Shaniya Davis...5 yrs old

Rest In Peace Shaniya Davis...

I don't hardly feel like I have the words for this. What a precious little girl. All I can think about when I look at that little face is that she probably trusted her mother implicitly, just as all our children do. In a perfect world, your parents are the ones you can trust the most...the ones who always have your best interest at heart...the ones who would die for you if need be. This is just another reminder that we don't live in a perfect world and that there is evil around every turn. As a mother who has given birth to two children, I just can't imagine how you make the decision to give up a five year old for prostitution. How does your sense of right and wrong get that far off track? Drugs...maybe? I just can't wrap my mind around it. I would die for my children, kill for my children if necessary...and that mother handed her baby to the devil and said take her. I can't imagine what Shaniya's family is going through. I'm sure anytime a child dies it is a horrible, horrible experience but this is just...unspeakable. May God give them the strength to get through this one day at a time...and may Shaniya find peace with the angels in heaven.

Political Correctness Gone To Far?

About the Fort Hood Shooter:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/13/fort.hood.hasan/

I read this article and it seemed like so many people knew something was wrong with the situation. It made me wonder why nothing was ever done. Maybe we now live in society where, even when we know something is wrong, we can't do anything because we risk being accused of...well...any number of things. I know there is racism and prejudice in the world today and it is flat out wrong. However, if someone is engaging in questionable, terrorist related activities, we should be able to question them no matter what the color of their skin, their religious preference or their country of origin. Just my 2 cents...

Time Well Wasted

I can never be happy in the present. I spend a great deal of time in the land of 'if only'. If only I could work 4 days instead of 5. If only the phone would stop ringing, the leaves were all raked or my kids would just keep their room clean. Generally, my weekends are SO busy. We just finished softball season and dirt bike racing season. Normally I spend Friday (and Monday for that matter) thinking 'if only I had a weekend with nothing to do'. If that ever happened, I could get my house clean and the laundry done, the groceries bought and be ready for Monday morning. The problem is, I pretty much had that this weekend. The only thing we really had planned was our softball bowling party. One would think that I could have gotten alot done around the house. But no! Oh, I went to the grocery story, but I didn't have a plan so I now have a pantry of random stuff that may or may not make a meal. I managed to clean the kitchen and fold the huge pile of clothes that had gathered during the last week. Other than that...nothing! The trash is still in the garage, the leaves are still on the yard, and no, the family room floor has not be vacuumed. I sit here on Sunday night and wonder what I did with the time. Not what I planned...that's obvious.

Let's see....
I watched 2 movies with my kids.
I made rice krispie treats with Karley.
I spent time sitting and talking with Jason and Bailey.
I played Tetris with Karley on the computer.
I helped Justin shop for a new cellphone.
I cooked Sunday lunch.
I spent time doing nothing. :-)

They say us mothers will have plenty of time to clean and organize the house when our children are grown and gone. I know it's true...but it is hard to remember when you trip walking to the kitchen to get a drink. This weekend, when I lamented about Justin getting his learners permit, a good friend offered advice. He said 'Just enjoy every minute while they are still here.' That friend is a new empty nester. He also pointed out that we could be just 3 years from being grandparents. God, I hope not. In three years Justin better be settling in nicely at college. But...point taken. I only have a little more than 2 good years with my first born. Wow! Talk about perspective. I realized before I know it he will be driving, which will certainly take him away from me. And then before I know it, he will be gone. I know, as much as I hate to admit it, Karley is right behind him. This weekend I realized that the one thing that is more important than time well spent...is time well wasted. I know my kids will remember that way more than they remember how often the house was clean or dirty.

I'm Alive

Our song for the week, for now we know that "breathing in and out's a blessing, can't you see" and sometimes it is enough to be "alive and well".

Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews--"I'm Alive"

http://www.cmt.com/videos/kenny-chesney/437632/im-alive-with-dave-matthews.jhtml?id=504765

Bowman Wilkes

Is this kid cute or what! She kinda looks like her dad, but not enough to be a bad thing! :-)

These are her 3 month pictures in the leaves!! She is even better in person. Karley can actually carry on a conversation with her. I am clueless what they say, but the talk back and forth for quite a while.

Praying for Luke

While I do not know this young man, he is a friend of a friend. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. I can't even try to think about what this must be like.

http://http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lukemitchell2009/journal

Thankfulness...

Romans 5:3-4
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

This text was pointed out today by a friend of my sister. It was posted in reference to the suffering my family has endured over the past week and the thankfulness that came of it. My cousin Amy came close to death last Saturday night and is still in the hospital ICU. Today she is doing better and for that we are thankful. After much waiting and praying by a lot of people...some that don't even know her...those prayers were answered. If you ask anyone in my family, we will tell you that we were given a miracle this week.

I became aware of several things throughout this ordeal. One is that I have a tremendous amount of faith...faith that I can draw on when others need me. Hopefully, if the crisis is ever mine, I can manage to find strength in that faith as well. That is sometimes so much harder.

I am also now aware that sometimes it takes suffering to make us thankful. We are now thankful for things that didn't really cross our mind last week. We are thankful for our healthy children, for our faith, and for the tremendous medical care to which we have access. We are thankful for the little moments in life that make it worth living. We are thankful for friends and family that rally around us when we need them. We are thankful for those who call friends to pray, cook food, sit with us as we cry and share their strength when ours is depleted. We also know that somewhere, there is someone fighting a battle without these same benefits.

For me, I am thankful for the moments in my life that helped grow my faith. The biggest influence was my high school youth leaders. Durand and Vicki, a husband and wife team, were in the midst of crisis when I met them. Durand had just been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his brain and they were expecting their second child. Honestly, had it been me, I would have abandoned the group to focus on my family. They did not. They continued, thoughout the whole experience, to be our leaders. During that time, we did not just talk about faith, we witnessed it first hand. We learned about the kind of faith that can carry you through the worst days of your life. I have never forgotten the lessons I learned from them. Many times. when we suffer, we ask God why. While I don't presume to know the reasons for that family's suffering, I do know that a group of sassy high schoolers had their lives forever changed by what they witnessed and learned. I suppose when we suffer, we must remember that there is a purpose. We must 'lean not on our own understanding' and try to find God's purpose.

Yes, suffering does produce perserverance and character and hope. It makes us thankful for what we have, and much less aware of what we don't. And sometimes, if we're lucky, that suffering changes the lives of those who suffer with us.

Amy

My cousin Amy is still in the hospital but is on the road to recovery. She still needs prayers.
To follow her progress:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amylong/journal

Let's Roll...

Friends, today we received the call from drivers ed. Justin will be driving next week. By Thursday, he should be ready for his permit. As this time approaches, I become more and more anxious. He does great driving in the neighborhood, but we rarely pass another car. I have a feeling this will make every struggle I have been through as a parent seem insignificant. Wish us luck!