Susie's Steps

Well, I don't remember what day it was I wrote last, but it feels like it's been awhile, so here I am. It may be difficult for me to post this month. I just had another dispatcher quit, so I am down to 2 other dispatchers besides myself, and a dispatcher that can only work certain nights to keep a 24/7 operation going. Plus, I have 2 different kinds of training for myself, and 2 of the girls will be going to NCIC training. So, this month's schedule was a nightmare! And I will be at work more often than I am not. But at least the overtime is good. We must have a significant bill coming up. God usually gives me a financial windfall right before we get hit with a good-sized bill. ; ) Today was really wild, but the VBS program at church was so neat. If there's anything closer to heaven than children's voices lifted in song, I'm not sure what it is. And they had a nifty slide show of the kids. Someone did a really good job at showing all the kids in pictures really well. After that was over, it was back to nightmare time taking 3 overstimulated, tired kids to Walmart for grocery shopping. But what do you do? I'm not sure when my next opportunity might be. Now, it's quiet time for the Momma. My little chicks are tucked peacefully in their little nests. : ) I'd better go as well. It's 11pm, and I have to get up at 4:30am.
Good night . . .
: )

Another beautiful day today. We got up this morning and went to the park. Daniel & I jogged and then walked with Momma while John and the younger two played on the playground and in the water. Then, we were all starved, so we went home for lunch. We cooked up the two HUGE squash that the Chief gave me from his garden (thanx Chief!) for lunch. Then, I floated around in the pool for a bit and got some laundry done. Our VBS at church started tonight, so I took the kids up there. I think the kids had a ball. They all came home with new VBS t-shirts.

Right now, the kids are settled in watching Pirates of the Caribbean. I had to laugh, because there's a scene where you first see Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow that we always kind of cheer (YAY!!!). Not missing a beat, my youngest began cheering at that point all on his own. It made me giggle.

Now, I finally get to sit down and eat dinner. I'm having kind of a funny mixture--squash, bacon, onion and rice. But it's really good. Of course it really helps that I LOVE rice and veggies.

Have a delicious evening! : )

This was sent to me from my favorite elder. I know some of you already got this, but some may not have, and it really spoke to me today . . .

The Dai
Quieted With His Love
Jun 26, 2006

Quieted With His Love
As I worked my way through some devotional readings, I came across this passage:
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)
I thought of my life. I thought of what the passage says about God and how He feels about me. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in me. He will quiet me with his love. He will rejoice over me.
I confess that although I do not know if I fully understand what it means to be quieted by His love, I do know that there is something inside me that says, "I need that, Lord!"
As I pondered more, I prayed, "Lord, please quiet me with Your love."
"Lord, please quiet me with Your love."
"Lord, please quiet me with Your love."
Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
"Lord, I get loud sometimes. Not so much verbally loud, but my spirit gets loud. My heart gets loud. My mind gets loud. The world around me gets loud and the loudness overwhelms me to the point that everything within me and around me seems to be loud. So, Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In these times of unrest and confusion in our nation and world, I need to be quieted by your love, dear Lord.
Decisions are being made that may well change the way we live and function as a people. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
As the years pass more rapidly than my mind can comprehend, I need to be quieted with Your love.
I cannot keep up. I try, but I seem to fall farther and farther behind. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In times when I fear for my very life and for the lives of my family and friends, I need to be quieted by Your love.
In times when my spirit in under attack by the Enemy to such an extent that I begin to wonder if You are still there, I need to be quieted by Your love. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In times of discouragement when I have failed to live like You have asked me to live, I need to be quieted by Your love.
In times of disappointment over dreams that have faded and when other people have failed to live up to my expectations, I need to be quieted by Your love. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In times of loss and my heart has been broken, I need to be quieted by your love.
In times of sadness when a joyful spirit seems too much to consider, I need to be quieted by Your love. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In times of suffering and pain as the result of another's actions or my own, I need to be quieted by Your love.
In times when others are suffering because of my actions and I am helpless to undo what I have done, I need to be quieted by Your love. And they need to be quieted by Your love. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
In times of distress and anxiety over all that I must do, or feel that I must do, I need to be quieted by Your love.
In times when life is so loud that I cannot hear my own thoughts, I need to be quieted by Your love. Lord, please quiet me with Your love.
Unless You quiet me with Your love, dear Lord, my life will surely be filled with noises that may drown Your voice from my ears. Lord, I need to be quieted by Your love.
When I remind myself that You are with me, when I contemplate Your power, when I consider that You take great delight in me and when I think of You rejoicing over me with singing because of Your love for me, I am quieted. My heart is quieted. My spirit rests. "Lord, You have quieted me with Your love."
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

I love it. : )

Today was a working Sunday. I haven't been having to work Sundays, and I'm afraid I've become rather spoiled. If you have a job that enables you to go to church, be thankful today. : ) Hopefully, I won't have to work another Sunday for a long time.

I worked with Officer N. whose wife has breast cancer and just had to have a radical mastectomy. I wish you could hear him when he comes into dispatch to call his wife. It's so cute. He always starts out with something adorable like, "Hi Gorgeous!" Is that not the sweetest thing? I guess I hear so many men run their wives down, that it is SO refreshing to hear a man who truly treasures his wife. And I've met his wife. She really is a treasure. : )

Well, still no word from the gym about hiring me, so I reckon God doesn't want me there. I did pray for God to show me where he wanted me to be . . .

Dinner's almost ready, so I'd better go. I'm STARVING! It's spaghetti night here for us. : ) Yay--a seratonin booster! ; )

Hope you all have a delicious dinner! : )

Yay! It's finally Friday! The day that I go to sleep and wake up with my husband beside me, knowing he'll be with me all day. : ) And this particular Friday, my Daniel will be coming home from Atlanta. I've missed him BUNCHES! Now, if we can just stay awake until the phone rings saying he's back . . .

That officer still needs your prayers. And I'm still coveting a few for myself as well. I'm ready to feel good.

Busy day at work today. I finally got that evil schedule done. Now, if nobody has any schedule conflicts or gets sick this month . . . (besides me, but I don't count--I don't take sick days unless I am near death)

Well, I'm brain dead at the moment (medicine head), and I've been thinking through the brain deadness all day, so I'm going to just go read awhile and stay awake until Daniel gets back.

Hope you all are well . . .

Yay. Tomorrow's payday. : ) Not that it will last long, but for a few hours I will have money. : )

Well. One of my trainees (not the one I was personally training) quit, and one of my dispatchers gave notice. What a day. So, I'm wrangling with a 24/7 schedule among 4 dispatchers again. Good thing the girl I personally was training is doing so well. She's about ready to fly solo.

Prayers are needed for one of my officers. He's not injured, he just needs prayers. That's all I can say.

And I know sometimes I ask for prayers for the simplest/dumbest things, but please pray that my throat will heal up. I'm so tired of sounding/feeling like this. And you KNOW I don't have time to be sick!

Madeline got an early birthday present yesterday. Her birthday will be next Wednesday. She got a little black kitten, that she named "Buttercups". There's no telling her that the cat is only one "Buttercup". Madeline is determined that the cat is "Buttercups!". Poor little kitten was roaming at the department firing range (NO--she was NOT a target!), and sucker Susie took her home. Madeline's been begging for a pet for quite some time, so here we are. It is an awfully cute little cat.

Daniel is in Atlanta tonight (WAILLLLLL--I miss him something awful!) at the Braves game with the youth group. Tomorrow, they will go to Six Flags over Georgia. Wish I could go . . . But bless his heart, if he didn't call me during the game to tell me all about everything. I hope he never stops calling me to tell me about things that are important to him. : ) (Warm fuzzies!)

I guess I had better go to bed for now. I was so pleased that I got everything done so smoothly tonight, that I've just been typing away, and it's 9:40pm. I'm tired! And even though I have to get up at 4:30am in the morning, Daniel will be getting in at 11:30pm or so at night that night, so no rest for the weary. Oh, well. ; )

Have a restful night! Wishing you all well! : )

I can't ever believe how easy it is to read everyone else's blog and neglect my own.

It's been a good day today. We all got up and went to the park this morning. I set out jogging and jogged 4.5 miles, and walked 3 miles with Momma. I think my body is in rebellion. Good thing I go back to work tomorrow, huh? The youth group was having a park day at 10am, so lucky for him, Daniel was already there and sweaty! LOL. Bless his heart, he was already getting a blister on his heel. John, me and the other two kids had to run over to Taco Bell, because we forgot to pack Daniel a lunch. Then, I ran that out to him on the soccer field. After all that running, I started up some laundry and relaxed in the kiddie pool for an hour. It was so nice. Quiet, warm and cool. Daniel called to be picked up and he and John got busy with yardwork. I had to go pick up a post card. I post regularly on a message board called September Sprouts. When I was pregnant with Malachi, I found that board of ladies all expecting in September of 2003. It was really neat, because anytime you had a question about your pregnancy, chances are, somebody had an answer. If you just wanted to be whiny at your swollen ankles, exhaustion and mood swings, there was always someone to commiserate with. In any case, we've all been posting on that board ever since, and all the ladies there have not-quite 3 year old children now. One of those ladies is redecorating her son's bedroom. She's putting up a huge map, and asking all of us mommas to send postcards from the area we live--so she can put them on that map. I thought that was a very creative idea. In any case, I found a really nice one at the local museum and sent it off. She's going to post a picture when she gets done.

Now, if I can just get Madeline to/from baton class, kids bathed, fed, and in bed by a decent hour, I'll be doing well. And hopefully my voice will be okay tomorrow, because as of now, I sound like a frog! Not cool.

Guess I'll have to take another picture of myself for my blog. I hacked my hair off again. Well, I don't have much left to cut off now. I gave up 8 inches of hair in the back. In the front I lost about 4 inches. It's a modified bob with a stacked back (if I'm making any sense). It's very low maintenance (which really comes in handy at 4:30am), and you wouldn't believe how much cooler it is in this Southern heat! My hair is really thick, but my hair stylist thinned it out a bunch for me. So basically, I just blow dry and go!

Well, the natives are getting restless. Gotta run! Have a nice, slow-paced evening. Nothing like the one I'm having--LOL. ; )

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

Just 6 more hours of work this week . . .
I think I'm on the anvil.
It will get better. It will get better. It will get better.

I've think I've found one of the ways God prunes me. Whenever things begin to go really well, I tend to get cocky. "I'm doing what I'm supposed to, and this is my reward." I really wish I'd quit doing that. Because every time that happens, something happens to put a mirror to my face and show me just how ugly and sinful I can be. I don't know (and it doesn't matter) whether God does this himself or allows Satan to do this (gleefully, I'm sure), but I learn my lesson . . . for a little while. LOL--I can remember wondering (maybe a little pridefully, I'll admit) how the Israelites could possibly keep falling away from God and worshipping idols after God would deliver them from slavery, pestilence, and other choice situations. Guess God wanted me to have a little pity on them. ; )

Tomorrow's gonna be a great day!

Happy birthday, Andy!


To the little brother I prayed for. To the little boy who was loyal to a fault and covered all my sins. To the little boy who fenced with his big sister in the back yard of our beach house (EN GARDE!). To the teenager who whirled his sisters around the dancefloor like a dashing gentleman. To the young man who drove in a broken down old pickup (stopping to put water in it every so many miles) from Texas to Alabama just to be with his family. To the man who caught the fancy of a beautiful redhead and talked her into doing him the honor of becoming his wife. To the loving daddy of an adorable red-headed toddler. To my baby brother whose smile still lights up my day--

I dreaded jogging all this morning. It had been pretty hot the day before--which made jogging not so fun for me. I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee, and I think I was so dreading my jog that my breakfast didn't sit well. LOL--I had worked myself into a state. But y'know what? I got outside and a cold front had blown through. And it was really nice outside. So nice that had I had time, I would have just kept jogging. LOL--and as I'm about halfway around my last lap, my phone rings! It's my son Daniel, who is on a work camp thing with the church. He is having a break and assumes I am having one as well. I've never tried to jog and carry on a cell phone conversation, but I can't say that anymore!
At one point, he asked me, "Mom, what are you DOING?"
I laughed breathlessly and replied, "I'm RUNNING, son!"
He said, "Oh. I was wondering what that sound was."
"Son, that's your mother struggling to BREATHE!" What a funny kid!

Then, Madeline and I took our floats out to the little pool and had some girl time. We had fun! Then, John brought Malachi out for a bit, and we all played in the pool. I will probably have an interesting tan from little 50 spf hands on me. ; )

Madeline got to go to baton/dance class and LOVED it! (LOL--was there any doubt she would?)

Now, we're just kind of hanging out, waiting for Daniel to call and tell us to come pick him up. Then I can go to BED!!!

Good night . . .

Still waiting for B to tell me whether I have a job or not. Leaving it in God's very capable hands. I did go to B's water aerobics class. She gave me a free pass to do her class. It was fun. I haven't done a water class, well, LOL--I guess the last one was the one I taught a week before I had Malachi. The morning my water broke, I was supposed to teach water class that night.

Madeline's teacher finally called. She says Madeline's class will be on Tuesday nights. That works really well with my schedule. No leaving work (after working 12 hours), pick Madeline & Malachi up from daycare, take Madeline to baton class, run home, fix dinner for the boys, run back to pick Madeline up and come back home to bathe/put kids to bed) I'm off all day Tuesday. So, tomorrow, Madeline goes to baton class. She's very excited. She's been a bit bored since school let out.

Daniel is in Decatur at "work camp". He was excited to get to go to that. He loves anything that the youth group does.

My little Malachi just made me proud. He knows the words to the chorus of "Days of Elijah". He grabs one of the ends of Madeline's jump rope and uses it as a microphone. He was singing at the top of his lungs--

Behold He comes
Riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun
At the trumpet call
So lift your voice
It's the year of jubilee
Out of Zion's hill salvation comes.

Very little makes me prouder than to hear my children sing God's praises. I've often said that music fills me with joy--well, hearing my children sing can bring tears to my eyes.

Hope something has given you much joy today . . .
: )

It's a nice Sunday. Not much going on.

We have a new pulpit minister at our congregation. We're kind of excited about that. The interim minister made a good point this morning about praying for our new minister as he bids his previous congregation goodbye. I guess self-centeredly, I never even thought of that. I remember how betrayed I felt when our previous minister told us goodbye. So, this new minister will already have my prayers.

Daniel had a fun time with Officer P at lunch yesterday. : )

Madeline is supposed to start back up with twirling sometime this week. Just awaiting her teacher's call to let us know what day class is on.

I think I have a job at the gym. B (my old boss) doesn't make decisions lightly. I think she wants me to sub some of the water aerobic classes. She told me that the balls I bought for my class were still locked up, waiting to be used (my own thing that I brought to my class to make it different). B also mentioned working a 5am to 1pm shift on Tuesdays. We will see . . .

Yay. BRB. Malachi has just unrolled my yoga mat. : S

Okay, I'm back. Wow. Malachi is really busy today. Daniel is too! I think Madeline is the only calm one. Yikes!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful Sunday and that it is as pretty outside your home as it is ours. : )

Here I am again. Exhausted beyond. I only frequent 6 blogs, but it's all I can do to keep up on work days. I don't mean to complain. I'm just usually to the point that I can hardly think of anything else by the time I make it to writing in my own blog. LOL.

My son Daniel is excited because one of my officers is taking him out to lunch tomorrow. Daniel really likes my officers, but especially this one, because he's such a big kid. Daniel wants to be a police officer when he grows up. Not a bad profession. Kind of scary for a momma. And he'll never get rich from it. But I reckon there's other things than being wealthy out there. ; )

My grandmother (father's mother) passed away today at 12:30pm. Please keep my father in your prayers because of this loss.

I have a job interview tomorrow. Before anyone freaks out, I'm not leaving the PD. I just thought I'd try to pick up some hours to pay off some bills. Besides, it's a job at the gym I used to work at. If I get it, I will probably get a free gym membership. That's pretty cool. No, I'm not planning on going back into instructing. Maybe just front desk or nursery. We'll see what God has planned for me. ; )

It has been a very eventful day today. Very busy at work. I ended up leaving quite a bit of paperwork for the dispatcher who came in after me, because I just never had the chance to get it all done. But bless her heart, A is so sweet about it. Whenever I've had to leave her with extra work from my shift, she just takes the paperwork out of my hands with a smile and shoos me out of the dispatch office, telling me to go spend time with my babies. I have some really good dispatchers working with me.

Well, it's finally quiet. I think Malachi has finally gone to sleep, so maybe I can too. I was so tired today, and the action never stopped. Tomorrow will probably be much more laid back, and I only work till noon.

I hope you all have a really nice evening at home. : )

Well, I've had better days. And now, I'm tired and kind of beat down, so here is my song for tomorrow:

Lord, I hope this day is good
I'm feelin' empty and misunderstood
I should be thankful Lord, I know I should
But Lord, I hope this day is good

Lord, have You forgotten me
I've been prayin' to You faithfully
I'm not sayin' I'm a righteous man
But Lord, I hope You understand

I don't need fortune and I don't need fame
Send down the thunder Lord, send down the rain
But when You're planning just how it will be
Plan a good day for me

You've been the king since the dawn of time
All that I'm asking is a little less crime
It might be hard for the devil to do
But it would be easy for You

Yes, tomorrow will be better. : ) Besides, God uses music to fill me with joy. I'm feeling better already. : )

Well, we got through John's week away in Bentonville. He came back bearing gifts of all kinds for everybody. My neatest prize was a glass cube key chain with his image etched into the center of the cube. So cool! We are happy with our gifts, but ever so much happier to have him home! : )

Madeline's recital went beautifully (how could it do otherwise?). She never dropped that baton once. I was so proud of how well she did. The whole recital was really good. I enjoyed watching all the neat tricks the girls did (no, as of the present, there are no boys in Southern Starlets). The UAB Blazerettes (1 of which was one of our own) performed for us as well. But I must admit that our own high school majorettes from the city I live in were every bit as good as the Blazerettes. They were really good! I hope Madeline sticks with this and gets to be a part of that. Maybe even the Alabama Crimsonettes someday. : ) But if she got a scholarship to perform with the Auburn Majorettes, I reckon I'd have to learn to like orange. ; ) Okay, okay, I enjoy dreaming of my children's possible futures. ; )

Work is going okay. I'm still training a new girl, and another of my dispatchers is training another new girl. I'm trying to see how they do. I'm also still putting out fires here and there. And I really can't complain about the Chief any. So far he's been nothing but fair in my dealings with him. Can't ask for much better than that. ; )

Well, since reading Terri's blog, I knew I'd be stuck on that stupid song for the next week. I thought I might as well put the CD in and sing along with the real song. Only, I messed up and put Hank Sr. in. LOL--now Daniel is dancing around the house singing, "Mo-oo--oa--ning the bl-ues". I laughed and laughed. Indignantly, he asked me what I was laughing at. I asked him did he know he was probably the only 13 y/o in America who had ever even heard that song? And Malachi is strutting along with him, making yodeling sounds. LOL. My kids keep me laughing. : D

Wow--the sun must have been potent today. I only went out for an hour between 2pm and 3pm--not even the strongest rays time of the day. And I'm just a little pink. I waited until Malachi went down for his nap, and then went out to float around in the pool. I know I must look pretty silly floating around on my float in a 10 ft. by 18 in. pool, but it's much cooler than just laying out in the sun. It's the perfect combination of hot and cool. And if I time it right, no one is splashing me. It's just quiet time that I really crave some days.

Madeline and I worked out together today. We did Tae Bo, and had a good time today. It was a nice change of pace, but I think I will be sore tomorrow. I think I used different muscles than jogging or step aerobics. Daniel was disappointed, because he wanted to do step aerobics. I was so surprised. I figured Daniel would really like the Tae Bo--most guys like it better than step aerobics. Go figure.

Well, it's almost pumpkin time. Hope y'all have a great night, Blogville! : )

Your Scholastic Strength Is Inspiring Others

You are great at developing a vision, and getting others to adopt your way of thinking. You are talented at leading, balancing tasks, and helping people work together. You should major in: Counseling Environmental studies Law Social work Political science Nursing

Okay, I'm struggling with something. I have been mistreated by a couple of people for quite some time. ( I know, poor pitiful me--but bear with me!) Here lately, at least one of them really seems to be getting what I feel she so richly deserves. I mean, it really, really feels like the old biblical adage--"You reap what you sow." Here's my dilemma. Am I rejoicing in justice, or delighting in evil? I almost feel guilty that this person is having a hard time, and here I am feeling rather glad about it. Have you all ever felt like this? Did you struggle with it?

I know, I know, I've been away a lot. Madeline's baton twirling recital is this Saturday, and we had one day this week off from practice--WEDNESDAY. So with church and recital practice, we haven't been home much. And John is in Bentonville, Arkansas this week. So, I'm kind of a single parent this week . . .

Got to run! Time for baths and bed!!!