Loss and Gain

You know the saying One persons loss is another persons gain? Well it isn't so much a loss really but I am "SO EXCITED" for the gain. You see there was a misunderstanding and with that misunderstanding I gained a wonderful tote bag that I think is beautiful, so thanks Mom for the awesome bag I cant wait to get it.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom I hope your day is awesome.

For those who love Valentines day

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Emergency Bible Numbers

Emergency Bible Numbers

Charles, Nic & Joe

Information Please

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor... Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

"Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."

"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice..

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.

She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,

Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, " Wayne , always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."

"Information," said in the now familiar voice.

"How do I spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest . When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much.

"Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me..

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.

"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,

"Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now..."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me.

I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle . A different voice answered,

"Information."

I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" she said.

Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up, she said, " Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?" "

Yes." I answered.

"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you..." The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.."

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others..

Whose life have you touched today?

Joshua's Picture

An Old Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Christmas Memories 2009

I am finally posting Christmas images I hope you enjoy.
Indy, Joe's buddy.
Our Tree
A favorite ornament
Nicholas
Joseph
Nic & Joe
Nic & Joe
Joe
Nic
Nic & Joe Christmas morning
Nic & Charles
Nicholas

Mistletoe

As a child there was always mistletoe, hanging in branches of the old oaks around the area. We would try and shoot it out of the branches with a BB gun, climb the tree with sticks to knock it out or shake the branch hoping it would drop off. We would collect it and use it for fund raisers at Christmas time. Aaron and I would go out looking for it in late fall, he being fearless was always the one to climb the tree to try and get it down without breaking all of the leaves off because it is so fragile. As the years have passed I haven't thought much about this Oklahoma State Floral Emblem ;) but I have been looking for it this year not finding it anywhere. I have also looked in the stores for the little packages of (fake) mistletoe to no avail so I guess I get to only remember it fondly.

Flops

I'm not sure why The Great Oven Spirit has it in for me, but I always manage to screw something up when it comes to baking. Most of you have, no doubt, tasted something great from my oven, Unfortunately, for every happy ending there are probably 15 flops.

One of the things that was a flop was rice krispy treats, how do you screw those up you ask it is only butter, marshmallows and crisp rice cereal well I had every thing right but when I grabbed the spray pam to spray in my dish I grabbed the garlic spray instead. Now mind you they were good and sweet and as you are chewing they are great but then you get this hint of garlic that makes you go wait... what is that?

My latest flop was the pumpkin cheesecake I made for Thanksgiving well it wasn't a flop so much as it just wasn't cooked all of the way through, I followed the recipe to the T but when I took the spring form pan off it started oozing Charles and I trying to think of what to do, dumped it in a bowl for later. We then took it out put it in the oven longer and it came out awesome, not as pretty but awesome.

Kool-Aid Moms

As my children were growing up I always said I wanted to be the "Kool-Aid" Mom of the block, and in part I was... I was given the opportunity to stay at home with my children as they were growing older. I had a small daycare so the boys would have others to play with I was there when they needed a knee bandaged and had popsicle's ready on warm summer days. As the boys have grown they haven't needed Mom as much, they can put on their own bandages and get their own popsicle's out of the freezer. I do know most all of their friends and they all come and go out of the house. I have been kind if put on the back burner, yes I know the boys love me but lately all I have had is my work until recently... as of 4 months ago I have become the Kool-Aid mom again not so much as before but to my 20 year old or any of his room mates I am again. When they need something he calls to ask Mom how do I make gravy like yours or we have a pumpkin pie how long do you cook it now that it has defrosted? We all go through changes and I am seeing my oldest becoming a man who after a very HARD start into adulthood is learning to stand on his own. Seasons come and go and I am enjoying this new season and again being the Kool-Aid Mom to 10 misfit men who have all had rough starts but for the most part have no one to love them. So I am showing them Christ's Love in my own little way by being Kool-Aid Mom.

Birthday's & Anniversary's

I Have a Brother and Sister who had an Anniversary yesterday, I hope you had a wonderful day Ken and Kris.

Today I have a Nephew who is turning 15 Happy Birthday Dylan

Today I have a Brother and Sister celebrating their Anniversary Happy day Mike and Sheri. :)

Merry Christmas?

Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday !*

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet during the

holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is, The Reason for the Christ-mas Season!

Wet Pants

WET PANTS



Come with me to a third grade classroom......There
is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and
all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his
feet and the front of his pants are wet. He
thinks his heart is going to stop because he
cannot possibly imagine how this has
happened. It's never happened before, and
he knows that when the boys find out he will
never hear the end of it. When the girls find
out, they'll never speak to him again as long as
he lives...
The boy
believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his
head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this
is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes
from now I'm dead
meat.'
He looks
up from his prayer and here comes the teacher
with a look in her eyes that says he has been
discovered.
As the
teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named
Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled
with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher
and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the
boy's lap.
The boy
pretends to be angry, but all the while is
saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you,
Lord!'
Now all
of a sudden, instead of being the object of
ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy.. The
teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym
shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All
the other children are on their hands and knees
cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is
wonderful . But as life would have it, the
ridicule that should have been his has been
transferred to someone else -
Susie.
She
tries to help, but they tell her to get out.
You've done enough, you
klutz!'
Finally,
at the end of the day, as they are waiting for
the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and
whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'
Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once
too..
Remember.......Just
going to church doesn't make you a Christian any
more than standing in your garage makes you a
car...
Father,
I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and
those that I care deeply for, who are reading
this right now. Show them a new revelation of
Your love and power, Holy Spirit, I ask You to
minister to their spirit at this very moment.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and
mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a
renewed confidence through Your grace.. Where
there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs.
Bless their homes, families, finances, their
goings and their comings.. Amen.

Happy Birthday Charles

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and
height my soul can reach.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

______

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be.

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

More Ruby Tuesday

 
 
 
 

Ruby Tuesday 09

I thought that I would continue with Ruby Tuesday this year and start making it a yearly thing the first part of November. So these are some of the pictures I have collected for this year. 
 
 
 

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my baby who is now 15 {sniff, sniff where has all the time gone} Love you 
 
 
 

Pumpkin Farm 2

 
 
 
 

Pumpkin Farm