Gotcha, Memaw!

Here is Rose with the girls on her Gotcha Day!  It was one year ago that Rose officially moved in with the family.  She had been adopted by the girls long before that time, even before we had Lydia, but it was very special to have her come live with us!

Rose is beloved by many and has adopted children in many places along with three loving children of her own.  We feel blessed to have her choose to live with us. 

We celebrated GD with  a surprise gift!  We saw a pizza maker one day and thought Rose would like to try that.  We hid it for a month and none of the girls spilled the beans. LOL  They must be growing up!  It has already gotten a work out of pizza making and also she made Reuben sandwiches with it the other day! Yummmmm!

The next day was her actual birthday!  We were very busy with school and household chores, and then we had church that night.  It probably seemed like we had not thought much about her, but we were planning a surprise!  After church we took her to Out Back.  This is one of her favorite restaurants because she loves the bloomin' onion.  Bob and Debbie joined us there and bought Rose this lovely jewelry set for her birthday.

The pink was a perfect match for the new dress she was wearing!  You can't see the earrings here but they are so pretty!  Going to have to keep the girls out of her jewelry! :)


We love you Rose!  We gotcha and we are going to keep you!

We love Memaw!

Guess what Memaw has been enjoying since she returned.  Lydia has tried to catch up on stories and snuggles all in one day! :)  All the girls have been showing Memaw how much they have missed her.  We are so thankful she is back safe and sound!  Since our riders were too tired for mexican train, we watched Bugs Bunny together!  This is new for our kids.  They have only seen them a few times.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

From the time I can remember, I have wanted to be a mom.  I attribute this to the fact that I have a great one!  I wish I could go back in time and see all the things she did for me.  I know I would see lots of love and sacrifice.  I wish I could see her giving me baths and reading to me.  Or hear her telling me no or encouraging me to try harder.  I wish I could see her pray for me and check on me after I was alseep.  They say if you have had a happy childhood you don't remember it as well.  I will have to accept that as why I can't remember more of the special things Mom did for me. 

I am thankful for the mother she has been to me since my youth and adulthood.  She has been so helpful; such a source of guidance and encouragement.  I thank God for each memory we make now and the many ways I have for recording them. 

Maybe in Heaven, when we know all things, I will be able to remember everything from my childhood.  I like to think that.  But even if I don't, I am so thankful to know that we will be together forever. 

Until then, Mom, I am storing up these times in my computer and my memory.  I love you Mommy!  Happy Birthday!  Praying your day and coming year are filled with God's peace and joy!

With All My Heart~

Christmas Activity List #11: Daddy's Special Dinner

Before Alpheus and I were married, during his bachelor years, Alpheus found a love for cooking.  On our first official date he grilled shish kabobs and other delights on Skyland drive.  It was raining and I was sitting in his truck while he cooked over the open flame holding an umbrella over his head.  Thankfully on that 4th of July, the sun reappeared and we enjoyed our hike and the view of the fireworks from Red Oak Mountain.  It may have been our first official date, but I had learned two very important things.  #1  This man would go through a lot of trouble to please me. #2  His culinary skills were greater than mine!

During our first 4 years of marriage he did much of the cooking!  In recent years, I have been working on my skills and teaching the girls.  Then this past year, Memaw Rose moved in and has taken care of the cooking since then!  But when we made our Christmas activity list, Alpheus wanted to do a special dinner for all of us. 

He did all the shopping and cooking.  Rose and I napped and relaxed while he made a delicious dinner for us!  Pork roast wrapped in bacon, with a parmesan/garlic/apple topping, seasoned red potatoes, broccoli with cheese, shrimp and a fancy salad! 

That is sparkling white grape juice in our glasses. The girls loved the fancy shaped cups which were actually plastic! :)

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention the humongous yeast rolls with butter!

But he didn't stop with dinner.  He also made the best parfait I have ever tasted!  The cream part is made from marshmallow cream and cream cheese.  He layered it with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries!

Thank you DH/Daddy for a wonderful dinner!

Christmas Gatherings



One of the most enjoyable parts of Christmas for me is getting together with my family.  I remember as a young girl, when my older brothers and sister would be living on their own in various states and how lonely my twin brother and I would be at times.  But usually everyone would come back to Mom and Dad's for the Christmas Eve/Morning sleep over and Christmas party.  I have very fond memories of sleeping on mattresses on the floor of rooms at the Lakehouse when trying to close off some rooms and save on the fire place heat.  We would talk and sing in the night hours until we finally all drifted off. I think I know many Christmas hymns by heart from these sing-a-longs!  Then when my brother and sister-in-law had the first grandchildren of the family it added a completely new side of Christmas for us all.  I am so thankful we have the year of the puppy on video and many other special Christmas memories.



Grandmom with Sarah's gift to her.  We missed getting the Christmas tree Hannah got her, and also Granddad with his traditional gifts of raisinets and a Christmas mug.


Every once in a while we would even have a holiday spent with extended family.  I loved being with my aunts,uncles, cousins, and grandmoms (my granddad's had already passed away before I have any memory of them)!  Such wonderful times to hear my parents reminisce of their childhood days and to see them with their siblings teasing and loving each other.  I was raised in a very happy and God-fearing family, so these times are blessed memories.

 Grandmom Short and Memaw Rose enjoying a chat.

I am so thankful to be doing the same with my children.  I remember the first Christmas Alpheus and I were married.  We celebrated with Dan and Lorilyn, but it felt really strange not being with our parents.  I am sure we were there a few days before, but for some reason (maybe Christmas was on a Sunday and we couldn't stay?) we were in the parsonage the first year.  I think I would have been really sad if I hadn't had at least one sibling there!  The next three years were full of babies and my parents living with us or near by.  Then we moved to Florida.  During the 7 years that we lived in FL we sometimes had family down for Christmas.  Sometimes we came back up to VA.  Sometimes we just celebrated with our church family.  But in each case, our children were blessed to spend time with people who loved God and them and remembering wonderful times together. 

Sarah getting a picture of me with Mary and her new dolly.  She has gotten 4 just like this one in her eight years of life.  We keep putting the "all loved up" ones away for memories!

As my children get older I wonder what they will remember about our family gatherings and what makes them the most happy.  I would ask them now, but they are asleep.  Maybe I will post their answers later.  On Monday, everyone who could, traveled to my parents' home to visit and let the children open the presents from Grandmom and Granddad.  As usual there was lots of delicious food!  There was also  a lot of teasing and talking as we tried to play Mexican Train.  I sat by my nephew Ben, who was featured on a recent post! :)  It was so wonderful to spend more time with him and everyone.  My girls enjoyed playing with their cousins, talking with various family members and guessing at what might be wrapped up under the bear trees! ;)  The only thing we didn't do this year was sing any Christmas hymns. Sharon even made fruit cake for my parents.  (Yes, we have nominated her for an award!)  It was a wonderful time!

Lydia with her doctor kit.  She was so thrilled. She doctored innocent bystanders all day today!

Keeping with the medical theme (sort of), Lydia was just as tickled with the Buzz operation game.

When we finally all gathered in the living room to watch the presents being opened, the girls were so excited and happy. But what really makes them happy isn't the toys, but the love they feel from these people who care about them all year round!  I know that years after they have forgotten what the toys were they will remember the grandparents, aunts and uncles that loved them.

What doll loving girl doesn't also want a spyware set! :)

Sarah holding her own copy of Kung Fu Panda 2.  She also received a lovely pink heart watch.

Ariana sporting her new Alvin the Chipmunks hat!  So pretty!

Hannah (with Memaw helping) holding up her new long awaited for art supplies!

Lydia was so excited to play her new games that she could hardly wait until after breakfast.  We all sat down to play the first time.  This was a new twist on an old classic with doctor and specialist cards and money for retrieving the endangering organs.  We had loads of fun, especially Daddy who won! 

Last night as I walked passed the older girls room out of the corner of my eye I noticed a strange shape in the room.  Hannah had set up her easel and was all prepared to paint as soon as she woke up.  This was painted before breakfast at 9AM! :) 

We really missed having Ed, Traci, Brandon, Logan, Kamryn, Jacob, and Aaron and Bryce at our get together this year! (Though I hear someone is turning 50 and we will be seeing Aaron and Bryce at that party in a week! :) )

I pray, dear friends, that you are able to spend this Christmas with family.  Whether you have blood relatives or in-Christ's-blood relatives ~ enjoy being with ones you love!

With All My Heart~

Thirteen Years of Blessings Remembered

Cliff note version:  Thank you DH for the best 13 years of my life!  You have given me your heart, your time, four girls, and so much love.  Looking forward to the next 13!

Long version: Mostly written for myself and posterity! LOL  But please keep reading if you'd like.  Please forgive my repeated thankfulness.  I am thankful, really thankful! :)

1998:  Married October 10th at the church where we met when DH came to be the pastor. It was a wonderful year of learning more about him (and myself) as we joined our hearts and homes.  Began to see the tremendous blessings and responsibilities of being a pastor's wife.

1999:  Found out in April we were to be parents.  By July we had the mini-van and by September the baby room was nearly ready.  We enjoyed our last few months (including our 1st Anniversary) savoring the quiet and loving the thoughts of baby noises coming soon.  Hannah joined our little family in December during all the 2K scare.  So thankful that every thing was fine and we had lots of canned food for the rest of the year! LOL  DH was proving to be a wonderful and caring father as well as husband.

2000:  Found out in April that we were to be parents again!  A whirlwind of a year as I learned to be a wife, pastor's wife (because of course I was still learning), mom and pregnant mom! LOL  Our December baby #2, Sarah, was another pink princess blessing!  I realized that each year we were married I felt like time had flown by but also that it should have been longer that we had loved each other.  Doesn't that sound weird, but I just felt like we had loved each other so much longer than two years! :)

2001:  Moved to the home of my dreams in January or February (can't quite remember, blame lost brain cells from 2 pregnancies... babies are worth it!)  It was a large house and still had plenty of room when my parents, sister, BIL, and their dear baby moved in for a few months. Life was blessed with two beautiful girls and a husband who grew to love me more each day.  I didn't believe I could be happier except for one thing....my heart was aching to stay home.  I began praying each day for God to speak to DH about me staying home sooner than our plan.  God answered in a month when Alpheus and I took a walk, and he shared that he wanted me to be home full time!  God was preparing us for an even bigger change.  We were moving to Florida!  By October we were 800 miles away from that dream home and our extended family, but we were just as happy!

2002:  By the end of February God had done some miracle work, and we were in our home right across the street from our new church.  The people were wonderful and God was teaching us so much about faith, trust, Providence, and contentment.  In late July we found out we were expecting another baby!  This time by November we knew that God was again blessing us with a girl.  The first two were so excited and thrilled by the changes and preparation for their new baby sister.  DH was continuing to do all he could to bless our family and worked so hard for us and the church.  God was also working in us to draw us to a closer walk with Him and  a clearer understanding of His word.  This time of sanctification was hard at times but so joyous as well! 

2003:  As the birth of our 3rd girl drew near so did plans for DH's mom to move to Florida in the house next door.  What a wonderful blessing we had in living beside her for 5 years!  In March we had the best delivery followed by the worst case of jaundice for our little doll!  The bigger girls had  suffered from it as well, but Mary had the most severe case, staying in the hospital a week.  We felt very blessed when God pulled her through that!  By April we were happily adjusting to being outnumbered and fitting three car seats in our four door truck!  My life was filled with sippy cups and preschool activities and growing as a wife.  God gave me a patient husband who blessed me by making the most of it as I learned to do many new things. 5th year anniversary celebration in Tallahassee, FL.  I coudn't find any pictures though.

2004:  God had blessed our church and the new building was coming along.  DH spent many days in physical and spiritual labor and again our walk with God was challenged and blessed.  We met dear friends from a neighboring county who ended up moving in the lot behind us.  We felt our spirits made kindred by God.  We will always be thankful for God's Providence in bringing them to our lives!  I was beginning to be serious in preparation for homeschooling and God provided all I needed in materials and mentors. 

2005:  Continuing to grow in the Lord and be blessed doing full time ministry and full time homeschooling. Our days were so happy that I have a hard time remembering anything distinctly difficult.  It was a precious time of growing in the Lord and our love for each other.  I remember that this was the year that DH made me the most special meal while I was waiting at his mom's house next door.  I was delighted to see the flowers, balloons, candy, and a delicious meal for our 7th anniversary. 

2006:  This was a hard year for me emotionally.  I wanted more children and felt my lack of trust and faith in God had ruined this for our future.  I begged and pleaded with God to heal me and to give us more children.  DH showed such tender love for me and prayed with me for this miracle.  I was learning more about the great sacrifice it is to be a loving wife and mother.  I was learning that I had to give more of myself than I wanted.  It was hard work to be a good mother 24/7.  I begged God to make me content with His plans.  He blessed me with so much.  On our 8th anniversary DH made me the biggest card he had ever made! (He used all the tape that he could find at the church along with 64 pieces of paper for an 8 by 8 card!) 

 It was such a testimony to how our love had grown for each other.  We had determined at the beginnning of our married life that we would only build each other up with our words and we would forget what had been forgiven.  We were tested many times by each other, but God was honoring our hopes and dreams for our marriage.  We celebrated this year by going to the Melting Pot and then to see Facing the Giants which had just opened that weekend. 



2007:  In March, DH and I both visited a dear friend's daughter who had just given birth to a baby.  We didn't realize how significant this would be later in the year.  It was another blessed year of growth in our house.  We were delighted with how much our three girls were learning and doing.  DH built them a great big fort in the back yard for Christmas and we enjoyed making many delightful memories with picnics, trips to the beach, cookouts and so on.  Our 9th anniversary was another special evening at home reflecting on God's blessings in our family and church. All the year, our dear friend had been bringing her granddaughter to church and then our house each Sunday afternoon she would spend with us until it was time for evening church.  God was blending our hearts because He knew that soon He would blend our families.

2008:  By January I began to see hope for the answer to that prayer in 2006.  Through God directed events that precious baby was being offered to us through adoption.  There was a heart breaking period at one point, where the biological mom changed her mind before she had signed any papers.  We trusted that God does all things well and we waited for His moving.  Ten days later the baby was back with us and the papers had been signed.  God had worked another miracle life into our lives.  Many people asked, "Why didn't you adopt a boy?" but God knew who we needed and who needed us! :)  We began the homestudy process and by November 5th Lydia was officially ours.  In the meantime, God had also called us to another great change.  We were to move back to Virginia.  Trust and obey was our theme song for the next several months!  So our 10th anniversary was spent back in VA at my alma mater's football game and seeing Fire Proof at the theater! My precious DH always goes out of his way to do what I want on our anniversary!

2009:  The time since we had moved back to VA was beginning to take a toll on my DH.  We knew we had obeyed God's direction, but it was hard to leave all our dear friends in FL, a full time minister's job and our home.  But God always provides in the right time and the right way.  By February God had given us a church family and ministry as well as a home.  By the middle of the year, DH was experiencing a serious medical issue with his heart.  Surgery was helpful, but he has still been dealing with the after affects of this condition.  We were so thankful for God's providence again during this time!  This was the first time I had felt like I might have to raise our children without DH and I am thankful that was not God's plan, but I know that He would strengthen me in whatever He asks of me.  We also began to play music with a few people from church which has turned into a great time of fellowship and praise to the Lord, along with an opportunity to spread the gospel.  Our 11th anniversary was a delicious dinner with new friends from our church who also have their anniversary a week after ours. 



2010:  We continued to feel the love of God being poured out on us through our new church family and friends.  We also were experiencing trials as part of our growth.  God is always gracious to see us through.  This was a blessed year for us as parents as we saw God working in the heart of one of our daughters for salvation.  We were also blessed by visits from Florida family and friends.  We are so thankful that our church families continue to love and pray for us even after God calls us away.  We regularly pray for them as well and I can better understand how Paul felt about all the churches that he ministered to.

2011:  This year has been just like the others in so many ways.  God is constantly showing us how to be better for each other and our girls.  He is also teaching us to humble ourselves and trust Him fully.  We have learned that God's work is hard and painful and demolishes our pride, but also tender and joyful and precious.  With several tradgedies in the lives of people we knew, we try each day to better appreciate each other for our strengths and to ignore the little things that really mean nothing in the long run.  On this 13th year I have learned to stop wishing for the future and really enjoy remembering the past and living in the moments here and now.  I guess that is why I have chronicled here these life changing moments.  For me to relive and appreciate.  One day for our girls to read and to try to share the ups and downs.  For our anniversary this year we went to see another Sherwood Pictures movie.  It is convenient how they always release them at the end of September! LOL  Courageous was a wonderful video that reminded me of just the things I have been feeling lately. 

from Hannah

Take the time to do the small things for your husband.  You don't know if you will have tomorrow to do anything for him.

from Sarah

Don't waste time worrying, fretting or fussing over little things that bother you.  You don't know if you will have tomorrow to apologize.

from Mary

Take the time to enjoy the little joys that are so important to your children.  They may seem trivial to you, but the time is more important than the event. You don't know if you will get a second chance to dance with them, or listen to what they want to do during their free time, or wear the flower chains, or listen to the Bob book for the 3rd time!

from Lydia (We are taking an anniversary boat ride.) :)

Most of all, study the word of God.  It is the only source of truth and strength. He gave you your husband and family.  He knows just what you need.

Thank you God for giving me just what I needed 13 years ago!

With all my heart~