Ohhhhhhh to be a kid with tons of beads in my hair, running through my grandmother's yard with no problems in sight, green green grass, sunny skies...wuddnt that be nice!!!

My niece 'Mylie @ my parents house this summer.....

Thankful for ….

A rebirth in my faith

Renewed belief in hope

Love

Random acts of kindness from me to you or from you to me

My childhood home

My community bed…my boys have all kinds of electronics in their own rooms but every once in awhile they both love to be in my bed watching a movie…even better when the cat and the dog are in the room too.

EVERYTHING that has happened to me…good and BAD. If it hadn’t happened I wouldn’t be the me, right now, in this space of life that I am in. And I think this ‘me’ is alright….

True friendships

Peace that passes all understanding



Flocks of birds…hey…some people have the Ark as their promise…I have my flock of birds. They so make my heart lighter when I see them…I don’t know why. I usually see them on my way in to work. For example, I’m driving like a speed demon, look up into the sky and see like a black blur across the highway…the closer I get the more I realize…it’s a flock. Stretching across. Undulating, sometimes separating into two flocks but pretty much, I look at as God doing that JUST FOR LITTLE OLE ME. But today I was running a lllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllll late and instead of seeing them on my way to work, there was a flock of birds in my tree’s this morning. LOUDLY ‘chirping’ or whatever sound it is they make. Well I’ll be (as my grandmother used to say)…I almost dropped to my knee’s. I should have because this was a bad morning and THAT was my promise that I can fly no matter what…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone…stay blessed and look for the thankful in your life…I am SO sure its there….

I got this from a blog I read....cant remember who but I have it taped to my cubicle wall at work. I read it several times a day...almost as a life line so I thought I'd share...if it was YOUR blog that I got it from...say something! LOL...but really, for whomever posted it, thank you. I needed it when I printed it and I need it now, today, tomorrow and forever more until I get it right.....


Promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything & make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best & expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side as long as you are true to the best that is in you!


~Christian D Larson.

This boy has no idea how much I love to see this smile...THIS smile always give's me strength. Gives me purpose....He's having fun and that means the world to me

******

A day at the court....well a day a few days ago...well...maybe a few weeks ago since we have had nothing but rain for the past 40 days and 40 nights...okay...not that bad but you get the jist...


that's Jalil on the far right with the black shirt and black shoes...Lacey, Okoye's, girlfriend is playing too....gotta love those tough tomboy girls....she jammed her finger playing and was a champ when they pulled it...better than i would have ever done...



Two of Okoye's friends playing on the Youngin' team....

That's Okoye on the left with the tank with the strips on them...Jalil is next to him...almost like he's running away....

Yes, Okoye and Jalil was on opposite teams and played against each other. Its fun to watch because they know each others moves....AND they cant trash talk on the other's mama since ..well...they have the same mama and mama would have their boooTAY"S if they so much as talked about someone else's mother...

just a child who kept jumping into my shots everytime I had my camera up....

LOVE LOVE LUV'S the sky here....

My baby....Jalil

Okoye's friend...

I can not express how great yesterday’s blog chain was!

I’m still reading Christina's Simple Things blog post’s, still nodding my head in agreement, still thinking ‘MAN you hit the nail on the head!’ and really thinking, I need to do this more often.

See…I am the first one to do a blog post listing what is wrong with my day, who has upset me or what I want to change about me. It is so easy to go into the negative about myself and others that I don’t even realize that I do it half the time.

So it was…heaven sent to remind me of…those simple things that make it all worthwhile. That yes, the bigs things are big and lets be honest, I SO love the big things too but what keeps me going are those small simple things.

Here’s to the Simple Things…

*

*** I’ve also added a couple handful of blogs to start stalking…LOL

my dad and my great neice, and his great grand-daughter, Ava Rae

Thanks Christina for doing this.........



Quiet Sunday mornings

Rainy Sunday mornings with nowhere to go

coloring with my great-niece

crayons

buttery popcorn

well loved books

Puppy dog eyes

Creamy biscuits and gravy

the words 'hey you' from him

true intimacy

thick warm blankets

men's athletic socks

Hot cocoa with strong coffee

‘love you mommie’

Thank you’s from my ex husband because yes...it is hard

Flocks of birds first thing in morning

A good deep gut wrenching cry

Having others see what I seen in a photo I took

My mother’s love, there’s nothing like it

My cat actually wanting love..actually this is not so simple…it’s a great fete to be deemed worthy

The way the singer Adele pronounces her W’s, its like...warmth

my youngest son's laughter...

my oldest son singing in the shower...


* I had to add this...I am LOVIN' reading everyone's list!! I'm going through Christina's list of blogs and in every list I have thought at least once 'I LOVE THAT TOO!' Perfect example of what is simple can be abundant...thanks again Christina!

Our microwave died yesterday. Or really…it blew up. I really would like to wait until Black Friday sales to get one but I’m being realistic…

I’ve went shopping on Black Friday ONCE. After a lady stepped back into me, stepped hard on my infected big toe and did NOT say ‘excuse me’ all for the desire of a dvd player….I have decided Black Friday shopping is not to be for me.

But I have two intelligent book smart boys with the common sense of a gnat….

‘how do I cook a frozen dinner?’
‘can I cook my pot pies?’
‘I need to warm my hot dogs up….how?’

We do not use our microwave to cook but we us it to heat stuff up, like frozen dinner, pot pies and leftovers. Since neither boy likes cold bologna or hot dogs, they will heat those up in there too…

Life is over as they now it folks. It will actually take an hour to heat up a pot pie and they just might die of starvation in the mean time.

To all our soldiers....past, present and future...thank you!

My prayers go out to our soldiers and their families, loved ones and friends at Fort Hood, Texas....

Peace...

* I have been on a savings/budget frenzy. After I discovered that I spend excess amounts of money on BS (for example...I spend at least $1920 a year on cafeteria food alone. FOR MY SELF.) I decided to become more aware of my money. I mean, I am very careful with my bills and making sure that those are paid for but after that...I just dont monitor it as closely as I should. So I started too and to be honest...budgets are no party but seeing the difference in my bank accounts...IS a party. I've even got the boys on the bandwagon of saving mulah....Our electric bill was running anywhere between $200 to $220 per month. Just got the bill and was $89. Now I do have to say...that one night I came home and the boys were walking around with their flannel PJ's on, long sleeved tee's and big wholly socks and shoes..all for the greater good of the Washington-Household Economy. When I asked them why they hadn't turned on the furnace my oldest child said 'heat cost money'....

One of those moments when I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time.
*
I had all intents and purposes of doing NaBloPoMo but, hell....the first day I missed and then I missed last night so....ummmm...yeah....its not working out for me.
*
My riding song....Empire State of Mind by JayZ and Alicia Keys. Jayz is not my fav by any means. I mean seriously, if I had my choice between silence and JayZ...hands down, silence would be the winner. I like Alicia Keys somewhat but I think I like her based on her not spreading her legs for all the world to see her naughtybits or doing a booty dance for the sake of making a buck (although my girl Alicia has a bodAY and a half....I so wish I had hips and a butt) but I heard them live on the MTV Something or Other Awards and fell for the song. Dont ask me why but when I hear that song.....I feel like I conquer the world.
*
I've started walking again....folks...I dont know but it has been SO good. Both physically and mentally. Physically....since I have NO arches in my feet what-so-ever...walking kills my feet. At least normally, it does. After walking I used to feel pain that made me second guess walking and it not being worth the benefit I got from the exercise. Here lately....I have had no pain. Have no idea what happened or if the pain will eventually start up but I.AM.LOVING.It. Mentally....I've chosen to go walking a little bit before sunset at park or a trail and I hate to tell you people who live anywhere else besides Missouri but we have got The Best Sunsets out there. I kid you not. Gorgeous. Gorgeous to the point of closing my eyes just to hear the sounds of nature (ummmm yeah, there have been times when I've panicked because with eyes closed, sometimes nature can be scary). Gorgeous to the point of smiling at complete strangers on the trail. Gorgeous to the point of thanking God for blessing me with life, PERIOD. Gorgeous in ....taking tons of photos.....(ya knew I had too....I wouldnt be me, otherwise).

My brother and his youngest daughter, Jermylah..... I have to admit...there's nothing like a daddies little girl.....