We had a storm on Mon. the 16th and as you can see in the pictures we had hail. The girls were fascinated by it, but Sammi couldn't understand why I wouldn't let her hold her hand out to catch the hail. OUCH!! The hail was about the size of marbles.

I had my weight watchers meeting last night, I couldn't stay for the meeting so I just weighed in and then we had to go to Walmart and Bob Evans for supper. We have coupons where the kids eat free except the coupons expire at the end of the month. Last week I gained 2.4lbs I was not happy. My excuses were a 2nd degree sunburn on my shoulders and other womanly things. This week I lost 6.6lbs so I was much pleased with that. All together I have lost 29.6lbs and I put on a pair of 16avg jeans and though they were a little tight I could sit down in them and not feel like my stomach was being pushed into my spine. Considering I did wear a 20W in jeans, I like knowing that I have come down 3 or 4 sizes in clothes. I can't wait to try on a dress to see where my size will be. However I am running into problems, having always worn Women's clothes and always bought the clothes that had a W next to the size, I am not used to the sizes when I look at clothes at yardsales. Last week I bought a pair of jeans but when I got them home I couldn't fit in them even though they were 18's. I didn't realize that 18 husky's are boys jeans. At least when I go down in shirt sizes I know that they run S M L and XL. Could be interesting!!!

Bethany at the end of school had to take a 'Stanford Achievement Test'. It compared her test scores to those also in Kindergarten in both Public schools and other Christian schools. Her grade equivalent is in the 2nd grade in most of her subjects and her averages were either normal or above normal. We are very proud of Beth and are pleased with the school that she is in. She was also tested in Bible and came out with an advanced rating.

I would greatly appreciate everyone's prayers at this time for the Tillis family. My Great-Aunt Ruth passed away after a very long brave fight against cancer. She passed away last night. Her husband's name is Amos and she is Bill & Naomi Tillis' sister-in-law. She had 5 kids plus grandchildren and extended family. Thanks for your prayers.

I have lost 25.4 lbs so far on my weight watchers. I earned a new charm for my key chain. I thought that I would have not lost very much this week because of Sunday dinner at church. I couldn't count the points for the food, but I lost 3.4 lbs. Yeah! I have 46.6 lbs to go. My new 10% is 19 lbs, I've lost 4.4 lbs of it. I have till Sept. 1st but I hope to be there before then.

The girls are good. It has really rained here the last few days. And the thunderstorms have been awsome. Except the ones at 3:00 am when I am sleeping. Earl is still waiting on going to 1st shift, he is waiting on papers to be signed. A friend of our neighbors found a Mama deer hit and dead by a car, next to it was her week old male fawn. The people are raising it till it is old enough to go out on its own. The girls got to pet the deer which they loved.

My Bethany is growing up!!

She lost her first tooth on the bottom!

Yes I cried when she wasn't watching. I didn't even cry when she went to pre-school or Kindergarden.

What a week!!

First Fri and Sat I helped my neighbors (both upstairs and next door) move. Then Mon. for 4 hours I cleaned next doors house. Then Tues. my Dad had to have my Mom's dog put to sleep and I helped him bury her. Not to mention helping Bethy deal with that loss. Then Wed. I cleaned my Dad's house for 5 hours because of the Alumni dinner this weekend. Wed at school the teacher asked me to help her by cutting out apples that had the kids pictures lamanted on them. 10 x 10-15 pictures equals 100-150 pictures, which had to be done by Thursday night. My thumb is numb from cutting, but I enjoyed looking at all of Beth's schoolmates Then tonight I had my Weight watchers and Beth graduated from Kindergarten.The good news is that I have officially lost 21 lbs and earned my first 10% charm holder. I was excitied but was really focusing on Beth and her night.

Here Beth is receiving her diploma from the teacher that will be her teacher for the next two years. Mrs Asbek (Mrs.A)

I was very proud of Beth. She was one of the top readers in her class.

I am so thankful that I am on vacation for at least tomorrow.

Tonight was my weight watchers meeting, I lost 3.4 lbs which brings me up to

17.4 lbs. One day at a time. I have 3.6 lbs to go till I have lost my first 10%. Then I have to make a new goal. I haven't decided what I will make it, probably the next 10% until I get to my goal weight. which I found out was 113-141 Oh brother heaven help me.

By the way our bird died after two days of worm feeding. yuck. Earl was sad that "his patient didn't make it." We have finally got rid of the last of the puppies we had for sale, but we still have three kittens. Texas, Boots and AJ.

I had to tell you a story that happened with Sammi. Since the girls were old enough to know what worms and snakes were I have used them to explain carnality. I told them that they have a worm on the inside and when the disobey or are mean ect.. their worm grows into more of a snake and that only by being good can the snake return to a worm but that someday Jesus will remove the "worm/snake" if they ask Him. When I told Sammi the other day that her worm had grown into a little snake she just cocked her head and looked at me. In a few moments Sammi cried out 'ouch' and grabbed her arm, I asked her what was wrong. She looked at me and said

"Your snake bit me"

I couldn't even refrain from laughing. Could you have?

I thought that I would show you what is upstairs in my bathroom in a box thanks to my cat and husband. Earl heard a cat going after something and went out side and found the 3 week old baby robin trying to hop away from the cat. He brought it in and waited for me to come home with Beth. I had to get a box and then go find worms so that we (Earl and ME!!!) could feed the bird. I could cream my husband. Needless to say I wear gloves where the great outdoors man my husband just catches it with his bare hands.

This had better not be what he is getting me for Mother's Day

Well here it is another Friday morning.

Last night I was totally bummed out for only losing 1.4 lbs for the week.

Bringing my weight lost to 14 lbs all together. So my newest stratgy is to stop eating after 7pm. I was still having snacks to make sure that I would get my points in.

Beth only has 9 days of school left, she is very excitied. One of those days she is going to Old Man's Cave here in Ohio. I had to fill out 15 blue letters with names of family and friends for pledge money or she would not have gotten to go. Beth was very concerned that I might not have 15 friends of family. haha It didn't matter if the people actually sent them back just that I had to surrender 15 people's names for the beg-a-thon. I know the school is a good reason just sits wrong in my craw. Another day she will be going to have field day down here which is going to include water guns and water balloons.(Gotta remeber to take towels and dry clothes that day)

Sammi is just happily going on her merry way. Doesn't like it when Sissy is gone for the morning. I don't dare tell her that Beth will be gone for all day next year. But hopefully Sammi will have her hands full on Mon Wed Fri in the morning anyway. I am going to go today and sign her up for headstart. It is earlier that I did Beth but if I am going to work on those days then I have to find someone for Sammi Hey do any of the Aunts or nieces of nephews want to move to Ohio to be my Nanny. hehe Better yet why don't the Bickfords just move home to the Adirondacks. Well this is enough for this time. I have to go get Beth ready to face her day. Usually on Fri. I tell her tomorrow you can sleep in, she never does, but somehow that helps on Fri. morning when the eyes don't want to open

My total is now 12.5 lbs for those of you wondering

Bethany got to sing at the National Day of Prayer

Here is a picture of the Kindergarten class, there are 10 kids. One is missing because of strep throat

Earl and Sammi got to be there also. Earl tried to get up and come closer to the front but Sammi wouldn't hear of it.

Sammi's 3rd Birthday

Beth got her some bubbles that blow themselves.

Sammi chose to go to Wendy's for her birthday lunch.

Blowing out her homemade birthday cake.

(1/2 a sheet cake at the store is $40. I don't think so, besides I used egg beaters instead of eggs for my husband's cholesterol and applesauce instead of the oil for my diet)

We had to take Beth to the Dr. on Sammi's b-day. She came home from school crying with an ear ache (not like her at all) She has another bad ear infection. Earl and I have decided that we are going to invest in some good ear plugs for when the girls wash their hair in the bath tub. I believe that is where all the germs are coming from. They both take their bath together, so twice the germs(and twice the drownded bathroom).

3.6 lbs

Which brings the total up to 9.4 or some weird number. I just round up to a healthy 10 haha.

I am doing this post at 12:30 am because my loving husband came home and woke me up once he decided to come to bed and talk to me for 5 min. Unknown to him Beth had already woke me up twice. I had been asleep at 9:45 (very unusual). The girls had gone to bed early after playing hard at Beth's school talent show tonight. (pictures to follow tomorrow) So I did too. I don't know about the rest of you but I can't be woke up too often or my brain goes into thinking mode and not normal thinking mode but suspicious thinking mode. I tend to analogize every little thing. So here I sit hoping my brain will shut off, listening to Earl say in the bedroom "Where did she go and why is she awake at this hour" Good questions Honey, (I think I'll go make sure he's awake and explain it to him, with my shoe)

Well here it is another day for my weight watchers meeting. Monday was the only day that I didn't get to walk my 3 miles. So when Earl came home early from work Tuesday, I fixed his supper and headed out the door to get my walk in. I was going to do my normal walk but as I got to the end of it I had started to think about somethings and got (worried, aggravated, confused)well pick one. So I kept walking. I wound up walking 5 miles in a loop of country roads and was gone for 2 hours. The next day I really felt every step that I took. I also get to count my activity points. Usually I only earn 3 points but that day I earned 8 points. You can eat those points that you earn or not, I choose not

The only bad food that I had this week was pizza, but I counted them. I just felt guilty (but it was goooooooood)haha.

7 lbs

Thats how much I lost. I earned my first 5lb sticker. yeah me!! (and Earl for letting me walk every morning while he would take care of Sammi.)

I even have dreams about my walking,like sometimes I don't have my music and I can't figure out how to get home, or I forgot to get dressed and all of a sudden I realize it, or I'm walking and have no idea where I am!! Wonder what those dreams mean hehe.

Well, here it is summer is coming, the warm weather, Earl turning on the air conditioner to see if I can freeze to death at night.

My Dr. has told me that if I don't lose weight(again) that I am going to head into a diabetes diagnosis, so I have (with the blessing of my husband) joined Weight Watchers. I am also walking 2 miles a day in the morning. May not be a lot to some of you but excellent for me. I miss Mirro Lake Dr. in Lake Placid and the walks that I used to take around it. I feel foolish to walk to a certain point in town and then turn around to walk back the way that I came. I also have taken the girls for walks at night. They don't even know that I am exercising with them. I weighed in last week at my first meeting.(Don't even think about asking what the weight was)hehe. Tonight is my second meeting and I will find out if their meal plan is helping me lose weight, I am feeling anxious. So I hope to blog later that WW is working or I will try something else.

I don't know if all of you know that my brother and I are adopted. It became final on April 1, 1976 and on that day every year we celebrated as a family our adoption. This year we simply called one another and visited. This year I found myself thinking about my heavenly adoption and the relationship that I have with my Father.

I read a story where the girl in it explained all the things that she did and did not do was because her church said to, the other girl in the story explained that she did the same things but because she believed that God expected her to do the things. I believe that I am in the place of the second girl that I am do certain things or don't do certain things because I want to please my heavenly Father. Though I must admit that growing up I used the same excuse as the first girl.

I also love the scripture in

Jude 1:24

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

I love the fact that Jesus also wants us to make it to heaven and to be joyful when we are presented before the throne of God. Especially the fact that Jesus is able to keep us from falling. When temptation hits me lately I remind Jesus of this scripture then sit back and wait for the rescue.

Have a blessed day everyone, family I have remebered you in prayer. Especially the Myers clan.

Love you all!!!

It was beautiful today so we hit the town park. The children were not willing to have their picture taken so I only took one. Make sure to look close Beth is not doing what you think she is.

However Sammi had her play group today and they had an Easter egg hunt. We haven't had a play group session since Christmas and Sammi missed that due to her pneumonia and hospital stay.

We had a turkey dinner for Easter.

Ham was my first choice but the frozen turkey in the freezer won out against the ham still at Walmart. (hehe!)However my girls enjoyed the turkey legs very much!

A tradition of breaking the wishbone.

Happy Easter!!

Our First Easter Egg Decoration

The night before Easter and for the first time the girls and I did Easter eggs. I had never done them before with the girls. I guess growing up we focused on church and the Easter morning goodie basket we would get as kids. We stopped getting them around 12/13, but I have friends that are 24 and still expect their parents to load them up with sugar.

The girls and I decided to do the tie-dye eggs. Maybe not the best idea for a 2 year old. AGGGHHH. But thank goodness for plastic baggies that acted as the paintbrush. The finshed eggs were very nice. It took 12 shots until we got the picture that I liked. Then the girls headed to the bathtub to remove any dye.

Who wants to go swimming????

Welcome to Rutland the land of the Flooded Creek

This is behind my house to the left our neighbors back yard.

This is in front of our neighbors house next door

This creek behind our house

In Memory of

Mom

Saundra Kay Tillis

Gone one year today.

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free

I'm following the path God laid for me

I took God's hand when I heard the call,

I turned my back and left it all.

I couldn't stay another day,

To laugh, to love, to work, to play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way,

I found peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,

then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared a laugh, a kiss,

Ah yes, they're things that I too will miss

Be not burdened with time of sorrow

I wish the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full, I've savored much,

Good friends, good time's, a loved ones touch.

Prehaps my time seemed all too brief,

Lift up your heart and share with me

God wanted me now- He set me free.

A picture from our hike last summer to Mercy Dam.

Happy New Year to all of our family and friends. May God bless you in this new year. My scriptures for this year are:

Philippians 3:13-14

....but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this very thing that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

I didn't make any resolutions but I would like to try to lose wieght this year and to be more determined in my relationship with Jesus. So I guess you could say I want to get skinny physically and fat spiritually. Hehehe.

Our love to you all!!

Sammi loved her pots and pans from Christmas. Almost every day since she has washed them and made "soup". It was 55 here yesterday it doesn't feel like winter at all. I found my gift certificate that I was thought lost. We are still waiting on the MP3 player. I put all of my Christmas decorations away Thursday, reaaranged things in my kitchen and rearranged my house (year round) decorations. I was able to add a new black bear and a moose and bear kleenex holder to my pretties.

Bethany asked me to put a picture of her newest 'daughter' on the blog. Santa delivered this new baby Christmas morning.

Sammi also got twin babies. As you can tell from the picture she could have cared less. Sammi really didn't care for Christmas package opening time. It seem to over whelm her and make her very upset

I got a MP3 player that I have been asking for (for a very long time) and much to my and Earl's dismay it turned on once and refused to work anymore. Even after trying 14 new batteries it refused to work. Then to console myself I went to find my $25 gift certficate that my Dad got me only to find that when we were cleaning up the Christmas wrapppings at Dad's house, someone accidently put it in the bags to be burned. Which Earl had done right away to be helpful. Thankfully I called the store where Dad got the certificate and the lady said that it was OK I could still come over and pick something out, but if I found the certificate to get rid of it. And Earl is hot on the trail of the company that he bought the player from.

Christmas was good, but Mom was sorely missed. I realized that the reason why Christmas was always so good for me was Mom made sure of it. Dad did a great job without her help, but Mom will always be hard to out do. So if your Mom is still with you tell her today how much you love her and appreciate her, you never know when she might go home to heaven.

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends

I was going through my picture archives and found this picture from when we took the girls to a bull riding event at our county fair this summer. I love the outline of the girls with their pigtails.

Tomorrow Sammi will be having her tonsil and adnoids out remeber us in prayer. Daddy Earl has to work and is not happy at not being able to be there with Sammi.

Can you believe I am actually working on my blog site. Life has been AGGGGGGGGGH. But we are getting back to normal. This first picture is the girls at a fall party dressed up as a princess and dinosaur. Every time that I told Sammi that she was a dinosaur she would roar at me. Bethany would twrill till she wanted to fall down.

The next picture is of our Thanksgiving. My Dad and brother and wife came down and the tenants upstairs ate with us at 12:00. My picture is off from my camera. The girls were very excitied about having everyone at our house for eating.

This is the newest member of our doggie family. Her name is Princess. She is half beagle and half Jack Russel terrier. We got the dumbest halves of both breeds. We got her after we went to NY for church camp after one of our puppies met her demise.

Mom Marshall has been in Heaven 1 year today.

I still miss you and love you!!, Mom

I haven't been very diligent about posting lately. We have been very busy and trying to keep up with life in general. Not to mention that our computer has been sick lately. We had a great time up at Vermontville Church camp this year. It was great to get to see a lot of the in-laws and give the girls a chance to see their half of the family also.

This is a picture of the girls the first night at camp.

My friend Carrie went with us to camp and we had the chance to walk back to Marcy dam. It was a 2.1 mile hike in and back, 4.2 miles all together. I loved it. My niece Vicki went with us so that I wouldn't get lost haha!!

Beth and I were trying out homeschool for one month to see how it would go. Beth did really well on her studies but really missed having interaction with other kids. So the Lord blessed us with the oppurtunity to send her to a Christian school in Middleport OH. This is her on her first day. She already, on the first day of school, has a new friend.

When Beth and I went to see the school and meet the teacher, the teacher showed Beth a reading book and told Beth when she could read the last sentence of the book she would be given a prize. So Beth took the book and read the sentence to the teacher. It made a Mom happy I tell ya.

The girls were in the church's float at the 4th's parade. The theme was Our Soliders, Our Freedom to Worship

Bethany and Sammi attended VBS and Beth had a blast helping with the singing.

This is the girls at Pizza Hut where Earl works. We always get the same booth and the girls love ot sit in the corner shelf when they are done eating. Great incentive for them to eat all of their food.

The Women of Worth retreat was wonderful. The 'girls' in my group were, Sr. Charlene Woods, Sr. Vicki Haus, Sr Tammy McKenzie, Sr. Ruth DeLong, Sr. Melanie (I didn't catch her last name),me and not pictured Sr. Nara Hartman. All of the women except the lady next to me Sr. Woods and myself had been to the WOW retreat's before. I plan on going next year. The fellowship was wonderful, the rooms great and the food delicious.

This is Sr. Lorina Glick. She lead the meetings. Did you know that the first WOW was not in the United States, but in Paupa New Guinea. Sr. Glick started it there as a missionary, when she came home she started the group here. Hopefully if the funds can be raised some of the ladies from Paupa New Guinea will come for the retreat next year.

Much to my surprise I saw at least one old friend that I knew. Charlene Wolford? Her group of ladies brought a big bus from PA, her group also had the skit on Saturday night, whic was FUNNY. Charlene should me pictures of her children. I couldn't believe how they had grown. The last time that I saw the girls was when they were 2 they are grown up now.

Today is Thursday the 17th of May and for the first time tomorrow I am leaving Sammi in someone else's care for overnight. Bethany and Sammi are going to be staying at my friend Ruth's home while I go on a Women of Worth retreat. I am looking forward to the retreat but not the absence of being away from my children. I am afraid that I am from the school that only I can take care of my children the best. So we will see if I ever get to go on a short vacation again.