A Day of Love, Tears, & Thankfulness!

I am thankful today for my life. I was spared yesterday from a horrible tragedy. A tire blew up on my car on a major route in Coooerstown NY on a blind curve. Luckily I was traveling 35 milkes an hour instead of gthe recommended 55. I knew the road had a blind curve and being a holiday with many toiurist I wanted to take no chances. Well, I thought it was the end. The tire flew 300 yards down the road. Witnessses told the troopers they saw it fly into the air and then down the road. The guardrails were the steel cable kind, three tiers. As I tried to maintain control, I steered into them to avert oncoming traffic on thid busy road. I did not want to inkure anyone. The car dragged along them, caught between them, unable to break free. The cables began stretching upo over the car, wrapped around the passenger side windows, went up over the wndshield, and started to come back down, it crushed the windshiled and began to shatter, glass was all over me. Then the windshield began to buckle in, and I saw the cables coming towards my throat. All I could think of was the song "Jesus take the wheel" and he must haave, because I am alive. I hurt like crazy, all soft tissue damage. The car was  then whipped around perpendicular to the guardrails and blocked one lane of the highway. The entire right front side of the car was torn off, the wheel well, gone, the headlight dragged and wrapped in the cables. The frwme is bent, even the driver's door would not open. I di not want to go to the hospital but the EMT gave me no choice.

 I do not remember how I called for help, there were some very sweet young men who stopped and helped, made sure I didn't get out... neighbors called 911 and within 5 minutes the state troopers and EMT were there. I do not know waht I am going to do now. I had no collision on the car. Remember I am just starting my life over after having lost everything a year ago. AllI could afford was liability on the car and the mandatorry PIP. I need a miracle to get a car so I can keep this new job tht took me a year to get! Please pray for me.

Again my ever loving sister and brotherinlaw came to my rescue. They are truly God's angels on earth. I have an apartment to pay for, insurance, now more medical bills and physical therapy. And desperately need a car. It's easy to focus on the bad, but the good is I am alive and am soon on my way to Binghamton area to see Joey, my MARINE son. I am giving him a BBQ send off today as he deploys to Afghanistan soon. Vanessa, David, and I worked liked maniacs after I got out of the hospital from 6PM until 10:30PM. Hopefully all will go well. They are taking me down, and my sweetheart BOB is coming after he gets his dad up and ready for the day. He will bring my brotherinlaw home early, as he has to get on the road (long haul trucker) and sweet angelic Vanessa is staying later with me so I can spend some more timne with Joey.

Why Lord, why now again
when my life was looking up
does this adversity transpire?

What have I done Lord?
Is the challenge so great,
The battle of the twix?

Is evil going to win?
How do I protect myself
From ill will once more?

How do I not succumb
To the throes of depression,
Anxiety, despair, hopelessness?

Will you carry me Lord?
Once more I humble myself
To you and am thankful to live.

I only need an answer Lord...
When does it all end
And when does life begin?

Am I building a house with you Lord?
Will I have a place in your kingdom?
So many times I've neared the gates...

Is it not time to enter in?
What work have you in store
That I was spared once more?

What is my destiny?
What  is my purpose?
Why do I live?

Will you answer me Lord?
Will you love me Lord?
Will you forgive my sins?

I am yours Lord, before all...
I will heed your call Lord.
To you Lord, I surrender all.
Poems My Way - Valrie 07/05/2010

You just never know when life ends...

Goodbye sweet car, my Buick Century saved my life along with my defensive driving skills, or so the troopers told me...

God bless you all for being my friends and I need you all more now than ever.

Proud To Be An American Mother of a US MARINE!

                     Happy 4th of July and let us all remember what our freedom means!

Uncle Sam is free to take our children or encourages them to enlist. They lay down their lives in order for the rest of us to live free and to protect the homelands of others and promote freedom world-wide.

We are free to celebrate our independence and fly our flags.

We have freedom to be proud, outspoken, diverse.

We are free to protest, to go to war and to seek PEACE!

We have the freedom to become a single mom without beeing stoned to death.

Me in black and my awesome daughter in PINK!

We are free to choose where we want to live and to move there! (Hello TEXAN Jenni).

My son Joey and his fiance Renee!

We have the freedom to choose who we want to marry, and to love the one we will marry!

We have the freedom to have our children and raise them as we see fit! Girls are not murdered because they are girls!

My son Lance Corporal Joey Hranek, US Marine (on the left).

We have the freedom to choose which armed force we want to enlist our services to.

We form long lasting bonds, ties, and friendships with those we go to war with and protect with our own lives, no MAN or WOMAN is left behind. HOORAH!

My sweetheart BOB, served his country 27 years as a Military Analyst with a major governemnt agency.

We have the freedom to choose our careers and to fall in love again...

We freely visit our National Monuments. WE can freely talk on the phone and call worldwide without major censorship.

We are free to pack up and drive throughout our country without visas and checkpoints, although we do pay a lot of tolls!

We are free to celebrate with fireworks in some states or with permits.

Since 1776 we have celebrated our Independence!

Tonight when you view local fireworks, this is what our National Mall will look like!

Remember to be proud of our red, white, and blue! Also remeber those who died for me and for you!

Remember our Lady of Liberty

AND...

Fly your flags with pride!

Proud to Be...

I am proud to be an American mother of a US Marine.

He is sacrificing his life so we may live free.

So many years I nursed my son, and took good care of him.

Now dear Lord, I give Joey over to you...

Love him, protect him, guide him through his days.

Bring my only son home to me in one piece.

Shower him with legions of angels...

Surround him with the warrior bands.

Lead him by his mind as well as his heart

In the decisions he shall have to make...

Noone can fathom the sounds that blast the air,

The endless nights, no sleep,

the crickets, scorpions that share

Their beds and food, their daily lives

None such do we know full well...

A soldier's mom stays at home

But her heart will always tell

The stories of the years gone by

And reminisce some more

Until one day, Lord ,my son comes home

And walks right through my door.

A smile on his face, a hug for his bride to be...

And when he has the time,dear Lord a hearty hug for me.

Poemsm My Way Valrie 07/04/2010

Joey and Renee, please keep them in your prayers, he leaves this month for Afghanistan.

May the Angels watch over you for me... I love you Joey!

Pitching Pink

              Here are  the latest Scoops of my LIFE!!!! Read on to double or triple dip and more!!!

I only need 24 more followers to reach my goal of 100! Please JOIN!                                    

                                    Pitching Pink for the Red White & Blue

This weekend I celebrate our fight of freedom and to live free. There are so many reasons we have to be thankful to live in the land of the brave and the free. Here is one of them. This is Joey, and Renee, his fiance whom I adore and am so glad to have her joining my family next April after Joey's tour is up!

He is my Marine, a Lance Corporal in the US MArines, just back to NC from his desert training before deployment to Afghanistan in a week or so... you know the military, dates are always in flux.

He is coming in town today from his leave to spend a few days with friends and family before he goes to fight for the rights of others. I am so thankful to have this son in my life. We lost his father 8 years ago right on Memorial Day. Now, this Independence Day marks the day for life of his send off. I am baking up a storm of cookies and an awesome cake in his honor. I'll post those sometime during the week.

Another reason we have to be thankful to live in the USA is Lydia, my newborn grandniece. We can have as many children as we want because we live in America. Not so in China and other countries. Not too pink but pink enough, and my she has a set of lungs for 5lbs 6 oz.! She is precious. I love her!
        
                                                          

Wait, run that by me once more, you want me to do what?              No way, I'll scream!

Remember I told you Carmel ran away? After 3 weeks I gave him over to God, prayed for his safety. Guess what...YES he's back and right now I am hiding him in my apartment. After 3 weeks of being a ragamuffin. not too much for the ware he is home with me and purrring up a storm. God is good!

He has to check everything out and I mean everything!

His little pink ears and pink nose brightened my day on Thursday when my sis called and said your ragamuffin is home and he's searching the house looking for you! CARMEL, thank you sweetie for making my eyes PINK with tears of happiness!!!

I would love to have more time to blog pink, but have so much to do today through Monday. Started a new literacy position with BOCES working with Migrant workers in upstate NEW YORK, so have 29 lesson plans to do by Tuesday!. Have tons of cookies to bake, salads, speidies, and a cake to be baked and decorated. Two new courses started on Thursday, so 2 papers due too. Got a 98% in my doctoral Critcal Anaysis course. WHEEEEE! And then the normal clean, groceries, laundry... etc.

So by the end of the weekend my feet, fingers and eyes will be pink. (tears of goodbye for Joey).

Please pray for his safety and of all our men and women who fight for our lives and freedom!

Get into more PINK with BEV at How Sweet The Sound, our loving sponsor for Pink Saturdays!

Be sure to visit us all, we love your comments!

BEV's Links!

On the go all weekend!

PINK HUGS!!!!

Course End!

Hello my fellow bloggers! What a great start to a new week. I just finished my doctoral course 2 days earlier. Not to worry though the next two start Thursday along with my new job as a literacy specialist.

I need 28 more blogger followers to meet my challenge goal by the end of June. Won't you help me and share my blog with  F&F? Please leave me an email if you connect a link to my blog and I will send you a special thank you!

A week today I get to see my son  and his fiance. He will be deployed shortly to Afghanistan. Please keep our family in your prayers! Marines first in, and he is infantry, Lance Corporal trained in speaking Dari... neeedless to say his MOM is worried!


     Course End


So long, farewell,... until we meet again!

Another doctoral course has come to an end.

Our fingers pecked wornout keyboards

The URL's we avishly hoard and store...

Opposing views what's old and new,

Migraines rolled and headaches grew...

I researched ZPD, and old Vygotsky

Traversed to technology and Prensky.

Dialectics and dialogues abound -

Eyes so bleary reading that I found

Myself using tear drops 3 times a day;

Carry on, persevere, that is the way.

Thread a needle and a discussion

No quotes without citations...

References and annotated bibliographies

I rather think at times I was contrary...

Computer glitches, poof it's all gone -

Explicatives pronounced , hang on!

Grab for that rope as you'll need it soon...

Another course or two... this summer's doomed...

I will embed myself not in lofty dreams

Nor strolling walks with ice creams.

I will sit outside and write,

Burning bug candles into the night.

So long, farewell, until we meet again...

This my friend and colleague is the end!

Poems My Way Valrie 06/28/2010


Hugs!

 
!

What a Gorgeous PINK week it has been!

This awesome little pink house is real and filled with  Christian love and 2 little girls. You may find this beautifully written blog here!

I have spent the week writing papers until my fingers ache and are pink! SIX research papers totalling over

2000 pages of reading, and approximately 35 pages of scholarly (well hopefully they are) journal articles. 

Someone PLEASE remind me... I am doing my doctoral in education because...WHY?

I also played hard, and spent way too easy! It is so much fun thrifting, antiquing, upcycling and decorating my cute little apartment(in PINKS) nestled in historic Cooperstown, NY.

As an apartment warming gift and to applaud my remarkable recovery this last year, Vanessa, my ever amazing awesomely talented sister made this assemblage, straight from her heart!

Visit her blog to see more exquisite work she does and request your very own custom assemblage!

This is a PINK Birdie Pinata Vanessa just made for  a custom order! He is way too sweet!

           Last Saturday I went to my nephew's wedding. He and his bride were definitely in the PINK!
                                     Pink gowns, Pink vests, pink flowers, PINK PINK PINK!

Here is what I wore, (that's me in the black dress) the heart necklace is an OOAK I found in a quaint little shop here in Cooperstown. Notice all the pink hues? Its latch is a toggle with a key entering the heart!

               These are my awesome parents and niece Cara, as you see she loves PINK too!

I am trying to achieve a challenge goal of 100 followers by the end of June. WILL YOU help me? I will have a special PINK gift for my 100th follower. This is separate from the PINK giveaway! Feel free to grab my butterfly button and create a link for my PINK!

WELL, I am on the road again today, off to see mom and dad, and my sister Cheryl. Hope it is nice outside!

Be sure to fill your coffee cup and don't forget to leave a comment for my PINK giveaway! Packed      

         with pretty little pink novelties! Make sure I HAVE your email or link back to send it to you!

Links to more PINK!

                                             Visit Bev and be sure to tell her I sent you there!

                                                               HUGS!! All of them PINK!

Ode To My Carmel!

      My Carmel

Late one day last August
You showed up at our door.
So tiny, lost, that you must
Have been starved, poor
Little one, so sweet, innocent...
You purred, and nuzzled me;
I knew you were Heaven sent
To set my sorrows free.
The days and weeks went by
You won our hearts -
Many a day I'd watch you lie
Upon the grass and bask,
Soaking up the warm sun.
All your fears and mine unmasked.
Loving you was so much fun.
Sadly you have moved on -
To where I do not know
The love you brought, not undone
But now fond memories that glow
And warm my heart, while tears
Are shed, for I too have moved
Unto a new domain. I pray you hear
My ode of love sweet Carmel, behooved
By the love you gave to me.
Oh little one, where 'ere you are
Remember fondly how I so loved ye...
May God's shining light and stars
Guide you through your journeys,
Warming you at night, sleeping
Through the day, you'll always hold the key
To my heart sweet furry feline, it's waiting
For when we meet again, soon I hope,
For I shall never rest until I know...
Nor will I learn to cope
For my love continues to grow.
Rest my weary friend, sleep well
Dream lofty thoughts of me,
As I do of you, and stories I will tell
Of my Carmel for all eternity!

Poems My Way   Valrie  06/23/2010
 My sweet Carmel ran away or I like to think moved on. Perhaps he was one of God's angels sent to me when I needed a friend most. He came when I had just moved to NY and left the very night I moved into my own apartment. The landlords would not allow me to have him, and I am so devastated by this loss. I have my memories, and they will stay alive in my heart for him.

                                                 Here, is my sweet sweet Carmel!

These are his best buds KC & Wuthers, even they miss him!

Jack in the box, no wait, that's Carmel!

Hmmm, a good day for a catnap!

Sorry, he is just way too sweet in this one, tears now...

Snug as a bug in the rug, oh that's my cat!

Sleeping again, but wagging his tail behind him!

                                      

If you see him, please send him back to me!