Dead Man on Motorcycle

I don't know if any of you will agree with me at the end of this post, but I found this appalling. I found this at CNN. A 22 year old man had recently passed away, and for his funeral he was posed on his motorcycle...yes I said a dead man was placed on a motorcycle just like he was a statue. Some people might say that this is what he and his family wanted, but I find it too much. I think that there are some lines that should not be crossed, and this is one of them. This is not the first time that this same funeral home has done something to this effect. On another occasion they posed a man standing against a wall. This was completely up to the deceased and his family, but I think that maybe there needs to be some guidelines put into play. I just think that it is degrading.

Another thing that was talked about in this video was the different types of caskets that can be made according to what you want. I think that this might be a better choice if you are wanting something to help personalize your funeral, but there were some that were still questionable for me. I mean who wants to be buried in a coke bottle or a shoe...a little crazy if you ask me.

After watching this video, I was curious to see if there were other strange ways that people would choose to bury themselves. It turns up there are many. This site shows 8 unconventional ways to bury a deceased. From a few examples of turning the carbon from humans into a diamond ring or turning the carbon into a set of pencils, to turning their ashes into fireworks and shooting them off into the sky. I guess some people want to be creative, but this is just not for me.

So after watching and reading about this new information, I would like to know what everybody else thought about these different ways of celebrating someones life they lived here on earth. Do you agree or disagree? I think that it would be interesting to see all of the different responses.

Trash to Treasure

Yes I am posting this a little late but here it is. I am having a rummage sale tomorrow, May 1st, during the Seneca City Wide. Since the town has only one main street that goes through, I am sure you will be able to find me...lol. Anyway, I have a ton of little girl clothes from size 3 months up to size 6, and little boy clothes from size 3 months up to size 2. There are plenty of toys, a toddler bed, some high chairs (they need a little TLC, but still usable), and much more. In the spirit of this post I thought I would share some good things about turning someone else's junk into your treasure.

I like to find old things and make them new. I would love it even more if I had more time, but that is besides the point. My favorite is old furniture. You can do so much with a cool piece of furniture, some paint, and a few tools and accessories. I am getting ready to turn an old desk into a masterpiece for my daughter. Instead of spending $150 for a new one, I will only spend about $40, and it will be custom just for her. Now I am not an artist, so if you are thinking that you can't do something like this...you are wrong. It just takes a little practice, and most of the time I like my mess-ups more than what I had planned anyway.

If you are stuck on ideas, here are a few suggestions. This site has 6 ways to take things and use them as something else. My favorite is turning an old door into a table. You can even turn an old door into a picture holder, it's so cute. This site shows you how to use old license plate covers for magazine holders. They would be great for a boys room. Plus it is from HGTV, so what is not to love. This site is actually advertising their craft store, but you can get some good ideas at just looking. That is how I get a lot of my ideas by just looking at different pictures and putting them all together.

Now that your creative juices are flowing, get out there and make a masterpiece. Oh and don't forget to come tomorrow!! :)

My Opinion on Divorce ( I know this might be a touchy subject, but just remember that this is just my opinion)

One of my friends just recently went through a nasty divorce. It has been very hard on her and the kids. We all tell her that she will be okay in time, but we also know that these words won't heal the present. I thought that I would give a little bit of my own opinion on divorce, and also share some other things that I came across.

In my opinion, I think that divorce is way too easy now. I think that instead of people meaning what they say when their vows are spoken, instead they just speak them because that is what you do at your wedding. There are too many people with the mind set of, if this doesn't work out then we can just get a divorce. The percentage of marriages that end up in divorce in the United States is 54.8%. I think that this is very sad, especially compared to the many other countries listed. If you want to compare them check it out here. Maybe I am just old school, but I think that once you say I do, it should be for good.

I do believe there are some cases in which divorce could be an option. I don't believe that it should be made when a little stress starts coming into your marriage. Lets face it, everyone is going to have a little stress every once in a while. It is just our nature. This site states some really good ways in dealing with common stresses in a marriage: medical, financial, or psychological are a few. The best advice that I think can be given is how communication is key to a successful marriage. Don't just keep blaming each other. Talk about it and try to come up with the best solution. Like I said before, we are all selfish by nature, so learning to control this emotion will help in all areas of our life.

The worst thing that comes with divorce is how it hurts and destroys children. This has been true to every divorced family that I know personally. If a child is being mentally or physically abused, then I feel that divorce might be the only option. Other reasons for divorce, most of the time leave children feeling scared and confused. A lot of the times children feel like they are the reason for their parents splitting, when it is not at all. They can't understand why their family can't be together anymore.

I think that by reading this post, everyone knows where I stand on the topic of divorce. However, if divorce is going to be an option for you or someone that you know, and kids are involved, I hope that this site can help. There are some good tips that would help the children understand a little better.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

Will this tunnel ever end??

Today I reminded myself of the extremely long tunnel that I am going through, and yes I am still at the beginning where the light is not in site. I am referring to how many more years that still need completed in order for me to receive my degree. Everyone keeps saying I will get there, and I know that I will, but my goodness it is taking forever! I wish that I had an easy button, anyone else feel the same way...lol. It has been going too slow though, so I thought that next semester I would take on a couple more classes. Even though I promised myself a break, I think a couple of summer classes would help as well. There are a couple that don' t sound too awful. The only thing that is keeping me going is the reward I will receive in the end...a wonderful job that I have always wanted and a chance to help out my family with a little more income.

My degree is in elementary education with an early childhood emphasis. I would love to be able to teach kindergarten. I think that it is a very rewarding job and I also feel that it is what I am geared for. I have never desired another career. I love every aspect of this job, except the pay. Does anyone else agree that teachers are not payed enough? I know that this subject is always talked about, but I do believe that it is a little low. If I remain in this area where I live now, my starting pay will be around $29,000 to $31,000 a year. Like most jobs, pay increases as the years go on. If I stay in this area the average pay would be $39,000 to $41,000 a year. This is not a bad salary, especially looking at all of the good incentives for becoming a teacher. The wonderful children in which you get to touch their lives, my summers off, great job for someone with their own children, and many more. I am not looking for a huge increase, but I do believe that as the economy starts to rise, teachers should get a little extra. I guess one thing I could do is move to Connecticut or Illinois...lol!

I guess to sum it all up, my career is at the end of a tunnel at which the light is not yet shining, and once I get there my pockets will still be empty :) Even though I agree with raising teacher salaries, money isn't everything. The way I am looking at it, if I had that little extra money, it would be gone as well. Money doesn't buy happiness, and even if a teacher's salary started at $15,000, I would probably still be pursuing my dream.

Teen/Child Bullies

I have heard a lot lately about teen bullying (Phoebe Prince), and I am a little two sided with how I feel. This article from CNN is about a 14 year old girl who is now hospitalized for emotional distress. This young girls mother said that her daughter was constantly being teased and ridiculed in front of friends and other students. She said that her grades went from honor roll to D's and F's. Her daughter told her that her life was nothing and would never be worth anything. This is when she decided to hospitalize her daughter.

The mother said that she went to school authorities but the situation was not taken care of. All they told her was that her daughter needed to go to a guidance counselor. This is where I get a little perturbed. If the mother is telling the truth, I believe the school did not take enough action. If they really believed that the daughter needed counseling, why didn't they set it up for her to have some sessions. By doing this, some of the problems might have been stopped. I believe that there probably were some things being done, but obviously not enough. I have a hard time believing that it is all of their fault though. Did the mother actually push hard for better control? There are a lot of loose ends that may not be answered, but now this young girl will probably always have some part of her thinking that she will never be good enough, all because of some young girls acting mean.

On the other side of this, I believe that some parents take this bullying excuse too far. Most kids are going to tease or bully, or be teased and bullied a few times in their life. I think that some people use this excuse as a make me feel better attitude, or to just get attention. Most schools and authorities have good control over little bullying, and if you have a problem then you can go to them with it. Most of the time it gets properly taken care of.

I think that this is an issue that needs to be taken care of, especially if a child starts showing signs of being constantly bullied. I know that I don't want my children to go through life being bullied all of the time. Now that it is a national issue, I think that more action will be taken place. I also believe that kids will be kids. A little bullying is going to happen in all of our lives. Lets just not let it get out of control.

My Wonderful Brother

Well, this week has been a little rough. Today marks one year after my brother passed away in a car accident. He was such a great guy and would help a stranger on the street if they needed it. He loved his family. Knowing that he is in a better place and that we will get to see him again helps us all get through the rough times. I thought that I might just talk about some of the things that I remember about my brother (Steven). I think that writing about him and remembering all of the fun times is a good way to ease the pain.

One thing I remember for some reason is how my brother and sister used to sneak into my room and watch WCW. You see, my mom told us we weren't supposed to watch it but we thought it was completely awesome, especially Steven. Usually the next day he was trying those moves on us while jumping on the trampoline. My sister and I didn't like it so much then. Another thing that we all loved doing was going to the creek. We would spend many summer weekends there. Steven would always find some way to entertain all of us. Steven also loved basketball. His favorite team was KU, yes I forgive him for this...lol, but he played all of the time. Due to his love for basketball and just trying crazy things, I always remember him having a broken bone or something hurting. (2 broken collar bone, 1 broken foot, one broken ankle, 1 broken arm, torn ACL, as many stitches as you can imagine, and who knows what else) I remember on one occasion he told my mom that his foot hurt pretty bad, but she just told him to walk it off. He walked it off for a week, still hurting, so they went to the doctor. Sure enough, it was broke. He was so accident prone. Steven also had a love for animals. His favorite animal ever was Reggie, a collie dog. Reggie was supposed to be for all of us when my parents bought him, but after about a month you could tell who his favorite was :) Besides Reggie, Steven had a couple more dogs, a few cats (just because he saved them when they were babies), a hamster, gerbils, many different lizards, and probably more that I just don' t remember.

I could go on and on, but there is just not enough time in the day. My brother was an amazing person and I was so blessed to have him in my life. I miss him so much, but I know that I will be seeing him again in a much better place than this. I can't wait to see his amazing smile again! I love you Steven, my sweet baby brother!

Car Seats

Right now, when you look in the back seat of my car, all you see are car seats. My 6 year old is in a booster seat which, is not that bad to get in and out of the car. It also doesn't require a lot of space. The other three are still in the forward facing harness style car seats. I love the safety of these car seats, but I will be excited the day I can toss them out. My four-year-old asked me the other day when she could get a big girl car seat, and I said she had to wait another year. But, then it dawned on me that I really didn't know the exact requirements for when to switch over to a booster seat, so I went online to check.

I thought that this would be a fairly easy process, but it turned out to be a little confusing. There are different guidelines for each state, and even then some information is not always the same. This page shows Missouri's rules for children and safety seats. I found it to be the most helpful. It states that all children, 8 years old or younger are to be in a child restraint system. In general, for a child to be safe in a booster seat, they need to be 4 years old, or more than 40 pounds. My daughter is 4, but hasn't quite hit the 40 pound mark yet so it looks like age 5 will be good for her.

I found it interesting the major differences in age groups amongst the states. You can see it more in depth here. Some examples though are Alabama. The age a child has to be restrained in a seat is age 6. On the other hand, Nebraska's required age is 18. As a parent I think that it is our responsibility to keep our children safe. We need to find the best fit, and make them use it until it is absolutely certain that they can use just a lap and shoulder belt. I know that I don't ever want to be the cause of my child getting injured just because I didn't buckle them properly.

My Babies are Growing Up

I never believed anyone when they used to say don't wish your life away. I used to always want to be just a year older, or just be able to drive, or just get out of school, or anything to make time go by faster. Now I completely understand what they were talking about. I wish that I could just take time and freeze it right now, just like it is. My youngest daughter will be 3 on Saturday, and if that isn't bad enough, my youngest will be 2 on May 1. For me, when they hit age 2 it seems like they want nothing to do with being little anymore. They won't let me just hold them and love on them when I want. It has to be on their time. They want more independence, but I am NOT ready to give in yet.

What is it about children that makes every mother cry, even if they are just writing a silly blog for their English class. I mean it, I am an emotional wreck right now. The keyboard looks like a swimming pool. In all seriousness though, what is it about women that tend to make us express our emotions more. I learned in my psychology class that men and women tend to feel the exact same emotions and in the same way, but men just don't express them in the same way. I think that this article explained a little bit about the way that our society forms men to believe that they need to act tough. If boys are raised to think this way, then they probably won't let their emotions show, in fear of the names they might get called. I hate to say it, but I even think this way. If I were to see a man crying, I would probably think that he wasn't as tough or strong as other men, even when I know that it's not the case. That is just how our society, and most societies are raised.

Women are also better at expressing empathy. We are able to put ourselves in the other person's shoes. Not only do we do this, but we express how our emotions feel with an outward action. Notice that I said at the beginning, expressing empathy. Men can put themselves in the same person's shoes, they just won't express it like women do. I find this research to be very interesting, especially since it completely makes since.

I feel that one important part of why I can express more emotions now, is for the simple fact of becoming a mother. I think that motherhood brings along an entire array of emotions, from happiness and joy, worry,feeling proud, and so many more. For all of the mothers reading this, here is a sweet story for you to read. It only takes a minute, but just be prepared with a tissue in hand. :)

Tomorrow, my daughter and I are going shopping for all things needed for her party on Saturday. It will be all about ladybugs and flowers, and I can't wait! I have learned to cherish every moment that we have with our children, because it only takes a day and it seems like they have grown too much. I encourage everyone parent to take a little extra time this week to spend with your children. It doesn't have to be much, just as long as you are together. I promise it will be a moment you will never forget! Don't be afraid to let your emotions go sometimes, it is good for us all. And yes, this is for you as well dad's (I know you checked out the story, and it brought a little tear or two).

I didn't want to leave the dad's out, so here you go.

Eating Tips

I have been doing a lot of late night studying and homework, and I have found myself wanting to eat while I am doing it. This is not good if you are like me and eating chocolate candies and drinking sweet tea, so I thought that I would post some websites that I found when trying to come up with a solution.

This one has 10 good tips for the college student. I love the popcorn suggestion...Great snack!

I found this article to be very interesting. My mother always told me not to eat late because it was bad for your health, and it would make you gain weight faster. This article helps to explain why this is could be true. Don't forget to check out the tips at the bottom of the page. What do you guys think about drinking a warm cup of lemon water or an herbal tea with raw honey??

I liked this one because it mentioned Ramen Noodles, which were my friends #1 food their freshman year. Did you know that one package contains 910 milligrams of salt? That is crazy

Hope some of these help! :)

Precious Moments and the love of Christ

Precious Moments held their Easter egg hunt today, with a lot of games and prizes to go along with it. Despite the rain, the kids still had a blast. There was a coloring contest, face painting, crafts, pictures with the Easter bunny, and much more. It was a day full of fun, but it also reminded me the importance of letting my children know what the true meaning of Easter actually is. I feel like too many times we get caught up in the fun and make-believe, and forget that if it wasn't for our Christ's death and Resurrection, we would have no faith or the greatest gift of all, salvation.

I thought that this would be a good time to share my beliefs and tell everyone what Christianity means to me. I grew up in a family that was pretty involved in our church. We went every Sunday and Wednesday. I loved G.A.'s and Bible Drills, but my favorite was summer camp. This was even more so when I was a little older, around 12 or so. It was just a part of our life, but at the time I really didn't have a close relationship with Christ. I believe that for true salvation I must confess that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for me, and I believe that God raised him from the dead so that he could be my savior. I also feel that I have to have a personal relationship with Christ. When I was 8, I said a prayer and asked Jesus to come into my heart and into my life. I can't explain the type of feeling that I had, other than amazing! I was 8 but I can still remember the way I felt the day I was saved. I could not wait to tell everyone that I knew. I feel that it was this moment that Christ saved me and wiped away all of my sins, but I also feel that I lacked a close and personal relationship with him. There were many times, and still are many times, when I would fall away from the way that God wants me to live. High school was a hard time for me. I felt that my beliefs made me look awkward or not part of what was cool. This led to some hard years of not following the Lord, and also led me to make some wrong decisions. I also think that from these decisions I have come closer to Christ again. Recently, I have rededicated my life to the Lord. I want to live for him and spread his word the way that he wants me to. I also want my children to see a mother practice what she preaches.

It's a little hard to explain all of my feelings in a blog, but I think a good explanation would be trust in Jesus, believe and confess that he is Lord, and share all that you can with anyone and everyone. All people will fall and make mistakes, but when you have Jesus in your life you will be comforted and in the end receive eternal life. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday! If anyone would like to attend a church service on Sunday, we would love to see you at Buffalo Creek Baptist Church.

Cheerleading!!!!!!!

So this has been the week of cheerleading tryouts at the high school in my town. I went through high school cheering, and then my younger sister did as well. I thought the stresses of tryout week were over for a while, until my cousin informed me that she wanted to tryout this year. She will be a freshman, so now back to 4 more years of tryouts every April. This is not exactly a bad thing though, since I love cheerleading!

Like I mentioned before, tryouts can be a very stressful week. There are clinics every day and then it's back home that evening and practice some more. But...yet again it has paid off. She made it!!!! She was very excited, and so are we. Let's take a run down of all that happens during this fun yet crazy week.

The first day of clinics are jam packed. You learn a cheer, a dance, a chant, the fight song, and of course all of the girls names that you meet. All of this is on top of your own cheer and practicing on your jumps and tumbling. It sounds a little overwhelming, and it is to begin with, but that is what all the practice is for. Your muscles are sore and your body is aching, but you find some way to keep going.

The week is over, but the fun has just begun for my cousin. More friendships will begin, and a lifetime of memories have already started to evolve. Congratulations Samantha!! We love you and are very proud! :)