I Made It!

Well, it has been a long year of waiting for this moment. There were some days I didn't think I would make it. But I am finally getting to share something that the Lord has always blessed me with---lots and lots of hair!

Yesterday I had nine inches of hair cut for Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They make wigs for women who lose their hair due to the chemo they take to treat cancer.

Patsy put me in three pony tails and started cutting. Here is my before picture.

And here is my "after" picture.

I have had several friends who have donated their locks--Deana B., Julia, and Pam. So they were inspirations to do this. And then in May this year my grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer. I probably would have to have more than two hands to count all the people who I know personally, who have been diagnosed with cancer. So this gift to Pantene Beautiful Lengths is in honor of my Papaw.

We Are Still Here

One day I am going to blog on a regular basis. The purpose of this blog is to keep family and friends up-to- date with our growing children and to help us remember the events that occur in our family. We did make it home from our trip to the mountains on that Sunday morning. I will remember this return because we had to come home a little earlier than we were scheduled. We had a call from our pastor on that Thursday morning before we left requesting me to sing "It is Well" right after he finishes his message on Sunday morning. Our trip to the mountains had already been cancelled once. Now my preacher was asking me to cut the trip a little short. For several minutes I battled this one. I really didn't want to come back early. We would have to get up early to make it back. I wanted to sleep late one more morning. However, my preacher calling me is almost like God calling me Himself. I figure that the preacher has been praying about this message and God has laid this song on his heart. At this time there were people at our church going thru divorce and losing their jobs, plus the economy issues and election are concerns to the people. God had laid a message concerning hard times on my preacher's heart. So, I felt compelled to say, "yes". I am so thankful we came back. The message touched my heart and singing that song was good for my soul. "It is Well" is a common funeral song, but it is so comforting at any time. I would have missed out on a blessing if I had said "no."

We had a great Thanksgiving. Kevin had to work, but the kids and I went to our friends house where we usually spend Thanksgiving and Kevin joined us later after his shift ended. We enjoyed great food and the kids had a blast with our friends' kids. Riding four wheelers was the highlight. Aaron actually calls them wheel barrows.

That Friday night Kevin picked up our Christmas tree and I started scrambling to clean up for a surprise party we were having for a friend on Saturday. Thanksgiving break was great and I feel like we got to enjoy each other and get some much needed rest.

So here we are in December. The tree is finally decorated. My mantle stills needs some work. I am adjusting to being the sole housekeeper for our home. Since Aaron was a baby, I have had a lady come in every other week to clean. It takes me forever just to get everything picked up. We had to let her go last week for reasons I will not discuss. I hate it had to happen. For some reason, I always come out of situations feeling like the guilty one. However, I know we did the right thing. I just hope she will see it someday. So, anyway, it may take me several days to get my house clean, but I think I am going to like this better. We will see.

This past weekend my mom was here. The girls had their piano recital Friday evening and our children's choirs at church had their program Sunday evening. It was a busy weekend. The girls did great and the children's musical was wonderful! Hannah played the part of head cheerleader. She did great on her speaking part!

Hopefully, I will post pictures soon. I haven't started putting pictures on the laptop, so I will have to work on that. I will try to post more often this month.

Getting Away

Today has been a nice lazy day for us. We finally made it to the mountains for our fall break. We made reservations for a cabin back in October but were unable to come due to Kevin's grandmother being critically ill. The couple who own the cabin were kind to let us reschedule for this weekend.

We left yesterday a little after 5:00 p.m. Yesterday was a nasty, rainy day and with it came a terrible fog! It is a lesson learned for us. Of course it was already dark as we got closer to our destination and the fog had gotten worse. "Molly," my beloved gps system(we have a love/hate relationship), that I depend on way too much, failed us. We were in the middle of no where (where she took us), and she went dead. As I was scrambling to figure out what was wrong and why she was not running from the cigarette lighter, we discovered the plug-in was missing several pieces. Meanwhile I am praying, "Lord please help us. We are stuck in the middle of no where. We can't see where we are going and we don't know where to go now." We were all very hungry. It was already after 7:00. I knew we had a few cookies left and a pack of Ritz Bitz crackers. We also had a couple bottles of water. If you know me well, you know that my car is not really neat. I consider it to be my office since I stay there a lot. So Kevin and I cleaned the middle tray that was between us and lowered it to see what was under it. Kevin found one piece that he thought went on the end of the plug. Then he found a fuse. He said, "Karen, there's got to be a spring some where." At that point, I panicked. You see earlier that day, I had found a spring under my leg on my seat. When I found it, I thought, "This must go to one of the kids toys or an old pen. I will just throw it away." The reason I panicked was because I wasn't sure if I had already emptied the trash from the car when I was getting the car packed. So I grabbed my little black trash bag and went thru all the Kleenex and paper. I found the spring at the bottom. What are the chances of Kevin finding all the little parts and me knowing where the spring was located. By the way, I almost emptied that trash at a gas station when I stopped to get gas. For some reason I decided not to! Kevin reassembled the plug to the gps and plugged it in. "Molly" was back in business. She brought us to our cabin, but due to the fog we missed our cabin several times because we could not see. I truly believe the Lord is the one who got us here safely. He definitely knows my weaknesses----organization and neatness being two. Glad we are running on His strength, not mine. The car will be cleaned out well when we get home.

As we were riding thru the darkness and the fog, I couldn't help but think about the spiritual darkness that so many people are in. I thought about how God's Word/His truth shines light for us to see. As Christians we have seen the Light, but we need to keep reading and studying His Word/truth so we can see and know what to do everyday. We have to let God use us to shine for Him so that those who are in the dark will see.

As I said, today has been a lazy day. We got out of bed around 10:20 and we have just enjoyed being together and not doing much of anything. Tomorrow we will get out and go hiking. We may even see if there are any apples left! I will post pictures when we get home.

Congratulations to our friends, The McElhaneys, on the birth of their new little one. We are excited for you guys. Can't wait to see her in person! Glad everything went well. She's beautiful!

Fun Moments for Aaron

Aaron had his first field trip of the year during October. We visited a local dairy farm. They had two different tours: the flower tour and the dairy tour. The dairy was definitely his favorite. They fed one of the calves with a bottle. And then the kids got to feed the calves corn husks. Aaron and I were not dressed warm enough for this field trip. I had heard we would be getting some rain the day after the field trip, so in my mind I was thinking the day of the field trip would be warm. Boy was I wrong!



This picture says it all. And let me add.......this was not a warm wind! I tried so hard to enjoy this field trip, but I was so glad when I was able to get back into our van. Needless to say, Aaron had his picnic lunch on top of the beach towel I laid across his lap, while we traveled back home.

We have a fundraiser called the "Fun Run" at our school every year. Aaron ran 41 laps this year.

This picture is from our trip home to see Kevin's grandmother. We stopped at Wendy's with Uncle Darin and Aunt Jessica for a frosty. Aaron ordered the vanilla frosty. Aunt Jessica had the chocolate frosty. Aaron decided he wanted some of both. So he ate with two spoons from two different cups! The boy loves the cream!

This is what happens when you have to stand outside the bathroom and wait on your sister for what seems like an eternity. I have several more pictures of this that would tell more. We are in TJMaxx and there is a full length mirror to Aaron's right. Basically, he stood in front of this mirror with his newly discovered skull cap on his head making funny faces in the mirror. Yes, I did buy the skull cap! He loves it!

You are so much fun sweet boy! There's never a dull moment with you! I love you!

October Fun

I don't think I remember an October in the life of our family that has been any busier than this one. This past month I had to come to the realization that I must enjoy these times I have with my kids even if it is in my Honda Odyssey van. So many times I kept wishing for those days when I had them at home and there were not so many activities to be involved in. We obviously have passed this point in our lives, so here we are. Our October was filled with lots of ballgames to cheer for, field trips, a trip to see grandparents, fun runs, and Halloween. We are beginning to slow down a little now that November is here. Here are some pictures from our crazy October.



Kevin's parents came for a visit one weekend. We went to a festival that is held every year during October in our town. Of course we had to stop by the park on the way out for Aaron.


Even though they don't always act like it, I really do think these three love each other!

I love this picture. I loved watching my mother-in-law jump on the trampoline with Aaron. When she comes to visit, Aaron takes full advantage of his mamaw's attention. And she loves every minute of it, even if it means jumping on the trampoline or laying on her belly to watch a cartoon!


Let me introduce you to Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Wonder Woman in Pink! Yes, I do realize that Tink has grown a lot from her usual size! Just wish I could have talked Wonder Woman into playing the part of Wendy! Peter Pan did have a hat, I just couldn't figure out how to make it stay on his head.




As I have been working on this post, we received a call from one of Kevin's sisters that their grandmother was taken to the ER by ambulance. She has a pacemaker and apparently it did not work this evening. They had to shock her several times at home. They have her sedated and intubated. All of the family is at the ER with her now. Please say a prayer for her. Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Today is my papaw's 87th birthday! He has had quite a year and we are so thankful that he has recovered well from his surgery back in May. He is taking chemo every other week and is tolerating it well. I think Grannie keeps him on a strict schedule on those weeks.

During fall break we had to make a trip back home to see about Kevin's grandmother, so we were able to spend some time with my papaw at his home that Saturday evening and then on Sunday at lunch at my mom's. I have lots of pics to post from that weekend, but due to my schedule the last week and a half, I have not had time to post. It has been a month where I feel like I can't get my "head above the waters". So I will hopefully in the next couple of weeks get to catch up on what we have been doing.

This quick post today is for my papaw. We love you, Papaw! You look great! We hope you have a wonderful birthday! I know Grannie has baked something sweet and delicious for you today. I hope she made your favorite: sweet potato casserole. We love you both!

Our Sweet Mrs. T

We just received a phone call about 30 minutes ago that our sweet Mrs. T has been ultimately healed and is with Jesus. I thank you for your prayers and ask that you continue to pray for their family. Pray for us as we share this news with Alli in the morning as well as other parents having to do the same. Pray for our school family as we minister to the family during this time. She will be missed and we look forward to the day we will see her again in heaven and receive one of her sweet hugs. We love you, Mrs. T!

An Update

Here I am again asking for you to pray for Alli's first grade teacher and her family. The test finally confirmed a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and the family was told it is terminal. She is not responsive at this time and hasn't been for several days. We have been told that hospice is coming in today and they will start decreasing her meds tomorrow. The last few days have been really rough for her family as they have had to make decisions. Unless the LORD sees fit to intervene, our sweet friend will experience ultimate healing and be with Jesus.

Our school had a benefit dinner last night. It was incredible! God is doing so many amazing things thru our school. One of the things that amazed me so much was that the daughters of this sweet lady were there at the dinner last night. One of them actually took part in the program. We were able to talk with them afterwards. Please pray for these girls. They have some rough days ahead. But I can see how God has placed this school and the people from this school in their lives to be His hands and His feet for these girls. Please pray for their dad as well. It is so heartbreaking!

A friend and I will be going to the hospital in a little while to see her. Please pray for us as we do this. And pray for all these kids, like my sweet Alli, who have been loved on by this sweet lady. It is going to be so hard for them. I talked with one mom last night whose child was in Alli's class last year and her family is close to this family. The child is questioning her mom about why God will not heal her. Pray that God will use us to minister to our children and to this family.

Thanks for listening. I appreciate your prayers more than you know.

Please Pray

I have been wanting to post all week, but I simply have not had a chance to sit down at the computer and take the time to type it out. We have had so much going on the last few weeks. We have seen some activity with our old house and we received our first offer last night. We will counter offer tomorrow. This has brought some excitement to our home the last week and a half. We are trusting the LORD to work it all out. If I get the time in the next couple of days I will post some pictures and tell more about what has been going on, maybe even throw in a little of what the Lord has shown me thru Isaiah. If it weren't for the peace that God promises those who know Him, I could have come home after Bible study this morning and been depressed the rest of the day. Kay's message this morning made my heart very heavy. She talked a lot about God's judgement on America. More on that later.

I am writing this post tonight to request prayer from those of you who may read my blog. My heart is very heavy tonight for someone who has meant a lot to our family, especially my Alli.
Alli's first grade teacher from last year has been in the hospital the last couple of weeks. She is very, very sick. They believe she has ovarian cancer. She has other health issues. She is not stable at this point enough to have surgery. She has been receiving dialysis which means her kidneys are not working well. Her blood pressure is very low. Please pray for this family. She is married with two daughters, one is in high school and the other will begin college soon. She needs a miracle. God knows what is best for her. We know that. We are trusting Him. I can tell Alli is concerned for her teacher. But she has told us that she knows her teacher knows Jesus and that she will be okay. Please pray for all of the kids who have been loved by this teacher. She has had such an impact on so many people. Thank you for your prayers!

Still Here

I have had emails and comments from friends wondering when I would blog again. Since my last post was about going to the beach for a little vacation, you may have wondered if we had returned. Well, we did return, in time to start the new school year. We haven't stopped since.

Hannah is in the fifth grade. So far, this year doesn't seem so bad. Fourth grade was a complete adjustment phase for us, so this year we already know how she needs to study. Our school is trying to get a football program going, so Hannah is now a cheerleader for the Pee Wee football team. I will post pictures of her as soon as I remember to take my camera to the football game. We had the jamboree this past Saturday and the first game is tomorrow. At some point Hannah will be part of the running club at school and I hope will be able to play basketball with the middle school team. One of the newest things for Hannah is taking allergy shots twice a week. Hannah has had a horrible cough all summer and it is still lingering. Her lung function tests have not been great, but they have not diagnosed her with asthma, yet. Her doctor told me that allergy shots would hopefully keep her from developing asthma, so I decided, along with Kevin's approval, that we would begin these as soon as we got back from vacation. We have to go twice a week for 8 weeks and then it will go to once a week. So the afternoons are a little crazy. I hope by the time we get to the end of the 8 weeks that her symptoms will improve. I think Hannah is enjoying this year. I can tell a difference in her maturity level compared to last year. It blows my mind that I have a 10 year old.

Alli is in the second grade, so she has moved to the upper campus with her sister. She seems to have made the transition without too many problems. We have left our homework at school one night and misplaced our agenda. I think this is all part of learning to be responsible. We learn from our mistakes. Seems like every time I look around Alli is reading a book. I will say that my girls have my love of reading. Alli and Hannah are taking piano again this year. Before I tell you something about Alli, you must understand that my kids love to watch old shows, such as "Andy Griffith", "I Dream of Jeanie", and "Gilligan's Island". I am all for this because these shows are great clean shows. One afternoon I picked Alli and Hannah up after piano. Alli ran to the car with such excitement. She said, "Mom, guess what song I am learning to play." Of course I had no idea. You got it, the theme from "Gilligan's Island!" Nothing could have pleased her more. She continues to be my butterfly and sometimes I gently have to pull her head out of the clouds so she will pay attention to me. I love that she enjoys life so innocently. One of the things I want my kids to learn now is the love of exercise. Our school has a running club, so Alli will begin this soon.

That brings me to my four year old, Aaron. I could easily see someone criticizing me for putting my son in preschool when I am at home all the time. But preschool, five days a week, full days, has been the best for him. He is having a great year so far. I love it when he brings his papers home and I can see where he is trying to write his name. He writes two big A's, two little r's, an "o", and a "n", followed by the first letter of his last name. I am not sure where he got the extra "r". Maybe he thinks since he has two a's, he can have two r's. We had a practice session last night. I am trying to get him to write his name in the correct area of the worksheet. He is growing up so fast. He will continue to have speech class every Wednesday. Aaron has made great strides in this area over the last year. He is talking clearer than ever and uses words that sound so big for him. One of the things I want to remember about Aaron at this age is the way he gives me kisses. Aaron loves to snuggle with me and give me sweet kisses. However, he has taken on a new way. He now asks me to close my eyes. I close my eyes and always wonder where he will plant his kiss. It's usually on the nose or cheek and it's so sweet! His big brown eyes will melt your heart!

So there you have it! This is what we have been up to since vacation ended. And I didn't even mention church on Sundays and Wednesday nights, choir, and Awana.

Kevin has been busy working. We still have our old house for sale and we have had to go clean the house in the past week, even though we have someone living in it. I am to the point where I just pray for God to show us what to do. I trust that He knows His plans for this area of our lives. It has been on the market for a year and a half.

As for me, I am enjoying a few hours to myself during the day before I run my shuttle in the evenings. Those few hours don't seem to last long because they are full of housework and laundry. My mind and heart have been preoccupied lately due to a Bible study I am involved in. Perhaps this is why I haven't blogged in a while. If you ever have a chance to participate in a Kay Arthur Precept Upon Precept Bible study, I encourage you to do so. There's lots of homework, but is worth all the time you put into it. Our church is currently offering her newest PUP, Isaiah. Living in the times we are living in, Isaiah seems so scary. But God offers so much hope at the same time to those who live for Him. Several times when I was watching the Olympics and I would see a medal ceremony where we had won the gold and our anthem was playing, I would cry. This was not my usual sentimental "I love my country" cry. It was a cry for a country who has turned its back on God. God is still God. He has never changed. If He will judge His people who continually turned their backs on Him, will He not do the same to us? I am a continuous work and God is using Isaiah to show me some things in my life that have not been right. I truly want to make Him the focus of my life, to love Him with all my heart, soul and mind.

I may go back and write a post about vacation, but in case I don't, here are a few pictures to enjoy from the trip.

Busy, Busy!

We are taking a break for a little vacation before the kids go back to school. Meanwhile our computer will be worked on while we are away. Seems like I always have issues with my computer. I will catch up with my blogging when I return.

This week we have been running around town every day for appointments with the dentist, new teachers, and even the hair stylist. We had an interesting morning yesterday. A friend of ours is studying to be a photographer. He asked if he could take pictures of the kids for a little practice. We went to a local college, an absolutely beautiful site to make pictures. We went to a spot where our friend, Deana B., took photos of the girls in 2002. As I was standing there, I thought about how young the girls were. Alli was only 10 months old. I can still see her standing on the bench in the gazebo peeking over at us. Hannah was three. I can't wait to see the new photos. And of course, we would have a water mishap while we were there. This time it was Alli. One of their poses was around a water fountain. We let them put their feet in. Alli even stood in it. She held her dress up. I helped her get out. I turned my back for one second and heard a splash. She decided to get back in to wade in the water one more time. However, she tripped and fell in, getting her dress completely wet. Our friend's mom was there assisting him. She taught me that you can take paper towels and use them to dry the dress where it will not look wet. So we were able to take more pictures. I am learning that all you can do is laugh sometimes. It's useless to get upset. I just gently reminded Alli that this is what happens when we do not listen to our parents. After my gentle reminder, I remembered that I don't always listen to my heavenly Father as I should. Funny how God uses your kids to give His reminders.

Our Cousin MC

I must introduce you to my cousin's baby, MC. She just turned one this month and on Sunday the 13th, my mom had my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins over for lunch. So we got to meet her for the first time. What a cutie she is! She was so much fun to watch. Her mom blogs, so we get to keep up with how much she is growing at Miley Minutes.

It was so good to see my grandfather that day. He looked a lot better than he did when we saw him Mother's day weekend. He is thinner and weaker, but his appetite is good and he is starting to gain some of the weight back. His dementia was not as bad either. He received good news from his CT scan report this week and began his chemo this week also. They did not find the cancer in any of the other organs. He doesn't have to go back to the oncologist till August 21st. The home health nurse will draw blood for his lab work, so they will not have to travel to the doctor's office every week, which is 30 minutes away. This will be a tremendous blessing to my grandmother. She is hanging in there with him. I just wish she would learn to sit and prop up her swollen ankles for a little while every day. Here's my grandfather in a picture where the kids are playing. He always enjoys playing with his great grand babies while he sits in the recliner.

And this is Aaron with his great Grannie!

Cousin Time

My brother and his family got to spend the night while they were visiting at my mom's. On Sunday morning we had some play time with the cousins. My brother has remarried and so I now have a new nephew and niece. Will's daughter, HJ, usually does not have much to do with me when we are there, but this time she loved on me and wanted me to play with her and tickle her. For the longest she would not let me take her picture, but I grabbed her and asked my brother to take our picture. I was successful in my endeavors as you can see.


We really enjoyed getting to know his new wife and her two sweet children. They make a beautiful family. We wish them the best as they begin their new journey as husband and wife and as a family.

And last but not least, I must share a picture of our three dogs who traveled with us all the way to see Nana. Aaron is not asleep in this picture. He just doesn't want me to take a picture of him. I want him to remember when he is older how much these dogs meant to him as a child. He will probably try to deny it!

A Moment of Thankfulness

As I said, my next post for the trip will be totally dedicated to Aaron's enjoyment of his first fishing trip. I wasn't sure if he would get into it or not. He enjoyed being outside, but he did not have the patience to wait on the fish to bite. He walked around on the pier a lot. We were all together as you can see. Aaron is beside my mom trying to get a cricket in this picture.

Several moments later my brother moved off of the pier to the bank to fish with his two daughters. Without me realizing it, my brother had moved to a different pier. He was on the smaller pier you can see towards the front. We were still on the pier that's farthest away in the picture.

This picture shows Aaron's boredom with fishing and it also indicates he was leaving the pier where we were. He is holding his fishing pole by the wrong end and he is dragging it along.

Well, little did I realize, Aaron had moved to the pier with his Uncle Will. All I remember was hearing a big splash in the water that came from the direction where my brother was located. I turned around and saw Will laying on his belly and watched as he pulled my son out of the lake. I dropped my pole and ran to the other pier. And this is how the story goes.

Aaron was fishing next to my brother. You must understand what Aaron does while he is "fishing". He watches the cork as he pulls it along in the water. The pier they were standing on does not have rails. It has a piece of wood that raises the edge of the pier just a little. As Aaron was pulling his cork along, he forgot to pay attention to where his feet were going. Will said that all he saw was green Mickey Mouse crocs in the air and Aaron going head first into the water. But my baby came up swimming and he never let go of his fishing pole! The worse thing out of the whole ordeal for Aaron was the fact his clothes were wet. If you know him really well, you know he doesn't like to be wet(unless he is truly swimming with swim trunks on) or dirty. I had no change of clothes for him. He has really come a long way because he continued to dry out without too many complaints.

Even though I had poor reception for my cell phone, I had to call Kevin and tell him the several hundreds of dollars we have paid for Australian swimming method swim lessons the last three summers has finally paid off. Thank you to Mr. Richard! Thank you to Will for acting so quickly to get him out of the water. Most of all, I am so thankful to my Lord for taking care of Aaron that day. It could have easily turned out different. Life can change so quickly!

Our Trip Home

Two weeks ago the kids and I began our trip home to visit family. I had huge plans to leave around 8:00, but my computer would cause me to start my trip later and put me behind by an hour and a half. I cannot understand why I always have issues with my computer. But this time it was Window's fault, not mine. I now have my computer set where it will not automatically update for Windows. I had to fix the problem before I left, because Kevin does not deal with computer issues and he would need to use the computer while I was gone. I am finally getting better at understanding these techs who work for Dell, but I still hate having to call them.

We made it to my mom's that afternoon where my brother and his family were waiting for us to take the kids fishing. My dad brought his bass boat and met us at a local lake. I enjoyed this time with my family and I'm glad my kids got to experience it as well. Fishing was always a normal activity for our family when I was growing up, so it brought back lots of memories. A lot of my memories are of being stuck on a boat with my dad and brother and wanting the fishing trip to be over. However, their patience far outweighed mine.

This particular afternoon turned out to be an interesting one. We all started off fishing on one of the piers, the pier with the wooden rails. It was a very hot day and the fish were not biting very well. The only catch of the day was one little fish caught by yours truly.

I grew up in the country all my life, but when my kids and I stepped out on that pier to fish, you would have thought the city slickers are here to learn how to fish. I spent a lot of my time stepping back and dodging hooks and line. This was the first time my kids were learning to cast. Alli was convinced she had it all figured out. I stayed out of the way as much as possible and this picture tells all. The hook with the cricket attached to it, is caught in her hair.

We have discovered that this is one of Alli's favorite activities. She thoroughly enjoyed it. And she loved being in the boat with my dad. Of course, she is all about her dad, grandpas, and uncles. At first all the granddaughters started out in the boat with Papa Bill. When they decided to get out, Alli stayed and I got in with them.

I enjoyed riding around the lake with Dad and Alli. I don't get to spend a lot of time with Dad and I miss that. If I would have had more time that week, I would have gone fishing with him again. Fishing has become one of his favorite pastimes again. I am like my dad in the fact that God's creation(nature) has always brought peace to our lives. I think this is why he has started fishing again.

Aaron and Hannah enjoyed their time at the lake. My next post will tell you more about how well Aaron enjoyed his time at the lake. Hannah doesn't have much patience for fishing, but I think she enjoyed being with her family.

God Is Still In The Miracle Business!

I will soon post pics and stories from our trip home last week. I have been catching up on laundry and housework this week. Since his big sisters have been at music camp all week, Aaron has required a little more entertainment. I do have lots of stories I can tell, so as soon as I can download pics, I will post.

This week our family and friends have been reminded that God is still in the business of performing miracles in the lives of His people. We pray for all kinds of miracles. We are not always answered in the way we think we should be. And we are not usually answered in the time frame we think we should be. But God knows all. He sees all. The news I am about to tell you makes me think of Samuel's mom, Hannah (in the Bible). Hannah wept for a child for years. She pleaded with God to give her a child. He answered in His time and gave her Samuel, who would eventually anoint King David. And then when I think about Jesus being from the line of David it gets even more exciting. Point is, God knows what He is doing!

One of my friends tried to get pregnant for years and could not. Seven and a half years ago God brought a little baby girl into their lives who they adopted. That little baby girl is now one of Alli's best friends. So all these years they have not been able to conceive. When I came home this week, I found out my friend had not been feeling well. She took a pregnancy test Sunday which was negative. The nausea would not go away, so she decided to go to the doctor on Wednesday. They ran blood work and a urine pregnancy test. While we are in the middle of Chick-fi-la, the doctor calls her and tells her she is pregnant! I cannot begin to describe the shocked look on her face. When she told her husband, he was speechless. Kevin's response: "Holy Cow!" (I love shocking a doctor with miraculous news!) Today she went to the doctor and it's official. They are going to have a baby in March. She has a picture to prove it and she got to hear the heartbeat! My friend is like a second momma to Aaron, so when he received the news, he said, "no!" I am sure he will come around at some point. We have several friends who are having babies, so maybe he will catch on to the excitement.

God, thank you so much for this miracle in our friends' lives! All praises to You!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

A Little Time Away

Tomorrow the kids and I will be traveling to our home state for a visit with our family. I will visit my family first and we will finish the trip with Kevin's. His baby sister will be married next Saturday. I am sure it will be a wild week, but we will enjoy getting to be with everyone. As I was looking at his sister's bridal portraits, I couldn't help but think about a 12 year old girl I met about 16 years ago. Time flies so fast! When I get back, I will try to post some pics of the wedding and other activities we get into while we are there.

I found out today that my grandfather will have a CT scan done on Monday. He will be taking chemo by mouth and may have to have chemo by IV in the oncologist's office. Don't know many details right now. I hope to talk with my uncle this weekend and find out more. Please continue to remember him and my grandmother in your prayers.

I ask you also to pray for two couples in our Sunday School class. Both couples have had miscarriages this week. One lady was 20 weeks and the other was 16 weeks. My heart breaks for them. I cannot begin to imagine the pain they are in. Please remember them.

I Have Been Tagged

I have been tagged by a friend to answer some questions so you can get to know me better. So here it goes!

What I was doing 10 years ago:
I had just entered the world of motherhood. Our Hannah was born on July 1st weighing 9 lbs, 3 oz by c-section. We came home from the hospital on July 4th. I think learning how to get Hannah to nurse was my biggest obstacle at this point.

Five favorite snacks:
Apples with peanut butter
Tortilla chips with salsa and sour cream
Granola
Small scoop of vanilla ice cream with a tsp of peanut butter
Homemade Cheerios Bars

To Do List:
Go to grocery store
Take sister-in-law's shoes to have repaired at shoe shop downtown
Deliver tomatoes and blueberries
Wash clothes and clean the house
Get Oil Changed in the car

Five jobs I have had in the past:
Pharmacy Tech at a hospital
Nurse's Aide at Children's Rehab
RN on a medical/surgical unit for eight months; postpartum/gyn unit for a little over a year
RN health department; RN contract nurse with health department and medicaid
Mom, Best Job of All

Places I Have Lived:
Clinton, MS
Little Rock, Arkansas
Bentonia, MS
Hickory, MS
Montrose, MS
Goodman, MS and Jackson, MS---for school

Bad Habit:
Unorganized
Misplacing things due to my lack of organizational skills
Eating too much
I am sure there are more, they are just not coming to my mind at this time.

Five Random Things People might Not Know:
1. I love to read books and it's hard to go to Barnes and Noble without buying a new one. It's better if I stay away from that place.

2. I took piano for 11 years, 3rd thru 12th grades, plus one in college. I don't play much anymore. No time for it. I do love music.

3. I love to scrapbook when I have time.

4. I grew up as a pk, also known as a preacher's kid. That's why I lived in several places growing up.

5. My favorite vacation so far is the Disney Cruise. I would love to be on one right now!

CD's I would want if Stranded on an Island:
1. Anything by WaterMark
2. Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir CD's
I also like to listen to old 80's music as well.

What would I do If I was a billionaire:
1. Give money to church, school, and other mission type projects
2. Give money to our parents and grandparents
3. I think I would pray that the Lord would send me divine appointments, since He knows whose in need.

When I figure out how to put links into my post, I will tag two people as well. Thanks to georgiamom for tagging me.

One Down, Two To Go!

Kevin has three siblings. He has a brother and a sister who are twins, and then another sister that is a couple years younger than the twins. During the month of July, Kevin's side of the family has two weddings within a two week time period. The brother got married in Gatlinburg yesterday and the baby sister will get married in two weeks in the same church we were married.

So, on July 4th, we all met in Pigeon Forge to spend some time with Darin and spend the night before the big day. Of course for this crew, our meeting place was the outlet mall in Sevierville. I had a very interesting shopping experience for tennis shoes and flip flops at the Rack Room with my father-in-law. He was in dire need for new shoes and yours truly was left to assist him with finding the right shoe with the right fit. I knew Kevin had a big foot, but didn't realize his dad could wear a 14! The shopping trip to the Rack Room was successful and we came out with two new pair of shoes at the buy one, get one half off price. I think I have four or five bags from the Lenox store to carry home when we go for the next wedding. Kevin's mom found some great deals there; however, there was no room in the Camry for those bags when they left today. After we finished our shopping, we took Darin to The Chop House for dinner. Kevin, the kids, and I ate there two years ago and I loved it. It was great once again! We then headed to the Ramada for a night of rest.

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was raining. But by the afternoon, the sun had come out and it turned out to be a beautiful day for a wedding. The wedding was beautiful. It started at one and lasted no more than 10 minutes. I think we were gone from the reception by three. Jessica was beautiful in her wedding gown and Darin, of course, was smiling and cutting up, joking around as usual. I will say that I have never seen hands shake while lighting the unity candle as much as I did when they were lighting theirs. Other than that, they were cool as cucumbers. Here's the bride and groom!

Here's Aaron getting a little sugar from his new aunt. He looks thrilled! The boy is spoiled rotten!

And here's the groom with all of the nieces and the nephew! They love their Uncle Darin!

And last but not least, here are the brothers.

We came home after the wedding reception. Kevin's parents, aunt, sister and soon to be brother-in-law went home this afternoon. I think we all had a great time this weekend. We will soon be seeing each other again. My son will be a ring bearer for the first time in this next wedding. I am sure it will be an enlightening experience for us. On the way to the wedding yesterday, he got a little upset because he realized he didn't have his "suit" on. We had to explain that he would wear that to Aunt Tracy's wedding, not Uncle Darin's. I pray he loves his tux, because all the boy wears is polo shirts/t-shirts, shorts, and crocs!

Thanks to Jessica and Darin for allowing us to be part of their special day. We had a great time! And yes, I did get teary-eyed. I did inherit my late grandmother's ability to shed tears even during the happy moments of life. I am sure I will at the next one! That's just me!

I Will Start Back Soon

After being told once again that someone(my mother) has checked the blog and there's nothing new, I will try to download pictures from my camera and get you caught up on the happenings in our world really soon. I must work on housework this morning.

It has not been boring around here since summer began. Kevin is home after a 10 day trip to the Ukraine. My oldest is at camp and will come home tomorrow. It will soon be time for all the July weddings in the family. What happened to those quiet summers I experienced as a child?

Needless to say, I have enjoyed this summer with my kids. I will soon share more with you!

A Very Thoughtful Gift

Wednesday evening, after choir rehearsal, I unlocked my car and opened the door to get in. When I opened the door, I saw the steering wheel. My thoughts were, "This is not my car. How did I unlock another person's car?" I can say this because we have several people at our church who own cars the same color and make of our car. Then I looked on the passenger seat, saw the paperwork and clutter that was mine, and thought, "Yes, this is your car, Karen."

You see, Wednesday night was store night at AWANA's at church. It's the night that the kids get to spend the money (it's fake money) they earned for saying their verses every week. My sweet Alli had already given me one gift before I went to choir. It's a cross necklace and the cross is made out of two nails. She told me it was my mother's day gift. Well, before Kevin took the kids home, he helped Alli leave my second gift. Funny thing is, I saw this item laying on the table close to where Alli was sitting during AWANA. I just didn't know it was for me. So, here's the reason I was convinced I was getting in the wrong car.

All I could do was laugh! When I walked in the door at home, Kevin was laughing. He said he told them I would probably have to take it off because it might make me have a wreck. He's right. I would probably wreck from laughing hysterically. I think I laughed all the way to school Thursday morning.

Thank you, sweet Alli, for thinking of me! You are precious! After talking with a dear friend who is also one of Alli's AWANA leaders, I found out that Alli was so excited about getting this for me. It cost her 8 or 10 AWANA dollars to get it.

If you can't tell what it says, yes, it says "Princess." I think I will save it for when Alli gets her first car. Can't wait to see what she thinks of it then!

One of My Favorite Smells

When I arrived home from visiting family, I had a pleasant surprise awaiting me. I knew it was coming, but wasn't sure when it would happen. It was nice that it arrived on Mother's Day. It actually may have happened before Mother's Day, but this is the day I got home.

When I got out of my car, I was greeted by the wonderful smell of roses. I have five knockout rose bushes that are right outside our garage. This year Kevin cut them back early, before the birds had a chance to nest in them. Before we left last week, they had already started blooming, but I knew they would soon be covered in blossoms. This year they are gorgeous and I had to take pictures of them. I love this flower and this particular kind of rose is very low maintenance, which is good for me. I would love to have more of these around the house and one day I will. Right now I am enjoying the sight and the smell that greets me every time I go to my car or get home from all of my running around.