Mi Casa Es Su Casa

2010-10-21T12:56:00.001-07:00

I'm out of time today, so I will continue updating another day, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Easter 2010

2010-10-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

We had a really wonderful Easter. Following a special service in the Ochelata Bible Holiness Church, we were privileged to have friends and family over for lunch! Here are some of the pics of food, fun and family/friends!

Wyatt's Birthday-April 2

2010-10-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a family time for Wyatt's birthday at La Fiesta, a Mexican restaurant. It was a great evening!

Trip to Midland

2010-10-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Bruce, Mandie, Binky and the boys, Dafne and Noel accompanied us to Midland so that the kids could visit with their Abuelita. It was a fun trip!

January Fun

2010-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Kaleb's first Sunday to go to church and to visit Abuelo and Noni!

2009-11-09T13:25:00.002-08:00

Sunday was the first time the kids came over since Kaleb was born. He is such a cutie and is filling our and growing so fast! Wyatt is jabbering all over the place and thinks he's big stuff, with a little brother! Life is very busy for us right now, so I will leave you with these pictures!

2009-11-09T13:25:00.001-08:00

Halloween

2009-11-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

We usually don't go trick or treating, but a group of the young people from the church were going and taking their children to some of the houses in Ochelata, so I got some pictures. Wyatt is the lion and the little "piggy" beside him is Payton Huff, Rob and Robyn's little girl. Dafne dressed like a cat! Wyatt got ready at the hospital so that his mommy could see him. They were all cute and had a lot of fun!

Caleb Evan Pinkston

2009-11-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

We were awakened about 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning with a call from Scott wanting us to come and pick up Wyatt! When we got there, Bianca was doing last minute things (such as fixing her hair, ect.) Her contractions had started about 3:00 a.m. and about 7:00 a.m. we got a call from her telling us that little Caleb had arrived! We are so thankful for God's love and answers to prayer! Caleb weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 20 in. long! Does he look like Wyatt? Everyone is asking. His hair is a little darker; he has a dimple in his cheek as well as his chin; and I'm not sure that he looks just like Wyatt. His mouth certainly does. He has a double chin is already a snuggle bug!

Happy Birthday to my Husband!

2009-09-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my husband a very, very happy birthday today! He has been the my strong pillar for over 28 years! Honey, I hope that your day is as special as you are and that you feel loved and appreciated by all of your family! Your kids love you and I do, too! Happy Birthday!

Fall is almost here!

2009-08-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for fall! Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons of the year and I wait anxiously all year for them to come around! I usually don't decorate much for fall, but last year I decided to. I bought some things from Hobby Lobby (I'm sure they were half priced, but then I don't shop there unless it is, usually!) and we enjoyed fall decorations. I had just taken them down and we set up our trees and decorated for Christmas just days before our fire. So I lost all of the fall things because I hadn't gotten them stored yet. I didn't replace them at the time, concentrating instead on replacing Christmas decorations, gifts, ect. This year rolled around and I had one fall decoration, a beautiful swag that my sister Becky gave me right after our fire. I am an avid reader of Craigslist and lo and behold I found an ad on there last week from a lady who had gotten married last year in the fall and had decorated for fall at her wedding. She stored her decorations and pulled them out this fall to sell! I was so happy! So for not a lot of money I have fall decorations, and so do Mandie and Bianca! Isn't God good to provide not only needs, but also wishes sometimes? I will try to post some pictures of some of the decorations that Mandie helped me with this weekend. I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Notice!

2009-08-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

For all of you who enjoy new recipes or like to read food blogs, here is a new one for you. You may follow this link to the blog: www.cookingventures.blogspot.com . The editor of the blog is a co-worker with my cousin, Sue Kimmel Werle, and he has some great recipes! His stories are interesting, too. So, just thought I'd share that with you and maybe you will enjoy it! Happy cooking!!!!

Noel's baseball games

2009-08-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Noel had a good baseball season, but we were all glad when it was over and we could move on to other things.

Catching up!

2009-08-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I have posted anything and I have several pictures to prove that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth! I think they are on my laptop, though. I'll see what I have on this computer. Okay, so this little man is all I came up with but of course he's enough!!!! Now, honestly, have you ever seen a cuter baby??? Lol! He's a doll and now is walking, into things (although he is very obedient!) and has a distinctive personality! My son-in-law and I go back and forth when Wyatt's having one of those "silly" moments, about who he's acting like! Of course Scott always says Wyatt is acting like a Hazelwood! Of course, I have my opinions of who he acts like, but we'll leave that for another time, (because Scott is probably right!). We are so excited for camp, although Manuel and I will only be there for the weekends. I have a conference in Denver that I need to attend and it falls right during camp. Manuel is going with me, so we will fly out on Monday and be back on Thursday, just in time for the last weekend! We have worked a lot on our cabin at the camp ground and hopefully it will be more user friendly now. Manuel and Noel spent many hours working on it and then Steve Werle, my cousin, came down and put in almost all new plumbing! I'm so excited! I will try to remember my laptop tomorrow and share some summer pics with you. In the meantime, have a good day!!!

Happy (Late) Fathers' Day!

2009-06-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I thought about putting this post on here Monday, but forgot! Sorry! I just wanted to mention some of the dads in my life and say Happy Fathers' Day!

To my husband of 28 years: Manuel, thank you for being the wonderful father that you are to your children. As I read Mandie's blog entry to you today, I realized for the first time how valuable the lesson that you have taught your children is. I have wondered many times why you didn't just do things for them, and sometimes thought you should have, and no doubt have told you so many times, but I realized today that they have become stronger, more ready to think for themselves and more independent by learning from you. Thank you for that. If it were up to me, our children would probably be hopelessly spoiled. You truly practice "tough love". Many nights, when the children were babies, you would get up in the night and care for them. You laid them against your tummy when they had colic. You never, that I can ever remember, complained that they were crying too much or not letting you sleep. We have recently had our 28th anniversary, and while sometimes we still don't agree (okay, maybe I should say, sometimes we actually do agree!), we have stood together through all these years and that is something to be proud of and thankful for! We have taught our children that you "find a way, when there doesn't seem to be one". God knew what He was doing when He picked you out for me. Thank you for being the best father that my children could ever have!

And to my Daddy and my Suegro: I miss you both so much! Losing you both was so painful, the hub in the middle of the wheels of both families is missing! We know that you are both waiting in Heaven for us and that makes it worth while! I hope you are spending time together up there and just relaxing! You both worked so hard down here and it's time to rest! Daddy, thank you for always being able to fix anything that was broken, for praying for all of us, for not being afraid to tell us when you thought we needed to do something different, for cooking for us, for spoiling me, for always making sure we had the "right" vehicle, (although I still remember being a little upset about you selling my car without my permission--although you turned right around and put that money into a brand new (wrecked and rebuilt) car for me and made several additional payments for it), for preaching the truth, for showing us that the path well traveled is not always God's will for us and for teaching us to have courage to be what we are! I love you, Daddy! Thank you so much for everything! I'll see you "in the morning"! Suegro, the pain of your going is still fresh to us, and I can't stand the thoughts of passing your house in Mexico and not seeing you on the front porch! I will never forget the first time I saw you, you laughed and said something that I couldn't understand. I will always wonder what you said! After we moved back to the US, when we would pull up in your driveway, I remember you looking out at the truck, seeing the recognition dawning on your face when you recognized Manuel's truck, and then your smile when you saw that your daughter-in-law was with him! You would say, "Mira quien viene!" Thank you for teaching your son tough love. And, to you, I will say, "Hasta la manana!"

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I got my post a little backwards. The narrative is at the bottom and the pics at the top! Oh, well! What can I say???

My weekend

2009-06-08T11:06:00.001-07:00

Dafne and some of her friends saying good-bye as we get ready to head back to Oklahoma.
Debbie Madigan and her girls, Caitlin, Lauren and Erin.

Me with my friends.

The three girls in my hotel room.

Miss Caitlin, the oldest! Isn't she cute? Actually all of them are!

Thanks, Deb, for the fun day and for lunch and dinner! Next time it's on me!!! :-)

I had a really great weekend and I hope that you did, too! I had the privilege of taking 2 of the 3 girls who sing in the IBS ladies' trio to Troy Camp to represent the school. I also had the privilege of spending time with a dear, dear friend of mine on Saturday. I hadn't seen her for probably 15 years?? and had never met her precious girls, ages 12, 11, and 9. We had a wonderful day. She and her girls went to camp with me for the 6 o'clock service and stayed to hear the girls sing in the 7:30 service. I'll include some pictures that I took of Debbie and her girls.

Finally, pictures of part of our new house!

2009-06-01T10:51:00.001-07:00

Dresser in the master bedroom. Master bedroom.

Some of my nurse figurine collection didn't survive the fire, but these are a few of my favorite ones, All God's Children, as well as the little "Florence Nightengale" lamp that was given to my mother when she graduated from nursing school.

We got this electric fireplace at an auction and we really like it.

Our room.

2009-06-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

This candle holder is interesting to me. I bought the wooden part from someone on Craig's List and was told that it was originally a Piloncillo mold. Piloncillos are cone shaped hard pieces of something like brown sugar that is widely used in traditional deserts in Mexico. I added a few other things to it and have an interesting centerpiece for the dining room table. My mom made each of her girls a cross stitch before she died and we all treasure them. Mine says something like Happiness is in doing what you enjoy doing best and doing it with joy in your heart or words to that effect. It was severely damaged in the fire, but I was able to salvage it and reframe and mat it. It's "battle scars" just make it more precious to me.

This is a Southern Living at Home item that I bought from my niece, Robyn's yard sale. Binky had the inspiration to put candles and fruit in it, and I have it on my food bar.

Just another shot into the entry way. Sorry, there are a lot of pics. Hope you aren't bored!

Our piano made it through the fire with little damage, but it wasn't a sentimental piece for me, so when I saw this piano on Craigslist, I fell in love with it. It's history is that it is approximately 150 years old and was brought over on a ship from England. The old radio on the left of the piano was purchased from an auction and the clock and harp were also.

2009-06-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

A beautiful piece of furniture that we purchased at an auction. It has lots of storage! Standing in the dining room and shooting toward the front door, into the living room.

Living room.

Our front door. We hope it is welcoming and inviting to our guests.

More pics

2009-06-01T10:16:00.001-07:00

Table in the entry way. I took this shot to show you the basket under the table. Maybe everyone does this, but I never had before. My kids wear flip flops a lot and they end up all around the front door. I put this basket here for the flip flops and occassional pair of tennies that get left at the front door and it makes for a much neater entryway!Hooks and a welcome sign behind the front door.

As you know, the name of my blog is "Mi Casa is Su Casa". Mandie bought me the taller figurine who's inscription is "Mi Casa". Of course it landed in my entry way. Then after I got home from her wedding, I found the small one holding a sign that says, "Miss you!" What a sweet girl I have~~~really three sweet girls!

So this is the whole shot of the entry way table.

This is standing in the family room looking into the kitchen. As you can see the walls are not finished. Eventually they will have the Tuscan texture and glaze like the dining room and breakfast nook. Our son-in-law, Scott, does a wonderful job with textures and he is in the process of finishing this project.

more house pics

2009-06-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

This is the family room and our fireplace that will one day bear the stamp of my husband's masonry skills! I can't wait! I know it will be beautiful! He is very busy right now working on the outside of the house, getting the masonry work completed there, so I know he will get it done soon! This is a shot standing in the hall and looking into the family room and the entry way in the distance.

Standing on the other side of the family room and shooting back into the room. This is , of course the couch, but I love the wall art that I put there, beside the "nature" picture. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!" That is truly our desire.

This is the dividing wall between the family room and the living room, standing with my back to the kitchen. This is an oil painted canvas that I got at an auction for a wonderful price and I love the tranquility of the scene, plus it goes with our Tuscan theme.

more pics of our house

2009-06-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Finally I have some pictures to share with you of our new house. The picture just below shows about half of the dining room (to the left) and the breakfast nook, which is enclosed in the pillars. This picture is a shot of the breakfast nook looking into the kitchen.

This is the breakfast nook looking into the dining room.

Dining room.

Wedding pics!

2009-05-26T13:09:00.001-07:00

I must say that I snitched pics from other people's face book and blog pages! I think Joanne Knight took these two! I love them. These kids look so happy!

Congratulations, Mandie and Bruce! Mandie, you were a beautiful bride, if I do say so myself! I love you both!

Congratulations, Bruce and Mandie!!!

2009-05-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Mandie and her daddy. Miniatures: Wyatt and Payton, Robb and Robyn's baby girl.

Wagon full of flowers! The flower girls were Tori and Kristin, but in the wagon with the flower petals were Cera and Megan, their little sisters!

I think we look a little "road weary!"

Owen was so cute! He sat very quietly on the steps during the wedding! By the way, he didn't bring his buffalo! (I refer you to his threat on an earlier post!)

2009-05-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Wedding party-I think there were 30 counting the ushers, candlelighters and the "little people"! Our little man!

Diane Schaper's masterpiece! She couldn't come to set it up, so Becky and her girls, Crystal and Trelanie set it up and put the decorations on it! Thanks! It was beautiful! You can see the plate of cream cheese mints to the left of the cake. Bianca made all of the mints and the special Mexican cookies that are to the right of the cake, but not in the picture. Thank you, Binky! They were delicious!

Handiwork of my very special cousin, Sue Werle! She and her husband, Steve, do a fantastic job at catering receptions! Thank you both!

Poor Bruce, he thought saran wrap was for wrapping food! Turns out it wasn't. I'm not sure who these three are, but it looks to me like they are three of my children! Nothing like being caught red handed!

I survived!!!!!

2009-05-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

No, pictures yet, so don't wonder! :-) We survived the wedding with only a few minor mishaps and gained a new son-in-law through it all! I was so happy that yesterday was a day off! I think I slept for hours this weekend. Thank you to all of you who were able to come to Bruce and Mandie's wedding! There were a lot of people there and I apologize that there was such limited seating at the reception. That was the only cloud in my sky that night. Bruce and Mandie are back from their honeymoon and it's back to work as usual today. We already miss Mandie, of course, but we are so thankful that they are so close by (Independence). Binky and Scott are moving into a rental house in ~~~~drum roll~~~~~ Ramona next week! We are so excited! They have looked around in different places, but settled on this house. It is an older house, but the yard is so neat! It reminds me of my Grandma Hazelwood's yard in Missouri! It will be good having them closer to us! Wyatt is such a sweetie! His personality is really coming out and he is so much fun to be around! He slept over at our house Sunday night and Manuel and I enjoyed having him so much. Dafne and Noel stayed at Binky and Scott's, so we were able to just concentrate on him. I was rocking him to sleep and he could see his "Abuelo" in the kitchen. Every once in a while he would stick out his hand and point to him. Manuel would come over and kiss him and Wyatt would put his hand back under the covers and settle back down. I don't know how many times he did that. Finally, Manuel just took him and started rocking him. Then they started playing! He did finally go to sleep and slept well all night.

I will post pictures of my house and the wedding soon.

Have a good day!!!!!

2009-05-06T07:51:00.001-07:00

Alas, I did not get all of my goals accomplished for the past weekend! I did get some of them done, though, and my dear and talented son-in-law, Scott, got my dining room and breakfast nook walls finished last night (all except putting down the baseboards), so that is wonderful! It is beautiful! He is very talented in dry wall creativity and does an exceptional job! He did the walls in a Tuscan plaster, paint and glaze and I love it! My house is ending up looking totally different than what I have always had, but I love every bit of it. Pictures soon??? I hope! I decided this morning to count my blessings instead of my worries, so I am feeling better! Try doing that! It really diminishes what you thought really mattered and doesn't!

Wyatt was over last night with his mommy and daddy and learned to "blow"! His Aunt Mandie told him he was just a little late for his birthday candle, but he was having so much fun. He loves anything with buttons and loves cell phones. Last night I was sitting across the room working on our last insurance loss claim (I'm almost done!!!!!) and I said, "Ring, ring!" He immediately stopped what he was doing and put his hand up to his ear and said, "Heyo! Heyo!" Some of the time he was saying "Hi! Hi!" He just brightens the whole house when he comes in! If he realizes that anyone is watching and laughing at his antics, he starts showing off to beat the band! He is hilarious! I told his mommy that I can laugh, cause I'm his noni, not his mommy! He still looks just like his daddy, but there are facial expressions that Bianca and I both have noticed that look like Zachary, Chad's oldest son, who looks somewhat like his grandpa, my daddy. It's just a little smile thing he does, but it shows the Hazelwood in him!

I'm rambling, but I will stop! Everyone have a good day!!!!

Happy 14th Birthday, Noel!

2009-05-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Fourteen years ago today, God blessed us with our son! After three beautiful daughters, I wasn't sure what to do with a little boy, but we soon figured it all out! We have been blessed with a son who is respectful (most of the time :-) ), loving, caring and a hard worker! He can usually figure about anything out, which reminds me so much of my dad. He loves sports, especially baseball, paintballing, riding his four wheeler, fishing with his dad, going to Mexico with his dad, and just about anything with his dad. He and his dad are good buddies. They have to stick together with four women in the family. He finally has some brothers, Scott and Bruce. They are both very special to Noel and then there is Wyatt. The day that Wyatt was born into our family, Noel had a special connection to another little man who had the same blood running in his veins! He loves being an uncle. He makes A's and B's on his report cards, for which we are thankful and He truly loves God. He has a funny sense of humor and can usually make about anyone laugh. He also loves to play the drums and is good at it. He is very good with his finances, saving for what he wants and trying to take care of what he buys. Of course he has some negatives, too, :-) but I won't share those on the blog! Especially not on his birthday! So, Noel, happy birthday to you! Dad and I love you very, very much and we are very proud of you! God bless you today and always.

Happy Birthday, Noel!

2009-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Happy 14th Birthday, Son!

2009-05-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

It's Getting Done!!!!

2009-05-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of! I am officially down to about six boxes to go through, put away, ect. That is a good feeling! I suspect that by next week I may be able to post some pictures! I hope so! My goals for this weekend are to:
1. Finish decorating dining room and breakfast nook
2. Finish the six boxes
3. Decorate (finish) our Master bedroom and bath
4. Sort through the two "loss items" storage rooms that we have and finish our loss list to send to insurance

There, maybe that will hold me accountable and I will get it done! I hope so! There are a few boxes in the hall that aren't mine, so I hope the kids get those sorted and put where they go! Dafne's room is still on hold, waiting for the dry wall to get done, but Mandie and Noel have made headway on their rooms and they are looking better! Okay, that felt better to "say it out loud"! Thanks for listening and I'll keep you posted!

Oh, if you want a funny, here it is! My sister, Becky, was talking on the phone to her grandaughter, Kristin the other day and they were discussing Mandie's wedding. Kristin asked Becky what Owen was doing in the wedding and Becky tried to explain that he would be carrying the laso up the aisle. (For those of you who aren't familiar with this custom, a laso is a decorative silken rope that "ties" the bride and groom together in a symbolic ceremony depicting the "becoming one" with marriage. This is a very important part of a Hispanic wedding and Mandie and Bruce have chosen to include it in their ceremony.) Becky thought that calling it a rope would make more sense to Kristin, so she told her that Owen would be carrying a rope up the aisle. Kristin must have repeated what she said to her, because Becky heard Owen in the background saying something suspiciously like, "I'm going to bring a buffalo, too!" I don't think they quite got the idea! Oh, well, be sure you come for the show! With our funny family, it's no telling what might happen! "Talk" to you later!

Grandbabies are so much fun!

2009-04-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know our daughter, Bianca, have probably read their news on her blog, but if you haven't I will refer you to www.biancapinkston.blogspot.com . We are very excited! Wyatt is so precious and funny and goofy, all at once, that I can't imagine another one measuring up to him, but I know he or she will! Congratulations, Scott, Bianca and Wyatt! We are happy for you! Don't forget. . . .free babysitting at Noni and Abuelos!!! :-)

Another pictureless up-date!

2009-04-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry! Still no pictures! So many things have happened in the last couple of weeks that I feel like I am spinning! One of my ornery cousins (if you are reading this, Scott, you know who you are!) once told me that my head was like one of those things that are on top of buildings for ventilation; you know, those round things that spin around with the wind? I have really related to that lately and am thinking that being on a roof might be easier than down where the hub bub of daily activities are! Okay, so I really don't want to be a roof vent! Just kidding!

We are still not completely unpacked. I worked on about 4 boxes or maybe 5 last night and this morning and it took me about 2 hours (at least)! I have to go through everything and either find a place for it, put it in the rummage sale pile, trash it, or put it in the Goodwill pile. In addition to all that, I have to record in detail whatever I find that is damaged by the fire or by smoke! Detail, meaning what it is; model number; description; where I got it; when I got it; and how much it cost originally! No wonder my head is spinning! Then there is Mandie's wedding coming up one month from today! I am so not ready emotionally for that. I can't stand the thought of her moving away from home! I realize that this is God's plan for her and Bruce and would never stand in their way, but I hope I make it through the wedding on just a few kleenex! Oh, and just to complicate matters a little more! Noel is in the heat of his baseball season and while we are seeing some positive results from his interaction with his coach and the discipline of being on the team, getting him to and from practice and games is tough! But, to brag a little (forgive me!) he is a great first baseman and has helped win several of the games. The other evening he got two people out on the same play! Maybe some of you don't see that it is an important thing, but his games are free, he's playing against other kids his age, the games are kept "clean" as far as language, ect. and it is teaching him responsibility and discipline to keep commitments. Whatever I have to do for my children is not a waste of time. One day they will be away from home and I will miss this! (Really? Did I just say that? Lol) Okay, enough said about my "problems" and the wonderful rat race of being an involved mom! It seems like no time at all that we were getting ready for Binky's wedding, and I now realize that the next few years will fly by as well and we will be thinking, "It seems like just a little while ago that we had Mandie's wedding and now we are planning Dafne's!" Okay, that's just way too out there to even think about! So I will think about jumping in my van in about 25 minutes, heading to Independence from Tulsa to pick up Dafne and Noel and getting Noel to Bartlesville by 5:00 pm for pregame practice. Then I will probably look for a convenient cave or hole to hide in, leaving my cell phone in my van, to wait until 6:00 at which time I need to be the "cheering mom"! I laughed the other night at my own self, after his game, because I am always afraid he won't make it to base before he gets out and I heard myself hollaring as loud as I could, "Run, Noel, run!" I told him later that he should be glad I said "Noel" instead of "Forest" (which might not mean anything to some of you!) Oh, well, I will take my laughs as they come and try to keep laughing. This morning I was sorting out a box and found a book that I got somewhere entitled "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Start Laughing"! Hmmmm! Wonder if it tells what to laugh at and if I should make a priority list of my laughable moments, pull them out when it gets too overwhelming and then laugh? I have absolutely gone on enough, but thank you for listening. I needed desperately to talk to someone who could just listen today, so you were chosen and I feel better, so now. . . . . off to my van for my wild ride!

P.S. I can now count my boxes, so I think I really am making headway. I have 17 ( I think) in my bathroom and about 10 in the utility room! Whoo hoo!

Happy Belated Easter!

2009-04-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter! We did. We went to Ochelata for church Sunday morning and had the privilege of having all of our children with us for the first time on Easter Sunday for a long time. The special presence of the Lord was all around and it was so special. Our service was not a traditionally Easter service; the church was almost packed out; and tears flowed freely among the church family, as Brother Melvin Schaper stood to testify and poured out his heart to us, as tears flowed down his cheeks! Some of the church men sang and then Becky and Jerry sang (at Bro. Schaper's request) "We Don't Have to Cross Jordan Alone". As people hugged each other and let the spirit of God move, we again felt the blessed hope that He is Risen and He DOES care about all of us! Praise the Lord for the knowledge and the fellowship with our Risen Lord! After service we shared lunch with our "extended family", which included all of our kids and Bruce (our kid!!), Becky, Jerry and Jeremy's family, Sue and Steve, Trelanie's family and Bruce's parents. Brother Melvin Schaper joined us, also, and we had a wonderful time as the rain beat down outside and the three "children" who were there hunted for Easter Eggs!

Today Manuel, Scott (our son-in-law) and Manuel's cousin, Rudy Marquez, are heading to Mexico. They were in high spirits when they left and Scott laughed and said he'd have his hands full keeping them all in line! He didn't think he'd have too much trouble keeping up with Rudy, but he wasn't sure about his father-in-law! Of course Manuel is riding high, going to "his Chihuahua" as he calls it! He is anxious to see his brother and check up on his progress. His mother is with his brother for a while, as her siblings are anxious to visit her and it is difficult for them to get to Texas to do so. Please pray especially for Manuel and Scott as they go. Scott has bonded with Rudy and is trying to help him stay straight. Rudy has a problem with alcohol, but is doing really well. He knows that only God can truly turn him around. Then, Armando, Manuel's brother, whom we have prayed for for 28 years is trying to turn his own life around. Please hold Scott and Manuel up in prayer as they minister to these precious family members and also that God will keep them safe!

Thanks, Larressa!

2009-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just read Laressa Hollenbeck's blog and felt very inspired by her related answer to prayer. Her story was in response to a past blog entry of Crystal Schaper's, who told of answered prayers. We all have answers to prayer, because God is the God of all answers, but sometimes we forget to share them! Many times during the day, I breathe up a prayer and sometimes there is an instant answer! Always there is relief! I remember one time while we were in Mexico that we were so tired and worn out from being there for a long time without a real furlough. We just were needing a break. Manuel said that if we could financially, he would like for us to drive in Mexico for a few days and just get away, while still "scouting out the land". For us in our financial situation, that was impossible at the time. I remember distinctly that he was sitting on the front porch of our home in Mexico, discouraged and tired, and I brought in the mail. There in a letter from some friends we have only met one time, was a check for over and above the amount that was needed for a little get away! I walked out to where Manuel was, handed him the check, and said, "There's the money!" Praise the Lord for knowing and seeing right where we are and loving us anyway! He does supply all of our needs! Last December, as we stood and watched our home burning, it seemed like He wasn't there! How could He be when this was happening? I asked Jerry, our pastor, why this was happening to us and he had no answer either. Now I see the beauty that God has made out of the ruins of our existance! I can only marvel at His goodness to us! Please let's share our answers to prayer!!!!

Help! I'm submerged!!!! :-)

2009-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, my goodness! Who would ever have thought that moving into a new house would have so many complications? I thought we had a down hill ride now, but lo and behold, it is not so! It is Wednesday----we are planning to have a birthday party at our house for Wyatt on Saturday, and still the boxes line the walls and the ramp is still in place for the front steps and on and on! By the way, I can't believe I forgot to get on here on Wyatt's birthday and wish the little man a very happy birthday from his Abuelo and his Noni! He is the joy of our lives and so cute! We were a totally captive audience last evening as he "showed off" for us in his adorable way! What a precious dolly! Well, back to the house and all that entails. Plus the wedding! It just hit me yesterday on my way home from work that Mandie would be married in about six weeks and I cried a lot of the way home! We love Bruce dearly and know that with God's help, he will be a wonderful husband to Mandie, but just the thoughts of her leaving home is so tough! Well, after I boohooed for a few miles, I got home and got on a different track! Last Friday I took off the day of work to try and get a lot done in the house. My first project began early in the morning as I went out to straighten the front porch. I have a thing about my front door and porch looking good, even if nothing else does! I stepped outside and promptly landed sitting and slid down the ramp that is still at the door because my husband has not had time to build proper steps. I guess there was a little bit of frost on the ramp from the night before. Fortunately I only twisted my leg and didn't do any big damage, but was in pain about all day and therefore didn't get nearly as much done as I wanted to. The next morning I was for sure going to get a lot done, and I woke up with a gift from kids who had been sick a couple days last week with the flu-----their colds and flu! Monday I was still sick, but through it all I have managed to get some things done and believe it or not feel encouraged. This birthday party is certainly not going to be an "open house" to the whole house, but I'm sure it will all be fine! Thank God for understanding friends and family!
My gas range has not been connected yet---three weeks with a new stove and I can't cook on it! We have propane because we are in the country and for some reason the propane company decided that while we were transitioning to our new house we didn't need the tank. So, they came and pulled it, along with the propane that was in it, without the courtesy of a phone call or anything! It has been a long process getting it back, because they decided that the gas line that had been in place for over 7 years was in the wrong place and needed to be totally redone! (At our expense.) Finally someone came out yesterday to inspect the pipeline and decided that it was fine! The tank was to be delivered today and when the man came, he looked as though he would much rather be sleeping than dealing with me and my tank. He mosied into the yard and looked around. He saw a cement block lying on the ground and (quite unnecessarily, I thought) said, "What's that?" Well, what was there to say, but, "A block?" I think he was looking for a septic tank, but who's to know with questions like that. Anyway, after awhile he knocked on the door and said, "We have a slight problem!" And I replied, "A slight problem, again?" Apparently the "inspector" had failed to note that Manuel had joined all of the pipe with teflon tape, which is not acceptable to propane people and so now he must take it all apart and rejoin it with what the propane guy called "goop". Fortunately he left some of the "goop" for Manuel and promised me that if all goes well, he will be at our house Friday to hook up my stove! Whooo-hooo!
Oh, boy, you gotta love life! It is so unpredictable. And if we embrace it, whatever comes along, we can get through our problems and set-backs much more quickly!

P.S. I have now lost my camera, so someday you will see pictures, maybe! Sorry!
Have a good day!

Quick, Pictureless up-date!!!

2009-03-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

I put all my pictures on a disc and now am having trouble getting them off! You may just have to see the finished project instead of the series of pics that I wanted to give you! We are in our house as of night before last! The last two nights of sleeping in our own bed has been so restful! I just laid in bed Saturday night and thanked God that I was there! Moving back in has been extremely difficult, to say the least. I thought the worst was over! Now the new house is full of boxes, which have to be unpacked and put in their new places or thrown away, or put in the rummage. Many of our things are damaged from the fire and I am having to sort and write down all those details! I told Manuel this morning that I don't think I will ever get done any time soon! We love our house, or we will when we get situated! We did have lunch together yesterday: smoked briskit (Manuel's smoker and his great cooking!), potatoe salad (Wal-Mart), baked beans (canned) and yummy bread (Wal-Mart). It was great to be around a dining table again together, well mostly together! Mandie came in from Arizona about 1:30, so she ate later. Please pray that things will fall in to place quickly for us. I have a wonderful boss who let me come and go as needed last week on company time, for which I am very thankful, but I am back to work this week and I only have so much time in the evenings to tackle the many, many boxes surrounding me!!! Help!!!! Just kidding! It will work out and we will finish some day! Hopefully I will post pictures soon.

Mandie's Bridal Shower in Florida

2009-03-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

My sister, Bev, and her daughter, Robyn, hosted a beautiful surprise bridal shower for Mandie while we were in Florida. She was so happy to see some of her special friends and everything was very nice! Thank you, Bev and Robyn for doing this! The picture of Wyatt and Payton was a documentary of Wyatt suddenly deciding to chase Payton around the room and try to bite her hair bow! Go figure!!! Who knows what kids are thinking! He is usually pretty quiet!

Happy Birthday, Binky!

2009-03-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

This picture is from last July, but it's what I have on hand, so it will serve the purpose! Happy Birthday, Bianca! This is a day late, but we enjoyed having you "home" so much on your birthday yesterday! That's a first in I don't know how many years! You are a wonderful daughter, a great sister, an organized and loving wife and a precious mommy to our little grandson! You have been a blessing in our lives for 26 years, from the moment that we saw you first and Daddy said, "That's my little Bianquita, isn't it!" He especially remembers the colic filled nights that followed, but through it all, you have been our special blessing, occupying the sometimes great and sometimes unpleasant place as the "oldest"! I always know you will tell me the truth when I need your advise and we love you so much! Thank you for everything you have done for us and for shouldering the load many times, when your little shoulders weren't very big, but you saw something that needed doing! We're proud of you!

Love and prayers,

Mom

2009-03-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as things go. . . . . . I did remember to take my memory card to WalMart, but of course, their instant kiosk was out of ribbon (whatever that is for) and so I am still waiting to get pictures to download on here. I have lots! But while we are waiting for that, I decided to share a few things with you that I thought of last night.

It was late, probably 11:30 p.m. Dafne had just gotten back from a deputation service and was seeing Scott, Binky and Wyatt for the first time in 7 months! It had been a busy day~~~~we were all tired and winding down for the night, to be ready for work and school today. Yesterday was Binky's birthday (more on that later) and we had celebrated that, also, gone to our new house and peeked around inside (not done yet~~more on that later!) and were tired. After devotions Manuel and I headed to bed and as I lay there, not feeling sleepy particularly, I just listened to the sounds of the apartment, the soft breathing of my husband as he was falling asleep, the murmer of our girls' voices and occassional laughter as they continued to "catch up", silence from Noel (he plays hard and sleeps hard! Once he's out, he's out!), and by this time, silence from our adorable grandson and Scott! I thought, as I lay there, how very blessed I am! My family was all under one roof for the first time in seven months, and even though it isn't our own roof, it is a roof! I realized that even though I don't even know at this point what of our material possessions have survived, it is not important in the light of what we do have, which is God and our family! My love for God and my family swelled in my heart at that moment and I fell asleep with that thought! I am so blessed!

2009-03-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Some have told me that they are unable to comment on my blog due to not having a yahoo account and I didn't have an option for anonymous comments. I didn't realize that, and have gone in and fixed it, I hope, so comment all you like! I love hearing that people are reading my blog! Makes me feel connected! I have a bunch of pics and stuff to say about our recent trip to Florida as well as our house situation, so keep watching!

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

2009-02-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my daddy's 78th birthday, and so I want to say, "Happy Birthday, Daddy! I miss you so very much! It's been almost 16 1/2 years since you left to live in Heaven, and I still miss you! There are times that I am almost overwhelmed with life and think, 'Oh, if I could just talk to Daddy and Mother about this, or Daddy would know what to do about this, or I just need one of Daddy's big, big hugs!' Well, you're in Heaven, happy and safe with Mother and a lot of other family, and most of all with Jesus. I'm glad! Things are getting crazy here, but you won't have to deal with that. I know that your prayers and Mother's prayers have seen us through some hard times! I love you, Daddy! I wish you could see your two grandchildren that you never met, see our oldest two whom you loved and meet Scott and Bruce~~~~and then there's little Wyatt! You would have loved him so much! I think he has your beautiful eyes! And Noel, he is so much like you, I think! You would have enjoyed working with him and doing things together. Dafne is one of our pride and joys! You would have been proud of all of your grandchildren and now your great grandchildren. I expect to meet you some day! I love you, Daddy! I wish you could read this! I'll never forget the last hug you gave me. Sometimes I pull it out and try it on again, in my memories, because I need to feel you close! Have a wonderful birthday in Heaven! Tell Mother and all the rest that I love them, too!"

Update on our House!

2009-02-25T13:03:00.001-08:00

Our floor for our new house is finally poured! We are so anxious to get through all of this! God is helping us every step of the way and we are so thankful! As you can see in one picture, all we have left is our porch! It was kind of funny to see just a porch and no house, after the old one got moved out! Hopefully that spot will be occupied again on Friday with our new house. We are so excited about that! We are also excited to be going to Florida to help our kids drive back to Oklahoma! We were in a crunch to get the floor poured because the buyer of our "burned house" didn't get it moved until last Friday and our new house was scheduled for delivery today. By pushing that back, finding some great help and praying a lot, the job is done! One evening it was a real family affair: Manuel was laying brick, Dafne, Mandie and I were hauling rebar and assembling grids for the concrete, Noel was tying them together, hauling bricks and whatever. By the time we were done, Becky and Jerry were out there, Jerry with his big outside lights was cutting rebar and everyone was tying the rebar together, handing Manuel bricks, hauling more, and on and on! We made it, though! Thank you to all who helped! Hopefully the insurance money helped to bless others, too!

Update!

2009-02-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

I have pictures on my camera, but forget to download them on to a disc when I'm at WalMart. Among other things that disappeared to the restoration company after the fire, my USB?? cable for my camera is also gone. We are anxiously awaiting our new house, and anxiously awaiting the departure of the old one. A lady who is related to a coworker of mine wanted to buy the "burned" house and now is having trouble getting the mover to get it off the property. Our new house is supposed to be coming in next week and Manuel still hasn't been able to get the required preparations done for it because the old house is still there. Last word was that the old house would be moved by Wednesday or Thursday!!! Let's hope so. I'm sure the new concrete will have to set up for a few days at least and then there is the weather to consider!!! I'm so glad that God is in control, because it would drive me crazy to organize all that has to happen to get us back home!

We had a very nice weekend; going to Granby, Missouri for Colin Knight and Faith Heyer's wedding, which was beautiful. We went up and spent the night (our three kids who are still home were all in the wedding) and had a good time sharing breakfast with Diane, Joanne and David and their parents. (Also some other people we didn't know, but hey, no one's a stranger to David!) He ended up inviting them to the wedding I think. I don't think I saw them there, though . . . We came back through Independence and went to the Valentine's Banquet at the Booth Hotel that was being sponsored by the Bible School. It was wonderful-food, piano music, atmosphere, and great fellowship! It was fun to catch up with some friends.

Manuel decided to fix Sunday lunch for us and it was delicious! BBQ brisket, baked beans, potato salad! Yummmm! Dafne and Noel had colds and so Manuel and I were alone for going to church. We went to the Bible Holiness Church in Bartlesville and I was very impressed by the good message that the pastor, James Miller, gave on our Relationship with God!

Today, it's back to work and I thank God every time I think of my job that I have one! He is so good to us!

Two more weeks and we should be in Florida, getting ready to start back to Oklahoma with our kids! We are so excited that they are moving back to this area. I can hardly wait to get to know Wyatt better! I think Scott must be getting excited, too! He's called us at least three times lately and usually he leaves that up to Binky! We are so blessed to have a son-in-law such as he is. I will try to post some pictures as soon as I can.

Clarification!

2009-02-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

There has been a little discussion regarding the picture I posted of my son-in-law, Scott, in the dugout at a baseball game. The guy leaning against the fence in the foreground is my nephew, Jeremy, and Scott is sitting on the bench. I realized that when I posted the picture, but some were a little confused as to who the real "Scott" was! So, this is for all you "Pages" out there who were wondering!!!! (Just kidding and being a Page is a family joke, not applicable to those who aren't in our family!!!)

Our Son-in-Law, Scott

2009-02-04T12:04:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Scott!

2009-02-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

I just want to wish a very Happy Birthday to our son-in-law, Scott! We are so happy to have him in the family. We have loved him since we met him, and probably even before! Scott, I want to tell you again how much your father and mother-in-law appreciate you! You have been an excellent husband to our precious daughter, and now a wonderful father to our grandson. Your sense of responsibility and respect is so much appreciated. Thank you for everything that you do for all of us--from being a wonderful big brother, to doing odd jobs for your mother-in-law when you are in Oklahoma! I hope your day is as special as you are!

We love you and pray for you daily,
Manuel and Brenda

2009-01-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

We have had winter weather here in Oklahoma and actually it was very welcome. Our office was closed for part of Monday afternoon, all of Tuesday and half of a day today. Other than the horrific condition of the road coming home on Monday afternoon, it was a welcome respite. The kids were stuck in Independence with Mandie, so we missed them, but yesterday was just quiet and uneventful. Not a lot to do in a small apartment, so I did laundry (even washed my bedspread), slept when I felt like it, and just whiled away the day. I was relieved today to get back to work, even though I enjoyed being "lazy" yesterday. The sun is shining on the iced trees outside my office window and it is a beautiful sight. The ground is pretty much covered with white something, sleet, snow or a mixture of both! God is such an awesome artist!

We got word on Monday that everything is a go on our new house, so we are anxiously awaiting its arrival in about four weeks. We were waiting to see if our land appraised for what the mortgage company wanted it to, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that it has almost doubled in value since buying it in 2002. Please pray that the remainder of what needs to be done can be accomplished before time for our house to be delivered.

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our Florida kids, probably the last of February. We will be so happy to spend more time with them. Also, this weekend Bev, Wayne, Robyn and Payton will be flying in from Florida to spend the weekend with family back here, so we will have a Hazelwood Family Day on Saturday, Lord Willing. I am really excited about that. Nothing could be better than having a "big sister" living close to me (Becky) unless it was to have both of my "big sisters" around! I am so blessed to have such great sisters!

I better get to work and sign off for now. Everyone have a good rest of the week!

My precious grandson!

2009-01-23T13:14:00.001-08:00

25 things about me!

2009-01-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

I was tagged on Face Book for 25 things about me, and as some of you know, I just don't really get the FB thing, so I am putting it on here!

1. I am a Christian.
2. I am married to a man who is totally an enigma to me even after 27 1/2 years of marriage, however, he still can make my heart race and it gives me comfort to know that he is by my side.
3. I have four remarkable kids~all different~all special~all loved with all the mother's love that I have
4. I have a wonderful son-in-law who is from a "foreign country" (Just kidding, Scott, I know that Idaho is in the USA!), one on the way and I love them both dearly!
5. I have the most beautiful baby grandson in the whole world (my opinion, I know!) and I can't describe the fierce love I have for him! It's so different than loving your own child~this little guy is a product of a product of Manuel's and my love!
6. I speak Spanish, read and write it some.
7. I have lived in Mexico for about 16 years and loved it.
8. I have two sister's who are the best!
9. I have a really special cousin who is like a sister to me.
10. I like all kinds of sea food~unless it is too spicey!
11. I think that my husband is one of the best cooks I know.
12. I am a minister/missionary's daughter.
13. I am the Administrator for SUPRA Home Care of Tulsa, as well as being an RN.
14. My favorite colors are sage green and peach
15. I live in Ramona, Oklahoma.
16. I lost my home on December 5, due to a fire in the family room.
17. We had a great Christmas anyway.
18. I love to read.
19. I love flea markets, but only buy things that are truly fascinating.
20. I went to Independence Bible School for 11 years and graduated.
21. I graduated from Pittsburg State University in 1982 with my BSN.
22. I am a certified ICD-9 Coder for Home Care medical diagnoses.
23. I am outspoken to an extent, but tend to withdraw from rejection.
24. I try to "walk in the other person's shoes" before making judgement.
25. I feel that I have enough to do to keep myself and my family on the right track, without taking time to criticize others or gossip about them. (Do whatever you like, that's just my philosophy)!

Okay, did you learn anything about me that you didn't know?

2009-01-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the nice comments and especially for your prayers. Yesterday was a very hard day, after all, and I know the Lord was the only one who helped me get through it. I remember something that Cheryl Mahan said, a long time ago when we were on the mission field: "The battle is not your's, it's God's. Let Him fight it!" That has been a help to me on many occasions. We'll just have to have an open house when we finally get in one! Or maybe a pajama party, depending on the status of my clothes! I have several robes I can loan out! (Just kidding!) I really am doing fine with my clothes, just being silly and a little whinny! I'm fine! And, Binky, I can't wait for you and your little family to get here! Yes, definitely you and your sisters can help me decorate, when we find out what we have left to decorate with! I had to pick colors by myself yesterday, because Mandie was working in Independence and of course Dafne was at school. Manuel was pretty much agreeable to whatever, but did have some unintrusive opinions. I hope I did okay. It's kind of scarey to pick out everything alone! I should have called Becky to come help me, but didn't think of it in time! Oh, well, if we just get it set up and get our furniture back, I'm sure we'll be fine.

On another note, we still have our two puppies who are pictured on an earlier blog. We chose to keep them home, with Manuel driving back and forth every day to feed them and keep an eye on the house. Of course he also is working to get the house ready to pull off the foundation. Anyway, he forgot (?) to put the puppies in the pen the other evening and the next day the little lab (Chocolate) was gone. We looked and looked for him and Jazzy, the little cocker spaniel was very lonely without him. Yesterday the neighbor lady stopped Manuel as he drove by and said she had found Chocolate and gave him back! All of us were happy about that. Annie, our big dog whom we have had for over four years, feels her responsibility, I think! She is big stuff, guarding everything, the puppies and the kitties! Isn't it funny how a family gets attached to their pets, even if they are outside pets!

Okay, I need to stop rambling! Love you all!

2009-01-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

We signed the preliminary papers for our new house today. That was a little scarey, but we are trying to walk closely to God's will and we are trusting Him to lead us. If everything goes through as planned, and we were assured that it will, we should have our new house in about six weeks. We also got more clothes back from the restoration company today. Again nothing of significance for me! I now have a total of four or five robes ( I rarely wear more than one of them) and not much else, except for the things that were in my dirty clothes hamper the night of the fire. I took it with me and hoped for the best. I am trying to recycle, rotate, match, rematch. . . well you get the picture! I don't want to buy clothes because I have plenty, somewhere! Wow! We also got four of our Christmas stockings back today, so I guess I could wear a robe tomorrow and a couple of the Christmas stockings??? Hmmmmm! Or not! We are excited about getting back into a real house, although we appreciate that God is helping us right now! He is so good to us! Manuel is taking Noel and heading to Mexico today, for the rest of the week, back Sunday, Lord Willing. He wants to see his mom and also build a memorial on his father's grave. It doesn't seem possible that it has been almost a year since my father-in-law went to Heaven! I'll write more later.

2009-01-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

So, as you can see by the following pictures, we have had a busy Holiday Season; some of it a bit tramatic and a lot of it fun; all of it blessed! God has been so good to us! We appreciate everything that has been done for our good and we are just trying to follow God through the "red tape" of getting our home back in order (actually another home!). Keep praying for us!

Christmas Party at Ochelata Church

2009-01-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Ochelata Church has a Christmas get together every year and everyone exchanges gifts and brings snacks and just has fun! You can see Becky working away, some of the people who came and some of the kids playing basketball. We had a great time.

Silver Dollar City

2009-01-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

Someone was sweet enough to give us tickets to Silver Dollar City for Christmas and we had a lot of fun! Here's a picture of Dafne and Mandie sharing a pickle; one of my sweet and patient husband holding my bags while I shopped and just other candid shots!

Ochelata Christmas Program

2009-01-05T09:24:00.001-08:00

Noel was in the Ochelata Church Christmas program. Dafne had a conflict with her deputation schedule, so wasn't in the program this year. We thought he did well!

Our temporary home!

2009-01-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

More pictures of our apartment

2009-01-05T08:27:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Mandie!

2008-12-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Mandie's 21st birthday was the 29th, but I didn't have access to a computer until today, so this is late. I also don't have pictures downloaded, so that will be even later, but I do want Mandie to know that we are so very proud of her. She has been a blessing to us for 21 years and we are so happy that she has found (or been found by :-) ) a man who loves her very, very much! We were able to spend four nights in Branson over the past weekend and it was so relaxing. We went to Silver Dollar City on her birthday and just enjoyed walking around, shopping a little and Bruce and Noel really enjoyed the rides. It was a gorgeous day, hardly a need even for a jacket until the sun went down! Manuel and I kind of hung out together, which was really a first at Silver Dollar City, since we are usually taking care of the younger kids. We enjoyed it so much. We all got together and rode the train before leaving the park. That was fun, too. I found a shop that is going out of business and found several beautiful items for our new house! That was really fun! I'll post pictures later. Have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Sunday

2008-12-24T06:54:00.001-08:00

We stopped by our house on our way back to the apartment after church Sunday morning and took these pictures.

Woolaroc

2008-12-24T06:46:00.001-08:00

We went to Woolaroc on Saturday night and had a very fun and COLD time! There were beautiful lights, which didn't turn out to well in the pictures, and then we went into the lodge and had chocolate or cider and cookies. There was a petting barn and we wandered in there. As you can see, Dafne found a friend! I don't think the llama actually "kissed" her! I hope not! Anyway, it was a fun evening!

Fun at Woolaroc

2008-12-24T06:41:00.001-08:00

Update on our house

2008-12-24T06:24:00.001-08:00

This is what our house looks like now, like we're moving, which we are! (Eventually.) There

was a team of four ladies who had the unpleasant job of digging through everything and packing up to send to the warehouse for clean-up.

Happy Birthday to my sister, Bev!

2008-12-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

In all the happenings in my life in the last week and a half, I forgot to say that my sister, Bev, had a birthday on the 12th! I hope your birthday was just as special as you are, Bev! You have been so good to us and no one could ask for better sisters than I have! Love you lots!

2008-12-17T14:48:00.001-08:00

I thought I would get on here and give just a little update of our situation. As far as I know, the fire was determined to be caused by a short in the electric lights on the Christmas tree. The tree was two years old, prelighted and we bought it from KMart, just FYI. We stayed for one night at Becky and Jerry's and then moved to a motel in Bartlesville for nine nights (How time flies!). We stayed at our apartment last night. It is comfortable, although pretty small for five people. We will be fine, though. It has two and a half bathrooms and one bedroom (go figure!). We've rounded up enough furniture to get by fine and thank you to Dolly and Dake Shreffler for sharing some with us. Mandie got on Craig's list and hunted down other essentials and there we are! Allstate is taking care of us, and we are just wading through the paperwork and red tape. Today we found out that they are "totaling" the house, although the adjuster said they don't use that word any more, so whatever, but I guess we will be house shopping! I might post some pictures of our apartment at some point if I can ever get it all together! In the meantime I need to run out and shop for Christmas again! Oh, well, I have what eight days? No problem! Lol!

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

2008-12-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

Friday night we came home from our Christmas dinner at my work to find our home on fire. The fire was contained in the family room, but the smoke damage was throughout the house. I am posting some pictures of the house for those of you who might want to see them. I was really glad that I had taken pictures of it before the fire. Our things are all smoke covered and I don't know how much can really be cleaned and saved, but the Lord gave us opportunity to be able to salvage some, by helping us to get home from the dinner just in time to call 911. We will be meeting with the insurance adjusters tomorrow to determine what will be done. We are trusting in God that He will help all the right decisions to be made. Many people are asking what they can do to help, and we appreciate every prayer and every word of kindness. It tells us that we have more friends than we realized. At this point we are in a hotel until we can find an apartment or something in Bartlesville to get into. I did want to share this with you. I called Becky right after Dafne got 911 called and on their way (my kids were tremendous throughout the whole process) and she and Jerry jumped in their two vehicles and started over. She said that on the way she was just saying, "God, please stop that fire!" When all was said and done, probably Sunday, she realized and put it all together what a miracle God had done. The firefighters told us that in five more minutes the house would have exploded. They got there in the nick of time to keep it from going up in flames completely, thus losing all hopes of salvaging any sentimental things, CDs, pictures, or whatever. Thank God for praying family and praying friends. Becky and Jerry were so good to us that night. We can never repay their love and help to us, as well as other friends who showed up for support. Love like that cannot be bought. Bruce was there that evening, having gone to the dinner with Mandie, and I guess he got his share of initiation into the family! Scott was initiated by the tree that fell and crushed our house right before their wedding, and Bruce got to see us at our worst during the fire! He was all over the place, trying to help Manuel see if they could get in before the firetrucks got there, and of course they realized it was beyond what they could do, so they didn't go in, but he proved to be a true "son" to us, just like Scott did during our tree disaster! Noel was so strong and trying to help his dad, too. Mandie and Dafne were wonderful. Bianca was on the phone with us and it was as though while the fire raged inside, our family melted together. I am so thankful for the love that we share. I thank God we were not inside asleep! I thank him that even though our clothes are smoked, we still have most of them. Dafne lost her collection of hoodies which melted because they were hanging on the back of her bedroom door, but that can be replaced. (As a "funny" if there is anything funny, Dafne and one of her friends climbed through her bedroom window after the fire was out to save her denim skirts! She said, "It's hard to find skirts nowadays!" That's my Dafne, always thinking!) What can I say? God is dearer to me today than He ever has been.
Just a side note for those who really don't trust manufactured homes: I was really impressed by the durability of our home through the fire. Three of the bedroom doors were closed and those rooms had much less smoke damage. The doors were charred on the side of the fire, but the insides weren't that bad. The house burned like any normal house would. We did a lot of research on our home before we bought it and finally decided on one from Kansas Mobile Homes in Parsons. It's a Spirit brand. I'm sure if it is replaced, we will go back to them.
Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you.

2008-12-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

The picture with the curtains and mirror and plant are in our bathroom which was at the very opposite end of the house from the family room. Noel was intrigued by the melted blinds in the living room.

More pictures

2008-12-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

I don't know what order these pictures will come out in, so I'll try to describe what each of these pictures are. This are pictures of the family room and the kitchen. The thing hanging from the ceiling is a Southern Living at Home metal candle thing, but the ceiling and/or light fixture has melted and dripped down on it. You can see the front of the oven and microwave that is completely melted. The fire was contained in the family room, but the heat in the house was tremendous and there is smoke damage throughout the house.

New puppies at our house!

2008-12-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a strange shot of our two new puppies. The little brown lab is Manuel's puppy and Mandie bought him a little shirt that says "I'm not only perfect, I'm also Mexican!" Jazzy is a little Cocker Spaniel who also has a little pink shirt on, but you can't see it very well. It's actually a hoodie. And no, they aren't house dogs at all. We brought them in for pictures.

Christmas at Our House

2008-12-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas decorations. The tree is in the Family Room and has an angel on top, but it got cut out of the picture. The fireplace is also in the Family Room and is one of our favorite spots. I set the Nativity scene on this old Singer sewing machine that Manuel gave me. The snowmen are in our kitchen window. We love Christmas at our house, as you can tell!

2008-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

These pictures are posting in an order different than what I see when I am entering them, so forgive the following post. I do know my left from my right, ect. These are just more of our Christmas decorations. The tea cart in the dining room, one of my hutches that is decorated, but also has the dishes on it that I found (Binky found) on Craig's list. I think I mentioned them in an earlier post. The tree is the small one in the living room. The little tree is in the kitchen. And there is a shot of the dining room table.

2008-12-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

This wooden Nativity Scene is from Bethlehem. Bev and Wayne brought it to us when they went. I think she said it is hand carved Olive wood. To the left is my Nativity snowglobe and the decorations on the piano. Just out of interest, the Promise Box that you see on the piano (right bottom corner of pic) was a wedding gift from Deloss and Frankie! We treasure it.

The pic to the right is just another thing I do at Christmas and below is a shot into one side of our dining room. Sorry about the bags! We were getting prizes ready for a work party.

Fall Dinner at IBS

2008-11-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

Noel and Dafne were involved in the Fall Dinner at IBS this past week, Noel as a server and Dafne as a sophomore. Actually Mandie was there, also, as a photographer. It certainly brings back memories of Fall Dinners in the past! What great memories! The theme was a Parisian Cafe and the servers were dressed with French berets (is that spelled correctly?) and bow ties. It was really beautiful! The Student Council did a great job! Sorry, I didn't edit these pics before I downloaded them, so you'll have to lean to the left a little to see them! The first one is Dafne with some of her friends. I just thought they were all so pretty that I wanted to share the pictures. She went to the dinner with Rusty Brewer and the last picture is of her and her little brother, who is almost as tall as she is. (They back up to each other occasionally to measure and check progress!)

Gingerbread Houses in Progress

2008-11-26T10:46:00.001-08:00

It has become a tradition for my family to go to Wichita every year on Saturday before Thanksgiving to a Gingerbread Workshop with my cousin, Sue Werle (Kimmel). It is so much fun and so relaxing to just play at making little houses. The large house you see here was not made by any of us. There were a lot of houses on display and this was one of those. We started with the ingredients you see on the left and you can see the finished products. It is a highlight of our year and a great kickoff to the holiday season. You ought to try it some time! You might think that you don't have time for things like this, but remember that the only things in life that count are faith, family and friends. Everything else will fall in to place. Thank you, Sue, for the wonderful day! We enjoyed being with you and Steve and thanks for the wonderful lunch that you provided for us!

More Gingerbread House Pics

2008-11-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

More Gingerbread House Pics

2008-11-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

2008-11-26T10:22:00.001-08:00

Mandie surprised Bruce with an early Christmas present, a little black Cocker Spaniel puppy, which they named Bling.

Happy Veterans' Day!

2008-11-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

To all of those who are veterans or have family members who are veterans, congratulations and thank you for your part in helping to defend our country and our freedom. My Grandpa and Grandma Hazelwood had ten children who grew to adulthood and out of six of their sons, five of them were in the military. My dad was in for only a short time and did not serve; he was given an honorable discharge due to health reasons. The other four served in various branches and all were in World War II and all returned home alive. There is a picture, but I don't have access to it, of all four of them in uniform. I remember my Grandma telling how different times God would impress on her heart to pray for one or another of them and then later find that they had been in danger. My oldest uncle, Harold Hazelwood, was on Midway Island during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was a communication technologist and kept the lines open between the island and mainland, even though he was injured. I am against war with all of my being and my feelings, but I am proud that my family was part of the great group who helped keep our country free. May God continue to smile on America for His children's sake!

My Baby Girl

2008-11-06T08:15:00.001-08:00

Marquez Photography by Mandie is kicking off to a good start. These are some of the pictures that Mandie took of her little sister.

2008-11-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

I actually had a "stay at home" day on Saturday and it was such a blessed relief! I can't tell you when the last time was that I was able to stay at home and work on being a housewife on a Saturday. Cleaning has just had to come in the evenings, between times, ect, with whoever had time to do it getting it done. I don't know about your family, but in our family everyone is "cross-trained", meaning there isn't any of us who can't jump in and do whatever needs doing in the house. I am so thankful for that. Okay, Noel isn't real good at ironing yet, but he's getting there and that's good. He even tried to cut his hair the other day! Yikes! Well, it really wasn't that bad, but I did think that Brother Brewer (at IBS) might think it was a strange and unusual haircut. With some triming he was fine! Anyway, my point is that I did have time to putter around the house and get some much needed things done. I could use about 3 more of those kind of days! I think I am actually ready to post some pictures of our bedrooms, now! (Ha!) Actually the kids are on the run so much that sometimes their rooms get messy, but they are trying to keep them nice and I am very proud of them. I want to post some pictures of the living room and dining room and ask for honest opinions on some decorating that I have done in there. I changed the dining room a little and while I like it a lot, I 'm not sure that it flows from the living room decor. I was talking to Bianca about it and she said that I should post pictures and ask for an opinion. Please let me know what you think. I will have to post them tomorrow because I forgot my camera today, but I welcome your opinions!

Bruce and Mandie's new future home!

2008-10-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

We are so happy for Bruce and Mandie, that they have found their "dream house". I know that together they will make it in to a home, not just a house, and will make memories there that will be unique to them and to the little family that will begin May 23, 2009, on their wedding date. We love them both so much, admire their personalities, hospitality already and wish the best for them in every way, spiritually, emotionally, financially and in endeavoring to set up the little home they will be living in after they are married.

Our new puppy-Chocolate (pronounced in Spanish)

2008-10-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

These are pics of Manuel's new little chocolate lab, which he originally named Chocolate! Kind of strange for a dog, but as Mandie says, its his dog! These pictures were taken the first night we got him, so the kids had him in the house. Since then Manuel made him a little pen outside and he is very happy, because it is right by our rabbit cage and he loves playing with them through the wires. I'm not so certain about the rabbits opinion of his proximity, though!

More of Neewollah Parade

2008-10-30T11:46:00.001-07:00

This is Cera Schenck, Tori's little sister. These are just a couple of the floats, "Little House on the Prarie", an old stagecoach, and then the Marching Band of the Caney Valley, Oklahoma Trojans.

Some pics from last weekend-Neewollah parade

2008-10-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

Tori Schenck, Jeremy and Trelanie's oldest little girl.

Great Weekend!

2008-10-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Monday again! The weekend was good, busy, but good! Becky, Noel, his friend, Eddie, and I went to Neewollah parade on Saturday and met up with Trelanie, Tori, Cera and some of Trelanie's family. That was fun and I had my smoked turkey leg! Binky, Aunt Becky had a funnel cake in your honor! Then we went out to the cemetary to check on flowers on Mother and Daddy's graves. I should have taken a picture. Mandie and Bruce planted a little flower garden between the two graves and it looked so pretty! Thank you, Mandie and Bruce! We ended up at Sonic for lunch and headed south to Ochelata and Ramona. On the way I stopped at WalMart and got a chocolate lab puppy (from the parking lot) for Manuel to replace his lab that got killed. He really loved the little thing and I was so glad I got it for him. Saturday evening we went to a tremendous cookout at Monte and Carolyn Barham's place and that was great! The kids enjoyed the hayride and we all had a good time. They are such wonderful hosts! Sunday morning in Tulsa at the Church of God Holiness Church we had Pastor Appreciation Day and a carry in lunch. The food theme was Cajun, in honor of Brother Gremillion, and the food was great! We ended that day at Ochelata for evening service and such went our weekend! Thank God for a good time and protection for all. Mandie, Dafne and Bruce went to Youth Challenge in Indiana and came back with great reports and exhausted! I will try to post some pics tomorrow.

My Southern Living at Home "find"!

2008-10-20T12:02:00.001-07:00

I was walking around in the Goodwill Store close to my office the other day, just browsing, as I do ocassionally on my lunch break, and saw this platter. It looked familiar and I thought it was probably from Southern Living at Home, but wasn't sure. It was marked $2.50, I think, so I bought it. When I got home I looked in the catalogue and sure enough it was there. The regular price was about $56.00, I think. I thought that was the bargain of my week! My niece, Robyn (Waits) Huff sells Southern Living at Home products and there are some beautiful items. Actually everything is beautiful and of very high quality; a little pricey, but it really dresses up your home. There are also great monthly sales for customers and wonderful opportunities to buy things at a discount for hostesses having a party. She does a lot of book parties for people who live at a distance (she lives in Stuart, Florida) and that's how I got several really great things that I treasure. I can't remember her web site right off, but the web site for the catalogue is http://www.southernlivingathome.com/. I will try to get her address for anyone who is interested.

Our weekend

2008-10-20T11:55:00.001-07:00

Rusty Brewer was spending the weekend with Bruce, so as a consequence he was at our house quite a lot over the weekend. These pictures were on Saturday evening after everyone was full of burgers and brats and just being lazy. Marissa was spending the night with Dafne that night, so she was there, too. Obviously in the last picture Dafne didn't want her picture taken! What a fun weekend! It was great having the kids' friends in our home. Rusty and Bruce were back Sunday evening and I felt like the Woman Who Lived in the Shoe when we all walked in to church Sunday night! It's a blessing having kids and I wouldn't trade mine for anything, but don't anyone dare tell them that!!!!! :-)

More weekend pics

2008-10-20T11:50:00.001-07:00

We were cooking hamburgers and brats for dinner Saturday night and Mandie started snapping pictures. She said we had had such a great weekend that we needed pictures of it.

Noel's weekend

2008-10-20T11:46:00.001-07:00

Noel invited a Caney Valley School friend over Friday night and they had so much fun Eddie didn't end up going home until late Saturday night. They played football, went to the flea market, went fishing, cooked their fish outside, ect. They were two tired and fishy smelling kids when it was all over. After taking a shower, mandated by his sister due to the fishy smell, he put his pjs on and back outside they went, so excuse his appearance. I forgot to say that Eddie was excited when Noel suggested that they cook their fish over the fire. He said, "Oh, yeah, let's do that! It's just like the old people do!" I think he meant it was the old-fashioned way!

Noel and Eddie-fishing "champs"!

2008-10-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

My white basket

2008-10-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

I think I will use my basket for toys for our little grandson! What do you think about that? That way he can climb in and out of it if he wants to and even hide under it from his mommy! (Just kidding!) I would never help him do anything ornery! Of course not! Although I remember my daddy "helping" us clean our plates if we didn't want all of our food. Isn't it amazing how we (those of you who have kids) thought it was just fine when our parents were a little lax with some of our rules, but we wouldn't think of it with our kids! Well, my parents' laxness only went as far as maybe slipping some of my food to Daddy while Mother wasn't looking, or him not telling that I got a ticket for speeding as I got older. One time he even paid a ticket for me! Wow! Anyway, however I got to this topic from what I plan to do with my oversized basket, I don't know! Have a good day everyone!

Some of my fun "finds" at yard sales and the flea market!

2008-10-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Bianca wanted me to put pictures on here of some of the fun things that I have found in the past few weeks at yard sales and the flea market. So here they are! There is a wonderful flea market in Tulsa on Admiral between Mingo and Memorial streets. It's open on Saturdays (probably Sunday, too, but I don't know that) and some weeks there is nothing that jumps in my van and some weeks I find things like some of the items pictured here. I don't go nearly every week, but when I have time and a little money it is so much fun. I bought this basket at a yard sale this weekend for a very low price. It is huge. It's size doesn't show in this picture, but I think Wyatt and Payton would both fit into it if we chose to stick them in it! I will probably paint it some other color because I don't usually do white, but I don't know. I broke my rule of not buying something unless I had a place for it picked out, when I bought this! I'm still trying to decide where to put it. Okay, hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed buying the things pictured here! Come over some Saturday and we'll go rummaging!!!! :-)

2008-10-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

This little metal shelf was purchased at the flea market, also. I got it for maybe $5.00 if that much. I put a candle, albums and devotional books on it in the living room.

2008-10-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is a wooden board sign that I got for a dollar I think at the flea market. I feel like waving it from the roof (not really) right now, to remind Americans where our roots were/are/should be!

2008-10-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

This clock is a metal clock that caught my eye and I bought it for a dollar or two somewhere. I love clocks and have them all over my house! Sorry it's on it's side! I have it in the family room.

2008-10-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

This trunk is a very funny find from the flea market and probably my cheapest bargain, as far as money goes. I was walking around the market (outdoors) one Saturday and saw this trunk sitting with a bunch of other old looking stuff that was borderlining on junk. I love old trunks and have bought one for Mandie and Binky both, years ago. Dafne doesn't have one, though, so I was thinking of her. The hinges were okay and it was intact, so I went in search of the owner. He quoted me $5.00 for the trunk and I counter offered $1.00. He accepted and then I went to find Manuel so he could load it. When he saw it he started laughing and said, "Honey, I could have gotten that for free last week because it was in the trash. I guess someone pulled it out!" Oh, well, the laugh was worth the dollar. We got it home and I cleaned it up, put some scratch cover all over the top of it and stored some of Dafne's stuff in it and then used it for a coffee table in the family room. I love it. I may have to look for another trunk for Dafne later!!!!!

2008-10-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

I found this plate at the flea market a few weeks ago and it is in Spanish. I am not sure what "cervo" means, but Manuel thinks that it means something like a country person, or someone who has a farm/ranch or something like that. Anyway, the whole thing say "Home of the ________" Whatever word that is. I loved the colors and since it is some kind of pottery or stone ware, I bought it for a couple or three dollars and hung it in the kitchen. It sounds welcoming to me.

2008-10-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is a metal sign that I got 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby (I love that store!). I have it hanging on the little wall between my kitchen and dining room to remind me that His Grace is truly Amazing and it will see us through anything!

2008-10-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful mirror, although the pic has a bad glare on it, but I got it at the All City Garage Sale in Ochelata this year for $3 or $5 dollars. I'm sure it was very expensive new.