Baby Shower, Mandy's Capping Ceremony and the Beach!

"And Phillip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God". Acts 8: 37

My life is anything but boring. It seems that there is a rare week that is not filled with activity. This past week, the folks at work gave me a "baby shower"for Abigail. I left Shane with Susie so it was all about Abigail and it was her day! She enjoyed opening the gifts and was friendly with everyone. The shower was on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we attended Mandy's capping ceremony in the morning. She was capped by her brother and sister. Unfortunately, most of the pictures (taken by her mother) are blurry so I am only able to include two pictures from the capping ceremony. After the ceremony, we left for our mini-vacation at Virginia Beach.

We arrived at the beach around 6:00 p.m. as we ran into heavy traffic on the way. The weather was PERFECT with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Thursday was spent on the beach and the 3 children enjoyed it very much (Sharon, Andy and Nicholas went with us). As you can see from the pictures, the children played in the water even though it was cool. We returned home on Friday afternoon and Susie's girls spent the night at my house and the boys stayed with Sharon as Susie had a 9:00 p.m. MRI and would be getting home late.

This is a big week for us as Mandy graduates high school on Saturday. I will have 3 of Susie's children tonight as Shiloh has surgery at 6:30 a.m. in the morning. I will be with Mandy at PVCC on Thursday for college orientation and Saturday is the BIG day with graduation and the graduation party.

Next week is my last full week at home and two days (Tuesday and Thursday) will be spent with Abigail at the hospital as she is having a series of testing including an MRI. Please pray that all goes well.

Time has moved very quickly and I will be returning to work on June 8th. Fortunately, I work part-time so I am home several days during the week. Our first grandchild is due on July 19th and all the family is excited.

Mandy's 18th Birthday Party and Other Events....

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". Psalms 46:1

We celebrated Mandy's 18th birthday on Saturday, May 9th. Her birthday is May 13th. I am including pictures of the celebration which took place in Sharon's yard. A good time was enjoyed by all. The picture of Shane and Nicholas on top of the playhouse is showing them doing what they love to do.......climb! The two older gentlemen are my father and father-in-law. There are many precious people to me in my life and I am so blessed. These are two of them. Mandy 17th birthday celebration last year was in the exact same place and the pictures from that celebration are almost identical to this year's with two BIG exceptions. My mother was in the pictures from last year and there is actually one on a previous post from last year with her and my mother-in-law. The other exception is that Abigail is with us this year! It was a bittersweet celebration for our family as I know how much it hurts Sharon not to have our mother with us to celebrate Mandy's 18th birthday and her high school graduation that is coming up on May 30th.

After the birthday celebration, Andy took the little ones for a ride on his 4-wheeler. Abigail was right in line for her ride and enjoyed it very much. It is one of Nicholas' favorite things to do with his dad. I am including a picture of the kids playing in the front yard. I must confess that I took the picture hoping to capture the flowers. I missed the peak for my azaleas but oh, well...... I love Spring in Virginia. Aren't you homesick for Virginia, John?

My husband and children were wonderful to me for Mother's Day. John and Melissa sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers, Jeremy gave me a beautiful card and chocolates, John gave me a card and dress and my two little ones gave me a sweet card! They also made me a lovely 8 1/2 x 11 card with their pictures on it in Sunday School. As usual, John made me breakfast and one of the best gifts of all!.......after church he took Shane and Abigail to the park to play so I could take a nap! Naps are few and far between these days so it is always a treat to get one.

Abigail is doing great. She can be very affectionate and I love it when she gives a kiss or a hug without prompting. She can squeeze her little arms around your neck so tight. Her English is growing day by day. I am still amazed that I have a daughter. Have I said lately how much I enjoy dressing her up in pretty dresses and fixing her hair for Sunday School?

I sent our baby granddaughter a small gift (she is due to make her arrival on July 15th!). John was kind enough to take a picture of it with his lovely wife so I am including it for all to see. We are spending 2 nights at Virginia Beach next week and are looking forward to the small break before I return to work on June 8th. Abigail has an MRI, ultrasound, and other tests to be done on June 2nd and June 4th........not to mention that Mandy graduates high school on May 30th so we have a couple of busy weeks ahead of us.

Shane's New Bed

" Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water." Hebrews 10:22

I am so blessed with a wonderful family. Sharon is an avid Craig's List shopper and she has really gotten me some good deals. As those of you that know me well, you know that I do not like to shop at all. I couldn't tell you the last time I was in a department store. Yes, I know I am unusual but that is how God made me. I have started Internet shopping for my Christmas gifts and find it much more convenient!

Back to my wonderful family, Sharon was able to get Shane a Little Tikes race car bed with mattress and box springs for a total price of $75.00! Was that a deal or what? He had outgrown his toddler car bed. He absolutely loves his new bed and has slept in it every night! That is a great thing as Shane was in our room with us until Abigail came home. He had never slept alone before and at 19 months old when we brought him home, I didn't have the heart to put him in his own room. I have always liked my children close to me, especially at night. I started preparing him before our trip that he and Abigail would share a room once she was with us. She does well in her own bed and now he is sleeping through the night in his so that is great for all of us!

John Anthony celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday. He had to work.....that is the life of a newspaper man who works in the sports section. Abigail is doing great. She has become affectionate with us and readily accepts and gives hugs and kisses. She is much less moody now and seems to be really comfortable at our home and with our family. I am delighted with her progress. She went to the doctor yesterday and she will be having a series of test done and we are trusting in the Lord that if it is His will, that all will be good with her.

John and I attended a wedding on Saturday so I thought I would include a picture of us all dressed up. It was a lovely wedding and was outside at a local bed and breakfast.