Another Thursday's Thankfulness

I suppose I should have put my friend Katharine's picture of us at Genie's father's funeral on here as one of my many blessings and things I am thankful for, but I may use it later for my K is for... post of ABC. Sending that photo of us to Genie really helped Genier and am I so glad. Do you have to have someone's permission to put their picture on your blog?

I want to thank my blogger friend Nancie of "More Than Conquerors" for some inspiration for my sympathy cards I am making to send to Genie, her cousin Penny, my other best friend and Penny's mom who is Genie's aunt, sister to her father who passed away last week. Got all that? If someone dies who we are close to, I always say, "Your loss is our loss" on the inside of my cards. Nancie told me that our loss is Heaven's gain! How cool is that? Nancie's blog is listed on my side bar, but most of you Thankful Thursday folks probably already know her.

This week I am still so very thankful to be here after hitting my head hard enough to bleed Sunday morning as I posted in a previous post. Our preacher asked, "How's the head?" I told him in my deadpan seriousness, "Well, it is still on." Although sometimes I wonder... LOL I was very careful when gently washing my hair. I had to literally wash & go because I could barely comb the top. Luckily I didn't look like a "frizzled chicken" as my momma says. Thank goodness the wet look is still in style.

The other week or so Rhett had a really bad headache. The worst one he has ever had. It was so bad he cried. The next day I made him an appointment for his yearly well child check-up. His appointment was on Tuesday. In the waiting room, I drew more abstracts with the BIG marker like I did at the PC art studio last Friday night. (I'll upload them later.) I asked him if he wanted to draw another one. He'd drawn one that looked like the bottom section of a roller coaster or a pier with blue skies as the background and I was very proud of him. More mother/son artwork. Priceless. I just have to learn to let his art be his and mine be mine. Sort of like letting the Lord's will be... His and not mine. Rhett was too nervous to draw. He gets this from my Daddy and myself. I think I made 2 & a half of these abstracts before they called us back to the exam room.

Rhett is almost as tall as me now. He is 4'7". I told the nurses and the dr about his headaches. I'll have to start keeping a journal or diary of them for the next 2 months. What better place to do that then here on my blog! If there are a lot of them, he may have to be prescribed something for migraines or see a neurologist. Poor baby had to get 2 shots in the same arm which left a bruise. His Dr is Indian so Rhett didn't understand him when he said "shots". He did pretty good. I figured he would do better with me than his father.

After his tramatic dr's visit, Rhett got to spend time with one of his church friends who no longer lives here. After work, we had to go to his 1st band meeting. We had to buy his book for this class which will be delivered on the first day of school to his new school. We were blessed to be able to borrow his older brother's trombone, but it wasn't sliding well. It has to be worked on which was an expected bill, but it is better than paying over $600 for a used trombone!

Alex's dad came and got him while we were talking about the trombone. We were pretty involved in our conversation since it had to be taken to Dothan, Alabama to be fixed! We noticed they were gone without a goodbye or a thank you. Brian had invited his son to our house even though I had told him it was a very busy day. We all commented on their non goodbyes with disbelief. We would NEVER do something like that. This is a fine example for Rhett to ALWAYS remember to say thank you. We were furnished a free Chick-Fil-A sandwhich and I was thankful I didn't have to cook supper. LOL I have a free coupon for another one that expires tomorrow! LOL Its a good thing Don likes them.

We had a baptism at church on Monday night and we are indeed thankful for our new brother in Christ, Graham.

I was very thankful for all the ideas that came to me for my Bible class as I posted in my previous post. Please feel free to use the prayer card I created and shared.

Rhett had another headache yesterday. I had 20 questions and he had no answers. The most I got out of him was "I don't know." At least he took a baby asprin this time instead of waiting until I got home. Just didn't know when so I could give him another one.

I had a rough day at work today, but thankfully not because of Illy and it is over now. I had papers scatterd everywhere! I had to fix things. Someone was always calling or wanting something; wanting me to put in their computer problems in the system to IT. I finally stopped with the fourth request late this afternoon because it takes so long! The phone wasn't being answered when I was trying to fix a problem I'd been working on all day. I was not a happy camper. I held it all in which is why I am venting here. Sorry. I am not one to admit I have a problem or ask for help until I am near the end of my rope. I'll try to fix something until I cannot and have to ask for help. Now I have one of Rhett's headaches.

Don got a book on his family which he has been staying up til 3 in the morning reading! He found someone named Orange Brown in it! LOL

Rhett & I have stayed up late watching re-runs of "The Nanny". I think I need to stop & get more sleep so I won't get ill as a hornet as I could have easily done today. I know today's post was supposed to deal with summer and what I was thankful for about it, but I just don't feel summery today. Our roses have bloomed far longer this summer than they normally do and I AM thankful for that small blessing. I figure they won't bloom at all next year.

I realized I did enjoy going to our oldest daughter's pool this summer. For all the lovely watery photos I was able to take, I am indeed thankful.

My friend Bob once gave me this quote of his I'll leave you with, "If the flowers bloomed all at once, the birds would get confused!"

I hope you have had a terrific Thankful Thursday filled with lots of things to be thankful for. If you would like to participate in Thankful Thursday, please go to the following....
http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/

The BIG Ticket to the BIG Picture

Hi! Sorry I have not participated in ABC Wednesday for awhile.

Yesterday I discovered a new template... if you have the smallest square box of Kleenexes, the piece of card board you tear out, forms a BIG ticket template which can be used for scrapbooking the BIG game or a BIG event in your life. I sent this out as an email to my email buds. Today I used Avery 5263 labels which are sized 2x4 as another template to type these words in BIG, bold letters:

"The BIG Ticket
to the BIG Picture
Admit one"

I typed these onto green paper. Perhaps I should have used blue but...I planned to use this for my Wednesday nite Bible Class which Rhett is a classmate. Lo and behold, I opened my lesson book and guess what the title was... "The Big Picture" which is an awesomely weird coincidence in my book. It made me think I am on the right track. That this is what I am supposed to be doing at this moment in time in my life. I cut it out, placed it on the lesson book and took this picture. Sorry it is not turned correctly, but I was in a bit of a hurry.

I also created a weekly prayer index card, but when I cut & pasted it in an email, it came out in a different format. I passed it on so that it would hopefully bless others. It made me feel blessed anyway. I hope it blesses you also. Blessing to you on this ABC Wednesday. Here is the weekly prayer index card. Please feel free to use it.

I made this for my Wed nite Bible class. It actually goes on a size 4x6 blank index card, but appeared much larger in the email than it does here. I thought you may want to fill in the blanks & pass them on... Feel free. Let me know when your prayers work so we can share the awesomeness of the power of prayer.


Dear Lord,

This week I will pray for:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Love, _______________________



Becky

Col. Mustard in the Garage

 

Sorry I have been away from Odd Shot Monday for so long it seems like years. Not that I haven't taken any odd shots mind you. You know my motto, if it's odd, I'll take a photo of it! LOL

I took this shot at our granddaugher's 12th birthday/pool party the other weekend. The mustard formed this abstract shape on the paper plate only I noticed. So I snapped the photo. Tonight, I started thinking... hmm... mustard.... What funny thing could I say? Then it hit me... Col. Mustard of course. Since the picnic table was located where cars are normally parked, I decided to use the garage. LOL It's good to be back. I don't think I've lost my touch, have I? I'm even posting early.

If you would like to participate in Odd Shot Monday, please go to the following...
http://katneyskaboodle.blogspot.com/

Thankful to Be Here

Well, today I am thankful to be here... This morning I went into Rhett's room to get his clothes for church. I opened the top part of his standing closet, noticed my anklet was lying on the floor. I sat down on his head to put it back on then stood up & hit my head on the corner of his closet door! I hollered then fell back on his bed crying in pain. Don who was shaving, asked what was wrong. Rhett told him I hit my head. By the time Don came in to see, my head was bleeding which scared me and made me cry more. When I looked in the bathroom mirror, I saw all this blood in my hair and we were going to church! I saw where it hit & it really wasn't that bad. I knew it did not require a trip to the ER for stitches. Don took a wet wash cloth to wipe the blood out of my hair. I didn't have time to wash it because it was nearing time for church. Maybe because of all those years of frosting my hair, the blood took to my hair folicle. I had one reddish streak, and was still a bit damp, but we went on to church thankful I was still here able to go. I kept thinking of Natasha Richardson. It was a sobering experience. I was the quietest I have been in a long time which is unsual for me. Thankfully the pain subsided during church service. We went out to eat although I did not eat as much which is a good thing as I need to shed some lbs anyway.

Rhett and I went to Walmart where I printed pictures of my friend Katharine and I at Genie's father's funeral as well as a few other photos.

Friday nite I took Rhett to a teenage art class at the PC art center. I remained there while he created his art. I'd brought two bags of supplies with me and created a neat piece of art with markers also. I took the original and made an 8x10 of it. I framed it just a few minutes ago, tried it out over the couch and fell in love with it. It is a keeper. My art on our walls. How cool is that? I took a picture of it on the wall, but I haven't uploaded pictures of this past week yet. I know I haven't put any on my blog either. Sorry. I will try to do better.

I also sold some more art on zazzle.com so I guess that means my mantra worked! I am not making a boatload of money as I dream of but I AM a sucessful artist because I sold something. Yeah me!

This Week's Thankfulness

I had every intention of doing Odd Shot Monday but did not. Nor did I begin ABC Wednesday with one of my abstracts for the letter A. Instead I am back for Thankful Thursday.

I started to say it was hard to be thankful this week with the death of my best friend's father. Then I remembered how thankful I am for my mother who is always nice to all my friends. Who treats them as her friends as well as her children. She would never be rude to them, but ask them why they haven't been to see her. She would tell them to come on over. She'd let them talk to me with out any snide comments whatsoever. I realize everyone does not have the wonderful mother I do and I am sorry for them.

I am thankful for my "real" friends who don't tell me to stop emailing them because their in box is full. I am thankful for my friends who enjoy me, my emails and my art. I am thankful for my friends who are willing to be my defenders when others say & do things that hurt me or my feelings. I love them for this. But I feel I must fight my own battles or decide the battle is not worth the fight for life is too short.

I am thankful I got to see old friends at the funeral I have not seen in years and years. I am thankful I am not as a gray as some of them. LOL I am thankful for the photo take with our old friends, Katharine who has not aged any. This reminded me we need to stay in touch with our friends.

I am thankful for how my best friend Genie handled the funeral. She reminded me of Jackie Kennedy with her poise, grace, elegance and composure. I would have been a basket case.

The funeral made me realize this was a preview of my father's.... Our fathers shared so many things. They attended the same church so they have been friends far longer than Genie and I have been since our cradle roll days. They were at Pearl Harbor together. Her father in the Navy while my Daddy was in the army. Daddy had to have his appendix removed during the bombing and was later sent to recoup at a hospital in Germany which is why I am here today. They were in a club together and attended the same Sunday school class. Genie's father's funeral was one of the best I have attended. It was directed at her and her mother to let them know how much he loved them.

I am thankful her father is no longer suffering, but has gone on to Heaven where I know he was smiling down with pride yesterday.

I am thankful I was able to share a fond memory via email with Genie about her father. He drove us to our out of town football games back in high school. I was the one who made him laugh. Genie said that was a feat because he never laughed, but he always laughed at me. I can't imagine why?

I am so very thankful for my family.

What are you thankful for this Thankful Thursday? If you would like to participate where the theme is Victory, please go to the following....
http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/my_weblog/

By the way "Victory in Jesus" is one of my very favorite hymns.

Reason I Have Been Away

The reason I have not been blogging is because my best friend Genie's father passed away on July 20th. The funeral is today. I will be seeing old friends I have not seen in years and years. Please keep Genie and her family in your prayers. Her mom has been more difficult than normal for her. Thank you.

First Fearless Friday

I have a BIG prayer list today for my 1st entry at "Fearless Friday" hosted by new friend Angela....

I keep a running list over my desk at work so I can pray throughout the day for friends, family and loved ones. First, I begin with my family. My Daddy is 84, still going, still working part time yet I can see how he is getting older, going downhill, getting more feeble and it breaks my heart. I just watched him try to get up from a couch and hobble away after his visit with my aunt. His sister is in the nursing home up the road from where I work in far worse shape that he is. The nursing home called me this morning because she was crying so to see her brother. At that moment I had my hands full trying to xerox a degree for someone and answer the phone at the same time. I had to put the nurse on hold. I told the nurse Daddy was working and she said she would tell my aunt because they are as honest as possible with the patients. I called her son to go check on her as we were short handed at work today & I couldn't run up there. Aunt Va will go home tomorrow. Not sure if that will better for her. We will just have to hope, pray, wait and see... Please pray that her son Lance will do the right thing; what is best for her as his mother not for him.

Yesterday I got an email from my BFF Genie who's parents have spiraled downhill as well. Both of them have had a virus. Her father who is bedridden is not eating and he is diabetic. Her mother is down to 72 lbs! As Genie tried to make earlier flight arrangements which will cost her dearly or drive for 13 hours, the nurse told her that wouldn't be soon enough. I just cannot imagine. I haven't heard from her today, but they are at the top of my prayer list.

My Aunt Betty is getting around in her wheelchair which has been fixed so she can prop her broken arm on it now.

Don's Aunt Irene is in a bad way also. She is not eating. Sometimes her spirit is there and other times it is not. Hospice has been called in, but basically they are just watching and waiting for her to die and go on home to the Lord. This is better than dying in a nursing home that can take the house as payment later. Don't get me started on that!

Elaine Jones, a prior co-worker has ovarian cancer. At last report last week she was not doing well. She did not feel up to visitors. I think she is my age or younger, but will have to go to a nursing home because family members cannot lift her. We tend to think we can do it all but then we have to admit we cannot.

All this is very depressing to me yet makes me so very thankful for my good health and that of my immediate family. I pray God will comfort Genie and her family at this difficult time in their lives. We never imagined this scenerio as teenagers. It is something all children must face, but it is hard. Please add my friends and family to your prayer list and I will add your's to mine. Thank you. Thank you Angela for doing this one.

What I am Thankful for This Week

This week I am thankful my husband is alright. He got stung by a bee on Saturday while weed eating. He got stung in the same place he did last year - out by the mail box. I did not go back through my blog to check if it was the same day. That would be weird if it was the same day. Of course being a macho man, he didn't go to the ER, he only took one benedryl and one Alleve yet complained of pain the whole weekend. His hand was swollen and he couldn't wear his wedding band. I am thinking next sting, he might not be so lucky. Even our preacher developed an allergic reaction to bees after he reached his 40's. I have heard the epi shots are not cheap. He probably wouldn't get one if it cost too much!

Rhett had a terrible headache when I got home Monday. One of his worst yet. It is just amazing to me that a bottle of baby asprins was on the kitchen counter within reach yet two males couldn't find them!

I made spaghetti for supper, but I had no angel hair pasta (the only kind I use) nor any tomato paste so I had to improvise. I used elbow mac instead and tomato sauce. I thought my macaroni would never get done! It was thinner and soupier, but it was still good. Don said he liked it better. It was kind of neat making something out of what you have on hand. It sort of reminded me of either a Good HouseKeeping or Pillsbury bake-off I watched where a single mom made a unique dish & won! Of course my improv wouldn't win me a cooking contest. Still it made me feel good. Although Rhett couldn't eat much. I had to eat mine with him in his room. I guess he was scared he was dying. He was crying and I told him not to cry because that would only make it worse. I ended up giving him an other aspirin before it was due. I am thinking he might need to start regular asprins. I ended up sleeping with him. He woke up me up in the middle of the night to tell me his headache went away. I was dead to the world. I wonder if he remembers doing that? I made him an appointment with his doctor because he has too many headaches. Could be too much video game playing.

The next day Rhett was thankful he felt so much better as was I. He said it was like have a big rock in your shoe, it hurts really bad then it is gone. I told him to write that down for me. He asked why. I told him so I could put it in my journal. He thought that was weird.

This week I am thankful for my hearing. I was cleaning my ear with a q-tip when it slipped and hurt my ear. I didn't think much about it. The night Rhett had his headache, it felt like I had a wax or liquid in my ear. In my sleeply stupor, I put my finger in my ear, thinking it was just wax. The next morning when I got up, I had blood undearneath my nail. I couldn't imagine where it came from. I thought maybe it was leftover spaghett sauce. LOL It wasn't until I was on my way to work that I realized my ear had bled!

I am thankful and lucky we have nurses at work. I asked to see one of the nurses, but she forgot about me! How could someone forget me? LOL Later another nurse who just won an award told me I'd scratched my ear in 2 places & I needed to go to my dr to get anitbiotics. The next day I talked to my favorite nurse who checked my ear out, agreed about the scratch, but said the ear is just like our skin. You don't go to the dr for a scratch or ask for anitbiotics. He cleaned my ear out with peroxide (a 1st for me) which was cool then turned hot as it bubbled. He will check it again on Friday. So I will live to hear a little while longer and I am so thankful. Especially since my Daddy is deaf as a doornail, my mom's hearing is starting to go, Don's years of welding has caused him to be hearing challenged so somebody in our family needs to be able to hear! LOL

Our preacher has given us peaches again to make more pies and we are thankful. I found corn on sale at the $ store this week.

I am thankful the hospital bed will be delivered to Aunt Va's house today.

I am thankful for my art. I made two pieces of good art. My Bible class last night made get well cards with a stamp that had 3 tiny fish with bubbles that could be used for captions. I came up with one idea and Casey gave me the idea for the BACK of the card. Rhett created surf boards. I love what these kids come up with. It just blows me away. Casey may be interested in going to the art center with Rhett and I. I may encourage other kids from church to do this also. I may make artists out of them yet!

I am thankful for my art. It keeps me in a good mood despite Illy acting out towards me earlier this week. My friend Cheryl gave me a mantra this week. My friend Anne told me I am to repeat it in the mirror each morning as I brush my teeth. "I am a talented, successful artist." That I made it my mantra empowered my friend Cheryl. I have never empowered anyone before. Life is good. I am so thankful for my encouraging friends. I am also thankful to my friend Paulie of
http://postcardsfromthenorthwest.blogspot.com/ who gave me inspiration this week. In one of her comments about my bumpy ride to work, she said this, "Remember, when the road gets bumpy, God helps us ride it through!" So I put that on my pic of a stucco Taco Bell wall and made it into a picture. I used it as greeting cards this week. Paulie, if you will give me your address, I will mail you a copy of it. Thanks for the inspiration. I gave you credit for it as just "-Paulie-".

I also sent Rhett an email in which I told him this...
Do you realize I can be doing an ordinary thing at work like pulling an office supply catalog down from a shelf when I see one of your many pictures and I have to smile. Today it was your 1st grade picture where you were missing a bottom tooth that made me smile.

What are you thankful for this week? If you would like to share your thankfulness, please go to the following...
http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/my_weblog/

A New Art Magazine

Yesterday I was at Jo-Ann's. I grabbed one of their 40% off coupons. I got a small rock that had the word "thyme" on it much cheaper than the tag price. I plan to use it on some of my time collages. LOL They had scrap book papers on sale 6 for 96 cents. 16 cents a piece! I got watery seaside ones where I plan to put my colorfulful fish on top and take digital pictures of them. I got a clear sympathy stamp for $1. At the magazine counter, I saw a neat new one I'd never seen before. It is called "Somerset Studio" - the art of paper and mixed media. I used my coupon towards it since it is $8.99 regular price. By the time I checked out, I spent a little over $9! I was so proud of myself. It was almost like stealing the magazine!

This magazine is WONDERFUL or at least it is for me. Nearly every page has a neat idea. Each article of the person who wrote or created the artwork has a website to go to. I'd probably be on the computer a year just checking everything out! LOL All very inspiring. So if you get a chance, check it out. www.somersetstudio.com


Penny, there is an artist named Rena Askey from Wisconsin who did a piece of art that she wants to inspire hope into the lives of all who seek a cure for cancer as well as see to find a place of peace. It is entitled "A Leg to Stand On". She has an email address which may lead to a website. rena.doodle@hotmail.com

There is page after page of amazing stuff that makes you want to pick up a paint brush or start collaging. I am going to attempt to paint a red rose on some old newspaper, but first I am cooking Don a peach pie. 1st attempt at one. He kept "helping". The last time he did that, it was the ugliest cake I ever made for Nathan's birthday present. I have the pictures to prove it! Turned out to be great scrapbook pages of our life.

I have got to get over my fear of color AND start collaging in layers. Get over my fears of not entering my are out of fear of rejection.

This mag gives you 4 atrist's papers to work with. There are lots of retreats to attend if you are so inclined and could afford them. Some even in Italy! I haven't checked out any of them yet & am afraid to see the prices. A few are online. There seems to be a lot held in Wisconsin and Colorado. There was one in North Carolina but it is around the time of the Columbus Artist Guild's show.

Tomorrow I plan to attend the Phenix City Artist Guild meeting from 2-4 at Idle Hour park in the white building. Just to check it out.

There was an article in the one entitle "Begin" where the artist Jill K. Berry used small canvas squares to spell out the letters to that word. I learned something... she used a Sketch & Wash pencil which I had never heard of before. It is a graphite pencil that activates with water, so it will blend in with the paint. She only used 5colors. There is a contest of sorts for submissions of what you can come up with using this word. It has to be mixed media. Deadline is 11/15/09. Selected submissions will be published in the May/June 2010 issue of this magazine. Ready, set, BEGIN!

Three words stood out for me after going through the magazine. BEGIN, PLAY, and COLLAGE.

Then there are all the ads for various vendors with their websites.


Hope you have a great weekend, create some art, or at lease see some that inspires you as I did.

I had another very painful bladder episode after work. I could have almost cried. I tried to figure out what I did. All I did was take a shower, wash my hair, work, got upset over a prescription at Walmart. Had to call the dr for a re-fill which is like going thru an act of congress. It is there today but I am thinking it is not a twice daily dosage so I will have to call them again next week! If only life were easy as pie... I ate the new sweet & sour nuggests at Wendy's which were very good yet I felt yucky afterwards. Later I took some of my leftover medicine for my bladder. I seem to be ok right now thank goodness. I took them because I do not want to go back to the bladder doc again!

Today I am proud that I FINALLY added Lyn Nielsen's home page to my blog list. I should have done this a year ago! Better late than never. If you get a chance, check out Lyn's home page as well as her book Place of Sage.

I also added the 2 very talented artists to my blog list. Jilly Berry's blog & D J Petttit's.

"The Story of My Life in Pictures"

I had THE perfect photo for ABC Wednesday that I wanted to post, but I still haven't uploaded any pictures to the computer so I guess I can save it for the next go round since I have missed so much. Then I thought maybe I was only meant or supposed to post on Thankful Thursday this week. That maybe this is where the Lord is leading me... He blessed me with wonderful pictures of our family over the 4th of July holiday at Elisa's pool. I got a mermaid, mermaid tears and an awesome dragonfly. I showed these pics to my co-workers this week not just to hear their ooh's and aw's or compliments. Just felt like sharing because they made me feel good; these gifts from God. Even Don said the dragongly was really good. My mom really liked the pic I took of my red toenails in the aqua water! LOL It amazes me that small things like this make me the happiest. What makes you happy?

It has been a rough week dealing with my Aunt Va in the nursing home up the road from work. I am so thankful for my husband who drove my Daddy to see her after her case worker called because she was asking where was her her brother & why hasn't he been to see her. She also claimed he had some of her property which he does not.

I told my mom I was threadbare Tuesday after a Monday and a half, but I wasn't at the end of my rope about this situation yet. Just tired that as a neice I had to deal with it whereas her kids in Idaho were not dealing with it. Mom again asked Don to call Aunt Va's oldest son who had not made up his mind if he should come or not. There would be no second thought about it in our lives. This made me thankful I was raised the way I was; that family comes first; that you take care of each other no matter what even if you may not like the person. I am thankful I have a husband who knows what he is supposed to do; that he knows to step up to the plate when needed as he has done this for my family a lot lately.

I was thankful I wrote another poem this week. I knew when I wrote it yesterday that I wanted to use it for today's Thankful Thursday's post but I was having trouble pulling it up to post. I will try again...

"The Story of My Life in Pictures"

Missed my early morning photo shoot
Shot.
One second in time
Lost.
The Story of my life
in pictures.
Pot holes of life being repaved
over
again.
A Slight delay
Another second in time
Idling over Bull Creek.
Ah, the smell of fresh tar first thing in the morn...
Perhaps this was not the path I should seek
at least not this morning.
But there will be others....
won't there?
The road will be clearer
tomorrow
won't it?
Hopefully less bumpy
but I doubt it.
Is there such a thing as a smooth ride?
Getting off to a good start
sharing my art
my dragonfly,
my mermaid and mermaid tears.
The story of my life
in pictures
with very few self-portraits.

Over 1,000 photos taken since April 4th
3 months worth
333.33 a month?
Almost a picture a day.
My life story
in pictures.

Lost my heart ring
but at least it wasn't my heart.

My ring is found!
I am so lucky
and so very thankful!
The Lord
and all my guardian angels were looking out for me.
I also found 13 cents
so I am richer than I was.
~copyright by Becky Bristow Voyles~

Another Thankful Week

Today I am thankful for the fun but safe trip we had to 6 Flags last Friday. I am thankful I could purchase the tickets cheaper that the Church of Christ Day price. I am so very thankful for my funny yet resourceful husband who had the bright idea to take Rhett's old baby stoller so we could put our cooler in it. He covered the cooler up with a beach towel. None of us were sure he could get through security, butluckily and thankfully he did. No one was going to bother a "sleeping baby". LOL We did this so we could bring our lunch and save money since he still has not found a job.

Our stroller got to be quite the joke of the day. Since Don pushed it, he was told he was such a good father. Or we heard, "What a good baby you have!" Our bag of chips was behind the blanketed cooler in plain view so our "baby" was named "Chip".

It was so hot Don wanted to ride Splash Mountain right away. I stared with our "baby" and stroller only I stood in the shade because there wasn't enough room for it. One little girl had the nerve to look under the towel then at me! I told Katherine, our preacher's wife "That little bugger had the nerve to look under the towel!" K said, "She probably thought you were a terrible mother because you left your baby in the hot sun."

Afterwards a man asked if that was my buggy. I got defensive, told him it was but there was NO baby in it! I didn't want to be hauled off to the Atlanta PD for child endangerment! This man's wife needed to get her yellow scooter past in order to ride the ride. She used a scooter instead of walking yet she could ride a roller coaster ride.

I got photos of Don and our friends after they got splashed coming down Splash Mountain. Don's hat was on backwards so he looked like a goober. Gotta love him.

Ironically Don's ex-in-laws now attend our church. His mother-n-law has had lung cancer. She and her daugter-n-law took their not so well-behaved grand and great-granddaughter to 6 Flags with our church. We thought it was not a good idea for the great-grandma but you cannot tell someone they cannot go. Don's ex-mother-n-law rented a scooter. While we were at Splash mountain, she moved to a shadier spot but we couldn't find her once we left the ride. The scooter's battery died. Don went searching for her and to the 1st aide area. We found her and headed to the eating area. I admit I wasn't a happy camper because we were supposed to be eating together as a family as well as a church family while he was looking for a lost ex-mother-n-law. It was too hot for me to eat anyway.

We didn't ride a lot of rides but we were all together and that was the main thing. I got more good pictures. Rhett got over his fear of going down a water slide at Skull Island. I have a pic of his fearful face as he was sliding down!

I was thankful we arrived home safely.

I had a scare this week, I thought someone might have stolen my identity. When I made a credit card payment, the machine did not recognize my account. I was charged a fee for this and again I was not a happy camper. Then I was asked if knew a woman I'd never heard of before. The letter I'd received has the wrong street number on it which I corrected. The man put in a disassociation with that woman. Later when I told Don about this, he said that street number doesn't exist.

So you just never know... This mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If it had not happened, I would have had a black mark on my credit for an insufficient check! I am thankful I got it resolved.

I am taking over Rhett's Wednesday night bible class so please keep me in your prayers. Thanks. We had an unexpected guest last night, Don's friend Wayne from Kansas. Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. Our son and his family are coming down from Indy to celebrate the 4th of July with us. We are indeed thankful that we can celebrate our freedom. Hope you have a happy 4th!

If you would like to participate in Thankful Thursday, please go to the following...
http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/my_weblog/

A good marriage is being married to your best friend.
~Becky~

Thoughts for Today

Yesterday I found something neat at T J Maxx.... (Love that store - the old one & the new one!) It was a ceramic bisque jar with a lid, but not varnished to shine like most what-nots. It had Lucy & Ethel from "I Love Lucy" on the lid. It could hold a few trinkets, but not many; not as many as I have. You wind it up and it plays the Lucy theme song. I've always loved that theme. There was a disco version of it in the 70's or 80's called "Disco Lucy". I believe Ricky even sang words to it on the older version, not the disco one. I remember hearing it once upon a time. I've got you humming the song now, don't I? What was your favorite tv theme song? Or any theme song for that matter?

Lately I have been thinking... that more trees need to be planted to provide shade especially in the summer heat. So if I were President, that would be one of my first acts in the White House - plant more trees besides paint a room pink! LOL With this heat, I try to find a shaded parking place even if I have to walk further. I was lucky enough to be able to do that twice today. Remember how trees were everywhere when you paid to park downtown? Of course there was a terrible starling problem due to those trees, but at least there was shade to provide respite from the summer's heat.

Rhett & I have been watching re-runs of "The Nanny", laughing and loving them. I remembered Fran marrying Mr. Sheffield, but Don & I must have stopped watching it and missed the episodes of her being pregnant with TWINS! I remembered the butler's name was Niles. There was also Niles, the brother on "Frazier" at about the same time. I remember Don and I talking about that way back then. I also thought Fran's grandmother, Yetta, played Millie, Laura's best friend on "The Dick Van Dyke Show". I verified this today and I was right. Yeah me! Aren't I just a wealth of tv trivia today? LOL If you need a good laugh, try to catch an episode of "The Nanny" - that is if you can get past her nasaly voice. By the way, I can do a good impression of the nanny! Maybe I should put it on our answering machine. LOL Still I think it is good to go back and watch some of these old shows as well as those even older ones on Nick. Of course the much older ones might bring back pleasant memories for you. Maybe I am just in a nostalgic mood as I am listening to Michael Buble.

What are your thoughts for today? Any nostalgic moments?

I am not participating in ABC Wednesday today as I do not have nary an X word except for T J Maxx, but I do have a really good Y word for next week. So all you ABC'ers check back next week.