We need big help around here. That little girly-girl of mine is in sad shape. She absolutely loves all things girly and is forever wearing pink, collecting flowers, dressing up like a bride, wanting to wear good "twirling" dresses, having tea parties and so on. I was the complete opposite of that in every possible way when I was a kid, so I have a hard time relating and knowing how to direct her. Her biggest problem? With all of that girliness coursing through her veins, somehow there's not a single drop of it that's actually lady-like! She is wild and klutzy and bumbles her way through each and every day. If she ever actually sits down her legs are sprawled out like a daddy-long-legs, and she has a tendency to tear through the house at break-neck speed. I (being not so dainty and proper, myself) rarely notice that anything is out of place. But just now Kate sat down with Sam to host a tea party. In these girly-girl situations I notice anew how much training she needs. She guzzles and gulps like a thirsty camel, for starters. She filled her cup up too full once and was afraid of spilling it if she picked it up. So she puckered up and stuck both lips right down into the middle of the cup (not even one lip on the edge!) and began slurping it up. When she does swallow, it's always followed by a loud smacking noise and then a satisfied, "Aaaaaahhhhhh." (Like a guy guzzling a coke or something, you know?) All of this while she's wearing her pretty white hat and plastic high heel shoes, holding her pinkie high in the air... It just doesn't seem to go together very well! I'm obviously not the person to teach her to be the little lady she really wants to be, so I need help. MOM, THAT MEANS YOU!!! Come and straighten this kid out! She's a mess and it's a lot bigger project than I'm capable of handling. So when you come for Christmas, she's all yours! I expect you to do a quick work in her. ;-)
I was all set to throw a few pictures on here and go to bed. I picked 5 and posted them, or so I thought. But this thing only lets me put 4 pictures on at a time. Ah, yes! I remember now!!! So since I'm having to do another post for the last picture, I thought I'd pick a few from the Colorado trip last week, too.
Nathan and Katie enjoying a nice afternoon climb.
Caleb, Nathan & Katie
Granddaddy trying to learn how to play a computer game so he can teach the grandkids. HA! (Looks like Sam is getting rather impatient!)
Okay, this picture actually goes with the next post down. This is the tree in the boys' room. I think it's the best one of all! We used rope for garland, tore strips of bandana to tie to the branches, and there are some miniature western ornaments on there, too. (Hobby Lobby; 50% off a few weeks ago.) And you've gotta love the Marshall's badge for the tree topper! Another bandana for the tree skirt, some little books and blocks and such wrapped in brown craft paper and tied with more strips of bandana and voila! A terrific little tree for a couple of terrific little cowboys! 
Not much to say tonight and I'm too tired to say it anyway, so here are a few pictures.
The tree! I didn't think to take a picture using the flash--I wanted to get the affect of how all the lights look, you know. I'll have to take another one so you can see how great it looks with the room lit, too. :-)
Some of my favorite snowmen! The best ones are the two tall ones on the left. They're bendable and you can pose them any way you want to. Last year I thought they looked like they were doing the Hokey Pokey. This time it looks like they're leaning in to have their picture taken. *sigh* Snowmen make me happy.
The den. Can you read the sign up on the left? It's one of my favorites. :-)
Katie decorated her own tree for her room. Can you tell?! Made her a very happy girl!
Okay, so I'll admit that it's a little out of place to post Thanksgiving pictures on a page crawling with candy canes and Christmas lights (not to mention that very happy Christmassy song that you all love -- admit it, you can't help but dance in your office chair when it starts!)... but I didn't want to skip these all together. So here they are!
This is a picture of our Thankful tree. (Thank you, Shulers, for the idea!) We began on November 1st and every night after devotions we would each write something on a leaf that we are thankful for. Most of my leaves said things like "bedtime" or "vacations." James had three leaves that indicated different things about his wife he was thankful for...each one hinting at something he was hoping I would accomplish soon. ;-) Katie was thankful for such things as weddings, Jesus, and Mom & Dad. Joe wrote down cowboys and guns and guitars and such. Sam was thankful for his friend Malachi, toys, the leaves themselves, and the upcoming Christmas shows: Rudolph, Frosty, etc.
This is a picture of our Thankful tree. (Thank you, Shulers, for the idea!) We began on November 1st and every night after devotions we would each write something on a leaf that we are thankful for. Most of my leaves said things like "bedtime" or "vacations." James had three leaves that indicated different things about his wife he was thankful for...each one hinting at something he was hoping I would accomplish soon. ;-) Katie was thankful for such things as weddings, Jesus, and Mom & Dad. Joe wrote down cowboys and guns and guitars and such. Sam was thankful for his friend Malachi, toys, the leaves themselves, and the upcoming Christmas shows: Rudolph, Frosty, etc.
Here it is on November 1st
And this is what it looked like on Thanksgiving!
Sam and Katie had a blast in the pile of leaves at Aunt Sue's house! I hadn't planned on giving them baths that night, but...! It was so fun watching them. Oh, to be a kid again!
Okay, all of you Christmas freaks, I'm ready to give you a run for your money! It is offically time to start celebrating Christmas!!! As you can see by my festive new blog (A MILLION THANKS TO JENNA, ONCE AGAIN! THE GIRL IS AMAZING!!!), I'm in the spirit already. And you should just see my living room. But wait -- I'm getting ahead of myself.
The kids and I had a terrific trip to Colorado the first part of this week. My kids are completely without any child companionship other than themselves, so it's sooooooo great for them to be with other kids--especially their cousins! They had a blast. They played games and rode bikes and climbed trees and wresteled and did all of the things kids ought to be doing, along with some things I'm sure they shouldn't have been doing.
I had a great time, too. It's always so great to be with Jon & Em and Mom & Dad. I was unpreprared, however, for how our family time has morphed in recent times. It used to be when we'd get together we'd sit around and talk and visit or play games. Now everybody sits in the living room together... each with his/her own notebook pc on their lap, clicking away. Nothing like family time, I tell you! Jon's house is an electronic haven, bursting at the seams with all sorts of new fangled contraptions that are all connected to one another somehow. We couldn't even watch the Bronco game on a regular TV. Too easy for Jon. He had some kind of schnazzy monitor rigged up in the living room, connected to one or more computers, receiving the feed through a wireless Internet connection. Every now and then we would encounter problems and Jon would go over to the window, pick up the router (I assume?), lift it in the air and aim it different directions trying to get things running smooth again. I had to laugh. After all of the advancements in technology (and Jon stays on top of everything) and the time and money invested, he's no better than the guy 20 years ago standing there trying to adjust the rabbit ears antenna so he can get a better picture! HA! Pitiful.
When I did talk everybody into laying aside the computers for a while (I didn't think to take my own and I felt a little left out), we actually did converse some--and Mom and Emilee and I even played some games. Emilee is the Queen of I Buy, I tell you! I think I would be able to be happy for her astounding success if it weren't for the way she chortles every time she draws another good card. It gets a little annoying, you know? Dad and Jon played chess a couple of times and when I left on Wednesday I think they were tied for number of wins and losses. So while Emilee and Mom and I are playing our games and talking and laughing and sipping hearthside cider, Dad and Jon are sitting at the other end of the table glaring silently at their game board for minutes on end with no movement and no speaking. What kind of a game is that?! Everything about it is contrary to the very idea and purpose of a game! Oh well. To each his own, I suppose. As long as they don't try to crash our game I guess I shouldn't complain.
The kids and I loaded up Wednesday morning and headed home. Made it in about 11 hours, I think, so that's great! I got the kid-o's put to bed, then got to work on the house and what I could of Thanksgiving dinner. Got up yesterday morning and made my pie and cake and green bean casserole and potatoes and whatever else was part of our contribution to dinner--along with the turkey I had started the night before. (It was soooooo scrumptious!) Then we loaded it all up and went to Aunt Sue & Uncle Jerry's house, where the rest of the food was ready and waiting. All but the sweet potatoes. We forgot them AGAIN! Second year in a row, I think. The Pooles were there, too, and we all had a nice time, except that James and Brother Poole both got to feeling rather sick and had to go home! The kids and I stayed and visited for a while, then came home in time to find James clawing his way out of bed to go get the Christmas stuff out of the shed. ;-)
So we decked the halls last night! Actually, nothing reaches the hallway just yet, but if Mr. Christmas keeps following the Hobby Lobby ads, it won't be long. There were 15 or 20 snowmen that I didn't even recognize this year! I have no idea where they came from. I guess that's not true. I have a pretty good idea... Anyway, the living room is absolutely crawling with snowmen!!! In fact, it makes me feel just the tiniest bit guilty about teasing certain parties about planting a grove of Christmas trees in their house. I know that I've got to have twice as many snowmen as he does trees. OH! The best part of the night? The MUSIC!!! Now that it's actually time, we cranked up our three favorite Christmas CDs and had a blast!!! (It's not against any Church ruling anywhere for a family to do some crazy (and out-of-sync, uncoordinated) dancing in the privacy of their own home, is it?!) Aaaaahhhhhhhh, yes. I love this time of year!!!
Okay, I've got to go. There are more halls to be decked. The kitchen, namely. I'll try to get some pictures posted here soon. Along with a very happy and festive song that is a favorite around our household. Makes me smile just thinking about it. Have a great day, ya'll!!! And Happy Thanksgiving, a day late!
~Bec~
No, I'm not deleting my blog--even though I probably have far more controversial things on here than a picture of a dog. ;-) I just mean I'm leaving!!! Only for a few days. It was decided today that I will get up in the morning, throw the kids in the van, and drive to Colorado to spend a couple of days with Jon & Emilee and the kids -- and Mom and Dad, who are there through Thanksgiving. Wow!!! I'm sooooo excited!!! My kids don't know yet, so don't say anything!!! You never know when Katie might go snooping around. Just the other day she was sitting next to me at my desk and I went from one site to another and she yelled, "Mom--I was reading the blog!!!" Ha! That kid. She's five years old and is dying to have her own blog. I don't think so.
Today Tammy was so kind as to watch the kids for us so James and I could go put the booth together in the booth. ;-) Went pretty well, I think. It's our first time and, naturally, it's not perfect. But hey, that's how you learn, right?! And in the end, I think it looks terrific! Here's a picture of James and the almost-finished product.
Today Tammy was so kind as to watch the kids for us so James and I could go put the booth together in the booth. ;-) Went pretty well, I think. It's our first time and, naturally, it's not perfect. But hey, that's how you learn, right?! And in the end, I think it looks terrific! Here's a picture of James and the almost-finished product.
I'm sure he'll have that little room bursting at the seams in no time. You can't really see her, but if you look REAL close you might be able to make out a little head with a red bandana in the bottom right hand corner there... That's Aunt Jemima. She's been sitting in my den for years and I'm praying earnestly that she will be the very first thing to sell. I hate that thing. I love the syrup, but this thing is made out of cast iron, weighs at least 15 lbs. -- and she looks like a gorilla. For real--I've been calling her the ape woman ever since James brought her home back in Colorado. James loves her, but must be tired if hearing me gripe because she made it to the booth! Wa-Hoo!!! Surely there's some other strange person out there who will come along and think she's wonderful. Right???Okay, I've got to get some sleep. Long drive tomorrow. Not miserably long, just long. Still, the kids aren't exactly any help driving so I should be well rested. Not that they'll give me any chance to fall asleep at the wheel anyway. Ever traveled with three little kids? There's enough jabbering and singing and arguing and laughing and playing and on and on and on--you'd think there were three of each of them back there. Oh, here's a picture of Katie playing in the leaves the other day.
Not like that had anything to do with the subject at hand. I just remembered I'd posted here and thought I ought to tell you. ANYWAY, it's been a long couple of days and I'm bushed.
G'night!
~Rebekah~
Okay, I admit it. I spent most of the day yesterday on the roof... hanging Christmas lights!!! I know that surely some of you (enter Jason Mullins) will make a big deal about that, but it's really not. You see, the week before Thanksgiving is technically Christmas Season Preparation Week. So hanging the lights is all good. It cannot in any way be compared to those wacky people who start dragging out the decorations and checking the weekly Hobby Lobby sale ads in August. That's just wrong. But hanging the lights 7 days in advance is only good planning. Especially when you know it's going to be your only chance to get it done. And just so you know, they will not be lit until Thanksgiving night, so it's really not cheating at all. I must admit, however... I'm anxious for the time to come! The house is going to look terrific!
Today was a bit of an adventure, and I'm afraid it's not over with yet. You see, James went down to Odessa a few days ago and rented out a section of one of those big antique/miscellaneous stores that has booths owned by a whole bunch of different people. He's always wanted to do something like that and felt it would be a good time to test the waters. Then he went over and got his tax number and promptly came home, placed an online order from a wholesaler, then began perusing our own house for items that will soon be for sale. Sam was fascinated by all of these goings on and followed James around the house as he was gathering goods, asking lots of questions. James was explaining that he was looking for things he could sell and before long was teasing that he was going to sell Sam, too. Naturally, Sam wasn't very excited with this idea and voiced his complaints profusely. When James kept teasing, Sam tried for another approach. He got out a card that he'd received for his birthday and began following James around the house, "reading" it as if he had written it. He read, "Dear Dad, don't sell me. Sell Joe. Love, Sam." HA! That kid cracks me up!!!
Back to the subject... Today we all loaded up and went down to Odessa to pick up the supplies James would need to build his "booth." He's going to be selling mostly antiques and old fashioned collectables, so he wanted to do something rustic looking. He ended up deciding on rough 6' pickets for the walls, so we spent forever at Home Depot trying to figure out just how much we needed of what. We came home, put the kids in the den to watch a Veggie Tales (I hate using the TV as a babsitter (!!!), but it had to be done tonight!), then I went out back to help James with the big construction project. I'm not the most adept person in the world with a drill, so I really don't know how much I sped things along. I'm a great eye-baller, though, and I'm sure he couldn't have done without me. *wink* Anyway, it's almost 9:00 now, the kids are in bed, we're finished, and we are all wiped out! What a day. James, being the kind--and hungry--husband that he is has gone to Sonic to bring home dinner. (Don't worry, the kids were fed much earlier!) ~whew~ I'm glad it's over with.
HA. If only it were over with! Tomorrow morning we'll drop the kids off with Tammy (thanks again, Tammy -- you're the bestest!) and James and I will drive back to Odessa to actually build the booth in the booth. (Got that?) We built several panels tonight, but once we get to the shop they'll have to all be connected. This probably isn't making much sense. I'll take a picture tomorrow if I think of it. Maybe that'll help. It's probably not all that important to any of you, but I have nothing else to talk about, so we're stuck with it.
I concede. Loser post tonight. All except the part about Sam's letter. That's a winner. I hope I'll always remember that one. I just hate it that kids have to grow up. They are so fun right now at ages 3, 4, and 5! What if I don't like them when they're 8, 9, and 10?! KIDDING, I'm only kidding of course. If we can manage to raise them properly and instill the right values in them, we'll enjoy them at every age. My parents always did. HA! Crazy people. Okay, my Frito Chili Cheese Wrap has arrived. I'm outta here.
~Becki~
I'm sure that Brothers Estep and Mullins and the rest of you Christmas freaks out there will be pleased to hear that I gave in. Just the tiniest little bit, mind you, but knowing James I would guess that this minute compromise will soon take on a snowball affect. Before you all start shouting "HYPOCRITE!," let me explain.
This coming Monday-Wednesday, James will be in Lubbock for training for his new job. He'll have Thanksgiving weekend off, then begins full time at Mardel (anybody know what that is?) down in Odessa the following Tuesday. He'll be working a full time job now (probably more than full time throughout the holidays) along with his Overseer responsibilities until he's able to go back into "full time" church work. (Please help us pray about that!) My point is this: between the church work, a full time job, and the 40 mile drive to Odessa and back each day, James is going to have much less leisure time this holiday season. As we are all aware, James is somewhat fond of Christmas. *clearing throat & rolling eyes* Sooooo... being the kind, thoughtful wife that I am, I told him that I was going out to the shed to find the box of Christmas music and movies (if I didn't pack them away, they would be airing nightly throughout the year) so he could watch the Christmas movie of his choice. I wish you could have seen his response. It was as surprised and joyous--almost downright giddy--as any Choleric could possibly muster. Rather cute, really. ;-) We put the kids to bed, James built a nice, cozy fire (it is truly cold here tonight! Wa-Hoo!), and watched Holiday Inn. I'm ashamed, but honest enough to admit that I enjoyed it. Eight days early. Whatever you do, don't tell my kids--they'll be begging for Rudolph and Frosty day in and day out if they know that Mom watched a Christmas show before Thanksgiving! It'll just be our little secret. HA! A secret -- in Blogland!!! That's a good one.
Other and more important news includes a three day Revival in Andrews this past weekend! Keven Lewis and family came from Colorado and we were so blessed to have them! The Revivial was good and already has me looking forward to the next one. (Hear that, Brother Sam?!) And we sooooo enjoyed having Keven & Michele and the kids here. They stayed with Sam & Tammy, naturally, but we were able to have them over for dinner a few times and spend some time with them. I loved it!!! My kids had a BLAST hanging out with their crew (Sam told me, "I found a friend in Malachi!" -- He's crazy about him!) and it was just so great to be able to fellowship with all of them. I love them so much! Here are a few pictures.
This coming Monday-Wednesday, James will be in Lubbock for training for his new job. He'll have Thanksgiving weekend off, then begins full time at Mardel (anybody know what that is?) down in Odessa the following Tuesday. He'll be working a full time job now (probably more than full time throughout the holidays) along with his Overseer responsibilities until he's able to go back into "full time" church work. (Please help us pray about that!) My point is this: between the church work, a full time job, and the 40 mile drive to Odessa and back each day, James is going to have much less leisure time this holiday season. As we are all aware, James is somewhat fond of Christmas. *clearing throat & rolling eyes* Sooooo... being the kind, thoughtful wife that I am, I told him that I was going out to the shed to find the box of Christmas music and movies (if I didn't pack them away, they would be airing nightly throughout the year) so he could watch the Christmas movie of his choice. I wish you could have seen his response. It was as surprised and joyous--almost downright giddy--as any Choleric could possibly muster. Rather cute, really. ;-) We put the kids to bed, James built a nice, cozy fire (it is truly cold here tonight! Wa-Hoo!), and watched Holiday Inn. I'm ashamed, but honest enough to admit that I enjoyed it. Eight days early. Whatever you do, don't tell my kids--they'll be begging for Rudolph and Frosty day in and day out if they know that Mom watched a Christmas show before Thanksgiving! It'll just be our little secret. HA! A secret -- in Blogland!!! That's a good one.
Other and more important news includes a three day Revival in Andrews this past weekend! Keven Lewis and family came from Colorado and we were so blessed to have them! The Revivial was good and already has me looking forward to the next one. (Hear that, Brother Sam?!) And we sooooo enjoyed having Keven & Michele and the kids here. They stayed with Sam & Tammy, naturally, but we were able to have them over for dinner a few times and spend some time with them. I loved it!!! My kids had a BLAST hanging out with their crew (Sam told me, "I found a friend in Malachi!" -- He's crazy about him!) and it was just so great to be able to fellowship with all of them. I love them so much! Here are a few pictures.
Brother Keven, preparing for the evening service. *ahem*
My Sunday School class, minus Sam. (He's not much of a "large crowd" person and wasn't about to be included in the picture.)The Lewises (is that right?!) stayed through Sunday morning service and had lunch with us--a big delicious one, complete with homemade hot rolls and pumpkin pie--then drove home Sunday afternoon.
That night we had a special service for Ellis and Elizabeth Poole, the old couple who got baptized last week. They wanted to renew their wedding vows, so we had a special little ceremony for them concluding with (insert drum roll, please) administering the Church covenant!!! Isn't that just sooooo exciting?! The Church of God in Andrews, Texas has just grown by 20%! :-) God is sooooo good to us and we are just so thrilled. And so are they! Brother Ellis is so excited to be back in the Church again after all these years. (He was a member years ago, back in A.J. Tomlinson days. Remember, he's 94 years old!)
Here he is, joining God's Church!It was quite an exciting night. We had a nice little party for them afterwards, complete with a mini-wedding cake and a shattered punch bowl. No worries, though. We were able to salvage most of the punch and, to my knowlege, nobody ended up with a shard of glass stuck in their throat, so I'd say the whole evening was a tremendous success.
I know that several interesting or entertaining things have happened in the past few days, but I have forgotten them all. I will, however, post a picture of the fantastic card my littlest cowboy received from his Auntie Em a week or two ago...
Is that not the cutest card in the world?! For a cowboy, that is. I love it!!! Great job, Em. ;-)
Okay, that's it for tonight. While I'm thinking of it, thanks for the call the other day, Lyndi--you're the good one! It was great to talk to you. As for the rest of you out there, the least you could do is blog. ;-)
G'night,
~Bec~
Okay, a short (we hope) explanation is in order. I gave you several pictureless posts a few days ago because the little anti-picture imp at Blogger Headquarters was on the job, forbidding me from posting any pictures. I've tried a few times to add the pictures to the actual posts, but with no success. The good news is, we finally have pictures! I've beaten the creepy computer guy with the gnarled teeth and sadistic smile!!! Unfortunately, I have only beaten him half way. I still can't get the pictures into the original posts. No matter, here they are! They're also in the opposite order of what they're suppsed to be. But do we care?! Or course not! We have pictures (be they backwards and upside down) and that means we have prevailed! We should throw a party! I'll make the punch. Be here at 7:00!!!
Merry Market Place
The Birthday Boy
Birthday Boy & Company
Bow and arrows... just what we need around here
Elizabeth Poole
Ellis Poole
Katie Rue
These were all taken on our way home from Retreat, most of them in Southern Colorado.
Haley's socks! Had to post them for you, Lady!
Believe it or not, their babies have already been born. They just wear them now.
Sister Karen & Aunt Kay
One of the Many Snowball Fights
So much for writing “later today.” I think it’s been a full week since I wrote that. As the self appointed chairman of the board for NARR (Neighborhood Association of Rules & Regulations—thank you, Lyndi), I’ll have to be more careful. I must set a glowing example for those new members of Blogville and those just visiting the neighborhood—as well as long time residents—so that we can all get back to where we were a few months ago: a happy (however dysfunctional) group of friends and family, keeping in good contact and good humor, providing encouragement, enlightenment, and just plain nonsense to cheer one another’s dreary existences. Indeed, Section 4, paragraph 2 of the Blogville Association Handbook (better known as BAH, with full Scrooge emphasis) gives us the kindly and somewhat scriptural injuction: “To do good and communicate—and blog at least twice a week—forget not…or else you’re kicked out of the club.” If I type quickly I think I’ll make it just before the 7 day deadline. If one does fail to comply, there is only one way to be readmitted. You must publish a lengthy and informative post, explaining the reason for your failure and then ramble on long enough to make everybody forget that you ever didn’t blog. Oh, and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures, preferably humorous ones. If anyone needs an example of the proper way to execute this cunning and tactical maneuver, visit Lyndi’s blog. She handles herself as an old pro, I tell you. In fact, I think I’m going to encourage her to start a workshop entitled “The Fine Art of Blogging” and travel the country to impart her knowledge. Actually, her workshop should properly be entitled, “How to Be a Totally Negligent Blogger, but Reappear with Such Pizzazz, Clever Wit, and Crazy Pictures that You Remain the Hot Spot for All of the Other Sorry Bloggers who Have Nothing Entertaining to Say.” Of course, we could call it HBTNBRSPCWCPYRHSAOSBHNES for short. And you only thought you snarled when you said NARR.
Look at that—a whole great big paragraph just talking about blogging! And I haven’t even started yet! You all know what that means. Go get your popcorn and lemonade (or apples and hot cider if you’re one of the lucky dogs in a pleasantly cool part of the world) and settle in for a good, long read. Well… long, anyway. I’ll not make any promises beyond that.
Where did I leave off last time? Ah yes—Ladies’ Retreat! Boy, it seems like that was a long, long time ago! I’ll see if I can remember something… Hhmmm. Okay. Uummm… I can tell you that my overall feeling when I think back to the Retreat is a pleasant one! Ha! Tell you what, if you’re interested in hearing about it, visit Emilee’s blog (bigredvan.blogspot.com)—she’s got a day by day account of all of the great things that took place there! The only thing I can think of that she left out was the guy that came up to us at the Mason Jar (the restaurant we went to after Retreat) and asked if we were Pentecostals. (Guess we look the part?!) Anyway, after conversing for a few minutes we found out that the guy’s parents used to be snake handlers years and years ago—but that’s not all. If I understand right, they were actually part of the Church (I mean THE Church!) for a time, but A.J. Tomlinson told them they had to quit the snake thing, so they left! Is that crazy or what?! Small world.
Since I’m not doing very well at telling you about that fabulous Ladies’ Retreat, I’ll show you. Here are a few pics.
Look at that—a whole great big paragraph just talking about blogging! And I haven’t even started yet! You all know what that means. Go get your popcorn and lemonade (or apples and hot cider if you’re one of the lucky dogs in a pleasantly cool part of the world) and settle in for a good, long read. Well… long, anyway. I’ll not make any promises beyond that.
Where did I leave off last time? Ah yes—Ladies’ Retreat! Boy, it seems like that was a long, long time ago! I’ll see if I can remember something… Hhmmm. Okay. Uummm… I can tell you that my overall feeling when I think back to the Retreat is a pleasant one! Ha! Tell you what, if you’re interested in hearing about it, visit Emilee’s blog (bigredvan.blogspot.com)—she’s got a day by day account of all of the great things that took place there! The only thing I can think of that she left out was the guy that came up to us at the Mason Jar (the restaurant we went to after Retreat) and asked if we were Pentecostals. (Guess we look the part?!) Anyway, after conversing for a few minutes we found out that the guy’s parents used to be snake handlers years and years ago—but that’s not all. If I understand right, they were actually part of the Church (I mean THE Church!) for a time, but A.J. Tomlinson told them they had to quit the snake thing, so they left! Is that crazy or what?! Small world.
Since I’m not doing very well at telling you about that fabulous Ladies’ Retreat, I’ll show you. Here are a few pics.
NEVERMIND. Don't you wish you knew who the guy was who goes into the Blogger Master Computer and screws things around every so often, forbidding you from posting the pictures that you really, really want to post? I can just picture him holed up in a dark closet somewhere cackling; cockeyed teeth protruding from his evil grin, large buggy eyes peering into the screen as he watches us (somehow, I'm sure) as we war with our machines trying the same thing over and over and over again, but to no avail. If I ever find him, I'll let you know. Then we can take turns giving him his just reward. Until then, just imagine what the pictures may have looked like. I have captions and everything, so just let your creative juices flow and have fun! There! What do you think of that, you picture banning computer creep?! We're going to have fun anyway!!! It'll probably be even better this way, what, with our creative and imaginative friends!!!
(Just so you know, I'll try to check back tomorrow and see if I can add the pictures in then--so come back and check sometime!)
Haley’s socks. Had to post them for you, Lady!
Believe it or not, their babies have already been born. They just wear them now.
Sister Karen & Aunt Kay
One of the many snowball fights
I wish I could post the really great pictures, but they include a Twister mat and pajama clad women with woven appendages and you just never know when a blogger’s husband might decide to catch up on the latest. (Sorry, Devin—I just can’t make myself post them, even though the best pictures are of family. It just wouldn’t be right! A blog is just way too public. It would be like playing Twister in the middle of the city park, you know—anybody could see you!)
I’ll put some scenery pictures in the next post. (That’s right, folks—you’re in for a whole series! You’re now entering the beginning of the second inning…)
The drive home was just as fun and exciting as the rest of the trip, although the blizzard itself was still the highlight. We left the crowd and headed home at 3:30 or so in the afternoon (I think) and made it home at about 2:30am. I did most of the driving since Tammy has a hard time seeing at night. Old ladies. I tell ya’. Anyway, all went well in my continuing efforts to conquer the manual transmission. Of course, there was the instance when I drove for some time in 3rd gear, thinking I was in 5th. And then the time that I took off from a dead stop in 3rd gear, thinking I was in 1st. I was actually a little proud of that one (seems like it would take special talent to pull that off) until Tammy mentioned something about the clutch smelling hot. Then there was the time I drove for 10 miles with the emergency brake on. The best was probably when we got pulled over by the cop and I was so distracted that I totally forgot I was driving a stick. We got down to about 5 MPH before the car started chugging and snorting and lunging, then threw us into an almost-crack-the-windshield dead stop. I’m sure the cop appreciated the show. I figured he’d probably make me get out and walk the white line or something, but he went easy on me. It was about 2:00 in the morning, I think, and we were way past “normal.” He came to the window and I opened my mouth to begin apologizing for my excessive speed (Tammy’s car doesn’t have cruise control… or much of a clutch or parking break, thanks to me. Hey, what are friends for?!), but he cut me short. “The reason I stopped you, Ma’am, is that you failed to dim your lights.” I just sort of stared at him, my mouth still gaping, prepared to give him the there’s-no-cruise-control-and-we’ve-had-a-long-hard-weekend-and-are-really-sweet-innocent-little-things-who-would-never-hurt-a-flea-and-certainly-couldn’t-deserve-anything-like-an-actual-ticket sob story. I finally managed a very dignified, “What?” He repeated, “I passed you coming the other direction and you failed to dim your headlights.” All I could think to say was “Oh. Sorry!” I was so taken off guard! GOOD GRIEF!!! Failing to dim your headlights?! Who ever heard of such a thing?! I mean, I know supposed to do it, but I’ve never heard of anybody being pulled over for not doing it! Talk about one bored cop. I just kept thinking that somewhere in that county some guy was probably beating his wife or robbing a convenience store or something—and this cop is pulling me over for “failing to dim my lights?!” Pitiful. But I’ll not be too hard on him. He only gave me a warning, so he’s what I’ll refer to as a “friendly cop.” I like that kind.
The only other item of interest on the trip is that Tammy made wait until 1:00 in the morning for dinner, then made me eat Chili Cheese Freetos. That’s right, folks—thanks to her, I had the nourishing and filling meal of Chili Cheese Freetos… for dinner… at 1:00 in the morning. It’s too long of a story to relate (and you probably would have had to have been there anyway), but we’ll just say that I passed up a very tempting and scrumptious smelling chimichunga and ended up with the Freetos—all because Tammy felt “weird.” *big sigh/rolling eyes*
Okay, here are the pictures that I promised!!! It was a truly gorgeous trip. Take a gander…
The only other item of interest on the trip is that Tammy made wait until 1:00 in the morning for dinner, then made me eat Chili Cheese Freetos. That’s right, folks—thanks to her, I had the nourishing and filling meal of Chili Cheese Freetos… for dinner… at 1:00 in the morning. It’s too long of a story to relate (and you probably would have had to have been there anyway), but we’ll just say that I passed up a very tempting and scrumptious smelling chimichunga and ended up with the Freetos—all because Tammy felt “weird.” *big sigh/rolling eyes*
Okay, here are the pictures that I promised!!! It was a truly gorgeous trip. Take a gander…
I’ll never remember everything that has gone on since we got back. You lucky dogs. But, as always, I’ll do my best! Hhmmm. I remember nothing of the first three days, but I can imagine that it was full of lots of kid time and—oh yeah, 6 loads of laundry that first day. Ah yes, it all comes back to me now!
On Thursday night we had a baptismal service! Exciting!!! Ellis & Elizabeth Poole wanted to be baptized, so we did all we could to make ready for the big event. Unfortunately, “all we could” still wasn’t the greatest! The building we rent has a baptismal… but I don’t think it’s been used in at least 20 years. GUH-ROSS. Brother Sam & James swept it out, then I did all I could to clean it, but you’d never know it. It’s a very long story (even a little too long for my blood), but it included running 250’ of garden hose from the kitchen at the other end of the building, very little hot water, even less water pressure, resulting in a very shallow and lukewarm (at best) pool. There at the end we just cranked the hot and cold water on full blast to get enough water in the tank to be able to get anybody all the way under. That, of course, resulted in an ending temperature much, much cooler than could be considered desirable. Or the least bit comfortable. Now, I know that people have been baptized in frigid mountain rivers for years (I’m one of them), but we were baptizing a 94 year old man…on oxygen…with congestive heard failure… We did all we could, then PRAYED. Brother Ellis came through just fine and we promptly got him wrapped in an electric blanket (yes, we did unplug it! Ha! –Wouldn’t it be just like us for the guy to live through a bone chilling baptism only for us to electrocute him to death afterwards!) and he warmed up quickly and was sooooooooo happy to have been baptized! This coming Sunday, he and his wife are planning on renewing their wedding vows AND (insert drum roll here, please) joining The Church of God!!! Isn’t that exciting?! The Church of God in Andrews, Texas is just about to take in two new members!!! PRAISE THE LORD!
Katie really wanted to be baptized, so James said, “Let her!” She was pretty nervous, but after seeing that Brother Ellis & Sister Elizabeth lived through it (and Dad didn’t hold them under that long, after all), she decided to do it. Afterwards she, like Brother Ellis, was soooooooo excited. She just kept saying, “I feel so happy!!! I mean, I feel like I’m saved already!!!” I tried to explain that she had things a little backwards—that you’re supposed to get saved first, then baptized, but I don’t know if it did any good. James figured it would be fine to baptize her because he knows that she’s repented…over and over and over again!
On Thursday night we had a baptismal service! Exciting!!! Ellis & Elizabeth Poole wanted to be baptized, so we did all we could to make ready for the big event. Unfortunately, “all we could” still wasn’t the greatest! The building we rent has a baptismal… but I don’t think it’s been used in at least 20 years. GUH-ROSS. Brother Sam & James swept it out, then I did all I could to clean it, but you’d never know it. It’s a very long story (even a little too long for my blood), but it included running 250’ of garden hose from the kitchen at the other end of the building, very little hot water, even less water pressure, resulting in a very shallow and lukewarm (at best) pool. There at the end we just cranked the hot and cold water on full blast to get enough water in the tank to be able to get anybody all the way under. That, of course, resulted in an ending temperature much, much cooler than could be considered desirable. Or the least bit comfortable. Now, I know that people have been baptized in frigid mountain rivers for years (I’m one of them), but we were baptizing a 94 year old man…on oxygen…with congestive heard failure… We did all we could, then PRAYED. Brother Ellis came through just fine and we promptly got him wrapped in an electric blanket (yes, we did unplug it! Ha! –Wouldn’t it be just like us for the guy to live through a bone chilling baptism only for us to electrocute him to death afterwards!) and he warmed up quickly and was sooooooooo happy to have been baptized! This coming Sunday, he and his wife are planning on renewing their wedding vows AND (insert drum roll here, please) joining The Church of God!!! Isn’t that exciting?! The Church of God in Andrews, Texas is just about to take in two new members!!! PRAISE THE LORD!
Katie really wanted to be baptized, so James said, “Let her!” She was pretty nervous, but after seeing that Brother Ellis & Sister Elizabeth lived through it (and Dad didn’t hold them under that long, after all), she decided to do it. Afterwards she, like Brother Ellis, was soooooooo excited. She just kept saying, “I feel so happy!!! I mean, I feel like I’m saved already!!!” I tried to explain that she had things a little backwards—that you’re supposed to get saved first, then baptized, but I don’t know if it did any good. James figured it would be fine to baptize her because he knows that she’s repented…over and over and over again!
I had the privilege of working for Sue again! She rents a booth at Merry Market Place each year, a big show down in Odessa, and sells stuff from her store. It blows my mind how much work goes into such a thing (!), but I guess it’s worth it. She does terrific business there. I worked 9-6, then drove the 40 minutes home, fed the kids, got them taken care of and in bed—then went over to Sue’s store and worked from 8:30-10:00 that night running credit cards and tallying the tickets! Sue and Stacey were running all over the store in their pajamas, tearing that place apart and collecting more stuff to take down and sell in the booth! It was CRAZY, but so much fun!
Once I got home at 10:00 I spent the next 2 and a half hours doing some big housecleaning—scrubbing the bathroom, mopping the kitchen floor, etc., thinking that company was coming the next day. I finally fell into bed at about 1:00am.
Once I got home at 10:00 I spent the next 2 and a half hours doing some big housecleaning—scrubbing the bathroom, mopping the kitchen floor, etc., thinking that company was coming the next day. I finally fell into bed at about 1:00am.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got pulled over again on my way down to Odessa that morning. This time I was speeding, but was scared to confess to it before I knew for certain that it had nothing to do with my headlights. I just rolled down the window and smiled weakly at the cowboy hat clad officer. (I love Texas!) He told me that he had, indeed, pulled me over because of my speed. We chatted for a minute or two and he told me that he was only going to give me a written warning. When he returned to the car to give me my license back I asked just how fast I had been going. 10 over. And he just gave me a warning! Isn't that fantastic?! Talk about a friendly cop! In all fairness to myself, let me say that the speed limit changes from 70 to 55 *wham-o* with no warning at all and in a very strange place where you'd never expect it. Regardless, I really did deserve a ticket that time, but we either have very forgiving police around here, or I have a certain and convincing pitiful look about me. They're probably familiar with that "If you give me a ticket, my husband is going to kill me and then you'll have a real crime to deal with" look--if so, I know they can spot it on me a mile away. By the way, I haven't mentioned this little incident to James yet. I've been waiting to blog it. Things have been pretty stressful around here and he's had a lot on him and I just couldn't find the right time to say, "Oh yeah--I got pulled over again! Second time in 5 days--and I was really speeding this time, but got away with it..." I just thought it would be best to come clean here in public... And where he'll probably read it some night while I'm safe and asleep in bed. In fact, immediately after I publish this post I intent to dive straight into bed, just in case. Love you, James!!! *wink*
The next day we got everybody up early to go back to Odessa so we could be there for the Veggie Tales party at the Family Christian Store. It was in honor of the release of their newest show, Gideon: Tuba Warrior. We, however, did it in honor of Sam’s 3rd birthday! They showed the video, then played some trivia games and gave out prizes and all kinds of free-bee’s. We came away with a CD, a DVD, a whole slew of placemats and coloring pages and window stickers and who knows what all. It was fun! We came home and threw ourselves back into cleaning house until we received the phone call at 3:00 informing us that our expected house guests weren’t going to coming after all. You know who you are! ;-) I had also made a strawberry cake for Sam’s birthday (his request) and James picked up some balloons at Sue’s store, so we had his party that night—although his birthday wasn’t until the next day. Sam and Tammy joined us for a nice home cooked dinner of meatloaf, baked potatoes, corn, green beans, and cheesy garlic bisquits. Mmmmm! I was in the cookin’ mood! Then we sang and had cake and watched the birthday boy tear into his gifts and try hard to share some of them. (Naturally, he wasn’t very successful. That selfish old Adamic nature, you know.) It was a lot of fun.
After the kid-o’s went to bed I played cards with Sam & Tammy. Sam was whippin’ up on us through the entire game and wasn’t a little cocky about it. The grand and glorious moment of the day is when he had only a little over 100 points to go to put the game away, but Tammy came from way back and made 850 points in the last hand, passed him right up and left him crying in the dust. *aaaaahhhhhhhhh* What a great moment. He soooooooo deserved it. I was even happy to lose to Tammy—just because it was so great to see the shock and disbelief and disgust on Sam’s face! God’s trying to teach him to lose gracefully, I’m sure, but he’s just not interested in that particular lesson.
The next day we got everybody up early to go back to Odessa so we could be there for the Veggie Tales party at the Family Christian Store. It was in honor of the release of their newest show, Gideon: Tuba Warrior. We, however, did it in honor of Sam’s 3rd birthday! They showed the video, then played some trivia games and gave out prizes and all kinds of free-bee’s. We came away with a CD, a DVD, a whole slew of placemats and coloring pages and window stickers and who knows what all. It was fun! We came home and threw ourselves back into cleaning house until we received the phone call at 3:00 informing us that our expected house guests weren’t going to coming after all. You know who you are! ;-) I had also made a strawberry cake for Sam’s birthday (his request) and James picked up some balloons at Sue’s store, so we had his party that night—although his birthday wasn’t until the next day. Sam and Tammy joined us for a nice home cooked dinner of meatloaf, baked potatoes, corn, green beans, and cheesy garlic bisquits. Mmmmm! I was in the cookin’ mood! Then we sang and had cake and watched the birthday boy tear into his gifts and try hard to share some of them. (Naturally, he wasn’t very successful. That selfish old Adamic nature, you know.) It was a lot of fun.
After the kid-o’s went to bed I played cards with Sam & Tammy. Sam was whippin’ up on us through the entire game and wasn’t a little cocky about it. The grand and glorious moment of the day is when he had only a little over 100 points to go to put the game away, but Tammy came from way back and made 850 points in the last hand, passed him right up and left him crying in the dust. *aaaaahhhhhhhhh* What a great moment. He soooooooo deserved it. I was even happy to lose to Tammy—just because it was so great to see the shock and disbelief and disgust on Sam’s face! God’s trying to teach him to lose gracefully, I’m sure, but he’s just not interested in that particular lesson.
This week James has been watching the kids for me so I can go down and work at Sue’s store for 2 or 3 hours each day. It’s been quite a change! I’m usually a full time Mom, but Sue’s store is a WRECK after Merry Marketplace—and they’ve got their Christmas Open House coming up in just a few days! She’s been working Stacey and Tammy and the other girl, Judy, as much as she can, just trying to get things put back together! It’s been really fun. And since James is going to be taking a secular job out of necessity (he’s hating that!) and will be away from home a whole lot more, it’s nice for him to have some extra time with the kid-o’s this week.
That’s about it from here! (As if it’s not enough.) So in closing, I’ll post a few more pictures of the kids! That always seems to be a hit, no matter who’s kids they are. People just seem to like seeing them. Weird.
That’s about it from here! (As if it’s not enough.) So in closing, I’ll post a few more pictures of the kids! That always seems to be a hit, no matter who’s kids they are. People just seem to like seeing them. Weird.
The Camera Queen
Mosey Joe
The Birthday Boy!!!
Remember sometime recently when I posted about "the perfect day"? I was so wrong!!! Ladies' Retreat was sooooooo good and I'll be writing and posting pictures about it very soon. (Later today, maybe?) But the trip to Ladies' Retreat is a story all its own.
Tammy and I have talked about taking a big trip together ever since we were teenagers. This isn't exactly what we had envisioned (we were thinking New York City or Europe or something!), but after 12 years of waiting we weren't about to be picky! So we took off on "the big trip," just the two of us. We had a great time and just soaked it all in. Tammy had never actually seen cotton close-up (pretty sad, for a girl whose Dad grew up working in cotton fields!), so we found this terrific field and took some pictures.
Tammy and I have talked about taking a big trip together ever since we were teenagers. This isn't exactly what we had envisioned (we were thinking New York City or Europe or something!), but after 12 years of waiting we weren't about to be picky! So we took off on "the big trip," just the two of us. We had a great time and just soaked it all in. Tammy had never actually seen cotton close-up (pretty sad, for a girl whose Dad grew up working in cotton fields!), so we found this terrific field and took some pictures.
By the time we reached Clayton, New Mexico there were signs that things were going to start getting exciting. We knew that there was big snow forcasted for Colorado, but you can't listen to Colorado weathermen--they never have a clue! I got online the night before we left and found a big red dot next to big red words reading, "BLIZZARD WARNING." But what do they know?! Naturally, I was hoping they were right, but not naive enough to get my hopes up. As you've probably guessed by now, they were actually RIGHT this time!!! The snow started falling in that big 100 mile stretch of no-man's-land between Clayton and Raton. The closer we got to Raton, the heavier it got and the happier I got! The only tricky part was that Tammy's car is a stick shift--something I haven't driven in YEARS and never had driven enough to really master. So I'm not very good with a stick, but Tammy's not at all comfortable driving in the snow! Bad combination, but we opted to go with my nominal driving skills rather than Tammy's fear of snowy roads. All in all, I think we did rather well! The roads weren't just snowy, they were deep. In fact, I'm sure it's the deepest snow I've ever driven in. It was getting pretty bad, but being the wise (debatable) and adventurous (accurate) duo that we are, we were going to tackle it. Until, that is, we took the turn off in Raton and headed north. We had barely just begun when a cop stopped us to inform us that the pass had been closed and we would have to turn around. I waited until we were out of the cop's sight before I started screaming the obvious: "Tammy!!!! We're stranded in a blizzard!!! Together!!!!! This is soooooooo cool!!!"
We turned around and took the first exit with a motel. We were not the first ones there. We stood in line with several other stranded people and finally checked in. We then hauled all kinds of stuff into the motel -- in the middle of the snowing and blowing blizzard. You wouldn't believe how much STUFF we had. And, of course, we had to bring all of the food in: the chips, the cookies, the banana bread, poppyseed bread, coke, Tammy's rice cakes (weird-o) and who knows what else. By that time the "blizzard" had died down a bit and turned into a nice, normal snow storm.
So, we bundled up and walked to Dairy Queen, of course. While we were there the electricity kept coming and going. I was worried they wouldn't be able to cook anything and was really hoping they at least had some leftover fries! They were able to complete our order just in time and we headed back to the motel.
We got there just a few minutes before the electricity went out for good. Have you ever tried to eat chili cheese fries in the dark?! Sloppy business, I can tell you. I, of course, had a candle in my bag (I keep it with me always, in case we end up in a funny smelling motel room), so we did have that much light. Afterwards we opened our door to find several other strandee's in the hallway where the motel's emergency lights were located. So what were we to do?! We joined them, of course! There was a family from Sweden with small children a few doors down that was having a little picnic of sorts on the floor. Past them was a girl reading a book. Next door to us were some people from L.A. on their way to Colorado and they'd never seen anything like this before! A nice old man we'd conversed with while waiting to get our room came by, so we chatted briefly and sent him off with some poppyseed bread and cookies. We sat in our doorway, the emergency lights on one side of us and our candle on the other, and played our Eternal Rummy game until the lights came back on an hour or so later.It was the greatest night ever! We couldn't have planned it any better if we had tried. I just kept thinking, "WOW! Does God really love us this much?!" I mean, we know that He always provides for our needs and takes care of us--and we were thankful for the protection in the midst of a potentially dangerous blizzard. But to give us such terrific circumstances and work it all out just right -- a party we've always dreamed of having, but figured it could never really work out. I, Rebekah Horne: Lover of Snow, actually got stranded!!! In a blizzard!!! With Tammy!!! And lots of great food and our Eternal Rummy game to boot! Could God really love us that much?!?!? And to top it all off, once the electricity came back on we thought we'd give the Hallmark channel a try--just in case. Lo and behold, there was the very chick-flick that I had been telling Tammy about earlier while we were driving--one they had at the Christian bookstore that I've been thinking about buying. Talk about the perfect day!!! It was almost overwhelming. Sooooooooo fun!!!
Raton pass was open by the next morning and we had an uneventful and extremely beautiful drive the rest of the way. *deep, contented sigh* The whole thing almost seems like a dream, now that I think back on it. IT WAS SO FUN!!!
There's lots to tell about the Retreat and some great pictures, too--however most of the really great ones aren't fit to post due to the possibility of their being viewed by some non-females out there. (Most of the hilarity at Retreat takes place once we're in our pajama's, you know.) Oh well. I've got to get back to my family. There's a little boy holding a Veggie Tales cup up to me saying, "Mama, vould zoo get me some zuice, pease???" That's my cue.
Later!
~Bec~
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