Thanks be to God...

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanks be to God...

Thankful be, thanksgiving tree









the sweets~!







the kids...andrew. maura. thomas.kate & grace

 

While it's still Thanksgiving weekend, I want to remember my blessings. I have so many.  Thursday found us together at Mom & Dad's to celebrate with Hollie, Eunice and Al, Bootie, Amy, Punky, Josh and James, Kaitlyn, Gracie, Thomas, Andrew and Maura, Jacob and Olivis...wow!  It was a house full as well as a table full.  We laughed alot and remembered fun times.  The food...well, maybe this picture will do it some justice! After we ate, and ate some more, the kids went out and played in the leaves and threw the pigskin...a pot of coffee and coconut cake later, folks began to leave.  The kids went over to Keith's to have dinner with him. All I will say about that is...the tradition continues...

I am THANKFUL for so many things...my health, my job, my parents, my kids, this girl



baby el on her first Thanksgiving










On Friday, we met and headed out for Black Friday shopping.  I was encouraged to make my yearly pilgramage to the mall...what a mad house!  I got a few things, then we headed back to Mom & Dad's for dinner of turkey soup and hot rolls...good stuff!  Kaitlyn was feeling a little worse, and we left there and she went to Patient First.  Poor girl, she had a double ear infection and walking pneumonia.  That brings us to today...Andrew has been here all day.  It's been fun to have him around.  I made a big pot of chili and we watched Virginia Tech beat UVA 36-0.  It was a sweet win!  The big girls and David made it back to the Burg safely, and although tired, I'm thinking we are all thankful for the love and support of family, both heavenly and here on earth.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and so I am!

Let the holidays begin!

The holiday tree at Stony Point...beautiful!

Redeemed

Redeemed...

Isaiah 43

43But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you

store.wildolivetees.com

Things that make me happy...

This baby girl smiling...
and the Autumn sun shining

and the beauty of fall and it's
many, many blessings

good coffee (and good college teams!)

Chicken noodle soup and LIFE!!!


These are just a few of my favorite things!
So blessed that GOD cares enough to love me even'
when I can't even love myself  sometimes.

Blessings of Fall...

Over the weekend, Thomas (now forever known as "Uncle Tom") & I went up to Blacksburg to see the girls.  The trip up was a good one thank goodness!  I don't like to drive anyway, and even less so after working all day.  We got there in time for dinner.  Gracie & Dave decided that Cracker Barrel would be just fine.  The "old country store" was lit up like...well a Christmas tree!  I love walking around in there and seeing all the neat stuff.  After dinner we were all sufficiently stuffed and headed back to Gracie's apt. David, Gracie & Thomas headed over to Dave's abode to watch a movie. The three "adults" watched Shrek II!

Me, feeling older than I am was happy to take a nice long shower and read myself to sleep at Gracie's.  I slept with the window open and the crisp mountain air was delicious!  I slept really well.  Saturday morning, Gracie and I headed out to the Farmer's Market.  The Daliah's were so pretty and we loved the fried pumpkin pie made on the spot for us.  After that, we needed coffee.  We headed to Next Door Bake Shop for some Java.

While there, there was the sweetest little old man sitting with maybe his daughter.  They were obviously talking about some serious stuff, like end of life issues, and every once in awhile, he would reach over and pat her arm.  He was so sweet, and reminded me so much of dad.

For our afternoon "activity" we were going to Joe's Trees for a pumpkin...well we ended up heading to the thrift store and Kroger instead...I made dinner of meatballs and rice with a big salad for dinner and we headed to Pearisburg to see the girls.  We finished watching the excellent ending to the Tech game and had a great time just sitting around talking.  Gracie got the bright idea to give El's her sucker.  That baby had a sugery mess from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet...she enjoyed every minute of it!  Guess who got to hold her during that escapade!  She is so sweet and quite a little spit fire when she wants to be.  In her defense, she was teething, as she had her two bottom teeth pop through yesterday!  Our baby is growing up...too fast.

El's and her first sucker!

Late in the evening, we heard a gosh awful sound of every siren in Giles county going off.  I thought something catastrophic had happened...we could stand in the front yard and see all of the lights. Come to find out, it's "Fire Prevention Week" and it was all a parade....well you could have fooled me! It made Jasper bark and it woke El up...

El's & "Uncle Tom"

Jasper

El's after her bath

  

Hanging upside down..and loving it!

Thomas with the Mountains in the background

Beautiful...the leaves are just beginning to turn

Gracie and I headed back to Christiansburg and Thomas stayed in Pearisburg.  I slept so good again Sat night.  On Sunday, we bummed around and headed back to the River city to start another work week....I guess I need to stay home next weekend!  I've been gone for two weekends in a row, and the house and laundry look like it.  It's all good though, because all of that will be waiting for me when I get to it...baby's and kids don't keep!

Just as I Am

The Mariner Arena, and the Bromo Seltzer Tower in the background

ust as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

refrain:
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
by the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I’m welcomed with open arms,
praise God just as I am.

Just as I am, I would be lost,
But mercy and grace my freedom bought,
And now to glory in your cross,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

The view from our 11th floor room....

The Radisson Lord Baltimore Inn 

Love this shot

Loved this quote

Beautiful hibiscus 

View of ships in the Inner Harbor

Another ship in the harbor

Now THAT'S a salad!

The seafood was to die for!

Loved this little guy, he perched right by our table

So touching, almost holy. Steel from the WTC NY in front of the WTC Baltimore

I was lucky enough to go to Baltimore this weekend to see and hear Beth Moore. It was a wonderful weekend and we talked about such a mundane things as...NETS, yes NETS. Before I get into the heart of the conference, I have to say that the above song absolutely speaks to my heart.  I've found myself humming/singing it off and on all day.  I especially love the refrain.  I so needed this weekend retreat, and I was not disappointed.  I truely feel like I heard the voice of God. Actually, I know that I did!  Up next...all I learned about "Nets"..

The winds of change...

The winds of change...

Hebrews 11

Faith in Action

 ¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

School is well under way, and as predicted, there are more and more kids with complex medical needs.  Our asthma caseload has nearly doubled.  I have several kids with chronic but serious medical conditions.  The wonderful thing about it is, the kids don't know they are sick.  They are some of the happiest, most energized, positive kids I've ever seen.  They make my day, every day!  I love my work.

We've had a circuitous route to get where we are though!  We've had a magnatude 5.8 earthquake, a hurricane, Miss Irene, no power for 10 days, another good drenching from yet another Hurricane, Lee, flooding, blocked roads, and yet it's all come together into a beautiful mess!  Funny how things just seem to come together with faith.

I've started my part time job giving flu/pneumonia shots.  I went up to Christiansburg last weekend.  Thomas and I got up & left before 5AM.  We were guided by a beautiful full moon and got to watch the sunrise over the mountains.  The leaves are just beginning to change. I dropped Thomas off with Gracie and Kaitlyn and went on to set up.  They brought me breakfast a short time later.  I met some really neat folks who didn't have much by the world's standards, but they were rich in family values and history.  Saturday night, we went to David's apt to have dinner.  He had grilled chicken, and burgers.  It was wonderful to have dinner fixed for ME for a change!  The "kids" were all there (sans Andrew) and we watched college football. I got to see sweet little Ellie Belle and enjoy her antics.  She's 4 mos now and getting teeth.  She loves Thomas and her daddy.  She's not a fan of coffee ice cream or loud noises unless they are coming from her!  We left soon after dinner since I was beyond tired.  Gracie graciously gave up her bed (with a down topper and comforter) for me.  It was so sweet of her, and I had the best night's sleep I've had in a while!  We slept with the windows open and it was just about heaven.  

Sunday was a later start time, so I slept in a little, got up to Kuering coffee ready to go and made my way to work from 10-5.  It went pretty quickly.  Especially the last hour.  Katie, Jon & Lohryn brought Ellie by to see me before we left town.  David, Gracie & Thomas went to the Roanoke Zoo for the day.  That Ellie is just the sweetest thing.  I love her to pieces. Lohryn had taken her to get pictures made in her Hokie clothes. They turned out great.

After the clinic was done, we swung back by Gracie's to get out stuff and headed out.  It was a nice drive home and took a little over three hours.  Again, we were blessed with a bright full moon...an Autumn moon.

It was a weekend that memories are made of.  No one was mad, or sick, or sad, everyone was grateful and happy and glad.  It's moments like these that let you know that you've done a good job in guiding your kids.  I am so proud of them and the people they have become.

I usually shy away from change, but when it blows in gifts like a baby's smile and "talking", time with your kids, beautiful Autumn moons, changing leaves and memories for a life time, I say I need to embrace it and accept it for the gift that it is....right now, all is right in my little world and I couldn't be happier!  So change?  Yeah, it's a good thing~

After the storm...

We have emerged from one very long, very dark, very HOT week!  Miss Irene paid us a visit, and our power/cable/TV/phone just came on tonight about 7:15PM, you could hear a cheer go up round the neighborhood! It sure beats the sound of generators.  Someone lit fireworks, the repairmen were throwing Frisbees up and down the street. There was laughter and lots of neighborly good will.  I hope and pray that everyone had power restored today.  It's been a long 9 days, but we made it!

One of about 30 big trees down in our neighborhood...

The leanin tree....literally!

frequently seen around the neighborhood...

A neighbor a daily record of darkness

a sight for sore eyes!

LOVE these guys!!!

Mom & Dad and I all have spic and span freezers and fridges!  We've eaten some creative meals to save what food we could, and who knew that a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup from one's own kitchen could taste SO good!  Thanking God that we're all safe, we have power, school will start on time, and we have weathered the storm.  Oh yeah, and a special thanks from those wonderful guys at Georgia Power....YOU ROCK!!!

And after all was said and done, this little guy makes his graceful appearance....WOW!

Shaken....

Shaken....

Well I can now add earthquakes to my list of life experiences!  About 2PM today, I was sitting at the computer when I felt the house move, and heard a low growling rumble. I initially thought it was

a dump truck or something rolling by, but it persisted, and even intensified.  It lasted about 30-45 seconds.  Seemed a lot longer while it lasted.  We're fine here, just had my lamp knocked off of the pie

safe and some pictures crooked on the wall.  In Louisa, about 30" from here, it was a different story.  

The High School and the other schools had substantial damage.  They closed school for tomorrow. 

As time goes on, they are finding more damage.  

There was some minor damage in downtown Richmond with falling bricks etc.

Guess there's always a chance for aftershocks too....

As if that's not enough weather news, Hurricaine Irene is bearing down on us this weekend

too...

Seismic evidence of the quake...a 5.8 magnitude

Inside of the highschool in Louisa..