A Day For Remembering

These pictures are from The Healing Field. This was a field of remembrance for military veterans, emergency response teams, and victims of abuse. We visited this field when it was in our area last summer. It was really a wonderful experience. Each flag had a ribbon and card attached that dedicated it to someone. It was peaceful and beautiful.



I hope everyone took a little time today to thank God for living in such a wonderful country and for all the service men that are and have served.

Giving New Life, Part 1

I say giving new life because really once I get my mom's apartment clean, it will be a new life for her. She has lived with the clutter and cramped quarters for way too long.

I went out tonight and took out two chairs. One of them is broke. They are the wooden type gliders. I brought them home to see if M can maybe combine the parts to make one good chair. The broken one is a better quality chair than the other, so if he can get it fixed that would be great.

The chairs were just sitting right inside the door. They were used as a "catch all". When she would come home, she would just dump what ever on these chairs. Well, no more. I took them away.

After I removed the chairs, I vacuumed and just organized some piles. I would have loved to throw out some old magazines, but as soon as I would have, there would be something there that she would have missed. I have to be careful at first to gain her trust and confidence that I am just not there to throw everything away. Although, that is what I would like to do.

My mom is coming home late tonight. I would like to go out tomorrow, but this trip she took today, will make her so tired. She will probably sleep all day tomorrow. We'll see.

I bought home seven baskets of laundry. That should keep me busy!

What Your Music Says About You

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are upbeat and conventional. You are an easy going, optimistic person. Family and friends are very important to you. You enjoy caring for and helping other people. You thrive in a tranquil environment, and you do your best to keep things peaceful. You enjoy your life. You have your priorities straight.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

What to do, what to do.

Well, I have a dilemma. I am an only child. My mom is in her late fifties. To most people, this is not a problem. When my mom was a young girl, she had polio. This ages your body by 10 to 15 years. Therefore, she does not have the strength and energy to do a lot of what she would like to do. Her biggest problem is her apartment. It needs a good cleaning, sorting , and rearranging. This has gone on for some time. I would LOVE to help her, but she really doesn't want the help. I would LOVE to go in and just do it for her. She is afraid I will throw out something that she wants. I think I have a pretty good idea of what can go and what can't. I know that if I could do this for her, it would help her tremendously.

Here is the problem. She is going out of town tomorrow and will not be back until late Saturday night. I could make a huge dent. I would prefer to just go in and do this myself. The question is, how will she handle it? Will she be frustrated? Will she be angry? Will she be overjoyed that something was finally done? I don't know Internet. What should I do?

Catching Up with Old Friends

Tonight was the night I get together with some old friends from Value City. I worked there from 1991 until 2000. Then I went back in 2002 until 2005. I have only had three jobs in my life. Value City was my second real job. When I started working there M and I had been married for 10 months and had no kids. When I left we had 3 kids. There was a time when these people were like my best friends. We are all still friends today, but just not the same. I don't know if I have changed, or them. There are a couple that I know I will always keep in touch with. The rest, not so sure...

Happy 15th Birthday To My First Born

Happy Birthday B! Today you are 15. Your dad and I can not believe that we have a 15 year old. Where did the time go? I know these last few years have been trying for all of us, but it will pass. It's all part of growing up. Sometimes when I am so frustrated with you and your thinking, I try to remember the little boy I used to have. You were so sweet and so funny. You have always been a great joy in our lives. You were truly wanted and I was absolutely amazed at how fast I fell in love with you. I had never felt what I felt when you were born. I was overcome with love for you and I still feel that today. I know that you are trying to grow up and you feel we are holding you back. Maybe that is true in a way. I am just not ready to let you go. I promise to trust you and your decisions. I know I have to let you grow up. I'm just not ready.

Be patient with me, I'm new at this teenage thing. I just don't want to see you get hurt. When you hurt, I hurt. I love you B! You will always be my little Pumpkinhead!

Ode to Midnight

This is Midnight our beloved rabbit. He died Wednesday morning, and we are all heartbroken. Midnight was not just a rabbit. He was a "house" rabbit. He was litter box trained and would just go about the house like the cats. I always joked that he thought he was a cat and we were not about to tell him any different. He would lay on the back of the couch, sit in the window sills if the chair was there for him to jump on first, or just lay in the warmth of the sun coming through the windows. He had more personality than some people I know. When he wanted attention, you would feel this little tug on your leg. That meant he wanted a little rub down. His ears would perk up when you called his name.

I never imagined that we would have a rabbit. M brought him home from work one day. One of the kids that worked for him had won him at the county fair and was not allowed to keep him. He was so small, he fit in the palm of your hand. I think he had the best life of any fair rabbit I have ever heard of. He was a big part of our family.

This is the last picture I took of Midnight. He had gone to school with me for the day. The kids enjoyed him, and he enjoyed the attention.

We will always love you Midnight.

You are missed.

One Tired Chick!

One of my favorite spring activities in the kindergarten classroom is when we incubate eggs. We received 25 fertilized eggs on April 1st. It takes 21 days for a chicken to hatch. On April 22nd we opened the door to 4 chicks! We ended up with 19 chicks. This is the biggest flock we've ever had! We kept them for the remainder of the week. Then, they went back to the farmer that donated the eggs. Thank you Farmer!
This is what the chicks look like when they are all in the box. They are walking around cheeping, pecking, and a little bit of napping while standing.
This is what the chicks looked like after being handled and played with by 19 Kindergartners for 20 minutes. Wow! Were they tired!