My Little Angel

Do you believe in angels? I do! Why do you believe in angels you ask? Because the Bible speaks repeatedly of angels. As nearly as I can count, there are 289 references to angels in God's Holy word.

My very favorite verse about angels is "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2. Isn't that an awesome thought....we might have, or possibly will have, the honor of entertaining angels!!!

Another verse I like is "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" Hebrews 1:5&6

I received this little angel on a Christmas package when I was 8 years old. That makes her 61 years old!!!!! She has hung on my Christmas treeevery year until December, 2005 when I decided not to pack her away but leave her out to join other angels I have around my home. I have 25 angels around my home, plus a sign on my front porch that reads: House Protected By ANGELS and angel border wallpaper in my master bathroom. My angels range in height from 1 1/2" to 2'2". Many of them are very special to me, and I will be sharing more of my angels in other posts in the future, but this little angel is my favorite.

The reason this little angel is my favorite is because she reminds me of me. If you notice closely, her halo is crooked. So is mine!!! She is missing one wind. She's been through a lot. So have I!!! She's a little soiled. So am I!!! The beauty of her face is almost gone. So is mine!!! Her hands are still folded in prayer. So are mine!!! BUT she is still here, and so am I!!!

We had a pastor who use to make fun of "sissy female angels" saying that real angels are huge, masculine, massive and strong. I am sure they are, but I still love my pretty angels and they are a blessing to me. Thank you for letting me introduce you to this little angel. I hope you will enjoy meeting my other ones, too.

Early Years

I was going through some old photographs and decided to post this one of me and my 12 year old sister, Marion, taken in 1938.

Marion was so beautiful. She had dark brown hair and blue-blue eyes. I was blond with hazel eyes. My mother was 19 when Marion was born and 31 when I was born. My father was 52 when I was born. (I invite you to read my tribute to my father which I posted earlier.)

Marion died in 1985 of cancer. She was 60 years old and far to young. She preceded my mother to Heaven by 5 months. My mother grieved horribly over her death. I missed them both so much.

Home Making Memo

My friend Morning Glory at Seed From My Garden offered up this meme to anyone who wanted to play along. I think I will. It's called the

Homemaking Meme.

Aprons - Y/N? If, Y, what does your favorite look like?

No, I don't wear them but I love the idea of them I remember when my mother always wore one. When I was first married I did wear one.

Baking - Favorite thing to bake:

Banana Nut Bread. I have a recipe that has crushed pineapple and it makes it so moist and good. My entire family loves it.

Clothesline - Y/N?

No, I used a clothes line for years. In fact I didn't get my first dryer until after my 4th child was born. My parents bought it for me as a gift because with the 4th and more laundry they felt I needed one.

Donuts - Have you ever made them?

No, but I sure do like to eat them!

Every day - One homemaking thing you do every day:

Make the bed as soon as we are both up and out of it. I cannot stand an unmade bed.

Freezer - Do you have a separate deep freeze?

Yes,. We also have an old 2nd refrigerator for overflow items.

Garbage Disposal - Y/N?

Yes. Don't have one when we travel in the 5th wheel and I miss it.

Handbook - What is your favorite homemaking resource?

None unless you count cookbooks. I have a lot of them.

Irong - Love it or hate it?

I certainly don't love it but I do iron most things. I love freshly and crisply ironed things. When my two sons were in private Christian Schools one of the teachers commented to them, "You always look so nice and neat and your mother is one of the few that irons the clothes". I was really honored when my son told me that!

Junk drawer - Y/N? Where is it?

We use to have one but don't any more. The kitchen table seems to be constantly having to be cleared off though because we lay mail and other things on it. My computer dest is ALWAYS cluttered. My husband's desk is always neat and clean.

Kitchen - Color and decorating scheme.

One wall deep burgundy. The others wallpapered with a fruit cluster design with a matching border in the dining area which is white.

Love - What is your favorite part of homemaking?

Keeping a nice, tidy, clean home. I'm one that believe "cleanliness is next to godliness". I believe our home should radiate love, joy and peace. I want people to feel and sense those things when they walk in my door.

Mop - Y/N?

Yes, I sweep first and then mop with an old fashioned rag mop. Every so often I mop on my hands and knees with a mop bucket and a rag to be sure and get the corners clean.

Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?

In the washing machine.

Oven - Do you use the window or open the over door to check?

I have a lighted over with a window and I do look in it but usually end up opening the door. I can just see it better that way.

Pizza - What do you put on yours?

I do not make pizza. When we go out to eat it we get pepperoni usually. I prefer deep-dish style.

Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

Read, work cross-word puzzles. The past few weeks - BLOG!!!

Recipe card box?

Yes,. Mine looks like a treasure chest.

Style of house?

We live in a single level brown stone with cedar trim. The cedar is painted ivory. Around the windows, doors, eves, etc. it is painted burgundy. We have a very large back yard that backs up to a green belt which rally makes it nice.

Tablecloths and napkins -

I love tablecloths and have a variety. We use paper napkins when it's just us but when I entertain I usually use matching cloth napkins. I love setting a pretty table and have 4 sets of dishes!!!

Under the kitchen sink - Organized or toxic wasteland?

Organized.

Vacuum - How many times per week?

Once at the most and some times longer than that since it's must my husband & I.

Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do per week?

Three or four. I remember when the kids were home doing many more.

X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?

No. I do write myself notes about something important to remember. For big projects I make a list so I don't forget something.

Yard - Y/N? Who does what?

My husband does all the mowing and yard work. I do some weeding.

Zzz's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?

Turning out the lights and checking the thermostate. My husband makes the coffee.

This is a brief look into my home. If you'd like to join in and tag yourself, let me know so I can come read yours.

Katrina - August 28, 2005

August 28, 2005 a day thousands will never forget, but many others have. A day that will be in an indelible memory to our family.

Our daughter, Jacque, and granddaughter, Jessica, were residing in Ocean Spring, Mississippi. We are watching the news channel and all the reports through the night about the hurricane watch and this massive storm heading their way.

An evacuation notice is put out for the area where our two precious ones live in a lower floor apartment of a two story apartment building right on the beach. This is not a new experience for them. The prior evacuation they had actually packed all they could in their car and headed north to Memphis to Jacque's Aunt Helen's home. Fortunately this time they have a house on higher ground to evacuate to and decide to stay there. A policeman instructs them to take one of their cars and park it on higher ground than even the house they are going to. They heed the policeman's advise.

We receive the first phone call informing us of all the above. We wait. We are glued to the TV set and constant weather reports. The hours pass. Later we receive the second phone call. We can hear the roar of the storm over the phone. The home where they are at is a split-level with the main floor being street level and the lower floor under that opens up to the outside with a creek behind the home. Jacque informs us that the lower level of the home is flooded and the water is beginning to come up onto the main living area. Two navy wives from next door with 3 very small children have joined the husband, wife and son homeowners and Jacque, Jessica and Jessica's boyfriend, Doug. The 11 of them are going to evacuate and go across the street to another house that sits on higher ground. Jacque is calm, Jessica is almost hysterical. We are informed they have some life jackets and rope. I assure Jacque they are going to be fine. She says, "I know it mom".

We hear nothing for more than three days.

We stay glued to the TV and the phone. We are concerned, naturally, and yet both Mickey and I have "the peace of God that passeth understanding". FINALLY around 1:00 pm the phone rings. It is Jessica saying "Grandma this is Jessica". Sweeter words are seldom heard!!! They are okay. They have driven to Mobile just to be able to pick up a cell phone connection so they can call. Jacque is driving while Jessica is talking to us.

The story: they had waded across the street in chest high water. A single man lived across the street by himself. His home set on a little higher ground, why they had gone there, plus he had a second story if the water had gotten up that high. Thankfully it had not. These 11 people, some of them strangers a few hours before had weathered out the storm together.

The crises is over. Ours are safe. Many others are not.....we all know that. Now comes the nitty gritty facts of trying to figure our where to go and what and how to do. Because they had evacuated so many times before and nothing had "happened" this time, not only did they decide to stay in town but did not take much with them. They thought they would be gone probably a day or so. Jacque had a pair of jeans, a couple pair of shorts, a shirt and some tops, flip-flops and tennis shoes. Jessica had about the same but no tennis shoes. Can you imagine the devastation and having to walk around in flip-flops? Jessica's car, the one they had driven to the house was completely flooded and ruined. So was Doug's. Jacque's, which thankfully they had parked where the policeman had instruction them, was okay except both the front and back windows on the driver's side had been blown out. There was no gas to be found. They had siphoned the gas out of Jessica & Dougs cars and put in Jacque's to get to Mobile to make the phone call. They are okay on food and walk long distances to obtain bottled water. They cannot find Jessica any tennis shoes.

Disastrous times bring out the very best and the very worse in people. You find out your true "metal". When finally some gas trucks got into the area they had to pay $5 a gallon for gas. Price gorging? They finally got to the Salvation Army trying to get some money. They would not give them any. They were giving food and clothing but not cash. FEMA-----you know the news stories on that at the beginning. Who did come to their aid? The churches and Christians of course. Jessica finally got tennis shoes!!! They got more clothing, water and additional food.

We are frantically trying to get money wired into them. The banks are down. Finally we find we can wire money to them through Walmart but not the Walmart in Ocean Springs. We have to wire it to Pascagoula and they have to get there to get it. The same with trying to buy a cell phone. Took them 1/2 a day to buy a cell phone.

One of the "funniest" things was people would say to us, and to them, "Can't you go over to the apartment and salvage some things?". The entire 2nd floor of the apartment building had fallen onto the lower floor where their apartment was. As Jacque told us "When we finally got to the apartment area to see it we could not even tell exactly where our apartment had been".

What is the end of my story and how are our two precious ones doing? Fabulous! Jacque decided the best thing for her to do was come back to Tulsa. So on September 14th, 17 days after Katrina she left and drove to her Aunt Helen's in Memphis for the night and then arrived at our home in Coweta on September 15th. Now remember she is driving a car with both the driver's side windows blown out and the door won't open so she has to get in on the passenger's side. But get here she did. Jessica decided she did not want to move to Tulsa because of boyfriend, Doug. We were not happy about that decision but she was 19.

If you've been reading my blog you know that we own a 30' Jayco 5th Wheel. When we decided to stop our travels and settle down at home and church we put up the 5th wheel and the truck for sale. The truck sold immediately. The 5th wheel did not. We tried for one month and then decided it just wasn't God's will. Mickey had already poured a second driveway, on the other side of our property, to the back yard and had electric, water and sewer connections set up for it. We parked the 5th wheel there. Guess what? That has made a perfect home for Jacque since arriving here. She is right here with us and yet we have our privacy and she has hers. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how "God works everything together for good to those that love him".

One more thing I want to say and point out. When Jacque got to Tulsa she got excellent help immediately from both The Salvation Army and FEMA. Maybe that was because they did have the tremendous load here in this area, although there were quite a few here from Katrina. They bused in people to Fort Gruber, an old National Guard Army Base.

Jacque began an entirely new profession as a pharmacy tect with Walgreens. A position she was able to get through some church friends of ours. She is well and happy. We are delighted to have her home. We are delighted that she and her sister, Suzette, and brother, Marc are enjoying each other. Her niece, Oksana, and nephew, Aric, absolutely love having her here because she spoils them!!!

I do want to say that the pictures I have included were not taken by Jacque but were ones that were sent to her. I would give credit for them if I knew who to credit. I am thankful to have them for this post because they really show what it was all about.

Three Generations

Introducing three generations of the Mickey Joyce clan.

Daughter, sister & auntie-Suzette / Granddaughter, neice & cousin-Oksana (11) / Mom & grandma Susan / Granddaughter, daughter, niece & cousin-Jessica (20) / Daughter, mom, sister & auntie-Jacque. (Did you get ALL that?) All live in the Tulsa area except Jessica who was visiting from Mississippi.

Suzette & Jacque - sisters & friends

Putting their best fronts forward!

Or is it putting their best fronts backward?

I'm confused. Are you?

You can tell from this shot we're a family that loves to have fun, a good time and laugh at ourselves. We do not take ourselves too seriously. You can also tell that husband, dad & granddad, Mickey, has a tendency to cut the tips of our heads off. I wonder.... is there a message in that?! :o) Photography and blogging skills are not our best talents. Being together, sharing and loving each other are our talents and joys.

Thanks for dropping by and meeting a few more of us.

2nd Grade Student of the Month

Here's Aric with his folder with his award certificate, lots of coupons for various eatteries , his new pencil and most importantly his medal. One very happy and proud 8 year old!

2nd Grade Student of the Month

Meet my grandson, Aric. His name has just been called out as one of 2 from his class of 2nd graders for Student of the Month at Skelly Elementary in Tulsa. He had no idea this was coming so was totally surprised and delighted.

That's me in the background to his left and his dad, Marc, to his right. Grandpa is taking the picture!! Wanted to start introducing you to some of our wonderful family.

I have another picture I wanted to get on this page too but couldn't do it. I'll have to post in following this separately. I'll be so glad when I get better at this! Can you tell how frustrated I get. I'm not accustomed to struggling so much trying to learn something new.