Please Pray for My Sister

             My sister, Debbie, and her grandson

My precious sister, Debbie, has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be having surgery in a couple of weeks.   I haven’t blogged since January, I wasn’t certain whether I wanted to continue blogging or not, but I know there are a lot of  fellow bloggers who believe in the power of prayer so I have decided to blog and ask  for your prayers for my sister.   She is an incredible person, one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.  Her faith is strong and she believes God is in control of her situation, but she needs prayer!   Will you please pray for her?  We would really appreciate your prayers!!

                             Debbie and me

Thank you for praying!

Love,

Velvia

Aren’t They Precious?

If you’re the kind of person who finds photos of other people’s kids and/or grandkids boring, you may want to click away now!  I am a proud Mom/Nana who loves to share pictures of my family, especially my precious grandbabies.  I love looking at family pictures, no matter whose they are, but I know not everyone feels that way and I understand that,  so I’m warning you now this is going to get sappy!

          Too cute for words!

Drama Queen took this picture of Ladybug after she had put her hair up in a ponytail.  It’s a little blurry, but you can see how adorable she is!  Drama Queen told her to pose and this is what she did, it’s just too cute.

                 Our Little Professor

Here’s Spiderman playing computer games, he’s really gotten very good at them.  I’m amazed at how computer literate he is already at the age of four, he’s going to soon be able to teach his Nana a thing or two about computers.

                           Cheese!

Here’s Ladybug working on an art project and finishing her lollipop.  I couldn’t get Spiderman to look at the camera and she piped up and said “Take my picture”, so of course, I did!

                 Look at that dimple!

It’s been too cold here lately to play outside, so when Beth and the little ones come over on Wednesdays we’ve had to find fun things to do inside.  I love doing arts and crafts with them, so we pulled out the glitter glue and had a ball.  Here’s Spiderman working on his masterpiece.

        Papa’s joining in the fun after work

Here’s Papa giving the kids a ride on his back, they were playing dinosaur and having a grand old time as you can see by the look on their faces.  We look forward to Wednesdays when we get together as a family and spend time together, it’s the highlight of our week.

                      Hang on Ladybug!

In this photo Spiderman is doing a fantastic job as a dinosaur, complete with the scary roar.  Poor Ladybug was slipping off, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all. 

Thanks for letting me share my photos, these are precious memories we’re making and I want to record as many as I can.

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia

I’ve Been Given an Award!

I’ve been given a very sweet award from Deborah at Songs from My Journey .  Thanks so much Deb!  You should go check out her site, she writes beautiful, inspirational posts, I love visiting her blog.

 “This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are extremely charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

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I’ve met so many wonderful women through blogging, even though we will probably never meet face to face I feel as if I know them.  They have become friends that I look forward to visiting (even though it’s through cyberspace).  These are women that I admire and respect, you can tell by reading their blogs that they live their faith every day.  These are a few of my favorites ( in alphabetical order):

Encouragement from My Heart – Lorie’s blog

More Sugar than Spice – Angie’s blog

Over the Moon with Joy – Kimmie’s blog

Rose of Sharon – Sharon’s blog

Songs from My Journey – Deborah’s blog

When you get a chance you should grab a cup of coffee or tea (or Diet Coke if you’re like me), and drop by their blog  to meet them.  They’d love to have you visit and you won’t be disappointed, these women are amazing!

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia

Happy Birthday Gay!

 

I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister-in-love, Gay, who is also a very special friend!  She is one of the most generous, loving people you would ever want to meet.  She would give you her last nickel if she thought you needed it.  She is always looking out for the needs of others, and finding ways to minister to whomever God brings across her path.   I pray God’s blessing on her for her birthday and everyday!  I love you Gay, you’re AWESOME!!!

Love, Velvia

Gay and her sweet little dog, Abby.

Homeschool Update

Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve been up to in our homeschool so far this school year.  Since I blogged very little this past fall, and none at all over the holidays, I thought I’d post an update on some of the fun activities we’ve done.   Earlier in the school year when we were  learning about physical and chemical changes in Science, we did an experiment where we made Oobleck (re: Dr. Suess) which was a green goo made from cornstarch, food coloring, and water.  It was one of several we did while studying this unit, but by far the messiest and most fun.

 Drama Queen playing with the Oobleck

At the beginning of the school year we studied volcanoes and earthquakes, we made two different models of volcanoes.  One of our own creation using homemade play clay, and the one pictured below that we made from a kit I picked up at a yard sale last summer for $2.00. 

 I’ve found that yard sales and thrift stores are great places to pick up useful items for homeschooling.  Some things, like this volcano kit,  are brand new items that kids got for gifts and never used so their moms sell them at yard sales really cheap.  It’s a great way to save money when you’re homeschooling and living on one income as we are.

Here’s the mixture after Drama Queen poured it into the mold.

Drama Queen painting the volcano.

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Adding the baking soda to make it erupt.

Voila! Our volcano is erupting!

Another fun activity that is new to us this year is Girl Scouts.  We discovered a homeschool Girl Scout troop in our town that Drama Queen has joined and I am going to begin the training to become an assistant Troop Leader.  This troop has been active for the past six years and has girls ranging in age from 6 through 16(Brownies, Juniors, and Cadets), we meet the first and third Tuesday afternoon of every month. 

So far this year Drama Queen has participated in a Fall party where she dressed up as a scarecrow, and she taught the other girls in the troop (for a leadership project) how to make a cookie turkey(using Oreo cookies, Hershey’s kisses, candy corn, and icing) at Thanksgiving.  She’s also helped to decorate, and rode on, the float for our town’s annual Christmas parade (our troop was the Hillbilly Jug Band, complete with a live rooster in a cage), and has now begun the time honored tradition, selling Girl Scout cookies!  

 

  Drama Queen in her Girl Scout vest at the Christmas party

Drama Queen decided she wanted to try playing basketball this year, so she has gotten involved in playing  for our local Recreation Department.  She had never played before and was pretty lost in the beginning, but she has worked hard and learned a lot. 

The other girls have been very kind to her, most of them have been playing since they were very young and are more experienced, but they have helped her and encouraged her.  It really touches my heart when I go to practices and games and see the way the other girls try to help her learn, they’ve not made fun of her or been rude to her.  As a mom, that means a lot!

Ready for her first basketball game ever!

Drama Queen in action on the court.

This is just a sampling of some of the things we’ve done so far this year, we’ve been busy learning and having fun.  We’re back in the groove after Christmas break and looking forward to learning lots of new things and finding more cool projects and experiments to try.

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia

A New Year, A Fresh Start

There’s something very satisfying about new beginnings,  a new year is a great time to start something new or try again at something you may not have achieved in the past.   It’s always refreshing to have a clean slate and a second chance.

With that in mind, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish in the coming year,  and more importantly what would God have me to do?  The obvious comes to mind, spend more time in His Word and in prayer, minister to those He brings across my path,  strive to be a better wife, mom, and grandmother, and take better care of my health.  But, what about the things that aren’t so obvious?  

What does God want to do in my life this coming year?    Am I willing to step out of my comfort zone (a place I don’t like to leave) and follow wherever He leads?  Do I really want Him to show me all the ugliness inside that needs His cleansing touch?  Am I willing to lay down my life, to put aside my wants and needs in order to do His will? 

 These are the questions I’ve been pondering the past few days, and the answer is a resounding Yes!  I don’t want to look back over 2009 when it ends and find that I’m still the same person I was when it began.  I want God to do a work in me, to change me day by day to be more like Jesus, no matter how much it hurts or how inconvenient it may be.  I want to be in the center of His will,  it’s the best place to be!

Have a great Sunday!

Love, Velvia

Happy New Year 2009

Out with the Old, In with the New

The countdown to the New Year is on,  in approximately 4 hours it will be 2009.  How can it be possible that a year has passed since we rang in 2008?  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes,  are there times when you wish you could slow things down a bit?  I know I feel that way often, when I realize how quickly Drama Queen and  my grandbabies are growing up, and when I visit my mom and see how frail she is becoming,  I just want to find a way to make time slow down.

I suppose it’s a good thing that time is not something we can control, we just have to make the most of each moment, trusting God to give us wisdom and direction for each new day.  I’m looking forward to 2009 and all the possiblities it holds.  I pray that the New Year will bring you joy, peace, health, and happiness.

Happy New Year!

Velvia

Christmas Pictures

Here are some of our Christmas photos I wanted to share, I took so many over the holidays I had a hard time choosing just a few, but I finally narrowed it down.  Here is Drama Queen on Christmas morning with her new game. 

            Wanna play Yahtzee?

The babies intently checking out the contents of their stockings from Nana and Papa.

 Here’s Natalie modeling her new sweater!

Beth helping clean up the aftermath of  opening presents.

Phillip and Drama Queen playing her new Wii game.

  Here’s Joey trying out his new hoodie.

     Ashley enjoying the fun!

 Nana and her babies together Christmas morning.

Oreo’s more interested in chewing on his stocking than checking out what’s inside.

Drama Queen’s birth family, together for Christmas!  Holly, Marcie, Drama Queen, and Hillary.

God has blessed us so richly this past year, I can’t thank Him enough for our precious family, they mean the world to me.   There are no words to adequately express my gratitude for His mercy and grace.  He is more than enough!!

Have a wonderful night!

Love, Velvia

Here Comes 2009

I’m a little early wishing you a Happy New Year, but since I haven’t blogged at all over the holidays I decided to get a jump on 2009.   My family and I have had a wonderful holiday season.  We were fortunate to have Ashley’s parents, and his sister and her son here for Thanksgiving, along with all our children and grandchildren.   

We were also able to get together for Christmas with our children and grandchildren.   Natalie, Joey, Cupcake, and Blue Eyes came down on Tuesday and stayed until Friday morning (they spent Christmas Eve with Joey’s parents).  Phillip, Beth, Spiderman, and Ladybug  joined us for dinner Tuesday night as well as Christmas morning for brunch.  It was more than wonderful,  I marvel  every time we are all together at God’s goodness to our family. 

We were also blessed to have not only our immediate family here Tuesday night for dinner, but to also have Drama Queen’s birth mom and sisters with us as well.  Her sister Hillary, came down and stayed with us Monday through Wednesday, and then Marcie (her birth mom), and her sister Holly, came down early afternoon on Tuesday.  They exchanged gifts and spent family time together, and then stayed and had dinner with us.  It was so much fun, it was great to celebrate the wonder of the season with the people we love.   I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow!

I’m looking forward to a wonderful year in 2009, despite the economic and other uncertainties we face as a nation, I know that God is in control and no matter what the future holds, I know He holds the future!  I pray you have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

God Bless!

Velvia