Good morning!

A little hello from Ashleigh and our lovely cat, Oscar. 

Paul Cardall; an inspiration to me.

I would like to share with you a Godly man, Paul Cardall.  A man who was born with a congential heart defect; he was thought to only survive for a short period.  He defeated all odds {praise God} and is {for us} fortunately still with us here on earth and we want to keep it this way.  Will you please pray for him tonight; for a healing, a new heart?  Although my heart aches for him every time I read his updates on his blog, he continues to have faith in Him.  I pray each time I open his blog, he will have news to share that a heart is on it's way. He is so blessed with a beautiful daughter and a loving wife; they adore him, as all of his blog readers do.  Here is the link to his site; please take time to visit it.  What an inspiration!  Thank you Paul for all you do to share your story and your faith in trust in Him.  Thank you.

If you would like to donate to him and his beautiful family you can do it here with a paypal account:

Kris Allen-An American {Christian} Idol

I thought I would post this.  I am really impressed to know that Kris is a Christian and chose to sing this beautiful Christian song; how beautiful. Here it is:




Click here for the link to it.

Happy Memorial Day

In the midst of the financial struggles we are reminded this Memorial Day of the sacrifices that our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airman take everyday of their lives to protect us.  They unselfishly leave their loved ones behind to go and fight for our freedom.

Today, I am thankful.  Grateful. Blessed.  Free.  All of this because I am loved by God and because I am an American; how wonderful it is!

I would like to thank all of the ones protecting us today and all the ones who protected us in the past.  Thank you.  Thank you.  May God bless you all.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” by Arthur Ashe

Update on Bentley

As you may or may not know I have been following this blog about this little girl, who is nothing short of a miracle. She { 6 mos old} just had open heart surgery to repair a heart defect yesterday. She is doing well; God is watching over her.  Let's continue to pray for her for a speedy & healthy recovery.

My girl can do her name all by herself.

This is Ashleigh's name done by her, exclusively, despite the long first name {I know. I know. I am mean.}. 4yrs old , May 2009. If you look closely you will see that I had to add additional paper to her original paper {she likes using picture paper; I don't know why?}

Ashleigh continues to amaze Brian and I with her incredible sense of learning; she always wants to learn new things and is never satisfied with with the less-than-perfect outcomes. God has blessed us with her, truly. Not only is she smart she has an incredible heart that just is amazing.

Prayer for Bentley

This sweet little girl is going into surgery on Wednesday; please say a prayer for her.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

As I pondered rather or not to post this post {you see my Mom doesn't read blogs} I was reminded that this is our journal, as a family, why wouldn't I post my feelings? So here it is:

Mom,
On this Mother's Day,I am not only reminded of the special bond we have but of the sacrificing you gave for your children {all 3 of us}. I know that I am speaking for all of us when I write this. You unselfishly raised your children all alone after the untimely loss of Dad. We may not have had the fancier things in life, we may not have had the car at age 16, or the college education paid for, but we had your love. I went into the Navy to get my college education; how easy was that? I got to serve my country and in return received the financial support to get my education. However, I always had your love to return to.

As the years pass by, I am deeply touched by your ability to give to everyone else before giving to yourself. You have the ability to make those around you feel as if they are your own. Children flock to you. Friends cling to you. You are so amazing to your grandchildren; they adore you. I adore you. Thank you for being who you are. Your unselfish love means more to mean than any of the material stuff. Thank you.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
Love Always,
Your Daughter-Vivian

Please say prayers for the following:

Ashleigh's first prayer

I have to share Ashleigh's first prayer. It was the sweetest and most endearing prayer. She prayed "dear God please protect my Daddy as he is flying tomorrow {Brian was out-of-town}, if you don't that's ok I will." :) She continued to pray for our neighbors cats {they are both sick}. She prayed "dear God please watch over Mrs.Leslies cats. Please make them feel better." She continued saying prayer for about 10 minutes. She prayed for Mommy,Daddy, NaNaw, Katelyn and all of our other family members & friends. Isn't that sweet? She is just so thoughtful and precious. I am so blessed to have such a darling little girl who is so thoughtful of others; God truly blessed Brian and I.

My dear friend, Pearl.

I had the pleasure of seeing a dear friend from my Navy days yesterday. Boy, it was a gift to be able to see her after so many years. She was not just a friend, but my boss. I don't only admire her for being a great mentor to me, but I admire her for the strength she has had to battle Breast Cancer. Yes, she kicked that in it's but and she hasn't had to deal with it since; God blessed her. Thank you, Pearl for coming to visit us. Oh, and Ashleigh is taking good care of her terrarium. Thank you.