Giving Up Control

I just finished reading my cousin's blog. I can strongly identify with her struggles. Case in point, she doesn’t want to go to her WW weigh in because she knows she’s up in weight. She’s struggling to get pack on program. Right now I have the same issues. I'm eating more and moving less. Like Paul say's in his letter to the Romans:

For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

I think our mutul problem must be in our gene pool. Both our mom’s died sooner than they should have. The years of smoking did them in, but the extra weight compounded the lung issues they both had. As long as I can remember, my mom always said she wouldn’t live a long life. Both of her parents had died younger than the norm, and she was sure she would follow suit.

I hate the term “morbidly obese”, but that’s what my mom was. Her sedentary life style kept the weight on and kept the lungs from clearing out the nicotine. As a result, in her early 60’s mom developed congestive heart failure. She began falling asleep at the kitchen table, and usually with a cigarette in her hand. The doctor explained she was slowly asphyxiating herself. She wasn’t able to breathe deep enough to take in the good air and expel the bad.

Every morning she would sit on the edge of the bed until she could catch her breath. One morning she fell asleep sitting there and slipped off the bed. My dad couldn’t get her up by himself and called an ambulance. She was in a coma for several days and also on a respirator. She was in the hospital long enough to curb the physical craving for the non filtered Camel cigarettes she smoked for 50+ years but the mental desire to have a cigarette with her morning coffee was still there.

On my first visit to her after she came home from the hospital, she asked me to go to the store and buy her a package of cigarettes. I emphatically told her no, and in a huff walked out the door. But on the drive home I suffered a guilt trip and drove to the store. I bought the cigarettes home with me hoping mom would change her mind. No such luck.

The first thing bright and early the next morning mom called asking me if I'd gone to get the cigarettes. I was fuming mad that she was putting me in this position of enabling her habit. Nevertheless, I drove the quarter mile down the road to her house. I walked in and slapped the pack on the kitchen table, and fighting back the tears I said “Don’t ever ask me to do this again. Maybe you don’t care if you die, but I do”.

I started to leave but mom asked me to get something out of the cupboard for her. By the time I got whatever it was down, mom had finished scarfing down her first stick of nicotine. I wanted to throw up when I saw her reach into the pack and take out a second cigarette right away. She held it in her fingers for a second or two and then reached into the pack for a third. She turned and opened the drawer of the cabinet next to the kitchen table and dropped both inside a little dish, and then handed the rest of the pack back to me.

Mom lived another 10 years, and often she would tell us not to let ourselves get to the point she was. She had always assumed that the cigarettes and the extra weight would probably cause a massive heart attack that would kill her instantly. She never imagined that she would have to live for 10 years as a prisoner in her home, confined to her motorized scooter, and that she would have to relinquish the independence that she loved so dearly.

Going through mom’s personal belongings after she died, we came across the two cigarettes still in the same spot she’d placed them ten years earlier. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was moms’ way of assuring herself that there were still some things in her life she had control over.

My mom has been on my mind a lot lately since her birthday was a week or so ago and now with Thanksgiving just around the corner, family memories are flooding my head. I really had no intentions of making this post all about her. I was actually going to talk about my own self control issues I'm struggling with, but I've run out of time. Guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.

The Price of Trying to Be Cool

A few weeks ago I had to take one of the grands to the doctor to have an ingrown toenail taken care of. I made the two brothers sit out in the van because the week before when one of them had to be seen for poison ivy, the waiting room became a battlefield.


Even though they had their ipods to listen to they got bored and one decided to come in and see what was taking so long.


On the counter in front of the receptionists desk there was a pile of those stretchy bands that kids love to wear. Above was a sign that said "Take One. So he did.


I didn't notice the wrist band for a few hours and when I took I closer look I started laughing. This is what it said:

Of course he wanted to know what was so funny. I shouldn't have done it but I just couldn't help it, I told him Coumadin was anothe name for Viagra. He ripped that sucker off like it was on fire.

That'll teach him to check things out before jumps in head first. And just in case he sees someone with a bottle of Coumadin in the medicine chest I did tell him what it really is.

Summer Happenings

Summer is going quickly. I think we only have had 3 hot days and yesterday was one of them. I'm not complaining. Unless you are trying to swim, the temperature has been rather delightful. The early summer saw lots of rain but then it stopped and we experienced somewhat of a draught in these parts. People were praying for rain in a big way.

Our annual Car Show Festival was slated for last Friday and Saturday. Of course we were hoping that if it did rain it would hold off until the festival was ended or rain in the nighttime.


I was not part of the car show committee, but a good friend was in charge of the craft show part of the weekend. Her grandaughter was getting married in TN, so she asked if I would be in charge of assigning spots and checking in the crafters.


I got to church about 9 am on Friday and numbered each of the sites that had been staked out the night before. The crafters weren't slated to arrive until 1:30 and so after placing the final marker I drove back home to change clothes and pick up my lawn chair.


When I got back a little while later, I was shocked to see that one of the crafters already there and busy at work putting his EZ UP up. (I linked the word because until Friday I had never heard the expression). The guy has the same site every year so he knew just where to go. When the show was finished for the night his wife was still putting the finishing touches to their booth.

I wondered if they just planned on leaving it unattended or were they planning on packing it all up. I found out he planned to put the sides on the ez up and leave it all inside. Kind of a gutsy move since we had no security at night. But all the other crafters did the same and just lowered the tent in case of rain.

We got rain all right. Boy did we get rain. It rained steadily from 11pm Friday until 5 pm Saturday afternoon.

One crafter, who was scheduled for Saturday only, arrived the next morning prepared to set up in the rain. I suggested she atleast set up on the front porch of the rectory, with a large over hang for protection. She was grateful and ended up being the only crafter who showed up that day. She gave it the old college try for a few hours and finally called it quits.


Some of the old cars pulled out of town but some stayed and joined in the rest of the activities which were moved into the social hall.

And a good time was had by all that were brave enough to come out in the down pour.

The outdoor movie became an indoor movie. The wine tasting booth was a hit and also the elephant ear booth.

I didn't win the $2000 dollar grand prize drawing but I did win some wonderful parting gifts after spending $5 on raffle tickets .

The prize was donated by one of our parishoners. It was nice enough to be broken into two prizes, but now that I've won it I'm not complaining. Heres the first part.

And the second.

If you enlarge the picture you can see my mother and dad's wedding photo on the shelf below the glass.

Only 3 wine bottle holders are visable in this picture but there are four. I'd say it was a good investment of my five dollars. Even the wine cost more than that.

The rain was a blessing for the dried up grass and crops, but I was tempted to grumble about the way it messed up the car show. But as I took my turn making elephant ears I took a good look around the social hall. People were laughing and talking, and people were pitching in to help where help was needed. We were in a tightly confind area but no one was complaining.

I guess it goes to show you just how big God's umbrella can be. It can only rain on your parade if you let it.

Welcome Bishop Cistone

The Saginaw Diocese has a new bishop. Most Rev. Joseph Cistone was installed on Tuesday, and became only the sixth bishop of our diocese. That just doesn't seem right that there have only been 6 bishops expecially since #2 confirmed me as a child. I'm feeling really old.

Seating for Tuesday's installation was limited. In addition to the priest and/or pastoral associate, only two people from the congregation could attend. I was so excited when I found out I would be one of the two.

I never appreciated my Catholic heritage when I was growing up. Iguess you could say I took it for granted. I didn't like all the holiness and formality. All the pomp and circumstance felt like it got in the way of what we came to church to do. It felt too stiff and formal. When the mass changed from Latin into English I was thrilled. I was too young to have memorized all the Latin phrases and English made the Mass seem more personal, even though I still wasn't sure why we did things the way we did.

This past year being in the lay ministry program has deepened my knowledge of why Catholics do what they do and how scriptural it all is. The mass has come alive, the teachings seem simple, and there is a whole lot of richness to each celebration. It's a shame it took me so long.

I really am ashamed I never cared enough about my faith to seek answers before. The really sad part is I almost walked away from being a Catholic because when I did start to question, I listened to people of different faiths tell me Catholic teachings are all wrong and gave me all sorts of erroneous information.

I bought into their beliefs hook line and sinker, and I made up my mind a few years ago that when my dad died I would find a new church. Driving Dad to church every Sunday was about the only time I got to spend with him. Even though I would rather be worshiping somewhere else, I'd take him to Mass but I'd sit in the pew and beg God to point me in the direction he wanted me to go when my time with Dad ended.

One Sunday an announcement was made that a new bible study was starting the following Sunday. I really wished I could attend but I knew I'd never be able to drive Dad home and get back in time.

But Dad's health took a turn for the worse a few days later and he wasn't able to go to church anymore. I was able to go to the bible study and for the next few weeks God just kept opening doors and brought people into my life that not only had a passion for Christ but also for the Catholic church.

And in an answer to my pleas, God directed me right where he wanted me to be, and I am so immensely grateful for that guidance.

On Tuesday I was even more grateful as I sat in awe as our 6th bishop was installed and celebrated the Mass with his new flock.

He has the friendliest face and warmest smile, and as his parents walked up the aisle bringing the offeratory gifts, I wish you could have seen his face. He glowed like a groom watching his bride walk down the aisle, his love for them was so evident. And the fact that this man would agree to take the job as shepherd of the Saginaw Diocese proves his love and obedience of God as well.

I pray that the love this man has for God will be reflected on to all of us and that in turn our love will make him feel warm and welcome in his new home. Maybe together we can make a real difference in the kingdom of God.

Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone

You've Got a Friend

Sunday was the 40th anniversary of my marriage, and I posted a story on my widows blog about a braclet I had made with the diamond from my wedding ring. It is a great reminder of a large volume of wonderful chapters in my life.

Another large volume deals with with a group of beautiful women I am so blessed to call my friends. This story also involves a braclet.

Last week was the annual retreat of "The Friends Club". It marked the 22nd year of the retreat but our friendships go back much further. My friend BB and I go all the way back to first grade.

There are 9 in the group, but for the last few years only 5 of us seem to be able to coordinate our finances and schedules and get together. The logistics have been too great for those out of state.

Last year JH drew up an affidavit for our friend BV to sign saying that she would not miss again except for death or other extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, a good friend of BV's died earlier this month, and she wasn't able to make the trip up again for our retreat.

She did however suggest that we let her be in charge of purchasing the item that would commemorate our 22nd anniversary.

In the past we have marked the occassion by monogramming shirts and tops, one year we bought a flip flop pendant, and last year it was a bead for our pandora bracelets.

This year BV chose a Brighton "Friends" bracelet.

I love what the bracelet symbolizes. The "friends" is supported on either side by two leather cords.

Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor. If the one
falls, the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man! For if he
should fall, he has no one to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they
will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

This scripture speaks volumes to me in regard to this group of friends.

• Two get a good wage for their labor. When I think about two getting a good wage for their lablor I think of working beside JH in our real estate business for almost 10 years and how the two of us often helped the other out when need be. Then I remember how JD and I worked side by side for the same attorney in Florida. This was perhaps the greatest work experience I have ever had. A true God thing.

• If one falls, the other will lift up his companion - "Who of us does not have moments of weaknesss those time when we stumble and fall and need a friend?" ......I have certainly been the recipient of that kind of friendship over the years and I hope my friends will feel that they have recieved in return.

• Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. "What of those cold moments in our lives when sunshine is obscured by some dark night of distresss and we crave the warmth of a friends presence? ........I often think of JD asking me to take a trip with her to Florida the winter Ed died -she wanted me to rest in warmth and be lifted in sunshine.

• Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. "Neither are we exempt from hostile attacks-the fierce onslaughts of Satan, the assaults of circumstances. In such moments, friendship is sustenance perhaps even survival." ........When I hear these words and I think of how God has given this group of friends the gift of faith. Together we share our love of God through a bible study. We may not worship in the same church but we all worship the same God, and we aren't afraid to say and do whatever it takes to keep each other from back sliding.

There is nothing like the bond of friendship to get you through the highs and lows of life. Happy 22nd anniversary my forever friends!

Oy Vey what a last few weeks this has been

Vacation Bible School has been taking up my time the last few weeks. It's over and I'm pooped. But I must say I absolutely loved being part of it.

This year, I again had the help of my trusted grandsons as we ran the "Bible Bayou" bible story station.

The first day grandson AJ was Moses and God talked to him in the burning bush.

You can't tell from the picture but the burning bush turned out to be pretty cool once I got it assembled.

Remember the patio furniture I bought. Well let me tell you -the big boxes it came in - came in very handy. I draped a brown tarp over one of the boxes and set a fan blowing upward on top. Sitting in the middle of the fan was a red flashing light like you'd see on a police car.

I stuck wooden dowels into a round stryfoam ring and stuck each leg down into the box so that the styrofoam ring was about 6 or 7 inches above the light on top of the fan. Next I taped long strips of red and yellow tissue paper to the styrofoam ring (thanks for your suggestion Wendy) then I arranged Boston ferns all around the fan to hide it and make it look like a giant bush. Behind the boston ferns was a red spot light. The fan, and both lights were plugged into an extension cord.

When I said the words:

"Moses was all alone up on the mountain ATLEAST THAT'S WHAT HE THOUGHT"

That was the cue for my stage hand to plug in the extension cord.

The fan blew the tissue paper streamers to look like flames coming from the bush and the two red lights gave the ferns an inner glow. When the kids finished oohing and ahhing the cd player was turned on, and a loud voice came out so it sounded like God was talking in the bush.

....Okay it didn't turn out as good as I'm making it sound. My mind percieves things that my body is not not capable of accomplishing, so in my mind this was going to be fantastic. Mediocore is a much better word for how it turned out....but hey, it was believeable enough for little kids, and they loved it so I'm happy.

Day two was the story of 9 of the 10 plagues. Duke, the oldest grandson was Pharaoh. The first plague was turning water into blood.

In the picture notice the glass of water sitting on the little table.

When the kids call out to Pharaoh "Let My People Go", Pharaoh gets up from his royal throne which is made of 2 sheets of mylar draped over our priests chair. As Pharaoh walks away and pretends to be thinking over the request to let God's people go, I pour part of a packet of strawberry koolaid into the glass to make it appear like it's turned to blood.

Zach the third grandson (the one too shy to act), was our wonderful stage hand....

On cue he took off the blue vinyl table covering made to look like a river and exposed the red vinyl underneath - so it looked like the river turned to blood.

After Pharaoh sits back down and takes a drink of his water that has turned to blood and spits it out....it was Z's job to take the glass of water away fill it up with clear water to be ready for when the second crew arrived.

Bless his heart. I hadn't given very good directions and he thought he was supposed to bring it right back out. So while Pharaoh is still complaining about the bloody water, Z crawls back on stage (the alter) and tries to put the glass back on the little table. The glass tips and the water goes all over the floor. So Z crawls back off the alter and runs and gets some paper towels dries the alter floor then takes the glass back to fill it again. He comes crawling back out the second time and sets the water carefully on the table and it dumps over again. The table has a slot on top that can't be seen because of the table covering, and he keeps setting it over the slot.


I'm trying to go on with the performance and ignore what is happening at my feet just as Pharaoh is finishing up his lines, but I'm having to give direction for the clean up at the same time. The kids were oblivious because Pharaoh had captured their attention, but the adults were rolling on the floor laughing. Luckily it was clear water and not koolaid that spilled.

We finally moved on from the water fiasco to the boil plague. Each child was given a bright pink circle sticker to represent a boil and when Pharaoh falls asleep on the ground the kids came foreward and placed their sticker on Pharaoh.

Another time they stuck a clothespin representing the locust plague on him. I wish I would have had a video for you to hear their mischiveous squeals of delight. It was precious. And they loved the interaction.

The 10th plague was the "Angel of Death". This plague came the following day.

The kids painted the door frames of thier houses with sprigs of hysop dipped in the blood of perfect lambs...... Okay so they actually painted with bingo markers with plastic leaves scotch taped to the container. They ate their passover meal which was flat bread crackers. Then they crawled into their house and waited for the Angel of Death to pass over.

This set was made with tarps and grocery bags stuffed with newspaper and put inside each other. They resembled large stone blocks. I ran out of time to make the blocks because each house needs 8 blocks. We had 4 groups and each group had 3 crews. That means I would have needed almost 100 blocks for the day. Plus there wasn't enough time in between to set up new door frames so we covered them in 4 layers of paper and ripped off the top layer when each group was done.

This was a picture from the third crew and the houses were a little worse for wear already.

On the final day Moses led the people out of Egypt. It was a hot humid day and Moses didn't feel like being in full costume. The blue curtain behind Moses is the Red sea that he will part and the kids will walk thru. But first he leads them out to the desert.

AJ led the kids outside and around to the front of the church and then made a figure 8 up and down the aisles once back inside. It was a long hot walk and as they came back into the church one little girl named Jamie called out to me: "

How much longer do we have to do this. I hot and I'm tired and all we are
doing is walking around in circles.

I told Jamie that she couldn't have sounded more like the Isrealites if she would have tried and that that is exactly what they were saying to Moses.

When they finally got to the Red Sea they thought they could rest. But hiding behind the door were crew leaders with stones in their hands. They hit the stones together making it sound like galloping horses. We had to hurry I told them because Pharaoh had changed his mind and was coming for them. We started to walk fast and they started to giggle. Moses raised his staff and the fans started to blow and the water parted and the kids crossed safely thru to the other side.

And that dear friends is why I haven't had time to blog. The numbness in my feet is wearing off but not the smile on my face.

I pray that the next time one of these precious children feel all alone and think God doesn't care about them that God will bring this week to thier mind. I hope as they remember, they will take comfort in the fact that thousands of years later God is still in the business of caring about his people and doesn't plan to stop.

He's Watching Me

I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed one day last week, and I've been grumpy ever since. I first noticed it Saturday evening. I couldn't think of anything in particular that could have set me off, but all of a sudden I realized I just felt a little "how come you so."

I have no idea where that expression came from, but that was my mothers polite way of asking us if we had a "bug up our butt." Instead she'd ask "Do you feel a little how come you so today?."

Sunday morning I noticed the feeling big time at Mass. Our priest always gives the greatest sermons but he said something in his sermon and I've been stewing about it ever since.

It didn't help my mood when I put the purchase of the patio furniture on my credit card and that night when it came time for evening prayers it was almost like I wanted to avoid God. It brings the whole Adam and Eve story of eatting the forbidden fruit and then hiding from God, into perspective for me.

So now I had guilt and a how come you so attitude mixed together. Even last night at bible study I had a chip on my shoulder when I walked in and it got worse from there. When it came time for us to share our prayer requests I choked up trying to get out my request because it wasn't a request I was proud to tell. I began sharing :

“I learned last week that an acquaintance of mine is moving in right next door. I really like this woman, but I am pretty much un-neighborly. I love to stop and talk if I see you outside, but I’m set in my own ways and I hate drop in company and I have a feeling that she will be dropping by very often.

The woman is one of the widows in my group, and she has had a really tough life. She has some emotional needs that quite frankly I don’t think I’m equipped to handle. I’m used to doing my own thing and doing it without too many interruptions and … well…I guess I’m afraid my life is about to change. To be honest I like the way my life is and I don’t want God to change it. I want to serve God like I have been, and well…I’m afraid he is asking me to serve him by serving my neighbor. I mean why else –out of all the other places in the complex she could have moved, would God have moved her right next door to me if he didn’t have something up his sleeve. God’s finger prints are all over this and like I said …I’m a little worried. Would you please pray that I can be up to the challenge and put God’s wishes ahead of my own?”

And as the words left my mouth I discovered my "how come you so" problem. I kind of laughed thinking God was saying "You thought that furniture was your idea, but little did you know I put the thought in your head so you could have a nice comfy place to entertain."

As I thought about it when I got into bed last night I realized that God has never asked me to do anything for him that hasn't turned into a blessing for me. Yes it often involves more than I want to do, but in the end it is always well worth the effort. Hopefully this won't be any different.

This morning I took my bible out to the front room and opened the blinds and started my quiet time with God. The tears started to roll down my cheeks because even though I knew what was causing the mood, the knowledge hadn't changed my demeanor.

As I wiped away the tears I looked up and noticed that a little sparrow had landed on my window ledge and was peering in the window at me. He sat there for the longest time not moving a feather and then he turned his head and started to sing and I realized as I heard him chirp that it was God who was sitting there on my window ledge and I began to sing:

Why should I feel discouraged

And why should the shadows come

Why should my heart feel lonely

and long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion

A constant friend is He

His eye is on the sparrow

and I know He watches me

His eye is on the sparrow

and I know He watches me

So I sing because I happy

And I sing because I'm free

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me.

It was a nice reminder for me that when God wants us to grow he takes us out of our comfort zone, but he never leaves us.

Welcome to June

I love June. It's one of my favorite months temperature wise. Not usually too cold, and not usually too hot....except were not off to a very good start on this first day of the month. It is rather breezy and cool, the sun isn't shinning, and it looks like rain.

For 40 some years June symobolized the start of a few months of calmness. No school work to contend with, no alarm clocks disturbing the peacefulness of the morning, and no fighting to make kids go to bed while it was still light out.

This is the last week of school around here. You can tell it in the teachers faces. They are wearing that look that says only 4 more days of school while their hair is standing straight up in the air because the kids are acting so nuts. I saw that look on my husbands face for 23 years.

When I open my patio door I can hear the sounds of the children playing during recess. Today I could hear them without opening the patio door a crack. Their voices are about 5 decibels higher than usual.

And speaking of my patio.....I have been wanting some wicker furniture for it ever since I moved in here. There's nothing I like better than to savor my first cup of morning coffee out in the warm morning fresh air while I have my quiet time with the good Lord.

I didn't want a whole set, because I already have 2 slingback rockers from an old patio set I left with my son when I moved. Nope all I needed was a sofa or love seat, and an ottoman.


I found a 4 piece set (not white) that was do-able but I couldn't see spending the money for the extra pieces I didn't need and then still having to buy the ottoman. Oh don't get me wrong, there were lots of great looking ones if I wanted to pay over $1,000 but that wasn't in my budget.

Saturday night I saw an ad on TV that said they had white wicker sofa's 30% off at Macksoods. For some reason I just knew I would find one so I even took the back seat out of the van so I could get it in. After church I drove to Flushing with my hopes high.

Of course the one on close out was already sold. They did have lots to choose from in the 30% off category, but 30% off of $1400 is still way more than I can spend to cutesy up the patio.

Disappointed, I drove to Minards to look at the do-able one I saw previously and I ended up buying the set plus the ottoman. The box barely fit in the van and when I got home I had to call Wendy to help me get it out.

Surprise! When I opened the box I discovered I had to put it together. It took me until 7pm to get the love seat and two chairs and ottoman together. The coffee table will have to wait.

But I do like the way it looks, and I'll like it even more when I get the roll up blinds put up and the old furniture taken to Wendy's.

Now, I'm all set to take my coffee on the lanai- whoops I'm in Michigan not Florida- as soon as it warms up a bit.

Day Number 2 & Tootin My Grandsons Horn

How did day number two go you ask? Well as the song says Two outta Three ain't bad.....not bad unless the 2 represents what you didn't do instead of what you did.

Such was the case for yesterday. Actually it was 3 outta 4 things I didn't do.

1. 30-40 minute walk - No - I only walked 10 minutes up to the front of the complex



2. 8 hours of sleep- No - needed to get laundry finished and had to arise this a.m. at 4:30 to drive grandson up to catch the bus for his class field trip, so I only managed 5 hours.



3. Turmeric- No-couldn't bear the thought of wrecking my food with it



4. Staying within my points - YES. Hooray

As for the other 3 today is a new day so I pick myself up and dust myself off and begin again.

And speaking of 2 outta 3...Last night was the end of the year band concert for my grandsons. 2 out of the 3 had chairs that did not lend well to picture taking from my place in the totally packed gym bleachers. This is the best I could do.

YT managed to be in just the right place for his grandmother to capture his musical skills.

The concerts over and I have a few days to get my act together before I have another grandson happening.

Time for lunch and then I'm off on my walk. Think I'll head to the drug store to see if I can buy turmeric in a capsule.

Of all the things I miss the most, I miss my mind the most

Yesterday on my way to the store I was listening to Ave Maria Radio and heard an interview with the author of this book.

As I tuned in the author was taking questions and he was giving the risk factors for developing the disease. I think I fit into every risk factor. One of them was belly fat, lack of exercise, wrong kinds of food, all the things that are bad for your heart are obviously bad for your brain.

I really listened carefully because just that morning I poured myself a nice big morning coffee and when I went to pick it up realized I'd poured it into a glass instead of a coffee mug.

So yesterday I started a walking program of at least 30 minutes and work up to an hour. I managed to do 30 &40 minutes two days in a row. Tomorrow I will begin a new way of eating and start eating more fresh fruit vegetables and whole grain products instead of fast food. Cut the simple carbs and concentrate on eating complex carbs. Fruit and veg's are washed and in the refrig.

I'm also going to start using turmeric. This is supposed to be great for arthritis, high cholesterol, and Alzheimer disease. Someone in bible study told me they had been using it and saw a difference in the stiff and soreness of middle age. He said he puts a 1/2 tsp in a glass of water every morning.

The other thing that is just going to kill me is getting 8 hours of sleep. I've been hearing that quite a bit lately that if you want to lose weight get more sleep, but I have trouble going to bed early and I hate sleeping past 6 am.

I'm also going to start using my Wii fit for the yoga which they also said improves brain activity.

We'll see how faithful I can be this time around. Wish me luck.

We'll see how faithful I can be this time around. Wish me luck.

Laugh for the day

I received the email below this morning. Thought it was too cute to keep to myself, so I'm sharing it with all of you.



A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150.00."

The man thought about it for a few seconds and then said he would have her shipped home. The undertaker asked "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here in the very spiritual place and pay only $150."

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance!

Have a good day.

Tarnished Halo's

There's nothing like grandchildren. I count them my greatest gift God ever gave. Every grandmother thinks she has the best and they do no wrong, but sometimes you get a rude awakening.

Last week the twins were coming to my house after school until it was time for baseball practice. About 15 minutes after they should have arrived, I called my daughter to see if the plans had changed. She assured me they hadn't and mentioned how much trouble they were going to be in for not walking straight to my house.

I wasn't really concerned because I live right next to the school but they have never been late. A few minutes later my daughter called back. "Have the police come with my children yet?" I laughed thinking she was joking but she said "I'm not kidding. The school just called and said they got in a fight on the way to your house and the police were bringing them to your house. "

Just then a patrol car pulled into the driveway and when I walked outside I could see two little blond heads in the back with tear stained cheeks. The officer asked if I was their grandmother and then asked if he could come in and talk to me. We all walked into my living room and he took out a pad and paper and began asking me a zillion questions. I was politely answering but wanted to scream. "Tell me what and the heck is going on!"

Daughter called three times in three minutes and I was still answering preliminary questions and finally I asked the officer if he would talk to their mother. Instead of just telling her what happened he started in asking her the same kind of questions. After what seemed like an eternity he told her that a group of boys were walking together and two of the boys started fighting and rolling around on the ground. My grandson, aka twin A, and another boy tried to break it up but in the melee those two ended up having their own shoving match.

The fight happened just off school property but close enough that a parent saw what must have looked like a big blowout and called 911. The school personnel got involved because the kids were on their way home from school and had not yet arrived home, and the reason the police brought only my grandsons home and no one else was because they couldn't give the officers my actual address.

No one was hurt but the twins got 3 days off from school. Everyone else involved got one or two days. Even though twin B wasn't involved in the altercation that afternoon he was punished because the day before he had gotten into an argument with the same boy that his brother got in the shoving match with. The school believed that the shoving incident was in retaliation of the verbal argument. Obviously the school doesn't know the twins very well - otherwise they would know that those two never agree on anything so retaliation was the furthest thing from twin A's mind!

A parent- principal -teacher conference over the situation made me mad. The school personnel said the twins are very popular boys and this other kid (who has already been suspended 3 times this year) wants to hang out with the twins but he has very poor social skills and does very annoying things, like walking up behind them and crinkling a water bottle in their ear. The principals think that the twins, being the leaders of their class, should take this boy under their wings and include him.





All the 6th grade teachers all gave glowing reports of their classroom behavior, saying how helpful they are, and how kind they are to everyone except this boy who they say annoys the heck out of everyone. Nevertheless the suspension stood.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the twins were blameless. They are not angels but they are not into retaliation or bullying either. They are loud and boisterous and even obnoxious at times but I don't believe the two incidents were related.





From a Christian point of view, I was appalled that they hadn't been reaching out to this boy and bending over backwards to help him fit in. But unless you are holding everyone to the same high moral code, I don't think its fair. I'd like to think that the punishment fit the crime but I don't think it did.





I'd like to think that when they went back to school today their attitude towards this boy had changed, but I doubt it will. 3 days off from school and forced to miss their very first school dance and instead had to stay home and clean toilets with a toothbrush (not really with a toothbrush although daughter was tempted to make them) and not being able to play in their first ballgame of the season isn't going to give them a warm and fuzzy feeling for the kid they think started the whole thing. I think its going to take more than that to change their hearts.

Yesterday was the last day of their sentence. I was the warden of the day. I made them write a letter of apology to mom which they didn't mind, but when I told them they had to write an apology to the other kid you'd have thought I just sentenced them to the electric chair.

I had to reminded them that they had a choice to walk away that day, but they made the wrong choice. Now they had another choice...they could admit they'd made a bad choice by writing a letter of apology and learn from their mistake or keep denying they had any fault in the incident and keep on getting in trouble. Denying will keep you a slave to the bad behavior, but admitting your guilt has a way of setting you free from the bondage of sin. I'm not sure they understood what I was saying, but they wrote the letter.

After they left I took the letters and placed them in my bible as a reminder to pray that God will continue to let them "get caught" before their little mistakes turn in to big ones, and that he will change their hearts and he will help them learn compassion. Sometimes the only way we learn compassion is by walking in the other persons shoes and if that's what it takes I don't want to stand in God's way. But it's hard when you feel like the Grandma Lioness ready to pounce if anybody messes with my grandcubs.

He Is Risen! Alleluia!

Happy Easter everyone.

My how quickly time passes when you are having fun. And I have been having fun.

I spent three days last week on vaction with my family. I can't remember the last time both my son and daughter were able to get away at the same time for a few days of rest and relaxation.

We rented a 3 bedroom suite at Boyne Mountain's Avalanche Bay indoor water park.

There are no words to describe what a wonderful feeling it was having the whole family together for this special time. We lauged and played and grew closer as a family. What a beautiful Easter blessing. Thank you God, for the gift of family.

The youngsters in the family, the grands, had a ball and we didn't hear one single arguement between the siblings. One thing that helped was oldest grandson bringing a friend. It helped aleviate the two against one sibling rivalry that usually occurs when there is just three of them.

When all the swimming began to turn the boys into prunes they took a break and spent some time in the arcade.

I had no idea that playing video games in the arcade could net you such nifty prizes. Here is what you can get for only twenty dollars apiece.

A fake camera that squirts water at unsuspecting people posed for a photo opp.

Samuri swords and google glasses

And finally a giant pixie stix and a pair of handcuffs and a second pair of google glasses. He looks a little too excited wearing those handcuffs if you ask me.

When all the spending money kaput, the twins tried their hand at rock climbing.

And after all that work they decided to relax in the outdoor hot tub.


I on the other hand, enjoyed spending most of my time leisurly floating around in the indoor/outdoor pool. The pool water temp was 90 degrees and the outside temperature was only around 40 degrees with a pretty stiff breeze blowing. I'm glad I don't have to pay the energy bill!



If you look in the background you can see the ski slopes. It was so neat swimming outside while watching skiiers ski down the mountain.

Here is the whole crew posing for a quick pic. before heading outdoors to swim.

I love this picture. Click on it and look at the guy in the back horning in on the picture. I didn't even realize he was in the picture until I downloaded into the computer and saw him making the hand gesture and sticking out his tongue.

And finally my son became addicted to the Rip Zone surf simulator. He was determined to master the beast before he left. Well, he didn't quite master it, but he did improve as the time wore on. Here is one of his final attempts.

Cowabunga Dude. Surf's Up!

A Dose of Reality

I can't believe I have been back home for over a week.

That's the trouble when you take a break, there's so much catching up to do when you get back.

My bags were packed to the max as you could see in a previous picture, amd when I checked in at the airport sure enough I was 2 pounds over.

I was too frazzled to try and pluck out 2 lbs and try and transfer it to my carry on, so I just paid the $39 penalty.

While in Florida the only purchase I made was a light weight gauzy material bathing suit cover up, but nevertheless, the day before I flew home -just to be on the safe side, I shipped home a 17 pound box to aleviate the chance of any overages.

So you can imagine my surprise when I got to the airport and my bag was only 2 pounds under what it was on the way down.

I have a feeling the airlines have a little scam going.

It was great being with JD again. It always amazes me how we can pick right back up where we left off without missing a beat. Here we are dining alfresco at Alexanders, one of our favorites.

The beach was crowded when I walked on Sunday. I didn't have time to walk too long because I forgot to get change for the parking meter the day before, and since my new Sabbath rest observance prohibited me from stopping at the store for change, I only had enough quarters to walk about an hour. I almost caved, but decided not to. I did spot a vending machine and I was going to buy a bottle of water just so I could get the change but unfortunately it must have been having a day of rest too because it kept spitting my five dollar bill back at me.

Here is one of the less populated spots.

I found lots of interesting things washed up on the beach. I like the way the pictures turned out bcause it almost looks as though they are taken under water.

The birds are always interesting to watch.

And on my walk around the grounds of the condo I found a little creature sunning himself.

This is the bridge between the condo and the pool.

This is the view from my lanai. On the other side of the berm is a waterfall.

My final walk on the beach was much more peaceful. What a way to commune with God.

God, thanks for the blessing of this trip. My soul feels refreshed.