Prayer Request

*UPDATE 2/2/09* Tomorrow, they will be heading to St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis, TN and going to the Solid Tumor Clinic. McShane still hasn't had a biopsy ~ I imagine that will be done on Thursday. What they think it is is osteosarcoma. I'm bathing them both in prayer and if you're helping me do that too, you'll never know how thankful I am!*

My husband's 13 yo nephew, McShane, has an abnormal growth behind his knee that appears to be some type of tumor. The doctors aren't sure if it's growing out of the bone or if it's wrapped around the bone. McShane & Mike (the dad) went to the doctor Thursday thinking it was something minor and were stunned to be referred to specialists. They are on their way today to New Orleans (they recently moved to Baton Rouge) for a biopsy. Mike was told he could expect to be there at least 2 - 3 days.

Mike is self-employed as a contractor, which is why he moved to Baton Rouge where there appeared to be more employment opportunity. He was supposed to start a large job today, which now he can't. His business has been down and money is very scarce. Also, he has no health insurance.

I pray that you'll join me in praying that regardless of what the tests reveal that Mike, McShane and James will look up to our Father and grab a hold of His hand. Only He will be able to bring us through the rocky road ahead. I pray that I'm used for God's glory and not to His detriment. That I will be able to remain strong and help show them Him!

Thank you!!!!


“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Are You Prepared?

This time of year causes folks to reflect on what they would like to see happen in the new year or to make resolutions. I found out many years ago that I can't seem to keep any New Year resolution I make, no matter how simple it is. When I fail, I feel guilty and all sorts of other emotions that I have no business feeling. So, I decided many years ago that I would not make anymore New Year Resolutions!

However, this year, I found this post about being prepared for the new year. I wanted to share it and then make it my own. Below is my personalized preparedness...but please go to the original post and read it in its entirety. I believe you'll be blessed by it.

For 2009, these are the areas I intend to focus on:

Me. What adjustments do I need to make in my life in the areas of ministry, Bible study, service, prayer and obedience to what God is calling me to do? As a small group leader, I strive to be the example God would have me be for Him. I want to have His word hidden in my heart.

My husband. Besides my prayers for his salvation, I ask God specifically for ways I can and should be praying for my husband throughout the new year. I pray for God to show me how to be more loving towards him today than I was yesterday. I also pray to be the wife God honoring wife I am designed to be.

My children. My constant prayer is for their protection and a deepening faith, but I also want to be sensitive to what God is doing in their lives. Along with my own concerns, I ask God to show what areas I need to cover in prayer for the upcoming year. How can I be a God honoring mom to them?

Extended family. Who in your family needs special prayers for the coming year? This is a good time to make a list (not too long or you’ll be overwhelmed) of those who don’t believe, are struggling in their lives, or are ill.

Friends. How can I be praying and uplifting the special people in my life? Praying for them keeps me closer to them as well.

Missionary. Do you have a cause or missionary you support? Put it down and make a commitment to pray for them. (Include my pastor here too!)

World. Is there an area God is calling you to pray for on a larger scope? I’m committed to praying for President Elect Obama. (side note: 1/20/09 is the day set aside to cover our President in prayer.)

Finally, write it all down. (#8 & #9 haven't been changed from the original writer's words.) Assign a day of the week to each area (Monday for my immediate family, Tuesdays for extended family, etc.) Give each day a page and list who and what you’re praying for. Then leave space to write in updates during the year. This will help you reassess the following year as well.

Also jot down any promises God gives you in these areas so that you can go back and read them when you find yourself discouraged or off track. You’ll be amazed how much strength you can draw from these reminders that God is personally involved in every aspect of our lives.

I want to give Dineen a big shout out for sharing how she will start the new year. It was exactly what I needed to help me jump start my year!

Share with me your goals and/or dreams and/or commitments for the new year!

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Wow...

I was just looking over my previous posts and except for the precious post about my new grandson (29 is really too young to be a grandmother - work with me here), I have only been a copy/paste blogger of late. Well, I did post the snazzy picture of my husband in his uniform all decked out.

I have so much going on, and yet not much going on. You know what I mean? (A lot of busyness...)

(I love the picture of Santa praying to baby Jesus. I have a beautiful figurine and ornament like this. I think I even have a bell!)

Let me just say that I have done not ONE BIT of Christmas shopping. Do you see that - NO CHRISTMAS shopping has been done at my house! You probably wonder why - well financial is one reason and my girls don't know what they want!!!!!! James said he doesn't want anything (that's what he always says) and I don't know what my mom wants. (We don't buy for extended family anymore. Both of my grandmothers are in their mid-80's and are constantly giving stuff away. Why do they want MORE stuff??) We buy for James' youngest son and his mom (the ex-wife, not James' mom - she died when he was 6). Actually we go to her house for Christmas Eve. She has a big shindig (I typed "sindig" at first - I hope that's not a sign of things to come lol.)

I didn't participate in BooMama's tour of homes because our tree isn't up! The girls were going to decorate it this year (after calling me Scrooge) and yet the half assembled tree has sat since Thanksgiving. Who are the lazy ones now??

I was so happy I got my Secret Santa and my Siesta Fiesta stuff out yesterday. I know I'm late, but I always am...Sorry ladies! Mary, I mailed you a book too! I opted not to send Christmas cards this year. If you're on my facebook friends' list, then I sent you some holiday flair!!

Well, I guess that's all I have for now. I hope all is well with you. Thank you for stopping by!

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Introducing...

...my grandson, Anferny Ian! He was brought into this world on December 8, 2008.

Look at that pure sweetness - can you stand it?

One problem with Anferny is that he lives in Germany with his mommy and daddy! His daddy is my husband's oldest son and he is German! So, I've never met the mommy or the daddy and now I have a precious grandson who I probably won't get to meet anytime soon. But, that doesn't keep me from loving all of them! (Notice the overuse of ! I'm excited!)

Look at all that hair! And I don't know what he's wearing, but it sure is cute!!

So there's my little German angel. Feel free to coo and talk in a funny little voice while looking at the picture. I sure have!

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Hindsight

A couple of years ago, I took part in a challenge when I blogged at yahoo 360. My friend Mary at http://www.maryrsnyder.com/ just posted a blog about her younger self and it reminded me of this post from Sept. 2006:


Dear Cathy:
I know you don't like to listen to grown ups and what they have to offer, but I can only hope as I am you as a grown up, that you will listen to me. You're 14 right now and you have your whole world ahead of you. I know what life is going to be like when you're 38 and honey there are just some things you need to not do!
Keep God first. You're active in youth at Church right now. Don't lose it. You keep God first right now, and most of the things we're going to go through later on wouldn't have happened.
QUIT SMOKING. Ugh, you don't really smoke much right now and it won't be so hard. In a few more years, you'll be glad you did. Believe me when I tell you that it's really hard to quit when you've been doing it for so long.
Keep on saying no to drugs. You know it's the one thing I said actually said no to and I'm so glad I did. We'll drink some and sometimes to extremes, but drinking is never a problem for us.
When you start losing weight this year, work on keeping it off. Keep on exercising and make it part of your every day life.
On your 15th birthday, don't go to the golf course. Save your virginity for someone special.
That guy at Aladdin's Castle that you think is wonderful. He's going to be your first husband. I'm not sure if you should go down that path or not. As long as you'll wind up where I am right now, you shouldn't. But, I don't think it works that way. I'm sorry to say that when you're walking down the aisle, 3 days before your 19th birthday, you're going to regret it and wish you weren't. We don't stay married toooooooo long. Hey, on the bright side, we went to school and learned how to type. This will be important. Maybe you should take typing in high school and not worry about failing or passing the class. Just do it!
In your junior year of high school, there will be a Christmas party for the Color Guard at the teacher's house. GO TO THE PARTY. Do not, and I stress, DO NOT go with Mireille to see that guy. That guy is a jerk. Because of the events of that night, you will battle with many demons for many years. Eventually, you will ask God to forgive you, and He will (see, keep God first and this wouldn't even be part of the hindsight), but it's a long and hard battle that you aren't going to share with many folks. You'll regret the events of that night forever.
You're going to become guys' best friend. They will come to you to talk about their girlfriends. Just deal with it. It's not that you aren't good enough for any of them. It's that you're a good listener and you seem to know what to say. This won't really change through the years. Many times, you'll have more male friends than female friends.
When you and Tim break up, you're going to meet a guy named David. Now, listen very carefully, the two of you will get married. It's not a bad marriage, although ya'll don't communicate well. But, you will get divorced. The divorce will be painful. You will do everything you can to make it work but it's just not going to happen. But, here is why you have to marry this guy. You have two beautiful daughters who are your heart and soul. Oh, I just can't tell you how wonderful these girls are. They are so talented in many ways and they just bring joy to you. Oh yeah, sometimes you're going to feel like you're at your wits' end, but then one of them will do something so incredibly sweet, and it will melt you all over.
During this marriage, you will discover the Internet and chat rooms. Listen to me right now...any man you meet who knows you're married and still tries to sweet talk you isn't worth the time it takes to type hello. (If you keep God in that number 1 position, this will be moot.) If you would talk to your husband about these needs you have, you wouldn't have talked to this guy in the first place. That makes us examine the next point..
Learn to communicate your needs and emotions. Be able to tell people no and not feel like they are taking advantage of you, because you know what? THEY ARE! But, dear sweet young Cathy, you are allowing them to do so. Close that open wall up and build a beautiful door which only you can open. Oh you can be such a sucker...don't be a sucker Cathy.
You deserve better than having an affair with a married man. You are better than that. I know at 14 you think I'm insane even bringing this up, but trust me, it will become a huge issue. You deserve someone who will love you no matter where you are. You deserve someone who will hold your hand, call you and not hide the conversation, who will tell folks "Can I call you back? Cathy's on the phone." Cathy you are a wonderful person. All the good things you think you deserve? You do deserve them. (Hey look, again, if you keep God in that #1 position, this won't happen either.)
Sex. I've brought this up a lot, huh? You know what, it's not what's missing from you life. It's not what is going to make you happy. Oh yeah, it feels great, but it feels even better with the right person.
You know that little voice that you hear but then ignore? Learn to just listen to it. I can't tell you how many times that little voice is right. You're going to ignore her and be sorry. And you're going to hear her taunting you saying, "I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!"
Here's one thing I don't know if I should tell you or not. Your brother...you aren't going to believe this one....next year when he graduates from High School, the two of you are going to become best friends. I know it's shocking!!! He's still going to act like he's going to hit you and then really do it. For some reason, that never changes. Cherish him. Figure out how to save some of those long and crazy voice mail messages he leaves, because he won't be around to leave them when you're older. Oh Cathy you're going to miss him so much. Your whole world will change on March 28, 2002. It's going to be hard and at first you just won't believe you're going to make it. Just keep on taking it one day at a time. Actually at first, it's one breath at a time. You'll make it through. You have to because shortly after this your mom is going to get really sick. She has to have you be strong for her. You make it through that too. See, you're amazing really at all you can do. You don't think you are sometimes, but you are.
At some point in 2004, when you least expect it, you're going to fall in love with this man named James. DON'T RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll spend months trying to run from him because of all your past mistakes. But don't do it. He's not going to let you get away. And YOU DESERVE HIM!!! This man is everything you have ever wanted in a husband and soul mate. Neither of you think anything will ever come out of your relationship because you're just friends, but it will. I can't tell you how much you are going to love him. I can't even find the right words to express myself in today's world about him. How can I tell you?? I asked him one day how he put up with me and all my quirks (we have quite a few) and he said he didn't put up with me. He just loved me. Cathy, he's wonderful. He makes the other two marriages and all the heartbreaks in between worth it because he is the one you will go on with for the rest of your life.
You're going to have a bumpy road, Cathy, but if you'll keep this advice with you, you will be ok. All those little bumps and valleys and peaks make you who you are today. Keep seeing the beauty in everything and in everyone. Keep your wonderful sense of humor. Life is pretty funny, even when we don't think it is. You have a way of making people smile when they didn't think they could. You deserve all the good that happens in your life.
Above all, dear Cathy, keep God #1 in your life. I promise if you do this, many of the things I have told you about won't even be an issue. Even if you falter and slide away, He is going to open His arms for you to come running back into. Yippee!! He forgives you so much easier than you will forgive yourself. Good thing is that He is there to help you on your journeys.
Life is beautiful, Cathy, experience it! I love you, don't ever ever forget that!!
Cathy






For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11

What a good week!

We had a big week last week! I started my new temp to hopefully perm job and little bit got her braces off! We were all pretty excited about the job AND the lack of braces.

I've enjoyed my long weekend. I was pooped after working all last week! I felt bad complaining to James because he was out in the field, a/k/a not having air conditioning or shade for 12 - 16 hours a day *yuck*. I couldn't help it though. Lol

I'm glad gustav was knocked to a cat 2 and didn't cause the damage as was anticipated *go GOD*!!

I hope you're having a good week. It's time for me to go night night.

Weekend in and around Savannah, GA

My husband is in the Army, and he's stationed in Louisville, KY. When we met and married, he was a recruiter with the AL National Guard, and he wasn't supposed to be leaving. However, as is life, this ideal work scenario didn't work out. Hubby deployed to Kuwait and then became part of the active Army. Since January 2, he's been stationed in Texas and Kentucky. Since he's been stationed in KY, he's gone to Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Georgia! He's done more traveling than staying in KY, which is one of the reasons we aren't living together. Anyway, he's currently at Ft. Stewart, which is outside of Savannah, GA for the next 3 months.

Because of work schedule, he isn't going to be able to come home very often, plus he doesn't his car which will make it hard for him to get home…I don't have a lot going on right now *cough* and I thought it would be a good time to take a road trip! Friday, after the girls got off to school and I dropped Maggie off at the vet for the weekend, I headed on to Savannah. From Birmingham to Macon, I had all sorts of things to look out and signs to read. However, from Macon to the Base, there was NOTHING to keep me amused. It seemed to take longer for that part of the trip than the 5 hours it had taken to get to Macon! I did have a book on tape (Teacher Man by Frank McCourt – very good!), which helped pass the time.

I had good timing because hubby got done with work about the time I was passing through the Base! I picked him up and we headed to his temporary home quarters. Oh me oh my…his quarter is a tiny hotel room with 2 beds and mold on the ceiling! One of the chairs had so many stains on it, neither of us would sit in it. He's going to be in there until November and there is a chance he'll have a roommate! Holy smokes!! I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I mean, I love the man with all that I have and I wouldn't want to share that space with him for 3 months!!!

We went to Savannah last night and got a nice hotel room in South Savannah. Oh the bed and pillows were heavenly and everything was so clean! There was even a coffee pot J. We went to downtown Savannah and took a horse carriage tour around town. I've always wanted to do that – it looks so romantic. (You aren't really expecting the smells of the horse and those aren't romantic.) We took a private tour at a public tour price *score*! We saw where Forrest Gump sat waiting to take the bus to Jenny's house; the house from the book Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil; places Julia Roberts filmed "Something to Talk About". After the tour, we walked down to the waterfront and walked (and walked and walked and walked) around looking at all the shops and did some people watching. There's a City Market, so we walked down there too. Come to find out that on Saturday night it's more of a City Bar Scene. Oh we found Paula Deen's restaurant, but it was closed already.

I don't get out and do much physical activity (gotta work on that), so I wasn't quite ready for all of that walking. Luckily, I wore my "comfortable" flip flops...*cough* My dogs were barking loudly by the time we made it back to the hotel and the memory of the super hard bed from the night before was alive in my memory and my back. I was very happy that hubby remembered to pack the generic Advil®!

We enjoyed a little lunch and Starbuck's before I had to hit the road back to Birmingham. L I tried to get him to come with me, but you know his employer is a little funny about folks not showing up for work. They threaten soldiers with things like court, demotion and prison time if you don't show up! Can you imagine?

I had a nice time spending time with hubby. We really needed some alone time, without any interruptions or kids needing chauffeuring. It felt more like "old times" where things were comfortable and easy between us. Praise God for answered prayers. We have to keep on communicating, but this weekend was nice start. I don't know when we'll be able to do this again because the troops they are going to be training will be in GA soon, and he won't get much off time. Also, there's this whole need for me to be employed and not having free time. We're hoping he won't be working without time off, but we just don't know yet.

I didn't get back in time to get my Maggie from the vet, and my other dog (who is older and doesn't tear up things so he can be left unattended) was looking forward to her coming back. He was so excited to see me drive up and walk up the stairs, but he seemed quite disappointed that Maggie wasn't with me.

I'm looking really forward to Friday, when I'm in San Antonio and I get to meet fellow Siestas! Yahoooooooo-JAH!!! I have lofty plans for the week (like working out and cleaning) OH and fall bible study starts on Wednesday! (I'll have to see who has signed up and get the workbook so I'll know what I'm supposed to do.)