What a beautiful day. . .

Had such a wonderful day today.  Dear hubby and I spent the morning working in the yard.  We dug up some old things out of the yard and planted some new.  Cleaned the weeds out of our flower beds.  A beautiful morning.  We fixed our new bird feeder on it's pole with fresh bird food and suet bricks.  All the birds were out chirping and singing and flitting about.  We planted a new trumpet vine on the side of our house and planted some Day Lillies in the front flower bed.   It was so pretty out I hated to go in when we were through.
The boys had a fun day at the baseball field today too.  It was very relaxed and they both got some batting practice and field practice.  I got to spend some time with a friend while the kids were playing.  I love watching the boys play ball.  It does not matter what kind of ball, I just enjoy watching them play.  It was great being outside on this glorious day enjoying our many blessings.  What a great day!!

Spring Break. . .

Even though the kids are out for Spring Break and the College campus is closed my online class continues, I have a test this week for my Ethics class.  I guess there is a draw back to taking courses online.  I am enjoying my classes.  I will be taking a security class online this Summer too.  I cannot believe my first semester is almost over.  So far I have two solid A's.  I met with my adviser and have mapped out my classes for the Fall too.  A couple of my classes transferred from my previous degree so I am closer than my adviser thought.  He said it would take me longer since I was only taking two classes a semester but, I am not on the speed track.  I know it is going to take a little longer but that is ok with me.  My children are still my main concern and I need to be there for them.  So my college career will linger on for a while.  I am in no rush, I don't see my self doing anything major with this degree until after the kids are both in High School.   I am not sure what I want to do with this degree yet either.  There are many options; there is the private sector, government, police department, or security for large companies.

Holy Week. . .

Dear hubby and I are usually readers during Holy Week for our Church services but this year we are not reading.  The kidos have a lot going on this week with school and baseball.  I decided I didn't want them to miss out on what we normally hear at Church so I have been reading out of our Holy Week Reader instead of doing our normal devotions.  Our Reader goes day by day during the week leading up to the Resurrection.  Most people know the story of how Jesus was crucified but to actually read it or hear it read is a very emotional experience.  I cry every time, I know, that is no big shock.  
This is our last week of Lent and I am using this as a week of reflection on my relationship with the Lord.  I know I have fallen way short of his expectations of me.  I have been reading a lot on forgiveness and I think that is where he is leading me.  I think forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things.   It is important to remember that when you forgive you are not telling that person what they did was ok.  You are releasing them to God.  He is our final judge.  You also release yourself from the ill feelings and hatred that can eat away at you.  Just remember that God forgives all, you need only ask.

What a wonderful crazy week. . .

Received news of a wonderful blessing, a windfall actually.   God is good!  I made a 98 on my computer exam and I am so happy for that.  I turned in my rough draft for my term paper in my Ethics class and feel good about it.  I am getting ready for two wonderful weeks with my boys out of school.  I get only one week so they will get to visit with Memaw  while I have class two days.  We are still working our way through Dave Ramseys' program to be debt FREE with great progress.  Everyday we get a little closer. I finished my third book with my new book club.  On a side note, I am not buying these books I am getting them from my local Library.  This month we read, "Wicked, the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Greggory Maguire.  This was by far my favorite book so far.  I have a new respect for the Wicked Witch of the West.  Great book, I would highly recommend it.  We start our new book, "Submerged" by Cheryl Kaye Terdif.   Today is the beginning  of Holy Week and we had a great service today and the Childrens' Choir sang "Hosana"  one of my favorite Hymns.  So proud of our Choir.   I must add that  I just watched Kansas beat UNC !!!!  yipeeee!!!  I am an ABC fan, Anybody But Carolina.   But I digress, God is good and he does watch out for those in need and those praying for help and guidance.  He proves this to me daily and I am so thankful.

Miami wins ACC Tournament. . .

So glad the University of Miami won the ACC this year.  They were the underdog the whole season, nobody   wanted to give them any credit, and shock surprise they still don't.  According to some the 10 point victory over UNC was a fluke and they barely won.  That is too funny!!  This morning on the news, the weather girl, went so far as to say, "congratulations on your stupid win Miami."  Now, I ask you, is that not very unprofessional?  I do not know for sure what team she pulls for but I would wager a guess that she is either a Duke or Carolina fan.  It is one thing to be a sore looser in the general public, it is a whole other story to be on national television and say something so petty.  Dear hubby laughed he is the Big Miami fan in our family, me personally I am a State fan.  I do pull for Miami when they are not playing State.  I dislike Carolina and Duke and this weather girl just reinforces the whole reason why.  I would love to see the U of M win it all, the ACC Season, ACC tournament and the NCAA!!  Go Miami!!!!

The Garden. . .

Dear hubby tilled the garden yesterday and began to plant.  He started with onions, sweet peas, pea pods, and lettuce.  All of my favorites.  It is so easy to eat healthy in the summer and proper growing seasons.  I eat so much better at this time and so does my family.  Last year I really think we saved a lot of money by eating out of our garden and it was so good too.  Dear hubby has made a run to pick up some cabbage plants and a few other things that we do not plant from seeds.  I am so excited about our garden.  I love cabbage, I  put it in Mountain Stew (moms' recipe) and I have seen a few other things I would like to try with it.
Along with preparing our garden we also compost all year.  Composting works more efficiently in the warmer months but we still add our usable garbage to our composter all year.  I add egg shells rinsed, anything I trim off of veggies I get at the store, coffee grounds, tea grounds, rinds of any fruit, and card board egg shell cartons.  You can also use the card board egg cartons to start plants from seed in your house.  It's great to start herbs in and let your kids watch them grow.  My kids like to help plant potatoes and onions.  They don't really care about planting seeds.
You will be seeing more about the garden as the season moves on.  I will try and get some pictures posted too.

New Book for Book Club

We are now reading "Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."  I was skeptical at first of this book.  I am only half way through it but, completely hooked.  It is a little racy in places but has been interesting too.  I am wondering if the new "Oz" movie is based on this book?  I hope I will be through with it by the time we meet.  We are meeting earlier this month because of Spring Break.
The story is very entertaining.  So far she was born green and has an aversion to water, with no reasonable explanation.  Her father was a minister and her mother was a socialite.  Cannot wait to see where this ends up.  Stay tuned. . .

Here is the thought for today. . .

Have you ever wondered why all of a sudden that almost every place you go you are offered a rewards card?  Have you ever thought why these companies are so interested in giving you free stuff?    You know there is always an ulterior motive.  Here it is; these companies collect all of your vital information and sell it to the highest bidder.  Not only do they collect and sell your vital information but, they also collect and sell your buying habits.   So think about that the next time you get a coupon in the mail for 50 cents off of your favorite toothpaste, shampoo, or lipstick.  The companies that buy your information are selling it to credit card companies too.   So by the time you have signed up for all those reward cards at the drug store, grocery store, and gas station you have unknowingly given out your personal information to way to many people that you do not know.
I am not bashing the reward programs, I have some of those very cards myself, I was just thinking about that today as I was reading a chapter of my Ethics book on Privacy.  It is amazing how we give out our personal information so freely.  Just a thought today. . .

Texting and driving? ? ? ?

So yesterday in all my running around I was almost hit four different times by four different people.  I was beginning to think I was driving with my cloaking device on.  It was like I was completely invisible to everyone around me.  I know my little blackberry is not as big and bold as good old Big Bertha was but good grief.   I watched two people that I know were texting while driving.  I  do not understand the arrogance of some people.  One young man was doing at least 70 down the highway texting or on his computer or something.  How can you think you have control over a vehicle going that fast and you are not paying attention.  I watched him as he flew by me and swerved to one side and then to the other too many times to count.  The bad thing was that there was a car that was riding his tail.  What was that car thinking?  If the guy in front wrecked he would surely take out everyone around him.   I watched one coming home after school, I am assuming it was a student, going down a very curvy road swerving all over the road.  I know how these kids are having wrecks, they are doing everything behind the wheel except paying attention to the driving.
After dropping my oldest off at school I was on the back roads going home and I had a van stuck up my rear end.  If I had to stop for anything they would have killed me.  He was so close that I could smell his breath.  I do not drive that slow, I usually do the speed limit or a little over.  I was getting ready to turn in to our development and this guy flew around me.  You have to slow down to turn into our development because of the angle of the turn.  If you don't you could either take out the person sitting waiting to turn onto the road or take out the brick marker for the development.
Where has our common courtesy gone?  Is everyone so consumed by themselves that they would rather push someone off the road and hurt them just to get on their way?   Are people really that hurried and that unconcerned with someone else's life?  I think this is what is wrong with our society as a whole today.  It is all about me, me, me and self, self, self, who cares about anyone else.  I think we have lost all respect for everything we used to hold dear.  Kids don't respect their parents, so why should they respect their teachers or any other adult for that matter.  This makes me sad.  If we don't start teaching the younger children about respecting their elders I dread to see what our Country will be like in the future.

Talking to kids about marriage. . .

I always say God puts things in our path sometimes to test us and sometimes to help us.  Last night our devotion with the boys was about marriage and finding your special person that God has for you.  I hesitated before I read it but, I knew God had put that devotion there for a reason.  It was about two sisters one was getting married and the other was only thirteen.  The oldest was talking about how God had lead her to her perfect mate and how that someday her sister would find her perfect mate too.  It also talked about how your mate should be a friend and respect you and your feelings.  This opened up a great conversation with the boys.  

It is just as important to talk to boys about relationships and marriage as it is to talk with girls.  You can never talk about it to early either.  Little boys need to know how to treat little girls.  It is also never to early to pray for your child's future mate.  I have talked about Stormie O'Martin many times on my blog and I am going to mention her here too.  She wrote "The Power of a Praying Parent" it gives you great examples of prayers to pray for your kids, boys or girls about different things in their lives.  One of these is about finding that perfect godly mate.  We all hope that our children find that special person that will make them happy and take care of them.  Why not put that in Gods' hands?  Pray for them to find that special person, pray that God leads them to that special person.  It is never too early to think about.   Our devotions come from "Keys for Kids"  a good friend of mine shared this magazine with me after my youngest had been at their Bible School one Summer.  I found them online too, so I go online to their website to do devotions with the boys.  www.cbhministries.org/forkids/keysforkids  check them out.  

Wrestling. . .

Ok, I am going to tell you something that most do not know about me.  I used to be a professional wrestling fan.  Dear hubby and I used to watch it every Monday night before the kids came along.  I have not watched it in years, but last night they were having all the old wrestlers back to the WWE.  I had to turn it on and watch just a little.  It brought back a lot of great memories of our early married years.   Dear hubby and I went to a wrestling event when I was BIG and pregnant with my oldest.  I blended well with all the rest of the red necks out there.  Huge pregnant, screaming at the wrestlers, and eating nachos with extra jalapenos.  Oh the memories. . .
I remember one group in particular that was a favorite, not because of who they were but because of the way my dear sweet baby reacted to their music.  When the music for the Road Dog and BA Billy Gun came on my stomach started jumping.  It was my sweet baby reacting to their music.  He jumped and rolled and wiggled like crazy, only to their music.  This group stopped wrestling together a year after my sweet boy was born, so he never heard about all this till last night.   Dear hubby and I let the boys stay up late last night so they could see some of the old wrestlers that were popular before they were born.   I never let the kids watch wrestling when they were little, they never had an interest in it then and they still don't.  They did enjoy hearing us tell about the old days before they were born and when they were little.  I still remember that feeling of my bell bouncing around with my sweet baby inside dancing and rolling.