PAIL AND PRAISE

Remember our plumbing problem?

It is solved and here is how it went down.

At around 7 o'clock after hitting the snooze bar and trying to get a few more zzz's, Trevor and I were jarred out of bed by a lot of banging. I thought Mike was having a fight with his electric razor in the bathroom.

Nope it was the "plumber". I use this term loosely because he is not a licensed plumber from a company that specializes in plumbing. He is an older gentlemen that seems to have nothing better to do than wake up a family at 7 on a Sunday morning.

When I went to open the door he stuck the plug of an extension cord in my face and said, "Find a place to plug this in, will ya?" What?? No good morning??? I was still trying to figure out what he was doing here when he clearly said on Thursday he would be back Monday or Tuesday. Maybe he was feeling guilty about leaving a family of 5 in the lurch on a holiday weekend with them having to resort to drastic measures (revert back to link at top of post:~)

He proceeded to climb under the house with all his tools and start sawing and hacking away. We proceeded to try and get ready for church the best way we could without the aid of a shower. We were ready in record time but the plumber was clearly not in any hurry to be done. We sat in the living room~all 5 of us~ watching CBS Sunday morning and keeping an eye on the clock that was inching closer and closer to Sunday School time.

Finally we knew we weren't going to make Sunday School we set our sights on the 10 o'clock start for worship. I convinced Mike that we could either miss church all together or one of us could go and take the kids. He was a trooper and headed to church.

I sucked up my disappointment and ate some ice cream as a consolation prize while waiting on the plumber to finish. He came in about 15 minutes later and said, "I'm done. Sorry I left you a mess." I, unaware of exactly how big a mess he was talking about, said, "Oh that's okay!!"

Yeah~all was good until I went in the bathroom and OH! MY! WORD! Changed out of my church clothes, got out the cleaners, went and got the mop and bucket, and the IPOD!! Me and Jesus met right there in the bathroom while on my hand and knees on the floor scrubbing that NASTY tub.

It was sweet. It was uplifting. It was just what I needed.

It doesn't matter where you meet with Him, just do it. You won't be disappointed. He'll show up every time!!!

"I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises"~~Psalm 101:1

L H on the P

After yesterday's post it would seem we are trying to recreate Little House on the Prairie because today we had to wash the dishes outside~~No Kidding!! Seriously. Due to an unforeseen plumbing problem we are stuck without proper drainage from the sinks and tub until Monday or Tuesday. Since Monday is a holiday I am betting it will be Tuesday. So we are roughing it. (I just heard Shelby say to Abby as they are getting ready for bed, "Let's do it like the people in the olden days. They just washed their faces but on their pjs and went to bed.") Thankfully there is nothing wrong with the drainage of the toilet or a hotel room would be the order of the day!!

Here is Abby carrying the water for rinsing.

Mike drying the dishes sitting on the patio:~)

I was doing the washing and Shelby helped with the rinsing. Yes, that is my dish drain. Ya know the old saying~When life hands you lemons~wash your dishes on the patio:~)

Where is Trevor? Glad you asked~he is the one taking the pictures. He didn't think this little adventure was all that adventurous.


Showers are another story~~no pictures for that!! Just know we are getting clean the old fashioned way~~whatever that means:~)

THE SMELL IS HEAVENLY!!!!!!

I haven't used my dryer all week. No, it's not broken. I have just been in the mood to hang my clothes on the line to dry.

They smell so, so good!!! I love the crisp way they feel and how they smell so clean.

I have friends that live in a housing development where you can't have a clothesline and I feel sorry for them. I would not want to give up my clothesline!!!

I decided to time how long it takes to hang out a load of towels and I was surprised to find out that it only took about 7 minutes to hang a full load~~and I wasn't hurrying. Maybe next week I will see how fast I can hang out a load.

THESE PICTURES CRACK ME UP!!!!

I came across these pictures while browsing through last years photos and I just cracked up!!! They are photos of little Samuel's birthday at Hot Dog King (the BEST place to get a hotdog and cheese fries on the East Coast!! ya'll from Tidewater know what I am talking about!!! Can I get a witness??)

Jessie looks like she is looking at Mike and saying "Say what????"

Look at those sweet curls!! Taylor is a sweetie!!

Samuel with the big hotdog on his head makes me laugh!!! (what the hay~~ why is spell check giving me a red line under hotdog~should it be hot dog because he doesn't have hot dog on his head~that would be real strange!!!:~)

Samuel saying, "Hurry up and read that stinkin' card cause I want that present!!!"


Daddy in a rare picture of him smiling. He likes to take "serious" pictures. Don't you, Daddy.

WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT

My goodness!! I must have had a sentimental journey last night!! That post yesterday was heavy.

This one will be light as a feather~ I found an Ikea table at Goodwill for next to nothing. WOO-HOO! I was looking for a small square table to replace the Little Tikes table the girls have been using for years. Shelby is growing out of the chairs.

Mike was given the go ahead today so his first day back at work will be September 2nd. I'll miss him~~very much. Pray for us over the next couple of weeks~changes aren't easy.

MY TREVOR

My baby~my firstborn~my little boy is a senior this year!!

I am in shock!! I am not ready!! I want to stop time!! Those are things my heart is saying. I have watched this sweet child grow into a loving, dependable, generous young man. I am not just saying these things because he is mine. I am saying them because it is true.

I have seen him take large amounts of money from his wallet and buy things for people without even flinching. I have seen him time and again lifting heavy furniture for family and friends without a word of complaint.

When I came home from the hospital the only night I could not stay with Mike he did not leave my side for the 3 hours before I went to bed because he knew I was terribly upset about leaving his dad. He sat with me while I cried, checked e-mail, painted my fingernails, and he talked and talked so that I would have something else to focus on.

I could go into detail about how he was given to Mike and I~how young we were~all the drama that goes with being teenage parents~ I won't. Because in the end, God's grace is sufficient. I pray that he becomes the man God has created him to be.

I pray that all the holes I have left from imperfect mothering will be filled by God's grace and mercy. I pray that he will always come up to me, put his arm around me like the picture, and know I love him so very much. Because he's my baby.

I love the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness and I think it should be a mother's anthem.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

OHHHH THE PAIN OF IT!!!!!

Well, I guess it was my turn to have pain!

I spent 6 hours at the doctor's office yesterday for them to tell me that I had a large kidney stone.

I had to drink two TWO!!! jugs of nasty barium stuff and have a CT scan. They thought it might be appendicitis but thankfully it wasn't. My dr. gave me the option of going home with pain meds or going into the hospital. I chose to go home~~Mike's hospital stay was way to fresh in my mind!!

When we got home I popped a pill and was the entertainment for the evening or so I am told. High powered meds and I just don't mix easily. Mike said I was saying some really crazy stuff and he claims that he had to come get me from the bathroom once because I may or may not have fallen asleep in there.

I don't remember a thing and I really think they are making half the stuff up but~~ I can't remember so how am I supposed to know.

Anyhoo~ I passed that sucker and I am on the mend. I am sore and tired but I am sure that I won't need another one of those goofy pills tonight. Much to my family's chagrin.

Oh and just so you know egg drop soup looks the same coming up as it does going in~~I'm just sayin' !! You're welcome!!!

A CAMPIN' WE WILL GO!!!

God's Artwork

This week we decided to take a spontaneous camping trip to Indiana. We haven't been camping since Disney last year so we were ready to drag out the tent. You just can't beat 8 dollars a night!!!! This was a bridge we went over and it was real cool. This picture doesn't do it justice.
That is Mike standing by the lake with his cane!!!!! How awesome is that!!!!!!

Abby having fun playing in the sand.

Shelby is so funny!!

Abby and Shelby

Trevor packing up his sleeping bag.

Shelby trying to get in just one more page of her joke book before having to get out of her sleeping bag:~)She is her mother's daughter!!

Abby eating her poptart in her pjs and hat.


Mike and our campfire. It was actually chilly in the mornings and the weather was gorgeous. It was a good little getaway.

NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES

We celebrated our anniversary last night and it was so fun!!

We went to this restaurant and ate like kings!! Kings, I tell you!! This is not your typical chain restaurant. It is a Cajun place from N'awlins and it was AWESOME!!!

We started out with homemade bread and 4 different kinds of butter. There was alligator, garlic, strawberry, and regular butter. After that we had fried green tomatoes with crawfish and cheese on top. Then came the salad with the Creole vinegarette. OH MY WORD!!
Then the main course~Mike had a filet mignon and lobster tail rock~that is lobster tail and steak stacked on top of each other with veggies on the bottom. I had blackened prime rib with crab meat on top and a twice baked potato~~my mouth is watering just from typing all this out!!!

It was the best. It isn't a place we could go to every week but it is a special place that we could go to every once in a while. Oh and did I mention the live jazz music!!

AWWWWW!!!!

Thanks my friend. You are too sweet.

AUGUST HEAT

UGGGGG!!!!!

Anyhoo~now that that is out of the way~we have been trying to stay cool and have fun. Somehow they just don't go hand in hand in the summer so we have been having the fun.

Things are going good here and we are thankful for it. I am reminding myself daily of this post. I am also aware that I have friends and family that are not doing so well. I am praying for them daily as well.

We are still faced daily with Mike's challenges but we are so grateful for the blessings we have been given through this ordeal.

Tomorrow is our 17th wedding anniversary and we are in complete awe of that!! We keep saying to each other "Can you believe it??" and the other says "No!! Wow!! 17 years!!" OR we just say "17 years" and sit in complete silence, in awe of it.

Have a great Saturday my friends! A great Saturday, indeed!!!