What's Been Happening?

I haven't blogged in so long, I really don't even know where to start. For a long time time, I had my heart in doing this. I think when this summer came, a friend and I started totally renovating our library at school and I was at Georgia Mountains Christian Academy everyday purging books, checking books for appropriateness,barcoding etc. It consumed me for a few weeks and I totally lost focus. I haven't even been reading my friends blogs and that is unusual. Well, the library got finished and we had a few weeks before school began. I ended up having to go to Emory several days for tests and that with other responsibilities took up the rest of the summer.

School started August 10th. Last year I was Senora Cashion, la maestra de Espanol, but now I am the "Media Specialist" which was known as the librarian in my days of school. I love being in the library. I work with K-3 - 5th grade. I love my K-3 and K-4 classes who come to the library together. They always ask me if they can sit "in my WAP." Of course, I let them. One even got mixed up and called me "Mrs. Fashion" instead of Mrs. Cashion. I liked that a lot and am thinking of making that my official name. I am not sure if Bill will like being Mr. Fashion though. They are just the sweetest children and I have been truly blessed to teach them beginning library skills even at age 3 and 4.

I am looking forward to an early fall vacation the 2nd week in October. That's when we go to our condo at Myrtle Beach. It's a wonderful time of year to go. We always have warm days and cool nights. I love that time of year. I have been blessed to be able to take that time off from school.

We are experiencing a little sadness in our family as we see Bill's dad and mom go downhill health-wise. His dad, especially, is getting weaker and weaker everyday.
We try to see my in laws as much as possible. Bill's mom has macular degeneration and can barely see at all. She tries to take care of Mr. C. and it is hard for her to see. He even has to be fed now.

Also, my niece, Lisa, who had colon cancer, has seen the cancer return as she recently learned it had metastasized in her thorax. She is presently undergoing chemo every two weeks. It is making her terribly sick and she is starting to lose her hair. We are sad to see her go through this. She is only 50 years of age.

So as not to end this on a sad note, I must say that we are so glad we are into football season and are ready for this to be "the SEASON of ALL SEASONS" for the Gamecocks. This week is the USC/GA game. We await that game with fear and trembling.....but with confidence.LOL

Thinking About Family

I am feeling very nostalgic this morning. We had another Mother's day yesterday. My Mom has been gone for 4 1/2 years but I missed her as much yesterday as if she had just passed yesterday. I am so glad I had a mother who was so lovable. She was so funny. We laughed all the time. She could get so tickled at the slightest thing. I could tell story after story of her and how many silly things she did and times we got so tickled we almost wet our pants. My, I loved that woman. Thanks for the wonderful memories, Mom.

Amy, Missy and Katie, the loves of my life, continue to make me so proud. They are all super busy young women. Each one makes me so proud. I don't see Amy and Missy as much as I would like but they are in my heart everyday as I pray for them. God has blessed me with three talented and wonderful daughters. They are also fantastic mothers themselves and live very busy lives.

My seven granddaughters, Morgan, Madyson, Ashlyn, McKenna,Bailey, Avery and Quinn are so precious to me. Morgan and Madyson are doing such "teenage things" and I love reading their Facebook posts as they pass through one crisis after another with the "boy problems' etc. They are so busy with school. McKenna is playing soccer. She is so tall and slender. She is going to be a great athlete. All the rest of the girls are busy with all kinds of things. Avery and Bailey cheered for UPWARD sports. Ashlyn is busy trying to mimic her older sisters. Quinn is potty training and talking her mom's ear off. They are all so unique and I love them dearly.

My sisters, Lib and Martha, are my sounding boards when I need advice and believe me, I call them regularly. We have always been close and have gotten even closer since the death of our Mom. I love them so much. Each of us have gone through our series of health problems this year. It has been good to have each other to lean on.

Family is so important. I hope we never lose that bond.

Rainy Day Blog

We have managed to treat this rainy Saturday just like we would if it were SNOW. I have been lazy. All we have wanted to do is eat. We have eaten SOOO much. I made sausage, biscuits and gravy for breakfast. About 1 p.m. Bill said he was hungry again so I made hamburger steaks with peppers and onions and baked sweet potatoes. Then, as if I needed them, Bill brought me a handful of jelly beans. I don't know what has gotten into us. It has been fun but we will pay for it when we get on the scales.




The DREADED DIET THING has not been getting to my brain lately. I have gained about 8 lbs. of my weight back. It takes so long to lose it and it can be gained back in just a few meals. (okay, well, they were pretty high in calorie.) Anyway, the point is, we better not have many more rainy days. We'll weigh 400 lbs.

Kristy's Book

My niece, Kristy Dempsey, has written a new children's book that will be out on May 14, 2009.
See the trailer on my blog. You can pre-order on Amazon.com. Kristy and her husband, Demps, are missionaries in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The book is precious and would make a good gift for any child. Take a look at the trailer and look at the beautiful artwork. you won't be disappointed.

El Campesino II - the B-day-field trip

Well, we went on the field trip. I made it but looking back on it, I don't know how I did it.
The day started out great. We had a little time before the ninth graders and I left for lunch at El Campesino. We had a nice little conversation about various things. I really enjoyed talking to them and am constantly surprised at how much they know about what's going on in the community. Anyway, 11 a.m. rolled around and they were anxious to go. They were hungry. I was still a little apprehensive about going. I don't know why. I just really wanted someone else with me. Bill was going to go but he ended up going to the evangelism conference in Flowery Branch. Headmaster John Mooneyham was going to go but he ended up in the hospital with a terrible viral infection and pneumonia. Sooooo, I was going into the lions den by myself.

We got to the restaurant and the kids were great. They all took their places and dove into the chips and salsa like they never had a bite of anything in their life. We just had a real good time. A man from our church came in with a friend and we greeted them. We all enjoyed our chicken nachos, cheese dip, chimichangas and there was hardly a morsel of anything left on tanybody's plate. At the end of our meal, I was trying to find out if the kids were going to order dessert.....all of a sudden here came two of the waiters with a gigantic fried ice cream covered in whipped cream and caramel sauce and a great big Mexican sombrero for me to wear. A couple of girls clued them in that it was my birthday (not really til Friday) and they began to sing a LLLOOONNNGGG Spanish birthday tune. All the while one of the waiters was spoon-feeding me whipped cream. They finished that song and started in on the very familar "happy birthday to you" and all of a sudden when it got to the part "happy birthday, dear Kathy, one of the waiters picked up that fried ice cream, dripping with whipped cream and caramel sauce and pushed right into my face. It took me by such surprise that I got hysterical. The man from our church was dying laughing. He said he wished he had brought his camera. I was a mess. The kids had known all along that this is what they do at El Campesino to celebrate birthdays. I had never heard this and we have been to El Camp a gazillion times. Oh well, I tried to be a good sport. The kids loved it. It made it VERY memorable for me. Hope you enjoy these pictures from my most fun birthday/field trip.

Habla Espanol?

As many of you know, I have been teaching Spanish at Georgia Mountains Christian Academy.
I have a great bunch of kids (for the most part) I haven't quite figured out if the middle schoolers are great or not. Right now I just look at them as a bunch of gigglers who get on my nerves a little bit. They are pretty sweet but most days I am one big " class, be quiet now" teacher . (or worse!!) Next week I am celebrating my birthday so we decided to incorporate that with a trip for the high school Spanish class to a Mexican restaurant. Of course, in my mind, I am thinking it will be an all Spanish speaking trip. They will "pedir" in Spanish. We will "hablar" in Spanish at the "mesa". They will throw tacos shells a "mi"! I will duck under the "mesa". They won't have enough "dinero", and I will have to "pagar". They will tear "mi Carro" apart on the way there and back. I will return to the school never "hacer un viaje" like this again. Oh well, it probably won't be this bad. The worse thing that will probably happen is the Mexican waiters will come out and "sing" feliz cumpleanos" to me in "Espanol autentico." EEEWWW!! I will post later and let you know how it went. !Ojala que pueda reportar un buen viaje!!!

Love - An everyday thing

Bill and I were talking this morning about Valentine's Day. I commented that it seemed like the media had taken over this day too. It has become so commercial. I can remember the days when it was a simple day to exchange valentine cards at school, giving your favorite valentine to the one you had a crush on. Husbands doted on wives and gave them candy and flowers. It was a sweet, loving day that would sometime jumpstart relationships of school friends and make a day extra special for husbands and wives. It's nice to have a special day set aside for paying a little extra attention to one another. It's true. Everyday should be special if you are with the one you love.

It's nice, though, to have one day to do something special or receive a special gift from the one you love. The media has made it a day that thrives on selling, selling, selling! I loved the simpleness of the old Valentine's Day. This morning we are having a simple Valentine's Day. Bill gave me a huge basket of flowers, we are watching (his favorite) a Sci-fi movie and tonight I will fix a special dinner for him. (We chose not to go out and fight the crowds) We are going to keep it simple! It really isn't that much different from any other Saturday. We just enjoy doing things together. Well, I don't particularly love the blood and guts of the sci-fi movie but long story short, I do it because I love being with Bill. I love doing some of the things he loves and he loves doing the things I love.....or at least making the sacrifice for each other even if it isn't our favorite. I am sure when I drag him shopping that he isn't always happy about it but I would never know it. He sacrifices for me. That's the way it is with relationships. It's a give and take. I am going to make this day as special as possible for the one I love. You know what,
I am going to do it Sunday through next Saturday too. I am not saying that life is always a bed of roses. Even though there may be spats and differences to deal with, it's fun making up with the one you love.

Well, I need to add a little addendum to this blog. Bill just asked me if I wanted to go out for a late lunch. he said, "what would you call a late lunch? A DUNCH? It is such a joy living with this man. We laugh so much. But see, this is another little surprise he has for me. That's the way it should be. I can't help loving that man of mine.

Taxes

Bill did our taxes today. I love that day believe it or not. I love watching all the moods Bill goes through while doing them. Sometimes I see him rubbing his brow in a very pensive type of pose. Other times he has his head in his hands trying to think of just one more deduction. Sometimes, though, he's very vocal.......as in......where is that other electric bill? can you believe we had this much medical expense! can you understand now where our money goes? Oh my goodness, do you know how much we spent on food???? He muddles through everything, puts every cent down, adds and subtracts and multiplies and then does it all over again. He always stops short of snorting and spitting. The last few years have been a little better than other years. At least we have been getting some refund. Of course, that has to be my favorite part, hearing that world famous declaration, "Guess what? we're getting ______ back from Federal and ____ back from the State." Yay!!!!yay, i say!!!! Refunds are nice because it allows to do a little something special that we have wanted to do. Nobody has asked us if we needed a bailout. Nobody has asked us about stimulous packages. We just have to fare for ourselves. I kinda like that. Our God has always met our needs. He hasn't let us have everything we want but we are very well taken care of. He "bailed" us out a long time ago. We don't have to worry for tomorrow because we know He has us in the palm of His hands.

My youngest Granddaughter

Our youngest granddaughter, Quinn, will be 2 on February 3. She is the cutest little thing. I remember when she first said Meme. It made me so happy...especially, since she had been saying Papa forever. It is so neat watching them develop their personality. Quinn has three older sisters so she has had some "role models" with her daily. They have all taught her a thing or two. She is learning to be a little deceptive, even at age 2. Amy, our daughter, said that every time something goes wrong or she gets hurt, she says Avery did it. Avery is next in line to Quinn's age. Avery was sick the other day and was lying on the sofa with a fever. Quinn came into the living room and said, MAAAMAAA, Avery hit me! Well, it was very evident to Amy that Avery hadn't done anything. She was really sick. Quinn just had to have attention at that moment so she fabricated a story. She is still the cutest thing I know of. She is growing up all too fast. I guess I have to wait around for Katie to have a baby one day so that we can watch another baby grow up. I wonder how long that will be???????

Life's hard, ain't it Ms. Cashion?

Wouldn't it be great to have a day that you didn't have to take care of any kind of problem, didn't have anyone complaining, didn't have any kind of heartache at all? It seems an impossibility. Maybe that's not the way it is supposed to be? God is as much in control of one day as He is another. He is never going to let anything happen to us that we can't learn from . These things are brought into our lives to make us stronger. I don't always "get the message" that I am supposed to get from difficult times. A very long time ago a little girl taught me something. I was substitute teaching at an elementary school in our area. It was the type of area where everybody knew most everybody else. Bill was pastor of a church and we were well-acquainted with most of the members in a neighboring church. We had been praying for a member of the neighboring church, a young married man who struggling with health issues. Long story short, this young man in his 30's passed away. The day after the young man was buried, I went to substitute teach for the kindergarten at the school. As soon as I walked in I realized that the man's daughter who had died was in that class. I thought, "well, maybe she won't come." Secretly, I wished she wouldn't. I guess I thought I might have to deal with a child who was distraught and maybe would end up crying during the class. As I was preparing for the class, I looked up briefly as some kids came in the room consoling the little girl whose Dad had died. She wasn't crying, though. She was being very receptive the child-like love the other kids were giving her. It was a sweet time to see kindergartners give love in the only way they knew how----making her smile. As she walked toward me, I took her by the hand and said, "honey, I am so sorry about your daddy." She said, "that's o.k. Ms. Cashion. Life's hard, ain't it?" You know, she was repeating something that, I am sure, someone had said to her. It's the truth. LIFE IS HARD sometimes. How we handle it comes from how closely we are walking with the Lord. We can blame God or someone else for our problems but in the long run that resolves nothing. We just have to face those hard times and say "Lord, I cannot do this without you." We DON't have to do anything. He has said that he will bear our burdens for us.
I am at this moment giving Him something that is on my heart. He wants it. I know He does.
I have felt Him tug at my heart all day. Life's hard, ain't it? Oh yes, it can be! Praise His holy name He takes our burdens. It AIN'T nearly as hard after that.

25 Random Things About Me

25 Random Things About Me.

My Daughter, Amy, tagged me to come up with 25 random things about myself that not many people know.
So, Here goes:
1. I ate dirt when I was a little girl.......out of the flowerpots.....with a spoon. I got lots of spankings for it.
2. I thought my middle name was spelled D-i-a-n-e- until not too many years ago when I looked at my birth certificate and it was D-i-a-n-n-e.
3. I have sung alto since I was in the sixth grade and was in Mrs. CLeveland's class.
4. I thought you pronounced navel like nable and chimney like chimley until I was almost a teenager.
5. When Bill was six years old, he told his Uncle Bob that he was going to marry me.
6. I grabbed the nurse and choked her and threatened to kill her when I was about to deliver Missy and they turned off the anesthesia and I immediately dilated to 10 and she said she couldn't turn it back on without an authorization from the doctor. NOT THE RIGHT THING TO SAY!!
7. The first time Amy brought Jeff to our house before they were married, I was sitting in the floor playing with Katie and I "tooted" in Jeff's face. OOOH!!!!
8. Also, I ran out of the bathroom (we only had one bathroom )dressed only in my slip and just as I did, Jeff came walking in to go in the bathroom. He still married Amy, even though she has a looney mom.
9. I walked out of the The Summit in Houston one time, which is located on a hill, lost my footing, fell and rolled ALLLLL TTTHHHEE WWWAAAYYY down the hill and landed under a gigantic marquis at the feet of the Japanese President of the Baptist World Alliance who was there taking pictures. Embarrassing!!
10. Speaking of falling, I fell out the door of our second church the first Sunday Bill was there to preach a "trial sermon". It was raining......you know the rest.
11.I saw a UFO many times in North Carolina and my little neighbor called the radio station and told them and the whole news department, camera crew, lights...bright lights etc. showed up on my front lawn.
12.When we took Amy to visit her college, Katie was a baby and as we entered the financial aid office Katie did in her diaper what babies do, and I went to change her since it stunk up the whole room. I stood up from my chair, stepped on my slip and it hit the floor and I waddled to the restroom with it around my ankles.
13. I caused my sister, Martha, to burn her arm badly when I pushed her and she laid her arm on a hot burner.
14. I went to Girl's State when I was in High School.
15. Bill and I were voted Top Teenagers our senior year in High School.
16. My mama and I went to a sports store and bought my brother-in-law some wadding to make bullets and we were so tickled having to ask for wads that we couldn't even say it.
17. I had REALLY green hair one time.
18. I once went on a blind date with the son of the President of Phillips Petroleum....he was a jerk.
19. I once cried out to a pharmacist when we adopted Katie, that I had just had a baby and didn't know I was going to have one.
20. I once had a lady in Venezuela squirt breast milk in my face (with her breast) to prove to me that she was a breast-feeding mother because she wanted some free powdered milk that only went to lactating mothers.....not nice!!
21. I once sat on a lounge chair WITH Frankie Valli of the group The Four Seasons on which The Jersey Boys is based. We had our picture made together. Tee Hee! I had my arm on his leg.
22. My junior year in high school, I was a cheerleader. I had a brand new white corduroy skirt and jacket on and as we ran in front of the football team as the game was going to start, I fell in the mud...red mud...head to toe.
23. I designed and crosstitched an outline of the country of Costa Rica and many replicas of things found in COsta Rica to present to the Baptist Mission when left there and went to Venezuela.
24. I took care of Maggie and Charlie for five weeks when they were 9 years old while they waited on Martha and Tim to come adopt them.
25. I married Bill after having been in all 12 grades together and being in love with him for most of my life. Really. That's True.

Why is it so Hard? and Other Random Stuff

Why is it so hard for me to take my Christmas decorations down? I love putting them up, but I hate taking them down. Do you think I secretly have a desire for Christmas to last year around?
It's possible. It could be that I hate taking them downstairs or having Bill do it for me. I can't hardly do it. I am not steady on my feet these days because of the neuropothy. Bill has suffered with back pains for days now and won't go to the doctor. So, the stuff still sits in the kitchen waiting for the good fairy to take it down to storage. I really need to go down to storage and weed out a lot of decorations that I no longer need or are broken. That is just not fun to me. Maybe one day I will get a burst of energy and do it. I don't even know why I am saying all this. I felt like rattling on about something and this was a topic that I chose. Just humor me and read it and say to yourself, "Self, Kathy Cashion has lost her nutty mind."

On to another subject. We went to Longhorn tonight and the people were standing outside, in the rain, waiting to go in so we didn't stay. We ate Chinese. Both of us have not been sticking to our diet. Oh well, maybe we will diet again tomorrow. (Procrastination Big Time!!!)
THOSE WHO GET TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES, WILL BE EXPOSED IN THE END.
(That is the motto I live by daily.)

I want it to snow so badly. I just want ONE really good snow. I want it to be on a school day and I want to have all the fixings for some good Shrimp Chowder on hand. I love looking out my back windows on a snow covered yard. I could stare at it for hours.

A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together! ~Author Unknown

Snowmen fall from heaven... unassembled. ~Author Unknown

Katie's car is waiting to go to the car doctor. It needs $650.00 worth of work. The wheel bearing is bad and it leaks power steering fluid, so Dr. Mechanic Steve will get it next week when the part comes in and fix it. I am pretty sure, being the Ziggy that I am, something else will breakdown soon. It always does. :( If you need cheering up, you better call someone else.

Well, that's about all of the gloom and doom that I can muster up. Actually, I have more but I don't want to overwhelm my readers. LOL :)