Where were you?

Now that the day is almost over, I would like to ask a question. Just something that I have been curious about over the years.

Where were you? What were you doing when the towers were hit?

I was getting ready for Government Class...ironic huh? I was back living at home with my parents and Dad always watched the news in the morning. I had gotten up about 7:00 and ate a little breakfast and took my shower. I was in my bedroom combing my hair when I heard Daddy say "My God they flew a plane into that building...idiots.." He did not know it was terrorist.

I came out of the bedroom to see what he was talking about and seen the Towers on the screen...as Dad and I were watching in shock, they discovered that it had been a plane...We actually seen the second plane fly through the air and circle around the buildings and hit the second building ....it was live....I will never forget the shock...never...I wasnt in New York, I was in my own living room watching it live on TV....

I finished getting ready for class, and as I was walking out the door, they announced that one had hit the pentagon. I went to class, 45 minutes away from home only to discover that my pshycotic depressed history teacher had canceled class and locked himself in his office watching the stuff. So, I went back home and watched news all day with daddy.

It was very upsetting and Dad was very emotional. See, he is a Vietnam vet and for him to sit back and watch someone attack our country that he had been drafted too fight for was very disturbing. I watched his face go from pale shock to red anger back to pale shock. I do not know how many cigarettes he went through that morning and I cant remember how many times he bowed his head and said "My God"

When we talked about it later, he said he couldnt believe that someone would attack a country that had proved they would help anybody. He said they had fought for how many countries when they didnt have to and then someone attacks them (US) He went through alot that day. I know I wasnt in New York but I will never forget that day. You see. I was allowed to see a part of that mind that I wonder so much about and for a day, I was allowed to see some of the pain that hides deep in there.

No I am not thanking the terrorist, I would never do that. I would never promote something so horrible. I am thanking God that I was able to be there that day. That my government class was canceled and that I went back home instead of to my boyfriends house. I am thanking God because now I understand a little part of my Daddy a little better. And I am thanking God that my Daddy came home from Vietnam. Some kids Daddys never come home.

God Bless.

Thank You God

9-11

Remember 9-11 ?

Today they are playing live feed on CNN.com. I do not have TV so I have been listening to this and watching parts of it while I am cleaning house, mostly playing with my babies. I cant watch it too much because it is too sad. There are grown sometimes big strong looking men on there crying because of friends they lost. There are kids walking down the rows with pictures of men or women and you have to guess that they are now living without that parent. Some of them dont look much older than 6 or 7 which means they were either born not too long before or not too long after it happened. How sad....

I am sitting here thinking how our AMERICA has changed. we are no longer the free country we used to be. Everyday now is a worry about whether someone else is going to attack us. I have to raise my kids up with this. I have to explain to them how something like that could happen. And the question everyone always ask when something like this happens is "How could God allow this to happen?" I know someday my kids are going to ask that...How do I answer it?
Edited: Happy Momma pointed out in her comment that not everyone has to worry about whether someone else is going to attack us. I did not mean that everyone has to worry about it. I know that it is in the back of my mind alot but not a constant worry. I also dont believe that we are no longer free, just not free to a point. I mean we now have restrictions on us that we didnt before. If you are a person who travels alot, then you know. I am sorry if I came across as someone who worries about it constantly, I dont. Just about the people I know over in the east who are fighting this war now. And I am learning everyday to turn it over to God and let him handle it. He can take care of them if they will just let him. I cant worry about them, I can pray for them.

SAD...

Reas,Sarah, Kyra,Drake....I m thinking about you today....
Cathena, I know your husband is over there...
Holly, I hope Ryan comes home safe.
Trent, if you are back over there, I pray for you.
And My cousin Bradley, I dont know if you are still over there, I know you have been and I hope you are home safe by now.


And to all the others I know but cant think of th names right now...God Bless You and Go With You, I pray for you everyday that you may come home alive. I pray that you will still have some sanity and that you come home healthy. I cant imagine what you go through everyday but I am glad someone has the courage to do it.

I know that I wasnt going to post for a while but I hd to post today...

Break

I am going to take a blogging break for a while..I am very busy right now and even though I usually only blog during early morning or nap time, I just feel like I am spending too much time on here.

I will be back though Just dont know when.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Memory Verse

Proverb 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,for it is the wellspring of life.

I had a friend email this to me. I thought it was very sweet and true.



JUST FOR THE MOMS

This is long, but absolutely beautiful and I've never seen it before. To all you wonderful mom's, step-mom's, and just-like-a-mom's.
I'm invisible.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going - she's going - she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: * No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. * They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Oh how true. God sees what we do every day whether we want him to or not. And everyday that we dont feel like anyone is noticing all that we did, God noticed. He is always watching. Watching us raise our Godly children in a Godly Christian home. I hope I am doing good enough for God not someone else.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Fall

I Love Fall....I am so ready for the leaves to start falling and the Pumpkins and the smell of bakeing apples in the air. I am ready for sweatshirts and flannel PJs. I am ready for it to be dark earlier and for the cozy feeling of snuggling up with my babies and reading a good book under a blanket or two..



Crazy sounding huh...But I love it. I love winter. I absolutely cringe at the thought of summer. I like spring because it is the start of things new but I cannot stand summer.



I have been seeing the fall flowers out at Wal-Mart and the Pumpkins (not real the decorative ones) and all the good smelling candles. I really have to stop myself because I could spend way too much money in there right now. I love to decorate.



I also love fall because it symbolizes the start of hunting season. YES I HUNT!!!!! I love it. I dont know how much I will get to go this year because paul has to work so much and we take turns watching kids and hunting so if he is working, then neither of us will get to go. He says I get to go before he does but I think he should go and relax because he is working so much. Who knows. Maybe we will both get a deer this year though...I hope we get two or three because we have our freezer and another to fill.



Anyway, I think I am going to go ahead and start decorating for fall. I have never been able to decorate that much before and although I have to watch my spending this year, I think I can decorate on a budget.



Love and Prayers and Happy Decorating

Crystal

My Little Boy !

I havent posted on Jason in a while. I cant believe he is six months old. He is growing so fast and is learning everyday. He hasnt mastered the art of crawling yet but he is rolling everywhere and getting into everything. He doesnt yet grasp onto things hanging down like tablecloths and blankets but he loves his sisters toys and books if they leave them in the floor.

He loves to say DA DA and he actually has said Sister a couple of times although it doesnt sound exactly right. He loves to pull hair and grab my glasses. He hates it when his Daddy comes home and doesnt say hi to him right away, he will start screaming at the top of his lungs. He also knows when Daddy leaves in the morning. He starts fussing around right after Paul leaves for work and he doesnt go back to sleep. He will wake up about 15 min later hollering Da Da.

He also has the biggest smile. He lights up my day with that smile. I mean, the girls are always doing something funny or they will tell me something or say something that makes me laugh but Jason is in that stage where he can melt hearts with his grin. and he laughs all the time...if he isnt laughing, he is smiling and if he isnt doing one of those then he is crying cause he is hungry or sleepy.

I Love You Jason!

I dont have a picture right now. My camera is broken.