Friday, March 28, 2008

She's Goin' Private People

Hey there guys! We're still on vacation, which is going great and I'll do a big post with pics next week, but I need to ask for a favor from some of my readers...

For any of you that regularly read Inkling's blog, but haven't got her announcement yet that she's going private, I'm giving you the announcement here. If you read her regularly and want to continue to do so, then email her at saraorange1974 (at) yahoo (dot) com. As of Monday evening she will no longer be available thru the link on my sidebar unless you have contacted her for an invite to continue reading her blog. She doesn't want to lose any of her readers, but because of circumstances she must go private, at least for awhile. So, send her an email if you want to keep reading.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Yuck!!

Smart Guy went muddin' today. Check out my van. Actually he dropped the dog off at our usual kennel this morning because we're leaving for vacation after church tomorrow, and when he was pulling out of the parking area he sank into the mud about six inches. A tow truck had to be called to get him out. Needless to the say, the owner of the kennel paid the tow bill and is taking the cleaning cost off of Bowzers bill!!

Bee Jumpin' Off The Diving Board

Miss Bee has really become quite the little swimmer these days. I think she may even drop gymnastics and keep going with only swimming. She's become very brave on the diving board during the last couple weeks! I shot this video at the end of swim class one day last week. This was just one of about 15 jumps fromt the board, and each one of them had the exact same form. She jumps somewhat to the left and kicks her feet up to her butt! It's quite cute!!

Friday, March 21, 2008

We Believe In God

by Amy Grant
I love this song. It's another one of those old songs that still means alot today. Listen to the words. This is not the best recording, but the only one I could find.


We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
'Cause life is hard
And it might not get easier
But don't be afraid
To know who you are
Don't be afraid to show it
If you believe in God
If you say you need Jesus
He'll be where you are
And he never will leave you
Sing to me now words that are true
So all in this place can know it...
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
Sing to me now words that are true
So all in this place can know it...
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus
We believe in God
And we all need Jesus

It's All About Perspective People

...Reality Check

You all know how I've been growling about the cold and nasty weather that just doesn't seem to wanna give up don't ya? Yah, though so. Well, yesterday I stopped by the church to drop Bee off with her daddy while I ran out for Easter basket stuff. Just as I got there, one of the older women's bible study groups was letting out. As I walked (blew) in the door, one the ladies was standing there bundling herself up for her walk home in the cold wind and snowy ground. I said, "I'm so tired of this nasty stuff. I'm ready for spring." Her response shocked me, "I'm not. Spring means that it's time for my son to go to the middle east. He leaves at the end of March."

All the sudden I felt very petty. This woman has no car. She walks everywhere she needs to go, in the cold, and all she cares about is her son going away. My heart sunk for her. I'd put up with the cold forever if it only meant that no more of our soldiers had to go over there and that the ones who are there could just come home to their families.

This has to stop. Bring them home.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I took this shot of the pile of snow in our church parking lot this afternoon to show you how big the plowed pile of snow still is after our big snow 11 days ago. This is even after many days in the 40's, at least one in the 50's, and lots of rain.
Thankfully the only piles left in town are the ones in parking lots from all the plowing done. Everywhere else there was beautiful grass and in some spots (my front yard) little green sprouts popping out of the ground!



So, can anyone tell me what's wrong with these pictures?



They were taken just a few hours ago. Yep, more snow. The grass is once again not visible at this hour. Snow, snow go away! We don't want you anyway! So, after raining for the last 48 hours and flooding everything in sight, it then began snowing big flakes. While these flakes would have been considered amazing and would have caused quite a stir amongst the kids in December, even they have grown tired of them. All they see now is their summer vacation days getting marked off the calendar. Ugh! Enough already!!

Dyein' Easter Eggs w/ Grandma





Last Weekend...

...at Mountain Mom and Grizzley Dad's for Easter!


Grizzley Dad. I thought this was a funny pic!


Grandma baking with her girls!






Grizzley Dad cutting the Easter ham.

Our Little Socialite

These were taken at our last Wednesday night Lenten dinner! Bee is at a different table talking to different people in every picture! She does this everytime we have a meal and I thought it'd be funny to capture all the socializing. This actually isn't all of the places she went. I was also socializing and missed some of hers!




Bee at the Chiropractor

Bee is currently doing chiropractic treatment for her scoliosis. We decided that instead of taking a "wait and see" approach and then possibly ending up in surgery in five years or maybe less, that we would be more hands on and actually do something to try to fix it rather than just brace it to stay the same. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't! What do we have to lose?....I'm not asking for opinions (unless you agree with us or have had success with this personally) so please don't give any. I was given an unaskedfor opinion the other night by someone that doesn't even know us very well! Ugh! Here's some pics of her therapy!!


Waiting for the Doc!


Being adjusted! Yes, she's under there somewhere!




Relaxing during electrotherapy or "tickle" therapy as she calls it!
She loves this part because it tickles and she gets to lay back on a warm mat!!


The wire hanging off her back!!

The Silence of God

by Andrew Peterson
This is for everyone who has ever waited for that answer and only got silence. It is especially for my precious orange-headed best-friend.


"It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God

It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God

And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God"

Saturday, March 8, 2008

More Snow Pics

Smart Guy shoveling the driveway with no hat or gloves on! Mountain Mom... where did you go wrong with this guy? He couldn't find his gloves and just didn't want to be bothered with a hat! Crazy, I tell ya, crazy!!!!


Is that the face of a happy camper or what?



Smart Guy and the boys went over to the church to play video games in the youth room for awhile! They got the van stuck in the church parking lot! Apparently Smart Guy thought that a Chevy Uplander could handle the 18 inch snow in the parking lot!! Honey, everyone may tell us that it looks like an SUV, but it's just a mini van!! He got it out with the help of a couple passersby and then parked it at the grocery store across the street and walked back over! Now, they're on their way back home for dinner! Toodles y'all!!

New Template

How ya like my new template? I love it! I've been lookin' for a new one, but didn't want to put the time into having to redo all my links after I changed it, so I kept putting it off! Well, I finally got tired of my pics being washed out from the lotus flower on the other one because the journaling area was for some reason transparent on that template... so here's the new one!!! If I've missed you on my links, tell me, I didin't mean to! I also added a few that I've been meaning to get on there and just hadn't done! Snow days are great for getting things done. Well, useless things anyway, my house is still a mess!!

Snow Storm '08

Here's some pics of the snow we're getting around here! The next to the bottom one is our church. The road in front of it is THE main road that runs north/south in town! Smart Guy took these when he walked over to the grocery store across from the church to get donuts this morning! He was the first one to get donuts from the bakery case and the only customer in the store (which is unusual at 9 am)! We all played outside for awhile! There's about 15 inches or so right now and it's still falling and blowing!!




Friday, March 7, 2008

Pics

Today's Meals on Wheels fun! There was nothing on the roads when we left, 45 minutes later this is what we were driving in! Crazy!



Here's the cookies Bee and I just made! She's so proud of herself! She did more of them herself than she has ever done before!


Take note of the half-eaten cookie on the table next to him! When I walked into the kitchen he had his chin on the table trying to swipe it, but as soon as I walked in he looked up at me like he was saying "I wasn't just trying to snag that cookie, not me!" The camera was right there so I grabbed it and snapped! It can be alot of fun having a dog who's as tall as the kitchen table! He just walks up and takes whatever's in front of his nose!

All Right

Yea, my computer is working... for now! Who knows how long it'll be nice to me. We think it's something with the keyboard connection because I can cruise all over the internet as long as I don't touch the keyboard! As soon as I do, it quits working! Ugh! So I've been able to read everyone because you're all favorited, I just haven't been able to comment or blog!

Anyway, we are once again getting snow! We've got around 5 or 6 inches so far and will probably get at least another 8-10 by tomorrow evening! We go into an "official" blizzard warning at 4 am! I tell ya, the fun just never ends around here does it?!

We were supposed to go to WV this weekend to Mountain Mom and Grizzly Dad's house. Our 14th anniversary was on Wednesday. We went out to lunch after we dropped of Bee at school, but we were gonna leave all three of our small people with Grandma and Papa and head to Pittsburgh for the evening. We've both been craving some real southern BBQ, (yes Lauren, another thing they do right) so we were gonna go to Smokey Bones and then out to a movie and probably the bookstore to relax! Well, that's shot, because we couldn't leave town to get there! So Smart Guy ran over to the grocery store downtown and got stuff to makes pizzas! Bee and I had ham and mushroom on ours and the guys had sausage, pepperoni, ham, and bacon... kinda reminds me of that V8 commercial where the wife keeps knockin' her hubby in the head for not eating his veggies!!!

When we called the kids into the kitchen to eat, Bee walks in rubbing her eyes and said "I can't talk right now, my eye hurts!" Yah, Bee I've seen you talk when you're mouth was fresh out of major dental work and when you're sound asleep, I really don't think your eye's gonna stop you from yackin' up a storm!

Bee and I are making cookies to kinda make up for the fact that we didn't get to go to Grandma's house. It was very sad when we had to break it to the kid that she wasn't gonna get to go, so I told her we'd make cookies... which we have to save some of for Grandma of course! We made the same butterscotch cookies that I used to make with my best-friend growing up when our moms would go out and leave all us kids with the dads for the evening! I haven't made them since I was about 12 years old, so I'm looking forward to tasting them again. The recipe's from the same Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that we used back them even, but it's in really bad shape these days!!

Well, I have a cute, blond-headed 9-year old hanging over my should telling me that he really wants the computer, so I'm outa here for now! Love to you all! Stay warm and don't fall in the snow (if you happen to be anywhere in this gigantic snowstorm)!! Stay in your basement if your down south where those horrible storms are!!!!

Monday, March 3, 2008

Serious Spring Fever

My front yard is snow-free for the first time in weeks, and all the windows in my house are open. While there are still piles of the white stuff around edges and parking lots, it's 63 degrees! What on earth in going on! It's wonderful! Everyone's out walking dogs, pushing strollers, and stripping off their coats! Of course, this just means that when the freezing rain hits tomorrow and the snow hits on Wednesday that everyone is gonna be that much more crazy sick of winter!

Oh well, we'll enjoy it while we can! When the boys walk in the door from school, I'm gonna tell them to forget their homework until bedtime and go out and play!