Happy Birthday Kathy Jo!

Today is my sister's birthday. Today I salute her. She was there for me when I needed her. When I was growing up she was there to keep my brother from tormenting me too much. I love her dearly, I wish we were closer in distance, I miss having her close. But I love her deeply!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

objects in mirror seem closer than they appear

Well, in the last thirty days I have quit two jobs. No I am not proud of that fact, it is just that FACT. I left Legacy to go to the new Inn that was starting here. I went, then left. Not a place I wanted to work with that type of leadership or direction. So I am now looking for work. Have a few choices, but they don't seem interested in me just yet. Pray something comes soon, Tim is getting abit antsy.

Cricket has moved back in. Not really fond of that, but it is what it is. I sincerely want my attitude to change. Pray that God does something in my heart toward her. Her moving back has made our friend who is living with us very jittery. She wants to move out. I don't want her to. She thinks it will be too crowded and she is in Cricket's old room, so therefore she should move out. I say no, she says yes. Don't get me wrong, I love Cricket just as much as Tim, but she is 20 years old and needs to be on her own. She tried to live with her mom, she tried to live with Tim's sister, I know she would rather be anywhere else than at our house. Her work ethic leaves lots to be desired. She has made some not so good choices that have landed her here with no car, no money and no job. I resent having to support her at 20 years old. Is this wrong????? Am I the evil step mom for feeling this way????? Probably, but I can't change the resentment, I am waiting for God to do it in me. Meanwhile, I am keeping my mouth shut so as not to tick off my husband. I don't bite my tongue well enough. Lord help me. I mean that literally, as my prayer for this night.

Michael comes home in a couple of weeks. Hwo happy that I am he will be out of the middle east.

Well, I am going to go to bed I think. I think I am tired, or maybe it is just a little depression. I will post pictures soon of our new dog, her name is Lilly. I am frustrated with her right now too. She is having a hard time adjusting to our home I guess, we KEEP having potty issues EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am tired of cleaning up after her. Oh how I hate puppies! Although she is nto a puppy, she is 10 months old.

Anywhoooo....later taters!

The End

Today is my last day here at Legacy. My office is cleaned out, my desk is empty and my computer scrubbed clean of my personal files. It is good. Don't get me wrong, I loved working here, loved the people that have come and gone, done a lot of growing personally, spiritually and professionally. I wouldn't trade the time I have had here for anything.

Now I am on to something new, something that excites me! It is good to feel excitement about the work that you do.

Later

Grandma, I can't find the bowl you wanted! 

Ashlyn and me

She is so much fun! 

that's not surprising!

You Are 50% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal...Other things you do are downright strangeYou've got a little of your freak going onBut you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

test

don't know if I pasted that quiz in right or not so I am just testing it!

OOOOOOOOOklahoma where the wind comes whippin down the plains!

Here we are at Steven's graduation















Steven and Sarah

















First ever seen (at least by me!) prairie dog. They were all around our hotel! 

St Louis

This is Kryie, Chess and I up in the St Louis Arch. The look on Kyrie's face doesn't reveal just how scared and nervous she was. 

Reminder to the church

"I think we do not attach enough importance to the restoration of the Jews. But certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible it is this. The day shall yet come when the Jews, who were the first apostles to the Gentiles, the first missionaries to us who were afar off, shall be gathered in again. Until that shall be, the fullness of the church's glory can never come. Matchless benefits to the world are bound up with the restoration of Israel, their gathering shall be as life from the dead."

That is a quote by Charles Spurgeon. Right on Chuck!

BTW...I will post pictures of our trip soon!

update

So here is the latest. The interview went wonderful, although we talked about God and church a whole lot more than we did the Inn. I am excited about embarking on this new adventure that God is taking me on! Still at my current job, as sad as it was for me I was not able to give my notice. God has other plans I guess. Even when things pick up at the Inn it won't interfere here, as all of the work at the Inn is on the weekends.

We went to Steven's graduation last week, had a blast! Even seeing his father and having to chat with him for awhile was not horrible. Huh, maybe we both are growing up a bit! Tim was so great, always protective of me around him and engaging him in conversation when he sensed I was uncomfortable. We stopped in St. Louis and went up in the arch, it was great! Kyrie stayed right in the middle, didn't even venture over to look out the window! She was ready to go down when we got up there! We also stopped at the Oklahoma City Memorial. That was very touching, somber and hard. Tim and I cried when we were looking at the fence with all of the memorial stuff people have placed and the pictures...they were gut wrenching. Somehow, even knowing that Timothy McVeigh has died for his crime, to me, it still doesn't seem to pay for all those lives lost.

That is about it, we are pretty much done with the traveling this summer already. Although I am scheduled to fly to my mom's next week, so I guess that statement is not true. I am looking forward to that trip. Just my sister and my mom, lots of prayer together, lots of laughing, (I ALWAYS wet my pants at least once!) lots of good food, and lots of the card game Hand and Foot. I will miss my Aunt Becky not being there, she is usually there too, but can't make it this year due to her moving to Missouri. Although, there is a couple good things to her moving to KC, she will be near her grandchildren and I will have a place to stay when I go to IHOP! How cool is that! I know that is a little selfish, but I don't go to KC that often because we usually can't afford the hotel stay. So now maybe we will get to go more often.

Inn.....terview

June 5th, just 12 days to prepare and practice for the interview at the Inn. I am a little bit nervous all ready. A friend of mine offered to do a practice interview with me before hand. I am forever grateful for her encouragement and cheering me on. I have so many ideas about why and how I can be a valuable asset to this Inn, I just need to organize it all into a nice little presentation for her. I am not sure what positions she is hiring for, my friend said maybe she wants me to tell her what position I would create for me. Iget excited the more I think about the possibility of changing my profession! What is in my head about what I would like to do at the Inn sounds so much fun. I know that jobs are not always supposed to be "fun", but I truely believe that you should at least enjoy what you do. I do not enjoy what I do anymore. My boss will be frustrated and hurt by my leaving if I get the job. I am working on a project for him right now that I will finish up before I go. He wanted me to be the front person on plunging into reverse mortgages for seniors. I guess if I don't get the job at the Inn or it doesn't pay enough, then I will do the reverse mortgage stuff. I will submit to whatever God has planned for me, I am just trying not to kick and scream too much in the process....change my heart Lord!

Learning......

Creating my own opportunities vs. God opportunities. Deep down I want to take God opportunities, here on the flesh level I wanna create my own. I succumb to the thought that my plans are sooooo much better than His. There is no excuse for it, it IS my flesh and I struggle to make my flesh obey. It is like a tug of war with God where I get pulled into the mud EVERY single time!

How long Lord before I learn to just give you the rope???

Our beloved Bailey....gone.

On May 19th, about 30 miles from Michael's house, we got news that Bailey had been struck by a car. While we drove we prayed and hoped that Tim's dad could get him to the vet in time. They only made it about 3 minutes from our house before he passed. We buried him today, with honor and with love. He was a great little dog, we have had him since he was 8weeks old. He moved here with us from Ohio. He slept in my bed when Tim was gone. He hated it when Tim fired a gun, shook like a leaf every time and tried to hide behind me. He was gentle and kind with Stormy, they were like an old married couple. He would lick her eyes and ears clean and lay close to her when they were together. He loved dog buscuits and any human food, even chocolate. Chesiney took it hard. He was, in her mind, very much her dog. He will be greatly missed by all of us. We love you Bailey, you will always be a part of our family! Enjoy being with Jesus! 

Off to see Michael

Well, we are heading down to see Michael while he is home from Iraq for a short time. It will be good for me to wrap my arms around him and hug him. Have a bunch of goodies for the baby, looking forward to sitting for Michael and Jamie while they go spend some alone time together in Nashville!

Not that anyone wants to know this but I am suffering from some heart burn or acid reflux today. The description of heart burn seems to go right along with how I am feeling spiritually right now. Man do I REALLY need to spend some time with the Father.

Road Trip

We are back...Ashley and I. I flew out to Arizona, then drove back with Ashley. We had so much fun! Were able to re-connect as Mom and daughter and as friends. We got to stop at Ft. Sill and see Steven. He looks good and is doing fine. Out of all of my children I struggle letting him go the most. With every fiber of my being I have to fight the urge to "Mother" him. He still just seems so vulnerable. God is making him a man though. The Army thinks they are doing it but I know better. I praise God each moment for the gift of all my children and am fully blessed to know that they are all in relationship with my Father! I continue to pray for every one of them to serve Him fully...God is faithful and His will in their lives will be done!

We all go down to Ft Campbell this weekend to see Michael, Jamie and Ashlyn as Michael is home for a couple of weeks from Iraq. All that is except Kyrie. She is going to IHOP with some friends to spend some time in the prayer room. (My 17 year old...wanting to spend time soaking in the presence of the Almighty...can you imagine!! God you are TOO good to me!!) My heart is full and it is good!

Another part of me struggles, (I probably need to spend some good quality time soaking in the presence of I AM too.) I long for a change in my attitude towards my employment or for a door to open so I can leave. Change me O God!!!

Giving and taking away

I met this little girl when she was 1 and a half years old. She was fiesty, comical, dramatic and compassionate then; she is still all of those things and more. I have had the wonderful pleasure of raising her with her father since then and I am a little sad as I look at that picture. She and her sisters and her father came into my life and showed me that I could love again. I am fortunate that she is not all grown up yet, I still have a few more years with her. But when she goes there will be no more children in the home, except when the grandkids come to visit. Life requires growth, as much as I wanted the kids to grow up when they were little, I wish now that they could remain children; but they wont, they have to grow up. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to share my love with this young lady, make her the woman you desire her to be. I am proud to have her call me mom!

Prom festivities

So, this is Kyrie and her date, Bosje. She was happy as a lark and he was visibly smitten with her! This is one relationship I hope they work on. He is such a smart, nice and gentle young man. Tim and I totally approve! 

blast from the past

I got this email from an old friend over the weekend. It seems that the Avalon High School class of 1986 is having a reunion in June. FYI...I left that school at the end of my 8th grade year, but apparently they (I say "they" when in all actuallity it is probably just this one friend) would like to include me in the reunion. Tim and I are thinking it over about going, I need to find out if we can take the girls b/c we haven't taken a family vacation in a long time. This would be a perfect opportunity to take the girls to California.