# 1 - - - - "Mommy, there was no more toilet paper in our bathroom, so I got some paper towels. I used about ten of them and now the toilet won't flush very well."
here ~
this guy! :-)
This is the building where Troy spends a good part of his time.
Still seems strange for me to walk in and see his name plate.
Enjoy a few shots of the corner of the
campus where we were visiting.
Can you tell that I love fountains/water?
I have always been fascinated by sculpted foliage.
(Squealing!) Brand new jeans were in the box!!!!!!!! They thrilled me with the clothing, but just to be "aunt-like" they included water guns, pencils, cars and stuffed animals! Oh, yes, they even included a few nice things for Troy and me. Happy sigh. . . What a nice treat! :-) 
I was placing my order when a teenager walked up to the counter, held out his fry container and said, "Look what was under my fries." I'll admit I was dying to see what "it" was." Mouse head, tadpole, finger, toe. . . Wow! I have never been this close to a lawsuit! Had I not left my camera at home, you would have enjoyed a bird's eye view of the guy - seriously!!!! The cashier is disputing that she did not put "that" in there. . . She finally says, "Those are potato chips." Sigh - and here I thought it was going to be big!!!! The kid then laughs and says, "I put them in there; I just wanted to see what you would do." The gals behind the counter didn't think it was very funny! Oh yes, one interesting note for the day - I have been slowly trying to take Ethan off the meds and consequently he looked like a raccoon. All the way through this store,
he keeps clapping which was beginning to annoy me because the sound was crashing through my head! Picture me - feeling lousy, trudging through the store, trying to think of making food when nothing sounds appealing, clapping raccoon in the cart and another child that keeps talking in "different languages." (These languages actually sound like babbling!) When Seth finally breaks back into English, he decides it is the day to read every sign in the world, and by this time I am in no frame of mind/body to explain concepts to a seven year old! 
I needed to get a few groceries and prescription refills. Annoyed, frustrated, tired, sick, sneezing, sniffing, miserable me is at the pharmacy counter when suddenly behind me there is a CRASH!!!!!!
I whirl around, and to my astonishment, my kids are on the floor and the cart is on top of them! Due to the loud noise, crying, exclamations of customers, we now have people from aisles around standing over us enjoying the Cart Catapulting Event!
Let us all pause until Angie gets done laughing and being relieved that it was not her boys. . .
Apparently, Seth was standing on the cart facing Ethan and decided to slowly start arching backward to enjoy an upside down view of the store. Well, that quickly ended when their combined weight flipped the cart! Seth received the most damage since the cart landed across him. Ethan had been in the seat and received minimal damage, but was quick to inform anyone who asked what part of his anatomy was injured! No, I will not type it here either! :-)
Excitement dies down, people leave, I get the meds and as I walk away, I am stopped by someone saying, "Ma'am, you can't leave yet because we need to find out if we need to file an accident report."
Oh great! Walmart is going to file a lawsuit against me!
Minutes later. . . "We do not need to unless you feel it is necessary."
"No," I whine, "I just want to leave. My boys are fine. I just want to go home! Thanks for your help."
I made it home. Had supper. Put the kids to bed early. Prayed. Played out my frustrations on the piano. Leaned over my neighbor's back fence and let her be the first to enjoy the cart episode. She loved it!
spray on the shampoo and pump out the shower cleaner! :-)
his babysitter - "Kaffrin." (Katherine.) Just as at the dentist, I prayed and asked God to please keep the sneezes away until after the concert. I was about to panic at one point when the singers were surrounding the audience, and I was trapped in my pew! Thankfully, I made it - no sneezes! Even Seth noticed my lack of noise. The concert was awesome!!!!!! I was so miserable that I forgot to take pics of Troy and his pals.
7. I did a little listening of IHC. The first time I turned it on was during the patriotic rally right in the middle of - 
one of my best friends, Janelle Manley, as she was tearing up the national anthem! Is she incredible or what?! Now you know why she is one of my favorite vocalists to accompany!
Have a blessed Sunday!
Ahhhhh. . . So relaxing. . . Sitting on an old bridge, listening to the water splash over the rocks, making memories with my boys, eating snow cones. . . (The "Snow Cone Man" gave us 2 for the price of 1 that day. I took it as another "smile" from God! Have faith, not worries. :-)
Two very happy boys that were turned loose with a bank full of rocks! They were positive that they had found silver and gold in a few of them! :-) I love the childish innocence.
This morning as I browsed my previous post, I had to chuckle, for my beginning sentences probably gave the idea I am a "worrier." :-) In all reality, I do not think I am. I was addressing womankind in general because we tend to worry more than our male counterpart.Since we are "on this subject," I will tell my main worries, and maybe you can let me know if I am crazy.
1. Due to news headlines and the slipping morality of our nation, I sometimes worry over the world in which my children will have to live. What's amusing is that my Mother said she had the same worry thirty plus years ago when she started having children! I do my best to trust God and ask His help to raise my sons "for such a time as this."
2. I try to shield my boys from emotional hurts at such young ages. Ever notice how some of your deepest hurts came from cruel words when you were in formative years?
3. Don't laugh at this one - I worry about the food we will be served at people's houses. :-) I am very picky!!! I can handle normal meals with seasonings, trimmings, etc, but when they start whipping out things from deep in the ocean or from a far away continent - I am terrified!!!
4. I sometimes worry about Ethan's asthma. There are many children with physical conditions much worse, but breathing is essential to living. When I hold a gasping and heaving child in my lap, I always hope for a good outcome!
5. Shocker here - sometimes I worry about the finances. For new readers, the reason we moved to this "far, far away land of SC," was because Troy was awarded a graduate assistantship that covered his entire grad school bill. Some of you can realize how huge that is! Due to a move and my leaving all my piano students and cleaning jobs, our income has changed a bit, but we both agreed that we would rather not have tens of thousands of dollars looming over our heads for years to come. Well, during this time, God has been stretching my faith and teaching me so many things. Just this week, I was able to see God work again! I could not make it to my cleaning job and was frustrated because we really needed the money. God already knew, of course, and Troy came home from BJU with an anonymous monetary gift that was the exact amount I would have made cleaning!
I'm worried about _____. I am afraid that _____. What would happen if _____? How do you fill in the blanks? It is a bit comical when we start mentioning things that really worry us. Some are very serious, and other are not. Some are real; some will probably never happen. One friend told me that she worries about people breaking into their home at night and hurting her children. Funny. That never crossed my mind as something to bring worry. Maybe I should - as teens, Troy and I both experienced people sneaking into our homes. Other friends worry about bodily harm being done to family members. Not me, but I do worry about one of us picking up a stomach bug! Some face anxiety about what others think of them, their homes, their talents, etc. Some fear the physical, some are terrified of nature, and more are frightened by the spiritual. How is this helping us??!! The crippling fact is that it's not! I have been pondering these thoughts as I browsed through:
When it comes down to it, worry is really a waste of time. But it's almost more than that. Worry is not only futile. It's actually bad for us. . . .researchers have established connections between chronic worry and weakened immune systems, cardiovascular disease, neurological imbalances, clinical depression, and other physical and psychological dysfunctions - not to mention specific anxiety-related illnesses such as panic attacks, agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
All that from worry. No wonder Jesus warned Martha about her anxiety. No wonder the Bible tells us more than 350 times to "fear not."
It's coming! It's coming! I recently received word that my customized blog design will arrive in less than a week. (It was another one of my 30th birthday presents.) I am so excited to see what Susie has done for me! Hop - over here to her site and check the portfolio. All of her designs are so eye catching. You can also go visit my friend - Carrie . She just received one of Susie's latest.
the allergies!!!!!! 
Here is one little boy who was more than happy to enjoy a lakeside lunch and duck feeding session!
Here are the other two people who immensely enjoyed their time out of doors! I am just hoping and praying Ethan does not have a setback.
What do you like to see in a blog? What is it that makes you return to one a second, third. . . time? What doesn't appeal to you?
this pretty bush.
Keegan Spivey!
With Daddy ~ David Spivey
With Mommy ~ Jamie (Bishop) Spivey
Yup. That's how I am feeling right now. I have lurked in that area for several days. . . Maybe it's because each time I sit to blog, I think of all the work I need to do. Who knows, but I am officially blogically challenged right now!!!!!
Before I head off to work on my house, let me share a few funnies that happened. . .
Recently, my younger sister, Joanna, was cleaning a person's home when she discovered some lovely dog droppings on the floor. Now, I do a lot for folks, but it stops at cleaning up after animals! Well, she, being afraid they might be upset if she left it there, pulled her shirt over her nose and cleaned away. The only problem was that the smell still reached her nose, and she threw up inside of her shirt!!! Have you ever heard of such a thing?! I laughed sooo hard. I know I shouldn't have, but it was too funny!
Last week during my yard work, I found one of my sons eating leaves!!! You can imagine how appalled I was! "Oh, these are good," he replied and munched on another. The practice came to a screeching halt as I stated the probability of bird droppings landing on trees/leaves. Apparently, I was supposed to feel better when he then told me that he and the neighbor boy have tasted grass! I then monologued about animal droppings and put the grass eating fad to a stop, too. I wonder if we are descendants of Nebuchadnezzar!
Thank you for all the kind comments concerning my finger. It is doing quite well and almost got shut in the bedroom door today! At least it wasn't at the same spot.
I am off the attack the house and maybe receive some inspiration.
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