Today we REJOICE! Chloe has been promoted to USC in ballet! That means pointe from now on and modern dance to boot (they actually dance barefooted!) ! She is very excited. I'm praying for NO UNITARD in modern dance. Wow Wee! That just shows TOO much detail! We just may have to step out of the dance for the recital! I'm not fond of that idea, UNITARD. If you are wondering what that is, it is a one piece (body, arms, legs) leotard. Skin tight!





BACK to REJOICING! She is so excited about moving up! She has dreamed for this day. She was in USB for 3 years and now she is moving up to dance with the "big" girls. (I still think of her also Wendy as that 9 lb baby that Mrs. Kathy said 13 years ago: "... she's a chunk.")

Nuthing like a fresh start to Spring....

3wks old

The kittens are getting so big! They now climb out of the box, or maybe I should stress the 3 or 4th box that I have tried to keep them in!

5wks old

6 wks old

They have gotten to rotten too! They love to be held and loved on! I'm so surprised that they have lasted this long! My two youngest are not exactly gentle with them! The babies get picked up by their tails, heads, legs...what ever Sam can get a hold of but maybe that is what makes them good cats.!

I still need some takers! We should be ready to give them away by the 2nd Saturday of June. That makes them 8 weeks old. Heather Small (You can find her blog at: http://thesmallones.wordpress.com/) is getting one for her daughter. Chloe is getting to keep one. She has chosen the kitten featured running in the grass. Her name is Dixie. That leaves 3 to go to a good home!If you live in area give me a line! Other wise I will have to go to WalMart and give them to strangers!

You know what this Cat thing started, oh about 4 years ago when my friend Rebekah, whose blog you can find on my favorites, gave me a kitten. I named her "Sue." Well, Sue became Chloe's cat. Sue had kittens the following spring. We kept one for our other daughter, Sarah. She named her "LuLu," short for Lucy. Well, (How'd you guess!) Lulu had kittens the following spring. We kept one of them! Sarah named her....well, "Sarah." I know. She was 4 at the time. How can you tell a four year old not to name the cat after her?! So we call her Sarah Cat. Well, now we are on our 4th generation of kittens! We are keeping Dixie for Chloe. Why you say? Cats just last long around here for odd reasons. It is nothing that we do. They just seemed to have "died off " from last summer till fall. So we are starting fresh with another round of kittens. Please, somebody tell me you have these issues at least once in your life!

Other than kittens, my life has been very full with CBS ending at the end of April,

Ballet ending on Mother's Day,

a field trip to Turkey Creek in Pinson. We learned about God's beautiful creation:

and Jerome had a BIRTHDAY! We made a huge paper sign to hang on the side of the house and then chalked all the way up the driveway: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! WE LOVE YOU!"

One of our driveway letters!

Chloe was inspired to lighten up her room! It is amazing what a string of Christmas lights and push pins do for a room! She has white lights going all along the top of the ceiling and then these pink lights on her top bunk. Both girls are loving it! I think it is pretty cool too!

Now I have sat at the computer working on field trips for next year. There are 11 on their way. Dates to confirm along with time, prices and don't forget about LUNCH! We have to have lunch planned! All done with that, I had to focus on getting the grades averaged and fill out the report pages to have them ready for Paula. (Look back to the CBS picture, that's her, in the Center on her knees!Hey Paula!!) Done. Done. Done. Now,

I just found a really cool "give away place"! My friend Wendy has it on her blog spot! Go and check it out! Just click the icon that I added to my blog!
Have a good day!

Some sisters in Christ and I will begin a summer study on how to raise virtuous gals in this messed up world, starting in May.

Vicki Courtney is the author and I am very tickled to learn from her. I've read the first section on beauty, and honey, she tells you like it is!! I LOVE it. Thanks Heather Sm. for sharing this book with me! Our ladies are going to love it.

Another thing! This awesome lady has a blog in which you can visit!!!

http://www.virtuealert.com/

A perfect blog! I've watched a couple of her videos on there and she is just like us! A mom, that well, does Mom things.

I encourage you to sign up for her blog so that you can learn from her. I know I want to be on top of what I can do to help me girls stay in Christ!

Blessing to you and your daughters!

Mommy and Sarah!

Clam Day

One disgusting animal!

And to think PEOPLE EAT THESE THINGS!

On Science Day last week we dissected clams. You never know what you are going to get when you open a clam! . Everyone's but Nate's was good color and clean! His on the other hand had thick, bottom of the river slimy mud all through its parts.

That makes me think of our lives before Christ. We are slimy, sticky, & no one wants to touch our soul. We've been kept at the bottom of the river. In the dark, where nasty things (sin) thrive.

"For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed..." John 3:20-21

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, he reaches down into that darkness and pulls us up into the light exposing that sin and begins to clean us and bring us to His grace. The slime and the stinky mud begins to wash off.

"But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God." John 3:20-21

We become clean creatures once again. Much like the other clams at the table, who had been brought to cleaner water and their systems had been cleansed by it.

We should glorify our Christ by shouting off the rooftops His healing, cleansing, grace and mercy that has changed us from that dirty, slimy clam to the clean, gleaming white clam that we should have been all along! Then, :

"You should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4: 12

Not to mention:

"Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching." Titus 2:7

Do you know of a dirty clam. Or someone who just needs some grace? We are also told :

"But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception." Hebrews 3:13

As sisters, and brothers too, we are to be there for one another and not walk away.

We are to say, "Hey, what does Christ's words say about ...."

Call on them. See how they are doing.

PRAY!

God hears all prayers! A wonderful councilor once said that God can take the belated prayers and use them in the time that they were needed! Yes, that means that today's prayers that were needed 2 days ago are used 2 days ago! Before you every uttered the first prayerful word! God doesn't go by our time! He is not held to our standard measures. He created time! He is the great and almighty that can do anything that he wants! In His great and merciful time!!! I am not in control! Praise God for that!

"O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress," Jeremiah 16:19

Isn't that just relieving to know that in our failures he reigns and makes the world a better place.

I think I need to stop drinking coffee!

Gotta go get the kids up! Busy day.

Keep the Lord on the phone and talk to him every second!

Spring is Here

Wow! Spring is surely here! Flowers, pollen, beauty, AhhhhhhhhChoooooo! I've really enjoyed all the beauty that God has brought forth this season. AHHHHH CHOOOO! My yard is still the desolate desert of rocks. Very few things have come back this year. My fig tree is doing very well. Hosta, monkey grass, my azaleas actually bloomed this year. My wonderful, going to be my privacy fence between me and my neighbors is alive and growing. The iris in the front bloomed out nicely. I don't believe they bloomed at all last year, but Jerome says the kids picked them before I ever got a chance to see them. Figures! The little kids are playing more out in the dirt again this year. That means that one thing is growing! The ring in my tub!

AHHHH CHOOOO! Oh, and by the way, this is not me sneezing, but my dear sweet hubby. His allergies have finally caught up with . He started his new construction job two weeks ago and the pollen has finally taken a toll on him. He loves his new job. He is building gas stations and other small buildings. At night myself and Jerome work with some friends of ours cleaning office buildings. Let me clarify, we clean them out and help reset up of tear down when they move to a new building. Lots of goodies can be found there! God has blessed us greatly. We have been faithful to rely on him when we thought things were going south. Many times one of us would be waning on our faith and the other would slap some since into the other. We stood strong as He commands us to do.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.Ephesians 6:12-14

We were just standing. Today we fight.

Jerome is starting a men's Bible study with our church. He is very excited. He will be using, of course, the Bible and Point Man by Steve Farrar. He says it is time for men of our church/community/ country, you get the drift, need to "man up." I MADE him change is wording a bit. It didn't seem just right to say "cowboy up," his original thought. But PLEASE be praying for this in the coming days. It starts on the 14th of May. Thursday night at OUR HOUSE! Pray that the devil stays away! No family problems, no house problems, no marriage problems and no work problems. Pray that it all comes together like the Lord wants it to.

Also around our house is a new batch of kittens! OH SO SWEET! 5 in all. 3 little black ones and 2 black and white. 3 girls and 2 boys. Sarah Kitty is a good mother. I have 3 to give away! Any takers?

Sarah the cat had her kittens between our computer desk and the wall. That is only about 8 inches. One determined mother.

Just one precious baby!

We are thinking of naming them after candy! Sweet! Any suggestions?

Sarah

Hey, Sarah just asked if she could have "a 'zert?"

"A what?"

"A 'zert. "

"What?"

"Mom! I've eaten everything! Can I have a 'zert!!!"

"Oh. A dessert!"

Websters dictionary defines dessert as: 1. an usually sweet course, as of pie, cake, or ice cream, served at the end of a meal. 2. uncooked fruit served after, or in place of the sweet course.

Sarah is this definition! because she is my Sweetie Pie! Sugar Dumpling! Honey Dew! Pumpkin! I just can't get enough of her!

A cheerful heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15 (and sometimes just lots of good ol' zert!)