Fifty Two Weeks of Joy

This blessing took place the week of August 24 th – 30 th Sunday, August 24 th would have been mom's 56 th birthday. Every year on her birthday we go out to eat at Olive Garden and then send her balloons with Happy Birthday messages. While at lunch we decided as a family we would bless someone at the restaurant, in memory of mom. After some discussion Oscar and I decided we would bless our server. When he came back to the table to check on us Eli handed him Oscar's debt card. Eli likes to pay for things, and he already knows who to ask. Our server took the card and went back to get our check and charge us for the meal. Oscar has an Arkansas Razorback Alumni logo on his bank card. Prompting our server to ask Oscar questions about his degree, Oscar told him he received a Finance degree. We quickly learned our waiter is also a Razorback and is working towards a triple major. After a brief conversation our waiter left again. Oscar filled in the tip section with a gene...

This blessing took place the week of August 17 th – 23 rd I'm sure by now many of you have heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge… Sorry to disappoint but we did not dump ice on our heads instead Oscar and I did make a donation to the ALS Foundation. Oh and for the record whoever came up with this idea is a genius… Not only has dumping ice raised awareness it has also raised millions in a matter of weeks.

This blessing took place the week of August 10 th -16 th . As I left church Sunday morning, a woman was standing at the corner holding a sign that said, "Mother has abandoned children anything you can give will help." I pulled up next to her and asked her, "What do you need?" She answered all she needs right now are diapers for her grandbabies. I asked her to get in the car and go with me to the store to buy some diapers. On the drive to the store we introduce ourselves to each other. She then told me about her grandkids and about their mother. Her daughter in law has basically chosen a lifestyle of drugs instead of motherhood. Beth, my new friend, is unable to work and her husband just lost his job.   We got to the store I told her to get whatever she needed. She was very gracious and only got the diapers. I told her she could get more but she insisted it wasn't necessary because they had some money coming their way. We checked out, got back in t...

This blessing took place the week of August 3 rd – 9 th .   I'm very excited about this week. I've agreed to serve on the Children's Christmas Train Committee this year. This is an annual event with proceeds from the event benefiting children's charities. Proceeds from this year's event will benefit the Children's Safety Center. If a child is abused the child is brought to the center and they will investigate the case, provide counseling, medical exam (if needed), or anything else the child needs. Not only do they provide care but they bring law enforcement, child protective services, victim service providers, prosecutors, medical professionals, and mental health professionals to the child. This way the child doesn't have to be transported from place to place repeating the same story and reliving the abuse over and over again. I'm very excited about having the opportunity to serve on this committee and hopefully reach our goal of sponsorships to...

This blessing took place the week of July 27 th – August 2 nd .   This blessing took place the week of July 27 th – August 2 nd . Those of you, who know me, know I have a history of chronic back pain. I've been seeing a different chiropractor for the past 2 years and I've actually seen a tremendous amount of improvement. Early this week I had a routine visit for an adjustment. This week's blessing is about that visit and me meeting an expected stranger. A friend recently showed me a Youtube video about how all of us are becoming zombies because of our smartphones. I was immediately convicted, because I too am guilty of always being on my phone. On this particular day I decided I wasn't going to play on my phone while I waited; I was determined to interact with whoever else was in the waiting area. I'm so glad I put my phone away! An older woman came in and set next me, she was crocheting a beautiful scarf. We began talking about crocheting....

This blessing took place the week of July 20 th – 26 th . Several of you who have followed this blog from the beginning have heard me talk about my son Eli. When Eli was about 10 months old he had a cough and a fever. We couldn't get the fever to go away and he began to develop a rash all over his body. I scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician. His doctor didn't seem too concerned with the cough or the fever but the rash seemed to be an indication of something more serious. We were instructed to rush Eli to the ER and we would have nurses waiting for our arrival. As soon as we arrived at the hospital before I could get paperwork filled out we were rushed into a room and placed in strict isolation. We could not leave the room and anyone who entered the room had to wear masks, gloves, and a full body gown. None of the nurses could tell us much, all we knew was Eli was sick and he was going to be admitted and remain in isolation until the doctor came in the next mo...