Your Family or Mine?

A little girl asked her mother: "How did the human race appear?"

The mother answered, "God made Adam and Eve; they had children; and so was all mankind made."


Two days later the girl asked her father the same question.

The father answered, "Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved."



The confused girl returned to her mother and said, "Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?"

The mother answered, "Well, Dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family, and your father told you about his."


Pastor White gave an excellent illustration last night during Bible study. He was teaching about "Honor Thy Father and Mother" and told the story of a Jewish man and an atheist on a flight to Israel. During the flight, the children of the Jew came to him many times, asking "Father do you need anything?" Their respect towards their father was quite evident. Finally the atheist remarked upon it. "How is it that your children are so respectful, I cannot get my children to act that way?" The Jews' response:

"Jewish children are taught that their parents are one step closer to Moses. They are one step closer to Adam, and that makes them one step closer to God. The children of atheists, who believe in evolution, believe that their parents are one step closer to monkeys. These children believe they are one step further evolved, so why should they respect their parents."

Wow! I had never thought of it that way. I'm so glad I know Who my Creator is. I never leave a zoo without having my belief in creation confirmed. I can't look at the variety of animals, without thinking how only God could have created such diversity.

Rejoicing and Weeping

We made it safely home last night. Had to wait 30 minutes for our luggage, and after 7 1/2 hours of flying, we were glad when our heads hit our pillows! Of course my body was finally on Eastern time and I was awake at 4:00 this morning...

I had a thought running through my mind the entire time I was in Florida. It started when I read the response of a blogger to an anonymous comment. The blogger had written about God's blessing and anonymous accused them of bragging. I wondered how I would respond to such a comment, as I was enjoying quite a fun time away. Our trip was a blessing to me, especially since Les' company paid for most of it.

Les and I talked about it and he quoted Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." I realized that not everyone follows that verse completely. There are many reactions to rejoicing and weeping. Here are my thoughts:

Rejoicers only - rejoicers are there in the good times. Going out after church, they're there. Going shopping, they're with you. Party? Good times? Oh yeah, they're on it. But, when weeping begins they are nowhere in sight. Kind of like the friends of the Prodigal son. He alone was in the pig pen.

Nonrejoicers - these people cannot rejoice when anyone else is blessed. Their favorite saying is, "It's not fair!" My friend, Caroline, wrote about this subject recently and I agree with everything she said. Nonrejoicers think, "Why does she have a new car/dress/pair of shoes/job/boyfriend/etc. and I don't?" Envy and jealousy are the nonrejoicers close companions. I believe if they would learn to rejoice with them that do rejoice and be thankful for what they already have, God is waiting to bless them even more.

Weepers only - just like rejoicers, there are weepers. They don't weep with you, but when you weep they find more to weep about. If you share the news of some horrible diagnosis, their response is to tell you about their friend or relative who had the same diagnosis and the horrible outcome they suffered. Weepers live a life in the dark. They don't know how to rejoice. They can't see a positive outcome from anyone weeping.

Nonweepers - these people are similar to rejoicers, but they may not rejoice either. Nonweepers have no compassion. If your life is in shambles, it must be your fault. If you are stricken with an illness, you probably weren't eating healthy. Nonweepers forget that "it rains on the just and unjust." Job's friends fell into these category when they began speaking to him. Repeatedly they accused him of sinning, urging him to confess, so God could restore him.

I want my rejoicing to be real, if the blessing is mine or belongs to someone else, and I want my weeping to be filled with compassion. I want my words to reflect a heart of caring.

Finally, the phrase that came to mind most frequently was one I never want to do:

Weep over them that rejoice, and rejoice over them that weep.

Naples - Day 3

First of all, thank you everyone for your kind birthday wishes, comments, emails, and ecards! I had a wonderful 45th birthday and am so thankful for all my friends and family!

We have now made up for sleeping in so late on Saturday and Sunday. Les had to be in the ballroom for his conference at 8:00 a.m. yesterday and today. He decided to take advantage of the fitness center here and got up at 6:15 both mornings! I stayed up yesterday, but did go back to sleep for a while today. We check out at noon and fly out of Ft. Myers at 3:00, arriving back in Los Angeles at 8:30 tonight.

So how did I spend my last full day in Naples? Shopping of course! I don't know if you could really call what I did shopping, more like browsing. I have a hard time parting with money, especially since last week I went to Kohl's and bought 3 jackets (1 casual, 2 for church) for a total of $50. One of them was only $13!! In fact, I was looking for a top to go under that $13 jacket and was not willing to spend $30 for one...

I found quite a few places to shop/browse that included Steinmart, the Waterside Shops, Coastland Center, and Books a Million. I think I spent the most at the book store! I did enjoy going to the pet store in Coastland Center. You don't see pet stores in malls very often and they had so many cute puppies! I wanted to cuddle them all!

Last night we went Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. MMMMMMMM... What an incredible place. When we made reservations there was a place for "special occasion" - so we put it was my birthday. The entire staff seemed to know. They put streamers on our table, I got a free appetizer and a free desert, and every staff member that came to our table wished me a happy birthday! Here's a picture of my desert... (the only picture taken all day!)


We didn't get a sunset last night - it was cloudy and smoky! There are wildfires burning here in Florida, so the sky was like the sky in California in October. It even smelled like home. It seems clearer this morning, so hopefully they're getting the fires under control.

Well, I need to get packing. Next blog will be from California!

The White Dress with Red Dots

44 years ago this picture was taken of me on my 1st birthday.

35 years ago this picture was taken on my 10th birthday. Same dress, on a doll instead of a baby. (Yes, I was already playing with Barbies, but I still occasionally played with baby dolls!)


I took these pictures last week. Same little dress...


With a back view...



And some shots with my baby book...



I am not a pack rat, AT ALL. There are very few things I have from my childhood, but for some reason this dress remains in my possession. And I'm still amazed that Mom took the time to write in my baby book, since she had 4 children in 5 years, with me being the youngest. If you click on the last picture you can read some of her comments, very precious and priceless to me, especially her comments about the walker.

Happy birthday, little dress.

Naples - Day 2

We got up a little earlier today - not much! We ate breakfast around noon!! We then headed to the Naples Zoo. If you know me very well, you know I was raised with a wide variety of animals and I love them! Read about all that by clicking on Fultz's Funny Farm and McElhaney's Menagerie!

The Naples Zoo is not extremely large, but they had quite a few things we enjoy. Two of my favorite animal types - big cats and primates!

We got to see a lion being fed. The trainer is the grandson of the founders of the Naples Zoo and has been working with big cats since he was a child. He said there is a picture of him as a toddler with a baby leopard!

We then wandered around the zoo, checking out the tigers, leopards, alligators, porcupines, gazelles, wallabies, and Madagascar's Fosa.

Another highlight was the Primate Expedition Cruise. We road a boat around Primate Islands. The primates are free to roam the islands because they can't swim so there is no danger of them escaping!

We also enjoyed a Predator Show. One of the predators that didn't seem like a predator was the hedgehog which kills cobras!

On our way out, we took one more pass by the lions and he was very active. He then started roaring! If you've never been near a lion when it roars, it is truly a sight and sound!!

This evening we ate overlooking the ocean, watched the sunset on the beach and then walked a while. I don't know if we can get any limper... Unfortunately Les has to get up early tomorrow - it's work time for him! I've been keeping track of stores I want to visit!!

Naples - Day 1

We started our day very slowly. So slowly that we didn't eat breakfast until 11:00 - California time! That's 2:00 here!! We then tried to find a Naples Trolley stop to ride the trolley. We finally found one, and missed the trolley by about 30 seconds. We decided to chase the trolley to the next stop, well the driver was in a hurry and it was the third stop before we finally got on! It was a fun way to acclimate ourselves to Naples - a full two-hour tour.

We spent this evening at the Ritz Carlton Beach Resort (we're staying that the Ritz Golf Resort). We enjoyed dinner looking over the Gulf, then walked down to the beach to view the sunset. Just after the sunset, a bell was rung and everyone applauded. Les said, "we're giving God a hand!" We walked on the beach for about an hour after sunset and are now retired to our room. A very fun day!

Welcome, Ella Grace Crabtree

Here are some shots of Miss Ella Grace Crabtree. Born April 24, 2009 at 4:23 a.m. 8lbs, 2.2 oz, 19 3/4 inches long. Congratulations, Shannon, Heidi, and Liam!!





Shannon is Les' second cousin. Ella is the great granddaughter of Uncle Orville Crabtree, who I mentioned yesterday, and she lives in Sorta!

Friday Foodie Flies to Florida

Say that 5 times fast!!

Les and I are heading out on another adventure. He has a work conference in Naples, Florida. The conference starts on Sunday evening, so we're leaving a couple days early to go exploring. The conference will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, so that's where we are staying. High society for this girl!

I have no idea what we will discover - we've been in other parts of Florida, but never to Naples. Les is taking his laptop so I will be able to post while we're gone. We'll be back on Tuesday!


Here's a funny Florida story from Les' childhood. His grandparents lived in Florida, while Les and his family lived in North Dakota. During the summer they would go visit. Les' uncle, Orville Crabtree, would get Les on his lap and ask him to say the name of some Florida cities. Here's how it would go:

OC: Leslie, say "Pensacola"
Les: Pensacola
OC: Say "Wewahitchka"
Les: Wewahitchka
OC: Say "Apalachicola"
Les: Apalachicola
OC: Say "Florida"
Les: Sorta

Awww... I would have loved him as a little guy, too!

Happy Birthday, Kim!

Today is my sister's birthday. Can you guess how old she is? Since I'm the pesky little sister, I just might tell you. Or I could wait until Monday to tell you that I turned 45 and tell you how many years older she is than me..

Here are a couple hints...





Yeah, that's her you hear screaming! I'm in so much trouble. But you only celebrate "half a hundred" once in life!!

Kim, when I was looking through my dozens of photo albums to create your slide show, I found your Senior picture. On the back you wrote:

Kathy -
Out of all the sisters I have you've got to be the best! (I've really got a lot to choose from huh?) I hope this picture holds some good memories. Take care and always just be you.
Love, Kim

So memories, huh? Boy do I have some! Some that only you and I will understand. Dad and the girls will get a few. But after all these years as sisters, I've got memories...

The Perils of Pauline... I'm rinsing!... Saturday morning donuts... the night you got the Holy Ghost... white paper bolo... 3 more months... you cleaning "our" room... smashing peas... learning how to drive... lots of cool cars, with loud pipes... embarrassing Mom at the grocery store by pretending to be deaf... you gotta problem?... the windshield factor... camping trips... car accidents... sharing a room... boy talk... I'm gonna pig out tonight, cause tomorrow I'm starting my diet... lots of Christmases... asthma attacks... your Grand Torino... swimming and the whirlpool incident... the Comet... when you became a Mom... walking on your toes... "helping" me walk while I was wearing braces... Visalia and Woodlake... all of our pets... staying with Granny in her trailer... J.M. McDonald's... your recent wedding... I can't find the price tag...Can you dig it?...

We've had a lot of good times through the years and I'm glad you're my sister. I think we both can say, "I smile because you're my sister, I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it!"

I know what you're going to say about every picture, but I will not remove any of them!!!

In my baby book, Mom wrote about my first birthday:
"Since Kathy's birthday is only four days after Kim's we celebrated them at the same time."
And for my second birthday:
"I guess we'll always celebrate with Kim. This year we went to Storyland."
Remember Storyland? I'm pretty sure there is a home movie of that birthday!

Happy Birthday, Kim!!! I wish we were together today to celebrate your birthday. I hope this will be your best year ever!!! I LOVE YOU!!

Lizard with a Death Wish?

We have a very brave lizard today!

You can see his tail, he's made a slight turn...


I just hope he makes it back up that rock because I know he won't be able to swim!