The Horrible Truth...it gets you right where it hurts the most.

Dear God: Why didn't you save the school children at ?
Moses Lake , Washington 2/2/96
Bethel , Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl , Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah , Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro , Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro , Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville , Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield , Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond , Virginia 6/15/98
Littleton , Colorado 4/20/99
Taber , Alberta , Canada 5/28/99
Conyers , Georgia 5/20/99
Deming , New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson , Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee , California 3/ 5/01
El Cajon , California 3/22/01
Blacksburg, VA 4/16/07 ?
Sincerely,
Concerned Student

Reply:
Dear Concerned Student:
Sorry, I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,
God

How did this get started?
Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools. And we said, OK

Then, someone said you better not:
Read the Bible in school; the Bible that says "thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal,And love your neighbors as yourself,"And we said, OK

Dr. Benjamin Spock said We shouldn't spank our childrenWhen they misbehaved Because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said, An expert should know what he's talking about so we won't spank them anymore.

Then someone saidTeachers and principals better notDiscipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said No faculty member in this school Better touch a student when they misbehave Because we don't want any bad publicity, And we surely don't want to be sued.And we accepted their reasoning

Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, And they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, that's a grand idea.

Then some wise school board member said, Since boys will be boys And they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want, So they can have all the fun they desire, And we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, that's another great idea

Then some of our top elected officials said It doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And we said, It doesn't matter what anybody, including the President, Does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good

And someone else took that appreciation a step furtherAnd published pictures of nude children And then stepped further still byMaking them available on the Internet. And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech.

And the entertainment industry said,let's make TV shows and movies that promote Profanity, violence and illicit sex...And let's record music that encourages Rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes...And we said, it's just entertainment And it has no adverse effect And nobody takes it seriously anyway,So go right ahead

Now we're asking ourselves Why our children have no conscience, Why they don't know right from wrong,And why it doesn't bother them to Kill strangers, classmates or even themselves. Undoubtedly, If we thought about it long and hard enough, We could figure it out. I'm sure it has a great deal to do with... "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW"

Why is it our children can not read a Bible in school, but can in Prison?

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Wow, all these birthdays! And 30's at that! Happy Birthday Lisa, and yep, you now join the big 3-0 group! Mark and I are not far behind, so I won't bug ya', but I hope you have a good one! We've come a long way together, and I am so incredibly happy for you, especially now with your new little girl! Three sweet boys and now your princess! God bless you and your family, and may the years ahead be even better! Love ya!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Happy Birthday to one of my favoritest gals in the world! The big 3-0! Yikes, first Loro, now you...the rest of us are catching up! I hope you have an awesome birthday; go celebrate how good life is, and how much more amazing God is! Your babies are beautiful, and you are a tremendous mom! I'll be coming to see you one of these days...love ya!

Divorce update and weightier issues

Well, if all goes as planned, my divorce certificate should be in my hands by May 31st at the latest. Due to no response from John(YEA!!!) the final papers were filed yesterday; it takes approximately 2 weeks for a judge to sign off on them, then 2-3 weeks from then to receive the final order. It's been a loooong, drawn out process, but it's finally coming to a close, and I can put it all behind me. I will never forget, of course, but I can learn from it, and never make the same mistakes I did then. Something serious happened with me this week as well(nothing life threatening, but if left, could become so), and I have to re-evaluate my health and being overweight. It is all up to me, and if I can't do it...no one can. I have so much to be healthy for, my children, my friends, family, and more importantly, me. Stress causes me to gain weight, and break out in my face and this last couple weeks has been horrendous. I was almost too embarrassed to go anywhere, but I couldn't hide either, so now I am taking steps to change my outlook on all of it. Living on my own will make a HUGE difference because I won't have to fight the smells and temptations lying around from other members of the family, and I will have the final choice as to what I buy for me and my kids. They eat waaaay better than I do, I think I should take a tip from them! I was considering Herbal Magic; they have a 100% guaranteed weight loss program, but you have to be wealthy to even join! I'm sure these things work, but you fork out a lot of money to do something you can do on your own!

Emma has aked me to post a Happy Birthday to her best friend Cassidy Janai Eileen Balla! She is 8 years old today!

Weekly update

12 more days! I am so excited...as you can tell! I am feeling a bit stressed out with all we have to do with the big move, but really looking forward to it. Once we are in and settled, it'll be fine, but the transition is always stressful.

My sister in law Phyllis is still in terrible shape health-wise, and is in hospital right now. My other sister in law here, Rebekah has had to fly out to be here with her. No one is sure what exactly is wrong with her, so if we can just get a diagnosis, she could get the help she needs.

My dad is doing better, thank you all for your prayers! He went back to work today for the first time on almost 2 weeks, and is feeling better. He had a super bug, a flu, but it was pretty terrible, He was dehydrated twice last week, and has lost a grand total of 22 pounds since he got it. Now that was exciting! My mom is determined he is going to keep it all off! So, doing it together, we can be lighter soon!

Update on the Goff's!

For those of you who don't look at Rachel and Douglas' website, here are a few pics for you to feast your eyes on! Aren't they lovely?

Fair Fun!

We found a fair set up in the Sunridge Mall parking lot, so we went. Unfortunately, it was soooo expensive so we only tried a couple rides, but it was quite cold with the wind high, so it was a quick outing. They did get mini donuts and a candy apple though!

Our doctor is retiring!

The doctor we have had all our lives is retiring this month, Dr. Jim Emmett. He was my mom's doctor since she was a teenager, so it's been a looong time . We are pretty disappointed, but of course, it's been long enough for him, se we all have to move on. Logan was protesting a needle in the one picture(not that he was going to get one!) Thank you Dr. Emmett for your care over the years!

Lisa's New Girl!

Ok, now that this precious baby is almost 2 weeks old, I think it's ok to post the news of her birth now. I definitely kept my mouth shut on this one, because of course, knowing that her three oldest are boys, this baby was prayed from before she was even thought of to be a girl! God always knows what we want and need, and He blessed Lisa with the prettiest baby girl on March 29th! Jenica Hadassa Soza is a miracle baby, and since we all think of ourselves as one big church family, we are all so proud of her! Congratulations, Julio, Lisa, Josiah, Jaden and Justin!

I HAD to share this! It's great!

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . .. . .not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . .having friends.
At age 16 success is . . .having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . .having money.
At age 50 success is . . .having money.
At age 70 success is . . .having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is .. . ..having friends.
At age 80 success is . . .not peeing in your pants.

Ooops, I forgot to add my Easter greeting, so here it is! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We had an awesome service Sunday morning, with so many visitors! The dinner after was incredible, and I definitely had my fill of turkey and ham!

Beer anyone? Ummmm.......

My daughter just completely blew me away the other day with something she was telling us! We just had foot washing and communion last Wednesday night and Emma was so excited to participate as she has the Holy Ghost now. I explained how it was, and the fact that we used grape juice in place of wine. Well, after the service, we came home and she excitedly told my dad, who was sick, that we had just had a ressurection service and that we had beer and crackers! Of course, my dad was laughing his head off, as well as the rest of us!

Happy Birthday, Loro!

Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest gals in the world! Here's to the best one yet, my friend, after all it is the BIG 3-0! Life can only get better, if we lean on the only One we know we can depend on! I love you a ton and am so thankful that we are friends. We've been through it all together, from kindergarten till now, and 24 years later, here we are! Have a good one!

Happy Good Friday everyone! It's a holiday!!!! Now THAT is the best thing about it! I hope you all have a great day!

My sweet girls

These are my sweet dayhome girls, growing up sooo fast! Janae Laranda, wow, she'll be 2 in less than a month! Alexa Taylor, whom I've had since she was 10 months, will be 3 in July; Haille Rose, also since she was about 10 months, 3 in June, and Alyssa Marie, 2 in September! Aren't they just precious? Of course, like all kids they have their days, but I was so blessed to have them and to be able to help raise them and love them. I will be taking one more girl in July, Kelly Jane Francis, who at this time is only 5 months, but suchj a quiet, sweet little girl. If anyone has ever listened to JackFM, her dad is on the morning show(Matt and Eric in the Morning)and is a sportscast writer for the Calgary Sun, Eric Francis.

What a Life!

I recently read a friend's blog and decided to share her idea! She made a list of everything she was thankflu for, and hoe blessed she was, trying to focus on the good things in life, as we seem to always live in the negative, in alot of ways. So, here we go...

-For God. There is really no need to elaborate, but just if I didn't have Him, where would I be today? Nothing I do is done without Him, and I truly believe that is why my life is so wholesome! Thank you Jesus!

-My children, Emma and Logan. My heart overflows with love for the two most precious lives God has given me the privilege of loving, and raising.

-My parents. I have extraordinary parents, and anyone knowing our situation would agree 100%. They have done an incredible job of helping my children and I in our darkest hours, and being more than just grandparents to children who lack a father. They have done more than expected and have filled to overflowing the gap left. Thanks Mom and Dad! I love you so much!

-My friends. I do not have the space to put down everyone who has made a difference in my life, but you all know who you are! Becky, my best friend, my confidante, thank you for listening to me vent; Deanna, you rock! I am so excited to be your maid of honor when you renew your vows this summer! I love you! Mich, even though 3500 kms separate us, we share a special friendship and I am so thankful for you and your family! Carla, you have been such an inspiration to me! The times when I felt low and wanting someone to just be my friend, you were there. There are so many of you, and I love you all!

-My health. Yes, I am overweight, and I know I would feel better if I lost weight, but thank God I am overall healthy. I don't have cancer, diabetes, or any other disease, and I am so thankful!

-My home. I am moving into my own home in less than a month, and I am so excited. I will have my own home with my children for the first time in 5 years, and best of all, my parents will have their own home. They deserve it so much!

-I know I have a million other things to be thankful for, and I cannot possibly put them all here. But thankful I am, and hope I always will be!