Out of the woodwork

Hi everyone,

I finally came out of the woodwork to write a blog post! I hope everyone is doing well. I am having a lot of mommy moments lately and it's been a little hard. I know that kids grow up and make their own decisions but that doesn't mean we don't worry. I pray even harder now than before if that is even possible. Heather is trying to get into the Marine Corps, she hopes to be in by October, Tiffany is visiting my mother-in-law in Mississippi and Rochelle is here. I guess what it is, is what they call empty nest syndrome. . . . and they aren't even gone yet. They are getting older though. Heather will be 19 next month, Tiffany just turned 17 and Rochelle is 15. I didn't know that you start feeling this way BEFORE they leave home. I wonder if it hurts when they leave? I don't think I want to know.

We have been busy these past few months as usual. We have gone to 2 weddings and 3 funerals. At least I have gone to three funerals. I liked the weddings better. So much life. I posted pictures of the first wedding we went to in the photo section and also some pictures I took during one of the many downpours we have had over the past few months. I had a blast taking the pictures. I was running around with my camera under my shirt until I wanted to take a picture but then my shirt got too wet and I grabbed the umbrella I finally remembered I had. David told me I was crazy but he liked the pics.☺ There are also some pictures by David and Rochelle in there. Seems like my photo bugging caught on.

David continues to work on his seminary studies. He seems to be doing well. I know he is studying hard and refuses to let anything stump him. I am proud of him. He is working for his bachelor's degree now. He still works for Pepsi but took a short leave of absence in April to renew his spirit. Please pray for him to do well with his studies and that God will open doors for him.

We will be starting school again in September. Tiffany will be working towards her GED from home and Rochelle will be my only actual student. It will feel awkward teaching only one.

Heather started working in May at the local Winn-Dixie grocery store. She started at the register but they snatched her for the deli and won't give her back. She misses the cash register.

Tiffany quit working as a mother's helper. It was getting too stressful and some other things came up not related to her work there. She seems to be more relaxed now. Right now she is at Granny Glenna's helping her, visiting and hopefully learning to sew. I can't wait for her to learn. We never seemed to find the available time where both of us could work so she could learn. Of course her granny knows quite a bit more so I'm sure she will be able to teach me some tricks when she gets back. ☺

Rochelle went today with the youth of the church on their first community outreach project. The church has grouped together to start helping out the elderly and disabled around their homes. I am glad to see this project get underway. It has been needed for a long time.

David and I are officially on myspace now. If you want to, look us up. We are the old people.

Well, there isn't much else going on here, besides temperatures over 100 degrees. The Bible teaches you to be thankful to God in all things. I have poison ivy that is spreading pretty good and I was wondering how to say thanks for it. Now I know the benefits of poison ivy. I don't have to go outside in this heat. It will spread. See, God makes even the irritating things good if we look hard enough ☺

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I will leave you all on that note. Take care and God bless.
Vickie

May to early July 2007

Hello everyone,

It's been a long and stressful couple of months here. I have come to the conclusion that things are happening so that I can make the crazy people look normal. Just kidding. We need your prayers. I see the hand of God in so much of what is going on and I know he has his hand in this even if I don't see where he's going with it yet. I love Him and trust Him and I know he doesn't leave His people. It is too much to even elaborate for even this blog or in person so I won't even try. I just wanted to let everyone know that we are here and still kicking.



We went to a friend's wedding in June and I have posted the pictures for everyone to see in the photo section. It was such a nice wedding. One of the high points of the past few months. Also there are pictures that were taken by me, David and Rochelle. They are under the nature photo link. The pictures I took were during a heavy rain storm here. Yep, nutty me, I was out in the rain taking pictures with my umbrella; at least I had the umbrella most of the time. I was drenched by the time I went inside. I didn't have the umbrella until my shirt got too wet to hide the camera. I think you will all enjoy the nature shots. I know I had fun taking them.



Please pray for David especially because he is really stressed out with his job situation. Please pray that God will swiftly open doors for him and illuminate the path that he must take.



I'm sorry this is so short but I just wanted to give a quick shout. Love you all and I hope you are all doing well. Take care and God bless.

Late April 2007

Well, warmer weather has finally hit the Louisiana area. We have been enjoying the swimming pool a friend of mine gave us and now have our garden in the ground. We have tomatoes, cucumber, okra, bellpepper, and corn. We have a new edition we are trying this year...concord grapes. David is really excited about his grape vine and can't wait to harvest them in September. We found the plant in Mississippi when we went to pick Heather up from another of her visits to David's mom's house. He looked like a boy let loose in a candy shop it was cute. He's been babying that plant more than the veggies so I hope it bears fruit for him.

David will be leaving Pepsi for another job hopefully soon. He's begun taking classes to sell insurance. Please be prayerful for him with this as it is a big leap in faith and change of pace. He had taken a 30 day leave of absence to figure out where he wanted his future to go. While off he made me a nice picnic table.

Heather and her David have parted ways but they remain friends. I don't have much to say on what happened as I am not sure myself. She continues trying to get her GED and trying to find a job. She has been offered a car to buy if she can find a job. Hopefully she will find employment soon as it is a good opportunity. She is also exploring getting into the military again. Please pray for her and God's guidance in her life.

Tiffany has been babysitting a lot lately and she is getting excited as she will be going for her GED beginning in August. My girls are growing up. I still have to put up a photo of her in her glasses but I have to get the pictures off of my camera and have been kind of lazy about it. I'm sorry.

Rochelle has been a busy bee keeping my house clean. I haven't had to lift a finger she has everything done before I get the chance. I really appreciate this as it frees up my time a bit more.

I have been working on a wedding gift for my friend who will be getting married in June. It is a doily with her new last name worked into the piece. I am trying to get the gift done before the bridal shower on May 6. It's taking a little while as her new last name is 9 letters long. I know, I am working on crunch time but I'm sure it will be done in time. I've also been a little lost lately with all the happenings going on but I'm sure everything will straighten out in time. One thing I'm sure of the next few months will prove interesting.

Mom had an MRI done because the oncologist thought he saw a hot spot on a lymph node but the results came back that everything was fine praise the Lord!

David's step dad, however was sent home by his doctor and told that he should enjoy the rest of his time. This was sad news for us. Please pray for him that the good Lord helps him through this time. I know that God will do what is best for him. Pray also for David's mom.

My aunt also had a hysterectomy with cancer being suspect but thank the Lord that went well as well. Hopefully she will be running on full throttle again soon. Please pray for her healing.

Well, that about brings us up to date this time. I hope this email finds everyone happy, healthy and safe. Take care and God bless.

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I have been trying to keep busy the past couple of days. Maybe I will grow some muscle.

On Monday I brought Tiffany to the eye doctor and soon she will be joining the four-eyed club. Hopefully this will take care of the headaches she has been living with. She is pretty excited about the pair of glasses she picked out. I will post a picture of her new eyeballs when she gets them. After the eye doctor appointment I got energetic and rearranged the living room, some of the kitchen and put up a shelf for the books in our bedroom. This also helped to get in preparation and make room in the livingroom for the new aquarium we'll be picking up on Friday.

Tuesday found Tiffany, Rochelle and I at mom and dad's house tearing down an old shed. Our demolition crew had a ball. I even got to "shed surf" on the wall that was a little tough coming down, as I am the heaviest of the three. Heather pouted because she didn't get to help but she wasn't too upset because she and her David went out to the movies while we were tearing it down.

Today I took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and tilled a new garden bed along the side of our house. I haven't decided exactly what I'm putting in it yet but I wanted to get it ready. When everything is in full bloom I will post a newer picture of our house. I look forward to seeing all the new colors. I hope to get out and do more tomorrow. I still have the front flower bed to work on.

An update on Ms. Mary, she has been moved to a regular room as of today. Her open-heart surgery went well although she is still a bit short of breath.

My hubby's grandmother is also doing better she is back at the nursing home.

My sister-in-law Teresa and her family are in need of prayers as her grandfather is going home from the hospital under the care of hospice.

Well, that about does it for today's news.

Take care and God bless.

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January to March 2007

Hello Everyone,

I hope this post finds you all well. This post finds us going about the usual business of life. Trying to stay warm and dry, at times cool and dry depending on what day it is. My hubby continues to work weird hours with almost no time off. I miss him terribly and he misses us as well. He hasn't had any time to continue his studies but he has his Associates Degree and when he can continue, he will eventually have his Bachelor's Degree. David turned 42 on February 28th. We had cake for him and a few gifts, then off to work he went. He preached this morning and this afternoon with going to work in between. I'm proud of him. Even though it would have been easy to say he couldn't preach because he couldn't get off, he stepped forward and did it anyway. I think he did a good job. Our pastor is out of town visiting family and asked him to preach in his absence. We were a little worried about Bro. Sam and his wife Mrs. Betty as they were in the Alabama/Georgia area where all the tornado outbreaks were these past few days. Luckily they were ahead of the storms.

Heather went to Baton Rouge for two days this week to take her GED test along with Chris Bilbao, a homeschool friend of hers. While they were taking their tests Chris' mom Carole and her daughter Claudia and I went to different stores and did some really good window shopping while we killed time. It wouldn't have been cost effective for us to go home and return to pick them up. I enjoyed my afternoons with them. We won't have the results of the tests until about 3 weeks from now. I pray she passed them so she can close the door on that chapter of her life and move on with other things. The only thing I asked is for her to do her best and she feels she did that. Heather now has a promise ring from her David. I am very happy for them. Please keep him in your prayers as he is in training to eventually be sent to Iraq. Heather also has been asked to walk in our friend Summer's wedding so she has gone to get fitted for her bridesmaid's dress.

Tiffany has been doing well with her schoolwork. She has been working hard and should be finished with her schoolwork the last day of this month. She has all A's and will begin GED hopefully in August. She has been spending most of her spare time reading, babysitting, or hanging out with her sisters and friends. She and Heather are pretty much in demand for babysitting. Tiffany and Rochelle planted some bushes in the yard in January that the church removed and gave to us. The bushes seem to be doing well. We are still waiting to see if they will completely take or not.

Rochelle is still working on her schooling as well but her grades are A, A, B, B and C. She has worked at a slower pace and will school into the summer. She will be the only one homeschooling this coming year. It will feel so odd. I have never had only one homeschooling, I'm not sure how to handle it. They are all growing up so fast. She spends her time surfing all the southern Gospel (Gaither etc.) related youtube clips. She especially likes listening to testimonies in addition to the music and some Christian comedy. She has also spent time babysitting and hanging out with the friends who come here.

I have been busy trying to keep up with everyone. I also have found a new boldness in praying for others. I felt the Lord leading me to put even greater emphasis on my prayer life. I was thinking about it one day, we always tell people we are praying for them and don't get me wrong, I do pray, but how do they know that? I haven't given them any indication that I remember to pray for them. I realized that I was hurting my Christian witness by not praying with them. God doesn't want us to just pacify people, He wants us to lift one another up. How better to do that than pray with someone who is in need. I never realized what difference this would make to people until I started stepping forward to pray with them. You would be surprised the doors that open when you ask someone "Can I pray for you?" It seems to give them so much more peace than when you just say you will pray for them. I've even seen some people cry or just hold on to my hand after the prayer is over. Knowing how much this means I don't ever want to go back to just saying I am praying. My hubby's grandmother is in the hospital (she had a problem with her meds), and a friend of ours, Ms. Mary, from church is in another hospital. Ms. Mary will be having open heart surgery in the morning. I felt it a privilege to be able to pray with these sweet ladies. I ask that you pray for them as well. I will update you all in my next post on how they are doing.

Well, I think this post is long enough to have updated you all. I will try to post again soon.

Take care and God bless.

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Jesus

I wrote this article for our church newsletter a while back I thought I'd share it with you.
He came down from Heaven to live a human life to help us find our way Home. How could we find our way without someone to guide us? He taught us to love one another without judging, to serve one another, and to forgive one another. He taught us by example, but the greatest example came during His last hours of human life.

He knew what was to come, yet He loved and served anyway. He knew he would be betrayed but He served those He knew would betray Him. He knew He was going to suffer a brutal death and His human side was afraid - but was He afraid of the physical pain, or was He afraid of the emotional pain He knew He would endure when He took all of our sins upon Himself? Think about it, He took on the sins of the past, of His present, and of the future for all eternity. He did this, not in small doses, but in six small hours. He suffered man's hatred for man and it must have been horrible. No wonder He felt so forsaken. How could He not? But this is where His most merciful miracle comes into play.

As He joined hearts with His Heavenly Father in this unbearable pain He reached out to the thief who believed in His deity and then again to us as He said these words, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) Thus He offered us with His shed blood, atonement and an open door for those who loved Him to live with Him in Heaven.

He opened the doorway and showed us the pathway home. He did what He came to do and with His dying breath He stated, "It is finished." (John 19:30)

Still, there were some who didn't entirely believe so He gave them further proof by showing His magnificent power when He arose from death like He said He'd do. (John 14:3). What more proof do you need? If God can move mountains; part the sea so His people could walk across dry land to safety; and conquer death, think of what He could do for your life. Find peace, give your life to Him. He still offers forgiveness.