It's been a busy week-end!

Yesterday, I joined the ranks of the human race and opened my very own checking account! It's silly, I know, but it has not been easy without one and now I feel like finances are going to be much easier managed.
I will be able to pay most of my bills on-line. That will cut out the mad, rat race every two weeks on Saturday morning, trying to get every thing done in one morning.

We took Christian this morning for his very first trip to the photographer. Needless to say, he was not very impressed. He has such an adorable personality but he was not in the mood to show off and he didn't like posing for his picture. in spite of him, we managed to get some cute pictures. We pick them up in about three weeks so I will be mailing them out to his extended family.

Jerry is still fighting off "The Crud". He is feeling better, then he feels bad, then better, then bad, then better........ Hopefully, the better will start lasting a little longer than the bad. Tish, me and the baby are all still fine.

Grandma Woodard is still in the hospital. She is doing better, not yet ready to come home.
Mom and Beth are also still fighting off the same "Crud" but they are slowly recovering.
I think, Eddy, like me, has managed to stay healthy, if not truly sane, through it all.
Thet are trying to plan a visit out here around Easter. I will be so happy to have them back.

I am not sure when Aaron will be home, hopefully we will have a date set soon, so we can get ready for him.

Geri has two more weeks before she and Brian leave for their new life.

Well, that is all the news for today. God bless you all!!!

It's been a little while

since I had a moment to sit down and write something so be prepared for a long one.

Jerry is well into his new job. He works pretty much opposite of me so we don't see much of each other during the week. We still have some time together on the weekends. He loves his new job and I am excited for him. I guess, once a cop, always a cop. I think it just gets into your blood and you never really leave it behind. I think Jerry has always been a police officer at heart, even before he really decided to do it. It takes a special kind of person to self-lessly risk his very life every day to protect and assist total strangers. Especially, when so many people don't appreciate you.
Jerry has always been a selfless person for as long as I have known him.
The very first time I met him over 35 years ago, he was gathering items for a benefit for an injured police officer.
Over the course of our life together he has been an inspiration to me.
He was a volunteer firefighter, a member of the park board (raising money for the improvement of our city parks), the driving force behind our youth ministry (where we helped numerous troubled teens), always willing to give a little something extra to help some one in need.
Not to mention his years of community service projects while we lived in Little Elm.
Jerry was a well respected and well loved member of the community. Everybody knew him.
Then he selflessly gave that up for me! We moved far away from everything we knew, uprooted our little family and set up our home in Van Alstyne. Even though our reason for initially doing that no longer exsists, Jerry is still very positive and supportive of me when I am feeling a little blue or depressed. We both miss our friends and our past life, but God has provided us with a new and peaceful life here. We have set down some new roots, a new church, new jobs and new friends. God is good to us ALL the time.

Geri Alice will be staying in Texas, Hallelujah!!!!!!! Although she and Brian are still moving around the first of April, they are going to Austin instead of California! I think I can live with that. Austin is a bit of a drive, but it is not too far away if she needs me. I am quite a bit happier.
She is growing a little bigger all the time. I can't wait to find out an actual due date and if there is more than one baby!

AARON IS COMING HOME!!! Praise the Lord with all my soul! He is being discharged from the Army. We are all ready to see him again. He will be moving back home for at least a while. The Lord only knows how much I have missed him these past two years. I am so thankful that he will not be going to Iraq. Again, God is good to us, ALL THE TIME!!!!

Tish and Christian are doing well. Christian is now starting to outgrow a lot of his newborn clothes. We will soon be doing some more shopping. Tish is filling out applications so she can get a job. She is trying to get a job where she works opposite hours of me and her Dad. We don't want to send Christian to a daycare! Christian's daddy is leaving soon for California, then, I think, Germany and eventually to Iraq. I pray for God to keep this young man safe.

I am doing well, I have managed to stay well through all the Flu's and viruses that are going around at work and at home. That again, is God's doing! I believe that He protects those of us who care for the ill, He needs us to do our work. And His work!

Speaking of work, it's about that time. God bless each of you who take the time to read my thoughts. I will continue to pray for Him to watch over all those whose lives I touch
every day and to keep His hand on all four of my children and their families. Amen!

Every once in a while,

I have a few minutes to actually get on the internet, updatw my blog, and check my e-mails. I guess I should do it more often. I got an e-mail that literally made me physically ill. When I learned of it, I got so sick, I had to leave work.
I am better now.
Prayer and my faith in the Lord is what gets me through times like this and I feel as if I can function today, so I am going to move on.

I do have wonderful things happening in my life.

Christian is growing bigger every day. His little personality is so sweet.
He smiles a lot now. He recognizes his grandparents voices.
When Jerry or I arrive home from work and he hears us speaking, he turns his little head and tries to find us.
I am so in love with this little guy.
I am excited about tomorrow, I get to babysit him while Tish gets a well deserved "Mom's Day Out".
She has not been out with friends for almost a year.
I think she is going to have a blast. I know I will!

Geri found out that Brian's Dad was a triplet! How Cool! Tish and I have been teasing her terribly about having twin boys! What about triplet boys! That is an exciting idea! Hopefully, she and Brian will be back in Texas before the baby is born. She is going to need our help getting into the swing of the "Momma" thing. Taking care of the baby is the easy part. Taking care of yourself is the hard part.

Jerry is loving his new job. It is quite a change for him, only working four days a week. It is so sad that he will have three days a week to go fishing. What a tradgedy!

I am still not so excited about my new hours at work. The sleeping in in the mornings, is not too bad but I miss out on a lot.

Well, Ive got stuff to do and the little man is calling my name.
Catch you all next time!

Finally!

First, my computer has been acting up. I haven't been able to get on the internet.
Then, Jerry gets that fixed, and my keyboard has decided not to work.
It has been a bit discouraging, so tonight I decided to borrow Jerry's computer.
It's catch up time.
Christian is growing and growing. He has started to grow into some of his newborn clothes.
He is developing a personality.
He is such a sweet baby. He rarely cries. Of course that is probably because every time he squeaks, somebody picks him up. New babies are fun to spoil.
He is taking 4 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours.
His little arms and legs are filling out.
Tish is doing very well. She has lost all of her baby belly and is finding that her clothes that fit her prior to her pregnancy are just a little loose now.
She is a great Mom and takes excellent care of her tiny son.

Jerry starts his new job Monday. His first love has always been law enforcement and now he is getting the chance to get back into it. I am excited for him. He has lost a lot of weight and has a real problem keeping his pants up lately. We will have to invest in some new clothes soon.

Geri Alice is also a big news item. She is expecting her first child in August or September. She and Brian are leaving for California in March and are planning to get married in Vegas on their way out there. She is planning on returning to Texas before the baby is born and settling down somewhere near the rest of her family.

Krysta and Cotton are having a bit of a rough time right now. He just had surgery on his shoulder and is recuperating at home.
My heart goes out to them, Jerry and I know well the difficulties of raising small children on a limited income and the worry of trying to make ends meet. We are praying for them nightly. We would like to be able to help financially but we too are struggling to keep our heads above water.

Aaron is doing well, he misses all of us and wants to come home and meet all the new members of the family. Hopefully, he will be able to visit while the babies are still small enough to fit in one of his big ole hands. What a picture that would be, Christian in one hand and Samuel in the other. I remember my Daddy and my Grandpa Allison having those same big hands.

Speaking of grandparents, on my way home fom work last night there was a program on the radio, where people were calling in and telling stories of how their grandparents had influenced them. That really brought up whole lot of sweet memories for me.
I think the most influential person in my childhood was my Mom. She taught me perserverance and patience. She showed an amazing dept of strength throughout all of the trials she experienced during my growing up years. She also taught me that love for your husband is so much more than just saying the words.

Now, about my grandparents. My Grandma Woodard is still with us and lives next door to my Mom. She is an absolute fountain of Faith in the Lord. She lives every day as close to Him as she can get. From her, I have learned that Faith and Prayer are continuous needs in our lives. That the Lord is ever present and hears us.
I was 9 years old when my Grandpa Woodard died. I am sure that my memories of him are clouded somewhat by the imagination and fancy of a child. But they are my memories, and I chose to keep them intact, just as they are. From him, I remember laughter. I learned to be myself with him. He expected nothing more and nothing less. He made me feel special and unconditionally loved. A favorite memory is the little spider monkey that he somehow aquired. The monkey's name was Sam. I remember Mom making a little quilt and embroidering his name on it. Grandpa was pretty fond of his little friend.
My Grandma Allison was a quiet and ever patient presence in our lives. She was not a very attractive woman but I saw her as beautiful. She had hair so long she could sit on it and would let me brush it. She did everything the old fashioned way. She raised her own chickens and fried them up for Sunday dinner. That takes some patience. She canned her own vegetables and made biscuits from scratch. She had a quilting frame and pieced together her own quilts and made doll clothes for me on a treadle sewing machine while I sat at her feet and pumped the foot peddle.
Grandma Allison taught me the beauty inside oneself and the satisfaction of creating wonders, like fig preserves, with your own two hands. Grandma Allison died when I was 6 years old. The lessons she taught remain in my heart always.
My Grandpa Allison, oh my, what can I say about him. I saw him as a giant. He was over 6 feet tall. Not at all obese but definately large. He taught me the miracle of holding a newly hatched baby chick in your hand and let me touch the unbelievable softness of their yellow feathers.
He taught me the wonderful feeling of power, when you feel as if nothing can touch you. That is what it felt like to me as a small girl sitting astride one of his cutting horses, bareback. As a matter of fact, I was so convinced of my own strength and power, I talked him onto letting go of the lead and that old mare took off running down the highway with a terrified 6 year old on her back. I held on to her mane and when she quit running, Grandpa caught up to us and praised me for holding on so tight. He knew how to make me feel powerful (and how to give my poor Mom a heart attack). His death when I was 9 along with the death of my Grandpa Woodard was a very traumatic event in my life.

From all of my grandparents, I learned very important life lessons. I learned how to be myself, how to love unconditionally, how to have Faith in the Lord, patience, and the beauty in the simple.
I have learned that there is satisfaction in completing a task with your own two hands and that the old ways are not so out-dated or useless as we modern people would like to believe.
I choose in my life to slow down just a little bit and enjoy my life. Spend every moment I can with those I love.

Thank you all for your patience, if you made it all the way through this long blog.
Thank you, Mom. For giving me the opportunity to learn from each of my Grandparents.