Looking back at 2009 and looking forward to 2010

What a year in 2009!

Looking back over my posts for the year, without question, the greatest moment of the year was on June 1st, when Aubrey and Lainey arrived. We have had a wonderful six months enjoying these precious little girls. Words can never express what Aubrey and Lainey have brought into our lives.

Looking at 2010

Because of these precious little girls, Jim and I decided that it was time to put down permanent roots nearby. So, this week, we will be moving into our new home in Northport! Please keep us in your prayers as Eli and I adjust to moving out of the RV into a house......and Jim adjusts to moving into an RV in Texas, out of a house!

So, I will not be blogging for a while. I will be busy getting everything set up in our new home and playing with the girls as much as possible.

We hope you and yours have a wonderful 2010.

Memories of the 2009 Season

I have been trying for a couple of days to post pictures of our Christmas gatherings. However, the PC or blog hasn't wanted to cooperate with me! Here are a few pictures that I was able to upload. Hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas together!!!

Happy Birthday to my sister on December 18th!!!!

Happy Birthday to the glue of our family. She is always there for all of us. She is always giving so much more of herself to others than she ever gets back in return.

She is my big sister, Krisha's 2nd mom, Aubrey and Lainey's Aunt Meme, Jim's favorite sister-in-law.....and that is just from my family!

Wayne, Paige and Anita
She is the only one (however, she is teaching Krisha to follow in her footsteps) who can talk to Mother in a way that can cause Mother to understand. She lets Mother know that she needs to let us handle the situation at times, that we are only looking out for her best interest.

MeMe and Chloe

There isn't enough blog space to write about what she does for Wayne, Paige, Stefan and Chloe! Hopefully each of them say a special thank you to God for her each day.

Aunt Meme and Aubrey

She and I have always been two very different personalities, however we have never forgotten the bond of sisterhood. I hope she knows how very much she means to my family....and to me!

I love you!

Eli helping with the girls.........

It is so hard to believe that Aubrey and Lainey turned 6 months old yesterday! They have only been with us for six months, but we can't remember our lives before them!

We started the day out going to have lunch with Mother. During this time Krisha began to feel bad and when we got home her fever was 101.3! So, off to the doctor's office for her!!!! Thankfully it was only strep throat. (I realize that sounds weird, but Anita is currently battling the SWINE flu, so we were thankful for the strep diagnosis.)

Eli and I spent the night with them last night so that we could get up with the girls as needed and be here for them today. Krisha was told not to have physical contact with them until 24 hours after starting the antibiotics. At 4:30 p.m. she will be able to hold them again! I know this has been the longest 24 hours in history for her, but Eli and I sure have enjoyed watching the girls.

Our day started at 4:30 when Lainey woke up for a bottle. (Eli got out of bed too and every step I made...he was right behind me!) After her feeding, we went back to bed. At 6:30 we got up for Aubrey's feeding, but we didn't get to go back to bed!

Lainey woke up while we were feeding Aubrey and neither of them wanted to sleep...it was play time! So, Eli and I moved them into the den and we all played until Krisha got up about 8:30.

Krisha's fever is almost back to normal and she is getting her energy back. We finally were able to finish taking the girls 6 month pictures this afternoon. Eli was a big help in getting them ready for them.

The Season begins.....

Lainey

Aubrey

These are some pictures of the girls in their Christmas wreath and tree outfits that Popa Jim painted for them. They originally had beautiful red/green bows on them, however they did not last long!

A grain of sand or a mountain?

I am as guilty as anyone of really finding my knees to pray when things in my life aren't going the way I think that they should be. Most of the time, the things I am praying about really are very important and I really, really need God's help and guidance.
However, sometimes after hearing about someone's situation other than my own, I just want to say to God, "I am so sorry for bringing my "grain of sand" to you, when this person needs you to help move their "mountain"!

This month's verse, "Enter his gates with THANKSGIVING and his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name."~~Psalm 100:4 has really given me some one-on-one time with God, about how thankful I am for all the many, many blessings in my life.

I know that God listens to our prayers, whether it be a grain of sand or a mountain. I am so thankful that we can talk to him and know that he is listening.

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17: 19-21

Jim has a co-worker that he and his wife are facing a mountain. Please pray for this couple, for her healing and for both of them to have the faith and strength to face the upcoming treatments she will be going through because of breast cancer.

When Jim called me about them today, it made something that he and I have been praying for seem like a grain of sand. Once again, I was brought back to our monthly verse.

Be thankful.

I always miss him when he isn't here...........

I had good intentions at the beginning of the month to post something each day that I was thankful for, however after the first few days the flu bug hit me and the blog fell behind.

Today, (the day after Thanksgiving) I can say that I am very, very thankful to be healthy again, and that I had a wonderful holiday meal last night with my family. Jim commented this morning that I hadn't updated the blog lately, and that I usually posted something about how much Eli and I miss him. (He currently resides in Texas, Eli and I are in Alabama).
Fact #1 I haven't posted lately.
Fact #2 I always miss him, EACH and EVERY day we are not together. A hundred phone calls a day to each other helps, but it isn't the same.

I am also so very thankful that he has been here with us the past few days. He is a devoted "Popa Jim" and I think he has had his hands on Aubrey and Lainey every opportunity possible.
This morning we got our wake-up call from Krisha at 6:00 a.m. She was already in Tuscaloosa shopping and Dan was getting ready to go hunting. So, Popa Jim and I have been entertaining the girls all morning.............what a wonderful way to spend the day! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and ROLL TIDE ROLL!!

Correction to the previous post's title

Correction – "these are Popa Jim's Girls on loaner to Moma D"

This is the response I received from Jim on my title!

Moma D's girls............

Happy Birthday to the greatest bestfriend ever!

This is Vonnie, she and I were the greatest of friends during high school. We could have been known as Lucy and Ethel, and at times even as Thelma and Louise!

I adore her. There has never been a monumental (good or bad) time in my life that she wasn't by my side, either in person or in spirit.

I must admit, as the years have passed and each of us have traveled different roads in our lives, we haven't always stayed in touch. But, we have always known that the other was only a phone call away........distance has never been able to close the gap between us.

I love you, Vonnie. Thank you for sharing Snickers candy bars with me, Sonic chili dogs and tater tots, and putting up with my singing to the Eagles Hotel California cassette over and over. Thank you for being a part of my life!

Eli's day of babysitting................

The new place that God has sent us to.........

If you are following my "Things I am Thankful for each day in November" you will notice one of them is for the new place that God has sent us to. It is something that we have been praying for, for a very long time........and I know without question that God is the person that lead us to this place.

I know that God is behind this, because we have had to wait a long time for it to happen. Just as in Ecclesiates 3:1 we had to wait until the season was right, and we had to trust him (Psalm 62:8) for it. Also, as Matthew 7:7 says Ask and it will be given you.

God has sent us to our new home...............in Alabama!

I have debated about posting this information since the final "closing" hasn't taken place. However I stand on Matthew 9:29, "According to your faith will it be done to you."

We have waited until our season, we have trusted him for it, we asked him for it and it has been given, and our faith will take us through the closing.

Meet Coy, not Freddie...........

This is Coy the Coyote. I have been seeing him in the hay field between the cabin and Krisha's house on a regular basis, and at night sitting in my yard. Describing him to Dan, he thought it might be a fox, so I've been calling him Freddie. But thanks to modern technology (a camera, set up in a field behind Dan and Krisha's) this picture identifies my friend (if he doesn't bother me or Eli) or enemy (IF he does) as a coyote, not a fox. Thus, he is Coy, not Freddie!

Hopefully, Coy will mind his business and I promise that Eli and I will mind ours.....and we will all live in harmony.

Busy day on Halloween!

The girls had a very, very busy Halloween weekend. Krisha has written a step-by-step replay of their activities on her blog, http://thedeavourshousedivided.blogspot.com/. It has been so much fun watching Aubrey and Lainey's expressions while we were putting their costumes on, taking them off, putting them on, etc. However, overall they handled everything very nicely.

I did tell the girls at one point when they were beginning to get cranky, that thankfully Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny came to their house to bring them their goodies....and they didn't have to wear a costume for it!!!

FYI....I did find Aubrey and Lainey's Christmas stocking (to be at my house) yesterday. I suppose they will look cute in the RV!

Our Rainy Thursday............

Aubrey

Lainey

FYI: No, we do NOT leave the girls in these seats on the counter! This was only for the photo shoot!

And yes, Aubrey likes to model more than one outfit per day!