bettflow09

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR AN EXPLANATION OF MY 3 RATINGS!**

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.....Phillippians 4:13

If you send me a pm it may take me a couple of days to reply, but don't worry.....I will respond asap:)))

Hello all!!!

My name is Betty and I am a christian wife, mom & grandma. I believe in one God and one God only!!! I believe that God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross, to save us from our sins and to offer us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I live on our 32 acre farm with my wonderful husband of 33 years, 3 dogs, 3 horses and several barn cats....this list is likely to change from day to day, lol. We have 3 grown children (2 sons, 1 daughter) and 9 precious grandkiddies (5 boys & 4 girls).

Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you died right now that you would go to heaven to live eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ??? If in doubt....Click here to find out how you can know. I mean...really know!!!**

UPDATE 7/15/2010: I cannot say how thrilled I am to be back with all my crafty friends after being away for so long!!! I am really sorry that I had to disappear so suddenly, but thank the good Lord, many prayers have been answered and things are going much better for me now:))

Thankyou to all for understanding that sometimes life happens that is beyond our control and unfortunately sometimes our best intentions end up going right down the drain.

I believe that I have been in touch with everyone that I owe a swap too and I don't believe that I owe any tags or games. But, if I owe you a swap, tag or game package and you haven't heard from me, PLEASE shoot me a pm and I will get it taken care of ASAP!

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2002 and bi-polar disorder in 2006. Both of these conditions cause depression and severe chronic pain. When I feel myself getting down in the dumps or when I'm hurting so bad I can't hardly stand it, the first thing I do is pray to God for help, and then I go out to the barn and spend time with my horses and other critters which usually put a smile on my face:)) Animals are the best therapy in the world!!! I am very interested in getting into training and working with therapy animals. I am hoping that in the near future I will have some trained therapy dogs & mininutre horses to begin visiting nursing homes and centers for disabled children & adults. It has been my dream for many years to open a therapeautic riding center for handicapped children, but haven't had the funds available to pursue this dream.

I am probably the biggest animal nut you will ever find anywhere:))) I have had everything from horses....to miniature zebu cattle....to llamas.....to goats....to sheep....to potbellied pigs...,to exotic deer....to fancy rats....to dogs....to cats....and the list goes on:)) I have been involved in the past with our local SPCA and also have done alot of animal rescue here on our 32 acre farm. Unfortunately our SPCA has closed down recently due to lack of funding after only 1 1/2 yrs in operation. The law-enforcement and citizens of my county are notorious when it comes to caring about the welfare of animals:((

I enjoy rescueing abandoned/abused horses and dogs, rerhabilitating them and finding new, loving, forever homes. I haven't been able to be involved in rescue for the past several months because of my illness and also from lack of personal funds, but hopefully in the near future I can get back to helping God's furry creatures again:))

I am not a flaker!!! I ALWAYS send my swaps ontime unless circumstances arise that are beyond my control. PLEASE pm me before rating if I owe you a swap or tag package that you have not received from me. Also, if I send you a package, but it is for some reason lost by our not-so-trusty USPS, let me know and I will gladly resend.

I always try to rate for every package I receive as I open them. If you have sent me a package but have not been rated for it in a timely manner, please pm me and bring it to my attention. It's always possible that I got sidetracked for some reason and forgot to go back and rate you.

EXPLANATION FOR 3 RATINGS:**

I would like to explain as to why I have received the 3 ratings in the past. I became very ill in the summer of 2008 and was hospitatalized for several months. I returned to swap-bot in January, 2009 at which tiime I had 8 1 ratings due to swaps that I was unable to complete during my illness. Even though most of these swaps had been angeled, I completed these swaps and outstanding tag games that I owed and sent them out to everyone and also at the same time sent "Thankyou" packages to everyone who had angeled my swaps during my illness. All of my partners were very kind and understanding of my situation. All except 2 partners changed my rating to 5 and even gave hearts, but these 2 partners felt like I deserved a 3 due to being so extremely late sending. I am just happy that I was able to get these swaps completed and return to swapping with my many crafty friends here on swap-bot:))) My love for crafting and my crafty cyber friends is what keeps me sane through life's stuggles:)

Now, for the 3 rating I received in July, 2010. Once again, life spun out of control due to problems that was going on with our oldest son. He has a precious wife and 5 children. In November, 2009 he FINALLY admitted that he was an alcoholic and that he needed help. Needless to say, we had a very stressful and painful past 2 years due to his addiction. I had to go to Illinois (500 miles away from home) to help care for their children so that DIL could continue to work while DS checked himself into rehab. I went back and forth between TN and IL constantly from Nov, 2009-June, 2010 to help care for my grandbabies as well as to be supportive to our dear dil during this time. I had physical and mental problems dealing with the situation due to my Fibromyalgia and severe depression. I came to the place where I could hardly function, but I had to stay as strong as possible for ds, dil and their 5 children. They needed my help and I was the only one that was able to be there for them!!! My swapping here on SB came to a screeching halt and I was forced to leave some of my incomplete. Now, things are much better for my family and myself and I am back to make things right and complete the swaps that I owed from Nov, 2009-Jan, 2010.

• Crocheting - MY #1 PASSION:)))
• Counted Cross Stitch (from time to time when the mood strikes:)
• Bookmarks - I enjoy making handmade bookmarks out of all types of medium. I sometimes print online freebies and lightly embellish them with ribbon and such, sometimes I make cross stitch bookmarks and other times I enjoy taking collage images, cardstock and pretty scrapbook paper and designing my own:))

• Black/tan combo
• Earthtones
• Taupe
• Southwest colors
• Autumn colors
• Burgundy
• Sage Green
• Hunter Green
• Shades of pink (don't like pastels)

• KITCHEN - Burgundy, sage green. Roosters, & fruit (but mainly roosters) decor
• LIVING ROOM - Black/Med brown/Tan. Southwest/Native American decor.
• DEN - Burgundy, hunter green, tan. Western cowboy & horses decor.
• MASTER BEDROOM - Med. brown & cream w/black trim, hunter green carpet, lol. I have a black bear lodge quilt on the bed and the decor is bears and other North American Wildlife.
• MASTER BATHROOM - Burgundy, sage green, hunter green. Decor is ducks and other North American wildlife with a lodge theme.

THINGS I LOVE!!!

• Anything christian/inspirational themed (jewelry, bookmarks, daily bible verse & thought of the day cards, calendar, notepads, notecards w/matching envies)
• Christian/inspirational books (both fiction & non-fiction, magazines, daily devotions, bible studies)
• Bookmarks (handmade or store bought - especially love christian bookmarks, inspirations/uplifting, bible verses, animals of all kinds but my favorite are horses, comical, cute & sassy:)
• Crochet Yarn & any crochet supplies (especially running short on Peaches N Cream 100% cotton yarn for making dishcloths and potholders)
• Crochet patterns (dishcloths, potholders, towel toppers, afghan squares & motifs, afghans/lapghans)
• Crochet magazines of all kinds
• Recipes (especally crock-pot meals and quick and simple casseroles & one-dish meals. Also, always looking for yummy quick & simple veggie dishes)
• Kiddie surprises (My 2 yr old grandson and 1 yr old granddaughter are always excited to find a surprise or two when I am opening my goodie packages:))