Sweet Tee

Here are a couple of my newest designs.  You can find them all at http://www.deltasweettee.com/

Yard Work

With all the beautful weather we have been having we decided to tackle the 50 flower beds in our yard.  Ok, there aren't really 50 but it seemed like it considering I have never been able to manage even one! We have made a lot of progress and Marvin has been trimming away at stuff and hauling off all of my weeds.  Marvin has to be the trimmer because I tend to butcher stuff when I get a hold of some clippers. And of course we have had some helpers too.  Camden and Neil love being outside and even the lazy cats decided to come out and soak up the sun.  And now that we got rid of all the rose bushes the kids are free to play in the beds as well without getting hurt.

My new rock beds :) 



My helpers

Sheba coming to investigate 

Jake isn't happy about the cats being outside in his territory

Camden and her first nail polish!  She was so proud and kept wanting to show me how pretty they were.



My Thoughts....

Recently I was part of an un-named group of women who were discussing the call to do God's work (local, not foreign).  We started talking about things that distract us from doing God's work and getting more involved in church and community service.  Then several of them kept referring to one "distraction" as "little things like kids and our husbands".  Well I was completely flabbergasted!!!!  I may not be as involved with church and community service right now as I would like to be, but I really don't see how neglecting my children and husband to go help others could accompolish anythng of eternal value.  I believe that we should honor one of the first God-ordained establishments first (meaning family) then seek to help others anyway we possibly could.  Jesus dying on the cross even made provisions for his "mother" so I don't beleve Godin anyway wants us to neglect our family, especially our children.  Right now my children are young and I know they need a lot of time and attention but when they are older Marvin and I will be able to focus more on doing things around our community.  Also, we are called to intruct our children in the ways of God and how can we do that if we are constantly passing them off on other people so we can live "our" life.  I truly believe that in raising our children in a godly home and teaching them about God and His word, we are actually doing His work.

 I really wanted to tell a few of them that maybe the children were not the problem but the tanning bed, fitness clubs, shopping trips could be.  That is all.

Good-bye old friend

Last night our family lost a dear friend.  Prissy is shown in the picture on my daddy's shoulders.  Prissy came into our family 13 years ago and is the last pet our family had with my Daddy.  She has been a constant companion to Mama through some of the hardest years ever.  Prissy has been a miracle dog from the beginning and the first dog that really ever lived full-time inside.  I called her Bucket (short for squirt bucket) because she was so small compared to all of our other dogs.  I know she was a dog but she has been a very important part of my mother's life (and mine) for a long time. 

She loved my parents and if she was sitting on Daddy's lap and Mama happened to lean over to kiss him she would go crazy and try to attack her.  This of course would then make Daddy laugh and try to provoke her all the more.  So needless to say Prissy never got comfortable with people touching each other in her presence and she would ward off anyone trying to mess with the person who was holding her at the time.

Once my parents went on a trip out of the country and Stacy and I were supposed to watch her while they were gone.  At that time she was having some sort of trouble eating and we were supposed to make sure she ate a certain amount everyday so she wouldn't get worse.  Well that spoiled little thing would not eat because Mama and Daddy were gone,  so Stacy and I drove to a local Chinese restaurant every night to order something to pour over her food so she wouldn't be dead when they got back.

Rest in peace, Prissy and I fully believe that if animals will be in heaven that she is there right now sitting on the back of my daddy's shoulders, once again his faithful companion.

Happy Birthday Marvin!!!!

Today my better-half turns 34!  I am so blessed to have Marvin as my husband and he proves that to be more true every year we are married.  He has the patience of Job and is constantly bringing me up anytime I start to get down. He is my best friend, my confidante, my soul-mate and the best father to our children than anyone on the planet could be.  I know he gets frustrated with me a lot but I am sure glad he chooses to stick by my side, even through the tough times.  I am so excited to have him by my side as we grow old together!  Check out this picture of when we were first dating!  We don't have a lot of pictures from the "dating" part of our relationship because it only lasted 3 months! 

I feel like we were kids here!!

God speaks in the little things everyday, we just need to listen!

Well, today is coming to an end, Marvin isn't home and I am still relatively sane.  Today actually went better than expected (even with Neil in his usual needy self).  The kids played outside all morning, had a friend drop by with a few things for Camden to wear, and I finished a dress for Camden that was previously going to the Salvation Army.  I thought I really messed it up but it turns out rick-rack can be your friend!  Photo Below...
Lindsey invited us to lunch with her family (answered prayer) and the kids took a wonderful nap (meaning at the same time, whoo hoo!!).  This allowed me to clean the house and pack their bags for our trip to Grenada tomorrow. 
After nap the kids were pleasant and the afternoon and supper were quiet.  Bath-time was a breeze and it is usually a hassle even with help.  Neil was so worn out that he went to sleep at 7:40 and Camden was in bed by 8:10.  She was saying her prayers and thanking Jesus for people in her life, it was the usual group but then she said Mr. George!  Mr. George Jeffords and his wife Peggy and her mother were Camden's Sunday School teachers when she was in the 1 yr old class.  She has since moved up but she always had a special connection with Mr. George and I was kind of sad to see her leave their care.  They are such a blessing to the children and I was proud of Camden being in their class.
I got to take a super-long quiet bath and actually read a devotional that I got before Neil was born but haven't started.  After a few minutes of blogging and blogstalking  I am now off to get a good nights sleep.
Thank you God for putting little graces in my day and allowing me to see them!

Not so bad after-all!

Neil is walking, well almost :)

Last Saturday Neil took 4 steps to the bush in front of our house!  Camden first walked to our dog Jake (and said his name before saying Mama), and Neil chose a bush.  He has been trying this several times a day since then but has not taken over 10 steps at a time.  I feel certain that he will be walking, if not running by the time he turns a year.  I can't believe he will be a year in a month!  I really think his year went by faster than Camden's!
My little man is growing up fast..

Farming, Family, and Friends

Well, spring time is here at the Sheffield house.  Marvin has started putting in more hours at work and before long he wont be here on Saturdays anymore.  It is always hard for me even though I know it is coming, I get so accustomed to having my other half here that when he is gone it takes a while for me to get adjusted.  Both the kids and I will have to move into a new normal and I pray that I am able to do it as stress free as possible for their sake. 

I don't envy people who are able to get their hair cut more than twice a year, who have cable/satellite, or who are able to see a new purse or blouse and be able to pick it up.  I am most envious of people who have family that live in the same town.  I would give anything to have my mother and sister close by.  I imagine having supper fixed for us and setting a few extra places so that they could drop by and eat.  Or being able to pop over to borrow something or get an opinion about an outfit.  I am wallowing in my self pity because Marvin is working late this Friday night and for some reason weekend nights are the hardest.  I really get down knowing I will be spending Friday night alone, I know its silly but I have always looked forward to the weekends.  Not that we ever go anywhere or spend any money, in fact when I tell you about our "normal" Friday night routine you will probably scoff and why I would even care that its not going to happen.  A normal Friday night consists of me preparing 2 frozen Red Baron pizzas and after putting the kids to sleep Marvin and I (and usually his brother John) watch a movie rented from the nearest Red Box Rental.  See not all that impressive.... but its probably one of the biggest highlights of my week that doesn't involve the kids.

I would not be able to make it living away from family and Marvin's demanding job if it were not for my friends.  I am really blessed to have a wonderful group of friends who are there to support me when I get down and who let me vent when I need to blow off steam.  I recently joined a Bunco group and I am really excited about getting to know some new people! My opinion of bunco groups has not been the greatest.  I've always heard it was nothing but a bunch of women who sat around and talked bad about everyone else in town and spread gossip.  Well this group proved my thought wrong!  This group is just what I needed, it's a group of wonderful Christian women who just get together to have a good time and talk about their "own" lives and family.  I am also blessed to have friends who are also stay-at-home moms and their support and advice is greatly cherished.  Its always good to have at least a few people in your "boat" who can relate and are facing the same type of challenges that you are.   Moving to town has provided me with the much needed socialization I would not have gotten in the country.  I am so thankful to all of my friends who have been and will continue to be there through any new changes in our life.  I just hope I don't bug them to death when Marvins gone all the time!

And these two little monsters will always put a smile on my face when I am feeling down:)