The Bell Ringer

While shopping this evening I was reminded of a time last year when T.S. and I were at Hobby Lobby. On the way in, he noticed the Salvation Army bell ringer. He was quite taken with the fact that someone actually got to stand outside and ring a bell. I told him we'd put money in on our way back to the car. All through the store he kept asking if he'd get to ring the bell. I explained that he probably would not, we were just giving money to people who needed it.

On the way out, I handed him some change and he went over and dropped his money in the kettle. Then, he just stood there looking at the man. The man said thank you and T.S. kept standing there. Finally, I told the man that T.S. was really wanting to ring the bell. The kind man let T.S. ring it and his day was made.

I wonder if he'll think he's paying to ring a bell this year.

Some Things to Ponder

I made a quick trip to Amarillo this evening BY MYSELF. I took care of some Christmas shopping and made the following observations.

• Hobby Lobby has got to be the only national chain store left in the universe that does not swipe bar codes. I think they enjoy watching people stand in long lines waiting to check out while they type in each item. I also think they like the fact that the receipt is so confusing when you are finished that you have no idea if you were charged correctly or not. And, after waiting in line for so long, you aren't about to question.
• I usually have a plan of what I will be buying when I go to a store. Tonight, lots of people were aimlessly wandering around (in my way) looking at Toys R Us--come on people, T.S. and I have spent hours pouring over sale catalogs and perusing the Internet to make our list!
• Sam's was actually not very crowded. I don't know if it was because it was later in the evening or if all of those people were a) stuck in line at Hobby Lobby or b) wandering around Toys R Us trying to decide what to get people for Christmas.

Just some thoughts--on a bright note, I'm almost finished with all of my shopping. Now if I could just get the projects I've started finished.

Free Dr. Pepper

Check this story out! Dr. Pepper is going to give everyone a free Dr. Pepper. I won't be staying up late so I can be the first to get my free Dr. Pepper. But, I think we all should go to the Dr. Pepper site and get our coupon Sunday.

Speaking of Dr. Pepper, our house is divided. Robby and Sadie are "Peppers" and T.S. and I are Coke drinkers. My whole life, Nonnie was a Coke drinker, too. She also loved a Hershey bar. She'd keep both in the fridge (she even let us put peanut butter and marshmallows on our candy bar--you should try it). Now that she is in the nursing home, she has been preferring Dr. Pepper and Butterfingers--go figure.

As a kid, I remember we were in Ruidoso one year at an art festival--we got to take the Pepsi challenge. I chose the Coke.

Robby really likes the Dublin Dr. Peppers that have real sugar in them. He also swears there are really 23 flavors like they advertise.

One other thing--shouldn't the band "Guns'N'Roses" be retired by now and possibly in a nursing home?

Spelling Help

Check this out! You can enter spelling lists and then your child can play games with the words. Just found it today, but we are going to give this a try. Maybe Sadie will WANT to study instead of HAVE to study.

Kittens

It is time for the kittens to make the next step in their lives--move outside. We really enjoy having them in the house, but know eventually we will have issues like climbing on the furniture and shedding. There is also the possibility they will realize we have a rat and gerbil in the house.

It is crazy that I would have such a difficult time sending the cats outside. It is not like we'll just throw them out and forget about them. They'll have a nice bed in the garage and we'll feed them everyday. It's just that I have invested time into them--bottle feeding, making them poop, etc. (for more on that whole adventure go here and search our blog for "kittens.") I also know that as the adopted mom I have been unable to fully prepare them to go outside--I have no idea how to teach a cat to hunt. So,in hindsight, our rat and gerbil are probably safe.

I think I'm getting a glimpse of the future and what it will be like when it is time to send the kids on to new adventures in their life. As moms are we ever prepared for this?

Biscuits

I was reading Granny Sue's News and Reviews today--I'd like to visit her. She is a story teller that lives in the Appalachians. Anyway, she gave her biscuit recipe today. I do not intend on making biscuits, the womp-um ones are just fine, thank you. And, we have the frozen ones for special occasions.

What I am getting to is that it brought back really good memories of Nonnie making biscuits. When we asked for the recipe, she would always say that it depended on how many people were eating that day. No matter how pressed for time she was, she would always let Sadie help her. I wish I had a picture of the little toddler sitting on that cabinet helping make biscuits. Nonnie would always let Sadie "make" a few of her own and bake them. Usually by the time Sadie was finished playing with the dough, they didn't rise much and turned out a little hard when cooked.

I am so grateful that Sadie, Nonnie and I have that memory. Sadie still talks about making biscuits.

One More Thing...

This should have gone with last night's random thoughts post. It bothered me all day yesterday and was still on my mind this morning. You can read this article--a man stole a handful of communion wafers from the priest during a morning mass. The parishioners cornered him until police arrived. Two "older" parishioners were injured in the process. The charges against him are numerous. Here is why the story bothered me so much:

• Why are we limited to one wafer/piece of bread/cracker (whatever your church gives out) during communion?
• If a man is hungry enough to steal a handful of those little wafers (which wouldn't even come close to filling you up) then shouldn't he be allowed to have them?
• If Jesus were giving communion, don't you think He'd have said, "Here, take them all?"
• One of the many problems with the church (every church, not just one single denomination) is we have gotten too caught up in the way we do things. We've gotten into the business of why and how instead of just taking care of people and treating them with love and respect.

I think that is all for my soapbox this morning. I'll step down and go make breakfast.

Random Thoughts--some serious, some not so much

Today has been a good day. T.S. and I spent the morning at home. Any day you don't change out of your pajamas until after noon is a good one in my book. I volunteered at school, ran some errands around town then spent the rest of the afternoon at church with our after school program. Right now the rest of the family is doing something with the lambs, supper is cooking and I have a minute to share my thoughts.

• My heart is heavy today. My friend Brandon is battling cancer. He received some not so good news this week. Please pray for him, his wife Jenny and their family. On the same note, I hope that when life hands me lemons I can be as faithful and courageous as Brandon has been and continues to be.
• The cats must go outside soon--when you find one in the refrigerator, you know it is time. You should have seen me searching cabinets in the kitchen trying to find the quiet meow for help.
• Got a package in the mail today--that always makes me happy. (yes, it was something I ordered, but still, it was a package)
• I think I've gotten this resin stuff figured out--now for time to complete some necklaces and start marketing.
• Shipo is cutting the Milo, nothing cooler than a combine in the field with a sunset in the background. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to take some photos tomorrow. The boys will be thrilled to go watch.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts. Have a great evening/day! Remember to be thankful. Trey Morgan's post today will make you count your blessings.

Veterans' Day

Today is Veterans' Day--we'll go to school later to the Veterans' Day program. I will probably tear up...I do every year. I'd like to write something profound here, but I've realized my sister is the feature writer and I have always been the news writer (I guess Mrs. Smith really knew what she was doing in high school). As much as I would like, I seem to only be able to report the facts--nothing too fancy here. So...

If you are fortunate enough to live in this country, send your kids to school, worship where you choose, read this blog...
Thank a Vet!

The Face of the Homeless

Our youth have been traveling to Amarillo each Sunday evening to help serve the homeless. Robby drove the bus and I went as a "helper" yesterday. I really have never been face to face with someone who is homeless. There were people there from all races and ages. The hardest for me was seeing the families with fairly small children. As we served the food, I was struck by how gracious and polite most of the people were. Most of them had a fairly good attitude as well. It was very chilly and there was talk of precipitation in the forecast, but I never heard anyone complaining about their circumstance. One man asked if we had brought any clothes--they try to be really careful and only bring requested items each week so there isn't a frenzy over things that are brought. We asked what he specifically needed. He replied, "just socks."

As I stood there visiting with some of them, I felt a little guilty that I had a nice coat, gloves and most of all a warm home to return to. I also felt a huge sense of how blessed we are to have a home and all the "stuff" we do. Sometimes you have to see first hand what all you have to be thankful for.

So take some time today to count your blessings and remember those who are less fortunate than us.

Annie Get Your Gun

While spending a leisurely morning reading the paper online, I thought that this was interesting. My grandmother had been telling me for weeks that they were "sold out of guns" in Amarillo. Last night on the news they mentioned that people were not only buying guns, they were stock-piling ammunition because there was rumor that the new president would increase the tax on ammunition by as much as 1000%. So, I Googled "gun sales up." Apparently sales are up across the country. Some say because of the president-elect, some say because of the economy. This brings the idea of a "well-armed militia" to a whole new level.

I think all of the concern is a little over the top. I imagine most of the people buying guns already have a few. I've always asked my husband why we need more than one (that's a whole different post in itself.) Should we be concerned that so many people are purchasing guns? If they don't already have a gun, why do they need one? Should I drop by the gun shop when I go to town today? Maybe we should build on to the house so we can stock-pile ammunition. Have you bought your gun today?

212 Degrees

I had the opportunity today to be a part of a youth entrepreneurship fair. There were about 25 interesting ideas represented at the fair by youth in our area. The motivational speaker was very good. She spoke about our attitude and how it affects so many aspects of our lives and the lives of those around us. She gave some startling statistics, which I didn't write down. One I do remember was the average child hears "NO" or "you can't do it" around 148,000 times by the time they turn 18. (and we wonder why the world is in the shape it is in) She demonstrated how much better kids respond to positive feedback than negative.

The most important thing she spoke about was going the extra step or the extra degree. She used this video to really drive home the point.

Are you going the extra degree?

Kudos to Maci and Wesley from Happy for their outstanding job at the fair. Maci won 2nd and $750 and Wesley won 3rd and $500--all for going the extra degree. You can see more about Wesley's project and his family's business--The Happy Toymaker.

Random "Stuff" on the Internet

Important note: I do not endorse this product. I actually think "stuff" like this is bad for you.

I really don't know how I find this stuff. Actually, I do, I spend too much time on the computer. But, while reading a really good blog I noticed on the Twitter thing on the side that you could get Free KickButt Amped Energy Ballz at a site called Totally Free Crap.Com. (I know this is a G-rated blog, but this cracked me up.)

So, let's tackle this one thing at a time. If you go to the link for the energy ballz be sure and have your sound on. They promise to tone your mind and body--maybe this is the secret we've all been searching for. I don't know why it cracked my up so much, but it did. Maybe this is a sign that my mentality is sinking to the level of the 4 year old and 2 year old I spent the day with.

Now for the serious stuff. The Free "stuff" Site has some interesting things on it. I had seen where people were getting free Starbucks and Krispy Kremes for voting today. I briefly wondered how these people knew about the opportunity. Now I know. I didn't scope it out since we don't have either store in Happy. This might be a site to keep an eye on.

VOTE!

I have refrained from being political on this blog. I believe everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions and beliefs. I hope you chose to vote--if you didn't, I believe you have to keep your opinion to yourself for the next four years. I voted today and pray that the outcome of the election will be a positive one for our country. We are blessed to live in a nation that allows us to go to the polls and exercise our right to have an opinion.

Play and Feed

Who knew I would become a champion of so many causes? You'll notice a new spot to click on the right. You can go to this site and play to earn free rice for the United Nations World Hunger Program. I wouldn't necessarily call it playing so much as studying. I'm always looking for something to keep my brain working above a 4 year old level. At this site, you can study everything from vocabulary to chemistry and geography to foreign languages--all while making a difference. Does your child need to practice multiplication? Set them up here and they can help feed hungry people all over the world while they learn. It's worth a look.