Days and counting...

The end of my first week off is drawing to a close and Christmas is only 6 days away... I would love to tell you how all my gifts are wrapped and ready to go, my cookie plates have been delivered, my Christmas cards have been addressed and mailed.  Sadley, none of these have a check mark next to them as "completed".  Meaning, my gift buying is not finished, I have half of my cards addressed and stamped, and the gifts that have already been purchased are not wrapped.  I just can not seem to get into a schedule that works for me!  To be honest, I'm feeling rather frustrated with myself.  I do not like to be unorganized, having a list of uncompleted task and really dislike days that I get nothing accomplished. 
As I had my devotions this morning, this is what I read:
     It is good that you recognize your weakness.  That keeps you looking to God, my strength.  Instead of trying to fit this day into a preconceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what God is doing.  Doing in my life as well as the lives of those close to me.  Stop taking yourself so seriously.  Lighten up and laugh!  Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

It is so amazing how God works, and His words just are like...a big stop sign!  I so needed this today!  I have been so worried about the small stuff that I am totally missing out on all the fun stuff!  I threw my "list" out.  If the cookies plates don't get delivered, no big deal.  The people on the list don't even know that they are on the list.  Saying that I wish you could have seen the smiles on the faces of my children when I told them the cookies in the off limit container belonged to them...priceless! And as far as the shopping, we skipped out on that and headed to the mountains and surprised them to a meal at the Dixie Stampede!  We had the best day!  We laughed so hard our bellys hurt, we ate way too much as well!  Hunter Wade was even chosen to go and chase the chickens! 

You know, each of us are so blessed with what we have and what a gracious God we serve. He gave His only Son to be born on this sinful earth and go to that old rugged cross to die for our sins that we may have eternal life!  Saying that, I pray each of you have a blessed Sunday!  Laugh and laugh some more :)

                             

Here it is 12 days until Christmas and we finally have the pictures picked for our Christmas Cards!  Whew- what an adventure!  Now the next big thing is getting them into the mail! My goal is to have them addressed and out by monday afternoon...we shall see. 
On a musical note, Bradlynn sang her first solo in church this past wed. night. She did a great job! We were so proud of her!  We are trying to get a clip from the audio guys at church to download it to our blog, so please check back. 
This next week begins my Christmas vacation, I'm really looking forward to being off, lots of  baking to do, gift buying, parties. Next wed. the 16th, Carter is having dental work done, please keep him in your prayers, 2 root canals. That pretty much brings our week to a close, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas Program

We have had the childrens Christmas program, and they all did a great job.  Hunter Wade's kindergarten gave The Friendly Beast, each of the 30 kindergarteners dressed up as eithor an animal, an angel or wise man- they were all too cute.  Carters' third grade class did a great job on The Light Of The World.  Carter was one of the lights.  The 5th graders, Bradlynns' class, gave Such As I Have, pastor was so impressed with all the childrens presentations he asked the 5th graders to come back and sing their song as the closing song of the night!  We are so proud of each of them! 

Ladies Christmas Dinner

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Each year our church hosts a Ladies Christmas Dinner, tonight was our night!  What a great time we had.  The food, the laughs, the fellowship,  I just wished we could get together more often.  We had a delicious meal, the best sweet tea and amazing cheesecake. Several ladies went home with fantastic door prizes:  Biolage Hair Products Basket, Gift Cards to TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Cracker Barrel, Panera Bread and the list goes on.  I am so blessed to have such a great church and wonderful friends that are so dear to my heart! Love you all!

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Happenings Around the Hive...

So, here it is Monday evening and I should be in class. Should be are the key words here.  Around 10:30 my phone rang and from the screen I knew that ext.- the academy.  Three kids faces flashed thru my mind, Hunter Wade? Bradlynn? Carter?  "Yes Mrs. Manning?" ...Hunter Wade.

With a low grad temp, 99 to be exact, we headed home.  He and Chase slept most of the day away, of course this was after Chase found everyone's Friday lunch money. As I as tending to Hunter Wade, I kept hearing the toilet flush followed by a giggle and a "Bye!"  Yes, Chase was flushing dollar bills down the toilet!  For some unknown reason my boys have had a fetish with toilets.  Here are just a few items we lost to the shiny bowl: watches, sweats, full rolls of toilet paper, silverware, hair bows, and now we can add $.  Needless to say we have had a fun start to the week- oh yea, the school has canceled K-5 for the remainder of the week!Due to illness.

On a lighter note, I am seriously considering joining our orchestra, with my viola. It has been a long time since I have picked it up and played but I have always enjoyed playing and these past weeks I've really been looking into a new viola.  I am excited about it I have always used the good old time excuse but, since Bradlynn has started playing the flute, I have really desired to start playing my instrument, I will keep you post as to what becomes of the Viola!

Speaking of new I just bought the new Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipe Book! I love my crock pot and can not wait to try out some new recipes :)

One more thing, please forgive the sights of our blog. I am trying to find that just right background and really having a hard time with it! I tried for almost 2 hours one afternoon to change the background and for some reason I could not figure it out-frustrated, I asked a dear friend Sherry, here is a link to her blog, so cute so creative! She inspires me so much!  She fixed it...YEA!!!

Well, as I write this, the boys have managed to find my secret stash of gum, my ipod, my work id and my work keys and Chase has flushed one more thing, this time the letter I from Hunter Wades school flash cards, this should be fun explaining!  Hope all of you have a wonderful blessed week!  :)

A Week of Words.

Sitting here at our desk, listening to the heavy rainfall, feeling the house vibrate with each clash of thunder, sipping my cup of girlie coffee, as Donnie calls it. (Mostly because I add so much creamer to it) I have to say, I have so much to share that I don’t know where to begin.
First, let me brag on what a great family I am blessed with, especially Carter. Let me enlighten you. I have mentioned this before, if there is one thing that I truly pray for my children, it is that they know God and truly trust Him in all areas of their life. There are times, I must admit that I wonder if they really understand or if they are just hanging on to what we say, do etc. See, last week, our home was broken into. They cleaned us out-so to say. While we were cleaning up their undoing of our home, Carter stopped and told us, “You know, we need to thank Jesus right now” I stopped, looked at him with a questionable look- “Mommy you are always telling us that we need to thank God for everything that comes into our lives, and that if we trust the Lord, keep our eyes focused on Him, He is not going to give us anything that He can’t help us thru.” Okay, up until now, I have tried to keep the tears back as to what has happened to our home, pretty much lost it at that point. He was so right! We stopped all the cleaning and prayed. Prayer of thankfulness, thankful that no one was home, thankful that there wasn’t more that they took, thankful that there was no damage done to our furniture, our beds, the interior of our home. Thankful that we have a home and thankful that we serve a GREAT God and that we know all things work together! The faith of a child! I thank God everyday for what has happened to us, so many dear friends have offered us TVs, computers, dishes, clothes, toys, and meals. The children have seen the goodness of our friends and how truly blessed we are.


On a lighter note, the boys have discovered…rockets! This past Labor Day, they spent quite a bit of time building their masterpiece. The excitement was was building until lift-off! We actually met another family at our launch pad (our church’s parking lot) and set off our rockets. We had such a great time, I am not sure who was more excited, the boys or Bradlynn and I. It was a great family day! One thing is for sure, I no longer have to twist anyone’s arm about going into Hobby Lobby☺!!!

One more thing, which if I let Hunter know I almost forgot, he would not be happy. We went to a Smokey's ballgame! We had never been but had a great night out at the ballpark! Not that we were soooo excited to see Ryan Sandberg or anything! Go Cubs!

The College Mens Quartet also sang which made us proud! They did a great job!


Well, that pretty much brings us up to date, I hope each of you have a wonderful day, full of blessings! Romans 8:28 And we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.~jodilynn

Back To School

Yes, it is that time again, school has begun and I have gone back to work! We all had such a great day! Each of the children are so excited about the school year. Bradlynn is delighted beyond measure, in 5th grade they get their own locker with a combination! She has been very busy "decorating" her locker! Hunter, on the other hand, was a little disappointed today,"Just when I was getting ready to fall asleep, she made us pick up our nap maps!" As for Carter, our one that is the rock, never wavering, just is in love with his teacher! He is thrilled to be back in school and can not wait until soccer begins!
I too, was thrilled to be back at work. The college dorms open this Friday and everyone has been like little bees just buzzing around getting things in order for the students. I have been busy in a program that we use called school minder. This keeps track of all the courses that are offered and place, time and whom the professor is, as well as how many students may enroll in the class and who they are, and of course I can not leave out my dear old friend...shelby! I will admit, I have not missed working in this program over the summer ;) it actually hasn't been that bad, but as my friend put it to me today, "You can tell you have only been at work 2 days !" giggle giggle.
Well, that pretty much lets you know how our first days have been, I will try to keep up with this more than I did this past school year-wish me luck :) I hope you all have a blessed day and a great school year!

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Love this quilt!

It's a quilt giveaway!
Don't you just love this quilt! The ladies over at marie-madeline studio are giving this beautiful quilt away! Please stop by their blog to enter, you have until the 8th of August. They are all so talented, and you will just fall in love with all their yummy creations!

Can you believe, that August is 2 days away! Where has our summer gone! I have to admit, I am really looking fwd to getting back to my own little desk :) The college students will be returning in 23 days! So much to do before the dorms open and registration begins! If you have never been to the college website, you'll need to check it out:) http://www.thecrowncollege.com/
Now that I have given a little plug for the college, let's bring you up to date... We are going home to visit family in less than a week! I am not sure who is more excited the kids or myself! I am really praying that we will be able to meet Julie and Kenny and the boys while they are on their way to the cabin (hint hint Julie). As for our plans,I know one of the days we are going to Frankenmuth-a great German town with great food and wonderful shops! Another day my mother and I will be hitting the British Pantry , and all the antique shops. Also, we are going to try to see family, and friends- we haven't been home in 18 mths! I can hardly wait!
Ball season has come to an end, Carter and Hunter Wade did a great job, and Chase so wanted to play, he would ask the coach every week , "Can I play?" I am not sure if I am ready for that, it was pretty crazy this summer with both boys playing and having games at the same time on two different fields-whew! Bradlynn has been busy too- from sewing with me, to tending to the garden and much much baking! We have really enjoyed that, a little too much at times :) Hopefully all is well at your end, and you have truly enjoyed your summer! We pray you have a day full blessing!

Three days ago my best friend moved away... I am not sure why this move has been so hard on me, but it has. I think I have cried enough to fill the Nile! Our homes were five minutes away and now are seperated by a long Seven hours. I just don't like it! My heart just hurts, I have prayed so hard that God will take the hurt away but it seems every time I pray this prayer, I begin to cry, like I am now...I know God has His hand in it but, does He really have to move them that far away? I know we will see each other soon and there is the internet, phones and of course our fav, texting:) but each of these still does not change the fact that my friend is so far away. She has been my soul-winning partner, my prayer partner, my late night run to Starbucks buddy, my thrift shop finder, my soundboard, and her girls have been the sister that Bradlynn has always wanted, and babysitters whenever needed. I know God has great things ahead for them and I am excited to see what is in store for their family. So as I close, to my dear friend, we have been through so much and this is just another chapter in our lives we will be able to look back on and talk about over that next extra shot and a little caramel drizzle~ love ya girl!

Our Friendship
by Melinda Stankosky
Our friendship started many years ago.
Where the days have gone I don't know,
But when I think of all we've done
I stop and smile because we've had such fun.
I hope you know how much I care.
It's friends like you who create a pair.
I wish I were closer to share your happiness;
But near or far, I wouldn't miss
All the things you have to share.
I hope you know I am always here.
I know it is harder being miles away,
But always remember this when I say,
"Our friendship is a treasure
Well beyond any measure. "

Okay, so I am a few days behind in getting our pictures posted from the 4th... We had a great day filled with wonderful memories! I hope you enjoy the pics :)

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Summer Heat

The temperature again, being on the warm side, the children and I voted for the water park! It has been so hot and humid! We are all in agreement we will be back, we had the park to ourselves for awhile- which was very nice:) I think Bradlynn had the most fun getting her brothers soaked! Hope each of you are enjoying your summer!

A Week With All Boys...

Yes, that's right, a week of all boys in the house! Bradlynn is at camp this week which leaves me as the only girl in the house! I can not complain, the boys have really made it easy on me and actually spoiled me. From letting me have first choice on all the "boys only" toys and by tons of extra kisses,and just being extra sweet~ "cause my heart hurts with sissy being gone", according to Hunter Wade. I have to admit, my heart does ache because she has been gone. Friday is one day away, yea!
This week has had it's moments, Cottontail, Bradlynn's bunny, has been missing since Monday morning, Hunter Wade has had breathing issues all week. He's been on breathing treatments every 4-6 hours and steroid meds just to relieve the airway. Please keep him in your prayers, we are suppose to be in the 90's the next couple of days and the heat index is going to reach 105+, which does nothing for his breathing :( Plus he is suppose to play in his first T-ball game Friday evening.
We started harvesting parts of the garden, zucchini, beans, carrots! Very yummy I might add. I've found a few recipes for zucchini and very excited about trying them out. Of course we've had tons of zucchini bread/muffins already, nothing like each of those fresh out of the oven with a little bit of butter :} yum yum!
Although this has been a short recap of the week, I can not forget my thankful thursday~ friendship. I'm thinking of one in particular. We met several years back and to be honest not really clear on all the details, as how we met, we just became kindred spirits, as Anne would say. We have lived in different parts of the country, lived in the same towns, together and at different times. We've seen how God has supplied our families needs when we just didn't know how, when or where things would come from or even how they would ever be resolved. I look back at these years and I really am thankful for her dear friendship, a friendship that if we are together words don't have to be said, it 's already understood, a friendship that doesn't drain me, just constantly grows and encourages me to grow, a friendship that comes true to the end! Saying that, I pray that my children will too find this type of friendship and be that type of friend! So, to you my friend, thank you for all the years of laughter, tears and friendship, God has truly blessed me with a friend like you!
Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. I pray that each of you have a blessed week!

Slip-n-Slide Saturday

Saturday of blessings...The children received their slip-n-slide as a Christmas gift and they were finally able to brake it out...yea!! They had a great time as you can tell from the pictures below- gotta love smilebox! Also today, one more property went from sale to sold! We are about to close the month out with 9 property sales! What a HUGE answer to prayer this has been! We are truly blessed! I received a little gift today from a dear friend- just for picking their mail up while they were out of town... I love anything from yankee candle :) She is always surprising me, or I should say spoiling me! Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!

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Thankful Thursday...

THANKFUL THURSDAY.... On this stormy Thursday afternoon, I have two little super hero's that I am so thankful to God for, my Hunter Wade and my Chase! These little guys without a doubt brighten up my days! From Hunter Wade telling everyone that they need Jesus in their hearts to Chases' giggles. From mud pies, bugs, and anything these two can get their hands on, I am so blessed that they call me mommy! They have such a great sweet tender relationship that I pray never grows old. On a quick note, I am thankful for the rain that we have had...keeps me from pulling weeds in the garden- for now at least :) Have a day full of God's blessings!

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Summer Has Begun

Our Summer has begun! Okay I am going to try to play catch up... We will start with what I think is the greatest way for our summer to begin. Bradlynn and Carter both asked Jesus into their heart!! Bradlynn was baptized on mother's day and Carter is waiting until June 7th (grandparents will be in town)
Cabin... Grandma and Papa Busby were down and treated us to a cabin getaway- WOW! is the best word to describe this cabin. We have never stayed in one before and we really didn't want to leave. We are going to try to get the rest of the Busby families to commit to getting one for all 17 of us over our Christmas holiday (hint hint :})
The garden is doing well, we have 4 rows of beans, 2 rows of tomatoes, 2 rows of zucchini, 2 rows of peppers, 2 rows of carrots, 4 sunflower plants, 4 watermelon plants, 4 pumpkin plants- these belong to the children- which are doing very well I might add.
I finished up work as well this past week. A little mixed emotions, I will really miss seeing the girls and my desk- but, August is not but a few months away...
Hopefully this has brought you up to date with what is going on over at the busby hive :) Have a blessed week! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Okay so it's been a little too long since our last post... We have been so busy, but who hasn't been. We are in the final lap of school, both the kids and myself. The next time I decide to take an online class, someone please stop me! Seriously, it has been exciting and I have learned quite a bit, about computer programs and myself...especially when it comes to crunch time!
Kenny, Julie and the boys were down for a few days- the boys are getting so tall and Carter and Hunter were thrilled to "hang out" with their cousins!
Bradlynn has recently bought a bunny aka, cotton tail or, if you ask the boys, you may get: Mr. Busby Bunny, Bunny, or Mr. Floppy. I have to admit, the bunny does grow on ya!
We also are getting the ground ready for the garden. The kids have picked out which row will be theirs, of course they are excited about it now, but wait until it comes time for weeding! Bradlynn and I are still looking for that "right" material for our garden aprons, she really wants to try and sew her own, we will have to keep you posted on that!
Well, we are off..I hope each of you have a spring that is full of God's blessing!

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Whew! What a week!

I am so thrilled that it is the weekend! We have had a crazy week. A lot of you know the college had bit of a water leak, which praise the Lord, the damage could have been a lot worse. Monday, the children did not have school- in service for the teachers. Bradlynn was able to go with me to work to help answer phones. (Amelia had a group touring the college- which I still don't understand how she did that! She is amazing when it comes to giving "tours" of the college!) Bradlynn was tickled to death that we were able to answer phones from "THE" office! Then, as if that were not enough for her, it began to snow! The flakes were absolutely beautiful! I am not for snow, but something about the twinkle in her eyes, the continuance on her face, was impossible not to be contagious. Tuesday began with no school...snow. We enjoyed our day at Jilly's. Wednesday...totally crazy. All the water that the college had, the fans were still blowin to help 'dry things out'. Thanks to Korski, aka Mr. Steve Sikorski,(what Hunter and Chase refer to any of the Sikorski's) my computer was up and running, at least we thought it was. Let me rewind a bit. See, where my desk sits, there was no electricity. My second week of work, they had to brake the tiles, hammer out the cement, dig a trench just to be able to run the electrical wires underground to my desk. They ran all the wires thru the white plastic tubes, not really sure what the proper name is but, that is how they were able to get electricity to my desk. Anyway, because the circular 4 prong outlet is based in the tile, the water actually seeped thru the outlets and filled the trench. So after a shop vac full of water, the adapters replaced, my desk was good as new! I am so ready for a week without drama!
There is one last thing that is really amazing! Today my friend and I went out on visitation, we were able to see one person come to know Christ! She and I were so excited and still are. Please keep her in your prayers, her name is Ngozia. She is planning on coming to church along with her kids. I tell ya, this was the greatest way to end my week! I serve an AWESOME GOD!!!!!

Busy Buzzbees

It's done!! Most of you know that for Christmas Bradlynn really wanted an American Girl nightgown. Sadly, the AG web site, had all the character girls nightgowns sold until March 2009, yes, March. We had a couple of friends that went to New York and Atlanta, still, no gown. My mother suggested why not make one... why I didn't think of that sooner, I have no idea! Here is the finish product! I have to admit, I really like the "homemade" night gown better.(It was a lot cheaper too) We used a flannel material and added a little bow, she loved it, I love it, nanna loves it- that's all we need!
I think these past few weeks, Bradlynn and I have been in the craft mode. Another little desire of mine for this year is to memorize more scripture. A dear friend had posted on her blog that she, with several other women, are committing to memorizing a verse on the 15th and the 30th. She is placing them on 3x5 cards that are spiral bound. Bradlynn and I thought what a great thing we could work on together, actually be accountable to each other. We decided to take it a step further, we are making verse journals, hence the picture of her with all or scrapbook materials. We have had great time making these and have had a better time keeping each other accountable on our verses! Well, that's all the crafty news from the Busby hive! Hope you have a great week!