What I Did On Labor Day...

I woke up. This is always a good thing. I chatted with my daughter in Australia. I'm glad I'm a mom in the 2000's, where my kids are just an IM away. I got Liz cinnamelts, because that is how she rolls on a day off school, or a snow day! yikes, I mentioned the "S" word) I did some laundry and a few other things. Then Liz and I were going to go for a swim. It was a great idea until we found out how COLD the pool was. I turned on the sprinkler, because the air was so HOT, and Liz played in that for awhile. Then I had a great idea. Let's get a blanket and pillows and take a nap in her tent! Things were going great. She decided to take her audio book along. We get everything set up. (Why is the ground so much HARDER when you get older?) There is a gentle breeze, no bugs, perfect! We get settled in, and Liz decides she wants to talk. (Shock, huh?) She talked, I listened. However, she won't let you just listen. If you don't acknowledge what she is saying, she will say Mom? Did you hear what I said? Yes, Liz, we're the only ones in a 12 x 12 tent, I heard you. She went inside for a bit, and came back with a deck of cards. Yippee! We played Go Fish and WAR! Then she decided we should really work on taking a nap. That lasted two minutes. We came back inside. Good times over all! We had supper and I cleaned out the car because I have to take it to the dealer tomorrow to be serviced. It works out good because it's my day to take Ang to radiation, so we'll drop it off on the way and pick up a loaner. I actually took a few pictures of Liz and her tent, that I'll post when I figure out how. It's quite luxurious, nothing like the blanket over a clothesline with a dirt floor that I had as a child, that I had to walk up hill both ways barefoot to play in! This one has a floor, screened in windows, and a welcome mat. Why am I posting at 3 a.m.? Because Ken's snoring awakened me. I might send him out to the tent tomorrow night! ;-)

Oh What an Afternoon to Remember...

So, speaking of music (okay, nobody was, but I was reading through my old posts and commenting on comments!)...yesterday afternoon our interim pastor was having his last service. Earlier we had been talking about music that we liked. We both like gospel music, and I asked him if he had ever heard our gospel choir, The First Baptist Choir. He had not, so I set about trying to get them for his last service. I did. Not only that, they came for lunch at my house. After lunch, we went into the piano room. They played and sang. I was in HEAVEN! Heaven, I tell you! Their harmony is like no other. It blends and just makes your ears so happy! They had one song that started out a little sad and slow, but then the chorus came along and it went something like, "and I started singing, clapping, dancing, and people started laughing" it was pure joy. I was happy, yes HAPPY! I told them that they should have their choir rehearsals at my house. They said they would be happy to. So, after tennis is over, I hope that is exactly what happens. (Note to Ash: their pianist and pastor, Jeff, worked and recorded with someone from Rascal Flats for many years!) Jeff listened to Katie play and sing, and I said, "hey, why don't you have Katie learn to play a few songs for your choir?". I figure if Ken won't go there for me, I'm sure he would go to hear Katie play, right? So, they thought that would be a wonderful plan as well. I think it is too. She loves to play by ear and that would introduce her to a brand new style of music, and can I help it that it happens to be one I love? Yay! Yesterday was a happy, happy day. (oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed, oh when he washed, when my Jesus washed, he washed my sins away, oh happy day....) oh you KNOW you want to sing it!

Four Eyes...

I have been wearing glasses for a week because my left eye got an infection. I have been wearing contacts since I was a senior in high school. I loved getting rid of my glasses. I never felt that glasses suited me. I can remember getting them when I was in about the 4th grade, and I would rather not see the board than wear them. I'm not sure what the deal was, but for me it always felt like they may as well have been neon orange and flashing. That's how I've always felt wearing glasses. So, once when Ashley was just a few months old, I got infection in BOTH EYES! So bad, that the doctor had me wear patches on both eyes. This rendered me blind. I was living in Parma at the time and Angela was staying with me. She must have been 15 years old, because she only had her permit. Here's the fuzzy part...I'm not sure where I wanted or NEEDED to go, but I couldn't drive obviously. But....wait a minute...Angela had her permit. She could drive me. She insisted, however, that she couldn't because 1. she'd never driven on highways that dealt with on ramps and exit ramps, and 2. she had to have a licensed driver. I told her the highway would be a piece of cake, and I, after all, was a licensed driver. Nobody said that your licensed driver had to be able to see, right? Perfect plan. I'm not sure why I felt it would be okay to transport a few months old baby in a car with a girl who had hardly driven and a blind mother, but at the time I thought it made perfect sense. I don't remember the details, but I'll let Angela finish the story with her recollection when she posts a comment, and I KNOW SHE WILL!

Dave

My Fellow Americans...

Do we all remember the movie Dave? It was a movie about a man who was a dead ringer for the President, so they hired him as a decoy. The movie gets more complicated than that, but I was thinking... If I lost weight (alot of weight), I could be Sarah Palin's decoy. It's the perfect job for me. She has 5 kids, I have 5 kids. Her 5th child is special needs, my 5th child is special needs. She wears her hair up, I love wearing my hair up. My glasses look like her glasses. I mean, come on...who can't see this? LOL So, I'll be busy training the next few months, so that I'm fit and ready to get on with my upcoming job. I took my parents out for lunch for my dad's birthday today. I told them about my plans. My dad said, "you are no where near as pretty as she is!" My mom said, with a little grin, "You do look like HER." So, I have a 50/50 shot. So, please... if you wish to talk to me, treat me with some respect, vice-presidential respect!

I took 2 shots, got no ducks, and cold, cold hands...

What is this blog about? Nothing. That was just a random lyric from an old John Denver album I used to own. Yes, I owned a John Denver album. I not only owned it, but I actually went out and purchased it. Why, oh why? The album was called Windsong. The blog title song was called Two Shots. I liked that song for some reason. I'm wired wierd like that. Lyrics just pop into my head. It was around 30 years ago that I last heard that song, yet the lyric was just as clear as if I had heard it yesterday. It happens alot with christian songs. When I was nervous about Liz having open heart surgery, a song came to me that I hadn't heard since I was a little girl. " I care not today what tomorrow may bring, though shadow, or sunshine, or rain. I know the Lord ruleth o're everything and all of my worry is vain. So, I'm living by faith, in Jesus above, trusting confiding in His great love. From all harm safe, in His sheltering arms. I'm living by faith, and I feel no alarm." That came as such a comfort to me, just when I needed it. I love music. Music is something that makes me happy and I like to do for fun! YAY! I know at least one thing I like to do for fun!

If I Could...

As a mother, daughter, sister, and friend there are so many things I would do...if I could.

If I could...
I would find Elizabeth a friend, just like her. Someone who would listen to every word she had to say, and actually want to hear them. Then again, who am I kidding?

If I could...
I would heal her completely.

If I could...
I would pay off every school loan my children have, and keep Katie from incurring any so they don't have to struggle!

If I could...
I would give my mother's speech back.

If I could...
I would give my dad's strength back.

If I could...
I would battle a stupid brain tumor!

If I could...
I would make it so two of my sisters didn't have to work, one because of pain, the other because of stress.

If I could...
I would have my husband working 5 days a week, normal hours, with lots of vacations.

If I could...
I would see to it that Richard never got deployed.

If I could...
I would instantly make all the excess me disappear (that sounds nicer than fat, doesn't it?) so it didn't hinder me from living my life.

If I could...
I would take Elvira's cancer away.

If I could...
Nobody would take advantage of a trusting soul... And for those that it has happened to, I would restore their trust so they don't carry around the burden of what has happened to them in the past and judge every future event by it.

If I could...

But I can't...

I can't fix any of it. So... I try and lay all of those burdens at the feet of Jesus without carrying all of them with me when I leave. That's the trick you know? Leaving them there. We're blessed that He's a forgiving God, because we certainly get it all wrong at times. Why is it so hard to trust completely...to trust without letting the doubt creep in...

TRUST:
1.
reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
2.
confident expectation of something; hope.

God certainly has all the credentials of someone you can trust...integrity, strength, ability, surety...

Psalm 27: 8 says: The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

AMEN

I Survived!

I survived my babysitting adventure. It was only 15 minutes. The baby was adorable. In other news... as I was looking over my past posts, I realized that I use commas way too often. I also use them in places they do not belong. I will try and correct that problem by enrolling in USE OF THE COMMA, 101. Can someone tell me why my post times are different than the time I actually post them? Is blogspot operating on West Coast time? Can I fix it? Class? Class? Anyone? Anyone? (Oh yeah, I found it, I fixed it, it's my birthday)