night of worship

Last night at church, we had a night of worship. It was a much needed time to spend in fellowship with my Lord. To be free to sit/stand/lay down/just be free in the presence of Jesus. Why shouldn't we give Him some undivided attention every once in awhile? He really deserves it all the time, but we can't focus for that long. We sang some songs that we hadn't sang in a while, with words that got me thinking about the majesty and glory of Jesus. It's always nice to be reminded of that. Letting the Holy Spirit fall. Man, it felt so good.


My God is BIG. My God is great. My God will stand when all else fades. He never ends. He was, is, and always will be. He stays by my side and never leaves me even when I run away. He is the healer and there is great power in His name. It's better to spend one minute in His presence than ten million elsewhere. He deserves nothing less than everything I have to give Him.


Yesterday, I lost a special lady in my life, my great-aunt Jackie, aka my old maid. When I was 8 or 9, my family went on a trip to Texas and she & I played the card game "Old Maid" the whole way. Since then, I've always called her that. She was a sweet lady that really loved Jesus. Lately she had been having some health issues, and was really ready to meet Jesus. Since I have really experienced the Lord and have a relationship I have hope. There is a plan and a purpose for everything under heaven. I no longer question why things happen. I know she is no longer hurting and she gets to be with Jesus. In reality, she is the lucky one. She will always be special to me, and will always have a special place in my heart.

Aunt Jackie & Grandma Freda (a few years ago at Aunt Jackie's birthday party)

Happy First Birthday Hallee Jae!!

Last Tuesday, my precious niece turned ONE! I can hardly believe that one year has gone by already. It seems like just yesterday that we were waiting for what seemed like forever in the waiting room for her to get here. And then she arrived. And she's fantastic.



Hallee Jae. So full of life. She is exuberant. She's got a fire and a sass. A beauty and a firecracker. My kinda lady. I look forward to every year that comes along to watch her grow into a beautiful young woman. God has wonderful plans in store fo her life. I'm so glad He picked me to be her aunt.




We had a birthday party for her last Saturday at Rosiclare Park down by the river. It was a little chilly, but overall a beautiful day. It was a cowgirl theme, for the little cowgirl herself. She got so many wonderful presents. And she smashed her cake to pieces. She loved every bit of it.

1) trying out her new tricycle
2) loving her new rockin' horse from grammy, gramps & aunt E
3-6) CAKE SMASH!
7) trying to share some cake with Aunt E
8) all cleaned up

proud aunt!!

I've clearly been on a blog hiatus for unknown reasons.
but I'm back and with a collection of pictures of my sweet Jelly Bean.
Dane, Jean & Hallee Jae came over for lunch today after church.
we had a good time eating & spending time together.
of course, we had to take some pictures of our sweet girl.
so here are a few of them.

you could say that I'm one proud aunt :)