Turns out it was more of an honor for me.......

A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend a program that was slated to serve two purposes
      1) A reunion for all those who attended Greenbriar Junior High School
and
      2) Recognize the contributions of Ernest Campbell, former teacher at Greenbriar Junior High

I guess I should start by explaining that Greenbriar was a segregated junior high school.  This school served students from the 1940's thru the late 1960's.

This, of course, was all before my time.  So at this event I only knew my family members, however, it was quite enjoyable to sit back and watch old friends approach each other with gasps, hugs and many "is that really you" exclamations.

You see when integration came on the scene these students parted ways and were spread about Limestone County. So what a great idea to bring everyone together to reminisce, to celebrate, to reunite.
It was a wonderful program where person after person got up and shared stories of long walks to school, meager lunches, outhouses, strict discipline and high expectations.

While segregation may seem ages ago.  It is not.  I, myself, am only one generation removed. My parents, my aunts and uncles not only attended these schools, they also began their teaching careers there.

Which brings me to the reason I was attending.....that former teacher those students were honoring - well he is my uncle.  

I grew up with him in my life.  We always lived near him and his family. So when all these former students spoke about him they said things like

* He really cared about us
* He expected us to learn
* He taught us more than academics, he taught us how to be decent people
* He included me
* He was the first person, outside of my family, who ever showed interest in me
* He bought me shoes because my family could not afford them
* He gave so much to us

All these things I know to be true.  He is everything they said and more.  Now my uncle is a very humble man and I know he felt he was only doing what needed to be done - the right thing.  You know what we could use more of in this world?

People who do what needs to be done simply because it is the right thing to do.

So this evening turned out to be quite an honor for me because it reminded me how fortunate I am to have grown up surrounded by a family like this.  Sometimes we take things for granted.  Sometimes we think our experiences are everyone else's experiences.  Sometimes we fail to adequately appreciate our blessings.

Well just as Ernest Campbell was a blessing to these students, he has also been a blessing to me.

So I wanted to say here today

Uncle Ernest,

Thanks for caring about me.
Thanks for expecting great things from me.
Thanks for being a part of teaching me to be a decent person.
Thanks for always including me.
Thanks for being interested in me.
Thanks for giving me so much.

It is an honor to have you in my life.

Pinned it.....Tried it

As you know we are gearing up for wrapping day around here.  On July 25th we will be having a Christmas gift wrapping marathon.  So I was perusing Pinterest for some fresh wrapping ideas.  I came across these letters made from book pages and thought I would give it a go.

I have purchased several letters over the years......wooden, metal, glass, fabric and have used those to identify the recipient of the gift.  So when I saw these letters that I could make myself, I was in.

First, I made a trip to the thrift store to buy a book that I wouldn't feel too terrible about tearing pages out of.  This took a little while because after all these letters were going on my gifts.....so I had to find something that didn't have curse words or overly described romantic scenes......that would not be good.

So I spent a whole $1.09 on this book

I am pretty sure this was some kid's summer reading assignment, so felt confident no one was going to be clamoring to read it again.  I basically wanted this size font so I would have room to get my letters cut out.

Then I bought this package of letters at the Dollar Tree to use as a stencil.

I then selected the letters most often used for gifts around my household.  If you don't see your letter here, don't you worry maybe I have a different wrapping in mind for you.

Then I traced the letters onto pages of the book.

And cut them out

Once I had them cut out, I took an ink pad and a little stamp I had called a damper and inked the edges of each letter.  I am sure you could use a foam brush or a piece of sponge if you don't have a little stamp like this.

I tried several colors but really liked the ink called Pumice Stone because I thought it gave a real antique look.

Here's how some of my letters turned out.

This was super quick.  I did about 30 letters in an hour. 

After the 25th I will show you exactly how I incorporated these into our Christmas wrapping.

If you want to make some yourself, let me know.  I am happy to give you some pages out of my book......no sense in everyone spending a dollar.

Talk to you on Wednesday!

Prime Day on Amazon

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you know Prime Day is this July 11th. Deals will actually start at 8:00 pm CST on the 10th.  This is the third year and in the past the deals have been pretty good.  There will be clothes, accessories, kitchen gadgets art supplies and a little bit of everything.

Last year there were various gift cards.  Who knows which ones will be available but I will be on the lookout for these for sure.

Various gift cards.

I  also have these on my list for the gardener in our family.

Knee pads......someone I know needs these to get some yard work done.

I will also be looking out for fun entertaining items like these:

Fun serving bowls

And I always stock up on my favorite pens.  They usually offer a couple of large sets at good prices.

My favorite pens

Last year I was able to score one of these and we have really enjoyed it.

Essential Oil Diffuser

Listen, there will be so many good deals.  I have actually considered taking off from work but luckily my kids will be home manning the laptops and keying me in on all the deals they see come around.

Don't forget Abby and Nick are still raising money for their adoption and clicking on their Amazon link to do your shopping will help them out.

Here is there link!

Adoption link

Have a great weekend.  Talk to you on Monday.

June Book Review

This month I read some good books.  I hope you did too.

Let's get started

First up, Elin never disappoints so I  read Here's to Us



This one was about three women who all had been married to the same man.  When he dies they all meet up in Nantucket, his favorite place, to pay their respects to him.  There are secrets, lies, accusations, and flat out bad behavior that mix into this group.
I enjoyed the read.  It was entertaining and sprinkled with surprises.  As always, Elin makes you want to be in Nantucket.

I also went to one of my other reliable writers Richard Paul Evans



This one is about a rich celebrity who makes his living in not such an honorable way.  He starts to question everything when a twist of fate gives him a second chance.  The question is what will he do with it.  This is the first in a new series.  I love a good series of books and am looking forward to reading the other books in this one.


I also read this one


Now if you have this idea, this dream or even just something you love to do that you've wondered about making money at it, this is the read for you.  It is empowering and encouraging.  She literally walks you through setting up a business plan and figuring out how to make your idea come to life.  My family gifted me this for my birthday along with a ticket to see Christy in Nashville later this year.  It is fun to dream and consider the possibilities.  I thought this was a good read and know I will be referencing it in the future.

Let me know what you are reading.  Friends don't let friends read bad books.  So good or bad let me know what you've read and what you thought of it.