A New Start

I know, I know!  It has been well over a year since my last post and it was something that I had found and posted, not something I wrote.  I am always reading my sisters posts but never take the time to write my own.  Why, you may ask?  First of all, compared to their posts mine would be quite boring, so who would want to read mine?  Second, my computer crashed and I lost every picture I had taken the last 4 years, so I had/have no photos to post (no, I never backed anything up, stupid).  I know, I still cry about it, but it's time to move on.  I have the best I T person working on my hard drive trying to retrieve my data.  She has retrieved a few things but not all yet.  I have confidence in Dianna!!  Love you girl!  So, this is my day to start anew.  I am getting my camera back out and start snapping again (I want a new one by the way), and if no one reads it, oh well.  Their loss :)

This summer is going by sooooo fast!!  I don't want to blink anymore, I'm too scared to.  So far this summer, Caine spent several weeks at basketball practice for a Team Basketball Camp with North Lincoln Middle & High School at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC.  In four days, his team played 11 games and won all of them but three.  He didn't always get his play time, but when he did, he proved himself and the last two days, he was playing every game.  He earned his spot and I am proud of him for that.  It was hard for me to hear, "I set the bench" on text updates, but it is a part of learning and earning.  I am also proud of him because this was his first time away from home without parents/grandparents.  He did well!!  During this time of him being away I also began to realize...my baby is growing up!  I am having a hard time dealing with this now.  While he was gone, we received several text updates (when I text him first) but only 2, yes, 2 phone calls that we placed TO HIM.  Those phone calls went a little something like this...
Caine:  Hey
Kevin:  What are you doing?
Caine:   Having a dunking contest...I gotta go
Kevin:  Well are you having fun?
Caine:  Yes
Kevin:  How was your games today?
Kid in the background:  Caine is that your girlfriend?
Another kid in the background:  Caine loves you!
Caine:  Shut up!!  They were good.  I gotta go
Kevin:  Well, ok, I get it you don't want to talk to me
Caine:  I'm busy
Kevin:  Ok, well, Call your mom tomorrow
Caine:   Yeah, OK
Kevin:  I love you
Caine:  Luv ya too, Bye
Seriously?  Ok, so I thought it was rude of him and yes I understand he was really busy at 11pm at night when We called him.  I wasn't the only one who got the same treatment from their kid.  So I didn't feel quite as bad, but I did have to give him a speech on how not to be so rude to us.  Just another sign that the teenage years are upon us.

Tori has just been hanging out with me this summer.  She did have choreography for cheerleading for 3 days.  This is her 4th year with Cheer Xplosion Allstars.  She is a crossover this year so she will be on the Mini team and she got to move up to the Junior team.  She found the routine much more difficult, but that is good!  Her tumbling has improved the last month as well!  She is so stinkin close to a back handspring it isn't funny.  I can't wait till competitions begin.  That's when I am always surprised, seeing them perform is just amazing to me.  It always gives me cold chills!

As I write this, I am waiting on them to get home.  Sunday night, Kevin and I took them to Nana & Papaw Tom's.  Nana took them to Dollywood on Monday.  I have had 3 days alone and I have to say I miss them and can't wait for them to walk in the door!  The silence is deafening to me now.  I didn't realize how I had come to love the loudness and ruckus of our household.  I know they have had a blast and can't wait to hear about their adventures and see the pictures. 

Now that I have written a novel to catch you up, I'm signing off. 
Lots O' Love
Joy

The Difference Between Men & Women

I found this and wanted to share...
Difference Between Women And Men





1.NAMES
If Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara go out for lunch, they will call each other Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara.

If Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and The Man.


2.EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom will each throw in a $20 , even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.


When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.


3.MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, but, hey, it's on sale.


4.BATHROOMS
A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a threadbare towel purloined from the Marriott.


The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.


5.ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that... is the beginning of a new argument.


6.CATS
Women love cats.
Men claim they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.


7.FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.


8.SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.


9.MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.


10.NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as when they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.


11.OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.


A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.


A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.


AND FINALLY....
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.  As they passed a barnyard of mules, jack asses, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically,
"Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

Hold Fast

Have you ever fought a battle that you thought would never end or are you fighting a battle right now? I know that we have to endure the rain to see the rainbow but sometimes battles seem to go on and on and the rainbow is not in sight. That is how it has been for me the last two years anyway. I pray for guidance and peace but my prayers never seem to be answered. I try to keep the faith that God is going to and will take care of us, but with trial after trial I seem to lose that faith somewhat. I am human...I am not perfect. It's not that I want to, but sometimes I get tired of fighting and even though I am trusting in the Lord, I just don't know what else to do or which way to turn.

I had a conversation with a friend today and she told me of a story that reminded me that God does answer our prayers and he hears our cries. There is a woman who has a child with juvenile arthritis. She has had financial difficulties along with dealing with this child who is always in pain. Recently, she was out of Ibprofen for her child and her gas tank was on E. She had $13 in her checking account. Obviously, that is not enough money to provide for their needs. She began to cry and pray. When she got to work her words were "God, do you hear me?". A second later a volunteer walked in her room with a card. She told her she had heard about her story (of her son) and just wanted to help her. When she opened the card, the first words read..."God Hears You" and $100 fell out of the card. The story of this lady has been on my mind since. I feel so selfish. Even though we are going through hard times, there is always someone who is going through tougher times than you. So, you never know what the person next to you is going through.

While I was sitting in the car rider line at the school I was working a suduko puzzle. The radio was turned down, but was on 106.9. I wasn't paying attention to it, I could barely hear it. Instead, I had lots of things going through my mind when I heard very loudly and clearly "Hold fast, Help is on the way, Hold fast, He's come to save the day, What I've learned in my life, One thing greater than my strife, Is His grasp, So hold fast. I have never heard this song before. Is this God telling me to "hold fast"? So, I turned up the volume and listened to the rest of the song. It spoke to me personally and told me exactly what I had been needing to hear. God has promised me that help is on the way!! I am holding on to that promise and I know He will not let me down!!

Hold Fast by Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hny-xp4k9c

To everyone who's hurting
To those who've had enough
To all the undeserving
that should cover all of us
Please do not let go
I promise there is hope

Chorus:
Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He's come to save the day
What i've learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grasp
So hold fast

Will this season ever pass?
Can we stop this ride?
Will we see the sun at last?
Or could this be our lot in life?
Please do not let go
I promise you there's hope

Chorus

You may think you're all alone
And there's no way that anyone could know
What you're going through
But if you only hear one thing
Just understand that we are all the same
Searching for the truth
The truth of what we're soon to face
Unless someone comes to take our place
Is there anyone?
All we want is to be free
Free from our captivity, Lord
Here He comes

Chorus

Snow Day

When does the weather ever actually do what the weatherman forecasts? Well, they hit it right on the money this time. We have 7 to 8 inches to play in. I figured I would send the kids out to play while I worked on class work for this coming week. I thought I would have some quiet time, and I did. But I set in the office so I could see the kids sled down the driveway and the longer I set there and heard their giggles and squeals the more agitated I became. I wanted to go out and play too. So that's exactly what I did. We still have the old fashion sleds with the metal runners and this snow/ice mixture was perfect for sledding on them. I have not been on a sled since I was a kid, well...maybe early teens. I felt like a kid again and loved every minute of it.