Dear Lord, please teach me how...
to let things roll off of my back.
to turn the other cheek.
to indulge myself in You, whenever my world gets crazy.
to trust that You have a plan, whenever I can't figure out what it is.
to see with Your eyes.
to love with Your heart.
to trust like You.
to let go of my anger.
to find my hope in You.
to put all of my trust in You.

A Spa Day

What are two "girlie girls" supposed to do on a snow day. What else but have a spa day. First we got a facial recipe from the Internet.

SPA Home Recipe of the Month! Mocha Facial Mask
Clean skin holds more moisture and looks brighter. The milk and coffee contain natural food acids that help rid your skin of surface debris and dead skin cells. The cocoa powder helps condition and soothe your complexion. Use weekly to wake up a dull complexion--especially in the winter!
Mix together 4 TBS of finally ground espresso or coffee; 4 TBS of cocoa powder, 8 TBS of whole milk until you have a smooth paste. Spread over clean face and neck. Let sit for 15 minutes and rinse well with warm water. BONUS : Smells great but adds no calories to your diet! Great for keeping your New Years Resolution.

This is what the mixture looked like before we put it on our face.
Here we are as it dries....

And now with our cucumber slices over our eyes. We are supposed to be relaxing, but the giggles wouldn't stop.

Maci made a nice healthy relaxing drink for us to sip on.

Next we did pedicures....

Maci using Molli's massager that she got for Christmas from Tyler.

Sorry Molli, some girls have to go to work.

Then it was popcorn and a movie.

Maci picked Steel Magnolias. So, I also got a good cry in.

It was such a fun day. Now we're ready to face the work and school week.

Guess we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm sure that if we are stuck in the house again, we can come up with something fun to do.

If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Not again......What is the Deal?

Yes again! The deal is that we got an incredibly, huge, accumulation of snow. 5 1/2 inches to be exact and still coming down, with ice underneath. I'm staying home! I got up at 4:30am with Jim and checked wsaz.com for school closings, and Maci was staying in bed. No school for her! I got ready, warmed the car, got in, texted Carolyn so that someone would know where I was if something unfortunate happened, and headed out. Down the driveway - fine. On to the road - fine. Well, it's dark, it's snowing HARD, and I can't tell where the road is. This is NOT fine. I stopped in the middle of the road (not very far at all from the driveway), called Carolyn and stated the facts. She, of course, said GO BACK. So, that's exactly what I did. Turned around right there in the road, someones driveway, I'm not even sure, but I did get turned around. Back down the road - fine. Turn in to my driveway - fine. Pull back in to my parking place - fine. I'm waiting till it's daylight. Molli just started a new job (actually, it's her second day) in Ravenswood and feels like she has to go so Tyler is taking her. Thought a little about having Tyler drop me off at work. But couldn't forget the December mishap. Also, it is supposed to get worse as the day goes on and Maci is at home so I decided not to go to work at all because what if we couldn't get back home tonight to Maci. I'd have to walk home - no way I'm leaving her home overnight by herself. So here I am, posting on my blog. Thought you might enjoy some pictures of the snow. Yip, that's 5 1/2 inches!

FYI - Jim made it to work in Putnam County fine. Molli and Tyler made it to Ravenswood fine. I made it back to bed for a while, then drinking some hot chocolate and visiting with Maci - just perfectly fine if you ask me. We're going to do manicures and pedicures, watch a movie, and then she thinks that we're going sleigh riding. Well, we will see about that.

A Pampered Chef Party for Molli

On Friday, January 30th, at 6:00pm, Molli's future mother-in-law, Teresa Evans is having a Pampered Chef party. The 'points' from the sales at the party will go to Molli so that she can "purchase" items for her and Tyler's kitchen. If you'd like to attend, or need to order anything, just let me, Molli, or Teresa know. Thanks!

A Gift for Jim...

My friend, Carolyn Rader, is a HUGE Marshall fan just like Jim. She has contacts, being the Mayor, past principal of Fairplain Elementary, Marshall majorette, etc., that Jim doesn't have. She enabled Jim to have lunch with Coach Bobby Pruett. I thought I would just die watching Jim and Coach discussing past games. I was so happy and excited for him that I couldn't even eat. She loves Marshall 'stuff' just like Jim. Well, on Friday, a couple guys came in to visit Carolyn. When I asked whom I could tell her was waiting to see her, they replied.. KO Marcum and Red Dawson. Now, Red Dawson doesn't really excite me, except that I have watched the "We Are Marshall" movie enough times with Jim to know who Red Dawson is. If you don't, he is the coach that did not get on the plane in the 1970 crash that killed the entire football team and coaching staff. I knew that Jim would love to have an autograph because he is planning on having his 'Marshall Room' when Molli gets married and moves out. I excitedly went to Carolyn's office and announced repeatedly that Red Dawson is waiting (while she was on the phone might I add). When she was finished with her phone call (I waited), I told her that Jim would probably kiss her on the face if she'd get him an autograph. I went back to my office to find something that he could autograph, and what came to mind first was this picture of Jim in his 'lucky' Marshall apparel. This outfit does include the green and white stripped socks, green Adidas tennis shoes that say "Go Herd" on the back, white shorts, Marshall T-shirt, and Marshall Hat. If you're even wondering if he wears this to the games.....the answer is YES! I know, how embarrassing for me. I love him, so I go along with his antics. Anyway, while I'm getting the picture, Mr. Red Dawson comes in to my office and says that Carolyn doesn't want the kiss, but he'd take one from me for a picture with him. I DID NOT kiss him, but he had Carolyn take a picture of he and I, with me wearing his Marshall hat, and KO took a picture of him, Carolyn and I with Carolyn wearing his hat. He told Carolyn to have the pictures printed in the size we wanted, to send them to him, and he would autograph them and mail them back. Jim didn't have to kiss Carolyn either, but Mr. Dawson autographed this picture with.... Jim - Nice outfit! Oh my, Jim sure doesn't need any encouragement Mr. Dawson. Anyway, huge thanks to Mr. Dawson and to Carolyn who is always thinking of others first.

Cute Little Miss Kensley

Sweet Little Miss Kensley and her Mom, CaSandra, came for a visit Saturday evening. They came so that I could see what a big girl Kensley is getting to be with her pierced ears. CaSandra can take a much, much better picture than I. Little Miss Kenlsey is so, so cute and smiled adorably, but I never could get a picture of the smiles, but this picture shows her cute earrings. I'll steal a picture off of CaSandra's blog when she posts one and put it on here (ha!). I just did it...the one in pink is a picture CaSandra took. Maci adores her. She had such a good time playing with Kensley.
Kensley is so good. She just sit on Maci's lap and played with her cute shoes,
and kept an eye on her Mama.
Also, notice Maci's hair cut? She got bangs. We now think that she looks more like Morgan, but people at church think that it made her look more like me.

The First Big Purchase Together

Molli and Tyler purchased a "new" car together. On Friday, they drove to New Jersey to purchase a Volkswagen Golf. It was a 14+ hour round trip. Tyler drove his truck back and Molli drove "her" car. How exciting! I guess the next big "together" purchase is a house.

A Wedding Planner

Molli found the "perfect" Wedding Organizer that she wanted from Russell+Hazel.com. It cost $75. It matched her wedding decor almost perfectly. I was ready to purchase it for her, but upon further research, discovered that it did not contain many of the checklist and "pockets" that she needed. Those things had to be purchased separately. So............. I decided to make one for her. I purchased the notebook, tabs, clear pocket envelopes, scrapbooking supplies, etc. Molli and I sat down one evening and put it together and personalized it. And, here is Molli with the finished product.... Molli and I posing with the book (although you really can't see it for the glare).

The front.....

The first pages....
Inside, it has tabs and pockets for information concerning Wedding Dress, Wedding Cake, Reception, Groomsmen, Bridesmaids, Registry, Wedding Day Checklist, Bridal Party Gifts, Honeymoon, Photographer, and others that I can't remember at the moment. I could get it and check and see, except that Molli is not home, and it goes EVERYWHERE with her!

As everyone knows, I LOVE to organize
(and maybe, just maybe, someone else enjoys to just as much as I do).
If Molli likes to organize, it should come as no surprise really. At the young age of two, her one year old sister, Morgan, would pull ALL of the pampers off of the changing table, and I would come in to the room to hear Molli telling her...."Morgie, you can't do that. You have to pick up like me", as Molli was picking them up and stacking them, in rows, back on the changing table.
I should have known then!

My New Quilt (A Christmas Gift from Mom)

Mom hand quilted a quilt for me for a Christmas gift this year. It is a "tumbling block" pattern. She HAND stitched each piece of this quilt. A gift like this is better than any store bought gift. There were many, many hours spent with needle and thread in hand. It truly is a labor of love. Here it is on our bed. We have an extra memory foam mattress on our bed which makes it much taller than normal. So that means that quilts have to be bigger than a king size quilt.

My brother and sister-in-law got me a gift certificate to Mill Creek Trading Company (my favorite non-clothing store!) for Christmas and it burnt a hole in my pocket till I went and bought this picture for our room.

These pictures really do NOT do the quilt justice. It is beautiful. I decided a long time ago that I'm going to enjoy gifts like this quilt instead of folding it up and storing it away so that it won't get ruined. With proper care, I'll get to enjoy and still pass it on to the girls and hopefully grandchildren some day.

Sweet Little Miss Kensley

This picture is just too cute for words!

She is adorable......and she calls me Grandma Lu.

What is more sweet than that?

A visit with family....

Since we were close to Montgomery on Monday, we decided to stop in and visit Jim's Aunt Margaret Brown. She is Jim's dads sister. There were 15 children in this family.

It was fun to get to sit and visit and especially to hear lots of stories about Jim when he was little.

Another Goodbye...

Before I realized it, it was time to say goodbye to Morgan, yet again. Two more months till we'll see her. My heart breaks once more. How could you not miss this sweet face? She was all packed tight in the car ready to meet her ride.
Once at Riverside, she's ready to unload in to his car.

His trunk after one load of Morgans stuff....

Two loads.....

Three loads......and this poor boy doesn't have any sisters so he has no idea that there is more.

All packed up and ready to hit the road. Her friend, Dustin hauls her back and forth to UT.

Jim was able to look over the fact that he is dressed in WVU do to the fact that he saves him about 14 hours on the road.

They are ready to head out....

One more hug and kiss. Miss you bunches!

Two months is an awfully long time!

Charleston Wedding Expo

Today Molli, Morgan, Maci and I went to the Charleston Wedding Expo at the Charleston Civic Center. How Fun!!!!We went to 60+ exhibits that showcased everything from bridal dresses to honeymoon cruises. We got some good ideas, sampled some delicious wedding cake, and came home with visions of a beautiful wedding dancing in our heads. Now if we can just get all those good ideas written down, planned out, paid for, and ready by August 7th we're in good shape. (We've got about 7 months till the big day, so I'd better get off the computer and get to work.)

2009

I still cannot hardly write 2009. Where have the last 20 years gone? I see evidence of their passing. I remember sights, joys, emotions, and heartaches they have left seared on my heart. I see three beautiful young women. I feel Jim's touch. But still, I don't remember them passing so fast. I'm saddened that as things change, I can't remember all the little details. The last diaper I changed. The last walk to and from elementary school with the girls. The last time Jim gave the girls their baths at the end of the day, carried them to bed and tucked them in. The many, many good times I have had with dear friends that are no longer a daily part of my life. As the past 20 years have been one blessing right after the other, I confidently look ahead to many more blessings, and know that they will come because I am a child of God. And I can move confidently forward because I know that he loves and cares for those dearest to me much, much more than I am capable of. With all these memories and thoughts that I hold very close to my heart, I excitedly more forward into another year that promises to be exciting and full of memories. We will have a wedding, and will welcome a son in to our hearts and lives. Morgan is ready to leave for TN again. It amazes me that how just having her home for a month erases the pain of her being gone for four. And how, now that it is time for her to leave again, the pain is also there again. She will finish her first year of architecture school. Maci will begin her second year of high school. Molli will move out. And with that, Jim will excitedly get his man room. As I finish reflecting on the passing of time, and crying while the girls and Tyler make fun of me, I know that in a few years they will have these same feelings in their heart.

While all these changes swirl around me, it is comforting to know whose I am. That God always loves me. That he only wants what is best for me. And, that he is always near to guide and comfort.

In finishing, I find it only fitting to close stating that as these times change, I've still got the love of my life. And, he's still the one I run to....the one that I belong to...

..... the one I want for life... .....he's still the one I love....

.....the only one I dream of......

.....still the one I kiss goodnight!

Thank goodness he's loved me for the past 25 years,

and I pray that it will be another 50, at the least.