Thanksgiving

We are so excited to be visiting with my family in West Virginia. My cousin and I are like sisters and even though we only lived in the same state when we were very young, we have a bond that is unbreakable. She and her husband have 3 children and have recently renovated a home built in 1904. They invited us to stay with them for Thanksgiving and we are thrilled. We will have turkey, ham and all the trimmings at my aunt's home a few minutes away. There will be 21 of us all together. My other cousins and their families will be joining us. It will be wonderful for all the children to play together like I did when I was a little girl and came to West Virginia with my parents. I love my family and appreciate them so much.

Exhausted

With the Trunk n Treat behind me and the holidays in front of me I am feeling exhausted. I get more sleep than my husband yet working full time and rearing the 4 kids takes it's toll on me. I go in for surgery on my second leg next week and am looking forward to the break that it will bring. Just want to curl up in a warm blanket and close my eyes and sleep without a dog barking, without someone needing juice or help on the computer or dinner.

Prayers for Chris Smith #11 for Tuscola

My heart aches for a young man who lost his mother over the weekend. She was the victim of Domestic Violence on the night of the biggest Tuscola game of the year. Her son, Chris Smith, the place kicker and my son are on the line together every Friday night. The players are doing their best to support and be there for Chris. But it is a shock felt all through the High School and throughout the families in Haywood County. My daughter Bethany has a class with a daughter of the man who is now in prison for the crime. Questions of why and how and what if are all over the place. I pray that Chris will be able to grow up with a lot of support and encouragement and that this tragedy will not prevent him from reaching his dreams. As a mother of a senior I can only imagine how sad it is to think that all the big events of Chris's life will be without his mother. Life is precious handle with prayer and care!

A.W.A.N.A.

Just pondering today the topic of continuing my education. The acronym AWANA popped into my mind.
I am continuing my education so that I may be able to apply that education in the classroom as well as be seen as a person who is "approved". AWANA stands for "Approved" "Workmen" "Are" "Not" "Ashamed". There is nothing to be ashamed about no matter what your age if you are bettering yourself. Continuing my education not only helps me but it benefits the community of people that I serve. I will not be ashamed of the hard work and dedication I have to completing my degree. I am standing firm on these truths:

NLT  2Tim 2:15..."Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, opne who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth".
The Message 2 Tim 2:15..."concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple".
NIV 2 Tim 2:15..."Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth".

Loving Fall

Driving through the leaves on the ground and hearing Noah say, "look at all the colors mommy". It is beautiful this time of year. May we look at the wonder of fall and appreciate the excitement that it brings.

College Applications

Our family has lived through the college application, reference letter checking, scholarship hunting frenzy already once when our daughter Mary was a senior. Now we are in the 2nd round. Our son David will graduate this year. Once again we are being challenged to complete packages that will be sent off in many different directions. I remember someone telling me in a seminar or college Open House one time to have your child do as much of the application and package as possible. Well I am here to say that filling out applications for a child entering the Naval Academy are no walk in the park. When our daughter went through her senior year we thought is was tough because she was in the running for a Teaching Fellows Scholarship which required an extensive package, letters of reference and many interviews. All of that hard work paid off and she earned the scholarship and is happily settled into ASU's teaching program. Our son now is asking to be nominated to the USNA by members of state congress and getting letters of recommendation from City Commissioners. It is only the beginning for him. Eventually we will need these same letters from the President. We work on this process a little every day and hope to see him off to school next fall as well.      

Awana Lyrics Video

Vein Surgery

Well, I have never thought much about surgery other than the abdominal kind (heart, liver, intestines) but I was faced with the opportunity to have vein surgery this week. I have suffered for years with varicose veins in both legs. While carrying babies the veins naturally became worse but unfortunately with this situation, they do not "bounce back" after deliveries. This condition is also considered hereditary and my mom has the same condition. There are many discomforts with varicose veins, after any amount of time standing, the legs begin to ache or burn and swell. The legs feel tired quickly and if I wasn't in tennis shoes the symptoms seemed to come more quickly. There are many days that I come home form work and am ready to go to bed. I decided that this condition was starting to effect my quality of life and could possibly affect my abilities at work. I have health insurance through my work and was very happy to find out that my insurance would cover treatment of varicose veins if the treatment was deemed medically necessary.
So on Tuesday, I had vein surgery. Basically all trouble veins are destroyed or removed. This was not a pleasant experience. You are awake for the procedure. The doctor uses local anesthetic in the areas that are being worked on. I must have a low tolerance for pain and so I needed more than he was giving me.  I am also "squeamish" and so the thought of what they were doing to my leg didn't help. The recovery has been ok. Laying in bed with the leg elevated (3days) then bandages come off and a support hose is worn for 7 more days. Total healing time is 6 months but they say I should feel better in about a week or two. I will have to return to have the second leg done in 6 weeks.
So vein surgery is painful, but the long term benefits will be wonderful.

Contemplating Life

Sitting here at the computer contemplating life. Appreciating that parenting is hard work and sometimes you feel like you are just spitting in the wind. But then your child surprises you and shares his thoughts about future and present and values. You look at yourself and say, 'where did that come from?'. But maybe I need to say to myself, it came from all those times we thought we were just spitting in the wind, collapsing into bed feeling like we had lost the battle. I am hopeful that small victories provide an insight into the character of a young man, hidden away. I am trusting God that our foundation is strong enough to hold as the waves of uncertainty come crashing down. Trusting that eyes have not been closed as days, months and years of hard work have been dedicated to his upbringing. Hopeful in the man he will become!

Happy Birthday and Go Mounties!

We are heading to Boone, NC to see our daughter and celebrate her 21st birthday. Then off to the ASU game and some tailgating. Will be a full day of family and fun!!!

Parenting/Marraige isn't for cowards!!

Here we are again in the month of September. It is beautiful outside with the leaves beginning to change and the cool breezes blowing. As much as I would love to enjoy this beginning of fall, I am consumed by the duties of keeping up with our Party of 6. We have one turning 21 next week and one turning 18 the week after. As if regular birthdays aren't enough, these are two "biggies". Fortunately when they are this age they pick out what they want for presents. But as they get bigger, so do their presents (expensive). Then there is our youngest who is 5 and just beginning his life in school. I went with him on a class field trip to JH Stepp Apple Orchard yesterday. He still thinks he can do what he wants when he wants and has a hard time listening or joining in with the object lessons or interesting stories the ladies on the orchard wanted to share with the kids. I am having such a hard time with him not cooperating and not wanting to be a part of the group. Also, from the minute I pick him up from school he begins talking and doesn't stop. Then he wants me to comment on what he has said. My goodness, he has this imagination. He isn't talking about what he did today or wants to do tomorrow, he has all of this imaginary story that he tells and wants me to agree that it will all come true and that we will do it. He cries if I don't agree! He cries if I ask him to take a break and play for a while. He cries if I try and get him to walk faster or carry his bookbag. He basically melts down or cries or gets angry about everything. Parenting all of these different ages is a challange. Any advice would be great!! 

Check out my gadgets!

Hi Everyone, I hope you are enjoying my blog. I have added some fun gadgets that I hope work well for you. Become a follower and we can stay in touch!

How do I add more music MP3 clips to my widget?

I have been trying to figure out how to add more MP3 songs I have downloaded from Amazon or i-tunes to my embedded widget. I was only able to add the songs that were on the website as I attached the widget for the very first time. Can't figure out if I am supposed to copy and past a new url into the edit field for the "gadget" or do it some other way. If anyone knows how to add this step, let me know. Thanks

Adding my blog url to favorites helps!

Logging into my blog page is much easier now that I have included my url on the favorites tab. Now I can simply open my browser and click on the "Blogger" link. Then I'm good to go.

Well I obviously need some sleep......

My son (smart as he is) corrected me and rightly so. My daughter turns 21 in 10 days. I remarked that I will be the mother of an adult child and how amazed I was at how fast she grew up. My son reminded me that he will turn 18 in 15 days and that you become an adult at 18 not 21. What was I thinking, he is right and so I will post my correction for him and all the world to see. I will be the mother of two adult children in 15 days. !!!! Need some sleep

Hey Meredith!!

OMG, congratulations you are the first person to be added as a follower! I can't figure out how to contact you through my blog page but I will work more on that later. Hope you are doing well, you have had another baby.....good for you!

Found my Title!

Ah my title was hiding behind my picture. Put the picture in a new gadget space and thus reveal the title! This is fun :-)

Where did my Title go?

I was able to load a family picture but it took the place of my Blog Title "Party of 6". Will need to figure out how to get the title back!

Learning to Blog!!

Hey Everyone, have you ever thought about starting your own personal blog? I hear it is the best way to keep everyone connected with what you have been up to.