Plane Crash

http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8233603

I am still in shock over this. A small plane with 2 people plummeted into a house down the road from here. It is 2 streets from my mom and is literally across the street from our old house. The pilot and passenger were killed but the lady who was in the house escaped with serious burns. There is an amazing video of footage at http://www.wtvr.com/ However, since that is the news' home page, it will soon change as another tragedy takes place. I'm in awe that this happened so close to my mom's house as well as friends who live in that neighborhood. I am only 5 miles away from the crash site. I didn't know the lady who lives there as she has only been there a year and we have been gone from that house for six or seven years. I do know the elderly lady who lives next door to the site and am thankful it wasn't her house or she surely wouldn't have made it out alive. Prayers are needed to be sent up for the dear lady burned in her home and the families of the two who were killed in the crash.

In His Love,

Feeling ungrateful? Read this

Here's a good read I found from Ginger-Pie's blog. It's one of the blogs I enjoy looking at in my free time. This can put things in perspective if you are feeling a bit ungrateful.

http://qfmamato4.blogspot.com/2008/04/ungrateful.html

Daddy fun

While I was in here typing away about the Mother/Daughter banquet, Jay had the girls outside.
I looked out and saw that he had one of them on the riding lawn mower and I went out to snap a few pictures.
When I was Rebecca's age, maybe a bit older, my dad would take me out on the riding lawn mower and I thought it was fun~ until those nasty boys next door made fun of me. Of course, he did take me up and down the street instead of staying in the yard so I guess they had reason to think it was weird. But I tried not to let them suck out all the joy I had with my dad. Now that he has been gone for 13 years, it's nice to have sweet little memories like those that I can think back on.
My girls are blessed beyond measure and they don't even realize it.
I love making memories with my family. It's the greatest joy I have outside of my salvation. Maybe that's why I take so many pictures...

*Oh, the girl in the picture above with Rebecca is on of our neighbors' granddaughter of sorts. One of those complicated family things.

In His Precious Name,

Apples of Gold, Pictures of Silver

Last night, our church held it's annual Mother/Daughter Banquet. It was a very precious evening spent with my 2 daughters, mother in law and friends.
The theme was Apples of Gold Pictures of Silver. The verse: Proverbs 25:11 "A word fitly spoke is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." It was very tastefully put together by several women in the church. They did a fantastic job. We were unable to attend last year due to the fact we were on our way south to Florida at the time. I'm glad that I was able to go this year.
Our dinner was catered out and we had an abundance of delicious food including roast beef, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese and rolls. For dessert, chocolate cake and peach cobbler were offered. Yummm.
The program started off with welcoming our guests. I can't pretend that I can guess as to how many ladies were there, and many of those were visitors. The girls and I brought along Darlene, their grandma and our friends the Migliore's came!
Yesterday was Mrs. Susan, the pastor's wife's, birthday and my girls (along with Lauren) were able to surprise her with a gift from the church. I don't think we could have done enough to support her and show our love and respect for her. She is truely a Godly woman and a wonderful pastor's wife!
After our meal, we had some beautiful music. Four of the teen girls sang a nice song. Ms. Debi Michael sang a song that she wrote several years and touched my heart. The song that I absolutely loved was the one sang by Stevie Atchley. It's titled Handful of Weeds. ( Click on the link-I searched online for the song and this is the best I can find at the moment)
A cute skit written by Mrs. Margaret was called "The Reality" put on by a teen Elizabeth J. and a mom, Mary L.
Pastor's wife, Mrs. Lake, came from Vermont to give the devotions. She did a fabulous job speaking to our ladies on our words taken from the key verse Prov. 25:11. She also used the Prov. 31 mom and Titus 2 woman as examples to us. It was a nice ending to the evening.
Enjoy the slide show of the pictures taken from Rebecca and me.

These were all taken on my cell phone. They turned out nice didn't they?

It was too beautiful today to be inside.
After running an errand, we decided to stop off at the park.
Even though it was unexpected and I didn't take my camera, I still got some nice ones with my cell phone camera. Thanks Mom!
*I'll share more with you when I have more free time*

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that there is nothing new going on right at the moment worth sharing with the world. We have had a wonderful week of school and staying home most of the time. Love it!
Today, we're finishing up school for the week and running by the bank so Rebecca can enter a drawing contest they are holding. After a quick trip to Costco, we'll head back home to get ready for the Mother/Daughter Banquet being held at church tonight.
We have another busy weekend with soccer games and other family activities planned. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Hopefully the rain will hold off until night time as I know many have outdoor plans as well!

Disney/ Florida withdrawal

We have been going to Florida twice a year for the past couple years now and have gotten addicted to Florida life, weather and Walt Disney World. With gas prices sky rocketing, coupled with the fact that we drive our own gas guzzling vehicle, we decided to combine both trips this year into one. We picked October because that's when it was cheapest to book our Disney cruise. Once the kids are back in school and it's hurricane (yikes!) season. We were told by a couple of seasoned cruisers that this would be a good time to go so we're trusting them in this aspect!

We are leaving a week ahead of time to stay a week in the Orlando area. We'll go to Sea World, Aquatica, all 4 Disney parks and at least one of the Disney water parks. We have 2 dining with the characters booked and a place to stay.

Planning this trip has kept Jay sane. He works so hard and looks forward to these breaks through out the year. We haven't had a vacation since Sept. and it's wearing on him.

We have a wonderful house at a great rate in a great location that we usually rent on our trips south. Unfortunately, it was already booked the week we wanted to go. After searching online, Jay found another great house at an even better location at a cheaper price. I think I'm more excited about the Disney trip than I am over the cruise. I guess because I haven't been on a cruise yet. It's the unexpected...

Here's photos of the house we will be staying in.

Looks nice, huh? We can't wait until October!!!!

Homeschooling At A Glance

I posted a few pictures and 2 videos from our schooling today. If you are interested to see what we do during the day, please leave a comment or e-mail and I'll send you an invite.

I couldn't wait for this week to be over. I knew from the get go that it would be a doozy for me. *Remember, I like things calm and unchaotic!


Monday morning, we arose sleepily. It's always hard to start the week after such a busy weekend. I woke up early and started on some much needed cleaning, getting Emily to help too. Rebecca started in right away with her school but barely got anything done before we had to rush off to the Y for the gym/swim class. They are outside during gym time doing soccer drills and that makes Emily much happier than doing basketball. After swimming lessons, we went to the gym for their gymnastics class. Rushing out of there after class, we left to meet up with friends for dinner at guess where? Chik-fil-a of course. We had revival this week and didn't want to miss a night no matter how busy we were.


Guy Roberts was the speaker this time and he did an absolute wonderful job preaching straight to the soul. He was here back in Oct. 2006 when we first visited Calvary. We went on a Sunday night and didn't know it was revival time for them. It was the best sermon we could have had at the time! He preached from 1 Thess. 5:21 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." A crucial point made was, just because a man stands up in the pulpit and preaches from the Word doesn't necessarily make him right. Look into the scriptures for yourself and prove that what he said came directly from the Word of God. Jay and I looked at each other in wonder. How many times, especially in recent times had we heard, "Close your Bible and trust me"? We ended up returning that Monday and Tues. night as well. Another thing that blew my mind was that Tues. night was Halloween. Both Jay and I were struggling over the fact that we were at a church, an Independent Fundamental Baptist mind you, that promoted and celebrated that day. The Pastor from Calvary made just a simple little statement about Halloween but had such an impact on us and gave us this deep respect for him and his beliefs. It wasn't long before God made it abundantly clear that we had to get out of the sin from the other church and go to the place He wanted us to serve Him at.


So, yeah, Pastor Roberts will always be a favorite preacher of mine. Like my Preacher, the depth of God's Word that he shares with us still blows me away. The hand of God is on both preachers in a way that I have rarely seen with my eyes.


Tuesday was a busy one for me. I had to give Emily and Rebecca the day off because I was babysitting Ashley, Brysen and Breanna. With 5 under the age of 8, I knew it would be a day of play. Thankfully the weather was nice enough that we were able to spend most of the day outside. It ended nicely with a powerful sermon to revive my soul.


We had a great time at the "Pond Safari" class on Wednesday. (Slideshow in previous post) It was educational for the girls and they loved it. After class, I needed to run by Costco so my friend and I decided to have lunch there as well. We haven't spent hardly any time together in the past few years but talk almost regularly. I love having a friend that you can go months without talking to just because life gets so crazy and when you do, there isn't any walls or distance put up. I don't have to wonder if I offended her or if she's avoiding me because we have missed each others phone messages. She's honestly, the greatest friend I have ever had! Anyway, we had lunch together while our 4 daughters sat at their table and talked and giggled. After shopping for a few necessities, Rebecca, Emily and I came home to get showers and ready for some more good preaching.


Wed. night was my favorite one. Guy Roberts preached from Psalm 19:7-14 "7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."


Oh how precious the Bible is. We have the Words spoken from God. We have everything to know His will for our life, every answer yet we don't realize how how precious and how sweet It really is. If we are in the Word daily, we can be warned from sin- not that we won't ever sin- but be warned by the Holy Spirit before we get the point of needing to confess those sins. It was really driven home about how we know more about a certain t.v. show or about a series of books (like from Karen Kingsbury) that we do about the Word of God. I know I don't spend entirely enough time in the Word but was really convicted of that Wed. night.


Now on to Thursday. Did you realize that I would throw ALL of this info in about our week? LOL It really wasn't a bad week. I was mostly dreading Friday though. Brysen came in late Thursday because it was kindergarten registration day for the public schools. I can't share with you the relief I have that we don't have to send our children to school. I won't put on my "homeschool advocate hat" right now though (as you think Thank God!). Anyway, Brysen being late in getting here, set us out of wack. We had co-op at 11 at someone's house and I didn't want the girls to miss it. They would be introduced to all sorts of musical instruments and coming from a music challenged family, they needed to go. Thankfully, Laura was willing to go out of her way to pick up the girls and take them to co-op so they wouldn't miss it. After Brysen arrived, we headed over that way. We got there in time for me to relax with the other moms while the children played outside (for 30 mins.) and then turn around and go home.
After Brysen left, Jay and I took Rebecca to soccer practice and played around with Emily. She did several laps around the soccer fields ands wore herself out. I was amazed at her stamina. Wish I could run like that!
The girls went to Grandma's house for a sleep over after practice. They had a blast with her while Jay and I went to Red Lobster for a late dinner. We split a meal and had some great one-on -one time. It was a nice date night for us!
Friday, I woke up late and it was wonderful. We have very thick drapes in our room and they don't let the sunlight in. Usually, Jay opens them in the morning so that I'll get up but this morning, he left them closed and even closed the bathroom door (the bathroom has a sky light and window so it's very bright in the mornings) making it extra dark for me. I spent the day cleaning, taking out winter clothes and replacing them with spring/ summer clothes, and relaxing a bit. The girls got to see their great grandparents and then their grandma took them to Maymont. They had a blast.
I met them at the science museum afterward for a live sky show they present to the public once a month. They turn the Imax theater into the sky and show the constellations and where certain things are located in the sky. Our friends met us there and while waiting for it to get dark, we went to guess where-- Chick-fil-a !!!- for dinner before going back to the museum. Once it was dark enough, the museum had several people with mega telescopes set up on the front lawn for the public to use. The moon was amazing and we were able to see 2 planets. Mars really wasn't much. It looked like a little orange dot but Saturn was my favorite. Although very small, you could clearly see the rings and on some telescopes, the moons. Saturn has many, many moons, Titan being the largest (second largest moon in the solar system) was the most visible. On some of the more powerful telescopes, we were able to see 2 of it's moons, one was said to be hiding behind the other.
It was an incredible day for the girls and they are sacked out in bed now. Sounds good so I think I'll go see what Jay is up to. Probably watching one of the many shows recorded on WDW. We're going through Disney withdrawal!

Pond Safari

I have a couple of free minutes while Brysen isn't here yet and the girls are watching a Pond and River video for science. Rebecca and Emily have been learning about water life created on Day 5. Yesterday, we had another fabulous class held at the state park. It was dutifully named "Pond Safari". It fit in well with what the girls are learning and was an extension of sorts from last weeks class as well. The girls were given supplies and broken up into groups. They paired up with pal, Virginia, from church. They had a net, tub, ice cube tray holder, plastic jars and a spoon. They were looking for small creatures and boy, did they find them! What they did was scoop the lake out with the net and put the "junk" in the tub. Then, with the spoon, they sifted through it and put the little creatures in the ice cube trays. If it was something too large or jumpy, they put it in the jars. Some of the creatures found in the lake were small fish, tadpoles, a minnow, dragonfly at the stage before it gets it's wings, spider, craw fish, snails, a leech, and one other really cool thing that I have completely forgotten what it was called!
Rebecca's cool findings was a small frog. She was so excited to catch that thing! Emily was happy with her snails. Unfortunately, all findings had to be released back into the wild. Rebecca really wanted to keep her frog.

I just wanted to post on here really quickly that this week is a very busy one for us. Besides having revival at church each night this week, we have a ton of things going on each and every day this week. It's one of those weeks where so much is scheduled back to back. I probably won't be home long enough to do a descent blog post.

Mixed Emotions

This morning...

8 inches of hair... A cutie-po-tu-tie

Rebecca has been in need of a hair cut and has been wanting it cut short like her friend Halley. We are having dinner with Halley tonight and she can't wait to see her!

So, today was the day... She finished her schooling early so we could have a "girl's day out". She wanted a hair cut, lunch, and to go shoe shopping.
She is growing up ever too fast. She is maturing and it makes me want to put a hold on time.

I'm seeing the changes in her style of clothes and hair. She wants to wear perfume every time we go somewhere as well a jewelry. Her choice in activities and what she plays with are maturing as well. She's still a little girl and sheltered in most ways but I can see so much growth to her in the past year.

Her hair cut is one of those "mature" decisions she had. I will miss curling, braiding, and brushing her hair. I did her hair up for Easter and made the comment to another mom at church how I don't know how much longer she'll let me do her hair. Angie's response was a couple more years, I'm sure... Hmmm... That sure didn't last long! At least I have Emily's hair to still play with some. Unfortunately her hair is not curlable (is that a word?).
Memories...

AWANA crazy hair night

Crazy hair PERIOD!

pulled up...

Slightly curled

ringlets

and my favorite, piggy braids

*picture taken at last soccer game*

Yep, I'll miss doing her hair!

Duck, Duck, Goose...pool version

Really quickly

I took a video of the girls swimming and was going to add that to the blog but ran across this one. It's from the AWANA championship. The girls had had a very busy day. Rebecca's soccer game was at 8:45 and Emily's was at 9. Getting up early, especially after a busy week doesn't always work well for my children.

This video is of Rebecca and some of her team waiting to start a game. They had to wait in a line and when their number was randomly called, they had to run to the center, grab the bean bag and run back. If all the children were feeling the same as Rebecca, it's no wonder they came in last!

*Notice her yawn about 7- 10 seconds into the video

Swimming lessons ended this week so I took my camera in. The girls had a blast and learned the fundamentals in swimming. Emily still can't swim without some form of floatation devise.
Good news, she has another 6 weeks to "get it". All the children enjoyed the swim/gym program that they were willing to offer another class to start back to back with the session that just ended. The girls were bummed that swimming lessons were ending but rejoiced when I told them I signed them up for another session.
Rebecca was able to swim under water before the lessons but is working on keeping her body at the surface of the water while her face is still in the water.
During the "gym" aspect of the class, they were working on basketball skills. Rebecca loved it but Emily dreaded it week after week. She learned how to dribble the ball and can almost shoot the basket ball. She still holds firm to her stance that she will not play basket ball next winter.
The next session of classes, the children will be outside working on soccer drills. Emily was excited to hear this as she loves soccer. Becca, on the other hand, would prefer to stay in and shoot baskets all day. Funny since Becca was so gung-ho on soccer before playing basketball.
We had a neat class with co-op yesterday that I would love to share with you- pictures and all. However, I need a shower and to get the girls started on their schooling. We have some errands to run today so it'll be a busy but fun one! Until next time...

This grieved my heart greatly!

This is my friend's statement on this video. She put my thoughts into words far better than I could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yeah, Christians are being pulled away from Christ because she has such a huge influence on women especially. I'm very burdened. I used to watch her show all the time. I haven't in a long time, but I know her following is huge. I think people follow her with such an adoration that it is akin to worship or heartfelt wonder. She is uplifted as a godhead. I'm so saddened to see the truth. I shouldn't be because I should praise God and glorify Him to see the truth, but I'm still saddened. I am thankful to see the truth.
My mom told me a long time ago, but I didn't think she was right. She told me that it would come out one day that Oprah Winfrey is evil. WOW!"

April Showers...

That has been a very true saying for our area. It is wet, wet, wet!
The girls went to spend the night at their friends house Friday night. Jay and I went out to a place for dinner that we hadn't been to before and enjoyed eating outside. After taking a walk together, we went to Barnes and Noble for awhile. We were waiting for the rain but other than a couple short showers, there wasn't much.
We ended up picking Emily up on the off chance that she would have a soccer game Saturday morning. After a very restless night of getting up and listening for the rain to hit the skylight in the bathroom, Emily had to be at the fields at 8 for pictures. The fields were soaked and I was in shock that they were still having games in this crappy weather.
I can't believe I paid $21 for an 8 x 10 team picture taken in the rain! They know how to sucker us in! If Brysen wasn't on her team, I probably wouldn't have bothered with them.
Then, in the rain, a bunch of 5 year olds got out there and played! It was a miserable game for the adults to stand and watch. Some of the children had to splash in the puddle in the middle of the field every time they went past it. Not my prissy girl though. She kept clean!
After the game, while Becca was still at her friend's, we went out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel with Brysen's family. That was a good breakfast MMMM...
Next, we picked Rebecca up and headed to the mall. Boy do I really dislike that place! I'm sorry, Mom, for making you take me there weekend after weekend to hang out with my friends!
We looked at cameras at Ritz Camera store, which was a waste of time. I didn't find anything I liked and the sales people really didn't know enough to help me out.
While at the mall, the girls bought a birthday present for a friend at church. They were missing out on her birthday party at a sports complex because Jay had made other plans. It was an outdoor party and they played putt-putt in the rain. I had filled my quota for being out in the rain for the day.
We went to my sister's for the evening so Jay and my brother-in-law could build a computer.
While the men did their thing, us girlies played monopoly downstairs and watched the new movie Enchanted. It was a good movie and now I need to go and buy it!
We all went out for dinner, had a bunch of laughs, and stayed out way too late! Emily fell asleep on me at the restaurant and took a short nap.
We arose to a dark and gloomy Sunday. It was very hard for me to get up and get going yesterday morning but the church service we had made up for it! It was a very powerful sermon on revival. Oh, how important it is that we have revival- not just in the church but in our homes and with ourselves individually. Like I said, it was very powerful and made you run to the alter!
After lunch and reviewing AWANA verses, we all took a nap- well, every one but Emily. She played by herself in the playroom. Becca was laying on the floor going over her verses and fell asleep. She was slam tired from staying up late Friday and Saturday nights.
Sunday evening service was a blessing as well. Five men plus the pastor went to Cambodia and the Philippines a few weeks ago. They had put together a slide show presentation and each man gave a testimony of their trip. We are so unbelievably spoiled. America has so much materialistically yet the people aren't truly happy. Those in Cambodia have practically nothing but have true happiness in our Lord. It really makes you think. And hopefully repent for our selfishness and pride.
Today was another gloomy day. Emily and I slept in until 9 and we woke Rebecca up at 10:10 a.m.! After a bit of school, we had to head out for swimming lessons/gym class. It was the last week but since the children liked it so much, they decided to do another session. I took pictures and videos of their progress and fun. I'll get those posted after I upload them.
We've eaten dinner now and it's time to go finish up the school work that didn't get done this morning.

This week has been wonderfully low key. Other than swimming lessons and gymnastics in the beginning of the week, we haven't had to do anything or anywhere to go. Well, that's not entirely true. We skipped our science class at the state park and bowling with our co-op to stay home and get things done. My house is cleaner, school is done and we are all happier and stress-free.
It was a much needed break for us since we were on the go so much last week with spring break.
The girls are ready to go to a friends house for a sleepover. Jay and I get an unexpected date night. I've left the planning up to him so I really have no idea what we are going to do tonight.
The girls soccer practices have been canceled this week due to rain and the fields being too wet. It was supposed to rain off and on all day today but up until the last 30 minutes or so, it's been sunny skies. Emily has to be on the field for pictures at 8 a.m. tomorrow and I was hoping they'd get rained out. With the weather pretty clear at the moment, I'm not so sure. If it doesn't start raining before bed time tonight, I guess we'll have to bring Emily home. I'm certainly not going to pick her up at her friend's house at 7 tomorrow morning!
We shall see....

Before I was a mom...

Having children is the greatest thing outside of salvation and marriage that I have been blessed with. Rebecca and Emily are truly the two best girls I have ever met. Of course, I am a bit bias. They really are great! Rebecca is quick to love and show affection. Emily is Mommy's helper and has the biggest servants heart. It just comes naturally to her. They are a pleasure to be around on a daily basis- how many people can say they love to be with their children all day, day after day? They are obedient and know how to act accordingly in public.
I prayed both of my girls in, begging God to give me my hearts desire only if it's what He wanted. My girls are such a blessing to me and Jay. They fill our hearts with joy.
I received the following poem from a friend. I wish I could say that all of that was 100% true but I did work at a preschool with toddlers as well as babysit full time before having children. I was peed on countless times while either changing little boys diapers or potty training them. EWWW! Thank you Lord for girls!!!!

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin .
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

I have started a new blog for homeschooling purposes. It'll be a weekly log of our lessons plans along with other homeschool activities that we are doing. Here's the link (removed) Because homeschooling can be controversial, I am setting it up as private and can be seen by invite only. If you are interested to see what we do all day long, send me an e-mail or comment. From there, I'll send you an invite.
The girls are doing so well and I love to share our experiences with others. However, not everyone is on board or the same page with us and I prefer to keep the criticism at a minimum. Therefore, I'm choosing to keep the viewers private.
Hope to hear from you soon on that invite to Homeschooling At A Glance.

Thought for the Day

This was sent to me in an e-mail and I wanted to share it with you.

************************************************************

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.

As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching!

Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes.' But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.' Then she whispered to him, 'Remember the duck?' So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.' Sally just smiled and said, 'Well, that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.' She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'
Thought for the day and every day thereafter? Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.
He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.
Go ahead and make a difference in some one's life today. Share this with a friend and always remember: God is at the window!
When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!