Yesterday & Today

(Graduaton Day for niece, Tayler!)




YESTERDAY....

I got up late yesterday and had to be at Lincoln Elementary at 8 for COSI orientation...no time to blog and just a minute to let facebook friends know where I was for the day. Had a great time working COSI...result of begging from event coordinator / daughter, Valerie, who desperately needed volunteers! Program was from Ohio Department of Natural Resourses and was about wildlife/habitats. It was very informative.

I was assigned the "Banding" and "Knotting" section with Valerie & Jenny (Matt even came over from work and helped for a couple of hours.) I loved telling the kids about how polution and littering affects our wildlife and to demonstrate an animal getting KNOTTED in 6 pack plastic connectors we placed a rubber band on the student's small finger, over the top of the hand and onto the thumb. The kids had to try to get it off using only their "wing!" We discussed calling 1-800-WILDLIFE if you see an animal in distress and, bottom line, no littering!

The children moved over to Jenny & Val where they chose an animal to be. They were "banded" with an orange wrist band to simulate actual animal banding...then info was taken..animal type, band number, age, Male/Female, height, habitat (all recorded on a record sheet) ...then we set them FREE! Wild animals should never be kept as pets and banding helps control animal species...we don't want animal breeds to become extinct!

There was fishing, animal furs, snake info, skulls & animal poo, antler/horns, insects & microscopes and bird watching! Our Event Program leader was a young woman whose name was "Kat." She was awesome and very enthusiastic! Highly recommend this program and be sure to volunteer if you are asked. It was fun!

Came home with plenty of time to do things...but took a nap, fixed dinner and watched Hallmark movies!

Diet went very well! I drank my hot cocoa on the way to COSI, had a replacement bar, went to Val and had soup for lunch, had a replacement shake on the way home and fixed turkey burgers for dinner!

Mike has been on regular food this week...1000-1200 caleries a day. He's lost 2 more pounds...I weighed yesterday and had lost 1 more...will officially weigh in tomorrow morning.

I LOVED yesterday's devotion and I really want to share the whole thing but I will try to summarize:

"These God-chosen lives all around....what splendid friends they make!" Psalm 16:3

Have gratitude and thankfulness for friends! Celebrate birthdays, victories, answered prayers and accomplishments...savor them! Celebrating friends makes you a more contented person, puts a spring in your step, a smile on your face and your heart lighter. They can be 500 miles away, yet something they say will cause you to laugh out loud!

You have more joy in your life because of them...more joy in your marriage & family. Friendship fills a deep well within us with fresh water. When we celebrate friendships, it's like dropping a huge rock into the well. It splashes that water everywhere, on everyone else in your life!
(Nicole Johnson, A Grand New Day Daily Devotional)

Wow! Celebrate friendships today!


SATURDAY (today)

Today my niece, Tayler Lewis, graduates with honors from Kent State University! She has already begun her graduate classes in speech pathology and is one of their top students! She was the first thought I had when my eyes opened this morning.

I remember the excitement when she was born! So cute with RED hair...just what all the Grandma's had wanted...answered prayer...a redhead!! Ida was a wonderful Mommy...so full of love for her little girl. Tayler was so precious to her daddy that he did not really want to share her with any of us...like a dog protecting his puppy! GRRRRR! When we WERE permitted to hold his little pup, we were directed to the sink to wash our hands first. He was quite the protective daddy.

She has brought us all pride and joy and it continues to this day...

CONGRATULATIONS TAYLER!
Kent State University Graduate
May 16, 2009

No huge plans today....Mike is at the bank then checking out the ballpark for little league games. Picking up more white paint later to do a 2nd coat on the sun porch. I think we might go with Miller family to look at campers (for them not us). Camper is replacing swimming pool at the moment!

Thinking about steak and chicken kabobs for dinner with onions, mushrooms and red peppers. Hope the rain stays away!

Oh...Mike told me Three Dog Night is coming to our local Midland Theater in Newark. So I got on the website and they are coming..... in March 2010! Tickets go on sale June 16th and he is over the top excited! They were his You Tube early morning concert! I must say, I DO think it will be a fun concert! "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog...was a good friend of mine..." We will be singing and listening to Three Dog Night songs for 10 months!!

So, while on the theater website I saw a group called "4 Bitchin' Babes!" That shouted GIRLS NIGHT OUT to me! Their tour is called "Hormonal Imbalance!" I think we are doing a family girls night out with Mom, me, Val, Ida, Tay and I have to check with Robin and her girls. The "Babes" are coming in January.

Midland Theater has some great programs on their schedule. David Cook will be there soon and Mike said his show sold out in 8 minutes. It isn't a big theater. When I was young, my dance recitals were held there. Mike and I went to many, many movies there during our dating years. It closed down and was crumbling when Dave Longaberger came along and refurbished this wonderful little theater!

I had not kept up with it...shame on me! It's a small town treasure! Check it out! Maybe we will see you at one of their shows!

Today's devotion...
"A generous person will be enriched." Proverbs 11:25

Generosity and kindness aren't meant to be held in reserve for big storms or hard times. Generous living is an art to be practiced! A note of encouragement, a basket of muffins, a flower, a surprise phone call, a kind word, providing a meal for a family whose mother is sick, volunteering to care for a friend's children while she gets groceries, visiting someone confined or in assisted living. These are things that require only your time, energy and the willingness to be involved in someone else's life. (Jan Silvious, A Grand New Day Daily Devotional)

Generosity is so easy...start with a smile for someone today!

"Joy to the World...All the Boys & Girls now...Joy to the fishs in the deep blue sea...Joy to you and me!" (Three Dog Night)