The kids have been intertaining each other while I have been cleaning the clutter around the house and dusting so I have come across lots of interesting things.

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For all the books I have on marriage and parenting, I should be perfect at both of them. For all the Bibles we have, I should have the whole thing memorized. Maybe what I really need is a book that will tell me how to really get a lot out of all the books I read.

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I have set of earrings that were a gift during one of the most difficult things I have ever gone through. They sit where no one knows they are there but me; a reminder of the pain, but also of the grace of God to bring me to the other side.

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My daughter has been asking a lot of questions lately. How do babies get in a Mommy's tummy? When can I get baptized? When can I get married? Who will I marry? I'm not ready for this.

This morning she walked in my room as I was going through my jewelry box. I opened a small box and showed her the contents. Inside were the necklace and earrings I wore when I married her Daddy, along with the six pence penny that was in my shoe. It's a special wedding tradition, I explained. "Something borrowed, something blue ..." I explained to her that when she got married, I would let her wear the jewelry and carry the penny in her shoe. I have already promised to let my little "sister" borrow them when she gets married, and because of Abby's love for her, it only made them more special to her.

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My husband's best friend since childhood graduated from Harding several years ago. When Jimmy graduated from Harding, Brad gave him a very special gift: his Harding sweatshirt. It was special to him and he wanted Jimmy to have it. Jimmy was really touched by the gesture - so touched, in fact, that he didn't want to mess the sweatshirt up. We bought a shadow box and it's displayed in our bedroom. It's a symbol of pride in the accomplishment, but more than that, it' a symbol of years of friendship between two men who are very, very different, and still as close as brothers.

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My S.I.S. (sister-in-spirit) went back to work last year and it's killing me. I miss her so very much. And I know that our friendship has endured fourteen years of the changes life brings. And we've survived those periods when our lives were not on the same track, and rejoiced when they came back together again. God surround her family with love and peace, and bring us back together again soon.

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Somebody please send me The Strong Willed Child. My son won't let me type anymore ...