14 and all that

My son turned 14 yesterday. I love this kid he’s tender hearted, funny, and smart. People told me it would be hard having a 13 year old in the house. Aside from his messy room he’s been rather easy.

He doesn’t eat much.

I think I'm gonna like 14.

He’s wonderful to talk to and has a great way of seeing the world. I love the moments when he and I just talk. That would be when he isn’t wrestling around with his sister, they act like puppies at times.

Thank you Uncle Mark, Aunt K, and G for the gift. It was just what he wanted. ;-}

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!
I love you!

I thank God for you!

Treed for hours

I spent eight hours outside at work last Saturday in the cold, in that time I realized that Christmas gets a bad rap. In my eight hours I had about ten or so customers. (Note to self the next time you’re scheduled to be outside bring something good to read.) Most of my customers wanted Christmas trees. Some came with the kids. They would hold out a tree for the other to see someone would inspect it as if this was going to be the last tree ever. After several rejections they would choose the best one and proudly carry it to me. The kids love to watch the tree expert trim, cut, and wrap the tree for them. Nothing like seeing a woman in chaps, a mask, and wielding a chain saw. Their big eyes made me smile. The best thing was that the parents wanted to make the kids happy. They wanted special memories for them. One woman, with a baby in her arms, asked for help shopping. She wanted to surprise her husband wanted a live tree. That was very cool.

I remember fondly going to the tree lot with my parents we were always sure that we had chosen the best one. It was about the hunt for a special tree for us kids, it was the hunt for a memory that made my parents load up three kids to romp around a tree lot inspecting each tree to be sure that we had the best one ever.

My parents loved Christmas, they played along with the thought of Santa. I’m not in any way angry that I was lied to. I still believe in the magic of it all. This year we are making our decorations for our tree because we want memories for our children also.

Sure I have a distain for some of the shopping that I have to do. I wish that money didn’t come into play. To be honest I wish that I could send ya’ll gifts from Oklahoma. Hideaway Pizza, Eskimo Joe’s stuff and so on.

I can send you this:

It’s a time to celebrate when Christ was born and the Gift that was given to us.
Christmas is a time for making memories in someone’s life.

Turkeyish Prospective

Turkey Hand art by Miss Littles

Sometimes prospective hits you like a speeding garage door opener, you aren’t sure how it got wedged under the car seat until the next afternoon when you find a bump in the shape of a rectangle in your forehead then you have an ah ha moment. It’s then that you realize how blessed you truly are to only have a few bumps and bruises from the night before when a person drove his car into the back of your car at a high rate of speed. Opener flew off the visor bounced off my forehead dropped to my knee bounced to the floor slammed under the front seat.

Why do we have to have bump on the head moments?

Why do we have to be deep in the ocean before we can feel the sand on our feet?

This morning I had an ah ha moment.

I am blessed.

I live in a rather large house in a good neighborhood.

My children are healthy.
I have a family that supports me.
With all the problems at church I’m still able to worship there.
I have a job that I enjoy most of the time.
I have way too much stuff in my life.

I began to think of those who have had to worship under harsh circumstances. Hiding how they feel from those around them.

I don’t have to hide my love for the Lord.

Why do we have to be on the edge of a cliff before we look back?

Thanksgiving is a great time to be thankful for the blessing that God has given us. We have so many blessings. God understands that we feel pain, Jesus felt pain when He was on this earth. He knows His children mourn the loss of our mothers he knows that we worry about earthly things and issues. He sees our faces when we find ourselves over our heads, He holds our hands by using others. He helps us tread water and sends us a life preserver when we’re smart enough to grab it.

I give thanks for sending me friends to listen to my ramblings. Even if they didn’t want to listen to me go on and on, they still listened and asked and that means a lot to me. I won’t have a house full of people Thanksgiving because someone else wants to host the event. THAT'S A BLESSING! We will have way too much food for one sitting. We will laugh discuss politics and watch football. My family will spend time in a house full of blessings. . . .each other.

I realized that I’ve been rather self centered when it comes to what I think are huge problems. Golly no one tossed me into the hot oven. I do have to admit it was hot in that room and it felt small but no one actually put a match to me.

This week I will look at my blessings and think about how I can spend more time treasuring them.

Have a happy Blessing Day by giving thanks.

Life-down and up

I’ve had a rollercoaster week.

I met with the elders again, this time we played it our way. It went better, women should be allowed to speak and this one did.
One co-worker said an inappropriate word several times and was fired.
The baby of a co-worker died a few days after birth, his service was yesterday. You realize how small your community is when those things happen. Keep them in your prayers.

Now for the upsides.
I told those men in that room how it was and how I felt.

My son and I had a great conversation about whether or not babies go to heaven. We also talked about what the fired guy said and what it means. My son was clueless about the word. Yea! It’s a hard word for some to hear and someday it’s going to hurt my niece, which hurts our hearts that some stupid boy could say something that will cut her heart. I makes me want to grab the boy and shake him until he understands how harsh it is. I pray some day that the children of the world not know that word. I give praises that my son doesn’t use those words that hurt.


The son went with his aunt to a mission to serve food this week. The boy loves to do God's work there.

I had lunch with my daughter at school with one of her friends. I brought the chickeny goodness for us, it’s a great place to get fast food from because they are always so nice. Lunch with Miss Littles was fun. First I have to say that I handpicked the neighborhood and that school. I found a reserved for parents table when I arrived. They have a special table just for us! The kids were allowed to talk, discipline was a big thing at the old school so the kids had to be quiet. I heard a few no running warnings and one cafeteria attendant had to judge a “He started singing first argument”, She sent the boy back to his chair with a “stop it both of you.” Kids being kids is ok in this school.


I spent some time talking with a friend yesterday morning. It was a nice way to get my day going. Kevin is right a cup of coffee with a brother is valuable. I treasure the time we spent talking.

A season of change

Fall is to me one of the most beautiful times of the year. It’s not just because I can be outside without wilting and itching but because the colors and the smell of the earth. Fall smells so good to me. The earth seems to want for those leaves. I wondered as I walked home after walking my daughter to school why we rake leaves if we aren’t going to turn it into mulch. Why do they throw them away? Some bag them up for a land fill. It makes no darn good since.

No good since seems to be a theme this year for me and where I worship on Sundays. We rake leaves without trying to save them. When I found myself in the path of those who only want their yards to look nice I was struck hard. I knew that they would eventually want to speak to us about what was happening, I was preparing for it. I wasn’t prepared for them to pluck the leaves from the tree, they went way beyond raking the leaves from the floor of the forest they raked the branches.

Who knows what spring will bring.

Whisper

Codepoke wrote about a place where he spent part of his youth. It got me thinking tonight as I drove to the store. I live at the end of restaurant row now. I’ve traded the woods of my past for big homes and shopping.

As I drove to the store for tomato sauce and a timer for our outside lights I started thinking of that place of peace. It always seemed damp and cool wild violets grew in a small patch with moss around. In the spring the gully would be covered with white blooms from the dogwood as if a magical snow had fallen. In the summer the woods were alive with creatures. If you sat still you could hear them moving about. The fall brought the smell of earth the floor of the woods were covered with colors of leaves. Winter snow brought peace to us. It seemed that the entire world grew silent only the sounds of branches cracking under the weight of the heavy snow were heard.

I miss that place at times.

This Sunday may bring heavy changes to my home.
Uncertainty of what will come of it makes want to search for the place where God speaks through the trees.
If just for a moment of reassurance.

Same o' same o'

I’ve heard that we all have a twin out there in this big wide world. I’ve been told that my twin lives in same part of the state that I do, in fact she’s closer than I realized.

Several years ago a woman walked up to me talking as if we had known each other for years. I must have looked at her as if she were nuts. She explained that I looked just like the daughter of a co-worker from the same store.

I hadn’t really given it much thought through the years until one morning at work a customer started talking to me about the night before. I told him with a smile that my husband wouldn’t have allowed me to be out dancing like that.

A few weeks ago a man started talking to me about where he knows me from and is convinced that we know each other. He still comes in and asks how he knows me.

Not long ago a couple started talking to me and asking how long it has been since we last saw each other. I looked puzzled. They looked at my name and said aren’t you _____________
I said first name is right last name wrong. Turns out that she lived in a town not far from where I work and we have the same first name.

It’s a little creepy to think that someone out there shares the same name and looks like you.