Natascha's 23 Today!

Today my step-daughter Natascha, turns 23. Taschy's always been cute, bubbly, and fun loving. As the only girl growing up with 5 brother's, she learned to hold her own. She always maintained a big sister, 'I'm in charge attitude' which helped keep the boys in line & I'm sure helped her keep her sanity!lol

She learned patience from the hours she had to sit on the baseball field, basketball courts & football fields, watching her brothers games.

She played soccer & softball when she was younger, but found that she truly loved cheerleading. She was always tiny, which gave her the opportunity for the prime 'showcase' position. It was perfect for her & suited her spirited, BIG personality. She was a flyer. She was lifted, balanced on wobbly young arms & thrown...sometimes dropped, all the while maintaining a smile. Year after year her cheer squad placed 1st at the Pop Warner Competitions.

As amazing as she was at cheering, she's even more incredible as a daughter & sister. No matter what's going on in her day, she'll drop everything if her family needs her. She is such a giving, caring, loving person.

During junior high & high school she became involved with her church youth group. This was when she fell in Love with the Lord & her husband, Jeremy.

Natascha & Jeremy

She began to set an example for her siblings. Showing through her words & actions what is truly important in this life. She was determined to make sure her brothers didn't travel down the wrong paths. Once again showing her incredible ability to lead & serve.

Today on her special day, I celebrate the amazing, beautiful, special young lady she is. I thank the Lord for blessing our family with her. She is a true gift to each one of us!

Happy Birthday Taschy...We love you!

 

Daddy's Princess

Our little girl growing up...marrying the love of her life!

The Invisible Man

Last Saturday my middle son Jullien really upset me when I picked him up. He said some pretty mean things to me, so I dropped him off at the house and just took off for some alone time (I needed to cry a little). I drove through Taco Bell, picked up some food and headed to a store where I was going to buy some crafts to make some Mother's Day gifts. I pulled up in front of the store and parked and just sat there eating.

As I looked around, (feeling a little sorry for myself), I noticed a guy with long tangled silver hair, a short white scraggly beard, an old black leather jacket, and torn blue jeans. He was standing up, leaning with his forehead pressed against the wall. I had some time to just observe while I finished my lunch, (which is very rare for me to have TIME). So I just watched, wondering if anyone would ask him if he was okay. The first couple that went by was probably in their 20's and didn't even glance in the man's direction. A couple of ladies in their thirties also proceeded to walk past the man, (who had not moved or changed positions for about 10 minutes), again not even a look towards him. The same thing happened about six more times. The way everyone just strolled by, made me wonder if the man was a figment of my imagination.

After about 20 minutes I got to the point that I was hoping and praying that someone would just LOOK at the man. With each new person I thought, "Surely they will at least see that he is there and may need help." Finally, a mother, with a short brown bob haircut, tan shorts, and a white floral blouse, and her daughter (about 3 years old), who looked like a miniature cut out version of the mother, went walking right past him. The mom seemed to notice the man only because her young daughter had lagged a little behind and she was concerned for her daughter's
safety. The daughter on the other hand, seemed to notice that something was wrong with the man and stopped to stare at him. The mother quickly grabbed her daughter's hand and dragged her away, while the daughter continued to look back at the man.

Next, a cute, plump, elderly husband and wife in their 80's walked by, they too, both looked directly at the man and then continued to look as they walked by, with a quick glance back before they entered the store. The man had still remained in the same position. About 10 more people in their 20's, 30's and 40's passed the invisible man.

As I finished the last few bites of my burrito, I thought, "Why was the man only visible to the young and the elderly?" Were they the only one's that were not too busy to see another person who may be hurting? How had my generation become so insensitive and self absorbed that they could not even SEE someone who may need them?

I got out of my car, and headed towards the man. I stopped and said, "Is everything okay? Do you need some help?" He looked up from the wall, smiled a toothless grin and said, "I'm just trying to figure a few things out on this cell phone, but thanks anyways." I said, "Good luck, they can be a little tricky in the beginning, have a great day!" He said, "You got that right, thank you, you too!" He seemed so happy that someone had spoken to him. He continued to smile as I headed into the store.

The invisible man did not need my help today, but what if he had? Did it take a lot of effort on my part to look at him and see if he needed some assistance? I hope that we can be like the young children and the elderly....that we will be able to SEE someone directly in our path. You may be the one person who can brighten that persons whole day. It requires only a little effort, concern, and time....but the rewards you will receive from a simple smile on a sad, tired, broken face, is amazing! Go out and notice the invisible men and women standing right in front of you!

Does Somebody Need You?

I was driving home after rushing to pick up my son's Tux for his Prom, when all of a sudden all of the cars in front of me started to slam on their brakes and rapidly change lanes. I thought, "Now what? It never fails, when I'm running late something always goes wrong." My husband had already called me three times telling me to make sure I was home on time for our very first class on "Finding Your Life Purpose".

I quickly swerved into the fast lane as I noticed the hazard that was causing all of the commotion. A beat up, old, dark brown van with patches of rust, which made it look as though it had been spray painted with polka dots was directly in my way. I made it safely into the fast lane as I stepped on my brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of me . I noticed a man who had torn, dirty jeans, an old, poorly fitted, black suit jacket, and disheveled hair pushing the car from behind. The driver's side door was open and a heavy set woman, in black shorts, a black tank shirt and messy, shoulder length brown hair was also pushing and trying to steer the car across the busy intersection to the side of the road.

I passed them and thought, "Maybe I should help them." Then I remembered I was late, but the thought kept nagging at me as I came up to the next light. I immediately made a u-turn and headed back. As I was making another u-turn to park in front of them I noticed they were arguing, and they both seemed very upset. I parked my car and got out and asked if they needed me to call a tow truck? They said, "No, but do you have a gas can, we're out of gas?" I told them that I didn't but I would go and get them gas and bring it right back. They both looked very relieved and the man tried to hand me a $5.00 bill. I thought...that will only get them one gallon of gas. I said, "Don't worry about it." I was close to my house so I drove home, pulled into the driveway and ran into the garage. I grabbed a gas can and told my husband what had happened and that I felt I needed to help them. He said, "We can't be late for our first class!" I said, "I'll be back in ten minutes and we'll just have to eat dinner after the class." He wasn't too happy but said, "Please HURRY!"

I pulled into the gas station and started to pump the gas when a lady who was getting gas next to me said, "Is everything okay?" I said, "Yeah, there is just a couple down the road that ran out of gas so I'm going to take it to them." She said, "That's awesome...I don't usually do things like that because people are always looking for a handout, but I did one time and it felt pretty good." I told her, "I always try to picture myself in that situation and feeling desperate and would hope that someone would help me or my children." She said, "That's a good idea...I'll need to remember that next time I see someone in need." I just smiled and told her to have a wonderful weekend. I felt sure that she would probably have an opportunity to put her words into action over the weekend.

I finished pumping the gas and ran into the store to take out $20.00 to give to them, knowing that they would need to get more gas than just the two gallons and they obviously didn't have any money. We only had $60.00 to last us the whole weekend and I knew that taking some of our money would leave us really tight, but it was the right thing to do, they had even less than we did.

I jumped in my car and drove back to the spot that they were stranded. The smile and relief on their face told me that they were wondering if I was really going to return. I handed the gas can to the man and he said. "Thank you so much!" He started to put the gas into his tank as the woman walked up to me and I reached into my pocket and gave her the $20.00. Her eyes welled up with tears and she said, "I'm really sweaty, and dirty but would you mind if I gave you a hug?" I said, "Of course not!" As she hugged me she said, "God Bless You!" At that moment I felt like I should tell her what a stranger had told me a couple of weeks before when I was having a really bad day and feeling very down and stressed. So, with tears in my eyes, I said, "Just remember that the Lord loves you." I then got into my car and headed home to attend my first class on "FINDING MY LIFE PURPOSE."

I wanted to share this story with everyone to remind you that there is someone waiting for you to reach out to them every single day. You only have to open your eyes to see the opportunity to be the change in someone's life. Finding your life purpose can be as simple as looking beyond your own personal needs and desires and reaching out to others who NEED YOU!

Can You Make A Difference In A Day?

I went to work today and my boss said she had to tell me something and I have to say yes. I said, "Not until I know what it is," I’ve learned my lesson in the past. She said, "I am going to take you shopping for groceries today for your family!" I started to cry and told her, "No, I can't allow you to do that". She said, "It's on my "bucket list" (things to do before you kick the bucket) to perform acts of kindness and you can't deny me my wish." I cried more, hugged her and thanked her.

My husband and I have been praying and trying to have faith that we would be able to come up with enough money to buy groceries and make our house payment this month. I have to tell you that it was an answer to our prayers.

We went to the grocery store and she kept adding more things into the basket, despite my protests that it was already more than enough. We had to get another basket just to hold all of the food. We went to check out and I couldn't believe that the bill came to $500.00! I had an instant headache because I was so stressed that she had spent so much money on us. I hugged her and told her, "Thank you for being our angel."

On my way home I stopped by another store (I had forgotten to get milk while we were shopping, I guess I was so overwhelmed...I forgot a basic necessity). As I entered the store a homeless man was sitting off to the side of the store. I wished that I had money to give him after the gift I had just received. Once inside the store I remembered my husband's paycheck had just been deposited and the whole amount was supposed to be used for our house payment, but I decided to take $20.00 of it and buy him some food. I had been given such an amazing gift, the least I could do was give to someone who had even less than I did. I walked out and looked over to see someone else walking away after dropping off a box of pizza to the homeless man. Wow, I thought what an amazing day this is. As I reached him, he had just finished scarfing down three pieces of the pizza; he looked up at me and said, "Do ya want a piece of pizza?" I was shocked...someone with absolutely NOTHING was offering me a portion of the small amount of food that he had just received. I told him, "No thank you," and set the three small bags of groceries down. I ran to my car and grabbed a blanket that I had kept in there for an emergency (it was very cold out). He said "Thank You!" He covered up and continued eating the pizza.

Leaving your mark and making a difference in the world can seem like a huge task. I have been privileged enough to have been the recipient of a caring person, a witness to the giving of others and a contributor to serving someone less fortunate, all in the span of a single day. If a difference can be made in the lives of three people in a single day, imagine if everyone did an unselfish act for one person each day. Whether it is helping an elderly person put groceries in their car, opening a door for a handicapped person or offering food to a person in need. Kindness and love can change the world.......one person at a time. Today is the day YOU can change the world, someone is waiting for you!