We had a great 4th of July yesterday. Bo & I went for a really nice bicycle ride around the city. Twenty miles of city! Bo had gotten a new camera that morning for work, so we took it with us and snapped some pictures along the way. Here's Bo on the corner of Kentucky & 6th Street. 6th street is part of Route 66, and in Amarillo, has lots of antique shops.

Here's another shot of Bo visiting with some friendly gentlemen in downtown Amarillo.


There are lots of horse statues around town, so we took some pictures of those. Here's me with an interesting one.

It was a fun afternoon and I enjoyed the (ahem) 'heck' out of it. (excuse my language, please). --I wouldn't want to offend anyone with sensitive ears (or should I say --eyes). LOL


When we got home, Cody, Jenny & Corbin came over to watch fireworks with us. The fireworks' show was in the park right next door to us so it was very convenient. We just sat out in our rock yard. Well actually, we started out there, but had to move down the street because we couldn't see very well over the houses across the street. But once we got situated, we enjoyed it very much. It was a very pretty show. One of our neighbors had a little cassette tape player playing a tape of patriotic songs. And while we were sitting there listening to Lee Greenwood, a car went past with a guy hanging out the window shouting 'God bless America!'

LOL --Hometown America.

How was your 4th of July?

Another Monday morning and it's a beautiful day here. I went for a walk in the park this morning while it was still cool, and that was nice. I really wanted to go for a bicycle ride, but it was a little too windy. I like to ride in 10 mph of wind or less. Over 10 mph and I just don't enjoy it that much. I do want the benefit of the exercise of riding a bike, but I like to really enjoy the scenery and the experience too. This morning the winds are at 15 mph. Saturday morning I rode 20 miles and last night I rode 13 miles. It was great. I am listening to a James Patterson book and it's pretty good. Has a little bit too much foul language in it for my taste, but I'm trying to ignore that. And I probably won't read another one of his books because of it. It's hard to find a good, clean book these days. For some reason, authors seem to think foul language adds to the book, I guess, maybe makes it seem more real life or something. I don't know, but I just hate it. It's offensive to me. I wonder, why do people feel the need to use bad language anyway? What's the point? Maybe it's just a habit they picked up when they were young and thought it was cool??? Maybe they still think it's cool. I don't know... I guess if they like it, it's their business. It's just words afterall. --How the heck did I get on that subject anyway?...... Guess I'll go now.

Mason started his work at his new job this last weekend at the Sonic Drivein! Here he is all dressed and ready to go:


He said it wasnt hard work at all and I think he may have even liked it just a little bit. --Only a little bit though, mind you.

It's been so nice and cool here the last couple of days. I went for a 13.5 mile bicycle ride this morning. It was great. I rode over to a really nice old neighborhood (Wolflin) with lots of big trees and brick streets. I love that neighborhood. Old houses with lots of character. Of course, that's because most of them have been redone and had lots of money spent on them.

Corbin has been coming over each day while Jenny is taking a summer class. He and Mason are busy playing video games this afternoon.









That's about it for my day so far. Hope you have a good one!

Thirteen years ago today my sweet boy, Adam left this earth and my life was changed forever. Up until that day, I just never really dreamed I would live my life without him in it. Then everything changed in a split second. He was gone, --never to return. Sometimes when I sit and think about him, my heart just aches and longs to hear his sweet voice, to touch his hair, or see his beautiful smile. But that will never be, not on this earth. Missing him and longing for him will not change a thing. He is gone and will not return. What I wouldn’t give just to see him for a few minutes. Please, just a few minutes. --No, no. It will not happen. It cannot be. It is over and done. Adam is gone.

I love you Adam Wayne Roye. You are forever in my heart.

Happy Birthday Corbin!

He is 7 years old today. Hard to believe. Corbin is my one and only little grandson (for now) and the apple of my eye.

We are having a good Memorial Day weekend so far. Corbin spent the night with us last night and this morning we had a good bible study on Joshua & Caleb going over into the promise land to scope out the enemy. We learned that the name Caleb means 'faithful dog.' I like that. A faithful dog loves, and is a good servant to, his master. Oh, that I can be a faithful dog to my master. But I know the only way I can is thru my master himself. I love the statement by Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9:

And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

How truly blessed we are if the Lord of all glory should look upon us. --Only thru the son, Christ Jesus!

(I have a great nephew named Caleb. Michael Shane's son.)

After our bible study, Bo, Corbin & I went over to the Amarillo Zoo. (Mason declined our offer to go with us, so he stayed at home). We had a good time and particularily liked watching the monkeys. Here are three of those monkeys:


There IS a real monkey in the background, but he's hard to see here.





Here's another one of Corbin & I sitting on a turtle (not a real one, you know me better than that!):










And one more of a pretty peacock:











OK. That's it for now. We're off to take a drive around town, chauffered by Mason.

Have a great weekend!

Look out on the highways!! Mason got his learner's permit today. He'll be driving with Bo & I, of course for the next few months before actually getting his license. Then he'll be on the roads of Amarillo all by himself. Oh my, kind of scarey.

Yesterday Bo & I went for a motorcycle ride around town and that was nice, but it sure was hot. In the afternoon Mason & I went over to Memorial Park. I sat in a chair and listened to my book while Mason played basketball with people there. It actually rained a little bit when we got home, so that was nice.

I heard Whitney Rodriguez did a good job singing at the rodeo this past weekend in East Texas. Sure wish I could have been there to hear her.

That's it for me!

A great Mother's Day

I sure had a nice Mother's Day yesterday. Whitney called yesterday morning and wished me a Happy Mother's Day from Dalhart. She had gone there to visit a friend for the weekend. Then Cody, Jenny & Corbin came over for lunch and afterward, we all went to the Canadian River to ride dirtbikes. I didnt ride, of course, as my dirtbike-riding days are long past, but I enjoyed watching the rest. Cody brought a four wheeler and Bo & I rode that some. It was lots of fun! Mason enjoyed riding his dirtbike and he and Cody went thru the river and got soaked! But then, so did Bo & Corbin on the four wheeler. I think they all had fun. We got home last night about 6:30 or so and I had a very nice ecard waiting for me from Jocelyne. We had some left-overs for supper and afterward Bo & I went for a 12 mile bicycle ride. It was a little windy, but not too bad. I really enjoyed the day!

Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it.

I ran across this litte story today on the internet and liked it:

George is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, George was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood."

"Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, George & I lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said George. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything ..

Volleyball went good on Friday. About 12 kids were there and they had fun, I think. Mason said he did anyway.

We are going to Bo's sister's house today for lunch. It looks like it will be a nice day. Yesterday the wind was blowing so badly, you really couldn't go outside, but the forecast says it will die down today. Ah, spring in the panhandle of Texas .... wind, wind, wind!

Hope you all have a great day today!

Not alot going on this week, which is good! Mason went to a Homeschool Student Council Meeting on Monday at the Library. They are working on several activities coming up and Mason says he will go and help. Tomorrow we are having homeschool volleyball in the park next door. This is an activity that I organized to help Mason meet other homeschool kids here in Amarillo. I sent out an email to all members of the Amarillo Homeschool Assoc. I hope some kids show up, and they all have a good time, but we'll see tomorrow! I'm a little nervous about it since I organized it and I'm just a newcomer, so I don't really know how they do things here. --I'm sure it will be fine though.

Today Bo & I got up and took a four mile walk around the park next door. I really like living next door to the park. It was a nice walk. Afterward Bo wanted to go to the museum in Canyon, so we called up Corbin and asked him to join us. We all went and had a great time there.









Upon leaving the museum, we ran by Subway and grabbed some sandwiches, and headed out to Palo Duro Canyon. We sat on the tailgate of Bo's truck and had our lunch.









Then we began a walk out to the Lighthouse. It is six miles to and from, so we wondered if Corbin would be able to make it the whole way. He complained a little, but over all, he did great.
OK..... Bo & Mason did have to give him rides occasionally, but mostly he did walk.


It was really a nice walk and we finally reached the lighthouse. There are a lot of steps to climb to get up to it and we had to stop and rest quite often, but we did make it. Mason & Corbin went on ahead and got there first. If you look really hard you will see them in this picture:










We goofed around on the top for a while and took some more pictures












Finally we started our trek back to the truck. Mason decided he would go over a BIG hill instead of going around it, so off he went. Bo, Corbin & I kept on walking. The more we walked, the more worried Bo became about him. He had thought the other side of the big hill came out right by our trail, but decided that he was wrong. It didn't and Mason would probably get lost. So Bo started up a hill we were beside at that time to try and flag Mason down. Corbin & I went on down the trail. We stopped to wait at a resting spot and were there for about an hour. I was beginning to get worried, when finally we saw them. They had gotten into quite a mess. Very steep hills and a long walk to get back to the trail. They got back all red-faced, tired and Bo was bleeding from scratches from all the tall weeds. Corbin & I were very happy to see them and I think they were us also. We rested a few more minutes and then headed on down the trail.









We got to the truck, headed back home, stopping at Taco Villa on the way, ate, all had baths and are now resting comfortably. It was really a fun day! I bet we all sleep good tonight.

Yesterday was Mason's 15th birthday. Hard to believe he is 15 years old! We went to eat last night at Calico County. Jenny & Corbin went with us (Cody had to work late). It was very nice.









Afterward we had german chocolate cake.

My my, I'm 50 years old today. I can't believe it. I never really thought I'd be 50. No, I didn't imagine I'd die before reaching 50. I just never really imagined myself that age. That was always an age way out in the distant future. Other people reached 50, but not me. Well, here I am. Fifty years old, --and I don't feel a day over 35.

I heard this little poem this weekend and really liked it. It is so true, I believe. It's about our sin problem. And as much as I try to hide my sin problem, it is still there, --just big as life. I HAVE A SIN PROBLEM! I can't stop sinning. I hate it, I wish I didn't, but I continue to over and over everyday. And every sin is really sin against my Lord.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Psalm 51:4

What a shame. Thinking of this, I could get really down and upset about it. I deserve hell and death. How can I escape it? I've earned it. I deserve it.

OH, but there is hope for me! Even me, who is full of sin. My hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is perfect, and he died to pay for MY sins. When God looks at me, he sees my substitute & savior. He doesn't see my sin. I am perfect in the Lord Jesus Christ! What wonderful news!!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1



I May Try

I may try but I can’t repent,
tho I endeavor often.
This stony heart just will not relent,
till my soul God does soften.

I may try but I can’t love,
Tho pressed by love devine.
No argument has the power to move
a heart as cold as mine.

I may try but I can’t rest
in God’s holy will.
I know he appoints what is best,
but I murmur at it still.

Oh, would I, but believe,
then all would easy be.
I should, but this I know
all faith must come from thee.

Today is a lovely day. No unpacking today. It's pretty much all done and that feels so good! We do still have a storage building in Dalhart to clean out, but we will get to that soon.

I ran some errands this morning, had lunch with Cody, then walked to the library with Mason. Yesterday Bo, Mason, Corbin & I went for a walk in the park and then went to Corbin's soccer game. It was fun and Corbin was a good little soccer player!

After my birthday party Saturday night when only Cody, Jenny & Corbin were still here, Corbin wanted to 'let the camera' take a picture of all of us. So we did. Here it is.



There are mostly older folks that live on our new street, but they are very nice. My next door neighbor, Della came by and brought us a Pumpkin Dump Cake. It sure was good. She also gave me a list with all the neighbor's names and phone numbers. She said they get together and have block parties in the summer. A few days later, two more ladies, Ruby & Fran came by to meet me and invited me to lunch on Friday (several ladies on the street go on Fridays). Today Ruby called and invited me over for coffee on Thursday morning with Fran and another lady. ---I think I'll go.

I got very nice birthday cards in the mail today from Mary Helen, Gendy, my friend Gail. Thank you so much. It's so nice to know someone is thinking of you!

Today has been quite a day! Bo, Mason & I got up this morning about 5:30, got dressed and drove to Dalhart for our big garage sale. It was scheduled to start at 9:00 am, but got going about 8:15. We were trying to get tables and stuff all set up when we got bombarded with folks. Jenny was there to help and we really had a successful sale. We made about $600 and got rid of alot of stuff.

After the garage sale, we made our way back to Amarillo. When we got here Bo said he wanted to go out to eat, so I said OK. He took a shower, but I really didn't want to because I would have to do my hair and such. I just wanted to go eat just the way I was because I was tired and didn't want to take time to get ready. He said he wanted to go to a really nice restaurant, so I finally said I would go shower and change then. Bo needed to take the trailer attached to his truck by the storage building first so we did that, and on the way to the restaurant Cody called and said he really needed to borrow a tool from Bo, so Bo said ok and we had to go back by the house to get it. When we got home, there was some really loud music coming from our house, so we went to check it out. We opened the door, and BOY, WAS I SURPRISED!! The house was full of people! There were balloons, food,and a Happy Birthday sign. It was all for me! I was so shocked I was speechless for a few seconds. Bo had cooked it all up for my 50th birthday, which is Tuesday. I must say it was a wonderful surprise. Cody, Jenny & Corbin were here and Mason & Whitney and LuAnn & Richard, and my two friends, Shannon & Peggy, and of course, Bo. Whitney, Jenny & LuAnn had brought food, Bo had ordered prime rib and we had a lovely dinner and a really good cake to top it off. I enjoyed it so much and think my husband is just wonderful for doing it for me. I got some really nice cards, a very pretty necklace from Cody, and a beautiful diamond bracelet from Bo. It was great. I loved it and love my husband for being so thoughtful and my family for helping.



I feel blessed! Thank you Lord.

What a busy couple of weeks we have had. I have hardly had time to do any blogging. We had to be in Dalhart Tuesday to close on our house. I worked Wednesday here in Amarillo and today Mason & I went back to Dalhart to work on the garage sale we're having this Saturday. Even though we closed on the house Tuesday, the new owners are giving us until Sunday to be completely out, so we left all the garage sale stuff in the garage. Jenny is helping me with the garage sale and she and I will be going back to Dalhart tomorrow to work some more. It's amazing how much stuff we have collected, and makes me feel somewhat materialistic looking at it all. I really want to just simplify my life, get rid of all the stuff we don't need.

The people that bought our house were there working on it today. Kind of made me sad. They had stripped all the wallpaper in the two back bedrooms and hallway. I know it will look nice when she is finished though. --Sad thing was I was just a visitor there. But I am going to really like living in Amarillo, --if I ever get to just relax and stop unpacking boxes!

Mason was a big help to me today. He's really a great kid.

Hey! Well, we are finally beginning to get settled in our new place. I have been so busy I haven't had time to do any blogging, and still have tons to do, but oh well. I worked today and it was nice not to have to drive 80 miles to get there. I even came home for lunch!

There have been lots of fires in the panhandle lately. Last weekend while we were moving, the winds were really blowing! Like 40-50 mph. Some fires got started and the winds really accelerated them. Whitney and Mason got here from Stanton Sunday afternoon. Whitney had planned to go on home to Canadian, but ending up having to spend the night with us due to road closings because of the fires. They say they have burned over 1,000,000 acres. Wow, that's alot. We used a horse trailer to move alot of our stuff, and with the wind blowing so hard, everything was covered with dust and dirt.

We will go back to Dalhart this weekend to finish moving and start cleaning. Also, I'm planning to have a garage sale the next weekend, so I've got to start messing with that. One thing I found out is that we just have too much stuff! It's funny how we accumulate things over the years and really don't even need them.

Well, we are liking our new abode. It's very nice! Come see us sometime!

Whew! Packing is alot of work. Mary Ellen & I have been very busy packing up the house for the last two days. I just didn't realize how much stuff we have. I am really NOT a pack-rat kind of person. I don't like clutter, so I can't believe how much 'clutter' we actually have when you start packing it up. Of course, we've lived here for 10 years, so what do I expect! All this kaos in my house makes me somewhat nervous though. But it'll be OK and will all be back nice and neat before too long.

We put a table out in the driveway today with various items, and a sign that says 'FREE, TAKE ME!' It was funny to watch people stop and look thru stuff and take a few things. One dumb thing I did was leave my scissors out on the table by accident, and yep, you guessed it. Somebody took my scissors! And I was using those scissors to cut tape for the boxes. LOL. Funny now, but not at the time.

Well, it's getting late and I've got another big day of packing tomorrow. Talk to you guys later!

Bo & I had a busy weekend. First I went to Amarillo on Friday to look for rent houses. I looked at several duplexes, apartments, and a few houses. I was very discouraged at what I was seeing....not really much available and not much for the high prices. Also most houses and duplexes wanted a one year lease agreement. We only need to rent for 6-8 months hopefully. So about 4:30 I decided to just give up for the day and head back to Big D. As I was leaving town, I saw a Realty office that said 'property management' on the sign. I decided to just stop in and see if they had anything. It just so happened they had one place available. It was a townhouse and 'very nice', the man said. So I headed across town to look at one more place, wondering if his idea of 'very nice' and mine were even close.


I thought it was a good price, compared to what I had been looking at all day, so really didn't expect find much. It WAS in a good area though. I found the place, went inside and to my surprise, it WAS very nice! The owner had just bought it (for investment property) and done alot of work inside, so it looks great! and he would rent it to us on a 6 month lease and month to month after that. I called Bo and told him about it and then told the realtor we wanted it. Yay! That was such a relief. Now we have somewhere to go. ---Now I've got alot of packing to do. Ugh.

Saturday we drove to Plainview to take Mason to meet the grandparents. He's staying with them this week. We all ate lunch at a Mexican Restaurant and visited with them for a little while, then headed back to Amarillo, did some shopping and came on home.

Then Sunday we went back to Amarillo to meet Mary Ellen at the airport. She came for a visit and will be here until Thursday. After we picked her up, we went and ate at Joe's Crabshack and it was very good. Then we did some errands and got back to Dalhart again about 5:00.

Well, that's about it for now. I am going to have a busy week!

Still waiting. Bo talked to the house owner yesterday, and he said he should have an answer next week. The friend of theirs and her husband are discussing whether or not they want the house. Either way, I think we are just going to rent a house for a few months. Moving twice will not be fun, but oh well.

I worked in Amarillo yesterday and had alot to do. It seems with working only one day a week, the work kind of piles up and it's hard to get it all done in one day, but I think I got it done. After work, I made my weekly trip to Walmart. Their groceries are just so much cheaper than our local United, but I don't usually get to buy cold or frozen items because I have to drive 1.5 hrs back to Dalhart. --Just a few more weeks and I'll be just a few minutes from Walmart! That'll be nice and there will be lots of other nice conveniences too. But I know I will miss Dalhart, and even the drives back and forth to Amarillo. Although I get tired of the drive sometimes, I do enjoy it sometimes too.

Yesterday I finished up my latest audiobook on the drive. It was 'Snowflower and the Secret Fan.' It was an OK book, but not one of my favorites. It was about two old friends in China.
I learned alot about old customs in China and that was interesting. One of the old customs was footbinding of young girls. Ugh. That must have been awful and so painful! The ideal foot was only 3 inches long. Can you imagine? Here's an article about it if you're interested ...or just bored. (How do ya like that picture, Jocelyne?)

Now I've got to figure out what book to listen to next. I'm thinking about 'The Secret Life of Bees' Anybody read it? Any other suggestions?

Ya'll have a great day!

The Waiting Game

Well, I didn't want to say anything until we knew something definite, but --- we made an offer on a house yesterday morning. But it's now 4:00 and we still havent heard anything, so I'm beginning to wonder what's going on? It was the house that Bo posted about, his associate/friend's house. It's a smaller house (1800 sq ft) compared to our now 2800 sq ft house, but I think it will be fine since it's only Bo, Mason & I now, and Mason for only about 3 more years or so. It needs some updating, but I think we would enjoy doing that to our liking. There was a bit of a problem though. A friend of the owner had said that she wanted the house before we ever looked at it. They didn't think she was serious, but wanted to check with her first. We're assuming they are checking/waiting on her decision. Another problem is that the owners are just starting to build a house and it won't be ready for 6 months or so. They really don't want to move until their new house is ready, so we might have to rent for a few months until that time. Why not just find another house, you might ask. Well, we think this house is really a good deal and we like it. It was custom built by the now-owners 16 years ago and they have never had any kids, so it is in really good shape, and has lots of nice features. It even has a nice tree in the back yard. I also really like the location, very centrally located. AND I'm so tired of looking at houses!! I've probably looked at 50-60 houses and have liked 2-3 of them in the price range we're trying to stay in. And as I mentioned in a previous blog, we had about decided to just rent for a while anyway.

OK... so that's what's going on. I'll keep ya posted! Thanks for asking!

It is a cold and windy Saturday morning. It's supposed to warm back up tomorrow and reach 80 by Tuesday, I think. Cool! I love warm weather. Although I have to say we have had such a mild winter. But it's been months since we've had any rain. It's really dry around here.

I sat and talked with a lady for a while the other day about religion. I really didn't say much, mostly just listened, but left feeling somewhat empty and sad. What I heard and what I usually hear from modern day religionists is so man-centered. It's all about us, and what we need to do (or stop doing). I can see how people become so disillusioned with religion. To me, it's so daunting, all the things they say we are to do. Where is the freedom in that?

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. Romans 7:18

Yes, but....

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you FREE! John 8:32

If the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed! John 8:36

Mason is finished with 10th grade. He took finals this week and did OK. He made B's on Math & History exams, an A on his Bible exam, and D's on Chemistry & English exams. I'm not thrilled with Chemistry & English, but would expect that with what I found out last weekend, and am really happy with the rest. This has been such a tough week for me. I have struggled with all this so much. I have felt so many emotions about it and have just been so upset and worried about Mason through it all. There's a old saying that goes like this: 'You're only as sick as your secrets.' --Now Mason has no more dirty little secrets, just a clean slate and a clear conscience. He can move on and I know he will be fine. More than anything, I want the best for him. He really is such a fine boy, and I love him very much. ---Sometimes being a parent is hard.

Thanks Mary Helen for being there for me!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear GENDY,
Happy Birthday to you!

This is a sad blog entry for me to write and one I really don't want to write, but feel in my heart I should. I am very upset and disappointed about something I found out yesterday and feel it would be wrong for me to cover it up and pretend it never happened, and not at all beneficial to Mason for me to do so. So... here goes. First of all, about 2 months ago I caught Mason cheating on a Chemistry test. He had found the quiz and test keys I kept in a drawer in my office. I caught him pulling out the answers he had written on an index card from his sweatshirt pocket during the test. I was shocked that he would do such a thing. I don't know, I just have thought of Mason as someone who I never had to worry about doing such things. Anyway, he was punished and I moved and hid the quiz & test key books, not saying anything about it to anyone. He seemed very remorseful and tearfully promised me this was the first and only time he had cheated. I (the sucker that I am) believed him. Since then he has done OK on test and quizzes, usually not A's, as before, but OK (B's & C's). Well, yesterday when I was moving furniture, I lifted a chair cushion and found an index card with some writing on it. It didn't take long to figure out, these were cheat notes. My heart just sank. I got out the test key book and found the test key they were copied from and it was the 2nd test of this year! I didn't catch him cheating until a couple of months ago which was over halfway into the school year. Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he had lied to me about only cheating on one test, so Bo & I confronted him and he tried to say this cheat note was the same one I caught him with before and yes, that was the only test he ever cheated on. After proving to him that it wasn't the same cheat note, he finally came clean and admitted he had been cheating in several subjects, but not all. But who can believe that after all this?? I believe he has probably cheated on most of his tests and quizzes for a long time and probably in the other two grades too. After all, the keys were in a drawer in my office the whole time, although you can be sure they are not there now.

I felt I needed to tell this because of all the glowing reports I have given you all on how well Mason has done in school since we started homeschooling. One reason it is a hard thing to tell is that I, as his teacher and mom feel it is a bad reflection on me. It sure is nice to tell how well he is doing and feel so proud of him. Makes me look like a great mom and teacher! But it's not so easy to tell this story. Also, I think it would be detrimental to Mason to cover this up for him, and he needs consequences for his actions, one of which is loosing the respect (be it ill-gotten) he had gained of others concerning his schoolwork, (--which I do believe can be earned back thru honest hard work).

Well, that's the end of this sad tale. Please know it is heartbreaking and humbling for me to tell it.

I'm having trouble going to sleep tonight, so I thought I'd just get up and blog a bit. I know.... it's only 11:00 pm, but I usually go to bed around 10:00 every night. Bo & I went to Amarillo today house-hunting, but we just didnt find anything that we want. Maybe I'm just too picky, I don't know. The prices and the property taxes are just so high! And I like the neighborhoods with the older houses, but don't particularly like the older houses. I like the newer houses, but don't like the newer neighborhoods. Well, redo an older house, you might say. And yes, that's a possiblity, but so far I haven't really found an older house with a layout that I like. They are just so chopped up with so many rooms. I like a very open layout. It's just such a big decision to make, and seems so permanant. I know it's not really permanant, but you know what I mean.... it's not easily reversed. Now we're even talking that we might just rent for a while.

It has been so cold here the last three days, but it's supposed to warm up tomorrow. Today the wind was really blowing and with the lower temperatures, it was pretty miserable to be out in it. After going to about 15 open houses, we went to eat at Ruby Tequila's Mexican Restaurant. It was pretty good and I only ate about half of my meal to save the room and calories for a capuccino on the way home. It wasn't a real capuccino, just one of those fake ones from Toot n Totem that have about a zillion calories. But I love those things and let myself splurge on one every so often. Bo got one of those strong coffees from Starbuck's.

I was in the mood for a change yesterday so I moved all my breakfast area furniture out and moved the den furniture in there. LOL. I know, sounds very silly, but I figured why the heck not, we'll only be here a few more weeks and nobody ever sits at the table in there (except for Jocelyne, when she's here and on her computer). This way Bo or Mason can sit in there and keep me company while I'm in the kitchen. I kinda like it this way.

Well, guess I'll go try to fall asleep again! Good night.

We have a contract on the house! I can't believe it, we're going to be moving to Amarillo (if everything goes thru OK). And we are happy with the price we got for it. Now we just have to find another house. I worked in Amarillo yesterday until 3:00, then had a realtor take me to 5 or 6 houses. I didn't like any of them, and really felt pretty discouraged all the way home last night, but I know we will find the right house. I seem to like a newer house on the inside, but like the charm of an older house on the outside, and I like lots of mature trees, which you just don't find much on a newer house. So..... we'll just have to keep looking. --A house is just a house and a temporary abode while we travel thru this life. But, this world is not our home and we will only be here a short time compared to all eternity in heaven. I gotta remember that!

We have been working on the house again this weekend (Saturday). Here's Bo fixing the ceiling around a skylight in the sunroom. And we painted Mason's room a beige color. Looks much better. Today some people came to look at the house. --Don't know if they liked it or not.

Bo & I went for a drive around big D while our house was being looked at, and other than that, we haven't done much today. We did have a good lesson this morning on Ephesians 2:1-10. That is such a great passage. Verses 1-3 describes our pitiful, depraved natural state, and would leave us feeling pretty hopeless if we just stopped there. Ah, but verse 4 and following brings such hope! BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us... My, my, how blessed we are that God is rich in mercy to us. After our lesson, we listened to a sermon by Todd Nibert. A passage in Matthew, chapter 16:15-17. I love that passage too. The Lord Jesus asked his diciples 'Whom say you that I am?' And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. The gospel IS a revelation, and cannot be understood thru the carnal reasoning of man. Only thru revelation from God. How blessed are all who have this revelation!!

Well, that's about it for me. Have a great week!

The weather forecast says 65 degrees today. Great! I love this beautiful weather we are having.

I worked in Amarillo yesterday and enjoyed the day. There's a girl named Toni that works with me who is very nice. I enjoyed visiting with her some, along with getting alot done at work.

I got a call about 3:00 or so yesterday afternoon and it was Cody. He had dropped a large concrete block on his finger at work and was at the Emergency room in Hereford. He had broken his finger. The middle finger on his right hand. He said it was very painful! He was out on the job all by himself, so he had to drive around looking for the hospital, finally stopping to ask for directions, and go in and get treated (with no one there to help him). LOL. I know he is 26 years old, but it was so hard for me to just stay at work and wait to hear how he was. I wanted to jump in the car and drive to Hereford to be with him. --But I didn't, and in a little while he called to say he was Ok and on his way home. After work I went to he & Jenny's house and visited with them for a while. He was doing better by then and the pain had subsided a good bit. He's got a splint on his finger that holds it straight out. Looks kinda funny since it is his middle finger! LOL. He is left handed so thankfully it won't effect his daily habitudes too much, although he said that at work, they were going to be laying some new gas lines next week, which meant he would be getting some good overtime, and now he doesn't think he'll be able to. He was kind of bummed out about that.

Before I left to come home, Corbin read some to me. I can't believe he can read so well and is only in kindergarten. He's such a smart little guy! Afterward Corbin & I went to get some ice cream, then I headed back to Dalhart, getting about home about 8:30. I gave Mason 2 quizzes and a Chemistry test, read some and went to bed.

Then & Now

THEN






NOW








My, how we've all changed in 38 or so years! I'm just guessing. I look around 12 yrs old in the first picture, but not sure exactly how long ago it was. I vaguely remember this trip to El Charro's Restaurant with my family. I really just remember seeing this picture all these years, more than the actual trip. I bet Mary Ellen remembers, but Gendy & Buster may not. It was one of the few times we all went out to eat together, especially in a nice restaurant. Nowadays a place like that wouldn't be considered a nice restaurant, but I think it was then, and this particular restaurant is still a nice restaurant today (much updating). We went there for a company party or something with the company my daddy worked for. I think we were all very excited to get to go, and very proud of our daddy for having the 'connections' to get us there. LOL. Funny. --The second picture was taken at Thanksgiving last year. Quite a goodlooking bunch, I'd say!

This is a lazy day. Nothing much to do. Bo worked in Gruver until about 2:00 or so, and I took Mason to Lana's a little while ago. He was bored and decided to call her and see if he could come out and spend the night tonight.

I have been listening to the audio book, 'The Kite Runner,' and just finished it a little while ago. I must say I think it is a GREAT book. I think one of the best I've ever read (or heard). It is about two boys that grew up together in Afghanistan. It is very well written and provokes so much feeling for the characters, --good & bad. It was a very sad story and brought me to tears several times, but I loved it. I'm sorry it's over and will miss the characters. --Oh, and I liked 'Memoirs of a Geisha' too, but not as much as this book. I am really enjoying my membership to Audible.com!

Have a good Saturday!

Goodbye My Friend

Bo & I took the motorcycle to Amarillo this morning to meet the guy who bought it. He and his wife drove up to get it. The transaction went fine and my friend, Val is gone now. I don't really feel sad about it. I would even say I feel kind of relieved. And there's more room in the garage now! But I do have some great memories of Bo & I's adventures on our motorcycles. A few years ago we took them to Yellowstone National Park and Mt Rushmore. That was a great trip! And I've had many good afternoons just riding it around here. As I said before, it is the end of an era in my life. --Time to move on, I guess.

Dyke stopped by the other day and said he just wanted to encourage me about selling the house. He said he drove some people by last weekend, and they really liked the house. They didn't look at it because I wasn't home and they didn't have their wives with them anyway. But, the wives will be here in a couple of weeks and they will want to look at it. Dyke said, 'Your house is going to sell real soon.' Of course, that could just be a salesman talking. I know one thing, it's not going to sell if he doesn't start showing it! LOL.

Bo's Uncle Johnny is in the hospital in Amarillo, so we stopped by to see him this morning and he seems to be doing pretty good. He had a small stroke. He will probably be going to a nursing home though when he gets out of rehab, which is where he is going after his hospital stay. He had a pretty bad stroke several years ago and was already disabled. Now he may not be able to care for himself anymore. Sad, but he seems to be taking it well.

After we left the hospital we went to eat at Ruby Tequila's. It was very good. Then Bo brought me back to Dalhart, and he went on to Gruver.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Well, someone outbid 'ol Steve, thank goodness! The auction was over at 10:00 this morning and a guy from Katy, Tx. made the winning bid. I am very pleased. I have sent an email to him confirming his purchase, but haven't heard back yet. I wish he would contact me. I will just feel better about it when I hear from him. But he has 48 hours to make a payment thru paypal, so it's probably OK. Guess I just got a little ansie after dealing with Steve. This guy from Katy has 438 positive feedback scores with Ebay so he sounds good!

I'm going to work this afternoon for a couple of hours at the courthouse. My friend, LuAnn called yesterday and asked if I could come help out and I said I would. Mason is going out to ride his dirtbike for a couple of hours. It's really a nice day out. Hope you enjoy yours!

Grrrrrr!

I am not too thrilled right now. I got onto the Ebay website a couple of hours ago to see how the bidding is going on my Valkyrie. I saw I had a message from Steve, the high bidder right now. He asked me to please omit his bid -due to foot surgery. Mmmm. Foot surgery? Did he not know he was having foot surgery just a few days ago when he bid on it in the first place? Grrrrr. If I omit his bid, it will delete all the bids and I'm back at square one with only a few hours left in the auction. (It ends tomorrow morning at 9:58 a.m.) Well, I sent him back a link to the
'Retract Bids' page. If I omit his bid, he just goes on his merry way, and I have lost money if the bidding doesnt get back up to where it is now, or it could possibly not sell at all, and I've lost my fees for listing the motorcycle on Ebay in the first place. If he has to retract, it will be investigated by Ebay and it will be listed on his account, so that's where I'm leaving it, I guess. --Hopefully, someone will outbid him by tomorrow morning. (I did get another message with questions from another interested person.) If not, Steve may just not take the motorcycle and I'm back where I started from, except I'm out $70 to Ebay. (Thanks alot Steve!)

I'll keep ya posted!

Corbin & I went for a walk in the canyon this afternoon. 4.25 miles! I couldn't believe he made it that far, but he did and with very little complaining. We walked down to a park that's just on the edge of the canyon and back thru to home again. We stopped and made his initials in the dirt with some rocks and we drug a stick in the sand all the way home, leaving a long continuous line on the trail. He got a drink out of the faucet at the park and played in a puddle it made for a bit. It all took us a couple of hours and was great fun (for me). I really enjoyed it. He's my sweet boy!

Well, it's been a pretty quiet week. Bo had planned to take Corbin & Mason skiing just for the day tomorrow (Saturday), but he called a little while ago and cancelled. He said something had come up at work and he just couldn't get away. So he won't be coming home tonight. He will be working again tomorrow and maybe Sunday too. He is a busy man! Mason & I are going to Amarillo tonight. We will go by Cody & Jenny's and get Corbin, go eat, and then go to see Nanny McPhee at the movies. At least that's what Corbin & I will be seeing. Mason may decide to see something else. We'll see. Then Corbin will come home with us for the weekend.

Mason & I went to Homeschool playgroup today. There's a boy there named Jediah, He's the same age as Mason. A few weeks ago, he told his mother he couldn't see out of one eye, so they took him to the Dr and started running tests. Come to find out, he has a brain tumor! He is scheduled for surgery on Monday morning. They should know by sometime Tuesday if it's malignant. Oh my gosh! My heart goes out to Jediah and his family. Please pray for them, and --may God's will be done.

Well, I guess that's it. We'll be heading out for Amarillo soon. Have a great weekend!

I put my motorcycle on Ebay yesterday and hey, I got a bid today! --A bid for the reserve price I was asking, so it is now sold even if nobody else bids. And if somebody else does bid, they will have to go higher. Wow! That was fast. Maybe I should put the house on Ebay. LOL

I really am glad it sold, but am a little sad too. Its the end of an era in my life. --My motorcyle riding era. LOL. I'll be riding with Bo from now on. But...... he's an excellent driver!

House Hunt

I found my house yesterday! --But we're not going to get it. We just have to wait until we sell this house before we can get another one. We could get a Bridge loan, and we even talked about it, but it's really kind of foolish to do that and pay all that interest on the bridge loan, & property taxes & insurance on two houses, until this one sells. That might put us in somewhat of a bind, and who knows when this house will sell. Could be next week and it could be a year from now. So darn, I guess we just better wait. That's just a little too out of my comfort zone. --But at least I am a little more encouraged that there are houses out there that I like and can afford. So that's good. I know things will work out just as they are 'predestined' to by God, and he certainly knows best!

And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Saturday Morning Musings

I came across this quote this morning, and it got me to thinking. (I know, that can be dangerous!)

"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
Frederick Douglass

I like this quote and believe we WILL incur our own abhorrence if we don’t stay true to ourselves. I believe the reason we wouldn’t stay true to ourselves is really more selfish than staying true to ourselves anyway. It all goes back to that ‘people pleasing’ thing. In trying to make others like us and think well of us, we try to figure out what they would like or what would please them, and then we try to be that or say that, while we are around them. And we convince ourselves that this is a selfless and kind thing to do. But is it really, or is it just our coveting their favor? In doing this, we begin to loose ourselves, and as we loose ourselves, we resent the person we deem responsible for this. And who would that person be? None other than the person we are trying to please in the first place. But who is really responsible? WE are. For selfishly giving ourselves away in order to purchase their favor. (Most of the time, we don’t even gain their favor by doing this anyway. People just seem to be more drawn to TRUE people.) Now is that to say we should never do or say anything nice to others? Heavens NO! But we just should do it expecting nothing in return, do it because we care for them and want to see them happy, or simply because it’s the right thing to do. If those aren’t our motives, then perhaps we shouldn’t do it at all. –--Anyway, when we give ourselves away and are not true to ourselves, we begin to abhor ourselves, and when we abhor ourselves, how can we even be very pleasant to be around anyway? Kind of a vicious circle!

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." Eleanor Roosevelt


Today's page in 'One Day At A Time':

If I can see myself clearly and honestly in relation to my present circumstances, I will not become the victim of self-pity or resentment. If I do what I should, I will be at peace with myself.

It is only when I compare my lot in life with that of others that the destructive emotion of self-pity is allowed to engulf me. It is only by taking offense at what others do that I will be afflicted with resentment. If I feel that what I am doing is right, I will not be dependent on the admiration or applause of others. It is gratifying, but not essential to my contentment.

I will learn to judge my own motives, to evaluate my own actions, so that, little by little, I can bring them into line with my standards and ideals.

Nothing has the power to hurt my feelings and stir up unwholesome emtions in me unless I allow it. I will do what is given me to do. I will do it as well as I can. That will be my inner security against which all outside battering will be powerless.

My Afternoon With Stew

I went to Amarillo yesterday. First I had a dentist appointment at 8:00, of which I was late for because I overslept. I very seldom ever oversleep. I don't know what got into me! I needed to be up at 5:30 in order to leave at 6:30 for Amarillo, and I woke up at about 5:55. I hate being late for an appointment and was very embarrassed and apologetic when I got there. Dr. Ritchie was very nice and understanding, even though I was his first appointment for the day, and he was having to wait for me. Ugh.

After my dentist appointment, which went very well, by the way, I went on to work and was there until midafternoon. Then I made my way over to Coldwell-Banker where I had a 3:30 appointment with Stew, the Amarillo real estate guy. First he spent 45 minutes with me in the office explaining procedure and showing me some descriptions of properties. He was very much a talker, so it seemed to take 2 or 3 times as long as I think it should have. But, he was a very nice man. Finally we got in his car to go and look at some houses. We looked at 6 places, I think and each one seemed to take much longer than need be. I can usually do a quick walk-thru and tell if I'm interested or not. If I am interested, then I want to spend some time, but if not, I'm ready to get out of there. Only one house interested me at all, and that one only slightly. I am really amazed at how some people leave their house to be shown, --and the prices! I would say three of the houses smelled really bad and were very cluttered and messy. Why would you leave your house like that when you're trying to sell it?? A mystery to me. And I couldn't believe the prices for those cluttered, messy houses! Ridiculous for what you would get. All along the way, Stew and I talked about various things. He was a 65 yr old catholic from Baltimore, MD, who takes piano lessons with his grand daughters and rides a Harley. LOL. As we were talking about updating houses, he told me he and his wife had lived in their house for 30 years and had been updating it the last couple of years. Then he said we were only a little ways from his house and he would like to show it to me (not to sell, mind you, just to show me his remodeling). I thought it was a little odd, but said OK. He called his wife and told her we were coming. When we pulled up to his house, I could see that it was a very nice house. We went inside and I met his wife, Mary Lou, who was also a very nice person. We toured his whole house and I must say it was beautiful. I ended up staying there for about 45 minutes just visiting with Stew and Mary Lou. They kept telling me I looked so much like a friend of theirs, Nancy Coons, who oddly enough, I knew! Her husband used to work for the same company as Bo. I don't see the resemblance at all, but anyway..... they informed me that Nancy & her husband, Lyle were getting divorced. Mmmmm. Interesting. --Anyway, I finally told Stew I needed to get back to my car so I could go get something to eat and start heading back to Dalhart. I got back to my car at 6:45 pm, went to Taco Villa for a burrito (not one bit healthy, but oh well) and got home about 8:30. I didn't even get to make my weekly trip to Walmart because it was so late! It was an interesting afternoon, and I guess somewhat profitable in that it gave me some more insight and something to compare with. And --old Stew was quite a character!

I did get to listen to my book, 'Memoirs of A Geisha' to and from Amarillo and am enjoying it very much.

This morning I drained and cleaned my fish aquarium. I'm really tired of messing with it and asked a friend if she would like to have it. She said yes and came to get it a little while ago. I'm glad to see it go.

Guess I'll get ready and go to the grocery store since I didn't make it to Walmart yesterday.

Have a great day!

A Bit of a Rant

Jenny & Corbin sent me Disney World pictures! I love this one of Corbin and Mickey:










Bo & I went to Amarillo yesterday to some open houses. We saw some really pretty ones, with some really not-so-pretty price tags. LOL. --Ugh. It's hard being a tightwad at times like this. I really want to be wise with our money, but at the same time, well you know, those pretty houses sure are calling. What bugs me is the property taxes on the darn things! After you pay the high price tag, then you've got to shell out SEVERAL thousand a year for property taxes. For one thing, we don't even have a kid in the public school system. We have to pay tuition for home schooling and then pay the property school taxes too. --Oh well, that's just the way it is. Can't change it, might as well accept it and move on. I'm sure we will find a lovely house and everything will be just fine. I wonder what we'll end up doing. Going the conservative route and get a nice, but cheaper house, and having money left over each month to do a few things or letting our predilection for expensive houses (expensive to us) get the best of us, and being broke from now on. (How'd you like that big word?) Who knows? --It might be a good investment. What do you think we should do????

House For Sale

Dyke, the real estate man (and Cody's father-in-law) called yesterday and wanted to bring someone by this morning to look at the house. So I got to straightening up, putting things in drawers (I hope I can find things again), lit some candles, turned on lamps and ceiling fans (on very low, of course), and Mason & I went for a walk while they came. Afterwards Dyke called and said he had brought 4 couples by. Wow! FOUR?! These are dairy people who will be moving here from California and are in town looking around. He said the house showed very well (what does that mean?), and that one couple showed some interest, but they have to sell some land in California first so arent really ready to buy just yet. Well, heck. He'll call again when he has someone else to bring by.

Bo is in Gruver today working. He has been very busy with some extra stuff lately so he felt he needed to work today to catch up some. He'll be home tonight. I was thinking maybe we could go to Amarillo tomorrow and look at open houses that are for sale. It's just hard to know what to do about buying another house. This house could sale next week or it could be 6 months. Who knows. Hopefully, it WILL sell!

That's about it for me today. TTYL!

P.S. Scroll down and you will see I added a weather bar & a Hangman Game to the Blog, just in case you get bored with my ramblings.

Words from Johnathan

I found this post on another blog that I happened upon. It was written by a young man named Johnathan who is only 19 yrs old. I thought it shows very much wisdom for a man of 19. And I know that true wisdom comes from God. So I consider this young man very blessed of God to know such things!

Why Does God Allow "Evil?" --by Johnathan

The recent hurricane Katrina has brought this question to the surface once again and quite frankly I am disappointed at the answers given by some revered Christian leaders to this question. This is the answer I have heard again and again, it goes something like this, "we don't know, we just have to trust God". I agree that we have to trust God, but the Bible is very clear on why there is suffering. Here is the answer I believe that should be given: "Who art thou, oh man that you reply against God?" (Romans 9:20). We deserve Hell for all eternity and anything less than that is an incredible mercy. How is it that we, every day shake our fist in the face of God and then seem baffled when he allows something bad to happen to us? We must stop calling what God chooses to do, --evil. Hurricane Katrina was absolutely just and right. But you will say,"What about the good people who suffered?" There is none righteous, no not one! (Romans 3:10); Christians too, who suffer (though they have much in which they can have joy and hope and the suffering of this world is not to be compared with the glory which is to come), still must say it was well deserved. Ever since the fall, we as humans have been questioning the goodness of God. This kind of questioning is sinful and should be seen in that light and denounced.

I have to agree with Johnathan that we are a sinful lot, and to think that the God of all glory would show mercy on any of us is so amazing. I think perhaps instead of asking, why does God allow bad things to happen to us, we should be saying: I hope God doesn't give us what we deserve! And be so thankful for all the mercy he shows us.

I worked in Amarillo yesterday and afterwards I went and got Corbin for a little while. We went to get an ice cream and he told me all about Disney World. He loved it! Here's a picture of him with his Mickey Mouse ears on. LOL.

Mason is working hard in school. We will finish up the 3rd nine weeks this week and start the 4th and final nine weeks of 10th grade next week. We should be finished with 10th grade around the end of February. He is doing very well and I'm very proud of him! I think he has come a long ways in his study habits since he left public school over a year and 1/2 ago.

Looks like it's going to be another gorgeous day today, so I think I'll head out for a walk. I'm getting close to the end of my audio book, 'The Testament.' It is 13 hours long. It's been good though and I'm thinking about 'Memoirs of a Geisha' for my next audio book. Anybody know anything about it? Is it clean? LOL

Have a great day!

According to the Oprah Show, a stressful lifestyle can add years to your age. Here is a list of things that add to your age and thus take away from your life. My comments are in red:

1) If you can't set boundaries, have trouble speaking up for yourself and suffer from the "disease to please" add 4.4 years to your age.

I think that when I was younger, I was somewhat of a 'people pleaser.' but I don't think so anymore. Dr. Laura says that even though the term 'people pleaser' has the connotation of being a kind, selfless person, REALLY the 'people pleaser' is a selfish, self-centered person because usually the whole purpose of trying so hard to please the other person is --trying to make sure they think well of YOU, not necessarily just to make them happy. Mmmm.

2) If you don't have an outlet for you passion and creativity, add 6 years.

I think my passion is learning more about the Lord Jesus and his ways, and theology in general. He is so interesting and there is so much to learn. This subject could never be exhausted and I really enjoy it. Also, this may sound weird, but I think I use my creativity in my accounting work. I know that most people would think that is so boring, but I really get a sense of accomplishment when I finish a task and when I feel like I did a good job. I seem to like organizing and paying attention to detail too. --I know, WEIRD!

3) Toxic relationships can take a huge toll on your health. If someone is draining your energy, add 8 years to your actual age.

I have had many toxic relationships in my life, but thank the Lord, I feel like the relationships I'm in now are very beneficial to me. I try to avoid people that cause me stress. Just not worth it.

4) If you spend more than 3 hours every day stressed out and don't take time for yourself, you may be adding as many as 32 years to your chronological age!

Of course, there are days that I get really stressed out, but I think they are few and far between for the most part. I really enjoy life and have so many blessings!

Nothing much going on around here today. I called D. Rogers about selling our house for us. He said he will come look at it on Thursday, and we will talk about price, etc. For a long time, I would feel fearful at the thought of selling this house, but I don't think I do anymore. Change scares me sometimes and this would be a big one! But I 'think' it's time now. We have lived here for ten years. Time for a new adventure maybe? We'll see what develops!

Bo finished the new deck out back and it looks so nice. He did such a good job. He is a very talented guy.

I just got back from a walk in the canyon. (Here's a photo). I was listening to John Grisham's book 'The Testament' as I walked along. It's a pretty good book. It's so warm out I took off my jacket and hung it on a tree and then picked it back up on my way out of the canyon. It's a nice place to walk, but you have to watch for cow poop on the trail. LOL.

Yesterday we drove to Sudan, Tx to visit a dairy that supplies calves to Bo's feedyard. After that we went to Amarillo and did some shopping. Bo got a new pair of shoes, and I got shoes and a pair of jeans. Then we went to eat at Logan's Roadhouse. Bo had gotten a $50 gift certificate to there from a customer at work. It was really good and we enjoyed the day very much.

This morning we listened to a very good sermon by Todd Nibert on 'the man of the tombs', in Matt. 5. Gosh, it was so good and such a good picture of our state before and after God regenerates us. --Such a blessing from God to hear his word preached.

Bo & I may go for a motorcycle ride in a little while. That'll be fun!

It was 80 degrees today with hardly any wind. That's unbelievable for the middle of January! I love it. Mason & I went to the Homeschool Playgroup today for a couple of hours. I enjoyed visiting with all the ladies and Mason had fun playing with the kids, I think. Afterwards I went for a long walk and soaked up the sunshine. It was great. As you can see in the picture, Mason washed my car this afternoon. It was really dirty and I'm so glad to have such a great guy to do that for me. Bo flew to Cimarron, KS & Clovis, NM today for some kind of business and will be home tonight. Cody, Jenny, & Corbin are in Orlando, FL at Disney World! Jenny's dad took the whole family for their Christmas present. They will be back next Tuesday. I know they are having a great time. Corbin was so excited to go. I look forward to hearing about his adventures when he gets back. Well, guess that's it for today! Ta-Ta.

I went to Amarillo yesterday and worked all day, then went to Walmart for groceries, the mall to return a shirt for Mason, Office Max for office supplies and then home to Dalhart. It was a long day, but an enjoyable one. As I walked thru the mall watching all the people, I was thinking about all the fads and trends of the day, and how I've watched them come and go and change thru the years. It's funny, really. Some new fad will come along, and everyone thinks its great, then in a few years, it will be outdated and obsolete, and something else will be great. Then a few more years and the outdated, obsolete thing is back 'in.' It does seem though that each new (old) 'thing' gets a little more risque as we go along. Just who determines what is 'in vogue' and what does it really matter in the whole scheme of things? It's all so relative anyway.

I used to think the younger generation was much smarter than the older generation, but the older I get, the more I see how that is not true at all. Older folks have alot of wisdom. They have been on this earth many years and have seen lots of things. We can learn alot from them. (Notice, I don't put myself in the 'older generation' catagory just yet).

Just some thoughts!

Here's what we are doing today. A few months ago, we had to jack hammer out the concrete in a few places around the house in order for the foundation man to put steel beams under the house to shore it up because of the foundation crack. Today we are putting the concrete back for the sidewalks. Corbin is here. He spent the night last night. We got up this morning, listened to a good sermon by Henry Mahan, had a good lunch (with black-eyed peas, of course) and Bo went to work on the concrete, with a couple of helpers. This morning before anybody else even got up, Bo built a firewood holder for the back patio. He is so industrious lately. I like it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!