Daddy's flying in a shark to California

For whatever reason, whenever Puckey sees a plane in the sky (or a picture of a plane), she calls it a shark. Now, she knows what a real shark looks like, and calls them sharks as well. Maybe it's the wings on the plane?!?
Yeah, I guess I can see it....

So this morning, I had to wake her and The Jib up so we could take Daddy to the airport, because he has to fly to California for the NAMM show. She got all excited when I told her Daddy was going to fly in a shark today. As a matter of fact, as I type this, he and his friend Ron are probably sitting on the plane waiting to take off. When we got home from dropping Daddy off at the airport, there just happened to be a plane flying over our house - I told Puckey, "Look, there's a shark like Daddy is going to fly to California in!" She got a big grin and said, "Do you see it, Mamma? Do you see it?"


Before Ande went into the airport, I reminded him to bring me back some cool SWAG (stuff we all get) from the NAMM show. We'll see how he does!! He also took our camera, so maybe he'll get to take some pictures of famous people?!? (That's part of the reason why the NAMM show isn't open to the public....because they want musicians to be able to go there without being hassled by fans) I'm just praying that he will be able to drum up some interest in his amps, maybe even come home with some orders!! That would be awesome! I'll keep you updated on that.


It's going to be a strange week here without Daddy, but hopefully we'll do alright. I think the girls will miss him a lot, though. Especially Puckey. She's pretty much a Daddy's Girl.


If you haven't yet, please go to Confessions of a CF Husband and read about the amazing work God is doing through this family. I believe that God can use any circumstance to help us grow, learn, and move closer to Him as long as we let Him into our hearts to do so! Prayers for this family are going continually, and I know for myself at least, I have felt led to pray more often and more openly because of the faithfulness Nate has even through all of the trials he is facing right now. Who am I to complain because money's tight or the kids are grouchy, or I didn't get as much sleep last night as I would have liked? For what God has provided for me and my family, I should be on my knees praying and worshipping continually! Fortunately God doesn't require us to pray only if we're on our knees, or only at church, or only if we are dressed a certain way...we can pray anytime, anywhere! Not to say that we shouldn't take time daily to be quiet and pray and be alone with the Lord, because that is important too. But if you're in the grocery store and someone comes to mind - pray for them! You don't have to go through the Old Testament and use a bunch of "thees" and '"thous", you can just pray. How cool is that?


Anyhoo...visit Nate's blog at the link above (it's also listed in my favorite blog list), and remember his family in prayer. If you're on Facebook, I know that there is a page dedicated to the Lawrenson family there as well. Click this link to get there.

Looking for a miracle

This morning, I was reading my favorite blogs, and I came across a link to another blog along with a prayer request. I clicked the link, and was brought to tears by what I read.

Confessions Of A CF Husband is the blog of a man named Nathan, who is married to a woman with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). His wife, Tricia, recently gave birth to their first child, a daughter, named Gwyneth Rose. Due to complications from her CF, it was neccessary for Tricia to give birth via C-section at only 24 weeks gestation. Clicking on this link will take you to Nathan's blog.

What amazed me the most about this blog is that here is a guy who is really dealing with a lot of stress, frustration, and probably some fear - but he doesn't dwell on it. His posts are full of praises to God, prayer requests for families other than his own, and such obvious love for his wife. There is no regret there, no "feel sorry for me" - it's all about his desire to see God glorified through all of the circumstances that Nathan and Tricia are dealing with. This man has a servant's heart!

Tricia also has a blog, with pictures, her "story", and an opportunity to learn more about Cystic Fibrosis. There has been a trust fund set up to help Tricia and Nathan with the medical expenses related to Tricia's treatment, and you can find out information on how to donate there as well. This link will take you to Tricia's site. I encourage you to visit both sites, and see how God is working in this family's lives.

I hope that any who reads this will take a few moments to pray for this family, because our God answers prayers!

Why does there have to be so much drama?

Earlier today I wrote an email to a friend of mine. Well, I guess we're more like acquaintances now, but I used to consider her a good friend. Anyway, I wrote an email to her about something I read that she had written. She got mad about what I said, but I didn't really get it until her third reply within the email conversation. When I realized that she was mad, I asked her why, and she basically told me that I was arrogant and self-righteous. Now, not that I have NEVER acted that way before, God knows I have, but I really wasn't trying to be that way. I had actually put a lot of thought into the original email I sent in an effort to NOT sound that way. I guess it didn't work. She was apparently mad enough to remove me from her list of "friend's blogs". The issue between us is over, but it leads me to wonder, "Why does there have to be so much drama?"

New Year, new outlook?

So, it's been a while since I posted last. Christmas and New Year's have come and gone. My brother & sister in law will be returning to California tomorrow. It's been a busy couple of weeks!

A little recap-

We opened gifts with the kids Christmas Eve morning, since Bubber & Bug had to go back to their dad's on Christmas Eve, and Nans was going back to her mom's Christmas morning before Bubber & Bug would be back.

You got your tickets?

You know, for the GUN SHOW?!?!


AHH...HBC products - a girl's best friend!!!


A monkey for our monkey!


The whole crew- from left to right...
Puckey, Bubber, Nans, Bug, and The Jib

Christmas Eve night we went to my mom's, because my aunt who usually hosts our family on Christmas Eve fell and broke her leg. (We've all told her that she didn't have to break her leg to keep from having to host us all...she could have just said she didn't want to...LOL) So while we were at my mom's, Bubber started acting up, so I made him go sit in the other room. A few minutes later, I went out where he was, and told him that if he was ready to apologize to me, he could get up. Bubber just sat there biting his fingernail and ignoring me. That's when I noticed my stepdad in the kitchen watching us. So he pipes up with, "What did he do, Julie?" in a very antagonistic tone. I said, "He was backtalking me". My stepdad then rolled his eyes and turned around in a huff. This is the same guy who encouraged my ex husband to call Child Protective Services on me a few years ago when I spanked Bubber for getting caught forging my signature TWICE at school, plus lying about the whereabouts of his report card. Yeah, he's a real piece of work! So anyway, Bubber spent the rest of our time there sitting in the chair because he refused to apologize (or even speak) to me. But, then when we got home, Bubber came up and wanted to hug me...yep, he's all about acting up in front of my mom and stepdad so that he gets in trouble, and I am OF COURSE the bad guy in the whole thing...but when we get home he's all sweet and agreeable. It drives me nuts!! Fortunately, God has really worked in my heart about the whole thing with my stepdad and Bubber's behavior, so I can stay really calm during situations like that. (Well, at least on the surface. I pretty much wanted to deck my stepdad, but what good would that have really done?) At least I had a nice visit with my grandparents, two uncles, an aunt, and my sister & her family!!


Puckey & Great-Grandma


My niece wearing her brother's football helmet

Christmas day was unusual. We went to my inlaws and cleaned out their upstairs bedroom and attic. I got quite a laugh when I ran across some love letters that Ande's ex had written him YEARS ago....my new word is now "Schmeeky" (That's how she signed the letters!) I was totally cracking up reading them. Ande, on the other hand, didn't seem to find as much humor in the situation. We also found this:


Yes, folks, that's right. An alligator purse, complete with tiny alligator. It's sorta creepy, if you ask me.

My brother and sister in law arrived from California on the 28th, and we got to meet our youngest niece for the first time (she's 8 months old). Puckey and our other niece, who is 4 months younger than her, had a blast in the snow.... It was cute, because it was the first time our nieces had seen snow!


Tracy, Ben, and baby


Girls getting pulled by Ben & chased by Bubber


OOPS! They took a spill off of the sled!


Good times, good times!!

So, New Year's Eve was spent with Ande's family. It was chaotic, but fun. There were 11 children there under the age of 4 (9 of them were 2 and under). I think my favorite part of the day was right when we arrived - one of Ande's cousins shouted to me "You're HOT! I'd date ya!" I guess spending the extra time on my hair was worth it?!? She's a silly girl.

Saturday Ande and I started on the bowling league we signed up for with our church. We had a great time! It's a mixed doubles league, and we ended up partnered with some people from another church. Our team lost, but I bowled pretty decent (well, for ME anyway) with a 138, 132, and 117. Okay, so I'm not a very good bowler, but I had a good time!!! (Added bonus, I beat Ande!!)

Today I stayed home from church and took care of the Jib, who caught a cold from her CA cousins. Poor baby.


Poor Jib!!

So, Ande's heading to CA on the 16th for the NAMM show. It's a pretty big deal in the music industry. Ande built an amp that will be displayed by one of his suppliers. Here's the amp (plus a SWEET guitar that a good friend of ours built).

You can also check out our website (it's not much, but it's there), and the website of our luthier friend. He makes some beautiful guitars!!!

We're pretty excited about this opportunity - not just anyone can get into this show!! So, he's going out there and staying with his brother & his family (the ones who are here now). It's so awesome that the show is not terribly far from where they live! This could be a major turning point for us, if there is a lot of interest shown in this amp.

So, back to the title of this post...it's a new year, and I "resolve" to have a new outlook! God has really blessed our family this year, and even with the "bad" stuff, we've still got it so much better than some. And the best part of it all is that we have a great family and body of friends who are right here with us, cheering us on!! I want to be more, do more, love more, laugh more, praise more, LIVE MORE!!