~*HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STACKI*~!!!!!!!

Definition for the word - BLOG!!

Quick definitions (Blog)
noun: a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their PERSONAL EXPERIENCES and hobbies !!!!!

JAMES 1:2-8

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Miss America 2021
Vickie

I John 2:3-6

We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

This was my Great Uncle Pete. On the right he is holding my Mom and on the left he is holding me. He was a big shot at L&N railroad. Mama said that when I was little that a big truck would pull up in front of our house and the driver would get out, go around to the back of the truck, open the big doors, reach in and pull out a little sack and bring it to the door. It would be a sack of candy for me from Uncle Pete. He would go to the candy counter at Parisians downtown, buy a bag of that delicious hunk chocolate (you can't find it now and it was so good) and have his driver deliver it to our house in West End. I think that is so cool.
Vickie

I wish I was standing on the beach right now. This is me in my Barney suit at Crystal's wedding. Don't you just love my orange hair? When I ordered the suit I ordered a off-white and it came to me in purple and it was also one size smaller than I had ordered. It was suppose to get to me 1 week before I flew out so I could make any alterations I needed to but it came the day before I flew out. That ugly thing cost me $100 on sale. I guess it was just as good looking like Barney as it would have a beached white whale, huh!
Vickie

BIBLES

How many Bibles do you have laying around your house that belong to you and your family. Counting the ones that you have at work, home, purse, car etc. Also how many different versions do you have and which one is your most favorite?

Doctor's Visit

My doctors visit today went great. I have no H-Pylori. This test use to have to be done by going into the GI lab, being put to sleep, having them run a tube or tubes down your throat and take a sample. Now you just go in having had nothing to eat or drink for 1 hour before you go, breathe into a bag, drink about 2 oz. of this clear liguid that taste like really sweet lemon-ade, wait 15 minutes and then you breathe into another bag. They then come back 3-5 minutes later with the results. Technology advances and changes everyday. Amazing. I have been put to sleep probably 6 times or more for this test. My test came back NEGATIVE!! YEAH!! 8 years ago I tested 99% positive for this. God is soooooooo GOOD!

All in His timing!!

3 months ago I would not have even think of having a gastric by-pass. Then all of a sudden I really started thinking about it and researching it. Since then I have applied, been excepted my the doctor, been going tru testing and found out today that my insurance said YES!!! I am so excited and have such an awesome peace about this. In the mean time I have come back in contact with my best friend from High School and she is a nurse who works for a group of doctors that does this same surgery in Mississippi, which she had done 5 years ago and she has lost 160 lbs. and her husband 200 lbs. She says the only thing that she would have done different was to have had it 20 years ago. Since I started this process, God has opened one door after another. I go in the morning at 9:oo for H-pylori testing and then on Sept 20th for the sleep apnea clinic. These test will help them to decide how they will need to treat me during and after surgery. I'm hoping that I can get the sleep apnea testing done sooner. I'm checking tomorrow to see if they have had any cancellations so they can move me up. YEAH!!!! Thank you Jesus!!

Mama use to always say:'Never eat watermelon before the 4th of July because it will make you sick'! I have come to the conclusion that there is something to these old sayings. I know that I have bought watermelons earlier in the summer and they wouldn't taste right, weren't sweet enough, be too green or be meally. I you wait till after the 4th of July you're able to get the ones that were able to grow in the warmer part of the summer and they get real sweet and juicy. I bought one of those little round ones at the curb market, Saturday, and it was so delicious. YUMMO!! That is one of the best things about summer to me is the delicious produce that you can get like Chilton County peaches and strawberries, vine-ripe tomatoes (I get the salt shaker and eat them like an apple, sooooooo good),squash, cucumbers, okra, etc.......... Other than that, I don't like summer. TOO HUMID!! Even at night. What do you like best about summer?

What is you most favorite scripture?

My Favorite Scripture!

Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The Year 1905

THE YEAR 1905 This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1905. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905 : The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower! The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year . A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home . Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard." Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound. Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!! Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet. There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!) Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. It staggers the mind.

Give Ashtyn a response to her Mommy's news!

What do you think Ashtyn's response would be to her Mommy's news of her going to be a Big Sister?
Vickie

This is the first picture of my new Nephew or Niece! The proud parents are JR and Amber Brown. The big sister, Ashtyn, will be 1 year old this month. I have not heard her thoughts on this yet as to being a big sister. The baby, which JR says it looks like a boy to him, is now 7 weeks old. I think it's a BOY also. "CONGRATULATIONS"!
Vickie

This is one of the books Crystal got from the library. I started reading it tonight. So far, pretty good.
Vickie

This was what I looked like when Danny and I got married in 1986. I was actually smaller than this. This was took the summer before we were married. This is from taking diet pills, laxatives, starving and compulsive exercising. I lost 165 lbs. in 11 months.
Vickie

This was one of the times that we went to Gulf Shores with Stan and Beth. We always have a great time. This was a sunset cruise we took that year. AWESOME!!
Vickie

This was the first trip that Danny and I made to Gulf Shores together. It was in February and we loved it. That's the best time of year to go. We stayed at the Lighthouse which isn't there anymore.
Vickie

Reality TV

I love reality TV. This is my favorite time of the year for television when all the new shows start . BIG BROTHER is my favorite. This is #6 and I haven't missed a year yet. It is so good this year. Tonight 'Brat Camp' starts and that looks like it will be a good one also.

Dennis brought mystery house guest!

Last night about 10:30 Danny went to bed and I had settled in for a evening of watching movies and flipping to the news every now and then to keep an eye on Dennis. About 5 after 11:00pm there was a loud pop and the power went out. When the power goes out on this mountain you cannot see your hand in front of your face so I'm fumblin' around trying to locate the flashlight that Danny said he had for me. He finally comes to me with his and we light some candles, open all the windows and doors and load everything perishable into the deepfreeze where I had put several bags of ice I bought and some I bagged myself. Around 2:30 we decide to blow out the candles except for the one in the bathroom and lay on the bed where there was a nice cool breeze blowing and try to get some sleep. We finally fall to sleep when all of a sudden I hear this bam-bam-bam! I turn and quietly wake Danny and told him what I heard and we were listening when it happened again, but louder and more of it. Heck I thought somebody was tearing the front door down. He gets his flashlight and starts thru the house and I notice he stops by our bath and says, 'come here'! I get my light and go to where he is and it starts doing it again and it is coming from the bathroom. What ever it is , is under my garden tub. It starts whining like a dog and you can hear it breathing. It starts bamming again and then we hear it growl. We have a trap door right there that goes to the water pipes that if it gets knocked down, heck, that thing whatever it is will be in my house. We search for something heavy to set in front the door hoping that our house guest will decide to exit the way it came in. We brought in the two cases of water and set it in front of the door and as we are standing there, we can hear it breathing. This is no mouse, rat, cat or dog. We aren't sure what it is. All we know is that it's not welcome in this place. It finally gets very quiet so we thought that maybe it is all tuckered out and asleep or it left. We decide we have the problem solved and go back to bed. Around lunch Danny goes out with his spot light to look around to see if he can tell what it was and how it got in there, but comes back not knowing anymore than when he went out. We then go to the bathroom and procede to open the door with me holding the light and Danny slowly opening the door ready to slam and run. Yeah right, ME RUN (ha-ha-ha). I guess I would just take my chances and hope that I could make it to the closet and lock myself in. Well we didn't find a thing. Our unexpected, unwelcomed guest decided to vacate on its own.

I claim this scripture over us all during this Hurricane!

Psalms 91:9-12 If you make the Most High your dwelling-even the Lord, who is my refuge-then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Mercy modeling the new outfit from Poppa and Nanna!!
Vickie

Back view!
Vickie

Another pose! SOOOO SWEET!!!
Vickie

This is my nephew, Luke Culver. Tell me what you think he's thinking!
Vickie

A New Look!!

My Beautiful, Sweet, Talented and Blog savvy next-door neighbor came over and gave my blog a NEW LOOK and a NEW TITLE!! How do ya'll like it? THANKS Crystal Dawn!!!

Doctor Visit

I went to the surgeon yesterday for my consultation for the Gastric By-pass and during the exam I found out that I have an Abdominal Hernia. Besides that I need to have a test to check for H-Pylori and I have to go to the Sleep Apnea lab to be checked for that. In the mean time we will be waiting to hear from my insurance to see if they will be covering my surgery.

It's Crystal Dawn. Ain't her sweet!!
Vickie

Doctors Appointment

I had written in my day-runner over a month ago that I had an appointment with my GP doctor this morning at 8:00. I get up, dressed and get there 5 till 8. I noticed there were quite a few people sitting around and when I signed in there were 2 names ahead of me. She also shares her office with another doctor. After I sat down I noticed a CLOSED sign over the window on my doctors side. I sat there a few minutes and the recptionist calls me up and ask if I'm there for blood work. I said no that she was going to check and maybe change my blood-pressure medicine. She looked in her computer again and said that she had me down for tomorrow at 8:00. WELL, that only makes twice that I have done this in the past month and a-half. Tomorrow I have a 8:oo with my GP and then a 9:30 with the surgeon about a gastric by-pass. I am very excited. If they say that I'm a good candidate than I'm going to get them to schedule it as soon as possible. YEAH!!!!!!

BIG BROTHER 6

I hope you guys watched BIG BROTHER 6. It was great. It is going to be so good this year. I always hate to see the season end, but the thing is, when Big Brither ends it will be Fall!!! YEAH, my most favorite time of the year.

Can you name this baby?
Vickie

Busy Holiday Week-end

Saturday morning Crystal and I went to Andrea Petras' funeral. Very emotional. Saw alot of people I haven't seen in years. After the funeral Micheal Young, Crystal and I went to Helena in search of their Fresh Seafood Market. We finally found it and I bought 3 lb. of their medium size shrimp. Saturday night we had a couple of our really good friends, Deb and Mike Acton come over for dinner. I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, ford-hook limas and iced tea for dinner. Deb brought a couple of Mrs. Smith's ready to bake peach pies and peach ice cream to top them with. Crystal and Daniel came over and joined us for dinner. After we ate and cleared the table Deb, Crystal, Daniel and I sat around the table to play Scattergories. After about 9 rounds of that we played a game my Mom taught me years ago called: If I were, I would. I laughed so hard my side still hurts. Sunday evening my Aunt Mary Helen and Jeanette came by to eat with us and I baked a couple whole chickens and made a tub of old fashioned macaroni salad. Crystal and Daniel joined us. Monday, Crystal and Daniel came over and we cooked out and they cooked pork chops, steak, Italian sausage, hotdogs, and salmon steaks. I fried 3 pounds of fresh shrimp and we fried Bread and Butter pickles. We ate left-over mac salad, oh yeah and while everything was cooking we had shrimp cocktails. Later that evening Crystal and I went to see the fireworks in Montevallo and then a late night stop to Wal-Mart for some zippers. Today it hit me. I was whooped. I didn't get up till almost 2pm and I've even had a cat nap. I'm still tired. I din't cook tonight and may not cook for the rest of the week. I think I'm just gonna send Danny to Crystal's for supper the rest of the week. How did ya'll spend your week-end?

My beautiful Grandbaby, Mercy and my son, Keith.
Vickie

This is my Uncle Dickie and his wife Meiko. He is my Dad's older brother and they live in Hawaii. Meiko is from Okinawa. He is a retired Naval Officer. He is now one of my new email pen-pals. I haven't seen Uncle Dickie in over 20 years. I plan someday soon, to fly to Hawaii to see him.
Vickie

This is my Aunt Mary Helen Shackelford, better known as Aunt Murhulen. She is my Dad's baby sister who was married to my Mom's brother. Her three boys are my double first cousins. She was here from Texas visiting a friend of hers that she stayed in contact with since high school and she and another friend of hers, Jeanette, came by on their way back to Texas and ate supper with us. I haven't seen her in about 6-7 years. I was so good seeing her. I hated to see them leave.
Vickie

Here's Ashtyn's Nana on the left and her great-Aunt Diane on the right.
Vickie

This is Ashtyn. See the finger! It's a generational thing.
Vickie

Made in the USA!!

We just celebrated Independence Day. How many of you wore clothing made in the USA???