Happy Birthday to MOM

Mom is older today...Her 76th Birthday!

I'm celebrating my way in Prague KNOWING that Papa is doing the same in Wichita Falls for Grandma...right Dad?

Billie Inez Thornton Woodard was born and raised in Joplin, Texas. Pa and Granny (her parents) had three children. My mom was the oldest and best (in my humble opinion!)

She lef the small town of Joplin and went all the way to Decatur, Texas for college at the age of sixteen.

After college she begin teaching in Wichita Falls, Texas...she taught a young man named Dwain Woodard and that is how she met my dad and became Dwain's and Evan's mom and later, MY mom.

She is the BEST MOM in the world (even better than me!)

She never made me feel like I was in her way, never yelled at me, always pointed out the best in me, always loved and encouraged, never was self-seeking...always kind to others...and the wisdom she has, well, it is amazing!

I've learned a few things from her:

*If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing WELL.

*God will repay, so let HIM...don't try to do it myself!

*It is better to be the one being treated poorly than the one treating someone poorly.

*The Judge of all the earth will do right!!!

*A job should be FUN!!!

*And that if you do not have time to go over your Spelling words but you have been told to do so (by your father who is out of town working) you can WAVE your hands over the book once or twice and say, "OVER, OVER, OVER" and it counts!

I love the way you love JESUS, DAD, Dwain and family, Evan, Me and mine...your family and all.

I just love the way you LOVE and LIVE!!!

I'm so thankful you are my mom!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLIE INEZ

I don't know about the shutting you up...

BUT I know it will not slow you down!!!

ONE CUTE COUPLE

She still gives a day a week to work for a Mission organization in her

OLD AGE

At Papa's 8oth birthday party...2007

One of my favorite pictures of her!

Christopher and Grandma at his graduation

2007

Grandma at Jonathan's graduation...2008

Grandma (and Papa and the rest of us)

in Poland

In Memory of the World's Famous Weenie Dog

KoKo came to us six years ago this month on July 5, 2003.
We waited for Jonathan to return to Ukraine to help pick her out. The job wasn’t that hard, though, as she was the only little black dachshund at the Pet Renok that day.

She was beautiful. I wanted to name her Toechka (means DOT in Russian) because she looked like a little black dot on the floor. But Daniel picked out KoKo (and the weird spelling.)
She was hard to house train, but when she did get the hang of it she was perfect. No dog was better. I could leave her (not that I often did, mind you) for up to 10 hours or more and not worry that she had taken the liberty of “going” indoors.

KoKo:

LOVED EVERYONE and EVERYONE LOVED KoKo (even uncle Joel!)
She was beautiful (inside and OUT)
Never was the least bit spoiled nor conniving…she would not treat humans in such a manner.
She loved BIG dogs but had little use for small ones. Don’t think she knew she was SMALL.
SHE DIDN’T BARK WHEN THE DOORBELL RANG!!!
She kept me company when Mick was away.
She loved (or endured) “serberts” from her DAD.
She was a LADY!!!

We had to put her to sleep today. It wasn’t a hard decision, just a SAD one to make.
She woke up in the middle of the night a little over a week ago in pain. We took her to the vet and got medication for her and were carrying her everywhere so that she could heal (if she was going to do so on her own.)
Her pain got worse and she developed the limp that goes with the damaged back.

I’m glad she is out of pain. But I already miss her and the thought of a long winter’s nap without her makes me cry.

This morning, she was, and now she is no more. I do not believe that there is a DOGGY HEAVEN (but if there were KoKo would be its STAR resident!)
KoKo is just GONE.
This thought made me very sad. But then I thought about the fact that it would be better to be no more than to be HUMAN and have a soul and to “BE” one moment on earth and the next separated from God.

I remember when we came home from the hospital with Christopher. As I was putting him in his crib I thought, “This is a soul…at his conception he “became” forever more.
It was a very thought-provoking moment in my mind. What did his life hold? Would he choose to accept Christ into his heart and live in that wonderful relationship with HIM forever?
Praise the Lord Christopher did choose that path (with God’s Grace drawing him unto HIMSELF!)

No, KoKo hasn’t gone to a better place…but she hasn’t gone to a worse place either.
KoKo was just a DOG…the BEST IN THE WORLD for sure…but still, a DOG.
How many PEOPLE do I know who have souls and will live on after physical death without knowing the truth of John 3:16?

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
John 3:16-17 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

One of my dear friends posted this on her Facebook status today: 1.6 Billion people have never heard the name of Jesus - How many of them will I pass by today?

May we live our relationship with our Father so that souls can know the truth and will accept Christ so that they will go to a better place (the place prepared by HIM) when they die.

KoKo will never be replaced nor forgotten…she was The World’s Famous Weenie Dog

One of her favorite things to do.

Sit with DAD as he did his devotions.

She loved her toys!!!

Did I mention that she would fetch?

She loved her family.

She loved walks in her woods with her DAD