A Night Out With The Guys

Roll Tide Roll!

Not all of these are great shots (frustrating camera mostly!) but mostly the rush of the crowd and the darkness made this amateur photog scrambling to find a good shot. Please forgive any blurs.


Wallace Gilberry



Tyrone Prothro


Simeon Castille


My nephew, Seth :)


Roman Harper


Mark Anderson



Marcus Carter


Justin Britt


John Parker Wilson


Jimmy Johns


Jeremy Schatz



Jamie Christiansen


DJ Hall


Demeco Ryans


Charlie Peprah





Brodie Croyle


Anthony Madison


Brandon Brooks

Long, Long Day

Woke up 7 AM.
Whipped up, from scratch mind you, breakfast casserole.
Showered & got ready for day.
Drove into M and saw 2 baby deer, a turtle, and an almost-squished-squirrel on my way (how can people who have the ability to safely avoid a squirrel not try to do so?).
Worked at children's clothing consignment sale from 9-5.
Talked with Donnie & parents and in-laws and children via cell phone throughout day.
Rushed to get girls from their separate locations (1 at Ws and 1 at Gs).
Supper? What supper?
Rushed to Mbk to see my favorite....see below...it was a concert to raise money for Hurricane Relief but it was certainly more of a worship service than anything else.
Came home to see that Hudson was still in big boy undies! YAY!
Returned home at approximately 9PM, threw this onto the blog, and am now preparing to crash.

We made it 24 hours!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen...that nudie pic of the Hud-man encouraged me to work on this potty thing a little more (that and the fact that we've basically run out of Pampers here at home....and I don't want to buy ANY more!) So, we've been in big boy undies for 24 hours now! He slept dry through the night, needing to go tee-tee first thing upon waking. We traveled all over creation today (including 2 trips to the museum, taking & picking up David, and picking up the girls, AND getting lunch from Arby's) and he stayed dry in his little Ninja Turtle undies the whole time! We had a near-miss with poopie once we got home this afternoon but it was certainly not a big deal.

I am so proud of my bubby. We're working on 2 days now...our 2nd night of overnight undies. And yes, he's still sleeping in our bed :)

Great Ending To A...

crappy start of a day.

I burned an hour of time and way too much gas (most of that burned time was spent driving) first thing this morning. Ugh. I don't even want to talk about it.

Tons of little things ended up stressing me out a good bit in the early part of my day so I just wanted to chill by afternoon time. I didn't get on the computer much and took only a couple of phone calls so, unfortunately, things began to pile up.

Donnie took off work early to cut the grass so I was stalled in dinner-planning (I'm so not the Martha Stewart of planning dinner. It's usually a last minute throw-together thing unfortunately.) Shayne stressed me out and got on a restriction of not being able to watch Survivor with us tonight (BIG punishment!)

Things started turning around when I found out that Shayne's terrible attitude today was spurred on by an incident with a friend at school. Said Friend's mother called me tonight to say that Shayne left a very mature phone message on their machine at home wanting to mend things between her and her friend. Many tears and conversations later, I was very impressed with Shayne and her tender heart towards her friends. Turns out that Shayne made her friend mad by befriending a new girl at school. This made the other girl jealous. This deeply hurt Shayne because she would never intentionally leave any one out of the loop. Shayne struggled with how to be friends with more than 1 girl and not hurt the other girls' feelings.

In 4th grade, that's a tough thing to do.

I really was so proud of Shayne and felt bad for worrying that she might have actually had some part in this little dispute (I mean come on, I see the way she treats her sister on a daily basis!) I truly believe Shayne was as kind as she could be and took all the right steps to help mend this relationship.

I really must remain diligent about praying for this sweet daughter of mine. I remember how crazy relationships can be at this age.

Shayne was allowed to watch Survivor after all :)

And our quickly-decided upon Nachos supper (ground turkey with burrito seasoning, salsa, corn, sour cream and corn tortilla chips) was a big hit.

And Survivor was fun! I LOVE SURVIVOR! I'm sure rooting for Bobby Jon...don't know if he'll make it, though.

Oh yeah...and I can conclude with saying that my upturned spirits motivated me to clean out my crazy inbox. I went from 11 pages of mail down to 1!!!! Yes, only 1 page that needs my attention! WHOO HOO :)

And finally, have you ever met our wonderful little gerbils? These noctural creatures are lots of fun and company to me as I work at night. They are incredibly social with me and each other and I really like them (even though they can make TONS of noise while they scurry about their cage in the wee hours of the evening.)

Nothing To See Here

I forgot to take a picture of the fire truck and firemen who searched and cleared our home tonight (everything is fine, folks.....nothing to see here!) but I do have some pictures of the last week that I'd like to share with you.


Shayne, before we smelled smoke.


Harris Anne, the first one to mention smelling smoke. "What's that awful smell?"


Hudson's "I need a new diaper" phase as we almost have this potty training thing finished. A little more diligence on my part and we should be almost done!


Hudson likes to shut me out when he is getting in trouble (i.e. Hudson throws a DVD at his brother as he hears me yelling, "No....don't do that!" The reaction is almost instantaneous as he quickly closes up his ears and throws on a pout-face. And yes, this picture is posed but is a darn good re-enactment!)


This is David on his 2nd day of school (remember...the first day was too rushed for me to get a pic! -- See "Penalty Clock"). He's not upset about going to school, he's just very sensitive to early morning sunlight :)


Million Dollar Drums. A picture I took for David. He wants to be a drummer and I thought a drumming scholarship might be nice!


Donnie & I actually made it to a Bama game TOGETHER without any children! It was a last minute thing and gave me a little guilt feeling because I had to call on friends for babysitting favors at the last minute, but it was SO FUN! ROLL TIDE!


Oops. Someone forgot to take the sprinklers off the timer. The water was sprayed exactly on schedule...10:00 PM.

And finally, a picture I did not take but one I have to post here. The catch of the century...

Tyrone Prothro turns the game around and BAMA WINS!

Thanks, Max

This game will waste so much of your time. But you'll love it.

Recommended by Max.

Relief Needed in MS

An email from my friend helping to head up some relief work in Mississippi. I can vouch for the legitimacy of the donation collection so please consider donating if you can! If you'd like to use a debit or credit card to send Mannatech products (listed below) let me know and I can have them shipped straight to Dr. Kelley for distribution.

This is Dr. Karen Kelley with a call for help to our Mannatech family for
assisting us in the Katrina Disaster Relief Effort on the Gulf Coast.

We know many of you have donated to the Red Cross, Salvation Army,
churches, and other worthy organizations for this relief effort, however
most of the funds are focusing on the New Orleans area while tens of
thousands of hungry, homeless and the hopeless in neighboring Mississippi
are in desperate need as well.

We are located in Foley, Alabama, 2 hours away from Biloxi, Gulfport and
Waveland, MS where the major part of the destruction hit. I am heading up
a disaster relief group in our area working with Phoenix Disaster Relief,
The Christian Life Church at Orange Beach, AL, the police and fire
departments as well as United Way, Catholic Charities, local churches,
volunteers and the Red Cross Shelter in our area to provide housing and
shelter for the thousands of refugees from the ravaged areas.

The group of volunteers (many are Mannatech Associates) are loading
eighteen wheelers daily with needed supplies and convoying with police
escort into Mississippi to a vacant K-Mart shopping center lot in Waveland
to feed over three thousand people three meals a day at this drop off
point.

FEMA and The Red Cross are not yet in place here and may not be here for
weeks. No showers, no tents, no port-a-potty’s, no gas, no electricity and
often no cell phone reception. Our group and other churches are providing
the majority of the needed support. There is a mobile hospital unit in
place from North Carolina and one on the way from Pensacola. Their first
patient yesterday was a yellow lab puppy.

I am working with the Humane Society in Gulfport, MS who lost all of their
medical supplies, food, some buildings and many animals died. The rest
were evacuated to about 90 other shelters and a huge clean up effort is
underway to repair the facility to receive incoming pets from New Orleans
and Mississippi.

These people have lost everything. There are 15-20 people in many cases
huddled in one home here and there with roofs and walls missing or camped
out on blankets, in cars and tents on the K-Mart parking lot.

Many in New Orleans refuse to leave their homes because shelters do not
allow pets and they will not leave their pets. We need temporary homes for
these people and their pets or at least for their pet, so they can get to
shelters as they become available. Many residents of Foley and other
Alabama cities are offering their homes to the flood of refugees into the
area.

Because the large retail chains like Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, Winn Dixie, and
ect… have donated at the corporate level, the local stores are unable to
make donations of goods. So our local groups are purchasing the needed
items and delivering them to their church drop off points were they are
loaded into trucks for transport to Mississippi.

I am accompanying many of these trips and coordinating community volunteer
efforts and will continue to do so for the next six months or longer if
needed.

We are requesting for any support from our “Manna-Family” that you are able
to give. Yesterday I purchased every can opener, baby bottle and
bottlebrushes in 10 stores just from donations we received from our family,
friends and volunteers to take to Mississippi.

The stores in our community are re-stocking daily to keep up with the
demand.

We are asking not to send food, clothing or other items for the shipping
costs would be better spent on purchasing these items locally on an as
needed bases, as I receive the calls daily from the relief team as to what
is needed for that day.

I procured today a 49-foot refrigeration truck for use that needs to be
filled with fresh food, ice, water and etc. Anyone who can actually travel
to the area and volunteer their skills contact The Christian Life Church at
251-967-4840. Please be advised that you will have to make arrangements
for housing while not at the relief site. The church will transport you to
our relief site for a three day period for each group(you may stay longer
if you like). We need nurses, teachers, counselors, cooks, food servers
and volunteers just to cut up veggies. We also need folks to unload
trucks, comfort the people and transport them to and from the meal and
relief site, etc.

The products, that would be most helpful are:
Mannabears
Glycobears
Emprizone
Immuno Start
Empact for the volunteers and refugees


Cash donations are desperately needed and of course, send Prayers.

Please send your donations made payable to:

Disaster Assistance Fund

C/O Dr Karen Kelley

10200 County Road 65 South

Foley, AL 36535

Your canceled check will be your tax-deductible receipt.

God Bless You All,
Dr. Karen Kelley

Poor Fellas

Pictures from Greta Van Sustern's Photo Blog www.GretaWire.com

I wonder how much longer these 2 will stay in New Orleans. They are the tough ones who say they'll never leave.

Bless their hearts.

And as the realization of how TRULY SLOW the emergency response to Katrina has been, and by hearing of my own friends who are heading up rescue in Mississippi, I must say that I was wrong to complain about people complaining! Yes, there are some out there who are being ridiculous and unrealistic but it is becoming painfully clear that 9/11 did NOT prepare our country for any other disasters.

Now, I won't buy the "because it's a black New Orleans" stuff as to being the reason for slow response. I think it's just poor planning for anything this catastrophic. Granted, WHO KNEW we'd ever see this? But then again....obviously New Orleans has been warned for decades.

I don't know...it's just sad and seems like a terrible time to complain (unless you're the one stuck on the short end of the stick).

We gotta keep helping and giving, folks. And keep praying!

The Penalty Clock

I was penalized today by a clock that was just ticking away too fast.

Today I took David to his first day of Kindergarten. It is a 30 minute drive to school IF I am going the speed limit. Today I was not. I left 10 minutes later than I wanted to leave and barely squeaked into "drop off" at 9:35, which is the very last minute you are supposed to get there. Because of the rush, the teacher scooted him out the door quickly and shuffled him down the sidewalk to his class.

I was yelling out the window, "Bye David! I LOVE YOU! Have a great day, honey!"

My penalty: I didn't get a look back, a wave, a nod, or ANYTHING!

(Sniff)

It's my fault for being late. If I had only left at 9 like I was supposed to, I could have gotten to school at the perfect 9:30 drop off time...and without speeding! I should not have answered that phone call this morning. I should have packed the girls' clothes that I needed to bring with, last night. I should have told Harris Anne to put her piano books in her backpack instead of gathering them myself this morning. I should have packed my own clothes for the day (I had originally hoped to go walking at the park this morning and would need a change of clothes. Instead, that phone call I answered this morning required me to come by Mom's house instead to place an order that couldn't wait until this afternoon.)

So, I'm minutes away from rushing out the door again, getting lunch for the girls, eating it super-fast with them in the parking lot, rushing H.A. back inside for her piano lesson while I rush back to David's school to pick him up at 1:15. Then rush back to get H.A. from piano. Then, after all that rushing, I will have 3 hours to kill before going to church. Hopefully the girls will be able to complete ALL of their homework in that time. Surely they can.

So it is with a commuting family of 3 school-aged children and 1 WAHM with toddler in tow.

Time to wipe away the tears and put sweat beads in their place. This day isn't even halfway over yet!

Calling All Josephs

Anybody out there who can interpret dreams? Sure, it'd be awesome if you were gifted with Prophecy from God but I'd still like to hear from those amateurs who just read a book somewhere...

Recurrent locations of my some dreams:
my childhood home but from a higher altitude (almost as if I am seeing it while flying flat near the ceiling)
a scary, pathetic, nobody-having-fun water park/amusement park
my elementary school
Elevators that don't stay to an up/down pattern (they can travel in all directions like Bugs Bunny's) -- Dreams here are ALWAYS scary or at least anxious (i.e. -- not being able to find the correct floor)

Recurrent 'characters':
Snakes -- specifically black and red/black ones
Frogs
Family Members, Best friends or boyfriends whom I've never seen in my life

Recurrent themes:
Flying (usually a good dream)
Little creatures dying (gerbils, bunnies)
Being stuck in places/areas when I need to be somewhere else in an emergency situation

Quick synopsis of recent dream:
At the scary waterpark, after walking the water slide (it's terrible) I go to the gift shop to pick up our gerbils (I think i dropped them off there while I went to the park). I decided to carry one of our gerbils in my hands and left the other in the cage. I called the gerbil by the wrong name (kinda like I do my own kids -- even though I know the difference). When I put her back in her cage, a snake had been hiding and tried strangling her. I saved her but when I put her in the next cage, another snake killed her. I started noticing snakes were everywhere in the gift shop. I tried to warn everyone else about their danger but no one else was afraid of them and began picking them up and playing with them. I started freaking about that and saying I'd never stay in such a crazy place. Instead, I would go to Donnie's cousin's apartment (a cousin he doesn't have and that I've never seen before -- yet he was right there) but we couldn't get out of the hotel because the elevators wouldn't work.

How's that for a combo of recurrent situations? I think it was the anxiety of the week (I dreamed this last week) that brought much of it to surface.

Looking forward to comments!

Bath Time

Sunday Night Bath

1 Peter 4:1-11

Oh how I feel guilty for writing my post of complaints the other day. I have an inner struggle with the true emotions and feelings I have about watching the world around me but also the reminder of need to be thankful and compassionate.

I can understand the complaining of people who are still stranded in New Orleans and elsewhere but is it really right for press conferences to be held saying that not enough is being done? Maybe I'm naive but I'm seeing as much effort as could possibly be given to help these destroyed towns. Yes, it seems like we should all be able to do MORE but in reality, it's a TOUGH situation and there is no magic wand that will save everyone at once. I know there must be so much agony hovering in the air over the people southwest of here.

I hurt for the people who are being deceived by the Great Deceiver and who are sinking farther into their misery instead of hanging on to the hope and blessing of the life they still have. I'm sure there are many who wish they had died (suicide already being an issue) but that is such an offense to God. Oh how I hope that we as Christians can do what we are supposed to do to help them. Giving money is important, I know, and is something we all should do ( http://www.samaritanspurse.com/ ) but it's a shame it's so difficult to do much more.

I'd like to go down there to be available if anyone needed anything. I'd like to open my home to someone who needs a place to stay. The reality of these two things seems so difficult, though... But maybe God will show us where we can help more. Obviously, He provides the strength to do whatever He wants us to do and I know that if He wants me/us to do more in our family, He will provide the way.

Here's God's Word 1 Peter 4:1-11

1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Happy Birthday!

I love you, Donnie! Thanks for all you do for our family! God has blessed us immeasurably by putting you as the head of our home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sweetie!

Amazing Rocky Road

I just finished a YUMMY bowl of rocky road ice cream with a teaspoon of natural peanut butter plopped on top. Mmmmmm.

Yes, it's nearly 11PM and yes, that's bad for my gut but I REALLY needed it.

(Marci knows what I'm talking about, right Mjo?)

Let's forget the fact that I often have ice cream & peanut butter for an evening snack and just chat a second about WHY I needed it so badly tonight.

1st phone call of the day. Mom rings to say that she was in a car accident last night and that she's fine except for a few airbag burns and soreness. The person she hit (who cut in front of her to turn left -- coming from the opposite direction) was only slightly injured in her knee. Mom's Sequoia had to be towed but hopefully is repairable.

In the same call, Mr. Morris from EHBC died (grandfather of a boy that I taught in a class at EBC this summer and father of adult friends). He was in a terrible car accident in GA.

ALSO in that call, Big Dog (Mom's Dalmatian) is sick. He hasn't eaten anything for 3 days and is losing weight. They're taking him to the vet.

AND, we had the unspoken acknowledgement that yesterday was one year since Granny died. What a crappy day for Mom.

And all of that is before getting out of bed.

Thankfully I also got the good news about Weezy before getting out of bed so that helped.

Next I realized that I slept/talked on the phone entirely too long for all that needed to be done today.

Big project for the day -- Flea-ridding.
Our second bout with fleas had to be stopped ASAP (our first bout was when we adopted Andy from the wooded kennel home he was being raised in). You see, our new flea treatment for Lucy has sent fleas JUMPING OFF OF HER! She's perfecty fine but our carpets house bugs that DISGUST us on a regular basis. They really love the taste of Shayne so she has sad little bites on her ankles. She looks white-trashy from the knees down. I hate it. So enough was enough and we arranged for the Zap guy to come de-flea the house and yard. This required vacuuming the house (of which I first had to get EVERYTHING off the floor -- easier said than done) and getting Lucy to the groomer for a 'bath & tidy.' She had to be flea-free when she returned.

It was a lot of work to do before 10AM. In fact, it was so much that I didn't finish it until 11 even though I really needed to be out of the house by 10. Oh well.

Next, I had to deal with Hudson SCREAMING-CRYING when we left Lucy at the groomer. It was sad, sweet, and annoying all rolled into one.

Move forward to time to get Lucy picked up and back home. By this time, we're hearing of the problems expected with gasoline. I start looking for the cheapest gas to fillup. I run across several gas stations where the regular unleaded was sold out. I finally did find gas for 2.61 a gallon. I thought it was insane at first because I had seen it for 2.42 that morning but when I rode home later and saw 3.09 on WF Road, I thought I'd croak! What in the world?!? I'm paranoid about this gas stuff now. We are on the road WAY too much for these prices and certainly for a gas shortage.

Bored with my sob story yet?! (And yes, I am quite aware that my moaning and whining is pathetic considering the struggles THOUSANDS (Million?) of other people are struggling with today.)

When I get Lucy home, I do a quick answering machine check before getting back out for church. There are 2 messages that really need my attention yet I knew I'd be unable to call them until at least tomorrow/Thursday afternoon. Ugh.

At church, again reminders of the storm devastation. Also of the struggles of friends of ours whose 14 month old baby just had her 2nd liver transplant (first one she received last week failed her) and of our 19 year old friend who is recovering from paralysis after a 4wheeler accident. Annnnnd we find out that Mr. Morris (see above) had actually BLINKED his desire to be taken off life support! So his family did! AGONY!

Oh, and I agree to teach a women's bible study about the "six myths that rob many Christian women of the abundant life that Christ intends for us to live." Sigh.

Then there is a situation with Shayne and a friend at church that sent my emotions for a spin. I can't get into it here but I had to breathe and count to 10 many times.

Then I get home and watch more Fox News. Then I watch local news. And then I come to the computer totally bummed. I get a few sad emails about different things. A couple stress me out a little further but thankfully one lets me know that a friend from Biloxi is safe.

The ice cream helped :)

And now that I'm a little clearer in my thinking (how addicted to ice cream that I am actually rational now!?) I can cling to this verse: "May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant." Psalm 119:76

Weezy!

Weezy has been found! Praise God. She and her boys are fine. She has been stranded at her Uncle's house. She hopes to be able to rumble her way to her home today.

Please pray...

A picture from a Biloxi/Gulfport Newspaper...

I have just gotten sicker and sicker about the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. It only takes a few minutes of watching the TV coverage to see that this was a catastrophic storm.

As I mentioned earlier, there are several people that I know in the affected areas that we have been concerned about but we are particularly worried about one specific family. I'm asking you all to please pray for them.

Our friend, Louise ("Weezy") has not been in contact with any friends or family since Sunday night. She lives in an area near Gulfport, MS and last anyone heard, she had moved inland only a couple more miles (like 5 miles from the coast). We're hoping she was able to move farther away before the Hurricane hit. She has her 2 boys with her. Please pray for their safety and for them to be able to contact loved ones soon. Everyone else at her office has been accounted for. We KNOW she would contact someone as soon as she could so we're all very worried.

Weezy is a dear friend of my sister-in-law, Donna and we've known her for many years through their close friendship. Donna is also very, very concerned.

I'll post something here as soon as we hear something.

Thanks for the prayers.

Walking On Sunshine

We're still hearing the wind whip around the house some this morning but things are good here. It is dramatically cooler today than what we've suffered with in the past few weeks. You can still see the direction of the 'feeder bands' when watching the clouds race across the sky. We actually have a few patches of blue in the breaks of the grey, though (see picture attempt).

Yesterday we had the possibility of tornadoes and I actually had my heart racing at one time. I was making some Mannatech-related phone calls when my Mom beeped in to make sure I was watching the news.

When I found my favorite weatherman, Rich, he showed us a radar of a tornado just a few miles away from us and the cell in which it travelled was heading our direction. I told all the kids to get their blankets and sit in the bathroom. We hooked up the small portable DVD player and they watched "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" while I watched Mr. Thomas on TV (for non-locals...Rich Thomas is our weather guy). As I stood watching that cell on TV, I kept one eye out the window. My heart started pumping harder when I saw this crazy black cloud that hung in a V-shape heading over the pine trees in our direction. I decided to change which Thomas I was watching :)

We prayed for safety and everything was fine. A tornado DID cause some damage a few miles from us and I wouldn't be surprised if the clouds I saw held the tornado that hit them.

Here's a picture during one of the calmer gusty times during the day. Our biggest gusts came overnight when I couldn't take a picture.



All is well here, and for that I am grateful. I am trying to find information on some friends in live in Biloxi and am waiting for Donnie to update me on a relative of his that lives in New Orleans. I hope to hear from several others in the coming days (particularly some of my Mannatech friends from Mobile, MS and New Orleans).

Katrina was bad news for so many. I'm sitting here thankful that we didn't have to worry about power outages here (so that I could post in my blog!) yet there are THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS who are grateful for their LIVES and will be worrying about food and shelter! And then there are those who are grieving the loss of loved ones... We need to pray for them all.

Katrina and the Waves

We're gonna be hearing about her a bunch and probably for a long time.

If you've never visited New Orleans, you might have missed your chance.

Tomorrow Is The Big Day

Dream Home Giveaway. 9AM tomorrow morning. Rumor has it only 100 or so people are qualified! It's possible not all of those will even show up!

I know 4 other people who are qualified for the home along with me.

We'll see what happens!

A Gardener I Ain't

Remember that weed? Today was the day it was yanked from the ground. Even its roots are ugly.

I also removed everything else in the little flower bed that thing called home.

It was horrible.

There was ants EVERYwhere....and I mean EVERYWHERE in that flower bed. It was disgusting.

It took me a gazillion trips to get all the tools I needed for this project because my non-gardening mind didn't think of everything I'd need beforehand. My new $0.88 gloves from Wal-Mart got covered in ants early in the game so I did most of the work barehanded. I didn't have a wheelbarrow to load the stuff into so I put it all into an old plastic pool. I then had to drag the pool to the old, white van and loaded it into the back. I took the load to dump around some construction areas.

It was absolutely ZERO fun. I do not understand how someone can enjoy this kind of work.

I then raked the newly naked area and seeded it with some sort of 'coastal' grass that is supposed to be good for really high-sunlit areas. I lightly raked it again and watered it.

Whew.

Hope it does something worthwhile.

There are 4 more beds like this that need to be removed. I will work on them another day.

Sissy Pike

THIS looks like a great video series for the girls.

Life Truly Is Sweet!

Worries turned to joy tonight! My Honda Odyssey went on the blink last night when we were going out to dinner. The darn thing just wouldn't start. I had been noticing for the last couple of days that electrical things were going kinda slow (sliding doors mainly). When the van acted up last night, we were REALLY worried. We could tell the battery was OK becuase we were able to turn on the A/C and windshield wipers and lights, etc. while we tried to start the engine but it just never would turn over. It made a yucky 'click click click' sound.

So we were resolved today that we were going to have it towed to our friend to be checked out. He sent his truck up today to tow 'er in but we couldn't even get the doggone thing in neutral so it couldn't be towed. That turned out to be a great blessing.

When Donnie came home (because he had to help me with all the taxi-ing of the day) he tried the van again and IT STARTED!!!

He drove it in and left it. Being so late in the afternoon, we knew it would surely be sometime tomorrow afternoon before we could get it back...and that was IF we were lucky.

Of course, we've been praying about this car. Our minds have been racing as to how expensive our problem was going to be. We've been worried about how long before we could get it back. We had already made arrangements (and even had in our possession) to drive Mom's vehicle until at least tomorrow afternoon. Things were going to be OK and we were grateful for everything working out but we didn't know how quickly God would answer our prayers.

When I got home in Mom's car tonight, I found a message from our friend J saying that the van was fixed and that he left the key in it at his shop so that we could pick it up TONIGHT!!! He said the 'connectors were dirty' so he cleaned them and things are working fine!!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

Donnie went by my parents' house to pick them up, they helped drive the Honda home, got their Toyota back, and went home again.

And guess what.....we don't owe a dime for the van. Our friend said, "Don't worry about it."

I'm working on a 'thank you' gift.

Life truly is SWEET! God answered our prayers SO fast and gave us the encouragement we really needed.

THANK YOU LORD!

Please settle this...

Is this a weed? (I think 'yes' so please let me know before I yank it!)

Today is better

OK. Yesterday's post was about hearing that a family who needs glyconutrients is having doubts about using it (I'm thinking maybe a doctor discouraged them and possibly even said 'no'). Today I am finding out that it's possible there wasn't the skepticism that I first believed. I might be wrong but I at least have hope that the family is still open to the idea.

In my struggle of wondering "do I continue to emphasize how important glyconutrients are?" or "do I leave it alone?" I prayed and prayed for an answer.

I received an answer by reading Acts 3 & 4. I also received encouragement from a friend through email and then through a phone call today saying, "Keep telling them!" The said friend is also going to be encouraging the family to DO this.

The doctor for this family gave good news tonight. The condition is possibly not as bad as first thought. Therefore, glyconutrients are even MORE likely to be helpful! Now even MORE people are wanting to encourage the family to give it a try! PRAISE GOD!

I don't like telling God what to do but in my prayers these last few days I told Him, "God, if you're going to make me feel so confident in telling them this will be good for them, you're going to HAVE to follow through with this because I really don't want to be seen as a liar when this is said and done. I want you to make sure I'm telling the truth or STOP ME from saying anything! I don't want to offer false hope! So God, if I'm right in thinking you want me to continue with this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do the healing! I believe you will! Encourage my faith! I'm proclaiming the truth that YOU OFFER HEALING TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS' NAME and that I BELIEVE in Jesus' name! This is for your glory, Lord....I don't want to do anything outside of your will. I know you are faithful....please keep ME faithful!"

God is doing some mighty things! I'm recognizing God's work in SO many areas right now. It's getting exciting!

PRAISE GOD!

"So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NLT

So important...

Y'all. I don't even know how to write about it.

This keeps flashing into the memory of my heart:
So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters. Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT)

This situation is so serious. When has 'conventional' promised anything better? I'm not making promises but it is HOPE and the 'conventional' isn't offering much of that.

Lots of praying going on around here...

Recent Snaps

Shayne & Harris Anne rode our "neigh"bors (LOL) horse during her birthday party.



I'm still chuckling over "neigh"bor :)



Hudson is a computer geek, too. It's truly astonishing how well he manuevers the mouse. He can pick colors to 'color' with by clicking on the appropriate crayon at the bottom of the screen and then he can pick which picture he'd like to play with by clicking on the 'library'. David and Hudson both impress us to pieces with their computer skills.



I forgot to take a picture of the girls on their first day of school but this one was taken on the 2nd day ... after getting home and remembering to take it real quick before they changed out of their uniforms. That's why they look so enthusiastic.

Udderly Ridiculous :)

Taken from Cheryl who took it from Tammy.
Funny :)

Dance Contest

Y'all have seen some of the pictures I've posted of our living room performances but let me share with you a piece of paper I found.

These are exact quotes from Shayne's dance contest score sheet:
David - Wonder Dance David, I love the song so much! My favorite part was when you shaked your bottom so well. I'm going to give you a 9.
Harris - Great job. I like part where there's a big disco part about it. I'm a big fan of Disco. So I'm going to give you a nine.

No machine?

Why do people in 2005 still not have answering machines or voice mail? (OK Skye, I have forgiven you since you have email and I can drop you a quick line if necessary but it really IS time for a machine!)

My brain is running 90 miles-a-minute and when I get/make the time to call someone to tell the something, I'd like to not have to remember to call them again later. A machine is actually preferable to a live person many times because I'd rather just relay the information and avoid the casual chit-chat that is necessary with most people.

Ugh. I'm off to try calling a non-machine person AGAIN.

A couple more pics

From this morning's MannaWalk :)

Take One Step

It's only one step but every great accomplishment starts with ONE STEP. And that's what we did today. Several of us have been raising funds for today's MannaWalk (still time to donate if you want to! hint hint! www.MannaKids.info ) We know that this effort is going to help change the world. We're doing our part to help the quality of life of AIDS kids around the world and when those positive changes occur, the rest of the world will take notice (they already are!)

So here are a few snapshots from our VERY HUMID and MISTY day at MannaWalk!

Wasting Time

I followed a link from Jen's Magical Website to build this. It's supposed to be me.

You can build your own here.

Snaps from today

Y'all might know these folks.



And here's a picture of the performance held in the living room this afternoon. H.A. is rapping and Shayne is 'scratchin' like a DJ!



David's in the groove...


Hudson doing his daily workout routine :)

(Sorry for the faint fog on the pictures. I had a smudge on the lens and didn't know it until I uploaded these pictures.)

Some people will be offended...

EDITED - that entry was ENTIRELY too long. I'm sorry. To see what has been removed, click on the "source" link below.

Some of you might know that I'm raising money for www.MannaRelief.org to give nutritional products to children with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The program I am working with is called MannaWalk (and you can donate at www.MannaKids.info PLEASE!!)

This is a program that is not an 'awareness' program and it's not a 'find a cure' program. It is a program that is providing PROVEN RESULTS in quality of life for children with HIV/AIDS. 100% of funds raised goes towards providing nutritional products to children and we've already seen these same nutritional products providing incredibly positive results in sick children. The diplomats of Africa are almost begging us to grow our ministry in their different areas of the continent where the most children are being affected. In fact, the Ugandan Ambassador to the US wants us to expand our provisions to pregnant mothers in hopes of improving babies quality of lives before they are even born! I believe the LORD will answer her prayers for this kind of help one day...

Anyway, in the spirit of fundraising I felt I should share the difference between the kind of fundraising we're doing with MannaWalk versus the fundraising some OTHER organizations are doing. Some people are offended when I don't donate money to certain charities but I feel I must be a good steward of my money and must only give money to the charities that are moving forward with the LORD's work and not the work of businessmen and women.

Who am I to judge the LORD's work versus other charities? I don't want to be a 'judge' but a 'fruit inspector.' The following editorial work conveys many of my opinions and beliefs. Of course, there are points in this article that might stretch to the far side of what I believe but as a whole, I'm on board.

Again, be warned that some of you WILL be offended.

THE CURE CON

Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The Cure Con: how you're being deceived by charities that claim to be racing for the cure for cancer and other chronic diseases

Source: http://www.newstarget.com/009587.html