Where Have All the Diaries Gone???

Do you remember or have you ever heard the song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"  If not, here's a link to the lyrics.   http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/flowers-gone.shtm

To celebrate my first year blogging, here's another rendition.   I thought of this because my little first grade grand daughter has started her own blog because she ran out of room in her diary.  Please feel free to add your lines!  The journey is great!

Where have all the diaries gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the diaries gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the diaries gone?
Gone to bloggers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Bet you saw that one coming...

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Riggs, Dez, Ben, Anne-Claire, ASHLEY, Bethany Cate

Ashley turns 30 today!  I'm sure she feels good about that because she is the mother of four and now feels like she has arrived.  Ashley is a wonderful young lady and mother.  She has a spirit about her that keeps on keeping on.  Even though she is married to a TIGGER, she still remains sweet and calm and most of the time unraveled.  I remember one time when they were moving and Mr. Ken & I had traveled to Fayetteville to help, she felt a lot of  turmoil.  If you are a calm person, you don't want to be near Ken and Ben when they are moving or helping someone move.  They are like the Tazmanian Devil.  They are fast and furious.  They get the job DONE and it will be done RIGHT!    Just get out of the way.  That's about all you can do.  Anyway back to lil Ashley.  She had been placed in quite a tizzy and was finally driving her van to the new house, all alone.  She stopped to get gas, just as she was turned on the car the radio blared with, "I will survive!"  She immediately took that as her theme song!  Funny how things like that happen and we hear a word for that particular moment of our lives.  Ashley is a darling in our lives and we are thankful that she is a part of the journey!

The Year of 29 Days

Quiz Bowl Team for BETA, 2011
Smart Kiddos!

Yesterday in one of my math classes a most delicious thing happened.  Especially delicious when you consider testing is a month away.  I teach math to 7th graders and I love it!  Every day we date our notebook, and I love to talk about the numbers as I write.  Yesterday as I wrote 2/24/12, I said, "This is great.   Two is a prime number, 24 and 12 are composite.  Two is a factor of 12 and 24.  Twenty four and twelve are multiples of 2.  And 2 x 12 is 24, so we have a fact family.  All in the date."  Then it dawned on me that this was Leap year, so I said, "And this year February has 29 days!"  One student piped in, "That's right Mrs. Evans, it's Leap year."  I decided then to pass on an old joke.  "Well," I said, "This year February has 29 days, how many of our other months have 29 days?"  One kiddo put his finger up in the air like the scarecrow from Wizard of Oz right after he had received his brain, "All of them, I read that on a Laffy Taffy wrapper."  He announced this just like it was news that he'd read in the Wall Street Journal.  So I kept a straight face and pulled it further, "That's right this is the year of 29 days, all of our months have 29 days."  I could tell some of the students caught on and some just kind of stared at me.  I continued to write the objective.  One young man looked really worried.  He said, "Mrs. Evans, what about August?"  "Yep," I said, "August has 29 days."  He looked really upset.  All of a sudden he says, "That sucks!"  I looked at him and asked, "Why would you say such a thing?"  "Cause my birthday is August 31!"  I just shook my head, "I feel your pain, now let's do some math!"  I did not tell him that there would also be a 30th and a 31st.  I figure he'll find out soon enough.  Maybe he'll notice the March calendar next month...The journey is great!

Walk a Mile with me and Joe in Bakersfield...

You know how it is in when you have your brain in neutral and you're just listening to the radio...Well that was the state of my being on the way home from school when I realized I was listening and singing along with Dwight and Buck as they sang "The Streets of Bakersfield".  Two of my favorite lines are...
        
            "You don't know me, but you don't like me..."
            "How many of you that sit and judge me ever walked the streets
              of Bakersfield?"

Joe and Sadee,
following his footsteps...

This sparked my brain to a delightful memory.  When I was a child my mama had a lot of records and she loved the radio.  Music was a constant in our house.  She particularly loved country music.  One song that I enjoyed and decided was a good mantra to live by was, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes".  I even sang this to my children and my classes anytime I caught them "putting the lip" on someone. 

           "Walk a mile in my shoes,
             Before you abuse, criticize or accuse,
            Walk a mile in my shoes."

One night, in the middle of the night, my youngest child Joe knocked on my bedroom door and woke me up.  He said, "Mama, mama, I now understand and know that you are right."  I muttered, "What are you talking about?"  Joe, "You know how you always say, before you talk about someone walk a mile in their shoes?"  I nodded very sleepily.  Joe, "I think that's the MOST WONDERFUL idea."  I started to get excited.  Finally someone understands.  Then Joe said, "Just think about it, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes!"  Hopefully you won't spend this journey barefoot.  That Joe...

MLK Community Service Award Winner, Charlotte Crawley

Congratulations to my sister, Charlotte Ann Murphy Crawley!  She received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award last evening from Mount Canaan Baptist Church.  It was an amazing worship service and a beautiful Award.

  Charlotte works hard to make her community a great place.  She has been involved with all sorts of city "stuff" from the opera to the farm!  She has opened her doors for the block party, making sure all neighbors know the neighborhood, and to state politicians.  Her passion is her husband, children, grandchildren, family, community and her farm.  Maybe not in that order all the time, but...  Her journey has led her in many directions and she has made friends every step of the way.  Congratulations again Charlotte and thank you Mount Canaan Baptist Church for a wonderful experience!

Link on over to my sister's blog to read more!

http://charlottesmenagerie.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-got-award-last-night.html#links

A Lil Southern Manners Can Be Beneficial

Maybe this isn't just a Southern thing, I really don't know.  I do know I was told a LONG time ago, if someone sends you home a dish or basket or anything that should be returned make sure when you return it it's full of something!  I've tried to remember to ALWAYS do this and sometimes it was a challenge and a special surprise for friends.  My children also do this, if they remember!  At Christmas this year my sisters and all their families and mine gathered at my brother's house.  My granddaughters came a couple of days early and stayed with me.  We baked gingerbread brownies, cup cakes and candy.  We took some of these goodies to the party.  When Bethany Cate was leaving the gathering to head with her family back to Arkansas, she asked me if she could take the rest of the cupcakes home with her.  I told her sure, but when she brought back my container make sure it was full of something special from her!  She agreed.  Bethany is only 4 years old so I knew that would be something fantabulous!  Sure enough Ashley, BC's mom, called a couple of days later and said Bethany was really being insistent that they mail my plastic container back to me and that before they mailed it she wanted to fill it with Mac and Cheese.  How DELICIOUS!  I told Ashley how the story went down and she said she'd take care of it.  The other day a package arrived from Arkansas.  There was my red plastic container filled with home made macaroons and handmade Valentines from all the children.  How wonderful.

The package arrived!

Inside the box, under the packing, special Valentines and my red container.

Homemade maccaroons!

Then this weekend it happened again.  At Christmas, Ken sent Tafta, our daughter, home with our Sam's cold bag full of venison.  Venison makes the BEST chili.  Tafta came to visit this weekend and returned the bag with all the ingredients for chicken enchiladas!  What's better than that she cleared me out of the kitchen and prepared them!  Now I tell you, that's a mighty fine return on your investment. 

I Am Spoiled, Oh Well...

Every day around here is another day to spoil Debbie!  Ken does an excellent job.  I lost a diamond out of my wedding ring when I accompanied my sisters on our "Animal:  Sheep Goat Adventure" to Oklahoma way back in September.  Two weeks ago Ken gave it back to me.  I did not even know he'd taken it to the jeweler.  He also had a little silver box that he said I just had to look at  until Valentines Day.   Friday I came home and found roses...

Saturday morning I awoke to coffee, a sausage egg omelet, and pancakes with strawberries and syrup.  Whoa...A girl could get use to this...Too late I already am! 

This is not just about Valentines Day.  It has been the story of my life.  The journey is sweet with my sweetheart and I am blessed.

A Third Grade Valentine Fiasco

The other day after I posted about helping some of the grandchildren with their Valentines, Ken and I were reminiscing about when we were in grammar school and what we remembered about the Valentine's Day party.  Ken told me about his third grade fiasco!  He said he was so embarrassed that day that it even spilt over into his adult life and that is why he didn't want to help our children or grandchildren with their cards.  It seems little Ken was given a list by his teacher and had purchased a beautiful box of Valentines to distribute to all his classmates.  He sat down that evening and wrote dutifully on the back To:  "Named Each Classmate" From: Ken.    Then put them in envelopes and sealed them.  When he got to school and started delivering them in the bags he realized he had not written any of the names on the envelopes.  All the names were carefully written and carefully sealed inside the envelope.   He said he quietly just dropped them into each sack and prayed for the best.  Sure enough at the party some kid yelled out, "Hey, Ken, you gave me 'So-in-So's' Valentine.  Ken said he bowed his head and said, "Oh just go trade with them, I probably just got a little mixed up."  That poor baby.  He sure has given me some beautiful cards!  And his heart is the best...The journey is sweeter as the days go by.

These cards date back to our first years of marriage...13 grandchildren ago!

Valentine's Day...Have a Heart!

Me and my Valentines!!!

In one week, it'll be THE Heart day of the year!!!  Valentine's Day!  When I was a child, I looked forward to this day with delight and deprivation.  I was excited to get Valentine cards from all my friends and hopefully some cute boys, but I was scared of who would send what...  My teachers always had us create a Valentine Bag that acted as a "mailbox".  She would hang these in the front of our classroom and we could bring our Valentine cards at any time and deliver them when we finished our work or during recess.  I took my list of classmates home as soon as she gave it to us and got busy immediately.  I worked hard and deliberately.  I studied each Valentine and put thought into it.  I tried to imagine what each person that got a Valentine from me would think of their card.  Each one HAD to be right.  Years passed, I had children of my own.  Valentine giving was not the delight it seemed for my boys that it was for me.  In fact I think I had to discipline, threaten and then perhaps even do them for them myself.  My daughter seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, the boys seemed to get a thrill out of it once they learned to encrypt their names or make up "ghost" names...Those boys.  I learned though that this could be a trial time for parents, so...When Jonathan asked if we'd keep Joshua, Katharyn, Sully and Kendalyn this past weekend, I saw an opportunity to help them get their Valentines addressed and ready for delivery.  I told the children to be sure to be prepared with a list of their names.  Sully told me he knew everyone in his room and he was going to give everyone a Valentine except for Lilly.  "Why not Lilly?" I asked.  The reply, "I don't know where she moved to."  I thought this will be a job.     Well, the day came.  Ken bought the cards, Batman, Spiderman and Tangled Valentine's Day... No one brought a list, but they remembered all of their names and with a little help we were successful in spelling all of them correctly.  Then came the struggle.  The boys, "Do I really have to write all of these names?"  "I'm not sure this is how they really spell their name, I better skip them."  And so it went.  Finally Sully and Josh just wrote "From Josh" or "From Sully" on the back of each card.  They said they were just going to give each person one at recess anyway.  Kate finished each of hers, addressed personally to each person in her class.  When they left me Sunday afternoon, I reminded them to take care of their Valentines until they were able to take them to class.  Last night Ken and I stopped in and visited with the children.  I asked Sully if he remembered to take his Valentines to class.  "Yes and it was just in time."  I inquired what he meant.  "Well," he said, "Today she gave us a list of everybody and said we needed to address them.  But I told her I was already finished and mine were already on the back table.  I'm through with that."   No wonder Jonathan seemed excited when I told him I'd handle the job this year for them...The journey is sweeter with Valentine candy!