Michael Graduated Cum Laude from UTD

It was a happy day on May 17th 2013 when Michael, our youngest son, graduated Cum Laude from the University of Texas at Dallas.  UTD has given him an excellent education.  He has enjoyed the professors and feel each one had a deep desire to give him knowledge he needed in his degree.

Michael received his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology at the Commencement Ceremony.

My ninety one year old mom was there to congratulate him.

She was so proud of his accomplishments.  She has been his supporter from the day he was born.  She kept saying ,"I have to make it to Michael's graduation."

It's a little harder for her to walk now.  She was assisted with a walker because her legs feel numb. But she made it with Uncle Max who brought her from Fort Worth.

Uncle Max has always said, " Michael can do great things for this world because God gave him so many gifts."

His dad is so proud of Michael.  He will be attending UT Pharmacy School in August.  He has been working as a Pharmacy Tech and loves the team work.  

His brother Alex was there to congratulate his younger bro.

We are grateful to God Michael has found his chosen profession as a Pharmacist. He is also interested in research at the University of Texas in Austin.   I want to thank all of his teachers who helped him along the way.  He couldn't have done it without them.  I want to say a special thank you to his biology teacher in high school at Plano West.  She gave him the passion for biology because of her excellent teaching and laid the foundation for future courses..  

UTD was an excellent fit for Michael.  He learned leadership skills when he toured future students during Orientation and lead groups during Comet Camp.  What a great country we live in that produces such excellent academic atmospheres where students can flourish and find their niche in life.  

Ducks In My Pool A Mother's Story by Sandra Kent Great for Mother's Day

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ducks-in-my-pool-sandra-kent/1114910821?ean=2940016304786


Ducks In My Pool A Mother's Story  is now on Nook  Barnes and Noble.

It is a perfect Mother's Day Gift for every mom in your life.  Read how a family of ducks chose a backyard pool as a safe place to raise her ducklings.   Each spring Momma Duck sat on her eggs for twenty-eight days to keep them warm.  As the ducklings hatched and swam in the pool a human family watched in amazement. See how the two families intertwined.  The last year her son was leaving for college they each took their camera and got a picture of the ducklings crossing the street.  They made it safely to the creek to raise ducklings of their own. 

Texas Bluebonnets Children's Book by Sandra Kent

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115238483?ean=2940016669816

My new children's  book called, " Texas Bluebonnets', is now offered  at Barnes and Noble Nook.  ' See the link above.

I want the world to see how special our bluebonnets are in Texas.  Each spring our hills and prairies come alive with fields of blue.  Indians wrote legends about how bluebonnets came to be.  A little girl sacrificed her favorite doll to end the drought.  The ashes of the doll were spread in the grass.  The next day she awoke to see beautiful blue flowers like the color of her doll's feathers.

The first sign of spring are seeing the patches of blue.  Texans grab their children for a great photo.  Learn how it became our state flower through the bluebonnet wars.  Discover how bluebonnets germinate and what conditions help them thrive.  Without bees they would never pollinate so remember that the next time you hear the buzz among the flowers.

Ennis is the official Bluebonnet city in Texas.  Festivals sprout up around our great state in
the month of April to celebrate the joy of bluebonnets.

Voices Never Change

I was visiting my nine-ty one year old mom this weekend.  We listened to Friday night shows on TV as she read the daily newspaper.  She has her crossword puzzle by her side as she does the daily word search.  It has been her constant buddy to keep her mind sharp and alert.

"Do you want to listen to Grandma Douglass tell her stories? Your brother made them into casset tapes so we can listen.  He recorded her when she was 87." she explained

"Sure I use to love to hear her stories of growing up." i answered

I felt Grandma Douglass was in the room as we heard her voice.  I remember the Oklahoma twange in her dialect.  Stories link us to the past and give us a foundation to the present.  She loved sitting in her rocking chair as we listened.  I imagined her next to us as we heard about coming to Oklahoma to visit her brother and father at the tender age of seventeen.  She had been separated from them since her mother divorced her father and raised a second family in Arkansas.  She described the farm she lived on with Grandpa MacPherson where your vegetables came fresh from the garden.  She developed a love for raising potatoes, broccoli  and yellow squash.

   

Her brother Oscar became her best friend in her new home of Oklahoma.  They ended up having adjoing farms where they raised their families.

As we listened to her tell of Arkansas on Moon Hill I thought voices never change.  Just like my mom's voice stays sweet and reassuring.  . I heard the the wheels turn on her walker late at night.  She came into my bed and gave me a squeeze.  
 I love you Sandra.   You a a good person.  The words felt so sweet and loving.  As if someone wanted to tell my soul you are alright. .    

Texas Bluebonnets In Their Glory On Earth Day

It was a glorious Sunday in April as I traveled the winding roads to capture the perfect photo and breath in the sweet smell of bluebonnets blowing in the wind.  What a great way to celebrate Earth Day.   I've been exploring the trails for over twenty years.  I remember taking Alex and Michael for their bluebonnet picture each spring.  Texans love to capture the perfect photo of loved ones amid the sea of blue.

Even the bulls kick up their heels in delight as they sample the moist tender plants.  Each corner of the trail was an adventure.  The town of Ennis is always so kind to give out maps of the best areas and show you with a highlighter how to navigate Texas Hills.  It's also a fun place to stop and shop for local crafts at their annual festival.   Country music is softly playing in the background of smoked brisket or frito pie.  It you want to taste the flavor of small town life Ennis is the place to go.  The entire community joins together to throw Texas hospitality.

Fences of orange and white edged with barbed wire bring angles of infinity.  Roads accent the never ending lines of beauty.  They section off farms and ranches holding cows grazing the delicious prairie grasses of the plains.

Texas adds its own flavor with majestic horses and humble donkeys grazing in fields.  Farms open their gates so onlookers can enjoy the bluebonnets with friends and family.  New England might have their leaves each October but Texas has their bluebonnets in April for the world to savor.  

Even old wooden houses look beautiful with a carpet of blue in their front yard.  Each home has a story to tell.  Some families may have purchased their land when Texas was a new state.

Sugar Ridge is the most popular destination to plop down in the flowers and take a great photo.

It's a little piece of heaven in Texas each April near Ennis.  It's just a 45 minute drive south of Dallas.  Come and enjoy the bluebonnets too.  

Mallard Ducklings Gathering Under Mother For Protection

Momma Duck chose her location wisely as her babies got ready for bed.  She sat by the blue perennial next to the edge of our spa.  If one duckling fell in the water at night the pool spa ledge is just the right length for a little hop.  Mallard Ducks are fascinating creatures.  They pick a partner and stay with them for life.  Momma Duck cares for her ducklings and wants them to be safe from the number one urban predator, the cat.  She stays glued to her babies as they sleep in the night.  The ducklings know it is safe under Momma and they gather together each dusk.

Watch the youtube video to see.  click link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPB8fe7RYA

Prayers Answered Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Strong and Helping Others

Prayers have been answered. The Pakistani school girl Malala who was shot in the head by the Taliban for wanting to go to school has not been silenced.   Her voice is being heard all over the world, education is important for all girls.

She has set up a fund so 40 girls in Pakistan can go to school.  The 45,000 grant will provide a place for education in the Taliban stronghold of Swat Valley, the place where Malaya is from.
A video was played at the Women in the World summit in New York City to get her message out.

"We are going to educate 40 girls, and I invite all of you  to support the Malala Fund." she said.

"Let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 million girls."


U.N special envoy Angelina Jolie was moved by Malala's steadfastness in the mist of turmoil.

"They shot her at  point-blank range in the head and  made her stronger." Angelina said   "She doesn't want to be at the center of attention, her goal is progress, not notoriety. She is powerful, but she is also a sweet, creative, loving little girl who wants to help others."

Malala's message is spreading.  Education is a way of promoting peace and happiness in this world.  She is working with the U.N. to tell the countries how important education is.  Angelina wants to help the cause by donating $200,000 to the Malala Fund which was set up to support girls in Pakistan.

It is nothing short of a miracle that Malala is alive and suffered no major brain or nerve damage.  Good does overcome evil.  She went from an intensive care unit in Pakistan where she was in critical condition to reading  a book at the Queen Elizabeth's hosptal in Birmingham, England where she was being treated.

She is now 15 and attending school in Birmingham.  Her gift for writing has spread the cause for education.
Her voice was not silenced but is spreading to communities and families of girls who need to get their daughters in school.

Lesson: Prophecies About Jesus

Lesson: Prophecies About Jesus  click to open scriptures from the Old Testement

Jesus Has Risen!!  He is alive!  There are over one hundred prophesies in the Old Testament about Jesus.  Jesus has come to bring peace and everlasting life.  You must be born again, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.  The wind blows where it wishes, you don't know where it comes from or where it goes.  The Spirit of the Lord comes to bring peace, love and joy.

God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son.  Believe in Him and you will have eternal life.
Nature cries out to reveal the truth.  There are five wholes in the sand dollar to represent when Jesus was pierced for our sins and nailed to the cross.  An Easter Lily is shown on the front and a  poinsettia is on the back.
When you open the sand dollar five white doves of peace are released.  May you have peace this Easter.

Jesus says, " I am the way, the truth and the life. "

Ducks Visit on Saint Patty's Day

It is comforting to know the ducks return each year.  I was typing away at the computer as I glanced outside our window to see two ducks floating in our pool.  They were the same ducks I have seen year after year.  I call them Momma and Daddy Duck because they raised ducklings in our pool for many years.  I think Momma Duck is too old to have ducklings but it is so nice to see her again.  She nestled her beak between her feathers and just floated.  It seemed they were relaxing or maybe remembering the days ducklings were catching insects.  God is faithful each spring to bring life again.  

Peaches, Our Forever Cat from Operation Kindness

We adopted Peaches, our forever cat from Operation Kindness a month ago.  She blends with our family perfectly.    She likes to play with toys and jumps high to capture feathers flying in the air.

Peaches curls up next to us on the couch as we watch TV.  She seems right at home as she purrs loudly.  When we view Animal Planet she likes to watch too.  I'm wondering what she is thinking as she sees the other cats in their homes.  She seems grateful we adopted her.   The previous owner had a life changing circumstance and had to give her up.  It must have been difficult because Peaches is the sweetest cat.  

Operation Kindness is a non-profit  adoption agency for cats and dogs who want to give them a forever home.   We were given a pass to check out the cats.  It is a family decision to adopt a cat so Michael helped us pick one out. There were a lot to choose from.  Some cats were aloud to roam around in a large room full of scratching posts.    Peaches was declawed so she was kept in a cage for protection because she did not have a way to defend herself.  When we petted her she was a little shy.  We didn't know until we got her home how outgoing she was.

We were given helpful advice to care for Peaches.  A vet came to make sure she was healthy enough to take home.

Peaches roamed around our home, sniffing every corner.  I think she might have smelled our former cat, Crystal.  She had died several years ago at the age of seventeen.  We had adopted her too when she was five years old.  It makes you feel good to give an older cat a forever home.  Peaches is already a blessing in our lives.  She greets you at the door after a day of teaching as if to say I'm glad you're home, I missed you.   We are so glad Peaches has found her forever home with us.

I feel pretty says Peaches.