CHERYL'S COLLECTIONS

Adrian Mother-Daughter Banqet

2009-05-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Adrian Chapter of Women of Worth gathered together on Monday, May 4, for their annual Mother-Daughter Banquet. The evening was filled with a lot of activities. It was a time of reflecting back on the activities of past 9 months. We have been studying from the Emily C Barnes book, "Timeless Treasures" and have enjoyed sharing our 'treasures' with our sisters in Christ. During some of the meetings we have had times of sharing some of the momentous items that we treasure, such as a wedding Bible, a quilt, a hope-chest, family photos and many more items of interest. For the mother-daughter banquet, we had 60+ in attendance and the ladies outdid themselves. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, a delicious chicken dinner, lots of desserts and salads and everyone semed to have a lovely evening. The devotional was on the seasons of life and how each season is a treasure from God. It is always so refreshing to be reminded of the fact that God has a plan for each of our lives and it is God's plan that is the most important plan to follow. We learned that in the 'spring' of life, you don't possess many earthly treasures outside of your family. In the 'summer' of life, you are busy with college, new relationships, marriage, children, busy schedules but the God of the universe cares about every detail of your life and He will be there to help strengthen you. In the 'autumn' of life, you find yourself slowing down a bit, taking on the role of grandmother, mother-in-law, teacher, Sunday School teacher, church leader and role model. Don't let the busyness of life squeeze the joy right out of you and cause you to be bitter in your spirit but model your life after Christ. Let the sweetness of Jesus flow through you. In the 'winter' of life, we find that we are too weak to run marathons, We need for the younger ladies to come along side of us and be our 'light' in the lonely times of life. We can still have the light of Jesus reflecting from our lives. It is so important to be in the right relationship with Jesus Christ so we are not grumpy and cross with our caregivers and those who love us and come into contact with us.

We honored two special ladies during this special evening. One was the Mother of the Year and that special lady was Esther Wentworth Hilling. What a treasure she is to our group of ladies! She is such an inspiration and is a beautiful example for us to follow. She is very busy as a mother of three beautiful children, wife to Chris Hilling, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, pastor's wife and friend! In anticipation of this special award, her mother, Sue Wentworth Webb, was asked to write Esther a letter, which would be read at the banquet. A few days before the banquet, Sue had a heart attack and was air-lifted to a hospital in Fort Wayne. This was a traumatic time for the family and we were wishing we had the 'letter'. A day or two before we would need the letter, Esther's step-dad, Dave Webb, found the letter that Sue had written, typed it out and sent it to us for our use. What a special letter that was! God was faithful in allowing Sue to recover from this experience and she is improving. The letter was so special to all in attendance and especially to Esther.

Another lady in our group has shown such a gracious spirit during the time of Secret Sister exchanges. Jean Green Miller was honored with a beautiful basket of treasures for showing the love of Christ through some unfortunate circumstances in her life and we are very proud of her. She was well-deserving of this special honor.

A photo area was established and the ladies enjoyed gathering for their pictures. It was fun to see the ladies taking pictures of each other and laughing together.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship and look forward to the next season which will begin in September. Pictures will be posted here soon.

Vacation Pictures

2009-04-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

I know I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago about my vacation and thought perhaps it may be a good idea to post some pictures. Here they are...

This is a picture of the front of our cabin.

This is what it looked like when we decided to go somewhere. People, people, people. We loved it! This cabin was absolutely huge and when we had everyone over there were 12 of us in the cabin and we didn't get in each other's way at all.

The cabin literally was built over the side of the mountain. This is a side view.

Dad loved to sit in the living room and read his Bible. He would get up early and read because that was when it was QUIET.

This is the view from the back of the cabin. See? It is literally built on the side of a mountain. The spot closest to the front of the picture is the fire pit, which you will see later in the blog.

The beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background. You are viewing Cove Mountain, which is a part of the Smokey Mountains. It was beautiful!

There were two hot tubs on the porch but it was TOO COLD to get in them.

The steps leading down to the fire pit. When it got a little warmer, we went out and built a fire and sang around the campfire as we made smores. We experimented with our voices and would hollar 'HELLO', listen for our echo, then laugh when another group a long way from ours would hollar back to us, then shoot off their firecrackers. We enjoyed that.

Just another picture of the snow capped mountains. Looks like a postcard.

Mom and Travis walking into the cabin. Since it was so slippery, we had to be careful that we did not fall.
Looking down into the living room from the upstairs bedroom. This ceiling light was so unique.

This is my bedroom. Sleeping in a KING size bed was nice. There were FOUR King sized beds in the cabin.

Looking at the dining room, from the living room.
I got creative and made a snowman.

A view of the snow from the porch.
Another view of the mountains (and my snowman - of course).

A view of the kitchen, from the livingroom.

The appliances were AWESOME. Stainless steel silver throughout the kitchen.

A drop-in stove. The kitchen was BEAUTIFUL!

More pictures of the kitchen.
Sitting around the campfire.

I loved the skylift in Gatlinburg!!!!!!!!!!

We all enjoyed the Ripley's Aquarium.

Travis turned 17 on March 1, the day after we arrived at the cabin. We were snowed in and couldn't go anywhere. What a memorable birthday celebration.

Heidi taking pictures at the aquarium. (Maybe Ryan is rubbing off on her)
Picture from the skylift.

On our way up the mountain. It was about right here that I told Ryan, "I am about to lose my shoes!" So, he very carefully reached over and took off my shoes. That would have been bad to lose those.

We had our own personal tour guide in Aunt Pat and Uncle Al (My mom's brother and sister-in-law). We had so much fun with them. Uncle Al and Heidi have a special story to tell from the Haunted House and Heidi's hysterical moments. "Go Al GO!!!!" She was screaming. I think he was probably scaring her as they went through but I don't know how she could of been aware of what was going on because she kept her eyes closed the whole time and held hands with people (and cried). I would have cried too. That's why I didn't go in there! No WAY!!!

This is my mom's oldest sister, Dalis. I think they look so much alike. It was so fun to get to know her.
My mom and dad at the top of the mountain. We rode the Ski Lift up to the top, got off and took pictures and rode back down.
The guys who rode the lift. Al, Dad, Travis and Ryan
Ryan and me posing at the top.

This was a normal scene with Ryan on Saturday. We set aside the whole day to STUDY! With his college classes being so intent he needed time to devote to Greek and other subjects. We were all glad he could be there with us too. With the mountains, it was disheartening because his transmission went out on his car while there. He pampered it till he got back to Cincinnati and had to have the transmission replaced. $1700 later... YIKES!!!!

Spring already?!

2009-03-30T08:36:00.001-07:00

It is that time of year when we we transition from the cold, dark, dreary days of winter to the warm, bright, sunshiny days of spring. It has been a very uncomfortable winter with lots of heavy snow and ice, which brings with it high heating and elctricity bills. I have been working my second job but even those hours were reduced because people can not afford to have their income taxes professionally done and are having them done through free online services or seeking free help at local government agencies. So, my hours there have been limited. I have also taken on another job in the evenings with Jason and Kara and that is cleaning a local pediatricians office. This helps to supplement our income but does require commitment on our part in being available every evening. As the old saying goes, 'Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!' I am so thankful for the extra work the Lord has provided.

At the end of February I went on vacation with my sister, her four children, my parents and my son, Ryan to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We had a lot of fun and made lots of memories. Especially since we stayed in a cabin on top of a mountain that was very frightening to me (us). There are no guardrails, the dropoff is straight down and the roads are barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass one. When you went around a curve, you had to have a passenger looking to see if someone was coming in the opposite direction so you could make sure you were not over their line. That is not my idea of a fun trip and toward the end I kept everyone informed as to how many more trips up and down the mountain we still had to go. "We have to go up this mountain three more times." The brakes were smoking, the transmissions were slipping and there was a lot of praying going on during this time. The day before we were to come home, Ryan's transmission decided to start acting up and Kathie's brakes went out coming down the mountain. The brakes broke apart and ground down into the rotors but we were safe and thanking the Lord for His protection. I am not very fond of heights in the first place and when we got up to our cabin (actually, it was more like a mansion to us), my legs would not support me they were shaking so bad. I had to sit back down and get my composure before I proceeded into the cabin.

The cabin was beautiful. Four KING size beds, games, lots of table space for everyone to enjoy dinner together, a beautiful kitchen with state of the art appliances, washer and dryer, two hot tubs (outside), porch swing, fire pit, two beautiful fireplaces with gas logs that provided plenty of heat. Yes, we did need heat. Before we headed up to the cabin, the office personnel told us, 'Take what you need with you because if we get the snow that is predicted tonight, you will not be coming down off the mountain for awhile. And...you guessed it, we ended up spending Saturday night, Sunday and most of Monday snowed in at the cabin. It was SOOOOOOOOO beautiful and relaxing though. We loved it. I think my dad felt like he was totally lost since we couldn't go to church at all that weekend but we told him that he was close to the Lord on this mountain and to just enjoy it. He did. We all did. It was an enjoyable time for all of us. We took lots of Collingsworth and Gaither videos and they music ministered to us in a special way.

Travis turned 17 on Sunday, March 1, and since we 'stuck' on the mountain we celebrated the next day when my Uncle Al and Aunt Pat, along with my Aunt Dalis came up and brought ice cream. Olivia had made him a beautiful (if you can call an Ohio State designed cake beautiful), cake and it was a real hit along with the ice cream. We went to so many areas of attractions and made some special memories. Especially the Sky Life and the Tram. For one who hates heights, it seems strange but I love ferris wheels, sky lifts, trams... We all loved the Aquarium. They fed the sharks while we were there. I marvel at the way God designed all of the special fish of the sea and know that he cares about them and yet He cares of me! It reminds me of the song, "I'm something special, I'm the only one of my kind."

Ryan is home for the weekend but it was a harrowing experience in getting here. Read about it on his blog at: ryanwatters.com. God protected him.

I am so excited about going to IHC. Two weeks from today is the first day. WooHoo! I love meeting with family and friends and just basking in the services. It is a busy time for me with Women of Worth and helping Ryan with taking pictures but I thoroughly enjoy it, that is for sure.

I am hoping to get into some services this week at my church as we start revival tonight with Rev. B. J. Walker and Andrew and Sherilynn Stroud. I am looking forward to their ministry and trust that God will give us all a spiritual boost and draw us all closer to Him. That is my goal.

Watters Family News

2009-02-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

I know several of you have asked about the happenings of the Watters family recently, so I will give you a rundown of what has been happening. My mother-in-law, Bonnie Watters, was hospitalized on January 5th with Pancreatitus, Enlarged Liver and Elevated Enzymes. She will be undergoing Gallbladder Removal Surgery on Friday, February 6. My father-in-law, George Watters, fell on the ice on January 12th and was found unconscious at the car dearlership, where he had gone to have repair work done on his truck. After several staples in his head and a couple of weeks of Tylenol, he is doing much better.

My granddaughter, JaLayna, daughter of Andrew & Jennifer Watters, has been having problems with extremely high fevers. After several tests and doctor visits, it was determined that she was born with deformities to her kidneys and that one of the kidneys was dumping the waste into her body. These toxins have caused her body to be FULL of infection. She was very swollen and a very sick little girl. On Wednesday, January 28, she was admitted to Children's Hospital in Columbus and had surgery on Friday, January 30th. They performed an Ureterostomy, which is the construction of an artificial opening from the ureter through the abdominal wall, permitting the passage of urine. She came through the surgery and anesthetics very well. We were very worried about her since she was so full of infection, but God protected and brought her through the surgery without incident. There were prayers going up for this little one all over the country and we are so thankful for the support. In 6 - 12 months, we will have to go back and have this Ureterostomy reversed and do some reconstructive surgery on little JaLayna, but the physcians feel that she needs time to recuperate, rid her body of infection and be a little older before they operate again. We are trusting God for a full recovery so she will be free of kidney problems as an adult.

On the BRIGHT SIDE...Jason and Kara have announced that they will be having an addition to their home in September. How exciting!! Miss Katie is going to be a 'big sister'. Does that ever sound funny to say! Katie has been talking so much lately. Complete sentences are a part of her normal vocabulary now and that is so fun. Jason has worked diligently to replace the floor in my basement. It looks so nice. Kara has been faithful to help me with Women of Worth every month. I just hope she starts feeling better soon and that the morning sickness is soon just a memory.

Ryan is doing great! He was the statue/narrator in the GBS Christmas Play this year. He's extremely busy these days with his position as President of the Ministerial Students, which involves a lot of organization on his part, taking Greek II, and some other difficult classes, as well as preparing for the College Choir Tour through the southern states from February 18-March 1. The highlight of his year is going to be the Choir Trip to Ireland in May. This should be a memorable time for him.

I have been working full-time at Lenawee Christian School, actually celebrating 17 years as the high school secretary this week. Whew! Where has the time gone? From January through April, I also work at Tax Pro Filers in the Mall as a receptionist. I have worked 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. SEVERAL nights and I am tired, but it helps me financially with tuition and high heating bills. I am grateful for the strength the Lord gives me in that I am able to do these long hours.

I have been asked to go on vacation with some of my family next month and I am very excited about that. I have never went on vacation during the school year but this is the time when it would work out best for everyone else, so my schedule will just flex with theirs. I am excited about getting away and just resting.

For those who have been inquiring about my family, here ya go...I'll try to update sooner next time so it isn't like a BOOK.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-02-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

Today is the birthday of my dear mother, Evelyn Plemmons. I know it is hard to believe that she turns (clearing of the throat) today. Oops - almost slipped there, mom:-) I know you have been a trouper to have raised five rambunctious kids and now the grandkids have taken our place in keeping you young.

Having you for a mom has been the best thing that could have ever happened in my life. I know I have lived away from you for 30+ years now, but we are still close in heart. You have been a great example to me and I love you very much. I hope your birthday is extra special.

January already?

2009-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Our Family Picture - Taken December 26, 2008

JeNessa Steffan Rea Watters posing for the camera

Jaxon telling Uncle Ryan something very important...

Uncle Ryan is a favorite among the nieces and nephew

Something different - black and white photo of Ryan and the kids

The THREE STOOGES - Jason, Andrew & Ryan - Brothers for life...

Cheryl with daughters-in-law, Karlynne Shiery Watters and Jennifer Craker Watters

Sweet little JaLayna Mea Riann Watters - born September 19, 2008

Jaxon Andre' Paul Watters looking mischevious

Karalynne and Kaitlynne Watters posing for the photographer

Jason, Karalynne & Kaitlynne

Jason and Kara

JeNa and Katie were coloring so nicely together - cousins having fun together

Mom and her sons

Reading Curious George Book to 'the boys' - See the excitement in their faces?

Andy's really into the story, isn't he?

A proud mom and her three boys

They love their mom

Mom and Dad Watters (Bonnie & George) joined us for the pictures

Mamaw and Miss Katie

Mamaw with all of her grandchildren

Mamaw with Jax, JaLa and JeNa

Andrew & Jennifer

Andrew, Jennifer, Jaxon, JaLayna and JeNessa

Piling on top of daddy, Andrew

'Odd man out' Where were we gonna put Ryan????

Everyone posing with Grandmy & Grandpy Watters

Whew! Where did 2008 go? I can hardly believe it is January of 2009!

A lot happened in December and I thought it would be nice to blog a little about it since I am snowed in and it is quiet here. It has not been very quiet during December, as I have been a very busy lady. With school parties and activities, church events, family in for Christmas and two boys with birthdays..I have not been bored.

With my new job responsibilities, I am responsible for the staff Christmas party, which was very successful and everyone seemed to have a nice time. Then we had church functions which were very nice. Andrew & Jennifer came home for Christmas evening, so all of my kids were home on Christmas Day for the first time in several years. It was nice to all be together on Christmas Day. Then the next morning we had an appointment to get our family pictures taken. We had planned this for several weeks, trying to coordinate our colors and make sure our clothes matched. Trying to match that many outfits and having us live so far apart, was a challenge but we did it and I think we were pretty successful in having things nice. We had a student from Lenawee Christian School, Jonathan Durling, take the photos. He did a great job and the family was so cooperative. I was very happy with the outcome. If you would like to see all of them, go to http://www.jonathandurling.com/ and click on client proofs and the password is watters.

Having Ryan home for Christmas break was nice and we were all so glad to just have some down time together. Ryan had a couple of preaching engagements, although one was cancelled due to a power outage (storm). He preached at my parent's church on January 4 and did a fantastic job. I was so proud of him. God is using him for His glory and that is what life is all about.

JeNa, Jax and JaLa were all so happy to be at Mamaw's house during the break. They loved playing with the toys and just being a mamaws. I loved it! JaLayna is having some physical problems and it was discovered that both of her kidneys have issued that will require surgery in the next couple of months. This precious baby has been so pleasant but has had some pretty severe infections, resulting from her kidney abnormalities.

My mother-in-law, Bonnie Watters, was released from the hospital on January 9, after being diagnosed with Pancreatitus, enlarged liver and elevated enzymes. She is doing better but will have gallbladder removal surgery in about a month. This was a frightening diagnosis, especially after Steve dying with cancer of the pancreas and liver. God was faithful to be with us this week as we worked through her illness and all of the memories associated with this type of illness.

I will start my second job (Tax Office Receptionist) on Saturday, January 17. I'll be putting in up to 70 hours a week during tax season, but the is the way in which God supplies my needs and I am grateful for the job. I love doing this, so that helps to make it so it is not a drugery. I also love th people I work with. I am a people person and this office is in the mall, so I am able to see lots of people, which makes my day complete.

Enjoy the pictures. I have tried to label them for you. Have a blessed day. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed the blog. I am trying to see if anyone reads blogs anymore...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON - December 30

2008-12-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, JASON - December 30

Jason at 3 months old.

Jason at 3 months.

Jason at 13 days old.

Jason at 8 months old - His hair was so blonde that it was hard to see that he had hair.

Jason and cousin, Shannon, were in a wedding together. Don't they both look so excited? NOT!

Jason, the big brother, was kneeling beside his dad, who was holding Ryan. Debbie was helping cousin, Bradley walk.

Jason in 1st grade.

Jason in 2nd grade.

Jason and Andrew were in a wedding, so we had their picture taken in their suits.

Family photo

Family on vacation

Jason is taking cousin, Amber Plemmons, for a spin on his new motorcycle. Uncle Dan was a nervous wreck to have his little girl on a motorcycle. Cute!

Jason in his dating years.

Jason is taking brother, Andrew for a ride across the Mackinac Bridge. They sure look happy!

Jason and Steve (dad) the day of Jason's first solo flight.

Jason's graduation from ComAir - before becoming a flight instuctor

Jason as a flight instructor for Delta ComAir Airlines.

Jason and Karalynne (wife) at their home in Sanford, Florida.

Check out that hair and the big glasses. Talk about a 'dennis the menace' hairdo, he's got one here.

Jason is so excited to be helping dad take his new motorcycle off the trailer (January 2000).

After Steve died, Jason took Steve's motorcycle down to Grandmy & Grandpy Plemmons house for one last ride before selling it and took Grandpy Plemmons for a spin. Grandpy was in his glory. (July 2001)

Jason holding his daughter, Katie.

Jason and Karalynne's wedding picture. They were married on April 11, 2003.

Jason, Karalynne and Kaitlynne at the GBS play in December 2008.

Jason and Karalynne

Here it is, December 30, 2008 and my mind reflects back to December 30, 1978, the day of the birth of my first child. Boy, it seems a bit impossible that Jason is 30 years old already. My heart was bursting with pride to have the first grandchild on both sides of the family. He weighed in a 8 lb. 13 1/2 oz. and was so healthy. We were so blessed to have a son and to think that he made it in time for a tax deduction. he he

Jason taught Steve and I patience, as he was extremely stubborn as a baby. He knew what he wanted and he didn't care what it took to get it, he was going to do whatever it took to get his way, whether it was holding his breath until he passed out or screaming uncontrollably. It took a few years to conquer this but with the help of the Lord, we were able to break this cycle of life.

Throughout the years, Jason was the one who was always an early-riser and was not afraid to pursue his goals. He looked more like Steve (dad) than his siblings and had a lot of the same traits. His mannerisms and the way he walked were so similar and he loved motorcycles like his dad. Steve and Jason used to take motorcycle trips together on their new Honda Goldwings and one time they left the house, telling me their were just going to go down and take a spin on the turnpike. They liked to go east or west an exit, get off the turnpike and come back home. A favorite past-time of theirs. On this particular day, they were gone a long time. When they called me they said, "You will never guess where we are at." I said, "OK, where are you?" They replied, "In the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago." That was Jason and Steve... Always trying something together.

Speaking of being adventurous, Jason decided that he was tired of landscaping and wanted to go into flying commercially, so he moved to Sanford, Florida in December of 2000 and enrolled at Delta ComAir Academy to start the process of getting his license. This was a big change for him, living with another student and having to cook his own meals and live so far away from home, but he was successful and now can fly commercially.

In April of 2003, Jason married Karalynne Shiery. Kara has been very good to / for Jason and is such a blessing to our family. To their union was born Katie in February of 2005. She is a beautiful little girl. She loves to come to mamaw's house and 'play toys'.

Jason, I hope you have a wonderful birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN - December 29

2008-12-28T20:23:00.001-08:00

Ryan was born December 29, 1986, weighing in at 9 lb. 4 oz. He was born with pneumonia in both lungs so was in the hospital for 10 days. He seemed so big in the incubators next to 2 pound babies.

Going home day!

Grandpy Plemmons was so excited to see Ryan and hold him.

Isn't he cute? Even with the bowtie...
Ryan is a white tuxedo.

Ryan is in his dad's suit. Notice the pants are hanging way off the feet. He is either singing or preaching. Memories...

Our family photo in 1988

Ryan's kindergarten picture

Ryan posing with teacher, Michael Arnold, during his junior year.

Ryan and his uncle, Dan Plemmons. They sure do resemble one another.
Ryan as valedictorian of his class - posing with cousin, Travis Manns and brother, Jason.

Ryan posing at grauation with Uncle Dan.

Preaching in the chapel at God's Bible School.

Family photo...

Ryan posing with Jason, Kara and Katie at Rock Lake Bible Methodist Camp

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

It's hard to believe you are turning 22 today, Monday, December 29. You have been a real inspiration to me. There were a few years when I would have thought you would never recover from your grief and bitterness. After your dad died, it seemed that you crawled up into your shell and we were strangers - living in the same house. What a change has taken place in your life after you became a Christian. There is no greater joy for a mother than that her children are walking with the Lord. I am so proud of you. I decided to post a 'few' pictures. Usually, you are on the other side of the camera and we do not get many pictures of you personally. Here are a few that I thought the readers may find interesting. Enjoy. I'd love to hear comments from you. I love you!

It's CHRISTMAS TIME

2008-12-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I after he finished preaching at the annual Christmas Sunday service at GBS.

Katie posing for the camera, which is certainly not her favorite thing to do. She dislikes cameras!

Jason and Kara

Jason, Kara and Katie

Ryan posing for a picture - he doesn't care to have his picture taken either. Just a little get-even for all of the pictures he takes of us...

Ryan was the statue in the Christmas program for God's Bible School and posed for a photo. It was very interesting because several people thought he was a real statue until he moved.

He was scary looking up close~!

JaLayna in her great-grandma Watters dress.

Close up of JaLayna

Jaxon, JeNessa and Mamaw having a few bonding moments.

I rearranged my living room and decided to put pictures on here for my family.

More living room pictures ~ The grandfather clock fits so perfectly in this corner.

Moved my piano into the corner, creating a lot more room in the living room. Notice the snowmen under the piano.

If you know me, you know that I love Christmas. It does not matter to me if I get gifts or not, I just love Christmas. I collect snowmen...lots and lots of snowmen...in my office, in my sun room, in my living room, I just love snowmen. I have spent so much time decorating and redecorating this year. Moving things around in my new office, trying to figure out where things look the best and now, here it is, three days past Christmas and I am still on an adrenaline high. I never look forward to taking all of my decorations down. I love it when the children are all together and having a good time. There is nothing that makes me happier than to see that my family is together. I never want to get to the point though that I overlook the real meaning of Christmas and need to constantly remind myself to not get carried away in the hustle and bustle of the busy crowds in the mall. You may think I am crazy but that is one of the highlights of my year when I go to the mall the day before Christmas and just walk around and watch the frantic people. Actually, I went to the mall twice on the 24th and just loved watching the people scurrying here and there. Steve and I always used to do this. Rarely did I buy anything of significance a day or two before Christmas but that is generally when Steve started his shopping. He loved the thrill of trying to find just the right gift at the last minute. I could go to the mall and just sit for a long time and be totally entertained by just watching the weary shoppers.

Christmas time also brings families together and allows them to reflect on the past year. I love to hear the kids laughing and telling stories of things that happened in their past. Like, "Remember when we used to come down here in the basement and light the fireplace and lay down here and roast and Princess (beagle) would pant like crazy but was too dumb to move away from the fire?" Those memories are priceless. Last year was the first time we were able to sit down and watch some of our old home videos, from when the kids were all small. It was hard to hear Steve's voice and reflect on the happiness of the days gone by, but in a strange sort of way, it brought healing. This year, with Ryan's help, I have been getting these old VHS's transferred to DVD, so we can preserve them without losing the tape or the means to play them, since DVD's are 'the in thing' right now. These are priceless to the boys (and to me). Precious memories.

I know it has been awhile since I have posted so I decided to send out some pictures. I am not professional in my photography skills, like Ryan is, but at least you can see some of the pictures of the past few weeks.

On the way home from Thanksgiving at my parents, we stopped in Findlay, Ohio and met Andrew and Jennifer and the kids. We had my mother-in-laws baby dress that was over 80 years old (It was used for Bonnie's older sister). We met in Wendy's and put the dress on her there and took LOTS of pictures. They turned out so cute. Jaxon and JeNa loved meeting Uncle Ryan and Mamaw in Wendy's. We had a blast. Then on Christmas, Andy & Jenn came to Michigan so we were able to get the picture of JaLayna and her great-grandma Watters together. This was a special picture and one to be treasured.

This weekend has been momentous for us as we have really enjoyed being together and having our family photos taken professionally. The photographer met us at a designated location and spent 1 1/2 hours with us. He was great and we had a very fun time having the pictures taken. I will give you the link when the pictures are up on his site for us to view.

Watch for a post on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Ryan's birthday is Monday and Jason's birthday is Tuesday. I will post pictures of the boys on these days.

Leaves, Leaves and NO LEAVES

2008-11-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

Bus unloading 55 students and staff - preparing to rake my yard.

Looking at my house before they started raking.

I have a very large yard to rake and when you get old like me, you can't rake without pulling your back out of place, so the Lord has helped me since Steve passed away to get my leaves up by using the services of the Junior High students from where I work at Lenawee Christian School. This is a servanthood project for them and teaches them the blessing of helping a couple of widows in our school family. There are several younger widows in the school and the junior highers rake leaves in the fall and do yard cleanup in the spring for four of us. It is such a blessing to me. Due to the recent snowfall, the leaves were heavier this year and the students were delayed in getting to my house because the previous yard took a long time. There were left-over piles EVERYWHERE in my yard and I did not know how I would manage to get them picked up, but God sent an angel along on Saturday morning, who came in and picked up all of the left-over leaves and got rid of them. I do not know who did it, although a neighbor told me it was a green truck that was in my yard Saturday morning, so I have an idea. It was such a blessing to me. I will post some pictures of before and after. There were 55 students and 6 adults from LCS helping me. My father-in-law and a friend also came over and spent time of Saturday doing yard work, for which I am very grateful.

November is half over and Christmas is comin...

2008-11-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

Snowmen arrangement under my piano.
Snowmen over the open stairwell.

Katie is helping mamaw arrange the village under the piano.

Baby Keaton (Seth & Jordana's baby) - he is so calm and quiet. (Emma - his sister was too busy to get her picture taken). These children are beautiful and we enjoyed visiting with them.

JeNa was so cute in the way she was holding Keaton so carefully.

My Christmas Tree in the Sun Room

My mom and dad's tree in their family room - my favorite.

My mom and dad's tree in their living room.

My Women of Worth ladies surprised me with a 50th birthday cake and card shower.

JaLayna was so alert this weekend.

Katie is holding a baby kitten during the hayride festivities.

JeNa and Katie at grandmy & grandpy Watters house.

Jaxon is my little man.

Look at those rolls and the double or triple chin.

I have been thinking lately that perhaps you are wondering why I haven't updated my blog recently. Well......It's because I have been on the go and haven't taken the time to update it. OK, now that I have that out of the way, here goes...

It is hard to believe how much I have packed into November thus far. I went to Kentucky this past weekend, to attend Beth Hartkopf's wedding and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was a beautiful ceremony. I stayed at God's Bible School & College campus (where Ryan goes to school) and it was so good to be able to help him get a lot of his work finished. He had thank you's to write and cataloging of the Schmul Library to do (which I love to do), and some shopping to do. We had fun going to a big mall and just mingling with the people. I love walking through malls and watching people. It felt good to just be with Ryan and feel like I helped him with some tasks that were overwhelming to him. I went to church with him Sunday morning at the Kenwood Bible Methodist Church and that was a pleasant experience.

My job is going pretty well. Teaching two ladies now to do the job that I have done for almost 17 years is proving to be something that keeps me pretty busy. It is so hard to teach something that you do not have on paper. One of the ladies is a visual learner, so everything must be written down. I'm sure not bored, that is for sure.

Rochelle, the former student of mine, who is living with me, is working out very well. I thoroughly enjoy having her in my home. She is bubbly and so easy to have in the home. I do not have to do anything for her, she is so self-sufficient. She is a blessing to me.

Andrew & Jennifer, JeNa, Jason and JaLayna came up this weekend to go hunting with Grandpy Watters. Boy were they fun to have around. I love those kids! I got to hold JaLayna for a long time. She's sure growing up fast. Jaxon and JeNa are growing up fast too. JeNa is in kindergarten and it was fun to hear her sound out words in my office.

I have my house all decorated for Christmas! Can you believe it? I usually have it all done by the end of September or fist of October, but due to circumstances beyond our control (BUSYNESS), I finished it up a couple of weeks ago. It is beautiful. Since I am not decorating a big office at school this year, I brought the two boxes of snowmen home and decorated my living room (plus my sun room), so I have lots of snowmen, which I love! I'll post some pictures for you.

I am looking forward to next week when we can go home for Thanksgiving. Most of my siblings and their families will be together, which is so exciting for me.

I trust you are able to enjoy this holiday season and spend time with your family.

Where did October go?

2008-10-26T05:55:00.001-07:00

My niece, Amber Plemmons and her boyfriend, Seth Fish at Youth Challenge

Jaxon, JaLayna & JeNessa

Andrew is quite an artist and drew pictures on Jaxon's wall in his newly redecorated room. This DOZER is one of the pictures he drew on the wall, then painted. This talent did not come from his mom or dad, that is for sure!
Another drawing / painting on Jaxon's wall.

CAT sign that Andy painted.

We were PACKED in the hayride wagon.

Kara and Kaitlynne on the hayride.

Kaitlynne with a kitten she found at the hayride

Katie was in her glory on this pony.

Riding home from the festival.

So tiny and precious!

Kara still has the touch to calm little JaLayna

Grandmy Plemmons prepared a lovely birthday dinner.

Aunt Lelah, Cousin Ronnie and Jennifer - sharing in the special day

Mamaw is enjoying this moment.

Jason and Katie were partied out and took a nap in my wheelchair. :0)

Grandmy Plemmons still has the touch

Grandpy Watters holding little JaLayna

Jaxon - Look at those eyes!

Grandmy Watters holding little JaLayna

Grandpy Plemmons holding JaLayna

Andrew and his girls, JeNa and JaLa

Andrew & Jennifer

Baby JaLayna looking at her Mamaw

I have been receiving 'side notes' from friends (thanks), prompting me to update my blog and I opened it today to realize I have not updated since October 1. Whew! It is hard to believe that October is almost behind us!

Work has been extremely busy, with the training of a new girl in the front office (where I have worked for 17 years) and learning my new position.

On the 'homefront', I have been repainting my basement, with the help of Jason and Kara. It is so much brighter being an off-white color as opposed to the darker blue. A little paint makes a huge difference in a room. I also had blind put up in the basement, as that sliding door area was wide open and I am just a little 'scaredy-cat' sometimes. My mercury light behind the house does not work. I think the wiring needs to be replaced because I have had the fixture changed twice and it still doesn't work on a regular basis. I need to do that before winter, so I am not so afraid!

I went with Jason and Kara to their church hayride and we had so much fun. I felt like I was falling off the wagon a time or two but I enjoyed it. The wagon was packed!!! We had to go over a very narrow bridge and that scared me to death but we survived.

I traveled to Cincinnati last weeked for a Women of Worth Committee Meeting at GBS. It was so nice to be with Ryan again. With the gas prices, I haven't been going too far and this was the first time I had been at GBS this year, so it was nice to be with him. I went a few hours early and helped him with a big project that has been on his plate and that is sorting wedding pictures. He shot a wedding a couple of weeks ago and had thousands of pictures to sort, so I helped him with this project and now he will need to go back through the pictures and touch them up with a touch only he has. I don't see the blemishes he does or the different variations to each picture that he does.

On Saturday (of last weekend) Ryan was pretty anxious to be on the road by 11:00 a.m., heading to my parents for their Homecoming Weekend at their church. I kept thinking, "I would really like to just do something in Cincinnati (I LOVE CINCINNATI and always have)." He said, "I would just like to get out of Cincinnati." I thought, "Oh well. I guess we will leave Cincinnati." He was up early and ready to go. He had to wait for me and boy is that unusual! So, we started out and he led the way. I kept thinking, "Why aren't we at least going the speed limit? After all, we still have two hours to drive and I know we are tired. Let's just 'get there'. We stopped to eat and he took his dear old time. After all, he said he wanted to leave Cincinnati by 11:00 and it was only 9:45, so we had time. (????) We finally got to my parents around 1:05 and when I walked in the door, there was a whole bunch of people yelling 'SURPRISE". My family had planned a surprise 50th birthday party with the black balloons, wheelchair, walking cane, cake with 50 black candles that nearly burned the house down, scaring us to death, and lots of gifts and cards. It was so nice to have all of my kids there with all of my grandkids. We got to see the new little one JaLayna, for the first time (for many of us) and it was so much fun just being together. My aunt and cousins came over and my brother, Don, traveled over from Fort Wayne. It was a beautiful day and a lot of mysteries to me were suddenly enlightened as I realized 'why' we needed to be here at a certain time (he was planning for 1:00), why my dad was off on a Saturday and why Ryan didn't want to stay in Cincinnati.

This weekend, I traveled with Dan, Clayton and Amber to the Cincinnati area again, to attend the Youth Challenge. What a special time that was. We all had a great time and it was fun being together with YOUTH. I won't be 50 until October 29th, so it was fun interacting with YOUTH again before the big day. :-)

I will share a few pictures of recent weeks and will try to better at blogging more often. We'll see how a 50-year old brain functions and if it remembers to blog. hehe

New Room

2008-10-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have decided to re-do Ryan's room, as the carpet was so bad in there and it was bothering me. So...Jason and Kara came over one day and started getting the carpet out of the room in preparation for new carpeting. We had went to a local store and chose a remnant (boy, is carpeting expensive!) and I had made a deposit on the carpeting. The next day, while Jason was tearing out the carpeting he made a wonderful discovery. Beautiful hardwood floors were under all of that carpeting and padding. What a blessing!!!!!! I cancelled my order of carpeting and got my deposit back and now - wah-lah - I have beautiful hardwood floors. I little sanding and revarnishing goes a long way. This gives this room a totally different look. Here are some pictures of the new room. We put up new wallpaper border (boy, that's a treat to do when you are inexperienced), put some of Ryan's pictures that he has framed in there and also some of his Ansel Adams prints. It gives the room a totally different look, that is for sure.

It is a bit more feminine that Ryan would probably have decorated but I have a young lady who graduated from Lenawee Christian School (where I work) who is going to be moving in with me while she is teaching at Adrian College and working at the University of Michigan. I am looking forward to having someone in the home in the evenings for company and it will help me financially. This is a God-sent blessing, for which I am grateful. Like someone at my office told me the other day when I had a miracle transpire in my office (in front of her) "God always takes care of you!" Yes, HE DOES! He promised He would and He never goes back on His promises! Enjoy the pictures.

Ya busy??? I am!!!

2008-09-21T19:37:00.001-07:00

JaLayna Mea Riann Watters - notice how little she is in front of the roses and next to the Bibles.
JaLayna's name tag and information.
Andy is showing us the shirt that he has used since JeNa was born. He has the baby's first footprints printed on the shirt and their time of birth and their name. He does this on the same shirt for every child. It is a very special shirt and is known as "The Shirt".
The Marion General Hospital's policy on the maternity ward stinks!!!! They would not allow the grandparents back there to see the baby or even touch the baby until the baby was back in the room. Most hospitals allow the siblings to be a part of the process if the parents request it, but not this hospital. Andy and Jenn tried to reason with them, but no way! So, he improvised and took a video of the new baby and brought it out to JeNa and Jaxon and showed them their new baby sister. It was precious!

JeNa was one proud Big Sister. She is going to be a big helper. On the way to JeNa's soccer game on Saturday morning we went to McDonalds and we were having trouble keeping the kids from running in the parking lot, so Jason had everyone (kids) hold on to a pocket on his pants. This kept them all together.
JeNa and Katie were waiting for their breakfast.
JeNa was waiting for the ball. She was so cute out there on that field.

Our little JaLayna
I am one proud grandma!
She looks so much like JeNa did as a baby.
This is a picture of Jaxon's first experience with his new sister. He is always saying, "I want to hold him!"
He's more relaxed here!

It's been a big joke around here lately and people will say, "Ya busy?" It's then that you know that they want you to help them do something. I have been having to say that a lot lately. I've had a lot of new changes in my job (new position), Ryan going back to school, adjusting to being at home alone again, garage sale in August, painting and re-doing flooring in my house, changing churches, and the best thing of all . . . becoming a grandma again for the fourth time on Friday night. It was quite a journey in getting her here, with some real scares with Jennifer's blood pressure dropping drastically and the baby's heart rate way out of whack. The cord was around the baby's neck, so that was not good. God provided a real miracle in her delivery and we are blessed. She was born a little before 8:00, Friday evening, September 19. She is 8 lb. 6 oz. and is 21 inches long. Her name is ... JaLayna Mea Riann Watters. No, I didn't mispell anything, that's how it is spelled. I went down Thursday evening and we did the traditional Bob Evans dinner / snack before going into the hospital. We enjoyed our time together. I spent the night at Andy & Jenn's house and took care of Jaxon and JeNessa while Andy & Jenn went to the hospital. Mom and Dad Watters went with me to Marion, Ohio, to be there for the baby's birth and my mom and dad met us at the hospital. Mom Watters and I spent the day Friday trying to occupy two anxious, excited and hyper children. We truly did have fun but mom was totally exhausted. We wondered who was laboring more, Jennifer (having a baby) or us at babysitting. We know why God gives you children while you are young! We went to two playgrounds, took them out to eat, went shopping and just played together.

After the baby was born, we went home and on the way, Jennifer's mother, Judy, developed severe chest pains and they had to turn around and head for the hospital. They saw a police along the road, Wes (Jenn's dad) stopped, told him of his wife's chest pains and the police said, "Follow me." Lights, sirens, 65 mph through Marion, with Wes right behind him. The police ran into the hospital and got help. What a blessing to find help so quickly. They admitted her and ran tests. It turned out not to have been a heart attack, for which we are grateful. So, we had Judy and Jennifer both in the hospital.

Saturday morning, we went to JeNa's soccer game, then went to the hospital to see Judy and Jennifer, and of course, JaLayna. We had been at the hospital only a few minutes when my father-in-law, George, said, "I am dizzy! I am dizzy!" He passed out and the action began. We were running down the hall, trying to get help. Here we are, on a maternity floor, and dad passed out. The nurses were great!! They rushed him to the ER and he was admitted to CCU. What a fiasco! Mom and I ended up going back to the same motel and spent the night again. This is the same type of episode that we dealt with in June when dad passed out like this at church. The doctors reluctantly released him tonight and said he is to go straight home and make contact with his cariologist. NO DRIVING! And get to the doctor right away!!

We were SOOOO glad to get home tonight. It was a busy weekend, for sure.

Wes, Jenn's dad, said, "The next time we plan to have a baby up here, I am reserving three beds so we have things ready in advance."

I just thought I would let you in on my weekend.

Did you think I got lost?

2008-08-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Amber practicing. Ryan sang a solo and Amber was his accompanist. Buddy was supervising the practice session. Ryan and Amber are VERY CLOSE cousins and enjoy being with each other. Ryan laughed more this weekend than he has laughed in a long time. It was good for them to be together again.
Amber's boyfriend, Seth Fish, was doing his part with the assembly line meal preparation. Opening the cans of biscuits. Somebody's gotta do the hard jobs...
Kathie, Travis, Olivia, Jacynda, Heidi and my mom came up to Adrian to ice skate at the Adrian College Ice Rink. What a blast they had. Jason, Kara and Katie came over to skate also. The ladies all sat in the bleachers (BRRRRRRR) and watched the skaters. The neat thing about this skating session was that they had the rink to themselves for most the evening. It was so awesome! Jason and Ryan helped to girls with their skating techniques. Olivia was a real 'hit' for the night with her skating abilities. If only I could skate half as good as her. She did a fantastic job and learned so much that night. It was fun to watch the boys with their cousins and how they were so patient with them.
August 8 and 9 was the Relay For Life at Lenawee Christian School. We went over there to see what was happening. We were a little uncertain as to whether or not we could emotionally handle being there, as we used to go to this event before Steve developed cancer. It brought back tons of memories. The luminary lighting was a powerful event. I dreamed about Steve that night. It was so filled with so many good memories of our time together. There were 88 luminaries purchased in Steve's memory.

Clayton was in the dishwater while I was trying to do dishes and had a blast with his beard of bubbles. Clayton is sure growing up. He's nine years old and almost as tall as me.
At the Relay for Life, the theme was Race to the Cure. Katie enjoyed sitting in the car at the display.
We took the 88 luminaries and lined them up in front of the booth and formed the word LOVE. A little crooked but that's OK.
Standing around the lit display while they read the names of the survivors and the ones who lost their lives to cancer. The reading of the names took about 50 minutes but it was nice.
My beautiful mother, sitting in the COLD bleachers, while the kids were skating.

Amber is holding her dog, Buddy. Talk about a dog with an attitude, this dog has a major attitude. I believe he is the most arrogant dog I have ever seen. He's so ugly he's cute! I don't think there is a dog alive though that is more loved than Buddy. And spoiled by Dan too! Can you believe it? Dan, my brother Dan, the one who never likes dogs, is the number one hero in that dog's eyes and Dan lets the dog sleep on his chest.
Amber is helping in the asembly line for the pizza sticks. We made 42 pizza sticks in quick order. Too bad she had to work for her own 17th birthday party. She didn't mind though.
Seth Fish and Amber Plemmons - showing those pearly whites...
One of the pictures that Ryan took this year for a bulletin board project. I love the rose with the Bible and especially the highlighting.
Amber and Buddy - you would almost think that dog was her protector.

I know these pictures are out of order but at least I have an updated blog.

It's been a very busy summer and I have been very negligent in posting frequently. So, I thought it may be a good idea to just put up a bunch of pictures. Other people get away with that, so why can't I?

Grandkids are such a blessing

2008-06-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about my grandkids. I'll get to see all of them this weekend. What a fun time that will be! JeNa and Jaxon will be heading my way this afternoon. Andy & Jenn and the kids are coming up for the weekend. Should be a fun weekend. Just being together is fun. It will be fun to have Katie, JeNa and Jaxon together. Just watching two 3-year olds and an almost 5-year old learn to play together is interesting. It's all a part of growing up and creating memories that will last a life-time. I'll be sure to post more pictures after the weekend, IF I GET MY BUILT-IN PHOTOGRAPHER TO REMEMBER TO TAKE PICTURES. :-)

WHAT WAS THAT?

2008-06-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Did you hear me screaming Thursay night? Did you hear the rumble of me 'flying' (get it?) down the stairs? I guess there is a first for everything but why did it happen when I was home alone? I arrived home from the hospital ER, where I had been sitting with my mother-in-law, who was having trouble with fluid retention. I decided to clean the kitchen, took my shower, checked my blog, and decided it was time to sit down and read before going to bed. After all, it was 10:35 pm and I was tired. I turned on the light in the living room and the bulb was loose. It flickered. Just as it went out, I thought I saw something flying around. I thought, "What was that?" I quickly fixed the bulb and to my surprise there was a bat flying around in my living room. I panicked!!!! I had just taken my hair down and I just knew it would get tangled in my long hair. I 'flew' down the stairs, screaming all the way. I don't know what I was thinking. There was no one in the house to hear me. There was no one to protect me. *sniff* What was I going to do? I decided to creep back upstairs and see where he was. There he was, attached to the cove of the ceiling. Right above my most precious knick-knacks. Ones that can not be replaced. I crept throught the kitchen, down the hall and into my bedroom. I locked the door. hehehehe Sure didn't want him to get me. hehehe I called Ryan. No answer. Jason wasn't home, so what was I going to do? I decided to text Ryan. I am not very good at texting, so I just said, "bat in the house" and sent it. Then said, "frantic" and sent it again. He called me right back, and wanted to know what was going on. He quickly wrapped things up at work, sought advice from the guys and headed home. He kept telling me, "Mom, stay in there, don't come out here." I think he was afraid he would have two problems on his hands if I came out there. The next thing I heard was, "Oh, I think I'll get a picture of that bat before I get rid of it." WHAT????? A PICTURE??? I thought, "Just kill it! We don't have time for pictures!" No, Ryan took pictures then proceeded to swing the tennis raquet he had in his trunk. I could hear 'swish, swish, running all over the living room and all kinds of racket from his movements'. Sure is a good thing I didn't know then that this creature was diving at him. I would have been even more scared. Then I heard it. PLOP! Then the front door opened and he took it outside. He hit it with the raquet and it had a sudden death. He even saved the knick-knacks! After he took it outside, he proceeded to take lots of pictures of this dead bat. I said, "The neighbors are going to wonder what in the world is going on with us? Taking pictures of the ground like this and so late at night. If they only knew... Thanks, Ryan! You're my hero!!

Happy 7th Anniversary

2008-06-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th Anniversary to Andrew and Jennifer. It is hard to believe that my black haired, round faced, baby boy is old enough to be married (for 7 years already) and have a little girl, JeNa and a little boy, Jaxon, and little Jalena will join us in September. Andrew and Jennifer are wonderful 'kids', they are beautiful parents, and have established a beautiful home. It seemed that their wedding came at a very difficult time in their lives, with Steve passing away just two weeks before their wedding day, but they made the best of a bad situation and have truly established a wonderful life together. I am very proud of them. Happy Anniversary, Andrew and Jennifer! Love ya lots!

It's going to be a girl!

2008-06-05T17:45:00.001-07:00

Andy & Jenn found out their little one is going to be a girl. I am so excited! JeNa and Jaxon are pretty excited. JeNa called me to tell me there was a girl and a boy. She almost had me convinced but I kept thinking, "Jennifer's not showing enough to have twins." She's a stinker. I love her to death though. Jalena should arrive sometime mid-September. We'll have lots of fun at Christmas with a 3-month old, TWO 3-years olds and ONE 5-year old. Just thought I would share that we know it's going to be a girl. Now we can garage sale!!!

Grandkids are SO fun!

2008-06-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have been able to spend time with my grandkids lately and have enjoyed it to the fullest!!! They just love you because you are 'mamaw'! I love to hear them laugh and ask mamaw to 'pway wif me'. Can you imagine me outside playing ball? I have been! I always want to make my grandkids time at my house a pleasant experience. I love to look at their pictures and it is so nice to have a 'built in' photographer. With Ryan home I am trying to get more pictures when they are around. I want my grandkids to have the same pleasant memories that I have of my grandparents. They don't stay small for long. I say, "Enjoy them while you can!"

Steve's been gone 7 years today

2008-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

It was seven years ago today that my best friend and husband went to Heaven. There has been a lot of lonely days but I have been resting on God's promises. He has promised to be a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow. Sure, that sounds good, doesn't it? I'll be the first to admit that the promises are reassuring but they are had to rest on when the going gets tough. I miss Steve so much but when I stop and think about his new home in Heaven, I get a little jealous. He's made it safely to the other side! I have been reading through my diary of the month before his death and have been reminded of so many miracles and ways in which God directed our paths. There is no doubt that it was GOD guiding us. We'd never walked this path before but HE helped us with every decision and gave assurance that HE loved us and cared for us.

I spent the evening with my pastor's wife, Ruth Anne Arnold. That was so nice. This was the first time we went to supper together like this in a very long time. We enjoyed our visit. It helped to pass the evening hours away. There is a tendency to sit and think, "7 years ago right now we were making funeral arrangements" or "7 years ago right now I was sitting on the couch as it was too painful to go to bed." But when I look back at the many miracles that have taken place in my life, I am blessed!!!!

I am putting a picture of Steve in this blog. It is one that was taken a couple of weeks before he passed away. His sister, Debbie, is standing by him and his mom, Bonnie, is behind him. He is sitting in my dining room. One of the boys had a problem with a fan and no one knew how to fix it but him, so he was trying to fix it while he was sitting up, as he couldn't sit up for very long before having to lie down again. I sure do miss this 'handyman'.

Weekend

2008-05-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend I had. It started with an overnight stay with my son and daughter-in-law, Andrew & Jennifer, and my grandkids, JeNa and Jaxon. Mamaw had so much fun with them. I took them shopping for Jaxon's birthday. They were really good. We bought LOTS of bubbles and a bubble gun that has batteries and a tee-ball set for his birthday. He had fun. I spent the night and the next morning JeNa just couldn't understand why mamaw had to go somewhere else to sleep. It was cute.

After I left there I went to the Women of Worth Retreat in Marengo, Ohio. What a time of refreshing fellowship and wonderful sessions. I came home emotionally refreshed but physically exhausted. Being the dorm mom makes you tired. Getting in and out of bed ten times a night, just trying to make sure everyone is behaving makes for a short night but the ladies had a blast!!!!! We all had fun visiting.

I stopped by Andy & Jenn's on the way home Sunday afternoon to say hello to Jaxon on his third birthday but he was with his grandma and grandpa Craker. JeNa enjoyed seeing mamaw. She said, "Would you like for me to tell Jaxon you stopped by?" So grown up!!!! Speaking of growing up, I'll post a picture of them as soon as Ryan's helps me figure out how to do this. I'm usuing his laptop (Mac) and I can not figure out how to transfer the pictures. JeNa (especially) has grown up SOOOO much! I can not hardly believe how tall she is. She is almost five years old but she should still be my baby. (sniff sniff) Since she is going to get a sister or brother this fall I asked her, "Do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?" In a very distinct voice she said, "I'll take whatever the Lord gives me." You can tell she picks up on what people say.

It's back to work this week. Sure has been a busy one so far. I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend. That is going to be fun!!! Andy & Jennifer and the kids are coming for the weekend. It's supposed to be warm and sunny. Sounds like picnic weather to me.

Spring - YEAH!!!

2008-05-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

I love the freshness of spring. With the sunshine each morning, it brings joy to our days that cannot be duplicated in any other way. I walked outside tonight and noticed that all of my dogwood trees are in FULL bloom! They are so pretty. I wish they kept their flowers all year long. They remind me so much of a cross when I study them closely. I believe one of my favorite 'plants' is the hosta. they are so pretty and I marvel at their outlined leaves. God is so creative in the way he created all of the different trees, flowers and all of the special touches that he puts on a beautiful yard. One thing that amazes me is how he can take something so dead as a twig and bring it to life. Jason planted a tree last year and about mid-way through the summer, it seemed DEAD. We didn't even bother to water it any more. It was withered up and I thought it was dead. All of its leaves fell off during the heat of August. Well I have been thinking, "I need to out there and pull up that stick that he had the 'twig' tied to and just mow that area. There is no sense in mowing around a stick in the yard if the tree is dead." Well, I decided to mow my lawn this week (IT NEEDED IT!!!) and low and behold that tree is sprouting new leaves. I was shocked. I am so glad that I procrastinated (can you believe I just said that?) and did not pull it up. Usually, I would be hasty to just get rid of it and move on with my mowing, but I didn't do that this time. I guess I take this as a lesson. I tend to get hasty and have to remind God that he must need my help because he sure doesn't seem to be moving very fast. Maybe he forgot that I needed this or that. Maybe I should remind him. Oh, if I would just relax. I know everything will work out according to HIS plan, if I just trust him.

I've been tagged!

2008-04-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Let's see...rules first. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names.

What I was doing 10 years ago: :) Working, preparing for Jason's graduation party, enjoying life to the fullest...

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. Go to work
2. Go to eat with my in-laws, celebrating my father-in-laws last radiation treatment today
3. Laundry
4. Call all of my kids
5. Update my blog

Snacks that I enjoy: Regular Potato Chips, Pecan Sandies Cookies

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Buy a new church and parsonage
2. Make sure I was completely debt free
3. Pay off all of my family's bills
4. Buy an expensive car and house

Three of my bad habits:
1. Interrupting People
2. Procrastinating
3. Neglecting to clean out my car

Five Places I have Lived:
1. Adrian, Michigan
2. Belleville, Michigan
3. Romulus, Michigan
4. Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania
5. Taylor, Michigan

Five jobs that I have had:
1. Driver's License Bureau (gave road tests, written tests and issued licenses)
2. Undercover Police Officer in Belleville Michigan
3. Receptionist
4. Elementary Teacher's Aide
5. High School Secrtary

Five people I want to know more about (A nice way to say TAG!)....
1. Kara Watters
2. Hannah Avery
3. Sue Arnold
4. Cathy Avery
5. Sarah Watters

Back to the 'grind'

2008-04-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful time at IHC. I love the fellowship, busyness, services, music and just being with family. I thoroughly enjoyed being with people I haven't seen in a long time. The Women of Worth meeting was so divinely inspired by God from the congregational to the final amen. The Cassidy family did a phenomenal job in singing and Louise Crouse was a magnificent speaker. Her 'message' was for me. Sometimes it is easy to 'get in a hurry'. I just want God to show me what he has in store for my future. I never want to open a door or even close one but sometimes I wish God would move faster and show me what HE has in store for my future. The loneliness of being in this big house all by myself is sometimes overwhelming. I just want GOD to direct me. I have been feeling so restless for about a year now and I'll be anxious to know the reason but I know that God will show me in HIS time. Louise's illustrations of her life were great examples as to why it is best to wait on God for direction.

I was quite busy with helping Ryan sort pictures. He was the photographer for IHC this year, so he would bring the memory card to me, as I sat in the bleachers, then he would go back out and take more pictures while I downloaded the card onto his laptop. Then I sorted and sorted the pictures, so he could put them on a CD and give them to the Convention staff. After sorting over 4,000 pictures, my eyes were very tired and watered a lot. I'm not used to doing that, but at least he was able to have help so he didn't have to do the sorting at night, after the final service. He wouldn't have had time to sleep if he had done that. If you want to see any of the pictures he took, go to http://www.ihconvention.com/, click on the 2008 tab and then click on photos.

After the Thursday evening service, Jason, Kara, Katie and I went to Cincinnati, where we stayed for a few nights. We went to the Newport Aquarium on Friday and had free tickets to go to the Creation Museum on Saturday. That is a remarkable place. It would be so interesting to take an atheist to that building and let them try denying the existence of God. They had salvation presentations throughout the museum. It was great! We then went to the Burlington Bible Methodist Church on Sunday morning and enjoyed the service. We went back to God's Bible School with Ryan and ate Sunday dinner there at the campus before heading back to Michigan. It was a great weekend.

Now, it is back to work. Trying to get my desk back in order and figure out what happened in the week I was away is a challenge. Since I am responsible for attendance for 350 kids, plus selling tickets for our school play, and everything else associated with being a high school secretary, it is a challenge to be away during the busy time, but that is just the way it is. IHC is worth it all.

Heading to IHC

2008-04-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'll be heading to IHC first thing Tuesday morning. I'm very excited about it. It is a tiring three days but so rewarding! I love attending the services! I love going to Women of Worth and being a part of the organizational part of the special service. Being with family is especially nice. I'll miss Andy & Jenn, JeNa and Jaxon being there this year, but they are heading for Florida tomorrow for their vacation. With Andrew's line of work (construction), it is hard to have time off during the summer, so they decided to go in April. Jason, Kara and Katie and I will be traveling to Dayton together. I'm looking forward to that. We'll have a lot of fun, especially with Katie and mamaw in the back seat. I'm going to take some M & M's with me. They work great for bribes. :-) Ryan will be there when I arrive, as he has to be there EARLY to start his new job as IHC photographer. He is quite nervous about it but will do a great job. He shadowed Steve Stetler last year and did good, so I am confident he'll do fine this time too. I remember after the second day last year he couldn't hardly lift his arms up, and that was from taking so many pictures. I had never thought about the fact that you don't usually hold your arms in that position for extended periods of time. Megan is going to come and stay with me. That will be nice to have her there. I just hope I don't snore too much and keep her awake. :-) I hope to see a lot of you in Dayton.

On Thursday evening we are going to head toward Cincinnati and Jason, Kara, Katie and I are going to stay at a motel and do some sightseeing in Cincinnati on Friday and Saturday. Friday, I believe we are going to go to the Newport Aquarium and on Saturday we plan to go to the Creation Museum. We will climax the week with attending the Collingsworth Concert on Saturday night. It is a live videotaping and there are lots of fun things planned for the evening. I'm very excited about this special event. I'll fill you in on the details when I return. Have a great week.

Hearts of Praise

2008-04-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Hearts of Praise Singers, from the Main Street Chapel, in Cincinnati, Ohio ministered at our church today. It was a great weekend. They were with us a year and a half ago and we thoroughly enjoyed their contribution to our service. It has actually opened up an area of ministry among some of our own people that attend our church and caused them to realize that there is definitely a need to reach out to young people who have found themselves in unfortunate circumstances, whether or not it is their own 'fault' or perhaps the results of choices that someone else has made for their lives. These young people come from the inner city and these youth live with their families and have found Christ through the Main Street Mission. This mission is run by young people from God's Bible School and College. They minister to the 'kids' of the street, lead them to Christ and encourage them to go back to school and two of the young people who came this weekend are attending Aldersgate High School (a part of God's Bible School) and one attends the college, after having graduated from Aldersgate High School last spring. These young people gave their testimonies this morning and it was touching to hear of the misfortune in their lives and to see how God has turned them around and they now serve Christ. It was very interesting to host the girls in my home overnight. They were so fun to be with and were so polite and respectful. They loved sleeping on the air mattresses. Today, while driving over the Arnold's for dinner, we went onto a dirt road. I don't think anything about a dirt road but they got so excited as they never see dirt roads and one said she had never seen a dirt road except on TV. We had fun being together and it was interesting to see Jenny Fikes and Heidi Holmes interacting with them. They do GREAT with this group of young people. Jenny keeps them right in line, that's for sure. She's still a kid at heart and that makes her such a good role model for this group. Thanks for ministering to us Hearts of Praise! We love you!

Long Hours

2008-04-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year. The time when the IRS governs your thoughts and the dreaded visit to the Income Tax Office is one that must be done, no matter how you feel about what the government is doing with your money. I work at Lenawee Christian School during the day (40 hours per week), then work at Tax Pro Filers at the Adrian Mall nearly every evening and sometimes on Saturday. This makes for long hours but it sure helps me when it comes to paying the dreaded gas bills that happen to come during the winter months. This winter has been one of the highest heat bills that I can remember and it has to do with our irregular snow patterns and extreme cold. I enjoy working at TPF very much. I have learned so much in the two years that I have worked there. I have no desire to do taxes but I do all of the preliminary work, filling out the paperwork at the front desk, answering phones with a multitude of questions, greeting guests, making sure you have everything you need and the list goes on. During the busy season, I put in 70+ hours per week, but I can say this much, "I'm sure not looking for things to pass my time". It will all come to a screeching halt on April 15th. The rewards are so good at TPF. Just helping people get a refund brings joy to me. When we have to tell someone, "I'm sorry, you owe $7,137 to the IRS" (I did that today), it brings sorrow, but for the most part, it is rewarding. I love it when I say, "Your refund is, '$12,993". I marvel at how people manage their finances. The thing that I find so interesting about my job is the variety of personalities and the ability to witness (my boss is a Christian and so is everyone I work with). Today, I had a lady come in and sit and talk to me while we were getting her things together and she had been hit with a lot of unfortunate circumstances in her life. One son was killed three years ago by falling out of a tree stand and putting a branch through his stomach. Another son was in a car accident 36 years ago and is a parapalegic. Her husband died and she has physical problems. I was able to witness to her and that brought joy to me. We have dealt with a LOT of older people this year who do not normally have to file. Because of the Bush stimulus package, they have to file in order to get the bonus stimulus package and this has allowed us to see a lot of older people and it brings them joy to see that they will get 'free' money. They deserve it!!! Someday, when I am old and feeble, I trust someone takes a few minutes to 'make my day' by just sitting and chatting with me, because you all know that I love to visit and talk with people.

HAPPY EASTER

2008-03-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone who reads my blog today. Sure is COLD to be Easter but at least our snowstorm is behind us. Another one's coming this week but only up to three inches, as opposed to the foot of snow we received Friday night and Saturday morning.

I love Easter! It speaks of new life, the resurrection, everything is so fresh and new at Easter (at least it is supposed to be weatherwise), and I love Easter Sunday services. Ours was so good today. The church was nearly filled to capacity (only 3 under our limit for the fire code) and it was nice to see people in church that do not normally go to church. What an awesome opportunity to give the gospel message but on a beautiful Easter Sunday morning, when they are in their new clothes, attending service, perhaps out of duty, but nevertheless they are in church.

The Bible study tonight was on what God does that amazes us and what we do not expect Him to do. Sure makes you stop and think when you try to voice what you do NOT expect God to do. It was a good day today.

I enjoyed having all of my children home this weekend. The grandkids were able to play together and they all loved coming to "Mamaw's house" or if you are Jaxon, it is "MEEEMAW's house". I know you are going to find this hard to believe, but I had Ryan here all weekend, with a camera, and I don't think he even took the camera out of the bag. Can you believe it? I am a bit frustrated with myself for not remembering the camera. Even Debbie (Steve's sister) was here from South Carolina and I didn't get one picture. I guess I am getting old and my memory's failing.

I trust your Easter was a memorable one and that you have the RISEN Saviour dwelling in your heart.

March 17, 1978 - Our St. Patrick's Day Wedding

2008-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

It was 30 years ago today that I married my best friend, Steven Keith Watters. I often felt like my marriage was 'made in Heaven' as I felt like I was so fortunate to have had Steve as my life's companion. Looking back at the wedding pictures, I have to chuckle at the dresses and tuxedos that we thought were 'just the thing' for the occassion. Everything was green, quite appropriate for St. Patrick's Day. We were married at Steve's church in Adrian, Michigan. His grandpa, Rev. Donald Baughey and my dad, Rev. Ernest Plemmons performed the ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony (I thought it was anyway) and I'll never forget the special effects that we had for our special day. One thing in particular that I remember is walking around the altar to light the unity candle and my dress catching on the candleabra and the candleabra tipping toward me with lit candles on it. My dad nearly had a heart attack in trying to catch it. I ripped my dress, which was a real heartbreaker, since I had spent many hours, days and weeks making it. Steve chose my bouquet and nearly every year thereafter, gave me a bouquet of flowers on our anniversary that resembled my bouquet with multi-colored flowers.

Here it is, 30 years later, Steve is in Heaven and I am left with lots of happy memories of my dear husband. God was so good to me in allowing me to have a man who loved me for who I was. I feel like I was one of God's spoiled children, because he gave me a special gift when he gave me Steve. I'll always be thankful for having known him and will look forward to spending eternity in Heaven with him.

Thanks for letting me share some of my special pictures in this blog. It is part of the healing process after losing a loved one to look at pictures. Difficult!!! But it sure helps...

Women of Worth Baby Shower

2008-03-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

On Monday evening, March 3, 2008, the local chapter of Women of Worth had a baby shower for two of our ladies, Lou Ann Donovan and Tanjala Mayle. This was the fifth child for each of these ladies and many times it is so easy to just pass down items from child to child. Since both of these ladies were starting from scratch, as they were not prepared for another addition to their family, we decided to have a baby shower for them and they received many nice items. The ladies were so happy for them and it was a blessing to share in the joy of these new little ones.

Sarah Lou Donovan was born January 10, 2008 and weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz.

BORN ONE DAY APART

Tannon Mayle was born January 9, 2008 and weighed in at 9 lb. 5 oz.

What beautiful little ones these dear 'Women of Worth Sisters' (no blood relatives) have. Born a day apart, we will enjoy watching them grow up together. Our ladies had so much fun during this special evening. We had a 'children's type meal' for the ladies. Macaroni and Cheese, Hot Dogs and Sloppy Joes, Cookies and Cupcakes and more. The cupcakes were a real hit with the decorations to match for a baby shower. Kara and I had so much fun making these and experimenting with the different variations with the frosting and baby decorations. We are not professionals, by any means, but it was fun.

Congratulations to Tanjala and Lou Ann and a special thank you to all of the ladies who made this a very special evening.

ANOTHER SNOW DAY

2008-03-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Another snow day. This has been the strangest winter with our unusual snow storms, which usually carried ice and snow together. Last night on my way home from work I saw people in 4 X 4 sliding sideways and they were not driving like idiots. Just creeping along in front of me and they were struggling. I was so thankful to get home safely but was concerned about getting into my driveway as the drive had drifted so high. 7 inches on the ground of snow and sleet. Messy for sure! I have such a long driveway that I wouldn't dare try to get out of it until it is plowed out or I will be sitting in a drift somewhere and they I may have to shovel. :-) So, I think I will see what I can get done here today. Happy snow day!

Ready or not, here comes the SNOW

2008-02-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

As I was leaving work tonight, I had to clean off my car, which was covered with snow. As I am sitting in the car, waiting for a little heat to start working in the car, I decided to listen to my voice mail. It just happened to be Ryan's voice on the other end, telling me that he was wondering how I was doing. He just had to let me know that it is in the 80's in Florida today, where they are at for their choir tour this week, and he is walking around with his sleeves rolled up. He didn't have to rub it in, but he certainly did. I think he takes after his uncle Ernie, who loves to call me and give me weather reports from North Carolina, especially when it is storming here. We have several inches of snow predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Time will tell. I certianly would love to have a snow day tomorrow. I hope to get that 5:30 phone call to let me know that school is cancelled. Now, that doesn't mean I can roll over and go back to sleep. It means getting up, turning on the lights, getting my eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the computer, and starting the school cancelling process. I maintain and operate the Honeywell Instant Alert System, where I type the information into the computer, call a phone number, record my message over the telephone, click a button on the computer and my voice goes to around 1000 telephones, cell phones, e-mails, pagers, etc. It is an amazing process and works well for closing or delaying school. Then I change the school website information. After all of that, I make a very important decision... Do I go back to bed or stay up? Decisions! Decisions! I am techinically supposed to go in to work, even if the roads are bad, because secretaries at Lenawee Christian School do not have snow days as an option. But lately I have been exhausted and I have decided that if it is too bad for teachers and students to travel, then it is too bad for secretaries too. So, who knows! I may just decide to sleep in, IF we have a snow day tomorrow.

Ryan and Megan Came Home This Weekend

2008-02-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

It was so refreshing to have Ryan and Megan (his girlfriend) home this weekend. Megan had to make an emergency trip to the oral surgeon on Friday, and had some surgery again, so they came down to my house LATE Saturday evening. It was fun having them home for these few hours before they went back to school this evening. They leave Thursday (2/21/08) for their choir tour through Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, West Virginia, etc. I am glad Megan was able to get this problem taken care of before the big trip to the south. Now, it is back to the books and studies for the next few days. What a busy year this has been for both Ryan and Megan. They are doing well with their studies and I am very proud of them. Due to the severe ice storm, we were not able to have church this morning, so we listened to the Frankfort, Indiana Church service online, and were able to listen to the GBS choir, as they were performing. It was interesting to hear it being sung right here in the room, and right on pitch. Amazing how that happens. After practicing with the choir and knowing the words, it was fun to hear it sung in person. Megan didn't feel much like singing with her recent mouth surgery, but it was still fun. After the ice melted and they decided to head for Cincinnati, it is now back to QUIET at my house. Tomorrow begins another week... I wonder what it holds... HMMMM!!!!

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that I dread most throughout the year. It is a difficult day for a widow, so I always dread it. Working as a school secretary, I deliver flowers all day to students and staff. Last year I had a parent ask me why I didn't have flowers from my sweetheart. She knew that my husband was deceased, so it was like putting a knife in my heart and twisting it. A week or so ago, Jason asked me to babysit on Valentines Day, while he surprised Kara was a special date. I was so excited and have been planning ever since to make this a special day for Miss Kate. I have been looking forward to this special evening with just Katie and Mamaw. I know she loves 'dogs' (her term for corn dogs) from Culvers, so we headed straight to Culvers. I love about 2 miles from Culvers and she was asleep by the time we got there. I decided to do the 'drive-through' thing and let her sleep, hoping she would be in a good mood when she woke up. I then headed over to Grandma D's home (my dear friend who lost her husband a year and a half ago). She has a 100 pound chocolate lab, who absolutely loves Katie and Katie loves Bear. She was expecting me tonight and we were looking forward to just spending our night entertaining Katie. We let Katie watch Bambi and Robin Hood and she was entertaining to watch (who cares about the movies, it was fun watching Katie). She did great! Considering we had never tried anything like this before, we were wondering if she would be happy apart from her mommy and daddy but she did so good. When we got home, she wanted to 'play', so mamaw and Katie played ball and trucks (that sounds like a girl-thing to do, doesn't it?). She belly-laughed when we were chasing the ball together. It was refreshing to just spend the evening concentrating on my granddaughter, who will be three years old in less than two weeks. She sure is growing up. Mamaw and Katie made memories tonight that will never be forgotten. I love you, Miss Kate!

I've Been Tagged

2008-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

I was tagged to do a "Meme" by Jason and Kara Watters. The rules are as follows:
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
Find Page 123.
Read the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

Anyone who knows me is probably thinking, "Cheryl reading a book? I don't think so!" I am not a reader. I just never acquired the desire to read. That is such a waste of time to me... So, I looked around and the closest book was a church hymnal (it was on the computer stand) and here is what is on page 123...

All hail King Jesus. All hail Emmanuel, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Bright Morning Star.

And thro'out eternity, I'll sing His praises, And I'll reign with Him thro'out eternity.

I'll tag:

Bogedin, Genene

Earls, Connie

Phil & Cathy Avery

Plemmons, Amber (Niece)

Plemmons, Leah (Sister-In-Law)

Have fun!

SNOW

2008-02-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

I just got home from Findlay, Ohio. My father-in-law, mother-in-law and I met Andy & Jenn, JeNa and Jaxon, along with Jenn's dad, Wesley Craker, and my parents in Findlay for supper tonight, in honor of Andy's 25th birthday. When we hit Toledo, it seemed there was VERY little snow and just south of Toledo there was NO snow. As I was walking in my door tonight I thought, "I should go take a picture of this snow and let my family see how much snow we have." I've had my driveway plowed twice in the past two days. It has been a strange winter, that is for sure. We get a huge snowstorm and the next thing we know it is raining and you could go without a winter coat (I don't because my mother always told me I would get sick if I went without a coat before it was 60 degrees :-) We have flood warnings, then a huge arctic blast comes through, freezes everything up and the next thing we know we have another snow storm. We missed two days of school this week due to ice and snow. I'll have to admit, I am tired of snow and will be glad when I can open my windows and feel the warm breezes again.

Home Safe and Sound

2008-01-28T06:51:00.003-08:00

Ryan made it back to Cincinnati about 5:30 a.m. Monday, safe and sound. Thank the Lord.

Does ANYONE Read Blogs Anymore?

2008-01-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

Just wondering if people read blogs anymore, since everyone seems to be so involved in Bebo. If you do, please leave a comment, so I know to continue working with my blog. I love to read others and do my best to comment. Just wondering what your thoughts are... Leave me a comment.

Ryan Made It!

2008-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

Ryan went to Alabama this weekend, with the Ministerial Student
delegation from God's Bible School and College. He went to two different churches today and had to teach a Sunday School class this morning for the teens and went to another church in the evening and preached. He has been very nervous about this weekend but the Lord helped him to do what HE wanted him to do and the students are now on their way home to Cincinnati. It is quite a long drive for them and they plan to arrive in Cinncinati around 5:00 or 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. I told him tonight that I will be glad when he is safely back in the dorm. as that is a long drive when you are already tired. Thank the Lord for helping the students this weekend and giving them the experience they need as they prepare for the various forms of ministry. These young people learn so much from weekends like this and it gives them more than they can even get in a classroom environment. Thank the Lord for HIS help!

Relax - Do We Know How?

2008-01-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder if I truly know how to relax and just 'let my hair down'. It seems that with today's society and the lives we live and the schedules we keep, it is hard to find the time to truly relax. Stress is a word that we hear quite frequently these days and it is not healthy for us. We find ourselves hurrying from one place to another and sometimes we just need to relax. I am working two jobs. I start work at 7:30 a.m. at Lenawee Christian School, as a secretary, and there is not much relaxation going on in my office. I am finished here at 4:00 and head over to my second job, where I am officially supposed to start at 4:00 (but they understand and allow me to come to work a little late) and I work here till 9:00 p.m. This will be my schedule starting Wednesday of this week, plus I work most Saturdays. The second job is working as a receptionist in a Tax Office in the mall, so this is only a 3 -4 month job, but it is still a busy season. I love the flurry of activity, but I need to find a way to relax. I have two ways of truly relaxing and you may find them strange, but I do puzzles and I play the piano when I am feeling overwhelmed. Before Steve died, I would come home from work and play the piano and he could tell by the way I touched the keys as to how my day went. We human beings do strange things, don't we? But we all have to find an outlet to serve as a pressure release, and mine is the piano first, then puzzles second. I trust you have a special way of venting and 'letting your hair down'.

Two Years Ago Today

2008-01-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Do you know where you were two years ago today? What were you doing? As I was looking through old pictures tonight, I found Ryan's January 15, 2006 file and was reminded that I was sitting at home, waiting for Ryan to return. It was a Sunday afternoon and we were going to be late for church. I knew he had gone somewhere to take a picture of a sunset or scenery somewhere but it should have taken him only a few minutes.

An hour later he returned. I asked him where he had been, as I was very worried. He said, "Oh, I just decided to take some pictures of the train tracks and then a train was coming so I decided to lay down on the tracks and get some pictures as it approached."

I panicked! "You laid down on the tracks?????"

"Yes, but I got up in time. I am fine. Besides, it is going to be a real cool picture."

Needless to say, this lady was not a happy momma but was I ever thankful that Ryan was safe. He wasn't worried about it. I told him that it was a good thing that I didn't know what he was doing and he assured me that he didn't tell me for that very reason.

"Kids these days!!"

I Believe Winter is Returning!

2008-01-15T19:01:00.001-08:00

BRRRR!!!! Is it cold outside! I am even cold inside, so that tells you that I do not like COLD weather. I love snow. I love blizzards! But I do not like cold weather. If we get a couple of good snow storms, I would be happy to see spring arrive. I long for the time when we can put away our winter coats and open the windows. I guess I am dreaming. After all, it is only January 15th. It doesn't hurt to dream though. Spring's comin'... Good ole' Michigan.

School year is half over

2008-01-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to believe that today marks the half-way mark in our school year. One whole semester behind us. I am glad, but it still seems impossible! Looking at it from the perspective of a school secretary, it is NICE when everyone is gone. I am able to get so much done. Here is where I work. It is called Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, Michigan. It has been a haven to our family.

Family Photos

2008-01-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

I asked the boys to get their family together for a family photo and here are the results. I think they turned out pretty good. As soon as Ryan crops the big family photo, I'll post that one too. Considering they were so excited about opening gifts and mamaw was making them wait until they had their picture taken, I think they turned out pretty good. Enjoy

Family Time

2008-01-01T10:55:00.001-08:00

Our family celebrated Christmas together on Saturday, December 29th this year. We wanted to wait until everyone was here and Andrew, Jennifer and the kids couldn't be here until Friday night. Everyone had a great time and my grandchildren had many lessons in sharing. It is hard when you are two and four years old to know that you can't open everyone's gifts and especially your cousin's gift. Seriously, they did excellent. They played very well together and it was a fun time for everyone. After the gift exchange we had our Christmas dinner together, with turkey and all of the fixin's. The girls helped to clean up the kitchen, then we decided to try something that none of us had been able to do yet and that was watch our home videos from when the boys were babies. This may sound like it shouldn't be that big of a deal, but watching pictures of their dad and hearing his voice brought back all sorts of memories. We all wish things were different but they are not and we will work to move ahead and make the best of a dark situation. We all considered this a part of the healing process and we were happy to see that we were successful in keeping ourselves together in viewing these videos. We reminisced and discussed some of the names Steve used to call us. Names such as "flame", "sir minus", "gomer pile", "Andy don't" and the list goes on. There is a history behind each nickname and without these videos we may have forgotten about some of them. We watched the boys all ice skating with the Arnold boys and just seeing who could go the fastest and scrape the most ice, pictures of their first birthday party, and saw lots of people who are no longer with us. Grandma and Grandpa Baughey were in a lot of these pictures. Fun times, for sure! Christmas this year was the best since Steve died (almost 7 years ago) and this has been one happy mom.

Christmas Traditions

2007-12-22T17:15:00.000-08:00

It has been a tradition in our family to go to the mall the weekend before Christmas. You may wonder why that is such a big deal, but when the boys were little I remember how we would drive 1 - 2 hours, one way, to go to a big mall and just walk around the mall and watch the people who were frantically scurring here and there, buying whatever they thought their loved ones would like. I LOVE the hustle and bustle of last-minute shoppers. I don't like to shop last-minute, but I like to watch people. Steve used to wait till the 24th to shop, so I guess it was a big tradition in our family. I hope my boys are breaking that tradition, although you can get some great deals by waiting, as long as they have what you want. I met my mom and three nieces in Toledo today and we walked through the mall (I didn't buy anything, but I had fun). It was fun being with my mom, Olivia, Jacynda and Heidi today. Thanks mom (and girls) for spending the day with me.

Christmas Gifts from Students

2007-12-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

Working in a large Christian School has several advantages. (Pay is not the best but the closeness that comes with working with families pays huge dividends.) Since our school has closed three days in the past two weeks due to ice and snow, this afforded the families to spend time together baking. Today, one of the families brought in a VERY LARGE frosted cookie that they personally made for me. There are four children in the family and they were so proud of the fact that they made it, decorated it, boxed it and even decorated the box, just for me. This was their way of saying, "Thank you for helping me throughout the year." What a nice gift. Grant it, I don't need this big cookie, but I will enjoy sharing it with my family and friends. Would anyone like a piece of my CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING? My advice to anyone who has students in school is to make sure you let your office staff know that you appreciate the way they keep things running smoothly. I enjoy my job and can think of no other profession that would please me more. It's the small personal touches of gifts like this that make a secretary's day bright.

My Family Background

2007-12-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

I am new at blogging, so I decided to give a little background as to who I am. I was born to Ernest & Evelyn Plemmons and I am the oldest of five children. I have one sister, Kathie Manns, and three brothers, Donald, Ernie, and Dan. We were able to all be together in September of 2007 to help our parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

I married Steve Watters on March 17, 1978 and he went to Heaven due to pancreatic cancer on May 22, 2001. Our time together was way too short as we had a marriage made in Heaven. The Lord blessed Steve and I with three wonderful boys.

Jason is our oldest son. He married Karalynne Shiery and they have a little girl named Kaitlynne. Jason went to Delta Comair Academy and has graduated with his commercial license. He has flown with different companies and enjoys flying very much. He also works in landscaping and grounds maintenance, which was always his love as a young man. Jason and Kara own a home in Adrian and the Lord is blessing their lives together.

Andrew is our 'middle child' (he loves to say that). He married Jennifer Craker and they have a daughter named JeNessa, who is 4 1/2 and a son named Jaxon, who is 2 1/2. Andrew has worked in construction work since he was 16, starting with Baker Construction here in Adrian. After his marriage in 2001, he moved to Marion Ohio and continued in heavy duty construction. He currently works for a union in the Columus, Ohio area. Andrew & Jennifer own a home in Marion, Ohio and the Lord has blessed them.

Ryan is our 'baby' (he doesn't love that :-). Ryan is currently a sophomore at God's Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been dating a beautiful young lady, Megan Walsworth for almost a year. Ryan is currently working toward a degree in the area of pastoral ministries and is uncertain as to where the Lord will lead him, but he is open to the Lord's guidance. Ryan is currently Dr. Allan Brown's personal assistant and keeps very busy with his full load as well as working for Dr. Brown.

Snowman Collector

2007-12-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

If you have ever been in my office or my home, you would have no doubt that I love to collect snowmen. I have them in several rooms of my house and my entire tree is decorated in the snowman theme. Since I have small grandchildren, I decided that it was time to change from my 'crystal' theme to something durable, like snowmen. I want my tree to be something that attracts my grandchildren. I also have so many stuffed snowmen that I have a landing (above my open stairwell) that holds a hosts of snowmen in all different sizes and styles. Since I am a school secretary and my office has a snowman theme, I am finding that students love to give the school secretary presents at Christmas and it is usually snowman related.

I Love Christmas Time

2007-12-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year when everyone (well almost everyone) seems so festive and joyful. It is great to hear someone wish you Merry Christmas while walking through the store. Working in a Christian environment it is sometimes easy to forget that this is not always permitted in some places, but I take advantage of wishing cashiers or acquaintances a Merry Christmas every chance I get. Why not? This is the time to remind people of the Reason for the Season. We are sometimes quick to be shy about it but we need to be bold and proclaim our eagerness to those who we come in contact with.