time for a new post...

So, I don't know about any of you, but I am past being sick of this winter weather. I have decided that I'm ready to MOVE!!!!! LOL I was pretty irrate with the snow that fell on friday, but I had to be grateful that I don't live in Ohio! ;-)

The beginning of last week was quite interesting for me starting at about noon on Sunday. I was in the middle of making Sunday dinner when I stepped in a big puddle of water. I then discovered that something I had just taken out of the freezer wasn't quite as frozen as it should've been...needless to say, our refrigerator had apparently bitten the dust at some point during the night. After we frantically unloaded EVERYTHING into our deep freezer & coolers, I ran to the gas station to pick up ice. Then, we proceeded to go shopping for a new fridge...Lowe's, Sear's, Home Depot...here we come! I found & fell in love with a REALLY nice Samsung at Lowe's, loved that they could deliver on Monday, but didn't like the price. So on to Sear's. They had "my" fridge (but a step down), but couldn't deliver until SATURDAY! NO WAY JOSE!!!!!! LOL! Home Depot had nothing interesting, so back to Lowe's we went to see if we could get a "deal". Well, get a "deal" we did -- AND I got exactly what I wanted -- YAY!!!!!!! :-) Here's a pic of my beautiful NEW "BABY"! ;-) Thankfully it got delivered on Monday (which was another andventure in & of itself, that I'm NOT going to go into! LOL) Anyway, I'm very happy to have my new fridge & glad I didn't have to wait a whole week to get it! :-)

I also wanted to post this pic of my wonderful, sweet friend Anna & her new baby boy Kyler Lee. He is SO adorable! He joins 15 mo old Killian, so pray for Anna...Killian wasn't too sure about baby brother when he met him for the first time! :-) (there you go, Mom!) ;-)

Well, I think I'm going to go for now...here's hoping that Spring arrives soon & that we don't get any more snow!!!!!!! :-D

His mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:1

isn't it interesting how God gets our attention sometimes? i wasn't even planning on writing a blog this morning, but this impacted me so much, i had to.
i was just taking a few minutes to check some other blogs before i start working & ran accross the blog of a friend who was talking about being "real" & being discouraged about how things have been going the last week or so.
i totally identified...the last couple weeks have been rough...REALLY rough! (i'm getting teary just thinking about it!)
anyway, i was preparing to write her an encouraging little comment about understanding how she was feeling, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
in the middle of typing my response, i happened to look up at the calendar hanging on the wall of my dreary little cube -- a calendar that i payed a ridiculous amount for to support my niece's school -- but has scripture verses on it.
what i read brought tears to my eyes. i was absolutely speechless (no small feat for me, as many of you know!)...God definitely had my # this morning...it was yet another timely reminder that not only is HE in control...but He knows exactly what i need, when i need it. i hope this verse is a blessing/reminder to you as it was to me...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." ~Joshua 1:9

Please Pray

As a few of you know (& most of you don't know, because I've been too upset to post about it so far) my brother received some very bad news a week ago today. Jeff has been sick since around Christmas time & has had quite a few tests. Last Tuesday he found out he has Hodgkin's. The good news is that after a few more tests we were relieved to find out that it's only stage II. However, he does have to start chemo tomorrow & will have 6 rounds within 12 weeks. At that point they'll run all the tests again to see how everything is & then go from there. So obviously, here's where the prayer comes in:

1) Please pray for my brother...this has been quite a shock to all of us, but he's the one that has to go through it. Chemo is not easy on the body & he will likely be very sick & lose all his hair. He's also going to have to be on disability (after using all his sick/vacation time), but there's no guarantee that he'll even be able to go back to his job (at least not for a very long time, because he works outside in landscaping), so I know that he's worried about insurance, money, etc.

2) Pray for my mom. She's taking this pretty hard because she's been there before (chemo) & she doesn't want her "baby" to have to go through this...she wishes she could go through it for him. Also remember my dad...I know that he's taking this a lot harder than what he's showing us.

3) If you remember me too, that would be great...I live a very long ways away :-( & I'm not sure when or if I'll be able to make it out there to be with my family. It really breaks my heart that my baby brother is having to go through this at such a young age & that I can't be there with him. (you might want to remember Darric too...he's having to deal with all my emotional issues over this!)

The power of prayer is a mighty & awesome thing. Something that we're going to have to rely heavily upon as a family over the next few months. Knowing that our friends & family are praying with us gives us great comfort & we appreciate your thoughts & prayers more than we could ever express in words!

Thanks in advance for all your prayers & support...love you all!!!

My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:12-14

Hope you all have a wonderful & blessed day! Love you all!!!!

I'm still alive...

Well, I have been thinking about posting for about a week...but hadn't gotten around to it yet. I have a ton of pictures that I need to post, but I haven't had a chance to sit down & actually do that. I have this Friday off, so hopefully I'll get a little time to get some up then. For now you'll have to settle for 1 picture! This is at my house the evening we had the Christmas version of our Girl's Nights. These gals are the best friends I could've asked for & I thank God every day that He has blessed me with such wonderful pals! Oleta, Letisha & Tawnya (or as I affectionately like to refer to them 'T-LO' lol), you are AWESOME -- I love & cherish the memories we get to make everytime we get together!!! Love you bunches!!!!

a new day...a new year

It's always hard for me to believe that another year has come and gone. My mom always used to say that each year seems to go faster than the last...& now I find myself saying the same thing! Yikes...lol! :-D Christmas this year was wonderful...in spite of my bout with the flu bug (or whatever that nasty thing was) that made me miss Christmas dinner! Spending time with my family is a rare occasion (since we live so far apart) so I always treasure the little bits of time we get to spend together. We had a lot of fun & I took plenty of pictures, so I will try to get them posted sometime in the near future...
I've been thinking a lot the past few days about my feelings regarding New Year's & thought I would write about it to kind of "get it off my chest"...so here it goes!
I truly have some great memories of celebrating the New Year & also a few bittersweet - even sad - memories from growing up. However, in the last few years I really haven't felt like celebrating much at all & this year was no exception. (Since I wasn't feeling well anyway, I didn't even stay awake to watch the ball drop or get a kiss!) It just seems like it takes too much effort to get all excited about a new year...one in which I'm going to turn another year older!!! In many ways, this new, negative attitude that has begun to take root, has even caught me by surprise & totally off guard. There have even been instances where I didn't really want to say "Happy New Year" back to someone that had greeted me that way! I obviously need to figure out what's going on...those of you that know me, know that normally I love life & am always looking for an excuse to have fun - celebrate something, go out or have a party! Maybe this turning 30 thing is affecting me more than I thought! ha! ;-)
Of course in line with my bad attitude towards the New Year, I must confess that I have never really liked the whole concept of New Year's Resolutions. I feel that generally they aren't taken seriously & are often broken within mere days...or hours in some cases.
Darric & I had a long, verbose conversation about this very subject (one of many) on our loooong road trip - somewhere between Kansas & Virginia - in which I tried unsuccessfully to explain why I feel the way I do.
My reasons may not be completely rational to some on the outside looking in, but for an emotional person such as myself, they make perfect sense. Of course we proceeded to discuss, reason & analize it until we were sick of the conversation...but at least it kept us "entertained" for a couple hours! :-)
Regardless of that, I've not necessarily changed how I feel about the matter, but I was challenged to make a better effort to work harder at reaching the goals I had already set (a few months ago) for myself...& to carry them out in the New Year. So, I guess whether I like it or not, another new year has come & I have goals/resolutions (or whatever you want to call them) to uphold...& so far so good...we'll just have to take it one day at a time!
Anyway...Happy New Year...I think! ;-)