APRIL 8, 1970 ~~~ Happy Birthday to me :) ~~~

Well, today is the beginning of ME! ~~ April 8, 1970 in Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, V
Dorothy Ann Herdman began making noise and meeting people and has not stopped since..

I like to look over the years.. events and days of my life.. and celebrate the lessons learned, friends made and then neatly fold the memories into the (DASH -----) that they are.. in "The Rest of the Story of MY LIFE!".

April 8, through out History~~ Picasso memorable quote "“Action is the foundational key to all success.” (Pablo Picasso) died April 8, 1971

http://www.mastersoftrivia.com/blog/tag/april-8-1870/

April 8, 1970
in History ....
http://www.historyorb.com/date/1970/april/8

in Popular Culture around the world
http://www.mrpopculture.com/files/html/aug08-1970/

in Music News ~~~ (LED ZEPPLIN!!)
http://www.ledzeppelin.com/show/april-8-1970

in Testimony of a Faithful blogger and speaker
http://www.jasonmitchener.com/testimony.html

http://www.mygrafico.com/freebies/love-bug-freebie/prod_284.html



                      February "The Love Month"<"3"
Love is not always pretty, comfortable and "visually understandable" but just like a lady bug (love bug), or caterpillar it does hold and unexplainable appeal and magesty that when nutured and endured becomes undenyably Amazing, like a newly transformed butterfly launching into the clear blue sky for the first time. ~~88 ~~
 
 
How do you "show" an emotion or feeling that captivates your entire being?  You decide to do it! and do it for the recipient.  We all have those lists of wishes, desires and needs to be quenched like a thirst.  The "job" of a lover is to attempt to meet those needs, grant the wishes AND desires (:0 )  Especially for married couples it is essential to be alittle creative and really determined to "warm up" the relationship by focusing on the desires while keeping the persons needs and love languages in mind.  The study AND application of the principles of speaking our partners language and not our own has made the continuation of our marriage possible and palable (:0 ).  Love Languages can be spoken in any relationship and if you apply the skills of discovering someones love language into ministry the results can truly expand into the eternal realm quickly.  Christ used "love Languages" through his ministry, evident in how he "called" each person, "approached" them or "reproofed them to help restore them to the father".  All of these works are of love and must contain love or the could damage, severe and DESTROY not only the relationship but the person.
 
Parenting in and of itself is the most ambious and long term expression of love.  The world likes to tell us the term of engagement (much like a war) is 18 years and then "they are on their own", "should move out on their own" "the parenting is over".  However, their is not an "ending" to loving this collection of DNA, thoughts, feelings, learned behaviors and habits.  Love is for life...!  (promise not a threat).
 
February is full of love for us and our extended family.  And throughout the legacy our grandparents and parents have started, Chris and I hope to continue and pass onto Charles as the biggest and most precious gift we can give, our unending love and the confirmation of God's hand on our family and him.
 
Families that speak in love and in deed stay together forever...
 
   ~ Our Family History of Love in February~
 
02-02  Edward Augustus Winters (Grandpa Winters, Maternal grandfather of Dot) Birthdate. [1922-2009]
 
             Doreen Ann Winters married James Arthur Herdman, Sr. (BTSC-USN.Ret) (Dot's parents) [1969- Present! :) 42 years....
 
            Nicole Ruth Winters married Christopher Onellion (Dot's cousin; Doreen's Niece from her brother Michael H. Winters and his wife Kathleen Telfer Winters) [2002 and still going! {Grandpa Winters was sick but able to attend the wedding with most of the extended family}
 
09  Lance Atlas Roy (Chris's nephew from his sister, Charlotte Wiggins Roy) [1975]
 
12  Amasa James Herdman was born (and life nor appliances have EVER been the same :) [1975]
 
14  National day of "Love" inspired by St. Valentine.
 
15  Dorothy Ann Herdman marries "Mr. Right!" {finally} Christopher L. Wiggins. {With most of the extended family attending} [1992- Present 19 YEARS!! and still going, committed to 100 year.] {our wedding colors were Mauve and Emerald green~~for growth and life}
 
29 LEAP YEAR ^1996  "Sir Charles Wiggins" Charles Leonard Wiggins is born unto Dot & Chris :)!.
 
The moments of our lives...beats of our hearts and the Legacy we are leaving to Charles....

Moments (A home video too)

Whew.. it has been a whirlwind since New Years Day, I cannot believe it is already the end of March. A year has flown by, it was right around this time last year that I realized many things were changing. I am not a big fan of change, am slow to acclamate and was not very agreeable about the things I saw changing and how they were going to change. But as is ALWAYS the case, God knew best, and He brought us to these situations and He brought us through them with flying colors.

I made a video of pictures that accompany the song that got me through the last year, "Hanging for a Moment" by Lifehouse. For those that don't know, I was a natural blonde. The pictures have been arranged to accompany the lyrics so the dates are shuffled and I go back and forth from Redhead (present day) to Blonde. My favorite verses; Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28, are diffinitely evident in these pictures and this song is a perfect soundtrack for them too.

Happy 17th Wedding Anniversary

Dearest Christopher,

Today we are celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary. (WHOA HOO!!!). It has definitely been an interesting journey. We have both learned and grown alot and we have taught and share with each other some life changing events. Through the years we have also shared an amazing life with our son, who later this month will be a t--ee--n--a---g---e--r!!!!. And we have introduced him and helped him grow in our faith with Jesus Christ. So despite some trials and alittle stress I think we have shared a pretty amazing life together so far. Thanks for the lessons and the joys and the memories to fill my computer files with these little trinkets of my love. I hope you enjoy the show, this is your life!.

Love,
Mrs. Dorothy A. Wiggins, wife of 17 years (and prior to marriage, girlfriend for 3 1/2 years :)!, {the truth has set us free to relish in all of our time together}.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

North Carolina Snow Storm 2009-- Good for some; uncomfortable and dangerous for others.

Snow Storm 2009! 4 years to the day of the "Big Ice Storm of 2005"

Bitter -Sweet Moment. It is beautiful and fun to watch others play in it, but yet it is so uncomfortable for me and dangerous for Chris and others who have to go out in it to "do their Jobs". Oh, be still and quiet my frantic spirit.

Well, like most bad weather events, Charles and I are at home, but Chris had to go into to work!. No he is not a doctor, or police office or any public safety or service worker. No he has to go see wrecked cars?????? The wisdom of having employees in Retail, and non-essential services have to go out on the road to "Serve Customers" is quite crazy. Especially here in the country, the roads out of our neighborhood and the 15 miles to the main road are quite dangerous. Ditches on either side of road and very isolated. Speed is also a concern. On sunny-day days most people around here drive 10 miles over the speed limit and they do not have the wisdom to slow down so that makes things even more scarry on days like today.

The snow is beautiful and fun for some but for others it is a bitter-sweet thing, although it is beautiful, it makes thing very cold, which is not good for me and it makes driving very dangerous which is a double edge sword for our family. Chris always has to go out in the bad weather and risk his life to see wrecked cars of people who "choose not to drive to the body shop and will not declare where they are going to have their cars fixed" sometimes he gets to his "non-driveable" appointment to find the car is not available because it is being driven (URGGG!!!!) if they can drive it where they want, why can't they drive it to the body shop?????? or why aren't people concerned about the safety of others and will agree to wait until the weather is better and when the estimate can be done better when the car isn't covered with snow or mud (yeah he has to go out in the pouring rain too!). Trying to be joyful and confident in God having Chris is his hand of protection. But, seeing the power of stupidity and prideful arrogance and disconcern for others makes me very sad and angry.

Hoping everyone suits up with wisdom and a respect for the weather. Slows down!!! and drives sensibly so that everyone can get to work and back home to their families. A little patience and resistence to radically change lanes and make foolish moves on the roads without thinking about giving others the response time needed.

People go out that do not know how to drive in this stuff and cause accidents. Employers and Supervisors that require people to come to work that get into an accident should bare some responsibility. The state police have put out advisories to "STAY HOME" that should force employers and supervisors to close businesses. If everyone stayed home the amount of people needed in the grocery stores, gas stations and police departments would be decreased greatly. But, if there is a chance to make a dollar, the companies will open there doors. Very irritating and sad to risk peoples lives to make a buck, and people get restless and decide to go out exploring and accidents happen. There should be a special indicator on licenses stating they have been certified safe driving in snow and ice (they are different) if you do not pass the test you should have a restriction on your license (sunny day driving only!!!). I just sit here and pray that those that have to be out in this mess are safe and that those whom are not able to drive well will stay home and not put others at risk.

Remember where you were when the Snow storm of 2005 hit? Many were stuck in their cars on Capital Blvd when the State Dot SHUT IT DOWN!!!! what???? no notice, they just closed Capital Blvd so they could get the salt/sand trucks out. The storm kind of snuck up on them. Check out this site that has pictures from the 2005 storm, it also has the radar pictures and weather information about the storm, which is very interesting. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20050119/

Charles and I were in Virginia, we were enjoying the sunny, clear skies and eating lunch with my mother, sister and nephew. My cell phone rang and Chris was kind of excited and asked where I was, I told him I had not left yet, we were eating and then jumping on the interstate to come home. He said, "Oh, no your not!! stay where you are, the snow beat you home" I was like what??? it is not snowing here in Virginia (North of Carolina), how is that possible, It came from the west and is moving North, you all will get it soon. The scarry part was I hung up to respond to the news that I was staying in Virgina, and Charles and my nephew started yelling, "It is snowing!!" I was like it is going to snow tonight, and they were like now it is snowing now!!!. Sure enough a few flurries we falling. Later that night the snow fell and we staying snowed in with my family for two days. Back here in North Carolina, Chris had to work all day, and got out in the traffic on "CAPITAL Blvd" not knowing that they had closed the road, since they did not bother to announce it on the radio. Just traffic was bumper to bumper and not moving for hours. People were running out of gas, it was horrible sitting in Virginia, and having him here trapped on the road with no where to go. He was finally able to cross the median and turn around and go back to Downtown Raleigh and get a hotel room, so he was warm and safe. He had to go to the store and get stuff and clothes for the next day because he had to go to work (the brillance and compassion of the company is mind blowing!!!) but you do what you have to.

Well, hopefully this storm will be over and all will be safe, until our next storm in three or four years.

Friday Night with approximately 142 teenagers!!!

Our First Coffee Break Service in the Refinery at Faith Baptist Church, Youngsville, NC


What would possess Adults over the age of 30 to spend 5 hours with approximately 142 teenagers, listening to loud music?

LOVE!!! One of the teenagers was our son. Our neighbors kids and several of our youth from church and many of them bring school friends and neighbors that do not attend our church. What an awesome ministry.

Our youth department has a room filled with a kitchenette area, a stage, pool table, tv with game console thing, air hockey table, fooseball and ping pong. They have different Christian Rock bands come in twice a month and play. They serve food the kids like, pizza, nachos, coffee, hot chocolate and sodas. It is so cool to see these kids talk about hanging out at church on a Friday night with Chaperones!!! They know adults are coming and they still enjoy being there, hanging out all night. What an awesome way to really get to know these kids and their friends. Spend 5 hours serving them non-nutritious food, scream so they can hear you, and listen to the band with them.

We had such a good time hanging out. I finally got to go out and listen to music on a Friday night!!! It only took 8 years....

The Band was To The Republic, a local Christan Rock Band, Check out their website www.myspace.com/totherepublicmusic

Shortest Post ever!!! Happy New Year

Well, the last post was full of words and emotions that seemed to overwhelm some.

I was keeping this a surprise for my family until tonight. I make one of these for us to see the year and all of the changes. And as you will see there are alot. The music is significant too.

I whittled this down as much as possible without affecting the authenticity of things.

It is 9 minutes and 57 seconds according to the computer. Notice the change in tempo from the first song to the second and the picture speed. That is how life went about that same time. This explains the last posting.

http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3064500

Story of My Life... Organized and concise

Well, in my endeavor to organize and utilize my boxes and boxes of pictures, notes, and trickets.
While trying to preserve and retain as many of the memories as I can, I have found an awesome free program!! (WHOA HOO!!! all about the free stuff). And it turns out I am not the only person that tries to record and document their life and heritage for their own use, but also for their children and for the sake of the history. This network, Story of My Life, is a foundation that preserves and stores information for the historical and genealogical value. You can pay to have your information permanently kept and have more space, but they are generous in what they offer you for free. This also has a future posting feature, so you can write the story now and have it post later. What a great thing for writing those stories for the kids that we want to give them when they are older, or for an anniversary milestone.

http://www.storyofmylife.com/Dotwigg88

The link to my page is under the "Links to other sites" on the right side bar.

Veteran's Day makes it possible to Praise and Worship

Regardless of your feelings about the war, politics and religion. Our history is full of reference to God. My family and I believe in God and have prayed to him many times when our loved ones were deployed. If you talk to service people {political correctness :) } many, say that they pray and relish the prayers of those back home to encourage them during their foreign deloyments. This freedom to express our views is one that these men and women fight for, so I plan on expressing mine alot more. This video was created by someone my fatherin-law knows and shows some get scenes of our country.



Veteran is anyone who has served in the military force, especially in a war. Among other things the honor and respect for our military has faded. Understanding of the sacrafices that they, (the service member) and their families make is so over looked.


Why do I care? (that seems to be the question of the day, most days). First, I care because that is how I was raised. You care for people, and especially those that do something for you and you ALWAYS say thank you. It was also highly emphasised to ask if you could do anything for them, or to look and see what you could do. Secondly, and more impressing on my life, I am a Veteran's kid. My father served his country for 23 years. He wore his uniform proudly and his family was proud of him and respected that uniform. The support people sometimes get overlooked, every service member is important to the Branch they are serving. Without "Boilermakers" and Supply people the ships and crews could not do their jobs and get to the frontline with supplies for the ground troups. The military is really a great picture of teamwork.






In both families, Chris and I have many Veteran's to thank and commemorate today. And we have many friends to thank also. We want Charles to know and understand what these people and their families have done and continue to do to allow us the freedoms were enjoy and the rights and priviledges that we usually take for granted. History is important and needs to be remembered, handed down to our children and honored everyday, but most especially on these commemorative days.


This is my Veteran's Memorial- The great thing is most of these are alive and well and can be properly thanked. If you see any of these people, shake their hand and thank them for their service and remember the families too. (If I left you off, so sorry, you are thought of, and we thank you too, email me and I will add your name to this board.)

Our Veteran's

Moses L. Wiggins (deceased)
Lawrence Petersen (deceased)
Charles S. Wiggins (deceased)
Amasa J. Herdman (deceased)
Leonard M. Wiggins, Ches.VA
James A. Herdman Sr. Ches, Va
Leonard Bernstein, Ches.Va
Dr. Lance Roy, Durham, NC
Louise Petersen Donahue, Ga.
Steven M. Toth (deceased)
Michael H. Winters, Ches, VA
Larry Todd Cassidy (deceased)
Lawrence Nelson VB, VA
Norwood Atkinson Warsaw, NC
James Mizzell Jr. VA
James Trevillian Jr., GA
Corey Thornton Youngsville, NC
Chris Smith, Youngsville, NC
Ryan Huckabone, CA (Youngsville, NC)
Joe Beasley (USAR) Youngsville, NC
Lynn McGee (USAF) Youngsville, NC
Dennis Clark, Ches, Va
Bill Leary, VB, VA



Thank you for your service to us and this country. May God bless you and your family.

Happy Anniversary To Us, We have been North Carolinian's for 8 years

Oh, my I just realized we missed our anniversary, Sept 1,

We have been in North Carolina 8 Years!!!! That is 2 presidential Elections. So many changes, milestones, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Holidays, good times, and not so good times. Wow!!! time flies and it is amazing to get to the other side and see God's divine plan. To say I have been in tune with this plan and have celebrated the whole time, would be a HUGE!!! lie, I mean like Thunderstorm, lightning bolt, lie. But, God is bigger and God is faithful and God is always Right and so gracious and loving to stay with us and guide us to his awesome place.

These years have been monumental in my life, and very significant in Charles, Chris and in our families. Our move was so hard!!! See the post "Prayer answered, Carolina not quite the move we planned" http://fromtheheart-dotwigg.blogspot.com/2008/03/prayers-answered-north-carolina-not.html But God is good, and patient!!! and faithful and he got us through it and we will never be the same!! (AMEN!!!!!).

I can finally say, that it is good to be in Carolina, and Carolina is our HOME!! Although I do not know if the Carolina Panthers will ever be MY Football team, I am with DALLAS COWBOYS 110%, and some day would love to go to Texas again. But, God picked me up and placed me in Carolina, more specifically Youngsville and as for me and my family we are HOME here until we get to ascend in the sky.

Our favorite places when we first got here are no longer here, but they were slices of heaven.

The Philly Bistro, and then it became the Four Seasons, the owners Rick and Susan were great, back in the day we ate out alot!!! (before I studied Proverbs 31 :)

The Armidillo Grill (where Brigg's is now)

and Chris's favorite was the Johnson's Country Cooking (which just closed recently when a Dollar General truck ran through the dining room).

Another of our favorites which is still open is the Kanki Japanese Steak house and The Royal China Buffet, (awesome Sushi !!!)

The memories and the pictures we have of our life here in Carolina.

Our Home! We moved-in in 2003 as renters, our friends moved back to California and our lease was up, and I loved there house, the kitchen, the master BATHTUB, and the yard with trees!!! and it was just 3 doors down from the old house that we were renting and beside AWESOME neighbors that we hung out with (and who moved us!!). We purchased the house in 2005. And this is were we plan to stay.

Charles and Tiger (1 month old) May 23, 2005

Chris affectionately calls her "Just looking" She is MUCH bigger now, but the most loving dog you will meet. Charles and Tiger have grown up together and she is such a part of the family.

Father and Son teachable moments and Fun with power tools

Father and Son Lumberjacks.... My two favorite men in the world ;0

What is more heart warming than a father with their child??? A teachable moment, teamwork, responsibility, and safety and sensibly working with power tools :).

Chris dropped the tree alone, just because of the danger and unpredictable factor. But once it was dropped he got Charles to help cut up the wood. He taught him to prop the tree up so that the blade was not damaged when the tree started to break in two. Balancing on the trunk while he cut would make his cut better and more squared, which makes it easier to stack in the wood pile. Then he let Charles cut with the chainsaw. The wood will be well used in the manroom and fire pit. Isn't nature wonderful. It has provided a workout and an afternoon of enjoyment and entertainment for the whole family, and saved us lots of money!!! :)

I guess he will be asking for power tools and a chainsaw for Christmas now that he has learned how to use them.. Hope Santa has invested his christmas club money in a high interest money market account in a good bank. (ha ha).

Exercise of Perseverance and Faith

I walk out the door to find, My Soulmate 8 feet in the air with a chainsaw!!!! and all I can muster is.... "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!"

Oh My...I walk out the door and find my sole mate 8 feet in the air suspended by only what I think of as the equivalent of Pepsi cans (aluminum) ladder wielding a chainsaw. I thought my heart was going to drop and roll down the steps. WHAT ARE YOU DOING????? I asked, as if I could not see for myself :). He replies, "I told you I was cutting up the tree". (Uh.. yeah and I thought you meant the ones that were on the ground not the one that is 8 FEET in the air. Oh me of little faith. He had it all rigged up and figured out and felt confident that he could get it to drop like he wanted (just feet away from the back deck). We have been trying to find someone to "help" him with this and other house issues but had not found anyone and every storm we sit and listen for cracking and prepare for the tree to snap and fall on the house. I called for estimates and it is very very expensive, so Chris took matters (and the chainsaw) into his own hands (much against my wishes!!!) and climb the ladder and took care of our dead tree. I could not believe how hard he had to work to chop a dead tree, but he kept at it for hours and finally... TIMBER, snap, crack, Plop if I had not been standing there I would have never thought it would go down so perfect, it bounced and rolled a little but it dropped just like he thought it would. Oh me of so little faith in dangerous activities working out safely.

I am so proud of my personal lumberjack. He fought the tree and he won :) Although we are celebrating this success, I hope there will not be another, or at least not until after Christmas or his birthday when he gets tree climbing gear or a scaffold. (NO MORE LADDERS!!!). Why take any chances...there are no others like him in the world.

Written Words Stay With You

I LOVE letters, cards, notes, papers, drawing whatever someone actually writes (or types now a days) but I keep things that most people toss, for probably longer then is considered necessary but days like today make it worth while. I have little boxes and files for notes and things that encourage me or make me smile, sometimes I write notes to remind me later why the item is in there :) today I was going through a file of things that made me smile in the last few months and I found the Mother's day card Charles made me with my "gift" inside. He asked me what I wanted for Mother's day and I told him all I wanted was a note about how he feels about me and something I do for him that he appreciates. Oh my.... I would have this framed but I like holding it.. Days and times like this make you feel so loved and appreciated and that you are doing a good job. Sometimes I just need to relish in these moments of past to get me through the days until the next one.

First Camping Experience

We were talking one night about camping and Charles announced that he had never been camping. Shock and confusion overcame Chris and I. Could this be true, our son is 12 years old and we have never taken him camping???? We went camping alot when we were first married and loved it. We talked about it and realized we planned and thought about going camping but never actually did. {Ah, the thoughts of sleeping under the stars with our boucing baby boy who woke up with the sun and was propelled from the moment his eyes popped open in the wee hours of the morning and who thought it was a game when you chased him and who played hiding go seek and was very good at, for hours. We must have just never mustard up the courage.}

Well being the natural loving people we are, we decided our upcoming vacation will be a camping trip and we went and bought a tent. We have had many delays in putting the tent up and Charles asked Friday night if he and Chris could put the tent up and if he could spend the night in it. That sounded like a plan so, Chris and Charles put the tent up and our neighbor's son, Josh came over and spent the night in the tent with Charles.

The boys took care of all the arrangements, I stayed in bed. Saturday morning I came out to see that the "boys" (Chris, Josh and Charles) being the men they are, had added modern conveniences to the tent experience.

Boys will be Boys!!!

Boy Met Girl 20 Years ago....

July 21, 1988 through July 21, 2008

20 years!! July 21, 1988 First date and start of a beautiful relationship. Only us two would do the things we do, but we both enjoy them so, the Love continues.

We look very different today but, for the better. But the important things have only grown better, truer and stronger.

Proud to be your girlfriend for 3 years and 9 months before I was given the honor to be your fiance' for 4 months and then finally your wife for 16 years. This year is very special and we will celebrate each anniversary!! :) (First date, first card, first...., first overnight trip (KEEP those minds clean, we traveled with his parents and he was a gentleman and I a lady) engagement, etc.. Good times that have led to more good times. We will celebrate the good and cherish what it has grown into. Praise God he brought so through the other times and remember the good even through the tough and painful times. We are together, We have a strong relationship and we make cute pictures together.

I love you, my feathered hair man, or flattop and when the day comes, bald headed. Whatever you are on the outside is not how I see you anyway.

I was so excited when you called and setup our first date, and each time the phone rang it was a slice of heaven. (especially since I was bitting my nails that you might not call and I could not call you because that was not proper for girls to call)

First Fruits from our Garden

(edited :) July 3,2008 ; Grammatically improved : )

The First Fruits from the Wiggins Family Garden June 12, 2008
Last night we picked our first fruits of Charles and Chris's labor of the ground. The expanded and turned the soil (clay with top soil added). We actually had to buy dirt :) . They planted the seeds and the plants, watered it and waited. Today we reaped what they sowed. Moreover, as we held the beautiful, favorite vegetables I thought none of this was possible without God. The plants and seeds are from Him, the strength and ability to plant them and the dirt to plant them in are from Him, the sun and water that make the plants grow are from Him.

A thankfulness and peace came over me, what an object lesson for Works and Grace. You can work, because of Christ and God's gift of life and you can choose what you do, all things are worked for our good. The boys tilling the ground and unloading the dirt was hard, but it was necessary to reap the benefit of the vegetables the expanded garden is going to produce for a fraction of the cost of buying them in the store. We have the added benefit of the beautiful plants to look at as we sip our coffee in the morning and thank God, for all the blessing He has given us. The breath we have, the dirt under our feet, the house in front of us, each other, and most of all Him, we can "see" Him everyday by just looking out the window.

When I look at the garden, it makes me think of the Cain and Abel story. I wonder if Cain had a thankful heart and saw God's part in the harvest he offered to God. From the scriptures you get and feeling that he attributed all the results to himself because He tended and cared for the plants and harvested it, but He missed the main contributor. Sometimes we can do all the right "Work" and the reaping is not what we expected or our heart was not tended to properly and we harvest the wrong attitude and miss reaping the real benefit. Everything we do, Every breath we take is to bring Glory. Everything we do, say and own should help us achieve that goal, should point us toward our relationship with God.


I love that God teaches us in our learning style, I am visual and He floods my day with visual messages that have made my bible verses explode off the page. And I have struggled with Works(Law) and Grace for years and all of the sudden He showed me in a very personal way and it was like biting into a fresh tomato, it was sweet, wet and oh..so good.

A Mother to be Honored and Praised, you are Blessed!

Mother's Day 2008

Children Honor your Mother's is in several places in the bible. One of the aspirations of a wife and mother is to have her children become honorable and praising believers and hearing them call her "Blessed", and for her visible work in these children she should receive praise at the gates. (Prov. 31)

Our efforts today and our sincerest wishes are that you feel blessed and proud of the outcome of all your years of work to train us and make us what we are today. I hope that someday, Charles will see the traditions and the scripture lived out and will some day express his appreciation and gratitude for the efforts that went into training him to be the gentleman, and loving husband and father. And when he does will be give God the praise first, for giving us both Loving Mother's who trained and loved us and gave us the example to be the parents we are today, which will make him the parent he will be and we will have passed on a lasting legacy of love and faith in God, which is the best inheritance anyone can give their children, it is more precious than any money or real estate. For all you did and do for us, Mom, we praise and thank you.

With Love, Admiration, Appreciation, and Honor

Dorothy Ann, and Christopher May 11-2008

Trusting is hard to do... but I do.. Trust God to work in this situation

Oh the last 2 days have been the most emotional, tear filled days of my life. It is kind of funny that this upsets me so bad, I never setout to Homeschool, fought the idea, tried everything I could, I even asked a well respected, good friend what she thought about me homeschooling and used her opinion (which was actually in agreement with me that I shouldn't) until I finally accepted that this is really what God was showing me we needed to do, struggled with it everyday and now after going through a process God clearly lead us to and through it is all over!!! And, for what.... it does not and should not be this way. To get my son the help he needs, that he should have received 5 years ago, when I asked, and questioned but no one would listen to me, everyone knew better and disagreed with me and here we are...
For all the details, go to www.homeschoolblogger.com/dotwigg I just can't write it all again, I am so confused and angry and just ...

But, I am not to know why.. just that God is moving and not in the direction I thought and I feel we should go in (Go figure, one more person that doesn't listen or agree with me) I went through my verse cards and keep running into Romans 8:28, I am clinging to that right now, that He promises He will work everything to the good. I do not see it, but Faith requires believing in the things we cannot see. So here we go.... in two months we will be Public School AND!!!! MIDDLE SCHOOL big changes, I cannot see how this is going to work, but I am trusting, (begrudingly but I am trusting that God is going before us and going to fight this battle...

Pray. Thursday is the big day, May 15 I will be enrolling Charles in Public Middleschool and Closing Titus Academy, hopefully for just a little while to get him the assistance he needs. I need wisdom, patience in huge, huge doses, gentleness, kindness and JOY will definitely be in need also.

The Eve of the Big Day!!! I will be 38 tomorrow

Oh, How the time flies... Some will be very confused when they read this because if I ever talk about my age, it is usually "I am not as old as you think or I am old enough to know better" or a few times I borrowed the line from the cosmetics commercial " I am only....29". But the truth always comes out and the truth is I am 38. But this is a new era in my life and I am okay with that, I have been (or tried to be) alot, seen alot, read a whole lot, and learned alot so it is all good. My 12 year old son, Charles, asked me the other day if I was going to tell people I was 29 anymore (we had a long talk about lying) and I told him I was not, because I am not. He told me he was glad that I was going to tell the truth, he said "I don't think people believed you anyway, they can do the math and 2008 minus 29 and you would have only been a baby in the 80's and babies do not listen to that kind of music" I had to giggle at him, at least he got a math lesson, and a little cultural history too. Kid's say the darndest things and keep us painfully honest. :) God bless them.

You know you are "mature" when you get a call about your Highschool Reunion and the dress code is not as "formal" anymore and "comfortable dressy" is now how we describe how to dress.

The scripture that I use most often when I think about the outward appearance or any comparison in worldly terms is: Psalms 139:14 And I Will Praise thee; for I am Fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Prayers Answered? North Carolina not quite the move we planned.

**Play "Find Yourself" use the > keys to scroll down to the title on the playlist player to the right***

Well, We prayed about Chris's employment after he had really wanted to get on with the police force in the town we were from. (I was so scared God was going to answer yes, I had several people praying that I was supportive if he did, and that we had a definite sign, a burning bush or a letter would be great so there was no mistake) He then, went to work for his bestfriends janitoral company and was working there when Charles was born. He applied for several things, many friends of the family referred him to places, but nothing was panning out. He then applied for a job at GEICO and went through a long process and finally was hired for a position that after training would be in Raleigh, North Carolina. At first we were a little excited, we went to Dunn, North Carolina several times and new alot of people over there and thought this would be fun.

We of course, quickly started feeling scared and sad about leaving all of our family and friends, and my job. Life was full of change, and major changes, we both lived in Chesapeake all of our lives, we knew how to get anywhere, even knew the short cuts and back roads, we had street lights and I did not drive at night. We had to sell our townhouse that we purchased before we got married, so it was in my maiden name, therefore I had to do the paperwork (ugh!!! finances, and real estate together in one deal). The whole experience was gruling and I actually had to go back to Virginia to close due to problems that came up with our buyer. Our plans were not working out, again.

So it came time for moving day.. at least this could go smoothly.. (ha ha that would be a first) Nope, it poured down rained on moving day, we rented the biggest Uhaul and not everything was fitting on the truck, we had to start sorting the things we had to have right now, the rest (almost 1/2 the house would have to stay). I was panicing, so stressed, but I was holding it together.. I had to drive the 3 hours to our new home, which was not our ideal, but it was the best we found and our landlord was great. The backyard was big and open so we could hit golf balls which Charles liked too. And, it was perfect for blowing bubbles, which we discovered was very theraputic. We loaded up and headed for North Carolina, still raining. We pulled in the yard and the truck was a pain trying to line it up to get the loading deck close enough. We had to move during the week and most of the family was unable to take off work, but our two brother in-laws helped and My father-in-law came with us. We unloaded the truck and headed to take the truck back and got lost, with the North Carolina roads, we went up and down White Street a few times and finally got it turned in. Our family loaded up in their car and headed back home. That was the worst feeling watching them drive off. We were here all alone in North Carolina.

We were new in a town that was very different than what we were used to. Chris's first two weeks with GEICO were the most stressful, he had to use our car until his company car came in so I was stuck at home, alone with Charles, crying missing Papa for 14 days. Finally got my car back and was able to get out alittle, very little, I had the hardest time getting around (no sense of direction and I got lost every other turn). Chris's schedule was Tuesday thru Saturday and Monday's in Carolina are like a Sunday, many places are closed. We could not do any of the things that he needed to do, get licenses switched over, banking. It was rough I was on my own in a strange place, did not know anyone. The best part of the week was Sunday, the Church we actually found before the house we were renting. When we came to "house hunt" we passed the church and thought it looked like a good place to try, they were having a carnival and Charles was so excited, so we stopped and went in and he played, we talked to a few people. They invited us to come to services tomorow morning and nicely said, they would be looking for us. We thought it was nice, but the place was packed, they would not remember us tomorrow. Oh we were so wrong, Charles was the first one in the door, and as soon as we walked in one of the people that greeted us at the Games, called him, by name!!! oh, we were blown away. (Charles is very social and is hard to forget) We figure it was a fluke, but they remembered we were here visiting to look for a house to rent, again we were impressed. We liked the church and decided to look at the house again, that wasn't far away in Youngsville. We were both really heavy hearted and when we pulled up to the house we saw, someone from the fair, he worked at the church in the children's ministry. It was a sign. This was the house, from hundreds I looked at, this was where we were supposed to be. We signed the contract, alittle higher in spirits.

The church was always the first thing we talked about when we went back home. Charles and I were terribly homesick and went to Virginia alot in the beginning. Chris went by himself to church and really liked it. We finally got settled, still not all of our stuff made it to North Carolina. We had stuff at our parents house until just recently. We finally decided that we were not going to move this stuff down here and we began the painful process of going through it. And were so glad we did before bringing it down here just to throw away most of it because it was broken, ruined or otherwise just not of any use anymore. All this time these items were missed so much, but when we actually looked at the significance to our life here, there was none. God has purged us so much, which we so saddened by it, but now see it as a purification process. Our priorities are different now. Our thinking is different, we are different. We did not pray specifically much, we were to burdened and confused, worried we might have made a big mistake, but we prayed for wisdom and peace and the individual issues that arose. Christ knew what we needed. Even when we got off track and troubles found us and threatened our future, Christ interceded for us.

This verse is my "North Carolina" verse: Romans 8:24-27 (my additions)
For in this hope we were saved. But, hope that is seen is no hope at all who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we WAIT for it Patiently. In the same way, the spirit helps us in our weakness (and stupidity and doubts) We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts know the mind of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's Will.