New Puppies

Well, I can't believe we've already acquired another dog this
soon...two actually! Puppies!! We said we were not going to get
another dog right away. Funny how puppies have a way of making
you change your mind (lol)! They are just too darn cute!!

We were at our pastor's house last night for the youth bible study.
In the summer, our youth pastor has bible study at various church members' homes...he teaches the lesson, then everyone eats and
swims. Anyway, our pastor's wife was showing us the puppies that her dog (which was not supposed to be able to have puppies) gave birth to. They are a Lab/Setter mix. Their dad is a black Labrador Retriever with some brown markings on his face, and their mom is a white Llewellin Setter with brown markings on her body. The puppies are just beautiful! They look more like the Lab, but they do have some features of the Setter. They should make awesome hunting dogs! But we don't bird hunt (not enough to train dogs, anyway).


So...how did we end up with two new puppies??? Glad you asked!
She's trying to place them in homes because they already have
three dogs and can't keep seven puppies. And her husband says
they have to go! Of course I can't say no to such cute little faces!!
So my daughter and I picked out two little fellas and off to home we
went with them. In this case, I felt that it would be easier to ask
forgiveness rather than permission from dear hubby...after all, he
wasn't there to be won over by their cute little puppy-dog faces.

When he saw them he said, "Honeeeyyy......." and I said, "I know,
I know, but I had to rescue them! They said the puppies that
didn't go to a home were going somewhere!" And of course, it was
only a matter of minutes until he was completely won over by
their cute little puppy-dog faces, not to mention their cute little
puppy-dog antics.

They did very well for the first night away from their family.
That's why I wanted two puppies. It has been my experience that,
when taken away from their families, puppies do better if they
have a sibling. We put them in the laundry room for the night,
with a baby gate separating them from the kitchen. They did
really well. We didn't hear them cry at all during the night.

So, although we had no intentions of replacing Scamp right away
(we really can't replace him), our two new additions, Maverick and
Rascal, are helping to ease the pain of losing him. We are glad that
God brought these precious little pups into our lives!

Summer Daze

Thanks to all of you who posted kind comments about the loss of our family pet. It is hard not seeing him run to greet us when we walk outside, but we are coping.

I'm sorry I've been away from my blog for so long, but it's been really crazy around here. Daughter's softball schedule has been taking up a good portion of our day throughout the summer. Rec dept All-Stars softball is over for us now; her team received third place in the district tournament and only the first place winner goes on to compete in the state tournament (awww). But she is interested in joining a travel ball team to finish out the summer. We'll see...

Here she is at bat

Here she is at the position of catcher

Oldest son has a summer job at a pizza restaurant to keep him busy and to put some spending money in his pocket! He's doing a great job of saving most of his earnings....Amazing how much more careful he is about what he spends his money on now that he is earning it, rather than receiving an allowance from us!

Youngest son is just having a blast this summer...playing with friends...doing nothing...enjoying the days!

Dear Hubby is doing what he always does...working...taking care of us. I know that he is counting down the days until we go on vacation...counting today, it's 13 days until we leave...woo-hoo!! We are going to the beach for one week (the gulf coast side of Florida). We can't wait!

And I am recovering from gall bladder surgery. I had the surgery one week ago today and I am recovering well...Just very sore, trying to take it easy and do very little until I heal. But that is hard for me...I'm not used to sitting around doing nothing! I spent the first few days in the recliner doing absolutely nothing (physical, that is...I had plenty of time to stimulate my brain through books, puzzles and games). Now I'm getting around pretty well, but still not 100 percent yet...hopefully by next week I'll be back to normal. My family has been wonderful through it all...waiting on Mom hand and foot, dividing up my jobs among themselves (in addition to their regular chores). And the meals from our friends have been absolutely wonderful! I couldn't ask for things to go any smoother than they have. I am thankful.

Well, now you are caught up on what's been happening in my life, so I'd better get to reading about what's been going on in yours.

Blessings!

Saying Good-bye...

Today is hard...We had to say good-bye to our beloved Scamp, our bassett hound. My dh called me this morning at 6:30, on his way to work, to say that he saw Scamp at the edge of the road. He had been run over this morning. We live on a dirt road, but we are close to the paved road where he was hit. I had to tell the kids...so heartbreaking. My youngest child doesn't know yet because he spent the night with a friend and is not home now. A dear neighbor from the dirt road behind our house stopped by on her way to work this morning to make sure we knew. She said her husband saw him this morning and moved him out of the road...and told me how much they would miss Scamp...how he came to visit them every day. Needless to say, we are heartbroken. Scamp was such a good dog...a good friend. But he was too much like his father...he liked to ramble. We knew he was always roaming off in the woods behind our house to visit folks, and rambling down the dirt road. He always accompanied us on our walks down the dirt road, and tried to follow my oldest son on his daily runs. We will miss him!

Graduation...And Life

Well, we made it! Graduation is over. Bittersweet...I didn't cry as much as I thought I would. God is gracious. He has sustained me. I know He will continue to sustain me. It was a wonderful ceremony. I have been to a graduation ceremony from this school a couple years ago and was very moved (and impressed). Amazing...every part of the ceremony pointed to God...praising Him through it all.

I am proud of my son, of his accomplishments. Yes, I'm thrilled that he's smart, and that he was salutatorian of his class. I'm pleased that he has been surrounded these last four years with Christian friends, who encourage each other in their moments of weakness. I'm so thankful that all of his teachers are Christians who share their passion for Christ on a daily basis. But more than this, I am so thrilled and thankful that my son has a passion for Christ and that he is in a vibrant, growing relationship with his Savior.

I know these are the reasons for the satanic attacks we seem to be under so often. The devil, our adversary, is roaming about, seeking whom he might destroy. I know he can't destroy our souls (because Jesus holds them in His hands, PTL!), but he does seek to destroy our Christian testimony! That serpent of old, the father of lies constantly tempts us in our areas of weakness. He seeks to entice us continually. He promises what he cannot deliver. And I sometimes grow weary of fighting the battle.

But I am so very grateful to my heavenly Father, for He hears me when I cry out to Him. He delivers me from the oppression. He holds me in His arms while I weep. And He delivers what He promises! He promises me rest. He knows that I am weary and He gives me rest. He is my Rock and my Salvation. He is my ever-present help in times of trouble. Praise Him for He is holy...praise Him for He is love...praise Him for He is my shield! I will glory in Christ alone!

Countdown to Graduation

Wow! I know you're getting tired of hearing me say it, but....life is moving FAST! Graduation is only six days away!! I'm not ready! I was hoping to have a scrapbook of his high school years ready for display on his graduate's table, but I don't know if that will happen...I'm only finished with his junior year. I guess I might be able to make it by graduation night, but I was hoping to have it ready for the graduate reception at church this Sunday night! I guess we'll see how fast I can work on it tomorrow.

Honors Day was held at his school this past Wednesday. He is Salutatorian of his class. His best friend (who will also be his college room-mate) is Valedictorian. It's a small Christian school; there are only 12 seniors. I've been so busy with end-of-the-year activities for him that we haven't accomplished much of what I'd planned for homeschool this month with my other children. I've already warned them that we will still be in "school" after he finishes. But that's okay...learning is for a lifetime. And I'd already planned to do more reading throughout the summer anyway!

May the joy of the Lord be yours in abundance.

Life

To quote my irl friend, "When did life move from fast to FAST?" That's definitely what it feels like around our house right now. Seems like everything happens all at once! I'm ready for summer now so we can slow down a little (sort of...daughter plays softball during summer, so we are on the go, but not as much as now).

FIL continues to improve (praise Jesus!). He is doing quite well with his therapy sessions. My dh teases him, saying they'll have him running steps before they're done!

Older son's baseball season is over now; we made it to the second round of state play-offs! However, he is in that "let-down" mode, kind of moping around the house because he has played his last "high school" game ever. I can tell he's in that transition mode; he's ready (sort of) to graduate and move on to a bit more independence, yet he's not sure if he's quite ready. Understandable...I'm not quite ready yet, either! Here are some pictures of the baseball games:

He plays 3rd base.

Younger son and mom

And yes, he did catch this pop fly; I just snapped the picture too soon! Timing is everything!

Here we are stopped at a Bass Pro Shop on the way home from the games. LOL, other people are there shopping and I'm taking pictures!

There were tadpoles in this water, and I was afraid I was going to have to fish my kids out (lol)!

Life is certainly moving forward. We've been having the best time watching the birds around here. Funny how last year we studied Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day and we didn't seem nearly as interested in the birds then as we are now! We've also had fun watching the metamorphosis of the tadpoles we collected. I've enjoyed seeing the colors appear in my yard, how everything has turned from the dull browns of winter to the vibrant hues of summer! And I say summer instead of spring because around here we experience maybe about a week of two of spring-time, then we charge right into summer! I really do enjoy this time of year! Except for the mosquitoes!

Recently, we met with some others from our home school group and learned about composting, and we were able to make our own smaller version of a compost bin to take home. Afterwards, the kids just played together and had a great time. We moms enjoyed the time of fellowship as well.

By the way, we finished reading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Spear today. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do. It is a very good book!

An Update

My fil continues to improve. He is residing in the rehabilitation/therapy unit of the local nursing home. The doctors told him he has to stay for therapy for 20 days; as of today, 5 days down, 15 to go! He is doing very well, but we continue to covet your prayers.

On a side note, he was released from the hospital on the day after the first case of swine flu was diagnosed in the state of Georgia; the patient was admitted into the same hospital where my fil was located. This pandemic has now hit "close" to home for us.

We will be traveling to north Georgia today for my son's baseball games. His team has made it through the first round of the State Play-offs, and is in the second round this weekend! It's a double-header today. Gotta love baseball!

Our Weekend

Spring is in the air! My nose tells me so (in good ways and bad). Spring Revival started at our church this morning...we've been able to spend more time outside (yeah!!) working in the yard...watching birds visit our feeders...watching the antics of the squirrels at our bird feeders...collecting tadpoles...older son enrolled in LifeSkills 101 (smile). And an update...fil continues to improve from surgery (PTL)...still in hospital...but walking some now. They are trying to regulate his blood pressure...he should be released from the hospital soon. It's been a good weekend! I'll leave you with some photos.

The cardinals are just so beautiful!

Notice his mate on the branch to the right of the feeder.

This is just funny.

Look closely to find the tadpoles...they're kinda hard to see.

Working in the yard

Life Skills 101: Changing the Oil

Son under the car

Daughter and dog had to see what was going on under there

This was worth just sitting, waiting and watching (what my husband calls "doing absolutely nothing")

Can you see his mate?

Field Trip

I have to say that I love field trips as much as my children do! And I always learn as much as they do! Today we visited a nuclear electricity plant.

Plant Hatch sits on a 2,244-acre tract that accomodates two reactor units in massive containment buildings and eight cooling towers, a turbine room the size of two football fields, a state-of-the art control room, an environmental lab, a high-voltage switch yard and substation, and a visitors center that is open to the public all year for scheduled tours. More than 800 people - including engineers, mechanics, reactor operators, lab technicians, instrument and control technicians, electricians and security officers - oversee the plant's operations and maintain its system and facilities.

testing for radiation levels

We learned how power plants produce electricity, how nuclear plants are different from most electricity-producing plants; we learned about things like fission and fusion, uranium and radiation. We learned how these nuclear plants maintain public safety. It was very interesting and pretty cool, too.

testing our knowledge (how well we paid attention

to the nice lady)

how much energy can we produce?

My Father-in-Law, Part 2

I am happy to report that we are praising Jesus from Central Alabama all the way to South Georgia! My dear fil came through his hip surgery wonderfully. God is so good! The doctors did not have to replace the whole hip, just the ball; so he will have an easier and a quicker recovery! God is so merciful! And during the surgery they did not put him to sleep completely, just an epidural, so he did not have to experience the horrible nausea that (for him) always accompanies the general anesthesia. Did I mention God is so merciful?

My dh is spending tonight in the hospital with his father. The doctors anticipate fil's release on Saturday or Sunday, followed by a 7 to 10 day stay in a rehabilitation/therapy home. Then he will stay at my sil's home until such time as she feels he is ready to be alone in his own home again. *Thank you, Jesus! You are so good!*

I am ready for my dh and dd to be back home, for us all to be together again. I don't like being apart. But I am glad that they were able to go. Thank you for praying! I am so glad we serve a God who hears us, One who responds, One who knows our needs before we even ask.

My Father-in-Law

The doctors decided not to do surgery yesterday. We're not sure why; they said his coumadin levels were in the target zone and that should not pose a problem. They just said they thought it best to wait. Some family members were a little miffed about the postponement; but I say God knows why we need to wait. He is in control and we will trust Him.

My dh decided last night that he and our dd would drive up this morning to be there for the surgery this afternoon. He felt that it would be best for our two sons and I to stay put for now. Oldest son doesn't want to miss any days at school (if he can help it) so he can exempt from finals. I am heading up a field trip for our homeschool group tomorrow...wasn't sure whether to postpone it and go on up with dh. And as for youngest son, I just knew what a long day it would be to spend at the hospital with him (the hospital is not in their hometown, so we would be just sitting at the hospital).

Now...after having said all that, I'm just not sure if it was the right thing to do. I know that all the other "stuff" we have going on is just that - stuff, unimportant stuff in the light of what really matters. It doesn't really matter in the long run if oldest son has to take final exams, if we miss AWANA tonight and a field trip tomorrow, or if youngest son is bored to tears and drives me crazy while sitting in hospital waiting room. However, dh really thinks this is what I should do and if complications arise, then the boys and I will just pack up and drive up there. Life is so hard sometimes.

Please continue to pray that all goes well with fil's surgery today.

Please Pray

Well, it's been a while since I've been here. Life sure has gotten busier lately. With three kids playing baseball/softball (lots of practices and games), along with getting things in order for my high school senior's upcoming graduation, I've not had a lot of time to spare for the computer.

Most urgent and pressing is the fact that my dear father-in-law (82 years old) fell and broke his hip. My sister-in-law called this morning at 6 am to tell me that he fell last night around 8 pm. They took him to the ER where they spent 4 hours, before they decided to send him to a larger hospital (about an hour's drive away). They had to spend several hours in the ER at the new hospital before they settled him into a room. As of early this morning, they were planning to put his leg in traction. They will have to wait to do surgery when they get his coumadin levels reversed, hopefully this afternoon, possibly tomorrow morning.

It is times like these when I wish we lived closer to home so I could help my sister-in-law. She takes care of her dad and her handicapped brother (the ones who came to stay with us for a week back in March). They do have a brother who lives closer to them, and he will drive down to be with them for the surgery. I always feel as if I am never fully able to do my part in helping out. The best I can do here on my end of the situation is to pray. I have a feeling, though, that we'll be making a trip up this weekend, if all goes well with his surgery (possibly sooner).

Will you join me in praying for him, that everything goes well with his surgery, and for his recuperation?

He is Risen; He is Risen indeed!

"He is Risen!" These were the words I spoke Sunday morning as I awakened my children on Resurrection Sunday. "He is Risen indeed!" were the sleepily mumbled replies I heard from each of them. Oh what beautiful words for a beautiful day! Reminding us that our Savior lives! That He conquered death and is sitting at the right hand of God, pleading for us!

(left to right) Will, Kate and Ryan

The worship service at church was so moving. The Children's Choir and the Adult Choir presentations were awesome! The Spirit really spoke to my heart. How much like the two Marys at Jesus' tomb I am...quick to forget what He has already told me. That I am His...that He bought me at a price...that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.

I am so very grateful that He loves me, that He saved me, and that He has given me new life. I love Easter and all the different ways we celebrated. Our homeschool group made a "bunny in the grass" cake to take to someone whose home was in the flood zone here. Our Awana kids celebrated His death and resurrection with the Easter Story and an egg hunt. The church-wide egg hunt and celebration was fun and meaningful. My family made a "jelly bean prayer" floral arrangement and Resurrection Cookies; we read the Resurrection Eggs devotionals each night. And we were able to worship our risen Lord and Savior on Sunday.

the bunny cake

Margaret and Kate hunting eggs at the Awana Easter Celebration

Will hunting eggs at the Awana Easter Celebration




My family - husband - Mike, me, oldest - Ryan

youngest - Will, middle - Kate

Easter is amazing...




Our Lord, and His love for us is amazing!

Making the Resurrection Cookies

We received this recipe many years ago when my youngest child was about 2 years old, and it has become our family's tradition to make these cookies on the eve of Easter. It's a nice, hands-on way to tell the Easter story. My family looks forward to this each year. If you're unfamiliar with this recipe, go to www.annieshomepage.com/resurrectioncookiestext.html so you can take a look and see what you think. When we make the cookies, I read the directions, my husband reads the Scriptures, and our kids make the cookies. I've posted some photos, as well.

Easter Egg Hunt at Church on Saturday

We had our annual church-wide egg hunt on Saturday, with our youth pastor sharing a very moving story of Christ's last week on earth, His death, and His resurrection.

The Easter Story, shared by our youth pastor

Kate, with the crown of thorns

Will, looking for eggs

and counting his eggs

Decorating eggs to take home