Tree Trimming

It always seems like Christmas is here when the tree goes up. We had lots of help this year....





Then....I can take pictures like this one:

Happy Birthday Lita!!

My Lita is 13 today:) Growing up so quickly!! What a funny girl, always a joy:) Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Sam

Sam has been home from RTC for 5 days. There really is not enough time to tell the tale. I am mostly too tired to even begin trying. Suffice to say that we are still awaiting Tn Care's review of medical necessity to find him a level 2 group home. I am in hope we will hear something POSITIVE this week. Tonight Scott and I sat with a level two in home intervention......there are not enough words of frustration. We listened to this man;s life story, to how busy he is, to how much paperwork we had to do (but did not get done because he was too busy talking about himself). Frustration. This man will be in our home for family therapy at very LEAST three hours a week...an hour a visit...three days a week... He wanted to know when would be a good time to schedule those meetings....well, a time that would not interfere with our schedule. There is not time that will not interfere. We knew with Sam coming home we would be in the midst of big changes. We were also told that going to the beach over Christmas would be detrimental to Sam's therapy. So in effort to make up for that we will have to see him 4 or 5 times a week until Christmas. Just frustrating. Not frustrating if we felt he truly could offer anything to Sam and our family.

If TN Care denies help, we will be stuck seeking other avenues. I will have to enroll Sam in school (and that will likely be a disaster). I really hate that insurance dictates the help a child can receive. Sadly, such is life.

DAYS OF CHRISTMAS begins....

Our days gifts are waiting....

Our Days of Christmas began this year with Chelsea and Bo. Scott and I decided when you marry you move to the front of the line....seemed like it would eventually be fair for everyone that way. They will be leaving today and our actual "days" begin on the 6th. So we let them open while they were here:




Tumblers for Chelsea and Bo to use in their Golf Cart!!

It would be no secret to say that Tervis Tumblers are the theme this year....but which one?? :)

Heading into the weekend:)

Heading into the weekend Rosie and I woke early yesterday to make corn flake candy for Country Christmas. Rosie needed to volunteer for her club Just Say No....so we made candy:


Chelsea, Bo and I (also with Sam) spent the day hanging around. We picked up kids at school and just enjoyed the afternoon. Baking candy and watching Sarah make her famous peanut butter pies:) Scott was home for dinner (having made a one night trip to Mississippi). After dinner we pulled out the projector and watched the TSSAA 5A State football championship game. Columbia Central High School in Columbia TN was playing and they are Bo's Alma Mater....The coach was the same coach Bo played under. It was a great game (if you wanted Columbia to win)! This sad story made the win all the more special and at the same time so very humbling. The loss yesterday morning of one of their team mates to colon cancer. He asked him mom a few hours before he died if they won? She told him,"yes they did". This remarkable young man gave his make a wish to his team-mates, asking that the money be spent on new team helmets and pads. It made this game seem so very right!! Any way you look at it...there were exceptional young men who gave expectational effort to win a much coveted award!


While half my crew watched the game, the other half was watching Chelsea and Sarah's sweet friend Courtney's new angel Eryn. What a sweet baby! We all enjoyed having her for the evening:)

Profound words from my Soldier:)

I love big kids, I especially love my big kids who "get it"! I chat with my Caleb alot by phone and email about everyday. He has been studying the Bible a lot on his own (again...I love that!). He kicks things off my brain and several other far superior brains. I just couldn't let this one pass by today without blogging it....I agree with Caleb, except in reverse....He might just save a soul or two by his study and his creative way of presenting what God had presented to us in His word, Perfectly!

This is my quote in all of its glory. Save it, its gonna be worth a soul or two someday =P

"My question, Is there anything in the Bible that says its ok? If the Bible doesn't give us the authority from God to worship with.... (add whatever is NOT right here)... Then wouldn't it be ADDING to the Bible to say its ok? Think of it like this. You know when you read a book, you absolutely LOVE it. You've read it 2,3, 4 times and you know EVERYTHING about. Then a movie comes out ABOUT the book and you are soooo syked to see it. You go to the movies and you sit there, and watch an hour or two of a movie that DOESN'T follow word for word with the book its based on? You get upset, frustrated, and you sit there and ask yourself, "That's not in the book?!", or even things like, "I thought her hair was red in the book?"... regardless of how great the movie might be, is it the same as the book? No. THAT'S How I perceive the religions "of the world" today. They aren't scriptural, and they are only out to make a budget and look good. I have sat through friends worship services before and sat there thinking the same thing I thought when I first read the Harry Potter books and then went to see the movie.. This is not the book, this is not the story. This is an addition to something that was already perfect."

It's cold outside!

Last night we (Scott and I) went to a song writers night in Florence. Chelsea and Bo bought us tickets so we could meet them and enjoy the night in GREAT company with incredible entertainement. We sat 20 feet from the stage (lol..everyone was pretty close) and listened to songs I grew-up loving and so many my kids would even know:) Lonestars Richie McDonald was even there, although I am not sure he shadowed the true tallent, the life-long writers, at all!

This was one of the songs Richie sang...I sure do love it:)



The tallented Lenny LaBlanc was there....he wrote this beautiful song!!



Lenny also wrote the song Falling...talk about bringing back memorires:)



Wlat Aldridge was there too. He has so many songs you would agree you knew too! over 30 years of song writing:) This one was so very appropriate since we were there with Chelsea and her daddy sat watching her be all grown up!



Gary Baker sang as well and had lots of songs you would smile and nod at (meaning you would just know it the moment the music began!).It truly was a blessing to be in a room with such tallent!! A true joy!

I have some pictures of Scott and I with Chelsea and Bo, but they are on Sarah's camera....I'll add them later:)