Nassar News

New Blog

2010-11-14T19:18:00.000-05:00

When I first started this blog, I had a verizon email. Well, now I have a Gmail account, and signing in and out of the blog is a pain, plus I can't do changes to the blog when it 'sends' me information via email....

And I didn't want to start a new one or loose the posts I have on here.

Well, I FINALLY figured out how to fix the problem, and I am proud to say I did it all by myself!! I am by no means a guru at the tech stuff, so this was a huge accomplishement!! :)

So, effective immediately, my blog's new address is Thenassarnews.blogspot.com , soi if you wish to, go to that one and click 'follow'..... I will leave this open for a while. Mainly cuz I want to make sure everything is working right on the new one......

So come one over!!!

party and tornado warnings

2010-10-24T18:33:00.000-04:00

We scheduled a get together with our SS class for yesterday. Everyone was to bring a pumpkin and carve it here while we had some good ole stews!
I was so excited, it has been a very long time since we've thrown a party.... almost 2 years!!

So, everyone was supposed to show up at 5:30pm. The weather was looking gloomy, but our area hardly ever gets rain, so I thought it would just go around us.... Nope! at 5:20pm, this alarm goes off somewhere in town. Loud alarm. We were under a tornado warning! My first tornado warning alarm. I know one is supposed to look for shelter, but honestly, my first thought was "COOL!" Fred went out back to see if he could see a tornado coming.... yeah, we are new at this.
We watched the radar on TV and the storm flew over us in no time. Some of the folks braved the weather and showed up.
It was a very nice time. We had 3 girls ages 9-11, 2 teens who are very sweet, along with their parents. The girls really got into the pumpkin carving, Fred manned the Ice Cream bar and made some milkshakes for those who wanted it, and great time of talking with the ladies!
I hope we get to do more socials in the future, it was really fun!
Here are some pictures....

Eyeball cupcakes!

(made way too many, so we took the leftovers to the youth at church on Sunday)

Rachel made caramel apples, so yummy!

I found a place that sells dry ice, so we got a cauldron full!

I read if you put a little of dish soap in the dry ice,

yu can get 'smoking' bubbles, so we tried it!

the girls diligently working on their pumpkins! (while eating a caramel apple!)

Tom and Grace working on her 1st pumpkin

...

a kitty cat!

her 2nd one was a ghost, not bad!!

one of the other girls' creation...

the ladies hanging out in the kitchen....

while the guys watch football in the living room

Rachel and Grace

This may sound weird, but as much fun as it was, it was also a reminder that I miss my 'other' friends that we got together with for almost every occasion through the year.

But we are planting roots. There are some great folks in our SS class that have gone out of their way to make us feel at home. We are looking for ways to get involved in the community as much as possible. So, it's all good!!

more pictures of Baby!

2010-10-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

This kitten must think she is a dog. She LOVES to get her belly rubbed and she begs for 'people' food. Every time we go in the kitchen she follows and is non-stop MEOW....

She makes herself comfortable...

more belly rub please!!

Kaya and Bella are.... I don't know, adjusting to one another? It's weird, Kaya seems to search Baby out to hiss and growl at her. Almost like trying to intimidate her. Baby responds like she is afraid, but then I catch her trying to sneak up on Kaya's tail and pouncing.

So I feel I can't get on to Kaya for bullying when Baby antagonizes her....

I feel like I am dealing with 2 siblings! haha

Therapy

2010-10-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

I don't know if it's the holidays around the corner or what, but I get into the mood of 'crafting' this time of year. Dealing with 'blah' mood swings, doing these little projects has actually been therapeutic. I wish I was more creative and do more complicated things. But I am enjoying my little crafts.

Here is my attempt to duplicate the can on the right side (with flowers in it). I received this as a gift a long time ago (I feel bad I can't remember who) and I am going to make one for each family in our SS class.

These are pinecones I collected at a park last week. I spray painted them red because there are these smaller ones that looked like cherries. The color is very dark, not sure it's going to work. I might just paint them gold and put them in a bowl....

and I am finishing up my window, finally! I am painting the first coat red, applying a crackle varnish, then adding a green. So it SHOULD be a green window with red coming through the crackle. I hope it turns out!

Now some pictures of our 'fall' decorations..... I love this time of year!

It's been so nice to have a fireplace mantle to decorate!

I got these cute metal pumpkin faces that stake into the ground through a catalog. So cute!

I just love scarecrows! these little guys are just $1 at Walmart, cheap decorations!

I may not care for pumpkins to eat in any form, but I sure love to decorate with them!

more little scarecrows by the mailbox

I got this cute little 'harvest village' from a catalog too. I love that the buildings are crooked! You can't tell here, but the buildings have lights in them. I have this on the kitchen buffet

And this is something I saw in a magazine.

It's supposed to be a candy corn made of carnations,

but it's not quite the cylinder it's supposed to be, oh well!

And lastly, it's me!

This is in the town park....

Fred and I went to a fundraiser in DT Mt Pleasant. You could get a bowl of chili, drink and dessert for $6 and the procceeds go to the town's Christmas lights. I love this small town stuff!

addition to the Family

2010-09-29T21:36:00.000-04:00

Say Hello to BABY!

I have wanted to get a kitten for a while now. After we got all settled in our house, I started going to the animal shelter and checking out the kittens. But not just any kitten, I really wanted to find a blue/grey one. Years ago, we had a cat named Chester and he was that color. I went this past Monday and they had a litter of 3 of them! I filled out all the paper work but had to get Fred to agree to getting another pet in the house.
In a a gesture of complete selfless love to me, he said ok! I know he would rather not have any pets, much less 2. But I think he knew that I have been in a 'rough' place lately and to have something that would 'need' me, would be like therapy!

She is so stinking cute! She found the food right away and we saw her use the litter box last night. We were such proud new parents! haha

She loves the laptop for some reason, don't know if she likes the light from the monitor or the humming, but she is very comfortable with it!

But mostly, she does this..... and I am ok with that!

Poor Kaya is very angry right now. At first sight of the kitten, she ran to our bedroom and hasn't left under the bed. I have tried several times to go under there and love on her and she is actually hissing and growling at me. That makes me sad. :( I hope she comes around soon.

More cute pictures of Baby....

Fred said I better make sure she doesn't get outside or a bird will swoop her away! He said he didn't think Kaya was ever that little, but I know she was. Oh, how we forget! haha

I intend on enjoying this little fur ball as long as I can!!

little projects

2010-09-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

I finally got the spray paint to spruce up my fountain...

don't know if the pictures do it justice, but I think it looks better.

This is the 'before' look....

This is the 'after' look....

I also bought this 'kit' to hang clay pots together at the flea market a couple of weeks ago. Well, I thought it would be nice if I painted the pots....

And this is how they look with plants and hanging up....

the contraption is just pieces of wood with 'hooks' cut on them and the pots clip on to....

I like it!

And last but not least, my pretty old window

Fred bought me this old window in Dade City last Summer and I hadn't done anything with it yet...

Well, Fred took and sanded it down for me and I cleaned up the glass on it.

The next step is to paint it. I am thinking about red and putting a 'crackle' finish on it to keep it looking 'old'.

Also, I think I am going to take the hummingbirds pictures that Freddy took and make them 5x7 and put them in the windows. VERY excited about this, I just hope it doesn't take me till NEXT Summer to do it!!

HAHA

now on to happier things!

2010-09-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

I had every intention of posting pics of the kids' visit here as soon as they left. But that didn't happen, of course. (see previous post)

Freddy and Steph arrived on Thursday. Freddy drove 5 hours, Steph flew into Dallas.
Friday, we went to Canton Flea Market. It is a HUGE place and it's open the weekend before the 1st Monday of the month. Everyone around here has been telling us we HAD to go to it, but to wait till it was cooler. So we tried it out, and God blessed us with wonderful weather!

Apparently Freddy has a crush on Taylor Swift, hahah

Steph's new nickname!

have to say the guys were great sports and patient with us girls looking at all the stuff

ok, so everything IS bigger in Texas!

yeah, this is best I could get of the siblings together, Freddy is a goof

we thought this girl was too happy, yeah, did I mention Freddy was goofy?

We actually found these letters laid out....

Fred and I with some crazy lawn ornaments!

stopped at this place....

for this...

the sign was appropriate!

On Saturday, we took the kids into 'town'.... which didn't take long!

found a cute gazebo for pictures...

Freddy taking pictures of the old buildings

On Sunday, it was great having the kids with us in church!!

Went to Chili's for lunch (not many choices in town!)

Freddy showing off his Iphone to his dad

Then, did some relaxing at the house. Didn't feel like doing anymore driving

Steph and I attempting to get our pic together!

about the best we could do!

Freddy in backyard trying to catch pictures of the birds

Here's a couple of the hummingbirds

I think it's so cool that you can actually see their wings

Monday was Labor Day, so we had Mom and the other Nassars come over for a cookout. Mom's Birthday was on the 8th, so we sang Happy Birthday to her. Tom made some 'molten lava' cakes as well as a 'dark chocolate' cake. The boy likes baking, and we are glad!!

Tom looking normal...

Most of the Nassars together

and last but not least, Grandma and the Grandkids!

It was a wonderful visit, especially since I know the kids weren't all that excited about our little town, but still had great attitudes! My babies are all grown up, and I don't know how I feel about that!

Pity Party

2010-09-14T11:38:00.000-04:00

I read a devotional this morning. It hit me smack in between the eyes.
http://internetcafedevotions.com/2010/09/pity-party/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InternetCafeDevotions+%28Internet+Cafe+Devotions%29

It spoke about having a "pity party" .   I went through that last week. 2 of the 3 kids came for a visit. They left on Tuesday, and that's when the party started. I went into a dark hole of depression. Maybe depression is too strong of a word. But I was really down. Fred was calling it 'post partum depression'. I loved having Freddy and Steph here, but it emphasized that Andy wasn't. Our relationship with him is not much better, another reminder....
After the kids left, I can't say when I will see them again, and that is sad. Things aren't going that great in Steph's world, and I can't do anything about that. And I am left in the middle of East Texas. I felt very lost and alone.  It lasted about 3 days. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. I had to take mom to the store on Wednesday, and it took every ounce of strength to do that.

Ok, so after saying all this, not to have anyone feel sorry for me, I realized something had happened. I didn't pray. At all. For a week. Now, did the blue mood come from lack of praying or I didn't pray due to the blue mood? I don't know, but I don't think it matters. The point is you'd think I would have had a "DUH!" moment! The minute I started feeling down, I should have been DOWN on my knees. But after all these years, I am still a hard-head. (ha, I guess that's where my kids get it!)

So, I am going to put the scripture below on my bathroom mirror. I will see it every morning as a reminder cuz I sure don't want to go through a 'blue mood' again.

Let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. And as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
                                                 Colossians 3:15-17

more birdies

2010-08-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

I saw this cardinal this morning. The picture is not very clear as I took it from inside the house. I was afraid if I tried to go outside, he would fly away. And sure enough, he did....

Here are a couple of pictures of one of the hummingbirds that hang out in my backyard. He is perched on the hook holding the feeder.

They are so small! but so cute! It's been so hot, I have to refill the feeder every 2-3 days.

I really need to get a couple more.

trying to keep busy

2010-08-14T16:47:00.000-04:00

When Fred got cement for his tower, we had a little bit of lefover. The cement had a bunch of little pebbles, and I went and scooped up a bunch of them, washed them and put them in my little fountain in front of the house. This is the layout in front....

and here you can see the pebbles in the fountain...

I am going to buy one of those spray paint cans that gives it the 'stone' look and spruce up my fountain. Poor thing is faded from the sun.

I also took some of the smaller ones and added them to a vase...

I like it.....

Birds

2010-08-11T12:47:00.000-04:00

One of the things I am enjoying most living here is the birds around our house. I know I sometimes sound like a total "city girl" when I get all excited about seeing a hummingbird. But I have honestly never seen one in person. I didn't realize how small they are! This plant (don't know the name) seems to be a favorite to the hummingbird. I have a couple of them around our gazebo.

I also got a feeder as a 'gesture of friendship'. lol

Fred and I sit at the breakfast table every evening to eat dinner and watch 'the show' the birds to put on for us. The hummingbird flying crazy from flower to flower.

We also have mockingbirds, and they chase each other around in the yard, through the tree. They look like they are having such fun!.

( I stuck an apple in a branch to see if they would like it, and boy, did they!)

This is actually a little cat that used to hold a glass bowl for a beta fish. I broke the glass a while back and decided this was a great birdfeeder. The birds don't seem intimidated by kitty since I am having to fill it up at least once a week!

We also have some cardinals, but I haven't been able to sneak a picture of one yet. Working on it!

Our neighbor told me there are finch around here too. I think I saw one the other day. I am so new at this bird watching thing, I need to get me a book or something.

We have a big oak tree in the front yard and I hear all kinds of birds in it every morning, so I thought I would put a feeder out there too. It's a cute little mesh church shape....

Yesterday I went to see if I needed to refill it and saw this:

Some little booger has ripped the mesh trying to get to the seeds! Fred said it's probably a squirrel, though I have yet to see one around here. That really bugged me. I need to strategically think of what birdfeeders to put out from now on....

Through all this bird watching and activity, it makes me think of my dear friend, Linda. She loves birds and knows about all kinds of them. I call her whenever I see a new one. I miss her.

That's all I got for now! :)

changes and more changes....

2010-08-11T12:45:00.000-04:00

Well, Mom has moved out.
When we first got here she put her name on a list at the public housing authority. She got a call last Wednesday that an apartment came open and did she want it. She jumped on it. It is a VERY tiny place. We went to look at it on Thursday and she signed the lease, even though I could see she was very dissilusioned by the size and the fact that the stove, heat, and water heater run on gas. (she is afraid of gas).

So, in spite of the fact that she has not been well for weeks and the apt. is way too small and she has to deal with a gas stove, she was determined to move out and be 'independent'. That is all fine and good if you CAN be independent. But mom is nearly blind, her health is poor physically and mentally.

This is going to be a trying time for us. Fred and I have agreed that we will help her as much as we can, but we aren't going to be at her 'beck and call'. I keep reminding mom that being 'independent' means being able to take care of yourself.
And to top it all off, I was over there trying to go through her many boxes. We agreed after seeing the size of the apt, she needs to put some things in storage. But as we are going through the boxes, I can't get her to agree to store one single thing. She then says ' I have a 1 year lease here, so I don't want to have my things in storage for a whole year without me being able to see them' ....... So, she plans on moving AGAIN in a year. I told her Fred was done. He wasn't going to move her anymore. (We have moved her 10 times in 25 years). She is incredible.

So, now I have an actual guest room. I am looking forward to putting it together. We have a full size bed in the 'radio' room, but I have told Freddy he can have it. I would love to find an old headboard, maybe iron, or wood, but definitely with an air of antique. Just have to convince Fred! lol

Other possible changes are in the air, but I can't really talk about it right now. Just know the Nassars could use some prayers!!

Another example of how God is in control

2010-07-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

Fred had a follow up with the GI dr and a Rheumatologist last Friday in Tyler. Since Tyler is 1 1/2 hours away, we planned on making it a day of it....

I have to admit, I wasn't real excited about the followups. I figured his GI dr. would come in, say 'how are ya? good? no more pain? good, $35 please...." And the Rheumatologist, well, I KNEW Fred didn't have RA cuz I have it and he doesn't have any of the symptoms... Boy, was I wrong!

First, we go to the Rheumatologist. He talks to Fred a bit about what sent him to the hospital, the vasculitis, and celiac sprue.... He then does a physical exam. Fred told him that he had Osteoarthritis in the hip, diagnosed 4 yrs ago. The doctor looks at him and says "you don't have that, you have Ankylosing Spondylitis. Of course, our response is "anky-what??"
Well, it's a type of arthritis that hits the spine. (well, a little more complex, hit the link for more info) This condition attacks the spine, causes the vertebrae to fuse together which causes you to start having a curved spine. And that's the least of it. It can also affect the rib cage to fuse and seriously hinder the breathing.
I have known for years now there was something going on with Fred's back. He is getting a 'hunchback'. When he lays on the floor, the back of his head doesn't touch the floor. When he went to the orthopedics in Brandon 4 years ago cuz his hip was giving him trouble (another symptom of AS) , he was told it was osteoarthritis. Oh, and he had some kind of congenital disease in his spine. That's it. Nothing else. Fred left thinking 'I was born with this, can't really do anything about it'.
Well, YES, there is something that can be done. He is going to start taking a medicine, Enbrel, once a week. It's in an injection form, like an epie pen. This will slow down the progress of the disease, if not stop it. Now, the damage done cannot be reverse, which is very frustrating, since he could have started taking care of this 4 years ago!
So, HOW IS GOD IN CONTROL of all this??   Well, let's see, we move to TX away from all we know as home. 5 months after Fred gets here, he drops from severe abdominal pains. Otherwise a very healthy guy, he gets diagnosed with Vasculitis of the main arteries to the digestive organs (Very rare to happen), but the drs dig deeper to find out why he got it. Ends up he has Celiac Sprue, probably brought on by the stress of all he has gone through in the last 5 months. Well, Celiac Sprue is (somehow) connected to 'auto immune' disorders, so he was told to see a Rheumatologist, who finally CORRECTLY diagnosed him with AS!!!

See? if we had stayed in Florida, I don't know any of this would have happened. Yeah, my husband has been sick and has been diagnosed with some pretty serious stuff. But NOW we know and we can do something about it.

Ok, and last but not least. With Celiac Sprue, Fred's diet has changed. He can't have ANY food with wheat, rye or barley. Yeah, that includes all cake mixes, most flours and breads. We have shopped around for 'gluten free' products and found some at Walmart. Small selection and NOT cheap. Well, lo and behold, here comes David May. Who is this, you ask? He is a member of our Sunday School class. He works for a company who produces different types of foods, mainly mass quantity of things like flour, breading, for other food companies. Well, they are now working on coming up with 'gluten free' products. Last week, he brought us all kinds of stuff, pancake mix, flour, muffin mix, cake mix. ALL gluten free, and FREE to us!

You see, God knew,WAY before we had a desire to move to Texas, that we would be attending 1st Baptist Mt Pleasant, we would join a little bitty SS class cuz the new teacher was so kind on my 1st Sunday at the church. That Fred would be diagnosed with this condition out of the blue and we would need to change our diet....

I get so excited when I talk about all this, I almost start yelling. It can't get any more clear than this. God is an All Knowing God. He knows every need we have and is not only by our side through it all, He is ahead of us getting it all ready.   Isn't that the coolest thing???

America

2010-07-04T20:05:00.000-04:00

The choir at church sang this today....
Thank you Lord for allowing me to be born in America.

Planting roots....

2010-06-27T19:08:00.000-04:00

Well, today we walked down the aisle at church.

To join FBC Mt Pleasant.

(http://fbcmp.org/index.cfm?i=1865)

We have been attending the church since we got here. We really liked it but didn't want to join until we knew where we were going to live. Once we moved to our house, we tried the church that is right behind us, Trinity Baptist. It was a nice church, friendly folks, but just not the church for us. Funny how the Holy Spirit leads you to certain places and not to others.
The pastor at FBC Mt Pleasant is very good. He doesn't hold back at all as he shares the Bible with us. We are in a SS class with some great folks. Very kind. And it's funny how we have very similar stories of how God brought us all to where we are. Don't know how long we will be in that class, though. I am sure Fred will be teaching soon. That's how it is. But hopefully we will develop some friendships while we are there.

I am still feeling like a wonderer in the desert. Kinda lost. I know this will pass. I need to get involved in the church, need to find a part time job (ugh). Getting these 2 things done will get me out there and meeting people. But why is that first step so hard to take?

I whine about not knowing anyone but I would rather stay in my little house and wait till Fred gets home.

Fred asked God to get us out of our 'comfort zone'. Well, he did. I am uncomfortable. Now, I know that is not necessarily a bad thing, but still......

Ok, as I read back on this, I sound like I am rambling. I better quit now while I am not too far out there.

The Nassar Manor (formerly known as the haunted house)

2010-06-18T23:00:00.000-04:00

I decided I shouldn't call Tom & Rachel's house 'haunted'. Didn't seem like a nice thing to do. :)

Tom has been working on the foundation of the house, supporting it and replacing where needed.

This is the living room. Tom found that there is water damage on the main wall. Will be replacing some of the wood...

windows in living room...

The kitchen, actually a good size...

Laundry area off kitchen

downstairs bath, pretty big too

some creative art work

this is a lamp hanging just under the stairs, pretty classic!

stairway to the upstairs room/loft

more of the room upstairs

this is a little closet/nook... perfect for a little girl's hideaway!!

Like I have said before, this is going to take A TON of work. But Tom really likes doing it himself and doesn't seem overwhelmed about it at all. These are the "Before" pictures, hopefully there will be "After" pictures soon!

Celiac Sprue

2010-06-11T21:32:00.000-04:00

After being in the hospital since Saturday night, series of blood tests, Xrays, CT scans (3 of them), endoscopy and a colonoscopy, Fred has been diagnosed with having Celiac Sprue aka: Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance.

This really came out of left field. I mean, from the research we have done online, (and boy! is there tons of stuff online!) this can come on at any age. But, still, Fred has never had any problems till last Wednesday, and he didn't have any of the other symptoms that comes with it.

Now, when we were told he needed a colonoscopy because the dr saw a 'bumpy' small intestine during the endoscopy, that scared me. BAD. The word biopsy=possible cancer to me. When the dr talked to me and told me Fred had Celiac Sprue, I almost started laughing. It was such a relief that he didn't have cancer. (I specifically asked, had to hear the DR say no).

So, really, the news was good. And we are grateful. We are.

But now that we are home, looking at our cupboards and seeing that Fred can't eat most of the stuff we have, it's discouraging. We start to have a pity party, how are we going to do this? why did this happen?

This morning, we headed to town. Fred wanted to go find a salad for lunch. We went to Chilis. He starts to look at the menu and checking off all he CAN'T have. So we start narrowing down things. We look at the salads. BBQ chicken. It looks good, but it has wonton chips. So we ask if they are corn or flour (can't have flour) The waitress said it was a mix, but it could be ordered just corn. So we do, but Fred is worried that they won't do it. Then, the manager comes and talks to us. Wants to let us know they will actually make a new batch of chips to make sure there is no cross contamination. How cool is that?? So what I learned is that we just need to ask. If we aren't sure about a food, ask. If we need a substitute, ask.

We then went to Walmart to read labels. That was not great either. EVERYTHING has wheat. Goodness!

We found a small section in the baking isle that had specific 'gluten free' items. We got some of the things to try them out: pancake mix, cookies, hot breakfast cereal. Hopefully they will taste ok. There are a lot of websites that we can order from, and recipes all over the place to make things that we thought we would have to give up. For example, chocolate chip cookies. It's going to take a little while, but we will figure it out. I have connected with a couple of folks that have the condition, and I will be picking their brains. I think it will be easier to learn from actual people going through it than websites.

We will get through this. And we will give God all the praise. I know this isn't just something that happened. God has a plan. We just don't know what that is yet. But we don't need to. We just need to trust.

The week's not over yet!

2010-06-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

I was typing up the previous post on Friday, and saved it to come back to later....

Well, we found a car. A Toyota Corolla. It's a 2009 with no frills, but it's supposed to be good on gas,

and that is the most important thing.

That was Friday. Yesterday, Fred was still not feeling well. He was frustrated that he couldn't do the things that needed to be done (cut grass, start on his tower/antenna...) All he could do is take turns in different positions to feel better. Well, around 5pm, he got double-over pains again. I took him to our local ER and after waiting over an hour in terrible pain, they took him back. More blood work and xrays and CT scan.... This time the CT scan found something. According to the radiologist, he has "arteritis" of the bowel.
I am getting educated in the vascular system: The aorta is the main artery that runs through the body. It has "branches" that feed the organs blood and oxygen. Well, the one to his bowel is 'inflamed'. Mt Pleasant does not have a specialist on this (the ER dr said he had never seen this before) so they transfered Fred via ambulance to a hospital in Tyler. The ER dr there said he had never seen this before either. Great, Fred is unique! haha
We are now in a room at the hospital waiting for the vascular surgeon. Fred is on pain meds and resting. But I wish we could find out what the plan is to make him better. It's frustrating NOT knowing....

So, going thru all this, I start thinking how much easier this would be if we were back in Fl with all our friends' support. And I start to question what we are doing here. But, I can't do that. All along, we have felt a peace that this is where God wanted us. And having his brother Tom close by is a help. He came over and drove me to Tyler while Rachel spent the night at the house in case mom woke and was wondering what was going on. They have been a blessing.

God is in control. He knows our needs. I have to remember that and put Fred in His hands.

Interesting week....

2010-06-06T11:01:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, it was time to bring Fred's tower home. I met him at Tom's house with my car to attach the trailer. I would follow Fred home in his truck. Well, maybe 2 miles into the trip, Fred's truck stalls. just stops. I pull over, he finds a place to turn around. and 2 1/2 hours later, AAA tows the truck home for us.

We take the truck into the shop on Friday, get word that the timing chain broke.(we figured that) Getting it fixed. $500. Get word on Saturday that there is still something wrong. Needs a new engine. They will look around to see how much it will cost. Now, this is a 1996 Isuzu. Call back it's going to be over $3000. Sorry, the truck is not worth that. We will come and get it and start shopping for a used car.

Plan was to get the truck home on Wednesday. But plans are made to be changed, right?

I get a call from Fred. "now, don't freak out, but I am in the ER in Texarkana". NOT a good way to start a conversation with your wife. He was at work when he got hit with severe abdominal pains. About 5 hours and tests later, they send him home not sure of what is causing it, except they ruled out a bunch of stuff. So we know what he DOESN'T have. Oh, and since his truck was in the shop, he was driving my car to work. I had to wait for Rachel to get off work and drive me to Texarkana, which is 1 hour away. ugh!

After he was released, we went to the base and jumped through hoops with the front gate so he could get the car. All this in a 6 day span. And I thought things were going to be quiet once we settled here....

BUT God is faithful. He is going to get us through all this yuck. Fred is still not back to normal. He was having pains still yesterday, but hopefully the medicine he's on will get him better. We are supposed to go look for a car today. Fred HATES shopping for a vehicle, so it's not going to be a fun experience.
We have money in savings (our 6months emergency fund) that we are going to use, so hopefully offering cash will get us a good deal. But the fact we are depleting the account has Fred stressed. So, guess who is going to look for a job sooner than she thought? :)

So the prayer request is that I will find something that won't be too much time restraining, as I have mom to take care of. I am her only transportation right now since we don't know anyone here yet.

Visiting with Freddy

2010-05-08T14:50:00.006-04:00

Fred had a training conference in Austin last week and I got to tag along. We got to see Freddy!
Waiting for Freddy to have breakfast!

My Freds!

I am so glad we got to see him! He turned 25 on Friday, but he will always be my baby!

I am hoping to be able to get all the kids to come see us soon. Freddy can drive up, but I will be flying Steph and Andy here. I have been looking at flights, and boy! they aren't cheap! I'm going to start a 'flying' fund to save for the tickets. I would love to get them to come for 4th of July weekend....

Random Pics

2010-04-30T18:03:00.004-04:00

As I drive around, my eyes catch some neat scenery. But for some reason, the pictures I have taken don't do them justice. (they are more breathtaking in person) But they are nice nonetheless and I thought I would share!

I have seen a couple of buildings decorated with the Texas flag.... I see this everytime we are coming back into town and this angle of the field and the old house far away just gets to me. (I made it black/white)

This little guy was crossing the path when I was going to mom's motel room.... he hurried across the street when he saw me coming, and when I stopped the car to take a picture, he stopped and turned his head.... he posed for me!

I see this on the way to church every Sunday and I made Fred pull over this past Sunday.... again, a neat sight... to me anyway...

This is a very cool looking house on the top of the hill in a big piece of property... this is what Fred and I hope to have one day... maybe WITHOUT the cows in the front yard though

There are a bunch of goats in the property next to the motel mom is staying.... I made Fred take this for the sake of my niece Savanna since I told her we were going to get goats when I moved here!

This is a little pond in the property where the motel is. It's very peaceful....

This is a rose bush I drive by everytime I go see mom.... I have fought the urge to take some of the blooms home with me!!

Again, a field near the motel.... there are fields and fields full of wildflowers around here... love it!

Taking down of the porch

2010-04-28T14:47:00.003-04:00

I was trying to post one of Tom pulling off the concrete steps, but I guess it was too long to post....

More work on Old House

2010-04-28T14:00:00.004-04:00

Tom and Rachel have been doing more work on the house.... Here is another shot of the front porch...
And now the porch is gone.....

This is where it ended up.... It was a windy day so Fred was standing by with the water hose...

Tom's tractor sure comes in handy.... here he is giving Rachel a ride to the front of the house...

More of the porch...

A lot of progress was made in just one day. Kuddos to Tom & Rachel!

26th Anniversary

2010-04-21T10:06:00.005-04:00

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary. Boy, has a lot happened in those years!! Some great, some not so good. But put all together, it has brought us here. And here is not so bad.

I am amazed at how blessed I am to have Fred in my life. God has definitely used him to work in me and draw me closer to what God intends me to be.

2009 was a pretty stinky year, but I know God has great things in store for the 2 of us in 2010, and I am eager and ready for it!

By the way, this picture is from our Renewal of Vows ceremony in 2004. I still can't believe Fred went along with it, since this would be in the category of "mushy sentimental". So I know he did it just for me, and I love him for it!!

Haunted House

2010-04-18T20:28:00.007-04:00

Fred's brother, Tom, purchased a house not far from where he lives now. It's a 100 year old house, and Fred has gotten to calling it the 'Haunted House'.

It is in rough shape, to say the least. It really needs to be gutted and start over. But Tom likes to do that kind of stuff. He worked on the last 2 houses he bought, except this one is a HUGE project. At first glance, I thought he was insane. But I got to see inside. It is a great old house. Yes, it is going to take tons of work, but if they get it done, it's going to be amazing. Cleaning out the storage building....

They are first working on the yard. It is all overgrown, and some dead trees. We were there Saturday to help some, but honestly, mostly watch. (lol)

Fred got to use the riding mower, he liked that..... They have 1 acre, LOTS of mowing...

Fred has 'toy envy'..... Tom has some cool Tonka Trucks! haha

This is an old outhouse... I didn't notice it at first since it is almost hidden by vines and shrubs...
Look at this beautiful window on it! So, this is a pecan tree, and this is a pecan! yes, I am realizing how much of a 'city girl' I am....

This is Grace, Tom's daughter. She is 8 yrs. old. She doesn't really talk to us much.... don't really get it, but she did let me take pictures of her doing a cartwheel...

After spending some time with the "Other Nassars" at their house, we went into Texarkana and had dinner. I now know where to go if being 'away from it all' gets to me.... It has all the stores Mt Pleasant doesn't.... good to know!

It was fun hanging out with them. It's nice to be able to reconnect with them.

please pray for us. We are going to make an offer on a house this week. It would be great if all went smoothly and we could close fast....

Fun day in Jefferson

2010-04-11T09:28:00.005-04:00

Mom had been cooped up in the motel for 2 days so we decided to do a day trip yesterday. Tom suggested we went to Jefferson. It's a little town full of antiques shops. Mom would love that (and me too!)
You could get a horse carriage ride, along with 'ghost tours'.....
Old fashioned barber shop... and me.... lol

Jefferson General Store, had really cool stuff!

Mom wanted her picture taken in front of this statue because she thought it was of Thomas Jefferson.... it wasn't.... haha

There were Lots of motorcycles. It was a great day for a ride

Pretty church in the back....

Cool looking building and my favorite drink!

Fred patiently waiting for me and mom to finish looking in the store this cat lived in one of the antique stores. there was a sign on the door that said : do not let cat out no matter what he tells you.... lol

I didn't get a picture of where we ate. It was called "The Bakery". It was mainly sandwiches and soups. They did make their own bread. Very good. I have to come back. There was a lot of places we didn't get to see.

Over all, it was a very nice day!

Home in Texas

2010-04-06T14:42:00.005-04:00

This is the town we are in ..... population 999 as of 2008

Well, it's been just under a week and I think we have settled in as much as we can. Below is our little place for now. There is a 2 ft gap that you have to jump over to get in.... lol

Yep, already missing my real bed....

and this is the rest of the place, cozy, isn't it?

There is a shower stall and toilet stall. Just the bare necessities. It is small, but we are grateful Fred's brother had this for us to stay in for free. Mom is staying here:

It's a little motel, but the owners are real friendly and it's clean. Mom even gets cable channels, which is more than we have! lol

We have to come up with an alternate plan real soon.... It's costing us $252 a week for mom to stay there.

We looked at a couple of houses when I got here on Thursday. I am seriously leaning towards one of them and I convinced Fred to let us go look at it one more time. He also asked our realtor some questions regarding the area and property. So I am really hoping we find that this is it. We have until June 24 for our stuff to stay in storage, but more urgent is mom's living situation.

I think it's easy for us at this time to start asking 'did we do the right thing by leaving Fl and coming here??"

I believe we are. We are just getting stretched in our faith. Ouch, it hurts, but we will be stronger in the end. (at least that's what I keep telling myself!)

We Are There!! sorta....

2010-04-01T07:54:00.002-04:00

I signed the closing papers on Monday afternoon. I officially became homeless.

Mom and I packed up the car to the rim and took out of Fl yesterday at 10:15am. Yeah, I intended to leave by 8:30am, but things don't always go as planned...

It was supposed to take us 11 hours, but it took us 12. All in all, it wasn't bad. Had barely any traffic once we left Tampa. I felt so bad for Kaya. She was in her carrier the whole time. But she paid us back.... meowed all night in the hotel....

I was up at 5am. Kaya, kept meowing. I think she was hungry since she didnt eat yesterday. So I went to the gas station next door and got her some food. (I think her food got packed with the movers!)
I got 6 hours of sleep....It's gonna have to hold me till tonight. We are now sitting in the hotel in Jackson Ms. It's supposed to take us 5 hours to Fred, but I figured it will take us 6. LOL

Not in a hurry today, though. No one is going to be at Tom's house till after 4pm. Fred won't be home till 5:30pm. Fred got a motel room for mom till Monday. We still have to figure out what we are going to do housing wise.
The plan for now is stop by Fred's apt. and drop off Kaya. Then take mom to the motel and get her settled in. THEN I get to meet Fred!!!! We are going to look at 2 houses tonight, then go out to dinner.... I cannot wait! Only 10 1/2 hours from now! yay!

I don't think it has totally hit me yet. As I was driving yesterday I thought, I am not coming back to Florida. (at least no time soon). I am going to live in a totally different place. Yeah, reality has not set in yet....

Well, I am going to see what this hotel's definition of 'continental breakfast' is.... :)

One chapter closed... sorta

2010-03-25T10:45:00.002-04:00

Well, the movers hauled my stuff yesterday. It's on its way to Texas VIA Miami. hehe

They are picking up another load. The 2 guys that came were a dad/son team. Matt Sr and Matt Jr. They are from Houston. So they had never had a cuban sandwich. So, of course, I had to get them one for lunch, and I threw in a devil crab. They looked at me funny when I told them about the devil crab... lol
They were so great, very thorough and helpful.

I was supposed to close on the house this morning, but got a call from my realtor last night that there was a 'glitch'. I hate glitches. Apparently the buyer and his lender had a difference of opinion on what the cash down payment was supposed to be. $3000 difference. My realtor assures me that they are still in love with the house, they have the money, they just want to deal with their lenders first.... My realtor says we are ok with time since our original closing date isn't till the 30th , and she is sure we will be done before then.

In the meantime, I wait....

And of course, yucky news don't come one at a time. Fred got the home inspection report on the house we are trying to buy and it has problems. Lots of problems, and not little either. So, he is going to speak with the inspector, get his view on the matter and possible cost. If we feel it's worth moving forward, we'll contact the sellers and see what they will do. Otherwise, it's back to square one. Again....

But you know, I have no feelings on this whole matter. I am just tired. We are supposed to leave the morning of the 31st (next Wed.) after I take Katie and Matt to school. Yeah, I said "we".

Mom is going to Tx with me. Not really by choice on either of our parts. It came down to last Thursday night and she had nowhere to go. She'd said all along that she would rather go to a shelter than go to Tx. Well, I told her Thursday night it was time to call a shelter.... Of course, that didn't happen. We were able to contact the movers and add mom's stuff, which is a relief. Otherwise, we were going to put it in storage here indefinitely.

This has not been pleasant. Mom's state of mind is bad, but she is sure that I am making things up and lying to her just to make her feel like she is insane. Now, how do you reason with someone like that?

I miss my husband. I know when I get to be with him, all this 'stuff' will be easier to handle.

Question.....

2010-03-12T11:48:00.002-05:00

what do you do when someone you love with all your being says they don't care at all about you?

Do you love them anyway and get hurt over and over again?

Do you walk away from them, though that might kill you?

Not really looking for answers. I guess prayers would work best....

Will I still love Him

2010-03-10T08:30:00.003-05:00

In the movie Fireproof, there is a couple who haven't been able to get pregnant. In one scene, the husband asks the wife "If God chooses to not give us any children, will you still love Him?". She doesn't answer him right then. But at the end of the movie, when she gets a report from the Dr. that she isn't pregnant yet again (even though she was, it was a mistake), she stops in the parking lot, crying and says "yes, Lord I will still love you". To me, that was the most powerful part of the movie. To have faith to know that God knows better in all the circumstances we will face.
Well, how quickly things can change.... I have had a very hard couple of days. Mom has a social worker that has been trying to find a place for mom to live that she can afford. Mom is VERY hard headed and is determined she has to have a 1 bedroom apt and live independently. Well, she can't afford just any apt. on her social security. And, to be honest, she is not well enough to live alone. Her social worker has found a couple of assisted living places, but mom has STRONGLY turned them down. Her social worker is very concerned that time is running out and mom will be out in the street when I leave. So her social worker has said if it comes to that, she will have to take drastic measures to place mom. Forcibly. This would be a devasting thing.

Then, I have found that the man who Andy said would let him move in hasn't made a decision yet. It's been 3 weeks since Andy asked him, so I don't know what the problem is.

AND the house we put a contract on in Tx has a major problem: septic system has to be completely replaced. It's $6100. The sellers are willing to put $2100 towards it. Fred feels this isn't good enough (me too). So unless they change their mind and give more, we are walking away from the house.

Yeah, all of this hit me in a day and half. Needless to say, I have had a 'crisis of faith'. And, of course, after boasting on how I have had a peace about all that was happening, I've had people bring it up: where is your faith?

So I have been evaluating the situation and myself. First of all, I am human. I will fall. I have to accept that, and not beat myself up for 'not having enough faith'. Secondly, I DO have to be reminded. God is in control. I have to trust Him not only when He pouring out blessings but also when He is working through tough circumstances. My sweet daughter told me if we don't get the house it's because He has a better one for us. I know that is true, but it was good to hear it from her.

I have to remember that I cannot control the consequences people I love have to face due to their own actions. That is a hard one.

But I can pray. Fred asked me yesterday afternoon when I was freaking out on the phone, 'have you prayed?". I had to admit, in the midst of the whole mess, I hadn't. Again, needed to be reminded. So I am praying. Praying God continues to work things out (because I know He has been all along). Praying He will hold me up when I want to crawl under the covers.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strenthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you in my rightous right hand.

PS
Another thing, please keep the Caddells in your prayers as well. The buyers for their house had to back down. Their house is back on the market. That was a devasting blow to them. But they too have faith that God is in control.

How amazing is God? Let me count the ways!!

2010-03-05T08:04:00.002-05:00

I am in complete AWE of how God is being so gracious to us Nassars! I started to look back and see how He has orchestrated everything down to the smallest detail, and I fet like sharing!

1- Granted our heart's desire and gave Fred a job (great job) near his brother in Texas
2-Sold our house in 3 weeks, and pretty close to our asking price
3-Gave Fred a place to stay with his brother rent free
4-Gave Fred a pay increase on his 1st paycheck (2010 increase)
5- Has been with Steph as she is making a fresh start: got a new apt, her UNOs shut down but was requested by another store to come work for them where it may be more money
6- Gave Andy a place to live with his soccer coach
7- Allowed Becky's house to sell the same week ours did, so I don't feel bad about heading to Texas before my best friend!
8- Movers coming on the 22nd, closing is on the 31st, so I needed a place to stay... Becky needs me to house/kid sit from 21st to 31st, so there it is!
9- Fred can't come down for closing so I will have to travel to Tx by myself. WAIT, no! The Caddells are going to San Antonio on April 2nd to house hunt, so I get to caravan with them!
10- I will be taking Kaya with me, so I felt bad about asking Caddells to work with me about the hotel needing to be pet friendly... NO WAIT... they are taking their dog with them so we need the same thing!
11- Fred found a house in Tx and will be putting a bid on it today. It's small but fits our needs. And WAIT.... I have been IN this house before! It used to belong to his brother about 4 years ago. So I have actually stayed in our 'potential' new home!

I am telling you, it's mind boggling at how well things have been going with this whole new turn of our lives. The only thing that is still up in the air is my mom.... She still doesn't have a place to go. She is ABSOLUTELY not going with me. (she said she would rather be in a shelter than go)
That is the first thing people ask me when they see me "what about your mom?" I tell them I have no idea, but I am not worried. So, either I am REALLY naive, or God has helped my faith grow by leaps and bounds and I know He will handle this too.... I tend to go with the second one.

I have missed my husband terribly, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will see him in 30 days!!

Last day at School

2010-03-02T14:45:00.002-05:00

This is my "Posse".....

This past Friday was my last day of school. So I thought it would be appropriate to have us all dress like Texans and wear cowboy hats. (ok, I know I just did a stereotype, sue me!)

I bought all the kids in my class hats and bandannas. They went crazy over them! We walked into the cafeteria at lunch with our hats and all of the K5 classes (7 of them) went crazy shouting: ooohh! cowboys! The lunch ladies lost control of the room. And that was exactly the response I was looking for! See, my kids are an ESE class. Whether intentional or not, we sometimes get left out of stuff at school... so it was nice to have a spotlight on my class for a change.

PLUS, it was a great tool for good behavior. You could only wear your hat if you were a good listener!

Now, this fella was a guest of the school Friday.

Our school had a contest to raise money for the Cancer Society. Kids would give a $1 for a vote on which teacher or administrator would have to KISS the PIG. I don't know for sure, but I think it was rigged, cuz our Principal was the 'winner'.

The whole school got to go out in the field and watch Mr. Shields kiss this lovely. I missed it cuz I had to go to the office and pick up the pizza for my class that we ordered.... But the kids told me he did it!

I will miss the kids, MOST of them. One of the girls (the chubby one on the left) said she was going to Tx with me. I asked her if she got permission from her mom and she said YES! haha

I have a month still before I leave for Tx, but there is so much I have to get done, I really didn't want to have to work around my work schedule. And as it turned out, I quit at the right time. Mom has a lung biopsy this week. We spent half the day today doing pre op stuff and then we'll be at the hospital half the day again on Thursday. I would have had to ask for those 2 days off. This way, they already have a replacement for me and they aren't short handed.

I am going back on Friday morning. It's "Dr. Seuss" week this week and they are having green eggs and ham in the morning....can't miss that! lol

Paper Chain Countdown....

2010-02-24T16:39:00.002-05:00

This is a paper chain I and one of my students made. It's the days I have till I see Fred again. I also have a countdown on my kitchen calendar, my planner and my PDA. Obsessive much??

The first couple of weeks, I did pretty good. I even slept well at night, even though on the norm, I don't. So I thought, "ha, I can do this! no sweat!". Yeah, it only lasted a couple of weeks. I am miserable. I guess the best way to describe me right now is RESTLESS. I am SO ready to go.

My last day of work is this Friday. Even though the closing is not until March 31st, there are a lot of things I need to take care of that I didn't want a job to slow me down. Steph is moving into a new apt. this weekend (yay!) and I am hauling some of my furniture to her. Andy will be moving into his soccer coach's house sometime in the next 2 weeks and I want to help him with the transition. Mom still doesn't have a place, and quite frankly, I don't know what she is going to do. She has a lung biopsy scheduled for next week, so that will keep me busy for a couple of days.

Then, I will start preparing the house for the movers. I am going through tubs of stuff and consolidating, figuring out what will go with me and what will go on the truck. And we haven't found a house yet and our stuff may be going into storage, so I have to think long term what will we need....
I also want to take Andy and Steph to Disney one last time. THAT I am looking forward to!

And lastly, Becky and Tym are going to Israel for 2 weeks at the end of March and they have asked if I would stay with Matt and Katie. That works out great as my house will be empty after the 20th.

So the month of March will have me busy enough that I won't go crazy waiting. I DO NOT want to do this separation thing again. I absolutely hate it.

BY THE WAY, IT'S 38 DAYS!!!

It's Starting to Sink In

2010-02-05T20:33:00.003-05:00

My house is sold. Wow. Not only is it amazing that it sold 3 weeks in the market. Everything about this transition has been smooth so far. Fred is settled in Texas and started his new job this past week.
But it is starting to really hit me, I am moving to Texas. I am leaving Florida, where I have lived since I was 10 years old. I am leaving my kids, my mom, my friends, to go to a place I know not very much about.
And I am leaving my home. I know that it's not healthy to hold on tight to material things. But I truly love my home. Mainly because I know it was a gift from God. How we got this house was yet another amazing set of events that only God could orchestrate. This was supposed to be IT. The house we were going to retire in, the grandkids were coming to visit me. This was the home I always dreamed of for my family.
I truly didn't think we would leave, even though we have been talking about moving to a quieter, slower pace area, I didn't think it would happen. And certainly not this quickly.
There are times when I get up in the middle of the night because I can't sleep, and I walk around the house. I FEEL God's presence in this house. We have had great fellowships with friends, small group meetings where it brought us closer to some wonderful folks.
The buyers came by tonight. He had a sister that was leaving town and he wanted to show her the house. So in comes the realtor, the buyer, his sister and 5 kids. The kids were running through the house (mainly chasing Kaya). It felt so odd. They are going to be living in my house in another month or 2.
This is going to be hard. Now, I have no doubt that moving to Texas is what God has planned for us. It's clear. But it is still going to hurt. And it's going to be an adjustment. A bigger one than I thought.

Catch up Blog

2010-01-30T23:09:00.006-05:00

I hope the 'thought counts' counts because I have 'thought' about blogging several times but never sit and do it! So here is a quick catch up....

Andy turned 19 on January 18th. We didn't see much of him because he had a soccer tournament all weekend. We did slow him down enough to give him his present, a laptop. He is going to need a computer after we move, plus now he doesn't have to use MY laptop! lol

We finally got to go out to dinner and celebrate his birthday. For a few years now, Andy has requested a japanese steakhouse for his birthday dinner. This year we went to Kobe's. Steph came into town for the weekend.

this picture is just to pick on Steph. Although, she DID pose for it! haha

This was also Fred's last weekend with us. He left on Tuesday morning, and if you are on Facebook, you have seen my whining about it. Our Sunday School class is amazing. They had a cake for Fred and some "Texas" decorations around it.

They showered him with cards full of wonderful wishes. Leaving that class is one of the hard things to deal with in the move. Great folks!

Let's see, I think I am all caught up.

Oh, yeah, WE HAVE A BUYER FOR OUR HOUSE!!!

After only 3 weeks to the day the sign went up in the yard, we accepted an offer. It's a bit lower than we wanted, but our realtor is confident that the price is what we were going to get. She said we could wait it out 3-4 months and maybe go up the $5000 we wanted, but we would have spent that in utilities and mortgage. PLUS it would be more time that I would be in Florida while Fred is in Texas.

If all goes well, we should close either March 15th or March 31st. It depends on how fast Fred's job can get the movers down to me. I am hoping for the 15th of course. Not only because I am ready to hit the road, but FCAT and SAT2 testing is during the month of March and I sure would not mind missing out on that!

Once again, God has worked in our lives to show us that nothing is impossible to Him. And if we ask in His will, in His timing, He will honor it.

I am a walking billboard for His mercy. God has blessed my family more than I deserve or ever expected, and I will use the rest of my life to show Him how grateful I am, however feeble that attempt will be.

The Power of The Cross

2010-01-24T14:34:00.002-05:00

Our church sang this song today. I don't know if I have ever heard of it before, but I absolutely loved it. I am constantly humbled at how much God has done and given up for me. ME! Someone who is too busy to spend time with Him, someone who wants to control the situations around her, someone who will doubt that very love He constantly pours down.

I am so glad He loves me in spite of me!!

Is God THAT fast??

2010-01-20T21:52:00.002-05:00

The house has been on the market for 13 days, we have had 7 showings. One of those has made an offer. It's a VERY low offer, almost a joke. But our realtor has counter offered to see how high they are willing to go. If they are serious, we will talk.
We don't know what this means. They could just be fishing for a cheap deal and hoping we are desperate. But just a week in, we aren't there yet.

I have been saying all along that I have a peace about the sale of our house. I am confident that it will not take long. But a week?! Can God do this? ABSOLUTELY YES.
Then, why am I questioning what I claim I knew all along??

But we do this a lot, don't we? We are quick to say 'I have faith God will provide in times of need','I trust God will take care of the situation'. But when He actually does it, we seem shocked and surprised. Silly us.

So, I have to learn to just breath, sit back and let God handle it. I stop myself from stressing over this almost hourly. I am my own shrink! lol

No matter what happens, I KNOW God has amazing things in store for us!

House on the market

2010-01-16T19:40:00.003-05:00

Well, the sign went in the front yard last Friday. We had someone come look on Monday, and they keep coming! As of tomorrow, just 9 days in the market, we will have had 6 showings. Now, it only takes one, the one who will buy our house. But the more bites, the better the chances.
I have been doing some 'decluttering', which thrills me! I have cleaned out the tops of the kitchen counters and it's nice and clean. yay! I still have to work in mine and Fred's closets, but that will happen after he leaves, which will be a week from Tuesday.
That is something I am trying not to think about. I am not at all happy to be here without him, but I also think it's going to be a great learning time.

It's only been a week, but the stress of making sure the house is 'just right' every day is a killer! And when I am at work, I wonder if Andy made his bed, did he leave his bathroom clean, has mom made any progress packing her stuff in her room.....
Boy, another lesson I am learning is that I can't be in control of everything! lol

And I have to say, Andy has been pretty good about his room and bathroom. And as long as we stay busy with showings, we won't get 'comfortable' and slip up and leave messes behind us.

I have full confidence that it won't take long for us to sell our house, in spite of the way the market is. That is one thing I have peace about. Now, about the other things, that is a different story! lol

Wintering with the Stancos

2010-01-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Outakes

2010-01-03T19:32:00.004-05:00

I finally got whatever was wrong with my pictures.... for some reason, they got saved really small.... oh well, they are ok now!

Here are some goofy shots Freddy took in between the actual poses...

I was actually trying to look like I was loving on Fred, but it looks like I am trying to push him over the edge. LOL

Poor Steph, she was going for a 'sexy' pose and Andy snuck in.... Andy really IS trying to push her over

It was hot, can you tell by our 'uncomfortable' faces??

this was taken at church.... the goofy one....the better one....Fred and I....

And last but not least, me and my first born! boy, I sure miss him!!

More Pics

2010-01-01T13:25:00.003-05:00

Having lunch at Applebees before our photo shoot....

Fred and I took Steph to lunch at Cheddars for a belated birthday celebration....

The Nassars like to eat out!

Nassar Photo Shoot

2010-01-01T12:46:00.009-05:00

Freddy came home on Dec. 12th for 5 days. We took advantage of all of us being together to get some family pictures done. I am a bit late with these cuz the pictures were giving me a hard time posting....

Steph, the photogenic one.....

Andy & Steph.... Freddy, The Photographer....

And the 3 Nassar kids.... The temps were at 80 and we were hot!! but I think the pictures turned out good and we had some fun....

Restless

2009-12-21T20:49:00.002-05:00

I am off work for 2 weeks. I have been real excited about it. We had the Councils spend the last 2 nights and that was nice. I got to wrap most Christmas presents today (as the kids get older, the presents get fewer and that bums me out, but that's another blog).....
I have been sitting here surfing the net and realized I was in a restless mood. Have I forgotten to relax? hhmmm....

Fred got the official 'in writing' papers from the Tx job. He will be starting on Feb. 1st. I think we can now breath a little easier knowing for certain that we are going. We won't really do anything till after the Christmas break, but then we will get with our realtor and Fred will put in his notice at work.

I am ready to start packing!

But it's not time yet. I guess instead I can pack for our NC trip. We are leaving Saturday to visit with the Stancos in Asheville and then head to my brother's place for New Year's. I am SO looking forward to this trip! I love getting on the road with Fred and leaving everything behind, even for just a week.

AND if we get to see snow, boy! that would the icing on the cake!!

LIfe Group Christmas party

2009-12-20T14:40:00.003-05:00

I am going to be more diligent at blogging now that my life is going to have a lot of 'firsts' and 'lasts'.

We hosted our Life Group (Sunday School class) Christmas party this year.

It was the main motivation to get our house painted.

We have a wonderful group of folks in our class. They welcomed us in to the class as Fred took the teacher's responsibility. The class was actually compiled of 2 separate groups who lost their teachers. Earlier this year, another class had their teacher step down because of job responsibilities, so we gained them too. It has been a transition, but we have come together well. They really appreciate Fred's teaching and are always ready to give input in the lesson, so our class is always very interesting.

Fred shared with them last week about the job in Texas. It was a very hard thing to do as the class has gone through so many changes in the last couple of years.... After he finished speaking, the men stood up (Fred thought they were leaving) and came to him and prayed for him. The ladies in turn came and prayed for me. It was a very touching moment and as Fred said, it was making it hard for us to leave.

Today, one of the guys gave Fred a pair of boots. He just put them on and they look good! It's funny, Fred has never worn boots in his life! haha

This has been a very rough year, and since February, I have been saying that I can't wait for the year to end and SURELY 2010 will be better. I had no idea what God had planned for us. And as I look back, I know that HE had everything under control and that Fred and I have grown a lot because of it.

It is crazy how we can sit back and see God's hand in all this. God is allowing Fred to get a new job that will challenge him, financially sufficient for him to walk away from his current job of 20+ years, and putting us closer to his brother in a smaller town environment. And it continues: Colleen Ross has an uncle that has lived in Texarkana for many years and she is trying to connect us to him. One of the men in our SS class knows the commander of Red River Army Depot and he is going to contact him on behalf of Fred. Before we even get there, there will be people to help with all the changes we will be going through!

So let the adventure begin!!

Texas Bound

2009-12-11T16:30:00.002-05:00

Fred was offered a job in Texas. The job is at the Red River Army Depot. That is near Texarkana, the northeast part of Texas.
After praying and weighing in the pros and cons, we have decided he should take the job. It is what he has been looking for the last 2-3 years. It is about 30 minutes from his brother, it's a rural (slower pace) area, and the job is going to be more challenging than what he's been doing for the past 23 years.
The pay is less, but with the cost of living comparison, it's actually a raise.
A lot of things were considered: Andy and Steph, we are concerned they don't quite have their heads on straight, and coming with us to Tx is definitely NOT an option for them. But we figured it's time for them to be on their own. (Steph has been in Orlando for a while, but we have always been here to 'help' her) Mom, we have encouraged her to come with us. I truly don't think she can be left here by herself. She is not well and she is getting more and more forgetful and confused. (though she will deny it) She said she will think about it, but I have a feeling she is leaning towards staying back.

I am excited about the move, though, ideally, I was hoping for Tennessee, Texas is nice too. And Fred has been wanting to move closer to Tom for a while. Tom seems real happy about our move...he has already sent us 2 silly videos welcoming us to Texas. lol

There are SO many things that will need to be taken care of. The biggest is that Fred will need to start work with them on Jan.18th. I will stay back and sell the house, so I will be here for a while, I presume. He is concerned I will fall apart by myself. I will be the first to admit that there will probably be days when I just want to run and hide. But I don't think he gives me enough credit. When push comes to shove, I can handle things. I will be making a lot of lists to keep me on track. And I appreciate the time to help the kids get on their 2 feet before we officially leave them.

Yes, this is going to be a bit scary, but we have prayed for this opportunity for a long time. We are very comfortable here in Valrico. We have a wonderful home, a great church, I have job that I like MOST of the time, and Fred's is a secure position. But I think it would be a mistake to stay here because we are 'comfortable'.

One of the many good things about this move, Freddy will be 6 hours away. Not that we will see him regularly, but it will definitely be cheaper and easier to see him. Becky & Tym are heading to San Antonio as soon as their house sells, so we can maybe plans for vacation time to see them.

And after saying all this, Fred still needs to go through a physical and a background clearance before it's 'Official'. But I don't think he has any skeletons in the closet and he is quite healthy.

We are telling our SS class this Sunday. Now THAT is going to be hard. Our poor SS class has gone through a lot of teacher changes. The class is actually compiled of 3 separate classes who lost their teachers. And they simply LOVE Fred, they really do. So Fred is struggling with what he has to do. But again, do we stay here because his SS class loves him? No, God will provide someone to come behind him and love the class.

So to say we would appreciate prayers is an understatement. Pray we continue to follow God's lead and that we will have minimal 'bumps in the road' these next few months. Pray for me that I will handle the new responsibilities as such that Fred won't have to worry about us....

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T20:47:00.003-05:00

We had a quiet, yet nice Thanksgiving Day. Steph came home along with her Bella. Mom wasn't feeling well, so it was just the 4 of us.

Fred made a little different meal. Mom doesn't really like turkey so Fred made some ham and rib roast. He also made a turkey breast for me, cuz he loves me!

I convinced Nina to hang out another day, then another. :) It was nice having her home. I miss her.

We didn't get up early for Black Friday, but Fred and I went out later and had our annual "Black Friday" lunch at Steak n Shake. And, of course, we had to hit Best Buy. But we didn't get much.

Now, to start the Christmas Season!! I got all the decorations from the attic and had every intention of starting the decorating today. But I got one of my famous migraines so that didn't pan out. I have to get busy on it soon, though. Our Sunday School class party is next Saturday and I want the house festive for it. It will be the first party/social we have had in a very long time and I am looking forward to it.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and will slow down and enjoy the Christmas season!!

Here's Freddy!!!

2009-11-11T20:13:00.001-05:00

Well, not yet, but he's coming!!! He asked if we would get him a ticket home for Christmas and I jumped on it. He will be home on Dec. 12th and will stay till the 16th. So we are going to celebrate Christmas a week early. I am also going to put the family through the ordeal of the annual Family Picture. The way the family has spread out, I never know from year to year if we are going to be all together for the holidays, so I am not going to pass out any opportunity that may come.
I am thinking of going to the beach this year. I have been looking at family portrait samples online and have gotten a few ideas. I don't want to do the typical "everyone sits with their hands on their laps and fakes a smile" pose. I want to be more relaxed, natural looking.... Steph is all for it, it's the guys that fight it. So we'll see how it turns out.

The picture will be our Christmas card, so expect it in the mail right before Christmas!

Andy's wheels, no more

2009-11-11T19:47:00.002-05:00

Monday nights is when Andy goes and hangs out with the 'guys' for football watching... Well, 2 nights ago, the roads were a little slick. He turned left going out of our neighborhood when he lost control of the car and slid into a tree. It's crazy, he hit a small oak tree no more than 1ft in diameter, banged up the passenger front end....

triggered the air bags,

which shattered the windshield,

and the axle, cv joint (?) tore up, fell off, something... it would not go into gear, so we had to drag it home.

The car is completely totaled. And the weirdest thing of all is that the tree doesn't have a single scratch on it. Andy never felt the air bag because he never lunched forward. I don't know how the car can have such damage at such a small impact.

Well, I actually do. God works in strange and wonderful ways (as Johnette put it). He allowed Andy to not even leave the neighborhood that night. See, I know for a fact that the last Monday night he was with his friends, he and another guy raced their cars. I haven't confronted him about it, but I am sure they were planning on doing it again that night. And like I said, it had been raining and the roads were slick. When I mentioned it to Fred, he said, ' it would be stupid to race in wet roads'. Hello!! We are talking about stupid teenagers.... no offense to other teenagers!

So, I believe God protected Andy from himself. This is one of those 'laying my Isaac down' moments.....

Now, the stressful event of finding him another car. We had already told Andy we would match any money he saved (up to $1000) so he could get another car because the Cavalier really was in sad shape. He has saved about $350 so far, so we will have to front him some of the money and he will pay us back. Until then, he will need to drive my car to school and I will have to catch rides to work. Yeah, he needs to find a car soon....

Laying My Issac Down

2009-11-11T19:22:00.002-05:00

Ok, our church had a Christmas breakfast last week, but last month there was the "Fall Extravaganza". It was a dinner. Very lovely, lots of ladies, but the best part was the guest speaker.
Her name is Carol Kent and she wrote a book called "When I lay my Isaac down". It was very inspiring. Without going into great details of her life, she talks about times in your life when you have to 'lay your Isaac down'. When you have to take whatever burden you are carrying: depression, marriage problems, financial stress, wayward children, illnesses.... WHATEVER, and lay them at Jesus' feet. Give it to HIM.
But one of the key things that stayed with me was that you don't just do that once. You start with giving it up for 5 minutes, then maybe next time, you can do it for 15 minutes, then maybe 1 hour... it is a constant thing. And that made me feel better. I have been feeling like I haven't been a 'good' Christian because I have struggled letting go of my problems with Andy, with mom, and with life in general.
But I realized it's ok to struggle, just don't give up.

I checked out her book to read. I have loved it. It is now on my Christmas wish list. There were so many things I wanted to highlight so I would be able to go back to it when needed.
I recommend it to anyone who is going through any kind of struggle in their life. This book gives you hope.

http://www.carolkent.org/

Simply Christmas

2009-11-11T18:21:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday, the women's ministry at church put on a breakfast. The theme was "Simply Christmas". Ladies were encouraged to adopt a table and decorate it 'Christmasy'. Since I had never been to one of these events at our church, I figured I would just be a spectator this time. There was a buffet with 3 different kinds of breakfast casseroles, including a french toast one. They were all delicious! And we were given the recipes, so now I know what I will be fixing for Christmas morning!
Here are some of the beautiful tables:

Snowmen seemed to be a popular theme....

This was a 2-table theme... 1st one was 'Unto us a child was born'...

2nd one was 'And died to save us from sin'

I liked this one the best because the book 'A tale of 3 trees' is very special to me...

I almost didn't go.... you know how it is, there are a million other things you can do on a Saturday morning. Laundry, cleaning, shopping.... but my dear friend Debbie Hofrichter kicked me in the butt and told I WAS GOING. She, too, had a busy schedule but decided she (and I) never do something just for ourselves and it is good to be with other sisters in Christ. And she was right. I am very glad I went.

Oh! I forgot to mention, we had a guest speaker. Her name was Sharon Jaynes. She spoke from one of her books, 'Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas'. She had some neat ideas, some of which I think I will take up!

PS

Sorry about the blurry pictures. My camera does that when the battery gets a little low....

Multi Tasking

2009-11-01T07:56:00.002-05:00

He is sound asleep, his thumb on the phone. I just had to take this picture....

It's either really funny or really sad, haven't figured out which one yet....

Fab Vocab

2009-10-31T20:24:00.003-04:00

Our school did a "Fab Vocab" parade. Classes had to pick vocabulary words and dress up like them... Our class was shapes. It was neat to see how creative some parents (and teachers!) got.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Sweetest Day

2009-10-31T14:48:00.002-04:00

I don't know how many people know, but the 3rd Saturday in October is national "Sweetest Day". A co-worker told me that in Ohio, it's the time when women shower men with gifts, since typically on Valentine's Day, the ladies get the gifts. And in her town, they have a dance and the ladies invite the guys. That sounds nice.
Well, that got me thinking about what are some of my sweetest days I've had.

*First and foremost, it has to be Dec. 31st, 1981. Our church was having a 'Midnight Watch' for New Years. They showed a film about the rapture, and it brought me to tears because I knew deep in my heart that if I didn't do something, I was going to be left behind. So that is the night I gave my life to Christ. I can still remember the feeling of this giant boulder being lifted from me.

*Another 'sweetest day' is Oct. 21 1981. That is the day that Fred asked me to be his girlfriend and even gave me his class ring to wear. I think how the story really goes is that I wrote him a note asking him if were 'going out' or what.... He decided to make it official that night, on a Wednesday before church. Still remember it like it was yesterday.

*I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was in July of 1984. We had been married just 3 months and I woke up and realized that there was a good chance that I was pregnant. When I told Fred, he said " I knew it!" ( Though I will refrain from saying HOW he knew) So we went to a clinic and had a test to confirm it. I was really nervous, thought it was too early to get pregnant, but I will always remember how excited Fred was about it.

*The birth of my 3 kids. Every one of them was as different as they are. Interesting things happened at each one, though I will spare you. Those were 3 magical days.

*March 1 2003. The first night we spent at our new house. It was such a blessing and only through God's grace, were we able to have such a lovely home. I still walk around the house sometimes and thank God for every corner.

*April 2009, we went to Pigeon Forge to celebrate our 25th wedding Anniversary. The weather was cool and I prayed that God would allow me to see snow for the 1st time. I remember waking up and looking above through the giant glass windows in the cabin and asking Fred 'is it snowing or is it foggy outside?'. But when I looked out front, it was snowing! I jumped into some clothes and just stood outside looking up. God had granted my request and I felt very blessed!

I know that there are many other 'sweetest days' in my life, but these are the ones that quickly came to mind.
I also know that God has many more in store for me. My life has truly been blessed. Not without pain, but even through that, God is with me, so that is sweet!

Update list

2009-10-25T20:27:00.003-04:00

I have quite a few things I have been wanting to blog about, but haven't sat down and actually done it....

So, this is not going to be one of those posts, just a list of the coming posts:

1- Sweetest Day

2- When I lay my Isaac Down

3- Freddy, Christmas plans

4- Work

see ya soon!

Fantasy Football

2009-10-11T19:12:00.002-04:00

Fred's cousin Jimmy got him suckered into doing fantasy football. I was surprised Fred did. He makes fun of my 'obsession' with Farmville,FishWorld, and Cafe World. (ok, he may have a point, but that's another blog!)

So, I caught the boys today comisserating over their teams. It was a nice view so I decided to take a picture.... Andy usually is not around much (work and school) and when he is, he is sleeping or watching tv in his room. So any chance we can get to spend time with him, we take it.

Sports has always a good avenue for Fred and Andy. My avenue with him used to be that I was his chauffer. We would have the one on one time to talk about whatever was going on with him.... Now that he drives himself, I am going to find something else..... I wonder if he likes pedicures??? lol

Feed The Bay 2009

2009-09-30T19:10:00.006-04:00

First off, I apologize for not posting sooner.... I'm a slacker.

This past Sunday, churches in the Brandon area got together for the annual "Feed the Bay". The congregations are encouraged to hit the grocery stores with a list of items to help refill the food banks. The Publix stores are plugged in to this, so they make sure to be hugely stocked on the items.

There was a semi at every Publix so you could just drop off your donations on your way to your car.

Our church joined the effort last year so this was the 2nd time Fred and I got involved. Last year, we shopped, this year we also helped at a distribution center.

Before we got started unloading the trucks, we got an overview on what the Lighthouse Ministries does for the community, and had a time of prayer.

Someone made the announcement that they only needed 30 people to help (there was about 50 folks there) and so some of us could go home if we wanted.

Good thing no one did, because we needed all of them to get the work done

We were there from 2pm till 5:30pm.... There was TONS of food! And the neat thing, there were so many people there it got a little chaotic at times, but the progress never slowed. Everyone worked well together, people stepped up and took charge of different areas, and things were organized. We unloaded and sorted 2 semi trucks full of food. It was very cool.

And another cool thing, I got a free T-shirt!!! hehe

I was quite impressed with all the Lighthouse Ministries is doing for families. I am going to look into how I can get involved with helping out. I could come and help sort, pack food boxes. They also run a thrift store, so I could help with the donations for that. Either way, it's organizing, and I love doing that!!

2009-09-20T19:46:00.004-04:00

My baby girl had her wisdom teeth pulled last Wednesday. We decided she should come from Orlando and have it done in Tampa so she could recoup with us. I had to work so Fred took her. I asked him to video the moments so I could feel like I was there.... it's ok to post this. Steph got a big laugh out of it herself. What is really funny, she doesn't remember any of it....

She did really well. No side effects from the anesthesia. All was great until the numbness wore off. She has been in a lot of pain. On 2 percocets every 4 1/2 hours and 1 codeine in between and the girl STILL couldn't get any sleep. That was crazy. The swelling came on Thursday, she was the prettiest chipmunk you will ever see!!

She went home today (against my wishes) . She is still a bit swollen but doing much better. We colored her hair, she took a nice warm shower and felt 'human' again.... she is taking off from work tomorrow but hoping to be back on Tuesday.... the biggest thing is that she is so weak from not eating....
The one bright thing in all of this is that she was thrilled to have lost 5lbs. (not that she didn't already look great!) But you know how girls are about weight....

Prayers are still needed on her behalf. It's going to be tough getting back to her schedule after being down for 5 days.

Stephany Nassar at the Dentist - Valerie's MySpace Blog |

2009-09-20T19:18:00.002-04:00

Stephany Nassar at the Dentist - Valerie's MySpace Blog

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Love

2009-09-13T18:25:00.006-04:00

1 John 4:7-21 (New King James Version)

Knowing God Through Love:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love :
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love:
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Obedience by Faith :
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

These are the passages our pastor has been preaching on the last few Sundays. He actually has been preaching on I John all year....

As you can see, there is a theme going here.... I have no problem with love. I love my children, my husband, my family, friends, folks in need, little orphans in third world countries.

But I have had a problem with verse 20 for a while....

There is a family that I have had some SERIOUS animosity towards. I guess 'hate' is a strong word so I probably wouldn't use it. But it was pretty close. I knew it was not the right thing to do, but I just couldn't let go. This family has had a big influence on Andy the last 9 months. A negative influence. Without taking credit away from Andy for his own actions, this family has truly enabled him. They don't know Fred or me, yet assumed we did something terrible to make Andy turn against us, and have 'helped' him out financially while he lived away from us.

I am sure that they have no idea the feelings I have had towards them, so they aren't loosing any sleep. But I have been. And every time they showed up at church, I automatically felt my blood boil and was unable to worship all morning. (I know, that is my own doing)
I tell you, it's been a real tough time. I felt ill for the way I was behaving. I mean, being angry at someone who enters church? How sick is that?

I have been praying about this for a while. I have asked close friends to pray for me. And Bro. Tommy's sermons were a constant reminder I needed to let go of my 'hate'.

Then something cool happened. Last Sunday, at the very 1st song in worship, I felt something being lifted from me. Immediately, I no longer felt this anger that has been consuming me for months. I looked for the family, but this time, not to stare at them with 'daggers', but to go to them and say 'good morning, how are you?'. It was an amazing experience. I had nothing to do with it. The Holy Spirit finally cut through the wall I had built all these months and 'fixed me'.

They weren't at church again today. The sermon today was about going to the one you have wronged and apologize. My question was: if they never knew how I felt, do I need to go apologize to them? What if that just 'stirs the pot' and makes things bad? So I am praying about what I should do next.

I don't have any plans on becoming 'best friends' with this family. But I do think I have to answer to God for what I have been feeling.

This is a song that we've been singing at church. An old hymn with a new bridge.... powerful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brVIlXlJRkQ

Blood Pressure and Blond Moments

2009-09-06T20:37:00.002-04:00

About 3 Fridays ago, I came home from work with a massive headache. The kind that makes your face feel flush and your eyes are burning. So, I thought I should check my blood pressure to see if it was that. I just got my mom a wrist cuff blood pressure checker, so I used that.

Well, it came up 155/101. That's pretty high, and it got me wondering if my headaches all Summer were due to that.

I decided to start checking it once in the morning and once at night and keep track of it. It always came out on the hight level.... Everyone kept telling me I needed to go see my doctor. But I knew if I went, my Dr. would want to put me on medicine, or even worse, would get on to me and tell me I had to loose weight and exercise. (aahh!!! )

Anyway, I kept putting it off, until Friday... I was going to go after work, but I ended up without a car, so I couldn't make it. That evening, I checked it and it was 153/98. Still a bit on the high side. I started messing with the cuff to see if I could fix the time on it. I pulled out the instructions, and lo and behold, I had been taking my blood pressure wrong!

Apparently, with a wrist cuff, you need to sit by a table, put your elbow on it and have your wrist even with your heart.... I had been taking my blood pressure by laying my arm flat by my side.

I did it the correct way, and voila!!! my blood pressure is fine! yeah, I felt stupid. I also checked it the next morning and it was fine. I can't believe that for over 2 weeks I was stressing over something that wasn't there.... but I am glad I never made it to the dr. I would have been mad to pay $20 to find out I was fine!

Now, before anyone says it, I KNOW I need to exercise and loose weight....that's a given.

But I am thankful that (for now) I don't have another 'ailment' to deal with.

The moral of the story: Read the instructions first!!!

Andy's wheels

2009-09-02T19:28:00.004-04:00

Andy bought himself a car about a month or so ago, 1996 Cavalier. Before he moved back home. I have been meaning to post pics of it, but, well, you heard my excuses on the last blog.....

Since he only paid $900, it comes with many 'issues'. One is the gas gague doesn't work. So he has to estimate how far he can go with the amount of gas he puts in. No air conditioner, back seat is detached, front passenger seat doesn't move forward and it's a 2-door. But, hey, he has a good battery!! LOL

He was proud of himself for purchasing his own car, when I took him to get the tag, he grinned from ear to ear when he walked out with it in his hands. I am proud of him.

But now he's frustrated. He is realizing that it's going to cost him $$ to fix the car, and he's not one to give up his money easily. lol

I told him the car needed a little 'love' to get it up to snuff. It's got to last him at least 2 years.

He is getting great life lessons, and he'll be the better for it.

Family visit

2009-09-01T20:07:00.014-04:00

Ok, so it has taken me 2 weeks to post about my siblings' visit. My only excuse is that school has started and I have been completely exhausted every night! That and I have found a new obsession in Farmville. (but that's another post)

My brother and family came down on Aug. 19th. They stopped by and picked up a little package, Sarathena. She is Sara's daughter's 6 week old baby. So, my brother became a Grampa before me and his kids are 11 and 9.... how weird. At first, he said he 'was not going to be called a grandpa!!'.... but she won him over and I convinced him he should be 'G-Daddy'. He likes that. (that's him holding her) She was definitely the entertainment for the week.

They stayed with us from Wed. till the following Mon. My house went from very quiet to 'not so' quiet. But it was nice. We also worked it so my sister came from Ga. on Friday to surprise my mom. Mom is turning 80 on Sept. 8th and we thought it would be cool to have the 3 siblings together and celebrate her birthday, all be it a month early. It added to her surprise! She was shocked when my sister walked in the house. So much so, I got a little worried about her health. But it was all good.

We got a her a flat screen tv a little bigger than the one she had in her room hoping it would help with her bad eye sight...

I think mom really got a kick out of the party. Of course, my brother and Fred did all the cooking so the food was delicious. (and Fred was barely conscious from the pain meds!)

Steph also came down for the weekend and hung out with the baby. Pappi (little Steven) has grown so much! He has gotten tall and has lost his 'baby' face.

And Savanna is as sociable and chatty as always. Steph and I took her to get an outfit for school...

The family left on Monday night to Puerto Rico... I am so jealous! I am really hoping to be able to go there in the next couple of years. And I would love to take my kids, I think they would really like it.

Here is Father and son at a cafe in Puerto Rico. For those of you who knew my brother, you can see how much weight he has lost. He looks really good!

Since we don't know when the family will be all together again, we took some 'pose' pictures....

This is my family.....

But like I said, Sarathena was the star of the week. We all took turns with her....

I love this picture... This is how I used to put Andy to sleep... it worked just as good for Sarathena!!

Ok, last but not least, I realize I didn't take a single picture of Sara. So I stole this from her facebook. Here she is enjoying the great Puerto Rico sun!

It was wonderful to see the Gonsalves clan again. Sara was hoping to have us to up for Thanksgiving. I would love to, but I don't think I could talk Andy & Steph to go with us, and I am already not having Freddy for Thanksgiving, I don't really want to be away from them too...

God is so good. He is really working in my brother's family. I am excited to see what HE has in store for them!

2009-08-19T17:27:00.001-04:00

It's been a week since Fred's surgery. He was a mess for about 4 days. He was dizzy and very weak. And finally, on Sunday, he was able to stay up for more than a few minutes at a time. He went back to work on Monday and has been doing well.
He still has a hard time at night with feeling uncomfortable and shooting pains through his ear.
He goes to his dr. next Tuesday for his first follow up. I will be able to breath a little easier once the dr checks him out.
Here are some pictures of his ear. It's a crazy looking thing. I told Fred this makes him officially cool. (not that he wasn't cool to start with)

This is a 'plug' that will stay in his ear for 8 weeks....

The 6 million dollar man?

2009-08-11T19:19:00.005-04:00

Well, I don't know if it cost that much.... Fred had 'ear re-constructive' surgery today. His ear drum, to be exact. He's had problems with his ear forever, but his hearing had been getting worse the last year or so. He finally went to a specialist who determined he had a hole in his ear drum and that it would not be healing on it's own. Now, the cool thing is how they repaired it. The dr. took muscle from his JAW to recreate the ear drum. Then he took skin from behind his ear to make a skin graft. The doctor that did the surgery came up with the procedure, so Fred was in good hands.

This is an 8 week recovery. He has to go to the dr every 2 weeks to change the dressing. He has to put drops in his ear 3 times a day. And he can't get his ear wet for the 8 weeks. So I would say the surgery was the easiest part of this whole ordeal.

Please pray that he will recover quickly, no infection problems, and that he will recover his hearing after all of this.

Marking the 'correct' ear

Post Op. Poor Baby!!

Kim Walker

2009-08-07T20:42:00.003-04:00

Our youth pastor shared this artist on his blog. I have never heard of her, but I like her... she has a unique voice.
And I right away thought that Laci would like it, so Laci, I hope you keep up with my blog! :)

change of Picture

2009-08-03T15:27:00.003-04:00

I changed the pictures on the blog this morning.... I have to admit, I kinda 'disowned' Andy from my blog for a while.... so I had a picture of Freddy & Stephany from March. It was a good one too!

But I decided to let Andy back in 'the fold' of my blog. I couldn't find a real recent picture of the 3 kids together that I really liked, so I posted one from our Virginia Beach vacation a LONG time ago.

Well, as soon as Steph saw it, she DEMANDED I take it off. She is not fond of the picture, don't really know why. So, I played with the idea of leaving it up to aggravate her, but decided to spare her. lol

This is actually one of my favorite pics of them. I enlarged and made it black and white and have it hanging at home. Hopefully, she will like this better!

Friends and Cheddars, what could be better!!

2009-08-03T10:07:00.002-04:00

Claude's brother was admitted to the hospital last week so he and Sheila are in town. We got them to go to lunch with us after church yesterday and they brought along the Birds with them, which was great!

the girls...

the guys...

It is always wonderful to catch up with old friends (even though Fred & I are the oldest in this group!). How cool is God to allow us to stay friends with folks whose paths have taken them away from us geographically? I am thankful for the road we were able to go through with these folks.
Ok, I sound WAY too deep for my own good. Let's just say I miss my buds and I'm glad we got to share some time at Cheddars with them! :)

As The World Turns- Nassar Style (Part 2)

2009-07-29T09:33:00.002-04:00

So, my mom is off today with her care helper and the house is all quiet. I am evaluating my 'summer to do list' to see how far I've gotten since I only have 3 weeks left before I go back to work. Here's the list:

1- paint foyer table- done
2- make file organizer in office- done
3- clean up Fred’s closet- (doing it today maybe)
4- organize pictures in tubs
5- transfer Andy’s videos- done
6- transfer Steph’s videos- done
7- make folder of Mom’s important numbers, dr., services
8- paint family room
9- paint bedroom
10-clean out patio room - (almost done!)
11-deal with pinball machine- FIXED
12-clean patio room windows
13-weed out backyard- probably need to do it again
14-learn to play racquetball- had 1 lesson with andy, need more :)
15-read 3 books- on my 5th one now

Fred wants to wait till oct. to paint. He said it will be less humid then.
And I have also worked in the guest room and office, and that wasn't on the list... so, over all, not too bad, I think.

Andy is at camp. Before he left, he wanted to talk about moving back home. We sat with him and discussed what would be expected. Nothing new, really. Like Fred said "our expectations in this house haven't changed". Of course, now that he's 18, he will have more freedom than before. But we will still require the courtesy of him telling us where he will be and what time he will be home. We told him that we want him to come home because it will be the best thing for HIM. But we want a son NOT a tenant, and if he's only coming back because it will be cheaper for him, then he needs to not come back. We told him to seek his heart and pray about it while he's at camp. So, we are cautiously optimistic.

We desire our kids to know that this home is a sanctuary for them. We don't want them to come home for OUR sake. Honestly, Fred and I have grown accustomed to just the 2 of us here (besides mom) and we are ok with it. But the kids will always be welcome back if they need refuge.

My brother and his family are coming in 3 weeks. They are going to Puerto Rico for vacation (SO jealous!) and are stopping here first. Well, mom's birthday is in Sept. and she is turning 80, I thought she deserves a party. And since they wouldn't be able to come back down, we decided to really surprise her and celebrate her birthday a month early. My sister is also coming down from Ga. and mom doesn't know about that either... We are all chipping in and getting her a 26in flat screen for her room. Right now she has a 19in and she can't see the menu since her eyes are so bad. Fred and my brother will put together a delicious Puerto Rican meal and we'll have a great time of reunion. I can't wait! We are going to have a house full for the weekend, but I am actually looking forward to it. Steph is hoping to come down, and Andy is looking at his work schedule to be here as well. Now, if only Freddy was here, life would be perfect!

I have some video we took at the beach with our new video camera, but I don't know how to upload it, so I have to get on Fred to help me... by the way, we got the video camera for FREE! I have 'points' from my credit card that we have never used, so we looked at the site and were able to get the camera with the points. It's normally $579, so that makes me double excited about it! :)

So stay tuned for some home videos soon! hehe

Summer Fun Continued...

2009-07-27T18:02:00.013-04:00

To finish off Fred's vacation week, we went to Treasure Island and stayed at a little condo right on the beach. Steph, my DARLING daughter, came for the weekend to stay with my mom. That was VERY sweet of her.

The view was great:

The beach was relaxing:

We did some bird watching:

There was a bird couple that we watched. It seemed that the boy bird brought the girl bird (who was chunky, possibly pregnant?) a fish. The fish was bigger than she could swallow in one bite, so she was having a little trouble.... while she worked on it, the boy bird would scare off any other birds that would try to get near her. It was a very romantic sight!!!

Fred wanted to try out a restaurant on Friday night called Sloppy Joe's and it was only .4 of a mile from our place. So we decided to walk to it. Now, I have no sense of direction and I put my trust on my level headed husband. We start walking 'south'. We walk and we walk and we walk... It's 5pm and I am wearing flip flops. After walking a while (more than .4 of a mile) , we decided we were going the wrong way. SO we head back the other way... we pass our condo and keep going. Sure enough, we find the restaurant a bit later. By the time we got there, we were soaked in sweat, my feet were burning like I stepped on hot coals. My face was beet red and all through dinner, Fred kept saying 'are you ok? your face is so RED!' hehe

Over all, it was an adventure and we survived to tell it, so no complaints!

Saturday night, we walked the beach and watched the sunset. That was very nice...

I found a ring in the sand... pretty cool if it was real! lol

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, we spent time at John's Pass

And before heading home on Sunday, we had lunch at Bubba Gump's.... we got some shrimp!

We had a wonderful time, all be it too short. I am so blessed to have a husband that is my best friend and we don't get tired of spending time together. I look forward to many more amazing trips with him!!

Summer fun... so far

2009-07-27T17:36:00.007-04:00

Normally, we would have headed to NC and spent some great time with the Stancos. But with mom moving in with us, the plans changed. She can't be left alone and she can't travel. So... we did something locally.

Fred took the week off last week and went camping from Monday till Wednesday at Fort DeSoto beach. He bought a 'truck tent' and set up his ham radio and had a good ole time.

I met up with him on Tuesday for the day, but I went home to my comfortable bed that night. :)

Thursday, I mentioned that I was hoping to go to Dade City and hit up some antique shops before Summer ended, and Fred said " Let's go!", which was a nice surprise since he is not really into 'window shopping'.... and speaking of windows,

I have been looking for an old window pane to hang on my wall. I have seen this type of decoration in books and in the cabin we stayed in Tenn. Again, Fred surprised me by being the one that found it. And he encouraged me to get it. Now, I know this is not something he would think of using as a wall decor, so it really meant a lot that he was so cool about getting it. I love my hubby!!

We had lunch at a little place called 'A Matter Of Taste'. It was quaint, which is exactly what we were looking for.

Food and Friends for the 4th

2009-07-06T10:07:00.005-04:00

We were invited to the Caddells for a cook out on Saturday. The only requirement was that Fred brought the ribs. Not a problem!

We love hanging out with the Caddells and Ross.

We have tried very hard to stay connected with these 2 families even though we all go to different churches now.

That's the tough thing about 'church' friends... I have had dear friends that I worked side by side at church for years, and when we changed churches, life happened and we lost touch. We still love those friends and think of them often, but we don't get to see them much...

So I am thankful for Becky because she is the main one that makes sure we get together periodically. We actually try to meet at Village Inn about every 4-5 weeks on a Sunday night to catch up.

Here are some pics of our cook out. We even got in the pool and hot tub for a while. There are NO pictures of me in a bathing suit, though..... :)

Good food!

Good friends!

Now you see it....

Now you don't!

Friends and dessert

2009-07-04T12:58:00.002-04:00

I got a call from Becky last week telling me I HAD to go to lunch with her and the girls.

Well, she didn't really have to twist my arm.

Katie really wanted to go to the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City.

Here we are with dessert. Yum!

What REALLY happened??

2009-07-04T12:50:00.003-04:00

My mom has a Michael Jackson doll she's had forever. She thought this was as good a time as any to try and sell it. So we took pictures of it to send to Freddy and he will post it on Ebay.

While I was taking pictures, Kaya got curious. I hope I am not offending anyone, but I thought this picture was hillarious!

Tale of a possum or two

2009-07-03T16:48:00.002-04:00

Fred was cutting the grass this morning. He has an area in the back yard where he collects the grass cuttings, like a compost or sorts... Well, what he found was more than compost. He said there was a momma possum and 5 babies. All were dead except one and he wasn't far behind. So Fred went and buried them all. Though I told him it was a bit cruel to bury the one still breathing... I told him he should have called me, but after thinking about it, I'm glad he didn't.

By the way, this picture is from the internet.... I tried to find a "cute" possum picture, but I don't think there is such a thing! lol

2009-06-26T09:04:00.002-04:00

The other morning, Fred hollered 'Valerie, look at the back yard!"

We had 2 visitors. I have seen the sand hill cranes in our neighborhood before, but never in our yard. They are pretty cool looking. These guys were about 4 feet tall. I went outside to take a picture trying not to scare them off. But those birds are pretty bold. They came right up to me and had a stare down. Then they started 'gawking'. They are loud! I told them to hush or they would wake the neighbors! lol

I must say, it was a neat way to start the day.

I am sitting here listening to rain. I love that sound! I wish I could stay here and read my book.
But, good news! Mom is coming home today! I am picking her up in 1 hour.

We are going to make some adjustments in our schedules to make sure she is taking care of herself: taking her meds when she's supposed to, eating.... She has become quite dependant at the hospital, and I will do all I can to take care of her at home, but sometimes it's hard for me to know when I am 'taking care' of her or when I am 'bossing her' around, which causes mom to get agitated.... so prayer for discernment of this will be appreciated!!!

As the World Turns---Nassar Style

2009-06-23T20:58:00.002-04:00

My life is anything but boring....
It's Summer time, I made up a To-Do list of things I would like to accomplish over the Summer since I am not working:

1- paint foyer table
2- make file organizer in office
3- clean up Fred’s closet
4- organize pictures in tubs
5- transfer Andy’s videos to DVD
6- transfer Steph’s videos to DVD
7- make folder of Mom’s important numbers, dr., services
8- paint family room
9- paint bedroom
10- clean out patio room
11- deal with pinball machine
12- clean patio room windows
13- weed out backyard
14- learn to play racquetball
15- read 3 books

So far, I have read 1 1/2 books...

So what have I done so far? attempted to help in VBS, didn't make 2 of the days. Took mom to the ER on Thursday. She was admitted and is still there. Her breathing had gotten too bad. I am not sure when she will be coming home. The doctor said she wouldn't go home until she could walk the hallway without getting winded. Well, she hasn't been able to do that in years so I don't think that is a realistic goal.... I have left messages for her doctor to call me with an update, so I hope to hear from him tomorrow.
I am trying to get help getting legal documents drawn up so I can take care of mom's personal business (medical,home services....) she wants me to handle the communications with her doctors more and more. Plus, she really is starting to get confused and forgetful....
Andy is looking for a car. I told him to make sure he gets his dad involved. Well, since Fred works during the day, he has decided to have ME involved. So, when not at the hospital, I am hearing from Andy asking to go look at a car or calling up someone on craigslist...
Now, I am not complaining (too much) about Andy needing my help. The thing is, when I get done taking him where he wants to go, I have to take him back to the Thompson's house. A constant reminder that he is living with another family. That gets to me.... but I will continue to be there for him and pray one day he'll come around and see the obsurdity of it all.
Steph came home for Father's Day. She brought her new boyfriend. He is a policeman. Seemed nice enough. And cute. But how much can you really get from an afternoon? So, we will see...
Freddy is still in Texas... I know, where else would he be? hehe
I miss him terribly and don't really hear much from him. He will tell you there is nothing new to tell.

I have a friend. I didn't know she was bipolar, never saw any emotional problems. Well, she decided to get off her meds and went down hill fast. Her mother came from out of state and tried to talk her into going to see her doctor, but she didn't 'see the need'. So, today, she was supposed to be baker-act. This is so sad. She is a very giving, sweet, intelligent woman. It has been remarkable seeing the transformation.

Now, in the middle of all of this is a remarkable man. He is patient, supportive, and rock solid for me. God certainly knew what He was doing when He brought Fred into my life. I think I would have to be admitted to the hospital myself if I didn't have Fred.

God is good. He is not going to allow things in my life that I can't handle (with HIS help). But, frankly, I am tired....

you know how cool God is? Fred and I were having a conversation about our own ailments (Fred has hip problems,is having ear drum surgery, I just finished with tests regarding a cyst...) and all of the other 'issues' surrounding us. And then I get on Facebook and Windy Tucker posts the scripture below. It was EXACTLY what we needed to hear, to be reminded.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor 4:16-18 NIV)

Andy Nassar Graduates!!

2009-06-08T16:57:00.004-04:00

I am a bad parent.... it has taken me over a week to post this. But Andy doesn't check this blog, so he will never know! lol

It was a nice weekend, still had some hurting moments, but over all, I thank God for the progress we have had with Andy. I can't believe that my baby is 18 and finished with high school! Oh, to turn back time!! I would enjoy it a lot more!!

Fun In The Sun

2009-06-02T19:58:00.006-04:00

We went to Fort DeSoto this past Saturday... Steph said she wanted to fish, but after seeing her dad take the hooks off the fish, she changed her mind. She kept saying "Dad! you're killing the fish!" "it's suffocating!" hehe

So, we let Bella entertain us in the water. She just loves the water. And for some reason, she went spastic and started running really fast in circles. It was a hoot!

Birthday #44

2009-05-24T16:08:00.004-04:00

yes, that's me 44 years ago.

I think I was 3 (?) in this one

My birthday was last Thursday. I have no shame when my birthday comes. I tell everyone who will listen. I think birthday people SHOULD be celebrated. I try to do that with my family and my friends. I mean, you should celebrate that God has given you another year, right?

Not to sound whiny, but most of my birthdays have not been all that memorable. Maybe it's because my expectations are too high? I don't know... but my bdays usually come and go without too much fanfare... In my 'old age' , I have come to accept this. I usually just treat myself to some goodies. This year, I went and bought me a cute summer set to wear to school.

But I have to say, that even though with all the stuff going on in my life this year, my birthday wasn't bad. One of the teachers got me cupcakes, the kids in my class sang to me, SOME of them behaved for me (lol). Another teacher and her class sang to me in the lunchroom. (it was funny cuz the kids were singing, but then they asked, 'who is she?')
My best friend (and hubby) took me out for chinese and Star Trek. So, over all, it was a pretty cool day.

I don't know if it is my getting more 'mature', or growing closer to the Lord through life's issues. But I find myself looking forward to Heaven. I mean, as a Christian, I have always thought of Heaven as a place to look forward to. But I always had the thought in the back of my mind: don't take me yet Lord, let me spend more time with my kids, my family, there is still stuff I want to do....
Not anymore. I am ready. I can't wait for the "no more tears, no more pain, no more fears".

But until that day, I'll hold on to HIM always.

Update on Mom

2009-05-23T21:42:00.002-04:00

I was reviewing my blog post and realized I hadn't updated on Mom.
We went to her pulmonologist on Thursday. He said the nodules have grown an inch. That is very quickly. He will be doing a biopsy in a couple of weeks. His opinion, it grew TOO fast to be a tumor, could be an infection, though she hasn't had any fevers with it. It could also have something to do with her rheumatoid arthritis... bottom line, he doesn't know.

We are still adjusting. Some days good, others, not so... still trying to go through boxes. Fred is looking forward to having the patio room back to normal. (normal, hahaha)

I am trying to figure out how much control and in charge should I be of my mom. She is getting very forgetful, she wants me to be the one to communicate with her doctors, but at the same time, she is paranoid that people are keeping things from her. So I have to be careful that I don't look like I am taking over things she still wants control over. It's a delicate thing.

But God is in control of this situation as well. I know He is. And that gives me peace.

Isaiah 41:10

God is good

2009-05-23T21:24:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's Andy on the couch with his dad. He called and said he would come over for a while, so we decided to watch a movie. Well, the movie was 'the day the earth stood still'... don't really blame him for falling asleep. Not a great movie...

But what is more important is the fact he came over. He has been over 2 times since Mother's Day. On his own, without our asking him. It looks like maybe we are turning a corner. He is opening up a little at a time. And since he has never been much of a talker, it's ok.

I am cautiously optimistic. I don't really know what caused the change, and the control freak in me is needing to know all the facts. But I also know the lessons I am learning, and being a control freak does not fit in God's plan. So I bite my tongue and just appreciate the time with him.

I just took him back. I will not say 'home' because where he lives IS NOT his home. And even though we got to spend 3 hours with him, it hurts my heart.

I ask for continued prayer. Pray I don't mess this up. I tend to want to fill the quiet with questions and trivial talk... I feel awkward with him. I don't want to be too 'nosy' but at the same time, I want to take advantage of every minute I have with him.

Unforgettable Mother's Day

2009-05-13T21:17:00.003-04:00

I have been trying to journal since we took our trip to Tenn. in April... I haven't done it on a daily basis, but more when I have minute and want to write about something specific.

When I journaled about Mother's Day, I wrote that I didn't need to write many details because it was a day that I won't soon forget. It was a rough day. Freddy is in Tx, Steph didn't leave Orlando till the morning so that meant she wouldn't make it to church with us. Andy has been going to church, but he sits in the balcony behind us so we can't see him. That's fine, at least he's in church.... but on Easter, he sat with a family that is friends with us. That hurt me a bit, but I took it. This past Sunday, I half expected him to sit with the Hofrichters. He is close to them and has used Debbie and Bill as his 'parents' during the soccer season.... I knew if that would happen, I was going to have a very hard time dealing with it. Instead, I saw him come in and sit with a family that, in MY opinion, has been a huge influence in his odd behavior change and his moving out.... I couldn't stay in the service. Sunday School wasn't much better. The lesson was about Hannah and how her faith allowed her to give up her only son , Samuel, to God. She understood that he was a 'gift' from God and not hers. Ok, MOST of the time in the last 4 months I have been able to have that attitude. But it was too much on Sunday.

Well, he went to lunch with us. Mainly, I think it's because he wanted to see his sister. But it was a good visit... And he came by today and actually spent about 45 minutes with us. And he didn't act defensive or short with us. It was nice.

Have we turned the corner? Are we getting Andy back? I don't know. I hope so. But I know in all of this mess, God is working on MY attitude. He wants me to trust HIM for all things. He desires to strengthen my faith. So I count it all joy.

On another note, Mom is getting a PETscan. There are nodules in her lungs. We find out next Thursday when we go back to the doctor .

And last but not least, my poor husband went to the orthopedic doctor and got the news that he will need to have a hip replacement sometime between 18mths to 2 years. He is going to hold out as long as he can. Oh, AND when he came out of the doctor's office, he found out someone stole his hubcaps off his truck!!!!!!!!

I tell you, I am really worn out with 2009, and we aren't even half way done with it.

Happy Birthday Freddy!!

2009-05-07T21:36:00.006-04:00

On May 7th, 1985 at 1:11pm, the world was introduced to Freddy!

The boy likes his 'tech' stuff.

bought surround sound speakers for his BEDROOM!

His girlfriend, Samsung 48 in. TV

The many faces of Freddy:

Prince Ali

HOW!!

Zorro

Joseph, father of Jesus

Phantom of the Opera

And let's not forget his 'alter ego'... Superman!

Man, I miss that kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love ya Freddy!!

Birthday Man!!

2009-05-05T16:38:00.009-04:00

May 6th

Fred is 47 today. Yay!!!

The other day, I was hanging out with some co-workers after school. There was a lot of grumbling about their husbands or boyfriends. Once again, I was reminded how blessed I was to have Fred.

I truly don't know what my life would be like without him. It's been an amazing thing watching God mold and shape Fred into the man he has become since WAY back when we first met in 1982...

I know God has a great plan in store for my husband, and I am excited about being part of it.

Happy Birthday Fred!!!! OXOXOXO

the next chapter

2009-04-23T15:55:00.002-04:00

Well, mom is moved in, sorta....

It's all in the garage. Actually, we emptied out about 6 boxes already. Every time I put an empty box in the trash pile, I say a little cheer!

This will all be done soon. For one, we are having a yard sale Saturday and it has to be all sorted out. And 2, I am the total opposite of my mom. She is a queen of pack-rats, clutter stresses me out. So I am trying NOT to get stressed out, but instead get motivated to sort through all this stuff.

This is definitely going to take some 'give and take'. And I trying to accept that it will be more 'give' on my and Fred's part. But that's ok, God is definitely teaching us something in 2009. It's has been a doozy of a year so far.

So, if anyone wants a really good deal on stuff, yard sale at my house Saturday!!!

25 years!

2009-04-21T17:23:00.003-04:00

Happy Anniversary honey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's me and you!

Mom's new bathroom

2009-04-19T16:49:00.003-04:00

Mom is finally moving in this Wednesday. We needed to fix her bathroom to accomodate her better, PLUS I have been dying to change it, so it's all good!

This is what it used to look like:

This is what was taken out. I hated that mirror!

This is what it looks like now.

I think it looks so much better! And now I can get one of those 'over the toilet' shelving thingys for mom to put her stuff on. I hope she likes it...

things that make me smile

2009-04-17T20:05:00.004-04:00

Laci posted a blog with this theme, and I thought I would give it a try.... of course, I don't have an adorable baby like her, but God has blessed me with other 'smile' opportunities...

1- my little student pretending to be the teacher at the end of the school day and seeing me in all of his manerisms and sayings.

2-another one of the kids (one who has driven me crazy lately) telling his big brother he was going to live with me because I needed a little kid.

3- making pet rocks with the class

4-watching my husband and James banter back and forth. I am glad Fred has a friend he can do that with.

5- playing in the snow!

6- my daughter and her baby (puppy) loving each other

7- my 23 year old son sending a picture via phone just because he knows I miss him so.

8- going to church Sunday mornings

Well, this is a good start... I'll keep making the list in my head

Easter and flower pics

2009-04-16T19:16:00.008-04:00

These are some pictures we took in Tenn. I think they are so pretty, I may blow them up and frame them....

Easter was, well, quiet... Stephany (favorite daughter) came from Orlando. She came to church with us. Saw Andy from afar. He sat with another family. Steph tried to get him to go out with us for lunch, but he declined. So, the 3 of us went to Longhorn. We had a nice time catching up with Stephany, so that was good. Then, came home and just relaxed. James showed up in the evening and the quiet was gone. (haha!)

I sat in church, watching Andy sit with a family not his own, and catching sight of another family that (in my own opinion) have had some influence in what has happened. And all kinds of bitter things start going through my head. Yeah, Ressurection Sunday and that's what I am doing in church. Great, huh?
Well, that's when God started breaking me down. It seemed every song had words for me. Yes, there are people that I believe have not helped the problem, but he has his own will and he is ultimately responsible for his actions.
I think I am progressing on this road of 'letting go'. It still hurts like crazy, but I am moving forward. Life goes on.

I tried to download the video but it wouldn't let me, so here is a link to the video of one of the songs played on Sunday. It's actually my church but from last year. It's funny though, the girl singing it is wearing the same dress that she wore on Sunday. he he!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGKbk6en1o

Peace in the mountains

2009-04-15T19:28:00.003-04:00

I have become quite lazy with my blog. :(

Our trip to Tennessee was amazing! We had a cabin in Sevierville, just a few miles from Pigeon Forge. It was a beautiful cabin with an incredible view! Ok, so far I have used: amazing, beautiful and incredible. Let me add 'awesome' and I think I may come close to say how our trip went.

We got to see the Stancos, the Councils, and friends from home, the Jones. God has blessed us beyond what we EVER imagined. Our friends are special to us, our marriage has grown and the trip was the 'icing on the cake'.
And to boot, I got to see snow for the first time! I made my first snowman, Fred and I hit each other with a snowball, and I got to just stand in the middle of trees and feel the snow fall! And then, after 30 mintues, I was ready to go in and warm up. he he!

Fred and I got to relax, didn't think too much about the things going on back home. We were reminded all around us about God's grace. The mountains, trees, the deer, racoons, the snow and the creekbeds. I had time to think and pray. It helped...

I took a ton of pics, if you go to my facebook page, you should be able to see them... let me know if the link doesn't work.

http://www.facebook.com/tos.php?api_key=423d17f114134aa521904f85f1146174&next=micro%2Ffive_things%3F%253Bperson_id%3D29525619%26entity_id%3D72616%26entity_type%3DBook%26five_thing_id%3D46105216%26ref2%3Dfeed-pick-your-five-image-2%26ref%3Dnf%26variant%3Dredacted-img-overlays&v=1.0#/album.php?aid=106014&id=508023988

THANK YOU JAMES

2009-04-12T21:45:00.002-04:00

I am here to publicly give my deep thanks and gratitude to James Council. He helped me figure out why I could not post comments on my friends' blogs....

He is the master of technology, the guru of internet.... am I going too far???
yeah, I think so....

highways and byways, here we come!

2009-04-03T19:07:00.005-04:00

In 9 hours, we will be Tenn. bound!!!!!!!!!! Fred said there is 20% chance of snow. How cool would that be? (no pun intended)

We are hoping to find some wi-fi in/around Pigeon Forge. Will post pics!

All Hail!!

2009-03-25T21:12:00.004-04:00

Freddy got his first taste of Texas hail. He was sleeping this afternoon and was woken up by the thunderstorm. Then he heard crashing sounds. So I get a text from him "Texas hail, are you serious?? my poor car!"

His car got a ton of dents. He has already put in a claim with his insurance company. Hopefully they will cover repairs. Though the way it looks like, he needs work on the whole body.

Poor Freddy!!!

Ooppss!!

2009-03-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

I forgot something else we did this past week!

The Caddells invited us to go out to dinner with them. We went to an Amish restaurant in Sarasota. The food is great, they have a neat gift shop, and the long drive gave us time to chat.
I love our friends and how they always think of us. They are moving to Tx this Summer, I don't know what I am going to do without them!!

Catch Up Post

2009-03-22T19:50:00.008-04:00

This is going to be a pot-pourri of posts, just so that I can catch up with myself....

1-The reason I haven't been blogging is because I caught a virus (or it caught me) last week. I had a training class last Saturday and halfway through I started to sneeze... I thought 'it better be cuz of dust'. By the end of the class, my nose was running like crazy. So I think maybe it's allergies. Fred and I stop by Walgreens and get some Zyrtec on the way to our SS class social. (Pictures below), but by the time I went to bed, I had a fever. That fever stayed uninvited for 3 days. I was so sick, I missed 3 days of work. Finally went back on Thursday to find out the whole school has been sick.

2-Our SS social was fun. Robbie & Danny Marsh opened up their home to us and even gave some folks a ride on his boat.

Fred and some others did a little fishing.

And the rest of us enjoyed the "Fellowship"

And, there is always the 'cheesy' shot of me and Fred since I am the one taking pictures, I always forget to make sure I get in one of the shots to prove I was there. :)

by the way, if I haven't mentioned it lately, I really like our SS class. Great bunch of people!

3-I got my job evaluation this week. I am happy to say that I received excellent marks, even though I filled out my self evaluation totally wrong. I guess I 'need improvement' in following directions. At least my principal took it well and got a chuckle out of it....

4-Things with Andy are still not good. I got a letter in the mail about 'Graduation Sunday' this past week and so I have been having a bit of a 'downer' week. But in all of it, I know God is in control and so I wait....

5-Spoke with someone who is going to change some things in the bathroom my mom will be using when she moves in. So Fred and I made a trip to Lowes today... Mom is moving in on April 22. Still A LOT to do.

6-Went to a dear friend's funeral Saturday. Davin Olsen was a great man who loved the Lord with all of his being. He was suffering from 'Huntington's Disease'. It's a degenerate illness that attacks the brain cells. He lived for a very long time with this disease, but he didn't let it stop him from serving the Lord. He attended Bell Shoals and at the funeral, the worship leader said that in all the years Davin was there, he never missed a Sunday or Wednesday with the choir. Fred and I met him at Causeway Baptist when I was in my teens. He was the worship leader and our SS teacher. He was our mentor. He left behind a wonderful lady and 2 sons who loved him a lot. Please pray for God's comfort for them.

7-Now, for the best news from this past week:

This is Sara, my sister-in-law and mom to my 'other kids' Steven & Savanna. For many years, we have been praying that she would come to the saving knowlege of Jesus. She is of jewish background, but also had some specifics views on 'religion'. We have witnessed and spoken with her many times, and she even told me once to quit because I wasn't going to 'convert' her. Well, I didn't .

The family has been casually searching for a church since they moved to NC about 2 years ago. They have been going to one (a southern baptist, woohoo!) and found a SS class that is called 911 because it's primarily people in the medical field ie: nurses, paramedics.... that, I am sure helped Sara feel more comfortable as she and my brother and both nurses. Well. this past week, the pastor visited with them and he was able to lead Sara to the Lord!!!!!!

Getting the call from my brother was one of the happiest moments in a long time. They were presented to the church today and the pastor gave Sara a New Believer's Bible and the Purpose Drive Life book. My brother even said they were given homework! That sounds like this church will make sure my brother and Sara are discipled. And that is a great church! She wants us to come up and see her get baptised so it's tentatively scheduled for June 28th. We will be there, just haven't decided if we are driving or flying... but we would not miss it for the world!!

Ok, I think I am all caught up... I hope to not become a slacker in the future....

PS 11 days till Spring Break!!!!!

catching up

2009-03-18T16:37:00.001-04:00

I have about 3 different topics I want to cover on the blog, but I am too wiped out to do it right now, so stay tuned!! (I know, you can't wait) :)

PS
Only 16 days till the cabin break!!!!!!!

Go Yates 5th Graders!

2009-03-10T19:00:00.003-04:00

Some of our 5th graders were part of a project where they played the stock market. They did so well, they won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in our district!!
Fox 13 News was at our school this morning and did a story on them.

I tried to updload the video, but it didn't work.... so so click on the link below for the story....

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/students_profits_stock_market_game_031009

A good week

2009-03-09T21:35:00.003-04:00

Freddy is on an airplane as I type. I am tracking him on flytecomm.com....

It was great to have him here.Things weren't much different than when he lived here: he stayed in the bedroom and played on the computer, once in a while coming out and chatting with us... It felt like the good ole days!

Steph came down last Thursday (with a friend) and we all went to Cheddars. James Council joined us since he is our 'new son'. Andy wouldn't come....

I love this Picture!

Freddy got to see most of his friends, though I just realized they were all girls. hehe

He even made time to shop at the mall. This is a new Freddy, I had to beg the old one to go buy shoes, much less shop at the mall. I think he looks pretty good, don't you?

I miss him already, but he is doing good in Texas and really likes his job. So Austin can borrow him for a while...

The best Surprise ever!!!

2009-03-02T17:11:00.003-05:00

Freddy has this 'lan party' thing he does in Rhode Island. It's a computer gaming convention thingy... He has gone the last 2 oe 3 years and really has a fun time. He saved his money so he could take time off from work and go.
When he takes these trips, I ask him to give me his itenerary: flights, hotel info....

Well, I have been on him for over a week to do it... he kept saying he would but wouldn't.

He left this morning and I was texting him and complaining that he didn't send me the info. He finally texted me around 12:30pm saying he landed. So I called him and told him to send me the rest of his trip's info... He said ok...

I get home from work today and here is what I find:

He DIDN'T go to Rhode Island!! He is here!!

I tell you, I really needed this. I know I am going to drive him crazy, but he has always been patient with my 'weird mom' ness....

He has a lot of friends that have been bugging him to come back and visit so he is going to be busy with them too. But he is here till next Monday and I am sure we will have plenty of time

YAY!!!