Queenies Little Kingdom

I work with teenagers all day long.  My patience or lack thereof can get in the way of being effective….if I don't keep a lid on it.  So, what do I do?

I surround myself with scripture.

On my desk (table), I tape down THE WORD!  Sometimes I never look at a single verse….other times I practically snort them up my nose.  Everybody has one of those days, right?

I know every job comes with its challenges and mine is no different but I don't want to lose my saltiness when God has given me opportunities to touch young lives at my job.

Know what I mean, Vern?

When I think back to my school days (yea, that was a long time ago) I can still remember the quality that made the biggest impact on my life — my FAITHful teachers.  The ones who lived for Christ, outloud!  I felt safe in their care and I understood their consistency.

Kids still need that today.  Matter of fact, they need it today more than ever.

I wish I could say that I'm on top of my game all the time but that just wouldn't be honest.  I struggle to stay positive when the same kid never does his homework or assignments.  I fantasize about boxing his ears just want him to succeed in class and see him mature into a "productive" human being.

Is that too much to ask?

Ingesting God's word is the best weapon against discouragement.  That's why I surround myself with it.  It beats groveling in the pit and it does wonders for the spirit.

What do you do to make your day successful?

Lord

You've given me a job that requires me to love others.  Whether they are lovable or not isn't the question.  What I do with my time with them is what matters most.  Help me to be LIKE YOU in word & action.

Amen

This past weekend was glorious! It was perfect weather for working outside and cleaning up what winter destroyed. Our pond took a beating this year.  The ice that formed on top sliced through the liner and caused a major leak.  Not good.  It drained out and left an ugly mess.

Not nice to look at, huh?  Imagine being one of the fishy occupants.  Not the best place to call home.

During the big drain out… our last two surviving fish nearly lost their slimy lives. Hubby scooped them out but never saw them until it was almost too late. Now they're swimming safely in a small tank while they wait patiently for their big pond to open back up again.

These little darlin's decided to help dad.  At least that's what I thought.  They really just wanted to hang out with me while I watched him do the work.  He built a great little stone flowerbed around some lilies that have lived at this house much longer than me.  I like it.  He does good work!

See how these gals help!

I helped too.  I planted the tulip bulbs (yes, I know….I'm too late) that I bought and totally forgot about.  I won't be surprised when nothing pops up.  I have a way with plants….no matter how you slice it!  I'm a killer!

Pink tulips are my fave too!  Darn it!

I took this last picture to show you how dull and lifeless it looks around my yard.  It's the first weekend of April but don't you be fooled….in just a few short weeks, these same trees will be so full of lush green leaves there will be no seeing any neighbor's houses.

I love spring!  Don't you?  Even if it means a little work.  Remind me how much I love Indiana when we have another crazy cold snap that drags in more snow.

This week has been a long one! After last Saturday’s emergency vet trip, I knew it would be.

The doctor told us he didn’t think the stitches would hold and he was right. But that didn’t stop us from trying our best to keep her all together like all dogs should be.

So…we did this! It worked well until I noticed a very swollen leg and had to take it off.

Taking off the bandage led to this! A licking nightmare! Which then led to this—>

Most of the stitches GONE! The only ones left are the ones on the very ends of the wound!! Yowzers!

We had to get radical! The next few attempts to put her back together were rough on all of us.

How do you keep a sweet young ACTIVE pup together when they can’t understand what in the world is happening to them?

Sadly, you put them in THE CONE of SHAME! It looks awful! And no way do they like it. She tried some pretty fancy moves to get this sucker off.

Didn’t work!

But hey, this girl is much better today. She’s eaten some scrambled eggs & had her coffee.

Maybe….just maybe this leg will heal and our lives can go back to normal craziness!

Fingers crossed!!

My Bible study group hasn't met for 2 weeks and I've missed them! From what I can tell my ladies feel the same.

Fellowship together is important!

Through the magic of Facebook I've heard some of the struggles each of them are having and I can totally relate. Satan knows when we're "on our own" and he loves to wreak havoc.  Even little issues seem big…when you're facing them alone.

Fellowship together is power!

I'm not the least bit embarrassed to admit I need my friends from my Wednesday night study group. I need them — their love, understanding and their willingness to pray with and for me no matter the issue.

Fellowship together is a punch in the face to satan!

And tell me, who doesn't want to punch him…right?

Forsake not the gathering together…

Dear BS Friends,
I'm pumped that I'll see you gals in 5 short days. Between now & then I want you to know that I am praying for each of you. I know you've felt out of whack because that's exactly how I've felt too. God sees you and He gets what you're going through. Hold on tight–and make sure you read Chapter 5!!
Love
Wanda

After being a mama as long as I have . . . I’ll never get tired of taking our family Easter Sunday picture.

The real celebration is the assurance we each have because of the victory over death by our Lord Jesus.

I’m so amazed that Jesus would die…for me!

Spring break was glorious!  I say that because I'm a huge fan of being free of responsibilities and that's pretty much what spring break was for me.  Freedom!

I did not get any of my wish list accomplished (of course) but my hubby cleaned up our garage and that feels like the jackpot.  So, woot woot to organizing the hoarded piles of junk that keep us bound to never moving again!

On Saturday I was couch ridden thanks to a booming ear ache and throbbing left eye.  That wasn't enough misery so a huge fever blister was the cream on top.  I thought I'd just lay around and be blah until my cellphone rang with a call for help from my sweetboy.  Something was wrong with his dog (Gracie) and she was bleeding all over his new bed.  Huh?  Off we raced to check on the dog (and I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet)!

Long story short…the dog was injured pretty badly.  Somehow, she had ripped her front right leg opened right in the bend of her elbow.  She wasn't too interested in anyone looking at it or touching her.  One look at it was clear she would have to have stitches.  Awesome!  Especially since it was 3pm in the afternoon on Easter weekend!!  (Yes, it was 3 and I hadn't brushed my teeth!)  I'm gross!

I called the vet (who is an hour + away) and they said go ahead and come that way.  So, we raced over and ended up having to leave her overnight.  I can't complain because this Doc is the best and I trust whatever he instructs us to do.  She needed sewing up and because of anesthesia, he keeps them for observation.  So, on Easter Sunday….we had to make another long trip to get her.

Totally worth it!

Dr. Brester is famous in this state.  He's way past retirement days but his office stays packed all day everyday.  He must see thousands of animals in a week.  I'm not exaggerating!  On our trip Saturday we also brought along Lizzy our poodle who's been coughing her head off.  He gave her a shot and some new meds….our whole family thanks him!  We can sleep again!

God bless Doc B!  He is an animal lovin' angel!

Gracie is now on the mends.  She's still walking funny and not able to extend that leg fully.  Her stitches are in such an awkward spot.  The Doc is concerned that they won't hold so we're trying to keep her as confined as we can to let that skin heal.  She's in pain & cries a bit but giving her aspirin has seemed to help.

I'm sure she is wondering what in the world have I gotten myself into.  Who knows what happened to her….she's not telling!  Doggone it!