Zach & "Buddy"

Hello, Friends.. I know I said I'd be posting a more serious post soon but this video is just too cute not to share. (Besides, I'm finding myself once again at the end of another day with little time left) If you've been with me for any of the past few posts you know that we're raising a baby calf. Well, technically, ZACH is. He's been bottle-feeding the little one since we lost his mama and has affectionately named the calf, "Buddy".

In this video you'll see how Buddy has learned to trust Zach and also LOVES to "play" with him. (You'll hear our collie, Lassie, barking.. she's jealous that Zach's playing with "someone else")

Also, watch closely.. and be sure to turn up the volume when you see Gabe enter the pen. He's watched Zach run while the calf chases him many times before and he wants to "play the game too". Well, he THINKS he does.. You'll hear Gabe SQUEAL after he realizes the chase is ON! (I was ROLLING when this happened and STILL find myself CRACKING UP EVERY time I watch it)

Thanks for hanging with me here! I sure do appreciate you for visiting! =-) Maybe, just MAYBE I'll get caught up soon. HA!!

Take care..
Love,

I MIGHT be a Redneck..

Hello, Friends..

I wanted to start this post by "coming clean" about the RipStik. I didn't think about the way I worded the title of the last post until much later... SOOOOO... just to make certain that I didn't mislead anyone... I DO NOT "ripstik". HA!! I TRIED it ONCE and just as I was about to fall over, I screamed out, "CATCH ME, GABE!" If you could've only seen the LOOK on his face! (hehehee) He squinted his eyes and threw out his arms as if he really were going to ATTEMPT blocking my fall. HA!!! (It was too cute!) Nope, I'm MUCH TOO CLUMSY for all that. ☺

On another note.. I thought I'd share some "redneck humor" with you. (It's an email from my Mom - I thought it was funny)


You know you're a redneck when......

1. You missed your 5th grade graduation because you were on jury duty.
2. You can entertain yourself for more than 15 minutes with a fly swatter.
3. Your boat has not left the driveway in 15 years.
4. You burn your yard rather than mow it.
6. The Salvation Army declines your furniture. (Oh, there WAS a time... HA!!! You should've seen our first couch.. I think it actually CAME from there.. they sure wouldn't have taken it BACK!!)
7. You offer to give someone the shirt off your back and they don't want it.
8. You have the local taxidermist on speed dial. (UMMMMMMM)
9. You come back from the dump with more than you took.
10. You keep a can of Raid on the kitchen table.
11. Your wife can climb a tree faster than your cat. (I don't have a wife, but my ZACH sure CAN!) ☺
12. Your grandmother has 'ammo' on her Christmas list. (My Great-Gramma used to DIP snuff, does THAT count?? Heehee)
13. You keep flea and tick soap in the shower. (That could SOOOO HAPPEN)
14. You've been involved in a custody fight over a hunting dog. (Yep, this could too.. HA!!)
15. You go to the stock car races and don't need a program.
16. You know how many bales of hay your car will hold. (I don't know about hay, but I DO know how many "ears of corn" it will hold)
17. You have a rag for a gas cap. (We once owned a truck we had to "hot-wire" just to crank, THAT count?)
18. Your house doesn't have curtains, but your truck does.
19. You consider your license plate personalized because your father made it.
20. Your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand.
21. You have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say 'Cool Whip' on the side. (I'm sorta guilty with that one.. I DO have a "set" of Cool Whip bowls, but I consider mine more of a "portable Tupperware" that I don't mind not getting back.. HA!!)

22. The biggest city you've ever been to is Wal-Mart.
22. Your working TV sits on top of your non-working TV.
23. You've used your ironing board as a buffet table.





I got a kick out of those.. mostly because I could identify with MANY of them. Hey, I'm a redneck and PROUD of it! ☺ No worries here! (I mean, seriously, when the most exciting thing happening at our house is bottle-feeding a calf... well, you get my drift)


There've been a lot of ideas floating around in my head about future posts. I really want to do one on holiness. (Recently watched the movie, 'Time Changer' and have been HEAVILY convicted about how numb I've become to many things) If you've not seen it, it's a MUST SEE!

All of that to say that I hope to do a more serious post in the next day or two. I'm still finding it a bit hard to balance school with the boys, keeping a tidy house, and all the other chores and tasks that fill our days. I've found myself sharing easier topics like humor and videos because those can be done pretty quickly. (I MISS you guys when I don't post and visit YOU regularly) ☺

I suppose that's enough rambling, eh? I'll "talk" with you soon... ☺

LOVE,

Do YOU RipStik?? :-) *edited*

Okay, if any of you checked in earlier and wondered what in the world this post was about.. let me explain. LOL!! See, I emailed a video that SHOULD HAVE posted here. (Or so I thought) Anyway, we'd taken the kiddos out for dinner and it wasn't until I got home that I realized it DIDN'T POST AT ALL! (Silly me, Sorry!) Anyway.. the video was one I made of the boys earlier this morning. They are RipStik CRAZY!! I thought I'd "film" them playing around and share it with you. (They SERIOUSLY AMUSE me with their stunts - I mean, so long as they're not DANGEROUS!) O:-) Oh, if you're wondering "who's who?"... (it's REALLY HARD to tell, even for me while watching this video)... Clay and Zach are the ones that are holding the rope and swinging each other around. Clay's wearing the lighter colored jeans. Gabe is the kid you'll see boarding out of the carport.

Alrighty, I know this was a random post. Not much reasoning behind it.. HA! I just thought you might get a kick out watching.


I guess that's about it for me today. =-) I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend!

LOVE YOU!

Something COOL to share!

Hello, Sweet Friends..

This is another of those days that I'm short on time. (I'm short in person too.. LOL!) Sorry, that was corny wasn't it?? ☺ Corny, but TRUE, I'm afraid. Moving on....

When I started out for town last week (the first time I'd been attempting to do Walmart in weeks) I ran over a bolt in the road and got an INSTANT FLAT TIRE! Needless to say, by the time the hubby got to where we were and got the tire plugged.. well, my day was pretty much GONE! (He asked me to go on and get the tire FIXED while I was out so that finished off my day) I know, that was too much info wasn't it?? Hehehehe






Okay, so I wanted to check in and tell you about something REALLY COOL I found! It's a website called, "Slacker". (Now I've not seen anything bad on this site, but just to make sure, I'll warn you to enter at your own risk) What IS Slacker? Well, it's a site that let's you listen to FREE music! There's MORE! You can pick from SEVERAL different styles of music. There's Christian, Christian Rock, Rock, R&B, Country... the list goes on and on.

There's STILL more... (IF you have a Blackberry or iphone) You can download the app to your phone and play FREE music when you want! (Now that's assuming you have an unlimited data plan)

I SURE HOPE you don't find anything bad on this site.. I've been on it SEVERAL times, and as I said, I've not seen anything bad. (However, I suppose the graphics you'll see depends on the type of music you're listening to)

Anyway.. I thought this was really cool and wanted to share! I'm LOVING it so far!!

The Invisible Woman

Hello, Friends...

I got another AMAZING video through email today. My dear friend Piper sent it over. I doubt you can watch it without having your socks BLESSED OFF! If I've shared it online before.. overlook me, I'm an airhead and am EXTREMELY FORGETFUL! I figured it's worth watching again.. even if you have seen it. I mean, seriously. How many of us have NEVER felt invisible? (I hate to leave out my online "brothers" with this post.. think of it this way.. it's a peek inside a woman's heart) ☺

Have a BLESSED day!

Allie Grace & an award..

As you probably already know we kept our sweet little Allie Grace last week. She's at an age where she mimics EVERYTHING you do! It's just TOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!! Well, she's undoubtedly started "dancing" so of course the boys tried ALL day (over and over and OVER again) to get her to dance for them.

The video I'm about to share was taken with my phone (Yes, that explains the poor quality and the blurring when she starts jumping) O=-) We'd found a really peppy song on the radio and she was just about to "cut loose." (Oh, ignore my hillbilly accent when you hear me talking.. ICK!)

So to set the stage (so to speak)... Gabe was dancing all over the place trying to get her to dance. I kept trying to get him to STOP the crazy dancing and just "bop his head" because I knew all the movement would blur the video. (Not much luck with that) HA!! Oh, if you'll watch closely (bottom left corner of the screen) you can see Gabe's shadow as he was dancing.. but don't tell him.. he'll kill me.

Alrighty, I've rambled enough... here's our little angel ☺

Needless to say, we are just CRAZY about this baby! (The boys ALWAYS BEG for a baby sister when we've had her)


Now, on to bloggy awards....





I received an award from Jennifer @ My Life With Four Kids. This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.


The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link. (check.)

2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award. (check.. well, kind of)

See, I ALWAYS cheat when it comes to things like this.. I can never pick just one, or two, or fifteen (like the rules instruct). I just can't do it. I'm a cheater like that.. sorry. I think you're all deserving of this award, I couldn't possibly.. oh, I've said all this already didn't I? Hehehe Thanks again Jennifer for thinking of me. You are just too sweet! ♥U!


Okay, I've kept you long enough.. I hope each of you will have a FANTASTIC week!

Love,

Happy Valentine's Day

For God so loVed the world,
That He GAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life."

John 3:16

babysitting photos, and a calf =o)

Hello, Friends!

Today seems like all the others.. I'm on the run again. (I've gotta get out today and get my Sweetie's a Valentine gift) I'm thankful that I at least have a moment to check in. I thought you might enjoy the pictures from yesterday. (Our day of babysitting two ADORABLE babies)

If you read how I labeled this post, then you might have also guessed that I'll be posting a picture of our calf as well. (His mom had some SERIOUS problems during birth and isn't likely to make it) We've been trying to get him to bottle feed - the boys have been beside themselves over getting to bottle feed him. (Well, it's Zach mostly.. it's just TOO cute!)

Anyway, I'll post the pics and will run. I hope you all have a FANTASTIC weekend!



First, Link's sister (Elizabeth) has a flower shop in Ackerman - (It's called, "Forget Me Not".. isn't that cute?). Elizabeth has been REALLY BUSY this week so we got to keep Allie Grace yesterday and will again tomorrow. Allie is just TOO PRECIOUS! She's ALL I've heard about since she left here yesterday. =-)

Zach & Allie


Gabe & Allie (overlook the mess, remember, we had TWO babies.. LOL!!)







Now, if you've been with us on Brent's Caringbridge site for any length of time at all, you already "know" Brian & Meredith. (Mer & Dana are twins.. Dana & Brad, and Mer & Brian spent a lot of time with Brent/us while he was sick) Brent actually thought of "Mr. Brad" as one of his best buds. We got to know both of these sweet couples during this time. They (both couples) and their Mom, Mrs. Tommie all came to Memphis after we came back (to let Brent go HOME). They stayed in our apartment across from St. Jude and kept Zach & Gabe for us. Then of course took care of us in the days that followed us coming home. I can't voice how much they meant to us during that time....... ANYWAY... Mer & Brian had their first baby. (Little Jacob) I'd kept him once before, but kept him yesterday while Dana (and Brad) were having THEIR first baby. (It was a GIRL!)

All of that to say we were up to our necks in baby-love yesterday! (And loving EVERY MINUTE of it!) =-) So this is Jacob...


I'll post pics of Brad & Dana's baby as soon as I get my hands on one.. hehehe (Poor babies.. they'll learn to fear the flash of a camera just like ours do)


Now, here's Zach bottle feeding the calf..



Love,

I may never use my brain again..

As you might've guessed by the way I labeled this post that this one didn't have much thought put into it. As much as I'd love to sit and ramble on today, I can't. I'll be keeping a wee little baby, and my niece Allie Grace. They should arrive here soon so I'll try to keep this short.

Since I can't stay and talk.. I'm going to share another video. (I hope you're not getting tired of these.. I never do. O=-) My sweet friend, Randy, emailed this to me. I LOVE IT!

Have a BLESSED day!
Love,

Kingdom Dog

I've been wanting to come and post all day. This has just been "one of those days" and I've had very little free time. In checking my email I found this video (thanks Michelle) and of course couldn't wait to share it with YOU! It's a GREAT message!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Love,

A hard word..

Warning: This post contains a link that will take you to a sermon.. in this sermon, "dating" is discussed and what the Bible has to say about relationships between men and women. You might want to listen to this when your little people aren't in the room.





Hello, Friends...

As I stated yesterday, I've been wanting to share more from my heart. I've held back at times because I always worry about offending someone or perhaps even hurt their feelings. I'd rather be hurt myself a hundred times than to hurt someone else. (I'm dead serious) All of that to say that a friend emailed me a sermon on dating and I thought it was AMAZING. Yes, it's COMPLETELY different from anything we see in our culture today, but it's biblical. Yes, it sounds like something ancient.. time passes, cultures change, but GOD DOESN'T. I can only WISH I'd have heard this when I was a young teen and beginning the dating scene. Oh, I learned pretty quickly what those young guys wanted in a girlfriend... and if you weren't up to what they expected of you.. well, they'd move on to the next girl.

I'm going to provide the link to the site and I've also embedded the sermon in my sidebar. (I'll leave it there a few days) I'd suggest praying and asking GOD to open our hearts BEFORE we listen and then allow HIM to speak to us as we hear. If you'd like to listen, click HERE


Ending with a scripture...

1 Peter 1:16
because it is written, " YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

Birthday Wishes..

Hello, Friends!

I know my posts have been all over the place lately.. I truly want to share more from my heart in future posts.. I suppose in some ways I'm beginning today.






I want to wish a special friend a VERY HAPPY Birthday! Yes, my friend, Susan, was born on this day. She is one of the most amazing, GOD-fearing women I have ever met! For those of you who may not know Susan, we met through our son's caringbridge sites. Her son Jordan is a St. Jude patient and that is where we first met. (Jordan & Brent became INSTANT friends)

Susan has encouraged me through the word every step of our journey.. she's seen me at my best and at my worst and she still loves me. (That's a TRUE friend, amen?? Hehehe) So today, I wanted to dedicate this post to her. Susan, I hope you have one of the BEST birthdays EVER! I love you from the very bottom of my heart!

I'd like to invite you, my internet family, to hop over and wish Susan a happy b'day. You will be TREMENDOUSLY BLESSED when you "meet" her. (She's truly an amazing woman)

Another Adorable Video..

Hello, Friends!

I'm checking in quickly to share another video. (If any of you are wondering.. these are just random.. I'm getting them through email) My Mom forwarded this one to me last night and I thought you'd enjoy it.

ADORABLE little girl..

This is just TOO CUTE not to share!

I wish I lived in Mayberry =o)

Okay.. I'm over it. I think... LOL! (I'm referring to my last post)

I mean, I guess I should've been born 50 years ago or something? I think I'd like to have lived back in the day when the Andy Griffith show was filmed. You know, when Barney would get all bent out of shape because someone was parking in the wrong spot, or crossing the road where they shouldn't. A time when young children could SAFELY walk around town by themselves. So, if the Bible didn't tell us that there was a time and a place for us to "exist" I might seriously think I was born in the wrong time! Hehehehe... but here's proof that I wasn't! ;-)


Acts 17:26
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.


Isn't it COOL to know that no matter WHAT'S going on in our lives that GOD already knows about it? I mean, HE even cares so much that HE put us in just the right country, state, city... and even family! Mind boggling, isn't it?


Before I move on to something a little more serious, and a lot less fun (I mean, what's more fun than watching the Andy Griffith show??) I'll leave you with a quick little video from one of our FAVORITE shows! =-)

To the more serious stuff..

I got an email from the John McCain campaign asking that I sign a petition asking to vote "NO" on the current economic stimulus package. I know that to many families, those who are struggling, it might seem like a good idea.. but if part of the deal includes giving away millions to "special interest and high rollers" (as was stated on the petition) well, that just doesn't make sense. I know that our government has already "bailed out" large companies who then turned around and spent THOUSANDS on a trip to the spa.. and we later hear they've bought a private jet! This is WRONG! There has to be a better plan.. a way to do things without putting more burden on the working man. (Our children will PAY for the decisions we make now) If you're interested in signing this petition click HERE.

I'll sign off today in prayer...

Lord, I ask you to please guide President Obama as he leads our nation. I ask you to direct his every decision. Please help him to know the right thing, and to do it. I pray for all other governing officials, help them to seek YOUR will. I ask that You will bring conviction on our nation.. help us, LORD, to do what is right in YOUR eyes. Please give us a heart for Your people.. help us to love each other the way YOU do.

In JESUS Name, Amen

facebook.. again?

Hello, Friends!

I wanted to check in just for the sake of checking in. I really wanted to do a post that wasn't so "generic"... but I've sat here and used a lot of time trying to get reacquainted with facebook. (I had deleted my account but realized only tonight that it was still there, just like I left it.. all I had to do was activate it)

Part of revisiting was fun. I mean, it IS a tool for catching/keeping up with friends. However, I found that visiting some of my "friends" made me sad. (Some of the teens) One kid in particular spent a lot of time at our house a few years back.. as sweet and innocent as any child could be. Now? Well, there's use of language that would make a sailor blush.. and pictures of them smoking (and probably drinking) and there's talk about "adult situations" that they really shouldn't be involved in at all. It just makes me sad that this kind of stuff is going on and I SERIOUSLY DOUBT the parents even know it. I mean, WHY aren't we as parents and protectors of our children watching what they're doing??? Okay, I didn't mean to get on a soapbox.. I'm just REALLY VERY disturbed about it all.

Now don't get me wrong.. I know there are a lot of kids that are getting it right. (And I'm NOT trying to say I've never done anything wrong either) I just wish that... well, I wish that innocence wasn't a bad thing. I wish that it was still "cool" to be pure and to present yourself that way.

I can see that this post is going to run in circles... LOL.. maybe I'll come back and try again tomorrow?

On another note... I'm FINALLY making my way around to "catching up" with you all and it's been really nice spending time at YOUR places! I do hope to be a better friend and to be more encouraging to YOU! (You guys have been just AMAZING to me!)

Alrighty.. I think I can hear my little people still talking. I think I need to go and *encourage* them to be quiet and go to SLEEP! ha!!!


Thanks for letting me ramble (or rant?) I'll try make more sense the next time. O=-)
Love,

A FREE magazine for YOU!

I wanted you to know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine. They just published the February issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it.





The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who has seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamilyblog.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.



Again, the subscription is free, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues. www.seriouslifemagazine.com

"Finally Home" (Video by Mercy Me)

Hello, Friends!

I'm STILL catching up on email and in doing so I found this video. WOW. It definitely makes you think.. especially if you don't personally have someone close to you that is or has been deployed in one of the branches of the military.

I've also just received an email from a dear friend who's son has just been deployed. This video will kind of "kick up a notch," how well we remember the need to PRAY for our service men and women.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did!