Genesis 3:19. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Luke 9: 23:  “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Ash Wednesday

How bold Christians must be to wear ashes on their foreheads, and I love, appreciate, and admire those that will today!  By no means does an outward form of appearance show what is in the heart of a person, but it is one of the few times in the year that people in droves of numbers actually show that they are followers of Jesus Christ as they go out and about with an ash cross on their foreheads.

I will be at work with Sean then go home to make dinner for Carter and Ammon, so I will not have ashes on my forehead this year.  Maybe, just maybe we will be able to get them next year. I hope and pray so.

Ammon and Carter with their cars

Carter and Ammon’s grandmother, Nana (fondly called Nana Claus during the month of December) gave Ammon and Carter battery powered cars for Christmas. Carter and Ammon have become quite good at driving.

Enjoy the brief video, and enjoy your Thursday as well.

I have never been one to post my music preferences on here. I did mention last year that Carter and Ammon really enjoyed Lady Ga Ga, but that is about it. Our friend and Kindermusik teacher, Anne Hendrix, had written a Facebook post regarding a Saint-Saens’ piece, and it inspired me to find this piece with Yo Yo Ma on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNbXuFBjncw

I heard the legendary flautist, James Galway, perform “The Swan” (Le Cygne) from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux)  live in Nashville, Tennessee quite a few years ago, and I fell in love with the movement.

Maybe whatever you have on your mind this morning, you can turn off the televisions or CD players or whatever may be causing noise, and listen for these almost 4 minutes and kind of relax, clear your mind, and picture a serene lake in the spring or summer with a graceful swan gliding on it. Have a great Monday you all.

Jumping for Jesus

Carter, Ammon, Sean, and I just placed membership at Christ United Methodist Church in East Brainerd. Christ Methodist has been Carter and Ammon’s preschool since September, and it has been such a blessing for all of us especially for Ammon and Carter.

The video is with Mark Flynn, the pastor. I hope you enjoy this wonderful, short video. His Sunday sermons are equally wonderful.

The preschool experience at Christ Methodist this year has been AWESOME. The director, Kathy Lookabill,  is an educator, a mother, a grandmother, and “works well with others”. It is not beneath her to direct traffic, carry children, pick up garbage, run errands for her staff, or any other such thing. She attends worship on a weekly, regular basis, and she is involved in BOTH the Sunday school program and the preschool program .

Kathy  invited us to church last October, and we decided to go to see what it was like for Carter and Ammon. They love it, and we love it for them. The Sunday school teachers have helped with potty training, they have Bible lessons, and they sing church hymns. The parents and the children are so friendly, and we all seem to be connecting well together. There was also a special Christmas Eve service just for families with young children.  EVERY child (member or visitor) who walked through that door was given the opportunity to be in the live nativity play. It was WONDERFUL. Ammon was an angel, and Carter was a shepherd.

Please wish us luck and prayers on our Christian walk especially the Christian walk of our beloved children, Carter and Ammon.

Not doing well, but on the amends! Happy Tuesday!

Carter gets a Kiss from Ferd: Carter, Ferd, & Ammon 7-18-2011

Once again, I am down to 3 coonhounds. At any given time in the past 8 years, the most I have had at one time is 5. Since 2006, Josh the daddy Coon hound, Marshal, our baby who lived in Hixson from 2004 until 2008, and Caleb have all died. When we first moved to our new home with the mountain, the dogs would sometimes stay out for 18-24 hours and would “worry the hair off of me” until they came home, but they always did.

Katie the mama coon hound will be 10 this year, and Ferd and Sissy will be 9. Praise the Lord, they are in a habit of going out anywhere  between 7:30 am to 10:00 am, and they return  before sundown. They will even go to their home in the barn, lie down, and wait for supper. It is such a  BLESSING. I know a “true coon hound” will stay gone for many hours no matter how old they are,  but my sorry coon hounds come home for dinner. LOL

Seriously, I am truly thankful to God that my canine babies come home like that. It is one less thing I have to worry about, and with Carter, Ammon, my house, my yard, and my new part-time job with Sean, I have a lot to worry about.

I love my dogs, and I pray for their health and well-being every day. They are blessings from God. Just a reminder….dog spelled backwards is God. Happy Friday.

All the below pictures are from July 18, 2011

Katie

Ferd

Sissy

I have had weight issues since I was in 1^st grade, and I love to eat. I’ve had double chins, man boobs, pants that would not go over my butt, my gut hanging over my belt periods in my life. I also have stretch marks on my stomach and gluts where the ebb and flow of growing and shrinking fat cells have stretched my skin. Taking away a lot of fats and carbohydrates from my diet combined with jogging about 50 minutes a day help keep the weight off now. It’s hard!!

Okay, having said all that, I’m not poking fun at chubby people in this blog. Our household (Ammon and Carter included) like the music of Adele (“Rolling in the Deep”, “Set Fire to the Rain”, “Rumor has It”, etc.), and everyone who knows her can see how lovely yet portly she is.

Wednesday evening, Sean, Carter, and Ammon were watching an Adele video while I cleaned up some dinner dishes in the kitchen. I heard the music and then Carter says, “That’s Adele.” Sean then said she was heavier a few years ago. Carter asked, “Why is she fat?”  Sean said, “Bless her heart. She is like us: she likes to eat.” Without skipping a beat Carter continued the interrogation with, “Does she like ham?” Sean and I burst into laughter! As we were laughing, Ammon added, “Does she like green eggs and ham?” like from Dr. Seuss. It was a priceless moment.

I truly enjoy watching Carter and Ammon learn. For over a year, I have written the ABCs in chalk in our driveway. I put them in a circle so we can run across them, jump on them, bounce a ball on them, or now drive tricycles and electric cars over them.

I also place their names in chalk and in huge circles as well, and Ammon started spelling her name Tuesday as she drove over the letters with her tricycle. I was so amazed. Carter came up, looked at his name and said, “I have two R’s in my name!” I nodded and said, “That’s right Carter!” Letters make words, and I can tell during our reading times that they will be reading soon. They are so blessed with good minds, and I am so grateful to God.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!