HAPPY NEW YEAR

New Year's Eve, time to reflect on the year that is nearing completion.  My reflections include simply being so grateful for a year of being close to family and everyone in my family having good health.  I'm also thankful for all my friends and my church family and all the wonderful things that transpired during the year 2012.

As we get ready to begin 2013 I only want to continue to make my number one goal in life to grow closer to God.  By doing so I will be able to know what he has planned for me each day and I will have a better chance of accomplishing His plan for me.  This way of living my life was instilled in me during my reading of Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life".  It is based on Ephesians 2:10 which states, "For we are God's workmanship,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  I want merely to understand exactly what those works for me are and to do them.  I am so thankful for Rick Warren for helping to make God's plan for each of us so clear in his book based wholly on the Word of God.  My life has been so much fuller and clearer since I was able to read and study this amazing book.  I'm looking so forward to the new year and growing closer to Him and hopefully accomplishing all the wonderful plans He has prepared for me each day.

We had a beautiful snow two days ago.  It is still covering the ground, the trees and the rooftops.  It is so beautiful and sets a wonderful white and  wintery backdrop for the deer when they visit our feeder.  Last night we watched seven or eight deer as they jockeyed for position at the feeding chute.  This morning the dogs alerted me when a small straggler tried to have a little corn for breakfast without having to share.  I hope they all get what they need to make it through the remainder of the winter weather.

I am afraid I might explode from football overload before the bowl season and NFL playoffs ending in the Super Bowl are complete.  I was happy to see the Bengals win yesterday. I enjoyed watching the Packers game and hope Randall Cobb is healed before next week's replay against the Vikings.  I was sorry that the Packers couldn't pull out a victory as I still have an Illinois past and was hoping for da Bears to continue their season.  I'm also pulling for the Broncos and Mark still loves the Patriots.  I hope the New York Jets are happy with the way their season ended, as they never gave Tim Tebow so much as a shot at doing what he does best.....helping his team succeed.  I hope that the Jacksonville Jaguars will finally see the obvious, Tim Tebow will help this struggling Florida franchise succeed.

Things are looking up for UK basketball, women's and men's.  UK football is also making strides towards the possibility of something positive.  I'll continue to follow all things Big Blue in 2013.

In the meantime, I simply want to wish you a safe and prosperous new year.  Have a great day and Happy New Year!  luv, Susan

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry (day after) Christmas!  I am so thankful to have all the hustle and bustle of the season nearing an end.  Not yet, of course, but soon.  I truly hope you had one of your merriest Christmases ever.  We absolutely did.  Mark and I know how truly blessed we are and simply hug each other with the knowledge that we have each other and our family is all healthy and safe.  It was an awesome Christmas indeed.

One of my best Christmas presents was coming out of Sunday school and seeing Mark with two of my most special church family members, Billy and Joe.  I didn't think he would make it to church as his back is really out of whack right now.  But there he was in his nice white shirt and red tie that looks so festive.  If you look closer, you'll see it's red with fishing lures on it, but from away, it looks Christmasy.  Anyway, what more could I ask on the Sunday before Christmas, than to have my "love" right there beside me at our last service before Christmas.  In Henderson we always made it to Christmas Eve service, but here in Central Kentucky, family has just taken over.  Also, having young ministers at my church, they need to travel away to see their family as well.

The other reason for having such an awesome Christmas was having both my children under our roof for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  Wow, talk about an awesome feeling.  It has been a special time.  My sisters and I are so blessed to have our parents able to come to each of our houses and have special family time together.  My mom and dad came Christmas morning and had a breakfast with the kids and us and our four little dogs, as well as Christina and Joe's little Beaulah, the great dane.  We did miss not having Joe here, but he was visiting family in Texas, so we understood that.  Hopefully next year when they're married they'll have it all figured out.

If the weather holds out, I'll be meeting my sisters and mom for a movie and lunch today.  It's just part of our tradition to get into Lexington and do something together the day after.  We used to shop for gift wrap, cards and Christmas sweaters, but now we just want to be together and do something, like a movie.

Mark is back at work, even though his back is killing him.  He has the strongest work ethic I've ever seen.  I hope it's a light day for him, as well as a short day.  I was sad to not have Country Christmas on sirius radio, but I can still listen to traditional Christmas and I have my own cd's.

I do have to add that the Christmas season got even sadder than when i last blogged.  Our friends' little granddaughter, Sadie, passed away on December 21st.  This was not the Christmas miracle we all had been praying for.  I can't even begin to describe the deep sadness that has befallen all of us who know and love this special family.  But, they continue to lift us up because they are celebrating the fact that Sadie is no longer suffering from all her earthly health problems.  No, she is running, laughing and playing in heaven and sees the beautiful streets of gold that we can only imagine.  We hurt for the family that lost this little angel, but we rejoice in knowing that we'll see this sweet girl when we get to heaven ourselves.  As we pray for their comfort and strength, we also pray for all our own family and friends to know the assurance that comes with knowing our wonderful savior, Jesus Christ.  May we continue to show His love in all that we say and do.

I hope you had the Merriest of Christmases ever.  Please, remember the reason for this season and take the time to let Him give you the greatest gift of all, His love.  Have a great day, Susan

SAD CHRISTMAS SEASON

Sirius radio has me spoiled with their station called Country Christmas.  I have been listening to Alan Jackson, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts, just to name a few these past weeks.  The combination of Christmas Carols depicting the arrival of our Savior into a lowly Bethlehem stable and the old timey favorites like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer sung by Gene Autry, give me just the right mixture of holiday delight and Christmas awe. 

I'm happy to report that I am pretty much on schedule for all my holiday responsibilities.  I have plenty of decorations up, including the little tree that my Mom gave me several years ago.  It's such a blast to the past when I hang up the little drummer boy ornament she gave me for Dustin and the little jingle bear for Christina.  There's a lot of ornaments that depict many of their favorite things throughout the years.  We also have a few fish ornaments for Mark here and there and even a little sewing mama ornament for me.

Last night I put together a big bowl of cookie dough.  Today's plan is to bake cut out Christmas cookies and decorate them.  I'm hoping for a visit from Dustin, as icing cookies and sprinkling colored sugar is actually a two man job.  He's often helped me with this through the years, though not since he moved out some twelve years ago.  

Kentucky basketball continues to struggle with the new class of fabulous freshmen, but I'm sure they'll come around eventually.  Our new football coaching staff is already making numerous steps in the right direction.  Hopes are high for both programs.

Our Sunday school class has merged with the men's class for this advent season.  We've been discussing whatever Advent material strikes one of us during the week.  We've had many soul searching discussions concerning the Christmas season.

I have to say that it's been difficult to be merry this year from time to time.  I have dear friends who have been facing a battle with cancer this past year and now face an even scarier fight with their granddaughter being diagnosed with leukemia.  This family is remaining strong in their faith, knowing that God is in control.  They are an inspiration to all their friends and family.  And this past week has been so very hard because of the incident in Connecticut.  I looked immediately at the map only to realize the community of Newtown is the opposite corner from the corner of the state I used to travel through every day on my way to work in Webster, Massachusetts from Chepachet, Rhode Island.  I'm comforted only by the thought of these sweet children and their protectors being welcomed into the loving arms of Jesus Christ as they left their earthly lives behind.  May God place his loving arms around this broken community and nation.

Yesterday was awesome, weatherwise.  Pudge, Riff and I took our five mile walk and then some.  Today is raining early and possibly we'll have snow later tonight.  I hope you are enjoying this reflective time of year and finding the peace that comes with knowing God uses everything in this world for His ultimate plan of redemption and eternal life with Him for those who believe.  Have a great day and stay safe.  luv, Susan

November Was A Time To Be Thankful

December has arrived.  I'll try to not let the panic set in and instead take a deep breath to settle my soul and appreciate this most awesome time of year.  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  Mark and I are so very blessed to celebrate with two loving families.  Having my family here is stressful for me, but oh so worth it.  Once I know my parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, children, nephews and loved ones are all seated at the table with an assortment of turkey, dressing and the like, I am filled with such a feeling of gratitude for the opportunity that Mark and I have hosting this holiday of Thanksgiving.  We are a truly blessed family with good health, loved ones, jobs, homes and the privilege of living in an awesome country that allows us all our freedoms, not the least of them being the ability to worship our loving Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It was a wonderful day to be thankful.

Our family fun doesn't end there, however, oh no.  We continue our appreciation for food and family as we make our way south to Florida where we enjoy the second family Thanksgiving meal for the Florida Libby's and our NYC Libby.  This will be at Mark's parents' house with younger brothers and families.  I especially enjoy this meal because I don't have to prepare it.  Sister-in-law Judy fixes a huge turkey dinner for her whole family and always prepares enough for this second Libby celebration, as well.  Again, we are thankful for many, many things as we reflect on how we have been blessed during the year.  I am so very thankful to our loving God who has watched over, protected and showered the Six family and the Libby family with so many blessings!  May we continue to be grateful to Him each and every day of the year.

I might say that we are also thankful for this wonderful weather.  It was so nice in Florida, but it has also been warm and mild since coming back to Kentucky.  Mark and I took Riff and Pudge for a nice walk yesterday afternoon.  Today Mark is fishing and I'm gonna get out my Christmas stuff.  We actually got our greenery and lights out on our deck railing before we left for Florida, so I just need to concentrate on getting the greenery and white lights out for the interior.  I'll also get out all my nativities and the already half decorated little tree that I put out each year.  We really changed our tree tradition when we moved to Georgetown.  We previously would get a cut tree or a live tree in Henderson.  We tried that our first year in Scott County, but realizing the time and effort going into this task was hardly worth it since most of our holiday is spent at the homes of the rest of the family.  My kids, those two adults to everyone else, don't seem to mind the downsizing of the Christmas tree and I sure can put my time to other important things like walks.

This is the Advent Season when we are preparing our lives and our hearts for the arrival of our Blessed Savior, Jesus.  I will also be preparing something for my Sunday School class in the morning.  We discussed our wishes to spend these next sessions on doing just that, getting our minds and spirits prepared to celebrate His birth in a stable and all that it meant and still means for each of us today.

In addition to that, I'll also find some time today to tune in to the UK game against Baylor.  When we played them last year in the NCAA tourney, they turned out to not be nearly as formidable an opponent as I had feared.  Unfortunately, this year, I fear that we are the team that has been overrated.  I love our team, but they are struggling quite a bit and I just hope and pray that they can continue to improve and learn how to work together as a team and cohesive unit before too much further into the season.  It would be nice to not lose every starter at the end of the year, we'll see how it goes.

And as far as UK football, I am saddened at Joker's departure.  I believe all those fair weather fans are looking forward to our new coach, Mark Stoops.  I trust that our AD was true to his word and got us a head coach with good character.  I also pray the fans give him and his staff the time it will take to rebuild the program.  I'm always more impressed when I see these Kentucky players exhibiting exemplary lives after their playing days, then I know the coaches were successful.  I believe Rich Brooks and Joker Philips were both successful coaches when you see how their former players are living their lives.  Good luck, Coach Stoops!

I hope you had a Thanksgiving surrounded by family and loved ones.  Enjoy this special season ahead.  Stay safe and have a great day!  luv, Susan

PS  I want to add that we are especially thankful at this time because we are currently planning a family wedding for 2013!  Christina and Joe will be getting married, hopefully in the Summer.      

SUPPORT OUR SENIORS SATURDAY

Hello, Winter!  I was holding onto the last of my Summer with both hands, trying so hard to not let go, but it was yanked from my grasp yesterday as I dug up my still blooming Gerbera Daisies and brought them into the house.  After covering them many times I finally cried "uncle" and saved them from the inevitable killing frosts that have become a morning ritual in Scott County.  I have to admit, early morning frost covering everything is beautiful, but knew these poor plants didn't stand a chance if they remained out.  I can only hope and pray they'll survive the winter and be willing to bloom again come Spring.

This morning, it is bone chilling cold.  I hope to get some cleaning and preparations implemented for this coming Thursday.  It would be nice to have most of my house cleaned for the rest of the family come Thanksgiving Day.  Maybe this year I can actually have the great room cleaned and decorated before the first family members arrive and not hand out the dusting cloth and pledge to them as I unpack the pilgrim and Indian wooden decorations.  Yes, I actually did that one year, Martha Stewart, I'm not.

I really hope the temperatures climb up into the fifties and the sun continues to shine so I can take Riff and Pudge for a walk.  I'd like to see if most of the leaves have come down since our last walk days and days ago.  I'm especially hoping for a nice day Saturday so we can really enjoy the last of the tailgating at Commonwealth Stadium.  We need really nice weather for Senior Day.  Our last chance to let these kids know that the fans support them wholeheartedly, even though the attendance at the last game didn't illustrate that at all.   The attendance at the Vanderbilt game was only 18,885.  I am proud to say that I was one of those 18,885.  The newspaper and television reporters failed to add that the weather was horribly cold and raining pregame and during the game.  Even though I'm sure many fans stayed away to let our Athletic Director, Mitch Barnhart, know their lack of support for head coach, Joker Phillips, I'm sure some just weren't up to sitting out on wet, cold, aluminum bleachers  to watch the game.  Again, I hope the fans show their support of these young men and come out Saturday to let them know they are appreciated for their loyalty to the team and their hardwork during their years with the program.

My other team, the Paris Greyhounds finished up their season by making the playoffs and winning their opening playoff game in years at home.  We look forward to next season as the program has officially been turned in the right direction.  And as far as the pro teams I follow, it continues to be a fun ride watching the Broncos and the Packers from week to week.

This coming Sunday we will be having our last session on our Beth Moore Bible Study called Stepping Up, a journey through the Psalms of the Ascent.  Our discussions on the study of the scriptures of Psalm 120-134 have brought us along a journey of pilgrims making our way through this world while we strive to grow closer to our God.  Just as the Israelites made their journeys to Mt Zion for each of the Great Pilgrimage Feasts, we make our own pilgrimage back to our loving and merciful God.  Praise God for wanting us to grow closer to Him and for those friends and fellow pilgrims with whom we share the journey.

My doggies are reminding me that they need attention, so I will offer my hope that you are enjoying whatever journey you are on and hope you have a great day and stay safe.  luv, Susan  

 

BLESSINGS

It has been a busy month of October for me and my family.  We lost a very dear, close friend and my Mom has been having health problems.  The hardest part was that these two things overlapped on us.  Anyway, we will miss our friend, Catherine.  She was one of the most faithful of my friends.  She knew that no matter what transpired on earth, God would make it right.  She was wanting to go home to be with her Lord ever since her husband, Walt, left eight years ago.  Walt and Catherine were two of the most loving, family oriented people I knew.  They were the salt of the earth, always fun to be around, always joyful and filled with love for God, each other, their family, friends and all they were in contact with.  We've missed Walt for these past eight years and it is so comforting to know they are back together and with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And I'm happy to report that my Mom is doing well.  After a week of doctors visits, procedures and a two day hospital stay, she is resting at home and feeling so much better.  Thank you, God.

This is such a beautiful time of year here in Central Kentucky.  The colors of the trees, the horse farms and the beautiful backdrop of the Fall sky create vistas begging to be captured, whether in my mind or a photographer's lens.  Many times during my drives around Paris and Georgetown, I'm so tempted to just pull over and take it all in.  Every time I get to walk I'm just wishing that I had the ability to keep this season from marching on and keep it here until Spring.  Oh well.

I have been enjoying the football these past weeks, but I'm afraid most of the teams that I follow have been having really tough times.  I plan to continue cheering for UK and pray for these young men, especially that there are no more injuries.  After many of the NFL teams I like got beat this past week, it was good to see the second half of the Bronco's game last night as Peyton Manning pulled off his greatest comeback ever.  I actually went to bed once they got within three, cause I figured he had it all figured out and they were headed for a comeback win.  It was fun to turn on Sportscenter this morning and see that he did just what I had anticipated last night.  It's fun to see former UK players Jacob Tamme and Wesley Woodyard experiencing something that awesome.

I'm continuing to follow my UpperRoom readings each morning.  They always give me something encouraging and inspirational to help get me through the occasional rough day.  We are also nearing the end of our Beth Moore Bible Study at church.  The Psalms of the Ascent ( Psalm 120-134 ) are an awesome place to go for the opportunity to grow closer to our God.

And because it is such a beautiful Fall morning, I need to get my act together today for some fall cleaning in addition to a country walk.  I hope you are able to enjoy your day as well.  Stay safe and take care.  luv, Susan

FALL AND FOOTBALL

October is here!!  It is now okay to put out your pumpkins, ghosts and Halloween decorations.  I have a problem with jumping the gun on holidays, especially Halloween.  Can't we just enjoy September for it's own merit.  It is the beginning of Fall and school, harvesting and apple picking.  Do we really have to pass all of that by and start displaying witches and giant spider's webs on our front porches?  I know many say that Halloween is their favorite holiday, so they get a little carried away.  I have to admit, it's not my favorite, even though I've enjoyed my fair share of trick or treating, costumes and Halloween parties.  I think we've gone way too far with the dark aspect of the holiday.  It used to be cute and lighthearted. Today, there are way too many exploitations of the evil associated with the day referred to as all hallowed's eve.  My first real awareness of this was when we took our small children to what I thought was a "fun celebration" called Boo at the Zoo in Evansville's well known zoo.  After filing by cages filled with chain saw killings and maniacal scenes of gore and vile, I immediately realized, this was no place for me or my young children.  Don't be fooled by the glorification of the dark things of this world.  Halloween can still be fun and carefree, make thoughtful decisions about how you celebrate this season.

If you weren't in attendance at the latest UK football game, you missed one of the most exciting first halves of a David taking on Goliath examples ever.  It was a really wild time watching these mostly young freshman take on a very experienced and highly rated Gamecock team.  After our defense put on an amazing first defensive three and out possession, we were hopeful that this game might not be so terrible after all.  However,after we lost our very talented and capable starting quarterback, Maxwell Smith, on our second offensive play of the game, I thought we were in for a bloodbath of a one sided game.  It was stunning and totally exhilarating to be part of the experience when our true freshman quarterback came into the game.  Jalen Whitlow was able to lead our team to the most amazing first half ever and we went into the halftime with a lead over the sixth ranked team in the nation.  Wow, it was awesome.I don't have a lot to say about the second half, but I'm looking forward to more of the first half performance this coming Saturday as the Wildcats take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Commonwealth Stadium at noon.

I've been so blessed to be back in Central Kentucky.  It's wonderful to be able to see my family and hometown friends on a regular basis.  This coming Friday night I'll be going to see Paris take on Frankfort at Blanton Collier Field.  I don't expect to see a repeat of the 1973 game between the district foes, when Paris won by a field goal kick and eventually went on to win the Class A State Championship, but I do look forward to seeing more friends and former classmates cheering on the Orange and Black.

I hope you're enjoying the glorious season of Fall while it's here.  I'm not ready to even think of what's yet to come.  Please don't jump ahead to the next season without truly experiencing this one.  Take care and stay safe.  luv, Susan