Garden pics... a day late

Sorry about not posting yesterday... just about everyone here woke with a massive headache and not feeling well yesterday. I did not even turn on my computer monitor.

So much going on....

Goodness the time has flown since I was on here last!


June has been a busy month. I'm working all the hours I can to support the family. Eric and the kids have put in 2 nice sized garden spots (will take some pics to load tomorrow!) and we have been busy with church activities as well! The older 3 just got back from a week at Mid-South Youth Camp (and 2 of the girls in our youth group were baptized into Christ! Whoohooo!) they have had so many stories to tell the last couple of days. Next Sunday Travis and Mia are headed off to Horizons and Travis is interning with our Preacher again this summer (he preaches the Sunday PM services on July 26th). Whew! And then there is so much else going on as well.... we are in touch with our friends in Russia about Travis and Mia going there... still not sure when, but they are both set on going in the next year! We were just informed in this morning's Bible Class that our next Mission Trip may be to New York City. (that is the plan for now... we will see)

Here at the house we are working to get the last of a large debt off of us (it will be paid off at the end of July if all goes according to plan! Yipee!) That will free us up some on our income. We are hoping to be able to get the passports needed for the Russia Trip in August. Then with our extra debt paid we are hoping to start building an emergency fund once again!!! Whoohooo!


I hope to post more now that I am having more time and my schedule at work is finally getting a routine to it. I was not able to walk to work as much as I had wanted due to weather... lots of rain then now its sooooo hot!!! Whew!!! But I am still glad that I am just about a mile from home..... in case I do need to walk in the morning or in the evening. Work is going well. I have picked back up on just about everything. Thankfully, none of the software had changed and it was much easier to get back onto the swing of things than I had thought would be the case. I do have to work long days (9 hours of standing is long no matter what you do I say!) but my body and mind are now getting back into the habit...lol.

Well, I'm off. I will post again tomorrow... gotta show off that garden!

To Russia...

Hello all, I just have to tell you about this!!! We have some good friends that are missionaries in Russia... and they have asked that Travis and Mia join them for 3 months! The kids would learn about mission work, all about a new culture and so much more! The kids are excited and nervous too! But the excitement and the sheer greatness of such an opportunity are outweighing the nervousness a bit.... they really want to do this. Please join us in prayer that this is in God's will for them.

Mission Trip Update...

Well, I got to talk with Mia last night and she said that they are having a good time .... they did not get to start on the painting of the church building yesterday because it drizzled all day but they are going to work on that today. The group did go out to Cane Ridge yesterday and she said it was great and that most of the guys lead singing from the huge pulpit there... I wish I could have seen Travis do that!! I was also told by 2 different adults that Travis and Mia are doing a wonderful job and that they are good examples. Mia said the services last night consisted of about 15 or so of the regular members and then our group of nearly 40... she said the teenager class was filled only with our bunch because they don't really have any families with teens that attend. She is hoping that what they are doing this week will interest some of the teens in the area and that some will show up for tonight.

I'll get to speak with Travis some time today.... I am looking forward to it... I miss them but I know that this was so important for them! I am one proud momma!

Please keep out Mission Trip in your prayers!

Thursday Thoughts...

Proverbs 3:26 For the LORD will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught.


Just what is confidence? Well, Merriam Webster states...

¹con·fi·dence

Pronunciation:

\ˈkän-fə-dən(t)s, -ˌden(t)s\

Function:

noun

Date:

14th century

1 a: a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances confidence confidence<> b: faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way confidence in a leader>2: the quality or state of being certain : certitude confidence of success>3 a: a relation of trust or intimacy confidence<> b: reliance on another's discretion confidence> c: support especially in a legislative body confidence


Have you got confidence? As Christians we are assured confidence... God is our confidence! As children of God we can rely on our circumstances (we are saved through Christ), we have faith or belief that God is always going to act for our benefit in an loving and effective way (even if we don't always like or understand the way He accomplishes it) ... and we can be certain that we will be united with Christ! I would say ...... now that is some confidence!

But it goes farther than that... not only is God our confidence but He will keep us from falling into a trap, you know ... temptation. When we rely on God's discretion for our lives and have an unfailing intimate relationship with God and trust Him to know what is best for us (we are back to having confidence again...) then He keeps us safe in His will. What a wonderful cycle to be caught up in!!!!

just a quick hello...

Hello.

Haha!

Really, I just wanted to drop by and let everyone know I am still around.... tomorrow we send off our oldest 2 children (Travis and Mia) on their first Mission Trip. It will be here in the U.S. at a church that our congregation supports in the Appalachian Mt. area of Kentucky. They will be doing some painting of the Church's building and community service projects during the day and then at night help with a sort of VBS type service at night. They are very excited about going and are working hard to get things done here at home to help Mom and Dad out while they are gone.

Please pray that everyone going on the Mission Trip will be safe and that the Lord will bless the work done in His name!

pharmacy thoughts....

Okay everyone I have now been back to work for over 2 months... goodness time goes by quickly!

Now, I have a few things that I wish to say about pharmacy.... (sorry if I step on any toes)


First thing is that unless it is an emergency I believe you should only get your meds filled at ONE pharmacy ever. You should pick a pharmacy with Pharmacists and staff that you are comfortable with and trust and stick with them. Trying to save a few dollars here and there by switching pharmacies every other month is not worth it in the long run. Pharmacists need to be able to have a ready and ample drug profile for you so that they can help your doctors in your health care. When you constantly move your prescriptions to save a few dollars then you are at risk for some problems with drug interactions that Pharmacy "A" fills for you and the drug that Pharmacy "B" filled for you today because both Pharmacies do not have the full data required to see the possibility for problems between the drugs. Why risk your health? Build up a good relationship with your Pharmacy. Talk to the staff. Let the Pharmasist know what over the counter medications you are taking as well... including any herbal or natural medications. Let the pharmacist know of ALL your allergies. Some drugs are processed with peanut oil so it is important that a pharmacy have all of your allergies on file. If it is the money ... well, those that have insurances will always get the same co-pays not matter what pharmacy you use. And many pharmacies now are going to match prices with their competitors that it is not really an issue at the majority of pharmacies.


Second on my list of thoughts today is that getting your precription filled is not like driving up to a fast food resturant. We all know that it would be nice .... but hey, filling a precription order is not at all like filling an order for a burger and fries!!! Most pharmacies can get your prescriptions done in a fairly short time (about 15 to 20 minutes) however, there are issues that do make that time frame a bit longer. Insurance issues, clarifiying the prescription with the prescriber, high volume of traffic in the pharmacy, perhaps the pharmacy is low on staff.... any number of reasons that it may take more than the short amount of time you are willing to wait. If the prescription is something other than an emergency or needed for someone who is extremely sick, then standing and glowering at the staff because they are trying to get in touch with your insurance company to see why your new blood pressure medications is costing more than your card says your co-pays should be is not going to help. Believe me when I say the co-pays are not set by pharmacies.... if you have insurance that is who is setting the co-pay. Oh, and for refills.... well, use the automated line whenever possible.... it is okay to give refills to the technicians... for that you don't need to talk directly to a Phamacsist (techs do most of the filling these days anyway.), and give a full 24 hours before you pick up refills whenever possible. Keep track of your refills and how low you are getting on your meds.... most doctors will take refill requests for medications from phamacies, however they may (and in most cases do) require a 24 hour notice for that too. So call your refills in a day or two before you run out of meds. Don't blame the pharmacy and staff if the doctor has not called in your refill. They cannot control if your doctor calls or not.

Wow, guess I had more to say than I thought. I guess the gist of everything is that you should build a good relationship with your pharmacy. They are an important part of your providers in health care.