Greek Killer!

Everybody deals with something hard. I think right now that Greek is the hard thing for Steve. I have never seen Steve work so hard to try to stay on top of work and school before. He continues to put in hours and hours to stay ahead in his Greek class. He has a year of it left. He says that each assignment takes four hours to complete. I suppose that I never knew that Greek could be so hard. He has not even started Hebrew yet! I just keep wondering- will Hebrew be this time consuming? I look at his diagramming, and I have no idea how I could help him through this. It is totally-Greek To Me! Keep up the good work-Pookie!

Where were you?

I was standing in my nice cozy home. I was taking care of my sweet children. I was folding clothes. I was watching TV. As the news hit about the terrible acts of terror, I stood thinking it was just a bad dream or maybe it was just a TV drama. On that day, it took me several minutes to realize this is not a dream or a TV show-this is the real thing! I immediately called my husband, and he and the church staff turned on the TV.

What began to unfold that day would forever effect Americans and their world view. I know that it effected me! As I look back on Sept. 11, I find myself mindful of the families who lost a loved one. Since that day, I am becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the fight against terror. This kind of behavor is only a terrible way to kill innocent people. Before Sept. 11, I never understood what a terrible thing random killing could be.

I think that my generation has been raised not understanding the significance of what our military does for us. I hope that the soldiers that are defending us know that I sure do appreciate their efforts. My prayer is that I could stop and really take a moment each year to remember the loss of life and pray for all who make our country safe!

Rain, Rain, Rain, Stay!

On this wonderful Labor Day, we are blessed with rain. Dallas has been so dry all summer and our drought conditions have been very bad. I thought that I almost forgot what rain looked liked. It started raining early this morning, and I must say it feels wonderful. I took a picture so that I could remember what rain looks like in case we don't receive any more! I never saw anything look so good!

What are you afraid of?

Have you ever had a fear that just paralyzed you? Well, my 2 younger kids have some terrible ones. The are terrified of dogs, cats, and small lizards. We have little lizards that live in our house. Before we moved, I would have told you that a lizard is a pest, and they are definitely for the great outdoors! Living in Texas, I have a new outlook on the little creatures.

It all started about 3 weeks ago. Meg saw a lizard in the bedroom. Well, the other girls started screaming and crying like you would never believe. I told them that they eat bugs and that the sweet little creatures would not hurt them. They did not believe me. Since then, Maddie spotted another one in the kitchen. These little guys have caused a great upset in our family.

Their fear of dogs have intensified because of the lizard sighting. We went to Kenzie's soccer practice and guess who shows up. A small dog that had gotten loose. My kids were so terrified they would not get out of the car. Maddie sat in the car almost the entire practice. Kenzie finally got out when I told her she was not going to earn her toy. Okay, I know it is not smart to bribe a kid, but I was at my limit! I mean it was her practice.

I told Maddie that if she didn't quit being so afraid of animals that I was going to buy a dog. Okay, I made an empty threat. I don't dislike dogs. I really don't want the responsibility of caring for something else. Steve said, we should get a guinea pig! I think as long as I don't have to take care of it. I really don't know how to help my kids over come these fears. I hope that I have not shelter them too much. I think it probably is a faze. I just hope it ends soon. I am not sure if all this fear is good for someone's emotional growth!