Decision Time....

I had to make a decision, take vacation days to babysit our darling grands OR take vacation days to enjoy my 35th high school reunion. My daughter was sweet and said she would make other arrangements if I decided to go back home for my class reunion. Since these two occasions were only days apart, I decided to be a grandmother and enjoy the sounds of fun coming from the young eyes of our granddaughters. I would of so enjoyed connections with old friends from school but did not want to pass up a MEMORY MAKER!!!

You know the kind of memories? Ones that you talk about for years! Like the time my parents came for a surprise visit when we lived in Arkansas. Our girls were the coolest kids at school that day b/c my dad gave the girls turns on riding his motocycle to school and back that day! What a memory maker that was.

Or how about the time we let our daugthers choose having presents for Christmas or going to Disneyworld that year....they choose Disneyworld! Or the Christmas they got to spend traveling to Kitty Hawk,NC w/their Aunt Beth and Uncle Gene....then met us in Williamsburg,Va for a wonderful, sweet smelling, sight-seeing authentic colony days holiday!

Steve and I had a blast with the Grands! I had forgotten how many times you wipe faces and hands, kiss boo-boos, clean the table, fix meals, wash clothes, step over toys, read books, NOT watch the news, tell stories, say prayers, kiss goodnight with little children! (We have several styles of kisses we have to give each girl before bedtime...i.e. butterfly, eskimo, the famous chin kiss, sorberts, etc.)

We played at a indoor play area with big blow-up slides and jumping rooms. Went shopping for a birthday present. We swam all weekend, crafted, and pretended to be on the Food Network. Waited for Sir to make his famous fried bananas and topped the time off with creating an ice cream cake in honor of Lorahbeth's upcoming birthday! JennahKay thinks, "Sir should be on Food Network but making the friend bananas didn't take long so he would have to come up with other things to cook") My compliments to the cheif! I love you Steve!!!

Steve called me this morning and said that he was so glad we had the long weekend with the girls! I totally agree. Two songs came into my mind during the weekend and when you see the pictures, you will know what I mean...

After everyone left Monday morning, I got busy and cleaned the house for a finance meeting later on, I found myself singing and recalling the memories we made. And once again, I could not bring myself to Windex the fingerprints off of my glass coffee table just yet! Maybe next week!

R U ????

READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??
Countdown ...28 days till collegiate football begins a new season! I absolutely love college football. The Big 10 starts on Saturday, September 1st. That means, lots of finger foods, cheers and jeers, phone calls to my momma and high-5's with my best friend---Steve. And I almost forgot, I have to start making and freezing Buckeyes for the dessert portion of the games and also sharing them w/our neighbor Wes. "Go Bucks, Michigan Stinks, Phee-uu!"

SMILE!!!

Family is great! There is nothing better on earth than to have your family around any table, laughing! In the fifth picture, we are all laughing b/c Steve NEVER shows teeth when he smiles, so he over-stating the issue a bit..haha!

And may I add....

....my other son in law! He has only been in this family for a year BUT it feels like he has always been apart of us. This past weekend we spent with Jill and Warren (and Shana n Bill) having a blast! Warren has such a quiet servants heart. He has been given a great opportunity to start a new ministry in a church and I can already see his abilities and gifts coming into view. God is going to use him in many ways! Once again I thank my God for the men in our daughters lives...they are EXACTLY who we prayed for!

We always enjoy time with our adult children...but this weekend was nice having that time w/Warren. Steve and I did teach J&W how to play Ucker (pronounce:long U-ker)and of course Steve came out on the winning team 3 times. We also enjoyed 9 holes of golf but none of us liked the 'swatting of the knats' (Georgia is bad for knats and humidity) Stir fry was dinner that Saturday night and another game of cards till midnight!

Thanks so much for a wonderful weekend guys!

Playing the Waiting Game....

Phil 3:10-4:9
We all play the waiting game. Wait in traffic, wait in line –anywhere! Wait for results of medical tests, Wait for someone on the other end of the phone line. The Church also plays the waiting game…this life is not about this life! It’s about waiting effectively until the next life starts, if we do not wait effectively, it will make for a bad experience while here on earth.

*Who first invented waiting? Look into Psalms Chap 27:14 “Be strong and take heart, wait on the Lord.” 130:5-6 states, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than a watchman waits for the morning.”

Isaiah 30:18 “For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.”

Romans 8:23b “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.”

*HOW TO WAIT EFFECTIVELY….Know Christ and the power of His resurrection(3:10-11)….fellowship in the sharing of His suffering(v10-11)…..Become like Him in His death…..attain the resurrection from the dead….Don’t get caught up in what HAS BEEN…..Press on with the right focus…(v10-11).

*HOW TO HANDLE SATAN'S DISTRACTIONS…End disagreements (4:2-3)…Praise God during the hard times (v4-7)…Have Godly thoughts, resist the negative (v8-9).

ENDURE THIS LIFE WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN…..Galatians 6:9-10, “Let us not be weary in well doing, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

James 1:12 gives us a promise..."Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

How well are WE playing the waiting game?

(this was the sermon notes from my son in law on Sunday evening) Right now in our life, we are playing the waiting game and I must say that I am not doing so well. I constantly have to remind myself that whining is not acceptable. It will not get me to my goal any faster, it will hinder God's work in my life and how He wants to use me in the lives of others. Billie really spoke to me that night. I was so proud of his delivery of the Word, but he would be the first to say that it was not him but rather God! Billie has a real passion for reaching the lost and I am glad that God chose him to be apart of our family.

Pax the Horse

Pax was born on July 28, 2007. We borrowed a friends trailer and brought Pax to our youngest granddaughters 2nd birthday party. Yes, every little girl wants a pony. I did! Pax was truly born out of love. He was conceived on July 16, 2007 and finally was presented to AudreyAnn in celebration of her birthday. Pax was nameless until JennahKay and Lorahbeth came up with his name from a baseball hat that had a "P" (for Pittsburg) as it's logo. So Pax became the name of this horse, of course! Lucky for us, he has a huge backyard to play in. He will enjoy his days pretending to win races, chase a herd of cattle, or just be happy to graze in the grass under the pine trees.

We are glad all 3 of the grands love him already. I cradled him for 2 weeks, making sure every little detail was taken care of. Well, Pax is a little to big for AudreyAnn right now, she will have to 'grow into him'. His size scared her at first, but in time she will learn to love him as I have. Besides that she absolutely loved her Sit-n-Spin from mommy and daddy and all the books Aunti Jill and Uncle Warren gave her!

I have to thank Sir and Uncle Warren for helping me harness him to his post, THANK YOU GUYS, you were a big help.

Enjoy looking at Pax, he is a sight!

Pax the Horse

Isn't He cute!