After Dinner Conversation...

Baby Aubriana enjoyed her Cinnamon Apples for dinner tonight. After dinner, she engaged us in some most enlightening conversation! She's gonna be a talker, she is!

Freedom for Iran

Freedom is stirring in the souls of this generation of citizens in Iran. I hope and pray that in their quest for justice and freedom, they find it. May they find freedom from an oppressive government and religion, and may they seek The True Freedom, Jesus Christ.

I have found a couple of interesting blogs which appear to contain personal and startling insight into the revolution in Iran. Check out Iranian Woman and Winston...

God bless these Iranian citizens, and God bless these United States!

June 19th

I have exactly seventeen minutes to finish this post....it must be published on June 19th. Today is my mother's birthday. If she were still alive, she would be 58 years old today.

Having pondered for several days over what to write for her birthday, I'm blank. Completely blank. I could gush, but I won't. I could even write something that would make some of you laugh, but I'm tired and suspect I would exceed my time constraint.

I bought some flowers today to take to the cemetery, but I decided the heat is just too scorching and the flowers would hardly live through the noontime sun. So I'm keeping them. On my nightstand. So I can enjoy them. Myself.

And remember. Good times.

And plan. Good future.

And pray myself to sleep. Good Mom, Great God.

Goodnight:)

Little Basketball Guy

We have a new baby! De'jon arrive yesterday morning at 3:27. He weighed in at just under 7lb. He is so sweet. Mommy is doing great. I believe we have a basketball star here...his hands are huge! Watch out NBA, we have a hot recruit for ya!

Hope for Every Bad Mood

I've been chronically in a bad mood for about 2 weeks now. Don't ask me why. I don't know why. I have just been in a bad mood.

I know. It's not nice.

I knooooow.

It's not attractive.

But what can I say?

It's the truth.

I've been in a bad mood for a couple of weeks now.

No, I'm not depressed.

I'm just in a bad mood.

I know one thing that's put me in a bad mood...my cell phone. At completely unpredictable times, it sounds really "static-ey" and the person on the other end cannot hear me. It is soooo annoying, and it drives me nuts!

So today I went to the Verizon store. Remember...I'm in a bad mood already, so I'm fully ready for some confrontation with the first person with a name tag who crosses my path. I go in and "check in" which mean I must log on to a little touch-screen computer and sign up for trouble shooting. They put my name up on a tv screen, listed in order according to the order we "check in". I am #4. Great. Just great. How long will the wait be? An hour? Two?

"Feel free to look around while you wait (smile, smile, blink, blink)" the happy little door greeter says to me. Don't get too close, little girl, or I just might snatch you bald!

Look around while I wait.

What choice do I have, really? There are no chairs in the waiting area. Ugh.

While I wait, I observe the manager-type person instruct a waiting customer to go home and call Verizon's customer service line. Wait a minute!!!! Aren't there live customer service people here? This is a Verizon store, for Heaven's sake!

Next I saw the same manager-lady put another customer on a land line phone and made him call customer service. Something's wrong with this picture. Bad.

About 40 minutes later, a straggly-hair, hippie type with major yankee/smoker-voice called my name. I walk up to her station. She asks me what she can do for me today. Let me just tell you, sister. I proceed to tell her about the problem with my phone, when, about halfway through my second sentence, she interrupts me to ask my phone number. I tell her my phone number. Then she asks me again...what's wrong with my phone. Again, half-way through my second sentence, her phone rings, she says to me, "excuse me please," and answers her phone.

I just stand there and look at her. Hello....Lady....I'm a real live customer. Can't you put the caller on hold??? Hello...Smoker-voice lady....hello!

She sees me staring at her, so she motions for me to give her my phone. She piddles with my phone while she "yes's, no's, and uh-huh's" the caller on the phone.

Lady, you better get off that phone or I'm gonna jump over your counter in about 3 seconds...

A the count of 2 1/2, she finally hangs up the phone.

"Mam, it looks like your phone is still under warranty, so I can get you a new one. I will take about 5 minutes," she says to my great surprise!

Oh, thank you lady. You don't know it, but you were about to get punched, and I really am not in the mood to get arrested today.

My mood was a little better then. I was really expecting to have to question and complain to get a new phone.

New. Well, the phone she gave me wasn't exactly new. It was certified refurbished. Like-new.

Okay. I'll take it. Would rather have had brand-new-never-been-opened, but I'll take this one.

I finally drive home, check the mail, and GUESS WHAT!

There's a $50 check in the mail!

YIPPEE!!!

I recently had a routine test performed at the hospital as ordered by my oncologist. The hospital required $175 payment for the co-pay on the day of the test. Last week, I got the statement from my insurance which said that $123 was billable by the hospital, $0 paid by insurance, and that I owed $0 to the hospital...which says to me that I overpaid the hospital. I haven't had the opportunity to call the hospital yet, but that situation was also boiling in my brain and had been contributing to my bad mood.

Thank Heavens it worked out! The hospital did do the right thing and I didn't have to punch a single person!

Yippee!

Good Mood is back!

But here's my question...

If just a couple of good things happening can put me in a such a good mood, what would happen if I truly did just focus on the blessings in my life?

More importantly, what would happen if I refused to dwell on the little irritations in life which are totally out of my control?

How much energy to I put into feeding my bad moods versus fueling a positive outlook?

I hate to ask the age-old question, but...is the glass half-empty or half-full?

My glass is completely full.

Running over, in fact.

There's hope for every bad mood.

Indeed.

Luv us some Bling!

Sometimes you just gotta get away. Even if it's only for a few hours.

Last night seven ladies piled up in Mrs Renee's vehicle and headed to the big town. We enjoyed a some PF Chang's and a lot of giggling.

To my knowledge, nobody cried. Unusual, I suppose, for a group of this many ladies. Friends. Sisters. Ok, now I'm about to cry! Not really.

We all had on our bling-bling shoes just like we liked them. Toes painted and shiny!

You like???

Little Men @ Little River

Today I went to Little River Canyon with Dad, Kathy, Jaxson, Grayson, Erica and Alyssa. I think the boys had a fun day swimming and playing on the rocks. It's difficult to believe this beautiful place is practically in my backyard!

ONE TWO THREE

Dear Mom,

They were right, I suppose. They, the experts and the experienced, said it would be this way.

They said that grieving would be mere survival during year ONE. "The year of firsts," they called it. First Thanksgiving, first Christmas. My first birthday without you to send me our favorite Pink Tuscanini roses. The first time I needed information that only you would know. There were more firsts than I care to remember. What a nightmare!

Then they said that year TWO would be the year I would wake up from the nightmare and realize that it's all real. This is it. This is how it's really going to be. Things are not going to return to normal, and things will never be the same.

Yes, year TWO was difficult. I just "didn't get it". It didn't make sense. You had been healthy as far as I knew. You never hurt anybody. So many people needed you. It was your time, and nothing on earth could have kept you here. Still, I just could not get my mind around the concept that God took you and left so many who seemed to possess no socially redeeming value.

Year TWO...anger...disgust....

At some point during year TWO, fortunately, I regained some focus. I come to realize that life is brief, and I wanted my life to make a difference.

Priorities shifted.

Doors opened.

I stepped out.

Yes, year THREE is exactly as they said it should be. Those waves of intense sadness still come, but the deep valleys are shorter and further apart than they were at first. Things still aren't the same, and they never will be the same, but times can be good again. Finally I can take all the erratic emotions and focus their energy into positive things. I think you see the positive from Where you are, and at times, I even feel you cheering me on.

Oh the times lately where I so wanted to tell you what's happening...

I bought some doggie clippers and let the girls here at the house give Barclay and Gilbert their summer cuts. Oh my, those dogs look pitiful! They're cool now, so I suppose that's what matters!

I'm letting my hair grow out. It's probably been since high school since it's been this long. You know Gequetta, right? Well, she still does my hair for me, and she always tells me I'm too old to have long hair. What do you think? The other day, I went in to let her touch up my roots and she said- can you believe this- "The next time you come in we're coloring your hair all over!" Why, I asked. "Because you've got gray hairs everywhere!" What!!! How many, Quetta? Get this....she announced right there in front of everybody, "There's too many to count!" Oh! I was mortified! But that's what makes a good friend and beautician, one who tells you the truth, right? I still think she's wrong about me being too old to have long hair....jealous.

I'm still going to the gym early in the mornings...most mornings, that is. I wish you could see some of those old Pawpaws in there. It would crack you up! There's this one old man, who, if he has asked me once, he has asked me 25 times, "Why don't they make a pill that exercises your muscles? They've got a pill for everything else!" Funny. He wears is gym shorts pulled up under his armpits, has his tight T-shirt tucked in, and has his tube socks pulled up tight nearly to his knees. He's dedicated...you've got to give him that!

What do you think of Michelle Obama? Oh wait, don't tell me. I'm sure I already know.

Yes, it's been THREE years today. I can hardly believe it. In some ways, it's all so new and fresh that it seems like only yesterday. On the other hand, it has been THREE very, very long years, so June 9, 2006 seems like forever ago.

I'm hoping that year FOUR will be a year to exhale. You know what I mean, right? So if you can pull some strings on your end, feel free.

Feel free.

I suppose you already do feel free. Indeed.

I love you and miss you.

Still want to be just like you!

Remembering D-Day

I saw this story on Fox News last night and thought is was just beautiful. I could never write a tribute that could hold a candle to this gentleman's recounting of June 6, 1944. As you watch this story, say a special prayer for him along with all of our brave soldiers who are serving around the world today!




God Bless You, Mr. Seltzer!

know-what-I-mean-there-Vern?

Who in the world is "Vern"?

This man's name is not Ernest and I doubt he has ever been to camp. As far as I know, he has never been to jail (but parents don't tell their children everything, now do they?)!

That's Dad and me. We went for a little 5K walk Wednesday morning, and this video is his post-walk report. He failed to mention that he about killed me...I just about couldn't keep up with his long skinny legs! I think I took two steps to his every one! Nevertheless, I'm pleased with our time...just under 50 minutes if you didn't catch that in the video (ehem..cough, cough). If you've ever climbed what I call "Chavies Mountain", you will know that time is not too shabby!

Fun times!

Speaking of fun times, tomorrow I plan to lay by the pool and swim with my 4 favorite kiddos...Lauren, Savannah, Jaxson, and Grayson. Stay tuned for a swimming update. I'm sure some form of drama or excitement will develop within the next 24 hours!

Oh...don't forget about the Freedom Fest 5K Fun Run/Walk in Rainsville on Saturday, June 27. You can download a registration form at rainsvillealabama.com.