Thursday, May 24, 2007

Speak Properly

Language is our way of communicating what we want and who we are. By using bad language, we diminish the divine spark within us that defines our humanity.

Laura Schlessinger

This Woman Needs

This Woman Needs
By Shedaisy

This woman that takes on the world
And picks up your shirts, keeps it together somehow
This same woman, that melts with your touch
Wants you to feel what I'm feeling right now
Chorus
Cause this woman needs
A safe place to land
The strength in your hands
To know you know
What this woman needs
Is somewhere to cry
So lay by my side
And I'll tell you, I'll tell you
This woman needs to be reassured
That my heart's your home and love is what wills you to stay
I need you to see me in every light
And hear that you still think I'm beautiful anyway
(Repeat Chorus)
What this woman needs
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, what this woman needs
Is somewhere to cry
So lay by my side
And I'll tell you, I'll tell you
What this woman needs
Yeah, what this woman needs
Yeah, yeah, yeah-
What this woman needs

You know you are from Vegas when...

You no longer associate bridges (or river) with water.
You can say 110 degrees without fainting.
You can make instant sun tea.
You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
The temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly.
You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
Hot water now comes out of both taps.
It's noon in July, kids are on summer vacation, and not one person is out on the streets.
You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
You've ever been asked whether or not you live in a hotel.
Most of the moving walkways in your town aren't in the airport.
You can instantly recall the schedule for all of the free shows.
You can name at least three places to see white tigers, and none of them are zoos.
You're familiar with the proper procedures for killer bee attacks.
You can find more celebrities in your town at any given time than you can in Hollywood.
You see people dressed as Klingons, and there's no Star Trek convention, and it's not Halloween. You wonder how confused future archaeologists will be when they dig up your town.
The only two Lakes you can name are "Mead" and "Bellagio".
Your town is basically a big garbage disposal for cash.
You know when the next building implosion is.
You know what lies beyond the Strip.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I'm a hero to someone?

Matt put this on his MySpace biography under who his heroes are. I love that kid.

"Well I like all kinds of heroes and villians. But my Mom is a true hero to me. She took care of me for the last 15 years and she provided me with food, shelter and clothes. She is not one of those embarassing Moms that embarass you when your friends are around. And the last thing is that she always protects me from any thing that is dangerous."

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

No Tears in Heaven

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Revelations 7:17

My Color Analysis

Follow Your True Colors

Here are my results. I am going to go back later and see what the other color values mean.

Green 10
blue 76
gold 6
orange 6

You are an exceptionally creative problem solver who brings your ability to think outside the box to the workplace. You are a conceptual, analytical, and logical thinker. To you knowledge is power and your insatiable thirst for understanding and information is what drives you. You are an incredible problem solver but once the goal is accomplished you lose interest and need to move on. The challenge is in the ideas and not the details or implementation of your creations. Leave those things to another type that enjoys doing these things.

You are an independent worker who detests routine and prefers to work alone on projects and you often gravitate toward leadership roles. You could be a good computer programmer, scientist or researcher. You usually find entrepreneur and independent contract work appealing, but see the book for a more thorough list.

(Copied from site, and this does describe me well)
Green is conceptual.

I am conceptual. I have an investigative mind, intrigued by questions like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I am an independent thinker, a natural nonconformist, and live life by my own standards.

I like to do things that require vision, problem solving, strategy, ingenuity, design, and change. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on to a new challenge.

I value knowledge, intelligence, insight, and justice. I enjoy relationships with shared interests. I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I am cool, calm, and collected. I do not express my emotions easily.

Confucius says...

Learning without thought
is labor lost; thought
without learning is
perilous.

Confucius

Unwritten Lyrics

Unwritten
------Natasha Bedingfield

I am unwritten,
Can't read my mind
im undefined
im just begining
the pen is in my hand
ending unplaned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in you
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten ,yeah

Oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines, oh yeah
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way oh, oh

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in you
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in you
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in you
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live you life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
(YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!)

The Luck of the Irish



Todd is a leprechaun at heart. There is nothing that makes him happier right now than to put on one of my Celtic CD's, and then with his hands carefully grasping his waist, he will leap and jump around the front room to show me how well he has mastered his "leprechaun dancing."


Last Saturday I took Todd to see the Irish Dancers at the Crawdad Festival. He was so excited, and kept talking about all the different things he could teach the dancers to do. The conversation turned to nicknames, and I told him that mine is Lucky, just like the Lucky Charms leprechaun. Todd thought about it and said, "That is going to be my name from now on, too." "Why?" I asked him, "Do you have the luck of the Irish?"


He looked at me sternly, and with the deepest of convictions he replied, "No, I AM the luck of the Irish." (May 18, 2007)

Matt's poems

Two of the poems Matt wrote for an English assignment in November of 2006

My name is Matthew Wellborn
I love all 9 of my siblings
God is my Passion
Black is my favorite color
I love Anime
X-box is what I play
I draw all kinds of things
I like Classic rock, Alternive rock, Metal, Pop and Rap

My Dragon by Matt Wellborn
I found a oddly colored rock in the woods
When I was running from the men in the black hoods
The rock was actually a dragon egg
When he hatched I gave my dragon a chicken leg

Barkley's Eulogy




"Dear Barkley. You were my best friend. God I love you. I will never have another dog like you. And if I ever have another dog I will teach it to not chase cars on the street. Love Chet."

Chet's Eulogy for his dog, written on the cross he made for Barkley's grave.

The Notebook Kiss

I took a test called "Which movie kiss are you?" and it said I am The Notebook kiss. That is fine with me... I loved this movie! Click here to take the test yourself.




My Favorite Child

My Favorite Child
Every mother has a favorite child.She cannot help it. She is only human.I have mine.That child for whom I felt a special closeness. The one I reach out to in a rare moment, to share a love that no one else could possibly understand.
My favorite child is the one who was too sick to eat the ice cream at his birthday party, had measles at Christmas and wore leg braces to bed because he toed in.
She was the fever the middle of the night, the asthma attack, the child in my arms at the emergency ward.
My favorite child spent Christmas alone away from the family, was stranded after the game with a gas tank on E, lost the money for his class ring.
My favorite child is the one who screwed up the piano recital, misspelled committee in a spelling bee, ran the wrong way with the football and had his bike stolen because he was careless.
My favorite child is the one who fell asleep over an assignment on China that the teacher never bothered to grade, flunked her drivers license test five times and told us she could hardly wait to get out of the house.
My favorite child is the one I punished for lying, grounded for insensitivity to other people’s feelings and informed he was a royal pain to the entire family.
My favorite child slammed doors in frustration, cried when she didn’t think I saw her, withdrew and said she could not talk to me.
My favorite child always needed a haircut, had hair that wouldn’t curl, had no date for Saturday night and a car that cost $1000 to fix.
My favorite child said dumb things for which there were no excuses. He was selfish, immature, bad tempered and self-centered. He was vulnerable, lonely, unsure of what he was doing in this world . . . and quite wonderful.
The one I loved the most is the one whom I have watched struggle and-because the struggle was his-done nothing.All mothers have their favorite child. It is always the same one, the one who needs you at the moment for whatever reason-to cling to, to shout at, to hurt, to hug, to flatter, to reverse charges to, to unload on, to use-but mostly to be there.

Customer Survey

This was actually posted very briefly on the McDonnell Douglas website by an employee who obviously has a sense of humor. The company made the web department take it down immediately.

Thank you for purchasing a McDonnell Douglas military aircraft. In order to protect your new investment, please take a few moments to fill out the warranty registration card below. Answering the survey questions is not required, but the information will help us to develop new products that best meet your needs and desires.

1. [_] Mr. [_] Mrs. [_] Ms. [_] Miss [_] Lt. [_] Gen. [_] Comrade [_] Classified [_] Other

Name: ...................................................
Password: .............................. (max 8 char)
Code Name: ......................................................
Latitude-Longitude-Altitude: ........... ........... ..........

2. Which model aircraft did you purchase? [_] F-14 Tomcat [_] F-15 Eagle [_] F-16 Falcon [_] F-117A Stealth [_] Classified

3. Date of purchase (Year/Month/Day): 19....... / ....... / ......

4. Serial Number: .................................................

5. Please check where this product was purchased: [_] Received as gift / aid package [_] Catalog showroom [_] Independent arms broker [_] Mail order [_] Discount store [_] Government surplus [_] Classified

6. Please check how you became aware of the McDonnell Douglas product you have just purchased: [_] Heard loud noise, looked up [_] Store display [_] Espionage [_] Recommended by friend / relative / ally [_] Political lobbying by manufacturer [_] Was attacked by one

7. Please check the three (3) factors that most influenced your decision to purchase this McDonnell Douglas product: [_] Style / appearance [_] Speed / maneuverability [_] Price / value [_] Comfort / convenience [_] Kickback / bribe [_] Recommended by salesperson [_] McDonnell Douglas reputation[_] Advanced Weapons Systems [_] Negative experience opposing one in combat [_] Backroom politics

8. Please check the location(s) where this product will be used: [_] North America [_] Central / South America [_] Aircraft carrier [_] Europe [_] Middle East [_] Africa [_] Asia / Far East [_] Misc. Third World countries [_] Classified

9. Please check the products that you currently own or intend to purchase in the near future: [_] Color TV [_] VCR [_] ICBM [_] Killer Satellite [_] CD Player [_] Air-to-Air Missiles [_] Space Shuttle [_] Home Computer [_] Nuclear Weapon

10. How would you describe yourself or your organization? (Check all that apply:) [_] Communist / Socialist [_] Terrorist [_] Crazed [_] Neutral [_] Democratic [_] Dictatorship [_] Corrupt [_] Primitive / Tribal

11. How did you pay for your McDonnell Douglas product? [_] Deficit spending [_] Cash [_] Suitcases of cocaine [_] Oil revenues [_] Personal check [_] Credit card [_] Ransom money [_] Traveler's check

12. Your occupation: [_] Homemaker [_] Sales / marketing [_] Revolutionary [_] Clerical [_] Mercenary [_] Tyrant [_] Middle management [_] Eccentric billionaire [_] Defense Minister / General [_] Retired [_] Student

13. To help us understand our customers' lifestyles, please indicate the interests and activities in which you and your spouse enjoy participating on a regular basis: [_] Golf [_] Boating / sailing [_] Sabotage [_] Running / jogging [_] Propaganda / disinformation[_] Destabilization / overthrow [_] Default on loans [_] Gardening [_] Crafts [_] Black market / smuggling [_] Collectibles / collections [_] Watching sports on TV [_] Wines [_] Interrogation / torture [_] Household pets [_] Crushing rebellions [_] Espionage / reconnaissance [_] Fashion clothing [_] Border disputes [_] Mutually Assured Destruction

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire. Your answers will be used in market studies that will help McDonnell Douglas serve you better in the future - as well as allowing you to receive mailings and special offers from other companies, governments, extremist groups, and mysterious consortia.

Comments or suggestions about our fighter planes? Please write to: McDONNELL DOUGLAS CORPORATION, Marketing Department Military Aerospace Division, P.O. Box 800, St. Louis, MO

The Gift of Life

"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself." Ralph Waldo Emerson

United Blood Services

Give the Gift of Life
by Jennifer Wellborn (Desert Saints Magazine, November 2005)

Whose life have you saved lately?

That is what regular blood donors do, they save lives. For every one pint of blood that is donated, three lives can be saved. Unfortunately, not enough people donate, which leads to severe shortages of blood supply during the most critical times of the year. In fact, only one in twenty people is a regular blood donor, and if we want to be able to maintain an adequate supply of banked blood for times of crisis, we must improve that number.

Every day donated blood is transfused to accident victims, patients with blood disorders, and others in critical condition. It is estimated that at some point in time, 60 percent of the population will require a blood transfusion. If you meet a few basic requirements, the power to save a life (or more) is literally within you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The greatest gift is a portion of thyself." As we enter this Christmas season, won’t you please consider giving the gift of life to somebody who desperately needs it? Please contact the local United Blood Services by calling 702-233-9620, or log onto http://www.unitedbloodservices.org/ for more information.

Streets of Heaven




Streets of Heaven
Artist/Band: Austin Sherrie
Lyrics for Song: Streets of Heaven
Lyrics for Album: Streets of Heaven
(Sherrie Austin/Paul Duncan/Al Kasha)

Hello God, it's me again. 2:00 a.m., Room 304.
Visiting hours are over, time for our bedside tug of war.
This sleeping child between us may not make it through the night.
I'm fighting back the tears as she fights for her life.
Well, it must be kind of crowded,
On the streets of Heaven.
So tell me: what do you need her for?
Don't you know one day she'll be your little girl forever.
But right now I need her so much more.
She's much too young to be on her own:
Barely just turned seven.
So who will hold her hand when she crosses the streets of Heaven?

Tell me God, do you remember the wishes that she made,
As she blew out the candles on her last birthday cake?
She wants to ride a pony when she'd big enough.
She wants to marry her Daddy when she's all grown up.

Well, it must be kind of crowded,
On the streets of Heaven.
So tell me: what do you need her for?
Don't you know one day she'll be your little girl forever.
But right now I need her so much more.
She's much too young to be on her own:
Barely just turned seven.
So who will hold her hand when she crosses the streets of Heaven?

Lord, don't you know she's my angel
You got plenty of your own
And I know you hold a place for her
But she's already got a home
Well I don't know if you're listenin'
But praying is all that's left to do
So I ask you Lord have mercy, you lost a son once too

And it must be kind of crowded,
On the streets of Heaven.
So tell me: what do you need her for?
Don't you know one day she'll be your little girl forever.
But right now I need her so much more.
Lord, I know once you've made up your mind,
There's no use in beggin'.
So if you take her with you today, will you make sure she looks both ways,
And would you hold her hand when she crosses the streets of Heaven.

The streets of Heaven.

Politically Correct Education

"I was appalled at how some teachers presented American history to my children. My son and daughter learned that Thomas Jefferson had slaves - before they learned that he wrote the document articulating our rights and duties as free people. European settlers killed Native Americans with blankets infected with smallpox, they found out. That allegation upstaged the stories of courage, perseverance, and curiosity that defined the pioneers. While folding paper cranes in the classroom, my children were told that a hundred thousand people died when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan - but they were not made to understand the moral context of World War II in which the atomic bomb story fit. My children were instructed to equate illegal aliens with legal immigrants, devaluing the story of their own ancestors who came to America through Ellis Island. And, classroom discussions always seemed to cast businessmen as villains, instead of as people to be emulated.With a curriculum designed to instill guilt and shame, I wondered, how will my kids ever discover the lessons of history that inspire greatness and noble aspirations? Will they ever believe that they can make a difference? Will they have any heroes left at all?" (Click here to read the rest of Michael's explanation of why he wrote the book linked below.)

Michael Class

Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame

Quotes on Strength and Intelligence

Alvin Toffler:
Knowledge is the most democratic source of power.


Henry George:
Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.

Romans 11:32

"For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all."

Romans 11:32

Monday, May 21, 2007

Ronald Oseas

Ronald Oseas
Ronald S. Oseas, 55, died Tuesday.
He was born Dec. 24, 1946, in Chicago. A retired physician, he was a 13-year resident of Henderson and co-founder of Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon; daughter, Catherine; both of Henderson; sons, Matthew of Sacramento, Calif., and David and Aaron, both of Henderson; mother, Natalie; and sister, Arleene Van Elgort; both of Woodland Hills, Calif.
Services will be at 10 a.m. today at King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery. Burial will follow. The family requests memorial donations be made to Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Let's Roll, Todd



United Flight 93 Heroes - Todd Beamer, one of my heroes


"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."

Layout by me - Jennifer Wellborn

Journaling reads: Dear Todd, It has been almost three years since that fateful day. I was nearly 8 months pregnant that morning as I watched the devastation unfolding on my television screen. As the next few days passed, and the story of the courage and faith that you and your fellow passengers acted upon became known, I knew that I would name my baby boy “Todd” in your honor. My heart broke for Lisa even as my admiration for her grew. I knew she was pregnant, too, and as each of the remaining days of my pregnancy passed, I thought of her and wondered how she was faring. Your daughter was born only a few months after my Todd was, and as he goes through each new stage, I think of Morgan, and all that you cannot experience with her now. I still keep your family in my prayers, and every time I read a new article about them I am struck again with the faith and courage Lisa displays. I want my son to know that there are real-life heroes, that there are men of this time who draw upon their faith for strength during the worst of times. As he grows and looks to history for examples of what real men do, I will remind him that his very name comes from a man who exemplified this with his very life. Thank you for rallying with the others that morning, and foiling the evil plans of those who sought to destroy America. Thank you for living the kind of life that young boys can admire and look up to. I hope we can meet in the eternities, and that I will have raised the kind of man that you will be proud to have carried your name.

He's My Son

He's My Son
Mark Schultz

I'm down on my knees again tonight
I'm hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs Your help
I've done all that I can do myself
His mother is tired I'm sure You can understnad
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes

CHORUS: Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him? Can You make him feel all right?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone He's my son

Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he'd like to be
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
He's so tired and he's scared
Let him know that You're there

CHORUS
Can You hear me? Can You see him?
Please don't leave him He's my son

What Will You Do With M-E?

What Will You Do With M-E?
from Western Flyer's "Back In America" album

Lately we're acting like two kids in school
Spelling out things so he won't know we're through
We know it's over and we don't want to say

But letter by letter he showed me today
And he really turned my head
As he turned around with a tear in his eye and said
Hey D-A-D-D-Y, I saw M-A-M-A cry
Say you're not going away
Is it because of me Have I been B-A-D
Please, Daddy, please won't you stay
'Cause if you leave, what will you do with M-E

So I picked him up, sat him down on my knee
I thought I'd explain, but again he showed me
We've been too busy avoiding the blame
We forgot the real heart who will lose in this game
And I still love you, I just didn't see
Till he opened my eyes and he spelled it out to me

Hey D-A-D-D-Y, I saw M-A-M-A cry
Say you're not going away
Is it because of me
Have I been B-A-D
Please, Daddy, please won't you stay
'Cause if you leave, what will you do with M-E

Hey D-A-D-D-Y, I saw M-A-M-A cry
Say you're not going away
Is it because of me Have I been B-A-D
Please, Daddy, please won't you stay
'Cause if you leave, what will you do with M-E

Oh, Daddy, if you leave what will you do with me?

The Invitation

Click here to read what motivated Oriah to write this poem. This is one of my favorite pieces of all time.

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer


It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.