Chatter

I have had this song going through my head for several days now so I looked up the words on the "net" to post here. If you are anything like me, I sing these hymns over and over in church and don't always pay attention to the words. Not a habit of mine that thrills me but one I am working on. I have actually gotten to the point where I don't even open the song book! I know - not good. Anyway, I thought I would share these words with you.

Jesus my King, my wonderful Savior all of my life is given to Thee.
Now I am living in your salvation your precious blood is making me free.

Freedom from sin, O wonderful story all of its stains washed whiter than snow.
Jesus has come to live in this temple, all of my days His love I will show.

Jesus my Lord, I'll ever adore Thee lay at Your feet, my treasures of love.
Lead me in ways to show forth Your Glory ways that will end in Heaven above.

When in that bright and beautiful city there I will see Your glories untold.
I will be like You, my wonderful Saviour I will sing praise while ages unfold.

Wonderful Saviour, Wonderful Saviour You are so near, so precious to me.
Wonderful Saviour, wonderful Saviour My heart is filled with praises to Thee.

Let's see - news of the week? Well, while I am rather cold this morning, Dave is enjoying the balmy 80's and having a good camp so far. I am doing nothing besides working, laundry, cleaning, chasing after girls, playing chaperon way more than I care to mention (not really, Josh - just a joke!), trying to keep the girls in hose for school, planning a blast of a day on Saturday when my other "daughter" arrives, staying out of the chocolate chips calling my name in the fridge, having lunch with Marines and mom's of those Marines, having company for dinner Sunday, moving some furniture around in the living room, enjoying strange and humorous phone calls from the "sandbox", waiting "patiently" for Dave to return on Monday planning a great "homecoming" in 8 weeks which shall remain a secret for now, forcing myself to take out the trash, keeping the fridge stocked with juice since it seems that Ashley can't force herself to drink anything else that's already in the house (another "somewhat" of a joke), trying to keep my toes warm in this frigid weather we are having, wondering why in the world I ever stooped to bringing Pepsi back into my house (no - I am NOT drinking it!!!) and generally keeping myself sort out of trouble!! I know - now that both my Mom and my Mother-in-law are reading this, they will be rolling on the floor laughing at the one. So sorry that I can't be there to help them get on their feet again!! One final thought - if you want to know what a "true blond" looks like, my office mate has it down pat, and you would have to actually be here to believe what she just did! There is no way to describe it!

A Favor Please

You know how I have mentioned several times that I can't stand it when people do not update their blogs very often? Well, there are two people very near and dear to my heart who have this problem!! AND - since I have been accused of pointing out this "fault" but never mentioning the times they DO update their blog - would you all please go scan down the list of friends on my page here and click on 1) Ashley and then 2) Josh!!! I would be thrilled!! And of course you can just comment til your little hearts content!! Maybe it will keep the two of them too busy to drive me NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok - deep breath - I am calm!! Really I am!! I promise!! Ummmm....just who am I trying to convince here?????

The Next 8 Weeks

Right now, it seems we are measuring all time by when David will get home. So - I thought maybe it would help me to tell you all what the next 8 weeks is going to look like! Who knows - maybe if I put it in writing, it will help it go by faster!! I know - probably wishful thinking on my part! Another reason for me to put it on here is to ask for prayer for the next 8 weeks. Maybe when I am done you will understand why a little more!! :)
Dave leaves tomorrow morning for a camp in the Turks and Caicos Islands for 10 days. Christa is coming on the 1st and then Dave will be back home on the 3rd. He leaves early the 4th for a revival in Kansas and Christa leaves to go back home on the 6th. Then Dave will come home on the 10th and our anniversary is on the 13th! 21 years by the way! Not bad!!! Not too sure what we will get to do but time will tell. Then on two Sundays, the 16th and the 23rd, he is supposed to preach in Summerfield but we will see about that since...on the 17th he is scheduled for outpatient surgery that will keep him "out of commission" for about 3 to 4 weeks! Then he leaves again on April 7th for a revival in Michigan and then heads to IHC the next week. When IHC is over on the 17th, David, Jr. will be arriving home sometime in the next 6 days!!! There - pleasant reading, huh?!?! I am already tired just thinking about it and putting it all in one place!
I would just ask for prayer in several ways. 1) Please pray for Dave as he preaches these meetings that God will help him and give him the strength he needs. 2) Please pray that the rest of us get all the things done we want to while he is gone! Don't tell him but we have lots of plans!!! 3) Please pray for us as a family as we prepare for David's homecoming. Lots to do and learn in a short amount of time! 4) Please pray for David, Jr. over these next few weeks that God will help in very specific ways as he prepares tp come home. The devil is working hard to attack his mind so please pray for that specifically!!!
I think I need to go lie down now but am pretty sure the "boss" would not be pleased with that!!

Things "I" Would Change about Camp & Other "Stuff"

First of all, let me start by saying that I have learned in the last little while that there are a lot of people reading my blog that I knew NOTHING about! Of course, there are some who are reading who comment, some who read and don't comment and some who are read to by their "spouse"!! Anyway, that is a little side note I found quite interesting and maybe it will help me pay more attention to what I blog about! I highly doubt it though!!! :)
OK - on to my list of things I would change about camp!
1) Children both young and old would not be allowed to get sick!!!!!!!!
2) I would not wake up every single morning completely exhausted!!!!!!
3) I would not wake up on the Monday "after" to mounds of laundry that resemble Mt Everest.
4) It would NOT take 2 weeks to uncover my house after "Cyclone Sea Breeze Camp" hit it!!
5) I would not run into people who knew me from the past and promptly said, "Wow! You aren't as small as you used to be"! Yes that actually happened and no, I won't tell you my response 'cause it wasn't exactly "Christ-like"!
6) I would not be in debt from my girls saying, "Hey, mom - got money for the snack shop?"
7) Sunday night service would start at 6 and not 7!
8) The back pews would be thrown away and new padded ones put in their place to assist me in the extra rest I need to enjoy camp!! :) (Just joking - sort of!!)
9) People would actually change their own light bulbs instead of calling the maintenance men!
10) The Monday after would be declared a National Holiday for EVERYONE who attended camp regularly!!
Ok - that's it! I know - there is a whole lot more I would change but I am NOT putting that on here for the "world" to see!!! No way!! Poor Mary tried to be funny and look where that got her!!!!!!
So - in other news, Carrie is at the doctor! This girl has been sick for who knows how long and I am quite tired of it. She had a fever yesterday and never left the house! Ashley is fine and quite hyper so please pray for me today as she is out of school!! Oh dear - I just realized she will be out tomorrow also!!! I think I may be in trouble!
David called yesterday and talked to us for a bit. He seemed to be in good spirits but wouldn't you be if you were on the tail-end of this "trip"? We are looking at about 8 more weeks and trust me, this is one happy family!! ALL 7 of us!!!!
Ok - enough for now! Who knows - I may get really energetic in a bit and post some more but I doubt it! If you don't hear from me in a day or two, can you call Dave to see if the washer and dryer ate me??

"Late" Breaking News!

It's official!! Carrie has a boyfriend!! See!

This is Joshua - Carrie's boyfriend as of late last night!! Since she doesn't have a blog and he can't seem to find the time to update his, I get to tell the story!!! Yea!!!!!!! So - here goes! Carrie and Josh went on the same TLC trip this past summer to Russia. They were mainly "acquaintances" before that but on the trip they became friends. Those trips have a way of doing that, I think! Actually - I think that Josh started liking her on that trip but Carrie was just interested in being friends at that point. Anyway, over the next few months through a series of very unfortunate events in Carrie's life, Josh proved himself to be a true and trust-worthy friend to her. He never once pushed his feelings on her at all but just stuck by her through some very rough spots. A funny side note is that after a while I kept telling her that she liked him but she wouldn't quite believe me!! Oh yea!! Mom is right again!! Go me!!!! Sorry - I digress!! On with the story!! Ummm...let's see, where was I before I got side-tracked?!?! Oh yes - Josh just sort of stuck around. It seemed he was usually ending up at my house for one reason or another and eventually, Carrie began to see that there was really something special about this young man. It has been really neat to watch this relationship grow! Josh has proven himself to be "the one" for Carrie. He treats her with respect and loves her for who she is! He is very polite, thoughtful, kind, respectful, and a blast to have around. It really helps that Carrie's brother thinks that Josh is ok and trust me, that is a HUGE deal! He also has managed to get Ashley to like him which is a plus! Probably the bigger thing he has accomplished is that THE DAD likes him too!! Trust me - that is a pretty big deal!!
So - yesterday was a big day for Miss Carrie. The picture below needs some explaining! First of all, he showed up at the house with the dozen roses and took her out for breakfast. Then he delivered the carnations and the small bear to where she works yesterday afternoon! Then he came over before church and brought the perfume! Trust me - this is NOT the Wal-Mart knock off either!! Then after church, he took her to City Place and to the Cheesecake Factory! I would say all in all, she had a pretty good day! What do you think?

So - another love story has begun in our house! Will someone please pray that I survive all this?!?!?!?! I mean really, David is getting married, Carrie has a boyfriend and we haven't even started with Ashley yet! I would say the next few years will be quite interesting in our house, you think?!?!

Happy Valentines Day

No picture today but I just wanted to say Happy Valentines Day to Dave! 21 years ago today he asked me to marry him and I obviously said yes. Wow!! 21 years!! Where has the time gone?? 21 years, 3 kids, 13 moves in 4 states later, I love him more today than I ever have. We have had an interesting and unique life but I would have wanted it no other way!!
I am so very, very grateful for the husband I have and am so thankful for what God is doing in our lives! It has been so neat to see the way God has worked in our lives and I am thrilled to see what He is going to do in the future! I love you, Dave, with all my heart!!
The fun thing this year has been watching our children, well..... one or two of them anyway, find that special someone in their life! David has Christa as his fiancee and we are so blessed to have her joining our family. They are truly learning what real love is all about with his "job" right now! To know that David has found someone who truly loves him but loves God even more makes this change in our lives so much easier! Then of course there is Carrie but I probably can't say too much about that right now!! It's fun to see her changing and growing into such a lovely young woman that has finally met someone who cares for her and respects her in the way she deserves!! Ashley is one of those girls who has her heart "leaning" towards a special someone but she is so smart and knows that there is plenty of time for that later on in life!! She is contagious as is evident by all the "friends" she has!!!! I told her this morning that one of these days God will bring that special person into her life and she will KNOW how special they really are.
I guess the thing that has stood out to me the most this year, due to lots of emotions going on in my world, is the fact that God loves me and my family way more than I can even dream about. He cares about these areas of our lives so much!! While I believe there is no such thing as a perfect marriage, I can say that I am blessed beyond measure and am so thankful for the marriage I do have! We as parents have prayed for years for the people our children would meet and eventually marry and God is answering that prayer in ways I never thought possible!
So - happy valentine's day to my wonderul husband, my kids, David and Christa, Carrie and yes, even Josh, and to Ashley!! You all are the best and I love you all dearly!!!

Fact vs. Feeling

Feeling - I feel tired! Fact - I am tired!!
Feeling - I feel "chunky"! Fact - I am "chunky"!!
Feeling - I feel grateful for a great husband! Fact - I HAVE a great husband!!
Feeling - I feel happy that Christa is coming to vist! Fact - I AM happy that Christa is coming to visit on March 1st!!
Feeling - I don't feel exceptionally close to God at this moment! Fact - HE is STILL close to me!!
Feeling - I feel grateful that my Mom is coming to visit in March! Fact - I AM grateful that my mom is coming to visit!!
Feeling - I feel blessed that my husband loves me enough to let me unleash my frustrations on him! Fact - again, I AM blessed that this is the case!!
Feeling - I feel sad that my kids are changing the way they need their mom! Fact - my kids will ALWAYS need me!! (HEEHEE!! Did that one on purpose!!)
Feeling - I feel frustrated that my son is struggling in some areas that I can't help him with! Fact - I can't help but God sure can!!!!
Feeling - I feel blessed that God has met with us at camp! Fact - I AM blessed and He has definitely met with us! The preaching has been outstanding!
Feeling - I feel too much emotion right now with my 3, no 4, no 5 "kids". Fact - I am blessed to have the "kids" I do have!! ALL OF THEM!!!!

Can you tell? I am having some struggles with "feelings" and "facts"! I won't go into a lot of detail but over the next few weeks, our family can use a lot of extra prayer! ALL OF US!! We have some issues that we are working on - no, not all "bad" stuff - just issues! The thing that I am working on remembering is that God knows what's going on and has all the answers! I just have to trust HIM and therein could lie the problem! The fact is that God has always proven Himself faithful and will continue to do so!!

Another Example of the Funny Farm

First of all, if laughter is good for the soul, then my soul is in pretty good shape today!! I know that there are some things that should not be blogged about and some things that just beg to be blogged about and then there are those things that I just choose to blog about to make myself laugh!! I guess this is one of those times!
I left work yesterday and went home to find the "piano man" TRYING to fix my piano!! He had been there since 3 and was still not finished!! To be honest, I am not even sure what time he left! I then went out for supper with a very dear friend which was so much fun! We shopped for a "specific" gift, found it and delivered it to where it needed to go and proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes in tears from WAAAAAAAAY too much laughter!!! Finally got home, ready for bed and the last time I looked at the clock while trying to hear if the University of TN had beat Florida in basketball (which they did, I might add) was somewhere around 11. I fell into a peaceful slumber only to be rudely awakened at 4 AM by a particular child, who shall remain nameless, who woke me up to see if they could join me in my huge bed for they had been on the receiving end of a nightmare! Yea, like sleeping with mom would make that better!! So, being the great and wonderful mom that I am, tear up the other side of the bed which has been "made" since last week and then a very interesting thing happened. This child, who HATES mornings and will give you the look of death if you speak to them before 11am (unless you have the right name) proceeded to absolutely talk my leg off!! I did all the appropriate "oh wow" and "uh huh" and "really?" that I could muster and somewhere along the lines of about 5 AM, I looked at her in the pre-dawn shadows and told her to "Shut up and go to sleep"! She laughed, rolled over and did exactly that!! The alarm went off at 6:00, I dragged out of bed at 6:15 and managed to shower. As is usual with working mom's, I tried to do too much and glanced at the clock to see 7:07! Not good since the hair on my head was in a towel!! I no sooner took the towel off and started combing my hair out and lo and behold, the house phone rang! I took a quick look at the caller ID to see those hated words "unknown name unknown number" and promptly decided if some idiot was calling my house at 7 in the morning to sell me something, they were going to regret it!! I said "Hello" and heard, "Hi, Mom!" The "idiot" turned out to be David!!!!!!!! I just set myself down and prepared to be late for work!!! Well, after waking his oldest sister with who knows what and irritating his youngest sister, he talked for a minute or two longer and had to go!! I finally managed to run out the door only 5 minutes later than usual!!
Oh - it doesn't stop there!! Then, I get a phone call from one child going to bail out another one who went to put gas in the car and locked herself out of it!! I simply do not know how that happened and have basically decided not to even ask the details!! The ending of that saga is that everyone arrived where they needed to go and were not too late getting where they needed to go!!
Let's see - did I protect the names to protect the "innocent" or should I say the "very guilty"!! Needless to say, I have spent a great deal of time laughing for the past several hours so I should be one healthy "young" lady!!!!

A Happy Birthday Greeting!! (Surprise, surprise!)

I just received the most interesting phone call from a very sweet, kind, compassionate young lady - otherwise known as my youngest child!! She did such an AWESOME thing and that is to remind me that today is a very special person's birthday! First of all you have to know that Ashley is the most compassionate teenager I know and is ALWAYS thinking of ways to make people feel loved and appreciated! I think her "spiritual gift" is that of ACTION! So - she gave me a great heads up and so if anyone gets in trouble for this, it had better not be me!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GOOD FRIEND, TAMMY POTTER!!!!

Several years ago, the Potters became the Youth Pastors Family here in Hobe Sound and we were blessed people!! My girls became friends with their two girls and my son thinks that Mark is just tops!! Needless to say, I am glad that Mark doesn't blog about his trials trying to pastor teenage boys or his blog would have been solely about David!!! Tammy and I - well....... - we just have a lot in common! Most of which I will leave unsaid for her sake and for mine!! :) Let me tell you something though - this family has been a blessing and getting to know Tammy has made my life even more rich than it already was! I have seen so much in her that I truly, truly appreciate! She has proven to be a great friend and someone I LOVE hanging around! This girl ALWAYS makes me laugh!!! I mean, ALWAYS!! Even though they are no longer on the pastoral staff, I just appreciate them SO MUCH! Tammy always has a smile for me and a great word of encouragment and the secret is now out that she reads my blog quite faithfully! She will probably kill me when she sees this but by then it will be too late!!! The news will be out!!
Now, Mark, take her out, have the kids clean the house while you are gone and give her a HUGE chocolate cake when you get home!! Tammy - you are the best and I love and appreciate you very much!! We are DEFINITELY going to have to celebrate!!!! Have a wonderful birthday!!!

No title - Can't think of an Appropriate One

Good morning! It's Monday - if you like Mondays you need HELP!!
I have been struggling with how to write this for more than one hour but here goes. It has come to my attention that there are a lot of people out there who read my blog that I didn't know about! Hopefully - they still like me!! :) Several from out of state read my blog and there is more than one from my very own church that read this. So - for some this one part may make sense and for others it won't so read on!
I think that most people that know me know that I am a very passionate person on some things. Most know that I am quite out-spoken which is a trait that I am trying to work on by the way!! Most know that I can probably argue till I am nuts! BUT - for those of you that were in SS yesterday and you know who you are....I offer this apology!! I was WAAAAAY too passionate about the topic we were discussing and probably stepped a little (or way!!) over bounds. I must be frank and admit that I get sooooo tired of the blanket statements it is so easy for people to make. I know that since I have made them myself and am desperately trying to change that! So without going into detail, please accept my apology and know that I will NOT be making that mistake again!! AND - for you lurkers, share this with your spouse and yes, you know who you are too!!!!
On to brighter things, THE GIANTS WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!! I was thrilled beyond words for Eli Manning!! I bet that Peyton was as excited as can be!!! Anyway, that was a fantastic game and it goes to prove that in the end, cheaters NEVER win!!
Even brighter, got a phone call from David yesterday which took me out of church but I will do whatever I have to to have a phone call from him!! He is doing well and we are finally allowing ourselves to start the "countdown" of sorts! Of course knowing that things can change at a moments notice, we are trying to remain "semper gumby" - "always flexible"!! He seems to be doing well and maintaining his ornery sense of humor!!
Just a few more days of me being a loney "widow" and Dave will be home. I am quite ready for that to happen!! I was as lazy as can be this past Saturday and now have to work extra hard to make up for it in the evenings. I really need to get some things done before camp starting on Thursday! I can't believe it is that time of year already but it is!!
I must admit to one final thought - I am so thankful for what God has been teaching me lately. It seems there have been some areas that I have really struggled with in the past few weeks or so and painful though it is, God is helping me to grow in ways I never thought possible! He is showing me things in my life that I have tried to "overlook" but HE is instead, making me deal with them! I am so grateful that HE chooses to be patient with me!