Only in Texas...

This pic was received via email and was not taken by anyone I know - I don't think! Anyway, this was the strangest Easter I can ever remember - temps in the 30's & 40's with snow falling in areas all around us!

For those that don't know, the bluebonnet is our state flower and only blooms for a short time at the beginning of spring. If you have kids, it is a must that you drive to a field to get the coveted 'kids sitting in the middle of the bluebonnets' picture each year! I wish I knew where this was taken because I'd be making the drive! Take a look at that tree - I think it's just one anyway. It appears to be a huge Oak tree, and it's not unusual to find them like this in areas that are open and un-touched - or at universities around the state where they have been preserved!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Totally Clueless!

I'm at my wit's end with my youngest and am at a total loss with how to 'handle' him anymore! His tirades and fits are beyond my ability to control. Spankings don't do anything except make him angrier; time-outs simply give him a chance to throw a bigger tantrum behind closed doors - apparently it doesn't matter to him whether or not he has an audience. I cannot reason with this child no matter how calmly I speak, how much I whisper into his ear, and no matter how loud I yell. He's not fazed in the slightest by my demands or pleas.

Does that mean he's won?!? Is it possible for a 2 1/2 year old to out-wit a 34 year old? Can it be that he really does rule the roost? Does that mean that I'm about as lousy a parent as I feel most of the time????

Someone please tell me that even though he's winning right now, I can somehow win the war! I have, after all, raised two other fairly well-behaved kiddos with absolutely no tendencies to aggression or anger. Why did this have to happen with the last one? I should be a pro by now, right?

He's such a sweet kid when around other people. It's just around me & daddy that his temper flairs. He's aggressive and demonstrative. He makes his distaste for our rules very known. He's stubborn and won't take NO for an answer, no matter what. He's determined to get his way...at all costs.

And now? He's taken to skipping his nap...

Can I get a do-over????

The way I remember them...

This is a picture of my mother (on the left) and my mom's best friend Maxine. These 2 were a mess when you got them together...always into trouble, giggling, snacking during church, and of course, talking non-stop! They were the kind of friends that you hope to find in your life-time. Inseparable in life...and death!

There were so many wonderful stories at the memorial service - both of Maxine and my mom! There were lots of tears, and even more laughter, just the way Maxine would have wanted. There were memories that I'd forgotten and new stories that I'd never heard before.

They are most definitely "doing" Heaven at this very minute, and I'm sure God is just waiting for them to take a breath in between sentences so that He can say Hi!

"For I know the plans that I have for you", declares the Lord.
"...plans to give you hope..."
Jeremiah 29:11

Pausing to Remember

Hi all. I'm writing to ask all of my readers and friends to please be praying for my family over the course of this week. Yesterday, we received the tragic news that a very, very close friend of our family's had taken her own life. She had been very ill for years and it seems that the pain was just too much for her to bear any longer. I will not go into all of the details, but this woman just happened to be my mother's best friend, and as close to a 2nd mother to me and my sisters as anyone could be. Her passing was just 1 week after the 5 year anniversary of my mother's passing. Whether or not this was a coincidence or not, we will never know. But, by having to deal with her sudden death, many memories of loss and hurt are being dredged up for all of us.

Please remember her family in your prayers, as well as the church she & her husband founded and pastored.

I will return at some point next week when I can see the sunshine through the clouds.

God Bless!
Jenn