PRAYERS PLEASE

I am not going into specifics, but I need your prayers for my family and marriage! There are some very hard decisions that have to be made and have needed to be addressed for quite some time now. Please pray that I make my decisions wisely and not hastily. I am seeking Godly counsel. I am very scared and need your prayers!

God's Grace

Monday was my first day back to school and man was it a day! We had our medication calculation test thatwe take the very first day of each semester and must make a 100 on in order to continue in the nursing program. You have 2 attempts every semester to pass, if you aren't successful on the first try you have to take it several days later and it is a huge weight on your shoulders for those days because you know that all of the work you have done hangs on this one test, no one wants to have to take it the 2nd time! Well, of course, I made a silly error on my first one and had to retake it! It is so hard to concentrate on anything else when you have this black cloud hanging over you! My husband posted a lot about my ordeal on FB and had lots of his friends that I do not even know and some of our friends and family praying for me and God's will in the situation. I promise you I felt a peace when I took this test. I still wasn't sure I would pass it, but I just felt like it was all in God's hands. He had opened so many doors for me to get back into school, if he needed to close those doors now I would understand, I wouldn't like it, but I would understand. He has plans that I can never comprehend. There were 12 of us who had to retake this exam and sadly one of us did not pass! I felt so bad for her, I knew what she was feeling, the same all 12 of us had felt for the past 2 days only amplified by a million!

This semester is going to be crazy! We have 3 papers due by mid September, at least 2 test every week (sometimes 3 a week) and 2 days of clinicals! It will be very time consuming! I pray that my family, especially my 10 year old Braxton can be patient and understanding!

Good News

Robert got the job he interviewed for. It is part time now, but should become full time with benefits by fall! I have been so amazed at how God has provided for us these last 5 months! When I found out that Robert had lost his job, I was devistated and worried. I asked for prayers and turned to God on my knees as well and stopped worrying. When I turned it over to him, he took care of everything, we never went hungry and didn't lose the house! God is sooooo good! Thanks for all of the prayers!!!

Summer fun

This summer was about spending some time with my boys. Devin started working this summer, so he only went on one trip with us, to Cherokee, NC. Robert, Braxton and I also went to visit his family near Syracuse NY and then to Gettysburg, PA. Other than the trips I enjoyed spending time with the boys just hanging out at the mall, at the local water park or just around the house spending quality time togehter. I did not get to see Storm a lot, he is still doing his own thing, please keep him in your prayers. Also keep Robert in your prayers, he has an interview today and could possibly still have an opportunity to go back into the work he used to do in Nuclear power plants and would be in Kansas for several months. This would be a good opportunity!

I have posted some pictures of our trips!

Braxton shooting the cannon at Gettysburg.

Braxon with his favorite monument at Gettysburg.

Braxton and 2 of our grandchildren, Colby (4) and Akayla (3) at the Alpaca farm in Marathon, NY

Braxton on his new bike. "The Fastest Bike Ever".

Braxton floating down the river in Cherokee, NC

Braxton on a rock in the river in Cherokee, NC

Devin skipping rocks across the river in Cherokee, NC

Pouty face Devin!

Devin exhausted after cross country practice.

My stud Devin relaxing in the sun on our visit to Cherokee, NC

Summer Doo

Braxton has been begging all year to get a mohawk and I did not think that it was a good idea, so I told him that when school was out, if he had good grades, so he now has his mohawk! He is so funny, everytime he passes a mirror he has to look at himself. I have a mirror on my mantel and as he walks up the stairs he peaks over the banister and looks at it in the mirror! He loves seeing peoples reactions to his hair! We went to pick up his report card at school and he had to show all of his teachers, the lunch ladies and the custodian. He is so funny! I am glad that I can make him happy with such a little gesture!

Berrylicious

It is strawberry season here in the upstate of SC and there is this wonderful strawberry farm here named Strawberry Hill, USA. Yesterday was Robert's 50th birthday and he loves Strawberries so we bought 2 gallons and I made him this yummy strawberry cake! It is sooo easy I have attached the recipe below:

1 box white cakemix

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries (sweeten them to taste and set aside)

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3 oz box strawberry gelatin

Bake cake mix according to box and allow it to cool completely. Mix the gelatin according to directions and refrigerate it until it is cool, do not let it set up at all. Use a straw to poke holes in the cake and pour the gelatin over the cake evenly allowing it to soak into the cake. Now spread the sliced strawberries on the cake. Whip the heavy cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla on high until it forms stiff peaks, spread it on the cake. I sliced 4 cups of strawberries and set aside 1 cup to add to the top of the cake.

It was delicious! The only problem you will have is that unless you live in upstate SC you will not have the best strawberries in the world! I swear it tastes like they put sugar in the soil, the berries are just that sweet!!!

Taking Chance

Today is a day that we remember the sacrifices that many men and women have made to keep this the "land of the free". So many have paid the ultimate price so that we can live in a land where we are so blessed. Robert and I watched a movie last week called "Taking Chance". It is a HBO movie that he found on NetFlix about a Colonel that offers to escort a PFC that was killed in the Iraq war on Good Friday 2004 home. It is a very thought provoking movie. If you have HBO it is on today at 9 pm, it will truly make you think!

Enjoy!

Rene'