Miss A's Party ~ Keeper of the Faith meeting

A successful and happy three year old party...

In the morning, the Elliott family brought her a gift of new roller skates. She loves them...and the thought of skating in them...so far she's mastered wearing them and laying in the floor yelling 'somebody, come help me'. It's really cute...can't talk her into removing them. Before I know it we'll have another roller skate addict in the house ~~Thank you friends for blessing Miss A!!

Next we had Miss A's 'family' party. We had a good time just opening her gifts and eating cake together. She got new 'big girl' panties, a coloring book, and lots of hair stuff. She was so excited!

We finished the day off with Miss K and Miss M attending their first ever "Keepers of the Faith" Club meeting. This is a Mother/daughter club with the focus of training our daughters to be keepers of our home. Each month we have a devotion, snacks and fellowship, and then on to a craft/learning time.

This month we focused on rubber stamping cards taught by my dear friend Karla M. Each girl was blessed to make a fun lady bug card and a 'Noah's Ark' book mark. They had a GREAT time! They are already looking forward to next month...

*~*HaPpY 3rd BirThDay To Miss A*!*~

Miss A, our baby turns 3 today! She has certainly lived up to the meaning of her name "Our Father's Joy". She daily brings her father and I great joy. We are so blessed to be her mommy and daddy!!

She is truly a girly ~girl... on our recent girls night out she picked out a headband with polka dots and a large pink bow on it. She wears it every day whether it matches or not. She loves anything frilly, fancy, and girly. Her favorite doll she calls 'Alyssa' and she can usually be seen dragging her around. She loves her siblings and always tells me 'I don't want to sleep alone!'

We went to the grocery store tonight for her 'birthday food'. She picked out juice boxes and pop tarts for breakfast. For her cake it was sprinkle cake with sprinkle icing. She'll be on a 3 day sugar high!

shhh....don't tell, but we got her lots more headbands with big flowers and bows on them. Her sisters blessed her with a princess coloring book and new 'Tinkerbell' panties, hopefully that will inspire her to finish potty training. Since we started the M and M's yesterday we've only had 1 accident( yea!!).

I thank the Lord for this special blessing He sent to me. I pray that as Miss A's mommy I can raise her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May she grow to love the Lord with all her heart.

A good week...

I've been so BLESSED by friends and family taking such good care of me. They brought delicious meals, yummy desserts, and lots of prayers. I appreciate each one so much!!

I feel 99% better...have to keep some room for improvement (-; Truthfully, I'm glad to be on this side of the healing process. This week has gone smoothly and I've had plenty of REST. We've been blessed with ample work to support us, yet enough free time to get our outside tasks done. My Beloved seeded about 7 acres with wheat today. That will give our cows something to graze on this winter. He is really enjoying the work he can do with that new tractor.

School has gone well this week. Josh brought home a report card with an A on it...yea Josh!! Joe and I are back on track after our week off. The little girls were very blessed by Grandma T. She came to teach them Home Ec classes today. They learned all about food safety and then got to use all kinds of peelers, graters, choppers, and knives. Fun for these two and good experience!!

My beloved's got the hunting BUG. He read about bow hunting that just opened up an Antelope season...excited was not how you described him! He called friend after friend to share the 'news'. Of course these guys hunt too, so they were just as excited as he was. He would love to take a spur of the moment trip to the panhandle soon if he can get his things in order.

Excitement for Miss A this week is a 3rd BIRTHDAY...how can my baby be 3?? She's still so cute and TINY, although she's really growing. I had her almost totally potty trained. She could go for days with no accidents, but alas put mommy to bed for a few days and we have to start over. Unfortunately, she was not motivated this time. Every 30 minutes my timer went off and she had wet panties, but couldn't go in the potty. Tonight I solved that! A trip to the gas station got us a small bag of M and M's. Since we came home at 7:30 we've been potty 3 times (1 m and m per trip) and poopy 1 time (1 more m and m) and NO wet panties!! Not bad for a two hour time period. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Miss K's newest excitement is her PIANO LESSONS...thanks to Miss Hannah. She can't wait to learn songs and has been explaining how she will keep track of her practice in her assignment notebook.

Grandma Mary was blessed this week with 2(!) phone calls...her son from Georgia and granddaughter from Georgia both called to chat. She is looking forward to them coming to visit for Thanksgiving. She got to go out to lunch today with my dear momma and was blessed by a time at Odell's Restaurant. Grandma does her part to keep them in business which is good I guess...as they do their part to keep our service business going. This weekend Grandma gets to go to her younger son's house for a visit...she will enjoy that greatly!

Thursday we start Keepers of the Faith a Christian girls club for moms and daughters...another exciting thing going on. We have guests coming in the morning, the R. Smith family who will be bringing a precious new son for us to love on. We'll celebrated with Miss A at lunch/ dinner, then off to the meeting for us 'big girls'.

Life is Blessed, full to overflowing, but Blessed immensely!!

Another 'Mount'ain to climb and valley to walk through

Some days I feel like I climb one obstacle, jump one hurtle, go through the valley, only to have the next 'crisis' mountain looming in the distance. I know the saying if your not in the storm, get prepared, for the next one is coming. My storm arrived this weekend.

Back at the beginning of August I went to my midwife to confirm an early pregnancy, but was instead told I had a 'blighted ovum' and should expect to miscarry. I didn't share the info with too many people as this was the same week my grandma was so ill and dying. Then we had to get through her funeral. There were too many other storms to weather those two weeks.

The following week - week 3, I went in for another confirmation ultrasound. I wanted to make sure they were right. Of course we hoped and prayed for a miracle, but knew that we had to trust God to know best. I hoped to let this go naturally, but needed to see that my baby wasn't growing. This ultrasound confirmed exactly what the other one had said; there was no change in growth and I should expect to miscarry shortly.

Week 4 - Labor Day weekend proved true to it's name. I started the process on Sunday and by Tuesday I thought all was complete. I was sore, but felt relatively good until Thursday at noon. I had a scary episode of bleeding that I was able to stop by resting and by taking Cayenne Pepper capsules. We headed to some friends Thursday evening and didn't get home until 11:30. At 1:30 AM, I awoke realizing we needed to head to the hospital. We went to the local Emergency Room because they were the closest one. Sadly, even though they did the right tests, they did not 'treat' me, simply sending me home saying, "you're miscarrying"...yes I knew that, as that's what I told them going in the door.

After resting all day Friday and Saturday, our family decided to stay home from church and rest one more day. Praise God that my beloved felt led to stay home also rather than taking the children by himself. Shortly before services would have started, I began to bleed heavily again. We did everything we knew to stop it, but couldn't get it under control. As I started fainting we knew it was time to go into the ER again...this time a trip to the city for a better hospital - a 1 hour trip!

After getting an IV with fluids and yet another ultrasound #5 they determined that I had not actually miscarried yet and thought I would need to have a D and C. I'm praising the Lord that through the many prayers of our family and friends, that was avoided. They were able to take care of it with only an exam. This was an answer to prayer!! Thank you LORD JESUS!!

So now I'm officially on bed-rest for a few days, waiting and resting... This should give the next mountain of crisis time to form/erupt (seriously?!?) I am really thankful and have to try and keep a sense of humor. We have been blessed with 6 beautiful living children and I'm thankful for each gift. As the movie "Facing the Giants" reminds me of ~ I will praise HIM in the good times AND I will praise HIM in the bad. Blessed be the name of the LORD.

Girls Night Out...time with the little girls.

Tonight My beloved and Joe were blessed with the opportunity to attend a Red Hawks baseball game in OKC with our dear friends the Elliott's. That left me time with the little girls while Josh stayed home with Grandma.

The girls and I headed to Tecumseh for a stop at the library. We love books so much! We were only there 10 minutes, but managed to fill our bag with at least 12 books. Miss K is working on the step one - beginning to read on her own. I always have a wish list going and the other girls choose whatever looks good. We also got two books on tape that help the drive time go much faster!

Next, we met Grandma T in Shawnee for a quick errand. Lastly a stop at the bank finished my errands. Now it was time to officially start our 'Girls Night Out'.

We headed to the mall, going to Claire's to buy new necklaces. They were so excited that they could hardly choose the one they wanted! Miss A choose a pretty pink headband with a big bow, Miss K got a necklace with a black cat/heart charms, and Miss M went for the pink butterfly necklace and ring. We choose some purple toenail polish (I won't paint fingernails very often!) and a new hairbrush. They couldn't wait to get their new pretties on.

As we left the mall, we spotted a carnival in the parking lot. The girls don't remember ever going to one, so mommy splurged and bought them each 1 ride at $3 a piece. Miss K and Miss M chose the fun house, while Miss A went on the kiddy boats. We also discussed that they didn't remember EVER eating Cotton Candy, so of course we came home with a bag. When the carnival fun was over, we headed to Walmart for shirts for Josh and hot pink flip flops for Miss A at Old Navy. With the shopping done, we were off to dinner.

The girls were very blessed to get to chose a happy meal from McDonalds. Not our usual choice so they were again excited. I think Miss K's words were "This is the best day ever!"

After we got home we took some time to paint our toenails, eat the cotton candy, and read a book together. I pray the little girls will remember that their momma took the time to invest in their lives, having fun with them, and treating them special. Each one is such a blessing to me!!

A peaceful end to a LONG week...

Today was a Sunday, a blessed day of worship that our family spent with our home church friends. We were encouraged by the testimony of the Determan family. They shared how they came to know the Lord and changed their lives to reflect HIS ways, rather than their own. I had such peace today. Our family attended service by ourselves, while Grandma Mary went to stay with her son Hoy for the weekend. We were able to stay and enjoy the fellowship meal, visiting with friends that truly CARE about our lives. This is the way a church body should function. We are extremely grateful for the influence each one has on our family.

The opportunity to get a picture of our whole family has become rare. It's so hard to get us all together. Here we are after my grandmother's funeral...my Mom, My beloved and I, Kim, Josh, Joe, Miss K, Miss M, Miss A, and our grandbaby Leelee.



Yesterday, Saturday was the funeral for my dear sweet grandma. She passed away August 19, bringing her battle with cancer to an end. A week before I went to see her in the hospital...she had requested that I come and we felt she was making her final goodbyes. As we talked I assured her that "Jesus is waiting on you grandma." she emphatically told me "NO, I am waiting on HIM!!" and she was. She knew heaven was her home. Her earthly time was over and she longed to go on.

Her funeral was sweet. We had a friend of the family play his guitar. He is paraplegic following a car accident when I was a baby. Next some nieces came and sang Precious Memories. Finally Amazing Grace was sang, always one of my favorites. It is so true that Jesus saved 'a wretch like me'. I had the hardest time during the slide show. It's funny I could see all the pictures individually and do ok, but to see them together...to see her life played out in front of me...that was hard. She will be so missed. She was such a giving, loving woman. I never had to doubt if grandma loved me...I just knew. All the fun memories, the homemade gifts, the lessons in cooking...she seemed to know everything.

Next the pastor, Bro Danny gave an invitation. He did a wonderful job reminding us that grandma knew where she was going. If we died today would we see her there? At this point my heart broke, for as I sat on the pew with 4 of my children around me I knew that today not all my children know the LORD. There is always HOPE, but often it gets clouded over by despair. Will the truth be made clear before it is 'too late'? Will I see all my children walk with the Lord? I have one that assures me that will never happen...I'll keep praying until that day.

On other fronts, School is moving right along. Josh is doing well at Votech. I think he really enjoys the 'challenge' of the technical work. The other children are doing well in their studies. We always have some adjustments the first few weeks, but I think we're getting the bugs worked out.

Grandma Mary has had a pretty confused time this last 1-2 weeks. While I don't know the extent that the dementia causes her to be confused, she does know us and general things - PTL! We just continue to work thru the struggles, day by day and battle by battle.

Sometimes it seems life is about all the battles we will fight...when is it ever easy? With lots going on right now, I'm trying to focus on being joyful again ((rather than cranky!)) ~~the progesterone cream helps greatly...along with the constant reassurance that all things work together for good to those that love HIM (sorry I don't know the reference off the top of my head)

BrrRing....school is in session around our house

Today was the first day of the 2010-2011 school year. We 'got it done'! Now only 179 days to go until summer, lol. You can tell I enjoy my break.

This year we have Josh in Votech for HVAC (- short for Heat, Air, and Ventilation)in the morning. He has to catch a 6:55 AM bus to take a 30 minute ride to school. He gets back about lunch time and then has the afternoon to finish his other courses. One nice surprise is Votech teaches math to everyone that attends, so he will get a math credit.

Joe is picking up more of the older brother roll being the only man in the house during the day now. He has some more challenging classes this year, some that don't worry him at all and a few he can't stand. Sorry son, they are required!

Miss K started 2nd grade. She will do great! She's reading well now so that helps. I'm doing the Character First Curriculum with the girls each day. We hope to finish all 36 qualities covered in the notebooks this year and have fun doing it.

Miss M is starting '100 easy lessons' for her reading. I'm hoping it holds to its name and comes easy for her. She also enjoyed her first day of math. Read alouds hold no fun for her, but this reading momma hopes she comes around.

Miss A and I are doing 'Before 5 in a Row'. She enjoyed her first book "Jesse Bear What will you wear??" We only have to read it 4 more times...hope it's just as fun then (-;

My beloved is staying super busy with AC /refrigeration work. We're praising the Lord for the added work this summer. We've been blessed with some awesome referrals lately. One in particular from my grown up -little brother. He referred us to a school who has used us a lot!

Around the farm, we bought a Green John Deere Tractor. My beloved has been enjoying his time brush hogging the weeds. I'm just loving to see them GONE! Our decrepit old metal barn is getting a new coat of metal and looking much nicer.

Grandma Mary is doing the same things. She enjoys word searches and television. She's currently stuck on eating out at Odell's restaurant about 3-5 times a week. Southern home cooking seems to suit her fine. Dementia causes you to do very repetitive things, from eating the same meals for weeks on end to watching the same tv shows. There is comfort when things don't change and you know what to expect.

She had some excitement this week as her son Hoy invited her to come and stay one weekend a month at his house. She so needs the fellowship of others outside our family. This will be a tremendous blessing to her! The only other places she goes is a once a week beauty appointment with My beloved and church on Sunday.

If you think to pray for my dear Grandma C, lift her up to the Lord. She's in the final stages of Brain Cancer and has been so restless. I told her this week the Lord was waiting on her. She quickly replied "NO, I am waiting on HIM!". I just pray she will have a peaceful passing.

Other than that there are the usual health issues, my momma is struggling right now. She has the fear that her brain tumor has returned. We're waiting for her to have a scan done showing if her fears prove true or if it is some other issue.

I'm still struggling with some health issues, but am seeking the guidance of a natural doctor to work on the issues.

There are so many in need...so many to pray for...all the issues seem so big to each of us, but in the scheme of life we are but a breath as scripture says. Be thankful for what you have, even if you only have it today.

~~reminder to self as I do the laundry. I'd rather do it for each of these people, than not have one of them!

Happy Saturday

Today has been a nice, lazy, yet productive Saturday! I haven't felt rushed or pressured to do anything, yet got the house cleaned with the help of the kiddos, the chicken pen mowed (it had weeds that were 5 foot tall!),and are having our dear friends Jason and Corine stop by for dinner.

Beef and Chicken Enchiladas with watermelon for dessert...yummy, at least I hope our guests think so! We've been friends with these guys since our Joe was 9 months old, so 13 years now. They've been a blessing to us through the years. They are the kind of friends that you know you can depend on no matter when you call or what you need. I thank the Lord for sending them our way!!

Tomorrow we look forward to 'Home Church Fellowship' with about 80 people at the senior center. Again we are so blessed by this group of friends. There will be people driving for hours to get here, so you know the fellowship can't be beat! ;o)

Have a Blessed Sunday worshiping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!

Dementia is so deceitful...

It will make you think all is well...when it's not.

It will cause you doubt about what is right and what is wrong.

It will make you rethink the things that you know to be true.

It will cause misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

To the ones who lives with it in their body it causes confusion and sadness...to the ones who live with it in their home it causes the same.

Dementia is such a deceitful disease. Pray for us to have understanding and for anyone else that walks this same road.

A day to play...

We started the day early getting up at 5:30 with Daddy. After some family reading time, he and Jo3 were off to the C family's to install a new AC unit in the workshop.

~~I got a special surprise last night of the most beautiful benches for my kitchen table from my hubby. He had Mr C custom build them to match our table. As usual, excellent work! I've wanted benches for years and he went all out on these. THANKS For an awesome blessing that will last for generations!

Josh took off this morning to cut more hay with Mr. Russell and Bryan. That left the girls and I footloose and fancy free at 6:30 in the morning. When Mrs. Russell  showed up to walk (for our adult only walk we do each day) There were three little ones dressed and ready to go with us. We walked a little over a mile at a child's pace, stopping to look at bugs, tracks, water, and answer all the whys of life. "Why are we walking? For exercise. Is that a spider? No a rolly polly. Is it walking for exercise? Probably. Do you think a bull got out? Is that horsey poop?" You know all the really important questions a child has.

We decided it was the perfect day to do something fun...a surprise for the girls!

A trip to Sulphur to go wading fit the bill. We had a great time playing in one of the shallow parts of the creek, searching for 'sea shells', and being chased by a 'BIG Lobster'. Miss K had never seen a crawdad and quickly came running to find mama. Yelling the whole time "Miss M, I'd get out of there right now! There's a big lobster with claws!"

We ate our lunch Mazzio's pizza on the buffet, which we usually LOVE...but not today. It was cold, skimpy, and not the best we've had. We followed it up with a drive thru Braums for a scoop of ice cream and a stop at Mrs. Russell's favorite doughnut shop, King Donuts. They were brought home to be breakfast tomorrow. Our boys have long wanted to try them so now they'll have an opportunity.

We plan to finish the evening watching our favorite TV show "America's Got Talent" during the finals for the season. We enjoy watching all the singers, dances, stunt people and such showing off their talent (or not so much talents). Have a great evening with your family!

~~My last surprise of the day...just found out that school starts AUGUST 12(!) yikes!! I thought we were starting September 2. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal for a homeschooling family, but this year Josh will be attending the public Vo-tech for HVAC and we plan to stick to his schedule. Three weeks of summer left! I remember when summer break was three LONG summer months, now it seems barely 6 weeks long and a breath.

A wedding that was the perfect picture of Christ and a new beginning with a clean slate...

I've never been to a Sunday morning service where a wedding was held. Today our dear friend and former mother's helper was married in the church where her grandparents and parents both married.
The service focused on the book of Song of Solomon from the regular pastor. The woman's father came forward to give her away and retrieve the purity ring that he gave his dear daughter on her 12 birthday. After taking it from her left hand, explaining it's significance to the guests, he then returned it to her on her right finger as a reminder of who she is and how much her daddy loves her.

Next, a dear family friend and pastor took over to begin the actual commitment ceremony. The music was a wonder blend of orchestra style hymns performed by lots of dear friends...piano, violins, flute, and trumpet. The bride entered with the song 'Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee'. With 10 attendants the front was full. The lovely bride and handsome groom gave themselves to each other and as a couple to the Lord. They took Communion together further demonstrating their commitments. The bride then surprised the groom with a song "I will be true to you" (this was not a song I'd ever heard before...saying she will walk beside him, pray for him, support him).

One of the most fascinating aspects of this wedding was their purity was preserved for one another. While expected at least in our friend group, this is all to often not the case in couples. They have known each other for 9 years, courted for about 2 months, were engaged for about 3, and will start their life together now. He is receiving a real gem. She will make him very happy. I pray the Lord will bless this marriage daily and continue to be their guiding force.

For the final song, Dennis Jernigan dennisjernigan.com/ , popular Christian praise and worship artist played and sang "The Blessing Song", a special song that he wrote and dedicated to this dear family many years ago. It was a perfect fit.

As for me...they served a delicious Chicken salad on croissant, a green salad, and pink fluffy stuff. Don't think I did bad with my food there, but we stopped and got a milkshake and fries on the way home, then had more junk food when we got home...just to tired to cook and so I gave into laziness.

Tomorrow is a clean slate, just like my beautiful bride friend in her white dress. As she has future days to make right choices, I have future days to choose to follow my dreams...may God be with us both. 

((hopefully I got all the details right...it was all out of memory and somewhere in the midst of wrestling three young daughters that I experienced it))

Fourth of July Fun at the Elliott's home

We were very blessed to be invited to attend the 'Annual Elliott Family 4th of July Fun'. We took Grandma T, Cousin Michelle, and Leelee with us. Here's a picture of the whole group...

~~Straight from my dear friend Mrs. Elliott...

We thought you might enjoy a few fun 4th of July facts about this year's event...

• 100 people attended (20 more than last year!)
• 57 were children (18 years and under)...there were more "children" in each family...just they keep growing and now are older than 18!
• 13 families represented...some members coming in from as far as Canada, Indiana and California to join us all!
• Wal-Mart was well represented with all the $3 and $5 patriot shirts being worn.
• 8 grandparents...with Mama Niece being the crown jewel!
• Only one outhouse causality...a precious little girl was "stranded" for a brief while until someone heard her need for attention
• One engaged couple...getting married in less than a week...we are so happy for Jessica and Kerzdenn!!
• 72 gallons of water was raced across the yard (not counting all the water that was worn or spilled)
• No major injuries...Thank you God for your mercy upon us all!!!

20 years in the making...

It's almost here...our 20th anniversary comes around July 6th along with our dear grandbaby's 2nd birthday. We started the celebration a little early! My momma bravely came and spent the night with the crew of Grandma Mary, Josh, Joe, cousin Michelle, Miss K, Miss M, Miss A, and Leelee.

In the mean time My Beloved and I took a wonderful get away to Echo Canyon Spa Resort.

We stayed in a beautiful room called...

Chardonnay Chalet

From the front orchard view porch with handmade log lounge chairs and rockers you enter the Chalet Suite past a Bombay Marble top chest to the massive painstakingly carved KING Italian Roccoco bed adorned with a Florentina Matelasse cover, large shams and luxurious brocade linens.

All this is accentuated by the sixteen-foot vaulted Norwegian Pine ceiling illuminated by soft European sconce lights, a Federal style vanity dresser and armoire, Queen Anne TV stand and a Louis IV walnut table compliments Chippendale gold leaf chairs - enjoy while you unwind in the in-room jet black double hot-air jetted mood-lit Jacuzzi Natural Mineral Bath (robe and bath sheets provided) next to the candlelight fireplace - ready to rest as never before on our reputable 18" Chiro-Dreamer Sleeptronic mattress!

The bath and wet bar area provide a walk-in shower, double Louis XV vanities, fridge/freezer, microwave, coffee maker with Java coffee and a pair of wine glasses.

Your private patio (8'X16' w/table & 2 chairs) offers one of the best views of Echo Canyon where you can view forest, vineyards and often wild animals - to make your stay most memorable!

"Chardonnay Chalet" has a 32" Direct TV satellite with 800 channels - 50 movie and 50 XM Music channels.

544 square feet

It was so refreshing to take a break, just the two of us...letting all the hustle and bustle of daily life fade into the background. We enjoyed a delicious dinner in their private dining area. It included Fillet Mignon, Shrimp Scampi, and Duck, veggies, bread, salad, and homemade Cheesecake (my favorite!) They served a wonderful 'Hibiscus Tea' made from their fresh orchard peaches.

I feel so blessed to have a husband who cherishes me. He realizes the importance of investing of his time into our relationship, and puts forth an effort to make me feel special. Every day I thank the Lord for My Beloved and the incredible man he has become. When marrying at just 15 and 17 years old, our lives could have been completely different. By the Grace of God, I got a man of good character who loves the Lord and our family.

Happy 20th...here's to the rest of our lives together!

A Cut Above The Rest ~ Miss M and Miss A get a new do...

Here's the much awaited 'Hair-do' pictures. Miss M asked Daddy to get her hair cut off short last week. Daddy agreed she could take a trip to the beauty shop. Sister Miss A got to go along and get her 'first real hair cut'.




I got to bring home one long blond ponytail from Miss M  and a short wispy one from Miss A. Now just to get them in their scrapbooks to remember.  I don't think the girls will stay blond. My Beloved, Josh, and Joe all turned brown (along with Aunt Lisa) so I figure I'll end up with 6 brownies yet!

It's all in a Name...how smart are you?

During breakfast this morning My Beloved and Joe were kidding with each other. My Beloved  says "I'm going to give you a new name... elic, as in 'smart elic'." Next Miss K pipes up "That's not fair! Joe always gets the smart names." We laughed so hard we couldn't tell her that he really was getting the raw end of the deal. BIG GRIN (0: