Sighs heard around the world...

sighs heard around the world..

2007-08-11T14:26:00.001-07:00

The Sweetest Romances Part II

2006-07-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

After watching the couple from last night, I was immediately reminded of my own grandparents.

I knew as a kid that Grandma and Grandpa did their own thing. I had caught them arguing one day and even knew that Grandpa had thought about leaving.

Just a few years before their 50th Anniversary, Grandma fell down the back steps and while she was recovering in the hospital she had a whopper of a stroke. We all thought she was going to die or that Grandpa would put her in a nursing home and be done with it.

Grandma made it, but she wasn't the same and neither was Grandpa. I watched him hug her, tell her that he loved her and even asked her for a date on the Fourth of July. He made sure the house was set up to accomadate her new needs and nurses to help HIM care for her. I watched as he rubbed lotion on her hands and arms and made sure she looked good. He took care of her for about 11 years.

Taking care of Grandma took quite a toll on his health as well and when he absolutely had no choice he put her in a home. A decision he hated more than anything. Grandma did not last long in the nursing home and soon passed away. Everyone was amazed and impressed with his love for the woman who gave him his three kids and took care of the house and him. He set an awesome example.

What does make me sad is that it wasn't until the end that all that happened. They let life get them down and it wasn't until death was upon them that they realized how much they needed each other.

I was so encouraged the other day reading a blog from one of our friends. He talked about the wonderful date he went on with his wife. He even called her a hot date. What an awesome thing to say about his wife of 8 years and the woman who gave birth to their precious three children. I could read the love in his writing and in her comments. It's nice to know romance still goes on even for the entering their thirties crowd.

The Sweetest Romances....

2006-07-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last night at the softball game I sat next to a woman with a brain tumor. I've known her and her husband for over six years. She has always been tough and independent and he has always been funny telling stories about wrestling and the Sheriff's department he had worked for.

She walked slowly towards me her left arm hanging a little differently than usual and the left side of her face sagging slightly. Her husband was right there with her telling her not to get in too big of a hurry. I looked at him and saw several more lines on his face than the last time I saw him, which wasn't long ago.

He gently sat her down on one of those camping chairs built for two. He made such a fuss over her calling her his baby girl and making sure she was comfortable. They had traveled about 40 miles to watch their grandaughter play softball. They held hands and the love they had for each other shown in both their faces and in everything they said. He even said he had been trying to get back down on his knees in front of her and people kept interrupting them.

The doctor said that if there was any type of brain tumor to get this was the type. Her brain tumor is not a death sentence. Unfortunately, they still have a lot more to go through. She's had to give up driving and he's had to allow her to do some things for herself. They were so cute sitting there next to each other telling stories about the doctors, their grandchildren, and how their life has changed in the past couple of weeks.

Say Good-bye To Tutti Frutti!

2006-07-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

The other night my child was in the bathtub while I was cleaning up the bathroom. She started singing.."Say Good-bye, to Tutti-Frutti!" over and over again.

It was so cutethat I called my husband in to listen to her. He quietly came to the door to listen and then once she saw him she started giggling. He asked her where she had heard that and she said she had just made it up. He said something to her using his favorite name for her "nugget". After he left, she starting singing, "Say Good-bye, to NUGGET!" "Say Good-bye, to Loo-Loo!" "Say Good-bye, to Frank!" These were all names we enjoy calling her and she hates all of them.

Hmmm...do you think she was trying to tell us something????????

Vile Felines

2006-07-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

All they do all day is lie around getting cat hair all over your furniture. Yet when they are all curled up in a ball or lying on their backs they are just so darn cute.

They scratch, they bite, and they won't even let you hold them...at least for very long. But they are so sweet during the time you actually are allowed to hold them. Sometimes they just look at you and blink their eyes at you as if to say, "I love you, too."

Their wails, hissing, and screaming make you long for nails scratching on a chalkboard. But their purring is relaxing and reassuring.

People are allergic to them. So, it makes it hard for friends and family to come and visit. Hmmm...is that really a bad thing? Just kidding, Lori!!

They leave hairballs around for you to stumble on in the middle of the night. Which is just gross. But they are cleaner than dogs!

They attack your feet when you move under your covers. They jump on your sheets while you try to make the bed. They think your hair is a good resting place. They lay on top of you and chew you out if you move. But the fact that they would dare be so close to you and trust you that much is amazing.

They bring things or parts of things that come from mice, rats, birds, rabbits, bugs, and whatever else they can find into your bed. And you realize that they are trying to get your attention because you've been focused on so many other mundane things in life. Once you give them the attention they so deserve they stop leaving gross presents.

They scratch your brand new furniture or your grandmother's beautiful chaise lounge you inherited. You can't bring yourself to actually declaw them because somewhere deep inside you think that is inhumane. The furniture cannot give you love, but cats can give love, comfort, laughter, relaxation, and peace. They are truly a gift from God, and at times they feel like a terrible punishment!

The Burn...

2006-07-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was a wonderful summer day. My child and her psuedo sister went to swimming lessons in a nearby town. My psuedo cousin and I watched our girls and her sweet little boys as the girls worked on jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end of the pool.

After lessons we went in search of the perfect picnic spot and after much looking finally found the right place, at my father's former elementary school. We sat in the shade and ate our meals and then the kids played on the playground equipment. A very nice young man was very friendly by saying hi and asking us where we were from. We discovered he would be in fourth grade next year at that very school. Soon his mom came to pick him and his siblings up.

We cleaned our area and then headed back to the pool. That is the cleanest looking pool I've seen in years. Everyone got in and played. It wasn't crowded and my psuedo cousin and I both nearing our thirties....each jumped off the diving board twice and went down the slide once.

The kids loved it. The baby had a blast in his floaty just splashing and laughing. The three year old quickly realized he could float in his floaty suit and had fun. My daughter worked on just swimming around in the shallow end while her psuedo sister jumped off the diving board and slid down the slide. We all had so much fun. This is the day I will think about when it is cold outside and I'm sitting in my classroom wanting a break from school.

Now when we got home we were all exhausted and sunburned. Some more than others. We had put on sunscreen, but failed to reapply it and make sure it was in all the right places. I would fall under the most sunburned. It was painful to sleep, painful to move, and painful to be awake.

It's now Monday and the pain is about 80% gone and now a wonderful itch has replaced the pain. I'm not sure what is worse... My skin looks like something from an alien movie. Despite my annoyances, I wouldn't trade Thursday for anything. In fact, I can't wait to heal so we can do it again!

New Name

2006-01-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

As a youngster it was easy to remember who was my friend. We may have been called Mutt and Jeff, but everyone knew it was Jill. After high school her stepfather adopted her and she changed her last name. Still no big deal...if I mentioned Jill everyone knew who I was talking about.

When I moved to NM I made a new friend named Jill and life got just a little confusing. I manged though.

So, what is my newest issue. I suddenly feel like Larry in a world full of Darryls. My child's name comes from my old youth director's daughter's name. His wife's name was Lori. There were also two real pretty older girls I always wanted to be like in the youth group named Lori Carey and Laurie Lovelace. I always liked the name Lori....it is a very pretty name.

In NM I had a friend named Laurie and you were suppose to put an emphasis on the Laur part, but most people didn't and Laurie was so sweet she would never correct anybody...

So, today I'm talking with my husband about the girls basketball coach and I ask where Lori's parents are from....my husband gives me this weird look and says "Granbury..." To which I replied I know where Lori Franklin's parent's live...where does Lori Flemons parents live? Then we got into an argument about how he was suppose to know which Lori. He's suppose to read my mind! Hasn't he figured that out yet?

Then I'm informed we might be having a new neighbor named-you guessed it..... Lori...only she is isn't one of the above mentioned Lori's. So, I've decided all the Lori's in my life have to change their name.....or we could have a drawing.....or maybe I will just go to the courthouse and change my name to Lori also.

Stolen from the Franklins....

2005-12-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

I used up a ton of space on the Franklin blog to tell what I was happy about....and since I've thought of a ton more things I will go with the flow and share what makes me happy. Feel free to refer to the bein franklin blog to find out where this is coming from....

* My house. I really do like it. It is better than any other house we've lived in and I'm just so excited that it is ours.

* My cats. They are wonderful. They purr, they meow, they're fuzzy, and they let me annoy them to my heart's content. They are my family and I do love them very much.

* My students. I've been lucky enough to be with this group of kids for two years. I really do love these kids and I don't know what I'm going to do when they leave for a new school next year. A few I will be willing to see move on, but the majority....it will be hard. They've all got such great personality..even Mr. Dumb and Innocent....I have a ton of stories I need to blog about my kids. School is my life.

* My Sunday School class. We have the greatest teachers in the world. I learn so much from them. Our directors have hearts of gold, and I've also learned a lot from the "kids" in the class. It's been a pretty amazing experience so far.

* My van. The poor thing has so many miles on it, it looks like the Mystery Machine, it has scrapes across the sides , the windows don't roll down, and the CASSETTE TAPE PLAYER doesn't work. BUT I have plenty of room to take lots of people places. Like our trips with Spooky Rach and Jackson. Or the part of the Franklins to Glorieta. It is relatively comfortable and I like feeling tall in my short little world.

* You knew it was coming.... My television shows. I LOVE being able to RELAX and LAUGH while watching Gilmore Girls, My Name is Earl, and Desperate Housewives. I also enjoy watching Lost and the Weather Channel. I'm lucky I live in the USA where we can depend on our shows to come on at certain times. The one thing I would hate about living in Australia is that you can NEVER rely on their television schedules.

*My books. I have been so thrilled to discover Christian Fiction! It is not preachy, but more like my real life and those around me. I love Lynn Austin, Karen Kingsbury, and Francine Rivers. Liz Curtis Higgs is funny also. I could gush on and on and on, but it one of the best things I've discovered in the last 5 years of my life.

Now these were mentioned on the Franklin blog, but I will repeat them.

* My husband. He is a great father. He shares the housework with me...and many times probably does more than me! He is a good cook. He is a talented writer. He knows how to be nice to little old ladies. He keeps me from going overboard all the time. He puts up with my issues. He knows more about our friends' kid than I do....COME ON ZACHARY, WALK!!!!! He lets me go on trips to see my best friend from the third grade and my sweet aunt. He has survived my family. He completely redid our old house. He knows how to fix things in our house..and is dying to work on our current house. I am one lucky wife.

* My daughter. Wow. She is such a miracle. The fact that she is even here is amazing. She is so pretty with her long blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. She has a toughness in her that I envy. She is so smart and witty. She makes me laugh all the time and has a great imagination. She is very stubborn which sometimes is a really good thing. She takes good care of me and is so much fun to talk with. Instead of saying THE she says VEE...it is sooooo cute!!!!!

So, like Lori, I challenge you to think about what makes you happy. This isn't my whole list...I all ready wrote a lot earlier and can still add a lot more. I was just told that add starts with "a" and they all ready learned the letter "a". It's time to spend some time with my cute kid!!!!!

Phil Gets Killed

2005-08-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Phil woke up from his long nap and saw the tuna dish the nice lady sat out and decided to eat. He kept both ears twitching making sure danger was not lurking by. After his meal he set off to his third house to search for his enemy.

He crept inside the house and looked in all directions. His ears and tail were on full alert. He passed by the strange bald man who was busy watching and imitating wrestling moves. Phil slipped by the strange wife who was murdering a blood sucking mosquito with chopsticks when he noticed that the cross of Sharmalita looked a bit strange.

The cross was starting to spin in several different directions and turning fuzzy. Phil felt very sick to his stomach....very similar to hacking up a hairball, but a little different. He recognized the tuna surprise he vomited up. He felt so bad he wished someone would just shoot him so he could die. He heard voices that were getting fainter and fainter...suddenly he was purring and dreaming he was with his mommy and seven brothers and sisters. They were playing, drinking their mother's milk, and getting tongue baths from their mother.....

2005-07-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful early autumn morning when Phil found himself trying to catch the colorful leaves that were descending gracefully to the ground. He felt like a kitten again. Jumping up high, swatting leaves with his paws, tail swinging frantically from side to side, then he heard a painful yelping sound behind him.

He quickly glanced back and saw the evil female cat from his third house moaning and whining. Wanting nothing to do with her and her malovent ways he quickly ran and jumped his way back to his swing. He pumped his paws on the soft cushion until he felt it was comfy enough for him to curl up and take a little nap. Within seconds he was sound asleep. He didn't notice that the black cat had followed him and was staring at him intently.

"YEOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!"

Phil's fur stood up like spikes all over his body, his tail was poofed out three times its usual size, and his ears laid back against his head. He looked down from his perch on the swing and there was his enemy staring back at him. He started to growl and she started to hiss. Suddenly the patio doors swung open and the nice lady had a broom and was aiming it at the black cat.

"Shoo! Leave my friend alone!"

The black cat gave one last evil look and a hiss and then took off over the fence. Phil's fur still stood on end but knowing the nice lady was there helped calm him down. As soon as all his fur laid down and his tail lost the super fuzz factor the lady sat down on the swing beside him and petted him and soothed him. He crawled into her lap and started purring.

Phil, the Cat

2005-07-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a cat named Phil. Phil, the cat, lived between three different houses. At the first house, he liked the padded swing on the back porch and the fact that the nice lady would throw out the leftover tuna surprise her mother in law brought to her every Tuesday and Thursday night.

The second house had a nice big uncovered sand box and easy to climb trees so Phil could check out the happenings in the neighborhood. However, he had to be careful what time he went over to the second house because the children who lived there sometimes came out to play. The children enjoyed games such as tie the rope around the kitty's tail or spray the cat with the power washer. Phil wasn't fond of either game.

In his third home was a cat door and inside was a strange bald man and his eccentric wife. The house was decorated with skulls and bones and a cross shaped grave marker with the name "Sharmalita" carved into it. Normally this would bother any sane cat, but Phil always knew food would be set out and water would be available. There was even a litter box in case the kids were playing in his other yard. Another cat also lived there, but he managed to avoid her as much as possible since she was usually in a very bad mood.

To be continued......

Hardhips for citizens

2005-07-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so obviously I survived the Jury Paneling experience, but I can't get a conversation out of my head. I was sitting outside the courtroom waiting for the lawyers to decide which suckers were going to give the guy 99 years in prision for stabbing his estranged wife. I sat on a a long bench and pulled out my lovely PDA (No, I didn't have a boyfriend stuck in my purse...I did have a Coke though...) and proceeded to play Solitare. (Told you there was no boyfriend in the purse...) The woman next to me worked for the school district as some sort of diagnostician. She was talking with a lady next her and and a young woman in an electronic wheelchair. She asked the lady in the wheelchair if she remembered seeing her at an elementary school and at first the woman said no. Then after a few seconds she said she did remember her. The school lady reminded her that she saw her son. The lady said that wasn't her son, but her nephew. She just had her first child on July 4th. Doing the math that baby would have been 22 days old and she was at the courthouse...hmmmm..... The lady went on to say that she had him when she was only 6 months along and that he was in a nearby city in the hospital. He was doing well, but wasn't doing well. She had to go visit him a lot. OKAY-I'm still playing my game, but I'm thinking-why is this woman here or how can you be such a blatant liar-the school lady was being nice???? The judge made it quite clear that people could be gone for hardships. Well, the school lady asked gently why she didn't bring it to the judge because that would have qualified as a hardship. The lady in the wheelchair said she didn't think that would qualify and the judge never asked. She said she might as well be there she didn't have to be at the hospital until the afternoon anyway. I'm cursing to myself in my head. Either the lady was a liar, or she was extremely dimwitted. We were called back into the courtroom at that time. I was coming unglued. If she was lying..what an idiot, but if she was extremely dimwitted as I greatly suspect based on her verbal and nonverbal ques-I was outraged. That child will be in the school system in five years and it will be the school systems responsibility to turn this child-the offspring of this woman-into one who can function in society and in the great state of Texas pass a test when he is 8. Never mind where he came from....the fact that he was three months premature....his mom was not all there mentally....wonder if dad was even in the picture....wonder why dad was ever in the picture....obviously there are more family issues if the school diagnostician was having to see the woman's nephew....but in eight years some teacher will be responsible for making sure that kid passes a test. Something smells rotten and this is creating quite the hardship for all citizens of Texas.

Sitting on the Jury Panel

2005-07-26T01:08:00.000-07:00

So, I'm doing my civic duty listening to the lawyer drag on and on about our responsibilities and repeating the same questions over and over again, although he was using different words. I look over and wish that I had a comb to comb the back of one guy's head...which starts me wondering what the back of my head looks like...then I realize the guy in front of me missed a spot shaving his head...hmmmmm...what would I look like bald...... Would I have a good round head for being bald or a cone shaped head....what would I shave my head with....Nair??? Quattro for women....or an electric razor-I wonder what one of those epilator things would feel like on my head.... This guy will not shut up!!!! I could have wrapped this up in 5 minutes or less....I'd use a powerpoint to put all potential witnesses names up and potential jurors could have punched a button or something if they knew any of them...I was half wondering if there was anyone who knew anyone, but wasn't suppose to know them.....maybe sitting right next to me the large woman with the cane was secretly having an illicit affair with the medical examiner...."So, ma'am, you know Dr.Joe Blow?" "Why yes I do, Sir." "How are you aquainted with Dr. Blow?" "Well, Sir, he and I have had an ongoing love affair for ten years now." Now that would have made things more exciting....better than, "Louie Jones is my son." " I attend church with Louie's great aunt Martha." "I dog sit for Louie Jones." Hmmmm....I wonder how much it would hurt if I drilled this pencil right through my forehead right now...