How well do you know yourself/your spouse

Ya know after my post on Monday about marriages and issues that we face, I have been asking the LORD which direction should I take this? Every comment was positive and agreed that this needs to be discussed and addressed.....

Marriage takes work...ALOT OF HARD WORK. COMMITMENT. DEDICATION. DYING TO YOURSELF. INTIMACY. SPONTANEITY. and it takes knowing yourself and your spouse. One of the first things that we did with our Lifecoach was this. We took a test on ourselves ~ our personalities if you will. At the end of the test we found out what our personalities were. BUT here is the thing. We found out how those things about your spouse that drive you crazy....or just plain make you mad ~ GUESS WHAT?!?!?! They are your gift!
Here is my example.....One thing about me is I am the loud, outgoing, see something and I go for it, where my DH is EEYORE. He is quiet, thoughtful, and doesn't really get excited much and if I say "let's do it" he says" woah wait a minute here let me think about this".....screech.....WHAT DO YOU MEAN "wait a minute"??? Or there was also the fact that I was a stay at a home mom and didn't let's just say use all of my words.....A woman/sanguine woman at that needs to use all of her words or she will DIE :) LOL but my DH who is a off the charts melancholy needs quiet to be recharged because people drain him. WHo knew this stuff?? Him going to work and being drained all day by people and then coming home to a wife who needed to talk and go and do was killing us! You would think these are easy things to know but if you don't know them about yourselves or your spouse and you are drainging each other of course your marriages will suffer! (without even trying to) This is just simple everyday knowledge that helped so much in our relationship and continues to do so today. After taking these tests we were told to study our spouse....A school of them if you will. Know what makes them tick, what words to use (this is a big one!) I still have to dig deep on this one. What their strengths/weaknesses are.
Here is the wonderful thing about this: You can go to this website here and download the test for free. I recommend doing it for everyone in your family and your will see how amazing God is by putting the perfect combination together! If you want to you can purchase the book Personalty Plus by Florence Littauer to further learn more about your personalities. I did this but like I said this is something that I love to understand about people!

Of course, there are alot of things that we learned about our dependency on each other vs. our dependency on God. But this test is something I believed God used as a tool to help us and it can/will help you if you truly study and learn yourself and your spouse. It helps in raising kids as well What works for one doesn't work for the other, bc why? they are NOT the same personality! I have two opposite and trust me I cannot do the same thing with each child!

If you have any questions please ask but enjoy the test, and learning more about your families that God made you as a team! Together you will all work and learn to love each other in a whole new way!

A new note from Dad

Wanted to share Dads new note since he is speaking in part to you all


From Dad,
Weebles Wobble

I spent this week trying to build up my strength and stamina – somewhat successfully, but it is a struggle. It’s a bit of a Catch 22 – I need strength and stamina to build up my strength and stamina – yet I get tired when trying to build them up so I don’t have the strength and stamina to build up my strength and stamina. Oh well, as I’ve said multiple times: “One Day at a Time!” I am looking for progress – not perfection!

Watching me walk is kind of funny at times. Occasionally, I’ll just be going along and I’ll wobble – like one of the Weebles that were around in the 70’s. Weebles were toys that were fat on the bottom and when pushed, they wouldn’t fall over. The slogan that was promoted was: “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down”. Weebles may still be around; I just haven’t seen them. They were cool little toys.

Last night we went to the feed store and on the way back to the truck I wobbled and the people next to us looked at me like I was a hopeless drunk. Obviously, I’ve seen the look before! But that’s what is happening to me lately. I don’t fall down or run into things – I just wobble like a drunk.

I didn’t get much done this week and I have a list of things to do – like call Dennie, write thank you notes, and acknowledge some wonderful people that I don’t know but they are reading my daughter’s blog and sending me the nicest notes.

A couple of really nice things happened this week. First, as some of you know, my brothers-in-law are Mormon. From my vantage point, Mormons are the most consistent of all groups to demonstrate and live family values.

My brother-in-law from Provo, UT wanted to come visit us and work on things on the property that I cannot get to. He also wanted to bring several of the young people from two of the local wards and have them help. To accomplish this he worked locally with Glenn McIntosh.

On Saturday the whole group arrived; probably around 50 people – parents, young people, and children. They painted our fence, cleared brush, washed windows, sprayed our roses and crepe myrtles, dug out our ditch, and completed a number of other things. They were all wonderful and really spruced things up. I am very grateful for their help. Our place looks wonderful!

Second, I received the nicest basket from Jennifer Webb and friends at Oracle (a technology company). There were some nice things in the basket, but there were two things I value most. The first is a Lance Armstrong’s yellow, rubber wrist band that says “LiveStrong” on it. I’ve wanted one of those since I was first diagnosed, but I didn’t take the time to order one. To me, it is a constant reminder to remain positive and do things that will help me maintain my attitude, strength, stamina, etc.

The second thing that I valued was a small laminated card. The card is titled “What Cancer Cannot Take From You” and has a short verse written on it:

“It cannot take away your faith,
Shatter your hope, or lessen your love.
It cannot destroy true friendship,
Invade the soul, or take
away eternal life.
It cannot conquer your spirit.”

I would give credit to the author, but the author was not listed.

The message is very powerful and expresses many of the feelings and thoughts I have about this disease and about myself. All of the things mentioned are inner essences and the deepest and truest nature of us: faith, hope, love, true friendship, soul, eternal life, and spirit. I think is so important to develop these essences because these are what I and we will have while here and afterwards.

I’ve found that it is very difficult to develop these. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, one way to develop them is to seek to systematically destroy in myself everything which I know should not be there - things such as selfishness, pride, vanity, self-righteousness, jealousy, self-pity, resentment, condemnation, and so forth. One way to eliminate these is by not nourishing them by giving into them, but starving them to death by refusing them expression. Sounds easy; but it is much more difficult than it sounds.

AA also has an approach to deal with these negative characteristics; but even AA’s approach (the Twelve Steps) does not eliminate them – it can improve them, but I haven’t seen any of them eliminated.

Both approaches are extremely difficult to practice. In fact, I have been very happy with progress. I know I can never eliminate any of them. If I could, the next step may be to try to walk on water – and that’s not going to happen! I'd drown in an instant! As I said before, I fall far short of achieving the goal, but it is something I want to work toward each day.
Doug Woods


I personally would like to thank each one of you for sending him a note ......I know it has touched him deeply and for me, it is seeing the hand of God reach our through each one of you in a powerful loving way! I love you all!

Marriages

When I started blogging I really had no idea what I was doing. As time has gone on and I have read other blog articles, one in particular, said that "if we force what we write" it will not be successful, that we must write about what we are passionate about. I am passionate about Marriages and seeing them succeed. In todays society and especially in recent months I have experienced what I feel is an epedemic. Adultery. I wrote a post on a this subject 6 months ago and not in the light that you might suspect. I wanted to repost this, and since that post (which spurred me to write it) I have seen some of these particular couples begin working on their marriages and are making it work, another couple has completely separated and the person who left has had a couple of other relationships but it is their 4 children that are suffering and it will only be one day that this person wakes up and is TIRED of having these same issues over and over but first they must recognize it to want to deal with it!

Yesterday in our family meeting my husband ran across a prophetic word that was given to the two of us: It talked about the ministry we would have as a couple helping to set the captives free, being Gods vessels ~ anointed by HIM as a team to help those who have experienced the heartache that we have. God didn't give up on us or on our marriage! We humbled ourselves and we worked hard and fought for each other, for ourselves, and for our children and future generations!

It is possible to survive this epidemic



INFIDELITY
It appears to be an epidemic lately and it is affecting Christians and non-Christians alike.

What does this say about us(Christians)...what does it say about the church? and what does it say to those who are not in the church when they see this happening?

When my husband and I were in year 12 of our marriage let's just say the cracks of our life, our marriage became wider and wider and we began the journey to wholeness individually and together as husband and wife. Here is the thing...We attended Church, We knew the Word, We LOVED THE LORD but yet we are human and were walking in sin every single day but it came to a point that we knew we needed help. We had actually cried out early on in our marriage to our pastor and he looked at us after hearing our "issues" and said "on a scale of 1 - 10 you guys are about a 6 or 7 and you will be fine." WHAT?? EXCUSE ME?? There was no guidance, no true help so we continued until life became unbearable and years later, God connected us to a LifeCoach. We had no idea what we were in for... NONE but let me tell you this....She loved us, she taught us and she pointed us to God. She helped us to dig deep (I MEAN DEEP!!!) She did not call herself a counselor and we could not call her in the midst of ANY storm to settle things because that was Gods job. She said we had all of the answers within and together with the Holy Spirit and with each other all things would be revealed. It has truly been a journey and honestly what I am going to say is going to shock some and maybe even step on some toes. For that I am sorry....I asked the Lord to guide my words today and checked my motive...But this thing called infidelity is so rampant in Gods people right now that I just have to ask....WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT? What is missing in so many, that they CHOOSE to "look elsewhere?" I will tell you..... it's FEAR of ....Pain...Truth.... Selfishness....taking off their masks. It is rooted in their pasts, abandonment issues, fear of rejection~ some deal with this on a daily basis at home or work. Am I excusing this behavior? Absolutely NOT! Am I sharing a different perspective...Yes.

How then,can we help these people who are struggling with these issues? We Love them. We don't judge them. (not our job) We speak the truth in love to them. We walk with them daily. We point them to Jesus and we pray for them. We listen and we love. If they ask ~ we can help them to be accountable. When they are humble, broken and willing & looking within they will honestly tell you they knew it was wrong and I have seen it & experienced it ...This humility almost always allows God to heal their wounds and restores them to Himself. It purifies them to wholeness, sealing the cracks in their hearts & minds. He walks them through the pains of their childhood that have caused them to get to this point. He breaks off the generational curses so that they can walk as an Oak of righteousness and will no longer be bound to the sins of the father (per se.)

You know I might add "infidelity" can come in the form of work, sports, ministry, computer etc. It's not always found in the form of someone elses arms or mind.

So many times when this situation occurs, the person who has been "cheated on" gets all the support and RIGHTFULLY SO, THEY NEED IT! but here me on this one....It takes two people to get to this point. Most of the time (seriously MOST) the person who has put their attention, affection, or time elsewhere did not SET OUT to do this and needs help and support just as much as the other one. These people are crying out and don't really even have any idea how quickly things can escalate and before they know it they are caught in the middle of the biggest trap of the enemy (a trap I might add, that is not just for them but also for their children if they have them) but if they had been honest with themselves and/or their spouse on the very first thought, or look or whatever it was that took them down that wrong path things could be soo different but the world inundates them saying "it's ok" and unfortunately MOST (not all) churches don't even "go there" or if they do it's clearly just in judgement form stating the facts..."It just wrong," Not wanting to get to the root of the why's.

Reforming and Restoring is the heart of our Father and His son...Our Saviour, He also gave us the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth when we let Him (& not our feelings) lead and guide us. He looks at our hearts and sees the wounds and longs to heal them. He disciplines those He loves and this issue definately calls for discipline but when that person is humbled and willing & allows or embraces the Lords discipline, it brings about a true Love of the Father that otherwise would have been lost. Lost not only to them, but to future generations as well.

I know there are those that choose to stay living in this sin and the pain and scars it gives to those who are left behind to pick up the pieces and wonder daily, how or why this happened, my heart goes out to each and everyone and especially the children who clearly have no idea but are left in a situation of divorce or separation. Some suffer with living then in a home of bittness, unforgiveness and pain & IF the person doesn't know the Lord or can't find that place of forgiveness, it is even worse. I was a child of this epidemic called infidelity and know the devastation and the havoc that it causes. I grew up and did the same thing, but because of Gods grace and the hard work that He so graciously allowed me to do, the strength and love He has provided me with has given me a compassion for all involved.

Spiritual Sundays

I am reading Voices Of The Faithful Book2 and will be reviewing it this week but wanted to share this particular story for this weeks Spiritual Sundays. Thankyou to Charlotte and Ginger for hosting! Please go visit here and read other posts! You will be encouraged, inspired, and may the LORD speak to you and bless you as HE does me each week.

"Happy Birthday Boy"

God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me (to comprehend); how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you" Psalm 139:17-18(HCSB)

A college student name "Boy" is a faithful encourager to fellow believers. His father died when he was only four. His mom struggles as a single-mother kindergarten teacher in Thailand. Boy likes to help volunteers who come to teach English to university students. As a result of the time he has spent with volunteers and missionaries he's fluent in English.

His uncomplicated understanding of God astounds me. I once asked him if he was ever angry that his dad died. Puzzled, he responded "you know all those verses that tell people to take care of widows and orphans?" I always thought God love me more than other people."

During a bible study gather, I asked what God had done that was special during the week. Boy quietly answered. "I've never had a birthday party, a cake, or a present in my life. My family is poor, and my mom works hard. She's never even said "happy birthday" to me." Tears burned in my eyes as he continued, not complaining, just telling his story. "But one night this week, I had a dream Jesus was standing in from of me with a birthday cake. He said 'Happy Birthday' Boy. I love you." I woke up and realized that it was my birthday. I had forgotten but God hadn't.

Our Savior's thoughts are countless for each one of us.

David, Southeast Asian Peoples
God of Grace, Who knows each star by name, nothing is too great nor too small for your attention. Thank you for giving us a home and a family in YOU. Amen

May these Words remind each of us How Precious We are to Our Heavenly Father!

Love and Blessings to you

Prayer Chain

Steve at Gotta have Faith has tagged me. This isn't your normal tag....this is a prayer tag !! I love it and am excited to see what God does in this. This originated with LuvinthisLIfe so I will add both of their prayer requests and then add my own. The thing I love about my followers is that we are all prayer warriors so If you feel led please take this and do it as your post today or tomorrow and come back and let me know ok! Only one rule applies: Please just put first names to protect privacy ok....Thanks!


PLEASE LIFT THESE PEOPLE UP IN YOUR PRAYERS!

Lisa~ pregnancy (18 Sept 09)
Sherri and Todd~ waiting for Emma (17 Sept 09)
Debby~ broken ankle; travel (17 Sept 09)
Steve~ Medical Concerns (15 Sept 09)
Cameron~ Hodgkin's Lymphoma (12 Sept 09)
Valerie~ Medical Concerns (12 Sept 09)
Joy S~ Pedi Open Heart Surgery (8 Sept 09)
Valerie~ Unspoken (2 Sept 09)
Heather~ Unspoken (2 Sept 09)
Doug~ Salvation (2 Sept 09)
Heather R~ Medical Concerns (2 Sept 09)
Myself~ School & USAFR Decisions (1 Sept 09)
Krista T~ Cancer (7 Aug 09)
Nell~ Cancer (31 July 09)
Nika~ Missions in Russia (25 July 09)
Anonymous~ Fertility Concerns (15 July 09)
Heather S~ Medical Concerns (15 July 09)
Elijah~ Cystic Fibrosis (22 June 09)
Merle and June~Summer Missions (29 May 09)
JK~deployed (27 May 09)
Duane~Medical Concerns (27 May 09)

Michael~ Mother in Law passed away
Mario~ 90 year old Mother in Hospital
Caitlyn~ Healing
Kat~ Healing
Doug~ Healing and Salvation!
Amy~ Healthy Pregnancy
World~ Peace

Greyley~Peace
Andrew~healing
Tonya~healing
Chris~ healing and strength
Kori~ comfort, peace, and strength
Dusty~ awareness, peace intimacy
Mary and family~ strength and breakthrough!
Our Nations Leaders

ANDREW (brain mass)
BENTLEY (heart )
CARLY
CAROL P.(stroke)
CHAD, NIKKI, (Baby JOHANNA)
DOUG (Loren's dad)
FAMILY OF MIKE(passed away)
HANNAH
J.D. Rider family
JANE ANN
JED (cancer returned)
JERRY ERBY
JIM ( Mary's husband)
KERI CAIN (heart)
KORI AND BOYS (loss of Richard)
LENORE PEER
LIESA & Family
LINDSAY
MADELINE ELLIS
PHYLLIS (chemo for breast cancer)
PRESTON SNEAD (6 yrs old)
ROBERT ADAMS (cancer)
RON, ALLELUIABELLE
STACY (stroke)
T.B.
TAMMY
TIFFANY (brain mass)
WANDA LONG (cancer)

These next few are specifically for Salvation
Doug
ASHLEY M.
BRUCE R.
CHRIS F.
DENNIS
JERRAD
JERRY
MARIE
NATHAN
RICK (Stephanie's brother)
SUSAN S.
WILLIAM B.


I brought some of these over from my friend Beths prayer blog....She is a mighty prayer warrior herself, I know when I meet her she will have bruised knees! Thankyou Beth for all you do and for keeping all of these before us as we lay them at the feet of JESUS!

I am so grateful and excited to see what God does with this! so if you feel so led.......TAG! YOU'RE PRAYING :)


love and blessings

Friday Funnies

Well T.G.I.F :)

Laughter is such good medicine isn't it!!! I always find laughter when I visit KIM at Homesteaders Heart and she hosts Friday Funnies so if you want to laugh go visit her and thank her for hosting this every week!

Let me introduce this video. I received in my email yesterday, an AUDIO of this woman about her and her husband (whom she refers to as LEFT BRAIN) while on a trip to Canada and how they had a 5 hour timeframe to do something fun while waiting to go to the airport. The representative suggested BUNGEE JUMPING. I want you to know I laughed until I cried. I so desperately wanted to share this with all of you for my Friday Funny but have not been able to figure out how to transport it onto my post since it is just an audio. So I researched this funny woman on youtube. She is a 6'2" beautiful North Carolina Beauty Queen. The audio I received is not on youtube but she does have a few videos and they are all funny! This is one I found and hope you enjoy her story on Golf Christening and may all of you have a Fabulous Friday!




Love and Blessings

Thankful Thursday

It's one of my favorite posting days in which we share our grateful hearts with you and give our Praise unto the LORD and this week Laurie is sharing Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ JESUS to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Wow! Just allow that to wash over you.....I didn't find the Lord until I was 27 and trust me I lived a life that was so far away from HIM, its hard to even imagine that HE had created good works for me to do IN ADVANCE ~ knowing how I would live my life before I ever even met HIM!! I don't know about you all but that just excites me! To know that I am HIS masterpiece ~ that is so very humbling and when you allow those words to go deep into your Spirit and Soul and then your mind too it is almost to much to comprehend! But it is true! HE adores me. He created me in HIS own image and HE knew that one day I would wake up and CHOOSE HIM. ACCEPT HIM. and then by HIS Grace I would begin to do those things that HE did prepare for me to do.
Some days I hit the mark and some days well I just don't. I have been taught that if the Lord has something for someone(me) to do and I miss the call then someone else will be given that job and I will have missed the opportunity. I hate it when that happens! But what I have learned is that when I have a repentant heart and will turn from those ways(that caused me not to do what it is He was asking) whether they be selfish or fearful or just plain rebellious the Lord in HIS infinite MERCY picks me up, teaches me from those things and allows me to begin again doing those things that HE created for me to do. He forgives me. He teaches me and HE walks with me every step of the way. That just fills me with gratefulness. With thanks so deep that words don't even come close to what I really want to say or feel. But being HIS masterpiece ~ He already knows that :) He made me this way

Have a great Thursday and may we all KNOW that we are HIS MASTERPIECE ~ each one of us! Let us accomplish the work HE has planned for us to do today! For other Thankful Thursday posts go here

A new note from Dad

I just wanted to update you all on Dad and share the note he wrote this past Sunday. I shared with you all yesterday that hearing his voice on the phone he sounded much better. He is still taking it slow and steady and for this I am VERY grateful. Dad has always been a work-a-holic :) So for him to realize that he needs to take it slow is HUGE!!

I am trusting that JESUS is continuing to WOO Dad closer and closer and that Dad will receive HIM as his Saviour! I am standing on HIS Word that it is HIS will and that WILL ~ will be done! Thankyou again for your continued prayers and thankyou for being a part of the miracle that Dad is still here after all his body has endured!

An update from Doug:
I apologize for the time I’ve been away. As you will see, the ordeal with the blood clots in my lungs and leg took its toll on me. Last week, I was very weak and used oxygen for a lot of the week. Fortunately, I am feeling better and able to take some steps to make things even better.

I said this the last time I wrote, but I had no idea how serious the clots were or how dangerous my situation was. My situation was discussed several times this week as every doctor emphasized how fortunate I was – meaning that I am lucky to be alive. According to the doctors I saw this week, they were all amazed I am still alive. I knew it was serious – I just didn’t know how serious!

I can recall two occasions during the past 8 weeks when I had serious chest pains. I’m now convinced that those two occasions were when the clots passed through my heart and went to my lungs. Both occasions were very painful – the first occasion was late one night shortly after the radiation started and the last was two weeks ago – the day I went to the Mayo emergency room. On both occasions, I knew that I was experiencing something abnormal. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know that what I was going through was life-threatening.

Two weeks ago, after I checked into the hospital, every doctor I saw reminded me how lucky I was. One doctor even came into my room and said that it was standard operating procedure, but she wanted to know if I wanted to be resuscitated if my heart stopped. I thought that was an odd question – given I had just checked into my room. I’m pretty sure they don’t asked every patient that question. Looking back, this was another indication of how serious my situation was.

Anyway, in response to her question, I told her that I did want to be resuscitated - I just don’t want to be kept functioning using a machine – not to breathe, not to keep my heart going, not to maintain my brain function, or anything else like that. I want to be resuscitated if they can start whatever stopped without leaving me on some machine that performs a function that one of my organs should perform.

Enough of that…

The best news this week is that they ran an MRI on my brain. The news is the three spots on my brain are under control – one spot is completely gone and the other two are smaller and are expected to vanish in a month or two. Both Barbie and I are thrilled with the news!

Another bit of good news – I started feeling better this past Monday. I regained some of my strength and was able to reduce my dependence on the oxygen. Best of all, my sore throat showed improvement and I started eating more regular food with a minimum of pain. As an example of how much better my throat is, I ate two tacos! Ah, Mexican food!

My oncologist said that I will not receive any more chemotherapy treatments until things stabilize. She wants me to gain weight – I’ve lost about 30 pounds. I hadn’t eaten well for about 4 weeks because my throat was sore and nothing tasted good. That has all changed this past week. I’m eating almost everything placed in front of me.

I would say that things are finally getting a little better. I sense that where I am now is going to require a longer recovery period. I’ve finally been beaten into submission enough that I am willing to take things slowly and ease back into daily activities. I have been sedentary for so long that I need to build up my strength and that is going to take some time, As I said, I am willing to go slow and to do whatever I need to do. One Day at a Time!
Doug


A while ago, Kat suggested that maybe I should ask you all to send cards or a note to my dad to let him know you are praying for him and I think now is a great time to ask you all if you feel led to do this. I know my Dad is humbled by the amount of people praying for him but I also know when you get something in writing it just moves you that much more!

If you all want to send him a note or a card his address is:

Doug Woods
4000 State Road 16
St Augustine, FL 32092

Love and blessings to you all! Thank each one of you for your prayers, love, support and encouragement!

September 15, 2009

FOR TODAY...

Outside my window...cloudy and misting still. Cooler weather but I am very ready for FALL :)

I am thinking...How I just spent 4 hours doing pre-op this morning and within 30 min of being home received a phone call postponing my surgery until next Friday.....wondering what that is about but trusting the LORD has it all in HIS hands.

I am thankful for...talking to my Dad last night and hearing how good he sounded! He is taking it slow and steady but sounded soooo much better

I am wearing...capri jeans, black loafers and my black OSU rain jacket....GO POKES :)

I am remembering...how much I loved when the kids were babies! Seeing Krista with Rylee this weekend just takes me back to when mine were little and how I loved holding them and seeing each new development....sitting up, smiling, taking their first steps, saying mama or dada.....

I am creating...more time to be alone with my Heavenly Father, being in HIS WORD and in HIS Presence while the HOLY SPIRIT brings it all together bringing LIFE and an all consuming Fire!

I am going...to have more time to prepare now that my surgery was postponed and will be able to finish the book I am reviewing YAY!

I am reading...loads of good stuff!

I am hoping...my husband has a week filled with Strength, Assurance and Peace from the LORD, this is a VERY hectic week and he is out of town each day having meetings that are all on HIS turf so he says and he wants to do well! I have no doubt that he will do awesome and the LORD will lead and guide him through it ALL!

On my mind...so many people and situations.....

Pondering these words..."Being a mom does not define me. Neither does being a wife or a daughter. What defines me is my relationship with JESUS" Rachel Barkey on her website Death is not dying.

Around the house...still more organizing and now fall decorating can begin :)


One of my favorite things~ getting caught up at home and with my friends and family and here in blogsville! Hearing my dad on the phone sound soo much better.....

A few plans for the rest of the week: will be doing moms hair on Friday and getting some items put on Craigslist to sell, fall decorating and resting up from this past weekend

From my picture journal...

The many faces of Rylee :).....OH HOW I LOVE THIS LITTLE ONE!!




Love and blessings to you all!

Wow! What a weekend!

What A weekend this has been!!! From 4:45 am on Friday morning until last night at 10pm we Have worked like dogs!! What did we do you ask???? Well I will show you

Friday was the SURPRISE bedroom makeover for Jen that took 17 hours (Ha 17 hours for the 17 yr old...should have done this years ago huh?) ;) My husband was SUPPOSE to be home by 11a.m. and something went wrong with his plane so he was rescheduled to arrive at 3. My mom got here around 10 and my oldest daughter saved the day and came around 1. She was our runner in the early part of the day going to get more paint, picking up her daddy at the airport, brother at school etc. But there was a point early in the morning when I was about to cry thinking there was no way to pull this off. I asked the LORD to please help and make this possible and EVERYTHING CAME TOGETHER. Mom and I spent most of the day putting on the primer and then around 3 Jennas friends and BRIAN showed up! They began adding the color and it went so quick! Well then they all left and now it was time for the tedious trimming the edges and corners and the ceiling too. Krista was amazing with the ceiling pole ~ we called her 'THE BEAST" and Brian, Mom and I did all the trimming. Finally after 17 long hours and many trips up and down the stairs we were finished. Where was Jen you say?? Well school during the day and her friends detained her afterschool, then she had to work a football game and then took her to eat afterwards until they received the "official ~ come home" text from us. We all sat patiently waiting to see her response......SHE LOVED IT! Here are some pics

Krista "the beast" painting the ceiling


Tyler and Angelea painting away


Some of us waiting on her to walk in to her SURPRISE!


Surprise!!


Jennas room was HOT PINK before...I am so sorry I didn't take any before pics but here are some of the final outcome


This also leads into her bathroom which we also had to paint




This is my favorite! This is Rylee ~ I think she might be saying "GOOD GRIEF PEOPLE, it's 11pm and I have been such a good girl ALL DAY LONG.....ARE WE DONE YET??"



Then Saturday ~ Jenna had her first date. Ty asked her Daddy if he could take her out to dinner for her birthday. He gave them permission and he took her to an Italian restaraunt and then to Braums for ice cream.


Here they are all dressed up for their date.


On Sunday Brian cooked 6 racks of ribs, his famous and oh so delicious salsa, and coleslaw. I made 2 huge pans of potato casserole, corn on the cob, baked beans and brownies. We had a house full of family and friends. The kids had a good time and played a silly game called haha and then they played "twister"

This is the haha game. One says Ha. next one says ha and adds a ha to it and so on.....soooo silly and funny to watch


Here are some of the twister pics




We also rearranged our bedroom and the game room and put a recliner in my bedroom for my upcoming surgery this Friday so that I can sleep in it.

This morning Jen woke up and is sick. I am praying it is NOT the flu! She complained yesterday of her head hurting but bc of her party, I think she really downplayed how she truly felt.

It was a wonderful weekend and as my mom said "ALOT OF FAMILY BONDING" and we were all super sore :) but Jenna loves her room and I am soooo grateful for my family and Jenna has amazing friends and without any of them NONE of this would have been possible!

I missed visiting you all and have alot of catching up to do!
Love and blessings to you all!