Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

I was awake a good portion of last night. Not because I watched something that scared the pants off of me, had a late cup of coffee or ate a pound of sugar, no, it's more than that. My mind was pretty much racing about a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out a figure eight. See, I grew up with guns. I learned how to respect them. I learned how to use them and I used them well. I learned how to hunt and I went through a hunter's safety course and was certified. I was on the Rifle Team in High School and with some help from some friends, I made the top 500 Jr. NRA list. I have medals for sharpshooter and expert shooter from JROTC. Up until about twenty six years ago, I had guns in my home. I chose not to have them because of Andrea and the possibility of an accident happening and I think that my decision then was a sound one. I still do. So what's with the impasse? I don't know. Make no mistake, I believe that our Second Amendment Right should never be taken away...

But on the upside, those "cool" Kleenex are really interesting! Lol! I got those because I thought that my nose would be raw from blowing it and wow! What a surprise I got....they really are cool, cold actually. Aside from that, I hate the flu season. We were fairly lucky that we were for the most part unaffected by the flu until about four weeks ago when Chris came home with it and like an uninvited house guest, it overstayed its welcome. He still has the cough part but mostly he's doing well. As for me and Mouse, we thought we dodged the bullet and as the time to depart for Japan came barreling up so did that nasty little bug. So now, we both have the sniffles and sneezes and the hacking cough. With Mouse, well, she seems to be weathering it nicely, me, not so much. I suppose I can say that the body aches are the result of the fibro. For the last four weeks my hips have been seizing up. I told Chris that I thought that I should be carrying an oil can like the Tin Ma...

 Thirty years ago today I gave birth to a little girl who we named Andrea Michelle. We found out shortly after she was born that she had Down Syndrome and we were told to put her in a home and forget about her; that she would never walk, talk or do for herself. We were also told that we were young and that we could have more children. Of course, we rejected the doctor's advice and today, she is thirty years old. Andrea not only walks, but she talks a blue streak. Do for herself? Psh! Of course! This is a girl who walked across the stage to be given her diploma with her class to the thundering applause of her classmates....with 33 credits, one more than needed for graduation. She has been difficult, stubborn and cantankerous, but she is always, always the most loving individual that I have ever met. Do not mess with any of her family or anyone that she cares for because you might just be taken down, as was displayed one day when a supervisor was playing around with me....

As of today, I guess you could say that I am now a published author! I know, I have the blog so technically I could have said that a year ago, but this is different. A few days ago  a friend of mine, Candee Fultz, asked me to be a contributing author to her new online magazine called Living Faithfully  and I have accepted. The magazine is a Christian based magazine that right now has only a few pages, but hopefully soon will be resplendent with many, many pages! It has interviews, home tips, recipes, classifieds, a health page and much more! I hope that you will take a few minutes to check it out and tell your friends about it. I am impressed with the work that Candee has put into it and the other contributing authors have done a wonderful job as well. Enjoy and have a spectacular weekend! Go Texans! Lol!

So, what do I mean about that? Well, apart from God providing day to day everything that I need, I am finding that He is tapping into my creativity and my gifts so that I can share with others. Some years back He did this for me and I enjoyed four years of being a Sunday School Teacher...I was blessed to be able to sing special music at Church and through both of these areas, I am hoping that I made a difference in at least one life. During this time I also took some classes on Christian Counseling, but was unable to finish due to finances at the time. Now, even though I do not see me finishing the classes at this point, I do know that I gleaned some wonderful knowledge from not only these classes, but also from the music and the teaching. Now I have a wonderful opportunity to turn my written words into a ministry of sorts. I have been asked to be Co-Editor to a brand new online magazine called Living Faithfully. Soon I will be adding the link to this blog so that you may be as b...

It's true. Sometimes you just have to say it, you know, those three little words....and they aren't "you're right, Dear". OK, just lightening the moment here, no the three little words are "I love you". A simple phrase really, and one that is just so misused in this day and age of "I love you, Man" and "Love ya, Girl" and everything in between. It occurs to me that even though it is my practice to say that to my friends and family that it comes too easily sometimes and  I'm sure  that it makes one wonder if it is just something to say or if I really mean it. Well, if you know me well, then you know that I probably mean it. It was once said of me by a dear friend of mine that I like everyone....although there are some that I like more than others. This is a true statement. There are very few people that I genuinely dislike, and they know it, but there are more than that that I genuinely love with all my heart and would jump in...