ROAD TRIP TURNS INTO A MISSION TRIP!

I am taking a "random" road trip this July

with my 'little girl', Skyler.

We started planning this trip about 9 months ago

and it was simply going to be a road trip

with no agenda.

We were going to find some

Diners, Drive-In's and Dives,

take back roads and my camera.

Check out some junk stores.....

just several many days of relaxed fun.

It's not changed in that sense.

What has changed is that we now

have a mission!

I love, love, love it when God speaks to me

and I'm quiet enough to hear Him.

In thinking about the trip, He told me

that turning it into a short mission trip

would give it meaning.

It would give us more of a chance to

be a vessel for God.

Whenever I travel I always

do what I can to be a vessel for God.

I pay other people's tolls, anonymously.

I pay for other traveler's meals, anonymously.

And, I am extremely blessed each time

I do a random act of kindness.

(if you've never done a random act of kindness,

give it a try - it's the bomb.)

You've probably figured out our mission...

we are going to volunteer for two days

at a Center for Women and Families

in the eastern part of the U.S.

Basically a shelter for victims of

domestic violence or rape.

(because of confidentiality I can't tell you any more than that)

We are so excited to be a part of

the healing process of

these women and children.

We will be helping them create art.

Here's where YOU come in.

Here's where you can be a part of the healing process.

We'll be supplying the art supplies to make journals

and keepsake boxes out of cigar boxes.

We could use some help with these supplies

so if you are interested in helping with

glue sticks, patterned paper (for women and children),

fabulous embellishments,

AND/OR AN ENCOURAGEMENT CARD OR TAG FOR

THE WOMEN AND FOR THE CHILDREN,

please do what you can and

mail everything to me.

Don't sign your name on the cards/tags,

And, don't "address" OR seal the envelopes. (This is sooooo exciting!!)

and add a note of encouragement in your card or on your tag back.

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ENOUGH CARDS/TAGS

FOR EVERY

WOMAN AND CHILD IN THE CENTER.

Those will touch these hurting women and children

more than money.

Think about it - receiving a letter of encouragement from

someone that doesn't even know you. WOW.

God bless y'all and

if you can help with some of the above,

thank you.

And, if you can't, would you please pray

that we can be effective representatives of Jesus Christ

and that the women and children who we encounter

will see Jesus in our eyes and in our actions.

Jan Vermillion-Thomason

5720 Hwy. 27

Center Point, Texas 78010

I GOT TO KISS MY BABY GIRL ON THE CHEEK

I GOT TO KISS MY BABY GIRL, BRAT, ON THE CHEEK.

SHE WAS LYING IN HER HOSPITAL BED

WHEN I ARRIVED ON MONDAY

AND MY KNEES ALMOST BUCKLED WHEN I SAW HER.

ALL OF THE FEAR, UNCERTAINTY AND CONCERN

WERE WIPED AWAY

AS I CAME TO THE REALIZATION

THAT MY BRAT WAS GOING TO BE OKAY.

I KNEW WHEN I SAW HER THAT

GOD WAS ANSWERING ALL OF THE PRAYERS

SENT TO HIM.

I HAD KNOWN THAT SINCE I GOT NEWS

OF THE ACCIDENT,

BUT SEEING HER PUT A SHAKY HEART TO REST.

WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE A SHAKY HEART.

GOD KNOWS THAT WE SOMETIMES FEEL

UNCERTAINTY, A MOMENT OF FEAR.....

WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE WHAT I CALL 'MOMENTS'.

WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP THEM IN CHECK.

SEEING MY LITTLE GIRL SMILE AT ME

MADE ME FEEL SO AMAZING.

OH, HOW I HAD BEEN LIVING FOR THAT SMILE.

TO SEE HER, TO BE ABLE TO TOUCH HER,

RUB HER ARM GENTLY

AND TALK SOFTLY TO HER;

HAD ME ON MY KNEES (MENTALLY)

PRAISING MY LORD

"OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU..."

I WAS ABLE TO SLEEP ON A COT IN BRAT'S ROOM

ON MONDAY NIGHT.

THAT'D BE WHY I WAS NAPPING ON TUESDAY

ALONG WITH THE DRUGGED PATIENT.

THE STAFF AT ST. DAVID'S MEDICAL CENTER

IN ROUND ROCK TOOK EXCELLENT CARE OF BRAT.

THIS IS A PHOTO OF BRITTANY AND

ONE OF HER FAVORITE NURSES.

AND, I SIMPLY MUST SAY THAT BRAT WAS

AN EASY PATIENT TO NURSE.

SHE IS SUCH A BRAVE YOUNG WOMAN.

MY GIFT TO BRAT ON THIS VISIT WAS

A DARLING PICTURE OF HER AND HER FIANCE, WILL.

THAT WAS ON DAY ONE.

DAY TWO I TAPED UP THE NOT-SO-PRECIOUS,

BUT GUARANTEED TO MAKE HER LAUGH OUT LOUD,

HAIRY PHOTO OF HER AND WILL.

IT WAS SUCH A BLESSING TO HEAR HER LAUGH.

BRAT IS NOW AT A REHAB FACILITY,

STILL NEEDING OUR PRAYERS.

SHE'S ON HER WAY TO BEING WHOLE AGAIN.

AND FOR THAT, I PRAISE GOD.

I PRAISE HIM THE WHOLE DAY LONG

BECAUSE HE HAS MY DARLING BRITTANY

IN HIS HANDS.

I love you all,

      Jan

MOVE! BUSY THOSE HANDS! BUSY YOUR MIND!

 Move, Jan!

Busy those hands, Jan!

Busy your mind, Jan!

 And it will free your spirit for prayer.

Your fears, your longings, your troubles, they won't disappear,

but, you'll be able to hear God as he encourages you.

And, you'll remember to allow him to carry your burdens.

 And, that's what I did.

I started with the Creepy Doll room

and moved on to the living room bookshelves.

 I removed all of the books

except my Bobbsey Twins and

the Tank's Texas history books.

 I rummaged around in my

'needs to be listed on Etsy' cabinets,

in sacks in the garage

and found enough wonderful things to fill the shelves. 

 A few of the things are family heirlooms

such as my grandpa's pocket watch and

Thomason Civil War Bibles.

But, most came from my 'stores'.

 I'm not finished yet.

I'm going to turn the books around

so that the yellowed pages show, not the spines.

That will be my first move in my resolve

to fill my bookcases with creams, tea stained, and dirty whites.

That's the look I'm going for in this big re-do.

 But, for now I am happy enough with the look.

It was important that the changes I made

didn't involve spending any money

and I accomplished that.

 The most important thing that I've accomplished

in the bookcase make-over

is that it's kept my mind busy.

 Seriously?

When I'm idle Satan is able to balance on my shoulder

and whisper his lies in my ear.

 Jesus is holding me up this week

as I deal with my Brittany's serious car accident.

 She's better.

Her pelvic bone is fractured but no surgery needed.

Lots of P.T. and non-wieght bearing right leg for 3 months.

Her liver will heal.

I know why.

Why she's doing so well.

Oh, I'm not saying that she's

not in horrid pain, because at times she is in pain.

A lot of pain.

But, the precious Lord is being bombarded with prayers.

Prayers from those of us who love her

and prayers from other believers.

He hears them all so keep praying.

Please.

Because she will heal and your prayers will help.

You know what?

I can't imagine how I would handle life

without my faith.

How do they do it??

Praise the Lord.

I love you.

You're so, so special to me.

JAN

My Brittany ("Brat")

THE REST OF THE STORY. . . . .

I started this story on Facebook and am going to finish it here.

For those of you that didn't read the fb entry, I went to the doctor yesterday about a blister on the bottom of my right big toe that, over the weekend, had ulcerated. I knew that it had, I had been on my feet for the past five days instead of staying off of my foot and taking care of it.

But, we all have choices to make and I chose to honor a commitment I had made that caused me to travel out of town and be on my feet like a regular person (said tongue in cheek). I had gone to my doctor last week about the blister and had been following her instructions. I could tell nothing was happening very quickly, but I went ahead and left town knowing that I would continue to take my antibiotics, keep the blister bandaged, clean, medicated, etc.

So, I went straight to my doctor when I got back in town (Monday), she sent me to my podiatrist (today) that took care of my ankles after my surgeries in '06 and she sent me straight out for an MRI to make sure the infection hadn't made it into the bone - if it had, get this, readers, I would probably "loose my toe". I wasn't laughing then, but now must shake my head with a tiny little smile on my face just thinking about the things I do that God takes care of for me....read on....

Oh, and the radiologist noted a stress fracture of the 2nd metacarpal (I think that's the right word:)- probably caused by pushing down really hard on my bicycle pedals when riding up hills. But, the good news was that the infection was not in the bone. Praise God - I so don't deserve His unending care!

So. Here I sit, laptop in my, well, my lap, ice cold diet Cherry 7-Up on the table next to me, a stack of b'day cards to write of which I'm way behind, tons of pics on my camera's memory card to blog about, pictures to upload onto Flickr, blah, blah, blah. I have plenty to keep me busy until my next doctor's appointment on Monday. However, I doubt seriously I'll be back on my feet that soon. She'll probably keep me down for at least two weeks. (Now, that sucks. LOL)

Okey dokey, thought you'd want to know what was going on with me. Thanks for being such sweet readers. And, check back later this week, like in a couple of days, because I still have to blog about another one of Joan and my adventures during her visit AND the Paper Cowgirl art retreat!

Be safe! XOXO,

. . . . . . . . . . . .Jan

DO YOU STILL LOVE ME?

I wonder.
Do you still love me?
I haven't posted since last month and every day that goes by without me posting,
I go to bed wondering if you'll still love me in the morning.
Aaaaaa! (as in "cat")
I try so hard to get everything done every day so that in the evening I can post,
but LIFE keeps getting in the way and I seem to stay behind!
Take yesterday for instance.
Phone calls to the pharmacist, the dermatologist, and my internet provider.
The call to the internet provider necessitated a house call *which will cost me money* to switch me from wireless to DSL because our renter's Direct TV non-English speaking idiot (did I say that out loud?) of a satellite man TOOK OUR HIGH SPEED INTERNET SATELLITE DOWN and used that bracket for a new satellite for the renter.
WHO HIRES THESE PEOPLE???
We finally discovered our stolen satellite sitting in the garage AFTER we had switched to DSL. (Trust me, this is not over. There's a phone call to Direct TV in my future and I'm afraid my nice voice is going to give away to my frustrated voice. I just hope that when I call that I'm not routed TO INDIA!)

Is it any wonder that I'm bald, have wrinkles, puffy under eyes, constipation, dry skin, weeds, a husband who can eat 1/2 of a 9 x 13" casserole in one sitting that was going to be tomorrow's leftovers, a studio that looks like a crack house, a dog that sheds, another dog that derives great pleasure in licking her privates in my presence, no ice cream in the house and hate to cook???

I'm so behind, and so afraid that you'll leave me in the morning without even a note on the pillow, that I'm going to post a fascinating group post here to get caught up.
Then, after I'm sure y'all have had time to read this amazing post, I'm going to post the next giveaway.
Oh, my gosh. You aren't going to believe what I found to give away. It will probably cause you to tinkle just a wee bit because you're going to be so excited!

So, on with the photos of my latest (even I can't remember what they are).......

First, let me mention once again that we are going to have the best little art retreat in Texas in June! And, boy howdy, would I ever love to see you there!!
On the trip down here from Kalamazoo in February, I kept my eyes peeled for these kind of soft serve ice cream dives. They have the BEST soft serve!
Did you know that ice cream "parlors" up north close during the winter?
What's with that???
We stopped in some town at the most precious shop as is attested to by their parking sign! Isn't it the best???

Another stop that I always make if I happen to be on I-35 in Ardmore, Oklahoma, is The Cloverleaf...mostly for ideas...they're a wee bit expensive!

If it was for sale, I'd probably have to rent a U-Haul and buy it. I know just the place for it...

I'll never understand why everyone doesn't drive the back roads when traveling.

The photo ops...........see the swans? I think they're real.

I love, love, love taking pictures of old buildings! ...The texture!

A PINK TRAILER with all of the amenities!! I'd almost live in it!

Have I showed you this yet? ...A HUGE Barbie tote! ...Still trying to decide if I'm going to keep it or sell it! I'm always amazed at how much I look like her...

Oh, these vintage hankies! I love them - check out the one with the lovely lace edging. Amazing!

A corner of a fabulous photo I found in Noblesville, Indiana. Look at those precious kiddos!

A whole bunch of vintage patterns and all were simply darling!

I've started collecting Bobbsey Twins books! They were one of my favorite series when I was a kid and I thought it would be fun to try and collect all of them. I'm well on my way - this is the first one.

A 1910 dance card! You don't find these anymore! I was thrilled to find it.

Okay, y'all, that's it! Whew! I'm going to look over at the pillow next to me and am hoping to see your head lying there! LOL

I love my readers - y'all are the best to stick with me when I'm lame! hahaha

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XOXO,

. . .Jan

NOT SNOW, NOR SLEET........

Just a quick note to let you know that I made it to my mother's late this afternoon!
Oh, don't let the casual tone of my voice fool you.
I could have been killed!

I was quite fine until I got to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on my way to my sister, Joan's, last night.
Then I could see snow on the ground, it was really windy so snow was blowing across the highway and I couldn't see the road at times and I was driving in the dark.
A lone woman.

I got to Angola where my sister lives and then I almost hit an unsuspecting car stopped at a light.
Oh, it wasn't that I was traveling too fast for the conditions or texting while drove (I'm too old to even try). I drive a convertible and I told Frank the Tank that my car was too light to drive in the snow.

I was right.

But, God loves me so much he got me to mom's this afternoon.
Oh, once again, my casual tone is deceiving.
I could have been killed.
It was snowing so hard that sometimes everything looked white.

And it's cold up here.
I wanna go home.
I'm holding off my final opinion that you have got to be nuts to live in this weather until I've been here a bit longer.
You see, I grew up here until I left for college in Oklahoma in '71.
But, I'm thinking old people should all live in Texas.
In fact, we've got our guest house for rent.
If you're old, then you should seriously consider moving to Texas.
You can live on the ranch with us.
It was 75 there today.

I've got wonderful pictures of purchases I made in an antique mall in Noblesville, Indiana, on the way up here.
I'll get them posted tomorrow:)

XOXO,
. .
. . .

CHRISTMAS DAY WAS FULL OF.............LAUGHTER!

Hi, y'all! and, Merry Christmas! I just had to post this in red to celebrate Christmas - I sure hope you can read it.
Okay, enough red, let's get really festive and write this in PINK! heehee. It's late,......I'm in the sitting area of our bedroom listening to Frank the Tank snore,
my studio dog, Ben, is "passing gas" which, btw, can make you breathe through your shirt,
the house is quiet as everyone is in bed,
but, I had to stay up and post this ON Christmas - then I'll go to bed.
This is a great time to reminisce about this special day of family, faith and the overwhelming love I have for my boys. Our day started out with opening presents.
I made a huge mistake of having Santa give our three "boys", ages 18, 21 and 23, these air guns that shot the large marshmallows.
Yeah.
BIG mistake, but so funny that I couldn't breathe! You should have seen those "young adults".
Best gift Santa could have given them.

The afternoon was filled with the boys and their good friend, Brat, visiting while I made supper.
I'm not bragging when I say this. I'm stating a fact...................Blake and Clay are a SCREAM.
Making Christmas supper has never been so much fun!
About 9 p.m. Blake wanted to take the "Christmas picture" so I found my camera and we headed to the dining room.
The background isn't the best, actually it's pretty bad, but there are stools at the bar and we like the way the boys can situate themselves.
Before I show you the pictures that were taken,
I want to ask you if you have ever seen the YouTube "mother's day" with Barats and Bereta?
(if you can't get there from this link, go to http://www.youtube.com/ and in the "search box" type in "mother's day". it should be the first one listed. You must see it!)
IT IS A SCREAM AND ALL I COULD THINK OF AS WE HAD OUR "PHOTO SHOT".
During our time with the camera clicking away, I felt like I was working with 1st graders during all of this 'fun'.....you know 1st grade boys -
they pee on the floor instead into the toilet,
they cut the bangs off the little girl sitting next to them *Clay*,
they think it's so funny to say the really bad words {shut-up, stupid, pee...} and watch little girl's reactions..........
The boys had the best time being simply foolish and, of course, I can't breathe once again!
Here they are, the pics.................Merry Christmas said with laughter because of the memories of this special day make the BEST MEMORIES.

FYI, Clay is on the left, age 18, freshman at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Blake is in the middle, age 21, senior at UMHB,
and Craig is on the right, age 23, soon to be graduate of the University of San Angelo, and a police officer on the San Angelo P.D.

......words are not necessary........

I went through all of that to get this.....through i really like the muscle one. LOL
It's now tomorrow [1:15 am.], the day after Christmas, and the memories are the same - precious.

How blessed am I to have such good guys that can have so much fun with their old mom?

I sincerely hope that your Christmas was joy filled and that you remembered *and celebrated* the reason for this holiday - the birth of the King.

If you didn't have a joyful day, please let me know - sometimes it helps to talk about the things in our life that keep us from being joyful and I would be honored to talk to you. polkadotbarn@gmail.com

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I love you,

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XOXO,