Time

We often take for granted the time we have with people who are most important to us. Assuming they will always be there. That the time we have with our children will be endless. Believing that they will be here tomorrow, next year, in 20 years. But we are not promised tommorrow. Only God knows how long we will be here to love each other.

I was once told that nothing on earth belongs to us, not even our children. All things belong to the Lord. I certainly understood that as far as material things. But my children? I thought about that a lot, and knew that it was true. The Lord had blessed me with so many things. My children were another blessing too. For me to enjoy, raise and care for while we are here on earth. And for that blessing I am extremely thankful.

So today, cherish them, love them, hug them. Accept your blessings and be thankful for them each moment. Even when they make you crazy. Because they are from God, and we don't know how long we will have to love them.

In Memory of Kelsey Lieux
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kelseylieux

A Sleepover

These two very excited girls both had their first sleepover last weekend.

They baked the most awesome brownies...

and licked the bowl clean!

They made a huge mess...

rode bikes, skated (but Anna was very careful not to fall and bust her lip),

 giggled and enjoyed themselves the entire time!

But bedtime was the moment they were waiting for...

but most certainly not because they wanted to sleep...

blow up beds are WAY more fun than a trampoline.

They did finally settle down with a movie...

well, mostly.

Then, they slept like angels until Erin woke up a very sleepy Anna at 6:50 the next morning.

Feel our pain Anna!

And before it was all over, they were asking when they could do it again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh - and those awesome brownies? I didn't get a picture of the finished product, because I nearly ate them all. If you want to try them yourself, here is the recipe.

1 pack 9x13 size brownie mix

8-10 crushed golden oreos or sandwich cookie

1/2 tub of vanilla frosting

Mix the brownies as directed, stir in 1/2 of the crushed cookies.

Bake as directed.

Let cool and frost.

Sprinkle with remaining cookies.

Ummmm!

~Knockout Red Rose~

The Suffering Of Christ

When Jesus spoke, leppers were healed, Lazarus was raised from the dead. He had power in His voice. But no words were greater than those spoken as he hung from the cross. Father, forgive them. And the great thing is, God will forgive us, if we submit to Him. Submitting is not an easy word. But what Christ did for us was not easy either.

Luke 23:33-34
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Forgiveness is an expression of prayer.
At Calvary, Jesus began to pray to His Father. Calvary was not a place of prayer. It was a place of pain and suffering. A place of agony. But Jesus did not pray for Himself, or for His agony to be released. He prayed for you. He prayed for me. He did not think of Himself.

Forgiveness is an expression of pardon.
When man had done his worst, Jesus was at His best. He did nor pray for the judgement of those who had tortured Him, but for their forgiveness. He was repeatedly abused by them, and He repeatedly prayed for them. We have our feelings hurt once or twice, and never speak to the offender again. We are not to forgive 3 times, as was the Jewish rule, but 70 x 7. Long after we have lost count.

Forgiveness is an expression of peace.
The only way to get rid of the guilt of our sins, the only way to get rid of the shame: The only way to heaven, the only way to have our sins blotted out by His blood, is to receive and accept what He did for us.

Jesus was sinless. Perfect. Yet, He needed to pray. What about me and you? Sinful: thoughtless, not always forgiving, not always helpful. How much more do we need to pray? Our kness should be calloussed.

Where I Come From

I don't visit my Grandma as much as I should. She lives by herself in the town that I grew up in. Since Pappy passed away she doesn't like to leave the house, it feels too empty when she comes back home. I think it's sad. He wouldn't want her to live that way. He would be worried about her. I tried telling her once that he doesn't worry anymore. There isn't any worry where he lives. I'm not sure she believed me though.

Last week when the kids and I went, it was a beautiful day, so I took my camera along to capture some of the sights. Erin & Luke were patient in the car while I snapped away. I wanted to take some pictures just in case these old buildings are gone one day too. Compared to our town, where I grew up is a step back. They still have old barns, old houses, old churches. There used to not be any subdivisions, but they are coming.

~St Joseph Catholic Church~

~Creole Museum~

~Community Center~

~Snowy Indian Hawthorne~

For Pappy

1916 - 2007

Animal Adventures

Our trip to the zoo. A pictorial.

Erin loves animals, critters & bugs of all kinds, I'm not sure she's ever met one she didn't like.

Luke is slightly more cautious. He reluctantly brushes the goats.

All the while keeping his eye on that shady character behind him.

He was not to worry for long, because as soon as Patrick walked up to the fence, they were suddenly interested.
Drawn to him.

What is it about my husband that makes the goats flock to him?

They do have good taste, I must say. But I think it was the M&M's they were really interested in!

Not a chance Ms Goat, you're not getting his snack.

 ~~~~~~~~~

They also had an animal show today, although we did miss part of it, we walked up at just the right time for Erin. The young lady had just taken a baby alligator out of the cage. 

Oh she's GOT this! She is a pro at petting baby alligators, having seen one at school just a few weeks ago.

(Notice my son, safely staying behind in the wagon)

She even took her gloves off to get a better feel.

Luke did decide to venture out of his comfort zone to pet it, not to be outdone by his sister.

Judging by the look on Erin's face, she was quite proud of his bravery.

The young lady also showed everyone a glass lizard. You can look at pictures if you want to here. I wasn't getting close enough to take any. You can call it a lizard if you want to. It didn't have legs, and that is snake enough for me!

Our adventure ended by feeding the giant goldfish in the pond. And one less than friendly swan who took a nibble on Patrick's finger. Sadly, no picture of that either!

South LA Snow Day

Luke and I woke up first this morning. I excitedly opened the curtain to see....

...nothing. No snow.

Now that just figures, we are home today and nothing exciting is going to happen.

A short bit later I looked outside and saw it, just a bit on the car.

I showed Luke & told him it was snow. He said "oh no!"

This year I patiently waited and did not wake up Erin. She came out of her room around 8:00, sat on the couch and

ran to the window as fast as she could!

Luke and I could not get our clothes on fast enough for her.

I did finally talk them in to not picking the snow up off the grass to eat with their hands, but the ole' fashioned Peanuts way, by sticking out their tongue.

It took 3 hours for our home to look like this,

...and less than 2 hours for it to all be gone.

We enjoyed it while it lasted.

Back inside to warm up with a little MarioKart!

Making Fear Disappear

The verses in John 14:1-31 took place the night before Jesus was crucified. He told His disciples he would be leaving to go to the Father. The disciples were afraid, but he spoke these words to comfort them, and to comfort us in times of trouble and fear.

When in times of fear, we have to remember the Lord's promise. That He has gone to prepare a place for us, and when everything is ready, He will come back and get His children. Life can be a series of problems or storms, some of which can be terrifying, but if we have Jesus, He will calm our fears.

We should always remember the Lord's purpose. Often times in fear, we want more confirmation from God, but He is not in the business of explaining (why He does things), but of sustaining us. He does not owe us an explanation for anything, and although it is ok to ask "why", it is more important to have faith and trust the He knows the answer.

We have to remember that the Lord is present in our times of need. If we trust in Him, the Holy Spirit lives in us and will comfort us. That peace is not based on our circumstances. It is there whether we are healthy or sick; rich or poor.

Jesus deserves not only our obedience, but also our trust.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 16:25
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. John 14:6

Happy Valentine's Day

Sadly, these valentine's are all made up for a party that will not happen tomorrow due to SNOW in LA in FEBRUARY? But if there is fluffy white stuff on the ground in the morning, I have a feeling Erin won't be upset at all!

Photographie du Jour

I have, in all my cheapness frugalness downloaded a couple of {free} photo editing programs that I have been playing with a bit. Not as much as Erin has played with her skates - I do have to leave the bedroom sometimes.

I can't wait until the sun starts to shine, the foliage starts to wake up and we get to play outside so I will have new pictures to play with.

In the meantime, here is the picture of the day...

~Mile Branch Settlement~

Uggh

Some days are just crappy, crabby, no good days, even before breakfast.

 But despite me being ugly, not nice & unlovable today, I still have the best daughter in the world.

She wrote this note on the driveway when we got home today.

We love you too, Erin.

Need A Used Car? I Know Just The Guy

One day, an elderly woman was walking along the street, coming home from the supermarket. Her bag of groceries was especially heavy that day, and as she passed Nathan Hale's Used Cars, she got an idea that she could drive herself to the store and save a lot of shoe leather, time and aching muscles. She walks into the car dealership and, as it just so happens, gets the owner himself. He asks her what kind of car she wants and she replies,

"Well, sonny, I can't remember the name exactly, but it has something to do with hate or anger."

The owner replies, "Well, let's see... Oh yes, you want a Plymouth Fury! We have a couple on the lot. What color do you prefer?"

The lady has some trouble explaining the exact color to him, so she reaches into her shopping bag, takes out an ear of corn, strips down the shucks and says, "I want this color sonny."

To which Nathan replies, "Ma'am I'm sorry, but we don't have any in this color. Could I show you a nice blue one?"

"No son, I want this color."

"But ma'am, they didn't make that color! Maybe a cherry red one would suit you?" says the owner, obviously worried about losing a sale.

By this time, the old lady gets mad, and starts throwing things at the owner, thereby chasing him out of the office and into the lot. One of the salesmen, coming into the office from the back door, notices the disruption and asks the secretary what the old woman was so upset about.

The secretary replies, "Apparently, Hale hath no Fury like the woman's corn!"

...and country sausage too - Dahlin'

Rain

Skater Girl

Erin is an extremely active girl, however, not very athletic. So when she asked for skates for Christmas, we let it pass thinking she wouldn't really use them.

But week after week passed, and she still wanted skates. So I told her to save her money and she could buy some. And save she did. She saved her Christmas cash, did her chores at home, raked leaves at Granny's house. At last, she finally had the $40 needed to buy some skates.

The day after her great progress report, she asked if we could go to Toys R Us for skates, so with her bank in her hands, we did. In the cold - wet - rain. We went to the skate/bike section to find...No Skates! Sold out except for the slip on your shoes kind. Oh great. Surprisingly, she did not fall apart.

I promised I would order them for her.  Today was the big day, the man in brown knocked on our door.

She could not wait to put them on!

Scoot, shuffle, (attempt to) skate. All over the house. She is determined.

She did fall down a few times, but didn't seem to mind. And yes, we did get her pads too, but the man in brown didn't have them today.

Feel Like A Flashback?

These pictures are from February 2008.
My babies were so small. So much less sassy and stubborn.
ahh...reminisce with me, will you?

Erin, then not quite 3 1/2, decided to write her own name.

Luke was just 8 months old here and content as can be.

The amazing thing about this picture is that it is February. And we had on short sleeves. And there was not a cloud in the sky. Nice.