My Mom

My mom was the one who was busy sewing us new clothes to wear, making us delicious meals to eat including the one where she just threw stuff together and called it a “Hupe Special!” Sometimes they were just delicious, too! She is the one who patiently made me ride my 2-wheel bike back and forth on the sidewalk in front of our house so I would finally learn how to get started on my own. I mastered “riding” the bike long before I mastered being able to start without someone holding the seat! (Thank goodness for nice neighbors who would help me if fell or had to stop for some reason! LOL!) My mom helped my sisters and I all learn how to sew our own clothes, too. She must have been patient to do that! LOL! She instilled in me a love of classical music through hearing it on the stereo and from taking piano lessons. I enjoy playing my piano, although, I can’t always say I liked practicing my lessons!

The Night Before Easter

‘Twas the night before Easter. All was calm and laid back.
Fred, the mouse in the kitchen, snarfed down a late snack.
The eggs were all dyed but still drippy and sticky…
To be honest, they looked just a little bit icky.Easter Humor, Poem, Easter Bunny, Twas the Night before Chirstmas(pixel.gif – 0.04 K)

There were big jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and such,
And as Fred stuffed his face, he sighed, “This is too much!”
Phil and Rose were in bed watching late night TV,
While munching saltines with low-sodium Brie.

Then a sudden commotion rang out in the night.
It shook Phil and Rose, really gave them a fright.
Phil’s hair stood on end, and his eyes bugged out big…
Rose whipped off the covers and knocked off her wig.Easter Humor, Poem, Easter Bunny, Twas the Night before Chirstmas(pixel.gif – 0.04 K)

They lunged to the window, yanked open the blinds…
What they saw was amazing; it boggled their minds:
Across the night sky, with a noise like the dickens,
Soared a minivan drawn by eight overgrown chickens!

At the wheel sat a bunny — cute, fuzzy and fat –
In designer blue jeans and a Panama hat.
Like a speeding space shuttle, those chickens they flew,
As the van driver called to each hen in his crew:Easter Humor, Poem, Easter Bunny, Twas the Night before Chirstmas(pixel.gif – 0.04 K)

“Now, Ashley! Now, Sheila! Now, Kelsey and Bo!
On Bethany, Liza! On Daphne, on Flo!”
The van made its landing lickety-split …
Nearly wiped out the shrubs and the barbecue pit!

Then up on the roof, much to Phil’s consternation,
They squawked of egg prices and space navigation.
They made so much noise that Phil started to stammer,
“If you guys don’t shut up, we’ll get thrown in the slammer!”

Fuzzy hopped down the chimney, amidst all this racket,
And emerged from the fireplace, adjusting his jacket.
This bunny was chic, he had class, he had flair ..
Not your average bozo, not your typical hare.Easter Humor, Poem, Easter Bunny, Twas the Night before Chirstmas(pixel.gif – 0.04 K)

His ears were enormous; his huge overbite
Was right under a nose like a pink neon light.
His manner was smooth, he was hip, he was cool;
This floppy-eared bunny was no fuzzy fool.

“While I’m here,” he smiled, “Everybody relaxes …
I’m not selling storm windows, won’t audit your taxes.
I’m just here to bring you some fun and delight.
Eat, drink, and be merry! Let’s party tonight!”

So they sipped diet soda and swapped silly jokes,
Those birds and their bunny just being plain folks.
Then flop-ears said, “Hey, friends, we’ve had quite a ball,
But my chickens and I are now due in St. Paul!”Easter Humor, Poem, Easter Bunny, Twas the Night before Chirstmas(pixel.gif – 0.04 K)

He crossed both his eyes. Then he wiggled one ear,
And he yelled to his chicken team, “We’re outta here!”
As the minivan rose in the 3 a.m. sky,
He called out, “Later, Phil! And to you, Rose, good-bye!”

As he sped out of sight, his two friends heard him say,
“Happy Easter to all! Have a beautiful day!”

Valentine’s day- Heart Puzzle

“Heard” The Love

When I was growing up I do not recall hearing the words “I love you” from
my father. When your father never says them to you when you are a child, it
gets tougher and tougher for him to say those words as he gets older. To
tell the truth, I could not honestly remember when I had last said those
words to him either.

I decided to set my ego aside and make the first move. After some
hesitation, in our next phone conversation I blurted out the words, “Dad .
. . I love you!” There was a silence at the other end and he awkwardly
replied, “Well, same back at ya!” I chuckled and said, “Dad, I know you
love me, and when you are ready, I know you will say what you want to say.”

Fifteen minutes later my mother called and nervously asked, “Paul, is
everything okay?” A few weeks later, Dad concluded our phone conversation
with the words, “Paul, I love you.” I was at work during this conversation
and the tears were rolling down my cheeks as I finally “heard” the love. As
we both sat there in tears we realized that this special moment had taken
our father/son relationship to a new level.

A short while after this special moment, my father narrowly escaped death
following heart surgery. Many times since, I have pondered the thought, If
I did not take the first step and Dad did not survive the surgery, I would
have never “heard” the love.

By Paul Barton from “A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul” Copyright 1996 by
Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk

Love Is…

Love is an emotion of many colors.
It’s every color of the rainbow’s hue.
It makes the grass a little greener
And the sky the most beautiful blue.

It makes my sun rise every morning…
Chasing moonbeams on its way.
It makes me happy to face the trials of another day.

It cares for me in times of pain.
It holds and caresses me again and again.
It’s my anchor in life’s ocean of storms…
And every day I wake to the joy of living…
Because I have your love to keep me warm.

This is dedicated to all the people in my life…
who made my life…for without them…
I would not have had a life.
I Love You.
There is not a single person that I have
ever known…
that I can’t remember the good in them.

Happy Valentine’s Day
All you good people!

Easy Halloween Kleenex Box Cover

Materials: thin cardboard (old cereal boxes work well!) printer paper something to color with (if using B&W template) scissors glue Instructions: Print out the templates of choice (you can use all the same template so you have the same picture on all sides, or you can mix and match!)  — you need 4 templates to make one kleenex box. Colour pieces, as necessary. Glue the pieces onto squares of thin cardboard (old cereal boxes).  Using a glue stick instead of white glue keeps the paper from wrinkling.  If you are using white glue, put the glue onto the cardboard, not the template and then spread it around so it’s a very thin layer. Cut out the pieces.  This step may require adult assistance.

	OPTIONAL:  cover with clear contact paper (this makes it water proof).  Contact paper can be purchased in rolls at your local office supply store.
	Optional:  Score the tabs — to do this, flip the template over so the cardboard is up.  Put a ruler down to help you keep a straight line.  Using scissors or a butter knife, run along the ruler pressing hard to make it easier to fold the edges.  This step may require adult assistance.
	Fold the tabs
	Use glue or tape to attach the tabs of one template to the untabbed side of the next to form a box.
	Slip it overtop a square kleenex box!  (it squashes flat for easy storage so you can pull it out next halloween)

	Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
	Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Halloween Food & Drink Tips

• Waiter there’s a fly in my drink! — Freeze ice cubes with faux insects inside by filling a tray half full and freezing, then adding a gummy critter or a couple of raisins, fill the rest of the way with liquid and re-freeze.
• Fill a new plastic household glove with lemonade, limeade or other liquids to create an eerie floating hand in your punch bowl. Use heavy duty rubber bands to secure the top of the glove, leaving a little room for expansion. Use a small plastic dish to prop up the secured end of the glove in the freezer. Freeze until solid, peel away the glove and float the hand in the punchbowl.
• For a realistic looking eye frozen in a cube, see our recipe for Bloody Eyeball Cocktails.
• You can use a ring mold or bundt cake pan to freeze a creepy ice ring for you punch bowl. Fill 1/3 with liquid and freeze, arrange a layer of gummy worms on frozen ring, fill to 3/4 full and re-freeze. To un-mold, simply run hot water over ring for a second to two.
• Consider using Mountain Dew soda in your drinks and punches, nothing else has quite the same green glow.
• A wonderful tip we got from the fine folks at the House of Blues, is to use plastic light sticks as swizzle sticks, it gives the drinks an eerie, mysterious glow.
• Make Halloween shaped tortilla chips by using cookies cutters to cut shapes out of tortillas, then deep fry until crisp. You can also make low fat tortilla chips by baking your cutouts in A 350° F oven. In either case, sprinkle with salt. Chips made of blue corn tortillas look especially spooky.
• Use cookie cutters to cut out small sandwiches in Halloween shapes.

The Story of Halloween

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman’s Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.

Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was “he” who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.

The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival and marked the end of the “season of the sun” and the beginning of “the season of darkness and cold.”

On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.

When the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.

The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced “sow-en”). The festival would last for 3 days. Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival would become the first Halloween.

During the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the Celtic’s Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming 1 major fall holiday.

The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called All Saint’s Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils.

But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowe’en, and then – Halloween.

The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day’s apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain’s black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day.

The Map

One Saturday a father was put in charge of babysitting his five-year-old
son. The father had “double duty” because he was also trying to fill out
his income tax form.

As young children will do, the son kept interrupting his father, making
it impossible for the father to fill out his tax form. However, the
father had raised his son’s older siblings and knew that if he could
engage his son in some purposeful activity, he could finish his taxes.

The father looked through a magazine and found a picture of the world.
He took a pair of scissors and cut it into lots of little pieces, then
he gave his son the puzzle pieces and told him to put it together.

Impressed with his own resourcefulness, the father returned to his tax
preparation. Five minutes later his son came skipping into the room
again. “Daddy, daddy, come and see. I’ve put the puzzle together.”

Surprised and somewhat irritated at such a short interval of peace and
quiet, the father was astounded by his son’s claim that he had completed
the puzzle in such a short time. If it was true, surely his son must be
a genius!

He took his son’s hand and went into the next room to see the puzzle.
Sure enough, it was correctly assembled. “Son, how did you put this map
of the world together so quickly?”

“Oh daddy, I didn’t put the world together; it was too hard. But, I
noticed there was a picture of a man on the back side. I figured if I
put the man together right… then the world would come out right too.”

Father Forgive Me

One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise. Ah the beauty of God’s creation is beyond description. As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work. As I sat there, I felt the Lord’s presence with me. He asked me, “Do you love me?” I answered, “Of course, God! You are my Lord and Saviour!”

Then He asked, “If you were physically handicapped, would you still love me?” I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs and the rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn’t; be able to do, the things that I took for granted. And I answered, “It would be tough Lord, but I would still love You.”

Then the Lord said, “If you were blind, would you still love my creation?” How could I love something without being able to see it? Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and how many of them still loved God and His creation. So I answered, “Its hard to think of it, but I would still love you.”

The Lord then asked me, “If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?” How could I listen to anything being deaf? Then I understood. Listening to God’s Word is not merely using our ears, but our hearts. I answered, “It would be tough, but I would still listen to Your word.”

The Lord then asked, “If you were mute, would you still praise My Name?” How could I praise without a voice?
Then it occurred to me: God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul. It never matters what we sound like. And praising God is not always with a song, but when we are persecuted, we give God praise with our words of thanks. So I answered, “Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise Your Name.”

And the Lord asked, “Do you really love Me?” With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly,”Yes Lord! I love You because You are the one and true God!” I thought I had answered well, but…God asked, “THEN WHY DO YOU SIN?” I answered, “Because I am only human. I am not perfect.”

“THEN WHY IN TIMES OF PEACE DO YOU STRAY THE FURTHEST? WHY ONLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE DO YOU PRAY THE EARNEST?” No answers. Only tears. The Lord continued: “Why only sing at fellowships and retreats? Why seek Me only in times of worship? Why ask things so selfishly? Why ask things so unfaithfully?”

The tears continued to roll down my cheeks. “Why are you ashamed of Me? Why are you not spreading the good news? Why in times of persecution, you cry to others when I offer My shoulder to cry on? Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in My Name?”

I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.

“You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw this gift away. I have blessed you with talents to serve Me, but you continue to turn away. I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain in knowledge. I have spoken to you but your ears were closed. I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes were turned away. I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by as they were pushed away. I have heard your prayers and I have answered them all.” “DO YOU TRULY LOVE ME ?”

I could not answer. How could I?
I was embarrassed beyond belief.
I had no excuse. What could I say to this?
When my heart had cried out and the tears had flowed,
I said, “Please forgive me Lord.
I am unworthy to be Your child.”
The Lord answered, “That is My Grace, My child.”
I asked, “Then why do you continue to forgive me?
Why do You love me so?”
The Lord answered,
“Because you are My creation.
You are my child. I will never abandon you.
When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you.
When you shout with joy, I will laugh with you.
When you are down, I will encourage you.
When you fall, I will raise you up.
When you are tired, I will carry you.
I will be with you till the end of days,
and I will love you forever.”

Never had I cried so hard before. How could I have been so cold? How could I have hurt God as I had done? I asked God, “How much do You love me?”
The Lord stretched out His arms, and I saw His nail-pierced hands. I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Saviour. And for the first time, I truly prayed.

Next Page »