Eventful Weekend

But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Psalms 88:13

My oldest daughter, Amanda (she lives in Colorado) was in a car wreck Friday morning.  It was snowing and she hit an icy patch on the interstate, spun a few times and hit the rail.  Praise God she is fine but her placenta tore (placenta abruption) and she has been in the hospital facing the possibility of an emergency C-section.   Needless to say I have been very pre-occupied this weekend.  Okay, okay.  At least preoccupied sounds less sinful than saying "worried". LOL!   In all seriousness,  I have truly felt The Lord's presence and have felt the many prayers that have been said for Amanda and our family.   Praise The Lord, she was released from the hospital and is on bed rest until she sees her regular doctor and Jaelynn's specialists tomorrow.


I have been very humbled and touched by the amazing outpouring of prayer and concern from my friends and family this weekend.  We have received many calls from people checking on Amanda and checking on us. Calls with offers to help me get to Colorado, offers for rides to the aiport, and on and on.  I have been truly touched and amazed.  I keep thinking of the quote from "It's A Wonderful Life" that was written in George Bailey's Book.  It read:

Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

Lastly, this afternoon, Jordyn participated in a scholarship competition.  This was her fourth and final year of being selected to participate.  She played the 3rd movement of 'Moonlight Sonata' beautifully and she finished with Second Place.  The young lady that won First Place played a beautiful piece on the flute.   

My mom and dad took us out to dinner at Outback Steak House to celebrate after the competition. Yummy!!  I love me some steak.  I have often said  I could be a Vegetarian if it were not for steak and Chik-Fil-A.  


Needless to say, I am one thankful, full, happy and tired Mama!   

Tutuville Horror and grandma fever

Your suspicions just may be confirmed about me after you read this post.  Jordyn and Jim think I have totally lost it (in more ways than one).  It started yesterday when I decided I wanted to get "crafty" again.  (This is a very, very rare thing for me.).  I made a stop at the local fabric store and purchased some tulle.  I wanted to make baby Jaelynn a tutu and hair bow.  Only 34 more days until she is due to make her grand entrance into the world.   Since my son in law loves the Boston Red Sox , I thought it would give me some MIL points if I made a Red Sox tutu/hair bow for Jaelynn.

We arrived home late last night and I decided to get the tutu made. (I am a bit OCD at times though I like to think it is pure determination.)  After the tutu and hair bow were made, Jim informed me I had a fever.  Grandma fever.

Needing a model for my completed tutu, I tried to get Tilli (our Yorkie) to enlist, however, she didn't cooperate too well. Still determined  to have a model, I remembered the Crissy doll I had upstairs in my closet.  My parents had saved this doll baby for me for years and finally gave her to me a while back. (Please write me and tell me you remember this doll.  She has a long pony tail that you can shorten by pulling a string in her back.  She was my all time favorite doll.)

Crissy was the perfect size for a "grandma-with-the-fever-making-a-tutu-at-midnight" model.  Only one small problem with Crissy.  Mom and dad stored Crissy in their attic for years.  Poor doll, her face is a little warped.

I posed Crissy in my chair with the tutu and hair bow and started flashing pictures.  At this point Jordyn thinks I have totally lost my mind and it is not due to Grandma fever!  She was in total shock at my behavior.   Not sure if it was the midnight hour but Jordyn was a wee bit freaked out by the doll. She insisted that the doll looked like Chucky (from the horror movies).   Since I am having major computer problems I needed Jordyn to upload the pictures for me on her computer and email them to me.  She did and I received her email with pics this morning. She had entitled the email:

Chucky's Revenge: The Tutuville Horror

Here are pictures of Chucky Crissy wearing Jaelynn's tutu getting ready for her starring role in "The Tutuville Horror":

Don't dance so fast

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.  James 4:14

On the night that we "spring forward", this poem is very appropriate.  

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round

Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Do you run through each day on the fly
When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, and let a good friendship die
'Cause you never had time to call and say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away...
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

That's the way the cookie crumbles!

Today is Thankful Thursday (go here to read about Thankful Thursdays).  It started off good...but quickly crumbled.

I am ashamed to say that food can affect my attitude.  Tonight's dinner left me in a big grouch.  I had a craving for some BBQ chicken for dinner but I had to do something with the left over veggies from Amanda's shower, so I decided to make stir fry for dinner. I should have known Thankful Thursday was about to head south when I decided to just "wing it" on the stir fry. A "little of this" and a "little that" doesn't work for me. Plain and simple--I always need a recipe when cooking anything!  Din-din tonight was down right--gross!  It was mushy.  Yuck!

I had no more put the last bit of mush stir-fry in my mouth when Jim and Jordyn headed for the Girl Scout cookies and milk.  (Let me just insert that my inquiring mind wants to know two things: 1) why are these cookies only available once per year...twice would be nice and 2) why on earth do they always surface during Lent?) 

I am not sure what happened in the next few seconds but something went awry.  I was struck with fear that Jim and JoJo would eat all the cookies (mind you we had three boxes) and I'd be left with an empty box.  The thought of an empty box of Girl Scout cookies sent fear through my body and sent me into a tail spin.  In order to snag myself some cookies,  I quickly scooted over to the zippies (Beckism for Ziplock baggies), knocked Jim out the way with one swift hip movement and exclaimed like a mad woman "MOVE IT OR LOOSE IT BUDDY!"

Uh-oh!  Thankful Thursday?? More like "Thankless Thursday".

If I had only heeded the advice from the verse I read this afternoon and let the Lord fill my mouth:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. Psalms 81:10

Let me try again: Thankful Thursdays take two--- I am "thankful" that there is always next week for Thankful Thursday.  

Amanda's shower pics

Today was so exciting!  We had Amanda's family (and a few friends) baby shower.  I have never seen so much pink in my life!   Amanda was "showered" (with much love) to say the least.

 Amanda and me before the baby shower.

Presents for little Princess from MiMi

My two precious girls

Amanda (and Jaelynn) and me 

I never could get this corsage to stay on. 

T-shirt says, "Mama's Drama Queen".  This is one of those wordless pictures!!  lol

The Girl is Back in Town!

My oldest baby girl made it back home today!   I had not seen her in 5 months and boy was it good to see her (and her big 'ol belly!!).  I had a fun afternoon of hangin' with my girls.  

The best thing about RIA.  I do believe this is my all time favorite!

Yes, those are tears (of sheer joy) streaming down my face!!!  

Jim tried to sneak-up behind her and scare her--thankfully she saw him.  I was worried she'd go into labor. lol

Amanda's "pepto bismol" colored suit case.  I was quite fascinated with the color.

JoJo welcoming her big sissy back home!

My view from the back seat.  Jordyn driving Amanda and her mom around town.  Wow....time flies--they grow up way too fast!!!

Praising Jesus in PJ's

I woke up feeling excitement in the air!  I have two days until I pick-up my Amanda at the airport. I have not seen her in 5 months.  Her little pregnant belly is getting HUGE!  We are having her baby shower this weekend so I will be sure to post some pictures of my baby with her baby (bump).  And to think I wanted a puppy and not a grandbaby. Silly 'ol me. (I still want a puppy).

Other things I am super excited about:

• Here and now, Then and There - So psyched about starting Beth Moore's new Bible Study on Revelation tomorrow night at church.  Seriously, what better way to spend Friday nights in the spring than studying end times/Revelation with 30 of your favorite gals.  (and with some chocolate, of course!!)

• Praising in our P.J.'s - Last weekend our women's ministry had a P.J. Party. We wore our PJ's and praised Jesus.  We started with a time of sharing all He has done for us by doing cardboard testimonies (click here if you do not know what card board testimonies are).    We also celebrated with a Praise Jesus cake

We placed candles on the cake for every "praise" we could think of.  It started slowly (women can be shy at times) but eventually women couldn't contain their praise.  We were trying to out rush one another to the cake.   I thought for a minute we might have a mini-praise brawl on our hands.  Lol!  It was all good.

We ran out of candles way before we ran out of praises. (good thing, we might have burned down Denise's house).  We turned off the lights in the room, lit the candles and let our "praises" illuminate the room.  Very powerful moment:

Few more pics from the PJ party:

 

(we CCF gals love us some coffee!)

(some of our CCF girls representin' at the PJ party)

(roomies)

• R.I.P. Mr. Fi-pod (Fi-pod =Beckism for fake ipod).  So Miss Jordyn bought herself a new Ipod yesterday and our family did a little "shuffle" (pun intended--get it, Ipod shuffle?). She is so generous to give us her hand-me downs.  I will now be jamming to a real-ipod and not my old Fi-pod. Not sure why this excites me so much---but it does!  (Maybe I"m just a wee bit giddy today since Amanda is coming home.)

Say What ??

Jordyn captured this video of my man Monday night.  If you know him, then enough said.


If you don't know him, I'll explain.  My man is a very real and passionate person.  He is the same at home, out in public and behind the pulpit.  One thing I have always loved about him is the way he makes me laugh.  He is crazy!!  He has a zany, dry sense of humor and he is very random.  When we are out shopping, he loves to suddenly break out in an opera style voice singing 'loud for all to hear'.  Another of his favorite public displays is  waltzing to the customer service counter of a grocery store (like Harris Teeter) and asking (with all sincerity) if  he could speak with Mr. Teeter.   Then there is his most recent move: hopping on a shopping cart and riding it down the isle while posing in his best "ballet" pose.  After twenty years with him, I am way past the point of  embarrassed.  I just pretend I don't know him!


Last night was no exception to the comical randomness of my man.  As, I was quietly minding my own business typing a serious ministry style email, I heard Jim over on the couch having the time of his life with an online dictionary (complete audio pronunciation).

Say what?! from B Burton on Vimeo.

Welcome to my life.  Never a dull moment!!