Update

Brit and J. P. have their embryos-- one is a 4AA and another really good one. Sounds like grading eggs doesn't it? I got to see pictures of the embryos. They look like circles about the size of a quarter or maybe half dollar with little indentions on their surface. Of course, they are not that size at all. The images are enlarged and enhanced so that the embryologist can make decisions about them. It is so hard to imagine seeing my grand-embryos. What wonderful advancements the medical and science fields have made!

They'll know on Monday whether they attached or not. Brit said that the J. P.-sized embryo and its partner would probably be hungry and attach themselves to find something to eat. So, like me, she's expecting the best outcome.

They have a little nephew named Kall. He is a hoot! He's five and very precocious. Kall has an idea that Aunt Bit and Uncle Bay-P are having twins. He told J. P.'s mother, whom he calls Honey, that he thought they should be named Ashley and Max. So, that's how Brit and J. P. have been referring to the embryos. That's so cute!

The doctor told them that she was able to freeze five good embryos. That is way more than they expected to have. They were thrilled.

Please continue to keep us all in your prayers as she is on bed/recliner rest this week. Monday is coming soon, yet is so far away. We're hanging our hopes on Cinco de Mayo.

Anticipation

Today is the day for which we've been waiting a long time. We didn't know the date exactly. We just knew that ONE day, we would get the news.

Brit and J. P. have gone to Bedford today to pick up their embryo. Today is the day that the transfer takes place. Today is the day that will forever change their lives (and mine).

The anticipation has made us anxious, but now that it's here, elation takes its place. I pray that God sees fit for everything else in the future to go as well.

If any two people ever deserved to be parents, those two do. They will make great parents.
They are cautiously excited about the prospect of becoming parents, but, heck, I have thrown caution to the wind. I'm downright giddy.

Please keep all of them in your prayers.

Crazy

The spring is a time of excitement. New growth; warmer weather; nice breezes. Springtime gives us a sense of renewal. Then, why don't I feel renewed?

With the spring also comes a whirlwind of activity. Since I'm a teacher, I know firsthand how crazy spring can be. We have softball, baseball, track, tennis, golf, powerlifting, Ag contests, UIL contests, OAP contests, pre-registration for the fall, prom festivities, TAKS testing, cheerleader tryouts, banquets for every conceivable organization, the push to get all the seniors graduated (no easy task), the typical spring sap rising (arguments, fights, general chaos amongst the kids), summer plans to be made, meetings, meetings, and more meetings.

This organized chaos makes me tired. I'm wishing for June to hurry up! As I've said before, I've got a know it my rope and I'm hanging on like crazy.

Within

“What lies behind us

and what lies before us

are tiny matters

compared to

what lies within us.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17

Pepe Le Pew

Late last night, we had an unwelcome visitor. Like most nights, I let our doggie daughter, Cindy, outside. Instead of taking her to the front yard, for some reason, I let her out the back door that leads onto the carport. She ran just as fast as she could to the yard.

While I was waiting for her, I noticed something outside the corner of my left eye. I suspected that it was the stray cat who likes to curl up there.

No, no, that was not the case. As I looked beyond the exercise bike and weight system, I saw little black feet moving toward the far corner. They were not cat feet. Then, I saw a tall wispy tail moving slowly back and forth. You guessed it, it was a skunk.

I called for my husband to come and help me, but because of the “wind tunnel” that we live with, he didn’t hear me thus he didn’t respond. So, I’m left to my own devices to deal with our guest.

I called Cindy to come to me hoping that she would not notice nor investigate the skunk. Good luck! She ran so hard and fast that she blew right by him without so much as a glance.

Once I had her safely in the house, I closed the door and marched in to get my husband. He jumped up and grabbed the rifle. I’m thinking, “You can’t shoot that skunk on the carport!” Recognizing my apparent thoughts, he said, “I’ll wait till he gets in the yard.”

So, we go to the doorway and peek outside. The skunk is still there. My husband knocks on the inside of our door to scare the skunk. He’s not affected. Next, I press the lock button on my key fob so that the horn on my car will honk. I do this several times and it appears that the skunk is deaf. He’s still not affected.

I retire to the bedroom to let my husband handle the situation. I hear a gun shot. Okay, he’s shot the skunk. No, no, he shot just to scare the skunk away. That skunk has nerves of steel. He’s not going anywhere. He’s still inspecting everything on the carport.

My husband gives up and turns in, too. We figure the skunk will just go away.

Now picture this, it’s a nice spring night. Our windows are up to let the cool breezes in. Sleeping is good. Middle of the night. . . wake up to the odor of a skunk. Strong. . .stronger. . .whew-wee! It finally subsides since the breezes are streaming in from the northwest.

As I leave to go to work, I exit through that same carport door. This time, I get a strong whiff of the skunk smell. Yep, he’s unloaded somewhere in our carport. Now, the entire back of the house, my car, my husband’s pickup and everything else there smells like our uninvited, unwelcome guest, Pepe Le Pew.

We had a fire drill at school this morning and all of the kids evacuated the building to the other side of the street where my car was parked. One after another, they exclaimed, “Smell that skunk?”

Sheepishly, I said, “Yep, yep, I do. It’s my car!” Now, I've got that smell caught in my nose hairs. That's all I can smell. Skunk. My classroom smells like skunk; the kids smell like skunk; I smell like skunk; everything smells like skunk. I hope it wears off soon because people don’t like to be around you if you smell like skunk, you know.

"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17

Nostalgia

I received the following in a Powerpoint with Ronnie Millsap's song "Lost in the Fifties" playing in the background. A sweet nostalgia surrounded me as I listened to it. Enjoy!

Try to remember. . .

Close your eyes. . .and go back.

Go back.

. . . Before the Internet or PC or the MAC. . .

. . . Before semi-automatics and crack. . .

. . . Before Playstation, SEGA, SuperNintendo, even before Atari. . .

. . . Before cell phones, CD’s, DVD’s, voicemail and e-mail. . .

. . . Go way back. . . way. . . way. . . way. . . back. . .

I’m talkin’ ‘bout hide and seek at dusk

Red light, Green light

Red Rover. . . Red Rover. . .

Playing kickball and dodgeball until we dropped. . .

Ring around the Rosie

London Bridge

Hot potato

Hop Scotch

Jump rope

You’re it!

Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home – no pagers or cell phones.

Take one giant step. . . May I?

Seeing shapes in the clouds.

Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A?C) with the windows open.

The sound of crickets.

Running through the sprinkler.

Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom.

Cracker jacks with the same thing.

Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend

. . . but wait. . . there’s more. . .

Watchin’ Saturday morning cartoons Tom and Jerry, Popeye, Mighty Mouse, and Bugs Bunny.

Prime time brought Sky King, Fury, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, National Velvet, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Red Skelton, and the Wonderful World of Disney

Catchin’ lightning bugs in a jar.

Christmas morning.

Your first day of school.

Bedtime prayers and goodnight kisses.

Climbing trees.

Swinging as high as you could in those long swings to try and reach the sky.

A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers.

Jumpin’ down the steps.

Jumpin’ on the bed.

Pillow fights.

Runnin’ home from the western movie you just saw ‘til you were out of breath.

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.

Being tire from PLAYING.

WORK: meant taking out the garbage, cutting the grass, washing the car, or doing the dishes.

Your first crush.

Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept you mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN)

Rainy days at school and the smell of damp concrete and chalk erasers

Oh, I’m not finished yet. . .

Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer.

So was a swig from the hose.

Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars of your bike.

Attaching pieces of cardboard to your bike frame to rub against your spokes.

Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school.

Class field trips with soggy sandwiches.

When nearly everyone’s mom was at home when the kids got there from school.

When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter a MIRACLE.

When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries. . . and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When your parents took you to the cafeteria and it was a real treat.

When being sent to the principal’s office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn’t because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. We simply did not want our parents to get mad at us.

Didn’t that feel good? Just to go back and say, “Yeah, I remember that!” Well, let’s keep going!!

Let’s go back to the time when. . .

Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo”

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, “do over!”

“Race issues” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.

It wasn’t odd to have two or three “best” friends.

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

Nobody was prettier than Mom.

Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom and made better.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.

Abilities were discovered because of a “double-dog-dare”

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived during a more pleasant simpler time!

I wonder how many of you who have read this, remember all of these things. I know some of you are my vintage.

The story has ended.

Those of you who remember will have lived in an era that no one else will ever experience. The era has passed and slowly those of us who lived it are passing also. If you do not remember, then ask your parents, grandparents or great grandparents. We went from AM radio to the stars. Your era is here, be part of it. Make it worthwhile for future generations to build on. Keep God in your lives. We did.

"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17

A day well spent

If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart,

If someone’s burden was lighter because you did your part,

If you caused a laugh that chased a tear away,

If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray,

then your day was well spent.

Peggy

Last week, I had an opportunity to see an old friend, Peggy, who lives three hours away. She and her mother, Betty, came to visit my mother in the hospital.

Although we keep in touch by e-mail, we haven’t seen each other in several years, but it was like we had never been apart. In just a very few minutes, we were all caught up. She brought pictures of her son and her extended family.

Her parents moved to the Lamkin area when she was a very small child. Her dad ran a ranch here until they moved back to Eden. Our families were great friends. We used to visit each other almost every day. Betty made the best cornbread and gravy in the world. She served us on her square plates. I thought they were so neat. Mom considered Betty the sister she never had.

Peggy has an older brother, Bobby, who is between my brothers in age. The boys were always close and had tons of fun together. I thought it was neat that their names were Johnny, Betty, Bobby, and Peggy. You know, double letters and all.

Anyway, when Peggy was learning to talk, she couldn’t say my name. She called me “Bun”. Her dad perpetuated the name and needless to say, it stuck.

Peggy is the only person I know who got married and her last name never changed.

Even though they were only here for a day, we vowed not to let time pass so long before seeing each other next time. I hope we stick to it.

"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17

Big Brother

Today, our technology crew came in and installed a new program that is designed to let the teacher monitor all of the students’ computers. I can

see their screens,
take control of their computer,
allow them to vote,
run a program from my computer or theirs,
limit their internet use or limit other programs that I don’t want them to use,
limit their printing,
show them my screen,
show them another student’s screen,
take a snapshot of their screen,
message them,
chat with them,
collect files from them,
shut them down.

It really is like George Orwell’s description of Big Brother in his book 1984. The kids hate it; I love it. It really makes monitoring their work much easier. I tell them that I’m watching them. They comment that it’s Communist. I just laugh. It’s too cool.

"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17

Hollow

I haven't written in several days because I just feel hollow. I know that feeling will subside, but until it does, please understand and pray for me.


"A friend loveth at all times." Proverbs 17:17