The past two weeks have been very draining on me emotionally, which then causes physical exhaustion such as I have never known before.
People in my family are sick and my phone has been popping with someone calling me about something important while I’m speaking to someone else about something important.
My step-mother has had major back [...]

Our son just called us from Texas to tell us our daughter in law has been taken to the hospital by ambulance after passing out at work last night.
They now suspect an aneurysm in the brain since there apparently was some blood in her spinal fluid. This is a nightmare all over again, as [...]

As Jenna Bush prepares to wed Henry Hager on Saturday in Crawford, TX, we take a look at what the president is doing to prepare:

All in good fun and we wish the newlyweds a long, happy and fruitful marriage. Our best to the father of the bride also.

And mine was no different. Today commemorates the nineteenth anniversary of the day she stepped out of time and into Heaven and eternity.
I thank God I was lucky enough to have had her for 41 years.
She taught me so much that I remember even now. Most of all she taught me how to [...]

Have dinner with my family on New Years Day?
The more Fred Thompson talks, the closer I have come to supporting him for the GOP nomination.
While I was unhappy with the start of his candidacy, any politician who is willing to not feel beholden to the “mighty” MSM shows great courage.
Jane Skinner, at Fox [...]

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t get all tied up with the commercialism of Christmas. I love to give gifts more than receive them.
Christmas is not biblically correct anyway. There is no way shepherds would have been sleeping with their sheep in December, as the weather in that part of the world [...]

Received this in an email a while back, (author unknown).
The Wooden Bowl
A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year -old grandson.
The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.
The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight [...]

To a more current performance with their daughters.

Today will be a busy day making further preparations for Christmas.
I will be baking cookies with the grandkids and they will be wrapping some beautiful ornaments they made as gifts for our family members.
My favorite things every year are the homemade decorations all the children I have had the pleasure to care for [...]

My ten year old granddaughter has been dabbling in poetry for the past couple of weeks.
Here’s one she wrote on the spur of the moment and then had to present it to the school board last night since the teacher who volunteered her to do a presentation of a social studies project was not there [...]

This time of the year it seems as though some of what arrives in your internet mailbox are things which cross peoples minds as they prepare for the holidays and also reflect on their own lives.
I don’t know how widely circulated the piece below has been, so just thought I’d share.
Can I borrow $25?
A man [...]

The NYT did themselves proud by allowing this sixteen year old young man to tell his story of adoption, rebellion and love without editorial correction.
I’d bet there are many young people his age who have many of the same feelings…I think I did and know my own children did.
I hope you enjoy reading his story. [...]

Thirty-nine years ago today at 10:40 am EST I gave birth to my firstborn, a son we named Sean.
I remember when the doctor said excitedly, “It’s a boy!” and I cried tears of joy as I glanced at the clock to see what time he arrived.
I remember the expression on your face, son, as the [...]

The NYT reports Senator Johnson is doing well enough to seek re-election:
Senator Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat who suffered a brain hemorrhage last December, announced yesterday that he would campaign next year for a third term.
“After months of rehabilitation and recovery, more than a month on the job in Washington and after my [...]

Please take a moment to visit Wide Awake Cafe where Mrs. Donoho has allowed us to share in the homecoming of her son.
While there take a moment to scroll through the pictures where you will find one of the young son of this brave soldier alone with his flag.
Priceless, absolutely, priceless.
Thanks for including [...]

A very touching story. A wise person once told me each living thing is only allowed so many breaths and so many heartbeats. I hope this little boy is granted many.

Mary Winkler, the preacher’s wife who was convicted of killing him, has been granted supervised visits with her daughters while a custody battle with her former in-laws still is ongoing.
Her former in-laws want to remove her parental rights and adopt the girls, ages 10, 8 and 2.
A woman who killed her minister husband with a [...]

This is Guss’ and my great-aunt. She was also a surrogate mother to us, hence we called her Mama-Auntie.
She was kind but very strict. In this photo you see her sitting on the front deck of her basket shop making a shopping basket.
From the looks of the shawl around her I would think [...]

Remember those days when your children or grandchildren were babies and you thought you would never sleep through the night again? Or those exhausting weeks when you thought each day should be comprised of 48 hours so all the chores could be accomplished, meals cooked and homework completed. How about those years when [...]

I guess if you live in Iowa or New Hampshire you think you have the right to ask a candidate any personal questions you care to ask.
Well, on Thursday Rudy Giuliani let it be known that some questions are off limits.
DERRY, N.H. (AP) - Republican Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that people should “leave my family [...]

Today is the birthday of the man I love and married.
I don’t want to let this day to go by without wishing him a happy birthday on this blog.
In December we will celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary, and I can tell you honestly I have seen him angry maybe two times in all the years [...]

Those of us who have grandchildren are happy to hear them tell us how much they love us or get one of those wonderful hugs only they can give.
I cannot begin to imagine the range of emotions which ran through this man when considering an unusual request from his Grandfather..and how he will [...]

Yesterday I told you about the ninth birthday of our second granddaughter Kelsey.
Today is our first granddaughter, Ashley’s tenth birthday.
Ashley was a bit over 8 pounds when she was born and she and her brother both had cheeks that looked as though they had apples stuffed in the sides of them for the longest time.
Ashley [...]

Today our granddaughter Kelsey turned nine years old. My husband and I sang “Happy Birthday” in off-key voices to her early this morning.
Kelsey was born early and tipped the scales at a bit under six pounds, and, we found out late on the night of her birth, had a serious problem with her stomach [...]

Yesterday you might have read an exchange between Guss and me in the comments where I mentioned Mama and Dada.
These were the two fine people who raised us in their older years.
Mama was our grandmother’s sister, our great-aunt. Dada was a full-blooded Mohawk who fell in love with a woman from our tribe, and [...]

This video stirred emotions in me which had been dormant for a very long time. It reminded me of a time (and I was one of these kids) when another war became unpopular in this country due to politics and how our returning military members were treated.
From the site which posted and composed the [...]

Many days the news if filled with information which is cycled over and over until we all feel we could recite it in our sleep.
Once in a while there are a few stories which could apply to any of us which get one quick sound bite and then are gone into news history.
While we have [...]

I just read this short story on CNN.com and it has touched me in a very personal way.
Amid the sounds of mortar and machine-gun fire, a father and son both serving in Iraq were reunited in Baghdad after spending more than a decade apart.
Army Master Sgt. William McGraw and his son, Pfc. Logan McGraw, [...]

newton has been a good blogging friend of mine since she and I were the only bloggers on Oh How I Love Jesus. She moved with me and my partners to HRP but continued to write on OHILJ until I shut it down earlier this year.
She has written an email to me that breaks [...]

It is wonderful when you hear a parent refer to their child as a gift from God and a true blessing. Well, this family has certainly had their share of “presents.”
LITTLE ROCK — The Duggars are once again pulling out the pink ruffles and lace as they prepare for the birth of [...]