Mother - A Word That Means the World to Me

 A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go. ~Author Unknown

When I was a little girl, I remember my Grandma, Mammy, had a pillow she had made. The pillow said -

M - is for the many things she gave me.
O - means only that she's growing old.
T - is for the tears she shed to save me.
H - is for her heart of purest gold.
E - is for her eyes with lovelight shining.
R - means right and right she'll always be.

Put them all together they spell Mother. A word that means the world to me.

I was thinking about my Mother. She's in Heaven now. She passed away over 18 years ago. No matter how long they've been gone, you still miss them.

You never appreciate your parents until you become a parent. You realize your parents did the best they knew how at that particular time in their life and that they loved you even when you thought they didn't and were being unfair.

 

My Mother, Stella Burris Knight - 1926



My mom, 1940's

My mom, 1940's

My Dad & Mom - John and Stella Knight
50th Wedding Anniversary 1993

 

My parents grew up with parents that were not very expressive of their love with a lot of "I love you" and hugs. And my mom was like that. But I knew she loved me and was proud of me.

When I started having kids, I decided I was going to hug them so much and tell them I love them that they would get tired of hearing it. And I did. They would wake up - "I love you."

They'd leave for school - "I love you." I probably told them "I love you"  over a dozen times a day. 

Even at times when I had reached the end of the rope with raising four boys and wanted to go hide and pretend I wasn't a mother any longer, I would settle down and say "I love you."

I'm so thankful that God gave me the privilege of being Scott, Neal, Aaron, and Mark's Mother. It has been my greatest happiness.

 

Thank you God for letting me be a Mother.

Confessions of a Once Silly Teenager

Saturday, November 16, 1963.

I was so very excited. I was sitting at the Mesker Amphitheatre in Evansville, Indiana watching Dick Clark and his Caravan of Stars. A dream of every teenager. The music was amazing and it was the most popular singers of the time, plus I got to see Dick Clark. American Bandstand was one of my favorite shows that I watched (in black and white) every day as soon as I got home from school.

I can still remember the excitement I felt that Saturday as the different stars were introduced - Lou Christie, Gene Pitney, Paul and Paula, Brian Hyland, Little Eva, the Shirelles, the Ronettes, just to mention a few.

I'm sure some of my readers have never heard of a some of these.

The next day Lou Christie and Gene Pitney were at the local radio station - WJPS 1330. I remember hearing the announcement on my transistor radio. They said if you call in you might get to talk to one of them over the phone. Well I had to try. I was so excited and  I waited and waited on the phone, but I never got to talk to them. But I was so nervous and excited, I broke out in a rash all over my body. Confessions of a once silly teenager.

It was almost a week later, Friday, November 22, 1963. I was sitting in my typing class (before computers and even electric typewriters) at Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana when someone came around announcing to all the classes that our President, John F. Kennedy had just been assassinated. Our class sit there in silence and unbelief.

November in 1963 was a strange month for me. It went from crazy excitement over hearing  my favorite singers and just being a teenager to seeing our president assassinated. I remember watching as Jack Ruby broke through the crowds and shot Lee Harvey Oswald. It happened live on television. It was almost like the world had went crazy.

The next week was Thanksgiving week. I remember we had the whole week off of school. On Monday, everyone was glued to their television sets watching as they laid John F. Kennedy to rest.

As I said, it was a strange month in my life. It's something I'll probably always remember.

I think as a teenager you are so impressionable. You feel everything more deeply and your emotions are so easily affected.

I think the assassination changed the world that day. By the end of my high school years, I had classmates who were going off to war in Vietnam and the  simple songs of love and happy feelings that made you feel good about life became songs of war protest and anti-government.

Times were changing.

I'm so thankful for a God who never changes. Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

How To Train a Grandparent

Last Sunday at our church, they had a Home Improvement Sunday. They are good to have to strengthen families and to give help in raising  your children.

They seem to never include how to be a better grandparent into their messages. I'm not sure why. Maybe they think we already know all the answers. But believe me, sometimes I feel like I need help.

As a grand parent, sometimes I have a way of always doing the wrong thing, stepping in where I shouldn't be, saying the wrong things. Kyla calls me her crazy grandma. She says I act crazy and I get her in trouble.

A grandma has to have some fun. Maybe grandparents should be seen and not heard.

I know a lot of things have changed since I was a young parent. I'm probably considered old fashion. I think about all the technology and world changes we Baby Boomers have seen in our life time. We survived the 60's and the 70's. Talk about changes. We were introduced to television, computers, and smart phones in our time.

Maybe they don't teach on training grandparents, because grandparents aren't suppose to change. They are suppose to always be that safe person who offers unconditional love. They are always there to give hugs and try to make the hurts go away. And my biggest problem - how do you say "NO" to those "sweet" angels. But I'll try to keep on being the best grand parent I know how and maybe I'll have it all figured out by the time I'm a Great Grandparent.

 

 

Deuteronomy 4:9

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Setting Goals and Dreaming Dreams

You are NEVER too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

C.S. Lewis

 



Every morning when I go into my kitchen to make my morning coffee, I see this sign hanging on my wall.  I read it every morning as I start my day.

Sometimes it's just a little goal that I set for that day. If I didn't set a goal, I would probably end up sitting on my couch all day.  And a person always have to have dreams.

 

Proverbs 29:18a

Where there is no vision, the people perish:

 

I might not accomplish all the dreams I have for my life, but if I didn't have dreams, they might never come true. One of my grand daughters, Alexis, and I each have a written list of our dreams. I carry mine with me in my purse. We'll compare our lists and add new dreams to it. We've got to cross off some of them that we accomplished. Dreams keep you excited about life.

 

One of the dreams on my list is to see all my grand kids saved and baptized. Easter weekend, three more of my grand kids were saved and baptized.   It was my son Aaron's three youngest - Emma, Elena, and Evan.  Ethan was already saved and baptized. I'm a happy grandma.

God is good and I believe that one day I'm going to get to cross the dream of seeing all my grand kids saved off my list.

 

Four of My Grand Kids - Ethan, Elena, Emma, and Evan

 

Natural Beauty

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

In case you are wondering why I'm screaming, I looked in the mirror this morning. I scared myself. I could probably had scared Frankenstein.

I had been sick for about 3 days with a cough, fever, chills, sore throat, laryngitis, and all that wonderful stuff that someone was kind enough to share with me.

But, thankfully I'm on the mend. The sparkle is returning to my eyes.

I wasn't even able to go to church Easter Sunday and the Easter Bunny didn't come to see me and  leave a basket full of chocolate.

But I do look scary. I always wonder why I don't wake up like those women on television or in the movies. They wake up with their skin glowing and their hair still in one place.  I'm pretty sure that's not the real world. My husband probably was in shock when we woke up after our wedding night and he saw the real me - bed head and no make-up.

 

In my early teens I wanted to look like Audrey Hepburn. You know how at that age you are fascinated by movie stars and you want to look like them. I thought she was so beautiful. I always liked reading her ten beauty tips.

1. For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
2. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
3. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
4. For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. (One of my favorites)
5. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
6. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
7. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
8. The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
9. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives and the passion that she shows.
10. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years. (That is talking about growing old gracefully)
 
I'm not a natural beauty, but I pray that the beauty of God's love shows through me.

Psalm 139:14

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Easter 1975

Easter Sunday, March 30, 1975

 

That is some of the kids that rode my Sunday School bus and me hunting Easter eggs. It was so cold that day, we were freezing. I think the temperature was only around 20 degrees.

And also notice my baby bump.  In about three weeks on April 23, 1975, a baby by the name of Jonathan Neal Rice will make his way into this world.

It was exciting times.

Easter is one of my favorite days. It renews the love of God again in my heart and reminds me that there is no greater love then what He showed to us on that day.

 

 

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

 

Happy Easter to all my family and friends.

 

 



National Bring Your Grandmothers to the Beach Day!

Just kidding. It is spring break and Neal and Amy invited Amy's mom, Teresa, and me to go to the Outer Banks with them. We had an beautiful, exciting day with lots of laughter.

We saw Bodie Light House, Cape Hatteras, and Ocracoke Island Light House.  

 

 

Bodie

 Light House

   

Cape Hatteras Light House

 We took a ferry over the Ocracoke Island. You can only get there by ferry, boat, or private plane. It was a beautiful trip over. Ocracoke is known for where Blackbeard the Pirate died.

T

Ocracoke Light House

Hayden pretending to be a pirate.

A visitor to the light house.

You can't be at the ocean and not get your feet wet.

Brylee

 

It was fun watching the grand daughters running through the waves and gathering shells. 

As the sun was setting, we said good-bye to Ocracoke and headed back home. It had been a good day of making memories and spending time with family.

Thank you Neal and Amy for putting up with a couple of grandmothers.