June to November 2010
It never ceases to amaze me how much time can slip away. So much has been packed in these past few months that the computer has had withdrawls from me :) Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it is not.

There have been too many moms this year (that I know) who have buried their children. It has been a really sad time for many of my friends. I am tired of going to funerals this year. I am glad this year is almost over with.

On the upside, Heather and David found a house to rent and have settled in nicely. I love it, it's over 100 years old and still has the charm of an old house. Jamie loves it for the amount of space she can roam. By the way, she is getting big. She will be a year old next month. She has her first tooth and loads of personality! The other day she was here and Heather told her politely not to touch something (she's teaching Jamie manners young) and Jamie looked up at her and cute as you please repeated..."No Ma'am." I'd like to see her try that one on her daddy, that would be cute! "No ma'am Daddy." Poor David, I love to pick on him.

Tiffany is in the middle of a huge liquidation sale at her store and has been selling lots of appliances. Poor heart comes home worn out. I am sure she will be happy to see the end of the year as well.

Rochelle is working on a new crochet design and it's coming out really nice. She is making a Pepe Le Pew. She is also still babysitting for my friend.

My David is doing well. He is making ready for a trip to Indiana next month. He will be going to preach at a church in Columbia city. We are exicted about this. Whether or not this church is God's will for our lives, God willing, we will have a nice road trip.

It is with great sadness that we found out about the passing of a lovely lady friend of ours. Mrs. Betty Jones, our former pastor's wife passed away of a heart attack. Her love for God and her willingness to do whatever He called her to do was an example to all of us. It is rare in today's world to find a couple who even like each other after a few years of marriage, Bro. Sam and Mrs. Betty were IN LOVE with each other until the day she died. They were married for 58 years! I want to always love my husband like that. God truly blessed them, and us through them. A special memory I have of her is the times at the end of church on Sunday evenings she would sit at the piano with my youngest daughter Rochelle and there they would share their mutual love of Gospel music. She never seemed to tire of it. Please remember Bro. Sam and his family in your prayers.

Thank you all for your prayers for my dad. He is doing much better and is actually walking and riding his bike on his driveway. Please continue in your prayers for him and my mom. Also thanks for your prayers for David's step-dad Jake. He now has a prosthetic leg and recently drove his van for the first time! Please remember him and David's mom Glenna in your prayers.

Another miracle we've seen worked is for the husband of a dear friend in Ohio. Sharon drove here to see us a few months ago. She decided it was time to meet us after 14 years of only knowing us through computer and phone. We had a wonderful visit with her and her dog Emmett. Not too long after she went home though, her husband was in the hospital in serious condition. God has brought him around and he is now home with her and they have more time to cherish with one another. Please keep Sharon and Alan in your prayers.

I am doing well. I am enjoying spending my time "working" at a friend's daycare and also crocheting Christmas presents. I would love to say I have everything done but I don't. I am also creating a keepsake box in my mind to make out of dominoes. I hope it turns out, if it does then I will post a picture of it here. I love to give unique gifts for Christmas. I can't give a better gift than Christ for Christmas so I just gave up buying into the commercialism long ago. The only bad thing about making things is it's addicting and I have new stuff going through my mind before I finish the one I'm making at the time. It makes me work faster :D

The bag mat ministry has taken on a life of it's own. A gentleman in our church has been crocheting them as well and I couldn't even begin to keep up with him. We will be working with a church in New Orleans to distribute them, some blankets, and some coats to the homeless. Please pray that this ministry reaches others for Christ and that they will be the blessing that they were intended to be.

Well, until next time my friends, that is all the news I have. I hope this update finds you all happy, healthy, and safe. Take care and God bless.

Life

I have been spending a lot more me and God time since my last post. I need Him so much in my life. I cannot take another step without Him filling my life in all it's edges and planes. God is my Lord and Savior, my comforter, my refuge and strength, my protector, my physician, my counselor, my provider, a mighty God is He. I am blessed to call Him my Heavenly Father.

We spent a nice, but very hot day at the zoo on the 22nd to celebrate Rochelle's 18th birthday. Rochelle, Tiffany, Chris, Heather, Jamie, Chelle's friend John Carl and I went to visit my cousins at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. When we went to drop John Carl off at his sister's house my blazer was leaking antifreeze all over the driveway. It seems that after replacing the radiator, then the thermostat, the water pump got jealous and now needs repair. I have been praying awful hard for God to please provide a way for the blazer to be fixed as we live on a limited budget. Two dear sets of friends have offered to fix it for me. I am so thankful.

Yesterday was Rochelle's official birthday. We had cake, Tiffany and Chris came to play cards with her and she and I counted the penny collection she has been saving in anticipation of her 18th birthday. She started collecting the pennies when she was about 11 years old. The grand total of 7 years of parking lot pennies is 3263! She is now $32.63 ahead thanks to generous people who believe pennies are worthless. While she and I were counting pennies it was raining cats and dogs outside. I noticed it sounded like hail but when Rochelle looked outside she didn't see any. Then we noticed this really loud, quick sound outside that sounded like the wheels of a train on the tracks. We looked at each other and she said,'is that a tornado?' Then we heard a plane pass low overhead and the lights went out. Come to find out, we HAD heard a tornado. It was our first time hearing one. It must have been a small one because there was minimal damage except loss of electricity for a few hours and branches being knocked down. When the lights came on we finished up our evening by playing Clue.

Today we woke up to a nice day and, just before time to go to church Rochelle was using the hair dryer and then we noticed the smell of smoke and the next thing we knew there was black smoke coming from the wall in our dining room. Rochelle ran out to get her dad, I went out to shut off the main breaker and then I went to run for a friend who had a fire extinguisher. David tore open the wall and they put the fire out quickly before any more damage could be done. I was pretty shook up but God took care of us and we still have our house. I am so thankful for this blessing. Some very dear friends came over after church and checked out the situation for us, it's really not that bad but we will have to repair the wall and recepticle.

On to other things....Rochelle and I have been doing an exercise program for the past 3 days. It is called P90X and the program is a 90 day commitment. It is really tough but I am feeling stronger and more energetic, even as I am sore. God is blessing me and strengthening me to do this. I am so tired of saying 'I can't'. I want to do this and complete it until I am off the CPAP and better able to serve my family and others. I have taken before pictures and now hope for MUCH better after pictures. Of course I won't be posting the before pictures, they are only to encourage me. Tiffany and Chris are doing the program too, but seperately. I am impressed by Tiffany, Chris and Rochelle's go to attitudes and endurance. I weighed myself at the start of the program and I weighed in at...(ouch!)...193 pounds! That is a great improvement from the 230 the steroids left me with. My husband is also taking off his weight. He's lost 20 pounds as of the other day. I am so proud of him. Our official weigh in and (for me) measure day is on June 2nd so I will get to see if I have done myself any good. If God is willing, I will conquer this unhealthy body before it conquers me.

Dad is doing better, the pneumonia he was fighting is gone. We continue to pray for his health and for strength for him and my mom. Please also pray for David's step-dad who will be having more surgery to get circulation to his foot. Remember David's mom as well. The caregivers need as much prayer as the ones who are getting the care.

Heather, her David and Jamie are doing well. David continues the battle against the oil spill in the gulf. No one knows how this battle will end, or when but we do know that it is one of the worst disasters to hit our beloved country. Please continue to pray for all those working and effected by this spill. Please also pray for the hurricanes to not touch the coastlines this year. Hurricane season fast approaches...two more days and it's here. I can't even imagine the damage on oil slicked hurricane would do. Jamie seems to have gone through a huge growth spurt the last few days. She is now 16 pounds and is beginning to crawl, but 'walking' seems to be her preferred method of transportation. She's such a cutie!

Well, that about does it for my post this time. I hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and safe. Take care and God bless. I love you all.

Yahoo group created by me

Hi everyone,
I created a yahoo group that will hopefully help follow a healthy lifestyle. It is called Quick, easy, cheap and healthy. I would LOVE to trade healthy, quick and cheap recipes or just discuss a healthier lifestyle through small changes.  If you are interested in this group please join it by clicking the link below. If not, just delete and accept my apologies.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuickEasyCheapAndHealthy/

Take care and God bless,

Vickie
http://mom-moments.blogspot.com

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The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.

Mid-May 2010

Hi everyone,

Well, May is here, it is almost summer time and we have a few months of schoolwork left to complete. We've had an interesting past few months. David's step-dad "Jake" had more heart surgery and seems to be doing better. My dad has been fighting fluid gain over and over again. When they finally got that licked he got pneumonia. They gave him meds that were the same as he would have gotten at the hospital; but tests from yesterday show that the meds didn't work. Tomorrow sees more tests coming, then they will try to figure out what to do from there. I know it's been a hard road for him and I feel so discouraged for him. Please continue to pray that God will make His presence known to my dad and that he and my mom will find comfort and peace in these times of trial. If you would pray for his healing as well that would be great. I would like complete healing for him, but that is God's call, not mine. I must trust in His perfect will, even when that will doesn't always match with mine. All I know is that it hurts to see Dad suffer, but I trust God to do what is best for him.

We stand on the end of my youngest child's childhood. On May 29th she will be a full 18 years old! Although my nest is not completely empty I am feeling a little melancholy these past few months. So many questions go through my mind. Have I done enough? Will my children always know how much I love them? Will they always remember God is there in the tough tmes? Will they greet their adulthood with open arms? What will I do to fill my time now? Will it hurt when they all leave the nest? I don't know the answer to these and many more questions that flow through my mind. I have tried to raise them the best I could, to teach them the things they would need through life and how to trust in their Savior for the trials of life. I just can't believe I am on the threshhold of a new life. I don't know where to start or what to do with it.

God has blessed me this past year. He has restored my health and ability to function just in time to be able to help my parents. He is helping me to lose the weight I gained during my illness and He lifts me up into His lap when I just need to cry and be held. He listens to what I have to say and I feel my burdens lighten when I talk to Him. He has given me wonderful children and an awesome husband who is always giving loving support to me. I have wonderful friends who, although I don't always see them, have been there for me.

On Saturday we will go into New Orleans to the Audubon Zoo and then to the Riverwalk to celebrate Rochelle's birthday a little early. Please pray for a beautiful day with family and a friend. I am looking forward to it but I need your prayers for safe travel there and back. Those of you who know me, know my directionally challenged nature. David won't be able to go because he will have to work...it's a disappointment, but I am thankful he has a job in this economy.

Please remember the people involved in working on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, especially the National Guard. I am proud of my son-in-law and his service to our country and our state. Please also pray for the businesses involved and those losing their livelihood because of this spill.

Jamie is growing like a weed and now jets across the kitchen in her walker like she's done it her whole life. Imagine that at 5 months! She even tries to say "I love you." She's so cute. She's always ready with a smile or laugh and Heather is loving being a mom. It suits her well.

Tiffany and Chris brought us to see How to Train Your Dragon and Iron Man 2. Both were excellent movies. I have enjoyed spending time going to the movies with them. It reminds me of when the girls were little and David's dad used to pick us up all the time so we could go to the movies. It was always followed by a trip to Burger King. What fun we used to have. I miss him.

For Mother's Day the girls gave me a picture frame with a picture of all of them, David Ghere, Chris and Jamie. My growing family. I cried. What would I be without my mommy-moments?

Well,thanks for listening. Until next time I hope this post finds you all happy, healthy and safe. Take care and God bless.

Recent Happenings

Hello Everyone,

Wow, I noticed I haven't posted since June of LAST YEAR! So much for keeping postings to my blog up to date. Since my health has continued to improve I can't seem to find time to post as much...too much to do!

Well, let's see what I remember. I don't think I can go all the way back to June so we will just start in December and go from there. On December 7, 2010 my grand-daughter, Jamie Bethany Ghere was born. She was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long. She is the daughter of my oldest, Heather, and her husband David Ghere. She is growing in leaps and bounds and is now beginning to teethe. She is a happy baby and loves to play with her mom, dad, and Poppi. She never wants for attention... I wonder why :) They now live in Thibodaux to be closer to his new job and they are searching for a house to buy.

Chris and Tiffanybrought Rochelle and I to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I tell you what, 3D is LOTS better than it was when I was a kid; or even a few years ago for that matter. If you haven't been to see anything new in 3D you have to go. It's really cool. I want to see more lol. I would love to see the new movie that's coming out called How to Train Your Dragon. I prefer to watch the kids' movies, they're milder fare than the grown up movies. I prefer my humor to be clean.

David went to preach in a church in Fordoche, Louisiana. It was his first time sharing the Gospel in a church besides ours. He was nervous at first, but I recognized the moment God took over and used him. He became more confident and was strengthened. It was a good experience. He will be preaching at our church again soon on a Sunday night. He continues his studies and remains a straight A student. Please pray for him in his studies and in his work.

David's grandmother, Earline Bergeron (Grandma Bumblebee) passed away on February 11, 2010, just less than 2 weeks after taking a 5 generation picture with Jamie, Heather, David, and Glenna (David's mom). It was very difficult for him to lose his grandmother as he was close to her. She was a wonderful woman who made family greatly important and her faith in God was an example to all her family. During her wake and her funeral her family all honored her by wearing bumble bee pins on their lapels instead of the usual flowers. It was very touching. We will all miss her.

We are finally getting settled into our home again. It's like moving into a new home because when Heather and her family moved out we switched three rooms around. Rochelle's room became our dining room, our room became Rochelle's (with a new coat of paint) and Heather's room became ours. We finally have everything in place and I am enjoying my dining room the most.

I am currently working on bag mats. It is a mission project that requires crocheting grocery bags into mats for the homeless. Our church is donating bags for me and also several family members as well. It takes 500-700 bags to make one 3' by 6' mat. The mats generate heat and protect the user from dampness and they are actually cushiony to boot. We don't have a designated place to give them to yet but we are stepping out in faith that once we get several made God will show us where to send them. I found out about this from a news article about a Lutheran church who was doing it. I thought it was a great idea and adopted it for our church..as they suggested.

Rochelle and I continue also working on various crochet projects. I just made Jamie some fuzzy booties using brush crochet techniques. I finally found a yarn I can use for this again, so maybe more little dogs are going to be next in various colors. I will post a picture of the dogs when I get some made. The yarn is more expensive than regular yarn, but it is fun to work with. Now I can groom dogs that move the way I want them to :D

Please continue to pray for my dad and David's step-dad. Their health continues to decline and I am really worried about them. While you are at it please keep our moms in your prayers as well, they need the strength to be able to continue working and also take care of them. This economy doesn't seem to help much either.

Well, I think that about does it to catch you all up on our news. Take care and God bless.