Olivia

Anyone that knows Olivia KNOWS that southern history is one of her deepest passions.

She believes that it is her personal responsibility to educate everyone she comes in contact with true history!!!

If you dare to watch the evening news with Olivia in the room be prepared for lots of HEAVY sighs of frustration, outburst of aggravation with arms waving as she stomps out of the room...ranting!

We try to keep her away from the TV during the politically correct news hour!
This is for the sake of others in the house and her blood pressure!
And I won't tell you what it is like living with her during election years ,
I just ask you pray for us!

She loves to talk history and politics, even to the point that at all cost, her friends try to stay off the topic of current events.
Emma will warn people, "Pleeeeease don't get her going!" lol...

She believes women have a powerful roll in building God's Kingdom as they help their husbands be known in the gates and as they nurture and educate future statesmen. :o) She agrees with the saying, 'Behind every good man is a good woman.'

She believes and lives out the truth that God made man and woman very different,
they are equal, yet have different purposes.
She LOVES being a lady, she rejoices in being feminine.

It is amazing how God has given her a heart of wisdom. Her of love for the south and truth, even though ALL of her family are Northerners is downright hilarious sometimes! lol Well, except for her little sis, Emma. They were both born in the south and Olivia claims hold of that with all her being! lol... Can you say "Tara!!!" (from Gone with the Wind)

P.S. The spot on her left cheek is a sign of a real southern lady...POISON IVY from working in a flowerbed!

Emma

Let It Snow...a little please

The fun thing about snow in Alabama is that it MAY happen once or twice a year and it usually disappears as quickly as it came. :o) And no matter the amount, IT IS A BIG DEAL!

It snowed for a few hours the other day, it was so pretty. The girls took off out the door with the cameras.

They did manage to build a 2 foot snowman, or is it a snow woman?
His/Her life span was about 24 hours.

Those of you that know Emma...well let's just say, this picture is typical!
She is such a NUT!

A Busy Tuesday

Yesterday was the first meeting of the year for our quilter's guild, this year I am president. To be honest I can't believe they would even want me, because I feel like such a beginner still. Those ladies have so much knowledge.

After the meeting the girls had their monthly 4-H meeting, Emma is secretary and Olivia is Community Service Chairman. Olivia has organized a donation drive to support The Ronald McDonald House.

Emma and a couple other girls recorded a radio spot to announce the drive.
Here is Olivia and Emma at the radio station.

I LOVE homeschooling!
The opportunities and flexibility are endless.
~~~

Last night Jeff and I attended the first of our training classes to become foster/adopt parents. To be completely honest we were both pretty apprehensive, after all home schoolers do all we can to avoid any contact with DHR...lol. But we left our first class so encouraged and hopeful.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27

Can you think any child in more affliction than a child that has abused or abandoned? I know this will NOT be easy, and we are not even sure if DHR will approve us, so our prayer has been, 'God's will be done." If anyone has any experience with this I'd love to hear from you.

Our View of Work, Our View of Life

While my 83 year old grandmother was visiting the doctor a couple months ago , the nurse asked her when she retired. My little, gentle, very soft spoken grandmother just looked at her and kind of chuckled. My grandmother was widowed almost 30 years ago. She and my grandfather were dairy farmers in upstate New York. In their early years my grandfather would usually work another job along with the farm work. Other than a couple of small jobs when she was young, my grandmother was always the keeper of her home, or should I say, the keeper of her hundred acer farm. Truth be known my grandmother spent more time tending to the animals and land than she did the house. I believe that this is a beautiful image of a helpmeet (Titus 2:5). This is how she made her husband successful. She was a kind and submissive wife.

I LOVED going to my grandparents almost every weekend growing up. As long as I can remember she always let me have free reign in the house, I'd cook up a storm, clean and 'organized' for her, while she'd be out milking the cows.

My grandfather who was not so gentle (picture the Archie Bunker type) would come in and grumble because I would move his stack of papers off the corner of the kitchen table...but I never doubted his love for me. I digress...

My grandparents were excellent managers of their money and belongings. After almost 30 years my grandmother has managed to keep the farm without debt. Although her savings has dwindled down to almost nothing she still has the house and land. The main barn burned several years ago and it was like we had all suffered a death when we lost the barn. My uncle has rebuilt a smaller barn to keep the hay in. My grandmother STILL gets out on the tractor to cut, rake and bale hay. I admire her strength and determination. She could have easily sold the farm years ago and lived comfortably in a small place for her remaining years. But she loves her home and she loves to work AT HOME. It is my hope and prayer that her children and grandchildren (and now great-grandchildren) will do whatever we can to ensure that she can stay on that farm, and WORK until God Himself calls her home and says to her, "Well done".

In Genesis, God's first command to Adam, even before He gave him Eve, was that he had to "cultivate and keep" the garden. This represents work. Maybe not by the sweat of the brow or fighting thorns and thistles, but it was still work to do.

I hate when I hear people talking about when they retire they will live a life of ease. What a sad existence. Now to retire from a certain job and then pour yourself into a real passion of serving others, or a different kind of work, that is wonderful. But to spend your life making and investing money just so you can live your last 20-30 years doing nothing, that is missing the whole point of LIFE! So what was my grandmother's answer to the nurse's question about when she retired? She just laughed and shrugged her shoulders, because there is no such thing as 'retirement' for people like her. :o)

Fun in Miami!

We had a GREAT time in Miami, so I thought I'd post a few pictures. Most of the pictures that I really love the girls won't let me post, so to protect their privacy and to preserve our relationship....I won't. :o/ It is so funny...because now when something funny (or humiliating) happens I hear a stern voice saying, "Mom, you better not blog this!" LOL Jeff worked alot of long hours so it was just the girls and I most of the time. I really missed being with him.

PRAISE the Lord my brother let me take his GPS, or I would have never found anything. People there drive FAST AND CRAZY, very aggressive. We took a rental car and my brother advised that we pay for the extra insurance. Although we did not have to use it, it helped with the stress level a bit while driving in the madness.

Our first day we just ventured out to Wal Mart and Sams,
reckon we can go anywhere and not go to Wal Mart? :o/
This was our first lesson in the fact that very few people speak
English as a first language,
if at all!!!
On day 2 we went to Bayside, that was pretty neat watching
all those beautiful yachts and sailboats coming in and out.

Bayside is also a neat shopping place catering to the tourist of course.

Another thing we learned quickly was that woman are very proud of their breast
and they want everyone to see them! lol...
This picture was taken while we were eating at Bayside...
actually we had alot of reactions like Olivia's here!
btw...this picture was NOT staged, Emma was taking the picture of us
and Olivia was shocked at something she saw...Too Funny!
We country folk live in such a bubble.

Day 3 we went drove up to Fort Lauderdale after spending the afternoon trying to find a place to park at Miami Beach or was it South Beach??? One of those.
How do people afford to live like that???
We ended up at Dania Beach and really enjoyed it,
once we found it, parking was a breeze!
Sooo...do you know what happens when you feed ONE bird?

You end up feeding DOZENS!

My child with no fear loved it!
She has always been like this and I think it is people like her that make great missionaries!!!
(I did not know when we named her Emma that it meant, Full of Energy!)

My peaceful child preferred to simply enjoy the view and reflect on deep thoughts...
that is until her sister insisted she get wet!
I won't post those pictures...lol...
(Olivia Katherine's name means pure and peaceful.)

My brother lives in a BEAUTIFUL gated community, it looks like a resort area!
This is Emma doing her water acrobats in the pool.
There were actually 3 pools, this one shaped like a big lagoon with 3 waterfalls,
one big regular pool for lap swimming and water aerobics,
then there is a kiddie pool and then the jacuzzi with it's own waterfall.
Too cool!

This is the only picture of Olivia swimming I will post. :o)
See how much I love you Liv?!

I sat poolside and worked on a new writing project.
It was so beautiful and QUIET, except for the waterfalls.
I did enjoy the jacuzzi and the heated pool!
Well... it was quiet until a woman undressed in front of us,
she was changing her clothes,
right there in the open...completely!
I thought the girls were going to have a stroke!
There were only about 5-6 people in the whole place,
I guess everyone has to work to pay for those million dollar houses!
They were beautiful.

In the middle of this community is a restaurant and lounge,
a weight room and the pools.
On the other side of the pools was a beach area with a lake and volleyball net.
It was really nice!

Here are the three of us...with our toes not painted completely! :oO
Every time we go on a trip now I have this lurking feeling of how our family is changing.
Joshua is 19 and has moved out of the house.
Olivia is 17...how many more family trips will we have?
I wonder if they will marry and move away? I just can't stand the thought!
We had alot of fun this past week and I am so enjoying the stage they are at,
but a part of me wants to freeze the time!
I LOVE being a mother.

This is Olivia's favorite past time.
She agrees strongly with Thomas Jefferson when he said,
"I cannot live without books!"

Emma favorite past time is HAVING FUN!
She had a good time with Uncle Jimmy's drums, his cats and his bird that keeps asking you, "What are you doing?"
Jimmy is not a quiet person. :o)
He and Emma have alot in common!

Olivia did a great job of cooking for all 9 us just about every night!
My sil is a Navy Officer with a very demanding job.
We tried to be good guest and chip in to do as much as we could as not to be a burden.

The last night we were there the guys knocked off work early
(most nights they got home between 11-1 am)
and my brother took us out to the
neatest restaurant, The Texas de Brazil!
These men walk around with different meats on a HUGE kabob like thing and serve you.
They have an incredible salad/seafood and cheese bar!
I don't even know what half the food was we had.
Incredible! Did I already say that?

Here is our nephew Axl with Olivia and Emma.
I can't believe the batteries in camera went dead while we were there! ugh!

Here are Axl and Tyler working Josh over.
What is it about boys and the need to wrestle? lol
2 on 1? Is that fair? :o)

Olivia and Emma were able to help Uncle Jimmy pack some equipment.
They enjoyed helping.

Emma logging the goods out.
(See Emma, I told you learning to write
your numbers would come in handy one day! lol...)

And here is the Mastermind (my brother) behind it all!

He works long and hard.
Don't forget if you need a new theater in your jet I can give you his number!

:o)

We had a GREAT time,
but I am glad to be back in
Home Sweet Home Alabama!

Upon waking...

Josh (who is working out of town) called Olivia first thing this morning to SING Happy Birthday to her. Needless to say I HAD to wake her. hee hee Because she hadn't opened her eyes yet, she didn't know I had the camera.
I hope when they are 80 years old he will still call her on her birthday to SING obnoxiously to her. :o)

Even Sweeter...

If Sixteen in Sweet...then all I have to say is Seventeen is even SWEETER!

Today my little girl turns 17! There is no job harder than parenting, and at the same time there is no job that brings sweeter reward on this side of heaven!

Olivia is not only my daughter, but she is becoming more my friend that I can confide in and she sometimes surprises me with her Biblical wisdom and application to situations.

Please help us pray that she will keep her heart pure for the Lord, and that she will patiently wait for the husband God has selected for her. That one day God will abundantly bless her womb and that she will raise many, faithful warriors for Christ. But if the Almighty does not plan to give her an earthly husband that she will have a spirit of contentment and purpose as she gives herself totally to the Lord's work.

You can scoot on over to HER BLOG and leave her a happy birthday greeting if you'd like. This morning she and her favorite man (DAD) are out for a birthday breakfast. :o)

I am blessed!

Botanical Gardens

We took a trip to the Botanical Gardens last week. It is BEAUTIFUL and only about 45 minutes form us and it is FREE! :o) Right now the Azaleas are just pass their peek, but there were some that were simply breathtaking!

Emma

Olivia

Olivia has loved the dirt ever since she was a little girl, mud pies were her favorite thing to do, even as an older little girls she loved to cook up stuff in the mud! Now she LOVES to garden and has quite an herb garden going. While at the Gardens we strolled over to the herb and vegetable area. They were getting the beds ready for the veggies and Olivia just HAD to slip her sandal off and run her toes in their rich soil. She has such an appreciation for God's creation.

Emma

There were a few roses in bloom, but it is still pretty early for them.

The Gardens has some beautiful woodland areas to explore.

How can people believe all the beauty around us happened by accident?

As we walked through this beautiful garden we talked and laughed about what it will be like when we ALL go to the gardens when they have children. They commented on how long it would take for us to 'get through it' then because, "Mom HAS to take 100 pictures...what is she going to do when we have 10 kids each?" I'll tell ya what I'll do...I'll LOVE every moment of it!