A Little Bit of This and That

2010

2010-01-01T15:05:00.001-05:00

Oh my gosh, it's 2010. What will this year hold? My daughter will turn 16 and want to start driving!!! My son will hit the double digits! Excitement abounds!

No One Knows the Hurt I Feel Inside

2009-10-13T17:02:00.002-04:00

These are just some random thoughts.

These have been the longest 4 months of my life and the road is only going to get longer. I can be happy on the outside but inside I am dying. My mother meant the world to me and the pain I feel in so indescribable. Kevin thinks I should be over it by now, but he just doesn't get it. And until he feels the same pain that I feel, he'll never understand.

I get these memory flashes of my mother lying lifeless in her hospital bed. That image is forever burned into my brain. I see that more than I see her lying in the casket.

I will tell you I am fine, and I'll even feel fine most days, but it's the quiet times that get to me.

I finally had a dream about my mom. I saw her and she looked lovely! She had on a red top with a purple skirt and a white flowing scarf (Which she would never wear normally, or even owned). I told her how pretty she looked and how I knew she didn't hurt anymore. I swear it was her that came to me. My father did the same thing after he died. This year marks the 25th anniversary of my father's death....Oct 15th 1984.

My family

2009-09-10T10:16:00.002-04:00

My family reunion was held September 6th. We had 90 in attendance, and that wasn't even everyone! It was sad for me (and I'm sure others) not to have Mom there. And yes, there were some tears (mostly mine).

She was so Blessed!

2009-06-16T11:22:00.001-04:00

Just don't feel like writing anymore

2009-06-15T14:09:00.004-04:00

I lost my mother on June 1st to an abdominal aneurysm that she knew she had for 2 years and didn't tell anyone or bother to get fixed.

My sister, Barbara, wrote this in an email to everyone -

"she also had been to the doctors just a couple months ago, and the doctor advised her to get the operation--- She "Refused".... We have to try to understand that She wanted it this away... She kept it from us, so that we would not Worry and call her all the time...That operation, at that stage, would have been a risk either way she decided..

Yes, it was a Shock to all that this happened so fast... I am glad in a way that it was, cause if I had to sit there and watch her fade away, it would have been harder... It's just so crazy... We may or may not ever Understand.... WHY?

Just hold on the every Precious Moment and Thought and know that Mom is always with you - In Heart and Soul...

God only knows how much we Love her and Miss her - Mom was our Best Friend as well as our Mother.... We will survive (somehow, someday)"

Multiple Myeloma

2009-03-11T14:01:00.002-04:00

My brother, Dennis, has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Here is some info from www.multiplemyeloma.org on his disease.

Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, is an incurable but treatable disease. While a myeloma diagnosis can be overwhelming, it is important to remember that there are several promising new therapies that are helping patients live longer, healthier lives. The estimated frequency of multiple myeloma is 5 to 7 new cases per 100,000 persons per year. Accordingly, in the United States, 19,920 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2008. There were more than 56,000 Americans living with multiple myeloma in 2005, the most current date these statistics are available.

Multiple myeloma is the second most prevalent blood cancer after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It represents approximately 1% of all cancers in white US residents and 2% of cancers in black residents.

I just ask that you pray for my brother that he will be able to live a long life. He's almost 60 but isn't ready to leave this world yet. He will be able to take a pill to put this cancer into remission.

I wish I never learned what that word was

2009-01-04T15:01:00.002-05:00

[Agnostic - One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. An agnostic does not deny the existence of God and heaven but holds that one cannot know for certain whether or not they exist.]

How can one NOT believe that God made all that exists? How do you think the earth and all that is on it was created? Someone had to do it. It just really saddens me to know that I have friends who are Agnostics and just recently found out that a distant relative is also Agnostic. And the really sad thing is that my friends children are growing up the same way.

They'll never know what it's like to have the love of Jesus and know that there is someone who will always lova and protect them. And that they can live forever in heaven where there is no hurt, no pain, no cancer, no depression, none of the bad stuff we have to deal with everyday. There are so many people who think that just because they live a "good life" that they will go to heaven - well, sorry, it just doesn't work that way.

One Month Later.........

2008-10-29T07:05:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been a month since I wrote on here. I've been keeping up with the church blog pages and neglected my own.

Lets see, at work, we had a new bookkeeper named Sherri and she and I became really close friends. We had so much in common and kids really close to the same age. Well, she was fired because Rob didn't feel she was getting the hang of things quickly enough. I was devastated! I already lost one best friend a couple of years ago at work, and now I just lost another. I was not happy at all to see another person sitting at Sherri's desk the next morning. That was 2 weeks ago. I am now able to tolerate the new person. But I really miss Sherri. We email back and forth and keep in touch. I rant to her and then we laugh. My other friend helps get me through the ups and downs of work life too.

We are down to the wire for our concert on November 8th. I hope it goes well. I'm sure it will. We are having to hold it at our church since there was a conflict with Jefferson! Grrr.

Ashley is loving Show Choir! They've had a real performance with all the other show choirs around and got a standing ovation when they were done. Woo Hoo! Go Vocal Fusion!

On Sunday, October 26th, Ashley came forward at church telling her grandfather that she wants to be baptized. He was so proud of her, he was beaming with joy! So her baptism is set for November 23rd in the 11:00 service.

That's all for now, folks.

"Chosen" in concert

2008-09-29T14:19:00.003-04:00

Chosen is a gospel jazz group that I am in and we are having our first concert on November 8th. Hope you can come!

This event will take place Saturday November 8, 2008 at Charles Town Baptist Church. The program is scheduled to start at 5:00 pm and end at 8:00pm. The purpose of this event is to assist local area food banks with collecting food for families in need for the Thanksgiving holiday. Therefore instead of a ticket fee we are asking for each guest to bring a can or dry good to help our effort. For further information you may call Pamela Newell, Event coordinator at 304-616-6328 or email psnewell15@msn.com.

Trying something else new

2008-09-23T06:54:00.002-04:00

We are all pretty sad that Bland and his family are moving and with that, Cheryl and I have decided to take over the blog pages for the church. I just hope we can continue to do a good job on it and keep it up to date. :p Check them out, they are listed over on the side with the other blog pages I like to visit.

The Secret of Letting Go

2008-09-16T10:06:00.001-04:00

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

“See that any time you feel pained or defeated, it is only because you insist on clinging to what doesn’t work. Dare to let go and you won’t lose a thing except for a punishing idea.” -Guy Finley, Author “The Secret of Letting Go”

Well, It's No Wonder

2008-08-24T21:59:00.003-04:00

Something else got me thinking last night. My daughter's boyfriend wonders why we don't want them lounging all over each other when they are together......it's what other teens do who are dating, he basically says. (I wasn't even allowed to have a boyfriend when I was 14 and when I got one when I was 16 my parents still weren't thrilled one bit with the idea.)

Well, I saw some pics from a recent youth retreat that my daughter could have gone on, but was invited to go somewhere else first. There are teen couples in some of those pics being snuggly with each other. No wonder Ash's boyfriend thinks its ok to do. One pic has one couple sleeping - the girl snuggled up on the guys chest.

Ash and her guy used to get a little too close while watching TV on the couch, but we've put a stop to that. They are barely allowed to hold hands now. But now I see why he would think it is all right to act that way.

I'm just a little irked

2008-08-22T21:40:00.002-04:00

I wanted to write this somewhere, but I didn't know where, so I picked here to do it. I was reading a friend's blog comments and something bothered me. I don't want to make anyone mad, but.......someone made the a comment about the horrors of public schools. Children cannot be sheltered/protected forever. If you raise them right they will know the difference between right and wrong and be able to deal with the things that they see in a public school. I don't care if people want to homeschool their kids, but you shouldn't say do it so your kids aren't subjected to the horrors of things that happen in the public school system. It just bothers me that people put down public schools. I know things are different than when we adults were in school, but if your kids know what to look out for and who to stay away from, what's the harm? My daughter certainly did not come home everyday with a horror story to tell me. My daughter loves her school and is looking forward to going to the new high school this year. The principal is Judy Marcus and she is not going to take crap from anyone. Ok - rant is over.

Another Hole in her Head

2008-08-19T10:23:00.000-04:00

ASHLEY GOT HER EARS PIERCED SUNDAY AFTERNOON WHEN WE WENT TO WINCHESTER! I GUESS WHEN SHE SAW THAT HER FRIEND BRITNEY FROM CHURCH GOT HER'S DONE, SHE DECIDED TO DO HER'S TOO. SO SHE ASKED IF WE COULD TO GO THE MALL AFTER WE ATE LUNCH SO SHE COULD GO TO CLAIRE'S. I ASKED IF SHE FINALLY WANTED TO GET IT DONE AND SHE SAID YES. SHE ONLY WINCED A LITTLE. HA HA. BUT SHE GOT A PAIR OF SILVER FLOWERS TO WEAR. I HOPE WE CAN MAKE IT THROUGH THE NEXT 6 WEEKS OK.

Corinth Reunion Pics

2008-08-02T09:40:00.003-04:00

Here are just some of the pictures from the reunion.
(Alpha's Family)

(2nd Cousins)

(Nick and his cousin Shaina, who he never left alone!)

Corinth

2008-07-29T20:46:00.004-04:00

We've just gotten back from a quick trip to Corinth, Mississippi where we attended the Gober Family reunion. This is my father-in-law's Mother's family. They are such a sweet bunch of people. My absolute favorites to see are Uncle Mark and Aunt Mona. I love 'em to death! I'll have to put some pics on here when I get them off the camera. We had a couple of big storms come through, but no tornados - not even a warning. The power went out Saturday morning at the hotel and we almost had to rethink our afternoon/evening activities, but the power came back on a couple of hours later and all went on as planned. We left down there around 11am on Sunday and had a nice leisurely drive home, taking the usual 2 days to get home. Here are a couple of pics of the town that I got off the internet.
This is the Corinth Train Station. Notice the tracks that are crossing? This is known as the crossroads of the South for the railroads.

This is a really cool castle-looking house known as the "cat house". The lady who lived there left everything to her cats when she died.

VBS Wrap Up Picnic!

2008-07-23T11:34:00.005-04:00

Youth Trip to the Zoo

2008-07-22T18:14:00.004-04:00

Man - I didn't know Washington DC had so many hills. We estimated that we walked 4-5 miles! Here's a couple of pics. And Nick has another teen crush!

Seeing the world through new eyes

2008-07-02T11:33:00.002-04:00

Well, sorta. Ashley has gotten contacts! She looks so different, and she loves them. I'll have to get some before and after pics on here for you.

2008-06-27T19:41:00.002-04:00

I was bored at work, so I took this pic of me.

My new babysitter

2008-06-13T14:02:00.002-04:00

We are trying something new now. Ashley is babysitting Nick this summer. It's been a week now, and it's gone remarkably well. Of course, she is not allowed to be on the computer during the day while we are at work, and that has worked out ok. She is paying more attention to her brother. He also gets to go over to the neighbors to go swimming sometimes and that's ok too. She hasn't gone over yet, though. She only gets in a pool when we are on vacation. Sounds like her Daddy. ha ha.

Going through changes

2008-06-04T08:03:00.002-04:00

I don't want to elaborate on this, but we are going through some changes in our household with our daughter. Just please pray that she gets back on the Christian path we want her to be on. Thanks!

What it's like to find an old friend

2008-05-22T07:30:00.003-04:00

You ever have a friend that you lost touch with that you never wish you had? I found an old friend on a social website that I hadn't seen in 15+ years. I was so excited that I wrote to him and asked if it really was him, to begin with. He wrote back and said yes, it was. I've known this person for over 20 years and after Kevin and I got married we lost touch. We started leading our seperate lives. This guy was my best "guy" friend. I could tell him anything and he could do the same with me. Well, after writing to him, I found out we live in the same town and only about a mile from each other. Our kids go to the same middle school, too. It's amazing how God works in our lives. I never thought I'd see this person again and now to come find out he's been down the road from me for the past 5 years is really something else. I know we won't be best friends again, but it is nice to be able to talk to him and catch up on everything.

Prince Caspian

2008-05-19T07:01:00.002-04:00

What a great movie. 2 1/2 hours long though. But I encourage you to go see it. Regal Cinemas in Martinsburg was sold out for it and it was being shown in 2 theaters! I've never seen so many people at a movie in all my life.

Ashley's Birthday is coming

2008-04-28T08:25:00.002-04:00

This Friday will be Ashley's 14th birthday! Can you believe it! We are planning to have her favorite local band play at her party. They are calling for showers, but I am hoping the showers won't come until the band is done playing and packed up!!! Don't tell me I'm not stressing big time this week!

Ashley's illness

2008-04-28T08:20:00.003-04:00

I spent all last week home with Ashley who had a mysterious virus. All she had was a fever - for 4 days! It went from 99 to 103. No aches or pains, no nausea, nothing; just the fever. I even took her to the doctor for a strep test and it was negative. But she woke up Friday morning and it was gone. She is back to her normal tempramental self. And since I had been off work all week, and she was feeling better on Friday, I high-tailed it to work. Of course, I had to use some vacation time so I would have a half-decent paycheck this week.

Jefferson Idol is over

2008-04-21T08:54:00.002-04:00

Well, I competed in the Jefferson Idol contest last night. I screwed up both of my songs though! GRRR! I didn't win my category but made a new friend in my competitor. Her name is Charity and she is a vocal teacher! Man, is she good! Anyway - I had a good time, but glad it is over.

Revival - Sunday 4/13 - Wednesday 4/16

2008-04-16T10:34:00.002-04:00

Well, Tonight is the last night of revival. Steve Freeman is the best! He makes you laugh and makes you cry. We'll miss him when he's gone. Last night he taught us about forgiveness. And oh, it was powerful. We saw it happen right before our eyes. I don't think there was a dry eye in the sanctuary by the end of the night. I bawled my eyes out. God spoke to me too, and I know I need to forgive some people, but not sure how to go about it yet. People have hurt me without knowing it and I have blocked them from my life, but I guess it's time to let them back in. Thank you Jesus for lifting it from me.

Is That Chocolate?

2008-04-07T06:44:00.002-04:00

Kevin was sitting on the couch last night eating a bowl of mint chocolate chip icecream when Nick notices something on the cushion. "Dad! Look what you got on the couch!" he says picking it up. Kevin took the peice of chocolate off Nicks finger to examine it closer, only to find it was not chocolate, but a baby slug! EWWWW! It had come off the cat that had just been laying there after coming in from outside a few minutes earlier. Nick then exclaimed that he had been planning on eating the "chocolate chip"! Oh man - can you just imagine!!!!!

The Difference - Taken from an email I got

2008-04-04T07:16:00.001-04:00

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished.
They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it impossible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door.. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."

It is simple," said the Lord. "It requires but one skill.
You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."

Remember that I will always share my spoon with you...

CTBC Revival News

2008-04-01T07:24:00.002-04:00

You can click on the flyer to enlarge it to read better or print out.

Martin's

2008-03-19T07:56:00.002-04:00

I hate going to Martin's grocery store now. All the construction is making shopping very hard to do. I can't find anything and it just is too confusing. grrrrr So I will boycott them for a while until they are done. Then I'll go back.

Here we go again

2008-03-12T07:05:00.002-04:00

My daughter broke things off with her very first boyfriend, who didn't really seem like a boyfriend since they didn't do bf/gf things. No hand holding, no phone calls, nothing. It's better that they just stay friends like they were to begin with. Now she is going with another boy from another church. She says he is really nice. But others say he has issues. So we shall see. I will be optimistic and just let her see how long it lasts. She is not like other girls, I don't think. She is more mature for her age, I do believe. They don't go to the same school and will only see each other once a week and then once at the end of the month at a youth gathering. Only time will tell. Maybe she will be a good influence on him.

Nick Update

2008-03-11T08:41:00.005-04:00

Nick woke up this morning at 6:30 and couldn't hardly breathe. It sounded like someone poured a bucket of goop down his throat. So I got out the nebulizer and gave him a breathing treatment. He went back to sleep and sounds a bit better now. I've been going up and checking on him every so often. I'm keeping him home again today and will do treatments every few hours. I guess tomorrow if he goes to school, I'll send a note and make him go to the nurse and use his inhaler he keeps there.

Update: 10am - Nick has another fever and his coughs are barky. I called the dr. and made an appt for this afternoon. He actually wanted me to call the doctor!

Update #2: 6:00pm - IT'S STREP! Now he is on Amox for 10 days. And can't go back to school til Friday. grrrr

Is it finally here?

2008-03-10T08:14:00.003-04:00

Well, I am staying home with Nick today. He woke up with a temp of 100.7 this morning. He had trouble sleeping last night but didn't feel sick. Guess it was the fever starting. I'm sure he caught something in Winchester with 100's of kids in there. He's coughing too. He told me yesterday or Saturday night that his throat was hurting. I just figured it was allergies. I gave him some Motrin and sent him back to bed. I'm just gonna have to see where it goes from here.

My Cholesterol Test Numbers

2008-03-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

Ok - I have been on Zocor for 2 months now to try to get my cholesterol to go down. Man - this stuff really works!!!

10/2007
Total Chol. 227
HDL (good chol) 40
LDL (bad chol) 155

2/2008 - after being on the meds for 2 months:
Total Chol. 151
HDL 46 (which is supposed to go up)
LDL 79!!!!!!!

How about that!

It really works!

2008-03-04T07:04:00.002-05:00

I have been on Zocor for about 2 months now. I went to get blood work done to see how it's working, and low and behold my cholesterol is WAY down! Halleluah!!! I never thought I could get my number down so low! I am very excited! I'll post the numbers after I get the result sheets in the mail. I can't remember them right now, but just be assured, they are great numbers!

"The Boys" are coming!

2008-03-02T20:13:00.001-05:00

That's right - Sunday Obsession will be playing at Ashley's 14th birthday party at our house. I don't know what time or for how long, but they will be here! Nick is really excited too!!!

Making Ends Meet

2008-02-28T11:55:00.003-05:00

I am tired of trying to make ends meet. I hate having no money to do stuff. I feel guilty buying groceries and gas and driving all the way to work everyday. But I have to go to work or we'd be worse off. Grrr! Now I have to buy some birthday presents for my son and will have to pay for his whole birthday party with a credit card. This totally sucks and is so depressing!

Do It Yourself

2008-02-24T21:30:00.002-05:00

It's time for the Social Studies Fair again. Projects are due Tuesday night for set up, with the fair being Wednesday. And here we are just now putting the thing together. She always wait until the last minute to do anything on it. We've had the info gathered for a couple of weeks now, but hadn't started working on the board part. I always end up being the one to gather all the info for the project - no matter what it is. I even contacted a friend to do an interview with for the project. I wrote the questions, emailed it, received it, formated it and printed it out. I wrote questions for other people to answer too. The only thing she's doing for this thing is putting the board together. I just wish she'd learn to do it herself. I sometimes wish I could just let her get a failing grade on it because she didn't take her time on it and make it totally herself. But of course, I can't do that.

It Got Cancelled

2008-02-22T17:32:00.002-05:00

Well, we had a winter storm warning last night and woke up to some ice and yucky stuff outside this morning. The decision was to cancel the ski trip and take a day trip to another ski place in a few weeks with the youth. Ashley is ok with that as now she can go to The Night event that she goes to just about every month. And JJ will be going too. Kevin ended up going to work because the roads cleared off. This has been a crazy day. Schedules just keep changing. Oh well. I have a huge headache that won't go away, too. I just want to crawl back in bed, but now it's time to fine something for dinner.

Let me explain

2008-02-21T10:04:00.005-05:00

People are always getting confused by my AOL screen name. Its Momskid8. They always ask me if I have 8 kids?? They did that when I was in my 30's! Come on people! So I have to politely tell them that I am the youngest out of 8 kids. They are still amazed that my parents had so many kids. Larry, Carol, Dennis, Robbie, Barbara, Susan, Wendell and me. Larry is 18 years older than me. When I was in elementary school I always thought my mom was so old because everyone else's mom was in her 20's or early 30's. My mom was 41 when I started school. When people see my wedding pictures they ask if Larry is my dad. I have to tell them that my Dad passed away in 1984 when I was 16. And I asked Larry to give me away. So anyway - hope that explains how I came up with my screenname. To see pictures of my big family, you can always go to my Myspace page at www.myspace.com/donnamarie71367

Left Work Early!

2008-02-20T13:19:00.003-05:00

As soon as I saw the flakes start falling at work, I ran for the hills! I know what snow showers can produce, so the baby that I am came home. I can I just wanted to get over that mountain! It can be a world of difference on one side or the other, so I never chance it.

Now I am home and cozy. Just waiting for the kids. Ah - peace and quiet for a little while at least. Wonder if they'll close early? Who knows. Just have to wait and see.

Young Love (If that's what it is)

2008-02-19T17:55:00.000-05:00

My daughter says she is no longer single. She got tired of waitng and finally asked out the boy she has overly liked for the last year. They've been friends all their lives but now she is ready for him to be more than "just a friend". So for Valentine's Day, she gave him a hand-made valentine with a note in it asking him to go out with her. He said YES! It's funny how a teenager's whole attitude can change with three simple letters. She is so much more pleasant now and actually wants to associate with her younger brother! It's amazing!

Winter weather and the stress it gives me

2008-02-19T14:59:00.001-05:00

I hate winter. Especially if we try to plan anything and bad weather is forecast. Kevin and Ashley and a bunch of others from church are leaving for Wisp Resort this Friday and of course, freezing rain is now forecast! So can you feel the tension in my typing? You should! I just pray that the forecasters are wrong and the path will change by the time it gets here. And of course I know they will go anyway. Thank goodness for cellphones. I just hope they work in the mountains.