Simply A Musing Blog

*Note - this is a long post, so grab some coffee and a bagel, because it's going to be a while. I've stared at this blinking cursor on the page for too many days, trying to put words on virtual paper...where do I even begin? I've had a month's worth of blog posts happen in a very short time, so I'll probably resort to a bulleted list at some point. We spent Saturday together as a family - the eldest was farmed out to her best friend's house for the night and we had the two youngest with us as we grocery shopped and spent the evening just goofing off. It was around 7:30 p.m. or so when we arrived home, and we were just settling in to watch a movie before the kids went to bed when I received a phone call from one of my brothers on my cell phone. Two things on this: A.) I rarely answer my cell phone if my family is together, because...well, I'm not a slave to my phone and I don't really like talking on it; and B.) I have five living brothers (in order...

Today I am taking my 78 year old mother to the hospital for emergency surgery. Why are we not there yet you ask? Because she insists on putting some things in order first. She worries about my stepdad, who at 90, is unable to care for himself and has alzheimers. He must recieve insulin shots twice a day and be fed, so she's concerned about him (even though my husband and I have volunteered to stay with him around the clock). She has two bills lying on her table that she wants to pay "just in case". Please pray for her today if you will...her arteries are blocked and she's going to have stints put in place to help with blood flow...I don't want there to be a "just in case"...but if there is, I know that she will be in a much more beautiful place. While you're at it, pray for me...this 40 year old isn't quite ready to let her mama go yet. Look on the bright side! Subscribe via my RSS feed.

It's official. I've become my mother. I have grey hair, moles in strange places, and I make a clucking noise when irritated with my kids. Oh, and I have her voice too. It comes out at the strangest times. Like tonight when my daughter called from camp at 12:15 am. I was sitting at my desk working on a project and I heard a small tinkling noise coming from the other room (my new phone and I haven't quite adjusted to the new ring tone). My head cocked to one side, I listened intently to see if I was really hearing my phone ring after midnight or if it was just my imagination ('cause my brain makes that sound anyway). Sure enough, I heard it again. So I got up and raced to my purse in order to discover who had just died. Note: when you grow up in the South, one of the things you learn is that no one calls after 10:00 pm unless -- 1.) someone has died or 2.) someone is fixin' to die. Seeing the area code, I knew immediately it would be regarding my daughter and suddenly...

Once upon a time, there was a little sparrow who hated to fly south for the winter. He dreaded the thought of leaving his home so much that he decided he would delay the journey until the last possible minute. After bidding a fond farewell to all his sparrow friends, he went back to his nest and stayed for an additional four weeks. Finally the weather turned so bitterly cold that he could delay no longer. As the little sparrow took off and started to fly south, it began to rain. In a short time, ice began to form on his little wings. Almost dead from cold and exhaustion, he fell to the earth in a barnyard. As he was breathing what he thought was his last breath, a horse walked out of the barn and proceeded to cover the little sparrow with fertilizer. At first the sparrow could think of nothing except that this was a terrible way to die. The fertilizer started to sink into his feathers and warm him and life began to return to his little body. He also found that he had enough ro...

This post was originally published January 7,2006. Since it's Sunday, we're having leftovers - grab yourself a plate and enjoy. There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, ...

My mama used to tell me that people who cursed lacked the intelligence necessary to use their imagination in order to accurately describe the emotions and feelings they were experiencing. And I had the audacity to believe her for the first 27 years of my life. Of course, I came to my senses when I had kids. Have you ever changed a poopy diaper at 2 am with your breastage still hanging out from your newborn's nursing session(who's looking at that hour?) only to realize that she hadn't actually finished "the job" yet and you are going to have to repeat the process again in 5 minutes? Then you know what I'm talking about. And the term "cursing" took on a whole new meaning for me. Oh, I've never been one to use the really terrible words, but I like made-up words like "flitter" and "shoot-donkey" and if I'm feeling really vulgar, I'll let "crap" fly in a variety of ways ("crap-ola" and "crap on a ...

1. My mother taught me to APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning." 2. My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." 3. My mother taught me LOGIC. "Because I said so that's why." 4. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident." 5. My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about." 6. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper." 7. My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone." 8. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate." 9. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just you wait until we get home!" 10. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIE...

As a stay at home mom of three who also homeschools, I really have to fight the urge to live in sweatpants and sloppy tee-shirts because, well...they're comfortable. And if I ever decided to work out, then I'm already dressed for it, right? But something about my Southern upbringing totally resists actually leaving my house in said attire. It's just not me. My mama taught me that you always clean your house before going on a trip, just in case you don’t come home; You always wear fresh underwear; and you must never, ever be caught alive outside your home in a plain old tee-shirt. Ever. Fashion sense. She has it. I just wish I could get me some...I'm trying, really I am. But the Fashion? It takes a little something called "money". Which I currently do not have a large dispensible amount of. I'm more of a classics kind of girl myself. I love things that stay in style because they are so basic that no one notices whether they are new or twenty years old. Not ...

There are some things I just don't have the time to waste my energy or resources on. Like laundry. Just kidding...laundry is a necessity. Unless you're a nudist...which I'm not - and since Jack Frost has officially moved into the Northeast corner of Texas, I'm more of what you'd call a "bundler-upper". I remember when I was a kid growing up in Alaska, every time I'd leave the house for school, my mother would call out from under her down comforter lap throw (while seated in her leather recliner), "Bundle up honey, it's cold outside!" Which would have been all fine and dandy. But it was the middle of the summer. The winters were another story, however. I DID develop the habit of "layering" my clothing. Luckily, it was the 1980's and layering was in high style. Leg warmers over skin tight leggings under an oversized sweatshirt that was over a tank top (a la "Flashdance"). I was HOT...but in a cool sort of way. I stil...

Technorati Tags: Mom , Humor , Anita Renroe , Texas

My blogging has become sporadic, at best. I'm finding my summer days are full beyond measure...making phone calls, shuttling kids to and fro, swimming parties, softball season, church activities. I think I'm ready for school to start just so I'll have a reason to stay home from 9-1 every day to teach the kiddos. My mom and stepdad left for Alaska yesterday. Their flight was delayed about 30 minutes leaving T-Town and when they arrived in Dallas, apparently the weather was so bad that, after sitting on their plane to AK for 3 hours, they were grounded indefinitely. So I'm thinking they spent the night in Dallas, but I don't know for sure, since I have no way of contacting them. Mom's cell isn't on unless she needs it when she travels, so I'll just have to take a wait-and-see attitude. I've been really concerned about this trip for many reasons. Neither my mom or stepdad are in the best of health. In fact, he is still recovering from two falls he took ...

When I was 14, I was complaining one summer to my mom that I was "so BORED". Her friend, Mickey Clause (her REAL name) looked me up and down and stated to me, "Only boring people are bored, dear. You need to find a good book to read." I was shocked, of course that ANYONE would dare call MOI boring, but I took her advice to heart and found more than a few good books to read that summer to help while away the many hours where I couldn't think of anything better to do. Flash forward 23 years and now I have kids of my own. My kids are 10, soon to be 5, and 2-1/2 and they have never been the kind of kids who wanted to play outside for hours upon hours like I did at their age. BUT...they know better than to tell me that they are bored, because they know that the first thing out of my mouth will be Mickey's words. So to keep them in a ready supply of good books and videos, we make a trip once a week to our local library, where for $15 a year, we can check out up to...

I used to love Hee Haw when I was a kid. Of course, I was pretty innocent back then and missed out on 99.9% of all the innuendoes. One of my favorite things was watching this segment - the "gloom and doomers". I don't really know why -- maybe it was because I grew up dirt poor and that reminded me of my uncles and cousins or my neighbors Billy-Bob and Wanda and their three kids, Jim-Bob, Joe-Don and Mary-Sue. And the best part? Wanda was a tobacco chewer, complete with the Folgers spit can. But now that I am an adult, I have a sneaking suspicion it was really because it was good to see that someone else was having problems like my family. I grew up so poor that I didn't even know Sears and Roebuck was a real store until I was 9 years old. I always assumed it was a "wishin' book"...that's what everyone in my family called it anyway. At least until it was banned from our household the day my daddy caught one of my brothers "wishin'" for o...

There is something to be said for people who have a green thumb, unfortunately, I am not one of them. I love flowers and plants and shrubs...but I have in intense dislike for all the work that goes along with it. The weeding, the watering, the dirt under your nails...eek. My mom, however can take a withered thorn and grow it into the most vibrant and beautiful rosebush you've ever seen. AND...she does it without ever getting dirt under her nails. And no, she doesn't wear gloves. (Well, sometimes she does, but any of you who garden knows that doesn't prevent the dirt from finding its way under your nails.) She taught me a long time ago (I was just about 6 or 7) that if you scrape your nails across a bar of soap until the soap is under your nails and then you put your gloves on or you just go outside bare-handed, the dirt doesn't get stuck under there permanently. It washes off with ease. Presto! You can look like a lady again. Simple? Yes. But it has always worked for m...

When Things Go Wrong...It is Well... It is Well Written by Horatio G. Spafford Music by Philip Bliss When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know, "It is well, it is well with my soul." Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed his own blood for my soul. My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin - not in part but the whole, Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more; Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul. And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend- Even so - it is well with my soul. My heart is heavy today for my dear friend Kris, whose Grandmother went home this weekend to be with the Lord. This song has always been a comfort to me, especially knowing what Horatio Spaf...

Calvary Answers for Me Satan just cowers to think of the power he lost when the cross had its day Gone are the mornings when fear without warning would win and again have its way Now, when Satan reminds me of things I regret I bring up Calvary lest he forgets Chorus: High on the mountain of sorrow and shame grace signed my pardon as Christ took the blame when I'm called to answer for my history Calvary answers for me I am now under the beautiful wonder of grace that erased all my past I feel the heartbeat of mercy inside me and now I have found joy at last I live in freedom that chains cannot bind and I won't look back at what I've left behind Technorati Tags: Resurrection , Easter , Calvary , Joel Lindsey

1. Take time to dream -- it hitches your soul to the stars. 2. Take time to work - it is the price of success. 3. Take time to think - it is the source of power. 4. Take time to play - it is the secret of youth. 5. Take time to read - it is the foundation of knowledge. 6. Take time to worship - it is the highway of reverence and washes the dust of earth from your eyes. 7. Take time to help and enjoy friends - it is the source of happiness. 8. Take time to love - it is the one sacrament of life. 9. Take time to laugh - it helps with life's loads. 10. Take time for beauty - it is everywhere in nature. 11. Take time for health - it is the true treasure of life. 12. Take time to plan - it is the secret of being able to have time to take time for the first eleven things.

One more thing before I go...I was over at my friend, Angela's blog and saw this...thought it was really good so I'm borrowing it from her. THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY by Betty Miller Christians look forward to the time of the year when we celebrate two important holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These holidays have their beginnings and roots in Christian celebrations. The word holiday actually means "holy day"; hence these events should be remembered and celebrated in a holy manner. We have strayed from that purpose over the years as we have embraced many unholy practices and worldly customs and added them to our "holy days." COMPROMISING AS CHRISTIANS Thanksgiving is one of our main national holidays here in the U.S.A. A good question to ask is "Are we as Christians celebrating it the way the Lord would have us celebrate, or have we compromised with the world?" Have we lost the emphasis on thanksgiving and prayer and shifted it to a gluttonous ...

My mom used to tell me that...I never understood why she was saying it. I didn't even have self-image issues as a child that I know of. I was happy, oblivious to the fashion world, didn't watch much television, and went to a country school where everyone else was as poor as we were. I guess she knew I'd need it someday. She knew things would change. She knew when I got out into the "real world" people would expect me to be something more than what I really was. Men, in particular. She knew that boys who were raised to only appreciate what was on the outside would never truly love me for who I was and still am on the inside- a bright, funny, thoughtful, caring, sexy, loving, and creative woman. Did I mention you don't see that when you look at me? Well, if you look closely, you might see a little sparkle in my eyes...but over the last year, I've had my own evolution of beauty. I've gone back to the beginning where my mom first tried to instill in me tha...