MEMORIAL DAY

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“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails…”

I think its very natural to force something against nature. When things don’t go our way, the more natural tendency is to try and fight the tide. Try and stand as a wall in front of it. We tend to forget that there is Nature that will take its way. One can’t do anything about it.
There is a system that is running around us. The tides come in and go out. The wind changes direction. The earth shatters and volcanoes erupt. There are thunderstorms and hurricanes and tornadoes. There are enough things happening around us to at least realize that there is some Unseen Force that is making this world function with such precision.
In this world, there are things that will either go your way or will not go your way. Out of those things there are some things that you would have an influence on and some of them you wouldn’t.
My question. Why sweat over things which you have no control on? Things which are going to happen no matter what you do or don’t do. We tend to feel bad about things that happened because of something we did. We try to find logic out of things for which there is none and that is where we enter the zone of bringing ourselves down.
Here is the new strategy. Use nature to your advantage. If there is a forceful wind blowing against the direction that you want to go, use it well by just adjusting your sails and speeding your boat up. The best part about this analogy is that for a sailboat, you can actually use the wind to go in an opposite direction than the wind itself.
So when things don't happen your way. The wind is blowing in some other direction. If you look beyond the obvious. If you stay positive. You can actually find a way to sail through while utilizing the strong wind to your advantage.
Just adjust the sails and keep moving. The tides will change again and the wind shall start blowing in the direction you want. That is when you can motor your way ahead.

I am not the author of this but because life and times are tough, maybe it's a thought we should think about when times get rough.
This also says that I can share this on their home page so I am.

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Did you ever have a moment in your life where you just wanted to savor that moment  for just a little longer just to hang on to the great feeling it gave you.?  Here are just a few of the moments I think might be in almost anyone's "Savor the moment category".

You hang out with friends, you laugh the entire night, you say silly things, you drink a little more than you should, you realize how much you love your friends and you never want to go home.
You sit on a park bench watching the sunset with someone special and wish only that you could bottle that moment and take it home to tuck under your pillow at night.
You watch a child give you that great belly laugh when you have been the one that gave it to them and you wish it would last forever because the sound is outstanding.
You have one very special night with a person you feel you are in love with and wish it could fill your heart forever and never go away.
You spend time away on a vacation with friends or family and the time spent is chaotic yet fun and you wish it would never end.
You go on a shopping spree and find such great bargains that you think you've just totally scored the ultimate shopping day ever.
You get a special look from someone you love when a certain song plays at a wedding and wish that look of love could be in every single day of your life.
Your children do something very special at school and they are praised so much that when they come home to tell you about it, their smile has just told it all without them even saying a word.
You have just heard from a friend that you haven't heard from in a long time and suddenly remember why you were such great friends.
You get the great news that you are going to have your first grandchild
After all the battles you went through when your children were in high school you suddenly get the news that they were accepted to a great college.

Just give it some thoughts and I'm sure you'll come up with some of your own private, "Savor the Flavors"

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As we walk through life with blindfolds on just to avoid Reality sometimes, we tend to miss so much.

We think, we breathe, we laugh, we cry, we feel every single emotion and therefore we exist in this world.

Sunday was a beautiful day with the sun shining and strength enough to ask to go for a walk with my best friends in the world and that was my family.  Of course I had to convince my 12 year old grandson to go along, but he finally gave in to it and took his sort of a skateboard thing with him.  The little almost 3 year old is always excited to do anything as long as his mom is along too.

We decided to walk along the Fox River in St. Charles.



We walked along the river path which was quite beautiful and let the kids just get some fresh air and enjoy doing something that we were sure they would love if they would just let us show them that even just walking can be fun!
We walked along one side of the river and then came back along the 2nd street bridge and walked along the opposite side because we wanted to see this park I spotted on the opposite side of the river which was called something like sculpture park.  Not sure of the exact name but it had a playground and a couple of gazebos and a skateboard fenced area for the kids.  The fun thing for me was that I could mask my balance problem a bit because I could walk pushing a stroller and I only veer off to the left a little because I have something to hold on to and appear only to be just leaning.  Don't want to embarrass the grand kids now do we?     You know how sensitive they are at this age, they don't even want their moms to hug them or give them a kiss in public anymore!


Never the less, the trip back through the park was a beautiful one
and my 12 year old grandson said, (even before I fed him ice cream and root beer!)  "He was glad he came because he had a great time"  WOW!  His mom and I were so glad that he came too, and we had the chance to walk and visit with each other.

On the way back to the car, we visited the greatest little ice cream store in my opinion, in St. Charles and that was Gramp's Frozen Custard where they make fresh ice cream daily and WOW is it delicious!













After our delicious treat and two trips to the rest rooms for the little one, we wiped off the chocolate off our faces and fingers and headed back to the car.

What a treat to be able to have these precious moments in life and lucky that I am allowed to share them with such great company.  "Who could ask for more?"  "I couldn't"

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When you think about the things children say throughout their lives and ours, don't you just become amazed by the innocence of it all?



When I think of all of the funny, innocent, and heartfelt things my own children have said over the years, my heart just explodes with pride.  Some times it can bring tears to your eyes and other times all you can think is that it was the funniest thing you ever heard in your life, but whatever the case may be, just try today to remember some of the things your own children have said over the years, and it will make you smile.
Everyone needs to smile a little bit more!

This was all brought on by something I heard from my own grandson just last night and it made me think that I will only have this for a short time because he's growing so fast.
He said, "You know something Grandma, I love you so much and I always feel so safe here with you, and I love being in your house" ( I think it's mainly because of storms, he says I calm him) Of course I've been lucky enough throughout my lifetime to have many of my grandchildren living with me from time to time(I have 12 of them) because of house building, starting businesses, repairing new purchases of old homes,  and time between waiting for closing on their new homes when their old ones sold.  But I have to say, each time it brings a closeness that maybe you wouldn't otherwise have.
I also remember one time when one of them said that they will never forget the summer they stayed at my house because it was the best summer of their life!  How can you beat that?
It always makes me understand my worth when at the end of the stay, My children share with me the little things my grand-kids remember about their time with Grandma/Mimi (I'm Mimi to some of my grand-kids and grandma to others) and it touches my heart that they remember that although I can be stern at times, I will always try to teach them lessons in everything they do. But, I will give them hugs and kisses any time they reach up to me or need that hug!
Grand children are the greatest gifts in life you could ever be blessed with.  My grandchildren have said many things through my life that make me proud that I must be doing something right, and when my children share with me what they've said always touches my heart to it's core!  But nothing anyone says or does is more precious to me than their hugs and kisses when they do it because they want to!
Cherish the memories, for they are precious. js

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There are two ways to live life.

Slow  Dance  This is a poem written by a teenager with cancer. She wants to see how many people get her poem. It is quite the poem Please pass it on. This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital . It was sent by a medical doctor - Make sure to read what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM. SLOW DANCE Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day On the fly? When you ask How are you? Do you hear the reply? When the day is done Do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores Running through your head? You'd better slow down Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, Not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die Cause you never had time To call and say,'Hi' You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. When you run so fast to get somewhere You miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift.... Thrown away. Life is not a race. Do take it slower Hear the music Before the song is over. ------------ -------- To All: PLEASE pass this mail on to everyone you know - even to those you don't know! It is the request of a special girl who will soon leave this world due to cancer. This young girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish, she wanted to send a letter telling everyone to live their life to the fullest, since she never will. She'll never make it to prom, graduate from high school, or get married and have a family of her own. By you sending this to as many people as possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with every name that this is sent to, The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan. One guy sent this to 500 people! So I know that we can at least send it to 5 or 6. It's not even your money, just your time! PLEASE PASS ON AS A LAST REQUEST. Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology 1300 Morris Park Avenue Bronx , New York  10461

You can copy and paste this into your facebook accounts and into your e-mails so that will keep going forward for this young girl.

Thank you
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1 1/4 C. strawberries---halved
3 Tbls. butter or margarine--melted
2 teas. orange rind --grated
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/4 C sugar
1 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. salt
2 teas. sugar  I use pure cane sugar

Combine Strawberries, butter, orange rind & eggs in a blender.  Process only until blended.
Combine flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, baking powder & salt.  Add strawberry mixture & stir just until moist.
Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups or spray paper lined muffin cups with Pam.
Sprinkle tops with 2 teas. of sugar.  sometimes I sprinkle a little more for x-tra crunch.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched in center.
Remove from pans immediately.

For all of you weight watcher followers it equals 4 pts. each muffin.  If you replace the melted margarine with 3 Tbls. of applesauce you reduce the entire recipe by 9 more pts.  If you replace the sugar with a sugar free sweetener of your choice you can reduce the recipe again by 20 more pts.  which would then reduce these absolutely delicious muffins to a mere 1.5 pts. each.    Delicious!  Make sure if you are using a sweetener with aspertaine in it, the choice is yours to make but it's not really all that healthy for children













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Happy eating.

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 I will miss my tree, it was 30 ft. high and it had the most beautiful blossoms as you can see above.
It was two trees that stood side by side through their life so far.  I really can't bear to cut the other half of it down but I just might have to for the safety of my grandchildren.
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By:  Janice