Three Red Marbles

Boy! When I get good forwards....I get GOOD forwards!
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I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes.

I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprizing a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes, but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like take some home?' asked Mr. Miller.

'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble', Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.

With a smile said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.

When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.

A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one.

Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.

They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men.

One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket.

Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles.

With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them.

Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho '.

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

From A Six Year Old's Perspective

Dog's Purpose, (from a 6-year-old)

I am so glad to receive, amongst the pile of random forwards, a gem email once in a while that is worth the read!

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
Irish wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa,
and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they
were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the
family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform
the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would
be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt
as though Shane might learn something from the experience

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for
the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any
difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's
death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are
shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly,
piped up, 'I know why.'

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good
life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The
six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so
they don't have to stay as long.'

WOW what a life lesson for all of us~

I got the GOLD STAR!!

Well I went to see the Diabetes Doctor yesterday and she awarded me the GOLD STAR! She was thrilled with all of my blood work results and weight loss.

To date I have lost 40 lbs and my test results are as follows:

---My sugar average is 103---which means I have normal blood sugar and I am causing no damage to my body...meaning Kidney, Liver functions and all blood levels are within a normal range.

---Three months ago my total cholesterol level was 235 and it is now 180. My bad LDL cholesterol was 160 and is now 119....my goal is 100 > HOWEVER....I am out of the danger level because 101-129 is considered to be near optimal though 100 and less is the target that the American Heart Association says we should all strive for.

She still has me on Byetta at 5mcg 2x a day and I will probably stay on that for the rest of my life but it is not insuln so that is fantastic!

All in all it was a great visit and I was very pleased and relieved when I left her office!

A Tribute to my Dad

Dad,

Words can not appropriately express the gratitude that I feel in my heart when I think about you as my daddy! I think back to my childhood and remember how excited I'd get when I saw your truck pull up at the end of the day. Even before that, I remember mom picking me up on cold nights, bundling me up, and driving to pick you up when you hauled the "big rigs".

When I think of you I think of the qualities that made and make you the man you are today; strength, perseverance, dedication, temperance, loyalty, respect, and love for family! I did not realize how important those qualities were or would be in my life fully until now! I want to thank you for sharing those qualities with me as well as kicking my rear on a regular basis to keep me steady and focused on the goal!
I will never be able to tell you how important it was that you did that....although I think that you already knew! I am so proud to have you as my father and now as a friend and counsel when needed.

I know that it was your guidance and love that helped shape me into the person I am today and the person that I will be for my family! I want to thank you for that!

I am glad that there is a day set aside for think about our parents and what they have done and been for us as children growing up.

I love you dad and will always be your little girl!

Lynn

On your third...Hannah Paige

My Sweet Hannah...I remember when you were born. Of all three girls, you were the easiest during childbirth...I think you were ready to get going and you have not stopped since! Your life was exciting pretty much from birth as Hurricane Katrina came through and relocated us for about ten days to your Papa Hat and Grandma Sally's house! You traveled very well though and really enjoyed riding in the car.
You are all personality with your curly hair and brown eyes and are perhaps mommy's best helper around the house....being most like me! We almost share the same birthday too (yours on the 14th and mine on the 15th)
I have loved spending these past three years with you and look forward to watching you grow up into a beautiful young woman!
I love and cherish you so much and am so proud to be your mommy!

Happy Third Birthday Hannah!

Wow! A lot has happened since the last time I posted! I had originally intended to create a post for Hannah, my middle gal, in honor of her birthday on June 14th; however, I had some problems. My youngest, Kayci, got sick on Saturday with a high fever...which was also the day of Hannah's Birthday party. We had the party anyway and it was really fun although we did not get to take the amount of photos we had intended. It was a small party with family and close friends so it was very relaxed and funny as Hannah kept sneaking small bites of her cake and going under the table as if we could not see her!
It rained some but quickly blew over so the kids did get to swim.
Hannah did end up getting sick after her party with the same virus that Kayci had....Zoe contracted it on Sunday so I have not gotten to post my tribute to my Dad yet either. Such is the life with kids though! Kayci and Hannah are pretty much over it today (Monday) but Zoe will need another day to recoup. All in all, It was a good weekend and Hannah did have a fine time and is playing with her legos as we speak!

Vacation Bible School

Zoe got to attend VBS at Roseland Park Church last week with Kirby, and she had a blast! We went to the "hoe down" on Friday Night... yes...western theme...and it was a hoot! She and Kirby, of course, stood together and got the giggles about half way through their song. She got to make some cute arts and crafts including this vest...made from a paper grocery bag that she decorated. On the back was a big yellow star that said, "Wanted...by GOD"; it was really cute! She already said she wants to do it again next year!

Pussy Cat; Pussy Cat I love you.....Yes I Do!!

Mud Bug Fun

Yesterday we had a crawfish boil. Because Mark was off, he offered to cook them. Candace, my good friend, bought the crawfish and brought over her cooker. We added potatoes, corn, mushrooms & sausage. Mark worked his magic and we enjoyed wonderfully, prepared mudbugs, cajun style. Here are some pictures of the little guys pre-cooked while Zoe and Hannah "played" with them and marveled at their big claws! It was a fun evening of eating, swimming and enjoying a good time with each other.

The Fable of the Rooster....A moral you can take to the booth!

John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business.
He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets', and ten
roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs.

The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time, so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance,which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report
simply by listening to the bells.

The farmer's favorite rooster was old Butch, a very fine specimen he was,too. But on this particular morning John noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! John went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.

But to Farmer John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it
couldn't ring. He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next
one. John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in
the County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the
judges.

The result...the judges not only awarded old Butch the
"No Bell Piece Prize" but they awarded him the "Pulletsurprise" as
well.

Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making: who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them
when they weren't paying attention.

The Moral: Vote carefully this year...the bells are not always audible.

Ride a Horsey...Ride a Horsey...well little Horsey!

Zoe has been able to attend Vacation Bible School this week with Kirby. Our church did not offer VBS until after the completion of Kindergarten so attending Roseland Park Church with Kirby was VERY exciting for her. They are using a western theme for VBS so yesterday she got to ride, for the first time, a little pony! She was so excited AND I was so grateful as Kirby's mom took pictures for me because I was not able to attend due to babysitting. I think that Zoe will remember this experience for a long time to come!

"Book Ends"

Kayci has a new little friend named Ty that I am watching now. I call them my little "book ends" because they are always together, following one after the other, all over the house. Though Zoe and Hannah did their best to 'steal the show' I believe you'll get the idea!