Everyday Blessings...

Two fun basketball games this week! Along with Mom and Dad coming to visit. Thanks for coming to see us! Another lovely one! Breakfast with the Grand..Burl. :) It's Sat. and I am thankful! I have pictures of Jan and Michael's house fire. I will post them on Monday. Blessings on your weekend! Let's go out there and make it a great one! Famous words from "Oh what was the name of that movie?" Nuwanda!!! Seize the day!!! You tell me!

I've been thinking alot this morning about Michael and Jan's house and their situation. They are being well taken care of by the insurance company, praise the Lord! They sustained around 70 thousand dollars worth of damage. Whew...anyway I hope that not all of Jan's lovely things that she had in her house are gone. She has such a way with decorating on a dime and everything looking so welcoming and beautiful. I am so proud of the how they are handling all of this. I think they foremost in their minds is glorifying God in it all. I think they are quite wonderful. I am also very thankful that no one was hurt and Jan was moved by the Lord to come home and catch it in time so that the whole house did not burn down. God is good. These are some pictures I took in their house about 3 months ago. Lovely. Shelf in Ky's room Sitting area in living room. See Sandy in the window? I think I have posted this before. Probably posted all of these before. Anywoo... This picture is so ...

Sad news this morning. We got a call early this morning that my brother's house was on fire. Michael and Jan and sweet kiddos were gone to work and school when someone called that their house was on fire. We heard that Jan could see flames coming out of the roof top. We have not heard at this point yet how bad it was but prayers would be appreciated. I can't imagine loosing my possessions. I know that our "things" are not supposed to be important but they are to most people. Especially your pictures and comfy furniture and sentimental things. Not to speak of necessities like clothing and food and other everyday things that you use. Satan will use this to break them down, but I pray that they will glorify God even in this trial and people will see that even in hard times we can have joy and peace through our great God. I also pray that God's people will hold them tight and provide and care for them with great love. I sure am more thankful this morning for God...

Future garden? With hard work... maybe! Ahh...I wish... Beautiful. Can't wait to put up a hummingbird feeder and watch these little amazing birds. What the backyard really looks like. Below: Dream for the front yard. Ahh...so lovely. Those bushes were planted in a really strange place right in front of the patio. I think they are Crepe Myrtles. Sid plans to move them to the side of the house in a row. We will see if they will move without dying. Wish we could tile the back porch, put in an outside fireplace with lots of plants around. Not happening of course except maybe for the plants. Help HGTV! For free please dedo my back porch and yard?! Front flower beds. Lots of work ahead. Just dreaming right now. :) Blessings.

I wish you could hear what I hear. Well...maybe not. "Shut up!", "Bam"!, "You loose"!... Good grief, why are boys and husbands included so competitive in EVERYTHING? First this morning it was ping pong with Will beating Wes, just a minute ago I heard, "shut up" coming from the dining room table where a heated game of "42" was going on. Wes is winning, and yes, I have told them for years not to say shut up. Wasted breath I think. I guess it could be worse don't you think? Anyway, enjoying a cloudy, maybe going to be rainy day and loving having everyone under this roof together. Nice. But...I do have a problem. I opened a cabinet in my kitchen this morning and a very NOT NICE smell came wafting out. Unfortunately I have smelled this before. I hate to say it but I am afraid we might have something dead in the wall behind the cabinets. Heaven help us. I have no idea what we will do if it is the case. Gross and it makes me mad. Very ...

Hi! This is an interesting list of challenges that our youth minister gave to our youth group at church. Thought you might like to see it too. I think not only youth but older Christians can really strive for doing harder and bigger things for God. This does not necessarily mean you have to do BIG things but even memorizing scripture is really hard but so important in drawing closer to God. If I were writing this though at the top of the list to start on would be the challenge to just speak God's name in everyday conversation with everyone we talk too. There is such power in speaking His name out loud. Blessings. Amy List of Challenges: 1. Start a prayer group at your school to meet weekly. Ask 10 people what your group can pray for them about. Do it weekly for the remainder of the school year. 2 Invite at least one person to a Bible study, worship service, or youth activity every day for 90 days. 3. Pick one day a week to sit at a different lunch table, to show God's love to s...

I guess this is retro day for me. Wes bought me an "Abba" greatest hits for Christmas I have been singing along and going through lots of stuff trying to get us all settled in this house. I was about there until Will decided to move home and go to school here! woo hoo! I love it but when he brought in all of his totally filled pickup load of stuff we had to kind of start over moving in. :) So...I have been listening to Mamamia, Take a Chance on Me, Super Trooper (why do I love that song so much? WEIRD.) etc. and going through lots of things. I guess when you move (alot) every time you find things that you forgot you had or thought you had lost. This includes pictures. I have to admit I am not the most organized person especially with my pictures. (Don't have a heart attack my friends that are scrapbookers! Sorry, just not my thing.) Anyway, I found a box of pictures and have loved walking down memory lane for a few minutes. My how time flies. These five pictures are very ...

Wes is doing great. He went with his new youth group from church to Winterfest. Jeff Walling spoke along with many others and it was a great weekend. Very inspiring and a good bonding time for Wes. God is good.

Registration for Camp Blue Haven is TONIGHT at 8:00pm! http://campbluehaven.com/ Good morning! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! I am waking up this morning with all my chicks under one roof. Will left Harding yesterday. There are lots of reasons that I will not go into in depth but I will say that I think it was the right thing for him to do. We have prayed long and hard about making this decision and it seemed that coming home and going to school here was the answer. He is broken hearted over leaving people that he loves in Searcy but still feels it was the right thing to do. Thank you Jay, Nathan, MacKenzie , Molly, Michael, Taryn, The Smith's, Kinzie , Matt and Dylan for loving Will and being his friend. He has a plan to get enough hours to transfer to A&M and walk on to try to play football. We will see how all of that plays out but for now I am thankful to have him here and am excited about what his semester will look like for him and ...

The announcement below just came out in the USA Today. This picture below was taken on the day we first met Rachel. She is a lovely, beautiful person. Her heart is a beautiful as she is beautiful on the outside. She is kind and thoughtful and is focused on other people not herself. She loves Colt and most importantly she loves God above all else. We are thankful for you Rachel! Congratulations!!!! USA TODAY Colt McCoy gets engaged with proposal message on scoreboard Colt McCoy and girlfriend Rachel Glandorf paid a visit to Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Monday night. They left as an engaged couple after McCoy proposed on the stadium's scoreboard. The message said "Will You Marry Me?" McCoy then followed by getting on one knee. Glandorf said yes. So while McCoy didn't win the national championship last week, he does get a pretty nice consolation prize.

Well...maybe not strange but just different. I am having to remind myself that is just takes time to "fit in" when you move. Maybe a better way to put it is it takes time to find "where you fit" when you move. Having the house kind of set up and all of our "stuff" in helps it to feel kind of like home. I am thankful and happy about where we are and I know that things will start to feel comfortable sometime soon. With young Wesley in a new school and Sid at his new job and Will back at school I am feeling a bit of strangeness. Yes, I have to admit I am a bit lonely but even more than that, a bit restless. I am asking God to show me my mission. I have always known that my mission in life was to have a family and raise Godly children. I have loved this life and all that has gone with it, but I have been having lots of thoughts about just living the ordinary, comfortable Christian life. It is just not enough. With Wes going to college in a year or so, wh...

This was an email I got on facebook last night from Mardi Andrews. Thank you! It was all God's Plan - Pat Wadlington Yesterday at 3:06pm I always give God the glory, I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life. I am standing on the ROCK. ~Colt McCoy Last night I was so down in the dumps. I don't think I have ever wanted a football team to win a game as bad as I wanted the Longhorns to win last night. Not because I have any devotion to the University of Texas, but because I am lucky enough to know firsthand the deep faith that Jordan Shipley and Colt McCoy have for God. It is funny how things work sometimes. I know Colt and Jordan believe that the Lord wants to bless his children, especially his obedient servants. I'm sure the question may have arisen in many minds, including Colt's, why was this happening to him. "Why now Lord? Why in this game...on this stage? I have loved you and I am obedient to you. I have looked forward to ...

I am so proud of Colt. There are no words for the misery he is feeling. I am heartbroken for him. I am also thoughtful about how this ended. He was able to speak from his heart about loving and trusting God even in hard times. I am awed at how his words touched people and how God was glorified. I praise You Father for Colt's love for you and for your comfort and peace. Peace. In all circumstances...He gives peace if we just ask for it. God's peace...is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:7 Blessings. The sun is shining...

Well, this is the day. Whew...butterflies abound- in my stomach. I wish we were in Pasadena with the rest of the family! We will be yelling loud right here in our own living room. So proud of Colt and so proud of how he glorifies God. "Father please bless him, keep him safe and help to to play to the best of his ability, for You Father, so that Your name can be heard in front of so many people." Colt's favorite verse that he puts on everything when he signs autographs is: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving. Col. 3:23 & 24 This picture makes me smile. This was at the last home game. Rachel is giving Colt a kiss. Aunts and some cousins watching on. Mama Debra and Aunt Linda, me then Aunt Jan over my shoulder then Hali and one of Jordan's sisters. So fun. I have no idea who the guy to the le...

A few pictures of our house. These were taken when we first looked at it. I will post pics later of how it looks after it is occupied. My father in law came and helped us put in lighting and plantation blinds on most of the windows plus a million other jobs. I think we wore him out. Thank you DaddyBob!!!! Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. John Howard Payne A good home must be made, not bought. Joyce Maynard Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Homesick in Heaven Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to. ~John Ed Pearce Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and ...