Great weekend

The guys left for mens retreat Friday around 7:00pm. Josh rode with Steve and Cha. As soon as they left, I headed to meet momma, Rick, Les, Rachel, Rex and Bradley for dinner. I was late. I was suppose to be there at 6:30 but Steve wasn't home from work yet and I really wanted to tell him goodbye before he left for the weekend, so I did.

Momma came straight home from there to stay the weekend. Lady, her dog, too. Our 3 girl weekend turned into a 2 girl weekend for the first night. Morgan had ditched us. She spent the night at Emily's. My mom and I just hung out and talked. Not for long though, because neither one of us are night owls. So much for party animals. We are boring. haha!

Saturday morning, she got up before I did and already had the coffee made. We talked some more. Just about this and that and the other. I love talking with my mom. Oh wait......I forgot.....

Steve texted me about 11:30 Friday night from the retreat. I know most everyone knows this already but he texted me to let me know that Matt Zimmerman had received the Holy Ghost. I was SO excited. Thank you, Jesus!

Let's see, where was I?... oh yeah, after my mom & talked for quite sometime Saturday morning, she went to her house to get a few things done. I really didn't do a whole lot. It was rather nice. Around 4ish I went to clean the church. Thanks to Morgan and Crystal for their help.

When I left the church, I called my mom (she wanted me to let her know when I was finished cleaning) so she could come back to the house. She stopped at the store to get eggs and whole wheat flour. I made whole wheat banana/nut pancakes for us. They were SO good. I'm not kidding you. If you are a pancake eater and like bananas and nuts, make them. They were so good that my mom and I had 3 each. Morgan was at Emily's again. She didn't stay the night but she wasn't home to have the pancakes. Later, mom and I went and picked her up and brought her home. I was telling her about the pancakes and she said they sounded good. I had some of the batter left so she had one for breakfast this morning and loved them too. She said she liked them as much as the chocolate chip pancakes.

Last night at 10 pm, my mom gets this idea of breaking out old home video. So, we did. And, we watched them until 1:15am. Time flies and you realize it when you look at old videos of your kids. It breaks my heart to see them growing up so fast. We had the best time watching those. We could have kept watching them but we had to get up this morning for church. I was ministering in Columbia so we had to just stop. We could have watched them all night, I do believe. My babies were so precious. Of course, what mother doesn't think that, right?

We headed to Columbia for church this morning. We had service in the home of Bro. & Sis. Scroggins. It was wonderful. Being in someone's home worshipping the Lord is just so personal and special. Laura taught Sunday School. It was great. From our opening prayer, we could really feel such a sweet spirit. I ministered on the subject....Desire+Action=Victory!

The reason we were in their home is because Bro. Scroggins was in an accident on Thursday. He was hit by a car. He was banged up pretty good but the Lord was truly with him. It could have been much worse. Please say a special prayer for his recovery.

After church, Sis.Scroggins insisted that we stay for lunch. Laura had brought them dinner and I had made a pie. Her daughter was there helping out and had made a pot of chicken n dumplings. She would not hear of us leaving and going somewhere to eat. So we enjoyed a very nice lunch together.

Now, I'm back home, so tired, and my men just walked in the door from retreat. How come when the word "retreat" is involved you are exhausted?! ha! I thought retreat meant rest. Any ladies retreat I've ever been too, and I've been to a ton, I always come home needing rest. But, of course, the tiredness is always worth the blessings you receive.

Steve hasn't been home 10 minutes and he's now got to go cut my Nanny's yard. Bradley use to do it for her but since the accident, Steve has taken over the responsibility. And, since he 's been gone all weekend, this is the only opportunity. He's exhausted!

So, that's the rundown of the weekend for me. It's been nice! Being with my mom has been wonderful. We laugh like no other. Seriously, we have such laughter when we are together. I love it!

Finally

I finally got to cleaning my laundry room today. Spic and Span, it is. Boy, there is some kind of junk behind the washer and dryer. Shew...nasty! It's done though, so I'm glad about that. The only other thing that I want to accomplish while on Spring break is cleaning out Chandler's closet and doing his base boards and blinds. Since tomorrow is the last official day of our break, not counting the weekend, I guess tomorrow will be the day for that. He's got tons of clothes that he doesn't wear. I'm ready to get them out of there.

Steve and Cha are leaving for men's retreat tomorrow afternoon. My dad is the guest minister so he is going also. I think my mom and Lady, her dog, are coming here for the weekend. We will be having a girls slumber party. Even all the dogs are girls. ha! I'm looking forward to it. We are gonna do.....well....whatever we want too. Drink lots of coffee, I'm sure!

I've been praying for the men's retreat. I hope every man there receives exactly what they need from the Lord. Speaking of the retreat, I made a peanut butter pie for the fellowship dinner we had at district convention. Bro. Chance, the retreat director ate some and requested that I make a few to send with Steve. So, tomorrow I will be making 4 peanut butter pies for the men for this weekend. I'm sure they will last, no longer than Friday night. haha!

have a good one!

The dog woke me

At 7:30, Pancake, our dog growled at me. I was sleeping nicely but she needed to go potty. I've been taking advantage of Spring break with my sleeping. I think I stayed in bed until 9 on Monday. I was exhausted from the weekend. And, I think yesterday was around 8:30. But, when I got up this morning to let Pancake out at 7:30, I decided to just stay up.

I want to get some things accomplished today. Since men's retreat is this weekend, Jeff Yohe asked me to come to Columbia to fill in for him. I've gotten the inspiration and have my notes but I need to finalize it and type it out. I would love to be done with that today.

I want to clean out my laundry room. Chelsei asked me last night what I was gonna do on my Spring break and I hesitated to say, "clean." Everyone makes a big deal that I clean so much. They give me a hard time. I'm known as, Tammy, the cleaner. But, it doesn't bother me at all. I enjoy it and I love the result of clean so really and truly, I can be made fun of all day long and I'll just keep right on cleaning. Lindsei has been staying with us for the past couple of weeks. She said to me, "I bet you couldn't go one day without cleaning something". Well, I could, but I choose not too. I don't like clutter and dirt. Can't help it. It's just me. So, all you out there that give me a hard time, go right ahead. But at the end of the day, my house will be clean. HA!

Tonight we are starting a series of Bible study on "The Family". AH! I'm gonna love this. Bro. Sutton felt lead of the Lord, to do this over the next couple of months on the 4th Wednesday night. I'm super excited. Some of the topics are going to be about raising children, finances, marriage and such as that. That is SO my cup of tea. Anything to do with the Lord and the family is just my thing. Bro. Hall is ministering tonight. I can't wait!

O.K. so I'm gonna go get my second cup of coffee and finish up that message. Hope you all have a great day!

Needing a nap

Shew! What a whirl wind of a weekend. A great weekend, but a tiring one.

Yesterday morning started at 5:15am. We (myself, Morgan & Lindsei) left the house and arrived to pick Les up at about 6:35 (or somewhere there bouts). And, off to Cleveland we headed. Chandler had gone down Friday night with Keith. It's not a bad drive at all, really. We got there just in time for the first session to begin. It was great. Antioch youth did an awesome skit. They were spread out all throughout the sanctuary. Chandler was "the runner". Each of the youth had a sign on them. Some of the words were "hatred", "lying" and such as that. Then there were some of them that had " Jesus" on their sign. The sign Chandler was wearing said, "determined". He had to run past each one and the "ugly" words were trying to hinder his progress. They would stand in front of him and try to block him. Then along the way, there were those that were encouraging him and and pushing him to continue running. Toward the end, he even got so tired that he almost fell but Morgan (one of the encouraging ones), helped him up and encouraged him to continue. At the end, Jesus was standing there with a crown for Chandler. It was really good. It blessed me.

Shanna Weeks brought the message. GREAT! Boy, she did a good job! The Lord really used her.

At lunch, a big group of us went to O'Charley's. It was nice fellowship. Sitting there at the table, I told Chels, "I love The Church of God." And, I really, really do! I'm SO humbled and grateful that my children are being raised right smack in the middle of the truth. Thank God for His Grace and Mercy in my life and my family.

The afternoon session was just as wonderful. The Zion Hill youth did their skit and it was great as well. Then, Kim preached. Her message blessed me too. I SO love how she is just open and honest. She shares from her heart and that is what people can relate too. A true blessing.

We had a camp staff meeting after the convention was over. It was a very productive meeting. I think my responsibility this year is gonna be something that in all my years of camp, I have never done. It should be tons of fun. I'm looking forward to it. Wondering what it is? Kim asked me to do "Funtime." If you guys out there that have been in camp before and remember Funtime, toss me some ideas. I'd love to read them.

We headed back home around 5:30. The kids, not just mine, all the youth wanted to stay around and play volleyball. So, us adults had to cram in my car so that we could leave Jeff and Laura's car for them to bring home. So......me, Jeff, Laura, Les and Lindsei packed in my car and came home. Lindsei didn't want to stay, she was tired and ready to be home. I can't say that I blame her. Then, a little while later.....Josh, Andrea, Chels, Chandler and Morgan made it back home. AH! To be young again, and never get tired. How DO they do it? ! After that kind of a weekend, they had to be at the church this morning at 7:30 to work the pancake breakfast. They did it. I'm oh so proud of them. And, now, right now, they are at the park playing volleyball again. My goodness....their energy is endless.

I, on the other hand, as my title says....NEED A NAP! That has become my Sunday afternoon ritual. I know for at least the past 2 Sundays, I have taken a nap. I'm talkin in the bed, under the covers with my fan roaring kinda nap. You gotta love it. It's such a beautiful day though. Should I waste it with a nap?.....YEP, I think so. haha!

We will be on Spring break all week. Yippee!

Nice quiet house

That's because Morgan and Lindsei are not up yet. HaHa! Chandler had to be at work this morning at 8 and Chels has already left. She stayed the night last night but has a busy day so she's already gone So....I've had my morning devotion and now I'm checking out blogs, facebook and such.

The sun is not shining today but that's o.k. because it was really bright and warm yesterday. I worked in the yard. It was nice to get the old dead stuff up and cleared out. I think it's suppose to rain today. And, not quite as warm.

I think I'm still a little tired. My mom called this morning at 7:30 and woke me up. I was sleeping so good. Oh well....

Morgan has HSM practice today at noon. I need to go to the store for a few things. I need to go to the church bank for my hubby.

This post is rather scattered.

This weekend is the youth convention. Chandler is going down tomorrow night after his soccer game. Me, Les and the girls are leaving bright and early Saturday morning. I'm looking forward to it. I pray that the Lord really blesses our young people really good. Well, I should say.....I pray that our young people respond to the Lord because I know he wants to bless them. So, young people, be obedient and get what God's got for ya!!!

Sunday morning we are having a Pancake breakfast at church. It is going towards March World Missions. Yum-O. I love me some pancakes. Seriously, LOVE them. I love the ones from I-Hop that have nuts in them. Yes, nuts. They are too good. I think they are some kind of whole-grain with nuts. MMMMMMMM.....goood!

Man, it's gonna be a busy weekend! I guess if you're gonna be busy, it's best to be busy doing things for the Lord!

I guess I'll post

This past weekend we were in revival. AWESOME! The preaching was awesome. Bro. Dupre (Poppa) was the minister. I love hearing his wisdom. I wish I had half that wisdom. I've known him a long, long, long time. He was my pastor all of my growing up years. He married Steve and me and he and Brenda are Chandler's godparents. Our families go wwwwaaaaayyyyy back. Great memories together. Some of the things that he said during his messages were simply, well, I don't really have the words. Just what we needed, to say the least. Thank the Lord!

One thing I remember him saying...."everything we do, from this point forward will determine where we end up". So simple, but yet so deep. Think about it...."everything we do". Makes me want to do everything right. How bout you?

Saturday we had TN/AL Music Day. That Janet Talley is just so talented. And, so funny. I love her. She did a great job, of course. We enjoyed great fellowship and some yummy spaghetti.

It was a very tiring weekend. By Sunday afternoon, I so needed a nap and I got one. After church, the family (the 4 of us, momma, daddy, Rick and Les)( and Lindsei...she's staying with us until next Thursday) went to eat Mexican. We started telling stories and got hysterical laughter. I love to laugh so hard that it hurts. The kind that you cannot control. It's the best. Well, its the best unless it's in church. Which has happened to me more times than I can count.

I got that Sunday afternoon nap then headed back to church. Good stuff, I tell ya.

Today has been a good day too. The weather is warming up. Tomorrow is suppose to be in the 70's. YES!!!! And, tomorrow is Chandler's first outdoor soccer game. Perfect weather for that.

Next week we are on spring break. Ah! nice!

I'm gonna go take a nice hot bath so bye for now!

From 80 to 30

What in the world?! This weather is the craziest. I prefer the warm over the cold. I really, really, hope this is the last spell of the cold. Snow?! The weather people said possible snow. Nuts, I tell ya....nuts!

Revival starts tomorrow night. I'm expecting good stuff! No! No!... GREAT stuff. If you can come, you should. It's my weekend to clean the church. I think I'm gonna go today and get it over with. It needs to be cleanded for tomorrow night. That's when the revival starts.

Also, we are having a Music Workshop on Saturday. Janet will be coming to direct. I think it's for the states of Tennessee and Alabama. Should be fun. Then the revival again Saturday night and Sunday. Bro. Dupre,(Poppa) is the guest minister.

Not much else to report. I've gotta take Morgan to her HSM rehearsal today.

that's about it

Spring cleaning....Part Two

Nope, I'm still not finished. But, I'm getting closer. Ah! i love it. I absolutley LOVE clean.

One of the things accomplished today was Morgan's closet. Shew!!!!! That child had some stuff. And, that's exactly all that it was ...STUFF! She helped me, with her closet. If I had my way, more stuff would have been thrown out but she insisted on keeping some of it. It does look much better, I must say. Off the subject of cleaning for a second. Morgan came to me about 2 hours ago and said she was bored. What could she do?! She came up with the idea of drawing. She loves to draw and is rather good at it. So, here's what she decided. She got a blanket, her colored pencils, paper, her phone (of course) and Dakota (her dog) and went to the front yard. She has been there ever since, at least 2 hours, drawing our house. Yep, looking at our house and drawing it. I'm really anxious to see it. If she will let me, I'll take a picture of it to post.

Back to my cleaning! I cleaned the bonus room. Morgan's bathroom and the hallway. When I say hallway, I mean scrubbing the baseboards and such. The only thing I really have left is the laundry room, the guest bedroom and Chandler's room. Now, that (Cha's) will be a job. His closet needs some serious help. After it's all done, I should celebrate. Hmmm,,,what should I do for myself. haha!

I want to have my carpets professionally cleaned. I'm thinking April for that.

After I get the inside of the house finished, it will be time to do the outside. But, after today, the weather is suppose to cool off again. Bummer! I'm not working in the yard when I have to wear a coat. No sir-ee! Gotta be warm for this sista to work outside. We need to seal our driveway and sidewalk this year.

Well, gotta go clean some more. Not much more for today!

Morgan said I could post her drawing!

Tired but Accomplished!!!

Well, I did it. Today, I officially started my Spring cleaning. "Started" being the important word here. I worked ALL day. Not kidding you! I stopped long enough to eat lunch and when my car was ready to be picked up (yah, no crunch anymore), Chandler drove me to get it. I had a few errands to run while I was out. Then, back home. By this time it was about 5 and I was pretty much done with the cleaning for today. I'm not finished. Oh no! Didn't get to the upstairs at all.

I started in my closet. I had things in there that I haven't worn in years. So, I bit the bullet and gave them to Goodwill. Well, they are in a bag, ready to go to Goodwill. There was this one dress that I took off the hanger, folded it, looked at it again and almost kept. I even held it up to myself. But, I quickly reminded myself...."Tammy, get rid of it. You haven't had that on in way to long." So, it's in the bag. Good for me, right?!

Next, I tackled my bathroom. I cleaned all the baseboards. Man, it's amazing how much hair is in a bathroom. SICK!!! I vacuumed the drawers and wiped them out. And, threw things away from under the counter. It's so freeing to throw things away when you are Spring cleaning...I loved it! I got all the baseboards scrubbed in my bedroom, the living room, the foyer, the dining room, the hallways and our family room. Oh, and Chandler's bathroom. I cleaned/dusted all the blinds in those rooms as well. And, the celing fans. I wiped down the doors...front and back.

The kitchen was a job within itself. I scrubbed above all the kitchen cabnits and cleaned all the stuff that I have sitting up there as well. I cleaned the inside of the fridge. I had a scare while doing that. Because I had the door open for a while, the light on the inside of the fridge had gotten really, really hot. I accidentally touched the light bulb with the wet rag that I was using to clean with and .......POP!!!!! Very loudy, it busted. Scared the bujebees out of me. It sounded like a shot gun (not quite so loud, but you get the idea). But, that fridge sure is clean. Sparkling! I pulled the fridge out and cleaned behind it. I even mopped my kitchen floor and in the family room. That's not really spring cleaning, the mopping part, it's more like basic cleaning but it needed it, so I went ahead and did it.

Let's see....I still have my laundry room to tackle and the guest bedroom for downstairs. Then, I will hit the upstairs. I just love it when everything is really clean. Makes me feel good!

Unfortunatley, I will not get to continue my cleaning tomorrow. We will be leaving the house at 8am. Chandler has an indoor soccer tournament. He plays 5 games. I'm looking forward to it. It's kicking off our soccer season. Please pray for Cha. His throat is still hurting but he is bound and determined to play. He's already in bed. I'm hoping he sleeps really, really well.

I guess I will have to continue my Spring cleaning next week. Or maybe, I can do a little in between servcies on Sunday. We shall see.

until next time

"GET UP"

My phone rang this morning.......

"hello?"

"get up.....I'm on my way for coffee"

It was my mom.  She said...."did you get my text?"  "Uh.....NO....I'm not even up yet."

"Oh...well.....be spontaneous.......start the coffee."     "O.K"

She must have been only about 1/2 mile away from my house cause very shortly she comes walking thru my front door.  She and my dad  both have keys to my house.

She had her coffee cup in her hand.  She filled her cup, I filled my cup, she sat on the chair, I sat on the loveseat and we were there for the next 2 hours.   I loved it!  Seriously, I cannot explain how grateful and thankful for the relationship she and I share.  It goes beyond words.  There is this bond that we have that I wouldn't trade for the world.  And, the precious thing to me is that my daughter and I have that same bond.  

I look to my mother for advice.  And, the cool thing is, the really cool thing is.....she looks to me for advice as well.  Ah!!!! 

It was a super nice way to start my day.  Before she left, she went upstairs, opened Chandler's bedroom door and literally jumped in the bed with him.  She's crazy!  haha!  Then, she headed down the hall to Morgan's room.  She started to go in and do the same thing and I said...."momma....kaite lynn is in there with her".  Momma said....."oh".....I don't care, I'm goin in anyway.  And she did!  She can just be so fun.  And at almost 60!....I want to be fun when I'm 60.  I don't think my mom "acts" almost 60.  It's a good thing cause I wouldn't let her.  haha!  Age is just a  number and I refuse to "act" old.  

Lets see.....

I had planned on taking Chandler to the doctor today.  His throat has been really sore for several days now.  I made the appointment for 2:20.  That was the soonest they could see us.  We wanted to rule out strep throat.  Well, thank the Lord, he got to feeling much better so I cancelled the appointment and he even went ahead and went to soccer practice.  He's not home yet so I'm curious to see how he's feeling now.

I talked about starting my Spring cleaning soon.  I think tomorrow is gonna be that day.  I can't really go anywhere until later in the day because I don't have my car.  It's in the shop due to the nice crunch Cha gave it the other day.  So, what better time to start that cleaning.  

**Cha just got home.....let's see how he feels......

His exact words...."other than my throat being sore, I'm perfectly fine" On a scale from 1 to 10, the worst being 10, he said it was a 5 or 6.    Please pray for the sore throat to be gone. 

So, that's my post for today.....

Slowly creeping up

I'm speaking of the temperature. Each day this week it gets a little warmer and a little warmer. By Friday, I think it's gonna be in the 70's. AH!!!! Love it!!!! I'm more than ready for Spring. I think it's about time to start my Spring cleaning. My carpets need cleaning bad. I need to do windows (yuck! my least favorite) and blinds and such. And, although it's work, I love the feeling when I'm all done. I should start that soon.

Chandler is not feeling well. He came home from soccer practice on Monday, looking rough, fell down on the couch and said..."I feel awful". When he got up yesterday, he said he still felt terrible but he did go on to work. He only had to work for 2 hours. He didn't make it to soccer practice yesterday. He just couldn't do it. Last night, I'm sure he had a temp and a sore throat. He just looked like he didn't feel good. I'm hoping when he gets up this morning that he will be feeling better. Please pray for him. He has a indoor soccer tournament Saturday at MTSU. He told me last night...."Momma, I'm not missing that tournament." He would be so bummed if he couldn't play.

My dogs need a bath today. Shew! Stinky!

I just heard birds singing. Man! Spring is on the way!!!!!!!! Can you tell I'm SO ready?! I want to work in my yard and purty it all up. Flowers...ah! flowers! Nice warm days and crispy nights. Flip Flops! I love my flip flops!

Hmmmm....what else?

nothing!

My PA Day

If you read my previous post, you know that we went and visited with my grandparents today. My Pa's health has taken a turn downhill so we thought it to be a good idea to visit. We had such a nice time. As soon as I got there, I went straight to my Pa. He was sitting at the dining room table eating. I gave him a huge hug and he immediatley started crying. He said, "I don't want to leave you all, but ill get to see Rita." Rita is his daughter (my dad's sister) who was killed in a car accident when she was 17. When he said that, it was enough to break your heart.

He was very weapy today off and on. He kept going on and on about how wonderful his family is. How he had the best family of all. I heard him say, "I have felt more like myself today". It was just so sweet. It was very special to be there. I took tons of pictures that you can see on my facebook page. Pictures that I'm sure I will cherish forever.

He has been having mini strokes and has dementia. He's really forgetting alot. He's really just pitiful. This past week he's really gotten worse. My Granny has been caring for him. He doesn't want her to leave his side at all. She said she has to pray him to sleep or just pat him like you would a baby. I know she's so tired. So, please pray for her strength. My Granny has always been a very, very strong lady. VERY strong becasue of her faith in the Lord.

My dad anointed him before we left and the entire family prayed for him. As we were all leaving, he said...."well, I've seen my family now, I'm ready to go to Heaven."

I love my Pa. He's always been a wonderful man. A man that knows the Bible. A man full of much faith. He would do anything for his family. As I was walking out the door, I hugged him again and he said to me, "if you need me for anything, i'll try to get there or find someone who can".

As we were pulling out of the driveway today, leaving their house, I told Steve, "I sure do have tons of memories at this house." When I was younger, I stayed with them alot. Tons of memories that I wouldn't trade for the world.

We got it!

Snow!  We actually got snow.  It's so pretty.  It's nice but it's kinda hindered our plans a little. 

I got a call from my aunt on Thursday.  She told me that my Pa (my dad's father) is not doing well. His health is really going down hill.  My uncle Danny, (my dad's brother) and his wife (the aunt that called me) live next door to my grandparents.  She told me that it would probably be a good idea for us to visit if we could.  So, we all made plans to go to the Portland church (where my grandparents attend) this morning.  And, then we would spend the whole afternoon visiting with them.  

I have been very, very blessed to have all 4 of my grandparents for this long.  I'm almost 41 so that's pretty unheard of.  I'm not sure how much longer that will be so we really feel like we need to spend time with him.  I'm not saying that I feel like he' s gonna die soon.  I have no idea.  That is in the hands of the Lord.   But, if he's as bad as my aunt says, we need to go.  

Back to the snow.  That is what has hindered us.  Because of the ice and snow, it has delayed this trip.   We are keeping an eye on it.  Hopefully, we can head up there this afternoon and still get that visit in.   We shall see.  Please pray for him and for my Granny.  

Yesterday was a nice Saturday.  I got some house cleaning done.  I had to go to a soccer meeting for Chandler.  Oh and...........Chandler accidentally crashed my car.   WHAT?!  yep, that's right.  His car was in the garage.  He was backing it out to go to work and didn't see how close he had gotten to my car as he was pulling out.  And, CRUNCH.  The back side now has a really nice, HUGE cave in it.  I hated it for him.  I felt bad for him.  It was SO an accident.  It could have happened to anyone.  But, thankfully, noone was hurt.  It could have been worse.  And, in the  big picture of things.....it's just a car.  It's just a car with a HUGE dent now, but it 's just a car. hahaha!!!!   It can be fixed.

Last night we had band service at the Mayberry's home.  Lynn did a great devotion on fear.  There was alot of communication going on about the subject.  It was nice.    We had some yummy food and really good fellowship.

If you got this snow, enjoy it.  I'm hoping this is the last of  "winter".  I'm now really ready for Spring.   Sunny, warm days which means....Flip Flops!!!!   YAH!!!!!