My sis and her grandbaby, Elizabeth, she is a doll!

My sis and her grandbaby, Elizabeth, she is a doll!

My nephew Will, his wife Nicole and the newest family member, my great niece Elizabeth

My nephew Will, his wife Nicole and the newest family member, my great niece Elizabeth

Mom, me, Barb and Myles (my sis and bro)

Mom, me, Barb and Myles (my sis and bro)

Missie and Uncle Myles (my brother)

Missie and Uncle Myles (my brother)

Missie and grandparents

Missie and grandparents

Missie at park in Brockville,Ont. Canada

Missie at park in Brockville,Ont. Canada

Missie and I went to Canada in October

Missie and I went to Canada in October
Mom and Jim

Part of Preston's room, he has large room, calls it his apt.

Part of Preston's room, he has large room, calls it his apt.
has a recliner and little refrig.

Missie wanted her room lime green and black

Missie wanted her room lime green and black
turned out very nice!

Left side of kitchen

Left side of kitchen

Right side of kitchen (sunflowers)

Right side of kitchen (sunflowers)

Other half of living room

Other half of living room

Part of living room

Part of living room

Part of our dining room, it is a large room

Part of our dining room, it is a large room

Our new home!

Our new home!

Jr.s shop

Jr.s shop

2 car garage

2 car garage

This is the only way it would let me post :(

Here it is December, where has time gone. I just realized this a.m. I have not posted pics of our new home, where we moved to in May. I am really bad at blogging now :( Preston is doing great! He did have a cold, but other than that, he is doing well! We are so thankful for that.Missie loves Union Bible Academy. She has moved into the dorm so she won't have to drive 1 1/2 hrs/day and during winter it would have been hard. She loves living in dorm and having her friends there. She is in choir and absolutely loves that and travels when they travel. She is maintaining a B average, and that is great! It was a big switch to switch from ACE cirriculum to textbooks, but she has done very well. We love our home, and spending our first holidays in it! Will post some pics.

Preston and Missie before surgery

Preston and Missie before surgery

Preston before surgery

Preston before surgery

Preston after his surgery

Preston after his surgery

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Vacation?

Why is it when husbands are on vacation that things don't get done??? LOL
I haven't worried too much about the house, but finally today I did some housework, and helped Preston get a shower, and washed his hair. So that is done until Sat.
Yesterday Junior and I went out to McD's for breakfast and on to a flea market that we haven't been to in ages and ages. It was a very nice morning! We enjoyed it.

We still haven't heard from Missie's blood work. I am going to call tomorrow and see what the nurse says about it.

We acquired 2 kitties today. Preston wanted another orange cat of his own, as his disappeared. We are keeping these kitties inside!!! Anyhow, we ended up getting 2 so one would not be lonely. Preston named his Princess, and Missie named hers Reese as in Reese cups. I just hope they don't start meowing in the middle of the night and wake us up. Right now they are sleeping behind the couch.

Missie is only 14 but wants a job so bad. She wants to go on a TLC Missions trip to Alaska next summer. She wants to save money for that. Junior took her several places to apply for a job. Not many places will hire a 14 yr. old. If she would have been 16 she would have had a job immediately at Zaxby's! She has a job all next week babysitting one of our friend's little boy. She is happy about that. She will use the money to get her saving acct. started for the missions trip. We are so proud of her interest in missions. We may be raising a future missionary. It would be fine by us! She also wants to go to Hobe Sound for her jr. and senior yr. of high school. Also, I am not sure how many hours Missie could actually work on her feet with her joint problem. Her knees hurt so bad yesterday she was limping, and could hardly walk from the pain. But she is a determined kid and will do what she can. She really wants to make money. She put down to work evenings, because of our only having one vehicle. She can only work until 9 p.m. because of her age and the state laws.

Tomorrow a.m. Junior and I are supposed to go and visit a daycare for special needs people and see if we think Preston would be able to handle it or not. Another problem is he cannot get up early for them to pick him up, and I have no way to get him there. So we will see what happens.

Vacation is almost over and Monday we all get back to normal, except we will be babysitting next week. But Missie loves JJ and I told her she could take care of him and make the money. That will help her start the savings acct.

Gotta get to bed.

Monday, May 26, 2008

My song

I have been listening to my favorite song, "I'll Praise You In This Storm" and I want to type the words out for this. I don't necessarily like all the music but the words are the way I feel. When Preston was born and was so sick and in neo-natal, I heard the song for the first time, "God on the Mountain" and it ministered to me. This is the song that has and continues to minister to me at this time in my life.

Verse 1: I was sure by now,
that you would have reached down
And wiped our tears away,
Stepped in and saved the day,
But once again, I say "Amen"
And it's still raining;
And as the thunder rolls,
I barely hear you whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you,"
And as your mercy falls,
I'll raise my hands
And praise the God who gives
And takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm,
And I will lift my hands,
You are who you are,
No matter where I am.
And every tear I cry
You hold in your hand.
You never left my side,
And though my heart is torn,
I will praise you in this storm.

Verse 2: I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again.
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on;
If I can't find you?
And as the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
And as your mercy falls,
I'll raise my hands
And praise the God who gives
And takes away.

I lift my eyes unto the hills;
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord;
the maker of Heaven and earth!

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands.
You are you who are;
No matter where I am.
And every tear I cry,
You hold in your hand.
You never left my side,
And though my heart is torn,
I'll praise you in this storm.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Saturday

Well, I am worn out.
I took the girls bowling this a.m. I bowled too, for the 1st time in years. I beat them, LOL. Anyhow, we had a good time and then we went out for lunch. When it came time for Kellie and Missie to say goodbye, it was hard for them. They wanted to spend tonight together too. But it is hard to do 2 nights; because of our lack of room and also tomorrow being Sunday. But they had a fabulous time.
I feel even better today. God is in control of our lives and He knew this was not the time for us to go to Canada.
So my arms are feeling the effects of bowling. I took all my meds. tonight, so hopefully I will wake up pain free in a.m.
So all in all, it has been a good weekend, and we have all next week together while Junior is on vacation!

Friday, May 23, 2008

May 23rd!

Today is our daughter's 14th birthday. She has had a happy day. This a.m. we all went out as a family to Golden Corral for breakfast, then to Miracle Mart thrift store. Then we came home, and Junior took Missie to get her puppy from the dog sitter's and then to pick up her best friend to come and spend the night with her. They are having a grand time! I had to get groceries, so me and the girls went to Walmart. They have watched dvds, laughed, been outside, just having a wonderful time together. We are going bowling in the a.m. I haven't been home to bake a birthday cake, so I bought a red velvet cake and ice cream and we sang to her, and also to Preston who will be 20 next month. We celebrate them together. Missie got a cell phone with the same plan as her best friend, so they can talk for free. She is collecting spoons and her grandma in NC sent her several spoons for her collection. Her grandparents in Canada sent out $20 to her today, and to Preston. She has wanted a cell phone for a while, so that is what we got her. She and Kelly can talk to each other as much as they like, and it is a comfort to Missie. She said she can tell Kelly things she would never tell anyone else. She can express her true feelings to her best friend. I am so glad she has Kelly.

Preston went to sleep good again tonight. I guess now that the worry of traveling is over, he will rest better. I cut back tonight on some of the meds. and he did fine.

So we are overcoming our disappointment of not having our trip. Life goes on, and we have each other. We can do anything as long as we have each other.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

We are home!

It took us hours to pack, and we were gone about 6 hrs. and now we are home. Preston was worrying, then he would be excited, then he would be tired, etc. etc., finally he started to cry; tears were rolling down his face. He wanted so bad to go on the trip but didn't feel he was able to go. So we went into Cracker Barrel and ate, and shopped in the store, then came home. And we had to unpack everything we had packed, but with Jr. helping Missie and I, it wasn't too bad. It was much faster unpacking then it was packing.

So Missie and I have shed our tears, too, and we must pick up and go on with life. My mom is extremely disappointed, of course, and had bought all my favorite foods. I just needed to be spoiled for a few days. But God knows all about it; He is in control. I told Mom next spring Missie and I would fly up to NY and rent a car and drive on up for a few days. I hope nothing happens to her until I can see her at least one more time. Sometimes I just don't understand why some people have it so easy, and some don't, in life. It seems the older I get, the harder it is on me.

Jr. is on vacation until June 2nd, so we are going to do a few things with kids around here and get some stuff done around here.

Just wanted to update you on these happenings.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sleep

Well, last night was not a good night. Preston could not sleep. I can't figure it out because he takes so much medication at night, and it used to knock him out but now it won't always help him sleep. I ended up at 3:30 this a.m. giving him the new sleeping pill that dr. gave him. I have already given it to him tonight about 2 hrs. ago and he still awake. I am praying he will soon go to sleep, so I can too.
He kept calling me last night, and waking me up, so I was very tired. We all ended up staying home from church this a.m. as Junior had a headache, and I stayed in bed until about 11. I cannot function without my rest.

Tonight we were able to go to church, but I had forgotten my muscle relaxer and got in quite a bit of pain and had to sit in the nursery. Then we went over to the fellowship hall and ate afterwards. Our pastor was gone today; his grand daughter graduated from high school at Hobe Sound. We always miss him when he is gone, but we know he needs time off once in a while, too.

Lord willing, we leave Fri. a.m. for Canada. I have lots to do this week to get ready to go. I hope we will have a wonderful vacation and get some relaxation. I told them tonight there was no need of my worrying about my weight until after I get back from Canada because my mom buys all the special sweets she knows I love! She and my stepdad are so looking forward to our visit.

Well, I hope to go to bed in the next few minutes. It is already 11:20.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Things I DON'T have to worry about!

Yes, I have the worries of money, and the worries of Preston's health. But there are many things I DON'T have to worry about. Some of these things are:

I don't have to worry that my husband no longer loves me because he still tells me that he loves me.

I don't have to worry that my husband is seeing another woman; because except for the time he is at work, he is with us here at home! What a blessing!

I don't have to worry that our pastor doesn't love us or pray for us; because I know we are very much loved and prayed for!

I don't have to worry that we don't have a supportive church family, because our church family stood by us during Preston's long hospitalization last year.

I don't have to worry about life without my mom as of yet. I still have my mom and I don't know how I will ever live without my mom when she is gone. But I still have her for the present!

I don't have to worry about Missie being shot or molested because she is in a public school; because she is home with me every day.

I don't have to worry about Preston's eternal destination; because he will go to Heaven because he loves the Lord with all of his mental capabilities.

I don't have to worry about Preston ever having to go to war; it will never happen.

I don't have to worry about being homeless; because we have a home, be it ever so small, it is a home!

I don't have to worry about my husband being unemployed, because he does have a job.

I don't have to worry about not having a "best friend." I have a soul mate in a best friend, even though she lives a few states away. We can call each other any time we want.

I could go on and on; but I think you get the picture. I just needed to list some things to prove to myself and the devil, that there are a lot of things that I don't have to worry about.

Preston did take a fall today. Missie and I heard a huge crash and he yelled. We raced in his room to find him sitting on the floor. He had bent over to get something off of one of his shelves on his entertainment center, and fell right on over, head first into his dresser, then back against the entertainment center and hurt his back as well. Thankfully, he was not hurt badly; he could have been.

So that is all for this time!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Sunday

Well, we had a lovely Mother's Day service this a.m. We had a good crowd too.
Junior stayed with Preston and had dinner cooked when Missie and I got home. He had grilled chicken, rice and gravy, carrots with butter/brown sugar and homemade biscuits. You can't ask for anything better than that on Mother's Day.

We are headed back to church tonight for a missionary service. Daniel and Tiffany Melton are missionaries in Honduras and are telling us about their work there tonight. Then there will be fellowship and food afterwards.

Hope you all had a wonderful mother's day.

About yesterday's post: I have not been putting enough of my load on the Lord; so I know that He is helping me, because I am learning (again) to trust Him to take care of our problems. Also, some may ask, why doesn't Junior get another job? But that is not as easily done as one might think. Right now is not a good time to be quitting a job or trying to get another one; especially when you have a family! And if he could find a job, we would want it to be in another state close to a holiness school for Missie.

So you all have a wonderful week.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mother's Day weekend

Well, it is Mother's Day weekend. I had so wanted to be with my mom tomorrow and go to church with her but Junior couldn't get off work this next week, so we are going in 2 weeks. Two weeks from today we will arrive, Lord willing, in Canada! Can't wait! It will nice to get away as a family. And to be spoiled by mom and stepdad.
We all need that sometimes.

I have going through a bit of depression. It is so hard to make a living these days; and Junior's place of work has not given raises in 3 years. The company sold out and they are still running in the red, because they had to do so many things so that they could make more money. So they are saying when they start making a profit, they will give raises. I appreciate the fact he has a job and he enjoys it. But when the cost of living rises, his wages do not. But if there is work for him to do he can work some overtime, so he does that sometimes. He is also set up to work at home, so on Saturdays he can work some if he has work to do. He is going to try in the next few weeks to work at least an extra hour/day to help lift the financial load. We have discussed my getting a part time job; but with the price of gas and only have 1 vehicle, it would be a hardship, and I wouldn't make much after I paid for the gas. I could get an office job, but I cannot work full time. I cannot do it, especially with Preston. He is my first responsibility; he and Missie, and we also homeschool. I love being at home and being a wife and mother; there is no higher calling on this earth, no matter how much money you make. It is God's will for women to be "keepers at home." But I would be willing to do some part time if it would pay me to do that. But it doesn't look like it really would. And I cannot leave Missie to take care of Preston all of the time; that is not fair on her and I wouldn't do it. Anyhow, that is the main reason for my depression. But I have to lean more on the Lord concerning this. He will make a way. We had hoped to pay off 3 small loans when we got this extra tax money, but we ended up getting $600 less than we thought we would. So we are stretching it as far as we can.

So this is mother's day weekend. Junior and I went out alone today for a while; he took me to Golden Corral for my breakfast; they have the buffet breakfast all you can eat, then went to a thrift store and Lowe's. It was a nice time out; just the 2 of us. I always love going out to eat for my special days! It gives me a cooking break.

You all have a wonderful mother's day weekend. There is no higher calling than to be a mother, and know you are molding your children either for the Lord, or for the devil. I have tried with God's help to lead my children to the Lord and bring them up to live as close the Bible as possible.

SO HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOTHERS!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Monday update

Well, believe it or not, I made it to both Sunday services! It is so uplifting to go to the a.m. worship service. Then we all made it back last night and heard a wonderful stirring message. So I did great yesterday. I found if I take a muscle relaxer before church I do not hurt as bad from sitting longer than I normally would. So that has helped a lot.

Today has been a typical Monday. I always have lots of clothes to wash on Monday. I thank the Lord for a washing machine. I know what it is like to not have one and have to wash clothes in the bathtub and try to wring them out. It is very hard work! I am so thankful for a working washer and dryer! I have learned to appreciate what many people take for granted. It makes my life so much easier to have these modern conveniences.

Missie will soon have her 14th birthday and the same day we leave for Canada!!! I can hardly wait. I won't have to cook for over a week! I will be spoiled rotten by my mom, and relax! She already has a raspberry pie in the freezer for me! Today was my step-father's 81st birthday! He is very physically fit for 81. Last summer Missie tried to take walks with him; she couldn't keep up! Anyhow, me and children called him and sang to him today. He is a sweet person! Back to Missie's birthday. She wants a bellsouth cell phone because her best friend has bellsouth and they can text each other for free as much as they want, and call each other for free. So we are going to see about that for her birthday. We are waiting for this extra tax refund check to come in, to buy her birthday gift. We always give Preston's his too, as his birthday is in June. We will get him some dvds. Our tax refund is to come in this week. Most of it will be used to pay off some bills, and buy the kids birthday gifts.

Preston went to the shop today,and then sat outside most of the evening. Once it reaches 100 degrees here, it will be a different story. I wish it didn't get so hot here.

Well, I am tired earlier tonight, and am headed to bed.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Wow!

Thanks for the kind comments, Cathy and Happy Bunny. Cathy, I know you really understand as you have a special needs daughter. It means a lot to know you all care about me, and pray for me.

Things are pretty good here. Tonight my husband and Missie went to the Holiday Inn for a meeting, in Greenville, concerning an online high school program through the public school system. It was packed. Missie turned her application in tonight. So we will see what happens. We also applied to the other online program and sent in papers and all for it; but if she can get into Insight, she and her daddy like it the best. So time will tell. But I feel it will be definately the way to go for her high school until we can get her into a holiness school.

Preston has been walking down to the shop most days. Yesterday he didn't, because his check came in and we took him out to eat. He enjoyed that. We took him to IHOP. It is very hard work for him to take this walk down our driveway and then back up. He is always exhausted and very hot! One day Jr. picked him up, but normally he walks it. It is good for him!

We are trying to figure out what to do with our puppy and parrot when we go to Canada. That is the problem with having pets. Will have to see what we can come up with.

So things are good here! Just wanted to let you all know.