Teething

So my sweet sweet little princess has not been too happy at all =0( She has been a cranky pants lately, and after some searching... mommy and daddy discovered she has two little teeth poking through! It's nice to know why she has been so "NOT HAPPY" but at the same time, baby orajel can only do so much!! There have been times I didn't even answer my phone because I knew the person on the other end would not hear ME at all...lol!!! One of those things where you wish you could make it all better, but you know your job is to PRAY PRAY PRAY for the pain to ease, and to try and make her as happy as possible! She has been super attached to mommy.. and I once again have to say THANK YOU LORD for my amazing husband who understands that there are many things that pay the price for her crankiness... the house, the laundry, the dishes... my attitude...lol (YA, I know.. but constant crying can wear on even the most patient of us...lol!) yet he comes in from working all day, and has done some dishes, done some laundry, swept some floors, or just held our crying little Angel and gave her those "magic kisses" that Daddy has! I take for granted soooooo many times that I have such a wonderful husband. I love you baby!!!! I don't tell you often enough how much I appreciate YOU... just being YOU! I am blessed WAY beyond what I deserve when it comes to the hubby area ;0) You are my rock, you are the man most women would love to have, and I'm soooo glad you're ALL MINE!!!!!!

JesUs

Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God stuck U in the name of His Son.


And each time U pray, you'll see it's true,
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.


You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.


His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified..


Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?


The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
And this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.


When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.


'Go into the world and tell them it's true
That I love them all - Just like I love U.'


So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?


It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know, But it all starts with U.

Halloween =0)

Hallelujah Night was a success!!! Lots of candy, lots of fun.. and some ADORABLE pics!

Brandon =0) What a cutie!!


G.I. Joe... oops, I mean G.I. Gavin


Two happy brothers =0)


Cutest lil Cowgirl in the WORLD!!! Miss Ellie


Forrest Fire Chief Gabe.. and Fairbury Fire Chief Brandon


Hold on to those hats boys... those Firetrucks go FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!


Lil Cowgirl Ellie holding on to Daddy.. not sure what to think of Brandon the Fireman


How cute are they!


Lil Ellie warmed up to the young blue-eyed Fireman


Brandon was eating it up!!! He ADORES Miss Ellie!!!!

Happy Autumn

H A P P Y A U T U M N!!!



The 7 Ups!



1. Wake Up !!

Decide to have a good day.
'This is the day the Lord hath made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.'
Psalms 118:24



2. Dress Up !!


The best way to dress up is to put on a smile.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.'
I Samuel 16:7




3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen.
God gave us two ears and one mouth,
so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.

'He who guards his lips guards his soul.'
Proverbs 13:3




4. Stand Up!!




. . . for what you believe in.
Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
'Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time,
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good...'
Galatians 6:9-10



5. Look Up !!


. . to the Lord.
'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me'.
Philippians 4:13




6. Reach Up !!
. . for something higher.
'Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.'
Proverbs 3:5-6





7.. Lift Up !!
. . your Prayers.
'Do not worry about anything; instead
PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.'
Philippians 4:6







A POSITIVE THOUGHT



If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring, and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.
He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem ;
not to mention that Friday at Calvary .
Face it, He's crazy about you.



I thought this was mighty special, just like YOU.
Pass this on and brighten someone's day, and remember . ...


God answers Knee-Mail!








Wishing you a Blessed day!!!

Sickness

So for the past almost MONTH, we have had some sort of illness going through the house.. from coughs, to sinus infections, to fevers, to Influenza A, to just the plain old body aches and just when you think they're gone... somebody else pops up with another "symptom". Last week, out of the 9 people that live here (our family makes up 6, my brother going through a divorce makes up the other 3 with his kids) there were 7 out of 9 people sick in this house =0( Talk about sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!! I seriously had a medication and fever list... times to give the meds, and times to take the temps and record them... and I was even struggling to keep my mind clear enough to do this since I was one of the sicklies too!!! Yesterday (Sunday) we had prayed and prayed that we would all finally be together in church... oh so close, but didn't happen. Sheldon began running another fever Sat. evening, and Sunday morning was running a high temp again. So he stayed home (though he was on call and still had to go make rounds for work!!) with Brandon who has the horrible cough that sometimes will seriously go on for over 5 minutes NON-STOP and the breathing treatment DID NOT HELP.. it actually made it worse!! Lil Miss Hollynd has not run a fever, she has just had the runny nose, croupy cough and has not been the sweet little girl we know she is ;0) BUT.. Praise God.. so far today I have gotten 3 kids on the bus so far, and 2 left to get on the bus at 11:47. Could this be the day? The hubby is working his early morning day.. he sounds AWFUL but he is fever free so far!! So I'm once again praying and believing that the sickness is GONE GONE GONE! And I don't think I'll answer the phone if the school calls...LOL!!!!!!! Hopefully it's back to the land of the living =0)
Here's a few pics I did manage to snap... usually I'm a camera crazy woman but I don't think anybody was "camera ready" these last few weeks.. but here's a few I did manage to take =0)

Lessons learned

My mom used to always say... "If you make a mistake, but learn from it... then it is no longer a mistake, it is a lesson learned". Boy oh boy I can loose count of all the lessons I have learned... but God is faithful and just to forgive those mistakes and make them a weapon in my fortress of life-lessons to help those who are struggling with making those same mistakes and show them how the Lord can truly make beauty from ashes... now we just have to be obedient and be honest enough to admit that we too have walked that road, veered off the straight and narrow, honestly messed up, but I've noticed that IF we are willing to be honest, admit our short-comings and show our friends that we too have stumbled, but God himself reaches out his hand and helps lift us up... we give HOPE. And what a beautiful place this world would be if there was more HOPE in it!

Time

There are times that it feels like a day lasts forever... and there are days that seem to fly by. Then there are times where you're sitting at your computer, knowing you should go to bed, and emotions and memories just overcome you. It's actually quiet... everyone is sleeping... and I am alone (ok, so lil miss is sleeping in the next room... but I am for the most part, by myself).

I saw a friend I haven't seen since 7th grade today.. it was WONDERFUL!!! She came and gave me the BIGGEST hug, and we laughed, and talked, and then came the dreaded moment when she asked how my mom was... I praise God that he has gotten me past the point of breaking at that question. I can now compose myself and answer without tears flooding my face, and sobs sending me into a downward spiral... I really don't even know how many days Sheldon just tucked me into bed crying and told me to go to sleep and when I woke up I would feel better... I don't know what I ever did to deserve the husband that I have. My friend had just told me that she moved her parents up from Texas so they would be closer and she could help take care of them... oh how I miss those days.. fixing her coffee just the way she liked it, making her some peanut butter toast, things now that seem so simple and trivial... yet I would give anything to have those moments back.

It's been 3 years, 5 months , 18 days since I've seen my momma, longer than I ever imagined in my life I would go without hearing her voice, sharing our coffee, watching the kids do silly things.. sharing those mother daughter moments that I so unknowingly took for granted. I can remember when I counted every single day.. every single week, every single holiday, everything... and I actually had to sit and think for a moment exactly how long she had been gone.... God is SO faithful... because even when I was so lost in my grief, in my tears, in my sorrow.. he was holding me the entire time.

This one's for you momma... your favorite song when you found out you had cancer.. the way you told Sheldon to listen to the part about watching an eagle as it was flying because you knew how much he loved eagles and collected them... you always thought of us.. even as your days were ending, it was always us that you worried about and yet you knew... you knew Sheldon would hold me and we would make it... you will never cease to amaze me.. and my love for you still grows stronger everyday until we meet again in Heaven... I LOVE YOU FOREVER