Sugar and Spice!

Our Miss Oakley is ONE today! 

She really is made of Sugar and Spice and everything NICE!

It is really hard already to imagine life without her! She came into our family with sweet little smiles and a fun disposition!

 She makes us laugh, and her big brother Kai... makes her laugh and loves her soo much! Everyone should be so blessed to have an older brother like that!





She is her Mommy and Daddy's girl! And we feel so blessed to have her in our family!

 You can tell by looking at her and her Daddy at the same age... that the Genes are strong with this one! ( her Mommy even said that )

She is already my sewing buddy, and the inspiration for many of my creations!

So go to sleep tonight little Miss Oakley, knowing you are truly the Sugar and Spice of our lives! 
We love you more than words can say!
Happy Birthday from Nana and Poppa

Memories... some times the same, but not always!

There are memories that we are have from our childhood, some are good and some are bad. It's about both of those that I would like to talk about tonight.
My youngest brother and I were 10 years apart. One day not too many years ago, I was telling someone how crazy I was about him when he was little. I felt like I was his 2nd Mother because I loved him so much. Well, he was around when I was telling that and just started laughing. I asked why? His response was classic "well, I don't remember ONLY good times, I remember when you pinned me up against the wall and threatened me over something ". My mouth dropped opened. It seemed for every good memory that I had, he had one that was not so good. How could that be, I thought I was the best Big Sister ever?
 It is true good or bad, even little memories can last a life time! :)

The other night Amy called and shared with me...how bad her day had gone. After thinking about what I could do, I called her back and told her that when she and the girls came over on Friday, IF she would bring some fresh picked Blackberries, then I would make her a pie. Just hearing my offer seemed to cheer her up. I was glad ( not knowing that we would make the pies yesterday during the hottest part of the day)! What a sacrifice! But that's what we Mom's do...right? :)
Either way, I was thrilled to read her FB post about it last night. ( Well except for the part where she said I wouldn't let them come in until their buckets were full! ) I guess this is just another example of different Memories! :)

'My Mom sure knows how to cheer me up! 😄 Baking blackberry pies (my absolute favorite) together after a rough day yesterday. Just the smell brings back childhood memories of blackberry picking! My Mom would always tell us, "You can't come in until your bucket is full!" 😆 Then she would reward us by baking a pie for dessert! Yum!"

Even though it was hot, it was fun having Amy and the girls helping me in the kitchen ( I'm still cleaning up flour and blackberries though ).
Still I am glad that she had a great memories of her childhood while we were cooking, I have to admit...I did too!

When I was a little girl, I can still remember making pies with my Mom, Aunt Ina, and both of my Grandmothers. Actually, Blackberry pie is what I asked for and had every year on my birthday. 

But this happy thought could be gone in a minute if you asked my kids about the sweets and food they ate when they were little! It is too funny to hear them talk about all the natural stuff we did. I will have to ask them to write them down, they are pretty funny. But laugh if you want, because as soon as each of my kids have gotten married and started their own families, they have started to go back to the more Natural Way we used to do things! They want to help their children be healthy by the things that they feed them NEWS FLASH... so did I! 

So memories are not always the same, I guess memories are about as varied as people are.. but still I am glad that I did give my kids at least SOME GOOD MEMORIES!!!
Good Night dear friends!

The Best Big Brother Ever!

Today Shirley and I didn't do much, we went to bed late last night because of the fog...her flight came in late.
I found this you tube of a brother and sister's relationship and I loved it.  It was inspiring and so I hope you find it the same. You can watch it Here:

The love of a sister!

This you-tube was sweet! It shows how very important the love of a sister or brother can be! Watch it
HERE:
(Warning...You will need tissues!)
As I sit here tonight and watch Jenny and Angie play together (they are having another 2 day Sleep Over ), I realize that the love of siblings is truly a blessing.
Hope you take the time to watch that short video...it was so worth it!
Good night dear friends!

I told you Santa really reads each letter he recieves!

A couple of nights ago I wrote you about the story of this little girl who was being bullied. It was about how her twin brother wrote Santa and asked if he could help!
Well, like I always said "Santa really reads each letter he receives, and here is the proof!
Good night dear friends!

Nickelodeon band responds to boy's letter to Santa about helping overweight sister (+video)

•                

• 8-year-old writes viral letter to Santa making only selfless requests

A Christmas gift came early this year for one family in North Carolina.
In response to 8-year-old Ryan’s letter to Santa about asking to have class bullies leave his twin sister, Amber, alone, her favorite band, Big Time Rush, gave the family a surprise visit.
“I think somebody up north might have gotten this already,” said Josh Elliott, Good Morning America news anchor referring to Ryan’s letter in the ABC video segment.
                                                  Elliott led Ryan and Amber and their mother, Karen Suffern, into an auditorium where members of Big Time Rush greeted them. The band gave the family a private concert as well as VIP tickets to its next concert.
“She is...such a sweet little girl ... the look on her face when Big Time Rush came out is priceless. I have tears in my eyes,” said Gina Sbarra-Ulrich, a commenter on the Good Morning America Facebook page. “So happy for this little girl and I hope that all the kids that are bullying her will please stop and I hope their parents realize how much it affects children. All children are different but should be embraced not ridiculed.”
Online, commenters praise Ryan for his selfless motives and desire to help his sister. While Elliott interviewed Ryan and Amber, Ryan said he wished the school bullies would pick on him and not his sister. Amber responded that he didn’t have to do that, and Ryan said, “Yes, I do.”
Tony Posnanski, a weight-loss motivator, who originally shared Ryan’s letter on CNN iReport, was happy to hear the outcome of the attention the boy’s letter has received.
“When a story goes viral, it is not one person who makes it happen. It is millions. Millions who take a story and find a piece of themselves in it,” Posnanski said on his Facebook page. “I am just happy I saw Karen's message. I am glad I submitted it to CNN/iReport instead of posting it on my page. I am glad that people on this page responded to it and glad that CNN made it a worldwide story. But I am happy that Karen was brave to want her story out. It is not easy to do ... but worthwhile. Her kids will have a better life from it. A lot of kids will.”

The article was written by Abby Stevens, and you can read it and more of her articles HERE:

An early letter to Santa!

Now I know what you are thinking... and I know that it is early to talking about Christmas, but this story is what I think Christmas is suppose to be about. I think it is what family is all about and especially what Brothers and Sisters should be about!
Hope you enjoy it, thought it was perfect for today, since I taught the 5th Day of Christmas at work today!
Good night dear friends!

8-year-old writes viral letter to Santa making only selfless requests

Fraternal twins Ryan and Amber. 

..

Eight-year-old Ryan of North Carolina’s early letter to Santa did not ask for toys or tech gadgets; rather, it asked for class bullies to leave his overweight twin sister alone.
“Dear Santa … I wanted a (remote-control) car and helicopter, but I don’t want that anymore,” the letter began. “Kid at school are still picking on Amber and its not fair because she doesnt do anything to them.”
Ryan’s mother, Karen Suffern, cried as she read her son’s letter, according to CNN. The boy’s letter continued by saying he wants his sister to be happy.
“I prayed that they will stop but god is bisy and needs your help. Is it against the rules to give gift early?” Ryan wrote. “Can you ask Big Time Rush to come to Amber’s B-day party it will make her so happy. I you can’t get them to come … just get her everything she ask for. Thanks Santa.”
Suffern had a rough idea that her daughter was teased on the school bus but did not realize the bullying was as bad as her son said.
“I try to build up my daughter's self-esteem and tell her she is beautiful, but people say hurtful things to me because I also have a weight problem, and that hurts me," Suffern said in an interview with CNN. "I can't imagine what she goes through."
Suffern shared her son’s letter on social media, where it began to pick up attention.
“This is totally out of my comfort, zone but I think it is worth it,” Tony Posnanski, a weight-loss motivator, wrote on his Facebook page. “A reader sent me a wonderful letter today about her son and asked if I would share it. The letter moved me so much that I wrote about it … on iReport.”
Online, people responded with admiration for Ryan’s compassion, as well as a call to address bullying. The children’s school, Rocky Mount Prep, released a statement on Sept. 16 in response to the bullying.
“Our school mission is to inspire our scholars to Learn With Passion, Lead With Confidence and Live With Character. These are not just words to us. We want them to learn how to be good citizens and good people. This is why we have invested heavily in proven curriculum and training to help them learn to treat others the way they want to be treated. Unfortunately, this does not always happen in our school or any other,” the statement reads. “ We are hyper-vigilant at Rocky Mount Prep to prevent, intervene and protect our scholars from instances such as this. Our teachers and staff have received training to recognize and address these types of behaviors, and we are proud of the way they respond. We are saddened that this has taken place within our school family, and we can assure all of our parents, scholars and community that we will continue to do everything possible to provide them with a positive and safe learning environment.”
I got the story from HERE:


 

A true Brother!

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A few years ago for Christmas, my brother gave us a book. I can't remember exactly what the name was, and I packed it away with my Christmas books now. But here is the story, it was amazing!

“Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them.

“A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’

“‘I will risk it,’ he replied.

“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’

“The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’

“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.

“‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class.

“‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’

“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.

“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’

“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body.

“‘How can I whip this child?’ he thought. ‘But I must, I must do something if I am to keep this school.’ Everything was quiet as death.

“‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’

“He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’

“The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’

“Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

What a great reminder to me of a true Brother. How grateful I am for my Savior. He paid the ultimate price and because of that, we can be forgiven when we make mistakes, we can have peace and hope...when life's trials are almost too hard to bear. And we can have the knowledge that we can be with our loved one's who have passed away. That is quite a gift and one I pray I never take for granted. Yes, this is the story of a true Brother!
Glad I read this again today, hope you enjoyed it too!
Good night dear friends!

"If we do not have a deep foundation of faith and a solid testimony of truth, we may have difficulty withstanding the harsh storms and icy winds of adversity which inevitably come to each of us."  ~ Thomas S. Monson

With child-like faith!

I loved this story about a brother’s love and admiration for his handicapped brother. Those of us who have family or friends with handicaps… realize what incredibly strong spirits they are. Those of us who are privileged to have them in our lives… truly understand what this brother is saying.

May we all take the time to be more child-like in our faith, in our every day lives… so we too could enjoy our days a lot more!

Good night dear friends!

GOD'S UNDER THE BED

My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed.  At least that's what I heard him say one night.  He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped outside his closed door to listen.  "Are you there, God?" he said.  "Where are you?  Oh, I see.  Under the bed."  I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room.

Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement.  But that night something else lingered long after the humor.  I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.  He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor.  Apart from his size (he's 6'2"), there are few ways in which he is an adult.  He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7 year old, and he always will.  He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.

I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different.  Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?  Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, returning to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.  The only variation in the entire scheme are laundry days, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.

He does not seem dissatisfied.  He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05 eager for a day of simple work.  He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.  And Saturdays -- oh, the bliss of Saturdays!  That's the day my dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside.  "That one's going' to Chi-car-go!" Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.  His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.

I don't think Kevin knows anything exists outside his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.  He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.  His life is simple.  He will never know the entanglements of wealth or power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats.  He recognizes no differences in people, treating each person as an equal and a friend.  His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.

His hands are diligent.  Kevin is never so happy as when he is working.  When he  unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.  He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished.  But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.  He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others.

His heart is pure.  He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.  Free from pride and  unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry.  He is always transparent, always sincere.

And he trusts God.  Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.  Kevin seems to know God -- to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an "educated" person to grasp.  God seems like his closest companion.

In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.  It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.  It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap -- I am.  My obligations, my fears, my pride, my circumstances -- they all become disabilities when I do not submit them to Christ.

Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn?  After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of the Lord.  And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.

Kevin won't be surprised at all. 
- AUTHOR UNKNOWN -

“Great is the man who has not lost his childlike heart.”  ~ Mencius

Service and gratitude

   My youngest brother Ty works for the Humanitarian Department for our church. He is an amazing man and one with great compassion, which makes him perfect for the job. He also is very well educated and speaks many languages.
   When he was a small boy, I used to have him help me with my homework ( that's sad...I know, but a girl has to do...what a girl has to do ). Never mind that he is 10 years younger than me! Shhhh...we don't want that to get around! :)
I have always looked up to him, even though he is younger. He is strong in his faith and lives exactly what he believes, you don't see that often enough, in today's world.
   He just recently went to Peru, for one of the humanitarian projects, and I asked him when he got back, if he would send me photos or information about what he did. Mainly so we as a family, could share in his experience. Here is the article that he sent me. It made me feel grateful for all my many blessings, plus it also touched my heart to see such amazingly strong and faithful people.

Service and gratitude fueled recovery in quake-weary Peru

By Jason Swensen
Published: Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010

PISCO, PERU

Church members in Pisco, Peru, and neighboring cities will tell you they've lived two distinct lives: before and then after Aug. 15, 2007. On that date a massive 8.0-magnitude quake devastated several cities in southern Peru, claiming hundreds of lives and thousands of homes.

Photo by Jason Swensen

Church Welfare Services worker Ty Johnson, far right, speaks with members Eduardo and Sonia Torres outside their new home in Chincha, Peru. The Torres' lost their 2-year-old daughter, Jessica, in the 2007 quake. Their home was also destroyed.

The quake remains a defining event for members here. They look back on the catastrophe with equal parts grief and gratitude. Grief for those who were lost. And gratitude for the many who enlisted faith, service, hard work, priesthood principles and Relief Society resourcefulness so others might endure and emerge, both physically and spiritually, from a monumental disaster.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/60265/Service-and-gratitude-fueled-recovery-in-quake-weary-Peru.html

"There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters? "  ~ Leo Buscaglia

"There's no disaster that can't become a blessing, and no blessing that can't become a disaster"                  ~ Richard Bach

"Knowledge is going to make you stronger. Knowledge is going to let you control your life. Knowledge is going to give you the wisdom to teach their children. Knowledge is the thing that makes you smile in the face of disaster."  ~Avery Brooks