The Law of the Garbage Truck

( A friend sent this to me today...what a great way to live each day.)

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And, I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a wonderful, garbage-free day!

To My Children

I read this in an email I received today (thanks CBM) and felt like it is very appropriate for the many things in my life this week....

To Andrew, Christopher, Ella and Luke

Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub andnot get angry.

Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that Godhas given me the greatest gift ever given. I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers andfathers who are visiting their children's graves instead oftheir bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore. And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day.............

My Little Cowboys....Yee Haw!

Here are some pics od the boys on Western Day at school. They were so excited because I bought them REAL cowboy hats this year instead of the kiddy play ones. Actually the kiddy ones will no longer fit on Andrew's head (one of those things that goes along with being a giant 8 year old). They certainly hammed it up pretty well while I was taking pics. I keep saying how I need to put Christopher into acting classes. He always gets into character whenever he puts on a costume. They are so fun!

I will have to post pics of my little cowgirl on her Western Day at preschool in a separate post because I can't get the pictures off of my camera....my computer problems apparently never end!

Little Luke Turns 1 Year Old!!!

Our Little Luke turned 1 year old on December 19. Boy does time fly when your having fun! Unfortunately, It was the busiest time of our whole year, and the whole family was sick with a bad stomach virus (including Grammy), so we didn't have a huge 1st Birthday Party for him. For those of you who know me, you know that it was really hard not to have a big 1st birthday bash and it is still ways on my mind to this day. However, we had a nice quiet family birthday (well maybe not so quiet with 4 kids) and we enjoyed watching him blow out his 1st birthday candle and have his 1st birthday cake.

WE LOVE OUR BABY LUKE!!!

The Bear

While fishing in the mountains in Colorado this summer, our family encountered a very unexpected and unwanted lunch guest. Here's the story of what happened......

Our family...me, Eddie, the kids and Grammy and Pops, were enjoying a nice morning of fishing at "Blue Lake". We were starting to catch quite few fish when Christopher spotted something we all dread seeing when we vacation in the mountains.......A BEAR!!!! He had been climbing a tree branch that had fallen, which is something that Christopher would typically do. When his daddy saw him, he told him to get down because he didn't want him to get hurt, so Christopher began to climb down the tree branch. When he reached the ground, he turned around and low and behold there it was...A BIG BLACK BEAR! Amazingly, for Christopher, he did not yell or run. He just very calmly went over to his daddy and said, "Daddy, there is a bear." Who said in return, "No, Christopher there is not a bear." So Christopher told him again, "Daddy, there really is a bear." His daddy still not beliving him told him again there was not a bear and to go fish some more. Christopher, almost crying and with fear in his eyes told his daddy one more time, "No, Daddy, look there is A BEAR!!!!" Eddie finally turned around and there it was just standing there, about 10 feet away, sniffing into the air. After Eddie finally realized Christopher was telling the truth, he turned to me and said, "Ummm, Angela, there is a bear." I'm not sure if I didn't believe him, or if I was just in complete and utter shock (probably both), but I was paralized with fear and actually could not get up out of my chair for a moment. I finally got up and began to move backwards slowly. Luke was with me in the Baby Bjorn. The boys and Eddie were on the other side of the bear so they backed up in the opposite direction. Grammy had taken Ella to the restroom, so they were watching this whole scene take place from across the small lake. Once we had all moved away, the bear made his way down to where I had been sitting and fishing and grabbed the cooler bag that held our lunch and snacks. Then he climbed back up from where he came from, with our cooler in his mouth and disappeared into the woods. We all decided we had better pack up and head back to the cabin just in case he was still hungry and wanted more food.....well except for Pops who really wanted to keep fishing! We finally conviced him we needed to go, plus we were all hungry since the bear took our lunch!

God truly took care of us that morning. Looking back there were so many signs that He had his angels watching over us and protecting us. The Bear was not aggressive, he just wanted food and probably smelled the beef jerky that was in the cooler. My Mom and Ella were already across the lake. Andrew and Christopher for the most part remained calm and followed directions. Finally, I did not grab the cooler when I got up. It was pretty frighting and looking back on it makes my stomach turn a little, but it made a great story to share, and I thank the Lord we were all OK...except, I am sorry to say we lost Eddie's favorite cooler.

These pictures were taken a couple of days later at the same lake. We are pretty sure it was the same bear. This time he was far enough away so that we could take a few pics.

Ella Turns 3!

We can't belive our little princess is turning 3 years old in just a few days! We celebrated her birthday at Build A Bear at La Cantera Mall. She and all her little friends had so much fun making their new cuddly bears. Ella named her bear "CUDDLES"! We enjoyed a Pink Polka-Dot Teddy Bear Cake in the Food Court after making our bears and then Ella handed out a sweet treat of Gummy Bears for each guest to take home alond with their new furry friends. We all had a "beary" good time!

Come Build a Bear with me, I'm Turning 3!

The Birthday Girl!

Ella with her friends! She was so excited to see them all there.

Ella building her bear with a little help from Briden.

Here is Cuddles the Bear. What should I pick out for her to wear?

Ella's friends with all their new cuddly teddy bears.

Ella loved being the Birthday Girl!

The Teddy Bear Cake

Ready to blow out her candles.

It was a beary fun party!

The Mermaid

We had fun building a mermaid at Port A. We made her hair out of seaweed and if you look closely you can see her necklace and bracelet made out of seashells.