Wednesday, June 25, 2008

EVIL LO-NIEVAL - In Action

Darin, Logan, and I went to Joaquin on Saturday to visit my Uncle, Aunt, and cousins....Logan just loves it there. My cousin Stevie brought his girlfriend and her little girl - who just happened to have this mini dirt bike. Logan LOVED it. He had the most fun. (Yes, I know he didn't have a helmet on.) I made a "deal" with Logan - if he would take his training wheels off of his bike - he "may" get a dirt bike for his birthday or better yet Santa may bring him one. He was totally thrilled! Come to find out, he had a little talk with my aunt and told her, "she can take the wheels off of my bicycle but I'll never ride it again!" Little toot! He can ride without training wheels, obviously as seen above, but he just doesn't want to try!!

Oh the thrill he gives me!!!

Did I mention that he is QUITE the DAREDEVIL?!!!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Evil LoNieval

Check out my Slide Show!

Darin

I'm a bit OCD - and I realized I was posting left and right

- so, I figured a post a week would suffice

(unless something REALLY exciting happened)......

I have several things to talk about today!


First - PRAISE THE LORD -

Darin's cornea transplant was a success!!!

His surgery was last Wednesday, June 18th

and

we have been overly amazed at the progress!


We spent last Tuesday and Wednesday night in

Dallas at his parents house.

I was so nervous about spending
that much time with them.

I have to say that it was just like being with my parents -

I was so comfortable.

They are such sweet people.

I am constantly reminded how blessed I am -

in so many ways.

Last week the Lord showed me (or reminded me)

how blessed I am to have Darin in my life!

I am also thankful for his wonderful family

and the loving hospitality!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Family

My cousin sent this to me today. I've read it several times but it always serves as a reminder to have more patience with Logan. I couldn't ask for a more thoughtful son - I always tell him that if I could pick anyone in the world to be my child, I would still pick him!!!!!!
F A M I L Y
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heartbroken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said,
'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love,
you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'
FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Dad/Papaw,
Logan and I love you very much.
Without you, I'm not sure that Logan and I
would have the life that we are so fortunate to have.
I am thankful that you go above and beyond to make
sure that Logan and I have what we need.
I am thankful that you decided
to UNretire to help us out.
You will never know what you mean to me.
All My Love,
Always Daddy's Girl

Friday, June 13, 2008

What Are Little Boys Made Of?














Aren't they tiny (especially in comparison to Logan's hand)!?




My dad found
5 Blue Tailed Skink (Eumeces) eggs
today that had been abandoned by the mother.
Of course they have ended up at my house
under the watchful eye of Logan.
I did some "research" and found out
that we have to keep them moist....
how am I suppose to do that?

I'm sure not gonna lick them!
Maybe Logan will.
Oh, the joys of raising a boy!


So, our "farm" now consists of 1 dog (Sox), 2 cats (Taz & Casper), 1 fish (No Name), 1 rabbit (Dumper), the visiting Emu, and now 5 blue tailed skink eggs.

And The Results Are...........


The EEG is NORMAL!!

Yeah Baby!

We are going to discuss what route to take next.......

But

At least I know that his heart and brain are functioning properly!!!

Praise the Lord!

Thank you to each one of you that has prayed us through!

Taekwondo Lo



Our newest endeavor - Taekwondo!


What an experience....talk about discipline.

Poor Logan - he's getting the work-out of a lifetime.

He has never done a push-up in his life....he's doing them now!

To make matters worse, everytime the instructor sees someone doing them

wrong EVERYONE has to start the set all over.

Needless to say - Logan learned to do them correctly very quickly!


I think - he just enjoys wearing the uniform!!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Setting the Bar High Enough

Logan asked me the other day why I like challenges so much....and all I could think to say was,
"If it were easy, everyone would want to do it"
Yes, challenges are good!
Dream big and teach your children to dream big also!


Setting the Bar High Enough for Our Children
Rebecca Hagelin
The Heritage Foundation

Each time they raise the bar, I hold my breath.

Just two inches higher makes all the difference in the world. Nick looks focused, tense and ready to take on the world as he sets his sights and energies on overcoming the new challenge.

For the last four years, I’ve spent most Friday nights on the edge of my seat at my son’s winter indoor track meets. And I love every minute of it. Nick is a senior now, and it makes my heart ache to think how few nights I have left to sit on hard bleachers eating cold pizza, writing columns (like I am now) on my Blackberry between his events, cheering for his friends (Chris, David and Ozzie -- also outstanding athletes and young men of great character) in their various races, and watching my son learn the value of healthy competition and grow in character as he experiences the exhilaration of victory and "the agony of defeat."

Recently, Nick earned the rank of Eagle Scout. It was one of my most gratifying nights of this excellent venture called motherhood. It was my second time I felt the awe of one of my offspring reaching such an important milestone (our first-born son, Drew, earned his Eagle last year). After 10 years of concentrated work, rising to new levels and learning life lessons, my boys reached the peak under their loving father’s guidance. I am truly blessed to be the mother of these fine sons and the wife of such a committed husband and father.

Back at the track meet, Nick flies over the high bar at each new level. But he does so in other areas, too -- with his studies and in his real passion, visual arts. He works hard and excels at everything he does. Natural talent oozes out of him, and he pushes himself late into the night in the creation of fascinating and dazzling projects for his portfolio. Given that I can’t even draw a stick person and that my only physical ability is to "cut a rug" (sort of) on the dance floor every now and then, Nick’s talents in art and sports boggle my mind. He certainly didn’t get them from me.

My job as a mom is fairly straightforward. In addition to hopping up and down, screaming like a crazy lady with each effort and accomplishment, I must remind Nick that eventually, the bar will get too high. It always happens in the high jump, and it happens in the other areas of life, too.

Except one. The most important one.

The only area where there is no limit in reaching new levels is our relationship with God. And it also happens to be the only thing that is eternal.

How awe-inspiring that God places no limits on becoming closer to Him -- and that the riches that come with service don’t fade with age or time and can’t be lost or stolen.

It is critical to remind my son that our worship and service to God is often made manifest in our service to others. That the two greatest commandments -- to love God with all of our heart, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves -- are also the most personally fulfilling aspects of our lives, the blessings of which are far greater than the tarnished first-place medals from contests long forgotten.

The Bible teaches us, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48 NIV). It’s critical that Nick understand he is blessed in many ways -- he has natural-born talents not because he deserves or has earned them, but because God chose to grace him. Nick’s responsibility is to live his life to the fullest of his abilities, serving God and man above all else.

As the bar wobbles and crashes to the floor when raised just beyond the limit of his leap, may it serve to remind Nick that his true purpose in life is to soar in spirit, service and truth.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rebecca Hagelin has championed the pro-family message in both Washington and around the nation for some twenty years. She is a vice president of The Heritage Foundation (Heritage.org) whose vision is to "Create an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish." Her weekly column, "Heart Beat," appears on WorldNetDaily.com and Townhall.com. For more information on Home Invasion visit: www.homeinvasion.org.




Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/homeschool/1457699/

Lead Testing



This just scared me to death.


Dr. Ross had me do some research on lead testing kits and I have to say I was surprised at all the things that could contain lead. It makes me want to buy a bunch of kits and test EVERYTHING that Logan could possibly come in contact with.








Life in the Country

I wanted to pet this bird so bad.....it wasn't until I told my dad & Darin about it that I found out how mean these birds are! Glad I didn't get any closer. I felt really sorry for it. It looked like someone had tied it up and the Emu escaped! I am just thankful I haven't seen it on the road anywhere (knock on wood!). Logan missed seeing this in person - he was with my dad (aka Papaw) playing with the chickens and spray painting everything in site!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Our Latest Adventure


Obviously - I have fast forwarded about 6 1/2 years - I will go back....
but this is all about our "adventures" and this picture shows one of our lastest.
Logan is going through a couple of tests to figure out why he fainted on me in mid-May. This picture is of the EEG he had last Friday. He was a trooper!

From the Beginning

If I'm going to dedicate this site to Logan, I feel you must know how he came into my life.

It is going to sound unbelievable - but - believe me it is true!

And all the glory goes to my

personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!

I wanted to be a mom from as far back as I can remember. I wanted to have a child of my own. Well, as circumstance would have it - at 21 years of age I found myself facing the battle of my life - CANCER. I had to have a complete hysterectomy which was just the beginning of months of surgery and radiation. I was heartbroken. I won't go into the details of the years between 21 and 29 but I will tell you that it was some of the hardest years of my life.

Adoption had always been in "my" plans. I had always wanted to "have" a child and adopt a child. I met my (ex) husband in 1999 and we married in 2000. He was blessed with two beautiful blond haired blue eyed boys from his previous marriage. I was saddened that I would not be able to share a child with him. We agreed that attending Foster/Adopt classes was for us. We were going to adopt a baby!! I was so excited! We chose to do adoption through the state because it was very inexpensive and we were a very paycheck to paycheck couple.

Fast-forward just a bit - we attended our classes and enjoyed them. We were looking forward to finishing our classes and adopting our baby! Well..........the Lord likes to show me, from time to time, Who is in control and He reminded me that it is NOT me!

A couple of weeks BEFORE we finished our classes I received a thrilling phone call.

A friend of mine, Susie Jones, called me on Monday, October 15, 2001 and told me that she had sold a home to a couple that had a 14 year old niece that was pregnant and thinking about giving her baby up for adoption. She wanted to know if I would be interested in meeting her. I didn't have to give it a second thought - YES I wanted to meet her! Yikes.....I couldn't make the decision by myself. I had a husband to discuss this with. I didn't care if my baby was black, blue, purple, polka-dotted or yellow - a baby is a baby BUT Reid was alittle more concerned. We discussed meeting Ashley and agreed that it couldn't hurt - we had at least a month to meet her and make a decision because the baby wasn't due for another month to six weeks. Susie called me on Wednesday, October 17th, to see what we had decided and I was able to tell her that YES we would love to meet Ashley! I could NOT wait. As it turns out, I didn't have to wait long. After returning home, from church, that evening - we were inundated with messages. ASHLEY WAS IN LABOR!!! Susie had left numerous messages telling us we needed to get to the hospital quick. I was stunned. I couldn't imagine running up to the hospital, meeting this little girl, and telling her we wanted to adopt her baby. (Oh, did I mention that this little girl had just lost her mom 7 days prior and had been moved from New Orleans to Longview?) This little girl had been through enough. We made phone calls, prayed, made phone calls, and prayed some more. The state told us that if we didn't go to the hospital and she did decide to give her baby up for adoption we would not get the baby because we had not completed our classes yet. That settled it - off to the hospital we went. We met her aunt and uncle and immediately felt a bond with them. They asked if we wanted to meet Ashley. I wasn't sure that I was prepared but didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. Her aunt took us to the Labor and Delivery room to meet Ashley. We spoke with her for approximately 15 minutes (definitely no more than that) and she looked at us and said, "I want you to raise my baby". What? Adoption doesn't happen that way. We weren't prepared - we didn't have a diaper, a baby bed, or any of the other stuff a baby needs. Of course, we said YES, we would love to adopt her baby!

On Thursday, October 18, 2001, at 3:41 a.m.,

my Greatest Gift From God was born!

He was Beautiful!

From the very second I laid eyes on him -

I was in love with my son!

I didn't know that I was capable of loving a human being

as much as I loved him at that moment.

It was instant.

Indescribable.

MY SON!

Logan Ross