It is funny how that when you grow older(all of you are young!)you think back to your most memorable Christmasas and you can't remember what you got! Most of the time you remember what you gave and if they liked it, who you were with and have wonderful memories of the fun you had watching the little ones, ect.
As most of you know and some remember, I worked in Ms. for 5 years for the Dr.s Barnes! One being a surgeon and his wife a physchologist! It was interesting to say the least! We had patients who brought us goodies and presents each year-but there is one present that I shall never forget! We had a patient who had a history of blood clots from time to time and so she saw us on a regular basis. She had medicaid, which meant she had little of this world's goods. Both of her legs were amputated below the knee and she was blind. She was confined to a wheel chair. her husband had been a sharecropper(one who farmed someone else's land and was allowed to live on the property.) Although her husband was dead, she had been able to live in the old shack of a house. She had an appointment with us right before Christmas. As her grandchild pushed her wheelchair into our office, her face was all aglow! In her hand she held four twist tie plactic bags that were full to the brim of mostly leaves and dirt with a few pecans! She handed them to me and said for me to give Dr. Barnes, my self and the others in the office each one. "Merry Christmas," she exclaimed, so proud of her gifts! She went on the say that she had gotton her granddaughter to push her down to the pecan trees and she got on her hands and knees and picked up the pecans; because she was blind, she had picked up dirt, leaves and all! I quickly hugged her frail little body and realized that she had given the greatest gift I would recieve that year and maybe ever. She understood the joy that comes from giving! What a sacrifice she had made to get that gift to us. And as long as I live I will treasure that wonderful memory! For like the Savior she had given all she had to give!
I am so grateful this Christmas to have that wonderful memory, I am thankful that she was my friend and in her glowing face that day I saw and understood the real meaning of Christmas! How I treasured that little bag of pecans, a wonderful memorable Christmas gift!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
The Wise Men
All our lives we have heard of (especially at Christmas) the story of the 3 wise men who came to see the blessed baby Jesus. We all love the story, but today as we begin the holiday season,did you know that I have my own 3 wise men ? I would like to tell you about them.
How do I come to have three wise men of my own? Actually they came by way of much prayer! I began thinking about them when I was a little girl and would remember my aunts and uncles and how much I loved them all and did not realize until I was about
5 that they were not all my grandparents children, that some of them had actually married the children of my grandparents! Then later on when they first lay Libbi into my arms I began to pray for my own wise men. Now I have to admit that they were not the top thing on my priority list of prayers until much later-about the time my daughters reached the age of marriage. I quickly realized tht they would never find my wise men on their own and the prayers of my youth came back again but they were more frequent then ever. For finding wise men is not easy. As you remember, in the scriptures the wise men brought gold, frankinsence and myrrh. I wanted my wise men to bring all of these things, let's examine gold for instance. Throughout all time gold has always been a precious metal. Gold cannot be melted very easily, in fact the only way to get gold is to heat up the rock and the elements melt away leaving pure gold. That is what I wanted my wise men most to to be, pure gold. For they would have forever, what I hold most precious! See, their gold (their purity) would be needed throughout their lives. Gold is easily molded when in its pure state, and as they went forward in their lives, they would have to be molded and bent a lot. They would have to put themselves last many times as their wives and children would need things and they would have to change molds and bend and stretch to do all that was required of them. But like gold no matter how much they were fired and changed they would always be the same, pure gold. We see in our lives in the market(especially now) often stocks and bonds come and go, but gold is always priceless. And my wise men would be priceless.
Frankinsence was the second gift they brought the Christ child. It was highly valued as perfume, one made up of several ingredients-and so like this wonderful perfume, my wise men had to be made up of many ingredients-honesty, loyality, kindness, virtuousness, doing good to all men,steadiness, and many other wonderful qualities.
Myrrh was the last gift the Wise Men brought to Jesus. Myrrh is used in preparation of many ointments and perfumes and was very rare! My wise men would be the only
ointment many times that could soothe tears and help heal broken hearts.
Now the wise men that came to Jesus dropped everything and came when he was born! How did they know to come? For many years they had studied the scriptures and they recognized the signs. My wise men too would recognize three wonderful women that the Lord (with my prayers) had put in their way. And I am so grateful they did.
May my special wise men have a wonderful Christmas season, I only thought you were wise when I first got you but through the years you have grown so much and are truly pure gold.
Thank you for all that you are and all that you will yet become. My wise men, Pete, Jerry and Jeff! I love you,
Grandma
How do I come to have three wise men of my own? Actually they came by way of much prayer! I began thinking about them when I was a little girl and would remember my aunts and uncles and how much I loved them all and did not realize until I was about
5 that they were not all my grandparents children, that some of them had actually married the children of my grandparents! Then later on when they first lay Libbi into my arms I began to pray for my own wise men. Now I have to admit that they were not the top thing on my priority list of prayers until much later-about the time my daughters reached the age of marriage. I quickly realized tht they would never find my wise men on their own and the prayers of my youth came back again but they were more frequent then ever. For finding wise men is not easy. As you remember, in the scriptures the wise men brought gold, frankinsence and myrrh. I wanted my wise men to bring all of these things, let's examine gold for instance. Throughout all time gold has always been a precious metal. Gold cannot be melted very easily, in fact the only way to get gold is to heat up the rock and the elements melt away leaving pure gold. That is what I wanted my wise men most to to be, pure gold. For they would have forever, what I hold most precious! See, their gold (their purity) would be needed throughout their lives. Gold is easily molded when in its pure state, and as they went forward in their lives, they would have to be molded and bent a lot. They would have to put themselves last many times as their wives and children would need things and they would have to change molds and bend and stretch to do all that was required of them. But like gold no matter how much they were fired and changed they would always be the same, pure gold. We see in our lives in the market(especially now) often stocks and bonds come and go, but gold is always priceless. And my wise men would be priceless.
Frankinsence was the second gift they brought the Christ child. It was highly valued as perfume, one made up of several ingredients-and so like this wonderful perfume, my wise men had to be made up of many ingredients-honesty, loyality, kindness, virtuousness, doing good to all men,steadiness, and many other wonderful qualities.
Myrrh was the last gift the Wise Men brought to Jesus. Myrrh is used in preparation of many ointments and perfumes and was very rare! My wise men would be the only
ointment many times that could soothe tears and help heal broken hearts.
Now the wise men that came to Jesus dropped everything and came when he was born! How did they know to come? For many years they had studied the scriptures and they recognized the signs. My wise men too would recognize three wonderful women that the Lord (with my prayers) had put in their way. And I am so grateful they did.
May my special wise men have a wonderful Christmas season, I only thought you were wise when I first got you but through the years you have grown so much and are truly pure gold.
Thank you for all that you are and all that you will yet become. My wise men, Pete, Jerry and Jeff! I love you,
Grandma
Thursday, November 6, 2008
I love the USA
On Tuesday of this week we elected a new president! What a historic day in America! No where else in the world can people argue and fight and say vicious things about each other for 20 or so months and then when the election is over, we get up and we smile and congradulate the person who won(if we lost) and get behind the new president and show the world that we are the USA, united always. As most of you know,I love the current president(and yes I have disagreed with him on things) but I still love him(i have to admit he stretched it thin recently when he voted to
rescue banks and try to help wall street, but that's another story). However, if you listened to his speech on 2/5(find it on the net and read it) you will see the character of this current president. And for now I am going to take at face value what Obama says about being a uniter, after all he is half and half and what does that make him? It makes him more aware than any of us what it is like to live in a world where people judge you on the color of your skin and not your character!(Now those who voted against him will say that they voted so because of his character! news flash, we don't know his real character, only what we have read and heard, now I would hate for people to judge me only by some past mistakes I have made, so now today he must have a clean slate and we begin to judge him by what he does after Jan. 20. )
As for this old lady I will and have been praying for him, for he has the greatest task that any president has ever had, why? he is the first black (half and half) president, those of you who are lds think about how Romney would have been judged had he been elected, would all have seen him as an american, or would people have seen him as "a mormon president" wouldn't Romney have had to stand a little taller and been a little better than a president of another religion? It is my prayer that each time we look at Pres. Obama we will see a man who will have to stand a
little taller and be a little better because he carrys on his back the weight of many predjudices just as Romney would have had on his back!
Much has been said about the American eagle and how it has two wings and how there must be balance! This is so true, for without two sides where would our agency be? Just as we can't force any man to Heaven we can't force anyone to be anything, but we can show them truth and lead the way by the life we live.
Now for a quick story, the only fight(arguement) I can ever remember my precious Mama and Daddy Kees having was over a poll tax reciept. now what is that you may ask? In Mississippi in the 1940's one had to pay "poll tax" to be able to vote-why you ask, well, think about it, it was only a few dollars but it kept poor "black" people from voting! Daddy Kees was furious with Mama Kees and upset because she had lost the reciept. As she tried to find it she started to cry, and of course I cried too! When they saw me, they stopped and she put me on her lap and I thought she was crying because Daddy kees yelled, but she was crying because it was so important for her to vote! They explained to me that voting was our God given right as a citizen of the USA and it was so important! They had no automobile but they hitched a ride to vote! (they found the receipt)Here these two old people who had a an old farm house and 84 acres of land and were dirt poor, they lived off their land, yet they were proud americans who loved the USA and taught this 5 year old a lesson that I have never forgotton! And it is my prayer that you will always stand up and vote your convictions and be proud to be an american!!
Quote of the day "We're writing the gospel a chapter each day, men read what we write whether faulty or true, say what is the gospel according to you"
I love you all and I am so grateful that I have been given a few more years with much less back pain. how thankful I am to the great docs and the wonderful prayers that went up in my behalf, they tell me I am way ahead of the curve in healing from this type of surgery!
love, grandma
rescue banks and try to help wall street, but that's another story). However, if you listened to his speech on 2/5(find it on the net and read it) you will see the character of this current president. And for now I am going to take at face value what Obama says about being a uniter, after all he is half and half and what does that make him? It makes him more aware than any of us what it is like to live in a world where people judge you on the color of your skin and not your character!(Now those who voted against him will say that they voted so because of his character! news flash, we don't know his real character, only what we have read and heard, now I would hate for people to judge me only by some past mistakes I have made, so now today he must have a clean slate and we begin to judge him by what he does after Jan. 20. )
As for this old lady I will and have been praying for him, for he has the greatest task that any president has ever had, why? he is the first black (half and half) president, those of you who are lds think about how Romney would have been judged had he been elected, would all have seen him as an american, or would people have seen him as "a mormon president" wouldn't Romney have had to stand a little taller and been a little better than a president of another religion? It is my prayer that each time we look at Pres. Obama we will see a man who will have to stand a
little taller and be a little better because he carrys on his back the weight of many predjudices just as Romney would have had on his back!
Much has been said about the American eagle and how it has two wings and how there must be balance! This is so true, for without two sides where would our agency be? Just as we can't force any man to Heaven we can't force anyone to be anything, but we can show them truth and lead the way by the life we live.
Now for a quick story, the only fight(arguement) I can ever remember my precious Mama and Daddy Kees having was over a poll tax reciept. now what is that you may ask? In Mississippi in the 1940's one had to pay "poll tax" to be able to vote-why you ask, well, think about it, it was only a few dollars but it kept poor "black" people from voting! Daddy Kees was furious with Mama Kees and upset because she had lost the reciept. As she tried to find it she started to cry, and of course I cried too! When they saw me, they stopped and she put me on her lap and I thought she was crying because Daddy kees yelled, but she was crying because it was so important for her to vote! They explained to me that voting was our God given right as a citizen of the USA and it was so important! They had no automobile but they hitched a ride to vote! (they found the receipt)Here these two old people who had a an old farm house and 84 acres of land and were dirt poor, they lived off their land, yet they were proud americans who loved the USA and taught this 5 year old a lesson that I have never forgotton! And it is my prayer that you will always stand up and vote your convictions and be proud to be an american!!
Quote of the day "We're writing the gospel a chapter each day, men read what we write whether faulty or true, say what is the gospel according to you"
I love you all and I am so grateful that I have been given a few more years with much less back pain. how thankful I am to the great docs and the wonderful prayers that went up in my behalf, they tell me I am way ahead of the curve in healing from this type of surgery!
love, grandma
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
It's a Wonderful Life
What a wonderful life we have. This week I have heard and seen quite a few of my
grandbabies. They all are so precious to us. If I were ask what one thing in your
life do you cherish most? Besides the gospel of Jesus Christ, It would have to be my wonderful family. This week facing major surgery for the first time in my life would have been so much harder without my family's support! My sweet Gramps has been so kind and of course my kids are great, and the grandkids really are grand. And they call them great grandchildren because they are the greatest of all! How blest I am to have such a big family. It is so wonderful to watch your children become grandparents. Heavenly Father knew what we would need most in our lives, especially as we grow older, it does not matter where you live, or how much money
you have, but if you have grandchildren that love you, you are rich.
Another thing I cherish are my wonderful friends, friends are those who love you when
you are at your worst. I am also lucky to have a boss who is our dear friend.
Now having said that, I will share a quick story! I had the wonderful pleasure of
living with my grandparents in the summer!(aand weekends in the winter) My grandparents were getting on in years and so from time to time, one of their 6 kids would send them money, almost always Mama Kees would open the envelope with the money and sit for a minute and get up and address another envelope to which ever other child that was having a hard time and put the money in the envelope and send it on. Did she and Daddy Kees need the money, yes, but she wanted the greater blessing, and the money was a means to helping someone else. Did she ever sit down and teach me to be "giving" no, I saw it in the way she lived each day. And my Daddy Kees would grow the biggest garden in Lincoln County Mississippi and give away more produce than anyone else. What a wonderful Life!
My quote for the week: "Treat a man as if he were the Savior, and he will become like Him"
grandbabies. They all are so precious to us. If I were ask what one thing in your
life do you cherish most? Besides the gospel of Jesus Christ, It would have to be my wonderful family. This week facing major surgery for the first time in my life would have been so much harder without my family's support! My sweet Gramps has been so kind and of course my kids are great, and the grandkids really are grand. And they call them great grandchildren because they are the greatest of all! How blest I am to have such a big family. It is so wonderful to watch your children become grandparents. Heavenly Father knew what we would need most in our lives, especially as we grow older, it does not matter where you live, or how much money
you have, but if you have grandchildren that love you, you are rich.
Another thing I cherish are my wonderful friends, friends are those who love you when
you are at your worst. I am also lucky to have a boss who is our dear friend.
Now having said that, I will share a quick story! I had the wonderful pleasure of
living with my grandparents in the summer!(aand weekends in the winter) My grandparents were getting on in years and so from time to time, one of their 6 kids would send them money, almost always Mama Kees would open the envelope with the money and sit for a minute and get up and address another envelope to which ever other child that was having a hard time and put the money in the envelope and send it on. Did she and Daddy Kees need the money, yes, but she wanted the greater blessing, and the money was a means to helping someone else. Did she ever sit down and teach me to be "giving" no, I saw it in the way she lived each day. And my Daddy Kees would grow the biggest garden in Lincoln County Mississippi and give away more produce than anyone else. What a wonderful Life!
My quote for the week: "Treat a man as if he were the Savior, and he will become like Him"
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Precious Memories
Last week I shared some of my memories of you grandchildren and most of you knew who I was talking about. This week I want to share some of my memories of my kids when they were young. See if you recognize your parents. At 3 1/2 they were going to preschool 2 days a week and the first day I was going to give a check to the lady that picked them up and they said, "I am a big _____, I can take it myself.", "they didn't have any boys, 'no', I replied. "Well, I guess a girl will have to do, I'll love her anyway." The next episode involved two of them...I had gone shopping with Lou and Ma-Maw and although I had never left the kids with anyone, Monnie and Lou insisted that I needed a break so they brought "Punchy" over, Ma-Maw's maid of 10 years and all was well or so I thought. Punchy met me at the door saying "they are the worst chllin I ever seed" because they had gone under my Christmas tree (I had wrapped all the adult gifts and had that out of the way or so I thought) and had unwrapped each gift...one playing Santa and the other opening and then seeing they were not for them the unwrapped them all. When asked who they loved the best, this one would say, "I love all two both of you". "I see your hiney so bright and shiney...", a song this one had learned at achool (not from their teacher) and proceeded to sing out as I thought they were going to sing a church song for my Aunt Audrey. "Somebody stepped on somebody's toe...(not wanting to hurt my mother's feelings when she accidentally stepped on their toe). "I hadn't been born yet"...all about a picture on the wall or lack thereof. "Why aren't you playing with the others", my friend asked as she brought be dinner after I had been in an auto accident. "Because my mother is my best friend and she plays basketball with us everyday!" "You have worms", I explained to this little one as I was examining her in the dark with a flashlight..."Oh no," she exclaimed, "Are they the kind you go fishing with?" "Can dogs go to heaven?" this little one asked. "I don't know, I don't think so", was my reply. "Well one good thing", they replied. "They won't go to hell either." (You have to remember this was long before we ever heard of the church.) There are so many more but there isn't enough space to write it.
One of my favorite quotes is, "Live so that others that know you but don't know Him will want to know Him because they know you."
I love you each one!
One of my favorite quotes is, "Live so that others that know you but don't know Him will want to know Him because they know you."
I love you each one!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Remembering the past...noting the future
I could not let this day pass without remembering my youngest grandchild. On Sunday afternoons, I can still hear "where going, I get my shoes, I go you" I am most grateful for those Sunday afternoons and building towers, and playing the "prophets game" and his version of "scrabble", you see we did not exactly go by the rules, but what fun we had. Puzzles and Noah's ark are all wonderful memories, as are reading stories and watching as he played on "his computer". I am grateful for my memory. And it is my prayer as long as I live I shall always have it for it brings me many wonderful hours of pleasure, much like rereading a wonderful book, you know the outcome, but you read it anyway because it gives you such pleasure to recall the joy and laughter of those wonderful times in your life. And there are no more wonderful times that those spent with children and grandchildren! Thank you, Jean and Jeff
for letting me have such a big part in Noah's life. And thank you, Noah for the wonderful joy you brought to us all and the joy you will bring again!
Now I can recall memories from each of you, see if you can recognize yourself. here goes!
Sneaking up to eat a sandwich when everyone else is asleep, catching dollars out of my clolthes dryer, the youngest one, to the 2 older ones. "don't cry, mommy and daddy are on a honeymoon, they'll be back", remember my saying "this is a special stuffed toy just to help you thru this procedure, and when you feel scared, you can talk to it", "look, my scriptures are just like yours, they even have the same words on the same page", watching Monk with me when no one else would, "I can't like that, and shoes, shoes, eat, eat!", "I don't see no bird"!, "tumetimes Grandma missed de turn", throwing rocks in the back yard, then measuring to see whose was the longest throw!, new pajamas each hospital visit, not hallmark but handmade by ---. watch ing The Sound of Music, a pink heart shaped dish that I still have, gathering up socks and putting them in a basket(more times than one), every old dog has his day, eating what you wanted then putting it back on the tray!, visits to the library, remember the one where you did not get any books, but many times stopping at Macdonald's on the way home for guess what? "I suck my thumb, but I don't let the teacher see, how about you, does your mom care if you suck yours? " and so the conversation continued as they had a "group thearpy session on thumb sucking! "are you my real grandmother?" "I didn't know that you had a grandmother in North Carolina?" and many many more! I love them all and cherish them beyond anything you can imagine, and now as I watch my daughters as grandmothers, it gives me wonderful pleasure to hear all the neat things my great grandchildren say! as Bob Hope(those of you who do not know who he is he was a comedian) would say, "thanks for the memory" and soon there will be a new baby on the horizon and maybe it will be a sasy fras too!
for letting me have such a big part in Noah's life. And thank you, Noah for the wonderful joy you brought to us all and the joy you will bring again!
Now I can recall memories from each of you, see if you can recognize yourself. here goes!
Sneaking up to eat a sandwich when everyone else is asleep, catching dollars out of my clolthes dryer, the youngest one, to the 2 older ones. "don't cry, mommy and daddy are on a honeymoon, they'll be back", remember my saying "this is a special stuffed toy just to help you thru this procedure, and when you feel scared, you can talk to it", "look, my scriptures are just like yours, they even have the same words on the same page", watching Monk with me when no one else would, "I can't like that, and shoes, shoes, eat, eat!", "I don't see no bird"!, "tumetimes Grandma missed de turn", throwing rocks in the back yard, then measuring to see whose was the longest throw!, new pajamas each hospital visit, not hallmark but handmade by ---. watch ing The Sound of Music, a pink heart shaped dish that I still have, gathering up socks and putting them in a basket(more times than one), every old dog has his day, eating what you wanted then putting it back on the tray!, visits to the library, remember the one where you did not get any books, but many times stopping at Macdonald's on the way home for guess what? "I suck my thumb, but I don't let the teacher see, how about you, does your mom care if you suck yours? " and so the conversation continued as they had a "group thearpy session on thumb sucking! "are you my real grandmother?" "I didn't know that you had a grandmother in North Carolina?" and many many more! I love them all and cherish them beyond anything you can imagine, and now as I watch my daughters as grandmothers, it gives me wonderful pleasure to hear all the neat things my great grandchildren say! as Bob Hope(those of you who do not know who he is he was a comedian) would say, "thanks for the memory" and soon there will be a new baby on the horizon and maybe it will be a sasy fras too!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Teaching Old Dogs
This blogging is hard to do! Of course it is hard to teach old dogs new tricks. And we are certainly
old dogs! ha! I can think of a million things to say until I sit down at the computer. This past
month has bee interesting. We saw all of our children, We saw quite a few of our grandchildren, first at Patti's graduation and then at the beach. They are all growing so big and so grown up. We had an opportunity to see Kim's new house, it is so her. I loved it.
Coming back to work is not fun after being off for a week, course my boss would not work at all if I did not make him!
We are excited that Em had fun on the treck! What a great experience. We are praying for Jeff
to soon find a "better" job and that Andrew will be "back" to his old self from the back pain!
I have 3 tomato plants that are about to bite the dust. but i just keep on watering! talk to you later!
old dogs! ha! I can think of a million things to say until I sit down at the computer. This past
month has bee interesting. We saw all of our children, We saw quite a few of our grandchildren, first at Patti's graduation and then at the beach. They are all growing so big and so grown up. We had an opportunity to see Kim's new house, it is so her. I loved it.
Coming back to work is not fun after being off for a week, course my boss would not work at all if I did not make him!
We are excited that Em had fun on the treck! What a great experience. We are praying for Jeff
to soon find a "better" job and that Andrew will be "back" to his old self from the back pain!
I have 3 tomato plants that are about to bite the dust. but i just keep on watering! talk to you later!
I'm new to blogging...
Okay...Jean helped set up my new blog and I am just learning so everyone needs to be patient with me. I'll learn more as I do more!
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