The Cost of Kids

A little goodie I found while perusing the internet:

I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, really nice!

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 years old, and came up $160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice saysdon't have children if you want to be "rich".

It is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140? Naming rights. First, middle, and last. Glimpses of God every day. Giggles under the covers every night. More love than your heart can hold. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies. A hand to hold, usually covered with jam. A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain. Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightningbugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless. You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal.You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice and communications that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

Author Unknown

Birthday update --

Well, the birthday surprise was a hit! I think she was a little thrown as to what it was at first and I think she thought I'd put that shoe picture on front of the card just to be mean (!!), but once she clued in, she was happy! She asked how I knew what to order and I told her, "I'm just smart!" :-) She thinks I saw the chewed up box in their garage or something and I didn't tell her HOW I knew because I wanted to save that little Amazon.com trick for future use if I need it for anything again. No sense in giving away all my tricks! Good thing she doesn't read my blog, huh? She knows I have one and she knows the name has to do with Grace, but she has never even asked about it. None of my family reads any of this, so I am especially grateful for my little 'blogger family' because it gives me a little safe place to share and get feedback on things I might not share otherwise.

On that note, I was driving home on Tuesday night this week, after I'd been to Grace's 'spirit night' at Chick-Fil-A, thinking about how excited I was to get home and check everyone's blog for the evening. I think I realized then, maybe for the first time, how connected I'm beginning to feel to my blogger friends. It's kinda weird because Tracey is the only one I personally know who reads any of this on a regular basis and I'd tell her most anything anyway, but I've really come to look forward to knowing what is going on, the struggles and the good times, in the lives of so many people that I've never even met! Isn't that funny? I just like reading peoples' thoughts, 'real life' stories, and the things God is teaching so many people. They are encouraging, thought provoking, inspiring and funny. As for me, somehow it is easier for me to get my thoughts out in writing than it is in speech sometimes, and I have a feeling that my nieces' moving next year will definitely fall into that category....I am sure there will be MANY posts about that! I mean, a friend of mine just mentioned, MENTIONED, to me at church Sunday night that they'd heard my sister talking about moving next year at the school last week and I burst into tears right there on the spot! I mean, it is a year away and I'm already messed up about it sometimes, so I have NO idea what I will be like when it actually happens! I can see already that writing is going to be great therapy.....

I guess, after sharing all that, what I most want to say is thanks to all of you who make this such a fun experience. I'm most grateful for the things in your life that you've shared with me...but for the encouragement, camera, CD and Netflix recommendations, etc, that you've given me, I am also thankful. I really do feel like I've gained, and am gaining, new friends...and I know that is no accident.

'He's and On-Time God,

Yes He is!'

I'm so excited!

My sister's birthday is tomorrow and I've been wracking my brain about what to get her. She's getting an ipod from her husband and my nieces, then I took my nieces Saturday night to let them pick out cards for her and get her a little something they had picked out themselves. Of course, they wanted ipod accessories, but settled on a $25 iTunes card. She'll be happy with that, and I was happy because it was like they'd only spent $12.50 each! :-)

BUT....that left the big question...what would I get her?? Usually, she will tell me an idea of something she wants, or I've heard her mention something that I've kept in my memory bank over time, but this year, there has just not been anything.

So I was sitting at my desk today and it hit me....the PERFECT gift! I did a little super sleuth research and found a pair of shoes that she wants. Here's the story: She ordered these shoes from some retailer on Amazon.com and had them delivered to their house. They have two chocolate labs who are quite active (!!), so there are notes on the front door and the door to the garage for any deliveries to be left inside the garage door...obviously out of reach of the dogs. Well, you can guess that the delivery person left the shoes on the front porch, despite the notes, and the dogs got my sister's shoes and chewed through two boxes to to get to them! Needless to say, they were destroyed before she ever saw them....and they were Clark's, so they were not cheap! Not only was she mad at the dogs, but she was mad at the delivery person when her note was posted as plain as day...and I can't say that I blame her for that. She never spends money like that on herself, so she was really disappointed when all that happened.

I decided the best thing I could get for her was to reorder those shoes as her present. I went to Amazon.com, typed in what I thought would be her password, (it was!), and looked at her recently ordered items! YEA! I thought I'd hit the jackpot....Shoe style, color, size and everything! (I'll probably have some 'splainin' to do tomorrow!) But anyway, since I only came up with that idea today, there is no way for them to be here tomorrow, so I brought my crafty self home from church tonight and made a card for her! I printed a picture of the shoes from the website and made a card from some stuff I have here! YEA! (The cards are cute....they are like old library pockets where you'd check out books...the note on the right slips into the pocket on the left.) I'll put the receipt and confirmation in there with the card, but I thought it turned out cute! I don't often come up with ideas on my own for her that I am SO excited about, but I did this time!

I hope she's as thrilled with me as I am! :-)

OOKED OUT!!

I know what I am about to say is not even a word, but I am OOKED OUT tonight! UGH!

I went to Chick-Fil-A tonight because my niece's school had 'spirit night' there and we were wanting their class to have the most dollars spent...but that's not the ookey part. (Nothing about CFA is ookey!) I came home and was watering my plants out front, minding my own business, just pondering life, weeds and whatever else it is that you may think about while watering plants. I made it all the way across the front and was coming back across just hitting a few of the plants again when a MOUSE came running out from under one of my daisy gardenia bushes! (Okay, THAT'S the ookey part!) If there is one thing in life I am horrified of, it is rodents.....EEK! I tried to douse the thing with water, but it just kept scampering on.....so I raced over, turned off the water, fixed the hose back, ran in to close the garage door (lest it help its little self to my belongings in the garage), then gathered up Sweet Kitty and went to stand at the glass door until we saw that little mouse start emerging from the bushes again. Well, needless to say, that didn't take but just a minute, so I THREW Sweet Kitty outside and slammed the door behind her (and I DO mean slammed!)....because hey, isn't that what cats are supposed to do....chase mice??? She definitely saw her, but I'm not sure she got her. I can say one thing though....THIS big ol' body hasn't moved that fast in a while! :-) I was definitely scootin'!

So while Sweet Kitty was outside looking for her little 'treat,' I called my sister to discuss Mother's Day for our mom and to try to garner some sympathy for the mouse incident....and NO sympathy! She knows I am horrified of them and all she did was giggle....NO HELP AT ALL! I thought she might tell me, since she is a horticulturist, what I could get to keep nasty things like that away that wouldn't hurt plants....NO HELP....just giggles. While we are talking, I hear my neighbor's DOG (who is literally smaller than my cat!) outside barking to the high heavens, so I just KNOW she has seen my cat and that is what she is barking at. Still on the phone with my sister, I go racing outside to check that out and my cat is nowhere to be seen. I am SURE she was IN the bushes with the mouse. She's really scared of people and anything that isn't familiar, so I am sure that dog incident was almost more than she could handle. I am still trying to beg her to come in, all to no avail....you know how cats are when they don't want to do something.....I just hope she caught that mouse!

So anyway, I hang up from talking with my sister and am still creeped out about the mouse thing, and I decided to call one place that I KNEW I'd get sympathy. My mom. There was an incident when I was in high school where a mouse got in our house and I just FREAKED, so she knows what a predicament this was for me tonight. She did give me some sympathy, but she really just laughed too!

FAMILY.....whaddaya do? :-)

Kodak moments

First of all, my apologies to Tracey for using this 'Kodak moment,' but I tried to find camera images that were what I wanted and they all were too blurry, so I started brain-storming 'Kodak moments' and thought I would re-post this picture from when I went to see Tracey back in December....It makes me laugh just looking at it, so I had to use it! :-) We were laughing SO hard trying to get a good picture....but we usually DO laugh this hard at some point when we are together anyway. It's nice to have friends who just 'get' you!

Anyway, this post has no meaning or message to it or anything, but I do need some suggestions. My camera has been acting up for a while now and I have decided that I want to get a new one. (I had 'need' in there, but decided this wasn't really a 'need' situation...it's definitely more of a 'want' situation....). With SO many cameras on the market now, I don't even know where to begin looking, so I wanted to see if some of you would tell me what kind of camera you have and if it is something you would recommend. The camera I have now is a Canon PowerShot S400. It's started sticking when I try to look at the pictures I've taken and it has WAY too much shutter lag, plus the battery life stinks. My sister has a Kodak Z710 that she's pretty happy with, so I am going to read up on that one and the Kodak Z712 which is a step up from hers. I am definitely going to do my homework before I buy one and I am open to pretty much any brand, so don't feel like there is any pressure (!!), but asking for CD suggestions worked so well a few weeks ago that I thought I'd ask about cameras too! :-)

Also, I wanted to let you know that I saw my friend Carla at church this morning and she said she had a wonderful visit with her friend on Thursday, so thanks to those of you who remembered them. She knows without a doubt that God is at work in a HUGE way, and so does this friend of hers. I will keep you posted on them from time to time, but please continue to say a prayer for them anytime they may come to mind.

Relay for Life

All I can say is "WOW!" It seems like God keeps putting things in front of me that touch my heart in huge ways and tonight was no exception.

This word so boldly declared above....HOPE....is spelled out with luminaries given in honor or in memory of people who have had cancer. There were more luminaries there than I would have ever been able to count, but I couldn't pass up this picture...only four letters, but SO much meaning.

I went to the American Cancer Society's Relay f0r Life event for our county tonight. I go every year because my sister is involved in it with my niece's school, and every year I come away amazed and grateful for the huge showing of support and for the number of people who pour so much of themselves into this cause.

I got there with Grace shortly before the 'Survivor's lap' around the track. Last year was the first year I had been there for that part and was absolutely moved to tears just looking into the faces of so many people who had survived this dreaded disease. I couldn't help but to imagine all they had dealt with, then to see children holding banners stating how many years they have been a 'survivor,' then seeing how grateful everyone was just to be able to take this 'survivor walk,' all I could do was stand there, unable to speak, with huge tears in my eyes. What I really wanted to do was lay down on the ground and SOB but that would have been kinda silly lookin' (!!)...that IS what I wanted to do though!

So with that being last year, I sort of knew what to expect tonight, but it still stirred up huge emotion looking into all these faces again. I saw several people I recognized during the 'survivor lap' that I didn't even know had had cancer. It's just very eye opening. There was one little girl there that is obviously going through chemo right now....she's probably between 8 and 10 years old. She had lost her hair and was sitting in someone's lap in a cart that was being driven around the track during the walk. Because I'm so short, I was standing on a ramp above everyone's head and had a bird's eye view of the whole thing. It was an amazing sight to see how many people are survivors of this disease. They just kept coming and coming and coming around the track. And this is only locally....it takes my breath away to think of the number on a global scale! Below is a picture below of my sister's friend, Cheryl (the blonde on the right).....a survivor (and she's my friend through my sister too). With her is the music teacher at Grace's school....evidently another survivor.

After the survivor lap, they had them do another lap with their caregivers....well....again.....BOO HOO! I don't know why I just cannot pull myself together during things like this, but I just can't. I have a friend who has been seriously battling cancer for 6.5 years now and just knowing her story as personally as I do drives home what I know so many of these families have dealt with....and it's just very touching. So there we were, clapping, cheering them on, and crying even more!

A little bit later, they had the sponsors all come around the track with their group. The pictures I took of the banner and everything from Grace's school turned out blurry, but I'm going to try to get Cheryl to send me a couple that she took, so I'll post them when she does. The banner looked great and they had on matching shirts. Hopefully they will get the award for 'most spirited.' They had a baseball theme with 'Strike Out Cancer' as the slogan. Cute idea!

Below is a picture from early in the evening of Grace and her friend Kaylee. Never a dull moment with Grace, that's for sure!

Anyway, as emotional as tonight was, it was a good night. It makes me grateful to know that people really do care and how many people are so responsive to such a worthy cause. I would imagine that it is a RARE person who has not had their life touched by cancer in some way, whether through a family member, friend or acquaintance. It is one of my biggest prayers that we will soon see some sort of answer or cure for this disease....tomorrow would not be soon enough!

Prayers for a friend.

I don't know how to start out with all I want to say tonight, so I guess the best way is to just jump in...

I've been thinking a lot lately about friendships and the ministry opportunities involved in times of crisis. I included in a recent post a story about a wife and mother who had lost her husband and two of her teenage sons in a plane crash last week. Well, when we were at choir last Wednesday night, my friend Carla told us that she was friends with the mom and her son was friends with the boys that were killed. She just asked us to remember them because it had been VERY difficult. Knowing that Carla was friends with this woman, I had already began praying that God would use her to minister in this situation. I sent Carla a note sharing these things with her last week, so when I spoke with her tonight, she said that she is going to see this friend tomorrow and asked me to pray for her and this visit. Besides the hurt and loss of all this, she feels that a door is open to discuss salvation a bit moreso than it has been in the past and she wants to have the opportunity and boldness to walk through it. There is no doubt that this friend is hurting and probably seeking more openly than ever before, so I wanted to ask my 'blogger buddies' to pray for Carla and this friend tomorrow too. We never know why God puts us in situations or in relationships with other people sometimes, but when things like this happen, there can't be too much doubt. I can't help but to believe that Carla's friendship, life, example and convictions are the things that are leading this friend to seek her out and reach out to her at this moment in time, I just pray that HE will move and speak through her like never before.

I know that I can count on the few of you who read this blog to pray for them tomorrow....that means a lot and I am grateful for you!

It ain't much, but it's home!

I was telling a friend at work today how much I LOVE my yard right now! I've been in my house for 2.5 years and am just now starting to feel like it is 'home.' Although I do not know a thing in the world about plants, my sister has a horticulture degree and my dad has a tree farm, so last May, we did a makeover on my yard. We planted 7 trees between the front, sides and back, and miscellaneous other plants along the way. There were two big ugly trees in the front where that one is now (that's why there's such a big bed...we're going to plant more there soon, hopefully!), then my sister and I planted day lilies and a few other plants that I have no idea what they are called. There are little bushes in the front, which I LOVE, when they bloom. I believe they are daisy gardenias. They haven't bloomed and made their appearance yet, but I'll post a couple of pictures when they do. Anyway, the day lilies and everything are starting to bloom and I love the way it looks. I just like that there is so much color, but that is one of the things my sister was going for. You can't really tell all that from this picture, but this is my house:

These roses are by driveway at the garage. I don't know that this picture does them justice!

Some of the mulch has washed away, but these are little puffy things that I have NO idea the name of, and some day lilies. There are also day lilies by the walkway leading to the door. This doesn't look as fabulous as they do in real life either, but you get the idea!


(There are more plants along the sides of my house and in the back, but I'll save those for later...no sense boring you all at once!) :-)

And this is my lazy cat who I also love! She is sitting in the window in the kitchen and I couldn't get her to look at me to save my life.

Anyway, like I said, 'it ain't much but it's home.' When I think about the fact that I am single and have one income, it doesn't take much to look around and see what God has allowed me in this life and I am one grateful girl!

Life is good!

Food for thought...

You may have read this before, but I thought it was very thought provoking, especially in this day and age:

Cell Phone vs. Bible

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

What if we upgraded it to get the latest version?

This is something to make you go, "Hmmm, where is my Bible?"

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cellphones, we don’t ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

The Handbag tag...and a sweet note.

Okay...now I've been tagged for something I can do timely! :-)

Nspired by Faith tagged me for a 'Handbag Tag.' The deal is to show your purse, the contents, and evidently what you had to clean out of it to make it presentable. Luckily, I had cleaned mine out last night before I went out with friends! YEA! :-)

So here's my purse...bought last year as a splurge for myself after tax season. I have to do something to make it seem worthwhile, don't I???


And the contents: wallet, PDA, checkbook, miscellaneous gift cards, asprin that I have in a film canister (!!), two packs of gum, pens, pencils, a Tide 'Go stick' (works FABULOUS by the way!), bills to be mailed, lipsticks and chapstick, and a prescription that I got at the doctor the other day along with two bubble packs of Synthroid. (Sorry you asked, huh?)


Now, these are the people I am tagging for this little venture:

MusicalJean
Bittersweet
Justabeachkat
A Closer Walk
Show Me State...of Mind (I know Tracey has already been picked, but I'm nosey and figured an extra vote for her couldn't hurt!) :-)

And while I'm posting pictures, my sister and Grace came by here on Wednesday when I was at work and I had this note on the door waiting on me when I got home from church that night:

Kate, her sister, recently got a new cell phone, so Grace inherited Kate's old one. It's not like Grace NEEDS a cell phone at 8 years old, but she's all about trying to be 'cool' like her sister (my words, not Grace's believe me!). Anyway, the point is....who in the world would not love a child that leaves a note like that for you...especially with the 'Best Friends' thing with the heart around it??? BOOO HOOO!!! All is right with the world when you get a note like that from a child. That note is definitely gonna be a 'keeper.' What a doll!

He's an 'On Time God'

This has been 'one of those weeks' for me. I've been up, down, sad, emotional, glad, grateful and humbled. I can't really think of a basic emotion that I haven't experienced. With that being said, I am GLAD it's Friday and time for the weekend. I'm ready for a couple of days to just 'be.'

In thinking about this week on the way home today, I realized that, in the midst of my less than happy state of mind, I have gotten notes and e-mails from friends which I have needed. They have been words of encouragement, "I'm thinking of you," "I prayed for you today," even an e-mail titled "You are my friend." The weird thing is that none of these people have known how much I needed those words...and the kicker is that the friend who sent the "You are my friend" e-mail lives in Florida and I hadn't heard from her in probably 6 - 8 months! WOW!

My lesson in all this, or at least part of the lesson, is that God supplies what I need just when I need it. By nature, I don't share all the details of my life with just anyone. I watch and take things in much more than I let things out, but God meets my needs whether I verbalize them to anyone or not, and that is a very humbling thing. It's been a while since I've felt like I have this week, but maybe part of it is has been to remind me that God is in control and that He's alive and active not only in my life, but in the lives of so many of my friends...and THAT is a heartwarming feeling!

"He's an on time God,

Yes He is,

He's an on time God,

Yes He is.

He may not come when you want Him,

but He'll be there right on time.

He's an on time God,

Yes He is."

How much is too much?

I'm sitting here right now listening to news coverage of today's funeral for one of the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy and wondering how many of these funerals some of those students will be able to attend, emotionally and physically. Along with the studies and school work, the stage where they are in life is concentrated on those friendships and their times together. It is a sweet, close time and, along with the shock of what happened, I'm sure their grief feels almost unbearable. Saying goodbye to one friend is enough...to have to experience that more than once in a short period of time...I can't even imagine.

I also cannot imagine the life that the shooter's family must be living right now. I've heard their statement that they are 'living a nightmare' and I can't believe that anything else would be true. It's just sad that now they are left to live with the aftermath. How do you make peace with that when it's on the news everywhere you turn?

What I also cannot imagine is how a mother can move forward after her husband and two of their children, twin teenage boys, were killed in the crash of a small plane over the weekend. My sister and I have nextel radios and she radioed me when I was on the way to work this morning to ask if I had heard this on the news. I hadn't heard it yet, but evidently when she took Grace to school today, she learned of this story -- the mother in this family is a teacher at Grace's school. I've found myself wondering all day how in the world anyone can move forward after losing two children and a husband at one time. Undoubtedly, it will only be the grace of God that will carry her and her oldest son through. Again, I just can't even imagine.

I guess my heart is just heavy right now because I see these, and at least two more instances with people I know but am not listing here, and hear of so many life-altering events that people are going through...and if not life altering, they are at least trials to be endured. I am reminded of the verse in 1 Corninthians where we are told that we will not be 'tempted beyond,' what we can bear. Somewhere in my interpretation of that, I've always understood it to be that we won't be given more than we can bear and while, at the core of my being, I don't doubt that this is true, I just, in my humanness, wonder how in the world it CAN be true at times...some things just seem like too much!

God is awesome though and while I may not understand so many things in this life, I'm reminded of the song 'God Will Make a Way'....

God will make a way,

Where there seems to be no way

He works in ways we cannot see

He will make a way for me

He will be my guide

Hold me closely to His side

With love and strength for each new day

He will make a way,

He will make a way.

THIS is my prayer for these and so many other families in need.

AAhhhhh......

Tax deadline day.....Can I just say how glad I am that today is finally here?? With the 15th falling on Sunday and yesterday being Emancipation Day, it pushed the deadline two days later than normal, but I'm glad it's finally here. It's like my second birthday of the year! I went to dinner with friends to celebrate, then home to begin trying to find links for the 'thinking blogger' thing I promised I'd get done over the weekend. It's old news now, I know, but if there is anything that I am, I am a girl of my word. I am working on it and have two or three. Once I get five, which should be relatively soon, I'll post them. I know I said I'd do it over the weekend, but I just ran out of time....Tracey listing my faves put a crimp in my plan! :-)

We went bowling for Grace's birthday party on Friday night and had LOTS of fun. I hadn't been bowling in ages and had forgotten how much fun it was. I came in next to last with the 'big people' but I got two strikes, so I was happy about that! Since Grace's birthday is April 13, my sister usually has her party on the Saturday closest to it and I can never go because of having to work, so I was thrilled that she did it on Friday night and I could be there. Nothing like spending the evening with about 6 or 7 eight year old's! :-) Saturday was spent working, Sunday was church, nap, church, then Monday and today have been finishing up tax deadline work. Our office is closed on Friday, so I am thrilled that a three day weekend is looming on my horizon...

Nothing more, nothing less, just life as I know it...

Separated at birth??

Well, not quite...but I thought that Sophie (MusicalJean's granddaughter) and Grace looked alike too! I didn't want to assume everyone else would think the same, BUT in response to Tracey and Jean's comments to my last post, I had to post these pictures. It is amazing....they could definitely be sisters! The ones of Grace were taken in late 2002, so she would have been almost 3 years old. Tomorrow is her birthday and she will be 8. (We are having a bowling party with several of her friends...Fun huh?) I can hardly believe how quickly time flies. I've often told my sister that I never realized how quickly time passed until she had kids...and I mean it every time I say it! I added the ones of Kate because I love them both and, being the doting aunt that I am, didn't want to leave her out. They were all taken around the same time....between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2002. (By the way, the first one of Grace is her showing off lipstick that she had applied herself! HAHAHAHAHA!!)

Amazing, isn't it?

I was wrong!

There have been times in my life when I have just been flat-out wrong and one of those times has come to my mind these last few days.

Let me start the story by saying that I was cleaning up my room when I was off the weekend before this past one (that should draw gasps since I hate housework!) and came across a 25% off coupon for Family Christian store. I had used all my 'perks' punch-out spots and evidently, a year ago (!!) was given this coupon for 25% off a purchase within the next year. That year runs out at the end of this month, so I decided I was going to go try to find a book, music or something just so it wouldn't go to waste....you know the rule....spend money to save money, right?? Anyway, making a long story short, I did not use it that day, but when I was there found a 'Best of Margaret Becker' CD that I could not live without. This is where the point of my story comes into play.....

In the summer of 1989, I went to AtlantaFest with a couple of friends from work (the ones I saw Donny Osmond with if you read my earlier post.....lots of adventures with them that I may share with time!). I wasn't really familiar with a load of people who were performing since I was just beginning to take my steps out into the 'Contemporary Christian' music world, but there was one artist there that I knew I didn't care too much for...Margaret Becker. She played loud guitar, sang way too loudly (I was probably actually too close to the speakers! :-) ) and I just didn't care too much for her. Somehow in the next couple of years, listening to the radio or something I presume, I heard her again and had a whole different perception of what I was hearing....I started giving her music a second listen and one song has spoken to me over and over again. I remember the first time I really heard it and paid attention to the words....I was laying in the floor, just listening.....then I just started crying. Powerful, powerful words. Needless to say, I have become a HUGE Margaret Becker fan....now she doesn't sing anything that I don't like!

Needless to say, this song was on the 'Best of' CD that I bought the other day. I am thinking about buying an ipod and had already downloaded this song a couple of weeks ago from iTunes so I'd have it when I finally make the purchase, but after hearing it again so much lately, I just though that it might mean something to someone else too. I'm including a link so you can listen to it being sung, but I am also posting the lyrics if you want to read them first. It is song # 6 -- I couldn't figure out how to get it to directly link...but you'll see it listed. Go HERE to listen. (Click on the green dot on the far left, pick the middle album, and song # 6....a lot of work, I know, but hopefully worth it!) There are also other songs of hers from this link I am posting, so if you interested, listen to a few of them. You won't be disappointed.

Here are the lyrics....the song is "All I Ever Wanted"

From where I lay
I can see the sun
Rising through the trees
Before I face
This morning rush
I get down on my knees

I lift my eyes
And thank You for
This life you've granted me
I pray that every day I live
Your heart will be pleased

I pray for
Hands that hold You
Higher than anything else
And a heart that loves You
More than life itself
This is all I've ever wanted
This is all I want to be
All I've ever wanted
Is to love You
Faithfully

From where I stand
I can see the dreams
That you have fulfilled
Such kindness I did not deserve
But You gave it still

What do I have
That You did not give
There's nothing that I can see
So all I have to give to You
Is what You've given me

I pray for
Hands that hold You
Higher than anything else
And this heart to love You
More than life itself
This is all I've ever wanted
This is all I want to be
All I've ever wanted
Is to love You
Faithfully

I know I don't have the power
To love You like I should
But every day with everything I have
I wish I could
I'm standing here now
These words I pray
I wanna love You better
Whatever it takes

I pray for
Hands that hold You
Higher than anything else
And a heart that loves you
More than life itself
This is all I've ever wanted
This is all I want to be
All I've ever wanted
Is to love You
Faithfully.

(and by the way, not to ruin a good song or thought, but I still have my 25% off thing....any suggestions on a good purchase???....and I WILL get my 'thinking blogger' choices posted this weekend...I'm just now figuring out link how to link things this week!)

Two blessings...

I realize that I am totally partial, but these are two of the sweetest girls in the world...my nieces. I just adore them both. My sister e-mailed these to me tonight. There wasn't a good 'alone' picture of my oldest niece, but the youngest LOVES being in front of a camera, as you can tell! As soon as I get a good one of Kate, I'll post it too. The youngest is Grace, the sweet thing this blog is named after...(click HERE to get the story and HERE for a picture)...and, from my post a few days ago, the one who wanted to give up panties for Lent a few years ago! Can't you tell she'd say that? :-)

One busy week...

I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who left comments on my last post. As I know we've all found out from time to time, there is comfort in realizing that others understand just the feeling we are trying to describe. It's just cool to me that people I mostly know only through writing are willing to share so much of their heart and impact me so much. I am grateful.

Along with several of you, I got tagged by Tracey on Monday night with the Thinking Blogger Award. I was surprised about this for two reasons: (1) I usually don't have anything to say of any merit, I just post silly stuff.....No real thinking there, huh? (2) Most of the blogs I check regularly, I got from links on her blog and she used them as her choices! Uh...Thanks Tracey! :-)

Actually, there are a few blogs that I check from time to time that I don't have listed as links, so I will look at those get them posted soon. I just haven't had time this week to figure out the 'link' thing, but as soon as I do, I will get it done. This week has just been crazy busy and I'm one that isn't going to do anything until I can do it right!

Here's the week though, for real: About 9:30 on Tuesday morning, a co-worker came running upstairs screaming..."Does anyone know CPR....Does anyone know CPR?? Amanda has passed out she isn't breathing!!!!" Well, by the time we got downstairs to see what was going on, my friend Gina (who I also work with) was making an effort at CPR although she wasn't sure exactly what she was doing. Josh called 911 and fortunately, they were there within a minute. Extremely fast. Later, one of the paramedics said they were across the street when they got the call, so they dropped everything and came. Amanda had a heartbeat and she was breathing, although not regularly, when the paramedics got there. They were able to bring her around enough get her onto a stretcher and on the way to the hospital. Surprisingly, she was released later in the day and said they had determined that a new medication she had been prescribed had reacted with something else she was on and caused her to have a seizure! You know...she is only 24 and that is just scary stuff. As a result of that, several people at work have decided to take a CPR class given by the Red Cross after we get through with tax season. Not a bad idea and I will probably do the same, if not then, sometime soon. Since Amanda had stopped breathing, it really put a scare in everyone and I think we were all sort of in a fog the rest of that day.

Yesterday was just a long day because of work, children's choir, adult choir, then several of us went out for dinner for another friend's birthday. I was LATE getting home and was just dragging around the first half of the day today....I got a little of a second wind, but it's starting to hit me again. Something is telling me this will be an early to bed night! :-)

Mostly, I really just wanted, tonight, to say thanks for the comments earlier this week and to say that I am not ignoring the 'award' that has been bestowed on me in case anyone is checking to see who I unveil as my choices. I will do it soon. And to you Tracey, I appreciate the 'award' but what I appreciate most are the kind things you had to say. I know over the course of time, we have discussed some of those things ourselves, but when you put it all out there for everyone in 'bloggerland' to read, it is humbling to say the least!

.....but about that singing group comment..... :-)

April...the good and the bittersweet.

I love April because it means that spring is here...it means that I only have about two more weeks of tax season...it means I'll get my full weekends back...it means I'll get to leave work at a normal time...it means I'll get to catch up on things that I've let slide for the first 3.5 months of the year....and those things are MANY....many more than I'm willing to admit here.

Knowing all this is just around the corner gives me a sense of anticipation about life that I think I lose during the course of the year. I was talking to a friend at work the other day and we agreed that these last two weeks of tax season are almost like a dream because we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. After working 6 day weeks since January with only one Saturday off per month, we talked about how working these hours makes us realize how much we appreciate having two days in a row off! This is probably one of my most favorite months of the year...

Yet as much as I like it, it is also bittersweet because, although I think of her often, it reminds me of a friend who, tomorrow, has been gone for 11 years. Her death was tragic, at the hands of someone else, and left two small children to be raised by their father. I have had to realize that there are some things in this life that I just will not understand, her death being one of them. It is a gray cloud that hovers around early April every year to me. I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. Early on, I thought that it would get easier with time or at least not be so hard-hitting, but as I was getting ready for work this morning I caught myself thinking (as I do every year), "Eleven years ago today, Tracy had no idea this would be the last full day of her life...no idea that this would be the next to the last day that she'd get her kids ready for the day...no idea that tonight would be the last night she'd fix dinner for her family and put her kids to bed." And I am sure tomorrow, I will say the same sort of things to myself as I am getting ready for work, only that day will end with her death. On top of that though, I think..."You know, this is just me, a friend, feeling this way. I can't imagine how her parents must feel today and and will feel tomorrow....how her husband, although he is remarried, must feel....how her kids must feel." I know time has to march forward, but sometimes it's good to just stop and remember....even it if hurts a little bit. She left a great legacy and even though it makes me sad, if I had to choose between the 'gray cloud' or never knowing her friendship, I would choose the gray cloud anyday.

I am thankful for a God who gives us relationships we can continue to learn from even years later. I am thankful for a God who gives us what we need sometimes long before we know we need it. I am thankful for a God who always is available to talk to when it's not always easy to talk to others. I am thankful for the stability of my job, even if it is way too busy at times. I am thankful for the 'to do' list around my house, even if it is overwhelming at times, because it gives me a safe place to get away from the world when I need to. April is the month that, maybe moreso than any other, drives my blessings home to me in ways I never would have imagined.

New growth, renewal....isn't that what it's all about anyway?

Kids say...and do...the darndest things!

I have never been shy about sharing how sweet my nieces are, how much I LOVE them and what a huge part of my life they have always been. They have done such sweet things through the years that it has taken my breath away and brought tears to my eyes more times than I can count. For instance, years ago, I was putting my oldest niece, Kate, to bed before I left my sister's house and I said, "You sweet girl...I just love you too much!" That precious thing said, "Aunt Dianne, don't you know it's impossible to love too much?" Then we had that argument about who loves who the most....you know the gig. There was also the time she gave me a little box for Easter with two Tootsie Rolls in it and one of her own dollars. BOO HOO!! I told her I couldn't take her money, but she was determined that I was going to keep it. Needless to say, I still have that box and that dollar....and it still makes me teary. She's about to be 13 now and still begs me to stay longer when I'm at their house, says the sweetest things and is just growing into a precious young woman. I could not be more proud.

As I was leaving my sister's house tonight, I found that my youngest niece, Grace (who will be 8 in two weeks), had adorned my car with flowers while I was inside talking to her mom. Well, BOO HOO! I had to march myself right back in and love on her a little bit. What a sweetie! I had been outside kicking a ball around with her before I went inside. Through a window, I did see her walking around the yard picking flowers, but I had no idea what she was going to do with them. What a sweet surprise! As emotional as I tend to be about children, it doesn't take much to make me just wipe out. Sometimes I think it gets worse the older I get, but I wonder if that isn't because I realize the value of actions and words more and more with time. Whatever it is, I am there!

There are the funny things too though and those are reasons that I adore children as well. When Kate was in first grade, she informed her teacher that the pilgrims came over on the cauliflower! haha! That was adorable then and it is adorable now. We still giggle about that. Then there is Grace who is just plain, flat out, funny...when she was younger (she's only 7 now, so this was about 2 years ago) they were discussing what they could give up for Lent, so it had to be about this time of year...well, Grace wanted to know if she could give up panties for Lent! My sister was like, "UH.....NO!!!" :-) Oh well, it was worth a try! Then there was the time that she wanted a certain ribbon to wear in her hair on picture day at school, but it didn't match, so my sister told her no. Well, Grace was determined, so she took that ribbon to school and got the teacher to put it in her hair! My sister had no idea about any of it until she got the proofs back! HAHA! They will have their hands full with that one, no doubt!

And I might add that Nspired by Faith (along the left side under my links) had a hilarious story today. I giggled out loud the whole time I was reading it. HA! Check her out...you won't be sorry! (In case she posts again before you get there, it's the one titled "Grandpa comes by for a visit....or so I thought!") Funny stuff.

I'm curious about any cute stories others may have. I just love this kind of stuff...it makes for great memories!

Biblical scholar?? I think not!

I wouldn't say this is totally accurate since some of the questions had silly choices for answers and there is so much that I DON'T know, but I was a little surprised and it was fun. Give it a try!

You know the Bible 95%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Great American Dream VOTE?

I just saw the commercial tonight for Donny's new show starting tomorrow night, "Great American Dream Vote." I sat right here on the couch with my laptop grinning from ear to ear and wanting to squeal...he just makes my heart happy! I have a tupperware party to go to, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be recording this jewel...I can't wait!


I think the show's name should be "Great American Dream BOAT!" He is STILL gorgeous!!!

The Jesus Painter

This explains it all...

No wonder I work as an accountant for a living...I really am all about detail, logic and reasoning...and I am amazed when these quizzes get it right!

You Are 75% Left Brained, 25% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Leave it to...Classic TV!

Please keep posting movie titles when/if you think of them because I LOVE the input, but I just had to post this....

Whenever I see pictures of people that were in shows when I was a kid, it always makes me feel old! How 'bout good ol' Wally, Eddie and the Beav? I got this in an e-mail today and just had to giggle. I do NOT know where time goes!



And why does it always seem that everyone else changes while we stay the same??? I mean, at 45 years of age, I am sure I still look the same as I did when I was 10! :-)

Got Nexflix?

I am hands-down the world's absolute worst about falling asleep during movies. I can love the storyline, but then, even at the theatre sometimes, I get so relaxed and next thing I know....'ZZZZzzzzzzzz'....waking up to find I have no idea what is going on! One of my best friends joined Nexflix months ago and has just raved about the service, the movie selection, the ease of trading movies, the length of time you can keep them without penalty, etc. I have thought about joining myself, but never did because I never thought I'd be able to stay awake enough to get my money's worth out of it. I was talking to a co-worker a couple of weeks ago who is also a member and she raved about it as well, so I decided to give it a try. Granted I am still in my two week trial period, but I've already watched two movies this month and sadly enough, that is a record for me! I got my second movie in the mail today and since I didn't have anything pressing to do tonight, I went ahead and watched it. I'll put it in the mail tomorrow and should have my third movie by the end of the week...just in time for the weekend. Since I am one that feels there is very little worth watching on TV these days...I mostly only watch news shows like Dateline, Primetime, Nancy Grace, etc, and my one vice, Days of Our Lives...this is a great option to me right now. I can't believe it took me so long to join the ranks.

So far, I've watched "Friends with Money" with Jennifer Aniston (LOVE her but didn't care for the movie) and "Click" with Adam Sandler (great message about life passing so quickly). Next up, I have "The Devil Wears Prada." Hopefully it will be good. If you aren't a member of Netflix, you should try it, if only for the two week trial period....you can't go wrong with that.

I am curious about favorite movies out there and if there are any you would recommend. Please share!

Deja-vu and boo-hoo....

Any takers on guessing who had $300 withdrawn from their account without their consent again this month?? Admittedly I do not check my balances daily and after that fiasco last month, a new debit card, etc, I assumed there would be no more unapproved debits. WELL.....last Thursday, $300 again, to the same company as before. I just discovered it today when I checked online to see if my deposit was showing yet. Needless to say, after realizing that, I piled myself right into my car and went to get that straightened out. We, the banker and I, decided they must have my account number and that the best option would be to close that account and open a new one, etc. I guess my mystery debiter will get the surprise next month when that debit isn't approved! I do wish I could see that.

Second on the front of big news, and really bigger news than above, it looks like my sweet nieces will be moving to Florida, or somewhere thereabouts, in a year or year and a half if things play out like my sister wants them to. I, of course, am SO SAD about the thought of those sweet girls moving 5-6 hours away, but it isn't up to me and it's simply something I am going to have to accept and get used to. My true wish is that this isn't God's plan for them, but I need to start thinking like it is then if it doesn't happen.....YEA!!! I know the real answer is to be happy anyway, but just I'm not there yet. I'm still in the 'mulling it around in my mind' stage. Being single has had its advantages with them because I have been able to have so much quality time with them and pour so much into those relationships, but it will break my heart to see them leave, there's just no other way to put it. I keep telling myself that I need to be glad that everyone is healthy and it's only a few hours away, but they are the closest family I have, so in my mind, it's yucky no matter how you look at it.

I guess deja-vu and boo-hoo was a good title, huh? That's exactly how I feel....

Music and Lyrics and Donny Osmond

If you have not seen Music and Lyrics, it is a great movie any female will definitely want to see. I chose that for my birthday movie with friends last month and invited my friend Gina to come along because she loves Hugh Grant and was dying to see it. I thought it would be cute because I love both Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. Little did I know how much my friend Gina and I would identify with and laugh at this movie. The story and pictures below are part of the reason why.

Back in 1989, Donny Osmond had his 'comeback single' titled 'Soldier of Love.' Star 94 had played it on the radio not saying who was singing it because Donny had been such a pop sensation back in the 70's and they didn't want to color anyone's opinion of this new work. Listeners called in and loved the song and next thing you know, Donny Osmond was going to be a guest at Star 94 on their morning program.

Well, my friends Gina, Judy and I decided we needed to GO to Star 94 and try to see him the morning he was going to be on the air. All I remember is that it was toward the end of tax season and sort of warm weather, so it had to be April. I know we had to have gotten up at the crack of dawn, but we had our little briefcases, tote bags, etc, (sort of as a prop of course) and headed downtown to whatever building Star 94 was in at the time. We got there, parked, marched right past the security guard at the door, found out what floor we needed to get to, then hid in a bathroom just a little down the hall from the door to Star 94, taking turns watching for Donny to make his appearance.

After being in there peeking out for what seemed like an eternity (although I am sure it was only 20 minutes or so), we decided we needed to be on the other end of the hallway to see better, so we gathered our stuff and rounded the corner on the way to the other end and who stepped right off the elevator in front of us??? DONNY OSMOND!!!! I kid you not.....we still laugh that we just stood there gasping with our mouths open....three definitely audible gasps. HA! He was SO kind...."Well, well....what have we got here?" We just giggled, stammered around unable to speak and were finally like, "OH MY GOSH!!!" We told him we had been fans of his forever and that we loved his new song.....I don't remember everything about what anyone said, but he was so great about signing autographs, letting us take pictures, and just letting us revert back to giggly teenagers if only for a little while. Judy and Gina had taken albums for him to sign, and we all got his signature on a piece of paper. After all that, we headed back to the car to head for work. On the way back to the office, we listened to Star 94 of course and he mentioned "the three girls in the hallway." There we were again, screeching like teenagers...."THAT WAS US!!!"

That same night, he was going to be at Rupert's, so we took the pictures we'd taken to one hour developing and picked them up before we headed out again that night. He sang several songs, chatted with the audience, then settled in to sign autographs. All I remember is that there were LOTS of people there, but we waited...and waited...and waited. When it got to be our turn, Donny looked up, had the funniest look on his face and said, "Were you the girls that were at the radio station this morning?" Our reply...."YES!!!!!!!!" He just laughed. He talked to us for several minutes, signed our pictures from that morning, then posed for more pictures with us. Such a nice, nice guy! We stood around and watched him sign autographs for several others, then it was time for him to go. My fanatic friends, after he left the table, totally ransacked it, drank from his glass, took his straw, took napkins, etc...just silly stuff that is still so funny but I am not sure any of us would do anything different even to this day. I was looking through the pictures and found that I even have a napkin in my memorabilia from that day, so I can't make too much fun of Judy and Gina!

Anyway, this is why I LOVED 'Music and Lyrics' as much as I did and why Gina and I just hooted laughing at several places in that movie. It was just like that Donny story coming to life again, the way we acted, how he is older and still has the same fan base that he had years ago, everyone is just middle-aged now, etc. As good as Drew Barrymore was, the sister is the one that was really funny though....if you see it, watch her. She is great and she is who we really identified with more than anything. Just hilarious. Kate wanted to see it too, so I took her a couple of weeks ago and found myself laughing just as much, if not more, the second time than I did when I first saw it. This is one movie I am definitely going to buy!

Below are my Donny pictures. Enjoy!

Judy, Donny and Gina

Judy, Donny and me

Judy with her autographed album on the way

back to the office

Back at the office showing off our autographs

Donny and me at Rupert's

I think this will always stand out as one of the most fun days of my life!

One word...ADORABLE!

I got this link in an e-mail today and thought it was precious!

Celebrity look-alikes??

Y'all...this is so funny! I got the link from my friend Tracey's blog and thought I'd try it. Can you believe this tells me the first person I look like is Fred Savage? That makes me giggle, although I did LOVE The Wonder Years and thought he was an adorable boy. To be honest, I didn't even know who some of the others were, but the second one is 'heiress apparent to the Swedish throne'...never heard of her! Anyway, Tracey was right, this is fun and you should try it too!

Here's the link...Let me know if you do it and who you look like!

http://www.myheritage.com/

Do we believe in miracles today?

I was thrilled to find the video below on youtube tonight because I have been listening to this CD in my car for about a week. I heard this group, The Booth Brothers, as a Gaither event I went to last October. I had never heard of them before, but they were great and I bought their CD. After I got it home, I started listening to it and decided I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, so I put it up and haven't thought about it again until a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know why, but I truly think God is the reason this song came to mind again. It has pushed me this week to read more about Jesus' miracles and to really think about what it must have been like to be there and witness them firsthand. How wonderful would it be to see someone who had spent their entire lifetime crippled finally being able to walk, or a man born blind finally able to see? How would it have been to SEE that Jesus had restored a withered hand, healed a deaf mute, restored a servant's ear or indeed even raised Lazarus from the dead? I have spent this week studying and pondering those and other miracles and wondering what we, as a society and as a world, would do if we saw miracles like that today. I can't even imagine how transformed we would be! I know of definite instances that I have seen in the lives of others that I believe to be miracles because I believe God is able to heal and sustain life, but to actually SEE an ear or withered hand restored...I can't even imagine how awestruck I would be! I do know one thing though, this is the kind of expectancy with which I want to approach my life, my prayers and my God.

Listen to this song...it's the main reason I bought the CD, and if you want to read more about the miracles of Jesus, follow the link:
http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/jmrcls.html

Court date # 2

So much for bragging about having such a great day on Sunday, I guess! I woke up that night very sick with a stomach virus. Oh my gosh...I do not know if I have ever felt that bad or been that sick. I didn't go to work until 10:15 on Monday, then left at 12:15 to come back home to get on my couch. I have only been out of work 2 days in the 22 years I have been at my job, so you know I was feeling bad! I could tell about 10:00 on Monday night that I was turning the corner and I am still on the upswing, but still not 100%. I have learned that I don't think I've ever had a stomach virus before because I KNOW I wouldn't have forgotten! :-) My sympathies to anyone that gets it, I can definitely tell you that!

The bigger news though is that I had the second court date yesterday about the guy that broke into my car back in August. I was glad to be getting this handled, so imagine how thrilled I was when I got to court and they told me there was a bench warrant out for this guy because he was supposed to show up on Monday and didn't! So I left to go back to work, still no resolve. They will subpoena me again once they have him. I do still agree with my post here when all this happened, but at this point, I am ready to have it done and over with. I guess I don't understand how people are not afraid of the law! My subpoena said something like I would be fined $300 if I didn't show up...that would be my penalty for being a no-show and I didn't even do anything...I was the victim...(and I do use that term loosely since there was no damage and no one was hurt)...but my point is that I didn't do anything and just the threat of a fine scares me and this guy actually DID something and doesn't show. It is just weird. When I think about that, I realize that a part of me does not understand society. I also think that, unfortunately, not much surprises me anymore. I guess there may have been a small part of me that was surprised at this news yesterday, but for the most part, I just took it in stride because there is really nothing that can be done until they have this guy. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Some things are just funny

I've had a great day today. After working 6 day weeks and longer hours since early January, it's starting to catch up with me at times, but I had an afternoon today where I was able to just rest, wash clothes, hang out at home and get a Sunday afternoon nap and I LOVED it. I got home from church tonight, watched part of the Oscars, got my laptop and have been happily entertained for the last few hours. The last hour or so though, I have been watching recap videos on Ellen DeGeneres website. TOO funny! I've laughed out loud several times...something I do not do very often with TV shows. Here's the link:

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/videos/

It's easy to navigate and loaded with funny stuff if you have a few minutes to kill. And mostly, it's fun because it's all good, clean humor....a great thing in today's world!

Enjoy!

Church signs

I have been so stinkin' busy lately and I know no one wants to read about that because we are all busy, but by the time I get home and get everything done at night, I am just too tired and have absolutely nothing to write. Tax season does that to me mentally, but it's more and more noticable the older I get! I'm not posting much, not for lack of desire, but lack of thoughts that anyone would care to read....

Anyway, I passed one of those church signs tonight on the way home that I thought was great.....Few words, but very powerful.

"It's good to mark your Bible, but it's better to let your Bible mark you."

Just a thought.

'The Last Hurrah!'

Gorgeous, aren't they? These are among the last of the birthday remembrances I've gotten this week. They came at the end of the day yesterday from a dear friend in North GA who my family moved next door to in Morrow when I was only 9 or 10 years old. Debbie and Jack were just getting married and she was only 10 years older than me. I was the first babysitter their children had and Debbie and I struck up a wonderful friendship that has grown through so many phases of our lives....mine from childhood to adultood, hers from newlywed to grandmother! WOW! It would be impossible to recount the ways she has influenced my life spiritually, morally, and maybe even more than I realize, emotionally, but I can sit here and honestly say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God Himself brought her into my life for specific reasons, especially at that young age, whether I knew it at the time or not. You can see a lot of things looking back over your life that you couldn't see or didn't realize at the time...those purposes where she is concerned are now crystal clear! Anyway, the flowers are just so bright and gorgeous that I had to share....they are a definite change from the cold windy weather right now!

I had the last of my birthday celebrations tonight. A movie and dinner with friends....the movie, 'Music and Lyrics' with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. A cute movie and especially for people like me who were fanatics about certain groups and musicians in the 70's and 80's. Definite memories! haha. I couldn't help but to giggle. It was a cute movie and definitely recommended if you like Drew and Hugh.

Anyway, this will be the last 'birthday' post, so thanks again for a fantastic week. I have been blessed, humbled and encouraged at so many turns in the road and you can rest assured that not one of the kindnesses extended has been overlooked or unappreciated. Without a doubt, I have the best friends in the world!

Just for fun...

I don't care how many times I read some of these church bulletin bloopers, I still giggle...

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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours"

The 'sisterhood'...for real!

How lucky can a girl be? I met my friends Joan, Christy and Gwen for dinner last night…a little thing we’ve decided to do once a month or so just because it’s fun. They each gave me a birthday card when I got there and said this dinner was my birthday celebration, but they didn’t want to tell me beforehand. I was touched. They even used a gift card that Gwen and Christy had gotten as a thank you from someone and paid for all of our dinners! When we got through with dinner though, our waitress showed up with a box from Publix. Initially, I just looked at it and didn’t know what was going on, but then it hit me...”WOW….that’s a birthday cake!” I just have the coolest friends in the world! I wish I’d had my camera. I have known Joan for years, but Christy and Gwen are her sisters and they have become friends to me as well. They’ve let me give myself the title of ‘honorary sister’ and they make me feel like nothing less. God is good and I am thankful…I love being part of the ‘sisterhood’! :-)

Thanks girls....I had a blast last night!

MANY THANKS.

I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have extended birthday greetings to me in one way or another these past several days. I have been overwhelmed and feel like I have had almost a full week to celebrate! The older I get, the more I realize how quickly time passes, but it only serves to drive home the realities of what is most important in life, with good friends being at the top of that list. I am more than blessed in that area and I am grateful to each of you for what you add to my life. I still have one or two more birthday events to celebrate, so by the time those are over, it will have been a little more than a week that I've been partying, but it is fun and I love it!

The picture above is of the candle that was on the cake at my Dad's tonight. I went over there for dinner with my Dad, his wife, my sister, nieces and brother-in-law, and as a surprise, my stepmom had also invited my favorite aunt and uncle. This aunt and uncle got married on my 5th birthday, so they were married 40 years today.....lots to celebrate for them too, but I was thrilled that they chose to join us at my Dad's. It was a fun night and even though I did manage to squeeze my Sunday afternoon nap in before I went to my Dad's, I am still tired! :-)

With that, I'm off to settle in for the night, but I didn't want today to get by without a word of thanks for all the fun and every kindness that has been extended in recent days....whether by card, call, e-mail, food and fellowship or whatever....my heart is full of thanks. Most of all though, I am grateful for the constancy and friendships that help get me through EVERY day. You can rest assured that you are loved and appreciated.

One awesome song

Good news...

The $300 was back in my account today. I love my bank. They are courteous and do fast work!

To blog or not to blog...

I almost used this title for my post on Sunday night, but chose not to...now it seems even more appropriate. My lack of posting lately has only come from a busy tax-season life right now, a few computer issues and nothing more. It had only been a week since I had posted my last entry....not a huge amount of time by any stretch of the imagination. I guess I should take it as a compliment that my posts had been missed, huh? The thing is that I post so many things that have '0 comments' that it makes me wonder who is even reading all this to begin with, you know? I know that sounds silly, but it just seems more fun when people agree, disagree and/or a constructive dialogue ensues.

My post today is a word about debit cards and banking. I got home last night to a letter from my bank saying that a merchant had reported information they had on record had been compromised. While my debit card was one of the ones involved, the letter assured me that the situation was being handled and that I would have a new debit card by February 12 which needed to be activated as soon as it was received. With this warning in mind, I checked my account this morning from work and saw that indeed $300 was deducted from my account yesterday that I have no idea about. I called customer service and was on the phone for about 20 minutes. The representative was very nice and helpful, but we came to the conclusion that I needed to go to my bank and fill out an affadavit saying that I had no knowledge of this debit and that it was not authorized by me. It only took me about 30 seconds to hang up the phone and explain to Judy (the CPA I work under) that I needed to go get this matter resolved. She agreed and I was back at work in 30 minutes or less. I got home today and my new debit card is already here, I am just debating now because I have a few things that are outstanding that I don't want to be rejected when they try to post. I asked the man at the bank about this today, before I knew my new card would be here tonight, and he said that if there is any other activity that I don't know about, I will have to fill out a new affadavit to have it turned over to be investigated as well. Although I know it's not the smartest thing to do, I am thinking I may watch and wait until this one specific debit comes through before I activate my new card. At any rate, it will be a few days before the $300 makes it back to my account. Stinks, huh? I love the convenience of having a debit card and I think the advantage definitely outweighs any disadvantage, I just hate that things like this happen in today's world.

The World vs. The Church

I don't really have anything to say, but I was told tonight that I needed to put something else on my blog. Our choir sang in church tonight and as we were going into the Worship Center, my friend Debra said, ".....and you need to put something else on your blog. I'm tired of reading about your computer!" We laughed, but there just hasn't been much worth posting about. With it being tax season, all I've been doing it working...getting W-2's and 1099's out and dealing with a January 31 deadline. Oh the world of taxes...always a deadline. January is my big push though, so now I just have long hours until April 17. I can deal with that. January was one of the smoothest I remember in a while, so for that I am thankful. There are usually numerous people calling once they get their W-2 to say they don't think they made that much money, etc, but I would have to say that I see their point sometimes because when I get my W-2, it never seems I've made that much money either because I certainly can't always see where it goes! The ever elusive dollar....where DOES it all go?

Anyway, knowing I didn't really have anything to say, I asked Debra what she thought I should write about and she said, "This." Church on Super Bowl Sunday Night. Hhhhmmm....that's a hard one! We always have church on Sunday night, but our Minister of Music told us at rehearsal on Wednesday that he scheduled the choir to sing tonight because it IS Super Bowl Sunday. He went on to say that he gets tired of the world dictating what the church is going to do and I have to say that I agree. We had great attendance as well as a full choir and orchestra. We sang three songs, one of our ensembles sang, then we had the sermon. I guess we got through by about 7:25 or so and I'm sure that everyone that wanted to watch the Super Bowl still got home in plenty of time to see the action. Personally, I have no idea who is even playing and it doesn't bother me in the least. I have nothing against the Super Bowl, I just agree that the world dictates what we are going to do at times and that's not good. I'm thankful to be part of a church that takes a stand!

Lastly, as a follow up to the prior post about my computer issues, my laptop came this past week and I love it so far. I am posting this propped up on my bed at home with my cat sound alseep beside me. She is just like a child and knows when things take my attention away, so a little while ago, she thought she was going to jump up here and walk on the keyboard and eventually lay down on it, I'm sure, like she does on paper or anything else when I'm at the table, but I put a screeching halt to that! The laptop is cool though and I can tell this is one toy I am going to enjoy having....