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.