The Playhouse

Well, here is what Glenn has been working on for a few weeks off and on. He enlisted my help in painting and we are almost finished. Nothing is too good for our grand kids. They have their own house at our house. Glenn is going to put a ramp on the front so the kids can ride in and out of their playhouse. I can't decide how to decorate the inside but I am sure I will hear some great ideas from the kids. Glenn built it on skids so he can move it to the back after the grand kids out grow it but it's so cute maybe we need to leave it in the front!

We are also thrilled, we have a new neighbor! Kyle has bought a house not even a stone's throw (well, maybe if Glenn threw the stone) from us. It is a big house with a great pond. I think that is Kyle's favorite spot. He got to sleep in his new house last night and I know that he was excited.

Lunch was great today, good food and good family. Those grand kids loved the playhouse even with nothing in it. It just ended too soon. Everyone was gone before 3:30 so Grandpa and I took a well deserved nap. Or at least I think it was well deserved. We had birthday cake for Bomp and the kids saw it the minute they finished eating and had to go ahead and bring it to Bomp before he had even ate his first bite.

That's it for now, we are heading down the road to see what our new neighbor is doing!

Lazy Spring Saturday

Well, today is one of those days, that I cleaned house early & cooked some of my Sunday lunch, so I am sitting and relaxing. We are going out to Club Lake this afternoon to visit with friends. That's always a fun time. We don't see them very often. I'm watching "The Lakehouse" while I type. Man, I love that show! Glenn is in the bedroom taking a nap. He cleaned up in the backyard and mowed all morning. Tomorrow will be a busy day with Sunday lunch. We are also working the church nursery in the 2 year old room. Most times it is all boys! Around 8 or 10 of them. Just found out my niece is expecting her third child. That makes me so happy. I think 3 is a good round number! She will have her hands full with 3 kids under 4 but she will survive. Of course Christy will have her hands full also with 3. Can't wait for that baby! Let's see Hudson will be 3 when ?? arrives and Grayson will be 4 1/2. Not bad. Everyone should be able to help, yeah right! Please keep Glenn's mom in your prayers. Her health is not the best right now. Talk more later,

God's Words

God's arm is long enough to reach into the mouth of a lion or the belly of a whale. If you but ask, God will roll up His sleeves and meet your need.

"But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." 2 Timothy 4:17

The best gift you can give your grandchildren is to take their parents to church.

"The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever." Psalm 12:6, 7

Snakes in the grass

It has really been different with Glenn retired. What I thought would happen hasn't happened. Silly me, I thought a lot of work around the house including inside the house would be done and I would come home to just sit and relax. Why did I think that? God had other plans for Glenn and he willingly opened his heart and mind to listen to God. Glenn stays so busy with visiting, praying, reading his Bible and ministering to folks that I have had to rethink what I was thinking about retirement. To have come home to just sit and relax would have put more weight on my body and as every woman knows, a man just can't clean their house as well as they can. I have had to really search my heart and the Bible to understand that God's work comes first. Now that I have realized it, it seems like everything else around the house is gradually getting done also without Glenn having to give up spiritual time. What a blessing! I am learning to be flexible but for those of you that know me know I really like to have things lined out in my life. I am understanding now what it really means to put God first. I have always been like a Martha not a Mary and its hard to break old habits. Things are happening in our kids lives as well. Luke and Alisha are starting a new career in their life. Luke will be starting a church here in Gladewater. It will be an extension of their church in Longview. Please pray for them as they plant this church. Us girls, Allie, Shannon, Jaime & Taylor, getting ready for New York City. Still can't believe it. We will be leaving in June for that. Christy & Tim expecting that new baby. Can't hardly wait to hold him/her. Tim is in Salt Lake City this week and I know Christy will be glad when he returns. Can't hardly believe it but Katie will be graduating in May from preschool. She will starting kindergarten in August. Wow!! Man, you should have been here Sunday. Even if I do say so myself, lunch was fantastic. Chicken and dressing, baked chicken, ribs and everything that goes with that. I love the gathering on Sundays after church. On another note, my ferns look they have been put in a washing machine and then pulled back out. They are very sad looking. I really ought to post a picture of them on here but they are really too sad looking. Anybody got any hints?? Well, I guess I better get ready for church. We are going to eat and then have a Bible lesson. Talk more later. Oh you thought I forgot about my title "snakes in the grass" well you were right. I glanced up at that and remembered what I was actually going to post! Glenn & I were outside in the backyard last night cleaning up where an old building had been. Not one but 2 snakes were discovered. Now Glenn will never kill snakes, he always bends down and actually picks the snake up and as he gently puts in over the fence, he always says "Now don't come back" I warned him again, I will kill that snake if I ever get a chance and he's not here. I will kill, kill, kill, no going over the fence for that snake. Okay that's my snake story. Do you have one?

Five Questions to ask your Mom

I was reading in a magazine the other day and came across an article that I thought was very interesting. People always regret what they hadn't asked, never what they have. So with that in mind here are five questions that I wish I had asked my mom but I am going to answer these myself for my kids. Then they may have more questions they want to ask me but we will start with these:

1. What's the one thing you would have done differently as a mom?

I look back and realize that I really stressed over little things. I wish I had not been as strict as I was. I wish that I would have had a nightly routine of bible study and prayer with the kids. Back then, I felt like I didn't have time but I realize now how much time was wasted on TV and other things. I wish that I would have listened more. I know that my answer is covering more than one thing but its hard to limit it to one thing.

2. Which one of us kids did you actually like the best?

Over the years, each of the kids have said, you liked so and so the best. I can say honestly, that I have tried my best to like and love each of my kids equally. Shannon as my first is special because I got to practice on her. We were rarely apart. She only went one time to spend the night away when she was a baby and neither one of us got much sleep. I envisioned ballet lessons, gymnastics, cheerleading, bows and beautiful long hair. I got all of that! Tim, my son and second. Doesn't the word son, just melt your heart? I was ready for a boy and looking forward to all that meant. Baseball, soccer, football, basketball, and tennis. I was ready to get out in the back yard and practice any of that with him. And then there is Allie. My last, my surprise. I got another chance to hold a baby. That will always be special to me. We rocked and rocked and rocked and rocked. Which one of you kids did I actually like best? I hope I made each of you feel special. I tried.

3. What's the one thing that you would have done differently in your life?

I wish I would have realized there were ways for me to go to college and I would have gone. I would have tried to be more outgoing and not so shy. I would have lived my life more for Jesus.

4. What do you really think about stepchildren?

I think that a heart is big enough to include a lot of people. Growing up in a home with half brothers and sister, I never thought they weren't my real brothers and sister. They were and they are. That's the way I feel about my stepchildren. Jaime and Luke are part of my life, I didn't give birth to them, but to me that changes nothing. We have built memories together and I love them.

5. Is there anything that you always wanted to tell us but never could?

Always remember that tomorrow is a new day and the past is in the past. Don't hold grudges! They only hurt you. The other person probably doesn't even know that you are holding a grudge. Always treat your spouse like you want to be treated without expecting anything in return. Go to church, read your Bible. Remember those kids are looking at your life, what is it showing them? Hold your temper when disciplining a child. Sometimes its just a misunderstanding. Try to remember what you didn't like about how you were raised and then change that in how you raise your kids. Find someone that you admire in the way they are raising their kids and copy some of their ideas. Always remember that I love you with all my heart and I am glad that you are my kids.

Yes, I know I said 5 but I wanted to add another one.

6. If you could go back, would you marry Glenn?

There is no hesitation, no nothing, I would absolutely marry him again. Even knowing what all we would need to go through, trying to blend a family. He is all I need and want. We've had our ups and downs, but we are on the up side and loving life together.

You can't get much better than this!

What an exciting weekend we had! At Grayson's 4 year old birthday party, Christy passed out envelopes with the picture below in it. She asked us to open them at the same time. What a surprise!! Another grandchild. We are so excited. We are hoping for a red headed little girl, but we would be just as happy with another boy!!
What a great way to spread this news. We were just all shocked and so happy. November can't come soon enough. We have had several birthdays this month. We had Collin's eighth birthday last week. That was a blast. Then Grayson's at the park on Saturday. We had a lot of fun there but the news of the new baby kinda overshadowed everything else. We celebrated Luke's & Zach's birthday on Sunday and you should have seen the Easter Egg Hunt. We had to hunt in the dining room, kitchen and our bedroom because of the rain but we had a great time. The other news I have is, New York City, here we come!!!!! Shannon, Allie, Jaime, Taylor and myself. Just the girls, we are going to celebrate Taylor's 16th birthday. Yippee! I still can't believe it, New York City in June. We have already booked hotel and flight and we are just counting down the days. Man, things are happening at our house. Well, that's all my news for now. Hope everyone's week is going as great as mine.

Sick, sick, and more sick

I am tired, tired, tired of Glenn being sick and me just on the verge. In reality, Glenn is really better, not completely well, still coughing quite a bit, but definitely better. I am going to have lunch at our house Sunday, but I will need to clean and disinfect the whole house. This is going to be a busy weekend. I have a wedding on Friday night, a baby shower on Saturday morning, a baby shower on Saturday afternoon and a birthday party Saturday night. Busy little bee!! I miss all the grand kids, there is no telling what the big ones have been up to! Can't wait to hear on Sunday. I've seen the middle ones a little bit this week so I know what they are up to. What in the world are those 2 red headed ones up to???? And that baby Brady, he has called and talked to GaGa and Grandpa several times. Can't wait to see everyone. To me along with the sickness, it has been a sad time, one of my friends has gone through a really hard time and will have an even harder time on ahead. He and his family really need our prayers. Also, its odd that Glenn has been talking this week about us not taking each day for granted and really living each day to its fullest. We had a friend killed this week in a car wreck. It really made things sink in and made me realize how we take our health and our life for granted. This is going to be a great weekend! I am going to be positive and happy. I have already decided. Hope everyone else is doing great. Talk more later.