Please listen to song if you have time :)

We are breakable. Our hearts are made from something so strong yet so soft. We can be crushed by words. Crushed by those we love. Before we speak we should think, is this going to hurt the person I am about to say this to?

i am as guilty as anyone. But I want to live a kinder, gentler life..

My thoughts have been with you all. I hope to catch up on some visiting this week.

I have been working on a story I want to post this week. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. Elizabeth and I have our white Christmas tree up, the one with the pastel lights..

We decided we didn't even want ornaments on it because it looks so beautiful without them.

I have savored the tangerines that are at the store right now. Relished hot cups of tea in the mornings after I have walked the dogs.

Went for drives and just contemplated things..

Hope you love the song, it is one of my favorites.

xoxo Nita

I miss you John..This time last year I spent Thanksgiving with you at the hospital. Me and you laughing at tv shows and eating the plates that were brought to us from Mom's.
I listened to Alice's Restaurant today in your memory while I cooked for Mom and the kids. You know that song is so annoying. But it is really funny. I couldn't listen to The City of New Orleans and maintain any kind of composure, so I didn't listen to that one..Nights without you are harder than I ever imagined they would be. Holidays without you are almost impossible.

Who could forget you and Dad's run to IGA every holiday because me and Mom would forget something at the store.

And who could forget Dad trying to poison everyone with the turkey every year by his cooking methods. Elizabeth and I were talking about that today. How when she was little she thought everybody was supposed to get sick at Thanksgiving because of how Dad always got us sick with his turkey. I am glad you started cooking the turkey after you found out what Dad was doing. LoL We laughed a good while over that one today..


And I thought of how we worked like a well oiled machine together. Me making pies and bread and you doing the turkey. How we balanced each other out. You were missed today and you are missed everyday.. We thought of the happy times today with you..And no holiday will ever be the same without you.


xoxo Nita

Song for tonight City of New Orleans by Arlo Guthrie
1st video, 3rd clip

{my favorite lamp}

I have thought about all the people I have known in my life and what they have meant to me. Some of my greatest lessons I have learned from my enemies.

How to have strength when I am attacked and to let God fight my battles. I have always been a person to never back down from a fight. But I have learned in the last year that sometimes it is better to walk away. Not to let the craziness of others destroy us.

I thought about friends who I thought were friends but were incapable of being a good friend for one reason or another. Some people have the best intentions but are just incapable of being a friend. But I still learned lessons from each person.
I keep the good out of those relationships and keep it in my heart.

And I know that the person I am is the result of all those around me who have helped me in life. The 3rd grade teacher who saw a sad little girl who acted out because she was so alone in the world. And decided to make a difference in her life by spending time each day at recess working with her on her reading. And who made her do a book report on Martin Luther King Jr. that changed her outlook forever.

As a result of that teachers love and attention I developed a love of reading and a respect for other cultures and races.

I thought about my Sunday School teachers who were there each week helping me memorize scriptures, and teaching me about God. Not just through lessons on paper but through their actions.

We are molded in life by the vast experiences we go through:
the good ones, the bad ones, the sad ones, the tragic ones. But we choose how to handle each one. We choose to either wallow in self pity or to get up and make a life for ourselves and others. Just like Gandhi said, "We have to be the difference in the world that we want to see."

I read this quote last night and was so moved by it. It is how I feel.

" It is not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it may be creating joy for others, Sharing what we have for the betterment of person kind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely."
Dr. Leo Buscaglia


On another note: There has to be a balance of how we let others influence us. Especially if they are critical of us. Family members tend to be the worst at this. They know our weakness and sometimes strike us in the heart with a hot iron.We can't let another person's opinion destroy us. Or deter us from our dream.

"Other people's opinions of you do not have to become your reality."
Les Brown

Sometimes we are so busy looking for approval from everyone else that we fail to see that what we need is already inside of us we just need to learn how to extract it.

We have to remember in turn that we are molding those around us. We have the power to say kind words that will bring people hope.
The words we speak can make or break a person. We must be mindful of that always.

We have power to change things around us. One person can make a difference.

A final thought from the book, Courage and Confidence from the Bible, " Even a thorn in the flesh was for the purpose of demonstrating Christ's grace."

Sending you all love, Nita

tonight's song, Love is not a fight by Warren Barfield
i hope you have a chance to listen to this it is beautiful...
1st video, 2nd clip

6 Random Things...and 2 puppies

(more puppy pictures)
taken about a week ago


2 more puppies...

The white one is: June
Bug

The brindle one is: Bear



I really don't like doing these things, but I am doing it for Annette.


6 Random things about me...


1. i have kept a diary since i was 7 years old


2. my biggest pet peeve is mean people


3. i would like to learn how to make my own soap and candles


4. i love to star gaze


5. my favorite drink is ice tea with lemon


6. i am addicted to books. i love the way they look and smell and tend to buy too many of them.


xoxo Nita

I took this photo about 2 weeks ago. I love this particular line of trees in our town. They are always so beautiful in all seasons..

Don't you just love the yellow leaves?

This past week I heard a remark made by someone I know to be a Christian.

She was laughing at two people who worked at a convience store. One person who worked there had one tooth and the other one only had two teeth.

She said, "Wow what winners they have working there" As she continued laughing at their toothless state.

I said to her, "That could be me or you."

John and I lost our insurance years ago after he lost his job at the plant.

Except for the grace of God it could any one of us. Poor people have a very hard time trying to even find a dentist who will take a medical card.

Since I don't have insurance I have had to borrow money from my Mom to go to the dentist. And so many people think that those people who have a medical card are lucky. No, not really. Those poor people struggle to even find a good doctor who will take the medical card.

Her remark fueled anger in me. It made me think of how shallow and mean that comment was. How could she in good conscience even say something like that about another human being.

No one wants to be toothless. Everyone wants the ability to go to the doctor and the dentist to get proper medical treatment. And to get dental care.

I wish people could be judged by their character and not their looks. I know many people out there who are very kind and thoughtful souls. But would be judged harshly by worldly standards because of their appearance.

One person who inspires me is Joni from Morning Coffee. She takes meals and blankets to the homeless. I have never heard her make a bad comment about the homeless.

We are in desperate need of compassion in our culture. We need to be able to feel what others feel. To see the need they have and help them.

~Nita~

If you have time please listen to this. This song is so powerful...
It is, If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns