Just Call Me Grace!

Hi All!

Thanks for the sweet comments yesterday. I'm going to make a true effort to chat with you a bit more!

In trying to decide on my topic --out of the list I left yesterday, I thought I would try to articulate the one episode I KNOW you're all wondering about. How can a fairly normal, close-to-middle-age woman FALL out her own back door? Well, I can tell you it was NOT a pretty sight!

No head injuries this time! Thank you, Lord!!!!

I was heading out to work with my normal full [stadium sized] cup of OJ/Sprite Zero in one hand, the other hand was full of purse, book, and keys. Just before I opened the door, Mr. Fix-It called; so I was talking to him and holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder (remember both hands were full). I was trying to step around the full 33 gal. trash bag sitting in the middle of the doorway. As I stepped around the bag, out the door and onto the step -- I stepped just right onto a crack in the blocks and rolled my right ankle really, REALLY bad. Instead of doing my normal spread-eagle Superman [flying] impersonation; I went down hard on my left knee. It was really graceful.

I screamed as I went down and it hurt so bad, I started crying as I hit...okay, let's get real...I was sobbing!!!! Remember, Mr. Fix-It is still on the phone...I'm sure he didn't know what to think! So as I'm trying to get myself together, Spooky, the dog comes running up the steps and began alternately licking my face and licking the OJ out of my cup. I had managed to keep the cup upright except for just a few sloshes over the side (told you it was graceful!)

Can you get this wonderful image in your head? Me on the top step, down on one knee, crying and being licked by the dog and YELLING at the same time. As soon as I could catch my breath, I start yelling for Bex to come...of course, she was already on her way from the back of the car where she had been loading trash bags of clothes (hence, the bag in the middle of the doorway) --wondering what in the world was happening! [But mostly trying NOT to laugh!] All I could do was sob and yell for Bex to "COME GET THIS PHONE!!!!" I was afraid I would drop it into my OJ and ruin the drink!

It was quite an episode. After Bex had assured her Dad that her mother would probably LIVE...she managed to help me "unload" so that I could get up. It took a few minutes to walk off the searing pain and get it to a livable level. But other than one really tender ankle, one scraped and sore knee, multiple screaming leg muscles and a severely bruised ego..I managed to make it through that day. It took a couple of days of walking carefully, but I'm back to my normal graceful self these days. You can bet, I've stepped gingerly out the door ever since!
Too bad the video camera wasn't available...we could be winners!

Stay tuned.


And for those wondering...YES! I DID finish drinking the OJ on the way to work--surely you know I couldn't waste that wonderful stuff! [Bex says "EWWWWWW"]

Where've Ya' Been?

Can you believe it's been very nearly TWO MONTHS since I posted here? Would you believe that I had to look up my password? Oh, my goodness that was a strange feeling!

Over the last few weeks, I've been gently nudged by some and not-so-gently nudged by others to get back to BloggyWorld. For those LURKERS who fuss at me while I'm in line at a FUNERAL visitation (you KNOW who you are!!!!) I will say to that person (who shall remain nameless)--girl, you better COMMENT now that I'm doing this just for YOU!

Okay, that's not true. I'm not really doing it just for her. Another reason for my return to this platform is that my bloggy-friend, Chel, has been touting a trip to Hawaii on Facebook, which made me decide that in order NOT to be jealous of her blessing, I must get back to writing down all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on ME!

I thought today, Mother's Day, would be an appropriate day to get back to posting in BloggyWorld. Especially since my true reason for blogging at all (sorry Stacey) --has been the desire to leave a written testimony for my sweet Bex of her growing up years. The last two months have been full of milestones in our lives, but I haven't made time to write things down. I'll try to correct this in the coming days.

A few of the milestones include: Bex's new baby girl, Grandpa going home to Glory, my niece's trial, me being laid-off from my job, Bex's first church solo in our Easter program, my nephew's wedding, Bex's grown-up decision-making skills regarding Camp Charis, me getting bi-focals, my niece's surgery, my sweet friend Mrs. Becky being called home with Jesus, Bex finishing her first year of college and me and Bex singing a duet in the BIG service at our church. Oh, wait...I forgot me falling gracefully out the back door...can't forget that one!

Does this sound like enough to keep me busy for a while? As I try to tap on each of these events, I'll try to keep from writing a book about each one (yes, I know...famous last words). So stay tuned, my bloggy-friends --if there are any of you still left out there. It doesn't really matter, I'm doing this for my future grandkids. Maybe it will make them smile!

Stay tuned!

Happy 71st, Mama!

Today would have been my mom's 71st birthday. Instead, Jesus took her home to Heaven 30 years ago (this Sunday); three days after her 41st birthday. We choose to celebrate her BIRTH date and her wonderful life instead of the death date.

Over the past few weeks, in the "bloggy planning" section of my mind, I had planned to celebrate this special day with lots of pictures of Mama, Daddy and all of us kids. Unfortunately, I'm on a special mission out of town this week, and I'm not home to upload those. But a little serendipity of my mission, is that I was able to spend a good bit of time with my Daddy today. We had lunch and a great time riding around, looking at my old stomping grounds, seeing all the changes and reminiscing about "the good old days." So, instead of the upbeat, fun, picture-laden post I planned...you'll have to settle for this somewhat melancholy post while I'm out of town without Mr. Fix-It and Bex.

So, here's the deal: I've REALLY been missing her lately. I just want my Mama! I don't know why I've seemed to miss her more this year, than last...I mean, come on! It's been THIRTY years!!! But I guess I'm just seeing so much more what SHE missed not growing old with us and it makes me sad. It also makes me sad to realize what "I've" missed over these past years without her! Everytime I hear about someone "not getting along with their mother" I just want to shake them and tell them how much I would give to be able to "get along" with my mom or nurse her through an illness! It's hard to appreciate what you have right in front of you, isn't it? Especially when things are hard. I had the same problem when she was here with us. My perspective has changed.

My Bex is 17 1/2 now. I was only one year older (18 1/2) when Mama went to hang out with Jesus. I look at Bex and think how young I really was back then and yet, I thought I was sooooo grown up! Age can really change your perspective, can't it? I must say, God has sent some wonderful women into my life to fill this gap...but it still just ain't the same! I want MY mama!

My mom got to see her first grandchild, but she missed numbers 2-11. She was at my oldest brother's wedding, but missed the next three. I can only imagine how proud she would be of all her grandkids and a terrific Grandma. She would have been proud of her children, too! She was all of 5'2", sort of quiet (like me! NOT! LOL!!), but you had no doubt when enough was enough! She knew how to get things done and she didn't need the accolades or praise when she did things behind the scenes for someone else. She was the glue that held so much of our family together. She would have NEVER put up with some of the petty family squabbles that seem to plague our family right now. She would have made everybody kiss and make up or wish they had!

Today, when Daddy and I walked into a restaurant for lunch, we saw some familiar faces at one of the tables. When I realized it was one of my old friends from high school, I went over to speak to her. After our initial hello-how are you's, she said she recognized my dad when he walked in, and saw me and at first thought it was my mom with him...then she thought, "no, that can't be"...and realized it must be ME! It's not the first time someone's told me I look like her, but today it was really special for God to remind me that I carry her likeness. That made my day!

I have no doubt in my mind that Mama would NOT wish to be back here on earth...and if we truly knew what awaited us at the Savior's feet, I doubt we would wish her back...but that little niggling pain in my heart does wish her back sometimes! For purely selfish reasons.

I know our wonderful Creator has a plan for our lives, losing Mama was part of that plan for me, my brothers and my Dad....but I still wonder ... Someday, I'm going to ask Jesus "Why?" And I know that I'll be wrapped in His arms when I get my answer...and it will be enough.

Stay tuned....and oh! Go call your Mama and tell her you love her!

The "Other" Becky ...Chapter 1

BOOK ALERT! BOOK ALERT!!
I may have to break this into "chapters"...cause I can't tell it short. Just so you know...

Today seems to be the day for me to tell you a bit about the "other" Becky in our lives. Why today? Because today marks her 66th birthday!! More than likely, it will be the last she will celebrate here with us (...and we've been saying that for several years!). Yes, knowing this makes me a bit sad, but I also rejoice that God has seen fit to bless our family so richly over the past 5 years or so, with really getting to know such a lovely lady...and I don't use "lovely" lightly! She's truly lovely inside and out!

Mrs. Becky (as we call her) has qualified for Hospice care for 4 or 5 years!!! Do you know what that means? To qualify for Hospice, the doctor has to certify you have 6 - 12 months to live. Each year you have to be re-certified. So despite her doctors' best guesses, she's been living the last 6 months of her earthly life for nearly 5 years! Anybody who has known her very long is not surprised.... She is an amazing woman! She has the determination of a steam locomotive! Just try getting in her way!

You see, Mrs. Becky has MSA or Multiple Systems Atrophy. This disease is in the Parkinson's family without the shakes. Actually, the disease attacks all the systems of your body in a degenerative fashion. She went from walking, to using a walker, to using a scooter, to a wheelchair and now is bedridden. Even though she is bedridden, it took this disease a long time to get her down that far!

When she could still walk, she would be walking along and then would just stop...we used to say her transmission would shift into neutral until she could get her brain to shift things back into drive. Sometimes that was a second or two...sometimes lonnnnngggg minutes. Can you imagine not being able to hold your eyelids open...not because you're sleepy, but because the lids won't open on their own? You have to reach up and hold your eyelid up if you want to see something. Can you imagine reaching up to scratch your nose with your hand and having your arm get stuck in that position and not be able to move your hand away until your brain shifts back into gear?

What about your tongue? Try talking or chewing without moving your tongue...because it gets stuck in one position, too! Over time, more and more of her "systems" have quit working properly. Sometimes things work, sometimes they just shift to neutral for a few minutes or even an hour or more. (Last week she told me she was having trouble keeping her mouth shut. We laughed together when I told her I had the very same problem ---wayyyy too often!) But that's just her physical body. Her mind is as sharp as ever and her heart continues to shine through.

I met Mrs. Becky for the first time over the telephone about 8 years ago. She called as part of our church's outreach program. We had visited the church, and she was the one who got our card to contact us. We hit it off immediately--talked for nearly an hour on the phone! She lived right up the road from us and was a horse nut just like our Bex. She made it a point to speak to me pretty much each Sunday thereafter. Shortly after we joined the church, she was struck with this terrible disease and it started taking her down. Over the next 3 years, we would see each other at church, but we were just acquaintances.

Then about 5 years ago, I heard through the Sunday School grapevine that she needed a bit of help at home and ...long-story shorter...since my girls were home schoolers and I wanted to help them learn about serving others, I started taking them to Mrs. Becky's house every Wednesday to help her. Bex was 13 and K was 15. Mrs. Becky and Bex hit it off right away being "horse" people...sharing their names didn't hurt either! Mrs. Becky fell in love with K right away because she recognized her hurting heart and knew she needed lots of unconditional love. K soaked it up!!!

The first couple of Wednesday's, I stayed and helped...but then it became VERY clear that she liked having the girls WITHOUT me! This was great for me! It gave me a free day to run errands, meet friends for lunch or whatever and it gave Mrs. Becky two teenagers she could boss around and share her life lessons with. It was a wonderful arrangement for us both. My girls would do the "little" things for her that she couldn't do for herself anymore...water her plants, brush the dog, sweep the porch, decorate for holidays, weed the flower beds, help her go through boxes, clean closets, reorganize drawers, etc. They LOVED their Wednesday's at Mrs. Becky's. Sometimes she worked them hard, some days they played. The playing might involve makeup, movies, manicures or any number of other "fun" activities. She basically adopted them as her grandchildren. I liked the "grandmother" part because it gave Bex a chance to have a "real" grandmother relationship like I did growing up! Bex continues to spend each Wednesday with Mrs. Becky doing simple chores. They still have fun...just different now that Mrs. Becky can't supervise as closely as she once did.

The picture on the right is from May 2007's Mother-Daughter Tea at our church.

I wasn't privileged to know Mrs. Becky in her younger days like so many of her old friends in our church. I've heard a LOT of stories--not all of them flattering! Although, she has been greatly loved --she apparently was a very outspoken, bossy, determined, perfectionist (and still is!) that probably drove a lot of her friends crazy...now God has mellowed (and perfected) her into one of the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful, giving, loving, and greatest champions for Christ I've ever known. Her ministry now is praying for folks and witnessing to her un-saved caregivers. She has taught me and my girls sooooo much over the past years. Although, each day it seems harder to watch her fade, I can't imagine having missed out on such a blessing from the Lord.

Someone commented on my "Cynthia" post saying that I had too many wonderful friends. Well, we all know we can NEVER have too many wonderful friends! I think God has seen fit to bless me with some really extraordinary Christian role models because He took my mom when I was so young. He knew I needed these women in my life to teach me those special things that she didn't have the opportunity to teach. Kind of like the old saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window." He has let me look through some AMAZING windows!

More tomorrow....with pictures!

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Meggy...

Yes, I know I planned to blog 2-3 times a week this year... I can't believe I haven't posted for 20 days!!!! So much for plans. I guess my focus is just on other things these days. I'll try to do better.

I don't know where the days go. On second thought, I DO know where the days go...its the evening hours I tend to lose track of. My days are fairly steady going to work, coming home, etc. But the evenings seem to speed right on by. It seems I just get home, then look at the clock and it's already 11 pm!

Since I last posted, our Women's Ministry enjoyed our annual retreat in Norman Park, GA. It was quite a change from our past retreats. I'll try to get my pictures uploaded and share a few things with you soon.

This weekend, Bex is back at Camp Charis at a SALT Weekend. S-Servant A-and L-Leadership T-Training. This is a teen youth group at its very best. One of the best activities we've found for our sweet girl. It sure is quiet here at home when she's not here. I'm ready for her to be home tomorrow night.

Bex continues to do well in college. I'm especially proud of her work in her English class. Although I'm confident that she will do fine --away from my homeschooling, it's always great encouragement for Mom when she is able to do well under a "real" teacher!

Spook continues to delight us as he continues to GROW! He and Squeaky play pretty rough. It scares me, but Squeaky seems to enjoy it (in a weird way!). This morning, Squeaky was very restless lying in the middle of the floor. Mr. Fix-It seemed to think he needed a playmate, so we let Spook in the house.

It was so funny to see this huge dog take his big paw and knock the cat over and then put his mouth over the cat's head. Then the cat sits up on his haunches and swipes at the dog's face. Not hard swipes like he's scared --but swipes like..."two can play at this game!" It is so funny to watch. If Squeaky gets bored and quits playing, Spook will grab him by the scruff of the neck (like a cat's mother) and pull him over to him. Lest you worry about the cat, I assure you he can get away anytime he wants. It's easy to see they are really "PLAYing."

After a few minutes of playing, Spook got bored and just layed there. Then, Squeaky reaches over and bites Spook's paw and it all begins again. I wish I had a video of all the fun. We sure laughed watching them!

Today I've done a bit of catching up on a few things. I actually got the corner of my desk cleaned off. It was piled high with "stuff" that needed a new home, to be filed or thrown away. It seems to build up so quickly, I can't keep up. Now that's done and I can start dreading working on our taxes....the fun just never ends!

Stay tuned.

The Panama-Mama in My Life

This is my friend, Cynthia. She's from Panama and is probably my most traveled friend. This woman has traveled the world! She rarely stays home...it seems she's always on the way... somewhere! Cynthia is one of the busiest people I know.

We've known each other since we worked together before Bex was born. If it hadn't been for Cynthia, I would have been naked through the last half of my pregnancy with Bex (Okay...not totally naked!). She would come to work on a Monday and say "Here, try this on." And I would have a new outfit to wear with my huge tummy. Did I mention she is an amazing seamstress? Nearly all my maternity clothes were hand-made just for me! She doesn't have much use for patterns for herself anymore. She just sees fabric she likes, buys it and sews an outfit. This is her idea of fun.

She has a lot of other amazing qualities, too! For example, she has a fantastic talent for being a friend. She collects people. She gathers people into her family on a daily basis. And once you're in her family...you're her family! She doesn't let you go!

This woman has mentored and nurtured countless teenagers and young college students as they passed through her home. They may have been there a week, a few months, and some a year or two. Her home is always open to friends and family...and this woman has a LOT OF FAMILY!!!

Though she has no biological children, she has a lot of "daughters" and a whole passle of grandchildren all over the world. In fact, she's Bex's "Chocolate Grandma." Yep! You see, Cynthia believes what the Bible says about "loving one another." Anyone who knows her feels that love whenever you get within 10 feet of her! She exudes love.

She also has a contagious smile...this woman SMILES!!!! She also laughs. She loves to laugh! You can't help but have a smile grow on your face as you talk to her...it's just not possible.

Even though we haven't worked together in about 18 years, we have remained friends. She's one of those friends who you may not see or even talk to for months -- but when you finally do get together, you feel so close. I'm sure you all have those friends.

When we had lunch together a few weeks ago, I learned that she's preparing to retire in a few months. When she retires, her plan is to move to the Tampa area to be around her family there. She deserves some peace (there will NEVER be quiet around her!), but I don't want to give her up!

I'll miss her, but I know one thing...she'll never let me OUT of her family. That makes me smile through my tears.....

Stay tuned.

More Spook and Squeak

Let me just state right up front that I am not a "big dog in the house" type person. I'm not opposed to other people having dogs in their home. I like dogs.

When Mr. Fix-It and I first married, I had to adopt his bulldog-child, Major. Major lived just like a child in our home until his death in 1990. Since then, with the exception of one tiny Shih-Tzu we had for a few months, we have not had a dog in the house. Cats, yes. Dogs, no.

No dogs in the house...until now. I don't know why. Maybe, because Spook is such a sweetie, he has been spoiled and allowed inside. WHY is he any different than our two other dogs? I can't put into words the WHY of this. He's just different.
















Here are a couple of pictures of his sweetness...and his desire to just be near somebody...ANYBODY will do...even the Squeaky, the cat.



Bex informed me this morning that Spook slept IN her bed with her last night. She said he was really warm to cuddle with. Ewwww! He smells like a....like a... DOG!


Stay tuned.

There's Within My Heart A Melody!

It's Wednesday night (okay, technically it's the wee-hours of Thursday morning...but to me it's Wednesday night --until daylight on Thursday). Bex and I got home from choir practice a bit after 9 pm tonight. Choir? Yes, choir. (More about that later.) When we got home, I changed clothes, ate the last bowl of homemade soup, chatted a few minutes with Mr. Fix-It, fussed at Bex to get off the computer and go to bed, then went to bed myself.

Not sure what woke me up, it must have been the rain. Or it could have been dumb Boomer barking at the wind blowing. Nevertheless, I'm awake now because this crazy blog post was floating around in my head and I couldn't go back to sleep. So, I figured I'd just as well get up and type it out so that I could go back to sleep.

As I was laying there, I realized "church" is not something I've really talked about here. Sure, I've given my testimony, mentioned a connection with Women's Ministry, but I haven't said much about our church. I started to put "the church we attend"...but then I realized its not JUST the church we attend...its OUR church! We're a part of it, however small. We're a part of all the people in our church. They're our family...even the weird ones...and they KNOW who they are! (Just kidding. They probably don't know who they are! LOL!)

Anywho (that's for Kelley), since the purpose of my meanderings on this blog is for my future grandchildren's history lesson, I thought I should tell you a little about our church and some of our activities there because it is a big part of our life. Being mindful of the fact that a few folks (like Ms. Naggy) from our church occasionally drop by The Pine, I still want to be a bit transparent and hope it doesn't come back and bite me somewhere in the nether regions.

We've been members of our church since 2000. It's the biggest church I've ever been a member of. In size, it's probably in the top 10 of all churches here in Tallytown. We didn't set out to join a big church. Being a small town girl who grew up in a small church --in a Youth group of 2-- BIG, wasn't really on my radar. I'll leave out the essay about how we came about joining this wonderful fellowship of believers (Careful, I can hear the Hallelujahs!), but there is no doubt in my mind that God put us where we are for His purposes.

We have three services each Sunday morning and two full Sunday Schools. "Our" service is the earliest at 8:15 AM. I know you're rolling your eyes thinking there is absolutely no way on earth that Meggy-girl is in church barely after sunrise each Lord's Day, but I promise...it IS THE TRUTH! Blame it on Mr. Fix-It and him being an old man who likes to get up early in the morning even though his wife and daughter are NOT morning people.

All of this to tell you about the choir. Since long before we joined, our church has been known for its fabulous music program. This was an important part of what drew us to the church in the first place. The tradition has continued and our choir is fantastic! Our church is so blessed with amazingly talented musicians and vocalists.

I love to sing. After my dad got saved when I was about 8, he was quite zealous. So we had a little family group that sang in church. My mom would play the piano and Dad, me and my three brothers would sing. I'll never forget:

Life is like a mountain railway,
With an engineer that's brave;
We must make the run successful,
From the cradle to the grave;
Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels;
Never falter, never quail;
Keep your hands upon the throttle,
And your eyes upon the rail.

The "group" didn't last long, because my mom didn't like to play the piano in public. Later, when we moved to Bronson, my grandmother was the choir director at our tiny church and nobody could sing bad enough not to be enlisted in the choir! Singing was a HUGE part of my teen years in high school; I sang as a choir member or soloist at 4-H events, churches, and civic events. I actually sang a song as part of my Valedictory address at my high school graduation. Believe it, I have it on video!!!

Before Bex was born, I sang to her. When she was tiny, tiny, the only thing that would soothe her croupy crying was singing "Jesus Loves Me." When I get to Heaven, I'm planning to ask God how many verses I've sung of that song, surely its close to a million...most of it within three months with terribly loooooonnnnnng nights! When Bex was a toddler we sang ALLLLLLLL the time, I (and she) loved it.

Even now, we sing all the time. But since I'm only a passable singer, over the past 10 years or so, I haven't been part of the choir or any organized group for a variety of reasons. I did sing in the choir for a few months after joining our church, but God made it pretty clear to me that this wasn't His plan for me.

I know you're asking why that is... I'm not sure why, probably because my heart wasn't right...or I needed instruction elsewhere...I'll get a clear answer on that one day, too, but for now, I'm content to know that He wanted my heart in Women's Ministry,which is where I've served for quite some time. But now, He's released me back to the choir for a time along WITH my work in WM.

Our Minister of Music, Jason, is a young, whipper-snapper kid from Daytona Beach. He's not even 30, for goodness sake!!! (He's also an anonymous blog stalker that stops by The Pine on occasion, but never leaves a comment, so I have to tread carefully here....) When our search committee first met and interviewed him, their glowing report back to the church was that he was very, very young...BUT! Well, I'm happy to say there's an immeasurable bunch of love for the Lord and love of music contained in that BUT. We are so blessed to have him lead us in worship each Sunday and Wednesday.

Now back to choir. Jason has been bugging me and Bex to sing with the choir for over a year (they'll take anybody! LOL!!). Even though his sweet wife thinks nobody can say "No" to him, I did! I said no for over a year and I had good reasons...I'm a Sunday School teacher and a WM leader, a homeschool mom, a volleyball team mom and Mr. Fix-It's secretary and bookkeeper. Oh, wait! I'm also supposed to be a WIFE!!! somewhere in there, too! Mr. Fix-It has only so much patience with my extra-curricular activities. But this year, with all the changes in our lives and Bex in college, God seemed to call me back to music ministry. In Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God, he says that God speaks to us through prayer, His Word AND other people. Of course, having 10 people every Sunday morning harass me about joining the choir had absolutely NOTHING to do with it! So, after talking it over with Mr. Fix-It, Bex and I joined the choir at the beginning of January so we could sing with the choir at 8:15.

It's been a great experience so far. Even though Jason is just a kid (sorry, Jason...its true!) he still picks a wonderful variety of great music for us to sing (with the exception of a few we won't talk about here...can you say Handel?). He also does a terrific job of running choir practice. He keeps things moving and orderly so you don't feel like you're wasting your time sitting there while Miss Suzie (made up name...) chatters away. He also keeps things fun. His enthusiasm is quite contagious! Now, as we work on Easter music, Jason always shares the scripture behind the words...makes it even more meaningful as we sing.

Our choir special last Sunday was "Bow The Knee," one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. God sent a fabulous soloist from Atlanta to us to make it even more wonderful! It was such a joy to be a part of the presentation.

Bex is really enjoying it, too! She got a great start in her elementary years singing several years with the WaterOak Children's Ensemble. The director for WaterOak was very good at training children's voices and teaching them proper enunciation and breathing. She has a much more beautiful voice than her mom, so it makes my heart sing when I listen to her.

With my homeschooling days pretty much behind me, I'm thankful God has given us a chance to share our love of singing together. So, look out! Here comes another season of my life...

Stay tuned.

Drive-By Blogging, Spook and My BIG God!

How are things in Bloggy-World? I really need to catch up on all my favorite haunts and see what other folks are doing. Surely I will find life more interesting elsewhere. Not more blessed...but more interesting!

Now, if you want to know what is happening on FaceBook--then I'm your girl! I've been spending WAYYYYYYYY too much time there. I know now why folks are addicted...cause I'M ADDICTED!!! Don't ask me why its so cool, I couldn't really tell you. But it IS fun! It's kind of like the shortened version of blogging. I know, I know...you can't believe I would LIKE the shortened version due to my lack of brevity right here! But I do like it. You don't have to really have a topic. It's kind of like "drive-by" blogging --- or "hit and run" blogging. For those FB'ers, you know what I mean.

Over the past few weeks, (in addition to FaceBook) we've been busy "getting back to normal." Remember normal? We're starting to get there.

Nothing much out of the ordinary going on around here, but we've centered a lot of our attention on the new puppy. Remember him. He's about 5 months old now...1/2 Australian/1/2 German Shepherd. He's growing like Bahia grass! (For any of you that don't know, Bahia {say: buh-hay-a} grows FASTER than weeds!)

He is just the sweetest dog and a real attention hound. When he lays around, he just wants to be touching you...his head laid on your foot, his foot across your foot, your hand on him *anywhere*, or anywhere in the vicinity of Bex. He's absolutely greedy when it comes to attention.

He has a doghouse, but instead of going in...he'll sit right in front of the door, out in the cold and rain. What's up with that? He's so smart about everything else, we don't understand his problem with the house. We even went to the trouble of trading one house (that he wouldn't use) for another house our other dogs love. But he won't use that one either! I feel so sorry for him when its raining, but figure he must just like the water.

Over the past week we've had such cold weather he's been spoiled and allowed in the house overnight. When he's in the house--after the initial excitement--he's the perfect gentlemen and mostly sleeps beside Bex's bed. The only "accident" he's ever had was his first night here. Since then, he hasn't had any problems.

He loves the kitty. Squeaky, the kitty doesn't particularly like being 'loved' by the dog, but he doesn't make him stop. Spook's favorite thing is to lay down beside the cat and lay his front paw over the cat's back--holding him down--while he licks him and grooms him. We keep telling Squeaky to pop Spook in the face, or bow up at him, but Squeaky just lays there and takes it.

Here's a picture with Squeaky UNDER Spook. When I first walked in, all you could see was Squeaky's head poking out from underneath the dog...but when we went for the camera, he let Squeaky move away.

He's turning into a beautiful dog. His puppy "fuzz" is giving way to beautiful, shiny, wavy hair.

Yesterday, Bex was walking home from down the road with Spook. Our neighbor's gate was open and all FOUR of her nearly grown dogs came running and all jumped on Spook. Our neighbor was right there and pulled her dogs off, but not before Spook got a few gashes and BIG trauma. (Our neighbor was horrified too!) Anyway, after cleaning up the cuts and putting some medicine on them, he and Bex are pretty much "back to normal" today.

I'll also be spending time working on our 6th Annual Women's Retreat. I can't spill the beans here about all the fun, exciting, relaxing, wonderful, things we will be doing until AFTER the retreat...because some of the crazies ladies who read my blog will be going to the retreat...and we want all the fun to be a pleasant surprise. As of today, we have 92 ladies going...but I know several more turned in their registrations today... Whew! It's gonna be interesting.

Life is good at The Pine, God continues to bless us so good (yes, I know it should be "well"...) I can't praise Him enough! I'm reading a Beth Moore book, studying the life of King David. In her commentary on David facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17), she notes that we should let David remind us to

"Measure the size of your obstacles against the size of your God."

I've taken that to heart....really.

Stay tuned.

Contumacious, That's Me!

con·tu·ma·cious
adj. Obstinately disobedient or rebellious; insubordinate.

I'm feeling this towards all the folks on television that tell us that Mr. Obama is the savior of the world; and as such, we must all fall into line and be good little cows and follow the herd mentality for the "good of the country." I refuse to leave my brain at the door, as so many seem to have done already. I prefer to check facts, compare history, and look at the BIGGER picture rather than just what will make ME feel better.

Perhaps it's wrong to feel so contumacious...but this is my new word and I'm sticking to it. I plan to use it quite regularly for the next few years, so you'll need to learn it.

Although no one would ever make the mistake of thinking I have even a nodding acquaintance with fashion, I also disagree with all the talking heads and fashionistas on television this morning. Personally, I thought Michelle Obama's dress (for the inauguration) looked like it was made out of drapery material. My mom used to have curtains like that. With limitless money, her good figure, and all the colors of the rainbow. She chose that? Ummmmmm....

Now that I've had the audacity to disagree with the news media and this world's savior, I'll be expecting the Secret Service on my doorstep by nightfall...they'll have to come through the puppy poop...hope they wipe their feet...but that's another story altogether...

Okay...I've let it out...I HAD to say something...I'm done.

I'll try to be less contumacious at The Pine. I'm working on choosing only to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and are of good report like Paul told the Philippians in Chapter 4...it's a constant battle...guess I need to quit watching television altogether...

Stay tuned.

No Pictures Today!

Hopefully, dear readers, you'll forgive me for the lack of pictures today. It has been a good day, but I refuse to archive it with photographs. That may be breaking Bloggy-World rules...but I'm afraid you'll have to use your imagination today.

This morning I rousted Bex out of bed about 6:30am so that we could go to the dentist in a town about 50 miles away. Our appointments were at 9am. We were both a bit nervous. I hadn't had much dental "work" since teen braces --and Bex had NEVER had a cavity filled. So we were a bit out of our comfort zones.

Even knowing that I was a bit nervous, my dear sweet Bex SLEPT nearly the entire trip over... Wow! Thanks so much for helping me keep my mind off things, Bex! Then when she finally woke up --she had the audacity to make fun of my "music." Yes, they were oldies...but definitely goodies.

We arrived on time and looked forward to checking out some of the cool magazines (since I don't subscribe to ANY!) In fact, they didn't give us any time at all to change our minds! I hardly set my purse down in a chair before the nurse was calling my name to "Come on back!" They took Bex in within a few minutes, also. Did I mention this is a GREAT dentist?

It was kind of interesting, actually. The new partner (his daughter) worked on Bex, and the old guy (the dad) worked on me. He came in, sat down and started talking to me. He applied the topical anesthetic and continued to sit and talk to me while he waited for it to work...then gave me the shots and continued to talk to me. I'm used the dentist coming in, leaving, checking, leaving, etc. I enjoyed it.

We had an interesting conversation about solar water heaters, his dream of building a monolithic dome house so he could live completely "off the grid." Hmmm...very interesting. He also tried to sell me his 4-bedroom house in Gainesville right down the road from my brother. He bought it for his daughter to live in while attending school at UF...and hasn't been able to sell it since she graduated and moved out in May. I also heard about his trips to Alaska to have clinics for the natives.

Ah, yes. I knew you would be interested...LOL!!

Anywho, (I hate it when people say that...but..) we made it through the ordeal. In fact, I felt so good on the way home, I didn't bother stopping to get the prescription for pain meds filled. The dentist said he didn't think I would need to have it filled and that Ibuprofen would probably be enough... Au contrair! After arriving home and taking a short nap --the anesthetic wore off!!! How do you spell...EEEEYYYYYEEEEEOWWWWWWW!!!! Needless to say, about 4pm I was headed back to town to get some DRUGS, baby! Not to be mistaken for baby drugs! I wanted the full-blown grown-up ones!!!

Now, as I write this I'm mellowed out and the pain is controlled down to a low roar, if you know what I mean. So I thought I would share this with all of Bloggy-World since some of you have been hearing me whine for too long about this terrible tooth --that is GONE, GONE, GONE! Hallelujah!

Stay tuned.

Getting Old, A Bad Tooth and Some Fun Memories

Getting old is not fun. My teeth are falling apart. Yes, I remember my mom warning me about chewing ice...but that was supposed to be a problem when I'm OLD!!! Now I have a HUGE pain in my mouth. It's a molar that broke in half last year after losing a big filling the year before. I've alternately writhed in pain and been perfectly fine since then. Over the past week, it has leaned much more to the pain side. So I'm "biting the bullet" so to speak and have a dentist's appointment in the morning for the extraction. I would appreciate any prayers you might feel like offering up around 9:30 am eastern time.

That said, I'll post a few more pictures from our Christmas Eve festivities. First, though, let me say our "festivities" were a bit subdued this year--and I'm really lamenting that fact. (Must be the tooth pain making me so melancholy.) I've come to the conclusion that it was subdued because we only have ONE little one these days. Our Christmas Eve's used to be so lively and L*O*U*D!!!! with 13 grandchildren running around. But with the oldest being 30 and the youngest being a 9-year old, things are more sedate and (might I add...) B*O*R*I*N*G!!! But we had a good time anyway. With such great food, it surely can't be too bad! Next year, I think we're going to have to import some kids. Any of you want to offer yours?


This monkey was hanging out in a tree looking for Santa and his reindeer. Yes, monkey's can climb trees in flip-flops!

The monkey also celebrated her 9th birthday on the 23rd. So, Christmas Eve was just a continuation.

























As it so often is after church, it seems we spent more time "leaving" than we did "staying."

This is my youngest brother (26 and SINGLE!), Beau. He was hamming for the camera and didn't believe I would be bold enough to post this lovely picture for all the world to see. Beau...NEVER, EVER dare your sister!













My dad and step-mother listening to all the "after-party" discussions, stories and lies. We were all "leaving"...remember?
















Most of you don't know my almost youngest brother, Alan. (He WAS my youngest brother as we were growing up...but then Beau happened. So, now he's my almost little brother.) If you did know him, you would have absolutely no trouble figuring out he is telling a story...probably full of lies...but always entertaining!















This is Sable (Alan's 2nd daughter) and her latest beau, Austin. You might remember him from Thanksgiving...standing on the fringes of the crowd...wondering how he got himself into this mess. Believe it or not, he came back for more!!!












Bex and Mr. Fix-It were enjoying the stories, too! Like I said, they are ALWAYS entertaining!


















Here is an inside picture of my sister Mandy and her husband, Erik. It was a rare treat to have them at Christmas Eve because they are with the traveling nurse program and have been in California, Texas, Alaska, or other faraway places over the last 6 years.






Since I was talking about my teeth before... just a little FYI.

Do you know how we know that a country, redneck invented the toothbrush?

(Here's where you say, "No, I didn't...How do we know that?")

Because if it wasn't a redneck...it would have been called a "TEETH-brush!"



Stay tuned--it could be worse!

A Few Christmas Surprises

Just a quick post... trying to keep to my resolution of posting at least three times per week. Today, I'll reminisce about a few surprises at Christmas 2008.

This big guy started off our Christmas surprises.


Meet the newest member of our family ...

~~SPOOK~~

He's actually only 4 months old...we're hoping he'll be HUGE! That's his main purpose in our family --to be scary.

His mom is an Australian Shepherd and his dad is a German Shepherd.




Spook doesn't look particularly scary here. But when he's bigger, we're hoping he makes "shoppers" think twice before lifting things from our home or property.

Look at those feet!













Notice a particularly fuzzy ornament? It's right in the middle of the tree.














For some reason this little kitten liked sleeping in the branches of my brother/sister-in-law's tree. He was so cute!










We were surprised on the day after Christmas to have my uncle and aunt from Illinois breeze through. Aunt Barb (in the middle) is my mom's oldest sister. When she's around, I'm so reminded of my mom's mannerisms.

The squirrel hunters on the right and left. Maria Elena cooked the squirrel...but if you'll notice...the bucket of KFC was quite popular!

Another surprise, not quite so pleasant, was the mild December weather. Most of the kids were in shorts and flip-flops or barefooted. Not very "Christmasy" if you ask me!



The biggest SURPRISE at Christmas (although it really didn't surprise many of us) was my niece, Tiffany's, engagement ring!

She and her boyfriend Jake --who have been dating for 8 years --decided to get engaged!
Auntie M says "It's about time!"








Tiffany and Jake... the night BEFORE!

See! He's still smiling. After two weeks of "wedding" talk, he's not smiling quite as big. Heeheeheee!




Stay tuned for more Christmas memories.

Back to Normal? Not likely.

Since ringing in the New Year last Thursday, I've been contemplating life getting back to "normal." It was during this serious contemplation that I realized that I have absolutely no idea what "normal" should look like around here!

What does "normal" look like for you? Maybe you can give me some pointers.

Well, whatever "normal" is, life around The Pine has taken on a small semblance of routine, at least. Mom and Dad are back at work, Bex will be back in school starting Thursday. Routine feels a bit more "normal," doesn't it?

We have some new "normals" too! For example, the last three nights we've been able to eat dinner around the dining room table. Does that sound exciting to you? Well, I can tell you I've been absolutely THRILLED about it!!! (MamaWeso asked me if I "finally cleaned the table off!") NOT!!!

You see, I've been living post-business for FIVE years! This means, when we closed our automotive business in December of 2003, we moved all the office stuff into my dining room. That means computer desk, filing cabinets, boxes of files, etc. took over MY space. In order to do that, the dining table had to be moved out. So, we've been eating on TV trays --OR if we had company-- a card table in the middle of the living room or on the deck-- for the past 5 years!

At first, it was no big deal...kind of fun...convenient. But as the years have gone by, I've lamented over the lack of a central eating spot. So, before Christmas, me and Bex got busy re-arranging that area --she wanted a REAL Christmas tree--and that seemed to be the best place for it. I kept in mind that with all the changes --when the tree was gone, my table could come back! Wahoo!

Before supper last night, I asked Bex to "set the table." She remembered plates but forgot that we need silverware set out, too! How can I blame her when her training has been so lacking over her teen years? Hopefully, these things will come back to her very quickly. We did have some really fancy-folded napkins, though. (She learned how to fold napkins at Camp Charis...Thanks, Mr. Craig!)

So now that we have a table, I have much more gumption to cook--we can actually sit down together as a family. I've actually cooked two nights in a row...and tonight makes THREE!! (So, for the person (I don't know who it was) who was worried about Mr. Fix-It losing weight...let me assure you -- IT AIN'T MY FAULT!!! I've been keeping him in Raisin Bread for awhile now.)

Many other things will probably come closer to "normal" in the next few weeks. Bex and I are still adjusting to both of us having vehicles, me having a job, and dealing with the new puppy. With our annual Women's Retreat coming up next month, I'm sure January won't "settle in" to "normal"...but I'm not worried. Like Mark Lowry, one of my favorite Bible passages is "And it came to pass..." Yep, that's my favorite part...IT WILL PASS! So, as I look forward to what God has in store for The Pine in 2009, I'm sure of only one thing...It will be interesting!!!

Stay tuned!

Weekend Adventures...Away from the Pine

Oh, my goodness! It's already been five days since I posted. That is so hard to believe. I guess I've been busy. I have to go to work sometime today, so I better type fast!!!

Since we last talked, I've put nearly 1,000 miles on this old body. Thankfully, it's been mostly riding/driving in a car.

Wednesday afternoon we headed back to Chiefland to my brother's home for New Year's Eve festivities. We enjoyed some of the BEST oysters EVER that night. Here's a picture of me enjoying one...

My brothers and husband were very sweet to do the work shucking so that I could enjoy. We had them straight out of the shell and roasted over the fire.

This picture shows (from L-R) my little brother Alan on the left with the hat, my SIL Jeannie waving at the camera, Mr. Fix-It just above her head, CJ and Bex over on the swing, me sucking down an oyster, and my oldest brother Chuck. All of the men were busy shucking oysters...this takes much concentration.


We must be getting old, because we barely made it to the New Year awake! Folks started heading home about 10pm...so by midnight, we were all stretched out on the couches in front of the television trying to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop in Times Square and the guy jump his motorcycle up on a building in Las Vegas. Oh, the excitement! LOL!!

After a wonderful lunch on New Year's Day and me SMASHING the other gals in Tri-Ominoes, we headed back to Tallytown arriving home about 11pm.

On Friday, I re-packed my clothes and headed back south to Chiefland alone. When I got to the Suwannee River I decided I had better fill up with gas. My fuel gage wasn't showing that I was really low on fuel, but for some reason it seemed important to fill up before getting to Chiefland. So, I'm figuring it took me from 5-8 minutes to accomplish this. (Yes, I know you're wondering why I'm going into such detail...just hang on...I'll tell you!)

After filling up, I headed on down the road towards Chiefland. As I came to the first traffic light (where I usually turn to go to my brother's home) there seemed to be dozens of flashing lights --from police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. The traffic was stopped on both sides of the 4-lane highway. The emergency vehicles were still arriving at what appeared to be a serious car accident. Whew! It was quite a sight.

I called my SIL to help me re-route around the accident which was fairly easy. But as I was driving through the very dark night to their home, it occurred to me that had I not stopped for gas, I could very well have been in that intersection and involved in the accident 5-10 minutes earlier. Have I said, "God is Good!"? I'm convinced it was His urging that had me stopping for gas that night.

After arriving at my brother's home, we had wonderful grilled hamburgers and I gave my SIL a re-match in Tri-Ominoes. I beat her AGAIN! Wahoo! This is extremely rare, because she usually trounces me.

After my victory, I headed to my dad's home in Bronson. I was going to stay with him so that we could leave for S. Carolina at 7am on Saturday. We were headed to a memorial service for a cousin who died on Christmas morning.

The fog was so dense on Saturday morning, my dad woke me up early so that we could leave earlier. The fog was like pea soup in some places, so I'm glad we weren't feeling rushed!

We made it to Beaufort, SC just in time for the visitation time. I met several cousins for the first time. It was the first time in many years that I had seen my great-aunt, who will be 90 years old this year. It was her daughter, Carolyn, who died after a long battle with Alzheimers. At 89, my aunt has a clear mind and is quite spry for her age. It was a delight to have the opportunity to talk with her --even at such a hard time for her.

After the memorial service, at noon, we headed back towards Florida. My dad doesn't believe in letting any grass grow while he's away! LOL!! We spent about 10 hours together with nobody else to interrupt us --except for a few cell phone calls. It was wonderful! At 71, I'm thrilled to be able to spend time with him.

We made it back to Bronson about 7:30. By 9pm, I was sacked out in the bed! Why does 'riding' make you tired? I surely don't know.

After a terrific breakfast of cheese toast and hot chocolate, I headed back to Tallytown...just in time for my Sunday afternoon nap.

It was pretty upsetting to me that Bex and Mr. Fix-It seemed to do just fine without me! What's the deal there? Friday night, Bex cooked a nice supper of BBQ chicken, smashed taters and green beans. Why doesn't she do that when Mom is home? When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, they had just returned from church and Bex was cooking pancakes. Hmmmm....I'll have to make a note...she CAN cook when she wants! Me thinks she is going to "want" to cook more often!!

Thus ends my weekend adventures. God is good all the time!

Stay tuned!