i am so blessed.  God really has been so very good to me.  I certainly do not deserve all of His daily benefits.  I am so unworthy of all of the mercy that has been shown to me.  But i am also very grateful for it!  I desire to be a servant for Him....sometimes that is so hard.  sometimes we serve so much that we forget why we are serving or what is motivating us...or me, i should say!  i just want to focus on Him, and to remember that every thing i do.....parenting, wifing (is that a word?  i dont think so!), being an example, witnessing, teaching sunday school, filling in when someone is out, weekly visitation, sending cards, secretarial work, being a good friend, teaching kids on wednesday nights, working in nursery....everything....is because of Him and for Him.  And that the end result is to see lost people saved and saved people growing!  i have to remind myself of that every day.  I have to remember that each person matters and that im not the only one with problems, burdens, and struggles.

ok, confession time is over!  just took brody to school....after he had his cup of joe and cereal!  how funny....first thing he asks for is coffee!  bailey was up and ready in a jiffy this morning!  woohoo!  she went potty and gave me little trouble with her hair! VICTORY!  day starting off well.  looking forward to services tonight.  i am doing a childrens class on wednesday nights and im super excited about it!

i love sundays.  no really....where most people look at sundays as the end of a weekend,  i look at it as the beginning of a new week with the Lord.  i enjoy being in the house of God and with His people.  i enjoy teaching the  2 & 3 year olds.  i like going around and shaking everyone's hand.  i love singing hte old humns & hearing the King James Version of the Bible being preached.  sundays are just wonderful.  it charges me up for the upcoming week, gets me ready to go another mile for the Lord, arms me with strength!  just love it.

today i was also given the opportunity to teach childrens church.  it was so good.  we are beginning a puppet ministry, so i incorporated the puppets today.  this kids thought this was just wonderful....although the 'evil hand' puppet scared one of the little boys pretty bad.  the kids are always super hyper but also very eager to learn.

as i write (or type, rather) shelby is sitting on the love seat with bailey, who seems to be experiencing some seizure activity today.  i kinda noticed that she seemed a little out of sorts in childrens church, but then she was fine.  we got home and she was her normal self while we cooked.  i sat down to feed her and she took a couple of bites.  then i noticed that she just kept chewing...and chewing....and chewing....and chewing.  not normal.  "bailey....bailey"  she wouldn't look at me, just staring off into space.  Hmmm, let's just go ahead and take all your clothes off so that you dont throw up on them. (which is always what she does when she seizes)  just as i expected, splotches all over her arms, chest and stomach.  her face was even splotchy.  so i get a towel under her and lay her down.  within a few minutes here it comes, puke everywhere.  so off to the shower we go.  she is lethargic, just wanting to lay down, shivering, not responding to things we say to her.  i get her cleaned up and we settle her back down, this time with big sister.....who after 8 years has become the 'mommy' when bailey is sick.  then, more puke....the second one is always different, foamy and frothy.  (tmi?!)  so now she is resting, sleeping on shelby.  you know shes ill when she just sleeps and nothing wakes her.  thats serious business!  shelby hates to see bailey like that.  she gets so worried.  bailey is just sitting there sleeping and shivering all over. 

so, i guess i may be sitting out services tonight.  i hope not, though, because we are having a going away fellowship for michael's brother, gary.  we will see.  sometimes these things come and go within a few hours, other times they last all day.  say a little prayer if you will for little bailey dyan!

hi there all followers!  i am so excited about bailey's new blog.  i am trying to just post one thing a day.  and im really hoping that my memory will serve me well!  hehehe.  i am enjoying this walk down memory lane, but i can already tell that i will at some point get all emotional bout it! ha!  for those of you who know me, im not one of those 'show my emotions' 'cry in public' type people....idk why, just not.

things at the homefront are going well.  the kids are all doing well in school.  we have had michael's brother, gary, living with us since october.  he has recently accepted a position in missouri at new beginnings girls/boys academy.  we will be taking him up there next week.  he is super excited to get busy doing the work of the Lord and using his life to honor Him.

i am beginning a puppet ministry on wednesday nights.  im so excited about this.  the kids really like puppets and it really holds their attention.

anyhoo, not much else to update on.  i am reading thru my Bible this year in chronological order.  kinda neat to do it that way.  i am listening to one of those men with that calming english accent read it to me while i follow along.  love it!  i think it sinks in better that way.

NEW BLOG

hello there everyone!  i have a new blog.  just created it this morning.  its about my daughter, bailey, who is autistic. kinda of a going back in time journey...her whole story.  come along with me on this one!

forbaileyssake.blogspot.com

Story of the day....u ready for this?

we get up and get dressed. i put on baileys shirt and skirt. then later her socks and shoes. we went to eat and then to walmart. the whole time she was a little fussy....nothing out of the ordinary with bailey. then we come home for a few minutes and decide to go play tennis...which is in itself quite a story!....she began to get super fussy. like screaming and scratching...snot slingin everywhere. again, she can throw some fits, so we just distanced ourselves from her and let her wail it out. we get home and she is getting worse. her videos arent helping, holding her doesnt help, even food doesnt help. michael suggests we do a 'body search', but never did. later, i decide to take her shoes off cuz she was actin like her feet were hurting. Ah Ha, you wont believe this....a rubber bouncy ball comes rolling out of her shoe! i felt so horrible. how could i have missed this?!

poor thing. it just made me realize anew how much she depends on us. she is 'non verbal', she cant tell us what is going on with her. we never know if she has a headache, a toothache, an itch somewhere...anything. it is our job to be on top of everything, to know exactly what she needs when she needs it. my poor little girl was in pain for hours and had no way of letting us know! i remembered again how helpless she truly is withhout us!

after we got it out of her shoe her demeanor immediately changed. she was sweet and playful again! anyway, thought id share our adventure of the day!

btw- made some awesome shrimp & chicken gumbo today! mmmmm!!!

i am so thankful for all of the special people in my life. i have so many friends who are near and dear to me. but there are certain ones that the Lord places directly into our lives for a purpose! i have one of these kinds of friends! she was brought into my life and it seemed as tho i had known her forever and ever! like we had grown up in the same house and knew everythink about one another. we just immediately clicked. whats better is that we rnt just good friends, she lifts me up spiritually. its not just all about chit chatting and jokin; we talk about our faith and the Word of God and discuss questions we have about the Bible and our Christian walk. we pray together and share victories with one another. she understands me so well and knows when i need a little encouragement without me even saying a thing!

i just want to take a moment to thank her so much for being an uplifting person, for caring and loving me, for taking time to pray for me, for giving it to me straight when she needs to, for backing off when needed, for sharing humor on a daily basis...the list goes on and on. she really means the world to me and i never want to take her for granted!

so, before i write a novel, i will end by just saying a sincere thank you! I thank God every day for having such a wonderful person in my life!

i totally pride myself on this fact, 'i never get sick'. its for real. i never get a cold, flu, anything! and im a mom and everyone knows that even if a mom gets sick, the house still has to be run! nothing really ever gets me down....except a headache. michael lives with headaches all the time and just keeps going...me, no sir, if i get a headache im down for the count. well, i had a huge one today! i woke up and got bailey & brody dressed for school and then crawled in the bed beside michael and told him that i just couldn't make it today. i canceled ladies visitation...thats when you know its serious! and i didnt text all day....now that is super serious business! i stayed in bed ALL DAY. no, really, all day. and whats worse is that i slept for 95% of that time. my head just felt like it would explode at any given time. i got very nauseous and that wonderful super sonic breakfast burrito i ate came right back up! michael took such good care of me. he brought me some hot apple cider which was so warm and good! he got me some dayquil and cough drops. he went and got the kids from school and took care of them. he cooked supper, too. anyway, as of right now (8:35pm) i feel some better. my head is still hurting but its much better!
just thought id share!!!!!