It's a wonderful life...usually

Facebook

2009-04-13T11:23:00.002-05:00

I don't blog much anymore (or at all really) nor do I read blogs that much anymore. I have found facebook is quicker and more fun. I still plan to keep my blog for posts that are longer than would be appropriate on fb. There are some things that are flying around in my head, but I simply don't have the time to put them down in a coherent way just now. Maybe this summer.

I'm still here......

2008-12-31T09:56:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm sure the few people who did read my blog have long given up on me by now. But, blogging just takes so much time and I'm finding I much prefer Facebook for a quick update. Since my last post in September, lots has happened in the world and I have strong opinions on all of it.....but that would take waaaaay too long. Suffice it to say that I agree w/ George W. Bush when he says that it will be a "stirring sight" to see the first black man assume the presidency. Even though I disagree w/ Mr. Obama on just about everything, I will still respect him as my President. (I really resent those who say that just because I didn't vote for him that makes me a racist.......whatever) Anyway, Christmas was great. We have been very blessed this year. God has shown me that when I lean on Him, He is always there. He never fails. I hope that in 2009, things settle down a bit in our country and our economy, but if they don't, it does not matter, because I have learned that to put my faith and hope in anything or anyone other than the giver of faith and hope is seriously misguided, at best. If there is still anyone reading this blog, I wish you all of God's blessings in 2009.

Michael Moore is an idiot!

2008-09-02T14:27:00.002-05:00

This post has been brewing for a few days. I usually try to stay away from politics, but I can't get this out of my head. I realize that politics has become very polarized in the last few years, on both sides. You can't just disagree w/ someone, you have to hate/destroy them. But what i saw a few days ago takes the prize for being the most disgusting. I was channel surfing and came across Michael Moore on Keith Olbermann's show, not sure what channel......CNBC or MSNBC, whatever. Normally I would keep surfing when I see his face, but for some reason, this time I paused, right as he was saying that with hurricane Gustav barrelling down on the coast at the same time as the Republican convention was about to start, that was proof to him that there is a God in heaven, as he laughed at the hilarity and cleverness of his remark! Even the despicable Keith Olbermann was at a loss for words. I mean, seriously, this guy was rubbing his hairy paws together with glee at the thought of a major destructive hurricane taking attention away from the Republicans! Never mind the fact that the last time it happened, hundreds of people lost their lives, not to mention the thousands upon thousands whose lives were ruined. But hey, what a small price to pay to get a dig on the Republicans, right!!! Give me a break, this guy makes me sick. OK.....I feel better now after getting that off my chest.

Go REBELS!!!

2008-09-01T11:21:00.004-05:00

This is Barrett's 9th grade football pic. It kind of brought a tear to his old dad's eye to see him in the Rebel colors. Me?.....well, it brought tears to my eyes for different reasons, not the least of which is that some of those boys on his team easily weigh 200+ lbs! and Barrett weighs 135 dripping wet. Don't get me wrong, he's not a runt, in fact, he's about average size, not tiny at all. And, the way he eats, you would think he was a lineman. But still, he's already had one broken arm from football and.....I'm just sayin'. Oh, and don't be fooled by his low #. He's not a quarterback. On picture day, they just threw them any old jersey for the picture. He actually plays on defense, a position he calls "ghost".....never heard of it. Maybe its because he's really scary or something :-)
I know you can't tell in the picture, but his legs are really hairy. He's turned into a hairy-legged teenager!! When did that happen? One minute he was a precious little kid that wouldn't let me out of his sight, and now? a hairy-legged football player? I don't think so! (but he's still precious.....to his momma anyway.)

Summer reading list....

2008-07-21T08:25:00.007-05:00

Well, my summer reading list was (is) quite long, but I am making headway. In June, I read the latest in the Teashop Mystery Series that I have been following for a couple of years. Though VERY light reading, I have enjoyed them because they are set in Charleston, SC and have alot of historical stuff in them, which I love. However, I decided after this last one, that they are a little too "light" (even for the pool :-) and it is getting hard to distinguish one from the other. So, that is crossed off my list. Next on the list, on my Mother's recommendation, was David Baldacci's "Wish You Well", an excellent uplifting story. Kind of a departure for Baldacci, who usually writes murder mysteries. I loved it. Then, a friend from church & I were discussing Eckhart Tolle's "New Earth", which I had heard some negative things about and she told me that she & her husband had really found it to be very helpful, and that I shouldn't judge it until I had read it. OK.....she had a point. So I read it and, honestly it was the hardest thing to get through. So much psycho-babble, new age crap. Somehow, my friend had gleaned from this book that this man is a Christ follower, which, I guess he is. But, he is also a Buddha follower, a Zen master follower, a Hindhu follower, all of which he puts on the same level as Jesus Christ. And never once does he claim the Deity of Christ, just that he was an enlightened teacher. The sad thing is that so many people are being misled into thinking this is truth. IT IS NOT!!! I hated this book, it disturbed me alot.
The last book I just finished, was just the opposite, I absolutely loved it. It was William Young's "The Shack". I can't quite put into words just yet how it affected me. Very overwhelming. There is so much to digest. I finished it a couple days ago, but it is still running through my mind. I know it is one that I will have to re-read a few times. My friend Arlene was right to advise me that it is not one to be checked out from the library, rather, I need to own this book, in order to be able to go back to it over & over.
So, that is the list so far. I have been meaning to read the "Twilight" series that my daughter loves so much. She owns all 3, has read all of them at least twice and is on the advance list for the next book in the series, which will be released August 2. I feel like a bad mom, because this kind of snuck up on me. By the time I realized she was so hooked on this series, she had already read 2 of the 3. Some moms @ church have said they are not allowing their girls to read them, and looked at me with raised eyebrows when I told them Gracen had read all 3 books (more than once actually). (Every one of my daughter's friends are reading them and it has become quite a phenomenon among that age set.) Basically, from what I gather, its a love story that involves vampires, slightly steamy, but not any overt sex. Definitely targeted for this age of audience. So, even though I'm not one to react to what others think (Gracen read and loved all the Harry Potter books) I still need to read these books, just to know what is going on.

On a slightly different subject, I went to see "Mamma Mia" last night with my mother and sister. LOVED IT!!! Of course, I have loved it ever since Lon & I saw it in Las Vegas several years ago. I was a big ABBA fan back in the day......I had "Dancing Queen" on a 45 and played it over and over, singing into my hairbrush microphone. I was in 7th grade. And of course, who could forget "Supa-pa, Troupa-pa"? I remember me & my friends singing along to that song on the bus going on the church ski trip to Angel Fire. That was probably my jr. year.......great memories>

CAKE!!!

2008-06-26T13:22:00.004-05:00

As long as I'm on this "sugar" theme, I want to also mention my neice, Cara Packard. She makes and decorates the most gorgeous cakes.....well, some are gorgeous, some are cute & fun and some actually take your breath away!! (I wish I had a picture of the cake she did of the New York City skyline, it was unbelievable!!)The only down side is, she also lives in NYC....bummer for us, but great for her. She appears to be having a blast living there and has become very successful. We love her alot and are so proud of her for striking out on her own so far from home. But, if you are ever in NYC and find yourself in need of a special cake, well, Caras your girl. You can see her "stuff" @ http://caralinncakes.com/ She's a very talented girl. Way to go "Cawa", we LOVE you!!

COOKIES!!!

2008-06-26T13:14:00.002-05:00

My friend Becky has started a "side business" of making & decorating the most beautiful cookies. She has always been very talented and creative, and now she is using those gifts to bless people with delicious cookies. You can see her "stuff" @ http://texascookiejar.blogspot.com, and if you need cookies for any occasion, I highly reccommend her. Way to go Bek!

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-16T17:39:00.004-05:00

.....or should I say Father's Weekend. We celebrated both Saturday and Sunday, but Lon totally deserves it. He is the bestest Daddy around. Saturday, Lazy Boy delivered a new "Big Man's Recliner".....granted, I can never top last years gift--the Tiernan Son of Brisket smoker--I didn't even try. However, the huge recliner is definitely second. We had a BMR a few years ago, which he loved, but when it wore out, we cheaped out and replaced it w/ a "regular" recliner, and not a very good one. We always fought over who had to sit in it. It was sooo uncomfortable and cheaply made. So, this year, I spent the big bucks and got the good one. It is so comfy to take naps in, thats how big it is, I can just curl up in it. Love it!! Then on Sunday, we surprised Lon with a chiminea. He has been wanting one for the patio, when he is smoking (meat) and it is cold. So, he got 2 gifts, like I said, totally worth it. Another great Father's Day, but always a little bittersweet as I remember those who have lost their fathers in the last year and the fact that Lon's dad is no longer with us. We miss him alot, especially now that Barrett is playing baseball. It would be so cool to have Grandpa there in the stands watching #22. But, we had a great lunch with my parents....PeiWei, and we gave my Dad a gift card for gas. How sad is that? Anyway, it was a great weekend and I am so thankful to be blessed with a wonderful husband, who happens to also be the greatest Daddy, and also have my own father around for my kids to grow up with.

Proud moments

2008-06-05T21:16:00.002-05:00

Both Barrett and Gracen had great years this year. Every year has been pretty good, but this one was exceptional. Both of them got commended on all their "dreaded" TAKS tests and both made the honor roll the entire year. Then, a few days before school was out, I got a call from the counselor @ deZavala telling me that both my kids were getting "big" awards this year, so I needed to be sure and attend the Awards Ceremony. Which I always do, but they usually don't get recognized that much except for attendance and honor roll, so I was expecting this year to be about the same. She wouldn't tell me what the awards were, just that they were major awards and that we both needed to be there. I was really glad Barrett would be getting an award this year. It seems like the last few years, he manages to get in trouble right at the very end of the year, so he doesn't get an award. (Not anything major, just enough not to get an award. For instance, last year, one of his friends was "sagging" and Barrett decided it would be funny to pull his pants down. Even though it was kind of funny, his principal didn't think so. So...no award for Barrett last year) Anyway, for 7th & 8th grade there are 2 major awards that are teacher nominated based on character, grades, participation etc, etc: 1)Way of the Wolf 2) Leader of the Pack (the wolf is our mascot, so everything has a wolf theme) Well, Gracen got Way of the Wolf for 7th grade! She was so surprised, the look on her face was priceless! and Barrett got Leader of the Pack for 8th grade and also was a nominee for the Lamar Lively award. It was so fun to watch them, because neither one of them knew they were getting anything. Lon & I were so proud, especially when the teachers told us that their selections were unanimous. The principal told us "We don't take these awards lightly, and for one family to receive the 2 biggest awards, well, that is a big deal." I hope it doesn't sound like I'm bragging too much, like I said, usually my kids don't get many awards. In athletics, they are both good, but not studs, so the athletic awards always go to others. In academics, they both make excellent grades, especially Gracen, so they usually get the honor roll awards, but that about it. And artistically, like singing or acting, well, not gonna happen. Not much musical talent in this family! So, it was a good night in the Packard family.

Freshman orientation?????

2008-06-05T20:54:00.002-05:00

OK...the last day of school was pretty emotional for me, it being Barrett's last day of middle school. I literally just sat there and bawled. His first day of 1st grade @ Woodlands is tattooed on my memory. I remember us walking in together, his little hand in mine. This was his second new school in 2 years. He went to Kindergarten @ Paramount Terrace, then we built our house out here, so he started first grade @ Woodlands. Naturally, he was a little scared, but he was so brave, walking right in and making his first friend, Cooper Jones. I cried that day too. I freely admit to being an emotional wreck when it comes to my kid's "firsts" & "lasts". I know it is a cliche, but where did the time go? The other day when he got in the car on his last day @ dZ and he saw me crying, he laughed at me & said 'Oh Mama, don't cry, it'll be OK' as he patted me on the shoulder. We then went to Blue Sky and had a great lunch together to celebrate the last day of school. (Gracen had gone to a swimming party) Then a few days ago, I open the mail and there is a flyer for Freshman Orientation @ Tascosa! That about took me to my knees! Just seeing it in print, there's a certainty about it...it really is here. But I'm not the only one struggling. Lon is realizing that he is coaching his last baseball games this weekend. We formed the "Mudcats" 6yrs ago when the boys were just 8 and now that time is coming to a close and I think it is going to be harder for old Dad than he imagined. It will be so weird not to be the Mudcats anymore. Lots of memories.

So excited.....

2008-06-01T20:13:00.002-05:00

I am sooo excited!! Tonight is the premiere of the new season of The Next Food Network Star. This is the 3rd season Gracen & I have watched it and we're hooked. Last season, we were so sad when Rory (from Vega) lost. She so deserved to win and the girl that did win, does not even have a show anymore, she decided TV was not for her. The winner from 2 seasons ago was Guy Fieri, we love him. He has such a fun personality. We never miss Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. Well, the shows coming on, gotta go watch.

OK, I'm not too impressed with this years "stars". The girl from Dallas is freaky looking, very Star Trekish. And Cory, the so-called comedian, was eliminated. She needed to be, she looked angry. I hope Star Trek is the next to go, she's really annoying. As a matter of fact, so is Suzy Fogelson, one of the judges, with her squinty eyes and fake sincerity, talking about "bringing your A-game".....Can we please lose that phrase????

Gracen & I like Shane, Nipa & Kevin. The judges thought Nipa was over confident, which she probably was, but it takes a lot of that to win. So, we'll see.

Sooner weekend!

2008-05-27T10:47:00.004-05:00

We decided last week, on the spur of the moment, to go to the Big XII baseball championship in OKC! We have always wanted to go, but have never been able to, due to one extenuating circumstance or another. This year, our family and a couple of other families that are our baseball friends, decided to go, but plans fell through for both of them and it ended up being just us. We had a ball! (Even though the Sooners ended up losing to the Longhorns---daaang it)So, I took the kids out of school on Friday around noon, after I got off work and we headed out. The plan was, we would go to the hotel and check in and then head out for this barbeque joint that Lon saw on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" (Lon's favorite show on the Food Network!!) called Leo's. They smoke their own ribs, plus all the other meat they serve, and Lon, being a newbie smoker himself, wanted to try them. On TV they looked soooo good. Plus, they showed their signature dessert...a Strawberry Banana Cake that looked to die for. So, things were going along as planned. We arrived in OKC around 6ish (after fighting the wind the whole way there, we had to fill up in Weatherford....an hr from OKC, normally you can make it in one tank!! And of course, Weatherford had the highest gas prices of the whole trip, but we weren't in a position to go looking for cheaper deals, our range was down to 2 miles!! YIKES!) Anyway, got checked in (after fighting, this time, with the extremely rude front desk lady who tried to give us a regular room with only one bed, not the suite with 2 beds that I had reserved. What good does it do to make a reservation, if they are just going to give you whatever room they feel like giving when you get there?? Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode...)Anyway...., with our Yahoo directions in hand, we took off for Leo's with visions of those ribs in our heads. When we got there, there was a big "CLOSED" sign in the window, saying they had a roof cave-in and were closed for repairs. I'm tellin' ya, this place was a true dive. But, the sign gave directions to their new location, which happened to be about 5-6 blocks from our hotel! So, we turned around and started making our way to the "new" location but we were going to be cutting it close, because, they close @ 8:00pm and by this time it was around 7:30. We finally got there and this place is just as big a dive as the first one, kind of scary looking, tucked under the railroad tracks. When we went in, the waitress told us that they were out of ribs, all they had left was smoked baloney......was she kidding? Their ribs were the whole reason we came looking for this place. So we left, thinking we would try again tomorrow. But, to say Lon was disappointed would be the understatement of the century. This trip was not turning out the way we planned at ALL! So...what now? Plan B, we were going to eat at Crabtown on Saturday, so we decided to go there tonight and eat at Leo's on Saturday. The kids and I LOVE seafood, but Lon?? Well, not so much. He hates the smell more than anything. But, he will eat shrimp, though not his favorite. So, we walked in and the seafood smell hit you in the face. :-) Keep in mind, he was already pouting about not getting any ribs and now the seafood smell...needless to say, his mood did not improve. But, he & I ordered the Shrimp Boil, where they just dump the the whole thing on your table, shrimp, new potatoes, corn, sausage & onions. It was delicious!!! He even had to admit that it was really good. Then we went back to the hotel for the kids to swim for a while. The day ended on a good note.

Next day, Saturday, the Sooners were playing the Longhorns @ 9am. This was the main game Lon wanted to see, because, even though the Sooners are ranked next to last in the Big 12, they had won both of their games earlier in the week, even beating the 1 seed, Texas A&M. So, whoever won the game between the Sooners & the Longhorns would be in the Chamionship game. The game was really fun. The Sooners got down by about 6 or 7 runs, but in the 7th inning came back to tie and go ahead. The crowd was really into it, yelling 'Boomer Sooner!' and 'Texas sucks!', it was so much fun and exciting to watch. But, the dern Sooners ended up getting beat by one run. Oh well, it was still a good game. After that, Gracen & I had had enough baseball, so we left and took a ride on the canal boat.....did you know that OKC has a little river downtown and you can take canal boat rides?? Anyway, that was a blast. Then we hit the mall and shopped for the afternoon. But Gracen is not the best shopper, unless of course, you are shopping for her. Which we were, for the most part, but she wanted it to be ALL her. :-) Around 4:30 or so, we went back to the Stadium to pick up Lon & Barrett and go to Leo's. (We didn't want to take a chance of them running out of ribs again!) Well, Leo's did not disappoint! The ribs and brisket were mouthwatering, they bring them to your table right out of the smoker, smokin' hot! After we were done eating, and waiting on dessert, the owner, Charles (Leo's son) came out and talked to us. He was the one we saw on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". We told him we had come all the way from Amarillo to taste his ribs after seeing them on the show. He was so nice and could not have been more appreciative. We told him about coming the night before and them being out of ribs and how we were so sad. He told us that the show had caused his business to skyrocket like he never dreamed and that he runs out of food almost everyday now. I am glad his business is being blessed, he was such a kind and sincere man. Anyway, after he heard that we came in from Amarillo, he said 'I tell you what I'm gonna do....I'm gonna decorate that cake right in front of you, just like I did on the show. It don't get no better that that!' He was absolutely right! He brought that cake out, straight from the oven, piping hot. He put glaze and fresh bananas between the layers and on top put bananas and fresh strawberries and drizzled glaze over the whole thing. Since Gracen was snapping pictures, (I'll try to figure out how to post some) he told her she got the first slice. You should've seen her eyes! I think it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Needless to say, we were happy we came in on Saturday instead of Friday. It was the most fun experience and if you ever are in OKC, you have GOT to try Leo's ribs and his strawberry/banana cake. But, don't wait until almost closing time because they probably won't have any left!! I'm sorry this post is soooo long, Gracen told me that my posts are way too long and that no one will read them. Oh well, I don't think too many people read them anyway.

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-19T09:16:00.003-05:00

Mother's Day 2008 was the best one yet!! (I say that every year, and every year it's true) I am blessed to not only still have my mom around, but also she & my dad live right here in Ama. So..."I got that goin for me" :-) After church, we went to Cattle Call (mainly because they could accomodate our large party with no waiting) with Cristi & Shan and their 3 kids and Mother & Daddy. Cristi & I got Mother the "Thornbirds" on dvd. That is her absolute favorite show EVER. She has always loved Richard Chamberlain. Lon & the kids got me (after a little hinting) a Pandora's Box bracelet. I love it!! The first charm is a little Bible with a gold cross on it. Did I mention i LOVE it??!!!! Lon was also pumped because he said that was presents for the next 10 years! I think it will be an expensive habit though, since the charms run from $35 to over $300 for the gold. My sister, Cristi was not impressed. She's not a bracelet person. I am soooo a bracelet person. I wear one every day just about, except to work, kind of hard to wear gloves and wash your hands 50x a day with a bracelet on. A few years ago, possibly for my 40th birthday? can't remember, my sis-in-law, Luain, gave me a Brighton bracelet with crosses all the way around. It is still one of my favorite things to wear, I love it. And then there's my James Avery charm bracelet...love that one too. Anyway...(I didn't intend for this to be a post about bracelets) Mother's Day was wonderful. Lon, Barrett & Gracen always spoil me and make the day special. Lon won't let the kids fight, so for one day at least, there is peace. Or at least they do it while I am taking my nap so I don't hear it. So nice. And, as always, we end the day with a trip to the cemetery to visit Grandma (and Grandpa and Aunt Jean). Gracen & I went to the dollar store to get some flowers for the graves. Gracen kept picking out the tacky fake looking ones and I was trying to steer her toward the more natural, real looking ones. But then I realized that Grandma would be thrilled with the ones Gracen had picked out, so I let her choose whatever ones she wanted to give Grandma and they were perfect. I'm sure Grandma thought so too. We still miss her so much. So, even though bittersweet, it was still a perfect Mother's Day. I am very blessed to be "Momma" to the best 2 kids anyone could have.

Annual Session, the Riverwalk & Margaritas!

2008-05-10T14:54:00.005-05:00

Last week, my bosses took our entire office to San Antonio for the Texas Dental Association's Annual Session. One of my bosses, Ty Pendergrass, was Annual Sessions Council Chair for this year, which means he spearheaded the whole thing. Kind of a big deal since it was attended by about 30,000 Tx dentists and their staff. He has been working on it for about 4 yrs now. On his nametag, there was a yellow ribbon that said "Big Cheese"!! We teased my other boss that that must make him the "little cheese"....he wasn't amused. Anyway....it was so nice to... a)get a free trip to San Antonio, b)knock out all my CE reqs for this year and next year, c) have some "girl time" with my co-workers, d) have the absolute BEST margarita I have EVER had, it was a mango-swirl w/ fresh mango puree----heavenly!, e) absolutely BEST of all, was getting to see my old boss, Dr Jim Hollifield. A few years ago, he retired and moved to California, where his wife is a Methodist minister. It was so much fun to see him and reminisce about the "old days", he is a precious man whom I love dearly. I didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw him and busted down bawling like a big baby!
It has been years since I have been to San Antonio and I forgot how beautiful it is in May, not too hot yet. And the Riverwalk is a really cool place and did I mention where I got the most delicious margarita EVER!!! It was such a fun trip, I wish my family had been there. Gracen was so mad when she heard I was going, she wanted to go so bad. This year, in Tx history, they studied the Alamo and actually watched the "Alamo" movie and she is doing a report on Davy Crockett. When I told her i was going to SA, she said "Well, I'm going too!" and i told her that she couldnt because I would be in meetings all day and where would she go. To which she replied "I'll just hang out at the Alamo!" Ummmm, probably not. But, I think this has caused us to change our summer vacation plans from Galveston to San Antonio. Gracen says that absolutely everyone has been to Sea World except her. Well, we certainly can't let that embarrassment go on any longer!! What kind of parents would we be??

Praise the Lord, hallelujah, go to church.....

2008-04-28T09:25:00.004-05:00

Track is OVER!!! Barrett qualified to go the Amarillo Relays in the 2400 (mile & a half) and the 1600 (mile). They tried to have the meet about a week ago, when it was in the 40's and raining/sleeting, but ended up having to cancel it. But unfortunately for Barrett, they cancelled it AFTER he ran the mile & a half in that miserable weather. I have never felt so sorry for a kid (all of them actually) by the end of it he was dripping wet & shivering. He said he couldn't even hold his head up when he was running against the north wind and the sleet. Miserable. But, on the day they finished it up, last Tuesday, the weather was gorgeous, thank God! He ran the mile in 6 min. flat, which I thought was really fast, but he probably got about 10th or 11th place, I'm not sure. But i do know he didn't get last, there were 4 or 5 kids after him. The winner (from Bowie) ran a 5.18. There are some speedy kids in Amarillo. But I was so proud of him, especially considering he didn't get any genes for long distance running from either his mom or dad! :-) He told me on the way home he was so happy because that was the last track meet he would ever have to run in......AMEN brother!
The last couple of weekends we have been "kidless" and it has been kind of weird. Weekend before last, both of them went on a youth trip w/ the church. So, being on our own, Lon & I started out the weekend by sleeping in (well actually only I got to sleep in, Lon had to take the kids to the church by 7am!) anyway, we went to lunch at one of our favorite spots....Basil Doc's. Their pizza is to die for, not to mention the basil bread w/ olive tapenade. We decided to try one of their "white pizzas" that is drizzled w/ olive oil instead of tomato sauce. I never dreamed Lon would go for something like that, but he informed me he is becoming a "man of the world" and trying new things......:-) OK--whatever. Anyway, the pizza was delicious! We got the Pinnarello, which had fresh basil, sun-dried tomato, mushrooms and cheese. (Notice, not any meat...again, very unusual for Lon....maybe he IS becoming a man of the world :-) Then we went to what has become one of our favorite activities-----a Tascosa baseball game. We absolutely love watching them play, and the son of a friend of ours plays 2nd base. Plus, they are pretty good this year, even beating Amarillo High once. Tascosa easily has the nicest, most beautifully groomed field in this area, no one else even comes close. They mow the grass in a pattern, just like the big leagues. It is something the Tascosa dads take alot of pride in, as they should, it is gorgeous. Baseball is such a fun game to watch at the high school/college level. Lon's love of the game has rubbed off on me, he has taught me so much about it. It is sooo much more complicated than I thought, which makes it so fun to watch. Finally, we rounded out the day with more Italian food at Carino's, which included drinks and dessert! It was so nice to just leisurely enjoy the day together, we even managed to get a nap in!!
This past weekend, we ended having a few hours to ourselves when Barrett went golfing w/ his buddies and Gracen went to Brush w/ Art with a friend. It was a miracle that they didn't have games, but barrett's baseball team was off this weekend and gracen finished up w/ volleyball a couple weeks ago. So..... I was able to talk Lon into going to the mall w/ me, you know, being a man of the world and everything, he ought to enjoy the mall. Well, he was patient for a little while, but I knew I was pushing my luck, so we didn't stay too long. But, it dawned on us that we are not that far away from the kids totally doing their own thing on the weekends, which is bittersweet. On one hand, it will give us more time to spend together, which we look forward to. But, on the other hand, it means they are growing up and it won't be too long before they are gone from home, which makes me sad. Just last thursday night, it was Wonderland Night for our school, and for the first time ever, they both went w/ friends and Lon & I didn't go at all. Which was GREAT, don't get me wrong, just different. The last few years, they totally hang w/ their friends and only talk to us if they need money :-), but at least we were there. Not this year, they were totally on their own.....well, for the most part, they still needed a ride home! That night as they were getting ready to head out, barrett said "Momma, remember when we would go to Wonderland, just me, you, daddy & gracen and we would stay together and not go with our friends?" Yeah, I do remember it, for me it seems like it was only a couple years ago. In fact, our very first "Wonderland Night", when barrett was in kindergarten @ Paramount Terrace, I got talked into riding the Rattle Snake River Ride (I have a personal rule not to ever ride water rides....gross!) and sure enough one of those water cannons exploded right when i was in front of it, soaking me from head to toe! Everyone in the family thought that was just the most hilarious thing. Not me. Needless to say, Wonderland Night ground to an ugly and screeching halt after that! And to this day, you will never, EVER, catch me on the Rattlesnake River Ride. I just smile & wave as those morons go splashing by. Even considering that, it is still a precious memory that seems like happened only yesterday......Now, kind of like track, we only have one year left of "Wonderland Night" then we'll be done for good. High school kids don't have Wonderland Night....*sigh*

A reminder.....

2008-04-10T14:06:00.002-05:00

I posted about a year ago that track blows goats. Well, I was reminded yesterday that it still does, even more so than I originally thought! If you don't live in Amarillo, allow me to set the scene......45 degrees, overcast, wind/rain blowing about 15 to 20 mph. I just knew they would cancel the whole thing......WRONG!! I got my hopes up when Gracen called me to say all field events had been cancelled (she throws shot & discus) YEA!!! But the track events were going ahead as scheduled.....bummer. So, I took my blanket and headed out to Dick Bivins Stadium. Barrett was running the 2400 (mileand a half--gross) and the 1600 (mile--also gross), but even worse was the 2400 was the very first event, at around 3:30 and the 1600 was almost last at 7:30......for those of you keeping count thats FOUR hours sitting freezing my rear off. But at least I had a blanket, I felt so sorry for those kids, they looked miserable! Oh, and did I mention that the misty rain that was falling caused the hairspray in my hair to cement into a lovely brown football helmet!! (ie--Steel Magnolias) Yeah, I was lookin pretty good when I left there. You know, if my kids enjoyed it, I would sit out there all day and not make a peep. But they both hate it. Last year, Barrett kind of liked it and was pretty successful at it, he really liked those long distances. But, this year he is about 5in taller and probably weighs 20-25 lbs more. He has really gone through a growth spurt in the last year and has filled out alot. Consequently, he's not as aerodynamic as he used to be :-) Still, he finished 5th place in the 2400 out of about 20 kids, not bad. Like I said, Gracen does the shot and discus and shes actually not too bad at it, she just doesn't like it. Totally don't blame her. But, since they go to the smallest middle school in Ama, they really need everyone to participate in track & field. Thank goodness it's almost over and then we'll only have one more year of track. (Which I'm sure will continue to blow goats next year as well!!)

Refining....

2008-04-07T08:22:00.005-05:00

A few years ago, the preacher @ our church, who had been there for many years, led a kind of revolt and basically extorted our church for alot of money, saying if we didn't give him what he wanted, he would leave and take a large portion of our congregation w/ him. I was so proud of the leadership at the time because they refused to be manipulated and told him (in as loving a way as possible) to go right ahead. He made good on his threat, leaving and taking a good number of our members with him. The resulting split was devastating to our church and did untold damage to lots of families. I wondered at the time if we could ever recover, it seemed we were wounded beyond repair. But nothing, I found out, is ever wounded beyond repair for God. In fact, in retrospect, I see how God was working in that situation. The old preacher had to be removed as well as some of the members he took w/ him, in order for God's plan to begin to unfold for our church and its mission in downtown amarillo. To actually take the gospel to the hurting people that were literally w/in yards of our church. We were so fortunate that God chose a special man to be the pulpit minister for this new season in our church history. Dan Bouchelle has been our preacher ever since "the split" and God laid on his heart thru the Holy Spirit, the new mission He had planned for our church. I have never EVER heard a preacher like Dan, the HS works thru him in ways I have never experienced before. His sermons cut me to the heart, which is a good thing. If you try to compliment him, though, he totally deflects any praise from himself and gives it to God. Which is as it should be. I thank God for what He is doing thru this man. Dan is so transparent about his struggles and failures, it makes me realize that "Hey, he struggles w/ the same things I do. " So, I try to give all the glory to God and not elevate Dan to an exalted position that he could never possibly live up to. He is a man, that God is speaking thru to reach a hurting world. My point in saying all this is to say you have GOT to listen to his sermon from Sunday, April 6th. It can be found at amarillocentral.org. Well, I don't guess you've GOT to, but it would be well worth your time. It concerns the politics that seem to consume the airwaves these days. It seems like alot of Christians are putting faith in the political system to change our world/country, when the ONLY one who can do that is God Himself, thru Christ Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that we, as Christians don't have the luxury of sitting out the political process. I believe it is my duty to vote, and I do. Too many brave patriots have given their very lives for that right. I don't take it for granted. I also have my opinions about who is the best candidate, which I won't go into here. I also believe it is my duty to pray for our leaders, whatever political party they happen to be. I believe our leaders, especially the President, deserve respect, whether I agree with them politically or not. They deserve not to be ridiculed and called names, i.e.liar, stupid, etc, etc. But, I think that our greatest calling as Christians is to change the world by "being Jesus" to the people we come into contact with every day. Basically, changing the world from the "bottom up", not the other way around. Which is what Dan said yesterday, only much more eloquently. Actually, it's what Jesus said too, only not in those exact words. So...... check it out.
On another note, the book I am reading, Isaac's Storm, is going pretty slow, laying the groundwork for how weather is forecast, kind of dull stuff. But now, about half way through, it is finally getting around to why the Galveston storm in 1900 was a such a surprise with so much loss of life (estimates of 6,000-10,000 lives lost). It addresses the hubris that existed at the turn of the last century concerning man's mastery of weather. Basically the "Titanic Mindset", very interesting. I'll keep you posted.

Great book!!

2008-04-02T18:30:00.004-05:00

I just finished a book called---same kind of different as me (ron hall & denver moore) I can't recommend it highly enough. Although, one caveat, bring your kleenex. Don't let that put you off though. It is a fairly short book and a quick read. It is a true story about a Christian couple trying to make a difference in the lives of the homeless in downtown Ft. Worth. It was really meaningful to me, considering Lon's mom spent the last 30 yrs of her life, serving those very people at Faith City Mission in Amarillo. It dispenses with alot of fears and stereotypes people have about homeless people ( probably confirms some too) and (for me at least) made me take a second look at my own biases. Check it out, you won't be sorry. The book I'm about to start now is called Isaac's Storm. It is the story of Isaac Cline, who was one of the early meteorologists with the NWS at the turn of the 20th century in Galveston. It chronicles the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, still the deadliest natural disaster in our nations history. Needless to say, I have very eclectic reading tastes.

What happened?

2008-03-10T12:00:00.003-05:00

Someone asked me the other day...."Hey, what happened to your blog?" Well, I have gone on kind of a "blog-diet". It seemed like I was spending WAY too much time reading blogs and checking my own blog. Time that, quite honestly, I don't have to spare. (Who does, right?) And I was getting kind of wound up about stuff, like the Oprah thing. Don't get me wrong, I meant every word I wrote about Oprah, and I continue to pray for those that I think are being misled. But I just kind of needed to take a step back. I do, however, continue to pray for the "T-18 families" that I found thru blogging. I honestly believe I was led to these blogs by the Spirit so that I could be in prayer for these families. Their faith is an inspiration to me. But, from now on, my own blog will probably be confined to the more mundane details of my life.

That being said, we have been up to our eyeballs in "club volleyball" since the first weekend in January. Gracen has gotten so much better, just from playing against all the other club teams around here, and there are LOTS! It can be a VERY expensive endeavor, but we were able to get her on a team with an excellent coach for a fraction of what most parents are paying to be in club ball. So, for the most part it has been a positive experience. Notice, I said ...."for the most part" because the conduct of "some" parents has been shocking. And I don't consider myself naive about these things since Barrett played club baseball for several years. But, volleyball parents seem to be in a class by themselves!!

Another mundane detail... I am a Children's Leader in BSF, I teach a class of 13!! two year olds on Thursdays from 9-11:30. Last week, one of them bit me and another one took a swing at me, so......needless to say, I have been struggling with whether this is where God really wants me to serve. I have never been a "kid person", but when they asked me to do this, I felt it was what I was supposed to do. That was 2 years ago. Last year I taught the older class and we only had 4 kids on our role and usually only 2 of them showed up. But this year I was assigned the youngest class--2yr olds, and though our role has fluctuated, it has always been at least 11 children. Usually, it is mass chaos, as there are a few that are having a very hard time with our very structured routine. But, last Thusday was the worst day yet. I am finding myself dreading it more and more every week, and I keep praying for guidance and confirmation that this is still where He wants me to serve. Lon has said that it is obvious that I don't have joy in doing it. Which is not completely true, because there quite a few of those children that I absolutely love, and can't wait to see each week, it's just a few that I have a problem with. I just keep asking "Is it not getting any easier because I am being rebellious and keep dwelling on the fact that I wish I wasn't there, or.....maybe it's not getting easier because God is leading me to serve elsewhere?" I will certainly complete this year, but am seriously considering giving my resignation after that. But, I know that will put BSF in a big bind as far as having enough teachers for next year and possibly they wouldn't be able to open all the classes. Which would mean, some ladies might not be able to come to Bible study because they wouldn't have childcare for their children. Guilt....guilt.....guilt!! I pray that this decision will become clear in the next few weeks.

Happy Birthday Barrett!!

2008-01-07T08:30:00.001-06:00

Barrett turned 14 this morning @ 6:27. In some ways, it seems like I blinked my eyes and here we are 14yrs later. And in other ways that seems like a lifetime ago. Approx. 6 wks before Barrett was born, Lon's dad, Loren passed away in the hospice after a battle with cancer. So, for the most part, when I remember my pregnancy, I remember being sad. Lon & I had prayed so fervently that Loren would live long enough to see his 16th grandchild, but it was not to be. Loren passed away in November 1993. Also, in October 1993, one of our dear friend's father committed suicide. She was pregnant, too. Her son was born a couple of months after Barrett. Then, in December 93, a friend I had grown up with, who had been my best friend in gradeschool, passed away from an unknown illness. She was buried in early Jan. 94, a few days before Barrett was born. She was only 29. It just seemed like the main thing I used my maternity clothes for was to attend funerals. There were some happy times, too. The day after Loren's funeral, on December 1st, 1993, my nephew Corbin, was born. To this day, he is Barrett's best friend, they are more like brothers than cousins. And, also on that day, we closed on our first home. It was so exciting to be in our own home right before our first child was born. We had many happy times in that house. I still miss it sometimes and drive by often. Anyway, the day of Barrett's birth didn't go exactly as planned. (Do they ever?) His heart beat starting going down with every contraction, so they decided to deliver him by C-section, and at 6:27 am, Barrett McKee was born with the cord wrapped around his neck and looking like the bluest little smurf you ever saw. Thank goodness we did the C-section when we did, but he recovered within minutes and was fine. It was a happy day in the Packard family for once. Lon's mother, Donna, was there. She was absolutely crazy about babies. She called them her "itty bitties". And this particular "itty bitty" was her baby's baby. (Lon is the youngest of 7!!!) Sadly, she passed away, also from cancer, when Barrett was 2. So, as I'm thumbing thru the scrapbook, those pics of her at the hospital, after his birth, are extra special. It's so funny, everybody looks so young in these pictures, especially Lon!! Also, my sister-in-law--Luain looked so young (not that she looks old now, not at all, she still looks great!) but we all just looked so young. Luain was one of the first ones to see Barrett, because she worked at the hospital. Anyway, there was lots of family there and it was a memorable time. And now, here we are 14 yrs later. Even though I miss those sweet baby times, I have enjoyed every stage with my kids. It is so much fun now to relate to them on a more adult level. Their sense of humor and personalities are so much fun. Just when you think you have them figured out, they develop a new "wrinkle" in their personality. Well, God has been good to us in the last 14 yrs. We are blessed. Happy Birthday, Barrett. We love you so much.

2008

2008-01-01T12:52:00.000-06:00

Well, the hurry & rush of Christmas is over and the new year is here. I know it is such cliche, but, where does the time go? This time of year always makes me a little wistful (along with the end of the school year and the end of summer.) This year is no different. I always wish for a time machine to go back and snuggle my babies when they were actually babies for just a little while. I don't think I appreciated that time near enough. But, at the same time, I want to fully appreciate now and not waste it being wistful about the past. Still.....a time machine would be great, for maybe an hour or two.
This year has been a blessed one for our family, for the most part, everyone is healthy. Lon's business has stayed strong, despite the downturn in the real estate market. My father, who Lon works for, was diagnosed with Parkinson's dx, but, despite a small tremor, he continues to be able to work, and we are thankful for that. Barrett had a small surgery in November to "re-route" some blood vessels and that went well, thanks for the many prayers for him. He has hit his growth spurt and is now taller than Gracen for the first time in a couple of years, for which he is very thankful. He played football again this year and his team (8th gr. de Zavala Wolves) went undefeated until the championship game, where they lost their first game in 2 yrs. It was probably good for them to lose, they were starting to take winning for granted. But, his main sport continues to be baseball. This spring will be Lon's last year to coach his team, which will be bittersweet for them both. Barrett will be a 9th grader at Tascosa next year....I'm not ready for that, to say the least! Gracen is playing volleyball and loves it quite a bit, however, her true love is for animals, particularly, horses. Last year, a friend of ours, who is a member of Range Riders, gave her lessons on riding and general "horse knowledge" until his horse, Gus, got hurt roping. We hope to continue those when Gus is feeling better. I can't even tell you how much that girl loves animals! This year her gerbil, Pepper died, after a long life. Saying she was devastated would be an understatement. So, for Christmas, all she wanted was a pair of guinea pigs to take Pepper's place. I told her unequivocally "NO!!!", but for weeks, she kept begging, leaving me notes all over the house saying "Please get your one and only daughter a guinea pig for Christmas!!" or she would walk by me and quickly whisper in my ear as she went by "guinea pig!!" I stood my ground and said NO, but her daddy succumbed to her charms and told me..."She's a good kid who never asks for much....if she wants a guinea pig, she's getting a guinea pig." So, off to Petsmart we went, the Friday before Christmas, to get the "pigs". She raced past me in the parking lot and by the time I caught up to her at the guinea pig cage, she had already decided which ones she wanted! Soon, we had "Jasper" & "Eddie" and all their accoutrement and were on our way home. She was ecstatic!! So.....fast forward to the next Friday, Dec. 28th. We were going out to Lon's brothers house to see some of the Packard cousins who live out of town. Lon stayed home because he wasn 't feeling well, so I gave him some Nyquil and the kids & I headed out. We were there for several hours. When we got home, Gracen went to her room and started shrieking and crying. The door to Jasper & Eddie's cage was open and they were no where to be found. Lon came staggering in from his Nyquil-induced coma. We told her to calm down, they had to be there somewhere. So we started searching her room, all the while trying to figure out what happened. It became apparent that Maizie, our weenie dog, had gotten the cage open, somehow. I found Jaspers body in the laundry room, he was dead, but not mangled. Gracen was hysterical. We kept searching for Eddie, I was hoping maybe he was alive, somewhere, having run for his life. We searched until well past midnite, no Eddie. Finally, Gracen cried herself to sleep. We got up the next am and cont the search. First, her closet, no luck. Then the hall closet, again, no luck. So, I got down on my knees and said a prayer, asking God to please lead us to find him. The next place I looked was Barrett's closet and sure enough, there he was buried under all the clothes in the corner, but unfortunately, he also was dead, though not mangled. I was so mad at Maizie, I couldn't even see straight. I was screaming at her and telling how bad she was. But, my sweet daughter.....she was crying and begging me not to be mean to Maizie. She said "Momma, she was only doing what is her instinct." and she hugged and loved on Maizie and told her it was OK. At that point God was showing me that my children are much better people than me, with much kinder, more forgiving hearts. I was amazed at how Gracen was able to forgive so easily after Maizie had done such a horrible thing. She said "Momma, Jasper & Eddie look just like Maizie's toy hedge hog and she was probably just wanting to play with them." Even though she was immersed in grief, she still was able to immediately forgive. What a Christ-like attitude. I need to work on that for myself. I'm not one to make resolutions, but I am going to try to emulate the sweet spirit of my daughter this year. I am thankful to God for the blessings as well as the trials that 2007 brought, I feel like I am closer to Him now than when I started the year and this time next year, I hope to be even closer to Him still. He showed me that He cares about every detail, even about missing guinea pigs. And I know that whatever 2008 brings, He will grant me the grace to handle it as He is ever transforming me into His image. I pray His blessings on your and yours this year. Love, Susan

True thanksgiving

2007-11-28T15:24:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, our preacher was out of town, so he asked our music minister to put together a Thanksgiving service. So, Steven had these 2 white boards up front where you could go up and write something you were thankful for. I usually don't participate in that kind of thing just because I feel too self-concious. Ordinarily, I would just make a mental list of some of things I am thankful for. But, after sitting through most of the service Sunday and running through my mental list, I realized that if I wrote everything down, I would be up there all day. However, I really felt compelled to go down and write at least one thing. This was it..."I am thankful for Barrett's successful surgery and the skill and expertise of Dr. Gerald Malkuch and Dr. Mike Wilkerson." Two days before Thanksgiving, Barrett had to have surgery. Not anything earth-shattering, but surgery (w/ full anesthesia) none the less. There is nothing quite like the feeling of watching your child being wheeled away to be anesthetized and cut open. Talk about trust, you are placing your complete trust in several people, that they know what they are doing with your kid. But, I had complete peace of mind this time. (As opposed to the last time he had surgery when he was about 2, that time I was a basket case!) This time, one of the things I prayed for was peace of mind and no fear for Lon & I. Guess what? It worked!! I didn't tell alot of people about the surgery, just due to the personal nature of it, I didn't want to embarrass Barrett any more than necessary. But, I did tell my BSF leaders circle and a few of our close friends and family and I felt so covered in prayer that day. It was the most secure feeling. While we were waiting for him to come out of surgery, our cell phones rang off the hook, with people checking on us and wondering how it was going. The people that God has put in our lives to "stand in the gap" for us is amazing and all I can say is thankyou, thankyou thankyou. Barrett came thru the surgery with flying colors thanks to those 2 amazing doctors with their God-given talents. There are so many things I have to be thankful for that I won't go into here, but suffice it to say, this Thanksgiving Day, I was one thankful girl!

UN-favorite things!

2007-10-18T14:05:00.000-05:00

OK the last post was about some of my favorite things. So, this one is about some of my un-favorites. Not that I am in any way complaining about my life, I know I am incredibly blessed. These are kinda just for fun. Please feel free to comment if you have anything to add....

1) Middle school girls who REPEATEDLY "decorate" our yard with enough toilet paper to last our family for a year!! (Not to mention forks, yarn, cut-up straws, silly string, caution tape, styrofoam peanuts) But, last weekend, I must say, they outdid themselves. Not only was our yard a complete white-out with toilet paper, but they covered our sidewalk, from our front door to the street, in maple syrup and dumped Cap'n Crunch in it. Gross would be an understatement! Maizie didn't think so though! She was thinking, "This is the best thing ever! Someone just came and left all this delicious stuff on our sidewalk. I think I'll run through it and get it all over me! Then run back in the house to show Mom what I did!" Leaving her sticky pawprints all over. She was in heaven. I, on the other hand, not too happy. Lon & I had to admit though, it was an impressive job, the best one yet. I just wonder who is paying for this stuff, it had to have cost a fortune, and, like I said, it happens repeatedly, at least once a month (sometimes more) since about April. So....that is one middle school rite of passage that I won't be too sorry to leave behind! Sheesh...outgrow it already!
2) 30+ mph wind....in the fall, that is the one season when we aren't supposed to have that much wind! (why do I even bother with my hair?)
3) Barrett's complete allergic meltdown in reaction to the above mentioned wind
4) teachers who think huge "at-home" projects are a great idea (don't get me wrong, I love teachers, just not the projects)
5) getting hail damage.....in OCTOBER!!! It's crazy.
6) never having time to scrapbook anymore :-(
7) Lon getting a rock chip in the windshield of his new pickup
8) waking up early to take Gracen to early-morning practice
9) Dusting (that is just a never-ending job, isn't it?)
10) Flies! (I know, I know, they're part of the food chain and everything, but boy are they annoying! Come on first freeze!)
11) Printer running out of ink in the middle of Barrett's school project (honestly, you think I could get a little warning here....well OK, maybe I did, but it just kills me to pony up $70 for two measly ink cartridges)
12) Paying $70 for 2 measly ink cartridges!

I simply remember my favorite things.......

2007-10-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm kinda in an Oprah mood and thought I would list some of my favorite things. Some are minor and frivolous and others not. Please leave a comment about some of your favorite things. (But who am I kidding, I know that only one person reads this blog, so.....Arlene please list some of your favorites! :-) keeping in mind that Starbuck's coffee is a given!!

1) Burts Bees Lipbalm (the mint kind, not the honey kind)
2) cool crisp fall mornings
3) Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (this stuff keeps your eyeshadow in place all day AND it comes in a really cool little "I Dream of Jeanne" looking bottle.)
4) the new Ulta store, I could stay in there for hours. (thats how i found the eyeshadow primer)
5) Jamaican Me Crazy coffee (blend of Kahlua, Carmel and Vanilla) YUM!
6) Ghiradelli milk chocolate squares w/caramel-heaven!
7) my daughter NOT having a gerbil in her room any more!
8) Maizie's little "I'm so happy to see you!!" circle dance that she does EVERY time I come home, even if I've only been gone a few minutes.
9) the fact that Gracen contemplated baptism all summer and made the decision that it was "time" on Sunday, Sept. 9......the day before my birthday. What a gift!
10)Youth ministers that are totally invested in my kids' spiritual growth.
11)my boss surprising the staff with a trip to Dallas later this month, staying in a "foo-foo" hotel downtown and treating us to "foo-foo" restaurants. very nice.
12) the fact that my kids still act like they know me when I take them lunch @ school, even hugging me goodbye in front of their friends.
13) james avery earrings for my birthday!!!!!
14)my new i-pod, even though not completely sure how to use it yet. :-) (my bro-in-law informed me the other day that Lon & I were the ONLY ones @ the town club that didn't have them, to which I replied "I know, its great, we can discuss anything or anyone, and nobody is the wiser!!")
15)Lon & I working out together @ the town club, just talking about the day.
16)the new sushi place downtown.

Baby Copeland

2007-09-23T10:32:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been following the blog of a family in TN. They found out in June that the baby girl they were expecting had a chromosomal abnormality called Trisomy 18. (T-18 babies usually only live hours or days) http://www.conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com/ I urge you, if you are willing, to pray for this family. Their courage and absolute faith in God's plan are humbling and awe-inspiring at the same time. The mom, Boothe, is the granddaughter of Everett & Peggy Blanton, who were ministers and elder at our church for many years. I love them dearly and even though I don't know their granddaughter, I have fallen in love with this amazing family, especially, their new baby daughter, Copeland, who was born Sept. 18 and against dr.'s predictions, went home from the hospital yesterday. However, she still has T-18, so her time on earth will be short. But, God is so good and His ways are above our ways, and He is using this precious baby to touch the lives of literally thousands of people, thru the internet. Check it out, you will be blessed.
PS...it kinda puts worries about gerbils and inconsiderate friends into perspective.

Life lessons

2007-08-30T14:24:00.000-05:00

There are some things that you go through in life that, though are horrible at the time, mold and shape you into a better, more compassionate person, therefore, more Christlike. Some are huge life-altering lessons and some are just bumps in the road that most everyone experiences at one time or another. Well, Gracen just experienced one of these "bumps", although to her, at 12, it seems huge. And, it breaks my heart, as her Mom, to watch her go through it. For Christmas almost 3yrs ago, she asked for "something alive, something with a beating heart." YIKES, that grossed me out so bad, but Gracie is a major animal lover and she wanted something of her very own, unlike Maizie, who is the "family's" dog. She begged and begged for months for a hamster or gerbil or something along those lines. (I had to draw the line on lizards or snakes! YUK!) It was the only thing she wanted for Christmas. So, finally, I relented, and on Christmas Eve, we went to Petsmart and she picked out the cutest little black gerbil with a little white stripe on his chin. To say Gracen was ecstatic would be an understatement!!! She immediately named him "Pepper". So we brought Pepper and all his "stuff" home. What the people at Petsmart had failed to tell me is that gerbils are nocturnal! He would make the loudest racket at night...eating, running on his wheel, grinding his teeth on the bars of his cage, etc etc and sleep like a baby all day! Pepper wore out his welcome in a hurry, but Gracen still loved him, so he stayed. He actually had a very sweet personality. He would let you scratch him behind the ears, would come up and put his front paws on your finger and he never once made an attempt to bite anyone. I wasn't sure what the lifespan of gerbils was, but he thrived on the tons of love and attention he got from Gracen. We soon found his favorite food was sunflower seeds and he would take them right from your hand. It was so cute. Anyway, 2years went by and Pepper flourished and Gracen loved him...alot. The past few months I noticed he was slowing down some, not near as active at night, not eating as much and getting a little gray around the mouth. ( I could sympathize with old Pepper!) Well, Tuesday night while we were at the Athletic mtg @ school, Pepper passed away. Gracie has been devastated ever since, she just cries and cries. I try to make her feel better by telling her that Pepper led a wonderful, long life being loved and cared for by a precious little girl who has a God-given gift of tenderness and love for all animals. She wasn't buying it, she sobbed uncontrollably. She wanted to stay home from school Wed, but I told her she needed to go to keep her mind off of it. What really touched my heart about the whole thing was her brother, who normally bickers constantly with her and they never have a kind word for each other, was the one who gingerly removed Pepper from his cage and wrapped him up in a paper towel and dug the grave and buried him. It was so sweet, I was so proud of Barrett. What I don't get, however, is how cruel some kids can be. She called all her friends Tuesday night to let them know what had happened, since they were all quite acquainted with Pepper. They were all so kind, offering condolences, except one. When Gracie told her, she just died laughing and said "Get over it! He was just a rat!" I cannot even imagine being that cruel and cold-hearted and I am so glad that she isn't my kid. I'm thankful that my own children are kind and sympathetic, especially to their friends. Anyway, that is what we are dealing with right now. In the grand scheme of things, pretty insignificant, but right now, it is a big deal.

First day of school

2007-08-28T08:26:00.000-05:00

The first day of school 07-08 came and went pretty uneventfully. Both Barrett & Gracen seem to be impressed with their teachers. Gracen declared that she didn't think there was a mean one in the bunch! (So, she's got that going for her :-) Even though I dread school starting, it was nice to have the day to try to get my house back in order after the chaos of summer. Both kids are in athletics (Barrett in 8th gr & Gracen in 7th) so I guess our days of Kids Inc. are behind us now. I never thought I would say this, but that makes me a little sad. Gracen was a bundle of nerves for the first day, since it was also the first day of a 2wk process of trying out for the volleyball team. Even though she is great player, her confidence is a little shaky. She was just convinced that there would be tons of transfer students that were all awesome v-ball players and she wouln't make the team. That, thankfully, didn't turn out to be the case. There are quite a few transfers, but I would stack Gracie's v-ball skills against theirs any day. Now her concern is that she will be on the silver team while all her friends will be on the gold. I'm telling you, the kid has no confidence, and I can talk til I'm blue in the face about how great a player she is and it goes in one ear and out the other. Personally, I think it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be on the silver team, she would get more playing time. It will all work out for the best, I'm sure.
Barrett will be on the football team again this year. Last year, he broke his arm the first game and was out until the very end. I'm secretly hoping that this will be his last year to play football. He just doesn't have the size or speed and I'm afraid he is going to get seriously injured. But, I'm just Mom, what do I know? Right now, in middle school, being on the football team is the be all, end all, and if you're not on the team, you're just a total dork. Middle school......gosh, I don't miss that time of life.
BTW, I forgot to mention that as a surprise for Gracen, I bought "Hannah Montana" concert tickets for Dec in OKC. I know, I know, what was I thinking? Right? The things we will go through for our kids. First of all, HM tkts are not that easy to come by. I read on the internet that all the venues were selling out in less than an hr. So, I went online to get tkts for the OKC concert, but, in order to be able to "pre-buy" them before they went on sale to the unwashed masses, you had to become a premium member of "mileyworld.com" for the low, low price of $29.95, then, and ONLY then, you can have the priviledge of paying $55 each for a prized ticket!! What a racket!! I think I will get a cheesy wig and slap it on Gracen and proclaim her "Alexis Texas", add some boots and sequins and see if Disney will give her her own show and then we can go on tour and rake in millions and millions from 'tween girls and their stupid mothers who will shell out hundreds of dollars and travel hundreds of miles for the priviledge of sitting in the nose-bleed section with a pair of binoculars! (but I'm not bitter or anything!! :-) I guess I should consider myself lucky, I've heard on e-bay the tickets are going for as much as $500! I may be stupid, but not THAT stupid! The one consolation I get from all this is that I know Gracen will be thrilled and it will be a great pre-Christmas surprise. Whew!! I feel much better after venting that out!

Time flies!

2007-08-27T08:17:00.001-05:00

My "baby" turned 12 on Sunday, August 19th. Can't believe it! In a year, I will have not one, but two, teenagers! On her actual birthday, we were in Dallas, at the Soiree, so my sis-in-law got the cake for me. I had emailed her a pic of Gracen in volleyball camp, it was a great picture. The cake had the picture on it and also all these bright colored flowers, it turned out so cute and she absolutely LOVED it! I remember bringing her home from the hospital, when she was 3 days old, with an IV in her head because she had contracted Group-B strep during labor and finally had to be delivered by C-section. When she was born, she wasn't breathing and was very pale and floppy. Her first Apgar was a 2! They had to resucitate her with a bag and mask. (Thank God I didn't realize any of this at the time) Anyway, she came around pretty quick, but she was still very sick, due to the strep. So, for 7 days after she came home from the hospital, Lon & I had to administer antibiotics to her via the IV in her head. Very upsetting for Mom! I remember the nurse coming to our house right after we got home with her and having to place a new IV, because the old one had blown her vein. In order to put the new IV in, she had to shave her head a little bit, so she asked for Lon's razor and gave her a little reverse mohawk. She said "First haircut Mom!" about as nonchalantly as you please as she shaved my precious new baby's beautiful blond hair! Then she asked me to hold her down and keep her still while she put the new IV in the top of her head. Well, Gracen screamed bloody murder when she poked her, obviously! I was crying, my mom was crying, Lon was crying.....everyone was crying! As I think back on all this, I cannot even believe they expected me, the mom, to put the medicine in her IV and to hold her down while they jabbed her with a needle!! Unbelievable! Well, we all survived and now she is the most beautiful, smart (of course!), loving 12 yr old you would ever want to meet. Every birthday, my mom always says to her "I remember you coming home from the hospital with that needle in your head." and Gracen just grins & giggles. Happy Birthday my precious baby girl. Love, Momma

Random thoughts.

2007-08-26T17:53:00.000-05:00

Well, we just watched the final game of the Little League World Series, and the US won again this year!!! The SE team from Warner Robins, GA beat the team from Japan in a walk-off homerun. Yesterday, Warner Robins beat the SW team from Lubbock in the US championship. I think the Lubbock team was trying to "save" their best eligible pitcher for the championship game and got behind early and never were able to catch up. What I thought was really cool, in the championship game, when the kid hit it out to win the game, the SE team was obviously ecstatic, but the Japanese team was crying, really hard, and the American kids and their coach went over to them and started hugging them, very classy. It's kind of sad for me, because the LLWS always signals the end of summer. I was telling my friend, Arlene, this morning that I always dread the start of school because it seems like once school starts, the year just flies by and next year, Barrett will be starting high school. I am soooo not ready for that! I know every parent says this, but, it seems like only yesterday when I was holding his hand and walking him into kindergarten. (He won't let me hold his hand on the 1st day of school anymore!) Our minister wrote an article in a local magazine that really hits home for me. It was entitled "Crying through the Joy" and was about he and his wife crying on their daughter's birthdays, even though they are thrilled she is growing up, they are sad for what is being left behind. He said, "We cry because we are losing what our children were in order to welcome what they are becoming." That was comforting to me because I have always quietly chastised myself for being sad that the kids are growing up so fast. I always told myself that I should be thankful to God that my kids are healthy and I certainly had no reason to cry. (Which, believe me, I AM SO thankful for my healthy kids) But still, with each passing year, I am a little sad, and this article kind of nailed how I feel. He talks about rejoicing over each new development, yet knowing that these things slip through our fingers in the blink of an eye, each new development is also tinged with a little sadness. Yes! that's it! He went on to say-"I think what we are longing for is something the Bible calls eternity. We are trapped in this tyrannical force called time. It grinds down everything and leaves only dust in its wake. For creatures designed to live in God's eternal presence, we find this time-bound existence painful.....We long in our spirits to be set free and live in God's renewed world where time cannot steal from us any joy, blessing, or person." AMEN! Dan.
2007 Soiree has come and gone another year. Lon is the youngest of 7 (yes 7!!) kids and every summer they get together for a reunion called "The Soiree". This year it was held at Lon's sister's house in Dallas. The kids always prefer to go to her house because she has a pool. When Lon & I married, the "little kids" were the children of Lon's sisters and brothers. Now, those "little kids" have kids of their own. My kids are kind of in the middle, with everyone being alot older or quite a bit younger, so when we go to Dallas, they just hang out in the pool and I don't have to listen to whines of "I'm bored." Anyway, this year was sad because Lon's sister, Jean, passed away a few months ago. Everyone seemed more subdued. Usually, we could count on at least one alcohol fueled, heated argument over politics or religion or both. Didn't happen. Oh well, maybe next year.
I need to go and get school supplies organized and get ready to say goodbye to Summer 07, so I better get off the computer. Hopefully, this won't be my last post until January! :-)

Mission Lazarus

2007-08-14T09:58:00.000-05:00

In October, 2000, my cousin, Curtis Jones, of Portland OR, passed away of cancer at the age of 45. His oldest child, Meredith, was a senior in high school at the time. Since then, Meredith graduated HS, received her nursing degree from ACU and, as of the last few months, has taken over the directorship of Mission Lazarus clinic in Honduras. She is a young, single woman who is so focused on making a difference and following God's call on her life. I am so proud of her I can't even tell you. I know her father would be also. I am also so honored to be able to support, even in the tiniest way, her mission work. I would ask anyone reading this blog to please add her to your prayer list. You can also read about her work here: http://meredithljones.blogspot.com/

Vegas Vacation

2007-08-13T10:38:00.000-05:00

Wow! Where has this summer gone? The last days of summer always make me a little melancholy. I absolutely love the summer and always hate to see it go, but then, school starts and everything gets back into a routine, which is good. The kids & I just got back from our vacation to Las Vegas. We went with my sister and 2 of her kids and also my mom. (Lon didn't get to go, they are very bogged down at work :-( he & I will go later this fall :-) The kids have always begged to go to Las Vegas, since Lon & I go every year, but I wanted to wait until they were a little older and this year, everything just fell into place--we had a free room (lon & i don't gamble that much but we do get our room comped and a few free buffets!) and one free flight, so it wasn't that expensive and it was fun for the kids and I to save money in our "Las Vegas fund" all summer. They kicked in a large portion of their allowance, which was good for them. We had an absolute blast!! The only thing that would have made it better was if Lon could have been there. (and less crowded of course!) I always forget about the crowds, even during the middle of the week! Usually the crowds don't bother me that much because Lon will be in the sports book or at the tables and I will head out on my own to do whatever, either shopping or .....well its always shopping!! But this time we had a group of 7 and it felt like I was dragging a ball and chain around, trying to make sure everyone was with the group. Plus, my mom has sciatic nerve pain in her leg and she always lagged a little behind. It was so sweet though, Gracen and Addie (my neice) always stayed back with her so she wasn't by herself.
First thing on the agenda was to head to the Rio for their seafood buffet! All the crab legs and lobster you can eat! My kids (especially Barrett!) were in heaven. It was hilarious to watch Barrett cracking those crab legs, shells and juice were flying everywhere. Mother said she got a crab juice shower! Anyway, that was fun since lon & i don't usually do buffets (except for breakfast) they are usually pretty crowded and gross and there too many fantastic restaurants in Vegas to waste your time at a buffet. But, this was a whole different trip than what lon & i usually take.
Next, we went to the Coke and the M&M stores, they always have cool t-shirts and souvenirs. (that they are extremely proud of!! Oh well, it was vacation!) And while we were down that way, Barrett & Corbin rode the rollercoaster at NY,NY. It was a full day, we were exhausted, especially Mother!
We were staying at the Mirage, where the dolphin & white tiger habitats are. The dolphins had just had a baby in June, he was soooo cute, his name was Sgt. Pepper, going along with the whole Beatles-LOVE theme of the Mirage right now. Gracen said that was her favorite part of the trip. Also, our room looked right out where we could see the volcano erupting, pretty nice.
There were a few things that we did that, though I'm glad we did them, I don't feel the need to ever do again. One was the Hoover Dam, the traffic and crowds were a nightmare, plus, I'm terrified of heights. As far as I was concerned, we couldn't get out of there fast enough! Although, I gained enormous respect for the men that built it, very scary! Two- was the Stratosphere, the hotel that resembles the Space Needle. Again, like I said, I'm terrified of heights. Barrett & Corbin even rode one of the rides on the top! So scary and I don't EVER want to go back. and 3-the downtown area, that place is skanky and nasty and every casino reeks of cigarette smoke. Yes, all casinos have cig smoke, but the newer ones are much better ventilated. The Fremont Street Experience was not that impressive, no need to ever go back.
We also spent time shopping at an outlet mall, which was typical of EVERY outlet mall I have ever been in, no need to go back there either. But, the Fashion Show Mall is great, I go there every time we go to Vegas. And swimming, the Mirage pool is beautiful, with palm trees and waterfalls. Plus, the pool is always good free entertainment, you would absolutely not believe what people will wear to the pool when they are on vacation! Potbellied old geezers in speedos are a common sight!! Mother, Cristi & I laughed so hard our sides hurt!! And what is a trip to Vegas without going to a show. We went to a magic show on the strip that had white tigers, it was OK, but not as quality of a show as Siegfried & Roy used to be.
It was fun to watch my kids reaction to everything. They have really led a sheltered life and have rarely traveled outside of TX/OK. There are some cultures that have no concept of "personal space" and will run you right over without a second thought or stand really close in an elevator. I hadn't thought to warn the kids about that and it was funny to see their reaction and watch them stare at all the "different" styles of dress! Eye-opening for them.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip. The kids had a blast and really made some good memories with their cousins and Granny. Now, they can quit nagging Lon & I about going. :-) Oh, I almost forgot---I got a PF Changs fix!! We ate there for lunch on Tuesday, it was delicious!! Kung Pao shrimp and Gen. Chang's chicken! But, somehow, not quite the same without Lon. We will definitely have to hit it again when we go back!

Smokin'!!

2007-06-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

Father's Day 2007 has come and gone, it was a wonderful day. My own father (and mother) surprised us by showing up at our church and joining us for worship. But, Father's Day is always a little bittersweet as it also includes a trip to the cemetery to visit the grave of Lon's dad, Loren Packard, who died of cancer in November 1993, just about 6wks before our son Barrett was born. But, this year, I had special surprise planned for Lon. For the longest time now, Lon has wanted a Tiernan Son of Brisket smoker, but they are sooo expensive, and Lon always says that isn't something we should spend money on right now. If it was something I wanted, he would not hesitate to get it, but, being the awesome husband and father he is, he always puts himself last. So, I wanted to surprise him with one, by paying for it on my own (no easy task since they cost over $900!) without him realizing why I never had any money the last month or so!! I had it delivered on Fri. afternoon and had them put it on the side of the house, hoping and praying that he wouldn't go over there before Sunday. The kids and I could barely contain our excitement for those 2 days and I was also praying that they would be able to keep our secret! Well, they did. Sun morn rolled around and I wrapped up some babyback ribs, a sauce mop and the ultimate grilling cookbook (according to the people at Tiernan) for him to open, then we led him out, blindfolded, to the smoker. The look on his face was worth every penny of that $900!! He was like a little kid, so excited, he couldn't wait to get to church to tell all his buddies. And it was so gratifying for me to finally do something nice for him like he has done many, many times for me. Did I mention that I absolutely ADORE my husband? He works so hard and like I said, always puts himself last. He loves me and the kids in such a sacrificial way, I still marvel at God's blessing when he sent me Lon Packard. They say that a girl will usually marry a man like her father, and every day i pray that God is grooming a man like Lon for Gracen. Anyway, this weekend we are going to christen the smoker, by smoking those ribs.....yummo! (as rachel would say!)

About worship at Central on Sunday, I have heard many poignant sermons about Mothers on Mother's Day, but Sunday was one of the few poignant sermons I have heard on Fathers, in fact, it was the MOST touching, relevant sermon I have ever heard on Fathers. To hear Dan speak about his own father in such a moving way and relate that to how our Father in Heaven loves us......very emotional. And to cap it off, our worship minister led the most poignant (sorry I keep using that word, but it is the perfect description) heart tugging prayer about fathers I have ever heard, there couldn't have been a dry eye in the house. I would highly recommend listening to both the sermon and the prayer here: http://centralcofc.com

WEINER NATIONALS!!!

2007-05-21T13:44:00.000-05:00

For the first time this year, (I've wanted to do it for several years) we entered our dog "Maizie" in the Weiner National Weenie Dog race. Now, if you've never witnessed a weenie dog race, that is something you have GOT to put on your to-do list. That was the funniest thing ever! I've never seen so many weenie dogs in one place! Although, there were a few that I would question their "weenie dog" pedigree. None the less, it was a blast. Maizie was racing in the 8th heat (there were 8 heats with 6-8 dogs per heat). Lon said there was no way she would know what to do and laughed at me for even entering her. Well, let me just say, she didn't know what to do, but she was not alone in that regard!! Most of the dogs ran out of the starting gate and started sniffing each others butts! Some jumped over the rope and ran amok in the crowd. Some, however, were highly trained and knew exactly what to do. There were some owners that were VERY serious about the race. (The winner got a trip to San Diego to compete at the national level during the Holiday Bowl) But, I was so proud of Maizie, she came out of the gate a little slow, doing the butt sniffing thing but then here she came ambling (not running mind you) towards me at the finish line and I thought she was going to win her heat for sure and at the last minute this little long haired weenie came racing past her, so she got second in her heat, not bad for a first try. At the finish line, she went to a total stranger and rolled over on her back at the lady's feet. It was hilarious! Those people are very serious about it though, there was a lady standing next to me at the finish line that was screaming cuss words because she thought the people near the starting line were distracting her dog! Oh well, we'll have to train for next year. "She coulda been a contenda!"

Things with a plug

2007-05-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

For probably about the last year, I have been scouring the internet and checking local sales looking for the best deal on a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer. For some reason, I am dying to have one, not that I am a cook or anything, I just think they are really cool. And, I probably really would use one several times a year. So, I've been looking and looking. I was tempted to buy one on Ebay, but chickened out. Anyway, when Mother's Day rolled around, that is what I asked for--a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer in Imperial Yellow. Well, Lon was a little leary about buying me a mixer for Mother's Day. He said he's always heard that you NEVER buy your wife a gift that has a plug or involves work and that he was afraid I might be mad at him later for getting me a kitchen appliance as a gift. But I assured him that was what I wanted, it was what I was asking (more like begging) for. So, a few days before Mother's Day, armed with my 20% off coupon, we went to Bed Bath & Beyond and ordered my mixer in Imperial Yellow. I probably didn't get the best deal, but at least I knew it was a reputable seller. So now I am the proud owner of a Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer in Imperial Yellow!!! Yea!!!! I am so excited, I can't wait to whip something up. I haven't had time yet, May is always soooo crazy with end of school events, Wonderland night, teacher apprec., 5th gr. blessing, etc. Send drinks for this, send cookies for that! However, it is a kind of crazy that I love, even though I gripe about it, I know the day is coming soon when the kids will be gone and I will long for the days when May was full of end of school frenzy. Summer is coming though. My favorite time of year. I love everything about summer.......the smell of chlorine, legs sticking to hot seats, baseball games, sleeping late, wearing flip flops every day, grungy camp clothes....everything!!! The kids and I have so much fun. It just goes too fast. But, this year, we have an extra couple of weeks and I am thrilled! Some of my friends don't like it, they say they would rather have the extra time at Christmas, not me, like I said, I LOVE summer!!!

Catching up

2007-04-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

Well, once again, it has been a really long time since last I blogged. To be quite honest, I just haven't felt like it lately. It's been a rough month or so. A dear friend's husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he died within 5 days. 44yrs old. 4 kids-ages 9 to 15. Just boom, life is normal one day and within a week, everything is turned upside down. I will never forget her words to me in the hospital..."Susan, don't ever forget to kiss your husband goodbye or tell him you love him." Thank goodness she didn't have this regret since she and her husband were very loving to each other. I am just having a hard time wrapping my mind around why this would happen. I know all the pat answers...we live in fallen world, they will be reunited someday in heaven, he was prepared, blah, blah, blah... don't get me wrong, I know all that is true, in fact, I cling to it. It's just that, right now, it's hard. All I know is that she is suddenly a single mom to 4 kids that desperately need their father. 3 of those children are boys. And i just keep thinking, what if that were me, would i be able to be as strong as she is being? Would i be able to sing "How Great is Our God" at my husband's funeral? Not sure
And then, last wednesday at work, i get a call that they have found my husband's sister dead in her home. Even though she has been in very bad health for the last 10 years, it was still shocking to get that call. So.....I haven't felt much like blogging, but I have been faithfully reading all my friends blogs. Also, on a brighter note, my neice and her hubby had a beautiful baby boy -Whitaker Ty Tullos-born March 22 in Baton Rouge, LA-Congratulations-Tyler & Crystal!!!

Colonoscopys REALLY aren't that bad

2007-03-11T14:22:00.000-05:00

One more colonoscopy post and I promise never to mention it again. I must say that "they" (the van patton family-only diehard letterman fans will get that reference) were right when "they"(the van patton family) said that getting a colonoscopy wasn't that bad. I don't remember a thing about the actual procedure. Actually, the last thing I DO remember is the dr. saying to the nurse "Ready to give her the medicine?" And what good medicine it was, I wouldn't mind having a little of that stuff to sprinkle in my diet Pepsi on those nights when I can't sleep! Anyway, the biggest "pain in the butt" about the whole thing was the night before and also that stuff they give you to drink is really disgusting. Not to mention the whole checking into the hospital thing. Major pain for a minor procedure. Why can't it be done in the dr's ofc? Also, I was really dreading getting an IV, I'm a big weenie when it comes to needles. So, the nurse comes in to put the IV in and she starts trying to stick it in and I thought "Wow, that REALLY hurts." But I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want her to know I was a weenie. Finally, she says "Gee this needle is really dull, you know, every once in a while we get a bad one. That must have really hurt. I think I'll do it over again because I don't like the way it looks." Well, by this time, I am really getting light headed and am pretty sure I'm going to pass out, so she let me lay back for a while before attempting it again. The second try (with a new, sharp needle) was a success! Yea! After that was over I'm thinking it is gonna be smooth sailing from here on out, which it was. Except....as they(the van patton family) are wheeling me into the operatory there are various "medical looking" people coming in there, one of which was a young nice looking guy in scrubs, I didn't think much about him. Then the dr comes in and says "Mrs. Packard, this is Mr. So & so, he is my catheter rep. Do you mind if he watches?" Was he kidding? No he wasn't. So me, being a weenie, said "I guess." But I was thinking, "Suuuuure, in fact, why stop with him, step out in the hall and see if there are any other salesmen out there who would like to get a look at my colon, bring 'em all in, the more the merrier!" As always, I'm always thinking great stuff to say in my head that I'm too chicken to say out loud. At least I don't THINK I said it out loud, but I'm not sure, that medicine kinda scrambled things up a bit. There that's the last anyone has to hear about my colon. I hope

Things I learned this week

2007-03-10T14:13:00.000-06:00

1) Track (the sport) blows goats.

2) Even when a sport blows goats, if your kid is participating in it, you will willingly attend said sport and cheer your fool head off like a maniac. (making a complete "jack-donkey" out of yourself in the process!!)
3) When your kid has success in a sport that you thought blew goats, suddenly, it's not so bad anymore, and the thought of standing out in the weather for hours on end to watch him participate doesn't seem to blow goats as bad as you thought it would.
4) I HATE cigarette smoke! (OK, I already knew this, but it was reaffirmed this week, during a complete allergic meltdown to said smoke) Cigarettes blow goats, but there are quite a few people that I love dearly who smoke. So...., love the people, hate the cigs.
5) Having my daughter get her hair cut into a more updated and sophisticated style that makes her look older than she really is makes me sad, even though she LOVES it.
6) We serve an awesome God (OK, already knew this too, it was just reaffirmed in a couple of ways this week!!)

Obedience and a weight lifted

2007-03-09T15:12:00.000-06:00

In the last month or so, our church has been studying "discipleship". What it means to be a disciple, how to equip our members to be disciples etc, etc. It has affected me in a way that I can't quite put into words. I feel that I am just now, at the age of 42, beginning to realize what being a Christian means, and I feel like it is only the tip of the iceberg. I was having lunch with friends the other day, and one of them mentioned that she was trying to figure out how to apply this on a personal level. How was she going to change herself first. Which made me think about the same thing. What specifically could I do in my little sphere of influence to start down the road of discipleship? (Neighbors, school, work etc) Well, the first thing that came to mind was the fact that there is a specific action that the Holy Spirit has been prompting me to do for a couple of years now and I have completely ignored it simply because "I didn't want to". See, we have these neighbors that moved in about 3yrs ago, directly across the street from us. It was apparent from the get-go that they were from a different culture just by the way they kept their yard and the weird little decorations that they put out. Also, right after they moved in, Barrett went over there selling something for his school and when he came back home he said they didn't speak English. (but, he's been known to exaggerate OR they could have been faking so they wouldn't have to buy anything :) I'll have to remember that next time a solicitor comes to the door :) ...kidding) Anyway, it seemed like every time they were out in the yard, if we came out, they would go scuttling into the house. I wanted to say "We don't bite, you know!" All of this to say that, to say the least, there were not good vibes between us and our neighbors. Even so, every year when our church would have "Friends Day" and they would tell everyone to invite their neighbors I would feel the aforementioned Spirit prompting. But, I told myself (and God) there was no way I was going over there, they were mean and unfriendly and probably didn't even speak English. At each and every prompting (and there were many) I said "NO!" Well, then this discipleship thing comes up in addition to my BSF study where I am learning that there is no higher calling on a Christian's life than to bring the gospel to the people that don't know it. So, I finally respond to the Spirit's call and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and wrote out a note saying that I was sorry for being a bad neighbor, told them our names and said that if they ever needed us to pick up their paper, water their plants or whatever to just let us know and ended the note by saying "I pray God's blessings on your family." Wrapped it all up and started walking over there, the whole time praying, "OK God, is this really what you want me do? because I'm in the street now, I'm in their driveway now...." I don't know why I was so terrified but I was.Well, they weren't home, so I left the little package on the front porch. Within an hour, I kid you not, she called me to thank me for the cookies, told me their names and a little bit about them. As it turns out, she speaks perfect English, but I think they must originally be from India. We actually have quite a bit in common.She works part-time, like me. She has 2 children, like me. One of them is a 3rd grader at Woodlands and the other son is 18, disabled, and attends special ed. It was a great visit, she was so sweet. When I hung up the phone, I just collapsed on the chair crying, ashamed that it taken me so long to be obedient and receive this blessing. I could almost hear God saying "See, I told you they were nice." I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I guess I didn't realize how much this little conflict was bothering me. I also realized that they probably felt isolated living in a different culture and having a son with a disability. I hope this is the beginning of a friendship.

I know that when you respond to the Spirit's prompting you don't always get to see immediate blessings, but in this case God did bless me immediately. I am still awestruck.

MySpace?

2007-02-11T18:54:00.001-06:00

OK, that last post was a little crude. Sorry, I was in a weird mood last night. Although, I am still not looking forward to the "procedure", but now what I am most upset about is that I just figured out that I will be on a clear liquids diet on Wed. nite aka....Valentines Day.....aka Gorge yourself on Dove chocolate Day!! Soooo, bummer. Oh well, I will have to make up for it after I am done with my "procedure" on Thursday. OK, next subject....
I am really in a dilemma, since about November, my kids have been begging me for a myspace page. As a mom, that just scares me to death. I feel like I am in way over my head as far as technology and my kids are concerned. Things are moving way too fast and I am about as computer illiterate as they come. However, I don't think I have the luxury of being ignorant about this. So far, I have put them off by saying I'll think about it and pray about it. But, the more I research, the more I am inclined to say "Absolutely NOT!!!" I feel that is the Holy Spirit leading me in that direction. However, it seems that practically all their friends have one, even the kids from church. I know that does not make it right, in fact, probably just the opposite. However, in seeking guidance from our youth pastor and my niece and her husband (who are middle school youth pastors in a HUGE non-denom church in Baton Rouge) I'm told that it can be a positive tool for Christian influence if used with great discretion and parental involvement. And, our youth minister tells me it can give great insight as to what is going on, not only with my own kids, but with their friends as well. So, what I did was set up my own page on myspace, kindof just to get an idea how it works and what all is available to view. And let me tell you I was shocked, I mean I don't consider myself naive or a prude, but it was shocking to me to see what kids from our own church would put on their pages and how they converse with each other. Apparently, it is very commonplace to use the "n-word" in casual conversation like its nothing! And these are supposed to be the "good kids"!! That kind of language is particularly offensive to me since I have an adopted sister who is black. But, the language is not the only thing, there are extremely inappropriate pictures of young girls that I don't want my kids to see, especially my 13yr old son. So, for now anyway, the answer is a definite NO. They will just have to be the nerds whose mom won't let them have a myspace. My niece ( the youth pastor) thinks I should let them have one, but with a very short leash. Her reasoning is that it would be better to let them have one now when I have some control over it than for them to get one for the first time when they are in college and have no supervision. Valid arguments, yes. But still, my protective "mama bear" gut feeling keeps telling me that it is not a good idea, even if everyone else is doing it, even the kids at church. Even so, I feel like the time is coming very soon that I will have to trust them and let them venture into this new world, but, not yet.

You're gonna put that where?

2007-02-10T21:08:00.000-06:00

Well, I have put it off for 2 years now, but , this week, I am going for my first colonoscopy (that word even LOOKS gross!) My dr. recommended I get one when I turned 40 (2yrs ago!) since my dad had colon cancer in 1999. Everyone (including Katie Couric) tells me "Oh, its not that bad, you probably won't even remember it." You mean to tell me that having someone I've never met ram something akin to a garden hose up my butt is "not that bad"? Compared to what?....Well, thank goodness for mind erasing drugs hopefully they are right. I'll see how it goes!

2007-01-09T14:16:00.000-06:00

2007?
OK....last post was about Halloween, where did those 2 months of my life go? I'm sure if there ever were any people reading this blog, they have long since given up on me by now, but who am I kidding, I really don't think anyone reads this. Halloween, that seems like ancient history. It seems like the minute I shut the door on the last trick or treater, I jump on board the runaway train that is Nov/Dec and it is all a blur until sometime in January! I do, however, want to talk about a new experience that I had over the holidays, not a pleasant one I might add, but one that almost everyone I know has had and I'm now a member of "the club". That is, hitting a deer with my car. VERY SCARY! Actually, I need to correct that, the deer hit me, NOT the other way around. Honestly, it was after dark and I was going back to Childress, TX from taking my mom and aunt to their uncle's funeral and I happen to look over and make eye contact with this huge deer seconds before he (actually I think it was a "she") rammed into my car. It pretty well crunched in the whole driver's side of my car, as well as completely sheering off my left rear view mirror. That is the sickest feeling, my mind was reeling about what to do. Should I go back? What if the poor thing is still laying there, severely wounded, but not dead. But, as my mother asked me, what were we (an 80yr old, a 66yr old and me-a spry 42) going to do about it if it was. So, I just said a little prayer that the poor animal was killed instantly and tried not to think about it. Thank God I didn't hit it head on, which could have totaled my car or we could have rolled and someone been seriously hurt. Still, a very unnerving experience to say the least, but now when I tell that story, almost everyone says that they have done the same thing. In fact on the way to the funeral that morning, in about the same area, my aunt warned me to be careful because that was where she had hit a deer and her son had also hit one in this area. So.... if there is anyone reading this and you happen to be around Childress, TX, be very careful. What I'm wondering is... why do they do that? Why would they run toward the highway where cars are? It seems like they would shy away from it. If anyone knows, please enlighten.
Speaking of unnerving experiences, our oldest son turned 13 on Sunday! Everyone has warned me about the hazards of having a teenager in the house. But, knock on wood and praise God, he is a great kid and hasn't given us one minutes trouble (other than his incredibly scraggly long hair!) or reason not to trust him. He is turning into this amazing person that I am proud to call my son, but not only that, I really enjoy conversations with him, he is a neat kid. It just seems like the last 13 years have gone by in the blink of an eye and when I think that 13 years from now, he will have been a grown man for some time and will probably have a family of his own, it just blows me away!
Christmas was wonderful. Our family tried a new experience this year. Our church, for the first time, had a Christmas Eve Candlelight service. We loved it. It was so simple yet so very moving. It felt good to take time out and have some reverence for Christ's birth instead of standing around gorging on fudge and playing cards (not that there's anything wrong with that! :-) It was pretty emotional for me to sit there on the pew with our whole family and just focus on Christ and how blessed we are and be so thankful for my salvation. I think standing there in the darkened chapel with all the candles glowing and surrounded by my family, both physical and spiritual, it seemed like a little glimpse of heaven. Steven, if you are reading this, you did an awesome job and I hope it will be the first of many more Christmas Eve Services. God bless you and your family.
Well, on to the new year! I will try to be a better blogger!

Halloween embarrassment

2006-11-01T16:50:00.000-06:00

Well....my kids are finally old enough that I embarrass them instead of the other way around. I LOVE IT!! Last night, both of them went to neighborhood Halloween parties, so Lon & I were home alone handing out the candy for the first time since our kids were born. I got a wild hair and decided to dress up in an old devil costume I had.(Pitchfork, horns the whole 9 yards!) I was having a ball handing out candy to the little trick or treaters, when a big group of kids approached our house and I realized it was barrett and his group of friends(the girls had dressed as elves and the boys were reindeer...sooo cute)anyway, the look on barrett's face when he realized that I was in costume....mortified would be an understatement!! Plus, when I saw it was them, I told them to wait while i got my camera (scrapbooker that I am, I couldn't let that photo op get away) and right before I took the picture, I flourished my cape around and said "I am Barrett's MOM!!" whereupon, he yelled in a horrified voice "MOM!!" It was great! When he got home from trick or treating, he proceeded to inform me that what i had done was not in the least bit funny and that I had embarrassed him terribly, to which I replied "You know what, I could embarrass you every day for the next 5yrs and maybe then, we might be even." Because, for the first 2-3 yrs of that kids life, if anyone even looked at him sideways or, God forbid, spoke to him, he would scream his fool head off in a pitch so high that I'm pretty sure only dogs could hear. It got to the point that I dreaded going to church because I knew that about 15-20 min after dropping him off at the nursery or Bible class, they would come get Lon or me because he was bawling so bad. Birthday parties, family get-togethers etc,etc all the other kids would be playing and he would be clinging on to me or Lon. You can imagine what a trip to the Dr.'s office was like, Dr Young still talks about how he used to act! He's pretty infamous around there! Talk about embarrassing. What is funny is that about age 3 he did a complete turnaround and became this outgoing kid that, honestly, did not know a stranger, he still is. So.... it is now my turn to get a little payback, and it is so sweet.

Out of the loop

2006-10-30T08:18:00.000-06:00

I really feel out of the loop considering I have never seen one single episode of 24! Everyone who watches it seems to be addicted. Well, I have my own tv addictions, Rachel Ray & Alton Brown. I don't think I can squeeze in any more! Even tho I am completely inept in the kitchen (if it can't be opened with a can opener, it's probably not in my kitchen!) I am completely addicted to the Food Network, but purely for the entertainment value. It just fascinates me that they can make it look so completely effortless. I know that RR has a whole legion of people that hate her perkiness, I think she is just hilarious. (and I usually am really annoyed by perky) and AB, if you've never seen him, I highly recommend his show Good Eats, very entertaining! Especially if you have ever wondered why it is bad to overmix pancake batter! :-) However, there are 2 new shows that I love. So here goes, confession time, Gene Simmons-Family Jewels and Little People,Big World. (I think they are both on A & E) I thought the Simmons family would be just like the Osbornes, but not so. Gene Simmons has managed to raise what appear to be 2 really level headed, nice kids. They don't spew profanity with every breath and don't seem to be spoiled brats. Gene's a little weird, but who didn't expect that?
LPBW is about a family of little people parents who have 4 kids, only 1 of which is a little person. It shows that they are a normal family dealing with normal "family stuff" but also overcoming the obstacles that come from being little. It is really a cool show.
Well.....upcoming gubernatorial (sp?) election....what to do, what to do. Normally, I'm Republican, but I'm not real impressed with Rick Perry. (one of my family said about him "He may be an idiot, but he's our idiot!"-hmmmm thats scary!) I have been the black sheep in our family ever since i voted for Ann Richards in 1990, but she was a good governor and i'm not sorry i voted for her. (Hello??? does anyone remember Clayton Williams? enough said) Carol Strayhorn seems like a good choice, just don't know enough about her yet, but i will educate myself about ALL the candidates positions so that i can make an informed vote. Not voting is just not an option. i find it so exciting to be able to vote and usually take my kids with me so they can see democracy in action and show them that everyones vote is important. OK, no more preaching. I find Kinky intriguing, but he really turned me off on his commercials when he quoted the Bible and called himself the "Good Shepherd".....Uhhh, sorry dude, not even close, I'm pretty sure that parable was talking about Jesus, not a candidate for TX governor!! Besides, when MN experimented with an out of the box candidate, I don't think it worked out so well. All this to say, I'm not that thrilled with any of the choices, so I'll do my research and see, who knows? maybe Chris Bell is my guy, but I doubt it. We'll see.

No more whining

2006-10-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

Well, that last post was rather whiney wasn't it? Arlene, thankyou for the kind words. After posting that Mon nite, I went to leaders mtg on Tues morn, there, I got a reality check on being overloaded. I just thought I was busy and stressed out, there are several BSF leaders that are caring for terminally ill parents and in-laws (some both) not to mention health problems of their own, and one lady's husband is in the middle stages of Alzheimers. Yet, these Godly women continue to serve without one word of complaint. They are truly my role models. So, at this point I will quit comlaining and drop to my knees and thank God for his unbelievable blessings in my life, for my health, for the fact that I am able to work part-time not full time, that my kids are healthy and are pretty self-sufficient, my parents are healthy and live nearby, for the fact that I have a home (even if it is untidy sometimes) and for the awesome privilidge of serving God by teaching children in the BSF program. For this, and so much more, I thank God!

Overwhelmed

2006-10-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been over a month since I've posted. I just can't seem to catch up, i feel like I'm always running from one thing to the next and not doing a very good job of anything. About March of last year I was called into leadership in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), even though I did not feel in any way that I was "leadership material", I honestly felt God's calling on my life to do this. The area I was asked to lead was in the children's area. I am not in any way a "kid" person, but I felt the Holy Spirit would equip me in all areas that I was lacking. So, I agreed and have been a Children's Leader since March. It is a pretty big time committment and this year I have felt overwhelmed with my home responsibilities, BSF, job(Weds & Fridays) kids, etc,etc. I have prayed & prayed about this, I don't want to let anything slide, but it seems that lately everything is sliding. Even though I really feel that this is where God wants me, sometimes I just want to scream "I QUIT!" but then I remember that it isn't about what I want, but being obedient to His will. My problem is that I am so disorganized and I don't use my time wisely, both things I need to work on and BSF is forcing me to do this. So, here i sit blogging instead of getting my lesson done that I am behind on (as usual). Well, enough about that.
Another thing that I'm grouchy about, our Rebels lost to the Sandies AGAIN!! The last 2 years they have basically beaten themselves, very frustrating. My bro-in-law says the sandies always find a way to win, even if they have to cheat. (Actually, I added that last part) But seriously, we really got jobbed by the refs this year. I know....Waaaahh, waaahhh. And then, don't EVEN get me started on the Sooners, we all know they got screwed, and then to add insult to injury Adrian Peterson breaks his collarbone and is out for the season. The football gods are just not smiling on our teams. Except for Barrett's team, they are undefeated!!!Yea!! Today was his second week back after breaking his arm. He plays with his cast on. It comes off in about 10 days, can't wait, that thing stinks to high heaven!!!
Just got back from spending the weekend at a scrapbooking retreat. I don't do retreats very often (scrapbook, spiritual or otherwise) because when it gets nighttime, I like to go to bed with my husband in my own bed, not climb up on a bunk bed that was built for an 8yr old!! But, I agreed to this one because I am so behind on my scrapbooking, I haven't done much of anything since I started leadership. It was a great weekend of fellowship with friends and I'm really glad I went. My Creative Memories consultant was called in to BSF leadership about the same time I was and we had a great heart to heart talk, she is struggling with the very same issues that I am, concerning juggling BSF, job, motherhood etc,etc.It was good to find that we have an ally in each other, not to mention a prayer partner. But, spending the weekend doing that, just threw me that much more behind on my Bible study and my house looks like a pigsty!! Don't know that I'll ever be completely caught up.......

Mother of the year

2006-09-15T13:12:00.000-05:00

Well, just got back from the dr's ofc where my son Barrett got a cast on his broken arm. He is 12 and this is his first broken bone. I know I am fortunate, some people's kids are such maniacs that they become very acquanted with the ER staff at a young age. Not so with Barrett, he has always been a cautious, rule-following kind of kid. He is, however, not one to suffer in silence. If he has the slightest ache or pain, he howls to the "blue corn moon" like he has just had a limb amputated! Consequently, neither Lon or I take him very seriously when he gets hurt. So.....Monday was his first football game to play for his school (up until now he has kids inc football and his dad was the coach). I was a little nervous since he weighs 90lbs. soaking wet and some of those boys are shaving already!! In the 2nd qtr, he got injured and had to come out of the game. I went over to see what the problem was and he started crying. I told him he needed to "dry it up" because all of his friends were watching. Lon was so mad at him, he thought he was being a weenie. After the game was over, his wrist was pretty swollen but they told to put ice on it and it should be ok. That night Lon gave Barrett this big talk about being tough and playing thru the pain, that football was a tough sport and you are going to get banged around but you can't come out of the game crying every time that happens. I also had given him a talk about "crying wolf" every time he gets hurt and how are we supposed to know if he is really hurt when everytime something happens he acts like its the end of the world. Well, Tues morn. it was still pretty swollen and tender, so his coach had us take him to the Tascosa Athletic Trainer who said it was probably a sprain, but if it was still swollen in 2 days, we'll need to get it x-rayed. Thursday morn, it was still swollen and painful, so I took him to Dr Higgins and guess what? His radius (the larger of the 2 bones in the forearm) is broken!I felt terrible. I told him "Boy, Daddy is going to feel really bad about not believing you." (hoping that he had forgotten about what i had said) To which he replied "You can't be talking Mom, you told me to dry it up!" So much for him not remembering! So, he's got a cast on for 6wks, but the dr said he can start playing again in 3 wks. (YIKES! Not sure I want him to) He is so disappointed, he was absolutely ecstatic about finally getting to play football for deZavala and the first game he gets hurt. I told him "oh well, theres always next year". I'm hoping he'll lose his zeal for the game by then, but I'm pretty sure thats not gonna happen. He LOVES it, just like his dad. He can't wait to play for the Rebels like Lon did. The next few years are gonna be nerve wracking for ole Mom.

still sad

2006-09-05T10:02:00.000-05:00

I can't seem to shake this feeling of sadness and grief over the death of Steve Irwin. I'm not sure why, except that I'm one of the millions of people who felt like they knew him even though I didn't. My heart aches for his wife and kids and I keep putting myself in Terri's place trying to break that news to an 8yr old that adores her daddy and a 2yr old that really has no understanding what it is all about. I, myself have a daughter that absolutely worships the ground her dad walks on and the thought of having to tell her that he is gone is beyond what I can bear to think about. But, thank God, I don't have to tell her that, and starting now, I am going to try to stop obsessing about it. So, I am going to follow Paul's advice to the Philippians in chapter 4:8 "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." To that end, I am going to turn off the TV!!
Speaking of TV, I have been convicted by the Spirit in the last few months that TV & the newspaper have become idols in my life that I put before God. I confess that I don't read my Bible every day, but I NEVER miss a day reading the paper, I am a total news junkie. There's nothing wrong with that, unless it gets in the way of deepening your relationship with the Father. Which, for me, it does. So, as we begin this new school year, I have committed anew to lay down the newspaper and turn off the TV. I know I don't even want to know how much of my time that I waste staring at the TV. It's time to wean off.
Another verse that has really jumped out at me lately is Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Before, I had always focused on the "God's workmanship" part of that verse, which is awsome, but lately, I have been struck by the fact that IN ADVANCE, God prepared good works for us to do, but, you notice it doesn't say that He will force us to do those works. I firmly believe in the prompting of the Holy Spirit and I think that there have been many times that I turned my back on that prompting and the good work that He had prepared for me to do, either went undone or someone else did it, because I was either hesitant or afraid of looking foolish, or possibly I was just so busy being caught up in day to day, insignificant details. Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating any kind of "works-based" salvation. On the contrary, I know that we are saved by faith, and that based on that faith we in turn, do good works. But, I do think that, once in heaven, we will be called to account for the good works that we have done (or not done) and possibly (just my thoughts here) we will be commended for the good works we have done, but will be shown all the things that we could've done but didn't. What would have been different had we done those things. I am praying to be more attentive to the Spirit's leading and not leave anything "on the table" so to speak.

A sad day

2006-09-04T13:26:00.000-05:00

yesterday was an absolutely awesome day! Our church (Central CofC) preacher switched pulpits with another church (Washington Ave Christian Church). This was a pretty big step for our church and their preacher was excellent. His name is Jim Shelburne and he is a natural, easy speaker, not to mention hilarious. He was talking about the church being made up of parts and that the church needs all of them, but that in the years he has been in ministry, he has come across quite a few "rear-ends"!!! and that was OK because the church needs all of its parts! Brought the house down. But, as funny as it was, I know he wasn't kidding, I'm sure that is absolutely true. I have so much respect for those who work in ministry for that very reason, and I pray that I have never been in that "rear-end" category but I'm sure that at one time or another, we have all been rear ends! haa
Well, the reason i titled this post "a sad day"....I found out this morning that one of our family's favorite "TV people" Steve Irwin died in a tragic accident yesterday. My daughter is a huge animal lover and that is how i came to know about steve, thru her watching him on Animal Planet. He has become a fixture in our household the last few years. I love that guy, and I am always very touched by his tender heart toward all God's creatures, especially those that aren't so cuddly and lovable. My heart and prayers go out to his family, especially Terri and his 2 little children, who must now grow up without him in their lives. A sad day, indeed.

My son would say I'm a "newb"

2006-09-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

well, here I go....I have decided to dive into this blogging thing with full disclosure that I am ...well I guess the politically correct term for would be "technologically challenged"! I'm sure that is pretty obvious, by the fact that I still capitalize proper nouns and type in full words and sentences! When I see what my son types to his friends, it is apparent that they use abbreviations and numbers and symbols for everything! Oh well, I'm old school, but learning! In fact, while I have been setting this blog up, both of my kids have come in to see what I'm doing, when I told them, they were incredulous! "Mom, YOU are going to do a blog? NO WAY!!" Well, ....way. So, this boring little blog will be mainly about our family and our comings and goings and the occasional "hmmm.... I wonder" thought that goes through my brain.
Today was a good day in our family because the Sooners won. (Just barely...might be a long season since we lost our cheater QB!)
Looking forward to tomorrow, as our pastor and one from another church (different denomination) are "trading pulpits" for the day. I love our preacher and will defenitely miss him, but I look forward to hearing Jim Shelburne preach at our church. Very exciting for our church and defenitely a step in a new, positive direction. Things they are a changin' for our church and I am soooo excited about what the future holds. God is moving in this body! I love it. Has been a long time coming. Well, I better get some sleep because I am in NO WAY a morning person and that alarm in the a.m. just irritates the crap out me.