Our Moving adventure...

We were packed and ready to move on the 30th of August. Two men and a truck, did a great job, but since Marcus broke down the beds , they were not allowed to put them together. So, they still lean against the walls, except for ours. That seemed reasonable, when we realized that we needed to get the carpets clean. But, our plans have changed since our cleaning ladies used Clorox to clean the baseboards, and we now have blotches of Clorox on the carpet. Honestly, we weren't convinced that cleaning would do the job, and since our cleaning ladies don't understand English, they may have thought that we were going to get new carpet. Now, we are!

Utility problems have been non-stop. Luckily, I drove up to our rent house, about the time the guy had turned off our utilities. I was able to convince him to turn them back on, for the landlord, and because the cleaning ladies would be there to clean. But, when I returned home, our new house utilities was shut off, and the cable guy had to reschedule . We learned that we were with a St. Cloud utility company, although we had used the Internet to transfer our Orlando utilities. They resolved that problem by the afternoon.
The next day, we had no water, and made 6 phone calls to find the right department for this area.
The cable guy returned, but 2 days later, that was no longer working. Got that fixed!

Marcus has been busy with emergency room visits. As he was fixing the shower head, he got his ring finger caught, and cut deeply into his knuckle. After 5 hr. 45 min at the ER, he returned home without seeing a Dr. Skin glue has helped repair that injury.
Then, when preparing to sky dive, he was doing a barrel roll in the wind tunnel, fell and separated his shoulder. After a restless night, we headed for another ER. He is doing much better, just needs to take it easy. With TLC, it should get better. Both injuries, within 5 days, kept him from playing golf with some guys at church.

What an adventure! I'm ready for this to be done!

Two beautiful Brides!

Caleb & Erin Lowery
July 28, 2007

Nathan & Lana Miller
August 11, 2007

We attended two wonderful weddings this summer.
Erin is our a perfect fit in our family and we are so proud of her
choice to marry Caleb. We hope to get to know him better as we
keep track of them and celebrate each milestone of their life together.

The Lana and Nathan story is amazing. Just last August, she pointed
the new guy out to us, in the church parking lot, and said, "That's Nathan!
He's going to be my new best friend." Their wedding was perfect,
and knowing our sweet daughter, Nathan is in for quite an
adventure, lots of laughs and so much fun. He's a perfect match for
Lana. We are thrilled for them.

If these two couples ever get a chance to be together, they can discuss
how the mothers of the grooms had matching dresses, great choice....
what it's like to get a Masters in English, and how good God has been
to them!

I am blessed to be Mom to Lana & Wanta-be-Mom to Erin.

Lost in the Crowd

Yesterday, I received this bouquet of flowers from Jenny, Kim And Todd at the Waterford Marriott in Oklahoma City. I also received the Dillard's gift card from Kim, the day before. The thing is, I really didn't deserve it, because like this red flower, I stuck out like a sore thumb, when I got lost in the crowd.

So, I blame it on being the mother of the bride, making some adjustments all week long, and not going to take this new adjustment without being heard. We had just checked in at the Marriott, expecting a double, knowing that other family members had problems with their rooms. So, I was o.k. getting a king and having a roll away brought in for Alex. But, when they informed us that roll aways were all taken, I didn't receive that so well. Our niece was going to get extra blankets for the floor, as was Alex. By George! That wasn't what was written on our "blocks of rooms contract", and I let them know louder and clearer than I should have. It soon occurred to me that the people behind the desk, had no power to make things right, which made things worse. Yes, I was the motherzilla of the bride, well not that bad. So, wanting to be heard, I e-mailed the general manger, received a conference call from his staff, felt they agreed with my point, and turned down their offer of compensation, just wanting it better for the next bridal party.

We had a wonderful reception at the Marriott, lots of fun, great food, (just needed better refill service), and Alex went from sleeping on chairs to a roll away the next night. Never got the double!

I have to say, getting lost in the crowd, made this mother of the bride, stick out like a sore thumb.

Heard it on the Radio

Who ever I was listening to, was talking about marriage. Since Lana & Nathan will be getting married in 3 weeks and since Marcus & I will have our 33rd anniversary, my ears perk up.

comment #1 : A teenager ask his grandfather, what he did back in the days, to keep from getting STD's. His grandfather raised his left hand and said, "This! It's called marriage!"

comment # 2: A preacher was once ask what is the meaning of wedding rings? His reply, "They stop all circulation!"

I have been so blessed to be with Marcus for 33 yrs. A few years ago, I came across a saying, that put so much in prospective. It said, "Choose your love and love your choice."

I do love my choice and thank God that HE has seen us through.

When Love Hurts

Recently, my heart was heavy as I thought of a sweet single girl sending her new born baby across the country to live with her loving brother and family. She knew what she wanted and what was best, would result in love that hurts.
I ask God a stupid question that day. "God, do you know how it feels when love hurts?"

HIS precious reply was an image from the movie, "The Passion."

I recalled the tear drop falling from heaven and causing an earthquake. A perfect symbol of how much love hurts.

Wow! Why I ask that question, in hindsight, seems so silly. But, I have realized that when times are hard, I need to ask God if HE knows. Then be blessed by HIS grace and goodness.

Signs and Wonders

While strolling through a store recently, I came across some home decor that caught my eye. The place had a variety of wall plagues that made me stop and wonder... am I showing a bit of these attributes in my life?

Each decorative plaque also had a message...

"We can do no great things, just small things with great love." Mother Teresa

A real friend is someone who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out.

Because Nice Matter!


These plaques reminded me of the 2 that have been in our house.

"Bloom where you are planted and transplanted and transplanted."

"Encourage each other to greatness!"

I hope your day is full of signs and wonders that give you pause and motivation to do better.

A glimpse of a mothers grief

The following was written by my sister, Kathy, to her son, Adam. It's a glimpse into the heart of grief and faith.

ADAM,
I no longer pray for you. That seems like a strange thing for a mother to say, but it is true. I thank God for your life and the blessing of being your mother, but I no longer feel an need to pray for you. For 28 yrs and 8 days I prayed for you and ask God to keep you safe, and now I find myself struggling with His answer. I think that most of the time, we see ourselves as earthly children of God and that is the way we pray. But God sees us as His eternal children, and that is the way He answers. God has answered my prayer and you are now safe for all eternity. It is amazing how His answer causes so much pain and sorrow for the earthly child of God and at the same time gives so much joy & comfort to this eternal child of God.

Just another example of the awesome mother she is.