Queenies Little Kingdom

I just want to let the world know how special my wife is to me.  Today is our 19th wedding anniversary and I honestly don’t believe it has been that long!  This woman I married has been through a lot because she hitched herself to my wagon.  I wish I could change much of what our life together has been like.  I wish I had treasured her better, I wish I would have honored her more, I wish I had been less selfish, argumentative, mean, cold, and many other things she never deserved.  However, I can not change the past.  I can tell you that our relationship is better today than it ever has been and I know I am trying, with God’s help, to be the best husband I can be. It never stops amazing me that a woman like this loves me the way she does.  My stomach still does a flip when I see her. I am still in awe of her beauty on a daily basis. (Even if there is no power or hot water, she still looks great!)

I am so thankful for her love for me and for my children.  We often joke that Wanda has four children, three natural and one adopted, me! She cares for us in a way that makes us feel like we are loved and cherished.  She as always made my home a place of refuge and peace. I appreciate that more than I can put into words.

However, it is her love for Jesus that makes my wife so special!  She loves her Lord beyond anything you can imagine!  She is His Daughter and she knows she is special because of it!  She has been willing to follow His will for our family no matter where it took her. I have appreciated her discernment and advice when I was facing tough choices.

Thank you for being “All That and a Pack of Crackers, too,” Wanda!

Your Loving Husband,

Don

Yes, we have no electricity!  On Sunday, after church and lunch we were planning on watching our beloved Colts and a movie when the lights started flickering off and on.  The wind was been blowing so hard and the trees in our woods were swaying like crazy.  We watched debris from the trees hit our house and trees snapping in two falling to the ground.  The electricity went off around 1:30pm and we’ve been sitting this way since then.  Some of our community has been rescued back amongst the luxurious living.  We are in that spot that has no hope for close to the rest of this week.

School was cancelled for today (Monday), so Ally invited two friends over for the night and Gates went to a neighbors for the night.  Gavin stayed home after playing at a buddy’s house until around 11:30pm.  We slept in hoping to kill some time and then got quick showers with what little hot water was left in the tank.  Don went to work and spent the day rescuing people from company to company with computer issues (it was hit or miss on businesses with electricity).  The girls and I took off to Seymour to shop our blues away.  We went to JC Penney and Goody’s looking for bargains to boost our spirits.  We even stopped at Dairy Queen for 99 cents Moolattes….remember we’re roughing it here?!  Haha.

While we were shopping, the news came through the cell phone grapevine that school was once again cancelled for Tuesday.  Oh the misery!  Who wants to make these days up?  Not me!  I love getting out of school when it’s hot out.  We also learned of many friends that did have electricity and I couldn’t help but feel bummed.  I’m truly grasping the Texas situation…..I get it that they are suffering worse than me and that I have so much to be thankful for.  My yard and neighborhood look like a war took place there but we are not flooded and terribly damaged.  I haven’t watched any news or tv so I do not have a real honest bit of knowledge of what other’s are dealing with.  I just know that some people in my community have lights and we don’t!  If they are still off tomorrow…….(my anniversary) I am going over to my friend Beth’s for a real shower and washing my hair.  My girls are staying there tonight and thankful for it.  God bless them for the offer.

If you are in worse shape than me, forgive me for seeming “woe is me”!  I’m really not whining….just hoping that soon we ALL will be back to normal.  My prayers are for everyone affected by this weather, may God protect us all and put us back on our merry way very soon.  God bless you, friends.

For more than 20 years (yes, I said 2 0 years!), I have washed my freckly little dry-skinned face with phisoderm soap. Before I had any children…..I was using this soap to wash off my make-up. Every single night after a long day with my beloved Clinique continuous coverage (07) ivory glow painted on my face, I would use this wonderful stuff. I’ve tried other soaps and cannot find anything that even comes close to doing what it can do. I LOVE it!

I have been out for over a month. More than four weeks of washing my face without my favorite soap has almost pushed me over the edge. I have always bought it at Walmart (which don’t get me started on them randomly stopping carrying items that I buy regularly—-I am battling with that bitterness!) and I have been to 3 different Walmart’s only to NOT FIND PHISODERM! I am desperate! I will pay huge bucks for this stuff, that is how much I need it.

In the meantime, I’ve bought other face soaps. They are disgusting! So far I’ve tried three different ones and hate all of them. They are dry and harsh, leaving my face feeling like I’ve taken off a layer of skin. I’ve also looked at my local Walgreen’s and CVS. What is the deal? I’m seriously getting wiggy over this. IF you could see my face you would know what I’m talking about. My 41 year old face has pimples on it! My skin is super sensitive and these other soap’s are breaking me out! I’m not even kidding! I can’t even use Mary Kay because something in that stuff causes me to break out….not only with zits but the painful deep kind of zits. The ones that hurt when you smile or wink your eye. Ahhh!

What to do, ya’ll? I’m going online now and checking out how to just get it that way. CRAZY…for face soap!?! I’m totally baffled. Lord, rain down your blessing on me please…..I need my phisoderm!

I told you to save yourselves and go back….this was all about the whine! Sorry….a girl’s gotta rant once in a while.

Psalm 118:21 “I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!”

I call her that. Miss Gates. She’s so cute and it fits her. I wasn’t supposed to have another baby. I mean, I was nursing a baby…..Ally. Hubby was a policeman and money was tight. We wanted to do whatever it took to keep me home. You know, be responsible and stay within our means financially. Hubby was going to have a vasectomy after we paid our taxes, I got pregnant tax month! Brilliant!

Ahhh, but God! He knew what He was doing (as usual). Our family would have not been complete without her. She is so precious! I thought I’d share some of her with all of you. So, hang on and listen to me brag about my baby, Gates Morgan.

First, she has a servant heart. Her love for Christ and for other’s is amazing. She desires to make people happy. She’s soft-hearted and bruises easily with harsh words. Her gift of “doing” for other’s is inspiring. She will work and work….and never complain. But her room, YIKES! It’s a wreck, dude! I’ll stop there….no need to get trashy! Teehee!

Second, she can sing like nobody’s business. Girl has some pipes! She’s been singing all her life. She would make up songs and sing them like she was working on a new album. I can’t even begin to count how many times she’s performed or been in some show. And knocked our socks off!

Third, she’s got some sweet dance moves. I mean, come on. I wish I could dance like her. She could do the Beyonce booty thing…..and I could only dream of doing that. Oh young bodies, aren’t they amazing?! Can you remember?

Fourth, She’s got great hair! It’s huge! Curly, wild beautiful hair. It’s gorgeous! She’s always had to follow behind a curly long blonde sister who was constantly being asked, “Is that your real hair/curls?”.
Now, they ask her the same thing. It’s just naturally curly! Of course, both girls hate it. Crazy, huh?

I could talk all day about Gates. She’s unique and exciting! Funny and outgoing! When she was little and I dressed her to go somewhere, in the car….she took everything off. Now, she’s the style DIVA! Girlfriend can put together some savvy outfits. She always looks good.

We love you Miss Gates. She is the baby we almost didn’t have. She’s Ally’s best friend. Her presence in our lives is truly a gift from God.  It’s hard to believe she’s in the 8th grade already.  I pray God blesses her life like she’s blessed us.  And I hope she knows…..I cherish every moment I have with her.

Eph. 1:11-12  “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living.”

The girl with the hair…..

Self portrait….. bed hair look

Straight after hours of work…..

A party with gifts just for you! Go check out this cuty-patooty blog and enter to win!
Good luck! And don’t forget to wish the birthday girl, Happy Birthday!

The Southern Baptist Convention was held in Indianapolis this summer. Indy is about an hour from my house, so this was exciting! We love the convention and all the hoopla that goes with it. For me, the Pastor’s Wives Luncheon is the B O M B-shizzle! Oh yea! I made that word up! This luncheon is a grand event in the lives of SB ministry wives. The guest speaker is always someone amazing and the gift bags are to die for. These babies are jam-packed with goodies that will bless your heart for at least the next 11 months or more. And the friends…..ladies….you will see many many special girlfriends from the ministry there. It is the place to be!

This year, I was to help with the final decorating the night before the luncheon. The Indiana pastor’s wives were teamed up to do our part thanks to Mrs. Diana Davis (wife of our state convention president, Dr. Steve Davis). It was fun….putting the last minute things in those bags. We also had a great time getting to know each other more and were able to pray over the big event. The women on this special committee work all year long to pull off this shindig. So, hats off to them!

I noticed a funny looking snack bar that we were to put in each bag. It looked a bit like a breakfast bar, but it had a paper wrapping around it with the label “Texas Flapjacks”. Which spoke volumes to me that it was something “homemade” from somewhere. Honestly,I didn’t think about it again. We finished up and set out…..to sleep and come back for the big event.

Dr. Gary Chapman was the speaker and the theme was “How To Love a Leader”. He brought down the house with his WISE advice, spoken just for the ears of the lucky wives in attendance that day. You had to be there, really! Let’s just say, he was very candid with his recommendations. And blush was not necessary for any lady there.
He was great!

That night, after a long day of unbelievable fellowship and great preaching….we were heading home and ended up in a terrible traffic jam on I65. Being the hungry people we are….we dig out those bars. WAAAAAAAAH! (angel choirs singing)…..because these little dudes called Texas Flapjacks are incredibly wonderful. It was yummy rolled oatty, buttery, brown sugary delicious-so WOW! I have never had anything that tasted like that in my mouth ever! I praised the Lord right there, no kiddin! I saved the wrapper on one because I planned to call the First Lady of Southwestern Seminary myself to thank her and beg her for the recipe! God bless her sweet self for sharing!

What a treat! I haven’t gotten that recipe, but I’m not giving up just yet. When I called the seminary, no one knew who, what, where or how to find out. Crazy….all those brilliant theologians and no kitchen savvy experts on any of the phone lines. Hmm, go figure! Maybe I’ll call Dr. Patterson at home?!?! I’m sure Mrs. Dorothy has it handy somewhere there in her kitchen. Don’t forget to look for something special from God that’s just for you. It may be a new friend or an answer to prayer. He’s always there just waiting to satisfy your longing. You never know when you may stumble upon a flapjack (something wonderful).

Luncheon friends…. Terry Jumper, Me, Jalynn Cook