Happy Halloween

Been a long day but a good one. Went to a workshop instead of work. A lot of the people were dressed in costume. The motivational speaker was really good. He had compassion and strength in his message to the crowd. Something you don't find very often at a workshop.

The family were invited over to watch the grands in their costumes. Sleeping Beauty and the little green dragon were great. The little dragon was content in following sleeping beauty where ever she went but wasn't so interested in the candy, which was more than okay with my daughter. Sleeping Beauty went to trick or treat with some friends while the little dragon entertained the rest of the family in the driveway around the firepit. Nice evening. Very nice!

I've been getting some really neat emails from my friends. I got some great pictures of our city skyline. This would make nice clip art in any presentation or just for fun. I have enclosed the link if anyone would like to take a look. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
http://urbanohio.com/CinnSkyline.htm.

Still thinking about christmas gifts. Having a problem finding the right pattern for the sweater I want to make for my granddaughter. She wants a cable sweater. Most of what I have found are knitting. I want crochet. If anyone has a nice pattern for one I would be interested in seeing it.

Helped my brother move the other day. Poor Guy has a bad cold and isn't feeling well. He found a cute little apartment. It's small but just the right size for him. He is excited about the two decks. With winter coming it may be a while before he can enjoy them. He still has a lot to do but it is coming right along. I promised more help but he wants to let his cold run it's course and then get serious. I can't say I blame him.

The river is really up and hasn't yet created. If I lived on the east side of town, down by the river I think I would worry myself to death. My sister;s business is on a barge and it rises as the river does but the ramp continues to grow. As the river rises they put extentions onto the existing ramps. The parking lots and part of the hill is now under water. No one seems too worried about it. I haven't been down there since sunday but my brother says it continues to rise.

My sister has been out of town for the last five days. I can't wait to see her face when she sees how high the river is. She has a long history down by the river so she may just take it in stride.

Looking forward to a nice visit with a dear old friend this weekend. She lives in Minnesota and is visiting her daughter in Kentucky. She is elderly and has some health issues and traveling is hard on her. She is a real dear soul. We've been friends for 35 years. Hard to believe that much time has gone by. She has a really sweet daughter. When we first met, she didn't care much for me. I think we have all grown to care a lot about each other.

Friends are great. Friends are the only gift you can give yourself. And most often you get out of the friendship what you put into it. Even miles can't separate the really good friendships. Sometimes it even makes the heart grow founder.

Sometimes I wish it were that easy with family but we all have our own lives and agenda and often move in separate directions. I am blessed with a beautiful daughter, a wonderful son-in-law and two extra special grandchildren. I had a good time with everyone this evening.

I had more roses that thorns today.

A fine day for ducks!

Where is all this rain coming from? If I were a fish or a duck I would be happy as a lark. But I'm not. I 'm wet! And where do all those people hide who don't know how to drive when it isn't raining? It seems they all like coming out on the rainy days. Or maybe they are there, their skills just bite the dust on a rainy day. Makes me want to go home and stay there. It took 40 minutes for a 15 minute ride home from work today.

We had a Halloween party at work today. Mentally challenged adults are just big kids. It was really great to see everyone having a good time. Even some of the stiff shirts got involved. I loved it. We had a300 pound Batman wanting to show us how he could fly, a devil that was all smiles, (he doesn't talk), a vampire, complete with fangs, a bride in a rumpled dress and a host of other costumes. What fun everyone had. If life could only be that easy. ???

We made lunch at work for our clients. We all participated in making it. Turned out pretty good. We had an interesting menu:

Licking tongues, (bagels with cream cheese, a piece of Bologna tucked into the hole of the bagel to represent a tongue)
Spiders, (ritz crackers with peanut butter using pretzels for legs and raisins for eyes)
A finger ( a piece of white stick cheese with a piece of green pepper for the fingernail) that really did look like a finger laying on that plate
A witches broom ( stick pretzels and fruit roll-ups by the foot) that were cut into small pieces and wrapped around one end of the Pretzel (A pain in the neck to make) but really cute.
We added pretzel, chips, pumpkin bread and carrots.
We had bananas dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts or sprinkles for dessert.
A good time was had by all! And they didn't even remember that is was raining outside.

My friend Pam in South Carolina sent this to me. I think it's a great way to look at our relationship with God from the pumpkins point of view.. ..... After all , it is the Halloween season, isn't it?

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

There is a lot about the current and coming seasons I don't like, fall and winter. Namely the bad weather, the naked tree and bushes and the rain and the snow. But there are a lot of things I like. I like the holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think the holidays help move us closer to the things that really matter in our lives. Our relationship with God, our families, the children, even the children at heart. The holidays help us feel that warm and fuzzy feeling we hope to keep all year round. The holidays help keep us grounded and help us realize how thankful we should be for all the blessing we have been given.

I was talking with my daughter the other day. Say a prayer, that darn house of theirs still hasn't sold. She suggested a homemade Christmas this year. I love the idea. I like making things for people because I think you give a piece of yourself when you take the time to make something. I like getting things other people have made. I think we apprecite it more homemade. I guess I better get on it. Christmas is only 58 days away. Can you believe it?

But let's get back to October. Halloween isn't even over yet. I like watching the grandchildren delight in all the excitement and the CANDY. My granddaughter will thell you that the candy is
the best part. I think the best part is watching them. They're sooooo cute.

It's still raining out. I know God has reasons for when it rains and how much we get but God isn't two days long enough this round? Tonight is a good night to stay home and curl up with a good book (if I could get away from the computer long enough). I have about 4 books that has been calling my name for several months. Or that homemade Christmas....hmmm.....projects............

Have a blessed evening.

Praise Him for your roses, Thank Him for your thorns

I thought this blogging thing would be hard but it's kinda fun.

I had to go pee in a cup today, random drug test at work. The
only drug they will find in me is diet pepsi (is that a drug?) The
job being so new and just having done this about six weeks ago,
I was kinda surprised but hey, it's their money.

The day went by quick as it often does at work, especially with my
little outing. Everyone in a good mood. Boss gone most of the day.
Guess you can mark it as a good day, except for the 911 call at the
end of the day. One of our consumers had a seizure, then one after
another. New for me to see, but not new for him. Say a prayer. He
may need it. Include his wife, she is a consumer too.

With this post I thought I would take a few minutes to explain how
I got the name for my blog. I spent about a month contemplating on
what to name something I would look at on a regular basis. I read
many blog, and found a lot of really cool names but nothing I read
gave me any new ideas for my own. None, that is, until I got an email
from a church friend. She is always sending neat and funny things via
the email. Thanks Rose! It was called, "Thank God for your thorns".
I read it and was very touched. I went to work the following day and
couldn't get this message out of my head. Then I realized that maybe
it stuck in my head because I had prayed for a inspirational title to
something I know will turn into a blessing.

Our lives are filled with roses and thorns on a daily basis. Sometimes
lives seem like there are only thorns. But isn't it the thorns that make
us strong. Aren't the thorns the lessons learned, the pillar of which
makes us strong?

My life has been filled with roses and thorns. My childhood isn't
something I want to repeat any time soon, but my adult life has
been a true blessing. I raised my daughter by my self in a time
it wasn't cool to be a single parent. I had a lot of thorn filled days
but often didn't realize they were thorn days because God carried
me when things got too tuff. Only when my friends would ask how
in the world did you get through that did I realize just how blessed
I was to have God on my side. I know I'm getting deep here but that
is truly how I feel about it.

Oh, this was about the title of my blog, yes, yes, I'm getting there. I
have p ut the story that inspired me to name my blog below. I just
know you will be as touched as I was when I read it. Here goes:

THANK HIM FOR YOUR THORNS

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a
November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like spring
breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile
accident stole her ease.During this Thanksgiving week, she would have delivered
a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company
threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying
she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her
grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathic with others
who suffer."She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder.
"Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. For a careless driver's
truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her
life but took that of her child?"Good afternoon, can I help you?" the shop clerk's approach startledher."I Â… I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra."For Thanksgiving? Do you
want beautiful but ordinary," asked the shopclerk, "or would you like to challenge the day
with a customer favoriteI call the 'Thanksgiving 'Special'? Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?""Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last
five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."Then
the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi, Barbara... let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small work room, then quickly reappeared,
carrying anarrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the
ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped; there were no flowers."Want this in a box?"
asked the clerk.Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke?Who would
want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, butneither woman laughed."Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile."You'd think after three years of getting
the special, I wouldn't be somoved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,"
she said as she gently tapped her chest."Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with,
uh Â… she just leftwith no flowers!" "Right," said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. Icall it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.""Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone
is willing to pay for that!"exclaimed Sandra."Barbara came into the shop three years ago
feeling much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to bethankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was
into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."That same year I had lost my husband,"
continued the clerk, "and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had
no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allowany travel.""So what
did you do?" asked Sandra."I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly."
I've always thanked God for good things in life and never to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. Ihave always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me
the beauty of God's comfort."You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're
afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."Sandra sucked in her breath
as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man."My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement ... twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him atissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator."Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind measking why she wants something that
looks like that?""No Â… I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago, my wife and Inearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but withthe Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem.He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told
me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and
that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wifeand I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanksfor what that problem taught us."As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!""I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life," Sandrasaid to the clerk. "It's all too ... fresh.""Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since theaccident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out."I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in aminute.""Thank you. What do I owe you?" "Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. Thefirst year's arrangement
is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."It read: My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thankedYou a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that
I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show methat, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.

"Praise Him for your roses, thank Him for your thorns".

Pretty deep, wouldn't you say? I like it!

Signing for for now. Take care and God Bless, Darlene

A new beginning

Hello fellow bloggers. I've been talking about getting this blog thing going for a long time. I like the computer and spend more time than I should poking around in it. I might as well be blogging and making new friends. My daughter has had a bolg for about a year. She has nothing but good thing to say about all the nice people out there. I hasitated to put my personal info out there for everyone to see. But the support we can offer each other by sharing out weighs the hesitation, so I have made the leap.

I titled my first post a new beginning for a lot of reasons but I guess the biggest reason was because of my new job.They cut the funding for my old job which pushed me out there to look for a new one. I have been at the job for four and a half months and I am still not totally convinced I like it. It seems I learn something new everyday, which is a good thing and probable why I have stayed this long. And working with special need people I hope to be making a difference in another persons life, which is another good reason for staying. But aren't you suspose to have fun at least part of the time, or is that why they call it work? Most days my day goes by too quickly and I don't seem to be able to have any fun. My boss is the kind of boss that finds fault in anything you do that wasn't her idea. Hence the thorns. I have a job. I believe in bringing a little of yourself into a job. Otherwise, they could use a robot ( you think?). With the holidays just around the corner, for now, I think I'll stay. I may even decide I like it, one of these days. Besides, looking for a job sucks, even on a good day.

Well, it's late and I'm tired. Anyone who reads this and has any good blogs or ideas to help get my blog off to a good and interesting start, feel free to leave a comment.