Luke's Big "SHOCK"

He said the milkshake made his boo boo feel better :)

Luke's boo boo

The infamous electrical outlet

Notice it burnt the keychain in two....

Ashley was sitting right beside him and I think it scared her more than it did him. So she needed some love when he got home.

Tough little man!!

Do you ever think about something and you know it could happen but you pray that it won't? Well tonight at the Culver house it happened. I was in the kitchen washing dishes and I heard a pop and looked in the dining room and saw sparks coming out of the plug in. Then Luke came running holding up a solid black hand while he was crying. He got Erin's keychain off of her backpack and stuck it in the electrical outlet. His burn actually peeled the skin immediately. We decided to go ahead and have him checked out so we took him to PM Pediatrics. She said he got a pretty good little burn and she bandaged him up. Being as it was an electrical burn it actually went in through his thumb and came out through his finger. She gave us some cream and told us to keep his hand bandaged until he no longer has open skin....yeah! He is actually a pretty tough little boy and has handled it pretty well. We got him a milkshake on the way home so he was a happy camper. All the way home he kept saying "Mommy I am sorry I made the sparkles." :( On a good note I don't think we will have to worry about him doing that again.

A Remembered Weekend

Well this weekend we had to say goodbye to a much loved friend. My dad's best friend Jimmy Buchannon passed away. He learned earlier this year that he had cancer and lost his fight last Thursday. Jimmy was such a sweet man and everyone and I do mean everyone that ever met him would tell you the same. I have so many funny memories of him when I was a little girl. My dad and him drove 18 wheelers and when I went with my dad Jimmy would pull up beside us and turn his hat sideways and make a silly face at us, then he would talk to us on the cb. He was a really good friend to my dad and he will be greatly missed.
With all that has happened in our lives this year we have had to grow up. When life hands you certain experiences it molds you into a new person. Your outlook on life changes and you start to value things that maybe you didn't before. Little things in life start to matter. You want to spend more time with your family and you could care less about material things (you can't take them with you when you go). For the first time in my life I have wondered...How will people remember me when I am gone? How will my kids explain what kind of person I was to their children, am I molding them correctly? Do they really know how much I love them?
On a better note, my dad got a new friend, a little puppy. She still does not have a name so if you think of a good one let me know. You will have to excuse my pictures my flash is broken and a new one is expensive...still saving up. I did get a few pics of my sister and her husband and us. Sad to say that it takes those type of circumstances to get us all together dressed up.

Isaiah 40:31 NIV but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint

Good ole colds!

Well it was bound to happen. I have been trying like the devil to keep the kids from getting sick. We use hand sanitizer like it is going out of style, and I make the kids wash their hands every time they turn around. Even Luke knows that we don't go to the store without sanitizing our buggie. Saturday night it finally happened and Erin started running a fever, after I got her medicated I looked at Ashley and her face was flushed...she too was running a fever. Luckily it did not last long, by Monday Erin was feeling better and Ashley by Tuesday. Anna started running a fever Monday morning and had a headache that was so bad that she vomited. Somehow Luke is still doing OK, but I keep checking him looking for the inevitable. Loftis Middle has been overcome by this virus. There were so many cross country students sick that practice had to be cancelled yesterday. Well, thanks for all of your prayers!! Hope you are all well and without the bug :)!!

Journey for the Heart

Today I went to the Awana Conference that is held anually for all of the leaders in Awana. I will admit I was tired, it has been a busy week, and I really did not want to go, but the church had already paid for my admission so I got up at seven this morning and made my way there. I can say that it was such a blessing to me. It was an eye opener to me in so many ways. I always take what I have for granted. I have four wonderful children that are healthy and beautiful and I don't always realize what a gift they are. It is so easy to get tired and irritable. My mom just got the best news that she could have received and I know that it could have just as easily went the other way. I am going to try my best in the future to realize the gift of each day and make the most of it. I am going to use the word Love in the way that it should be. I am not going to say I love a car, I love my kids, George, my mom, my family, and most importantly God. I am going to remember the purpose of parenting is to train our children to know, love, and serve Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in the world and forget what is most important.

Today a video was played about a boy named James who lost his battle with a heart condition at the age of thirteen. Here is a link, I strongly encourage you to check it out http://www.journeyfortheheart.com/sitepages/lifeofjames.php

I bought the book today so if you are interested I would be glad to let you borrow it when I get finished. It is amazing how even a child can bring others to Christ.

I Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His love endures forever.

James’s last Journal Entry – 5/04/06 “I can be thankful to the LORD for all the good things He has blessed me with because I know that His love will always flow on me.”

Answered Prayers!

Mom at her last chemo treatment.

Mom finally got her news today............everything that was sent to pathology showed up negative. There was no trace of cancer in any of the samples that they viewed and the surrounding area of the tumor also was cancer free. It was so nice to cry happy tears today. Mom's still having a lot of drainage so it looks like it will be next week before the tube comes out. Keep praying, it is so obvious that it works. God is so good and we give him all of the glory!!

A Fun Filled Weekend!

Cameron, Haven, Autumn, Erin, Ashley, Anna, and Luke

The Family at Lake Winnie

Erin Chillin

Anna in the water zone!

My nephew Jake on the bumper cars.

My sister Christy, watch out!

Luke feeding the fish.

Loving sisters, gotta capture the moment!

Everybody feeding the fish.

Luke getting a drink...LOL.

Ashley with Maggie at their first sleepover.




So we will start out with Ashley having her first sleepover. Mom had her surgery on Friday so to help me out Ashley spent the night with her friend Maggie. To say she was excited is putting it very mildly. She had a blast and can't wait to do it again. Maggie's mom took great care of her. She came home saying..Maggie's mom does this and Maggie's mom does that. I think she found my replacement :).

So mom had her surgery...... to say that she is sore is putting that mildly. She has about a two or three inch or so incision on her left breast where they removed what was left of the tumor and another incision about the same size in under her arm to remove lymph nodes. So needless to say every time that she breathes it hurts. She also has a drain tube that is allowing all of the drainage to actually leave her body instead of staying inside and causing an infection. Dr. Rawlings said that she looked wonderful and to the naked eye it appeared that there was no cancer left. We will know by tomorrow what the pathology report reads. Keep her in your prayers as she recovers and awaits her results.

George had his company picnic for Carta at Lake Winnie yesterday and we were able to buy extra tickets cheap so we took an extra oh thirty people. Our whole family took up the tilt a whirl at one time. I did not get to get a picture of everyone but I did get some cute ones to post. Luke loved the motorcycles and Anna rode the Antique cars with no one in the front seat with her for the first time. Erin is my daredevil and will ride anything, Ashley is much more skeptical and laid low. We had a wonderful time, the weather was nice and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. When you get that many people together you never know what might happen..LOL. Until next year......

Making It!

No pictures today..... Well Erin has decided to run with the cross country team, which is something new for her this year. As we all know...if you play a sport you must have a physical. Getting a physical should be a simple task but unfortunately for us it was not. The first meet was Tuesday and since she did not have her physical she could not run, which was ok because it allowed her to sit back and see what it was all about. After running all over Chattanooga, I will not bore you with all of the details, we finally got a physical signed. Ok so a few details, I was not willing to go to the germ infested Physicians Care and her physician could not see her until next week. We ended up getting the physical from a ..get this.. Chiropractor in Soddy Daisy for five bucks (only Soddy Daisy). So now she was eligible to run in the meet on Thursday, which was yesterday. Guess what happened... The coach's bag was stolen at the meet on Tuesday which had all of the physical forms in it (except Erin's because she did not have hers yet) so now the team can't run until each player gets a new physical form signed. Erin went from being the only without a form to the only one WITH a form. Just thought that was too funny. So pray for her!! I am excited that she is trying something new and hope she does well.
School has started for George and me and we are VERY busy. I think we are going to be able to handle it though. As long as we keep all of our t's crossed and our i's dotted. In case you don't know our situation, George has started the nursing program and is working full time and I am going to school full time. Pray for us!! When (notice I did not say IF) we graduate we will be the first in our families to do so. What a blessing.