***Marcy Poppins Popping Back In***

Where did Poppins go?

Oh where can she be?

Did she go to see a show

Or a grandson at Karate?

She went to see a friend

She went to bring a smile

And visit for awhile

But really, in the end

Some parts in her did mend.

For the blessings, you see

though for Cheryl were meant to be

Humbly came right back to me

And blessed us all three incredibly.

Well, I brought some photos of Sadie May, our stray, with me on my visit to Ria, hoping they would 'charm' her or 'disarm' her feelings of anxiousness about this pit bull stray, but she just looked and said nothing...

Hopefully we will get a call from the vet's office saying that her state approved (and paid for) spaying has been okayed and then she might get spayed this Friday (please dear Lord). Plans call for still giving another try to finding a loving home for her, but if not, she may become ours...
Since I can't give you pictures of Ria's family (due to her uncomfortableness with online stalkers etc.), I will give you a pretty 'incognito' photo of Julia with Jonathan's older karate belt on and he now has graduated to the next level and is the proud owner of a purple belt.....

My planned visit with Cheryl turned out to be one of the short shifts ( 3 hours) of people staying with her. When Carolyn asked if I'd like to stay for a shift that someone else couldn't make, I said "Absolutely."

As always, Cheryl was loving and gracious and the swelling had gone down in her legs completely so she was able to walk. When I asked Carolyn if she thought Cheryl would want pictures, she said "I doubt it, since she looks so bad now." So, I said nothing and surprise, Cheryl said she'd like to take pictures! Now Cheryl just turned 53 yrs. old and is younger than Carolyn and I, but cancer has made her look older. This picture was taken in Cheryl's living room where her hospital bed is located off to the right of us.....

We talked and talked about funny things that happened at the bank. We did a little serious talking too and Cheryl choked up once and then we started laughing again. Cheryl did mention that she had some things she'd still like to do and hoped that maybe she had a couple of years left (please keep this is prayer for her).

Being my crazy self, I asked for a goofy photo and got one...

1. The Nature of Friendship
"Friendship essentially involves a distinctive kind of concern for your friend, a concern which might reasonably be understood as a kind of love. Philosophers from the ancient Greeks on have traditionally distinguished three notions that can properly be called love: agape, eros, and philia. Agape is a kind of love that does not respond to the antecedent value of its object but instead is thought to create value in the beloved; it has come through the Christian tradition to mean the sort of love God has for us persons as well as, by extension, our love for God and our love for humankind in general. By contrast, eros and philia are generally understood to be responsive to the merits of their objects—to the beloved's properties, especially his goodness or beauty. The difference is that eros is a kind of passionate desire for an object, typically sexual in nature, whereas ‘philia’ originally meant a kind of affectionate regard or friendly feeling towards not just one's friends but also possibly towards family members, business partners, and one's country at large (Liddell et al., 1940; Cooper, 1977a). Given this classification of kinds of love, philia seems to be that which is most clearly relevant to friendship (though just what philia amounts to needs to be clarified in more detail)."

My only regret over this precious and enjoyable visit is that I did not pray over her. I talked about praying for her and having her on our church's prayer chain , but I really wish that I would have prayed over her as well...sometimes I could kick myself!! Here's what can happen when you try to hold the camera and take a picture of all of the people together...

And if that goofiness above didn't make you smile, maybe these will.....

Confucius Say ...
Confucius say, "When you are angry at neighbor, walk a mile in his shoes. Then you will be a mile away from him, and you will have his shoes!"

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Hot Horseradish
A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. Once, at dinner, he offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful.The guest let out a huge gasp. When he was finally able to speak, he choked out, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I've met who passes out a sample of it."

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Top Sign That You've Already Grown Up

6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.
Your potted plants stay alive.
You hear your favorite song on an elevator.
Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
Grocery lists are longer than macaroni & cheese, diet Pepsi & Ho-Ho's.
You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.
You carry an umbrella. You watch the Weather Channel.
You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.
Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up'.
Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
You're the one calling the police because those darn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.
Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt .

~~~Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessings of being able to help one another through kind words and actions.