Like the Change?

I am trying to get in to the holiday spirit by first changing my blog to a Christmas layout. If you know me at all, I love change! Christmas music on the radio also helps me get into the Christmas spirit. I only wish my tree and decorations were up. This has been a great Thanksgiving weekend and now I am ready to tackle the busy, busy week ahead. I finally finished the paperwork on the late additions of approximately 50 children attending the Promises Christmas event, and I need to get those kiddos adopted between now and Sunday. Tuesday I am accompanying my Pastor, Mike, to the Kiwanis luncheon. He has asked me to speak for a few minutes about the upcoming Promises Community Christmas event and I will show a two minute video.

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Pat will have another endoscopy done on Thursday just as a follow up. By the way, I want to share with you what Dr, Dave's reply was when Pat asked him when his follow-ups should be in the future. Dr. Dave replied that he didn't know. He has never had a patient that has caught esophageal cancer as early as Pat did! That is another reminder again of God's miracles!

Have a great week!

Jeremy Camp

Thanks to our friends, Marnie and Michael, Pat and I were able to join them for Jeremy Camp's concert Monday night. It was a fan appreciation free concert that was held in a church in the metroplex. I enjoyed it the concert because it felt intimate and not very crowded. This was my third time see him in concert. His new album was dropping the next day, so we were able to hear his new songs! Thanks Marnie and Michae! What a treat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sis and her family with their goats! I had to get a picture of them when they were running them Thanksgiving morning! So dedicated!

My nephew Kelton and their new puppy Lindy

(named after an OU football player)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Our family has so much to be thankful for. It has been one challenging year, but blessings have been abundant, and God has had such a presence in our lives. I am so thankful for you, our friends and family that carried us this year through your love, encouragement and prayers. Today I am in Oklahoma with my family and we have had a great time. I certainly have eaten all the things I love and usually feel guilty about (like the left over rolls with tons of butter I just polished off!) The food was so good and I can't wait to eat leftovers tomorrow, especially pie! Pat and the kids went back home a few hours ago. Gosh, that is hard seeing your family leave without you. Bubba and Sis have to work early in the morning, so they had to scoot back home. I am going to stay a little longer to hang out with Mom and Dad. Kelly and her family is here as well. I hope that your day was special!

Hugs!

I Am Up To Late For Me!

This is a late post for me, but I am churning out labels after labels so that I can have about 210 kids (so far) adopted by Sunday morning for the Promises Christmas Event. Each child gets a gift with clothes and another gift is their toy wishes so labels have to be made. I also did a couple of floral arrangements for the Christian Women's Job Corp's graduation ceremony for tonight. So, I have been at the church for most of the day and then drove over to G's basketball game by 7:00 p.m. Whew! It was a close game and we got beat by one point. Hubby is out of town, so I usually stay up late while he is gone. Cash is moping around here looking for him. What I keep thinking about is his hair that is on the floor and needs to be swept. I will get to that tomorrow morning, first thing!

Nite, Nite!

Hugs!

God Is So Good!

Again, we come before you God and say thank you! Pat had a CT and blood work done last week and we just returned from seeing his oncologist, Dr. Ross, to get the results. Everything is clear! When the first test was run in June they found lesions on the liver. So, this test was done to check that out and also see how his rearranged stomach is doing! Dr. Ross was quite pleased and needless to say, we are so excited!

Hugs!

Red Ink and Snow

See that nice red, pen. I had one just like it that I use every morning to journal. Now that ink from the pen is all over the carpet in the middle of the living room floor. I know you know who did it! Cash! Thursday, I was packing and preparing to leave for Denver. I was trying to have the house all picked up and looking nice before I left. I heard the quiet and went to check on Cash. It was all over the carpet. It was also all over his feet. I had to pick him up and carry him to his kennel. OMG! I couldn't believe it and I worked on those spots for two hours. I immediately got on the Internet to get instructions on red ink on the carpet. The first web site said use alcohol. The second website said use OxyClean. The third site Dawn....fourth baking power..etc. I called my sister and she said try milk. Nothing was working and I had to finish packing and get out the door. Not to mention that I had to get soapy water and clean Cash's feet. My good friend, Marnie, said she had a bottle of magic that might just fix it. It is not gone yet, but getting pinker. Thanks so much Marnie! Cash better be glad that I love him!
I got back a few hours ago from Denver! Friday they had their first snow and it was beautiful! We were about 30 minutes out of Denver in Parker. My sister, Kelly, and I had a really good time with Dana and Greg. Dana had a very long list for me and we hit it Friday morning! We picked out paint colors, flooring, lighting, rugs, bedding, bought decor items, etc. I also did a few floral arrangements last night. We finished last night about 1:30 a.m. I am tired, but I cherish the time with Kelly and thankful for the opportunity to spend a long weekend with her. It is nice to be home and I would like to think it is a good time for the guys at home to miss me and appreciate me!
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I hated missing G's game Thursday, but Dad and Bubba were there to cheer him on. I asked them to be obnoxious for me, but they said no! G's team won! Can't wait until next Thursday!

Hugs!

No Good-byes, Just See Ya Later

You know, I have been married 24 years and you think saying good-bye would be easier when I leave hubby, but it is not! Why? I am leaving tomorrow for Colorado to do a decorating job. My sister, Kelly, is going with me because it is her sister-in-law. We have been trying to get this trip in now for about nine months. I am excited to spend some one-on-one time with my sis and this will be the first time we have actually taken a trip together. I know...that is sad. Dana, her sister-in-law, has a huge list and we will be running around like crazy fools. Love that though. I love to shop and would rather use her money instead of mine! Pat has to go out of town tonight for a board meeting, so our paths will not cross until Sunday. I am trying to make it easy for him while I am gone. I am actually trying to think ahead of what he might need while the "mom" is gone. I will make sure the dishwasher is ready to be loaded and the house is picked up with groceries stocked. I will make sure that the boys are all lined out in what they have going on. I will rely on Bubba to cart G around! That guilt creeps in when I leave and I know that shouldn't happen, but it does. I have always had a hard time telling my kids good-bye when I travel or gone for an extended stay. Well, now that I think of it, I don't even like it when I go to the ranch without them. Well, I better get to that "to do" list as it keeps getting longer. Say a prayer for them and me!

Hugs!

Another Miracle

Do you remember Joe? To read more details about him click here. Joe is the man who had the same surgery in September as Pat did to remove his esophageal cancer and I asked for you to pray for him. I saw another miracle today because Joe was baptized this morning! As I stood in church this morning with his daughter, Sherri, along with her husband and two small children as he was being baptized, I just cried! I was so thankful that Joe received the great gift of salvation and I was able to witness this amazing transformation. Joe was such a sick man in September and I wondered at the time if he would make it through. He was in the hospital over two weeks as he had to have the same surgery again to repair a leak in his esophagus. I am reminded again today that God is still the God of Miracles and he allowed me now to witness two. "Thank you, Lord, for your healing hand upon Joe and through his painful journey he found you! May you continue to pour your love and blessings upon Joe as he walks hand in hand with you each day". Amen

Click Here Please

Follow Kat's suggestion and visit the Animal Rescue Site as they are having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes about 20 seconds to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. It's easy too. Click here

She also says that when you click on this or on the breast cancer widget, you can do both at the same time by just following the tabs across the top of the page.

I did it. It is easy!

The Summit

I was asked to join our church summit which was strategic planning for the church's future and goals for the next five years. It was held Thursday from 12:00 to 8:00 pm and today from 8:00 to 3:00 pm. I would describe the summit as fascinating as I have never been part of a planning committee such as this. To put 27 people in one room (all different ages) and throw out our ideas of strengths, weaknesses, mission statement, core beliefs, etc., you would be amazed of how much you can accomplish with an experienced leader in strategic planning. Whew! My brain is mush!

Crazy ADD Mom

It is crazy this time of year! This time of year I have to stay focused. I do a lot of fretting and praying! I ask God to keep my ADD intact. It is not unusual for Pat to come home and the laundry is not finished and there are no groceries. The floor may have been swept, but the piles of dirt have not been picked up and put in the trash. The car may look like I have lived in it for days. The vacuum cleaner just might be in front of the back door because Cash was chewing G's football gloves so I scolded him and sent him outside. This time of year is when you hear me say "Your on your own for dinner!". Yesterday my sister calls me and says that Dad asked "Is Paige stressed?" Well, maybe! But.......it is for a good cause! I am in the middle of planning this Christmas dinner for 500. This is only temporary insanity and I love it that my family is patient with me. I love it that they enjoy this event as much as I do and only gripe a little when it is peanut butter and jelly for dinner. I love you, my little family, for putting up with me!

Hugs!

Football Comes to An End

No. 1 is my boy!

G had his last football game as an eighth grader tonight. They had a good season and it went by so fast! He twisted his ankle during the game, so he is limping around tonight. He is ready for basketball season to start and that is my favorite sport! Can't wait! Go Cougars!

Bubba The Hunter

Can you see the ground blind?

Bubba shot an 8 point this weekend! Just wish I didn't have to see the tongue. He and his dad started gutting it after the ball game Saturday night (TX and TX Tech) and they didn't return from the processor until 1:30 a.m. in the morning. That is dedication if you ask me! Just remember...don't ask me to go hunting. You get up too early and I will be cold. I did try shooting skeet with Bubba this weekend, but didn't do good at all and the gun kicked a little. I have a long ways to go to be a good shooter. They will probably not have the patience for me to learn anyway! Oh well...anyone seen my book?

Hugs!

Go Vote!

I stole this video from Kat's blog, because it is too cute! Take his advice...go vote!

Passing Encouragement On To You!

I have been blogging now for over a year and it is truly one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy reading about other people's lives as well and have met the most amazing women. Most of the blogger friends that I have out there are truly Believers who love the Lord and are not ashamed to testify. During Pat's journey, I received many emails and comments from bloggers I didn't even know, but were praying for our family. Please take a minute to click here and visit Melissa at Stretch Marks. She encouraged and blessed me this morning and I want to pass it along to you. I think she says it best!

Have a blessed day!

Hugs!

Meet "Weenie"

"Weenie" is about 15 hours old here.

Pat and I arrived late afternoon in Hico Friday night and discovered that one of the cows was ready to give birth. I have been around cattle my whole life, but I have never seen an actual birth. I have assisted in pulling a calf which is forcing the calf to be born by pulling it...I know it is gross, but it saves their lives most of the time. Anyway, I jumped on the four-wheeler to go watch. I found her, poor thing, in the pasture and she was not comfortable. She would getting up and down repeatedly. I could see that the baby calf's hooves were showing, but she wasn't ready yet. It got dark so I put the lights on her. She finally layed down. I was texting Pat back and forth. I wanted to make sure that she was not in trouble because she was not progressing very fast. Pat said to come and get him. Did you know that she had that baby while I was gone for ten minutes. When we rode back out there, the mama had already cleaned the calf. I was so mad. Pat did point out that she probably was waiting on me to leave! The little bull calf, pictured above, was precious. Since he was born on Halloween, I named him "Weenie". Bubba and I got to pet him the next day. I was so proud of that mama and she didn't even have a choice of an epidural! Birthing is certainly a miracle!

2008 Promises Community Christmas

This picture taken in 2007

Thursday afternoon I mailed 600 invitations for the 2008 Promises Community Christmas and a day ahead of schedule! This was due to my Wednesday night Bible Study friends who helped me stuff and put labels on the envelopes. Thank you girls! This is my fifth year to be the Event Coordinator for this wonderful event sponsored by my church. Many of you have heard me talk about it in the past. If you would like to know more about this huge party, you can read about it in my church's newsletter in which I was interviewed. To read the article click here (page 3). As I mentioned in the newsletter, this event is the most important part of my family's Christmas. We look forward to it every year and we leave there feeling blessed! Many volunteers are needed to make this dinner possible and I am grateful for each one!

Giving Thanks Challenge

In honor of the month of November and the upcoming holiday, Thankgiving, I invite you to join me for the 2nd Annual Giving Thanks Challenge! All you have to do is post one thing you're thankful for each day somewhere on your blog. It doesn't even have to be an actual thought-out post. Just start making a list on your sidebar - somewhere you can see it every day to encourage an attitude of thankfulness. Want to join...here is how: Grab the button. Copy the code under the button in my sidebar and paste it into an HTML Java Script element on your own sidebar to let all your friends know you're joining in. This is a great way to encourage your own readers to begin as well - to develop a more thankful heart. It doesn't matter if you start now, November 1st, or sometime mid-month. It's never too late to thank God for His many blessings!