2010

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

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

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!

Just don't feel like writing anymore

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

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

[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.........

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Youth Trip to the Zoo

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

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.

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