Almost there!

Just got an email saying that our dossier should be on its way to China by the end of the week. Almost there!

Shoes(sunday snapshot)

I love shoes...always have. My favorites of late are flip-flops...I have casual flip-flops, dress causal flip flops and dressy flip-flops...if there really is such a thing as dressy flip-flops...LOL  I loved going to the shoe store "downtown" as a child where you sat in a seat and someone actually came and sized your foot and went to the back and brought you several shoes to try on. I loved the 'smell' of Burns shoe store in my hometown...it had that new shoe smell all leathery and all.. I remember the option from the salesman "Would you like to wear these out or keep them in the box?" Of course I would wear my new ones out. Then I would stare at my feet and admire my new shoes for days...there's just something about new shoes...at least for me anyway....I guess I like shoes so much because as the joke says, I still wear the same size(shoe size that is) as I did in high school.

I have passed my shoe fetish to my kids. They love shoes too....I don't know if they like them as much as me, but they're pretty close. When I was a youngster the "big deal" was to have a pair of yo-yo's a cute little sandle on a wooden platform heel with a hole in the heel...all my friends had a pair and naturally I had a pair too...actually I had 2 pair before it was all over with. Yo-yo's looked like this...I wish they still made them I would have another pair in a heart beat.

I found this photo on an ebay type site where someone is trying to sell a vintage pair. Aren't they lovely? I really dig that wooden heel with the little hole cut out...just too cute...but that was the late 70's then...now the big deal is TOM'S...I have heard nothing, but please get me some TOM's, Mom! Even my 3rd grader wanted TOMS. So we ordered  TOMs with each pair purchased, another child somewhere else will receive a pair... so that's good news.

These gold glittery ones are Karlie's! She is in 8th grade but still has a tiny foot. She was thrilled when Tom's came out with childsize shoes. Now she can be hip and happening too. She takes 2 classes "out" each week and the rest we do at home. Anyway, these gold shoes look great with her black and gold "uniform" shirt she has to wear each week. 

Here's Zach's Toms ...this is his 2nd pair...he loves these shoes...says they are so comfortable...not to mention they are hip and happening.

 My little bit has a pair too, his came in the mail on Monday.There's no photo of his blue corduroy tom's cause he went to a friend's house after church.  He put his Tom's sticker that came in his box on the back of his go-kart and when he is done wearing his shoes he puts them back in the little canvas toms bag that came with his shoes...don't know how long he will keep that up...at least till the new wears off. 

Tom's, gotta love um...but I sure miss my YoYo's.

Doubter or Believer?

I am a believer and not a doubter. I hold fast to my confession of faith. I decide to walk by faith and practice faith. My faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus is the author and the developer of my faith. (Heb. 4:14, Heb. 11:6, Rom. 10:17, Heb. 12:2).


Growing up I knew about Jesus. I knew who He was and I knew I needed Him, but didn't know exactly how or what to do? So I lived in constant fear. During my very young years my family and I were involved in the church...very involved..but then during the elementary years...we just stopped going...and that's where the confusion set in... I knew I was "lost"...and thought I was too far gone to ever get found.


But in 1981, my parents had divorced by this time, and my mom remarried and we had moved to a new town.. my mom and pop decided we needed a fresh start or new beginning, so we went to church. My mom shared with me scripture from the Bible, probably the Roman Road...and I so desired to have Jesus in my life. I prayed confessing my sin, thanking God for sending Jesus to die for me...and I believed that He died and rose again. I was "saved" at age 13 and was baptized later that year.


Needless to say. I have been in church ever since 1981. I have been very involved with church, church activities etc...if the doors of the church are open I am usually there and at my present church if the doors are locked, I know the code and can still get in...lol


But even though I have been in church and doing church activities, singing, orchestra, teaching, serving, mission trips...etc etc etc...there have been times of doubt in my life...With doubt comes fear... Thoughts like, " Do I really know Jesus?"  Am I really saved? My goodness, I am saved, but I am still messing up...I have terrible thoughts...What's going on?


My mind was a battlefield. And it took a lot of tears and Bible study to understand this battle ground in my mind. I didn't want to doubt, but I did. I doubted my salvation. I think most every Christian can go through doubt. But when I have those doubting thoughts, the place to go is to scripture. When I was a youth, I would talk to mom and she would take me back to the scripture...and I would be reassured. When my own children have doubted, we go to scripture. When someone says that salvation is a "continuing process",we go to scripture.
Salvation is a free gift from God. He doesn't take it back. Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection was enough! We are saved one time and we continue to live for Him. We mess up. As I read once...our sin messes up our fellowship with Him, but not our relationship.  A scenario to explain this is: I did something my mom told me not to do; I am still her daughter...nothing changed that relationship...our fellowship is damaged, but our relationship is still the same nothing can change that. She's still my momma. Same with Jesus...He's still my savior.


Here are some of those reassuring verses. But to be reassured of salvation, one must be saved to begin with.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 13:5-8 

 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money,being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
 ⁶so that we confidently say,
         "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
         WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"
 ⁷Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
 ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 

 ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
 ²⁰For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.


John 10:27-28

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,  and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Hebrews 11:6 

 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Acts 20:28

 ²⁸"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

As Christians, we may doubt our salvation from time to time, but we don't have to. Why live in fear?  God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He bought us with a price.  He keeps His promises.  Jesus is enough!

Here's my daughter being baptized several years ago. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. Baptism is an act of obedience. It symbolizes the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, as well as  the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Baptism doesn't "save" us or complete our salvation... Jesus is enough for salvation. Baptism is simply a symbol to show the world that we are believers in Jesus Christ and we are baptized out of obedience to Him.

Shek was baptized last December. Somewhere there's a photo of Zach's baptism from 1999. I need to find it.

a day in the life of our homeschool

This  year starts our 6th year homeschooling. Our first homeschool experiment graduated this past May and is loving college. If you would  have told me years ago that I would be a home educator; I would have laughed out loud and said NO WAY...but God opened this door a while back and it has been a blessing...some days I want CALGON, but it is worth it everyday. I have enjoyed the closeness of having my kids at home and I like being in control of their curriculum. My husband and I feel that Christian education is very important to our family. 

Shek is working on a lapbook about oceans  for Science. Here he is doing some copywork for one of the activities in his lapbook.

What do you do with an avid Nascar Fan? You incorporate a Nascar lapbook as part of their learning...this lapbook had lots of reading, history and even some math and much more. Above is a photo of the completed nascar lapbook that Shek begged to do as part of his schoolwork. We graphed which kind of car has won the most races...it's cheverolet if you are wondering. We also learned a lot about the racers' special outfits(did you know they have special underwear as part of their uniform?) Also, we learned about the special flags and the racer lingo...and so much more...We purchased this lapbook as well as our many other lapbooks from here.

Here is Shek with his lapbook

Karlie takes history and science "out" at NCCA. Here she is doing her Science homework. She takes the rest of her courses at home.

As a homeschool mom I eat lunch with my kiddos everyday. No special appointments with the school to eat with my kid, we just go to the kitchen and whip up something to eat...or if we have raided our piggy banks and the laundry room  for our loose change....we might go out to eat! Lately, Shek runs when I whip out the camera until I said, I can't feature you on my blog until you let me have some pictures...so I got several today...

Here's one way to increase your cardio in your daily exercise routine

 My friend, Melissa and I walk 4 days a week before daylight.  I take a flashlight that flashes blue so that cars can see us and she takes one so that  we can keep our eyes peeled for snakes and such while we are walking We have run across several "dead" snakes over the summer.  The other night, I woke up from a nightmare having dreamed that I was bitten by a snake while walking.

Today, Melissa almost stepped on one! At first we thought it was dead, but then we saw it move its head...he must have been sleeping when we came upon him. Needless to say, we decided to run, not walk until we were out of that cul de sac!! We made extra good time today and are very thankful for God's protection from a potentially 'deadly' situation.

So if you think you need to pump your exercise routine a bit or maybe you need to make a faster time for your walk/run...try exercising on the same road as a snake...it'll get your blood pumpin' ...and your time WILL be a lot faster...if you're in to timing your walk/runs...

Here's a photo of us...my eyes are half shut in this photo...but that's probably about what I look like at 530 in the morning too...unless of course I am running from a snake!

Sunday Snapshot: I'm not old enough to be sending my first born off to college, am I?

So my oldest started his freshmen year this week. He is commuting this semester so it's not like he is gone all the time...he's loving it!

Here he is headed out the door for an 8am class...he has a cup of hot tea to go...

He is in a singing group at college and this is his "uniform"....looking sharp!

Karlie and Shek miss him while he's gone, I think!

Is he really in college already..he was just born the other day....

Well, I guess it's been almost 18 years ago since he was born..but it sure doesn't seem like it! Have a great college experience, my boy...and let your light shine for HIM!

Sunday Snapshot: Going down Memory Lane

Click the above link to see other bloggy friends' Sunday Snapshots!


This week, I have spent some time going through old photos with my grandmother. She lives in the basement apartment downstairs and she has many many photo albums all in chronological order. Many of her photos were taken with one of those instant cameras and the photos have amazingly kept well over the years. The two of us had fun looking and remembering the old days.Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents...I even wrote about and shared lots of photos of my granddad, Lovey, earlier this week on my blog.
Here's a few photos that Honey and I reminisced over this week.

Here's my momma and me...I love her glasses! I used to wear them during spirit week back in high school!

                                         Here I am with Honey and Lovey...the greatest grandparents around. Don't you love their special "grandparent" names?

Here I am talking on Honey's rotary dial phone. I was probably talking to my momma while she was at work as a bank teller.

Here I am with my cousin Becky. We are bottlefeeding "Princess" a Brahma calf. My cousin pointed out that this photo was exactly 40 years old on the day I posted it on facebook. Honey has always been good at dating all of her photos.

Honey even had some photos of Karl and me when we first started dating...we look really young and very '80's here...I am so thankful for her desire to photo journal our lives...there's still lots more photos to enjoy when Honey and I can make the time to go down memory lane again...I hope to do that really soon. To see even more of my memory lane photos and a story about my granddad, Lovey read this.

Lovey and "The Woods"

At Christmas for many years our church has made an Advent devotion booklet to enjoy during Christmas time. The church staff as well as church members contribute devotions on  the themes of Love, Joy, Peace and Hope. In 2006, I was asked to write a devotion on Love. The following was my entry.

LOVE

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ even as He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before Him in love; having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His desire, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved, in whom we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace..." Ephesians 1:3-7

From birth until I was about eleven years old, I spent a portion of everyday with my grandparents, Honey and Lovey. They were my very own "day care".

Lovey was a gentleman farmer and owned a farm named "The Woods", several miles from town. There he had cows, deer stands, catfish ponds, a large garden and a log cabin that he and Honey built with logs from the land. Needless to say, life with my grandparents was always busy.

Lovey and I were really close. He was a big joker, always getting the last laugh. I would spend my days playing outside at Honey's house, listening for Lovey's arrival. I always knew when he was almost home when I heard his mud grip tires humming along on the pavement. I would run to greet him at the gate where I would get to tell him about my day and also tattle on whatever mischief I thought  Honey had been into that day too. This became our daily game.

 When I was in the third grade, I accidentally discovered that Lovey was not my real granddad, but my step-granddad instead. Everyone assumed I knew and told me that they had not intentionally kept it from me. I was still surprised to say the least.

Although Lovey was my step-granddad and I didn't know it; he did. It did not matter to him. He loved me as his own. At my birth he included me in his family tree.

When I was nine years old, Lovey was diagnosed with cancer. He fought that battle strong and hard. Four years later, on his death bed barely conscious, a nurse came and woke him. She asked loudly, " Mr. Bennie, do you know Jesus?" He awakened enough to answer, "Yes, I know Jesus!" These were his last words.

Many years have passed since that heartbroken little girl lost her granddad. I am thankful that Lovey shared the love of Jesus with me through his actions. He loved me unconditionally and adopted me  just as Jesus has.

Some months after Lovey's death, I asked Jesus to become my Savior and Lord. One day I will meet Jesus face-to-face and once again I will meet Lovey at the gate.

Photos of Honey, Lovey and The Woods...

                                        Lovey and Me at Honey and Lovey's house....

                                    Lovey on the tractor.

                                  Lovey with Princess and Speedy. He wanted to raise Brahmas and my great grandfather, Papa Creel gave him two calves that were rejected by their mothers...these had to be bottlefed. I have been told, that as a small child I used to take a nap by these two and lay my head on their sides...not too many people can say they napped with a bull and lived to tell about it...too bad there's no picture proof of that!

                                  This is me and my cousin Becky feeding Princess in Honey's yard. Princess was named Princess cause she was just pretty like a Princess I guess...and Speedy was named Speedy because he didn't get in a hurry to do anything...maybe we should have named him Ferdinand the Bull.

                                Here's Lovey with a deer he got during hunting season. Check out my expression! I think this is the deer that's head ended up being mounted and placed in the "formal living room" at Honey's house over the tv set.... My Uncle Clyde is in the photo as well...he is holding up Big Ruff in the photo...you can see Uncle Clyde's Cowboy hat...I was afraid of Uncle Clyde for a long time until he gave me a baby goat, but that's a story for another day.

                                   We used to fish a lot. There were several ponds at "the place" or The Woods as it was mostly called. One pond was called the "limby pond" because it was full of downed trees and limbs and more than likely you would get your line hung on and old stick before the day was over. And we wonder why I love catfish so much...because it's the best food on earth and we used to eat it a lot...and we ate it a lot because it was the best food on earth...

                                   Here's Honey with the Brahmas at "the woods"

                                   Here's me at the cabin that Honey and Lovey built with logs from the land. A porch was later added with a wash table...( no running water so we brought water from home to wash our hands in) There was a 2 seater outhouse out back...watch for snakes before you ...well you know! Later on, an additon was added to the cabin...a larger kitchen, den and bathroom...the bathroom had a toilet, but it remained in the box...it never got hooked up during the time that we had the woods...the kitchen was used to put up corn from the massive garden and also to process meat for the freezer ( such as when a pig or deer was butchered) those were usually hung on my swingset out back and ...well...yeah you get the picture)....

Here's Lovey with his green datsun ...this is the truck with the mud grip tires that I could always hear before it made it to Honey's house...Ready is sitting on the hood of the truck...she is a puppy here. Little Ruff is at Lovey's feet. They made a good hunting dog team. (RUFF AND READY).......Ready was the best beagle ever...I even taught her tricks...she lived to be at least 14 years old. There's a photo of me and her somewhere but that's a photo for another day too.

Last Summer, Karl, the kids and I went back home to MS and checked out all our haunts. When we went to Natchez, I talked them into riding down to the woods. I had not been back to the woods since Honey sold it after Lovey's death in 1981. I was probably 13 years old the last time I had been back down some of these roads. I even got emotional as we came to the old sibley store that basically looked the same as when I was a girl...some how I doubt the inside had the flat coolers with coke in a bottle...I didn't go in...I left it in my memory as it was...we then went up the road behind and around the back of the store as I had done so many times in my youth...I was usually sitting either in the cab of the pickup with Honey and Lovey or riding in the back...( they don't let you ride in the back anymore...it's against the law)..I took photos of the old sites..

                                         Here's the road sign...we are heading in the right direction..Cause our woods was a part of the original Buckhurst Plantation...I hear that someone has a Bed and Breakfast at part of the old Buckhurst Plantation...and clothing is optional...CAN you believe that? What's the world coming too?

When I caught sight of the bridge headed to the woods...my voice cracked...the emotions surprised me...what memories...

                                        Here's the Ole Jenkins' house...it has since been remodeled in to a show place but back in the day it was not so nice...this was on the way to our woods....We went a little farther...but couldn't go over the cattle gap and down around the levy by the limby pond past Uncle Clyde's old house and over the back toward the cabin...(Private Property)...I have heard it's all different now...and I want it to remain in my head like it is...Perfect!

Honey and Lovey and the woods...such sweet childhood memories....

sunday snapshot: Today is my Pop's birthday.

Today is Pop's birthday. He is almost exactly 50 years older than my oldest boy Zach..so I can remember his age with no problem. Zach will be 18 in September so I know that today Pop is 68.

 Pop and Gam at the Varsity in Atlanta...enjoying a frosted orange and onion rings.

                                   Pop and Gam  with Shek at the train museum last summer.

 Pop and Gam with Karlie at Olive Garden.

                                  Pop with Shek at the train museum.
                                

                                   This was Christmas 2008 we had gone to Callaway Gardens for the

                                    Christmas lights, but first ate at the Bulluch House. We have got to go

                                    back again this year.

                                Pop and Shek by an old tractor in Blue Ridge GA. This is in front of

                                 the "country store"...they have really good fudge there and lots of cowboy

                                 hats.
Here's Pop modeling one of those hats!

Pop and Gam with Shek at the RA Derby race at church. They helped him with his derby car.

The whole crew.

                              Pop is a great dad, and granddad and hubby to my momma. He's a great Mr. Fix-it. He's a          

                              wonderful godly role model to family and friends. Happy 68th Birthday Pop. Let's eat some catfish and cake.

                             

104.7 Opening Act

104.7 Opening Act

Hubby

My hubby is the best! I met him in 1985 on the marching band practice field during our freshman year in college. He played tuba and I was playing Saxophone for the first time in my life, because the director didn't think clarinets ( my real instrument) made enough significant noise on the marching field...

He was eighteen years old wearing a muscle shirt and those '80's cut off jean shorts...He had a 5 oclock shadow and a hairy chest...he was manly~ a real man!

                                                Karl back in the day probably 1986

                                               us...I am looking very '80's

He's the best! Great hubby, wonderful dad, trustworthy, patient, and reliable. He's going to do what he says he's gonna do... He loves Jesus and his family. I mentioned he was patient; he has to be...he taught me how to drive a stick shift when we were newlyweds and he didn't pull his hair out or get angry...and now driving a "standard" is FUN!

Karl with the kids...he's the best dad around.

                                    Karl loves to go to the lake...he has threatened to sell the boat; the rest of us flip-out when he mentions selling cause we love going to the lake too.

                                                        He has a sense of humor too...We needed extra passport photos for our dossier and this was his first "mugshot"...got to love it!

This was taken at Dillard House on our 20th anniversary weekend get a way! Ain't he purty?

Here he is getting ready to fish off the dock at Lake Burton. He likes to go fishing, but doesn't get to go as much as he would like.

                                           Here we are 20 years ago at our wedding with our parents...Has it really been 20 years? It sure doesn't seem like 20 years...Time flies when you're having fun!

My hubby is the best and I love him...I thank God for putting that manly man in my squad on that marching band field all those years ago!