God is in CONTROL

Monday, February 19, 2018

CAMP NANA PAWPAW 2018

I've always wanted shirts for Camp Nana Pawpaw.  When we found out that we'd have both sets of Grands within the same week and they'd all be together for a long weekend -- I contacted Gator Thompson @GatorTees and asked him to design us shirts.  We were blown away with what he created:

We used a phrase from Campbell when she was 3:  "Nana and Pawpaw's - where the answer is always YES"

They were wired for this picture and right afterward had our snowball fight with our indoor snow balls.  It was wild and crazy!!!

We did our usual family sharing of passing around stomach virus when we get together -- T & I had the bug Monday / Tuesday to launch it. 
Session 1 of Camp N / P started at noon on Tuesday as  Marshall and Katie got a chance to get away on Tuesday and Wednesday nights (the first time to leave their kiddos overnight EVER). They missed the kids so much they hurried back on Thursday morning.


Clara and Charlie seemed to feel right at home like they had always been here and we had ourselves a ball!  Reading books, watching Clara's favorite videos, snuggling with Charlie and singing with Clara.












The sweetest  part of the whole week was hearing the four older ones pray at mealtime - Clara starting with the Lords Prayer - placing her elbows on the table and doing a big hand clasp- Jack singing "God our Father"  Sydney filling in the Lords Prayer and Campbell praying for her heart.

Session 2 of Camp Nana Pawpaw started on Saturday at noon and lasted until late Monday afternoon.
With plenty of time outdoors on Saturday -- cold and rainy weather kept us inside Sunday and Monday.  We had to create things to do



Opening their Mommy Daddy gifts each day -- this one was a messy one -- digging for a "fossil"
We had lots of rain and cold so we fought cabin fever with:  

Forts
Creating a costume for the queen
Craft time

Taco Bell for the lunch bunch 
A Field Trip to TCC to see where Pawpaw teaches

wrapping it up on Monday afternoon --
Jack Tucker Good - all tuckered-out!!!
Pawpaw is by far -- his favorite buddy!

Before
                                                      and After!!!! 

 (Our kids had us do this pose! - though I will admit -- tonight we're tired! -- but feeling so blessed by one GREAT week with our five Grands)  

Friday, February 16, 2018

Saying Goodbye

Today, we said goodbye to our dog, Hyder.   This has been especially painful for Terry and for Marshall as well.  Marshall named her after his favorite city in Canada.  He and Terry consulted yesterday and assessing her condition of pain knew it was time . . . 

I remember the little things,
Hyder was the dog who looked after the other dogs.  
She was unpretentious and never one to push her way -- EXCEPT if another dog was trying to eat her dinner
She guarded our house as HER territory and would charge the front window when anyone dared to walk down our street.  She was especially vicious when a dog DARED step on our property.
She loved to ride in the pick-up with the windows down.
She would often sit in the front seat and fall asleep - leaning on Terry.
She hated storms and would have get in our bed trembling every time it thundered, scratching on T's side of the bed unil he would hoist her up..
She was so very well house-trained that even in her last days as it was very difficult to walk from the breast tumors and arthritis -- she would get herself down the stairs and outside.
Hyder would wake up with me in the morning - come into my office where I was having my quiet time -- when she would smell my breakfast she was always there for a hand-out.
Yesterday, she got herself up and came in -- just like always.

Hyder had a place on her side that if you touched it she would wince and cry. . . there was something about people getting to close to her face that would get a reaction from her like this.

When she heard the garage door go up - Hyder would be at the back door waiting. . . that's the hardest part right now -- coming through the back door.


Marshall wrote this story . . .
This isn’t a sad story, but, many happy stories start from sad beginnings. Many years ago during a sweltering Oklahoma summer, a small brown dog laid alone off a country road in a shallow ditch. It was hot and it was dry. The little brown dog had been alone for many days. See, in this part of the country, there’s a cruel practice of abandoning unwanted pets in the country. I’m sure many like to think the dog will meet others, join a  gang and perhaps learn to fend for themselves; for many if not most, this isn’t the reality. It certainly wouldn’t have been for the little brown dog. 
Luckily, for the little brown dog, when things seemed at their worst, a car door opened. There stood a middle-aged man in front of a middle-aged truck. He opened the door the and the little brown dog jumped in and the two were off down the road like ole-time buddies. At that moment the two didn’t know about all the adventures ahead and the good times they’d share.
The little brown dog ate and slept and slept and ate. Soon the little brown dog wasn’t so little anymore. The man and the little brown dog had adventure after adventure. The two made many new friends. Some old, some young; some short, some tall; some black and some brown. The little brown dog and the man went on many adventures, traveled the country, ate fine foods and one of them even went to med school for a very short period of time. Most importantly though there was hour after hour in those old trucks with the windows down.   

The man’s kindness was repaid in full. The brown dog was a constant companion and friend. She watched over the house day and night from squirreled invaders and the like. She provided comfort during many difficult times. The two lost many friends together, but they got through it as they always did: together. Then, after 91 years, full of adventures and friendship, the man and the little brown dog had to say goodbye. We all know however the two will be riding in an old beat up truck soon, windows down and smiling one warm afternoon. 

Friday, February 2, 2018

Fav's





A trip to the salon and two little Bells lookin' cute!!!


$10??? for a cup of water??? These 3 know how to make a $
Finally - Ballerina started after the holidays - this little gal has
been "in training" for weeks for this day!

This little gal finally got her slime!  (with the promise
that it would stay at Nana and Pawpaw's) #Campbell day

of course, we had to make more at the next sleepover


This little guy had tubes in and adenoids out on Tuesday
and gets to have a "brother night" sleepover, tonight.

From the Heart


I have two lunch bunches at Youth Alive -- my 11:00 people are sophomores, some juniors and a senior or two - about 30 in all meet on Thursdays in my room, have lunch and we share a Jesus moment.  My noon people are fewer in number and a core group of seniors mostly.  Last week my 12:00 friends asked if they could share their testimonies -- I said "awesome" that's what I've been asking students to do all year.  So we arranged to have a Pizza day and get this core group dismissed from their classes to come and speak to my younger group.

THEY BLEW ME AWAY!!! 

        I've always had students speakers -- but this group openly shared struggles with various addictions, being truthful with parents, and other issues.   They spoke core verses that had guided them.  Their message was over and over --

"I started praying --- I read my Bible again -- I found someone accountable to open up to."

I saw from them that early on they had accepted Jesus at camp or VBS --

BUT NOW -- IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR LIFE-STUFF-- AND MESS-UPS HE BECAME REAL!

One young woman shared what she lived on as she was moving away from her addiction and closer to Jesus:

"I came to realize that GOD has been forgiving sins for thousands of years and HE is not going to ruin his reputation by not forgiving me.  HE WILL NOT GO BACK ON HIS WORD"



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