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Court...

First - Thank you to Ace for telling me how to make an Advent wreath...

I am far from crafty however I will give it a try.


Last Wednesday was court day for Eeyore he had 3 charges pending - Trespassing, damages exceeding $1000.00 and burglary (it was intent since nothing was stolen).

We had to be at court by 8:15am - 1 minute later and it is an automatic 5 days in detention...

We were there by 7:45am (Rather be safe then sorry).

The first hour or I spent watching children get off the bus from detention with the hopes that maybe they would be going home that day with their families...

The boys wore orange jumpsuits, the girls wore blue jumpsuits and they were all shackled and handcuffed.

One of the boys looked to be no older then 10...

It was heartbreaking to watch the judge put each and every one of them back into detention with additional time added.

One boy received an additional 50 days as his Mom stood there pleading to the judge to please release him into her custody.

It made me teary-eyed.

I am a firm believer in the justice system and if you are old enough to do the crime, you are old enough to do the time however you start to think a little different when it is your child standing there.

I don't excuse what Eeyore has done but I will admit I was a little scared for him since the judge seemed to be in a bad mood.

Finally his time came up.

He stood in the front of the court and faced the judge.

He pleaded guilty and after basically telling Eeyore he never wanted to see him in his court again because he seemed to be a good kid and has never been in trouble before he gave his decision -

Probation indefinitely (up until age 19).

He also received 100 hours of community service.

I spoke to my Pastor on Sunday and Eeyore will be doing the majority of his community service at the Church on Saturdays which includes cleaning the church and doing the lawn...

He is no longer allowed to hang out with the boy he got in trouble with.

He can't hang out with anyone who is already on probation or with anyone who goes onto probation while he is on it.

He has to keep his grades at A's and B's.

He has to be respectful at all times to me and his Dad (no worries there).

He can't skip school and if he misses a day he has to have a Dr's note.

Breaking any of these rules, is an automatic 5 days in detention.

I now have permission from the court along with a number to call at anytime if my child is being rude to me and they will in turn send the sheriff over to pick him up -

I would never do it but the threat is there nonetheless.

The worst rule he has (in his mind)...Ready for this...

He has a CURFEW the entire time he is on probation...

Curfew starts at 8pm, ends at 6am and consists of being in the four walls of the house...

Not in the front yard, not on the porch, not in the backyard etc...

The courts also do random curfew checks...

He can be out with me or his Dad (again no worries there) however he has to be by our side the entire time.

That right there was enough to get him to see the light.

He got up this past Sunday and volunteered to go to Church with me, even though he had spent the whole night on the computer and only slept maybe 2 hours.

He has been very nice to his brother and I though not so much to the others in the house but one thing at a time.

He has missed curfew once this past Saturday night.

I gave him permission to go to the mall with some new friends as long as he left by 7:30pm...

He left the mall on his bike and started home only to be hit by a car that was driving with no lights on -

He is ok, shaken up but no injuries...

He was late because his bike got messed up and he had to push it home with the back wheel all jacked up...

Since I took his cell phone, he couldn't call me to let me know what had happened...

He has taken all this in stride, better then I thought...

He has "owned his s**t" and while I hate it had to come to this, I am proud of him for seeing the mistakes he made and trying to move past them, learn from them and someday maybe help others avoid the same ones.

RASCAL FLATTS
Sometimes I Take On This World By Myself

Thinking I Got All The Answers

Don't Need Anybody's Help

Well God Was Right There Waiting For Me All Along

To Fall Down On My Knees, Surrender All

Happy New Year...

Yesterday the New Year started for me - Yes it was news to me to.

As I sat in Church listening to my Pastor explain that we were going into the Season of Advent starting yesterday, I sat there thinking "What the heck is going on"?

Being raised a Southern Baptist is different from being a practicing member of an AME Church and I am still very new therefore still learning.

So as I said - My New Year started yesterday - Happy New Year to me :)

The only thing I knew about Advent is the calender with chocolates behind each date...

So what is Advent you ask?

Advent is a season of preparation...

What are we preparing for?

We take this time to give Thanks for His first coming and prepare for His final coming.

It begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas (yesterday) and ends on Christmas Eve.

There is an Advent wreath (no idea where I get one but I am looking) and the wreath holds 5 candles (one for each Sunday in Advent as well as Christmas Day)...

3 of them are Purple. (signifying solemnity & royalty)

1 is Pink. (signifying Joy)

The center one is White. (signifying the Birth of Christ)

The first Sunday of Advent one of the Purple candles is lit - To remind us that we are waiting for our Good Sheppard.

The second Sunday of Advent - Purple is lit again - To remind us we wait for Forgiveness.

The third Sunday of Advent finds us waiting for Joy so the Pink candle is lit.

The fourth Sunday of Advent we light the last Purple candle and we focus on the coming of the Son.

The fifth candle is lit on Christmas Eve - It is the White one and it is to celebrate the Birth of Jesus.

I love this - Absolutely love this...

Celebrating what the true meaning of Christmas is and not by how many presents are under the tree -

Now if I could get my kids to go along with this lol.

I will be back tomorrow and let you all know how court went (last Wednesday).

In the meantime, hug someone next to you.

MICHAEL W. SMITH
I Can Hear Your Voice As You Sing Over Me
It's Your Song Of Hope Breathing Life Into Me
I Can Feel Your Touch As I Come Close To You
And It Heals My Heart, You Restore & Renew

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday period....

I don't like how commercial Christmas has become (though I do enjoy the meaning of Christmas), I don't like Halloween and I have no use for Valentine's Day (never have).

I have always loved Thanksgiving...The sights, the smells, the food, the togetherness of families.

It marks the beginning of the holiday season to me.


My Dad always makes turkey on the grill along with all the fixings - Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked mac-n-cheese, green beans, squash, rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce etc...

I don't work on Thanksgiving and normally don't work the day after because my Mom, Sister and I do the Black Friday shopping....

Yes we are those people who get up and are out of the house by 3:30am to shop...

I love Black Friday Shopping.

These past few months, I have been dreading the holiday season.

I have been thinking I want to just crawl in a hole until January because quite frankly I was thinking I didn't have much to be thankful for.

However I have been thinking the last few days and I have a lot to be thankful for.

I have wonderful friends, wonderful family, a wonderful Church family, a roof over my head, food on the table and clothes on my back.

I am Thankful for the situation God has placed me in because He has introduced me to things within myself that I never knew existed.

I am Thankful for all my bloggy friends who keep coming back, keep sending me encouraging messages and who are just there for me...

I love each and every one of you and I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Be Safe.

JOSH GROBAN
So Tonight We Pray For
What We Know Can Be.
And On This Day We Hope For
What We Still Can't See.
It's Up To Us To Be The Change
And Even Though We All Can Still Do More
There's So Much To Be Thankful For.

Can You Keep A Secret?

TWILIGHT TIME...

I don't get the appeal -

Now don't go bashing me -

I have yet to read any of the books and haven't seen the movies -

I do know that people here LINE UP like 2-3 days prior just to catch the new movie once it is about to be released...

They sleep on the sidewalk and use the potty in cups so they don't lose their spot.

They barely eat, don't shower, don't brush their teeth etc...

Ummm let's go with GROSS.

The longest I have ever stood in line was back when I was 16 and Bon Jovi was coming here -

I had the tickets and since it was general admission, I got to the civic center early that morning and waited all day to see Skid Row/Bon Jovi...

That was LIVE people - This is a movie - Nothing about it is live...

Is it really that good?

I am open to just about anything and I enjoy a good vampire flick every now and again...

However I just don't see myself sleeping outside in 40 degree weather for a movie.

Plus the main dude looks like he slept out there with you and has missed showering for about the last month.

*Shudders*

I may check it out later on once the foul smelling, breath of death people finish watching it.

Then again I am one of the few who HATED the movie Titanic -

I left that theater wishing I could get those very long 3 hours back.

If you see it please tell me the appeal...

If you have read the books, let me know what I am missing...

I love to read and will give anything a shot.

LINKIN PARK - Of course I picked something from the movie ;)
When My Time Comes
Forget The Wrong That I've Done
Help Me Leave Behind Some
Reasons To Be Missed