Finally! No news.

Psych! Actually, I thought it might actually happen, but it didn't. And it wasn't my decision. (Phew!)

We considered, and looked at, and drove, an RV which we were considering to LIVE IN! A 27-footer, even! (DO YOU KNOW HOW LITTLE THAT IS?) Shock #1--No bedroom, just a bed above the driver and passenger. Shock #2--NO CLOSET! Just for the record, I WAS WILLING! to give up everything, as Greg has always said that's his dream when it's just him, as he feels he needs hardly anything to exist, and the less the better. I would hate to have to die for him to have his dream fulfilled (sad, eh), so I consented to getting rid of EVERYTHING for him. And he decided no. (Pardon my relief!)

One reason I married this man is because I could tell I'd never be bored: sad, mad--yes, but never bored. He hasn't disappointed me yet. The only time I fell asleep on him I was on medication.

Greg and our pastor are heading home tomorrow from OK. They went to the bible conference there. I MISS MY HUSBAND! Enough! And all I'm saying is this: Prediger didn't need the earplugs.

I was all ready to sew, and then my sewing machine quit on me. Sigh.

The raw food thingie is going pretty well so far. Avocados! I know God was thinking of me when He created those. Delicioso!

Off to read some, and listen to more of the conference. Live WebCam is so awesome!

Thanks for the comments. Two people sure know how to make me feel loved, and you know who you are.

The Experiment

Howdy, loved ones! God has been doing some wonderful things around here lately, and I hope to have great news (fabulous news!) for you soon. (No, I'm not pregnant! ; ) ) And the other news is that I'm trying a raw diet for three weeks. (I'll give you a moment to pick yourself off the floor before I continue.) If you know me, you know I'm Mrs. Skeptic--yeah, right! But the eating is, believe it or not, DELICIOUS! (I didn't believe it, either.) And just about anything you crave that cooked has a raw version that is, I'm discovering, scrumptious, and even more satisfying. Interesting, eh. And I can make raw chocolate, and if you're nice to me, you can have a taste of it. And you won't be disappointed! Ingredients: love, cacao powder, agave nectar (some yummo stuff!), sea salt, coconut oil, AVOCADO (GAK! who knew?), cayenne pepper (double GAK!), and maybe jalapeno! All I'm saying is: You will be surprised.

Is this a spiritual "journey"? NO. Just trying something that may be able to help me with some problems. Mainly, I want to get off blood pressure medicine and horomones in pill form. And guess what? I feel great. Go figure. I'll keep you "posted." (I do love a good pun!) I may even start including recipes, for a not-cook book (I do exceed in cleverness, do I not?). And don't tell anyone (yes, I know it sounds ridiculous!), but I'm massaging greens now. Shhhh. And they like it. They just close their eyes and sigh contentedly. (I will spare you the explanation of breaking down cell walls, leading to ease of digestion....)

And, the funny part is, you haven't heard the most surprising part of all this yet! But I save that for the next post....

I remain, suspensefully yours,
Yours and His,
Vivian, Vivi (why won't people call me Vivi? I like it.) aka Emmie, aka Pee Wee Risse

Rant! and other musings....

Why does the world have to ruin the good words? For example: lover. "Jesus, Lover of my Soul." What's wrong with that?

The world has taken that word to mean the person with whom you are committing adultery. And that makes me angry. It's a beautiful word: the one who loves you. GRRRR!!

OK, I feel better now.

My precious husband has been gone for almost 2 weeks, and will be back on Monday! Yippee! I'm crazy about that guy, and I'm missing him mucho. We do love those happy reunions. I thank the Lord for the time alone with Him--blessed I am. And got plenty of time with others around here, got a few invites, my cousin and her LOVER visited for 4 days, got to play with the baby grands, and managed a few trips to WallaWallaWorld, which is a 7-minute walk, door-to-door. Of course, this 7-minute walk can only occur between the hours of 6 and 7 AM! It was 101 today! And, believe it or not, I was out in it. "Military Appreciation Day" at Camp Bowie. It's a tie whether the highlight thereof was the female warrior joust (please ask!) or the pavillion's shade I borrowed from the National Guard, who so kindly loaned Brother and me their camping chair. (They asked, Wilt thou? And I wilted.)

Brother is really finding his voice nowadays. I LOVE to listen to him! He is the cutest guy. And his BIG SISTER is having dry pants nowadays (go, Kayba!), just like her Emmie. (Aren't you proud of us?)

"Like" is in the air, and that's all I'm saying on that!

Our prediger is preaching a series on discouragement. I'm sure it'll be in my future, but right now I'm not discouraged. It's been a great two weeks, albeit a lonely two weeks without my LOVER, and I am very encouraged.

Our prediger is on Sermon Audio (http://sermonaudio.com/aashepard. What a fantastic website--more than 185,000 sermons on there! And monthly we receive a report of how many "listens" we have had. April: 970! May: 1710!! And this from a church of 22 members and a pastor we truly don't deserve. All glory to God. How could I NOT be encouraged about it? And more than 500 of those "listens" were in China! Isn't that awesome? I'm praying for our dear listeners all over the world. God is so good! Our pastor, I have decided after reading a few books about them, is a modern-day Puritan. I'm loving it, though he HAS gotten quite adept at quitting preaching and going to meddling. And I welcome the "meddling." I need it. Saw a website that said, One sign that you're a Calvinist is reading a book's preface, introduction, dedication, foreword, and table of contents so you can be convicted. I LOVE that! And if you've read those kinds of books, you know what I'm talking about.

So that's my rant, and those are my musings. I miss fellowship dinners every Sunday. I love our little church, though I'm looking forward to God growing us. I love the ministries we have, and the sweet ladies from the nursing home who visit every week. They are precious.

So, a blessed Sunday to all tomorrow. I love you, and remember, nothing says "I love you" like a comment, for, "to comment is to love." Selah.

My Precious Cousin and Her Lover

Aren't they beautiful? Almost 39 years! I love 'em!

Love the Family!

Here are these beautiful folks. The occasion is Johnny's baptism at Memory Lake in Coleman. What a blessing to have them with us! Love those babies!

Grace's LAME move...

See what I mean? An obvious camera trick. I LOVE YOU, GRACIE!

But Can You Do THIS After Eating Chicken, Sausage, Hamburgers, Salad, Mac and Cheese, Beans, and Drinking Tea?????

Here they are! Eat your heart out, Gracie! Top THAT!

Take THIS, little Gracie!

Little Laughing Boy

Is he not the cutest? I could make this boy smile all day long. I'm in love!

New Blog

Hello, Faithful Four! I've got a new blog at http://sovereigngracesermons.com. In it I have links to our pastor's sermons, and comments and discussion on them. Please pray for me in this, and come visit sometime. "To comment is to love." I'll keep Circle of Grace for "newsy" stuff. Thanks for reading!

I AM such a showoff!

My techie, Misty, helped me do it! A slight improvement over the other one, eh. Yippee!

Sorry

I'm over my pity party: worms don't taste that great.

More later. To comment is to love. Thanks for the love. I send hugs to all commentators!

Howdy!

Spring Break is coming up! I just finished my FOURTH round of antibiotics, so hopefully I'll get a break from the bronchitis for a time.

And not much else is going on. I'm going to get on a sewing kick, hopefully. I have lots to do.

What are you reading right now? I'm finishing "Amazing Grace," about abolition, and about 3/4 finished with "Puritians: Their Origins and Successors," which sounds dry, dry, but has actually been outstanding, and even made me cry more than once. Revival! And I just got "The Brothers Karmakov," which looks pretty weighty, literally (ha!) and literarily (is that a word?). I'll let you know.

What are YOU reading?

Lotsa News

What a delinquent. Here's some of the latest.

I'm going to Abilene later to get Mom from the hospital. She didn't need angioplasty, for which I am very thankful. I get my dear mom a little bit longer. She is precious.

Had a great time in McKinney, where I'm treated like a queen. La Hacienda fajitas! And I get to love on the baby grands, to boot.

Sick, sick. Greg is sick--I'll spare you the details. He went to work today but HAS NOT EATEN, so you know he's miserable. And I'm getting sick again--the nasty cough is back. I am VERY thankful for feeling great for a whole month, after being sick for the previous 3.

I'm enjoying our newest little guy. I've got a new move called "Joseph in the Carseat." I'll demo on request. Miggy remains the great little sis.

I get Principessa around for a bit, as her house is being worked on. How great is that!

This is dull, dull. But I do think that Grace likes to read this. So here it is.

Love to all!

Lotsa Babies!

Here are the three same-aged cousins, including Miss Droopy Drawers in the middle. They were born in March, June, and July, and will all turn 2 this year. Whee! They are precious, and each so different from the others. Miss Miggy (Droopy) is the boss, as she's the oldest, and the bossiest. To the left is Bemmie, who is Miss Mellow, as she just takes whatever comes. And Miss Abs, on the right, just does her own thing. She's otherwise known as Poncho Abby. (No relation to "Villa.") We also have two more rounds of baby grands: Sarah and Anna are 3 months apart, and Luke and our new baby Jojo are 5 months apart. Am I loving this?! Get-togethers are only getting funner! God is good.

PS To the Risse/Dodson couples of child-bearing ages and capabilities: We may need 2 more boys for a little more balance here. (Just thought I'd put my order in early....)

(You may recall I originally intended my blog to be for spiritual encouragement and edification. Sigh.)

Lots of good news!

WELCOME to our newest baby grand, Joseph Daniel, born this morning at 6:36! He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19.5". Precious! Have a few pics for now; more will certainly follow. God is good.

In a Remarkable Turn of Events...

...I am the sick one, and Greg is WELL! Glory to God! He started working a new job on the 7th, teaching at Brownwood's charter school, just 1/2 mile away. I was expecting him to be worn out and haggard-looking when he got home from his 11-hour days there, and he comes in almost BOUNCING! EVERY day so far! I am so thankful I could cry. There was a time there where he looked like death-warmed-over, and that's not an exaggeration.

He has said before, If you could only know how I feel (asthma) for 5 minutes.... Well, now I know how he feels, but since the end of November. I even have my own inhaler now. I haven't been able to shake this bronchitis, and just had my third trip to the doctor.

I'm pretty sure it DOESN'T work like this, but if I could trade Greg being sick for me being sick--I would GLADLY do it! I'm purposing not to complain about this. I am just so thrilled to see him feeling so good--it really is a wonder! Glory to my great God! Those kids have ENERGIZED him (or he gets home all fired up, one of the two!).

Joy, joy! So I'm "enjoying" being home, resting, trying to get well. My iron died today, so I have to run get another tonight (seeing as Wal-Mart is right in front of us). I enjoy ironing, and this is a good time to get caught up.

Also, I'm reading lots! And you know I love to read.

More later; maybe even some pics.

And CONGRATS to the dear Helwigs as they welcome little Caleb Walker to the family.

God is good.

Welcome Home to Me!

South Dakota was wonderful! Little Luke is a joy, the girls are so big and so precious, and Mike and Misty are the Hospitality Reigning Monarchs! The weather was exquisite (translate: COLD) and the scenery was lovely (translate: SNOW).

But, seeing as I can't stop coughing, I think a trip to Angelo tomorrow to the base is in order. I am miserable, cough-wise, but the good news is that's the only thing going on. (Hard to tell if you have a fever if you also have hot flashes!) They are great on base, so hopefully I'll get some help. Got some stuff to take care (somewhat) of the symptoms, but I need the real stuff to knock this out. I've been like this for more than 2 weeks.

Sorry we'll miss the nursing home visit tomorrow. Precious folks there, and we haven't seen our pastor in 2 weeks. Get to see his sweet wife, too, who had to go to Germany during the same time.

Our dear Sarah made some awesome jambalaya for our return home yesterday--delicious! It was SO good to see my Early family again. And Miggy liked her Mushabelly (should've gotten Greg one), which is a furry ball that looks like a ladybug and makes a chattering-type sound when you squeeze its belly. It's named Leena.

Spell-Check is saying "should've" isn't a word?! Who knew?

Off to bed so I can call early and get an appointment tomorrow. Love to all! The love must be going somewhere else, as I'm not getting any comments except for my "old faithfuls," who know I am so thankful for them.

South Dakota Risses

Aren't they precious? Little Luke is in there somewhere. He sleeps a lot, so I haven't been able to have a good photo shoot with him. It's beautiful here, everyone(with the exception of yours truly) is in Minnesota, as I started to get sick (fixing to be in full bloom, probably tonight). They are going for Misty and the children to meet Greg's parents. They've not seen one of their great-grands on Greg's side, and that equals 10. I hope they're having a great time together. Must be, as they won't call me back. I have a car, snow, medicine, and reading material and prayer requests. Should keep me busy. And the computer--yay!

More later, as El Bloggo won't let me post pics each time I try. And I'm only in the mood to try twice.

Miss us! We'll be back next week. I miss my Early Dodsons and the apartment, but it's GOOD to be here! As Miggy says, HOME! HOME!

Later!

I'm gonna miss almost all of you as we head to South Dakota tomorrow. Please pray for our pastor's wife--her mom is dying in Germany, and she's flying there tomorrow to say good-bye to her. How sad. Pray for the words she needs as she ministers to her mom and her sister, and others in the family. For salvation!

And please pray for our trip--haven't checked the weather yet, but we ARE going to spend the night with the baby grands and their parents on the way! Yes!

We're not gonna miss the South Dakota Risses, as we're gonna go see them! A new grandson. If I'm true to form, I will burst out crying when I see him, and Misty and I will have us a good cry together. God is good!

Love to all. Miss us!