For Today:

Outside My Window: The sun is coming up, and my Daylilies are just beautiful.


I am thinking: I’m happy Rob is off for the week to work on Bobby’s addition and get ready for another yardsale.

I am thankful for: The extra days we got to spend at the River.

From the Kitchen: Homemade Lasagne, Salad, Garlic Bread

I am wearing: Blue Butterfly PJ shorts set

I am reading: 90 Minutes in Heaven, and Devotionals for couples with my hubby. They just keep getting better!!

I am creating: An eBay clearance to get rid of my kids clothes and concentrate on just jeans.

I am hearing: Me typing on the keyboard. Everything and everyone else is quiet and sleeping.

Around the house: The animals are laying beside me, the house is littered with leftover yardsale items from our yardsale at the river, and I have 4 days of laundry to do, fun fun fun!!!!

Here is the picture I am sharing: She's never done this before, but for some reason, Mitzi wanted to lick Bobby's feet!!

No Maid!!

This is gonna be a rough week! My mommy is on vacation :( That's means I have to work with Sarah, cater to her every whim (lol), wash my own clothes and dishes, and make it to Church 3 nights this week, in addition to eBay, taking care of my next door neighbors (Jay broke his femur bone at work in Suffolk so he's in the hospital there and Kelly is staying with him) house and dogs, and cooking. Don't ya feel sorry for me? Why not?

Because Mommy's not here to help, I gave myself a "schedule" of how to get it all done. I'm setting a timer and working on each thing that needs to be done for one hour. If I don't finish in one hour, it just doesn't get done until the next time it comes up on the list.

So far, that's not working out so well. I've spent one hour cleaning the living room and dining room. It only took 30 minutes, which was good because Bobby wanted Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits for breakfast so I had to stop and cook. That took up the first hour. Then I gave myself one hour to clean my bedroom, but I spent most of that time putting clothes away and rearranging my closet.

Now I'm spending one hour on eBay and blogging and that's not gonna be nearly enough time, but that's all I got, so I may end this blog in mid sentence, ya never know!!!!!

I have an hour set aside for Bible reading (usually do that first, but the windshield guy was coming back at 8:30 to try and do a better job than the last guy, third times a charm they say!!, so I had to clean first today), and an hour for exercise, in between running to the Post Office. Hope I get them both in!! Anyhoo....

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and we had a great day!! Sarah and Bobby gave me Gift Certificates to Home Depot and Wal-Mart. (I "hinted" that I wanted to buy flowers so Gift Cards would be great!) They are such observant children to pick up on my hints, *wink, wink*!!!

We went to Church with my Mom, then went to Rob's Mom's for dinner. Here are a couple of pics I took:

We Love Our Mommies!!

I took my Mommy to the Craft Show at Fort Clifton Satuday. That's our annual Mother's Day activity. This year it was great. I bought 3 of the cutest birdhouses made out of gourds. One for Mommy, Mommy-in-law and me. I wish I would have bought my sister-in-law Robin one, cause she just loved them too!! Mom liked them so well she bought her another one for the River.

Mine has a brown roof to match my new siding
Mom's was Blue and Sandy's was Reddish Pink

I wish I would have taken my camera, because they had the men, women and children walking around in period costumes. They were so neat!!

Okay, guess what? Sarah and Bobby are going together to buy dinner tonight so I don't have to cook. I have the most amazing children!!!!! You know what that means? I have an extra hour to work on the computer, yepeeeeeeeee!! I'll finish this blog after all!

Well, I have to post to Craigslist and eBay today, so I better shut up and move along. First, a Modified "For Today":

Outside My Window: It's rainy and cold. What happened? This morning it was nice out and I put on my shorts and shirt. Now I'm freezing !!!!

I am Thankful For: In honor of Mother's Day, my Children & my Mother and Mother-in-law. They're awesome!!

From the Kitchen: Pizza Hut Lasagne and Salad for dinner, but I'm in the mood for Baked Chicken and Garlic Baked Potatoes. Maybe tomorrow!

I am Hearing: Sarah in the shower and Rebel doing that "I want to bark but I can't put forth the effort" under his breath bark. No TV, No noise, it's soooo nice!!

I am Reading: Song of Solomon with my hubby, 90 Minutes in Heaven (I'll finish it one day, I promise!!), Though the Bible in a Year

The Picture I'm Sharing Today:
A Few Random Pictures:

Spooky Stormy Sky Saturday!
I saw one tornado over that roof years ago, thought I was gonna see another Sat.

Do you see what's waiting at the end of my rainbow?
It's my handsome hubby!!

Rob & I are obsessed with Beautiful Sunsets right now. We walk at the River at Sunset so we can see them. He was on his way home Sunday when he called to tell me to look outside, and I just had to take a pic!!

Wow, this is long, but I won't get another chance to blog this week so I gotta get it all in! Have a great week everybody :)

How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?
Psalm 116:12, NIV

Thankful Thursdays

Just a few things I'm thankful for today:

I was able to get my tomatoes and peppers planted in the rain yesterday.

Our "big" credit card bill came and it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be with all the remodeling stuff on there, yay! Gotta pay it off every month you know :)

We finally got the van window replaced after 9 days and two appointments (we think a lawn mower was the culprit in this broken windshield)

Bobby is up bright and early and actually wants to talk to me. Of course it's about his truck, but hey, he's talking!!!

Sunday is Mother's Day, so I'm so thankful Rob and I still have our Mothers with us and that they are such a blessing to our family!!

I'm thankful for the love and support of my husband, children, and parents and I am sad for those who don't have a close relationship with their families. My prayer is that families could forgive and forget and move on because life on this earth is short.

The fun we had at the racetrack Friday before we went to the river, and the great pictures I got of the show "Trackside on Speed" being taped.

Rob in front of the Jumbotron.
Of course they cut to a commerical when I snapped the picture!

By the way, here's a great picture of my cousin's son Lee Dodson at his first Sprint Cup trip to Victory Lane! Great job Lee!!Talledega '09
That's Lee over Brad Keselowski's left shoulder
Where are you in this pic, Lee?

He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20

For Today:

Outside My Window: It looks like rain again!

I am thinking: I had so much fun at the River with my hubby even though it rained most of the weekend. We did go to yard sales and thrift stores & our favorite storage units. (At the River they have people who sell out of storage units every weekend, it's kinda cool! They buy up other storage units and sell)

This is the unit the guy opened just for Rob & I to search for jeans. It was a total mess, but as we looked through, Rob straightened and boxed the left side of the unit for the guy!! That was fun! We were there a couple of hours. I found a few jeans, but I found more stuff for us!!

River Church was awesome as usual!!
We rented and watched Marley & Me and cried like little babies!!

I am thankful for: The 15 things I sold this weekend on eBay.

From the Kitchen: Getting ready to fix breakfast. Not sure about dinner yet, maybe steak subs.

I am wearing: Guess, this is almost always the same!!!!!

I am reading: Thru the Bible in a Year, and Devotionals for couples with my hubby.

I am creating: A garden and flower bed if it would quit raining.

I am hearing: Rebel barking and snorting, it’s a little annoying at 7 in the morning.

Around the house: Bobby just left to take Kate to school, Sarah is snug as a bug in a rug, Rob’s off to work, I’m checking e-mail, eBay, etc.

Here is the picture I am sharing: One of my favorite pics of my babies when they were babies at Christmas Time!

Junkyard!

Did you ever have a neighbor who's back yard looked like Sanford & Sons? I mean crap everywhere!!! Looks like the never ending yard sale, except there is no sale. Isn't that soooo annoying??!!!!! Just ruins the view for all the other neighbors. You work so hard to make your back yard look so nice, then you're Junkyard neighbor screws it all up? Well folks, I AM that neighbor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I'm not proud of it, and it's NOT MY FAULT!!! I have a son who has to have every big boy toy known to big little boys, and cause he lives with Mommy, Mommy gets to store it all.
Can I sell anybody a boat? How about a jet ski? A Blow-up Boat? Some tires? Give me a couple of days and I might have a four wheeler to sell!! Sorry, the siding is NOT up for grabs, but I can't wait to get that out of the yard too!!

I have a better idea. Who wants to buy a big, strong, sweet young man? He comes with mandatory removal of all of the above toys!!! Any offers?

Rob built me a very nice patio a few years ago, and I had the back yard decorated so nice with lots of flowers and "Yard Stuff", but now I don't even want to go back there, much less decorate.

Patios don't need floor mats, do they?

Last week this area was a pile of "Dump" stuff
Soon it will be a pile of tomato plants, yay!!!!!

P.S. As I'm typing this, Bobby is sitting here telling me about the dirt bike he's going to get, SOMEBODY STOP ME BEFORE I HURT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Paradise!

The River was soooo much fun this weekend! We went on a little "date" (our new weekly plan) on the way down, stopping at my favorite "Greasy Spoon" restaurant in Saluda. It used to be called the Oasis, a perfect name I thought. They recently remodeled and changed to a cowboy theme, and the new name is Briscos. The name is not as charming, but the atmosphere is much better. All the food has Cowboy Food themed names.

In spite of all I ate this weekend, by the way thanks Mom for the yummy Pound Cake that we made strawberry shortcakes out of (I had 3), I still managed to lose another pound, yay!! Must have been the daily walks around the whole campground that just about killed me!!

I took some pics of my new River decorations. Sorry to bore you, but here they are:

This boat was a Yard Sale Find!
Christmas Present from Mom
Hubby bought me this last week cause it says "Riverfront"!!
My favorite sign, cause everybody knows I call my camper Paradise!!!!!!

Saturday we just piddled around, cleaning and getting everything ready. I cooked hamburgers on the grill and Mom provided TWO desserts! We forgot our TV Box, so there was no watching TV this weekend. It was GREAT! I think TV's should be banned from the campground, except for when it rains (don't get mad at me Dad!!!!).

Sunday. Wow!! Sunday we went to our little Church of God at the River. It has changed so much, but it was AWESOME!! This is our interim Pastor Carpenters home church. Dad had to pick up some lights for our Church there, so we all went. The music was terrific. Very contemporary. Much more so than our Church! The new preacher is a biker dude with tats who preaches in jeans. His message was great! He mentioned several times how God made such a drastic change in his life, but didn't change who he was, just how he was. The people there were super friendly as usual. There is one other couple that we've met that also camps nearby.

This is the "Resource Center" located just outside of the sanctuary at our River Church. It is so neat! Visitors fill out their info sheet here, then they give you a gift for visiting. A great little book wrapped with ribbon. It's an awesome idea!!

Of course having worked in Children's Church, I had to check out their room!

It was too cute!!

Sunday afternoon, Rob did "Wifely duties" as he calls it. He put up new rope lights (tropical blue this time!), fixed a broken sign, and shampooed the living room carpet while I cleaned the kitchen and grill. Then we had to eat dinner on the bed cause it was so cold outside, and the carpet was still wet. It was great! Dinner in bed, you should try it.

Okay, I'm not bragging, but wait, yes I am!! My favorite part of the weekend was when we got home, and Rob gave me a pair of 1/2 carat diamond earrings to end the weekend on a great romantic note!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that man!

A New Beginning!

If you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that you Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25


This was a recent devotion for couples that Rob and I read. We've been going through a season of change in our relationship, and God has blessed us beyond measure!!


Few people know the struggles we had early on in our marriage. I was so young. Graduated from High School one month, and married the next. I recently read Denise Jackson's book "It's All About Him", written about her husband, country singer Alan Jackson, and her journey to find a closer relationship with God. I could have written a lot of that book myself!! I saw myself in so much of her: married so young, letting Rob make all the decisions because I had no idea what I was doing, afraid of failure, trying to make myself into what he wanted me to be to make him happy.


I had this dream of Rob being my Knight in shining armor, taking me away to live in my very own castle that he had provided for us to live happily ever after in. My dream mirrored the way I saw my parents marriage, as happy and loving. Meanwhile, Rob had his own ideas of what marriage was like based on what he saw growing up. We never talked about our differences, and I never even thought to consider that he saw things so much different than me, but we both harbored hurt and resentment for the way things were going in our lives.


We also stopped going to Church, which was the biggest mistake we ever made. We now know that God put us together for a reason, and He meant for us to stay together forever. But those first years neither of us thought we would make it, much less be as blessed as we are today!


We eventually got back in Church, gave our lives back to the Lord, and God healed some of the hurts we had faced, and changed both of us. We went on to become very happy in our marriage and deeply in love with each other, something we never thought would happen in those early years.


Through the devotions that we have recently started for couples, we have started talking about past hurts and disappointments and really trying to understand why we did the things we did. It has been the best thing we have ever done. We've had a great marriage for many years now, and I couldn't have thought it would be any better, but these devotions have brought us so much closer, and helped us to realize that we want only the very best for each other, and never want to cause each other such pain again.


It hasn't been easy to talk about past hurts, and we've cried and laughed and scratched our heads at the things we've learned. We've learned things about each other we never knew. We've talked about feelings we never knew the other had (or at least didn't want to know back then). We've vowed to be there for each other no matter what, because we serve an awesome God who cares about our every need, and he knows we need each other more now than ever!! God has shown us through His Word how important it is to lift each other up, hold each other in high esteem, pray for each other and with each other, and keep our eyes focused on Him. He's given us a renewed faith, and scripture confirmation of His plan for our lives, and we want to serve Him with our whole beings.


One thing that had always been a huge source of contention with us was that I am the eternal optimist, while Rob has always been the eternal pessimist. I see the glass half full, he sees the glass half empty. I look for the good, he looks for the bad. We now know that it has a lot to do with how we were raised, and we work to help each other see the middle ground. If it were up to me, we'd have no worries, no money, and life would be an unorganized mess!! If it were up to Rob, we'd never do anything for fear it wouldn't turn out right, we'd never spend a penny for fear of being broke, and life would be soooooo boring!!


Rob says the best thing to happen to us in a long time was buying the trailer at our campground,
and the next best thing was taking Sarah back and forth to school when she was in Staunton.


Both of those things gave us much needed time together as a couple. For years and years Rob worked as much overtime as he could, allowing me to stay home and take care of our precious babies. When he wasn't working at work, he was working on a project at home. We never spent any quality time together without the kids. We went on one trip that I can remember without Sarah & Bobby, and that was a quick weekend at the beach.


Driving back and forth to Staunton, we had our little coffee and doughnut "dates", and driving back and forth to the River gives us time to talk and reconnect and share our dreams and plans with each other. It's been so great!!


We have also come to see the need for continuous planned "together" time. We sometimes get so busy, but we know that we need to take a break from the rat race and recharge together. It's been so fun to plan our "dates". We feel like little high school kids again, and take great joy in embarrassing Sarah and Bobby by holding hands and stealing kisses every chance we get. We consider it "payback" for doing it to us!!!!!


Some couples are really good at this "together" time, but for us, it's been a long time coming, and a great blessing. We have always been together and supportive of each other as a family, but God has shown us how great the "together" time can be for us apart from everybody else. The only problem right now is that we only want to be together, and have a hard time going our separate ways. I guess that's a great problem to have, and we're not complaining!!!!


If you have never done couples devotionals, I'd like to recommend it! The book that has changed our lives is called "The One Year Devotions for Couples" by David & Teresa Ferguson.
It seems like it was written just for us, and you may feel the same way. If you want to see your spouse as God sees them, and connect with them on a level you never thought possible, this is the book for you. I'm sure it will change your life for the better!!


I know this post is long, but I wanted to give you a little understanding as to why I haven't posted much in the recent past, and give God glory for working miracles in our lives. He is the one true and constant hope we have, and the reason we have the freedom to forgive!!


Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you,...forgiving one another just as God in Christ also forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32