September 11,2001...how I remember.....

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

I work nights, so I was asleep. I was pregnant and very worn out and tired. I was sleeping when I heard a banging on my bedroom window. I then heard my husband go to the door. I think I fell back asleep for a minute and then heard a booming voice. It was my husband. "Jen! Wake up! There are planes crashing everywhere...the Twin Towers...GONE! Part of the Pentagon GONE! "

I remember my response. "I just got to sleep, so unless work is gone, I still have to go there tonight!" As I gathered my thoughts and tried to wake up, it hit me. I started to panic. "Oh my God! Where is Aunt Corinne? Is she up there? Did she fly today?" My aunt, at the time, was a flight attendant. Thank God she was safe on the ground that fateful day. Looking back, I am shocked at my reaction that day, but up until that very moment, life was normal. It was a (somewhat) normal reaction of a very tired pregnant woman carrying out a very normal daily routine. That was just seconds before my life and my country as I knew it was changed forever.

Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

I remember being glued to the television. I watched as very scared people covered in the dust and rubble of the World Trade Center ran for their lives. I remember seeing crowds of people running. They didn't know who or exactly what they were running from, but they were running to save themselves. I remember crying for those people.

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

I remember the lump in my throat. As I watch the re-broadcast today, that lump is still there. The tears still well up and I still get chills as I listen to the events unfold again.I remember seeing people carrying pictures of their loved ones and showing them to who ever would look at them. They couldn't find their loved ones, they didn't know if they were safe or if they were trapped in what remained of the towers. I remember the media saying that people were jumping from the towers. I remember the story of Todd Beamer and the rest of the heroes of Flight 93. Could you imagine calling your spouse to say a painful final goodbye? I remember saying a prayer. And another. And another.

Did you burst out in pride

For the red white and blue






The heroes who died just doing what they do



Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

Almost immediately, more flags were flown. Everything that could be draped in red, white and blue was covered with our country's colors. No matter which city you were in, people were wearing the letters NYFD to honor the Fire Departments of New York. Those departments lost so many great men and women that day, just doing what they do.

But I know Jesus and I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love


So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Eight years ago, I didn't talk to God as much as I do today. I didn't talk to Him on a daily basis, but I talked to him a million times that day. I know Jesus much better these days, and I talk to God on a daily, sometimes hourly basis!

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK..I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do.. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you . But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

God

Always remember September 11, 2001. Never forget the pain, the sadness or the anger. More importantly never forget those who gave their lives trying to save another. Please pray for the families of these fallen heroes, and for the families of the brave men and women who still defend our freedom eight years later.

Tuesday's Talent

Today's talent is really a work in progress. My son got a book at the school library today that teaches you how to draw dogs. (Draw 50 Dogs)This is his second attempt at a Lab. Although he is not completely happy with the way it looks, I told him it will get better each time he tries.

I don't know about you, but I think she looks pretty great!

Tuesday's Talent

Well it looks like my little guy has pizza on the brain! Last Tuesday he drew Pizza Pete. This week, meet Pizza Bot.

Pizza Bot is equipped with several arms for all of your pizza making needs. He has one for cutting, one for sprinkling cheese, one for pouring sauce, one for holding it steady, one for taking it out of the oven, one for boxing it up, one for putting pepperoni on and even one for tossing it around to entertain the people. As you can see, inside his chest is the oven where his warm heart cooks your pizza. He has eyes like a bug so he can see all of his arms at once so he can see what he is doing. To deliver it to the customers that are in the store, he takes all of his arms, grabs a pizza in each hand then his arms start spinning around and he starts flying like a helicopter and then he lets go of the pizzas and the customers catch them.

School Days

It's that time of year again. There is excitement in the air. Soon it will be time to meet that big yellow bus at the end of the driveway and send my little fellow off to school again.

We are all ready! New clothes are washed and put away, the new shoes are broken in and the backpack and lunch box are all ready to go!

Just look at these cute little stickers I won over at A Simple Kinda Life! Angie is a friend of mine from way back in Jr. High! Check her out, she is always reviewing and giving things away! These little cuties are PakNaks. They are rubbery little stickers for all of your stuff! They are held on with Velcro so you can change them around if you would like!

I always say I am going to be more organized than the year before, so here is this year's idea.
A lunch packing station. I have it stocked with a sandwich holder, small containers, two different size lunch baggies, spoons and forks. Everything I need all in one spot!

I even have started some little surprises to tuck into the lunchbox. I just took some index cards and jotted down some jokes on them.

I wrote the answer on the bottom part, folded it and sealed it with a sticker.

I have enough done so far for the first two weeks of school. This month I'll do jokes, maybe next month will be strange space facts (he has been into space lately) and keep changing with the months to come.

I also have a great dry erase calender on the wall for all of our events. It is in a central location between the kitchen and living room for easy visibility. Hubby has it all filled out, so it has too much personal info to post a picture, but you get the drift!

I think we are all ready! How about you? What do you do to keep it all together? I would love to hear your ideas...I could use all the help I can get!

Tuesday's Talent

Today's talent is from my son.

Meet Pizza Pete. He's a Pizza Joe's delivery pizza. When someone takes a bite out of him, that part just grows right back. That makes him a super pizza. And that pizza van in the background isn't just a pizza van. It's a flying pizza van. And when his pizza van breaks down he uses his string cheese powers to get where he's going. That's his story.

Tuesday's Talent

The first talent today was a total surprise! I opened my e-mail to find this tasty little treat!

This is the dancing cupcake from Miss M. I love this cupcake and all of her sassy dance moves! The sprinkles are the best...so colorful! Look at the cute little picture she drew of herself (she really is that cute in person, too!) You know what Miss M? You're my favorite little sprinkle!



The next drawing is not as cute, but the artist sure is...it is from my own little cupcake! Here we have Alien Man

Alien Man is a villain and enemy of the Super League of Weirdos. He fell to Earth inside a cardboard box. His favorite food is cardboard. He was so hungry, on his way to Earth he ate his cardboard box! His favorite drink is dirty dish water. His favorite thing to do is eat. He is also a space pirate. He tries to defeat the Super League of Weirdos by trying to eat them. He thinks people taste like cardboard. His least favorite food is chicken. One day when he was flying his space boat, he came upon Creature Man. Creature Man fighted him and that's how he got his peg leg. One day when he was flying his space boat, he came upon Toilet Man. Toilet Man flushed him down and that's how he got his eye patch.

Thanks for the talent kiddos! I can't wait to see what you come up with next week!

Dreams and Comfort

Have you ever heard something in a song, or on television and it just gets stuck in your head? You know, a lyric or a phrase that keeps coming back to you when you least expect it?

Yesterday was one of those days. I was watching Little House on the Prairie with my family and Laura was going on about how it wasn't fair that she had to work in a stable to make enough money to get shoes for her horse while Nellie was just handed a thoroughbred. Of course Pa had some words of wisdom for his little "Half Pint". He told her that in life you are going to come across things that just don't seem fair. That's why the Lord gives you little gifts in your life, to help you get through the tough times.

It was this little morsel that kept creeping in and out of my mind all day. As my family ran around doing some errands, I kept thinking about Pa's advice and all of the little gifts I have been blessed with.

We finished up our errands and headed home. When we got home, I phoned my Mom, just like I do all of the time. When I finished rambling on about what I did that day and what I planned to do tomorrow she gave me some very disturbing news. Someone we are very close to suffers from an addiction to pain medication. This is someone I am very close to and love very much. Worse yet, this is someone my seven year old son is close to and loves dearly. This person HAD 12 years clean time. My mother went on to tell me that this person is once again abusing medication. At this point, there is nothing I can do but pray.

So, after hearing this news, I tried to continued on with the rest of my night as normal. Every chance I got, I silently said a prayer for our loved one's problem. Pa's advice to Laura kept racing through my mind once again. I went to bed, and that's when I was given one of those little gifts from the Lord he was talking about......

I had a very strange dream. I don't really remember most of it, but what I do remember is a gift from above. At some point in my dream, I was in a house. I'm not even sure it was mine. I remember hearing a car pull up and the front door opened. In walked my Granddad and he said my name. I can still remember sound of his voice. (this Granddad passed away in 1998) . I ran over and gave him the biggest hug around his neck.

At that moment I woke up. It seemed so real, that for a moment I wondered if it really did happen. Even though it was a dream, I was filled with such warmth and comfort. It still feels so real, tears are streaming down my face as I type this.

Upon waking, I instantly thanked the Lord. I prayed that He continues to bless me and my loved ones with little gifts to get us through the tough times. The Lord heard my prayer for comfort and strength and He answered in a very powerful and awesome way.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven....Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5: 3-4)

Tuesday's Talent

Today's Tuesday's Talent is a gathering of the Super League of Weirdos. In the middle is Creature Man and he is surrounded by all the members of his League.

We Have a Birthday to Celebrate!

Aww, look at this little fellow, with his cute little bib and shiny golden crown. He must be having a birthday............

Well actually he has had quite a few of them......as of today, fourteen to be exact!

This handsome fellow is my friend's son. He is quite the wild man and gentleman all rolled into one fantastic package and today is his birthday!

Happy Birthday Wild Bill!

I hope your day is as awesome and fun as you are!

Tuesday's Talent

Today's talent is another drawing made by my seven year old. He created Ben Franklin by using what is called a doodle trick. Mr. Franklin is made from the number 100! You can visit www.activitytv.tv to learn how!

Bragging Rights

WOW!

My hubby Mike and I both work nights. During the summer months when our son is not in school, we come home and take turns sleeping. This eliminates the need for a sitter. While this routine leaves us both very tired, it works for us. Our son in with one of his parents all day long. I take the first sleeping shift because I can't stay up! Hubby stays up. This is great father-son bonding time. Sometimes they go to the park, sometimes they go to the library and sometimes they just stay home. Sometimes they get me surprises!

The other day, they ran around. Mike had to get a part for the mower. While they were out, he decided to buy me a surprise! I have looking for a set of Chalk Ink markers made for chalkboards. They are quite pricey, so I thought I would have to wait. He used a 50% off coupon I got for signing up for Michael's craft store's newsletter and bought them for me!

Today when I woke up....WOW!

This is what I found on my kitchen counter....

That is eight jars of bread & butter pickles and two loaves of zucchini bread with cinnamon chips and walnuts! The kitchen was also spotless! He did all of this straight after eight hours of hard labor on the midnight shift!

My hubby is the best!

So now the question is....am I spoiled.....or am I blessed?
I am thinking both!

Tuesday's Talent

For the first time on Tuesday's Talent we have an art sculpture! Miss M. has made a wonderful alien. Her name is Alion (A leon) Here is Alion and her description straight from Miss. M! Slimey wants to know if she drives that mother ship aliens are always talking about?!

Our second display of talent comes from my son. This is Everything Man.

Everything Man is not in the Super League of Weirdos. He would like to be, but he keeps getting turned down because he is not weird enough! Everything Man can do everything! You name it, he can do it! He can even turn into a big glob of goo if he has to! Hmm that sounds pretty weird to me!

Thank you for looking at Tuesday's Talent, and Thank You Miss M for taking it to the next level! My son is out in my kitchen right now looking for things to make his own sculpture!

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Tuesday's Talent

Tuesday's Talent just keeps getting bigger and better! I am thrilled! Today, we have artwork from three budding artists!

Our first drawings come from The Boy's Guide to Drawing Aliens, Warriors, Robots and Other Cool Stuff. There is some weird and scary stuff in there! All of the stuff boys love to draw!

First we have a drawing from my friend's son Mr. B. Do you remember Miss M. from a couple of Tuesday's ago? Mr. B is her big brother. He took time from his skateboarding (which I hear he is totally awesome at) to draw this for my son!
Meet Voggles. According to the book, Voggles are some of the weirdest aliens you'll ever see. The special aye antennas let each Voggle see what all other Voggles see. Mr. B. did an awesome job on this drawing! Thanks B!


Now this picture was done by my very own kiddo. He decided to put three different drawings into one. The book tells us that the first weird guy we see is an alien. He is called Skrawks. The Skrawk people have been involved in galactic politics for hundreds of years. They think every person's opinion is important. The warrior in the air is Hiroto. Through many years of practice and lots of hard work, Hiroto became a martial arts master. He can defeat enemies in the blink of an eye. The last creature is a robot. He is Pacifier P-17s. In the year 2432, civil war rocks the planet Venus. Pacifier P-17s were created to bring peace. Too bad the machines don't know friend from foe. They crush anyone in their way with their giant mechanical claws.

*Descriptions from the first two drawings come from the book.

Ahh, now here's something a little more serene. Here we have a beautiful garden scene drawn by Miss M. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and everything is budding in the garden! I love the little brown bunnies. They are enjoying everything that is yummy in a bunny's tummy. There is lettuce, carrots and big green cabbages! Every bunny's dream! This sunny garden is so inviting that even the butterflies have come by to join the fun! I love the giant pink butterfly....I hope she stops by to visit my veggie garden!


As always, thanks for stopping by, and do come back....who knows what you'll find next time!

Back to life....back to reality

Well it's back to work tonight after being off for a week. It's tough to get back in the swing of things, especially for us because we work nights. I hate to even think of going back! Ugh. I am also guessing that when we get back, that I will be on overtime...again!

Oh well! It is what it is, and I have to work to be able to do fun things like I did while I was off....

I went to my family reunion.

We had a great time, as always! After all of the kids took a swing at the pinata and couldn't break it, they brought in the big guns! (I honestly think my cousin Nicole broke it a little before me!) That's me taking a whack at the little caterpillar pinata. I busted it wide open and the kids left with a ton of candy! And of course, my silly little guy had more fun with the broken pinata!

Then there were some great prizes at the raffle. There was a frog that quickly became the "Oooh I want that" prize at the raffle! Man, everyone wanted the ceramic frog! We bought several tickets to try to win it, but it didn't happen.

Thanks to my Great Uncle Ralph, who gave my son some tickets, that fabulous frog is nestled next to my rose bush beside my house!




We went to the factory outlet stores and did a little shopping.

I picked up a cute card game for my son and his friends to play. Mostly we looked and dreamed....didn't really spend too much. It was a beautiful day and had a great time. I can shop, not buy a thing and still have a great time!

We did buy a couple of cool drinks to quench our thirst! I even let Slimey get a "big guy" drink at the coffee shop.

Yeah, that kept him hopping all day long! He had a cookies and cream something or other! He loved it, but thankfully didn't finish the whole thing!

Another day, we took a little trip to a local park to see the barn owl who lives there.

Here is Oliver the Barn Owl. I am sorry for the poor picture quality, but Oliver was behind glass and it was hard to get a clear shot. The girl working there offered to let me go back where they feed him and try to get a better picture, but I didn't want to get her in trouble, or disappoint Oliver, who probably would have thought I was there to feed him.

Although we couldn't feed him while we were there, we did donate money to buy Oliver a yummy mouse to enjoy later for dinner.

While we were there, Slimey also got to pretend he was a butterfly!

That put us in the mood to go for a walk on the butterfly trail next to the owl barn. We saw lots of pretty flowers......but not many butterflies!




Then at the end of the trail, while I was busy taking pictures, hubby and son spotted a butterfly!

We took one day and went to Pittsburgh.

We love going to "da burgh" or "the big city" as my little one calls it.

I love the buildings...I get great pictures every time I am there. I love the sights, sounds and smell of the big city!

We went to a cupcake shop ( are you surprised?) and I had a rose flavored cupcake! Yum!
The store had trouble with it's credit/debit system and hubby had to walk down the street to an ATM. For his trouble, the man at the shop said we could have a free cupcake! Momma likes! I enjoyed another rose cupcake....free tastes so delicious!

We headed to the Strip District which is rows of shops and ethnic grocery stores. I love shopping there! While we were there, we found a little garden tucked away in an alley that belonged to St. Patrick church.....

Then in the corner of the garden, surrounded by ivy.....

Very beautiful indeed!

Then after leaving the serenity of the garden, we went back out into the busy city and drove past the site for the new arena where the Pittsburgh Penguins will play....

Things are moving right along!

Back at home, things are moving right along in my garden!

Just look what I picked this week alone!

Wow! What a bounty!

We made pickles, peach preserves (peaches bought at a local farm) and zucchini bread. For lunch I had...you guessed it...fried zucchini! How many ways can I eat zucchini and cucumbers? I guess I am going to have to find out!

We also went to several yard sales and went swimming two days in a row! What a vacation! I am so sad to see it go and have to get back to work...but we haven't checked that lottery ticket hubby bought a couple of days ago......ya never know! LOL!