Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Been a While

2008-12-16T08:49:00.001-08:00

I'm taking one day at a time. I've found a new church. I'm not as active. I have trouble going some days. I miss my old church family dearly...I hear a song Stacey used to sing or I see something that reminds me of them and it tears my heart out. I know my decision is the reason I can no longer be there but I lost a huge part of myself. My ex is not paying child support so I'm having to take him to court. Who would have thought he wouldn't help take care of his children? Of course after all the things he did after the fact, it doesn't actually surprise me. I admit I made my share of mistakes but at least I owned up to them. He's lying on top of it all. I have witnesses and pictures. We'll see what happens in court. The girls are doing great. I don't think the 50/50 custody is good for them. Not enough stability. That's another thing we'll do in court this week. He has a girlfriend now so I wish he'd just move on, pay his support. He buys Faith a cell phone but she's not allowed to call her own mother. He acts like he's this faithful, good guy but it's all a charade. My true friends and family know the truth and that's all that really matters. My decision is no ones business nor is it for anyone to "understand". Unless you're in someones shoes you can't. My girls are healthy and HAPPY...probably better than they have in a long time. I'm having fun and meeting a lot of new people..my prince charming will come one day. Right now my focus is my girls and getting us out of our financial situation that he helped get us into. My only regret in this whole thing is that I didn't do this a long time ago!!!

Moving on

2008-10-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

So my divorce is final in 6 weeks!! The ex decided to hack into my email, myspace and facebook and change my passwords and read my emails. He tore up most of what he left in the house. I had to change the locks and get a protective order. He came home drunk and was in my face one night...but he is gone! I have made my share of mistakes and will the first to admit it but this is stupid. I'm just ready to move on. I've met a few people and I am having fun again. I've met a couple of blasts from the pasts. The ex blogs about not being angry and how closer to God he's getting and then pulls this stupid s***. What a joke. My true friends know the truth and that's all that matters..

and to those who think I'm getting what I deserve. Bite me

Holiday World

2008-07-30T10:05:00.001-07:00

Faith, Maggie, Chloe and Stasia
Faith in the splash park
The girls again

We had a long, fun filled day at Holiday World. We spent most of the time in the water park. How blessed we are to be able to do fun things like this with friends and family.

Faith's 8th Birthday Party

2008-07-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the evening swimming
and on the trampoline

Hope and her friends Haley and ElissaBeth
All the girls!! Yes they all stayed the night! What a great time. Thank goodness it's only once a year. Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Fourth of July

2008-07-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

My camera has a firework setting on it. Look how weird this picture came out of Hope!

The ABC's of ME

2008-06-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Took this from my friend Staci's blog.

Stole this from Perri's blog. She always has funsies to do or share. She's cool like that!! Thanks Perri!

A. Aromatherapy? Satsuma from The Body Shop, clean linen or cotton, Apple Cinnamon

B. Best Buds? Wow...Connie, Tracy, Tara, Jodi, Jessica, Susan, Sonya, Julie, Jennifer, Cathy, Trin

C. Can't eat just one? Mini Snickers

D. Roller Derby in your future? Only as a spectator

E. Essential item? Lipgloss

F. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Read

G. Gotta love it when? Your kids hug and kiss you for no reason.

H. Home town you grew up in? Boonville

I. Favorite Indulgence? Chocolate milkshake, whip cream

J. Just what where you thinking when you said? Sure I'll teach again

K. Do you have Kids? What are their names? Yes!! Faith Renee and Hope Avery

L. Life isn't complete without? Jesus Christ

M. Marriage Date? February 14, 2000

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother, 2 sisters

O. Oranges, apples or other? Cantaloupe

P. Phobias? Sharks, gators, small enclosed spaces

Q. Quotes? God is good all the time

R. Reasons to smile? My God and my kids

S. Speed Dial Numbers? Hubby, mom and dad

T. TV shows you don't want to miss? My soaps

U. Unknown fact about me? I've been to jail......long time ago before my christian days!

V. How do you Veg out? A good book on the porch

W. Worst habit? Pulling my eyelashes

X. eXperience you don't want to do again? Death of a friend

Y. Your favorite food? Mexican

Z. 'Zactly what were you thinking when you said? I do...just kidding...Let's landscape the front yard!

Someone's pants are on fire!

2008-06-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Who could that be??? Oh let's see, the weather man maybe! Yesterday the weather channel told me that rain would not start until until 3 p.m. today. So 5:30 a.m. we set up for our yard sale......our 8 tables of stuff and 15 trash bags of clothes...then the thunder rolls. I speed to Wal-Mart to get tarps to cover stuff but by the time I get out it's a torrential down pour and the parking lot is flooded....and the clothes are soaked :(. We got the clothes and electronics covered but it's still raining.

Oh yeah, this is after I fell over a box this morning and skinned both my knees....what a day!

New Additions!

2008-06-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is Max our baby
Our new addition Gracie
and Lilly
How sweet!

We went to a friend's Saturday and someone had dropped off 2 litters of kittens. We brought Gracie home and were talking to a neighbor and her friend fell in love. There was another one just like her at the place we got her so we gave her to the friend and went back the next to get another one like her. We could not catch her but the calico came right up to us so we brought Lilly home. Later that afternoon my neighbor came back with Gracie in hand. Her friend's dog didn't take to well to her and they couldn't take her so we now have 3 cats...but that's OK!

Girlfriends weekend

2008-05-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hanging out on the patio
Jodi, Tara, Sonya and Jess
Me and Jodi...Jodi has lived away and just recently moved back to town. We hadn't been with her for 13 years...but it was like it was yesterday!

My bestest friends since 7th grade get together several times a year. This weekend we met at Jessica's in Fishers. 10 of us made it. We sat outside and ate and talked and looked through pictures and old yearbooks then we went inside and talked and stayed up until about 2 chatting. We had a blast as always! We are going to get together again in September in Cincinnati. I love you girls!

Our neighborhood on cops...

2008-05-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently this afternoon two men broke into a home on Franklin and the homeowner came home and they took off on foot. The police found them by my house soon after. We need to move!!!! I keep praying we can move closer to church and this only solidifies my thoughts!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T15:57:00.001-07:00

To all moms...Happy Mother's Day! What a blessing it is.

Stitches

2008-05-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

It was time to take them out so I took a suture removal kit home from work. Thursday evening Jamie sat on Hope and held her down and I removed the stitches. It was awful. She screamed "Mommy help me!" over and over. It killed me. She was mad at Jamie for holding her down and wouldn't have anything to do with him the rest of the night. But they are out and it's healing and looks pretty good.

Grace House

2008-05-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

The ladies from Grace House came to our last ladies meeting Thursday night. We had a huge meal and we presented them with stationary and puzzles all the women from the church had brought in. They gave a couple of amazing testimonies and signed 2 songs for us. It was such a blessing!! I REALLY want to volunteer there and take them on outings and especially on Friday nights. They have chapel time and then movie nights and they need women to go give testimony or speak whatever God lays on their heart or to just hang out with them. Thank you God for bringing these women into my life again. I visited there a little over a year ago and they were on my heart then but life got in the way but God brought them back again. We raised $800 to give them to start a scholarship fund. It costs them $500 a month to be there. I can't imagine that. It's totally faith based and these women are wonderful!

Stitches

2008-04-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

Our first time for stitches...Hope fell and hit a wooden end table at the sitters and cut open right above her eye by her eyebrow. She was actually walking and just tripped over her feet but hit it pretty hard (of course I think dark forces were behind it). She had a small gash but it was pretty deep so 2 hours at the ER and 3 stitches. They had to put her little arms in a pillow case behind her back and me, Jamie and 2 nurses had to hold her down. It was terrible. But she's fine now. Praise God.

Grace House

2008-04-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Last night a few of the ladies from church went to the Grace House to meet the ladies and take a tour and hear what Grace House is really about. Our ladies group broke into smaller groups and were given $100 to do something in the community. Our group chose to take the money and buy some Krispy Kreme donut cards and sell them and give the money to the Grace House. The program there is awesome! The ladies there were so sweet and open with us. The program is totally faith based. The cost for the ladies to be in the program is $500 a month. They are coming to our ladies meeting in May to give some testimony and sign a song (they do sign language to songs) and we will present them with their check. They are such an awesome group. They need volunteers to help take them to appointments and to outings once they are eligible to go out to shop and eat if you want something to volunteer for. I had a great time meeting the ladies and hearing about the Grace House.

Bye Penny :(

2008-04-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

I work with a wonderful lady named Penny. She is smart, funny, beautiful inside and out and a woman of God. She's also leaving. She's moving back home to Alabama. Tomorrow is her last day. I am so glad I got to know her. I'll miss you Penny!

2008-03-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

VIOLET

You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

2008-03-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

discover your dog breed @ quiz meme

2008-03-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

table width="145">

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

War

2008-03-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm having a war of souls of sorts. I can't explain it lately but I feel totally "lost". I've been reading the Word and I got Beth Moore's Get Out of that Pit and it's really helping because I feel like I'm sitting on the edge of a pit just wanting to jump into it! I'm having crazy thoughts and doing things I normally don't. My health isn't doing great and my emotions are not either. I keep praying for guidance and for God to show me what the stumbling block is that is causing these feelings I'm having. I have some great friends that I can load my problems to and they listen and respect my feelings even if they aren't the ones I should be having. There's times I want to walk away from everything...except the girls. They are what keeps me going and my God. I know He still loves me unconditionally even with stupid decisions and thoughts. Thanks to all my wonderful friends who love me anyway!! :)

Friendship

2008-02-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

Friday night I went to my dear friend Trin's. She had a sleepover for Stasia and 6 friends for her birthday. I went to help and hang out with Trin. We used to get together at least every other week and talk. She's such a great listener and I trust her with anything I tell her. I had a great time and talk...I miss that! I love you Trin. Thanks for your friendship, advice and love!

Sweetness

2008-02-25T05:27:00.001-08:00

is when my girls are loving. When Hope hugs and kisses for no reason. When Faith gives me a love note. At dinner we've been trying to get the girls to just pray and talk to God rather than reciting a prayer. Last night Faith thanked God for our food and then she said "I'm sorry for all the people that died in the tornados but now they are in heaven and you are watching over them"....sniff.

Bad Girls

2008-02-18T05:31:00.001-08:00

My friend Kelli let me borrow Bad Girls of the Bible and I just finished it. It is such an awesome book and I highly recommend it. I saw myself in every one of the illustrations Liz (the auther) provided. I just started Really Bad Girls of the Bible. I also bought Beth Moore's Out of the Pit. I've been wanting to read that since I saw her at Women of Faith. Can't wait to start it!!

Big Sisters

2008-02-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

Several months ago we had the youth girls sign up to be litle sisters and had some of the ladies of the church become secret big sisters. Over the time we sent cards, gifts and prayed for our particular sister. Last night we had our meal and reveal. We had a nice dinner and revealed ourselves to the girls. We played a few games (provided by Perri) and had a blast. It was nice to get the older ladies and the youth girls together for some fellowship. My girl was Hope and I adore her. I love and appreciate all the young and elder ladies of the church so much!!

Birthdays

2008-02-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Eric (yesterday)....Happy Birthday to Pastor Aaron and Happy Birthday to my daddy!! I love you!!!!

Wonderful girls weekend

2008-02-11T05:21:00.000-08:00

Susan, Sonya, Tracy and I met in Edinburgh Friday night. We went to dinner and then hung out in the "hot tub" at the hotel and then shopped Saturday afternoon at the outlet malls. It was a lot of fun...would have been funner if we all had more money...but it was a great time of fellowship and sharing. I love you guys!!! I missed all of you who couldn't make it this trip.

Happy Birthday

2008-02-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my niece Stephanie in Colorado and nephew Caleb "Bubba" in Illinois. I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!

Daniel

2008-02-06T07:22:00.001-08:00

No not the Elton John song although it is stuck in my head at the present moment. The bible study by Beth Moore....it is awesome! Of course, I love Beth Moore but she takes each verse apart of Daniel and applies it to today's world and you are like yes, I see it now!! Our world is so into beauty and "sex sells" mentality. Don't get me wrong I like to make myself presentable but the focus on how we look, dress, our body image is ridiculous. I want my girls to be happy with themselves in the way they act and treat others not if theyare thin enough or if they have the name brand clothing. Can you imagine being thrown in a den full of hungry lions and God himself shutting their mouths and when the men come to get what they think will be a dead man you are sitting with the purring felines?!?! What about Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego?? A fire so hot it kills the very men who open the furnace?? Not one hair on their hair is singed. No smell of fire. God himself walking through the fire with them. How great is our GOD??!! When Nebechudnezzer builds a 90 foot statue and demands that every man bow to it but those 3 men say NO even without Daniel by their side....they knew God would either save them from the fire or take them home to Heaven...would you be able to face the fire??? I know I would. This study is so great I recommend anyone going through it. We are only in week 3 so there will be more to come. Thank you God for such a wonderful study to put life in perpesctive. Thank you for everything you give me....Bind the mouth of the enemy...for I went to the enemy's camp and I took back what he stole from me!!! Satan is under my feet. I'm going to praise HIS name, look what the LORD has done!!!!!

Answered prayers

2008-01-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

My cousin Gary and his wife Ruth have been unable to have children and have been trying for years. They just adopted a beautiful little girl Myah Noel.....CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Thank you God for this beautiful miracle!

Brusha, brusha, brusha

2008-01-12T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's been years since I've been to the dentist. They terrify me. I had a bad experience as a kid and I am a big baby. I have a broken tooth on the bottom I've been avoiding but a friend at work made me schedule an appointment with a dentist so I went. We have dental coverage and get a free cleaning once a year so I might as well use it right. So I go for the cleaning and of course, I need a root canal on that tooth..great! I had that done last Wednesday and it wasn't so bad. It' s not something I'd do again but it wasn't bad. Now I have to have a crown done. Yeah me!!

Ring in the new year

2008-01-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve we went out to eat then went to Blockbuster and bought the 4 DVD's for $30. We let each of the girls pick out a movie. Faith picked Hairspray (because of Zac Effron) but we haven't watched it yet. I hear it's great. Hope picked Cheaper by the Dozen 2, which is a great family movie! We all 4 curled up in our bed and watched it. I don't think we made until midnight but we had great family time together.

Speaking of family, I have a little book with children's bible stories we read at night and at the enc of each chapter are questions and prayers, etc... We had read the story of Genesis and how God created everything and the question was what is your favorite thing God made? Faith says my family.....how adorable is that. She can make my heart melt sometimes! I love you baby!

Family Time

2008-01-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

The weekend following Christmas we went to my brother Rodney's. We had a great time. My niece Caytlin cut Faith's hair to her shoulders. It looks so much healthier and she looks adorable. She also cut and colored mine. She always does such a great job! Please pray for my other niece Kelsi. She's had a few seizures in her life and now she's 16 and to her license in April but she's had a couple of seizures and she was doing great but she had one a couple of weeks ago so she can't drive for 6 months...you know that sucks when you first get your license! Hope adores Kelsi. She's the only person she'd let hold her or do anything for her the entire time we were there. She wanted to stay with her. We took Jake and he had a blast in a fenced in yard. He played his heart out with their little dog Skyler. They also have the Wii game. We played bowling, tennis, golf and boxing. I could hardly walk for 2 days I was so sore!! LOL

Alvin, Simon, Theodore

2008-01-12T07:22:00.001-08:00

The Friday before Christmas we took the girls to see Alvin and the Chipmunks....too cute!! They loved it. We spent a family day/night together. We had a great Christmas at home.

Ladies Christmas Dinner

2007-12-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

Last night was our annual ladies Christmas dinner at church. As usual Susan, Sonya and Kristy did a beautiful job decorating! Angie had her flavored coffees...yum. We had a silent auction. We had some pretty neat things to buy...quilt, bath and body sets, wreaths, pictures (especially one from Sherri's new shop), lamps, candles, candle holders, signs, rugs. I think we made a lot of money for our ladies outreaches. I got a cool old window with a wreath on it. 5 of my Mom's CLUB moms showed up!! They seemed to really enjoy themselves and a couple even asked about church services. We had a wonderful meal provided by Tom and Eric our famous cooks. A lot of the men came up and helped serve. It was a great time until the weather started sleeting and we had to cut it a little short. Thank you God for all the wonderful ladies at LHCC!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We usually spend it with just Jamie's parents or mine but this year my family actually all got together, or most of us. My nephew Chad and his wife Stephanie just bought a new house in Illinois and we went there. They have a beautiful home and we had a great time. My family, my mom and dad, my sister Gay, my niece Stephanie, her husband John and their girls Mackenzie and Madison, my nephew Brad, nephew Nick, my brother Rodney and one of his daughters Caitlyn (Kelsi's in Hawaii) and her friend Brenton, of course Chad and Steph and their kids Chloe and Caleb. We had a house full but we had a great time. We'll all be getting together at Rodney's for Christmas except for Steph and John. They are moving to Colorado next week and we won't be seeing them for a while :(
I am so thankful for my wonderful family and I pray for a hedge of protection around them always and especially for Steph and John with their move. I pray they find a home fairly quickly and they can get their lives started in Colorado. We will miss you!

Family Pictures

2007-11-19T18:50:00.001-08:00

FRIENDS

2007-11-16T05:42:00.000-08:00

This is all of us who made it to Tracy's last month!! We are going to send it to the Standard with the following caption:

STILL FRIENDS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!

Members of the Boonville High School Class of 1990 gathered recently at the home of Tony and Tracy Clark in Mitchell, Indiana, for a weekend visit. Even 17 years after high school, the group still gets together each year, including a recent stint in Mexico. Pictured with their families, above, are class of 1990 members Jessica Tubbs, Julie (Barnhill) Whipple, Jennifer McConnell, Tracy (Wood) Clark, Tony Clark, Susan Barnett, Tara (Perigo) Marotti, Lori (Carter) Wenz, Sonya (Barnett) Franz, Connie (Baker) Phillips, and Melissa (Hale) Jones.

Praise/Mom's CLUB

2007-11-10T14:18:00.001-08:00

Mom's CLUB is going great! Last Tuesday we had 3 new moms and 2 other moms in for their second visit and 1 "regular". They are all very cooperative and they are forming friendships. 3 of them asked about GED's!! God is definitely working here. They are very excited about the classes and plan on coming back. We have a few others that usually come but with school and work they are on hiatus. Hopefully their schedules will bring them back after the first of the year. I am so glad to be getting to know all these great young ladies. Thanks to everyone who helps make Mom's CLUB so great! Also thanks to all the youth girls who are volunteering to come babysit to the mom's can focus on what we are discussing.

Goodbye

2007-11-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

to grandma Thomas. Cathy's grandmother went to be with the Lord this afternoon. I'm so glad that she's no longer in pain and she's in the arms of Jesus but my heart breaks for Cathy and Tina and their families. Please pray for strength for them.

Prayers

2007-11-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

I just want to lift several people up for extra prayers and I know all the prayer warriors out there can lift their voices to God and ask for healing, spiritual resurrection and whatever else is needed.......

Cathy...her grandmother and mother-in-law are both in the hospital. She needs lifted up in spirit and dealing with two illnesses, trying to work and run a family can wear you down. Lord I lift Cathy up to you right now. Hold her and touch her heart Father...lift her spirits and resurrect her Father..touch Barb and grandma Imelda and your will be done to them father..help keep her children from illness and help in any finances since they've had to take off of work and travel.. bind Satan right now at this very moment from touching her and her family.

Cheryl...she's had a heart attack and is having to put off a very important eye surgery and blood pressure problems. Lord, lift Cheryl up and heal her body Father. Work in her heart and with her blood pressure so she can get her eye surgery Father and continue to be able to see her 2 beautiful children who she is raising to be such children of God.

Unspoken family member...you know Lord what is needed in this situation.

Penny....Lift her spirit Father. Help in their situation and bind Satan from wearing her down.

Brad's friends baby...Father I know you had to take him home with You and I hope the parents know he is in your arms and waiting to see them one day. Keep their hearts remembering him and know we don't always understand why things happen but there is always a reason and it was his time to go home.

Taylor...keep healing her body Father and I know she will be healed from this cancer and will have such an awesome testimony one day!

Anyone else I've forgotten you know all situations Father. I lift them all up to you. AMEN!

Halloween

2007-11-01T05:45:00.001-07:00

has come and gone again. Who came up with the idea to dress up and take a sack to total strangers and ask for candy?!?! Even though I don't really understand it all we participate. I took my cheerleader and mini bride to Boo in Boonville and walked around the square with about 1000 other people who cut in front of you and practically crawl up your butt when you stop and collected 2 bags full of candy, half of which I will probably end up throwing away. Then we went to church. Well we had no tricks for the night....Happy Halloween until next year.

The Tooth Fairy

2007-10-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

OK. Faith has already lost about 6 teeth. The last time she lost one I had said she was going to break the tooth fairy and she says "Then I'll break you because you are the tooth fairy!". So last night she loses another one and I have no money on me so I tell her that she could wait until Friday and I'd give her some money on top of her allowance for her tooth since she knew there wasn't a tooth fairy. Wrong answer! She cries hysterically and says she can't believe I just told her there was no tooth fairy! So I say go ahead and put it under your pillow and see what happens then. Luckily, Jamie had $2 in his wallet so he put it under her pillow when she fell asleep....LOL. I'll wait and ruin Santa Claus for her next month.

Why I don't work out

2007-10-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Check out this video...it's hilarious!

WhyIDon_tWorkOut.wmv

Purse Party

2007-10-27T11:49:00.001-07:00

I had my purse party Thursday evening. It went very well. Some crazy things were happening at home so my wonderful neighbor Jen let us use her house for the party...she is awesome. I had about 20 ladies show up...some I didn't even know (I think they were friends of friends). She sold $1300 in purses in an hour. I got $130 in free stuff....yay. I got 3 purses for $20. Can't beat that! I think I'll have another one. Purses are my weakness!!

More Moms!

2007-10-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we had 3 ladies at the Manna Market who inquired about the Moms CLUB. I talked to them and they are going to come to the next meeting. I also had one call me. That's 4 new moms!! We also had 3 new moms at our last meeting....God is opening up so many doors for us! We have a group of almost 15 young women now. Some of the youth girls are going to come out and watch all the kids for us so that the mom's can enjoy themselves and get something out of the meetings and not have to chase their kids. Thank you so much to the girls that are volunteering their time to do this for us. Thank you God for all these blessings!

Great Weekend.....Greater Friends

2007-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have some of the best friends ever. Now I have new friends, church friends, work friends, etc.. .and they are great too. In 7th grade I met the 11 closest friends I've ever had. Most of us went through grade school together and were friends even before that but that's when our "group" started. Now 23 years later we are all still friends. We keep in touch and try to get together a few times a year. This weekend we got together at Tracy & Tony's house in Mitchell, IN. 10 of us made it with kids in tow and a few husbands. My hubby was at our church men's retreat. We have an awesome picture of the 10 of us, a few husbands and our 17 children together. I will post that later. We had a blast eating, talking and the kids played so well together. Tracy & Tony have a beautiful home they have worked hard for and a huge yard. We had plenty of room for play time and a bon fire last night. I thank God for these wonderful friends I have and can count on any of them for anything and we are all believers in Jesus Christ...how awesome is that?!?!?
Here's who made it...Connie (Baker), Kerry, Grace, Luke and Eli Phillips; Tracy (Wood), Tony, Hannah and Dalton Clark; Lori (Carter), Adam, Aiden and Brenna Wenz; Tara (Perigo) and Mya Marotti {Jason and Lucy were home}; Jessica Tubbs; Susan and Dylan Barnett {Jim was home}; Sonya (Barnett), Emileigh, Alyson and Wyatt Franz {Eric was at the men's retreat}; Jennifer McConnel and Lois; Julie (Barnhill), Trey and Garret Whipple {Sam was home}; Me and the girls....missing were Jodi Haynes and Trisha (Ingram), Jason, Kelseigh, Jonah and Grace Howard.

Tagged....BTW my 100th post!!

2007-10-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

by one of my bestest friends Trin.

Jobs I've had:
1. Clerk at L.S. Ayres
2. Waitress at comedy club
3. Medical Assistant at OB/GYN office
4. Medical transcriptionist

Places I have lived:
1. Boonville
2. Evansville

Food I love:
1. Mexican
2. Chocolate
3. Italian
4. McDonalds anything

Websites I visit daily:
1. Insight web mail
2. Blogger posts
3. Old National
4. My Space

Places I'd rather be:
1. BED
2. a warm sunny beach
3. Heaven
4. BED

Movies I love :
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. 16 Candles
4. Fried Green Tomatos

TV shows I watch:
1. CSI
2. Hannah Montana
3. Forensic Files
4. Cold Case Files on A&E

I tag...Staci

Convertible

2007-10-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know we got a new convertible last month. We've been needing a second vehicle for back up and Jamie has his work truck but can't use it to drive to church or help me with the girls activities so we've been looking but you can't find anything decent and used for under $1000. Jamie's uncle happened to have this car in his driveway that he wasn't using and hadn't driven in three years. We got a really great deal on it and it's cool!!! Thank you to Uncle Jimmy!!

Mom's CLUB

2007-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Just a praise on the wonderful things going on with Mom's CLUB. We have a couple of new moms and one has started coming to church and is bringing her family there. She is awesome!! We also have our regulars and it's going so great. We are forming great friendships and I love it. This coming week we are doing pedicures for the moms. One week we discuss a topic and then the next time we get together it's a time to focus on mom. Thank everyone who comes and helps with the meetings and make them so successful. Thank you God for bringing these ladies into our lives.

The sickies

2007-10-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

OK now that we've changed from the A/C directly to the heater within a day everyone's getting runny noses. Hope is notorious for having a runny nose most of the winter. I think she may have allergies too. The poor thing has a runny nose and puffy eyes and keeps putting her little hand on her head and saying "I no feel good". Time to stock up on children's Tylenol!

New puppy!

2007-10-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

OK. I said no more dogs. A friend of mine told me that the VHS was going to euthanize all the older dogs because they needed the room (this is not true though) so the girls and I went last week just looking. The dogs were either not house broken or too big. We found a cute mix named Faith and we were going to consider her. Saturday morning at the pet parade we met a lady I work with and her daughter had a miniature pinscher and the girls fell in love. I've always wanted a little dog like this but they are usually $300 or more. She said her dog had a brother left and the owners wanted to get rid of him for a good price. We went by Sunday to see him and well now we have Jake Ryan (Faith named him). Isn't he cute!!? (this isn't actually Jake..he hasn't had his photo taken yet..but this is what he looks like)

Fall Festival Fun

2007-10-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

This week was the annual west side Fall Festival. We live 3 blocks away so we took advantage of it. It was so smotheringly hot!! We went down Monday evening for haystacks and a couple of rides for the girls. We went Friday evening with just me, Jamie and Hope (Faith had a birthday party). We ate dinner and let Hope ride a few rides and a game. We went back this morning for the pet parade and got the girls armbands so they could ride all day. We did rides until 12 but it was so hot you could hardly stand it. We came home and napped and then went back this evening for more rides, dinner and the big parade, which Jamie was in with the Hadi Shriners. We are home and done until next year. My feet hurt!!

Tag...I'm it!

2007-10-05T13:44:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged by Staci.

TAG~I'm Interested In You
Here are a few questions I found kind of interesting, just a get to know ya thing:

Q. Are you Single, Taken, or Flirty?
A. Taken

Q. Are you happy with that?
A. Yes

Q. Do you believe that there are certain circumstances where cheating is OK?
A. No

Q. Have you ever talked about marriage with another person (besides your spouse)?
A. Yes and thank God it didn't happen!!!

Q. Would you consider adoption?
A. Definitely!

Q. If someone liked you right now, would you want them to tell you?
A. N/A

Q. Do you want someone you can't have?
A. No

Q. Do you believe in celebrating anniversaries?
A. Yes

Q. Do you believe that you can change for someone?
A. Yes

Q. Have you ever broken a heart before?
A. Yes

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Honey Mustard

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 15-20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. Mexican

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A: Jelly

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A: A castle

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. Teeth, ganglion cyst, babies (like that one Staci!)

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. Emma

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Brown/black

Q. Have you ever saved someone's life?
A. No.

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Yes

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Yes

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A: NO!

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: Hardwood floors

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. Speeding ticket this summer...before that about 8 years ago

Q. Where is the first place you went this morning?
A: Work

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: Vacation

Q: What's the last movie you saw?
A: I told you so

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Yes

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: I hope so

OK.... I tag Meagan and Cathy

Ladie's Retreat

2007-09-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Our annual Ladie's Retreat was this past weekend. It was the best one yet!! We met up Friday morning and had free time talking and relaxing. For lunch we had taco's (my favorite!). Then it was game time. We played a few name/getting to know you games then the BIG game. Sherri, of course, planned it out. She is brilliant at games. We were in teams. I was on team BB....which was awesome! (Tina, Cathy, Megan and Brandy). We had to make a breastplate of righteousness out of styrofoam bowels and belts and socks. We had to sing a song with movements. We had to separate eggs, build towers with plastic cups, play Yahtzee and knit. Then to the physical part, which involved basketball, hula hoops, cheerleading, an obstacle course, a water slide, cartwheels and paddle boating. My arms, legs and stomach muscles are so sore today!! I haven't done that much physical activity in a long time. I did do 20 cartwheels though!!! I was so dizzy and out of breath I could barely walk but it was so worth it! Then dinner, which the men made and served for us. We had ribs and loaded baked potatoes. Then our evening service, which was wonderful....Stacey spoke. Then more talking and eating and a few more games. I was actually going to bed around 2:30 when I passed the room of Trin, Ashley, Dana, Kristy, Sharli and Ginny and stayed up talking until 4. The next day I stayed for breakfast and Sherri's devotion and then I went to our family reunion, which was great too.. I had a great time getting to know some people a little better and re-fueling my friendships with my old pals. Can't wait for next year. Thanks so much to Stacey, Sonya, Susan , Sherri and Tina for all the decorating. Thanks to Stacey for all your hard work and planning and to Sherri for your awesome games!!

Resurrection

2007-09-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

We are learning a new song. Resurrection by Nicol Sponberg. The first time I heard it I absolutely loved it!! It totally describes the funk I' ve been in lately. We are also trying something new. Cathy approached me and she said God showed her a vision of this song. She's doing the lead signing and the rest of HOP is background signing and I will be doing a dramatic sign/dance telling the story emotionally. I can see it in my head so clearly but I am so nervous! I just want to praise Him through this beautiful song. I'm not sure when we'll be performing it yet.

Parts of the song:

Here I am once again

I'm in need of resurrection

Only YOU can take this empty shell

and raise it from the dead

What I've lost to the world

what seems far beyond redemption

YOU can take the pieces in YOUR hand

and make me whole again

YOU speak and all creation falls to it's knees.................AMEN!

Hope's Birthday!!

2007-09-17T08:44:00.001-07:00

3 years ago today I gave birth to my second beautiful baby girl! I can't believe she's growing up right before my eyes.....

http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa261/craftygirl71/?action=view¤t=92acb8fe.pbw

I tried to put the slide show directly on here but couldn't get it to work!!

Dancing Queens

2007-09-10T17:29:00.001-07:00

I have Hope in a beginner ballet class and mini-tumbling. They are all 2, 3 and 4 year olds. They are so cute! They have a recital they do in June. It will be too cute!!
Faith is in a hip hop class. She's having so much fun. She can't wait for the stage!

The Battle

2007-09-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to help Dana with a small group study with our youth girls. We will be reading Every Young Woman's Battle. It is about young girls today in a sex saturated world. I am so excited to be able to share my experiences with these young ladies and help them understand the way we talk, dress and interact with the other sex and how they should behave. I would love for my daughters to be able to do this when they are teens. It's pretty detailed but I think young ladies need to know what is out there and how to handle the situations when they come up rather then being sheltered from them and shell shocked when they occur. These girls know more than you think they do!! I pray that God gives me the words to encourage these young women and share my experiences in a positive way that will help them grow into wonderful women of God.

Hands of Praise

2007-09-10T07:52:00.001-07:00

Hands of Praise is back in action! We took the summer off and I needed the break. I LOVE doing hands of praise and I can worship Him so much with it but my heart was not in it near the end of May and I was letting worldly burdens get in the way of my worship and it was affecting my hands of praise and the break gave me time to rebuild myself and I'm so thankful for that. HOP is a huge part of my life. Thank you so much Cathy for bringing this awesome ministry to Living Hope and letting me be a part of it. I've grown so much as a person and I've grown closer to God and to the wonderful ladies who are a part of HOP too!!!

2007-09-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

What happens when you put these three things together??????? Our annual Youth Mud Bowl!!
I'll have pictures to post later. We had our Mud Bowl retreat this weekend. It was fun as usual. This year Cathy and I actually got in the mud with them. That was pretty nasty. We had about 21 youth and pretty good weather. We met up there Friday and had our service up there with our awesome praise band for worship and Matt for our lesson. Then pizza and staying up most of the night. Saturday morning breakfast (thanks Susan!!) another lesson then play time in the pool and volleyball, a water balloon game, lunch and then the Mud Bowl Game. I don't understand anything about foot ball so I was clueless about what was going on in the game but the kids have fun. We had a lot of fun and great help with everyone who came up to participate and support the youth. Can't wait until next year!!!

Busy, Busy

2007-09-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

We've been busy, busy. I'm working every day now but I really like it. I do check in for the neurosurgeon 8-12:30 and then type in the afternoons. Some days I work until 4:30, some days 2, some days none just depends. I signed Hope up for a beginner ballet class on Mondays. We start next week. Tuesday nights I have the Abba Clinic. Mom's CLUB is going great!!! Wednesday's we have Hands of Praise practice and then church. Thursdays Faith is in a beginner hip hop class, which Jamie has to take her to because I started a precept bible study on Abraham with a friend from church in Newburgh on Thursday nights. This weekend we have Mud Bowl. Next weekend is Hope's birthday party....my baby will be 3! The following my nephew Ty has a birthday. The following is Ladies Retreat (woooo hooo!!) Then there's something every weekend in October too. Life is good!!

My Brain is.........

2007-09-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Alright. Saw this on Tina's page and had to try it!

Your Brain is 73% Female, 27% Male

Your brain leans female
You think with your heart, not your head
Sweet and considerate, you are a giver
But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

I couldn't get the cute picture with the brain to show up though!

Potty Training

2007-08-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

We've been working on potty training Hope. She has times when she wants to put it's been pretty much no go but then Friday she just decided she wanted to wear panties and she's been going potty every since! She's had a few accidents of course but she's doing pretty good. I can't believe my baby is growing up....too fast :(........ Go big girl!!

My turn!

2007-08-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well everyone else has had it so it was my turn apparently. Tuesday night we had our Mom's CLUB, which went great. We had a new mom who just adopted a baby and she wants to come back yeah! We did our devotion and then we did manicures. Towards the end I started feeling really hot, which is not like me at all. I'm usually cold natured. Then my belly started feeling queasy. I hadn't eaten dinner so I thought that might be it. Well the ride home was horrible. 45 minutes of praying I make it home before I toss my cookies. I literally made it in the drive way and ran to the bathroom where I stayed most of the night. I threw up until I couldn't throw up anymore. There were times I didn't know which end to put on the toilet....yeah that was fun. Today I have a headache so bad I can't stand it. I'm feeling OK now at least no vomiting for 7 hours. I had to miss work today..I hate missing work. I pray that I didn't give this thing to the new mom and her baby and our other pregnant mom who came or any of the other ladies that were there!!!

Faith starts 1st Grade!

2007-08-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

My baby started first grade yesterday. I can't believe she is 7! She wasn't nervous at all. She was more excited about getting to ride the bus to and from school and getting to eat in the cafeteria more than anything. She liked it. The only thing that blew my hat off was the $150 book rental for first grade! That's crazy. On top of the school supplies we had to buy, new shoes, school clothes, lunch money and other fees... oh well.

Brian

2007-08-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

If you pass away before you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior do you still get to go to Heaven? This is a question I ponder often. I didn't become a christian until I was 28 and married with one child. If I had died before I got to know Him would I have made it to Heaven? I have a friend who died too young and I often wonder where he is. I hope that he had a chance to meet God and he is in Heaven and I like to think he is. He didn't know God before he died. He wasn't raised in church and he didn't have people ministering to him. Although I don't know what his heart was thinking I know he had some hard times and he was bitter about things. He had been hurt pretty bad in a relationship and he was untrusting. We were friends but there were times I actually broke through his shell and I cared for him very much. We would go out with friends and everytime we heard a certain song we danced. It was "our song". Everytime I hear it I think of Brian. I heard it the other day. I think of him often. He's been gone almost 13 years now. I miss you Bum....

My Devotion

2007-08-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

For the youth camp I had to give a nightly devotion for the girls. The whole point of camp was Getting Across. We talked about salvation and what it means and baptism and getting saved, etc. I prayed to God to tell me what He wanted me to talk to these girls about. I got out my Daily Bread devotional and turned to that particularly day I was praying and the title was "My Heart Condemns Me". It talked about feeling guilty about your past and Saul's conversion to Paul. How awesome is it that God used someone like Saul?! He was a murderer, a blasphemer by his own account and he became a disciple to Jesus!! He wrote books in the Bible. He called himself the chief of sinners but he used that to minister to others. I told the girls a little about my past before becoming a christian and I have many things I'm not proud of but I can use those weaknesses to minister to others. If God can use a girl like me He can use anyone!! Once we repent of our sins they are FORGOTTEN in God's eyes. How awesome is that? But I like many still pull those memories up and think how can I be worthy? When we bring up those old sins that are forgotten to Him He says "I don't know what you are talking about" BUT satan says "I do" and he adds fuel to the fire. Don't let him. Confession to God always brings His cleansing. God can use anyone and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. When you feel like you can't handle things just turn the Book of Truth, turn to God in prayer or to a friend to pray with you..........and when you stumble just say I'm sorry for the way I've been living my life. I know I've got to change so from now on tonight...Jesus take the wheel, take it from my hands because I can't do this on my own. I'm letting go so give me one more chance to save me from this road I'm on (from the Carrie Underwood song).

If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things......1 John 3:20

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointment to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would belief on Him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen....1 Timothy 12-17

Update on Taylor...Thanks for the prayers!

2007-08-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

FRIDAY, AUGUST 03, 2007 11:35 PM, CDT
Well, Taylor had a GREAT day today! Finally :) She was up at 11:00 and ready to play.......Trey showed up and we were off to the play room..........she literally did not slow down until 11:00 tonight! Nanny, Mama and Grandad were here and she of course, baked in her easy bake oven.....cinn. rolls, choc. chip cookies and yellow cake...she loves to eat the batter! She played playdough and just enjoyed taking walks around the block to see everyone of our friends up here.
Tonight she started sewing with some of her new crafts and put some puzzles together.
It was a wonderful day............Thank you for your constant prayers for Taylor. They are working. We feel so blessed that all of you are praying for us....that the doctors and nurses are here to support and take care of Taylor and that Jesus is answering our prayers and healing Taylor. Her counts will be up soon and we will be coming home for a bit.
We will keep you posted! Be sure to check out the new picts and the captions I added....... Hope you like the sunflowers too.........They are Taylor's favorite and I just found them searching around this site!
Love,
Brent and Staci

Youth Camp

2007-07-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

was a success! We had a ball. We had a great game where the guys put a 50 foot rope across the lake and the kids had to walk the rope. It was pretty hard. I tried it but only made it half way across the rope! The lake was pretty nasty though. There was a cool slip and slide though. We had an awesome teaching about the thief on the cross next to Jesus by Cathy and I did a devotion with the girls one night. Overall, it was great. Thanks to everyone who came up and helped make camp such a success!

Casual Fridays

2007-07-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

I love where I work. We were getting to have casual Fridays and wear what we wanted within reason but then Latesha ruined it for us all. Thanks Latesha!!

Hide and Seek

2007-07-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

We have a small basket next to the t.v where we put keys and things that I don't want lying on top of my entertainment center. I also have a 2-year-old who likes to play with keys. Her papaw gave her some keys on a keyring but she doesn't want those she wants ours. Last night Jamie can't find his keys to his work truck. We ask the girls. Of course they don't know anything about them. We tear the house apart. We look in the couches, under furniture, drawers, the fridge ( you know the usual stupid places you look for lost things even though there is no reason they should be there). Nothing. We go through the girls room and nothing. Well Hope has the "yeah I did it" smile. So we ask again....where are daddy's keys. She points to the window and says outside. Oh crap, so my husband goes to the window to look outside. They are in the window sill between the window and the screen. Hope just smiles and says.."there's your keys daddy". Sometimes you just have to laugh to keep from killing them!!

Blood drive for Taylor

2007-07-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Taylor is doing great!! Brent & Staci are having a blood drive. Details below. Thank you God for your healing in this child.

I have a favor to ask of you.....we are having a blood drive in Evansville this week as many of you may already know about.
I am asking as many of you as possible to please come out and donate blood in honor of Taylor.
Taylor is alive today because of the literally thousands of people that have donated their blood.
We decided to have a blood drive to help out the many people that are in need of blood. After experiencing what a child needs during this process we thought is was the least we could do to help out, and we really appreciate your help with this as well.
Taylor has required hundreds of transfusions of red blood cells, platelets and of cryo (all blood products) over the last 8 weeks.....all are screened extensively and are safe, but very needed for survival.
Thank you in advance for participating in this blood drive to honor our daughter.
The drive is this Thursday, July 26th from 3pm-8pm at Crossroads Christian Church at 10800 Lincoln Ave in the gym(behind the women's hospital...almost to newburgh)
The next drive will be Saturday, August 11th from 11am-4pm...same location
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!
(FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE INDY AREA.,.THERE IS A BLOOD DRIVE ON THE 25TH UP HERE. LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED DETAILS FOR THAT!
THANKS A MILLION!
STACI

Struggling

2007-07-22T16:44:00.001-07:00

I didn't grow up in church. I wasn't a christian until 5 years ago. Actually I was a little "wild" in high school and for several years after. I met Jamie in March 1999. Actually we met about 2 years before that and were friends of friends but we started dating in March. We moved in together in June, got engaged in October, pregnant in November and married in February 2000. Faith came in July 2000. We bought a house September 2002 and in December 2002 (New Year's Eve actually) I wanted out. I didn't want to be married anymore. I wanted to be on my own and "start over". He said no. He refused to leave and begged for anything so I agreed to counseling but I wanted to go to Pastor Aaron at Living Hope. My friend Susan had always invited me to Living Hope. She never pushed but she always invited me. So we started talking to Aaron. He saved our marriage. I look back and I know it was the devil trying to break us up because he knew we were to do good things for God's kingdom and we may not have done that if we separated. We started going to church and fell in love with LHCC. We've been going there almost 5 years now. Who knew we'd actually pray for people and read the Bible and go to church 3-4 times a week?? I know my past is scarred but it was a learning experience and I can reach others from the mistakes I made. I still struggle though with days I just want to walk away. I don't want to go to church anymore. Someone hurts my feelings or makes me mad and I want to find a church closer to home and forget the one that I made a whole new family at or I just don't want to go at all. I want to be on my own. I hate the days I feel like that and I pray and He gets me through them. He is my rock. Some days I yell at my kids and get so frustrated with them and feel like such a horrible mother. Some days I am so hateful to my husband because I just don't feel like talking to him. Some days I think why do any of it at all???????????? I just pray and He gets me through it all. I try to watch the way I talk and the things I do because I want to live my life in his likeness but there are days I don't care and I pray. All I can do is live one day at a time...and pray....and pray.

7 years ago today

2007-07-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

at 10:11 a.m. I gave birth to my beautiful Faith. I can't believe how much she is growing up! She's still my baby though.......here she is through the years.

Faith 1 day oldFaith 3 weeks old
Faith 6 months
Faith 3 years
Faith 9 months
She is so beautiful inside and out. Happy Birthday. I love you so much Faith Renee!!!!!

We survived

2007-07-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

the sleepover! It wasn't too bad. We had 9 little girls but only 8 stayed all night. We only had one that wanted to go home around 10:30 but by the time her mom got here she wanted to stay and then she did fine. It's 11:30 and I still have 5 left. Of course 3 are neighbor girls so they are here all the time anyway. They are playing on the trampoline and swimming. There were a few little "fights" but for the most part they got along. There's usually someone getting their feelings hurt but that's girls for you. It's definitely not something I'd want to do all the time but once a year is OK.....my house is a wreck! :/

Slumber Party!!

2007-07-18T15:10:00.001-07:00

Faith is having a slumber party Friday night for her birthday. She invited 10 little girls over. We are going to swim, play games, do a craft, have snacks, play on the trampoline and make a big pallet on the floor to sleep on. Jamie is going to do face painting and balloon animals for the girls too. I can just hear the screaming now! I'll update after the party how it went.

Youth Camp

2007-07-18T15:03:00.001-07:00

is coming fast. We go on the 29th to Santa Claus through Tuesday and Holiday World on Tuesday. Jamie and I are going to camp but not the Holiday World due to having to work. We have several youth going .I can't wait to bond with the kids and have some "play time". We always have a ball with the kids. Gabe & Brandon are working on the games and skits and they always do a great job. Trin, Dana, Cathy and I are the lady sponsors and Matt, Eric, Brandon, Gabe and Jamie are the guys. We have some new kids so hopefully we can get to know them better. Matt has done a great job putting everything together. He wants to get across to the youth the reality of being saved and what it really means. In fact, our title for the camp is Getting Across. We are doing mini groups on Wednesday nights until camp to get to know the kids better and really talk about salvation and it's meaning. Matt has done a great job of putting together things for us to discuss and the bible passages that relate to them. Camp is about fun but it's also a time to focus on the kids to talk about Christ and His love for us. Susan is coming up for concessions and Tom and possibly Eric will be doing the cooking (yum!). Thank everyone who will be coming up to make camp such a success! I pray that we have a good time and that the kids not only have fun but learn somethings about each other and themselves and the salvation of Christ's blood.

Update on Mom's CLUB and more....

2007-07-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

The pregnancy resource center is still slow going but I know word of mouth will get it going strong soon. Right now we counselors are using the time to get to know each other and it's awesome! The Mom's C(aring). L(istening). U(nderstanding). B(onding) is going great. We have 3 mom to be's and another lady who have been to all the meetings. We are forming relationships and helping them through their pregnancy. I pray we can continue to be positive influences in their lives. Thank you to all the wonderful ladies who volunteer at the Abba Clinic and with the Mom's CLUB. Thank God for the wonderful girls he has put into our lives for us to minister to. Monica is starting cooking classes and she even gives the girls little recipe books. She is so awesome! The ladies are excited about the classes. I just thank God for Aaron's vision of the clinic and the Manna Market coming to life and to see how they have touched so many lives already and how they will continue to grow!! The pre-school starts this August ~ much thanks to Tina and Angie for that! I can't wait until we are in Boonville and I can send Hope there. I pray that we can get the christian school going within the next few years so my girls can go there. I know God is doing great things in our community and he's using our church to do some of them and He provides Aaron with these great visions and then the body of the church and the community bring them to life. I can't wait to see what else our body does in the future. Thank you to all the volunteers of the clinic and the market.

Update on Taylor!

2007-07-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

She's doing good. Keep those prayers coming. Here's an update from mom and dad.

I just wanted to update everyone and let them know to continue to pray that Taylor has no leukemia cells in her spinal fluid. They did the spinal tap and the results were inconclusive, so they are doing another one tomorrow.........so please pray that tonight is our last night of chemo for this round and that Taylor has no leukemia cells in her spinal fluid.
Taylor spent the day in bed with a headache from having low hemoglobin...she is much better now (as of 7pm) and is coloring in bed with trey and daddy. be sure to check out their new picture in Taylor's pj's.
Taylor has not had any fevers, so thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers. they are working! we are so thankful for wonderful people like you and thankful to God and Jesus for answering our prayers.
We plan on having an entire day of FUN tomorrow! We will keep you posted.
Love and thanks!
Staci and Brent

Women of Faith

2007-07-16T16:53:00.001-07:00

We stopped in Cincinnati and visited our friend Tara and her new baby Lucy for lunch
Sonya, Tracy, Susan and I outside the convention center

Our hotelMy favorite speaker! She is hilarious
Sonya, Susan and Tracy

The WOF conference was awesome. I finally got my pictures developed.

Back to work...again

2007-07-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

I decided to take the position. I will be doing check in 8-12:30 M-F and then typing in the afternoons. I think I will like it and financially we need it. Praise God for another awesome opportunity!

What to do?!?

2007-07-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

I really have it made. I work 2 days a week doing transcription for a neurosurgeon/infectious disease office. I work one day a week at the Abba Clinic (our church's pregnancy resource center) and 2 days I get to be home to do the transcription I do for the OB/GYN office, clean the house and be with the girls. At the Neurosurgeon part of the office they have have a check in girl that works 8-12:30 M-F. She is leaving. They have asked if I'm interested in that position and do my typing in the afternoon. Financially it would be awesome BUT part of me doesn't want to give up my time I do have at home. Faith will be in first grade in the fall and Hope will be 3. I'm really torn on what to do. It would only be about 32 hours/week. The office people are great and I know I'd like it there as I already do. I'm just praying I make the right decision.

Questions to Ponder

2007-07-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered:

1) Why does the hair on your head and men's facial hair grow forever but the rest of the hair knows when to stop?

2) How come people with accents don't have one when they sing?

3) When you shave/pluck/wax how does the hair know to grow back?

4) On the Brady Bunch where did guests go to the bathroom? The only bathrooms are in between the kids rooms and Mike and Carol's bedroom (where did Alice go?)

5) What happened to Mike and Carol's spouses? Why did the kids never ask about them?

6) Did Greg have his own room before the girls moved in?

7) What did Carol do all day if she had a live in housekeeper (other than her needlepoint)?

8) On It's a Wonderful Life ~ When George goes back to his life where he was never born his brother died because he wasn't there to save him BUT if he hadn't been there his brother wouldn't have went on the ice because they were all George's friends anyway...right?

9) and Mary became a homely librarian just because George wasn't born? What about Sam Waynewright???

10) How can anyone look at a beautiful new born baby and not believe in God?

Pray for Taylor

2007-07-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

I just found out my friends Brent & Staci's daughter Taylor has leukemia. You can read her full story here http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do and type in taylorholweger. She has done chemo and as of Friday she has 0% leukemia left in her little body!!! Praise God! She is doing great and actually eating now. They are hoping to come home soon. She's been at Riley since the end of May. Please pray for God to continue healing her little body.

80's Rock

2007-07-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Julie and I went Friday to meet Jennifer at Jessica's and a few of their friends. We went to Deer Creek to hear STYX, REO Speedwagon and Def Leppard. It was awesome! They sound just as good as they did 20 years ago. There were 20,000+ people there. It was great!

Faith's day at the zoo

2007-07-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Madison, Faith, Selena and Journee
The girls on the giant web
My angel
Dunna, nunna, nunna, nunna, nunna......bat girls!
The Kindergarten classFor the last week of Kindergarten all the classes went to the zoo for a final field trip. We had a blast!

Faith & Stasia

2007-07-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Faith and her friend Stasia....aren't they sweet?

My Family

2007-07-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

Me and my sister Debi My niece Jamie and I
Debi, Jamie and my other niece Ashley
Jamie dancing with her daddy

My niece's husband had a surprise party for her 30th birthday. She was pretty surprised. Great job BJ!!

Things I said I would never say to my kids

2007-07-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yet.....
In or Out...pick one
Get that look off your face before I smack it off
Because I said so
I'm the mom that's why
Shut the fridge
Don't make me pull this car over
We're not feeding the whole neighborhood
Wait until your father gets home
I don't understand whine
How many times do I have to tell you?
You're driving me crazy

The things my kids say!

2007-06-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening after we got back from the conference I stayed at my mom and dad's. The girls were there because Jamie had to work. At our house the bathroom door is always open. I was getting out of the shower and Faith was in there and the door was open. I said "Honey, shut the door I don't want anyone seeing mommy's naked booty." She says, "Yeah, nobody wants to see that!".....ouch!

I Love My Girlfriends!

2007-06-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jessica was in town so Susan, Sonya, Julie and I met her at El Maguey for dinner and caught up on life. Julie and I are going up to see her and Jennifer July 6th for the Def Leppard, STYX, REO Speedwagon concert at Deer Creek. I love my girlfriends .We've all been friends for 23 years and when we get together it's like we were never apart. I know if I needed anything my girlfriends will be there. I know when we are in our 80's we'll still be getting together for dinners and telling funny stories. Thank you to my girlfriends!

Women of Faith

2007-06-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a fantastic weekend. Tracy, Susan, Sonya and I went to Cleveland, Ohio for a Women of Faith conference. We left Thursday morning. We took our time driving there stopping for coffee and we stopped in Cincinnati to meet for lunch with our friend Tara and her new baby. We arrived Thursday evening and went to the pool and hot tub and hung out. Friday morning we had breakfast and went to the pre-conference to see Beth Moore. She was awesome!!! She had a guy named Travis Cottrell doing worship and he was great. Friday night we went back for the WOF and then back to our hotel at the Ritz Carlton. In between the Beth Moore and the WOF conference we had a couple of hours to play before dinner. Sonya and Susan went to the mall (we were connected to one), Tracy went to work out in the exercise room and I went to the hot tub. Tracy comes in and says she's been working out next to this guy that looks familiar but she's not sure who it is so I go take a look and it's Damon Wayans!! It was pretty cool. We didn't bother him though. Saturday we had an all day conference. It was great. We heard Anita Renfroe (who is hilarious), Patsy Clairmont, Luci Swindoll, Marilyn Meberg, Sandi Patty, Sheila Walsh and Thelma Wells. It was an amazing weekend. We laughed and we cried. I urge anyone who has a chance to go to a WOF conference to go. It's so worth it!!

Amen!

2007-06-19T04:30:00.001-07:00

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (NIV)

1 Timothy 6:7-8

Praise

2007-06-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

I just love God!! How Awesome is He? We don't have a lot of fancy things or riches by any means but everything we do have is because of HIM. We have a nice home (although I am praying we get to move to Boonville), we have a vehicle that gets us to and fro (and we have A/C now!), we have 2 beautiful, healthy, somewhat vibrant children. I know we will have at least one more and do foster parenting/adoption in the future. He has told me He is giving me a special son named Isaiah. I'm not sure what that means just yet but someday I will and I can show that with faith He delivers his promises. We were behind on our Vectren bill and playing catch up. We had a $800 bill to pay this past Friday but we only had $350. Vectren (through His help) worked with us on setting up a payment plan. We then had absolutely nothing left for groceries and we just needed milk, bread - the basics. Jamie came home Friday with a $30 bonus check (Amen). Today the gas light came on on the way home. Faith had to really go to the bathroom and even though we were just 10 minutes from home Jamie suggested we just stop at his work and let her go. We did. He had $20 in cash in his mail box from a girl who owed us some money for some things she bought a long time ago. Coincidence?? I think not. He works so mightly in your life if you just believe and have faith and walk by faith not by sight!! When we needed just a little extra income a couple of months ago I prayed about it. I didn't want to go back to work full time because I want to be home and we want another baby in the next year but we needed just a little something. I received a call for an office wanting transcription done in office two days a week! Now we have had our trials and tribulations sure and like I said we don't have the fancy things but I have a wonderful husband and amazing children, wonderful friends and family, an amazing church and a God who loves me- what else could you ask for? I'll get my riches in heaven and I can't wait to stand at that throne and look Him in the eyes and see His beautiful face for the first time. To hear his sweet voice say "Welcome home my child". I hope I can make Him proud by living my life the way He wants me to while here on earth and ministering to His sheep.

My favorite verse:

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs

Psalm 100:1-2

Thank you Staci!

2007-06-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

My good friend Staci has been watching my girls for me this week while I work and do the Abba Clinic today. My sitter is on vacation. Thank you Staci for watching my girls. I know they love coming there and I have someone I can trust watching my babies!!! Love you.

Meet me in St Louis

2007-06-14T04:43:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we went to O'Fallon, Illinois, which is about 30 minutes from St Louis. We stayed with my nephew Chad and his wife Stephanie. They have 2 children Chloe (3) and Caleb (Bubba, 1). My other niece Stephanie and her husband John met us there with their kids Mackenzie (10) and Madison (6). We also got to visit with my sister Gay and my other nephew Nick. We went to the zoo and the Arch. We didn't go up in it because it was packed and it was $10 a ride. We went through the museum and then to the science center. The girls had a blast. I love spending time with my family. I wish I had pictures developed to post with this but I'll post them later.

Out of the mouths of babes!

2007-06-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Faith came running in the house the other day. "Mommy, I have to wash my hands quick! I touched bird poop and Ellissa (her friend) said if I touch my eye I'll go blonde!"...too funny.
Then we were at my mom's house and Faith was sitting behind grandma rubbing her back and she lifted her t-shirt and grabbed her love handles "Gosh girl, you got some hips!". I was so embarrassed but my mom just laughed. Wow....they really speak their minds!

Our first meeting

2007-06-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

of the Mom's C.L.U.B went great! We had 4 girls show up. 3 of them pregnant. They were very receptive to us and we had a lot of fun talking and telling them what to expect. They all seem happy with the pregnancy just nervous. All of them have the father of the baby in the picture and a lot of support so that is great. I hope we can just guide them in the right path and provide them friendship and support. I had a great time meeting them and talking. Thank you God for putting these girls into my life and the wonderful ladies and counselor's at the Abba Clinic!

Tagged by Cathy

2007-06-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

1. What is your first & middle name? Melissa Dawn

2. How did you get your name? My mom just liked it. I was the "baby". I came along to 2 sisters and a brother that were 13, 14 and 15.

3. What are your kids' names and how did you come up with them?

Faith Renee - We actually had Madison picked out but my neice was pregnant also and had her daughter in June (Faith came in July). She named her Madison. So Faith just came to me and I loved it! Renee is named after an old room mate and best friend I had for years. She moved out of state.

Hope Avery - Had to keep the theme. We wanted Elizabeth but there are already 2 Hope Elizabeth's at church. I just liked Avery.

4. Do you like your name? Yeah I guess.

5. What was the most popular name (according to Social Security) the year you were born?
Michael and Jennifer. Melissa was #7

I tag Staci!

More Prayers

2007-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

I had asked everyone to pray for my friend Connie. She is doing much better and is back to work part time. Her daughter that had the problems is doing better except now she is pregnant. The guy is sticking around and says he wants to make a family. I pray that Ashlee does well and this gets her and Brandon away from the wrong crowd. I am bringing Ashlee with me Tuesday night to our first Mom's C.L.U.B meeting as we will be talking about what to expect when you're pregnant and the physical changes, etc. I pray I can be a good influence on her and help her through this. Her dad wants her to have an abortion but thankfully she is against that. There is no reason to be critical about it now. It's happened and we can just take one day at a time and get through it. There's a beautiful new life waiting to be born and we can just make the best of it!