Copy Cat Post

While reading some of my favorite blogs I found that my friend had a brilliant idea for the first post of the new year - so I'm stealing the idea and making a similar post.

Following are a few words that come to mind when thinking about 2010:

STRESS AND WORRY
Early in 2010 we were in quite a financial crunch. We had tuition, late bills, and car problems that left us feeling overwhelmed and a little lost as to how to get the problems under control. We cut back everywhere possible and did the best we could just to get by.

BLESSED
As time went by we were blessed with a financial gift and my parents unexpectedly offered to take care of the car. We took the car to their mechanic, thinking he was just going to repair the one thing that was giving us the most problem, and were overcome with gratefulness when we picked it up. You see, mom and dad had instructed them to go over the car and make any repairs needed. WOW! What a blessing.

I was also offered a temporary job at our church (the job I had given up 2 years earlier to focus on school) to work part time while they looked for a permanent replacement. The months spent working at the church provided us with the extra income we needed to further improve our financial situation.

We also painted our house this summer. A job we had planned to do ourselves - with the help of Don's brother, Jim. However, some really awesome men at church surprised us by showing up and painting for 2 days. The day Don went back to work all we had left to do was paint one side of the house and we felt overjoyed to have had such wonderful friends and to have gotten so much finished. They were not done surprising us yet! While Don was at work, 3 men came over and finished the job! Words could not express how grateful we were.

These unexpected blessings brought to light how blessed we are with wonderful friends and family and how God watches over us and takes care of our needs (even when we feel like we don't deserve it).

EXCITEMENT
Those of you who know me know that I have spent a lot of years at WSU. At times I have been unsure of what I needed to do with my life. I was pursuing an accounting degree but constantly felt that God had something different in store for me. After much soul searching and testing I changed my major to Elementary Education. The process has been so long I sometimes wondered if I would ever really finish or if I would fail at yet another goal in my life and leave us with the financial burden of all these years of tuition and struggling to make ends meet on one income. As I began my fall semester, I realized that it is completely possible that I will actually be teaching my own class of students at the same time next year. This was so exciting and it gave me the courage I needed to get through a rough patch in my semester and excitedly look forward to completing my education.

HERITAGE
This year my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The Bible talks about the heritage that we are left from the generations before us. What a blessing that my parents have left a heritage of love and commitment for me and my siblings. This heritage was left to my mother by her parents as they were married 72 years when my grandpa passed away.

Looking forward to 2011 I am thinking of the word SUCCESS. It is impossible right now for me to put into words how I feel about actually getting through these next 20 weeks and walking across that stage and having that diploma placed in my hand. The funny thing is, I am just as excited to watch the growth of 'my' students as I go through my internship this spring. I know that I will face problems and setbacks but right now I feel confident that with the support I have had in the past and will receive from Don, Dr. Mukes, Penny Longhofer, Ms. Mog, and countless other friends and family that I will learn a lot, grow a lot, and be ready to walk across that stage with the confidence that I can AND WILL be a great teacher!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May it be filled with happiness, love, and more blessings than you can imagine!

Special Day . . . Special Blessings

Today was a great day, and long overdue.

I have an uncle (Kendall) that is 3 years younger than I am. Until 1976 we lived in the same town as my Grandad, Grandma Dorothy, and Kendall. Bryan (my brother) and I spent a lot of time with Kendall and we thought of him more as a cousin than an uncle. Of course we still kept in touch after we moved but didn't get to see each other as often as we had been able to before we moved. Many things changed over the years and Kendall went through some very hard times and lost both his parents (my grandparents) before he was 21. To make a long story short I will just say that through the years of difficulty Kendall received a lot of love and support from a family that took him in as their own and over the years it seemed that we all grew further apart and rarely saw each other. In fact, I had not seen Kendall since he got married and had never met his 12 year old son and 10(?) year old daughter until my sister got married this last May.

When we were planning Mom and Dad's anniversary celebration I invited Kendall. (We had recently gotten in contact through facebook)His wife was scheduled to work the day of the celebration so he suggested we all plan a day to get together while we are all on Christmas break so that we could have time to visit and catch up.

Well, today was that day. My brother and SIL offered their home and we all gathered there today for lunch. We had such a great time! Bryan smoked meat all night and we all brought side dishes and ate until we were stuffed. Then we just sat around the table visiting for hours.

Towards the end of our time together Kendall opened up some about what he went through during the times that Grandma was so sick, Grandad had to go to a nursing home, and how lost and confused he felt as a High School (and then college student) to have these things going on, and to have lost both of his parents before he was 20 years old.

I have had a lot of conflicted feelings through the years about that time and had always wondered how Kendall became so out of touch with our family and so much a member of another family. But now I thank God for the Barrett family. They showed Kendall the love of Christ when he needed it the most and when we were unaware of how difficult things really were for him.

Kendall has a wonderful family now and I feel blessed that we were all able to spend such a special day together. We all left promising to keep in touch with each other and get together again.

Good stuff!

Mom and Dad 50th Anniversary

December 8th, 1960 my parents were married in Meramac, OK in the church where their families both attended. Fifty years have passed and they are a great example of how love and dedication can overcome hard times and increase the joys of good times! My brother, sister, and I are lucky to have such a legacy passed on to us. (My grandparents had been married 72 years when Grandpa passed away).

It was an honor to stand back and see Mom and Dad have such a great time and be honored by so many friends and family.


It was also a huge blessing to realize that my siblings and I have made that transition from sibling rivals to now being adults who love each other very much. In hindsight I realize this transition happened years ago but it was brought to light more in the planning and implementing of the reception.

Good times of great blessings!

2010 Vacation/Staycation

Once again we had a great time at the Richardson Resort.

Roxie had a blast running with Smore and Star (the two dogs that live there) and playing chase with Princess (the cat that lives there). We got home this morning at 12:30 AM. Roxie went straight to bed and slept all night. She then moved to the sofa this morning and has slept non stop all day (it is now 3:15 PM).

Don and I had great fun and enjoyed a lot of quiet and relaxation.

Don picked sand plums and I made 27 jars of sand plum jelly (14 jars with jalapenos).

We made our annual trip to Porter to buy fresh peaches, made a stop at Bass Pro, and then had a wonderful visit with Portia and J.D. (Don's sister and her husband). They made us a really yummy meal and then we all enjoyed catching up on what has been going on in our lives since last year.

On Sunday, we went to church with Mom and dad and then they took us out to eat at Montana Mike's. We also got to visit with them a couple other times while we were there. That was really nice as it seems we don't make the time to go down and visit often enough.

Haleigh and Lorrine (our niece and Don's brother's wife) came up and canned peaches with us. Here is a picture of us after 8 hours of making and canning jams:



Bryan and Noel got home late Tuesday night and we really enjoyed hearing about their fun packed vacation to MD with Noel's father and her siblings. Sounded like they had a wonderful time. Wednesday we enjoyed some time hanging out with them, eating at the local Mexican joint, hanging out some more, and then having grilled burgers topped with fresh tomato slices, fresh-from-the garden cucumbers in vinegar, and home made peach cobbler together before we had to leave.

Our original plan was to leave Winfield on Wednesday and take Don's dad to see his brother in Houston and then his sister in Lake Charles, LA. That trip had to be canceled due to Don Sr. experiencing some back problems and being unable to travel. We were a little disappointed not to get to see Don's aunt and uncle but it will be nice to have a few days here at the house to get a few projects done.

What a blessing it was to be able to enjoy each other and our family on a great vacation!

A Great Birthday!

I must confess to you all that I have been feeling pretty low lately. Whether it is stress, worries, hormones, or Satan I have spent a lot of time over the last 6 weeks or so not feeling so good about myself or my life. At times I have felt helpless, hopeless, on the verge of panic, and often throwing myself quite the pitty party. I have been in prayer over these feelings and dreaming of a way to escape the funk.

Well, let me tell you something great. God has really been blessing me this week.

Yesterday I had lunch with Karen McCorkle and she remembered my birthday. That made me feel so loved and special it really brightened my day. In addition we had a wonderful visit and I really enjoyed catching up with her.

I also got a message from a really terrific friend (PJ - she was my Matron of Honor when Don & I got married) whom I had not been in contact with for more than 8 years. We have sent messages back and forth today catching up and planning to get together.

First thing this morning I got a call from Jenna, my 7-year-old niece who shares my birthday - just calling to wish me a happy birthday! What a special girl (and a special momma for helping her call Aunt Neta)!

Today my facebook was flooded with happy birthday wishes. What a joy! Every time I logged on I saw new messages.

Tonight I got to chat on the computer for a short time with my best friend from High School, Karen Wilkie. I sure do wish we lived closer!

I also received a text message from Trevor (my nephew) and Paige (my niece)!

This was all very uplifting at a time when I really needed it. God is good . . . . AND so are my wonderful family and friends!

Thanks Everybody!

One Crazy Night!

Well, last night as we waited for the Awana awards to begin I get a call and my brother (with his voice cracking with emotion) tells me that my mom is on her way to the hospital. Don and I run out of the church and head to Winfield.

When we get to the hospital we find that mom is VERY confused and throwing up blood. I have never seen her look worse and my dad was pretty upset to see her that way.

Bryan explains to me that mom was driving home from Winfield and started feeling light headed so she pulled over. (Thank goodness she was smart enough to pull over) Once she got pulled over she tried to call 911 but couldn't get her hands to push the right buttons. Thankfully in her dialing she must have pushed the speed dial button for Noel. Noel said she sounded very confused and told her she needed help. Bryan and Noel rushed to where she was and by the time they got there she was really confused and disoriented and they are not even sure she knew who they were. They were not sure what might happen so they called the ambulance to come get her.

Testing in the ER ruled out a stroke. Her hemoglobin count was 13. Dr. said this is low but they would not need to give her blood until the count gets under 8. My mom is a really tough woman and NEVER admits she is in pain or needs help. In the ER she just kept saying "I'm sick", "Somebody help me". We were all worried sick and emotions were running high.

Then dad admits that mom has been having trouble with her stomach for over a month and had told him she would go to the Dr. after Toni's wedding. (May 8th) You see, mom is sewing 5 dresses for the wedding and she told the Dr. this morning that she did not have time to go to the Dr.. (I bet she really didn't have time to be in the hospital for several days!)

Last night they said they could see a kidney stone on the CT but that that could not be causing all the symptoms she was experiencing. Nothing else was showing up on the tests so they gave her anti-nausea meds and morphine until her regular Dr. could come in the morning. Even morphine every 2-4 hours was not keeping her from saying she was in pain.

Don and I headed home about 10:45 since I had two final presentations to make today. We were on pins and needles just waiting and praying that God would heal mom and make everything OK.

This morning mom was stable and her pain was being better controlled but her hemoglobin count was down to 11. They decided to do a Colonoscopy to see what might be going on.

Then, this afternoon I received the best text. Colonoscopy showed no new bleeding. They did find several ulcers in mom's lower abdomen, which can be treated with medications and they are thinking she MAY get to go home tomorrow. We are so grateful that she is no longer confused and that she does not need surgery and that the problem is treatable with medicine!

Praise God for taking care of mom and her crazy kids that drove like maniacs to get to her!

Thanks to all my friends and family that said prayers and called with concern and words of encouragement. I could not have gotten through this without you!

Bedroom Makeover

For at least 8 years Don and I have searched for a comforter set. I searched the internet and stores but either couldn't find the colors I like, the style I like, or the price was too high. Finally the day after Thanksgiving we found a set that we loved and because of the special sales we were able to purchase as our gift to each other for Christmas.

Next step in the process, finding a paint color to compliment the new comforter. We must have looked at every paint sample in both Lowe's and Home Depot. Carried a pillow into the stores on numerous occasions trying to find just the right color. Next step, painting paint samples on the wall and trying to decide - still no luck in finding one we liked. Next, we took the sheets (which matched the comforter) to Home Depot and had the color matched. Ugh, still not exactly right. So, next I mixed matched color with the ceiling color we found and painted a sample on the wall. Wha la! That's the color. I painted a small piece of wood and Don took that to Home Depot, had the color matched, bought the paint and painted the room. He did a wonderful job and our long overdue makeover is now complete. The perfect added touch . . . . a nice new ceiling fan that my parents gave us for Christmas.

Don told me this morning that he woke up in the night and thought he was in a hotel. :-D

Check out the transformation: