Almost a year

Well, if I waited a full year from my last post then I would miss telling everyone that Christa Joy is getting married on August 15th. It's a lovely story, full of testimony to waiting for the right person. Their story can be found here.

I've had this list of "things to blog" sitting on my desk for weeks. So, I thought I'll tackle it a bit at a time. It's not like it's work or a chore, it's really fun for me, but I haven't had much time for "fun" lately.



Ward's dear grandfather passed away in late June. We actually got the call on my birthday saying that they discovered that morning that he had cancer and only had a couple of weeks to live. We debated on waiting until the following weekend to go down there, as that is when Ward's mom was going, but decided to go on immediately. We were so glad we did! The timeline went like this: Friday - Granddaddie was doing errands, driving around town and such. Saturday (my birthday) - found out about the cancer, admitted to the hospital. Sunday - we left here at 2 am and got to the hospital around 10:30. He was sitting in bed talking some and knew who we were. Monday he ate the last time and quickly began to get worse. Tuesday evening we had to leave to come home. Wednesday night he was gone. SO FAST! We were so glad we went when we did. We had plenty of time to say goodbye and support the other family members as well. It was really bizarre too, because as he got progressively worse the only voice he would respond to was mine. He would answer me in one word answers, when the same question asked by three other people would get no response. Then when he could no longer answer he would blink to answer. I was so glad to be there to help assess some of his needs.

He was a lovely man. Educated. Smart. Hard-working. Caring. He will be missed.

Be a blessing...receive a blessing...

Please consider helping the family whose story is told here. You get some great homeschooling and family resources and a chance to bless someone.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Nina & Bernd! I am privileged to be on Ninascraps' Creative Team and she is getting married today. She has a little gift for everyone to celebrate with her:
Love Ahead is free today only at Oscraps with the coupon code Celebrate.

Five Minutes for Mom is giving away a HDTV! Check it out here.

I have a list of things to blog about...maybe I'll get to it in a couple of days.

Happy Anniversary!

There's something special about having our anniversary on the "luckiest" day of the century. We don't believe in luck, but we do know we are blessed! Twenty two years ago today, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Texas, we were married on a day that was more meaningful to us because of the "two sevens" in the date 07/07/85 . Seven is often thought to be a number signifying completeness or perfection and we were certain God had chosen us, placed us together to be one in His sight.I can't even remember life without you...nor do I want to, except for being able to compare how much brighter and richer my life is now as to then. Can I put into words how much I love you? I won't attempt to do so here, for those are words to be spoken between the two of us. I will say, though,that as I have watched you be a Christian, a father, a son, a friend, a worker and a husband, I have fallen in love with you over and over again. You are my best friend and so much more. Happy Anniversary!

I have pictures to show you! Tyler took his friend, Jade, to the Georgia Homeschool Foundation Prom. They went with friends Hunt and Katie (Katie is the one Tyler took to winter formal - as friends - where she met Hunt and they have been dating).
My favorite photos from the evening:


And a layout:
Credits are here and here

Yesterday we walked in the Memorial Day Parade, honoring Georgia's soldiers who have died in the Iraq/Afghanistan wars. No pictures, but we each carried one or two names of soldier on a placard...101 soldiers in all.

This month we had to have our dog, Zeke, put down as he had cancer. He was a loyal, loving friend. Look at his "old man" grey beard...


And one final layout I recently did - I love this one! I was also thrilled to discover it was Layout of the Day over at The DigiShoppe gallery.

No apologies...life is just busy.

Today is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life.
I was awakened by breakfast in bed. Fresh cantaloupe and kiwifruit and my favorite berry juice.

Some years I don't look forward to Mother's Day. I tend to think about my failures as a mom and feel like I don't deserve all the praise and sweet words. I know this is stupid and I should just relax and enjoy the day, but I can't help myself. At the same time, I know it's not really all about me and is a chance for my children to express their love. It makes them feel special to make me feel special.

Ugh, I experienced the worst pain of my life last night...writhing on the floor, take your breath away kind of pain! I think it was a gall bladder attack/gallstones. It lasted about an hour and then went away. Totally not fun!! To the doctor this week to find out what is wrong. Left me feeling weak and tired and I still have a puny stomach today. Staying home from church to rest.

I'm typing this entry on my new 22" widescreen. This thing is wonderful! Great color and clarity. The speakers are pretty lame, but I didn't buy it for the speakers as I already have good ones hooked to my PC, so I don't really care! Great for scrapping...I can have PSCS2 open and next to it ACDSee or Picasa open at the same time. Thanks, Ward!!

Layout for today (click picture for credits):


Melanie tagged her CT...so here are my answers:

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD
1 – Receptionist in the corporate offices of a supermarket chain
2 – Missionary
3 – Cleaning at church
4 – Consultant/Support team in US for Australian software company

FOUR MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED OVER AND OVER
1 – The Scarlet Pimpernel
2 – The Princess Bride
3 – Bangkok Hilton (technically an Australian miniseries)
4 – Sense and Sensibility

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED
1 – Frankfurt, Germany and Fort Lee, Virginia as an army brat
2 – Azle, Texas and Auburn, California when newly married
3 – Melbourne, Australia as a missionary
4 – Blairsville, Georgia as...me...now and for the last 16 years

FOUR TV SHOWS I LIKE(D) TO WATCH
1 – Monk
2 – Lost
3 – 24
4 – Cold Case

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN ON VACATION
1 - Florida
2 - Hilton Head Island
3 – Hawaii
4 – St. Simon's Island

FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS
1 – Red Peppers
2 – Avocado
3 – Salmon
4 – Grilled Veggies

FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW
1 - I like it here!
2 – but taking a long bath is one of my favorite rituals
3 – a hot tub would be nice....
4 –

FOUR PEOPLE I WILL TAG
1 – If you are reading this, then I pick you!
2 – you too!
3 – and you, ma'am!
4 – Okay, you can do it too if you want to.

Shhh...

We snuck back into town early yesterday morning. But our business is officially still closed until Monday, so we are still on vacation, just doing things around the house that need attention. We had a lovely time away, just not long enough! I could use a couple of weeks of idyllic peace and quiet like we had in Sparta. Seriously, one morning I got up early and was reading my Bible in the living room and my ears started ringing. I realized that it was that "silence is deafening" phenomenon. It was so surreal. I have only experienced that before in the outback of Australia. While in Sparta we had a blessed respite from the battles we have been facing. Spiritually refreshing!

We pretty much stayed "home" other than going to town for groceries. One evening we headed south on the Blue Ridge Parkway (which was a couple of "blocks" from the house) looking for a place to shoot some family photos. We ended up at a historical cabin "The Brinegar Cabin" and here are some of the shots we took. The family ones weren't terrific but still satisfactory!

These are unedited as my monitor "blew" as I turned it off to leave for vacation. It's been slowly dying for six months or so. That means no scrapping until I get a new one as it is painfully slow to try to scrap on my laptop. I was determined to scrap some CT requirements while I was away even though it is slow, but of the eight discs I burned to take with me, only four would read on my laptop...of course the ones that would read had NONE of my CT products on them. Sigh!
I have a 22" monitor picked out, just trying to convince Ward I "need" one that big! Anyway...back to the pictures

(What is that white spot in the upper right corner??)