In the twinkling of an eye..........Summer's gone!!!

This has been the shortest summer ever. Things have gone well and I don't think we suffered any unfortunate events other than a couple of really strong winds.... winds which blew my fence over and the basketball goal, but the rain was great. We did have a few cooler days, but it has been hot.....hot.....hot or maybe it's just me. All of the work I had planned to get done is still waiting. And if I don't get it done, oh well.

This is somewhat of a sad time as Calor is in his last year in Jr. High. Ethan is in his first year of Jr. High and Kara starts to nursery school. Carli has this year and next and she's out. Having raised 4 kids, I know that when they reach high school, they are out in a couple of days..........seems like. The years pass so quickly. Please all you young people savor every second you have with your children. Stop and listen to the laughter of your children in the walls of your home. I miss those days, but treasure every moment I can with my grandchildren. They are such a blessing. My daily prayer is that all my kids, grands and greats will serve the Lord, do good things and be thankful for their many, many blessings.

"Life can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived by looking forward."

Oh Say Can You See

I was at a Little League Championship playoff game last night and became very disturbed. As the National Anthem was playing, people were were saluting and listening. The boys all had their hats off and very quiet. Behind me in the stands, was a person talking on her cell phone. She was loud and made no effort to quit talking. My belief is that if you have no respect for our anthem, flag or our country.............then there are planes leaving the US everyday for other countries. Be on one!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to get this out of my system because it really upsets me that some people take our freedom for granted. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. Men and women died and are dying for our freedom. All of the freedoms, including her freedom to own and use a cell phone should certainly never be taken for granted. If I knew her name, I most assuredly would print it, too.

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,one Nation under God,indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

By the way, our team won...............14-2. That lightened my load a little.

Almost too hot and too much work.

This isn't even the before picture. My embarassment is growing..........

On Wednesday, Linda and I decided to tackle the garage..........wow! It was unbelievable and I am totally embarassed to even show this photos.

I'm such a professional photographer, it never dawned on me to take a picture of one of the THREE pick-up loads we took to dumpster.

Before we started on the garage, tho, my cooling system drain ran over and flooded the carpet in the closet next to it. We ran a coat hanger thru the top of the 3 foot drain and then went outside and put the hanger thru that way. No luck. We finally realized we could get the air tank and blow thru the outside. So here I am inside holding a towel over the pipe while Linda blows the air. It took about three or four tries and finally all that gunk shot up thru the pipe into the cooler closet. Whew!! The carpet in the coat closet of course had to be pulled up, and the molded pad under it....not a good smell. I scraped and struggled to get it up and then pull up the little boards with the 1000 nails in them. I had to bend over to do this as I can't bend my knees to squat..........(well, I can, but it causes me to SCREAM). So I have sore muscles.........muscles that I didn't even know I had. We got to the garage as soon as that was done and worked until around 7 or 8 o'clock. I rested well that night. Where's my medal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Linda was precious and worked so hard. She drank 6 bottles of water, and I put away 3 waters, 1 vitamin water(lemonade)a popsicle and part of a Dr. Pepper. It was almost too hot and too much work.......but we'll work 'til Jesus comes.

MOTIVATION IS WHEN YOUR DREAMS PUT ON WORK CLOTHES.

Happy Birthday dear Linda

This is my youngest daughter. She is 40 years old today. What a blessing she has been to us all these years. She went to WT for a couple of years after graduation, then moved to Dallas where she worked in several banks, was clerk in the Richardson Municipal Court and then worked in the Plano Municipal Courts. She came back here after her little daughter, Kara Gabrielle, was born and is helping our son run the shoe store. We have ENJOYED them being here so much and are so attached to Kara. Linda has been accepted to nursing school and will start in the Fall and Kara will start at Ms Angie's Son-shine school. What a change this will be for everyone and we will all get such a blessing. If you know Linda at all, you will know she is the kindest, sweetest, and most patient girl..........plus being very pretty. Borrowing again from Jerry Clower, "Ain't God Good!"

Life can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived by looking forward!

RETRO LIFE

I actually did eat at Woolworth's............loved it.

I actually washed on a wringer machine like this a time or two. HARD WORK!!!!!

I actually got spankings like this as a child

I actually wore big petticoats like this in high school and college

I actually wore these in gym class. It was popular to have everybody sign them

I actually sat under a dryer like this every week at the "beauty shop".

I actually went with a guy who had "duck tails" like these

I actually had a swimsuit like the number 2........did NOT look that good

I actually had a camera like this...........still do... Brownie

I actually had a television set that looked a lot like this............

I actually went to 3-D movies whenever they were showing

I actually went to drive-in movies like this every week.

Sunday Thoughts

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" (John 10:10 MSG).
Some people fear worshiping God because they wrongly think that means they have to become judgmental and legalistic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus came to give us a rich and satisfying life (see John 10:10 NLT).It is Satan who wants to "steal and kill and destroy" your freedom and your joy (John 10:10 MSG).Often well-meaning and misguided people can cause us to avoid God because of their fanaticism. Here are the types of religious fanatics I've observed over the years:Freddy the Pharisee: Rigid, narrow-minded, and legalistic, he has a rule for everything. His favorite word is "don't." And it's only natural for some people to fear they may become just like that if they become a Christian. But Jesus called people like Freddy the Pharisee "blind guides," saying, "You strain your water so you won't accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:24 NLT).Susie Self-Righteous: Holier-than-thou attitude and judgmental of others, her favorite phrase is "Thank God, I'm not like you!" Am I going to become like that if I become a Christian? If I get to know God? Yet, Jesus told the story of two men praying; one self-righteous and one humbled by his failures: "I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 18:14 NLT).Billy Bible-thumper: He's an obnoxious and overzealous crusader. His favorite phrase is "Turn or burn!" Yet, God's plan for bringing us home to Him is full of love, grace, and sacrifice: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" (John 3:16-17 NIV).Pauline Praise-eluia: She can't speak without religious clichés. Everything is a miracle or the Devil did it. She's put her brain on the shelf. But God doesn't want you to stop thinking when you become a Christian; in fact, He wants to give you the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV).These are stereotypes, but they represent people who have abandoned their relationship with God to instead embrace a religion. Jesus says, "I have come that you might have life [not religion] and have it to the fullest!" (John 10:10).

I copied both of these from a book because I loved them.

"If your vision if for a year

plant wheat

If your vision is for 10 years

plant trees,

If your vision is for a lifetime,

plant people"

Fotos for Friday

Did you ever have one of those blah days? If you haven't, how fortunate you are. I seldom have them, but today is ONE. Work just doesn't seem to cooperate with me. I do dishes for about 5 minutes, then rest, put clothes in the washer, then rest............what's wrong with me. I'm not tired. I sleep well at night. I'm free to do whatever I want to do (ok, that's not true), but I still can't get it going. I need a booster shot..............like someone calling to tell me that they are coming to stay a few days. Boy then would I get busy and clean this house. But please don't call............I'm not in the mood for company. I've lost my desire to cook or to even wipe off the organ that is covered in dust. If I went to work everyday, I would have an excuse, but I stay home and have time to do all these things.......... I. Just. Don't. Want. To. I'm not even in the mood to talk...............now there's a shocker for some of you. I always say the wrong thing anyway.

Calendar quote for the day:

Remember, you may be older today

than you have ever been before,

but you are younger than you will ever be again!

Foto Friday--Jr. Hi Awards

Did you ever...............

Did you ever wonder why some people can be so thoughtless..

Did you ever wonder why people will tell something that they know nothing about

Did you ever wonder why we even worry about these things..........."I will never leave thee or forsake thee."

Did you ever wonder why depression sometimes hits us when we really have so much to be thankful for...

Did you ever wonder why, at times, a wave of loneliness falls over us....

Did you ever wonder why some kids are treated less fairly than others...

Did you ever wonder why even sometimes happiness is almost more than we can contain

Did you ever wonder why we love some people so dearly

Did you ever wonder why some people annoy us.....

Did you ever wonder why

DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY THE LORD BLESSES US SO MUCH

"Being tickled to death is a great way to live. Jumping for joy is good exercise."

My trip to the "Falls"

Now I'm talking Wichita Falls, not Niagiara (bummer!) Don was scheduled for an angiogram on his kidneys Thursday morning. I believed this to be a day surgery procedure, WRONG! His #'s were too high on his blood tests for them to be able to inject the dye for the tests. So, for 24 hours they ran fluids thru him to flush the kidneys. I found a nice place, Rathgeber House, just across the street(actually a block away) to stay and the hospital provided shuttle service to and from the hospital. How nice is that! So while he was just getting the fluids, Lacy came and picked me up and we went to Mall and to Target for a Starbucks. Yummy!! Jacob was such a good baby all the time we were out. Ok, now she took me to my nice room and I relaxed and watched TV. The place I stayed is sort of a hidden gem. You have to know about it and I wouldn't have, but some nice ladies I shared a table with in the waiting room told me about it. Thank you ladies from Henrietta and Jolly. The room was quite comfy. Next morning at 7:30 I was at the hospital thinking that Don would be first for the testing since he was already there. Well, finally at 2:00 PM they took him in to do their thing. Bad news, the nurse came out and said arteries were blocked and would have to put in stents and would be another hour or so. This was at 3:00. Hour or so my foot......they bro't him back to the room at 9:00 Pm. So I was in the hospital for 13 hours......13 HOURS. Waiting rooms are tiring, but I am a people watcher and entertained myself that way (I also read a book.."A little bit wicked" by Kristin Chenoweth). You know people and cell phones are really a pain. One man was on his and telling someone all about a family members surgery.........ALL about it. Another lady (loud talker) was just visiting with her friends and let me tell you I know everything about the day the high school kids in one Wichita school wore bandanas to school. Apparently that is not allowed. I know what the principal told the kids , how many parents he called and what he said and from what i got from her conversations, they got to wear them all day anyway. My care factor was in the negative. Then in the cafeteria (they really have good food) I began to watch the senior citizens come in and eat. Didja ever notice that all old people look alike, get around alike and the married ones look like each other.They all do the same things at the table, they all have on the same kind of clothes, and they all eat the same things. I am so glad I am not old. ok Now back to Don. I went to my room after he was ok and collapsed. I was so tired I never heard the thunder or saw the lightning.......never woke up. I was back at the hospital by 8:00 this morning and he was going to be dismissed, so I again called my shuttle service for one more ride back to Rathgeber house. I packed up my things and went back to get Don. I parked right by a sign that said "NO parking or leaving car unattended". I ignored that and went it. 30 minutes later we came out and my car was still there. PTL. See, this is an event for me since I don't get out much. It rained all the way from WF to Quanah. Home is the best place to be.

When I left the Rathgeber House, I took the little rock (wrapped in pretty fabric) with this poem attached. Maybe I was supposed to leave it, but I wanted it.

PRAYER ROCK

I'm your little prayer rock and this is what I'll do.

Just put me on your pillow 'til the day is through.

Then turn back the covers and climb into your bed, and whack!

Your little prayer rock will bump you on the head.

Then you will remember as the day is through.

To kneel and say your prayers as you intended to do.

Then when you are finished dump me on the floor.

I'll stay there through the nightime to give you help once more.

When you get up next morning, clunk! I stub your toe,

so that you will remember Your prayers before you go.

Put me back upon your pillow when your bed is made,

and your clever little prayer rock will continue in your aid.

Because your Heavenly Father cares and loves you so,

He wants you to remember to talk to Him, you know.

Things I want to do before I'm 92

I want to go to Hershey Pennsylvania and visit the Chocolate factory (and I will be taking a spoon)

I want to go to Branson(everyone I know has been but me)

I want to go to Seattle ( I think it rains a lot. I love rain)

I, of course, want to go back to Las Vegas (I left something there last time)

I want to go to Kentucky to Dollywood.

I want to go to Minneapolis. (I don't know why)

I do not, however, want to go abroad. (I wouldn't know where all the bathrooms are).

"If you can conceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it"

He's Just a Little Boy

Since Little League has started, I wanted to post this poem. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it, but it is so true of peoples' behavior. Now realize that I know Little League is for girls, too, so let's let this apply to both boys and girls.

He stands at the plate
with his heart pounding fast.
The bases are loaded,
the die has been cast.
Mom and Dad cannot help him,
he stands all alone.
A hit at this moment
would send the team home.
The ball meets the plate,
he swings and he misses.
There's a groan from the crowd,
with some boos and some hisses.
A thoughtless voice cries,
"Strike out the bum."
Tears fill his eyes,
the games's no longer fun.
So open your heart and give him a break,
For it's moments like this
a man you can make.
Please keep this in mind
when you hear someone forget.
He is just a little boy, and not a man yet.

My Biggest Blessing

Today is Mother's Day. What a glorious time for those of us who have been blessed with children. I have the most wonderful kids, most precious grands and fantastic great-grands. I ask myself daily why God chose me to bestow so many blessings on. Being a Mother is beyond explanation.

My prayer is that my kids will enjoy motherhood as much as I have. I hope they will realize that time doesn't slip away, it flies. You can't go back and and enjoy your kids, you have to do it while they are small and watch them grow. Memories are made every second of every day. Cherish them, all you young mothers out there. When you are old you can recall your memories and enjoy them all over again. When I see young mothers out somewhere with their children , I wonder if they realize how precious these moments are. I have heard mothers say to them, oh grow up.................that's exactly what they are doing..........don't rush it.

"Train up your children in the way they should go.........................and go there yourself once in a while?

Foto Friday

Today I am posting a picture of my two friends taken in Dory Dugan's kitchen. Our sorority went down the 27th of February and had the grandest time. I love this picture of Diane Clifton and Barbara Currie. The both smile all the time, work soooooo hard and both of them could build a house if need be. Realize now that they will never see this as neither of them do computers.........don't even think they have one. This is a memory I will always cherish. We may lose all we have, but no one can take our memories.

My opinion........what it's worth

Did you ever wonder why some people think that your beliefs, if different from theirs, are WRONG. I've run into several people who are very firm in their beliefs and won't give an inch to anyone elses. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and don't understand why some don't, but God gives us all a mind to decide. I have family members who are dyed in the wool democrats and some who are republicans. I see no need to get in an argument over religion or politics. Take your belief and let them have theirs. Some of my friends won't even look at a gay person. While I am against this lifestyle, I will not condemn them for this..............God is the only one in a position to judge. However if given the chance to tell a non-believer about Jesus Christ, I believe we should do this. As for political parties..........my opinion on that is that if you are a really good, Christian, moral person, then you have no business in high government and why would you run for President!!!!!! Have you seen how much they age while in office!

And another thing...............kids don't NEED everything they want. There will be a day, perhaps, when that ends and they will not cope well. I always wanted my kids and grandkids to work for what they have............so far they have worked. They don't realize that kids used to have to pick cotton, hoe cotton, and do all kinds of chores. Life is easier now in respect of chores and housework, and people are less content. They have more and enjoy it less.

I have gobs more complaints (or opinions) but I'd better stop here. This is probably going to offend some.

"The Lord gave us two ends-one to sit on and the other to think with. Success depends on which one we use the most." And since I'm sitting here, I'd best get up and get busy.

Wordless Wednesday

I Don't Do That Much Anymore

I Used to keep a daily journal......................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to write on my "I love"calendar daily..............I don't do that much anymore.


I used to always put on my makeup.................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to exercise (some).................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to can vegetables.................I don't do that much any more.


I used to make wild plum jam every summer.................I don't do that much any more.



I used to dust every single day....................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to play the piano when I was down....................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to substitute teach some......................I don't do that much anymore.


I used to make homemade bread sometime. ...........I don't do that much anymore.


I used to live life to the fullest........................................



I STILL DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!