December 30, 1995 ~ The Wedding

14 years ago, Cleyo and I were married. I am thankful that at that time, I did not know the trials that laid ahead, but I am also thankful that God has done a mighty work in both our hearts. Cleyo is the second greatest gift, from God, my Salvation being first.

















Looking forward to this Friday, two more days!, when we offer up a new commitment before the Lord.

January 1st, was a chosen date, for symbolic reasons, of a new beginning.

I told Cleyo last night that from here on out, I will celebrate our Anniversary every January first, as a reminder.

To God Alone be the Glory!!!

Remembering my dad.........

I can not believe that it has almost been six years since my father's death.

The past few days I have been thinking about the small amount of time that I had spent with him, and how in knowing more about him, I know more about myself. I have very few memories of my dad when I was really little. I was taken away from my mom around the age of 12, lived in a group home, for I think about a year (?), and then moved to live with my dad's side of the family.

My dad lived in Seattle, but moved back to Simi Valley shortly after I moved in with my Aunt Onorina (his oldest sister). I have many memories of him during this time. All good. I think that he had spent many years being a single man, that he did not know how to be a father. He made an effort to take me places and spend time with me, but when it came to talking about "how much I liked boys"..... well.......he shut down that conversation very quickly, and now I understand why!
I remember washing his car almost weekly, because he was quite the ladies man!
Wink, Wink!
LOL!

If I could be more like my dad, these are the characteristics I saw in him, that I would want;
~He never met a stranger.
~He loved everyone he met.
~He treated everyone like family.
~He was a hard worker, very dependable.
~He seemed to be very easy-going, I can only remember one time that he ever got mad, that
actually scared me.
~He was very funny.
~He always tried to lighten another's bad mood.
~He showed love physically, he was a hugger, he let you know verbally that he loved you.
~He was sympathetic to other's needs/hurts.

*Seen through my child-like eyes, obviously no one is perfect, he had his flaws and his struggles, but my love for him, could only see the good in him.
















1976~ mom, dad, and me


















1977~ mom, dad and me


















1996~ Sheldon's first birthday, my dad's first trip back to Ohio, since I was a baby.


















My dad, with his long time girlfriend Rosie.





Five years ago, at the funeral.........













Maybe the only good that came from this day, was meeting all four siblings from my dad's first marriage. (Angie, Maria, Albert, Patty, & Me)
There was a natural bond there, as if I had always known them.


















My Uncle Ernesto, and my brother Albert.













Me~getting to know my sister Angie.


























Onorina, in the middle.







5 out of 19 siblings that my dad has/had.












Cleyo...the only quiet one, in a room full of Italians.












A small amount of my very "LARGE" family, after the funeral.

Insatiable Eyes

I posted this on my Facebook page, but I want to share this with friends and family here, that are not part of Facebook.

We must guard our eyes. If we are being honest, we know that much temptation starts with the eyes........................

The Eyes of men comparable to Hell and Destruction? That is disturbing !!!
Insatiable Eyes
December 2, 2009

"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Proverbs 27:20)

There are many warnings in Scripture about "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16) that can turn our hearts away from that which is godly and eternal. Solomon's sober caution in our text is certainly significant, especially since he had admonished his son, "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee" (Proverbs 4:25). Similarly, Job had "made a covenant with |his| eyes"(Job 31:1) lest his "heart walked after" what he looked at (Job 31:7).

Abraham's nephew, Lot, eventually lost everything after he "lifted up his eyes" and chose to "|pitch| his tent toward Sodom" (Genesis 13:12), developing an initial tolerance for that ungodly environment and unwilling to separate from the people who were "wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly" (Genesis 13:13).

Later, Lot actually dwelt in Sodom, with his goods (Genesis 14:12). Soon the association became a lifestyle, a conscious choice in spite of obvious wickedness that caused him great distress, "for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds" (2 Peter 2:7-8). Chedorlaomer sacked the cities and took Lot captive. Even then, he was so tied to his association with the Sodomites that he went back!

Finally, Lot "sat in the gate of Sodom" (Genesis 19:1) when the angels came to destroy the city. That's equivalent to being one of the "movers and shakers" of the city--perhaps even comparable to being on the city council. This tragic life had every opportunity to share in the joy of Abraham's calling, but Lot threw it all away for the sake of his "eyes." May God grant us eyes that "see" truth. HMM III

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I love this song from Casting Crowns;

"Slow Fade"

Be careful little eyes what you see... See More
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

RSVP

If you have not RSVP'd for Jan 1st, please do so soon, that way I can get a head count for adults and children. I should have included in the invite that we are making arrangements to have childcare for nursery and a supervised room for the older children, there might not be enough room for adults and children around the tables.

I am hoping to have extra chairs set up along the wall, so that you can keep your children with you, until after the ceremony part is over, then the children will be served their meal, in those rooms, while adults enjoy a time of fellowship, games and a meal together.

And.............due to Ohio State going to the Rose Bowl, (same day and same time!), we are also trying to arrange a way to play the game, with no sound, so that anyone that wanted to catch the scores or plays here and there, will be able to............working on it..............

Still here..............

Updates are coming soon.
I have not abandoned this blog. I really do enjoy keeping an active journal of our family, and updating many of you that do not live close to me. BUT, a few months ago I joined Facebook, and have really enjoyed it, even though I said that I would NEVER do it! Just like I said I would NEVER blog, (not a person of my word, am I), but I love the socializing I get from FB, and I love that I have contact with some of my family, and I love that I can write quick comments back and forth, but at the same time, I have to guard my time on it, it can be very addictive, at least for me anyways!

So............soon, maybe today............I will be posting some updates.

Daniel, as George....

These pictures were taken today, while pulling out costumes for tonight's Trunk-r-Treat;


















































































In the picture above, if you look at the eye, you can see Daniel's nose.


















































































































Until recently, Daniel was scared of this mask, and all masks. He had so much fun being silly with this mask, he cracks us up!!!

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Shiloh's ~ Happy face

Daniel's ~ Scary laugh

Priscilla's ~ Cat on a tree

Elijah's ~ Flaming face

Abby's ~ Dragon, that is not his tongue, it is his flame, and on the back,
she wrote a story about her dragon

Grace's ~ Dragon

Sheldon's ~ Party bat

Cleyo's ~ Haunted house

My ~ Silly happy face, if you look closely, the mouth is
being held up with tooth picks :}

My silly happy face, with the happy scare crow?

Fake flowers, because I kill real ones!

Summer Ends, School Begins.....

I have to say that this summer went by faster than any summer that I can remember. I put together this Smilebox, to try to capture some of it. But I have to warn you that there are more than 100 pictures.

And before you watch it, I want to add these pictures as a reminder, of how much Daniel and Shiloh liked the rides last year at the Fair.

And being the good mom that I am, I tried not to laugh, too much, it was sad and funny at the same time.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now, here are pictures of the first week of school.

Priscilla~ 1st grade

Elijah~ 3rd grade

Abby~4th grade

Daniel & Shiloh ~ Pre-school

I love how they are holding hands, looking for the bus, it only lasted about 2 minutes, before there was an argument over it.

With their friend Madison, waiting for the bus.


So excited!!!!




Sheldon and Grace are in ECOT, an online public school. So far, they really like it. And I like it because I do not have to do the teaching, they both have virtual classes, where teachers do the teaching, and answer any questions, and are available to call if we need help. I am still not sure where or what we will be doing next year. They do not want to go back to Greenville. Versailles is a possibility, but if there is a chance we might move, then we still do not know. But I am taking the advice of a very wise woman that told me to take it one year at a time. They both did very well on their Ohio Achievement test this past Spring (Grace actually improved during the time she has been home), so at least I know that I have not set them back by taking them out of Greenville. I am very proud of them, they both work hard and get their work done without complaining. And I know that they work harder at home, than they did in the building.

Sheldon~ not letting me take his picture. I guess he is getting to be too cool.