Happy 4th of July

We are grilling out at my parents' house today. Maybe it will not rain. There was a terrible thunderstorm last night.

Tony woke early this morning to go play golf with my dad, two of my brothers, and my two little nephews(ages 8 and 6). He hasn't played in so long...I hope he does well! His golf clubs have been in the outside storage shed untouched for SEVERAL years. When he pulled them out, the clubs were covered in rust! He said I could buy him some new ones for our upcoming anniversary. LOL Yeah right, babe, sit back and wait for them! The clubs he thought he wanted are called, "Callaway?" Not sure, but they are supposed to be expensive. I'd have to save up a while on my 2 day a week job! Guess it's coming out of his paycheck! Nothing is ever a surprise to him. He buys what he wants when he wants it. I never seem to know what to get him. He bought an AquaVu for Father's day.

It is an underwater video camera that helps him to see the fish underwater. I thought to myself..."WOW! Now maybe he can win some tournaments!" Nope, No Mam, Sorry...You can't use them in a fishing tournament--it's called "cheating." Okay, SO WHY DO YOU WANT TO SPEND $500 JUST TO LOOK AT THE FISH IN THE WATER! ARRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Oh well, he's happy, I'm happy, and we're broke. Life goes on until his next big toy. Isn't life grand?

God Grant Me Strength

The girls and I are at home and of course they are arguing! We've been so busy running everywhere and we finally get a day at home together(even though we are having to clean!) and all they can do is fuss! UGGHHH! Why can't sisters be loving towards each other? All I can do is keep reciting, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:19" Maybe I can say it enough today to get me through the day with patience!
We are getting ready to go to Children's church camp for a couple of days. The older two girls are excited! The baby is unable to go because she hasn't made it to the 3rd grade yet. It's only for 3rd through 6th graders. So she gets to hang out with Daddy for a couple of days. He has promised to take her fishing, to the movies, and to Chuck E. Cheese. I sure hope he doesn't go back on his word. She will be devastated! Holleigh is looking forward to the weekend with her daddy!
Other things planned for the remainder of this FLYBY summer is:
Baton Rouge trip for the girls
GA camp for Hannah
Disney World trip for Tony and I --14th Wedding Anniversary (Yes...without the girls! They are not too happy with us, but we did take them for 10 days during Spring Break!)

Oh no, it is just me. Maybe I can be a little more consistent this time. The keyword is, "MAYBE!"
There are so many posts where I have been a blogging drop-out, then tried to redeem myself and state, "This time, I will be more faithful to my online journal." Yada, yada, yada...I'll believe it when I see it!
Here is a Halloweenie (or maybe a better word is, "Fall Festival," pic of my little sweetie pies. This shot was taken in our church parking lot. It was taken with my cell phone, but for some reason it is not very clear. I thought the Nokia 6255i was supposed to take good pictures, but mine always seem blurry.
Mmmm...we have from left to right, Hollywood Kitty, California Kitty, and Pretty Kitty. I made the older girls put a t-shirt under their costume, because it was not very modest up top. Besides the idea of me making them costumes, there are no selections when it comes to costumes for the girls. We've made the outfits before, but they have always been princesses. That is getting kind of boring! The ones we found were either too babyish, or too skimpy(more for teens or adults) I can't understand who would even let their teen daughter go out of the house in some of the costumes! People seemed to be getting barer all the time these days.

My blog seems to be lacking in posts. Where did they go? Ohhhh...I seem to be too busy to blog! I've neglected my thoughts lately and my blog is lonely.

Tonight, we had a little family togetherness. First, there was some shopping at the local mall. Hmmm...I bought some of my favorite spa stuff at Bath and BodyWorks. Aquatanica has to be the most luxurious body wash, scrub, and lotion I've found! These are my favorites:

AquaTanica Spa Sea Moisture Gel Souffle

AquaTanica Spa Hydrating Marine Shower

AquaTanica Spa Detoxifying Sea Salt Scrub & Soak 2-in-1

The line is rather expensive and I use it all up before the month is out, but it is worth it to me! No, I am not affiliated with Bath and Body Works in any way, other than being a faithful customer since I found the Aquatanica line!

After dining in the 5-star food court( come on, really...), we drove to our new Grand Theatre to see the 9:40 p.m. movie, "Cars." I'd love to tell you what a wonderful, entertaining movie it was, but Holleigh Hobby and I fell asleep during the late viewing! I somehow missed the middle part, but woke up to catch the ending. Holleigh fell asleep in the middle and missed the ending altogether. What I did see of the movie was really cute.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home. Guess I need to be in bed now. So...

Th...Th....That's all folks!

Prayer Works!

Prayer Works!

One of my best friends, Dana, is of the Pentecostal Religion. I'm a Southern Baptist. Growing up, the only thing we saw different in each other, was she wore dresses, long hair, and NO makeup. I wore pants or dresses, long or short hair, and makeup. Religion was never a tense issue with us and many times we shared our beliefs with each other. The experiences broadened my horizons even as a child.

We always laughed about how my family was at church everytime the doors were unlocked. Her family always spent the night at church...their services tended to start about 7:00 p.m. and last until well after midnight. I remember the first time my parents allowed me to attend church with Dana. I returned home ready to recruit my family to Dana's religion.

Our family prayed at church, but never together as a family at home. We did bless the food, but there were never family devotions...which is something I crave so much now with my husband and daughters. We are never consistent with it, but I keep trying! Dana and her mom prayed over everything. I can remember small sentence prayers over most things they encountered. Now that I am older, I realize that prayer can be an all day conversation with God. There is nothing too small or unimportant to pray about.

A few days ago at work, I had to draw an arterial blood gas, a test that tells how much oxygen is in the blood and how well a person is breathing, on a 23 year old girl. She had already been to the respiratory department earlier during the day to have it drawn. Two therapists had stuck her a total of three times and missed the artery each time. This type of blood work is quite painful due to the fact that you must advance the needle deep in the arm to obtain the artery. The artery is not visible like veins so we must stick where we feel a pulse. Anyway, the girl refused to be stuck again and so she left. Later after I came on for my night shift, she returned because she knew she needed this ABG test done for the doctor. She was nervous due to her experience from the day. I couldn't really blame her so I just tried to talk her through it to make her feel a little more comfortable. I missed the first stick, but she let me try again. Before I continued, I told her to say a prayer and she did. Second stick...BINGO! Prayer works! She knew it did, too, but had just never considered praying over a needle stick. Isn't it amazing how God can speak volumes through one little incident?

Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
...pray continually;

Writing again....
After a year long vacation from blogging, I'm back at it. Why? Who knows. Writing has always been an outlet for my creativity...not that I am that great of a writer. This new blog will be a place for my poetry or articles to be shared with a few, random, curious souls. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

Trying Again...

OOPS! Guess who fell of the blogging bandwagon again! I'm going to actually try again to be consistent with my entries (...just don't hold your breath, though!) After I make some adjustments to lay out, I'll post again. You can catch up on my old blog here....then come back for the rest of the story!

Packing for tomorrow...

We are leaving to go to Baton Rouge in the morning. 8 a.m. sharp. There supposed to be a parade for the LSU football team on about the same route we are using to go see Barney--uggghhhh! [i]I love you, you love me, we're a happy family...[/i] Fun. Do you catch my excitement?I had to work today. It was a busy day. I had a patient not doing well. I hope she makes it through the night. She was really pitiful.I don't know what is up with the script on my blog. I emailed tBlog for some help, but I have yet to get a reply. Gee...thanks...and I upgraded to Pro User. That must mean no customer service. I don't know--I'm looking around at other blog services so we'll see. I just hate that I spent my money on tBlog and they don't want to or can't seem to help me!Girl Scout orders are over. I personally bought 68 boxes. Cookies anyone? Good thing they freeze well. Like I really need those cookies. Yeah...right.My sweet husband washed my car (truck--just what do you call an Expedition?) This is the second time he has washed one of my vehicles since we have been married. He must be going to miss me this weekend. What's on his mind? :oops: We went to eat at the fish resturant here in town with my parents. We had a good time. I stuffed myself, My dad paid for it--I invited them to go eat with us and he pays! 8) I haven't seen them since Christmas---we only live about 30 minutes apart. I am a terrible daughter! Guess I need to finish packing! I'll be gone for a couple of days.

Blog Vacation

It seems I have taken a "blog vacation"! My website and my blogs( there are several!) have been neglected. This blog only has 2004 Archives. There are more 2005 Archives, but they are located under "Old Blog" on my Links section to the left. There just hasn't been anytime then whenever there is time, I keep changing the site themes! Sometimes I just get obsessed over something for a while then it burns out. For instance, I recently rediscovered The FIRM videos and Fanny Lifter again. I bought a set a few years ago off of an infomercial. That was the first time I ever purchased from television. The videos lasted for a week...or I guess I lasted for a week---not even that long! Oh, and I guess my daughters rediscovered the videos. The tapes were happily collecting dust on my desk before my girls plucked them from their comfortable existence. I was happily collecting dust on the couch...errr...becoming a couch potato! Monday, September 12, 2005 changed everything. My three girls did about 4 workout videos(these tapes are 45-55 minutes long each) while I watched them sweat to the (oh that's Richard Simmons--we don't have his tapes!) I tried to tell the girls that you only have to do 1 tape per day, but they were so gung-ho! Anyway, the girls stayed the night with their grandmother on Monday night while I went to work. Tuesday, after I had my usual 4-5 hours snooze after working all night, I sat on the couch and began feeling guilty. What kind of example was I providing for my daughters? Do I really want to pass on the legacy of an overweight mom, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol? I lost my mother at an early age due to her death...did I want my girls to grow up without their mother? Certainly not! I can already see certain habits of mine radiating from them. Well, I lifted my fanny off of the couch and worked out. It was really exhilarating! Even though I was about to fall out due to being out of shape---it still felt great physically and emotionally.The FIRM website has video rotations to follow for different fitness levels. I exercised Tuesday, rested yesterday, and will exercise today. I pray that I stick with it this time!

Weekend Recap

Saturday went well...busy, but we were able to do everything! I came home and absolutely crashed. I was in bed by 11:00 p.m. and that is a RARE occurrence! I even remembered to forward my clocks an hour for Daylight Savings Time!
We made it to Sunday School on time. This is the second week that has happened so I guess I'm on a roll! I've really missed Sunday School. It was my Sunday to teach Children's Church. We are studying Psalm 23 and talking about God as a shephed and we are His sheep. The kids made little sheep bodies with cotton balls and we outlined their little hands on black paper, cut them out, and used the thumb to paste the sheep's head on, and the other four fingers were the sheep's legs. It was too cute. The kids had fun. After church, we went to lunch at Tony's mom's house. She cooked a big pot of red beans and rice, fresh baked cornbread, peach cobbler, coconut cream pie, and a chocolate cream pie(she knows I don't like coconut!) My diet was kind of "nonexistent" Sunday. I couldn't let all that good food go to waste! LOL Haleigh invited a friend over and all of the girls played pretty well. We headed back to church about 4:30 p.m.---Discpleship training starts at 5:00 p.m., evening worship at 6:00 p.m.
Tonight I am at work. I arrived in early at work---boy that blew everyone's minds! I'll be leaving early, too!
I approached Tony about homeschooling all of the girls. It seems like we are back on negative terms as far as all that goes. I guess I knew he'd never go for it, but it is going to cause problems between us in the long run. Homeschooling is what I've decided is best for my children, but I guess I just need to pray about it more. Maybe Tony will come around on the issue. I'm really having a problem with his demands and the outcome does not look pretty.
I've tried to start up my personal Bible study time again. This month, I am reading Beth Moore's book, Breaking Free. I certainly could break free from some obstacles in my life. It's talking about being captive as a Christian. I'm trying to memorize the scripture passages for it. It's been so long since I have had to memorize scripture, but I need to be continously learning it and using it as a Christian.

That's all for now. I have to go do a little bit of patient care now!
Good night!~