Almost New Years!

Well the year has pretty much flown. Seems like just yesterday it was May and we were going on our vacation to Yellowstone and now it's almost January 1st.

I hope everyone had a Blessed Christmas. Or as a lady from India wished me a Mary Charismas..I don't think I'll forget that one soon. You think she new Mary was the mother of Jesus? Sadly I doubt she did. I hope everyone remembered that Jesus is not only the reason for the season but the reason for all things. While our year has been beyond busy and while we did suffer the loss of a dear family member this year we are truly blessed beyond measure. Our kids are healthy, we have a "new" roof over our heads and we have food on the table. We also both have good jobs to be thankful for.

We moved into our "new to us home" the second week of November. I'm still getting use to living in a smaller house. I'm also still trying to get use to this now being our home. There are times that I go to fix dinner and I catch myself wanting to say something to Fern and then I realize she's not there. I found this Christmas very difficult/emotional. We surrounded our lives around James and Fern and their illnesses for over 3 years and now frankly there are times that I feel at a loss. Now free time is NOT a plenty... but I find myself missing them both so much. I think I'm just still grieving for our loss and at times also home sick for our old home. I really do like it here and it's starting to feel like home but it's definitely taking a while to get adjusted here and taking a while to feel like I'm not living in someone elses home.

The kids are doing well in school. They had a wonderul Christmas. We got a wii for Chirstmas and the kids are playing Just Dance. We're enjoying watching them dance and they're having a great time.

I took some pictures over Christmas. I promise I'll get them uploaded soon.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year filled with many blessings.

We have someone coming to look at the cafe on Sunday. Please pray it goes well.

Wow where has the month gone!

Whew the month of October and the start of November have been beyond busy. We celebrated 3 birthdays in October. I need to wish Ashton, Joseph and Alex all Happy Birthdays! Ashton turned 21, Joseph turned 21 and Alex turned the big 7. Then Johnny turned 46 on November 1st. We basically celebrated one birthday a week for the entire month!

We have officially remodeled our new home and moved in last weekend. We had so many family and friends that came and helped us paint, clean, remodel and just do odds and ends things. We are so truly blessed to have such a support system.

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with Johnny's family. We had 40 people come visit and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. A truly blessed and thankful day.

Joseph and Ashton are expecting a baby girl. They're trying to come up with little girl names now. They are wanting to incorporate Fern's name as the middle name. If you come up with anything that goes well with Fern let us know.

I need to take some new pictures of the kids and some pictures of our new house so I can share them with you all. As you can tell we've been a tad bit busy lately!

Now we get to start cleaning our old home so we can prepare to put it on the market. Please pray with us that it will sell quickly. We also have someone coming to look at the cafe this Sunday please pray that goes well also. It'd be such a Christmas Blessing to have that off our shoulders.

Happy Holidays to each of you. I hope you each had a Happy Thanksgiving and I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas.

Tina

3 Years ago!

3 years ago a cautious little boy wondering what just happened to him.

Now a little boy full of spunk and personality!


Can you believe it's been three years! Yep three years ago today Alex came home. We got off the plane surrounded by family and friends and Alex met his daddy, his sister and his big brother Joe for the first time. Upon arriving home big brother Jonathon came by to visit. It seems like yesterday the scared little boy that didn't speak any English came home. He quickly picked up english and quickly adapted to his sorroundings. Adoption of an older child is something you can not explain to someone that has not been there. There are many days of struggles and trials along with many days of overwhelming joy and happiness seeing the progress being made. Alex is now a full blown American boy. He really does not remember much about his home in Vietnam or much before coming home. He's an amazing, happy, smart little boy that loves to talk. Just last week week his teacher told him she could hear his voice anywhere. His reponse was if I was in Texas could you hear me! Yep that's our Alex. We wouldn't trade him for a millon dollars. We're so blessed and so glad that we were called by God to be the parents of "Nhat Hung Ngyuen" Our Alex Scott.

Happy forever family day Alex. Mom and Dad love you so much.

Progress

This past weekend we were able to go thru all of Ferns household items and most of Grandpa's household items. Ferns brothers and sisters came and went thru her items on Saturday and made a pretty good dent in moving many of her belongings to their homes. On Sunday Johnny and I and his brothers and sister-in laws went thru the majority of the items belonging to James. The house is in a big disarray now. Hopefully I can spend some time this week cleaning and organizing what's left. Johnny is wanting to start on the shop next. I told him that was his arena and he needed to organize that with his siblings since me and my sister-in law Debbie took care of the majority of the house. So far things have gone smooth. I ask you to continue to pray for all involved as we continue to make this transition.

Work is busy, home life is busy, overall we stay on our toes most of the time trying to get things accomplished. I'm hoping to have time to start painting, cleaning and organizing both homes soon. One in preparation to move into and the other in preparation to sell. Pray we'll have enough time, money and resources to get things done quickly so we can get this all behind us.

The kids are doing great. They had school pictures taken on Monday. I'm anxious to see how they turned out. First grade seems to be agreeing with them both. I'm anxious to see what their grades look like. Addie's teacher seems to be somewhat ahead of Alex's teacher. Addie's bringing home books to read already and Alex hasn't brought home any. I may have to message her to find out what's going on since I thought the majority of the time the teachers try to stay on the same learning path.

The kids and I are going to Gamelia, AR this weekend to visit my step sister. Looking forward to some down time of just relaxing. Sure hope it turns out relaxing and not a big chore. I really don't need anything else to do right now and I sure do need some time away.

Have a great week and make it count for the Lord.
Tina

Loss, Changes and Misc things

A year ago in June we lost Johnny's dad and then Sunday before last we lost Johnny's Aunt Fern who has been like a mother to him. Over the last 3 years Johnny and his brothers and their families have cared for James and Fern in their home. Johnny's dad and his Aunt Fern were the glue that held Johnny's family together. Not just Johnny and his siblings but his cousins, aunts and uncles and extended family. The home stead has been the go to place for family gathers for as long as I've been in the family which is now just a little over 25 years.

This weekend we will be dismantling the home stead. It makes me sad to have to do this and it makes me sad that they are gone. Johnny and I inherited the home a year ago last June when his dad passed away and we have plans to sell our home and to move into James and Ferns home. I've told the family that everyone is always welcome but as with everything all things change, people change and lives change. I hope everyone understands the situation Johnny and I are in and I hope everyone understands that we will need to make the house our "home" now. I ask for you continued prayers as we move forward in making this our new home. I ask that you pray that Johnny and I will be kind, considerate and thoughtful to others needs and desires when making decisions about the house and about the changes that are going to be made. I ask you to also pray for the other family members that they will also be kind, considerate and thoughtful in the decision that Johnny and I need to make. This is not an easy task and not a task that we asked for however it's something we need to move forward with.

Alex and Addie are doing well in school. Both appear to be excelling in their classes. They seem to be growing leaps and bounds before my eyes. It won't be long until I won't be able to call them "my littles" much longer.

Joe and Ashton are expecting their second child in April. Bentley is now walking and Jaylynn is starting to really show her personality and showing signs of being ready to start getting into everything so she can keep up with Bentley! Next Christmas should be a fun one at the Cornelison househould.

I hope you each have a great week. Don't forget to make it count for the Lord..
Tina

Fern

Fern and Bentley

Fern 5 years ago
Fern a tad bit younger

Fern just after her fall.

Fern just before her fall.

Fern looking at a book with Addie.

Our family lost a very dear woman this week. Fern was a woman everyone loved dearly and a woman that I deeply admired. She was a righteous, virtuous, and a true woman of God. Her love for her family never waivered and we will greatly miss her.

1st Grade!

We have two official 1st graders. Addie and Alex started first grade yesterday and enjoyed the day.

We were blessed to raise $15,000 at the benefit Auction for Jake on Saturday! Yes that was $15,000! God is good.

Bentley celebrated his 1st birthday on Thursday. He got lots of new toys including toys he can walk behind. I have a feeling he'll be walking on his own soon.

Going to be another busy week.

Have a great week. Be a blessing and Be Blessed.

Wow has it really been over a month since I updated my blog?

I keep thinking I need to update my blog but it seems to be taking a back burner to the many other things going on in our lives.

Update on Aunt Fern. Fern is holding her own. Her blood pressure hovers around 85/55 most of the time. She's in pretty good spirits and eats well most days. She has some dementia but overall doing well. God has blessed us with some more time with her.

Next this is Jacob. Jake is a dear friend of our family. On the weekend of the 4th of July Jake had a 4-wheeler accident and was paralized from the chest down. He is in Denver at a rehab facility there. He's been in severe pain and we ask that you uplift him in your prayers. We're having a pie auction for him on August 13th at 6 PM. If you need more information please let me know.

Lastly this is what we've been battling for over a week now. Poor Addie had an allergic reaction to either poison ivy or poison oak. The doctors think she got it from the dog. Her legs are starting to clear up now but as you can tell she had a severe case of it. Four doctors trips later we finally have her on the mend.

The kids start school next week. I hope and pray they got good teachers. We should be able to find out today who thier teachers are. I hope and pray they get good teachers and enjoy 1st grade as much as they did Kindergarten.

Bentley will be "1" this week. How time flies! He learned to say "AD-DE" last week. He loves his Aunt Addie. Bentley and Jaylynn are both growing like weeds and doing well.

Well I'm still at working waiting for a support person to call me. Hoping they call soon so I can go home.

Miss Jaylynn

Now if this picture doesn't brighten your day then somethings really wrong!

And here's a few pics from the wedding!

I think it was a beautiful wedding.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well the summer continues to be busy. I had a friend email me this morning looking for an update. So here's a quick update on our where abouts these days.




Last week we went to Tulsa and spent a few days at Vietnam camp. We stayed with Addie's friend Charlotte while we were there. One evening we were blessed with the opportunity to eat dinner with some of our friends.

Addie and Aunt Fern looking at a magazine.

Gentry, Charlotte, Larkin, Alex and Addie

Here's a few more pics from our Yellowstone trip.

Our family still asks for your prayers for Johnny's Aunt Fern. She is at home with Hospice. We're doing what we can to make her comfortable. We've been blessed to have several family members helping to care for her.

Happy Anniversary - NUMBER 25!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband of 25 years. We woke up in West Yellow Stone, Mt this morning. The weather has been great today.

We stopped off at Mount Rushmore on our way here. On Sunday it rained and snowed on us the entire drive. We got her late Sunday night. Small quaint little town. Monday it snowed some and rained some but the majority of the day the sun was out. It's been cold but not too cold. Today we saw 2 waterfalls and hiked a bit in the park. It's a beautiful place. Really not what I imagined but beautiful none the less.

Yep that's a bear back there.

Corn Palace

On a side note I ask that you continue to uplift Johnny's Aunt Fern in your prayers. She is coming home today but from what I understand they are going to have hospice come in. She's very weak and not eating. Please keep Fern and Johnny's family in your prayers.

Blessings,

Tina

It's 1AM and I'm still at work

I've been at work since 8 this morning and it's now 1:15 AM. Needless to say I'm starting to tire. I'm having a system problem that I can't seem to resolve and IBM support has been of little help. I have the ticket opened to a Sev 1 for system down but they sure aren't in any of a hurry to get it back up. I hate nights like this. Tonight and one day last week I missed seeing my kiddos. Most days I enjoy my job but the last few weeks have been hard.

Moving on..

In other news Fern fell last Wednesday and broke her hip and her arm. They did surgery last Thursday and replaced her hip and fixed her arm but while replacing her hip they broke her leg. She had been in severe pain from the broken leg until yesterday when they finally went in and repaired the break. I spoke with her this evening and she seems to be doing much better, Praise God! For those of you that might not know. Fern is Johnny's Aunt and she helped raise him. We help Johnny's other brothers care for her now that Johnny's dad has passed on.

Here's a picture of Fern and Bentley. She thinks Bentley is JUST IT!

Please keep Fern in your prayers. She has a long recovery ahead of her.

Johnny and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next week. If all goes well with Fern we'll be headed to Yellow Stone with Addie and Alex. Please pray that we have a safe trip and some much needed rest and relaxation.

We still have the Valley Inn. Please continue to pray that God will bring us the right person to buy it.

Many blessings to you all.

Tina

Gotcha

Yesterday was Gotcha day. For those that have not adopted Gotcha Day or Forever Family day as some call it is the day you receive your child. Since Johnny did not travel with me our Forever Family day and Gotcha days are different days. Five years ago yesterday I stood in a hotel room waiting for a precious child whom God had born in my heart. Needless to say the anticipation was great as I waited for the first glimpse of the little girl I'd only seen in in pictures from afar.

Needless to say she stole my heart from the minute I laid eyes on her picture and was so truly blessed when they placed her in my arms that day.

She is growing into a beautiful young girl full of energy and joy. She lights up our world each and every day and we are so truly blessed that God chose us to be her family. We are so blessed to be the adoptive parents of two of the sweetest children in the world and we praise God for His many blessings upon us each day. We will celebrate Alex's Gotcha day on October 1st.

Happy Gotcha Day Addie. Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

Pics

OK I haven't posted pics in a while and I've been promising I would so here ya go. Several taken over the last month or so.

Our trip to Silver Dollar City... gotta love the expressions!

Addie enjoyed Cheer Camp
Addie and Bentley at Easter

Baby J this weekend

Jonathon and Shawna this weekend

Alex and his friend at his last soccer game.

Mid May

Well it's already mid May and the month has flown by. In less than two weeks our family will be heading to Yellowstone! I'm looking forward to it. We should go thru 2 state parks and to Mount Rushmore on our way to yellowstone so we should have some good breaks along the long drive there. Then upon our return I'm hoping to be able to go the Colorado and see an old friend for a tad bit.

I ran across a scripture the other day that hit me right in the middle of the forehead. A week or so later I saw the same scripture again. I want to share it with you and see if it touches you like it has me.

Proverbs 24:12 Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act.

wow.. Has God opened your eyes no matter how big are small to something that you have not acted upon..

Proverbs 3:5,6 says.. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknoledge Him and He will direct your path.

So why do we know our eyes have been opened, and know God has plans for us, and know that He will hold us responsible if we don't act, and then not trust him when he asks us to do something?

What is God asking of you? I know what He's asking of me. You will just have to wait and find out..

Blessings,
Tina

Happy Mothers Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I was blessed to be able to spend Mother's Day with my mom, my kiddos and my grandkids. I had a picture I was going to post but haven't been able to get it off my phone so I can attach it here.

I heard something funny this weekend. When we go out to eat my kids order water a lot or tea or maybe sprit. This weekend we were at McDonalds and I heard this probably 8 year old boy say to his mom, "I'm not drinking that." She responds, "Don't have an attitude." He says, "I'm not drinking carbination!" I've never heard a young child blatenly say they weren't drinking carbination. Thought it was funny. Most kids beg for pop when they are out like that.

Kids are doing well. Alex had his last soccer game on Saturday. He really enjoys playing soccer so we'll probably play again next season. Addie did cheer camp a few weeks ago and cheered in the alumni football game and made the sports section of the local newspaper last week. Her teacher at afterschool care laminated it for her. Thank you Miss Rachel.

The basement at the Valley Inn has been flooded every since we started getting all this rain. We've been pumping and pumping water. Last week it was over my head. That would probably be the amount of water in two regular size swimming pools in the basement. The rain gutters next to the building are stopped up and the water has no where to go but into my basement. Pray for us that we can get all the water out and that God will send us a buyer soon.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Be a blessing to someone!
Tina

Moving at the speed of light!

Well it's the busy time of the year where it seems like we're running, running, running. Alex is playing soccer and baseball and Addie is in gymnastics. so it seems like most days we have something planned. Saturday alone we had 2 soccer games, a birthday party and baseball practice! Whew... Alex had a baseball game Monday night, Tuesday night and Addie has gymnastices on Thursday. Then Alex has a soccer game on Saturday! So that leaves Wednesday and Friday for downtime. Praise the Lord we do have some down time.

The kids are doing great. We had parent teacher conferences last week and both kids are making straight A's. So proud of them.. Alex is doing really well in soccer. I have to brag and say I think he's the best kid on the team.

Addie's really enjoying gymnastics. Ashton took the kids over to Johnny's Uncle Mike's Sunday. Addie got to milk a goat. I'd loved to have had a picture of her. I know it'd have been way to cute.

Last weekend Joe, Johnny and Alex went mushroom hunting. They asked Addie if she wanted to go and she decided not to. After they left she asked if mushrooms were animals. I told her no they were not. The she said... "How are they going to get the bullet out of them"... what a hoot!

We're planning our 25th wedding Anniversary. We're going to take a trip to Yellowstone. Looking forward to getting away and seeing some new sites. I hear Yellowstone is beautiful and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to be able to go.

Jonathon and Shawna have a firm date of June 11th at 5 PM for their wedding. It'll be held at Astounding Grace in Hindsville. Everyone is invited. If you need directions please let me know.

I hadn't updated in a while. Thought I'd better at least let you guys know I've not dropped of the face of the Earth.

Have a Blessed week.
Tina

Finally Recovering

This week is the first I've felt fairly normal in about 2 weeks. Yeah you laugh and say Tina when are you ever normal... Anyway I had the Flu week before last and it has really drug me down. My nose had sores inside and out and I went through 3 boxes of kleenex in 2 weeks. I'm down to a small sniffle and an occasional cough. I am so thankful to almost have this past me! I've been absolutely miserable. The kids had spring break last week and will be headed to Winslow with my Sister-in law. They stayed in a cabin for a few days. The cabin had no running water. I gave them a shower when they got home and the tub turned brown. I think they must have had a lot of fun.. Jonathon and Shawna are working on wedding plans. Hopefully we'll have a confirmed date in June next week. Please keep them in your prayers as they make this commitment to each other. Jaylynn got her ears pierced over the weekend and I'm anxious to see how she looks. Joe, Ashton and Bentley are all doing well. Bent now has two new teeth that shine when he grins. We still need to sale the cafe. Please keep us in your prayers that God will send the right person our way. I was talking with my Aunt this weekend and she asked about our dog in the freezer. I'm happy to report she had a proper burial about a month ago! Be a blessing and be blessed. thanks, Tina

Letter of Faith

Have you ever had one of those nights when you lay there and realize that you've gotten quiet enough to hear God speaking to you? Not in an audible tone but none the less you know you heard from God. Last night was one of those nights.

We're starting a new Sunday school class for our teenagers and I've been honored with the opportunity to plan and teach the class. Yesterday I received our new curriculum and went over it so I could plan for our first class on Sunday. One of the things to preplan to do with the kids was have them to bring something with them to class that they love or admire. The class is about how we are created in God's image. Well as I was lying there thinking about this particular class the subject took a slight change. My thought was regarding asking the kids to bring something in that speaks to me of who they are. I lay there thinking if someone had to preach my funeral based on one particular object in my life without any other knowledge of me what would that object be. As I lay there thinking about this I thought about my Bible. If someone was to open my Bible they'd see a bunch of miscellaneous papers that would probably tell them I'm not very organized, they see art work from my kids which would show them I love and respected my kids and brought them to church, they'd see miscellaneous book marks which would show them that I'm sentimental. But what else could they see in that Bible? They would see that I received the Bible as a young girl and loved, respected and protected God's word by covering it with a Bible cover. They would see that the pages are well worn with many scriptures highlighted showing my desire to learn from His word. Would all this show them my love for Christ? Then a thought came into my head. Why not have my Statement of Faith located in my Bible. So then I started thinking about my statement of Faith and what it would say... so here goes from my memory last night.

• I Love Christ.I Believe that Christ came to Earth and was born of a Virgin.
• I Believe that He died for my sins.I Believe that He arose on the third Day.
• I Believe that He now sits on the right hand of our Father.
• I Believe He sent us the Comforter.I Believe in worshipping God.
• I Believe the Word of God is a living breathing document that is revealed to the believer as you grow in Christ. I may read the same scripture today as I did a year ago and have a different revelation to it's meaning. Not that the word changed but that God saw fit for me to see more of His revelation.
• I don't add a denominational title to my Christian faith.
• I believe in the entire word of God and do not want to limit my beliefs based on a few scriptures tied to a specific denomination.
• I Believe that God may convict me regarding an issue and someone else may never have that same conviction.
• I Believe God called our family to adopt.
• I Believe He gave our family the spirit of adoption so that we can be an encouragement to others. If we could only open our hearts to the orphan as Christ has by adopting us as His children there would be no orphans in the world.
• I Believe I am responsible to teach, to preach, and to testify God's word throughout the Nations.
• I Believe that God's word is true and that one day we will each face judgement.
• I Walk by Faith and not by sight. Knowing that God speaks to me thru His word and thru the Holy Ghost who dwells in me.
• I Believe I can make a difference and that God saved my soul for His glory.
• I Believe the Lord continues to work in me.
• I know that Christ has never left me and will never forsake me.
• I Believe that I am a Christian.
  

My question to you is what do you believe? Have you considered putting it in writing? As I grow in Christ the list above may change or grow. Since Christ continues to grow in me I doubt the list will shrink or decrease.

So now back to my Bible. If you found my Bible and had never met me I hope that some how, some way this is a testimony to Christ. Not of myself but of the work that Christ has done in me.
Blessings through Christ my Savior and Lord.Tina

Update

Mr. Alex is feeling 100% better. Still has a slight cough but over all he's back to his normal self. He came home the day before yesterday and said it had been a long ruff day. I felt sorry for him. As any of you that have been around him know Alex stutters. Sometimes worse than others. Well I guess the kids at school told him that he needed to learn to talk right. I ask that you keep him in your prayers. We've never tried to make a big issue out of it because we don't want him to be self conscious about it causing it to be worse. So I'm checking with the school to see if they feel like he needs some type of speech therapy. Honestly we keep thinking he'll out grow it since one sentence he'll speak without stuttering and the next he stutters all the way thru it.

Mrs. Addie is doing well. We had her ears pierced again last weekend. You may remember we had them done several months ago but she decided to take her earrings out at school one day and we couldn't get them back in that evening. She's such a girlie girl. She loves bling so we got big fake diamonds this go round. Her issue last time was she wanted to wear earrings that dangle and have bling. So I opted for more flare this time hoping she'd be happy with them for 6 weeks and we'd get them healed up and be good to go.

Shawna just sent me this family photo so of course I needed to share it with you all. She went back to work on Tuesday and Miss J is now going to a baby sitter. Joe has been sick with some sinus stuff but overall I think his family is doing well also. Bentley is really at that fun age right now. He's started eating solids now and Nana is having a fun time feeding him when he comes over.

Blessings to you,

Tina

Tonsillitis

Well the Little man of the house has had a cough for a few days and started complaining about a sore throat. We've been giving him over the counter medicine for his sore throat but this morning he woke up in tears with his throat hurting and running a fever. So Johnny took him to the doctor and sure enough he has tonsillitis. He's on medication and hopefully he'll be back to his normal self in a few days.

Last night we were at Ferns eating dinner and Addie finished eating before Alex. She gets up from the table and says Alex I'll be in the new hiding spot when you get done. He responds you mean behind the chair? Now how's that for giving away the location of the new hiding spot? LOL

Alex and Addie are over half way thru with school now. They're now bringing home books to read and taking spelling tests. I can't believe my littles are already reading. I'm so proud of them. They're doing well in school and reading seems to be coming easy for them. My two BIGS both struggled with reading.. So when did kids start reading in Kindergarten? I know I didn't and I know my two BIGS didn't. Man they start teaching them earlier and earlier.

Baby J came and stayed with us last Thursday night. She slept the entire time she was at the house. Believe me Nana tried to wake her up but to no avail. Jonathon and Shawna went out for a Valentines dinner celebration. Then we got to keep Bent on Saturday evening while Joe and Ashton went riding on Joe's new 4-wheeler. Bent's had ear infection but seems to be doing better. Jaylynn went to the doctor last week and she now weighs 9 lbs 15 oz.. Bent's going to have to do some growing or J's going to catch him!

Have a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Tina

SNOW, SNOW and More SNOW

I've refrained from complaining about the snow. But really that's all we've seen for weeks now so I couldn't pass up the need to voice that I'm really ready for some sun shine and some clear roads! Alex said this morning he was ready to go back to school! If school is in session on Monday (we've had 15, count them 15 snow days) the kids will enjoy a valentines party.

Back to the snow so over the last week I've to my count I have fallen 5 times. Yes 5 times. You ask why? Well I have to go feed the horse and I have to walk to the bottom of a very slick hill to feed the horse. So far no major injuries. My left shoulder is a tad bit sore but overall I'm good. I don't think I've ever fallen so much in my entire life. Just praising God no injuries.

For those of you that are keeping track on our loss of pets I do need to report that we made the choice last Friday to have Katie put down. Katie was somewhere around 18-19 years old and last Friday when we came home she had a huge knot about the size of a walnut come up on her side in one days time. She'd been falling a lot and getting VERY thin so we decided it was time. Over the last few years Katie was not the dog I remember when she was younger. Of course as we all age we're not the people we were when we where young. But at age 19 she NEVER complained about anything. She never whined. She just went with the flow. We will miss her a lot.

Here's a picture of Paulie and Katie in 2005. We miss them both.

Back to the snow... So what do you do with a dead dog when the ground is frozen? Well she's in the freezer! Yeah I just had to share. Odd I know but what else were we to do. We wanted to bury her at home so that is our only option at this time. Hopefully over the next few weeks the ground will thaw out enough so we can bury her. Besides that I kinda think the shock and awe of telling someone you have a dead dog in the fridge. Hey I have to have something to laugh about!

The news said yesterday that if it warms up next week we'll have almost a 100 degree difference in temperature change. 100 degree difference in some areas! Negative 30 is cold... 70 degree weather next week = 100 degree difference. To live in Arkansas!

The kids and grandkids are all doing well. Jaylynn will be a month old on the 17th and Bentley is now 6 months old. I haven't seen Jaylynn in about a week and I saw Bentey last weekend. Addie and Alex are with Ashton today so I'm sure they're spoiling him.

Well I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend. I hope you stay warm and enjoy your time with your family.
Blessings to you,
Tina

Baby Jaylynn is here!

I realized yesterday that I hadn't let you all know that Jaylynn joined our family on Monday. She weighs 8 lb 1 oz and is 20 inches long. Mom, Dad and Baby J are doing well.

Jonathon holding Bentley and Joseph holding Jaylynn.

We think she's a keeper for sure!

We praise God for Blessing us with two wonderful Grandchildren in the last 5 months.

Still no GrandbabyWell Shawna's due date came and went on the 11th and we still have no granddaughter. I talked with her a few minutes ago, she went to the doctor earlier today and is now dilated to 4. I told her at this rate she wouldn't go into labor and the baby would just fall out! If she doesn't have Jaylynn by Monday they will induce her Monday morning. Please keep them in your prayers. Of course we're anxious for her to be here and truthfully none of us thought she'd come late. Just goes to show you "We Know Nothing" and it's all "In God's Perfect Timing".

It's been more than cold here with the snow and the zero degree temperatures. I'm more than ready for the weather to warm up. I've sat at my desk all day with my winter coat on. The guy down the isle is layered plus wearing a sweater. You know when guys start saying their cold that's it's cold. Someone just brought in Dilly bars.. I have to admit it wasn't too cold for a Dilly bar... yuummm

Well have a great week and make it count for the Lord.

Blessings,
Tina

Happy New Year

Wow it's almost been a month since I posted. Didn't realize how long it'd been. Where to start??

Well Christmas came and went and New Years has come and gone. I took vacation the week before Christmas and spent the week with the kids. I enjoyed my time at home with the kids. Really did a bunch of nothing but got a lot accomplished around my house that was long overdue. The kids had a wonderful Christmas and so did I. Johnny bought me a new Camera.. thus the lack of pictures. I haven't read up on my camera and I haven't just tried to connect it up and see if I can get the pictures off easily...yeah I know that's pretty lame but I'll eventually get it done.

We're still waiting on baby Jaylynn to join us. She is due on the 11th and the doctor has been saying for 2 weeks now that she could come any day. Her Momma is more than ready to have her here and so are we. Joe, Ashton and Bentley are living in their own home now. We see them about once a week. Bentley weighs about 13 lbs now and just gets cuter every day.

Not sure if I posted that we got a new dog. His name is Louie. He's a Yorkie and he is "Addie's Dog". He follows her every where, goes to bed when she goes to bed and wakes her up when he's ready to get up. Our 18 year old Katie is still kicking or at least she was when I left the house this morning. There are days I wonder if she'll make it thru the day. We'll miss her when she's gone but at this point she's gotten very confused and wonders around the house falling and getting into things. It's really very sad. Johnny and I neither one have the guts to take her and have her put down.

Johnny and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding Anniversary in May and we are planning a trip to Yellowstone. We're both excited! We've never had a big extended vacation and the last few years have been rather stressful so needless to say looking forward to some time away.
Speaking about stress. I still covet your prayers regarding the cafe. We currently don't have any one interested in it.

I'm looking forward to the New Year and God's plans for us this year. I wish each of you a Happy New Year and hope you're looking to Christ to guide and direct your paths this new year.

Blessings,
Tina