Got Snow???

We got lucky we did not get a lot of ice; at least it was not the kind that stuck to the trees. The ground had about ½ to one inch of ice then about 3 inches of snow on top of that. Yesterday the side streets were still covered as you can see in the pictures, but I am sure the main roads are clear now. The sun is shining today, and it is beginning to melt. It is 33 degrees now and supposed to get up to 35 degrees. We were very lucky this time we never lost power.

When I was a kid winter was my favorite season. I always looked forward to it snowing. Mom would always go out and gather up a big dishpan of fresh fallen snow and bring it in. She would proceed to make snow cream….mmmm the best! Or at least when I was a kid it was the best.

We lived in a farmhouse surrounded by fields when I was real little in Roselle, IL. The winds would blow and the snow would drift. I remember one time my brother Tom told me that it had snowed. And I was so excited, I ran to the front door and opened it and all I could see was snow. We had a big covered porch and the snow had blown and drifted. I was 4 or 5 years old, it scared me to death, I thought we were trapped. He had a good laugh from it. Then I laughed because Dad made him help clear it out. They had to go out the back door, make their way to the front and shovel their way in.

One year my cousin and I made a huge snowman. We lived in Northlake, a suburb of Chicago, at the time. We had to get a ladder to fix his eyes, and nose and moustache…(he was a work of art), we had to have the guys put the middle section on because we could not lift it. It was big!

For some reason, as you get older winter just isn’t as fun as it used to be… But isn’t it a great feeling to know the Lord’s love for us doesn’t change… His love for us is never ending.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.”

Hebrews 13:8

The Best Gift In The World...

I have to say following is one of the best gifts I have received in a long time.

Yep it is a $25 American Express Gift Card. Janice, my daughter, and her family gave this to me at Christmas. I had been talking about wanting a membership to ancestry.com, even for just a month, but that it was one of those things I wouldn’t buy for myself. She told me from the start how she would like for me to use it. I wanted to make sure I had enough free time to do some in-depth research on my genealogy. I figured this next month would be a good time to enjoy it. I also received a 14-day free trial with the subscription.

I have already located both my grandfather’s draft registration cards. I know a lot of you think…boring. It is ok; I used to think the same thing. But it really is exciting and very addictive. And what is cool those card copies have their signatures on them. I just realized my Dad’s writing looked a lot like his Dad’s, and he passed away when my dad was five years old. Can’t wait to roll up my shirtsleeves and dig into the research in the morning.

So my dear daughter, if you read this… THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Once again, you have made my day! Love you bigger than the sky…Mom!

If you have never researched your family or looked into your heritage, I challenge you…take a stab at it. Never know what you will find!

“Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.” Psalm 119:90

The Right Thing...

I have been searching my heart for something to write about. It is just not coming easy this week. I received an email yesterday from a friend who lives in Arkansas. It was a forward as a lot of them are, but this one was titled “Dear God…” It had 16 jpg attachments included. When I proceeded, I realized these were letters that children had written to God. There was no explanation as to where they originated, or how old they were. They were so cute.

Here are a few of them:
“Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy Joyce”
“Dear God, Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year. Peter”
“We read Thos. Edison made light. But in Sun. School they said you did it. So I bet he stoled your Idea. Sincerely Donna”
“Dear God- Please put another Holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now. Ginny”
“Dear God, If you let The dinasor not exstinct we would not have a country. You did the right thing. Jonathan”

Out of the mouths of babes…”You did the right thing.” This touched my heart, there is so many times we pray for things, and at the time we wonder why prayers are not answered. But later, we see that they were answered, just not in the way we were hoping at the time. And looking back, we can always say to God, “You did the right thing.”
I guess this spoke to me, because I have been walking down memory lane lately, and have thought, “Thank you God. You did the right thing.”

This really hit home when I was checking out other blogs, and this same email was mentioned in Writes of Passage on the same day I received it. It brought tears to my eyes when I read the actual history behind it. Please go there and read this touching story. It gave me goosebumps when I was reminded how God touches our lives in so many ways. My prayer is if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus - change that!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Walking Down Memory Lane...

I have been walking down memory lane lately. On the most part it has been a very good walk. At Christmas we purchased a turntable that has a USB port to connect to the computer. So while we were in Arkansas I dug out my old 45's and albums to bring home so I can copy them. I can save them as MP3's then download them to the ipod.

Talk about memories...lolol. Hang on Sloopy, I Got You Babe, Julie, Do Ya Love Me, Indiana Wants Me, American Pie, Band of Gold, ABC by Jackson 5, In-Na-Gadda-Da-Vida, Rich Girl, to name a few. I remember Rich Girl, we thought it was sooo cool, because it had a four-letter word in it that rhymes with Rich. Dang, have you listened to the lyrics today, that was nothing...lol. (Boy, I sound old.) I remember when I was a teen, I had a pair of headphones, as big as space mountain (ok maybe not that big), but they were huge attached to my stereo in my bedroom. The chord was long enough I could walk anywhere in the house, listening to my music. And I did! Mom hated it. Dad would just laugh. I would give almost anything to hear her gripe and him laugh just one more time. I really have been missing them lately. Ok, let's change the flow.

Of course listening to the old songs made me think about school years. I hated high school. I did not have a lot of self-esteem back then and I was shy. I think I blocked a lot of high school memories out because I just did not want to remember.

But it is really cool; I got a message from a lady on facebook a couple of days ago, requesting to be a friend. I thought the name sounded familiar, but was not sure, so I sent a note back asking if I knew her, and that my memory was not what it used to be. I can remember faces, but am terrible with names. Come to find out we went to Roy Grade School, Mannheim Jr. High and 2 years of West Leyden High School together. After I looked at her picture, I definitely remembered her. We had several classes together. She left during our sophomore year. It has been nice reconnecting with an old friend and catching up after 37 years.

Memories, what would we do without them? Sometimes we look back and think, boy I wish I would of done that differently, or we have some memories that touch our heart, make us smile, or laugh, sometimes even shed a tear. Memories are special. What do you want to be remembered for?

I pray that the one thing I am remembered for above anything else is that "I Am A Child Of God!"

"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 89:1

This is the stack I have downloaded.

These still have to be downloaded. I guess you can tell what I am going to be doing the next few weeks.

Wrapped in His Arms...

We are back home. We had a wonderful Christmas in Arkansas. We celebrated at our little house, so my kids could come home for Christmas. Just a small celebration, my daughter, her husband, and my grandkids, Cain and Eden, and of course my hubby and myself. We had finger foods, sandwiches and snacks. Enough for an army. We had such a good time! Eden is 2 ½ yrs old, so she was all about Christmas this year. It was fun. I will post a few pictures at the end. I do have something I would like to share, though.

We were on our way home Tuesday, and had car trouble. We were on Hwy 65, about 15 miles north of Harrison, and our car overheated. Thank God we have Road Side Service with our insurance, but of course they do not have a time schedule. We waited for two hours for the tow truck to show. Since they had a truck on his way to Springfield, he brought us 2 gallons of antifreeze. Of course by that time the car had completely cooled down. He put one gallon in and had my hubby start the car. It was not registering hot, so he figured it would be ok. We paid him for the antifreeze ($20.00…a little high, but I would of paid a lot more, we were in the middle of no where) and thanked him. And we were on our way. We drove about 2 miles and all the bells and whistles started going off again. We pulled over to let it cool, and in a few minutes the tow truck pulled off in front of us. The car still had plenty of coolant in it, so he suggested we let it cool down and pull in at the station about 1 mile up. In the meantime, a state police car pulled in behind us. He waited with us until we were able to take off again. We went about ½ a mile and it started registering hot again. Stan took the next exit thinking it was the station, but it was not. So we pulled over and shut it down and let it cool off again. We then got on the main road and went up about ½ mile and exited to the station. By the time we pulled in, all the bells and whistles were going off again. Problem was this was just a quick stop station, we asked where the closest garage was, and they had no idea, nothing like that around there. Yes, we were in quite a dilemma, I could tell my husband was getting a little nervous. And honestly, I was too… but I knew whom I had to talk too. I went into the bathroom, and poured my heart out, and I could feel His presence and knew He was listening.
When I came back out, my hubby asked, “Well what do you suggest?” And I replied, “We are going to try it.” When he started the car, the only light was the check engine coolant, but we knew there was still coolant in it. I told him, “lets go for it.” We were 80 miles from home, not once did any lights or bells or whistles go off. We made it home without any other problems. My hubby just couldn’t believe it. But I could, I asked Him to wrap His arms around us and get us home and that is exactly what He did.
I told Stan he needed to call and get it in, because it was not fixed, He just got us home. This morning we took it into Springfield to the mechanic, which is 7 miles from our house. We had to stop 3 times and let it cool down, because of all the bells and whistles. Now tell me God does not hear prayers and answer them…

What a way to end the New Year…wrapped in the arms of Jesus!

“For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” Matthew 9: 21,22