Welcome to my little corner of the world. I pray some of what you read is an inspiration and a blessing to you for your day. This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
More Barbie Clothes
Besides straightening up my files and working on organizing, when I take a break, I have been working on finishing up a sweater for my Barbie dolls. Today I finished the sweater (except for putting the buttons on) and I also made a skirt. They both turned out really cute, I think! I was even able to add a ruffle to the sleeves of the sweater and the skirt is made to just slide on!
January 05, 2010
This story was sent to me in an e-mail from a Christian friend I used to work with. I think I see this story once or twice a year, but it is a great story and has a wonderful message. Whether it is a true story or not, I do not know, but it has a message that we should be mindful of all year long, so I decided with this being the beginning of a new year that I would post it here. Even if you have read it before, read it again.
An Anonymous Story called "Daniel's Gloves"
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day. As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.' Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked. 'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.' 'Have you eaten today?' 'Oh, I ate something early this morning.' 'Would you like to have lunch with me?' 'Do you have some work I could do for you?' 'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.' 'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?' ' St.. Louis ' 'Where you from?' 'Oh, all over; mostly Florida..' 'How long you been walking?' 'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God. 'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.' 'Ever think of stopping?' I asked. 'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?' 'What?' 'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?' 'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.' I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked. He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said. 'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
'Where are you headed from here?' I asked. 'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.' 'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?' 'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.' He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.' I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.' 'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.' 'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!' 'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked. A long time,' he replied. And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.' 'I'll be there!' was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes
you think of me, will you pray for me?' 'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.' 'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them.... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them. Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'
Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
'I shall pass this way but once.. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.'
'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail friends reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment.. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen.'
GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!
An Anonymous Story called "Daniel's Gloves"
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day. As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food.' My heart sank. I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.' Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked. 'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.' 'Have you eaten today?' 'Oh, I ate something early this morning.' 'Would you like to have lunch with me?' 'Do you have some work I could do for you?' 'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.' 'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?' ' St.. Louis ' 'Where you from?' 'Oh, all over; mostly Florida..' 'How long you been walking?' 'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God. 'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.' 'Ever think of stopping?' I asked. 'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?' 'What?' 'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?' 'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.' I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked. He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said. 'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
'Where are you headed from here?' I asked. 'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.' 'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?' 'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.' He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.' I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.' 'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.' 'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!' 'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked. A long time,' he replied. And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.' 'I'll be there!' was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes
you think of me, will you pray for me?' 'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.' 'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them.... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them. Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'
Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
'I shall pass this way but once.. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.'
'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail friends reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment.. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen.'
GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!
Monday, January 4, 2010
January 04, 2010 - How Cold is it???
It is so cold that even the horses are wearing coats! :) You wouldn't believe me if I didn't have a picture, would you?! :) Temperatures are going to dip into the teens all week. The temperature when we were out was about 25 with the sun shining brightly!
Today was errand day. We first visited the couple who came forward to join the church yesterday to find out about their church history as far as baptism goes. It was while we were on the way to their house that we saw the horses with coats on! There were probably 6 horses in this field at the corner of their road that were wearing coats! Then, as we rounded the corner, across the street were the neighbor's horses who had to bear the cold WITHOUT coats! Poor babies! Tim and I agreed that this was a first for us to see....horses with coats on! We wondered if they were race horses or what was so different about them that they were afforded the luxury of being able to wear a coat when other horses had to rough it!
Anyway, we then went to our oldest church member's house (97 yrs) who doesn't get out much anymore. We talked about ice houses and ice boxes that he experienced growing up. He is very interesting to talk to. He has shown us all of the genealogical information he has gathered over the years with the help of friends and family. I think he has finally shown us everything he has because he didn't offer anything new today. But nothing is in any kind of order so that you can tie one person to another, so I don't know how much good it would/is doing anyone.............
After we left his house, we went to a couple of office supply stores and to the post office to mail the cds from the holidays that I made copies of for the kids and my sister. And since we were out and about, I was not going to be able to have the roasting chicken done in time for us to eat at 4:30, so we decided to use the other gift card we had gotten for Christmas and eat at Chili's since we were right by them at the mall where the post office is and where one of the office products stores is. As you can see from the pictures, the weather is beautiful except for being so very bitter cold and windy! BRRRRR!!! It's days like this that I wish I lived in Florida! At least they are about 20 degrees warmer than us today!
Today was errand day. We first visited the couple who came forward to join the church yesterday to find out about their church history as far as baptism goes. It was while we were on the way to their house that we saw the horses with coats on! There were probably 6 horses in this field at the corner of their road that were wearing coats! Then, as we rounded the corner, across the street were the neighbor's horses who had to bear the cold WITHOUT coats! Poor babies! Tim and I agreed that this was a first for us to see....horses with coats on! We wondered if they were race horses or what was so different about them that they were afforded the luxury of being able to wear a coat when other horses had to rough it!
Anyway, we then went to our oldest church member's house (97 yrs) who doesn't get out much anymore. We talked about ice houses and ice boxes that he experienced growing up. He is very interesting to talk to. He has shown us all of the genealogical information he has gathered over the years with the help of friends and family. I think he has finally shown us everything he has because he didn't offer anything new today. But nothing is in any kind of order so that you can tie one person to another, so I don't know how much good it would/is doing anyone.............
After we left his house, we went to a couple of office supply stores and to the post office to mail the cds from the holidays that I made copies of for the kids and my sister. And since we were out and about, I was not going to be able to have the roasting chicken done in time for us to eat at 4:30, so we decided to use the other gift card we had gotten for Christmas and eat at Chili's since we were right by them at the mall where the post office is and where one of the office products stores is. As you can see from the pictures, the weather is beautiful except for being so very bitter cold and windy! BRRRRR!!! It's days like this that I wish I lived in Florida! At least they are about 20 degrees warmer than us today!
2010 Calendar Pages
Elisabeth and Jessica gave me calendars with the kids' pictures in them for 2010, which they do every year and I love! I had these calendar templates to make 5x7 calendars with and thought I would go ahead and make them and see what kind of product I can find at my photo book printing places on the web to see if I can create something to carry these in my purse.
Credits:
Maddy Fernandez, 5x7 2010 Calendar Templates
Also, each month is made using one of Maddy's kits. They are as follows and you can find them in her store:
January - Wonderful Winter
February - My Lovely Valentine
March - Irish Blessings
April - Bugs M'Lady
May - A Spring Thing
June - Camp Fun
July - Summer Leisure
August - Of Sand and Sea
September - School's in Session
October - Fall Once More
November - Lilah Evory's Harvest Celebration
December - Home for the Holidays
Credits:
Maddy Fernandez, 5x7 2010 Calendar Templates
Also, each month is made using one of Maddy's kits. They are as follows and you can find them in her store:
January - Wonderful Winter
February - My Lovely Valentine
March - Irish Blessings
April - Bugs M'Lady
May - A Spring Thing
June - Camp Fun
July - Summer Leisure
August - Of Sand and Sea
September - School's in Session
October - Fall Once More
November - Lilah Evory's Harvest Celebration
December - Home for the Holidays
Sunday, January 3, 2010
January 03, 2010
Today's church services proved to be a GREAT and BLESSED start of the new year! Besides the great messages, a couple who has attended the services almost as long as we have been there, and who are more faithful than some of our members, came forward in the morning invitation to announce that they would like to become members of our church! Praise the LORD! and Thank You, LORD! We have several attenders who are not members. I don't understand this other than, like this couple, the Lord is in control and His time table is not the same as ours! So, while I know DH would LOVE for all of our regular attenders to become members, and so would I, I'll just let the Lord do His work as He sees fit! But, I am very thankful for the baptism that was performed on New Year's Eve, too! We gave him the right hand of fellowship and welcomed him officially to the church family today! I pray these moves are just a sprinkling of the many blessings our church family will experience this year!
New subject.....
Back when I was working on Hannah's Barbie doll clothes, I mentioned that I checked out the sewing machines at Walmart and there was the cutest little purple craft sewing machine that I felt would handle any sewing project I would be doing. But the reason I didn't buy it was because I only saw that it was battery operated, which turned me off totally. Well, I kept thinking about that little sewing machine and made up my mind to check it out again to see if it was adaptable to electricity. So, when the girls gave me money for Christmas I decided to check it out while I was in Walmart yesterday. And, to my great pleasure, it did come with an AC adapter AND a foot pedal! WOOHOO! I was in business! I bought it without a second thought. Now, I want to show it to you. The first picture is of the machine itself with the foot pedal and the AC adapter sitting to the right of it. The second picture is for comparison of size between it and the little battery operated craft sewer that I used for the Barbie doll clothes. My hand will hopefully give you some idea of the size of both machines. The new Pixie by Singer is bigger than the mini, but it is not HUGE as a regular sewing machine, either! As a matter of fact, the AC adapter feels like it weighs as much as the sewing machine, LOL! Also, the flash of the camera whitened out the actual deep purple color of the Pixie. Jessica and Hannah will LOVE it just because it is purple! I can't wait to try it out! I'll give you an update when I do!
New subject.....
Back when I was working on Hannah's Barbie doll clothes, I mentioned that I checked out the sewing machines at Walmart and there was the cutest little purple craft sewing machine that I felt would handle any sewing project I would be doing. But the reason I didn't buy it was because I only saw that it was battery operated, which turned me off totally. Well, I kept thinking about that little sewing machine and made up my mind to check it out again to see if it was adaptable to electricity. So, when the girls gave me money for Christmas I decided to check it out while I was in Walmart yesterday. And, to my great pleasure, it did come with an AC adapter AND a foot pedal! WOOHOO! I was in business! I bought it without a second thought. Now, I want to show it to you. The first picture is of the machine itself with the foot pedal and the AC adapter sitting to the right of it. The second picture is for comparison of size between it and the little battery operated craft sewer that I used for the Barbie doll clothes. My hand will hopefully give you some idea of the size of both machines. The new Pixie by Singer is bigger than the mini, but it is not HUGE as a regular sewing machine, either! As a matter of fact, the AC adapter feels like it weighs as much as the sewing machine, LOL! Also, the flash of the camera whitened out the actual deep purple color of the Pixie. Jessica and Hannah will LOVE it just because it is purple! I can't wait to try it out! I'll give you an update when I do!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Pictures from 1980 of the Birthday Girl, Jessica!
If you haven't read my post where I reminisced about Jessica's birth day, scroll past all of the following pictures. These pictures begin 2 days before Jessica's due date of December 27th, 1979 through sometime in December 1980. ENJOY!
I would say this picture speaks for itself!
I thought I had a black and white picture that is similar to this picture and was taken the day she was born, but I couldn't find it. This was taken when she was 2 days old, January 3rd.
This is the hospital picture. I am thinking it was taken on January 3rd.
This is the weather I came home to on January 6th. We could not drive up the hill, so I had to walk up the hill! YIKES! Tim carried Jessica and Tim's dad carried me, LOL! Not really, just held onto my arm for support! It was only snow when we came home earlier in the day, but we got some rain and the result was a layer of ice on top of the snow. Those are Tim's tracks you see where he walked down the driveway to get this picture. We lived near Taylorsport, KY but our mailing address was Hebron.
And here is the proud, new daddy!
And here is a proud grandpa! Dad worked for Emery Air Freight out of the Greater Cincinnati Airport, which was up over the hill from our house, so dad would stop by to see Jessica and me on his way home from work. I think she was about 4 weeks old here.
In July, Tim, Jessica and I went with mom and dad to visit dad's brother, Bobby and his family in Park Rapids, Minnesota. Aunt Tootsie and Uncle Bobby had their 6th child, and only girl, 18 days after Jessica was born! It was fun to see Jessica and Joyce interact together as babies being the same age! I thought you would enjoy this picture, Jessica, of mom and dad and you.
OK, time for some comparison shots of Jessica and me at 6 months. Here is Jessica at about 6 1/2 months (July 26, 1980) and below her picture is one of me at 6 months. Her's is a poor picture that looks like it got wet. Mine is poor quality because it is OLD! :P
I would guess that this picture was taken sometime in April, 1956.
And to end the year of 1980, here is one of Jessica learning to walk!
I would say this picture speaks for itself!
I thought I had a black and white picture that is similar to this picture and was taken the day she was born, but I couldn't find it. This was taken when she was 2 days old, January 3rd.
This is the hospital picture. I am thinking it was taken on January 3rd.
This is the weather I came home to on January 6th. We could not drive up the hill, so I had to walk up the hill! YIKES! Tim carried Jessica and Tim's dad carried me, LOL! Not really, just held onto my arm for support! It was only snow when we came home earlier in the day, but we got some rain and the result was a layer of ice on top of the snow. Those are Tim's tracks you see where he walked down the driveway to get this picture. We lived near Taylorsport, KY but our mailing address was Hebron.
And here is the proud, new daddy!
And here is a proud grandpa! Dad worked for Emery Air Freight out of the Greater Cincinnati Airport, which was up over the hill from our house, so dad would stop by to see Jessica and me on his way home from work. I think she was about 4 weeks old here.
In July, Tim, Jessica and I went with mom and dad to visit dad's brother, Bobby and his family in Park Rapids, Minnesota. Aunt Tootsie and Uncle Bobby had their 6th child, and only girl, 18 days after Jessica was born! It was fun to see Jessica and Joyce interact together as babies being the same age! I thought you would enjoy this picture, Jessica, of mom and dad and you.
OK, time for some comparison shots of Jessica and me at 6 months. Here is Jessica at about 6 1/2 months (July 26, 1980) and below her picture is one of me at 6 months. Her's is a poor picture that looks like it got wet. Mine is poor quality because it is OLD! :P
I would guess that this picture was taken sometime in April, 1956.
And to end the year of 1980, here is one of Jessica learning to walk!
January 02, 2010 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
The first thing for my post today is to wish my oldest baby a very, VERY Happy Birthday! When I remember the day she was born, it brings joy to my heart! She holds a special place in the birth order in that she made me a momma first! There were soooo many firsts with her birth. She was such a pleasant and beautiful baby. From the day she was conceived and through her growing years she didn't give me any trouble (nothing I couldn't handle, anyway!). :P Bear with me while I reminisce about that beautiful day 30 years ago.....
Wednesday, January 2, 1980. I woke up at about 5:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom. As I sat there, I began to notice those labor pains. I began to get anxious! The contractions were coming pretty frequently and already about every 3 - 5 minutes. What do I do? Do I call mom? Do I call the hospital? Do I call the doctor? Do I wake Tim up? What do I do??? What if this is a false alarm? I was expecting the pain to be unbearable, but it wasn't! And I wasn't thinking about the fact that "he" was 6 days late from "his" expected due date of December 27th! When "he" didn't come by the end of the year (yes, we were looking for a tax break, lol!) I decided "he" could just come whenever "he" wanted to. Yes, she was supposed to be a "he" according to the doctor's prediction! I had gained 40 lbs. during this pregnancy and my stomach was HUGE!!! I felt absolutely GREAT during the whole pregnancy, except for the constant heartburn! So, I knew "he" was going to have lots of hair, anyway, lol!
OK, back to my story. I made the decision to call the doctor first. He called right back and I gave him the "stats" and he told me I better go ahead and go to the hospital. The contractions were a very even 3 minutes apart by this time. After I talked to him, I called mom and told her what was going on. I woke Tim up. He immediately went into almost-freaked mode. Moving about very quickly and nervously. Well, as big as I was, I wasn't moving around anywhere very quickly, lol! The trip to the hospital, traveling down River Road at break-neck speed was NOT fun! This is Route 8 in Northern KY that runs along the Ohio River. Our mailing address was Hebron, which is up on top of the hill from where we lived down on the river near Taylorsport. I don't know how it is now, but 30 years ago Route 8 was a mess of holes and patched-up spots in the road. A typical river road where lots of places in the road were sunken in! YIKES! Anyway, I just remember thinking, "if he hits one more bump I'm gonna have this baby in the car!" Thankfully, I didn't!
I don't even remember what time we got to the hospital. It is all a fast blur after we started the trip to the hospital! Of course there are admissions, which I believe Tim took care of while I was taken back for "preppings." I kept having to go to the bathroom (diarrhea) and finally the nurse knocked on the door and said, "if you don't get off of that pot, you are gonna have that baby in the toilet!" WOW! I wonder how many times that has actually happened?! I'm sure she knew what she was talking about! I'm sure it wasn't just a scare tactic.
Next thing I remember is being on the delivery table with Tim standing at my side and being able to push. What a relief that was! They had put that stupid belt thing around my stomach that kept track of the baby's heart beat! Boy, that was definitely uncomfortable during a contraction! I can still remember Tim's hands being cold and clammy, just like they were the day we got married! He was not going to stay with me during the delivery and mom had gone with me to the Lamaze classes I had taken, so she stepped in and took his place when the time came for the birth. Actually, I might be confused on that part. Tim might have been in the waiting room the whole time.
Anyway, I pushed hard, so hard I broke blood vessels in my eyes and around my eyes. I was sooooo tired by the time Jessica was born! And what a beautiful, BIG baby girl she was! She was born at 9:12 a.m. and weighed 10 lbs. 7 1/2 ozs. and was 21 1/4" long. I remember the tears of joy that mom cried for this bundle who was her first grandchild! I remember the tears dad cried when he came to see me after he got off of work that day. I remember Tim saying, "her eyes are open!" when he first saw her. I remember saying, "of course! She isn't a puppy!" :) I remember the pain of those first days of nursing! But, I remember the joy it was besides that! So many firsts to remember! But, I'll stop reminiscing for now since I've brought myself to tears, lol, with all of my remembering! :)
I LOVE YOU very much, Jessica, and hope you have a wonderful 30th birthday! I pray the Lord continues to watch over you as you carry my 8th grandchild (3 of them being in heaven already!)! And, I've been meaning to mention to you that you have officially been pregnant more times that I ever was! :)
My plans for the day are to go and get some groceries, take the Christmas decorations back to the basement, take dishes back to the fellowship hall, do some more organizing and go over my SS lesson that I didn't have to teach last week because no one showed up!
So, now for my pictures for today. This first one shows where the boxes of Christmas decorations have been sitting since I took everything down after the kids left on Wednesday! Today I am going to take them to the basement! :) Tim probably thinks I have intentions of making this their permanent parking spot by now! :) Scroll down to see my second picture.....
I'm thinking of leaving the tree and the garland up! I think it gives this corner of the living room a nice ambiance! What do you think! :) Have a very happy 2nd day of a new decade!
Wednesday, January 2, 1980. I woke up at about 5:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom. As I sat there, I began to notice those labor pains. I began to get anxious! The contractions were coming pretty frequently and already about every 3 - 5 minutes. What do I do? Do I call mom? Do I call the hospital? Do I call the doctor? Do I wake Tim up? What do I do??? What if this is a false alarm? I was expecting the pain to be unbearable, but it wasn't! And I wasn't thinking about the fact that "he" was 6 days late from "his" expected due date of December 27th! When "he" didn't come by the end of the year (yes, we were looking for a tax break, lol!) I decided "he" could just come whenever "he" wanted to. Yes, she was supposed to be a "he" according to the doctor's prediction! I had gained 40 lbs. during this pregnancy and my stomach was HUGE!!! I felt absolutely GREAT during the whole pregnancy, except for the constant heartburn! So, I knew "he" was going to have lots of hair, anyway, lol!
OK, back to my story. I made the decision to call the doctor first. He called right back and I gave him the "stats" and he told me I better go ahead and go to the hospital. The contractions were a very even 3 minutes apart by this time. After I talked to him, I called mom and told her what was going on. I woke Tim up. He immediately went into almost-freaked mode. Moving about very quickly and nervously. Well, as big as I was, I wasn't moving around anywhere very quickly, lol! The trip to the hospital, traveling down River Road at break-neck speed was NOT fun! This is Route 8 in Northern KY that runs along the Ohio River. Our mailing address was Hebron, which is up on top of the hill from where we lived down on the river near Taylorsport. I don't know how it is now, but 30 years ago Route 8 was a mess of holes and patched-up spots in the road. A typical river road where lots of places in the road were sunken in! YIKES! Anyway, I just remember thinking, "if he hits one more bump I'm gonna have this baby in the car!" Thankfully, I didn't!
I don't even remember what time we got to the hospital. It is all a fast blur after we started the trip to the hospital! Of course there are admissions, which I believe Tim took care of while I was taken back for "preppings." I kept having to go to the bathroom (diarrhea) and finally the nurse knocked on the door and said, "if you don't get off of that pot, you are gonna have that baby in the toilet!" WOW! I wonder how many times that has actually happened?! I'm sure she knew what she was talking about! I'm sure it wasn't just a scare tactic.
Next thing I remember is being on the delivery table with Tim standing at my side and being able to push. What a relief that was! They had put that stupid belt thing around my stomach that kept track of the baby's heart beat! Boy, that was definitely uncomfortable during a contraction! I can still remember Tim's hands being cold and clammy, just like they were the day we got married! He was not going to stay with me during the delivery and mom had gone with me to the Lamaze classes I had taken, so she stepped in and took his place when the time came for the birth. Actually, I might be confused on that part. Tim might have been in the waiting room the whole time.
Anyway, I pushed hard, so hard I broke blood vessels in my eyes and around my eyes. I was sooooo tired by the time Jessica was born! And what a beautiful, BIG baby girl she was! She was born at 9:12 a.m. and weighed 10 lbs. 7 1/2 ozs. and was 21 1/4" long. I remember the tears of joy that mom cried for this bundle who was her first grandchild! I remember the tears dad cried when he came to see me after he got off of work that day. I remember Tim saying, "her eyes are open!" when he first saw her. I remember saying, "of course! She isn't a puppy!" :) I remember the pain of those first days of nursing! But, I remember the joy it was besides that! So many firsts to remember! But, I'll stop reminiscing for now since I've brought myself to tears, lol, with all of my remembering! :)
I LOVE YOU very much, Jessica, and hope you have a wonderful 30th birthday! I pray the Lord continues to watch over you as you carry my 8th grandchild (3 of them being in heaven already!)! And, I've been meaning to mention to you that you have officially been pregnant more times that I ever was! :)
My plans for the day are to go and get some groceries, take the Christmas decorations back to the basement, take dishes back to the fellowship hall, do some more organizing and go over my SS lesson that I didn't have to teach last week because no one showed up!
So, now for my pictures for today. This first one shows where the boxes of Christmas decorations have been sitting since I took everything down after the kids left on Wednesday! Today I am going to take them to the basement! :) Tim probably thinks I have intentions of making this their permanent parking spot by now! :) Scroll down to see my second picture.....
I'm thinking of leaving the tree and the garland up! I think it gives this corner of the living room a nice ambiance! What do you think! :) Have a very happy 2nd day of a new decade!
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