Happy Birthday to Me!

Wow! One week ago today I turned 36! I guess I only know if I'm over the hill if I know when my journey is going to end. Or maybe I know because of all that stiffness I feel when I'm getting out of the floor with the kids, but maybe that is just due to my lack of exercise! =0) Regardless, I am getting older & feeling it, but then on the other hand sometimes I feel like a kid... or is that act like one?

Well, on the day before my birthday (last Sunday) I was up at the church decorating "my room" for VBS. Dano said he'd take care of dinner for all of us. =0) So, when I finally got home around 6 or something, we ate. Then as we were finishing up he surprised me with an iced brownie that he & Olivia had made for me! It was even decorated and had candles & everything! Wasn't that sweet? =0) The kids didn't even spoil the surprise. It was REALLY yummy, too! Then they even gave me some gifts. Olivia gave me a bag of Dove dark chocolate (one of my favorite things)! (Okay, she was actually with me at Wal-Mart when she got it for me. I didn't want to stiffle her generosity & thoughtfulness... ha ha.) Dano got me a Willow Tree figurine called Remember in memory of Seth. It is sweet. He also said something else was coming in the mail but it hadn't arrived yet. I was looking forward to that.

Well on my actual birthday, it was the first day of VBS, then we came home for lunch & naps, then Dano came home early so we could take a rental van back (about an hour from here... hopefully I'll post that explanation soon), then we ate dinner out... a nice treat at Chili's... then we traveled back the hour & put the kids to bed, then crashed ourselves! That is why Dano surprised me the day before!

Well, below is the gift that was coming in the mail. I've had this bracelet for years. I think I got it sometime after Derek was born while we were in TX at a place called Dixie's. (You can even visit them online: http://www.dixiesonline.com/ They are THE place for silver jewelry & charms. The slide & cross I wear all the time came from there.) Then I had a strand added for Emma just before our move to OH. Then when we went back to TX in May 2007, I had them make it two strands: one strand with Olivia & Derek and a second strand with Emma & Wesley. It also had their birthstones on it. It was just great. Well, I enjoyed it for another year, then broke it in April this year. boo hoo! Well, Dano snuck it away while we were in TN & mailed it back to TX to have them fix it & add Seth! How thoughtful & sweet. I just love it (and him). And they did it as a gift to us! Very unexpected & generous! I sure miss going to Dixie's. They are the sweetest bunch of people! (The bracelet is much prettier & less blurry in real life! The flash made it where you couldn't see it, so this was my other option.)

Well, I hope you are all having a GREAT day! Please pray for my friend Kelly from Ohio. Hopefully in the next day or two I will let you know why! Another GREAT gift to me! (non birthday related)

Love,

Melinda =0)

June 8, 2008 - Seth's Tree

While we were still in SC, I mentioned to Dano that I would like to plant a tree in memory of our Seth Timothy. He thought it was a great idea! So, once in TN we started to look for a small dogwood which would bloom white flowers. Thankfully, we FINALLY found one. We invited our immediate family to join in a little memorial service we had at my father's house Sunday afternoon. Dano shared a few words & some scripture. Then he prayed. Last we planted the little tree. Hopefully it will survive being planted so late in Spring. If you're in Hendersonville, you can drive by & see it in Daddy's front yard on Creekwood Lane.

We took some other pictures, too. You can see one below. These are all of my parents' grandchildren. Our children are all of Dano's parents' grandkids.


(I just noticed that Derek looks taller than Olivia in the picture above. He's not. The ground slopes. She still has about 2 inches on him. Emma is between Olivia's shoulder & chin. She's definitely a tall little booger!)

June 7, 2008 - Melissa & Allen's Brunch

My cousin Allen got married in Aruba (I think), so his church (same as my Father's) gave him and his new bride, Melissa, (both center) a reception on Saturday, June 7th. It was great to be there. I seldom get to participate in family showers since I'm so far away. It was great to just sit around & visit! Above are the family & folks that hosted/helped with the shower. I, of course, am not in the pix! =0) I just showed up. That was easy. Below are some more pix... mostly great aunts holding baby Samuel. The sweet baby girl is my cousin's baby. I should have gotten a better picture. She's a doll baby! =0)

June 5, 2008 - Olivia's Haircut

Olivia decided she wanted to get her hair cut. At first, I was not gung ho! After a while, I decided it might be a good idea for the summer especially if she was going to my sister's house for "Camp Shoemaker." This would help Michelle out a lot! =0) I mentioned something about Locks of Love, and Olivia thought that was a great idea. I didn't know if here hair was long enough, but after some research and measuring, Olivia had 10 inches she could donate! So the next step was deciding when. Olivia really wanted to get it cut while in TN, so I asked my sister to make an appointment with her "lady," so that's what we did. In one of the pictures you can see Aunt Marcia and Granny looking on during the process! Olivia was brave throughout the whole haircut and never had any regrets!









Here are her "after" pictures. She looks 10 years older! Boo Hoo! She loves it. I really like it, too. (Although I do still miss her long hair.) Thankfully her new style is very easy & must be a great cut because she wakes up with it looking great! =0)

Seeking the Sun. Seeking the Son?

When we got home from TN, we were greeted by new flowers in bloom. Of course, at midnight we couldn't really enjoy all their beauty. However, on Tuesday morning it was wonderful to see their brilliant colors. Something that struck me was how they were striving for the sun. We have a VERY LARGE tree close to this flower bed so a large part of it is shaded for a large portion of the day. However, that did not keep these flowers from seeking out the sun. Can you see how hard they are working? They are at a major arch. It is even more prominant in real life than is evident in these pictures.

You know, some flowers have it easy. They just bloom & there is the sun, right there shining above them. But these flowers have an obstacle, a challenge to overcome... and they are overcoming! And they are BEAUTIFUL!

When I saw these flowers, I wondered if people could see me striving for THE SON the same way these flowers are striving for the sun. Can my kids see that? Can my husband? My family? I think I need to live my life a little more purposeful so that when people look at me they can see which way I'm leaning!

To God be the Glory!

Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jog

Monday night close to midnight EST, we rolled into our driveway! It is always good to be home again, but we sure had a nice visit in TN! I have several posts I'm going to add to our blog about our trip. I didn't have a chance to post them there, but I have the pix. So keep checking back.

Dano is back at the hangar today hard at work. (At least I assume he is!) I'll talk to him tonight to find out what he's up to now. There is always work to be done... airplanes to be fixed. I'm so thankful God allows us to use our gifts and talents to glorify Him and to help spread the Gospel. When I say "us" I mean all God's children... not just Dano & me. God designed it that way so that we could bring Him glory in all we do!

Now that we're back home, our pace is a little slower in some ways. While we still have school work to be done, we have "officially" completed our 180 days for the record, but there are some things we still need to complete! So we'll still be doing some school. Derek is about to go crazy waiting to start Kindgergarten, so I'm going to be doing some more stuff with him.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I went to the introduction meeting for a Bible study I'm going to be doing this summer that a friend is holding in her house. It is the Beth Moore study Stepping Up. I'm so looking forward to it. We will be studying the 15 Psalms of Ascent (120-134). I honestly knew nothing about these. I'm real excited to learn about them. A good reminder I received yesterday from Beth (and the Holy Spirit) was that we're all on a pilgrimage (like those the Isrealites were required to take for Feasts). Our pilgrimage will allow us to know God better and to Glorify Him... if we allow it to! We can't get STUCK in our present circumstances; we have to keep moving on and up... and learning from whatever comes along our path. Another truth that spoke to me was how God will feed the hungry... so we must come to His word HUNGRY! He will fill us! If we are too filled with OURSELVES or with THINGS OF THIS WORLD, there will be no room for God or His Word. (ouch) Not only is this true for ME, but I need to think about this for MY KIDS, too!

Well, when I say we'll be slowing down... I just mean schoolwork, I guess, because next week will be CRAZY!! Actually, it will start this weekend. I'm going to a homeschool conference somewhere in SC. I need to figure that out real soon! =0) But please pray for me to have wisdom as I will be deciding about a couple of things I want to change (maybe) in our curriculum. Then on Monday our VBS starts. So for 5 days we'll be on the go. I know some of you do this every day, day in and day out, but it isn't our normal routine. So I'm thinking it might be a bit exhausting for us! But how I want you to cover us in prayer is for what I will be doing during VBS. I will be doing the Bible time for the elementary grades. Will you please pray for this time to go well? For there to be no distractions. For God's Word to be heard by these children. For lives to be changed by His Gospel. Many of these children will already have accepted Christ, but they need God to be REAL to them. There will be others who may be ready to make that decision to accept Christ. If you would like to commit to pray for me & the children on a day next week, can you please leave a comment & let me know which day so that we can have at least each day covered by one person? If 5 days are already chosen, more than one person can pray each day! =0) I'm looking forward to knowing you are praying!

Well, I need to get these kiddos down for nap! I'll have some quiet time to do some more prep for VBS and do some of my Stepping Up homework! Thank you for praying for my prep time, too!

Love,
Melinda =0)

Meeting Samuel

We all got to hold & love on Samuel for the first time last Wednesday. The kids were so in love. It was just wonderful to watch them & the joy on their faces while holding their new cousin! Well, Wesley didn't want to hold him, but he sure did love him. He just wanted to keep touching him. Today when Marcia came over with him, Wesley got up from his nap & saw the empty carrier & started searching for him. (I was holding him, but we were both wearing the same color green, so Wesley couldn't see him.) It was too adorable watching him search for his cousin. Okay back to last week... Olivia would hold him then go play then come back to hold him again. Derek didn't hold him long, but gosh look how proud he is to hold him! Emma adored him. She held him for a long while. Then she started touching his hand as you can see in the picture. Then she was putting it up to his mouth. We asked her if she was trying to get him to suck his thumb... she sheepishly said, "yes." It was too cute! (For those who don't know, she is an AVID thumb sucker & hair twirler!) When the kids weren't holding him, I was hogging him. Oh, how sweet to hold a baby all snuggled on you sleeping! Thank you, Marcia, for letting us spoil your sweet, sweet baby! =0)

Samuel's Siblings

Okay, Samuel's been getting all the spotlight, so I need to add some pix of his two older siblings who are also miracles! Marcia & John adopted them the summer our Olivia turned one. They started the adoption process to adopt one child and poof (it seemed instantly) they were asked if they would take two... a brother & sister! Caleb was about 15 months old, and Madison (Maddie) was close to three. Gosh, I hope my memory is correct... but that is the way I remember the story. =0) They love their new baby brother & are very protective & loving toward him. BTW these pix were taken May 27th before we got there. Samuel was almost 2 months old in them.