Friday, February 29, 2008

"Just ...Looking, Little Brick Rancher"


I was on the internet just looking at homes for sale in my area. I thought, "It would be fun to get another home, a change of scene, maybe closer to town". I spent several days "just looking." As I scanned the homes available in my town and my daughter's town nearby, I could not find one house that I liked better than mine. We have 24 acres. My husband has built a barn, a screened porch, a deck and put up a big above ground pool. Why would I want to trade down. I could not afford to trade up. Too expensive. Even with the gas we spend going and coming from activities in town, I see no advantage to giving up our beautiful country spot. We have made it home since 2000 and our roots are sinking deep into the North Carolina clay. I have been thinking about this a lot since I have been away from home these 7 weeks. When I get home I am going to share with my husband this little writing I found on a homekeeping blog yesterday. I think that it is very true. "Little brick rancher", when I get home I am going to try harder to make you comfortable, good and happy.

Little writing from Neighbor Jane- "The more comfortable you are in your home, the less desire you have to leave it. The more at ease you are in your surroundings the more others want to join you. Making your home feel good and happy is what homekeeping is all about.
In the old familiar Disney movie, “Song of the South”, Uncle Remus shared stories of Brer Rabbit in the briar patch. Brer Rabbit said everyone needs a laughing place–a happy place to escape. Our homes can be those laughing, happy places where we can gain the courage to conquer the briar patches.
Keeping a happy home is not a simple task, yet it receives little accolades from the working world. Perhaps homekeeping’s merits are not best counted in dollars and cents, but in peaceful and harmonious living. "


Contact Me Copyright 2004-2008 http://www.neighborjanepayne.com/

Yes We Adopted Three


Oh yes! We have 12 children and people are amazed, ususally. I thought that I would take a minute and let any lurkers here know that three of them are adopted. The last three- Kendra, Clay and Jon. We were blessed as foster parents to be able to adopt all three of our foster kids. We got them as babies so it was natural that we would want them forever. And that has been accomplished. We had them sealed to us in a temple of the Lord. They are grown now. Kendra is 20, Clay is 19 and in the Navy, and Jon is 17, almost grown. I will say that as they were growning up they were the sweetest and cutest little kids a parent would ever want. We are thankful to have them in our big family. Scrapbook paper at http://www.ajjensen.blogspot.com/ and from a digital freebie by KSC "A New Leaf"

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Oh My Stars!


I am still here in Arizona and just decided to eat my nightly treat (a Bryers low carb ice cream bar) out on the front porch, so I could enjoy the beauty of the Arizona night sky-actually, North Carolina has the most beautiful night sky. But I have been known to be prejudiced toward North Carolina. Anyway, when I gazed up into the sky and saw the beauty of all the stars, I felt an overwhelming need to thank my Heavenly Father for all the blessings he has blessed me with lately. I also prayed that He would let our little Emma be born before I have to leave next Wednesday-according to his will and healthy and stong of course. I am so anxious to see her! Seeing that big expanse of sky and all the beautiful stars is evidence that God is truly in the Heavens and even better, right down here with us, blessing us each day. After enjoying my ice cream and taking in the night sky, I went into the house and checked my email. I had gotten a picture of my son Adam holding his two beautiful miracle babies, Aiden and Andrew. Born at 26 weeks, struggling to live, ups and downs and worries and scares, both of them have come home now. First came Andrew and now Aiden and they weigh 6 plus and 7 plus pounds each, a whole 5 and 6 pounds more than at birth. From now on when I look into the sky and see God's creations in the Heavens, ONE of the miracles I will give praise and thanks for will be Aiden and Andrew. "Please come to see me before I leave, little EMMA. Grammy Carol is very thankful for you too"!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Still Biding Time


Several weeks ago I wrote a post about biding time waiting for the birth of my new little grandaughter Emma. At that time, I had come to Arizona from North Carolina, to help my daughter Katie, as she was having preterm labor and was on bedrest. She has a busy little one and a half year old, Ellie. I was happy to get here and be able to do the things that Katie needed me to do. When she was taken off the "stop your labor" medication we expected she would have the baby in 3 or 4 days. Well, several weeks later and one airplane ticket changed, little Emma has not made her appearance. I have to go home next Wednesday so Emma has one week to get here so Grammy Carol can see her born and hold and love her. It seems that nature is the one in charge after all and those of us who are already here just have to wait. I made this quick scrapbook page for this post. It is Katie when she was two and a half. Her little Ellie looks just like her and I can't wait to see who Emma will look like. Meanwhile, we all wait here in Arizona for her arrival. The layout kit is Country Kit by Garden Angel.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Happy Birthday Lindsay


I cannot let this day go by without wishing happy birthday to my 12 year old grandaughter, Linday Jean. She is a delightful and happy girl and I pray she stays that way and does not turn into a mean teenager. It has been a joy to know, love and care for her all these years. She is growing into a beautiful young woman. This week she moves up into the Young Woman program of our church. As she does, I will look a little sadly on the fact that she is no longer a little child. She is a bigger child now, a preteen. But as she grows I will thank the Lord for her and pray that he keep her safely in his care as she ventures out into this scary world. Happy Birthday, Lindsay! Grammy loves you!

Aiden Finally Comes Home


God is good! You hear that said so often, but when a miracle happens in your family, you come to know the real meaning of that phrase. You beleive it all your life, but when you have your prayers answered for the preserving of a life (or two lives in this case), your understanding of God's great love and ability to bless his children becomes reinforced. Our twin grandsons were born on November 10 at 26 weeks and weighing 1 pound plus each. The three months since then has been wrought with worry, cares and prayer. Andrew came home a few weeks ago and left his little brother in the hospital.

But this week the second twin Aiden came home too! Aiden had a little harder time than Andrew with his growing and developing and learning how to breathe on his own. He had several health issues that called for a priesthood blessing from his grandpa. Finally, the doctors said he could go home. His mom and dad spent 24 hours in the hospital, learning how to care for him at home, as he has to have a monitor for a time. Since coming home he is cozy and happy with his brother Andrew, and I, as their "grammy" rejoice in the goodness and great healing power of Heavenly Father. I have nothing but praise also for Adam and Trish, the parents of the "boys".

It has been a long hard journey, which is still not over, but through this extremely hard hospital phase they have been lovingly diligent in caring for their babies.

God is loving. God is kind. God is Good! Thank you God!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

A Perfect Day


In the last few days I have been going through files of pictures on my computer of all of our old slides taken with our 35mm. Yashica camera. Remember when slide projectors were popular? This was the 60's and 70's when my husband and I were having and raising our brood of 9 birth children. Each picture sure brought back memories of a time long ago when we were just young kids raising a family and not really knowing what life was about. When your kids are small you do not know that ahead will come the rocky years filled with trial and tribulation. You are so caught up in the fun and excitement of bringing these little spirits into the world and watching them grow and develop that anything into the future is just not something you can really imagine. I think that is a good thing. I remember all the excitement of expecting my first baby and the planning and preparation that went into getting ready for her to arrive. We did not even know she was going to be a she. We prepared her layette and bought and refinished a little dresser for it. We saved and bought a beautiful blue stroller from Penneys. (It was not called J.C. Penneys back then.) Her port-a-Crib was all set up and waiting for her arrival. There was never any thought on my young mommy's mind that the wonderful experience of making a family would be anything but Heaven from that time on. As the years pass by and life gets going, eventually all families experience the joys and trials of raising a family- or just life in general. Certainly, our life did not stay free from those many trials and tribulations that befall all families. But, you know, as I look at all those pictures of my sweet babies on their birth or blessing day, or having fun with Dad at the beach or around the Christmas tree, I will say that all of life is worth those wonderful memories. One day when we are a family in Eternity, we will most certainly all be able to recall the happy times displayed in those pictures of the past.
Scrapbook page above is our first daughter Kristen Louise, born in Provo, Utah in 1965. I am the exhausted mom in the bed! Scrapbook kit from Scrap Girls. "Express Yourself" by Ro P.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Andrew Comes Home


Hurray! One of our little twin grandsons has finally come home after almost 3 months in the NICU. It is truly a blessing and a miracle from a loving Father in Heaven. I could never imagine the stress and strain that Adam and Trish have experienced for the last several months as they worried and prayed for their two little blessings from Heaven. I, myself, have been in constant prayer throughout each day hoping that each day brought good news about the babies. Medical care has certainly advanced these days and is something every family will someday realize they are thankful for. We certainly are! Now that Andrew is home and the family adjusts to the many things involved in caring for a new baby, we await the homecoming of Aiden. He has always lagged a little bit behind Andrew so has a few more weeks to catch up. They are however, moving him closer to home, to the hospital where he was born but not equipped to care for preemies in their condition. Now it can now accomodate his lesser needs. It will be a big help to Adam and Trish as they will be only a few miles from him and perhaps feel like he has progressed along with his brother toward home. Angels around us? Yes, there are! I would like to say that they are the wonderful nurses in the NICU unit where Andrew and Aiden have resided for these few months. Much love and thanks go out to them and a kind and loving Father in Heaven who provided Aiden and Andrew with good care and healing.

Friday, February 1, 2008

I Love Scrapbooking


If anyone was to ask me what it is I love to do when I have some free time to relax and sit down, it is scrapbooking. About 15 years ago, when the hobby was in its beginning stages, my sister-in-law visited us and brought with her, the new hobby of scrapbooking that was just taking off out west. I immediately took to it and have been buying scrapbooking supplies ever since. Yes, I think I buy more supplies than I actually scrapbook. I could open up a store, I have so many stickers and embleshments sitting around.

Scrapbooking, to me, is a form of journaling and a part of recording your family history. I envision that the Lord is going to let us scrapbookers have our precious scrapbooks in Heaven as a reminder and history of our previous life on earth. If not, I do not know why we are spending so much time and money doing it. And have you ever noticed that you are really the only person that is really interested in all those pages you have created. I have noticed that when I share an album with someone, they just flip through each page so fast that they could not possibily be fully appreciating all the thought, time, money and love that I put into it.

But all of that aside, I will be a scrapbooker until the day I can no longer sit up in my chair or bed. I love it! I love paper scrapbooking the best and creating real touchable albums, but recently I have been doing some digital pages and have found that you can make a layout that is beautiful too, with only your computer and a mouse- and really fast. The internet is full of online digital websites with even some free layout kits that are out of this world. My favorite is Shabby Princess which has a link to the right of this blog.

However I decide to scrapbook on a given day might be up for grabs, but the fact that I will be interested in scrapbooking for life is undisputable.

Moms Are People Too


Contrary to what children think, mommies are people too.

They think and have feelings like everyone else. Teenagers,

listen up, your mom is reallly a little girl in a woman's body.

She only wants to love you and be loved in return. So, when

she bugs you in some way, remember what she looked like

at ten years old and love the little girl inside of her. Remember,

you will be a mom or dad someday too.