Baptism & Bikinis

All day I've pondered what I'd write for today's memory, I kept comin' up dry. Well... tonight at my women's bible study we had to think up some stuff for the "ice breaker". One thing we had to share was a favorite memory. Then it came to me... I would write about my baptism. I think it's a pretty great story. My "salvation process" is far too long a story, (maybe save that for another time) so I'll begin with baptism. Through a turn of events my husband, I and our 7 year old daughter at the time all came to Christ and knew that our next step of obedience was baptism. I wasn't embarrassed about my decision to become a believer in Christ, but the thought of going into the baptismal and getting dunked in front of the entire congregation petrified me! Seriously, all those people would see me with wet hair and mascara dripping down to my chin. I was just entirely too nervous... but I would be baptised. I decided that if Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan, I could be baptised in a similar body of water as well.

It was 1998. We lived in Newton, Kansas at the time and Harvey County East Lake was just around the corner about 10 miles. So... we made the decision to be baptised there, all 3 of us. It would take place after the Sunday service and we and whoever else wanted to trek out to the lake would witness this blessed event. We pulled up to the beach area with about 12-15 cars trailing behind in procession. We made quite a spectacle... especially with what happened next. We got out of our vehicle and began to put on our white, zip up baptismal robes - ya know... "wash me and I will be whiter than snow" - the robe symbolized the purity of baptism and all that it stands for. Once we were in our proper attire we proceeded down to the beach. WHOA! There were some young women sunbathing in their string bikinis. Oh geesh... seemed a bit... um.... uncomfortable. I bet they were wondering what on earth was happening. They were sipping drinks and soaking up the sun and here come all these people, and "what's with the robes?!" ha ha. Comical don'tchya think?

It was October 11th and a as far as the weather was concerned... we were cuttin' it pretty close to be climbin' in the chilly waters to be baptised - but we were determined that we would do it before the temperatures began dropping even more as we neared late fall. It was clearly a pretty nice day, as evidenced by the sunbathers, but that water was COLD! Luke went first. He waded out to Brother Pat and was immersed. He came up smiling... and shivering. I was next... I waded out and brr.... it was colder than I had imagined, but I toughed it up - I was so excited it didn't matter. Brother Pat dunked me and I came up smilin'. Then was Ciara's turn... being 7 years old she was a bit more expressive than we were about the water temperature, but she did great. She held her nose and went under... as Brother Pat pulled her back up out of the water and exclaimed "raised in the newness of life"... a tiny little fish jumped right in front of her. It was the sweetest thing ever. All of our friends were cheering and hugging us, even though we were wet and cold, then everyone broke out into song, " I have decided to follow Jesus... no turning back... no turning back." It was a beautiful expression of our faith and obedience to God.

As memorable as that day was for us, I can imagine the girls in the bikinis will never forget it either. :)

Heartsick

I seriously feel heartsick today. There are so many things about this world that I don't understand, but this topic is the mother of all "I don't get it" 's. *sigh* I'll warn you... this is going to be a passionate post, so if you don't wanna hear it... that's up to you. I know it's controversial, but I'm goin' there. I have to.

I was in the kitchen this morning putting together some cupcakes and doggie birthday cake for my precious Shoogie's birthday party. She's 1 year old today!! :) Anyway, more on that later. Luke was in the bedroom getting dressed and watching FOX News as he does every morning, he yells down the hall..."Hey, Jami...guess what Obama's doin' today?" I'm thinking that I would have no idea, so I yell back, "what?". He informed me that a bill was being signed to overturn the bill that President Bush put in motion when he was president. Ya know, the one about the government funding abortions. UGH!!!! Are you serious? Our nation is in a financial crisis and we are going to give money (I believe the dollar amount was 3 billion) to people to "take care" of their "mistakes"?!! You have got to be kidding me. Obama supporters can argue all day long that he isn't big on abortion, but if this doesn't prove it, I don't know what does! He actually voted once for and twice didn't vote against - allowing partial birth abortion - in which babies that are still breathing and crying are left to die in a cold empty room - alone! I don't understand how anyone can saythat is OK. When pro-choicers are confronted with the subject of whether or not it is ok to take human life (aka abortion) many will argue that "you can't ban it because then people will just get abortions illegally, and what if the woman was raped?" Well... my response to that is... less than 1% of women that have abortions have been raped, statistics show that generally... the majority of women that are having abortions are doing it as a form of birth control as many of them have had multiple abortions.

Now here's where I start to get all sorts of wound up: Human rights vs. Animal rights.


I actually went online and looked up the animal rights laws for the great state of Kansas. Here's what I found (http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/animallaws/kansaslaw.htm)

Kansas Anti-Cruelty Statutes
KANSAS STATUTES CHAPTER 21. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
KANSAS CRIMINAL CODE (ARTICLES 31 TO 47)
PART II. PROHIBITED CONDUCT
ARTICLE 43. CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC MORALS


21-4310. Cruelty to animals.
(a) Cruelty to animals is:

(1) Intentionally killing, injuring, maiming, torturing or mutilating any animal;


(2) abandoning or leaving any animal in any place without making provisions for its proper care;


(3) having physical custody of any animal and failing to provide such food, potable water, protection from the elements, opportunity for exercise and other care as is needed for the health or well-being of such kind of animal; or


(4) intentionally using a wire, pole, stick, rope or any other object to cause an equine to lose its balance or fall, for the purpose of sport or entertainment.


So let me get this straight... intentionally killing, injuring, maiming, torturing or mutilating any animal or abandoning or leaving any animal in any place without making provisions for its proper care isn't ok, but doing this to an unborn child is ok? Now I ask you, what is wrong with this world? A cat is protected, but human life is not. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I'm an animal lover, I practically kiss Shoogie and the cats until I get a hairball, so don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be animal cruelty laws, but what I get so sick about is that first part of the animal cruelty law where it says that it's against the law to, "intentionally kill, injure, maim, torture or mutilate an animal... and then our president wants to give our tax dollars to women so that they can do the same thing to unborn babies. I've seen abortion videos, there's no doubt about it... it is all those things! SICK SICK SICK. It makes me feel like vomiting. Furthermore, if someone kills a pregnant woman, it is double manslaughter. I find it interesting how the "fetus" suddenly then becomes a "baby". But if the Momma wants to kill it herself by having an abortion - NO PROBLEM! It's her choice afterall. I feel so helpless that nothing can be done to change this. The one thing I CAN do is pray - so I will.


Well, this is what is on my mind and on my heart today. Thanks for listening. :)





Precious





Far more precious!

More Hair!

Yes, it's another hair story. But this time it doesn't really involve me except for the laughs that followed. It will be short and sweet because, well... the story is "short and sweet".

"My Mom Cuts It"

I've always cut my son, Brandon's hair from early on. We tried the salon (or beauty shop as we called it, back in the early 90's) - but it didn't go too well. Let's just say, my little darling freaked out. I think he was probably close to 2 when we made this attempt. So, being the genius I am, I decided to do the haircuts in front of the tv so he could watch a favorite movie and keep his mind off of it and I could just get the job done! It worked really well actually, I just sat him on an old, vinyl table cloth and then just gave it a shake outside when I was done.

Those of you that know my husband know that he began thinning in his mid-20's leaving a couple of "hair challenged areas" in the back and even though he doesn't like it, he will tell anyone who inquires about it that "the front part of his hair (bangs) have separated off the peninsula and formed their own island." ha ha. At least he has a great attitude, right? :) When these sorts of things start to happen to a fella, it's hard to deal with, but what are ya gonna do... get hair in a can or wear a wig? I actually think he's still quite handsome regardless of the hair situation.
Well... one Sunday at church, when Brandon was about 5 years old, he went into his Sunday School class sporting a new haircut. Miss Michele noticed. Here's how it went down, it still makes me laugh.

Miss Michele: Did ya get a new haircut Brandon?

Brandon: Yeaaah, my mom cut it cuz the lady that cuts dad's hair gives him bald spots.

Ahh... the mind of a child. What a riot, he thought the stylist was creating the bald spots for his Dad. ha ha. As you might imagine, this commentary has been stirring up laughs every time someone remembers it and shares it. I'm pretty sure that's one story I won't forget, even into old age. :)

Ding Dong Ditcher!

The UPS man!! Yeah, you didn't see that one comin' did ya? :) It's true, my UPS guy ding dong ditches me when he delivers my soap supplies! The door bell rings, 5-10 seconds later I open the door and no one is there... I look out and see the UPS guy's back side as he climbs back into his truck. On a good day he yells, "thank you." Are you kidding? Since when are UPS guys ding dong ditchers? When we first moved to Hays, our UPS guy, Terry, was awesome. It probably helped that he knows my uncle, who is his co-worker, but I think this guy is just genuinely friendly. The way he delivered my boxes was much different than the new guy. Terry would pull in the drive, hop out, give Trixie a milk bone, ring the doorbell, greet me with a smile and either hand the box to me personally or ask me where I'd like him to set them down. He was always in a hurry, but always had time to make sure he was friendly and did his job to the customer's satisfaction. I really miss him!

Yesterday I received my order from one of my packaging suppliers. It was a somewhat huge order of jars. I was working in the soap shop when the doorbell rang, but I assumed with the kids upstairs they'd take care of it. When I came up into the living room I saw the box. It was about 4 cubic feet - enormous AND heavy. I said, "Oh, my jars are here" and Ciara's reply was, "yeah, and he left this box on the porch, rang the doorbell and was back in his truck by the time I got to the door which was like a few seconds after he rang the bell... I had to carry this big box in myself." Geesh. What a change. I know those guys are on a tight schedule and work long hours, but I have to say I definitely preferred the service I got from the previous guy. I'm pretty sure that my 2 uncles that work for UPS aren't ding dong ditchers, but my UPS guy is! Maybe one day I'll see him coming and stand in the door so he can't ding dong or ditch.

Hairdoos

Is it Wednesday again already? My, how time flies. Ok, I'm ready... here goes:

"Hairdoos"

When I was a little girl, my Mom had the time of her life giving me hairdoos. Now, when I say hairdoos, I don't mean the kind of hairdoos you're thinking of. There were no pig tails or pony tails, no pretty braids - NO! Only creepy hot roller hairdoos and ugly haircuts. You should have seen them, they were seriously crazy! ( No offense Mom, I LOVE YOU!!) I was born with quite a bit of dark hair, and as time went on my hair just grew thicker and thicker and I guess that was Mom's cue to "let the fun begin!" In my toddler years, I just had straight page boy cuts, then as I got into gradeschool, Mother got creative - we began the hot roller phase.

Me: "Ouch, that really hurts, it's killing my head... it's too hot... it's too pokey... .etc..."

Mom: "That's the price we pay to be beautiful!"

UGH! Seriously! I thought the holes I felt forming in my head from the rollers would be permanent! But... I suppose I thought I was beautiful when she was all done. Looking back... not so beautiful. Here.... see for yourself:

This is me as "Brunette Orphan Annie"

I've got the brunette version of little Orphan Annie goin' on here! ha ha. Notice how the left side of my head looks like I just woke up from a nap. (I am kinda cute though) Undoubtedly, Mom spent lots of her precious time coming up with this doo... it was kindergarten school picture day, for cryin' out loud! By the way, my ever so talented Grandmother got in on the action on this one, she sewed the dress. :) I wish I had the time to scan in some other hideous photos of my hairdoos, I think you'd really get a kick out of them. I must confess... as time went on, I would have preferred the wild little bouncy hot roller doos from my earlier years, because once I reached about 3rd or 4th grade, Mom decided it was time for short hair. I hated my short hair. It was so ugly, and the kids at school made fun of me already. I was such a good subject for them with my glasses and bucky crossed teeth and cheap clothes. (I've posted on this before... see "Everyone's Friend" from November 10, 2008) They all had long hair and pony tails and braids and didn't approve of my appearance. I don't know why my Mom thought short hair was the way to go, but I specifically remember one time that she cut it too short. IT WAS SHORT! Around the ears short. YUCK. It was so repulsive... I remember looking in the mirror afterwards, I could feel the hot tears threatening to spill out, and then they did. I proceeded to my brother Jarrod's room where I found a stocking cap, put it on my head, laid on the couch and cried my eyes out. I told Mom that I couldn't go to school the next day because the kids would REALLY make fun of me then. Of course she thought it was cute. DUH! :) I know I have the ugly pictures to prove this story, but it would take some diggin'.

It was odd that my mom had given me that haircut, because my Aunt Mary Alice usually cut my hair back then. After the boy haircut incident - Alice began cutting my hair again. It was about 4th grade I think... when asked what we were doing with my hair, Mom would order a "wedge". For those of you that don't know what that is... it's very short in the back and big and fluffy on the top. Mom taught me how to use a curling iron so I could beautify (if that's what you'd call it)
Eventually I graduated to salon haircuts. I think that started around Junior High and I'm pretty sure it was as a result of my thinking I needed a "perm". Perms were all the rage then! Don't laugh, you know you had one too. *wink* So from then on I mostly had my hair permed. I was such a hottie:

Ain't the 80's grand??!!! :) This is one of my Senior Pix.

I guess after the bad perm I got when I was pregnant with Ciara, I pretty much decided that was enough of that. Honestly I think my hair changed during pregnancy and it takes curl very easy so I ended up with an afro. I wish I was kidding.... I couldn't even get a comb through it, which again.... resulted in tears. Wow... why does hair hafta make a woman so emotional? ha ha. It was a glorious day when I discovered that hair could be thinned and then later even better when I learned about straightening irons. OH HAPPY DAY!! I've had the same hairdo for several years now, in spite of the fact that my husband would love it if my hair were long, but I keep reminding him that I'm not the size 5 I was when we met so he should just forget about seeing me in the little denim GUESS jean skirt and long flowing black hair. Those days are gone baby! *sigh* Yeah, I've had lots of hairdoos over the years, kinda glad that after all the hair drama, I have a somewhat "normal" doo. I appreciate the simplicity of my style and my ability to manage it - and for the low low price of only $16.00. I guess in the words of Mom, "that's the price I pay to be beautiful", and it doesn't even have to hurt. :)

Meet Loydi

Loyiso ("Loydi") is the precious 4 year old South African boy that we sponsor. We are so excited about him!! It was such a joy to receive our sponsorship packet in the mail and open it up to see this sweet face. :) Isn't he a cutie? He is from the Xhosa tribe and we are told that he comes from a family with 5 brothers and sisters and a momma. His family lives in the Motherwell area, an impoverished township with over 600,000 people. The unemployment rate there is over 75% and the typical home is small, with no indoor bathroom and unreliable electricity. I guess in a way, you could say that Loydi is "lucky" to have a mother, as over 1.2 million children are orphaned by aids. The statistics are so sad, South Africa is home to 5.4 million people living with HIV. There is a harsh stigma associated with this disease which makes life really hard for these children... so many of them have seen their parents die. On a happier note - Loydi loves chocolate and likes to play netball. :)


For only a dollar a day, this little guy gets food, clothing, medical care - and when he's old enough... it will help pay for him to go to school. Isn't that amazing and humbling? ONE DOLLAR/day. Makes me realize just how spoiled Americans are. Please pray for Loydi and his family. We are truly blessed by the ability to help them out in this simple way. If you would like to know more about how you can help a child, visit http://www.onelifechild.org/

What makes this so real to us is that our dear friends Dan and Kristi are missionaries there. What an honor it is to be able to call them friend. They are amazing, Godly servants. I can't even imagine living the life they live, but the best way I can say it is they are the hands and feet of Christ, they sincerely love these people. The stories that Kristi tells on her blog will touch you in such a way that you will be humbled and compelled to do something, anything to help. This week she told the story of a woman dying of aids (click link to go read it) that she ministered to. Everyone that knows me knows that I'm a somewhat emotional person, but this story really got me. I mean REALLY got me. I've known Kristi for many years and I've got to say that I am blown away by her ability to do what she does. It is truly amazing how God has transformed Kristi for HIS purpose. I'm talking about a girl that didn't like to go outside because she might get dirty or there might be bugs. Only the Lord can take a person such as this and make her passionate about living in a place where you check your bedding every night for insects. I remember when they first moved to S.A. - a little more than a year and a half ago and someone Kristi knew would die, or someone she knew had a child that died and her heart would be broken into a thousand pieces. She is certainly a mercy giver. I think she posted a while back that she had lost count how many she knew that are gone now and it was more than 25. That would be so hard, but most recently a man she knew whose health was actually improving had found out that he had cancer and then the worst - he passed away. My friend actually worried that maybe something was wrong with her because she accepted it and wasn't in a shambles over it. I shared with her that God was no doubt helping her to deal with death differently now, because it's a real part of the work that she does - she is useful in her ministry to these people and you must be strong to do a "job" like this. They also start up soup kitchens in the area and it's pretty neat - she has lots of info and photos on her blog about that too and I think you'll find it really interesting.

Well... I just wanted to share a little bit about Loydi and our friends and what is going on in that part of the world. I hope you'll click on one of the links above and take a look at Kristi's blog. I know you'll be blessed if you do. Please pray for Dan and Kristi... for safety and protection and the strength to do what they've been called to do there.

PEACE!
Jami

Earrings

Well... as usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short. ha ha. I knew that Lynnette was starting the Wednesday Walk yesterday, but I didn't even get online yesterday, seriously - I didn't. So... better late than never right?

Ok, I'm sure my usual followers (aka, loving family) are like, "what the heck is she even talking about!!?" So... my dear friend, Lynnette Kraft is a literary genius, and SO MUCH FUN! She has started this thing on her blog, where every wednesday you post a memory. Several people are doing this and it's kinda fun to go and read everyone's memories. Check it out... here's Lynnette's Blog Site (Walk Down Memory Lane Headquarters) ha ha. :) http://lynnettekraft.blogspot.com/
Side note: I'm reading Lynnette's book "In Faithfulness He Afflicted Me" and it's fantastic, I'm a little more than half way through and I have been so blessed by it already, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a heartfelt read.

So... without further ado.... my Wednesday Walk Down Memory Lane (on Thursday):



Earrings

When my daughter, Ciara, was very small - about two and a half years old or so... she wanted her ears pierced desperately. She had been talking since before her first birthday and now... earrings were she could talk about! I bought her the little sparkly stick on kind by the sheetful - hearts, stars, moons, circles, squares - stick on earrings of all shapes and colors. This made her happy for a while, but she never quit talking about wanting her ears pierced, "like Mommys."

It was Thanksgiving and we had traveled from Nebraska to Kansas to visit family for the holiday. Of course, everyone knows what happens at the mall after Thanksgiving - SANTA! My sweet, curly headed little darling crawled right up on Santa's lap and proclaimed that for Christmas, she would like her ears pierced. :) Well, Grandma Barbie was along shopping that day and when she heard the request of her precious angel, she said, "Why not do it today if she wants it done so bad?!" I felt nervous... but knowing how bad she wanted the earrings, I figured she would be a little trooper. So, we headed to Claires. Ciara picked out some little "diamond" earrings and the lady explained to us how this whole thing was gonna go down. She took the ink pen to mark the spot on each ear where she would put the earring. What was about to happen next took everyone by surprise, even the people that were passing by outside the store! When the tip of the ink pen touched Ciara's ear lobe, she let out a huge, frantic "Help you me! Help you me! Help!" Everyone was laughing except the child's mother who was so embarrassed she was ready to dig a hole and crawl in it. Apparently someone touching her ears freaked her out, so clearly the earrings were not going to happen that day. Everyone in the store and outside of the store nearly died laughing. It was funny, yet I felt annoyed. This kid had been talking about getting her earrings for months and now that she was there.... a little ink on the lobe was too much for her to handle. Oh well... we would wait until she was ready, and there was no rush.

Ciara spent bout another year wearing sticker earrings until one day she decided she was ready. Mommy and Daddy and Brother took her back for another try. This time at JC Penney's. The first earring went in and she said, "OUCH" but she didn't cry (must have been that pep talk her momma gave her before we got in there haha) The second one went in and she didn't say a thing. Our big girl had her real earrings. She hopped down from the chair and we proceeded to the car. I thought she might cry, because the tears were right there... but she never did. She said it hurt a little, but mostly her ears felt hot. She had finally done it, she got her ears pierced - and I was so proud of her. Beginning the next day, all I heard then was, " I wanna change my earrings."

We still laugh about Ciara sitting in the chair at Claire's, "Help you me!" Even though she's 17 now, and still wearing earrings... big ones... hoops - big enough to put your fist through, she still says some pretty cute stuff. Actually both of my kids have made me bust a gut over the years and said tons of cute stuff...but then I'll save those for another Wednesday. :)

Jinny's Year End

YUCK. I hate year end. I have to go through all my reciepts and catch up all the book work that I didn't have time to do for the last umpteen months because I was too busy in the soap shop. Worst of all is that it's inventory and tax time. This year I had to take inventory in my shop and at my top selling retail location in Hays. Ciara made it a little less painful as she owed me 3 hours for the Christmas moolah she borrowed against her paycheck. Then I hauled her into town and fed her supper and took her shopping to bribe her into helping me at the store. :) It worked out pretty good. As luck would have it... my sales in this store were nearly triple what they've been in past months, so that means that 1. I am very happy to get a fat check and 2. Inventory was really easy to take there because it was so depleted. YAY!!!! :)

This year we have to have our taxes done early because we have a meeting at Ciara's school (in JANUARY!) for Financial Aid stuff for college. *SIGH* I feel squeezed. Having a high school senior is exhausting. I never realized how much there is to do. We've got the Senior Pix, ACT registration deadlines and test dates, scholarship application deadlines, cap and gown meetings.... the list goes on! I would have to proudly admit that I'm embracing this season of life and am excited for Ciara to move onto college. High School hasn't really been her "thing". I truly think that it's because of her Christian perspective on life. It's hard to be Godly when you're surrounded by people that swear, get drunk, do drugs, sleep around.... etc. I realize that this is no different than the a good portion of the rest of the world, but at least when she's in college she will have the ability to choose who to socialize with, not to mention that the "friend pool" is much deeper with there being 10,000 students at Ft. Hays and less than 100 students at her school. She has friends, but still... there are challenges. She's done quite well for herself this year though and has had a 4.0 GPA most of the first semester. There was the little incident where she was partnered for a huge group project in civics where the other 2 kids were below average students - thus preseting a huge challenge for her to get a good grade, I hate to say that they drug her down with them and it took her a really long time to pull that grade back up. I loathe stuff like that, the only thing worse is a teacher that keeps the whole class in from recess because one child was being a clown or acting up. Ciara vows that she is learning from these things and will not handle her class in such a way when she becomes a teacher. I'm so proud of her!!

So... Luke's brother and family were planning on coming down for New Year's Eve and day... but sadly, their kids were still sick. New Year's Day Luke got sick with flu type stuff and has been sick for 3 days. My parents both had flu symptoms yesterday and the nite before as well. UGH! :( No fun!! Luke has had such body aches and monster headaches too. He did wake up this morning saying he feels better... so I'm cautioning him to take it easy and not overdo it. Seems like whenever I'm sick and try to do too much I end up right back where I left off. I just woke Ciara up and she is complaining of being tired and having a bad headache. Oh boy... here we go!

I'll go into Hays today to pick up Brandon from church. They had an overnite youth thing... when I dropped him off there were about 3 other boys there so far. I've been praying for years for a close friend for him. A David and Jonathon type of friendship. Someone he is close to and loves and can relate to and have things in common with. He's never had a best friend - not since kindergarten. It's hard for a mom to watch her kids go through life searching for TRUE friendship. I'm hoping that he's connecting with the kids there. It would be nice if he had a friend that called and invited him to over or to go do something fun. The guys he's "friends" with now aren't really friends at all. They're flaky. Not a good kinda flaky like pie crust but flaky like... "you're only good enough to hang out with if my usual posse isn't around". Breaks my heart. He is close to his cousin, Robbie and I'm thankful for that. They have fun together, and try to get together to do stuff and hang out. I just want my kids to have a full, meaningful life, and meaninful relationships. Prayer is the key... because I can't make all of the rest happen for them. I sometimes wonder if we wouldn't have been better off sending our kids to a bigger Hays school??

So... enough rambling for today. The point is... once again... 2008 is OVER. I couldn't be more glad.

Happy New Year!!

About half an hour ago we watched the ball drop in Time Square in New York to ring in 2009. (neat lookin' isn't it?) Surprisingly I still have the ability to stay awake until midnight to witness it. ha ha. I'm remembering last year's New Year - Luke and I were so excited that on New Year's eve he had begun to walk with a cane rather than the crutches he had been using after breaking his leg. May seem silly to some, but to us it's a huge deal. As we say hello to 2009, we are grateful. He is walking upright and on his own, with nary a limp. The surgeon has released him and says "resume full activity". I guess he took that to heart because he drug a decent sized doe by himself when he went deer hunting a few weekends ago. :)

2008 was a busy year, and a year full of not-so-great surprises that help us to appreciate the beginning of a new year. Besides Luke's double broken leg... you may remember I had a scare with a bad report from the eye doctor - he thought I had papiledema which can be a symptom of many things, including a brain tumor. I underwent extensive testing including MRI's (see previous posts to read more). I eventually found out that the condition I actually have is optic nerve drusen which means that I have protein deposits on my optic nerve and my peripheral vision isn't as good as someone without the condition. I don't even notice that I have the condition, so all is well. GOD IS GOOD! This fall, my dad had some problems and went to the doctor to find out that he had bladder cancer. He had surgery and they removed the cancer and treated the bladder with chemo in recovery. To date he is cancer free! My mom had surgery on her wrist and is fully recovered... 2009 will surely be less eventful and we are filled with hope.

Looking ahead, Ciara will be graduating on Saturday, May 16th. *sigh* Can you believe it?! Mark your calendar, because we'd love to have you join the celebration!!

Well, precious daughter should be home any minute from a little party at her friend's house, and my eyelids are very heavy. Here's wishing you a blessed and prosperous 2009!!

Much Love...
Jami