We Have A Winner!

We are in our fourth week as Coffee News publishers and we are really getting this thing down. We have a set routine each week. And we feel free to deviate from it whenever we need to. :-) Advertisers are starting to see the paper and calling us instead of us going out to find them. And the readership is growing. Every week we get more contest entry forms from readers; many of them from the same readers who send entries every week. Repeat readers are what we are after.

Today we had our first drawing. After helping me do my deliveries, Emma drew our first "Find the Coffee News Guy Contest" winner. It was none other than an eleven year old fan who picked up the issue in one of our advertisers - a hair salon. How fun! We get to give this little guy $25 and thank him for reading Coffee News. I love this job!!!

An Apple a Day

The day was too beautiful to stay indoors. We took advantage of the great weather and went apple picking. Susannah liked to climb in the trees. She must have eaten five apples while we were there. I shouldn't have to take her to the doctors for a good long while.

Grandma's House

My mom lived in the same house for over 50 years. My grandpa bought the house when it was brand new. It was a three bedroom bungalow in Wyandotte. He was a smart man and bought a double wide driveway (the only one in about the whole neighborhood). He talked the cement guy into pouring his extra cement into a patio in the backyard. My mom would tell me stories about how grandpa would take care of the house. My Dad and Grandpa built a family room edition on the back when I was about 2.

It was a special house.

I have fond memories of that house. I remember how the hallway floor boards squeaked when you walked on them. I remember laying on the living room floor reading books in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. I remember the woodsy smell of the attic. I remember sitting on the porch drinking ice tea watching my children play. I remember all the garage sales we had and the parties and dinners.

My Mom and Dad sold that house three years ago. I still miss going there. When they first moved I would drive by it and say to the girls, "There's Grandma and Papa's old house." I didn't want them to forget. But what I really didn't want them to forget was their Grandparents. They were such a big part of their lives and I knew that would change if they were far away. Once in awhile we will be driving through Wyandotte and one of the older girls will pipe up and say hey this is where Grandma used to live. They still remember.

I may miss the house, but I miss my parents more. Sometime I'll see an older gentleman riding his bike and I still check to see if it my Dad. And then I remember he's in Florida riding his bike there.

Mom and Dad have a new house now. We have new memories there. Different memories. Warm, sunny days and fun at the beach. Vacation memories.

Same Grandma and Papa, but in a different house.

Incredble Girl

Claire has always been good at drawing. She drew this picture today. Maybe she can get a job at Disney.

Five going on Sixteen

Five year old children do not know how to shave around mosquito bites.

Susy experimented with the razor tonight. I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this for a few more years.

Life Means So Much

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do and believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessings
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count our days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So nobody's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count our days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Has anybody lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count our days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

Chris Rice

What are you putting in your account today?

I am becoming my Aunt Ruth

My mother has two sisters that are much older than her, my Aunt Shirley and my Aunt Ruth. Now, my family is of Ukrainian desent and my two Aunts both married Polish men. I can't even spell their last names without looking it up. My Aunt Ruth has always been a larger woman. She is your typical Polish Aunt in polyester pants, always trying to feed you something and has a million chachkies around the house. The last time I saw her she was sporting a pretty good beard and had hair growing in other facial regions.

Last night something was bothering me in my ear. My husband shines a flashlight in it and pulls out a 3/4 inch hair.

I might as well order the polyester pants to go with it.

Gunslingers Credited with Lions' Win

I just want to personally take credit for the Lion's win on Sunday. We all know their record. I recently joined a fantasy football league against my better judgement. Not because there's anything wrong with them. It's just that anyone who knows me, knows that I'm the wrong guy to be joining a fantasy football league. Anyway, it is only because they were playing against my quarterback, Brett Favre - whom I picked precisely because he was playing the lions early in the season, that the Lions came away with a decisive win. Just consider this quote from the Lion's website: "The Detroit defense put in a phenomenal performance, holding the Packers to their lowest point total while under the command of 14-year veteran quarterback Brett Favre. The defense finished the contest with three sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions." Need I say more? All I have to say to the Lions is "You can make the check out to Larry Castle." :-)

Impossibly Small Deal

My husband needed a new computer for his ministry work. We are huge Apple fans so we had to go directly to the store to buy a new laptop. It is always fun to go there and see all the workers in their matching shirts with the apple logo busy helping everyone. The girls love to sit on the rubber ball seats and play games. I check out the new stuff for a few minutes, make sure the girls are settled in and safe with their father and then go shopping. It's a good thing all around.

So the guy in the green apple shirt up sells my husband into buying a photo ipod. You get it for only $120 when you purchase a laptop. We are huge picture takers having three girls and all so he goes for it. Yeah! We got such a great deal.

Then today, as I open my browser which is set to the Apple website, I see this:



No wonder they were practically giving the things away with those smirks. They knew what was coming and they could hardly hold it in!

I'm Proud to be an American!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?