Remember My Grandfather?

Remember me asking you to pray for my grandfather last month ? Well. we know that we are tremendously blessed to have had a lifetime to spend with him - he is 89 and we do not take that for granted.

After being on IV antibiotics 3x a day for six weeks, he has been released from his orthopedic specialist and given permission to drive again....at 89. With my 84 year old grandmother in tow, they drove to a restaurant to eat ham and eggs together to celebrate.....how precious.

His foot is healed from the surgery and he has been fitted with a special shoe to help him maintain his balance after losing a portion of his foot. And you know where my dad found him today? Yes, out walking around in that garden!

Amazing......God is good, isn't he?

Happy Birthday America!

We got up early this morning to meet some friends at the Harrisburg Town Parade! Thanks for getting us motivated to participate in this celebration Tisha! We had fun!

What's a parade without a horse? This one was beautifully decorated.



Everyone one loves freebies being tossed to the crowd - my son and Tisha's girls loved it!

Be sure to thank a soldier today for his/her service to our country.

Loved those older cars and trucks - that's my son again - grabbing for trinkets.

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13

As we pause from our regular schedules today to participate in patriotic celebrations, let us remember the sacrifices made by our forefathers - The vision that they had for religious freedom and independence. The way that they put their lives on the line to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Teach your children about the sacrifices of those men that make America what she is today. Give thanks for the brave men and women of our military who serve so that our freedoms are protected. Pray for continued success in Iraq and peace in their efforts. Pray for our nation and her leaders. And above all, praise God for the greatest freedom that we have in America - the freedom to worship and pray when and how we wish. God bless America!

Enjoy your freedom in Christ today and your time with your family,

Kim

News to Share with You....

Hi friends,

I am excited to share the news of my new business with you. I am now a consultant with Thirty-One gifts. (Yes, I will still teach full-time but I also wanted to do something fun and earn some extra money on the side as well.) I wanted to share my website with you. You can view the on-line catalog and view the monthly specials by accessing the following site: www.mythirtyone.com/staples

I recently hosted a Thirty One show in my home and was amazed at how easy it was to earn FREE products. With very little effort, I was able to earn almost 100.00 in free products and I was able to purchase three half price items for personal use and gift giving as well. I LOVED the products so much because they are so reasonable and come with FREE monogramming that I decided to join in on the fun.

To launch my business, I am in need of six friends to host a show in the next 40 days. I know that you are enjoying your busy summer and to make things easy for you, if you get me your guest list within three days of booking your show, I will take care of the invitations for you! The hostess specials for July are the best ever. In addition to earning FREE products, you can earn gift certificates to redeem in the Fall catalog. The customer special for July is a super buy as well and will certainly be enticing to your friends and family.

I would love to hear from you. I will also be glad to mail you a catalog if you live to far away to host or attend a show. You can always shop on line. Call or email me and we will get your show scheduled. Can't wait to celebrate you!

God Bless you -

Kim Staples
Thirty-One Gifts
www.mythirtyone.com/staples

Home again....

Well, we are home once again. Here to stay for a few weeks anyway. I have got to stay put and tackle some of those projects that I started over Spring Break.....the wallpaper....remember...and the border war in my son's room...yeah, it is still waiting on me. The paint fairy never showed up although, I gave him ample time.

We had a great week at the beach with one another. Doesn't this picture of the ocean just look so inviting? We had so much fun playing as a family. I can definitely say that hubby and I have caught up on time that we missed during golf season when he was busy coaching. We have spent quite a few hours in a car on the road together lately.....it all went well though and I really miss both he and the boy once school begins. You sure get spoiled spending two months at home toghether as a family and then school resumes. Oh well, we are blessed to have that time together so we must enjoy it.

I promise to get back to my normal blogging next week. Thanks to those of you who have prayed for my grandparents. My grandfather is home and is doing okay considering all that he has been through. Please continue to pray for the infection to heal and not spread any further. Pray for rest for both of them and an easy adjustment to allowing others to do for them. It is so hard for them because they are independent.....

Have a blessed weekend!

Kim

I Have Been Blessed!

Okay friends, I need you to pray for someone special in my life. This is my grandfather. He is 89 years old and has such a very sharp mind. He has been generally healthy but has recently had a difficult time battling gout in his foot. To make a long story short, he developed a severe infection in his foot and has been hospitalized since Sunday. To expedite his trip to the ER last Sunday, he wrapped his foot in a plastic bag to "protect" it while he worked all day in his garden on Saturday which accelerated the infection. He had surgery this afternoon and they attempted to remove the infection by amputating his toe and as much of the infected area as possible without drastically affected his balance. Please also pray for my 84 year old grandfather who will be caring for him when he comes home. They are amazing. They still live on their own and drive and have a huge garden every year.

I had the privilege to go and sit with him in the hospital for the past three days. We laughed about old times - he told me the same familiar stories of what he experienced in WWII and although we have memorized them all, we are going to miss hearing them someday. My grandfather is a treasure. He is hardworking, honest and a man of integrity. He grew up in the depression era and is such a great steward of all that he has ever earned. He dearly loves his wife of 65 years and he never fails to wash dishes for her following EVERY meal. I have had numerous conversations with him standing at the kitchen sink. He also vacuums for her. When facing surgery, his concern was not of himself but of his wife and who would be available to do those things for her while he is recovering.

I was moved to tears this morning when his 77 year old best friend called to make sure that he was right with Jesus. ( and the asked to speak to me so that I could verify that he was - precious I tell you. ) His friend told him that he loved him and just didn't want to face living in eternity without him....it is so sweet to see them humble themselves before God.

So while I am tired from traveling to be with him, I count it a blessing to have been able to do so....

Thanks for your prayers.

Kim

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, some of you faithful readers may remember that I hit the BIG 4-0 last year and to be quite honest with you, I never felt better. So today, one year later, I am 41. Hubby has been ribbing me about being an older woman....I do not know why, he is 42. Love you - my older man!

Surprisingly, 40 is not the death sentence that I thought it was when I was 20. I had lunch with a twenty-something friend yesterday and she said, "I hate to say that you don''t seem that old....you act so much younger!" Can I just tell you that is the best compliment that one can receive from someone under 25? Love you Am!

So today, I will bask in the joy of celebrating 41 years of God's blessings. He's been so good to me and I certainly don't have the right to complain today about being a year older. I have to0 much to be thankful for and I certainly would not trade the person that I was at 20 for the person that I have grown to be today.

Have a blessed day.

Kim

We're home....

My men admiring one of the parts of the Saturn V rocket at the National Air and Space Museum. We had a great week as you will see from the pictures below. Now we are off to do something that interests me a great deal.....soak in some rays at the beach. I will check in with you when we return.

This is the first thing you see as you enter the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Our son has a LOVE of space that has existed since pre-school. When he saw this, he said, "Mom, can we please stay here ALL day?" Absolutely son. It is so neat to see your child absorbed in something that totally interests him. What is the age limit for a mom to chaperon a trip to the moon? Can you imagine being the mom of an astronaut?

Doesn't this look like a postcard? I tell you what - I had so much fun shooting pictures with our new camera. This is actually a picture of the Jefferson Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background. I actually took this as our trolley passed by it on our way back to Arlington Cemetery.

A picture of Old Glory hanging from the entrance of Union Station.

I have seen pictures of this monument my whole life. But to see it in person - it took my breath away. It is so lifelike. It was my favorite and one of my son's too!

My son loves to throw pennies in any fountain that we see. He saw this one at one of the memorials. He said, "Quick Mom, give me some change!" After searching my purse for loose change, he tossed a handful in one coin at a time. I photographed the precious images of him making wishes - then, we both turned to walk away and saw a sign that read: Coins damage this fountain by discoloring the stone it is made from. Please refrain from tossing coins in this fountain. Oppps.....sorry National Park Rangers.

Maybe I have not told you that this was my first trip to DC as well. I have been many other places but just not to DC. I was so touched by the changing of the guards ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony. To think that these soldiers are so dedicated. There have only been 400 guards in the past 45 years chosen for this honor. They must meet many requirements on their level of character and they also must memorize a seven page guide on the history of Arlington National Cemetery and recite it verbatim. They also must memorize the grave locations of 300 of the deceased. They guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 24 four hours a day 365 days a year and they have done that since 1945. They pace 21 steps....with such precision. It was incredible to witness.

Okay.....may I just tell you that I had such a moment when I saw this...I am so nostalgic when it comes to antiques and things of yesteryear and I just adored this covered bridge. It was so neat to drive through it and a privilege to take photos of it. This is going to be one that I print and frame for our home.

We stayed at a resort close to this attraction and so we toured the Shenandoah Caverns. I had never done that before and it was amazing to think that we were 220 feet below looking at these rock formations and listening to how they were "millions of years old." Yeah, right. Why can people just not marvel at God's creation without having to come up with their own theories as to how things evolved? Their only explanation as to how old this cavern is was to estimate the growth of the stalagmites and stalactites at 1.25 inches every 125 years and then they counted how many years it would have taken for formations this length to grow. Again, admire God's creation and move on people......it was beautiful and a great lesson in geology for our son who will soon be a third grader.....