Stuff That Matters in Life

This was taken sometime last year when we had new windows installed. The ladder was conveniently next to the patio, and a piece of plywood was conveniently on the patio so that the workmen can stand there to install the window. So why not go up there and see life from a different perspective? I convinced Amy to go up there with me. We got a nice view of our neighbors yard, and peered into Elliot’s room there. We saw the same things, but from a different perspective.

This was an insignificant event in my life, but for some reason, it was memorable. It was just a little crazy thing I had to do.

I would post pictures of Audrey all dressed up for her first prom, but I don’t want to embarrass her! Her friends came to do her make-up, hair-do, finger and toe nails, and even shaped her eye brows. She got a royal treatment, and looked like a princess. The preparations were probably as much a part of, if not more than, the prom itself! Oh to be young again…

An article in the LIFE Weekend Magazine says there are signs that couples are having more than the current average of 2.09 children. The National Center for Health Statistics’ data has shown a jump in the number of births to mothers of two or more – 28% of all births in 2003, the year of its most recent survey, an increase of almost 4% since 1996 and 12% since 1984.

For the past three to four years, enrollment in the elementary schools in my area in Walnut, California has been declining. Three teachers were cut from next year’s budget at Oswalt Elementary, where Amy goes to school.

I think it would help our econmy if people would have more children.

At my Bible Study today, a lady, maybe in her 50’s, says she is the only girl of nine children. It probably was not uncommon in those days to have 5+ children.

It must’ve been a blast!

Amy was listening to some music on Elliot’s Ipod nano. It doesn’t have an obvious on/off button. “How do you turn it off?” Amy asked. I don’t know. We googled it and found out you hold down the pause button.

Gosh, how are you suppose to know these things? I suppose you can read the manual. But in the old days, you buy a radio and it is obvious how to operate it. There were not so many settings and options.

He Maketh No Mistake

My Father’s way may twist and turn, My heart may throb and ache,

But in my soul I’m glad I know He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray, My hopes may fade away,

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead, For He doth know the way.

Though night be dark and it may seem That day will never break,

I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him, He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much now I cannot see, My eyesight’s far too dim;

But come what may, I’ll surely trust And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift And plain it all He’ll make;

Through all the way, though dark to me, He made not one mistake.

(A. M. Overton)

1. Dropped Amy off at school and enjoyed a 45-minute walk with my husband. We need the exercise, and it was a nice time to talk.

2. Researched properties for clients. There is more inventory of homes on the market now. It’s becoming a bit more of a buyer’s market.
3. Picked up Amy from school, then  an hour and a half later, picked up Audrey from school and gave her friends a ride home.

4. Had dinner with a friend. The sashimi with soba noodle salad was too spicy, so I asked for more plain noodles to dilute it. It was very good after that. This friend is young, not attached, and free to spend her summer any way she wants. She decides to go on a missions trip to a remote part of China. Oh, how I wish I was young again! Now I live vicariously through friends like her.
5. Had watermelon when I got home from dinner. It was all nicely cut up into pieces by my mother-in-law. I have nothing to complain about.

In Bible Study today, we were studying Genesis 49-50 about how Jacob and Joseph both made preparations for their deaths by leaving instructions to have heir bones taken to Canaan. The discussion question was: How prepared are you to die?

While that question may make us think whether or not we’ve made preparations for our eternal future, a lady in our group gave another type of answer.

In addition to securing her eternity by her faith in Jesus Christ, she has made a Trust and Will, purchased a burial plot, and written down instructions for her funeral service with her favorite hymns included. The wording for her tombstone has also been chosen.

She is about my age. But I have not done any of those things.

It is an act of love for your family to preplanned as much as you can. That way they do not have to make decisions and worry about details in their time of grief.

My favorite hymns are: And Can it Be?; Great is Thy Faithfulness; It Is Well With My Soul; The Love of God; Fairest Lord Jesus.

Got one thing out of the way.

Maybe we will do the Trust this summer.

From Gary Bauer of American Values:

Have you seen the recent studies that try to quantify the value of motherhood? It seems financial analysts are attempting to calculate the “market value” of a mother’s worth in today’s economy. One study added up the value of 17 key occupations that mothers typically perform, including Executive Chef, Financial Manager, Psychologist and Registered Nurse, and estimated that a mother’s worth is approximately $508,700 per year. Once you include the retirement and health insurance benefits that stay-at-home mothers typically forgo, plus the financial contribution of home-schooling mothers, this estimate climbs even higher. All the number crunching aside, one thing financial analysts will never be able to capture is the priceless love and affection that mothers give their families. Without a doubt, mothers have one of the most difficult, but most rewarding and most important jobs. The future of our great nation is literally in their hands! Please take time out this weekend to tell the mothers in your lives just how much they are appreciated. Happy Mother’s day!

I am worth a lot!

Dear Abby,

I am a crack dealer in Mt. Washington, KY who has recently been diagnosed as a carrier of HIV virus. My parents live in Morehead and one of my sisters, who lives in West Liberty, is married to a transvestite. My father and mother have recently been arrested for growing and selling marijuana. They are financially dependent on my other two sisters, who are prostitutes in Covington. I have two brothers, one is currently serving a non-parole life sentence at Eddyville for the murder of a teenage boy in 1994. My other brother is currently in jail awaiting charges of sexual misconduct with his three children. I have recently become engaged to marry a former prostitute who lives in Campton. She is a part time “working girl”.

All things considered, my problem is this. I love my fiancée and look forward to bringing her into the family. I certainly want to be totally open and honest with her.

Should I tell her about my cousin who is a Kerry supporter?

Signed,

Worried About My Reputation

Have you ever read M.C. Beaton? She has a Hamish MacBeth series of whodunnit type of murder mysteries.

That’s what I’ve been reading lately.

Today I received in a mail a book from a friend. It’s called Becoming Who God Intended, by David Eckman. I will start on that one too. I like to read a couple of books simultaneously. I am not a fast reader but I love to read.

I feel guilty when I read purely for entertainment when I think I should be doing something productive. So I read while I am waiting for Amy, while I am eating, and before I go to bed.