The turtle...or the dog

I was driving down the highway today with my daughter, and noticed a turtle in the road. Of course, I didn't want him to get hit by a car, so I pulled over to move him out of danger. It took me a bit to stop, so I had to jog back a ways to get to the little guy.

Except after just a few steps,a snarling, angry dog came charging out of a driveway, not in the least amused with my intrusion on his territory. As I headed back to the car, the dog retreated to his home. That left me with a dilemma. Do I risk the dog again to rescue this turtle, or just let it be?

I thought maybe if I turned the car around, I could drive to the turtle and save him that way. But he was still awfully close to the dog. In the end, the dog won, and I drove on. Hope the little guy made it across without incident. Sorry buddy, but I couldn't get chewed up by a dog in the middle of nowhere to save you.

Chela

random pictures

Hello! Rather than email out all these pictures, I thought you might enjoy seeing them on my blog. Plus, I think it will be easier this way.

This is Chehaw Charlie, the biggest alligator in our zoo's collection. He rules the roost, and gets all the girls. The distance between an alligator's nose and eyes in inches is his length in feet. This is a BIG alligator!! About 14-15 feet. The picture doesn't show it, but his jowls are massive! Truly impressive.

These are my ducklings. Well, actually my friend's ducklings now. I bought them for her, but then fell in love and kept them for a while. Until I learned that ducklings are the messiest animals on the earth. Then I gave them to my friend. They are so cute though!!

I made this wreath, using coffee filters that I dyed with food coloring. It took forever, but I eventually got all the filters dried and attached. I hung it on my door, and within a week, had a birds nest in it. :0)

May

Wishing everyone a wonderful month of May! May has blossomed unseasonably cool here, and today it was chilly by 5pm. I'm sure it will warm up soon enough, though, and this cool weather will be but a distant memory.

I'm hoping we can get our pool cleaned out soon. The kids only have 2.5 weeks of school left, and I would like to have something for them to do during the day. I can't believe how fast the school year has flown by. Summer already!!

This year I have a college graduation to attend, and hopefully a GED graduation as well. My kids sure are growing up on me.

Have a great month of May, and don't forget the sunblock when you're out on the boat for May day, Cinco de Mayo, and Memorial day!!

Chela

He is Risen

Christ is risen from the dead, trampled over death by death. Come awake come awake, come and rise up from the grave. He's alive, He's alive!!

In Matthew 17:22-23, Jesus tells His disciples, The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised up on the third day."

I'm sure the disciples were baffled by Jesus' prediction. How can He be killed? Much less rise up on the third day. After all, death is final, no coming back from that. Why would men kill Jesus? How can He predict His death?

In Matthew 16:22, after Jesus predicts His upcoming passion, Peter replies to Him, "God forbid, Lord. No such thing shall ever happen to You." I'm sure this was the general consensus of the rest of the disciples,barring Judas.

His death on the Cross did happen, and with it brought us the promise of eternal life in Heaven with Him. Eternal life! Jesus told the thief on Cross, "Amen,I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43

What a promise! To be with Jesus in Paradise! What a treasure it must be, more than we can even imagine. There is still the matter of Him rising up on the third day. Really? That sounds pretty far-fetched.

In Luke 24:2-3, Scripture says, "They found the stone rolled away from the tomb: but when they entered, they did not find His body." That would be quite puzzling. Where was His body? Was it stolen?

Moving along to verse 5 and 6, we read, ".....Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, He is risen, like He said."

How convincing was that? Okay, you had two men who appeared to be angels telling you Jesus was risen, but....that is awfully hard to believe. After all, you saw Him die on theCross just 3 days ago. Later that day, Jesus appeared to two disciples as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. When He broke bread with them, they believed. He also appeared to them in Jerusalem.

What can you do then but believe? Jesus died on the Cross, but now He was alive,and standing before you. He's alive, He's alive! Jesus trampled death by death, come awake come awake, come and rise up from the grave. HE'S ALIVE!! Happy Easter!!

What an amazing gift we have been given. Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.

Chela

Easter Story

Farmer John was a kindly farmer. He had a bunch of farm animals out in the country. There was Hazel the cow, Jill and Belle, the goats, Lilly the sheep, and a bunch of chickens. All of the animals got along just fine, and spent their days eating the sweet green grass in the big pasture. All of the animals except for the red rooster, Flyer. While all the other chickens quietly ate their corn, Flyer would shove the hens around, and scold Farmer John. When the hens wandered off to lay eggs, Flyer would stomp the eggs, and break them. Farmer John would try to milk Hazel, and Flyer would pull her tail. When it was bedtime, and the hens went to bed, Flyer would shove them off the roost.

Everyone was getting tired of Flyer's antics. One day, Farmer John told the animals he was going to send Flyer away to live somewhere else. He was tired of the scolding, broken eggs, and sleepy hens. Everyone was so happy! "Send Flyer away, and we can all be happy again!" Said the goats, as Flyer ate the oats Farmer John had set out for them.

Then to everyone's surprise, the old rooster, Jack, came up and said, "What Flyer has done is wrong. No matter what I've told him, he won't listen. But don't send him away. I will take his punishment, and I will leave in his place."

"Why would you do this?" asked Lilly the sheep. "You have done nothing wrong. You didn't shove the hens, scold Farmer John, break eggs, or pull Hazel's tail. You don't steal food from the goats. We love having you around, you are such a gentle rooster."

Jack simply said, "It must be done."

Farmer John was very sad, because he loved Jack the rooster. He watched over all the hens, and was friends with everyone. Jack loved to sit in the green grass with the hens while they ate.

Then one of the hens came forward. She said, "I understand why Jack has to leave. I, too, am sad, but I understand. Let me explain. A long time ago, the world was in sin. Everyone acted like Flyer, they had turned away from the right way. The Father saw all that was going on, and felt very sad. He knew the punishment for sin was for us to die. But He wanted us to live. So the Father sent His only Son, Jesus, to teach us the right way to live. He wanted us to live the right way, to love Him above all else. He also wanted us to love each other, and not do mean things like Flyer does.

After Jesus taught us all this, he died on the cross for our sins. He took all our sins, and died on the cross as punishment for us! He loves us so much! After three days, He rose again! He took death away, so we can live in Heaven with Him forever! All you have to do is love Jesus with all your heart, all your soul, and all of your mind. After that, the rest comes easy. We celebrate the Resurrection on Easter. It's such a beautiful holiday, as if Jesus is saying, "don't worry, I still love you!"

Letter to Reno the dog

I solemnly swear that I am not taking you outside at 2:30 AM in the rain, or drizzlies after the rain, to eat dead grass from the yard. You are allowed to wake me up during the night only in case of EMERGENCY!

This means, you have to go out and immediately tend to business...you know what I mean. Another reasonable reason to wake me up is if someone is here. That would be an emergency, I'm sure. Lastly, if something is wrong in the house, like a fire, or a very sick family member.

Nowhere in the above rules does it say you may wake me up at 2:30 AM so you can go outside and eat grass. Dead grass at that! And just because you asked this morning, NO I won't FEED you at 2:30 AM! Breakfast is at 7:15 am with dinner at 6pm. Exceptions may be made if I have an opportunity to sleep in. 2:30 AM is not one of those exceptions.

Thank you
Mom

Remembering Swiper

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into the day we decided to bring home a ferret. I should have known when the lanky fur ball bit my nose in the pet store's parking lot.

Still, we carried on, and welcomed nature's slinky into our home. Little did we know that ferrets get into stuff, and steal stuff, and worm their way so thoroughly into your heart. We named our ferret Swiper after the fox on the television show Dora. The fox always stole stuff, and Dora would have to connive a way to get the item back. At least she did. Swiper would steal stuff, and we'd never see it again.

The first thing she stole was a quarter, and stashed it under the chair in the living room. Then she discovered food. People had good food, and a lot of it could be stashed away for later. Things like oatmeal cream pies, crackers, pop tarts, and fruit loops, which she stashed behind the refrigerator. She also loved chocolate milk, and she'd be in your cup before you could say Nesquick.

Swiper would also play with the kids when they sat down with their toys. She loved to dig in the basket of army men. I don't know what she was digging for though, exactly. One time the boys caught her heading into my room with a bag of Leggos.

One day I'd left each of my children a wrapped oatmeal cream pie as a treat before I headed out to work. Sometime later, my daughter called me and asked if she could have another pie, as hers was missing. Months later, I found it next to my bed when Swiper had done some housekeeping.

Swiper was really interactive with our family. She enjoyed spending time with us, and getting into the middle of whatever we were doing. She especially loved to attack our feet so we would giver her fruit loops, her favorite treat.

Ferrets have two speeds-full steam ahead and sleep. They play hard, and they sleep hard. When Swiper would tire, she would find a warm place and curl up to sleep. Often times, she'd curl up in a dresser drawer, but she also found comfort in our beds. That would lead to quickly hopping up when you sat on the bed and discovered a warm little lump. She'd also sleep in our linen closet. Occasionally she'd curl up in a kitchen drawer. How could it be comfortable to sleep in measuring cups and utensils?

Our dog Reno became very adept at finding Swiper when she did this. We liked to put her up before we left, and when we retired at night. Unfortunately, sometimes she hid so well Reno couldn't find her. Then, Swiper would wake up about 3 am, and expect us to play! She'd lick our ears, and stick her whiskers in our noses.

Our son Matt would hold her on his shoulder, and talk to her while they walked around the house. I'd go over and we'd touch noses while he had her. One time I did this, and she sneezed in my face.

Swiper was a darling, and a pet like no other. I'll never forget her, she taught us so much. Most of all, never underestimate a ferret. Miss you sweetie, thank you for all the years of love, friendship, and laughter you gave us. Sleep well Swiper, we love you.

Chela