March 29, 2007

After great consideration, along with the advise from Doug and Laura, I've decided - I'm open to the world when it comes to my blogs. Doug and I have been talking about it for the past couple of days and he assures me that it would be very hard to someone to figure out exactly where we live, not a member of the family or friends.

It has been a very busy week and still more is to come. Yesterday, I decided to get Katie all dressed up in one of her dresses (I bought it off of ebay) and take a few Easter/Spring pictures. I was so surprised to catch a couple of good shots. It is hard to work with a toddler when it comes to taking pictures. I have a great respect for Professional Photographers. I worked on the pictures most of the morning and I think they turned out pretty good. I was so glad to capture her watching the bee buzzing around the azaleas. I had her turned to where she could see it and still face me somewhat. She was amazed! This is the shot where she is touching one of the blossoms. Before I get all the emails, yes, I realize azaleas are toxic to children and surprisingly this is the only thing she hasn't attempted to eat. When I saw the notice on the news about the bushes, I just looked at Doug and asked him what we should do. I was prepared to be pulling them up. He said we would just need to watch her around them. I posted her pictures this morning on my website. You'll have to check them out.

I got a surprise visit from my nephew yesterday afternoon. He's been on Spring Break this week and bored out of his mind. He spent the afternoon with Katie and myself. We ordered a pizza and ate ribs while watching a movie. Afterwards, we played cards. I guess it has been close to a year ago, Nic introduced to me this card game called "Golf." I really like it. I may not win all the time, but it's a lot of fun. I love playing games of any kind - board, electronic, and card. Doug doesn't like to play games. When he does he'll only play card games, but not when there's just two people. Even then, he doesn't like to play card games at any length of time. He says it's too boring to him. So, I get excited when one of my family members come to see me because I know we can get a game going at any moment. I hope to raise Kaitlyn the same way. When I was still living at home, we would play games just about every night. If not every night, we definitely played every weekend. All of us couldn't wait to get together and get a game going. We, included all of the sisters, nieces, nephews, and sometimes a couple of my brother-in-laws. It's a lot of fun! A great way to laugh and have a good time with one another.

Last night, several of the family members got together at June's house and I guess you would say we had an "American Idol" party. As you know, my aunt and uncle are visiting my parents. Well, Aunt Sherry is a big Idol fan and I didn't know it until she announced "in a few minutes, we have to go inside and watch American Idol." My eyes lite up and I was ready to go. There were quite a few people packed in June's Living Room, watching Idol. We all started howling when Seacrest came out with that hairdo. Oh, my gosh! So Funny! We all started taking bets on who would be in the bottom 3 and who would be leaving. I was real unsure cause I knew Chris didn't sing good the other night, but neither did Phil. I hated that Chris got voted off because I know the boy can sing. I think he just got tired. Plus, this whole Sanjaya mess was probably getting to him. Do you know what Susan told me? She said there have been reports that a group of kids are the main cause for Sanjaya to be the idol contestant with the most votes. They are making it a practical joke to have the worst singer to win the American Idol. Susan seems to think that if this is true, this may be the last year for American Idol because people will get tired of the mess. We had a real good visit, but so tired and ready to come home.

Today, all I did was clean and strip beds. I had hoped to get some work done today, so I could go tomorrow and buy some mulch and bedding flowers for the yard. I also need to go Wal-Mart and pick up a few groceries and other items. Our cupboards are bare! I grilled the last piece of meat tonight - pork chops. They were delicious and so tender! I've been promising Peggy I would make my famous Chicken Salad with Croissant rolls. So, I guess I need to get the stuff and make it. I put grapes, pineapple & pecans in my Chicken Salad. It is so good and I love making it this time of year because the salad is nice and cold. I usually like to serve it with mixed fruit (strawberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.). Man, this is beginning to sound really yummy! I may have to make it tomorrow. tehe!

Millard and Peggy came over tonight, just to stop by and say "hello." Peggy asked me if we've been practicing with Katie about egg hunting. I had to tell her that we haven't hid the first egg in order for her to find it. I figure there will be so much excitement, even if Katie had been practicing, she would be to involved in watching and playing with the other kids. She won't want to find the eggs. We'll see! If I have time tomorrow, we might have to hide eggs.

Motivation Quote of the Day
"Start your child's day with love and encouragement and end the day the same way." - Zig Ziglar

Take care and God Bless You!

What's with the hair, Sanjaya?

We started the day by going out to eat with Aunt Sherry and Mom for lunch. I introduced Aunt Sherry to Katie as "Lolli." For a couple months, Aunt Sherry has requested that Mom teach Katie to say "Lolli." This is the name Sherry's grandchildren call her instead of Grandma. Katie really took up with "Lolli," I think it's because Sherry played around and picked on her. Later this afternoon, Aunt Sherry called me and asked if her and Mom could stop by the house. Sherry and Roger recently had to have their dog, Princess, put down because of old age and she had a tumor in her side. The last time I saw the dog, it looked real bad. Apparently, they feel it's time to get another dog. We got on the computer and looked up some terrier breeds. She was really taken by the Cairn and Norwich breeds. I was somewhat surprised at the cost of the Norwich Terriers - $2000-$4000 approx. The Cairn Terriers (Toto type from Wizard of Oz) cost around $400-$900 approx. After seeing the price, she said she would get a Cairn mix. She couldn't get over the price for puppies, but I had to remind her a lot of those puppies came from Championship Bloodlines. I will have to say, I've never seen a white/cream colored Cairn Terrier - very pretty. They kind of remind me of a Westie.

I had to run a few errands after lunch. I found the Cowardly Lion doll from "The Wizard of Oz" movie. I think I mentioned it from one of my past blogs, that I wanted to get Katie the doll. Well, Wal-Mart had only one lion left and I had to get it. We will give it to her for Easter. I finally picked up her dress that I had monogrammed from Monograms Plus. The dress was ready to be picked up a week ago. I also found Katie a slip to wear with a couple of her dresses. Yes, today was a day to mark off the list of things I needed to get.

Some of you are probably wondering what is going on with my blog. Well, I had a few comments of concern from some family members about my blogging. A couple showed real concern that some crazy person would find out where I lived, no matter how careful I was, and might cause problems for me or family. My Mother told me I needed to grow up and not blog anymore. She's never read or seen any of my blogs, so I took that comment like a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I appreciate the love shown by my family and I respect their opinion thus my restrictions.

Tomorrow, Susan is suppose to go over to Mom & Dad's to visit with Aunt Sherry and Uncle Roger. She wants to see Katie for a little bit, so I told her I would be there as well. Hopefully, Katie will be on her best behavior. We have really been butting heads already this week and it's just Tuesday. She is having to learn the hard way to mind me and I mean what I say. On my end, it's very exhausting, but I'm trying to be consistent. Because she wouldn't mind me, she bumped her head twice today. One is running on the couch and not sitting down or getting off. There she went into the floor, hitting her head. She was okay. She has a little bruise on her forehead. People tell me it's normal, but I think there's something wrong with her hearing. Like Sandy says, aliens come down and suck the brains out of our children and don't return. I'm beginning to think she is right. For instance, I was trying to groom Sassy, long hair cat. It was a sight! First of all you have to know my cat thus the name "Sassy." I would start combing her hair when I would notice Katie (decided to visit neighbors) walking over to Mr. & Mrs. Phipps. "Katie, get over here." "Come back home and play with her toys." "Am I going to have to spank you?!?" By the third statement to her, as she is looking at me with a blank look on her face, I am yelling and my face is red. She, thinking the wind is blowing in her hair, continues to walk over to the Phipps' back porch. When she sees me get up and walk towards her is when she gets the message - wow! Mom must really mean it. By this time, I have to look for the cat because she has had enough and will not be returning to this kind of abuse. I had to pull the cat out from underneath the truck in order to try again combing her hair. Meanwhile, Katie decides she's not getting enough dirty in her diet. I hope it's good for her because she eats it as much as possible. She's running around the yard with the Windmill (upside down) in her mouth. Me telling her to get out of her mouth encouraged her to continue doing it. Needless to say, the cat didn't get groomed very good and Katie and I went into the house.

American Idol
Okay what's with the hair, Sanjaya? If he wants to be remembered, this is one way of doing it. I will have to say, he did throw his voice out there (first time ever). I still say he can't sing, but that's my opinion. Where is Chris Sligh going with his performances? I think he is ready to give it up. I know he can sing, but he hasn't stepped up to the plate in a while. Melinda is still hot! Unless something happens, I predict Melinda will make it to the final 5.

Famous Saying
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.”- C. S. Lewis

Take care and God Bless You!

Happy Birthday - Liz

I want to wish my niece, Liz, a very Happy Birthday! I hope she had a wonderful weekend with her family and a special day today. For those who don't know, I am going to be another Great Aunt because Liz and her husband are expecting their second child. The picture posted is of Katie's new play set. A couple of you wanted to see a picture of it. Today, Katie warmed up to it a little better. I think it was because our neighbor's grandson, Will, came over to visit and had to try it out. Well, Katie was right behind him and wanting to do everything Will did, including all the bad habits. Kids will be kids! Katie hated to see him leave and Will didn't want to go. He kept asking his Mom and Grandma if he could stay with us and eat Supper with us. I told him to come over another time (we didn't have enough to eat) and we would all have a picnic on the picnic table. He was all for that and knowing him, he won't forget it. He has a birthday in June and wanted us to make sure we were invited to it.

The house at the end of our street is for sale, which is only four houses down from us. I don't know what they are asking. I just hope whoever moves in will be good and descent neighbors. The neighbors before, I could hear them from my front porch cussing and screaming at one another. Loving bunch don't you agree?

I worked all day long with the front yard and cleaning the house. Would you believe I still have one more flower bed to clean out. Ugh!!!! When will it end?!? What possessed me to put in so many flower beds? I'll never know! I actually forgot this one. It's just a little one with monkey grass around one of Weeping Cherry Tree. It shouldn't take long to do, but my Aunt Sherry is in town and I wanted to hurry up and get all this done so I can visit with her. Her and her husband got in from FL this morning and are headed home TX. We, Mom, Sherry, Katie & I, are to have lunch tomorrow at Sweet Peppers. I love that restaurant.

I finally got to watch "The Nativity Story." I cried and cried. It touch me so much and I can't even fathom what it must have been like in those days. Can you imagine what the Sheppards, Joseph & Mary must have been thinking when the Angel of the Lord appeared to them? I probably would have fainted there on the spot. How they could have heard and understood what the Angel was saying. I would have been so frightened and wondering in my head - what is this Angel doing here, talking to me? I wouldn't be able to pay attention for all the noise in my head. I guess that's why I've never seen an Angel because God would know what I would do or say. tehe!

Take care and God Bless You!

New Play Activity Set

Last Thursday, Millard & Doug got Katie's new activity set all set up outside. She seems to like it pretty good. It's taking her awhile to warm up to it. Right now, I'm having a problem with her roaming over to the neighbor's house. Of course, she has selective hearing and she can't hear me holler her name several times. That night, we grilled out pork chops from Smith Farms - they are soooo good! If you have access to Smith Farms' store, I recommend their smoked pork chops.

Doug was off work Friday, so we went off galavanting. He found a set of phones that he had to have. After he got them all set up and working, I didn't like it because one of the phones wouldn't answer when the phone rang. We set off Saturday morning to trade the phones for a different type. Well, he didn't find any in Cullman, so we headed to Decatur. While Katie and I were shopping at Hobby Lobby, Doug went to Staples and got the phones. That night, Doug decided he didn't like it. Needless to say, we went back to Decatur yesterday and got another different brand from Staples.

I finally watched "One Night with the King" (story of Esther). It was good. It is one of these movies that you have to really pay attention (even if you know the story) because I had to watch it twice. I watched "The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law (gorgeous!) & Jack Black. I thought it was a real nice chic flick. I'm going to have to watch it again before I turn it in. I didn't care for "Little Miss Sunshine" at all. The language is terrible! I guess that's what they consider comedy. Movie Gallery also had "The Nativity Story" and "St. Peter." I went ahead and rented them because I really wanted to see them and any other time, they would be rented out.

This week, I plan to finish cleaning up my last flowerbed, spread mulch in the beds, and pick up some bedding flowers. Nicholas told me tonight, he and Leslie were out on Spring Break. I told him to come by and spend some time with me one day, if they had nothing else to do. I also need to clean house and the inside of the truck (dirty!). My Aunt Sherry & Uncle Roger are suppose to come visit this week. Mom said Sherry wanted to get together and have lunch, which always sounds nice.

Next Saturday, we are invited to take Katie up to Friendship Methodist for an Easter Egg Hunt. I've been so excited! I got Katie a smaller basket, so it would be easier to handle. I thought it was cute - flower. I need to get her a slip for the dress I want her to wear that day. Peggy said they are having a little refreshments afterwards. I was really hoping our church would have an Egg Hunt, but we're not. Instead, we are having an Easter Pageant on Easter Eve and Easter Day. I've volunteered to greet for Easter Eve night. I hated that I missed the Christmas Pageant because Katie was sick, so Lord willing I hope to see the Easter program.

Motivational Quote of the Day
"There is no limit to what you can imagine. And with commitment, with effort, what you can imagine you can become. Put your mind to work for you. Believe that you can do it. The world will tell you that you can't. Yet, in your belief you'll find the strength, you'll find the ability, to do it anyway." - Ralph Marston

Take care & God Bless You!

March 22, 2007

What a busy day! We finally mailed the Keyes family their packages. I'm sorry I only have Mom's Birthday slideshow. I kept it so long hoping to include something else (pictures, letter, etc.), but it never worked out for me. We ran a few errands and headed for the park. Today was the first time Katie has ever been to play on the playgound at the park. It was so beautiful and practically HOT. I've got the sunburn to prove it. There were several children of all ages at the park. Katie had a blast! She made several friends both boys & girls. One boy around 5 years old was fascinated by Katie. Pierce, little boy, started out by aggravating her and I just let her work it out with him. Before he left, he was helping and playing around with her. She thought he was so funny! I have to say Katie's got good taste because he was a cute little boy and I like the name Pierce. I got to mingle with a couple of the Mothers there while we watched our little ones play with each other. Madelyn, little girl around 4 or 5 yrs. old, took up with me, while I was talking with her Mom. She was a little talker! Madelyn was being a Miss Mother to Katie while we were there. I took our video and digital cameras. This being our first time, I was afraid I would be too distracted so I didn't use them. Maybe the next time we go I'll feel more comfortable. I thought she would give me a hard time when it was time to leave. I told her we had to go get ready to see Grandma & Grandpa tonight, she was ready to go. She was so tired when we got home. She likes being read to before she goes to sleep. I didn't even get to finish the story before she was out like a light.

Doug and Millard finally got the play castle put together. It looks great! Katie really likes it. We let her slide and swing for a little bit at 9:30 p.m. We had a big spot light to help her see where she was going. Tomorrow, she'll have more time to play with it.

Motivational Quote of the Day
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

Take care and I'll talk to ya later.

American Idol Conspiracy?

Is there an American Idol conspiracy going on? What is up with Americans? I can not believe Stephanie got voted off! In my opinion, yesterday was her worst performance. Chris Richardson has sounded nasally during the entire competition. I think someone will grab her up after all of this is over. I forsee her future taking off and making a great success. If she doesn't, I will be surprised.

We got outside this afternoon - 77 degree Sunny Beautiful Day. Katie had to go visiting before she would settle playing in the yard. Mr. & Mrs. Phipps were out in their yard (Mr. Phipps is always tinkering around with in the yard). As soon as Katie saw Mrs. Phipps she set off to visit with her. I normally don't allow her to just take off like that, but Mrs. Phipps said she was fine. Mr. & Mrs. Phipps enjoy getting visits from Katie. They have a little grandson, Will, who likes to come to our house and hang out instead of staying in their yard. Will is such a card and so cute. When Will comes visiting, Katie just stares at him. She acts amazed at what he has to say or what he'll do next. Of course, she's at the age now that she becomes very interested in the toys he brings to our house (to show me what he got new). Well, he becomes very uneasy when Katie wants to check out his toys. Even though Mrs. Phipps and Will's Mom says it's okay for Katie to hold his toys, I try to get her interested in something else. The Phipps' still have a few outside toys that Will has out grown that Katie got to play with. She offered to give us Will's play slide (small plastic). I thanked her, but Peggy & Millard are suppose to come over tomorrow tonight and have Doug put Katie's Castle together. The Castle has a landing, stirring wheel, slide & swing. Katie's never sled down a slide before and she acted as if she knew what to do. Of course, she figured out real quick she couldn't go up the slide part. After visiting with the neighbors, I finally coaxed Katie to play in her sand box. I had both cameras outside to take pictures. This is the first day she got to play in it. At first, she wasn't too sure about it. She didn't want to actually get in it. She would just shovel the sand and throw it outside the box. I took a few snapshots and finished off a video disc. I will try to publish these photos as soon as possible. She did eventually get inside it and had a good time. I did have a BIG scare today. Katie wanted to be pushed around in her pink push car, which isn't any trouble. When I push her around the yard in either her pink or red cars, I make sure I park it at an angle to prevent the cars from rolling off the yard. As I was pushing Katie, we went to the Yoshino Cherry tree, which is in full bloom right now. A big beautiful butterfly was going from blossom to blossom. I showed Katie the butterfly, but she couldn't see it real good. I wanted to get a picture of it, so I parked her car just past the tree toward the backyard fence. She was still in the car. As I left to get my camera (on the picnic table outside), I heard the car rolling. I knew right then what was going on with my back turned. I just started taring off for the car. It had rolled off the lawn onto the driveway, down to the road, across the street and rested in the grass. I had about three heart attacks throughout the whole ordeal. I know Katie's Guardian Angel was with her along with Jesus Christ Himself because she was still sitting in the car, waiting for me to come get her. Praise God Almighty!!!! She was okay and I just thank God for not having any traffic on the road at that particular time. My heart racing, I asked her if she was okay. "No," she said. "Let's get back up to the house okay," I asked. "Okay," she said. I told Doug about it and how we needed to purchase a guard for the driveway and maybe past the driveway a bit. I know a child product company "One Step Ahead" sells this driveway guard and I was just looking (debating if I should buy it) at it the other day. I didn't even ask Doug today, I told him we need to do something now. Tomorrow, we're going to measure the driveway and purchase the largest one they sell. This also goes to show, you should ALWAYS go with your instincts. I say this because we went to the grocery store this morning to pick up some milk and a couple other items. When we got home, I debated parking the truck sideways across the driveway just in case one of her cars got away from her. See, someone was telling me something and I didn't listen. I thought to myself, nothing will happen because the cars are up in the yard not on the driveway or close to the road.

We do have some good news after our little scare today. I want you to know, Katie has been without her passy for 7 days. Woo Hoo! She has stopped asking for it, which is great. It was killing me this past week because she asked for that passy every single second. I don't know if there were any connections, but she has been so cranky and irritable. We have been butting heads all week. I do believe the "TERRIBLE TWOS" have officially arrived and are here to stay. HELP! She has been trying my patience, which isn't much, all week (more than before). Sometimes, I think I am loosing my mind. What really gets me is when she has pushed and pushed my buttons and then she'll say either "I Love You, Mommy" or "I Sorry." I feel like such a mean Mama when she does that.

House & Senate getting 62% Pay Raise
Are you Alabamians proud of our state representatives giving themselves a raise? I would agree to give them a raise, but not 62%! I think that is a little drastic. I'm just waiting to see what taxes will get a price hike in order to cover the cost. http://www.cullmantimes.com/homepage/local_story_079231647.html?keyword=leadpicturestory

Motivation Quote of the Day
"If music be the food of love, then play on." - Anonymous

Take care of each other and God Bless You!

American Idol

Wow! Melinda "Do a Lot" did outstanding. I just love her! I really thought Melinda, LaKisha and Jordin did wonderful. I really enjoy their singing and performances. I have to say I was disappointed in Stephanie. I expected a whole lot more than what she brought. I was just surprised. I have to say I even enjoyed Blake's performance. After tonight, I think I've changed my mind set on Sanjaya. I like him! He has great hair, he admits he's not the best singer in this competition, he makes young girls cry and he is humble enough to give that girl a huge. I still say HE CAN NOT SING, but he's cute. Poor Chris Richardson! I think Simon points out that Chris sounds nasally. I hate to say it, but I honestly think that's the way he sings. I don't think he can possibly change. I hope I'm wrong.

I've been keeping my eyes open for a pair of Mickey Mouse Crocs for Katie. I was beginning to think the sizes for these shoes start at size 6. We went to Belk's today, just to check out any bargains. I thought I would check out the Crocs once again and to my surprise, there they are. A pair of red/black Mickey Mouse Crocs in size 4/5. Woo Hoo!!!! We found them! Katie fell in love with them. I could not pry them from her possession until she fell asleep in the car. All I heard through the Belk store was "Mouse, Mouse." She was so happy, huging on her new shoes. Peggy asked me if I knew how to make an Easter Egg tree. I decorated a tree the first year Doug and I were married and it didn't turn out too good because there were no holes at the end of the plastic eggs and I was not about to decorate with real eggs. My Mom would use really eggs to decorate an Easter Egg tree. It always looked so nice, but it took a lot of work. Well, I checked out Wal-Mart's plastic eggs (not expecting them to have holes at the ends of the egg) and to my surprise, they have holes now. I'm learning all kinds of stuff today. I went ahead and got Peggy and us a bag of eggs. Needless to say, I made us an Easter Egg tree today. I have to say that it looks good. Katie had to help me of course. I have a feeling I'm going to have my hands full this Spring/Summer. It seems to me that Katie loves to get filthy dirty every time she plays outside. I don't care if it's just to walk around the yard. I think dirt is attracted to her or vice versa.

Put On Your Calendar
Women of Faith Conference - August 10-11, 2007 in Atlanta, GA at the Philips Arena. The group speakers will include the following: Luci Swindoll, Patsy Clairmont, Sheila Walsh, Nicole Johnson, Marilyn Meberg, Anita Renfroe, and Sandi Patty (great singer). The special guests will be: Nicole Mullen & Carol Kent. I'm not familiar with Mullen & Kent, but I do know the others and they are great. You will laugh, cry and take back a lot of mixed emotions, which I personally feel it is the Holy Spirit awakened and ready to do some work in your life. Women of Faith will not have a conference in Alabama this year, but if you have the opportunity to go to Atlanta, GA or Houston, TX (Sept. 28-29, 2007), please go and you will get a wonderful blessing. I promise! Here's the link for convenience: http://www.womenoffaith.com/conferences/dates/07dates.asp . Hopefully Women of Faith will be coming to a town near you.

Motivational Quote of The Day
"He who lives without discipline dies without honor." Icelandic Proverb

Take Care & God Bless You!

Girls Night Out!

I was invited to go with my sister and her friends from work to attend a lecture from Frank Stitt, III. He is considered a local celebrity chef originally from God's Country and now owns three high scale restaurants in the Birmingham area. Not knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we were all excited (thinking it was a cooking or possibly sampling seminar). To our dismay, he was basically promoting organic foods. He was encouraging farmers in the audience to go more organic with both livestock and fields. He dramatized about it being healthier for you, better tasting and different flavors to choose from. All this might be true, but what he later had to admit is the key problem for me - Cost. He talked up the flavor and how wonderful it would be, but it might cost you 20% more than what you are spending now on food products. WHAT? We (working world 9-5) have gotten so spoiled on fast cooking and short cuts (all ready prepared foods). I'm sorry, some of these all ready prepared foods cost quite a bit around $6.00 - $15.00 (depending on size). Now, if we go all organic that price will cost 20% more. You might as well go out to eat and possibly save money. All that time and sweat working all day just to buy you your next meal. What is this world coming to? I know, I'm getting carried away. I had a real nice time with just the girls. We ate supper at the Market Street Cafe. June and I had their special - Lemon Baked Chicken with pasta, green beans and salad. It was good! June wanted something sweet, so her and I ordered their Italian Apple Dumpling. We didn't know it would take forever to bake (we should have just got a cookie). Well, we were suppose to be at the Princess Theatre at 7:00 p.m. in order for June's friends' names to be put in the basket to win a prize. The theatre was a few blocks away and it was 20 til 7. Thinking we had plenty of time because we'll leave the restaurant at 5 til 7, we waited and waited. Until it was 5 til 7 and no dessert and no ticket. I knew the girl that waited on us and bless her heart, she didn't know we were in a little bit of a hurry. I had to cancel the order and asked for our tickets. Well, the dessert was finished and they asked if we wanted to take it with us. Sure, why not. Bless her heart, the waitress had to hand write each one of our tickets and on top of that she divided the cost of the dessert 4 ways. I thought she would just put it on my bill or June's bill, but no. Needless to say, we arrived at the lecture 5 or 10 minutes late (approx.). During the lecture, we hear this noise. A loud buzz that was beginning to annoy me and June. We just looked at each other and try to be discreet about it (act like nothing is distracting us). About that time June's friend, Vet, lifted her arm off her purse (laying in her lap) and the noise went away. Not knowing she was the one making the noise (very loud), she told me she had just taken a picture from her cell phone of the inside of her purse. Ha! Ha! All four of us couldn't stop giggling. We acted like high school girls - poking, giggling, pointing and making faces. We had a pair of American Leagues in front of Vet and myself just 3 rows down. They were practically making out during the lecture, which (my opinion) made me sick. Of course, as soon as I asked June's opinion - if she thought they were American Leaguers or not - I had to sit there and explain to her what AL meant. We had a good time and it was nice to have met June's friends - a lot of fun. Oh by the way, we ate the Italian Apple Dumpling on the way home. I'm sure it tasted a whole lot better when it first got out of the oven then when we started eating on it an hour later. It was cold, gummy, and yuck. I couldn't finish it, but it smelled real good when we first got it. June looked at me and say "we should have just gotten the cookie." tehe!

Today, I finally got all of our Easter out and decorated the house. I really don't have that much, but Katie definitely noticed the Easter Bunnies and plastic eggs. She calls the Easter Eggs "Balls." Mom kept Katie for a little while in order for me to go with June tonight. I'll have to ask Mom in the morning if Katie was good for her. I know before we left, Katie was Buffaloing Mom something terrible. Mom would ask her a question and Katie would say "No!" While I was getting ready, Katie stood up on the couch and was running back and forth (she's not allowed to do). Mom would ask her if she was allowed to do that and she wouldn't straighten up until I got on to her. I warned Mom before I left Katie was Buffaloing her and to watch out. So I guess we'll see.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring or according to my calendar. According to the local news, the first day of Spring is this Wednesday. I think I like my calendar better and will go by it. Let's celebrate! It's suppose to be beautiful here - in the low to middle 70s. I hope to have a photo shoot with Katiebug outside. We'll see if it works out for us.

Put on your Calendar
April 7 & 8 - Easter Pageant (Saturday & Sunday) at Northbrook Baptist Church. I hope you'll be able to come and see. I hope we will be able to go on Saturday and see it.

Motivational Quote of the Day
"Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery." -Anne Frank

Take care and God Bless You!

March 18, 2007

In Sunday School, our lesson really spoke to my heart today, especially after yesterday. How "Jesus Takes Care of Us." We all have wolves in our life, no matter how big or small they might be. If we are dealing with them right now or if they are buried deep within us, we should always remember Jesus is our Shepard. He is our protector from wolves, we just need to call out to Him.

The only exciting news around "God's Country" is a local restaurant "Johnny's" was in the newspaper this past week. A local resident exposed her breast in the restaurant in order to breast feed her baby. After several complaints, one of the waitresses asked to give the woman a clean towel to place over her baby & her chest. Well, that stirred up a bee's nest. This same woman gathered up some other Pro-public breast feeder women and protested in front of the restaurant. Here's the article: www.cullmantimes.com/homepage/local_story_074231757.html?keyword=leadpicturestory . We go to church with the Wiggins. In fact, we are all in the same Sunday School Class. Needless to say, Gary got a little teased today in class. He was a good sport over the whole thing.

After church, we went to OfficeMax. Doug purchased a USB Drive & external drive for my laptop computer. We drove by Pat & June's house and visited with them for a little while. Katie was in heaven. She had her June, rocks & steps to climb on. We tried to get her to ride the tractor with Uncle Pat, but she got scared at the last minute. I had the video camera all ready but she wouldn't have it.

Product Recalls - Children Toys
There are three recalls in the month of March for children toys. For further info. here's the link: http://www.healthykids.com/hk/story.jhtml;jsessionid=GFML423BTXSKXQFIBQNR5VQ?storyid=/templatedata/ab/story/data/1169481537152.xml&catref=cat3030003

1. Elite Operations - sold at Toys R Us - High Amounts of Lead found on toys. Models included in this recall are: Super Rigs Transport Vehicle (Item # 087286), Command Patrol Center (Item # 920625), and Troop Carrier (Item # 773967).
2. Children's Toy Rings by Lari Jewelry - possible Lead Poisoning. The ring's packaging is a yellow card with "Claudia Jublot" printed on the front and UPC # "1524100121266045" on the back. The children's rings were sold at Big Lots! stores nationwide from October 2004 through January 2006 for about $3.
3. Bounce Houses by Sportscraft Ltd. - Fan & housing for fan breaking during the use of the bounce house. The recall includes the following models: "Castle Kingdom," "Jump 'N' Kingdom," and "Bounce 'N' Playhouse." The bounce houses were sold at Academy Sports and Outdoors and Sport Chalet stores nationwide from September 2006 through January 2007 for between $200 and $300.
   

Foodnetwork

Hey, Foodnetwork has a new sweepstakes going on right now. It's a fantasy Kitchen makeover plus a chance to win $50,000 and a trip to NY. I registrated, you can too. Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/sweepstakes/text/0,2677,FOOD_23336_58175,00.html . The best of luck to you. I wish HGTV was having another home sweepstakes. Last year when they had the house giveaway (gorgeous) in NC, I registered every single day. Of course, I didn't win it but it was a lot of fun. I'll let you know the next time they have it.

Motivational Quote of the Day
It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you. - Zig Ziglar

Take care & God Bless You!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Even though it's Saturday, it has felt like a typical Monday. Have you ever had one of those days when absolutely nothing goes right? I haven't had it this bad in a very long time, so I guess it's my turn. Maybe this will give someone else a break. tehe! If you keep up with my (long) blogs, you'll know I've been reading this book "Get Out Of The Pit" by Beth Moore. In her studies she tells you to look deep inside yourself and make sure you're not in a pit (sin). Well, I guess I've found at least one - my temper. No, I haven't really shown it except in tears, I try to keep the temper under lock and key. For several years now, I've been trying my level best (with God's grace) to control my temper. Believe me I can rant and rave like the best of them, but I don't like myself in the end. I'm at the point, I can overlook some things. But when they all hit at the same time (same day), I have to really pray that God will control me because I'm about to loose it. A lot of the time, I'm over it in a couple of hours or until the next mess. God must be testing me today. Of course, I've failed drastically. I've felt like Katie when she has her melt downs. Even as we speak, Doug has spilt his water on the bed (most of it on my side). Thanks! All of this happening to me today reminds me of "The Purpose Driven Life," written by Rick Warren. I would like to quote a section that speaks to me. On Day Twenty-Three, it tells you how you should grow in Christ. How you should change your way of thinking. "Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude. God revealed this thousands of years before psychologist understood it: 'Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.'" I hope you've had a better St. Patrick's Day. I felt lead to pass this along to you, in case you have a similar pit. Hopefully this will encourage you to go to God and get out of your pit (whatever it might be). Years ago, I wouldn't pray to God about small/minor things especially anything for myself. I was wrong! In a lot of my readings and studies at church, I've found that He wants to hear from us. Sure, He wants us to pray for others who need Him, but he wants to know what's going on with us (even though He already knows). This is where the one on one plays a role. I've never prayed for my little bad habits and bad temper to God before then. Who knew that God doesn't want you to figure out your bad habits and other pit falls on your own. He wants you out of the pit all together! Praise God Almighty! He is still helping me with some of my bad habits and I just thank Him for being so patient. You know that is true love because if it be a close friend or relative, they might have given up or felt they've done all they can do. Too bad! Jesus Christ will never give up on you! "After all tomorrow is another day(Scarlett O'Hara famous line)." I didn't mean for this to be so preachy, but Lord willing, I hope it strikes the heart it's suppose to.

Yesterday, we tried out our new video camera. According to Doug, it will be a lot easier to operate and create DVDs. Doug played around with it today and made a DVD with it. He said it was pretty simple. The software that came with it, Doug said I would like because I can be creative. I think I'm getting older because I've gotten to where the latest technology is a little too advanced for my knowledge. I use to be one of these that I can figure it out in nothing flat. Now, it's where's the manual? I begin to loose my mind because I can't figure some minor glitch.

We tried out our portable DVD player tonight as we dropped off a movie and went to Wal-Mart for the third time this week. Guess what we played? You've got it "The Wizard of Oz." Katie's eyes were glued and a smile on her face. She is something else with that movie. You would think she would get tired of it by now. Wal-Mart sells the Wizard of Oz Barbie dolls. I've been trying to find the Cowardly Lion, but they are sold out. I can buy it online through Wal-Mart, but I really don't want to pay for shipping. I guess I will continue to wait for a little while. We (I partially) watched "Casino Royale." The new James Bond (007) movie. I remained confused as to what was going on (ebaying at the same time) and Doug just didn't like it all together. Tonight I rented (free movie coupon) "Voom" with Tim Allen, Courtney Cox & Chevy Chase. We haven't watched it yet, maybe tomorrow. I also rented "One Night with The King." It's suppose to be about Queen Esther (biblical). It sounds interesting. I really wanted to see "The Holiday," but they were out.

Take care and God Bless You!

No, Passy?

Cross your fingers and say a prayer, but we are on day two without a passy. Yesterday, we felt it was time to take drastic measures about the passy situation. Sure, it got to where Katie would only need her passy during nap time & bedtime. We felt it was time for her to go to the next level. Last week, I was telling Katie she was a big girl. She was too big for a passy and that we needed to give her passies to little babies. "No," she said. Yesterday, I asked her if she would like a sand box. "Uh, huh," she said. I told her she had to be a big girl and not need a passy and Daddy and I would make sure she got a sand box. It wasn't easy at all during nap time yesterday and last night, she cried for over an hour. I nearly gave in because I felt so bad for her, but Doug's encouragement kept me strong. I would go into her room and console her, give her hugs, juice & tuck her in again. This morning, right off the bat, "passy?" I reminded her, we need to give them to little babies and she is a big girl. I reminded her about the sand box and her eyes got big. She asked for her passy once during the day and I just got her involved in something to take her mind off of it. We went to town this morning to get her sand box, so the excitement got her mind off of it. She fell asleep in the truck, so we just let her sleep (under supervision of course). She was a little cranking when she got up. I think she was wanting her passy then, but she never asked for it. She did however want her juice. Tonight, we read our bedtime story "Sleeping Beauty." She said passy just once, cried a little and wanted a hug. Bless her heart, I felt bad. I told her how proud I was of her and how big she was. She laughed like she knew what I was talking about and asked for some juice. She drank her juice while I tucked her in for the night. Of course, we have to go through the tons of stuffed animals in her bed and who was going to watch over her and where they were going to sleep. It's a big thing! This all took place around 9:00 p.m. and it's almost 10:00 p.m. now and still no crying. THANK YOU DEAR SWEET JESUS! I hope it gets better from here.

As you now know, we got baby girl a sand box. It's a green turtle from Wal-Mart. While she was sleeping, we went ahead and put sand in it. Wal-Mart sells these bags of sand toys (sand pail, shovel, molds & shifter). We made sure to get one of those to go along with the sand box. Since it was windy and cold (50 degrees) outside, I let her play with her new toys inside the house. After this little snap passes, hopefully, she'll be able to play in her new sand box.

So I could keep a watch on Katie sleeping in the truck, I decided it would be a great opportunity to continue to work on my flower beds. I got two more cleaned and trimmed up. As I was pruning the monkey grass, I got to thinking about the book "The Secret of the Vine" by Bruce Wilkinson. It talks about how God may have to prune us sometimes severely pruned in order for us to grow more Christ like. I guess I haven't pruned back my monkey grass in at least two or three years. It had gotten so ugly with the brown spotted leaves. The years of debris caught between the leaves and eventually packed down inside the clumps of grass. The decayed rotten debris had collected insects & grime. Yuck! I was reminded at times when I'm not close to God (when God doesn't prune and shape me) that is how my life ends up. One big rotten mess. Right now, my pruned monkey grass isn't pretty, but I know the new leaves will come out soon and it will look beautiful. God has to prune and shape us in order for us to produce fruit and be pleasing to Him. Just like our plant life pleases us. I can't quote word for word because I have the book loaned out. If your interested in learning more about why God allows hurt and sometimes suffering in our lives, this is the book for you. It's a very small book and you must be ready to use your bible as reference and have an open mind, so God may speak to you through this book. I highly recommend it, if you haven't read it.

Take care of each other and God Bless You!

Happy Birthday - Leslie!

I would like to wish my niece, Leslie, a great birthday! She turned 17 years old today! I hope she had a wonderful day.

American Idol
Well, did you pick the correct people to be kicked off American Idol? Nope, I didn't either. Yeah, Brandon didn't do all that great. I guess R & B are right about Sanjaya being a teen magnet.

I am slowly getting our flowerbeds cleaned out. I got another bed cleaned and ready for mulch. Doug and I talked again tonight about getting Katie a sand box. I think we've decided to go ahead and get it. She has found a couple of dirt piles out in the yard to play in. She gets so filthy that I let her get her fill of playing outside and we go straight to the tube. When I get her all cleaned up, the bath water is brown, brown. Yuck! I think she'll have more fun in a sand box then in the dirt. But knowing Katie, she'll still play in the dirt. I got out her push car and swing from underneath the house and got them all cleaned up. She said she remembered her car. She jumped right in and wanted me to push her around the yard. As soon as I get the yard all groomed for Spring, we will need to start going back to the park on a regular basis.

Take care & God Bless!

Down To The Final Twelve

American Idol
Beings the contestants had to sing Diana Ross songs, of course, the gals blew the guys away. I feel it's unfair to the guys because it must be hard to sing most women's songs. I know it's hard for women to sing songs from AC/DC, Guns & Roses and etc. I didn't care for Chris Sligh's rendition of Diana's song (forgot name). I just hope he survives this week because I know he can sing. Of course most of you know how I feel about Sanjaya, so I won't go into that other than the boy can't throw his voice. I was listening to Rick & Bubba and they feel Sanjaya is still in this competition simply because the teenage girls think he is hot. Maybe that's why he is still in the race. If looks is the case, what about Jared. Why isn't he still in? Go figure! I felt so sorry for Haley and Brandon, I guess their nerves got the best of them. I felt Melinda, LaKisha & Jordin did outstanding and I hope they make it all the way. Results are tomorrow, don't forget!

BJCC Proposed Expansion
The most exciting local news is a possible expansion on the BJCC which includes a dome stadium. The best part would be some private investors have a certain amount of money put to the side that will cover the cost; therefore, tax payers will not have to be stuck with the bill. Here's the write up: http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2660560&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1 .

Katie and I spent the day with Peggy today. We went shopping in Hartselle and Decatur. We thought about going to Huntsville, but backed out at the last minute. We stopped by a Hartselle resident's home and Peggy bought us a wooden Easter Bunny with Egg ("Happy Easter" written on it) to put out in our yard. The best place to purchase flags is "Flying Forever" shop. They have a wide variety of designer flags and other gifts like windchimes, garden flags, kites, & other miscellaneous items. Today, Peggy and I purchased a couple of pretty Easter flags. I couldn't decided on a couple of flags. I also went ahead and got Katie a Birthday flag. It just says "Let's Party" with balloons & confetti on it. They did have a flag where you could change the age. For instance, "Happy Birthday - 2 years old!" I had a hard time choosing which one to get. I decided on the other flag because I can use it for other parties. Now, I would like to get a blow up "Happy Birthday" to put in the yard. I have a website bookmarked that I can go to and purchase one, but I'm trying to save on shipping/handling by trying to find it at local stores. I will have to start looking hard for it or I may have to buy it from the website. Unless something drastically changes, we will probably have a Sesame Street Birthday Party.

Take care and God Bless!

Happy Birthday - Ryan!

I want to wish my nephew, Ryan a Happy Birthday! He turned 23 years old Saturday. Him and his girlfriend got to come home this weekend. Saturday, Maryann & Kevin had a little get together in his honor. I got to meet Ryan's girlfriend's parents and sister for the first time. They seemed very nice and the sister was so polite. It was so good to see him and he seems very happy. I think he will be happier when May comes around, he graduates in May. We took lots of pictures, mostly Doug, so check out our website www.katiebuginbama.photosite.com .

We've been planning on purchasing a Portable DVD player for baby girl before we went down south. We were undecided as to what kind of player to buy. I liked the dual screens that rest on the back of the seats in the car. It really didn't seem to matter with Doug what kind, but I just felt this way because Katie won't be pulling and kicking on the player. Doug didn't work Friday, so he wanted to go to Birmingham and see what Sam's & Best Buy had in stock. Sam's in B'ham didn't have anymore dual screens in stock. He dropped Katie & I off at the mall, so I didn't go with him to Best Buy. I guess he didn't find anything he liked. JC Penny had their swimsuits and covers on sale, so I got her a 2 piece suit and cover (flip flops are on the front). We had to go to the Disney Store. They have a new stock of character dolls including Mermaid. "Mermaid, Mermaid!" That's all I heard. Needless to say, I bought her a Mermaid doll. She is part of the sleep party in Katie's bed. All of Katie's favorite stuffed animals sleep with her. It's like one big slumber party!

Sunday, we decided to go to Huntsville after church and check out their Sam's and Target. We hadn't see Millard and Peggy all week, so we asked them to come along. I think they enjoyed their time with Katie. We bought the dual screen Portable DVD player from Sam's. This particular DVD system is pretty cool. You can play two separate movies at the same time, but both systems (screens) must be hooked up together in order for it to work. We learned that the hard way. We went to Target and bought "Madagascar" the movie to play on the way home. Well, it wouldn't work. Doug tried to just hook up one screen to play the movie on the way home. When we got home, Nic came over for Doug to work on his computer. While Doug was doing updates for Nic's computer, Nic and I worked on the DVD player. "Madagascar" is just one of those movies this system doesn't recognize at all. Thankfully it will play "The Wizard of Oz." Katie was having a good time sitting in her high chair having a little snack and watching "Wizard of Oz," while Nic and I were still figuring out the player. It was going to take awhile for Doug to finish Nic's computer, so we ordered a pizza and watched "Madagascar." I'm telling you, if you haven't seen this movie - You've Got To See It! It is a clean funny movie. Katie really likes the music. Nic was laughing at her and her many moves. Oh I forgot to tell you, we stopped by Bruster's Ice Cream. Oh, my gosh! I love that place. I'm just thankful (at times) there's not one near here because their ice cream is so good. If you have access to a Bruster's, you have to try their Chocolate Pecan. It is my personal favorite, but I don't get to eat it much because they are always out. My second choice is the Chocolate Trash - Yummy!

It was so beautiful outside. Unfortuately, I had to do lots of work inside the house. I was able to divide up my time. Katie and I got to get out this evening a little bit. We needed to get a hold of my flowerbeds. I want to get them cleaned out and pruned before I get mulch for them. Needless to say, I've got a long way to go. Doug seems to think we got more acorn nuts this year then in the past. It's awful when you try to walk out in our yard. Doug's mulched several times with the lawn mower, but it doesn't affect the nuts except for pushing them down further in the yard. I was walking barefoot this afternoon cleaning out the beds and you know that hurt. I was walking all over nuts. So as soon as I cut back the monkey grass in one bed, I started raking up acorn nuts in the side yard. If it hurts my feet, I know it will hurt Katie's feet. Eventhough I didn't get to finish, I did make some headway. I'm probably going to be working on these nuts all week (between showers). The high was around 75 degrees today and is suppose to be close to 79 degrees tomorrow. It has been so nice the past few days. I just hope to be able to get the mulch in the beds before April. I guess we will see.

Today, I was think about Ryan's Graduation gift and what he would need and what he would like. After talking to him, I'm most certain I will stick with Kitchenwares. I think he's got everything taken care of that's not furniture related. Well, I love pictures and I especially taking pictures. I thought it would be neat to get a frame from Hobby Lobby (3-4x6" in one frame). I wished I had the sources (real nice stable handwriting) to have a King James Version verse written on the mat. I was thinking about Ecclesiastes 3:1 - "To Everything There is a Time." I have the first verse on a plaque in my Kitchen. It always reminds me to stop, take it easy, appreciate all that's around you and be patient. I have to be reminded of this on a daily basis. The world naturally encourages us to hurry and rush. I hate to rush! A lot of you, who know me, just said "Yeah, I know." Rushing makes me drop things, hurt myself (smash my finger), forget something (or several somethings) and puts me in a very bad mood (I have a hard time getting myself out of). With this verse, it tells me I don't have to rush. Whatever is going on can wait, if it can't then it's not worth getting hurt over. Stop and pay attention!

Don't forget American Idol tomorrow!

Take care of each other and God Bless You!

What's Going On With American Idol?

American Idol
Well, I don't know what to say. I can not believe Sanjaya is in this competition another week! When Sundance & Sanjaya were standing side by side and Ryan Seacrest announced one will be staying and the other will be leaving, I just knew it was Sanjaya. Another mistake I think was Sabrina (my #1 pick) being voted off. What is going on? Between Haley & Sabrina - there is no question Sabrina is a much better singer & performer than Haley. What is America thinking? I believe the judges and everyone else (in the audience) knew sending Sundance & Sabrina packing was a HUGE mistake. Oh and don't forget Jared! Yeah, he wasn't that impressive this week, but I've heard him singer better. He is a much better singer than Sanjaya. Do you get the message - I don't care for Sanjaya! Plus, Jared was the cutest guy on there. I'm just glad I won't have to hear Antonella another week. She was an okay singer, but she isn't in the same level as most of the other girls. I guess I will have to change my Top 5 Picks list now. Poor Sabrina! I think she will be another Jennifer Hudson. She got recognized enough, I believe.

Ebay
Here I go again! I went to ebay browsing to see if there was anything out there that I need to watch for as far as a shorts set. I fell in love with this cute outfit and I know this is going to sound funny and not like me at all, but the top has two ostriches on it. Yes, I said ostriches! It is so cute! I just couldn't let it leave my grasps, so I won the bid tonight. I know I have a problem. Here's the link, check it out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330094907870&rd=1&rd=1 you'll have to scroll down to see the outfit. I know you'll see the price I paid for and yes I got a little out of control. I set my price in my mind and I went over by $2. Its still not a bad price because I went out on the web and got a couple of prices for an idea as to what this brandname is going for. I had never heard of "Picture Me" clothing line. I'm not going to look at ebay for the next couple of weeks.

Ryan's Visit
I'm so excited to see Ry-Ry! I got to thinking about him in Wal-Mart today, decided to call up Maryann and see what he would need for his new place in NC. I went ahead and bought a couple of things, I know I like for the Kitchen. I will probably stick with the Kitchen items, but I may venture out. I was planning on giving him his gift at graduation, but he may appreciate it if I keep the gift here and he can pick it up on the way to his new place. When it gets closer to May, I'll ask him. I'm so excited about our trip to Mobile, his graduation. Susan mentioned the other day how she would like to go to the Gulf, since we'll be so close. I would love to take Katie to the Gulf, play in the sand and water for a little bit. I think she would like it!

Katie
You know the picnic table we recently bought Katie. Well, it's going out in the yard. I can't get her to stop climbing on the top of the thing and then flop over onto the arm chair. She's rolled off the top of the table a few times today alone and I can't get it through her thick skull to pay attention. Those of us who know her will understand what I'm talking about, she is so floppy and spins around without knowing where she's going or what she's running into. Next thing you know, she's hurt again. What makes me feel bad is I want to cuddle with her and baby her when she's hurt, but nope. She won't have it. She gets mad, won't let me hug on her and kiss her to make her feel better. She would rather throw her tempertantum, go right back and do it again. I guess it's good she won't give up, but in the same sense it worries me that she'll get hurt again. HARD HEAD! Who does she get this from?

I finally got to go to Monograms Plus today. Woo Hoo! I really wanted to have Katie's three initials on the collar of the dress, but the writing would be too small. So, they talked me into putting just "K" on the collar. We picked out a pretty script style. The lady said the dress should be ready by Monday. I was so surprised how much they have expanded the inside of their store. I know they have needed the space for some time now. They are also stocking more Stephen Joseph items. I don't think they carry as much SJ as Cutie Patootie, but they carry a lot of other nice things.

Katie and I were outside enjoying the warm weather - 73 degrees and sunny. I read while she played. In reading my daily devotion it is titled "Relax From The Stresses of Life!" So true! It goes on to read 2 Thessalonians 1:7 - "And to you who are troubled rest with us . . ." The Thessalonians were going through hardships at the time Paul wrote the book of 2 Thessalonians. It says they were exhausted, extremely tired, worn out, and fatigued. I think we all feel this way from time to time. The simple idea of relaxing and taking a load off were unforseeable. According to the interpretation "Sparkling Gems" uses: The word "troubled" in the verse meant not just mildly suffering, but horrifically suffering and this type of suffering had been going on for some time for the Thessalonians. Paul is telling us today (interpretive translation of this verse could be): "To you who are still going through difficulties right now, it's time for you to let up, take a breather, and relax. We know what it's like to be under pressure, but no one can stay under that kind of stress continuously. So join us in learning how to loosen up a bit. Shake off your troubles and allow yourself a little relaxation and time for recreation . . ." "So say goodbye to your problems today. Take a break and allow yourself a little time to rest, relax, and recuperate!" Remember God even rest on the sabbath day. After reading this verse and it's possible translation, it confirms again that God is from the South. Tehe! Just kidding! When it comes to relaxing and smelling the roses, us Southerners know how to do it best. When I read this I thought it would be a "good thing" to add in today's blog. If someone is out there that have been going through "troubles," I hope it touches you the way God would want it to and you might be blessed. The above devotion was from the book "Sparkling Gems from the Greek," by Rick Renner.

Take Care of each other and God Bless You!

Bring It On Girls!

American Idol
Another week of great performances from the girls - Sabrina, LaKisha, Stephanie, Jordin & Melinda did outstanding again. Tonight was the first time I really felt entertained with Gina's performance. Like Sanjaya, I will be surprised if Antonella make's it another week. Saying that, I felt so bad for her and Haley having their self-esteem ripped out and stomped on. You know, they did all they could do and they did great to make it this far. I liked LaKisha's dress and appearance tonight, much better than last week. Simon really praised her about her look. I just really like Melinda. She is such a fantastic and confident singer, but yet she's so humble. There is something about her that makes her sparkle. I do think she has a cute appearance. Don't forget the final results for the guys and gals is tomorrow night.

I didn't get to do what I had planned, simply because Doug woke up sick this morning. "Get me a bucket!" "I'm sick!" Yuck! What's so bad is I'm one of those sympathic vomiters. If I see it or hear it, I have to force it back down. Last night, I didn't get much sleep (my fault) because of surfin' the web. It's too addicting, especially when you have a laptop in the bed with you (easy access). So, I really wasn't feeling good myself by the time it was all over. Doug seems to think he ate a bad hamburger from the frig. I couldn't remember when I cooked it. That's probably the first red flag. He said he went to bed not feeling good. Well, food poison or not, I decided to stay home and sanitize the house. Thankfully, Katie kind of understood because she let me do a lot of the work. I wanted Doug to stay in bed for at least an hour to make sure he was going to be alright, but oh no. He stayed in bed for 15 minutes and he was up and at 'em. I guess he was weighing his opinions - stay home with Mirya & Katie or go to work. It makes me wonder how awful it would be to spend a normal day with Katie and myself. Since she's been starting her terrible twos, I'm constantly on her back making sure she doesn't do anything to hurt herself or be a little brat. Doug said he felt fine the rest of the day and is still doing good. So, I guess we will go the Monograms Plus and Wal-Mart tomorrow sometime (hopefully).

We are the Wizard of Oz family now! I'm so glad Doug went out and bought her the DVD because that's all she wants to see "lion." I gave in today and let her watch it twice (morning and evening). While we were watching American Idol, Katie was sitting (standing) on her picnic table saying "lion," "witch." Looking at those sad eyes, I felt guilty when I said,"no, no Wizard of Oz right now." She smiled and giggled as soon as I told her, we would watch it tomorrow. I don't blame her, The Wizard of Oz was always one of my favorite movies along with The Sound of Music. Classics! You should see her face when the witch comes on. If I'm watching with her, she gets right up in my face (her big eyes) - "witch." I've caught her singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." You know, (proud Mommy here) she did pretty good. Of course, the only word she could say was rainbow (very plain), but the whole rhythm was good. In fact, whenever a song came on (several) that was her que to start swaying and hum (mumble) the song. So cute!

I got Katie's new short's outfit in the mail today. I have to say that was pretty fast because I won the bid on Saturday and I received it today. I'm impressed. It is so cute and Katie seems to like it. We'll really like the outfit this Summer because it has some spandex in it, which makes it feel silky. I've got one more outfit (Chicken Noodle brandname) bookmarked that I like. The bid ends in a couple of days. Doug liked this one dress (Little Mass brandname) it was a type of hanky dress with bloomers (sheer). I'm sure we would love it during the Summer when it's hot and sticky, but you could see right through it (top & bottom). It was real pretty, but I wasn't for sure about the sheer look. I backed out from bidding on it at the last minute.

Laura - This is an answer to your question from yesterday regarding the dresses. The dresses actually came from Millard and Peggy. They went to a special sale at Parisians and ended up buying 2 smocked dresses (one was Carriage Boutique) and 1 Short sleeve Courdroy type dress from Carriage Boutique. I told them how lucky they were to get these dresses on sale. In my opinion, it's hard to find CB on sale.

Yes, I've proof read this blog and I've noticed a lot of "really" through out this whole journal. I'm sorry, but I'm not taking them off because I mean it.

I just got off the phone with Maryann and she said Ryan was coming home tomorrow. I'm so excited. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell me about his experience in Mobile and working at the hospital. Saturday, we are having a get together at their house to visit with Ryan and Jen. More importantly, Jen's parents from TN are coming down to visit. Hopefully, we'll get to meet them. I hear nice things about her family from Ryan. It would be nice to put a face with the name and I'm sure they feel the same way about us. I can't say it enough, how proud I am of the man Ryan has become and Lord willing will have a very bright future waiting for him.

Until then, take care of each other and God Bless You in many ways!

Happy Birthday - Susan!

I would like to wish my sister, Susan, a very special Happy Birthday! Dad, Mom, Katie & myself picked Susan up at her work and took her out to lunch. I think Sue was surprised to see Katie and me. You should have seen Dad's face when the waitress brought out my chicken stuffed potato. "I wanted that. I didn't know they sold stuffed potatoes. I don't want what I got, I want your potato," he said. Poor Susan tried to give Dad her potato, but he said he would eat his 1/4 BBQ Chicken. We had a real good visit.

American Idol
Well, it was depressing watching the men! They just didn't get it on. I thought Blake's performance was entertaining. Jared and Chris Sligh's performance was okay, but nothing real exciting. I have to agree with the judges' comments to each one of the performers. I tell you right here and now - if Sanjaya gets through this week it will be by prayer or something funny is going on. He was awful again for the third week in a row. I kind of hope Jared stays in a little longer simply because he is not bad to look at. NICE! There is something about his eyes that I could just stare into for long periods of time.

Have you seen the new Target ads on TV? I love that song. It has such a nice beat. Can anyone tell me what the name of the song/jingle is? Thanks!

Katie got some new Spring/Summer dresses. Well, I think one of them would look real good if it was monogrammed. So, I think tomorrow we're going to Monograms Plus to see if they can monogram her initials on the collar of her dress. I hope they can. Doug wants me to try and get a couple of football tickets Bama vs. Fl. State. I told him I would try my best. Watch, something will go wrong and I'll be blamed for not getting the tickets. I do have it bookmarked, so maybe that will help out a lot.

Wayne & Laura - If "if" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas! tehe! This thought of the day brought to you by Dr. Doug. Best wishes on your BIG decision. Your in our thoughts and prayers!

I've added another favorite link under "Inspiration." It's the Bargainomics Lady, Judy Bates. She is a very thrifty lady under God's direction and wisdom. I know I always feel good when I'm able to save money on purchases. Well, with her tips and special links, you can save bundles of money on tons of items. The items could be just about anything you can think of - vacation rentals, cruises, jewelry, special deals and promotions for name brand items. The list goes on and on. When you have a little time on your hands, I recommend you go surfin' on her site. You will be addicted and the best part about it is you will also get a blessing by reading her testimonials. If you are planning an upcoming women's event and need a speaker, she is great. I saw her a few years ago at my former church and she was awesome. She's funny, great sense of humor, bible savy, gives great financial advice and can sniff out a bargain from miles away.

Please keep in your prayers a friend of the family - June C. Her husband, Ralph, called Dad while we were with Susan (celebrating her birthday) and informed him that June was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. She's had heart problems for some time now and they need your prayers. I have a praise report. I meant to report it the other day, but forgot. I went by my uncle's apartment on my way to the library and I saw wood boards up inside the brick wall, the young teen drove his car into. Hopefully, they'll be able to fix the outside wall very soon. From what I understand, my uncle is still doing good. Thanks for your prayers.

Tomorrow is suppose to be a beautiful day, so take off work, get out and enjoy your day! Take care of each other. Hope to hear from you! God Bless You!

Happy Birthday - Sandy!

I wanted to wish my sister, Sandy, a very Happy Birthday. Eventhough I couldn't be with her on her very special day, I hope she had a wonderful weekend.

Saturday, Doug and Millard mulched and fertilized the lawn while Peggy, Katie and myself went to Hobby Lobby for the afternoon. I told Peggy I could get lost in Hobby Lobby and probably spend a fortune if I could. I love getting neat craft ideas from there. I was so happy they still had the dragonfly mesh decor. I was planning on purchasing some adhesive hooks to put on the ceil of her room in order to hang the dragonflies. Doug doesn't think it will work too good. Does anyone have any suggestions? Our yard ornaments have really aged. So, we got a couple of yard stakes (frog and fairy) for the flowerbeds. Katie is so excited, she loves her frog.

On Sundays, I try to talk up Church, Friends & Jesus with Katie. I'll ask her if she wants to go to Church and play with her friends and learn about Jesus. Most of the time she says "No," but when we finally get to church she starts to get excited. Yesterday, we drove up into the church parking lot and her eyes got so big - "Friends, friends." She was so excited. She just couldn't wait to get to her room. As I was filling out her security sticker, she said "bye, bye Mommy" and down the hallway she went to her room. I was so proud of her. My baby is growing up. At home, I put on the Wizard of Oz, while I was getting supper ready. When the cowardly loin came on she got so excited. "Mommy, Mommy . . . loin." She said that a few times, especially when the loin started singing. So cute! She stayed glued to the tube through the whole movie.

I won a bid on a cute shorts outfit http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280087057387&rd=1&rd=1 scroll down to see the outfit. It's an adorable sleeveless top with a kitty cat and polka dots with lilac shorts. I can't hardly wait to put it on her.

This morning, Katie tried on all of her new Spring/Summer dresses and I am so tickled that they all fit perfectly. Now, I have to make sure we have hair clips/bows to match all the outfits. Right now, I'm looking for her a bathing suit and short sets. I think she has plenty of dresses for this Spring/Summer. I was so proud of her earlier today. She didn't eat her play dough! Woo Hoo! She loves the stuff, but I usually have a hard time to get her not to eat the stuff. We made snakes and a mouse. She had a good time playing with her play dough and I had a good time because I wasn't all the time on her about not eating it.

I hope everyone have a wonderful day. Take care and God Bless!

Katie's Doctors Visit

Katie had a doctor's appointment today, just for a weigh in. Bless her heart, as soon as she sees Dr. Lunsford or Miss Corey, she starts with the lip out. I have good news to report, she has gained a pound in one month. Woo Hoo! Last month, she weighed 20 lbs. 1 oz. and today she weighs 21 lbs. 2 oz. Of course, parenthood is surrounded around a scale your child's doctor keeps on his computer. This scale tells you how your child's health is progressing. Dr. Lunsford was so excited because Katie is back at the 10% body weight on the scale. He said the last time we saw her at this high of a percentile was when she was 2 months old. He asked me what we've been doing different. I told him, we've been letting her eat all the cheese she wants along with M & Ms, Yogurt Raisins, Mac n Cheese & Hamburger Helper. With all this fattening food around here, I've gained a few pounds myself. It's too bad I can't give my weight to Katie. tehe! Since Katie had such a hard time at the doctors, we went to Wal-Mart for a prize. She really deserved it, believe me (more to this story than I'm willing to broadcast)! She picked out a Mrs. Potato Head & Pluto beanie. She likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and at the end of the show, they play this song that starts out singing - "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggety Dog . . ." Well, when she saw Pluto the first thing out of her mouth was - "Hot Dog." Needless to say, the dog's name isn't "Pluto," it's "Hot Dog." If the cashier was noticing the items in my buggy, I'm sure she would have been very confused. I had fat free mayo, lettuce, reduced fat Turkey Deli Meat, Yogos, Hormel (very fattening) meals, Hamburger Helper Microwavable Mac 'n Cheese (loaded with fat), and Go Tarts. Today was the first time Katie's tried the Yogos. You can find them in the cereal isle with the fruit rollups & gummies. They taste good to me. I think they are the fruit gummies (ball) dipped in yogurt. She loves gummies and I figured if she loves them that much, we need to at least get some calories in her. I also stopped buying the plain raisins and buy either the raisinets (chocolate dipped) or Yogurt Raisins. She loves them for a snack. Oh, we also got her Dora the Explorer fold up chair for the yard. Right now, it's in the Living Room and is her newest chair to watch The Lady and The Tramp (newest favorite movie).

We ate at Crackel Barrel tonight for supper and it was so good, which defeats the purpose of buying Fat Free Mayonaise. Laura - I tried to get a hold of you tonight. The Crack had another Raggedy Ann outfit. This outfit was a shorts set (tank top with Raggedy Ann embroidered on one side, the shorts were blue patchwork and it came with a little hat). So cute! They had only one 2T left and I didn't know if you thought Alise would be able to wear it this Summer. We went to Office Max after supper and got a laptop carry-all for my computer. I think Doug was kind of surprised that I picked out the color red for the carry case. I thought it looked more like for a woman instead of a man. I like it! I told him with all the bidding on ebay, blogging, and publishing photos on the web, I may need to see if I can get a job with ebay or something related to the internet. Honestly, I think it has something to do with my weight gain as well. tehe!

Tomorrow, Millard & Peggy are suppose to come over and help Doug cut our Pompus Grass. I think Katie, I and maybe Peggy are going to Hobby Lobby in Decatur for a little bit. I wanted to check out the lawn decorations and see if they may have any dragonfly mesh figures to decorate Katie's room. Right now, there are pastel colored flowers accented with rhinestones and swirls hanging from her ceiling. She likes to show people her room with the flowers - "Uh wee!" I haven't checked (I will later), but hopefully they will have their lawn decorations on sale. My outside decorations have aged (turned/faded) badly. It's time for NEW!

Sunday, Doug has a Deacons meeting, so I guess we won't go far. Besides, he has to get ready to start back to school Monday. He's enrolled with Devry (online institution) for a Bachelor's in Business Management. He has just enrolled for one class - "Critical Thinking and Problem Solving" for this semester. Please keep him in your prayers.

I've started reading "Get Out of That Pit" by Beth Moore. It's a small book, but I plan to take it slow and will try to read a chapter a day (that is if my worldly life will promit it). Eventhough, I've only read two chapters, I find myself in relation to several situations she teaches. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Take care of each other and God Bless You in a very Special Way!

Shocking American Idol Results

I was so shocked when Sanjaya & Antonelle didn't get voted off tonight. I expected Leslie & AJ would eventually be voted off, but not so soon. Sanjaya & Antonelle got a big break. If they don't want to be voted off next week, they best be doing some wowing!

Alabama Storms
Katie and I went to Mom, Dad, June & Pat's for the afternoon, during the storms. Well, there wasn't much action here like they first thought. It seems that most of the bigger storms hit South Alabama around Tuscaloosa. Unfortunately, these were one of the bad storms where tornadoes hit before you have time to think and then it's over. Poor Enterprise received one of these terrible storms. As of tonight, it is reported 15 dead at Enterprise High School. Here's the article: http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2543313&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1
Please keep this schools parents, students & facility in your prayers. It's reported that 18 total deaths due to these storms in Alabama.

Take care & God Bless!

The Girls Have Still Got It Going On!

American Idol
I think the majority of the girls had it going on last night (the ones I like anyway). Melinda made herself known with her performance, but I do like the Blues & Jazz music. Sabrina did great! I think she is so pretty, but I'm trying to figure out her parents. The Idol cameras panned over to her Dad, but is the white woman beside of him her Mom? Ryan only asked the Dad questions and not the Mom. The woman beside of the Dad never said a word, so I don't know. I didn't get to hear all of Stephanie's performance, but the judges went on and on about her. I know she looked beautiful in that evening gown. In the past, I never liked the dedication songs because the competitors always pick songs their parents like or some song that holds a lot of means to them. These dedication songs can make it very hard to sing in a large audience, no matter how hard they practice and try. What I don't like about it is here these kids sing their hearts out or try their level best and all the judges can do (Simon) is bash them about the type of mushy song they just sang and how pitchy it sounded. I say if that's the case, then get rid of the "dedication songs." I don't believe the Producers would go for that because it's events like these that cause drama and Producers love drama - better ratings. Some of you may have this website bookmarked, but just in case you don't - here's the American Idol website: http://www.americanidol.com/. Don't forget the Idol results tonight!

The Lost Tomb of Jesus
Who has heard about this documentary? I first hear about it from our Sunday School Teacher, but never really thought about it anymore until I was Channel 19 News' website and saw this video. http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?s=6147991, you can watch the video to the far left. This documentary will be shown on Discovery Channel on March 4th at 9 p.m. ET/PT. I don't watch documentaries on Discovery Channel in relation to Jesus Christ because they are so misleading (false teaching) and by watching them would mean I'm in support of these documentaries. I read a right up on the Discovery Channel website about this "documentary." It's amazing how they will write their articles and fail to leave out very important information just to cause some drama and make occurances sound more mysterious. When all they are doing is trying to lure audiences to view their film. For instance, "One of these tombs contain 10 ossuaries (limestone bone boxes). Six of the ossuaries in this tomb have inscriptions on them. In the featured documentary "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" a case is made that 2,000 year old "Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries" belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth," according to Discovery Channel website. "The film also documents DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries & reveals new evidence that throws light on Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene. " Guess who the film's executive producer is? James Cameron. Discovery Channel site reports that this documentary doesn't challenge the belief of Christians. The belief that Christ was resurrected from the dead 3 days after his crucifixion. No, it just leaves out very important information. They are basically saying, Jesus' body was moved by his disciples to another place and if he was resurrected it could have been spiritually instead of a physical ascension. Discovery throws in the one verse about the guards spreading stories that the disciples moved Christ's body - Matthew 28:12, but they failed to mention any verses before or after that particular verse. How in Matthew 28:2-7 there was a great earthquake & an angel came down and rolled the stone away and told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Jesus wasn't there. How the guards keeping watch were so frightened they passed out. How the angel of the Lord instructed the Marys to go tell the disciples He has risen from the dead & He will see them in Galilee. They also failed to mention in Matthew 28:11-13 When the guards came to they went to the city and told the High Priests and Elders what had just happened. How the High Priests and Elders paid the guards a large sum of money to tell everyone Jesus' disciples moved his body while they were sleeping. In Matthew 28:14-15, if the governor hears this story he would keep them safe. So the soldiers took the money & did as instructed by the High Priests and Elders and this story has been current among the Jews to the present day. I hope to goodness these points and events will come out in the documentary for a lot of peoples sake. All whose involved with this movie might be pushing their last button with God all Mighty. If you would like more information, here's Discovery Channel's website: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/tomb.html .

Alabama Weather
We are suppose to be in for some pretty severe weather this afternoon. I hope all of you will watch the weather in your area and keep safe. According to the weathercast, they are predicting lots of tornado activity, hail & wind advisories. Mom called us early this morning and asked Katie and I to come over after lunch. She knows how nervous I get during storms. I've told Doug the next house I'm leaving in will have a basement (full or half - I don't care). I'll never forget the bad storm we were in the middle of years ago. There was a tornado in the area of Cullman City, but had not touched down. We were on our way to a local parking deck for cover. All the parking decks were full of residents and no room for us. Stuck out in the middle of this storm, we were heading back home. The traffic lights swinging up and down and street signs were moving real fast side to side and such heavy rain. Oh my gosh, I was hyperventilating by the time we were home. Needless to say, we've never done that again.
http://www.whnt.com/Global/category.asp?C=6018&nav=menu108_1

Maybe next time I'll have more happy upbeat news and information. I hope I didn't get you all upset with the whole stupid documentary. I know I got upset when I first heard about it. I started having flashbacks when the "Divinci Code" came out.

Take care of each other and God Bless!