Life's About Changes...

Well, we are home schooling the kids this year and it seems to be going well. I am loving it, though, I think it will be much more organized once I go to part time with my job. I had intended to quit altogether, but prayed about working part-time and it seems like the Lord is going to work that out.

Since July, right after Church Camp, I have been writing devotions and sending them by email to several in our region as well as a few people from work. I am so excited about the young people beginning to write and very GOOD! at that. They are showing tremendous talent and I know that God is going to use our youth in a mighty way this year.

Our local Church has been working on the fellowship hall and kitchen since we finished the new sanctuary and we are having a revival and building dedication in October with Brother Stephen Smith. Nothing short of a miracle is the fact that we have done all this construction and remodeling without having to borrow any money! Praise the Lord!

Well, I haven't posted in a long time, but I have to work in just a few hours, so I better head off to bed for some needed sleep...

Love and prayers

Air Force Airshow OKC

I can't believe I haven't blogged since I was here in OK last time- that was December! We are in OKC, OK for Memorial weekend. We went to the Air Force Airshow yesterday and it was amazing. Wayne took some awesome pictures. We had a great time. It sure was hot. There were 27 of us all at Rob and Amy's and then out to the airshow and then back to Rob and Amy's for grilling out. Nick, Sherry, and Sheyene came and Sherry made briskett and butter cake, not to mention her homemade salsa. She is a great cook! The kids swam in the pool and the adults visited.


Rob, Amy and the girls are famous! They have a really nice storm shelter underground in their garage and someone from the newspaper interviewed them and took several pictures. They were on the front page of the real estate section of the Oklahoma paper. It was neat! Kaylee was just looking up out of the shelter all smiles. She is so pretty, her blue eyes just sparkle.

We went to Church this morning and Bro. Dewayne Smith brought a wonderful message about Finances in this troubled economy. It was a good reminder of where we need to have our priorities.

We are all excited about camp. Wayne is going to be the dean for Sr Camp this year and we are both working as camp nurses. He is on his way back to Arkansas on the motorcycle and the rest of us are staying on until Monday.

Rob is in charge of the service tonight at Church. Amy played the piano this morning and sang.

Next weekend is Grandma McIllwain's birthday (Wayne's Grandma). I think she is going to be 90. So everyone is coming for that. It will be in Fisher. Eugene (Wayne's dad) is staying in OK until then and riding back with Rob, Amy and the girls.

We picked Destiny up at Fort Smith and she came to OKC too. We don't get to see her nearly as much as when she lived close, so it is hard to drive through her home town and not pick her up if we have the chance. She is getting so tall and still pretty as can be. These kids are all growing up. Someday we'll look around and they will all be grown and we'll be saying like that Trace Atkins' song, "You're gonna miss this; You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days didn't go by so fast..." I have to try to remember that the next time Dakota catches a baby mouse at the barn and brings it in the house and leaves it in the dog food container while we are gone all weekend to OKC. (Smile! I wasn't smiling at the time when I found that one out!) But I still have to remember that I will look back on things like that someday and smile and miss this.

Oklahoma Christmas and New Year

We have had a wonderful visit with Amy, Rob, Emma, Madison, Kaylee, and Minnie Jean in Oklahoma. I spent several hours sewing curtains and valance, pillow, bed skirt, and tie-backs to match the quilt and pillow I initially made for Kaylee. They all turned out sooooooooo pretty!

Emily and Dakota enjoyed playing with the girls. Emily read to them. Dakota entertained them with his cheetah walk. He looks so odd when he does that! The girls had to touch his shoulder blades to figure out what they were.


Tonight the Clawson's and Ramona, Noah, and Makayla came over to Rob and Amy's and we talked and are about to play the game Cranium- girls against guys. I better go for now so I can help the girls team win!

Happy New Year!

New Baby for Christmas!

My computer came with a mini wireless card but I could never get it to work. I finally took it to the computer shop (CompuPro- they are great!) today and it was as simple as could be to connect. I can't believe I waited so long. I would have had the DSL services disconnected a year ago had I know about this.

We are having a Christmas program including a play at Church on December 23. The kids are all excited about it, except Dakota is disappointed because though his part is the lead, he does not get to "dress up" in anything and everyone else does.


Amy had the baby, a girl, just like I thought! She weighed 9 pounds and 3 oz and is 19 inches long. I can't wait to see her. She actually has dark hair. Her name is Kaylee Briann Montgomery. There are pictures of her on their blog but I'm going to paste one here too. To see the others, visit Amy and Rob's blog at this link. http://montyrt2007.blogspot.com/

I let Bo out last night to potty and he disappeared after about 1 minute and didn't come home. I finally gave up and went to bed. When Wayne left at 5:50 a.m. today, Bo was waiting expectantly on the front porch wet and reallllllllly wanting in. It was after 1 a.m. and I finally gave up that he was coming back so I finally closed and locked the doors (are yelling for him many, many times). Maybe he will learn someday not to run off.

We had Christmas dinner with our Church family and then we went to my Grandma's and had dinner there too (on the same day!) We have been caroling to a few shut-ins with Church and the ladies had a little get together at Sister Conway's house and took her small gifts from each one and she was so excited and surprised. She is so sweet. This will be a hard time for her since she lost her husband of 50 + years this year. She just hasn't been able to completely recover from the loss. He was a precious man.

Emily is gone tonight with her cousins. They had a big day today working on their play costumes. They sat up until 2 a.m. sewing and making halos. They are angels (of all things) in the play. :)

The kids are out of school until the 2nd of January and we are so excited about Christmas.

We love all of you and don't forget the reason for the season (and for all seasons for that matter)- JESUS! If you don't know Him as your personal Savior, ask Him into your heart TODAY with delay.

Love, the Dixon's

Merry Tossmas

I was listening to Focus on the Family tonight, one of my favorite programs by the way, and heard them talking about this great video about Merry Tossmas. This is a great way to say Merry Christmas to all those stores who want to leave Christ out of Christmas again this year. Click on the link and then on the stoplight to watch it. It is funny and attention getting at the same time, really makes an impact.

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000005834.cfm

Merry Christmas!

Busy Bees

Emily, Tori, Cindi, and Tayler
Destiny, Grandpa EG, and Cindi

(Thanks for the pictures Cindi!)

It has been a long time since I have been able to sit down and add anything to our blog. We have been soooooooo busy. My job is keeping me impossibly behind and now the holidays are upon us.



Wayne is taking Dakota deer hunting this morning. Dakota is very excited but Emily is upset because she doesn't get to go this time. Rob, Amy, Emma and Madison are in for the week. Rob is going hunting with them, too. We girls are all going to Minnie Jean's to cook a Thanksgiving feast...Yum!



The kids are still loving the Wednesday night Gleaner programs at Church. They can't wait to get there and are upset if they don't have class. It is wonderful to still see them so excited.



Dakota starts guitar lessons through the grassroots program in two weeks. I hope he stays interested in it. Emily is still doing beautifully with the fiddle.



Wayne repaired Emily's bedroom door, so Bo has to stay off her bed when we are not home. He has no choice; he can't budge the door any longer.



Amy is due in 3 weeks. Her belly is enormous! She may have a ten pounder! :) We can hardly wait. I wish we knew what "it" is, but they didn't want to find out until the big day.



Dakota got poison ivy across his face, eyelids, ears and neck. His earlobe really swelled up. This is the first time he has ever had it.



Well, I guess that is enough updates. I have a couple more things, but they are lengthy and a few minutes wouldn't do them justice. I will save those for a time when I have plenty of time, because it is about the wonderful way God answers prayer.



See you all later.

Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat (I mean dog!) and the Fiddle

Dakota was sick with fever when I got home from work this evening at almost 7 p.m. We were supposed to go to a Church function (prayer band service), but he was too sick to go. I took him home and he ate something and took some Motrin and started feeling better.

Emily has started back to fiddle class at school. She is doing realllllllllllly good! She has so much talent. Bo (our dog) is excited about it all too. He knocked Emily's door off the wall, literally. He likes to lay on her bed and so when we leave, we close the door. He runs at it so hard that he pushed it in. Wayne is going to have to fix it tomorrow. It is just propped up now. I got really upset with him (Bo, I mean). We put him in the bathroom for a few hours to think about what he had done. As soon as I came home and saw what he had done, he ran and hid. He knew exactly what was going on. It is like he knows when he is in trouble before you even say a word. He is too smart for his own good, but if he doesn't quit tearing our doors off the wall, he is going to become a very smart outside dog, I'm afraid.

I am having to work a lot of late evenings with my job. I have about had all I can take. If it wasn't for the wonderful people I work with, I just don't think I could stand the pressure.

Oops! The door and frame just got taken down completely! Well, Emily said, "My door looks so much bigger." That is not the way I look at it. I am not happy about this at all. :(

Wayne is off for the next FIVE days. I wish I could be too. We are looking forward to the hayrides and hopefully getting to visit Rob and Amy and Melanie and Darrin this weekend. I HATE to miss Church in Mountain View, but we will have too if we are able to go pick up Destiny, but we can go to Austin to The Church of God there.

Destiny's leg is getting better! Thank the Lord for that! She is getting sooooo tall, maybe that is why it was doing what it was doing with all the pain and everything.

Most of my neices are coming to the hayride this weekend. I am so happy about that! They are still enjoying the Bible Detective Series at Church on Wednesday nights too.

Dakota is growing some beans for a project at school. So far he has 1 sprout out of 5. That one is almost 5 inches tall in just 8 days. It is growing so fast. He has to keep a log of the progress and then turn it in to his Science teacher in a week or so for a grade. He had to turn in a Science box today. He had some very interesting stuff in it, like a snake skin hatband his dad made from a dead rattlesnake he found, some quartz, a heart shaped rock, some shells, some gourds, and other things too. His teacher thought it was great. This week is parent teacher conference. I wonder how their grades will be? Emily has only ever made one B and that was at 9 weeks, never anything but A's at semester. Dakota usually does well too. He has more trouble staying still though and sometimes gets in trouble for "duckwalking" in class and various other things boys like to do. They are so different and they torment one another almost constantly. I hope they turn out to be great friends in the years to come though.

The ladies I work with gave me some of the nicest gifts for Bosses Day. I just appreciate them so much! They are great. They are the ones deserving of the gifts- they do such a great job. The card from Sharp County was hilarious. I can't believe I get to work with such wonderful people. God has really blessed me abundantly and I am so thankful to Him.

Well, I guess I should go to bed soon, AFTER I turn off that fiddle song Emily has on repeat in her room on the CD player. It is playing the same thing over and over and over and over and is about to drive me insane! She thinks she can absorb some more of it while she sleeps apparently.

See all of you later!

Happy 35th Birthday Wayne Dixon!

I posted some more articles on the associated content site. One about the staph superbug MRSA that everyone is talking about. Check it out at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/420112/handwashing_prevents_spread_of_staph.html

The ladies from Church are having the mission yard sale this weekend. It started today and runs through tomorrow. They had a steady stream of customers so hopefully we will raise a lot of money for missions.

Amanda and Wesley Hill are looking at a house this evening. Pray that God will lead them to the perfect house that He has for them.

I have had a hard week. I fell on Monday and hit my arm on the car and thought I had torn my rotator cuff, but it is much better. It still hurts to hold it above my head or to lie down with it a certain way, but I know God is able to completely heal it as he has before.

Emily is spending the night with a friend tonight. This is a rare thing. She normally ONLY goes with family. We have let her go home with one other little girl a couple of other times, but other than that, it is just with family. She is growing up!

Dakota is really getting into a book called the Trumpeter Swan and he even read through activity period today, which is amazing if you know anything about Dakota.

Today is Wayne's birthday. He is 35 today! Why don't you all call him and wish him a happy birthday! 870 213 6624 is his Cingular number. Don't tell him I told you too, though. :)

I finished the book!

Well, I finished A Reconciled Heart by Jo Ann Snapp. Oh, my goodness! It was excellent. I can't believe how well the book is written, especially for the very first book she has written. It is really a page turner and I had to just make myself put it down. I wanted to hurry and get to the end to see what happened, but I wanted the book not to end either. I am excited about the next book in the series. I hope it comes out soon. You all have just got to get this book and read it and pass it on. After I thumbed through some of the filth that young women I know are reading today, it made me sad. That is why I am so happy with this book, finally something decent. It makes me happy to know that there are choices out there for a young woman to read that promote Biblical values.

Sister Branscum here is one of the pictures of your girls from camp. I tried and tried to get these to post to Kodak.com but the upload failed. I finally gave up after several hours.

Sister Pam, here is a picture of Cindi and Josh. Sorry, I can't get them all on here.

We started back walking today. It rained, but we walked anyway. Some of us brought umbrellas. It was fun as usual, but I could only make it two miles this time. I was really tired and my feet and back were hurting.

Amy, Rob, and the girls left for Alabama today. I miss them already. They won't be back for three weeks and then they are going to stay at Mel and Darrins and try to find a van in Little Rock when they come back through. Rob will be staying for a total of six weeks though in Alabama.

Emily and Dakota are doing well in school. It is almost 9 weeks. They do not like to read as well as I do. I wish I could get them motivated! Maybe when they are a little older.

Sister Gosser, the Gleaner leader, is doing something interesting with them on Wednesday nights at Church. They are deputies uncovering facts in the Bible, memorizing scriptures, and having all kinds of fun. Tayler, my brother's daughter, really likes it. She has been coming every Wednesday since they started this new thing. I am so glad she is enjoying it. Tori is supposed to come this week.

Several came and helped get the trusses (is that how it's spelled?) up on the church building Thursday. It is looking different now. They are preparing to put the roof on. We are excited to get it finished in the next several months. We are still having some awesome services. Brother Farthing always preaches his heart out and God is really blessing. We had some new visitors in service last night. Hope they come back.

We are going to the Casting Crowns concert this weekend. They are really good. Wayne and I went last time they were in Little Rock. I am not used to having to buy tickets though because usually I can win some from AFR (American Family Radio) out of Little Rock or Heber Springs. I love AFR. This time though they were not doing any ticket give aways for this concert. :(

We are looking forward to the couples retreat in April (4, 5, 6, I think). It is in Branson, Missouri which is a couple of hours away and it is for couples of all ages.

Oh, I have found the absoute best salsa! It is Santitas. (It is in a jar exactly like the Tostitos brand, but it tastes soooooooo much better). It is just like in Mexican restaurants. They were selling it at the Mountain View Wal-Mart and now they don't carry it. When we were in Tennessee, I found some at there Wal-Mart by the tortilla chips, so I stocked up- 6 jars at once, but it didn't last long and we have run out and I can't find anymore. If you see it, please tell me where. :)

Please pray for my family. Most of them are not saved. Also, I told Stevie I would pray about her van. The motor is messed up and it will cost about 1200 dollars to fix. This is the way Destiny gets to and from school and to Mountain View. So, help me pray that God would make a way for it to be fixed quickly and as inexpensively as possible.

Well, I have a training to help with the next three days so I better go to bed now.

Check out my recently published article about Mountain View, AR by clicking on this link.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/393440/life_in_mountain_view_arkansas_you.html

Hayride at Mtn. View Scheduled for October 26 at 5 p.m.

The Church of God at Mountain View, Arkansas invites all of you to a hayride and bonfire on October 26, 2007 at 5 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs and come prepared to have fun! If you need directions or more information, call the Farthings at 870-269-6324. See ya there.

Minister's Convention

We picked up Destiny this morning at Russelville. Her dad met us at the Cracker Barrell and dropped her off at 8:30 this morning. Wayne, Emily, Dakota, Destiny, and myself ate the BEST breakfast at Cracker Barrell. It was delicious! Then we went to the minister's convention at The Church of God on Elmira Drive. The convention was great and there were several there. We really got a great blessing while there and the power of God could be felt throughout each program. I especially enjoyed the Sunday School program Rob (Montgomery) presented. It really made me think.

After the convention, several of us went to DQ. It was great to visit with everyone from Pocahontas, Pryor OK, and Austin over ice cream.

Well, I need to finish studying for the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow.

Ladies Night Out and Other Happenings

We had a great time at our Dorcas Club meeting/Ladies Night Out tonight. We ate sandwiches, chips and dip, etc. and talked up a storm. Our pastor's daughter got to come this time. She is a sweet lady and her little girl, Emily, is a cutie! We all enjoyed ourselves as we discussed the power of the Word of God. Some of our husbands met at Country Time (formerly Joshua's Restaurant) and ate supper, as well.

Wayne mowed our yard. Well, he said that he cut hay since the grass was so high, it took several sacks to hold all the cuttings. Emily went to the fair at Melbourne tonight with my brother's family. Dakota went along with his daddy for supper with the "men." We are all home now and should go to bed.

Charlotte's Associated Content Writer Web Page

Amy, Here is that web page. http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/109245/charlotte_dixon.html

Walking and A Reconciled Heart

Several of the ladies and children from Church started walking this week. We are meeting Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 6 p.m. at the walking track in Mountain View. I think I have walked about 15 miles already this week. It is fun! I am more motivated than before since I enjoy the fellowship and don't have to think so much about the walking part. Two times this week, we also brought Bo (our adopted dog- we got him from Rob and Amy). He loves it. Today, he saw a squirrel and jerked out of Dakota's hand and took off in a mad dash for it and ran it up a tree. It was really cute.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow, the ladies are meeting for our monthly Dorcas Club get together. We always have a good time and Sister Laverna Gosser brings a good Bible lesson each time. Sometimes we quilt or sew or scrapbook and we also eat supper and visit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The VLBs are hosting a hayride at the end of October. Everyone is invited. It sure was fun last year. We had food and games and their were around 60 people. Come on out if you are in the area

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily went home with her cousins, Tori and Tayler, tonight. Since Wayne is working late at the hospital, that just leaves Dakota and myself here alone (with Bo, of course). Dakota is entertaining himself with some really cool magnets Tori gave him and I am blogging.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have a new family (two sisters) who has been coming to Church from the Church of God of Prophecy. They moved here from California and have been such a blessing. Sister Donna and Joann Snapp. They are both very nice. Sister Jo Ann is a writer and recently had her first book published. It is a sequel and she already has 3 more ready to publish in the series. The book is Christian romance fiction set in the late 1890s and is a wonderful book. I bought three of them to give as gifts to my neices who need some good reading material. The lady at the Christian bookstore where I go in Melbourne, AR (about 30 minutes from here) said that it was "excellent". The book is being considered for a writing award. It is called A Reconciled Heart by Jo A. Snapp. It is available by special order at Christian bookstores and also at Hastings. If you click on this link, there is a preview of chapter 1 of the book. Check it out. It really is a great Christian romance. http://www.ebookmall.com/ebooks/reconciled-heart-snapp-ebooks.htm

First time bloggers!

Charlotte and Wayne working in Church Camp

Wayne, Dakota (pouting!), Emily, Charlotte in Canada

Dixon, Montgomery, Wade trip to Washington DC. Pictured are Charlotte, Destiny, Tori, Emily, Tayler, Dakota and Wayne

I can't believe I'm finally doing this. It seems so odd to write your thoughts on a page for all to see, yet, here I am doing exactly that.

Wayne, Emily, Dakota and I have been so busy the past few months with Church camp, the Assembly, a trip to Branson to meet Rob and Amy, a trip to Oklahoma City and many other short trips here and there, and for the past month it's been back to school for the kids.

On Wayne's days off, he has been helping some on the new Church auditorium. We are building on here in Mountain View.

Today, though, he helped my grandpa at the farm mowing, weedeating and putting on a huge tractor tire that had had to be repaired. My grandpa is in his late 70s but he can still work like a 30 year old. He puts us all to shame!

I just attended our regional Ladies Retreat and it was wonderful. Sister Campbell and Sister Bishop ministered to us and the power of God fell in a mighty way each service. Sister Rachel and Sara were there with Sister Campbell. We were happy to get to see them again.

Our minister's convention is this Saturday and we are looking forward to that. We will be picking up Destiny and bringing her to Mountain View with us for the weekend. We miss her so much!

Something else I've started doing is writing for an online writing content page. It pays some for each article they purchase and allows me to do what I really like to do and that is write! Check out my articles on my content page.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=109245

Well, if I don't stop now, I will not get up for work in the morning!