The Reason I Bought My 8 Year Old Granddaughter A Razor

All my friends were horrified..you bought your 8 year old gdaughter a razor for Christmas!!!!  Let me explain and then you decide for yourself....it all started about 2 months ago.
#4: Nonna, can I shave my legs?
Me:  Aren't you a little young for that?
#4:  Hallie is shaving her legs.
Me:  What I don't know won't hurt me.
#4: Okay.
Me: Remember, if you Mama finds out you are on your own.
#4:  Okay.
Of course she can't hold water and she told her Mama.  And that conversation went something like this.
Daughter:  Did you tell #4 she could shave her legs?
Me:  No, not really, I didn't tell her she could shave her legs, I told her she was on her own.
Daughter:  But you let her shave them.
Me:  No not really....I told her she was kinda young to be shaving her legs.
Daughter:  I told her not to do it anymore...and if her Daddy finds out...and don't let her blah blah blah....
Me:  What I don't know won't hurt me..besides have you looked at her legs?  They are pretty hairy for an 8 year old..and little girls don't wear tights anymore.
To myself:  She was beyond excited about it..."feel my legs Nonna they are as soft as a baby's butt."  I went way way up on my Nonna points.  (The more Nonna points you have the longer you stay out of the Nursing Home.)
Later...
Me: What do you want me to get you for Christmas?
#4:  A razor and shaving cream.
Me: Okay, but you are on your own if you get in trouble.
Christmas Eve....
#4 opens up a gift to find a colorful zippered bag that holds a pink wet/dry shaver/shaving cream/lotion.  She is delighted.

Daughter glares at me....guest says you got #4 a razor!!!
Me to everybody within earshot:  Well let me explain, it's called pay back....pay back for the time daughter knocked the front end of my car out of line...the time when she was 16 and she asked could she have the check book to go and buy her an Easter outfit...and dumb me thought she would buy something sweet for Easter..imagine my surprise/horror when she comes prancing out of her Sunday School room into the church wearing tight black crop pants and high heels....Easter outfit indeed...I could have killed her.  And I won't even tell you about the time the College Dean called David at work........
Now then...you see what i mean about payback?

Second Chances

I"m so thankful that there are always second chances in life.
I have no birth children.  But because of God's restoration, I have two children I got in my second marriage.
I first married when I was twenty eight. My husband had a four year old daughter.  She was with us on every weekend.  I was immature and jealous of her.  I felt like I was her mother's weekend babysitter.  Her mother didn't work, but I did and I resented spending my every other weekend off "baby sitting."  My husband and I never had a weekend off together to do things.  I tried to talk him into us having her some during the week and every other weekend, but that was a no-go.
So many other things made her and I resent each other.   We didn't really bond until she was about seven years old.
That said, I took her everywhere.  Everywhere but God's house.
A few months after we were married  my husband informed me "if you get pregnant, it  will be your baby, I won't help you."  He didn't want any more children.  That was the beginning of many selfish things he put me through.
I had to have a hysterectomy at age thirty eight and a few weeks later we were separated and then a few months later we were divorced.
I was devastated. No husband. No children and no hope of ever having any.
I prayer for God to restore me.
Then I prayed for God to restore me and find me a good husband.
Then I prayed for God to restore me, find me a good husband that had children.
God put David and me together.  He was raising two teenagers..alone.
Me + David + two children  = 7 seven grandchildren!!!
I did it in reverse, I got the teenagers first and the babies second.
What a blessing.
Second chances.
I'm trying not to mess this one up.
I take them to God's house.
Thank you Heavenly Father for second chances.

Six of seven of my wild monkeys..  :->

Costa Rica...And My Breaking

As you may remember my prayer for the people of Costa Rica was that God would break me for them...The first morning of clinic we got up very very early, launched from the motel, and headed to a remote village. Once again the drive was  interesting. 

 

 

We stopped in the middle of the road and let cattle go by us on either side, we crossed over a large fast flowing stream with a bridge made out of logs covered with dirt.  I aptly named it the mud bridge.  It had rained the night before and the roads were very muddy and rutty.  We saw iguanas sunning themselves...we saw workers in the pineapple fields, the further we went we saw fewer houses, yet when we drove up, there were around 200 people there waiting on us.
David said, where did all these people come from?  As I mentioned we were in a remote area with few houses and even fewer cars.  The preacher told us that the villagers had gotten up before dawn and walked for hours to get there.
The building that we used was their multi-purpose building...for church, for meetings for school assemblies. The principal had let school out that day so the children could have check-ups.  The building was made out of cinder blocks, had a tin roof and was open for about 3 feet between the cinder blocks and the roof.  This allowed the breeze to circulate, and for some reason  we were unable to use the large fans that were there.  The floor was beautiful ceramic tile.
We sat our clinic up in the shape of a stop sign.  We sat on the inside of the stop sign and had the patent's move around the outside.

The first station was registration, where we obtained their demographic information, took their vital signs and got a brief history and their chief complaint. 
From there they saw the physician, then were either seen by the nurse to have their ears washed out, collect a urine specimen, see the physical therapist or be fitted for a pair of reading glasses.
My station was the last one.  I dispensed their medicine. I gave all the children their first dose of antibiotic and had them to stay for about 30 minutes to make sure that they wouldn't have a reaction.
We dispensed thousands of pills.  Thousands.  David and Ronald became very good at reading the physician's hand writing and pulling the medicine for me.  I would double check the prescription and then dispense it.  We mixed so much Amoxicillin if we had been allergic to Penicillin we would be dead!!  I  marked the medicine cup with a sharpie so they the parents would give the correct amount.  Plus I made sure that they knew what signs and symptoms of an adverse reaction to look for.
Now all this said, you can see where our interpreters were very important.
Now for the breaking part. The only time we stopped was to eat lunch.  Around noon it began to get very hot.  I was guzzling water like there was no tomorrow, I poured water on my head and on my arms, I rubbed alcohol gel in my hair and on my arms to help cool myself off.  I poured water down the front and back of my shirt and on the legs of my pants. 
I went through 5 interpreters.  I noticed that they kept changing out, but I really didn't think a whole lot about it until James (10 years old) said "the interpreters said you are working like a machine."  I didn't realize what he meant at first, but it occurred to me that this old fat nurse was working those young kids in the ground!  God just kept strengthening me I guess.

 

Dr. Rushing's last prescription of the day.

That day we saw 500 patients.  500.

At the end of the day that beautiful tile floor was solid mud, we had dispensed thousands of pills, given out hundreds of toys, clothes, and Bibles, we had drank enough water to float a small boat, and we had shown the people of Costa that because Jesus loves us, we loved them.
Around two o'clock it came a huge thunder storm that blew out a transformer and ended our electricity, but we were able to finish with all the patients.
By this time I had nothing else to give.  Nothing physically, nothing mentally, nothing emotionally, nothing spiritually.  I was broken.  I had given everything that I had.  I had nothing left. I was completely empty.
I realized that despite drinking water all day long, I had not been to the bathroom one single time.
I went into the bathroom, and remember the open air between the cinder blocks and the roof?  I sat down and I could hear the rain on the tin roof, I could see the rain falling, I could feel the gentle mist of the rain on my face and the wind was blowing too....as I sat there this old timey gospel song came to me and I began to sing ..."oh land of rest for the I sigh, when will the moment come? When I shall lay my armor by and dwell in peace at home.  We'll work, till Jesus comes, we'll work till Jesus comes and we'll be gathered home."
A beautiful feeling of peace and refreshment came over me.  I felt the Holy Spirit surround me and strengthen me.  He knew I needed it.  There was still a way to go. 
I came out of the bathroom refreshed, we had church services in the dark with flash lights, we sang and prayed and listened to a sermon.  And then we traveled back to the motel...safe....over the mud bridge.

Costa Rica Continued.....

We got up very bright and very early Monday morning to travel to Los Chiles which is within a stones throw from the Nicaraguan border.  If my memory serves me correctly as the crow flies it was only around 200 miles from Tabarcia to Los Chiles, but remember travel in Costa is measured in time not miles.

I can't explain to you how arduous travel is in Costa.  The main roads are pretty good (I'm a country girl and quite used to bad roads) but the roads to remote areas are something else.  There are hills that are straight up and straight down, hairpin turns nothing like nothing I have ever seen here and the drop offs are well....once I made the mistake of looking straight down out of my window and really wished I had not done that.
The Costa Ricans are used to the roads and they drive like they are in the Mississippi delta where it is flat and straight and you can see for miles ahead.  There were many times when drivers passed on double yellow lines, up a hill, in heavy traffic and everyone in the van collectively held their breath.

Lots of people drive scooters, which are a great way to get around locally.  And these scooter drivers are very brave they pass and drive right through the middle of you and the on-coming traffic.
On the way to Los Chiles we ate here.  The food was great and the view...well it was indescribable. 

We were advised that the trip would take about 7 hours, which included bathroom breaks and stops to eat.  But, there were detours because of construction and we wound up traveling for 11 hours.  But I guess it was God's intervention, because it really didn't feel like that long to me.  Now any other time, (and David will validate this) about 2-3 hours in a car for me is about all I can stand and about all you can stand of me.  Because by that time frame, I'm squirming and ill as a snake. But I truly enjoyed this journey.  Getting to see the real Costa Rica was very inspiring and interesting.  It would be like coming to Mississippi and riding the back roads of Carroll County and the delta.  You get to see how people really live.  We saw coffee plantations, pineapple plantations, hill sides covered with that greenhouse cloth stuff under which they were growing fern and other plants.
Oh yeah, all those plants that we buy at Wal Mart and Lowe's--corn plants, bougainvilleas, impatiens and on and on, grow wild on the roadside. 


Coffee plantation that you can tour



We arrived in Los Chiles and were very excited by our accommodations.  David and I had our own room, with a wonderful shower.  We hadn't slept in a full size bed ever...but it was quite cozy. :-) I'm smiling about this because we are both fluffy.

#4 Grandchild Avery who is quite the worrier was having a conniption fit because she thought "her Nonna was sleeping on the floor, and her Nonna can't sleep on the floor," would not be satisfied until I took this picture and sent it to her.
So after 11 hours of travel, we then walked around in the community, told people about the clinic we were having the next day and invited them to church.

I just love this picture of David...as we were walking through the outskirts of Los Chiles, handing out tracts and inviting people to come to church and the clinic....and I just love that little dog. 
After our visiting in the community, we had church.  Again we sang, praised, prayed and had a sermon...two sermons in fact because there were two preachers there...again I was worn out.
We returned to our rooms, had a light meal, devotion and fell into bed.  (Oh I was so happy I could take my two showers a day--a small prayer answered)  We were to be up early Tuesday morning because we were heading into a remote village for our first clinic....and you will find out how God broke me.
I will leave you with this last picture...and thought.  We are all pieces, sometimes broken pieces, and God can put them all together to make something beautiful and useful...just like this alley way between our rooms.

 

 

 

To be continued...........





Costa Rica Continued...

Sunday morning we got up early and went to church (don't forget that because Costa is mountainous and each and every trip anywhere

Roadside view in Costa Rica

is lengthy/twisty/hairpin turns/up and down is not measured in miles but time..as you will see later) and let me tell you when they have church...they have church. 
We sang for an hour, we prayed for an hour, we had hands lain on us, we were prayed for, we were commissioned and then we had preaching for an hour.  It was a very sweet experience---these people were so grateful that we were here and I was very grateful to serve them. 
The people of Costa are beautiful people outside and inside.  They are a very humble people.  I grew to love and appreciate them and be humbled by them much more than I could have imagined.
After church they fed us--we got our first taste of real Costa Rica food.  (We were all pretty hungry by then) Their food staple is beans and rice and rice and beans, which after a while you either love or hate.  I eventually realized that if I was going to be able to not offend everyone in the van or at night in the bunk house I was going to have to forgo the beans...which I did. 
The fresh tomatoes and avocados were divine and we had them with fresh cilantro each time too.  We had fresh pineapple straight from the field and it was great but stronger than what I was used to. They eat mostly chicken with some pork and very little beef.  Everything we ate was delicious. 
After this very long day I was quite tired and well quite frankly ill.  Not sick ill, but just weary ill.  We still had lots of things to do after we arrived back to the compound.  We had thousands yes thousands of vitamins to package and label.  We also had thousands yes thousands of Tylenol, Motrin and TUMs to package and label. I poured the vitamins/Tylenol/Motrin/TUMs in separate bowls and everyone sat at tables and counted and packaged them...before long we had a really good "factory line" going.
Finally we repacked all our gear and then loaded it into the truck. Then we had devotion.  We had devotion every morning and every night.  I was really really glad to get a shower and get in that bunk bed.  Except for the rolling gas in my belly...I slept like a rock.
My prayer for myself for the people of Costa Rica was that God would break me...break me for them, use me up..physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  This was very very soon to come.
To be continued.....

Costa Rica Continued.....

We left on a Saturday.  I took off from work three days before.  That wasn't enough.  Those days were a frenzy of packing, printing labels, putting the labels on the baggies, counting pills, putting the pills in the baggies and of course packing our personal stuff.
I wanted to have Friday to rest before we left on Saturday.  Didn't happen.
We flew out from Jackson MS to Dallas Fort Worth on a puddle jumper and from DFW to San Jose on a 757.
It had been yeeeaaarrrs since I had flown.  But I wasn't scared.  I had my Aaron with me and of course my friends and of course my Lord. 
I loved looking out the window at the clouds below and I especially loved seeing the Mississippi Delta below...it looked like a magic green patchwork quilt. Oh and the mighty Mississippi River....

 

We landed in San Jose at night in the rain, so we were not able to get a good look at the amazing country until the next morning.  This was a good thing...Costa Rica is very mountainous and flying in is interesting.
It rains every day in Costa Rica. Every.single.day. 
That night the missionaries met us at the airport, picked us up in a van and took us for an hour drive on twisty curvy mountainous roads to Tabarcia and from Tabarcia into the country side where the missionaries live.
Our pastor had been to this compound 8 times before and he had never ever ridden up or down the steep part of their driveway.  It is a 45 degree grade and that's putting it lightly.
But it was raining, cool (July is their Winter) and pitch black.  We were tired, weary and I was well---quite frankly a little ill.
Needless to say hill or no hill none of us were walking. So we shamed the preacher and we all rode down the driveway.  Straight down.  We didn't know what we had done until the next morning when it was time to travel and climb that grade out...straight up.
Franklin had to get in his four-wheel drive truck and pull the van up the driveway.  Oh and they do this every day 2 or three times a day.  That is how steep the drive way is.  The van that we rode in could pull the hill, but the red van named "Grace" did not have the power.
That night we fell into bed.  The girls upstairs in bunks.  The guys downstairs in bunks.

This cross is in the tile floor of the downstairs at the compound.
To be continued....

Costa Rica Continued..

I went about planning with the team...medications.....thousands of pills and tablets....supplies...2000 pairs of gloves....dressing materials.....sterile water....tape...pill cups.....toys for the kids....glasses.....Bibles....the list just goes on and on.  And as I'm writing this and looking back, I really don't see how we did it.  But then again as I write this I realize that we didn't do it...God did.
We made dozens of lists, we made labels for the medications in English and Spanish (thank you google translator) that we stuck on thousands of plastic sandwich bags, because the medicine came in 500 and 1000 count bottles, so we had to divide those medicines in groups of 10 days or a month's supply, we met and made plans, we met with a nurse who plans and implements a medical mission trip every year...she was absolutely invaluable help as none of us had ever done anything like this before.
We had a pack night, where we packed all our supplies in 15 suitcases, which of course could not weigh more than 50 pounds each.  So that meant that we could not put all the medications in one suitcase, which meant that we had to repack our gear before clinic..but more on that later.
We had to take our own towels and bath cloths as well as our clothes and personal care stuff-enough to last 8 days.  All this was placed in one suitcase that had to weigh no more than 50 pounds.
David was still dragging his feet even though we had gotten our passports and I was not sure he was going to go.  I finally told him that if he didn't go it was a deal breaker with me.  And I remember he asked me what did that mean.  And I responded, just exactly what I said, a deal breaker. 
I went on to explain to him that I had stood beside him through everything, on which I won't elaborate, and this was one thing I was asking of him.
He didn't want to give up his PTO that he used for hunting and fishing. He just didn't want to go.
My response was that it was not about him, it was about The Kingdom, and if he couldn't go for The Kingdom, then could he please go for me?
Somewhere between my pleas and God's intervention, David got on board and his help before and during the trip was just invaluable. And as you can see in the picture above, David became my Aaron.
To be continued.....

To Catch You Up

Did I tell yawl that David and I were going on a Medical Mission trip to Costa Rica?  I know that I have been away so long that I have lost track...I could go back and review...but I think I'll just catch yawl up and tell you what has been happening with me.
At the end of July, David and I went with 13 other people, most of whom were from our church, to Costa Rica.

That's David and me on the back--2nd and 3rd from the left. 
It all started around this time last year with the preacher--he's the first one on the left, announced to the church one Sunday morning that "The Church" was going on a Medical Mission trip to Costa Rica and that Dr. Rushing, and Dr. Harrison were going. 
Now I work with Dr. Rushing and Dr. Harrison is my dentist.  I knew beyond a doubt that Dr. Rushing had no idea about this and the preacher had called him out. :-D  (That's Dr. Rushing the next to last on the far right.)
And this is the conversation that I had with God on the way home after church that Sunday.
God:  Angelyn.....
Me:  Yes Lord?
The preacher said that he was getting together a Medical Mission trip to Costa Rica.
Yes Lord.
And you are a nurse.
Yes Lord.
And you could go.
Yes Lord.
And you have spent the last 56 years of your life doing things for yourself.
Yes Lord.
I'm ready for you to get out of your comfort zone and do something for My Kingdom besides writing out a check.
Yes Lord.
And I want you to go.
Yes Lord. But there's just one thing.
Yes Angelyn.
You of course being God are absolutely correct, and I'm willing, but Kingdom or no Kingdom I ain't going without David.  And I don't mean any harm about this, but you are going to have to convince David to go.
Just let me handle it.
Okay.
More to this story later....tune in later for the rest...I promise it's very interesting.

The Gauntlet Hose Has Been Thrown Down

Do yawl remember this post?

Since I am a southern girl, and I have spent quite a few hard earned bucks to plant those rose bushes on either side of the drive way and I anticipated the current heat wave, I bought a long hose, splitter and two short hoses and two sprinklers to water said flower beds.

Indignant Husband asked why did I buy that when we already had all of the above.  He expected me to find said hoses/splitters/sprinklers etc. drag them to the front of the house and hook them up etc. 

Not.  These were designated for said flower beds.  Now there.

Soooo on coming home one day this week, I find that he had procured MY said hoses/splitter etc and moved them to the other side of the house to water HIS grass.  Hmmm.

No argument.

I simply went back to Wally World and bought another set.

More Indignant Husband said why did you buy another....when all you need to do is....go get the ones you just bought and drag them over?

Now let's get this straight I'm not dragging said hoses etc all over the yard.  I'm not. 

So let's see now we have hoses for days.

Yesterday morning, I get up and he's watering HIS grass with MY said hoses/splitter/sprinkers!!!!
So he has basically procured two sets of MY hoses/splitter/sprinklers!!!

I asked him (nicely) to be sure and water MY roses.  And yesterday when I arrived home after querying him and 2 wild monkeys...they all said the same thing that yes he did indeed water MY roses. 

HOWEVER, he did not put the said hoses/splitter/sprinklers back.

So now my question for you dear readers, should I go back to Wally World and buy another set?

I don't want to tick him off, but I do want to make a point and I think he has thrown down the Hose/Gauntlet.

Doors

I took these pictures Friday afternoon around 6ish.

It was hot.
It was dry.
And the doors were blue.

Well one of them was blue.

And the country was blue too.

It All Started With The Wild Monkey Dance Recital

It all started Saturday morning.  #6 WM (Wild Monkey) was having her dance recital in Tupelo.
We decided to take WMs #s 4 and 5 with us to see her.
This is a conversation on the way:
PapPaw:  #4 give #5 your pillow
#4:  No
Give him your pillow
No
Give him your pillow.
#4 to #5:  Fine here, but I sleep with that pillow and I slobber on it.

But of course she eventually got it back...after all it was her pillow.

After we got to Tupelo WMs #6 and 7 were taking a nap...so I wanted to go shopping.  I bought a new shirt and wanted to go to Hobby Lobby (I love HB)  but PapPaw was getting ticked because he was hungry...which is how we wound up at Chili's.
Now just let me say that I am a teetotaler.  And I was raised Southern Baptist. My mother hated alcohol. Hated it. I never had even a sip of it until I was in college. After David and I married, I never ever drank anything, probably went for 15+ years without drinking anything.   It was sort of a conviction I had...but the coast did something to me...'cause I had a few Margaritas down there..and let's just say that at Chili's, I had this:

And it was goooood.
We left Chili's and I was, quite frankly, high as a Georgia pine, or tight as a tick.  I was happy and feeling no pain or no dread for a 4 hour dance recital...until we pulled into the venue.  A church.  Uh oh.
I have done a lot of things in my wild younger days, but I have never gone to church tight.  As I was walking in and pondering the situation I realized that it was a former church building (stained windows still there) that had been turned into a performance hall.  Whew.  I'm really trying to live a good life..I am.  But I'm human.
I enjoyed the recital immensely and the Margarita really helped sitting through a thousand little girls dancing...really the Mamas should all get their money back....no body was in sync...nobody.
#6 looked cute in her Big Bird costume.

Oh and of course a dance recital in Tupelo Mississippi would not be complete without Elvis.

All that to say, do you think that my punishment for imbibing was the reason the sink in my office fell off the wall Monday morning and water shot to the ceiling in a fountain that flooded my office... getting my PC, monitor, keyboard files etc. etc. wet?  Causing the carpet to be pulled up...and moving me out of the office for as yet unknown amount of time?  And several other things that happened Monday?
And I won't even go in to Tuesday....but today was better....
Was it worth it?  Gosh that Margarita was good....

It's Genetic

We just got back from a trip to the Gulf Coast.
Me, David, my son, my DIL and her Mom and 4 Wild Monkeys.
Sigh.
We had a great time.

But that is not what this post is about...it's about how my husband, son and grandsons are all just alike in certain ways.
My DIL were comparing notes:
They can not stand cold water...(or really anything cold touching them for that matter) to the point that they just about will not go swimming.  #7, that's him on the far right, would not get in the ocean under any circumstances.  He did eventually get in the pool though.  My DIL soaked David at the water park and I had to buy him a new shirt.  He wanted me to buy him a pair of shorts too, but I lied and said they didn't have any.  There is no way he would have gone inside in the AC with a wet shirt on.  No way.
They can't stand for their bare feet to touch anything. (A cold floor is the same as death) It is a real struggle for them to go barefooted at the beach.  They would really prefer to wear swim shoes, but my DIL and I will not allow it.
They are constantly trimming their toenails.  If they grow even the tiniest little bit, they trim to down in the quick.
They don't like you to look at their feet.
They can't stand water in their ears, they are obsessed with QTips and will not go anywhere without them to dry out their ears.
They can reach and take a bite off of something on your plate without asking, but they will pout if you even ask for a bite of something of theirs, and don't even think about just reaching over and getting a bite.
There is more ......... but anyway.  We had a lot of fun comparing notes.
I love my DIL..

Cost Rica

Our minister of music asked me to give my testimony about going to Costa Rica.  I have read that the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death.  This is true for me, but I knew that it was something that I needed to do. My testimony is below.
(This is a picture from the front porch of the compound.)

(And this is the URL for their blog.)
http://tdmgo.blogspot.com
The Kingdom
This is my conversation with God on the way home from church after Bro. Chris announced that our church was going on a Medical Mission trip to Costa Rica.
Angelyn?
Yes Lord?
Bro. Chris said the church is going on a Medical Mission trip to Costa Rica.
Yes Lord.
You are a nurse.
Yes Lord.
You could go.
Yes Lord.
You are about to be 56 years old.
Yes Lord.
And you have spent most of those years doing things for your self.
Yes Lord.
And it's real easy to write out a check to Lottie Moon or Margaret Lackey missions isnt' it?
Yes Lord
And you are really selfish with your time and effort aren't you?
Yes Lord.
So don't you think it's time you got out of your comfort zone and actually DO something for My Kingdom?
Yes Lord....and I'm taking David with me!!!
The Doubts
Doubts began to creep in. 1. I'm "fluffy." 2. I have health issues.  3.  I'm scared of "not water."  Some people are afraid of water, I'm afraid of not having water.  Because we didn't have running water in our house until I was about 10 years old, and it was my responsibility to draw the well water, I have always been very respectful of water as a precious commodity.  In the times when we have been without water, David will tell you--I am crazy.  All I can think about is water.  I need to brush my teeth, I need to wash my hair, I need to take a shower, I need to go to the bathroom.  I need water!
I addressed these doubts to the team because I wanted to be a blessing not a burden.  The team reassured me that if God wanted me to go, all my needs would be taken care of.  So that's out of the way.
The Passport and The Rock
I began to make lists, gather data, calculate medication costs, talk to another nurse that had gone, had her come and talk to the team...I had done everything except one little tiny crucial thing...I procrastinated about our passports.  See David was having doubts and two passports are a expensive commodity if you never use them.  Everybody was asking me, have you gotten you passport yet?  I would say no...but I'm working on it....The time came down to the lat minute and David and I had a heart to heart talk.  I told him that I didn't care if he didn't want to go. I needed him to go.  I was afraid to go without him.  David is my safety net.  He makes me feel safe, he will take a bullet for me.  He is my rock, and quite frankly, Kingdom or no Kingdom, I wasn't going without him.  God intervened and David committed to go.  We had to jump through quite a few hoops to get our passports quickly and pay extra and got them in time.
The Hair.
Except for one time for medical reasons, I have had my hair long.  Not long after I made the commitment to go to Costa Rica, I became obsessed with the idea that I had to cut my hair.  Not trim, but cut, short.  Very short.  At first I thought the reason was because if water was in short supply I wanted most of my water to go below my neck.  (If you get my drift)  And it would be easier to care for--wash and go. And it also seemed to me to be a visual reminder, or covenant if you will of my commitment to go.  So I cut it.  My hairdresser said she had never cut hair from that length (below my shoulders) to an inch or so.  (The pony tail went to Lock of Love) However, after I cut it I found out the real reason I was so obsessed with cutting it.  People who know me and people who don't know me, but know me..does that make sense say "You cut your hair!!!" Which gives me the opportunity to say, let me tell you why...and will you please pray for us? 
If you are a praying person, please pray for us.
For me:  Pray that God will give me a spirit of strength and courage...and water...that there will be water in adequate supply.
For David:  That God will show him what the other reason(s) are for him to go. (I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only reason.)
For our marriage:  That it will be strengthened and we will bond in a way we never have before.
For our team:  That we will be safe, that we will have wisdom and discernment as we minister to their physical and spiritual needs.  That they will see Jesus in our faces, and feel Jesus' touch in our touch.
Pray Pray Pray...and Pray some more!!!

Before and After

This is me Tuesday morning.

I have had my hair to at least my shoulders most all of my life.  I suppose since I was a child of the late sixties through the 70s, that is all I know.  I started growing my hair long when I was in the 10th grade.  Prior to that I had that short sixties look, but since the 10th trade with maybe one or two exceptions my hair has always been to my shoulders.  Right after David and I married (almost 17 years ago) I grew it out to almost my waist. Hmmm....
But at the end of July, David and I are going on a medical mission trip to Costa Rica.  Right after my 56th birthday this past December, our new preacher said that "the church" was going to Costa Rica on a medical mission trip and if anybody wanted to go, call him. I was intrigued.  Long story short, not long after that, I was driving along in the car and God said, "well Angelyn, you have spent the past 56 years doing things for yourself, don't you think it's time you spend your next 56 years doing things for "The Kingdom."  That was it.  I was in.
To be frank, David is mostly going for me. I think that his heart is open, to what God has for him, but he is mostly going for me.  Which is fine, because quite frankly, I'm kinda scared.  We will be out in the middle of nowhere and I'm not the healthiest fittest person in the world.  In a word--I'm fluffy and in poor shape.  And Costa Rica is mountainous.  When I met with the team, I told them that I wanted to go, but I wanted to be a blessing not a burden.  Everyone assured me that if God wanted me to go, he would pave the way. 
Anyway back to the point of the story, if you read this blog any you know that I'm a nut when it comes to water. Bathing and washing my hair in particular.  So that said, if water is going to be in rather short supply, I would rather the bulk of it go below my neck, if you now what I mean.  Therefore, I did this.

In addition to the water thing, this is unbelievably easy to take care of.  No blow drying, no hot rollers, no Velcro rollers, no round brushes, no flat irons, no bobby pins, no clips of any kind, no elastic bands.  Amazing--I gathered all of that stuff up, put it in a plastic bag and stowed it in the closet. Just a little gel or hairspray, maybe a puff or two of the blow dryer and I'm done. I touch up the grey at my temples with a little mascara.  I just can't see buying a whole box of dye for that little bit of grey. (I HATE having grey hair).  Some women look lovely with grey hair--I look tired.
David loves my hair (surprise) but my daughter and daughter-in-law and gchildren hate it. Hmmm.
Plus, this may sound crazy, but in a way, cutting my hair is symbolic to me.  It is symbolic of a commitment and maybe other things...but I have to think about it more in order to put it into words.
If you are a praying person, please pray for us.  If you are not a praying person, then please keep us in your thoughts.
I'll keep you posted.
a

These Stones....

have been following me for years.  In fact we have been together since I was born.

These sandstones were dug up from only my ancestors know where in the early 1800s and piled one upon the other to make the chimney of the old home that I rattle so much about.  These are the smaller ones, the larger ones (much larger) are still at the old home place.
When Mama moved to the city...I'm smiling as I write this...the city is Winona...(http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl) the kind people that bought our home place told me that I could move them whenever I wanted.
So one day my sweet hubby moved a trailer load of them to our previous home in Winona.  I used them to surround my flower beds.
Then when we built this house,  (that's it in the above picture) last summer he surprised me and moved them here and built these two flower beds on either side of our driveway.

So these old rocks and I have been together for 56 years.  Oh and the well bucket that you see hanging up, I drew many a bucket of water with it.  I have had it with me for years...and it just this spring found it's final resting place...   
~{:->)

To Mama

I have written about this before, and was going to copy and paste part of my rattle here, but since I couldn't find it without a lot of looking, I decided to rewrite it.
This rattle is a combination of memories, self hypnosis, relaxation therapy and something I use to fall asleep at night.
Huh?
Yeah..I'll explain.
I have always had this memory in the back of my mind, but it really came to the forefront of my memories when I began to use it as a relaxation technique.
Many years ago when I was going through a terrible bout of depression and was in therapy, my therapist taught me to use happy memories to relax and relieve anxiety.
I have been thinking it about even more so lately when I downloaded one of those white noise apps on my iPhone.
When I combine the wind and rain sounds, I am immediately transported back in time.
This is the house where I grew up and lived until we built a new one when I was about 15. The house faced due east and the front half was ancient logs. It stood until only a few years ago when we tore it down when Mama moved to town.
At the time of my memory, the roof was overlaid with tin, there were large hedges closing in either end of the porch with tall Nandinas and other flowering hedges around the front.  It was quite cozy and welcoming. 
There was only one window one the front of the porch which was located on the far left on the area of the kitchen.
If it started to rain, I would go to the old chifforobe and pull out two ancient ragged quilts, take them out to the front porch and choose my place to snuggle down. 
My place of choice was usually right in front of that one window, I could hear Mama puttering around in the kitchen which was very comforting to hear.
Depending on how hard the wind was blowing and how hard the rain was falling was how close I would get to the edge.  I wanted to be able to feel that gentle mist that the rain drops kicked up, but I didn't want to get wet.  I would then place the most ragged blanket on the porch, carefully folded so that I could slip in the center of it like an envelope.
Daddy had bought Mama 2 rockers and a settee many years before for their anniversary and I would take the settee, turn it over with the rockers facing outward.  I would then place the quilt over the entire settee to make a nice little cosy place.  I would crawl in there with a book or a magazine and the cat if I could catch her and coax her to stay in there with me.
I would read, listen to the wind and rain on the tin roof, pet the cat and periodically lift up a flap of the quilt to check on how far into the edges of the porch the wind had blown the rain.  Sometimes when it was raining particularly hard I would have to move to the center of the porch.
When I think about it now, it's not only the sounds, that I remember but the insulation that was so pleasing and comforting. 
I was insulated by layers.  The first layer was the rain, the second layer the hedges, the third the porch itself, then the next layer was the quilt, next the settee and with my back to those ancient logs that had sheltered my great great grandparents I was in a cocoon of safety and peace.
But the main thing was Mama, she was at my back always within earshot.  I could hear her puttering around in that kitchen but most of all...she could hear me if I needed her.
Happy Mother's Day in Heaven Mary Emily Box Jacks.

Mr Bluebird

Isn't Mr. Bluebird handsome?
He lives on this tree in my driveway.
If I wasn't so ashamed of the flower bed around this tree, I would have included it in the picture. 
But I promise Mr. Bluebird, I'll clean it out and make it pretty this weekend.

Rattles To Catch You Up

I'm baaaackkkkk.
Here is a few rattles to catch you up on what has been going on in my Rattly Life.
I finally bought a new laptop after killing my other one. (The reason I haven't been posting) I hope the IT dude at work will be able to get my pictures and files off of it.  But if I have done without them this long,  I guess I don't need them.
I also killed my iPhone 3GS and I got a new 4s.  When I killed the 3GS there were a ton of pictures on there as well.  Now here's the thing, right after I got my new iPhone, I lost the old one.  I could still boot it up and view my pictures...but it is somewhere in this house or maybe my car.  I can't find it.
I seem to be losing/destroying a lot of things lately.
I have lost my last set of keys that had a clicker on it.  I have one more car key left.  No clicker.  No house key of my own.
So, since my car is 11 years old, (bless her, she still looks pretty good and runs good) I just leave the key in her.  I don't keep anything in there worth stealing and I doubt anybody would steal her.  I wonder if the old adage that your insurance won't pay if you leave the key in it is true....
The other day I opened the refrigerator door and I had put the bars of soap that I had bought at Wal Mart in there.
I can't hear well.
I sure can't see well...I'm up to 2.00 readers now.
And....are you ready for this,  I keep getting to work and realizing that I haven't zipped up my britches.  That's right.  I button 'em, but I don't zip 'em up.
Now that said, I have read that this is a sign of senility. Don't yawl see old men walking around with their britches unzipped?  I now that I have...but I'm not an old man...I'm an old woman...but I never wear skirts or dresses....
And here's the other thing, I absolutely can't keep up with my house work.  I spend my Saturdays cleaning house.  And I think that if I can just get it really really clean, I can keep it up through the week.  But it never happens.  Never.
David and I are going on a medical mission trip to Costa Rica the end of July.  And I as was running around one day a couple of weeks ago getting ready for a meeting with the rest of the team, I said to myself, "I have just got to get it together."  And then this little voice said to me, "Angelyn, if you haven't gotten it together in the last 56 years, it's probably not going to ever happen.  Sigh.
I'll be back her much more now, but I want to leave you with this picture of Fontanna napping with his monkey.  It always makes me smile....and I bet it will you too.

AngelMc.

Another Thing I Made + A Recipe

This is my Wild Monkey Bracelet.  

There is a birthstone color for each Wild Monkey.

And of course a Wild Monkey Charm.

It too has helped assuage my desire to make bracelets.

I have been looking at how to make bracelets on Pinterest.

I have Googled how to make bracelets.

Lately all I can think about is bracelets.

David gave me a bracelet for Christmas......

And now for the Recipe.

I have served it twice.

The second time I served it at my book club.

And they raved about it.

And they are foodies...one has even published two cookbooks.  Yeah. I was a cooking rock star.

Lasagna Soup

INGREDIENTS

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage (I added a 1/2 to 1 pound of ground chuck)
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock  (I used a lot more......twice maybe)
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta (I used bow tie once...then the fusilli second time--both were fine)
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

PREPARATION

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

I served this with a nice salad and garlic bread...it was great.

Things I Have Made Lately

Since we went Christmas shopping and I bought a few things at Hobby Lobby, I have not been able to stop thinking about all those beads....I wanted to make a marriage bracelet and a wild monkey bracelet.
So when we had to go to Tupelo Saturday, I threw a fit for David asked David to drop me off at Hobby Lobby.
Honestly I could spend hours in there.......but anyway...I made this.

The amethyst bead is for David, the blue/green is for me (our birthstones) and the one in the middle is for our marriage.  The bracelet is to help me remember to pray for David, for myself and most of all for our marriage.
I'll post a picture of the wild monkey bracelet tomorrow.

Things I Bought At The Auction #Something

I know you have missed seeing the stuff I have bought so I'm posting pictures.
On of my friends told me to please not junk up my new house. Too late.