Food For Thought

 1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, and almonds.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, wills this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

A Little Pick-Me-Up

Our oldest grand kids came over to

 spend the night.

Kimmy called to say they were ready

and had packed their ROOMS!

 What a joy to have laughter and 

noise around!

 The cups came out.

 Lulu read to me.

While Papa and Levi worked with hand tools,

fixing a broken shelf.

 Later on it was a creative time for everyone.

I think Lulu DID pack her room, because

she set it up in our room!

Levi choose to take over the

 whole living room!

Thank you Mark and Kimmy.

It was a great pick-me-up for all of us!

~~~***~~~

"But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children."

Psalm 103:17 

Thoughts and Feelings...

picture credit, Mike Rosel, Bureau of Meteorology, Australia 

"Everything will be okay in the end.
If it's not okay, it's not the end."

~unknown~

(also known as one of Mary's favorite sayings)



~~~***~~~


"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Psalm 147:3

Lucy

Our little Lucy 

"Princess Lucile Ball"

(5/5/2002 - 3/31/2016)

Tom and I had to make a hard, very hard, decision this past week.

Lucy went in for a teeth cleaning and had all the rest of her teeth removed because of decay.

She never did recover from this procedure.

She got pneumonia.

****

I wanted to remember her through pictures, 

not only for me but for our grandchildren.

They thought she was a funny, little thing.

Everyone did!

Lucy was MY dog.

She would wait for me when I'd leave.

Jump up and down when I returned.

It didn't matter
if I was gone 5 minutes or 5 days.

She was so little (3 lbs.), but a feisty
and sometimes very naughty dog.

I didn't really dress her in "clothes".

But these are the few times I did.

Her favorite places to be
 (other then in my arms)
 was sleeping on warm clothes,

our bed, in the sunshine or near the fire.

Lucy was so small that I could carry her just

 about anywhere or any how.

 I'd zip her up in a vest or my coat.

Most of the time,

 I'd carry her in one arm.

Lucy grew to enjoy traveling back and forth 

in the car and sometime on my bike.

Our family and friends welcomed her.

But she'd keep her distance or 

she'd sit on my lap.

She's so small you can hardly see her in these pictures.

(her shadow is huge compared to her)

She was my walking partner.
Almost every afternoon, at 3:00,
 we'd go around the block.
Once around the block and her little legs would be tired.

Lucy had her routines from how she got up,
when she ate and where she slept.

She wasn't very social
but was always on the lookout
for company so she could bark at them.

She was small but thought she was BIG.
We called it the Napoleon Syndrome.

Haircut
Before                                After


Bath time was not her idea of fun.

Tom usually, had this chore.

The kitchen sink was just the right size for her.

After a bath she would run around and

jump on our bed to dry off.
But a good sunbath was perfect way to finish the ordeal.

We have footstools all over the house
to help Lucy get up on the
couch, chair or our bed.

This is her when I'd leave,

Mad!

This is her when I'd return.

Waiting!

For fourteen years Lucy had been a part of our lives.
She was with us before any of our kids were married.
She was with us during all our moves.
She was with us a long time.

Now we are trying to find our "New Normal".
It hasn't been easy.

Sleep well Little Lucy

"I Love Lucy!", says Chris

~~~~****~~~~

Arthur and Lucy