Wonderful Christmas Day

It was a wonderful Christmas Day with family. We went over to my brother's house and opened presents, played Mexican Train and ate deep fried turkey. It was a very relaxing day.

The girls seemed to enjoy their gifts. Emily got two pandas, a telescopy, a panda calendar, loads of clothes and a camelback backpack. Erin got two giraffes, a MP3 player (she calls and ipod), a giraffe calendar, loads of clothes and a camelback backpack.

It's so nice seeing pure joy and love and happiness on my children's faces. You don't always get to see it and to experience it is just so rejuvenating. It tells you that your doing alright raising them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!

Christ was born on Christmas Day and came into the world to be my saviour and yours! I know I haven't been in the spirit of the season but God is good and has a way of changing me when I least expect it. It's not because my shopping is done or that I've been spending some great time with my "sisters" and their family, but He gave me something that I have been searching for the past 17 years now. A pleasant, warm family holiday with my husband's family.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've loved them since we were dating and they have always loved me and welcomed me to the famiy but we all know that each family unit is unique and does things differently and it is hard to join any's family. Marty and his sister are 5 years apart and different as night and day and we just have never been very socialable, but I so enjoyed spending last night in her presence and it makes me sick thinking of the past missed oppurtunities. We have all changed as we have grown and had families and I think that it has finally reached us all at the same time that we are family and special to each other. Watching Emily and Erin play with Sorcha was so beautiful. Hearing them make her laugh and share with her was a true joy.

I know that Christ was working here. I can't explain it but it's something I know.

And I'd like to show you the very special necklaces Anna made each of us and the craftmanship and thought she put in them is awesome.



I pray that each of you have a very Merry CHRISTmas and that you tell each and every member of your family how important that they are no matter what differences you have.

Just can't

I've been trying to get in the Christmas spirit and I just can't seem to find it. We didn't get the tree until Saturday and didn't put it in the house until Sunday. It finally got decorated on Tuesday. That's is about the extent of my decorating. I just haven't done it. My shopping is in the same state of not done. I've got nothing, NOTHING, for either girl and have just today purchase a present each for my sisters in Florida. I still have two brother-in-laws, one nephew and one niece in Florida to purchase for before I can mail their gifts.

I have made some small purchases but nothing is striking me as "the" gift to give. I love giving. I so want to purchase a gift for absolutely everyone I know and for ever child of my dearest friends. Well, so much for that this time. I just can't.

I'm not normally a "I can't" person. I'm normally a think positive it will work person, but something just isn't there this time.

This is really sad to me too. Christmas is about God's perfect gift to us and about family and love and hope and good cheer. It's not suppose to be stress and I don't a have time. My sisters aren't coming "home" this Christmas and there have been no special plans made with our parents. While my friends are taking trips to visit relatives, we've got no "family" plans. Now why is that? My mom and brother live just down the road as does Marty's mom and dad yet there has been no talk of being together. Maybe this is why I'm not in any rush to celebrate which is a terrible reason because then my girls are missing out on the joy and warmth that I always remembered from my childhood.

I'm not depressed guys, just random thoughts as I'm home alone while Marty is doing inventory. Now you see why he doesn't leave me alone with my own brain very often.

Emily is in "Faith Finders" at church and much to her dad's and my surprise, she read the reading for the lighting of the advent candle this past Sunday. We didn't know that the class was doing this and I just happened to luck into having my camera there. She is such a great reader and she did an outstanding job.

This coming Sunday the girls will be singing during the worship service. The children who wish to sing, will sing "Jesus, Born on this Day" and "Joy to the World". It should be very beautiful. So if you're able and would like to hear them then come this Sunday at 10:30 am.

Well, time for bed

Christmas Survey

I was tagged by my good friend Tiffany who is the main reason why I blog and who has the most reason to be sore at me for not doing it lately. (This is her hint to do it. THANKS Tiff.)
On with the survey...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? both but I really perfer wrapping
2. Real or artificial tree? REAL. I do not do fake trees. I can't... I married Clark Griswald.
3. When do you put up the tree? The first Saturday in December
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Eve or Day
5. Do you like eggnog? No
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My guitar that I got in third grade because my third grade teacher played one and she was my favorite teacher.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? 4 or 5 of them.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My mom
9. Easiest person to buy for? My children
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't remember so it must not be too bad?
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail but I'm usually late
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoon Christmas Vacation and Charlie Brown Christmas
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? November
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mom's fudge
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored
17. Favorite Christmas Song? Go Tell It on the Mountain song by Garth Brooks, anything from Tran-siberian Orchestra or Go Fish's Snow album
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Well can't you
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Tinkerbell
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning except for our Christmas PJs that we get every year.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Nothing
23. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme? No
24. What do/did you leave for Santa? Cookies and milk

Memphis Zoo Snooze

Have you ever spent the night in the Zoo? We have. Our troop went over to Memphis Saturday afternoon and spent the night learning different thing about animals. We were given personal visits with a hen named Kellogg, an iguana named Indy, a rat named Louise, an American Thestral named Nina and yest a ball python named Monty. If you know me at all then you know there is no love connection between me and snakes and usually I'm not in the same county (if I can manage it) much less the same room where one is not behind glass but actually being touched by girls that are in my care. Well, I made a deal with my girls that if every single one of them (23 in all) and every single parent that accompanied us (9) would touch Monty, then I would also. I just knew I would have at least one person hold out. Well as you can see from the below picture, I was betrayed. I had to touch a snake. No it did not feel like I thought it one and no I do not have plans to do that again. I did it for my girls and my girls only. No one can say that I transferred my fears to my children.

The next morning we were served a light breakfast and then lead on a personal tour before the zoo opened to the public. This is an awesome experience and one I never forget.

4-H Camp

Well, my baby is growing up.

Today the 4th graders head to 4-H camp for an overnight learning experience. Since I'm the girl scout leader and the children's minister, I always go with my girls on their trips but this is a no parent trip and it's weird being on this end of it. This trip is the highlight of the 4th grade. All the kids in all the low grades talk about getting to go when they are in 4th grade and Em has been looking forward to it.

We packed her bag last night and I called her dad on my way to work just to double check that she had everything before they left for day care. (Marty takes them because I'm already gone.) The 4-H center is a really cool place though. It was built back when I was actually in 4-H in the early 80's. I was one of the first 4-H kids to actually "camp" there. It's more like a hotel then camp though because they have dorm rooms not cabins or tents to sleep in. It is a beautiful facility that has a large lake, swimming pool, tennis courts, ropes course and many other activities. I actually went on my Emmaus walk there. They are suppose to do some canoeing and the ropes course and several other enjoyable activities. I'm very excited for her but will miss her tonight. It is so weird to not be going.

Lord, watch over my baby and keep her safe.

Exciting Weekend

Wow! What a fun weekend we had. Saturday evening my junior troop got together for our annual pumpkin carving. It is so much fun to watch the girls as they clean out their pumpkins and then to start work creating their master piece. Most of these girls started this when they were in second grade. As they have grown their skills have grown and we had some very awesome pumpkins this year.

Troop 130 Pumpkins

Then there was the first annual Christ UMC Trunk n Treat. What an amazing turn out! I had my concerns but of course God took care of all of it. We had 8 trunks and 8 activities, plus music, a space walk and hot dogs with chips and drinks. They counted 170 people at 6:00 pm. There is no telling how many people went through total. I can't wait to plan next years event. Course I have to get through Christmas, Easter and VBS first.

Jonah and the Big Fish

Me and my buddy

Thank you Lord for all the blessing in my life

Nothing Exciting

We'll I just read my friend Tiffany's blog and I just don't know what I have to share that is as exciting as her experiences right now. Yeah Tiffany!! I'm living vicariously through you, girl. Make sure we're enjoying every minute of life.

No, seriously, we all have wonderful lives but it just seems like I don't having anything different to say.

This past weekend we took the Girl Scouts on an overnight camping trip at Petit Jean Mountain. I had two girls that had never slept in a tent and two moms with little camping experience. We really had a good weekend. I love camping in October. The weather was beautiful and the girls had great time. At least that was what they told me.

Also this past weekend Kristi and I went to our rehearsal/training for working the next Noahs of Ark Walk to Emmaus. We were so excited that when we got back we were able to get two people to also go on the walk as pilgrims. One was a lady that I have been praying would go since my walk 2 years ago. God is good all the time! I can't take pictures of the walk because it isn't allowed but I will write what I can. Please pray for the pilgrims of Walk 131 starting Thursday at 6:00 pm until Sunday at 5:00 pm.

For those that know that I love math, here is an email that a dear friend just sent me and instead of just forwarding it, I thought I'd post it here.


Beauty of Math!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
1111 1 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this...101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D 12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude willGet you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

DeColores

Happy Late Birthday, Tiffany

Okay we know that we are late but on Tuesday (your birthday) each one of us had a sick child so we are just now getting to have our margarita in your honor. We love you and miss you. Hope to hear from you soon.

Trust me when I say we did your birthday up right last night!!!!!

Never play mexican train dominoes while drinking margaritas.

Sick Children

It's day 3 at home with my sick child. Em came home Monday from school with a fever and looking very much unlike her lively self. She was crying and just so upset. I can't stand to see my kids feeling this bad. For the last two days we have been fighting this temp that has gotten as low as 99.8 and as high as 104.2. You can easily tell when it has risen because she just looks lifeless and just wants to be under the covers. She isn't reading and is really watching very little tv. NOT my healthy child at all.

We went to the doctor on Tuesday and she has an ear infection and red throat. So she is on antibotics but it isn't working yet. Let's pray that she will be well soon and can go back to work and I can go back to work.

Tag your it

Okay I've been tagged by Tiffany because I've been to lazy to update my blog.
Tiff, I do this for you!!!!

Two names you go by:
1. Charolette
2. Jo
Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Shorts
2. Jesus rainbow t-shirt
Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Hiking
2. Scrapbooking
Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. A well child
2. A hair color and style
Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Scout (our lab)
2. Honey (the sweetest but stand-off cat)
Two people who will fill this out:
1. Good questions?????
2. ???????
Two things you ate today:
1. Fiber one bar
2. Just got up so nothing else yet
Two people you last talked to:
1. Marty
2. Krisit (last night)
Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Going back to work (fingers crossed)
2. Field survey
Two longest car rides:
1. Arkansas to Melbourne, Florida
2. Akransas to Lubbock, Texas
Two favorite holidays:
1. Halloween
2. Christmas
Two favorite beverages:
1. Diet Coke with Lime
2. Margarita (cheers Tiff!)

Really Good Day

Yesterday was a really good day and it was even a Monday.

I was up on time and out the door on time so there was no rushing to beat the clock. Instead a did something that I've rarely done and that was to turn off my radio and pray. I prayed from my house all the way to work which is about 28 miles or 30 minutes. It was just right to start out my day like that. I believe that it helped me stay calm and focused yesterday.

Well, work went smoothly, I got something accomplished, I recorded all my food intake, I got to go walk for 15 brisk minutes at lunch, and I got to have a wonderful afternoon with my family. Marty had gone to school with the girls for Emily's birthday and so he was home at 3:30 with the girls and we had all evening together.

I cooked salmon and rice which both of my children ate some of and that was really really good. The dishes got done and all the home work was done. We did discover that we are going to need to get more computers in my house. We do have two but one is being rebuilt by a friend at the moment (no pressure but could use it back). Emily had a research project to work on and Erin accesses her Math book that way. She really loves math and looks forward to having work to do on the computer in her Math book. Well that meant that I didn't do anything on it (which really was a bad thing) but I could have balanced the checkbook or did some church planning or some scout planning.

I have been told before that when we put God first and start our day with Him that all things will fall into their appropriate places and yesterday was a wonderful example of it. I am going to try this on a daily bases, so, yes, I started to day with prayer and today is progressing just as nicely. Priority is a hard thing to do but all things are possible with God.

General thoughts

I guess I haven't been posting as much lately because school has started back. It's not really that we have had that many activities it just processing all that is going on.

The girls are loving school and their teachers. I'm so glad they have who they have. You might remember I posted that I was concerned but I'm quickly getting over that. They have very little homework and all their papers have been 100's or 90's.

Emily says her teacher is very funny and puts a lot of science into the classroom. She does great with science so the combination is great. Erin's teacher seams to be more math oriented and that is Erin's subject. She is all about the numbers. Well she likes bugs too. It is so cool to hear my girls talk about habitats and environments and sedimentary/metemorphic/igeneous rock types and species of trees when we are out on hikes or just around the yard. I don't think I learned these type of things until 8th grade earth science. School is way cooler then when we were in it.

That is one of the great wonders of being a parent, rediscovering the world as your children learn it.

Labor Day Weekend

What a fabulous weekend!!!! We had a great family weekend.

Saturday we got up and went down to the river trail and road bikes for 5 miles round trip. Then we came home changed and headed to a friends house to enjoy their pool for an hour or two. We came home and Marty grilled pork chops and then we set around and played Skip Bo for the evening.

Sunday we got up and went to church and then came home and loaded our GPS for an afternoon of Cabot geocaching. We haven't cached in a year and just had to get the new ones that have popped up so close to home. We finished with another evening of Skip Bo.

Today we got up and packed for a morning at Pinnacle Mountain. We started on the west end of the base trail and walked it's 1.5 mile to the East Summit trail head. We then took the East Summit trail up to the top of the mountain, where we rest for a bit before we took the West Summit trail back down. While on the way up, Grandma called and we invited her and Pop to come out to meet us for lunch at the bottom. We were almost down when Erin almost stepped on this guy.

She loves bugs so I took this picture so she could draw him and tell about him in her nature journal. We then proceeded on down and was almost down when Erin took a tumble. She skint her knees and bruised both of her palms. She was a trooper and through some tears she walked on down. We cleaned her up and ate lunch with Grandma and Pop. Then the girls talked us into take a walk on the King Fishers trail. There we found the following critters to look at:

It was a very nice walk around.

We finished the afternoon off back in our friends pool and then dinner at Chili's. What fun to spend time with your family.

God never gives you more than you can bear.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, there will always be sunshine, after the rain .... Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall, But God's always ready, To answer your call ... He knows every heartache, sees every tear, A word from His lips, can calm every fear ... Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night, But suddenly vanish, in dawn's early light ... The Savior is waiting, somewhere above, To give you His grace, and send you His love .. Whatever your cross, whatever your pain, "God always sends rainbows .... after the rain ... "

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it! God never gives you more than you can bear – so bear it willingly and you will rejoice in your rewards!

School has started

Well, yesterday was the first day of school.

Here are the girls just before we leave the house. Erin is starting 2nd grade and Emily is in 4th. They are both very good students and are very excited about getting back to schedule.

Erin's teacher was very welcoming and warm which really made for a great start.

Emily has the new teacher who happens to male. She is very focused on the fact that he is male and was a little apperhensive about him.

I picked them up instead of them riding the bus home (upon their request) and was glad to hear that they both had a very good day. Em says that her teacher is funny but very strict. We'll see how this will work for her. I'm sure she will be fine.

Scouts also started last night. Wow are we going to have a full year. I have 12 Junior scouts and Cris has 12 Brownie scouts. We will be having lots of wild times together learning about being women in today's world.

The juniors got to pick our troop crest last night. By votes, they picked the Unicorn crest to represent us with it standing for our Friendship, our Adaptability and our Creativity.

What if I stumble????

Thursday, September 27, 2005, I left for a 72 hour spirtual retreat that, at the time I didn't know it, would change me forever. I was excited and scared all at once about going. This was something I had never done before and I was doing it alone. There were 5 other women from my church going but I had never taken any religious class or activity before without Marty. He wasn't even allowed to go with me to drop me off.

On the drive out, my fear rose and by time the sponsors from our church had left, I was in near panic mode. Friday, I walked around in a haze trying to figure out why I was there but actually started settling down. I talked with the ladies from my church and made some friends that I didn't expect to make. On Saturday morning, I received the answer to why I was suppose to be there. God's grace came so hard to my heart that I'm still in awe of the power of Him. Knelt at a foot the cross I laid down my pride, my selfishness, and my selfpity and I picked up my cross and have been carrying it every since.

Until this Saturday and then Sunday...............I stumbled and then fell. The pain in my heart is so heavy. I'm confused and bruised. I'm human and I'm subject to all human conditions. God knows I've experienced most all of them at some point. God's grace is so devine and I know that when I asked His forgiveness it was unconditional given to me but the feeling of letting Him down is so strong. Letting anyone down or being anyone elses stumbling block is something that truly weighs on my heart.

With being the Interim Children's Minister for the church, the very thought of the possiblity of causing someone to turn from God because I stumbled or fell due to my humanist causes me to be so ill. I know there is only one perfect Christian and none of us will ever compare to His glory, but ...............

I can't find the words, yet I can hear some of my friends as they will read this. "Don't be so hard on yourself." "You have to forgive yourself as God has forgiven you." "We all suffer from human errors." I know. Just hitting earth after being among Angels since October 1, 2005 can really hurt.

God, I'm listening. I don't know what your telling me but I'm trying to listen.


DeColores





What if I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

Father please forgive me for I cannot compose
The fear that lives within me or the rate at which it grows.
If struggle has a purpose on the narrow road you've carved
Why do I dread my trespasses will it leave a deadly scar?


DC Talk's - What if I stumble - from the Jesus Freak album

The count down has begun.

In 9 days Marty and I start back Disciple. We will be doing IV this time and have been doing Disciple Bible study four years. This will be 5.

In 10 days the girls start back to school. Emily has a male teacher and Erin has a teacher that moved from K to 2nd grade this year.

In 10 days Girl Scouts start back on regular meetings.

In 12 days our Wednesday night cell group starts back meeting every week at our house.

In 24 days Emily starts piano lessons back.

I could go on and on. We schedule everything, can you tell. I'm a very structured individual but even this gets to me sometimes.

I am excited about all of these starting back though. I may be a nerd but I love planning and since I'm the scout leader and the children's ministry, I'm always planning something. We have a very exciting new year in scouts since Emily moved up to Juniors. There is so many activities and badges and things to learn. I've got so much planned for them that I don't know how they will find time for school.

Then there is the new program that we are starting for the 4th through 6th graders in Sunday School. We're starting a new group called Faith Finders and have the really cool curriculum that even has it's own website that the kids have access to. They give us the feed back on it as to what they want us to teach each week and they do the choosing of the games they do, so that they get a hand in their activities. The ones that I have talked to are very excited about it.

Lots of different great things and then a few sad.

We have our going away/back to school scout party tomorrow. It will be Alexis' last event with us. She and her mom are so cool (check out her blog). Alexis is one of Emily's best friends and Tiffany is quickly becoming one of my very close friends too. It's great but now we are gonna have to communicate via our blogs because she will be in Japan. I'm very excited for them and am actually very envious too. I'm not really a mover type person but I'd love to see other parts of the world and learn different cultures. I just do it through my military friends. I told Tiffany that Alexis is gonna have to get a webcam so she can still attend our meetings. I've already sent her an invitation to our private troop blog so she can still communicate with the girls. Another thing that is wonderful about Tiffany that we are going to miss is she knows all of the Camp Story Girl Scout songs and she has been our teacher. So the webcam will have to serve two purposes, to keep Alexis connect and so Tiffany can still teach us music.

I'll try to get a picture of Tiffany and Alexis tomorrow at the party.

August already

I can't believe that it is August already. Scouts, School and Small Group are starting back and I just can't see where the time is going to come from. We stay too busy these days. I'm always feeling somewhat rushed. I love all that I do I just wish I had more oppurtunity to do it. Thers'e only one activity on my plate that I'd like to give up and I can't because it's the one that pays the bills.

Work is not what it use to be. It use to be interesting and busy and changing. Now it's slow, stressful and full of politics. I don't like politics.

Well, I know I have to make the lemonade out of lemons so I won't complain. I have job with great benefits and when we do have funding it is rewarding. I just have to make it through these slow periods I guess.

There are so many topics talk about some days and others I've got nothing. Today I could change subjects over and over. I could talk about scouts and how excited I am about this coming year. I could talk about the girls going back to school and how excited I am for Emily and concerned I am over Erin. I could talk about Children's Ministry at our church and how I'm looking for servants to help out in all departments. I could talk about starting our cell group back and that I'm not ready because my house is a disaster. I could talk about the walk that is coming this weekend and how excited I am for the women who are going. I could talk about my friend who might be going on one of the next women's walk in Oct or Nov. I could talk about how I wish more of my friends would blog and that it actually flustrates me that they don't. I could talk about the dear friend who is moving in a week to Japan and I'm going to miss.

Pick a topic. Any topic. I've don't know which to discuss. Maybe it isn't my life that is busy but just my brain with too many thoughts.

Family time

We've been having a very full summer and not much family only time so last night after SLUFY we went and had a dinner at Applebee's and planned to come home and have a family tv night. Well the best laid plans were not last night. Instead we came home to find this:

Meet Snowbell or Snowball. The girls had her named in about 10 minutes but keep going back and forth on which of these two names they like. If you were the "wonderful, thoughtful" person that left this precious gift on our doorstep, Mommy and Daddy would like to meet you so we can personally.... ahhh.... "thank you". She is a very sweet kitten and we're not sure what we're going to do with her. At the moment she resides mostly in the wash house with some trips into the big house. Mom isn't sure if the itchy eyes and sneezing last night are from her or being on the floor on the carpet. If they are because of snow then other arrangement might for sure be in the future.

Another part of our family time was getting up today and going biking. Daddy packed the truck yesterday so we could get an early start today but we were alll so tired that we sleep late. That's okay, we still made it to the county farm out by Maumelle Park and went for about a 5 mile ride. We found a new part of the trail that they've constructed and rode it.

It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed having time together. We ate lunch at Maumell Park after the ride and just enjoyed the day. It was hot but the breeze from the river was really nice.
Then in the afternoon we went to the Launius' house and swam in the pool for a while. It was really nice to cool off and relax. Now were going to watch Mary Poppins before we go to bed. Family is a wonderful thing to have.

New Blogger

Welcome Cre8iveOne to blogging. I helped my friend, Wendy, last night in setting up her own blog spot. She has been staying at our house for the last 2 weeks while she works at SLUFY. This has worked very well for us as Emily and Erin are attending SLUFY and she has been able to help us with transportation.

I don't know if she will use her blog much but it was her idea and I said I'd help her. Though her first post says I pushed her into it, this was her idea. I do hope she'll do it so that I can keep up with her and her family. It's too easy to loose touch when your more then an hour away and though I think of her and my other friends from college often, getting time to really chat with them is slim to none most of the time.

My arm hurts

Have I told you my arm hurts? If you haven't seen me recently then you haven't seen me wearing my brace again. The wrist that I had the ganglion cyst removed from in July of 1999 is having issues again. I've been to the specialist and have had an MRI. The MRI shows nothing so the Dr. suggested getting a shot in the location of the pain and if that didn't work, he would order a bone scan. Well, if you know me, then you know I don't like shots so I refused that idea. He said he would put me in a brace for 6 weeks and we could see what I thought after that. I think he thinks this will change my mind about the shot. Though I'm very uncomfortable and it hurts to be on my beloved computer, I don't think so. Shots hurt and don't try to tell me I'm being silly. I've talked to too many people that have had cortizone shots and EVERYONE has said they hurt. Thanks. No. I'll pass.

The weather here is unusually comfortable. It's not too hot and in the evening and early morning it has actuall been in the lower 70's and upper 60's. I so wish we have been camping. We love to camp and have not been able to get out as much. If we do go, I've got to be back for Sunday morning so we can't go far. Gonna have to get a better plan for this some how.

The girls are loving SLUFY this summer and we have had an extra bonus with them going. My friend, Wendy, from college is one of the teachers and she has been staying with us during the week. It has been a lot of fun seeing her and her girls and just being together.

Harry Potter is complete

I finished it! Now I'm waiting on Marty so we can talk about it. Until then I have to remain silent or go outside if a friend calls who has finished it so we can talk.

Yes. I got my copy at 12:01 am and read the first 2 chapters before turning the light off and going to bed. I then got up at 8:00 am and read until 9:30 pm only stopping for short breaks. I never went outside and I understand that it was a beautiful day out. Oh well. I still read it and am glad I did. It was very well written and I really enjoyed it and I plan on reading it again to see all that I missed the first time.

Wish I could write like that but since you've read my blog, you know I'm not gifted at writting. Oh well.

Just wanted to let the world know that I've read it and that it took me 14 hours to do it.

VBS is over Wahoo

Okay, I can finally get back to blogging. Last week was VBS and I had NO time to set at my computer. If I wasn't at VBS, then I was back at work working on a deadline that came up. Both are complete now so I have more time.

Well, okay, no I don't but it isn't as hectic at the moment.

I do need to call a Children's Ministry meeting and a Scout Leaders meeting; plan the Back to School Scout party; the Emmaus Quarterly is on the 5th of Aug; Marty's birthday is the 4th of Aug; Mom's birthday is the 6th, Bryce's birthday is the 12th, Dylan's birthday is the 22nd; there's a walk the 9th-11th; disciple IV starts the 19th; School starts back the 20th; our first scout meeting of the year is the 6th; and the Sunday School promotion day is the 19th.

I did say it wasn't hectic didn't I????

Any how VBS is over for another year and was a huge success and there were an average 90 kids there. Most we had never seen and some that are promising to come back in the fall and Kristi has already said that she wants to be the director next year. She's already looking into the 2008 VBS material and is excited about it. That is awesome!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July

Just wanted to wish everyone a safe and glorious 4th of July. Celebrate and enjoy the freedom that we so take for granted. Pray a prayer for those that are at this minute are fighting to keep that freedom for us who are not at home with their families today.

A River Runs Through IT!!!!!

The start of this 2 night Girl Scout weekend started with lots of laugher and excitement. Here are the girls just before we loaded up and headed north to Blanchard Springs Recreation Area, just north west of Mt. View, Arkansas.

We got to our campsite about an hour and half later then planned due to several traffic delays on Hwy 5, but we got the tents up before dark and got the girls fed. We had 6 brownies and 5 junior Girl Scouts this trip and 6 adults. The campsite was beautiful with a clift to our south, an open field to our west and restroom facilities to our northwest. We had 5 tents, though you only see four in this picture. Two of our dads went and their tent was located to the south east of the girls. The brown patches in the grass show the location of tents from previous campers.

We woke to a beautiful morning on Saturday and after breakfast we allowed the girls to explore the shallow cave at the base of the clift just beyond the fence of our campsite. Below you can see a picture of us at the mouth of the cave.

We did some try-it/badge work and then loaded the vehicles for the short drive to the Ozark Folk Center in Mt. View (about 14 miles away). Upon arriving at the center, the girls were asked to help make soap and wash clothes as they did in the pioneer days. We headed from the soap making to musical instruments. The girls were allowed to try different musical instruments such as spoons, guitar, lyre, and mandalin. Several of the girls showed some real musical talent. Next was a visit to the candle maker's shop where each girl received a pair of candles that they each got to dip in hot, colored wax to decorate.

The Center offers a program called Pioneer Kids that at specified times has activities for them to do. We headed there next and the girls were able to work with clay to make pinch pots. They really seemed to enjoy making a creation of their own. It was lunch time so we headed out of the Center to the picnic area for our lunch and rest. Then it was on to more adventure. We visited: the toymaker, basket weaver, broom maker, art gallery, blacksmith, country kitchen, seamstress, cooper, wood shop, quilter, pottery maker and finally the jewerler. It was a very busy afternoon.

They learned many new things. Below they are pulling cotton seeds out of the cotton boles. We had a very hard time getting them to leave. They wanted to stay until they finished the whole basket of cotton.

We headed back to camp and gave the girls a break while we started prep for dinner. The brownies gathered up to work on a try-it while the junior began working on their outdoor cooking badge. They learned how to prepare food for cooking, what a dutch oven was and how to use it. They learned how to do dish clean up using the 3-wash basin system. They were cooking tater tot casserole and brownie cheesecakes in the dutch ovens when a small rain shower hit. It was just an hour light rain and then back to business. Since they hadn't learned about fire and fire maintenance yet, after the rain they listened to Mr. Marty and Mr. Kevin on what they did to keep our cook fire going during the rain. They then prepared their hamburgers with the option of carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, onions and celery in foil packs. They gave them to the dads to place in the fire then helped the Brownies make their foil packs. Dinner was a real delite and the girls heard lots of praises from the Brownies and the adults on their hard work. After dinner, the Brownies headed to the showers while the Juniors learned about clean up, then they got their showers.

Quick note: Never sing "Johnny Appleseed" grace before dinner while camping, even if it has already rained that day and the weather report said that there was only a 20% change of showers. We all agree that this songs must be completely erased from the Girl Scout song book.

We set around the camp fire for about 10 minutes then s'mores were the next on the list. We had just gotten everyone theirs and had just started the adults when drops of rain began to fall. We had already received a weather report from home and knew that we would likely have rain for about an hour (according to what the radar showed). So we were expecting it, we just thought we would have enough time for S'mores first. Not so. The girls headed for their tents, while the adults started getting everything under cover. The light rain turned in to heavy rain quickly and all I can say is never trust the radar. Trust your gut. The rain grew heavy and set in for the night. Everything was going well until Tent 2 hollered that they were getting wet. I head to check out what was happening there and discover that the floor of their tent was indeed taking on water. It was like walking on a waterbed at first then it started to seep through. We moved these girls to one of the leaders tent and moved their wet gear to the other leaders tent. Did I mention that it is still POURING down rain? We get the girls in the new tent and then we have a discussion of what options we had. We decided that since most, if not all, of Tent 2's sleeping bags and clothes were wet that it was best to get them home. We decided to leave the adult men behind to stay with our stuff and us leaders would take the girls home to warm beds. We went to Tent 1 to let the leader who was sitting with those girls during the storm know, only to find that those girls were sound asleep. I mean dead to the world asleep. Oh well, they were dry now but it wasn't going to be long before they weren't, so stick to the game plan. We woke them up and started loading cars. We loaded all of them in two vehicles. Every trip to the vehicle, we noticed that it was getting deeper and deeper. Not a good sign at all. We finally got them all loaded in and I must say I'm very proud of the girls in our troop. Though they were in a scary situation, they cried some but we were able to calm them down easily and no one completely freaked out on us. We got them all back to Cabot safely around 1:15 am and everyone's parents came and picked them up.

After 4 hours of sleep, Kristi and I headed back up to get the equipment that the guys couldn't get loaded in their two trucks, while Cris watched our girls and had her husband cook us a wonderful lunch/dinner (what do you call it when you eat at 3:00 pm). Below is our rain soaked camp site. After getting everything loaded, we made a quick stop to walk the short trail to the Blanchard Springs Caverns exit. Below is the picture of the exit. This was what the girls were suppose to get to see today and then go in the caverns to see what the water made inside, but I guess we'll be planning another trip.

We made it home with everything and then started sorting all the stuff. We washed all the dirt off the tents and now have them hanging out to dry on my back porch.

We had a great time that I'm sure everyone will remember but I'd rather not have a "River Run Through Our Tents."

SLUFY

Tonight we had a parent meeting for the SLUFY. SLUFY (Summer Laureate University for Youth) is a summer enrichment program for Gifted and Talented Students and Emily and Erin were excepted into it this year.

Erin will be taking a walk on the wild side for home base and then head over for mathematical adventures. She will be learning about animals and their habitats and explore special patterns.

Emily will uncovering mystries in Mystory 101 then she will take cooling off in Antarctic Blast. She will be a detective in solving, writing and developing mysteries. Then she will explorer th Antarctica to learn about global warming on the ice caps.

It is promising to be a grand two week adventures that they will start July 16. Were very excited for them.

Exercise

Well, I finally got back on the treadmill. I only did 10 mins but it's a start. I did 50 crunches and 10 regular sit-ups. I had to do the sit-ups because my girls had to tell me how they have to do them at school and that I was going them wrong. I have never really minded crunches but I hate full sit-ups. I did them though, just because my daughters wanted me to. Course, they also had to do them and we even managed to get Daddy in the act. He did jumping jacks and push-ups, but since his ribs are still so sore from his boogie board accident in Florida, he didn't do the sit-ups. He'll get his chance though. We may make this physical activity increase be fore all of us now that the girls seem to want to coach me. I'll keep you updated on that.

Bitchology

I received this from a friend this morning and it fits today so I'm posting it here. I don't know the author of this but I would like to thank her, whom ever she may be. I'm with you, sister.

When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a bitch.

When I stand up for those I love, they call me a bitch.
When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts or do things my own way, they call me a bitch.
Being a bitch means I won't compromise what's in my heart.

It means I live my life MY way.
It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.
When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak against it, I am defined as a bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when I act a little selfish.
It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be.
I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.
I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!

So try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me.
You won't succeed.

And if that makes me a bitch, so be it.
I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.

B - Babe
I - In
T - Total
C - Control of
H - Herself

B = Beautiful
I = Intelligent
T = Talented
C = Charming
H = Hell of a Woman

B = Beautiful
I = Individual
T = That
C = Can
H = Handle anything

Hiking and A Wedding

This morning we got up early and headed to Pinnacle Mountain. It was a lovely morning to go climb a mountain. We started up the mountain at 7:34 am and reached the top at 8:15 am. We relaxed on the rocks and enjoyed the view and breeze then we headed back down at 8:30 am. We reached the bottom at 9:06 am. 41 mins up and 36 mins down. We would have been up it quicker if we had let Erin set the pace. She was one mission this morning and had the most energy.

After we came down, we headed home for showers so I could run the girls to their hair appointment at 11:00 am. The girls were flowergirls in the Merritt/Thornton wedding at 4:00 pm and we had their hair done along with the bride and her bridesmaids. The girls were really loving being with the bride, Lindsey, and her bridesmaids, because it really made them feel like big girls. They couldn't stop talking to anyone that would listen and hugging anyone that would let them.
Their hair looked fabulous, thanks to Spring at the Taj salon. The only problem was when we went to leave a thunderstorm had blown in and so the girls had to put garbage bags over their heads to get to the car. Again, thanks to Spring for helping get the girls out to the car. No problem, the hair was not damaged. I've never seen my girls work so hard at keeping their hair fixed.

We headed home so I could dress for the wedding then off to Conway for the before wedding pictures. We got there and got the girls in their dresses and they were ready to go. See the photo below to see how my "babies" have grown. Daddy and Mommy were all choked up about how quickly it will be their wedding.
The girls did fabulous with their part and helped make this a fabulous wedding. Lindsey and John had a beautiful wedding and we were blessed to be a part of it. We wish them a long life together full of happiness and love. Though I don't feel right about asking newly weds to babysit anymore. I've lost my babysitter!!! Oh well. I will be adding a link to Crystal Goss's site when the wedding pictures are available to view. I know I will be buying some of those.
All in all it was a GREAT day.

Last Day Relaxing in Florida

Being the last day before we have to make the long drive home, we decided to go spend more time in the sun on the beach. We got up had breakfast (at 10:30 am) and headed to the sand. We got to the beach around 11:30 am and didn't leave until 3:30 pm.

We sprayed on the sunscreen, setup our staging area and hit the waves. We had 4 boogie boards, a pail and shovel, googles, snacks and drinks. We were good. Marty spent most of his time in the waves on a boogie board, I spend time on a board, on a towel, looking for shells and watching my kids. The girls spent time both on a boogie board and body surfing. Emily is really good at body surfing waves but Erin perfers the boogie board. Which they both happen to be rather good at it. Course it helps that they are both so light so it's easier for the wave to pick them up. Us larger people are so lucky. Marty happens to be sporting a very nice bruise on his ribs on the left side thanks to a wave and a miscalculation.

It was a GREAT day at the beach. I would have taken more pictures but I was too busy being in the water.

After the beach we head back to Dianna's house and cleaned up for dinner with both my sisters and my brother-in-laws. It was wonderfully relaxing time and I really don't want to leave. But tomorrow the vacation is over. Time to head back to reality.

Bummer.

Last two days at Disney World

We had a grand time visiting the Mouse at Magic Kingdom and then Animal Kingdom. It was Marty and the girls second time to the Magic Kingdom and all of ours first time to Animal Kingdom.


We had breakfast the first day with Mickey, Pluto and Lilo & Stitch at the Polynesians Resort's Ohana restaurant. It was very nice to start the trip out this way. Breakfast was delicious and and the service was fabulous. Then the characters came around to visit us. That was really nice too. So the girls got to see Mickey before we ever entered the park.

The Animal Kingdom was day 2. Animal Kingdom is right up our liking. The Safari ride is the coolest thing. Erin loves and collects giraffes and there were three almost in touching distant of the safari vehicle and 2 more that we could see. The lucky part was that they were on Erin's side so they were almost in her face.

Now this wasn't as exciting for Emily because she loves and collects panda bears. Although they have an Asian area, there were no live panda bears which kind of disappointed her and bummed her out some. She still had a good time though.

The weather is beautiful

I've got a moment and will do my best to get this updated. It has been a long last week. Because we were leaving on Thursday evening for vacation, we had lost of little things to get done at home and work.

Work is very busy with a special project and from the time I walk in the door until I walk out I'm at my desk on the computer. This isn't bad because I like being busy but my right wrist that I had surgery on in 1999 doesn't really like it. I has been hurting for the past two week since I spray painted for VBS. Something is not right with it and I will be making an appointment when we return to see the hand special that did my surgery.

Monday was take the girls after school to the library to sign up for the summer reading program and then shopping for clothes before a church meeting at the pastors' house. Have I ever mentioned that shopping with Emily is a true adventure that I'd just as soon avoid? She is rather particular about her clothes and her taste and mind don't agree. I thought this wouldn't happen until she was a teenager?

Tuesday was another fun filled day because my suburban, which we are driving on vacation, decided that it didn't want to start after I dropped Emily off at a birthday party sleep over. I was stranded at her friends grandparents house. Luckily the neighbor took pity on me and came over while I was waiting on John and Marty to come to my aide and he fixed it. Seems that one of the battery cables had come loose and just needed to be retightened. For the recorded, I had no tools in the truck because we were cleaning it out to get ready for the trip, so this scout wasn't prepared. Shame on me. John was nice enough though to ask us to bring the sub over because we had been needing to get the rear air fix. He worked on it all evening while Marty and Erin and I went and shopped again but this time for Marty and me. You can now hang meat in my sub. THANKS John.

Wednesday was a whirl wind of work, packing and cleaning the house.

Thursday was the final day of work for Marty while I did the last minute errands: rotate tires, drop off bears for sewing, pack the bags, load the sub, grab a nap. We did all of this just for this.

Tammy works at the Cape and she had received passes for this launch and was able to get us within 5 miles of the launch pad. It was a totally awesome site and well worth the drive down.

Yesterday we spend the day at the beach trying to ride boogie boards, though we didn't do very good. Erin rode one and Emily rode one but that was it. Matt said it was a bad wave day.

Well I will post more later.

The Weekend

The weekend started off Friday evening with a birthday party for one of my dearest friend's son. Cordell turns 7 later this month, but to have friends from school come they had it Friday night. It was a great evening of laughing and joking and talking with friends.


Saturday was a buzy day. My 3rd grade brownies bridged up into juniors. It is a truely awesome occasion. Emily, my oldest, is now a junior. This also marks a land mark for me because now I'm a junior scout leader and there are a lot more badges which require a lot more work.

We had it at the city park but had to use Plan B for the location because you can't reserve the pavilions and a lady had gotten there at 7:00 am to get the pavilion for her family reunion at 10:00 am. That's okay because we are Girl Scouts and we come prepared. I called parents and had them bring lawn chairs, sent Marty to borrow some from friends, I already had tables and Cheri called Mike for more tables and we just set up our own location next the bridge. I think it was actually better because the girls were closer to the parents this way and could be heard better. We had our Court of Awards first, which is where we give activity patches and badges earned to the girls, then we bridged the 3rd graders. I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Next we were off to the house to unload, change clothes, and water the Butterfly Memorial Garden before heading to Kristi's house for her girls' birthday party. That was lot of fun, about 10 girls, 2 boys and a Karaoke machine. How relaxing!! Hee Hee. It really was a lot of fun.

Then us adult girls took Tammie out for her birthday. Enough said. This we must do more often.

Sunday was the sad part of the weekend. Kristi's little sister, Sandi, lost her battle with cancer and has gone home now to be with our gracious Lord. Kristi was able to make it see her sister before she passed away but it is still hard to let go of someone so special. It makes me realize how much my own blood sisters mean to me, as do my christian sisters. I have been blessed with so much and this only makes me remember that more. Thank you God for the lesson you have given me through this experience.

(I will post pictures when I get a chance.)

Beautiful Friends

I have the greatest friends and I have so many of them. I am truelly blessed in my life. I have a friend for every occasion of life. When I need someone to call to rant to about a school and school issues I call Emily or Stacey; when I'm needing help with church I call Tammie, Jamie, Stacey, or Christine; when I have family issues I call Dianna or Tammie; when I have issues with Girl Scouts I call Kristi, Cheri, Cris or Roni; when I want to talk about college I call Connie, Dyana and Wendy; when I need emotional support I call Emily, Stacey, Christine, Tammie, Jamie, Kristi, Cris; and when I need to go out and have a really good time well I call all of them because they are all cool. I even have friends who are boys: Allan, John, Dennis, Chip, Brad, Don. Friends are a true blessing.

Emily talks about her best friend Mei all the time. I asked her if she has other friends and she says yeah but Mei is her "Bestest" best friend, then she has about 5 other she classifies as "Best "friends which are really close friends but don't get top billing like Mei. Then she has "REALLY CLOSE" friends. She is a well rounded social butterfly.

Erin doesn't have a friend that she calls her "Best" friend. She tells me that she has too many friends for that.

I'm cool with that. I use to think that I had to have a "Best" girlfriend. That one person in the world that got me all the time and never not got me. I don't think that anymore. Each friend has a special gift to give and fills a special need within you. You should always remember to thank your friends.

That help keep you sane.

THANKS FRIENDS!!!!

Mistakes

I did a bad thing last night. I yelled at my girls. I hate to yell girls. We were at the end of our last brownie meeting for the year, nothing had gone right all night and then the girls starting playing in the daycare with things they know their not suppose to and I lost it. Erin's feelings were hurt, Emily was sullen and withdrawn and I felt horrible. I know I'm hard on my girls for a reason but I don't have to be mean or overbearing. I usually try to explain the reason they are in trouble and that cause and effect are just a part of life. If you do this, then you will get in trouble but if you do this you will be rewarded with praise and responsiblity. I can't stand it when I loose control like I did. Sometimes I blame myself because I'm the adult, yet others I blame the girls because they have been taught to mind and they know what is expected of them.

Last night was just one very big mistake.

I've got four girls that are considering not staying in scouts and I can't help but wonder if I've let the troop get too big and have let these girls fall through the cracks. They seemed to love scouts but just don't know if they want to continue. I know that I take a lot of things personally but I really love doing scouts and want each girl to love it as I do. I just saw my nephew receive his Eagle Scout award and was wondering if I would how many of the girls in my troop would make it to Gold. It is so very rare that a girl will make it to Gold. Not to dismiss the Eagle Scouts but there are a lot more Eagle Scouts then there are Gold Girl Scouts in the world.

Struggling

I am struggling with an issue concerning my youngest daughter. I don't believe my kids to be superior to anyones but I do believe both to be fairly bright and quite capable of doing very well in school. This last 3 months, Erin has be struggling with reading. She has been moving at a good pace all year but about 3 months ago she started having issues. We stepped up with helping her and did all the extra work that was asked and she is still struggling.

We just received her Iowa testing results and I can honestly say I'm in complete shock. These results, in my personal opinion, by no means resemble my daughter and her abilities. I am completely bewildered at how low they are and can't understand how she could have done this bad. She did excellant on them last year and was one of the top students in her class. This year, I haven't checked to see how she did compared to the others in her class, she is struggling with reading, spelling, writing and lanuage. Math was the only thing that she scored where I would have imagined she would have scored. Something is not right and I can't figure it out. She is excited about reading and trys reading books all the time. She can retell almost any story she reads and is very good at sounding out words, yet here we are......

We haven't said anything to her about how disappointing her scores are and we haven't had a chance to talk with her teacher. We are trying to get an appointment with her now, but haven't been able to get it set up. I can't describe the sick feeling I have over this issue. I feel like I have not been there for her or not provided something that she needed. I feel like I might be failing her.

First part of this weekend is complete

Yes I know I was suppose to be walking all night long for the Relay for Life but it closed down early due to rain. A huge thunderstorm blew up and we had to very quickly leave the field for the field house. We made due though. We started doing laps around the field house. We did get to do opening ceremonies before the rain started. I got a good picture of Kristi with her mom, Carol walking the care givers lap. Sandi, of course, could not make it but her kids came down with their grandmother and that was great. We had a wonder time and I got to do some where in the area of 50 or more laps. I stopped counting.

Well off to bed so I can get up and start working on the Memorial Garden for Breanna.

Sandi, may God take away your pain.

Breanna, we miss you with all our hearts.

Quick type something!!!!!

Yes I know it has been 2 weeks but I'm still recovering from getting sick at camp. GS Camp was great but it completely wore me out plus my allergies hated the cabin which I'm sure had mold and plenty of dust mites. But the important part is that the all the girls had a great time and it is over!!!! I will not, repeat WILL NOT, do that again.

I did not get the opportunity to take a lot pictures and I'm waiting on my moms that did to get me some. So here is the only picture that I have:


Course now that I'm doing physically better I have another marathon weekend. Tonight at 7:00pm is the Relay For Life all night walk at Cabot High School. It is from 7:00 pm until 6:00 am and then tomorrow my brownie troop is starting the construction of the Memorial Butterfly Garden in memory of Breanna Hammaker, our sister brownie we lost in October of 2005 to brain cancer. So it is going to be a very long weekend. No-dozs anyone????

I will try to take pictures. It should be a lot of fun, if I can stay awake. Oh and Marty and Erin will be there with me. Emily is going to a birthday slumber party and will probably get more sleep then us. Isn't that ironic.

Well got to get moving. I've got to get things really for tonight.

Busy Weekend

The busy weekend is about to begin.

There are two activities going on this weekend. The first is Noahs of Ark Men's Walk #127 - Walk to Emmaus. I know four men that are going and my prayers are with each of them. This is a spiritual retreat for older Christians who have read the Bible (not absolutely every word but get the just of it) and want to deepen their relationship with Christ. I took my walk in Sept/Oct of 2005 and it was the best experience religious experience of my life. I've never felt God's love so warmly and completely before.

I pray for each of these men as they embark on this journey to learn what God has for them to discover. One of these men, is entrusting me this weekend with his step-daughter so it will be easy to keep him in my foremost thoughts.

Thus the second activity of this weekend - Juliette Low Service Unit Girl Scout camp weekend. It starts tomorrow at 5:30 pm. Well at least it does for the girls. It started for me somewhere back in January or before. I know that it will be a wonderful weekend for all, but I'm already tired before we even get started. Please pray that the Lord will watch over each of these girls these weekend and let them have an open mind to learn what each activity director or staff member has to teach them. We will be learning orienteering (taught by me), ecology (taught by my mother-in-law), sports and health (taught by my co-leader, Cheri), knots (taught by a brownie leader) and first aid and safety (taught by another brownie leader).

The girls will get to make smores, sing campfire songs, go on hikes and just hang out. Did I already say I'm tired. Just thinking of all of that makes me tired.

Well, I should have some really good pictures Sunday evening, so you will have to check back.

DeColores Ron, Russ, Jeff and Scott. My prayer time is 6:00 am Friday morning. God bless your wonderful weekend.

Tired

Well, it has become a very busy month. I've been doing very well with posting until time got away from me. I feel kind of like a rag doll because I'm so very worn at the moment.

Why am I so tired you ask, well, camp is this coming weekend for scouts and got a little more involve then I had originally intended. Not that I don't mind helping but sometimes I just can't find the boundary of where I should stop helping. Usually, I cross that boundary and am miles on the other side before I realize that I'm helping way more then I was actually asked to help. It's my A type personality.

A friend needed help and during the middle of the project had a family emergency, so here I am. Exhausted, overworked, and ready for a margarita the size of Mexico. Which is a real shame because it's my favorite drink, which I have become allergic to. Yes, I mean actually allergic to it. About 20 minutes to 45 minutes after I start drinking, I start sniffling and sneezing and it just goes down hill from there. Do stop drinking them? Well of course not. Like I said, it's my favorite drink.

See, I'm so tired that I'm just rambling. The thoughts are moving through my head to my fingers and what comes out are these rambled thoughts of a Girl Scout Leader and a Christian Wife/Mom.

I've got to leave in a minute to head to a meeting that doesn't take place until 5 pm tonight in a town that is 2 hours away which is not the most convenient time for me to be going since I have so much prep to do for camp but I guess that I must do what they pay me to do.

The phone is ringing so I must go.......

He Lives

Hi my name is Jo Bowie, do you believe in Easter?

Easter is a very big deal in my family. For more reasons then just the bunny that comes and brings baskets full of candy and eggs full of money. It's because it is the celebration of our Savior who triumphed over death on this day for our sins. If you have never heard about Jesus Christ, I would really like to tell you His story.

We attended our church's "Son" rise service this morning at 7:00 am. It was a brisk 28 - 32 degrees. The wind blew just enough to make it nippy. That did not deter us though. Marty was there at 6:00 am to help with set up and the girls and I got there at 6:30 am to do the Children's Ministry set up.

The children's choir sang "Where you there?" and "He Gave". It was so very beautiful to hear.

After this we made our rounds to visit our family. First stop was breakfast with Grandma, Pop and Aunt Norma at Golden Corral, where the girls promptly received a basket a piece from Grandma and one from Aunt Norma. The goodies were abound.

Next stop was NoNo's house where we helped finish cooking lunch before we headed off to Uncle Ronnie's and Aunt TJ's house. There the girls received a basket a piece from NoNo, but it doesn't end there, the girls went on a special easter egg hunt created just for them by their older cousin Bryce. MORE candy.

Now don't think I'm not very glad to see that our family goes the extra mile for my girls, but the dentist and doctor bills are going to enourmous if their allowed to eat this mountain of candy.

Bad Days

I don't like it when my husband has a bad day. It doesn't happen often, because he is so laid back about things, but it does happen. I'm almost as protective over him as I am over one of my girls. Not that he needs my protection but because I want his every day to be special. He's my other half and I don't function well with out him and what effects him, effects me. We have a uniquely awesome relationship. I'm so blessed that I can't even tell you how blessed I am. We complete each other and when the other isn't themselves, it's really difficult.

Today is a bad day for him. Work gets stressful when some clients just can't accept that they can't always have exactly what they want, no matter how bad they want it. Not due to Radar not wanting to give it to them, but that it just can't be done. It's so difficult to see him upset.

A lot of people don't get a spouse that is their true best friend, but I know that I did and it's unexplainable, unimaginable, and undefineable. I would never have dreamed it. I dreamed for many things but this simple blessing..... no, I did not. I will forever give thanks to God for him.

If you see him today, give him a pat on the back or a handshake or a hug and tell him that all is great with God and that He will only give him what He knows he can handle.

Awesome Weekend

What a fabulous weekend it was to camp!! The weather was a bit breezy at times on Saturday (strong enough to snap one of our tent poles) but as I've been camping with Radar now for 16 years so camping and crazy weather go hand in hand.

The weather on Friday was warm and overcast but we had a great time biking from camp to Sunset point to Sunrise point and back to camp. Then we biked to the Summit Trailhead, hiked the Summit trail, and biked back to camp. You would think we were tired by now, but no, after dinner we biked back to Sunset point for the sun set which was overcast and not really worth that rided. Though, the ride was good for us.

Friday night and Saturday morning was when we got the wind and a little rain. That blew out by lunch and other then being a little cooler then we were prepared for, the day was beautiful. The sky was so blue and clear. The pollen had been washed away and the buds on the trees were a rich green. Birds sang to us and the butterflies would flutter by for us to watch.

It was so very relaxing. We got to finish the day with this fabulous sunset. Yes, we biked back to it again.

Packing to come back Sunday was rather disappointing. I'd much rather stay for many more days, but reality is always waiting just around the corner.

Excited about Getting Away

Last night we ran to the store to pick up the things we need to go camping this weekend. WOW, were my girls off the wall the whole time. They were all over the list making sure we weren't forgetting anything. If they weren't all about the list, then they were dancing around in a fog because they could not control themselves. You would think they never get to go camping or on vacation. Granted it has been since last fall that we've gone, but still, you just had to see them.

Their Daddy isn't much better. He is trying his hardest to figure out how he is going to get off early so we can leave earlier then 5:30. I wish him luck, because that rarely happens around his office.

Me, I'm ready to get away and will enjoy it when I get there but at the moment I'm looking at all the work that has to be done before we leave. All the packing isn't done, I'm right in the middle of Girl Scout camp planning, almost the entire crew of Sunday school workers are on Spring Break and I have no idea if there will be enough people to cover Sunday (though we were given "orders" by the pastors to not be there this Sunday), plus this is the start of the next month rotation of workers and I'm not sure they remember that it's their month. This is the first Sunday since launch that I will not be there and it concerns me. Now, make no mistake, the volunteers that work the children's ministry are absolutely awesome and I know without a doubt that they can cover for me. It's just the timing because a lot of people are out. If everyone was going to be there, then I wouldn't worry but I don't know that everyone will be there. I only know of three and it takes for sure 5 to put all three areas (Bible Excursion, ECA and Nursery) together. I know that God will handle it and make sure everything that NEEDS to be done will be, but it's the extra stuff that I like to have for the kids so that it is even more special that I hate not to be there.

My thoughts are overwhelming me so I guess I'd better stop.

Being a Scout

I love being a scout but I think scouts get a bad rap like being a Christian. There is a perception that if you're a Scout you can build a fire by rubbing two sticks together, camp with nothing but the clothes on your back, and survive any wilderness excursion. 1) Scouts aren't MacGyver, 2) With todays technologies why sticks, 3) Have you seen the latest adult scouts?

I'm not picking on anyone but if you don't like the outdoors and you become a scout leader, you're not likely to take a group of kids camping and to teach them wilderness skills. If you've seen Troop Beverly Hills then you've seen how some troop are today and there is nothing wrong with that. Teaching to a group of kids strengths is the best way. If they don't want to camp or hike or fish, then we shouldn't make them. If community service, government and urban activities is the interest then teach them that. We just need to change the perception that all scouts are outdoor enthusiast.

Now, as for me and my troop, we are the outdoor enthusiast. My girls want to camp, hike, fish and canoe, which is great for me because this is what I love to do.

I just received by Outdoor Adventures training and I'm so excited because my family is going camping this weekend. I enjoyed training because I learned to tie 4 knots and I don't need my husband to do them (He was a Boy Scout). I was more involved with the cooking in the dutch ovens and know I want one. I've been building a fire for years in the fireplace but I really want to do one in the outdoors, my boy scout always handle that. I want to be doing more.

This should be a fun weekend.