The Christmas Shoes

I know many of you have probably heard the song "The CHristmas Shoes" by Newsong. I just wanted to print the lyrics so everyone can read them and remember their is more to Christmas then present ans Santa!

The Christmas Shoes lyrics

It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another lineTryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiouslyPacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to payI couldn't believe what I heard him say

Chorus:Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like yearsThen the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

Bridge:I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's loveAs he thanked me and ran outI knew that God had sent that little boyTo remind me just what Christmas is all about

Store Owner Shows Robber Mercy Update

I heard this story back in June of 2009. A Long Island convenience store owner confronted by a bat-wielding would-be robber said Tuesday he decided to show mercy on the man after he collapsed in tears claiming he was only committing the crime to support his starving family.

Instead of getting loot from a stickup, the store owner provided the man with $40 and a loaf of bread, but only if he promised never to rob again.

"This was a grown man, crying like a baby," Mohammad Sohail, owner of the Shirley Express convenience store about 65 miles east of New York City, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The would-be thief dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness, Sohail said.

"He started crying that he was out of work and was trying to feed his hungry family," he said. "I felt bad for him. I mean, this wasn't some kid."


While watching the news this morning I heard this wonderful update!


The Shirley convenience store owner who made national headlines in June after surveillance cameras caught him showing mercy to a subdued would-be robber says he lives by a simple rule: "When you do good things, good things come back."

So Mohammad Sohail said he was not surprised when he found a $50 bill and an apology note in the mail Wednesday.

The note said the robber had a new baby, a new job and had turned his life around!

There are so many stories of hate and violence. I thought it was great to hear a good ending for once.

Make Mine Freedom (1948)

This Cartoon Seemed Far-Fetched In 1948

Wordless Wednesday - Letting GO

I had to share this picture I was sent today. God bless all the men and women who fight to keep us safe and God bless their families.

Stay at Home Mom vs Working Mom

This was always an easy question for me to answer. I LOVE being a stay at home mom. I love being able to be there when the kids get off the bus or volunteer at the school when they needed me. But recently I decided to go back to school. This was also an easy answer for me. I always said I would go back one day. I wanted a college degree. I wanted to prove to myself and my kids that i could do it. So this year when my youngest went to full day kindergarten, I decided to back and finish my degree.

This past month has been so much fun. I have enjoyed sitting in lecture and participating in labs. I have learned so much interesting stuff and I have met some great people. Everything was going great. That is until this week. Monday night my oldest son got sick. We were up most of the night and he couldn't keep anything down. He stayed home from school on Tuesday. Luckily all my classes are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so I didn't miss class.Then came to problem. He was not well enough to back to school on Wednesday and I had a major test that I could not miss. What was I to do? Luckily my Mom-in-law said she would keep him while I went to class to take my test.

This whole problem was fixed and the day went on fine. But then I started feeling bad. I was feeling like I let my son down because I was not there to take care of him. I had to rely on someone else to take care of my son. It just got me rethinking this going back to school thing.

Do I stay at home all the time for the chance that my children might need me? Is that fair for me? But is it fair to my kids to not have their mom whenever they need me? Then when I do graduate and get a job how will that change things? I could miss class if I had to but will I be bale to miss work every time the kids need me?

This has just given me a lot of new things to think about. How do other working moms handle this stuff?

Wordless Wednesday - Meatball

I'm Still Here

WOW! I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. I have been so busy. As some of you might remember I have gone back to college to finish my degree. I am only going to class three days a week, but I have to do my normal household chores the rest of the time. Add in football practice and a vacation and that leaves me with NO free time. I am currently blogging while trying to watch a college football game.

So school is going good, but it is keeping me really busy. My professors don't seem to care I have a family at home to take care of. It hasn't been that bad. It is just taking me a while to get used to juggling it all.

Last weekend my kids and I flew to Cape Cod Massachusetts to surprise my grandfather with a big family reunion. We had family fly in from all over the country. Our last family reunion was in 1995. Since then many of us had married and had kids. It was so great to see everyone and my Grandfather was completely surprised. He had no idea.

While I was there I got to visit one of my favorite town in the WORLD, Chatham, MA. It is such a beautiful town and ha not changed since I was a kid. Yes this is the same town that was visited by several Great White Sharks. We were actually at the lighthouse beach (where the sharks were spotted) during the time they were there. Luckily the water is too cold to swim in especially for us South Carolinians. Here are a few pictures from our trip to share with you and my family.

I love you ALL and I had a GREAT time.

Wordless Wednesday - Cape Cod Here I Come

Children's Resale

Today I got some GREAT deals on children's clothes. Well actually only my little girl got clothes because there were no cute girls clothes. But that is a completely different blog to be done on a completely different day.

Twice a year my little ole home town does a children's clothing resale. People all over town bring their clothes with little price tags on it to sell. Three days later you pick up your check.

Well I wasn't going to miss out on some great deals. And great deals I did find. i got three pairs of shoes, 4 shirts, 5 dresses including a Christmas smocked dress, and two sweaters all for $60. I was happy.

To top things off I made $128 selling my kids old stuff! What a great time!

Quotable Sunday

I have been reading some great Quotable Sunday pots lately and thought why should everyone else have all the fun. So this week I am going to give it a try. In honor of my first week back at school, some school quotes.

The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson. ~Tom Bo

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howedett

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. ~Mark Twain

You can get all A's and still flunk life. ~Walker Percy

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. ~Albert Einstein

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. ~Attributed to both Andy McIntyre and Derek Bok

Wordless Wednesday - Back to School

I always take pictures of the kids on the first day so they decided I needed one on my first day back! I had a blast! I think this will be a good year!

Back to School for ME!

My kids have been back in school for almost a week now. Now its my turn. Tomorrow will be my first day back to school in 8 years. I am going back to college to finish my degree. (And I am scared to death) I didn't think I was going to be this nervous, but I am. A lot has changed since I was last in school. The biggest thing to change is ME! I am now MARRIED and a MOTHER of THREE. Most of my classmates will be hurrying out of class to get a quick nap before the nights frat party. I will be hurrying home so I can get the laundry and dishes done before the kids get off the bus. I also have to find time to do my homework after I help my kids with theirs. What was I thinking? Why am I doing this?

Why because I want to prove to my kids (and myself) that I can. I want to show my kids that they can do anything if they put their minds to it. I also want to be able to take care of my family if I ever have to. You can't support a family of 5 on a minimum wage job any more. And without a college degree that's about as good as I could do. My kids deserve better than that.

I can do this. It will be very different than most college experiences but maybe it will be better. I know what I want and I am there because I want to be. Wish me luck.

Oh I want to thanks my sister for hooking me up with new school supplies. When she heard I was going back to school she bought me a new backpack filled with notebooks, pencils, pens, highlighters and folders. Hoe cool is she? This totally made my day. THANKS SIS!

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Sorry Kids!

PS I'm not really that excited about the kids going back. Now I have to get up at 6AM when all summer long I had been sleeping until 7:30 at least. I also will miss the kids. I am a stay at home mom and this is the first year I will have no kids all day long. Last year my daughter only went half day. But what am I going to do all day. I can only clean for so long every day. I am very excited for my kids though. They all seemed ready and eager to be back. I think it had to do a lot with seeing their friends again. My youngest is in Kindergarten. My middle son is in first grade (which = real school) and my oldest is a big time 3rd grader.

Happy First Day of School!

Wordless Wednesday - Friends

Cash for Clunkers

Before

After

I proud new owner of a 2009 Nissan Sentra. This weekend we traded in my clunker 1994 Town and Country for my beautiful new car. This is my first NEW car and I am so excited. I am no longer a mini van Mama. Not that there is anything wrong with driving a mini van. I was just SO over it. I mean I am still only 27 years old and wanted something a little COOLER. Not to mention it gets 33 mpg. That's a big jump up from the van. I will miss all the room the van had to offer and the fact that I could separate the kids but I'll get over it!

Hula Lessons

During our latest trip to beach we were able to take Hula Lessons. The boys were not so thrilled with the idea but me, the princess, my mom and sister were all so excited. The lessons were given by a man from the Hawaiian islands who travels to Myrtle Beach during the summer to perform. We had such a great time and learned some very interesting facts about life in Hawaii. I thought I would share some pics and a you tube video to help my teacher out. If you are ever in the Myrtle Beach area look him up! The song playing is the actual song we learned to Hula too. Each word in the song has a motion. That's how people in Hawaii told stories before they had paper. Very cool!