FAMILIES & HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DAD!

This is Evangeline Elizabeth the newest family member at Colebrook Church! She was due at the same time as Jasmine.

This was taken at the Valentine's New Year Tea and Olymic Tea at Colebrook. There was a great family feeling and we were pleased to take Shirley Flowler!

I was thinking today of how I would like my children to remember me. Now that we are all adults and have the freedom to make mistakes and make our own choices. Our values and our opinions may differ and advice is easy to give but always hard to accept.

Children dear I hope you will remember my laugh and the fun times we have had together.
I was too serious as a parent and discipline was not my greatest strength so I often ended up yelling. All that did was make me feel bad even when I did achieve the goal making you clean up or stop fighting etc. I still find it hard not to remind dad to take out the garbage. Some habits change but others do not.

It takes love and humility to accept our own weaknesses; but in reality we are all too human. I became a parent at a young age and soon found my life consumed with feeding and clothing and cleaning up messes with hardly time to run to the bathroom. But I am happy that we now have equality in our relationships. It has taken time to listen without being judgmental and that time has healed old wounds. I still pray for you all. I am proud of the ways you all are still growing and trying new things.

Humor has the potential to bring harmony into all relationships; so I am happy we all have a crazy and at times unpredictable sense of the ridiculous. I think this is a very good quality to bring into our religion. With humor we can include and accept those who are different than us.

We need to have fun and laughter to shield us from all the problems that we may face.

Today has been a busy day for me. I had a good walk; it was 7:30 but it was light out. Attended the meeting at Colebrook U.C.W. which was both inspiring and fun. I just got home when the first of 3 visiters dropped by. The older lady who I visited at Christmas time dropped by. She was going to buy me a flower but was not sure of the house I lived in. Panteli came by with a fun present for Larry and then Cathy, mother of five, dropped in. Also had a lively talk with Melina

which was very good. I could hear Jasmine and Matthew in the background. Matthew said good-bye as clear as could be. A full and enjoyable day.

I think it was sooo neat that Jesus did not say "Hey you guys don't you know how spiritually poor you are? No. instead he said, Blessed are the poor in spirit." Jesus came to bless us with his words and his life and especially the love of GOD!

Happy 75 bityhday to Larry