A Mary Heart

How I long to have a Mary heart in a Martha world!! Yet, each day as I leave my office I think, "I blew it again today." You know, attitudes and little irritations that constantly pop up and you speak before you think?! I pray each morning that I will make an impact for Jesus. I guess maybe HE is putting these situations before me to see if I really mean it. I must try harder!

In spite of the above, I do have joy in my heart for lots of things. I have been given the gift of salvation, feel good, walk regularly with a friend, have a wonderful job/bosses, have three super children, two awesome sons-in-law, six unbelievable grandchildren, a spiritually grounded church/pastor, a Bible to read and absorb, a home, a new car, a decent salary, good neighbors, food, clothing, etc., etc., etc.

There are so many who have so much less, so I'm thankful for the blessings God has showered on my life that are so undeserved. And guess what! Tomorrow is Friday! I must get busy and plan my activities. ha Until next time...Mom.

Rushin' Around

Wow, it has been a busy weekend. Yard-sale shopped, made a trip to Moultrie, attended two book signings, trip to consignment shop (Angela, that was for you), delivered two gifts, visited with a friend, washed/dried/folded clothes, vaccumed, church, lunch out with group, and here I am! I love being busy! It's been a wonderful weekend, and I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow. Angela, Steve, Meredith and Ethan have gone with their youth group this week to Ridgecrest but left Emily with a church family. I know she will be taken care of, but it hurts my heart that she is not with one of her own family members. She'll probably have a ball - I'm the one who will be miserable. ha. I hope all of you have a wonderful week. Until next time...Mom.

Book Signing

My friend's (Debbie Griffiths) book came out today - "LITTLE LADY, BIG DREAM" - and she had her first book signing this afternoon from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Southwest Georgia Technical College here in Thomasville (she graduated there from nursing school in 1975 at age 18). I just couldn't miss it, so I took off early from work and served as her official photographer. I used her camera and don't have any pictures to attach. It was a huge success: her publisher was there, she sold approximately 150 books, the talk she gave (as well as her publisher and the president of the college) was wonderful, the decorations were beautiful, the food was delicious, and I got to see several people I have not seen in a while. I am so proud of her and am so humbled that she listed me on the acknowledgment page as helping her with the book. She is a sweet friend, and I hope her book does well. Check out her web site at http://www.littleladybigdream.com/ You can even order a copy of the book from that site, as well as read all the comments, sign the guest book, etc. She has two signings on Saturday that I will help her with as well. As you can tell, I'm still excited but must move on to something else before bedtime. Until next time...Mom.

My Special Blessings!

I just had my children on my mind tonight and am so thankful for all three of them. They are beautiful inside and out, have given me two wonderful sons-in-law and six wonderful grandchildren. They all have their own unique set of needs, but they also have their own unique talents and spiritual gifts. Bottom line -- They make my heart swell with thankfulness and gratitude for God's blessings. I love you Angela, Jawan and Stuart! Mom.

Life is Good!

Wow, I've had a wonderful week in Columbus with Jawan as she presented me with my sixth grandchild. Abigail arrived on Friday, 7/6. In addition to the excitement of having her added to the family, I had a ball taking care of Andrew and Luke. They are so precious!! Stuart came over on Friday afternoon to see his new niece and spent the night. I always enjoy my time with him. Today, however, I had to go back to work but even that was good. I walked with my friend when I got home, and am now being lazy (tired!). Our VBS starts tomorrow night and continues through the weekend, so I'll be involved with that. This is short but pretty much sums up my activities for the past few days. Until next time...Mom.

Grandbaby #6

Can you guess where I am? My sixth grandchild (a girl, Abigail) was born on 7/6/07, so I'm getting to babysit her two older brothers. Mother, Dad and baby are all doing great! God is so good and continues to answer prayers. Stuart came over last night and stayed until this afternoon, so that was great getting to visit with my 6'2" baby. ha. I'm busy (and tired), so until next time...Mom.

Yard Sale-ing

I made a flying trip to Columbus Friday after work to help Jawan with her yard sale on Saturday. We worked until about 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning getting the tables and items ready for sale. The wonderful thing about it was that she has an enclosed garage, and didn't have to open it until we were ready. ha. So, about 8:30 we opened up shop and spent the morning sweating and visiting with the shoppers. Her mother-in-law, Cheryl, came over and helped, so I got to spend some time playing with Andrew and Luke. Needless to say, I came home Saturday night extremely tired and drained from the heat. I think I went to bed at 9:15, which is very unlike me. Anyway, I enjoyed the trip and God granted traveling mercy.

Today has been the usual Sunday: Sunday school and church, lunch out with friends, nap this afternoon and back to church tonight. I loved every minute of it! As I write this, it is raining and thundering outside, so sleep should be good tonight.

At one time or another during the weekend, I got to talk to my other two, so the weekend was complete. I know this isn't very "newsy," but that's about all there is to report. Until next time...Mom.

Stuart, this is for you

New kitchen floor, etc.

Just a closer view of my new couch/tables

New painted cabinets/knobs/new countertops/beadboard backsplash

New kitchen table/chairs/paint/beadboard

I have been promising Stuart I would send pictures, so here they are, sweetie. Hope you like the changes! I'm loving them and can't wait for all of you to come home and enjoy it with me.
Until next time...Mom.

My chair came in today that I had ordered and looks really good.

Pictures

Can you believe I actually figured out how to do this?!? Thanks to Jawan! These are the friends mentioned in my previous post who came over and tied on the pine cones. The first picture is Debbie and Ramona, next is Debbie and me, and the last is Debbie and Barbara. Now that I know I can, I'll be attaching more pictures later. Until then...Mom.

Pine Cones!

Yep, we tied on the pine cones tonight. ha. Debbie's book is to be released July 15th, and she has about five book-signing engagements coming up. Her company name is Pine Cone Management Company, so she is using miniature pine cones tied to the corner of a business card to give with each book sold at the signings. She, Ramona and Barbara met at my house tonight and we had a ball tying on the pine cones, laughing, eating, and just enjoying each other's company. Friends are priceless, and I am so blessed to have several. For any of you who want to read a good book, be on the lookout for Debbie's book - "Little Lady, Big Dream" It can be ordered from her web site: www.littleladybigdream.com Click on the button "About the Book" and scroll down almost to the bottom and you'll see my comment. Check out all of her web site! I feel an ice cream craving coming on, so gotta go take care of that! Until next time...Mom.

The Procrastinator Checks In!

A lot of you got the 40 question e-mail I responded to, so you know that Sunday is my favorite day. It is has been a wonderful one but way too short. I had lunch with an old (long-time) friend that I hadn't seen in many months, my sister-in-law (Ramona H.) came over for a visit this afternoon, we had two wonderful services at church today, and topped it off with a finger-food fellowship after church. Could it get any better?!?!? (Only if my own family had been here.) We (my friend Ramona K.) did our yard-sale shopping yesterday (bought Luke a booster seat and two books for Andrew), went to Badcocks and ordered me a chair for my living room, ate breakfast at Hardee's, got a haircut, and went to a 50th wedding anniversary celebration in the afternoon. So, the weekend has been short and busy. I'm looking forward to the work week (call me weird) and will check in later. Until next time...Mom.

Home Again!

I've just returned home from a week of babysitting for Jawan and boy am I tired. It's been a long time since I tried to keep up with a 3 year old and an 18 month old. I'm so thankful Angela and Emily were there with me to help. Regardless of the tiredness, we had a wonderful week. The children were wonderful and gave us no problems (except locking the bathroom door with no one in there to open it - I had to take the door knob off to get it open - and pushing two doors together so that the knobs overlapped and were almost impossible to get apart). ha. Otherwise, they were just their sweet childish selves. We went to Hollywood Connection, Monkey Joe's, Toys-R-Us, Walmart, Tuesday Morning, Publix, and played in the water in back yard. God answered so many prayers this week:

--Angela, Emily and I had safe travel to and from Columbus, safety while there, and all needs were provided;
--Andrew and Luke adjusted to being without Mommie and Daddy for the week and seemed to have a good time and were protected from any mishaps;
--Meredith placed in the top 10 at the FFA conference with her song and had safe travel to and from Orlando;
--Steve and Ethan stayed home and were safe and provided for;
--Jawan and Mitch had safe flights to and from Memphis and were protected and provided for while there; and
--Stuart (although he is in the midst of a job change) has also been protected and provided for and has a wonderful attitude about his situation.

God is so good, and I thank him daily for my family and all the blessings he showers upon us. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I plan to be in His house for worship and praise and thanksgiving. I hope all of you will do the same. Until next time....Mom.

Vacationing

As I write this, I am in Columbus at Jawan's staying with her boys while she and Mitch are in Memphis. Angela and Emily are here with me, and we are having a wonderful time. Yesterday, we took a walk around the neighborhood with the kids in strollers and boy was that an ordeal. This is a hilly, hilly, hilly neighborhood. ha. Don't know if we'll try that again today or not. We went to Hollywood Connection, which is a fun place all indoors for the kids to ride different things (small ferris wheel, swings, choo-choo - but the choo-choo was not in operation yesterday - rock climbing, playground activities, etc.) They really enjoyed that and it was cool - great place! We also filled the kiddie pool with water, turned on the sprinkler, and they had a wonderful wet time. We ate a lot and watched cartoon movies, etc. and had them in bed by 9:30, after which Angela and I watched "Flywheel." That is a wonderful movie!!!!! Today, I think we'll take the kids to Monkey Joe's and let them play there. I've never been, so will have to give an update later. Until next time .... Mom.

Packing up!

Here it is Sunday night, and I'm packing my suitcase to go to Jawan's to babysit for the week. I can hardly wait to get my lovin' on Andrew, Luke and Emily. Yes, Angela and Emily are going with me for the week, and I am so excited!!! It's going to be strange being at Jawan's with her not there, but we'll have a wonderful time. The weekend has been really good - Friday night I ate dinner at Ramona and Herman's, along with Debbie and Bo, and we played Uno afterwards while it poured down rain. Saturday was absolutely beautiful, so I was in and out all day - doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Today, of course, was church twice, lunch with friends and an afternoon nap. By the way, my new couch is so-o-o-o comfortable!! I'm still looking for a chair and a rug. The cable folks are to be here by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow to install another outlet and Angela and family are to arrive around lunch. We'll leave shortly thereafter for Columbus. Meredith will be in Orlando for the week, so please keep her in your prayers for safety, etc. Hopefully, I'll be motivated while in Columbus to post once or twice. Until next time.....Mom.

Burdens

At church tonight, the lesson was on intercessory prayer. This was not a new subject, but just brought to my mind a whole list of needs in my own little family:

Meredith - going to Orlando next week for a conference (Monday - Friday) - pray for her safety and that she will be an outstanding example of a Christian to those around her. Pray that she will do her very best with the song she is to sing and be happy with the outcome regardless of what it is. She's my first grandchild and is so precious (as are all of the others, but you know how it is with the first).

Jawan and Mitch - going to Memphis next week for a conference - she only has five more weeks before the baby is due, so I'm a little anxious about her flying - pray for her (their) safety;

Stuart - thinking seriously about a new business venture with his best friend - pray for wisdom and guidance not only for that but for his life in general;

Andrew - getting him to bed at night has become an ordeal - pray for wisdom, patience, and calmness that a solution will be found;

Kristie - my great-niece in California - about to go through a divorce - pray for God's will to be done - this is one of those times I don't know what to ask for other specifically, so that covers it all;

Angela and Steve - without being specific, just pray for God to reveal His will to them about their situation;

Ethan - in those confusing, exciting, depressing, mixed=up teenage years - pray for his faith to see him through all situations, that he will stay clean physically, morally and spiritually and be an example to others;

Emily, Andrew and Luke - pray for their salvation when they are old enough to understand. They are all so precious to this grandmother and I do pray for not only their salvation but for their physical safety, mental and emotional health, and happiness in general.

Is that enough to keep me on my knees for a month? I hope you will join me for prayer is powerful. Until next time.....Mom.

Feeling Thankful!

I've just returned home from a walk with my friend, Ramona, and feel so blessed to have her friendship. I usually drive to her house in the afternoon when I get home from work, and we walk her neighborhood (about 2.7 miles). After our walk, we have a tall glass of ice water as we sit on her front porch and talk. Sometimes the talks are serious but usually we laugh a lot and talk about our children and grandchildren. I'm so thankful God brought her into my life. She encourages me, compliments me, confides in me, and most of all - she prays for me. Just today, she told me I was like family to her and she would be there for me no matter the time of day or night. She's already proven that in the last two weeks, so you see why I'm so thankful. So, just wanted to share about the blessing of a friend. Until next time....Mom.

Catch-Up

Gee, I've been busy but the worst is over. The house re-do is done, my sweet sister has been and gone, a trip to Mississippi was made, children were visited (2 of the 3 - Florida and Georgia), and I'm back at work in my comfortable rut. I love all that was done to the house but am still lacking a chair and rug for the living room (and would really like a new entertainment center - black). Hopefully, I'll find just the right ones in the near future. I'm looking forward to next week when I go to Jawan's to keep Andrew and Luke while she and Mitch go to Tennessee for a conference. It's nice to have a week off, work two, off again, work two more and off again soon thereafter (whenever Abigail decides to make her appearance). My church family teases me and says I tell my bosses when I'll work. ha. Not really, but when you've been at a job for 16 years, you are entitled to a few perks. I know this is short considering the length of time between writing, but I've recapped about everything without going into detail. So, until next time.............Mom.

Update!

Progress is still being made on my house. Here is a list of what has taken place so far:

Crown molding in LR, hallway and kitchen;
Beadboard in kitchen;
Two new light fixtures in kitchen;
New vent hood over stove;
One new light fixture in LR;
New front door;
New front storm door;
New side door;
Cabinet adjustment (no more space between stove and countertops!);
Three new closet doors (bi-fold);
Repair of molding on outside of double window in LR;
Painting of ceilings in LR and kitchen;
Measurements taken for new flooring in LR and kitchen;

Marcus is giving me a statement tonight at church for what has been done so far. Pray that I won't be too shocked! There are still a few things I would like for him to do, depending on cost. I can hardly wait for the flooring to be done as that will make the biggest difference of all. Next will come a yard sale to get rid of some old furniture and, in turn, buy some new. Will keep you posted! Until next time...Mom.

Progress!

My weekend was wonderful and was filled with busy-ness. Friday night, I was part of a wedding rehearsal; Saturday morning yard-sale shopped; Saturday afternoon shopped with a couple of friends for new items for my house (cabinet knobs, light fixtures, doors, paint, hardwood, etc.); Saturday night, I played for the wedding; Sunday morning church; Sunday lunch with friends; Sunday night church. Today, further progress is being made on my house fix-up; tomorrow, someone else is coming over to measure for flooring. I'm excited and will keep you updated! So, until next time.... Mom.

Some of my grandkids

These are four of my five grandchildren (Ethan, age 14, is in the rabbit suit). Luke, the youngest, was napping. I'm just learning how to put pictures on the blog - in fact, Jawan did this one for me. Anyway, enjoy!