Powerful Video!

Democrats and Republicans take the time to pray for and seek God's leadership on how to vote .I am not saying how to vote just VOTE! I know as a Christian it would be hard for me to vote for someone that supports the right to abort the innocent. God Bless the USA

GREAT NEWS!

I am sorry I did not update my BIL surgery progress. I was on a field-trip yesterday with Caroline's class. We went to Raleigh to visit the State Capitol. It was a VERY LONG day but we had fun. We did not get in until 7:30 and I was tired. Here is a copy/paste of a e-mail my sister-in law Teresa sent yesterday from thehospital Bill's out of surgery and headed to recovery. The doctor came out and spoke to us and said everything went well, even though the surgery lasted longer than expected because of how low the area was. They expect to reconnect in 3-4 months. So everthing great! They did not see any evidence of more cancer. They expect to reconnect his colon in 3-4 mts WHICH IS A HUGE PRAISE! Robert talked to him this morning and he sounded really good! He still has some recovery of course but I know June will take care of him REAL GOOD! Thanks for your prayers! Thank-you Jesus our all mighty healer!

Dr Today!

went to Dr Massey today for my heal spur and got my shot. Good News this one was not as bad as the 1st one so the shot was easier! I should be able to do my walking by the end of the week I was telling him about our Biggest Loser Competition and we were into our 2nd week and I placed 2nd this week. He had some great strategy to help me win . I thought he was going to share a weight loss tip He said I should send the 1st place winner of this week a box of Duncan Donuts anonymously with a note saying JUST BECAUSE I CARE! I thought it was hysterical that a Dr would say that! My Mother and Father-In Law left for Wilmington this morning to be with Bill and June. I sent down with them three frozen casseroles I made. I feel bad we can't be there but this help me feel like we are doing something. Bill starts his prep Wednesday and his surgery is Thursday at 9:00 am. Off to go pick up the kids from school early. Dental appointments and then back up to the school for Allyson basketball pratice. Mom's Taxi I AM!

Week 1

Yippee! I lost 6.4 lbs on my first weigh-in. This is not usual for me to lose that much weight the 1st week. I normally start a 1-3 lb weight lose after this. I was not though the biggest loser. One girl lost NINE lbs. That's Ok because I am proud I did so well this 1st week. I fixed my homemade lasagne this past Saturday. I do not cut the fat grams out when I make my lasagne either! But I ate a TINY piece along with a nice salad. After Church Sunday though I did not touch any for lunch so I was patting myself on the back. I have to say my lasagne is the best I have tasted. Is it OK to brag on yourself ;-) Jason new girl-friend of two months came over and ate with us also. She probably weighs 90 lbs wet so she could use that extra fat grams. LOL Jason seems very smitten with her. They have gotten past the stage of being shy around other on how much they like each other. Jason seems very happy and hopefully this will work out. He is 24 and he actually told me he hopes to get married and he really wants kids! He used to say I am waiting until I am 35 to marry . I knew that would change. She said's she coming Thanksgiving and off with us to get a Christmas tree. So hopefully more of the extended family will get to meet her. We had a nice weekend. Lizzie ( Jason's New girl) brought me a book series to read. Twilight. I LOVE to read but never have time but this weekend I dove into this book because I could not put it down. The movie is coming out the end of November and I am going to try to read all four books. I almost finished the 1st in two days and it is a REALLY long book. While I was reading Robert took the kids fishing. Elijah loves to FISH! Sunday we went to worship and afterwards I read again and they watched the Panthers. So it was a pretty low -key weekend! Please continue to pray for my Bill and June. His surgery is this Thursday. June if your read my blog know that last night at 8:00 pm you and Bill were covered in prayer. I had a meeting and fifteen of us prayed at that time. Remember we love you and God is our perfect healer!

Mom Duties!

I fulfilled my duties of a Mom of a Pre-teen. I took Caroline too see High-School Musical 3. She was out of school today so we hit the FIRST showing of HSM3 in Mooresville @1:00 Elijah hated it . But I won Mom of the Day award from Caroline! It was a cute movie though and I even cried at the end. I took them to their fav lunch outing Chick-Filet also. CHICK FILET! I stayed away from the waffle fries. I am so proud of myself because potatoes as you know is my weakness. Have a great evening!

Turkey

For the last few years I have cooked on Thanksgiving for my Mom, Dad my brothers and their family. My Mom and Dad just can't handle cooking a huge meal. I enjoy doing it though. Yesterday I was thinking about what my menu will be this year. Robert usually smokes several Turkey's in our smoker. If you never ate a smoke turkey please do. It is DELICIOUS! I was thinking I better start watching the ads for a good price for Turkey's. We have to cook a whole Turkey because Robin my sister-in law only eats dark meat. It hit me then that would not be necessary because Robin died almost 11 months ago I almost broke down crying because still to this day I feel like the tragedy that happen to my brother and his wife never happen.. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be very difficult for my brother ( Jimmy) this year. Robin was MUCH MORE into Christmas than Jimmy. Pray that I have the right words of comfort for Jimmy during the holidays. I miss her too Here is a copy/paste of a post I wrote in Feb about what happen to Robin. I still can't figure how to do a link to another post! It has been several weeks since I blog. Some of the news I have to share is sad but with a happy ending... On Jan 31st I lost my SIL suddenly. Long story but Robin went into the hospital to be treated for a infection with meds by IV. Her condition was NOT life threatening just routine . My brother left the hospital at 11:00pm . At 3:00 am he got a call saying she had pass. The Drs. did not know that she had a blood clot. It passed through her lungs and killed her instantly. She was on 45. http://www.legacy.com/Charlotte/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=102349349 Robin was a wonderful person. Great Mom and wife. My brother Jimmy and Robin were a very happy married couple who spent their time just being with each other and enjoy LIFE! Her death has of course been very hard on everyone especially my brother She was only 45. The GOOD NEWS she is in heaven.

Apples, Diet and Money

Our field trip started out with some excited yesterday. 1 mile down the road from the school and the bus broke down ! God was good though and a local Church brought their bus to take us to the Apple Orchard. We were about 1 hr late but the kids had fun. I bought my apples for my apple butter so the beginning of next week I will be making my Christmas gifts. I am extra excited about Christmas this year! Maybe it is because I have already bought a present for the family. The kids have never had a game system .One reason is because we hear so many negative things how they can affect your kids BRAIN and also family time .We decide though to get a Wii for the family. It will be though hooked up at our family TV and all games must be rated with a E. Robert and I decide a long time ago we wanted to guard our kids heart and mind. We want what goes in their brain to be wholesome. My kids have no idea they are getting a Wii so mums the word. They don't read my blog either. I am on Day 3 of the biggest loser. So far so good except the exercise part. I walked a mile and my NEW heal spur on my right food is hurting badly. I have a appointment next Tuesday for a cortisone shot. Last time I had one it cleared up quickly and no problem with the old heal spur. It is really painful though. I have been asked by many about the bad check saga .I did e-mail her Monday and told her Tuesday was the last day she could pay. After Tuesday legally I can turn it over the magistrate office. Yes she will be served with a warrant for worthless check. She will have to pay it with court fines. She will not go to jail as long as she pays the check when it goes to court. But she will have a record. I feel so bad for her kids and husband but I have given her MANY chances to pay. What she has done is sin. Sin has consequences. I hope she learns from it. I am still sad though over the whole situation . 500.00 is a lot of money and I need to take care of my family too!

This and That

Weekend was busy as usual! Saturday was our last soccer game. Caroline scored two goals! She has really become a really good soccer player this year and is MUCH MORE aggressive. Morgan came home for a visit this weekend also. After Church he and Robert went to the Panther's Game. Morgan LOVES football so we were ALL happy the Panthers won. Today is Day 1 of the Biggest Losers. There is ONE thing I can't give up on my diet..COFFEE . I rarely drink soft drinks but I love 2 cups of coffee in the morning. I am going to start walking in the evenings also after dinner. Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Elijah. His class is going to the Apple Orchard . I plan to but my apples there to make my apple butter. I make them as gifts for the kids school and Sunday School teachers.It has become a big hit at the kids school with the teachers. I had one teacher actually said I hope you make me some of that apple butter this year. I used to teach and I was also a preschool director. I always enjoyed those special homemade gifts. How many coffee cups can I a teacher get in one year??? Also is the last day for the bad check writer to pay . Wednesday I will turn the check in to magistrate office for collection. Once it is turned in the collection is out of my hands. She will have to pay court fines. I feel bad for her family. Unfortunately her lies have continued. I probably will not post Tuesday because I will be off with my precious redhead! Robert and Teri

THE BIGGEST LOSER!

Good Morning! Well I join a group of LKNM ladies in a challenge to lose weight. We are calling it the Biggest Loser. We all put $10.00 in the pot and after 8 weeks someone will win the pot bases on the biggest weight loss by the percentage on how much you weigh. I went in my weigh-in this past WED. All I can say about what I weigh is MERCY ME! The challenge starts this coming Monday. Toni my friend and I are going to approach our challenge a little different. She and I am going to become weight loss prayer partners and keep each other accountable. We are also going to meet at the YMCA to walk. I am not a member but they do have a outside track. I KNOW I will not be able to get all my weight off in 8 weeks but it will be a good start! I think we will do it again after the first of the year. I am realistic though about what I need to weigh. I am embarrassed to say I weighed 118 when Robert and I got married 12 years ago. I wore a size 7 in jeans and 5 in a dress. I never struggle with my weight until I started having babies again at 40 ( bed rest for 5 mts with this one) 43. They are worth it though! I really need to get in shape and get to a normal weight for a woman at 50. I know that will not be 118! I went to be around when the grandkids come around because my goal is too be the BEST and MOST active Maw Maw in Mooresville. That's not going to happen if I keep on this path of life. I will keep everyone updated through my blog. I need cheerleaders!

Surgery Set!

They are understandable nervous and scared! Robert and I still feel at peace that everything is going to be fine. It will not be a easy surgery because where the cancer was located. He will also be in the hospital for a week. I wish we could go down there and be with him, June and Josh but with the kids in school it would be tough.Robert's parents though will be headed down there and will probably be gone for a couple of weeks. Y'all prayer warriors keep praying!

Today

Bill and June have a appointment today with Bill's surgeon. They will find out today when Bill surgery will be. Next Friday 24th the kids are out of school. Last night Caroline during our prayers ask Jesus that the surgery will be on the 24th so she can go to the hospital and be with Bill and June. Children are so unselfish with their love. Something us adults can learn from. This is a quote I borrowed from my friend Sheri off her blog. Here is a quote by W.T. Purkiser; "God helps us to do what we can, and endure what we must, even in the darkest hours. But more, He wants to teach us that there are no rainbows without storm clouds and there are no diamonds without heavy pressure and enormous heat.

This New Toy

OK I need to order a new vacuum more often. Elijah is obsess with our new Dyson vacuum. He came home from school.. CLEANED his room so he could vacuum with the Dyson. He has figured out how to empty the bag. How to attach all the attachments.Where to wrap the cord when finish. I even caught him on his knees examining all the parts of the Dyson and talking to himself on how cool this Dyson was . I just showed Melissa my neighbor our new toy. I took it apart and then could not figure how to get it back all together.I even got out the directions!!!! I had to call on the Dyson expert... ELIJAH who is ONLY 6..

My NEW TOY!

After my sale Robert will go out and buy me a reward for my hard work. Last sale he bought me a Vera Bradley bag with matching wallet. This sale though he bought me a new toy! I got a Dyson Vacuum. WOW I LOVE IT! You would not believe how much better it vacuums that my old cleaner. UNBELIVEABLE you will have to come over my house and try it out!

Our Weekend

This picture is dark sorry! This is the maze crew after they finished in 2 1/2 hrs I hope those who read my blog had a great weekend. Friday night I was not feeling well so we decided just to hang out on the couch and eat leftovers. Our neighbor Bob walked over and ask Robert if we all wanted to go to Lake Norman HS football game. They were playing their rivals Mooresville HS. By that time I had already parked my fanny in my PJ's on the couch and nothing was going to move me. Robert though took the kids and they went to the football game. They had a great time with our friends and I had a great time with the couch and TV. LOL. Unfortunately though someone took a sharp object and scratch a HUGE X on Bob's truck. You have to think it was a teen of course but you never know. I felt terrible though for Bob. Saturday we had soccer Caroline scored two goals and was pretty hyped up after the game. Papaw came to watch so the kids were pretty excited also. After lunch and a shower we met our friends the Robbins' and their kids for some fun at a VERY COOL place. We went to a corn maze. It is SEVEN acres of FUN! As you try to figure your way out you pick up map pieces at different stations. Once you get your map pieces it shows you the whole maze. There is also a cross-word puzzle you can complete on the way. The theme is We the People so it was educational too. The Robbins had their 2 1/2 year old son ( Chad) and after 1 1/2 hrs in the maze he had a enough. Lisa and I GLADY used the excuse of Chad to rest our aching feet. We had at that point found the exit but we did not complete the map [pieces. So Robert Mark and the kids went back in. They finished in 2 1/2 hrs which is pretty good. We talked to other people in there and some had been stuck in the maze for 4 hrs. Afterwards we went out to eat and then we took our very exhausted kids home. Actually we were too.LOL Sunday was Worship. I serve as the small group coordinator for our youth. We have small groups in the evening on Sunday. I really LOVE working with the teens. Last night we had 78 teens show up. AWESOME! Robert helps with the boy's RA's ( missions). They went cannoning yesterday evening and Elijah LOVED it. Over all it was a great weekend. Robert and Teri

Lies and Bounced Checks

At every sale we have a few bounced checks. MOST of the time we have no problem collecting them. I know people make mistakes and most people are honest in this world. This sale I have learned a hard but almost unbelievable lesson. This might take awhile to read :-) But if you like Drama read ahead Last spring sale I had a former consignor bounce a 400.00 check. There was always a crisis when it came time for her to take care of the bad check. Finally after 6 weeks she took care of the check. She did not consign this sale but did ask if she could volunteer. If your a volunteer at my sale you get to shop early. After the volunteer shop Robert came up to me and said did you realize that the nameless person wrote a 500.00 check this sale. I told him I never told her that she had to pay cash but hopefully it would not happen again. Guess What????? It bounced. I had to wait until the check came back. I got the check last Friday Oct 4th back in my mail. It was written on the Sept 20th. So it had been almost two weeks before I could call her. She was not home but I left a message. While I was out she called and came up with a story on my answering machine that now I have a hard time believing. ( you will see why as you read on). She said she lost her debit card and someone took it to Best Buy and spent 8,000. This caused all her checks to bounce in the bank. I called her back and she said that they had frozen their checking account but she would be able to pay me TODAY the 10th . Then she told me she was at Duke Hospital with her son that he was having heart surgery . I thought surely she would not lie about her own son. I felt bad for her and said that would be OK as long as we get this taken care of. She promised! She even told me if her son was still in the hospital next week her husband would take care of it. I did get a red-flag though when I called her home that evening and she answer. She kept saying Hello Hello like she had a bad cell connection. I asked her how she could answer her home phone when she was at Duke. Her response was that she had the home phone forwarded. The story become even sadder and it's not about the MONEY. He has NOT had heart surgery. He has been in school for the past two weeks. I can't go in how I found out because I really want to protect the INNOCENT. ( her husband and kids)Anyone knows that Duke has a phone number and this town is not big. I even sent her a e-mail this morning asking when we could meet and I asked her how her son was. She wrote back and said he was not doing well and to pray for him. She was worried about him . She even said her daughter was having a hard time with her brother being so sick and as soon as she got her off to school she was heading to the hospital. That was a lie too.I know because he was in school yesterday. She also told me she could not pay the full amount she owe me. Legally I can't take partial payments and with her lies I can't trust her. I feel sick to my stomach. I have all day. How could a Mother lie and use their own child like that. Robert told me that we should not worry about her lies that our concern is just getting the money. I don't agree with him. I know there is nothing I could do. Even if I told this woman how sick this made me she would have a lie to cover her lie. I feel sick that someone use my love for the Lord and children to play my heart and pull my strings. I am having even a hard time thinking about praying for this woman. I know tomorrow will be new day and I will be refreshed and see things differently. God has way of making things NEW. I know tomorrow I will pray this woman's heart and especially her family. We have to file a warrant for the check. I have no choice. Usually when this happens people pay because they don't want a record and court cost. The deputy sheriff will make her a visit. I hate that part because of her kids But she made the choice to lie...

Mash Potatoes and Heaven

Last Sunday Robert and Caroline went to the Panthers Game. So after Church Jason took Elijah and I out for lunch. I LOVE MASH POTATOES . My favorite was on the menu so of course I ordered them. As I was savory each bite I told my boys that I hope when I get to heaven that Jesus has me a heaping plate of mash potatoes as my first meal. Elijah ( 6) looks at me and said's Mom Did you know your almost halfway to heaven. I said how's that Elijah . Well he said you are 50 years old so that means your half-way there... LOL Good News! Bill had is scan yesterday at Duke and everything looked clear. They will meet with the surgeon today and by Friday we should know the course of treatment. June and Bill have some decisions made so we are praying for clarity for both them and the Dr's I will keep you updated... BTW I thought McCain did great last night in the debate

God is in Business

Did you know God is in the business of healing. He in FACT is the greatest physician. Remember our friends the Riches. Their story is truly a testimony of faith. Cancer has now touched our family. Robert's brother Bill has colon cancer. He went in for a routine scope and they found two huge polyps. Bill had a scope done 5 years ago and everything was clear .The Dr told him he could wait for 10 years for the next scope. I KNOW that God had intervene and sent Bill for another scope before his time. For that reason I feel that everything is going to be OK for Bill and June. He facing though a chance of that he might have to have a colostomy. The cancer is located low in the colon which will make surgery more difficult. Today June and Bill head to Duke for a Full Body Scan. Bill and June if you read my blog this morning know that we LOVE BOTH of you very much. We added both of you to our prayer list at Church. Last Sunday we had numerous friends come up to us and let us know that they were praying. The kids this morning as I dropped them off to school wanted you to know their school friends and teachers was praying for both of you. Riches Web Site http://caringbridge.org/visit/billrich

Sale is Over

Well things have settle down with our sale finally ending. God is amazing . When we think we have capped our sales off he shows us we were wrong. So we had a very successful sale. Boy I am tired though and I have much to catch up on being a Mom and Wife! My Mom is out of the hospital and seems to be doing well. She has damage to her cerebrum . Her emotions and though process has some healing to do. But she is walking with a walker! Here is a copy/paste e-mail from one of my long time consignors. I am not posting this to get a well job done Teri response. But more to show how God can use so many people that are involved with our sales. If you honor him everything else falls in place! Dear Teri and consignors, I have been consigning with Teri for many years and have never known what a difference the donated items could make. We have recently been licensed as foster parents with Iredell county. On Friday night we received a 3 year old girl to our home with nothing but the clothes on her back. All of the clothes that she had were too big for her and very dirty and worn. We had to throw these clothes out. On Saturday I contacted Teri because I knew that she donates to the Foster parent association after her sale. I told her the story of this little girl and she graciously let me look through the donated items on Saturday after the conclusion of the sale. I would like to extend a personal thank you to all consignors that are willing to donate their items that do not sell. Thanks to all of you this little girl has clothes and shoes to get her through the Fall and Winter. I would like to send a special thank you to the shopper whom I have never met that overheard me telling our story to Teri. She bought this little girl several outfits and shoes and handed them to me in a bag before she left the sale. This wonderful lady had never met me or this child before but gave from the goodness in her heart. Teri, your sale is a testimony to so many and I would like to thank you for what you do for our community. Anne C