Just one phone call

Just one phone call was all it took to brighten my already fabulous weekend at retreat.. Saturday morning my son Luke called me, I think it was 8:30, waking me up after being up all hours of the morning.. He said "Well we did it, we did what you have been asking for." I replied,"You got Nolan's picture taken!" (My last pic was his one year and he will be three on the 20th!

Luke assured me that was not what I have been wanting them to do...my mind was racing...what could it be? I swear I couldn't think of anything but he said for me to think harder. The only thing that came to mind was another grandbaby, so I said "Well, the only thing I can think of is another grandbaby but you all have made it clear that that is not going to happen ."

And he said.."OH YES IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMGosh!! I am getting another grandbaby!!! How cool is that? They go to the doctor tomorrow to get all the details so we have several months to go. Since this is probably going to be their last, is it to much to ask for a girl since I have two boys????

Over already!

Ohio kiddos!
My DD, Annie, Me and my DD Katie!

North Carolina Cuties!!
Heather, Cyndi, Kandi and Doris

Alabama Gals!

Pat, Carol, Jessica, Rose and Kandy

It is so hard to believe that just one week ago today gals from three stated converged on Gatlinburg for a weekend scrapbooking retreat! I don't know why I always say Gatlinburg because we have NEVER stayed there! LOL!! It's always been Pigeon Forge or Sevierville! I guess maybe we should say we go to the Smokey Mountains...but I really don't know how accurate that is either because we really don't stay IN the mountains!! LOL!! Anyway..I really don't care where it is as long as everyone shows up.

This year we had 5 new gals and 7 charter retreat members there. Jessica started the retreat four years ago. We got a wild hair and decided we wanted to meet in person and not just online any longer.. First year there were 9 of us..that would make us the charter members....

So this year we had Jessica, Pat, Doris, Kandi, Katie, Annie and myself. Two of our charter members no longer come but we added five great gals this year...From North Carolina we added Cyndi and her daughter, Heather and from Alabama we added Rose, Carol and Kandy..we would have added Brandi from Ohio but bless her heart she lost her grandfather just a day or two before we were to leave so we posted her picture on the wall and talked to her as we went by..She was missed and I am confident that next year she will be there....

The time goes by entirely to quickly and of all the pics I have seen so far..we had one fun filled weekend. We laughed so hard! Everyone should try to attend one retreat where you can meet some of your online friends. Wonderful friendships have been made here!

Part of our trip is a visit to the Scrapbook Superstore in Pigeon Forge..They have a store just for their clearance items!!! Needless to say that is where I do most of my shopping but they have a huge regular price store full of all kinds of goodies.... After the shopping spree we went to TGIFriday's for supper..then back to the lodge for an all night scrap! This is tradition!

I managed to get 8 layouts completed which is a record breaker for me I think. I just enjoy visiting the other scrappers and talking while they work. Cyndi was our leader with 18, I believe followed by Jessica with 17! I think the average was right at eight! So I knew I was average! LOL!!

Plans are for a scrapbooking cruise in April of next year so we will probably have to change our retreat to the fall if it is feasible. It will be a wonderful chance to get the pics of the trees changing color if we are able to pull it off.

Time to go!

In just a few short hours the girls and I will be heading to Gatlinburg for the fourth year to scrapbook with friends from Alabama and North Carolina! We have been together in several groups and have finally come to rest at ChitChattin_N_Scrappin, a group that I started last year. We will be returning to the same Lodge at Gist Creek that we went to last year and I can't wait! Five new ladies will be joining us and I know that they will be back next year!!

I plan to take plenty of pics to share and I will have to find my scanner disc so I can upload them when I get back.

To all the gals in all my groups that may read this..take care and I'll be back on Tuesday!!

I am blessed!

I know that Katie has talked to you all about her client's mother who is morbidly obese..to the tune of close to 600 pounds...What I don't know is if she has told you the role she has taken while assisting Abe's mom with appointments for the bariatric clinic..They have an older van but it has to be driven to get her anywhere and Kate has given her time to see to it that she gets to every meeting, appointment, test, class..you name it..and she has stayed with her through it all and then brought her back home.
She has become an advocate for obese people in that she let the bariatric clinic know about the fact that all of their patients are large and yet they have normal doors that even their wheelchairs won't go through!
She has requested prayer at church and with anyone she knows who prays to ask the Lord to let Sue live through this and with minimal complications. She realizes that without the surgery she is probably going to die anyway.
Kate has prayed with her on numerous occasions and has assisted the family with things that do not fall under the job description.I am so proud of her! She really gets it! She really understands what God put us here for and that of course is to be of service to others.
So please pray that God will protect Sue and that she will feel the Holy Spirit comforting her through out this process. Pray for Katie..she is going through her own physical issues that no doctor can seem to find the fix for, yet she gives of herself to help others . Pray for Sue's husband who doesn't handle things like this well. Pray for Abe who is mostly bound to his wheelchair too. This is his mother and well, moms just have a bond with their kids that makes it tough for the kids to endure times like these.
I think I shared last month that my son, Luke called and said he had gotten saved at church...Well, he is enjoying his church to much and this past weekend was my "Date Night" gift to him and Monica and my "Playtime" with my grandson, Nolan. I spent the night and went to church with him in the morning and then Katie and Annie came down for the evening service where they had a Singspiration. Katie sang two songs and I can not even begin to express the feelings and emotions that I went through that evening.
I had to take the Eli-boy down to the nursery so I ended up sitting in the back for the rest of the evening and I was able to see my son and my daughters and I thanked God so many times because I have been soooo blessed. Katie uses her God given talent for the Lord. She never takes it for granted or takes credit for her voice, only giving credit to God. When she finished her second song...she got a standing ovation!! I had never seen that before in a church!
The people were so moved..so much so that one of Luke's friends called him the next day and said.."I know you said your sister sang like a bird but I had NO clue she was so good. I really felt the Spirit there and I have carried her around with me all day! I was so blessed!"
My dad has had a heart attack and like most people who experience that ..he cries at the drop of a hat! All he has to know is that Katie is going to sing and he starts sobbing! Well Luke and Annie both said that they felt like my dad and they couldn't fight the tears. That tells me that God definately has His hand on them and her and she is fullfilling the task that He wants of her right now..
As I sat there looking at my kids, I thanked God for them and that while I did try to raise them in accordance of His will, I failed miserably and not to long ago I was praying that He would at least harvest the seeds that I had planted but that He would do the job I didn't do.
In a time when kids are so disrespectful, so head strong, self willed..I have been so blessed to have three WONDERFUL kids! Everywhere I go someone is telling me how much they love my kids..What a compliment!!! Yes it took nearly 11 years to get Luke, nearly 3 more to get Kate and then God blessed me at age 39 with Annie! I cannot imagine my life without them.
Did I say that I love my kids??? lol Thanks for letting me share this and thanks in advance for the prayers you will offer up for all involved..Sue's surgery is shortly after 6 AM tomorrow. As I type this Katie is sleeping at their house so they can leave on time in the morning.
I guess I should mention my SIL Alan and my DH Jim who have watched over the Eli-boy without so much as a grumble so Katie could fulfill what she feels is a calling from God in this situation. I guess you just have to be in the middle of something like this to fully understand how God is in control....

And Life Goes On...Vicki

Annie did it!!

She made Varsity cheerleading for her senior year!! Bless her heart she has been working like crazy to get into shape and to master her tumbling. Not an easy task for someone who is 5'9"...She has been taking lessons and practicing so hard.

She cheered her 7th and 8th grade and her first year at Shawnee High School but then transferred to Greenon and was not allowed to try out the first year there. Last year she just didn't try out so she was worried that she wouldn't make it. Whether you want to admit it or not..there is alot of politics in school sports and she just didn't think she would fit.

If you have not seen her, let me tell you , she is beautiful!! Not because I am the mom but because that is what everyone tells me, well maybe some because I am her mom! LOL . If you go back a few posts where I have a pic of her and Eli in the snow you will see for your self. Anyway, Annie has alot of spirit and a contagious smile. She is very precise in her moves so I felt confident that she would be noticed and survive the weeks tryouts. She did and she found out the night before her birthday!

Today she is 17! Where has the time gone?? It won't be long until the nest is empty but I know she loves us and will be seeing us alot when she decides to move on..until then I am going to try to concentrate on making all the time left of her high school good. But she is my change of life baby so it may not be as easy as I am thinking.

I would be posting pics but my printer is not acknowledging my computer so I have to remove the program and redo it but I cannot locate my disc. I guess I'm going to have to pray about that one too..lol

Just checking in...

Didn't realize that it had been so many days since I was here! Been really busy..working ridiculous hours and have had to take the Ju-Ju to the doctor and will again on Saturday!.. I am really spent, but I did get my color swaps completed and out the door and took care of some business related stuff.

I really need to find my Disc for my printer so I can remove the program and re-install. Once I do that I will be able to upload some pics again and maybe generate some interest here..

Anyway, It's late and I need to turn in.. I have missed checking all the blogs I follow.

Praise the Lord!!!

When your children are small you teach them the stories of Jesus and hope that something sinks in. In our church we do not baptize babies because they have no idea what is going on and are not at the age of accountability yet so we dedicate our babies.. We take them to the front of the church surrounded by family members and pledge to God to raise them according to scripture. The entire congregation pledges to be an example and a witness to them too.

Well, it's kinda like marriage..you take a vow before the Lord but there are times in the marriage where you don't do things necessarily the proper way, your feelings and emotions get involved and all of a sudden you aren't treating each other in a way pleasing to God. Then you work things out and you pray and ask God to forgive you.

I have been praying that for some time now. I know that even tho my kids watched me live for the Lord that it doesn't mean that they will follow in His steps. Even more than that I know that I didn't do all I could do for them spiritually so I found myself praying that God would do the job I didn't and asked Him to forgive me for it.

My son has always been my confidant. Even tho he ran a lot with his dad, Luke and I could talk about anything and he never shared it with anyone else. He knew I was pregnant 3 months before I told his dad!! Well I was 39 for crying out loud..it was a shocker to say the least and I wasn't sure how Jim would take it. Things were a little shaking at that time. I should have known that he would be thrilled tho. Anyway, back to Luke...he never gave us any trouble, a great student, solid in his thoughts and didn't have any problem letting people know that he would not be swayed. But according to scripture, if you believe it, which I do, no one goes to Heaven unless they commit their hearts and lives to the Lord. John 3:3.

Luke and Monica moved to Blanchester which is about 50 minutes from here and the Church of God (home based in Anderson In) has a small church there. I had asked the pastor to contact them and invite them to church. For some reason the pastor just didn't get there so I asked our pastor to call him. Shortly after that he made a call on Luke and Monica and of course they weren't there so he called again later and finally met my son. But nothing came of it. Then one day on his own Luke went, one of his friends was there to his surprise and had told Luke that he had gotten saved.

A couple of weeks ago I stayed a Saturday night so the kids could have a date night and I could play with Nolan, my grandson... A method to my madness!! LOL!! and the next morning I went to the church with Luke and the people were just wonderful. So warm and friendly, coming up to me to shake my hand and welcome me there.. They had an evening of singing with different groups and individuals singing and then went to the Family Life Building and had cake and ice cream for those who had birthdays and anniversaries in February. Luke went back for that and called me saying how much he liked that church and the people in it.

Well he went to church this morning, and I have certainly taken the long road to tell you that Luke gave his heart to God this morning!!!! I am so excited on one hand but nervous on the other because I believe everything the Bible teaches and I know that Satan is furious right now and is going to try to do everything in his power to tear my son down.

If you are a praying person please lift him up...if you do not believe in what I have been saying here please don't take offense and think I am preaching..I am merely sharing a wonderful moment in my life.

The moral of this story for me is that God does everything in His own time and while I was pushing for that pastor to get to my son, God knew exactly how long it would take to reach this moment. So if you are praying for someone or something and you feel like God just isn't listening..don't fret, exercise your faith because God knows what he is doing! "Be still and know that I am God." He said. Psalms 46:10