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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween

According to the History Channel Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This all dates back about 2,000 years in the area now known as Ireland, United Kingdom and northern France.On November 1st the "Celts" would celebrated the mark of the new year. This also marked the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of winter. A time often associated with death.

On the night before, October 31, they celebrated Samhain. It was believed that the ghosts of the dead would return to earth causing trouble of damaging crops. They also felt this time of ghostly presence made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
 
During the celebration, they wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. Click here to read more details.

As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. However, these customs were primary celebrated in Maryland and the southern colonies. As more immigrants flooded the country they helped to popularize the celebration nationally. The first celebrations included "play parties," public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghost stories and mischief-making of all kinds. More detail can be found here.

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.
 
Still curious has to how it all came about? Click here to read about the History of the Jack-o-lantern.



Have a safe Halloween and don't eat too much candy.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fridays With Jake - From behind the nose


Hi, let me introduce myself to you, my name is Jake and I am the youngest member of the family.

Mom let me ghost write a time or two and I have been begging for my own spot ever since.  I got really excited when she put my picture up last week for "Wordless Wednesdays".  I sure got some nice comments - thank you.

The family and I had a rough lesson in patience during my adoption process.  Let me take you back:

I first laid eyes on my family in January of 2007.  I knew from the moment they walked by the cage that was my family.  I just had to convince them of it, dad was saying something about getting too big when he walked by. 

You see -  I am a rescued pup.  I don't remember how I ended up at the Capital Humane Society but that's where I met my family.  Don't take me wrong, they were very good to me but I wanted what every pup wants - a family of my own.

Back to the story, I was invited in to the "Get Acquainted" room to be introduced to what I was hoping was my new family.  They were very nice and I just wanted to play with all of them at once.  While I was playing with Big K I accidentally scratched her and drew blood (what ever blood is) but from what I gathered is wasn't good.  I heard mom trying to tell them it wasn't my fault but they said something about policy and a waiting period.

I was put back in my kennel and they put something on my door.  No one came to visit me and then I got sick.  One of the kind people from the shelter  loved on me and scratched me behind the ears.  Then they put a lead on me and they said something about Puppy Foster Care until I was better.  I was hoping they were taking me to the family I fell in love with - but they didn't.

In dog time it seemed like I was in puppy foster care forever.  I felt like I would never see my hopeful family again.  Then one day they took me back to the shelter where I found "mom".  She was there waiting for me and took me to my new home.

And that is where I have lived for the last 2 1/2 years.  Well got to go, mom says this is too long already.  Blog with you more next Friday.  Have a great weekend.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday at Truth 4 the Journey

Week #1
I am going on a journey with Truth 4 the Journey.
The aim is to list 5 things which you are thankful to God for!

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace, and be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Click here to see what Sonja is thankful for and a list of others who are proclaiming their thanks as well.

1. This last Saturday our high school band had a State Marching Band Contest of which B and I were chaperons. It started raining on our way to the contest (contest location was about an hour away). It rained while we rehearsed and continued to rain while we waited for our turn to take the field. I am thankful that it stop raining shortly before the band took the field and the sun started to make an appearance.

2. As winter is approaching, I am so thankful for a warm house and a comfortable place to lay my head at night. I pray for those for are homeless and have to spend their time in the cold or looking for a place to get out of that cold.

3. I am thankful for the dishes left on the counter when the dishwasher is empty, it means my children are healthy and close by.

4. In this economy, I am thankful for having a job.

5. The H1N1 swept through my house a couple of weeks ago. At the time I wasn't so thankful, but now I'm thankful fevers only reached 102, aches were kept a bay with ibuprofen, and we only missed a week of school/work. So many people are getting hit harder and ending up in the hospital or worse. Thank you Lord for keeping my family safe during that time.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to visit my blog, I am thankful for all of my blogger friends as well.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Guest Writer

Fridays with ?
Starting next week I will have a guest writer on Fridays.  
Wonder who it'll be, hummmm.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

You found it where?

I woke up this morning to find this in the living room.



  
Now I will admit, we always have a box of kleenex in the house - somewhere.  Usually not where you want it but we do have at least one box :)


The thing that made me shake my head was the the bigger picture.




So the questions remains:  Why is there a roll of toilet paper in my living room?

Monday, October 19, 2009

Celebrating the Big Red way

We were invited to a surprise birthday party for a good friend on Saturday and with it being game day in the capital city - how else would you celebrate:



You paint it up red and white of course.



 
Add "Little Red"  and..
.
(That's B and me with little red.  We had a marching band contest right after the party so our colors clashed a little.)



...some Husker cheerleaders, and



about a 1000 tail gate parties and you have the Husker Spirit.


K is a huge Husker Fan and this was a perfect theme for her party.




Her son couldn't wait to show her the birthday cake.  He practically dragged her across the room to show her.


 
Here's a picture of her daughter enjoying that cake.





The room was filled with family, friends, and love.




Happy Birthday K, what a lovely family you have.


Friday, October 16, 2009

Just Do It….

Got through my first day of work after being home sick for three days, not one of my more productive days but hey, I made it. About 3:30 I get a call from Little K, the one who totaled her car about a month ago, she precedes to tell me she got a ticket, I couldn't believe it. I was feeling lucky to just through the day, I just didn't want to have to deal with a ticket right now.

She then tells me the ticket is for "Invalid Registration" with a note saying the in transits are expired. The date on the in transits is 10/19 – today is 10/16. She brought the ticket to work to show me. Fortunately the high school is not far from my office and my employer doesn't mind if she comes in. Yup, she was right, the ticket was dated for 10/16 saying the in transits expire on 10/19 – DUH! Now I'm still not working on all thrusters yet but even I knew something was wrong with this picture.

I called the number on the back of the ticket and they tell me I need to bring the ticket and back up documentation down to the county attorney's office and it's a good chance they'll remove the ticket. I said, "Because one of your officers can't read the date correctly I have to take time off work to come show you this ticket and the in transits?" She told me my daughter could come down and do it and I explained she was only 16 and would probably feel intimidated by going down there. According to the lady on the phone they talk to teenagers all of the time. I gave in, hung up the phone a told Little K I would take care of it next week. We have always told the girls if they get a ticket that is out of their control – something that was our responsibility such as the plates, we would take care of it; any ticket they earn because they were stupid was their responsibility.
 
Little K decided she was going to handle her own affairs, with an hour before the office closed she took off for the county attorney's office with only the address on the back of the ticket. Kuddos to her, even if I wasn't working I sure wouldn't have tried to find the office that late in the afternoon with the fear that they'd be closed by the time I'd get there. I mean gee, there's all of next week right?
 
She found the building with no problem and had to ask directions a couple of times once she was in the building - but they removed the ticket!  I'm so proud of her.  (Thanks Ina In Alaska for reminding me I never included the results of her quest in the original post.)


I've come to realize the older I get the more I procrastinate and I think that is part of my unbalanced feeling in life. As parents we need to be careful what we do and say because you never know what our children will pick up on. But I also feel we need to watch what our children say and do – we just may be able to pick up something good from them.

Life is Life – We have responsibilities – Don't procrastinate…Just Do It



Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ahhh...


A shower never felt so good. 

I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful comments and prayers.  I have to admit the last few days have been a challenge with the entire family down with the flu. 

We pretty much had everything we needed when we got sick, short of a trip to the pharmacy (thank you for drive-thru pharmacies).  I also want to thank those of you who offered to bring soup or whatever else we may have needed - that was very sweet.

Though I don't feel like going out and running a marathon yet, not that I would go out and run a marathon on one of my best days, I am beginning to feel human again. 

B went to work today and Little K is doing great, I think she may go back to school tomorrow.  I too am hoping to go back to work tomorrow as well - just in time for the weekend.  Is that planning or what :)

Big K has been home sick as well but last night she started running a higher temperature and is down and out on the couch.  My guess is she won't be seeing any classes for the rest of the week. 

Again I want to you for all of your prayers and thoughtful comments as well as putting up with my whining for the last couple of days. Have a GREAT day.

Oh yeah,  while looking for a picture of a shower to include in this post I found this:


This is just wrong......

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Update - blah

Little K is still home with the flu.  The fever seems to be staying at bay but the coughs and aches continue.

I came home from work at 10:30 yesterday and froze most of the afternoon as my temperature continued to rise.  I have the fever uncontrolled but my chest is tight and coughing makes my head feel like it will explode.

Big K went to the medical office at school and they sent her home.  Not to her dorm but since she live in the same city they sent her Home - I lost the couch. 

After trying to pick up a prescription to no avail B came home, changed his clothes grab a blanket and was down for the night - I lost the the chair.

We made it a family event, Little K sat in the other chair for a while, I shared the couch with Big K and the lap dog wanna be. The family that flu's together stays together???

Big K is funny, she asked me if I would stay up and watch a movie with her.  I agreed and she got everything going.  Before I knew it I was the only one awake watching the moving and it's not like I couldn't just shut it off and finish it today; I felt like I had to finish it last night.  At 2:00 a.m. I grabbed my blanket and went to bed leaving B and Big K in the living room and Little K in the family room.  Does that make me a bad mom?

I continue to ask for prayers for God's quick healing.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Quick Note - Prayer Request

It started out to be a very busy weekend.  Our high school had a marching band contest in Manhattan, KS Saturday.  It was a very long, cold day; but the band did great.

Our weekend plans came to a sudden halt when Little K woke up with a fever on Sunday morning and remained in bed for the rest of day. 

Since you have to be fever free for 24 hours before you can go back to school needless to say she missed school yesterday.  At 7:00 pm last night I took her temperature and it had bounced back up again.   At that point we decided to take her to LincCare (an urgent health clinic) where she tested positive for the H1N1 flu.

We're doing a the flu things, plenty of rest, liquids, and meds; my prayer request this that God blesses her with quick healing and that B and I don't get it.  The doctor was not optimistic about B and I not getting it but God is bigger then this flu.  We are both coming down with a cold, I pray it stops there.

Thank you so much.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

My Daddy

The alarm went off, I reached over and hit the snooze alarm, something I do everyday.  I  keep telling myself that I needs to break the snooze alarm habit but today was no different.  As I laid in bed somewhere between dream land and consciousness waiting for the alarm to go off again a memory comes flooding to the forefront.  A memory that I have kept stored away in the attic of my mind.  A memory I don't want to recall too often but I don't want to forget it either.

It was a day like every other day.  I got up and was getting myself and the girls ready for the day when the phone rang.  I answered the phone completely expecting to my hear my husbands cheery voice, but it wasn't him, it was the nurse.  I was confused, I couldn't figure out why the nurse was calling at this hour of the day; what could be wrong?  Just yesterday the doctor was optimistic that with time dad would get better, but after my conversation with the nurse I realized that dad wasn't going to get better, he was now refusing all blood transfusions and with that decision it didn't have much time left.

When I got to the hospital dad said Mark (his son) and his wife were there.  I looked around the room and saw no sign of any other visitors.  I chalked it up to the meds he was on and a deep desire to see his boys again.  As the day went on he frequently talked about Mark and his wife.  I finally decided to ask the nurse if he had any other visitors last night or earlier in the morning.  The nurse said his son had been in and she thought his name was Mark.  I stood there in disbelief, had he really flown up here to see his dad after all of this time?  Later that day I finally met my oldest brother.  It was a meeting that was awkward at first but soon we became very comfortable with each other.  The next morning the second son appeared, the younger of my two brothers.  Both boys look very different from each other but yet there was no denying who their father was.  I could see some of dad's features in both of them, looks, facial expressions, and hand jesters to name a few.

Dad had never really shared his most inner desire with me before, a prayer he hoped would be answered before he past away.  Dad had been married before and had two sons from that marriage.  Due to reasons that were never shared with me the boys moved to another state with their mother and dad had very little contact with them.  As a matter a fact, growing up my sisters and I knew we had two half brother out there some where but had never met them.

Thursday night was a wonderful blessed time, all of dad's kids and grandchildren were there in the room with him laughing and carrying on.  We watched TV together and even got in trouble by the nurse for being too loud.  It appeared dad was enjoying himself, seeing all of his children together, he didn't think he would ever see all five in the same room at the same time.  He sat in his bed with the oxygen tube on his face, looking a little pale and not talking much but smiling all the same - a look of peace.  That was the last night dad was conscious.  It was almost like he was waiting for his dream, his dream of all of the kids being together.  He achieved that dream and was now able to let go.

Friday came and went with little change in dad he remained unconscious the entire day.  We talked, read scripture and prayed with him.  The nurse came in Saturday morning and changed dad's bedding and cleaned him up.  I will never forget dad's facial expression as she washed his face.  It was like a little boy who didn't want to have his face washed.  The nurse was so gentle and loving with him.

Later that afternoon dad's breathing became more inconsistent.  His breaths got farther and farther apart, I found myself wonder if each one would be his last.  Around 6:00 that Saturday night dad did take his last breath.  If death can be peaceful this was; there was no struggle the next breath just never came.   My sisters and I along with Scott, my other brother, were around his bed watching and praying over him when he took that last breath. 

It was a time of sadness and joy, a time of exhaustion and a time of new beginnings. 

Sunday, October 4th, marked the 6th year anniversary my dad went home to Jesus.  I will never be able to thank him enough for everything he did and the sacrifices he made for me and for my family.  He had a gentle spirit and rarely raised is voice but when he did you knew he meant business. 

I miss you dad and I love you more then words could ever say but I rest in peace knowing that you are rejoicing and worshiping with Jesus now.

This is a picture of daddy and me, at least 17 years ago.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sunrise

Nature Pictures, Images and Photos


She is not a morning person but for some reason she is up early today.  She opens the blinds and is blessed with a beautiful sunrise.

It's a time of transition - night turning into day.


The crescent moon with a faithful star remain high in the sky while jubilant colors of pink and blue peek over the horizon.

In between the shinning moon and the colorful horizon are splotches of fluffy clouds.  They remind her of cotton balls that have been pulled apart.

The beginning of a new day.  A day of hope, a day of possibilities, a day of dreams.

The sky continues to change.  the moon and star start to fade.  The sky is getting brighter.
Even her dogs are sitting quite , watching, welcoming the new day.  For them it's a new day to frolic outside, to play with a favorite toy, to take a nap in a cozy sunny spot.  A new day just to be a dog - a new day to just be.

The darker colors of the sunrise continue to lighten as the sun makes it's way higher into the sky.  She can hear the birds sing their morning songs.  Lights are starting to come on in neighboring houses, the world is starting to stir.


And then - - the colors fade away and the sun picks over the horizon just as the beautiful colors had done just a short time ago.  She wonders what He has planned for her for the special day.

What ever the plan she'll rest in his arms knowing He is in control.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

New Game Plan


I've been encouraged and I'm making a New Years Months Resolution.  Please click here to read about it.