And to ALL a Good Night........

Well, Ricky brings up a good question about our lives and the new year. He asks what will we do to change our lives in the coming year to make it better. I, for one, believe that is the question to ask yourself each and every day of your lives. We only have this second to live and that only one at a time. You know, I have been reading some of the "thinkers" of the last 2 centuries, and have come to the conclusion that the reason there were so many brilliant and creative people then, was the fact that they had and TOOK the TIME to think, contemplate, read, have meaningful conversation with neighbors and friends, they took walks and breathed fresh air and were okay with being "quiet" with themselves. No boys, this is not one of those SBC "throw your T.V. in the trash" speeches, but you would do well to watch your family more rather than the telly! I can remember one of the "pass time" things I would do with my grandmother in Stillwater in the summers I spent with her, was just sitting on the porch, greeting neighbors as they walked by. Talking with them, actually LISTENING to what they were saying and hearing their heart when the words didn't come. We are SO busy, so burdened with our "jobs", schooling, etc....that we have lost the art of living....of thinking....of sharing....of true conversation, of really caring about ourselves, our souls and about others we come in contact with every stinking day! We are bankrupting our own selves in our complete obsession with the things that won't and don't really matter. I don't want to just change something for this year, but change something for my life in whatever is left over of its entirety! Change, as those of us who have done it know, is very difficult and in itself, takes time. But I have never worked hard on changing myself to look back and say "wish I hadn't done that". May your year be filled with change...in yourself....and may it then touch others lives to inspire change. Shalom.

Merry Christmas to ALL !!!

" Who knows what the facts of Jesus' birth actually were? As for myself, the longer I live, the more inclined I am to believe in miracle, the more I suspect that if we had been there at the birth, we might well have seen and heard things that would be hard to reconcile with modern science. But of course that is not the point, because the Gospel writers are not really interested primarily in the facts of the birth but in the significance, the meaning for them of that birth just as the people who love us are not really interested primarily in the facts of our births but in what it meant to them when we were born and how for them the world was never the same again, how their whole lives were charged with new significance. Whether there were ten million angels there or just the woman herself and her husband, when that child was born the whole course of history was changed. That is a fact as hard and blunt as any fact. Art, music, literature, our culture itself, our political institutions, our whole understanding of ourselves and our world - it is impossible to conceive of how differently world history would have developed if that child had not been born. And in terms of faith, much more must be said because for faith, the birth of the child into the darkness of the world made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living life."

SPAM

Only one of the many reasons I am moving into the Apple world as of January 9th!!!! I had 965 emails in 10 days, I have 12 family members, NONE of which use this email, I have 5 friends who never email me anyway, and I don't "subscribe" to any sites!!! Here is but a sampling of the incredible waste of time and energy on the part of some people...
"time for a change"
"want to be a hero in bed"
"Sheik-Abual-Aziz-al-Sheik-the kingdoms grandmufati"
"went out his garden to the Gentiles"
"extra-large johnson"
"drunkard upon a tabernacle"
"astoria"
"istisct"
"Greetings from boston, MASS"
"Re:ferral'

I OUIT!!!! I GO TO APPLE SOON! I HATE SPAM!!! ON THE INTERNET OR ON THE TABLE!!

SNOW!!!!!!

Yep, yep, 10 1/2 inches worth!!! Beautiful snow!! It has closed down all the turnpikes and I-44 for the first time ever! They issued a "blizzard" warning last night for the first time ever! It amazes me how with all our "high tech" stuff in this fast paced life we live, where we live in the "illusion" that WE are in control, that we are NOT and that only a little precipitation from our Creator can wreak such havoc!! I LOVE THAT!!!
"He gives to the earth snow like a blanket of wool; He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth His ice like crumbs; who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts ice and snow; He causes His wind to blow and the waters flow."

Thanksgiving Week!!

Yes, time must truly go by when you are having fun!! Well, I woke up this morning early with giving thanks on my mind. So....Please allow me and feel free to stop reading at any moment.
I am thankful for a clearer relationship to my Creator than I have had in 53 years. I am thankful for the 34 years I have had with Rick and for the fact that we are in love and learning each day we are together. I am thankful for my 3 sons, 3 daughters, and 3 grandchildren. I am NOT very thankful that they live so far away, especially because my grands went with them! But I AM thankful that their parents are still together, love eachother and have raised AMAZING children! I am thankful that each one of my family members are healthy of body if not of mind, although I think most of them are that too. I am thankful, yes boys thankful, for the job your father has only because it affords us to be able to see you and spend $$ on all our children and grands, even though as adults you are not so willing to let us help. Yes, I woke up thankful this morning for many things, a few of which are here....love, relationships, knowledge, health, children, happiness, home and yes even the "G" word. So, in that vein, I say "thank you" to all for allowing us a part in your lives, a closeness we cherish, a love shared, a happiness you give to us in several dimensions, and the welcome we always receive from you.

who said it?

"Let the world change you and you can change the world."

There's something very important to you that science didn't discover: your soul.

"I'd like to reflect on some reasons we ought to believe we have a soul rather than believe we are merely a complex bundle of flesh, bones and blood. Lest some of you think I am preaching to the choir here--like we all know we have a soul--I'm not entirely sure that's the case. I'm not entirely sure that every Christian is deeply convinced that he has a soul. I think most are if they accept the Bible, but not all necessarily. Or at least maybe they are intellectually convinced that they have a soul but are not quite sure why that matters.
But I will tell you one thing, if you go out into the marketplace of ideas with this notion that we are more than our physical bodies, you are going to run into conflict. Especially in higher education. There is a movement afoot, and it has been for quite awhile, that you are nothing more than your physical body. The movement is called physicalism. Only physical things exist, in other words. Non-physical things don't exist. We're not in the dark ages anymore. We aren't required to revert to religious occult forces to explain things. We know by science what exists and what doesn't. We know by science what is important and what isn't. We know by science the answers to the deeper issues of the universe. Scientific discovery tells us that and therefore we can abandon some of this ancient lore. The fictions: like we have a soul, or there's a heaven and hell, or there are demons and Satan. Things like that. Just get rid of all of that stuff. It's not necessary anymore. It's just part of our folklore and we know better now. In fact, if you try to even make the point that you believe in such a thing as a soul, people will look at you like you are some kind of an idiot. Like, where have you been the last two millennium? Wake up and smell the decade, kind of an attitude.
Science simply cannot speak directly to the question of the soul, and certainly science cannot prove there is no such thing as a soul, or spirits, or demons, or angels, or things like that. Science is not equipped to conclude that there is no such thing as a soul. It just can't do that because it measures physical things. Although science has attempted to do that.
How can we know that there is such a thing as a soul when we can't see it and when we can't measure it by the standard means we have of knowing. Referring to science and empiricism, knowing something through exploration using the five senses. This isn't, in fact, the standard way of knowing things at all. The way that we know most things is by reflection through the soul.
I want you to reflect on the things that are most important in life. Based on this reflection, I think we can come to some understanding about how much science does and doesn't tell us, and how adequate or inadequate, as the case may be, our senses are in being used by science to give us meaningful or useful information about the world. Ultimately meaningful answers.
Nothing that is ultimately valuable to you can be classified, studied, probed or analyzed empirically by the five senses using science.
Think of the things that you consider most important in life. Make a list. Somebody asks you what's really important in life? What will you answer? The first thing on most people's lips will be happiness. Ask a person what they want out of life and they'll say they want to be happy. If you are a little deeper, a little more profound you might say the most important thing in life is love. You've got happiness, you've got love. But you might add any number of things to this list, because even if these are the most important, you've got other things that are very important. Friendship, knowledge, liberty. Freedom from pain. Or if you lean towards political correctness, you might say tolerance, understanding, diversity, sensitivity to others. So now you have your list, whatever it happens to be.
Have you noticed something? Have you noticed that nothing we've listed is in any way physical? You can't smell knowledge. You can't weigh friendship. Love doesn't have a shape. It doesn't have a physical texture. Happiness cannot be heard. Do you know what is interesting about this observation? It's this. Nothing that is ultimately valuable to you can be classified, studied, probed or analyzed empirically by the five senses using science. That is a remarkable observation.
When you think of the things that are the most important to you, or to any human being, really, the whole list of things that are of the deepest significance, that have the most substance to them, the highest degree of importance, these are all things that are not physical at all. If they are not physical, the senses cannot apprehend them. And if the senses cannot apprehend them, then science can't say anything about them. In other words, science can't say anything about any of those things that are ultimately important.
I realize that is a mouthful. It may seem like a brazen comment. I admit it might be a bit overstated. But if you think for a moment, someone might say that science gives us medicine. Medicine can make us healthy. Health brings happiness. Maybe. But I'm not so sure that healthy people are happy. In other words, I'm not sure health brings happiness. I'm not at all convinced that sick people aren't happy. There are many examples to the contrary in both cases. Yeah, science can bring health and I guess health is valuable. I would acknowledge that. But it might be overrated. There might be a counter-example there. In any event, science doesn't probe happiness itself. It merely supplies you with tools that can aid your happiness, but often the same tools make you miserable. Drugs can ease pain, but they can also produce an alley full of drug addicts.
Somebody might think about this for a minute and say, Okay, there are some other things that are really important that are physical. Pleasure makes people happy. Pleasure is something entirely physical. I'm sorry, but that's mistaken. Not only is pleasure not entirely physical, it is not at all physical. You say, "What? Are you crazy? I eat food, it gives me pleasure." I understand that. "I have sex, it gives me pleasure." I understand that.
You do things that are physical, that have an impact on your physical body, but the sensation of pleasure is not in your body. You know why? You know how I know this? Because you cannot measure pleasure by physical standards. How can you possibly measure such a thing? You might measure it in neurological activity. You know, C-fibers firing. I eat something, it tastes good, and we can track how the neurological activity takes place in my body when I am eating something that is pleasurable. But now a critical question. How do you know that this particular neurological activity--strawberries touching the tongue, creating a chemical response through the body--how does anyone know that that activity feels good? You can't know that by looking at your machine. Someone's got to tell you how it feels. That's how. You need the report so that you can correlate specific brain activity with the feeling of pleasure or the feeling of pain.
Somebody's got to say that that particular sensation feels good or hurts before you can judge whether any brain state is pleasurable or painful. In other words, the feelings must come first, then the scientific assessment because there is a correlation going on here. This makes the point that the pleasure isn't in the hardware. It's not in the neurological connections of the body. The pleasure is someplace else. It is in the soul. In order to do a correlation, you must have two different things that coincide with each other. In this case, neurological activity, nerve responses to a strawberry on the tip of your tongue, and a conscious feeling, the pleasurable taste of strawberry. They are two different things, you see. You must have a conscious first person report about his feelings before you can correlate those feelings with any particular brain activity. Therefore, the two must be different.
The first one is physical and can be measured and observed physically. Touching the strawberry to your tongue and measuring the neurological response. But you don't know if that neurological response produces pain or pleasure until somebody tells you from their conscious experience, an experience that no imaginable physical test can ever get at. It must be reported. The physical activity is in the body. The feeling is in the soul. The brain and the soul are two different things so science can't even measure a feeling of pleasure, only presumably the physical brain states that correlate with the pleasure.
We all know this in a kind of rough and ready way. Somebody gives you a vigorous backrub. They have to ask whether it feel good or hurts? In other words, the physical state doesn't tell us by itself. You can put all kind of electrodes all over a person's body while you are giving them a tough, hard backrub and you will still have to ask them how it feels because none of the neurological testing can tell you how it feels. Does that feel good or does that hurt? We need a report from a conscious mind, a mind that can feel the difference.
How about this response: It hurts, but it feels good. Have you ever said that? Now, you make sense out of that in a purely physicalist way. It's painful, but I like it. It's a good pain. You see, even if the pain could be reduced to a mere physiological, neurological response, even if the meters could show that pain was really being felt, there is still an additional element of passing judgment on it, making an assessment, and those things clearly are not physical.
Let me sum this up. There is a view that science is the only thing that gives reliable information about the world. People say, I stick with science because that tells me true things about the world. This view is called scientism. The reason is that in their understanding, only physical things exist and science is best adapted to probe the physical world. My point is, this view is false. A moment's reflection shows us that the most important things in the world are not physical at all and if they are not physical, and science measures only physical things, then science can't tell us anything about the most important things in life.
Indeed, for science to work at all, we need a soul on the inside to tell us what the outside feels like, looks like, smells like, tastes like and sounds like. Though science might probe the sense of smell and the sense of sight, science cannot tell us anything, not one single thing about the sensation of smell and the sensation of sight. Somebody's got to report that. Someone on the inside; science is on the outside. It has to be a first person report and this is why science, necessarily a third person activity, cannot report on it. So, rather than science being the beginning and end of all knowledge, science is dependent on the soul to give it its information. To prove the point, you can't know from any physical test whether a person is in pain or in pleasure. There is no scientific test that can tell you that. Even if there was, even pain can be pleasurable to some people. So you still need the report. If you say, Sure you can know physically whether a person is in pain or pleasure. How's that?
I know which nerves are the pain nerves, and that's how I know when somebody is in pain. What do you mean? How do you know which are the pain nerves? Well, because, and then you are going to have to say, When I pluck this kind of nerve, people tell me it hurts. And that will be the end of your argument. Because you can't know which are the pain nerves, in other words, which nerves correlate with the feeling of pain, unless somebody reports to you the feeling. Therefore, the feeling is not the same as the nerves. The nerves just lead and produce the feeling in the soul. The soul uses the nerves to explore its world and feel either pain or pleasure or any of a number of other things.
What this all means, it seems to me, is that science doesn't tell us anything important. All of the important things are intangibles, things that don't lend themselves to scientific discovery or to scientific analysis. Now one thing that science can do, and this it often does, it says that those things we thought were most important end up really being insignificant or meaningless in the long run. Why would science say that? Precisely because science can't speak to that. The attitude is, since science can't speak to it, then it must not be significant. That strikes me as rather arrogant."
Science and physisists and psychitsrsist are finding new things out every second of every day! We find out new things about ourselves and about world every day that those in the 1928's never could have known.

Twilight Zone?

There is a GREAT discussion going on in the Wisconsin Humphreys blog! So, too much to say and so little space! Point is that our brain is too finite to understand the Infinity of God - however you perceive Him. He can never be figured out in our small little minds. The "belief" in Him must be just that! BELIEVED! And where does that belief come from? Mind? Soul? Spirit? Emotion? Body? Hmmmm....Here are a couple of sites that are darned interesting about the mulitple dimensions we live with and the few that we live IN. Also some on the spirit v. the soul. Anybody ready? Let the games begin...

Spirit/Soul:
http://www.bible.ca/su-spirit-soul.htm
http://www.dtl.org/dtl/treatise/soul-spirit-1.htm
http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/soul-and-spirit.htm

Dimensions:
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/Tye.brane.ws.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory#Extra_dimensions

TODAY...

"It is a moment of light surrounded on all sides by darkness and oblivion. In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another just like it and there will never be another just like it again. It is the point to which all your yesterdays have been leading since the hour of your birth. It is the point from which all your tomorrows will proceed until the hour of your death. If you were aware of how precious it is, you could hardly live through it. Unless you ARE aware of how precious it is, you can hardly be said to be living at all. "This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". Or weep and be sad in it for that matter. The point is to see it for what it is because it will be gone before you know it. If you waste it, it is your life that you are wasting. If you look the other way, it may be the moment you've been waiting for always that you're missing. All other days have either disappeared into darkness and oblivion or have not yet emerged from them. Today is the only day there is."
Today,it is beautiful in Tulsa Oklahoma...68 degrees, sunshine, light breeze. I and my loved ones have their health, their minds, (well, most of them do)and good jobs to feed their families. The weekend is coming up and Rick and I are spending it together...we may not remember what we did, but we will remember who we did it with and how the times we share each day becomes more meaningful and cherished with each day that passes. Enjoy your family...put your efforts there...you will be paid back in spades. And besides, do you really think those other people will be there for you when you need that drool wiped from your face?

FRIENDS....

Welp, been busy this week...working at Curves more than usual, looking up old friends and making new ones over coffee at the Pecan Porch here in Catoosa. Making sure I keep my BEST friend,Rick,close to my heart, taking care of his needs and being paid back in spades. My boys are often right about so many things these days. Either they are getting smarter or I am getting older. But they have talked about the importance of friends in our lives and theirs. I have been hooking up with Sandy Martin and Jean Ayo...2 people I let fall out of my life...making new ones at Curves who share many trials in common with me.....lifes all about changes, family and friends. If you find good ones, you shouldn't let go...they are priceless. Some may just be there for a season and may play an important role at the time, but then leave for different reasons, but there is always a new one to make if you take the time and are transparent enough for them to feel safe with you. We get too busy, but with what?! Is it really important? Does it make our lives better or just fill up time that we could be using to enjoy life and friends and family? As we ALL know, life is WAY stinking too short to squander on the worthless things this world throws at us....take time to not just smell the coffee, but to drink some slowly with a friend.

Oh death,where is thy sting?

Wow...what a week...full of death and life! Stan passed away on Sunday the 10th in his own home surrounded by the ones he loved and who loved him. Isn't that how both death AND life SHOULD be? I believe that one thing that takes the sting out of death is knowing you have a family that you loved and who loved you in return AND the hope that you will be with them again in heaven. It is that belief in the "hereafter" that enables me to live this life in the "here and now". It was an emotional time, but one full of memories that will never fade for Micah,Emily and Anabelle. I experienced "southern hospitality" at a new level, there is no other like it! I kept Anabelle while they were at the house with Stan and after the funeral, so we had a great time of making memories of our own also that I hope will never fade for her. She is a DELIGHT to my soul as are ALL my children and grands. If I, (started to say "we"), could just keep focused on all that life is truly about...but is it about different things to different people? Is it like the "one mans junk is another mans treasure" thing? Or SHOULD there be universal standards here? Anyway,with each day we grow to experience more of life and more of death,in our bodies,our souls,ours spirits and our minds.
Well amen.

Beautiful British Columbia!

Wow...and I thought Colorado was pretty!! Washington state coast HAS to take the prize!!! Seattle was interesting and different from the other big cities I have been to...NYC,NOLA,CHICAGO,DENVER....it was very hip? Eclectic? I don't know, but some really strange people live there AND in Vancouver!! Vancouver stinkinig looks like what I imagine Tokyo to look like....masses of apartment buildings strangley shaped and ALL OVER!!! Massive. My favorite was the boat rides we took to Victoria and to San Juan Islands! We took one at about 10 p.m. and it was stunning to see that at night. Ricks favorite was of course, the EXPERIENCE place...all the musical memorabilia was overwhelming to him and to Mark! We drank LOTS of coffee from every single different kind of coffee house we could find...mmmmmmmm! I will post some pics on my FLICKER for those who want to see, but pictures, as usual, never do it justice. My grandkids are in school and I wish so badly to be able to see them in all their sports,classes,and other activities, but alas...I will have to satisfy myself with bolg pictures and second hand stories....you boys were very lucky to have BOTH sets of grandparents near...or should I say THEY were lucky to have grown up with you. Its almost fall and we LOVE it! Can't wait for some bike rides in the whirling leaves!! OH!! And if you have not seen "RVing" with Robin Williams, you must. Ciao.

GONE

Yep yep..we are getting ready for our much needed vacation with the Frasers!! We have been best friends with the Frasers for 23 years and NEVER gone on vacation together!! We are STOKED!! Seattle here we come!!!! All 4 of us are ready to just get out of town and put aside our "real lives" for some R & R together...we are going to go to Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and San Juan Islands...going whale watching, fish catching on the pier at the fish market, going to the ocean shore to get shells, going to eat lots of fresh seafood and drink LOTS of Seattle coffee!! But MOST of all enjoy the company of our very best friends for one long week without ANY interuptions!!! Take care.....

Monkeys

"When we sit down for half and hour - without talking to someone,listening to music, watching television, or reading a book - and try to become very still, we often find ourselves so overwhelmed by our noisy inner voices that we can hardly wait to get busy and distracted again. Our inner life often looks like a banana tree full of jumping monkeys! But when we decide not to run away and stay focused, these monkeys may gradually go away because of lack of attention, and the soft gentle voice calling us the beloved may gradually make itself heard."
Pray for Stan and Debbie Ball, Emily's parents, Stan is not doing well at all and is going to have another operation this week. I cannot IMAGINE living with cancer for this long. They have fought a very brave and good fight. That is what we do when something we need,deisre and love is being threatened by being taken away from us,fight....

Home again home again jiggety jog!

We are back from a wonderful vacation and already back in the swing of things...whatever THAT was! We had a FANTASTIC time with my parents and brother on our 2 week ride on our cycles to Yellowstone and back! It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. When you are on a motorcycle, you EXPERIENCE the ride with all of your senses. You smell the pines and water,you feel the cold rain and wind on your face!! You don't just ride in a "cage" protected from all these sensational spectacles! The ride up and back was just as breath taking as Yellowstone itself. Actually some of the places we went were better than!! We saw SO much diversity in not only the LAND we rode over, but in the PEOPLE we met! It is incredible to me that we get caught in the vacuum of our own little world and don't even realize what is out there!!We miss so much by being confined to our own priorities. People are strange, incredible and always have a story if we will only take time to listen and learn. The land we have in America is awesome and diverse, from 14,000 ft.above sea level to Tulsa Oklahoma, the beauty that was created by God is overwhelming! And all the while the Middle East is at war,Sudanese are being murdered,soldiers are being shot,people have life threatening illnesses...our world and lives are full of tragedies, but it is and CAN be full of beauty and wonder as well, if we will stop what we are doing long enough to see,hear,taste,smell and touch it.
p.s. check out the pics!

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

Yo! We got back Monday from a birthday trip to Parker to celebrate the big numero sixo with Colin! And let papa get one last P.J. concert in before he gets too old. Had a great time as always when it is spent with our family! Colin is such a fantastic young boy. The only problem with him is that he is getting older every year....much to my dismay and pleasure! Time is too short kids....don't waste it....eat drink and be merry and love the one your with! (Quotes from the Bible and C S N & Y)
We are now getting ready to head off to the high country of Colorado and into Yellowstone!!! A never before attempted 2 week bike trip!! My parents (75 mind you), my brother and Rick and I all have bikes and form our own club! We plan on having a BLAST and will post some awesome pictures upon our return. Hope we get stuck in the road with a buffalo like Colin did when he went!! The bike is great therapy for us all and we are really blessed that we all get along so well and can stand eachother for that amount of time! At least we think we can. We don't know how many years dad will be able to hold that mega bike up, so we cherish each trip with them. I am trying to talk him into triking the bike! That way I could drive wiht gma on the back and we could talk up a storm while going down the road! He thinks I am talking it up for him, but it is really for MY benifit!!! See ya on the flip side!!

ENTER THE MEATRIX

Enter the real world of the Meatrix right here.

STORE WARS

Go to this website

Fine!

Okay...new poll. What's up out there in blogger land!!?? No one is blogging....busy? Hmmmm....I know the feeling, but I am a free spirit now. A lonely free spirit, but free and spirit none the less. (is that all suppose to be one word?) Anyway, speaking of SPIRIT, what exactly IS the difference between the "soul" and the "spirit"? I am counting on you Matt, for a great answer. I am trying to find out just exactly what we are made of...body, soul, spirit, mind, emotions, thoughts, conscience, WHAT?!!! And what are the differences? Lets go kids...moms a waitin.

Check it OUT!

Check out my new flicker photos!!! These are the most beautiful, the most brilliant, the most awesome, the most talented,....And I was privledged to have them ALL last month!! THEY ROCK!!

MOMS

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said "Yes, and the way is hard. And you
will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end
will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not
believe that anything could be better than these years.
So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed
them, and taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a
bike and reminded them to feed the dog, and do their
homework and brush their teeth. The sun shone on
them, and the young Mother cried,
"Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path
was sometimes dark, and the children shook with
fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and
covered them with her arms, and the children said,
"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near,
and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead,
and the children climbed and grew weary, and the
mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children,
"A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed,
and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms.
And with this, she gave them strength to face the world.
Year after year, she showed them compassion,
understanding, hope, but most of all...unconditional love.
And when they reached the top they said,
"Mother, we would not have done it without you."
The days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she became
little and bent. But her children were tall and strong,
and walked with courage. And the mother, when she
lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said,
"This is a better day than the last, for my children
have learned so much and are now passing these
traits on to their children."
And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her,
and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers.
One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could
see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.
And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey.
And now I know the end is better than the beginning,
for my children can walk with dignity and pride,
with their heads held high, and so can their children
after them. And the children said, "You will always walk
with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone,
and the gates closed after her. And they said:
"We cannot see her, but she is with us still.
A Mother like ours is more than a memory.
She is a living presence."
Your Mother is always with you.
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the
street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember,
flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's
the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well,
she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.
She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep,
the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.
Your Mother lives inside your laughter.
And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows
every emotion, happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy,
love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow...
and all the while, hoping and praying you will only
know the good feelings in life.
She's the place you came from, your first home,
and she's the map you follow with every step you take.
She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy,
but nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, not space...not even death! FOR HER LOVE FOR YOU LIVES ON FOREVER , FOR SHE IS PART OF YOU ALWAYS!!!!!!!

"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched -
they must be felt with the heart."
~Helen Keller~

I know that all moms are not like this, but I tried to be...and I see my daughters in law doing & being these things.

WOW!

Well, I am charting new territory for me....got Anabelle for 2 weeks!!! I am only on the 5th day with only 10 more to go!! WHOOOHOO!! She is a brilliant girl and very hands on. She is not too much into coloring, but very much into discovering!! She is a thinker,a joker,a 3/12 year old girl going on 13, head strong (genetic I hear!) and a true delight to keep her! I am so not use to having a girl for more than a day by herself, that this is a real eye opener! I think that since I was already crazy, God decided to let me get off easy with only 3 boys...these girls are truly a totally different breed from the get-go! Interesting. We have been busy and Papa is a good helper...sometimes....even though he is more into scaring and teasing and that just makes more work for me somehow. All in all, it is a GREAT experience! One I will never forget and hopefully she won't either...for the good that is~!

lalala

We went to the old Circle theatre last Saturday to watch Neil Youngs "Heart of Gold". It was a really neat time...very small theatre that shows like artsy fartsy stuff. The Circle use to be one of only 3 theatres in Tulsa! We came home and then watched a Johnny Cash special and then a Van Morrison special. Must have been a music weekend!! We watched a movie on Sunday called The Family Stone...it was GOOD! Dad consumed a book by Vince Flynn this weekend! That is his current favorite author. I am knitting my first purse!! Getting ready for Anabelle to spend 2 weeks with us...taking our vitamins and getting lots of rest!! We can't WAIT!! Will post pics later IF I have time!!Working at Curves, working at marriage, working at life...Succeeding in most!! Getting ready for a whirlwind summer schedule which we both are looking forward to, considering LAST summer was a bust!

LIVE GREEN GO YELLOW

A REAL PROTEST SONG!!

Because I am "geek challenged", you will have to copy(ctrl c) and paste(ctrl v) this address to see MY war video!!!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11924.htm

I’ve been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you’ve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the t.v.
You hear one thing again and again
How the u.s.a. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can’t take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

There’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can’t even say the names

They sell us the president the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Translation...everybody hurts

So...

"Jesus sheds tears at the visible absence of God in the world where the good and bad alike go down to defeat and death. He sheds his tears at the audible silence of God at those moments especially when a word from Him would mean the difference between life and death, or at the deafness of men which prevents their hearing Him, the blindness of men which prevents even Jesus himself as a man from seeing Him to the extent that at the moment of all moments when he needs Him most he cries out his Eloi Eloi, which is a cry so dark that of the 4 evangelists, only 2 of them have the stomach to record it as the last word he spoke while he still had a human mouth to speak with. Jesus wept, we all weep, because even when man is good, even when he is Jesus,God makes himself scarce for reasons that no theodicy has ever fathomed."

cartman

Well, in the words of Cartman..."screw you,I'm going home." We have made a critical decision as far as our dream of living on the farm...we decided to just live OUR lives how we want/need to live them. Sorry you 4 who voted for your share of the $$, but you will have to wait until our untimely death to recieve your inheritance...then YOU can live YOUR dreams! We will keep OUR dream intact and ponder the correct time to build our log home there on the land that your ancestors grew up on. Grandma was tellig me yesterday about all the days she can remember climbing in the tree that is next to Fritz's barn, to read her books. I have my memories there, you and your children do as well. You will have to decide for yourselves what YOU want to do with it..as for me and my house, we are keeping it.I have lived ALL my life for someone else, and this has been my dream since I was a child...not gonna give it up so easily just for the almighty dollar, as we Americans are so set on doing most of the time!Seems like not much is sacred anymore..well to me, my land IS.
Had some tornados blow through here last night with some much needed rain...and some cool air to boot! No more 90's!! Dad's foot is good, I am getting a root canal today, the dogs say hello and all is well.

FREAK

Okay...latest news...dad had a little "freak" accident on his bike yesterday!! He just has a twisted knee (we think, but he will go to the doctor tomorrow just to get it checked out! We had just finished lunch at a pizza place which just happened to have a gravel parking lot..not good to begin with. He had both feet on the ground, going slowly, and his right foot slipped on the gravel, pinning his knee under the car next to him...3 guys had to come out of the restaurant and get the bike off of him. He was a little queasy, but bravely made it home..we were at Fort Gibson lake east of Wagoner. He has been taking it easy and putting ice on it...I am sure I will be reprimanded for putting this on the blog site for all to see, but hey....life happens, and along the way a few "freak" things go on!!!!!

PROD

So...Music...depends on my mood,as it does everyone I am sure. Right now it has been some Waterdeep and Jars of Clay.I have needed the spiritual lift. The only "new" thing I have listened to that I like has been Sufjan. Tried the "jacket" thing Josh, but couldn't get into it yet...need to download the album from you and give it some time to sink in. Books....are always in abundance!! Just finished a Henri Nouwen book called THE SACRED JOURNEY. He was a renowned priest and author, respected professor and beloved pastor who wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life. He is one of my 5 favorite authors! You will see him quoted in the journals that I keep that you will be BOUND to read when I am gone! The other one I am reading right now, is one called HEARTS CRY by my beloved therapist, Dr. Armentrout! It is a book on depression, which, as you know, I struggle with. This is the 2nd time I have read this one. I go back to see him occasionally, just for a "tune up"! It is a struggle I will probably have all my life, but it gets better the more I learn about it and the more help I get, and the more of my own head work that I do. I figure I go to the doctor every year to get a check up, mamorgram,blood work...I go to the dentist every 6 months, I get my eyes checked at least every 2 years, so why would I want my BODY sound and not my mind?!! So...it just makes sense to keep my mind and emotions checked on a regular basis too. Anyway...we are going on a bike ride today,(which is a therapy in itself)...don't know where yet, but it is suppose to be only in the upper 80's today and then get scorching HOT tommorow in the 90's!! We went from spring to summer in about a week I think. There you have it for now Josh! Now...you work on yours too!! It is always fun to read others blogs, and a pain to do your own it seems..I guess I am too worried about what others will think...HOW OLD AM I?!! Oh YEAH..old enough to know that THAT has NEVER worked out for me...thanks for the prod eldest...

nada

So...nothing much goes on here at nanny/mimi and papa's house..started up the lawn mowing...had to take it in for repairs already, then the edger died and had to get a new one...LOTS of watering(daily)cuz we are still banned from burning...think we might have to just go to apartment living or stillwater land living...no yard in one and goats in the other for lawn mowing...oh yeah...that's right...our kids think we should SELL the farm, NOT build our dream house there, TAKE the $$ and RUN...well, when we are dead you can do whatever you want with all this STUFF!! Oh yeah...Heidi, don't get any ideas of premature death...42.

Lucky

I have just returned from a wonderful time with my middle grandchild!! She is beautiful, talented, brilliant, energetic, imaginative, (can spell better than me), and I totally enjoyed being with her!! Can't tell,can ya. Anyway, I am SOOO lucky because ALL my grandchildren are these things!!! I do deserve it though after raising 4 boys.... Am recovering today and trying to clean up the house...and yard...turned my small but ample garden today and planted spinach, lettuce, radishes, and cukes!! It is just a crap shoot in Oklahoma as to what, if anything you planted will come up. It will be in the 80's here this week and these are all cool weather plants. So I may be screwed. Oh well, as the song I learned this week from Brooke goes,(the one that keeps going over and over in my head because she played it all day, every day, and it is branded in my brain!)"no need to be sighing, you better stop crying because theres always a way"...or something to that effect. So my garden is offically started!! Can't wait for the reaping part!! It is good to be home, but I sure do miss all my kids....
p.s. the fresh caught Wisconsin Walleye was indeed and true delight!!! Thanks Luke

whoops!

Well, the burn ban was lifted here for 2 days...then the rednecks started throwing their "butts"(not the REAL ones,I wish) out the window...so we burnt ANOTHER 50,000 more acres...burn ban back on...whoops.
We are the old foggies of this blog world, so we don't have much to "blog"about! Terrie and Sarah are on their way right now to spend 3 days with us..Sarah is on break.We go to the farn to help Gpa with his new barn this saturday. Then we take off to Wisconsin for family,Brookes b-day, friday fish, curds and cheese!!! YUMMMM! Can't wait for ALL of it, but mostsly seeing my kids..seems like when I am with them it is just a blur of time, but it gives me memories to keep me going till the next time...I know how Ethel use to feel when she said how much she just enjoyed being with us and watching us...didn't get it then (like how could 3 kids running around be fun to watch!?) but now I get it...the circle of life...akunamatada!

bummer

FINE! With the votes in, the results being 83% for me to "take another pill", I guess that is what I will do....that and get back to knitting! Bummer. Oh well, I sure have fun when I DO get to see my kids!! If I have an overdose of happy pills, you 83% just remember who is to blame...and thanks to the one vote FOR a "yes" answer...who are YOU and could you perhaps move close to me??!!!

S.O.S

Well, here I am typing my post alone in a very empty house...I guess I DO have the "pitter patter of little feet", but it is the 4 legged kind! We had a GREAT time with Colin, he is a precious boy. We made LOTS of memories and played hard...is'nt that what real life is suppose to be about anyway? Making lots of good memories and playing hard?!?? Well, got to make the most of it...seeing as how God has seen fit to fling my children to the ends of the earth...I make the most of it when I get to see them...now for my "happy pills"...."Oh blah de, oh blah da, life goes on, la la how the life goes on"....."I LOVE AND MISS MY FAMILY!!!!!!! Does it show?

D.I.L's

Hi..I just wanted to blog the world and let them know what GREAT Daughters In Laws I have...Each time I talk to them or am with them, I am evermore grateful for them...God did a fantastic job of choosing each one specifically...amazing...I have grown to love and admire them each more with each passing year that they have been part of our family...no, this is NOT a smoke blowing blog, it is just the truth...it is also a very melancholy day...I guess its because it still LOOKS like rain but, it is only a tease!
p.s. my boys aren't bad either

Looks like RAIN

Looking out the window as I am on the computer learning the intense skill of blogging...It LOOKS like rain MAY be coming to the scorched land of the Red Man. We have burned over a half million acres here, mostly due to discarded cigarette butts or rebellious children having "fun". So we may be in luck today...they say it has not been this dry since the dust bowl. Wonder what we will drink this summer if it keeps up. Perhaps I should go back to hoarding and make it water this time instead of dried peas. My man is still in bed taking full advantage of the weekend...all the dogs are with him in the same slumbering mode...it is dark, quiet and looks like rain.

FYI

Here I am believin words again
Here I am tryin to find your love again
Here I am down on my knees again
Prayin for a love we used to know
Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
And both of us know how hard it is, to go on livin that way
When so few understand what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it
I must have been blind, Lord I must have been blind.

To hold something real and not believe it
To live in a life and never trust it
To give all you know and never feel it
To hold back each day until it dies away
Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
And both of us know how hard it is to go on livin that way
When so few understand what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it
I must have been blind, Lord I must have been blind.

FYI, this is our life song...we sing it to those who care, for those who know our lives and the struggle we have been through to reach the love we lost and now have in great abundance again...children...remember the struggle, but also remember the end result. May you find, keep, continue in the love you have...it is ALL you TRULY have. Well...amen.

kick out the jams

You rock

Hey all you really leagl, hip, creative blog types!! The younger has touched the elder to adventure ino blog space and so I decide, because I have always LOVED to play games with my boys, to jump right in and sink or swim, here i am....