Beautiful tribute from the Dr. Phil show

The Dr. Phil show this morning had a beautiful tribute to the Sandy Hook victims; and i thought I would share it with you all, just in case you missed it...


(Copy of the poem being read, from Dr. Phils Facebook page; just in case the video freezes too much for you to hear it)

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Thank you for sharing this in our comments @TrinaHidalgo.

... A Beautiful Tribute!

Wrap up with the memories

  My grandma turned 94 the end of last month (and with Christmas being here) and my mom wanted to do something special for her; so, she decided to have a memory blanket made.  We searched the internet and found many places that would allow a photo to be added, even a few, but nothing like what she had envisioned.  She wanted to add photo's of the whole family, both old and new and this meant adding photo's that were over 40 years old or older. After searching high and low (so it seemed), I found a place (walmart.com) that would allow me to add up to 30 photographs to grandmas blanket.

  My Grandma suffers from alzheimer's disease and she loves looking at the photos that we all have placed on the walls by her bed, but she doesn't do well holding them because she tends to tear or ball the pictures up.   Therefore, my mom felt that a memory blanket would be a perfect gift to allow her to wrap up with her memories, keeping her warm and having the photos where she could touch them as well; and I think that it was an awesome idea!

  I was worried that the picture quality of the old photographs would be poor; so, I edited them as much as I could with Adobe Photoshop before hand; and found the best pictures possible of the entire family.  Walmart.com allows you to make memory blankets and add up to 30 photo's so I had to make sure I had everyone, but included some that might allow a memory to resurface as well; one's like my grandma and grandpa together, her daddy, pictures of her with her kids when they were small, and even one with my grandpa holding their first child.  I was hoping that adding these pictures would be special and in some way help her recall her life before the disease took over!

  I got a 60x80 Collage Fleece Blanket for $49.95, which was a pretty good deal, in my opinion. The process was pretty quick (once I had everything I wanted to include), but it uses a shuffle feature instead of allowing me to place the pictures in the order I wanted.  This aggravated me somewhat, but looking back, I am glad it didn't let me do this because I would be still working on it. ((LOL))  Once I was finished adding everything, I shuffled the pictures until I found the best look to match what my mom was going for! When I finished the order, it said that it would arrive within 7-10 days right to her door, which shocked me a little.

  Tuesday morning the memory blanket.. and I have to say... I was PLEASED!!!!  It turned out SO good!  The older pictures look like they were taken recently, and the quality is great!  All of the pictures are at least a 5x7 size; and it is perfect; my mom was more than happy with the results and is already looking forward to making another one... I just wish my grandma was in the right mind-set to enjoy all the memories wrapped up into this blanket.

  So, if you are looking for a sweet and memorable gift for a loved one this Christmas or anytime in the future, consider getting them a memory blanket; so they can wrap up with their memories and enjoy them for a lifetime!

  Believe me... It will be worth the look on their face when they open it because it is a special gift that can last a lifetime!

Here it is...

Lights for A Cause 2012

    When the Bearden's daughter Autumn was born in 2002 they decided to decorate their home with 100s of lights to make it pretty for her homecoming, never realizing that it would become what it is today!  After getting so much traffic from people admiring the lights they turned it into a way to give back!


Autumn's Lights just kicked off their 10th Annual Lights Show this past weekend and had an outcome of an estimated 1,200 people; and my family was among the crowd!
 We have taken the kids twice before when we were in the area at Christmas; however, I did not realize the story behind the lights until this year.

Autumn's Lights is a 4 acre drive thru light-show that is pretty neat to see; and the kids love it!!

...  But Best of All you can donate to help a Local Family in need at Christmas (if you'd like to)!  The Light Show is Free to drive thru anytime the month of December after dark, but if you donate a few dollars, it is greatly appreciated!!

This year Autumn's Loving Hand (the family's non-profit organization) is giving donations received from the lights show to Lucas Moore, a 9 year old local boy, who was in a horrific car accident October 16th of this year! ()

So... If you are in the Tarboro, NC area anytime this month... Drive Thru, Enjoy the Light Show, and Help a Family have a great Christmas despite the tragedy or illness that they are facing this year.. Bring a BIG SMILE to their face and yours!!

Here's a sneak peak at what you have to look forward to... :)



Autumn's Light is on Hwy 33 in Tarboro, NC if you want to stop by, but If you don't live close to Tarboro, NC and you would like to learn more or Donate to help this AWESOME cause.. visit the website at http://www.autumnslovinghand.com/index.htm

.... Hope To See Ya There! 

Are we as smart as we used to be?

Every since I become a student with a technology interest, I've researched many ways that technology has made our lives easier and what it can do for us.

Our phones store our numbers and we just pick a contact and call. Do we remember numbers like we used to? I catch myself "blank" sometimes if I have to actually dial the number.. Do you?

On GMA the other morning I briefly caught a story where they discussed a study that had been done on the decrease of intelligence in humans due to technology. Which really made me think more about this feeling that I have been having.

Our cars give us directions, talking to us the whole way almost (lol).  However, is this a good thing because sometimes this technology just does not know all the possible shortcuts... Does anyone ever read a paper Map anymore?

If we took all of the technology out of our lives, how lost would we be?  Would we figure out just how smart we truly are or realize we aren't as smart as we used to be?

When the power was out the local gas station was open, but using calculators to calculate the purchase.. I sat there as the young lady (a high school kid) struggled with calculating the taxes... I guess because the cash register had always performed this critical task for her.

Technology is awesome and a part of most of our daily duties, but have we begun to rely on it for so many things that we have forgotten how to do them ourselves?

    

Creation Station: Toys that inspire creativity

As you all know, I love to draw and be creative; and my youngest daughter has a slight spark for it as well.   Every year I try to find the most creative toys ...
Read more...:

Thanksgiving in the ER..

  I left work this morning on the way to get the kids from the hunting farm, where they hunted with my husband this morning (a little tradition he has started).  I had talked to him a few times after they had got out of the woods and he had asked what time I would be coming; however, I didn't know exactly and I was pretty busy trying to get everything accomplished.

  I was about 10 minutes away when my phone rang; and I knew it was my husband calling because of the ringtone.. I was aggravated already and so I kinda answered "WHAT.. I am almost there!!!" (I know that was kinda rude) and he said "I am glad because the kids Rolled the 4-wheeler and I think Kaitlyn's arm is broken!"  My heart dropped and my foot pressed the gas petal a little harder and I prayed that she was Okay the whole way there!

  Once I finally arrived at the farm I was sooo happy to see that they both were okay and it didn't appear to be broken, but she was in a lot of pain and it was bruised pretty bad.  However, she said her chest hurt when she breathed and so I went on to the ER just to make sure that she was alright.

   Thanksgiving in the ER wasn't as horrible as I imagined it would be; because honestly, I was dreading it the whole way!  They took us on back right after checking in (wow..lol) and checked her over (surprisingly, her arm didn't seem to be as non-movable as it was on the way), and they told me that they were going to do a few x-rays to assure nothing was going on.

   After the x-rays were looked over we found out that nothing was broken (Thank God), but the bruise should be expected to get bigger and darker; and probably not go away for a little while.  The cleaned her face and neck for the rub and scratched and sent us on our way.. almost 3 hours later.

    The Turkey didn't get in the oven to way later than planned and spending Thanksgiving in the ER was no ways what I imagined the day being; but I think this is one year that I am truly beyond Thankful for my kids and my husband!  I love them more than Life itself; and could not bare the thoughts of what it would be like without either of them!!

   The accident could have been a 1000 times worse than it was, we see it every day; but thanks to God it was pretty minor compared to the what if's!

  I hope that today you were able to see just how precious Life and family/Friends are to you (Hopefully, not with a scare as I did); and were able to express those feelings with the people that mean the most to you!

  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Black Friday Chaos

Tomorrow is one of the most chaotic days of the year... Black Friday!  I would rather be in-bed sick than fight all the traffic and crowded stores with people fighting over the last item left; but I know that there are so many people who Love It!!

However, for people who, like me, who hate all the Black Friday Chaos.. there is always other options, Online Shopping!

You don't even have to wait for Cyber Monday if you need outdoor play equipment, trampolines, or a new playhouse for your kids this year.. go to WillieGoat.com and get the best Black Friday sales!

Here are some of the best Black Friday sales you will find at WillyGoat.com ...

Wooden Swing Sets
Palisade Swing Set $1089.99 
Hillcrest Swing Set $900.00 
Sherwood Tower Swing Set $650
Sandy Cove Swing Set $580
And Gorilla Swing Sets All On Sale 10% off thru November 26th
Metal Swing Sets Sheffield Metal Swing Set $360

Peg Perego Ride Ons Magnum Tractor With Stake Side Trailer 12 Volt Vehicle $245
Polaris Ranger RZR (YES! WE HAVE THESE IN STOCK $1099.99)

Trampolines
16' Magic Cage $100.00 Off
Nursery Trampoline $79.99 

**This is a sponsored ad.. However, all opinions are my own.