Posting

for you, Autumn.....

I cleaned the shop this morning. It took a little longer today. Since I was in Chicago last week and didn't get it done, shew, it was nasty. Especially those bathrooms....G-R-O-S-S!!!!! All those men in that shop using it and well...you get the picture. It was bad!!!!!

I ran 3 miles today. I dug weeds from my flower beds.

Two people I love dearly called today with I guess you could say "situations". Ya know, there are alot of "situations" going on right now. We need God, plain and simple!!!!! Where would we be without Him? I shutter to think!!!!! This world is quickly coming to an end and the enemy is pulling out all his tricks BUT he that endureth to the end shall be saved. With ALL that is in me, I want to endure to the end. I told one of those friends today, "God's side always wins, so if we keep ourselves on His side...we win". If you are reading this and you too have a "situation", keep yourself in that place with the Lord that is acceptable in His sight. Jesus is our strength and our hope. With Him, ALL things are possible. Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face. I want to make Heaven more than ANYTHING else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me encourage you to hold on, our answers are just ahead. VICTORY ON TOP VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight I went to visit Bradley for a while. He was wearing the shirt that I brought him back from Chicago. He's so sweet. His personality and disposition is just so precious. We walked around to visit with my Nanny and Bob. They live just around the corner from where Brad lives. He loves to be out and about. Please keep praying for him. God is doing a work.

Tomorrow my baby girl comes home from the youth camping trip. I'm sure they have had a super great time. They will probably be so tired. You know those kids have not stopped doing something the entire time. The adults will be ready to crash, I'm sure.

I took Pancake, one of our dogs, to the groomer today. I tried this new place in Smyrna called "Classy Clips". She looks so cute. They gave her a bath, a really good hair cut and trimmed her nails. She was soooooo hairy before her haircut that she was shedding all over the house. Yuck!

Well, I guess that's all

blessing - beautiful weather today!

Not too much going on

Today should be rather relaxing. Well, in the fact that I don't really have alot I have to do. I'll probably do some house work, laundry and just "stuff". We went to eat Chinese last night and it kinda did a number on my tummy. I also had a headache last night. But, today I'm feeling better. A good night's sleep always helps.

The Yohe family is on vacation this week so Bro. Jeff asked me to come to Columbia to minister tomorrow morning. With us being on vacation our selves and now going to Columbia, I feel like I haven't been at Antioch in forever. We were in church in Minnesota but I will be glad to be home with everyone. I love and miss them all. I love my home church.

The house is so quiet this morning. Everyone is still in bed. It looks like rain today. I hope it does. Being at home, sipping on coffee while it rains.....awwwww...... I love that.

Steve has a job "prospect" that he might be hearing from next week. PLEASE pray for God 's will in this.

I guess that 's about it for now.

blessing - God is truly taking care of us while waiting on a job opportunity. It's amazing how awesome He is.

Continuing vacation

After church on Sunday in Minnesota, we headed for Chicago. We got there around 9:00pm, checked into the hotel and then went and grabbed a bite to eat. Josh stayed with us that first night and then we took him to the airport on Monday to fly back home. We made a stop at IHop on the way to the airport for some yummy pancakes! After dropping him off, we headed to the Navy Pier. This is outside shopping and attractions. We rode a VERY tall ferris wheel. I'm not real big on heights but it wasn't too bad. We walked through downtown Chicago after going to the Navy Pier and MAN, I could NOT live there. Way, way too busy for me. It's crazy, the people and the chaos. In all of our walking, which was ALOT, we found a mall. Of course, Morgan had to stop in, and of course she found something to buy. That night for dinner we ended up at Applebees.

The next day, Tuesday, we went to the coolest aquarium I have ever seen. Usually after you've seen one fish you've seen them all but this place was HUGE and had tons and tons of different things to see. We watched a dolphin show. Fun memories. This night we got Chicago style pizza. This place is known for really, really good pizza and it certainly lives up to it's name. Before eating pizza, we went to the top of the Sears Tower. It's the 3rd tallest building in the world. WAY up there!

Wednesday was kind of a laid back day. We didn't really have much planned so we just drove around checking things out. Steve likes to visit the colleges in different towns and get a t-shirt to bring back home. This trip he got one from DePaul University. Our flight wasn't planned to leave until 9:45pm. Why we got such a late flight, I don't know except for we were probably thinking it would give us another whole full day but by early afternoon we were ready to come home. We got to the airport early hoping to get an earlier flight but no such luck. So, we just hung around the airport waiting to leave. Morgan and I checked out the gift shops and I got a chance to grab Bradley a Chicago shirt.

We had a super great time. We always have the best times on family vacation. We enjoy each other's company. We laughed so hard a couple of times. Steve mentioned to the kids about bringing a friend some time with them on our vacation and Chandler said "no, I wouldn't like that. I like it just being us". Oh, I loved that. I thank the Lord for my husband and children. I feel blessed more than I deserve.

Enjoy the pics, you can click on them to enlarge if you want.

Catching up...

on laundry that is. I have been doing load after load after load...you get the picture. But, when you've been gone for almost a week and living out of suit cases, well, you do have tons of laundry to do. I didn't get into bed until after 1:00am this morning so needless to say I slept in until after 10:00am, I think. I've been trying to get my house back in some kind of order. We had our "stuff" spread out all over this house. You can actually see the floor again, so I must be making some progress.

We had a super great time but if I were to tell it all on this one post, you guys would stop reading about half way through cause it would be so long. So, I'll probably break it down into several different ones hopefully showing pictures along the way.

We flew out last Thursday morning. It was the 4 of us and Josh. We got to Chicago around 9:30am, rented a car and headed to Minnesota. The reason for the flying to Chicago was we got really, really cheap tickets and Steve wanted to end back up there for some family time in the windy city. The reason for the Minnesota visit was for Autumn's graduation party. We got to spend some great time with the Thompson family. I love them. They have a really small region so being with them was an extra blessing for us. It was kinda crazy around there getting ready for Autumn's open house which was on Saturday from 2 until 6. She had tons of people come and it was nice to finally put faces to people she had told us about. Out of all the years Autumn has been coming to Tennessee to stay with us, we have never been to her house.

For some of you who may not know who Autumn is and how she connects with us, I'll try to quickly explain. 5 years ago several of us from Antioch went to Family Camp in South Dakota. We met the Thompson family there and instantly bonded with Autumn. At the time she was 13 years old. Her mom had been praying for God to send someone that could connect with her. Well, literally a month after family camp was over she was in Tennessee visiting with us. Her mom, Mitzi, now says, looking back that we probably thought she was crazy letting her 13 year old fly by herself to stay with a family she just met. But, she says, she had complete peace about it. She knew God had answered her prayer. Ever since then, Autumn has been coming about 2 times a year to stay with us. She has now graduated from high school and plans to move here in August. She has said ever since she was 13 that when she graduated she was moving to Tennessee. Her plan is to go to MTSU for nursing. So, that's how we know Autumn.

We stayed in Minnesota until Sunday after church. It was sad leaving them. We felt so comfortable being in there home. It was such a blessing being there. Here are a few pics from when we were there. Autumn has 5 brothers and sisters.



More of our trip to follow.

blessing - being with the Thompson family.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it home safe and sound tonight about 11:00pm. We had a great time and I will tell about it later, maybe tomorrow.

Thank the Lord for our safe trip and return.

good night

Busy Day

This time tomorrow morning we will be high in the sky. Our flight takes off at 7:30ish. Please say a prayer for our safety and for me. I DO NOT enjoy flying. It doesn't feel natural/normal to me. Anyway....

I have lots to do today. At 10:00 this morning, I'm getting my hair cut. I have to pack. I have to get all my stuff ready for the yard sale that I will not be here for. Steve is gonna go pick up the clothes racks for me from Tommy's shop and I still need to ask Lynn if I can borrow her tables. I have to price all my stuff. I need to do some laundry. We (Steve) has to deliver both of our dogs to their designated places. Pancake always stays with Lynn when we are our out of town and Dakota stays with my mother-in-law. Steve and I are gonna try to fit a run in this afternoon.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. This will be a jammed packed day and I will probably be up late tonight but isn't that how it goes when your getting ready to go out of town?!

Oh, I need to go see Bradley at some point today.

Not sure if I will be posting again before we leave or not but I will try to get one in while in Minnesota, maybe.

blessing - hanging out with friends last night.

Lots to do between now and Thursday morning

We are flying out bright and early Thursday morning for Chicago. From there we will drive to Minnesota. The reason we are going to Minnesota is for Autumn's graduation party. She graduated on June 6 but wanted us to be there for the party so we could spend more time together. We will be there until Sunday after church. I'm really looking forward to being with the Thompson family. After church and lunch we are going to drive back to Chicago and spend some family time there for a couple of days. We will be flying back home some time on Wednesday. Visiting Chicago is a blast. I would not want to live there but there is so much to do, it's great for visiting.

Today, I clean the shop, which I will be going to do here shortly.

My neighborhood has a yearly yard sale. It's really cool and the best time to have one cause they do all the advertising for you. All you have to do is set your stuff out. Would'nt you know it, it's gonna be this weekend...when I'm out of town. But, Momma and Les were gonna do it with me so they have decided to go ahead with it. They are gonna use my house and my neighborhood in exchange for selling my stuff. HA! I'm gonna get it all ready and price everything but they get to sell it for me....YAH! Seriously, I wish I could be here to help them. So, that's something else I have to get done before flying out Thursday. Shew, gonna be a few busy days.

Well, off to start my rat race. Hope everyone has a good one.

Hey, I added some info under my "about me".... which it's about Bradley, but check it out.

blessing - being able to go on vacation.

Happy Father's Day.....My Hero

Years ago, when I was in school, I had to write a report entitled..."My Hero". I chose to write the entire report about my daddy. To this day, he still is my hero. I love him very, very much. He is all about other people. He so wants to be a blessing that, in MY opinion, he puts too much on his plate at times. He loves the Lord with all his heart and it is evident in the way he chooses to live his life. He loves his family beyond words and would do anything for us. I have watched him in very critical times make decisions that he did not have to make but chose to "do the right thing" and for that I respect him. He has taught me many valuable lessons. When I have "issues", he is the one I call. He is a Godly man, He is my Hero, He is MY daddy!!!!

Drowned Rats

Steve and I usually run at the Y on the treadmill but today we decided to run outside. About a mile into our run it started POURING down rain. It was too late to turn around so we just kept going and this is what we looked like when we got back home. Actually, Steve looks pretty much the same. I am the one that looks.... well, you can see for yourself. HA!

We, meaning my husband and me have spent the entire day together. We got all cleaned up from running in the rain and then headed out to do some shopping. We first went to Michaels. I needed/wanted some frames for some pics of the kiddos. I found what I needed and for only $2.50 each on clearance. I needed 7 of them. After that we went to Kohls. Steve wanted some new warm up pants for our vacation. We are leaving Thursday for Minnesota and Chicago. I'll tell more about that later.

After Kohls, we went to Chili's...YAH! We used that "special" gift card from that "special" whoever that sent it to us this week. We really enjoyed that. I got the Mesquite Grilled Chicken Salad and Steve had the Chicken Fajita's. He said that they were the best he had ever had, and he always gets Fajita's at any Mexican place we go.

We left there and went to Advanced Auto. My car and Chandler's car needs air filters, so Steve says. The last stop of our day was Kroger. I got what we needed until Thursday, that's when we leave and will be gone until the next Wednesday night.

Tonight, the youth are having movie night at Crystal and Em's apartment. I will have to drive them cause Chandler can only have 1 passenger in his car as a teen driver and Brennan is staying with us this weekend. That would mean he would have 2 passengers with him. No can do, can't break the rules.

Maybe Steve and I will watch a movie tonight ourselves. That is if the golf tournament is not still on. He's watching Tiger right now. We'll see.....

blessing - Super great day hanging out with my sweetheart!

BE ENCOURAGED

The most destructive habit...Worry
The greatest joy...Giving
The greatest loss...Self-respect
The most satisfying work...Helping others
The ugliest personality trait...Selfishness
The greatest "shot in the arm"...Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome...Fear
The most effective sleeping pill...Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease...Excuses
The most powerful force in life...Love
The most dangerous person...A gossiper
The worst thing to be without...Hope
The deadliest weapon...The tongue
The two most power filled words..."I can"
The greatest asset...Faith
The most worthless emotion...Self-pity
The most beautiful attire...Smile
The most powerful channel of communication...Prayer
The most contagious spirit...Enthusiasm
The most important thing in life...GOD!


Have a wonderful day

Thursday

Couldn't really think of a better title.

It's been a good day. I woke up early, around 6:45, I think. Steve and I went and ran. I actually did 4 miles today. Go me!

After coming home to shower, Morgan and I had to go in search of white collared shirts for her and Cha. We had great luck. First place we looked, Target had exactly what we needed. Chandler's was even on sale for $7.99 and Morgan's was only $9.99. Why do we need white shirts, you asked? Well, my mom's birthday was June 1 and she wanted pictures of all 5 of her grandbabies together. So, Deb and I are dressing them in jeans, white shirts with no shoes. Momma, it won't be long now. HA! This afternoon, my other sister in law, Denise is meeting us in Smyrna at a park to do the pics for us. She is a GREAT photographer. I'm serious, she could be professional. She did pics for me of Cha and Mo at Christmas time that were breath taking.

After the pics, I want to go out to dinner. I don't feel like cooking tonight. I'm thinkin Mexican. We've had Mexican this week already but it's always better when you don't have to do the cooking, right?

Now that soccer is over, our weekend is actually gonna be not so busy. Tomorrow is Lexi's birthday, she's my niece. She will be 3, and she's such a cutie pie. We are going over tomorrow night to celebrate. She wanted a Dr. kit so Morgan and I picked it up today at Wal-Mart. It 's so cute, it even has a blood pressure cuff.

O.K. I just realized that I am truly rambling.....so...goodbye for now.

Oh, I just thought of something to tell. Today when Morgan and I were leaving Wal-Mart there was this McDonald's sack lying on the ground and this bird was trying it's best to get what was left inside. Probably old fries or something. Anyway, Morgan said, "oh, he can't get it, I need to help him". (isn't that precious?) I told her that he would fly away if she got close. She said, "he'll come back". So, she goes over to the bag, the bird flies away, she empties the bag and I 'm sure he came back cause he was still in the area. I just thought this was such a sweet thing and so typical of Morgan helping an animal. Kasey, you so would do this, wouldn't you?

blessing - My husband receiving encouragement in the service last night. Thank you, Jesus!

THANK YOU....whoever you are!

Yesterday I went to the mail box and found a card addressed to Steve and Tammy Fox. The strange thing was that there was no return address. I opened it up and inside was a simple little card that said...."Just because we love and appreciate you, Enjoy!" Inside the card was a $25 gift card to Chili's.........HOW COOL IS THAT?!

There was no signature or name anywhere. If by chance, the person that sent us this reads my blog......THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. WHAT A BLESSING!!!!! WHAT A SHOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT!!!!!

I prayed that God would bless this person with a double portion of His goodness. Just getting a card is encouragement enough, but the gift card was very special, especially with the price of gas and the expense of everything else these days. Again, Steve and I appreciate this very, very much! It was very unexpected but so touching.

God Bless you, whoever you are!

Ordinary Day

Well, one thing I did, with Morgan's help was to change my background. Actually, Morgan did it as I watched.

It's Monday, which means I first clean the shop. I've gotten it down to an art and it usually takes me about 2 hours. Not bad, and gives me a little pocket change.

I headed to the Y from there to get my work out in for the day. When I came home, well, that's when Morgan changed my blog. After showering, she and I decided to go to Kohls to find her a dress. If you read her blog she mentioned that she usually only wears skirts to church so we thought we might try to find her a cute dress. No such luck. In the Junior department, everything is too big. In the children's department, they fit but are too short. Needless to say, she left pretty disappointed. Oh, we did go by the Goodwill before Kohls. I try to go in there at least once a week. We both got a denim skirt for $3.99 each. All there skirts are $3.99 and I can always find something cute.

We went to see Brad for a few before stopping by Food Lion to grab some stuff. I don't usually buy groceries there but it was on the way home from Bradley's and I only needed a few things.

Tonight I made a Mexican chicken thingy. It's very, very easy and not too bad to the taste. You simply layer a 9x13 dish with tostito chips, then add a mixture of chicken (after it has been boiled and shredded) with 2 cans cream of chicken and 1 can red enchilada sauce. Pour that mixture over the tostito's and add cheese. Put in the oven to melt cheese and there ya go.

Side note that has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I'm trying my best to get my son to get a job. He has put in a couple of apps at a few places but nothing as of yet. He's being picky and doesn't want to work fast food or at a grocery store. BUT, he may not have a choice if nothing else pans out. With gas the way it is, he certainly needs a job. When his birthday money runs out and he needs gas money.....well.....

Would I be cruel to say "no" or should I help since he's only 16? Of course Steve and I will decide but I would like to get your thoughts?

blessing - clean sheets on my bed....I wash them on Monday's and LOVE climbing in on Monday night. Ahhhhhhh........

Please say a prayer

I'm singing a new song tonight in service. It REALLY ministers to me and I want it to be a blessing. Anything we do for the Lord is all in vain without His blessing and anointing.

Thanks guys!

"Your a good man....

Charlie Brown".

Lynn and I are taking the girls to see this play tonight. Crystal's going with us. There is this church in Smyrna that puts on really good plays. Back in the winter, we went to see "Little Woman". It was amazing. I know it's gonna be super good.

Today was mostly spent at the soccer park. MAN, was it hot. The game was Morgan's team against the parents, but it ended up being Morgan's team against whoever would play. Chandler, Josh, Steve, Tommy and Crystal played. They wanted me to play.....YEAH, RIGHT!!!! LOL!

After the game, we had a cookout..burgers and hot dogs. This is when the team got their trophies. Finally, soccer is over for this season. Except for this Tuesday night we have Chandler's team party. Then, we are officially finished with anything soccer related until fall. Ahhhh, a break!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

blessing- inspiration for my Sunday School class tomorrow. I'm excited about the craft!

Real quick

cause it's late and I'm tired.

Most of my day was spent with Bradley. I took him to get a hair cut, then made a stop by Sonic and then we went to the shop to visit with my mom.

Tonight I went ALL over Smyrna with my daughter looking for certain "posters" of certain "boys" so she could hang them all over her walls in her bedroom......Wal-mart, Target and finally K-mart. But, we did succeed. Shew....the things we do for our kiddos.

After the search was over for these posters, Morgan and I hooked up with Les and Crystal and went to the Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream. Oh my word.....if you want some ice cream and your in Murfreesboro, GO THERE. It was sooooooo good. I had cheesecake ice cream with strawberries and graham cracker mixed in. Oh So Good!!!!

Now, I'm tired and going to bed.

good night

blessing - hanging out with my baby girl tonight! We truly have so much fun together!!!

It's says that I'm posting this at 8:58 pm but really it's 11:13 pm. (that's why I'm tired) I don't know how to change the clock.

Tristan

This is my beautiful nephew, Tristan. He's ALL boy. He's staying with us today for a while. Deb (my sister-in-law) called and needed to go run an errand. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone, so she left Tristan with us. He's such a doll....too bad he looks just like my brother....HA!

Today is a rather laid back day. I still have my P.J.'s on and it's 1:37 in the afternoon. Doesn't that sound terrific? I've been doing house stuff. I'm gonna go run later. Morgan has her last soccer practice for the season this afternoon and then on Saturday will be her last game.

Chandler had another golf tournament today, so he and Steve are there, out in this hot sun....shew! Speaking of Chandler, he did a really good devotion last night in the VLB service. It was on priorities. He had a visual to illustrate his point. You may have seen this done before but I will share...He had 2 jars. One was filled with rice, representing OUR "wants" and "desires." Then he had golf balls representing the Lord's desires for us and the time we give to Him. He tried putting the golf balls in after the jar was full of the rice and they would not fit. The meaning behind this was if we are so full of "us" then we will not have room for the Lord.

Next he took the golf balls (the Lords desires and will) and placed them in the empty jar and then poured the rice (us) in and around the golf balls and it all fit.

His point was....if we seek the Lord and His will first and are filled with Him (golf balls) then our wants will conform to the Lords will and it will all fit. It has to be the Lord first, not us first and God gets our leftovers. It never works that way.

I hope I explained that in a way that you guys get it. Anyway, it was good. He used the scripture about having no other gods before me. He gave the example of how he likes to play golf but if he chose to play on Sunday mornings or Sunday evenings, then that could become a god to him.

Chandler is much more quiet than Morgan. She's my open book and I never have to guess what's going on with her. It blessed me for Chandler to do this devotion. He told me on Tuesday that he was doing devotion and that he knew what he wanted to do it on. I asked him if he wanted me to type it out for him and he said "I can do it". When he was working on it, and I would walk into the room, he would cover the screen on the computer and say, "don't read it".

Like I said, he's much more private than Morgan, and that's O.K. as long as I know he's talking to the Lord, and clearly he is.

blessing - all of the small blessings that we easily take for granted.

Happy Anniversary

Today, Steve and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. (as you know from previous post) My husband knows that after I get my coffee in the mornings, I go to the computer to check emails, blogs, etc. Well, this morning was no different. I got my coffee, came into the school room and sitting on the keyboard was a card. A very sweet card from my very sweet husband. I proceed to check my email and find an e-card sent to me from him as well. Sooooo sweet!

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Normal in that I went to the grocery store. While I was at the store with a shopping cart full, my cell phone rang. It was Steve. He said, "I just wanted to tell you, Happy Anniversary, I love you". AHHHHHHHHHH! What a man!

We had talked about going out for a nice dinner. We also talked about going to Subway. Why Subway? Well, because after we got married and went and changed our clothes, that's where we went....Subway. So, there have been times through out the years that we have gone back to Subway on our anniversary.

After I spent what I spent at Kroger, we decided to just stay home. BUT, I told him, next year, Lord willing, I want to do something really big for our 2oth. I really want to go to New York. I think that would be cool.

It's been a very nice day. I told someone those "little" things that he did for me today...the little "i love you's" have been what means the most. He gives me everything I want throughout the year so that call I got while I was at Kroger today meant the world to me....thanks Honey!

blessing - a very blessed marriage and life!

Almost 19 years

19 years ago today, I was a 21 year old girl, fixing to marry the love of my life. Steve and I will be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary tomorrow. It has been an amazing 19 years. I love him more today than when I married him. He truly is an answer to my parents praying.

Steve is probably in the top 3 most self-less people that I know. He's an amazing man. He is very quiet and wise. He finds the good in every person. He sets a Godly example for our children. I desire for our son to be exactly like him and I desire for our daughter to have a husband exactly like him.

He loves me unconditionally, with all my faults and quirks. He provides for me and gives me everything I need and want. If it's possible for him to attain to make me happy, he does.

He loves the Lord and His Church. What more could I ask for?!

He has given me a life that words cannot explain. I would not change one thing about him!

I would love to be more like him. Really, I would love to have more of Steve's attributes. Our children adore him, absolutely adore him. He's just simply "good".

I am over abundantly blessed!!!!!! Every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord, so I praise Him for choosing this man for me. My life is blessed!!!!!!!

blessing - being married to Steve Fox for the last 19 years, well, almost.