Memory of Mama #5

Hello! I didn't get around to posting anything yesterday. I am laid up on the couch most of the day because my right leg, the one that took the worst burn hurts/burns when I walk. But I can't stay down all day so when I do get up I try to come post on my blog or do something else I can't do on the couch. I tried yesterday posting on my blog through my iPod, but it wouldn't let me do that. We now have wireless Internet in the house so I can check my stuff online on my iPod, but I can't post anything on here.

Today I wanted to talk about how great of a seamstress my mama was. She taught herself to sew, just like almost everything else she did. She taught herself which is amazing. She told me that she would get hard patterns and make herself sew them to learn how to do them. She made a lot of our clothes including our Easter outfits every year. She, my sisters and I would have matching dressings and my dad and brothers would have matching shirts. Every year she would spend two or three weeks making all our Easter outfits.

Now I can't truthfully say when I was teenager I liked wearing matching clothes, but I did it cause Mama wanted us to. We really had no choice in the matter lol. But it was always a big ordeal about going to pick out the pattern for the dresses and then picking out what material we wanted. The dresses were different each year and the boys shirts were usually a western design but different material.

Easter outfits were not the only clothes she made for us, but they were very memorable. I remember Mama making our Bible character outfits for Bible character night at church, she made flower girl dresses, ring bearer suit, and so many other "regular" articles of clothes for her children.

Here are some pictures of the clothes she made.


This is the whole family except James Greg (this was taken before he was born) Easter of 1998



This is everyone except my dad because he was the one taking the picture. Easter of 2000



My siblings and me. Easter of 2001 or 2002. Can't remember exactly when.


This is everyone except my dad and Maria Rose and James Greg (because they were not born). Easter of 1995 or 1996.



Carla, Jared, Mandy, and me. Easter of 1995 or 1996.



Carla, Jared and me. Easter of 1995 or 1996.



Jared, Mandy, Carla and me. Easter of 1997 I think.



Carla and me. Easter of 1993 I think.


I apologize I can't remember some the years exactly, but they kinda get confusing lol. But it's pretty accurate.

Okay, I'm going to close now. I need to go lay back down cause my leg is really burning right now since I'm sitting upright. I will try and scan the pictures of Mama's home made cakes later on and post them since I promised I would do that at some point. Hope you all have a great night!

Paige

Memory of Mama #4

Hello! While I am up at the computer I wanted to post another memory of my mom. This particular memory pretty much includes my whole family, but I want to share it with you anyway.

It was the summer of 2003 or 2004, I can't really remember the exact date that we went to St. Marys, Georgia. Two of my dad's sisters live in St. Marys, and one of my dad's brothers lives on Amelia Island, FL which is not far from St. Marys. My dad being a carpenter by trade came to help my uncle Mark with a construction job. They were replacing an old shingle roof on a house with a brand new metal roof. With Florida weather being unpredictable, it rained a lot while we were there. Therefore, hindering my dad and Uncle from working. So the job took a lot longer than we thought, and we were in St. Marys for a month.

We stayed at my Aunt Rita's old house she used to have in St. Marys before she bought the one she lives in now. The house had an apartment in the garage, and that's where we stayed. My mom, dad, Mandy, Maria Rose, and James Greg stayed in the apartment while Carla, Jared and I stayed in the pop-up camper we brought along with us.

With us being home schooled we were able to do these type of things and still be in school. In the mornings my mom would help us with our school and after we were done she would find things for us to do. She always wanted us to be doing something, she didn't like idle hands. That month while we were there she was always looking for new adventures for her children.

Almost everyday while we were there we would go to Goodwill. I remember my mom saying it was the best one she had ever been to, and she loved finding great deals. Sometimes we wouldn't buy anything, and sometimes God would lead us to something we needed. She also took us to the library so we could check out some books. She always encouraged us to read, and since we didn't do a lot of things "normal" kids did, my sisters and I LOVED to read. We all still do to this day! Back then I was into mystery books, especially the "Hardy Boys" books. Oh, how I loved them! Every night in the camper before we turned the light off I would read my Hardy Boys books to Carla and Jared.

Since my aunt and uncle were gone a lot of the time we were there (they traveled for their business), the flower gardens were overgrown with weeds. My mom loved flowers and one day said that all of us were going to get the weeds out of those flower gardens. Boy, that was a job! It was hot, it wasn't really fun, but what I took away from that was the lesson that we should do kind things for people even if we don't have to. When my aunt came back she loved that we did that, and that made us feel really good inside that we were able to help.

When my aunt was there she took my mom and us kids to the local water park, and that was a lot of fun as well. We also went to the beach as a family several times while we were there, and we had a blast! Every day we would ride bicycles through the neighborhood on paved roads. That was so new to us since we lived in the country on dirt roads. :)

Overall, it was a very enjoyable time spent with my family, and I will never forget it. It may be such simple things, but those are the things we never forget.

This is a picture of me and my mom sitting on a bench at the St. Marys playground. We were watching all my siblings play on the playground after we rode our bikes there. This is a special picture to me because it's just me and my mom in it. It also reminds me of that trip and how special it was.



I will never forget how special Mama was and will always tell my children about her so that she will live on in my heart and theirs. I love you, Mama. Thank you for taking the time to teach us important lessons in life and always trying to make life enjoyable and fun.

Paige

Memory of Mama #3

Hello to all my friends! I am going to keep this post short because it's uncomfortable to sit in an upright position right now because oh my burns. I had a cooking accident yesterday where I got 2cd degree burns on my thighs and stomach. But I felt bad for missing yesterday so I need to post this now.

Since I am hurt I want to share a specific memory of my Mama that I have. I have never forgotten it, and will always cherish it. When I was a teenager I was blessed with good health besides some very nasty colds. One of these times when I had a cold, Mama took me to the doctor to get looked at so I could get some medicine. It was just me and my mom who went, and I wasn't feeling good at all. Mama stopped at CVS pharmacy in Columbus where we were after we left the doctor. She went in and I stayed in the van because I was sick. When she came out she had a surprise for me. It was a kitty notepad that came with a matching kitty pen. I have always loved cats (my mom, too), and she knew I would love it. That little thing has always meant so much to me, and I never forgot it. No matter how small things can be to us, we never know how big they are to others.

I just thank my Mama for always taking such good care of me and my siblings when we were sick. She always put us before herself, and I am so thankful she was so caring and kind. I still remember her hand on my forehead checking my temperature, cleaning me up when I was sick, sitting beside and praying for me, and so much more.

I need to go lay back down now. I just wanted to share this with you. I love you so much Mama and I thank you for everything you did for me!

Paige

Memory of Mama #2

Hello! I didn't post anything yesterday because I was gone all day, and by the time I got home I was so tired. But I'm posting one now, and if I get to it this evening I will post another one to make up for yesterday. :)

Today I want to share a quality my mom and I shared. It's something I really miss with her being gone. My mom and I were alike in so many ways, and we understood each other. We were both shy, quiet, creative souls. So many people want me to change my personality, but my mom understood. We LOVED to talk, sometimes we would just sit and talk, and other times we talked about everything while we were doing something. I miss those talks so much!!! She truly understood me when no one could.

I also remember the love for babies/children my mom and I shared. My mom had 5 miscarriages, and we missed those babies so much. Long after the miscarriages had happened everyone would forget, but Mama and I would still talk about them and cry because we missed them. It's strange how you can miss someone you never met, but it's real. A LOT of people couldn't stand that Mama wanted more children, but she loved her children so much! I know that because she said so A LOT! She devoted her life to her family, and if that's not love, I don't know what is. I know she is spending every day in Heaven with my brothers and sisters that went before us. I am so happy that she can finally be with them and know them and love them. I just can't wait until we can ALL be in Heaven together.

I love you Mama and I love you my wonderful brothers and sisters who I have never met. I miss you all so much and I always will!

Paige

My memories of my Mama!

Hello! Wow, I can't believe it's already September! Where did 2010 go?? Pretty soon it will be Christmas (my favorite holiday! :D), and then we will be starting 2011.

September is a bittersweet month for me. Coming up this Tuesday (September 7th) is my wedding anniversary to my husband, Jeremiah. We will be married 3 years! I'm so thankful God has let us come this far, and has helped us through all the good and bad times.

But other than that very sweet time, September also is a sad time for me. My wonderful and precious Mama died on September 13, 2006. I can't believe this month it will have been 4 years since she has been gone. I never would have thought I could live without her, only God has helped me make it. I was/am a Mama's girl, you couldn't pull me away from her. I miss her so much, and just wish I could talk to her again. I miss hearing her voice, I miss seeing her, I miss having "our talks", and a whole multitude of other things I miss about her. But one thing I do have are memories. No one can take that away from me, and what keeps me going until I reach Heaven one day where she is waiting for me.

My Grandma came up with the idea of me sharing a memory I have of my mom on each day in September. That way it kinda helps with the fact of what month it is, and also you can know more about her through me. So I will try my best to each day this month post a memory of my Mom. I love you so much Mama, and I can't wait to see you!!!

To start these collections of memories I have of Mama, I have to start with what she was probably known best for (by people around town and surrounding area)- her cooking/baking!!! She was a wonderful cook/baker, if not the best I have seen in my lifetime. She could do it all! She made everything from scratch, we never had "boxed" foods. Everything she made was rich in flavor and so good. Needless to say everyone we knew loved coming over to eat! :D And I was her right hand girl in the kitchen. My other siblings were too small to be of any interest and my sister, Carla didn't really care at the time. She always had me doing small jobs in the kitchen, and always teaching me something.
People also loved to order cakes from her. She could make chocolate, caramel, coconut, hummingbird, carrot, red velvet, and more. They were delicious!!! And she would also make birthday cakes. There's so telling how many cakes she made over the years. For our birthdays she would decorate a cake in whatever we asked for. It was amazing how good she was at decorating cakes! She didn't even have any formal training, all she took were some Wilton cake decorating classes when I was a baby. I wish I could show you some pictures of some cakes she made with this post, but I'm going to have to do it on a separate post since I have some errands to run today and things to do. But I will show you next time.
I was her little shadow in the kitchen, always asking about things and wanting to learn more. She taught me all I know! I would watch her all the time while I saw her make foods/cakes. I remember one time I decided to make her Divinity Pecan Pie all by myself without her help. Everything went fine until I had to make those egg whites stiff LOL! She rescued the pie, but it taught me that no matter how many times you watch someone do something, you can't learn how to do it until you do it yourself.
I want to thank my Mama for taking the time to teach me all I know in the kitchen, and I wish she were still here to teach me how to decorate cakes. She was the best, and I believe no one can live up to what she was in the kitchen. I only hope to be half as a good as what she was.

I LOVE YOU, MAMA!!!

Paige

A song I wrote

Hello! :) I hope all my friends are having a wonderful day! I wanted to share something with you that I had almost forgotten about. It was a song I wrote when I was eight years old. It was my very first song that I wrote, and I still remember it to this day. Just thought it would be neat to let you see into my eight year old brain. :)

I have always loved music! Always, always, always!!! I can listen to music for hours either for fun or worshiping God. Nothing moves me more than music can. Growing up I wrote several songs (all Christian), and I will try to post each one as I find them. But this one has always been stuck in my brain. I guess that's because my parents made me and my siblings sing it a billion times lol! Anyway here it is. :)

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, to die for me and take my sin away. I love Him more and more. I should have died on that tree, but Jesus did it for me. He's so sweet to me. I love Him so, so much.

So yeah, that's it. Kinda short, but then again I was eight years old. :) Until next time, God bless!
Paige

Cleaning out!

Hi to all my friends who keep up with me and this blog! :) It's been awhile since I posted something, but I haven't forgotten about it. Just seems sometimes that I have nothing to post about. Anyway I hope you are having a fantastic wonderful day!

I am the type of person that can't stand clutter and mess. When my house is a mess it makes me go crazy. When my relationships with the people I love are a mess it makes me go crazy. I am the type who needs orderliness in my life. When things start getting out of control I freak out, I become depressed, and I'm just not happy. All I can do with the relationships in my life is do what Jesus wants me to do, and leave the rest up to God. But physical mess and clutter in my life is all my fault. I have really come to realize this lately, and I knew I needed to do something about it.

My fellow blogger and facebook friend, Bethany Kerr has inspired me to take some actions to take that clutter out of my life. You can find her blog here. Today I started my very first day of cleaning out. And I thought I would blog about it, and challenge you also to start cleaning out all that junk you don't need anymore. It just weighs us down in life, and face it, we all have too much stuff. I know I do, and I want to give back. God gives us all so much, and we are all hoarders to a certain degree. Cleaning out just makes us happier in the long run.

So let me show you what my husband and I did today. We cleaned out our clothes. He mainly focused on his closet, and I focused on my dresser drawers and closet. You wouldn't believe all we got rid of. I am an emotional hoarder, I guess if you would call me that. If something has sentimental value to it, I can't part with it. But I am really trying to work on that, and just realize that it's all just stuff. One day it's all going to burn anyway, and we can't take anything to Heaven. That's what I remind myself when I start to panic about throwing something out that has sentimental value to me.

I have kept bags and bags of clothes, and several weeks ago I cleaned out some, but I didn't clean out near enough. So today I did the rest. I didn't set myself a minimum or maximum amount of clothes I would throw out. I went through every single piece and asked myself, "Do I need this?" "Does it fit me?" "Do I ever wear it?"

So all in all I threw out 94 articles of clothes, 2 pair of pantyhose, 1 hat, 1 belt, and a pair of crocs (that I didn't even ever like but kept them "in case I need them one day" HA!)
Jeremiah threw out 42 articles of clothes, 2 hats, and 2 welding sleeves.
We also got rid of 2 curtains that were in my closet.

All in all we got rid of 147 things!!! WOW!!! And that's just on our first day of cleaning out. It's amazing how much stuff we can keep that just clutters up our home and lives.

I hope that this gives you some inspiration to also consider what you keep and maybe let some things go that you are not using and probably never will. Hope you all have an amazing day! God bless!

Paige


Here are some of the clothes we threw out.


Here are all the clothes we threw out.



Here all the clothes bagged up and ready to go to the thrift store.