Cyber cleaning

I deleated my Facebook account. (Gasp!)  The reason is simple, I'm wasting way too much time online. Facebook is a valuable tool, that for me, has created the monster of searching endless hours online for "friends".  These cyber friends are people that I have not talked to in over 20 years, and quite frankly up until FB, that was just fine with me. Maybe it's my nosey nature. Anyways, this week I did a time inventory and realized that FB sucks up an huge amount of my time.  Couple that with the barage of worthless, and sometimes offensive info that assaults me from people I thought I knew....
Much easier to delete myself than to try and delete 'friends" (ouch)
My girls will be thrilled, they think I am entirely too old for FB.  I will have much moer time to devote to my new passion of knitting.  Maybe I will even get supper cooked around here!
Mostly I will have more time to blog, which all you fellowbloggers know is tremendously therapeutic.
So, won't see you on Facebook for a while, but I'll still be blogging, and stopping in at the "home' of all my bloggy friends who make me smile!

The ups and down....

This week was a bit of a roller coaster.  It doesn't help that in my highly excitable, hugely emotional mind I tend to view everything in drastic extremes. I have lots of favorites because truly, in my mind, whatever I am judging at that moment is usually catogorized by " the best" or " the worst".  There is no middle ground with me.  Call me unstable, maybe I am, but I know how to fully squeeze the enjoyment out of a moment. The downside is that mediocre days can sometimes seem horrible, catastrophic, or even tragic.  I am the queen of superlatives.  I guess that's why God gave me "steady Eddy".  The man of logic. Mr. Analytical.  The guy that brings me back to reality several times a day.  He has the uncanny ability to read the same email as me and interpret it entirely different. I can just see the writers smearks, hear the sighs, and detect sarcasm, while he just reads it as words on a screen, just a string of facts, taken at face value.

Sometimes I get frustrated when he does not understand my full on drama. His eyes glaze over as I retell the conversation WORD FOR WORD that I had with whoever it was that "ruined my day". As I continue my downward spiral, he usually stops me with a comment like " Really?"  That one word signal usually brings me down a notch and back to the land of the mentally sound.

I will say, despite the fact that he is my sounding board, my anchor in this tumultuous life I lead, I kinda feel sorry for him somedays.  He doesn't get it when I sob at the movies.  He doesn't feel that it is necessary to cry and raise his hands in worship.  He never imagines the dire consequences that can result from picking a boring movie or the wrong place to eat dinner.  No, he just ambles through life, living in the moment, rarely borrowing trouble.  He finds it easy to drift off into a nap with no worries.  His favorite response is "It'll be alright."

Living life with a complete opposite of yourself can sometimes be frustrating, but we have been blessed to find the rythmn of completing the other.  I am blessed woman that his genes are found in my girls, who although no doubt enjoy a little drama now and then mostly look through life as he does.... content.

These are my thoughts this Saturday morning about the man that sleeps beside me and drives me crazy.

Mount Zion

Those that trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.

Psalms 125:1

Bobcat Ramble

I am super excited! The Bobcat Ramble is coming soon! I've motivated! I'm running. I'm gonna blow these slowpokes outta the water this year!

No one told me

that when I was a mom of teenagers..........
..............there would be days that they hated me. 
..............there would be times that I could not fix it.
..............that it's better to nod and listen than to jump in and advise.
..............I would finally see the downside to hormones.
..............I can't give them the world.
..............I can no longer plan their future.
..............I would have to learn to pick my battles.
..............I would see myself in them and know exactly what they were thinking.....
..............and that that very thing would scare me to death!
...............I would need to hold tighter to God than I do to them.

Secrets....

Look what $25 can get you.....

That is, when you shop Salvation Army. This chair was in perfect condition! I was so excited because it is exactly what we were looking for in Ginny's room!

The best part was finding a pair of ski pants for Leslie's ski trip for $4.00.  Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than bargain hunting with my girls and mom.

Toby

No body sings it like my boy Toby!

A couple of things that made me smile today.......

1. Wayne installed my new dishwasher. My last one bit the dust about two months ago. My hands are literally a wreck!
2.The girls and I ate lunch together at The Brick, with a gift certificate that I got from a dear friend at Christmas.
3. I saved a bunch of money using coupons and buying 10 for $10 at Kroger. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! I'm gonna tackle CVS bonus bucks next.
4. This sweet little face:

Road Trip

Wayne and I took Shantal, our third child on a road trip yesterday.  We got up at the crack of dawn and took off for Belton SC.  I picked up Shantal in the church parking lot, and as we pulled out, it occured to me that I was really gonna miss being at church this morning.  This has been a hard long year for our church, but 2010 has brought a new sense of God's peace and promise over our family.  There is is an undeniable charge of the Holy Spirit moving among us.  You can feel the moving in each service and I hated to miss what God was going to say through Andy.
Wayne was impatiently waiting for us however, so off we went.  The day was incredible dreary with a soft rain falling and thick fog clouding our view, but we were strengthed by a hearty breakfast of Coke and granola bars from the Jet Stop In and nothing could get in our way.
True to Welch form, we snoozed while Wayne drove I-85.  He was probably exceeding the speed limit by a little, because before we knew it we were navigating the streets of Anderson SC and following Laura on the TOM TOM to a beautiful country side.  The country road winded through farms and old stately southern homes. We reached our destination at a beautiful brick church, jam packed with SC tagged cars.
Bethany Baptist Church with a sign out front that read: "Pastor Andrew Hall"

Inside I found the faces of friends who are so much more.  Andy and Robin are the kind of friends that God allows in your life to shape you for Kingdom work.  I probably know less than five people who I consider to completely love God with their entire beings.  Andy is one of those people. I've never known anyone who completely loves God more than life.  Robin and I share a deep bond that was formed in a mission trip to Macedonia.  I can't explain it, we seldom talk, now that they've moved, but when we do, we cut past the fluff and straight to the goodness of God.

I was struck by the deep love these people have for their new pastor.  My heart nearly burst with thanksgiving as I watched them interact, give and recieve love from their new family. God is so good. He is so faithful. He took a  heartache and turned it into a place of renewal and ministry for my friends.

We spent all afternoon talking about God's goodness to them and to us.  We praised God for the work He is doing in them and their new minsitry. We talked about how God had been so faithful to Robin, answering prayers she had been praying for so long for her family.  They rejoiced with us over the work that God is doing at SBC, their old home, and among people they still love so much.  They listened egerly as we talked about the new and exciting work that is unfolding for us at Sinclair.

Andy reminded me as he has done countless times before that God is sovereign, that His plan is not always like ours....it's always so much better, to conform us to the image of Jesus.

We headed back down I-85 towrds Georgia.  We talked about how good God is. We talked about the exciting things He has for us.  It was a really good day.  Wayne even let Shantal and I browse through the Commerce $5 Christian bookstore.  I missed my church family.  I'm glad I missed SBC so much, haven't felt that in a long time.

My next knitting project

Look at his sweet little baby jacket.  It's knit using only knit stitches. How hard could it be?

After completing several scarves, a baby blanket and multiple booties, I'm ready to tackle something a little more difficult......

Haiti

*UPDATE*
I found this site really interesting about real live people working and dealing with what is going on in Haiti.


One of my favorite blogs, 22words showed some of the work going on in Haiti. Kinda fitting that Wayne and I are attending a disaster relief certification class through our church tonight.

Winter Senses

Seeing....
..ice crystals on the windshield in the morning
..puffs of frosty breaths made from laughing mouths
..sunsets with naked trees on the drive home from work
..deer finding their supper under the oak tree

Smelling.....
..hot coffee from the kitchen as I snuggle in my warm bed for five more minutes
..cinnamon coffee creamer
..the clean scent of my new leather gloves
..puppy breath from Ginny's new baby that wants to sit on one of our laps at all times

Tasting......
...warm banana bread with butter while we watch TV at night
...Blackbirds or Starbucks (so much better when shared with a pal)
...warm vegetable soup and cornbread
..sweat that rolls down my face when I run long enough to sweat in the cold

Hearing.......
..the heater kick on in the middle of the night
..my car already running in the morning when Wayne starts it up so my seats will be warm
..the tub running and knowing I will warm up in a hot bath.
..Wayne and Ginger snoring next to me at night

Feeling.....
..soft chenille scarf and mittens
..that burning sensation in my lungs when I start running
..like I can barely turn over in bed because of all the warm blankets over me
..The happiness inside when I come up the drive and see the porch light on. In one mad dash I'll be inside and warm!

The story of my coat

Way back in October, Wayne looked at the thick coat of fur on the cat and declared that we were in for  a long, really cold winter. So far, he's been exactly right. It has been COLD! Tomorrow it is even supposed to snow. For middle Georgia, that is quite and event.   Even a light dusting is cause to stay home from school, scrape up enough snow off the deck to build a mushy snowball and of course race everyone else to the store to buy all the bread and mild in sight.

With all this wintery advisory fresh in my mind, I bought both the girls a nice coat for Christmas. Beautiful pea coats. I was tired of seeing them head to church with sweatshirts.  I thought, foolishly, that my $7.00 "ski" jacket from Walmart would be all I needed.  After last weekend in snowy Virginia, shivering in my "ski' jacket, I decided yesterday that I would hit up the after Christmas sales and find a nice coat for a steal......WRONG. Evidently, every normal sized woman ( by that I mean women who eat normal food and have birthed babies through their hips) have already gotten their winter wear, because the only thing left in stores are size small and extra small. I did find  a sad little denim drawstring 80's throw back at 70% off, but NOTHING else absolutely NOTHING!
I came home in a bit of a panic. Is it my destiny to spend the rest of this winter making mad dashes from my heated car to the inside of wherever I am headed???
Today, on my lunch break, I hit Kmart and Walmart and Cato. Nope, nothing! A few rain coats, a big pillowy monstracity thing in bright fushia... I'm getting worried that this is gonna be a long winter.  On the way home I tell God, "I'd really like a pretty coat, if it's not too late, will you help me find one?"

Tonight, I walk into church, my good pal Michelle, (a much smaller size than I thank God!) walks up and tells me she has a surprise for me. She pulls out a beautiful black wool J Crew coat. Turns out, someone left it in her office last winter, it's too big for her, and she thought of me.
Of course it fits perfect. Thanks for my brand new coat God! Thanks that the little things mean as much to You as the big things. Thank you that if it matters to me, it matters to You! Thanks for keeping your child warm this winter!

Resolved in 2010

worry less

laugh more

pray daily

accept forgiveness

memorize Scripture

love deeply

listen intently

judge infrequently

regret nothing

live selflessly

Roots

Today was surreal.We spent today in Dungannon, Virginia. This is a small town, (actually a spot in the road) where Wayne's mama was born and raised.  Lots of good memories for Wayne and his sister Lynn. Always makes them a little sad, to think about their mama, who is now in heaven. 
The cool thing about the Osborne family is that they have lived there for over six generations.  We walked through the family graveyard with Uncle George and he told us stories about Wayne's ancestors that reach back many generations.
Wayne and I talked about how blessed he is to have such a rich family heritage.  I want to be buried next to him on that mountain top. There is something kind of peaceful about "sleeping with your ancestors" as the saying goes. 

After spending the morning there, we went down and looked at his Granny's farm which has now been sold. But the new owner, who understood the value of family roots, let us walk around the farm and look at the old barn

looked at the chickens,

Family roots are so important.  It makes me so happy to know that my daughters can trace their roots back over  seven gnerations. To know that their ancestors farmed this beautiful land

and that their great, great, great uncle preached hellfire and brimstone from this church,

and that in a little town in Virginia, there are people who still farm, can vegetables, and live and love the land that their grandma's people have done for years. In fact, these people are their people, same Osborne blood runs in their veins.  Roots.....important.