All Things Beautiful

Today I am focusing on Spring and all the beauty that it brings. Our daffodils, day lilies, and forsythia are budding. I can look at the tips of the maple trees and see the red buds on the tips of the branches waiting patiently to spring open with just the slightest coaxing from the warmth of the sun. Not far behind will be the red bud and dogwood trees. Tufts of green grass is popping up here and there and I can see J.D. keeping an eye on it and gauging its growth, just waiting for the day when he can hop on his mower and begin another new growing season with the best manicured yard around for miles and miles. I am quite proud of the way he keeps our yard looking its best. With Spring, comes a new found spurt of energy that says, "It's time to shake off the winter doldrums and go outside to get a good helping of all that God has created for our enjoyment.

Another sure sign of spring being upon us is the High School's Spring Band Concert. We are very fortunate having such a talented and dedicated band instructor at our high school. He doesn't expect any more from the students in his charge then what he, himself gives to the program. He gives his all, so that is what he expects in return. It is evident in their performances and from the awards they win in their competitions that our high school has an outstanding music program.

In just a couple of hours we will be joining Tersie and T-Bear and enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon as our Britt and the rest of the high school band WOWS us yet again with the sounds of music to herald in Spring.

Wishing you a blessed Sunday afternoon.

~Jo

What A Bargain!

Melody's grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday over Easter weekend. Chris, Melody and the three children went to Kentucky to help her celebrate it. They took in a little shopping while they were there and just happened to come across a Walden Books Store. The closest book store around here is 75 miles away in Columbus. It is a good thing I wasn't with them or they would have never gotten me out of that store. I actually love the smell of stationary stores and book stores. If they could capture the smell of stationary and books and make candles out of it, I would be the first in line to buy them.


I seem to have jumped the track on where this story was going...... Melody called too let me know that they had two hardback Stephen King books marked way down. "Cell" regular price $26.95 was priced $5.99 and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" regular price $24.95 was priced $4.99. "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" wasn't just a hardback book, but it is also a Pop-Up book. I couldn't believe it! A Pop-Up Book! They brought those two back for me. Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! I told Melody that I will be reading the Pop-Up book to the boys to introduce them to Stephen King.


I have collected and read almost every book that Stephen King has written. The past few years I haven't bought any of his books though and need to catch up. (There is a gift idea for any of my family that is stuck with not knowing what to get me for birthdays, Mothers Day or Christmas.) The first Stephen King book that I read was "Salem's Lot". That was 33 years ago when Chris was a baby and Tersie was in kindergarten. After I put Chris and Tersie to bed I would read that book at night and scare myself senseless. I was definately hooked though. As soon as I finished that one I rushed out and bought "Carrie". Thus it all began.......

On April 2nd, J.D. and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. It certainy doesn't seem like we have been married that long. I have to say that at some point in my life I must have done something that was completely unselfish or gone the extra mile when it came to helping someone, because I was truly blessed the day that J.D. came into my life.

It rained through the night here. The worse of this storm front is yet to come. We really don't need more rain because the Rivers are already filled to capacity, but I would prefer the rain to snow and ice. I am going to hurry and post this and give J.D. his computer time before we loose our signal.


Wishing you all a Blessed Day!
~Jo

Darlene Is Home

After suffering excruciating pain, spending three hours being probed with a scope, having mystery bleeding, followed by transfusions, and her temperature spiking twice
--->Darlene is home<--- . I have been told that the pain from Pancreatitis is the worse pain imaginable. Hopefully there won't be any more flare ups with this. I want to thank you all again for keeping Darlene in your thoughts and prayers. There is no doubt in my mind that those same prayers are what got her through this.

I am just going to whisper this so I won't be jinxing it, but I do believe that Spring is tiptoeing in. It was a beautiful day yesterday with temperatures in the 50s and sunshine. The only thing that messed it up was the wind was blowing and put a bit of a chill on everything. A check of the weather last night showed the temperatures in the 50s clear across the board for the following week. Most of those days do come with rain, but that's all part of spring. When J.D. came back from checking the mail yesterday he said that the Forsythia has buds on it. I am thinking it should be in bloom by the end of the week.
I had a doctor's appointment on Monday. I might add that I was glad to have an appointment already set up because my sinuses were doing a job on me. Most people will be complaining about all the rain that comes with this beautiful spring weather, but not me. I have pollen allergies that usually results in my sinuses becoming infected and if not caught in time and treated with an anti-biotic it progresses to bronchitis.

While I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office, a couple came in with a little boy, which I would guess was right around 4 years old. The Dad and Mom didn't sit together. The little guy went straight to the water cooler when he came in and got a cup of water. Which he played with more than drank. He would sit the cup on the back of the plastic child's table in the play area and then get on the chair with his knees and lay forward with his hands behind his back and tip the cup enough to get a sip of water. I was mentally betting with myself how many times he could do that before the cup fell completely over and spilled out the water. His dad said something about he shouldn't be doing that because he will spill the water. He looked back at his Dad and actually clinched his teeth and said, "Then I will get more water." Not long after that, he went running up near his Mom and leaned up against the chair next to her. She suggested to him that he shouldn't be running in the waiting room. He looked at her, squinted his eyes and said through clinched teeth "Shut Up!" She repeated herself only to be told again by her little demon child "Shut Up!" This time when he told her to shut up it was a little more forceful, so she would get the message. Which she must have gotten it, because she did as he said and "Shut Up!" I couldn't help but wonder what is that little family going to be like in another 10-15 years when this child is a teenager.

Later that evening I heard on the news about a shooting in the Cleveland area where a young man shot and killed his father and shot his mother numerous times which she survived, but was in critical condition. Can you guess who I thought about when I heard this newscast?

One last thing before I close this post............. I was listening to the Chicago news yesterday afternoon and they told about a robbery involving a teenager as the criminal. It seems that this upstart robber decided to hold up a muffler shop. He wanted all of the money in the safe. The employees assured him that the only money they had access to was their personal money and what was in the cash register. They also told him that the only person that had the combination to the safe was the owner and he wasn't there at that time. The teenager then gives the muffler shop employees his phone numbers with instructions that they are to call him when the boss comes in. Needless to say, this kid was apprehended by the police and will never be accused of being another Einstein.

Have a blessed day.....
~Jo

Have A Blessed Easter

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution... Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously. This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.. One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr.. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson."Well, I can try," said Steve. "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor. Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it." Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class. Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" "Sure." Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Dr Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Dr. Christianson said, "Look! this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down . You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Sternly, Jenny said, "No. "Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room.When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut." Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?" Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut." "Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters.
Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?" Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone. I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes." "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten." Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. "Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding "Not all sermons are preached in words."Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."
"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Easter Greetings

May Easter Rabbit in your heart's nest

Lay the golden egg upon whose quest

All knights and ladies plain and fair,

Are seeking, seeking everywhere.

The longed for GOLDEN EGG of PEACE

Which makes all earthly woes to cease

By filling hearts with LOVE FOR OTHERS,

So self's forgot as we help our brother.

by Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr.

Update on Darlene:

They gave her a transfusion last night and watched the blood flow. As I understand it, the blood flow slowed enough to where they didn't see the need for an emergency Cat Scan and are more or less just watching things for right now. Personally, I don't understand why they haven't already done the Cat Scan. If there is bleeding from an unknown source, it seems to me that finding that source would be a priority. I will keep you posted on what is happening, as we find out.

Have a Blessed Easter Eve. ~Jo