Neno's Award (Sorry it took so long)

Andrea over at Arise 2 Write included me in this award. She said she fizzled out before she was able to give the award to all the bloggers she wanted to. So I'll accept it and gladly pass it along.




Thank you sweet, Andrea. You are the neatest lady. You love your Lord. You love your family and you love to share that love with others.

I love that you are a pet therapy lady. Your dogs are a blessing to many and that's because you heard the call to take part in the pet therapy ministry and you accepted it.

You also pray for many and pass prayer requests along through your blog. What an awesome way to use your blog for the Lord's work. God bless you as you continue serving Him in many ways.

I love blogging. I enjoy writing and getting to know others through blogging.
I've read that many of the bloggers out there started their blog as a way to journal and share with their families. It also is a scrapbook for many.

I use it as a way to let off steam, express feelings, encourage others, help people get a laugh, share my past, share my present, share the Lord, and much more. I also find so much encouragement and joy by reading other blogs. It's FUN!!

Neno's award is given to those who love blogging, love to encourage friendships through blogging, and who help others seek the reasons why we all love blogging. I have met so many wonderful people through blogging and I am so excited to pass this along. I want to pass it on to:

Nan at Momstheword

Erica at Scottsville

Christy Rose at The Secret Life of an American Wife and Mom

Mikki at The View from my Beach Chair

Alicia the snowflake at Confessions of a Snowflake

Mimi at He and Me + 3

Stacey at McCrakensX4

Mich at "Mich"

Pilar at The Stark Family

Amy at In Search of Normal

Alicia at More Than Words

Hope at My Hope Is In The Lord

Mckmama at My Charming Kids

Jill at Jill Boyd's Place

Amber at Raising Rascals

Mummy at Samster.com

Lauren at Walking By Faith


There are so many more. If you do not find your name on this list, Please pick this award up. Each person who visits my blog is an encouragement. You are precious to me. GOD BLESS you "all."

Just Stuff

Today is going well and I actually left the house to do a little ordering of supplies at the church for Awana.





So many things are starting up and here I am waiting on a tooth.

My kids are suppose to start school on August 31st. However, there is a strike going on and we won't know if school starts Monday until we get an automated phone call Sunday sometime. My kids were so looking forward to going to school for the first time. They may be on delayed excitement for a bit.

My jobs will probably not start until after school gets well underway when substitutes start getting sick and making appointments and the like. I may have some time to get this tooth situation squared away before I get called to work. I really don't want to start my jobs by saying I can't work cuz my tooth hurts.

Awana starts on September 9th and I want to get ready for that.
I like to be as prepared as possible for when the kids come
all excited and ready to hear God's Word. I want to make sure
we have their shirts and books and other supplies ready for
when they earn the right to wear them. I love Awana!!!!

Unfortunately, the first night for Leaders is September 2nd, the evening after my root canal. Hopefully I'll feel just fine and get to go. Otherwise, I'll be starting cold turkey on the 9th. Thank goodness I have a few years of experience. Hopefully I'll be all prepared.

I also run background checks and make sure all of the children's ministry workers have filled out all of their paperwork for the year. This takes some time. For some reason most folks need to be asked several times to finish the paperwork. This makes it frustrating and time consuming for me, but it needs to be done and I'm the one that has the job.

I am thankful for all the folks who volunteer because without them there would be no ministry for children. I try to be very sweet in trying to get the paperwork done because I don't want to lose any volunteers. We do want to be compliant with insurance requirements and protecting ourselves and the kids. So I will remain diligent and get prepared as best I can. God willing, all will go well. It will certainly be His plan, I know that.

Hanging In There

Today was pretty good. I've taken less pain meds and I slept real good and I did some laundry.

I'm starting to have increased pain now and will be taking some pain meds soon. I will be hanging in there until next Wednesday when I get a root canal. I hope that is the answer for this tooth.

Thank you everyone for your prayers. I'm going to eat some scrambled eggs.
Mmm Mmm! I do miss crunchy food and sturdy meat I'll tell ya that.

God is good. Everything in His time. Pray for patience and strength.

Tooth Problems Again

I am taking a few days off to work through another infected tooth problem. Back in June I had a problem with a tooth and it had to be pulled. I'm praying that I can keep this one. It's been causing a lot of pain and it requires more pain medication than the last one did.

Therefore I'm not quite myself these days. Thank God for my husband and kids. They've been so helpful. My husband has been on vacation (some vacation) so he's been able to take me to the dentist, cook, go to the store and do all kinds of things. He usually does do a lot around the house, but he's doing even more this week.

Next week I'll have a root canal and crown work done, but I'll be on my own cuz he'll be back at work. Since the school district went on strike today, I may have my kids home next week. God knows and will take care of all things.

I'm asking for your prayers again and thanking you in advance. God bless you all. I'll be following again soon. Take care, Mocha Momma.

Not Me Monday August 24, 2009

I'm joining Mckmama over at My Charming Kids for a fun meme.

Her goes my day in "Not Me" fashion. Enjoy!

I did not wake up two times during the night with an aching mouth and take pain reliever. I did not call the dentist first thing in the morning only to find out that he was not on vacation. I did not call his emergency number and I did not have to leave a message. I did not wait an hour or so for him to call back. I did not have some important errands to run. The dentist did not then call while I was gone.

I did not call him back and he did not ask me questions and suggest Vicadin and say "I'll be back in the office on Wednesday. I did not say that I would just keep taking pain reliever every three hours and see him on Wednesday.

I did not think that it would be a good day to take the kids to get some shoes for school. My sister did not call and say she was going to the super mall today. I did not say, I was thinking of going too.

I did not leave the house at almost 2:00pm to head to the super mall. The traffic was not backed up and not really moving much. It did not take 40 minutes to drive to the mall which should not take only 15 to 20 minutes.

I did not hear my phone ring and I did not talk to my sister who was not very close to the store we came in through. We did not find shoes. We did not try to get my son to buy some more clothes with his school money. He did not refuse to shop any more.

We did not go to the food court and find refreshing snacks and Mochas. We did not say our good byes and go our separate ways home. We did not get home in 15 minutes or less.

It was not a fun day in spite of the pain I did not have. We are not happy that we did not find shoes. This not the end, or is it?

Baby Shower For a Friend

The church women hosted a baby shower for our friend, Debbie. Another Debbie made this cute cake which tasted awesome.

Here's the expectant mommy waiting for things to get started. She was actually watching her very cute niece sitting in her car seat.

Guess who fooling around before the game? Yes, it's Nan from Momstheword.

Debbie joined in the fun. She's so cute!

We played a game of passing the pacifier on a straw to the music. This is a mother and daughter.

Debbie's SIL and a friend.

Two of the younger girls. The one in orange won this game.

This game required a player to fold a cloth diaper and pin it onto a doll blindfolded. The fastest won. This is a mother and daughter competing. The mother won over all with a time of 45 seconds. Wow!

More brave moms competed for the coveted prize.

Two of our teens bravely participated.

On with the gift opening and cake & punch.

A hand crocheted blanket by one of the ladies.

There were a lot of gifts, mostly cute clothes and soft blankets, diapers and various other very cool things. I thought this gift from Debbie's niece was pretty neat. This young lady had attached diapers, toys and baby items to a wreath.

I'm pretty sure Debbie has all she needs for her first baby. I think she had fun and was very thankful for all that we did for her. God bless Debbie and her new baby and family.

My Testimony Part II

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." Psalm 40:2


Summary from part one written August 21, 2009. It's about 1982, I'm about 24 years old and I live in a dump in an alley. I'm married to a guy in the Navy Seal team who has a serious drinking problem and didn't want me, his wife, to be in his life, but I was too naive to know it. Sounds like a sad story and it gets worse, but I'm here to tell you, it gets much better, believe me.

It was about this time I decided to go into the US Navy. This helped with my self esteem, but as soon as I left boot camp I began heavy social drinking and made some serious mistakes. Unfortunately I felt justified in those decisions and sought opportunity to rub it in my spouses face. I became rebellious and felt like I was fighting back for all that he had done to me.

Moving on. We bought a house and enjoyed getting it set up. We enjoyed boating, water skiing, jet skiing and going to swap meets. We spent a lot of time with friends and partying. I soon became pregnant. I was happy, but very scared that I would be left alone to raise a child.

I wasn't ready to trust the man I had married. I had always had a sense that he would leave me from the morning after our wedding. I had nightmares about it and would wake up screaming, but I never took any of it seriously.

Within six weeks of finding out I was expecting, I had a miscarriage. The morning after the miscarriage I woke up in the hospital with my spouse at my side. His first words were something like this, "I'm going to go fishing. See you later." OUCH! It makes me cry just typing it.

Finally, I began to deal with that sin against me from childhood and got some counseling which helped. I sought marriage counseling, but my spouse wasn't interested.

Fast forward, it's January 1986 and I'm living in a barracks in the Philippines. Yes, I got transferred without my husband. Open a new chapter...I suddenly think that I'm a single woman and I still feel justified in that choice because after all, my spouse had been rotten to me so he can't complain if I do the same to him.

I met some single girls and all we cared about was new clothes, going out drinking and dancing and laying by the pool. I was about 28 years old. I had a lot of fun and did some touring and lot's of shopping. The Philippines is a really beautiful, tropical place but it is ravaged by typhoons, earthquakes and poverty. I met some very sweet nationals there. At one point I had a maid, a seamstress and a yard boy.

About nine months after I got there my spouse got transferred there and we moved into base housing. I spent more time with him partying and drinking. Some of my single friends got transferred out, but my new forever friend was still there. We had been room mates for several months prior to my spouse moving there.

She had renewed her relationship with Christ somewhere in all of this. I noticed a difference in her, but I didn't know what it was. She was going to a place she called "The Center". I wanted to go to "The Center" and see what was going on, but I wasn't sure I would be welcome there.

One night my friend invited me to go with her to "The Center" (Overseas Christian Servicemen's Center or OCSC). I felt accepted and loved and within months I became a Christian. I am 30 years old now and it's September 18, 1988. Several of us were baptized on October 10th in the South China Sea. What a glorious day!

My forever friend and I getting baptized together with loved ones all around us. Her fiance was there, my spouse was not. It was a time of mixed feelings, but I did not regret this decision to follow Christ.

God can forgive anyone of anything. I had accepted that and I was so happy. Life changed rapidly after that. I stopped drinking immediately. God at work. I told my co-workers (all guys) that I had become a Christian. God put it on my heart to stop using bad language. A missionary friend had given me some scripture to memorize which helped a lot.

I started wearing appropriate dresses and going to church (the first time I went to church I wore a black mini skirt and a big shirt over a tank top). I went to "The Center" about three times a week. My parents sent me a Bible with my name on the front for Christmas that year.

All of this was more than my spouse could handle. He asked for orders out of there ASAP and was gone before I could say anything. I moved back into the barracks. My forever friend got out of the Navy and I spent the longest, loneliest seven months waiting to get out of the Navy and go home to my family.

I continued going to "The Center" and spent a lot of time in prayer and counsel with the missionaries there. They were awesome and cared about me and loved me through those lonely months.

I am here to tell you that I survived and God has never failed me. There is no need to depend on others for my happiness. God provides for all my needs. He led me through the next several years of valley's and mountain tops. Life is good in this new chapter God has written for me. PRAISE HIS HOLY & BELOVED NAME!

"Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-
it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." Psalm 40:7 & 8.

My Testimony Part I

I've been thinking about sharing my testimony. I decided that since it's hard for me to keep this story short, I will do it in parts. Hopefully I can keep it to two parts. It may be long because I was thirty years old when I became a Christian.

I'll start with my childhood. My family was a church going family and we were good citizens. My parents worked hard and did their best to raise us right. There was a major life changing event for me about age 7 or 8. I have blocked it out for many years so I cannot recall times and ages. I have forgiven the person who sinned against me and have taken many years to mend.

I was always a people pleaser and I lacked confidence. I responded well to discipline, but as I entered high school I became somewhat rebellious. Junior high was difficult for me. I hung out with girls who smoked, but I didn't. I was a target for teasing and bullying. I didn't know how to handle this and did not tell anyone because I didn't want it to get worse as a result of being a tattle tale.

When it was time for high school, there was a new school being completed. One of my friends from my homeroom class talked me into going to the new school. I assumed we would become fast friends and hang out during the summer. We never spent one day together even though I made several attempts to get together with her. She always said her dad wouldn't allow whatever I invited her to do. I gave up, but still hoped to see her on the first day of school.

I didn't see her and I didn't recognize her when she walked right past me. She knew who I was and didn't say a word. I didn't know who she was until I passed her because she had matured a lot during that summer and she got her hair, which was very long in junior high, cut very short. I called out her name, she acknowledged me at that point, but didn't want talk much. She was a cheerleader now. Nothing against cheerleaders. I liked cheerleaders and admired them for many reasons.

That sweet and kind girl I knew all through junior high had decided she was too good for me and never spoke to me again. You could say I had placed all of my eggs in one basket hoping this girl would be my friend. I depended on other people to keep me happy and entertain me and invite me and ask me to be their friend. I was bad at choosing friends (I let them choose me). I trusted the wrong people and often wound up getting hurt, not to mention I was easily offended and hurt.

I met one of my forever friends that year though. Even though I hung out with the wrong people most of the time (she did too), we were pretty good kids when we hung out together. Neither of us was a Christian, but we both went to church, we enjoyed going to Campus Life meetings and we both came from good families.

I thought her family was okay until I heard the truth many years later, but that's another story. Today we are both Christians and happily married with children and still good friends.

I didn't do well at the new high school, so the next two years I went to the school I was closest too, had a lot of fun with a new group of friends (my old friend included) and graduated, but not with any honors. Just glad to have graduated.

I did a lot of stupid things and had a lot of close calls with life changing, bad decisions or lack of making a decision. For some reason I didn't get into any big trouble. I always managed to have a near miss. Probably the reason for me to continue on a downward spiral of bigger and bigger bad choices. Still nothing took me to rock bottom.

I went to college, but got married before I finished to a guy from high school at age 22. He was in the Navy Seal Team. I didn't know what that meant and boy was I surprised to learn quickly that drinking was more important than going home to a wife.

We had a difficult time for several years, but we managed to stay married and I think it was because he deployed so often that I would forget how mad I was at him by the time he returned. When he was home I didn't want to rock the boat so I tried to just go with the flow.

I didn't go to church very often, but I kept trying. I left once when he refused to ask his friend to move out of our house so we could work on our relationship more. I came back about two months later much to his disliking. We lived in a renovated garage we called "the cave" until we moved to the dump behind it in the alley.

I went in the Navy at age 24 thinking I wouldn't be able to quit a job like that and I could make a good paycheck and have my own benefits. I had worked in fast food places, a swap meet, and a video arcade (where I was accused of stealing the money from the night before. I wouldn't have gone to work the next day if I had stolen the whole night's income) and I was a warm body in a computer store for awhile. That was a joke. I knew absolutely NOTHING about computers or software.

I will stop here for now. In summary, it's about 1982,I'm about 24 years old and I live in a dump in an alley. I'm married to a guy in the Navy Seal team who has a serious drinking problem and didn't want me, his wife, to be in his life, but I was too naive to know it. Sounds like a sad story and it gets worse, but I'm here to tell you, it gets much better, believe me.

It Makes Me Smile

It makes me smile when it is so clear God has answered a prayer.

It makes me smile when I remember my wedding day and how beautiful everything turned out.

It makes me smile when I remember the days I found out about each pregnancy.

It makes me smile when I remember holding each of our newborn babies for the first time.

It makes me smile that I have been married for fifteen years and it's still a good marriage.

It makes me smile when I see videos of our kids when they were little and they had those cute little voices.

It makes me smile when one of my kids says something funny.

It makes me smile when my husband says something funny as well.

It makes me smile when I look out my kitchen window and see flowers on the plants and green grass.

It makes me smile when the cat stretches and falls off of something.

It makes me smile when someone accepts the Lord as their savior.

I could go on forever and I'm sure you could too. Feel free to post your own "It Makes Me Smile" or leave some in my comments. SMILE!

A Walk Down Memory Lane, August 19, 2009

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!
I'm joining Erica over at Scottsville for a walk down memory lane. You really need to go see her post today. It'll make you cry with joy. God is so good!


My mom used to perm our hair a couple times a year. I think this is probably Easter morning. Love those TONY perms!

My mom is a good seamstress and she made these dresses. It looks like we have headbands with flowers on them as well. Look how I have my arms. I got this from my dad. We both still do it when we don't know what to do with our hands. It's quirky, funny!

So this is my sister on the left and me, Nannette or Mocha Momma on the right. We are on the side of our small yellow house which is still standing, but looks awful.


I believe I am four years old here which would make my sister almost seven. It was April of 1962 and we moved to the house my parents still live in two years later.

We had good neighbors and I have fond memories of this house and the friends I had there. I'm amazed I remember those years since I was so young.

I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Come back next week for sure.

Four Things About Me That Begin With A "B"

This is a random post I'm writing to save for a day when I'm tired or too busy. It looks like today is one of those days. So here are four things about me that begin with a "B". That just came to mind, not sure where it came from. If these are someone elses words, please forgive me, I didn't mean to steal them.

#1 My favorite sport is basketball. I played on a team for a couple years during ninth and tenth grade. I played the position of Forward and sometimes Center. I was not, and still am not, aggressive so I spent a lot of time on the bench. I quit and enjoyed watching our boys basketball team play twice a week. I always wanted basketball season to last longer. I couldn't wait for Tuesday nights and then Friday nights because those were game nights. We had a good team.

#2 I like the color brown with almost any color. I used to not care much for brown. The color brown was for shoes and purses and maybe pants. But now I think brown looks good on anyone and with just about every color. Maybe because chocolate is brown! I love chocolate.

#3 I like baking. I don't do very much baking these days, but when I take the time I love to bake cookies, brownies, lemon bars, casseroles, and quick breads. I usually use boxed mixes now days and rarely make quick breads. My mom taught me how to make pies and cinnamon rolls, bread and scratch cakes, but I just haven't done it since I was a teen.

#4 I was baptized shortly after I became a Christian in 1988 at the age of thirty. I was in the Navy and stationed in the Philippines. I accepted the Lord as my savior one Sunday night after a message that was given at, what was then called, The Overseas Christian Servicemen's Center (OCSC).

It was really exciting to be baptized in the South China Sea. I don't remember being baptized as a baby so when I became a Christian, it was shared with me that I should be baptized as soon as possible. I have a video of my testimony and pictures. What a great experience and testimony. God is so good.

A Time of Upheaval and Conflict

Today I am feeling the effects of my life being in upheaval and a small
(I hope it's small) conflict.









I looked for verses to help me with these feelings and I'm going to share them tonight.

I know I keep going on about my life being in a bit of turmoil and you have all been so kind to listen, encourage and pray.

Since I'm still trying to get through this I'm stressed out and am taking a break tonight. Here are the verses I read tonight to help me.

"You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me."
Psalm 139: 3, 5, 7, 9-10 NLT

AND

"...live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you."
2 Corinthians 13:11 NCV

AND

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
Matthew 5:9 NRSV

The True Heart Award

My friend Kat over at Art's Chili has given me the True Heart Award. I am glad she sees the qualities in my blog that are written below.

I don't feel like I have earned it, but if my friend, Kat thinks that I do, I will not question her thoughts and beliefs. I will accept and pass along this really special award. Thanks Kat, you are so sweet and sincere in your blog.

"Those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."

I'm not sure if there is a specific number of people that the award is suppose to be sent to so I just started selecting and came up with ten.

There are so many I would choose and so many that have already received this award that I would send it to, but I'm going to send it to some special people in my blog world that may not have received it yet. I won't be surprised if they have though.

Ladies, please accept this True Heart Award because your words and pictures have inspired me and made me think about my life as a Christian woman. You are all sincere women with sweet spirits, yet each of you is unique and special to me.

Maryleigh at Blue Cotton Memory

Laura at Goose Hill Farm

Beth at I'm Heading Towards My Destiny

Darcy Lee at In This Season

Mich at "Mich"

Alicia at More Than Words

Amber at Raising Rascals

Sarah Dawn at Splashin Glory

Pilar at The Stark Family

Christine at Vista Woman

These ladies have also encouraged me and shown me by their lives how to be nearer to God my Lord and Savior. Thanks ladies. Have a True Heart kind of a day.

An 80's Birthday Party

Gosh the 80's were bright! NEON, baby!! I was in my twenties and I didn't wear quite so bright outfits as these birthday girls did. We had fun tonight celebrating birthdays for three girls from our church. The youngest turned 18 today. She obviously was not born in the 80's, but she dressed the part. Alright, here we go...

Here they are from left to right. Ashly, the 18 year old; Jenny, my Letterboxing teacher; and Rhonda a mom who blogs at have2havehumor.

Here are some of the leggings and shoes. It's a little dark, but I think you get the idea.

What better to celebrate with than a "HOT PINK" cake. Ashly's mom made it and it was good.

The inside was Neapolitan, Mmmm Mmmm good! I love her cakes.

You know the "Preppie" on the right. That's Nan at Momstheword. She's with Kaytee who also has a blog or two. Kaytee is also 18 and going off to college this fall. Nan jokes about going with her in one of her suit cases.

Some cake for the colorful birthday girls.

We ate some BBQ, had some cake and listened to music from the eighties. We also remembered movies that we enjoyed or were forbidden to see. It was a great time and the little kids liked it too. Some of the guys even dressed up a little. I was a party pooper, but I still had fun.

"Every party has a pooper that's why we invited you, party pooper, party pooper, that's you" Just thought I'd throw that in there. Take care.

Happy Birthday GIRLS!! Have a great year.

Safety Seals...Ack!!

What is it with safety seals anyway? Now I understand that, thanks to a woman near my hometown here, we need safety seals. Yes, the Tylenol murderer lived near here. I don't know if that is what they called her, but she wanted to kill her husband or someone so she tainted several Tylenol bottles, returned them to the store shelf and unfortunately, not only did she kill her husband, but at least one other person.

Thanks to our local murderer, we have seals on everything even food. Even peanut butter. Yes, you know that heavy, foil, cardboardy thing. Pain relievers and other meds have a thinner, but fingernail resisitant foil on them.

So what do I do? I get a sharp knife out and proceed to puncture, slice, sever, cut, obliterate the foil seal. Now how safe is that? A butter knife isn't sharp enough so the sharp knife seems to be the only option.

Do you send your kids out to open the new container of peanut butter? Probably not. You can't even let them stay in the room while you open it because certainly no on should use a knife to open a safely sealed container. We teach our kids the proper way to use a sharp knife and end up stabbing ourself while opening the peanut butter with a sharp knife.

The other day I tried to lift the cardboardy, foily seal up with my fingernails. I managed to get a bit of an opening so I pulled harder and "rip" goes a piece of the seal. So I tried again and this time I managed to get peanut butter on my finger.

I continued with this pulling and ripping craziness and I surely had enough peanut butter on my fingers and the outside of the jar to make a sandwich. I should have taken a slice of bread and wiped the outside of the container and my fingers on it and just been happy with that. But I continued after washing my hands, to pull and rip, pull and rip, wash my hands again and pull and rip.

I think I might have said a bad word or two while I continued on my determined way to get this bleep jar of peanut butter open. Boy was I hungry by the time I got the jar open.

I collected all of the peanut buttery pieces of the foily, cardboardy seal and tried to throw them away, but of course they were sticking to my hands and I was flinging and shaking my hands over the bleep garbage can. I rubbed and scraped my hands onto the garbage can until I got it all off of me. Washed my hands again and spread that lovely peanut butter on my, now very cold toast, sat down at the table with cold tea and cold toast. Ahhhhhh!

Now isn't that just the most pleasant way to start a day? I love it and I can't wait until we get another jar of peanut butter. I'll be the first one there to open it. Maybe I'll think of a new and exciting way to obliterate remove the lovely foily, cardboardy seal.

Another lesson in patience, longsuffering and anger management brought to you exageratingly, by Mocha Momma. AH!

Good Friends Say Good Bye For Now

Yesterday we said farewell to some friends who stopped by our town on their way out of the country. Some of us church friends heard that our friends who moved to VA two years ago were going to be at our local airport for several hours, so one family organized a BBQ and they picked up our friends from the airport and brought them home.
Here's the happy family now. They are a military family and we are proud of them and their service to our country. We also love them. They are great friends to us.

My daughter, H and their daughter, M became friends about five years ago when they came to our church. Now they are eleven and twelve year olds. Oh my gosh how they have grown. I remember them dressing up, slip and sliding, having tea parties, playing in the back yard and playing with dolls.

This is the little sister, S. She was two when they left here to go to VA. She's a cutie and very energetic. She was singing and walking around playing this guitar yesterday.
She was teaching her dad how to play and holding the piano music up for him while he played the guitar.

Another friend plays another guitar.

M and H getting to know each other again.

Worship team friends chat while waiting for the BBQ'd goodies to come off of the grill.

We call this little guy "Chunkie Munkie". He was scooting all around the table on his bum. Isn't he the cutest? He goes to our church nursery.

More visiting with good friends.

Little friends get to know each other again. They were too young to know each other two years ago. They sure had fun playing the piano together yesterday.

We say "Farewell for now," and we are hoping they will move back here again some day. We will miss them while they are out of the country, but we appreciate how they are serving our country. God bless you, friends. We love you. Keep in touch.

A Walk Down Memory Lane, August 12, 2009

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

I like to try and join Erica at Scottsville every Wednesday for a walk down memory lane. This week I have another old picture of me from the 60's. Some of my followers and lurking, beloved, friends can rememebr the 60's. Those were the days my friends.

I'm quite sure this is my fifth birthday. I also believe my mom made this cake with the doll in it. I also think this is when I received my first and only Barbie Doll. You know, the one with the black and white striped bathing suit? I believe that was the first Barbie that was sold. Correct me if I'm wrong. Hope might know.

I just saw a picture on Amy's blog In Search of Normal yesterday of her daughter, Padme, who just had her fifth birthday and she had the doll cake. It reminded me of mine many years ago. Some cool things never die. (the cake idea, not me. LOL!)

So there it is, another quick trip down memory lane. I hope you enjoyed it.

My Daughter Came Home From Camp, Yay!!

This is a little overdue, but I've been away everyday helping and visiting my mom who recently had back surgery. She's doing really well. Thanks to those who are praying for my mom and who prayed for my daughter.

It turns out that my daughter had a great time and wants to go back to camp next year. I was hoping this would be the result of every one's prayers.

If you read the post from August 1, 2009 you would see that my daughter was not too excited about going to camp and pleaded with me to take her home. It was difficult to leave her, but I did.

That's H in the light blue t-shirt with the black square on it heading for me. I'd say she's almost running. She missed me!

Here's H with her friends from church and from her cabin. C is on the left and JM is on the right.

I just thought this was precious. JM made a friend at camp and they said they were twins and that lot's of people asked them if they were.

Here's my friend DH with her oldest daughter D after they shared a big hug. D is a hard hugger. She hugs so hard it hurts.

Here's DH with both daughters after camp.

Next we had to get all of their stuff and carry it to the van. We had three men help us bring the girls, but it was just us girls carrying all their stuff now. Next year I recommend bags with wheels on them.

Here's the three youngest crammed in the van with stuff all around them.

Of course they were hungry so we stopped to get some lunch before we drove home.

DH and D eating their lunch and enjoying their time back together.

I didn't have anyone take pictures of me and H. I don't know what I was thinking. So H has been home four days and all of her laundry is clean and we're getting ready to get some clothes for school. She did enjoy camp and her team, blue, won first prize, the gold medal, for the most points accumulated for various things they accomplished during the week.

Sometimes we have to make hard choices for our kids and hope that things will go well. This time they did. Thank the Lord for His intervention again!!