Laughter, Giggles & Smiles - Keep looking up

I hope this posting inspires you to keep looking up as that seemed to be the main focus from my comics and inspirational stories.

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared the electrical storm might harm her child. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did, she saw her little girl walking along at each flash of lightning; the child would stop, look up, and smile. Another and another flash of lighting followed quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother's car drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to her "Honey, What are you doing?"

The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture."

I had to throw this one in because I think it's cute!

THE BUZZARD:
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT:
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

PEOPLE:
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up.

Sorrow looks back...worry looks around...faith looks up! Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust in our Creator who loves us. Have a great day!

Finally...October 2009 Family Pics - Part 2

After 2 months of dealing with computer issues, we have finally resolved them. However, it appears to be a temporary and almost daily fix. I was able to remove a Trojan virus from our computer after many hours and with the help of my dear hubbie. Then a friend (thank you , thank you, thank you!!!) was able to refer us to a program to remove the spyware. It seems we keep getting spyware back on our computer so pretty much daily we have to run the program to remove it. Oh well! At least I can use the computer again!! If you are having spyware issues, try downloading this free program at http://www.malwarebytes.org/index.php.

Now I have some serious catching up to do with family photo’s. I will keep plugging away to get them loaded for you though. So Halloween was two months ago! You’ll still get to enjoy some fun photo’s.

Katelynn decided to try a new sport this year. The last two years she has played soccer. This year, she decided to try Volleyball and really enjoyed it. She certainly has the heigth for it! Another few inches and she will be as tall as I am but she is only in the 5th grade!!

We always go to a local Pumpkin Patch and have gone to the same pumpkin patch the last several years. This year, we decided to try a new one and were we ever impressed! We went to Maris Farms located in Buckley Washington. You can see what they have to offer at http://www.marisfarms.com/. To start off, I was a bit shocked at the price we paid for the family but I have to say, it was totally worth it! They had the most amazing maze! We were in the maze for a good 30 minutes and that was racing each other through the clues to get to the end first. Wait until you see the aerial shot of the maze. Each year they do something new. They also have a bouncing pillow. It is a super-sized, air-filled rubberized jumping pillow. The girls and Jack had tons of fun on it! They also have a mine shaft tube slide. Half of the slide is underground which the girls thought was pretty cool.

My dad pitched in and helped the girls carve their pumpkins this year since Jack was out of town for work. The hardest part is pulling all the yuck out of the pumpkins and it's fun to see the looks on the girls' faces! The end product is worth it for them though. I had to run an errand with my mom and the girls hurried as quick as they could so that when we got back they had their pumpkins all lit up so we could see them! They did a great job and they all turned out really well!

Jack was gone for much of October and November with traveling for work. The life of a single mom is not for me!! He ended up being gone for Halloween so I got to brave the cold and some raindrops with the girls. It ended up being a pleasant night all things considered. You have to understand that I'm a fair weather girl! I'm always cold and bundled in layers so being inside is a preference for me but I was a brave mom and helped make some wonderful memories for my girls. I kept thinking that Katelynn only has one more year of this so I needed to make the most of it for her! Sally and Katelynn went as 50's girls since we had the poodle skirts from the party we attended earlier in the month. Madison had her heart set on being a Vet. She wants to be one when she grows up and as much as she loves animals, I can see it happening! I was able to find a Mr. Potatoe Head doctors shirt at Value Village that worked great for her costume. You gotta love thrift stores!!

It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago the Christmas break started for the kids and now they are back to school. I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year!