Have You Done it Yet?

Hello friends and neighbors! I am just popping in once again to remind you to please stop by and visit my new site.(Does this sound like begging? Good...because I am!) It is http://www.valeriebasham.com
Also, if you have a link to me, please change that link to the above address.My new site is called "The Bishop's Wife" :)

Thank you!

A Favor...

I really appreciate ALL of you dear blogger friends who have added a link to my blog on yours. I have recently re-located in cyberspace. I would like to ask you who link to me, to please change the link to my new blog. Eventually, I would like to take the posts on this blog, and import them to my new one. Or, at least some of them! I'm sorry to put you to any trouble, but I do appreciate it. I want everyone to be able to find me. Well, everyone that wants to find me. Which may not be very many. In fact, maybe no one wants to find me! (That weird paranoid feeling is sweeping over me. I'm reaching for a brown paper sack to prevent hyperventilating.)

Please. Only do it if you have time. Thank you!

My new address is:
http://www.valeriebasham.com

PS I'm not really hyperventilating. I was just kidding. (Big toothy grin) Have a great day!

Don't Forget...

...that I've moved! My new blog is located at http://www.valeriebasham.com
Please remember to bookmark the above link and visit anytime! The site is still under construction, therefore, your patience is appreciated. :)

Thank you!

Announcing My New Address!!

Okay, after having the brilliant idea of designing my own website, and doing it myself, Tim Irvin made it possible! :) It didn't quite workout the way I had planned. It was really hard, you guys! I thank the Lord for smart church members! :)

I would like to invite you to join me at my new website: Click here! And please bookmark me! :)

It's still a work in progress, but I just couldn't wait any longer!

I count it honor to visit with you, so from the bottom of my heart, I thank you!

Please Hold while I Direct your Call...

I have been away for a while, but I promise, I wasn't being lazy. Well, not very lazy anyway. ;) I am working...well, actually, this great friend of my family's is working on getting a Wordpress site up and running for me to blog on. I love the look of Wordpress! It's clean, it's sharp, and, my favorite feature, it's fun!

I'm eager to post on my new site. In fact, I'm so eager, that I've lost all desire to post on blogger! If you are interested, then please keep checking in. I...ahem, I mean we hope to have it running soon.

Thank you!!

Will This Break Last Forever? Maybe.

I have not posted in a while, so I wanted to update you kind readers and share some thoughts. My shoulder is steadily improving! For that I praise the Lord! Thank you for your prayers and your gracious comments. Leslie is nearly back to normal! Her appetite is much improved! Laci is also doing well.
I have been feeling rather "blah" lately. I am wondering if the medicine I'm taking could be causing this. I have been questioning myself as to why in the world I ever started a blog! I often think that I am terribly vain for thinking that anyone would care to read anything that I write! Seriously, very few of you dear readers know me, yet you take the time to read my blog. I want you to know that I appreciate it so much. I appreciate those who do know me for stopping by!You know my faults and shortcomings better than anyone, and yet you check in here and read what I have to say. You are a blessing to me!
I'm burdened right now for several friends who are facing great trials. I am heavy hearted and I sigh a lot. A dear friend has a one month old baby boy who may not live very long. I am heartbroken for her and begging God to turn things around for him. A former Pastor's wife is facing serious treatments for a liver disease she caught from a blood transfusion over thirty years ago. A dear lady in my home church is having a portion of her jaw removed because of a cancerous tumor located there. Her daughter and I went to church and school together most of our lives. Another dear friend is facing great financial stress.
These burdens weigh heavily upon me. Words fail me. Of course, I am taking these to the Lord, but because I am very sensitive, I find it difficult to "move on" and shove it all to the back of my mind. I realize that being sensitive is sometimes good, sometimes bad. It's good because I can feel others' pain, so I'm more likely to pray and help when possible. It's bad when I wear my feelings on my sleeve (which I sometimes do). I have been finding out that, along with kind friends and encouraging words, having a blog also includes having some critics.
I am a nobody. I realize that. I'm so sorry if I have ever posted anything that might have sounded "know it all-ish". One thing I try to do here is be real. I'm being it now, I guess.
I am also terribly sorry for this very jumbled post.

Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you for caring...

thank you.

News from Us

I finally went to the doctor today for the pain in my shoulder. Dressing, lifting, and even closing a cabinet door were causing me immense pain for ten days. I do not remember injuring my shoulder, but something is causing the pain. I can barely do my hair each morning! My husband told me I needed to see the doctor. I'm in the habit of taking his advice.
The doctor prescribed a very strong anti-inflammatory drug for me, instructed to rest my right arm and apply heat to the area. He said that lifting a heavy toddler and caring for four children could easily strain my shoulder. My right wrist is hurting also. However, resting my right arm, even for a lefty, is going to be challenging. After all, it IS a right handed world! ;) I use my right arm a lot more than I had thought I did! If this treatment doesn't improve my shoulder, I will have to have a cortisone shot, and then possibly an MRI on the area. I humbly request your prayers. I have so much to do with homeschooling and church work and work in general. I decided that whatever the Lord has for me during this trial, I am to going to accept with as much gratitude as I can. I know from experience that every trial only leads me closer to Him and that's exactly where I want to be! I am hoping, however, that I will get there without being in the trial too long! ;) I suppose that's the human side of me talking.
Leslie is almost back to 100%! She is playing and laughing again with no recurring fever. She doesn't have the same old appetite she once had, but she is still on medication, so that might be the reason.
I am not sure about blogging. I am only able to use my husband's laptop because of my shoulder. All of my photos are on our desktop. I have them on CD, so I may be able to place them on here, I'm not sure. It may be a while before I get the kinks worked out. Thank you for continuing to to check in here, despite my irregularity in posting. I know there are a million places - literally - to surf on the Internet. Your stopping by here is much appreciated.

I hope you have a terrific day!

Just an Update...

Hello, friends and neighbors! I just wanted to check in and give you all an update. My arm is improving, praise the Lord! Thank you for your prayers! Laci is doing much better from her sinus infection, so that is a blessing. Leslie, however, is not doing too well. She has not responded to her antibiotics. Her fever has been about 101-102 every day this week. I called our doctor today and the nurse told me that she should have improved by Thursday. She told me to take her to the ER, since his office is closed today.
We just returned from a 2.5 hour stay at the hospital. After checking for everything, they told me she has a severe ear infection. Post nasal drip is causing the sore throat and coughing.
We are now starting a round of stronger antibiotics, as well as a decongestant. I am hoping she will be much improved my Monday!
Thanks for your patience with my blogging break. I hope to be back soon!

Blogging Break

Due to the regular "busyness" of my life - church work, sickness, housework, homeschooling - I am taking a break from blogging. I do not know how long it will last. Perhaps a few days, maybe a few weeks.
I have to be careful to keep my priorities in order. I always put blogging last on my agenda, but then I feel guilty when I don't get to it, so I squeeze it in by forfeiting sleep or time with my children.

Thank you for your understanding.

Hope to see you soon!

And the Winner Is....

To show that this contest was above board and completely legit, I photographed the actual drawing. If giving away $25 worth of books from CBD doesn't say "I love you", then perhaps my willingness to photograph myself this way does.

Here are the names - all seventeen of them - in the bowl. I typed them out, cut them evenly and folded them twice.Then, I stirred them around vigorously - and I got such a clear picture thanks to my hubby buying me a brand new 10 mega pixel camera for Christmas. I was actually moving when I took this!! Thanks, Honey!♥
Then, I reached in without looking, and asked my husband to take this stupid photo of myself - all in the name of honesty - and I drew out the winning name:


Can you see it?? No? You can only see my horrible looking fingers? Sorry 'bout that. The winner is Heather!!!! Heather is a sweet lady whose husband is currently deployed in Iraq. Thank you, Heather, for entering my FIRST giveaway! Just go to CBD, select the books you would like, and email me your order and your address. Email me at valerie@graceinhope.com

Thanks so much, ladies, for taking time out of your day to read my blog. Thank you for entering! I absolutely loved reading your favorite books!
Here are some books that I will be reading thanks to your suggestions:

Pride and Prejudice
First, We Have Coffee
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God
White Chocolate Moments

I will have to have another giveaway soon...it's sooo much fun!!!

Times Up!

Thank you all for entering my giveaway. I will be announcing the winner tomorrow, so stay tuned!!

Happy New Year!

Because of You

Have I told you all lately that you are the reason I keep a blog? YOU! Think about it: if you didn't stop by and read, then what would be the point of hammering away on this keyboard? If you didn't drop by, even occasionally, then what reason would I have to spill my guts online? If you didn't want to know about my family, then what good would uploading photos do? If you didn't comment, then where would I get my smiles from? Okay, I do smile a lot already, but a good many of those smiles come from you.

To say thank you to you faithful readers, yes, all four of you, I am doing something special. I am hosting a give-away! Yes! My first one, EVER! (I'm a little nervous.) The New Year is upon us! I know you all are eagerly pulling out your journals or notebooks to jot down your New Year's Resolutions - I've got mine already written. I just love the feeling of a fresh, new year. I love getting brand new, crisp calendars and writing down the events for the New Year. I love making goals and starting over. One goal gets re-set every year: "read good books." I love to read! It can be fiction, non-fiction, and even juvenile reading - as long as it's good literature, then I'll read it.

I love to read, and I know many of you love to read also. I am giving away a book or books, up to $25 (not including shipping) from Christian Book Distributors. All you do to enter, is comment on this post telling me what your favorite book is. That's it! The winner gets to begin 2009 with a new book - on me!

The contest ends 10:00 CST, January 1, 2009. The drawing takes place on Friday, January 2, 2009 (my 11th anniversary) and will be announced that day. The winner will be asked to email me with the URL of the book(s) from CBD, and their mailing address.

My favorite book (outside of the Bible, of course) would be Anne of Green Gables. And Tuck Everlasting. Oh, and I like the Love Comes Softly series of books. And Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, too. Did I say liked reading biographies? No? Well, I just love a good biography.
But hey, that's enough from me!

What about you?

I Used a Lifeline

This past week was rather busy. We were privileged to have our friends, Jeremy and Amanda Tyler, missionaries to Brazil, with us last Sunday. I was not so privileged, however, to have a cold while they were here. I was doped up on medication during their visit. I also had one of the most embarrassing "Lucy" moments ever this past week, which I will be sharing with you sometime in the distant future. Okay, I hope it won't be too distant! ;) I've also been making Christmas gifts for some people this week.

And did I mention homeschooling??? I didn't think so.

I've been homeschooling this week, also. This is the week before Christmas. I have only bought gifts for one person so far! Can you believe that? Don't panic, it will be okay......I hope.

I decided that I needed to use a lifeline.

You know, the lifelines from that game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"? Yeah, that show.

It was just me and Regis:

"Okay, Valerie, here's your next question, for $50,000. Are you ready?"
"Ready, Reege. Shoot."
"You have Christmas shopping to do, gifts to make, laundry, four children to feed and clean up after, a husband, laundry, ironing, a home to manage, laundry, birthday cards to mail, laundry, and homeschooling to do.

How will you make it work?"

a. Curl up in the fetal position and stare into space
b. Scream
c. Beg your husband to save you from yourself
d. Do not sleep the entire week before Christmas

(That weird wavy noise is in the background. The audience is silent, waiting...waiting...)

"Reege...(big sigh) I don't know. I need to use a lifeline."

That's what I've done. I've used a lifeline.

We began school a week earlier than the public schools in our area. We did this because we would be taking a week off in October for our Fall Revival meeting. We also managed to work ahead in Lauren's Arithmetic, because the first ten lessons were review. Some of that review was unnecessary for her, so we skipped it. This put us one whole week ahead in Arithmetic.
This, my dear blogging friend, has been my lifeline. We did absolutely no Arithmetic for fourth grade this week. None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. I think you get the idea.
Let me tell you, it's been a load lifted.
I am not very good at Arithmetic. Not at all. I passed it, but only because I worked and scraped for every good grade. I perspired. It was serious work. And now, I get to work all over again and re-learn it all with my children. Really, it's been good for me, in a character building sort of way.
I'm so thankful that I used a lifeline so that I could survive this very hectic week before Christmas.
I was planning to blog a lot the week of Christmas, but I don't know if I will get to now. On Monday I will be cleaning and buying groceries. OnTuesday we have a wonderful, sacrificial lamb, I mean teenage girl, coming to babysit so we can finally buy Christmas gifts. On Wednesday we will be baking and wrapping gifts. Thursday is Christmas, and Friday I will be in bed all day. So, it's just going to be a hectic week. Okay, I won't be in bed all day Friday, but I will want to be, I'm sure.

I will do my best to have another chapter/post/installment of my love story up next week, for the three of you who enjoy reading it. Consider it my Christmas gift to you.

What?
That's not what you wanted?

Ah-oh.

Coming Soon: A Real Live Post about Something

I'm so sorry for not posting anything in well over a week. My life has been crazy lately. I have had so much going on. We've had guests (which is great), Christmas decorating (also great), a two year old with yet another ear infection (not great), stressful moments(also not great), a Mom with a cold that will not leave (me) (do I even need to say this one isn't great? I didn't think so.), and homeschooling (this one is neutral).
We've had lots of happy moments sprinkled throughout all of the "busyness", and I have been taking photos and making notes. I hope to be able to share these moments with you soon. Thank you, dear people, for taking time out of your busy life to peek in on me and my little life. You are what makes this site worth keeping. ♥


See you soon, I promise.

Really.

I heard that! ;)

Really, I'm serious! I will post soon.

Are You There?

Hello.....hello? Anybody there? Yoohoo! Oh! Good! You had me worried there for a minute!
Hey, I just wanted to apologize for being away so long. I will do my best to post something today. But it might be late tonight. I have a ladies fellowship tonight, but I'm about ready for that, so perhaps I can post this afternoon. I am looking forward to the next installment of my love story. I really need to wrap this phase of my life up, people. I hope I can do it soon. I can't live in the past forever. I mean, I do have a future to think about. It may not be an exciting future or anything, but then, I don't need a lot of excitement in my life.
Thanks for stayin' with me....

hello? hello...?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I really appreciate your visits to my little spot in cyberspace. I treasure your comments. It's so nice to check my blog and find a kind remark left by one of you dear readers. Without your visits, I wouldn't even keep a blog! What would be the point, right? Right! And you may also be thinking, "Well, knowing we're checking in hasn't made you post anything lately!!" If you're thinking that, then you are right.
Life has been real lately!! I discovered that by getting up at my usual time and not stopping to blog, read blogs, check in on one of the three forums I am a member of, etc. - basically by not doing all things computer - I am able to start school earlier, and get more done throughout the day.
It's been a real eye-opener. I hate it too! I wish I could carve out the extra time from somewhere, but where? For instance, right now, I should be showering and heading to bed! See! I'm sacrificing sleep...for you! I wanted to do something special to show my appreciation for your clicking in on me each day! To post part of my love story takes me over an hour. (Yes, I'm a little OCD about split infinitives, run on sentences and using too many adverbs. Sue me. No, wait! Don't sue me, just feel sorry for me, okay?)
I just wanted to check in and apologize for not checking in more often this week. Fourth grade can be too much for me at times. :)
I promise, when all my kiddos are preoccupied sometime during the next decade, I will post again. I'll tell you about the rest of my vacation! I'll tell you about my love story! I'll tell you about the time I was five and bruised my tailbone when I fell while wearing roller skates! Okay, maybe not that last one, but you know what I mean!
Thank you sooo much for enduring my whimsical posting habits. You all should be in the blog-reader-hall-of-fame!
What?
I need to stop worrying about run-on sentences and worry about run-on posts??
Gotcha! I'm closing right now!!

See you soon....I hope!

Sprucing Things Up a Bit

Do you notice anything different about me?? Well!?? I have found this wonderful new blog design website!!! All of the designs are free. They do charge to do a personalized header to match the free background of your choice, but hey, they gotta make some money some way.
I'd love to get a "personalized header" but I can't decide on a title. What should I call the blog of a pastor's wife who doesn't really have any particular talents or hobbies? I have no "passion" other than trying to be a good wife and mother, and believe me, most days I'm way less than passionate about that. I am sensitive, but I try to have a thick skin. I have standards that are rapidly diminishing among saved people. I am nervous, high-strung and in general, a worrier! I like to read. I'm very particular about English grammar. I love purple the best, but I like all pastels. I'm very scheduled in my life, though I try to be flexible. I love to laugh. Especially at myself. If you'd like to laugh at me, then check this out. I like cappuccino. Not coffee. I really can't handle coffee. My husband has decided to overlook this character flaw in me and love me anyway.
Because I'm so...unique (yeah, that's a good way to say weird isn't it?), I can't really pin down a cute title for my blog. And even if I do think up a good name, I'll get tired of it eventually because I love variety. Really, it's impossible. I have changed the name of my blog. But don't worry, it isn't permanent, I'm sure.
I thought "Joy" is nice, because I love to laugh. I like the alliteration of Joy and Journey. Journey is a good way to think about our lives here on earth. After all, as saved people, we're not here to stay. This is just the "road home" for us. This is as bad as it can get for a saved person. We can rejoice in the Lord, for He is always with us. We can smile, and greet others warmly even during our roughest days, for we have the Comforter. There is no reason not to rejoice. To refuse to be joyful is to forget where we are headed. We have no reason to despair! I leave you with a quote from my favorite book/movie of all time, Anne of Green Gables. Marilla says to Anne, "To despair is to turn your back on God." I certainly don't want to do that. He's been so good to me.
Because of Jesus, I can have Joy for my Journey, and you can too!

We Made It!

Hello all! Thanks so much for your patience while I get my new blog up and running. There are still many things up in the air. For one thing, I'm not sure if I like this look, and another more important thing, we're not sure if we will keep this Internet service. We have 15 free days to try it. After that, we're bound by a contract for two years! I hate being tied down like that. So, in a few days, if I cease posting, you'll know it's because we had to ditch this Internet service. I'm not sure at this time what else is available.
As for the church, we love it!! I'll try to post photos soon. Everyone has been so kind and gracious to us. We feel as though we've known these people forever. We have jumped right in to our duties here. We've been able to see one of our teens, Britany, graduate from high school. I started doing Super Church last Sunday. Terry had to attend the funeral of Miss Faye, one of our members today. She had been in a nursing home for years, so she wasn't able to attend church must lately. She was 96 years old! One of our ladies recently went to visit her and when she left she told her "I'll see you again soon." Miss Faye replied "Up there." as she pointed to Heaven. She was prepared to see her Lord. Still, there will be folks saddened by her absence down here!
I just wanted to post a little update and let you know we are all alive and well. We had a fairly smooth time moving, if you can even speak about moving in those terms. We had a near collision on I-30 when some debris got into the road and vehicles ahead of us stopped suddenly. The Lord protected us, however, and no harm was done! Another great blessing is that Terry and I are not headed for divorce. Our marriage has survived, by God's grace, yet another move! If you have moved even once, and you aren't perfect, then you know that moving can be a huge stress on your marriage. We are rejoicing that it's over, and that we still love each other! ;]
It is hard starting over again. I am so blessed that everyone so far has been very patient with me learning their names, and such. My first ladies meeting will be on June 21st here at the house. I have gotten some great game ideas and recipes (thanks, Pamela! ;] ) from various sources on the Internet. I am looking forward to visiting more with our ladies, but I'm nervous about pulling it all together, too!

It's so great to be back! I've missed you all!


Your Friend in Hope ~
Valerie