February 8 in Searcy and Rison, Arkansas

The drive to Searcy on Saturday was easy. A 5 or 6 hour drive now is a breeze when we're used to sometimes 10 or 12 hours on the road. Our hotel was only a few minutes from the church on Sunday morning and we found it quickly. The situation there was a bit different than the usual for we didn't meet the pastor until after Sunday School. Pastor Jim Cantrell's father had open heart surgery over a week ago and didn't respond well. Jim and his siblings have shared in spending time with their ailing daddy and he said that his father was coming around over the last day or two.

But the really good news is, at the altar call a man came forward and accepted Christ! Praise God! Several others came up for prayer. Just before he dismissed us, Pastor Jim asked his congregates to pass by the offering plates one more time so as to give one more offering specifically for our children. That was a surprise and we'd never had that happen before. They handed us a wad of bills, the total being $99! We've decided to put it in an envelope and use it toward admission fees to museums, parks, or other attractions coming up this summer.

As of right now we're planning to go to Canada this summer, being gone approximately 6 weeks. The other night while we were listening to Pastor Joe, the children's pastor at Cornerstone, describe the campground where this summer's Kid's Camp was to be held, Landis and I looked across the table at each other when fishing was mentioned. His eyes were as big as quarters. But moments later I remembered: we're not going to be able to participate in Kid's Camp this summer. When I reminded him of it, his eyes showed so much disappointment I was afraid he was going to cry. I quickly pulled him close and whispered to him, "Landis, we're going on such a big and exciting trip. We're going to spend time in 3 of Canada's provinces, not to mention our own Montana, North and South Dakota where we'll see Mt. Rushmore and one of the homes of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We'll see mountains and there will be time to do a little fishing, swimming and grilling. It's gonna be a blast!" His eyes got big again and he was more than satisfied at this announcement.

Back to this Sunday evening in Rison. After some arguing about where, when and what to eat for lunch and a little bit of spilled Wendy's chili on Grace's black (thankfully...black) pants (I ALWAYS pack 2 pair of pants per day for her...but not this weekend) and the van floor, we arrived wearily at the hotel in Pine Bluff with about 40 minutes to unload the van, change clothes and wash faces. We got to Cornerstone Church of God outside of Rison a little before 5:00 thinking that church started at 6:00. But as I was sitting on the front pew talking to Grace I noticed a lot of people getting to church very early. Then I turned to Bobby and said, "Are you sure church doesn't start at 5:30? Sure enough, the pastor confirmed our suspicions and the service began less than 2 minutes later. I told Bobby I sure was thankful I wasn't still scurrying to get hair combed and makeup on, thinking that church didn't start until 6:00. That would have been a little more typical of me.

Pastor Jonathan Hall and his beautiful (and I don't say that lightly) wife visited with us moments before the service started and then, after singing 3 congregational hymns and a Bowen Family concert complete with kid's singing and testimony time, we enjoyed a rich time at the altar. One middle-aged couple approached the altar first and others soon surrounded them in prayer. Then Pastor Hall called me up to meet "Daniella" and told me I might have something encouraging to say to her. After the service Daniella and I visited some more and I learned that her 22 year old daughter had recently lost a baby at 7 months pre-term. As a result her daughter felt a resentment and a growing hatred for God. This hurt Daniella greatly but what also broke her heart was that she didn't know how to help her daughter. She felt that it was her responsibility to "fix" this problem and somehow get her daughter to see a God of love instead of a God who takes. The only thing I could tell her was that sometimes she can't help those closest to her but to turn them over to God and allow Him to do what only He can do. Her responsibility is to continue praying for and encouraging her daughter. I laughed when she came back with, "but I'm supposed to fix it, aren't I?" I'm so thankful that The Shack came to my mind at that moment. Bobby and I read it recently and it was, at times, overwhelming, emotionally speaking. For me personally, it was an eye-opening book of the height, width and depth of God's love for me, how He IS love, and that every single thing He does is because of love. I thought it might be appropriate for Daniella's daughter's situation and I was glad to hear her say her daughter likes to read.

We're about to get off here at our Ridgetop exit. We're home for the week and we're still trying to decide if we should drive back and forth next week or not. We're scheduled to sing in Hendersonville this Friday evening at The Church At Indian Lake and then do a mini-concert Sunday morning at Living Word Church of God in Bonham, Texas...and that's it. We don't have anything again until the following weekend...back in Texas and Oklahoma. Should we drive home for the weekdays in between? Or impose upon others again and stay in Texarkana? Not to mention missing our own Wednesday service at Cornerstone. This happens again the following 2 weekends, which means there's potential to be gone from home 3 weeks. The pros are we'd save gasoline and 2000+ miles on the Bowenmobile.

Speaking of the Bowenmobile and my talk of a motor home in the last post. What we're actually planning to do at the present is purchase a 5x8 trailer (possibly bigger) to put equipment and luggage in to create more space in the van. We could even sleep comfortably in the van if we could get equipment, luggage and wheelchair out of the way. The back couch lays out flat like a bed and the captain chairs in the middle are already gone so that opens up the floor for 3 little girls. When we have those Sunday evenings where the host church wasn't able to provide lodging, instead of trying to choke down an all-night drive, we can park, cover up the front windows and snooze. We figure that a trailer is much more do-able right now and is something we can continue to use behind a motor home or whatever we graduate into.

Praise God from Who ALL blessings flow. We are thankful for His goodness and His leading.

January 31-February 1, 2009.

We had a nice and restful week at Bob & Tena's, a.k.a. Papaw & Mamaw's house in Texarkana. Again, we were grateful not to have to drive the 12 hours home and then another 12 hours back to southern Louisiana four days later. Texarkana was only 5 hours away and much more do-able. Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy days but Thursday was beautiful and to give Papaw and Mamaw a little break from us, we took a family outing. The kids were eager to visit Fouke again because they're so intrigued with the legendary Fouke Monster. Fouke lies 20 miles south of Texarkana on Highway 71 and therein settled among the pines, sweet gum and walnut trees sits the house Bobby grew up in. As we drove by that tiny little house on Virginia Street and stopped to let the kids gaze upon it, the owner drove into the driveway and offered a tour of the inside of the house. Could it be? How often do you get to walk back into the home you grew up in after it's been owned by a stranger for 20 years? So the kids and I got to sneak a peek at the old home place where Bobby used to lay his head to sleep and eat his nightly supper.

The discussions recently have been centered around a larger vehicle to travel in. My Dad mentioned a motor home last spring and I remember just laughing at the suggestion, thinking, “that's really not necessary.” Now I'm laughing at myself and realizing that it has certainly become a necessity. Not only are we cramped but when we have a few days in between dates and need to lodge in one spot for a 2 or 3 days, it would be great to have a place to stay...anywhere we are. This is something we are praying about now, thanking God for that particular vehicle that is being prepared for us even now and the means to obtain it.

So Saturday, the 31st was Faith's 3rd birthday! We arrived at the Fairfield Inn in Lafayette on Friday evening and got settled and then on Saturday morning we began the cycles of “Happy Birthday To You” over and over to help Faith understand that indeed it was HER birthday and she wasn't 2 anymore. Throughout the day we asked her how old she was and she consistently said she was 2 and then we'd remind her she was 3. She's still giggling when she attempts holding up that 3rd finger. Also, Mr. Pat sent an e-card
http://www.bluemountain.com/view.pd?i=205535436&m=5678&rr=y&source=bma999
which made all the kids laugh hysterically, and a very unique video of himself wishing Faith a happy birthday with a small cake adorned with 3 candles.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1073759852831
He encouraged Faith to get ready to blow out the candles and reminded her that she must give a very strong blow because her breath must get through the computer screen. He gave the countdown and as he said “go” he never stopped talking to her and encouraging her to give it all she had. Magically Faith was able to blow those candles out through the computer screen. That Mr. Pat is SO clever ...and thoughtful!

We celebrated her birthday at Chili's which was walking distance from the hotel and...OH...what a beautiful DAY!!! Sunny skies and 65 degrees. I wish we would have spent more time outside even if it would have been just walking around the perimeter of the parking lot. Instead, we watched others enjoy the weather as we occasionally looked out of our suite windows at the river behind us. A couple in a rowboat, a motorboat and an occasional duck waked the waters every so often. Personally, I enjoyed looking to the other side of the river at the lovely homes with their gazebos, perfectly manicured lawns and beautifully decorated patios. I look at it and wonder how I could copy what they did and not spend any money doing it. And right now I'm wondering how I started this paragraph talking about my daughter's birthday and am ending it with landscaping. I ask myself, “how?” It's 12:05 am Monday morning....that's how.

We're still driving back from Louisiana and as I right this next paragraph we're at Jackson, Tennessee. The Garmin (we call her “Laverne”) says we'll get to our driveway at 2:27. Bobby's doing well behind the wheel in spite of the persistent rain. We're in the company of Dan Seals, Ronnie Milsap, Don Williams, Shenandoah, Ricky Skaggs and Glen Campbell singing all of our old favorites but I expect we'll be switching to Fox News shortly since the kids are asleep (finally).

Back to Saturday. First Baptist Church of Broussard booked us for Saturday night as well as Sunday morning, sharing the pulpit with guest pastor, Wayne Jenkins. This church was so kind and gracious to us in so many ways. But they were so quiet in both services that I only hope they were ministered to. One woman responded to the altar call, given by Pastor Jenkins, on Saturday evening. But no one responded to the call on Sunday morning. Instead, from the stage I heard someone playing a game on their cell phone! Yes!...during the invitation. (I think it was the teenager on the second row, right behind Landis.) The spirit of Maury Davis came upon me and I came close to calling her out right then and there! I had to remind myself that I wasn't in charge and it wasn't my place. But what a distraction! Like Pastor Davis always says, “It never fails. If a baby's gonna cry in church, it will be during that moment when God wants to speak to someone. The devil will try anything he can to take our focus away from the voice of God.” However, no one said anything and that made me even more angry. We can't be taking a back seat to the devil like that, folks.

Home again, home again jiggety jig! But we'll not be purchasing any fat pigs.

January 23-25, 2009. We left home Friday morning, the 23^rd and drove 11 hours to our destination, Dry Prong, Louisiana, which was just north of Alexandria. Very graciously, the pastor of Corinth Baptist Church, Steve Montgomery, opened up his vacant parsonage for us after the pastor of the church that booked us, Anchor Baptist Church, made our accommodation needs known. Instead of cramming into a hotel room, we were able to stretch out in a 2000 square foot home. No one slept on the floor and we were able to do some laundry and enjoy some wide open space for a change. On Saturday we played UNO, washed the bedding, took our baths, ate some soup, all at leisure, and then went to the pastor's home for dinner. Dr. Fred and Carol Kelsey hosted a tasty dinner of spaghetti (Landis' favorite) and garlic bread. Mmmm...Mm! Anchor Baptist Church was right next door so we didn't have far to go to sing for our supper. Bobby was treated by a quick visit from long-time friend, Dale Lingenfelter, an old friend he hadn't seen in 20 years. Dale came by the church when Bobby was setting up to say hi and catch up a bit. He and his wife, Jill, were expecting visitors at their home that evening and couldn't attend the concert. The concert was on the smaller side but it was a small building to begin with and once again we were amazed at the way God blessed us and met our needs.

From Tioga (that's where the church was) we drove 4 hours south into the bayous of Louisiana. We arrived at the Acadiana House, Bed and Breakfast in Larose just before 1:00 am. A bed and breakfast like no other we've ever been in. Bobby was emailed a passcode earlier in the week, punched the number in to the keypad next to the garage door and the door opened for him and from there we had access to the house. Freedom Worship Center, in Galliano, pastored by Robert Niestoeckel, was especially kind to us by renting this bed and breakfast and even placing an overloaded basket with fruit, juice, mixes, chips and other goodies on the kitchen counter. What a greeting! And at 1:00 am it perked us up a little. We got some rest and in the morning had a large assortment of breakfast foods to choose from to toast, fry, bake or boil. It was very nice.

We drove 15 minutes to the Freedom Worship Center and felt welcomed right away. We enjoyed a great time with the saints there, (no – not the New Orleans' saints) although it was difficult to understand a few of them from time to time with those thick Cajun accents. Pastor Robert and his lovely wife were not difficult to understand and she let me know why after the service. Their family moved to Galliano from Ligonier, Indiana 2 years ago. I enjoyed being so far from home yet being able to talk to someone who knew the roads and stores and restaurants that I knew.

Our evening service was 2 hours north near Baton Rouge at the Zachary Community Church. This congregation doesn't normally meet on Sunday evening so this was something different for them and it seemed to work well. The service started at 5:00 pm and there was a good crowd there. As only God can do, He touched people's hearts in that service through a very simple concert by a very simple family. And just like I remind people when I share a testimony: God will use any of us if we are willing. For the past year we've been willing to go anywhere and yes, take everyone. We have actually considered how much easier it would be to travel if we left 1 or 2 children with a friend or relative for this or that weekend trip. However, we have decided against it because each member of our family is an important part of this ministry and we'll leave no one behind because God uses each one of us to minister to different people.

I have to mention that we were tickled that this congregation chose to have a meal after church and of course, we were treated to jambalaya. Oh! It was GOOD!

Back to Texarkana for the week at Bobby's parents' home. It's not nearly as far to drive here as it is to drive back to Nashville. We will leave here Friday morning and head back down to southern Louisiana.

January 14-18, 2009.

On Wednesday morning, the 14th we left Bobby's parents' home in Texarkana and drove to Altus, Oklahoma to sing at Altus Church of God. Pastor Bill, his very precious wife, Katrina, and son, Nathan were waiting for us at the front door of the church. When we arrived in Altus, the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees, but by the time church was over that night, the temperature had dropped to near 20 degrees! That arctic blast that we'd been hearing about had finally hit. What a GREAT service we had. There were only about 30 people there so the members that didn't show up simply missed out. At the end of Bobby's first song, I knew the Holy Spirit was in the room with us. A dear saint, Brother Austin, worshiped passionately in the middle of the room. He and his wife have been married 54 years and have a 25-year-old grandson with Cerebral Palsy. At the end of the service as I was walking back to my seat after giving a testimony, Brother Austin walked to the front of the room. Bobby asked him if he could help him and Brother Austin said he might not have spoken up in times past but felt led to prophecy at that moment. He told us that we should trust God because Grace is IN HIS HANDS. Then he looked at Grace and told her that she was very special and that God was going to do GREAT things through her and for her...IN HIS TIME, and he emphasized that last phrase. This was such a blessing and encouragement to me because it was in April of 2000 that I cried out to God one night in frustration telling God I just didn't understand. He said to me, “Becky, you just have to trust Me. I will do this thing that I promised but I will do it in My time when I can receive the most glory.” I don't have to get worked up and anxious and wonder if I have enough faith. I can rest in Him, KNOWING that it's His will to heal Grace and He'll take care of her and bring her up out of that chair in His time because she is in His hands. All I have to do is believe and trust Him to do what He said He'd do. That's what I'm doing.

The following morning we drove from Altus to Enid, Oklahoma where we sang at our first Cowboy Church which meets in a cattle sale barn every Thursday night. The temperature remained frigid and we wore our coats for the service at Chisholm Trail Cowboy Church. You can view the entire service at:
http://www.winterlive.com/chisholm_cowboy/login.php.
Bobby sings two songs at the start of the service and then he comes back at 45 minutes and does a 45 minute set including the children singing and my testimony. After church we picked up some soup to go and headed back to our hotel room to get warm.

Friday morning we drove back to Texarkana and had just enough time to pop into Bobby's parents' house to change clothes. I had to curl my hair and fix something for Grace to eat and just take it with us. We made a return visit to Partnership Church where Bobby and the kids shared the stage with the Hendrix Trio and Masterpeace Quartet. It was more of a fun evening with a lot of Southern Gospel music. Bobby's parents, Bob and Tena came and we topped the evening off with cake and ice cream as we celebrated Bobby's sister, Kathy's 29th birthday....AHEM, (cough, cough!).

We said goodbye (for a few weeks) to Bob and Tena on Saturday morning and drove across the bottom part of Arkansas back to Cleveland, Mississippi where we had the Econohell experience. We glared at the Econolodge and stuck our tongues out as we drove past it to the Holiday Inn Express. That evening Bobby was reunited with a family he hadn't seen in over 25 years, the Wilkersons. Mr. Wilkerson pastors Church of Faith on the north side of Cleveland. His daughter, Debbie, an old friend of Bobby's booked the date and I was privileged to meet her and her four beautiful children, Scott, Chelsea, Mike and Logan. Debbie and I were able to connect instantly as we shared the joys and woes of raising children with special needs. Her 18-year-old son, Scott has many mental and emotional challenges.

Bobby originally had a booking for Sunday morning in Grenada, Mississippi but it canceled. At first he thought he'd try to fill that spot but I told him I was glad that date had canceled because we were to drive to Benton, Arkansas that night. We enjoyed a very restful morning at the Holiday Inn, getting up when we wanted to and not to an alarm and eating a leisure breakfast in the lobby. We had a short time of devotion in our room and finally got on the road by noon and drove to Benton which is on the west side of Little Rock.

We met many sweet people Sunday night at Benton Four Square Church including a surprise visit from an old friend of both mine and Bobby's, Mark Hall! He and his beautiful bride have 3 cute kids now and are involved in a church in Bryant, which is bit closer to Little Rock. Mark has always been involved in gospel music and used to keep up with Mid South, looking up to Bobby as a kid. I met Mark after Bobby did in 1989 while at Stamps Baxter School of Music with two of my sisters. I went to college with Mark's older sister, Dusty, in the years following that.

As I write this blog we are driving home! When we crossed the river into Tennessee, the kids spotted the sign and cheered. They were glad to be back in Tennessee even though they still had 200 miles to go. Hope is the most excited because all she's been able to think about for the past 5 days or so is her clubhouse. Every day she's been mentioning her latest plans for decorating her clubhouse in the back yard. I don't know what has inspired her but she is certainly focused on it. Bobby and I told her it's way too cold and it will be nearly dark by the time we get home late this afternoon. In her disappointment, she went to the back of the van and went to sleep.

There's always so much to do when we return from a trip but it will be good to be home for a few days.

“Kansas City, Kansas City here I come....there's some crazy little women there and I'm-a gonna get me one.” That's the song that came to my mind this weekend. Fortunately we didn't sing it at any of the churches we went to. I don't think it would have gone over too well.

We were going to leave early Friday morning for Butler, Missouri but on Thursday when we were on our way to my sister, Mary's house, the brake job that we thought we could put off until we got back home from this trip, was literally screaming for attention sooner than later. Mary kept ALL of our children ALL night Thursday while Bobby and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. The plan for the next morning was that Bobby and I would arrive at 7:45 to feed and dress our children while she got Owen ready for school and tended to her other boys as well. But when our mechanic agreed to do our brakes first thing Friday morning, we asked Mary if she could keep the kids until we could get there with our van. Of course I tried to think of another way I could relieve her, like driving the car to her house to pick up the kids. I could pick up the kids but I couldn't get the wheelchair. Everything worked out great. Kris was able to take Owen to school, we were able to get new brakes and get to her house by 11:35 – plenty of time for her to leave to pick up Owen from school.

On to Missouri. We got a later start, thus, a later arrival. We checked into our hotel by 11:30. We got a later checkout the next morning and with a little rendezvous at Wal-Mart, and lunch we were able to kill time until we were supposed to show up at the First Assembly of God.

A very young Pastor Cleghorn and his bride and 3 children greeted us along with 2 of the older ladies from the church who had prepared a delicious home-cooked meal for us. We had a nice crowd for a Saturday night and we were able to encourage some people there. From there we drove to Kansas City where we spent the night in my favorite chain, Hampton Inn. The following morning we sang at yet another new denomination for us, The First Christian Church of Pleasant Hill, Missouri which was on the southeast side of KC. It was much more liturgical than what we're used to but the people were receptive and we were able to minister. They really enjoyed Bobby's music and I think his approach and style was something they'd never had before in that congregation. Another “first” was that we sang for 2 services. We sang in the 8:00 a.m. service, had a great breakfast down in their basement, sang again for their 10:30 service, and then had a big lunch in the basement again! The pastor said he wanted to have us back in the fall for a weekend!

After that service we drove to the opposite side of the city to Bonner Springs, Kansas, where we sang at Basehor (pr. “baser”) Baptist Church on Sunday evening. It was at this special little place that God wanted to do a work. For the first time since I began sharing a testimony, I saw grown men wiping their eyes. We usually see a woman here and there shedding tears nearly everywhere we go but I don't recall seeing any man react that way. Just as I was finishing and was making the segue into our song, I glanced down at the song leader in front of me and saw a big old tear falling down his cheek. That just about did me in. At that point I had to move on to thinking about the unlady-like way Hope was sitting on the front row. Anything to keep from breaking. It's hard to keep my composure when men cry. Before we left the church parking lot, Pastor Martin told us that the words spoken tonight were words their congregation needed for there were families in their church that were really under attack right now. God is good.

Landis had a good day. We didn't have school today (Robertson Co. is out for Fall Break but we're only taking Monday off) He went fishing with his daddy and caught 5 fish! I spruced up his bedroom with a new curtain rod and new drapes, a computer desk (computer to come soon), some new things on the walls and I moved the furniture around. He likes it. Landis requested pizza for dinner (1 with pineapple and ham and the other with sausage and pepperoni) and then I made an "8" cake (you gotta have an 8 cake when you turn 8) - chocolate cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles on top. I asked Bobby to bring home some ice cream on their way home from fishing and to please let Landis pick out the flavor. They brought home vanilla and STRAWBERRY swirl and a bottle of strawberry SYRUP!!! YUK!!! The kids loved it.

BTW, I got 1 rail upholstered for the side of Grace's bed this past Saturday.

I'll post pictures another time. I don't want to wear myself out with too big of a post. :)

We've been in Texarkana for two weeks. And we'll be here 2 more days. It's been fun. I'm always one that likes to plan a trip and travel and do something different than what we've been doing. But I will say that I can tell a difference in the children, especially




Faith. She's been crying a LOT and talking back. But she has been going to the potty and growing up in so many ways. Today she swam the length of the big pool with her little







floaties on her arms. She'll say things like "Guys! Guys!" when Landis and Hope are arguing. Or she'll say, "Mom, let's go potty!" and she'll run as fast as she can to the bathroom and look back to see if I'm following. In a sing-song way she'll say, "GOOD night, Mommy!" She's a very good singer too. She'll often sing when I'm in a store like Wal Mart and she's not quiet about it. She sings loudly until it draws attention. I'll simply say to the observers that I don't know about them but I always have music when I shop. :) Last week she was singing "Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him..." so I decided to sing with her. Well...I didn't sing quite as loudly as she did.




I think the biggest problem with the children is our diets. I'm not cooking as much but we've only eaten fast food 3 times since left the house on the 27th of May. We've eaten "camp food". I call it camp food because it's things like hot dogs, hamburgers (from home) and sandwiches. Our friend Sheila actually brought us an entree one night. Delicious! The problem comes in when churches have finger foods after a church service the kids load up on cookies and cake and cupcakes.

The first 4 days we were here Bobby attended a festival in Jefferson, Texas while the children and I played in the pool and visited the library, Wal Mart and Papaw & Mamaw's house. On Sunday the 1st of June we sang at Sylverino Baptist Church in the evening service. The following 3 nights we were at New Hope Baptist Church for a revival and Friday night we sant at Centre West Baptist Church across town on the Texas side. Then we moved over to the Pentecostals and sang at an outdoor event put on by a couple of Church of God churches in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. The following morning we were at New Faith Tabernacle in Ashdown, Arkansas and finally Hope Family Fellowship Church, a Church of God of Prophecy in Hope, Arkansas. Today....we rested.

Tomorrow Landis and Bobby will go to Weatherford, Texas and sing at a Church of God minister's conference (CONTACTS!!!) and will spend the night at Bobby's sister, Sissy's home in Trophy Club (Dallas). The girls and I (and maybe Dad) will drive to Bonham, Texas the next day and meet Bobby and Landis for a final Wednesday night singing. Thursday morning we'll head home. Dad has been visiting his sister, Sue in Ketchum, Oklahoma since Memorial Day weekend and will be joining us here in Texarkana tomorrow (Tuesday). He'll travel back to Tennessee with us on Thursday.

We will be homeschooling this coming school year. There's really no way to travel like we've been with the children and keep them in the public school. It's not something I ever wanted to do. I've tried to think of a way around it but unfortunately there's none. I realize it will be challenging, to say the least, but I will try to stay relaxed about it and remind myself that it may take the entire school year to figure out what works best for us and how we will make it work. I've asked for a lot of advice and I've received a lot of advice - all very helpful.

I've got so many things to do when I get home like get some paperwork completed for United Cerebral Palsy to get a ramp built and concrete poured in the driveway. And I have to select an umbrella school and sign up for homeschool by the end of this month.

I don't like to ignore my blog for so long but I honestly don't have time to blog like I'd like. And no, I don't have much opportunity to blog when I'm lounging by the pool in Texarkana because my husband is on the computer all day. It's what he does for a living now.

I'll be leaving here soon. I'm a little sad but mostly glad to headed home.

Another weekend, this time an extended one, on the road with the Bowen Family...or maybe I should say, "The Bowen Arrows." (smile) What a time we HAD!!! God is so awesome and gracious to us. There are so many wonderful things to remember and write down so I'll get started and TRY to keep it brief and just cover the highlights.

Bobby sang in Hughes, Arkansas Wednesday night, February 13th to a crowd of about 20 people at the Hughes Church of God. A life-long friend of Bobby's, Daniel Attaway and his wonderful wife, Pat, pastor this little church. Hope sang and I shared for just a few minutes and we had an altar call. People responded in that little crowd and tears were shed. If I could sum the evening up in 1 word it would be "sweet." We dressed the children in their pajamas and drove on across the state to Texarkana after the church service arriving at Bobby's parents' home at 2:00 a.m.

We spent Thursday and Friday at Papaw and Mamaw's house just working on homework, cleaning out the van, going for a walk, playing Shang Hai and Farkle and of course watching TV. Bobby spent most of his time emailing pastors and making phone calls.

On Saturday afternoon, Bobby, Landis and Hope took off for Hugo, Oklahoma where Bobby sang in a concert put together by Jerry Tims. "JT" and his family group, Chosen, sang as well as a couple of other local groups. The next morning Bobby (and Hope) sang at a small church in Bogata, Texas - another booking by JT. And, finally, the highlight of the weekend, a Sunday night concert in Reno, Texas at Canaanland Church of God, JT's home church. My mother and father-in-law, Bob & Tena, rode the 80 miles from Texarkana to Reno with Grace, Faith and I. Bobby's sister, Judy, her son, Aaron and his girlfriend, Mitzi also drove out. The young pastor, Brien Sturgill and his beautiful wife, Shannon, have 3 great children and are the easiest people to meet and get acquainted with. They immediately made us feel so welcome and comfortable.



JT and Chosen opened up the evening with a few songs and my old-time Pentecost father-in-law told me later he felt the Holy Spirit so strongly in the room from the first song.

Bobby sang several songs and had Hope come up to help him sing a song. Hope has also started helping Bobby with the old favorite "Down By The Tabernacle" when Bobby splits the church down the middle and has the two sides duke it out with who can be the loudest when chanting their assigned phrases in the chorus. Hope stands next to Bobby and points to the side when it's their turn to sing. That's the "not-so-serious" part of the program and then after receiving the offering he's been having me come up and share for a few minutes. I only spoke for 5 minutes and then Bobby and I sang "Is It True" (Dan Smith) and then Bobby turned it over to Pastor Brien for the altar call. Many people responded and the praying and crying went on for several minutes. I had gone back to my seat and as the praying at the altars subsided, the Pastor took the mic and began to speak words of encouragement to Bobby and then to me. Then he hesitated just a bit but asked if it would be ok to pray for Grace. Of course that was fine with us and as we wheeled Grace up to the front of the room, there was a thick gathering of people around her. Bobby's nephew, Aaron, who is knowledgeable of the Word of God but doesn't know the Lord, came up to the altar and draped his arms over my shoulders and began to weep. I had been praying for Grace but then put my hand on Aaron's head and began to pray over him. Then I heard the pastor's voice on the other side of Aaron begin to speak, "Young man I don't what season of life you're in right now..." and he began to pray for Aaron. Praise the Lord!

Again, as the praying subsided, the pastor took the mic and again, hesitated just a moment but explained that although he doesn't normally do this he had such a strong urging from the Lord to say something to us that the Lord gave him to say. He began to prophesy some things over Bobby and I and it was powerful. He talked about God furthering and growing the ministry that He has for Bobby and he included me and then he said that we would see a "progressive" healing with Grace. Well, when he said the word progressive, what he was saying was confirmed in my spirit because that word has been a common thread over the past 9 years of Grace's life. There have been others that have prayed over her and have received that same word in their spirit.

Even though it took us an hour and a half to drive back to Texarkana and it was very late, we still didn't fall asleep right away when we got home. We were on such a high.

By noon Monday we were headed back to Tennessee and chatted with Pat Attaway from Hughes on the way. She told Bobby that something was started in their church the Wednesday night before and it was reflected in the altars on Sunday morning. She and Daniel were very excited. Praise the Lord!

We had a good drive back but there were so many poopy diapers on the way that it took us 10 hours to get home!!!

Here's the best part: when Bobby walked in the door after work Tuesday evening he told me he had spoken to Brien Sturgill from Reno, Texas. Brien had great news and said that 3 people were saved at their church Sunday night!!! Also, 2 young people told him that the concert Sunday night was the best concert they'd ever been to. Now...either those young people don't get out much or the Holy Spirit was working through a guy and his guitar, a 5 year old singing, "Jesus Loves Me," a wife who enjoys speaking and feels called to do so but is still very green and a silent little girl in a wheelchair. God can use anybody and I am so excited to be an "anybody" He can use. Wow. I've always heard people say, "I'm so humbled," and have believed them but didn't understand them. Now I understand. I know me and my family and how inadequate we are ...so I know it was GOD that moved in the hearts of those people Sunday night.

Another huge blessing was that the children missed NO school. I almost stayed home with Grace and Faith this past weekend because I was concerned about Grace missing so much school...3 days. However, Bobby encouraged me to go and I did. When we left Wednesday morning it was snowing heavily. School had been canceled because of freezing rain the night before and church was canceled that night - so we didn't miss that either! The children already had Monday off because of President's Day and when we arrived home we learned that Robertson County schools had been closed Thursday and Friday as well. Ha ha! Boy would I have been ticked if I had decided to stay home! God is good!

On January 12, Bobby debuted his solo career! He sang at my Dad's church, Plato Christian Fellowship in Lagrange, Indiana on Sunday morning and at his cousin, Ricky Bowen's church, Victory Temple in Muncie, Indiana that night. But on Saturday the 12th, he sang in a bar! Ha ha. Yes, my brother arranged for him to sing at Welch's in Sturgis, Michigan on Saturday night. When Joel called to ask Bobby about it, Bobby hesitated but I encouraged him to go for it, remembering the place as Welch's Steak House where Grandma and I had eaten a couple of times. I knew there was a bar in the restaurant and a small stage but I didn't realize until we drove in that the business is KNOWN as a bar now. Yeah...Welch's Sports Bar and Grille! Alrighty! It was great. He did so well, singing his praise and worship and Christian country to the heathens. I hope someone heard something that night that ministered to them. I told Bobby that's where we ought to be preaching and singing. However, we're not gonna make a habit of it. Welch's paid him well and the crowd seemed to receive him well enough. He sold one CD for the evening when he went in early to do his soundcheck. It worked out well that he didn't sing until 9, so I was able to put the kids to bed and leave them with Dad. My cousin, Kurtis, sang and played from 11 - 1:00 and that along with Bobby's appearance drew several family members out so I had a lot of people to talk to and hang with.

Sunday morning we pulled into the gravel parking lot next to the little white country church on US 20 about 5 miles east of Lagrange and Hope cried, "Oh Grandpa has a BEAUTIFUL church!" Funny! Bobby had his first church concert/program/service and it went great. We got to see a bunch more family and had a wonderful meal in the church basement afterward. Oh and Hope sang a solo, Jesus Loves Me. I was so proud of her. She wasn't bashful, she kept a perfect tempo and pitch and she didn't hesitate a second when Bobby asked her if she wanted to come up and sing a song. Landis can sing but he's too self-conscious...wonder who he gets that from? Plato paid Bobby very well and he sold nearly 30 CDs!

After lunch we headed two hours south to Muncie. I fed Grace a smoothie I had made at Dad's that morning while Bobby set up and did his sound check. Ricky had asked ahead of time if I'd be prepared to give a testimony that evening so I took about 5-10 minutes and shared. I didn't want to take too much time because, believe it or not, Bobby talked and talked and talked. He was so concerned about talking on stage but he didn't have any problem Sunday morning or Sunday night...except that he didn't sing enough! Anyway, I kept it short ...and spiritual (hee hee), Bobby and I sang, "Is It True" (Dan Smith) and then he and Ricky had an altar call and several people responded and THEN Ricky had Bobby and I come up together and he laid hands on us and prayed over us!!! That was the highlight to me! Totally unplanned and Spirit-led. It was kind of like a prayer of dedication or sending off.

Victory Temple had a couple of hotel rooms for us (Dad was with us too) and so after being treated to Pizza Hut, we retired to our rooms and got settled to sleep. It's not easy taking our children to a hotel. Grace needs most, if not all of a bed to herself. She kicks whoever she's sleeping with until they wake up and you never want to lay anyone on a hotel floor - yuck. However, this was a Holiday Inn Express and very clean and nice! With the two rooms we could put the 2 middle children in a room with Dad. Grace could have the lower 2/3 of a bed in our room while we divided the top 1/3 with pillows so Faith could have her own space - about the size of her crib. Grace was so tired, and I think, comfortable, that she slept throught the whole night and didn't wake anyone else. Faith, on the other hand, took a while to settle down and then fell out of bed just before daylight. Overall, it was a restfull night and the kids enjoyed Disney TV while I slaved over a great continental b'fast and brought it up to the room for them. Grace was enjoying her instant oatmeal and Disney so much that she screamed when I wheeled her out of the room and down to the lobby. She kinda liked the hotel life and didn't want to leave it. Ha!

God blessed us so richly through this weekend. He was with us every moment and prepared the way for us so well. We couldn't have asked for anything more. Bobby actually made twice as much money as he had expected to, the kids behaved very well, our van ran very smoothly and I could feel the prayers of friends working. God is good. Bobby asked me at one point if I'd like to travel with the family every weekend. Funny thing is I was thinking about that very topic at that moment. I told him it wouldn't be too bad if we had a full-size van with a lift and got in a routine. However, I wouldn't want to miss my church EVERY weekend.

We had an easy ride home and Dad stayed with us here all of last week. He left on Monday morning to stay at the Kelso's. He may be back next week or he may go home. He's retired so I guess he can do whatever he wants.

We're looking forward to another family weekend - this time to AR, OK and TX. Bobby's folks are in Texarkana and he'll be singing in Southeast OK and Northeast TX February 16th and 17th.

New Year's Eve 2007. It's been a year of very trying times but a good year. How can it not be good when you consider the faithfulness of our God? I am sooooo grateful.

Here is a picture of Grace's foot. This is 27 hours after we discovered her injury and treated her. I'm going to call the doctor to ask them if I'm treating the injury correctly. We don't go to the doctor for Pink Eye or Strep but we'll go for an injury if we don't have the means or knowledge to treat it ourselves.

The curvy cut around her ankle bone has already healed up quickly but the raw skin patches are what concern me. I just can't imagine not being able to control the writhing and jerking of my limbs in order to keep from hurting myself. She was scraping and cutting herself so badly but she couldn't get out of the situation. I'm sure she didn't get much sleep Saturday night. I should have set my alarm for about 1:00 a.m. to go check on her because I heard her squirming on the bed before I went to bed. Dad and I talked about a rail around her bed. This is something I've thought of before but it has to be a solid rail. No hospital bed rail will do for Grace. She'd slither through and possibly hang herself. No we'll probably have to build a big box out of plywood and lay the mattress inside the box - sort of like a sandbox. I'd have to upholster the box with either a coordinating fabric to match curtains, bedskirt, etc. Or I could use a faux leather fabric. The frame would also have to be made to come apart because trying to remove that huge box for out of town guests would be too difficult.

The kids are all home this entire week so going to the doctor would not be fun. However, I'm going to see if I can email them this photo so that they can see the injury that way and possibly tell me over the phone what I need to do.

Speaking of kids being home, it's so tempting to stay up later but funny thing about kids...they don't necessarily sleep as long as you need them to after you stay up so late. I'll do better ...well, it IS New Year's Eve ...so I won't be going to bed early tonight. Maybe we can take naps this afternoon...HA!!! While on vacation we eat differently and we sleep differently making vacation not as restful as it should be. It's funny how we think we can splurge in these areas and "treat" ourselves when in reality we're beating ourselves up. I RARELY buy cold cereal but I do a buy a box of it maybe 3 times a year. I bought a box of Honey Nut Cheerios for Christmas break as a "treat" and the kids finished it off this morning. A little trick that doesn't make the cereal any more healthy - it just adds a little nutrition to the breakfast is crushed nuts. I take walnuts and crush them in the food processor and sprinkle it on top of their cereal - no matter what the cereal is. It adds a little protein, a GREAT flavor and substantiates the meal just a little bit so they're not feeling weak and poor 90 minutes after they eat. They tell me they don't want nuts on their cereal but if I don't mention it they can't tell and even if they know they eat it all anyway.

Speaking of nutritious breakfasts I saw a commercial the other day about cereal. It starts out with animated cereal characters speaking to each other. They're talking about doing a good job at what they do because "Johnny has a big test today" and they were going to make sure he did good on his test. Then the narration in the commercial goes on to say that if you take your milk and warm it up in the microwave and then pour it on your cold cereal, you'll have a very nutritious breakfast that will cause your child to excel in school. Now, I hope you don't fall for such a bunch a bull. Think about it. You take your cold cereal which, fortunately some people are realizing it's not a healthy breakfast and you heat the milk before you pour it on, then you have a healthy breakfast!....just because it's warm?????? First of all, the milk is pasteurized and homogenized and it's full of harmful antibiotics. Then you NUKE it. Then you pour it over your (the ingredients on the box of Honey Nut Cheerios is: whole wheat flour, sugar, cornstrarch, honey (again, pasteurized) modified cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, defatted wheat germ, tricalcium phosphate, vitamin C calcium carbonate, trisodium phosphate, molasses, iron, vitamin A, color, almonds, niacinamide, zinc, preservative, canola oil, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin B2, folic acid, vitamin B12) and now you have ...nutrition??? Just because you see the vitamins listed on the box doesn't mean you're getting very much at all. Sugar IS the second ingredient. You're getting more sugar and tricalcium phosphate than you are vitamins. This commercial made me wonder, "How stupid do they think we really are?" Don't fall for those commercials friends. Splenda is NOT good for you. Splenda is chlorinated sugar. It's actually worse than sugar. I used to say that if you keep to the outer walls of the grocery store you'll stay healthier. However, that's not so true anymore with processed, drugged up lunch meats and ...how 'bout that Activa? I haven't read the label so I can't say for sure, but just remember the lactobacilius acidophilus and other beneficial bacteria can NOT survive with sugar. So if there is sugar in the ingredients (corn syrup is sugar) you're not really getting very much friendly bacteria. ALSO, if there's fruit in the yogurt - there's SUGAR in the yogurt. Yes, fruit is a natural sugar but it's still sugar.

I teach a two-year-old Mother's Day Out class at Bethel Baptist Church and I have been shocked at what I see in these children's lunches! One little sweetheart has been on antibiotic after antibiotic for ear infections and yes, yeast infections followed that. Mom gave her YoBaby every day for lunch to give her the nutrition she thought she needed. Mom had the best intentions but when I looked at the label of YoBaby, I saw that the first ingredient was milk (again, pasteurized - the beneficial bacteria and enzymes are killed in this process) and then the second ingredient was SUGAR! Mom didn't realize she was throwing her money away and making the situation worse because yeast thrives in sugar.

Food for thought! You HAVE to use your brain and THINK for YOURSELVES when it comes to what you eat and how you take care of your body. Think about it. We have the greatest medical technology in the world yet we're the fattest, sickest people in the world. Do you really think you should believe commercials?

Have a happy, healthier 2008!

A healthy on-the-go breakfast that we have quite often at our house is smoothies...and they're not warm. Recipe below:

The amounts listed below are guesses. This drink has evolved and varied greatly over the 8 or so years I've been making it.

Enough bananas to fill 2/3 of the blender
Enough frozen strawberries on top of the bananas to make the blender heaping full.
Enough raw cream (start with 1 1/2 cups) to blend the bananas and cause the strawberries to lower down into the blender leaving room for more ingredients. Use the pulse button to get the bananas and strawberries mixed up with the cream, then add:

3 raw fresh eggs from free-range chickens
1/2 cup of wheat germ
1/2 cup of raw oats
1/4 cup of raw (unpasteurized) honey
Blend and drink.

(This amount is enough breakfast for all 4 of my children.)

Use your imagination when it comes to the fruit you use. You can use fruit juice instead of cream - just leave out the honey. Remember that you can sneak an herb or vitamin into a smoothie a little more easily than you can into cereal if you're trying to treat your child. One more note: The bananas will cause this drink to gray in color in a short time. If you make this smoothie the night before, it will have an ugly color to it the next morning. However, this is how my kids drink it because I make the smoothie on Saturday for Sunday morning breakfast. The taste is the same - just not the pretty pink it was when you first made it.

Had an adventure with Grace last night and this morning. My email to sister, Mary follows:

Grace got out of bed twice. The second time she got out she fell asleep on the floor and when Bobby put her back in bed, she woke up and squirmed once again. I think she got out after we were in bed and was on the floor all night. That's not so terrible but this morning when we went to get her, she was wedged and Bobby had to lift the bed while I pulled her out. We noticed some blood on the sheet and I figured it was from her mouth (she's had a canker sore). But Bobby showed me her foot was cut pretty nasty. She has a long curvy cut around her ankle bone and down onto her heel. She also has 3 spots where she rubbed herself raw - no top layer of skin. One on the side of her heel, another on the ankle bone and a third spot, small, on her pelvic bone. So... we had a BLOODY mess to clean up before church. I felt a little sick to my stomach, aggravated and angry all at once. I was mad at the devil and told Grace and Bobby so and said it's not God's will for her to be sleeping under a bed cutting herself and getting blood everywhere. Not until this afternoon did I move the bed and see what it looked like under there. There's a blood spot about 5-6 inches in diameter. I soaked it with hydrogen peroxide. Wow. That causes a chemical reaction. It made the spot warm and of course it fizzed. I'll be working on that into tomorrow. We weren't late though. Good old Bobby has us leaving at 7:00 which always gives us a cushion in case we run into problems like the one we had this morning.

Now I have to go clean up lotion out of the carpet in the yellow room. Faith got into trouble. At least it smells good.

I am constantly reminded of the importance of praying in the Spirit. When I am overwhelmed with Grace's needs and when I need creativity (which is every day) if I will pray in the Holy Spirit as He gives me utterance, my faith is built up and my prayers are not limited to my own understanding. Praise the Lord. Deeanna had a timely word this morning during the praise and worship time at church. I heard her say later she was scared to death but I thanked her for trusting the Lord to speak through her for it was exactly what I needed to hear today:

"...leave your past behind you. Behold I have done a new thing and I will be your strength in the midst of the wilderness. Leave your dry and thirsty place and come to me. Lay down all the things that have so encumbered you and you will find rest and a drink of living water."

I must leave all my mistakes as Grace's mother, as well as my successes behind me as I enter this new year. God Almighty has already ordered mine and Grace's steps for 2008 and He will be our strength as we move forward. I've been dry and thirsty lately and I'm so tired of it. I give all the trials, temptations of doubt and fear and the burdens that come with a handicapped child, to HIM for He knows...He knows. He will refresh me with His living water.

What a great tough love sermon this morning - perfect for the last Sunday of 2007, looking forward to a new year. One wrong thought, though...eggs are GOOD for you! It's a totally natural food. It does depend on how you fix them of course. Boiled or raw are better than fried. And I'm talking about free range FRESH eggs from the farm - like we eat. And you know what? A little bacon won't hurt you either if you raise your own pork! I agree with him on the gravy. Not good for you but it sure is tasty! Would you believe a "nutritionist" from Vanderbilt advised me to give Grace gravy every day to put weight on her??? I didn't take her advice for I don't follow the thought that a heavy child is a healthy child. In our case, a heavy child means my achy back!!

School's OUT!!! Right now I'm excited about it. Probably, come New Year's Day I'll be ready "for school to start again," as the old Christmas song goes. Yesterday, the kids helped me all day long as we cleaned and got ready to host a party for my Youngevity team last night. Today, we awoke when we wanted to (which was 5:45 - oh! That's NOT what I wanted) and we're living leisurely. It's so nice to be done with everything, the Christmas concert at church and last night's party, and just enjoy family time the last few days before Christmas. OK - I do have about 6 loads of laundry to do and I need to start packing for the our road trip to Arkansas on Christmas day but I consider the hard part to be over with. At least we can all stay home!

Grace got the bug the Faith had almost 2 weeks ago. Wednesday at school she started with a lot of congestion and by bedtime Wednesday night she had a fever. She started out cooler Thursday morning but had a fever most all day, cooling off a little by bedtime. I gave her nothing for her fever but allowed her increased temp to burn out the bug. She sipped on Pedialite and water all day. Something I read recently said that we don't want to eat anything when we have a fever because our body knows the liver can't handle it. Our liver is busy detoxing and cleansing and doesn't need the extra work load of trying to aid in digestion as well. This morning Grace woke up with no fever and she's happy after having a couple servings of diluted juice to get her body going for the day. She's laughing at Popeye right now. I thoroughly believe that if I had tried to suppress the fever like I have in years gone by, I would have prolonged the sickness by not allowing the fever to do it's job.

Time to get started on that laundry and feed Grace.

Ok - so it's been 10+ days since I blogged. Let's see, we had a touch of that stomach bug where your stools are soft and/or watery. Grace, Faith and I manifested some of those symptoms. Grace and Faith more so but only a couple of days. We took silver, of course. No antibiotics, no doctor visits, just a couple of drops of silver 2 or 3 times a day. And, of course, we took our vitamins. I heard there were several children out of school at Watauga but I really believe because we take our top-of-the-line vitamins and minerals that sickness is eclipsed and even avoided altogether. I'll let ya know in March how the winter went as far as sickness in the house.


What have we had for dinner? Well, Tuesday night I took the last little bit of the turkey from Thanksgiving and made a soup with that, rice, and veggies. Mmmmmmm! Good!!! I don't have that many readers so I won't post the made-up recipe but just in case someone reads this and would like more information, just post a reply and let me know. Tonight, we're having baked taters and salad. It started out being cole slaw but I kept adding things...carrots and onions, of course, a tiny bit of celery and oh, I couldn't resist, sweet corn! Made the dressing that mom taught me to make when I was a wee child. Mayo, milk/cream, sugar (but I used honey), vinegar and celery salt (mom didn't tell me to use celery salt - but I like it). My goal is to use what I have in the house. Use what I have, throw it together, season it well. Creativity is the name of the game. I baked 2 taters for Grace because I can't add much salad to her meal...it doesn't blend very well in the food processor.

Oh, and Landis and Bobby have been taking chili and turkey soup in their lunches. It saves money if I don't have to pack sandwiches. It's also healthier. And can we say, "comfort food" on a cold fall day?

Tomorrow is Hope's 5th birthday! Her request? A strawberry cake with pink icing. So, yes, I'm baking from a box! She's so fun to buy for and cook for. She gets so excited about anything you do for her...makes ya' feel so good! I'm looking forward to hanging out with the family tomorrow evening with some cake and ice cream after dinner and maybe some popcorn too.

Right now, I smell someone... gotta go change a dirty diadee.

Well, one night to bed before 9:30, the rest of my life to go. The other night as I was drifting off to sleep at, oh....about 1:00 a.m., I thought, "Why don't I go to bed at 9 or 10 and get that really healthy sleep before midnight and then just get up earlier. I'll bet I'd still get more sleep than if I messed around trying to make sure everyone's b'fasts and lunches are made. I get sidetracked when I do that but if I waited to do that stuff until the morning hours (just getting up earlier...like 4:30 or 5:00) I'd still get more sleep and it would be a healthier sleep. So, it's gonna take me months to change my ways, (a friend of mine says it takes about 6 months to make a lifestyle change) but I know whoever reads my blog will keep me accountable and on track.

Faith has had runny/watery diapers. But I've found if I give her probiotics, she's better.

Grace is trying to get pink eye again. She's always been prone to getting the cold in her eye for some reason. I saw some matter in her eye last night before bed. We put some diluted colloidal silver in both eyes and so far we've constrained the nasty stuff to just a tiny bit of matter in the inner corner of her left eye. Also I've been giving her a homeopathic called Candida Yeast to try and eliminate the odor in her ever present, annoying drool.

I slow-cooked a roast, potatoes, green beans and onions last week. The roast was tough. Dad says it's because they were mostly grass-fed. I got the leftovers out of the fridge last night and cut the potato wedges into smaller pieces, added some leftover corn from the fridge, some leftover, already-cooked ground beef, beef soup base, water and salt and pepper. This morning I popped it in the oven and set the oven on warm before I left for church at 7:00. It was a wonderful soup that I'll be sending with Landis and Bobby in their thermos' for lunch.

Landis, Grace and Faith are still awake and it's 9:04. I need for them to go to sleep so I can go to sleep. Everyone's used to staying up late the last several nights.

This is probably the longest sabbatical I've taken from writing. And, honestly, I've forgotten I've even had a blog...that's how busy I've been. Just now when I signed in, I was hoping I could remember my username and password. (Obviously I got in.) The Ladies Night of Laughter, working part time, working my home business and the kids going back to school have all kept me busy to the point where monthly meal planning, planning errand-running and getting kids to bed early have become an absolute and not an option 'round here. I've come up with some dandy menus, recipes, and money-saving ideas in the process and thought wouldn't it be a good idea to go ahead and share what I'm doing with others and maybe it will help some other moms out there - because I KNOW you struggle (I've heard your lamenting) - especially if you work outside the home. On the other hand, if you comment after reading and share your tips with me, we ALL benefit, now don't we? Maybe I could start a website like that lady up in Minnesota who created http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/.

The Ladies Night of Laughter was so much fun and I was so impressed by the talent all around me. I kept telling myself up to the performance that I would not, no matter how much I enjoyed being a part, participate in LNOL 2008 or anything like it because it was too stressful to prepare for it with all the other things going on in my life. But when the evening was over, I knew I could not deny myself the joy of being a part of something so fun. I was grateful to Lesa Wharton for trusting me with the Eve monologue and if I ever get the opportunity to do it again or something similar, I'll do my best to improve my performance.

I'm still working 2 days a week at Bethel Baptist Church as a Parent's Day Out teacher to 2 year olds. I'm loving those little ones a little more every day but I'd still rather be doing something else. :)

Youngevity has kept me hopping, especially with the business fair we had at Cornerstone a few weeks ago. I've made and received many follow up calls since then. Presently I have 20 people in my organization and am monthly receiving half the of the money I need in order for the nutrition my family consumes to pay for itself. Best of all, I'm seeing people realize there is a better way to live; there are options out there, and we have the freedom to choose what's best for our physical bodies.

The kids going back to school means that I stay up later to make sure breakfast and lunch is ready for everyone the next day, notes are written, papers are signed and clothes are clean. The next morning I must rise in time to get myself ready and then get everyone else ready to go out the door. Then it's off to the races. On Mondays and most Fridays I can stay home and work on laundry, bathrooms, floors, dishes and dinner. But on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings it's "hurry, hurry, hurry" to go to work or run errands.

That is a quick update on my life right now. I promise myself I'll blog in detail SOON.

Labor Day Weekend. The final summer "fun" day. Sunday after church Landis was begging Bobby and I to play baseball with him. He grumbled when we told him it was too hot then but after naps and when the sun sinks a little lower in the sky (say, 6-ish?) we'll go outside. He began to barter with me and asked, "Five?" I shook my head. "Five-thirty?" At 6:00 straight up he was reminding us about our promise. So, out we went. Bobby pitched to him and I was the slow outfielder. We all took a turn batting and then Landis wanted to jump in the pool. The pool really did sound refreshing and so I got in to wade with my dress on. Hope ran inside to change into her suit and I put Faith in the water after stripping her down to her diaper. No one saw Bobby taking his shirt off but we heard him as he ran toward the pool and jumped in. Grace, who had been swinging, could hardly stand it, watching us all enjoying the water, after all, it is HER pool. So I suggested to Bobby that he go get her out of her swing and toss her into the water with her clothes on and without her head float (which keeps her head above water). You should have seen that child's face when Bobby threw her in. I know she had to be thinking, "What's wrong with you?!" Once she landed in the water I pulled her out and sat down in the water with my dress on so I could just hold her in the water and she could enjoy herself. Now that was a spontaneous swim! I think it will be a nice family memory we can talk about for years to come.

It's Sooo Hot.....

A friend of mine sent this today:

It's Soooo Hot Here Right Now That.....

The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

The trees are whistling for the dogs.

The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

Hot water now comes out of both taps.

You can make sun tea instantly.

You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.

The temperature drops below 95 F (35 C) and you feel a little chilly.

You discover that in August it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.

You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.

You actually burn your hand opening the car door.

You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.

Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, 'What if I get knocked out and endup lying on the pavement and cook to death?'

You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

The potatoes cook underground so all you have to do is pull one and add butter and salt.

Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

The cows are giving evaporated milk.
STAY COOL!

I think this is the 10th day in August we've had 100 degrees or above. This is the hottest it's been here in recorded history. This weather is helping Al Gore's agenda right along, isn't it?

The children have really enjoyed their pool this summer but have not been in it all this week... the water's too warm. I can tell the pool water is evaporating quickly. I wish I would have measured it from the beginning of this heat wave.

It's not pretty and I'm certainly not trying to make a fashion statement but I have put my king-sized navy blue flannel sheet set to good use in the middle of the summer by hanging the flat sheet over the patio window and the two pillowcases over my kitchen window. I also have a single navy pillowcase over my back door window. I'm normally one who likes to let the sun shine in! But I have found it necessary to take these measures because of the lack of shade trees to shelter from the afternoon sun. It seems to help a little, but boy, it sure is dark in here!

Excitement was in the air. We were going to have a slumber party! Hope kept talking about going to a slumber party. I tried to tell her we weren't going anywhere, cousins Owen & Clay were coming over Sunday evening and we were going to have a slumber party at our house. Timothy & Kristy arrived with their 3 sons Saturday afternoon at the airport. It had been over a year since we had seen them. Christopher being only 3 weeks old was a great traveler but they had their hands full on those long flights with a 3 yr old, almost 2 yr old and a newborn.

The Halls are here in the States for nearly a month. However, with their full schedule there was only 2 dates on the calendar that worked to have the older cousins spend the night together and the second night they were here was the first and best choice. So Clay arrived around 4:30 and Uncle Timothy was gracious enough to spend some time in the pool with the children. Then they moved on to pizza, popcorn, apples, grapes and fruit tea as they watched movies the rest of the night. Clay, suffering from jet lag, was the first one out at 10:00. I invited him into the kitchen where he and I shared some cookie dough that I was baking for the rest of them (but never gave them) and 5 minutes later he was passed out on the floor in the den.

Grace was next at 11:00 and we were down to the last 3...Landis, Hope and Owen. Landis fell asleep before the midnight hour and Hope followed minutes later. However, Owen was steadfast in his quest to not give up the ghost. He stayed glued to The Three Little Pigs and when I suggested several times that he lay down to watch the movie, he quickly informed me that he didn't want to. When the pigs movie was over at 1:00, he told me he was ready for another movie! I almost laughed when I told him he definitely was NOT going to watch another movie and he needed to lay his head down on the pillow. He sat there in his bedding and was very reluctant about giving in so I gently pushed his little tired body down into the horizontal position. He was out in 2 minutes.

Bobby and I had a rare treat the first week of June...we went on our first cruise and left the children in good hands at home! Kent, our friend from the band Bobby sings with, Heritage Road, told us about Cruise With A Cause (see PraiseFest Ministries)back in March and asked if we wanted to go. He and his wife, Marie had gone last year with their church, Landmark in Cincinnati. He mentioned handing out some Christian tracts one afternoon in the Bahamas. Well, the low price for the cruise was unheard of so we agreed to go and a month later Bobby was laid off from his job. We decided not to waiver and just go in faith (wouldn't you?) and wow! What a blessing the whole week was. We were told we could invite friends to go with us and so Derick and Charcy Luthe, friends from church/work, decided to go along.

Saturday night, the 2nd of June, we left after church. Our kids were being cared for by Pat and Mary Johnson and the Luthe's left their children with Derick's parents who actually live in a part of Derick and Charcy's house. Derick wanted to leave in the evening because he prefers to drive at night. He drove the entire 11 hours to Orlando and we crashed (not literally...I mean "took naps") at Charcy's dad's house. Mr. Evan's fixed us a light breakfast before we snoozed and then in the middle of the afternoon he prepared a wonderful meal for us consisting of a salad with crab and capers, Italian sausage and lasagna made with grilled eggplant. Mmmmmmmm! I like to try new foods and I found I liked capers and very much liked caviar, which he dished up just for me to try for the first time ever.

We were off the next morning to Port Canaveral. It was sunny when we boarded Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas and saw that our friends from Landmark were already poolside catching the rays. We decided we had all week to tan and was in no hurry to lay out. Little did we know that was just about the last of the tanning opportunities we'd have.

Tuesday morning as we docked in Nassau, we were invited to attend a training session for street ministry. We were given the million dollar bill tracts and were coached on how to ask people if they had been asked the "million dollar question," and the method of witnessing is that used by The Way Of The Master. As our excursion began, some of our shipmates went into the prisons, some went into the local schools and the rest of us went out into the streets inviting people to BahamaFest (a bit more here) at Clifford Park that night.

I asked one gentleman if he'd been asked the million dollar question and without hesitation he leaned back on his stool as if to get himself postured to hear a story and answered, "No, what's the million dollar question?" He laughed when I saw that his buddy had on one of our PraiseFest T-shirts and realized he was one of our own.

We spoke with a security guard outside of a bank. His eyes welled up with tears as he looked away from us and acknowledged that he needed to make a change but now wasn't the right time. We talked a few minutes with him and invited him to Bahamafest and a few minutes later as we were talking to someone else, the young security guard walked by us, touched me on the arm and said, "I'll see you tonight!"

An 11-year-old school girl approached me and asked me if she could sing me a song for a dollar. I won't write the conversation we had but I sure did get pleasure out of talking with her and giving her that dollar. By the way, she sang, "This Is The Day (that the Lord has made)" and said she was taking the dollar to her mother who needed help at home.

I have to write about "Action." I was filming and a very unique individual with piercings everywhere imaginable lined up with my camera and when he knew he had my attention, he approached. We of course began to talk to him and his face lit up as he said, "Oh, I know Jesus!" Action had a "boat" and gave small tours to make a living.

Because of the unfavorable weather we did not dock at CocoCay and there was an attempt to add some things to the schedule so the passengers wouldn't get bored. On Thursday, they decided to have a worship service and it was then that we were given a report that 4,100 people were saved as a result of PraiseFest 2007! And yes, they were working with the local churches to disciple these new converts. Praise God. Some of the artists who sang for us were Nicole C. Mullen, The Crabb Family, Austin's Bridge and David Phelps.

Bobby and I had a great time and at times I thought about how spoiled I was. We couldn't have enjoyed ourselves like we did had Pat and Mary Johnson not taken care of our children for us. What a blessing!!!

We arrived back in Port Canaveral 30 minutes ahead of schedule on Friday morning and was on the road north by 9:30. We had made last minute plans to stay with Charcy's parents who were renting a condo on Daytona Beach, on Friday and then begin our drive back to Tennessee Friday night. As we drove in to Daytona, we heard the radio announcement that the space shuttle, Atlantis, was scheduled for lift-off at 7:38 that evening. Bobby and I wouldn't have thought much about this but Derick and Charcy informed us just how rare of an occurence it was to see the space shuttle lift-off in person.

We enjoyed laying out that day, walking the beach, having another WONDERFUL meal prepared by Mr. Evans and just spoiling ourselves one more day. We loaded our bags by 7:00 and was able to see a perfect space shuttle launch - on time, perfect weather/visibility and then hop in the truck and head back home to Tennessee.

Pictures are posted here.

Videos are posted here.

We are talking about the doing the cruise again next year and taking the children. We shall see.

I'm paying Landis to read his bible. He'd slipped twice with saying, "Oh my G--." The first time I was concerned of course and wondered if I'd even heard him correctly. Well, I did hear him correctly and I told him that we don't use the Lord's name like that and why. It happened again maybe a week later and so I knew something had to be done. I sat down with him and asked him if he'd heard talk like that at school. Of course he did and so I explained to him how important God's name is and that we don't throw His name around like that. Then I remembered listening to some teaching about 5 years ago where the guy was saying that it doesn't work to try NOT to be carnal and to try NOT to do the same old sins you've always struggled with. This guy (Andrew Womack) was teaching that we need to keep the Word before our eyes and to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit and to get so infiltrated with the HIM that there's not room for the old man. At least that's how I remember it from that long ago. Instead of trying to keep out the bad, just pour in more good. Basically, the point is to get our focus right.

Landis needs to get more of the Word in him so I began to wonder how I could get him in his Bible more, now that he's reading. He and Hope already have a weekly chores chart where they keep up with what they need to help with around the house. They get to mark in a box to show that they did the job and they get paid for it at the end of the week. Landis has a little more responsibility than Hope does at this point and gets paid just a little bit more - 5 cents per job and Hope gets 3 cents per job. Hey, you gotta leave room for growth. To show Landis the importance of reading the Word of God and to give him incentive to do it I told him I'd give him 10 cents a day if he read his bible. He was excited about that and he's done a pretty good job of keeping it up. Now, if I can get him into a habit when he's young that would be wonderful...just so he doesn't expect a check in the mail every week from me because he's read his bible. :)

I was making dinner a couple of weeks ago and Landis was reading his bible. I remember hearing him say he wanted to read John 9 but I didn't pay much attention to him. But when he began to read something got my full attention. He read the first two verses and I stopped him and said, "Landis, you just ministered to me." The passage is about the disciples asking Jesus who sinned, the man or his parents that this man was born blind. Jesus told them neither but that the works of God could be revealed in him. I have struggled for years with taking blame for what happened to Grace. But in November of 2002 John Bevere and Pastor Davis both told me together in one conversation that it wasn't anything I did that caused Grace to suffer. (I had rebelled against something Pastor Davis had told me to do in 1998 - just before Grace was born.) In 2005 I was visiting family in MI and went to their church on a Sunday morning. I took Grace forward for the altar call for healing. As they gathered around Grace to pray for her, Pastor Don Smith stopped everything and said that he believed God was telling him to remind me of John 9: 1 & 2. I melted a little but when I thought about it later, I still decided to hang on to my own opinions. Stubborn little sucker, ain't I? Finally, this day in May of 2007, my 6 year old son was reading John 9: 1 & 2 and the Lord said to me, "how long are you going to put your opinions over My Word? I've spoken through the men of God. Now...by the mouth of 2 or 3 every word shall be established." Later I looked at 2 Cor. 13:1 and was so amazed at the accuracy of our great big God and how He doesn't miss one tiny detail of our lives. Wow! He's so awesome. Needless to say I've repented for holding my opinion in higher regard than His Word.