Nana’s Advice to Miss Universe

Perhaps you have read about the Miss Universe contest. There is speculation that Miss Phillipines would have won had she not given an inappropriate answer to her question.  She didn’t say anything bad, she just didn’t give a good answer.  Her question was “What is one big mistake you made in your life and what did you do to make it right?”

And her answer was, “You know what, sir, in my 22 years of existence, I can say there is nothing major, major — I mean, problems — that I have done in my life, because I am very confident with my family with the love that they are given to me. So… Thank you so much that I am here! Thank you, thank so much!”

There are a whole host of reasons why this young woman might have answered the way she did, but we will probably never know why she said what she did. Miss Mexico won and that’s that.

I didn’t watch this pageant but I’ve seen pictures of Miss Mexico and Miss Philipines and they both are beautiful girls.  In fact, all the young women in the pageant were beautiful…on the outside. Maybe they are on the inside too, but as far as I know there isn’t an applause meter for niceness or a pure heart.

Remember the story in the Bible about Samuel and his sons? He was to choose one of them to be his nation’s leader. He looked over his sons and tried to choose one but he was interrupted by the Lord.

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”

My Grandma Layne was a beautiful woman. Would she have won Miss Universe? Not a chance. When I was a teenager I was in a few pageants and Grandma Layne didn’t encourage me or discourage me but she did give me some advice. “Just remember,” she said, “that pretty is as pretty does and true beauty is on the inside.”

Amen, Grandma. Amen

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Children With Cancer

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Nanahood has been in existence just over a year and I have never done two Gratituesday posts in the same day…until now.
I heard about Megan McNeil and her song, The Will to Survive, on the radio. I listened to it and it made such an impression on me that I wanted to share it with you.

Megan, wherever you are today, please know that I’m praying for you (and other children with cancer) and for the doctors and nurses who are helping you. May the good Lord comfort you and keep you in His care!

Giving thanks today for those who help these children fight cancer!

The Beauty of the Setting Sun

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Most of us are either morning or night people; we either prefer getting up in the morning or staying up late at night.  I am definitely a morning person (sort of).  My thoughts are more clear in the morning and I have more energy then.  When night time comes I am more than ready for bed and a good night’s sleep.

Having said that I must put a qualifier on it; I love mornings but I don’t want them to start until 7 a.m. and after the coffee is made.  Both my grandfathers and my father were farmers and they believed in hitting the ground running at day break.  Not me. I know that watching the sun rise can be an awe inspiring, beautiful event, but I prefer to sleep through the morning show and catch the second performance later in the day.

One night last week I looked out my front door and ran to find my camera. The colors lit the sky with such beauty it gave me chills. Knowing that God paints a masterpiece across the sky every day and watches as the world wakes up, goes about its business, and then goes to sleep, is such a comfort.

Every Tuesday my friend Laura hosts Gratituesday at   http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/ Basically we just tell about something we are thankful for. Today I am giving thanks for the beauty of the sunrise (I occasionally do watch one!) and the setting of the sun, but mainly I am giving thanks that God is my Father and the fact that He watches over me from above.

Which do you prefer? Watching the sun rise or set? It really doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do with the time between.

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NanaHood Vloggs With Eighty Miles Per Hour Mom

Today I’m mingling with Eighty Miles Per Hour Mom.  Every week she asks for someone to submit three questions and this week she chose my questions! Yee-Haw!

So welcome to NanaHood! After you watch my vlogg and mingle with me, visit the other vloggs by clicking on the Monday Mingle button below and see how they answered my questions.

Happy Monday to you!

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Saturday Morning Sleep In and Annoying Alarm Clocks

Most of us love to sleep in on Saturday mornings. Add some rain and thunder to the morning and personally I don’t see any reason to get out of bed until lunch.

Thinking about sleeping in reminded me of an alarm clock my mom brought home from a vacation once. It was supposed to help my brother get up in the mornings but if I remember correctly it didn’t work. It was a cute little Mexican guy, sleeping next to a cactus. He wore a big sombrero and when the alarm went off he stood up and danced to La Cucaracha. One morning the little clock woke my brother up and when he knocked it across the room….no more La Cucaracha.

Remembering that alarm clock made me wonder if there were other crazy alarm clocks out there. Turns out there are.

Here are a couple of my favorites.

An alarm clocks that is a puzzle and when it goes off the pieces fly out. The clock doesn’t stop making noise until the puzzle is put back together. Wonder how long that clock would have lasted around my brother?

Here’s another interesting one. How would you like to wake up to the sound of a bomb going off next to your head? When it goes off a voice starts counting down. You have three minutes to disconnect a wire from a blinking light. If you don’t get it disconnected the bomb goes off and everyone in the neighborhood may wake up!

Finally there is one that mounts to the ceiling above your bed. It goes off once, then retracts and goes a little higher. If you don’t turn it off you will eventually have to stand up in bed to reach it.

There were lots more weird clocks but I’m thinking one of these just may end up as a graduation gift for our twins. That should guarantee they get up and go to class!

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Back To School Blues and Happy Tears For Moms and Nanas

There is a commercial (I think it’s by Staples) where they play the song It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and the commercial shows a mom who is rejoicing that her children are going back to school.  I chuckled when I saw the commercial but truthfully, I never felt that way.

I have told you before that I am a sentimental fool and each school year means my children are one year old, one year bigger and one year closer to being independent. The only two children we have who are still in school are our twins, who are seniors this year. As I said in a previous post, “Let the boo-hooing begin!” but I say that knowing that I am thankful and filled with praise for the blessing of raising five children.

I also give praise and rejoice at the blessing of watching a child grow from infancy to adulthood.

A good friend of mine has a daughter who leaves today for college. This post is for her mom (Glenda) and Glenda’s mom (Nana Sandra). May all your tears be tears of joy! While it’s true that parting is such sweet sorrow, it’s only for a short time. Rebekah will be coming home and bringing lots dirty laundry with her. She’ll have lots of stories and adventures to share. She and her room- mate, Emily (another friend’s daughter) will learn about life and independence in a way they couldn’t if they stayed home.

Blessings to all moms and nanas who are sending their children (they are still our babies no matter how old they are!) off to college this month. Don’t try and hold it in….Let the “happy tears” begin!

Glenda, Rebekah and Nana Sandra

Glenda, Rebekah and Nana Sandra