Mowing the Yard

     It has been about 14 years since my daddy left the earth.  I know that my daddy loves me and feel that he is watching over me at times.  The other day was one of those times that I felt extremely close to him.  It happened while I was mowing the yard, which I used to love to do. 
     Daddy is the one who taught me to mow a yard a long time ago.  That was one of the things we did together.  Daddy let me come and help him when he was cleaning up abandoned properties for his friend, a realtor. Since most of these homes had yards that were very overgrown, I learned how to mow a yard with tall grass, most of the time wet at the bottom, and not choke the mower.  It was not always the most fun thing to do, but spending time with Daddy was always great.
     Our yard had gotten to the point of the dogs, three of them little, being lost in the tall grass.  It was getting hard to keep an eye on them in the back yard and there was rain in the forecast again.  I had no choice but to go and mow the yard, plus the under grass was never going to dry out.  My back and legs were hurting before I even finished the front yard and the back yard is twice the size of the front.  I was starting to take several breaks and not getting much done between them.  While sitting on the back porch, crying from pain and frustration, I had no idea how I was going to get the yard done.  I had thought about quitting several times and just leaving the rest for another day.  I am not a quitter and don't usually back down from any challenge that I come across.  Finally I sat there with tears falling down my face and thought, "Daddy please help me.  I can't do this yard without your help."  I guess he heard me because I was able to get up and do a little more this time.  I started getting stubborn and trying to more between each break, so daddy choked the mower to make me stop.  It was not the usual feeling I get when I finish the yard; however, it was the best feeling I have had at the end of an overgrown yard.
     I love my daddy as much today as I ever have.  I would never want to be without the lessons he taught me while alive and the blessings that I see in every day things since he has been gone.

Broken Hearts

This has been a very rough year for my nursing class. We lost a very dear instructor about a month ago and she is now enjoying life in heaven. This last week a classmate fell victim to a stroke and has not been doing very well. Watching my classmates deal with so much pain has been almost as hard as dealing with the loss of our instructor and the struggle of a dear friend.

This classmate is a wonderful person.  Always willing to help anyone and everyone. One lady even said that he helped her to look for an earing in the parking lot. His illustrations are of a quality that you would expect to see in a text book, and he does them for everything we were doing in class. One young lady said that they were studying together and he got up and started drawing pictures on the white board to help her understand better.  He is such a great man that it really is difficult to know that he is going through such a personal struggle.

As for the rest of my classmates, I have been very pleased at the level of caring for him and his family has reached.  I was blessed to attend a prayer vigil for him. One classmate stood up and said out loud what others were thinking and everyone came together to comfort each other and the family.  I have become very attached to most of my classmates and the prayer vigil was a visual experience that reinforced why these young men and women are in the right career field.

I know that I will never forget my senior year of college. Not only for the struggles that we have gone through, but for the fact that I have been able to grow closer to some of the best young students that I will ever meet in my life.

Prayers for our class, our instructors, our classmate, and his family.

My Teenage Girls

While I was driving to my girls school this morning. Since once again one of them left something at home that they could not live without. I was thinking about my girls and all their problems.  I came to the conclusion, I really do 
have good girls. Yes they do cause me stress when I really don't have time for it, and like most teenagers they don't help around the house very much. However when it comes to causing trouble, they don't do that.  I can honestly say that for all the years they have been in school I have not been called to the school for a discipline problem.  We have had a few meetings with the principle, and most of those have been at my request to defend my girls from others.

Both of my girls have very giving hearts and have learned that other peoples feeling are just as important as their own. Both of my girls are great at trying to solve problems between friends and others. As far as 'drama queens' they seem to save that just for me. I guess if you kids are going to show their backsides, I would rather it be in private inside my house so that others do not have to see the ugly side of them.

My girls make me proud in several ways. They are both really good at keeping their grades up and me not having to remind them of homework. They are skilled at whatever sports they attempt to play. They are growing into their adult bodies very gracefully. 

I am a very blessed mother of two girls that really are great to be around.

Christmas Suprise

When you have kids it is hard to surprise them for Christmas. With one of my teenagers this is a really big challenge.  She guesses her major gift every year without fail.  That really lets the steam out of my enjoyment when she can guess her gift after all the planning and scheming that I do to try to keep it a secret.  This year we finally got her!  True we gave her the gift a few weeks early, but she did not have time to work on us or even think that we had gotten her something. 

It was great to watch her face when she realized the the laptop she was carrying into the house was for her and not for her daddy.  Her's had been starting to not act right and had a cracked screen.  Since she uses this for homework for school we decided to go ahead and let her use it now. Since it is bright red she will remember that it is a Christmas gift by the color.

When you are a full time student and have 2 teenage daughters it is hard to feel like you managed to do something big and right for their day.  Yesterday was exactly one of those times when you know that Mom did it right!!

Another School Year

As we all start another year of school here at my little mortgage it has been interesting.  This year there are four students (1 Master program, 1 BSN program, 2 technology high school) trying to use the internet for homework assignments at the same time.  It has been an interesting situation so far. Last week there was a night or two that we could not even get our phones to download anything because of all the electronic traffic going over our heads.  This week is getting better but there are still challenges.

As 2 of us hope to graduate next Spring it will help with the last 2 years for the girls. I have been blessed with children who have stayed interested in school and were accepted to the technology high school. I feel that when they do get to college having the college prep courses in highschool will be a big plus for them. Our family may not have all the toys and gadgets that other families enjoy, but we do have a love of learning and reading that cannot be replaced with any amount of material things.

There are a lot of changes going on for our family. I am trusting that everything is going to work out the way God plans and that we will not loose faith while we transition. This last year of nursing school is going to have several moments of stress, fun, and difficult situations, however at the end I know I will have made some wonderful friends, learned things I could never of dreamed about, and learn to be stronger than I have been before.

Lazy Days

WOW! I just found this post that never got published. It is amazing how much things change and than again how much they sound the same.  As I start my Senior year of college, the girls are in highschool now and this post is just as revelant as it was when I first wrote it.  Here is a flash from my past, and a look into my present!



***It seems as if the lazy days of summer have gotten to my teenage girls.  This is the first year that we have had this type of summer.  They seem to be sleeping until noon or later, and I have no idea what time they are actually going to bed at night. I like having the peace and quiet in the morning for now but can't help but think I will be the one paying for this new habit when it comes time to start school again this fall. I know that is a few months away, but the morning arguments and missed busses from the last school year are still burned into my memory ( and the having to take them to school on my way to class). I want to be one of those care free moms that let them have some fun without going to far overboard. I just can't kick the feeling that this too will bite my own bottom in the end.

Maybe I am getting ahead of myself because I am looking forward to my next semester of school myself. I start my junior year of college which is like a dream that I thought would never happen. In two years I will be able to join the world of college graduates. ***

Time flying by

It is hard to believe that this semester is almost over already.  It feels like it was just last week that I was meeting new faces and people that would soon become part of my daily life. I have to admit that this semester has been an eye opener for me.  I have learned to see some familiar classmates in new and wonderful ways, while meeting a group of wonderful new classmates. Having a change in campuses was a culture shock of it's own, but so much worth it in the end.

I love my new college! The staff as well as the students are all wonderful and I look forward to going to class.  I even find myself going to campus on days I don't have classes just to study and be with other people. There will be a few of the new faces that I will get to know very well over the next two years.  I am excited and nervous to start the next phase of my school but the rewards will be so worth it when I get done.

Having the chance to make new wonderful friends, earn a college degree, and be able to do more for my family is worth the time I am putting into the study.