Chuckie is 'babysitter for the day' and a wonderful one.....Joshua gets his patriotic hats and creates some 'fun'.....Aunt Lynn catches lizards for the 'boys'.....

Abe Lincoln & friend George Washington...so Joshua 'pretends'......

Aunt Lynn and "Lil Chuck".....playing together....

***CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE ***

Lynn, Joshua, Cindy and I having some....serious fun....
Our week-end consisted of a variety of activities .....
Joshua and Pops went to the 'Dollar Store' and returned with gifts for everyone, meeting Britt who was fresh with a new 'hair do' ....for a Mexican food meal with all of us ........then going to church on Sunday with 10,000 others at Carpenters "Without Walls" Church which was being filmed on TBN....afterwards being stuck in the outpouring of traffic in Lakeland for about two hours...
Normalcy of family togetherness in all forms....is certainly a blessing...

Cell phones help....but in reality.....

Making Memories with those you love and appreciate

is the very essence of life...

Remembering that...

We can NEVER come back to these moments in time.....

make them especially precious.

NOW IS THE TIME TO BE.....Happy.....

Joshua and Pops buy 'cool sunglasses' for all the 'girls because 'they have been good'....so they say!

Unique....and Wonderful!

Occasionally in life there are moments in time by which we stand back in awe....

This week our family had such a moment...

One of our dear friends which we see only

twice a year....sent us a very thoughtful note of

caring and beauty that was uniquely different and

AWESOME.....

To receive words of the heart....

from another whom we admire, respect and love....

is truly a gratifying and uplifting experience.

It is a gift that money can not buy...

And it is a reaffirming of the value of another's life

to our life...and ours to them....

This completes the Circle of Love that

breathes life in all of us as human beings.

Vann's note birthed this truth....

To Vann, our man, we wish to thank you

for taking the time in your busy life in order to

give us such a Gift....

We appreciate and honor you ....

Vann, it is YOU who 'spoils' us...God bless you dear one.

To Whom It May Concern....

Happy Valentine's Day.....

Hallmark did a sales study in nearly all cities.

Guess What?

Everybody everywhere loved the SAME Valentine Card....

Hallmark said, "It speaks to the fact that people are more alike

than they are different..."

The #1 card's face is a deep red foil, with

"For the One I Love" across the top,

and a large picture of a red rose in the center....

Inside, it simply said, "Each time I see you,

hold you, think of you,

here's what I do....

I fall deeply, madly, happily in love with YOU...

Happy Valentine's Day"....

Now isn't that.....sweet!

My faith devotion says, "A bond of love with a special

person is a source of joy for me....

As I express the love of God to others,

I connect with them in a bond that unites us....heart and soul.

I become aware of the great value that

a relationship founded on sharing the Love of God

is to both people involved.

We are united by a love that makes us more complete as individuals

and also makes our relationship more fulfilling...."

Everyone everywhere tries in some way

to express this 'heart love' on

Valentine's Day....

Therefore I say to you, my dear family and friends....

I love YOU...I appreciate YOU....

I admire YOU....and

I need you in order to continue to enjoy

a fulfilling and rich life of.....Love...

Happy Valentine's Day, You'll......

Let’s Get It On!

Just finished reading a book that was thought provoking…and not ordinarily my ’kind of book’ …
No, I am not suggesting a kind of ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ review!
In fact, I hardly recommend the book at all…..even though the author has written twenty-two novels such as Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment, Comanche Moon just to name a few….
The book, Duane’s Depressed, from the Pulitzer Prize-Winner, Larry McMurtry, was a fairly stupid satire in my ‘stupid opinion’….
Internet review says:
"Duane's Depressed. (1999)This novel completes the trilogy begun with The Last Picture Show (1966) and continued in Texasville (1989). Once again the protagonist is Duane, the considerably older mayor of Thalia, Texas, who startles his constituents by abandoning his pickup truck and walking everywhere. This signals his shake-up of community conventions, which he also challenges by consulting a young woman psychiatrist. Duane's story, critics note, shows McMurtry's fine grasp of a changing contemporary Western culture."

That is basically it in a nutshell…..EXCEPT…..
……it is a Texas similarity of Walden’s Pond written by Henry David Thoreau who lived in a cabin near the pond from 1845 to 1847 The writer, naturalist, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived on the shores of the pond for two years starting in the summer of 1845.

His account of the experience was recorded in Walden, or,

Life in the Woods, and made the spot famous.

Now in Duane’s account of living in his cabin which is six miles from his big family home and choosing to walk everywhere he went makes family & friends thinks he has gone….BONKERS.
What does Duane himself think?
How can he justify himself and an immediate life change after living 60 years as Duane the provider, the dependable, the steady and stable husband, father, grandfather and successful business man in a small community?
Therein lies the ’profound thinking’……..
Duane finds that upon walking the roads he has driven on for years….he finds….
litter in the creeks that deters the current and mars the beauty of nature….
Then he wonders at this ’new-found’ sense of ’caring’ at a deeper level than he has ever experienced before……
……..Is there not a similar ’epiphany’ of such in our own lives in order to prove for a fact that…..

I existed….?
Perhaps a ‘new awaking’ is needed periodically as we travel this journey called life….
Often a total withdrawal is required ....

withdrawal from the fast pace, the normal ‘good life’

in order to experience what one poet called ‘The Art of Non-Doing’.

Yes, this basically was the profound thinking of this ‘silly’ book.
But I do agree that everyone at some point in life should ask themselves these questions….
Who am I/ What am I here for/What is the meaning of life for me/ and
Lastly……..what words, acts and meanings do I want to reflect as who I was on planet earth?
Mind provoking isn’t it? …….Let’s get it on!

Walden's Pond in Winter

Tribute should be paid for those people who willingly and knowingly use their life in order to secure peace, freedom and protection for their fellow man. Such a life should not be taken for granted for we owe them gratitude of the highest degree. Theirs is a life dedicated to honor, integrity and the preservation of that which is sacred and precious.....freedom.

Any person who has carried this responsibility in such a noble way - should be awarded the highest honor of our land....a grateful and appreciative heart from the people who has thus been served...

It is with great thankfulness that I salute ALL who have procured my country's freedom with your commitment to such a noble endeavor....

May God Hold YOU in the Palm of His Hand and Bless you Abundantly....

We appreciate YOU!

Happy Birthday Melissa Jo...again!

Fullness of Life!

I was reading a devotion last week and it really communicated the 'Good Life' message very effectively to my heart....

This is that devotion from the Daily Word....

....."In examining what a full life truly means to me,

I understand it's not about the number of activities

I am able to pack into a day.

It's about the moments in which I pause to take in

the beauty of the world around me.

I measure my productivity

not only by how many work-related tasks I finish,

but also by my personal communication with others.

I share from my heart in person or through a

letter, card, e-mail or phone call.

Of all the place I may go today,

my most important time will occur when I spend time

with family and friends.

And before I turn my thoughts to sleep at the end of the day,

I thank God for the fullness of my life.

I then gently release this day with appreciation

for how abundantly blessed I truly am.

-Psalm 16:11- "You show me the path of life,

in your presence there is fullness of joy."

Sleep...in....Peace

We celebrate Melissa Jo's 23rd birthday...

her gift says...

Live Well...Laugh Often...Love Much

Matt & Ash, MissiJo & Chuckie...

ready to celebrate....

nice sweater MJ:)

Our girl wanted 'ribs' for dinner....a lady she is just look at her way of holding ribs!

Is this a H A P P Y face?

Everybody sings "Happy Birthday Melissa Jo"

It is All....in The Family

Recent family events have caused me to be both happy and sad...

Watching a family member 'climb fools mountain'

can be very scary and heartbreaking at times....

But I am reminded of the profoundness of

what our son, Chuck, said at sixteen....

"Mom, I know you know what is going to happen to me as I

climb 'fools mountain'....

but let me learn it

for myself".

And he did....in his own way,

to his own benefit.

Today he is teaching others, through his faith, how to

avoid 'fools mountain'.

Yep, we've seen life's experiences, good and bad....

.....in the family!

And we still proclaim....

It IS a GOOD LIFE!

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