Help support a school

I just saw this when I went to Kylei's school's website. She attends Joseph Brown Elementary.


What if Joseph Brown Elementary earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can! GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!
GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.
Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Joseph Brown Elementary as the charity you want to support.

I'm asking for your support. We all know that just about every school could use the money. I know this one could.

Thanks for your help,
Queen Bee

Are you the Spouse you should be?

I just read my preacher's blog and he had this posted. It is such a powerful testament, that I had to pass it on. I believe he will be using this as a part of his sermon on Sunday. I hate to miss it, but will be at my childhood church this weekend for their HomeComing. I am delighted to be going, but definitely think I will need to get a copy.



Robertson McQuilken was the president of Columbia Bible College and Seminary (now Columbia International University) from 1968 to 1990. He was a renown NT scholar, author and speaker. He was married to his wife, Muriel for 53 years. In the 1980s, during the middle of his tenure as president, Muriel’s health begin to decline and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Over the course of the next few months and years things got progressively worse and her health deteriorated to the point that she couldn’t speak, reason, clothe herself, feed herself or bathe herself. So in 1990, Robertson stood before the student body and resigned his position as president in order to go home and care for his wife of then 40 years.



This is not the entire speech, but a short clip.....


Apparently Robertson McQuilkon wasn’t just a student of the Bible, he was a follower. The two most powerful statements to me were "I'm a man of my word" and "I don’t have to do this. I get to do this.”

Pity Party for One please

Last night, John informed me he went ahead and purchased the plane tickets for he and Savannah. They are flying to see John's brother, Matt (yes, my kids have two Uncle Matt's, lol), graduate from Veterinary School at LSU. The graduation is May 11. I can't go because I start summer classes that day, and Kylei will be in school too, so she can't go. It breaks my heart that my baby will be going on her first plane ride without me. I feel bad for Kylei too b/c she won't get that experience at the same time. I have a feeling she'll be disappointed when she finds out. :(

I have felt pretty miserable the last week, and things don't seem to be gettting much better. I slept for about 12 hours last night, and am home alone now, trying to feel up to writing lesson plans and do other homework assignments. Meanwhile, my family is at my parents' house enjoying a lovely cookout without me.

I guess today is just a pity party blog. Sorry if you're still reading.

Friends are the Family you Choose

This past Saturday was a wonderful day. No kids, no husband, didn't work on school stuff, didn't sit in front of a computer or t.v. Nope! I was out with my friend, Carol, and her (and now MY) friend, Gina. ALL DAY!!! Ah....it was so great!

I honestly don't know what people, especially women, do without good friends. I truly believe we need them to stay sane (even if it means acting INsane!) We talked and laughed, and were just crazy all day. We shoppped, We ate. It was just terrific.

Of course, one (ahem, CAROL!) made Gina and me sick.

And I've not felt great since that night......but I'll not complain (too much....) because regardless, it was well worth it. We can't wait to go again!!

I hope we all remember to take time for our friends. It's SO hard sometimes. I almost backed out of going because of all the work I needed to be doing, but am so glad I didn't. :)

Loving my Friends,
Queen Bee

Wedding Dresses Extravaganza

Today was a day with the girls! My BFF, Vannessa, is getting married in June, so we (she, all bridesmaids, her mom and her aunt=6) headed to Huntsville to dress shop! And can you believe it- we found the PERFECT dress for V as well as the dresses and color for the bridesmaids. Sorry boys- Tyler and Matt- but they're "watermelon".

Next, Off to the mall where we found dresses for Savannah (flower girl), Kylei (wedding coordinator, lol) and Natalie (daughter of the bride). THEY ARE SO PRETTY and we all cannot wait to see them in them...what pretty princesses they will be!

Next stop- FOOD. So we went to a German restaurant...my first. It was really good. I tried escargo for the first time ever and absolutely LOVED IT!! Too bad it's an appetizer that ain't cheap!

From there, drinks and desserts!! Nothing beats that after a long day of shopping. We had so much fun today!

We've got less than 3 months before The Big Day, and now I'm so excited for it!

Now, if I could just lose a buttload of weight before then, things would be perfect.

Date Night

Milestone Day: Kylei and Savannah are spending the night with their dear friend, Emma, tonight. While they've spent the night away from home countless times before, this is the first "friend" sleepover (read: not relatives). They (all 3 of them) were very excited about today, and have been for the last week!

John and I are taking advantage. We went out to eat tonight (so amazing the difference when it's just the two of you), and thanks to Emma's sweet mommy's generous nature (for keeping the kiddos AND lending us the movie), we're going to watch Fireproof. I know, I know, we're like the last two people on the planet to see it. Oh well. :)

Today was an overall great day for our whole family. John took Kylei to school this morning. He helped out with the school book fair for about an hour, and then the school had "Special Guy Day" where they kids brought (duh!) their special guy and they sang songs and ate goodies and stuff. Kylei was tickled that her Daddy was there. Meanwhile, Savannah was at her Nana's getting spoiled as usual.

FYI, I just got a text message from the sleepover crew. "They r comparing the size of their butts" LAWL!

From District Attorney to Governor?

Are you conservative? Do you know that next year we get to vote in a new governor (Thank you God!)?

Funny story:

A couple of days ago, I was taking Savannah to my Mom's before I headed to class. Like I do every morning, I was listening to 99.7's Ralph Bristol (amazing man) on the radio. Every day he posts a poll that you can log into and put your opinion. Well, this day he was saying that the poll had the names of the GOP candidates that are running for Governor of TN in 2010, and he wanted middle Tennessee to go and vote on who they think would be the best for the job. He began rattling off the names...and I'm thinking, "There is no way I'm gonna know any of these people..." when suddenly Bristol says, "..and Memphis prosecutor, Bill Gibbons." WHAT?! Did he...?!" See, I KNOW BILL GIBBONS! How, you might wonder...he's from Memphis of all places? Well, he is married to my dad's first cousin, Julia S. Gibbons. He's family!

So, I of course berate my family for neglecting to tell this kinda news. sheesh.

Knowing already that he's on the GOP ticket is the first good thing. I then went to google him (cuz although he's family, I don't really know what he believes politically) to see what he's saying and doing. So far, I like what I see. I will of course follow him and the other candidates before the election. Family or not, I want the best person in office.

So, back to my first questions....I will urge all you Tennesseeans to do the same. Find out what you can about those seeking the governor spot, and God bless you...go vote when the time comes.

Queen Bee

Stolen Post

I took this from a blog I read, who had taken it from another, so I feel comfortable reposting as well, as I agree with the previous posters, in that we truly miss a lot these days. Take a look...



He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station,most of them on their way to work.

After 3 mins a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 mins later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.10 mins: a 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.

45 minutes; the musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while.About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32 in 1 hour; he finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth$3.5 million dollars.
Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged$100.

This is a true story.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments.... how many other things are we missing?

"How many things are we missing?" really is the question. Words escape me now in how to communicate the presence of a divinity out there but this shows there is one. Maybe it takes the hindsight from something of this magnitude to awaken some people but maybe, just maybe the pure at heart 3 year old slowed his mom down just enough...



Pay attention!