Morning No. 28-It's still here...

It seems to go on for miles!! They cancelled church today. The email said that the parking lot looked like an ice rink. But I am sure that all churches are called off. Ronny gave some suggestions for things to do this morning at home. You don't have to be in church to "have church". We had breakfast as a family and are just enjoying each other's company. Chad keeps messing with the thermostat--no wonder our power bill is so high. Any way, I will be glad when the snow and ice are gone and we can get back to normal. Or as normal as we can get.

BTW, my friends, Bobby and Jennifer, are in China to adopt another child from China. Her name is Mia and you can follow them on www.thebarbeebunch.blogspot.com. Have a good day.

Morning No. 27- Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

It began snowing here on Friday night and changed to a "wintry mix" later that night. It is pretty until you have to get in your car and go to work. This is the shed on the corner of my father-in-law's property. There is no telling what might be in that building--I am scared to go in there. Hannah and Ethan had a really good time playing on the snow-covered trampoline and they played until their hands and faces were numb and raw. I don't know what it is about snowy weather, but I think I have eaten every thing I can possibly get my hands on. Good thing I start going to the gym on Monday.

Morning No. 26- Oh, Brother!

Today(January 29th) is my little brother's 33 birthday! I looked every where to find a picture of him and could not. I tried to download one off of Facebook, but some silly law blocks that from happening. Anyway, Happy Birthday Kevin! Even though you have aggrevated me for most of those 33 years I love you.

Morning No. 25-Yes She IS!

This was a picture taken a few months ago when Hannah and Ethan found the Halloween costumes. I dug it out today because I just looked at Hannah's report card, and yes, my friends, she is INCREDIBLE.

Morning No. 24- Morning Glory vs. Night Owl

Can you guess which is which?

Morning No. 23- I Believe I Can Fly

Morning No. 22-Face of Joy

and waffles with syrup. You may not be able to tell, but I didn't have chance to wipe the remnants of breakfast off of his face. This little boy, Ethan, is my joy, even with a dirty face.
PS: I like his sister, Hannah, a whole bunch, too.

Morning No. 21

Chad bought this poinsettia two days before Christmas, and it is still going strong. I don't know what he does, but this plant will probably be alive on in to March or April. I don't know if he talks to it and tells it what a beautiful plant it is or what. That leads me to a thought. Do you realize how powerful your words are? If you continually tell someone how ugly or stupid they are, they will believe it and become it. It is harder to lift someone up than to tear them down, but we really have to try.

Morning No. 20--Head in the Clouds

Hannah actually took this picture. She said it looked like our dog, Puddin', running.

PS: the head is on the right...

Morning No. 19- You don't have to be crazy...

...to live here, but it helps!!!

This is Hannah being her wild and crazy self. Love that girl!

Morning No. 18--Who's in charge, here?

When I woke up this morning, the news on the television was not good. There was another earthquake in Haiti, about 35 miles from where another hit just a few days earlier. It sometimes makes you wonder what in the world is going on? Well, the answer is God's work is going on. The Bible says, "From Him, through Him, to Him are ALL things". Everything is for Him and His glory. A lot of people ask that if God is such a loving, caring God, then how can such bad things happen. Well, they are leaving sin and human nature out of the equation. I am not a scientist but we as humans in our belief that every thing is ours for the taking, have made a mess, and I mean a BIG one, of this planet. Everything, I mean everything, is God's. He made it for Himself, including us. We are His, made for Him and made to glorify Him. He is in charge~
that makes me feel A LOT better...

Please be in prayer for the people of Haiti, the children who now have no parents, the parents who now have no children, the families here in the states and around the world who don't know, and the ones working so diligently to help those who survived.

Morning No. 17--Jeepers Creepers

Where d'ya get those peepers?

Morning No. 16-Vacation

This picture was taken at about 8:45 today...I love vacation days where no one has to be awake, except, if you read my previous post, me at 5:15 to let Puddin' out. Then it was straight back to bed until around 8:30. They woke up, ate some breakfast and were aggrevating each other by 9. It's amazing how quickly they pick up where they left off the night before. But I love vacation days...

Morning No. 15--Devoted Friend

Let me introduce you to the family pet...Puddin'. She is a yorkie-poo. Her original name was Yorkie Peppermint Pattie...but that got a little hard the kids to say all the time, so Hannah named her Puddin' Pop, and that has been shortened to Puddin'. She is a wonderful pet. The only thing that I would change is the fact that she likes to go outside around 5:15 every morning. Whether you have to be awake at that time or not.

She LOVES Hannah and Ethan, and when they are not around and I am she paces the floor and looks out the window until they come home. She is a pretty smart dog and a very devoted friend. I wish I could say that I was a friend like that or that I even had a friend like that.

Morning No. 14--Laundry Day

Today, like almost every other day, is laundry day. Only today, Hannah and Ethan wanted to help. I know, miracle upon miracles, but it happened just the same. And, well ummm, I HAD to snap a picture for proof later on. Hannah would take the clothes out of the washer and Ethan would throw them in the dryer. Several times, Hannah almost fell in head first and her squatting on top of the washer is a funny site to see. So, for now, they are little helpers, but it quickly ended. And they were off being their sweet, aggrevating each other selves. You know what they say..."All good things must come to an end..."

Morning No. 13- One of my Favorite Things

Tulips--These are my favorite flowers. I have invited my parents over to eat supper with us tonight, I thought that I would set a special table, for special people. Why do we wait until special occasions to have fresh flowers, or use the special china instead of paper plates? Every day that we are alive and have our families around should be a special occasion. I pray that God helps me to remember this every day.

Morning No. 12--Special Occasion

Finally, I have finished putting the china that my grandma Eudy gave me a long while ago. It has just been sitting in the attic, wrapped in newspaper, just waiting. It looks pretty good, don't you think? I am trying to convince Chad that we should have our Easter meal here, so that we can show it off. What is the use in having fine china if you are not going to use it?

Morning No. 11--Baby, it's cold outside!

On the news this morning at 515 am, the weather man said that this is the warmest morning that we have had in a while. Granted, I am not naive enough to think that it is 70 degrees outside, but the 20s is not warm to me...they say by the weekend it will be in the upper 40s...

Drag out the summer clothes~there's gonna be a heat wave.

Any way all this cold weather and the fact that I have to be at work at 645 in the morning all this week, makes it hard for me to get any good pictures and tell about them...so I will leave you with this wonderful memory of days gone by and a hope for what is to come...

Morning No. 10--STOP!

We see these signs every where, and we usually stop our car, bicycle or feet. How many times, though, do we actually just stop and be? We don't have enough white spaces on our calendar. The Bible tells us in many different ways to stop. One of my favorites is Psalm 46:10--
Be Still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in all the earth.
Take some time this morning and just be still...breathe in and out and know...

Morning No. 9--Not Always Like I Planned

When I took the picture this morning, I didn't adjust the light well enough, and the image was unclear. So I decided to pull out one of my favorite pictures and tell a little about it.
It was not what I had planned to do, but sometimes you have to just take what you are given and go with it. Ever heard the saying that ends with "make lemonade"? Anyway, most of the time life doesn't work out the way we plan, but that is the problem~it is OUR plan. I am guilty of it on a regular basis, even daily.

This picture was taken on a nice summer day at my mom's house. On the left is Emma Grace Yandle. She is 5 and just started kindergarten this year. She is VERY pretty, VERY smart, VERY independent and VERY, VERY, ummm stubborn. Just like her daddy, who is my brother. On the right is my Hannah Mae-Elizabeth Barbee. She is 8 and in second grade this year. She is VERY pretty, VERY smart, VERY independent and VERY, VERY stubborn as well. Also like her daddy! And maybe, if the truth be told, a lot like me, too.
These two girls are not just cousins, but are pretty good friends, too. They like the same things, they teach each other things and learn from each other. Sometimes I don't know if that is a good thing or not.
My cousin, Robin and I were the same way. Every summer we couldn't wait for that week or so that we could spend together. Robin and I have grown up and moved on, but when we get together we still have a good laugh.
Anyway, I hope that these beautiful girls will always find time for each other and remain best of friends through the summers and winters of life.

Morning No. 8--"I Can Do It!"

Ethan, my handsome, independent 4-year old. He likes to do things all by himself, usually screaming, "I Can Do It!!" This morning, he dressed himself and (I don't know if you can tell) he put his shirt on backwards. Don't we, as adults, do this, too? We try to handle problems on our own and we usually end up doing wrong. And we usually have to start over many times before we admit that we need God's help~

My dad has always asked us why there is enough time to go back and do something again, but NEVER enough time to do it right the first time...

Well, our heavenly Father is probably thinking the same thing...

Morning No. 7--God Doesn't Need Us

Psalm 50:9-11

I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains and the creatures of the field are mine.

To obey God is better than any ritual performance. And to love Him is far better than all. We should not be satisfied to go through the motions out of obligation. God doesn't NEED us--He WANTS us and He wants us to love Him and love others.

By the way, God not only owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He owns the hills.

Morning No. 6--If these walls could talk

This building used to sit nestled among a bunch of trees overlooking a vast field. In fact, I didn't even realize that it was there until a few months ago when a gas company had to cut down most of the trees to install a gas line.

When I saw it for the first time, I wondered who lived there. Was it a large family, with lots of children? Or was it a couple who couldn't have children living out there days? I wonder what stories bounce off the walls. The hopes and dreams that went up at night from the people that lived there. No one that I have asked seems to know anything about the people that lived there. I guess that it has been such a long time since there was life there, and so many "new" people have moved into this area, that the people have been long forgotten. I think we do that to the older generation. We just live our lives and forget that we are here, because they were here. I believe that those of us in my generation and younger need to sit at the feet and take in all the history and knowledge of those that have come before us, because I have always heard that those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it...

Morning No. 5--On Frozen Pond

This is a picture of the ducks and goose on our pond...

The ducks had just swam across the water that wasn't frozen and were standing on the ice...

The goose in the picture has recently lost his mate...Did you know geese, and many other birds, are monogamous? And once they lose a mate they don't "re-marry"? I wonder if he is lonely...

Does he even know that she has died? Does he continue to look for her?

It's kinda sad, huh?

Morning No. 4--Tracks: Coming or Going?

I snapped this picture on my way home from
getting every one to school--it made me think
a bit about the fact that the trains can travel in
either direction on the same tracks to reach their
destinations. What I thought about most is no
matter how far down the track you go, you can
turn around and find yourself right back where
you started and possibly go farther in that
direction. It's the same way with God~no matter
how far we get from Him and His will, if we just
turn around (repent) we will find Him there.
I once heard someone say that no matter how
many miles you have traveled from God, it only
takes one step to get back to Him. So, are you
coming or going?

Morning No. 3-Not Just Another Cabinet

This cabinet belonged to a beautiful lady who went to be with Jesus on December 30, 2009. My grandmother, Dot Yandle, had this cabinet in her dining area for as long as I can remember and it housed a special guest, or should I say, special "ghost" named George. One day when some of the cousins were there, we got scared of "George" and she chased him out the front door, telling him he was not welcome when the children were there. But in reality, everyone was welcome in her home.

As it stands in the corner of the dining area in my home, I hope George comes to visit and maybe even live. And as the years go by, I hope everyone feels welcome in my home.

Thank you, Father, for giving us examples of how to live- positive and negative-that we might learn to be more like You. Oh, and say hello to Grandma for me~

Morning No. 2--Sunrise

Sunrise out my kitchen window--WOW!!

Thank you, Father, for the sunrise and the promise it brings. The promise that your mercies are new everyday. Help me to live up to the potential of the sunrise and to not miss the blessings that you have for me today.

Morning No. 1--Relaxing

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Getting ready for church can sometimes be a chore. One that leaves us in a not-so-Christian mood. Now, Hannah and Ethan, on the other hand, have NO stress on Sunday morning. They get up out of bed, and "relax" on the couch. Even though they have been "relaxing" all night in the bed. Why can't we slow down and "relax" like children.

Dear Lord, thank you for these beautiful blessed children. Help me to lead them to you. Let them learn to sail into deep waters for you, with you as their wind and compass.

Behind the Name

I found an article in a magazine that was laying around about a group of women who decided to take a picture every morning and right a little something about it. They wrote a book, I choose to right a blog. I hope you enjoy.