Prayer requests

Please be in prayer for my friends Roberta Dean who lost her mother early this morning and Larry Heckman who lost his father. Thanks!

Something to share

The last two nights have been very restful. I am having trouble with Christmas songs and generally break into crying when I hear them and feel guilty about that because Christmas is about Jesus and I am a Christian. I ask for your prayers on this. I want to go out this weekend and purchase a Christmas present for my niece. I think that will be therapeutic. I got more done today as far as home chores and so I feel a little more accomplished.


The funeral was packed. People had flown in from all over that had known daddy from his trucking stops. Daddy did not know a stranger and loved to just visit. People were given the chance to talk about memories of Daddy and one his high school buddies remembered that when I was born and of course, there were complications, daddy had not left the hospital for two days and his buddies went to check on him and encourage him to get a cup of coffee or something and when they found him, he had fallen asleep with his hands grasping the Bible. Gary had never shared this with anyone until that day. Mom didn't even know. I wanted to share that.

Back from the funeral

We are back home from Parson's. There is so much I want to say about the funeral but we are so exhausted and I want to have a clear head when I do it. I do want to say that because I was not raised there, there were many strange faces and so I mostly knew my siblings and a few people I remembered from childhood. It was comforting to see the familiar faces of Mark's mom and Ike who were there and Mark Bond who was the worship minister at CCC for awhile, came over from Joplin, where he now ministers and my half sister Laurie (we share a mom) took us down and brought us back. More on this after some serious sleep because we have had some very short nights lately. Again, thanks for all the prayer and condolences!!!

Thanks

Kim said...
Helms Family, not sure how you happened to find our blogspot but sooo glad you did! Feeling that the world is a smaller place right now is a very comforting feeling!! I was unsure how to respond to your comment any other way since I don't have a link back to your e-mail but thanks and God bless you!! Thanks to all of you who are praying!!

Daddy's obituary

James D. McLaughlin (May 22, 1943 - November 21, 2007) Sign Guest Book Send Private Condolences
James D. “Jim” McLaughlin, 64, of rural Mound Valley, died at 5:50 a.m., Wednesday, November 21, 2007, from injuries received in an automobile accident near Fredonia, Kansas.
He was born May 22, 1943, in Galveston, Texas, to James Curtis and Velma Lee (Cockrum) McLaughlin. He graduated high school in Breckendridge, Missouri, where he earned All-State football and basketball honors. Following high school graduation, he attended Central College in Fayette, Missouri, for one year.
Through the years, he lived in Kansas City, Missouri, Chillicothe, Missouri, Coffeyville, Kansas, and Mound Valley, Kansas. He worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad for 18 years before becoming a professional truck driver.
He and Julie Ann Wilson were married. They later divorced. He and Pamela S. Gillman were married December 22, 1969, in Miami, Oklahoma. She survives.
He loved fishing and the outdoors. He whole-heartedly was devoted to his family and friends. He especially enjoyed making others laugh. He was a member of the National Rifle Association and the Bass Federation.
SURVIVORS: Mother - Velma Elliott Warsaw, MO One Son - James Curtis McLaughlin Cherryvale, KS Four Daughters – Kim Hubbard St. Joseph, MO Jamie McLaughlin Albuquerque, NM Michelle McLaughlin Spring Hill, TN Sarah McLaughlin Pittsburg, KS One Brother - Harold Covington Warsaw, MO
He was preceded in death by his father and one brother.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Monday, November 26, 2007, at the Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons. Friends may call at the funeral home after 2:00 p.m., Sunday, November 25, 2007. The family will hold a private burial service at a later date.
Memorial contributions are suggested to an educational fund for his grandchildren. These may be left at or mailed to Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, KS 67357.

A song

It is @ 3 in the morning and I am wide awake. I have always found comfort in the words of this song by Kathy Tricolli.

My life is in your hands And though I may not see clearly I will lift my voice and sing Cause your love does amazing things Lord, I know, my life is in your hands
Nothing is for sure Nothing is for keeps All I know is that your love Will live eternally
So I will find my rest, And I will find my peace Knowing that you'll meet my every need My life is in your hands My heart is in your keeping I'm never without hope Not when my future is with you My life is in your hands And though I may not see clearly I will lift my voice and sing Cause your love does amazing things Lord, I know, my life is in your hands When I'm at my weakest Lord You carry me Then I become my strongest Lord In your hands My life is in your hands And though I may not see clearly I will lift my voice and sing Cause your love does amazing things Lord, I know, my life is in your hands I trust you Lord My life is in your hands

My Daddy

It is with great sorrow that I write this blog. My mom got a call from my step-mom last night that my dad had been killed in his semi yesterday morning. He apparently crossed the line and hit the trailer of another semi. His trucking buddy was unharmed as he was in the sleeper and the other semi driver was unharmed. Daddy was not wearing a seat-belt and I was told he was thrown through the windshield. An autopsy is being done and his funeral is Monday at 10:00 A.M. in Parsons Kansas. Please pray for us!

Lilly is here

Thanks so much to those who prayed for Mark's great niece. Lilly was born a little after 8 last night and weighed 7.? pounds. She did have some fluid on her lungs but is much better today and she and the new mom are anticipating going home in the morning. Also got an e-mail from Vicki (our church secretary) that Ves came through his heart surgery just fine. Praise the Lord! We got concrete poured by the new addition and on the hill for the shed yesterday. The concrete truck was to be here at 2 and arrived at 3:30. Paul and his son Paul were finishing when the sun was setting but thank-God it did not rain last night!

Praises and prayer needs

Praise the Lord the our friends got to take their baby home from the NICU. Tennyson Meyers is home as a result of many answered prayers! I got a call today that Mark's nephew's girlfriend is hospitalized in labor. This great niece was not really due until January and they were really hoping she would not have Lilly Ann until mid-December but it looks like Ms. Lilly wants to be here for Thanksgiving so please pray for her to be o.k..

Please pray for Ves Oswald, an elder at our church and goods friend who had to be taken from the service to the hospital via ambulance and has heart surgery today. Please also pray for my friend Linda Georke's mother who is elderly and is having surgery for a broken hip today. Naomi Kinsinger is her name and my friend Linda and her husand Millard are celebrating 50 years of marrige Saturday with a reception at the church.
Thanks for partnering in prayer and praise with me!!

the week

Well , we have enjoyed the room for a week now. Paul had the flu this week so not a lot got done but at least we are moved in. He did get the TV mounted on the wall. We really enjoy the room! We have been busy but things have slowed down. I am doing two Bible studies so I read a lot. I have not been getting out during the day much while Mark is at work because by the time I do my chores and study, it is time for him to get home. I do go to my study on Tuesday morning and sometimes go and eat with the ladies and my other study is on Daniel and it is on Sunday morning. The Tuesday morning one is an overview of the Bible. Both are great studies! My dad also got me a book by Henry Cloud called Unlocking the Secrets of God and I try to read it some.
We get to hear the pastor that they are considering for an interim minister next Sunday and I am glad because I am ready for some consistency but the people who have preached since Rodney left have done an awesome job. Tonight is the Thanksgiving meal at church and we have invited Mark's mom and Ike to join us. We plan to spend some time with my family at my sisters in Chillicothe on Thanksgiving and I am sooo excited to see the baby niece for the second time. Mom spent some time with them this weekend. Time to get ready for dinner. If I fail to blog more this week, we wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Our address is the same but...

We have moved!!!!! It finally happened and we are inhabiting our new addition. The furniture was delivered Saturday morning. Dad arrived Friday night and we visited and he ate ham and beans I had in the crock pot for him. Saturday, after a big breakfast Mark treated us to at home and the furniture arriving and getting that situated, Dad used the leaf blower to clean out the gutters on the house for us. Mom came down and we did some visiting and shopping. She brought my birthday cake (we were waiting on dad) and I ate way too much but it was awesome! Dad and Mark and I watched the movie " We are Marshall" last night. No one around here has gotten a lot of sleep because the puppy had never met my dad prior to this visit and he did a lot of barking both nights. The dogs were all confused when dad was in our old room and they had no idea where we were because they are not allowed in the new addition. Today we went to Wal-Mart, church and lunch and then dad left. We ran out to pick up a Christmas present for my nephew with a 50% off coupon in the Sunday paper. Because dad was here, we did not get lots of stuff moved into drawers. The closets are not finished just yet nor the cement outside the door, but it feels so great to be moved in. Dusty should be much calmer tonight. I hope so!!

Before and after pictures

Carpet and window treatments

Today, the room really looks like a bedroom. It was a great day, as we got carpet, mini-blinds and valances. Here are some pictures of the carpet and window treatments.

Tentative "moving" date

It is scheduled for our furniture to be delivered next Saturday. Paul intends to get the carpet down this week (I am thinking tomorrow) and the vinyl in the entryway. After that, once we get the mini-blinds and valances up, the rest can be finished after we move in. Also, my dad has been wanting to come and visit because besides the job he has driving a truck, he and my brother run a yard care business and he has not been here since before we started on the room in May. He is to arrive some time on Friday. On Saturday night, he will get to use the "guest" bedroom. We spent part of the weekend looking for the best buy on a comforter set to go with the new decor in the room. I think we will keep the one we found Saturday at JC Penny. We both like it but had hoped to find a cheaper set. We have to look at Wal-Mart still. This is a picture of Jeff putting up our ceiling fan. It also kind of shows the color of the paint.

Delaney and etc.

It is after 10 PM but we had some friends over and I had a cup of coffee after 7 so I am up and blogging but hoping to sleep soon. We wanted to visit with an elder from church and so we had Ves and Jan Oswald over. We had a great visit and got some questions answered. They are awesome, Godly couple! Thanks to everyone who prayed for our new little friend Tennyson! From the looks of today's blog, he is much better as he got to be bottle fed for the first time and did great! Praise the Lord.

I wanted to update about my niece Delaney. All is going well! I thank she is hovering around 10 lbs. now. The birth mom has called on a few occasions to check on her but that is the relationship my sister and her husband intended to have with her. I thank mom said the adoption is final in March. My sister has not followed through on the promise to send pictures. She is busy, I guess. She has dial-up Internet because they live in the country but she has a laptop that she uses when traveling for her job. It is not about me anyway. I hope to see the baby and Colton around the holidays.

The ramp was built from the kitchen to the new addition yesterday but it is pretty steep and will eventually need revamped. It is no fault of Paul's but has more to do with the initial design and stuff. I can manage it well enough to use it until we can figure out something different. Paul needs to do some second coat painting and put the carpet in and Jeff needs to put some more electrical stuff in (like our ceiling fan/light) and then we can probably move in before the outside concrete work and etc.). Please pray for my patience as the closer it gets, the less patient I am getting. I am going to see if I can get some sleep. Night all!