Promises.

Okay - they say confession is good for you so here is one of mine. I am one of those people who sometimes gets stuck on a portion of a Scripture verse that probably doesn't mean what I think it does. I am NOT a deep thinker AT ALL! I struggle with preachers who go WAY over my head into explaining in great detail what a particular verse means. I like things kept simple - see....I am simple minded!!
Anyway - the other day I was reading my Bible and am reading the most "interesting" book in the Bible - Chronicles! I was reading along and came upon a little part of a verse that says, "Now Lord, you are God and you have promised.......". I am sure that there is a much deeper reason as to why that was said and to be frank...I didn't go figure it out. I just sat and thought about it. He is God and He has promised.
Then I started thinking about the promises and knew that would take too long so I started dwelling on the personal promises He has given to ME specifically. Still - so many of them. How can I even begin to start on the promises that He has given to me in recent months? They are absolutely NOT countable!!!
So then this morning, I was reading in my devotional book and saw this quote. "Give what He asks, take what He promises." Now, that is a loaded statement if you ask me. First of all, I have to give Him what I think I need to hang on to and then....and I think ONLY then.... can I take what He promises. Hmmmm......I am certainly not there yet but I am definitely working on it. I need to give Him my fears regarding the future of my son in the "sandbox" so that I can take His promise that He will be with him ALWAYS. I need to trust Him with the struggles of raising two teenage daughters so that I can take His promise that He has every hair on their head numbered.
Of course the list could go on and on but I think you get the idea. I know - a simple thought but I just wanted to share it. Now let me see what I can do about letting go some more and taking a firmer grasp of His promises!!

Another Birthday Story!

Well, here we go again with another "birth"day story! 16 years ago at about 5 in the morning, our home was FINALLY blessed with the birth of our youngest daughter Ashley. What a story we have here!! Let me see if I can figure out where to start. I suppose it would be best NOT to go to the very beginning :) but rather to start out by telling you HOW I found out I was pregnant.
One day, I broke out in hives and was completely miserable. For a few weeks, I just about went insane. I had hives from my head to the middle of my legs. I went to the doctor a couple of different times who prescribed 2 different creams which simply didn't work. We went up to my moms who got me in to see their doctors. Lo and behold, the doctor who walked into the room was someone my husband knew in grade school! I wanted to die! He asked a few questions and then said, "Hey, any chance you could be pregnant?" Well, a few minutes later he walked back in the room and said, "Congratulations!" Not something we necessarily had planned but the journey began. The hives went away the DAY I was 3 months along.
So - fast forward to around July 4th 16 years ago. We had gone to TN for a visit with Joe and LaDonna and had come home and while I was sitting in a lawn chair watching fireworks, I had my first contraction - SIX weeks early. About a week later, I ended up in the hospital for 2 days in labor and put on medicine to stop the labor to give my baby a little more time to finish growing. I remember on a Monday getting to stop the medicine and being told I could have the baby anytime and thinking that it would actually happen but this child was stubborn from the get-go!! She fooled us more than once!! I can't tell you how many times I was in and out of the hospital. My poor husband was NOT enjoying himself. He was working 3rd shift, would come home and just get to sleep and I would say, "Ummmmm....LABOR!!!!" and off we would go to the hospital. Labor would stop and back home we would go. July 24th dawned bright and hot and at about 10 in the morning, we headed off AGAIN! I remember telling the doctor who checked me in that I wanted to see MY doctor ASAP!! When she arrived, I pulled her close to my face and said very politely, "I AM NOT GOING HOME!!!!!!!" No problem with her - we were going for a birth! At about 5 the NEXT morning, our youngest and LAST child made her appearance weighing in at 6'13. Ashley Nichole Fulton had FINALLY arrived.
I remember going up to my room and the nurse settling me in said that she would be right back with my baby. My response? "I will have that little baby with me for 18 years. Right now I am going to sleep and if ANYONE wakes me up, they had better be prepared for an insane female!!!" I know - I was horrible!!
Today - Ashley is.........oh man, what can I say??? This girl made our family complete!! She is bright, loves to talk, bubbly, loves to talk, outgoing, athletic, loves to talk, loves to sing, and is pretty smart too!!! Did I mention that she loves to talk?? She has more guys for friends than she does girls but I think that is because the guys know she is more than capable of handling herself (just ask her brother)!!!! She loves Jesus with all her heart which is best thing in the world about her. She wants to be a teacher and I am sure she will accomplish that in time. Give her something to organize and clean and if she is in the right mood, look out!!
Happy birthday, Ashley! You make your family proud!! Your dad and I love you to bits and we can't wait to see what God has in your future!!!

My weekend

First of all, I must chuckle when I type this for I must remember the comment directed at me in Sunday School yesterday by someone who read a previous blog that I had done. I guess you really have no idea who is REALLY lurking about, huh? So - that means I will have to be careful to not argue with my SS teacher, right?? Not that I would but I had to put that here for his benefit in case he stops by again!!

So - back to my weekend! Friday evening was so cool!!! My husband and I went bowling and he completely trounced me!! Boo!!Hoo!! Anyway, then we went to Baldino's for supper and it was SOOOOOOOO delicious! Then Saturday, I got up early and went and played Racquetball with Dave. That was fun, hot and sweaty!! Came home and then the wheels fell off!! I had decided that my bathroom needed a good scrubbing so after that chore was over, I do believe that I was higher than a kite on Clorox Clean-up!! Anyway, it looks so much better but I can't say that I feel better!!

Now on to the news of the Marine!! This guy is nuttier than a fruitcake!!! He calls us on Saturday and we were all hanging around the speaker phone chatting away. Keep in mind that he hadn't been able to talk to us much the past 2 weeks due to being in the field for training. Carrie asked him what kind of cookies he would like to have since we have some stuff that needs mailed to him. He wanted and I quote, "chocolate chip and M & M cookies". Ever heard of such a thing? Well, something else you may not know about me is that I LOVE cookbooks!!! So off I went exploring! I remembered from the far away past a friend telling me about baking Monster Cookies so I began and ended my search right then! After a trip to the store for supplies, that was going to be my Sunday afternoon activity! Well, first, I had to borrow a bigger mixing bowl. I may have to invest in one of those if I am going to do this again!! (By the way, I did take pictures but I left my camera at home this morning!!) So, I started with the 12 eggs, went on to the 4 cups of brown sugar, 4 cups of regular sugar, a full pound of butter, a huge bag of chocolate chips, a pound and a half of M&M's and 18 cups of oatmeal and a few other things thrown in for good measure!! I thought my arms would fall off before I got all that mixed up!! Oh wait!!! I forgot the pound and a half of creamy peanut butter!! Anyway, I baked him up some cookies and they are going in the mail today! Now, I should have used that as bribery - he updates his blog, I send him cookies but the mom in me won't let me!!

Okay - I have rattled enough! I had a great weekend and am ready for another one! Ah man!!! It's only Monday!! Oh well!! Have a great day!!

A Wednesday Story on Tuesday

A long time ago (18 years to be exact) on a Wednesday evening, my husband and I and David, Jr who was 22 months old were on our way home from prayer meeting. I was about 9 and a HALF months pregnant with our second child!! I was slightly miserable since I was 4 days past my due date and had been on semi-bed rest for about 2 weeks and hadn't slept well for who knows how long. Anyway, we pulled came up to a stop-light and Dave looked over at me and said and I quote, "you are going to have your baby tonight." I thought he was nuts and he promptly went on with the following conversation with David.
Dave: "So what do you think buddy?"
David: "I dunno!"
Dave: "Well, we are going to have a bet. If mommy has the baby tonight, she takes us to the restaurant of our choice and if she doesn't, then we will take her out to her choice. Deal?!?!"
David: "Yep!"
Me: "You two are nuts. Let's go home so I can go to bed."
Once home, I put David to bed and went to bed myself and my first warning sign occurred right then. I went PROMPTLY to sleep. I know - I should have been aware right then! Anyway, about an hour and a half later, I woke up to the knowledge that my water had broke all over the bed, hit Dave and yelled, "You brat - you won the bet" and ran to the bathroom. At about 4:40 the next morning, Carrie Jewel was born weighing in at 7lbs and 13 oz and was about 20 inches long.
This new baby of mine was as bald as could be and had the strongest neck I had ever seen in a newborn. You know how newborns will snuggle their little faces in your neck? Not this one - she wanted to be looking around!!!!
So - today is Carrie's 18th birthday and I am reminiscing!! Where has the time gone? I have spent a lot of time in recent days thinking back over these past few years. As a matter of fact, we were just telling someone the other day about Carrie and her "fear" of work boots. You would have to ask Dave's cousin Joe about that one!! He could come to our house, take off his boots and hide them in the closet and then she was perfectly fine with him. But until then, NO WAY!! She wasn't a big fan of men in general but especially not if they had a beard!!

Time has passed and this first daughter of mine has grown into a beautiful young lady! She loves God, loves to read, loves to write, loves music and is ready to take on the world! There have been times of growing recently that have brought tears of pain but I am confident that God is working out HIS purpose for her life in His own time. She stands on the threshold of adulthood ready for the next chapter of her life and I stand back thanking God for her life and the privilege to be her Mom.

Happy Birthday, Carrie!! I love you and am soooooo proud of you and the young lady you have become!! I am so thankful that God gave you to me and I can't wait to see what He has in store for you!

A Birthday Story

Once upon a time (about four years ago) a young lady was questioned in depth by her mother as to who she would like to invite to her 30th birthday party to be held QUITE some time after the fact! I was privileged to be one of the two (outside of the usual group) to be invited to their home for a Sunday dinner which was actually supposed to be a surprise!! Another mutual friend has a wonderful husband who let the cat out of the bag as soon as he walked into the door!! What a wonderful dinner we had and great fun at the birthday party!!
Since that day, that friendship has just blown me away!! This young lady accepts me for who I am and we are a unique mess!! I am short, she is not short. We both LOVE Onion Peels at Applebees. She has young children, I have older children. She is easily brought to tears and I easily laugh at things I shouldn't. She is quiet, I am NOT. She doesn't like conflict, I thrive on it (or so I have been told!) I have long hair, she doesn't. She has long fingernails, I DON'T! We both have extremely fun to be around husbands. She works at home and from home, I work at home and away from home. She listens to me complain or grouch or joke, I listen to her trials and triumphs of building a house! She sits in the back of the church, I sit waaaaaay up front. Anyway, I think you get the idea!
So........as I do my best to somehow, someway make up for missing her birthday, Tara - you are such a wonderful, dear friend to me!! I have no idea what I would do if you weren't my friend! Thank you soooooo very much for including me in your 30th birthday bash!! My life has been enriched because of you CHOOSING me for a friend. I appreciate your willingness to serve Christ and learn to be the wife and mommy HE wants you to be! I thing you are a great Mom and I know Ralph thinks you are a GREAT wife!!! I hope that in a small way this will make up for my forgetful brain this week. Keep your ears open - you never know what may happen next!!!

Bragging

I think that I don't do this often enough so this will be a blog specifically about my husband, Dave.
We are at a place in our lives where he works a full time job but also travels in evangelism here and there. I rarely ever get a chance to go with him since I am also working full time so I rarely ever get to hear him preach which is a bummer for me. I LOVE to hear him and he is my FAVORITE preacher. I am not just saying that because he is my husband either!! Anyway, the last two Sundays we have been to Summerfield to fill in at a church and I have gotten to hear him preach four times. I positively am thrilled to get to hear him preach. Each message was so good and I received help from all four of them.
I am soooooooo blessed to have a husband who is the true spiritual leader of our home and is living his life the way he preaches. No one really knows the stress he is under but he just rolls through it and keeps on doing what he knows is right! He keeps the laughter alive and well in our house or in our car or anywhere else our family may be! There is NOTHING in the world more important than his family! His kids simply love being around their dad and rely on him for soooooo much! I know that WHEN my kids become the successful adults that they are going to be - it will be strictly because of God and their Dad!
So...I just wanted to brag on the wonderful man in my life and I am so thankful to God for blessing me with him!!

Our July 4th

Well, where do I start? I wish I could just give you a picture journey of the last few days but I can't so you will have to put up with my wordy description!
Monday - I worked. I went home. I baked. Oh my - did I bake?!?! A double batch of chocolate chip cookies AND a double batch of oatmeal cookies!! Oh wait - you know this part. Anyway, David surprised Ashley. Okay - on to Tuesday. Dave, David and Ashley came and took me out to lunch and I managed to survive work that day. Carrie finally got home around 8 - about 2 minutes before the rain began. She was surprised to see her brother but not as surprised as I had hoped!! Some things are obvious - like, Mom doesn't bake unless it's really important so she knew something had to be up!! Anyway, she WAS surprised at her room but - IT WAS A HIT!! I was somewhat nervous about that but she seems to really like it! David rode the bus to Fort Lauderdale to get Christa and they arrived home sometime after midnight but to be honest - I was dead to the world!! Wednesday - we finally got every one up and around and David and Christa took Elizabeth to the airport to fly home to IN to her family! They got back and we headed to the beach for some pictures. They turned out pretty cool!! When we got back to the car, we had a flat tire and the black clouds were rolling in. The men in my life fixed that and we headed to the Outback for supper. (Please pray for us as we finish washing dishes to pay that bill!!) Anyway, we absolutely HAD to stop at the Fireworks store and then headed home. Went to church for a short patriotic service and then back home for food, fireworks and friends! It was a great day. Dave and Christa got up this morning early to take David back to the airport! Yes - I am sad today but I am dealing with it. Dave and the girls are taking Christa to the airport and the house will be back to normal - well......as normal as it can be! So that was my "holiday".
I must say that I am thankful now more than ever that I live in America! I am so much more aware of the men and women who fight for our freedoms and the things their families face on a daily basis. Lord, help me to remember!!!!

Look what I found!!!

Look what was laying on my couch when I got up this morning!! I know - it sounds like I was surprised but I wasn't. We have been planning this for a little while. Sometimes you never know what the Marine Corp is going to do when it comes to holidays and time off. Let's just say that last week on a particular day, I think I bought and cancelled three different airline tickets!!!
So - last night I was baking cookies like they would be his last meal. Dave decided that we didn't have enough Mt.Dew to make it through the next few days so he said that he was going to the store. Now....first, this was at 10:00 and as some of you know, we are usually in bed by then. Second, there was about 6 two-liters on the floor in the kitchen. This was simply not observed by my youngest child! When Dad left I insisted that she get to bed for she has to clean today and we will be up late tonight with the other girls getting home. I am sooooo mean I know!! David and his dad walked in the house shortly before midnight and we snuck him into her room. He leaned over, tapped her on the shoulder and she promptly went into shock!! It was so funny!!!! She cried and was so excited about seeing him. So it was sometime after midnight when we finally went to bed.
The funny thing is that he woke her up this morning at about 6:30 playing his trumpet which I don't think thrilled her much!! I would post a picture I took of her but then you all would be planning my funeral and the happy times would end!!
Now, if we can somehow just manage to surprise Carrie - we will be all good!!

My almost 18 year old surprise!

I did Ashley's room first and then proceeded to Carrie's room!! By the time I got done with this, I wanted to scream!!!! She has two walls that are paneling and so I got this brilliant idea! Someone knock me in the head if I think of doing this again!! Anyway, I painted on Thursday night, Friday night and on Saturday from 7am until 4pm - without stopping I might add!! I was so sore I thought I had been hit by a semi!!
Anyway, she will be home this evening around 8 and I can't wait for her to see her room!! I waited until today to post anything about this so as to not ruin any surprises!!
The funny thing is that the same comment was made about this room also. It just fits her! Guess we mom's are pretty smart after all huh??

My almost 16 year old's surprise!

My youngest daughter is turning 16 later this month. I know - I look sooooo young that is hard to believe!! (Gag me!) Anyway, once I figured out that she was going on a TLC trip, I started planning a new room as a surprise for her. Trust me - this was no easy task! For a little background, the last time I redid the bedrooms, two months later, Hurricane Francis came and decided she wanted the roof of our house as a souvenior so both bedrooms were redone in a "beautiful" water-logged and wind-swept design!
Anyway, Ashley left on Monday and we started in that night!! I could have never made it without the help of my wonderful husband!! He moved her furniture while I was at work, took all the stuff off the walls and helped me paint! Her walls are pink, the trim is green, the bed is purple and there is yellow and blue thrown into the mix.
I had some company over for dinner last Sunday and Matt's comment was that this room "fit her personality"!!! She was sure surprised with it and I am glad!!