An Answer To All Those Pesky Email Forwards

To all my friends who sent me promises of good luck if I forwarded something in 2007, it did NOT WORK.

For 2008, could you please just send either money, chocolates or gas vouchers?

Thank you!

21st Century

You know you are bringing up your kids in a whole different era then your own when your five your old looks at you and says:

"Do people actually drink water from the sink?"

Post by Heather

Prayers For Baghdad

I happened upon this prayer site today and immediately loved the commitment to pray for Baghdad. The military and its mission is close to my heart, but even more so the plight of those we are there to defend and liberate. The Bible says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against an invisible force that wages war against the very souls of men. What an awesome opportunity we have here: to fight the real battle by joining hundreds of others in prayer for this ravaged area.

Will you join in the fight?

(posted by Reese)

I'm Back Too!

Bursting back into the cyber world is like breathing again, though I can't say not having the distraction of the internet harmed my housekeeping skills or my goal of catching up to Heather in books read this year. It's amazing how much time there is in one day, without the pull of the web. There is a reason it's called a web, you know.

Almost daily I've had posts swirling through my head with no way to satisfy the urge to share them, and now that I can, I'm drawing a blank! I do recall something about turnips and something else about the spiritual strongholds in different regions of the world, but I'll save those for a different day. It's nearly 9pm in my little corner of England and my bed is whispering my name.

I'm so glad to be back, so happy that Heather and her family are better, and looking forward to pouring out my thoughts in the next few days, whether those thoughts be about root vegetables or not.

(posted by Reese)

I'm Back....I Hope!

I've returned from the land of the living dead. That's really how I felt. I ended up having at least two rounds of the flu and a sinus infection, and then once I got on antibiodics I had a bad reaction to those and had to go off them. I managed to take them for three days and am feeling much better so I think I'm finally headed in the right direction. If I had my way I'd still be taking a 3 hour nap every afternoon, but for some odd reason some people think I need to work! :)

Now I'm back to work, my desk is piled high and here I am blogging. I'm great at procrastinating and making bad decisions! :)

I wanted to just give you a quick note letting you know I am back. I received a wonderful handwritten letter from Reese. I haven't received a handwritten letter in years from anyone and loved reading it. She is without internet for awhile but I think she may be back on next week. I am attempting to write her back, but it's not working out too well. My handwriting looks like I've worked in a law office far too long!

Apologies, and the Mindless Rambling of a Woman Shut Away From Proper Society For Too Long

Man, I feel terrible. I committed to blogging every day for a year with Heather, then I abandon her. And while she's sick, no less. Heather, you have my sincerest appreciation for valiantly keeping up the blog, and my deepest apologies for crapping out on you.

Actually, I'm sitting at the library right now because we don't have internet at home yet. I haven't even left my house for nearly two weeks, other than a half day out with Tim last Saturday, because we only had one vehicle we could legally drive and Tim was using it for work. Today the second van passed inspection, so from here on out I'll have more freedom to leave the house, and I plan to tote the laptop with me in search of wireless internet on base so I can check in more often.

I hope you and your family are feeling better, Heather. Give McKenna a big sloppy kiss for me, and search her armpits for those ladybugs that I told her lived there! LOL!

It's Mother's Day this weekend here in England. I'm thinking of cashing in on it, and going back for round two in May. What do you think?! Is that fair?!

ALSO... anyone have Leap Day plans this year? Shouldn't we all celebrate that day when it rolls around? I just heard today that February 29th is the only day women are allowed to propose to men, but since I'm going on 15 years of marriage, I won't be celebrating that way. I'm thinking about something really bizzare (as any celebration of a day that is only a day once every four years should be) like eating purple oatmeal breakfast or skipping rope while singing the national anthem or making all my meals lemon-centered. Any other ideas?

More Prayers Please

I feel like this blog is turning into "Heather's Whine Fest". My family is really sick. We are not the only ones going through this. Apparently there were 9 missing from my son's class today. My son still has a fever and headaches, my oldest also is enduring a bad cough and head ache, I have a horrible cough and no voice...trust me, the list goes on and on. The school informed me today that this sickness drags on for weeks. You may think your child is okay, send them to school and by mid day their fever spikes up again and they are sent home.

I talked with my doctor today and was informed that this lasts about 3 weeks and frequently turns into pneumonia or bronchitis.

Well, I am done. My poor children are done. They can't miss so much school, I'm missing a lot of work, this is just overwhelming.

Anyway...see what I mean about my whine fest!

I'm going to take a little blog break (I think) but will be back when my family is well and I can think clearly enough to blog about something not as depressing as my family right now. Hopefully my next post will be about the wedding and the time spent on the mountain. It really was a highlight for me, one that I am not sure how to put into words, but I will try.

AMAZING!

That is the only word for the wedding and the 36 hours around it. I got home at midnight last night and had to drive through a blizzard to get here, but I made it. I'm not going to recap now, I'm still sick and pretty drained. I took cold medicine so I'm pretty loopy. It was an honor to be in this wedding and I had a great time.

I can't wait to see the pictures, they took some pretty creative shots. If the bride lets me, I will share a few here.

A Few Days....

Our blog may be ignored for a few days. We want to post everyday in 2008 and so far we are off to a great start. We have posted 57 times already and there have only been 53 days..so, techinically we are a few days ahead.

I am headed out tomorrow morning to go to my friends wedding. She's getting married on beautiful Mt. Hood. I am destined to be freezing, but hey, whatever the girl wants...there is NO DOUBT how beautiful it will turn out.

I am assuming that Reese does not have internet access right now. I have not heard from her since the 15th. I am missing her terribly. Anyway, unless Reese suddenly re-appears then I will not be posting until Sunday.

Thanks so much for your prayers. I am feeling much better, I sound horrible but feel better. Two of my kids were home sick today and I'm hoping we are all better by Saturday. The girls are coming to the wedding with my mom and Mark is staying home with Dad for a boys day..so, we all have big plans and all need to be feeling much better!

Have an incredible weekend!

Post by Heather

Missing Our Friends

I think Reese stole little McKenna's heart the last time she was here and McKenna totally adores her. I think it must have something to do with that extra special gift that Reese put around her neck.

The other night as I was sitting down to blog, McKenna came and sat with me. As she was looking at the picture of Reese & I she said "When is Reese coming back to be with us?". I told her I had no idea, that she was back in England and that I wasn't sure when they would be back. Her response was "If you ask her, she will come."

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Post by Heather

I'm Sick

I almost didn't post tonight because, well..quite frankly, I don't feel like it - LOL! I am sick! And, feeling whimpy! :) Please pray for me. I am in a wedding this weekend for one of my oldest friends, we have been together for 27 years..that's a long time! Please pray that I get better, and as it looks as if each of my family members slowly comes down with what I have, please pray for a speedy recovery.

Thanks...Heather

A Legacy

I had the privilege of attending a celebration funeral on Saturday. I know that sounds strange "a celebration funeral". It was. This man was amazing. A.M. passed away at 80 years old. He was part of the back bone of the church I grew up in. I can't imagine walking in the doors and not seeing him. He has been a part of my life for the last 25 years. I was not close to A.M. but he was always there.

The first thing you would notice about A.M. was his gigantic grin that was always on his face and his extreme love for people. He was a teacher and a track coach. He loved to help people reach their full potential. Many of the people that spoke at his funeral had been a part of his track team 30 or 40 years ago. The one thing they all remembered was his love and fairness. A.M. would celebrate everyone's personal best, even if that person didn't win an award.

The thing that struck me as I sat on the opposite side of the sanctuary, watching the family was his legacy. You take one look at his family, and our church, and you see it. You see his sons, with the same grin, love their children and are helping them be the best they can be. I am thankful that my oldest is good friends with one of A.M.'s grandchildren and Amanda benefits from A.M.'s legacy whenever she spends time with this family. One son is now the high school PE teacher and track coach, taking over for his father. I saw A.M.'s teaching and love first hand as his son, and teenage grandson would rock and walk my terminally ill nephew during church services so that my sister could sit through a service.

A.M. did not feel it necessary to preach at people, they closed the service with the words of the man who said "Preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words". A.M. was a man of few words but Christ's love shone through in the way he loved and treated every person around him.

So, I can't help but wonder. What is my legacy? Is it one of love and compassion for those around me like A.M.? I don't think that I am even remotely capable of loving to the extent that A.M. did, but I have had the privilege of having a wonderful example and I can strive to be like that.

Post by Heather

My new desktop, created by the kids......

Post by Heather