Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. What a blessed time it was. We had a candlelight service on Christmas Eve which was absolutely beautiful. Our new music director sang Silent Night and played his guitar. Then after the service I stayed over my sister and brother-in-law's. It was a wonderful time to be with my family. We read the Christmas story from the Bible by the light of candles. Then in the morning, Gabey woke us all up very early. He had been sick so he wasn't sleeping well. Jeff, Shari, Gabey and I had a nice time opening presents and just hanging out. After that I went over my "sissy's" house to visit her. Shell has moved into a double above her brother. I was so glad to spend some time with her on Christmas Day. Then my family met back over Shari's house for dinner and more presents. I had a wonderful time. Happy Birthday Jesus! Thank you for coming to earth and being born to save us all from our sins.

Cheerleading

The new season is underway. I have seven great girls on my squad. Two seniors - Erika and Lizzie. I have made them both captains. Three sophomores - Amanda, Emily and Harmony. And two freshman - Kelly and Kayla. Four of the girls are returning so that has been a great help. The three new girls are doing a great job. So far we know over 50 sideline cheers. That is a great feat because we have only had maybe eight to ten practices. I am so proud of them. In January we will be going to a competition in Michigan. Erika will not be going because she is in a wedding. Even if we don't win, I wanted the girls to have the opportunity to compete. Last year we were not able to compete at all. It was such a disappointment to all of us because we were doing some amazing stunts and they could have won. I am hoping that there will be a competition the end of February at the Christian Schools of Ohio basketball tournament. By then my girls should be ready to stunt. For the competition in January, we are not going to stunt. Thankfully there are two different competitions for varsity squads and one is an all motion competition. Since we won't be ready with a routine by mid January it works out great. I am nervous about going to the competition though. This is only my second year coaching. I have a good group and know they will be great.

Don't I look cute!

My sister had one on her blog so I thought I would try it. Got to design her. Hair, earrings, dress, shoes and such.

October Vacation

Sorry it has taken me so long to post my vacation pictures. Cheerleading practices started so I was trying to get ready for those. My sister, brother-in-law and nephew had a great time on vacation. Gabey made me laugh a lot. It was so much fun.






Here is my sister playing with Gabey in the hotel. He has my build a bear's shorts on his head. He just cracked me up.









This is Gabey at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum. He loved the trolly from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood exhibit.










Jeff and Shari were putting on a puppet show. You could pick your puppet. It was cute.








Shari, Jeff and Gabey were playing in sand here. They were making some sand designs.









They had a place for Gabey to play in the water. Doesn't he look cute with the yellow raincoat on?

The Big Day

My dad took this picture of my sister and me singing at his church last night. Oh man was I nervous. My voice was shaking. Tried to calm it down a couple of times. I had been really practicing but dont think I did very well. My tape player had just the notes recorded so I practiced those. Got them down really good. But....... when I went to my sister's last night and we practiced the accompaniment was a little higher and I had trouble finding my starting note. My dad recorded it and has a dvd copy to give me, Shari and my mom. That was one of the hardest things I have done for a while. I can speak infront of people but singing is much harder for me. Being in a group like choir is fine but a duet or solo is very hard for me. But I did it for my Lord, the church and my daddy. He was so proud. I know the Lord used it even if it wasn't professional. I did love singing with my sister though. She has such a beautiful voice. I was a bit intimidated. Maybe if we do it again, I will sing the melody rather than the harmony. Maybe that will be easier for me. Thank you to all who helped me get ready for the Big Day!

Been practicing

Tomorrow is the day my sister and I sing. I have been practicing alot. My friend, Lori, played just my part onto a tape so I could practice it. It was funny too. When we were taping it, the music director popped in and belted out a note. Lori and I cracked up. We said you know we were taping that. He made the funniest face. LOL. I just hope I can stay on my part. My sister is the natural singer. I have to work harder. Just praying I can do it. Will keep you all posted.

Singing

Well, my dad asked me and my sister to sing a duet at his church. They are having a revival. So, next Tuesday, Shari and I will sing "Just Over In The Gloryland". I am so nervous. Shari is the singer. I do sing in the choir but it is hard for me to sing by myself or in a group. Have trouble keeping my part. Am just praying that God will use us and help me. My friend, Debbie, played it onto a cd for me to use as background. She did such a wonderful job. She plays the piano for a lot of specials and for the choir. What a blessing. Also, one of the senior guys recorded it onto the cd. I was so worried. Thank you God for using these people to help. May the Lord be pleased with what we do.

My look a likes

My sister had this on her blog so I thought I would try it.

Burdened for our teens

Oh how Satan tries to destroy our teenagers. This past week I have dealt with some serious issues in two girls lives. My heart is so broken. These girls are on dangerous paths. I am praying that God will break through the walls of their heart and change their direction. What can we do to reach these young people? How can we help them realize that serving God and living for Him is the best thing for their lives? That void in their heart can always be filled with God. Whatever the need He can help. Once again, this year I am going to coach cheerleading. My prayer is that God will use me to influence them to be better Christians than when the season started. Satan is smart but God is Almighty. God can always have the victory. So I will keep praying, loving, encouraging and helping the young people.

My Favorite High School Teacher

My favorite teacher and mentor, Mr. Dave Cook, is leaving the school that I graduated from and the church which I work. Heritage Christian School is a ministry of Cleveland Baptist Church. I graduated from Heritage in 1985 and have been working at the church for the past five years. Mr. Cook and his wife have been teaching at Heritage for 28 years and attending the church for as long. He taught Bible, History, Government, Civics; he coached and served as vice-principal. Mrs. Cook was the Home Economics and Home Management teacher. Both were involved in many ministries of Cleveland Baptist including choir and discipleship.

Besides being a teacher, Mr. Cook helped counsel me through problems. There were many times he took the time to pray and read Scripture and give me advice to help me along life's way. He always had time to listen. Many times I was broken and crying because of family problems. He was compassionate and kind. I have come to trust and rely on his advice. He is a godly man and loves the Lord.

The reason they are leaving is because he has accepted the position of principal at one of our rival schools in Mansfield, Ohio. It is such a shock. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have always been here faithfully serving the Lord. I know them and know that they have prayed diligently about this and truly feel that it is God's will for their lives. As much as I want them to stay, I have to hold on to the fact that they are doing God's will. I would never want them to stay and be out of God's plan for them. So I will just have to pray for them, pray for the school, and lean on the Lord for comfort when I miss them.

God bless you Mr. and Mrs. Cook. I will be praying for you as you begin this new adventure.

My Birthday

My birthday has come and gone. Boy, did it come and go so quickly. It was such a special day. So many people made a point to make my day special.

When I got to work, my "sissy", Shell, had decorated my desk. I had to cut through streamers to get to my desk. The Males girls, missionaries to Scotland who are staying with Shell, came with her to help decorate. They had a blast and it made it seem like it was my birthday.

Then one of the ladies in the office made a cake for me and the office sang happy birthday. It was so nice. Shell had a present sitting on my desk. It was a beautiful sister bracelet.

For lunch, one of my best friends, Lori, took me to eat at Lonestar Steakhouse. I had mentioned to her that I was craving a big steak so she suggested we go there on lunch. It was very nice to be able to spend time with her. Usually we spend time talking at church (which can be very distracting at times with all the people). So I really enjoyed just hanging out with her. She is a very dear friend to me and I am so thankful that I was able to spend my birthday with her.

After work, my sister had my family over her house for a birthday party for me. She made ruebens and we had an ice cream cake (my favorite). My sister went to great lengths to make my birthday very special. She even conspired with Shell.

I received so many wonderful gifts. Poppy was very cute. I had asked for a MP3 player so here is what he gave me - a hillbilly MP3 player. I laughed so hard when I got it. How creative. He did get me a real one too but I got the hillbilly one first.

Lori bought me a book by Elizabeth George. I have some of her devotional books and really enjoy her writing. Shari got me new stuff for my bathroom. I absolutely love it. It really brightens up the room. Here is a picture:

Then Shell got me a beautiful bakers rack for my kitchen. She even surprised me and set it up for me without me knowing it. Tuesday afternoon she went to my house to rest and set it up. I was so surprised. It is so pretty and really frees up space in my kitchen. My sissys knew exactly what to get me. They are so awesome.

My mom bought me a beautiful blouse. Then one of my teenage friends, Kayla, got me a beautiful candle wall sconce and some votive candles.
There also were some other gifts but the best of all was spending my birthday with friends and loved ones who care about me. I am truly blessed.

My Daddy's War of the Worlds

This is a model of the original War of the Worlds that my daddy made. He built the house from scratch. It is made up of a bunch of sticks. I thought it was so very cool. He got the idea because he bought the War of the Worlds spaceship. After he got the spaceship, he thought it would be neat to make the house. So he worked and worked. When it was completed, he crashed the spaceship into it. Just like in the movie. Pretty cool huh? Way to go Poppy!

My Step Mommy Loves Me!

I am so thankful for my dad's wife. She is such a blessing to our family. After my parents got divorced, I began praying for someone for my dad. Patty is a Christian which makes us so relieved. She takes care of my dad and loves him very much. Patty is always doing little things for my family as well. This is a picture of something she made for me. Since I am the cheerleading coach, she knitted the outfit for this little doll. I was so touched. My sister said that she worked a long time on it. I absolutely love it. What a blessing to have a step mommy who loves me and cares for my dad. Thank you Lord for bringing Patty to us.

The HCS Drama

Last night I went to a high school drama. My church, Cleveland Baptist Church, has a Christian school, Heritage Christian School. For the past few years, they have been able to perform a drama. This year they did a comedy called "A Ready Made Family." Oh my word. It was funny. I was able to sit right up front. The cast said after that they could hear me laughing. Four of my cheerleaders were able to be in the play. It was nice to see them perform. I was so proud of them. When I went to HCS, we weren't fortunate enough to have a Drama Dept. I am so thankful they have one now. Some of the kids in the school aren't athletic or musical; so it is nice that there is something else for them to do. Well done kids. You were awesome!

A new game

Well I have jumped on the Suduko bandwagon. Cingular has it for a mobile game download. I am totally addicted. Although I am still on the easy ones. HeeHee. I had always wondered about that game and now I know. It is a blackhole that you can never get out of. Well, it keeps me busy.

Speaking of being busy, I have been helping my sister and her husband. They are moving into the house we grew up in. The actual move date is Saturday, March 25, but we have been painting and cleaning and moving some things over early. My brother and his family lived their but they have moved out which left the house vacant. The blessing is that my sister's lease was up on her place so she is able to move into the house. It will be so nice for Gabey. The house has a big backyard. He will have a blast. There are three bedrooms which will help them out. The place they are in now only has two rooms. I am excited for them.

We had revival last week at our church, Cleveland Baptist Church. What a blessing the evangelist was. His name is Dwight Smith. I know that I needed what he shared with us. I bought three of the tapes. One was on Joseph called Just serve God anyway. It talks about just serving no matter the excuse not to serve. Another one was about making the Bible a priority in your life. I know I needed that one too. The last one was the best assurace of salvation messages I have ever heard. I am so thankful that God brought Bro. Smith to preach for us.