How Do You Say Goodbye?

Well all weekend our thoughts and prayers were with our family who is moving to Oklahoma, how do you say goodbye? Yes there is always the phone and e-mail and yes we did move 600 miles away from all of the rest of our family but they were always there when we came to visit every year. Sheri you have always been such a wonderful part of our visits I knew I could always come to you when I needed and escape, to share thoughts with and complain. I know I haven't told you how much you mean to me. Sheri I thank you so much for your friendship and for being my sister and I Love You. I know you will have wonderful adventures in Oklahoma we only wish we could have had you move closer to us ;)
My wish for you would be this:

"The Irish Blessing":
MAY THE ROAD RISE TO MEET YOU,
MAY THE WIND BE ALWAYS AT YOUR BACK
MAY THE SUN SHINE UPON YOUR FACE
THE RAINS FALL SOFT UPON YOUR FIELDS
AND, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN,
MAY GOD HOLD YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND

Fill My Cup Lord

When the Lord fills our cup, he fills it to be used.

He intends for us to fill the cups of others the best way we know how.

And when we do, the sweetness of his love and peace flows from cup...

to cup... to cup... to cup. In his name. Amen.

Thursday's thoughts

This day was a day of reflection, thinking about all of the changes that are going to take place in the next couple of months, things to really think about and pray over. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful family that is so supportive even in the times of the boys bickering I know that they love each other. I am going to be out on the trail tomorrow trying to find a job this is getting really tiring and time consuming I go on line to look for jobs and it is an all day project, literally it takes all day to go through all of the possible places that are hiring.
Well it is the cold and flue season around here Charles came down with a rather nasty cold last night he woke up this morning stuffed up and not able to breathe, yuck! I had better break out the lysol and spray everything. The boys are all very healthy thank goodness I hate it when the whole family is sick at once. Well that is it for now.........

Movie Night

Tonight was movie night, we bought the kids each a pair of movie tickets for Christmas so they could take a friend to the movies and see something they wanted to see. Do they want to take a friend? No, they want to go to the movies as a family. How wonderful are those children, I cant believe that they would rather see a movie with mom and dad than a friend.
We went to see Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was a good movie kind of weird but not bad. I don't know if I would see it again or not but the kids liked it.
Charles and I went to see Jeseph's Principal today it was supposed to be just me but Charles got sent home early again due to no money being made at the store I know Jan. & Feb are always hard months but as it is now we wont make our mortgage payment Thankfully there is always tax returns abd a brighter future for the month of March and bonus time) oops back to Joey we were called into the principals office because I have a child who has in the past gotten A's & B's and is now doing horribly we are at a loss as to why he is doing this so hopefully between his principal and his teacher and us we can kick him in the butt. Oh we went to Nicholas wrestling awards ceremony last night it was so nice to see him get his certificate I cant wait to see him in the next few years and how well he will do ::: crossing my fingers ::: A lot of his coaches came up to him and told him it was so fun to see him wrestle and that he was a favorite of theirs to watch, they probably say that to all of the parents but it is still nice to hear. Oh they also won the district championships this year Wahoo! And the middle school had 152 wrestler in the program this year it gives you and idea of how big the middle school is, Praise God they are building a new one to be open by next year.

Another Quiz

OK I took another quiz and these are the results of when I am going to die, I can only hope.

Ahh... To be Cool

TOGETHER

TOGETHER

Let us Laugh together,

Listen to one another's words,

Lean on one another's strength,

Love one another from an honest heart.

Then nothing we face will seem

TOO BIG for us to overcome.

Monday, Monday!

I have so much fun on Mondays, Tabatha and I always go out on Mondays and go bargain hunting there is a local chain of goodwill type of stores called Value Village. On Mondays they have $1.00 days for a certain color of tag they have priced with. Tabatha and I go and see what bargains we can find, we have furnished our houses on some of the most wonderful things people give away. The tricky part is we cant get it if it is over $1.00, we have to put it back and wait till the right color day. Yes there are something we have paid the money for but we mostly always wait. We spend the day together and have lunch, Charles has now started joining us he has been getting Mondays off so now he is being bit by the bargain bug.
It is lots of fun.
I have bible study tonight I don't think I will be going because I only got 4 hours of sleep last night (I start worrying and cant sleep) so I am going to go to bed early and maybe take a little nap too.

Sundays

There isn't anything like a wonderful day spent at church and then having friends over for the afternoon, what a wonderful day it was. We started out this morning off to church which in itself was normal but why is it that Satan always tries to ruin the morning? Charles and I get into an argument about why we didn't leave earlier to get coffee, it was misunderstandings and missed words on both of our parts. We discovered we didn't hear all of the conversation we both had said, brother how stupid was that. We get to church and I have a wonderful time spent in worship and singing, how much our spirits are rejuvenated when we praise God. I go and teach Sunday School to the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade children, I know this sounds like a lot but there are only 8 so it makes it quite wonderful. The children are like little sponges! Today's bible teaching was on Numbers 13 when Moses brought the children of Israel to the promised land and there were spies sent into the land to see if it was ok to occupy, when the spies came back (Joshua and Caleb) along with 10 others they told Moses what they found. The 10 said there were Giants and they couldn't be conquered, only Joshua and Caleb were obedient and wanted to go back and take the land, all of the others started complaining. God told the people because of all of the complaining all of the adults would not enter into the promised land. Imagine having to wait for 40 years and all of the adults to pass on before you can go into the promised land. Moses had them there but they had to wait and wander for 40 years more. Can you imagine all of the finger pointing? LOL
After church we had our friends over Cecil, Aathina and the kids, they are such a wonderful family. After an afternoon of eating to much, talking and playing with the baby (5mos) they went home. The rest of the evening we spent as a family watching TV and playing on the computer. :)

Saturday Afternoon Post

I don't know what I have been doing these past several days that I haven't posted but I will try and catch up, humm... now what have I been doing, oh yes I am still stranded at home with no car. I know that there is no real money at the moment to take the car in to get it fixed but I also don't think Charles is doing all he can to fix it. I sometimes think he likes having me home where he can always find me. Well when I had my cell phone he could always find me anyway. Ok so I am pouting I will come back later when I am in a better mood.

I AM THE GUARDIAN OF TREASURE

I AM THE GUARDIAN OF TREASURE

~Richard Macwilliam~
I am the Guardian of treasure, gate-keeper to another world -

Let all who would pass be clean from the inside out,

And all who would pollute, depart.

Be warned - my rules are firm.

I will not bend from rightness nor sway to your winds

-My duty is to the Future and here will I lay my foundations

That my Future stays most pure.

Take not, for I will take from you,

But come in peace and joy

And joy shall be your reward.

Joshua 

Nicholas

Joseph

Saturday at Home

Today was the Saturday at home where you stay in your jammies until noon watching TV and drinking hot chocolate, in other words a lazy day. There was an ice storm brewing outside where it caused lots of accidents so I just decided to not try and venture out. I still don't have a car to drive but hopefully Charles will get that fixed tomorrow. I am so thankful for Sean being willing to help Charles, he always feels like he has to do everything all the time by him self and he cant ask any questions. I am praying that he will be able to fix it completely this time.
The boys are being so...? Errrgh,they are constantly bickering and fighting with each other or constantly tattling on each other. Will I make it through this puberty time right now? With Nic and Joe going through puberty at the same time and their emotions being up in the air as it is Joshua decides to come along and be the boss and straighten things out. " Calgon take me away."

A Mothers Prayer

Lord,

When they scribble on the walls, please help me to see a rainbow!

And when I've said something a hundred times, please give me the

patience to say it a hundred times more!

And on those particularly annoying days when I tell them to act their age,

please help me to remember to act mine!

And through it all, Lord--- the fingerprints and runny noses, messy

rooms and unrolled toilet paper, destroyed video tapes, and broken

knick-knacks--- please help me to remember this:

Someday, these will be the days I will long to have back again!

~Angela Thole~

~What every child needs~

Governor Race

Well I sat back and watched the inauguration of our new governor, yuck! I don't understand how she got to be where she is now, she LOST in two of the counts but when the 3 count comes up and she wins that count she is suddenly the winner? Everyone around her who are all "democrats" were dancing the happy dance while all of the republicans were sitting back in protest. She lost 2 times and then on the 3 time she pulls ahead, now we are hearing about all of this stuff that happened like 8 dead people voted for her, there were votes that were disqualified that were added only from the main county not all of the other counties in Washington state. This is a travesty, I so hope that Dino Rosi can win the court battle and things will have to change then will there be another inauguration and Ball? NOT!
I could just scream.

Keep This For Me

Keep This For Me

Keep this for me."

What child has not said this,

and placed a treasure in his mother's hand

with strict instruction she should keep it safe

Till he return?

He knows with her it will be safe;

No troubles thought or anxious fear besets his mind.

And off he runs lighthearted to his play.

If children can so trust, why cannot we,

And place our treasures, too, in God's safe hand;

Our hopes, ambitions, needs and those we love,

Just see them in His all-embracing care, and say with a joyous heart,

"Keep these safe for me."

~Unknown~

Car Problems

Well here it is Tuesday what a wonderful day it started out to be, I went to prayer meeting and had a wonderful time with God, went home and then went to Nic's wrestling match against another School (he lost ) but then as we went out to the car to leave it wouldn't start, Augghhh again now for the 2nd time in 2 weeks I have had to be towed home. Praise God we have towing. Now two weeks ago it cost us $350 to fix it and now it is down again oh God please let it be something simple. In the past 8 weeks we have had the septic tank go out costing us $1000 and just before that our furnace went out costing us $120 and now the car again.... Well this time it wont be fixed until March when we get our bonus check. Joey may just have to go 1 more year without braces too, it is so sad the one who needs them the most and wants to have them has to wait. Oh the irony of things.

In all of your ways acknowledge

him and he will direct your path.

Sundays of the past

Sunday has always been a fun day for me. After church growing up we always went to my grandfathers house and we would have Sunday dinner with him, the memories it evokes when I think back on these times is powerful and wonderful. I think of going in the door and giving my grandpa a hug and of him always smelling of vanilla pipe tobacco and him always having a pocket full of lemon drops. We would have lunch of roast or fried chicken with mounds of mashed potatoes with the most wonderful gravies mmm... I even got a weird way to eat cottage cheese I sprinkle sugar on it, that is how grandpa ate his. I hope as I get older my children will have wonderful memories of their grandparents I try to always make sure there are moments where they can share their lives even though we are miles apart and we can't be at their homes every Sunday like it was for me when I grew up. I also pray that the grandparents will find this to be times to cherish as well.

Well, here it is Saturday already this week sure has gone fast. I am feeling frustrated because I still don't have a job I have been unemployed for 7 months now sure I am getting unemployment but it really isn't enough to live on. Looking at my checks I only have 6 more weeks to collect than I am thrown into the streets. (well not really but this ship will then be sinking fast) we will only have until about the end of April, hopefully as it gets closer to spring time it will be easier to find work. ::: crossing my fingers:::

A Smile of encouragement at the right moment

may act like sunlight on a closed-up flower;

it may be the turning point for a struggling life.

~Author Unknown~

Bunny Slippers

It's healthy to be willing to laugh at yourself and make light of your shortcomings. We all have our quirks, so we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. One of the best solutions I know for this is to take the "bunny-slipper approach," a philosophy of life we all need to practice.
A friend sent me a pair of bunny slippers, and every now and then I put them on, especially when I am tempted to start thinking I'm important or "nearly famous." There' something about bunny slippers that keeps my perspective where it belongs, but in addition to that my bunny slippers remind me that whatever happens doesn't have to get me down. I can still be a little silly and laugh and enjoy life. Pain dissolves, frustrations vanish and burdens roll away when I have on my bunny slippers.

Barbara Johnson- Mama, get the Hammer