Skate Day

We had a skate day with academy today. Karen & I thought it would be fun to invite everyone to come along. We had a great turnout & everyone had a great time. We're thinking of doing it again at the end of the semester. We have a lot of wonderful families that are involved...really good people. Chandler spent his time playing pool with some of the older guys and Clay skated with his friends. We had a great time today.

Words of Wisdom

Today was a crazy day...started out great! We went to Mark's Donuts & I had a donut...yes I know it isn't on Weight Watchers, but I cheated ok. I wrote it down and counted both of them...12 points!!!

But the day, it seems went downhill quickly. School was going ok...the boys were somewhat agreeable. We were accomplishing our tasks. Then for no reason...words were spoken that should not have been. One son said something to the other one that was not edifying in the least and quite hurtful. I sat there with my mouth gaped open and considered the Words I had read in my Bible reading earlier in the day.

Proverbs 15:4 A gentle tongue speaks truth and life, but a piercing tongue kills the soul.

Now how fitting that it was such a situation dropped in my lap. I explained that words are not just words, they stay with us, they hurt. And while they seem small they are huge. They impact our lives. Words that are spoken to us keep resounding in our minds over and over...whether good or bad. The Bible says in Proverbs that death and life are in the power of the tongue. I think that perhaps we sometimes forget that. I know my boys did today.

So among all of our other lessons, we discussed the very Bible verse that was in my Bible reading today...isn't it amazing how God gives us just what we need in the times we need it, to remind us, to correct us, and sometimes to even teach our children.
I am so thankful for His Living Word!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day....the day people are supposed to lavish those they love with cards, chocolates, flowers, cards...Me being the "realist" that I am thinks that if people need one special day to do that, then there is something really wrong in those relationships. Of course I think it's all a hype for people just to spend money, but I am very different in my thinking. Now don't get me wrong I am the princess at my house & of course I love to be loved, but for me to wait on one day a year to show or be shown...well, thankfully that's not the way it happens here.

I have the most loving family and am very grateful for them; every single one of them (you). I love you all and hope that your day was terrific. I hope that even if you're going through a rough time in your life, that you will feel and know God's love for you...for His is the most perfect and important of all love! When we finally understand His love for us, then all other things are small in comparison.

Tom, you are the greatest, most thoughtful husband in the world. You are my very best friend, and I love you more than words can express. Chandler & Clay, you are great young men. You are conscientious and thoughtful and keep me smiling for sure. I thank God for my life and for giving me such absolutely wonderful Valentine's all year long.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

Thirteen years ago today, Katelyn was born. Wow, she's a teenager...unbelievable that she, Chandler, & Taylor have survived all these years. We have lots of fun memories. The clown at Casa Viva, that you loved & Chandler loathed. Collecting beanie babies. Playing outside. The thinking chair. The Handy Dandy Notebook. Playing. Playing. Playing. We miss you & wish you were back in Arkansas! Maybe someday! Hope you have a great day Katelyn! We love you!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Daddy's birthday! I hope it is a great one! I am very thankful for my dad. He's always been there for me and has been a great grandfather to my boys. He's very caring. He loves his daughters very much & his grandsons maybe even more. Thanks Daddy for being You! Happy Day! We love you!

Happy Retirement!

This past Saturday we celebrated my aunt's retirement from the US Postal Service. Aunt Frances was started out as a mail carrier and retired as a post master. She was very successful in her job. She was very diligent and extremely serious about working for the postal service. Many said she was a hard boss but ended their words with the fact that if you did your job & did it right all was well. She demanded integrity and a good work ethic from her employees and treated all fairly. When asked what she would do in retirement...she said she would travel and spend time with her kids and grandkids.

Congratulations Aunt Frances! We love you!

Last night we took a trip to the cabin to check on it after the devastating ice storm of January 26th. We checked with the electric company to see if we had power before we left, but they couldn't tell us anything. Regardless, we needed to take some things up and especially clean out the refrigerator.

The trip up was interesting because we took a new ride...I'm not sure the year model, but it's old; I'm thinking civil war...oh wait they didn't have cars back then, oh well. Tom is considering purchasing the old LR SWAT suburban. He thinks it's cool. I think it looks like someone spray painted a white suburban black which is basically what they did. However it's a diesel and has some super big engine that Tom thinks will be awesome to haul the tractor up to the cabin...so we don't mess up my Yukon. Ok...so we set out. Keep in mind, the windows are SWAT, secret service blacked out, the front 2 windows don't roll down, there is no radio, but by golly, we have lights, sirens, and a loud speaker in case we need to tell someone to "come out with their hands up". The whole way I'm looking for my seat warmer. It does have this really neat light that was installed on the dashboard that is like a snake...great for reading books.

Back to the story, we're driving up and the land is totally devastated. It looks somewhat like the tornado damage from last year, but eerily more damaging. The trees are broken and down everywhere. We finally arrive to Annabelle Lane, and we notice that the power lines are awfully close to the ground. We truck on and see 3 power poles that are snapped in half. The lines are down but we're thinking we can make it to the cabin. As soon as we make it down the hill and around 2 curves, the lines are blocking the way so that we can't get through. At this point there is no where for a suburban and a trailer carrying a Polaris to turn around soooooooo, we have to back up for about a mile. Now that was fun. Eventually Tom asks me to get out to direct him as he backs up because you can't see out of SWAT/secret-service blacked out windows at dusk while your backing up. So I do. Then he yells out the window that he can't see me because my coat is black. So I take my coat off so he can see my hot pink shirt. Unbeknown to me I'm directing, and he can't see me in my pink shirt either. Clay said, "by the time we get to the top of the hill mom will be in her underwear". He's so funny.

Finally we get to the top, unload the Polaris and take our supplies to the cabin. It was dark by time and from what we could tell, we've lost at least 25 trees up close to the cabin. There was no damage to the cabin so that was a blessing. There is no telling how many we've lost over all of the acres, we'll check that out next week when we get up there in the daylight.

Once inside, we unload our supplies & started the refrigerator clean. We still had frozen ice, so that was good, nothing was stinky. I figure all of the stuff probably was still good, but we tossed it anyway. I don't think death by Miracle Whip would be that fun. After the clean up, we rode around the land & looked at what we could see then headed back up the hill to come home. We'll update the ice storm damage next week when we go up. In the mean time, we're praying our electricity gets fixed this week. We're hoping for the best for sure.

What a Flag!

This was sent to me, and I thought it was great. So I wanted to share. I am very patriotic. I love and am devoted to my country. When I hear the National Anthem, I get chills, am filled with emotion, and don't take those long ago penned words lightly. I do not take for granted where I live, who has given their life for this country, those who serve in our mighty armed forces, and the founding fathers who left all they had and had ever known to accompish what they did so long ago. I hope you enjoy the video and remember what a wonderful country we live in!

Frustration, frustration....sigh!

Have you ever considered that really you don't have to accept things just because. Perhaps one day you decide...you know...it's my time, my money & my choice.

Last week I received a card in the mail to schedule our annual eye appointments. I called to schedule my & the boys appointments and requested them all on the same day because why should I make 3 trips when I could make one. They told me that they "do not schedule 3 appointments at once". Now this I know is not true because I schedule them this way every year. The lady tells me that she would have to talk with the doctor, who wasn't availble at that time, to see if it was ok. I told her that was fine, whatever she had to do, but she needed to understand that I was not making 3 trips to do these appointments, when I've never had to before. The next day she called me back to let me know that they would schedule the appointments. Surprise, surprise!

Today I called to see if Clay could go in to see the doctor because he has a sore throat. I was told that a nurse would have to call me back to see if he's sick enough to come in. I'm not sure how they can determine that over the phone but ok. After the nurse calls me back, she so intelligently tells me that I should "just give him Motrin & Tylenol (which I already have been doing this, & I don't even have a nursing degree...just common sense) and that if he's still feeling bad tomorrow to call back at 8 a.m. because they don't schedule sick appointments ahead of time, they are only scheduled when you call"..which is what I did today...but again ok. Then she tells me that "if he's still sick this afternoon, that I should take him to the after hours clinic but they don't open until 6". Sounds like great health care to me. Am I missing something here?

I suppose my frustration is that while I do like my doctors, they are not the only doctors in our area. I am sure I could find another one I like just as well. Perhaps they don't realize that. Perhaps they don't realize that we are keeping them in business. Perhaps they don't have a clue. Perhaps they don't care. Perhaps the problem with health care is that there are not enough doctors. Am I the only one out there with these frustrating feeling? Perhaps I'm just griping but ultimately it all boils down to my time, my money, & my choice!