My Reading Blog

Twenty-five years (2/2/1989) Where has it gone? It seems like yesterday That she went to live with God. The memories I have In my mind and heart She was a fantastic woman Who brought delight to many. She loved She cared She shared She gave her all She fought her battles Always with a smile She taught me so much About life and how important God was to her. She relied on Him for everything And lived her life for His Glory. I miss her so each and every day. I know she's watching me and my family. Mom, I hope I've made you proud I try to live my life by following your examples. Thank you, Mom, for being so special.

It's been a while - a long while - since I've actually sat down to look at my pictures and decide which ones to put in a scrapbook.  I've made plenty of cards and have lots of paper, but haven't had the motivation to actually work on a scrapbook.  I have several of them  "in progress", but.... So while visiting Michelle, I went to Hobby Lobby (we don't have a craft store near us).  I picked up several 3 ring binders - I got tired of fighting with the post binders.  When I got home, I started moving finished (or almost finished) pages to the new binders.  Only then did I discover that the last year I scrapped Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures was 2009.  Yikes.  As I said, it's been a while. Last Friday, I found the pictures for the missing years and vowed that I would work diligently to get a few pages completed each day of the weekend.  I guess what I "think" doesn't always actually get completed.  But, Monday, that was the day!...

  Matthew 7:7,8 (NKJV) 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. These verses are only a few of my favorite scriptures, but these two are extra special because they were my Confirmation Verses.  What a wonderful promise God has given each of us!  These verses reassure me that God is always available for me to talk with and share my concerns and requests.  It doesn't mean that I get everything I ask for or seek or get it in my timeframe, but it does mean that God hears me and cares about my needs and wants.   I know that He will give me what I need in His time.   I looking forward to this Bible Study and reading what others have to say.   

A week ago I discovered that Terje nominated me for the Sunshine Award.  I was amazed and felt honored that she would do this.  I promised her that I would answer her questions and give out some little known information about me.  So here goes: 1.  I was born and raised on a farm near Clifton, Illinois. 2.  I took piano and organ lessons for 6 years - never did perfect it, but someday I'd like to take lessons again. 3.  I was a cheerleader in 7th & 8th grade. 4.  I worked for International Playtex Corp. in Dover, Delaware. 5.  I knew my husband's family longer than I did him.  I shared an apartment with his sister and visited with his family while he was in the military.  I met him when he came back from VietNam in June of 1969 and we got married in March, 1970.  And they said it would never last!  Ha - 44 years this March. 6.  I started a fire in the oven while baking meatloaf to impress my soon to be husba...

Goodreads summary:  " Pulitzer Prize winner Sheri Fink’s landmark investigation of patient deaths at a New Orleans hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina – and her suspenseful portrayal of the quest for truth and justice   In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled mightily to survive and to maintain life amid chaos.            After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths. Five Days at Memorial , the culmination of six years of reporting, unspools the mystery of what happened in those days, bring...

 I've been waiting and searching for my OLW for 2014 and as many of you have said, "it just seemed to find me".  I thought I had my word and then this one appeared on another blog and my "Aha" moment hit me. I thought that's what I want to do with my life in 2014 - to embrace it fully. By definition embrace means:  1) clasp in the arms - hug, cherish, encircle, enclose; 2) to take up readily or gladly - to welcome; 3) to take in (an opportunity). And so, this year I plan to be more diligent at looking for those people, opportunities, and challenges that I can embrace and hold close.  I've always been a hugger and I hope with the skill already in place, I can look for more ways to embrace my life's happenings this year. This quote was also on Sheila's BookJourney blog and I thought it very appropriate. 

Goodreads summary:  " The summer of 1963 begins like any other for nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three, but is convinced that her mother will keep her promise to take Starla and her daddy to Nashville, where her mother hopes to become a famous singer—and that one day her family will be whole and perfect. When Starla is grounded on the Fourth of July, she sneaks out to see the parade. After getting caught, Starla’s fear that Mamie will make good on her threats and send her to reform school cause her to panic and run away from home. Once out in the country, Starla is offered a ride by a black woman, Eula, who is traveling with a white baby. She happily accepts a ride, with the ultimate goal of reaching her mother in Nashville. As the two unlikely companions mak...