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These Are Sweet

Pickup in the Rain



One night, at 11:30 P.M., an older African American

Woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway

Trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had

Broken down and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally

Unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man

Took her to safety, helped her get assistance and

Put her into a taxicab.



She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his

Address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a

Knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a

Giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A

Special note was attached.



It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway

The other night. The rain drenched not only my

Clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.

Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying

Husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God

Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving

Others."



Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.




Third Important Lesson - Always remember those
Who serve.



In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,

A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and

Sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in

Front of him.



"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.



The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and

Studied the coins in it.



"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.



By now more people were waiting for a table and the

Waitress was growing impatient.



"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.



The little boy again counted his coins.



"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.



The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on

The table and walked away The boy finished the ice

Cream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitress

Came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the

Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,

Were two nickels and five pennies..



You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had

To have enough left to leave her a tip.

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Madi's Conversation with Mom

Some of these you just have to pass on.

Wednesday night at Awana:

MADI: I want to stay with you Granny.

ME: Go to your class; you'll have fun.

MADI: I don't want to have fun. I just want to spend time with you. I love you. You're my favorite.

ME: Go to class Madi.

MADI: I'm hungry Granny.

ME: You can have a cookie later.

MADI: I don't want just a cookie. I want a Rice Krispie treat.

ME: Go to your class Madi. Now I know why the teacher says GO TO THE CORNER MADI

From Granny

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Why Didn't I Do This a Long Time Ago?

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Okay, so most of you know that I've been feeling HORRIBLE with this pregnancy. It's a good thing we had a school break for the last month (or so) because either way we weren't doing school, and it's much better if it's planned. :)


Well, the last few weeks have been much better. I've still been feeling very sick, but at least I feel like a human sick person and not a zombie. I've been slowly getting back into the swing of things, but only a little bit of a time. At this point we've added back in doing dishes (yeah), actually getting dressed during the day, school, and MOST of our other household chores. The main thing I have NOT been able to get caught up on is the laundry. (I mean, I barely stay "caught up" even when I'm feeling really well, so a month of misery got me WAY behind.)

This week the kids & I had our "chore meeting". Once a month or so I change up all the kids' chores so they don't get bored (or don't get bored as QUICKLY). They're always ready to do a different chore, so I hear them saying things like, "I hope I get 'vacuum'. I hope I get 'take out trash'." for about 3 days. :)

Well, this time, I took all of the kids' chores and divided them up between Annie & Andrew. I told Matthew he only had one chore: LAUNDRY. (He doesn't realize at this point that it will take as much time as four other chores.) He was very excited. He's my OCD child anyway, so putting him on a job like this - that is never "finished" - was the best thing I ever could have done. I showed him how to work the washer and dryer, how to sort clothes (he still has to ask me before can start the washer), and set him to work. He's even folding. (He's not folding like Momma would do it, but - hey, I'm not complaining.) Within one day, almost all of our laundry is done, and Matthew is as excited as can be - AND SO AM I.

So, I'm asking myself - why didn't I do this a month ago? I guess it's because I still have a hard time realizing that he's 8 - and that 8year-olds CAN accomplish a lot if they're properly motivated. Why do we assume that our kids can't do these things?

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AARP Letter

Obviously, I'm not a member of the AARP, but this letter is very eloquent, and I wanted to pass it on.


This was sent to Mr. Rand who is the Executive Director of AARP.

THIS LADY NOT ONLY HAS A GRASP OF 'THE SITUATION' BUT AN INCREDIBLE COMMAND OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!



This has been authenticated by Snopes - http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/aarp.asp


Dear Mr. Rand,

Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date. I know it is not what you were looking for, but this is the most honest response I can give you. Our gap in coverage is merely a microscopic symptom of the real problem, a deepening lack of faith.

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it's abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time, we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy. The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces that we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing that we are not contributing to the problem anymore by renewing our membership. There are numerous other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This Presidential Administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for ourselves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage. But even more importantly for our children and grandchildren. Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, yet now I find myself listening to them. I don't have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which birthed their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power. Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers us the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING??? Someone has broken into our 'house', invaded our home without our invitation or consent. The President has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn the perps' language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.

I DON'T choose to welcome them.

I DON'T choose to support them.

I DON'T choose to educate them.

I DON'T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.

American home invaders get arrested.

Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get?

Why do some immigrants have to play the game to be welcomed and others only have to break & enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country, averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles, this trip yielded only ONE supporter of the current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America . Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you.

I am disappointed as hell.

I am scared as hell.

I am MAD as hell, and I'm NOT gonna take it anymore!

Walt & Cyndy
Miller Farms Equine Transport

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Multimedia message

Breadmaker Cornbread

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Don't we live in TEXAS?

What's with this forecast?

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10.5 weeks

, , ,

Well, I've had my first official prenatal visit, and I am 10 1/2 weeks along in this pregnancy. Matthew wants to know how many more we have to go. Though we weren't able to hear the heartbeat yet, it looks like everything is going well, and we will be able to have this baby at home, just like we did with Jacob. It really was the most amazing experience, and, while I would never try to talk anyone into doing it, we thought it was a very special opportunity, and something the we really enjoyed.


I hope to be out of the morning sickness phase of pregnancy pretty soon. It has been bad this time around, but it is getting better...most days. It has been stressful trying to get everything done, though, especially over the holidays.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, which you can probably tell since I didn't post ANY during that whole time! Here are a couple of special milestones:
  • FIRST Thanksgiving at home without Mom & Dad. (They went to Leanne's. I'm glad they got to go, but it was really weird without them here.)
  • Jacob's third Christmas, but the first one where he really KNEW what was going on. He very much enjoyed it when it was HIS TURN to open a present.
  • Matthew got a DSi, which I really enjoy playing. :) We also had to tell him "the truth" about Santa because of some attitude issues we were getting into. It marks kind of a sad milestone - he's growing up.
  • Annie got her ears pierced for her birthday, so all she wanted was to get earrings for Christmas. It is the highlight of her day when she gets to change earrings. :)
  • Andrew got a scooter for Christmas. It wasn't burnt orange, like he requested (evidently they don't MAKE burnt orange scooters), but evidently it still rides pretty well, and he enjoys it.
  • New Years was spent with my Mom's family - my cousins, aunt, and grand-mother were here. Dad made tacos (yeah!), and we all had a really great time. It was very special to have all of us together to bring in the New Year. Matthew was very disappointed when his only "boy cousin" (his age) had to go home. I think he'd move to GA if we let him.

Those are just a few of the special things that happened over the past few months. What about your holidays? What are some of the things that stand out to you as special memories?

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Twenty-Ten

Well, it's a new year! A new decade - the second one of this millennium. I'm looking back over the last 10 years to see what's different, and my answer is - Quite a few things!

10 Years Ago...

...I had NO children.
Now I have four, with one on the way
...I did not own a house
Now, well - I do
...I was attending a different church, and living in a different city
...I think my hair was longer
...I could go to Walmart anytime I wanted - or Taco Bell - or the grocery store
Now I have to get a babysitter
...Jeremy worked at McDonald's!
...I was going to Lamar and working part-time as a secretary
...I did not have a cell phone, much less an iPhone, and I'd never heard of blogging


That's just a few! But life has changed a LOT since the beginning of this millennium. I don't have any "resolutions" for this year, but I have started a Bible-reading plan. I'll be posting about that occasionally. I need the accountability, since I failed miserably at my goal for reading through the Bible in 2009! I'm praying I will do better in 2010.

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Neat tool

I've been using the M'Cheyne One Year Reading Plan Reading Plan at YouVersion.com. You might enjoy it, or one of the many other plans that are available. Check it out at YouVersion.com.


Lindsay Downs
iPhone 

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