Mother of 2 Girls

From Copeland to Pendergrass

2008-11-25T01:51:00.003-05:00

My sweet granddad was admitted to the hospital this week with Pneumonia. This has caused a lot of reminiscing today and the last few days. His name is Taz Jonathan Copeland. Yes, Taz and my brother was his namesake because they lived with them the first two years of my brothers life. My dad was stationed in Germany.

First of all let me tell you a little of my family history. I was born in Benton, KY 1962 Laura Jean Sowell. My parents were Mary Brooks (Copeland) Sowell & Gene H Sowell. (We pronounced it So-Well) I had one brother who was 3 1/2 years older then me Taz Jonathan Sowell but went by Jon. Or he had several names one being (big Jon). He was 6'6 and I am 5'4" he truly got all of the height. We were super close because we moved every two years after I was 6. I was able to attend preschool, Kindergarten and 1st grade at Benton Elementary. That is when my dad changed careers from a KY State Trooper to one of the first Medical Physicist in the country. He graduated from Murray State University in 1968 and that is when we moved to Lexington, KY for 4 years while he attended grad. school. After being there the first two years my parents built a new house which caused me to have to move schools two years after we arrived. I really enjoyed living in Lexington. I have a many good memories there. The stability of our home, great schools and this was where I was Baptized. I do not remember the exact date but I do remember it was at Southside or Goodwood (I get them & LA confused) Church of Christ with brother Howard Emerson (the preacher) that Baptized me. Well, when I was about to enter the 6th grade my dad took a job at a new Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, LA. This I can say was the worst two years of my life. Remember every time we moved my brother and I got closer. We were all we had each time we moved. We attended a church there that was a up and coming church trying to have a Youth Minister (A parent). I was always just too young to do stuff because I was in Jr. High but it was a very active church. This was where my brother graduated from High School the bicentennial year 1976. Unfortunately, this was the two years of my school years that I was bused to a all black school. I did not know what a after school activity was until we moved. The school had a fence around it and was shut down by 3:30p.m. everyday. I was miserable. I remember my one friend in schools name was Claudia and ironically she had scoliosis and had to wear a brace. She was so sweet and I often wonder what ever happened to her.

Anyway, our family not liking Louisiana and my dad could have gone anywhere with his education took a job in Knoxville, TN. This is where I call home because I was there longer then anywhere. I got to go to a brand new High School and enjoyed it a lot. This is also when our family unit starting falling apart. My dad decided to leave my mom two weeks before I left for college. He turned out to be an alcoholic as did my brother. My parents divorced in 1981 and it was a tough time in my life. My college years was completely shattered because my stability at home was gone. Or so I thought it was stability. Once out of the situation and in a great marriage I now know they never had a good one. They fought all the time. My grandparents never did get over their divorce. My granddad was an elder in his church in Benton and I do not think they (my grandparents) ever accepted this divorce. I remember it took my mom a very long time to even tell them they were separated. Anyway, on to my legacy. I have always given my grandparents most of the credit for why I ended up marrying a Christian. My grandmother asked me every time I ever mentioned having a date "Is he a member of the church?" I would always have to answer "no". Until I quit school in 1982 and moved back home to moms. I was going to ETSU in Johnson City, TN. I was just not mentally there and just needed to come back home and rethink things. I always wanted to be a nurse. Well, I moved home in September of 82 and met Kent Dec. 82. I was finally able to tell my grandmother (Mabel Copeland) that he was a member of the church. She was excited even though she didn't show it.

Well, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the Dec. before we got married in January. I know that my grandmother prayed Kent to me. He was the first and only Christian I ever dated.

After we married our first big loss was Kent's stepdad "Daddy Mac". He was married to Kent's mom and he was more of a dad to me then my dad had ever been. I truly loved him and miss him to this day. I had never been around a man that loved children like he did and could not wait for him to be my children's grandad. Unfortunately he never got that opportunity. He died of a massive heart attack in Dec. of 87. Jamie was born the next October. We had been married almost 5 years when our first precious one came along. Jamie is named after Daddy Mac (James McMackins). That was truly a hard loss for us. He and I had gotten extremely close that summer before he died because I got to go up to West TN about 5 days before Kent and he took me fishing and we had so much fun.

Well, August 1 1991 my brother (Taz Jonathan) decided to take his own life over a stupid girl. I will forever know he pulled the trigger but what led up to it is something she will have to live with. No, I have never had anymore contact with her since he died. Besides my wonderful husband I truly lost my best friend on this day. My poor grandmother and mom never got over it. They both cried everyday. I pray everyday that I will never outlive my children because I just do not think I could be as strong as they were. My mom was truly a tough women and really had a hard life and still kept on going.

Well, in Dec. 1996 my precious grandmother Mabel Copeland (Papaws bride of 1 week shy of 63 years) died of a heart attack. She hated doctors and hospitals so much that morning she was feeling bad my Papaw told her he was calling an ambulance and she said "you do and I am putting you in it". Needless to say it was too late once she got to the hospital. That was a shock and my Papaw has been talking ever since then about wanting to be with her. He loved her so much and tells everybody that she converted him and straightened him out. Then he became a great servant and Elder in the church.

Well in Feb of 97 I received a call that my dad (Gene Sowell) had died. Needless to say we had not talked in two years. Mainly because of his alcoholism and his self centerdness. It was hard for me because I always thought he would call me if he ever got sick and want to renew the relationship. I never got over the fact that not for me but to get to know his two precious granddaughters. Well, he had had heart bypass surgery sometime before that and had to have a trach put in. After graduating from Nursing School I pieced it together that he had an esophageal varicies which basically the alcohol eats away at your esophagus and you can eventually have a bleed and not recover and that is what happened. So once again I have lost another family member.

Kent in the meantime lost his two grandparents (Claude & Mable Wilson) 4 months within each other and they were married I believe 65 years.

Our sweet May was named after both of our Grandmoms we just cut the ble off. They were both named Mable.

So then came the time when my mom moved here. I loved my mom but she really drove me crazy in some ways. Boy do I wish I could have her here to drive me crazy now. She lived here for 3 years before becoming sick and having surgery because of her crohn's and died after 9 weeks in Huntsville Hospital from a staff infection. She was a lot tougher then I ever will be. Burying a child and fighting so hard in the hospital.

Well, needless to say my papaw is all I have left besides my immediate family and my two Aunts (moms sisters). On one hand I am sad because I truly am loosing all of my family but on the other hand if and when his time comes I cannot be sad because he is so ready to be with his bride once again. I just thought I would share my family history and remind anybody that is reading this to enjoy your family and be Thankful for them this Thanksgiving.

May's Big Night

2008-01-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

May was invited to Kappa Rho Dance by her friend Lisa. Kappa Rho is a social club at her school. It is a very formal event just like prom. Since neither one of my girls were in a club in high school we were very surprised that this was a formal event. They were invited to eat at one of the girls homes and then they were treated to a ride in a limo to and from the civic center. Just FYI Patrick is drinking water in the limo. Then they were treated to hot chocolate and brownies when they returned. May seemed to have had a good time and talked and talked about how good the food was. So she has kind of experienced prom before she is old enough to go. In the pictures sweet Chelsey Bell came to the house to fix May's hair. Then the guys picked them up at Lisa's house. Then we went to the house that was serving dinner to finish taking pictures. They are out of order but I am not good at inserting pics yet. There were 6 couples. A lot of the fun of these formal events is dressing up. All of the couples looked great. It is incredible what our kids get to experience. We never had these things when I was in school, which we will not talk about. We are very thankful for the fun night she was treated to. It was so sweet of the family that fed them and treated them to the limo. There you are updated. Stacy hope you enjoy.

2008

2008-01-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

Time is passing so quickly and I know I have heard that my whole life but it is so true. Seems like not long ago we were helping Jamie recover from Back Surgery. Whew. Now here we are two years later and are getting ready for May to get her license. Just incredible. As you can see we brought in this year with May's friends. Jamie got to go with Kurtis to the Chick Filet Bowl in Atlanta. She got to drive to and from by herself. Whew it was answered prayers. One of the things we bought for the fam. for Christmas was Rock Band for Xbox 360. I think Kent and I have enjoyed it more than the girls. May and her friends wanted Kent to sing (New Years) so they could make fun of him. Ha They are proud. Well we are truly looking forward to a great 2008 and look forward to great things. God has truly blessed us.

Christmas

2008-01-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is now January and I have not posted in a while. I have a lot I could add but if my girls ever got wind of the stuff they would die so I will just be generic. We survived Christmas, that is all I will say. It was good just had one not so pleased to be back home. Other than that it was a very good holiday and relaxing. Jamie did bring her friend home the first weekend of their break which we really enjoyed having him here to visit. I have never heard such laughter. It was good. May got caught up on her rest and seemed to have a good Christmas. It was not a bad Christmas and was not a good Christmas just diff. We did get to keep our little girl one day after Christmas which was a lot of fun. She got one of the girls phone and just knew what to do with it. She is such a good baby. God has truly blessed us. Next I will work on New Years!

Homecoming

2007-10-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

Well, this is our youngest growing up very fast. This was fun for us because we got to drive them because they do not have their license yet, so we got to see a lot of them all dressed up. They clean up pretty good. It is such an exciting and challenging time in their lives I hope they are enjoying everything and learning lots! Ha She did have her sister drive her to dinner but it was too late to pick up so I got too. This was fun too because you get to hear a lot about the night. All good though. I always remember what I was doing at this age and I did not get to relax and enjoy as hopefully my girls are. I was working by age 15 part time and started working full time at age 16. So I have mixed emotions of teens working during school year. Summers are good but I think they should do church work and activities and school work and activities. This is just my personal point of view and I am sure there are many many views but this is mine. Yes, they are spoiled but most are. I did not mean to get carried away just sharing our fun weekend.

Jamie came home for the big day on Sunday and it was great having her here. We had her all to ourself and we enjoyed. I know her sister loved having her here.

First picture is from Sunday.

October 07

2007-10-23T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess I will post every few months. I read everyones blog and I love it but it is pretty boring around here compared to everyone else. We got Jamie off to college. She is having the time of her life. We have only gotten her home once and she brought friends so we did not get to see her much. It was great though. We had a quick celebration of her 19th birthday while she was here. They hung out at the house Friday night and a lot of friends came by on their way to BSJ and it was wonderful having them here again. My fav. was when Rieder comes in and yells "yea,Moma P I am home". REALLY LOUD!!!! I just love each and every one of them. A lot of them gave me big hug even the guys. It was great. We are getting Jamie this weekend she has to come home to renew her license. Also, to stand with us on Sunday for the big installation.
The diff. between my girls is May's friends do not like to hang at homes yet they are always looking for something to do. I know Jamie and her friends went through this I just seemed to have forgotten. I love for them to be here but May seems a little less likely to invite them here. I wonder why? She has homecoming this weekend and if I can get it to work will try and post a pic. Not very good at that. May just got a new vehicle, only because his brother got a new truck and was getting rid of it. It is really nice and she is blessed to get it. She does not turn 16 until March so we have a few months. She is having a pretty good sophmore year has some tough classes but she is doing fine.

I wrote this one week ago. Will post today and add another.

Catching Up

2007-08-08T23:56:00.000-04:00

Well, here goes. First of all the last post Jamie had her wreck, well, it is now 8/8 and still no car for her yet. Hopefully by this Fri. She leaves Monday for college. We will see. Kent said "they truly are cavemen that handles this insurance". Can you guess which kind the guy that hit her had? HMMMM!

We had a wonderful trip to Baja and had 5 Baptisims and a couple of more since we left. That is truly the reason we go. Also, just the wonderful experience of getting to know a lot of wonderful people better and serving together with them. Then to share God's word and love to those that do not know him or an encouraging hug or handshake. It is truly amazing how happy these people are with so little. I think my favorite thing was watching as Kim Whitaker share her tallent of teaching these ladies how to make a hand sewn dress for about 100 girls there in San Quentin. It was so sweet watching the faces of the girls who put on a small fashion show wearing their new duds. It was priceless. Also, the love of each lady and teen that particiapated in the making of these dresses. It brought together mexicans and grengos even with the language barrier.

My other special memory is of Rickey Bailey and Mitch Hamric working with a quadraplegic and helping make him a foot brace to prevent foot drop and finding out that he became a brother in Christ last Wed. That is what it is all about.

We arrived home on a Sat. night and May left early the next morning to play in U14 world series for her summer softball league in Orlando. They were there all week and we arrived that Friday to watch their last game which they lost but came in 17 out of 58 teams. They played hard and had a great experience. We arrived in Destin the next day and spent a wonderful week at the beach. It was hot but we had a great time.

We arrived home this past Sat. and spent Sun doing major shopping for the girls for college and school to arrive home that afternoon and realizing our air was going out. Well, after two days it was finally fixed yesterday. It is truly a wonderful thing to have working. Hopefully this will last for a while.

That is a quick up to date over the last 6 weeks. We leave Mon to take Jamie to college. She is so excited and we are excited for her. May dosn't think all of this stuff in our house is going to fit in her room but we will find out soon.

Back again

2007-06-26T00:51:00.000-04:00

Well, I tried to learn how to put pictures in and I didn't think it did it and I come back and her pic is there. So I am still learning how to use this thing. Alot has happened, we got the oldest graduated and celebrated. We have attended two weddings so far. Our youngest is playing travel softball and has a tourney just about every weekend. They have won one and runner up in one and didn't do as good in the other two. She seems to be enjoying it, getting a little tired of practice but enjoys all of the girls she is playing with. Both girls just returned from Impact and loved it. They have talked quite a bit about it. I am so glad they got to go together this one and only year. Our oldest leaves this wed for orientation at Lipscomb. She is very excited about the whole aspect of college. Hope she stays that way after taking 17 hours her first semester. She is trying to double major and has to start off with a heavy load and will probably have to go to summer school some. We will see.
Well, here is our news of the day. The dreaded phone call all parents hate to get. Dad I have been in a wreck but I am ok. Her dad answered and it seemed like she had just gone out the door. She said the ambulance was already there but she was "completely ok". The story is a young guy was merging onto the parkway and did not see her. She tried to move over to the next lane after honking but he clipped her right front tire which locked it up and spun her around and hit the concrete wall and he tapped her again in the side. Soooo a prayer of thanksgiving that she is ok. The other guy was ok too. My first thought was her back but she said she was fine on the phone. Well, to pull up and see her front end on the concrete wall and her car sideways on the parkway, all I can say is "Thank You Lord". She was crying and still had her seatbelt on when we arrived. She said "all she could think of was her cousin Kimberly, and was afraid to unbuckle". Kimberly was killed on 565 several years ago after having a flat tire and did not get the rear all the off of the highway. She had unbuckled to get her cell phone and call her dad and was talking with her grandmother and was rear ended. We have indwelled in her to get off of the road but we were talking about flats or break downs. She was headed to a birthday party and ended up coming home with us. They had to tow it off and we will not know for a few days what the outcome will be. Cars can be replaced but your kids cannot. She is starting to feel a little sore already and I am sure tomorrow will feel it more. Her dad and sister and I are just so relieved she is ok. We told her she would learn alot from this and would make her a even better driver. Just glad we could get to her fast.
That is all of the excitement I want for a while.
Next thing will be our mission trip experience. Rapidly approaching.

2007-04-19T01:08:00.001-04:00

March

2007-03-16T12:01:00.000-04:00

March is here and half over and I have not posted in a month. This is always a busy time for us. Our youngest turnned 15 this month on the 3rd. We celebrated and had trouble finding the time to take her to get her permit. Well, we were successful in doing this this past Tues. We had a nice experience and beautiful drive to Guntersville. It is so hard to believe that she is old enough to drive. She is also playing softball on the JV team at school and so that is keeping her and us busy. The other big change for her is that she is getting braces next week. She has been bugging me for a while to get checked. She had one tooth that was starting to crowd other than that I didn't think it was bad. Well, we go for two evals with two diff. othodontist and the whole right side of her mouth did not touch each other. She said "I thought this was normal". So last Friday she had three teeth pulled so they can eventually have a good bite on the right side. The strange thing is the left side was perfect. She got her spacers on Wed and her mouth is sore and I think when it feels better she will get her braces and be sore again. We are looking at two years if she does everything she is suppose to do. The one thing that perked her up was they reward them with coupons if they do everything they are suppose to do and can trade them in for gift certificates and such to the mall. Well, she is competitive and they may regret offering that to her we will see. That is the news for our youngest.

Her sister is also having a busy time. We were fortunate to get to go to Lipscomb last weekend to receive her scholarship. We thought it was for the ones that had already accepted and was going there. They were still selling Lipscomb. She and I had a great time. We went up on Thurs night and stayed with my best friend from High School. They kept us busy all day Fri and then treated us to dinner at the Titans stadium Friday night. It was beautiful looking out over Nashville as we ate. Then the students went to Dr. Lowery's house for devo and dessert and got to stay on campus. We met up again early the next morning to receive the official scholarship and then were free until sing o rama at 2:00p.m. So we went prom dress shopping and were successful. We arrived back at Lipscomb for sing o rama, which was really good and by the time we said goodbye, run a couple of errands and get dinner were not back at our friends until about 7:00p.m. I was absolutely exhausted. I think the oldest was too. We were both in bed by 10:00 and not once had the TV on and had forgotten about the time change. Needless to say we missed church. So come to find out Kent and the youngest had too. We arrive home in time for huddles and crash that night. So then we sent her off early yesterday with the trip of her life. She was blessed to get asked by Rex to go with him to Baja for 12 days as his personal interpretor. If you know her at all you know this is a dream come true. She will be with a group from Lipscomb until next Thurs then she will be with the homebuilders from Mayfair until that Monday. This is her Senior trip and she couldn't be happier. Needless to say our thoughts and prayers are with them. Phil Kinzer is leading the group from Lipscomb and we were thrilled about that along with his wife Diane. Then we know just about everyone going next week so we feel very good about who she is with. Please pray that GOd will bless them and use them to further his kingdom.

Now on to us again. Kent's mom is coming and bringing our nephew so we will have a 8 year old here all weekend so we will be busy. Also, I am going with Mrs. Tommie today and help her with Amber's 6 month old picture. She is sad as she looks at pictures of Lisa so hope and pray this is a good experience for her. I am planning on keeping Amber after that while she takes a break. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Spring Break. Will try and not wait so long to post again.

We never know!

2007-02-20T09:10:00.000-05:00

Just thinking about how we are here for just a short time. I have always wondered what the world does without having the hope of Salvation. I hear so many times with my line of work well, I am here instead of the alternative. I always say" well, if we are living right the alternative is suppose to be a lot better". Then they always say "well, I am just not ready". Well, we are suppose to always be ready. We went to Diana's brother in laws visitation last night. Diana said "we just never know". This is a 42 year old father of three married to his high school sweetheart. You would think would he would have a long life ahead of him. We waited for two hours just to speak to Diana and Bruce and Laura Lee. We never made it into the parlor where the family was. We were talking about all of the laughter that was around us and how everyone was enjoying themselves. It is so true how a funeral is like a reunion. This is such a tragic event and our hearts go out to this family. I cannot imagine life without Kent. I know we are suppose to be ready at all times but we are never ready when they are so young. We just have to always be ready because we never know.

P.S For some reason I did not post this when I wrote it.

The night before Winterfest

2007-02-15T23:28:00.000-05:00

Our girls are packing for Winterfest and it is a little sad that their dad and I are not going. This is the first time that we have not been in many many years. Our youngest was sweet because she said she was kind of sad that we would not be there this weekend. She still loves us at least. Jamie has really enjoyed us not being with her the last 4 years. We have been on just a few things with her but she is enjoying her independence. We wore her out being with her every minute in Jr. High. The good news is that we plan on getting some things done around here this weekend. It has its pros and cons. Time is quickly passing and we are finding more and more nights at home. Never thought in a million years that this would happen this fast. It is fun just a diff. stage in our life. We said we were going to have to start playing cards and games again with our friends like we did before we had children. We have alot of good memories doing that with the Copelands, Smiths and Lunas. We used to go camping with Randy & Holly Norton and several other couples that no longer live here. Those memories we all still laugh about when we see each other. Our kids can't believe we had a life before them imagine that. Well, we will def. miss our girls but hopefully will get alot done this weekend. Hope everyone enjoys their stage of life they are in right now because it truly passes quickly. Softball games for May start next weekend so I guess the card games will have to be put on hold until after the season.

February is Here

2007-02-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

Wow, I cannot believe it is February. Jamie's Graduation is fast approaching. She told me yesterday she only has 11 more Mondays. This is due to spring break and she will miss the next Monday after spring break due to the trip of her life. She has been asked to go to Baja with none other then Head Boss Rex Watson. She has finally gotten the o.k. to talk about it. She will get to leave on Thursday before Spring Break and will not return until the Monday after Spring Break. This is a dream come true for her. The first thing is she gets to go to her favorite place in the world and gets to be out of school three extra days. Also, she gets to be there with two awesome groups. The first part is with Lipscomb led by Phil Kinzer (former member at Mayfair) and the second is with the Home Builders class (which are alot of her Huddle leaders). She is so excited she is about to bust. She is so blessed to be able to do this great trip. So that is our big news for her. Kent & I are very excited for her. She is wishing she was already at Lipscomb but this will help her meet new people for next year. So she is on count down until Spring Break and Graduation.
May has started Softball practice and her first game is just a little over a week. I am looking forward to watching her play but dreading the cold. Kent bought us a heater last year which helps alot. She is having a good year so far, she told me the other day she is really going to miss her sister next year. I was happy to hear this but sad for her because just when they are getting more things in common they are going to be separated. They are both excited about being at Impact together and our family trip to Baja in July. God has truly blessed us with two wonderful daughters and for that I am glad. Just wish I could slow these years down.
That is about all that is going on at the homestead. They were so disappointed yesterday when they did not get out for the snow. It was not pretty around here yesterday. Will try and do better about posting.

Rude Workers!

2007-01-16T09:06:00.000-05:00

I decided to post this after reading my friends Sunny's post. I wasn't going to because I thought it was just me. Our family was at American Eagle after Christmas and our youngest found a shirt she wanted to purchase. We proceed to the cashier and walked to the end of the counter where the two workers were standing talking and folding. They both looked up at us with the look they couldn't believe we were interupting them. Never said "may I help you or nothing". Well, I said "we would like to purchase this". One of the girls looked at us and said "you have to go on the other side". Let me remind you there was nobody else at the register so there was not a line or anything. Our youngest and me just looked at each other and I was trying to stay calm. If she had not wanted the shirt so bad I would have walked out. We purchased the shirt and she was not friendly at all. I was appalled. We told dad what just took place and without hesitating he said "it it coming from talking on line". These kids do not know how to talk to people and they are loosing their manners. LOOSING, it is lost. I am still amazed that these emplyees looked at us the way we did. My little one dosn't miss a thing and I think she was shocked too. They better be glad we do not go in there very much because the manager and owner would have heard about this. Their clothes are so expensive and to be treated like this, absolutely not. I guess I feel better. When I worked retail in High School the customer was always right, even now dealing with the public they are always given the benefit of the doubt. Oh well, I can just do eveything I can to teach my children to treat others with respect and hope others will too. It just seems to me but I think respect is going out the window and that makes me sad. Matt 12:37 (I need to remember this too)

23 Years ! YEA

2007-01-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

Well, We just celebrated 23 years together. "and they said we would never make it" Ha! No just kidding. We met in December of 1982 and our first date was in Jan. of 83 and we were married the following January 1984. It was fast but meant to be. I believe that Kent has taught me to laugh alot and to stay calm. It has truly gone by fast and to look back over the years it has been a blessing. The many laughs we have had along with the tears have developed a closeness that no one can ever take away. Looking forward to many more.
Still thinking of the things we have gone through of my moms. We spend all of these years collecting things and stuff just so someone else has to go through it. I am still trying to downsize. We have cleaned out alot and still have alot to go. This brings me to the lessons I am trying to get back into. Seems like I got so busy and havn't stopped for spiritual time for me. The study is by :Beth Moore and it is about Daniel. There is so much depth to learn about him and his history and what he went through. She is comparing Babylon to today's world which is interesting. Quote from her study " How do we resist the world's titanic pressue?" She compared him coming from Jeruselum to Babylon as sheltered to sensory overload.
This brings me to always remember that no matter how bad we think today's world is that it seems it has always been just as bad since sin first entered the world. You can always find it in the Bible or history books. How Daniel is resisting the royal food and wine. To think that a (scholars believe) he and his captive friends were 15, and he was resisting food of any kind that in itself is hard to believe. I just remember how much my brother ate at this age.
So to resist todays temtation of wanting more is one of things I am going to work on this year. As she points out it dosn't start by just going to church of Sunday's Wed. and it is never accidental, it is a daily resolve and consistancy. I am going to try and spend more time in the word this year and show myself I can dig deeper without it being over my head. She ends today's lesson with a great quote: "The lifeblood of integrity is becoming the same person no matter where we are -- no matter who's around." I certainly married a man of integrity and I would love to leave a legacy of integrity to my children not stuff.

Looking Back on 2006

2006-12-31T00:23:00.000-05:00

Looking back on 2006 it was a good year just passed too quickly. I am glad it passed quick for our oldest for her recovery but sad that this is her last year at home. 2007 will bring big changes in our household they will be good just sad that she has grown up so fast. If she wasn't so happy and excited I would cry all the time but to see her face light up as she talks about college is a wonderful sight. Just got the news about Mrs. Mann today and our thoughts and prayers will be her and her sweet family. Also, just got to touch base with Mrs. Tommie and it brought up something that just showed how dumb I truly am. I am so literal math was def. not my strong subject in school. Anyway, Mrs. Tommie's husband is literally on the genius list and I have gotten to talk with him a lot lately. He was telling our oldest and myself about the mensa test. He is one of the few that has gotten 48 out of 48 right on that test. So that tells you how smart he is. So I pulled up this sample test tonight. If you are bored you can pull it up and try it. http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php I got more right then I thought I would but like I said Math and me do not get along. It amazes me that people know all of this stuff without trying. My dad probably could have been on that list and I always said he didn't share any of those genes with me. I hate alcohol got in the way of what a good man he was. Oh well, I may not have the brains just the heart. Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year. Phil 4:13 HAPPY 2007!

Cleaning up for Christmas

2006-12-28T00:55:00.000-05:00

Well, we survived Christmas and the fast track of traveling to TN & KY this past weekend. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed watching the girls. The kids on my side of the family have the biggest time with the paper fight after we have played dirty Santa. We laugh so hard just over silly paper. My girls have missed it for the last couple of years and were so excited to be a part of it this year. Now we are back home and cleaning out and putting away all that we received. I have things that I have not used in years and wonder why I have been holding on to them. It is just amazing to me how much clutter that is collected over the years. I feel like after going through all of my mothers stuff I have given away more stuff this last year than I ever thought I could. After doing this you start to think about not wanting your children to have to do this once we are gone. It does make you realize how unimportant things are that we think as valuable while we are here on earth. God tries hard to get us to realize that our heavenly treasures are more important but we get so caught up in our earthly treasures it is sometimes hard to see. God has truly blessed us and I will continue to try and downsize some of our clutter. My problem is unfortunately I have a good memory and can remember who gave us what, even wedding gifts from 23 years ago. I feel this is a curse because my friends who do not remember who gave them what do not have any trouble getting rid of things therefore they are clutter free. I am getting better and that is something I am going to work on this year in 2007. There will be big changes in our household this year with our oldest going to college so I will have to find alot to keep me busy. Just getting rid of stuff should be enough to keep me busy for several years. My prayer for myself this next year will be to work harder on my heavenly treasure and being a good steward of my earthly treasure. Happy 2007 to everyone.

Made it to Break!

2006-12-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

We have finally made it to the Christmas break. All of the hustle and bustle will finally start to come together. I know we are all happy to be with our families and spend time laughing and making new memories. God has truly blessed us this year. Thank goodness it hasn't been as hectic as last year. Other than just being hectic with a senior and a freshman in the house. Our oldest Senior year is now 1/2 way over, and getting faster. I know in her mind it isn't fast enough. One day she will be happy to be coming home. (Ha) I wonder if she will ever admit it. It seems as though they were just starting school not long ago. I am looking forward to seeing my granddad who will be 95 in Feb. He has got a lot of personality. I think this year the absence of my mom has hit home a little harder. We were so busy with our oldest surgery last year that there wasn't much time to grieve. My mom loved Christmas and had enough decorations for many households. She has passed that love on to our youngest who absolutely loves any holiday but especially Christmas. She loves tradition and will let you know if anything is different. I thank God for our two teenage daughters and my wonderful husband of almost 23 years. We hope and pray for all of our family and friends a safe and happy holiday.

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

2006-12-17T23:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is hard to believe but our oldest back surgery was one year ago. She has done great and so far so good. Only God knows what the future holds. Hopefully, it will all be good. This time one year ago she was in ICU and we were embarking on a journey that she came through with flying colors. She had a lot of complications while in the hospital but once home it has gone like clock work. She is a tough little bird and was off all pain meds less than 6 weeks after her surgery. Thankfully she is not self-conscious of her scar as she enjoys showing it off. Her little sister has also been a great encouragement to her. I do not understand how people make it in this world without a strong church family. After burying my mom and signing the papers for major surgery on our child I could have been a train wreck without the love and support of my family and church family. You always wonder if you are doing the right thing but I truly believe after hearing people talk this past year that we did. Randomly I have met several people this year that have scoliosis and never had the opportunity to do anything or just didn't think it was needed when they were younger, have considerable pain now as they are older. Being in the health care field I see a lot of people on disability from back injuries and are not doing good so that is always in the back of your mind. With a good support system I think she is going to be fine. The only thing she really had to miss this year was flag football for high school but I am not too disappointed because it is so rough. Hopefully God will continue to bless her with health and happiness. She is starting to use muscles that she hasn't used in a year and feeling that a little so hopefully those will go away as her limitations are lifted by her doctor. Our next visit is January 2 and we are anxious to see what if any her limitations will be.

Hello

2006-12-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

This is a test. Trying to decide if I want to put myself out there for all to see and read all of my ignorance. Trying to figure this all out too. How to post a blog and post on others.