children and guns

I'm not a gun hater or do I ever think we could be a nation without guns but I really hate the fact that there are so many irresponsible people who have guns.   

Right before Thanksgiving a 3 year old boy reached under the sofa and pulled out a loaded gun.  The child accidentally shot his mother in the head and killed her.  She was a veteran and had just given birth to her second child.  This happened here in Oklahoma.

Then yesterday a two year old in Idaho pulls a gun out of his mother's purse and accidentally kills his mother in Walmart.  She had 4 children with her at the time.  WHY do you need to pack heat on a trip to Walmart with 4 little children?   I don't get it.

Is everyone paranoid?  Children and guns don't mix!

So sad!

Happy New Year

In spite of being sick since the 23rd of December I had an enjoyable Christmas.  Unfortunately I had to miss most of the festivities since I was in bed for a week but my daughters were thrilled with a visit from their half-brother.  Their first Christmas together.

I can't believe the year is quickly coming to an end.  Ron and I have had a blessed year.  His first year without cancer surgery.  I got my painful hip replaced.  My brother managed to make it another year living on his own (with assistance).  My daughters are finally on the mend from their shoulder surgeries.  All in all a very good year.

Ron signed up for his social security last night on the computer.  I can't believe he will be 66 in February.  I will follow shortly.  I'm excited about what the next year may bring.  We will both retire August 1st (or at least that's the plan as of today).  The next 6 months will fly by I'm sure.

Next week Ron has a routine CT scan and results.  I have a follow-up with the hip surgeon and our dog gets her teeth cleaned.  Busy week.  I still can't help but hold my breath every time Ron has a scan but the anxiety is a little less....on a scale of 1 to 10 I'm about an 8 now when it comes time to get the results.  I don't live waiting for the other shoe to fall but at the same time I' m aware that it could.

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Well, I was wrong...they did manage to pass a spending bill just hours before a government shutdown.   I haven't read what cuts the final bill included but at least they got something to the Senate before a shutdown.  I'll give them that much.

I'm so glad today is Friday.  I have so much to do this weekend.  Ron has to work tomorrow so that will give me time to wrap presents and finish a little shopping.  Then Ron and I are bell ringers at the mall for the Salvation Army tomorrow night.  We also have a dinner and a party to go to on Sunday.  It's going to be a busy weekend.

It feels like Christmas but it's just going by so fast!

The Spending Bill

I absolutely hate politics.  The older I get the more I hate it.  I’m wondering where we will stand this evening if Congress is unable to approve a spending bill.  There are several trade-offs embedded in the $1.1 trillion spending bill that the Democrat and Republican negotiators unveiled Tuesday in an effort to keep the federal government functioning past Thursday.

One trade-off I do not support is the changes that would allow the wealthy to donate up to $777,600, from the current $97,200, to the national party committees.  This country is already run by big corporations and the wealthy.  This would further silence the average American from having a voice in our government.  I support campaign reform but this is going in the wrong direction.

Banks also won a rollback of a section of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law related to derivatives trading.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) blasted the changes to Dodd-Frank. “We all need to stand and fight this giveaway to the most powerful banks in this country,” she said. “These are the same banks that nearly broke the economy in 2008 and destroyed millions of jobs.”

Michelle Obama’s school nutrition effort was also targeted.  States would get the option to let schools skip out on rules requiring serving whole grains while the defense industry secured new funding for F-35s fighters the Pentagon didn’t even ask for,

I can’t wait to see if these mental giants can reach some kind of resolution before they shut down the government.  Today should be interesting.

Christmas with Jesus

My most memorable Christmas occurred in 1956, when I was about six years old. The town where we lived had a naval base, sort of the last remaining remnant of World War II. My oldest brother, Butch, was about sixteen or seventeen.

One Christmas Eve he came home telling our Mom and Dad he had just seen a young sailor walking all alone down town. He told them he had almost stopped and invited him home for Christmas. Mama and Daddy asked, “Why didn’t you?”

“Really?" Butch replied. “Well, maybe I can still find him.”
Butch quickly left to go look for the sailor while I sat by the window pondering about what I’d just overheard. Not long before this, my grandmother had told me the story of Jesus going to three homes as a stranger. At the first two he was turned away but at the third he was welcomed and the family had shared what little they had with the stranger.

So here I sat with my seven-year-old brain quickly concluding that the sailor was Jesus and that my very own big brother had recognized this fact and invited him to our house for Christmas.
I waited by the window for what seemed a very long time when suddenly the old white Studebaker appeared in the driveway. Butch walked toward the house followed by a young sailor not much older.

Mom and Dad welcomed the young man to our house and though he looked a bit confused at first, he soon relaxed and made himself at home. Mama explained to him that the entire family would be going to Christmas Eve service at church and he was more than welcome to join us.

So off we went, Mama, Dad, Butch, Mike, Jesus and me. I made myself comfortable right by his side. Sometime during the service I fell asleep and was later told that our guest had carried me to the car. When we returned home and as the tradition in our family, we were each allowed to select one gift to open.

I was worried about our guest not having a gift so I asked Mom if she thought Daddy would mind if I gave the embroidered handkerchief I had made for him to the young sailor. I had embroidered the initial “S” for Simpson on the starched white cloth but thought it could just as easily stand for sailor.

Mom said she didn’t think he would mind and so I gave my gift to our special guest.

We never did see the young sailor again, but I always wondered what became of him or if he remembered the family who welcomed him for Christmas when he was just a stranger.

It's A Wonderful Life

Well another whirl wind weekend.  Last week was so busy I was glad to get it over.  I had a colonoscopy on Friday and after Ron viewed the pictures of my colon I told him he can honestly say he knows me inside and out!  Don't have to repeat this for another 5 years.

As much as people hate having this procedure it beats the heck out of dying from colon cancer.  Both Ron's and my father died of colon cancer.  Had it been caught early they both probably would have lived another 20 years.  So, it is something we take very seriously and it is one of the most curable cancers if caught early.

We celebrated my daughters (plural) birthdays Saturday night.  Had a great time with them.  I got them T-shirts that say Thing 1 and Thing 2 along with things they really wanted.  I can't believe they are 44 years old.  It seems like yesterday they were just five years old and refusing to let anyone sing happy birthday to them.

Jamie & Julie age 2

Right now the world is looking pretty wonderful to me.  Ron is doing well, Mike is doing well, my daughters are healthy and I'm free of pain.  Life is really good!

Too busy for Christmas

Well, I'm sorta started preparing for Christmas.  I have gifts purchased but not wrapped.  We put up our Christmas tree and that's about as far as I've gotten.  

This week is just full of appointments.  Saw the doctor Monday and had lost another 6 pounds.  I was kind of shocked because I really am not trying.  I've lost 36 pounds since June 11.  

I had a dentist appointment this morning and I have a colonoscopy scheduled for Friday.  But it will be good to have all this stuff behind me then I can get back to wrapping gifts and having fun.

Our annual Golf Cart parade was this past Monday and again people out did themselves.  In spite of the cold weather we had a great turn out and I was very aware that this would be my last parade.  Bitter sweet!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving.  My daughter Jamie couldn't wait to give me one of my Christmas presents and when she did I just busted out in tears.

When my daughters were young I told them about the Christmas when I was about 10 years old and I had asked for a Pink Ponytail Scrapbook.  Every little girl my age was collecting Ponytail and I wanted this so bad.  Well, Christmas day came and there was nothing Ponytail under the tree.  Instead I got a red baseball autograph book.  I was so disappointed but I tried to hide it from my mother.

So, anyway this is what my daughter found on Ebay....she had been searching for 7 years.

 I immediately burst into tears because I was so touched.  I guess it was the reaction she was looking for......

Anyone else remember Pontytail?