Wonderful "Date" with my Dear Friend!

I am NOT a "run around with the girlfriends" kind of a lady. In fact, I don't remember a time that I have had "an evening out" since Roger and I married three years ago. I don't even think I did that before we got married. I spend my time with my best friend/husband and our kiddos. I might take my dog for a walk or visit the library or Goodwill alone but I don't usually "socialize" with a group of ladies. (Not that there's anything wrong with doing that, I just don't. Usually.)

Last night I met my friend Lisa whom I haven't seen for years and years. She called me up out of the blue and when my husband told me who was on the phone, I practically flew to the phone.
We made a date for last night, just the two of us, at a local restaurant.

WE HAD A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We met at 7p.m. and I think we closed the place down. We laughed and laughed and laughed and talked seriously a time or two as well. What have I been missing in not seeing this dear lady in all these years??

About half way through our night, I noticed that my throat was beginning to ache a little bit and I wondered if I were getting sick. NO, I was just talking and talking and talking and my throat was getting tired!!

The sky was beginning to get dark and I thought that it must be about 8ish and then I realized that Indiana is now on Daylight Savings Time (something that most of us are still trying to get used to! Prior to our governor's terms of office, we didn't change our clocks when everyone else did.) So instead of it being about 8, it was about 9 and then 10 and finally at about 10:30, we decided to go home! (of course, the "getting ready to go home" part takes a while, too...)

However, not before Lisa decided to play a trick on my poor dear hubby...whom she has yet to meet, by the way.

So Lisa decided to call Roger on his cellphone and tell him that she had a problem! She told him that his wife had been drinking! ( something stronger than the raspberry iced tea that I am crazy about!!!! I DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL AT ALL!!!!! KEEP THAT IN MIND!!!) She went on to fib to him and tell him that she was afraid to let me drive and that she needed direction how to get me home! (All this time, I am trying not to burst out laughing!! I can't even take cough syrup without it knocking me out for hours and hours!!)

Roger answers back, without hesitation, "Oh.....That's ok. I'm used to it. She does this all the time. I'll come and pick her up...." He went on to mention some kinds of drinks I SUPPOSEDLY like! I didn't even know HE knew what drinks were called! He then asked if I was up on the countertop of the bar yet!! MERCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (in my long denim skirt and all.....) Youth pastors aren't supposed to have such an imagination, are they?????!!!!

Good Grief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do I have room in my life for TWO CRAZY PEOPLE??????

I don't know why it struck me as so funny...probably because Lisa had never even met Roger and Roger just went along with it!! EMBELLISHING IT EVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (of course knowing that I would never do such a thing....)
Weirdos.

When I got home, my two 13 year olds met me at the door (they should have been in bed hours before that!!) and just seemed puzzled that I would even think of being gone for so many hours! What was wrong with their mother?? Gideon asked Roger why I would be gone for almost 4 hours!!??? The horror of it all!!
Roger just said that I was having a good time with an old friend and Gideon said again, "For FOUR HOURS??"
Oh well, just wait 'til he grows up and gets married. Ladies can find enough to talk and laugh about for many more hours than THAT!

I told my mother this morning about Lisa's little joke and I'm not quite sure what she thought of it. I think that if it could have possibly been true and if Roger weren't certain that I wouldn't do that, it wouldn't be so hilarious to us. I know that we are supposed to "flee from the appearance of evil" and be blameless but I think there is some room for a joke or two among friends. Even friends who haven't met yet!

Have a lovely day...I have lots to do in cleaning this house! (especially since I had the night "off" last night!! SLACKER!)
Blessings,
Beth

Perfectly Wonderful Sunday!!

Yesterday was a delightful day because I spent MOST of it in the exclusive company of my best friend/husband! We went to church yesterday morning (albeit 20 minutes late for Sunday School...) and had a very good church service. We came home and ate leftovers which were surprisingly VERY GOOD!
I started to take a little nap because I had had such a long hard weekend thus far at work and then the phone rang. My brother in law was planning to show us some houses for sale (he's a realtor) and he needed to do that earlier than planned. He also told us that the house we were REALLY interested in just received an accepted offer.

Hey, this doesn't sound like such a wonderful day yet, does it??? It gets better...

We looked at a few other houses. One of them was the "perfectly HORRIBLE house". It IS PERFECTLY HORRIBLE. Incredibly so!! In fact, I think it should be condemned. I honestly can't believe that there are people living in it. I made a hasty exit because of the mold and basically, I was scared to go into the house too far. The floors were soggy and the walls and ceiling were falling down. I did get a good enough look around and realized that there is no place in the home to fix a meal nor were there appliances. There is an upstairs "apartment" which consisted of a mattress on the floor (that my husband climbed over!! YUCK!!!!!!) and an enormous bottle of VODKA in the corner. The vodka must be why people could live in it!! After the visit, I kind of felt like I needed a drink myself! (And I don't drink alcohol at all so we settled for a diet coke at the Village Pantry!!)

The yard is wonderful and there are trees and a cute little old fashioned garage in the back.

GET THIS, THE PRICE HAS BEEN REDUCED TO $10,000!!!! What a bargain...I say this kind of seriously and kind of sarcastically. We are actually considering buying it, tearing down the house, and building something else on the site. (After trying to remove some old woodwork and a little claw foot tub...maybe the tub, it kind of "grosses me out..." to think about it much. I guess it could be Cloroxed!!)

So after that "experience", we went to some other houses, all of which were either atrocious or way way way too tiny.
We drove past an old brick house in the country that no longer had a roof, floor or walls standing in the house. Roger loved it....I loved it less...

Then we went to the town I lived in prior to our marriage and visited an adorable farmhouse on almost 5 acres. It has been partially renovated-it looks like the difficult part has been done. However, it still does not have a furnace or air conditioner or appliances and it is at the very top of our budget. The rooms are pretty small downstairs, not too small for the average family, but for our huge family, it might not work.
As we were standing on the front porch, it began to rain. Not just RAIN, it was a torrent! We ran for the car and then we drove to a little Mexican restaurant and had supper out.
We usually go to church on Sunday nights but we really felt like we needed to try to carve out some time for our marriage. It had been so long since we were able to go on a date, I kind of feel like God understood about our missing Sunday night church. (This time...)

Then we finally made it home, through MORE rain and settled down to watch Masterpiece Theatre, another Miss Marple episode. I promptly fell asleep......

Oh good grief, we must be getting old. That may not seem like a wonderful day to MOST people but just spending time driving around the countryside with my husband, laughing and joking and just acting silly, is the most wonderful date in the world!

Amazing Phone Call and House Hunting!

I got a phone call from a woman that I haven't spoken to in 20 years....No, I'm REALLY not old enough to have a grown up friend from 20 years ago....OH HOW I LIE!!! Anyway, it does seem like I can't POSSIBLY be that old but since I have grown children...lots of them...it must be true!!
So...I was thrilled to talk to Lisa who was my good buddy, probably my best friend, when I was going through a particularly bad time in my life. We are planning to get together at Macaroni Grill on Monday, just us two! Exciting, don't you think?? I told her that I'm a little more "planted, with my feet on the ground" than I was 20 years ago but she said she HOPES I'm NOT!! Hehehe....In some ways I guess I am but wow, it took me back so much when we spoke, it seemed JUST LIKE OLD TIMES! So maybe I haven't changed THAT much!
I can't wait!! I plan to bore her with my photo albums!! (Just one....or maybe two...)

Jennie and I are planning to go garage saling today to get some more clothing for her Kenya project. She has named it "Heart for Kenya" and even made a symbol for it. I will try to post that when I can!

We are also going to drive by a house in our county seat to see if it would be a possibility for us to live in. I think it is probably HORRIBLE but maybe there are some possibilities for it!! It might be a money pit...It is about 130 to 140 years old but it has had updates...maybe 50 years ago?? Oh dear, what am I getting myself into? It is currently a "duplex" with a full upstairs apartment and the main part of the house downstairs. They are asking a very little price for it (I think we could just pay it off...) but it is in a depressed housing market and it needs a LOT of work. We'll see...I'm just thinking how much my 20 year old and my 17 year old would LOVE to have an apartment in our home! (But most likely, we would turn it back into a regular house again...)

We'll see. I guess....
There is a darling little house in the town I grew up in that I LOVE but we would still have to have a mortgage on it although a fairly small one. Our goal is to be OUT of debt entirely within 10 years or so, hopefully sooner than that! We kind of want a house that we can live in and fix up as we go. Seems like the most financially responsible thing to do.
Well, have a lovely day and I'll let you know what I find out!
Blessings!
Beth

I'm still feeling pretty well after my emergency room scare last week. We were able to spend Father's Day with our families and then got to visit my older brother and his wife's new/old house! It is adorable with lots of trees and barns and .... NEW KITTENS!! I had to tell our pleading children NO!!!! We already have two kitties and just can't handle another one, especially since we are going to be trying to sell our house!
Today we are trying to clean the house and to go through things and possibly get ready for a garage sale! It would be nice to get a little extra money to put into our Christmas Club account for the Holidays!! (It IS JULY, after all, Christmas time is COMING!!)
That's about all there is going on today!
Have a lovely day,
Beth

CRAZY WEEK!!!

What a LONG day I had at work today! I had to work over a bit more than usual but it really seems like it adds up by the time I've already worked 15 hours! But the good thing is that I can sleep in an extra hour tomorrow morning! Instead of getting up at 4:15 a.m., I can get up at 5:15 instead! One of these days, I'd like to find another job that didn't require such long hours! But right now, I need to keep realizing that God gave me THIS job for now and HE will make things work for our future!

It has been kind of a crazy week! We had Bible school this week at church and late one night, my precious daughter in law, Erin, called me and was pretty upset. I was sure something had happened to her new baby but instead, something had happened to MY baby!! (My 23 year old baby, Danny!) Most likely, he had heat stroke or was dehydrated and she ended up calling 911. THEN she called me and I drove an hour to spend the night with them. I was HAPPY to do it...I got to visit with THEM and THEN I GOT TO HOLD THAT BABY ALL BY MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME!!!! Jennie came with me because she was so worried about her big brother but she ended up falling asleep on the floor and I was totally selfish with that baby and held him and kissed him! HEHEHEHE!!!! Danny is fine and went to work the next morning as usual. He has been doing some more training for the police and he had been in the heat all day!

The next day, I was feeling really bad and Roger ended up talking me into going to the emergency room because I was so out of breath and my heart was beating so hard and strangely. They ended up making me stay over night and finally released me one hour before Bible school began the next evening!! Roger taught the class and I just took it easy!! I didn't have a heart attack (I thought perhaps I had had a mild one a few weeks ago but I didn't!) and there were no more big irregularities that were a real concern. (my EKG was abnormal at first but then it was fine...) I'm on medication that will help regulate my heart and lower my blood pressure and I feel GREAT!!!! I hadn't realized how really bad I've felt for several months!! In fact, last night, Roger and I finished up with Bible school and we went for a late night BIKE RIDE!! I didn't really get out of breath and it felt so good to do something physical again! Last time I tried that was over spring break and I didn't do very well!

So, that's the craziness that has been going on this week! Now it's time for me to get to bed so that I can have ONE more long day at work and then it's FATHER'S DAY! Roger already got his BIG present, his new bike, but I have ONE more for him! I'm making my parents' a scrapbook but it's not QUITE done yet!!
Have a lovely day!
Blessings!
Beth

What a Bargain!!

Just a note to tell you what a bargain I got yesterday! I went to the grocery store to pick up a couple pounds of ground chuck to make my son and his wife and my family a meat loaff. The beef was on clearance sale for $1.00 a pound!!! Ummmm....I now have 31 pounds of hamburger, most of it browned and in the freezer or made into one of the 11 meat loaves that I have in my freezer...

I still have a few more pounds to cook up, too! We don't eat a LOT of beef so this should last us a LONG time...with lots to share, as well!! That's the REALLY good part!

I'm a little strange but I get pretty excited when I find that kind of a bargain! (I should say that GOD sent me this bargain! )

Just in case you are wondering, NO, I did NOT buy ALL of the clearance meat! I left a FEW packages there for someone else! hehehe!!

Have a lovely day!
Blessings!!
Beth

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. Psalm 37: 16

I read this verse today and it felt as if it were a word spoken just for me. Not that I consider myself terribly RIGHTEOUS in my own abilities, having only been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ, of course! I still do a LOT of things that no one would consider righteous!

We live in a very affluent area where there are "mansions" all over the place and "estates" worth several million dollars just a short distance away. It makes me think about the other verse in the Bible that says for us not to lay up treasures on this earth but to lay up treasures in heaven. I'm not saying that the owners of these homes can't be Christians, of course they can be! But I wonder why we as people think we need these homes? I've never lived in a mansion but I know from personal experience that I am happier with less. (Which is a good thing considering the current state of the economy and our pocketbooks!)

I am so very blessed to have "treasures" in 4 little Grandchildren that I hope someday will join me in Heaven. I was able to spend the day with three of them and I think they are worth more than any other kind of treasure there is, except of course, their parents and the rest of the family!

I wouldn't mind having my house paid for and not to have to worry about bills and such, but since that is not the way it is right now, it allows me to TRUST in God and to be content with less.

I think I am going to do a study of Proverbs 37. It is a VERY good chapter!!

Blessings!
Beth

Really neat idea for taking a meal to someone in need!

My son and daughter just had a precious baby a week ago and my other sweet daughter in law set it up online to have people take them a meal. She has it on her facebook and all we have to do is get on her profile and sign up! I thought it was just awesome and thought that I would share it with you! (Since most of us are the kind of ladies that prepare meals for new parents, sick people, etc...) The site is http://www.takethemameal.com/ and it is so easy to use, even if you are somewhat computer illiterate as I am!

We had yet another baby born today in our extended family! I am a new aunt to Macy Lee and I hope to get to see her later today. My younger brother and his wife just had baby number 4, joining Madison, Emma, and Drew! They are a lively little bunch!

Lots to do today...we finally decided to rent a storage building to store extra beds and things that we don't need to have in our home right now as we try to get ready to put it on the market. I have a truck loaded down that I borrowed from my dad and parked in our driveway but as I was taking it to the storage building, it started making a terrible noise and I thought it would be best to go back home. I hope we can figure out if it is safe to drive before the rain comes and I have to do a quick unload back into the garage!

Have a lovely day,
Blessings to you all!
Beth

Home from Camping!

Oh wow, we are home from camping and we are SOOO tired. We had a good time for the most part...our camper had a "run in" with a red...or it used to be red...cement pole about five miles from our house when my hubby tried to fill the van up with gas.
On the way to Lake Monroe, in Southern Indiana, the van started giving us major problems and barely made it up the southern Indiana hills. We finally crept into our campsite and found that we have engine problems that couldn't be fixed there. We arranged Roger's nephew to tow the camper home today and we would take our chances with the van alone.
We made it back ok with a few stops between here and Lake Monroe to let the big old van "rest."
We had fun at the reunion and spent time with elderly family members. I have a new buddy with Roger's three year old, almost 4 year old, niece who stuck to me like glue most of the time. That REALLY helps to convince me that I would love to adopt! (Lord willing, we will put our house on the market and then start the adoption process when the house sells! Both of those are prayer requests, if you think of it, pray for God's leading and help in selling the house and leading us in adoption!!)
We had a big discussion today with another part of the family that I don't know very well but I really have grown to like them!! We differ in our religious beliefs and it saddens me to think that they don't think my salvation is secure. I've never really had any other believers wonder about my salvation. I almost cried.
But I will do some more studying in the books of the Bible that they suggested I study and then the NEXT time we have this discussion-if there is a next time-I can be better prepared.

Now it is time for a nice shower and a date with Roger to watch Masterpiece Theatre!
Lots of love,
Beth

Introducing Little Mr. Liam Daniel

So.....here he is!! The MUCH awaited Liam! In this picture, he is only about 1/2 hour old or so...possible one hour. Isn't he gorgeous??
We haven't seen him since early yesterday morning so we are planning to make a trip over there soon and get my grammy time with him! I have YET to hold him!
Yesterday, when we got home, we spent the day holding Liam's 5 month old cousin Brody and playing with cousin Dylan! I rested a little while until Roger got home from work and he had a very difficult time waking me up! We were planning to celebrate our 3rd anniversary and I wanted to be a LITTLE bit rested for our big date. I finally woke up to the phone ringing next to my bed and then I decided that it was well past time that I should be getting ready! We went out for a late supper at an Italian restaurant in Carmel, Indiana. (That's CARmel, not carMEL as in California. It's pretty funny when out of staters move in and try to call it the other pronunciation. Good grief, this is Hoosier country...not California!!)
Anyway, we had a wonderful time together as we usually do!
Earlier this morning Roger and I went to the middle school where Gideon attends and watched him get an award for a school planner he designed. It was chosen to be the planner cover for next year!! Pretty cool!
Caleb, Roger's older son, surprised Gideon by showing up at his school. Caleb is on a short leave from the Air Force. He is stationed in California.
Today is being spent getting ready to go on a big camping trip in Southern Indiana, near Bloomington. We are having a family reunion with Roger's family on Sunday and a large amount of us will be camping there. What fun that will be! I have made three pans of brownies, one cake, sausage and gravy and have a ham ready to heat and slice. We will still have a LOT to get done today and tomorrow morning but we are PRIORITIZING this morning! We are getting ready to go see baby Liam NOW!! More pictures later!!

Precious Little Liam

My precious newest grandson was born at about 3:30 this morning (Wednesday) on our anniversary! What a gift God sent to us today! He is 7lbs 15 oz and 20.5 inches long. I haven't yet been able to hold him...poor little Erin was just exhausted after pushing for over an hour and 1/2. She had JUST been allowed to hold him when I was brought into the room and she wasn't quite ready to hand him off just yet. I DON'T BLAME HER!!!
The doctor was the only doctor there and he delivered three little ones immediately after each other. In fact, they kept telling Erin to "hold on" and to lay flat on her back to try to stop her from delivering right away.
Then, finally when the other two little angels were delivered, they started with Erin.
He eventually had to have some help being delivered using a suction cup on his little head which cut the top of his precious little head. He also inhaled some fluid so they were being a little extra careful with that little guy.

He is fine, though, and after a quick peek and a "touch" to his cheek, we went home, arriving at about 6 this morning. I think we will try to get back there tonight! (And THIS Grammy intends to hold him then!!!)

We were really beginning to worry because at about 1:30, they started hurrying around and threw us out of her room. By the time Danny came down at about 3:30, we were just imagining all kinds of things! I told everyone that when Danny comes to tell us about Liam, they'll have him all cleaned up and all will be fine. But when Danny came rushing down there and said he was born, he hadn't even been weighed, measured or washed up yet. He was just six minutes old at that time. She had QUITE a lengthy time trying to deliver. She is such a blessing to us and I'm so grateful to have her as my daughter in love!!

I'm sure we will hear stories about the difficult birth for my precious girl. Danny looked a bit traumatized....and sweaty......but very excited and thrilled to be a daddy!!

For now, we are trying not to bother them. They all need their sleep.
Oh, by the way, I DO have pictures but since Erin is in all of them, I'm going to respect her and not show everyone her pictures after having just gone through this difficult but joyful experience. (I'll get some pictures on later....) But believe me, he is gorgeous!!!

Prayers, please!! Baby Liam is on his way!!

Just got a call from my sweet son Danny....his baby is on the way!! Erin went to the doctor this morning and since she is over 38 weeks and the baby is getting sooooo big and Erin's legs and feet are so swollen, the dr. decided it is time to induce! (I am writing this at 9:25 a.m. Central time...)
Lord willing, I will be holding little Liam tonight!!
Please pray for the safe delivery for Erin, Danny and Liam!
More info and pictures later!!!
Blessings!
Grammy Beth!!!!!