Faith of a child!

Another great day, I actually went out and talked to the neighbors...they were so surprised to see me, I mean really surprised. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air, and Jeff helped me take the dead Christmas greenery off the porch and the wreaths off the front door. Now it looks like no one lives here at all!:)
Loved this story about the faith of a child. I remember many of these type experiences with my own kids.
Good night dear friends!

Lessons learned from a lost Lego

Will I ever learn?

Last February I wrote about my son’s experience losing a tiny part to a toy racecar. I told Kason then that the odds of finding the miniscule bit were about as slim as the piece itself – no bigger than his fingernail.

The faithful scavenger refused to give up and eventually he found it, I was humbled, and in the process I promised I would not doubt his faith next time and would also try to have more of my own.

“Next time” arrived last Sunday.

Both Kason and his younger brother have been Lego fans since the womb. That passion has reached new heights with the release of “The Lego Movie.” I never imagined that a 90-minute commercial could be so entertaining, but the entire Wright gang enjoyed it and the kids have been back to see it twice.

A week ago several of Kason’s Lego men stowed away on the drive to church. They are small pieces, the size of his thumb, and fit perfectly in his little suit pocket.

After church, he and a few other righteous hooligans waited for their parents to finish socializing outside in the small field next to the chapel. It was harmless fun, the kind of chasing and racing that’s written into the job description of every little boy.

Shortly after returning home, Kason discovered that his Lego men had all gone missing. Thankfully we live close to the church and we were able to return and form an all-hands-on-deck search party.

A dozen of us searched the grass and two were located surprisingly quickly, but the third, his favorite, was nowhere to be found. Eventually we called off the search and rescue and headed home.

Later, at some point during the early evening, Kason remembered the missing man had a small, glow-in-the-dark strip on its head. He suggested that if we went back after dark perhaps we would find it more easily. I answered with all the standard excuses from my dad textbook.

“I’m sorry bud, but it’s a school night.”

“I’m sorry kiddo, it’s really cooled off outside and it’s too cold for a wild goose chase.”

“Listen big guy, we’re not going to find it.”

Around 8 p.m., with the kids in their pajamas and their mother on the telephone in another room, he hit me again with his final plea. “I know we’ll find it, Dad.”

I’ll admit I saw a bit of myself in him. There he stood in his new Mario pajamas pleading for one more chance to prove his old man wrong.

I called very quietly into my kitchen, knowing his mother was still busy. “Honey, you still on the phone? Do you mind if we go back to the church to look one more time for Kason’s Lego man?”

Hearing no objections, and history will dispute whether she ever actually heard me, I loaded the boys in the car and we set off to hunt one more time for that which was destined never be seen again.

We started with our flashlights off, but quickly realized it was unlikely the little guy would have any glow left in his gut. The three of us took our flashlights and searched the field trying to find a toy the same size as the orphaned French fry at the bottom of a McDonald’s bag.

After fifteen minutes the sleeping sun and brisk breeze reminded us it was winter and my chattering teeth said it was time to offer condolences for the missing toy and pack it up.

I gave several warnings. “Three minutes, two minutes, one more minute and I’m going home, guys.”

With a final, “Wrap it up, boys,” I began walking to the car. I was reaching for the door when I heard an excited scream behind me. I turned around and in the dim spill of the parking lot light saw my 10-year-old with his arms stretched overhead.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered to my self-doubt.

“I found it,” he yelled and his younger brother came running over to me to repeat the news, as if I hadn’t been paying attention.

I walked back to the spot where the successful adventurer still stood. He reenacted the moment of discovery and the act of pushing a leaf aside with his shoe and finding the missing man facedown in the dying winter grass.

Kason looked up at me and without the slightest sense of sarcasm said, “You totally have to write a column about this.”

I haven’t laughed that hard in months.

On the walk back to the car, the giddy boy explained how he’d prayed privately that afternoon that his prized toy would be found.

“Would you have been all right if you hadn’t found it?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. His mother had already promised to find a replacement online and surely he wouldn’t have cried himself to sleep or doubted his belief in God had his tender prayer not been answered. He certainly had not staked his faith in him on some miracle.

He’d simply displayed childlike confidence that something lost might be found. He believed that faith coupled with effort would win the day.

He might be right; isn’t this how faith works?

If we’re ill, we pray to be well, but we also do everything we can to make ourselves better by caring for our body, taking proper medication and listening to what doctors are other experts say will help us heal.

Need to pass a test? Anxious about a certification exam? Worried about a job evaluation? When faced with these moments, we might pray and express faith that heaven will help us, but then we also study and do everything we can to meet God at the intersection of faith and works.

He didn’t have faith the toy would come to life, walk home and climb back into his Lego bucket. He knew his faith required sacrifice and effort and that even with his best work it might not be enough.

Don’t be mistaken – neither my son nor I believe this miracle deserves to be written up alongside the parting of the Red Sea, healing of the blind man or walking on water.

But for a 10-year-old who’s beginning to discover that he need not rely on dad’s faith forever, it’s an important building block in his spiritual foundation.

For me, it’s yet another reminder that I have a long way to go as an adult have the faith of the child.

Maybe I’ll go play with my kid’s Legos.

I found the story HERE:

Doing Good to Others!

Teaching our children Service at a young age was very important to Jeff and I. We prayed daily that they would have kind and compassionate hearts. We tried to come up with different ways in which our family could serve. It has been one of the biggest blessings in our lives.
 As our kids are now adults, I watch them interact with Others, I am amazed at the level of concern and compassion that they have, and my heart is full of gratitude. They got it, they got the lessons that we tried so hard to teach. It just does your heart good as a parent, to see your kids grow up and make such a GOOD and BIG difference in the world. They truly love Others!

When I read this sweet story from a book called "To The Rescue ", I realized that this Mother in the story was trying to teach the very same lesson.

"Sunday dinner was a big event in the Monson home.

"Every Sunday Gladys would prepare a plate of food for Old Bob; before the family sat down to dinner, she would send Tommy off with the plate. One Sunday he asked, “Why don’t I take it down later?”
"His mother responded, “You do what I say, and your food will taste better.”
"He wasn’t sure what she meant, but he headed off for Old Bob’s, waiting anxiously as aged feet brought his neighbor to the door. Bob reached for a dime to reward the delivery boy. “Oh, Mr. Dicks,” said Tommy, “I wouldn’t want to take your money. My mother would tan my hide.”
“My boy, you have a wonderful mother,” Bob said as he patted Tommy’s blond hair."

"When Tommy got back, his dinner did taste better. “I didn’t realize,” he recalls, “I was learning a most powerful and important lesson about caring for those less fortunate.”

 

"Why does our happiness increase when we help others find happiness? How can parents help their children learn this truth?"

 

"When you find yourselves a little gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated."

 

 

 

Fix the family..not the kid

I read and used the Eyre's parenting book when the kids were young. I loved their approach. Did that mean we never had any problems...absolutely not. Did it help our kids and help us as parents...Yes.
Family life is hard but oh soooooooooooooo worth it!
Good night dear friends!

Linda & Richard Eyre: Fix the family — not the kid 

.

Linda and I believed, even way back then, that the best way to help kids was to help their parents within their homes.

Way back in the good old days, I wrote a grassroots campaign plan for Ronald Reagan’s first presidential campaign. I was a political consultant then, and Bill Casey, the campaign manager, used my plan and seemed to think it helped Reagan win. At any rate, I was offered a post in the new administration as director of the White House Conference on Children.
I did my due diligence and found that in the past it had been mostly a conference for counselors, psychologists, school administrators, and others who performed interventions and tried to help troubled kids outside of their homes. Linda and I believed, even way back then, that the best way to help kids was to help their parents within their homes. I said I would accept the position if we could change the name to the White House Conference on Parents and Children and focus on ways to build stronger families.
We moved to Washington and began to shift the conference in that direction. Shortly thereafter, then-President Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt, and it was decided that while he was recuperating, it would be best to disband the conference and send the budget to the states, allowing each of them to hold their own conference rather than a national conference.
Linda and I were happy to return to Utah and to other pursuits, but the point is that the whole experience got us thinking about the two primary ways to try to make the lives of children better:
One, give up on “bad parents” and focus on helping kids outside of their homes — at schools or through welfare or justice systems or other interventions.
Or two, help and train parents, giving them the tools to raise happy kids.
These two alternatives were stated even more bluntly in new research by Brookings scholars Richard Reeves and Kimberly Howard, where they concluded, as summarized by Derek Thompson of The Atlantic: “There are two basic ways to improve the lot of children ... the first tries to make bad parents less relevant. The second tries to make bad parents less bad.”
Let's think about that for a moment. Isn’t it pretty obvious that the first and best option is "to make bad parents less bad?” Shouldn’t the first line of defense against poor choices, rebellion and antisocial behavior in children be within the homes where those children live, under the direction of a parent?
Of course, no matter how hard parents try, or how much training and assistance and motivation parents receive, not all kids will turn out fine. In fact, some kids will have severe behavior problems even if they have the most conscientious, nourishing parents in the world. But the fact remains that, speaking generally, the home and the family constitute by far the most efficient, effective and economical place to raise a responsible member of society and to inoculate against problems that would otherwise spill out into the welfare or juvenile justice systems.
Yes, society needs safety nets and institutions that can deal with situations that parents can’t handle — and thank goodness for great teachers and counselors and schools and even courts that intervene and rescue children.
But our goal should be to strengthen families and improve parenting to where we need these other institutions less and less.
So what we really want to say here is pretty simple: Can we all approach it the way we tried to at the White House Conference? Can we think children and parents? Whoever and whatever we are — churches, clubs, government agencies, schools, therapists, grandparents, godparents, mentors or just concerned individuals — should we do all we can to help kids by helping their parents have the time and the tools and the encouragement to better parent their own children?
Because ultimately, stronger families are the only way to create a stronger society.

Richard and Linda Eyre are New York Times No. 1 best-selling authors who lecture throughout the world on family-related topics. Visit them anytime at www.EyresFreeBooks.com or at www.valuesparenting.com.

 

I read the article here:

 

 

Never give up on yourself

I love this article by Jason F. Wright. He always seems to make me think, lightens my day or inspires me to be better. Yes, we need more authors like him!
Hope you enjoy this... it is a great one!
Good night dear friends!
YOU CAN READ MORE OF JASON'S ARTICLES HERE:

A seventh-grade student sat at his desk fearing the absolute worst. It was Friday, June 8, 1984. It was also the last day of school before summer vacation.
His knobby knees knocked. His heart raced. His palms were so sweaty, he needed a "wet floor” sign next to his desk.
The 13-year-old had slogged through a challenging year at home and, moments earlier, his homeroom teacher had revealed in dramatic fashion that when the report cards were distributed at the end of class, one would show that someone had failed the seventh grade and would be retained.
Someone in the back of the room asked what the word meant. “In this case,” the teacher announced, “retained means he’s going to repeat the seventh grade.”
The young man sat at his desk and wondered how he would ever tell his parents that their son, a student with a history of good grades, had collapsed and would not advance to the eighth grade with his friends.
He’d qualified for the county science fair earlier that year and placed third among hundreds of entries. He’d won awards for his writing and excelled at band. He’d won speech and history contests. But now he was poised to walk up the driveway carrying a report card that weighed more than he did.
Disclosure: I have not researched this story and it hasn’t been fact-checked. So how do I know it so well? Because this is my story.
I, Jason Wright, failed the seventh grade.
I closed my eyes and with my fingertips traced the carved-in pencil slot on the bottom of the slanted desktop. In that moment, I remembered hearing the news that doctors had discovered a tumor the size of a grapefruit attached to one of my father’s kidneys. In the next moment I wondered whether my father would live to see me graduate — not from high school, but from middle.
The teacher began handing out the report cards and I felt my pulse skip and pop like an old vinyl record. I wiped my hands on my Levis and studied my desk until the report card slid into view. I unwound the red piece of string that held the flap closed and removed the tri-fold piece of canary cardstock. At the top of the paper my eyes immediately found the word written and circled in cherry red magic marker: “Retained."
I quickly folded and returned the paper to its envelope, like a body exhumed and returned to its casket. I fought tears, left for the restroom without permission and gazed at my reflection in the cracked mirror with graffiti scrawled in the corners.
I wondered, “Will my parents still love me?”
A few days after the school year ended, I returned with my mother and father to meet with the principal and discuss my options. We learned I could repeat the year, earn satisfactory grades and advance to the eighth grade. Or, I could attend two classes — math and English — at a local high school’s summer school program. If my grades were acceptable, I would begin the eighth grade as if nothing had ever happened.
The discussion was a short one — I would not be retained.
In the car on the way home, in a word picture framed by enormous love and faith, my parents explained how the summer school commitment would be a sacrifice for our entire family. No doubt it would mean a different sort of summer than I’d hoped for.
While I participated in summer school, my friends went swimming at the local pool. While I studied for math tests, the gang from church went to scout camp. While I wrote essays, my best friend spent a week at Virginia Beach.

I learned a lot from my two teachers that summer. I got better at math and learned to solve problems without the help of Texas Instruments. I got better at writing fiction and wrote a lengthy piece that was read aloud in class on our last day of summer school. I got better at balancing home stress and school responsibilities.
I got A’s.
I learned a lot at home that summer, too. I learned that my parents loved me deeply, even though I’d let school slip. I learned my three older siblings believed I was capable of anything. I learned to take more responsibility for my actions and to look inward at problems and upward to heaven for solutions.
I learned to pray.
I sailed through the next year and did well as my father lived cancer-free until my junior year of high school. When it returned and later claimed his life during the winter break between semesters, I easily remembered the lessons of 1984.
It's summer again and every year I spend some time counting and reflecting on those lessons. I suppose I also count my failures since that heavy report card, and I find there have been many. But, thankfully, I’ve also been blessed with just enough successes like summer school to remind me that I am not defined by the failure, but by the response.
Sometimes I think I hear the voice of that nervous 13-year-old boy reminding me that with faith, love, perseverance and by forgiving myself, I will always be capable of advancing from one trial to the next with straight A's.
He tells me that I am not destined to be retained.
Neither are you.

Don't let me down!

 Loved this video of a Dad and his son!  The song is called Don't let me down! I think every kid thinks that about his Mom and his Dad! And so they should, we are the parents...we are the ones that are suppose to make the better choices...especially ones that will directly effect their children's lives! We can't let them down!
Good night dear friends!
Watch it ....
here:

A great bit of wisdom!

I think this is something all of us parents and grandparents should remember!
Good night dear friends!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Jeff and I watched a movie the other night called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, it was a good movie. It was a tear jerk-er ( I am sure you guessed that, because it was a story about 9-11 ). Still the thing that struck me the hardest was...the love of a parent for a child. That type of  love will do anything to help, save, protect and teach their child. It also reminds you to keep a prayer in your heart for children who have special needs, and for their parents who have to wade through a lot of mud in their lives to help and raise these kids. In the world you can be made fun of for just wearing something different or for looking different. Think how much worse it would be when you act and think differently than all the other kids around you..that would be hard, extremely hard.
Life is hard, and being a single parent with special needs would even be harder and probably more lonely than we could imagine. Still the movie left you with a great feeling about...how many wonderful people there are in the world, and how each of them have their own story to tell. Yes, I am glad we watched this movie. Just another reminder to put on your boots, and get prepared to walk through some mud in your life time...!
Good night dear friends!
 
Movie review...
Oskar (Thomas Horn) is convinced that his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has left a final message for him hidden somewhere in the city. Feeling disconnected from his grieving mother (Sandra Bullock) and driven by a relentlessly active mind that refuses to believe in things that can't be observed, Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father's closet. His journey through the five boroughs takes him...
Found the review here:

• "Disability is a matter of perception.  If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone."
  -- Martina Navratilova
   
• "I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God."
  -- Helen Keller
   
• "Every child is gifted.  They just unwrap their packages at different times."
  -- unknown

Kids teaching parents!

Jeff and I were planning on going to a movie on Valentine’s night. We were trying to find out to see if anyone else had seen it. We saw the previews and it looked like a good date night movie, we thought. Right before we left our son and his wife called. After we told them where we were planning on going, but mentioned that we were a bit concern that we didn’t know a lot about it, then they told us a place to go.

It is called www. IMDb.com

What that stands for is The Internet Movie Database

1. You put in the movie you want to know about
2. Scroll down till you see the Motion Picture Ratings
3. Then  you push the Parent’s guide

It will give you scene by scene what goes on. What they mean specifically, if it says Some Sexual Content. It tells you bad the language will be. I guess you could be offended by just reading some of it, but it doesn’t take long to at least figure out, if it is the movie for you or for your kids. Oh how I wished I would have known about this when my kids were teenagers. It probably was there but I didn’t know it. How interesting that it took one of my kids to teach it to me. Glad that they are still teaching us!  

Still I am grateful for the information. It will safe Jeff and I from having to waste our money, or get up and walk out of a movie (which we have done on numerous occasions), so I was glad to get the information and just wanted to pass it on! We parents need to stick together. Anytime we can help one another in the quest for raising good kids, I think we should do it!

Hope this helps?  Remember … Knowledge is POWER!
Good night dear friends

 

“It's not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself.”    ~Joyce Maynard

“The trouble with learning to parent on the job is that your child is the teacher.”    ~Robert Brault

“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”    ~C.G. Jung

Shield of Faith!

Now that Jeff and I are alone, there are times we wonder if we have taught our children all they needed to know to succeed in the world… and be close to their Heavenly Father? In church yesterday one of the talks was on that very subject, I won’t give you all my notes but try to summarize a few of the things that were mentioned. One that really hit me was the talk about teaching your children to have Faith. Then they talked about shields and how they protect you … but if you remember the story of David and Goliath, David didn’t want to use the armor given to him, because it didn’t fit. So the point was…it is our responsibility as parents to teach them to have FAITH and how that is to be done in the home. Here are a few other things they mentioned about helping our children with their shield and armor of Faith…

1.That shield of faith is not produced in a factory but at home in a cottage industry.

2.The plan designed by the Father contemplates that man and woman, husband and wife, working together, fit each child individually with a shield of faith made to buckle on so firmly that it can neither be pulled off nor penetrated by those fiery darts.

3.It takes the steady strength of a father to hammer out the metal of it and the tender hands of a mother to polish and fit it on. Sometimes one parent is left to do it alone. It is difficult, but it can be done.

4.In the Church we can teach about the materials from which a shield of faith is made: reverence, courage, chastity, repentance, forgiveness, compassion. In church we can learn how to assemble and fit them together. But the actual making of and fitting on of the shield of faith belongs in the family circle. Otherwise it may loosen and come off in a crisis.

5.The prophets and Apostles know full well that the perilous times Paul prophesied for the last days are now upon us: “Men [are] lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection” (see 2 Tim. 3:1–7).

6.This shield of faith is not manufactured on an assembly line, only handmade in a cottage industry. Therefore our leaders press members to understand that what is most worth doing must be done at home. Some still do not see that too many out-of-home activities, however well intended, leave too little time to make and fit on the shield of faith at home. http://lds.org/ensign/1995/05/the-shield-of-faith?lang=eng

I love the analogy of the shield of faith. It is true, we as parents have a sacred responsibility to teach our kids as well as we can, so each day their armor is more resilient and strong enough,to withstand the temptations of the world. I hope that Jeff and I have done that for our kids? I hope they have enough Faith to endure the things they will have to challenge them? I hope they know that Jeff and I have great faith, but also realize that we have to work on strengthening that faith every day?

It was a great talk and a great reminder for all of us parents, to keep fitting, hammering, polishing and strengthening our children’s shield of faith! So even though we are empty nesters, our work is not done! For that I am grateful, I love being a Mother! 

Good night dear friends!

 

 

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’? Unlike the book on the library shelf, the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents, we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes.”   ~ Thomas S. Monson

“The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It ... is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be.”  ~Marianne E. Neifert

“It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.”   ~ Thomas S. Monson

Spiritual lifeguards

I still don't feel quite like myself today, so I will just share an article that I read from Jason W. Wright. He writes a weekly column that you can find here...

http://jasonfwright.com/column/help-wanted-spiritual-lifeguards.html

He is great writer and very inspiring, hope you enjoy it! Good night dear friends.

 

Help wanted: Spiritual lifeguards

July 27, 2011

 

Last week my family took a long-awaited “dinger.” The term was introduced to me by a good buddy who often takes his large family on shorter trips - “dingers” - which typically last just a night or two. If Disney for a week is a “vacation,” then a trip to a nearby theme park or the beach for two nights is a “dinger.”

We spent the first night of our dinger at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Va. It's a recipe for complete awesomeness. One part hotel, one part all-you-can-eat buffet and one part indoor water park with slides so scary even my older kids wouldn’t ride most of them.

Not wanting to waste a dime, or, more importantly, an opportunity to scream like a 10-year-old, I rode the bigger slides all by myself. Imagine the looks a 40-year-old man gets standing at the top of a tall tower carrying a raft and waiting his turn to ride “Alberta Falls.” The term “stranger danger” comes to mind.

The rest of my pack spent much of its day safely on the ground enjoying the wave pool. Every 10 minutes, motors beneath the five-foot deep end chug and churn waves up to three-feet high. It’s everything you want in a beach without the sand and jellyfish.

When I finally joined the gang in the wave pool, I couldn’t help but notice the lifeguards. As we swam and bobbed up and down in the water, young men and women walked the edges of the pool in a definitive pattern, rotating positions and seemingly checking trouble spots every few seconds.

They were, quite simply, the most vigilant lifeguards I’ve ever seen. Not a pint of water in the pool went unattended or unnoticed. Later, while enjoying the lazy river, I observed the same intense attention by a different crew. Lifeguards appeared to own 15 to 20 feet of responsibility on the winding river that twisted its way through the park. With eyes wide open, they paced their respective areas scanning the water, bending down to check blind spots on curves, then circling back again.

I asked my wife during lunch if she’d noticed the lifeguards’ incredible watchfulness. Her look said, “Really? I’m a mother. I noticed before anyone ever dipped a toe.” All afternoon and evening we commented back and forth on the professionalism of the young men and women tasked with keeping our children safe and accounted for.

The next day we drove on to Virginia Beach for another exciting dinger day, but my mind was still on the lifeguards at Great Wolf Lodge.

The final day of our journey took us to Richmond., Va., for a fun night at a modern, New York City studio apartment-style hotel. We had a great time, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d observed two days earlier.

As parents, we draw lines to protect our young ones from obvious danger. I remember well a neighbor years ago who painted a thick line at the bottom of her driveway and added above it in white spray paint: “Mom’s Line of Peril.” The implication was obvious.

We lock up guns and keep knives out of reach. We design and distribute medicine and cleaning bottles with childproof safety features. We bark at our loved ones to buckle up before we ever put the car in gear.

There we go, back and forth along the poolside of life, checking high-risk spots.

I was stunned and impressed by the lifeguards’ attention to the physical safety of my children. But what about their spiritual safety? Am I an equally vigilant spiritual lifeguard?

Do I scold them for playing with matches, but then invite them to the couch for a filthy television show that could inflict as much or more harm?

Do I insist they wear a helmet, but ignore the music they purchase for their iPods?

Do I encourage them to drink water instead of soda, or to eat more vegetables, or to take their vitamins, but ignore the text messages they send or the language they use?

After school each day, do I double back like a watchful lifeguard and check again on my children? Do I ask, “How was your day? How are your friends? Are you happy? Do you need to talk?”

The answer is yes, I do those things, but not nearly as often nor as well as I should.

We're home now. The dinger is done and we're back in the rhythm of life, but I pray my family never forgets the fun they had and the memories they made.

I pray they are grateful for and never forget the lifeguards who so brilliantly watched over and protected their physical safety.

But more importantly, I pray I never forget the prompting that I need to become a more effective spiritual lifeguard.

Will you join me?

 

"We cannot and we must not allow the school, community,
television, or even Church organizations to establish our children's
values. The Lord has placed this duty with mothers and fathers. It is one
from which we cannot escape and one that cannot be delegated. Others may
help, but parents remain accountable. Therefore, we must guard the sanctity
of our homes, because that is where children develop their values,
attitudes, and habits for everyday living." ~ M. Russell Ballard

You know you are too old to be a parent when.....

Our son came home the other night with a concussion. He had gotten hit in the face with an elbow, while playing Fresbie in the park with some friends. It worried us because he has been in the hospital a couple of times the past year with concussions. Since we have done it so many times, we decided to wait and see how he was doing. We checked his eyes and had him put ice on his head and stay low for awhile. It was very late and he did not want to go to the Emergency room. So we did all the things we needed to do and just made sure to keep him awake, until the dizziness went away.

Jeff gets up early so he finally went to bed around midnight, so I was on duty to keep him awake at least another hour and then get up every couple of hours and wake him up. Well by 1:00 am, I was barely awake and trying desperately to keep him awake too. Finally at 1:00 we set his clock for 2:00am and I told him to make sure to wake up enough to check how he feels, then reset the clock for another hour. I kept thinking that I should be the one setting the clock every hour but I was sooooooooooo tired, and I also had to work again the next day. So I convinced myself that since he was 18 and would be away at college soon, he would have to learn to do these things anyway.
He agreed, then I said ( as I was walking out the door to my room ) and "son, if you don't wake up, then come and get me...because something might be very wrong! " As I got down the hall, I heard him laugh and then he said " Mom, do you realize what you just said?" We both began to laugh and I realized that it is a good thing he is almost grown, because I am getting to old for this parenting stuff. Some of the time when he talks to Jeff and I, we can't even hear him and have to keep asking "what did  you say?"  Growing old is harder than it looks. Yes, it is important to have your children while you are young...for this very reason. With age does come wisdom, but sometimes it comes slowly, if it comes at all!  You may be still laughing but it's true! :)

Now if there are any Doctor or nurses out there reading this, please just ignore you ever read this! :)

Good night dear friends!

"One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is."  ~ Erma Bombeck

"The beauty of spacing children many years apart lies in the fact that parents have time to learn the mistakes that were made with the older ones - which permits them to make exactly the opposite mistakes with the younger ones."  ~Sydney J. Harris

"You know you are getting old when.. It takes twice as long to look half as good."

Sunrise, Sunset

I remember as a little girl, that my one of my Mom's favorite songs from Fiddler on the Roof was Sunrise, Sunset.
She said it always made her cry, because that is how she felt as her children grew up. It seemed so fast to her.
I didn't exactly know what she meant at that time, but now I do.
I look at this photo of Brad and Krystal, and wonder how the time flew by so fast? Yes, this is my little Bradley, the boy that made us laugh and smile a lot. Now he is all grown up, married to a beautiful and smart girl and they are ready to take on the world. Wow, that time did seem to fly and just like my Mother said...I feel like crying! Needlesstosay that Mother's are always right!  :)

Good night dear friends!

Sunrise, Sunset

(Tevye)
is This The Little Girl I Carried?
is This The Little Boy At Play?
(Golde)
i Don't Remember Growing Older
when Did They?
(Tevye)
when Did She Get To Be A Beauty?
when Did He Get To Be So Tall?
(Golde)
wasn't It Yesterday
when They Were Small? (Men)
sunrise, Sunset
sunrise, Sunset
swiftly Flow The Days
seedlings Turn Overnight To Sunflowers
blossoming Even As We Gaze
(Women)
sunrise, Sunset
sunrise, Sunset
swiftly Fly The Years
one Season Following Another
laden With Happiness And Tears
(Tevye)
what Words Of Wisdom Can I Give Them?
how Can I Help To Ease Their Way?
(Tevye)
now They Must Learn From One Another
day By Day
(Perchik)
they Look So Natural Together
(Hodel)
just Like Two Newlyweds Should Be
(Perchik & Hodel)
is There A Canopy In Store For Me?
(All)
sunrise, Sunset
sunrise, Sunset
swiftly Flow The Days
seedlings Turn Overnight To Sunflowers
blossoming Even As We Gaze
sunrise, Sunset
sunrise, Sunset
swiftly Fly The Years
one Season Following Another
laden With Happiness And Tears

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  ~Elizabeth Stone

"When you have brought up kids, there are memories you store directly in your tear ducts."  ~Robert Brault,

"It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't."  ~Barbara Kingsolver

Talents

Tonight Jeff and I were able to go see some of our daughter Lauren's photography displayed at a meeting. Lauren had to work, so she couldn't be there. We were very proud to be there and to see the talent that she has improved on throughout the years. I will share some of it with you, when she emails them to me, it is such a neat experience to witness the talents that your kids have. Our kids have more talents that Jeff or I ever thought of having! How does that work? :)
So tonight I found this neat story ( by Steve Goodier ) about developing our talents, stay turned for Talents post # 2!

Sitting On Your Talent

If you are like me, there are some things you may feel you do pretty well, and others that you would not admit to having done even at gunpoint! I do play guitar adequately and I can make a memorable enchilada dish. I also enjoy working with people and I seem to have made it a lifelong project to learn how to become a better listener.

I never thought of myself as one who has any great talent, but like each of us, I have certain skills and abilities. Let me tell you a story, however, passed down through jazz circles. It's a story about a man who had real talent.

This particular man played piano in a bar. He was a good piano player. People came out just to hear him and his trio play. But one night, a patron wanted them to sing a particular song. The trio declined. But the customer was persistent. He told the bartender,

"I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that guy to sing!"

The bartender shouted across the room to the piano player,

"Hey buddy! If you want to get paid, sing the song. The patrons are asking you to sing!"

So he did. He sang a song. A jazz piano player who had not sung much in public, sang a song that changed his career. For nobody had ever heard Sweet Lorraine sung the way it was sung that night by Nat King Cole!

He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life playing in a jazz trio in clubs and bars, but because he had to sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel as if your "talent" is particularly great, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess!

Some people ask, "What ability do I have that is useful?"

Others ask, "How will I use the ability that I have?"

 

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."  ~ Henry Van Dyke

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."   ~ Larry Bird

 

Drug problem?

I loved this story about how we teach our kids. It took a funny twist on a serious problem, but it is absolutely true. Read and find out if you believe the same?

Different drug problem..................
The following letter has appeared on the inter-net and was viewed by many readers. Many felt it would be appropriate for the readers of Avoyelles Parish.
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in a old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"
I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me. I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad’s fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to now the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood, and if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.
Submitted by concerned citizen  by...Randy and Melanie Bordelon

"In raising your children spend half as much money and twice as much time"

"If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have give your children the greatest of all blessings"  ~ Brian Tracy

"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much" ~ Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Never too young to learn, or too old!

I am always amazed how much I learn on Sundays. It's not that I am really hearing something new, but yet each time I hear someone give a talk, it's like I am hearing something for the first time again! Repetition has always been how we teach our children, so I shouldn't be surprised that, that is also how our Heavenly Father teaches us...repeating the same things over and over again!

One important thing that I was reminded of today, was to be more grateful. I have to admit that sometimes I forget to count the many blessing I have, and instead focus on the what I don't have.
Another thing I learned today was to get to know the scriptures better and more consistently, because in them we get to know our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ better. "We cannot love what we do not know"...so true!

The last thing that struck me hard today was... how important our examples are for our children and grandchildren. They are ever watching us and the choices we make. They watch what types of music we listen to, the types of movies that we go to, or bring into our homes, how we treat our bodies and how we serve or don't serve others. Yes, we can say all we want to our children but...it is our example that will speak the loudest. Are we living the type of life, that we wouldn't be afraid for our children to follow? That is a big question, and one that I need to ask myself often. I know that I fall short in many of these areas, but I was grateful to be TAUGHT AGAIN!  Yes, even at the ripe old age of 51, I am still not too old to learn!  :) And remember the little ones are always watching us too!  (This photo of Jenny, was taken by her proud Uncle Lee )

"It's not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself."  ~Joyce Maynard

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."  ~Robert Fulghum

"If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves."  ~C.G. Jung

Happy Anniversary!

Well, today was Jeff and I's 28th Wedding Anniversary! We actually celebrated it February, because we weren't sure if we would have a job by now or not, but luckily we do. It was a great day because we had sunshine, and I am still married to my best friend.

It is late but I wanted to share this beautiful love story that I found. I hope you enjoy it, good night!

A LOVE LIKE THAT
I was 23, and all the way to the hospital I'd been composing what I would say to Mama before they took her to cut into her heart, whose center I supposed myself to be; hadn't she told me all my life I was the most important thing in the world to her?
Threading my way through the hospital corridors, I practiced my opening line, which  had to strike just the right note. Who but I could give her strength and confidence she would need? Whose face but mine would she want to be the last one she saw before they cut her open and died probably? Whose kiss but mine...?
I turned a corner and there was my mother lying on a stretcher in the hall, waiting for them to come for her. My father was standing over her. Something about the two of them made me stop and then, as I watched, made me keep my distance, as if there were a wall between us, and around them.
It was clear to me at that moment that for them, nothing existed outside them, nothing; there was only the man, the woman. She didn't see me, nor from the looks of it care much whether she did. They weren't talking. He was holding her hand. She was smiling into his eyes; and they were, I swear, speaking a language that at 23 I hadn't begun to understand, much less speak myself. But I could see them do it, literally see them, and I moved closer to see more, stunned, fascinated, very jealous that I had fallen in love with someone, married him, divorced him and never once come close to what I was looking at in that hall.
Next time, I said, I will know better. I will love like that.   ~ Linda Ellerbee

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

 
"The most important thing a mother can do for her children is to love their father."

Never Lose Your Faith

Father's Day is coming soon and I was reading an article the other day about not losing our faith. It was inspiring to say the least, and so I will share part of it with you tonight...

"Two weeks ago I received a touching letter from a father of seven who wrote about his family and, in particular, his son Jason, who had become ill when 11 years of age. Over the next few years, Jason's illness recurred several times. This father told of Jason's positive attitude and sunny disposition, despite his  health challenges. He received his Eagle Scout Award when he was 14 years old.

"Last summer, not long after Jason's 15th birthday, he was once again admitted to the hospital. On one of his visits to see Jason, his father found him with his eyes closed. Not knowing whether Jason was asleep or awake, he began talking softly to him. 'Jason,' he said, 'I know you have been through a lot in your short life and that your current condition is difficult. Even though you have a giant battle ahead, I don't ever want you to lose your faith in Jesus Christ.' He said he was startled as Jason immediately opened his eyes and said 'Never!' in a clear, resolute voice. Jason then closed his eyes and said no more.

"His father wrote, 'In this simple declaration, Jason expressed one of the most powerful, pure testimonies of Jesus Christ that I have ever heard...As his declaration of "Never!" became imprinted on my soul that day, my heart filled with joy that my Heavenly Father had blessed me to be the father of such a tremendous and noble boy."  ~ Thomas S. Monson

As a mother, that is my greatest joy, just like the scriptures say in 3 John 1:4 "I HAVE NO GREATER JOY THAN TO HEAR THAT MY CHILDREN WALK IN TRUTH".

I hope every day that my kids and grand-kids will have that type of faith. That no matter what happens to them that they will have faith in Jesus Christ to sustain them and help them through. That I believe, would be the greatest thing I could help them with as a mom and a grandmother (Nana). Good night dear friends!

"GREAT FAITH HAS A SHORT SHELVE LIFE"

"TRUE STRENGTH COMES FROM HUMBLE RELIANCE ON GOD"

Growing up!

Perspective is a wonderful thing. I watch my granddaughter tell us the other day that she needed her diaper changed. When I asked her why she didn't want to wear the new Big Girl panties that her mommy bought, her reply was..."No Nana, I don't want to wear those because they just drip".  I know that Amy feels like Angie will never be potty trained. Now that I am a Nana, I realize that just don't worry too much about things like that. I am sure it is because I have a different perspective, I know it will happen when she is truly ready. I remember well the days that my kids were little and I truly never thought that I would ever get them potty trained, eating on their own, sleeping through the night and on and one. Now when I hear my daughter as a mom worry about those things, I just want to say...."don't worry about it too much, it will happen and before you know it they will be all grown up."

Our daughter Lauren just graduated from High School in June (this is her and her brother Lee), I thought my heart would break...how could she already be that old? It seemed like yesterday that she was at the store with me and arguing with me about which diapers she wanted me to buy. (I thought if she was old enough to talk about that, then she was old enough to be potty trained) And now I look at her graduated, having a photography business of her own, creating and designing her own cards, writing and heading off to college in January... and I wonder again, where did the time go?

I know I should be used to it, she is my third child to grow up and leave. But it doesn't make any difference each one that leaves, is a definite void in our home and in our hearts. So to all your young moms out there, please take the time to try and enjoy every moment of your sweet kids. The time goes by so fast, before you know it your heart will ache with the thought of them growing up and moving on. This motherhood thing is much harder than it looks but like I have said before, it is the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!

"Wisdom is your perspective on life, your sense of balance, your understanding of how the various parts and principles apply and relate to each other. It embraces judgment, discernment, comprehension. It is the gestalt or oneness, and integrated wholeness."  ~ Stephen R. Covey

I will end with this cute story that shows that perspective can even be found in our little ones!

A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl was silent. Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?" "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart. Barney's on my underpants."

Leaders vs. Followers

 

I have always been amazed at the impact that parents have on their children's lives. That responsibility weighed heavy on me as a new mom. I wanted my children to have certain things I didn't have ( not material things ), I wanted them to have things like self -esteem, self- worth and confidence. I wanted them to be better and stronger in life's decisions than I was. I wanted them to be safe and have a wonderful childhood. There were days that I felt like I failed miserably at it and other days that I felt maybe I had made a positive difference in their lives. It was a lot of trial and error, since none of them come with instructions. I look at them now all together and mostly grown up and I am very proud of who they are and the positive impact they are making in the world. Then last night around dinner I heard them talking to each other and they were saying things like...."remember the time when mom came in and spanked me for no reason" or "remember the time she made us apologize to our neighbors for something we didn't even do", I guess maybe I remembered only the good things but I had to smile as I watched these neat young adults who I love dearly, tell one horror story after another about me! Oh well, and I thought I didn't do that bad of a job! :)

I wish I could personally tell each new parent how vital their example is to their children. They need to realize that every decision that they make or don't make will heavily effect their kids for good or bad. I worry about parents who are stuck with the issues of their own and are blinded to the fact of how it is effecting their kids, no matter how old or young their are. These little ones are smarter than we might think and they can feel the love or contention in our home and in our relationships.

Maybe because of my abuse, I have this never ending desire to help young parents to get their wake up call...sooner than later, when it comes to addressing the issues that they struggle with in their lives. We have always told our kids that it is ok to get stuck in life, every one does. But it is NOT ok to stay there, that is why it is vital to get help, counseling or something that teaches you the skills on how to get UNSTUCK! Life is hard but those tough lessons (if learned) are what make us stronger and better.

I found this poem about leading and following, maybe it is something we all can read and see which comments we usually say more often. Look at your little ones, if you think you can't change your life because it is just too hard. Please remember them and be determined to be better and stronger and more confident in healthy choices because they are our kids and they are depending on us to show them the way. The right way, a better way!

Leaders vs. Followers

When leaders make a mistake, they say, "I was wrong."
When followers make mistakes, they say, "It wasn't my fault."

A leader works harder than a follower and has more time;
a follower is always "too busy" to do what is necessary.

A leader goes through a problem;
a follower goes around it and never gets past it.

A leader makes and keeps commitments;
a follower makes and forgets promises.

A leader says, "I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be;"
a follower says, "I'm not as bad as a lot of other people."

Leaders listen;
followers just wait until it's their turn to talk.

Leaders respect those who are superior to them and tries to learn something from them;
followers resent those who are superior to them and try to find chinks in their armor.

Leaders feel responsible for more than their job;
followers say, "I only work here."

A leader says, "There ought to be a better way to do this;"
followers say, "That's the way it's always been done here."

 

"Your children need your presence more than your presents."  ~Jesse Jackson

"It's not only children who grow.  Parents do too.  As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.  I can't tell my children to reach for the sun.  All I can do is reach for it, myself."  ~Joyce Maynard

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."  ~Robert Fulghum

Loss of a loved one

A dear friend of mine just lot her best friend. I don't think death is ever an easy thing to accept. I read this story about death and the poem that goes with it is something that I would like at my own funeral some day. No, I am not planning to leave any time soon, but once you have had cancer, trust me...those thought do pass your mind every now and then. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks

SEE YOU IN THE MORNING   By John Wayne Schlatter

Because of my mother and her wisdom I have no fear of death. She was my best friend and my greatest teacher. Every time we parted company, whether it was to retire for the evening or before one of us was about to depart on a trip, she would say, "I'll see you in the morning."  It was a promise she always kept.                                  My grandfather was a minister and in those days, around the turn of the century, whenever a member of the congregation passed on, the body would lie in state in the minister's parlor. To an eight-year-old girl, this can be a most frightening experience.One day, my grandfather picked up my mother, carried her into the parlor and asked her to feel the wall. "What does that feel like Bobbie?" he asked."Well, it's hard and it's cold," she replied.Then he carried her over to the casket and said, "Bobbie, I'm going to ask  you to do the most difficult thing I'll ever ask. But if you do it, you'll never be afraid of death again. I want you to put your hand on Mr. Smith's face."Because she loved and trusted him so much she was able to fulfill his request. "Well?" asked my grandfather. "Daddy", she said, "it feels like the wall." "That's right," he said.  "This is his old house and our friend, Mr. Smith, has moved and Bobbie, there's no reason to be afraid of an old house."

The lesson took root and grew and the rest of her life. She had absolutely no fear of death. Eight hours before she left us, she made a most unusual request. As we stood around her bed fighting back tears, she said,  "Don't bring any flowers to my grave because I won't be there. When I get rid of this body, I'm flying to Europe. Your father would never take me." The room erupted in laughter and there were no more tears the rest of the night.As we kissed her and bade her goodnight, she smiled and said, "I'll see you in the morning." However, at 6:15 A.M. the next day, I received the call from the doctor that she had begun her flight to Europe. Here is the poem that Dad and I found in her room a couple of days later.

THE LEGACY

"WHEN I DIE, GIVE WHAT IS LEFT OF ME TO CHILDREN. IF  YOU NEED TO CRY, CRY FOR YOUR BROTHERS WALKING BESIDE YOU. PUT YOUR ARMS AROUND ANYONE AND GIVE THEM WHAT YOU NEED TO GIVE ME. I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH SOMETHING, SOMETHING BETTER THAN WORDS OR SOUNDS. LOOK FOR ME IN THE PEOPLE I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED. AND IF  YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT ME, THEN LET ME LIVE ON IN YOUR EYES,  YOUR MIND AND YOUR ACTS OF KINDNESS. YOU CAN LOVE ME MOST BY LETTING HANDS TOUCH HANDS AND LETTING GO OF CHILDREN THAT NEED TO BE FREE. LOVE DOES NOT DIE, PEOPLE DO. SO WHEN ALL THAT IS LEFT OF ME IS LOVE... GIVE ME AWAY..."

My dad and I smiled at each other as we felt her presence, and it was morning once again.

 

"IF YOU WERE GOING TO DIE SOON AND HAD ONLY ONE PHONE CALL YOU COULD MAKE, WHO WOULD YOU CALL AND WHAT WOULD YOU DAY? AND WHY ARE YOU WAITING?   ~Stephen Levine

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life.  A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." 

~Mark Twain

Well, I can't call each of you, but I can tell you how much you mean to me in my life and how grateful I am for your love and support. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Good night and I'll see you in the morning! :)