Sunday, October 31, 2004

The spooks come out at night

The spooks come out at night, we had fun last night, started by going to a Halloween party, this place was decorated very spooky, we saw some wacky cavemen, Pamela and Tommy Lee, we left there and met our friends George Bush and Dick Cheny.   I was a genie in a bottle, and everyone spent the night giving me their wish requests that ranged from i want to be taller, to peace on Earth.  It's fun being a genie.  Mike had fun in his kilt too, I think everyone wanted to know what a Scot wears under those thick wool kilts.  He decorated his mask and made it look pretty festive.   We enjoyed a fun night with friends. 

Friday, October 29, 2004

Halloween Weekend

Halloween weekend is here.  I'm on my lunch break so can't write to much.  I still don't know what I'm dressing up as.  Mike and are are going to a Halloween party tomorrow, he's got his kilt, but I just can't think of anything that goes with a Scottish Highlander, any ideas.  I'm sure I'll think of something.  Anyway hope everyone has a great weekend.  Pictures will be shared later.  More to come I'm sure!

 

 

Monday, October 25, 2004

My Side of the Mountain

Tonight I've been thinking about all the places I escaped to as a child.  Mostly I escaped by the books I read.  I remember reading, "The Island of the Blue Dolphin", and escaping to a beautiful island.  One of my favorite books was "My side of the Mountain", I remember reading this in the 5th grade, where a young boy runs away from home to live in the mountains, he keeps a journal of his life in nature.  He befriends a falcon.  I often fantacized about leaving home to live in the solitude of nature, sometimes I still do.  I loved the way my Papa made me feel when we were off together just the two of us.  What was passed on was truly a blessing.  I think I need to find this book and read it again. 

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Scrapbooks

I have a love for pictures.  Especially old ones.  Heres a website I did for my family. http://www.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=deveil34&rand=48574 .  I also love doing scrapbooks.  I love being creative.  One day it will be great gifts for Autumn, Eli, and Ethan.  I remember loving looking at my baby books and the special care my mom took in making ours.  Sure wish I was closer at times, I'd be a baby hog, taking pictures all the time.  Yep that's right folks, Tricia Yearwood is my cousin, lol.

Friday, October 22, 2004

RESIST

I never saw the movie "The Exorcist", but I do recall its impact on everyone around me. I remember my cousin Jay and how badly it scared him. It left a lasting impression on many people about Satan's power. Even many Christinan began to live in fear, swayed by the vivid images of evil. It seemed as if the devil was as powerful as God. Now there is a new movie that suppose to scare and shock you more, the story before The Exorcist. Is this perspective sound? OF COURSE NOT! God is the Creator, and all others, including demons, are just created beings. Only God is almighty. For as long as I can remember when things seem to be going bad, it's easy to blame the devil. Although he does emit wickedness and sin, we must be careful not to conclude that we are powerless against him. "The holy spirit in us is greater than he who is in the world." So what am I telling myself? Resist, Resist, Resist.

Monday, October 18, 2004

Big Fish

Today was my Papa's birthday.  He's been in my thought very strong the last couple of days.  I watched "Big Fish" Saturday night, which is one of my favorite movies, because it reminds me so much of my Papa.  He was great at telling tall tales, we had a giant catfish that lived in one of his ponds that no one could catch, as a kid I imagined it to be as large as a small boat, from what Papa had told me.  I loved his stories.  On our way to breakfast yesterday, I noticed a older man in his Sunday best walking home from church.  Then I saw him go down, I yelled for Mike to pull over that someone had just fell, I jumped out and saw that he had lost his footing by stepping in a hole where they were working on the roads.  Mike jumped out and we helped him to his feet, shook off the dust on his suit,let him take a few steps to make sure he was ok.  He seemed fine, and God blessed us, we blessed him back and was back on the road to meet friends for breakfast.  I got back into the truck and broke out in tears.  He caught my eye before he fell, because he reminded me of my Papa.  In my heart when I was jumping out of the truck, he was my Papa.  Guess that was God's gift to remind me of Papa yesterday.

Papa's Special Gift

Papa had a special gift

He always knew just what to do
To make his grandchildren happy
And to show he loved them, too.

At the family get-togethers,
He was the first person to look for-
He would entertain us children for hours,
And we always kept asking for more.

You could tell when Papa was teasing
By the twinkle that shined in his eyes-
He was an expert at settling problems,
For he was loving, patient and wise.

His grandchildren always admired him,
Even though they are grown-
They always feel proud and happy
To have had Papa as their own!

He'll always be our big fish

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Dark night

Came home today and ran on the beach while the sun was going down.  The beach is calming tonight, I took another walk this evening, and it is very dark, where's the moon?  Full of thought tonight, but can't seem to get words on it.  It's a good night!

Monday, October 11, 2004

My New Journal

I'm reading Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life",  so decided to start a 40 day journal while I read it.  I think it will be a nice journey for me.

http://journals.aol.com/deveil/Dereks40DayJourneyfromThePurpose/

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Papa and Mema's grandchildren

Mema and Papa were always so happy and proud when they had a house full of their grandchildren.  Their are only seven of us.  We all have such fond memories of Papa and Mema and the times we spend with them.  It's strange spending almost 33 years every Christmas spending it with them, and now that they are gone, it's like we start our new traditions.   I hope I'm around a long time to spend with my family.

2x4 Challenge

I decided to take smilinmons Friday challenge today, my first visit 2 block and then 4 blocks, I ended up with real 2x4's I call it hole 2x4's missing in the fence.  I decided to try it each way I could, and this is what I ended up with. http://journals.aol.com/sonensmilinmon/SmilinMonsAdventures/   Rules for the "2 by 4" Extra Challenge:
1) Keep yourself safe.
2) Start outside your location (could be your home, school, workplace - it's up to you.)
3) Travel two units straight in one direction
4) Turn to your right and travel 4 units
5) Whereve you are, so long as you are safe, your mission is to creatively interpret your surroundings. Bring back and post photographic evidence to your website that you were actually there. Make the absolute best of whatever you find, no matter the subject or how mundane it might seem.

Me and blue eyes

I love this picture of Sherry and I.   This was taken on Christmas Eve, and we were so excited about Santa coming soon.  We never could sleep on Christmas Eve because we were so excited.  Now it makes me think of all the whippons I used to get because of Sherry.  At night we slept together, and she just wouldn't go to sleep, she would talk and talk, and then daddy would come in and say if he hears us talking anymore he was going to come spank us.  We always got those little spankings because we just couldn't go to sleep.  My favorite story about a spanking Sherry caused me to get.  When she was about five, her front teeth were getting kind of loose, and for some reason unknown to me she decided to bite my shoe, and looking down I see to human teeth stuck to my shoe.  Into the house Sherry flies, blood coming out of her mouth, and she tells Daddy that I kicked her in the mouth.  Out comes Daddy with the belt, I don't really remember the spanking, but I do remember she smiling with her two front teeth missing and saying "He really didn't kick me, I bit his shoe".  Then looking down at my shoe there are these two little teeth marks in the white plastic of my shoes.  My only proof of my Jaws attack.  To late, I've already got the whippon.  A few whippons here and there, not so bad.   I sure was crazy about ole Sherry.  Something about the way those blue eyes.  I think I'd done anything.  I think that's one of the things I'm so crazy about Autumn for, she reminds me so much of that little blue eyed girl I grew up with.

 

Saturday, October 9, 2004

One of my first memories

This picture was taken at my Nana's shortly after I was attacked by a dog.  You can notice my how swollen by eye was.  I'm not sure why I like this picture but I do.  Being attacked by our neighbors dog was one of my first memories, guess sometime those traumatic things just seem to stay in our memories.  I remember running from the dog, and trying to get over the fence, one of our neighbors had put me in their yard, which they weren't supposed to do.  I remember screaming for my mom, and then the next thing I remember was riding in the back of a car with people holding me down and trying to keep me calm.  Then the doctor's putting a sheet over my head with a hole cut in it that fit right over my eye, so they cut stitch me up.  I bet I wasn't a pretty sight.  I guess being a parent must be a pretty scary thing.  And even harder when their little ones get hurt.  I'm still trying to figure out why I love this picture so much, maybe because I loved it out at my Nana's.  Her farm was so calm and peaceful.  I also felt like someone was watching over me in the picture, not sure why though.

My mom just emailed me, she got this in her mountainwings today, thought I'd share it as well.

Learning to Run
================

The two-year old likes to run.

It warms my heart when I see his funny movements as he runs.
It also scares me because young children have a tendency to fall
very easily.

I was out shopping with my sons when the two-year old started to
run.

He fell.

If you are a parent, you completely understand the phrase,
"it hurts you more than it does them."  There is something that
pains worse than physical torment to see your little one hurt.
He skinned his knee and elbow.  He cried for a few minutes and
finally with the soothing of Daddy, quieted down.

We are like my two-year old.

There are so many areas of life where we must run:
some by choice, some by the force of circumstances.
There are so many new things.
There are so many times when our steps are unsure and we are not
experienced runners.

The older I get, the more I understand how a Divine Father can
let us go through some things and fall.  I was tempted to stop
my son when I saw him run.  I knew that sooner or later, if not
that day then one day, he would fall.

I also knew that if he was to ever learn how to run, he must
fall, and often I had to watch him do it.

I fell in business several times before I was able to run.

I fell in relationships several times before I had sense enough
to stop looking for perfection and know that we all have faults.

Even your second child is reared differently from the first
because you learn some things from falling with that first one.

I fell off of my bicycle.
I fell off of my motorcycle.
I fell on skates (roller and ice).
I even choked a few times while learning to swim.

We often fall when learning to run the things of life.

Too often bruises stop us from ever trying to run again.
We are afraid that we will slip and get hurt.
We are afraid of the pain.

My son runs much better now.  I still wince when I see him run
on a hard surface but he won't stop running.

At only two, he has one of the keys of life.

He won't stop running just because he fell.

Your bruises will heal, you will get up,
and the path will still be there.

Though at times you may not think it so,
The Divine Father is still watching over you.

He just knows that he has to let you fall,
If you are ever to learn to run.

Monday, October 4, 2004

Janet Leigh

'Psycho' Actress Janet Leigh Dies at 77.  I always loved Janet Leigh.  That scream from "Psycho", will live on for a long time.  I always thought she was such a beautiful woman.

Hitchcock compiled the shower sequence in 70-odd takes of two and three seconds each, for which Leigh spent seven days in the shower. Rumors circulated that she was nude, but she wore a flesh-colored moleskin.

Although tame by today's standards, the scene was shocking for the time for its brutality.

Leigh wrote in her 1995 book ''Psycho: Behind the Scenes in the Classic Thriller'' that the filming was easy until the last 20 seconds when she had to express total horror as her character was being slashed to death.

She often said she hadn't been able to take a shower since the movie. ''It's not a hype, not something I thought would be good for publicity,'' she insisted. ''Honest to gosh, it's true.''  I had my own scares of taking showers after that movie myself.

Thankful

How often do we sit around and think about what we don't have, when we completely ignore what we do have.  I am really blessed and I need to think about that more often.  Things could be much worse.  I have my health, I have close friends.  My family is in good health.   I have someone special to share my life.  I'm enjoying defining my story.   I'm enjoying my story too.  I could go on and on.  But I'm going to wrap it up and just say.  I'm thankful for this life!

Saturday, October 2, 2004

Visit to Asher

Just taking a break letting my sauce simmer.  Mike took me to meet his little nephew Asher and just wanted to write what a nice time it was spending with his nephew and mom.  It was really awesome to see someone as crazy about their nephew as I am my neice and nephews.  He was really good with Asher.  We took him for a walk in the rain, gave him a fidgy pop as you can see his chocalate lips in the pictures,  played airplane, and went out and had a nice dinner.  I really enjoyed it.  Tomorrow I have to work, not something I usually do on Sundays, but tomorrow I have too.  Got to make some more money somehow.  Well now I'm just relaxing, had a nice day went and had lunch with Mike and James some friends of ours and just enjoyed the day.   Well got to run and check on the sauce.