calm after craziness

I changed my blog around a bit.... was a little hard finding backgrounds I really liked with 3 column. I think this makes it simpler, but I also feel like I am sitting on the other side of the church!!!! It is a bit uncomfortable to have things different... but hopefully we'll all get used to it! lol!

I did remove the prayer requests because I was getting so many I made it's own page. If you'd like to pray with me on these needs.... just click on the page. Thank you!

Here are a few memory pictures from yesterday and today..... Lauren in 2003... chocolate spoon from brownies!Tara's girls are a lot cleaner! Riley and Jordy in 2003 too.Maddie in 2004Joshua, Patrick, Jared and Parker in 2007... I love this picture! I love them all... that's why these are my favorites today!!!
Quiet house. Papa and the animals are sleeping. Ryan and Amanda picked up the kids for church. We were going to go but papa slept so bad and coughed.... plus we are getting low on gas and our church is 25 miles away. Thought about visiting where Ryan and Amanda go (Candice goes too and I called her last night to see what service and never heard back) so just as well, I guess. So today is rest day and tomorrow I need to clean in the morning and then pick up Mary for her doctor appointment!

I hope you enjoy your day and may His peace be over you all day. xoxo

Weather to Expect:
A little less rain Sunday, especially in the afternoon and evening.
Monday a bit of high pressure builds, keeping the light rain away until afternoon or evening. Spotty light showers and sunbreaks continue through the coming week as highs stay around 50.

better late than not?

I am running a bit late on my posts today. Like 12 hours or so! lol! But I've been busy with grandbabies! Lauren, Andrew, Dylan and Maddie spent the night! We had fun! The kids played and we waited on them. We goofed around and had fun... as you can tell! The girls wouldn't let me in the pictures.... and they were silencing me!!!!They are trying to see who had the biggest mouth.... guess who wins??? lolThen Maddie wanted a serious picture. Hard to look serious when they messed up my hair and make up so bad.Maddie bonked her head, then Lauren bonked her head... then Maddie did again. All within 30 minutes on different things. Maddie got a little bump and bruise on her forehead. Lauren is ok. Papa and Andrew made cookies and put ice cream in the center for sandwiches. Nummy. The kids slept great!!! Shock... Lauren was the first one awake around 7:00! That NEVER happens. Dylan was next and then Maddie. We met Ry & Amanda at the pool for Lauren's swimming lessons and when we got back Andrew had just woken up! She did good! The rest of the day they played with playdoh......Andrew and Dylan took apart a dvd player that was broken. And Andrew chilled watching "Clock Stoppers".... an old movie he used to love!
Punkin was just so content and happy to have them all here!
Karla picked up her kiddo's in the middle of our Monopoly game.... but Maddie was ready to go home. I think they both were. Andrew and Lauren are spending another night! Andrew is at his youth group right now. That's how I got the computer! lol! Well... that's all I got for now. Hope your day was great!!!! xoxo

If mama ain't happy... nobody's happy!

Have you heard the saying "If mama isn't happy.... nobody is happy!" The attitude of the wife/mom sets the attitude for everyone in the home! Also... the priorities set by the wife/mom have a direct influence on those of the rest of the family, too! If you decide that it's important for you to serve God... it will make a real difference in your family and their relationship with Him!

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it...

Ok.... let's just say I am more than excited.... which can only mean one thing!!! Grandkids tonight! woo-hoo! I put out a plea and it was answered! I pick them up after school! It will be fun... I am sure!

My cute memory picture of the day is Lauren eating with a spoon! What a big girl! This was taken 1-29-04... 6 years ago today! I love how kids hold utensils when they are learning to eat. Hey.... papa still holds his spoon like this! lol!

That is really all I need to say. lol! I did a bit more cleaning yesterday and got things better situated. Tackling the toyroom this morning.... making cookies, doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms! My Aunt Flo is visiting this week... she tends to slow me down a bit. Feeling pretty good this morning... no achiness. Just woke up at 4! I will need a nap. Taking my allergy pills now... not sure the steroid nose spray is doing much. I just hope it isn't hurting me down the road. Still doing it though.

There seems to be alot of prayer request lately! A classmate of Karla's lost her daughter to leukemia yesterday. I guy I went to high school with, Craig Smith, had a heart attack recently and is recovering from that! My friend Melody... from church and Bible Study group is in the hospital with possible blood clot... they are running tests. Washington State called the best FBI people in the country (like Criminal Minds and they are from Quantico, Virginia) to help find Lindsay Baum... the little girl that has been missing out of McCleary since July! This story has really touched my heart. Praying for the people in Haiti. Praying for mom to get into those apartments. Praising and praying for cousin Toni. Praying for Lester & Cheryl's grand daughter that needs tests to determine why she is in pain. Both Justin's in Afghanistan. The one from Georgia just had 2 men killed in his battalion. Praying for him and his family. Praying for nephews with drug problems. The list goes on lately. My communication with God is busy! I may be starting a separate page so I remember to pray for everyone instead of hunting for my post-it's on my desk! yikes!

I hope you all have a super weekend full of fun and laughter! I will!

Weather to Expect:
Another warm January day is on the way... 53 degrees! We are around 5 degrees above normal. This month is the warmest January on record heren.
A light passing of showers today.
Light rain on Saturday with a few showers on Sunday.
Light rain will continue into early next week for Monday and Tuesday.
Have a great weekend!

Is praise getting lost among requests?

Now, it might seem that this is an unnecessary priority to mention in our lives .... but how often does praise for God get lost among all the requests we make? When it comes to setting our priorities ... what could be more important than praising God? Make it a priority today to push aside all the requests.... and just praise Him for who He is!!! Enjoy all that He does for you! Doing so will help your attitude too!

Stop the clock!!!!

Last night I got to take Andrew with me to pick up Lauren and the neighbor girl, Ashley, from Awana. We were a bit early so we spent some time visiting in Dairy Queen. Well, if you've ever sat in DQ with a teenager... there are text breaks too! lol! Wish I had a cell phone as a teen! Doesn't he look big here? His voice is getting deeper, too. My grandbaby boy is growing up!!!! He is so handsome! What happened to this little boy? It made me sad yet proud to see how he is growing up and turning out. I miss the grandbabies when they were little. Hey, I miss my kids when they were little! Sometimes I wish I could stop the clock.
It was a nice time. And Lauren was very happy to see me! Little Ashley is a nice girl. Toby freaked out when I got home.... I smelled like Sandy, Andrew and Lauren. He could barely take it all in... his nose was all over me and his tail was wagging like crazy!!! lol!

I'm loving how I rearranged the den. Killed my back.... but it looks good. Thankfully my back doesn't hurt today.... just down my left leg. But Papa ordered me to take it easy so that means no toy room today. That can wait til tomorrow.

Last night was weird. About 2:30 in the morning I swear I hear papa say "Mam!". I said "what" and he said "nothing". I remember asking him why he woke me up and he didn't know? Now I don't know if I dreamt the whole thing or not! (they are telling me dreamt is not a word... whatever).

I had an update through the grapevine on Toni I posted to the left....I will find out more today. It sounds like wonderful news though! =D

Today is two birthday's again.... first is Carter... our great nephew! He lives in Forks and is 7 today! Please pray for him.... last night he had a fever! I pray he isn't sick on his birthday! Happy Birthday Carter!!!! The second birthday is Danny Snelson! He is much older... lol! If you've ever read Karla's blog you are aware of Rachel.... her bff. Danny is Rachel's husband. We've known him for years as he played peewee football, too. He was older than Kev and Ryan so papa never coached him. Now Dan coaches on the same field! Too cool! I know he doesn't read this.... but Happy Birthday Dan! I'll facebook him!

I hope your day is full of sunshine and smiles! I value you all! xoxo

Weather to Expect:
Plan on mostly cloudy skies with a few light passing showers for your Thursday.
A cold front moving in tomorrow will spread light rain over our area. Temperatures will top out around 50 degrees on Friday.
Rain is in the weekend forecast, but it does not look like a wash out. Showers around Saturday with fewer scattered showers on Sunday.
Temperatures will be cooler in the upper 40s this weekend.
Look for some showers to linger into early next week.

Where is your focus today?

This is a tough assignment in our world today. The world measures success by the accumulation of money, which leads to influence and power. God measures success in a different way. He encourages us to keep the LOVE of money off your list of priorities! Satan will continually nudge you to want more and more! God wants you to remember... what really counts is His presence in your life. He promises to be with you always in ALL ways! Make it a priority to know Him better and better.... then your priorities won't be focused on money and things.... but on Him!

Mailbox wipeout....

Ok.... here is what the guy did to our mailbox. Nice huh? Just backed right over it and took off. It was on the ground.... Rich and Mark stood it up so we could at least get mail until they could fix it. I need Jeff and Bradley from Georgia to come rescue us!!! lol!!! Any volunteers closer?


Here is a few pictures of the apartments mom wants to move too. I decided when Papa retires we are coming here too!!!! I think they are adorable! I'm at the corner taking pics in both directions.Today is my favorite cousin, Bob's birthday!!!! I wish him the merriest birthday of all! I love you Bob!!!!! I love this picture of him and my mom (his auntie who he adores!)Also want to wish Rick and Kathy Rayment a very happy anniversary. Talked to him on the phone the other day for quite awhile and wished it to him... but I can do it here.

Did more wall pictures yesterday, dishes. laundry, etc.... made pulled pork. That was my day. Today will be the same. Still employed with the school but never hear from them. I actually make more money taking Mary around than I did with the school. And it is a blast and very fulfilling for me.

No update from Kari on Toni. Just keep praying as I will. God hears.

Andrew loves this book I have from Max Lucado called "God Thinks You're Wonderful!" It is a short book but I recommend it whenever you feel down. It reminds us how much we are loved! One line says "So promise me you'll never forget... that you aren't an accident or an incident... you are a gift to the world." I love that.... and that's what I will leave you with.

Once the fog lifts today we are looking at a mix of sun and high level clouds. High temperatures will be running around 50 degrees this afternoon.
It looks fairly dry again for your Thursday. Clouds will be on the increase with the chance of a stray sprinkle.
Friday brings more showers.
Saturday will be the wetter day this weekend with increasing rain before drier weather on Sunday with fewer showers.

Are you a server or self-serving?

The world tells us that our number one priority should be ourselves. "Watch out for number one!" The world says that if you don't take care of yourself, no one else will either. It has a "You're on your own" mentality.
But Scripture doesn't teach that. Scripture says we should serve one another. Do you desire to help others in any way you can? Do you do that with love and no resentment? Do you put others needs ahead of your own? If so, you are well on the way to being the person God wants you to be!

I'm needing some comforting about now....

Good morning! Happy Anniversary to my sister Libby and her husband Kevin!!! I think it is 25 for them! I will be talking to her today! Also it is Kenny Todd's birthday! I've known Kenny since he was young enough for them to hang him on the porch nail with his belt loop!

I updated some of my pictures of my grandbabies for my wall yesterday! Cleaned some. Watched a movie. Talked on the phone a bit. Had a hyperventilating sobbing cry session. Made Lanny a few CD's for his car.... one with Johnny Horton and Marty Robbins. The other has Waylon, Merle and Willie. I think he'll like them. He also likes Eddie Rabbit, Alabama and George Strait. But those are for another cd and another time. Notice it's all old country?

After almost 4 years I finally met the lady across the street. She came over to ask if a guy came over here trying to sell meat. He didn't.... but apparently he wiped out our mailboxes when he backed out of her driveway. All 4 were on the ground. Nice. Then he left. We had a hit and run! The neighbor guys tried to fix it.... but Lanny noticed it as soon as he drove in!

The strangest thing just happened. My cat is in and I heard a meow out my front door. Of course I am paranoid it is a killer trying to trick me.... so I turn on the porch light and a striped cat ran away. I think he was asking Punkin to come out and play! lol!

Here is Kari's update on sister Toni posted last night:

We're at my sisters house. Toni is on a continued liquid diet. She has a pre-op appointment tomorrow and goes into surgery on Wed. We will know alot more information tomorrow (all CT scans in, a mammogram, on hand). We've got to do surgery now b/c a total obstruction of the colon is not too far from now. Surgery will tell us alot, and we hope for complete removal of the cancer. We really liked the surgeon today.

Keep praying this week.... it will be a long week for them!

One of my favorite pictures of the day taken 1-26-05 of Joshua!!!! Love that smile!

Today just doing some more cleaning and laundry. Starting to exercise today too. Pray for me. That's all I got for ya. I'm getting so boring.

Weather to Expect:
Once the fog lifts, look for a few passing showers today with some sunbreaks.
High pressure builds in Wednesday bringing us a dry day with patchy morning fog and some afternoon sun.
A warm front pushes through on Thursday bringing a few showers focused around the north sound.
Rain will be on the increase for everybody on Friday with showers continuing through the upcoming weekend.
Right now Sunday looks to be the drier day this weekend.

Needing your prayers....

Well, it seemed the longer I had my blue sky background up the more it rained. So I figured (in a backwards kind of way) if I put up a snow one it will keep the snow away, right? This really has been one of the mellowest winters I can remember in a long time! Hasn't hardly snowed at all and we are almost at the end of January.

Wow, my cat came out of the bathroom and is acting all weird! She keeps looking around like she is scared. Wonder if she had a bad dream, something is out there, or if we are going to have an earthquake? Who knows.... Toby is oblivious. He is snoring. Kind of freaks me out a bit.

Had a short spell of not feeling that well yesterday.... took a nap while papa went to mom's house. I do think that nose spray is working though. Today is my weight loss campaign again. My doc kind of freaked me out too. She got on the computer and put in my age, weight, blood pressure, etc... and said the chances of me having a heart attack within 5 years are moderate. I went "wow". Then she added my "mom" and it jumped it to "highly likely". Yikes! Need to exercise and get the weight off. Seeing it on the screen is kind of scary, huh? I would only be 58! Just like papa!!!! I don't want to go through that or have my kids go through it. I may not survive like papa! Please pray for me as I do this.... pray it comes easy for me!

Pray for our cousin! I almost said "little cousin" because that is how I see Toni. Our kids grew up with their cousins Toni, Kari and Karen and Renee Brazeau. We had some devastating news regarding Toni yesterday. As you can see on my prayer request in the left column..... she has been diagnosed with Colon Cancer. So scary! Pray for her and her family! I adore her mom Maralyn.... and her dad, Joe, is Papa's cousin and they grew up together for the most part. Our prayers are with them all! Posting pictures of the kids together in the day.... they sure had fun and made some memories!!! The photo's probably won't mean anything to anyone but the kids. ;DTop row is Karla, Renee, Kari, Karen, Tara, Heather and Toni.... bottom is Ryan, Jack and Kevon!
Camping was fun.... Joe even brought out his guitar! Roasting marshmallows here...Joe and Lanny on the table. Sitting is Kevon, Heather, Tara, Kari, Maralyn, Karla, Toni and Ryan.Celebrating birthdays!
The cousins.... quite a crowd! Kari, Renee, Toni, Heather Karla, Tara, Kevon, Ryan, Billy, Karen, PB and Bernie! (Bernie got married last year.... does that tell you how old the picture is?)Below is Maralyn and her girls Toni and Kari in 1987....
and then again in 2003!

Wow... those pictures sure brought me back and made me happy/sad. Life gets so busy and goes by so fast and sometimes you neglect people you love dearly.

Talked with my sister Lois for awhile last night. I miss her... she lives on the other side of the mountains.

Hope you all have a great day today in whatever you do and may you be a blessing to God! xoxo

turkey is good anytime!

Wow.... this is going to be a short post. Nothing much to say! Yesterday papa and I watched us some Mentalist. Love that show. I watched a Dr. Phil show in which he talked to a lady addicted to Farmville. lol! Papa got a kick out of that. Baked a turkey just for fun and leftovers. num. The best thing that happened was I got a call from Parker asking if him and Patrick could come over for Spring Break!!! I am so excited! That will be so fun! Papa was happy too! Just need to find out when it is! lol
My picture of the day was taken 1-24-05 of Joshua, Parker, and Patrick!

Today we go to church, mom's for cell phone lesson #2, and then to the store. That's all, I guess. Unless the Lord has other plans.

I love laughing!

It is Saturday morning and my cat woke me up meowing. I got up and she ran to the door and then didn't want out. She wanted me up. She wanted attention, loves, to play... probably to eat but I didn't feed her yet. Finally she went out. So I am awake. In defense of the cat... it was 6:30. But if she does that any earlier ... we will have a problem.

Quite a day yesterday! It was a day of laughter!!! Went over to mom's in the morning. We laughed so hard and had so much fun setting her up with her cell phone! I had put photo's so when the person calls their face goes on her screen. She was really excited it took pictures. She tried to take one of me and got my boobs. Yea, that's not going to work. lol! She'll figure it out.

Papa and I picked up Mary they dropped me off for my doctor appointment while they had her blood drawn. My doctor appointment went fine. Dr. Chun and I always laugh so hard together... which we did! I can't even get into all the things we were laughing at but I thought she was going to fall out of her chair. She is such a sweetheart. She really thinks it is my sinus's... no tumor. I have a steroid spray for my nose... I should see a difference in 5 days! My nose will be bigger! Just kidding, that's what she said. She told me not to stop using it. She knows how I am. Her biggest concern is my blood pressure. It is ridiculously high. I brought the readings from the last 3 months and she wasn't laughing about it. Sorry..... And we are working on other things you all probably don't care about. lol!
We took Mary to her doctor appointment next ... took forever. Went to Jack's for lunch and then Lanny got his haircut while we walked around Hallmark so she could stock up on cards. We were in there forever... killed my back. I ended up leaning on their counter. Got home and spent a quiet evening.... had brinner (as Andrew and Lauren call it... breakfast for dinner). I made a couple phone calls for Ryan to find some sponsors for his Men's Baseball team this year. I have a couple good friends that own construction companies... Rob Thomas and Rick Rayment. Both of those guys make me laugh so hard and they didn't fail me. We had a great time. Emailed a friend that has a auto body shop, realtor, owner of a printing shop, wrecking yard (the other partner... not my ex), 2 plumbers, a lawyer, a trucking business, and someone in the casino business. I really guess I have a lot of friends! Not bragging... just amazed. And I love all these people.... except the lawyer. I hope some pan out. It is rough times for businesses out there... especially construction.
Last night I sent Jordy girl a favorite song via facebook. It's called "Pigs Didn't start the Swine flu". She loves it. If you go to mam's favorite video's http://mamsvideos.blogspot.com/ or are friends with me on facebook you can see it in my videos.

My favorite pictures of the day were actually 3.... couldn't pick just one.
I love this picture taken of Karla and Maddie before preschool. They both look so pretty! It was taken 1-23-07....three years ago.The next one was taking in 2003 when Andrew went to Christ the King Academy. They would have International day where you would have to come dressed as a foreigner. This particular year... Andrew was from Australia. He was 6.I also love this picture of Dylan in Maddie at the top of our stairs in 2004... she is 6 months old and always wanting to be standing... so brother Dylan let her meet papa when he was coming home.
Well.... today is clean house and TV catch up time I guess. Not seeing alot of laughs going on. Hope your day is full of fun and laughter! God's blessings on you!!! xoxo

Weather to Expect:
A few spotty light showers around western Washington Saturday.
Sunday a stronger storm will increase rain across the area during the day.
Rain will change to scattered showers Monday, a few showers linger Tuesday and Wednesday will be dry.

prayer

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU, because this morning I woke up and
knew where my children were. Because this morning my home was still
standing, because this morning I am not crying because my husband, my
child, my brother or sister needs to be buried out from underneath a
pile of concrete, because this morning I was able to drink a glass of
water, because this morning I was able to turn on the light, because
this morning I was able to take a shower, because this morning I was not
planning a funeral, but most of all I thank you this morning because I
still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti . Lord I
cry out to you, the one that makes the impossible, possible, the one
that turns darkness in to light, I cry out that you give those mothers
strength, that you give them peace that surpasses all understanding,
that you may open the streets so that help can come, that you may
provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and all that they need in a blink
of an eye. For all those that have lost family members, give them peace,
give them hope, give them courage to continue to go on! Protect the
children and shield them with your power.

I pray all this in the name of Jesus!!! Add your amen if you pray this with me...

hoping for a cure!

Yesterday was a good day.... blue sky! See? Changing my background worked! Washed our bedding and did laundry... that is always fun! Oh, and I catered to the animals... letting them in and out of the house!

The picture of the day is one of my favorites of all time! It is of my grandsons Parker and Patrick and their puppy checking out the snow on January 22, 2003... seven years ago!Busy day today. I am taking mom's new cell phone over to her house this morning and teaching her how to use it. Wish me luck with that!!!! Then going to the doctor to see if they can figure out what is going on with me! Without complaining about my health again... I missed Jordy's concert. I was really sad and disappointed. I am glad I saw her last month sing... but last night would have been nice too. Anyway, then we are taking Mary to get her blood drawn and to her doctor appt in Silverdale. Lanny is going with me today! He is off and we'll spend the day together... what a way to do it. lol! That's about it.

Well, hope your day is a wonderful kind of busy or relaxing..... whatever you need!

Weather to Expect:
Continued dry and mild today with some sun, high clouds, and temperatures around 50.
A chance of light rain into Seattle overnight and tomorrow.
Warmer weather develops Sunday for a dry start, but increasing rain on the coast will hit the Puget Sound Region late in the day.
Highs near 50, with gusty east winds and showers into Monday.
Tuesday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers.