Home Sweet Home

Well after a grueling day of loading the entire contents; well nearly the entire contents of Philips condo and then a six hour drive to the new home and then unloading the truck and trailer; Philip is finally home. I think the most amazing part is what took Philip and I many hours to complete only took my sweet son and daughter and my sons friend only an hour and half to complete. YOU ARE AMAZING PEOPLE! Thank you so much for all you did to help!

Moving must be the most physically and emotionally difficult thing a person can do. Then add in a new job and it just increases the stress. However, Philip was fortunate enough to find a lovely home and so life has opened a new door for him and hopefully life will be good in his new home sweet home.

Moving

I knew this day was coming, but I don't know if I am prepared. Philip is leaving the island after a two year stint. He will finally reside in the same state I do; however our cities will be about 5 or so hours apart.

I feel excitement for him and as much as I know that he is ready to move on with things I am happy for him. I however do not handle change well, this may end up extremely well, but in my mind it is unknown so therefore, SCARY!

No matter the state of my emotions, or the stress of the next few days, I wish you well sweet PCL. SUCCESS in all you do, and Fair winds and soft breezes.

Family life and love

"I do" was heard by family and friends yesterday as Grace and Chris tied the knot. I must say that the wedding was just beautiful. We enjoyed a wonderfully spiritual ceremony at the WGV near St. Augustine Florida. Then a elegant dinner for the 76 guest in attendance.

Grace looked as though she stepped out of one of those Brides magazines, and her sister was gorgeous as Maid of honor. I had tears as her brother walked her down the isle in his dress uniform.


Ashley and children were just adorable as brides maid, ring bearer and flower girls.

I think that a wonderful time was had by all, including my sweetheart, Philip.


He is not one to enjoy these things but he came and gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed it. I Love you, Philip and appreciated your stepping outside your comfort zone for me, your the BEST! I was so grateful to all our family and friends who came to participate in this joyous occasion. I think by far Lori and Shayne, Sharena and Amos get the award for determination, they drove 22 hours from Grand Island Nebraska arriving on Friday just to turn around immediately following the ceremony to drive back, Our Love and Thanks to you all!

My heart was filled with such joy and happiness, I am by far the most blessed of women.

Happy day to you JE!

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!

Love, Goody!

JE and family....I am a blessed woman!

America, the Land of the Free

We all may have complaints about our goverenment or our laws, but is it not wonderful to wake up the morning after an election and see that things move on? We are a blessed people who should remember life is short and cherish the freedoms we have been given.

God Bless America!

VOTE; IT IS YOUR CIVIL RIGHT!

Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "vote") is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right.

Main Entry: 1vote
Pronunciation: 'vOt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English (Scots), from Latin votum vow, wish -- more at VOW
1 a : a usually formal expression of opinion or will in response to a proposed decision; especially : one given as an indication of approval or disapproval of a proposal, motion, or candidate for office b : the total number of such expressions of opinion made known at a single time (as at an election) c : an expression of opinion or preference that resembles a vote d : BALLOT 1
2 : the collective opinion or verdict of a body of persons expressed by voting
3 : the right to cast a vote; specifically : the right of suffrage : FRANCHISE
4 a : the act or process of voting b : a method of voting
5 : a formal expression of a wish, will, or choice voted by a meeting
6 a : VOTER b : a group of voters with some common and identifying characteristics
7 chiefly British a : a proposition to be voted on; especially : a legislative money item b : APPROPRIATION

We must vote, too many have laid down their lives for your right to VOTE!

Today is Election Day! GO VOTE!....OH AND IF YOU DON'T...It is my strong opinion you forfeit your right to complain about elected officials.

Character, disappearing in the USA

Character is one of those things losing popularity in our society. We no longer believe that how we live matters. Just turn on the TV or read the headlines in the paper and you will find that we are in fact mere men and women who can fall fast from the facade we put on to those around us. I would like to point out that the statement I have heard all my life is acutely accurate right now, "but by the grace of God, there go I". Each one of us has things in our lives that we would not want broadcast on the local news. I was studying some literature from my life group today and they had an excellent little article on the six pillars of character.
*Trustworthiness -be honest and reliable; do what you say you'll do.
*Respect - follow the Golden Rule; use good manners, not bad language
*Responsibility - do what you are supposed to do; do your best
*Fairness - play by the rules; share; listen to others
*Caring - be kind and compassionate; help others
*citizenship - cooperate; be a good neighbor; obey laws and rules; respect authority

Sounds just like the lessons my Mom and Dad taught me growing up, but it bares repeating.

Cracker barrel

I awoke this morning, not by choice but because our puppy Clay has been programmed to wake up at around 5:45 each day. This is a necessity during the week because I must be at work by 7 a.m. however, Saturday should not begin before daylight.

This morning Clay was his usual happy, peppy, energetic self and Rachael and I sat on the sofa like lumps on a log. We did not talk or even acknowledge the others presence. Then all of the sudden she said I want blackberry pancakes from Cracker barrel, I thinking pecan pancakes sounded pretty good myself, said, "sure". After a quick check on the net to see what time they open, 6 a.m. we were off!

The roads, were rather empty and things seemed quiet until you reached the cracker barrel parking lot. Surprisingly to us the lot is full of people who rise early to eat breakfast and socialize with other people. We parked the car and wandered into the restaurant and were greeted by a group of cheery faces all hollering "Good Morning"! We responded with a nod of the head, still awaiting our coffee, and headed to the hostess. She asked, "Two?", and both Racheal and myself with our quirky sense of humor turned looked around us and said, "guess so". Why do they ask such stupid questions so early in the morning.

We proceeded to a table and our waitress came, looking pretty tired herself, but efficient and before we knew it we had in front of us an order of blueberry pancakes and an order of pecan pancakes and a side of bacon to share. After gorging on our hearts desire, we returned home and it was not quite 8:15. It is not the Saturday morning I dreamed of last night but it sure makes the day interesting! Well with so much of the day ahead I better get busy and start cleaning and all the things that needed done.

Vanessa is our little bunny

A picture is worth a thousand words....

The babies are growing and doing well!

Well being the type person who likes a little excitement, I have chosen to bring home an new puppy at the same time my daughter was to give birth to my fourth grandchild. It has been fun if not somewhat tiring.

Clay and I went for a walk in the park tonight and he did really well. He was greeted warmly by everyone we passed. What is it about a puppy that draws people in? I thought that Clay was a big puppy but we met a Great Dane puppy that was three months old named Abraham and he was almost double the size of Clay. Clay made it around the entire 2.3 mile circle and I was glad I had brought a bottle of water when we returned to the car. He has come so far and even a police helicopter landing in the park did not frighten him. However we did avoid several very large and rather aggressive looking dogs.

Vanessa is doing so well. She had her first trip to the pediatritian and had regained 8 of the 10 ozs she lost. She is such a good baby and Grace is a very good Momma.
What a blessing to our family. She is just beautiful...what can I say I am her Goody!

Vanessa Lynn is Here!!!

6lbs 14ozs 19 1/2 inches long born at 1:28 p.m.! Grace looks amazing after a c-section.
Goody and Vanessa


She has lots of hair!
Vanessa with her Daddy and Grandparents

Vanessa with her Great Grandparents

A scheduled arrival!

Well our new baby is scheduled to arrive on September 21st at noon! Can't wait! Grace and Chris are ready too. Stay tuned for pictures of the new arrival!

Welcome Clay

We have a new member to our family! His name is Clay because he is the color of yellow clay; with just a touch of red on his back. We took quite a trip to get him. My soon to be son in law Chris has family that lives in Whitehouse just about 10 miles out I 10. We were there a few weeks ago for a baby shower for Grace and saw the most precious puppies. Rachael and I decided we would like to have one so after a week and a half of trying to work out the details we headed out to Whitehouse to meet our new puppy. Meghan; Chris's cousin said, "It will be a little drive out there about 15 minutes". After about a 45 minute drive to Lawtey Florida we arrived at a trailer with 6 of the most adorable puppies I have seen, 2 yellow and 4 black. The Yellow labs were both males and one was extremely large. His brother Clay was smaller and a little more docile. We spent about half an hour playing with all the puppies and watching them. Finally Rachael said she liked the same one I liked and we had our puppy. We had mauled over many names...Sandy (my favorite) Whiskey (Rachael's favorite) Beau but on the drive home Rachael said, "you know Mom he looks like yellow clay" I thought it fit and we named him Clay.

We went to the store on the way home and retrieved all the needed items and made it home after 9:30 p.m. We gave him a flea bath and some water and showed him his create. He walked right in and we gave him a pig's ear. He whined a minute but after I covered the top of the crate with a towel he did great! Rachael has set her alarm to get up with him in the middle of the night so that we can get started on housebreaking. I will take better pictures in the morning.

FAMILY

Family, if we are blessed we come from "good stock". We all have them parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, sons, daughters and other extended family. Our lives are either enriched or cursed by them. What is the importance of family and why did the Creator of the universe decide that we each needed to have one. Why not allow us to be born into a pack or herd or some other such group of humans. Why not just let us live independently, alone without the need for others.

I believe that God in his infinite wisdom knew that families were the very best places for people. Think about it, who else would love you if your family didn't? Who accepts us for who we are? I don't know about you but my girls are the only ones who would tell me not to wear something cause it makes me look fat! They love me enough to be honest.

Families are places we are born, places we are adopted or places where our common desires and beliefs bind us together. I have a church family. They are people who care for me unconditionally and will help me in any situation. I have friends who are as close as family. If I ever needed them, no matter what time of day they would be there. Family are people who you would lay down your life for. They are the people we love and who love us even on the bad days.

Several years ago I was watching one of those reality shows Fear Factor and it was one where the contestants were couples. Four couples to be exact, two were married and the other two were in committed relationships. They were given a task the female partner was placed in a cage and the door had a lock; they were then lowered into a tank of water where the male partner had to jump in the tank and retrieve a series of keys and attempt to unlock the tank to free their loved one. Of the four couples two continued the task until finished and "rescued" their mate. The other two gave up and swam for air. Wondering which ones stayed to the end? The married ones, they were the ones who were willing to commit to love, honor and protect. I don't know if the other two couples went on to marriage, it would be interesting to know.

My point is families give us a purpose and a place to feel connected. They are people we can depend on and who can depend on us. God knew what he was doing when he created families. After all it was the first institution, even before the church.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY GIRLS!

Today's the day we celebrate sweet Silvia and little Cait!

With wishes made, we did enjoy the frosting on our cupcakes!

Big brother Ethan, sat amazed at his little sister's and their messy ways!

Friends came from far, Tyler from Texas and near, Zander from westside, to enjoy the festivities!

Caitlyn was not amused by her sister's new shirt! The shame of blame! Although Mom (Ashley) and her sister Jessica enjoyed it.

Sharing Life

A distant love is what we have,
Will it always be?

Two who wish to be as one
Is that our destiny?

A second chance at love and life
Could we really hope?

Moments snatched from busy days
Is that what life's about?

Can there be a future?
Where happiness abounds?

Or will we find the years go by
and no one is around.

Longings of a lady in love

If I had wings....

If I had wings, I would fly
to places far beyond.

Away from turmoil's, cares and strife
to peaceful, quiet, calm.

And there I'd find a perfect place
to live and laugh and be.

With those I love and care for
to have them there with me.

We'd spend our days in carefree ways
to walk, to play, to rest.

I'd leave behind the world I find
for wings you know are best.

For PCL, Let's fly! ILY

My Heart

As I sit to write this I hear the word HONESTY ringing in my head. I have always valued honesty. I have always felt I am an honest person and expect others to be honest with me. I guess that is why I appreciate it when someone comes directly to me to discuss differences, or just ask for honest answers.

Recently that happened, a dear friend who has known me for a great many years asked me to come and talk. I was apprehensive when I sat down, but within a few short minutes I was feeling better. We talked about years past; the struggles we had been through. The encouragement each have given to the other over the years. We spoke of feelings of loss and abandonment, of learning how to protect ones self by keeping others at a distance. It was a time of clarity and also the reopening of painful memories. It always amazes me how much of our lives is shared with others, especially good friends.

I was reminded today of what it is to be responsible to others, not just ones self. What it is to feel called to a purpose and how one can lose sight of that. I struggled to explain my decisions. I know what I feel, I know to whom I have given my heart and I must now reconcile my life with that choice.

I will always struggle to do what is right, and follow my heart.