New Surgery Date

Dear Blogging Buddies and Fierce Prayer Warriors,

Due to increased symptoms, the neurosurgeon recommended that we move Rachel's surgery date from December 15th to his earliest opening which is Tuesday, November 24th, at 7:30 a.m.. To say that my mind is reeling would be an understatement, but even in this there is great peace.

Rachel and I were talking about how strange it is to not be scared to death right now. We both agreed that the peace we feel is because God is in control and His peace truly does surpass all understanding, we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, there are countless prayer warriors meeting with us at the feet of the Great Physician, and that this date was his plan from the beginning.

I have a massive to-do list before the 24th, but that is okay too. Please, join with us in prayer on her new surgery date: November 24th.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' on a River....doot doo doot!

So enough of the drama around here...I'm sooooooo ready for some fun!

This week is Red Ribbon Week at school; we celebrate being drug free and each day has a theme. Today's theme is "Rock Star Day." Woo hoo! My inner Rock Star was ready. After a lightning fast trip to Ruidoso with my husband this weekend, it was more business than fun but we did manage to have some fun in the 24 hours that I was there, I stopped at a Halloween shop and picked out 2 wigs~one for me and one for Rachel. Hannah's junior high class celebrated with Tacky Day so she didn't need a wig.

It was a fun day! Here are 2 Rocker Babes:

Rachel really enjoyed the pink streaks in the wig.

I pulled the silver cross off of my dining room table, added a ribbon and voila she had a necklace.


I embraced my inner Tina Turner...you know without the tan:

This wig was sooooo much fun. This is my kind of Texas hair.

I had some students ask if I had colored my hair! Hmmmm.....I don't think so!

Wouldn't you know it, I was the ONLY teacher to dress as a Rock Star...but I didn't mind 'cause it was fun!

Here is my gorgeous girl dressed in her Tacky finest. She is a master at putting together these outfits. I may let her dress me for nerd day on Tuesday.

PS Hannah won the Tackiest award...was there any doubt?

And Now Our Car Insurance Deductible too~oiy~

Do you ever have one of those days....a day where you just want to crawl under the covers and just stay there? I think I'm having one of those years. It has definitely been a year like no other.

Today my daughter was in a car accident...I know....all of this is almost unbelievable, isn't it? Thankfully, I was in the car with her. The girls and I were on our way to work the JV football game concession stand when an elderly man decided to make a right turn into our local Sonic from the inside line. I guess using the outside lane to make a right turn would have been too easy.

Guess who was in the right, outside lane? Yes, that would be us. No one was injured and that is a blessing but the guy was a bit crotchety...he even argued with the policeman. I hated the whole thing for several reason but mostly for Rachel's sake. She really is a good driver. She slammed on her breaks and tried to avoid the other driver as if she had been driving for several years...and now she is a bit afraid to drive again.

I keep thanking the Lord for His protection over us, but especially His protection over Rachel. With her Chiari malformation, we have often agonized over the "what if" she had a car accident. Our "what ifs" were met by the Great I Am tonight who once again proved Himself faithful.

I just tucked my girls into bed a few minutes ago. Rachel said, "I don't know what we are suppose to be learning this year, but I hope we go ahead and learn it quickly!" She has heard me say that before but I think I am finding my answer: He is enough and He is faithful. I've known that my entire life, but I have never known it as in depth as I seem to be knowing it this year.

But, some days I just want to crawl under the covers and stay there for a while...and hear Him sing over me, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning,
Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord. Great is Thy faithfulness." (words by Edith McNeil). New mercies every morning....praise You, Father!

Insurance Deductible Met... Check!

What a whirlwind the last 2 weeks have been. Two weeks ago today Mr. Incredible called me, while I was eating lunch in between my classes, to let me know that I needed to meet him at the hospital for emergency surgery. What? You can imagine our surprise when the surgeon was waiting for him in his hospital room. I was on my phone begging for 10 more minutes until I could get there. I think I threw my turkey sandwich out the window on the way, hopefully it is not somewhere still in my car. Ha!

Thankfully, his appendix did not rupture, I made it to the hospital on time, and the surgery went well. It has been a crazy 2 weeks filled with 2 overnight stays in the hospital and then trying to take care of my husband in between juggling teaching school and being a mom. Good news...we have met our insurance deductible this year. Shouldn't they send us a thank you gift basket or something. Ha!

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I am so glad that God is in charge and over it all because I can't even imagine this life without Him. I have been doing Beth Moore's Esther study for the last 3 weeks. I have to chuckle every time that I see her words, "It's tough being a woman." It is tough some days isn't it?

This has certainly been quite a year. The surprise emergency surgery only convinced this heart of mine that I am not ready for Rachel's December 15th surgery. But, then the Lord reminds me over and over again that He is my Strong Tower, My Refuge, My Strength, and none of this has slipped from His sight.

I am still pleading with Him to heal Rachel so that surgery will not have to take place....and then her symptoms worsen....and He speaks to my heart that He is sufficient.

It is almost time for my next class to begin, but I just wanted to drop in and say hello and that I am missing the blessing of this blog world. I'll try to write more later. In the middle of all of the chaos, there has been a lot of humor too and I can't wait to share some of it with you.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Rachel.

And thank you to my special "Someone" who sends us anonymous cards each week. Each week seems to bring cards hand picked by the Father just for us. I hope that someday you will reveal yourself to me because I can't wait to tell you of the countless times that you have blessed us. May the Lord bless you abundantly! Thank you for your kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, and prayer support. You are a blessing!

So the drama -emergency appendectomy-Where is Dr. McDreamy When You Need Him?

This post is brought to you from my husbands hospital bed. What
a day! Mr incredible hasn't been feeling too well. We thought he
had pulled a muscle so I went to school and he went to work
and then he went to see the doctor. I received a call at lunch today that i needed
to get to the hospital asap for emergency surgery. Wow! I made
it with a few minutes to spare.

I'm praising the Lord for His perfect timing and His watch care over my man; this could have been so much worse. The Anesthesiologist asked him what his pain
level was....and I told him that I was at a 9. He laughed but I might
just need something that rhymes with Valium! No seriously, I am
dwelling in the all sufficiency of God and there is no better place to be.

Fall-a-licious!

It's diy day at Kimba's. I just had to share my front porch with you. I am so loving having my door painted black. The fall colors really pop off of this door!

I kept the same berry wreath that I had on my door before, but I added a $4 leafy vine from Hobby Lobby and some pumpkins and a bright Orange bow. I got out my handy dandy hot glue gun and went to town. Here is what my wreath looks like now:

The little pumpkins were on sale, so I decided to try to make a topiary. I used the bamboo stick that came with one of my scarecrows, cut holes, in the bottoms of the pumpkins and put them on the stick. I added a few leaves too and then put it in my pot:

I had to add a few scarecrows. I'm not into the scary decorations, but I do like pumpkins and scarecrows:

This little guy need an orange bow:


And I've had this little guy for several years. I always enjoy setting him on my front porch:


Here is the finished porch:


Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Boo Ya 2009

Let the Boo-ing begin!

Have you been Boo-ed?

Do you know what I am talking about? Oh, it is so fun!

Rumor has it that our family may have started this fun new tradition in our town last year...we may or may not have been responsible for bringing it back this year....maybe....I'm just saying...so, please don't tell!

I marked October 1st on my calendar as Boo ya day several months ago. It is so much fun to Boo ya your friends. All you need is candy, we used a lunch sack, and I printed the instructions and the tags from this site.

Then, we waited until it was dark, loaded up the car with our treats and headed to some of our favorites houses. The game is to place the sack on the porch, ring the doorbell and run like the wind to your car...and speed away before they realize who Boo-ed them.

Our family always hollers, "Boo-ya!" as we drive away....I'm not sure why....but it just seems appropriate. The first 2 houses went pretty well. The third house, um, not so much!

Apparently there is a vine covering part of the sidewalk at this person's house. I managed to run down the 5 narrow, brick steps, in the dark, but the killer vine grabbed my foot and would not let go. I yanked as hard as I could, only to free my foot, dash into the car, and see the front door open. It was their son, who doesn't have a clue as to what we drive...so we were safe! Whew!

The 4th house was easy, but the 5th house? Oiy! This person has a very steep driveway. Hannah, the cross country runner, decided to tackle this house. She dropped the sack, rang the door, and immediately the door opened. What?

She ran anyway, stubbed her toe going down and almost crashed into the getaway vehicle. We sped away as if they hadn't seen us anyway. Rachel got a text from the owner of the house almost instantly, but it was still fun!

My sister-in-law called us last night to let us know that they needed help with the Boo-ya project. The first house they surprised nearly called the police. They were afraid to open the bag and they called her to let her know to be on the lookout for people leaving strange Boo bags on porches and that they felt the need to alert the city police. Hold it! She had to explain that it was a fun game and that they had left the bag. Where is this lady's sense of humor?!

So my nephews and my sister-in-law decided to try again. At this house, Andrew dropped the sack at the door, rang the bell, and ran as fast as he could to the car....only to fall in the ditch. As the door to the house opened, Melissa heard her son hollering, "I'm okay!" Needless to say, they were found out at that house too.

I think we are renaming Boo-ya 2009 to Boo-Boo ya! OIy!

Don't let our stories keep you from trying this. It really is a blast!