 steps to be exact.

Going up...Going down...

105 steps...WOW!! We were sore for a few days.

The view from the top...

We had such a wonderful time looking out at all of the beauty God has made from such a high "perch". Tricia loved it at the top. Kind of scary since she is such a daredevil...lol.

Hope you will keep in mind that Jesus is our lighthouse and stay in the light. He will always guide us to our destination and we never have to worry.

Gale

A boy and his toys!!

2008-06-03T21:04:00.003-05:00

I believe the old saying that boys and their toys soon grow into men and who still play with toys. They don't stop buying toys they just get bigger and more expensive. Tom was looking to buy a truck. He had his heart set on finally owning his own truck when he found this. That's definitely not a truck.

I keep ribbing him and telling him that this jalopy is a "hunk of junk." :):) He told me the other night that he was really offended by my calling his car this and would I please stop. He thought I was serious. I quickly informed him that if I thought his car was a "hunk of junk" then I wouldn't be putting these pictures on my blog. He soon calmed down when he found out I was going to let everyone see his toy. It really is a beautiful car. Too noisy for my taste. When he was ready to pick it up I had to go and get it and pay for it. On the way back home with the car, Patricia, who was sitting in the back of the car yelled up to me that "it sure was loud back here" to which I had to agree. That is one loud car. It sits so close to the ground and everything just rumbles. It has a corvette motor and that means lots of power. So far I haven't had the opportunity to see how fast it will go but Tom has had it up to 120mph. I really think he should double his life insurance...:):) That way I can afford to buy a black dress when he kills himself...lol.

Here are some more pictures of the car...

If you like it let me know. If you have a sports car that goes fast, please let me know how fast. Send me a picture if you want to so we can see it. And if you are ever in our area and see a streak of red with lots of noise zoom by, you can bet it's Tom (or me...heeheehee)

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T20:31:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful day on Monday. We woke up to no humidity and beautiful blue skies. I opened all of my windows and they stayed open until around three cuz that's when the sun moves to the west and we don't have any shade on that side of the house. It can heat up in here really fast.

We were able to have our dinner outside which was so wonderful cuz my house stayed clean. We grilled burgers and hotdogs. My mom brought bratworst. She likes to bake them in the oven so we didn't grill them. And then each family who came brought a salad or other dish to go along with the meat. It turned out so nice. We bought Patricia a pool and the kids had ablast swimming in it. We also bought a 16' water slide and the boys had so much fun sliding on it. Then the girls had their turn. Katie was in heaven. She loves water. We just had a lot of fun.

Now for some pictures. Enjoy!!

Fixing my favorite vegetable...Onions!! I learned not to cut off the end and my eyes won't burn.

Here is the Chef...He needs a bucket of water in case he starts a fire...lol.

I must have had something important to say. My mouth is open wide...lol.Some of the kiddos in the pool. They were just about to get into trouble for moving the slide into the pool.Katie in the swing soaking up the sunshine. It was such a gorgeous day.

I have a few more pictures but blogger is giving me trouble...GRRRRR!! I'll try to post some more later. Thanks for stopping by

Gale

Tid Bits

2008-05-22T18:20:00.006-05:00

I really don't have enough to blog about these days. Just going to work and coming home. Staying tired alot from lack of sleep but other than that every things going well. Saturday was a beautiful day for me. I really didn't do a lot just relaxed. Tom put the door on the little closet we built on the porch and it was nice to get some of my dishes out of the pantry that I don't use very often. It freed up more room for groceries in the pantry. I don't have a lot of cabinet space in the kitchen so I have a tall pantry in the laundry room for groceries. We also were able to get our headlights/taillights on our bikes. The weather has been really warm here and where we live there are little tiny sand fleas that eat the fire out of you. They come out at dusk and when the sun is just starting to rise. They don't like the heat so they will bury themselves in the sand during the day and then come out as soon as it begins to get dark. They are often called "no-seeims" because you can barely see them. But when they are out you can get 30 at a time on you chewing and it is almost unbearable. Hence the headlights on the bikes. We usually ride after dark because the no-seeims are usually in bed...lol. And of course it is safer to have the lights in case someone can't see you after dark. I was able to get all of my laundry done which was a blessing. The floors got a good mopping and I cleaned one of my bathrooms. Saturday was just a day that I really enjoyed.

Sunday was a really nice day. I didn't go to service in the morning because once again I was up all night with Katie and I was so tired. Thank the Lord for my sister Bren who helped me get both of the girls ready and then took them to church. Tom went too but he wasn't quite ready when they girls left. I went straight to bed and was pretty well in lala land when Tom came in to kiss me goodbye. Mom brought a roast and potatoes with carrots for dinner. I added green beans and a salad. Dinner was really yummy!! I made it to church that night and then my sister Sue came over after church for some snacks.

Monday was back to the grind stone. Thank the Lord I only work until 2:00 so I'm home early to be with the girls. Tricia and I are counting down the days until I will be home everyday. She is so excited and is telling everyone that her mommy is going to be her babysitter. I just smile and thank God for my two special girls.

Tuesday evening we were invited to a friends house for the husbands birthday. We had cake and ice cream and the evening was so nice. It is so good to have such special friends. The Lord has been so good to us and we have so many friends that He has given to us.

Wednesday was another good day. We have been praying so hard for rain. Everything here is dying. Our yards look like short hay fields. It's all brown and dead. The Lord was so good and sent us a really big rain. It came down in sheets. You couldn't see anything for a little while. We were so thankful for the rain. I think that we have been about 6 weeks (except for a spitting of rain maybe twice for about 30 seconds) without rain. The rain was so refreshing.

Today was a beautiful day too. Do you see a pattern here?? :):) I'm so thankful that the Lord smiles on us and helps us to see the beauty in the days He gives us. Today was especially nice because it began to rain and storm around 2:30 in the afternoon and didn't stop until around 6:00. It was so refreshing. I made Tricia stay in the house and sometime during the storm she decided it was time to check it out. She slipped out of the house and I didn't know it. My sister went to find her because she (my sister) was already wet and didn't care if she got wet some more. Needless to say Tricia was a drowned rat. We got her in and changed her. I threatened her with bed if she left the house again. She doesn't like to go to bed even at bed time so she decided to stay put.

You remember in my previous post that I was really frustrated with the whole first year molar thing with Katie. She now has the two in on top and we are nervously waiting for the bottom two to start appearing. She has these big bulges where the teeth are going to come in but so far no sign of the teeth. Would you believe, as if Katie wasn't enough, Tricia decided that she needed to start getting her 6 yr molars. Help me Lord!!!! She isn't having too much pain with them but sure has been cranky. She just cries over everything. I'll be so thankful when the teeth in my life are finally here!! :):):)

Now for some pictures. Just a few to end this blog about nothing. Have a great weekend.

Look out Bill Gates. Here comes another great computer geek!!
Just relaxing on Mom's bed!!

Are you ready to Dose Do??

I think someone forgot the H2O!!

And last of all checking out all of the baby fashions.

Thanks for stopping by. God bless.

Gale

2008-05-21T11:25:00.003-05:00

My sister sent this to me in an email and I wanted to share it with all of my friends. Whoever wrote this quote has truly seen herself. I hope this blesses you today and helps you to see the beauty in yourself as a WOMAN!!

We are special no matter if we are a housewife, lawyer, doctor, or great company executive. We are special because we have a WOMAN'S heart!!

"THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN IS NOT IN THE CLOTHES SHE WEARS, THE FIGURE THAT SHE CARRIES,OR THE WAY SHE COMBS HER HAIR. THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN MUST BE SEEN IN HER EYES, BECAUSE THAT IS THE DOORWAY TO HER HEART & SOUL....THE PLACE WHERE LOVE RESIDES."

Remeber, You are special!!

I did it!!

2008-05-16T09:54:00.002-05:00

For those of you who know what my job has been like, I am happy to tell you that I will not longer be employed after May 29th. I turned in my resignation yesterday and it was accepted without too much complaining. I have been with this company since February and I have not liked the job since about the first day. We get our income from bids and quotes. My job was to be the assistant to the owner and to keep track of his work, appointments, quotes, etc. Each day I have been given more work not itemized in my job title and I have become so frustrated with it. I just can't handle the job anymore. I'm going to pull my hair out.

Not only is my job the problem, but my house is falling apart while babysitters are there. My girls cry after me and want to know when I will be "babysitting" them. It really does break my heart each time I hear them ask that question. I just want to cry all the way to work and then I'm stressed out while at the job and worrying about the girls at home.

Not only is the house falling apart, but Katie (bless her little heart) has decided that she needs all four 1st year molars at the same time instead of one at a time. I have not been able to sleep more than four hours a night for quite some time. Thus we are dealing with a baby who doesn't feel good and a very CRANKY mom!! Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. I will take the molar cutting over not having Katie. She is such a sweet and pleasant child and we are having a blast with her. I just am staying so tired from no sleep.

So I turned in my resignation and I'm going to stay home with my girls for a while until Katie gets a little older and Tricia is in school. Then I will be on the hunt for something part time during school hours.

Now for the biggy!! Please pray for me that I will be able to soon get some sleep. And pray for my husband that he doesn't decide to knock me over the head for being so cranky. Oh and also, please pray for Katie that she can get those teeth in and will start feeling better soon.

Does anyone feel my frustration?? :):)

2008-05-14T15:46:00.006-05:00

You always know when graduation gets here that things are going to be hectic. Being on a College Campus and having the students here all of the winter keeps all of us hopping. And when it is time for Baccalaureate you know everything's going to come to an end.

Tonight is the Baccalaureate service and so there won't be a regular prayer meeting. The Baccalaureate service is for the college graduates. The President of the college will either address the students or appoint the person who will. They usually talk to them about the commitments they have made and about going out and serving the Lord in whatever field they are called too. It is a very beautiful service and it is very special to the graduating class. There also my be awards and other things given out. I don't remember for sure. At any rate, I don't think I will attend this year.

Once school is out and the college kids are gone and everyone starts vacations and youth camps, things get pretty quiet here. We always look forward to the hustle and bustle of school days coming in the fall after the long summer.

One thing is for sure, we will have an exciting fall. Patricia starts school this year and we are so excited for her. We went to kindergarten open house and she was so shy. I couldn't hardly get her off of my hip. I'm sure that when she gets to going on a daily basis, she will lose that shyness. LOOK OUT Mrs. Deckard!! She has a lot of energy. The great thing is Mrs. D. will have all kinds of places to channel that energy!!

I just want to say "Congratulations" to all of the 2008 graduating seniors. My prayer is that you will be an effective Christian in the area that you are called. God bless each of you.

Mother's Day Memories

2008-05-13T14:17:00.003-05:00

WOW!! This was last year at the Mother Daughter banquet. I posted this picture so you could see how big Katie has grown. Patricia was not with me last year but I made sure she was with me this year.We had a very nice banquet give or take a few problems. Tom was kind enough to come and take the girls home when the guest speaker got up to speak. I was able to listen without chasing kids. My mother could not go to the banquet because of work. She also missed Sunday. My baby sister Brenda went with me. She really wasn't sure that it was something she wanted to go to, but I think she had a nice time after all. Here she is in the picture with her favorite nieces.Something must have caught Patricia's eye in this picture. She was looking way off the other way.

This mother's day was a little difficult. I had about 2 hours of sleep on Saturday night because Katie had me up. She is cutting her 1st year molars and she has been so miserable. So I was one tired Momma. We went to my sister Sue's house for dinner. We took ham and mashed potatoes. It was nice not to have the mess at my house this year. We had a really nice time with family but I was so glad to get home and go to bed...lol. Katie went to sleep at Sue's house and when she woke up, Daddy kept her over there so I could rest. Thank you Sweetie. You're the best!! We ended up the day at church and then had friends in after church for snacks.

Last year I talked about my Mom so this year I didn't really post anything about her. I do want to say however, that I love my mom very much and I am so thankful for her. She is a godly example of what a Mother should be to her children. She has done so much for me and my family and the girls absolutely love her. She gives without reservation and doesn't complain about the money she spends. She is such a great Mom. I love you Mom!!

Who's shoes are you walking in????

2008-05-09T21:49:00.003-05:00

How many times have we made a comment about someone else and the situation they are in without really realizing that we've never walked in their shoes. The other day Katie was playing around with her daddy's boots. Hence the picture. She looks cute in them.

But did you ever stop to think that we really don't know what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes? We criticize other's for something they may have done when we have never been there and we don't really know what they are going through. There was a lady in our church one time who had a little girl living with her. This little girl had been there for quite a long time but became so bad they were unable to care for her any longer. They had to find her another place to live so they could have some peace in their home. A lot of people criticized this family for the decision they made when none of them had lived in their home and knew nothing about the situation. That seems to be the case with most people who comment and gossip about others. They don't know what the real reason is behind what may or may not have been done.

When I saw Katie in her daddy's boots it was comical and cute. She looked adorable and yes I grabbed the camera and took this picture. But it set me on a train of thought that I could not get away from. Her daddy's boots were way too big of course and she just kept teetering one way and then another until she could no longer stand then she would fall. She would get up and try it again only to repeat the same thing. So many times we try to walk in someone else's shoes and we end up tripping up. Maybe the shoes are too small and we are "bigger" than the situation and could do better but won't try. Or the reverse may be the case. They are so big that we get lost in the situation that we should have never attempted to do in the first place. Sometimes we try to walk in others shoes because we are envious of what they may have or we want to be popular like they are. There are so many reasons why people try to wear other peoples "shoes."

I for one have been thinking hard about this and trying to understand within myself that I can't walk in someone else's shoes without having some very ugly results. At the same time, I can't criticize another for something they are going through when I have never been in their shoes. I believe as Christians we need to start holding up our brother's and sister's in the Lord and praying for them when we see them struggling with their "shoes" instead of gossiping and criticizing. And whatever we do, keep the "shoe size" that God has give us and we will be more effective Christians for Him. And when it is time, He will increase our size to suit our needs and to make us more pleasing to Him.

"Let the little children come unto Me..."

2008-05-07T20:25:00.006-05:00

I guess the most honored time of my life is when I can dedicate my children to the Lord. There's nothing more precious than offering your children up to the Lord to be used in whatever way He needs them. To know that you have given them to Someone who will always take care of them and lead and guide them in every aspect of their little lives is the most precious feeling in the world.

This past Sunday was Katie's dedication. I know that she is a little older than the normal age for dedication, but we had planned to have her dedication in Ohio during Christmas and it just did not work out. Then we thought we would have it done while Tom's parents were here and they decided to come during camp and we felt it would be too much with everything already really swamped. So, I finally told Tom we had to get her dedicated or she would be standing at the podium as tall as the pastor if we didn't get ourselves on the ball. So we got with our Pastor and made the arrangements for her dedication.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny and very warm. We sat way, way, way, up front (which is very unusual for us I might add) and then our family joined us during the fellowship time so they could stand up front with us. Pastor Wolf was so eloquent in the dedication. Katie was really good. She didn't cry or fuss. I was a nervous wreck and when it was my turn to sing, I grabbed the mic and stayed turned with my back to the crowd. I could feel my knees knocking and my paper was shaking, but the Lord really helped me and I was able to get through the song. It must have been ok cuz I got a lot of comments on it. After I sang, Pastor addressed us as parents and then my mother read a poem she had written.

When Pastor was finished he asked to hold Katie and prayed the prayer of dedication. Katie was so cute. She gave him a big yawn right as he was saying "Amen" and he thought that was funny. So did a lot of other people who saw her.

It was a beautiful time for us and we are so thankful to have taken the time to dedicate Katie to Jesus. Our prayer is that He will be able to mold her and make her into the Christ-like christian she should be.

Here I am singing my song. My mother is behind me, my step-dad behind her and then my step-sister Sue. Behind me is my sister Brenda and Patricia (whom you can't see) and then Tom & Katie, Darell Wayne and Chasity who are Sue's children.
We had some pictures taken after the service at the front of the church. Pictured with us is my mother Bessie. We would have loved to have Tom's family with us, but they are in Ohio. Thanks to the internet they could be with us online. Not the same but at least they could see the dedication.

I had thought about a dress for Katie but I knew it would be hard to find something in white without paying a lot of money for it. I just think that it is a waste to buy $80.00 and $90.00 dresses for babies who will outgrow it in about 2 months. So I was so thrilled to find this little dress on sale at Wal-Mart for $7.00. It is mostly white with tulips embroidered around the hem. I was so happy and thankful for such a fantastic bargain and a lovely dress. Incidentally I bought it in a 24 months so she could wear it longer. I found that really helps the budget when you can buy children's clothes just a slight bit bigger. They are able to wear them longer.

We had dinner at our house after the service. Several people came to celebrate with Katie. This is the cake that my friend Tiffany made. She took the Wilton Cake classes and makes some fantastic cakes. This one was so good. If you live in the area and need a cake just let me know. I can set you up with a good baker.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our special time. We were truly blessed and we hope that you will be too.

Gale