Dec. 5, 2007 - Guess what my son told me yesterday???????????

that I was the BEST mom in the WHOLE WORLD!!!!!  Why??????????   All because I stopped by the side of the road..... and let him bring home.... a wonderful road-killed critter to skin!!:):):)  Yep, you read it right!:)  He is totally into frontier type skills and interested in skinning and tanning hides, trapping, etc!!!  We came home and within two hours he had done an AMAZING job of skinning his racoon!:)  Then he called a 17 year old friend of ours who came over and told him how and what he needs to do next to tan the hide!:):)  Life is not boring at our home!

Since my last blog we have made a trip to South Carolina (the beach):) and to Minnesota for a wonderful time of family, fun and fellowship!!  We make a yearly trek and it was SUCH a delight!!!  It always is!!:):)  And between vacations, which were about 3 weeks apart:), we found out that my mother in law who lives here in town has stage 4 breast cancer!!:(:(:(  That has certainly thrown life into a tailspin!  If anyone still checks in please pray for her, her name is Shiela.:)  Thanks!! 

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Aug. 30, 2007 - Praise the Lord..... it's RAINING!!!!!

It has not rained much here this summer and our part of the nation has been in an extreme drought!  So.... what a blessing to have a little bit of rain!!  I am not sure of the last time that I have smiled sooo much due to a rainy day!:)

As we have been starting back to school... we have been adjusting!  We (I) have gotten sooo used to our own schedules and doing what we want!  UGH!!  But, we have been taking lots of field trips and doing lots of fun things to ease more gradually into our more structured learning times! (Picnics, lake trips, baseball games, get togethers with friends, Homeschool Day at Dollywood, swimming, etc... )  I am sooo thankful for this opportunity to spend time with my children and to enjoy them!  I am blessed!  Thank you Lord!:)

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Aug. 7, 2007 - Ryann this is for you:):)

I have been tagged a few times before and did not really know or do them much..... but here goes.... just for you sweet, funny Ryann:

1) What state do you live in?  Tennessee (but I am from Minnesota:))

2) Do you have a pool?  Yes, it is out at my Mom and stepdad's house for safety and flat surface reasons.:)

3) Do you like animals?  Yes:)

4) What is your favorite animal?  Marmots and groundhogs (they are in the same family).:):)

5) Do you have siblings?  Yes, two sisters.  I am the oldest.:)

6) Do you have an account on an animal site such as virtual horse ranch or virtual pups?  NO!!  I did not know such a thing even existed!!!

7)  What 10 people am I going to tag....:(  Actually, no one.:)  I did this for my friend Ryann!:)

Have a great night and God bless!:)

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Aug. 5, 2007 - Today is our 12th Wedding Anniversary!!:):):):)

Yippee!!!!  Yippee!!!!  Praise the Lord!!!!  I am soooo thankful and grateful for the wonderful man that I am married to!!!:):)  He is such a blessing!!!!  We have had soooo many bumps, curves, bends, mountains and valleys in our life together..... WOWZA!!!!!   I really thank God for my husband and for our dear precious family!!!  One of my sweet sisters is nearby for awhile and she came over and watched our kiddies and we went out to eat ALONE for the first time in probably a year and a half or more.  It was a fun time and we talked, laughed and ate much!!  I think that I am all the more appreciative of our alone time because we rarely have it!:)  We are one of those families who do much together and (usually) really enjoy that!:)  But, tonight, what a special treat to have a quick date!:)  Then ....we came home to the usual chaos, cleaning, dog running away, etc......:) ( a little rejuvenated and refreshed though.:)

Speaking of dogs,  thank you for praying for my sweet sister Amy and her family as they had to put down their dog of 12+years, Sammy!!:(:(   She totally appreciated it!!!   After grieving and praying and processing, they decided to get another dog, sooner rather than later.  Sooooo...... last week they got a new dog.  :):)  Sam was a Black Lab and their new dog, ,Jethro is a Golden Doodle.  That is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle!  He is black and from the pictures.... a real cutie!!:):)  What an adventure they are having with their new 4 month old!!:):)

Speaking of rejuvenated and refreshed.... are you?  Are you ready to start up your new school year or  to continue plugging away as you always do??  How do you rejuvenate or recharge?  What are some of your secrets?  Please share them!:)

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Jul. 17, 2007 - Please pray.....

for my sweet sister Amy and her family.  They had to put down their 12+ year old Lab, Sam,  today.:(:(:(  They are very heartbroken!:(:(  For those of you who are pet lovers and for those who aren't, please pray!  Thanks!:):)

Life continues to move on and the summer seems to just be flying right on by!!!  We have gotten to see some family and some dear friends and have been trying to get our home more organized so that it will run more effeciently.:)  (I know that that will probably be a never ending goal!:(  But with God.... all things are possible!!:):)

What have you been up to this summer?  Are you gonna start schooling again soon or have you just kept right on schooling through the summer?  I LOVE!!:):) to hear what others are up to and what is working for them!!

God bless!:)

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Jul. 3, 2007 - Lots of this and a little bit of that!:)

Life has been just flying by at our home!  We have had soccer camps, music lessons and now swimming lessons!  We have had unexpected as well as expected things going on!  Something unexpected was coming downstairs one morning to our sideby side refrigerator/ freezer with the freezer opened and about half of its contents thawed and/or melting!  What fun to cook my first turkey(UGH!!!) while also cooking Polish sausage, breakfast sausage and throwing away and cleaning up my stinky, icky raw meat juice from the floor and all that it dripped on!  I am sooooo grateful, however, that my other turkey was still frozen solid! :):):) Cooking two turkeys unexpectedly would probably have thrown me about over the edge!:(  Praise the Lord for only sending me halfway over and then allowing me to cling tightly to Him as I floundered!!  That was certainly NOT on my to do list for that day!!  Another day our son opened his bedroom blinds to ask if I had looked out the front window yet todaY?  A BIG hunk of one of our Bradford pear trees had fallen in a storm and had ALMOST knocked out our telephone.  I had not planned on spending a BIG hunk of that day working on the tree so that the phone people could repair the line safely!  UGH!!!  I am finding out and re-learning that the plans that I have for my day are soooo often NOT the plans that God may have for my day!!  I have been wanting Him to get on board with my plans rather than asking Him if I can be on board for HIs!!  UGH!!  What a slow learner I am!  I am just praying that He will help me to have a teachable spirit and that I will be more flexible in my days, which really belong to Him anyway, since I am His!:):):) I pray that you are His!!! and that He is helping you order your days!!!:):)

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Jun. 9, 2007 - As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! (Joshua 24:15)

We have been talking LOTS about serving this week in our home.  It seems that somewhere along the way with all of the craziness and business of life, we(I)  have forgotten that as Christians we are here to worship, honor, love and serve God all the time in ALL that we do! 

 I have been getting after my childeren for serving each other with grumbling and complaining.  Then I did a little closer inspection of myself and realized.... UGH!!  I certainly often serve others in a more cheerful way than I serve my dh and childeren!:( :(  So... starting with me and my attitude:) , we are practicing and learning to serve each other, joyfully!!   We have been talking about how "Even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)  Jesus served.  We want to serve.   We want to give honor and glory to God with all that we say, think, do and are and to remember that we are ultimately serving the Lord!!  This means that I, we, must joyfully serve, ESPECIALLY, my family!!!:)  I hope that you and yours are serving the Lord joyfully!  God bless!  And for any of you that may be praying after my previous post, PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!!!!!  Thank you!!!!

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Jun. 6, 2007 - PLEASE PRAY!!!!

I know of a TREMENDOUS, URGENT need for prayer!!!  PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY!!!!!  I can't say more, but God knows the needs!!!!

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Jun. 6, 2007 - Mrs. Southworth is a danger to my health!!!

 I find that when I pick one of her books up, I just can't seem to put it down! !!! That would be a GREAT thing if I did not have a life and no responsibilities!!  However, since I do I must learn to exercise more self-control and only allow myself to read a chapter here or there or when it doesn't matter if I stay up half the night and get no sleep, simply to know what is going to happen next. (  Or if I have not just stayed up 1/3 of the night before talking with one of my dearest, bestest friends/sisters, Amy,  for 253 minutes!   )My other dearest, bestest friend/sister should have been sleeping soundly in her bed while her two older sissies were talking about everything and nothing>:)  Right, Amber?:)  (This is our only time to talk without interruptions, so we do this about 3-4 times a year!:))

OK, back to Mrs. Southworth.... If you are wondering about Mrs. Southworth, she is none other than the famous 19th century prolific writer : Mrs. Southworth, aka Emma Southworth, aka EDEN Southworth, etc...   This woman goes by more tags/names than any other writer that I know of and she has been dead  for about 108 years or so already!  I  was introduced to her writing through one of my other dearest, bestest friends, who incidentally is not my sister:), Jen:)   :)  I read about her on Jen's blog, talked with Jen about her, read Ishmael and then I was hooked!!  She is now one of my favorite authors!! HSB Literary Club is currently reading and discussing one of her books.   Go there with caution, readers, as she just might become a habit or your new favorite author!!  If she does, may you be able to exercise more self-control in your time with her!!:)  Some other dear friends and Southworth groupies that I know are: Coie , Maria,  Annemarie, and maybe soonShay.:)  Or you.:)  I think that I forgot to mention that my vocabulary is also growing as these were just a few of the words on the last 60 or so pages of the book: perspicacity, miasma, ignominious, turpitude, insomnolency, anathematized, quondam, obsequiousness and cicatrizing.  And, no, I did not look these words up in the wee hours of the morning, so maybe I am not learning them, just reading them.:):)

Who are some of your favorite authors? (if you are a reader:))  How and when do you make time to read? 

May God bless each of you today in all that you do!:) 

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May. 26, 2007 - The Creation Museum is AMAZING!!!!!!!

For many years now, everytime we go to MN we have seen info. about a place called the Creation Museum.  Our curiousity was piqued and we found out about Answers in Genesis.  Wow, what an amazing apologetics ministry!!!  We were so blessed and decided about 3 or 4 years ago that we would like to support the ministry and the museum.  We decided to become Charter Members and have paid on our membership ever since!  Well, this past week, before their Grand Opening on May 28th, they had a special preview week for charter members.  So, on Monday we got in our car and drove about 5 hours to the Creation Museum.  IT sooooo surpassed our expectations!!!!!!!  We were absolutely blown away by it!!!  There were times when my husband and I were both moved to tears by what God is doing and will do through this place!!  What a humbling thing to be a small part of something that has such potential to change people's lives FOR ETERNITY!!!!

If any of you have not heard of the Creation Museum, google it at Creation Museum or Answers in Genesis and then click on the Creation Museum. 

All in all that day, we drove for 9 and a half hours (522 miles) to visit the museum for 3 and a half hours!  Yes, a little (o.k. or a LOT) nutty, but it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!!!  Have any of you heard of the museum?  Have you been?  Have you done any totally crazy, long car rides for a short event?

God blessings!:)

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May. 22, 2007 - What's about as FUN as watching my dear husband or children laugh with reckless abandon?

Watching my precious Mom do it!! 

We have season passes to Dollywood and we took my Mom and step Dad on Sunday!  What a ball!  Dollywood is a family amusement park with lots and lots of rides, shows  and fun for "kids" of all ages!:)  As a child I got car sick and so did my husband!   Today, there are only certain rides that we can go on.  As a result, our oldest often goes on rides alone and we just watch and wait for him to get done.   Sunday, he did not need to go alone!  My Mom has a stomach of STEEL and can do all of the rides that we can't !!  She also laughs and enjoys them HUGELY!!!!  She went on one called the Dizzy Disk and it was such a delight to watch she and our son laughing and enjoying it soooo utterly and completely!!  My husband and I almost get nauseated just watching it!  ( I really wish that I was exaggerating, but alas, I am not!  :(  )  My step dad did not feel so well, so he watched the wild riders and us ride and enjoyed the day vicariously through us!  All in all it was a crowded, but delightful day!  :)  I am thankful to God for family and for opportunities to do things like this!

Can any of you ride rides with abandon or are  you getting older and getting limited by your bodies?

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May. 20, 2007 - If I had a digital camera.......

then you would see all of the FUN things that our family has been up to.... :)  I think that I forgot to mention that we : planted a garden a month and half or so ago.  My husband says that I am a good steward with many things, except.... plants that I buy from the store.  I am notorious for buying them and then leaving them outside to die in their sad, little, root trapped containers.:(  NOT on purpose, of course, but I just never seem to get around to planting them and they die.:(  So, this year, little Miss Full of Herself (me), decided to show my dear husband just how doggone efficient I can be.  The children and I went and picked up two free loads of compost, that involved shovels and 5 gallon buckets in the trunk of our car... an adventure.:):)  And within two days we had all of our tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage and even some rhubarb planted.:):)  We, I, was so PROUD and then my sweet dh says, "Honey, have you watched the weather this week?"  Ugh, a big ol' cold spell!:(  Guess what, many of my plants died and we lost half of all that we had bought.(despite even covering everything up!)  I guess that I am glad that at least half of it lived!  Well, this week, we harvested some of our first broccoli and I took some pictures with the kids!

We also went to a local strawberry patch and picked about 2 gallons worth of strawberries!  It was fun and something that we look forward to every spring. 

My dh and son went to a Father/Son retreat on Friday and Saturday  and had a BALL!!!  They had to leave early due to a soccer game, but they enjoyed the time that they were there.:)  They were joined by some other bloggers families..I would insert them, but I don't know how.  You know who you are and my family had a ball with your families!

So what kinds of things have your families been up to?  Do any of you have gardens?  If so, what are you growing?  Did you have any kind of late freeze and lose any crops?

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May. 15, 2007 - Do you ever have days......

that are calm, quiet and  uneventful?  Or are your days filled with adventures, fun and unexpected who can dream up whats?  I have had some of both lately and wowza!!  Since my last post my dh has had his birthday:); our coop has ended: after a drama class I teach had its one act play (they did soooooo GREAT!!!!) and my Cub Scout pack had awards and all 4 boys in my den earned their Arrow of Light awards (the highest that they can earn in Cub Scouting!:):)); music practices, athletic practices,  a quick trip to Nashville for a cousin's birthday and a car broken down with a ruined transmission!(but a safe family:)and back in time for a music recital and a Christian mechaninc! 

Also... the tremendously wonderful blessing of having my dad and stepmom come for a visit from about 940+ miles away!  We only see them a few times a year and it  is such a special time whenever we get to see them!!  We try to take advantage of the time and hug, kiss, love on, pamper, show off to and talk their ears off!:)  Actually, we do the same with our family that lives locally, but maybe we take the time with them for granted a little more.  :( But, all in all I am soooo thankful for the earthly family that God has given me!  He has blessed me with parents, sisters, my dh, our precious children, other family,amazing  friends, etc...  Each of them is such a PRECIOUS gift from HIM!!  God has certainly blessed me much more than I derserve!:) 

Thank you to my family (yes girls, thats you both:)) and to my friends who keep checking back on this lousy blogger to see if I have posted again!  Thanks!  You all are the best!!:):)

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Mar. 8, 2007 - It's our baby's birthday:)

But she is technically not a baby anymore.  :( Today she is 5.  Wowza!!  We are thanking God for her life and for the opportunity to be her parents!!  She is funny, lively, witty, beautiful and entirely full of herself (we are working on that character issue!:)). 

What a blessing it is to be a parent!  !!!!! That was always one of my heart's desires, but there was a time in my life when it did not seem cool or acceptable  to want to "just" be a wife and a mom.  I bought into the notion that I could not be all that I "could be" without some high profile, high paying job.  I bought into that notion that God was not enough, nor could family be satisfying.  My life had to be all about   ME and MY DESIRES.  Forget about the fact that as a Christian God was supposed to be the "master and commander" of my life.  Boy, am I thankful that God could see through all of the "icky, sticky, self-deceptive layers that I had sugar-coating my life and my dreams and my desires!"  I am glad that He did not give me the things that I "thought" that I wanted.  I am sooo glad that He saved me and revealed and granted my deepest dreams and desires, even though I had been tricking myself!  I am sooo glad that He didn't give up on this depraved, fickle, arrogant, prideful, selfish, dream/prestige seeking girl/woman.  No, I am not perfect.  No, He is not finished with me yet.  But, boy am I thankful for the  non- money paying, humbling, challenging and HUGELY REWARDING  job that He has blessed me with(being a wife and mother!) !!   I seek to follow Him with ALL OF MY HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH!  I seek to HONOR HIM with everything!!  I know that He has "career "plans for me and they may involve more outside of my family... and they may not! :)  I am still working on trusting Him daily.... but what an exciting adventure it is!  And I am sooo grateful (most of the time)  that He still reveals the sin in my life and makes me deal with it, daily!  He is ENOUGH!!  He is my ROCK!!  He is my REFUGE!! 

Psalm 34:8-10 says:

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Thanks LORD that we can find you and that you love us soooo much!  Thanks for the opportunity to be a follower of you, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend.......  :):)  And thanks for birthdays of precious children!  Yippee!!!!

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Feb. 7, 2007 - Birthdays, balls and bad words...

Wow!  It's been a SUPER LONG time since I have blogged.  I have thought about it and my blogging friends, but it has just not happened.:(:(  Following my last post in December my precious Dad and precious sister  Amber came all the way from MN for a short visit.  It was soooooooo GREAT to see them!!  God has certainly blessed me with an AMAZING family!(all of them: near or far) !  

Dad and Amber came and blessed us with their love, time, fellowship, laughter and just plain old HARD WORK!!  They are sooo special because of who they are and their actions (working their tails off ) at our home.  The fact that they travelled 942 miles (one way) to help us and bless us, speaks volumes about who they are, their committment to family  and their character!!  My other family members would have done the same if they had the time or opportunity! They are all pretty amazing, too!!   Again, God has richly blessed me with my earthly family!  Yeah God!!:):)

Next of course, was the blessing of the Christmas season and all the joy, love and traditions that come with celebrating the birth of Christ.  I could have written lots of posts about that!!   A few short weeks after that in the first half of January, two of our three sweet, precious kiddies have/had their birthdays.  We had parties for them and tons of fun!:)  Then our homeschool coop registered and began again.:)  I teach two classes which involves more fun and more work.  :):)

Now, its the beginning of February and time is already flying.!!  On February 4th, I turned 37.:)  I still feel like I am about 18 or so, though. :):)   I am very thankful for my life and glad to be alive.  My sweet family sang to me a gazillion times and between them and other friends and family... everyone just blessed my day.!:):):) 

 I haven't been feeling my new age, or my old age for that matter, until last night.  A friend of mine called and asked me if I could come and play a game of Rec. League basketball in less than an hour.  Mind you, my friend was so desperate for a breathing, warm body, that she did not even know whether or not I had EVER played basketball.  I said "yes" and panicked when my dear husband Kevin said that he and the kids would come and cheer me on.  UGH!!  Fear and trepidation set in. :(:(:()  My husband is a natural athelete.  With little or no hard work sports and excelling in them has always come easy for him.  That is not the case with me.  I am glad that I has soooo little time to think about it. 

The rules of the game came back to me as I played and wheezed and realized how ABSOLUTELY OUT OF SHAPE I am!!!  I was encouraged that I did not seem to be alone in that boat.  I was also encouraged that I did not have a heart attack on the floor!  At half time our sweet 4 year old came over and informed me that I needed to make some baskets.:)  I smiled and just went back out and did my best( my husband wishes that he had the video camera.... I am eternally grateful that he did not!:):):))  I did make two baskets and super impressed my hubby and our 11 year old with a few blocks and some defending.  I am glad that I did it, but today, my body feels like that of a 37 year old.:) We won;  I had fun;  I conquered the fear of having my hubby watch me do something athletic and then a young twenty something mom yelled at me and called me a very BAD NAME!!  She thought that I nearly ran over her three year old and let me have it by calling me/yelling at me some VERY colorful nasty names.  I was sooo shocked that she was speaking like that, let alone calling me names like that!  And to top it off, I was not near enough to her child to run her over.    I think that her intent to protect her child was great, her delivery system left much to be desired, however!!    I told my friend that invited me to play what happened and she told me that sometimes people playing and watching are drug users.:(  Boy, have I forgotten about some of that "worldly stuff."  But, I sure have prayed for that young mom!!!  And for some of the other people I saw and played with.

Thanks Lord for the opportunity to be alive and loving you and serving you!  Thanks also for the opportunities to try and be a little salt and light.:) 

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Dec. 3, 2006 - It's been a long time, again...

since I did some blogging.  It seems to be one of the things in my life that I have a hard time keeping track of.  My last post was bleak and discouraging and much has happened since then.  My dh stayed home for another 4.5 weeks and we finally stopped dragging our heels and resisting our situation.  I think that we are just so stubborn that we sometimes want to fight whats going on in our lives.  After our dr. visit we finally accepted that he would be home a lot longer.  We tried to make the most of our time.  We were able to spend lots of time together as a family and I was able to get some things done while he schooled.  It was pretty amazing to have my time mulitiplied.:):):)  We saw more of him than we had in months!!  I think that our family relationships were strengthened by our time together!  Yeah!

On Nov. 28th we headed to the doctor and he was released to return to work with no restrictions.  So last Wednesday he went to work and played catch-up with tests and videos, etc.  Then on Thursday he was able to put in about a half days work.  On Friday, he put in nearly a full days work.  :) It was exciting and bittersweet at the same time.  Just about the time that we were all getting comfortable with our situation, then it was time for things to change again.  I guess God is always working on "stretching" us in some way or another.  He is wanting all of us to be growing in Him and trusting in Him!!  We have definitely had some HARD times in the last 9 weeks.  God has shown himself to be so faithful in the BIG stuff as well as the small stuff!  He has met all of our needs:  spiritual, mental, physical!  He has been soo amazing!!  We have been blessed with:  prayers, physical help, food, calls and cards of encouragement, money and people's time!  It has been AMAZING to watch God meet all of our needs!  It has been sooooo neat to see so many people in the body of Christ helping us!  They have been such an example of Christ in action!  What a SPECIAL part of our family's history and heritage! 

Thank you for all of your love and prayers!

Angie:)

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Oct. 27, 2006 - Drab, dreary...

and wet is a great way to describe my community today.  We have had lots of rain and we have 100% chance of rain throughout the night.  Hmmmm.... I don't think that I'll be staying up to check.:)  At least, I hope not!:)  It feels appropriate for rain right now in our life.

My dh went to the doctor yesterday and he told him that he will need at least 2, but most likely 4 more weeks to heal. :( We were soooo surprised!!  We thought that he might say 1 or maybe 2 more at the most. *( He has already been home for 4 weeks.)  My dh also has MS which has totally flared up right now.  He is seeing double and his balance and depth perception are WAY OFF!!  We thought that a broken foot was a challenge, but this is much more challenging!!  I am challenged most  by my dh's discouragement.  He is usually soooo positive and right now he's not.:(  We know that he will get better and that his vision will return to normal, just as his foot will continue to heal.  But the waiting is the hard part!  God is faithful and He is with us.  We are trying to "get" the lessons that He is trying to teach us right now in the midst of our adventure.  We want to be teachable.  We are trusting God.  On "rainy" days like this I am clinging to the fact that: The joy of the Lord is my strength!(Neh 8:10)  Not the joy (or lack of it) of my circumstances,  my feelings, my family, my friends or anything else! Just the Lord!  He is my strength!!  I am soooooo glad that I have HIM!:)  Yeah!!!!

  Please keep us in your prayers. Also, please pray that his employers will be understanding and that they will be able to get the things done  that they need to do!! I pray that their time will be multiplied greatly!

The positive side of this adventure is that we are getting to spend lots of time praying, schooling, playing, eating and fellowshiping together.  We have begun to watch some Christmas movies and may even try to do some holiday baking.  :):):)

God bless!:)

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Oct. 13, 2006 - It's been awhile and a contest:)

Hi:)  It's been awhile since I last blogged.  My dh has been home with a broken foot 2 weeks as of today.  It has been an adjustment and we are adapting a little more each day.  I suppose that by the time that he goes back to work, we will just be used to him being home.  He has been helping a TON with school and I am VERY thankful for that!:):) 

Kim over at Life In A Shoe is hosting a really AMAZING Vision Forum Contest.  It involves guessing the number of products in the new Vision Forum Catalog and about $1500.00  in prizes!!!  WOWZA!!!  Check it out.  BUT..... the contest ends tonight (October13) at midnight.:)

I hope that you'all have a great night.  I am heading off to a Missions Expo. at a local church.:):)

God bless!

Angie:)

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Sep. 29, 2006 - A broken foot and changed plans.

Do you ever have big plans for something and then whoosh.. your plans have changed and they are no longer your own?  Well, we had planned to go camping with our church this weekend and were very much looking forward to it.  Last year we signed up to go and had to cancel due to some health concerns with my dh.  On Tuesday night my dh was outside messing around with a soccer ball and somehow he hurt his foot.  He knew that it was not normal kind of foot pain.  He worked on Wednesday and it hurt still, lots!!  So on Thursday he headed to the doctor's office and found out why it hurts so golly much.  Yep, fractured.  In a strange place.  It is a weight bearing bone, which means that it makes walking extremely painful.  He now has a boot and crutches.  The doctor said that it may be anywhere from 4-6 weeks before he can go without the boot.  His employers have said that he can't come back to work with the boot (due to the nature and safety of his job.)  

What all of this means is that he will be spending lots of time at home.:)  He is going to get to be with us all day for many weeks. :):):) I must admit that it is a little daunting in itself, however,  as he works long hours often and has not participated much in our homeschool.  But, the children and I do look forward to seeing him tons each and every day!!  We are going to try and make the most of every moment with Daddy! 

 I have been looking for ways to delight in the Lord and to delight my dh and children.  I guess that God is giving me more opportunities to do just that!!  Please pray for us as we embark on this unplanned adventure.  I am trying not to let myself worry about the "what ifs" and just remember that God is always faithful!!  He has always met our needs!!  And that He is our ultimate Provider, not my husband!!  I thank Him for His faithfulness.

Have any of you ever had unexpected times of injury, surgery, etc...  Do you have ideas or tips of things that helped you?

God bless!

Angie:)

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Sep. 27, 2006 - Alligator again this weekend.....

I don't think so!:):)  Two weekends ago when our college football team played the Florida gators, yes, we had alligator for dinner.  I must confess that I reluctantly bought it at the store and put on a happy face while trying to figure out how in the world to cook it!  You see last year when we played this same team, our precious son wanted to try "gator" for the first time.  We didn't have the money.. so my answer was "NO, not this year.:)"  This year, however, I did have the money....so....I bought it.:) 

WHY?  You see I have been pondering the word "delight."  I was reading an article in a magazine which asked:  "Did I delight myself in the Lord?"  My truthful answer was no.  The next question was something like "Is your home a delight to be in?"  Then, "Do you do things to delight your husband?  Do  you do things to delight your children?"  This was a new radical concept for me!  What do I delight in?  Do I allow myself to delight in anything?  Boy did that start some soul-searching and prayer for me!!  Sooooo, I have been trying to delight myself in the Lord and to delight my husband, children and those around me!!  Wa-lah!!  Our son was completely delighted with the alligator and his sisters enjoyed it, too.:):):)

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4:):)

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