Gracie Turns 5!

My sweet little Gracie turned 5 last weekend!


She is such a little priss pot!


So much like Ashton. =)


It was so much fun to help Raini plan her party.


We used a vintage Strawberry Shortcake theme and I found her a vintage Strawberry Shortcake miniature set for her birthday.


We made a cake shaped like Strawberry Shortcake's house and even the paper gift boxes were shaped like strawberries! 


We all had a great time!


Raini even made all the little girls matching t shirts, hair bo's and tutu skirts.

New Nancy Ann's Just Listed in my Ebay Store!

My Japan sold, then the sale had to be cancelled. Then she was sold again, but the first buyer found out about the second sale and was so infuriated that she contacted and convinced the 2nd buyer to cancel. It is now a big old mess. I now have had several women from the NASB doll forum sending me the meanest emails telling me I am dishonest and will never sell another Nancy Ann doll again. It has been so disheartening as all I want to do is find good homes for these dolls and what I make barely covers the expenses of listing them. I am trying to keep my head up but being cyber bullied by the Golden Girl's of this club has not made for an easy week! I will put my hope and my faith in God that they will sale to the right buyers. Whom Shall I Fear? Psalm 27:1 has been my verse this week.

Little One at 15 Months

15 months have flown by.
I love you so much!
You are such a silly little girl who loves to be on the go.
We love watching you toddle around.
You are still Mommy's girl and you love being with me.
You still won't say "Moma" but you do say "BAD" for Runt when he is acting crazy.
We just got back from a visit to N.C. and everyone loved seeing you.
You are my special baby!

Nancy Ann's

Its bittersweet to get your hands on a Nancy Ann & then have to sell it but such is the life of a mom of 5 children.

This week I have had to say hello.....and then goodbye to some very special Nancy Ann dolls that I hope & pray I will be able to "re" collect one day.


The first one I will have to ship out is a VERY RARE made in Japan NANCY ANN.

She is SO rare that she isn't even identified in the NASB Encyclopedia.

She was purchased by a wonderful collector (who ironically has dolls pictured in the NASB book) so at least she is going to a good home.

The other wonderful dollie is an exceptional "Pussycat,Pussycat", complete with box, wrist tag, pamphlet, neck brace and the cat with eyes and nose.

Totally rare. Totally sad.

I'm sad.

The Gift of Goodbye

There is a blessing that comes with being able to tell a loved one, one last goodbye.

I can't describe the closure I felt the last time I told Papa Bud goodbye. 

As I walked out of his hospice room, something was telling me that this would be our last goodbye. And it was. He died barely 12 hours later.

I felt an overwhelming sense of peace that I was able to share that last goodbye with him.

When I heard Billy was in hospice on Sunday, I didn't think I would get a chance to tell him goodbye. But on Monday evening I received an email from one of his sons.

It read simply, "Dad is almost home, if you want to tell him goodbye, call this number".

So I did.

They held the phone up to Billy. I could hear his labored breathing, it sounded so much like Papa Bud's and PawPaw's........for a second it took me off guard .........."Billy, I love you", I said it loudly. "save me a spot up there when its my time" I said. And then Tate, who loved Billy too, said to him, "Billy, it's Tate....Put it in the hole".

His family in the background said he opened his eyes and it seemed he knew who was talking to him.

I hung the phone up and cried. Tears of joy that we got a chance to say goodbye. Billy has raised a family of fine people who even in the midst of their grief, thought of me...a friend...and allowed me such a tender moment.

I was able to watch Billy's memorial service on the internet today. Another blessing.

What our Pastor Pete said about how "one of The King of King's soldiers is now standing beside his King" made me smile.

The gift of goodbye is truly sweet.

Goodbye dear friend

Dear  Billy,

You met Jesus almost 2 hours ago. 
I bet you were so happy. 
I can see you now smiling from ear to ear. 
I bet you have already requested "Victory in Jesus" to the choir of heavenly angels and I bet you sang it the loudest. 
You loved to sing. 
And now you are HOME. Truly home. 
I am a little jealous but I know, I hope i will be where you are someday. 
You were the best thing that happened to me during my time at FCC&A. 
We had so many good times. 
Thank you for always sticking up for me. 
You always knew what to say, or when to just give me a hug. Give my Papa Bud a big hug from me.

I love you, I truly love you.

I wrote this poem for you just now in honor of your special day.  I hope you like it.

I'm going to miss you dear friend.
But I know one day I'll see you again.
Go ahead of me and I'll soon follow.
But I can't tell you I won't have sorrow.
Because I'll miss you ever so.
but God said it was time for you to go.
So for now we must part,
but your love remains in my heart.~

 

My Dear Billy. My Best Friend.

Sometimes, God takes over your life.


I realized that in the summer of 2002. I was searching for a part time job, and I was 2 months pregnant with Ashton.


I gave my Aunt my resume at church one Sunday. She accidentally left it on a church pew and a few days later I received a phone call from the Associate Minister wanting to know when I wanted to come in for an interview.


I tried to explain to him that I wasn't applying for the church secretary job but he insisted I come in and interview....his rationale was they needed a part time secretary and I needed a part time job. This was God stepping into my life, putting  me firmly where He wanted me to be and I couldn't argue with God.


So, I  found myself working there as a church secretary for several years, and I loved it. Truly loved it.


The absolute BEST thing to happen to me while working at First Christian was meeting someone who became my best friend, my partner in crime (as we both loved playing pranks).


It didn't matter to me that Billy Keene was a good 30 plus years my senior, or that he walked with a cane, or that he could be a little grumpy in the morning if I didn't have his Pepsi waiting. Billy became my best friend.


What I loved about Billy was that he would try anything. No fear. He even mastered (sort of) the new fancy phone system our church had put in (no easy feat, it was hard). He learned to use a computer. At one time he was responsible for printing out and cutting all of the birthday's for our Children's Ministry (over 50 birthday's a month!). He moved into my office and we were a team. He helped me thru some rough times. Billy had my back. I grew to love him tremendously.


Billy's faith was rock solid. His favorite hymn was "Victory in Jesus". He loved to hum it while he worked and I loved to listen to him as he did. We were a perfect pair and we were happiest when locked away in our office working for God.


He was a huge DUKE fan, major plus,  and we liked to give the UNC ministers on staff a hard time...even if DUKE wasn't having a winning season. The way me & Billy carried on, you would have thought DUKE was winning.


He walked with a cane and if you got in his way, he would lightly (sometimes not lightly) give you a tap with it. 


My mornings were made better because of him. 


Billy was a one man Church Army recruiter. He brought more people, other seniors, into our Church office to volunteer than anyone I had ever known. And he put them to work. Billy saved our church hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years because of his volunteering and the others he brought into the church to volunteer. He was my hero.


And he would put them to work, stuffing and folding bulletins every Friday. It was like a weekly party to Billy. He loved being surrounded by friends and fellow followers.


One thing that stands out to me was how Billy could interact with Tate. When Tate was 2, before the seizures started, we were seeing a child therapist thinking he may have Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism). Tate didn't interact with people, he didn't talk much.


But he did with Billy. Billy would always talk loudly and directly to Tate. He would say, "Tate, give me high 5", and Tate would comply. He would say. "Tate, put it in the hole" and he would hold his hand out and Tate would place his tiny hand into Billy's. This interaction was HUGE. And to this day Tate remembers that.



As all good things must come to an end, so did my time at FCC&A in the spring of 2006. It was bittersweet for both of us. We knew our special bond would survive even if I wasn't working there but it never was quite the same. But I was proud of him. He kept at his work and my mom, who also worked there, took him under her wing and he flourished even more...even getting his own computer to do work on!


Still, I knew Billy loved me and I loved him and that would never change.


Billy came to Papa Bud's viewing and he knew how much that meant to me. Papa also knew how special Billy was to me. How blessed am I to have had the love and support of two Godly men like that?


I saw Billy this summer. He was frail and in a wheelchair but as I approached him, a big smile broke out on his sweet face. "I love you, Billy Keene and don't you forget it" I told him. "I love you, too" he said and then he told Tate to "Put in in the hole, Tate!" And Tate did.


I got word last night that Billy was in Hospice and they aren't giving him long. Part of me is crushed with sadness, but the other part of me is so happy for him.


He will finally be rewarded with that "Victory in Jesus" he has long sung about.


My Dear Sweet Billy, 
Promise me that you will be one of the first to welcome me home on my sweet day, and save me a desk in your new heavenly office. 
I love you and will miss you every day until I see your sweet, happy face again.
Love, Trinity


My best friend was over 70 years old. And we were quite a team!

Halloween 2011

The weather started out really icky. It was cold and drizzling rain. Karsen has been battling an upper respiratory infection so I wasn't sure if she would be able to even go.

Luckily for us, the sun broke through and warmed things up and we all headed out for some treats.

The very first house we hit there was the sweetest older man waiting in his drive way for trick or treaters. He reminded me so much of Papa. He was a little heavy set, he was wearing a gray zip up hoodie, tan pants and white velcro shoes. Just like Papa. He reached into his bowl of candy and his hands looked like Papa's. His mannerisms were so similar that I almost cried right there.

 

It hits me like that sometimes. Just out of the blue something triggers my memory of him and the tears flow before I can stop them. I wanted to hug this old man but I didn't. And we soldiered on.

Before long the buckets were full and we headed home.

Another successful Halloween and our first in West Virginia!

A life too short....but not to God

Photo from Stesha Warren Facebook

This morning I have a baby on my mind.

It's a baby I will never meet. Its a baby born to a family I don't even know. And her story is heartbreaking. She was born early via a c-section due to a car accident. And even though she was almost 35 weeks gestation, and she weighed almost 6 lbs, this sweet two day old infant died last night.

Her parents are devastated. What should have been a time of such happiness and love has turned into a dark storm of sadness.

It makes you want to cry out to God and scream WHY!?!

As the baby breathed her last breath, the parents held her and sung, "Victory in Jesus". 

Now THAT is  faith in God. When you can sing THAT song as your baby breaths her last is an AMAZING testimony of faith. Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. God bless them!

Every life lived is a life that has meaning and according to God, Psalm 39:4 " Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life."

No matter if you die at 101, or 2 days. Your life has a purpose.

He knows every second. He knows the beginning and the ending and every life matters.

It's hard to grasp that as you prepare to say goodbye to your only baby, but I pray this family feels God closest now.


Max Lucado says it best:


But her days here were so few . . .

Her life was so brief . . .

To us it seems that way. We speak of a short life, but compared to eternity, who has a long one? A person’s days on earth may appear as a drop in the ocean. Yours and mine may seem like a thimbleful. But compared to the Pacific of eternity, even the years of Methuselah filled no more than a glass. James was not speaking just to the young when he said, “Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away”
(James 4:14 NCV).
In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely. And though you and I might wish for a longer life, God knows better.