What I've Been Up To

Ok, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I have just been busy! Sometimes, life is just a whirlwind and the last few weeks have been like that.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Louisiana for the weekend. Donald's aunt is moving to North Carolina to live with her daughter. We went so Donald could see her one more time before she leaves and to help clean out the storage buildings she has there. A lot of his dad's stuff was still there from when he died. So we brought home a bunch of stuff. We gathered with his aunt, his sister and her husband, his brother, a cousin and her husband, two of Donald's deceased brother's children along with their families or boyfriend, and then another nephew who came to help out. We enjoyed visiting with all of them so much. Donald's family has really shrunk since his mom and dad and brother passed away. We don't see much of the nieces and nephews. His brother used to live one block over from us but has built a new home in Louisiana and recently relocated there. It is a beautiful place.

Then the next weekend Donald left on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I loaded up Jackson and some stuff and went back to Louisiana for a family reunion. I went with my Daddy and his wife and two of my sisters. And Jackson, of course. It was a reunion of my paternal grandmother's family, her brothers' and sisters' descendants. She and all her siblings are deceased. I think there was one surviving spouse there. Anyway, I did not know many people there. But my Daddy's older brother, Uncle Willis, came along with his two daughters and their husbands. I was very happy to see them. Uncle Willis is just a sweetheart of a man. He is 89 years old and still pretty sharp. He lost his wife, Aunt Ina Vee, back in 2002 and that was the last time I saw him and his children. They were the ones I was closest to growing up. Joan and Sharon were great to us and we just loved them to pieces. I enjoyed seeing them last Saturday.

Left to right, my cousins Sharon, Joan and my sister, Gale

My Dad on the left and Uncle Willis

A page from a photo album that was there

Sharon, Joan and Uncle Willis

Daddy, his cousin Spruce and Spruce's wife in the background

Daddy pointing out to Joan who is who in an old picture

Sharon, Joan and Yours Truly

Daddy and Jackson

This week has been busy even though Donald is still gone. Monday and Wednesday evenings were pretty quiet but I had the boys Tuesday night and then last night Jackson came to spend the night, a normal occurrence on Thursday nights. Today I have Mikey all day. He has been pretty good today. We walked around the block and I worked outside while he played. I planted some herbs and tomatoes. Let me tell you, this is not normal for me. I never work outside. And I certainly do not plant things. But I love basil and rosemary and thyme so this morning after picking up Mikey, we stopped at a nursery and bought a few things. We will see how it goes. I got them all planted and once I did and was reading the labels on everything, I saw that they all need good drainage. I checked and the containers I put them in had no drainage holes. So I found Donald's drill and made some holes. But not until after I put in a call to Josh to find out how to put the drill bit in the drill. I managed to do all that without hurting myself or the drill which is pretty amazing. I put Mikey down for a nap before I did all that with the drill. I don't think Mikey and power tools are a good combination.

The work of my hands

Rosemary and tomatoes

Basil and thyme

Tomatoes

Report on the Babysitting

Ok, the children have come and gone. Their mom is back at home and so are the children. It went fine. They arrived at around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday after having their hair cut. They had eaten supper so it was a pretty easy night. I put Mikey to bed at around 8:00 and then Jackson got ready for bed. I got in bed with him and read to him out of the Bible story book as is our custom. He loves doing that. Then I prayed with him and he went to sleep. He was asleep by 8:30. Mikey wasn't asleep yet but it wasn't long before he drifted off. On Thursday morning, Mikey was awake at 5:15. I left him in the bed and got myself ready for work. Then I went in to Mikey who was making a good bit of noise by that time. I changed his diaper and in walks Jackson. This is all before 6:00. So I get them settled in the living room, fix some strawberry milk for Mikey and juice for Jackson, and I make breakfast for Jackson. While he is eating that, I fix french toast for Mikey. But he wouldn't eat any of it. I got him to eat a little bit of bacon but that was about it. Jackson got dressed while I dressed Mikey. Brushed Jackson's teeth, washed his face, combed his hair (which he promptly messed up) and we were about ready to go. We headed to the school, dropped Jackson off there and then I headed over to Jenny's mother's apartment. She was keeping Mikey for the day. I was sitting at the red light close to her place and pulled the mirror down so I could look at Mikey who was jabbering in the back seat. I caught a glimpse of an earring and thought to myself "I thought I put on a different pair of earrings." So I push my hair back and there is a different earring on the other ear. Oh well, if that was the only casualty of the morning, I can live with it. I laughed at myself though. I got to work at 8:30 and stayed there until 2:30. Then I went to pick Jackson up from school. Oh yes, Donald has gotten home from his conference by this time. After getting Jackson, I swung by their Granny's to get Mikey. Thursday evening was pretty uneventful. Phillip came over to eat supper and spend some time with his boys. I got them bathed and in bed at a decent hour. This morning Mikey slept until almost 6:30. I took Jackson to school and then came back home to watch Mikey. He was very good and happy all day. He took a fairly good nap this afternoon and had just awakened when his mom came to get them. Mikey was very happy to see her. Jackson hid. He almost always hides when they come to get them. He is never ready to go home. However he looked a little pale to me. I took his temp and it was 100 degrees exactly. This is the third weekend in a row that he has had fever. It is time for the boy to go to the doctor. Anyway, we had a great time with them as always. They are good little boys and we are always thrilled to be able to keep them. Thanks, Phillip and Jenny, for letting them be with us.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have been busy lately and the next week will be also. In fact, the next month will be busy. I work 30 hours a week, which some people might think isn't much. And I know it is part-time. I leave for work at 7:40 and get home around 5:00. I come home after work and ride the exercise bike for 30 minutes. And I mean a vigorous ride. The bike registers at least nine miles when I am finished. Then I shower because I have really worked up a sweat after that. Then get us something to eat and this isn't hard work because we don't eat a lot at night. On Tuesdays, the grandchildren come over in the evening while their parents have date night. We enjoy those times with them. On Wednesdays, I usually work half a day. That afternoon is usually spent either going to the doctor, dentist, lab work, hair appts., or grocery shopping. I try to schedule all my medical stuff on Wednesday afternoons. On Thursdays, our older grandson comes to spend the night with us. On Friday, we get up early, take him to school then pick up his little brother. He spends the day with us. We take him home at 3:00 then go to pick up his brother at school. He comes home with us for a while until his dad picks him up when he gets home from work. The week is kind of a whirlwind. On Saturdays, we catch up with the housework, outside work, laundry, etc.

Tomorrow Donald is leaving town to go to a training event up near Conroe. That means I will have the boys by myself. Because of some things my son and his wife have going on, both boys are coming to spend the night on Wednesday night. I will take Jackson to school on Thursday and take Mikey to his Granny's for the day. I will go to work but leave early to pick Jackson up from school. Then pick up Mikey and take them back home with me. Donald will be home that evening so he will be able to help out if he isn't wiped out. The boys will spend Thursday night with us as well. Then Friday will be our typical Friday with the boys. It is looking to be more of a tornado week.

Later in the month, we have our annual retreat that we do for our pastors and staff and their wives. It is Thursday through Saturday so our kids will have to find other arrangements for the children. From the retreat, we will go straight to the airport to fly to Savannah, GA. A good friend of ours is being commissioned by the North American Mission Board and we want to be there. So we will be in Savannah from Saturday through Tuesday. I am really looking forward to it. I am hoping we get to eat at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). If not, I know we will eat something good.

Well I know I have rambled on long enough. And I guess I need to go find out who is ahead in the Superbowl. But I can't leave without posting pictures of the boys. So here they are.

God's Silence

Tonight I was reading in my "Experiencing God" book. The subject was the silence of God. Have you ever asked God for something and He is silent. I have. We have a wonderful six year old grandson. I love this child more than my own life. And we wanted more wonderful little grandbabies to cuddle and love on and have fun with. And so did my son and daughter-in-law. Four pregnancies ended suddenly even though we prayed and prayed that the babies would survive. It was impossible to understand how God could allow it to happen. And I don't guess I will ever understand it. I still weep over it, especially over little Evan who was born alive but whose little lungs were not developed enough to allow him to live long.

But in my study tonight, Blackaby says that one of the reasons God is silent is that He is getting ready to reveal Himself in a way that we have never experienced Him before. That he has something better for us than what we are asking for. I'm not saying that anything could be better than one of those little ones surviving. But what I am saying is that we would never have gotten this if they had:

And I can't imagine our lives without Mikey. So thank you, God, for this precious gift.

I'm Baaaaack!

Ok, that is goofy. But I am back. I am going to try to post at least 2 times a week. I make no promises but I will try.

The holidays were very good here at home. Josh and his wife, Ashley were here for the whole week of Christmas and it is always good to have them at home. We saw alot of Phillip, Jenny, Jackson and Mikey. On Christmas morning, Josh and Ashley were at her family's doing their Christmas thing so Phillip and Jenny invited us (including Aunt Gale who came in on Christmas Eve) to come over early to see the boys do the Santa thing. We had not done that before so it was fun. Jackson of course, knew just what to do. And Mikey caught on pretty quickly. He can really tear into the gifts. He isn't all that interested in them once they're opened but he is a good opener. They had a very good Christmas, got lots of things they wanted and some they didn't know they wanted. Their big surprise was a trampoline. They are still loving it. Jackson will even go home willingly if he gets some trampoline time. Anyway, they came over to our house around 11:00 or so. When Josh and Ashley came in a little bit later, we did our Christmas gift giving. Santa was good to all of us. I am loving my ipod touch from my wonderful hubby. Jenny, being a photographer, and Phillip gave some great gifts related to that. I love those pictures, especially the accordion photo album. And the calendar they gave us was so cute. It has all our important family dates on it along with pictures that fit for the month. Love it! I also got a couple of charms for my charm bracelet. Josh and Ashley know how to give good gifts also. They gave me a Jim Shore Santa ornament and a beautiful angel which shall stay out all year. Gale gave me an LSU purse and a jacket. A very nice haul for me.

New Years Day saw us out at the mall looking for deals. We spent $174 that day, so I guess we found them. Actually a good portion of that was for a new Bunn coffee maker. Our old one was in the process of biting the dust. Then we came home and prepared our cabbage, blackeyed peas and steak. It was all so good. I love cabbage.

Then on Monday, we had to go back to work. We are so blessed to have days off at Christmas. This year it worked out that we had two weeks off. It was wonderful and we thank GCBA for that. We have been busy ever since getting back into non-holiday routines.

One thing that happened over the holidays was that our kids got us involved with FACEBOOK. It has been so much fun. We have been in contact with alot of old friends from Pearl, MS where we lived before moving to Texas in 1983. We love those people! I hope we don't lose contact again.

Ok here are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Here's Mikey

Today has been a special day in our family's life. This morning Phillip and Jenny adopted Mikey. He came into our lives on January 11, 2007 at the age of 2 days. What a blessing he is to all of us! We consider him and Jackson to both be our miracle babies. Thanks to those of you who have prayed for our children during the last three years. And without further ado, heeeere's Mikey!

The Graduate

Yes we celebrated another graduate in the family last night. Jackson graduated from preschool and it was a wonderful celebration indeed. Each teacher introduced each pupil in her class and read a paragraph about the child. Mrs. Connally, Jackson's teacher, called Jackson her Jedi for Jesus which is perfect. He is so Star Wars crazy, but loves Bible stories. At the end she said, "Jackson, I will miss you and may the force be with you!" He loved it. Jenny had prepared a small celebration at their home for him. He was excited about the party.