Where Have I Been

It has been months months since I have blogged. I have been through planning a wedding, nine months of a foot infection and surgery, bariatric surgery, marrying off a daughter, worrying about a sick father-in-law, the death of a really close niece, and last but not least, sending that newly married daughter off to live in another state while her hubby studies at the seminary etc., etc., etc. It seems there was time to blog but honestly, I don't know if mentally I could have. I found out at age 62, things such as planning and surgeries and moves, hit me a lot harder......yes, I do mean in the brain. Thinking clearly is a rarity these days. Hopefully things have settled down now. I want to get back to writing. I miss putting my thoughts down. Anyway, I am becoming more and more like the cartoon "Maxine". That's how I remember what I have done the day before.

Our family has really changed a lot lately. Chad, Missy, Morgan, Madyson and Ashlyn, along with Karma, the dog, moved to Charleston, SC. They bought a lovely home on Daniel Island. Chad moved with his work. The girls all started brand new schools this week. It has been interesting for them. Two tenth graders and a fourth grader in new schools makes for some jittery nerves. Just last week, Katie and Caleb, along with Storm the dog, moved to Wake Forest, NC for Caleb to begin seminary. They are still settling in. Katie is looking for a job and we are all trusting God to provide something for her. She and Caleb enjoyed a mission trip to Venezuela with Bill and our team from Bethleham. It was a great success. Their lives were changed forever and so were the lives of hundreds of Venezuelans who came to know Christ. Jeff, Amy, McKenna, Bailey, Avery and Quinn are still in Lyman, SC. Jeff still pastors LifeSong Church. They will be going in a brand new building in September. They continue to grow by leaps and bounds. God has blessed over and over again the ministry there. They average over 700 on Sundays. This growth has taken place over a little over three years.

Bill and I are about to complete 7 years at Bethlehem Baptist. It has been a fast and super-sweet time. Bill still enjoys two yearly trips to Venezuela. He also teaches two courses at Truett-McConnell College. I still sing in the choir, teach 1st Grade Sunday School, WMU, and a few other things. There is never a dull moment.
God is still blessing. He provides for our every need. So, Where Have I Been? Right here, that's where!!

Blogging and weddings

I started out so gung-ho on my blogging but as time went on, I stopped. When did life get so busy? About eight months ago when I started planning a wedding. Blogging had to take a backseat. Wedding bell blues took over. I must say that I totally let the wedding planning consume me. That's o.k. That's what it takes, especially at my age. I spent a lot of time trying to think what all was different about planning Katie's wedding in comparison to Amy and Missy's. It's my AGE. At 61, I have a little harder time remembering all there is to remember to do. Its getting there though. October 30th will roll in here in about 3 1/2 weeks. Whether I have everything done or not, it will come. If everyone gets fed at the reception will reflect on me but it has been hard to determine how many will be there. Two churches are involved since Bill is a pastor and Caleb's dad is a pastor. We just have to pretty much hope there will be enough. But you know, that's not what it's all about anyway. The important thing is if those two kids have their license, say their vows, and get pronounced husband and wife. That's the most important. Friends and family are nice and we do appreciate them and won't be able to do enough for them for all they have done for our kids. They still won't make a difference any way at all as to whether Katie and Caleb are married. You know, I could sweat the small stuff and worry my head off, or, I can give it to the Lord. After all, He changed water into wine at the first wedding in Cana. He multiplied the loaves and fishes when He fed the five thousand. He can certainly can take care of a few hundred people at a wedding in Clarkesville, even when the woman who planned the wedding is old!

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.