June Is A Busy Month

We have lots of birthdays in June in my family! We have so many, that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get something posted for each person on their actual birthday, so I decided I would do everyone on June 30th...which is today. :)
I hope you all got your cards from me on your birthday, I'm sorry this post is a belated birthday wish.

June 2nd...my niece, Ashley in Florida turned nine! My how the time flies!
June 8th...my nephew, Levi, turned nineteen. I can't believe that. It feels like it was yesterday that I held him in my arms and played with him. Wow.
June 18th..my sister-in-law, Kathy celebrated a birthday. She was just about the only friend I had for a period of time in my life. I'm so thankful for her. (Wish we could see you all!)
June 22nd...My mother-in-law had a birthday!!! We sure do miss you, Kathy!
June 27th...My Aunt Kathleen in Phoenix had a birthday! She is the lady who introduced me to aerobic videos. It's because of her that I love to workout!! (sometimes!)

Happy Birthday to all of you! I love you all, and I am praying for you daily. I hope we can see each other again soon!!

Just Had to Share This...

I hope this post doesn't come across as "sickeningly sweet", but if it does, I apologize. As I opened up my Bible this morning, I found an added blessing. Terry had slipped me a card inside! I was so surprised to find it, and the enclosed note he had written! Here's a photo of the front:

And here's what was inside:

I had to flip the card over to see who was singing! It's Tim McGraw, in case you're wondering. I'm not at all into country music, and Terry isn't anymore! Regardless of that, however, his thoughtfulness, and the words, made my day!

I've been smiling all day, and it hasn't been a particularly good day! :] Just a regular old Friday. The calendar's full of them. But today, was a great Friday! I guess this shows what a difference a kind word, or song, makes!

I just wanted you all to know that my husband's stock just went up twenty points! ;]

Fitness Fridays: Denise Wants to Kill Me

Okay, maybe she doesn't really have it in for me, but it sure does feel like it! I've been having a lot of sinus trouble lately, and since I don't have a doctor here in blessed Hope, I am trying the "housewife, heal thyself" remedy. Basically, it's prayer,vitamins, prayer, water, rest, some exercise, and more prayer.
I recently got a Denise Austin DVD called "Blast away 10 lbs." (I first accidentally typed 109 instead of 10! Wow! Wouldn't that be amazing! Blast away 109 lbs.! Oh, but anyway, I digress...) This is a kickboxing workout, and kickboxing is an excellent way to shed fat. So, in an effort to improve circulation - which is how our bodies heal, by the way - and get fit, I did the first 20 minute workout. Okay, really, I just completed as much of this workout as my sinus-drainage head could manage. At one point I felt as though Denise had me pinned to the mat and someone was dialing 911, but then I realized it was my sinus meds making me see and hear all of that. I just stopped for a minute, steadied myself and pushed "pause." I then ran to take two huge puffs of my inhaler. Then, being the OC (obsessive-compulsive), "finish what you start, even if it finishes you" nut that I am, I went back and pushed "play." My heart was telling me "you can keep going, but I'm taking a break." Right then, Denise began the cool down...that sweet, relaxing, wonderful cool down! (From which I did not get very cool!)
I then plopped down in front of my computer with my water bottle to let you know that I worked out just because of you. I hated to sit down and type another "zero" for my efforts this week. Okay, I did it because I'm OC, but I'm OC about this blog, not you, so don't think that you're my enabler or anything. I'd be this way even if no one read my blog, because that's how I am. (I told you that I was weird!)

Have a good week, everyone!
~Valerie

PS..I had a cartoon, but I couldn't get it to fit, so maybe I'll have better luck next week! Until then, just laugh when you think of me trying to be consistent! :]

Welcome to my Home...

I had my first ladies meeting/fellowship at my home this past Saturday, June 21st. It went really well. The ladies all enjoyed the food, so that was good. If you haven't made these Apple Dumplings, then please stop what you're doing and go make them! They are absolutely delicious! My friend, Pamela, recommended them to me. She said "Valerie, if you make these, everyone will so love you." Well, I want to be "so loved" so I made them. And you know what? I think it worked! I get a lot more smiles and hellos now! ;]

Anyway, while my house looked decent, I stopped my ladies meeting preparations and ran around my house at a frenzied pace, snapping photos. Come on in, and welcome!

The entry way from the carport. The view as you enter my kitchen from the above entry way. I recently painted above my cabinets and put this apple border on. I love it!! I love red in my kitchen! It's so cheerful! The walls were already red, I just did the green beneath the border. Okay, Terry did the green beneath the border, and I did the border. I gotta be real here.To my left(not pictured) is my laundry area, sink and the stove and fridge are on the right.The living room. I just got these end tables when we moved in!! I've never had end tables before! Yay!The hallway. Not much to say here. :) To the left of the entry way is the school room. It used to be a carport, but a former pastor closed it in. I love this room! Sorry it's so dark!Another view of the school room. It needs some decorating. I've got more to do there.The dining room! I had it set up for the ladies meeting.
My bedroom. I love the wood paneling in this room! The pastor that closed in the carport also added this room, the dining room and another bathroom. What a great guy!

This is the master bathroom. It has two sinks! The shower is in another room.

Laci's room. It used to be a blueish-gray color. Now it's PINK! Maybe a little too pink, but oh well. I plan to do some kind of border or something in here eventually, just to break up all that pink! But until then, you better keep your shades on in this room!

Lauren's and Leslie's room...once again, it's a work in progress!
Mitchell's room is very unique. Two walls have a deer type paneling, and two are wood grain. I didn't know that printed paneling existed! Live and learn!There's also another bathroom down this hallway. I didn't get a photo of it.

This is the other view of the entry way. You can see it's a "catch all" type room. If I don't know where it goes, I put it in here! :)
Ah, yes! The best photo of them all! What good is a house if there aren't any people around to make it a happy place? Here's a photo or two of our ladies meeting. Your first look at some of the sweet faces of Grace Baptist Church.

Here we are doing what I love the most! Eating!! I had a great time...I think everyone else did too!

Ten Things You May Not Know About Me

Maybe I should use the sub-title, "and that you may not care to know about me." for this post. Oh, well, I feel dangerous today, so I'm leavin' it off.
I was recently trying to decide what my "style" was, or what makes me unique, aside from my being weird that is. That doesn't count. "Weird" and "unique" have two very different meanings. At least, in my mind they do. Here's what I came up with:

1. I am left-handed. Although, this isn't as unusual as it once was, it is still unique in my family. No one in my extended family, on either side, was left-handed when I was born.
2. I hold the record in my family for apologies. I was always doing something that I shouldn't or saying something that I shouldn't. To this day, I am not afraid to apologize to anyone.
3. I love the the color purple! The actual color, not the movie. I've never seen the movie, but the title piques my interest.
4. At age four or five,I told a sales lady at the Hot Springs Mall that my name was "Tina". My mother, who was nearby, shattered my dream world by explaining to the lady that my name was Valerie, not Tina. Oh how I hated my name!
5. I used to do commercials for all types of dairy products while grocery shopping with my Mom. Not for TV, but LIVE! Yes, I was object of many an odd look. And to think, my Mom still claims me! As do my brother and sister! I have a great family.
6. I love the movies Anne of Green Gables, and Anne of Avonlea. I absolutely adore those movies! My all time fave though, is It's a Wonderful Life! I adore James Stewart!
7. I love to read fiction. As young girl, I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Lauren was supposed to be named "Laura" after my favorite author. However, Terry altered her name at her birth. I named Leslie "Leslie Anne" (with an "e") because I loved the "Anne" books, and movies so much.
8. I was once struck by lightning. Not severely, but enough to scare me away indoors when the lightning starts flashing. Hey, you never know, it could strike twice!
9. I stood next to Clarence Gilliard at the Burnet Library. He was "Trivette" on Walker, Texas Ranger, and he was also on Matlock, with ANDY GRIFFITH!!!
10. Lastly, you probably don't know that I once nearly ran over Sherman Helmsley, who played George Jefferson on the Jeffersons.
Sorry, Sherman! I really loved your show!

As you can see, I'm not very unique. Maybe I should learn to love "weird"! ;]

Part Two of My Love Story

It's late. My son just lost his second tooth this week, and the tooth fairy owes him a visit...that's me. But the little stinker won't go to sleep!! While I wait for him to drift off, I thought I'd post something. How about part two of my oh-so-interesting love story? Well, if you're extremely board or awaiting your kid's journey into dreamland, then pull up your chair sit a spell. We can wait together!

I met this guy "Bumper" when I was about fourteen. Dixie didn't write to him for very long, so he slid off my radar for quite a while. We all heard about his terrible car (truck) accident in which he and his brother were nearly killed. Our church was praying for them, and, while I wasn't impressed with him at our first meeting, I was concerned for him and his brother. Hey, I had a heart! We were so relieved when they came through that okay. I later heard Evangelist Tim Green refer in a sermon to how "Bumper" took him to a great fishing spot when he had preached for his Dad. I remember being shocked that a respectable Evangelist like Bro. Green knew Bumper! Okay, I admit it, at that point I was impressed.
I didn't see him again until I was about fifteen. We were at the teen camp that my home church hosted every summer. The Bashams came wtih their young people. Mrs. Kathy, Terry's mom, was in my dorm. She was so funny! I told her all about my latest "love" interest, I even showed her pictures of whomever I was writing to at the time...yes, it's true. I only wrote to boys, I was usually never around them face to face. Now you know. Please, don't spread that around, okay? Anyway, she oooed and aahhhed over the photos. She was genuinely interested in me and my life, and I was just a kid! It meant a lot to me then, and it still does to this day! :) I also made the acquaintance of "Bumper's" brother, Joel, his cousin, Misty, and my friend, Amanda at summer camp! I made their acquaintance at camp, but we all became friends for a lifetime. I did not, however, have any actual conversations with "Bumper". Well, okay, there was one conversation.
We were all seated in the main tabernacle after the morning preaching, waiting to be dismissed for the next activity. We were being dismissed according to our birthdays. If you were born in January, March, etc. I turned around to "Bumper", who, by the way, always had blood shot eyes at teen camp for some reason. This bothered me. I later found out it was from the chlorine in the pool! Silly me! Anyway, I turned around to "Bumper" and said (way too cheerfully) "When is your birthday?"
"April 25th" he said.
"OH! Cool! My birthday is March 25th! Isn't that neat?" I asked, beaming from ear to ear, braces sparkling in the sunlight. He looked at me expression-less and responded "Yeah." As coolly as he possibly could.
I turned back around and thought "Note to self: do not attempt conversation with someone who was named after a car part." And I am proud to say, that I kept that vow to myself.
Well, almost.

To be continued...

Keeping A Promise

Okay, after just realizing that it's time for yet another installment of Fitness Friday...I cringe. I've not had a good week. In fact, to say that I haven't had a good week would be a gross understatement. I have had a very bad week. I worked out 0 times. That would be . (Zero with the ring rubbed out) So, let's move on to happier times shall we? Yes, let's!

I promised way, waaaay back when that I would share with you the wonderful story of how I met my hubby. It's definitely what I would call love-hate or hate-love kind of tale.If you care not to read on, then please feel free to stop here. Thank you. Otherwise, continue at your own risk.



I was fourteen years old, and had my first boyfriend...that would be a boy who was my friend. That was it. I did not date him, but I did write to him, as he lived far away. Occasionally, he would be at our church and we would sit in church together. It was nice to say to my friends that "Rick" (names changed to protect the innocent) was my "boyfriend". Of course, my parents and my pastor never heard me say the word "boyfriend" in regard to Rick, well, I don't think they did, anyway.I did not use this word because they believed I was too young and immature to handle having a "boyfriend"! Can you believe that? Me? Immature??? Rick, maybe, but me?

Okay. They were right, but I was in serious denial about it then.

I remember we were about to begin our annual tent meeting for the year. My Dad drove me to church on the first weeknight of the meeting (he had to work). I got there incredibly early so I could see him. But he was not there. And when he did get there, he didn't speak to me. He swished past me with nary a glance. See, I told you. He was immature. Well, I went on, undaunted, and tried to look like I fit in somewhere. I'm pretty sure I just walked around trying to look busy.

Church began. The music filled the tent to the brim. The summer heat settled down upon us. My best friend, Dixie, was home! Her family was in evangelism and they were scheduled for this meeting. It was so good to see her! She had been telling me about a guy she met, who was younger than she, who had been writing to her. (We all liked to write.)

"Valerie" Dixie said after the services were over. "I want you to meet Bumper. He and his family came down from Illinois."

"Oh. That guy you've been writing to." (How could I forget a name like Bumper???)"Okay." I followed her over to this skinny guy with dark hair and, well, rather large glasses. (Of course, I was breathtaking with my kinky, short hair and braces on my teeth.)

She ushered me outside the tent this boy, Bumper. "Valerie, this is Bumper. Bumper, this is Valerie." I managed a smile and an awkward fourteen- year- old hello, and that was about it. He didn't appear any different from every other gangily, fourteen year old boy in the world. He didn't sweep me off my feet. His greeting of "Hey." Didn't exactly bowl me over. It was definitely not love at first site. In fact, I couldn't believe Dixie had found the time or mustered the interest to even get acquainted with him.

I didn't make eye contact with him again. I don't think we had another conversation. But then, I was preoccupied with Rick, so my memory maybe a little off. Actually, you never know, all of this may just be a figment of my extremely over-active imagination! But I'm pretty sure this is all real. Anyway, I went along and talked to Rick, laughing loudly and tossing my kinky short hair about, never thinking about "Bumper" again... until Dixie let me read his latest letter to her a few weeks later. (The contents of which have permanently left my brain.)



Little did I know that this dark-haired boy would change my life forever.



To be continued...

Having Fun in the Water and Sun!

We have two sweet kiddos living right across the street from us. I know that they're sweet because I go to church with them! Nicholas and Maria have been a blessing to my kids. They ride bikes together, play at the "big tree" together, and jump on the trampoline together. One day about a week ago, they joined us for some fun in the sun on our slip and slide. It was such a joy to see my children enjoying the friendship of others kids their age. What a wonderful blessing!
In Texas, we were never able to use our slip and slide for a couple of reasons. #1. The grass had too many burrs and thorns for them to run barefoot on it. #2. Fire Ants were literally on every spot on our lawn. Every time we used the water hose, they came out of the ground in troops. We have not taken for granted the lovely green (and burr free) grass that we enjoy here in God's Country ;], or the fact that the fire ants are fewer!
I thought you might enjoy these photos!

Laci's first time in. She's getting some help from her sweet big sister.

Terry had fun spraying them with the water hose!! (He got pretty soaked as well!)

Laci enjoyed her first foray in the the world of water fun! In fact, she kept getting in the way of the kids wanting to slide! She just wanted to sit and splash. I need to get her a kiddie pool, I guess!

Here's Laci drying off in the hot sun, boy did they all have fun!!

Happy Father's Day ~

My Dad is not here to read what I'm going to write about him. He went home to be with the Lord almost four years ago. I miss him just as much today as I ever have. I have heard many people use the phrase "only in Heaven will you know how much I love you, or appreciate you, etc.". In fact, I think I've used that phrase myself a time or two! Today, however, I will not be using those words. I don't need to say that now that my Dad's in Heaven he knows how much I loved him. No, I don't say that because he knew it while he was here. The trips to the hardware store, the bike rides, the milkshakes we enjoyed, the "late, late breakfasts" we ate at McDonald's on Saturdays in the summertime, the long talks, the walks, the "wrestling matches" (tickling matches!), the laughs...these all said "I love you so much Dad! I love being with you!" Not to mention the number of times I wrote it to him, and said those words to him.

Someday, though, you can rest assured, I will be letting him know I missed him. Someday, I'll enter Heaven myself and, after seeing my dear Saviour, I'll be greeting my Dad. And we'll pick up right where we left off.

In Loving Memory of the World's Greatest Dad

Ron Courtney

I'll see you later, Partner.

Fitness Fridays: Balance Is the Key

Last week I jokingly touched on moderation in my Fitness Friday post. All joking aside, I do believe in moderation. I like being real. And I can be real about me. I am not going to be able to never eat a brownie again. I will eat tiramisu at Olive Garden again someday...I hope. I will indulge in pizza. It's going to happen. So, I am real about me. I am cutting back, not banishing forever. I am eating a balanced diet: grains, fruits, veggies, meat, dairy, and no, I'm not going to forget the itty-bitty point of the food pyramid - fats and oils, or as I like to call it, "the best part"!
While I try to maintain balance in my eating, balance in exercise is also needed. I do cardio for my heart, strength for my muscles and stretching for flexibility. These are the areas I'm working on, not the areas in which I've achieved. I have a long way to go, but I'm working.
So far, I have seen the inches vanish before the pounds do. Why is this? I asked myself. I found my answer. Muscle weighs more than fat, therefore, I am losing fat tissue, but replacing it with heavier muscle tissue, so my weight loss is less. This is good for my metabolism in the long run, so I'm going to forge ahead. I will tell you, though, that losing 3/4 of a pound at a time is not too encouraging.
I am happy to report I worked out three times this week, which was my minimum goal. Yay! I am going to try to keep my balance this week in every area.

Here's the funny for the week.

Make it a great day, everyone!



Maybe I should try this method! :)

O Glorious Love!

It is hard to believe, but fifteen years ago today, I was born into God's family.
I was fifteen years old, and traveling with my friend, Dixie, and her family. They were the assistants to tent Evangelist Jack Parchman. All summer long, Dixie traveled to exciting locations, getting to meet lots of people and singing in many tent revivals. I was privileged to travel with her for three weeks in the summer of '93. We went to two meetings, one in Raymond, Illinois and another in East Prairie, MO. Right in the middle of our last week out together, the Lord convicted me of my sin and I knew I needed to call upon Him. You may be thinking that I went forward during one of Bro. Parchman's sermons that week, but no, I didn't. Ironically, I had just finished reading my Bible for the day when the Lord convicted me. I remember it clearly. I was closing up my Bible in Dixie's travel trailer, after reading Ezra chapters 1-2, when the Holy Spirit said "Valerie, you aren't saved. Those previous professions were not sincere. You were never under conviction for your sin." I could feel the pang of conviction in my heart, and then fear! You see, I had made two professions of faith, one at age five and another at age six. I wanted to be saved, but I hadn't really understood it all. I went forward because my friends did.
Until that day in 1993,I had been living the life of a Christian, to the best of human ability, without the inward conversion by the Lord Jesus Christ. I had read my Bible through at least once already. I was a soul winner. I was faithful to the church and teen group. I tried to do right. But I wasn't truly saved. I'm so thankful the Lord brought this to my attention and that I had the good sense not to fight it. I knew I needed the Lord. I had been doubting my salvation constantly and I was ready to stop doubting! I immediately went to my friend's Mom, Janet Ault, and told her I needed to be saved. She went over the points of salvation with me and asked me if I indeed needed the Lord, I said "Yes, I know what to do." She prayed with me, and I was born into God's family. What a load was lifted on that day!
I thank the Lord for godly friends. The Lord used the Ault family as instruments to my coming to Him. My friend, Dixie has never one time tried to entice me to do wrong in the seventeen-plus years we've known each other. She has been a blessing and encouragement to me all through my life. She is a gift that I am blessed to enjoy to this day.
However, today as I reflect on the events of this day in history, there is one predominant thought on my heart and mind. I am thinking about what Jesus did for me. He not only saved me, but He has blessed me a thousand times over with grace for trials, mercy, love, peace, joy, and forgiveness. Lots and lots of forgiveness.
Today, especially, I am so thankful for the glorious love of the Saviour "that made Him stoop to save a soul like mine."

Saturday Snap Shots: The Windows of Heaven Were Opened!

I wanted to post a few photos of the many material blessings God has given us during the last three weeks we've lived in Hope.

My new washer and dryer! We had planned to purchase these with the money Terry made from the sale of our 1999 Lumina, but the church wanted to buy them for us! What a blessing!
Right before we moved in, the church had to replace the stove. This is my new one! (It's the kind that you can program to come on or shut off! Isn't that neat?)
I've owned this fridge since we got married. We had $1,000 for a honeymoon back in 1998. However, our little apartment didn't have a fridge, so we had to use $600 to purchase one. Needless to say, our honeymoon wasn't what we'd planned! The fridge had an ice maker, but we didn't have a water hookup to run it. We didn't have one in any of our six other residences, either. Until now! Yes, I now have a working ice maker! And this after nearly pitching my ice container (that holds the ice) while packing up in Texas! I'm so glad I saved it! See! It's making ice!!!
This is a view from the window above my kitchen sink! That's right, folks, you heard right! I have a window over my sink! I can look out my bird feeders and my petunias and my begonia (not pictured)! I had this interesting bird at my feeder and had to snap a photo right before church one Sunday morning. Only two of our other houses had windows over the sinks; this is something I really had missed.

The Lord has given me many material blessings, which I do not deserve. As all of this was happening, I kept expecting one of our members to say "Excuse me, there's been a terrible mistake. We thought you were someone else." But so far, that hasn't happened! [sigh of relief!] Everyone here seems to like me for who I am. We sure do feel at home.
Please keep us in your prayers as we try to reach Hope for Christ.

Fitness Fridays: Eat Less, Sweat More

The formula for weight loss isn't in the latest diet fads. It isn't in a pill, or drink. It isn't doing the "crash" diet thing, where you eat cabbage soup and water for "x" number of days. You can lose weight that way, sure. But as soon as you go back to normal eating, you will gain it back.
The best formula for weight loss is eat less, sweat more. It's really pretty simple. You shouldn't have to buy expensive meals, just eat less of your usual meals. Try to prepare healthy foods for everyone, and that can simplify your life greatly! Although, you may have some frowns at the broccoli and cauliflower that you serve! I sure get plenty of disapproval from the peanut gang in our house. By the way, I still prepare desserts for the family (and yes, for me too Dixie! ;] ). I enjoy eating desserts! The Bible says "do everything in moderation", I'm including desserts there too! :D I figure it's only wrong to eat the whole package of Oreos, not two!
I'm making very slow progress in my fitness efforts. I don't look like Denise Austin, but I'm seeing some improvement in my toning due to using hand weights. I can't boast a ten pound weight loss, but I've lost 7 (SINCE JANUARY). I'm not a skinny-mini, but I have more energy than I did in March. All of this gives me the encouragement I need to keep going.
As I was checking out of Wal-Mart in Texarkana recently (Arkansas side, in case you're wondering), I visited with Faye, my cashier. She was probably in her late 50s or so. She told the lady in front of me that she had lost 70 pounds, but it took her four years to do it. She said she had 30 more to go. (I thought she probably only needed to lose about 15 more, she looked good!) I had to know how she did it. "Did you follow a plan or program?" I asked her. "No." she said. "I just cut the fat out of my diet and began exercising." It took her four years, but that is great! That means her chances of gaining it back are very low, because her new habits are just that, habits! She went on to tell me that her doctor told her that her cholesterol numbers were high, and she was at risk for diabetes. This scared her into a new eating/exercise lifestyle. I applaud this lady for her hard work! It helps me to get going, and keep going.
I know, blogging about exercise and fitness isn't popular. My flesh doesn't like it any more than yours does. But it's good for me, so I do it. Blogging about it helps to keep me accountable in my efforts. My husband told me about a preacher who had to lose a lot of weight. His health was failing. He said "I finally decided I love preaching more than I love a Big Mac." That really convicted me. I love my family, and serving God, more than I love a Big Mac, and I do love Big Macs. And singles from Wendy's. And Olive Garden's chicken parmigiana. And pizza. And cake...okay you get the idea. But hey, moderation, right? So I can still have my cake and eat it too, just not as often! ;]

Here's a little something funny for you. Have a fantastic week!

~Valerie

Leslie Anne~

Our little Leslie turned three on Saturday, May 17th - one day after we arrived in Hope! We planned her party for the following Monday evening, and I paused the unpacking so we could celebrate!! I didn't have the time to get out my cake decorating stuff, so I ordered a cake for her from Wal-Mart. It had the tasty cool-whip type frosting! Dee-lish.Here are some photos of our party for our sweet - but stubborn- well, that's not a good word, let's use feisty. Yes, That sounds better. Our sweet, but feisty, little Leslie. She definitely has spunk!

Enjoying her birthday meal. She's spunky, and a ham! What a combo!

Her Cinderella cake. Leslie is a girly-girl. She loves princesses and dolls.
Blowing out the candles.
I think Mitch took this photo!

Her gift from Mom and Dad, a pink and purple tricycle!(She LOVES pink!)

My Mom was helping us get settled, so she got to be there for Leslie's party. Here she is with the card she gave her (with a little cash included) and the sunglasses she gave her. Our church family sees her walk in church wearing these shades and calls her "Hollywood"! :]

Leslie wanted to do "school" like her big brother and sister, so I ordered her some books from Abeka. I planned to do them with her in the fall, but when I saw how busy I'd be with the older ones, we decided to get going this summer! She's working on coloring the number two on Button Bear's shirt below.

Here's Leslie working on her alphabet page. She's gluing dried beans onto the shape of "Aa". She's also concerned about the scratch on her cheek. She's wearing a bandaid on her face!

Some Promised Pictures

Here are a few of the photos I promised. I've got a lot more to come!

Packing... Here I am making a "moving sale" sign. We earned $100 on our moving sale and we were only in business four hours. We were pleased.

Here is a photo of the packing process...the boxes started piling up!
Okay, just more boxes.

I thought this was funny. I took down the baskets that I had stored on a high shelf in my laundry room, and found two socks! Mitchell was a little over-zealous to put his dirty clothes in the hamper. I guess he tossed them and they landed in the baskets. And I thought the dryer really had eaten them! :]

Moving!!

Here's what I saw for almost 400 miles!!
YAY! We made it into Arkansas! Six hours of our drive was spent in Texas, 30 minutes, in Arkansas. Here's the "welcome" sign!!
You can see the shape of Arkansas etched in the overpass. The Texas bridges have Texas's shape etched in them. It was great to see Arkansas! We were getting close now!

I'll try to post the rest of the story later. Thought you might like these.

Have a great day!