HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLUFF!!!

Happy Birthday to one AMAZING woman!!!
WE LOVE YOU!

FIRE, FIRE, & MORE FIRE.....

My kids didn't want to go to bed - they wanted to keep an eye on the fire that John was called out to!(too bad tomorrow is the first day of school, so they HAD to go to bed!) He left around 7:20 - when I put Jason to bed around 9:00, all you could see was the red glow from behind the mountain - when I went out around 10:30 I still could not see too much of a flame from our back yard - but about 15 minutes later when I walked by the window - the whole hill was ablaze!!! - My mom and I drove down the rode a bit where we had a better view(thanks dad for "babysitting" so I could take a turn) - I took this picture around 11:41 - I wish I could have captured more of the details - but WOW! It is a BIG fire! I took the picture from the opposite side of the valley - in the picture you can sort of see three different hill peaks- it is quite spread out - and there is a pretty good breeze out tonight that I am sure is NOT helping!

our firefighters are AMAZING!!!

- THEY ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS! -

I need to go to bed, but not sure how much sleep I'll get until I know John is SAFE & off those Hills! It is pretty freaky just watching it from here, I cannot imagine what it would be like up there in the middle of it!

He called me around 11:30 - he was at the top!

FAMILY

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.

He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye..

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said,

'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door..

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.

'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'

I said, 'Son , I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'

I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'

FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

ooops.....

didn't mean to mislead anybody - the previous post ("just a thought") was NOT written by me!(I wish it was-cuz, YES my parents are that AMAZING) -But, It was just an email my mom sent to me and I really liked it and wanted to save it! ENJOY.........

just a thought.....

Embracing Imperfection

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for
dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when
she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening
so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned
toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!
Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom and ask me
how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night,
but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and
eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my
mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget
what he said: “Baby, I love burned toast.”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him
if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said,
“Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And
besides - a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!”

You know, life is full of imperfect things......and imperfect
people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook. What I've learned over the
years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to
celebrate each other's differences - is one of the most important keys
to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take
the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the
feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to
give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker! We could
extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base
of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!