Khaaliq is pretty mean when he does not eat for a long period of time. When he wakes up in the mornings, he doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to smile, I actually think he would love it if he could just roll down the hall instead of walk. So after 4 or 5 yells of "GET UP KHAALIQ", he grumbles, gets up, and stomps down the hall straight to the kitchen. He grabs the first thing not moving that is some form of nourishment, and makes these really odd sounds at the kitchen table. Within a few minutes (food gone of course), he gets up, puts his dishes in the sink and starts talking. It's pretty much none stop talking from there too just fyi.....lol

Brianna cannot walk by a person standing on the outside of a store asking for money or food. It literally upsets her. I guess as adults, we are so jaded to the world because of this and that, that we can walk by and it not touch us in some kind of way. We were walking out of the BP station last week and a guy was asking for change and honestly, it really didn't phase me. I kept on walking but i noticed I didn't hear Bri behind me. She was digging in her pockets to see if she had change. She didn't so she ran up to the car, asked me to "look please in my purse for some". I kind of grumbled, but I looked and gave her all I had and she smiled and took it back to the man. When she got in the car, she said " I would feel bad when I got home drinking my green tea and eating my chips knowing he didn't have any".

And once again, my kids have made me think... how encouraged I am when I am filled up. How much simpler and better life is when I am not running on empty (or my belly is full, as in Khaaliq's case). It doesn't take much. A listening ear, a shoulder to cry on or even a smile or kind word. It's not always about money, but if you have a little extra, what harm would it do to buy someone lunch, ask them over for dinner or just drop off a bag of groceries "just because".

So my kids have challenged me in a few different ways. I could let alot of things fill me up..... anger, greed, jealousy, worries or I can choose to let positive things fill my thoughts and mind. I can encourage others in whatever way possible and if God puts an opportunity in front of me to help someone, then I will.

"Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each others nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out." - I Thessalonians 5:13-15

I pray you all have a wonderful, wonderful, blessed weekend!! Until next time, Lord willing.....

If any of you have me as a friend on Facebook, you saw this last night, but I had to share it again this morning....

I went to pick Brianna up early last night from work, so the boys and I decided to go in for a drink and wait. I went in and started talking to Bri and another of her co-workers and this guy (about 28 or so I guess) came from the kitchen basically yelling, but really excited. He looked at me and said " Is your last name Washington?" I said yes, thinking that he was going to ask about Brianna being my daughter but he said " your mom's name was Barbara?" I just kinda looked at him and thought, he must have been one of her students. (she was a Special Education teacher at Albany Middle) I said yes. Then he said you had a baby. I smiled and pointed at Bri and he said yeah, I remember her having two pigtails all the time... lol. Then he said " I was even at her funeral. It was at that church off of Gillionville." Again, I said yes. With that he kind of trotted to the back. So I sat down with Chris and Khaaliq thinking about my mom since he had kind of put her in my head. Then he came out and sat next to me in the booth. He said " Your mom was so sweet. She taught me how to read. She was the reason I passed middle school. She was really special." I held back tears and said thank you for that. And with that, he went back to work.

God gave my mom a gift. And she did just what He wanted her to do with it, she used it to serve others. She loved to teach and she LOVED her students. I was talking to a friend this morning and she said people may forget your face after a while, but they sure will remember if you help them. And 13 years later, he did.

I was again reminded about what Pam says " be blessed and be a blessing." I have been so guilty lately of worrying and thinking about me. What is going on with me. The problems I am having. When are things going to get better for me. I have been so consumed, that I have let many opportunities pass by to be a blessing to someone else. I have said before, its not about the money you spend, the stuff you have, it's just about showing God love to the people who need it.


I pray you all had a wonderful weekend and I hope that today is just as great! Until next time, "be a blessing".....

Good Monday Morning loves!

I can remember being in middle and high school and being picked on alot. I guess that's what kids do. The thing with me was being overweight. I have never been a small person and I was also never short, so I heard it alot. Even from my brother, who got the tall part but not the weight. I can remember making myself sick so that I could call my mom and go home. Sometimes I still hear those words when I wanna work out or even if I am eating and that was over 20 years ago...

Last week, I said some really hurtful things to someone that I love very much. Honestly, I think the stuff I said was stuff I needed to say, but I sure didn't need it to come out like it did. I got angry and I let that anger get the best of me and my emotions, something I said I would never do again, but I did.

My son, who is not a small child himself, got in trouble at school last week for calling a little girl fat.

Yesterday, a conversation I had with some friends that came to town went kinda in left field. It's not that the things we were saying were wrong, but sometimes as parents, even though we mean well, kids don't understand and can get their feelings hurt.

A friend of mine got hurt yesterday by someone who thinks that just because you throw a "LOL" behind what you say will make it funny to everyone. It doesn't. And what makes it worse, is when other people around don't say anything or stand up for what is right...

Who ever said "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"... lied.

Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Everyday, whether we think about it or not, we are shaping and molding someone else's life by the words that we use with them. As Christians, we need to know when and IF to even speak, or if our task is to just listen. How will our words impact others...build them up or tear them down...

I pray this e-mail finds you all safe and sound. The weekend was really good, weather was beautiful.

Please remember to be praying for Mrs. Heath and Mrs. Daniels and their health and also for my friends who are still looking for job (Angie, Valerie, Pam, Darlene). Oh and don't forget our teens, Morgan and Brianna!! : )

I love you all bunches, and remember, "be a blessing" to someone.. it sure made my day last week!

Last night I heard that a person I went to high school with had lost her son in an accident. He was on his way back from Florida with two of his best friends and they hit an ambulance head on. He and another guy were killed instantly. One was taken to the hospital in critical condition and the two ambulance workers were also listed in critical condition. This morning they said that the other best friend also passed away. My schoolmates son was 19. He had just graduated from basic training in San Antonio and was leaving for the Air Force soon. His long time girlfriend, is pregnant with his daughter. I watched the news clip again this morning and saw the sadness and pain and I realized that my problems didn't really seem so big anymore.

I pray for Daphne, her family and all the families that lost their child in this accident. I can't imagine what she is going through right now but I pray she knows that even through this, that their lives are and were not wasted, that God will never leave them or let them walk alone.

Continue to also pray for Mrs. Heath and Mrs. Daniels and their health, for my friends who are still job searching.. Angie, Darlene, Valerie, Pam.. for Morgan and Brianna.

Be blessed my friends and remember , be a blessing to someone. Today is not promised to any of us. There is no guarantee that we will live to be 80 or 90 years old, so make every moment count! Love ya and until next time, Lord willing....