Family Pixs

Me and my wonderful husband and our precious daughter.
Mom and the kids goofing off!

The Men in my life!!!

Mom and daughter-BFF!!!!

I'm on a roll!! Just wanted to post some family photos we took this weekend. I love the black and white!

More Poetry

Ok, ok, ok...I've slacked off a little (embarrassed smile), actually alot, on my blog. I guess that's what I get for making such a big declaration about emerging from the corner. Blah, blah, blah....let's face it. Mom's get really busy. And this homeschooling year is going to be very time consuming and hectic. So, I thought I'd bulk up my number of posts by adding another poem.

FYI....I will be posting about the wonderful Anniversary trip Kevin and I took last week. Complete with pictures and description! Ta Ta For Now!

The Purging Fire

Oh, Saviour that I may love thee more

and upon thy bosom lean

May I ever cherish my feiry trials

that purge this vessel clean

The dross the trials doth take away

though my aching heart may cry

yet refines in a likeness still

that shall forever be as thine

Do not the beautiful trees so green

forfeit their colors with time

As coldness creeps across the sky

leaves fall with dismal sigh

Oh, they seem to die in weary trodden paths

that upon them no mercy unfolds

Yet as the lush green has faded away

The leaves now have traces of gold

Their trials brought forth the better

and the beauty that only could come

from a season that forces change

and a mercy that will overcome

So harsh, yet so merciful

are the trials that burden me so

Yet in them the dross fades away

And the Saviour I more lovingly know!

Fall is Nearing

I try my hand at poetry from time to time. I wanted to add this to my blog because fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. It has a poignant beauty...all nostalgic and such! Enjoy!

Fall is Nearing

Fall is nearing,
thus my heart is in deepest thought
Gone is whimsical summer
and all the joys it has wrought.

The lush green will be on it's deathbed
And the fireflys will escape away
The languor of the hammock's creak
Will succumb to the approaching days.

The darkness of night swells with length
And the shadows become more intense
The brisk air whispers a foreboding tale
Of a season that holds no pretense.

Sprightly summer days must go,
Their cruel escort is the Autumn wind
And upon my deep introspection
Lies a reality buried within

Fall is nearing,
and my heart sinks with the thought
That I shoud fail to glean
from the lessons I'll be taught.

Remembrance

It is with bitter sting that all Americans are forced to look back in time to September 11, 2001. We all remember what we were doing when the tragic news came to us, when the harsh reality fell upon us.

We were assaulted-emotionally raped. Families were severed, friends became friendless, and the void that engulfed us brought us to our knees. It was a senseless act of diabolical hatred that served to remind us of the constant evil that permeates our world. And without the strength and power of God, we would be swallowed by this evil that desperately wants to prevail.

My hope, my prayer, is that my fellow Americans will turn to God in this time of remembrance. Had He not sustained our Country, we would have surely been overtaken. If He is not your Saviour, call on Him today. Make this time of remembrance a time to repent. May our Country make this time of remembrance a time to return to the God this nation was founded upon. God has been merciful. And God has certainly blessed America.

The Secrets of Sisterhood

My "Sisterhood"- Sandy, Melissa, Mom, Roni, Rita



Blood is thicker than water, but blessed be the ties that bind female friends! Much like a mother's instinctive love and care, lady friends will lock arms to defeat any foe that barges against the "sisterhood." And you know what? That sisterhood doesn't even have to be biological.

God designed women with such an intense loyalty to those they love. Take for instance a woman's automatic defense mechanism over her husband. Just let a person cross a loyal wife's husband, and that person won't live to regret it! A loyal wife can calmly lace the coffee with arsenic, serve it to the offender with a smile, and hum a little tune while she waits for him to croak. Do I even need to deal with a Mother's fierce love? It's a love that will stop at nothing to protect. And until a woman is a Mother, she can't even begin to comprehend what I'm saying.

But everyone of us knows about our deep devotion to our "sisters". Whether they be sisters in Christ, sisters by blood, or sisters by association, once there is an established bond, all the dynamite in the Kentucky coal mines can't break it. It's part of our nature.

But there may be a few other reasons why women bond so intimately. A connection that is exclusively "female." Science can't explain it, and men can't fathom it. However, women know these reasons as fact. Although the following is borrowed, it expresses my sentiments exactly!

Top 10 Things Only Women Understand

10. Why it’s good to have five pairs of black shoes.
9. The difference between cream, ivory, and off-white.
8. Crying can be fun.
7. FAT CLOTHES.
6. A salad, diet drink, and a hot fudge sundae make a balanced lunch.
5. Discovering a designer dress on the clearance rack can be considered a peak life experience.
4. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.
3. A good man might be hard to find, but a good hairdresser is next to impossible.
2. Why a phone call between two women never lasts under ten minutes.
AND THE NUMBER ONE THING ONLY WOMEN UNDERSTAND:
1. OTHER WOMEN!

Intimidation of Inadequacies

Well, this is only my second day of blogging, and boy, do I feel inadequate.

I've been looking around in the vast blogosphere, and I shrink with intimidation. There's crafting blogs, quilting blogs, cooking blogs, political blogs, feminist blogs. I'm not sure of all the classifications, but I don't seem to fit in any particular category. To be honest, I'm not focused on one single thing. I'm just.....a blog.

I have varied interests, but can I actually blog on any of them? Let's see....I could take a picture of my sink full of dishes, write about the process, and then post another picture showing my finished product. Perhaps I could blog about the neverending battle I face with my laundry. No. That wouldn't work. I would have to post a panoramic photo of the laundry that has yet to be folded. I'm not in this for shame.

A homeschool blog? I'm not exactly an authority. I have the same struggles as anyone else. A Mother's blog? Well, I do have experience, but my end product isn't tested and tried just yet. Wait. I can do a blog on being a wife! I can posts pictures of me ironing my husbands clothes and cooking his supper. Hmmmm......Those candid photos would be hard to come by.

I'll just stick with what I know. That endless dialogue in my head. Constantly driving me to pen, or peck, those thoughts down. So what if I'm not a pro at any given talent? What do I have to prove? Plus, it's very unlikely that I will have a huge audience. I have a place in the blogosphere, even if it is a corner of Whitsinn.

The Rita Everyone Knows-And the One Some Don't!

The word "everyone" in the above title is not meant to be all inclusive. Of course, everyone doesn't know me. It's really just an expression to convey that everyone that does know me is aware of certain things about me. Even those that know me, and some know me very well, don't know everything about me.

I'm not talking about tabloid trash here. I don't have an alien baby. I don't have extra limbs that I conceal under loose clothing. I'm talking about uneventful, common facts that aren't exactly news worthy. But these facts are part of who I am.

Let's start with the known. I'm a mother of three and a wife of one terrific guy! I married my highschool sweetheart in 1993. I must say, I have enjoyed the journey! I'm 38 years old and rapidly graying. I have had this gray streak since I was 17, but it has gradually spread out over the years. As of the past six months, my streak looks to be sprinting as fast as it can in a race to cover my whole head.

I am a born again believer who is happy with life and happy about God. My husband is the pastor of The Jefferson Lighthouse Baptist Church. We are fundamental, independent Baptist who believe the Word of God. I am the piano player at my church, and I sing as well. Christianity has never brought me one ounce of misery, only joy.

I homeschool my children and have done so since kindergarten. It can be quite a task, but I will quickly say, it's one of the greatest joys of my life!

There are some unknown things, that is, unknown up to this point. Nothing earth shattering. It just reveals who I am and what drives me.

I love E-Bay. I purchased the textbooks for school this year on E-Bay and saved about 73% compared to the publisher's price. Score! I also love flea markets, though the one near me is toooo crowded so I never go. I love antique stores. In short, I love a good deal!

One of my favorite things to do is buy something at an incredibly low price and then turn around and resell it for profit. It's funny, sometimes Kevin (my love) says, "I can't believe you are going to sell that! I thought you liked it?" I tell him, "This was strictly a purchase for resale. Yes, I like it. But I like the profit I can make from it better." I can be pretty savvy when it comes to turning a profit. But only on a small scale. The stock market is waaaayyy out of my league.

I love sudoku! One of the best strategy games out there. I love games period. Scrabble, Yahtzee, Free Cell, Oregon Trail, Bejeweled....you name it. I like Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. I even have it on my cell phone. There's nothing like losing a game designed to show you how dumb you are!

I write poetry. Unfortunately, I don't do it enough. Inspiration doesn't always strike me, and I experience writer's block quite often. I will probably post some of my poetry on here when time allows. My favorite poets are Robert Frost, Amy Carmichael, and William Wordsworth.

Let's see....I read the dictionary and absolutely love doing so. I have several house plan books by my bed. One day, we will build. I read and read and read. I have stacks of books by my bed. In fact, reading is like a sleepy tonic for me. It's how I relax. How I learn. How I get my mind off of things.

I love taking tests and quizzes. I've taken umpteen I.Q. tests, with the highest score of 132. The lowest is noone's business but mine!

I sew, especially window treatments. I do alterations and easy stuff like that. I love classical music AND classical theatre. Shakespeare is the stuff! The greatest play of all time is Fiddler on the Roof, and I would love a shot at playing Yenta.

I'm terrified of heights. I'm talking about a paralyzing fear of heights. I'm afraid of guns, but I sure do believe we have the right to own one! If you want to see me get beside myself, show me a snake. YIKES! I hate the disgusting things!

You know, I could go on and on. But this serves as a general introduction, and as I write more, my personality, fears, and dreams will come through. Writing is a perpetual motion: it doesn't end with the writer, and hopefully, doesn't end with just one reader.

Emerging from the Corner

I'm no prolific writer, I can tell you that now. But I do experience a constant stream of dialogue in my mind. I often pen down the dialogue on the imaginary pages of my mind, but as we all know, those pages are never read by anyone else. So, I decided to actually take a stab at this modern notion of blogging. No, it doesn't replace the feel of a hardback book in your hands, but let's face it; Jane Austin would have risen to greater levels of fame if the internet had been available in her life time!

I love to write. I'm not the best, but expression is a passion for me. I've tried keeping journals and failed miserably. That clean sheet of paper invokes so many thoughts. The crisp white paper screams, "Create me! Make me something worthy for the eyes of the readership!" It also says with snearing glee, "All those ideas are much better in your head, aren't they?"

My biggest drawback to journals is the physical act of writing. My handwriting becomes sloppy after a short while (arthritis-and at such a young age!). I ashamedly admit, though not as "romantic" as beautiful cursive handwriting in a tea-stain colored journal, pecking on the keyboard is the fast track to expressing your thoughts.

So, here I am. I'll save the introduction and personal profile for another blog. I just wanted to announce that I'm emerging from the corner. And from the pages in my head.