As I am here in Texas with my Mom, I begin to wonder where the years have gone. It seems like yesterday that I was there getting ready for school, trying to figure out who was going to take me, who was going to pick me up. I remember eating Cheerios and hiding behind the box and adding sugar to my bowl. I had to hide because dad did not want me to add sugar. I remember selling snowcones during the summer to earn clother for the next school year. I remember my parents scraping money together to buy my uniforms for being on the drill team in high school.
I took mom to visit one of her cousins today, and she told her story of loosing her dad 2 months before she was born and then loosing her mom at the age of 6. They were taken down to the orphanage by their grandparents, who wanted to find a good home for them. Her grandparents decided to keep her and her sister and do the best they could with what they had. This all happened approximately eighty years ago. I was amazed at this strong lady that has lost her parents and 2 of her sons, and still acts like she has something to smile about. What a special lady! I think God knew that I needed her in my life today.
As I look at pictures we took this past week of my children and their spouses and their children, I am so proud of where I am today. I have 4 beautiful children that love the Lord, spouses that love my children and 5 beautiful grandchildren that will someday know Him. I am blessed.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
A Tribute To My Dad
I received news Wednesday morning that my dad had passed from this world and it has sent me into the past with a flood of memories. His early years were spent trying to learn about being a cotton farmer. It was not his first love, but he wanted to try and see if he could do it. His first love was auto mechanics. I remember when I was very young riding in the back of the cotton trailer with him late one evening, I think he was trying to get as much of it harvested as he could. I do not know why we were with him, but I do remember as the sun started going down it was getting cold, so we rode in the back trailer where the cotton was being held.
I also remember as a 5th grader he set my older sister and I up with a snow cone shop in his service station. This was a way that we could earn money to buy clothes for the next school year. Shirley and I worked 2 summers earning money through selling snow cones.
Dad had a love for music. He could play the guitar, the banjo and the harmonica. When he was a teenager, on Saturday night he would hang out with Bob Wills and would play with their band in Turkey, Texas.
Dad liked to hunt and fish. His idea of a vacation was to go sit on the bank of a nearby lake and relax.
When I think back on my dad, I think about a man that had commom sense and had a heart to help others. My sisters and I laugh because he only went through the 9th grade in school, but he would help us do our algebra homework when we were in high school. I know that each of us will have our own stories to tell about this man.
We are going to have a celebration this weekend in honor of him. We have friends and family coming in from all different places and walks of life. It will be interesting to hear how each one remembers my dad. They will all have different stories to tell about him.
I am proud for my dad that he is being laid to rest in the Ft Worth/Dallas Memorial Cemetary. He said that it would be a honor and I think it is fitting for a man that spent several years of his life defending his country for family and friends that he wanted to protect.
His Obituary: RL Nivens, 88, a retired auto mechanic and welder, of Burleson, died Wednesday Jan. 20, 2010 in Fort Worth. Graveside Service: 10:30 A.M. Tuesday Jan. 26, 2010 at D-FW National Cemetery. Visitation: 3-5 P.M. Sunday at Mountain Valley Funeral Home. RL was born November 28, 1921 in Slaton, Texas to Ernest G. and Virgie Jo Roberts Nivens. RL proudly served his country in the U.S. Army. He married Willa Dean Gowdy on July 25, 1952 in Lakeview, Tx. RL was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He loved spending time with family and friends, fishing, hunting, gardening, playing dominoes and barbequing. RL was also known for his growing and eating hot peppers. Survivors: Wife, Willa Dean Nivens, of Burleson; daughters, Shirley Spier and husband Jack of Burleson, Teresa Chittenden and husband Steve of Acworth, Ga., Billie Boyd and husband Jerry of Burleson; 12 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; numerous relatives, friends and extended family.
I also remember as a 5th grader he set my older sister and I up with a snow cone shop in his service station. This was a way that we could earn money to buy clothes for the next school year. Shirley and I worked 2 summers earning money through selling snow cones.
Dad had a love for music. He could play the guitar, the banjo and the harmonica. When he was a teenager, on Saturday night he would hang out with Bob Wills and would play with their band in Turkey, Texas.
Dad liked to hunt and fish. His idea of a vacation was to go sit on the bank of a nearby lake and relax.
When I think back on my dad, I think about a man that had commom sense and had a heart to help others. My sisters and I laugh because he only went through the 9th grade in school, but he would help us do our algebra homework when we were in high school. I know that each of us will have our own stories to tell about this man.
We are going to have a celebration this weekend in honor of him. We have friends and family coming in from all different places and walks of life. It will be interesting to hear how each one remembers my dad. They will all have different stories to tell about him.
I am proud for my dad that he is being laid to rest in the Ft Worth/Dallas Memorial Cemetary. He said that it would be a honor and I think it is fitting for a man that spent several years of his life defending his country for family and friends that he wanted to protect.
His Obituary: RL Nivens, 88, a retired auto mechanic and welder, of Burleson, died Wednesday Jan. 20, 2010 in Fort Worth. Graveside Service: 10:30 A.M. Tuesday Jan. 26, 2010 at D-FW National Cemetery. Visitation: 3-5 P.M. Sunday at Mountain Valley Funeral Home. RL was born November 28, 1921 in Slaton, Texas to Ernest G. and Virgie Jo Roberts Nivens. RL proudly served his country in the U.S. Army. He married Willa Dean Gowdy on July 25, 1952 in Lakeview, Tx. RL was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He loved spending time with family and friends, fishing, hunting, gardening, playing dominoes and barbequing. RL was also known for his growing and eating hot peppers. Survivors: Wife, Willa Dean Nivens, of Burleson; daughters, Shirley Spier and husband Jack of Burleson, Teresa Chittenden and husband Steve of Acworth, Ga., Billie Boyd and husband Jerry of Burleson; 12 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren; numerous relatives, friends and extended family.
Monday, January 11, 2010
In Honor of a Five Year Old
Do you ever wonder why someone is put in your path? Why, out of all the people in this world, did you meet them? Or maybe you have known someone for years and just learned about one of their family members. Such is the case with me and this precious little five year girl named Elizabeth Danielle Bailey.
This story goes back to when I was 12 years old and I moved from my little town of Hedley, Texas to a larger town about an hour away. We moved because my dad had found work there and he had been traveling each week back and forth, coming home on the weekends. My whole world was rocked, because I had never known anywhere else except this little quaint town. It was filled with hard working cotton farmers who were working sun up to sun down just to keep alive. We had the summer to settle in and we met a family across the street that had a girl my age and one my older sisters age. At least I had one person to say hi to when I walked into my new school. After several days of school I met a girl that was in several of my classes and found out that she lived just down the street from me. Danita and I got to be best of friends and stayed friends all the way through high school. I could go on and on with stories about her and I. But that is not this story.
Danita had 2 sisters, Becky was just 4 years younger than us and then Heidi was about 10 years younger. When I would visit Danita at her house, Becky was always there and always so sweet to me. I just remember her beautiful long blond hair and her sweet smile and sparkly eyes. I actually ran into Becky at Silver State Youth Camp shortly after I was married. We talked breifly and she told me that Danita was married and had moved to Montana. Wow!
Just recently I logged into Classmates.com and found Danita and we have been writing back and forth now for several months. When I asked her about her parents and siblings she started to tell me about Becky and her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Her family calls her Eli. Thanks to a site called CarePages.com I have been able to go back to the beginning of when this little girl was first diagnosed and read through the journal of them walking through this ordeal. She has a brain tumor and just recently they have found a cyst on the tumor. She has been through numerous surgeries, chemo, radiation and is now fighting for her life. She is a beautiful little girl that knows Jesus. But in reality she is scared, or maybe terrified. She is continually in and out of Childrens Hospital in Denver. It is life itself and what it is handing her on a daily basis that tramatizes her. The reality is that they talk to her about what they are going to have to do, they put her to sleep and when she wakes up.... she either has more tubes running out of her or she is hurting. This would terrify any adult, can you imagine being five year old and going through this?
Because of a relationship over 43 years ago, I know the roots of this family. I know they are committed to the Christian walk. They are sure of their salvation and have taught 2 generations this same walk. They are a living testimony of what it means to Walk with the Lord. When I read posting about Elizabeth, I am in awe of what this little girl is enduring. I try to think of a nick name for her and the only one that comes to mind is Brave Heart. I never saw the movie, so some might think it does not fit..... but just to look at these two words..... I think the words describe her.
Lord, thank you for putting this relationship in my life many years ago, rekindling this friendship this past year, and showing me a young life that truly does put her life in your hands. Amen!
This story goes back to when I was 12 years old and I moved from my little town of Hedley, Texas to a larger town about an hour away. We moved because my dad had found work there and he had been traveling each week back and forth, coming home on the weekends. My whole world was rocked, because I had never known anywhere else except this little quaint town. It was filled with hard working cotton farmers who were working sun up to sun down just to keep alive. We had the summer to settle in and we met a family across the street that had a girl my age and one my older sisters age. At least I had one person to say hi to when I walked into my new school. After several days of school I met a girl that was in several of my classes and found out that she lived just down the street from me. Danita and I got to be best of friends and stayed friends all the way through high school. I could go on and on with stories about her and I. But that is not this story.
Danita had 2 sisters, Becky was just 4 years younger than us and then Heidi was about 10 years younger. When I would visit Danita at her house, Becky was always there and always so sweet to me. I just remember her beautiful long blond hair and her sweet smile and sparkly eyes. I actually ran into Becky at Silver State Youth Camp shortly after I was married. We talked breifly and she told me that Danita was married and had moved to Montana. Wow!
Just recently I logged into Classmates.com and found Danita and we have been writing back and forth now for several months. When I asked her about her parents and siblings she started to tell me about Becky and her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Her family calls her Eli. Thanks to a site called CarePages.com I have been able to go back to the beginning of when this little girl was first diagnosed and read through the journal of them walking through this ordeal. She has a brain tumor and just recently they have found a cyst on the tumor. She has been through numerous surgeries, chemo, radiation and is now fighting for her life. She is a beautiful little girl that knows Jesus. But in reality she is scared, or maybe terrified. She is continually in and out of Childrens Hospital in Denver. It is life itself and what it is handing her on a daily basis that tramatizes her. The reality is that they talk to her about what they are going to have to do, they put her to sleep and when she wakes up.... she either has more tubes running out of her or she is hurting. This would terrify any adult, can you imagine being five year old and going through this?
Because of a relationship over 43 years ago, I know the roots of this family. I know they are committed to the Christian walk. They are sure of their salvation and have taught 2 generations this same walk. They are a living testimony of what it means to Walk with the Lord. When I read posting about Elizabeth, I am in awe of what this little girl is enduring. I try to think of a nick name for her and the only one that comes to mind is Brave Heart. I never saw the movie, so some might think it does not fit..... but just to look at these two words..... I think the words describe her.
Lord, thank you for putting this relationship in my life many years ago, rekindling this friendship this past year, and showing me a young life that truly does put her life in your hands. Amen!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Reflection
As I study and search for what I am going to do with the next 20 years of my life, I cannot help but reflect back on the past 20 years. I have, with the help of my soul mate raised 4 children to adulthood, gone back to college, started a career in interior design and worked for the second largest retailer in America for 13 years. Through work I have helped hundreds of clients fulfill their dreams for their homes. I have seen all four of my children graduate from high school and take some form of college classes. I have seen them start careers, start families and start making a home for themselves. I have also been there to see 5 precious grandchildren brought into this world.
It is not that I feel like my job is done with my children even though they are grown and have been away from home for quite some time now. But they need their space. They need to stand up and fall down and pick themselves up again without me being right there hovering over them. I think they all know that I am there if they really need help. My job has just changed when it comes to my children. It requires less of my physical time and energy, but more of my prayer time and energy. I want for each one of them to soar like an eagle. Not as I would soar, but as they want to soar. I want them to find what makes them truly happy and contented and do it! I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and have a soul mate that will let them do and be and say what they feel is them. I want them to be kind and gentle to each other, strong when they need to take a stand that they truly believe in and never give in to being anything other than their true selves. When they see a reflection, I want them to know who it is they are looking at, and like what they see. When they stand and look deep into their own eyes I want them to know they are doing their best with what the Lord has given them to work with.
Today I do not know what I will be doing 20 years from now. I want to continue, as I have tried to do all my life, helping others who cannot find the top of the hole because they have dug themselves so deep. I want to teach them how to stop digging. I know that God is stirring something up inside of me and I am nervous and excited about it all at the same time.
It is not that I feel like my job is done with my children even though they are grown and have been away from home for quite some time now. But they need their space. They need to stand up and fall down and pick themselves up again without me being right there hovering over them. I think they all know that I am there if they really need help. My job has just changed when it comes to my children. It requires less of my physical time and energy, but more of my prayer time and energy. I want for each one of them to soar like an eagle. Not as I would soar, but as they want to soar. I want them to find what makes them truly happy and contented and do it! I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and have a soul mate that will let them do and be and say what they feel is them. I want them to be kind and gentle to each other, strong when they need to take a stand that they truly believe in and never give in to being anything other than their true selves. When they see a reflection, I want them to know who it is they are looking at, and like what they see. When they stand and look deep into their own eyes I want them to know they are doing their best with what the Lord has given them to work with.
Today I do not know what I will be doing 20 years from now. I want to continue, as I have tried to do all my life, helping others who cannot find the top of the hole because they have dug themselves so deep. I want to teach them how to stop digging. I know that God is stirring something up inside of me and I am nervous and excited about it all at the same time.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Happy New Year
As we head into this new year I have been thinking back to a class that I took through Emory college on Time Management. Our instructor made us scratch out time and add self. She made the point that none of us could really control time. We are not God. We can only control ourselves in the time we are given. And isn't it funny that each and every one of us are given 24 hours in a day. Not some of us 25 hours because we are so special.... or 22 hours because we are not so special...... just 24 hours.
We all have so many "things" in our lives that take up our time. Sometimes it is work, family, friends, chores or just "to do" lists. My goal this year is to give the most time to the things that are the most important in my life. I might even get out of a little house cleaning by doing this!What will we do with the 24 hours that we are given each day?
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