The Heart's of Christmas

I've heard the expression, "the heart of Christmas" before and this year I reflected on what kind of heart I want to have. I read the story of the birth of Christ and realized that different people in the story had different hearts. I hope I can strive to have hearts like they did,. Here are just a few of them:

A Servant's Heart (Mary)
When the angel appeared to her and told her of God's plan, Mary simply said....."I am the Lord's servant." Luke 1:38
I want to have a servant's heart that doesn't hem-haw around and have to question why, when God gives me a task I want to be like Mary and simply say, "I am the Lord's servant" and do it.

An Obediant Heart (Joseph)
"When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him." Matthew 1:24
I want to be quicker at being obediant, not trying to reason everything out and then decide for myself if it's a good idea. When it gets to that point, it's not really obediance at all.

A Praising Heart (Shepherds)
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2:20
When God fulfills a promise, I want to remember to give Him the glory and keep praising Him for it. I don't want to think that I am blessed because of what I have done, but because of who He is.

A Searching Heart (Wisemen)
"..and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:2
I want to never lose the urge to keep searching for more of Him. His mercies are new every morning, He is not some hum-drum boring throne-sitter. He cares enough about me to walk this journey with me. And He cares for you that much too.

I know that the date of Jesus' birth was probably not December 24th. It doesn't matter what date He was born, it just matters that HE WAS BORN. Jesus didn't first exist at the birth. He left Heaven to come to earth. He loved me (and you) so much that He came to this spinning ball of dirt to redeem us with His blood. He has already given you the best gift ever, it's up to you to open it. May you have the most blessed Christmas this year.

So Not Cool

Mark was off work last night, we were both home today, so we decided to take a short motorcycle cruise into town around 1p.m.

Some bank stuff, a late lunch, the weather was really nice this afternoon.

So we turned back onto Main Street, headed for home when Mark cranks up the stereo on the bike. Remember now, it's a bike so not just him and I, but EVERYONE within range can hear the music. The song that starts blaring is Crystal Gayle's hit from 1979, "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue"!!! The only time that was cool for me was when I was about 10 years old, standing on the footstool, and singing into a drapery cord. (my Grandma's friend actually gave me $ one time!)

I immediately reach around and put my hand where he can see me doing a frantic..."Thumbs Down"!!!!! He got the message and turned the dial, thank goodness. Seeing as how we are usually so cool , I would have hated to have blown that image if anyone would have seen us cruising on the cycle blaring Crystal Gayle tunes! ;)

The Miracle of Baby Duckworth

I had a friend who once said something along the lines of, "Miracles shouldn't be a surprise."
It's true that we are surrounded by miracles everyday. Sometimes we just have to open our eyes and see them. So as an Aunt, I proudly announce the latest miracle that I've seen. These are pictures of my "niec-phew" as we don't know boy or girl just yet. 9weeks and 1 day, Baby Duckworth.

"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you." Jeremiah1:5

How do ya like them apples

Yesterday afternoon Evan and I went on an adventure. A couple of miles from our house is a property that was bought by the coalmine. The home that sat on the property has been bulldozed down and the debris left in a pile. In the yard there are 4 apple trees. They have been abandoned and were loaded down with apples. So we took a big canvas bag and went apple picking. There were some apples that had already fallen and were rotting, but there were also lots and lots of apples still on the trees. These trees obviously hadn't been sprayed or cared for for some time. Some of the apples had spots, worm holes, or mushy places. But there was still much on the apples that were good. So we picked a sack and brought them home. Evan peeled while I mixed up and rolled out pie crust. We sliced them and added cinnamon and sugar, piled them in the pie pan and put it in the oven. Oh the smell that filled the kitchen, yummy! :)
Mark and Evan ate a piece less then 10 minutes after I took it out of the oven. They had to wait for the steam to roll off so they wouldn't burn their mouths!
So, since I ask for God to reveal Himself to me everyday in little ways.......Lesson for the Day:

So may think that your life isn't worth a whole lot. You've been abandoned, bruised, had things that just ate away at you. You feel like no one noticed or cared. But you couldn't be more wrong. God loves you so much! He can pick you up, help peel away the hurts, shower you with love, grace and peace like you have never known. He will never leave you, He even knows how many hairs there are on your head, now that's personal! (Matthew 10:30)
You may think you're just another rotting apple, but God sees you as a beautiful apple pie. :)

The Pepperoni Wrap Situation

Obviously I haven't been on here much since school started and I started back too. Just wanted to share a little lunchroom happenings that made me thankful.

Apparently pepperoni wraps are the majorly favorite food at our school. Kids like them, teachers like them, and I like them too. I typically bring my lunch and so does Evan, but on Friday they were serving P.W.'s so we both were buying.
So after I gather Kindergartners, take them to recess, bring them back in and go to lunch I'm starving and looking forward to this culinary masterpiece that is THE PEPPERONI WRAP!
The cafeteria lady asks, "Can I get something for you?"
I reply, "Yes, I'd like a P.W. please."
To that she says, "Sorry, I can't sell one to you. We don't sell them to the adults because we won't have enough."
WHAT?!? Talk about a let down! I haven't been that disappointed since McDonald's took the McRib off their menu last fall (don't tell me it's a seasonal thing, I would eat them anytime) ;)
So after I got over it and ate something else, this was my lesson for the day:

Thank you God that you are always enough....even more than enough. Your grace is sufficient. Your love is never-ending. Your forgiveness is generous. Your love endures forever, it will never run out! Your grace is for EVERYONE. To anyone who needs your grace, you will never say, "Sorry, I can't give that to you, I'm all out."

I can live without a pepperoni wrap.

Rescue Me!

I started my substituting year of 2008 off with a bang. I'm filling in for 4 weeks in the resource room at East. Part of my duty is to go to the cafeteria and help the Kindergarteners put up their trays and take them out for recess. Their very first day was a little rough but pretty good considering it was their first time EVER to eat in the cafeteria. When I took them outside there was one litle girl who froze on the top step of the curly slide. She was too scared to go down the slide or back down the ladder. So I cleared the other kids off the ladder and went up for a Kindergarten rescue ;) She was just precious. I turned her around and showed her how to put her hands on the ladder handles and her foot down on the next step. We got down without a hitch.Day 2 was more calm with no scaling the slide ladder for rescue missions. :) Glad I had my new shoes on that day (and wasn't wearing a skirt!!)

Start Living

Evan and I were spending some time in the kitchen the other day. He wanted to try frying in a skillet. So he was fixing some chicken tenders and a few onion rings. We were talking as he cooked and I washed dishes. He said, "It's good that I'm learning to do different stuff so that before I get a life, you know, get married and have kids....I'll know how to do stuff."

I replied, "Evan, it's great that you're learning how to do things by yourself. But what's the deal about "before I get a life"? You are living a life RIGHT NOW. Life doesn't start when you get married and have kids." And our conversation continued and expanded.

I couldn't help thinking about it again later. How many people are waiting to do WHATEVER before they "get a life". How many people don't think they'll be really complete unless they get married, have kids, have their own business, make a million dollars, lose weight, get revenge...the list could go on and on. What are we waiting for? Our lives were planned before we ever took our first breath. If we're alive, we need to start living. What are we waiting for? What do we think we need to do first before we get a life? If you are breathing, but not really living, what's holding you back? We may have 1 hour, 1 week, 1 year or 50 years left. So what are we waiting for? Don't waste a single moment.

If you're not sure what's holding you back or you don't feel like you've got a life, you're just a prayer away from finding out.

I'm reminded of an amazing song by Superchick that says,

"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love"

Evening with an Author!

We had such an enjoyable evening tonight! Mom, Dad, the kids and I traveled to Loogootee UMC to hear Mr. Philip Gulley speak and also do a book signing. Since the books I'd read of his were either Aunt Shirley's or checked out from the library.....we bought a book tonight so that he could sign it. He shared several stories that were so comical we were laughing out loud (which I found out later totally embarrassed Katy, but so what). It was so nice to meet the person who wrote the books I've loved reading. I thought, "His family probably thinks it's funny that people are taking his picture." He came over to where we were seated before the evening officially started and talked to us (esp. to Dad) for quite a while, in fact the 7:00 start time was delayed by about 15 min or so. Afterwards we went to Billy Bobe's pizza for a late supper. Yum! Chris sent over a basket of onion petals to our table on the house and they were delicious! Katy drove us there and back and if you ask her, that was probably the best part of her evening. I was embarrassed that she sat with us during the speaking and looked like she was constipated and hadn't had a good trip to the bathroom in 3 or 4 days. I really saw "the teenager" come out in full force. But the rest of us, including Evan had a wonderful time.

Drama Team

This Sunday the youth drama team that Katy is a part of presented a drama in song during our worship service. They did an outstanding job!!

Poker Stars Junior

We came back from church and lunch at the local Mexican spot and the kids "were bored". So Susan's House of Cards sponsored a local match of the world poker tournement. ;)
Evan plunged in whole hog and came out the big winner of the afternoon!

Bicknell Fire Downtown

Last night we took a cruise into town to check out a fire that had started in one of the building downtown. Wow, lots of smoke! It was very interesting to be close enough to view the firemen and the procedures they go through to do their job. It was said this morning that no one was hurt, glad of that. The second picture is the back of the building this morning after the fire was put out. Evan took that one and I think he did a great job.

Cooper's first swim lesson

Today was Cooper's first swim lesson. Evan was chomping at the bit to take Cooper over to Grandpa's huge pond and test him out. We took his tennis ball that he plays fetch very well with. He trottoed out onto the dock but was very hesitent about jumping in. Going out from the bank didn't work very well either because he could tell when the water started getting deeper. So Evan took him out to the dock and put him in the water. He scrambled around at first and tried to climb back on the floating dock, but then took off for the shore, dog-paddle style of course ;)

I don't have pic's of the actual swim because I was over on the bank giving him verbal encouragement to keep swimming towards me. We all needed a bath when we got back due to Cooper's shaking water off. He did a good job and seemed to enjoy it. Hope you enjoy the picures.

It was 1980 somethin'

Lori and I posing in our suits at Trafalgar (Band Camp). We swam in the mossy lake during free time. We were desperate to cool off! Loving the redneck tan I have on my arms.
Lori stretching out on a bunk after a long day of learning new routines in 90' humid Indiana heat.
At my house on the front steps. Backrow: Julie, Jenny, Sandy Frontrow: Pam, Marsha, Lori Me bottom center. Notice my cool Boy George sleeveless tee, oh yeh!
This is one of my best friends, Jamie. We have known each other all our lives and I love him like the brother I never had.
Julie, Jenny (Jamie's wife and another best friend), and Lori (best friend). I'm not sure what the situation was, but it probably involved talking about boys mabye?

Niece and Nephew

I copied these pic's from my sister's blog. But I just had to add them because they are so CUTE!

Mara and Alden, they are 2 precious kid-a-roo's!!

Awww, no fair. I want an ice-cream truck in our neighborhood too.

Enjoying a weekend with friends

Lunch at Mom and Dad's. You can see everyone but Evan, he is behind Dad's head :) Thank you Mom and Dad for making such a delicious meal!

After lunch fishing on the dock. First time for Ciara to fish? She did a great job!
Taken on Mom and Dad's breeze-way. Ciara, Lori, and Bill.
Evan and Ciara enjoying Swimland on a warm summer day. They get along more like siblings than strangers.
Ciara and Evan teaming up to play some tricks on Bill.

Today

Not every day is a perfect day. Some get pretty close, but not quite. But this was a perfect day.

Got up, got ready and went to church. After church Evan and I stopped at the produce market and bought tomatoes and a canteloupe. We went to our house and picked up Mark, Bill, Lori, and Ciara. (Our friends from Washington state that are visiting) We drove over to Mom and Dad's for lunch. Hamburgers, homemade mac/cheese, baked beans, broccoli/cheese, and apple salad. Oh, and tomatoes ;) YUM Mom made a cherry pie and a blackberry cobbler for dessert. DOUBLE YUM

I stepped in for Rebecca at the 4-H meeting at 2p.m. then we all donned our bathing suits and jumped in the local pool for the rest of the afternoon.

We came home, dried off and dressed. I mixed up a batch of homemade ice cream and Bill and I got it churning out in the garage while Mark started a fire. We ate roasted hot dogs for supper and homemade ice-cream for dessert.

When it got dark, Evan put on a fireworks show for us in the backyard. It was Awesome. Then we circled the fire with our lawn chairs and chatted away until almost midnight. We even spotted a coyote out in the field.

Someday when I need an excellent memory to get me through a tough time or a freezing winter day I'll look back on this perfect summer day and smile.

Self-taken of Mark and I at the fireworks. This is a rare shot of him actually looking pleasantly goofy. ;) No camping = no make-up. Yes, Julia already informed me I have sun damage on my face so I won't need comments regarding that.........
This is our little friend. He lived in Grandma's fire wood box until we decided to make a fire. He wasn't thrilled about moving out!

Camp pics

Katy and Kailey out for a ride.
Danger ahead! Kendra with a lighter and Evan with lighter fluid
Love this one of Kendra during the fireworks
Jocelyn gave Katy a 4th of July manicure, red-white-and blue fingernails
Yeh, this is MY CHAIR. Comfortable Mark?

Even more camp pics

Kailey and Evan watching the fireworks, Kailey kept saying, "AWESOME"!
Grandma's Girl!
Kailey on the move, cute
Katy did such a good job on her cookie! ;)
The official babysitter of camp

More camping photos

Katy and Evan with cousins Kendra and Jocelyn














Goodtimes with friends around the campfire














Katy on the golf cart at camp















Jocelyn on her bike at camp

Camp Pictures

A view of our camper at Site #34










Danica: She is so precious!




Time to eat!










Decorating patriotic cookies, Icing Boy


Evan and Kaily goofing around

Is Fungus good for you?

Today on the way home from town with Evan I told him he needed to eat a string-cheese stick and an apple at least with his lunch. (trying for healthier choices) He asked if he could cut up the apple and have carmel dip with it. (there goes the healthy part) I said he could if we had any. I thought there might be some in the back of the fridge, we just don't eat a lot of it at once. So as he reached in the fridge and looked by golly he found a container of it. As he pried the lid off these were his words, "Please no fungus, please no fungus........." :)

Love packages Mission Trip 6

1. Steve sharing a Love Packages story after a meal 2. Group warehouse shot 3. the staff, Vern, Steve, Debbie, and Jason!