Christmas with Sister and Family

My sister Tracy and her husband Trac joined our family for Christmas. The heavy snow we had last Thursday, was still on the ground and allowed us a White Christmas. It was a fun weekend with lots of laughing and joking around. The Wii kept us all entertained and wore some out. I am talking about you.... Trac and the boxing thing! Ha, Ha. Rhonda (Ricks) Compton joined us for supper on Saturday night along with a game of FARKLE, which by the way I won. I currently reign as the the FARKLE Queen!!!!! Ashley and Wes leave out Thurdsay morning to go to Florida to visit Uncle Greg. Greg, Brian, Ashley and Wes will fly back in the week after New Year's to have Christmas at our house with Randal's family. We are looking forward to a another great time with family. We missed everyone who was not here on my side of the family and hope all who read this have a blessed coming year!

Christmas Spirit

Whew!!! Yey! School is out for the Holidays! It is time to catch my breath. I think I finished up my Christmas shopping today. Who would think the mall would be BUSY on a Monday? I have been wrapping presents for three days now! It's not that I have more than anyone else, it's just my A.D.D. kicks in and I get side tracked. Who would guess that??

The best part of wrapping presents, is playing Christmas music. That really gets me in the spirit! Of course, the Ransom Canyon Christmas Light trip really kicked the spirt in gear. My friend Sarah and I, forced our husbands to drive us to Ransom Canyon the other night to see the beautiful lights. Randal and Dale would never admit it, but they really liked it too! But what really made me catch the sprit of the season, was this story I shared on the Tapestry Talk. It is about a Christmas when Ashley was a little girl. I have provided a copy of the story here in this post. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

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Years ago, when our daughter Ashley was about four-years old, the small town we lived in had its Baby Jesus stolen from the courthouse nativity scene. The absence of a Baby Jesus deeply bothered Ashley very much and she unselfishly insisted her favorite baby doll be used to take the place of the missing infant. This loving sacrifice and deep love for Jesus at such a young age amazed and humbled our family. Sometimes, I find myself caught up in the hustle and bustle of the commercial and secular aspect of Christmas. When this happens, I find the site of a Baby Jesus lying in a cradle in a nativity scene takes me back to this memory of Ashley and her sweet baby doll. This always helps me find my Christmas perspective and remember Christmas is all about the sweet Baby in the manger … our Jesus.

Big D Weekend

Had a great weekend in Dallas with some friends from South Plains Electric Coop. We watched Tech beat Baylor at the new Cowboy Stadium. Go Raiders!!!!! Lots of shopping and eating. Favorite eating place was Babe's. If you are a big fan of grandma's homestyle cooking, then this is the place for you. We highly recommend it to everyone. It really has a great atmosphere.

Ashley was with Wes in Wellington for Thanksgiving and got her first deer. It was an eight point. She is sooooo excited! When I have time I will post pictures.

The house is decorated for Christmas and we have a couple of party's planned for the coming weekend. We are hosting a Neighborhood Snack Swap for the ladies on our street next Sunday afteroon. We can't wait to get better acquainted with the families in the neighborhood.

Tis the Season!

Fall is to Die For

Dear Followers,

The church my family attends has started a women's ministry called TAPESTRY TALK - Reach, Relate, Restore and Release. It is a ministry where a group of women writer's share what they feel God has laid on their hearts to be shared with others. It is a long story, but I have felt the call to write for God for decades now and I feel TAPESTRY TALK is the place to start. I will share my work with you from time to time on this blog. The website for TAPESTRY TALK is http://www.cotrwomensministry.blogspot.com/. Check it out!!

Fall is to Die For

I absolutely, completely, totally, utterly, entirely love FALL! I love everything about it. I love how the colors of orange, gold and red magically appear in the trees every morning. The first sight of a pumpkin ignites my soul with delight. For me, “Punkins” are the official signal that fall has arrived. The fields of maize start doing their orangey-golden thing. While other flowers begin to fade and wither, the marigolds and mums have their colorful days in the sun. Again, did I say I love fall? If you think about it, besides the fall-loving plants such as marigolds and mums, the beauty of autumn is actually a result of death. The beloved colors of fall are a result of plants dying. Fresh green leaves and splashes of splendid colored flowers say good-bye to their former lives. Fall brings to my mind this verse from John:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
John 12:24

In the fall, plants like maize die to turn to seed to be used as feed or to grow new plants for a future harvest. Leaves and flowers wither to reproduce even more vibrant life in the spring. Instinctively, by God’s sweet and precise design they die to come back stronger and more fruitful. As much as I love fall and all its golden glory, I have a difficult time of allowing death to occur in myself. I let pride, materialism, greed and other ugly un-Godly elements flourish. By letting them die, I can become fresh vibrant seed or fruit for God. Happy Fall!

Refreshed and blessed

This last weekend, the church our family now attends hosted a Women's Conference. The main speaker was Margaret Feinberg. She has authored "The Organic God" along with many other books. I must say God has trully annointed her and has a hand on her writings and presentations. Ashley and I both really came away refreshed and renewed. My plans are to read "Organic God" over Christmas break when I have time to sit and think with God. Also I discovered a blessing today. I came across a teacher who teaches at a school where I had applied for last spring. I actually made it through several interviews with them, but never got the final call. I was really upset at the time. But after my conversation with this fellow teacher friend, I have came to realize God had a better plan for me. I am trully liking the little school where I currently teach. Not to say, I don't terribly miss my old school, because I really, really, really do.

Moved In and Off to School

We are finally moved in and have got most of everything unpacked and put up in its place. Our house is starting to look and feel like a home. It is not home yet, but I know God will make it home. I keep thinking back to my childhood years when our family moved from town to town every couple of years. Back then I was certain the next place would never feel like home, but in the end it always did. I am sure we will in time call this home too. We have met several of our new neighbors and they are all very nice and friendly. I have had the chance to get acquainted with some of the staff at New Home ISD and they all seem very nice. I feel I am really going to like being a Leopard. Yesterday, Ashley was helping me get my classroom ready. I was putting up a bulletin board and I laughed because I didn't even know how to spell Leopard's. I couldn't decide if the A should be an E or an A. Ashley laughed and said, "Don't worry Mom, they will just get to know the real you." I am not sure exactly what she was implying..... I will always be a Bobcat at heart.

Update

Sorry it has been so long since I updated my blog. Things have really been crazy since school let out with the move and all. In short here is what is going on with us at the moment. A few weeks ago, I signed a contract with New Home, which is located about 10 miles out of Lubbock. It is really a nice little farm town with about a total of 250 students. I will teach technology applications and social studies. I am really excited! I have heard really great things about the school and people of New Home. We are still looking for a house and driving our realtors (Jimmie Don and Janis Rothwell) crazy. We are probably being too picky. We are currently living in an apartment, which is exactly how we started our marriage over 26 years ago. We are starting to get involved in the church called Church on the Rock. Randal, Ashley and Wes are signed up for their annual golf tournament and I am volunteering to help with Vacation Bible School. I am in charge of the crafts in the 4,5 and 6 year olds. We are praying for God’s will in all of this. For those who have read my blog earlier – God has and continues to make some amazing phone calls on the cell phone.

Love and miss all of you!

Real boxes for a real move

Knowing we are moving, I have put off packing up boxes for months now, but this weekend started the official move. Our possessions are starting to go into real boxes for a real move. While cleaning out closets, I stirred up dust and a lot of old memories. Among many fond memories, I found Ashley’s elementary yearbook of when she was in kindergarten. She was in Mrs. Donna Smith’s class. Wow, those kids were so cute! Donna was too! She had long hair. I also ran across Ashley’s all time favorite children’s book called Jillian Jigs. I think the reason she liked it so much was because it fit her perfect:

“Jillian, Jillian, Jillian Jigs!
It looks like your room has been lived in by pigs!”
“Later, I promise. As soon as I am through,
I’ll clean up my room. I promise. I do.”

“Later” always came before “soon” when it came to Ashley cleaning her room and I am sure several roommates can attest that the book fits her still today! She likes things to be freakishly super clean, but for some reason she can live with a cluttered room. I also found a collection of old love letters my husband sent to me while we were dating during my early college years. They are really sweet! It is sad to know the younger generation is missing out on good old-fashioned love letters.

Kelly

Me a Coach???

Me a Coach???

Last week I had a couple of interviews and one was for a social studies job at a tiny school. The position was for a Social Studies/Head Football Coach. Before going to the interview, I commented to my husband, “Surely they looked at my resume and know that I don’t coach.” He replied, “Hey, I think you could pull it off. It is six-man football. All you have to do is tell them boys that when they get the ball, they need to run, and run, and run until they either make a touchdown or get tackled!” Sure enough the first words of the interview started with, “Sooooo…..can you coach?” I took a big gulp and replied sheepishly, but proudly, “Well….uh, I ..I can coach Social Studies UIL.” . . .

So, now I am waiting it out to see if they can find another coach who teaches another subject, if so, then I possibly could find myself as a new employee of this little, but terrific gem of a school. For their sake, I hope not as a coach. Now what makes this story so funny is if you know me, then you know I am one of the most uncoordinated and un-athletic persons alive. In fact, I do not know a whole lot about sports in general. I am the person that once put the lettering “Tee-Off” instead of “Tip-Off” on a school basketball bulletin board. That was really embarrassing!!! Who would think a minor mix up of words could be so important! More so, who would think people could not let that minor mistake die, but they don’t! To me, it is like Tomato or Tomatoe/Potato or Potatoe. What’s the difference?

Hut, Hut, Hut!

Kelly

My Friend Amanda

About a week ago, my sweet friend Amanda wrote about me on her blog, “The Silver Lining.” She said some very, very nice things, which made me both laugh and cry. I think she is buttering me up for something. Maybe she needs a kidney. As a way to say thanks for her kind and encouraging words, I want to say a few things about her…

When I think of my friend Amanda Kirkpatrick. I think of family. She loves her family!!!!!!!!! I will never forget about the time we were on a 2-day school trip together and sharing a room. By the way this room did not have “piped-in music”. [The “piped-in music” thing was an honest mistake that anyone could have made! Right Donna?] As we were getting ready for bed, Amanda pulled out framed photographs of her kids and placed them on the nightstand beside her bed. She loves her husband, children, parents, siblings and in-laws very deeply and they are all extremely close. The only other one to rank above them is her God. She loves Him more than life! There is not a student who has passed through her class, which has not seen or felt her love for God or the love of God. She surrounds her world with scripture. I can’t count how many times I have seen her carrying a Bible to school or on a trip. She is a fine example for her own daughters to follow, as well as the young girls at CHS who she teaches or coaches. My friend Amanda is an encourager and one who has huge heart for those hurting or in need. She is always getting prayer chains ready for someone and working on other ways to help meet their needs. We have shared countless memories and laughs together and I cherish each and every one. Amanda, thank you and know that I love you.

Kelly

Secret Things

Sorry for the delay in updating my Blog. But things have been crazy and too much has been going on these last few weeks. This is TAKS week and you can imagine how crazy CHS is at the moment. We have had several sick, which puts us in a panic. Panic of kids missing and being declared failed. And of course, we are not only concerned with TAKS, but we don’t like them to be sick. Adding to all of this…my cell phone (my connection to God’s plans for my new life) fell in the toilet today! Yes, I know that sounds yuk, but it really happened! And the answer to the question you probably want to know is…NO! NO! There was nothing in the toilet except water. Still gross, but could have been worse.

Speaking of the cell phone. After people read my last blog entry, I have had many ask me if God has called yet to give us a message about the house selling or me a new job and etc. He has been calling, but nothing absolute yet. I have done more interviews and filled out more applications. The house is showing and waiting for the perfect owners who love it as much as we do. God is working on all of it, and I am anxiously waiting for the news. I keep clinging to this verse from Deuteronomy 29:29. It talks about the things our God works on behind the scenes of life, so that His plans can come into place for our lives. The verse is:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever…

I have also found that God talks through e-mails and others forms of technology too. This hasn't been a good week. I accidently dropped a deposit of a large sum of cash, which was intended for the bank in an outgoing mail box. Talk about a panic! Thank goodness we have some really honest postmen. I got it all back. Thanks guys for tracking down the money.

Stay safe and avoid the Swine flu. This is a really cute little story titled “Shirley
& Marcy”:

Shirley & Marcy
A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe.

So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her.

She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week.

As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?

Do you know her?'
Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.'
The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?'
'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.'

'Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us?
'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much.
And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow
me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.



Pass it on and brighten someone's day!

God Calling on the Cell Phone

Well I have done it! I am now officially a “blogger”. I have joined the multitudes who “blog”. Actually, I started a blog about a year ago. It lasted 1 day. At the time, I really thought with my other computer related jobs (technology saturated classroom teacher and online college history teacher) – it would be too much to add to a boat that was already full and close to top sizing. But, with the move, many friends have encouraged me to start it again so they can keep up with our family. I also realize it will be a great way for our family to keep connected and share our lives. So here I am and I am ready to start blogging.

By the way…..what does “blog” mean? How did someone come up with the word “blog”? Why should I care what it means and where it came from? But if you know me, you know I care, because I am an inquiring mind. And, this mind wants to know!

I am sure, if my family is reading this, they are rolling their eyes about now. They always do when circumstances like this arise. Okay! I will not bore you. But, for the record I did look it up and I do know the history of “blogging”. But, I will keep it to myself this time.

A piece of technology I thought I would never become addicted to is my cell phone. I am notoriously known to either have it not charged, turned off, turned down or not in my presence. But, with this move, I have become extremely attached and BF’s with my cool silver flip phone. I never dreamed I would be the type of person, who would check to see if I had missed a call or a text every 15 minutes or so, but I am now that kind of a person. (In fact, I just checked it as I was writing that last sentence). I am now enormously dependent on it for several reasons.

1. My entire family now lives in another town from me….and I want to be able to talk to them if they need me for some reason. 2. My next teaching job, will start from a phone call, which I will receive on my cell phone 3. The selling of our house will start with a phone call from our realtor on my cell phone.

As you can see a lot of our life depends on a phone call, which will arrive on my cell phone. Our life is kind of in a weird place right now. We have a lot of ??????’s. But, we know God will make it all come together in His perfect timing and will. It takes patience….which is another blog for later. Well, time to check my cell phone again, to see if God is calling about our life plans.

News from the Family and Friends:

• Nicole is getting married Saturday, April 4.
  
• Uncle Mike has been re-diagnosed, but they are finally glad to know what he has and how to start treating him. He is doing well.
• Pa (Dan Wood) found out that his shortness of breath and etc. is probably caused by too high of a dose of blood pressure medicine, will continue to monitor meds. to see if symptoms improve.

Love ya,

Kelly

Snow, Snow, Snow

Dear Friends,

Today is March 27 and we are under the threat of a major blizzard. Only in the Panhandle of Texas can it be 80 degrees one day and snow and ice the next. Last week was Spring Break. I started the break off with a Birthday Brunch with some of my best friends (Nancy, Kiesha and Kim). They brought me breakfast and we ate and laughed in my kitchen, while in our pajamas all morning long.

I spent most of the week with Randal. We really enjoyed being together. I think we have finally came to the point that we are ready to get everything settled with the move (Finding me a job, selling the house and buying another house). My good friend Tanya Tittle joined me for lunch. One of the good things about moving is we will be close to Todd and Tanya again.

Later in the week, Randal and I drove to Ruidosa, and stayed a few days at the Inn. It was a very relaxing vacation that both of us were needing. It is always nice to go back to the Inn. Randal and I had our honeymoon there over 25 years ago.

Ashley and Wes went to see Uncle Greg in Florida for Spring Break. They had a blast and enjoyed being with Greg and everyone in Florida. They spent time in the condo on the beach, played golf on two different courses and a multitude of other activities, which involved fun in the sun. They really were excited to see the alligators.

News from the Family and Friends:

• Nicole is getting married Saturday, April 4.
  
• Uncle Mike has been re-diagnosed, but they are finally glad to know what he has and how to start treating him. He is doing well.
• Pa (Dan Wood) found out that his shortness of breath and etc. is probably caused by too high of a dose of blood pressure medicine, will continue to monitor meds. to see if symptoms improve.