From my My Space account
Hi, my friends! I have attempted blogging in the past few years, but just havn't been consistant with it. I started a blog at My Space last year . I thought I would share my archives with you. I also started a blog on Praize back in 2005. I copied and pasted it on my family website. So I have them scattered around the net. I want to keep them altogether now so I'll archive them at Blogger. No more moving around. I hope you enjoy!
December 21, 2007 - Friday
A Warm and Cozy Story
Hi! I found this in my email and wanted to share it.
THE "W" IN CHRISTMAS
Last year, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I cut back on nonessential obligations--extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production.Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas", I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row--center stage--held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas", a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we all noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down--totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there; why we celebrated the holiday in the first place; why, even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE" And He still is. --author unknownMerry Christmas friends!from Diana1:57 AM - -
December 18, 2007 - TuesdayMy Health
Current mood: peaceful
I wanted to talk about a condition I have in my health. I have Fibromyalsia. It's a syndrome that leaves me feeling really tired and week. And makes my muscles sore. The best way to describe it is like having the flu where you're muscles ache. It also messes with my mind. They call it fibro fog where I just kinda zone out and forget. (Not to be confuzed with menapause fog!) I am on different medications for it, which helps. But the medicine makes me sleepy so I have to nap during the day. But without the medicine I wouldn't feel like doing too much. It has made me depressed, but again with the medicine it takes care of the depresion too. I feel very fortunate. I have alot to be thankful for. God has blessed me so much. I want to be an optimistic person and think positive. I hate feeling blue. Life is just too short to stay down in the dumps. Besides I have to be there for my family. They all depend on me as the matriarch.2:33 AM -
December 16, 2007 - SundayIt’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!
Current mood: cheerful
It's almost Christmas! And I still need to do more shopping! But it'll be easier this year cause I'm giving my kids gift cards, that way I have a whole lot less wrapping to do But the grandkids still get gifts. Speaking of grands--stop by and take a look at my family slide shows. I have the most beautiful daughters and sons in the world It has been snowing here in Missouri and it's sooo Christmasy looking--so beautiful! But I'm concentrating on the real reason for the season--Our saviour Jesus, our greatest gift. Lets give Him glory and honor and thank Him for all He has done!Later friends!Love and Hugs from Diana..2:53 PM -
June 13, 2007 - Wednesday
I'm Back
Current mood: bouncy.
.Hello friends! I have been away most of the time in the last several days. First, my daughter and I had a 4 day garage sale. We made over $300.00! Then we went out of town and our whole family went to an amusement park. Worlds of Fun here in Kansas City. Our handicapped son had a good time on the rides. I like taking him places so he can enjoy life like the rest of us. It's always great to be back home again though. Now I can get busy cleaning house and other responsibilitiesHugs to everyone!Diana3:00 AM
January 28, 2007 - Sunday
Some Major Accomplisments
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Blogging
One of my greatest accomplishments in 2006 was my weight loss. I lost 65 pounds! My doctor was sooo proud of me. She kept asking me how I did it. Actually it was pretty easy. Because of my disabled son moving back home, and me now being his caregiver, my activity level increased quite a bit, and my appetite decreased, I believe because of a certain med my doctor put me onfor diabetes. So, the two combined got the job done. She said by loosing that much weight the diabetes could be cured, so I'm happy about that! But much to my dismay, I have stopped loosing weight now. Now I find I have to work at it harder. So treadmill here I come! When the weather gets nicer, I'll walk outside in my neighborhood. It's safe, nice, and quiet. Me and my daughters have walked together alot around our neighborhood, and have had many mother-daughter talks, which is wonderful. They really open up and share with me. After having 3 boys first, I never thought I would get any girls, but I did, and I'm lucky and blessed to have them.My sons are a blessing too, but they just don't open up like my girls do. Maybe thats just a typical guy thing. I'm proud of my sons. They are smart and good looking. My son Bret, who is the disabled one, graduated from his "special" school. I have pics of him in my profile. I also put a couple photos of me when I was a teenager just to pine over the good ole days when I was young and skinny! If only I knew then....Have a very blessed day friends8:27 AM -
January 26, 2007 - Friday
My First Entry
Current mood: cheerful Category: Blogging
Hello friends. Well, I'll try this again. I had about 3/4 of this entry done, and accidently hit the wrong key, and wham! All my writing was erased. What a bummer! All well, as my second grade teacher use to say: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! So, I was talking about my children. My first is Ronnie. He's 36 and the dad of 3. My second is Shawn and he's 29. He doesn't have children yet, but wants to someday when he finds the right lady. My third is Bret. He's 25, and is disabled. He has a condition similar to Autism called Angelman's Syndrome. I am his caregiver. My forth is Christy. She's 23 and the happy and proud mom of 3 angels, all 3 and under. I'll share more about all my grands later. My last child is Marian. She's 18 and getting ready to graduate this spring. She has her own My Space and I'm awaiting her approval to join her friend list Have a great weekend!From Diana
These are my postings from 2005 when I first started blogging. They were posted at my Praize.com account. I left out the pictures and comments.
Thu, Jul 14th - 10:03AM
The Carnival June 25, 2005
Since this blog is for what's happening in the Hickman family, I wanted to share about our recent visit to the carnival in our town. Its just a small carnival with some rides including pony rides. It was our daughter, and her 2 year old, Austin, my husbund, our disabled son Bret, and me. It was Austin's first time on any kind of rides, and he cried on some of them, even with his mommy with him. Bret went last year, so he knew what to expect. I rode him him on the rides then, but this year his dad rode with him. So here are some pictures of us having fun with our grandson, and disabled son.
Mon, Jul 4th - 9:55AM
"CLIMB TILL YOUR DREAMS COMES TRUE"
Today I will share a Helen Steiner Rice Poem. If anyone has had the gift of encouragement it has been her. And since I have that gift, then it's fitting that I share one of her many inspiring poems with you. God bless you all. I love you and Jesus does too!
"CLIMB TILL YOUR DREAMS COMES TRUE"
by HELEN STEINER RICE
OFTEN YOUR TASKS WILL BE MANY, AND MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU CAN DO...
OFTEN THE ROAD WILL BE RUGGED AND THE HILLS INSURMOUNTABLE, TOO...
BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER,
THE HILLS AHEAD ARE NEVER AS STEEP AS THEY SEEM,
AND WITH FAITH IN YOUR HEART
START UPWARD AND CLIMB TILL YOU REACH YOUR DREAM,
FOR NOTHING IN LIFE THAT IS WORTHY IS EVER TOO HARD TO ACHIEVE
IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO TRY IT AND YOU HAVE THE FAITH TO BELIEVE...
FOR FAITH IS A FORCE THAT IS GREATER THAN KNOWLEDGE OR POWER OR SKILL
AND MANY DEFEATS TURN TO TRIUMPH IF YOU TRUST IN GOD'S WISDOM AND WILL...
FOR FAITH IS A MOVER OF MOUNTAINS, THERE'S NOTHING THAT GOD CANNOT DO,
SO START OUT TODAY WITH FAITH IN YOUR HEART AND"CLIMB TIL YOUR DREAM COMES TRUE"!
"I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, IF YOU HAVE FAITH
AS SMALL AS MUSTARD SEED, YOU CAN SAY
TO THIS MOUNTAIN,'MOVE FROM HERE TO THERE
'AND IT WILL MOVE. NOTHING WILL BE
IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU."
MATTHEW 17:20
NIV
Have a very blessed day with Jesus
Sat, Jul 2nd - 2:36PM
Update on Car Wreak
Well, I promised an update when my daughter crashed her car. She had just gotten it, (a mini van) and 4 days later totalled it. She was so upset! It has taken awhile, but today she finally got another mini van. A 1994 Chrystler Town& Country . With having 2 young children, she needs the room. Both of her children are in car seats. This new one is alot better than the other one was anyway! We told her that God works all things together for good. What satan meant for evil, God turned it around for good for her. Her faith isn't very solid right now at this point, so I believe God has been teaching her about Himself, and His love & mercy. At the beginning of this year, God gave me that scripture--(Romans 8:28) for my family, and He has definately stood by it in more ways than 1. I am so thankful to Him, how he has provided for us when I was unemployed for over a year, and then in April worked it out that the government would pay me to care for my own handicapped son in my home. He is so awesome! I had been praying for a way to earn money at home, and He sure answered that prayer!
Now I am believing Him for healing in my back. I have some osteoarthritis, which can be debilitating at times. So I know I will be writing a healing testimony some day, because He answers prayer!
God bless and keep smiling and trusting in Jesus!
Diana & family
Wed, Jun 29th - 11:04AM
Birthdays
The last couple of months has been alot of birthdays in my family. There were 6 altogether, counting kids and grandkids. I have pictures of some of them I would like to share.
These are my son, Bret and grandson Tyler. They're birthdays are in April. And my littlest grandson Austin. His 2nd birthday was June 13th. That's him in the pic with me and my husbund.
I have alot of pictures of my family that I love to share. There are alot more at my family website called "More Than Conquerors" Please come by and check them out. I will be adding more, as I have more to be developed. God bless and keep trusting Jesus!
Mon, Jun 27th - 6:52PM
Car Wreak
The Lord blessed me and my husbund with a new car about 2 weeks ago after our other one went "kaput". The old one had definately seen it's better days with way over 200,000 miles on it. Well, in the meantime our 21 year old daughter had been driving an old car too. A 1988 Lincoln which our church gave us a couple years ago. We gave it to her to drive back and forth to work, etc. With 2 little ones she needs transportation. Two days after we got our new car, the Lincoln broke down, the transmission went out. She called me crying because she needed to get to work, and didnt know what to do.We went to the car lot and to make a long story short, later that day she drove a 1999 Windstar mini van home. She was so excited, she had never had such a nice car/van before! With her 2 kids-both in car seats she really needed the room.Four days later she was driving down the street when all of a sudden--bang! she hit the back of another vehicle, which had apparently stopped suddenly and didnt give her enough time to stop. Needless to say she was extreamly upset. Thankfully the kids weren't with her and no one got hurt, just a little whip lash. But now she is carless again. She had just paid her first insurance payment so she's good as far as that concerned-with full coverage. So now they (the car lot people, insurance company, etc) are working on getting her into another one, so I'll post an update when that all gets worked out. In the meantime--keep smiling and trusting in Jesus!
Tue, Jun 21st - 8:35AM
Babysitting!
I got to babysit my grandkids today while my daughter worked at her job. Actually this is nothing new. I have been doing it for a few months now. But since Marian (my 16 year old) is out of school for the summer, she took the job over--or so I thought. She gets weary of the job, so good ole mom chips in and helps. But as long as my body holds out, I'm fine with it. I have otheoarthritis in my back which can slow me down. But more about that another day. My grandchildren (the youngest 2) are ages 2 and 3 1/2 months. They are so precious and beautiful. I swell with pride over them. My other 3 grandkids are jewels, too! The oldest is 14 (eek!) They are: Ashleigh14-, Tyler 12, Destinee10, Austin2 & Cadence3 1/2 months.
My children are Ronnie 35, Shawn 28, Bret 24, Christy 21, & Marian 16 and 17 in 1 week. I can't believe I have kids and grandkids that old! My goodness! It seems like only yesterday... well, you know!
My husbund Lowell and I have been married 25 years. It is the second marriage for both of us. Lowell didn't have children from his previous marriage, which only lasted a year.
We are born again, Christians. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is of utmost importance to us. Some people might even go so far as to call us fanatics. But thats fine. I would rather be fanatical about serving and living for God, than a meaningless, superficial, existance and having no hope. But more about that another day too! Have a blessed day with Jesus!
Mon, Jun 20th - 7:02AM
Rain
Rain, Rain go away! It has been raing here in Missouri for a few days now. The other night I was sitting at my comp, minding my own business-actually working on my website, when all of a sudden the wind started blowing extremely hard. I jumped up from my computer chair and ran to the door, thinking we were having a tornado. But thankfully it wasnt. Just strong winds. Later I found out the winds had gotten up to 80 miles an hour. Thats pretty strong! There were several trees in my little town that had lost branches-which were laying in the streets, but no major damage. I have never been in a tornado before, and Lord willing I never will be!
Saturday, June 11, 2005
My First Entry
Well, this is my first entry for my new journal. I havn't ever been into journaling in the past. I guess because I was afraid of exposing my deepest thoughts, for fear of someone knowing the real me. Not to mention just being too lazy to do all that writing. LOL! But I think I'm past that insecurity now. Actually, for the most part, I dont care what someone thinks of me anymore. I am me, and people can take me or leave me--accept me the way I am, or not.I have alot to say, I just hope I can collect all my thoughts and put them into words. I have never been much of a talker, especially around people I don't know very well, or don't feel comfortable being around. I have an intraverted personality. In other words, I'm shy. And I hate that! I have always wanted to be more outgoing. Maybe thats a goal I can work on--something to achieve. The things that I will write about the most are my family, and my relationship with God. These are the most important to me.
