Thankful Thursday

Today is the first day of school, Caleb's first day of high school!  He was happy this morning, Dad fixed him sausage for breakfast and went to get Titus (and me) a chocolate donut too.  We took pictures and then dropped him off.  I'm so excited to hear about his day!

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband and the way he works to take care of things for our family.  For example, he got the repairman here Monday and took care of making sure we had A/C again quickly!

~ my big boy beginning high school!  He seemed excited and a little nervous this morning.  He's grown so much since last year!

~ reading books with my little guy.  He loves books and always enjoys going to the library and reading before nap.

~ our A/C being fixed.  We heard it dripping inside on Sunday afternoon.  We had a repairman come Monday.  It was fixed but he also told us the unit is getting old so who knows how much longer it will last. 

~ a wonderful book I got to review called Choosing Marriage.  I had started reading it and then found the audio version on Hoopla so started listening to it.  It is very helpful.

~ a phone call from a sweet friend.  It blessed my day to talk to her.

Have a day of blessings! 
   Bethany

Flashback Friday

For this week's Flashback Friday we are talking about graduation! I had a feeling we'd have this topic soon.

I graduated from high school May 31, 1997. There were 58 in our class. We took a special picture for the yearbook of those of us who had been "together since kindergarten." We were a very close class and still are now.

We had an awards night a few weeks prior to graduation and that is where I found out I was my class valedictorian. (I debated putting this in this post. It isn't something I ever tell people...it took me a long time to even tell my husband when we were dating! I told my Mom the topic and she said, "are you gonna put it?" because she knows me so well!) I was very excited to find out because I knew it was close for the top few spots. When I began working on my speech, I decided I did not want anyone to hear it before graduation, even my parents, because I wanted it to be a surprise. I included things about all the people in our class in the speech. The quote I used was from Corrie ten Boom----"Memories are the key not to the past but to the future."

The week before graduation we had a Baccalaureate Service at the local Baptist church. After graduation we had an all night party at the high school. We'd had events all year long to raise money. The seniors could earn points for volunteering at the events. The points translated into prizes for us for items for college, like microwaves and mini fridges.

My church had a graduation banquet to honor the seniors as well. That year there was a college graduate and one other high school graduate besides me.

I remember getting a lot of presents when I graduated. One special gift was a quilt put together by my Mom and aunt. My Mom secretly sent pieces of fabric and a pen to all different people from my life--teachers, relatives, classmates, etc. They wrote me a message and mailed the fabric and pen back to my aunt so it could be passed on to the next person. My aunt turned the messages into a quilt. It is a treasure to say the least. Many of the people who wrote on it have passed away since then which makes it extra special. Here is a picture of it: This is what my Dad wrote: This is the square Peepaw did. He called me "Sweeetheart." This one is from my Mom. (Pes is a nickname.)This one was from my senior English teacher.
Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

This week Linda has asked us to share our prom memories.

My flashback:
My high school had a junior/senior prom. It was held in our high school's SAC (student activity center). I went both years with a group of friends. My junior year I had a black dress that we bought, and my senior year was a teal colored dress made by my aunt. The song for one of the proms was "Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls," and we had waterfall decorations made from shimmery paper along with Christmas lights and balloons. Before prom we went out to eat together. The parents lined up along the sidewalks to take pictures of everyone as they entered the high school. Afterwards I spent the night at a friend's house. I had never been out to her house before, it was out in the country, and I was afraid I'd get lost driving out there.

Have a day of blessings!

If...

Today I have another poem to share with you. I received this in an email last week. It brought back memories of my senior year of high school. We all had to memorize this poem for English. As I was backing out of our parking spot Saturday after the parade I turned and saw a familiar face. I pulled back into the spot, jumped out and ran over to hug my English teacher. It was great to see her! So aftter getting this poem and seeing my former teacher Saturday I've really been thinking a lot about senior English!


It is really a great poem with so much truth, and it is a good one for students to memorize in my opinion.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
~~Rudyard Kipling

I could think of various real life experiences as I read this poem. How did I handle the situation? Could I have handled it better? True character is shown in how we handle the hard times as well as prosperity and what we do about the rude comments made behind our backs or the lies told about us. Do you stay true to your morals no matter who you are with or do you change based on your company?

I hope this poem gives you a little bit to think about today. Thanks for visiting!
~~~~~
"The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7, NLT