Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

www.biblegateway.com


Thursday, March 26, 2009

Third Nine Weeks Report Cards

The report cards are in....Hannah made all A's again and Will made all S's again!! YEAH!!!

Hannah's grades:
Reading 93
Math 96
English 97
Spelling 97
Science S (Satisfactory)
Social Studies S
Writing S
Art S
Music S
P.E. S

She also got an S in Conduct and Citizenship.

Will got an S in everything, also. He has done really well. Mike and I are sooo proud of our kids!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Very Sad and Bad News

Today, the kids and I took the dogs to the vet. Baron needed lab work done to check his thyroid level and Gracy needed her front right leg looked at (she's been limping). The vet, Dr. Hooker, x-rayed Gracy's leg and found osteosarcoma, bone tumor. Dr. Hooker said that 90% of the time the tumor will metastasize in the lungs, so she wasn't going to do a chest x-ray. The tumor has eaten through most of one bone (the radius?). The long-term prognosis is poor, about 4 months. She gave us some pain medication to help ease Gracy's pain and to help with swelling so she can continue having a good quality of life. We discussed treatment options, such as amputation and chemo. No matter what we do with her leg, we still have to deal with the tumor(s) in her lungs. Mike and I will discuss it further but I think, with her age and other health issues, we will just continue to monitor Gracy's pain and make sure she is comfortable.

The kids cried at first when I explained to them what it meant. Thank goodness, they have the capacity to move on and not dwell on it. My worry is for Baron. He and Gracy were litter mates, so they have been together from day one. He's only been away from her a handful of times (mostly when he had surgery) but moped the whole time she was gone. He will probably grieve himself sick (or worse).

Gracy and Baron were mine and Mike's wedding gifts to each other. While we were attending the "Preparing for Marriage" class at church, the instructors, Dick and Suzie Jacobs, told us their Lab had puppies and they were giving the babies away. They were born the day before Easter and were the perfect age to take from their mom when we returned from our honeymoon. I picked out Gracy and her name while Mike picked out Baron and his name. They have been with us since the beginning. Gracy's name fits her perfectly: she thinks she is Queen of the house (Your Grace). A few years ago we realize this: Gracy is a girl and she is a golden color (notice all the g's). Baron is a boy and he is black (notice all the b's). This was totally unintentional but so funny.


This is Gracy and Baron when they were about six months old.
They were already huge.
This is Gracy about three years ago.
She loves to be outside, especially with her daddy and the kids.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Cabin Update

Well, because of all the delays with the mortgage company, Mike e-mailed our cabin's potential buyer to make sure he wanted to continue with the sale. (Mike had e-mailed him a couple of times before with no response.) Jim wrote back that he is NO LONGER INTERESTED in buying our cabin. He has already purchased a forecloser and is getting it ready for the market.

So, now that he is not buying it, we are hoping to be able to put it back on the rental market. Because of the lengthy process with the mortgage company, we have not rented it for the last three months.

Thank you for your prayers in this matter. If you think about it and want to, please pray for vacation renters. We really need them right now.

If anyone is interested in renting it for vacations or just a weekend away, let me know. It is located in the heart of Pigeon Forge, TN.

Kids Say The Cutest Things

I just LOVE hearing little ones talk. They come up with the cutest things.

This morning, I went into Andrew's room to get him up. His blankets were all over the bed. I teased him, saying that he made a mess. He replied, "No Mama, me no mess. Tumbles made mess." (Tumbles is his animated dog that he loves to sleep and play with.)

For some reason, all three of my kids had trouble with my step-mom's name when they were little. All the grandkids call her "Mama Joan." Hannah called her Ama Bone, then Ma Boan, then finally Mama Joan. Will called her Papaw Joan, mixing her name and my dad's until he finally caught on with Mama Joan. Andrew calls her Papaw Joan and Ma Boan.

Hannah, Will and Nathan are with Dad and Joan for a few days while they are out on Spring Break. They left here Saturday afternoon and will be back Tuesday. Andrew has enjoyed having Mom and Dad to himself these last few days. But, I know he has missed Hannah and Will, like I have. It has been really quiet with just one child here. Usually there are five: Hannah, Will, Andrew, Nathan and Gracie. Gracie will be here Tuesday and Wednesday and possibly Friday.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Yo-Yo Kind of Weather

Two weeks ago we had about six inches of snow on the ground here, twelve or more where Daddy lives. This past weekend, the temperatures were in the 70's and earlier this week, they were about 80. Today, the temperatures have dropped and it is about 43 outside now. The weather forecasters are predicting a Winter Storm Watch, which means there is a chance that we might get freezing rain, sleet or snow. Whoopee!! NOT!! Mike and I slept with our windows open most of the weekend and the first of this week. Now we have to get our winter coats out again.

Because of the crazy temperatures, Andrew is starting to get a cold. I am hoping no one else gets sick. It's nuts!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Redemption


Priscilla Shirer is coming to Memphis to teach the area women during a revival at the Cook Convention Center on March 27 and 28. It is a free event open to everyone of any denominational, racial, or ethic background and is sponsored by area churches. We are praying that God will do a mighty work and bring about racial (and any other type of) reconciliation. We serve a big God and He can bring healing to this city and area and destroy the enemy strongholds that are currently here. Memphis will be claimed back for the Lord our God through the work and service of women that are His. If anyone is interested and will be in the area, please come check it out. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in Memphis, TN!!!

Check out the website at http://www.Redemption2009.com/ for more information.

We have teams!!!

Both Hannah and Will are playing ball again this spring. Will is playing on the Cubs with his coach from last year, Coaches Keith and Johnny. He will be playing coach-pitch. We went to the team meeting last night to meet some of the players and talk to his coach.

Hannah will be playing for the Sparks. Her coach, Todd Sweety, has been coaching for about four years and has coached this team for the last two. His daughter and the assistant coach's daughter both moved up to a different age bracket but they wanted to stay with the younger girls on the team. They are having a team meeting Thursday night.

Mike is going to be an assistant coach for both teams. His softball team for church has been cancelled. The Men's Ministry Director thought there wouldn't be enough time to get the number of players they needed so decided not to have a spring team. (The snow we had a week ago cancelled church which didn't help our recruiting efforts.) We, and the men we already had recruited, are hoping there will be a fall team.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Old Friends Found

I am soooo excited!!! A friend I haven't seen or heard from since 10th grade found me today on Facebook!!! Kim and her family moved to Amory, MS while we were growing up and we lost touch. She found a couple of us from high school on Facebook and now we are talking again!!! She has four boys, two daughter-in-laws and two grandkids. It is awesome!!

My friend Susan from church knows a guy I went to high school with and works with his wife. Susan was looking through Blake's friends' list and saw my name. A friend from MOPS, Tracy, graduated from high school with a friend I grew up with named Donna. It's been amazing how many people I know from one place knows people I know from a complete different place. What a small world we live in.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Updates

Here are a few updates I wanted to fill everyone in about.

Snow
The total snowfall for here was abut 6 inches. There was snow and some ice on the ground until Wednesday. The warmer temperatures we are having now helped it melt. Dad said they got about 11 1/2 inches. Snow on their roof slid off and blocked their carport. Joan had a friend come over and help clear the snow from in front of the carport and off the driveway. I told Daddy that he now knows what it is like in Ohio in the winter. HEHEE

Cabin
I haven't posted any updates on the cabin because we are still waiting to hear from the mortgage company. About two or three weeks ago, they came back and said they needed more paperwork and two bank statements. We faxed everything to them on President's Day. At the end of that week, Mike called to check on the status. He was told they did not receive part of it so we had to refax it again. From what I understand, now that everything is in, the investors and underwriters have to look over the offer and paperwork and make the decision whether or not to accept it. We have been working on this since Christmas Eve. The buyer's offer expired January 31st and we're hoping he won't back out because of all the delays. Please pray that the mortgage company will accept this offer and that the buyer's offer will still be good. I'll post more when we hear more.