Congratulations...

to David, Traci, and Lilly Kate! Anna Elizabeth arrived on Sunday and both she and Traci are doing well. So, I'm an aunt again and Lilly Kate is a big sister. Dr. Whatley said that the third niece/nephew is a sign that you're getting old, but at least he didn't ask when I was having one myself (I think he may be afraid of that). So now we're just waiting on Beth. And then Christy gets married. And then birthdays and Mother's Day...lots going on this spring.

Today is such a beautiful spring day! I'm feeling much better (I had some nasty bug that has been going around), the flowers are blooming, the temperature is just right, and it's Easter weekend! Also, five years ago today, Wade asked me to marry him. And for some reason today I'm nearly as excited about that as I was five years ago; I can't stop smiling! I know, I know...it's kind of cheesey, but I just can't help it. What a beautiful thing love is!

Happy Birthday, Ashley!!

Yesterday was one of those days when really wished I was back at the Judson sitting on the swing outside of W with an icecream cone and my favorite people putting off going to Dr. H's class. I think when I'm old, that's what I'll remember as the "good ol' days." I'm so glad J Day is only a month away.

Women's History Month

If you have time, you should check these women out.
http://lifestyle.msn.com/mindbodyandsoul/womenintheworld/staticslideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=3326194&imageindex=1

Happy MLK, Jr. Day!

I know some of you get to be off of work or school today to celebrate. Here's my tribute (from the MSN homepage) from my desk at work:

1. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.
-- "Stride Toward Freedom," 1958.

2. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-- "Strength to Love," 1963.

3. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.

4. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
-- "Strength to Love," 1963.

5. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.

6. The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific
power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
-- "Strength to Love," 1963.

7. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a
community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.
-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963.

8. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
-- "I Have a Dream," civil rights march on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963. (Source: The New York Times)

9. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts
without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
-- "Why We Can't Wait," 1964.

10. The security we profess to seek in foreign adventures we will lose in our decaying cities.
-- [Referring to U.S. Vietnam policy.] Address at Riverside Church, New York. (Source:
History Today, April 1998)

A Good Time Was Had By All...

I really had a good time this Meemaw Christmas! It was so fun and relaxing at the same time. Sometimes I forget just how much I love you girls! Really, I wouldn't trade you for anyone else. Thanks so much to each of you for just being who you are: truly special and amazing women that I'm so blessed to be able to call friends. Now (imagine a glass raised) here's to another year as friends, sisters, Meemaws!

God vs Science

This is an email that Brenda forwarded to me. I enjoyed it and thought I'd share it.


GOD VS SCIENCE
A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
"You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
"Yes sir," the student says.
"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."
"Are you good or evil?"
"The Bible says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment.
"Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."
"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed
person if you could.> Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"
The student remains silent.
"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"
"Er...yes," the student says.
"Is Satan good?"
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."
"Then where does Satan come from?"
The student falters. "From God"
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"
"Yes."
"So who created evil?"
The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."
Again, the student has no answer.
"Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"
The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"So who created them?"
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer.
Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."
The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"
"No sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir, I have not."
"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't." "Yet you still believe in him?"
"Yes."
"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"
"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."
"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own.
"Professor, is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."
"And is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No sir, there isn't."
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.
The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."
"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer. "What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"
"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word." "In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"
"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."
"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."
"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided.
"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean."
The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter.
"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir."
"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."
"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
The professor sat down.

Hockey Day Weekend and Susie's Birthday

Today in History

Seems that today in history was a bad day and a good day for women. I hope someone else also finds this an interesting bit of info.


1637
Anne Hutchinson, the first female religious leader in the American colonies, was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for heresy.
1893
The state of Colorado granted women the right to vote.
1916
Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

I said before that's I'd post when I tried a new recipe, but I'm a little bit behind. Here is last week's: Crispy Herb Baked Chicken http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crispy-Herb-Baked-Chicken/Detail.aspx. It was very good and Wade liked it. I will definitely try it again. I really like that you can vary the flavoring easily to suit what you like.
Now I just have to come up with something for this week that Wade will like.

Happy (late) Birthday to Kellie and Brandy!!

I hope you both had a great day!

Recipes

Meemaws:

I've decided that posting what we cook on our blogs may be easier than emailing them (It is for me anyway, but if everyone likes emailing better, I'll switch back.) That way, we can just check each others' blogs if we want a recipe that one of us has already used instead of having to go back through our emails.

That said, I just wanted to let everyone know that I tried Sara-Beth's Italian seasoned biscuits last night. But instead of using biscuits, I used croissants. They were really good--Wade liked them--but I think I got a little carried away with the seasoning. Next time I just won't use so much.

Happy Birthday, Christy!!!!

I hope you have a wodnerful day!

Amazing Grace

I've been thinking about this song recently and I've decided that it's probably the most powerful song ever. It's beautiful no matter what arrangement you hear it in. I looked up the words today and discovered some that I've never heard before.

"Amazing Grace"
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­i­ver, 1779)

I read this article on the MSN homepage today and I really liked it, so I thought I'd share. This woman knows what she's talking about.
http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/couplesandmarriage/articlerb.aspx?cp-documentid=5352157&GT1=10418

Beach Trip

The meemaws and mini-meemaws went to the beach in Destin last weekend. We had a great time. The girls were very cute and so funny together. They would give each other hugs, but only when the other one didn't want to. And apparently we forgot that we're grandmas now; we stayed up until 4:00 a.m. on Saturday night just talking. However, I still wouldn't trade that quality time for all the sleep in the world. I love my friends so much!!
Here are a few pics from the weekend, but only a few b/c I've been threatend if I show any bathing suit pics.

Congratulations, Christy and Brandon!

It seems that we'll be adding a new peepaw to the group. We really do need to meet the boy soon, Christy. I'm so happy for you two!