ponderings

Don't know if I have any readers other then Brooke or not. So for those who may read let me share a bit with you. Since December my job situation has changed. I am still employed by both of my employers, but my job where I used to have time to blog has changed locations most of the time and I simply do not have the time I used to to blog. The job change has been good, I have learned a lot of new stuff. A bit scary at first for an old lady!! I learned I do not want to be an office worker full time (I do this 1-2 days a week and that is plenty!) I should explain that a bit I guess because I am an office worker. I would prefer to take orders, write up orders then to file the endless stream of papers alphabetically, I enjoy interacting with the farmers and getting to know them a bit. I have learned a lot about raising (feeding) pigs and cattle, enough to know if I tried to raise a few for our meat it it would cost more then we could afford!!
So I am telling you all this hoping that you may enjoy the tidbits that I find to post here once in a while with out taking the time to make a personal blog.

I am looking forward to spring (wondering if it will ever get here, yet having the faith that it will!) I am planning on having a small garden this summer. I used to have large gardens before Shaun was killed then it was something that I had no desire to do, until this year, I do not have the time I used to for that and no kids will be home to help, so we are just going to plant a few things and see how it goes. Dave said he would help me!

I am excited Dave and I will be celebrating our 28th anniversary on Saturday. I am so glad that God brought us together!! We were married Easter weekend and our anniversary hasn't came on Easter weekend since!! We have been through a lot together. We've been more poor than rich, but always had enough. Basically healthy other then Daves back and the surgery that went with that. We have had many joyous times together..... sharing the birth of our 4 children, giving us a new way to look at this world, and being able to really understand what a sacrifice God made for us when he GAVE his son to die. Being a parent changes how you view that, and so many other things. (we thank the lord for all of our children and would not have given up the 16 years we had Shaun here, no matter how hard it was to lose him!! That is what LOVE is all about.) We have shared the ultimate sorrow together when we buried our oldest son. We all grieve differtently and we were somehow able to survive this unthinkable trauma to our lives, I think through time and prayer we have adjusted to living here with Shaun living in heaven but it has been by far the hardest thing we have ever gone through. I think our living kids are doing OK too. Shaun's death is a part of each of our lives as much as we are a part of each others lives. We have experienced loss and what is involved with it. His death has been a factor in shaping all of us into who we are today, and how we deal with loss, joy, sorrow etc.. Life is full of joy and sorrow, rich and poor, healthy and sick. Thanks be to God for giving Dave and I each other to live and survive together through it all. We have been married longer that my mom has been married to one man. My father died when he was 39 after 17 years of marriage for them, my step-father and mom were married 23 years and mom and Charlie were married 17 years. None of us know when we will be called from this life to eternity. My dad and Shaun were suddenly taken from us. My dad was not a Christan, He will not be waiting for me when I get to heaven. But I know Shaun will (God has given us that peace) My step dad had much pain and suffering before he died and Charlie was ill off and on for a couple years, but was only ill a few days before he died. We saw him the night before he died and never dreamed that he would die the next day, he was setting on the edge of his bed talking to us. Daves mom died a year before we were married, she layed down to take a nap and didn't wake up!! Sooo... we never know when we are going to die, we only know that we are, as well as everyone we know. Have you told those you love that you love them?? Do you have a right relationship with GOD? Do you know Jesus as your personal savior? Believe in the LORD JESUS CHRIST as the son of the living God and you will be saved from eternity in hell where there is no love and no light. You can know you are going to heaven.

I will leave you with this
A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."
Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."
"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"
The doctor was holding the handle of the door. On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing...I know my Master is there and that is enough."

aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

George Carlin's Views on Aging

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away

signs signs everywhere are signs

Been busy and haven't ahd much tiem to think about this blog, so I thought I would share a few funny signs.....

Pizza shop slogan: "7 days without pizza makes one weak."

At a tire shop in Milwaukee: "Invite us to your next blowout."

Door of a plastic surgeon's office: "Hello. Can we pick your nose?"

At a drycleaners: "How about we refund your money, send you a new one at no charge, close the store and have the manager shot. Would that be satisfactory?"

a towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."

On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push."

At an optometrist's office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

On a taxidermist's window: "We really know our stuff."

In a podiatrist's office: "Time wounds all heels."

On a house's fence: "Salespeople welcome! Dog food is expensive."

At a car dealership: "The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."

Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."

In a veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"

At the electric company: "We would be de-lighted if you pay your bill. However, if you don't, you will be."

In a restaurant window: "Don't stand there and be hungry. Come on in and get fed up."

In the front yard of a funeral home: "Drive carefully. We'll wait."

At a propane filling station: "Tank heaven for little grills."