Monthly Archives: December 2008

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Wow!  These past few weeks have flown by in a blur.  Christmas has come and gone, and now it’s New Year’s Eve.  I’m enjoying spending time with my kids, and sleeping in… 

We have four bottles of organic sparkling juice chilling in the fridge, and lots of cocktail shrimp too.  The kids are excited about the “buffet” that we’re having, now I just need to plan the games and movies to last till midnight. 

My prayer is that each of you have a very blessed 2009.  May you grow in faith, love, happiness, and knowledge. 

Uh Oh

Our neighbor publicly denounces us in the newspaper for allowing the sewers to come across our property instead of his.  My response, GET OVER IT!

So bad at this…

The titles always get me down!  Ok, I really do have lots to say, so I’m just gonna jump in.  Saturday Brooke danced at a womens Christmas brunch for a church that is a few miles from here.  The women were all so nice that we decided to try the church out on Sunday.  We’ve been kind of thinking about finding a smaller church with a great kids ministry, and this seemed to drop in our laps.  More on that later…

After Brooke danced, she and I went Christmas shopping.  It was one of those awesome mom and daughter days.  We had Starbuck’s and then ate at Chili’s for lunch.  It was a great time, and we really did get lots accomplished. 

Sunday rolled around and Brian and Zach got up before dawn to go hunting, so Matthew, Brooke and I went to the new church.  We really, really liked everything about it except the fact that communion was not served.  At all.  Now, every church I’ve ever attended has served communion every Sunday, and it’s biblical.  I have heard of certain churches that serve it on one Sunday a month, and special occasions, but I’ve never attended one of those.  I was really bummed out about it, thinking that was a deal breaker for me, but wishing it wasn’t.  I called the church yesterday and asked about it, and the secretary told me they always serve it on the 4th Sunday of the month.  She said she didn’t know why, it’s just how it’s always been done.  She offered to have the pastor call me, so I’m waiting on that.  Someone told me maybe it’s a money thing, and I’d be glad to buy the stuff to do it weekly.  I personally need that. 

Monday rolled around and I had to take Brooke to an orthopedic surgeon.  The same one that did my last knee surgery.  She’s been having some knee pain, and with my history of knee surgeries, and my mom’s and grandma’s, I wanted to get on it quickly.  I had really hoped that with all her dancing that she would have developed strong quad muscles, but I guess not.  He diagnosed her with Osgood Schlatters disease, where the tendon is pulling on the growth plate because she is so active.  Also she has tendonitis, patello-femoral syndrome, and patello femoral dysfunction.  Which means that she has shallow knee caps like me, and her bones are not made correctly to hold the knee cap in place.  He prescribed no jumping, (great for dance 4 x/week and cheerleading!), and physical therapy to strengthen the muscles more to hold the knee cap in place, and a couple of braces. 

Last night was her first night of therapy, and it went well.  Her knee was swollen so they used the doppler with an anti-inflammatory cream to help reduce the swelling, then she rode a bike for a while.  After the bike, he took her back to the table and showed her the exercises he wanted her to work on at home.  The memories of my surgeries and therapy came back to me at that point, and I felt so guilty that I was responsible for my precious daughter being in the same position.  I started crying and had to walk away.  Once I regained composure, I was able to go back and joke around with her while she was hooked up to the TENS unit.  I now know how my mom felt, because I was standing in her shoes.  I know it wasn’t her fault, and it’s not mine either.  It’s just something we have to deal with.  Luckily, we’re learning what to do to prevent future issues, and in a christian company!  They had the Jesus fish on the door, a cross on the desk, and were playing the christian radio station too. 

Oh, and Moday afternoon I had to go back to the oral surgeon to have the packing removed from the left side.  It was really stuck.  I had feared that, because it has been an issue with me, so I had irrigated before I went.  The first girl couldn’t get it out, so she went and got someone else.  She couldn’t get it either, so she irrigated it and started pulling again.  Finally she said maybe they could try suction, so the first girl goes to get it.  While she’s gone, the second girl finally gets it out.  Man, does that ever hurt!  They wanted to repack, and I kindly said NO!  I would much rather suffer with the dry socket pain now, than have it packed and anticipate having the packing removed.

Sin

My pastor once said that “sin will take you farther than you ever intended to go, make you stay longer than you ever intended to stay, and make you pay more than you ever intended to pay.” 

Can I get an Amen?

The Walton’s – Grandpa’s Christmas Wish

Grandpa’s Christmas Wish
Lyrics by Geer, Will – Grandpa Walton
Grandpa’s Christmas Message

What is Christmas? It is a time when some of your dreams come true. Every year it rolls around and takes you by surprise some of the time, especially when you’re as close to a 100 years old as I am. You think…it Can’t be time for another one, but there it is with all it’s hope and joy and the promise of the wishes granted. I bet you wonder what I wish for. What could an old man wish for? Maybe you think I would wish to be young again. I don’t want that. Being young is a painful thing. Being young and in love to boot, which most young people are, is even more agony. I’ll tell you what I wish. I’d wish for the power to return some of the love that’s been given me. I’d wish the time and place for all that giving could be commemorated like the heart I carved on the tree around your Grandmother’s and my initials. I wish too for more days to my life. Time…time to give to children some of the beauty of this Earth that has been revealed to me. A drop of water is a wondrous thing.

A spade full of earth is a kingdom in itself. A cloud is worth watching as it passes from one horizon to another. A bird building its nest is as wondrous as men building the Pyramid, and any green thing that grows is proof that God exists. It all comes into focus at Christmas. It is a tender time. We grow cautious because we open ourselves to love. We exchange gifts, but what those presents really say is “I love you.” It makes some folks uncomfortable to say or hear these words. Maybe it’s because they’ve never learned the secret of the given heart. There are more takers than givers in the world. People, communities even countries spending their time grubbing and rooting for the goods of this earth like pigs after acorns in the Fall of the year. This is a country with a giving heart and I pray it will always be so. It’s a good country and it’s part of our strength, something that we brought with us as pioneers that we can share with the fellow who is down on his luck, with those who suffered calamities: with the loss of their homes or land or their hope. This is a family with a giving heart. You children may squabble and bicker among yourselves but you’ve been taught to love and to give, and that’s the greatest present your Momma and Daddy could have given you. So take pleasure in the trappings of Christmas. Be merry like the songs say. Revel in the tinsel and the glitter and the sparkle and sing the old songs for all the joy that’s in them and the memories they bring back. But to touch the real Christmas, to feel the true spirit of the season, look to your own heart and find all the secret treasures that they’re there to give. There is one wish that I make every year. I never said it aloud before, but I’ll tell it to you now. I wish for all the seasons I have known, endlessly to come and go; the dogwood Spring, the watermelon Summer, the russet and gold of Autumn. I wish for Christmas to come again and for each of us to be here again next year at this time…together, safe, warm and loved as we are at this moment.

— Blue Ridge Publications

Victory in Jesus

2 Timothy 2:1-5  “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.  3  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  4  No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs-he wants to please his commanding officer.  5  Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”

Our personal victory comes in the enduring of hard times, and knowing that if we remain steadfast in our faith, that we will live and reign with Christ forever!  Listen to verses 11-13. “Here is a trustworthy saying:  If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we disown him, he will also disown us: 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”  God will stay true to His promises, the good and not so good.  All he requires of us is faithfulness to His commands.  That is a comfort to me, but it is also a warning if I choose not to obey. 

I choose reigning with Him in heaven for eternity as my victory.  How about you?

Confession

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  James 5:16

Thanksgiving letters Part 3

One of Zach’s best buddies wrote him a letter, and this is what it says. 

Dear Zach,

I’m glad I met you.  You’re my best friend.  I can also trust you.  Thanks for coming over.  You are really fun caus you like what I like.  You are very smart.  You also do what I want to do.  We like the same things.  And really funny.  And like to crash things.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

L

(Isn’t that the sweetest thing?  I need to call his mom and let her know how sweet he is!  I hope he wrote one for her too…)

Thanksgiving letters Part 2

Dear Dad,

Thank you for everything you do for me.  You do a lot for me.  Thank you for taking me hunting.  I like it.  Thank you for checking my homework.  I like getting all the problems right.  I get mad when I miss problems.  Thank you for fixing my things if I break them.  If I break it I will have to buy a new one.  I hate it when I break things.  I am thankful for all of these things. 

Sincerely,

Zach

Conversation with Matthew

M- Why does Santa love Mrs. Claus?

Me-  Well, because they’re married like mommy and daddy, and they love each other.

M-hmph, well I just wish Zach would marry Mrs. Claus!