MY BLOGAVERSARY TODAY: PLEASE PAY IT FORWARD

Noah  the Dove


These  little bunnies, about 6 days old, were attacked by a dog  and orphaned. Two out of the litter of five did not  survive, and these three were not doing very  well.

Noah  is a non-releasable, one-legged homing pigeon/rock dove  that is in the rehab centre.

Noah kept going over to the  bunny cage and looking in -- even sleeping in front of  the door to the cage.

Then,  suddenly, there were only two bunnies in the cage.  But when Noah moved a bit from the front of the  cage to everyone's surprise...there was the tiny  bunny...under Noah's wing....sound asleep! That little  bunny rabbit had crawled through the cage, preferring a  feather-bed, no doubt to snuggling up with its  litter mates!

Now,  they are all together and the bunnies are doing GREAT.  When the bunnies scoot underneath Noah's feathers, he  carefully extends his wings out to surround them and  then they snuggle. When one of them moves and they  start sticking out here and there, he gently pushes them  back under him with his beak!  It is beautiful and  amazing to see...
 

Update on  Noah the pigeon:
We  are Bob and Georganne  Lenham of Wild Rose Rescue Ranch in  Texas , home  of Noah the  Pigeon.
After  finding many posts online featuring Noah and the bunnies  and reading about the many lives he has touched (his  story has been forwarded around the world) we thought  we'd post a follow-up and a few new  photos.

We  knew there was something special about Noah the moment  we saw him.  Although  the bunnies seem to be his favorite, Noah helps out with  many rescue babies here at the Wild  Rose Rescue  Ranch...

Noah's first  litter of bunnies, almost raised and  ready for  release.

Now, Noah  helps out with many rescue babies here at the  ranch...

How  wonderful it is to have a full-time soft-feathered  nurturer here at the rescue ranch!

He cuddles  with all the babies as they snuggle under his warm  feathers......

and he "coos" as if singing them to  sleep with a lullaby.

Noah  is truly, truly a God-send.

He will cover you with His feathers
And under His wings you will find refuge.
Psalm 91:4

LIFE IS WONDERFUL !   

 

I have been sharing this and thought I should just put it out here for everyone to see.  Come leave a comment and follow me so I can enter you into my giveaway. 

I will be giving away something fun! I will run the giveaway until the end of the month and draw a winner November 30th. I am doing this in honor of my two year blogaversary. Since I started blogging I have made some wonderful friends. It is a wonderful place to spend quality time with great people. All the crafty, talented, artistic people. People we all share such a wonderful bond of friendship with. Encouragement. Laughter, Sadness. Joy, Happiness. Friendship. Warmth, Kindness. Come join me if you don't already. We all have such a wonderful connection here. I am grateful and very appreciative for all of you. Love my friends in blog land. Thanks for being here.

I am asking one more thing. If you win here please pay it forward. Do something fun for someone else. I want to see how many of us will participate and see who we can bring a smile to.

Spread the news. Come visit, come comment and please just follow me. I will always come over and visit you too and follow you. 

Come spread a little joy.

Take my button on the right side bar. It is the top button. Extra entry for you too!

Love is....That morning cuppa Joe!

 I hope you stop by and visit and drink your coffee or tea with me! This sweet Love is...looks like me getting a cuppa joe for my Sweets! I hope you visit Marydon and all the participates here. I have a cross country post and a Blue Monday post too. You might have missed my Pink Saturday post too! Please feel free to look back

My blogaversary is tomorrow! I am be behind but I will do a really nice giveaway! Come visit and spread the word! I just ask that you follow me and leave a comment that you want to be in the giveaway! Simple!

SPIRITUAL SUNDAY

Christian perspective on Halloween

An Episcopal (e.g. Protestant) Christian's view.

Since the eighth century Christians have celebrated All Saints' Day on November 1 to celebrate the known and unknown Christian Saints. Saints are not just those whom the Church has canonized, but all members of that "cloud of witnesses" who proclaim Jesus as Lord - including you and me!
Almost as old as the celebration of All Saints' Day is the tradition associated with All Hallow's Eve. ("Hallows" mean "saints," both mean "holy ones," as in "Hallowed be thy name." "Eve" means the evening before.) So, Halloween means "the evening before All Holy Ones' Day." Today we call that festival Halloween (Hallow's Eve) and we have many fun secular ways of recognizing it in addition to religious ways. However, it's important to remember that its celebration has a long, positive history in the Church.
What sort of history is that? Like many of the liturgical festivals (Christmas and Easter included), All Saints' Day and All Hallow's Eve have some connection to pagan festivals. People of many races and cultures have remembered their dead and have had superstitions about death itself. Christians remembered death itself on All Hallow's Eve and celebrated Christ's victory over death. During the Middle Ages, Christians would gather in Churches for worship and they would remember the saints' victories over evil. Likewise they would put on little displays showing Jesus' victory of Satan, often using unusual masks and costumes to act out the story.
Thus, the festivities on All Hallow's Eve were the Christian's way of laughing at death and evil, something we can do in certain hope of Christ's victory over the powers of darkness. The Church for centuries, however, has seen All Hallow's Eve not as a glorification of evil, but as a chance to affirm eternal life in the face of the death of our mortal bodies. Just as Easter is a celebration of Jesus' victory over death and evil, so is Halloween!
1995 (with minor corrections and changes over the years)
in response to email castigating Halloween.com for glorifying evil when it was doing anything but that! :-)
For some other perspectives on a Christian Halloween, please see:
• ChristianAnswers.net

I was raised in the Catholic church and we celebrated All Saints Day rather than Halloween at school. Most of our parents did allow us to trick or treat  on Halloween. I think it can be a fun and safe holiday if you keep in mind that kids are kids and they like to follow their peers. It is most difficult in school for children to be set aside because of a religious belief  about Halloween. I have always had a good balance on the subject and my children know the truth! So we do not have a problem with Halloween because we basically handout candy to the neighborhood kids and add a few decorative items throughout our home.
I wanted to share this verse with you today in honor of Charlotte and all the hard work she does to prepare our weekly Spiritual Sunday.
"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." John 8:322
I have seen this verse being misconstrued in movies and people using it in silly talk! The truth of the matter is Christ is the truth and knowing Him will idea set you free!
Enjoy your day and enjoy your friendships here as well.

Here is a tasty autumn soup to share today. The recipe comes from Bethany M Giles who is also the photographer of this delightful soup:

1 acorn squash
2 sweet potatoes
1 medium pumpkin
2 14 oz. cans of coconut milk
14.5 ozs. chicken broth
salt,ground pepper and ginger to taste
1 lime juiced

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Puncture the acorn squash and pumpkin with a knife and wrap the sweet potatoes in foil. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil.
3. Bake approximately 2 hours until the skin the pumpkin begins to brown and caves in.
4. Remove the sweet potatoes skins and chop. Skin,seed and mash the acorn squash and pumpkin. Stir in the coconut milk, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish. Add chicken broth. Season with salt, pepper and ginger and the lime juice.
5.Cook over medium heat until heated through. Serve with a lime wedge and a drizzle of coconut milk.

This delightful soup was found at www.allrecipes.com and you may subsitute canned pumpkin for this soup. It is festive for this season!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, A CROSS COUNTRY BITTERSWEET END,MORE BLUE

Nick at his painful finish of the CHSA Cross Country State Championship 2011. His running shoes are blue and orange!

As a life long Denver Bronco fan here is a fan fave Champ Bailey. I thought it was a nice break from QB sensation Tim Tebow and his now famous "T bow"!

The Denver Bronco mascot. Did you know that Bucky, the beautiful white horse that graces our stadium was designed from "Trigger" the famous horse that Roy Rogers rode in all his western movies and T.V. show?

Some Bronco hair for the ultimate Bronco fan!

A blue fairy image for you! Hope it is not snowing where she is trick or treating!

A haunting image in blue!

A patch of pretty blue pumpkins!
Enjoy your blue day and if you are heading out for some tricks and treats please be safe!
Q. What do goblins and ghosts drink when they are hot and thirsty on Halloween?
A. Ghoul Aid!

Q. Why did the ghost go into the bar?
A. For the boos!

Q. WHy did the game warden arrest the ghost?
A. He didn't have a haunting license!

Q. why didn't the skeleton dance at the party?
A. He didn't have any body to dance with!

Q. Where does Count Dracula usually eat his lunch?
A. At the casketeria!

If I don't stop now I never will! Ha Ha Ha! Go visit Sally and show her your blue today!

PAIN AND PERSEVERANCE

The dictionary says this about perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition. Steadfastness.
2011 CHSA Cross Country Championship was a difficult course for many. Nick did not have the best race of his year. He had a poor time as far as his time goes. He has not run an 18 minute 5k since he was a freshman. But his day was off, his team mates on! That is life. It does not always go according to our plan. The course was soft and there was some mud, lots of mud! The young man that everyone thought would be the winner, running in the 15's all season, never losing a race came in 40th. I am sure he was devastated. Yet he was running on a possible stress fracture. We saw a report on his Face Book page that he was taken to the hospital, then released. A few really classy guys, gentleman, full of integrity and good character did not fair as well as they had hoped either. It was just a tough day. But there is another race, another day, a different season. All the runners are winners in my book! They ran like champions. I hope they stop and catch their breathe and rest. The winter is coming and they need their rest. Track and field will be here before we know it. Nick can pick up where he left off.  He had a miserable season with bursitis and shingles. Shingles that attacked his body and left him in so much pain . Yet he persevered and took 11th place out of 15 spots last week to secure a place at the state meet.   Because of his hard work and his team mates hard work they secured a place in the state competition. The thrill of it is just a good place to be.
Our older son and two of his friends came along and joined us in supporting Nick and Fabian, Sean, Juan, Jorge, Eddie and Mario. Cameron shot some cool photos with the nifty D3000 Nikon camera he recently purchased! I will share them here.

Some photos from the race. Nick was in pain at the three mile mark. As he approaches the finish it broke my heart to see the pain in his face.

"If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been. " Robert  Brault

"A mother knows what a child doesn't say"

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast  under trial , for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life,  which God has promised for those who love Him." James 1:12

A Halloween Treat! Pretty in pink and then some

Now are these two cute? My nephew Sean and his sister Sarah! Doesn't she make an adorable Strawberry Shortcake?

 Her brother is so intense! Do you know who he is in costume?
Then there is Ari. My little niece with her bumble bee costume. Isn't she cute as a bug?

I thought you might like some pink Halloween treats too along with some Breast Cancer Awareness reminders:

Watch this video too. Then stop by Beverly's.
Enjoy the weekend filled with pinkness. Please pray for Nick and his team mates as they compete in the State Cross Country meet tomorrow. It is bittersweet for me because this is the end of cross country season and Nick has participated in cross country since he was a 7th grader and he has attended the state championship meet as a sophomore,junior and senior in high school. I pray that he and his team mates will have a strong finish and they will run with integrity and heart like they always do. I pray that all participates will use good character tomorrow and run with confidence and kind hearts. Amen
 "The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult."--Cicero

HAPPY AUTUMN, HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND SNOW PLEASE GO AWAY!

Hi everyone! We got a lot of snow and it was wet and heavy. We are blessed. We have power! But many were not as lucky. So I am sharing some photos I took. Except for Maxine. She is making me laugh! My son-in-law has a cool motorcycle. (I will have to post my pic of me sitting on it! Ha Ha). But it is sitting outside in the snow! Brrr....it is cold and wet. Poor motorcycle. So Maxine is her usual snarky self making wise cracks! Ha Ha! Hee Hee! I really like Maxine.
My broken branches photo is a great one too! When my SIL got up today (his day off) this enormous branch was laying on top of his Passport. The good news is there was no major damage. The bad news is the tree branch is so large it will be a while before we can cut it and bind it for our trash service! Grateful no one was hurt!
The red tree is beautiful. It is such a nice autumn reminder. It looks pink in the sunlight. I shot this over the weekend, It was before the cold and snow set in.
Then there is the Halloween pumpkin Amy from our vendor across the hall decorated for us!  She works for a sleep study clinic and brought this cute pumpkin in its Halloween finest to us.
Another vendor  brought us the "Headless Horseman" pumpkin. Did you read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving? Written in 1917 it is a classic and features Rip van Winkle:
A pleasing land of drowsy head it was.
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye.
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass.
For ever flushing round a summer sky.
Now hop over to  Jenny and say hi! Visit all the participates of this weekly fun at Alphabe Thursday!