Way overdue

Hello, people out there. What's everyone been up to?? It's definitely time for a new post, eh? It's almost Mother's Day. I like this holiday. We don't "do" many holidays, but we do like this one:) yay.

Tomorrow morning is the Birdwell's family photo session. I just get a tiny bit nervous- ha!- about the whole thing. We were going to shoot some photos @ a little gazebo in town, but I went there this morning and we would've had to swim to get there. Not worth it, so I moved to plan B. We're starting out at the park, then going downtown to to an old building. We decided this morning on black and white film. Yes, I still have a film (anyone remember those?) camera where you have to decide BEFOREhand what kind fo film to use. There are definite perks to having a digital camera, but I'm very thankful for my camera, and I mean to use it until they quit making film (which seems like it'll be in the next few months or so). SO, hopefully the whole shoot will go well and we'll get some good shots. WONDERFUL family:)

Running is going well for me. Yesterday my dad and I went together to the track and jogged around; afterwards we went to play tennis for a while. It was really a nice time and the weather was BEAUTIFUL. Hopefully my Joseph will want to play some tennis with me sometime. I'm pretty bad at it, but I do have fun.

AND, Grace is helping me with the photos this time. Usually it's my sweet mommy (and hubby) helping me, but my mom has to work the election (some excuse that is!). So, while I'll miss my sweet mommy, I'll enjoy Grace's assistance, while my hubby gets to sleep in.

Ok, I'm off to hard boil some eggs for tomorrow. Grace told me that once they start boiling it's 8 minutes. Does that sound right? Hope so!

It's week 5!

Ok, Jamie and Grace, here we go:

Week 5 and 6: Recovery

Your body is probably pretty tired from the last month of running. These next two weeks are about allowing your body to recover, so that it can continue to build. In our house analogy, I suppose we are letting the cement dry. These two weeks should be about staying hydrated (lots of water), trying to eat the right foods and letting your achy muscles have some rest (but not too much). You may also want to take some time to read more about running.

Monday- rest
Tuesday- 1 mile
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- 1.5 miles
Friday- rest
Satruday/Sunday- rest one day/1 mile the next

Sounds very doable, eh?

Jamie, I really enjoyed reading your running story about your "cheerleaders." How cute! Hope you all have a great week!

Psalm 130

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Lord, here my voice: let thine ear be attentive

to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,

O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee,

that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,

and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that

watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch

for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD

there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Ps. Grannybear's birthday is tomorrow! :)

Psalm 93:4

While I had my Bible opened, I looked down and saw this verse and it just seemed to jump out of the page.

"The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."

It's been a good day, but an exhausting one. Heather, thank the Lord!, came out of her surgery not too long ago. She has function in her arms and legs, but they are unsure if her speech will be affected from the surgery. I've spent lots of good time in prayer today. What a truly mighty and merciful God we serve.

We had my parents over for dinner which included: chicken strips, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and steamed broccoli. I also had a bit of Emily's bread before we ate- very yummy:) (Thank, Emily!)

Off to bed "early" tonight. I praise the Lord for his goodness and his steadfastness. For his Word, for keeping his promises, and for giving strength. I love my Savior!

Good night!

ps. I was watching Jeremy Camp's dvd and found out that he was married before. I had no idea. He said he and his wife had been married about 4 months, and the Lord took her home; she had cancer. He was angry and asked the Lord "why?"; he said the Lord showed him that if her knew, then it wouldn't be walking by faith. Interesting. Any other JC fans?? I like most of his music.

My 100th post- dedicated to....Heather

I was contemplating who I'd "dedicate" my 100th post to, and I was having a rough time deciding. Until I thought of Heather @ http://especiallyheather.com. Grrr... I wish I could do a decent link, but I won't dwell on that.

Although I don't personally know Heather, I love this girl. I love her in Christ. And I'm praying for her. Her story is so loaded with sadness, heartache ,pain and shock. But, most of all, it's filled with a precious attitude of trusting in her great God, it's filled with encouragement, selflessness, and hope. I just stand in awe of the grace of God in her life.

Tomorrow morning she's going to have brain surgery. Wow. I pray the Lord will so richly bless this dear girl. She's a daughter, a mother, a wife and so much more. And my heart aches for her like crazy. Heather has helped me so much with perspective. She's a jewel; I'll leave you with a quote from one of her writings:

"Anger, bitterness, and hatred are Satan’s tools. They steal the hope that has been given to us at such a huge price. There are people that I haven’t been able to pray for in years, yet I find myself praying for them now- even in the midst of this, Christ alone gives me that strength. He reminds me that His love is not just for those I deem worthy, because I am so unworthy myself. His love is far reaching, it is all compassing, and in all honesty it is completely undeserved by any of us. "

It's week 4!!

Just posting the new running schedule I know you are all waiting to see. First read this:
(I should've posted this last week b/c it refers to weeks 3 and 4. sorry)

"Our bodies have started to understand what we expect of them now. Over the next two weeks, we will start to build the base of distance so that eventually we will be able to speed up. Remember, distance first, then speed. Right now you shouldn't think about how long it takes you to do your run. You should concentrate on breathing slowly, steadily, and deeply. You should think about running lightly; try not to make noise when your feet hit the ground. Pretend you are sneaking up on other runners or walkers. Don't get discouraged about being passed by runners and walkers. You will get faster, but first you have to let your body get comfortable. Build your base. You have to build the foundation of a house before you can live in it. "

That's not MY quote (obviously!!)

Ok, ladies, here it is:

Monday- 1.5 miles (what??!)
Tuesday- rest (ok, that's better)
Wednesday- 1 mile
Thursday- rest
Friday- TWO MILES (where did that come from?!)
Saturday/Sunday- rest one day, 1 mile the other

WHOA!, eh? I feel myself getting stronger. How exciting. I ran my mile today and didn't feel like death was as near as last time.

ps. Tomorrow's my daddy's birthday!!! and my friend Rebekah is being induced and will, Lord willing, have her baby tomorrow. Both need lots of prayer! :)


GOOoooooooo...........Ladies!

A very special gift

Here's what came in the mail today

from Mikayla's Aunt Laura. I cannot

imagine making something so cute!

THANK YOU, Laura; we love it! :)

My strawberry girl

This is Mikayla on the way home from McKinney looking

VERY content with that thing she has in her hand:)

THANK YOU, Jamie, for your encouragement today to run my

first mile. I did it!! I actually thought I might die, but I didn't. It's fun to

see/feel my body getting stronger.

It's sure stormy today, isn't it?

I guess it all depends on where you live. duh.

Hope you all have a great day. Yes, even you, Grace Leddy.

New, fun purchases

• Haircut! ( I was in desperate need)
• Jogging pants (nice fit, but it's a must that I wear a LONGer shirt with them. ahem.
• Ink cartridge ( you just feel kinda lost when you're out of ink, right??) (now we're just out of money)
• Photo album that holds 500 photos- it's time to get organized; I have photos EVERYwhere, and I just keep finding more.

Ps. Tomorrow's the big mile. gulp.

Pps. CC stopped by for a fun visit; we picnicked, watched Mikayla fall, and shooed cats away;

does it get any better than that??

Week 3

Ladies, this week marks the time when we start jogging a whole mile. gasp. Grace (cheated) went ahead and jogged her 1 mile already. Hey, no problem, Grace; nothing like a little togetherness. You always were "ahead of the bunch." :)

This week's schedule is as follows:

Monday- rest. awww..
Tuesday- run 1 mile (I'm still going to walk a little afterwards- do what you want)
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- run 1 mile
Friday- rest
Saturday/Sunday- rest one day/run 1 mile the next

Sounds like a pretty simple week, eh? All except for the running part. ha!

For those of you who want to be in an actual race, here are some details for the one Grace and I are running in:

Dublin Dr. Pepper 116th Bday celebration
10-2-4k
(free Dr. Pepper all day long- what a selling point, eh?:)
Saturday, June 9, 2007

ps. for some reason unknown to me they didn't say a time;
in the past the races have started @ 8am

Are you ready??

pps. No, Laura, we're not making jam:( We froze lots of strawberries to make smoothies later, and we've eaten LOTS of fresh ones:)

My favorite of the bunch

I HAD to share this picture b/c it's my absolute favorite of the bluebonnet pictures; last one, I promise:) What a face she's making. Love it!

We've had a nice weekend together. Jody and Mikayla came with me to the track to give me lots of support while I jogged and walked; it seems like I barely made it. phew. Next week we're running a MILE. WOW, it's been a LONG time since I've run that much. Hopefully, I can do it. (you, too- Grace, Laura, Jamie!)

We went to the strawberry picking place this afternoon and picked 12 pounds of strawberries. Mikayla even picked a few non-ripe ones, which I threw in the basket anyway. Even those tastse better than the "ripe" ones we get anywhere around here. It was fun watching her have a good time with the strawberries. We took turn watching her.

Then we had a wonderful visit @ Emmie's house where she fed us chocolate cupcakes and jambalaya with salad. Yes, in that order. (Thanks, Ma!)

Hope you all have a great Lord's day! :)

Bluebonnet girl

Here's one of many pics I took of my 1 year old.

She's getting so big! I know you can't see her face, but

it's one of my favorites anyway. The dress

was a birthday gift from a extra special friend.

We had a superb visit to McKinney-

it's so good to be home!!

This evening we got Chicken Express to go,

had a nice picnic in the park,

then walked 3 miles together.

Fun times!

More later :)

It's week 2, ladies!

I almost forgot to post our new running regimen- oops! I know you are all just waiting to see what workouts this week holds for us. Ok, without further ado, here goes:

Week 2

Monday- .75 mile run, 1 mile walk
Tuesday- REST
Wednesday- .5 mile run, 1 mile walk
Thursday- REST
Friday- .75 mile run, 1 mile walk
Saturday/Sunday- REST one day, .75 mile run, 1 mile walk

The good news is 2 of the 4 workouts will be done with my sweet sissy Grace! We're off to McKinney in the morning, Lord willing. yay!! :) So much to do before then, so I'd really better get offline. Somehow I get more done when I'm not on this computer. Good night!

No day @ the park

How sad. We were fully expecting to enjoy a nice WARM day at the park (Coggin), and it was absolutely too cold. Oh well. We enjoyed our time indoors- just being together as family. We did, however, make it out to the track where I jogged my half mile in the very windy and cold weather. Even Jody and Mikayla (all bundled up) came out to support me. When they were watching me plod around the track, Jody told me Mikayla kept saying "mama." :) awww... I love being a mommy.

I wish I could link b/c I'd have one to my mom's new post. It's so funny. A very energetic puppy (maybe it has ADD) showed up at their place, and my parents want TO KEEP IT. Unreal. They even bathed "Boo" and baked him some homemeade dog treats. I'm just tickled about the whole ordeal:)

I hope everyone has a good Lord's day tomorrow. It will be nice to be in church again. We didn't have services last week, so it seems like it's been forever.

Lord willing, we'll be heading to McKinney Monday morning- mama, Mikayla and me! I'm looking forward to a very nice visit (it always is when my sissy is involved) and just getting to spend time there. I even get to workout at their cool gym.

Later!
ps. Jamie, glad you're in with the running gang! :)

Scratch and Sniff...Gotcha!

Odd subject, eh? Well, that's what was printed on one of the TWELVE packets of fire sauce I received today at Taco Bell to go on my ONE bean burrito (with sour cream, of course). It's crazy how that guy just grabbed a huge handful for my little burrito. I've got lots left over.

My dear mommy watched our Mikayla today while I got in the second workout to train for the 5k. I started to go to the track, but when I was pulling up, I saw lots of kids (who looked like ants) piling onto the track, so I turned around and headed to Coggin. There were also lots of "kids" there (they're sure looking young these days!) playing tennis. It didn't look like there was much competition AT ALL. I really shouldn't say anything; I'm sure they all could've easily beat me. Aww... memories of tennis in high school. I was horrible and it was HOT.

Mike said they're naming their SON Jody Gregory. How nice, huh? Isn't that neat??? They're expecting a BOY!!! They just found out today. I'm teasing about the name. I believe they're going for the name Luke, which is a lovely Bible name!! I'm thrilled for them. Misty and I were due about the same time with our babies. It makes me kinda sad to think that we could've found out (around this time) if the baby we lost was a boy or girl. God knows.

I guess that's all the exciting news for the day. Oh yeah. Grace and fam won several vacations; hey, no fair! When we "won" our "prize", it only cost us 10 bucks. It could've been a LOT worse.We got hosed. Oh well. Good night!

Mission accomplished

I'm so thankful that my 90 day reading-through-the-Bible challenge is over. sigh. It's been a tremendous blessing, and yet it's been very challenging and sometimes downright HARD. When you have company, you can't just disappear for 2 hours at at time; it just doesn't work that way. I read these precious verses this morning and HAD to share:

"And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb is the light thereof."

~Revelation 21:22, 23

GOOD STUFF HERE!

Jody started his new job today working 6-6. I guess all in all it was a good day for him, but it was quite long. We're not sure exactly what his hours will be, but we know he's working straight days. Yay! :)

Tomorrow's the first day of actual running. I'm so excited. What do I do if I can't make it around the track twice? HOPEfully I'll make it. For all of you in it with me, tomorrow we're going to:

1 warm up lap
Run 1/2 mile
1 mile walk
1 cool down lap
...which equals 2 miles. (Christy, I hope you got that)

Buenos/as(?) Noches.

ps. Laura, good job on the reading. God's Word is SO GOOD. Keep on truckin'. Hope you made it to the gym today:-)

What would thoughtful parents do?

My poor daughter's legs are BARE IN THE SNOW. We really don't have her in shorts; her pants just scooted up for the picture. It's crazy that it snowed a bunch here yesterday. The other picture of Mikayla was taken the day before the snow one. My lovely parents had us over last night for a wonderful dinner at their house- meatloaf, carrots, potatoes with mushrooms, and avocado slices. Yummy! Afterwards we trotted over to see if Christy's cats were still alive- they were. phew.

I'm stoked about all the ladies wanting to participate in the 4k (Vivi, Grace, Laura, CC, etc.). I do appreciate the good advice from Heather, although I can't see myself EVER running 12-14 miles. WOW! It's been a HUGE goal of mine to run in a race for a long time now. And this year seems like the perfect time to do it. Just to clear something up here: when I say "run", I mean a s- l- o -w jog. I didn't want to deceive anyone- ha! I won't purposefully go slow, but will "run" the best that I can:)

It's been a VERY lazy day. Our church services were cancelled this morning AND this evening. This morning b/c of weather and this evening b/c of people being out of town. SO, I think my dear Joseph is going stir-crazy. I might be joining him.

Ok, I'm off to look at a vest for my lovebug. No, CC, not a sweater vest like you're so fond of. Hope you all have a good evening.

ps. what are some of YOUR goals?

do share.

Lace 'em up, Ladies!

Who's with me? I'm planning on running a 4k (2.5 miles) within 2 months, and a 5k (3.1 miles) within 3 months. I found a neat program online (where else?) that I want to try. The 4k is in Dublin (Dr. Pepper) TX on June 9th. Anybody interested? Then we could all do the race together. Woudn't that be fun?? If so, we're starting on Monday with this workout:

Monday- rest (I knew you'd like it:)
Tuesday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Wednesday- rest
Thursday- .5 mile run + 1 mile walk
Friday- rest
Saturday and Sunday- rest one day, .5 mile run + 1 mile walk

Sounds easy enough, right? :)

AND, for other news: Lord willing, I'll be finishing my 90 day Bible challenge on Monday!!! I was pretty far behind b/c we had so much LOVELY company (which I thoroughly enjoyed- don't get me wrong). I'm seeing the finish line...

Lastly, a few minutes ago, a spider floated down on me. shiver. Those things are so NOT appealing to me. I nearly dropped this laptop all for a tiny spider. I'm crazy.

Good night, my faithful readers.
Are you game?

Sweet reflections

One year ago today, I experienced one of the most phenomenal experiences that a human can know. I had the supreme privilege of going into labor. The contractions started, and so did my tears. Happy tears. Just thinking of that evening brings about tears. My God is such an indescribably kind God.

To have a baby is supremely wonderful. To know that the Lord gave her life, made her little body to grow, and allowed her to come into this world is amazing!! I never want to take that for granted, and I pray I never will . I think Jada's brief life will help me all the more to not take life for granted.

"Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live:
I will life up my hands in thy name."

~Psalm 63: 3, 4

I LOVE my (our!) precious baby girl. And tomorrow she'll be turning 1. Incredible. I've grown to love her more than my own life. Being a mother is just plain nice. There's nothing like it. The Lord has taught me much and I have no doubt will continue teaching me through Mikayla's life. Our prayer is that she'll come to know and love the One who is the giver of life!

Good night. I'm a happy mother indeed!!! and most blessed.

Popcorn and such

This evening my husband asked me to do something he's NEVER asked me to do before. He asked me to pop him some popcorn! Crazy indeed, especially if you know the guy. I was very happy to do so in my clean....

MICROWAVE!!! Yay! My poor microwave was in desperate need of a cleaning. Just ask my mom and CC. When they'd come over, I'd make sure they knew to NOT LOOK IN THE MICROWAVE. Phew, glad that's done. :) And it wasn't so bad. It was just something I put off doing for long enough. Just DO IT, you know? Maybe my Joseph finally felt like he could ask for popcorn, knowing it'd finally been cleaned. hmmmm.

And, I walked 3 miles today on the treadmill that my mom likes to call her own. It's actually my sister's, but I think my parents have conquered it b/c Grace belongs to the world's greatest gym ever and no longer has a need for it. Does anybody else wish what Early would get a gym? a good one? of course not. That was a silly question. We DID get a new hair salon, though. I might try it out; I could even walk to it, it's so close. But, I imagine the walk back home would do wonders for my new 'do.

We're off to visit Grannybear in the morning. Hopefully, we'll get in some good games of dominoes. That's always so much fun.

Grace has posted!!! Yes, I kid you not. And, it's a good one.

Hasn't the rain been WONDERFUL??! I love it. so much. and Jody, too. And Mikayla.

I think I've set a record for the most CAPS ever used in a post. What's the deal today? I don't know. I'm just rambling.

Good night, faithful friends. Let's chalk this up to yet another exciting post from the very happy mother of one! :)

I got it!

My apology for not having a new post in such a long time. I've been REALLY busy, mostly with trying to stay caught up with my Bible reading plan. So, in my free time, that's what I've been doing. It's a wonderful use of time (believe me), and I'll (we'll) be finished pretty soon. We're over 2/3 of the way through it.

Anyway, my mother's ring came in the mail. Yay! I really like it, and I'm so grateful to have it. It even has Mikayla's and Jada's name on it. Just wanted to share:-). Maybe I'll get a picture of it posted sometime.

Hope everyone's doing well. I sure am.

My Birthmonth Girl!

Mikayla got this ever-so-adorable birthday

banner from her Aunt Laura!

Just wanted to share that this lovely Monday.

ps. Laura, I'm so thankful you made it safely there!

We REALLY enjoyed your visit.

Hey, come again soon;)

A walk minus a sock

Mikayla and I had a fun walk today trotting around the neighborhood. Too bad we can't go to the park:( The whole time we were walking, I was concentrating on not losing my keys b/c Mikayla was playing with them. So, we had almost made it home when I realized she was no longer wearing socks. Oh well. They were getting too small anyway. She did have one tucked in beside her, to her credit.

Much to do today! We're expecting some lovely company soon. Today I get the privilege (SP?) of:

~catching up on laundry (I imagine if you read ANY woman's blog, the word laundry is sure to appear)
~cleaning house- PineSol, here we come
~taking care of my precious daugter (what a complete blessing!)
~SHOWERING

Yay! Fun day planned, as you can see. And Jody gets off @ 3. yippee!!
I'm off to have a bite (or 2) of lunch:)

One of the funniest things I've ever read

It's ok to quote from a blog you just read, right? Well, I came across this and it made me laugh out loud, literally! (yes, Grace, literally) Ok, here goes. Tell me what you think.

"My second daughter has taken to the habit of shouting out the words "ice" and "beans" quite frequently and for no apparent reason. I suppose she likes the sound of them. Anyway, the baby who is barely talking has begun copying his sister. He is often heard in his crib quietly cooing "ice, beans." -Kendra

Maybe it's b/c I have a daughter about the same age as the one who is doing the "quiet cooing," but this just struck something in me. Is it NOT FUNNY??

Happy Birthday, Aunt Laura!

A very happy birthday wish for my sister-in-law Laura! I hope you have a most wonderful, blessed day- being thankful for the years of life the Lord's given you:)

We got a new armoire (sp??). My dear husband put it together on Saturday. We got quite a deal on it, too. It went from 200, to 150, to 124. So, we snatched it up. We're hoping to sell our old entertainment center @ our yard sale on the 17th. HOPEFULLY we'll be able to get rid of lots of things. Slowly we're decluttering our cluttered home. And we're lovin' it.

My mom took a picture of it, so I'm waiting for her to send it to me. So, while I have a few moments, what's going on with YOU? Yes, you. I care and I'd like to know. Anyone?

Lord willing, my Joseph will be starting a straight day job (still @ 3M) very soon. After working shift work for over 7 years, this will be quite nice. He's eager to get into a set schedule. I'm encouraged for the strong possibility of it.

My dad came over for lunch. We had egg sandwiches and baked chips and water. When he left for Cisco, I snuck in a fiber bar. I know I talk about fiber too much (well, Grace thinks so anyway), but I'm a fiber fan. And a fruit fan. And walking fan. And a Mikayla fan. Ok, that's enough. Sorry.

Let's see if we can get that pic to show up...

Fruit kick

Am I the only one on a fruit kick? Isn't it so yummy?? My husband and I can't seem to get enough of it. Lately he's asked me to make him fruit salads, and in it I put- apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, pineapple, mango, strawberries, kiwi, and (thanks to my mommy), BLUEBERRIES. Makes for a pretty good little salad. And we've been making smoothies. Does anyone out there have a good recipe for a smoothie?? If so, please share. They can sure be pretty yummy.

We're having Mikayla's Aunt Laura and her 2 boys come, Lord willing, next weekend. Yay! (Laura, I'll email you a menu choice to see what you and your boys prefer to eat!:) We're really looking forward to seeing them and getting to spend time with them.

Today was a good day @ church. Since I've become a mommy I don't hear all the messages preached/taught like I used to. I've got a slight distraction. :) Hopefully, she'll start being able to sit in church without me having to take her out so often. What a girl. She's SO worth it!

I'd better jet. Grace and Mom (not to mention others), it's time for a new POST! Good night, sweet ladies. Y'all are the best! :)

Enough already

I'm all for respecting people, but haven't they gone a bit overboard on ANSmith's death/burial, etc.?? Seriously, I think she's getting more coverage than former presidents have gotten. "breaking news" grrr.

We had a wonderful visit with sweet Christy this evening. She kindly fed us and entertained us so effortlessly. It's easy to love somebody when they love your child so much. That would define Christy. :) I liked her before Miggy, of course, but there's an added element now to our friendship that I just love. We even watched the results of AI and part of "the #1 new tv show" Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Then my dad wanted my mom home with him. Figures, but who can blame him? :)

I like the competitive talk, Laura! Good for you exercising! I enjoy walking so much. If anyone needs a walking partner (CC), let me know. Jody, Mikayla and I have walked every morning this week. It's been SO much fun. (I just noticed that I use the word "so" a lot!)

Ok, off to bed. Not the most exciting post, but it's better than an old one, right? right.

3.7 miles today

Yep, that's what we walked @ Riverside park. What an accomplishment, and boy, did we feel good afterwards. Well, not TOO good b/c we made some fudge a few nights ago. rats. To our credit, we shared with our pastor and his wife. phew.

Thank you, Christy, for putting a new pic of me and baby girl up!! Pretty soon, we'll need a new one. As hot as it was today, that snow is sure to melt:-) I do wish I had some sort of computer skills. I can type a mean letter on MWord, but that's about it.

I had horrible time today making fish. I bought some cod and thought I could accomplish great things by baking it. Not so. Let's just say that we ended up having cereal for lunch, and we were very happy to do so. Jody hugged me and said I was a good cook, etc. So, that made me feel lots better.

I got an invite tonight. Hooray. I'm not quite sure yet what all it will entail, but with CC and my parents and Mikayla, it's bound to be a blast. I'll have to give an update after then fun ends. I know everyone's itching to know more.

I'm off to get some housework, reading, and resting done. Probably in that order.

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
-Proverbs 8:17

ps. Misty, if you're reading this, please tell Mike it's time for a new memory verse

Almost 7 years!

On Monday, Jody and I will have been married for 7 years. What a complete privilege to have such a wonderful man to be my husband. I thank the Lord a million times over for the honor to be his wife!! We celebrated today by enjoying an outing to Abilene, where we had a yummy Mexican meal, went to Target, and the mall. It was an extremely enjoyable time. My sweet mommy and dad watched our Mikayla. sigh. They took such good care of her:)

And while celebrating our marriage, we also celebrate the birth of our nephew Ian Gregory Ledbetter. What a boy he is!! He'll be 5! on Monday, and he'll be starting school this year. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! It doesn't seem too long ago that I saw him enter this world. He's SUCH a joy. I always tell him that he's my favorite Ian Gregory Ledbetter EVER. I think he likes that. His mommy sometimes tells him that he's special, and he says, I know, Aunt Sarah always tells me that. Yay:)

THANK YOU, sweet sweet ladies for your kindness, prayers, and all you've done for us. We got a very pretty plant from the florist today with NO SIGNATURE, which reads:

As you mourn and rejoice over
Jada's brief life, we pray
that God's peace will rule in
your hearts.
We love you

That was so beautifully put. It definitely made me cry for happiness- that somebody would think of us so lovingly. I'd better hurry and post this before it kicks me offline. We've had a most blessed day and we thank the Lord for that!

ps. We ordered a mother's ring today- should be coming in the mail in 2-3 weeks. It means so much to me that Jody would want to do that for me.

Jada Dodson

That's the name we've given to our baby. I love it. In Hebrew it means "He knows." No middle name, just Jada. Somehow naming our baby was bittersweet (mosty just sweet). My mom gave us the suggestion and we both loved it. It can be a boy or girl name, which is really neat, we thought.

Thank you all for your love and prayers. Today went better than I could've imagined. I got to the hospital @ 6:15 and left around 10:45. The nurses were great, actuall pretty comical at times, and Dr. Neel was fantastic. I remember NOTHING, praise the LORD! I don't say that lightly. I'm extremely grateful for that. Other than a few mild cramps, I feel really good.

It's been a good day of closure; a day to be thankful for the opportunity to be blessed with a second pregnancy. Our hearts have already begun healing. The Lord is good to us. Another blessing is that the Lord's blessed me with very good sleep. How could I ask for more? And my husband has taken the whole week off:)

It was pretty sad this morning. I told Grace that I needed her here to fix my hair the same way she fixed it when I had Mikayla. but Jody did it for me (pigtails). (Grace and family might be coming this weekend for a short visit- yay!) And Jody wore the same outfit he wore when our first was born. Also bittersweet.

The Lord HAS given peace and great comfort. Before we left the hospital one of the nurses asked if we needed a grievance counselor. I politely declined, but I should've told her that I've already been helped( and will continue to be helped) by The Couselor- my precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hope you are all doing well. Much Love.

Psalm 57:1

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee:
yea, in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge,
until these calamities be overpast.

This is a verse that Mikayla's Aunt Laura shared with me and Joseph today, and I thought I'd share it as well. What an appropriate and wonderful verse it is. Of course it's not a "new" verse, but it's interesting the verses you can tend to overlook, and then when the time is right, it becomes precious to you. Thank you, Laura D!

I think you all know by now that I've officially had a miscarriage. In the morning I have a D&C scheduled @ Brownwood hospital at 6:15am. I'm SO thankful to be getting this done in such a timely manner. That is indeed an answer to prayer! Thank you all for your prayers and for the love shown to me (and my family) at this time. It's unreal to be shown kindness in so many ways. I'm in awe of how the Lord's been using others to help and encourage.

We're doing pretty good. Like my sweet mommy told me today, our babies are in God's hands. And Lord willing, someday we'll meet the ones we never got to meet on earth. The Lord does ALL things well and whatever He chooses is perfect. It's such a wondrous thing to be able to rest in that.

Hope you are all doing well. I appreciate so much the comments left on my previous post. Good night, dear ladies.

No heartbeat seen

I had mentioned in my previous post that I was hoping to see a heartbeat today at my first appt. Well, I didn't. I'm estimated to be 10 weeks along, but the baby measured 6 weeks, 5 days. With no heartbeat. That means one of two things. I'm either not near as far along as I'd thought OR we've lost our little baby. It saddens my heart to type that, but that's the reality of it. It's been a hard day, but a good day. Every day the Lord gives is good.

My dearest friend Christy SO kindly watched our Mikayla today while we were gone over 3 hours. While it's been a hard day, I've experienced several acts of love and kindess. It's wonderful. And I've fallen in love all over again with the beautiful daughter the Lord's so graciously blessed us with. To see my husband in pain is not an easy thing.

"The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace."
(not sure where it's found)

That's the verse the Lord has brought to my heart during this time. After my appt, they sent me to the hospital to give blood so they can measure the "pregnancy hormone", I guess is what it's called. I'll go back on Monday morning and they'll take blood again and compare. If the number has stayed the same or decreased, it's a pretty sure thing we've lost the baby. So, we'll see . I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I'm not too hopeful, and maybe I need to be. Just looking at that sonogram screen and seeing no movement spoke volumes to me.

The thing that gives me a little hope is that I've not had pains/cramping/bleeding or the likes. The Lord knows and He does all things well. I prayed this morning before the appt that if it wasn't the Lord's will for this baby to l ive, that He'd show me and help me. He's been good to me today. I thank Him for the great grace He gives in comforting my hurting heart. I just want to rest in his will quietly. I don't want to ask "why?". I don't think that's for us to know.

When I know the results on Monday or Tuesday, I'll give an update. Either way I want to be thankful and fall more in love with my Lord and my family. Thank you for your love and prayers.

My heart is sad

I just read a blog this evening that made me cry. A woman who struggles/struggled with infertility (sorry I'm not good at links) lost her little baby. I feel for her so much. She had a sonogram yesterday and saw no heartbeat. That is incredibly sad to me!

My first appt is Friday and I'm hoping to see a heartbeat. It seems strange to be pregnant and read of others who no longer are. I feel so sad for them and for others of you who read this who have experienced the same thing. I don't know that kind of pain. But I know it would truly HURT to go through that. She has a wonderful testimony of clinging to Christ in her pain. How I admire that.

I had intended to post something totally different, but after reading her post, it seems quite petty/insignificant. I AM thankful that I can pray for this dear, hurting lady, who I don't even know. That's the awesome thing about it.

A Vera Wang mattress

What is that all about?? A new Serta Vera Wang mattress. Hmmm.. I'm sure it's well worth the added cost, just to have her name on it.

AND what's with Cinderella 3? Just when you think the story is over, they add an extra "element." I don't get it. I'm glad they've not done that with Beauty and the Beast (or have they?)- the very best Disney movie. I mean, what more can be said?!

Enough of that. I had a special day with my sweet family. We even got out (yes, outside!) and took a family walk. Mikayla is hilarious when we take walks with her. She's SO sober looking and then we'll get in front of her and say HI! and smile and she'll give a huge smile. Then it's back to the walk and the sober look. It's great. Makes me smile just thinking about it. :)

And I got to watch my friend Reva play in a basketball game. I think it was her last game of the season; I'm so proud of my friend:) And she SCORED. More than once! Gooo.... Reva!

Then my parents had me over for a yummy dinner of pork chops, mashed taters and corn. And delicious hot chocolate with a little ice cream in it. Very good! It might not seem like it goes together, but believe me (and my mom and dad!) it's good.And it cools it off quite nicely. Especially when it's boiling. THANKS, MA!

And tell me this one thing. Why is it easier to blog than clean our bathroom?? Unreal. Well, it's almost time for my lovebug to come home. Now THAT'S when the fun starts. :) I guess when we go to bed, we'll have to settle for our back beauty mattress, which works out perfectly well for us!

The heaven and heaven of heavens

I love it. I'm reading through the Bible in 90 days, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. When Solomon dedicated the temple to the Lord, he says:

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" -1 Kings 8:27

Such good stuff! What an awesome/huge/wonderful God we serve. And to think- he loves ME?? Yes! Totally humbling thought...

I'm enjoying this pregnancy and am really feeling it right now. The mere thought of food makes me feel quite ill. For some reason, the evenings are worse. Will have my first appt on Friday- definitely looking forward to that! :)

I loved reading your comments, ladies, about the kind of police you are. What a hoot! I can definitley relate to some of those. :) Thanks for sharing.

I hope you all have a good week. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to the dentist. It won't hurt my feelings for THAT appt to be over with. ha! Good night.

ps. I just HAD to have a new post; my previous one was starting to grow mold, seriously! Ok, not really:)

What kind of police are you?

First of all, ladies, I want to say THANK YOU for the kind comments you left for me regarding my pregnancy. Y'all are great- and I'm thankful:) I cannot BELIEVE Laura D recommended the name Beth- we love it and had been talking about it. We'll see though...

Ok, back to the subject. What kind of police are you? You know, what do you notice about others doing/saying that you just can't help but point out? I'll give you a few examples of some that I know:)

My sister Grace is the "you-must-have-your-nails-trimmed" police.

My mom is the "you've-got-something-on-your-face" police. (at times I'm very grateful for this trait she has!)

My granny(bear) is the "mija-you-must-put-a-hat-on-that-girl" police. (before I had Mikayla, I was "that girl")

Christy is the candle police- it's hilarious. She'll come to your house and BLOW OUT YOUR CANDLES if she feels like they've bee burning long enough. very. funny.

I'm the speed police- wait, don't we already have somebody who has that official job?? I know, I can't help it.

So, I want to hear what you are. Oh yeah, another sweet friend has been called the diaper police. I think I used to be more that way until I had a baby...

I welcome your comments!
Good night:)

Showers of blessings

It is with delight and thankfulness that I share with you that we are expecting another baby! Yay times a lot. (hope that made sense:)

We found out this past week after experiencing (only me, of course- not Jody) nausea and heartburn and a soft belly (but that's from not working out regualarly for the past 2 weeks or so). Oh, we are thrilled as thrilled can be.

Now that my inlaws know, it's finally time to share with my bloggy friends. Mikayla is excited, too, but of course, she's pretty clueless about the whole matter. I think she's just a happy girl.

Today we were trying to think of baby names, going through the alphabet together. I realize it's a a bit early, but we had fun nonetheless. If it's a boy, we have that name. but, we can't agree on a girl's name. Any suggestions out there??

Hope you all have a wonderful week! We're sure planning on doing the same:)

Some pics relating to previous post

Hi, friends. Hope you enjoy the descriptive pics!

Grrr and Brrrr

I just had an almost finished post typed out and I accidentally kicked myself offline. For those of you who have had dsl forever, I realize you might not be familiar with the term "kicked offline." Anyway, rats. So, I'll try to recap, but I'm sure it won't be with as much gusto.

We woke up this morning to the ground so beautifully coverd with SNOW. Wheee! It was gorgeous. And it wasn't the normal TX snow where 1/3 is snow and the other 2/3 dead grass. So, that was a treat. Jody made snow "angels" (sorry Grace), and on his way to work, (after scraping ice and snow from the car), he threw snowballs at me and Mikayla. We WERE inside behind a glass door, but still quite unlike my dear husband. But we (I) loved it. Mikayla gave a little cry b/c she was a bit startled.

The other evening when my friend Christy was here, she distracted me while I was making bread and I forgot to add the FLOUR. I don't know how I did it, but I did. So, I had to rescue the dough from baking, empty the dough into the mixing bowl, add flour, wash pans and regrease and resugar them, THEN put them back into the oven. That was a wild time, to be sure. Come to think of it, neither she OR my mom helped me that night with the bread. They just sat back and smiled (laughed at me). I'm really glad to have such great friends:)

I was struck by this verse while reading in Exodous when the children of Israel were complaining to Moses and Aaron, and Moses answers..."for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord." Wow, some serious food for thought there. When we murmur/complain/gripe, etc. it's against the Lord!

I'm going to try to thoroughly enjoy my snowed-in day at home. I'd wanted to get glasses- I lost mine. I like to wear contacts during the day, but it's nice to be able to put glasses on after a long day and let my eyes rest. Anyway, it's been almost a year since I've had glasses. Hopefully, Jody and Mikayla will be able to take me tomorrow. Any good recommendations of where to get a good pair of glasses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Bye for now.

Happy Monday!

I love Mondays. A fresh start to a week. I'm very thankful my dear hubby made it to work safely this morning. It was SOOO icy that we couldn't even get the car doors open. Well, eventually Jody did...

Here's a pic that Jody took of his girls yesterday:


Quite a bit blown-out, but the overall message rings loud and true. We love each other!

We had a lovely Sunday at home. We sang 4 songs that I can "play" on the piano. It was funny b/c when I'd mess up, Jody and I would just quit singing. Good thing I don't play for our church!- the song service would take forever! :) And Jody shared some good thoughts on the verse, Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Good stuff.

Ok, it's time to feed my baby girl, who I love sooo much. I hope the ice melts sometime soon. I'm kinda getting cabin fever- boy, I'm pretty spoiled! Hope everyone has a fantastic and delightful day:)

No church tomorrow

We're sad; our dear pastor called this evening and told us that they called off our meetings tomorrow due to the icy conditions that are present AND expected. We'll have a nice day at home together. I said, shotgun, piano player. And Jody said shotgun preacher:) and Mikayla's taking the offering- ha!

We had a MOST enjoyable time with Grandpa and Emmie this evening. Grace and family were expected to be there, but due to the weather, they cancelled:( So, we figured- the fun must go on! (as I'm typing, Jody and I are watching Mikayla's birth video. sigh. WHAT GOOD MEMORIES! My dear husband is SOOO gentle with her and loving. It thrills my heart to see/hear him in action. As time goes on, he's all the more kind and good to our Mikayla and ME!)Anyway, my dad made some tasty beans, my mom made some yummy rice, and I contributed the guacamole. Delicious meal. And for dessert my dad made some sticky buns and we watched Moby Dick (family tradition). AND enjoyed a lovely and warm fireplace:) Wish those Ledbetters could've been there, but I'm glad they stayed safely at home.

Has anybody ever noticed that when you run out of bottled water, suddenly you feel so parched?? Our tap water is really not horrible at all, but we're so used to the other. And you almost feel like a hero when you actually turn the faucet on and fill your cup up. it's kinda funny to me.

Good night, ladies!

It's OVER, officially

How does that saying go.. "quit while you're ahead?" Well, that's what I'm doing. I quit. I don't like having this competition with my dear sister Grace. What exactly did I prove, you know? That I (ONCE) could get more comments? Ok... We all know who's more popular and rightly so. :) Love you, Grace face.

Ever get in the mood for the munchies and have NOTHING in your house to help the ol' craving?? I did- tonight. And, I'll just say tomorrow's payday. So I chomped on some raisins. Didn't quite do it. We do have some triscuits. I've been wanting to post about the new triscuits. Am I the only one who's a huge fan? You know, the kind with Rachel Ray on the front. I like the cracked pepper and olive oil. They are delicious! I had them first @ my in-laws house and fell in like. Another plus is that they're quite fibrous. That makes points in our house, for sure! We're definitely fiber fans.

Tomorrow I have to take our car in to get the wheel cylinder/s (sp?) replaced. Jody talked to the guy who runs TTTire, and he said if I didn't have a ride home, he'd take me home b/c he didn't want me to be waiting there all day with a baby. Wow, isn't that going above and beyond the call of duty?? I thought so. And the other day we needed to get our emergency break fixed (before we could pass inspection) and he offered for us to drop off the vehicle, then they fix it AND get it inspected for us, and afterwards we could pick it up. I'm seroius; those guys are GREAT.

I'm stoked about seeing my dear friend Christy tomorrow. She's so fun. She really brings back memories of my salad days. Aww, such a friendship is priceless.

Does anybody know whatever happened to PrimeTime Thursday?? I used to look forward to it, simply b/c there are not many decent shows out there. Now, I think they replaced it with Earl. Gak. They obviously didn't get MY vote on the matter...

I hope everyone has a good evening/day/whatever.

Please help me deflate an ego!

Ok, my sister Grace
(needless to say) gets WAY more comments than I ever do. And, yes, she brags about it constantly and rubs it in my face, etc. We know the same amount of people (maybe I know even more) and yet, she racks up the comments like there's not tomorrow. And there might not be, I realize. So, in an effort to deflate (just a little) sweet Grace's ego, I'm imploring you to help me get at least ONE more comment than her. JUST THIS ONCE. And hey, if it doesn't work, everyone will at least know that I feel a tad slighted about the whole thing. She needs to be put in her place. I decided that this is going to work even if I have to leave ALL the comments. whoo hoo!

On a more serious note: My mom and I are participating in a challenge to read through the Bible in 90 days. Today was our second day of reading, and it's been a tremendous blessing - how could it not be?? Since the Lord saved me in '96, I've read through the Bible once. I'm looking forward to learning more of my Great God!

So, if you have a favorite verse, quote, color of nail polish, time of day, person, pair of shoes, chore, collection, book, movie, country, drink @ Starbucks, perfume -
ANYTHING!
please comment and share, ok? Off to the real world where laundry and dishes await me.
ps. I forgot to mention that there remains no bitterness in my heart toward my sissy. in fact, she's a great writer and a really fun person indeed.

A day at Emmie's house

What would a week be without a trip to Emmie's house? Right? Oh, it's so much fun over here:) My mom so kindly cooked me some fish sticks, Annie's mac 'n' cheese, and prepared for me a lovely salad. And before our walk, Emmie took this pic of Mikayla with her lambchop (acc. to Mikayla, the very best stuffed animal a little girl could have) from her Aunt Laura. Note the very soiled ear on the little lamb, and Mikayla's teeth- two new ones coming in on the top!

And, here's a "new" verse I came across and LOVED:

O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee;
and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
~Psalm 36:10

Home sweet home

Isn't it good to be home? We always enjoy visiting friends/family, but the best part is coming home. Everything seems fresh and new. sigh.

Our Mikayla is still not feeling well. My heart hurts for her. We bought her a new thermometer today; it's called a temporal scan thermometer. A bit pricey, but get this: you simply run it across her forehead and into her hairline. SO cool. But Mikayla's not. She had a temp of 102.6 today:( I checked online and they said for her age, (and she's now 9 months old!) if it reaches 103 to take her in. So, we're keeping our eye on that. I'm not sure if we'll be bringing her to church tomorrow or not. Maybe I'll stay home with her. The neat thing about her is she doesn't act sick. Oh, I love that girl!

Christy coming over tomorrow evening (or that's the plan) for some New Year's festivities. Woo hoo! We got some yummy things to eat @ Wal-Mart. Yes, we took Mikayla out in the cold. But, we bundled her up very well in the blanket her Aunt Laura made her. A lady @ Wal-Mart said that you can tell Mikayla's loved by her smile. hmmm... how cute. Turns out she's right!

Our cat is still alive. Yay! My parents are due back on Monday evening. another yay! boy, life is good:)

What a wonderful year it's been!!! Full of so many new things. Being a mother is extremely fulfilling for me:) and I love the daddy Jody is to our Mikayla. Truly the Lord is good to His own.
"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
~Psalm 34:8

My very own Beethoven

Another good day here @ the LA Dodsons. So tonight we go over to the church for a hymn sing, which I suggested because I thought it'd be an enjoyable time. Well, it was. I had NO idea my mom-in-law played the piano, but she sat right down and beautifully played while we belted out some old hymns. I didn't think much of it except for the fact that Jean did quite well, and I was enjoying myself. So, Jody, yes Jody, goes up to the piano for his turn. I'm thinking ha ha ha ha, that boy can't play. And he sits down and tells me he's going to play Farther Along (which is not my favorite song; sorry, but to me it sounds kinda whiny). I chuckle to myself and he starts playing and Jean comes to sit by me and starts singing along.

I WAS IN SHOCK. seriously.

I'm just sitting on the pew, holding Mikayla and in awe of what my husband's doing. My mind is racing with all sorts of thoughts. The main one being, I've got to see this up close and personal. So, I numbly walked up to the piano, only to find out that Jody is playing on an electric piano with music that the pianist recorded so the church can have music the times she can't be there. The mystery was solved. And, of course, there was lots of laughter. They sure pulled a funny one on me, eh? :) I'll probably laugh about that for many years to come!

In other news. My Mikayla is still not feeling so well. Poor baby. I'd sure take her pain for her if I could. I remember sometimes (I think it was during my pregnancy)I'd be hurting and Grace would say, I wish I could take half of the pain for you. Now isn't that the sweetest!? How reasonable.

Other fun things I did today:

$- played many rounds of boggle (with Jean)
$- played a Scrabble game
$- sang
$- kissed Jody
$- ate some delicious food prepared with love by sweet Jean
$- played dominoes (and WON, but I really didn't want to put that)
$- had a nice visit with Renee and her sister 'Tina
$- got some phone calls from friends (Grace and Christy- the friend who went to my house, played with our cat, cleaned out his litter, and loved on him. AWWW!) Can't beat that in a friendship, am I right? I might thank her with some lemon grass rice noodles. that'll be sure to make her feel appreciated.

Do I have MONEY on the mind? Nope. Just couldn't find a bullet button. hee hee

Feels like a bath night. Get some rest, ladies. CC, enjoy your new Eeyore! Good night; sleep well.

Good times in LA

We arrived in Louisiana safely, thank the Lord, on Saturday afternoon. And, as usual, we brought the rain with us. It ALWAYS (well, as much as I can remember anyways) rains when we come. They like that about us:)

For the first time we're staying in the Dodson's new home built mostly by my father-in-law. It's BEAUTIFUL and big and so much fun to be in. Mikayla has her own room (the southwestern theme room) and we have our own down the hall from her. We're staying in the pink room. It's pink, but not so pink that Jody feels like his manhood is being compromised. (was that a weird sentence or what!??)

They have lots of treats here. I told Jerry that, and he said, yeah, but they produce too many leaves. ha ha ha! I'm still laughing about that one. :)

My mom rescued my amish friendship bread mix. She said if any more time passed, it would've exploded. Thanks, ma! And she's even going to feed it and bake it for me. Man, what a special mommy I have.

I've only eaten between 10 and 15 tootsie (MINI) rolls today. I don't know what the effects of that will be...

Ok, what a (semi) blah post. Sorry, guys. More later, maybe. Good night, ladies:)

Nursing Strike

That's what "they" call it, anyway. Mikayla hasn't wanted to nurse since around noon yesterday:( What a heart-breaking time it's been for me. I realize I've had 8 WONDERFUL months of nursing and I thank the Lord for that! So, maybe this is just a stage. She'd rather bite than nurse. Hmmm.... My sweet friends Pwe, CC, Grace and Misty have been extremely comforting to me at this time. Maybe it's time to wean our precious daughter. Through prayer, that's something that Jody and I will decide together. sigh. The thought of it just saddens my heart, but as the hours pass, the thought gets more realistic.

On to a brighter subject. Hasn't the moon just been gorgeous the past few nights?? What an awesome God we serve who is in total control of all things. I love it.

We had a fun LNO the other night @ Cc's house. We even tried some "dance" (more like aerobics for me) moves. I've got ZERO talent in that department. Ask anybody. I'm not overly concerned aobut it though. Ha! Jody likes me just the way I am. So there, Christy.

I need some help with this next question. If a person is eating "raw", would Jambalaya and Taco Bueno be on the menu? Just curious...

Well, I'll be signing off for now. But, don't worry- there's more to come. yawn. Good night, sweet friends. You know who you are:)

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

Hello, dear friends out there! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving time- we sure did:) We had lots of family down and spent lots of good times together. We even had the Risses come all the way from Georgia; what a blessing that family is. AND, I got to meet my sweet new niece Naomi Joy, who is a tremendous JOY!

I don't know how many of you read Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotionals, but I wanted to share some of what I read the other day. In the November 29th morning devotional, it starts out with this verse:

"Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people...Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. -Leviticus 19:16, 17

And here are some of the quotes from it that I really liked: (it's worth reading, believe me)

"Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told.

The reputations of the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the name of the Lord.

We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render is cheerfully to those who require it now.

Be this our family rule, and our personal bond--
SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN."

I thought that was good and it was convicting for me. How EASY for our flesh to want to speak evil of others, instead of confronting the person, rebuking them and loving them the way that the Word of God exhorts us to.

I pray the Lord would help us all to be extra cautious with the words we speak. We don't want to be those who bring others down and speak idle words.

In other news, I don't think that our dear Mikayla is feeling too well today:( She's been coughing and sneezing and she covered my sweatshirt today with throw-up (sp?). And I do mean covered. I'm so thankful for her good health, though. This may be something that's not too serious; we'll see.

Hope you all have a wonderful day. I'm off to read some blogs, make myself a grilled cheese (IMHO, the simplest yummiest sandwich), and put my sweatshirt in the dryer:)

PICS!

PS Emmie's the photographer. :)

Happy Wednesday!

Here's a very recent pic of Mikayla taken just minutes ago. Oh, I love my baby girl!

Charity never faileth

3 words with such meaning. I think those words sum up 1 Corinthians 13. Any input or thoughts on what it actually means?? Does it seems sometimes that charity DOES fail? I know it doesn't because the Word of God is true. Hmmm.. I need some input here.

Yes, my dear parents spent the evening with me. Does it get any better than THAT?? I want to make a list of this evening's happenings, so here goes:

1- we talked, talked and talked some more
2- we had rotisserie chicken salad
3- my mom and I made fudge with walnuts (big mistake!)
4- we played Scrabble
5- we played with Baby Girl
6- did I mention that I won 2 of 3 games of Scrabble? (sorry, mom:)
7- and we almost played boggle, but my dad chickened out

Good times to be sure. You know, as I mentioned to my parents and CC, this world is so big, and so many people have hurts. It's easy for me to get caught up in my own little world and just focus on my own personal affairs. I want to get away from that and be a blessing to others, and reach out and be open for however the Lord would choose to use me in another's life.

I'm going to be on the lookout for a ladies' bible study here in Brownwood prob @ Coggin Ave Baptist Church. I REALLY miss those times and the study I did there, I learned SO much. It was extremely exciting to see such beautiful truths from the Bible explained like never before. I've gotten the "ok" from my dear husband, so Lord willing, I'll be attending one soon. Yay. :) I love learning new things.

What else is new? Oh yes, the Georgian Risses are coming for a visit this week. I, Lord willing, get to meet my new niece Naomi Joy. What a beautiful name. No doubt tears will be present, as was the case in the meeting of sweet baby Abby Rose. I'm really looking forward to this visit.

I've got a dentist appt on Thursday morning.

I REALLY wish I could find my glasses. I lost them a couple of months ago, and so often I find myself wanting to take off my contacts and put on glasses to give my eyes a break, but alas, they're nowhere to be found. So, my contacts get a lot of use from me. If I don't find them before January, I'll get some new ones. Has anyone priced glasses lately?? IT'S RIDICULOUS! but, it might be one of those things where once you know more about it, it makes more sense. try me.

8- many moths entered my house tonight. what ARE moths anyhow?? to me, they're just sandy butterflies without the beautiful colors. I imagine they have SOMEthing going for them...

good night! I've babbled more than seems right.
ps. I'm IN LOVE with my precious husband and my baby girl. sigh.

You guessed it!... not.

Well, everyone gather 'round. Have I got some great news for you. I won a gray throw from BRMC. Whoo hoo! Just in time to keep our family warm. Jody so kindly took this pic just a few minutes ago. Hope y'all have a great day. I've got LOTS to do and I'd better get busy. Toodles.

Everyone, please guess

Ok, last week 3M had its annual health fare. While there, I took the grip strength test and scored (I think) a 98. I didn't think much more of it.. until tonight. Jody called (can you believe I had the ringer off??) and left a message telling me that I won some kind of prize from doing the grip strength test. And that he's bringing it home tonight. WHoo hoo! I don't know if the prize is b/c I got the highest score or if they drew names to determine who to give the prize to. Hmmm.

so, what's your best guess? Humor me and guess, please. I will try to post the results tomorrow.

My guess? a cup. You can't take my guess.

And, Misty, I work out at home. A few birthdays ago, Jody bought me an eliptical (or cross) trainer. So, I either do that or walk outside. And Grace has a treadmill. Talk about SPOILED!

You ladies are special, even if you don't guess. I promise. bye for now.

Grrrr... Grace!

I'm so mad @ my sissy Grace. I just enjoyed a lovely evening with my parents where they treated me and Mikayla to Prima Pasta (shrimp scampi!) and afterwards went to Wal-Mart. I called Grace when I got home and you know what she told me?? She said, "I'm fixing to exercise." Rats. I guess that means I need to also. So, I guess in a way she "motivated" me, but I could just wring her neck. Not really, of course. If she WAS here, I'd just give her a hug instead:)

Mikayla is doing better at bedtime- whee! I'm thrilled.

Our cat Mingus is getting FAT. Maybe he can hop on the cross trainer with me.:)

Oh, I got a new (for me) digital camera. thanks, ma! The one that CC gave me went capoot (sp?). So, I just gave it to Mikayla for a toy, and she really thinks she's technical or something. She loves that and our old remote control. go figure.

Speaking of figures, I'd better go and work on mine. The good news? Jody loves me just the way I am. yay:))) I love that guy!

Grace, I'll get you later.

A healthy baby boy

Jody, Mikayla and I had a great time in Abilene today where we were able to see Baby Easton on his birth day. What an absolute miracle the birth of a baby is. I'm so in awe of how the Lord so perfectly does what He does. sigh. He weighed in @ 8 lbs. 9.5 oz. Good size! About 1 pound more than Mikayla weighed. It was a blessing to be a part of it all. Tina is a PRECIOUS mommy and had such a sweet attitude, considering all she'd been through.

Afterwards we headed to the mall, where we ate lunch @ El Chico; it was pretty good, but Jody's chimichanga, we determined, more or less resembled an egg roll. I guess Abuelos, which is closed on Mondays (rats!), has us a bit spoiled. Then we headed over to Steve and Barry's where we got a $10 pair of jeans for me. whoo hoo! (Thanks, CC, for the idea) Somehow I go through jeans very quickly. go figure.

My computer is sounding like it has the hiccups, so I guess it's trying to tell me something. I'd better log off before it logs me off. Good night, everyone. Everyone's doing so well blogging. Keep up the good work!

It's official

Yep, you guessed it. I got my certificate for taking the continuing education photography course @ Howard Payne. And boy, does it ever look snazzy. It even has that gold star thingy in the bottom right hand corner. Wheee! And those of you coming to the LNO at my house tomorrow evening MAYBE you can get a look at it. maybe. My mom has one, too:)

Speaking of LNO, which I hope you all can come (6pm till who knows when), Mary's birthday begins in less than 2 hours. Yay for Mary. Happy Birthday. And, to Christy, but hers is officially on Sunday, the 22nd. Grace, wanna come? :( maybe next time, eh? I finally decided on the menu. phew. nothing like a little last minute planning.

Have you ever read the story about Gideon in the book of Judges?? What an awesome story!! He started out with 3200 men to fight the Midianites, and the Lord whittled that number down to 300. Lots of lessons there. I thoroughly enjoyed the bible study on it today. You oughtta read it sometime.

Oh, and I was reading in Matthew where it speaks of Christ being born. And one of His names is Emmanuel, meaning God with us. That's SO wonderful!! the Lord Jesus Christ was God in flesh. I'm aware that sounds pretty basic, but it's surprising to me that people don't believe it. How I love that truth. What a most humbling thing for God to be made flesh and dwell among us. sigh. What a Saviour!! How I love him!

Good night. I've got some straightening up to do before my lovebug's face I see. :)

I've been inspired by 2

Well, well, well- it's been awhile, eh? I've been inspired by 2 dear ladies to finally get back into blogging. The first is my sister Grace, who just moved to TX(!), has 3 children and has several new posts complete with pictures. And Mary, who commented to me this evening that it'd been awhile since I had last posted. Ok, I get the hint:)

My precious daughter is crying right now, but she should be sleeping. That's been the scene for about a month now. I'm pretty frustrated with it. How I love that girl. My brother-in-law Dean suggested changing up her nighttime routine, but we don't have much of one to change. Just getting into pj's and putting her in her crib. Any suggestions out there?? I need help. I pray the Lord will give me wisdom/patience/and love dealing with her. She's fine when we pick her up (usually). It's hard for me to believe that she wouldn't want to just GO TO SLEEP! I sure do.

Mikayla and I had a most lovely evening with Grandpa and Emmie. My dad cooked some beans and my mom made some delish rice (although Rebekah's taught me to make rice, I still can't- it's unreal!), and I made some guacamole. What a yummy dinner! AND, Mary and Christy joined us in a game of Imaginif.

And we had moo-llenium crunch ice cream for dessert. -Mary.

I'd better go tend to my daughter. Her crying absolutely breaks my heart. I need prayer, but I guess, don't we all? :)

Sweet Aunt Laura

So, the other day Mikayla gets a package in the mail from Seguin, TX. Come to find the cutest little stuffed dollie from her Aunt Laura. She loves it, as you can tell from the picture:) What a most pleasant surprise it was!

This past Monday marks 10 years since the Lord saved me. Wow! I'm just so in awe of His goodness and faithfulness to me. At the age of 16, He reached down and so mercifully redeemed my soul. I thought I had no need of God, but I couldn't have been further from the truth. Praise be to God for his salvation!

AND, our dear Mikayla started officially crawling on Saturday. It's so precious to watch her. And she sits up by herself. And last night when I was changing her diaper before bedtime, she cried (whined, really) mamamama. That'll sure melt a mommy's heart:) She hasn't actually said the word, but I'll take it in a cry:)

My dear mother's coming over today for a visit. Love that lady. I've been watching Bleak House; it's pretty good. Anyone else ever heard of it?

Bye for now!

Then I saw her face

Guess What. I got to meet my dear sissy's latest addtion to their family- Baby Abigail Rose Ledbetter. She's so tiny compared to our Mikayla. I felt like she was a toddler compared to Abby. Talk about taking your breath away. I intentionally did not wear mascara that day knowing that I'd cry when I met her. And I did. She's absolutely lovely and yes, I'm in love. Then again, I knew I'd be. And now, I've got one more new niece to meet, and Lord willing, I'll meet her in November when Mike, Misty and family come for a visit. I'm really looking forward to that:)

So, what are YOUR plans for the weekend? Mine include the Bwd Reunion celebration, the 2nd half of the Early football game (the best half AND it's free), maybe a trip to Starbucks or something fairly similar, IOW, lots of fun planned:)My husband is now mowing and just found out that he's working the weekend. So, we weren't counting on that. Mikayla and I will be off to visit Grannybear with Emmie (aka Pwe or Vivian or Mom). I see dominoes in our near future. Granny's always up for the challenge.

My mom and I are taking a really cool photography class with Mark Dumas as the teacher. We've only be once and we're already learning so much! He's making it such a neat class and even sharing his "secrets." We like secrets, don't we, mom?

I'd better post this before it's time for Jody's next water break. I FINALLY have a pic of my new niece (so sweetly attacking my daughter).

The mystery is solved...

Well, I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to see what my husband brought home for me. It was none other than a miniature, pureheart, seedless, watermelon! :) (he also brought me home a wonderfully written LOVE note- my favorite)

At work a lady was eating one and sharing the other half with everyone else. She even offered Jody a bite, which he politely declined. This gave Jody the idea to get one for his wife, after hearing such raves from his fellow employees.

So, now I have a chilled, very cute watermelon to eat. Whoo hoo. I really like watermelon.

On his way home last night, he stopped by Kroger and bought it. And, no, it wasn't $2.50, it was $3.49! Guess he forgot his Kroger savings card:)

And to top it off, he said, if I would have had money, it could've been a complete surprise. Yeah, that's what I was thinking- what a dear!

Two dollars and fifty cents

That's how much money my husband wanted from me today to get me something. Interesting, I must say. He NEVER wants to have spending money. I used to ask him, Honey, don't you want like five dollars in case you ever want to get something?? Nope- very unlike me, I might add.

So, before he left for work, I asked him if he needed a little extra for tax. He looked at me strangely and said, I don't know- just give me a 5 and I'll bring home the change.

And now I'm curious. Wouldn't YOU be??

I WILL keep you posted.

Maybe I'll find out around 11:30 tonight when he gets home. Wheee!

Ps. Grace got her new cell phone in the mail. Whoopee! Back to good talks about lots of things, all day long. :)

Pps. A wonderful! bit of news. The Lord has saved our nephew Joshua. What a mercy.
"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." ~Psalm 89:1

Evening shift

My dear husband alternates between working evenings and days from week to week. Although ideally we'd like for him to have a straight day job, we really enjoy the different times in the day that we get to spend with each other. He's on evenings this week, so that means we get to sleep in together and have lunch together. This morning we all (Jody, Mikayla and I) headed to the park for nice walk. The weather was gorgeous and we walked for about an hour. So nice.

I can't believe I haven't posted the news that my sweet, sweet sister is moving back to TX. I'm thrilled, to say the least.

While I'm typing, the Sonic commercial came on about the real fruit smoothie. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? For some odd reason, I like them.

Well, tomorrow's plans entail shopping for a birthday gift, playing dominoes with Grannybear and attending church in Coleman in the evening- not to mention a few other things.

I had a great evening at my parents' house. CC was there. My mom made yummy cabbage rolls, Mikayla spit up sweet potatoes on my parents' carpet (which they were very understanding about), we made birthday cards, my mom made us a frapucchino (sp?), and I hid CC's chapstick. And for those of you who know CC, hiding her chapstick was a HUGE deal. Of course I laughed while she was quite frantically looking around for it, so it made it pretty obvious that I was the "guilty one." I think she still likes me. She only had to have dry lips for about 10 seconds- she's a HOOT!

Did I mention that I love my husband?? He's had a cold the past few days, so I've been trying to be kind to him (well, extra kind- right?). Lord willing, he'll be feeling better soon. Good night, sleep tight!

ps. I DO NOT KNOW how so many women blog every single day. somehow it doesn't work out for me.

Fearfully and wonderfully made

Sigh. Don't you just LOVE rain??? It's been rainy and cooler here for about the last week. I absolutely love it. I feel like it's here just for me. I know that sounds crazy, but that's really how I feel. And my mom; she loves it, too:)

I was thinking about our daughter. And, of course I think she's beautiful. And not the kind of beautiful that I think she could win all sorts of contests or anything like that. I know that she's fearfully and wonderfully made. Wow. Babies are such an awesome work of God- it's mind-boggling (sp?). I watch her grow and move around and smile and kick and nurse, and I'm so in love with the family God's blessed me with. There are so many things that I understand more clearly now that I'm a mother.

So, when I post pictures of my girl so often, it's not done haughtily because I feel like I want to show her off, but because I'm just so in awe of the precious gift she is to us. And I like for others to see how she's growing. And boy, is she ever growing. In no time at all, she'll be crawling around everywhere. I love to watch her play contently, I love to change her diapers, give her baths and wake her up in the morning to feed her. She's blessed my life in many ways, and I'll always be grateful for the extreme privilege of being a mommy.

And I know that the kind of beauty that really matters is that of the heart. Proverbs 31 tells us "favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." I pray that she'll come to know and love our great God.

I'm the happiest woman in the world. honestly. And I certainly feel so loved. I'd like to post my testimony of the Lord saving me. So, keep your eyes open for it. This month it will be 10 years!! Have a super evening, dear ladies. ( I assume no man reads my posts)

Picture day

Phew. It's HOT outside (and inside). And like I told my mom, I never want to complain about the weather, as I know who is in control of it. I'm looking forward to FALL. Yep, sure am.

So, today I wanted to take some pics of Mikayla, and we brought her green quilt outside to act as the grass. How sad. She was a great sport, even though it's over 100 degrees here.

New subject. Mealtime. It's so neat to have her now sitting at the table with us to eat. Sometimes we give her baby food and sometimes nothing. We just like her there with us. Anyway, we all hold hands when Jody prays and once he starts, Mikayla just looks at her daddy so adoringly with a huge smile. Ok, I peeked. And now that I caught her doing that, I peek every time. She thinks Jody's talking to HER. How funny. I love it.

Mikayla is working on crawling. Not quite there yet; the desire is there but not the skill. Ultra cute to watch. :)I guess it's time to start vacuuming again.

Mikayla will be 5 months old on Monday. Wow. We are so incredibly blessed. We thank the Lord for our precious gift!

Ok, that's all for now.
Ps. hi, CC!

Monday, Monday

Good afternoon. Hope you are all (all 3 of you:) doing well. It's Monday. Well, I guess that's obvious, and we're having a great day. My dear Joseph went into work @ 11, so Mikayla and I are alone for most of the day. What fun we have.

We took this photo a few minutes ago. I'm enjoying motherhood like CRAZY! What a blessing children are...



We had some good preaching services @ Bible Baptist this past week. They blessed my soul immensely. Dan Cozart preached for us. I ALWAYS enjoy listening, but this year it was a little different having a baby daughter. Slightly more distracting, but hey, that's part of life. Still a wondrous time. And some attended from the church in Coleman, which thrilled us! (thanks!)

I'm off to Wal-Mart today, of course. So, pretty much a low-key day. I got most of my housework done on Saturday- yay!! Hope you all have a most wonderful day.

"Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."
~Proverbs 21:23

A good name

Greetings. Last night a dear brother in Christ went home to be with the Lord. What a sobering time it's been. Just to think that he now is feasting on Christ- his precious Saviour. Wow. "I can only imagine." He has no more earthly cares, struggles, worries, sadness, pain. And he's now with the one who loved him so much he died for him. Amazing. I love it.

My heart DOES go out for his precious family. His dear wife, daughters and their families, grandchildren, etc. What pain they must be feeling. We went to visit his mother today- what a sweet lady. Death puts life into perspective, I believe. This world is so temporal; we are to lay up our treasures in heaven. How very clear that becomes when something like this happens.

What he left his family was a good name. He loved the Lord and it showed in his life. What a dear man. It's so awesome to KNOW that I'll see him again. Praise the Lord!

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints"
-Psalm 115:16

Big mistake

Well, I just got through eating my bowl of cherries. No, that's not my big mistake. It happened last night when I had my parents over for supper. I have (or should I say "had")a TON of packets of Splenda and thought I'd make some tea with splenda to go with our meal. So, I boiled the tea bag and started tearing apart the little packets to equal about 1/2 cup. After opening approx 70 packets, I had around 1/2 cup or so. I thought splenda = sugar. NO, no, and no. That tea tasted HORRIBLE! So, I dumped it out and we had peach drink instead. There's gotta be a lesson there somewhere...

I'm not sure if this blog could get any more interesting. Let's see. I LOVE my sweet daughter! I took her out of the house for about 5 hours or so, and she did great! Didn't even whine or anything. How blessed I am!

AND, my sweet mommy bought me DIAPERS! YAY. We love diapers around here. Diapers for Mikayla. Thanks, sweet mommy! and treated me to Bahama Bucks. Does it get any better??? We got to play dominoes with Grannybear and had lots of fun with her and my uncle and cousin.

Wait. I think I hear my baby girl crying. I guess she's allowed to now. What a long day it's been for her. Ok, I'd better jet. More interesting posts to come? Who knows. Can't expect too much from me, I guess:)

It's amazing

I looked in my inbox this morning and found an email from Flylady telling me that it's anti-procrastination day. So, I read it, and realized that I'm a procrastinator! I couldn't believe it. I thought everyone else was, but not ME! Anyway, I am, and I've realized just how much you can get done if you actually do it. Wow, profound statement, I realize. Nonetheless, true.

Found some neat (free!) graphics from momof9'splace. I'm not sure how to do that link; let me try: I think that's it. I'm kinda new at this. I found this beautiful graphic that I'll try to share. OH well. Didn't work that time. Let me try the pic of Baby Abby once more.
I'm having problems with Blogger. Maybe next time- ha!

I'm off to feed Baby Girl, get laundry finished, and other various things. My dad's coming over for lunch, so there's plenty to get accomplished before then.

The eternal God is they refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deut. 33:27

My new niece!

Guess what I'm doing! Yep, eating cherries. They are so delicious. Can't get enough of 'em. When my parents and Grace lived in Washington, I went to visit them and fully expected to have my fill of them. Nope, not even one. I don't know if I'll ever get over that one:)

Praise the Lord for my sweet niece Abigail (Abby) Rose, all of 3 days old. YAYYYYYYY! :) I think she's a beauty (but of course I do). She did have a dr's appt today and lost 1/2 a pound, but is healthy and doing well. I'm SO thankful for the Lord's goodness in this. And I finally have a picture!

Jody's working tonight, so Baby Girl and I are planning a nice evening together. We're taking her umbrella stroller and walking around the mall together. In the mail I got a $10 coupon for JCPenney, so I'll see what we can find there. Should be a very nice/relaxing evening. That's the plan anyway:) I love spending time with my dear daughter! We have lots of fun together.

Thankfully, my mom (and Ian and Sarah) arrived in GA safely this morning. She gets to see 2 NEW GRANDBABIES! I'm quite thrilled for her:)

Off to get more cherries...

ps. the pic's not working; I'll try again later

Happy National Ice Cream Month!

What a good month July is. Not much (in our family) happens in this month, but now we have 2 special events to add to July. Jamie's wedding and Grace and Dean's baby girl Abigail Rose was born today!!!!!!!!!! :) What a fun-filled day.

It started out by picking up my mom from Blanket, then we headed to Gatesville (sp?) for sweet Jamie's wedding. On the way there, I called Grace to ask her how she was, and she told me that baby Abby had been born about 4 minutes before I called. What a tremendous blessing it was and what a mercy that the Lord gave her yet another wonderful birthing experience. So, we got cut off b/c reception is not the best on those TX back roads. I was searching the skies for a tower. Anyway, we got a little more info before the wedding started. 7 lbs even and I forget how long. But, Grace said she's beautiful and I even got to hear her cry! :) So, I'm stoked about that. Rats- I don't have a pic to post. Maybe later.

Jamie's wedding was really nice. It appears that she and Dustin really like each other:) It was quite special seeing them vow to be faithful and love each other, etc. Weddings are so cool. And, of course, she looked beautiful and extremely happy. There were LOTS of people there, and I even spotted a few babies. Very nice wedding; I'm so happy we got to go. Mikayla started fussing in the middle of it,so Jody (sweet Jody) took her out and I got to enjoy the remainder of the ceremony. AND, I got to meet Jamie's dear friend Erin. What a SWEET GAL! That was a treat.

On the way home, we stopped @ Tapatia's (or something like that), where they brought out steaming hot hot sauce and chips. I've never seen that before, but it was yummy food. The guy behind us wanted a hamburger "with LOTS of mustard." Go figure. Mustard's ok, but it's definitely NOT something I want anything at all drenched in.

Which brings me to my subject. We stopped @ Dairy Queen in Goldthwaite on the way home, and Jody ordered us some ice cream. He said, "and I want a small, chocolate chip, caramel, cheesecake blizzard, I mean cheeseQUake..." For some reason that tickled me a bit (b/c it was what the sign said). To this day, I'm still laughing:) Ok, it just now happened, but it's a good memory. And you know how they turn the blizzards up-side down?? Well, the girl (armed with many tatoos) very proudly turned our blizzards up-side down and left them there for about 2-3 seconds (seemed like forever). And Jody comments, "wow!" and she just beams. Pretty funny all in all. It's been a good day and I need to get off this computer to get ready for the Lord's day tomorrow. Isn't ice cream month great? We definitely celebrate this month.

Ps. that new blizzard is NOT all it's QUaked up to be...

Pow-Wow Days in Comanche

Good afternoon. Hope everyone is doing well. I've had a good day. I had a procedure done today with my dr, which wasn't tons of fun, but thankfully, it's over now. Lord willing, the healing process will begin. My husband is SO precious to me and comforts me so beautifully. How I love him!!

AND, my sweet dad watched Mikayla for us while we were out. He took such good care of her. He even WASHED MY DISHES!!! Gotta love that:)) When we walked in, Grandpa was holding Mikayla playing the piano. What a sweet sight.

Ok, now for the subject. Every year Pow-wow days in Comanche has a photo contest that we like to enter. I didn't last year, but my mom did, and she won in her division!! GO, Pwe! Anyway, I think I have a favorite for this year that I want to enter. CC, you need to get one and Pwe, too, for this year, ok? And we can all go together- it's SOOO hot there, but lots of fun. My dad usually drives the bus to run people around-it's HIS privilege- go figure. Hope you all have a good day!

It's good to be home!

Hello! I know it's been quite a long time since I've posted. I'm not sure when my life got so busy. Maybe the day I found out I was pregnant:) Who knows... But, it did! We had an excellent visit with my sweet in-laws from Louisiana; they're sooo special.

And the day we got home from our trip, I had the privilege of attending a shower for my sweet friend Jamie. I'm terribly happy about her upcoming marriage. I know I enjoy my marriage tremendously- thank the Lord!

This evening, I spent time with my sweet niece Sarah and nephew Ian. (sorry, Grace, the pics I took of them didn't turn out:( ) And with my parents and CC and J&A. Sweet kiddos all around me today. How fun.

Have you ever noticed that when you get home from a trip that there is SO much laundry to do??? It's crazy. Add to that our washer being out of pocket for a while and you're REALLY got lots of clothes. So thankful to have that done with. Awww...

Time to feed Mikayla. Not the most exciting post, I'm sure, but better than nothing, right? :)