God's grace

"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under GRACE." Romans 6:14

Ok what a way to start your day, AMEN! My Bible reading came from Romans 6:3-11, but I read on to verse 14 and wow what a statement. God is so good to let us read something right when we NEED to read it. I prayed to ask Jesus into my heart at the age of 11. I know he saved me at that moment and the Holy spirit moved right in. Because I am human I make many mistakes (sin) in the things I sometimes think or say, but thanks to God's amazing GRACE I know that He loves me, forgives me and will continue to teach me through the reading of His word and time spent in prayer. Do you know Jesus? Do you have peace in the midst of chaos? Are you living in His wonderful Grace? If you aren't let me tell you how you can be free. Email me at susanbneal@gmail.com

Go be a blessing...

One day of school left

As summer approaches and school is ending I can tell already that my blogging will slow down. BUT that's OK ... I'm a momma and me and my girl like to play outside. She had an awards program in her class this morning and must have come away with 10 certificates. What a smart girl I have. She and I went to Toys R Us and Chic Fil A to celebrate her straight A's. Now we are going outside to ride our bikes and draw with 3-D chalk. I may post pictures tonight.

Thank you Lord for blessing me with a hard working husband and such a fun daughter. Life is good. God is good.

Get out there and enjoy time with your family.

Play day

My sweet friend Karen, AKA - Mrs. Johnson :-) with her class. Those are the kids I made the monkey and jaguar tails for (even though you can't see the tails in the picture they are there). Another parent made jaguar tails for her child's class and added brown/orange yarn to the end ( a great touch). I told Mrs. Johnson I want to add yarn to all the ones I made. That's how we learn by observing others ... Monkey see, monkey do :-) ha, ha, ha ... I couldn't resist.

The play was so cute. Karen and all the teachers and students did a great job!!! I'm so glad sweet Karen includes me and lets me help out with her class. She teaches first grade and they need more help than 4th grade. Next year when I am home schooling Olivia I am hoping Mrs. Johnson will invite me and Olivia to come read to her class. I've been doing that for years and really enjoy it. Olivia is great with younger children so I know she'll like it too.

This is the day the Lord has made go rejoice and be glad in it.

Locks for Love

Before picture with my long wavy hair
Diane measured and positioned my ponytail (yes, that is 10 inches)

Me with straightened and shorter hair ( yes, my eyes are closed)

I still can't believe I did it, but I DID and I have pictures to prove it!!! As I shared with you yesterday it was my dad's birthday and the one year anniversary of the passing of Chris's dad. They both died of cancer. In honor of their memory and to help someone battling cancer today I decided to have 10 inches of my hair cut to donate to Locks of Love. I really like my new style and since I have a natural wave I can't wait to see how it's going to look "curly". Seriously I needed a change and was tired of it being so long anyway, so don't go "patting me on the back". It's only hair and it will grow back. Many of my friends, Lisa Q., Dana B., and Jenny D. have all donated their hair to organizations like Locks of Love. If you'd like to donate go to http://www.locksoflove.org/ and check out the requirements. I can only imagine how much these wigs made from donated hair can boost a child's spirit in the midst of cancer. Think about it; if you have long hair this might be what YOU can do for someone else. Let me know.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Go be a blessing ....

We remember, we'll never forget ... .

Chris's dad - Frank Wright Neal III born June 28, 1941 entered Heaven May 28, 2008

My dad - Ray J. Boiter Sr. born May 28, 1935 entered Heaven November 22, 2006

Today is my dad's birthday, as well as, the one year anniversary of the passing of Chris's dad from this life to Heaven. What a day it was last year to sit by Franks side and hold his hand as he took his last breath. I have to admit I whispered in his ear to tell my daddy "Happy Birthday" when he got to Heaven. What a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus and sing and shout the VICTORY! Frank was a good father-in-law and an excellent grandpa. He is missed. Say a special prayer for Chris and Olivia and all of the Neal's as we remember Frank. Thank you.

Happy Birthday sweet daddy, oh how you are missed. Say a prayer for my mom and brothers as we reflex on my dad today too. Don't we serve an awesome God that His timing would allow these two events to fall on the same day? Sure, it would be my preference to have dad and Frank this side of heaven right now, but ... I don't get to make that call. Instead a perfect, all knowing, all loving, God decides. I trust Him and love Him and thank Him for this day.

Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. Go be a blessing.

More beach shots and friends along the way home

Alecia, me holding her new baby brother, John Thomas, Zoe the big sister and my Olivia.

On the way home from the beach we stopped in to see our friends in Lexington who have a new baby boy. Congratulations to your sweet family. Isn't he precious?

Chris caught this monster cat fish in a pond in Ocean Lakes with a piece of cheese.

Beach pictures continue ...

Sea creature Olivia and her friend found and it was ALIVE !

A beauty with her babies.

Olivia and her new friend Kaylee.

Us relaxing in the midst of Putt Putt ... Chris got 3 hole in ones; he's so lucky!

Our weekend at Myrtle Beach

First shark tooth Chris found.

Me and Chris ... 13 years of marriage :-) Happy Anniversary 5-25

Sweet Olivia ... 10 years of joy :-)

Beach house we stayed in ...

Monday, Monday ... wait it's Tuesday

Oh how difficult it is for me not to get back in bed. If it were not for the fact that my sweet Chris is out working hard and my little Livie is in school; I'd go back to bed. We had an absolutely fantastic beach trip!!! The Lord let us have perfect weather, with great temperatures on the sand and in the water. I am so thankful for a great anniversary get-a-way. The ONLY bad part is arriving home later than planned and not having another day to recuperate before jumping back into the busy swing of life. Already today I've gotten my family off to work and school, stopped by Lisa's to pick up Cassie (our guinea pig). Thanks to Lisa, Summer and Noah for taking such good care of her while we were away. The washing machine and dryer are going, as the dishwasher waits to be emptied. I have a partial grocery list started and need to eat breakfast and get to the store. Oh, but yesterday I got up when I wanted ... hopped on a golf cart and rode to Omega Pancake house and someone brought breakfast to me :-) Snap out of it Susan, the vacation is over.

So on the way home from the beach we called our friends the Lockart's who live in Lexington and decided to stop by to see their new son. He's two weeks old and gorgeous. We were only going to stay a few minutes, but we haven't seen them in so long and it was hard to pull away. Olivia played with Zoe and Alecia while we caught up with Tommy and Katrina and met John Thomas. We ended up leaving their house after 8:00 and arrived home at 9:45. So here I am thanking the Lord for all of the fun and asking for strength for me and my crew as we get back into our routine of daily living.

I hope your Memorial day weekend was a fun one. I'll post pictures later as time permits. Have a great week.

Be a blessing.

Beach days

Well we are at the beach and it is absolutely perfect here. We got in the pool earlier and ran into a couple from church. Then we went to the beach and met a sweet family from Dallas, NC. they were excellent at finding sharks teeth and even gave me one. Their 10 year daughter Kaylee played with our 10 old Olivia. They harvested 25 hermit crabs. That was a sight to see. Children are so fearless. I wouldn't have picked up one of those crabs for anything. Now we are relaxing for a few minutes. Our plan is to go play Putt-Putt, drive out to Murrell's Inlet to eat Seafood,then visit with our friends who are here from home. The men want to do a little late night fishing. Nothing major, but fun !!!

Being here makes me so appreciative of all that God has created. The waves and wind, the breeze and sand ... it's all good. I am so thankful for my family and the opportunity to be here having fun with them on our anniversary weekend.

God bless the reader.

Pictures to follow next week.