Please Excuse Me While I Rant...

4 years ago today, my Daddy was murdered. By a drunk. Please, people, if you don't have sense enough to know when to stop, then don't start. And for Heaven's sake, whatever you do, don't drive. Seriously. I try not to be angry. But some days it just doesn't work. Today is one of those days. I am angry, and I have every right to be angry. 4 years ago today, a woman stole my father's life by being stupid. By drinking so much, her blood alcohol level should have killed her. By getting in a truck and driving so fast, the cops couldn't catch up with her. By being so drunk, she didn't know she was driving the wrong direction on a divided highway. By driving when she didn't have a driver's license to begin with. (Yes, it had already been revoked for her having multiple DWI's.) She took his life. She took my Daddy, and my boys' Papaw. And she lived. Fair? Hardly. So yes, I am angry. But I am also sad. Sad because the world lost an amazingly creative and talented man 4 years ago. Sad for what my youngest son has never known. (I was pregnant with him at the time.) Sad for what my oldest son knew and has had taken away from him. Sad because no matter how old I get, I will always be my Daddy's girl, I will always miss him, and I will never get him back as long as I remain on this earth.

So today, like every other day, I have to pull myself up. Draw my strength from the One who knows why. Put on a smile. Teach my boys how to persevere. Find a way to give thanks. Remember how to praise in the midst of the storm.




I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus

by: Casting Crowns

Attn: Chocolate Lovers

For quite some time, Longaberger pottery lovers have requested Chocolate Brown pottery. Last December, an 8x8 baking dish was offered in Chocolate to go along with the Hershey's Kiss basket, and customers fell in LOVE! From then on, the requests grew louder and more frequent... we want MORE CHOCOLATE!! Well, CHOCOLATE POTTERY IS HERE!! You can begin placing orders for the Chocolate Pottery on September 1st, 2010. Until then, here are a few photos from the BEE to get your tastebuds going...

Bee Product Reveal!!!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the NEW products revealed today at the Bee!

Longaberger Bee News!!

Here I am in Columbus Ohio!! We are on a lunch break right now, so I thought I would update on some of the NEW products you can expect to see this fall!!

Revealed this morning:

For Collector's Club Members:
Candy Apple Basket
Family Together Series Giving Thanks Basket
Cornucopia Basket

A whole new line of wrought iron!

New Pottery:
Small Oval Casserole dish with matching Basket
Large Oval Casserole dish with matching basket

and... several have requested, and Longaberger listened....

***drum roll please***

CHOCOLATE POTTERY!!!!

photos to come later since I don't have an iphone :(

What I did this weekend

We finally did it! The boys (especially AJ) have been wanting to share a bedroom for a while now, and we finally got them moved in to their "new rooms" this weekend. Both boys are now in the smaller room with bunk-beds and sharing the big dresser my Daddy made. We bought another shelf and installed it in the closet so all of their clothes hang in there together.




The other room is now the Play Room. They LOVE it!! we have toys & stuffed animals in the toy box my Daddy made right next to the rocking horse my Papaw made. The Lego Table from Aunt Rose is sitting in the corner. The fish tank, Legos, Coloring books & art supplies are on the bookcase PoPo made.



The GeoTrax and other large toys are under the big table. So far it has been a Rokenbok table, a Train table, and a Zhu Zhu World table. The little chair in this picture has been through 3 generations of McNeal boys now... first PoPo, then James, and now AJ & Hunter.



There is a ton of open floor space in the middle of the room... perfect for Lego building and train tracks.



In the Play Room closet we added a half-shelf for extra storage. We hung all of their play costumes in the closet. Pirates, Kings, Knights, Dragons and Doctors come to life in that closet. They have already been 3 or 4 different things today, now that their costumes are so much easier to get to.



All in all, I think we had a very productive and successful weekend!

On to the next adventure...
tomorrow, I leave for the LONGABERGER BEE!!!!

Bad bad blogger....

Ok, so here are the scrapbook layout pictures I should have posted over a month ago. The photos are not great, and I apologize. I tried editing them, and never was happy with the results, so I decided to just forget it & post them "as is". I took these on my kitchen table at night, so you will have to forgive me for some weird lighting issues.

Enjoy!