Every morning starts the same. My alarm clock goes off for the fourth time and I finally turn it off and struggle to open my eyes halfway. I somehow dig up enough energy to drag myself out of bed and into the shower. After my shower, I go upstairs to wake up the littlest sleepy monster. After making sure she has clothes that match to wear to school, I go back downstairs to get her breakfast ready. Breakfast is usually a bagel, cereal, yogurt or toast. During breakfast, I make my daughter's lunch. Then I shuffle around trying to get her hair brushed, my books ready for my own school and remember 2 minutes before show time, that I still need to brush my teeth. Then we hop in the car and complain how cold it is, and I explain for the umpteenth time that the car has to warm up too.

Yesterday,I woke up to the same routine as normal. We dragged ourselves out of bed and somehow managed to get ready and out the door in time. I pulled in the car rider's line at my daughter's school to drop her off. The director said, "unload your cars" a sign to the parents, that it was safe to let their kids out.
Well, my child is five. Not that her being five is an excuse, but anyone who has had a five year old knows that they're not always 100% focused on the task at hand. She was moving as quickly as she could to get out of the car. Every day, I watch her get out and walk safely into the doors of the school. Yesterday, she said, "you have a good day too mommy!" I guess in the 3 seconds it took her to tell me that, the director assumed all the kids had been unloaded and as my daughter was walking around the corner in front of the cars, she instructed the cars to move forward.

You've heard when people are about to get in car accidents..it's like slow motion? Well, I know that for a fact because I've been in a car accident, and also because yesterday morning as I watched my daughter walk in front of those cars across the cross walk and that lady instructed the cars to move forward....the whole world stopped. My heart which was beating it's normal early morning, I just woke up heartbeat had now shoved a hole through my body, leaped out and was running after my little girl. The director finally realized that there was another person that needed to cross and stopped the cars, and I detoured to the principals office..in shock over what had just happened.

Do you know what else happened the other day?

Place: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Time: After school

A school bus driver had woken up that morning, same time, same place, same routine. Expecting a normal every day school day. After school, on his normal route, that school bus driver was reaching out his hand to open the Stop sign on the side of his bus as he did every time he made a stop. He turned on his lights to signal oncoming traffic to stop, just as he had done every morning and evening. A little boy, six years old...woke up that morning at the same time, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth and got on that bus to go to school like every other day. He had a normal school day and was on his way home. As he got off the bus and crossed the street, a woman, ignoring the buses lights and bright red stop sign, raced through, hitting the little boy and killing him instantly. She was arrested and charged with negligent homicide and that little boy will never wake up sleepy eyed again, will never rush to get dressed and brush his teeth. He'll never kiss his mommy goodbye as he heads out the door to catch the bus. All because, one person decided they didn't have to follow rules.

We wake up every day, thinking our day is going to run on time, on schedule, normal. We just don't know what each day brings.

Why are we in such a hurry? Can't we take an extra 5 seconds a day to make sure our kids are safe?

5 seconds can do a lot....if he had taken 5 extra seconds getting off the bus, maybe the lady would have missed him like the car missed my daughter yesterday.
And the world wonders why there are overprotective parents? Because you're in too much of a rush to get your latte before work that you didn't notice the blinking signs of a school bus.

Nothing like a Fall hike on a Monday morning with a special guy.

Blast to the Past

Crazy how fast it goes. This is my little "ruddee bunnett"(she said) dressed up for her first Halloween when she was two years old.






This is my little "sunflower". Yeah, momma made the mistake of putting black paint on her face. I thought it would make her look more like a flower! Wrong flower. Oh well, she still got lots of candy.

I can't find last years Halloween pictures for some reason! She was Barbie last year. She had a blonde wig and sparkles all over. Great trick or treating last year! They gave out regular size candy bars! It was amazing.



This is my ladybug dressed up this year. Should have whipped out the video camera! I always forget we have that thing......



Skylar, mommy is amazed at you each day. It's my honor to watch you learn and grow each year and experience new things. You are AMAZING!

I hope yours was as good as mine and I pray that you remind yourself of the things you're thankful for as we quickly move into the coming holiday.

PuMpKiN SpIcE aNd EvErYtHiNg NiCe

The smell of Fall is in the air. My fireplace is beckoning me to call the gas company to come turn our gas on. I was yearning for a warm toasty spot next to the fireplace with my anatomy book and some hot cocoa tonight. :)

I don't have a favorite season. There are wonderful things about all the seasons to me...but Fall definitely stirs up fond memories and strong desires. A pumpkin spice latte..mmm...leaves changing colors, mums, pumpkin carving, a break from school (amen).

Some of my Fall 09' fun so far:






Corn maze! Can we say...Fall?

Cutest pumpkin in the batch!

Nothing says Fall more than a man stuck in a hay bale.......he should have looked where he was going.

-Kelly-Sue-

Why do good things happen to bad people?

Do you ever wonder that? Why do people who don't love God sometimes have so many good things happen to them? Maybe they have a lot of money or fame. Yet some people who love God have so many struggles. It just doesn't seem fair.

God is sovereign, remember? He is in control of all things, including the lives of those who reject Him. God directs their lives according to His purpose and plan. Proberbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart deviseth plans his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." God allows people to make their own choices, yet they eventually do what God planned they would do.

Sometimes it seems so unfair when we see good things happen to bad people. God allows these things to happen because of his mercy and grace. But God is just. One day each person will stand before Him. Those who have not believed in God's Son will be punished for their unbelief. Those you have trusted Him as their Savior will be rewarded. Many who have not had very much in this world, will be rich in Heaven.

Don't be jealous of others who have more than you do. Thank God for what you have and for what he allows in your life- both good and bad. He loves you and is in control of everything that happens.

(taken from my daughter's daily devotional book)

God loves everyone..even the "bad" eggs. Thank you Lord for being in control and for speaking to me in a simple way.

In God's Hands

No parent wants to hear that their child is sick. It's your job to love them and protect them, sheild them from the horrors of this world. Sometimes those horrors happen and there's no shield big enough for us to use to protect them.

My friend just found out yesterday, that her one year old daughter has leukemia. I wish I could tell her I understand, but I don't.

Little Kenzie, you're going to get through this. We're all praying for you.

Lord, protect this baby girl and heal her little body. Be with her parents as they deal with this and help them look to you for comfort and strength. Amen.



In God's hands.

Simple Prayers

"Dear Jesus, please help me be a good girl at school tomorrow and get a green light." What a simple prayer. Those were the words that came out of my 5 year old daughter's mouth yesterday evening after we finished reading her devotional book. My daughter, Skylar is part of the "Good News Club" at school. No, they don't wear ballerina shoes and dance around, they don't do summersaults and jumping jacks. It's not your normal extra-curricular activity I guess. But when you're a full time student, a mom, a wife, a housecleaner, a cook, a part time soldier, a trash taker outer, a bed maker upper, a clothes putter awayer, a toilet cleaner and a lunch maker, you could use the extra 2 hours to get some studying done, put some clothes away, clean the toilet, take out the trash, and make lunch for the next day. Not only is it more time for mom, but more importantly, Skylar is learning. She hasn't learned this much about God in any church we've ever been, and yesterday when we read through a couple devotionals, she already knew the answers.
We talked about prayer, about how perfect God is, and how imperfect we are. We talked about hell, and how we get to heaven. We talked about how some people don't believe in Jesus and they won't go to heaven. She asked if her daddy believed in Jesus, and I told her that he didn't. She started to cry and told me that she wanted to tell him about Jesus so he could go to heaven too.
Then we talked about sin and doing the right thing at school. After we talked about that, she prayed. "Dear Jesus, please help me be a good girl at school tomorrow and get a green light."
I wanted her to see that when she prays, Jesus hears her.

I drove to pick her up from school and as she walked toward my car, her face lit up. She hopped in the car. "Mommy, I got a green light today!"

Thank you Jesus for answering our prayers, simple they may be. Even the prayers of a little child are important to you. Thank you Skylar for reminding me that prayers don't have to be complicated.