As of January 3rd, I have been sharing this piece of the world with you for two years.

I have made some wonderful friendships here and some of you have scared the heck out of me. *grins widely* I leave it up to you to sort yourself out in that mess.

I have celebrated, rejoiced and cried tears all in the name of virtual friendship. There are a few here that I call kindred Spirits and a few more sisters at heart, Some of you I have never met but know that I can trust you by your consistent words and your steady voice. Some of you are plum crazy but I keep you because of your flavor in my life.

This place is unlike anywhere I have been virtually, it is all part of a intelligent journey to discover another aspect of ourselves that may had never had the opportunity to release itself in any other format.
It is a journal of sorts, and a part of my life.
It is a joy to come here and see steady friends, light playfulness and direct care and concern.
This community, like a small town is full of caring people who group together for a sense of purpose. I have missed the stream and will hopefully attend a few more years yet to come. I understand if one leaves, there is an energy here that is not for the faint of spirit, you must come and give continually or lose the gravitational pull to be here.
I return because you call me back and when you re-enter this realm, you feel the warm embrace all over again and wonder why you ever strayed.
You are a blessing to me.

Merry Christmas my Blogger friends.
I don't have time to visit you all personally today, but after a few more trips I shall be able to sit and catch up with you all.
We had a great Christmas! Three of our four girls were able to be here, but my oldest has a full time job and couldn't make it. She worked today but opened her gifts while Matthew and I were on speaker phone with her. B less her heart she is struggling but working hard with college and work, I can't be prouder!

I love Christmas. I love the joy it brings, Jesus's birth, the gathering of families and the music.

Our little niece Kennedy visited with her parents Christmas eve and had us in stitches. She is 3 and she told us all about 'the holiday' and the work it entails and about being naughty and nice. They are so adorable at that age. She was the highlight of entertainment, her little round face and yellow long curls bouncing as she stretched on her tippy toes and fingers out stretched telling us about reindeer and decorations.

I love seeing things through their eyes. What delights!
Well, I hope you all have visions of sugar plum fairies too.
I know I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to things like this and I hope my spirit never falters, because I rather see the good and enjoy the delights. My children are growing up and my Matthew is a boy today, Isn't better than that is it?

By the way *looks around* Matthew now has a diggeriedoo <--- Australian wind instrument. *nods* I know....say no more!



Merry Christmas!!

Hello my blogger friends!
Forgive me for being away so long. I have been bogged down with work and Christmas as of late and really just had so much thinking to do lately that I couldn't get myself to put the effort into my blog. That's sad really because I do love it here and have made some awesome friends, so don't take it personally. I am an introvert personality in some ways, and sometimes it feels like too much laundry is hanging out to dry and I need to take some time to bring it in and put it away.

Matthew and the girls are doing great.

I am am having some very busy days since we have several mission teams headed out. Also this month I am traveling weekly from NY to Md and it felt hard on me but something happened that put so much in perspective for me that I am not dwelling on it anymore. (I'll share that in a bit.)

Dad is doing good. They were able to put a defibulator/pacemaker in for him and this is allowing him to go a few places now and he actually sat in a ground stand my brothers made for hunting season and harvested a doe. That made his day! He has hunted every year since he was 12. He hunts to eat. Although everyone in my family except me and Matthew hunt, and although it is not for me, I am not against it because they do it to fill the fridge, no bragging goes into it.

Most everyone knows I have three daughters that I have joint custody with their father in Upstate New York. My husband now lives in Maryland and has a third generation grocery store, relocating was out of the question. So I maintain an apartment in NY and live in Maryland. (yes, I decorated both places, call me crazy) I travel 9 hours every two weeks to be with either my husband or my teen girls. I get 'applauded' for this, although to me there is no other way, I can't live without either. I don't see it as a sacrifice, I see it as a way of life, so for the last two years I have been no where more than 2 weeks. I don't like to dwell on it because I may have to do this for 4 more years,until my youngest graduates. Many of us have sacrificed for our children, but sometimes life smacks you in the face and you see true sacrifice.

Hope has a mission team going to Kenya. We have a village that we are building a school there because some grandmothers needed to support one another. These grandmothers lost their adult children to aids, leaving behind the grandbabies for them to raise. Their husbands have died in combat. They have grouped together and formed an 'orphan' village. They realized they were very remote and needed to be able to help these children obtain an education. They walk 3 miles to get wated from a river bed. It is here that they found rocks large enough to start a foundation. So every day these grandmothers got out of bed, walked three miles, carry two full buckets of water and place a large rock, wrapped in a cloth on their head the three miles home.
These women laid the foundation for thier children's life. The teams we have placed there raise money and then go and work on the schools. In the meanwhile, other orphans are being dropped off on a regular basis and these over burdened grandmothers take these babies in as their very own. The teams have gone back to the states to their organizations and we raise money for cows and plows and chickens so the grandmothers can work hard and provide for thier families. They are thankful and whoop for joy. They dance and praise God though they have seen great sorrow. I am humbled.

Now driving a luxory vehicle 9 hours to be with my children or my husband in a very nice home on either end is not the easiest life but it is no where near the sacrifice of these beautiful women.

I am here without complaints!
What a gift to love.



Ps I have pictures of all this to share but my gallery is not opening this morning. You can click the hope link in my 'my sites', go to the mission program tab and then Kenya. Thanks.

My parents are coming to Ny to visit, Friday to Saturday, so I will be not around for a bit. It's 2 and 1/2 hours here from their home in Pennsylvania, and it is dad's first adventure that far since leaving the hospital, but the doctor okayed it.
I leave Monday for Maryland, so the weekend is going to be a rat race.



*note if you haven't used or seen a blue tooth: Ever see the little oval shaped thing with a blinking light hanging on people's ears? It's a blue tooth.
The way it works, it makes your cell phone 'hands free' by remotely allowing you to talk to others.
Well..
When I work here in the office in Ny, I make the post office run. I walk the few blocks and call Matthew and talk to him on the blue tooth. Some folk wonder who I am chatting away to, so I hold my phone in my hand just to verify I am not crazy. ..Maybe that isn't a valid crazy verification...Any hoos, we chat til I get to the building. I leave the tooth on and he hangs on, but I don't talk to him until I walk back outside.
Well this particular day, I had a couple of packages to send and the mail man and I chat a little while he is weighing the packages. He shared with me how he would like to go on the show "Are you smarter than a 5th Grader".
I then explained that I had recently gone to the Letterman show.
My 'Tim-the-toolman-hubby' starts growling really loud in my ear, as he hears me mention it. The post office being small and an echo chamber, carried the noise. At this point the mailman's eyes got wide and he looked around cautiously, not knowing what he is hearing and truly looking quite scared. I think he thought he needed an exorcist.
I quickly click off the blue tooth and say, while pointing to my blue tooth,"I am sorry that was my husband..."
Before I can explain further he, and still worse for the wear says, "What is he a bear?!"



I went Christmas shopping and hit some great 'week day' sales Wednesday with my girlfriend Gael. It had been a long time since we did anything like that. It was complete bankrupting and theraputic.
We had a blast sharing, poking fun at each other and talking about things other than the office.
I love putting a lot of thought into gifts and although I have not purchased all the gifts yet, I certainly have a check list for all 4 girls that I cross off as I go along.



I looked into getting Hannah Montana tickets for the 13 year old and I, for a surprise for her since they are coming to NY while I am here in December. The ticket range was $134.00 to $2,054.00.
That is just ridiculous.



Well work comes early so I am off like a dirty shirt!
Love ya!

Lately all I hear from the kids 15 - 20 is how they need to stand out and be an "Individual."
One very intellectual student, age 18, described his issue with authority because of dress codes with high class jobs. How is he defying it? He writes a lot of angry music for his band and works for Denny's part time. After reading his music, I have to agree he is very angry with some just causes, but that is the complete content, his anger. No answers. No heart searching. Just pent up anger from his parent's couch and guitar.



Oh I see a lot of kids spending a whole lot of money on individualism.
The stores are stocked with it. Kids color their hair and poke a bunch of holes in their cranium to show that they don't look like you or I. But Individual? No, they all are doing the same outward resentment to conformity, which in turns groups them and makes them their own culture and team.

I am aware that we all have had our fads and anger, but the issue with this generation is I don't see the power behind them. They aren't out to point out that the world has issues and we ought to try and fix things, no they are blaming, pointing fingers, and are sitting back doing nothing about it.



Commercials, schools programs, music, and even humor is based on a self service type of attitude. Taking care of 'numero uno'. Morals and ethics are pushed aside if it means you can't do what you want. "If it feels good it's got to be right."
Well guess who is left behind with this thought process? Everyone. We all lose.


I am really worried about what I see anymore. Permissable behavior is at an all time high. Did you know that there is a growing trend of boys getting vasectomies before the age of 21?
It is happening all because they want to roam and have sex with whomever and where ever without the obvious consequence and the attraction for the female gender is high because they know Romeo can't get her pregnant. When interviewed these 'boys' stated that they don't see theirselves wanting children. One said, "Children aren't all they are cracked up to be. Besides who wants to bring someone in to this world?"

Yeah.

Well, look at the Reality TV shows anymore. The corrupt win. If you can lie and steal and convince others that you are a friend, hey, you win. But it's a game you say. Looks to me that the emotions the individuals are feeling are pretty real.

The junk being served to our kids is harsh and scarey. When the winner is the one who can say the worst type of 'slam' on another or their mother, or if they can convince someone they barely know that they can compete and offer more in looks and in sex than the other player, I wonder why that is entertainment?
What goals are being established? What ground work for relationships are being laid? What joy are we giving our kids except instant gratification? When it is over and they stand there empty handed, what then?

What I hear is that you want to be seen for being you. You want to be angry and want to let me know how you feel.
You want to be noticed and you want to be different from the rest
Well listen up.

An individual is one who sets goals, who wants answers and wants to make a difference. One who sees another with needs and acts upon it, and an individual doesn't need to evaluate their self worth AGAINST another.

Individuals obey laws and vote. They respect theirselves and others and embrace their individuality by being committed in relationships. They don't mock authority and they strive to help create cleaner and safer environments. They don't carry grudges, but present ideas. Sure they can get tattoos and piercings but they are a reflection of personality, not a motivation to capture attention.

Individuals do not live off of their parents, yet whine about work. They don't defeat others with bully tactics. Their rebellions have cause and when an individual writes a song or a poem about a harsh circumstance, it has power, it is thought provoking, it presents a new way, a greater force, and contains answers or makes others search for answers.

I am sorry but most of you are swimming in the same school of fish. I do love you and I want what is best for you but baby, you are not an individual; because individuals, they stand on their own not hide behind their resentment.

So Don't tell me your an individual, prove it to me! In turn,

We will celebrate the real you!