Tornado sirens, safe places and house fires!

Friday was CRAZY! Sick girls home for the 5th school day in a row, tornado sirens going off and a house fire...all in one day!

Yesterday afternoon around 1:30 the sirens started going off....I got up and decided I really needed to get jeans on and tennis shoes...WHY... I know the Lord was prompting me to do this, because I HATE wearing shoes..lol...I get all the girls shoes on and grab my cell phone, blankets, flash lights and some books and all the girls and I have a camp out in the laundry room floor. They didnt like hearing the loud siren and the weather on TV...makes them nervous! Well the lightning was stricking so fast and right around us...my house was shaking..another thing that scares the girls....we started praying for Jesus to send his angels to protect us and our house....and within about 2-3 min of the last LOUD house shakin lightning strike someone is banging on my door!!!! The girls and I are all in the laundry room so i run upstairs to find my little old lady neighbor Mrs Judy standing in front of me with a blank stare! All she could do was like stare at me, I grab her arm, lightning is still popping all around, and bring her in the house. I look at her house and see flames coming out of the corner...LIGHTNING had struck her house!!

I called 911 and they were here within just about 2 min.. They said they were passing our neighborhood for another call with just a alarm warning and when ours come in with flames already going they turned around and come in our neighborhood...By the time I got off the phone and looked out the window our whole culdesac was black with smoke! I couldnt even see across the street anymore... Really within about 5 min we had 7 firetrucks and emt vehicles here...Praise the Lord that Mrs Judy was awake and sitting in the living room when it happened. She said she walked to her bedroom and seen where it had hit the house, above her window the wall was cracked open and she seen smoke...by the time she grabbed her coat and made it to the front door the house was covered in smoke. She was ok but just really kinda out of it, i think from the fear of it all...i got her some food and drink because she was really shakey and her blood pressure was up and so was her diabites,....the paramedics checked her out and said she would be fine, she didnt inhale any smoke, THANK YOU LORD, because she ran to my house as soon as it happened!!!

The fire marshall has said it was a total loss. To look at the front of the house you wouldnt know, but the whole back side is gone....PLEASE pray for Mrs Judy (she is 76 yrs old) and her grown son were the only ones that live there. They have lost pretty much everything.

I would like to set up a chip in for them, so be on the look out....anyone would would like to give a donation I will be giving it to them to help out in anyway possible.

PRAISE be to our Lord, for prompting me to get myself and my girls prepared for what we had no idea would happen, a crazy weather day...a day to help neighbors...and a day to be a blessing to someone else... and a day to rejoice that Mrs Judy is safe and yes a day to rejoice that my little girls prayers to Jesus to send his angels to protect our house were heard!!!!

Sick girls and huge BLESSINGS

Well it has been a week almost since i updated on everyone...so sorry so much has happened around here...my days just all blend together!

All 4 girls are sick...sick..sick!

Giovanna does in deed have pneumonia and STREP AGAIN! She has a TERRIBLE cough and terribly sore nose!

Gabby has a TERRIBLE cough, ear infection and upper respiratory infection...
Lily has TERRIBLE cough, HIGH fever(106) and upper respiratory infection..
Isabella has ear infection, upper respitory infection TERRIBLE cough, fever...

So you can see we have had everything so far this year! I cant seem to get the fever and cough under control. STREP is driving us nuts!!!! They have FINALLY put Giovanna on a REALLY STRONG antibiotic so we are praying this knocks it out! PLEASE stand with us as we are covering our girls in prayer....they so need to feel better...they are miserable and Im getting that way! Mom needs a break! I know William is home at night, But Im here 24/7 and for a solid week this time x's 4=...its wearing me out!

WE did have a HUGE blessing this week as well. Well the story is this: last Friday I went to go see the home being built by Extreme Home Makeover...wow what a beauty! While there, I met this nice gentleman with his 2 small children also there to come see this new home in the making...well we started talking and he made the comment that it was such a big blessing for this family, and sad for all the others who werent chosen,...I laughed and said "Yes we were waiting by the door to hear TY yell" but of course we never got that knock.....but were so happy for this family and for the joy this new home was gonna be to their family and all the people they help each week...what a blessing!!!!!! Long story short, we kept talking he asked about our family, why we were nominated and so on...asked alot of questions and then we just chit chated while we waited for the bus to take us back to our cars....I shared that our story was NOT sad by any means and that it was a total story of hope and what a blessing our family now has...4 little girls gifted to us by our Lord!
the next morning, Saturday, my phone rings....it was him....he is the meat market manager at FRESH MARKET He said he had gone back to work that day and shared with the other manager our story and meeting us....he was calling to say that they would like to give us 100+ pounds of ground chuck/beef can you believe that!!!!

What a blessing it was to go pick it up and thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their generosity! It will be a huge help to us with the economy the way it is....we feel honored that they thought of us and wanted to bless us with this awesome gift. We have already shared our blessing with a few friends and know this is what we should have done....oh its fun to pass on such a gift of giving...it just keeps coming around...we can NEVER outdo our God!

Please pray for Giovanna, Gabby and Bella...they are all so sick. Giovanna woke up this morning not feeling well and ended up throwing up and having diariahia. Gabby was feeling fine, so I sent her to school only to get a call from the Nurse saying she wasnt feeling well and was running a fever...so off Giovanna and I go to pick Gabby up. Lily and Bella were already at school. We come home and they laid on the floor and watched Tom and Jerry for a bit, I fixed them a drink and we headed upstairs to go potty and lay in Momma's bed....dont you know that always makes things better!!! Giovanna had a huge throw up party when we went to go potty...YUCK! Everything I had gotten her to drink in the morning she threw up.....Gabby hasnt thrown up yet....PTL!

They have not felt well all day. When I picked up Lily and Bella, Bella was running a low grade temp and running nose worse than before..and coughing up a storm. It has not been a fun day to say the least. William left this morning with Michael heading back to Panama City Beach to pick up Mike's motorcycle. His last day at work in Rose Mary Beach is Friday. He will then come home for 2 weeks and will then ship out March 17 for his basic training.

I have given the girls a bath and medicine and had them laying in my bed for a bit....now everyone but Giovanna is in their beds, but not happy with it. Im so praying we DONT end up in the ER tonight. We have got to get Giovanna and Gabby drinking something...neither want to but must or we will be ER bound. Please pray for our girls to kick this "crud" that they have gotten. It knocks them down so fast!!!!

I will keep you posted.

GUESS WHO WE JUST TALKED TO FOR ABOUT 1.5 HOURS ON THE PHONE!!!


LYNDSEY! SHE SNAPPED A FEW PICTURES AND EMAILED THEM FROM HER PHONE...

HERE IS MY BABY GIRL ALL ARMY'D UP! She was laughing and said her rank on her hat was all crooked...yep she's right...its off center! I cant believe she hasnt gotten dropped for that....WAY OFF! I'll have a few more pics in a bit!

Lyndsey called and said that her Drill Sergant would let her see Michael on Saturday(today) if he was there. His original plan was to go to SC to see his friend graduate her AIT training...but those plans were not going to work so his trip was cancelled....I asked William if we could all load up and take the 6 hr trip to SC to see her.... He thinks that they will only give her just a few minutes to see him, so he doesnt think its a good decision to drive all that way with the girls for just a 5 min visit...

What do yall think??? I so want to go see my girl...

We got 2 letters from her today, she sounds so good in them...sounds like it is TOUGH but she is enjoying it..PRAISE GOD! That has been my prayer and the prayer of many that she would make the best of it and show us all that she can do it.....(Well we knew she could do it, but going without her make up, high heels, jewelry, and dressy clothes...that may be stretching it) I am praying that they will let her call home instead of a visit...so we will see...pray she does!!!!


Sorry I havent posted much lately...I have some fun pictures to upload...yesterday I went down to south montgomery to see the new home Extreme Makeover Home edition is building for the Jordan family...and wow...its gonna be beautiful!!!! I seen few of the designers too. I am hoping to go back on Monday when they yell BUSDRIVER ...MOVE THAT BUS! But I have to find a babysitter...William will be out of town.

Welcome Wednesday....

Today was a real low key day for me...I took the girls to school, stopped by WalMart to have some pictures printed, ran to the post office to mail Lyndsey a package...come home, ate lunch, did a load of laundry, checked email, ran back to walmart to return something, picked up Lily and Bella from school, ran by my friend Stacy's house to pick up some clothes she gave us, and come home...

WHEW what a crazy first part of the day...now its 3pm and all 4 girls are home...its snack time, time to start figuring out supper, clean out backpacks, fold laundry, rest (umm what is that) and get ready for tomorrow....

Michael is coming home for a long weekend....will be here Thursday - Monday morning...he will go back to work all next week and then he is finished with work....he will be taking off 2 weeks for "vacation" and then will leave for basic training...once he is finished with basic and AIT he will return to Rose MAry Beach to work...

We will be heading to SC for Lyndsey's graduation on our 20th anniversary....March 25th!

Well we were not the lucky family here that was chosen for the local home makeover!!! We are alittle bummed but so happy for the family that was chosen.

You can read more about them and the whole process here...

I will try to post pictures as I get them!

For all of you out there following the Extreme Home Makeover we are in the running for..

Here is the link for it (SEE BELOW). This will give you the countdown clock and the daily schedule of what and how the whole process will take place..


EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER IN ALABAMA

IN LESS THAN 17 HOURS ONE LOCAL FAMILIES DREAMS WILL COME TRUE!

Here's to the love of my life:

Top 25 things I love about my Valentine

1. I love his smile
2. I love love love his eyes!
3. I love the way he makes me feel inside
4. He has a loving personality
5. I love that we have given our oldest kids a good example of marriage together!
6. I love his gentleness
7. I love that he has a steady job
8. I love that he has a compassion for adoption
9, I love that he has a soft spot for Down Syndrome
10. I love the way he helps me out around the house
11. I love the way has has stood by me for over 21 years
12. I love that he means what he says! For better Or worse
13. I love that he lets me do what I enjoy
14. I love that he has been and will always be my life partner!
15. I love watching him play with the 4 little ones
16. I equally love watching him mentor our 2 oldest kids
17. I am proud he is an AMerican Solider!
18. I am happy he has let me have my own scrapbook/sewing room in our home!
19. I am thankful he loves keeping track of the bills and pays them on time
20. I am overly excited that he makes sure ALL our NEEDS and most of our wants are taken care of,
21. I love listening to him talk about something he is interested in
22. I love our cuddle time together!
23.I love he doesnt mind watching chick flicks with me and will even pick one up on his way home to surprise me!
24. I love that he is a CHRISTIAN
and most of all
25. I love that he loves Jesus like I do!!! I love you Baby!!!

I love that way you make me feel even 20 years later. I cant wait to see what our next 20 is like.

Guess who is sick again.....


WILLIAM!

Can you say no fun! He was fine when he got home on Fri and now he has strep....Im at my wits end with this crap....anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of it???? If he has it I know its a matter of days before I get it again........UGH!

WE HEARD FROM LYNDSEY TODAY!!!!!

SHE CALLED and we got 8 min of phone time....it was hard remembering what to ask her....she sounded great....tired and aggrivated because the girls in her group are still NOT doing what they are suppose to do!!!! She is happy to get letters and is thrilled to see pictures when we send them.

Anyone want to send her a note???? Email me at rlba272@hotmail.com or leave a comment and i will get you her address.

She said her graduation will be MArch 27th...she is ever so ready. Her uniforms are way too big for her and she is ready to get some new ones. Her drill sergant told her that if she had asked to see William last week when he was there they would have let her.....NOT....they say that now that he's gone!!!! Anyway, it did make her feel alittle better....she said it probably was for the best, she would have broke down and lost it she said....My reply was " a Daddy's hug and gently smile will always make things better!" Pray for my sweet girl...pray she can find the courage to continue on with her training even though her group of girls arent doing what they should. She is ready for this phase of her life to be complete.

Thanks for thinking of her...
She said she has gotten a letter from a friend of mine adopting from England....Anna did you send her a letter???

Hey
For all you local readers....I am getting stuff ready for the consignment sale and thought I would see if any of you were interested first...

I have a cute solid wood chest of drawers painted a light purple with knobs in pretty pinks...one word per each drawer it says things like: hope, dream, love, faith and then one drawer has a castle on it...it was in our princess room. asking only $45

Large horse on springs...ya know the old rocking horse on a frame....$20

HUGE Dora talking house with over 75 pieces of dora and family lot $50 includes separate pieces like the talking pool, talking green house, happy birthday house, and another one i cant think of.

Brand new in boxes several different furniture and things for the Dora house...all sold separately and asking $6 per each one....retails for 10-15 ea

Hot Pink Hip Helpers in a size C $9 shipped...that half off...these are brand new!

SIZE	WAIST	HIP	LENGTH
A	14"	15"	7"
B	15"	16"	8.5"
C	16"	18"	9"
D	17"	20"	9.5"
E	18"	21"	10.5"

many other toys, shoes and clothes

IF your interested send me a email to rlba272@hotmail.com

I will mail things as long as you pay postage. I take non credit or debit paypal, cash, money order or checks that have cleared. Unless of course i know you..

Go check out Amanda's Blog for a terrific give away/raffle for their adoption.

Michael had his first Army Reserve drill this weekend....when he put his uniform on, I had a flashback from 21 years ago.....He really looks just like William did at 19!!! That is so freaky to see.

I love you son! What a handsome young man you are!

This is a beautiful day in Alabama...but I just cant let the girls go out....call me bad or paranoid, but I just dont want to risk any more sickness than we need....and we have reached the limit...i believe.

I cleaned up one of their Little tykes playhouses and brought it into their room....tried to organize play food, dishes, and toys, but that in itself is never ending with 4 girls right behind me tearing it all up. They are now downstairs having a ball. The windows are open and here I sit. I have not been feeling well this morning....YUCK....I dont want to get sick again...

Michael had his first Army Reserve drill this weekend down in Dothan....HE come home and slept here last night and tonight he will be in a hotel in Dothan. He will drive home Sunday after drill and spend the night and head back to FL on Monday morning. HE is excited about leaving for bootcamp on March 16. I know he will do just fine.

Lyndsey seems to be doing well, just still aggrivated with the girls in her unit for not cooperating. They still have not formed a "team unit" and the drill Sargents and making their lives very hectic...please pray for her!!!

Well let me run for now, I will post pictures later this weekend....

GUESS WHO IS COMING TO TOWN?? None other than the awesome (and cute)
TY Pennington with
ABC's Extreme Home Makeover......

Several of our friends put us in for this awesome honor of being a nomintee and receivng this once in a lifetime new home....Welll the families that were not in the top 5 were called and said Thanks but you are not chosen....We were NOT called....so it looks like we have a shot! They have told us to be ready for the knock on the door at 8am.....so we are praying for that knock!!!!

We also have a friend who is possibly in the running as well, so either way it goes, I hope it is one of us. There is a total of 5 families in the final running and we have heard that 3 of them are in Montgomery and 2 are in the Elmore Co area (my friend and I) So looks like we have a 20% chance!!!!!

Oh this would be a dream come true! The Builder is scheduled, house plans are done, permits taken care of, now all that needs to happen is the big KNOCK, the family to go on a nice vacation and then CONSTRUCTION time! I am eager to go help out wherever the family is (well of course if its not us....) and then yell ....BUSDRIVER....MOVE THAT BUS!!!!!

Please pray for all 5 families being considered and for the mass construction job to take place, for all the folks to come out and help out this wonderful project!

ITS cool to see how many visitors I get to the blog.....here is the last weeks visits....

I have not blogged in awhile and Im sorry!!! I have had tons of questions sent to me and plan on doing a Q & A time....so if you have any more questions ask away and I will do it in one post....


NEWS....



I am one proud momma.... I now have 2 awesome kids in the military.

Michael signed with the Army Reserves and was also sworn in by my hubby...his Daddy!!!!! He was so happy to have finally gotten to join. He wants to go active duty as well, but this will be the backdoor in since his job wasnt available at the time...

I am so proud of both my "babies" they are all grown up now....and I couldnt be happier at the young adults they have become! Michael will leave for Basic training on March 16 just a few days before Lyndsey graduates her basic training......He will remain in Ft Jackson for his schooling as well. His job is Human Resource Manager.

WAY TO GO MICHAEL!