Happy Birthday Edith

Today is a very important day. My very dear friend Edith is 80 years young today. I met Edith over 17 years ago. We were attending another church in the area and the very first thing that I did as a service to the church was to make a cake for her husband's funeral. Edith and I have been close friends ever since. Edith has been a member of her church for a total of 49 years. Edith was saved as a small child. Edith is a perfect example of a GODLY woman. She has her time with the Lord daily (never call her before 8:00am). She is a faithful prayer warrior and she attends church faithfully. Edith is a great example of the Titus 2 woman. I can't even begin to tell you all that Edith has taught me. When Edith was about to be married to her husband her father passed away and the newly weds had to have her mother (with Alzheimer's) move in with them. Shortly after her mother passed away her dear husband found out he had Parkinson's. Edith found her self giving extensive medical care to some one all of her life. Edith has served with chalk talks in her Sunday School class. She has served in any way that she can in her local church for 49 years. Edith has served her family over and over again. Edith has three wonderful kids who all live in the area and see her often. Edith has been a "spiritual" mom to me for over 17 years. When things seem like they are out of control she is the one I call for prayer. Edith is the one who has taught me to be a "spiritual" mom to others. I can't even to begin to imagine what my life would be like if the Lord had not brought Edith into my life. I look forward to our next "hey do you have any popcorn?" night. (that means I need to talk and pray with you). Edith is a REAL blessing to so many, but Edith means the world to me. Happy Birthday Edith. I Love you with ALL my heart. Because you have invested in me I find my self investing in others and there is no other blessing like it. Thank You for all the time and love you put in to me. I look forward to many more birthdays to come.

A Great Sunday

Yesterday was Pastor 's 7th Anniversary. It was a wonderful day. The preaching was awesome as usual and the music was a blessing. After the service we headed over to Dell Wood Park for a picnic GBC style. What fun we had playing with our families and friends. The food was good the cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn were once again over the top. The evening concluded with a chalk talk and more great music. If was a great blessing for all who attended. It was so exciting to see Ashley come home from college to honor the Pastor. Paige was so excited and would not let Ashley out of her site. After the picnic we ordered a pizza and of course did the college Wal-Mart trip. The whole day was wonderful. We look forward to serving the Lord under Pastor for many more years to come. Pastor Fink (and family) WE LOVE YOU!!

Paige is a BiG Girl Now

Today was a big day for our three year old daughter. Because of home schooling her big bother Paige has developed a very serious love of the library. Every Friday afternoon we pack up the children and head for the local library. Today as we were checking out our 26 books and my sweet little girl said "mommy do I get a library card too?" You know I never thought about it. Paige has always checked books about teddy bears and kittens on her brother's card. So we decided to ask, and it turns out that Plainfield library does not have a age requirement to get a library card. Paige (my baby girl) now has her very own library card. So was so excited and she feels so big now. She even got a big round sticker for her shirt that tells everyone that she has her own card. I just love the fact that Paige loves books. I just can't believe how fast she is growing up. We are proud of you Paige and we love you very much. She still thinks she is ready to go to college. Mom is NOT ready for that quite yet.

Geting To Know You

I would like to tag all my blogging buddies to answer some questions just for fun that will help us get to know you better. So if your reading this consider yourself TAGGED!!

1. Your favorite color?

(purple)

2. What you wanted to be when you grew up?

(a mommy- I loved my dolls as I grew up- I pretended to be mommy as long as I can remember )

3. Your Favorite Food?

(hot buttered popcorn)

4. How do you relax?

I take a hot bubble bath with a good book)

5. If you won a million dollars what would you do?

(pay off my house, safe for Paige and Quin's college, Pay off Ashley school bill, build a new church)

6. Things I enjoy?

(I love to home school--learning is so much fun)

7. What kind of formal education did you receive?

(Graduated from Bible College-- I also have a bachelors in Education)

8. How many siblings do you have?

( only my brother- He is four years younger than I am)

9. What is the most important thing that has ever happened to you?

(the day I got saved, The day I got married,and the day my kids were born)

10. What is your favorite book of the Bible?

(Proverbs for practical living)

11. What is your life verse?

II Cor 12:9

I think that this was fun to do. If you think that this was fun to read I'm sure others will enjoy reading your post as you answer these questions. Feel free to and questions of your own if you would like. Have and have a great week.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Yesterday was my mom's 61st birthday. We are going out to lunch today with her to celebrate. We are going to MIMI"S cafe. We have never been there. My mom is a wonderful lady. She is always looking out for her family. I'm thankful that she lives so close to us and can see my children on a regular basis. I love and care about my mom and I'm thankful that I can be called her daughter and that my kids can call her "Grand" mother. Happy Birthday Mom. We love you.

I also want to wish my dear friend Gerlinde Borgers a Happy Birthday today as well. I pray that you have a great day.

A Big Help

The other night I was saying to my husband that I was overwhelmed with home schooling and all the other things that I had to get done on a weekly basis. He asked me how he could help. Before the summer was over I really wanted to get my filing caught up and the house needs a through cleaning. My wonderful husband hired some wonderful HELP. This morning I had Tabitha come for the morning to get me caught up on my filing and we got my basement back in order. I just love Tabitha's sweet spirit and her willingness to work. She will do anything that you ask her and she is not afraid to work hard. I'm so thankful that we are getting to know Tabitha and I look forward to her helping me again in the future. Thank You Tabby for all you have done to help me today. I feel much better about my basement and the fact I can think about other important things again.

Fun at a Friends

Yesterday was a very exciting day. We had our first play time with a friend. Angelina asked us to come and play. Paige was so excited. They did hair and nails. They played dress up. They colored and read books. All Paige talked about was the dress up and how she wants blue and red and purple dresses at her house to dress up in when Angelina comes over next week. We can't wait until next Wednesday when she comes to our house. We are already planning to play kitchen and baby dolls. We also have play dough. Miss Rachel took the girls to McDonald's and Paige came back to church with Angelina's family. Thank You so much Miss Rachel for taking Paige for the day. I personally intend to make this a "Wednesday" habit. We are going to have a blast when Angelina comes over to our house next week.

Taking The Next Step

We are so blessed. Once again the Lord has poured His blessing upon us. This time we are blessed in our home school. My husband and I are very very thankful for all the things our wonderful church has provided for us. Now we have the blessing of Grace Baptist Academy. We are so excited about GBA. We now have so many things to make our home school more effective. We have bi-monthly support from the academy staff. We have monthly field trips, and a reading program. The opportunity for professional record keeping (we personally don't need that yet but we will soon) . We have monthly chapel services, a Science Fair, an Author and Artist night and even a yearbook. WOW what an opportunity to have our home school to succeed. It compels me to be the best teacher that can for the sake of my family and my children. Thank so much to Miss Julie and the staff at the Grace Baptist Church that have given my husband and I some of the tools we need to be an effective home school for our children. We know how much work is involved to get everything in place for the Academy of Excellence. Thank You for all you do.

Another blessing this week is Ashley has found a job. Please continue to pray for her as she works and goes to school. We are very thankful that she in Christian college training to serve the Lord.

Blessing after blessing keep on following me. I Thank the Lord for all he has done in our life this week. Life is good.

Kids Are Sometimes So Cute

This was so cute I just had to share it. This morning in our devotions we were John 1:1-10 and Quin asked a question. "Mom, if God made all things, did God create Satan?" I then told him that at one time Satan was an angel. We then turned to Isaiah 14:12-17 and talk about Satan being cast out of heaven. Satan can not be in heaven because of sin. That is the same reason that we can not be in heaven. Without Christ shed blood there is no remission of sin. Quin then said " So Adam and Eve are responsible for KFC and Mcdonalds?" I then said I didn't follow that train of thought. He then explained that in the garden there was no meat. Without sin there was no sacrifices or killing of animals and we never would have had Quin's two favorite restaurants. I think I laughed for ten minutes.

A New Family Member

This morning, Keith left for California for a few weeks and of course Ashley is away at school so Meko the cat has moved in with us for awhile. In came the litter, the box, the toys, the food, the scratching post and all the "STUFF" that a spoiled rotten cat needs to maintain the lifestyle of a king. Ashley has of course called to see that the transition went well and Eddie has already let the cat know who is boss. Speaking of transition, Ashley is doing GREAT and she loves school. I just know she is going to finish well and God is going to be glorified by her life.

I do have a question for anyone who wants to answer. As most people know Paige is working on potty training. She is doing great staying dry during the day, but if she feels that she needs to "dirty" her pants she panics. I have never had this problem before. I just know someone is an expert on this subject. Any good problem solving ideas moms.

Well it has been a very busy day. I made poppers, made banana bread, made green bean soup and now it's time to make dinner. I still have okra to fry and green peppers to chop up or stuff or something and I just know that my husband will go to the garden in the next day or so. So I better get busy. We have church tonight. Wednesday night is always a big blessing. I guess it all adds up to a wonderful life with kids a dog and now of course a cat.

It's Almost Tea Time

Tonight was lot of fun. I was able to get out of the house a little bit. My dear friend Linda and I went out to do a little shopping for the Friendship tea this weekend. I personally am looking forward to the tea as well all the Ladies of Grace Activities this year. If you can I would encourage everyone who can to attend these wonderful events. I can't wait until Saturday and a great year ahead. As for Linda and I getting out of the house (with just an adult) was wonderful. Thanks Linda for making this such a fun evening. The Aunt Aunties Pretzel was awesome. Thanks your the best.

Garden fun Garden Fun

Well it is Labor Day and today we had so much fun laboring together with some great friends. We have the privilege of having a garden with our dear friends Bob and Cindy. Today we spent the afternoon and evening with the energizer bunny (aka Bob). If you have ever been around Bob you know. What comes out of Bob's kitchen is awesome. We did applesauce and cleaned basil for the all famous pesto. We had rye bread pizzas for dinner (sorry Sabrina) and I made a apple crisp. I know I myself can't believe I was able to cook in Bob and Cindy's kitchen. Please don't send any hate mail. (just kidding). As we were leaving the energizer bunny (Bob) said something about salsa. Well as Paige and Quin were getting tired we decided to head for home. I'm sure as I am typing the kitchen is still warm and more food it being made. (no pastas this time). Thank You Bob and Cindy for a great day and for helping us have fun as we labored on this Labor Day.