Linguistic Profile

Your Linguistic Profile:

55% General American English

25% Dixie

10% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I found this test at Riverbend Ramblings and thought it might be fun to take. I thought for sure I'd have more Dixie in me, but I was surprised to find out that I did not. Oh well. Anyway, you might want to take the test. If you do, let me know what your score is.

In the back is Kendra and then from left to right is Cassie, my Hannah in the pink shirt, Krista, and Chelsea.


The girls lost the final challenge giving the boys the challenge flag to put them in the winning spot, which caused my mother to get the pie in the face....Bless her heart! Daddy was the one that got to throw the pie. He enjoyed it way too much in my opinion. LOL


This is Brandon, one of our college guys. He was helping on the busses and in the classes or wherever he was needed this week, as well as delivering the pie.


The final challenge was when the boys and girls had to put a puzzle together on a flannel graph that said Fear Not Factor VBS 2006.


This is my poor, poor mother after receiving her pie. (((((MOMMY)))))


Brother Ken eating an earthworm. He promised the children if we had 400 in attendance one night this week, he would eat one. YUCK! We came just two or three short of 400 so he ate one anyway. EWW!


This is Mom actually getting the pie in the face. Notice the look of glee on Daddy's face.

Going To Lunch

I won't get to post the last of the "Why I Believe In Eternal Security" posts today. Maybe I can get to it tomorrow....or tonight.

Today, some of the ladies from church are meeting to have lunch at the Olive Garden. I'm looking forward to that. Then I need to stop at the store for some things I forgot when I went grocery shopping, wash and clean out my car, and get ready for our last night of VBS. I don't have to cook tonight because it's HOT DOG NIGHT!!!

Can y'all believe that I have forgotten my camera every night but one this week. Usually it's strapped to my side, but I don't know where my head has been!! I will have it today though. I'm even taking it on our lunch. :)

I was privileged to ride the bus yesterday to pick up some kids for VBS. That was a lot of fun. I had a good time seeing those little faces excited to board the big blue and white bus for VBS.

Well, I'm off. I need to fold some laundry and run an errand before I go to the church. Hope y'all have a great day!

Bible School

Just wanted y'all to know that we've been in VBS this week and we've been having a wonderful time. Last night we had 394 in attendance...That's a lot of cookies and cupcakes!

So far, four children have been saved, that we're aware of, and I'll have some pictures to post this weekend.

Our theme this year is the Fear NOT Factor. All of our verses have been on not fearing, of course.

Looking forward to tonight. See y'all!!

Why I Believe In Eternal Security Part IV

We know what salvation means and what our status in Jesus is, but where is our spiritual location and what do we possess?


Our spiritual location is in the heavenlies with Christ, In God's family, Translated into the kingdom of His dear Son, and Brought near.

In the heavenlies of Christ...Ephesians 2:5-6 "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

In God's family...Galatians 3:26 "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."
I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

Translated into the kingdom of His dear Son...Colossians 1:13 "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:"

Brought near...Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."

Now, take a look at what we possess with salvation: Peace with God, Eternal life, Sealng of the Holy Spirit, All spiritual blessings, Access to God, An advocate with the Father, Eternal redemption, Forgiveness of sins, Mercy, Eternal glory, Everlasting consolation, An Intercessor in Heaven.

Peace with God...Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"

Eternal life...John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Sealing of the Holy Spirit...Ephesians 1:12-14 "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Sporit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

All spiritual blessings...Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

Access to God...Ephesians 2:18 "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."

An advocate with the Father...I John 2:1-2 "My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (I LOVE THAT VERSE!!)

Eternal redemption...Ephesians 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

Forgiveness of sins...Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"
Colossians 1:14, 2:13 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the firgivenss of sins:
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;"

Mercy...I Peter 2:10 "Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."

Eternal glory II Timothy 2:10 "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

Everlasting consolation...II Thessalonians 2:16 "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace."

An Intercessor in Heaven...Romans 8:34 "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

Why I Believe In Eternal Security Part III

The verses that prove our status in Jesus are these:

Forgiven...Romans 4:7, "Saying, "BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED."
I John 2:12, "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."

Justified...Romans 5:1,9 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;....Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Titus 3:7 "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Risen with Christ...Romans 6:3-6 "Know ye not, that so many of us that were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Colossians 3:1,2 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

Reconciled...Romans 5:10 "For if, then we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

Accepted in the beloved...Ephesians 1:6 "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

Saved...Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast."
II Timothy 1:9 "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

Citizens of Heaven...Philippians 3:20 "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lrod Jesus Christ:"

Children of Light...I Thessalonians 5:5 "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

Not of the world...John 17:16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (That was Jesus speaking.)

Elect...I Peter 1:2 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you and peace, be mulitiplied."

Born again...I Peter 1:23 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever."

New Creation...II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new."

Complete in Him...Colossians 2:10 "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:"

Sanctified in Christ...I Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:"

Light in the Lord...Ephesians 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:"

A child of God forever...Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
Galatians 4:4-7 "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
I John 3:1 "BEHOLD, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."

Made fit for Heaven...Colossians 1:12 "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:"

Why I Believe In Eternal Security Part II

First of all, what does salvation mean? Salvation means eternal life, full assurance, strong consolation, and a hope....sure and stedfast.

Eternal Life...John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE."
I John 5:11, "And this is the record that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son."

Full Assurance...Hebrews 6:11, "And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end."
Colossians 2:2, "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father and of Christ."

Strong Consolation...Hebrews 6:18, "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

Hope...sure and stedfast....Hebrews 6:19, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;"

OK, so that's what salvation means. Now, lets see what our status in Jesus is. This is GOOD! Ready? We are Forgiven, Justified, Risen with Christ, Reconciled, Accepted in the beloved, Saved, Citizens of Heaven, Children of Light, Not of the world, Elect, Born again, New creation, Complete in Him, Sanctified once for all, Perfected forever, Passed from death unto life, Sanctified in Christ, Light in the Lord, A child of God forever, and Made fit for Heaven!!

I'm running out of time, but tomorrow, we'll look at the verses that prove our status in Him.

Why I Believe In Eternal Security

A few days ago, I had mentioned to someone in the blogging world that I was planning on doing another series, but this time on eternal security. I don't know if this will last as many days as the Lessons From The Geese, but there are some that wonder why or how we believe in eternal security and so I wanted to take an opportunity to share with you what has been gathered from God's WORD on the subject.

First of all, I don't believe in eternal security because it's the way I've been raised. I'll admit that my upbringing had a lot to do with it, but it is not the core of why I believe.

And secondly, my favorite verse in the Bible, or at least ONE of my favorite verses, is II Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." So not only is it not my upbringing, but it is also that I am not listening to a preacher stand behind a pulpit reading off a couple of verses while he backs it up with a message making me feel like if I do some sin without ever asking forgiveness, I'll die and spend eternity in Hell. It is because by studying God's WORD myself I have come to the realization that my salvation can never be taken away or given up. This has been an object of discussion amongst friends and family many times. We have even been told it must be nice to live under such an umbrella. It was meant as sarcasm, but I had to laugh because I really do think it's wonderful. And if the person who said that is reading this, you know I love you very much. (((((hugs)))))

And thirdly, you can't argue with scripture. It is there for a reason, if you don't believe it all, you might as well take your Bible in your left hand, walk to the trash can and chuck it in. Take it all or leave it all.

I think it is very important for a person who believes something to know WHY he believes it. So with that said, here is why I believe in eternal security.

Hebrews 6:4, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
This verse tells me that you can't fall away and come back! Oh, no!!
Oh, yes! Mainly because--you can't fall away. Romans 8:38 & 39 says, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What else is there if nothing in life nor death? Well, there's me! Can I separate myself? NO!
Phillippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Please be patient, God isn't finished with me yet, and he's never going to QUIT working on me.
II Timothy 1:9, "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
vs 12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
So take your pick...Romans is wonderful. I believe it's the one that inspired Martin Luther along with Galatians 3, O foolish Galatians...

Tomorrow I'll post more on why I believe once saved, ALWAYS saved.

Harrison Is Ready!!

I have three children. Three of my most cherished possessions. Justin, Hannah, and Harrison.

As a Christian mother, our goal is to lead our little ones to Christ. Justin was five. As most children, he had tons of questions before taking that final step of asking Jesus to save him. We had returned home from church one Sunday night and he couldn't take it any longer. Bruce talked to him by themselves in Justin's room and then Bruce called me in to pray with both of them. It was so sweet. The first person Justin called was his cousin, Michael. He said, "Michael, you have got to get saved so you don't go to Hell!! All you have to do is ask your Daddy and he'll help you pray." It was so sweet.

With Hannah, we had just started attending Faith where she was in the Patch program using the Patch Club devotion books for part of her Bible lessons in Kindergarten. They were focused on salvation and so after many days of questions, she sat at the dining table and said that she really needed to get saved because she knew if she didn't she was going to go to Hell and she didn't want to go there. "I want to go to Heaven, Mama, with you and Daddy and Justin, and Jesus." Bruce was at work but was so happy when he came home and found out that I had prayed with Hannah and she had accepted Christ.

Today, my third child took that final step. There was desperation with Harrison. He had more intense questions than Justin and Hannah. One day I spent an hour and a half just answering questions. He asked every question he could possibly think of. I had been putting him off because I still wasn't sure if he was ready, but he did keep saying he was afraid of dying and going to Hell. I had not felt the uncertainty with Justin and Hannah that I was feeling with Harrison, so I talked to our Pastor about it the other night. He helped me see that Harrison was ready to take that step and said that the next time he asked to get saved to pray with him. So now I was afraid that Harrison wouldn't bring it up again. I prayed and prayed that he would bring it up again. But he wouldn't....For days. I was beginning to grieve and it only made me pray harder. Finally, today, as we were driving to the church to pick Hannah up from a trip she had taken with her Denim and Lace group to our Pastor's home in the mountains, he brought it up. He started asking questions again and finally, his last question hit it home for him. "Well, when is Jesus coming back?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. It could be at any time."

"What do you mean any time? You mean like He could come back right now?"

I watched him from my rear view mirror and said, "yap, he could come back right now."

I will never forget the look of utter fear in those little blue eyes. Great big tears filled those blue eyes, he began to frown, grabbed his seat belt and began looking up into the sky, "Oh no, Mama, I don't want Him to come back until I get saved. I know I'll go to Hell!"

We were just a few feet from the church parking lot and I asked if he was ready to get saved now.

"Yes, I need to do it now. Right now!"

So when I pulled into the parking lot, I crawled into the back seat with him and we prayed. When we finished praying he said, "OK, now I'm ready for Him to come back."

How precious!

I LOVE the Anne of Green Gable stories. I love the movies too. But only the first two. The third one was not at all like the books and it lost her spirit and personality. Anyway, I found this quiz at Tammy's Times and thought it would be fun to see what character I would be. It was indeed fun. If you want to take the quiz, just click here.

Thanks for sharing, Tammy.

Are You More Cat Or Dog?

OK, I found this other silly test on Rhonda's Blog. Thought it was cute. Here was my score...And I must say it is quite accurate. :)

You Are: 70% Dog, 30% Cat

You and dogs definitely have a lot in common. You're both goofy, happy, and content with the small things in life. However, you're definitely not as needy as the average dog. You need your down time occasionally.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

What's your score??

I found this on Heather's blog and thought it would be fun. Try it out! Although it says I despise nerds, that is just not true. I have a lot of nerdy friends....You know who you are. LOL

My score was 5 which was "definitely not a nerd and probably very cool." :)

Vintage and Roses

In this first picture, you see little LH singing a song that his Grandpa sings in church often called "Headed Home." LH has been begging to sing for a long time. I believe he is almost three and he was not at all shy. It was funny.

The second picture is a picture of our Vintage Faith bluegrass group from church. There's my hubby there, back center, playing the guitar. We have two bluegrass groups from our church. Pretty much, the same people that make up Vintage, make up this group, with the exception that a female replaces two of the singers from Vintage. The other group is called Roses Among the Thorns....I'm the rose. :) I fill in for the group's lead singer's daughter, April, while she and her husband live in Wisconsin, as he is in the National Guard there.

E-cards

Some of you may or may not have noticed that I added a new feature to my sidebar. You can now send someone an e-card from Thimble Thoughts. There are a few that I have done myself. Please take advantage of this feature and brighten someone's day! Please keep in mind that this feature is a work in progress. Thanks!

Lessons From The Geese...Part V

This is the last lesson from the Geese. I've had a good time doing this series and I hope you've enjoyed reading it.

Fact: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two other geese will drop out of formation with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their flock.

Lesson: If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by our sisters in Christ in difficult times as well as in good!

I was very sick one time and unable to be at church for several weeks. It started with a stomach virus and then moved to my head and it took forever to get better. I remember getting all sorts of cards, phone calls, and even a couple of visits. It was a blessing to know that people were praying for me. It made me want to hurry and get better. I missed my church family so much during that time. I missed their faces and smiles. Knowing that they missed me too was a great help while I was recovering. It encouraged me and made me want to get back to them.

When we find ourselves in a situation where we have no fellowship with the brethren it can bring us down to the point to where we feel that we don't need it. We must encourage one another and help keep each other in fellowship with other believers.

When one of us have fallen out of formation, whether it is because of sickness, discouragement, family problems, etc, we need to rally around that one and nurse them until they are ready to fly again.

So! *We need to lift each other up
* work together to accomplish our common goal
* share our talents, gifts, and ideas for church projects
* Encourage each other by "HONKING" praise to each other
*Rally around each other during difficult times

If we can do these five things, it will be five steps toward us (Daughters of the King) becoming a strong backbone for our churches.

Lessons From The Geese....Part IV

OK, I must admit that this lesson from the geese is my favorite. I can just see us all standing behind one another saying "HONK, HONK!!"

Fact: The geese flying in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage thte heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek. We need to make sure our honking is encouraging and not DIScouraging.

How many times have you put your heart and soul into some work and NO ONE has said what a wonderful job you've done or said thank you for working so hard to make sure they had a nice time? Now, I know that we are working for the LORD and we're not supposed to be looking for thanks from man or a pat on the back. Our reward comes later. But as a human, our flesh gets its feelings hurt and we begin to feel that what we've done was not appreciated by others. Again, that's not the purpose of doing a work, but at least we know what it feels like and it's always nice to get that encouraging word from someone.

So keep that in mind the next time you go to a ladies fellowship or a special service and make sure you "honk" your encouragement towards the person that has put their time and talent into the event. Don't just say, "Yeah, I had a good time...See ya, Sunday." Give them a hug and say, "You know, that was a really good meeting, I appreciate all the time you spent working on it for us." Those are words are encouragement. Especially when it's their first time working on something. A little "honking" at them will help them get that little extra boost to do something else. When a word of apprecitaion goes unsaid, discouragement can set in.

The next time you want to encouragement someone just go up behind them and say, "HONK, HONK!"

"The LORD GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary..."

Isaiah 50:4

Lessons From The Geese...Part III

Fact: When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies to the point position.

Lesson: It is sensible to take turns doing the hard and demanding tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent of each others skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.

Don't be afraid to sign up for something just because so-and-so has always done it in the past. Sometimes a person will always take on a certain job because no one else seems willing. But you might be surprised at what you have to offer for any task.

At our church, we usually have a sign up sheet for different things. If there's a job you're wanting to help in, sign up for it! Be willing to take on a leadership position so that someone else can take a "break" for a while.

Whatever you sign up to do, make sure you do it with a happy heart and a desire to do your best. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." Don't just sign up for something and give less than your very best. You can't go back and do it again. So do it right the first time. This is pleasing to God.

If you can lead and God has given you the ability to lead, that can be a wonderful thing, just so long as you always remember your place and that you do have a Pastor to answer to. Don't overstep your bounds in that area. It is disrespectful and it is a sin. (That's just my little input there!)

If you don't want to lead, you can ALWAYS be a helper. And what a blessing it is to a leader when someone helps them in accomplishing their task and taking some of the weight off of their "wings."

Lessons From The Geese....Part II

Part II of Lessons From The Geese is on staying in formation.

Fact: When a goose flies out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it.

Lesson: If we have as much common sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others. It is harder to do something alone than together.

As daughters of the King, we are all working together to accomplish common goals for HIS glory. But sometimes we end up working alone and we fall out of formation.

Sometimes it's easier to do something yourself than get other people involved, so we tend to take on a job and tell people, "Oh, no, I don't need your help. I can get that done myself." But when that happens, we usually end up becoming discouraged, pressured, stressed, and fall out of formation. The "drag and resistance of trying to go it alone" suddenly begins to bring us down.

Our Pastor's wife is a pro in the art of deligation. She has a vision for a meeting or an event and she deligates jobs with the understanding that you are not expected to work alone. She'll always encourage us to find someone to help in our efforts of the newly deligated task or have someone in mind for us to work with. I try to always find someone to help me do my task. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." When I ask someone to help with my task, it's always a fun time of fellowship and I always leave with an encouraged and uplifted spirit. And the person I'm working with does too. And even if the task will take very minimal time, it's good to go ahead and ask someone to help you anyway. It will give you both needed fellowship and will also make the other person feel needed.

And then sometimes the ones that always volunteer for the same job that no one else will volunteer for will become discouraged for trying to go it alone. Like I said in Part I, you don't have to be creative. You don't have to be talented. You just have to be willing. Your willingness will help to lift the spirit of your sister in Christ. It's hard to walk into the church building to work on something and you're all alone with a list a mile long of things to accomplish. But then suddenly you hear the squeak of the door and in walks an unexpected sister to help in your efforts. What a blessing that is! You can be an encouragement to someone just by showing up with a willing attitude to help accomplish goals for HIS glory.

Lessons From The Geese Part 1

We've all read the Lessons From The Geese article that someone came up with years ago. When I was heading up the ladies meetings at our former church, I ran across the article and where there was no spiritual application to it, one was inspired and I was able to use it as a devotional for one of our meetings When I happened across it today I thought I would share it with you. Since it is a little lengthy, I'll be doing a series of posts on it through the week.

This Fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way and how we can apply these facts to our Christianity.

1. Fact: As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an "uplift" for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock has at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quicklly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

As a Christian lady, we all share one thing in common and that is we are all daughters of the KING! So with that in mind, we need to figure out what it is our Father wills for us and work together to accomplish that goal.
In every church, there will be the ladies that come to every event and enjoy all the benefits of that event without EVER lifting a finger to help. We've all heard the excuse of "I'm not creative enough to help." You don't have to be creative. Just be willing to help the one that IS creative. It doesn't take much creativity to hand someone a tool they need or sweep up a pile of dirt.
And then of course there is always the "I'm too old. It's you young girl's turn to do something." Or "I work all day. I'm not coming out there to decorate for that." "I work all day and I'm too tired to work in VBS." 98% of the people who work in VBS work outside or even in the home. They're tired too. They need our encouragement and "uplift."
You know, it's our reasonable service to do work in the church for the Lord. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore brethern, (that's CHRISTIANS) by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Usually, it's always the same ladies that are working behind the scenes and it takes several days, weeks, and sometimes months, preparing for an event when it would take a lot less time if all of us would dedicate our time and our talents, though few they may be, to working behind the scene. Sometimes just babysitting someone's child while they help work at the church can be a GREAT help. There is always something you can do....if you are willing to serve.

A Winner Either Way

There have been some new developments recently with my Dad's kidney transplant and dialysis situation. Developments that were very discouraging to hear. I cried all day yesterday and off and on today. "Oh, woe is me," I thought. "STOP THAT!" Just this past Sunday Brother Benny Beckham was at our church preaching on prayer. Did I hear ANYTHING the man said?? One of the things that he said and something my Mother brought up to me, was that God will hear the prayer of the one who is living close to Him. "How far are my prayers going? Are you hearing me at all, Lord?" I was becoming angry and frustrated....not at God, but at myself. I realized that, where we can ALL strive to live closer to God, my greater problem this time is that I'm not letting my Dad go and placing him in God's hands.
I remember that I went through the same thing when my little Harrison was born. Long story, but in a nutshell, he and I were both knocking on death's door. I was feeling alone and scared, nearly blind and weak from the stress my body had been under and I finally just broke down in the quiet of my room and gave God what already belonged to him. My sweet little baby boy. The same thing happened this morning as I was driving in my car. I reached the point where there was nothing else more that I myself could do for my Dad. And I just cried, "Ok, Lord. I'm giving him to you. Your will be done." It was easier to pray that prayer because I know my Dad is a Christian. And I've said before and will say it again, that no matter what happens in his future, he's a winner either way, if he goes or if he stays.

3 Things Meme

I've been tagged by a couple of people to do a 3 things about Me. So here goes.....

3 Things that scare me:
a.Losing my husband or one of my children. b. Being stuck brokedown on the side of the road at night. c. Can't think of anything else.

3 people who make me laugh
a. My husband, Bruce. b. My friend, Susan McCurry. She hasn't a lick of sense and that's what I love about her. c. My mother. She's a walking comic strip. I love you, Mommy!!!

3 Things I love,
a. My Lord b. My Bible c. My family and friends

3 Things I hate
a. The stomach virus b. When my shoes are too tight. c. Going to the doctor.

3 Things I do not understand
a. Parents who can give up their children for a life of sin. b. Mechanical things. c. Piano chords. I can only play in the key of C.

3 Things on my desk
a. A Thank You card from a young girl at church. b. My children's CDroms. c. Our desk computer.

3 Things I am doing right now.
a. Watching my dog chew her bone. b. Drinking a glass of water. c. Blogging.

3 Things I want to do before I die.
a. Take my son to see where he was born in Germany. b. See my children progress in their Christian walk. c. Learn more about photography, writing, flower arrangements, etc.

3 Things I can do,
a. sing. b. Do crafty projects. c. Cook!

3 Ways to describe my personality
a. Bubbly. b. feisty. c. huggable....sometimes. :)

3 Things I can't do
a. Crochet. b. Knit. c. jump on a trampoline because it makes me sick to my stomach.

3 Things I think you should listen to
a The Holy Spirit. b. Your husband. c. Your Pastor...providing he's preaching from the WORD!

3 Things you should never listen to:
a. Negative people b. worldly wisdom c.criticism of others (These were Rhonda's answers but I'm using them too because they were good.)

3 Absolute favorite foods
a Crab Ragoons. b. Sloppy Joes. c. Lasagna

3 Things I'd like to learn
a. See 3 things I want to do before I die

3 Beverages I drink regularly
a. Water. b. water. c. and the occassoinal soda

3 shows I watched as a kid
a. Mork and Mindy b. The Brady Bunch. c. The Flintstones.

3 Things I really want to do
a. Be a blessing to someone today. b. Write a Christian novel. c. Spend more time with hubby.

You've been tagged:

The three sisters from Three Sister's Blog

Brittney from Aletheia Liberty

Anne from From My Perspective

Faith Baptist Senior Moment....Mrs. Ola Harmon

This is Mrs. Ola Harmon. One of the Senior Saints at our church. She is also the Grandmother of Justin's best friend, Jeremy. She is very faithful to church even when her health would keep others home sometime. I asked Mrs. Ola to tell me a funny story and she did indeed have one.

She's been having trouble with one of her feet hurting and went to the doctor. He was going over different medications that he could give her but she was allergic to a lot of them so he finally told her that he could tape a pad to the bottom of her foot, that might make her foot feel better.

"Are you allergic to tape," he asked.

Being hard of hearing, Mrs. Ola didn't quite understand what he was talking about so she said, "I don't know....What does it look like?"

Well, she's giggled about that ever since. She told me I might want to ham her story up, but I don't think it needs it.

Mrs. Ola has many cute stories to tell. She's a very sweet lady and always has a good hug to share.

Love you, Mrs Ola!

Pet Day at the Library

We had our pet day at the library today. It was so much fun. The children were able to sign up their pets to march in a pet parade from the library to the museum. Hannah is at camp this week and was very upset when she realized she was going to miss this special day. But Harrison went and took Tipsy. S was there with her ferret, Sully, and ended up taking FIRST place in the Most Unusual Pet catagory. Congratulations, S!!!!!!!! I'm happy for you. Too bad J and J had to miss it. But you can show them your ribbon when they get home. :) And I'm glad that H was able to come too. It was good seeing y'all!!

Tipsy found some little girls willing to love on her. I think she enjoyed herself today. Amazingly enough there were no dog fights and as far as I know, none of the dogs chased the one cat that showed up. There were dogs, a cat, hamster, ferret, colt, lizard, etc. It was neat seeing all the different pets. We had a good time.

Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer

Last week, my Mom and Dad bought me the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer and stand for my birthday. I was so excited. I've wanted one for a while and it was such a nice surprise. So I got it out, FINALLY, and put it together................



.......with the really cool tool box Bruce bought me for Christmas.


I started with the stand.





And then the Peeler/Corer/Slicer.


And here we have the finished product!

We peeled, cored, sliced, and ate an apple. It worked great! I can't wait to use the recipes that came with it for Mom's Apple Crisp and Curly Cheese Potatoes. That's another thing I like about Pampered Chef. Everytime you order something there's always a really good recipe with it. Thank you, Tammy, for ordering these items for Mom. And thank you, Mom and Dad for such a great gift! I love it.

Good Manners In Conversation

I've been doing somewhat of a series taken from an old 1936 text book called Good Manners For Young Americans. You can find the rest of these posts in the side bar.

Today's post is Good Manners In Conversation. Oh dear! This is not a good one. After reading this chapter I realize that I fail in this area greatly. Those of you who know me personally, will find this to be true seeing you've had the honor of carrying on a conversation with me and know that I have a tendency to let my mouth run away with itself sometimes. But anyway, here goes.....

The ill-timed word we might have kept,

Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?

The word we had not sense to say,

Who knows how gladly it had rung?

"The boy or girl who tries to be natural and who speaks in a pleasantly modulated voice will be liked by others. But the individual who talks rudely, or monopolizes the conversation, or contradicts others does not make friends readily and is apt to be heartily disliked."

"Curt answers are not made by thoughtful and well-bred boys and girls. Neither is it proper to answer with an "Uh-huh," a "Yep," or "Oh, Yeah!"

"When you are with others, talk about matters of common interest. If the group is a small one, talk with all the members of the group, not just one or two of them." I am definitely a big fan of this one. I can honestly say that I do try very hard to be like this. I won't deny that it is sometimes very difficult to reach out to those who are a little weird. But this is certainly something that needs to be worked on with kids today. It's one thing to have a best friend whom you share common interests, your secrets, etc, but when you "click" in a group, that can become a problem. We should never make anyone feel left out. Oh sure, they may be a little strange to everyone else, but reach out to them anyway. You might be surprised at what a loyal friend they will be.

"If you are entertaining friends in your home, always be sure they are included in the conversation. If the conversation should turn to some topic which you know to be embarrassing or disagreeable to someone in the group, it is your duty to turn the talk to some other topic." Ok, it just got me. I love, love, LOVE to pick on others and embarrass them just a little. Of course, I can take what's dished out at me too. But I do have a tendency to pick on someone while we're in a group. Is there anyone out there who knows me that would say I am telling the truth. There.....I confessed. Will I change? Probably not, but I will work on it. :)

"It is also improper to talk in church, at the school assembly, or other public buildings where others may be disturbed." How about that....Did you notice that this old public school book referred to the children being quiet in church? We certainly do not have text books on good manners today, and we most definitely do not have any that would assume our children would be in church!

"It is a sign of good breeding if you are quick to apologize for any mistake made or any discourtesy to another person." This one stood out to me because they used the term "....sign of good breeding if...." As an adult, do we put this into practice? If there is an instance where we have hurt someone or have behaved rudely, do we apologize quickly for it or do we just hope the other person forgets about it? And are we setting a good example for our children in this area?

"The individual who is constantly finding fault with everyoe and everything is never a popular conversationalist." Hello??????? I can not STAND to be around someone that complains all the time. It brings me DOWN! I won't lie and say that I've never complained about something, but there are some that all they do is go on and on with their complaints about this or that and a lot of the time it's about things that really don't matter. Don't do that. It's annoying! ;)

"As a rule, conversation should be directed to things of general interest, not to one's ills, family affairs, troubles, religious views objectionable to others, personal expenses or criticisms of others." Well, what's left? HA, just kidding. First of all let me say that as far as the "religious views objectionable to others" part, I don't believe you should go around forcing your beliefs down other's throats, but when put in a situation where the opportunity is given to share your Christ, then it becomes a whole other ball game. Now! On to the rest of it. How many of us have those in our lives that we avoid asking the question, "How are you doing today" because we know they're going to tell us? "Oh, I'm all right, I guess. If it weren't for my nose hurting. I've had a cold for three weeks and I've rubbed it raw. And my side has been acting up again. You know I had an appendectomy last year and I think it grew back...." We all know someone like that, don't we? I mean, it's one thing to let someone know you have physical problems, but it's another thing when that's all you talk about. No one is THAT interested in your physical ailments except the Lord and He wants to bare those burdens for you. Let him.

Don't talk about your family problems to everyone in the free world. Especially when it concerns your marriage or even your children. It's like my friend, Rachel, said several posts back on the virtuous woman, when you forgive your spouse (or children) for something they have done to hurt you and you've forgotten about it, the people you've talked to will remember and judge your loved one on what you have said.

And if you like to shop and buy name brand clothes and shoes and everything in your kitchen has to be Kraft or Nabisco, don't run to me and tell me about your financial woes. Work on cutting your spending first. It's hard to listen to someone express their concern about their finances when they're wearing Tommy Hilfiger and have plans to go out of town for the weekend because they just need to get away for a couple of days. I had a friend tell me a while back that while she was in school she was eating vienna sausages, literally, everyday for lunch. It's all she had. Did you know that the entire time she was doing that, I had no idea. She never said a word to me about it. She was always pleasant to be around and never once complained about their family's finances and here she was with a husband and children. They struggled and no one knew. They just trusted the Lord for what they needed and He certainly did provide. This was her testimony.

And then lastly, "criticism of others." UGH! I'm somewhat critical of other people. Mostly in the area of their spiritual well being. This is something I need to work on. Being critical is the sister to gossip. Don't you agree?

"when others are talking, be careful not to interrupt them, nor to stand so close as to overhear their conversation." This is most DEFINITELY a pet peeve of mine. Especially when it comes to children. I forget who told me this, but it is good advice. They said that their children were taught that if their parent were talking to another person and the child needed that parent, they were to place their hand on the parent's arm. To let the child know they knew that they were needed, the parent would place their hand over the child's hand and the child would know that in just a second, they would have their parent's undivided attention. That's a good tip. Plus, it helps teach the child good manners.

If you your lips would keep from slips,

Five things observe with care:

To whom you speak, of whom you speak,

And how, and when, and where.

Survivor Night

Survivor Night was a lot of fun. But BOY! I don't recall having such energy when I was a teenager. Can anyone else relate?

The night started off with games. There was a lot to do. The group was divided into two teams. The red team and the blue team. Whichever team won the total points after the challenges were given a steak, chicken, and baked potato dinner. The losing team were to fed hamburger and hotdogs. However, no points were kept, therefore, everyone won and was able to choose which meal they wanted.




The first challenge was them having to eat something nasty. For instance, sardines, pig intestines(vienna sausages), cow patty pies (chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies), eyeballs(iced jello), fish guts(oreo cookies and gummy worms) and other tasty things. The only thing that was really nasty were the sardines. And Nathan Boone had to choke that down. YUCK!



There was archery, sling shots to hit clay discs, and tug of war. The tug of war was kind of funny. Sis Liz and Janet took a white rope and drenched it in Crisco. Try holding on to THAT! After the challenges, they moved to the gymnasium for a little free time. They played basketball, pool, ping pong, etc. And then we ate.

Brother Greg Poston was our grill man for the evening. As usual, he did an outstanding job. Especially on the steaks. They were excellent! Thanks, Brother Greg.




Many, MANY pranks were pulled through the evening. N0 one slept except for the few hours in the early morning. They were fed a good hot breakfast prepared by our ever loving Sis Janet. She fixed a good ole southern breakfast of country ham, bacon, sausage, biscuits, gravy and scrambled eggs. It was so good. She's a pro at fixing large quantities of food.

So that was the survivor night. Our first outing with the youth was interesting, enlightening, and a whole lot of fun. We're looking forward to a very exciting year.

I'm Falling Asleep!!

A few weeks ago, Brother RJ, our Youth Pastor, asked if Bruce and I would pray about being SIGMA sponsors for our youth group this year. Our first initial reaction was no, without actually saying the word. But we did promise to pray about it and we did. The Lord gave us peace about it and we accepted. We had our first official outing with the youth last night and were introduced as this year's new sponsors. The response was very positive. We were glad about that. The outing was a survivor night so there were lots of things to do. I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 AM and was up at 7:30AM, only to find peanut butter and dried dog food in my hair. HA...........Ha...........Ha. I'll post more with pictures later. Right now, I'm going to go to bed and catch some sweet zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's.

Housekeeping Tip

I got this really good tip in an email today and wanted to share it with y'all. I know how much you like to share these little golden nuggets and this was certainly worth sharing.

Always keep several get well cards on the mantle.....So if unexpected guests arrive, they will think you've been sick and unable to clean.

Our Holiday

Our July 4th Holiday was spent together, just our little family. It was really nice and slowly paced.
While Bruce was at the store picking up some last minute items, I cooked potato salad, cole slaw, deviled eggs, made dip for chips, and cut of lettuce, tomato, and onions. While I did that, Justin, Hannah, and Harrison decided they wanted to make caramel apples.

<---- wrapping the apples in caramel <----Putting the sticks in. Once the sticks were inserted, they baked them at 200 degrees for just five to eight minutes. <----The finished product!!!! I didn't bake the traditional American Apple Pie, but I did have a "Baked Apple Pie" candle burning. Does that count?

Justin and Hannah playing Sorry Card Revenge while Bruce grilled the Hot dogs and hamburgers.

"Ready to EAT!
Harrison enjoying the blue icing on some miniature cupcakes.

Later we went to see the fireworks uptown. They were nice.

Fireworks! YAY!!!

ewwwwwwwwwwwwww
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

BLOGGERS! CALLING ALL BLOGGERS!!!

This post is for my blogging buddies. I recently read a blog where someone posted a poem about cleaning everyday of the week but Sunday was church day. If you happened to write this post or no of who did, please let me know. I need it for something I've been asked to do at church. Thank you so much!!!

~Happymama

Confessions

A few posts back, Before And After, anonymous left this comment....

"Your post brings to mind a verse that I have always wondered about. I actually thought I saw it on there, but now I can't find it. The verse is James 5:16 which says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." When are we supposed to keep things to ourselves and when are we supposed to "confess"? I would like to hear people's ideas on this if anybody has an opinion."

Looking at this word for word, I have a few thoughts. First of all, there is not a time specified as to when we're to confess our sins and that leads me to believe that we should confess them immediately.
Confessing our sins to another human being does nothing for the sin. Only Jesus can fix and forgive the sin in our lives. Jesus only! Not Mary and certainly not a man dressed like a mother wanting to be called father. (I got that from Pastor Goodman.) But in this verse, it says to confess our sins one to another and I think it's like that because of a couple of reasons. For one, it lets other Christians around us know that they're not the only ones that fight the flesh and it encourages them to press on in their fight and not give up. And secondly, it teaches us to be honest where we are in Christ and teaches us not to try and hide our sin. Through the ages of time, man has tried to hide their sins, but God's WORD says, "Be sure your sins will find you out." It may not seem like it at the time, but when you confess your sins to one another, you are allowing yourself to grow a little more in your Christian walk.
The next part of that verse says to ".....pray for one another, that ye may be healed." When someone confesses their sins, we shouldn't sit back with our arms folded and a proud look saying, "Well! I knew they weren't all what they seemed to be!" No, we're to pray for them so that God can work in their lives and heal their heart and mind from whatever sin problem they have in their lives.
Then lastly, the end of that verse says, "....the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Although some may feel better about standing in front of their church confessing some sin in their life, this verse tells me to choose someone that is going to pray for me. Someone who has a close walk with God. As nice as it would be for anyone to confess to their church and not be talked about and brushed to the side, it just doesn't happen that way. So it would be wise to confess to someone you know that has access to the throne....and actually uses that access to pray for others.
We, CHRISTIANS, all have access to the throne. Are we using it for others?

Anonymous said they would like to hear what others thought about this verse. Please tell us what you think.

Fireworks

Fireworks, 2006

Here is the end of the fireworks display we saw tonight. The audio is not on so there's no sound. Sorry. Hope you all had a wonderful July 4th!

Bruce and I spent the day together shopping with my birthday money. We had a good time. I'm too tired to share all the details so I'll just tell you what all I bought.

Liz Clairborne pocketbook, Liz Clairborne pink bracelet, fingernail polish, wallet, tools for my tool box, pictures developed, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver CD, Americn Eagle Sandalls. The purse and bracelet were 70% off and my sandals were 75% off. YAY~I love a good sale like that. I also bought that hair catcher for our bathroom drain. LOL...Not exactly a great birthday gift, but if you shed like I do, it's a good thing to have.
These are the flip flops I got earlier today. Would you believe that Tipsy has already torn the ribbon off of one??? BAD DOG! I did beat her with the shoe though. LOL

Here is the rain coat I found at Hamrick's today. It's much prettier when you're actually looking at it. The picture does not do it justice. The color is more of that Crayola Carnation Pink. It's really pretty.

I had dropped Bruce off at home and picked Hannah up to finish my day of shopping. She needed a few things for camp and I wasn't finished with my shopping yet. We stopped at Cato's, which is one of my favorite stores, and this is what I found. In the picture above is a khaki skirt with four kick pleats. Two in front and two in back. And a pink and white checkered blouse. You can't really see the checks, but they're there. The picture below is a denim teir skirt I found at Hamrick's with a pink and rose paisley blouse with sequins on it. That also came form Cato's.


And this skirt came from Wal Mart. When I first looked at it I thought it might not be the length I'm used to and like waering. But when I tried it on, it looked cute. I'm only 5'2" so it's a bit longer on me than what it would be on the average size gal. Anyway, that was my day. I had a lot of fun and saved a few bucks for a rainy day.


I hope you all have a Happy Fourth of July!! We have!

Sons of Faith

This is Justin's group,
Sons Of Faith singing the National Anthem for 4th of July Sunday. It's a little blurry. Sorry about that. But at least you can hear them.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Saturday,July 1st, I celebrated my 35th birthday. YAY! I had a terrific day. It was so nice.

My husband always gives me a back rub in the morning when he comes home from work to help me start my day. I just knew it would be extra long since it was my birthday....And it was!

I got up, dressed, and met my parents at their home where they gave me my gifts. We left there to have breakfast together at Cracker Barrel. While Mom signed us in, Dad and I played a game of checkers where I STOMPED him! He said he let me win because it was my birthday, but that's not true. I won fair and square. :) I ordered the chicken fried steak breakfast with eggs, biscuits and gravy, grits, and hashbrown caserole. Daddy knows how much I love that hasbrown caserole so he gave me his too. Wasn't that sweet? Mom didn't though. She wasn't about to give hers up. Hehehe. There was a lot of laughter during the time I spent with them that morning. As a matter of fact, I have not laughed so hard in a long time.

After we ate, Dad needed to buy a new printer for his computer so we went to Circuit City. I was glad about that because I was needing a new laptop bag. Dad found everything he needed and when we got up to the counter to purchase his items, he bought my bag too as another birthday present....Thank you, Daddy! We got to his house where I hooked up his new all-in-one printer. I was so proud of myself for being able to do that with no problems.

I came home, took a nap, and got up to get ready for my family that was coming to eat supper with us. Bruce bought supper from Pizza Hut. And of course there was cake and ice cream. We had a wonderful visit with my parents and John O'Malley and my Mother-in-law and Bruce's Aunt Sue. None of which had any pictures taken of them. I couldn't believe it. But we did get them all on video. So there is documentation they were here. After the gifts were open, the children left with my parents to the nursing home and my Mother-in-law and Aunt Sue stayed to visit for a bit. Here are some pictures of my gifts and my day.




My Mother saw where I left a comment that I would like a Pampered Chef kitchen caddy. So she got in touch with Tammy, a friend from church and PC consultant, and ordered me one along with the Pampered Chef apple corer and stand. I am so excited about these items. What a nice surprise!

This is my computer bag I mentioned above and also a book set that my Mother found for me. I thought it was sweet. She wasn't telling me that I'm getting old, but she did buy this for me to put up to have something to read to my Grandchildren if the Lord sees fit to bless us with some one day. Of course my eldest child is only fourteen, so it will be quite some time before that happens. But I thought it was very sweet of her to be thinking of that future. She knows I love children and she knows I like to read to them. Thank you, Mom. They also gave me a nice little sum of money for my annual birthday shopping trip.

We pulled a practical joke on my little boy. We all gathered around the table for them to sing Happy Birthday to me, but when we got to the part where we would say my name, we said "Harrison" instead. His reaction was so funny.

Me, blowing out my candles.

My birthday cake.

I thought this was sweet.....Harrison made me a little envelope and gave me $1.73 from his piggy bank. Isn't that sweet?

Hannah bought me this beautiful jewelry box. My children had a theme going this year. One that I really liked!! To put in my new jewelry box, Harrison bought me this beautiful silver bracelet. I just love it.

Justin bought me the ruby and diamond ring. It's really beautiful. I need to have it sized so I'll drop it off to do that this week. And my Mother-in-law bought me the beautiful black onyx ring along with money for my shopping day.

Bruce also gave me money for shopping and there was another gift given to me by the O'Malley family that I do not have a picture of because hubby is sleeping and I can't get in there to get it to snag a picture of it right now. But it was a bath gel and lotion set. It smells so clean and refreshing. Thanks, y'all!

These are my cards. They were all so sweet. Most were funny and some were sentimental but they all had sweet words written inside. Thank you all for making my day special. I love you!