December 31, 2021

 December 31 2021. How can that date even be right? I catch myself wondering so often "where does the time go?", yet all my wondering doesn't seem to slow it down.  I haven't written anything in so long. My husband asks me often why I don't and encourages me to continue, as did one of my sons the other day.  I had no answer as to why I stopped so I thought I might give it a go again.  

No one blogs anymore so I feel this is really just a journaling outlet for me if nothing else to leave to my people.  So much is different in my life now than when I started. We have been empty nesters for over a year. We have SEVEN grands that are the apple of our eye.  Both of my precious in-loves have gone to their eternal home, I retired from public school teaching and now teach at a private classical school, our baby girl got married, and time just keeps marching on and on. 

I have been having some weighty conversations with my man about the seasons of life. The Bible talks about seasons often.  As this 2021 comes to a close I am most thankful for the relatively "good" season our family has experienced in the last couple of years.  All healthy, prosperous, busy, no major setbacks or hiccups.  However, I am feeling the weighty reminder that life can turn, careen if you will, in an instant. So while I am thankful for the season we are in, I know all of life is cyclical and there are always storms to weather.  As I reflect back on this last day of the year and contemplate what is known, I must also look forward to the blank slate of 2022 having no earthly idea what it holds. Yet, I do know Who holds it. Who holds me, holds us. For that I am most humbled and grateful.  Life is ever changing, but my Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I have lots of thoughts swirling in my head for the new year. Hopes. Fears. Desires. I think I may be visiting this old blog and source of comfort this new year to document all these things.  

Third Act!

Hello! Do people even blog anymore? I have no idea, however I need an outlet. I went the social media route (still on some of it) but overall it is a thorn for me. Too many reasons to expound on here. But...... I miss blogging! My mother-in-love was such a cheerleader for me here. She has gone Home to be with the Lord and I miss her tremendously. I think she would want me to keep writing. One of my daughters asked me the other day "Why don't you do that anymore?" I don't know, but it did make me happy when I wrote. It was a way of documenting so many aspects of  life with family and friends of whom I am not in daily contact. It was also a safe place to document personal thoughts without all that "extra" stuff on some portions of social media. That being said, here we go.......

Where do I even begin? Let's start with where I am today. Still enjoying life with my sweet man of now 28 years. SEVEN grand babies! Yes, seven! Two of the finest young men you have ever seen and five of the girliest girls that have graced our lives. They are our wildest adventure and greatest blessings. I retired from public school in 2017 after twenty-three of the most amazing years spent in the classroom. I have enjoyed the last two years doing sundry things and am about to re-enter the classroom! I will begin  a new year of teaching at a classical Christian school in just a few weeks. God has such a sense of humor. After YEARS of saying what I would never do (teach middle school age children),  He has led me to a schedule rife with students of just that age! I will be teaching English/Rhetoric to 8th, 9th and 10th graders and am practically giddy over it.

There have been certain times in my life that I have had such an overwhelming sense of peace about where the Lord intends for me to be and this is one of them.  Did I mention I will have the privilege of being where three of my precious grands are being educated and one of my sweet daughter-in-loves is an administrator? How good is our God? What a gift. I also have the overwhelming support and favor of my man. We are blessed to still enjoy each others company after so many years of marriage and I know it is a sacrifice for him for me to go back to work on a full-time basis.

I am not sure where I intend for this blog to go, I just know I miss writing and hope to journal more of life on here. It is such a joyous one He has blessed me with.

I have been out of blog commission for quite some time. However, I have new equipment and will be back and blogging soon. As soon as I learn how to work my IMac!!! Playing with my pics. So for now, enjoy sweet Baby Caroline.

A Baby Changes Everything!!

I'm sure by now if you have been around me at all you know we are having another grandpeep! No. 4 this will be. We have been so excited for Josh and Christine. Yesterday was the big Gender Reveal party! (how we ever survived without these is a mystery to me - but hey I love an excuse for a party!)

 

 

 

 Christine did such a great job decorating everything. She is a wonderful hostess. I would tell you my boy is too, but as he said,"All I do is take out the trash." I taught him to do more than that Christine. If you can coax him out of the bathroom he can do the dishes. :)

Everyone was to dress according to what they thought the baby was going to be. Connor wanted to make sure he was right no matter what happened and Baby Girl.....well she just couldn't commit.

Great Maw even came and made an appearance. She said, "I think it is a boy but I just like to wear my pink." A woman I can appreciate.

 



GiGi, Graham and Caroline were all team Pink.

 



 

 

Josh and Christine didn't wear either. They just wanted to keep us guessing.

 

 

 They had these cute balloons with either pink or blue confetti on the inside.

 

 And there it is...........PINK!!!!!!!!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!! Everyone was so excited and we couldn't be happier for them.

 

 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

I love these verses in Psalms, because it reminds me that God has a plan for us before we are even a thought to anyone else. That comforts me so much. I told Josh and Christine how special it is that God formed their baby girl, ordained her path and purpose in this life, and then chose them special to be her parents. What a blessing a new life is. They are going to be wonderful parents. And what a ride they are in for!!!!!

 

 

And the best part........GiGi gets to spoil another little bundle of pink just like this one!!

 

 

 

On a different note completely: Who watches Downton Abbey? Well if you don't you should, but no maybe not know as the season finale was last night and I still can't deal. Do you remember in the early 80's the jeans with "Who shot JR?" on the pocket. I'm bringing those back, but these will say,"Why J.F? WHY FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US YOU MALICIOUS MASOCHISTIC BRITISH WRITER????"

 

I know what you are thinking - that is a lot for a pocket! Trust me it would fit.

Oh well, until Season 4 begins in 11 months and we find out it is was all just a bad dream (Hey Fellowes, call the writers of Dallas, they will walk you through the steps of how to do that), I will just focus on our new bundle.

 

Blessings,

Michelle

Good reads

I love to read. Like. A. Lot. Next to eating it is my favorite pastime. :) I was always the kid in school with the book under the desk reading. Which accounts for why none of my children ever needed my help with their math. But hey, need to conjugate a verb or diagram a sentence...... I'm your girl. I wonder why no one diagrams sentences anymore. I was a champ at it. I'm sure that is why people's grammar is so poor now. Yeah, that's it. Even though I am an English teacher, I didn't major in education, I majored in literature. Now before anyone gets all concerned that I am in charge of America's youth with no credentials...I did get my alternate certification in education. And ohhhhhhh was it ever boring. I dislike the education portion of educating. I know, I know there is a place for all of that, but I just want to teach kids to appreciate an aptly chosen word, a beautifully written sentence, a story that can transform your outlook on your life, or if not your life at least your day. I love literature. All kinds.
I also love to read blogs. I get stuck on a new one and kind of obsess over reading it. My new favorite blog is www.eatliverun.com Jenna is so cute. She is a food writer and lover of literature. She also loves Christ which makes her even more adorable. She has a portion of her blog devoted to what she has read recently. People. I downloaded four books last Thursday and have already read three of them. Forget that there is a bag full of Wuthering Heights essays and tests to grade, or that my house is a wreck and my people are starving. I had to READ!!! During the school year I don't take much time to read for myself so this has been a real treat.  I also joined goodreads.com and have some of my school peeps on it too. I hope our principal doesn't catch us rating  and organizing our bookshelves during school hours!
If anyone is interested go to www.goodreads.com and join. They personalize recommendations for you based on your preferences. You can see what others are reading and what their thoughts are.
So if you didn't think I was a book nerd before I am sure you will now. Anyway...... got to go read some more, I mean grade some papers!
Have a blessed day!
Michelle

Lessons

Do you ever wonder sometimes, just what God is trying to teach you? I do. Many times He teaches me through others and watching them deal with their struggles. I mentioned in an earlier post that my in-loves were going through some medical trials. My father-in-love has been in the hospital, rehab, or skilled care nursing facility since Sept. 17. Left his house that morning to come to the hospital to see his great-granddaughter Caroline who was born that morning and he has not been back home since. It has been a roller coaster of events since then. My mother-in-love, Judy has been back and forth everyday taking care of him and just being near him.  She was basically wearing herself out. She has had a bothersome cough since the beginning of October and just chalked it up to being in the hospital where so many sick people were. It got progressively worse and the doctors thought she had pneumonia so they medicated her and told her to stay home and rest. It continued to get worse and my husband (who is a precious son) took her to the doctor where they too agreed it was worse and hospitalized her for the pneumonia. Readers Digest condensed version - Stage 4 cancer. We could not have been more unprepared.

Judy survived ovarian cancer 10 years ago, breast cancer 5 years ago and now this. A completely different kind of cancer all together. She jokes she is trying to get in the AMA journal. We had been focusing all our attention on father-in-love and all this time she was getting more sick.  Things turned upside down quickly She did in fact have pneumonia behind the mass on her lung and had to stay in the hospital about two weeks for that to be handled. She has completed two weeks of radiation and has one more to go. Then Chemo starts. She is such an amazing woman. Her faith is such a testimony to us all. She and Gerald have shared the love of our Saviour with everyone they meet in hospital.  One of her nurses was a pastor's wife and Judy was able to share so much advice and wisdom with her. Oh, the Providence of our gracious Lord. Astounds me daily.  After a particularly difficult evening spent with Judy dealing with the news that the cancer had metastasized, I was getting ready to walk out the door to go to school and the phone rang. It was the hospital which alarmed us, but it was her asking to speak to me before I left. She said, "Michelle, thank you for being with me last night and I'm sorry I broke down. But, I am not going to die from cancer, I am going to LIVE with cancer. And I won't just survive, I am going to thrive. God is in control anyway. Now, you go to school and teach some kids. I love you." Well, I couldn't go to school until I re-applied all my make up from blubbering. Her strength is incredible. My baby girl said one day,"Momma, how much more can MawMaw and PawPaw take?" I had no answer for her except to say, "I don't know sweetheart but we would do well to learn from their example on how to live in the midst of trouble."

My in-laws have devoted their whole lives to serving Christ and sharing Him with others. They still are. Many people believe that Christians should be exempt from trouble. Quite the contrary. The Bible tells us there will be trouble in this life. That is why our Hope is not here.

My husband is such a devoted son. He has been spending his days carrying his mother to radiation and then getting her situated at home, then to sit with his dad to inform him of all that is going on. My sweet man doesn't like for people to tell him thank you for what he is doing. He told me the other day that it is his honor to care for his parents. A joy and privilege he would not forsake for anything in this world. (yes I do thank God for him every day)  Through the grace of God my husband's sister is going to be able to come and stay with her parents and care for them. She is a nurse and we are so thankful her job allows her this time. 

We don't know what the immediate road holds for us but I do know this. I am so thankful for this family that God brought to me and they are living every day teaching the rest of us how to persevere always and keep being faithful on this complicated road called life. Lord please let me learn from what I am being taught.

Blessings,
Michelle

Prayer please

We just go from one issue to another it seems. Father-in-love went back to hospital from skilled care facility and my mother-in-love has had pneumonia. She ended up being admitted to hospital yesterday and we have both of them on the same floor. Rolled her over to see him today as they have been apart for ten days.
They have been married for 58 years. It was so sweet to see his face light up when she came in. I am certain he thinks not one nurse can take as good of care of him as his bride does. He doesn't like for company to leave so he keeps coming up with things to ask people to do for him. Sweet. I can't imagine how hard it would be to not see my husband - who by the way is such a remarkable son- for days at a time because we are both sick.
We are having some tough times right now, but are so reminded of God's grace over the last four months that we have been dealing with Gerald's illness. Now Judy is sick. It is so hard to think about your parent's aging and not being able to do what they could before. We have some tough days ahead but are trusting in God's provision. You won't waste a prayer on us, if you don't mind! I am so blessed to have married into such a precious family.
Their faith is a touchstone for all of us and I know that the Lord will bless them in their time of difficulty. He is good, faithful and strong.
Yay, tomorrow is Friday! Hope you have a great one.
Michelle

So far....

Two weeks in and Whew! What a year already.  I hardly EVER get sick and I have been battling a head cold for ten days. Everyone in my house has had it, my sweet in-loves both have pneumonia and the flu is wild around these parts.  The new school semester is in full swing and I am running hard to stay ahead of all my little scholars! I teach AP this semester and those kids keep me on my toes. It is hard to be on my toes when my head feels so bad. Our business is super busy right now (Thank you for answered prayer Lord) and I am working most nights when I get home.

Last week I accidentally washed baby girl's Iphone in the washing machine. Of course, it was not insured. She actually handled it pretty well. No weeping and gnashing of teeth and we found her another one fairly inexpensively.

I have two close friends who have lost immediate family members unexpectedly in the past week. It is a hard blow anytime of year, but especially right on the heels of the holidays when we usually experience great joy. In just these two short weeks of 2013 I am reminded how much we are Not in control of things.  Life can throw some pretty hard curveballs our direction. All of this had the potential to get me pretty down. That is why I chose Phil 4:8 for my memory verse this time:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

If our eyes focus solely on the circumstances of our present situation we can get dejected rather quickly. I know, because God's word tells me, that I can take my thoughts captive and change my focus. If I can do this, then I know that great joy I experienced at the holidays can be mine every day. I want that. I pray for that. I yearn for that. And I know He will give it to me.

The Bible tells me so.

Michelle

Hodge Podge

Well, vacation is coming to a close. For two days I have taken down Christmas decorations and packed them away. The house seems so empty and I can't remember where I put all the regular decorations to store. Surely they will resurface over the next couple of weeks.

I was working so hard to get done so I could do some things on my last few days off, however I think  am getting sick. Baby girl has been sick the last few days and I am beginning to feel awful. Yuck! There are several movies out I want to go see before returning to school. Les Miserables, Parental Guidance, Anna Karenina.  I have been reading though. I read The Paris Wife - loved it but a good reminder of the troubled lives of the Modern American writers. I am not a literary snob, I will read just about anything, which explains my being deep in the throes of the Duck Dynasty book. It is full of humor and wisdom. The Robertson's are a wonderful family and I am really enjoying it. I guess if I am stuck at home the next few days I will just keep reading.

I started my scripture memorization Jan.1 with the Siesta Scripture Memory Team. My baby girl and one of my daughters-in-love are doing it with me and I am really excited to see the Lord reveal His truth to us in this endeavor. The 1st and 15th of each month I will  post my verse at the top right hand corner of the blog.

Nothing too excited to spellbind you with! Have a blessed weekend.
Michelle

 

2013

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Bro. Step Martin, a mighty man of God, was our guest at church this morning. He challenged us to read the Bible through in 2013. No, that is not some new challenge. We hear this every year, along with many other challenges, dieting, doing good, etc....... But Bro. Step shared the above scripture along with his challenge. God should be our focus everyday. I know I pray for Him to help me live that way. And oh, do we ever live in times that are so entangling us in sin. Easily entangling. But that doesn't have to be our story. Failure at our day. Failure at another botched resolution. Our story is written by the most creative Storyteller ever. Our Creator. And it is His story. And we know the end!

Let us dare to live the middle part, the unknown part, the part He is so anxious for us to give to Him, with pure abandonment. Let us who know how it ends, live with the knowledge of the joy set before us. I know of no better way to do this than to remind ourselves daily through pouring ourselves into His word. It is a magnificent story. With new things revealed to us. Even if you have already read it - Read it again.

There are so many wonderful apps for customizing a plan that best suits your daily needs. I have the YouVersion Bible app on my Ipad and Iphone. Many other daily devotions are offered on it as well. So I am taking the challenge, won't you join me?

Blessings,
Michelle

Quiet

It has been chaotic at my house for the last week.  Good chaos. The kind that makes you thankful for the blessing of a large family. But today has been a blessing of another kind for me. The blessing of solitude. Baby girl is at work and sweet man is running around town with one of our boys. I have been alone with my coffee, a new novel I got for Christmas and no noise!!! I don't get moments like this often. But when I do I enjoy it so much and then I get to wishing for some action! My sweet Caroline is coming to spend the night with her GiGi and PawPaw for the first of what will be many fun nights. Her Momma and Daddy are having a belated Anniversary celebration. They surely need some quiet time.

Holidays are so hectic and many times we let the chance for solitude and reflection pass us by. I have been thinking much about the past year and the coming new year. What I want to do more of, less of, etc. I do know I want to enjoy the simple times more. To appreciate just being still. I am off to a good start today! What about you?

Blessings,
Michelle

Christmas 2012

 

 

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. It was a WHIRLWIND at my house last night. I loved every minute of it but I was worn out. PawPaw and GiGi both fell right into bed and slept like rocks! We are ready to go at it again today. What a blessed couple of days we have had with our family. Another barrage of pics!

Christmas Eve in Athens:

 

Christmas Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a wonderful time celebrating. Hope you all enjoyed lots of family fun and fellowship rejoicing in the birth of our Savior.

 

Blessings,

Michelle

The Weekend in Pics

 

We had a great Thanksgiving with our family. We ate a lot, laughed a lot and were thankful a lot. Then we spent the remainder of the weekend in the country visiting more family. Here is a long post of pics. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Now I am sitting in the midst of a million boxes of Christmas decorations! Time to deck my Halls!

 

Blessings,

Michelle