THE LITTLE BOTHER

Yep, that is what I meant...B.O.T.H.E.R.

The girls banned Riggs from being upstairs because it was 'ONLY GIRLS ALLOWED'

So, he found the light switch to entertain himself....

and get the attention from his sisters that he wanted.

"We love because HE first loved us" I John 4:19

"Lukewarmness is not the inevitable result of being imperfect. We're all imperfect. Lukewarmness is the inevitable result of lack of love for God. The solution is not to push yourself into behaving perfectly, the solution is to cultivate your love for God."

"It's very important that our pursuit of God is not motivated by a desire to be 'good enough', but by love for God and a desire to please Him with our lives."

"But keep in mind that these changes need to flow from a heart that values God more than anything else"'

Quotes by Francis Chan in Crazy Love

REJOICE ALWAYS

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS

AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!

This is a song that I have great memories of singing with Uncle Jason when he would visit us..bringing along his guitar, of course.

Turns out, he was having us memorize scripture.

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!

Paul wrote these words while in prison. Odd, huh? Its hard for me to be joyful in WalMart...and I go there of my own free-will. There are times that it is hard to not have our attitude match our circumstance in life. Yet, that is what we are called to do. Rejoice in all of it.

Well, not in the 'it'....but the fact that Jesus is there with us.

NO MORE TEARS, NO MORE PAIN, NO MORE FEARS

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

"Remember that this world is about God, not us.

If we live for anything other than God's glory,

we will end in regrets." Francis Chan

MY COUSINS ARE NAVY SAILORS

Congratulations!

Another generation of Abblitt military greatness!!!

So proud of you both...wish we could have been there to watch you graduate.

Brielle and Brittany graduating from Navy Boot Camp on the 23rd of September

Brittany just reported to her new duty station in Virginia where she will be attending
Intell School & Brielle is remaining at Great Lakes, IL
to continue her follow-on school in Advanced Electronics.

OUR DOG THE HORSE

Scott and I were talking last night...there is very little time in our relationship when we didn't have a dog. We got Sierra when I moved back to Iowa a few months after finishing up my internship at a hospital in Wilmington, Delaware in 1997. A couple years later, Hector (renamed Dakota) was adopted from a shelter when we lived in Colorado Springs, CO.

DAKOTA aka HECTOR FROM PUEBLO

This is the last week with our puppy.

I took him for an evaluation because he seemed to be losing the battle with age. The Vet said he had never seen a dog compensate for weak back legs like Dakota does. His behavior is more like that of a horse. NOT a dog. He gets a very wide base and then drags himself up with his front legs. There is nerve damage...either from age or a tumor on his spinal cord causing weakness & incontinence. There is also pain in his back and possibly his hip. He has almost slipped down stairs due to lack of control in his back legs. He yelps at times trying to get up. He has started to bark warnings at Riggs to stay away. He has also stopped following me around outside. He will lay there and watch me walk to the back of the yard. He normally follows me. Not any more. He lays down most of time just watching. I know it's time.

It will be sad.

But, it's what is needed.

We have 5 more days to love on him and say good-bye.