Faith, Family and Friends

Never Let Them Be Forgotten ~

"from the mountains . . . to the ocean, white with foam"

"God bless America, my home sweet home"

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,

that we shall pay any price, bear any burden,

meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe

to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

~ John F. Kennedy

"The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem."

~ Rev. Aaron Kilbourn

"Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13, 14

"The story of America's quest for freedom

is inscribed on her history in the blood of her patriots."

~ Randy Vader

I love this background! But it makes reading hard! And as much as I love to change the background on my blog, you can bet this one won't be here long. In fact, I've already got in mind one that I've used before. And loved. So enjoy, or not, this one while you can. It's life here is severely limited. Bahaha Have a beautiful Wednesday!!! I intend to ~

LA Law's Memorable Moment #81

I had read of this scene but never saw it. Good 'ole YouTube! Just having a normal conversation and ~ well, you watch it.

Makes you think twice now about making sure there IS a floor for you to put your foot on next time an elevator opens for you. How many times do we just board as we're looking at someone else? Or getting something from a purse. Nope, not any more. This female will be watching the floor. I ga-run-tee you I will. Yep, yep, yep. I know it's wrong, but I laughed out loud. Did you?

Pray for America

"Freedom is always only one generation away from extinction"

~ Ronald Reagan
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United States: Born 1776, Died 2008

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning last November's Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Obama: 19 - McCain: 29
Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000 - McCain: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million - McCain: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Obama: 13.2 - McCain: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty-million criminal invaders called illegals - and they vote - then we can say good-bye to the USA in fewer than five years.

I, personally, am heartsick with the lack of respect our own President has shown for this nation, as well as the disrespectful way in which our Congress chooses to conduct themselves and to show such disrespect for the office they presently hold. Apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom. Christians need to be in heartfelt prayer for the future of America.

Faith, Family & Family

A week of family and fun began Mother's Day,

lunch with our daughter, Jenny's, family.

Three generations. Delicious meal.

A deep sense of thankfulness that our Alabama babies

are being raised in the love and Word of our Lord.

What more could a mother ask for?

(Note~Miss Elle loves hair, and tried her best

to get to Ian's head during the photo shoot!)

A few days later found us in Mississippi,

visiting our daughters there!

Our sweet 'laina had a Dance Recital and it was precious!

Need I say who we felt was the best?!

Her parents are also raising her and Austin

to love the King and obey His Word.

John and I feel so blessed. So thankful.

We stayed with Leslie, who after the recital, took us to eat

at a great Chinese buffet place ~ in fact,

I don't think we've ever eaten at the same place twice!

I love staying in Leslie's home. It's homey. Loved.

We had to leave Friday, so it was a visit that was too short.

But we have plans to go back. Soon.

Gotta love this face. He wanted to come home with us.
To see Ian and Noah. Sure wish we all lived closer.

We ended the week keeping Jenny's three babies
overnight and part of Saturday while she and Brandon
left for a brief retreat. It was fun. I always love
the looks of happiness when our grandbabies see their parents.

Our family has such beautiful faith, a strong abiding love
for each other and for our Saviour. The food when we're all together
just puts the icing on an already great cake.

Dented Cans, Oh My!

See anything wrong in the can shown above?! The side to your left is lower than the right hand side, which means you do NOT want to put a can like this in your grocery buggy! Let me share with you what I learned tonight from a great magazine, ShopSmart I love this magazine! And it has no advertising in it! No ads!! Can you believe that?!

Okay, so I've heard all my life not to ever ever ever never buy a food can that is dented. Leave them alone. The health department will come and laugh at you when you get sick from eating food out of a dented can! You will get no medical attention. Alright, so all I was told was that you stood a higher than average chance of getting food poison from dented cans ~ so I just never bought any. Tonight, I learned more about this! Here's what you need to remember.

If you've just dropped it and dented it a bit, go ahead and eat it. You'll live. And you'll be healthy. But if you buy a dented or damaged can off the grocery shelf ~ and yes, they are marked down most likely ~ the chances are higher that they contain a dangerous bacteria called Clostridium botulinum (and I copied those two big words from the article hardyhaha!). The organism is rare, but the toxin can be deadly and why take the chance?! And get this!

It's possible for the can to look normal in the store and develop a bulge once you get it home and it's sat in the pantry. Don't open it! ShopSmart says don't even touch it without using disposable gloves and to get rid of it by placing the unopened can in a sealable bag, wrap it in yet another plastic bag that is tied tight, taped, and placed in a trash bin. They said to NOT put the food in the sink, garbage disposal, or toilet! And of course, wash your hands with soap and hot water afterwards. Yuck!!!! Makes you wonder what DOES go down the toilets and garbage disposables that eventually may end up in our water treatment plants that cannot be gotten rid of!!!

Now, aren't you glad you read this? Are you on your way to check the cans on your shelves? If you live in central Alabama, especially in MY town, don't chunk your junk down your sink or toilet! I don't want to drink it!!!! Go get this month's ShopSmart, look on page 12. See for yourself! And have a great weekend!!

It's Coming!

Get ready. It's going to thunder tonight!

WhooHoo!!!!

A sleeping day tomorrow!!!!

An Anniversary

Tomorrow will make four years since the accident that claimed 77 days of our life. There was another year and a half recovering and learning a 'new normal'. Recovery continues. Trigger moments happen. With it has come secrets that my mind blocked out. The fear and pain of a hurting child. Through counseling, I am learning how to cope with not only the pain but the memories. The nightmares. The fears.

One of the good things about that day in April - and there are several - is that issues from the past have been faced. They are being dealt with. A funny thing about secrets, you hide them well and think you've pretty much buried it all - then they creep out and tickle your conscious. Today, during counseling, I wanted a safe spot. To talk about anything else. To just walk away. The tightness in my chest, the closing of the throat, the need to flee became strong. Breathe, breathe deep. Remember the Garden. I am so thankful for the Garden.

I spent the better part of fifty years being afraid. Of pretending everything was normal. One of my quirks, an OCD of mine if you will, is to always have a place in mind that I can hide. An escape through the ceiling where there's a safe world that's only known to those that fear or a bathroom vanity to crawl in. Today, in counseling, I realized that when I envision this safe zone and visualize myself using it if needed, I see, in my minds eye, a young child. That never occurred to me until today. I don't really want to know what scared that child so badly, there are enough frightening episodes I dealt with in my adult life. What I want to learn, to use, are ways in which to deal with trigger moments. I am no longer a victim. I am a survivor. Better yet, I am a child of the King. He is a Guardian and Avenger. He is my Strength.

So, tomorrow shall come and we shall once more give thanks that we have each other, that our life is blessed, and that the new normal has become our expected normal. What about you? Do you have trigger moments? Share with me. What have you overcome?

And know that He is larger and more fearful to those that have harmed us. "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety." Ps 18:2

Elle & Her Men

It's a given that this man is smitten with Elle.
He is totally in love.

But he isn't the only one fascinated
by this blonde haired beauty.
My brother, Nelson, thinks she's a doll.

Nelson has a grandaughter in Arizona.

He sure misses having her nearby.
So he lavishes that love on Miss Elle.

And she eats up the attention.
And her Pa?

Yep, he's in love as well.

Noah Bedoah

Noah does not like to have his picture taken.

Not sure why. Haven't figured that out yet.

Maybe he's Amish? and we don't know it?

The only way I can get a photo is to promise

I'll cut off his head. Just get his body.

Sometimes I lie.

Happy Easter one and all!

The Heat of an Arizona Sky

Way, way back in the late, late 70's I had the privilege of looking through a chain length fence into the Air Force Graveyard at Davis-Monthan AFB. I remember to this day how sad my heart became as I looked at rows of hundreds and thousands of decommissioned aircraft, and it felt a bit sadder when I saw the B-29's. You see, along with the faster flying ones, the heavier ones, this plane held a fascination for me. The Enola Gay was, is, a B-29. A B-29 that flew us into history. A flight that changed the world. My world. Your world.

The one I had traveled to Tucsan, Arizona with loved airplanes. All airplanes. I learned a lot that trip. About planes, about him. There was a softness in his voice when he told me bits and pieces about the ones we were peering at through the fencing, taking photos of. How they were used in battle, for rescue attempts, for decoys. In wars, in battles, on foreign fields, over vast oceans and seas. I couldn't help but think of the ones that didn't return to families, to life. Those that returned, but not to a life they knew. Or wanted. And those that returned forever changed in spirit and in heart. A life that had dreams and trigger moments to remind them of time spent within the wells of the planes I now studied. We found ourselves whispering, as if we were in a sacred place. A place that demanded our respect for those that flew them, that flew in them, that had people who loved them, missed them, prayed for them. We wandered outside, looking at what we could, for what seemed hours. I'm sure it was.

Because he knew my feelings for the B-29, feelings he shared himself, he found them for us. Showed me how to stand with one B-29 in sight and note how, with such precision, the others were lined up beside her. Then to move to another spot outside the fence and look down the line, and not see anything but the one in front. I was impressed. Someone cared.

There were so many planes. The thought crossed my mind there were too many. Did it really take hundreds of B-29's to protect us? And what of all the others? Each separated, yet together with like ones. So many. Each held her own thoughts. Her own history. So many planes. The grasses outside the fences were a bit tall, a bit too scrubby for me. But the field inside was pristine. Someone cared.

I'll never forget that trip.

Because I happened to see a photo on the news tonight I Googled and searched for that airfield of my memories. I have no idea why it was there or the news connected with it. I simply looked over my laptop, saw the photo, and was thrown back into the heat of Arizona on a sizzling summer day. And so I came here with a reprint of that photo, not sure what I wanted to say. The photo took me to a website, which led to another site, and another. What I learned amazed me and touched me. And I'm thankful. For many reasons.

At another time, I'd love to tell you of my trip to an airshow. Another place in the sun, another trip with my lover of planes. Where I met the man who piloted the Enola Gay, my Enola Gay. A humble man, lover of family, of his country. A man with no regrets yet sad in his own way with memories of his own.

Thank you, my beautiful Lord, for giving us memories. Even when those memories bring bits and pieces of sadness. For even with the sadness, there are memories of love, of laughter, of goodness. And I shall always be thankful. Always.

* * * * * * * *

I encourage you to click on the photo, click on the highlighted words, read of this special place in the hearts of many. You'll learn something good, something new. And that is a wonderful thing. Click here, or here, or here to learn more about the Enola Gay. And her pilot.

Oh by the way, the Enola Gay holds another story. Where it all began for me. You see, I am kin to a crew member of The Indianapolis. A young man I heard talked of all my youthful years. A young man my great-aunt Hattie loved very much. And The Indianapolis ~ a cruiser that delivered a 15-foot wooden crate to a destination. A crate which held Little Boy, an atomic bomb. Having delivered the load, she departed under orders of complete radio silence. But that did not stop the Japanese. Or the sharks. But that's another story, and I'm tired. I think I shall go to bed now. Tonight I think I shall pray for, well, for all of the ones left behind. And I shall thank God for those that gave their life, and for the man that took me to see those B-29's.

Easter Confections ~

My mother made us this memorable Easter bunny cake each and every year when I was growing up, and of course, I made it for Jenny. This weekend I shall take the cakes and decorations over to Jenny's and let Noah and Ian help me put the cake together! I am so excited to be sharing this tradition with my grandbabies. Here are some ideas from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Bakerella ~ click on any of the photos to go to the recipes!

Have a blessed Easter weekend ~

Pastels and Pretties

Aren't these the prettiest pastel shades?! John came in today with some fresh eggs given to him by Mike Chastain. Mike has chickens and these are the eggs from (and forgive me if I misspell this!) Banty hens. Mike says that when boiled gently the colors will deepen and become even prettier than they are now! We plan to take these to Ian & Noah when we go to their home for lunch. Mike also sent a dozen eggs from his 'other' hens and they are deep shades of browns, creams, and beiges. I have never seen colors this varied and natural as I have with these. Just had to share them with you! Have a blessed weekend ~