This is Bruce at our Valentine Banquet. We had a western theme and rented a mechanical bull for fun. Doesn't he look good up there?? This picture was taken by Sis April Rollins. Thank you, April!

We had dinner at my mother-in-law's home today. This side of our family hasn't been together in a couple of months. We were going to get together at Easter but Marie (Bruce's Mom) was very sick. Too sick to be cooking and entertaining. So she postponed it for a later date and today was that day. I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures to share. BUMMER! We had a really nice time though and there was a lot of laughter and funny stories being told about their childhood. My husband and his brothers were crazy little boys. What a great book their stories would make!

We had good services today. The Daughters of Faith sang tonight and did a wonderful job. I've had the opportunity to help Sis Carolyn work with these girls and I'm so proud of them.

Now that testing is over, the rest of our school year will be more relaxed. I'm glad of that.

Bruce bought me some new needles for my sewing machine so I'm hoping to get some sewing done this week. My goal is to do some mending and to finish a project I started for someone.

Tex-Mex

Bruce and I got up this morning and went out for a while. We stopped at the Honda dealership and looked at motorcycles and scooters. Not the push scooters...The gas powered scooters. I didn't know they made big scooters like the ones we saw today. We had been looking at motorcycles and I told Bruce that this particular one was ugly and he told me it was a scooter. When I found out it was a scooter, it was cute. But as a motorcycle, not so much. We weren't planning on buying anything like that, but it was just something different to do that we don't normally do. It's fun looking anyway.

We had Tex-Mex at the Rohrer home tonight. As usual, it was EXCELLENT. We've decided to open our own restaurant and serve nothing BUT tex-mex. We actually played with some ideas and honestly, we were joking, but our ideas were so good! I think we could have a great restaurant.

We played Marbles and the guys won tonight. But next time, we'll get 'em!

My mother-in-law invited us over for Sunday dinner so we'll be over there tomorrow and maybe I'll have some pictures to share the next time I post.

Hope you all have a great Sunday and special services at church.

The Best Things In Life Are Free....NOT!

Today we took a field trip to Granard Middle School where Sister Dawn Dover, a member of our church, is the music teacher. She was directing a production of the Wizard of Oz and asked that our homeschoolers please come. It was really sweet of her to invite us to watch this all time favorite story. They did a very good job! Thanks, Sis Dawn, for inviting us!!

Hannah and I cleaned up the house a little bit and started getting ready for the Mother & Daughter Banquet. The theme was The Best Things In Life Are Free...NOT!

Mom and Sis Ava(our pastor's wife) sang a song about being a senior that went to the tune of Jesus Loves Me. It was so hilariously funny. Mom was wearing a gray wig and when they got to the part about ...Yes, Clairol helps me...she pulled off the wig and we all cracked up. Everyone knows my mother and Mrs. Clairol are very good friends. So that was funny.

Amanda Fox and I did a skit I wrote about a woman who has her credit card bill and can't understand why her charges are so high. She calls the CC company (Masterofyourwallet) and gets the automated voice on the other end. I was hiding in a room with a microphone so you couldn't see me, but you could hear me doing the automated voice. It was funny.

Betty Jean Spangler sang a song that was really pretty. I had never heard it before and I can't remember the name of it, but it really was moving.

Then Sis Ava spoke to us on our theme. Mom took notes and so I'm going to use her notes to give you an idea of what Sis Ava spoke to us about:

Salvation is not free...Christ gave His life.
Godly family is not free. A heavy price is paid for a godly family.
Do you have a longing in your heart to have a godly family? Ephesians 5:21
SUBMIT to God first, not my will, but thine.
SUBMIT to God and then others.
Build your home and teach your children the WORD of God, Deuteronomy 6:7, that's all the time. I was glad to see her use that verse because at the NCDNPE they have the name of our school as Deuteronomy 6:7 Homeschool.
Choose whom ye shall serve.
Walk right in your own house.
Enjoy the blessings that come from having a godly home.
Take time to build friendships.
Be a loyal friend forever. True to the end.
Sacrifice.
Walk with Christ every day.
Totally jump into serving Christ with your whole heart.
Be a testimony everywhere you go as a woman of God.

Thank you, Sis Ava for a great Mother & Daughter Banquet. We love you!

Here are pictures from our day. Because of lighting, some of the ones from the play are a little dark. And the very large flowers you see in the Banquet pictures were made by our very own Sis Janet Poston, our wonderful church secretary. GREAT JOB, SIS JANET!!!

Harrison being silly.
Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!
Hannah praying for the play. No, not really. She just shut her eyes right when I took the picture. :)

Naomi
My son Justin and Caleb
Jamie crossing his eyes.
I'd turn back if I were you scene.
Dorothy wakes from her dream
Sis Dawn gets a tube of oreo cookies and boquet of balloons from her Mom and Dad.....Awww, that's so sweet!
Homeschoolers gather around Sis Dawn to say thanks!

BANQUET
Sis Crystal
Sis Parris and daughter Katie..and Sis Vondie's finger.
Pretty tables
Let's EAT!
Sis Amanda getting dessert
Sweet Sis Jennie
Sister Church and Sister Werling. These are the two ladies that Hannah works with at the Rest Home Ministry when she goes with Paw Paw Birt
Sis Brenda(in the middle), Monica(left) and Preacher wife friend
Sis Pam and Nicole
Sis Rebecca
Mom in her wig
Kendra
Sis Ava and Mom singing their song
Clairol
Betty Jean
Sis Ava speaking to us
Sis Missy...our hair dresser. Today was National Beautician Day and Sis Ava gave Sis Missy this pretty bowl with flowers in it.
Mom's pretty flowers in a pretty tea pot. She collects tea pots.
Susan and Ally. This is the new foster mother in our church I was telling you about and her daughter.
My sister in law, Jenny, niece Jessica and her friend, Jodie
Me and Hannah
Mrs. Marlett and her daughter in law, Jessica

Not Much To Tell

We have finished testing for the week. I'm glad of that. I always like testing week but I like it best when it's over.

I had some things to do today and when we came home and ate supper, Hannah and I went to the church to help with the decorating for our Mother & Daughter banquet tomorrow night. It looks so pretty. I'll have pictures for you tomorrow night.

Bruce had to work last weekend, which is something he hasn't had to do in a while. The rumor around work was that he was going to have to work this weekend too. But he was told last night that he would not. SO! I'm going to feel somewhat guilty going to the banquet. But I'm looking forward to being there with Mom and Hannah.

Well, that was it for today. No funny stories. No funny cartoons. Goodnight!

New Housing for New Orleans

OK, I'm not making fun of the Katrina victims, but you have to admit that this is comical. Come on.....I know you're laughing.

Battling The Flesh Over The Fruit

This is a difficult post for me today because it exposes my fleshly faults. One thing that I have battled, probably my entire life, is my temper. I feel like it's a losing battle some days and today was one of those days. I found myself seeking forgiveness from the Lord because I let my temper get the best of me. Then I found myself seeking forgiveness from the one I hurt with my words and attitude. They know that I love them, which made the hurt so much harder to bare for both of us. The Bible warns us about the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Instead of cultivating the works of the flesh, we should be weeding them out of our spiritual garden where the Fruits of the Spirit should be growing. Galatians 5:22-26,"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperence: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."

Anger Never Pays

When I have lost my temper

I have lost my reason, too

I'm never proud of anything

Which angrily I do.

When I have walked in anger

And my cheeks are flaming red,

I have always uttered something

That I wish I hadn't said.

In anger I have never done

A kindly deed, or wise,

But many things for which I know

I should apologize.

In looking back across my life

And all I've lost or made,

I can't recall a single time

When fury ever paid.

~unknown

My Signature

I wanted you all to see the signature that my friend Kellie Ross made for me. She knows I love thimbles and she knows my life verse is IITimothy 2:15 so she incorporated those things together to make this beautiful signature for me. Thanks, Kellie. I love it!

SHEWWweeeeee!

Something was wrong on Blogger today but eventually it was up and working. BTW, if you read Saturday's post and saw that Justin's pictures weren't there, that happened as a result of whatever was going on with Blogger and I didn't want to take the time to put them back on. I'm just glad it's working now. He's a member of Teens-4-Christ and has a blog there but you have to be a member to comment. He was having trouble figuring out how to post his pictures on Teens-4-Christ so he decided to do a blogger account just for pictures. So if you'd like to see his pictures you can go to Justin's Pictures. He won't be posting anything on there except pictures but feel free to comment if you wish. A lot of them were a tad blurry because he had to Xtra-zoom in on them, but you can still tell what they are.

Today we started our end of grade testing. This was the first year that Hannah and Justin were able to test at the same time. Of course they had different tests, but the format was the same. It made testing so much easier and we were able to spend less time on it. That was nice.

The other night I was locked in the hosue, sitting on the couch working on the blog and I heard our cat screech. My first thought was You crazy cat. Who are you fighting with? But then the answer came to me in a most unexpected way. The smell of pure NASTY came creeping up my nose and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tom had been fighting with a skunk. I opened the door and looked outside and sure enough he was going crazy out there trying to get the smell out of his nose. Now, you would think he would learn his lesson about attacking a black animal with a white stripe down his back. But nooooooooooo, he didn't. He was sprayed again last night. I sure hope he's not stubborn because I don't think I could take another night of that. SHEWWweeeeee!

Sweet Sweet Spirit

Good news! I lost five pounds this week. Yay!

Here's the outfit Mom bought me yesterday. I just love that shimmery green. Thanks Mom.

I need to straighten the pics on my wall, don't I? :)

There was a sweet spirit in our services today. I just love it when you see and feel the presence of the Lord in the service. The very core of your soul is touched and moved beyond this world. One of the things I love about my Pastor is that he doesn't keep a schedule during the worship service. We have a certain order of first, second, next...but sometimes, like today, you just have to forget what comes next and let God do what HE needs to do in the life and hearts of the people. There were several that testified, several that got their salvation settled, and the altars were full of people taking their burdens to the Lord or simply kneeling to thank him for how good He is.

I had toddler nursery in the evening service but watched the service on the monitor. The service had been moving much like the morning service with testimonies and people going to the altar. Pastor called a little girl out of the baby nursery to be brought before the church. She's three weeks old and the first foster child of Brother Mike and Sister Susan McCurry. A beautiful little girl that needs the love and attention that I know she'll receive from this sweet family. Pastor asked those that had adopted children or had foster expereience to come and pray over this baby and this family. It was so sweet. When the prayer had ended, Pastor held this little girl and walked her through the congregation so they could see this small life that could possibly grow up to be a great Christian woman one day. It made me thankful for my children and our Christian homelife. Please pray for this family and this little girl. And all of the children that will come in and out of this home in the months and maybe even years to come.

Is Chivalry Dead?

As I said yesterday, Justin had plans with Teens-4-Christ to go to the Columbia Zoo. His best friend, Jeremy, joined the group a couple of days ago and was also going. He was going to have his mother drop him off here and I was going to take the boys to Brother Randy and Sis Kellie's home at 8:30 this morn. They live about 15 minutes away. This morning I woke up to a phone call from Jeremey at 6:00. The conversation went something like this:

Mrs. Morrow?
Yes
This is Jeremy.
Hi Jeremy.
Are you asleep?
(Not Now!)Um, no.
Well, I just wanted you to know that I was on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes.
OK, I'll wake Justin and he can greet you at the door....

So Jeremy got here and they went next door to the yard sale. Hannah went too. She found a tea pot for mom and a lava lamp and sandals for herself. She was pleased. Anyway, I took the boys to Brother Randy and Sis Kellie's home and there were already a couple of teens there. After we said our goodbyes I decided I would stop at Grandpa's Store on the way home and get one of those new Diet Dr. Pepper Berries and Cream. I often say I have Lucille Ball days and today was one of those days. It had been raining and I had on a pair of sandals with slick bottoms. When I walked in the store I took about five steps and my feet flew out from under me. My first thought was, oh dear!, and my reaction was to grab for something to hold on to so I wouldn't hit the floor. But the only thing there was a rack on the end isle with little debbie cakes and Lance Crackers on it. You know what I'm talking about. You've seen them. Anyhow, It was a very unsuccssful attempt and I hit the floor taking Little Debbies and crackers with me. I just sat there in my humiliation when the man at the counter turned and said, "Well...Darlin'." Then I cracked up and had to laugh. But did he offer to help a lady up? Nope. Is chivalry dead? Oh well. I still got my berries and cream soda.

I went shopping with my mother and there were no tragic events. She did buy me a beautiful suit and jewelry set for church. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. We shared a lot of laughs and giggles. We found some paint at Lowe's for her kitchen. It's going to be so pretty when it's painted. We chose a sand color because she likes Palm trees and pineapples and has the dishes and place mats and all that stuff.

We came home in time for me to eat lunch with Hannah and Harrison and then we left for a birthday party. Our SS teacher's daughter turned 2. She's a cutie pie.

Brother RJ and Sis Liz were getting ready to leave and needed me to move my car so they could get out. I figured I would just turn around in the yard and let them out and then park facing going out of the driveway, but as I was turning in the grass I realized the car was slowing down and eventually wouldn't move. I was stuck. Stuck in mud! Mr. Corriveau, Brother Ted and Brother Ken worked effortlessly to get my car out of the mud. Finally they had a plan that worked. They tied a cable from my car to Mr. Corriveau's van and pulled it right out. I was so thankful. You have no idea. I was just happy my front end wasn't torn apart. You have to know Brother Ken to understand that. Hehe. Just kidding, Brother Ken. I really do appreciate them working so hard to get my car out of the mud.

So I guess the answer to my question is No, chivalry is NOT dead. Thanks, guys.

Justin got back from the zoo sometime after 6:00 and told me all about his day. Here are some pictures from his trip followed by pics from Naomi's birthday:


The Birthday girl.


Baby Sam and Sis Liz


Blowing out candle.


Enjoying cake and ice cream.


Hannah


Justin....One of the young men in our church and cousin to Naomi.


Caleb enjoying a cupcake.


Jamie...another young man in our church and cousin to Naomi.


Michaela.


Naomi playing with her Koosh ball.


Harrison blowing bubbles at the party.


Yard damage from getting stuck in the mud.


Muddy car.


Bruce getting the mud off. Thanks, hon.

Doin Good...Doin Good!

I did pretty good today on my diet. No unfortunate mishaps like yesterday. YAY! Most of the day was spent taking Justin to his grass cutting jobs. I was able to visit with Sis Amanda and Celine today. Celine was in a spirited mood as usual with a wod of Easter Egg bubble gum in her mouth. I think she put every bubble gum egg in the pack in her mouth. She chewed bubble gum while eating her macaroni and cheese. Isn't that nice?

While Justin cut Sis Linda's grass I came home to eat lunch and check on Harrison and Hannah. Of course their father was here, but he was in bed asleep. Hannah had been cleaning up and Harrison had been playing. They were glad to see me because the neighbor girl that just moved a few weeks ago had come back to set up a yard sale at their old house and she brought over her new puppy, Buddy. He's the cutest little thing. A mix between Lab and Golden Retriever. He was so sweet. But our cats were less than thrilled with him. I say OUR cats. Only one is ours, but the other is the neighbors. She only THINKS she's ours. :)

I picked Justin up and we went grocery shopping at Wal Mart. He was hungry so I bought him a BLT sub, chips and drink from Blimpies. He ate there while I shopped.

We came home, put the groceries away and spent some family time together before Bruce had to leave for work.

Justin is going on the Teens-4-Christ zoo trip tomorrow with Brother Randy and Sis Kellie. He's looking forward to that. They're going to Columbia Zoo. I'll be going shopping with my mother to find paint for her kitchen and I think she is wanting to go shopping for some clothes for work.

What are YOUR plans for the weekend??

Sad, Sad Story

Today we had Mary Elizabeth, Caleb and Celine to grace our humble abode. I had to send ALL the children outside for fear they would wake Bruce from his sleepytime. Of course they weren't out there ALL day, just for about an hour or so after lunch. But they had fun jumping on the trampoline and swinging and that sort of fun kiddy stuff.

When the children were picked up, Bruce left to pay some bills and I took Justin to his Grandmother Morrow's house to cut grass while Hannah, Harrison and I visited with Grandmother and Bruce's Aunt Sue. When Justin finished cutting the front yard Grandmother pulled her car in the grass and Hannah washed it for her. Grandmother has a naughty bird in her carport that has taken up residence over her car...need I say more?

I started dieting today....UGH! Will this battle ever end? I know my new and glorified body will not suffer the pains of the eating war that it must endure on this earth. I guess that's just one more thing to look forward to, aye? But here's my very sad, sad story. :*(

Around 10:00 this morning I put a beautiful pot roast in the crockpot with a bag of carrots and some of my favorite seasonings. I'm doing the ADA diet where all food groups are incorporated. It's much more balanced and healthy that way. I decided that I would save my "meat" for the evening meal so I didn't have any for breakfast or lunch. All day long the smell of that roast was divine to my nostrils. It smelled so good. I was saving myself for dinner. I knew that it would be the best meal of the day. For breakfast I had a small bowl of cereal and for lunch I had a bagel. I was saving my calories. Anyway, I took the kids to my mother-in-laws where she was gracious to ask me if I wanted to eat something. "Oh, no, I've been cooking a pot roast all day with baby carrots and I'm saving myself for that." I was so proud of myself because she had cornbread and I was so hungry but I didn't have a smidgen of it. I'm saving myself I thought. Finally, the grass was cut, the car was washed and it was time to go home. Pot roast was on my mind and there was nothing in my way to keep me from sinking my teeth into that juicy, delectable meat. My hubby greeted me at the door. Move out of my way...I'm hungry! No, I didn't tell him that, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking it. I grabbed four plates out of the cabinet and began to portion out my children's servings. But wait....WHERE'S THE BEEF! There was a small portion of meat left in the crockpot about the size of an adult hand. (Bruce had eaten, but said his portion was small. It must have shrunk.) I suppose I could have divided what was left evenly among the four of us, but Justin is a growing boy and I knew he would need more. So I grumpily gave him my portion and settled for the carrots and a bowl of cheerios. This can't be God's will for me tonight, I thought, I've waited patiently for ten hours for that roast. What kind of lesson is He trying to teach me in this? When I figure out the answer to that one, I'll let you know. "This is great Mom," one child said. "Yeah, Mom. This is the best pot roast you've ever fixed," cried another. I'm glad they enjoyed it. But that's my sad, sad story.

We've had thunderstorms in our area today and as I was contemplating on what to write, I decided to post a hymn that was quite possibly written during the storm of the writer's life.

Till The Storm Passes By

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,

while the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place;

'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry,

keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try,

for there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"

But I know Thou art with me and tomorrow I'll rise

where the storms never darken the skies.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more

let me stand in Thy presence, on that bright, peaceful shore;

In that Land where the tempest never comes, Lord, may I

dwell with Thee when the storm passes by

CHORUS:

Till the storm passes over,

Till the thunder sounds no more,

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;

Hold me fast, let me stand

in the hollow of Thy hand,

Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

What hymn comforts you during your storms?

Park and Library

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day. I had Celine and Harrison but Justin and Hannah were invited to go to Carowinds with another family in our church. They had a really good time. They both love thrill rides and will ride nearly everything in the park. Hannah was happy that she was finally just tall enough to ride the vortex. I got on the drop zone last year and cried when I got off. I was never so happy to be off of a ride in my whole life. But I would probably ride it again....maybe not. Anyway, they had fun. Thank you, Sis Janet, for including my kids on your fun day.

Harrison had birthday money so we went to ToysRUs and he bought some story reader books for his story reader and a new LeapPad book for his LeapPad and some bump 'n go rc racers. He likes those. When we came home he opened his rc racers and a bubble maching blower that Celine gave him and he played with them all afternoon until Justin and Hannah got back home. Everyone had eaten late so I didn't have to cook.

Today we went to the park for a picnic and as we turned the corner coming in, there were my parents sitting under the shelter. They knew we were going and decided to surprise us. They surely did and it was a nice surprise. Then Sis Pam and her two children, Caleb and Nicole, showed up. The kids had a ball playing and were FILTHY when we left the park to go to the library. They were covered in dirt from head to toe. But oh, did they have FUN!

Next Tuesday the library will be having Benjamin Franklin. He's going to talk to the children about his love for reading and talk about his printing press. We're planning on going to that so I'll take pictures.

Right now I'm going to lay down for about 20 minutes and then I'm going to start supper. Hope you have a great evening!

Easter Pictures

Here are our Easter pictures of the family, the Easter parade at church and the ice cream social for our SS class after the PM service. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you need to. Hope everyone had a good day like we did.



Harrison, Justin, Hannah
Justin giving younger siblings hugs
Mary Elizabeth(I watch her, isn't she pretty?) Baby Trae and his mother, Donna
Baby Sam(Youth Pastor's son) and his Grandmother Parris
Meghan and her five children. Yes, five....only four can be seen. :)
Faith and Drew
LJ, Caleb and Mother Stephanie
Sidney(Check out those shoes!)
Naomi and Mother Tammy
Celine and Mother Amanda (I keep Celine too. Isn't she lovely?)
Kayson and Mother Paige. She's due with her second baby
Blake, Dylan and Mother Machelle
Levi
Cody and Mother Missy
Harrison, Benji, Makenzie
Callie, Bailey
Shelby
Nicole, Cheyenne, Ally
Hannah
Taylor, Kassie
John, Clint, Preacher, Ethan, Jamie
John IX, Justin, Spencer, Jeremy
Jesse, Elizabeth, Leanna, Monica, Jennifer and Paige hiding in the back
Bro Ken and Sis Tammy, our Young Married Director
Bro Joel and Sis Pam
Bro Jon and Sis Susan, Bus Ministry Director
Pastor and Sis Ava

Bro Thornburg and Daddy
Sis Janet, church secretary
Missy
Michaela, Youth Director's daughter
Us
Mom and Dad
Mom, me, Hannah
Bro Jay making a naughty face
Sis Brenda
Mom

He's Not Here

Our day began at 5:30 this morning. The kids had spent the night with my parents and Bruce and I were going to pick up our oldest son, Justin, from their house to go to the trade lot. But as we were backing the van out of our driveway, there was a big puddle where we had been parked and a trail of something following us to where we were sitting. Bruce got out and bent down to smell it. It was gas. Uh oh! He had a problem with the gas line a while back and it looked like maybe it was happening again. So he bent down to look under the van and when he popped back up his right arm was toally saturated in gas. Good thing he doesn't smoke. :) So anyway! we turned the van off and came back inside. He took a shower and crawled back in bed until the light of day so he could see to work on the van and I stayed up to do some laundry that I had been neglecting.

Since Bruce would be working on the van I decided to go on over to my parent's home and spend some Easter time with them and the kids. Mom and Hannah and I went shopping. Since Hannah already had her Easter outfit, she critiqued the outfits mother and I chose. She has a good eye for color and matching things. She did buy herself the cutest hat. I've never been a hat person. But she looked really cute in this one. It's a white derby style hat with a green band in the front and a burgendy flower pinned to the side. It's so cute!

When we finished shopping, we found a shoe store and were very successful there. Then it was back to Mom and Dad's for lunch where we were pleasantly surprised to see Bruce. He had fixed the gas line and was able to come there for a visit. I was glad to see him. Daddy fixed meat loaf for meat loaf sandwiches, only it fell apart and was more like meat mush. We slapped it on a hamburger bun and it was good. Mom and Justin didn't care for it. But I liked it all right. Daddy adds two ingredients to everything he cooks....ketchup and hot pepper seeds. So it was somewhat spicy. I'm sure I'll pay for it later. I've been getting heartburn lately and this was a definite recipe for one. Thanks Dad.

Bruce left Mom and Dad's to go see his mother who is very ill right now. Please pray for her. The boys and I came home and I dropped them off to go back to Wal Mart and find Bruce a tie. He needed a light blue solid and there was only ONE in the store and it was in the hands of another woman. So I prayed, "Lord, please let her put that tie down!! Please!!" And she did!!!!! I grabbed it before she changed her mind. Gotta be quick, you know. It's a beautiful light blue silk. Very nice. :) Yes, I thanked the Lord. Hannah stayed with Daddy so she could go to the rest home ministry tonight. She should be back any moment.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Matthew 28: 2-6

Happy Easter!

A friend of mine sent this to me in an email today. Thanks, Brenda!!

I thought I would post it for Easter. Enjoy!

The U in JesUs

Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God even stuck U in the name of His Son.

And each time U pray, you'll see it's true
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.

And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.

"Go into the world and tell them it's true
That I love them all - Just like I love U."

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?

It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know, but it all starts with U.

Keeper At Home

I was recently reading a young friends blog on being a keeper at home. It's very good. Check it out if you like. Just click on the word blog and it will take you right to it. She has given great insight on the subject! Good job, Courtney.

Tonight our family was cracked up because supper was not what I thought it was going to be, although our pot runneth over. Let me explain...

I decided I would fix breakfast for supper and opened up a pound of bacon to fry. When I retrieved my eggs we had only five, which was a blessing because there is only five of us. So I scrambled them up. Next I started working on my gravy. I decided to try some gravy my mother gave me. It's a powder mixture and all you do is mix the package with water thoroughly and set it to the side, boil some more water in a pot and when it boils rapidly you pour the gravy mixture in and it makes the best gravy. Only I didn't realize that it was going to make so much. I have a huge pot of white pan gravy sitting on my stove and no kidding, it could feed 20 people. I don't mean a pot you fix a small can of green beans in. I mean a pot you boil a whole chicken in. I made thirty-five biscuits and as you can probably guess biscuits and gravy was our main dish. :) My husband, of course, was thrilled. He loves biscuits and gravy and has promised to pick some biscuits up on his way home from work in the morning. I'm sure we'll be eating gravy for a couple of days. Anyone have an idea for gravy?? I'm certainly open for suggestions.

School Work, Preaching and Skits!

Things were back to normal today. Very quiet. It was so wonderful. The kids did their school work at the table together, which is something they haven't done in a LONG time. It was nice having them in here together with me and they seemed to get so much done and with a happier attitude. We were able to get a lot accomplished and I was glad of that. Harrison had a difficult time concentrating this morning with his little nose running non-stop and then his throat began to hurt. So I medicated him and that pretty much zapped the rest of his concentration. Bless his heart. We were going over phonics and he just sat there with that far away look in his eyes. I just told him to go lay down for a while and he was happy to oblige.

When she was through with her school work, Hannah watched a video of Phil Kidd on the Internet. He was preaching at the Faith Baptist Camp Meeting on Eternal Life. It was a really good sermon. But I would get tickled at Hannah because the video kept pausing like every five seconds or so and she would have to keep pressing the play button. And all the while she would mumble, "stupid devil!" It was so funny.

Justin completed some of his SIGMA books tonight and turned them in. I think he has one more and he'll be finished. He's going to the tradelot one more time this Saturday and I don't know if he'll go back again. To those of you who have given him things to sell, thank you so much. He's had a really good time going and selling and always has a story to tell. ( Aunt Dessie, if you're reading this, I'll probably come by Thursday or Friday to get that stuff you laid aside for him. OK?)

I was in a skit tonight with four other ladies in our church. The skit was on modesty and it was very difficult for all of us because it was a closed skit for mothers and grandmothers of the girls in the church ages 10 and up. It's too long to go into, but please pray that it hits home. The deliverance was in love but it was straight and to the point. There were some that were upset, but we expected that. Just pray that the Lord will deal in the hearts of those that WERE upset.

I have a TERRIBLE headache. My friend, Pam, and my mother both told me it was stress from the skit. So I'm going to close this post and go to bed. Hope you all have a wonderful, restful evening.

Love ya!

Everybody loves ChuckECheese!

Harrison had his chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and then later for a snack and then later for lunch.

Hannah pretty much played any board game that Harrison wanted to play today. They also made bobble eggs.

I made his cake and when Bruce got up we went to ChuckECheese for supper. There's a new one that's been built in Gastonia and Harrison has been wanting to go since before it opened. So today we decided it was time to go. We came back home for cake and ice cream. He had a wonderful time.

Here are the pictures....




Riding the clock


Justin playing Extreme Hunting. I think he was hunting deer here.


Maw Maw Birt.


Harrison riding the flying bicycle.



Playing basketball.



Hannah and Cheyenne.


Caleb playing a dinosaur game.


Brother Joel playing a racing game.


Nicole.


Harrison and ChuckECheese.


Bruce racing.


Harrison bought a whoopie cushion with his game tickets. Isn't that lovely?


Harrison and Grandmother Morrow.

Happy Birthday Daniel Harrison!!

Today is Daniel Harrison's SIXTH birthday. I thought I would share some of his baby pictures with you. He had a rough start but as you can see he pulled through and is a happy healthy young man.

His very first pictures



Learning to use a pacifier....As if he HAD to be taught.


Bruce rubbing his little back.


This one is just too funny not to share.


His first laugh.


Joe Cool!


Bruce would pull him in the wagon until he went to sleep. He loved that.


His first sucker.


Harrison with his sister and brother. Aren't they sweet.


Playing with his toys.


His first Christmas.


Bruce playing the guitar for Harrison.


The results of his first chocolate chip cookie.


Left too long in the high chair.


Sweeeeeeeeeet!


Showing his teeth.


Left too long in the swing.


His first tricycle. Bruce would push him up and down the street, over and over and over......


His first horsey. He loved his horsey.


Happy Birthday, Baby Boy. We love you!!

Gotta Love That Wal Mart!!

It's 12:30 AM and we just got home from Wal Mart. When there is no time in the day, you can always go at night.

The only thing bad about going this late are all the guys running the buffer machines you have to dodge because they will NOT dodge you!! It's like running down the field for a touchdown. And if you DO have to be in one of the buffer's way, they look at you like, "What are you doing here this late, anyway?" It's a 24 hr store and I need a chocolate fix! I'm kidding. I really don't care about chocolate that much, but I did have some things I needed to buy.

I needed to purchase some things for Harrison's birthday which is tomorrow....Or rather today, now. I bought some things for his cake and some ice cream. I have this pampered chef mixing bowl that comes with a cake recipe and you can bake the cake in the mixing bowl cutting it in half to make a football cake. I haven't decided if I'm going to try it since I've never attempted one, but I might. Before he went to bed he said he would like chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast in the morning, so that will be on the menu for sure and for certain.

Hannah started reading a new book today called The Children Of Mount Vernon by Miriam Anne Bourne. It is a guide to Washington's home and true stories of events that took place in the lives of Washington's children and grandchildren. When we play hide and seek we just count and say,"Ready or not, here I come." But when they played this all time favorite game, they said:

One a bin, two a bin

three a bin, four

five a bin, six a bin

seven give o'er.

A bunch of pins,

prick my shins

A loaf of bread,

come knock me down.

I'm coming!

Apparently, there was no talent for rhyme back then. But hey, as long as they gave the warning they were coming, right? I just think it's interesting to learn how children got along in those days. As well as adults. These are my favorite kind of books to read.

The Gospel Of Judas

This post is inspired by my Pastor, J Barry Goodman, and most of what I write tonight is from his sermon. So!

First of all, if it doesn't portray the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is NOT the gospel.

This is going to quickly become a controversial issue among Bible believing Christians and Evangelicals not to mention non-Christian liberals who are biting at the bits to accept this so called gospel and see that Judas wasn't as bad as we thought, but Jesus was.

Our family is KJV only readers and believers. We consider the KJV to be the final authority above all others. But something I did not know until tonight is that the KJV has been written and rewritten seven times since the first time they began translating it and that seventh time was the last time because it was correct. The number seven in the Bible is the number of completion. The Bible says in Psalms 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Don't go messing with the Word of God. "Experts" are adding and subtracting from the Word of God and people are sucked into a belief that it's still the Bible only in a language that we use today to understand it better. That's a lie. I mean think about it, our grandfathers and greatgrandfathers and great-great grandfathers had much less of an education that we have today and yet they understood the KJV just fine and that was all they had. I'm not going to pretend that I am an expert on the subject, because I am not. But I do know that the Bible warns us about adding to or taking away from the Word and that's all I need to know. But this isn't what this post is about. It's about this "new" gospel that has come to light. And the same "experts" that promote the rewritten perversions of the KJV are some of the same "experts" promoting this new so called gospel of Judas.

This so called gospel says that Jesus set up his own crucifixion and betrayed Judas by telling Judas secrets He didn't tell anyone else, making Judas look like a bad guy. But the truth is what the Bible says about Judas when Jesus, speaking to the twelve said, "...Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He was speaking of Judas because He knew that Judas would betray Him.

I just wanted to say that this new "gospel" they claim they have found is straight from Hell. The time of Christ's coming is closer than ever. Are you ready?

Galatians 1:6-9 "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel; Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Can you HEAR the warnings in these verses to stay away from those that are preaching and teaching things other than what is in the Bible? Read them again. The Gospel Of Judas is a lie.

Good News!

I had requested prayer for Brother Bobby Roberson a few days ago. He had surgery and everthing was good. The pathology reports came back and the cancer was confined to the tumor only. Praise the Lord for that.

DC and Weddings

I wasn't able to post yesterday and I missed it very much. But that allows me more to write about today.

I spoke with my mother last night and she had visited Arlington Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Washington Monument. While they were at the Washington Monument there was a military band there playing military music and they ended with the National Anthem. Mom said it was very moving and brought tears to her eyes. I don't know if they were going to do any sight seeing today, but I know she should be home this evening. I Can't wait to see her. I know she'll have some good stories to tell.

Harrison had a birthday party to go to last night for a little boy in our church. Happy Birthday, Caleb!! He had a really good time.

I went to a friend's home last night (hi Susan) to work on a project for church. There were five of us there. Hello ladies! You know who you are!

Today, Bruce and I went to find him some pants and T-shirts for work. He found some dress pants and a couple of nice shirts at the thrift stores. But no work clothes. We ate at the Asiain Buffet in Kings Mountain and then home. Justin has a youth outing at 4:00 and then we have a wedding tonight at 7:00. Our neighbor's daughter is getting married. I'm going to try and get some pictures of that if I don't forget my camera. You know how I LOVE to take pictures!!

"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."

"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church."

Ephesians 5:21-25 & 28-29

Normal Thursday

Today was a normal Thursday for us except for the fact that it was to be the last day for our little Celine to stay with us. Her mother had expected to work a few more weeks during the duration of her pregnancy but today turned out to be her last day....So we thought! Sis Amanda went into work today and there was a lot of confusion at work and now she has a desk job and her husband also has another position. SO! Celine will continue to be in my care for a few more weeks. I cried off and on today because I've had her since she was just a few months old and she's nearly three. It was rather emotional for me today but I'm glad I'll have her a few more days. I've said before that she's part of our family and we love her so much.

I spoke to our Pastor this evening and he said that Mother was not behaving herself on the senior trip. He said that she was hugging all the Senators they saw...EVEN TED KENNEDY! I believed him up until the Kennedy part. My Mother would NEVER hug him. All joking aside, she's having a ball. They all are. When I spoke to her tonight they were on the bus and it sounded like a bunch of teenagers the way they were laughing and carrying on. It was cute. I'm glad she got to go on this trip.

Psalm 111:1

"Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregatin."

Ohhhhhhh, How Sweet!

I heard from Mom tonight as soon as we walked in the door from church. The senior saints made it to Washington and was having a wonderful time. They are really excited about tomorrow. They are going to the Supreme Court and will be able to listen to some of the hearings on the new immigration laws. That's something to look forward to, isn't it?

Something sweet happened when they got to Washington this afternoon. Brother Joe Hurdt and his wife, Tina, have dedicated themselves to serving the Lord working with our senior saints. They take such good care of the saints when they're on a trip and tend to their every need. They treat them with such respect and love. ANYWAY! Their 25th anniversary was the third of this month and as a surprise, Brother Joe bought Sis Tina a diamond ring and Pastor Goodman helped them in renewing their vows in front of the seniors before they had service this evening. Mom said it made her cry and that it was one of the sweetest things she had ever seen. I spoke to Sis Tina on the phone and she said, "Boy, he pulled a big surprise on me this time!" Now isn't that nice??

I'm not sure who came up with this and how old it is, but I found it in one my books and thought it was kind of neat. If someone you know is getting ready to celebrate an anniversary and you're going to buy them something but don't know what, here is something that might help:
First anniversary......................paper
2nd...........................................cotton
3rd...........................................leather
4th...........................................fruit and flowers
5th...........................................wood
6th...........................................sugar and candy
7th...........................................woolen or pottery
8th...........................................bronze or pottery
9th...........................................pottery or willow
10th.........................................tin
11th..........................................steel
12th..........................................silk and linen
13th..........................................lace
14th..........................................ivory
15th..........................................crystal
20th..........................................china
25th..........................................silver
30th..........................................pearl
35th...........................................coral
40th..........................................ruby
45th...........................................sapphire
50th...........................................golden
55th...........................................emerald
60th and 75th............................diamond

Please pray for Hannah. She has come down with the sore throat and sinus trouble that is going around. She is not feeling well at all this evening. Thanks!

Mother Day

I had the opportunity to visit with both my Mother and my Mother-in-law today. That was nice.

My Mother is leaving for a trip to Washington in the morning with our Senior Saints from church. She is so very excited. I'm excited for her. I know she'll have a wonderful time. When 911 occured, they stopped the tours of Congress and the Capitol, but a man in our church was able to pull some strings and they will be able to tour. Isn't that wonderful? She's taking her camera and hoping to get some good pictures for me to share with you here. She asked if she happened to see President Bush and Hilary Clinton if I wanted her to take a picture of them. Of course I do. I thought I could use the pictures on this blog and title the post, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Ha!

My Mother-in-law came to see the new furniture and floor. She hadn't seen them except on the blog. She loved it. I knew she would. She stayed and ate tacos and cookies and cream ice cream with us. Then we visited for a while. It was nice because we hadn't seen her in some time.

I was able to speak to my friend, Rachel, today. I haven't been able to speak to her in what seems like forever. We laughed and giggled and it was so good to talk to her. Her baby girl's birthday was today. She's 22. Happy Birthday Courtney!! It was also good to talk to my friend, Debbie, yesterday. And then last week, my friend, Jennie. All three of these women are true and special friends. I wish we all lived closer together. But God has placed us in different places for a reason. I'm hoping He'll put our mansions together in Heaven. :)

I found out today that I'll be losing my little Celine this week. :( I was going to be losing her anyway because her mother is expecting and was going to quit around the time the baby was due, but God saw fit for her to be at home now. I'm glad that she will be able to be home, but I have to tell you, I'm going to miss Celine. She's been a blessing while I have had the honor of watching her. I'll miss her dearly!

Well, that's it for today. Have a great evening!

What Does Your Dress Say About You?

Hannah and I went shopping for her Easter outfit today. That was a lot of fun. We found a beautiful white gypsy style skirt with a pattern of pink flowers and greenery. But the pattern is not all over the skirt. Just every now and then. The tail of the skirt flows when she walks. That was my favorite part of the skirt. The top we found is a light olive green button up with quarter length sleeves that matches the green in the skirt and ties in the back. It's very simple, but pretty and MODEST!!! I was so disgusted with the clothes we saw today. Everything was hoochie looking. I remember when my mother would take me shopping for a dress and there were dozens of modest things to choose from. I had to buy Hannah's outfit in the junior department today because there were no clothes that would look decent on her in her actual size. They cut everything so tight and high. And although I never shop at the "big name" stores like Belk, Dillards, etc. I decided I would try those stores today because I just knew they'd have something. But NOTHING! Everything was geared to showing off the arms, the CHEST and back and we even picked up a skirt with a hole where the belly button would be. I told Hannah they must have put that there to show off a belly piercing. The skirt was really pretty, but the hole threw me off. It's sad when you have to spend all day shopping, not for something you like, but for something that is modest. OK, enough about that....I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. We found a pair of sandals the color of the shirt and a sequined pocket book to match. So she's set and ready to go. I told her to try it on for her dad so he could see, but she didn't want to show him because she wanted it to be a surprise for him. Isn't that sweet?

From Under Construction:
[What you wear not only says a great deal about you, but it also influences you. The clothing and jewelry worn by the wealthy women of Israel revealed pride, moral looseness, and rebellion against God. That's why Isaiah pronounced severe judgment on them.]

[We are all image-bearers of God. We are not junk! As God's creatures we are responsible to Him. When we look like slobs, we deny the dignity of our personhood. When we dress modestly, we please our Lord and reflect His purity. Yes, what we wear says a lot. It has an impact on ourselves as well as other.]

O Lord, we would please You in all

that we do,

In word and in deed we would always

be true;

And may we reflect in our manner

and dress

Devotion to Jesus, whose name we

confess.

Prayer Request

Some of you may know who Brother Bobby Roberson is. He is the Pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Walkertown, NC. He was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer and will be having surgery tomorrow, April 4, at 1:00. Please pray for him and his family and those that assist in his surgery. Here is a link to his church site. They will be updating on his condition periodically.

Dinner With Friends

We had dinner at Brother Joel and Sis Pam Rohrer's home tonight along with Brother Ken and Sis Tammy Carter.
My sweet hubby, Bruce

Brother Joel's AWESOME Tex Mex. Chicken and Steak, sauted shrimp and pepper strips and melted cheese. All of that on top of white corn chips makes a great dish!

Dig IN!

Even the babies love it.

(Sis Pam and Brother Joel) Gotta play a game of marbles. It's a homemade version of Aggravation and a lot of fun. We play this every time we go to their house.

Hans Rohrer

Sirus Rohrer

Wally Carter with my son, Justin.

We Found It!

Bruce and I found our furniture today. We found it at Laughlin's in Shelby. They had the leather sectional with end recliners we were looking for and also the table and chairs we liked for our dining area. Here are the pictures! Bruce bought those pretty rugs by the couch and under the dining table today at Lowes.

Thank you, Honey. I love it!



You can't see this rug very well, but it's trimmed in dark green and has a fruit pattern all the way around. It's very pretty.

WHAT A MORNING....

...And it ain't even noon yet!!

Justin, as some of you know, twisted his knee on one of the SIGMA trips last year. Well! Playing basketball last night at the all nighter, he jumped up to throw the ball in the hoop and when he came back down he twisted his knee again and is having trouble walking. That was nice to see when I picked him up this morning. SO THEN we left to pick Hannah up from her all night sleepover...

She was no where to be seen when I got there and Mrs. Susan took me aside to tell me that she had busted her nose last night and this is what greeted me at the door....



She's all right. Just really tender and sore. I was kind of upset that no one called me to let me know about my children being hurt, but I guess they had it covered. Anyway....



April Fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No one was hurt. Hannah is wearing makeup and Justin didn't hurt his knee. But I just had to do that for this special day. :)

GOTCHA!!!!