TIDBIT OF INFORMATION-Oldies but Goodies

Did you know that some of the songs I listened to in high school are now played on the local Oldies radio station? How is that suppose to make a person feel?

Picture of the Week

This is a picture of my sweet Buttercup Bryna at the beach. I just love this picture, but I really love that it inspired one of my dear friends to write a poem. Thanks Melissa, I love this poem; and I will have this picture displayed in my house very soon. I'm so thankful that you shared it with me. Thank God for inspiration and creativity. God Bless You Melissa!

Here is the poem, in case you can't read it on the photo:
Ocean breezes bend to kiss her cheek and tussle her hair.
Tides rock in rhythmic dance upon the shifting sand beneath her precious toes.
Salt laden air cleanses her every breath and fills her soul churning her beautiful curiosity.
Do you feel the kiss? Hear the music? Smell the peace?
It's God's graceful touch engraving a memory on her heart.

Garbled Lyrics

Have you ever really listened to your children sing a song? My children sing a lot, but Bryna sings the most. She always has a song in her head and is ALWAYS singing something. I was listening to her the other day sing the following songs:

You Are All I Need by Bethany Dillon. The first part of the chorus goes....You are all I need when I'm surrounded, you are all I need when I'm by myself.....
This is what B sings.... You are on my knee when I'm surrounded, you are on my knee when I'm by myself. So flippin cute.
Then the very next day, I hear her singing Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser. The chorus goes....You make all things new. You make all things new.
This is what B sings....You drink coffee too. You drink coffee too.

Do you think she spends too much time with me: sitting on my knees or in my lap and watching me drink coffee? Oh well I'm certainly enjoying all the time I get with her while I still can.

Friendly Face - Big O

I decided to feature my friend, Abbey's little guy, Owen in my Friendly Face this week; because....well just look at him. Although he is quite a friendly face and a friendly little guy, he is a little ball of fire as well. That boy will melt your heart with his cute smile and funny wit and then set your house on fire while experimenting with a match all in the same 30 minute time span. When I first saw this picture, I absolutely fell in LOVE with it. I mean look at it, take in every detail, it's absolutely fabulous. It was posted on Facebook, and it had this comment under it....first day of preschool, second day he was in the principal's office. This child is precious. Big O has a spontaneity about him that is refreshing yet horrifying all at the same time. As a little guy, it's hysterical. As a teenager, Whow Nelley, Help Me Henry; or should I say Help Abbey Henry? When I asked his mama if I could put his picture on my blog, she said of course; and then she followed up with these words....

As much as I worry about it -- I love the fact that Owen is such a fireball! He's sneaky, silly, in to trouble all the time but is pretty good natured and is as honest as he can be about it.
The other morning Owen was sneaky and got up really early to play without anyone knowing. His daddy asked him if he had a snack (which he knows he's not supposed to do without asking) and he said -- "Yup, I ate chips, yogurt and popsicles -- THREE of them!

Gotta love him!

That's the truth, you gotta love him; and I do.

TIDBIT OF INFORMATION-Unexpected Blessings

When I got home this afternoon, I went to get my mail....guess what I found? I opened an envelope with a check for $1540 made out to me. It was from some farm equipment, that my uncle had left me when he passed away, a few years ago. It was finally auctioned off, and here is the check. Thank you God for providing for us once again. Tonight my prayer will include, as always, the many praises for rewarding my faithfulness when it comes to finances; and it will include a prayer of thanksgiving for the one who really is in control.

I'm glad we're broke - I think

One little piece of information you need to know about me is that I don't read the newspaper, watch the news, listen to any sort of news on the radio-basically I have no idea what's going on around me. I'm clueless by choice. I do read about things that I choose to know about but not all of the other stuff. I read my newsletter from Autism Speaks. I read my Associate Pastor's column in our local paper. I read blogs. I don't choose to know about most of the sad and depressing things that are going on in our world. Some may say that's irresponsible - it always drove my dad nuts that I had no idea what was going on. Because of this choice, I really have no idea what's going on with the economy. I have heard a few folks discuss this lately and have learned, word of mouth, basically what's going on; but really I'm just clueless. I started thinking about this and realized that I guess we are lucky that we don't have any money to invest, so we didn't lose our entire life savings or retirement. I guess we have been spared this worry in a weird way. I pray to God, daily, to provide for us; and I thank Him when he does. I think tonight I will thank Him for sparing me the worry of having too much money instead of not enough.

Sugar Pie Honey Bunch.....

I know that God has a plan and nothing proves this more to me than my relationship with Mr. Payne. He is the man of my dreams, but he was not part of MY plan...we have been married for 16 1/2 years and have been completely in love with each other all of those years and a few years prior to becoming Mr. and Mrs. Payne. Mr. Payne was a mere 22 years old when we married, and a mere 19 years old when we began dating. He is 3 years my junior which defines me as a CRADLE ROBBER, and I must admit I am proud of it. NPayne was born in different decade than I-now that makes me feel a little weird, but nonetheless it's all good. I was the first and only girlfriend he has had, and I remember one of his friends saying the first girlfriend he has will be the one he has forever; and I'm glad he was right. I ,however, had a longtime beau, prior to meeting Mr. Payne and honestly I had absolutely NO plans of having a beau again anytime soon or EVER as far as that goes. Some of my lifelong friends had even told him that I would not be interested in any sort of dating type relationship, and I was not at all interested in having a beau. That was basically true, so I thought, until I started spending more and more time with Mr. Payne. We began as friends, and the more time I spent with him; the more I realized what a fabulous guy he was. He was such a gentleman and just so very thoughtful. The best part about him was that he made me laugh, and we had a ton of fun together. Little did I know that I was falling hard for this 19 year old long-haired hippy of a guy. Never did I imagine that almost 20 years later, we would be married with 5 children. I truly had no intentions of being married EVER! I knew I wanted to be a mother, but I had no desire to be a wife. How I was going to work that out, I wasn't really sure; but God worked it out for me. God introduced me to NPayne, and over a short amount of time; my heart was softened. I was in LOVE and have been every since. Thank you God for the introduction. I am forever grateful!

Camp Sol

I have a really great friend, Lisa, who is a music therapist at a children's hospital. She works with the oncology patients and their families - mainly their families and siblings. She has been able to use her wonderful talent and God given gift to help many families survive who have lost children to cancer, but if you have ever lost a child or know someone who has; you know that life is never the same, and there's a new "normal." It may get easier to cope with the loss, but there is always that hole in your heart and a piece of you that is missing. I personally have never lost a child (and for that I thank God daily), but one of my lifelong friends has experienced that excrutiating loss. Although I can't even begin to understand the grief, pain, confusion, anger, loneliness, and everything else that goes along with losing your child; I have witnessed those emotions in my lifelong friend fairly upclose and personal. From this there is one thing I know....some of those emotions never go away. They are always there and though they may be tolerated, those feelings are always lingering. With this being said, I also know that she needs me to pray for her every day and has asked me to do so. A few months after a death occurs, it's common for folks to get back to their lives and sort of forget about the emotions that these families (who have experienced the loss) are going through. We get back to our routines and sometimes forget to pray for them daily and let them know we still remember their suffering. It's part of the busyness of our lives, and I have been guilty of it as wll.
My friend, Lisa, has been involved with a grief camp for several years. I wanted to write about it and encourage anyone who has lost a child or knows someone who has to consider spending some time at Camp Sol.
Camp Sol is a non profit organization that is designed for families, who have suffered the death of a child, and have siblings in the home under 18 years of age. They offer two retreats per year (Spring and Fall), a back to school program and a holiday program. They help grieving families connect with other grieving families and heal together by sharing their experiences. I know, from my experience with my lifelong friend, that she often needs to share with someone who has actually experienced the loss that she has. As much as I am always there for her, I really have no idea what she is going through, so being with people who do can be a great form of healing. Camp Sol also incoorperates support groups for parents and siblings, a memorial service and traditional camp activites to help the family bond once again. It's designed to help the families learn how to have fun again.
Did you know on June 12, 2001 the United States Senate passed Senate Resolution 109. This designates the second Sunday in December as "National Childrens Memorial Day." Camp Sol observes this day by giving families (who have lost a child) a candle to light in a worldwide candle lighting ceremony. It begins in New Zealand and at 7:00 PM local time, candles are lit for one hour. This creates a 24 hour candle lighting observance to remember those families who have lost a child, sibling, grandchild or friend. I think it would be great if everyone observed this day whether you have suffered the loss of a child or not. Mark your calendars now for December 14th and light a candle at 7:00 PM and let it burn for an hour. While it's buring, take the time to pray for all the families you may or may not know who have lost a precious child. Take time to thank our fabulous maker for the children in your life. "Please take the time to breathe and remember....they existed. They exist, and we love and honor them."
For more information about Camp Sol, click the link on the right!

TIDBIT OF INFORMATION -Aunt Abbey

A really good friend of mine became an aunt today!!!! She has a sweet new nephew! Congratulations! God has blessed you!

Does this bother anyone else?

This is a piece of lettuce found on my living room floor. Does this bother anyone else besides me? It obviously doesn't bother anyone in my family, or I would not have had the opportunity to take a picture of it; because it would not have been on my living room floor. Last night...I made dinner, served dinner, ate dinner, and then I went to Princess B's parent night at her school. When I came home, I did the dishes and a few other things before noticing the piece of lettuce on the LIVING room floor - it's not even in the dining room where we eat dinner. I am really hoping that NPayne and the kids just overlooked this little mishap and didn't intentionally just leave it there, BUT.....remember I have some very sloppy people that live in my house. If Elli had seen it, she would have said very loudly YUK! And that's exactly what I said, once I figured out what it was. YUK!