Jibber Jabber

Have any of you ever made one of those "easy" no-sew fleece blankets that are popular to make? Well, I've always heard how eeaassyy it was and then I saw this post over at A New Chelsea Morning. Check it out...She made the most adorable little blanket for her grandson and she did such a great job! I also have a friend, Jessica, who makes lots of these so I thought I'd try.

I would post pics for your enjoyment-if you need a laugh-but, my camera is acting up tonight. Plus, I'm ashamed to show you.

You see, there is not a crafty bone in my body! AT ALL! I must have been sleeping when the good Lord passed out that trait cuz' it just ain't happenin' for me! Our friend "Bwoos" as E calls him (aka: Bruce) just left here and was literally walking out the door laughing at the sight of my effort. He can't understand how it will possibly end up as a blanket. "Oh, I see...you're cutting little "frilly" things on the sides huh?" (You should understand that comment when you see the instructions on here.) "Frilly things?" no.not.at.all.

K is trying to comfort me and blame it on the scissors being too dull...I will be buying new scissors tomorrow, so I guess we will see.

I'll keep ya posted. The good thing is E won't know the difference. She will just know that her mommy made it for her with love...and lots of frustration. (smile)

*******
So, football has officially begun y'all! (Oh, how very excited I am!) What is usually a quiet home (with the exception of a 2 year old) has suddenly turned into quite the opposite, as it normally does this time of year.

My sweet hub wants me to get involved in it so bad. Bless his heart - he didn't end up with one of "those" wives - like some of you reading this. I mean, it's been on for HOURS now and there is no sign of his cutting the t.v. off. There aren't too many things he will stay up until midnight to watch. How can it not get old? Every game looks the same to me.

Tonight, and every year, he tries to explain: "Baby, that is the quarterback throwing to the wide receiver." "Defense, Offense, Running Back, Safety, Jibber.Jabber.Jibber.Jabber." I've not learned anything yet, so why does he keep trying? Awwh...

He's making sure E knows all about it though. Tonight, she wanted to stay home with daddy while I ran errands. When I walked in the door, she said, "Mommy, I watch da game!" She was right in the middle of the guys on the floor eating their snacks.

Guess I'm outnumbered huh?

By the way, ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!! I've at least learned that much! (I wanna stay in this family.)

Please pray!

I don't even really know what to say on this, but I feel strongly about this post.

The Lord has used Juanita Bynum to minister to Kevin and I in so many ways! She is a very powerful woman of God and the annointing is so strong in her ministry!

I am not sure if you've all heard about this, but I tell you it shocked me to hear it on the news yesterday. Why was I shocked? Why am I still amazed? Look at the world we live in...nothing should shock us anymore.

Now, we don't know the whole story and we never will. Only the Lord knows! I am certainly not using this post to shed any negative light on Juanita Bynum. If you have ever heard her, then I feel certain you were ministered to. If not, trust me when I tell you she is a powerhouse for the Lord!! Please do not look at her with downcast eyes. We all have problems...maybe they aren't the same type, but no one has a perfect life. We just don't end up with our "stuff" on the news.

I just want to say that no matter who you are, what you do or what you've done...you are never too far from the enemie's "schemes." He is always up to something. Jesus was tempted and we sure are every day. It is so disappointing what her husband did to her and possibly what he's been doing to her. However, he gave in to the devil and his lies!

We need to put on the whole armor of God every single day and take authority over our minds! As I've already stated, she is a minister of the gospel and her husband is as well (was)...the closer we get to the Father, the bigger the threat we are to the devil and he WILL assuredly try anything to pull us away from the Lord.

Abuse is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong and N.e.v.e.r. acceptable, whether (physical, verbal, mental or emotional.) I am in NO way defending what her husband, Thomas Weeks, did. I just want to use this situation as a reminder that it could be any of us if we allow the devil to get a foothold anywhere in our lives. You've heard the saying, "You give him an inch and he'll take a mile." He will take way more than a mile! He will ruin your entire life as we've seen here. Life changed forever for the both of them in just a matter of minutes - and justice needs to be served!!

Now, while I am ANGRY with this man (and any other man or woman guilty of doing this), noone is EVER beyond the reach of Christ our Lord and Savior! He can be forgiven and the Lord can give him a fresh start, which I trust will happen. It would be an absolute shame for him to throw his life away after all of the lives he has touched in his ministry.

Please pray for Juanita's quick recovery and pray for her emotional and mental well-being in this time. I am confident that the Lord will give her peace and will use this situation to save tons of lives. He will take what the devil meant for harm and use it for the good of His kingdom.

Also, please pray for Thomas Weeks to turn himself in if he has not done so already and that the right punishment is given. I also pray for healing to take place in his heart and mind and that he would have total remorse for the horrible crime he has committed on his dear wife.

Thanks for hearing me out today and please feel free to post any comments that you have pertaining to this. Let's be in agreeance here for miracles to happen!

With Love...

Why dooo they do that?

Do your guys...yes, I mean grown men...still looove to play video games? Well, mine sure does.

Hey, after a long hard day at work, I'm certainly not gonna say anything about him sitting up late some nights to play video games. He doesn't do it often - only because he doesn't have time. But, while I was out of town last week, Kevin and a friend of his decided to fit as much gaming into the week as they possibly could. "Boys will be boys" right? R.I.G.H.T.!
Even men need their "bonding" time...

Well, this particular football game was rented and due back tonight. So lastnight, Kevin knew he only had one more chance to play and pulled his chair right in front of the t.v. and settled in for the long-haul. As I was sitting there quietly on the computer - trying to concentrate, "Mr. Kevin" was getting louder and louder with each "play" - is that what it's called in football? I dunno.

I don't even know why the noise level kept rising or what was happening on the game, but I kept hearing SIGH after SIGH after SIGH & he was muttering words like, "offense, defense, tag" (foreign) and "You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me!!" This was not excitement folks! Wasn't he supposed to be having fun? He slowly started progressing from disappointment to frustration to unbelief to pure tickedoff"edness" (yes, I "coined" a word Pastor S! - as if you'd be reading my blog anyway haha.) He ended up talking to the little people on the game and wondering why they weren't following his "direction" and then, with every sigh, I began to laugh. Which, in turn, made him realize what was taking place. You know how kids get so intent on whatever game they are playing that they become oblivious to the world around them...YUP!!

This was supposed to be relaxing to him to do something he enjoys and he was getting more stressed during these few moments than he did in his entire day of work. I'm confused!!!

The climactic moment of the video gaming was when I heard a loud THUMP, looked up and saw my husband on his butt on the floor and the chair flipped over on its side. He got to into his fussing that he FELL OUT hahahaha! Oh my goodness! This was so hilarious to see! He peeked his cute little head around the arm of the chair and we burst into laughter! Oh how I so needed that laugh!

NOTE: Rocking chairs, laminate floors and grown boyzzz flailing around and fussing at their game don't mix well. Something is bound to go down and in this case, it was the flailing, but cute, boy.

UPDATE: * Written on Thursday, August 16th & Friday, August 17th *

WOOHOO! Praise the Lord! We are on the plane right now as I write and we are on our way home. I am seriously considering kissing the good ole’ GA ground when we arrive.

Well, maybe the Good Lord didn’t want our trip to take place on our terms, but it did finally happen.

Here is how the NIGHTMARE continued to unfold. We ended up getting bumped from 3 flights in Atlanta on Monday and spent a total of 16 HOURS there people! We could have driven to Pennsylvania by this time and our trip hadn’t even begun yet.

It turned out that the 8:57 p.m. flight moved to 9:10, then 9:35. At about 10:00, we were still sitting there and were told that the flight had been completely CANCELLED due to the runway at our destination closing early. We had to fly into another city and take a bus to our intended airport. So, we arrive in Scranton, PA FINALLY around 3:00 a.m. and there is not a soul in sight except for a security guard and maintenance man. We had to convince the security guard to let us into the holding room to find our luggage. I imagine we looked pretty pitiful to be honest and probably had the “all-day airport funk” goin’ on.

So, I manage to put E in her pj’s and we then wait for a shuttle to come and get us from the hotel and we eventually arrive there (extremely tired & delirious) at almost 4:00 a.m. (only to get up at 7:00 to start the 2-day meetings.)

Our 2 ½ hour nap was good, but evidently not enough to keep me awake by lunch time. The speakers were wonderful, but sometimes that only goes so far. My body needed rest and I was literally nodding off – head bobbing & about to drool – in the meeting and decided to go up for a little nap, along with mom and E. That was pretty refreshing – or enough to get us through until bedtime.

Wednesday was a much better day! I didn’t feel like an absolute zombie or like I was sleep walking. I did get a little drowsy, but kept the BAD coffee going in. Bad or not, I guess it did the trick. The meetings and speakers were wonderful & oh so inspiring. They certainly made me forget the drama that we had been through.

Oh…and it wasn’t over. So it’s time to leave on Thursday. We have a “Standby” ticket for a 12:53 flight out of Scranton and straight to Atlanta. I called to check on seat availability and the sweet girl told me there is no point in even coming to the airport because it “ain’t gonna happen today.” GRRREAT! Do you know how boring it would be to be stranded in a hotel with no exciting meetings to attend, nothing to do, no car to drive anywhere, bad coffee and too cool to swim? This can’t be happening – again!! We started praying…and crying…and laughing about it. Mom said it would be silly to not at least be at the airport and that we needed to give it every effort we could. Then, go from there.

Nope, no availability on this flight. There is one for 5:55 that is oversold so no hope there. They said our only option was to fly to Cincinnati and hope for a flight to Atlanta from there. We figured since Cincinnati was a bigger airport that it would be a smart move. At least if we were stranded there, that airport actually has things to do.

Well, needless to say – it worked. We were there for almost 4 hours and FINALLY hopped on a flight, with plenty of room, to Atlanta! We made it home after midnight and home has never looked, smelled or felt better.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Terminal,” we have something in common with Tom Hanks now...poor guy. I looked for him, but maybe he finally got out of there. We saw lot’s of people hibernating on the comfy airport seats, which brings me to: Do you know how many people sleep with their mouths’ wide open by the way? It’s really interesting uh-hum (clearing throat)!

I did get to walk the hall with “DOG, the Bounty Hunter” lastnight. MAHALO…thankyouverymuch. He’s my Homeboy! Tune in and you may see me and mom assisting in someone's arrest...which by the way you won't see us cursing and praying for them at the same time, but that's another story!

Can you tell I still need rest?

One more thing: I don't mean to sound so negative with all of this. I have referred to this travel stuff as a nightmare on many occasions since Monday. But, I realize the blessing that these tickets were after all...referring to price ONLY. We were safe and it allowed for much more time together - just the 3 of us. My precious E was absolutely the glue that held things together. We had to be strong for her and she has never been such a good girl as she was the entire trip. She didn't act like a normal 2 year old after all...she was a pure joy to be stranded with!
And I did take a lot home from the convention...I just had to travel further and longer to get "it" home with me. So...

"Thank you Heavenly Father for your continued blessings on this trip. Thank you for your mercy that was not at all times apparent to us, but was always there and never failing. Your grace Was and Is sufficient for us and I am unworthy of you!"

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9

Some "Buddy" This Pass Was

** This was written on Monday, August 13th **

Well, folks…it is now 5:00 p.m. and I am STILL IN THE ATLANTA AIRPORT. We arrived here at 7:00 this morning. Yes, we have been here for 10 L.O.N.G. hours now and our visit is not over yet.

We are (supposed to be) flying to my company’s Summer Fling/convention (see last post) and we should have been there by 12:30 today. Ever heard of a "buddy pass?" If so, don’t ever use one…If not, there is really NO need to inquire about one.

Well, since you are aching to know, I will tell you anyway…A buddy pass is when you know someone who works for the airline and you can fly by way of their employee benefits. The tickets are hugely discounted and well, you get what you pay for in this case I guess. The price is great! However, there is one little catch to this. Oh OOPS did I say “little” – it is a HUGE downside. Buddy passes mean that the person traveling is on “Standby” and there is a “slight” chance HHHAAA that you can be bumped and moved to the next flight because the people that actually pay full ticket price have priority over you. Makes sense right?

Well, not only were we bumped from the first flight, the original flight at 10:17 a.m.…We were also bumped off of the next flight which was 2:51. There are only 3 flights per day to where we are traveling and the last one is at 8:57 and we are holding our breath. WHEW!!

The worst part??? Our luggage didn’t get bumped! It went with the first/original flight and is awaiting our arrival. It’s probably feeling a little impatient by this point don’t ya think? Yeah, me too. Oh and it only gets better! Like traveling with a 2 year old is not an ordeal in and of itself – her diapers are also with our luggage! The wonderful Virtuous Wife and Mother that I am didn’t expect these travel difficulties and didn’t pack an extra outfit, diapers, etc.

We really need the Lord’s favor on our traveling plans this week! Not that we haven’t had His favor thus far. We all know that “everything happens for a REASON” and sometimes we never find out what those reasons are, but we just trust in Him in the good times and BAD. Although if you were around me right now, the “trusting” part may not be as apparent as it should be. But, I do – I TRUST YOU LORD!

I’m off to walk the beautiful halls of the Atlanta airport and see what I can find that I haven’t seen over the past T.E.N. hours!! I will keep you posted!

“Thank you Lord that you are God in all things! You never ever fail us. You don’t know how! I thank you for your favor, exceedingly above anything we can ask or think. I trust you and your will for our trip…if you desire for it to take place (which I am beginning to wonder about.) In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

Let's Fly Away

Well, I am getting ready to head to bed soon. It is only 8:50 and that is extremely early for bed around our house. I don't know if my body will know what to do!

I am flying to PA at the crack of dawn in the morning for a convention with my candle business. It is my first time ever attending and I am soooo excited! My mother and E will be coming with me and this will be a fun adventure. OHHHH flying with a 2 year old! Should we all drug up? joking...

The company will be announcing new products to our gourmet line and I will be posting one day this week with the exciting news. (for those of you who actually care - haha) You can visit here to learn more.

So, until then...I hope you all have a blessed & prosperous week and I look forward to writing again!

Oh and please pray for our safety as we travel & our sanity! Getting up at 3:00 a.m. will not be easy, but by the time you've read this, we will already be well on our way.

Nite Nite!

You've Got a Friend

Great friends!! How would we survive this life without them?

You know who you are when you read this...

Lots of people are blessed with a lot of friends, but not too many of us have more than a handful of TRUE friends. You know - those that are there in the midst of a storm, (haha sometimes literal storms - when I'm scared out of my mind, hiding in the laundry room & holding the Bible while that friend is laughing at me from the couch by the window!); those that lend a helping hand no matter how tired they already are (and no matter when that help turns into a whole weekend - and then the weekend after) and don't expect a thing in return because that's just "what friends do"; those that pray for you and encourage you in the Word and that you sit up late with until the wee hours of the morning talking about "stuff."

It's a great feeling to have the kind of friends that you know you don't have to entertain. You don't have to plan your get togethers and you don't have to go anywhere or do anything. With these kind of friends, it's a blast to just lay around in bummy clothes and watch t.v. or play silly games or serve cereal for dinner and even sit in silence at times. It's just "understood" you know? No impressions need to be made because they already love "you" and well, that's just amazing.

When you find those "true" friends, you know you've found 'em and you never want to let them go...no matter where your paths lead. I am so thankful for the great, Godly friends that the Lord has placed in mine and Kevin's life! We won't ever let you go!!

You are all kisses from our Father and we love you!

Today, I'm thankful for so many things, but here are a couple specific things:

1) Air Conditioning!!! So many people suffer with no a/c in their homes during these hot days and for those of us that do have it, don't take it for granted! I am so thankful for that! Here in GA, it is around 100 degrees, but just watching the news...it is much hotter in other areas of the country.

People!! The heat index somewhere in NC was 126 yesterday. That is unimaginable!! The thing that makes it extra bad is this humidity. Urrgghh!!

Thank God for a nice cool home to come into from the heat!

2) This wonderful Strawberry Infused Lemonade that I'm enjoying right now...thanks to GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine. Check out her recipe from yesterday's post. It's wonderful and so refreshing!

3) The breaking down of denominational walls! Woohoo!! This is such an awesome thing to me!! I know it is to the Lord. My husband is going to minister tonight at a church here in town...different denomination than we are a part of. But, who cares?!! It is all about the body of Christ. It's a "Jesus Thing" and NOT a black/white, denomination thing!! Praise the Lord!!

4) Children's video's! Although I commit to never being the kind of mom to stick her kids in front of t.v./movies all day long...are they great or what? I try to limit the amount of t.v. she watches and certainly what she watches. We are VERY careful about what goes into her lil' spirit, as well as ours! But, what would us mommies do without the help of these wonderful shows that give us breaks?

5) My grandmother ("Mamaw") Granted, I may not always "feel" this way at some points during the day...just kidding. She is wonderful! It's funny how the older people get, the more childlike they act you know? She loooves to aggravate my 2 year old; they argue as if they are siblings "Mine!" "No Mine!"; she loves to tattle on Emma and get her in trouble; and so much more, but she adores Emma completely at the same time. Having my daughter around has brought life back into my grandmother that's sort of been lost since my granddaddy died.

She, honestly, can be the biggest brat (meant with love) and the sweetest thing at the same time and I wouldn't trade her for the world. She was like my 2nd mama growing up and has prayed me through this life!

Her little feeble voice touched my soul tonight just before she headed to bed. We were reminiscing on old hymns from church and singing our hearts out. It's amazing how no matter how much they can't remember...things like that just never leave their minds.

For more Thankful Thursday posts, please check out Sting My Heart.

What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man...

Ladies, my hubby just stuck his head around the corner and said, "Man, you've really been keeping up with the laundry haven't you?"

I just smiled and said, "Thanks for noticing!" I have to say that I hear other women talk about how all of the things (big and small) that they do go unnoticed by their husbands. Kevin has always been pretty good about paying attention, but he got some extra points tonight for the laundry comment.

I strive every day to be that Proverbs 31 woman...I haven't accomplished that yet. But, I guess I'm striving to be the lazy version of her.

I don't see myself E.V.E.R. "seeking wool and flax" and working willingly with my hands to make my family's clothing as the scripture says. But, LemmieTellYa...keeping the laundry even close to caught up is a HUGE accomplishment for me! Do you know how long it's been since we've been able to see the bottom of the hamper?

I'm ashamed to say that there (until recently mind you) has been a sweater in the bottom of the hamper that has been waiting to be cleaned since ummm - probably last fall (almost a year). Why haven't I just washed it you ask? Well, it's not that it was really dirty, but it needed to be dry cleaned and being the lazy version of the Virtuous Woman that I am, I never "got around" to taking it to the cleaners. I've been too busy seeking that wool and flax...what is flax by the way?

So, do you know what I did with it yesterday? Uh huh...I DID...I chunked it! Yes, mom...I know I could have had it cleaned and put in the thrift store or something, but I'm sick of looking at it. It was a perfectly good sweater really, but it resembles procrastination now so "be gone with you sweater."

Well, all of this to say..."Thanks sweet hubby of mine for noticing the empty hamper." All of the things you do for us certainly don't go unnoticed either.

Maybe you'll come home to a cleaned out refrigerator tomorrow. (There's no telling what's in that thing!)

I think my "flax" is calling.

She DOES work!!

During the potty-training process, I think lots of us mommies begin to wonder if our children really do "work?" I've followed the advice of others and not pushed the issue too much with Emma. Everyone has different suggestions of the things that worked with their children and we all know that every child is completely different!

So, I decided I'd just do it my way and B.R.I.B.E. her!! Oh and we can't forget the "name calling" tactic. I sound like a horrible mother don't I?

I just non-chalantly mentioned this morning during diaper change that baby's wear diapers and hmmm...did that do the trick? And, she already knows that she gets a "ma-pop" (translation: lollipop) when she goes.

Well, HALLELUJAH!!, this lil' sista conquered the potty today!! And her mommy couldn't be more proud!! The things that make our day as mommies huh? Really, it has made my day.

Needless to say...her Green Apple ma-pop was yummy and disappeared in a flash. Then, "I want nother 'un mommy!"

Ah...she isn't broken!

My 1st Thankful Thursday Post

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High. Psalm 92:1

Well, this is my very first Thankful Thursday post. But, I just love the idea of it. It's too bad that we don't regularly sit down and say what we are thankful for except for special times like Thanksgiving, etc. Well, that changes here:

As I've already stated on this blog, the things I'm thankful for I consider to be "Kisses From the Father" - from the smallest to the biggest things.

1) I am thankful every morning for the new phrases that Emma says as she is waking up. "Mommy, it time get up!" "Mommy, I had good night seep." "Mommy, Daddy, Joo-Ahr (translation: J.R., our dog) G.E.T. M.E. O.U.T.!" "Mommy, where ah you?" "Mommy, ah you there?" It's a joy to hear what she will say each day. On the very f-e-w days that Kevin and I get to sleep in together (sleeping in = 8:00 a.m. by the way), we just lay there and laugh at her comments.

2) I am thankful for the prayer Emma and I pray together every morning over ours' and daddy's day.

3) I'm thankful for the feel of that sweaty head on my shoulder after she wakes up from her nap every day and has to "hold you" for a while.

4) I'm thankful for this precious little dog, J.R., that is staring me down right now begging to either go outside or get more food. It's always one of the two lately. As pesty as he is sometimes, I am thankful that he is still here to stare at me. (I'll explain that story later for those that don't already know.)

5) I'm thankful for the sound of Kevin's Explorer as it pulls into the driveway each night, sometimes late, but thankfully sometimes earlier lately. Me and Emma always look at each other when we hear it and wait for the sound of his horn to beep twice. That means he's locked his car and is walking towards the front door.

That is when our day begins...

The list goes on and on. I figured 5 things was a good # to keep it at. I'm thankful that there is a Thursday in every week!

I'd like to hear something you are thankful for this week.