When Luke left for college Benjamin moved into Luke's old room.  Now Isaac has his own room!  He hadn't had a change to get things organized so this evening I helped him a little.  I think he is happy with the results.  :)

Cool little street sweeper guy. :)

:D Have a good night everyone!

New Project :)

This morning I took Rachel and Isaac to the flea market, then to the Shelby airport for their fly in and open house.  After we looked around at the airport we headed home...stopping at a few yard sales on the way.  :D  When we got back I grabbed the camera for a few pics.  :D

I told Isaac this was going on my blog/facebook and he said he didn't care.  :D

Rabby is a mess!  She got this hat at the flea market and then when we got to the airport they were giving out balloons.  She tied her balloon to her hat and it looked really cute, and the literally right as I got the camera to take the pic....she popped it accidentally.  Poor Rabbykinz.

She's so cute <3

I'm pretty much the most sympathetic person you will ever meet....JK!!!!  :D

Isaac had been looking and looking for something to get at a yard sale...we kept stopping and he kept not finding anything.  He found these "Txting Kills" rings and he said I needed one....I have NO idea why he might think that.  :-O  hehe.

Don't text and drive.  It kills.  (OK, this picture even sorta scares ME)

This is Rabbykinz little pumpkin.  Her name is Jenny.  We found her three cute little dresses at a yard sale.  Gotta love those yard sales.  :)

Now Jenny has a little outfit that matches Mommy's favorite shoes.  :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed sharing in my morning!  Have a WONDERFUL weekend!  :)

Exciting Day =D

This morning Susie and I made and canned salsa! 

So, what's wrong with this picture?  No, it's not the fact that there is actually a jalapeno in my Mom's kitchen.  No, it's the fact I'm actually working.  No, it's not the fact Isaac is taking a picture with Susie's picture.  It's the fact that I'm cutting up a hot pepper WITHOUT GLOVES!!!!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Bad Lizzy!!!  A word to the wise (and the not so wise!), always wear gloves when you are cutting up peppers.  Another word to the not so wise...if you forget to wear gloves here are a few things that help...soak your hand in milk...this will help the redness and burning on the outside...I tried SEVERAL other things including rubbing alcohol, vegetable oil, vitamin E oil, flour (to draw out the oil????), vinegar, honey and cold water....NONE of these things helped.  After soaking my hand in milk for awhile the redness went away and my actual skin felt better, but it still felt like my hand was ON FIRE from the inside out!  What I finally did that helped (and I'm going to give a disclaimer; this is prob not safe, but I was DESPERATE for relief and willing to try anything) was I soak my hand for about 30 seconds in a 3/4 bleach 1/4 water solution.  IT HELPED.  I learned my lesson!!!  Anyway...on to less painful subjects.  :)

Yummy!!!  :D

Susie was a BIG help!  I was going to cut everything up myself, but she insisted on helping!  I wasn't going to argue!  She knew my carpal tunnel was already flairing up and all that cutting wouldn't help it any!

Sweet onions.  :D

It looks so innocent!!!  We know that it's not so innocent!!! 

BTW, the pepper pics were just taken randomly before I knew what they were doing to me! :D

Almost finished! 

It was a fun morning (until the burning sensation kicked in :D) and I'm really thankful for Susie's help in getting everything finished up while I was trying desperatly to find some relief.  :D  My family asked tonight if my hand was still on fire....I told them it was just smoldering now.  That's kinda what it feels like too!  Weird....:D

Anyway, I'm going to go JOURNAL now....:D :D :D

Well, Allison, I told you...I'm not very good at journaling!!! =D

Yes...I am still alive and well!  I just have a love/hate relationship with my computer, blogger, and technology in general.  The more I try to do things the more things get messed up, so I pretty much turn my computer on, reply to emails, and shut it off and hope no updates or anything else important pops up.  :-O

So....I guess you are wondering what I have been up to...that's a good question.....what have I been up to??? Hang on, let me think for a minute.

Last week was Missions Conference. Woo! Hoo! It was an amazing conference with really wonderful speakers! God really worked in my heart through the messages.

This past Monday night I had the opportunity to go help at the nursing home ministry that Rachel and Susie are involved in each week. Ray was also able to go, he was a blessing to the ladies as he led the singing and sang for special music, they all asked him to come again soon! :D

Tuesday was Good News Club and I was SOOOOOO glad SUSIE was able to come and help this week. :D:D:D:D:D She is pretty much awesome. :D We had 39 children! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to give them the gospel every week! They are VERY well behaved and sweet children and it is really a privilege to get to work with them. Continue to pray with me that club will have an eternal impact on these kids and their families!

Wednesday I got to take Mom to Charlotte to pick up her new car! Yay! I raided the church library before church and found a few good books. Reading has taken up my evening time and that's one reason why I haven't had time to blog much. :D

Thursday was a slower day around the house. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!! Benjamin was an AWESOME brother and went with me to the library to take some "non-self portrait pictures" for me. :) The courtyard outside the library is pretty and sometimes you can get good pictures there. After about a bazillion pics I got one or two I sorta liked. :-O

Today was a fun morning! Got to go spend some time with a sweet family from church and play with their kiddos! I'm gonna just take the little 2-year-old home with me one of these days. :D The weather was SOOOOOO nice this afternoon and evening! Pretty blue sky, PERFECT temperature, and a breeze blowing. I took the dogs for a LONG walk and it was so relaxing and peaceful! Some quiet time to reflect on everything God has been doing in my life. God is good! All the time!

I've had an extra dog for a few days! She is leaving tomorrow, but I think Pepper is just getting used to her and I don't think she is going to want her to leave. I don't think the pup's mommy would like that idea too much. What do you think, Allison? Time with the two dogs is sure different then just Pepper, but, anyone that knows me will know I like a challenge. :D I tried out my dog training skills (I WENT TO A CLASS! :D) and I think they might have worked! We will see. :D WARNING: Both dogs badly need a bath...I don't think I'm going to be able to do that tomorrow soooooo..:D Sorry, A! =D

I've rambled long enough....I should get to bed! Here are a few pics! Enjoy! Goodnight!

At the library.

My pup, Pepper Parker!  :D

Me and my pup!  =D

Piobaireachd

Ok....so the word "piobaireachd" had something to do with bag pipes...I think it has to do with a certain style of song but I forgot....ANYWAY, I got to go with Sara to her bag pipe lesson today.  It was really neat!  Then we went to Everything Scottish in Linville, NC.  I had a lot of fun!

Today's verse;

Psalm 71:1
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

The world is such a confusing place!  When we are trying to do things our own way it gets even more confusing!  Trust in the Lord!  :D

O Magnify the Lord With Me

Short post again...sorry!  Had a great day and a wonderful evening.  :D  God is so good to me!  Thanks, Dad, for letting Ray come over!  Mom, I hope you get feeling better SOON and you don't end up with a sinus infection!!!

Verse for today;
Psalm 70:4
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

Today is a great day because my God is still in control!

Are you choosing to have a great day today?  Sometimes circumstances (AKA, life!) come along that discourage us and we are tempted to let it "ruin our day".  Do we forget...God is still in control?!!!  When we feel like we can't handle our problems we need to remember that WE don't need to handle our own problems!  Give them to God!  If we focus on our problems, they seem bigger than God, even though we KNOW that's not true!  Focus on God.  :D  Easy to say, I know, but God is a big God! 

=D   =D   =D   Be Encouraged   =D   =D   =D

It is so lovely outside!  Pepper and I had a good walk around that neighborhood this morning.  Well....I was going to share the encouraging song that was stuck in my head all morning BUT...it just got "unstuck" and now I can't remember what song it was!  Oh well.... :D  I worry about myself sometimes...I have to write my name down so I don't forget it!  It was something about how it was good to be in God's will.  If I remember I will write about it later.  =D

Since I didn't have time to post yesterday....here is yesterday's verse;

Psalm 68:19

Blessed be the Lord, who DAILY (emphasis mine) loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah.

I spent some time yesterday just meditating on that verse.  If you look for them, you can see how God really does DAILY load us with benefits.  It's all in your focus.  :)

I just finished putting together a power point slide show for Children's Church.  I am teaching them a new song Sunday!  It's called "I am a Missionary".  Lord willing, the children that are in the children's parade for Mission's Conference will be singing it for the adults!  I'm excited about that!

I gotta run...here is today's verse!

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

This verse is near the end of a Psalm where David is talking about all the people that are against him, and that his enemies are more than the hairs of his head.  Even with life is hard and it seems everyone is out to get us, we can still praise the name of the Lord! 

I know, I know....I didn't post yesterday.

:D  Sorry!  Sundays are busy so I probably won't have time to post on Sundays. 

Here is the verse for today;

Prov. 4:7
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

I am going to bed, but tomorrow I hope to give a quick update on today. :D

Happy Sleepy Saturday to Everyone!

Saturdays are a good day to sleep in!  That's just what I did today.  =D  And.....now I can't go to sleep.  =D 

It's a little late but I'm going to go hang out with Rachel sooooo...TTYL.  Have a good Lord's Day tomorrow!

Verse for the day;
Psalm 64:10
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him: and all the unright in heart shall glory.

Compassion leads to action...

I thought it was interesting that I was thinking about compassion this morning and then tonight I was sitting in the revival service and Dr. Beal mentioned that "compassion leads to action". That really got me thinking, and as I'm sure you can tell, I am still thinking about it! Do I have a compassion for lost souls? If I truly have compassion, then I will show it with my actions! How are you reaching out to those around you today?

I hope I'm not giving anyone a heart attack (*ahem*...Allison) with the fact that I am posting, not only twice in one week, but two days in a row!!! I almost don't want to mention my goal as far as posting because then people might start to get on me if I don't reach it....BUT....I hope to blog at LEAST a verse of the day. I don't think that's too hard of a goal! Feel free to bug me if I forget. :D

Today my little brother headed off to college. It's hard to believe he is already old enough to be in college! Please keep him in your prayers this semester.

This morning Dad left with Susie, Ben and Luke...that just left four of us at home! It seems like our family is getting smaller really quickly! Will we ever have a "normal" again? I don't think so! I was telling Isaac today, change is a part of life. We have to choose how we are going to react to those changes. When Dad gets back the younger kids will be back to school. I'm really enjoying NOT being in school this semester. :D I hope to get in more piano practice than I used to, and I'm looking for an accordion. I've always been interested in learning to play an accordion and now I think I might actually have time to learn. I also am going to pull out my Rosetta Stone Spanish and try to actually finish the program, I might know some Spanish when I'm finished. Time will tell. :D

This morning Rachel and Isaac helped me wash and clean out my car. THANK YOU!!! Afterwards we enjoyed some Chick-fil-A together. :D I love getting to spend time with my 'little' siblings. They are crazy, but....I am too so it all works out and we had fun. :D

 Rabbykinz...you're so cute! :D

Yes....Isaac gave me permission to put this picture on my blog. :D He was pretty excited (maybe a little TOO excited?!) about getting to help chaperone tonight.

This afternoon I kept myself out of trouble by cleaning the house. I'm sure that's one of the methods that Mom would prefer. :D Actually, (don't tell!!!) I like to clean and I really enjoy washing dishes. Not really sure why, but I do. :-D

Supper was hamburgers and (my favorite :D) Parker Party Potatoes. Some people ask why we call them that, the answer - it's a long story. :D We had to come up with some interesting sounding names for some recipes and that was the name we came up with for these potatoes.

Ray was able to come over for supper and then Rachel, Ray and I picked up some college kids and headed to the revival service. Great preaching at ABC as usual!

I'm happy to say that my pup is feeling a little better today! She should be back to normal in a few days.

All in all, another good day! God is good. All the time!

Verse of the day; (I actually got this one a few days ago...)

Isaiah 40:30-31

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.

September 1st

Today starts a new month.  One big change for me...I just deleted my Facebook page.  Yes, I'm already having withdrawals so that just PROVES it's addictive!  No need to fear, I have a list of much better things to do with my time instead of Facebook.  :D  One of them being actually keeping up with my journal (are you happy Allison? :D). 

I'm trying the new blogger set up/layout thingy...it seems to be easy enough to use!

I had a great afternoon at Moss Lake with Ray and Mr. Workman.  We ate lunch and went fishing!  :D

This is the only pic I got!  That's the first fish that was caught. :D  If we go again hopefully there will be more (bigger!) fish biting!!!  :D

Well, it's late and I better get off here! 

Verse for the day;

Micah 6:8
He hath shewd thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.

8/26/11

God has been so good to me!  All the time!  :D

There have been several verses I have been meditating on this week;

Isaiah 41:10
Fear thou not: for I am with thee: be not dismayed: for I am they God: I will strengthen thee: yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

I Thes. 5:18
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in me.

And last but not least, and I think the hardest to apply;

Psalm 46:10b
Be still and know that I am God.

That is easier SAID than DONE.  There were several times this week where I would be tempted to be discouraged (or had given in to that temptation!!!) and I would remember that verse and I would go by myself somewhere and just BE STILL.  It's hard!

I don't know if I have mentioned that my dog, Pepper, is going through obedience school.  I take her on Tuesday nights.  She is having some issues with getting in/out of her crate.  Mainly, she doesn't want to!  Mom wanted me to work with her so that wouldn't be such a problem.  I have wanted to take her in the car to practice getting in and out without a fit, but I also wanted to GO somewhere and not just drive around.  Thursday I took Benjamin, Rachel, Isaac and Pepper to Crowders Mountain and we hiked King's Pinnacle.  It was a good workout!  :D  We took lunch and once we got to the top and collapsed, then we ate lunch before we walk/limped/rolled/fell down the mountain.  :D  Today I took Rachel and Pepper to Broad River Greenway and we walked aways up the Up River trail.  That was nice!  Pepper is doing a lot better, so hopefully this will pay off.   I might even get some exercise while I'm at it.  :-O

Here we are at Broad River this morning.

At the top of King's Pinnacle!

Monday night of this week was great!  My parents and I met at the Workman's house.  Then Mr. and Mrs. Workman, my parents, Ray and I rode together to Cracker Barrel.  The parents sat at one table and Ray and I sat at another table on the other side of the room.  There was a really funny story with our waitress, but that will have to wait for another time.  If you want to hear it, ask me the next time you see me!  :D  We had a really good evening and I'm very glad we got to go.  :D 

Mom was so kind as to take some pictures for us, and she did a great job of course!  :D  Thanks Mom!  :D

Ray also came over tonight (Friday).  We didn't get any pictures, but I promise he really did come over!  :D  We had a good time playing games with the family.

Tomorrow I get to go babysit for most of the day!  That will be good for me, work on my patience!  :D  I really do love kids, so I don't mind at all!  :D

WOW! It's been over 2 months since I have posted!

As the weeks went by the days seemed long, the weeks short, and the weekend even shorter!  I know I haven't been able to post much, but I had an AMAZING summer.  God worked in my heart and in many other hearts as well.  I have already been able to put into practice many things God taught me this summer.

This is a picture of a sunrise that a friend of mine took on her phone.   I think it's pretty good for a phone!

Even though this blog was started for while I was at camp I think I'm going to keep using this page!

My little sister got married to one lucky guy last week!  It's still kinda hard to believe that it actually happened!  Her wedding was beautiful and God honoring!  I'm very glad that she allowed me to be a part of her special day.

<3  I love you Emily!  <3

This isn't the best picture, but I just had my phone so it will have to do!  I got to spend a few hours over at the Stalcups catching up and playing with the kids.  Fe'lisa and David are so sweet!  :D  I enjoyed it greatly.

And saving the best for last...:D  Ray!!!  God taught both of us a lot this summer as we wrote and got to know each other.  I am looking forward to getting to know Ray and his family.

This is a short post mostly with pics!

Sorry, not much talking this week.  I'm running out of time (again) so I figured pics were better than nothing.  Here is Junior I.

This was twin night....

My cabin from Junior I.  My co-counselor is Nalissa Dobbins.  She does funny voices...all the time.  We were the cabin that went around talking in a British accent ALL WEEK...The girl on the top left with her mouth open and the pigtails is the one that gave me the name Sunshine  :D

Some of my girls getting ready to ride horses.

After the mudpit!  It was FREEZING.  I think it was only 50something!

All camp pic.  I'm front left and my cabin is in that first row.

Dress your counselor night...need I say anything else???  Gotta love the hair...:D

Mixed group...all the pics of us are really bad...oh well.  Sorry! :D

Ok, here is Junior II.

Ok, this is Friday...after they announced the winners.  (Army again! :(  It was really close!!!)  David Albee's cabin was our "brother cabin" and cabins on the same team often have a challange throughout the week for saying verses.  David had this brilliant idea (!!!!) that if his cabin said more verses than mine that they were going to put raw eggs and mayo in my hair and push me into the lake.  If we said more then we got to do it to him.  I guess it's pretty obvious from the pic which cabin won.  :D

Here is the ACP again.  I'm the third one up on the right.  :D

Here is my cabin!   Three of these girls I had for inner city week.  The two on the right on the bottom row, and then the one on the left of the second row.

Laser tag!  They made me play too.  It was ok, but not something I would have a hankering to do just cause...

These are the three girls that I had for inner city, they are going through registration.

Laser tag again.

Here I am working on verses with Lea.  She was my best "verse sayer" that week!

Ok, I'm really sorry this is so short!  If there are misspellings (and I'm sure there are!) please overlook them.  :D  Love and miss you all!  Hope you have a great week!  Pray for me as we are going into our busiest week yet!  We are going to be maxed out with campers!!!!!!  Can't wait to see God working again!

~Sunshine :D