What an inspiration!

Lest I think my piddly inabilities amount to much of anything, here is a young man who is truly an inspiration. A very dear friend of mine sent me this link. You may be familiar with this young man, but I was not. He made quite an impression on me, so I thought I would share his story with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8
Have a blessed day!

Eh-va Holiday, a.k.a. My Alter Ego

What a frightening sight to behold, and just in time for
Halloween, too! This is Eh-va Holiday. She loves eh-va holiday, each and eh-va one of them. In case you cannot clearly see the entire onsom, I will describe it for you. There is a pin that says, "Happy Birthday," just about the most important holiday of all! A Valentine earring and pendant on the necklace. The socks say, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish." Easter T-shirt and pendant. Fourth of July skort. Halloween sweater and pendant. Thanksgiving pendant. A Christmas earring, pendant, and of course, a Santa hat. There was a "Tacky Party" for the ladies at church tonight, and this was just about the tackiest thing I could come up with. I really do love the holidays, so it worked out great.

The lesson was about being or feeling forgotten. Have you ever felt forgotten? This husband and wife were traveling together. When they stopped for gas, the lady went to the Ladies Room. When the man finished pumping his gas, he drove away. Upon exiting the Ladies Restroom, she discovered she had been left behind...forgotten. She used the pay phone to call the Rush Limbaugh Show. as she was sure he would be listening. She actually got through to Rush who instructed her husband to turn around and go get her. Sometimes we feel forgotten. There is one who will NEVER forget us. In fact, in Isaiah, there is a verse that talks about God holding us in the palm of his hand. What a comforting thought! We will never be truly for gotten.

Nothing really accomplished!

You know how sometimes you have a huge list of things that need to be done? You might even have a "plan" for getting them done? Like...oh, I don't know...painting the casings on the windows on the house that were scraped and primed SEVERAL weeks ago? But then you wake up, and working the plan is last thing you are interested in doing? Doesn't it feel great when you go ahead and do it anyway? Yeah, well, that is NOT what happened today. We were "supposed" to paint and just could not get in the mood. (I'm not sure who gets to say what we are "supposed" to do anyway! Maybe WE thought we were supposed to because it needed to be done.) Anyway...we did not paint. At first I was feeling a little guilty. Then I remembered life is too short to feel guilty about things like that. We had a rather relaxing day, and it was GREAT!

Hope all of you find a day to relax in the not-too-distant future!

Star Struck and Dynamite

Well, as my title implies, we love to sing. Here are some pictures of my quartet, Star Struck, and Richard's quartet, Dynamite. Three weekends ago, the Palo Duro Metro Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, had an annual show in Amarillo. Both of our quartets sang. Then, this last weekend, both of our quartets sang again on a show put on by the Singing Plainsmen of Lubbock and the Golden Spread Chorus of Amarillo (chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society). The show was in Lubbock on Friday night and in Amarillo on Saturday night. Richard sings with the Golden Spread Chorus. We had a wonderful time! It is such a joy to share the gift of music with so many people.

There was another guest quartet on the shows this weekend, the Hum Dingers. These 4 guys are truly amazing. They can sing, they are funny, and they are great guys to be around. Chad, Kevin, Steve, and Drew sing at "the most popular vacation spot in Florida" (aka Disney World. They are part of the Dapper Dans that sing on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.) The instruments they are playing in the pictures are called organ chimes. They play the C scale and cover 3 octaves. The Hum Dingers play these organ chimes WHILE they are singing some of their songs. WOW!

The girls in Star Struck are my very closest friends. Julie, on the far left, sings tenor. She owns and operates the Flower Gallery in Amarillo. She makes some of the most beautiful flower arrangements I have ever seen. Jennifer, 2nd to the left, sings bass. Jennifer is one of the smartest people I have ever known. She is a chemist and works for Celanese. I admire her ability to read the ingredients on a tube of lipstick and not only pronounce them, but actually know what they are and be able to draw the chemical compound for you (while I am happy just selecting my favorite shade! ha!) Kim, on the right, is a dental hygenist and a race car driver. She always laughs when I tell people she drives a race car. She is really very good at it, but doesn't have as much time for it now that she is singing. Kim is also a talented leader and organizer. We laugh that we are twin sisters born a few years apart. These ladies are my therapy group. We laugh together, cry together, lean on each other, and generally love each other. Thank you, Julie, Kim and Jennifer, for all you mean to me and all you are! I love you very much! You know we will ALWAYS have to be friends. You guys know too much!

Dynamite, Richard's quartet, is made up of four really great guys. Roy, left, sings bass. Stephen, 2nd from left, sings tenor. Richard, 3rd from left, sings lead. Mike, right, sings baritone. They have been together with this combination of men since May. They are working hard and sounding wonderful! Way to go, guys!

Well, this is just a small look at our quartets. Hopefully sometime, I will have a chance to send pictures of the choruses we sing in, but enough is enough for one night.