... for the little warriors

It's official ~~~ TGK is an official charitable organization!!!

In case you've noticed my sidebar link to The General's Kids ...

 

 

 

This is our daughter's organization that gives back to our military kids serve our country alongside of their wounded parent.  Our own little warriors -- Lucy at age 3 and Tag at 11 days old -- had their lives turned upside in a split second from "the phone call" that their Daddy had been wounded in an explosion overseas.  Tag will never remember anything from that traumatic time, but sweet Lucy remembers everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 Some people say that she will forget certain things, but such a trauma to a young child's life leaves an everlasting mark ...

I know because I experienced such a trauma as well at about age 4 {I will fill in details in another post}. 

 

To this day, Lucy will say things like

"Nanny, do you remember Miss ___ from that time Daddy was at Walter Reed?"

or

"____ has 4 prosthetics because he was in an explosion too."

{Yes, at the tender age of 3 Lucy could explain how prosthetics work & help those who have no arms or legs function.}

  

 

Some "little warriors" live at military hospitals - medical centers - for the duration of their hero's treatment/recovery/rehabilitation period.  The General's Kids wants to help give our little heroes an encouragement and support system to let them know that THEY are our heroes too. They serve our country alongside their wounded hero and their whole family.

 

they sacrifice and they are dedicated ...

they serve and they are patriotic ...

they love our country and they support our American Flag ...

These little warriors are our nation's heroes.

 

Here's a little introductory excerpt from The General's Kids website ...

 

About Us

The General's Kids, L.L.C. was designed for our nation's little warriors. Whether they are infants or teenagers, facing the life-changing injury or illness of a parent leaves a lasting impression. There are so many wonderful organizations out there that benefit wounded warriors and their families, and children often benefit from these. But at The General's Kids we are proud to focus 100% on the children and young siblings of the wounded, ill, and injured. We can help connect children and teenagers of various ages with others across the country who are going through similar struggles, provide sponsors who will send encouraging cards or care packages, and will soon be able to offer financial assistance for things like special interests or school funding. Children living the Wounded Warrior life are faced with a harsh sense of reality. We intend to help bring back some of the things that help comfort and lighten these kids' hearts. Our goals are big and extend all the way up to wanting to fund Disney vacations and college scholarships. Our belief is that whether there are 10,000 wounded warrior kids or just one, each and every one is a priority and deserves to have their sacrifice for our freedom acknowledged. Learn more about how you can help...

 

 

So ...

 

this is basically "who we are" at The General's Kids.

We hope you visit our website ... and please remember our little warriors in your prayers.

Lucy & Tag are just 2 little warriors out of so many others. Our family is dedicated to helping other little warriors adjust to their wounded warrior life ... because we have been there and are still traveling this journey.  And this journey will continue throughout the lives of our own little warriors.  I'm sure it's Mrs. 'Joes desire as it is ours ... that our future generations will continue the work of The General's Kids to ensure that all little warriors know how important they are and how much they are cared for.

 

And to know that someone has walked their path before them.

 

 

May God bless you & your family

 

may God bless our wounded warrior families

 

and may God bless our little warriors

 

 



Being Anxious {for nothing}

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 
{yes, I know the next 3 verses go along with this one but I will post on those later}

 

I've been focused on this verse for the past several days -- okay, probably more like weeks. 
It appears that Granny has been a little anxious over the past several weeks ...
from cleaning out closets, garage, cabinets ... to projects that are in need at our house ...
to schedules of 2 households with 'Joe's appointments and helping with the little ones when I can ...
and the list goes on. 

Continuing our driveway rock-wall project

The other day I told Dan that since I have a few days a week, I feel like I have to get our long list of chores & projects completed within a short time.  Feeling anxious --- overwhelmed --- ready to be done with the projects which lie in front of us.  So, as I primed our bedroom walls today, I started thinking about being

"anxious for nothing" ...
absolutely nothing ... not one thing at all ...

not the tasks that lie ahead
not the regrets of the past
not even the here & now

Like many others, Dan & I have goals and plans for the near future as well as the distant.  We know some things we would like to accomplish over the next year -- and we have a few things we would like to see come about in the next 10 years.  And yet --- before time even began --- 
God breathed the words "be anxious for nothing" ...

1st room for repainting -- our bedroom

It's good to set goals.
It's good to plan for the future.

It's imperative to turn our agendas over to God ...
to align our hearts' desires with our very own Creator ...
to pray His will to become our will.

The next few weeks are going to be very busy for our family ...
and each little step of progress we make will be prayed over &
given to The One who knows His plans for us.

And this Granny will continue to learn to

be anxious for nothing

  



The Non-Posting Blogger

So we're settling into our household routine with our kids being a couple of hours away.  Lucy stays with us a couple of nights so that she can continue her activities at church and dance.  So Tuesday mornings she & I head back to meet her Momma & brother so that she can go home with her family. 

 

And on the drive back ...

 

Granny writes blog posts

 

I write at least a couple of them while focusing on the traffic around me --

 

I can come up with clever titles & formats

I can insert pictures & captions

I can write some tear-jerkers & some comedy

 

and when I sit down at my laptop ...

 

nothing

absolutely nothing

 

... every line is lost

... every picture has disappeared

 ... everything simply gone

 

So, this Granny is seeking some input ---

if there's any readers out there in my little cyber-corner

of the vast world wide web ...

 

How do YOU write your posts?

What prompts you to write what you do & when you do it?

What motivates you?

How do you put aside all the tasks that lie in front of you?

 

I know, I know ...

I am probably coming across (at least, kind of) whiny and moody and self-pitying.

But I'm really trying NOT to sound that way. I'm just wanting to learn from some of my "posting blogger" friends. 

Let's face it --

every single one of us has "life" going on right now in our lives (makes sense?). 

 

Some of us are transitioning ... some have already transitioned.

Some of us have full-time outside-of-our-home- jobs ... some of us have already retired.

Some of us are searching for our niche ... some of us know exactly where our niche is.

 

Maybe once  When life settles down  After ...

 

Well, this Granny should just hit the "publish" button and mark it down that I actually posted to my blog today!

 

Until the next time ...

 

 



Granny -- Neil Diamond -- E.T. ::::: What A Combination :::::

Once again it's been a little while since I've posted on my blog.  We've had so much going on in our household and still transitioning from one household to two --- along with visits in between, birthdays & parties (more to come later on this), and Granny working on my time management skills (not going so well with it either).  So, let me just jump full-force into this post without leaving you wondering "too much" if I have totally flipped out with these references.

 

Yesterday I took Lucy back to meet her Mommy & brother so that she could go back home with them.  We'd had a fun-filled weekend with her 6th birthday party and Tag's "half" birthday (either late 2nd or early 3rd -- whichever you prefer to call it).  So, as with most Tuesdays, I was scrambling around to get Lucy some breakfast & the "normal" morning routine ... as well as loading my car with stuff to send to everyone to

(try to) help out a little this week.  On my way back home (alone) I really needed to stop somewhere to get a couple of things for Dan & myself.  As I looked in the mirror, I decided that I should never be "caught" going out in public close to our home just in case I ran into somebody I knew .... makeup a mess, hair pulled back in ponytail, tshirt, old jeans, workout shoes ....

and "those lines" under my eyes just popped right out at me.

 

Oh well ... so I stopped at an "out of our area" Target.  It was simply one of those days, so I started looking at CDs --- and ran across

The Essential Neil Diamond .... can't go wrong with this one! So, back in my car I cranked the volume a tad louder than usual (but realizing the busy-ness of the road I was traveling as well).  The 2nd disc played pretty much until I reached home -- but it was song #17 that probably "spoke" the loudest to me -- Heartlight. 

 

 

I've always been a Neil Diamond fan ... but really & truly NOT an E.T. fan.  Matter of fact, I couldn't believe that he would even agree to sing such a song when the movie came out years ago.  However, I realized yesterday that listening to Neil Diamond as a teenager is so much a contrast than listening to Neil Diamond now ... as a 50 year old. 

 

***So, here's the main thing that this 50 year old "gets" from listening to

Neil Diamond's Heartlight ...***

 

As life "happens" between our childhood and adulthood sometimes we lose sight of our goals and our dreams that we had a children. We all have more responsibilities as adults and that's the "normal" progression through our years -- family, work, friends, community, church ... but that doesn't mean that we stop dreaming and setting goals for ourselves.  When the house is quieter than normal and not as busy, it's the dreams that Dan & I hold on to not only for our kids & grands ...

but possibly more important are the dreams & goals for ourselves.  

 

Life still gets hectic and busy and chaotic for us although we call ourselves "semi-empty-nesters" ... as we focus on our next many wonderful years that God gives us together.  I admit that this is a complicated concept for me ... I'm still learning how to manage my time here at home.  When Lucy's here with me it's more simple -- we do her online schooling, dance class, then back to her house a couple hours away. 

But when it's just me ... well, time management is definitely NOT my gift. 

 

So, I'm taking Heartlight to heart ... there's goals I have for me personally as well as goals for Dan & me regarding downsizing our house -- so, I have a lot in front of me for the next few months.  And mixed in with these are time to explore "me" -- my interests, things I do well,

things I need to do better (time management is definitely on this list).

 

And to just simply realize that

 

*** it's perfectly okay for a 50 year old to take time to dream those rides across the moon that

turns her heartlight on for herself and those around her ***

 

 

PS -- if you didn't take a few minutes to watch the You-tube video of Heartlight,

I highly recommend you spare about 4 minutes or so watching ...

maybe E.T. will turn on your heartlight as he did mine.