"Monday" kinda day..

Yesterday was one of those days... It was a "Monday" although it was Tuesday! We had taken a long weekend off. Hubby had a four day, so we enjoyed a three day! :) We finished school on Friday early, before lunch! :) It was a great break!! We enjoyed the weekend spending time with friends and a day at the park! So, I guess the Mondays had just lingered.. Not sure. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. The computer system for school was not working. You could log on and then it would log you out or the computer would freeze up. Class connect sessions wouldn't work right either.. So that seemed to set my mood.. It was after a cup of coffee, but just seemed to set the rest of the day off.. I tried to keep it under control and not take it out on the kids, but I have to be honest I did.  With everything off and crazy, I started stressing and wanting to just get the day over with! Then started worrying that we would be doing school ALL day long... I am still working on this part of the home school it is okay if it takes a while and etc.. It didn't take all day, we did leave a little to make up today, but wasn't too bad.  Anyway.. when hubby came home he found me in our room laying on the bed with the door shut. When asked what was wrong, I told him. I just wanted some peace and quiet. Of course he didn't leave me alone either.. So I just got more aggravated. Rested a little longer and then it was time for dinner. I still felt tensed and frustrated... So as I did dinner.. I slammed this or that.. Yea real mature right? Just one of those days..  At dinner, realizing that not only was I in a bad mood, but now hubby seemed to be. I also noticed the kids seemed to be quiet and we getting along for the most part.. Oh would this day just be over! So I went back to my room shut the door after dinner and enjoyed a little quiet time - just me!

When I got up I was just relaxing watching TV with hubby and checked Facebook..  A friend had posted this article Mom sets the Tone. Yep.. Conviction! Not only did my bad mood affect my day, but it also changed hubby's attitude from when he came home. I had to agree, my mood definitely set the tone for my household.. Yeah what a great day... Definitely didn't feel like the "mom" I want to be or even think I am!

Praying that your days no matter how bad, we can overcome and hold in that "bad" attitude and not affect the rest of our household. Also that we can recognize that there will be days no matter how hard we try it will just be that.. a BAD day!! We can apologize and pray tomorrow will be a MUCH better day!!

For the record... I controlled my attitude a lot better today. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

We enjoyed a great visit with family over our Christmas break. There was no drama this time and it was a really good visit. :) Over 3300 miles traveled there and back. We got back with about four days to spare before we had to get back in the grove of things. Good thing, I think we just slept those few days. Hubby and I were worn out! Didn't help that I had/still have a cold I picked up somewhere along the way. My voice is finally coming back though! :)

We are slowly getting back into the grove of things here. We skipped group this week since Monday was our first day back to school and I knew it was going to be a challenge. It went fairly smooth though. The last few days has surprisingly! I haven't really pushed things either just trying to get us going again and it probably hasn't helped that I haven't felt 100% either.

We found out yesterday where we are supposedly headed. I say supposedly cause you never know til you get there if it will stay that or not. We will be here longer though, since hubby got a follow on course too. Dates are still to be determined since we don't know the dates of the class yet. Everyone is just assuming.. I will not post where just yet. Just in case... :)

Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! May this year be full of many blessings!!

Wow.. Long time no see..

Wow! I can not believe it has really been that long since I have blogged! Life has just passed by.. Quick catch up.. I will back up a bit... lol

I got a job I wasn't looking for.. I wanted to volunteer to interpret on post and was denied because I didn't have a piece of paper. It was prophesied over me that it was my time to step into the lime light and that God was going to expand my ministry. The next day I got an email to interpret on post! That client started coming to church and became quite an experience for me, good and bad. Not long after that as I continued to work with the office in town as a volunteer to learn more about the Deaf community, I was contacted by a Technical College in the area to interpret.. Yep, I wasn't looking! So I thought ok.. I will see where this goes. I was hired and worked there for two years. Three clients and lots of fun and experience! :) Plus the extra money wasn't too bad either..

Hubby came home from a short deployment that I talked about before! :) Safe and sound!  Went on a much needed family vacation to Disney world! :) Had so much fun!!

Ministry continued. Good and bad. Learning process continues..  God is faithful.

I witnessed two beautiful miracles of children being born. One was not a great experience and I thank God for getting me through that situation. The baby was very early and was not fully developed. She lived an hour. I was the one to tell the mom she had passed. I was the interpreter. The other was a sweet friend and her hubby was deployed, so I was able to do pictures. That baby will always have a special place in my heart.

I worked and hubby worked, kids went to school. Boy scouts, girl scouts, church, and gymnastics. Plus FRG stuff and E's tutoring.

Another family vacation. I made a rule no talking of upcoming deployment! Mother in law went with us. Really wasn't too bad once hubby told her there was no talking about it. I wanted to pretend it wasn't happening. (funny how I remember those feelings)

Hubby deployed again a year later for a year... :(   He came home for two weeks around Thanksgiving and time went too fast! He made it safely home this past summer! :)

I ran a Cub Scout pack (den mother, advancement person, Cub Master). Then I resigned due to the changes in their policies. We continued girl scouts and gymnastics. Plus working and trying to function at home. I did not volunteer as much as I would have liked with my work schedule, but I tried. I really enjoyed working and it kept me busy while hubby was gone.

We took another family vacation and moved!

We are here for a short time and a new adventure for us has began. I am homeschooling the kids. I had felt lead this last year to do it. E couldn't get the help he needed with reading and even though he was improving, it was due to the private tutor we paid for. It had nothing to do with the school there. I was deeply disappointed. A concerned parent should mean something. Just my opinion.. anyway.. Maybe it was friends pulling kids out and doing it. Maybe it was friends already doing it. Not sure, but I was praying. Then we found out we were moving for training and it was 6 months. That meant the kids would be in 3 schools in one year! So, we are doing the K12 online. I am really liking it and I am still in total shock that I say that! lol  Yes we have crazy days where I want to go crazy, but I like it. I think E is doing good with the one on one attention and I pray it is helping and not just a momma's heart. :)

Thanksgiving was good. Family came to visit and we did a lot of tourism around here. It was good to see some of the places we have not seen in four years.

Life went on.. I think that is a quick recap.. I am sure there is a lot of things left out, but that is a majority and most would bore you! :)

Be blessed!
Hugs

God is G- double O - D Good! :)

I have to admit, I am not feeling all that great.. I think this new ministry is really great! However, what does the enemy do when we try to do something to grow in the Kingdom of God? You got it! ATTACK! So, with that in mind, I want to give a praise not a complaint!

Sunday was our very first Deaf Ministry baptism!!! It was so exciting!! I felt honored to be a part of that wonderful life changing experience! Most of our church was all on a high that day. We had one other to be buried in the name of Jesus that day as well. The last two Sundays, we have baptized four!! God is really good!  I have a video of the baptism, but I cannot get it to upload, so I will have to do that later. I was disappointed when I watched the video, because I realized I had used a few wrong signs, I am moving on though and trying not to let that get me down!

I loved how E smiled most of the morning at church. God is really working in this man's life. When he first started coming back since I have been interpreting, he didn't say much to any of us. He came in late and left as soon as he could. Now, he is praying at the altar and he is staying to talk to us a little. He even calls me on the VP from time to time. :) On Sunday, he just seemed to smile the whole time! It was truly amazing! When he came up out of that water, he started to pray. He even started talking and saying "I love you Jesus" and Hallelujah!! :) For him to use his voice was a big thing, because I have been trying to get him to use it while praying and he did!!!!! :) I couldn't help but be so excited and cry at the wonder of God! He is truly AMAZING!!!

Here are a few pics of the baptizing! I will tell you that I am going to add one that isn't great of me, but I have to share because that sweet smile on E's face makes it all worth it! :) It doesn't matter that all my emotion from the prayer was shown! I have been told that I interpret with attitude, I guess that could be right. :) I have some proof now.. lol  However, I am learning more and more that emotion says everything to the deaf. I will try to upload the video soon if I still cannot get it to work today. :)

 

Be Blessed!
Hugs,
Lanitha

The Lord is working...

I have a lot to catch up on here, but tonight isn't going to be the night... we'll I don't think so.. LOL

We had a good time at the GCMC, Sunday School Conference. Lots of folks there and many had very nice things to say to us about our deaf ministry. I was a little surprised after they had asked me to go to interpret, that it was advertised, but maybe that was for the best. Also saw a few people from our last church and they were surprised to see me. I guess they thought I was in NC or maybe even still Japan. They told me I had been holding out on them with the interpreting.. Not really, God has done this! So I shared that story. :)

Saturday was our 11th Anniversary! I don't know where the years have gone. I sure know one thing for sure, I cannot imagine my life without that man! He has really changed me along the years and I think we have really grown together. I am so proud to call him my husband and even more so to call him my HERO! I cannot wait til he gets home!  I will have to say that after about three weeks of no contact from him, I was about to pull my hair out. It really drives me crazy. Friday night, well Saturday morning for him, I got a call.. I heard those favorite words I love to hear.. "Hey Babe.. " Yes I YELLED!!!! The girls in the car knew immediately who it was! :) I had to pull over so they could drive and I could talk. I couldn't concentrate on how to get into that McDonald's when I was so excited! :) It was great and made my day!! I have to admit though, that once we were getting off the phone I got all choked up and cried. It was happy tears, but sad at the same time. I sure miss my man!

Sunday at church was awesome! I am still battling something and trying to find the direction I am supposed to be going. I know I was brought here, well maybe I should say, I think I was brought here to start this deaf ministry. However, is it just to start and then step down or what? I am confused and I feel a leading in different ways and so unsure. Part of me feels it is the spirit of fear and that I got my confirmation of sorts on Sunday. The sweet deaf gentlemen that comes sometimes, that for some reason everyone is afraid of and says he gets offended easy over signs. Well, so far so good! :) He seems sweet to me and he just smiles at me when I mess up or I don't understand him. He is patient and I think the fact that he keeps coming back, says a lot! :) Anyway, Sunday he went to the altar and was praying! I was so excited! I prayed with him and D (deaf lady) talked to him later and he has decided to be baptized! He called me on the VP last night and asked me to call the Pastor and see if he would. I knew he would, but I called and everyone is so excited!! This will be our first deaf ministry baptizing!! I am so excited!!!!

Well, I had to share those tidbits of my last few days. I hope all of you are having a blessed week so far! :)

Hugs,
Lanitha

Pickle Jar

Got this in an email and after reading it after service tonight, I thought it was definitely worth sharing. Enjoy!


The Pickle Jar    

The pickle jar, as far back as I can remember. Sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar.

As a small boy, I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar.    They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled.   I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar to admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the  bedroom window.

When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank.   Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back." Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. "These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me."

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other.   "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters," he said.  "But you'll get there; I'll see to that."

No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill,and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar.   To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me.  "When you finish college, Son," he told me, his eyes glistening, "You'll never have to eat beans again - unless you want to."

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed.   A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words: he never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done.

When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. 

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents.

After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild.

Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. 'She probably needs to be changed,' she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes.   She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. 'Look,' she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. 
  
To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak.   This truly touched my heart. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings.  Never underestimate the power of your actions. 

With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse.   God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for GOOD in others.   The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller   - Happy moments, praise God.   - Difficult moments, seek God.   - Quiet moments, worship God.   - Painful moments, trust God.   - Every moment, thank God. 

Good times.. :)

The last few days have been exciting and fun! :)  I had some family come down to visit and hang out. We had a great time! We didn't do a lot, but it was still fun just to visit and spend time with one another. It has been too long!


They only had one request when they got here, that was to eat at Paula Deen's. :) So, we tried to make a reservation online, but couldn't. You can only do it online if it is for 10 or more people. They start making reservations there on the curb at 930. So, we had hoped it being a weekday it wouldn't be too bad. We went shopping here and then got my kids out of school around 2. Drove over there to see if we could get a reservation, we could but it was for 8 p.m with four kids, that is NOT going to work. Tried to make the reservation for the next day while we were there, but they wouldn't. So, we surprised the kids and drove over to the beach! :) They loved it! It was cold here, well in the high 70's but the water was cool. We only let them get their feet in. They still had fun and played in the sand and even found a few shells. :)  Since we hadn't planned on the beach, we just drove through the drive thru and got supper and drove on home. :)

The next day we decided to drive back over earlier and make our reservation. It meant two trips there and back and it is about an hour drive, but we decided it was going to be worth it! :) After I got my kids off to school, we finished getting dressed and headed on over there. We got there about 1030 or so, and couldn't believe it, but they had room for us for an early lunch!! So, needless to say we hurried up and found us parking and went to lunch! Most of us got the buffet, but one of us ordered the Chicken Pot Pie. It was okay. The buffet was pretty good and had a lot of different stuff, so we were able to try a little bit of everything. For dessert we got to have a a pick between bannana pudding, warm peach cobbler, or some chew chocolate chip thing. We each got a different one and shared! :)  Yes, no worries I took pictures! :) lol   Well, I didn't bring my camera, but my cousin had hers so we all borrowed her camera! :)  We also found out while we were eating that one of her son's had been there a little earlier that morning, but had left for some interview or something.. Oh MAN!  After we finished eating, we went to shop at her little shop next door to the restaurant. Neat little gifts and keepsakes. I don't know much about Paula Deen, but it definately got me interested! :) I think I would really like one of her country cookbooks and should have gotten me one, but maybe next time! ;)  I did get me a t-shirt, magnet, and S.L.U.T.S pen.. (Southern Ladies Under Tremendous Stress!) LOL   Just couldn't resist.. lol

Between our four kids, it was fun just to let them play, after we were able to get in yesterday for lunch and all, we decided to just spend the rest of the evening/day at my house. I was finally able to cook for them! I had planned on cooking while they were here. Plus, that would keep hubby happy that I wasn't spending money. :) (If I save while he is gone, I get to get my new living room suit when he gets back.)  :)  The kids I think liked that better anyway. They played at the park and just running around the house. Good memories! I didn't get many more pics of them all playing like I meant to. When we came back from Paula Deen's, I was able to get pictures of my cousin's girls playing at the park, and meant to take more of them all playing, but hubby called and then D came by so, I was distracted and missed the opportunity to get more pics of them all together.

The picture of the three of us didn't turn out to well either.. LOL   We had Bubba take it at the beach, but I was squinting and the wind was blowing, I don't think any of us liked any of the shots he got.. LOL  They are funny to look at though. I wanted to get another shot of us, but we didn't have time this morning. They wanted to try to get on the road and stop at an outlet mall they saw on the way here. I was tempted to follow and shop! :)

Their visit was definitely a good distraction and I think we all had a great time! :)  Even if one of her girls was sick (ear infection and cold) and not a happy camper and they left here with scratchy sore throats and I am still coughing and have  lots of head congestion.. It was still fun!  I told them they had to come back when we could get the men to take care of the kids and we could go shopping and have a girls night with just the three of us. :)

I hope you are all having a blessed week!

Lanitha