URGENT!! Please Pray!

Colby

Colby (left) & Max (right)

Please remember Billy & Roxanne when you pray. Their little boy, Colby 7 years, died tonight as a result of injuries he recieved in a 4 wheeler accident. They also have a little girl who is 3. I can not begin to imagine the pain they are feeling tonight. I pray that God will surround them with his mercy and love to help them through this horrific time.

The picture above was taken at my nephew Max's birthday party a few months ago. My heart is broken for Max as well as for Colby's other friends and family. What a horrible thing to experience at any age, much less this young! Please remember them and the parents who must explain this to them, as well as the other family and friends who will be lifting up Colby's family during this time.

Photo courtesy of sis Dana's blog.

You Go Girl!

Want more info on McCain's choice for VP candidate, Sarah Palin? Go here.

I love the fact that she hunts moose and is a member of the NRA! She sooooo has my dad's vote!

I also love that she is pro-life, supports creationism being taught in schools, opposes same sex marriage, and increased taxes on oil company profits.

Perhaps one of my favorite facts is the part where she blew the whistle on her own party for ethics violation, then ran against and defeated the very ones she blew the whistle on....

Go Girl!

...this should be interesting to say the least!

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday in a while, but I just couldn't let this week pass by without joining in!

I have had a bit of a "monkey" on my back for some time now. I knew that there was something I was supposed to be doing for God, but I just for the life of me, couldn't figure out what He wanted me to be doing.

I started to give up my Kindergarten/first grade Awanas class this year because I felt like maybe He wanted someone else in there. Through a series of events I discovered that, no,....He wants me there.

After many nights of tossing and turning, after much conversation with God, He allowed His wishes for me at this time to hit me square in the face last Sunday morning.

The pastor started off with a few announcements, as usual, then said there were a few positions left open for the upcoming year, he named them told us who to see if we were interested, then continued on with the service. He taught from Philippians 1. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

This is something that I am "running in to" in several ways right now.

We're doing the No Other God's Bible Study by Kelly Minter right now. Something that continues to speak to me through this study is that our sole purpose....THE reason we are here is to serve Him. Everything else is in vain if serving God isn't my sole priority.

This is certainly not to say that I neglect my children or my husband or any other responsibilities by making service to Him my sole reason for being. Absolutely not. In fact, how can I be a better mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter, etc, than by living a life of total and complete service to God?

To live IS Christ!

So, back to Sunday morning. There is one particular class that I adore being a part of. I taught this class for several years at the church we used to attend. I have had the opportunity to get involved with this age group during VBS, but never on a routine basis.

Until now.

I had half heartedly listened to Luke as he named off the positions that needed to be filled this year. All were teaching positions. I already have Awanas to prepare for each week, I have 2 babies to care for, I can't possibly take on another class.

Until HE said, "Yes you can." or "Yes you better". I'm not sure of His exact wording when the conviction began, but I'm sure it began.

After the service I went to pick Carter up from the nursery and on to find the person Luke told us to see about filling those positions. I probably wouldn't have even remembered who he said to see were it not for the fact that she is my sister in law.

When I told her she said she'd started to ask me about it because she knew I'd taught that age before, but that she'd decided to wait.

I'm glad she did, because if she had asked me before that morning I would have told her no.

So! I'm thankful that God worked it out for me to be with the Sunday School class that I LOVE to be with. The 4 & 5 year olds. I love it! They are old enough to ask great questions, and learn so much! I pray that God will use me to further His will in their lives in the upcoming years!

For more Thankful Thursday, visit Iris @ Sting My Heart!

...Back to you, Ted.

"Well, that about sums it up, don't ya think?" Thanks, Ted, now back over to the news desk while I hurry over to make sure my good buddy Rita has seen this video!

...and completely unrelated to any of the above, go check out what Tonja is doing at her place.....AWESOME idea!!

Merle & Maxie.....and Merle

...you may remember a few weeks ago when I told you about the
new puppies that recently arrived at our house after our dear old
friends departed. Well, it seems that our dog drama knows no end!

We finally settled on the names Maxie & Merle. These are the names of two dear, (and incredibly funny) elderly sisters who live in our community. They live across the road ('cause we don't have streets here!) from each other and are always doing mischievous things to one another.

One in particular incident that stands out in my mind was when Maxie put a possum in Merle's garage one time to try and scare her. Well, it worked and it was ON then! There is never a bridal shower, baby shower, or wedding that is complete unless these two dear sisters are in attendance. They are guaranteed to liven up the festivities!

Now, with all that being said, the demeanor of our new puppies was so comical we just had to name them after these two dear sisters!

Then we discovered that one of them wasn't a sister but a brother. Now, before you go giving us life lessons......we DO know how to check that! The guy who gave us the puppies told us they were all girls so Kyle didn't bother to check. When we did finally discover this, we decided that this boy puppy would be Merle....you know, like Merle Haggard.

A week or so went by and Merle became ill and stopped eating. I immediately thought he must have parvo, but he'd gotten his shots and it rocked on for 4 or 5 days so I thought maybe he'd just gotten in to something that made him sick or he didn't like the brand of food I bought. I tried a few different foods, and finally resorted to force-feeding him Pedialyte to try getting him eating again. I called the vet and he told me to give him some more wormer and continue the Pedialyte.

I woke up Sunday morning to find poor Merle laying there in the grass lifeless and Maxie sitting there looking so very pitiful beside him.

Dadgummit!

Of course Carter was right on my heels.

DadGUMMIT!

I convinced Carter that maybe Merle was just asleep and got Maxie to follow him to the other end of the porch to draw his attention away while I put Merle in a plastic bag and whisked him around the side of the house.

I didn't say anything else about Merle, but Carter must have seen me with that bag because later he asked me if I'd taken Merle to the Doctor because he was sick. I later realized that he was with me the day the vet put Lexie down and had seen the vet bring her out in a plastic bag like that.

So. Today I scoured the online classifieds to try to find a replacement puppy. Cold, I know, but I just really couldn't stand the thought of having to try to explain loosing one more dog to that baby boy of mine! Could. Not. Do. IT.

I found an add and called the guy last tonight around 6. He said there was only one puppy left and someone was on their way to look at it. I told him my sad story and about my sad baby boy and gave him my number and told him if for some reason that person didn't take the puppy to call me.

He called at 7:05 and said that the guy didn't want to come tonight since the remnants of Fay have settled in our area and there are flash flood warnings and tornado watches, but that he'd told him that he couldn't hold the puppy since he had someone else who might want it..........

.....but I had to come tonight.

In the remnants of Fay, the torrential downpours, flash flood warnings, and tornado watches.

All it took to convince this "mom" to make that 30 mile (one way) trip, in the dark, down the mountain, over the bridge (that's under construction) in the middle of a tropical depression was one look at those big brown eyes.

All the way there Carter kept talking about how we were going to the doctor to get Merle......and was Merle going to "wake up" in the morning this time?

When the guy we'd never seen before opened the door Carter burst through the door and into the house, calling, "Meeeerrrrleeeeee?" "Meeeeerrrrrllleee?", then looked up at the guy (for the first time) "Dr, where's Merle?"

LOL!!!

So, we picked "Merle" up from the "doctor" and brought her "back" home with us. Back across the bridge and up the mountain,...pouring down rain all the way. "She feel better" according to Carter.....and so did that brown eyed little boy!

......and his Mom too!

Scrapbook

typing & thinking......brace yourself!

Yesterday I had the rare pleasure of dropping my babies off at my MIL's and heading off for a mani/pedi!

I didn't go to the place I usually do and wasn't really thrilled when I was assigned to this older Asian dude for my spa treatments. And right off the bat, I could tell he was gonna be a talker. GREAT! I don't want to talk while I get mani/pedi's. I want to veg out. Is that too much to ask?

Turns out, his conversation wasn't bad at all. He asked me about this and that, and then if I had children. We talked about that for a bit. Then he told me that he'd left his country because he was exiled 27 years ago and had never seen his parents again. He went to visit their graves when he visited his homeland. He went on to say that he'd married and had 3 children and 4 grandchildren which he rarely got to see because they were so busy and lived a few hours away.

The lady beside me talked to the person doing her pedicure about her granddaughter and the new great grand baby she was about to have. She said that she'd battled breast cancer 3 years ago and prayed that God allow her to live to see her granddaughters have babies.

Today I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of my 2nd cousin, Yolanda. She is such a beautiful young woman, and of course she made an incredibly beautiful bride! It was a lovely ceremony with a whopping 7 bridesmaids and 7 groomsmen! BIG wedding party! Beautiful reception!

Yolanda's dad, Lamar J., is my 1st cousin. We share a really cool bond. I was born on October 9th, 19??, Lamar's 13th birthday! He has always told me that I was the best present he ever got! I agree! HA!

Yolanda told me after the wedding that she almost cried all the way down the isle. Her dad said to her right before they entered the church "I'm not ready to give you away." How sweet is that??? I, as well as most everyone else at the wedding, almost gave way to tears when as the ceremony began, the minister said that there was love felt both present with us and in spirit.

Yolanda's sister, Jill, passed away just a few short months ago at the age of 30. Derek, the groom, lost both of his parents suddenly and tragically about a month apart just a year or so ago. They had a table set up with a picture of Jill, and of Derek's parents in memory of all of them. Jill's son, Alec, 12, was an usher. He did such a great job and looked incredibly dapper, I must say! His mom would have been so proud of him!

I watched the 10M Olympic Diving medal competition tonight. The guy from Australia finished with a perfect dive only to dash the hopes of the Chinese in sweeping the gold medal in the Diving competitions. As I watched that young Chinese athlete, whose hope of gold had just been crushed by that perfect dive, in the background of the Aussie who was in shock at his own perfect performance, I wondered what the consequences of this would be for the Chinese diver, as far as his Olympic team, his country for that matter.

I thought about the old man at the salon yesterday, about how much he must have missed his family both then, and now....

I thought about that great grandmother who this very Sunday will be attending a baby shower for her granddaughter who in a few short weeks will be having her second great grandbaby...

I thought about the hopes and dreams of every Olympian in Beijing these last weeks. How they spend their ENTIRE lives preparing for that one moment......to have their efforts rewarded with gold,....or dashed by the agony of defeat.

I thought about the wedding today. How the families of both the bride and groom must feel such happiness for the new union formed in the house of God, mixed with a bit of sorrow for those they've so recently lost.


"I have choices, every second of the day, to serve my Lord. To honor Him with my speech and with my thoughts, with the way I love those around me and the way I worship Him. Every moment, there is another opportunity, and I want to use as many of them as He will allow. In fact, Scripture tells me that one day I will stand before Him, and I will (symbolically) hand the King of all Kings a tattered scrapbook of my days. It is up to me to decide what the pages will reveal."

(This is from a blog I read often. Bring the Rain. From the post entitled "Blink" . Since I read this about a month ago, it has spoken so strongly to me. )

As I read it again now, I think of all the random scrapbook pages I talked about above.......then I think about my own personal "scrapbook" of my days. Will all the pages be full? Will there be some empty ones on which days I did nothing to honor Him?

I want my pages to be overflowing with entries of service to my Lord and Savior. Not for my glory, but for His......

I am so thankful for the blessings He has given me, and I am so humbled when I think of what an awesome God I serve.

"Hey Mom".....

...cause that's what he's calling me these days. "Mom". Which is totally understandable since he's, you know, grown. He IS a whopping 2 years and 2 months old after all.


Mom: "Yes, Carter?"


Carter: "I need medicine."


Mom: "You do? What's wrong with you?"


Carter: "I sick."


Mom: "Where are you sick, Carter?"


Carter: "The barn."


.............I'm not sure what kind of medicine would work for that, or where to put it!

AND

... yesterday I flipped over to see what was on the NBC channels as far as olympics go and there was an indoor volleyball game on.

Carter said, "They not take they clothes off, Mom?"

Darn that beach volleyball!! Could they not just wear a shirt? I mean, it would help keep the sand out, right?

Got Gold?

Update! She won! Go HERE for the info! I have no idea if or when this will air, because when I was watching her teamate Natsia (sp?) win silver on the bars in the middle of the night last night they said the competition was "tomorrow" so who knows! Anyway, I'm so glad she finally won gold!

I interupt my brief recuperation period from the 24/7 coverage of the Olympics (and working in the hay field...more on that later!) to bring you this........

...You've heard of Shawn Johnson, right? The 3 time silver medalist gymnast? Well, if you didn't think she is completely adorable before, then you must read this! (Read it even if you already thought she is adorable!) Then join me in rooting for her in her final meet! (which will probably be sometime in the middle of the night tonight....or tomorrow night...I'm not sure how the time difference will work but everything Olympic seems to be in the middle of the night! HA!)

Yummmmm!

UPDATED...SEE BELOW!

Four Months. That's when the Pediatrician recommends starting baby on solid foods. Now, by solid food I mean rice cereal, then oatmeal cereal, and stage 1 baby foods. Seeing as how Lilah was in the 80th percentile at her 4 month checkup at 15 pounds, none of us were surprised at how much she loved "solid" foods!

Normally it completely grosses me out to watch a baby learn to eat. Yes, even my own. (This may not win me mother of the year, but it IS a rather nasty process....sorry!) But she has been so comical and enjoying it so much that it's been a little less disgusting to watch!

So of course I simply MUST blog about it!

Lucky you!

Just be glad I didn't start blogging until Carter was a little older. THAT was a nasty process!

p.s.....Listen to Carter in the background. He's trying to talk Lilah into eating some of his "ice cream" which is really yogurt. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he always thought that?!

Also! I had the best trip to Walmart in ohhh, well, in 4 months, today. Check out this picture!

Mom cell phone cam

I put Lilah in the Bumbo seat down in the buggy and strapped Carter into the child seat! I KNOW! How stinkin' brilliant am I??? No more bulky baby car seat!!

Lilah totally loved her new freedom and Carter loved watching her look around and smile and coo. Of course we had the usual onlookers who chatted Carter up and talked to Lilah which she replied to with her bestest grin. Then there were the ones who looked at me like I was the most horrible mom ever. Yeah, whatever. They just wish they'd thought of it! :) It so made Walmart much more do-able with 2 babies!..........and nobody lost their pants either!

Don't Hate Me......

......because my blog is beautiful! Don't you just love it? Lindsay, at Splat Designs, has outdone herself for a second time on my behalf! I told her I wanted "Farmgirl Sheek"......and I think she's pulled it off beautifully! Thank you Lindsay!


Another thing, you may notice that I've added a category to my sidebar called "Twitter". Don't know what that is? Don't feel bad, I didn't either until I noticed it on Lisa's blog. Furthermore to say I was mule headed hesitant about trying it would be a serious understatement. But! It's fun! It's like text messaging on steroids. Try it!...oh, and add me, or follow me, or whatever it's called....I'm DeedraP on Twitter. (And you don't have to have a blog to Twitter!)

Okay,....if you haven't read it, carry on to the Scrapbook post below, I just HAD to squeal a bit about the new look!

A Hairy Week....

Carter got his first "official" haircut today! He didn't really have much hair at all until around 18 months and I have just kinda trimmed the ends because it just wasn't very thick. Until the last few months!

So, a visit to the official "P" family beautician was in order. I say this because my husbands entire family gets their hair cut here, and Carter absolutely LOVED Mrs. Crystal!

He wasn't entirely crazy about the process.....

Notice the BAG of lolli pops Ms. Gail is trying to bribe him with?

Now, all the Dum Dums in the world couldn't have gotten him to be this good for the duration of the hair cut. Wanna know what worked??

Mrs. Crystal promised to walk him down to the barn to see her horses if he'd be still while she cut his hair.....

.....how's THAT for service?

...As for the rest of the "hairy" week. Well, if you've seen me over the past month or so, you may have noticed my hair had a striking resemblance to Wednesday Adams....or maybe Elvira. It was very very very dark for my taste. The last time I had it colored I left there looking incredibly goth. I was very pale from the look at myself in the mirror,....I even had on a black concert tee...(even if it was Casting Crowns) Very Goth!

Anyway, earlier this week I decided I couldn't take that look for one more minute so I called to make an appointment. I told her (not Crystal from above, I'll leave out the name to protect the innocent!) I wanted to lighten it up. She suggested a "few" highlights around my face to brighten things up a bit. Fine by me. Go for it!

I wish I'd taken a picture. I went from Elvira to Cruella....or maybe a zebra. I had black and white striped hair! Lot's of stripes! I have no idea what happened to "a few highlights"!

My hair has been every color from blond to red to dark brown, even basically transparent once when I was a teenager (yeah, that was bad too! my dad nearly killed me!) but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it being striped! Also, since she had to leave the stuff she highlighted it with on for-stinkin-ever it fried my hair.

Did I mention my hair is naturally curly and coarse.....several inches below my shoulders? Can you imagine what I looked like when I woke up with that wild mess of hair??? (Bride of Frankenstein comes to mind!)

It was so bad that I literally lost sleep over it last night!...lol! Over MY HAIR!

So, I got up this morning and called the best place I could think of to try and help me get it fixed. Hair Benders International, Chattanooga. I figured we'd have to go without gas and groceries for the next month but given how my hubs has been looking at my head, I didn't think he'd mind!

I tearfully explained my horrific predicament to the girl on the phone and she said, "Can you be here at 1?" YES!!!

I became more tearful and, quite frightened actually, as the "senior stylist" I was assigned to proceeded to call over her "mentor" for a second opinion. (yes, a second opinion........on MY HAIR!) I wish I could explain the look on the mentor's face. I can't. Just imagine this below shoulder length, course, curly, black and white striped hot mess standing straight up all over my head in the middle of this high class salon as they pulled and tugged at it in disbelief. ( I was literally in the middle of the VERY busy room......I am still mortified!)

So, after a shampoo and condition, a clay conditioning mask left on under the dryer for 40 minutes, another shampoo & condition, a color weave consisting of 3 colors applied by 2 different people at the same time, under the dryer for 45 more minutes,a shampoo & condition, a color glaze, under dryer, shampoo & condition, cutting off of several inches due to the "frying" and a style..........

Here is one very happy (and relieved!) customer!

...with some VERY short hair! She blew it out straight and I am not afraid to tell you that I shudder to think about how short it's going to be when it's curly! UGH!

.....but at least it isn't black and white stripes!

Well, now you know!

I found this on a couple of sites I visited last night and theirs was so interesting, I thought I'd give it a try! Here's the link if you want to try it for yourself!

Your Brain Usage Profile:
Auditory : 58%

Visual : 41%

Left : 58%

Right : 41%

Deedra, you are mildly left-hemisphere dominant while showing a slight preference for auditory processing. This overall combination seems to indicate a well-working blend of logic and judgment and organization, with sufficient intuition, perception and creativity to balance that dominance.

You will at times experience conflict between how you feel and what you think which will generally be resolved in favor of what you think. You will find yourself interested in the practical applications of whatever material you have learned or whatever situation you face and will retain the ability to refine whatever knowledge you possess or aspects of whatever position you are in.

By and large, you will orient yourself toward intellectual activities and structure. Though not rigid, you will schedule yourself, plan, and focus on routine and continuity of operations, rather than on changes and disruptions

When changes or disruptions occur, you are likely to consider first how to ensure that such disruptions do The same balance is reflected in your sensory preference. You will tend to be reflective and measured in your interaction style. For the most part, you will be considered objective without being cold and goal-oriented while retaining the capacity to listen to others.

Preferentially you learn by listening and maintaining significant internal dialogues with yourself. Nevertheless, you have sufficient visualization capabilities to benefit from using graphs, charts, doodles, or even body movement to enhance your comprehension and memory.

To the extent that you are even implicitly aware of your hemispheric dominance and sensory style, you will feel most comfortable in those arenas which emphasize verbal skills and logic. Teaching, law, and science are those that stand out among the professions, along with technical sales and management.

Okay, so this is pretty accurate. (Nevermind that I had to look up half the dang words on here in the dictionary!) So then, if I tend to orient myself toward intellectual activities, structure and schedule, then you throw in a 2 yr old and a 4 month old, then I guess that would explain why I learn by maintaining significant internal dialogues with myself....LOL!

So! The next time you see me talking to myself in public......mind your business!!! I'm learning over here!.. :)

A Boy & his dogs....yes, dogS

....You may remember last month when I relayed the horrible news of the passing of our faithful friends, Sam & Lexie. They were our labs that we'd had for 10+ years. As you can imagine, with the 2 year old and the 4 month old, plus the new kitten that Maw Maw gave Carter, well, I just wasn't sure if I was up to tackling a new puppy so I hadn't really been actively looking for one (or two, cause everyone knows puppies are better in twos, right??)

So, when my dad called on Friday afternoon to tell me that a guy he worked with had seven 6 week old female chocolate lab puppies that he wanted to give away I wasn't in a big hurry to mention it to Kyle. It didn't matter though, when I did remember to tell him he promptly said that he didn't want a female puppy so that was that! (I did remind him that Lexie never did roam the neighborhood like every other male dog we'd ever had did though!)

So, you can imagine my surprise when Saturday afternoon Kyle pulls up to the back door and tells me to go look at what's in the back of his truck.

Dad had given the guy Kyle's cell number and when I didn't call him, he called us!

Any hesitation I had about getting a new puppy flew right out the window when Carter saw his new puppies. He was SOOO THRILLED! His little face absolutely lit up! He has played and played and played with his (& Lilah's) new puppy dogs.

Now the challenge is to name the little cuties! Carter named his kitten Floppy Cat, sometimes he calls it Flop. (I have no explanation) He started out calling the puppies Ruby...both of them, so one of them will be Ruby for sure. I'm trying to convince Kyle to let me name the other one Catherine (If you live near here, or know Kyle's family, you will so appreciate this one! LOL), I also thought about Merle & Maxie (sisters who live in our community), but when he started calling one of them Ruby that ended that.

I love to name pets after people I know! It makes it fun! We had these donkeys once named Clyde & Pearlie. So if you guys have any suggestions for Ruby's sisters name......please share!

In the meantime, Carter runs to the back door to make sure they are still there every time he thinks about it! He still asks every single day where Sam & Lexie are. I started out telling him that they got sick and went to heaven which basically got a blank stare from him, then I finally just said they are down behind the barn and left it at that. Then yesterday he surprised me.

He was saying "Thank you, God for sending the rain to water the corn and the cows." "Thank you God for Lilah, and Mama, and Dad." (He calls Kyle "Dad" lately which is beyond adorable!!), then he said, "Thank you God for sending me some puppies". Then he stopped and looked at me and said, "Mama, Sam & Lexie are in heaben with God. And Heaben is in the sky."

"That's right, baby" (through tears)....my baby is growing up!