Comments? How do you View?

Hi there Familia,
I am curious to how you see these? -Please don't say "with my eyes" - Most of you get these via e-mail because that is the way it is set up. When that happens do you get the pictures as well?

Do you ever read any other blogs? Are you familiar with a comment section? The reason I choose to blog is that it is like an ongoing journal of our life that on one hand can keep you in the loop because we don't get to talk as much as I would like too. And secondarily, I want the kids to be able to have a place to come back to and review their life in a round about way. SOOOO....if you ever feel inclined to send us or the kids a message in the comment section - Please do. There is a little button at the bottom of a post that says "comments" - just click on it and follow he directions.

If you are a regular "blogger" you can follow my site. It will be on your read list each time I post. It really is that easy. You can save it as a favorite.

Hope you are all having a wonderful day! I am at home with a sick baby boy :(. Actually, he is on the mend - getting over a left ear infection, sinus infection, and pink eye! Battling fever since Sunday night - but today he has felt like a million bucks compared to earlier this week!

Love to you all!

I thought I was going to cry....

This morning Luke and I were getting reading for church. It is just the two of us today. Daddy is still in "New Hampster" for training.  Emma and Dougie don't come home until tomorrow from their Mom's house. Anywho..... We had just finished our showers and I was helping him get dressed. Luke was putting on his robe and noticed a book on his changing table. ( Yes I still use his changing table - it makes a great shelf; not to mention I don't have to get in the floor to dress him.) The book was entitled "What Time Is It?" So I cheerfully responded breakfast time! He got down from his changing table and said, "I need to read my Bible." I said "Ok, Later, we need to eat breakfast first." He proceeded to go to his book shelf and grab his Bible, "I need to read my Bible at the table." He went to the breakfast room sat at the table and proceeded to let me pour him a bowl of cereal while he opened his Bible and told me a story from the pictures.

Now I just have to tell you where he gets this from. If we do not think our children are watching us - good, bad, or when ever - we are wrong. Doug reads his Bible at the very same table almost every morning. I guess Luke sees him and wants to be like his Daddy.

Now another little influence in Luke's life is "his Dougie". I wonder who taught him this trick?

Haiti

I don't know where to begin. I guess with yesterday, I received a text from a friend of mine in Atlanta that read Annie is in Haiti right now - She and the kids are OK. My mind was quickly jerked out of work mode. Granted I had not turned on the TV or listened to a radio all day. I had no idea of the tragedy that had occurred in Haiti. I got online to see what happened in Haiti - I was expecting to see some sort of war tragedy, but to my unexpecting suprise it was far worse. The bodies piled on top of each other, the rubble of the buildings that someone once called home. The devastation - I know we have so much... lights, clean water, heat, just a few things that come to mind. My children sleeping in the room next door is the greatest of all. I have no idea but I do know that God is Sovereign and in the midst of all this tragedy and devastation. He has a plan and a purpose. Right now, there are many diaster relief agencies collecting money. If you can't donate money, then pray for the relief workers, pray for the victims, and pray for my friend Annie. I bet she lost some friends yesterday.

"New Hampster"

I'm not so sure if you all know but Doug has been out of work since August. He spent that time going on may different interviews from Home Depot to the FBI - yeah right - but he was really searching! He finally landed a job and started this week! Thank you Jesus! We had to take him to the airport this morning to send him off for two weeks of training in New Hampshire, but Luke calls it "New Hampster". It is too cute to hear his little voice say that.

The kids painted pictures for their Dad this afternoon for me to put in a care package this week. Emma's is really sweet and reads "keep your faith". Awe....

I ended up taking the kids over to their Mom's house, who happens to be moving into a another house this very weekend. Dougie is pumped because he will be getting a bedroom to himself and longer have to share with his two little brothers over there. Emma has always had her own room because she is the only girl. She loves being the only girl. Of course Luke cried saying I want my Emma as we got into the car.....

That is the really sad part of taking them to their Mom's house every other week. I know Luke is getting to the age where he misses them and knows they are not at our house. He has to wonder where they are.

December Ending and New Year Beginning

Wow, What a whirl wind the past few weeks have been. It seems like it has been forever since I have been on here. I have been reading a few of my blogs that I keep up with but I have not posted anything. I have some catching up to do.....

So let me take you invisible friends back a few weeks....

Coming home from Augusta one evening Luke and I had this conversation.
L: Mommy turn on the light.
M: Why do you need the light on?
L: I can't see my booger.

I was cracking up..... He actually had a booger on his index finger looking at it in amazement. Things that come out of their mouths.

The week before Christmas, my Grandaddy got really sick again. If you remember, he was in this same boat last year. This year he went ahead a got a colostomy and hopefully that will help his stomach issues which will in turn help his lung issues. It was a nasty couple of weeks for my Mom and Aunt Rosie around the clock at the hospital with him. Thankfully by the grace of God he is home and recuperating. Now pray for my Aunt Rosie, she needs her gall bladder remover soon.

So as I was on an emotional roller coaster whether to go Memphis to be with my Grandfather or stay with my Husband and kids for Christmas......(we were all leaving on Saturday after Christmas anyway) I chose to stay with my family. Which worked out because Granddaddy made it through his surgery with flying colors. Our big kids came back to us Christmas eve from their Mom's house and spent the rest of the break with us. We wrote our letter to Santa, left rice crispy treats, and went to bed.

Santa visited and the kids had a blast the next day. Luke was excited because he got to open some presents. He really understood that it was Baby Jesus' birthday! We read Luke 2 and really tried to stress to the kids how it would be in that day in time. Pics will post so you can see. The whole Santa is watching you thing did not work with Luke..... He would be bad and then say " Don't spank me, Santa is bring me toys".



Saturday we packed in the Tahoe and off to Mississippi to visit Mimi and Grandaddy. That was originally to be a short stop on our way to Oklahoma to visit more family but the weather had other plans for us. A wintry snow storm hit Oklahoma. As much as I wanted the kids to see snow, we had no business driving in that kind of weather when we normally do not! We shall save that visit for nicer weather when we can get out and play. I hate that we did not get to see our cousins, Uncle Buddy and Aunt Joy, but we will try again! So we stayed in Memphis and North MS a couple days longer than planned. Saw my Grandaddy home from the hospital, and made our way back to sunny Georgia.

We have been on the go so much with the kids since we have been home. I was looking forward to some down time..... Friends spending the night here and there, the New Years Eve Party. Which by the way - Luke made it all the way to midnight! Impressive! This has been a wonderful ending to a great year. A little quick and bumpy, but that is how we live.... things change constantly....as long as we keep smiling and can live with loving hearts then most anything can be accomplished.

I saw this verse the other day on a post I read and wanted pass it on. It could be good for a New Year....

Luke5: 36He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.

I am not into making new years resolutions, but I think this sums it up. You can't just put a patch on something that needs a real fix. If you keep doing things the same way, you get the same result. I encourage you to do something new and entirely different this year!

God Bless!