Tribute to Mammy Hamster

Mammy.

She was by far the most endearing hamster EVER!

She never bit anyone in her 2 1/2 year life.

She loved carrots and cabbage.

When we first got her from our friend Drifter,

she was so small.  Tiny, in fact.

She would get food in her little pouches,

the run to her wheel and RUUUUUUUN!

{We always said she was running to South Dakota}

She'd drop her food in the wheel, and go get more.  

She was so silly!

When we had her wire cage, she would climb,

 up and down, up and around, and then JUMP off of her 

red platform.

She sure had night~time energy.

For someone nocturnal.

She escaped one time, and our Border Collie found her.

Sitting behind the washing machine.

Daddy got her and took the tiny little feet in his big hands,

checking for boo-boos.

She did hurt her back left paw, but she healed up fine.

The last time she escaped her cage, we looked fervently.

We tore the house apart.

We couldn't get the Border Collie to do her job again.

I was a mess.

Every song reminded me of her.

We called the radio station to ask for prayer.

We checked under the dresser as a last thought...

She was sleeping , under the dresser, where she was...

probably all day.

I was not a mess any longer.

I just wanted to hold her.

Recently, she had been gaining weight.

She was fat.

She was LARGE...

ok, she was OBESE.

Last night we played with her and loved her,

and cleaned her cage.

We heard her on her wheel ,

cause it was really squeeky,

cause Ma'am was FAT!

Then this morning when I said good morning,

She didn't lift her little head

squint her little eyes and 

rub her tiny face

to say good morning.

That's when I knew.

Mammy died.

I woke Haley, 

we cried together.

Now we have to bury her.

By the Hibiscus in the garden.

She loved flowers.

Or, she would have, 

I'm sure.

I loved Mammy.

Goodbye, dear girl.

~\0/~

Creating a successful Butterfly Garden involves attracting a wide variety of butterflies and encouraging them to return the next season. The best way to do this is to plant both nectar-producing and host plants. The nectar-producing plants need to provide flowers that bloom throughout the season, especially in mid- to late summer when most butterflies are active. These plants should be grown in open, sunny areas, as the adults of many species rarely feed on plants in the shade. The host plants should offer a source of food and shelter for larvae and a place for adults to lay their eggs.

• Plant a variety of nectar-rich plants, as well as shrubs and evergreens for shelter.
• Grow a wide range of host plants to provide food during butterflies' larval (caterpillar) stage.
• Avoid using pesticides, especially around nectar-producing plants. Even the use of some organic or biological controls can harm butterfly larvae.
• Provide a shallow source of water (try a birdbath with pebbles lining the bowl).
• Place a rock in a sunny spot for basking and resting.
• Create a "puddling area" by digging a shallow hole filled with compost or manure where rainwater will collect and release essential salts and minerals.

Note about 'new chapter' In another presidential ritual, Bush left a note for Obama in his desk in the Oval Office, wishing him well as he takes the reins of power.

"I won't provide any details, but the theme is similar to what he's said since election night about the fabulous new chapter President-elect Obama is about to start, and that he wishes him the very best," outgoing White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

She said the two-term Republican incumbent wrote the message to his Democratic successor on Monday and left it in the top drawer of his desk, which was crafted from timbers from the H.M.S. Resolute and given to the U.S. by Great Britain in 1879.

During his last moments in the Oval Office, former President Ronald Reagan scribbled a note for his successor on a notepad with a turkey insignia that said "Don't let the turkeys get you down." He, too, slipped the note in the presidential desk for his successor, President George H.W. Bush.

Four years after that, the elder Bush left a note for President Bill Clinton. And eight years after that, Clinton wrote a note for Bush, and included a copy of the message he had received from Bush's father.

It's ironic that Barack Obama chooses to infuse these opening days of his presidency with the imagery of Abraham Lincoln.   I don't think there could be two more different men. Understanding why may help us think about what to expect in the days ahead.

 

Beyond his trademark "change we can believe in," Obama's defining theme has been unity and inclusiveness. "...There's not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there's the United States of America....We worship an awesome God in the Blue States...and have gay friends in the Red States."   Obama, of course, does not suggest that we don't have differences. His point is that those differences are not critically important and they're getting in our way. Let's put differences aside, get practical, and solve our problems.   The inaugural ceremonies have pastors for everyone. A white evangelical that opposes same-sex marriage, a white homosexual, a left-wing black male, and a left-wing black female.   His economic stimulus plan has large government expenditures to please Democrats and tax benefits to please Republicans.   Lincoln, too, sought unity. But Lincoln's notion of where national unity would lie was far different from Obama's.   He prophetically stated the challenge after accepting the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1858.   "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure half slave and half free. I do not expect the union to be dissolved. I do not expect the House to fall. But I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other."   As historian Harry Jaffa points out, "For Lincoln, as for Jefferson and for all genuine supporters of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the distinction between right and wrong is antecedent to any form of government and is independent of any man's or any majority's will."   Lincoln knew that some principles are so fundamental they cannot be compromised. He knew that we couldn't ignore our key differences. Unity could only come from facing them and making the hard choices.   He knew that even though there were competing religious claims on the issue of slavery -- some found biblical sanction in it -- we would still have to choose and decide who we are.   As Americans killed each other, he observed: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God....The prayers of both could not be answered...."   We have many Americans today who read the same Bible but see the truths that define this country very differently. And, of course, we have Americans who do not see the Bible as relevant to those truths at all and those who would claim that there are no truths.   As Lincoln observed, the prayers of all cannot be answered. Unless we're resigned to meaninglessness, we must believe that our future will reflect today's choices.   On the hardest moral dilemma of his day, Abraham Lincoln stepped up to the plate and took a stand. He did not say that it was above his pay grade. And this is what makes Abraham Lincoln very different from Barack Obama.   Each time has its challenges. Americans feel betrayed by what they see as unethical behavior in American business and in Washington. Yet few seem to appreciate that moral problems lie at the root of our faltering economy.

Sanctity of life and sanctity of property are cut from the same cloth of eternal law.   In the view of many, including me, it's this law that defines our free country.   Our new president, who sanctions both abortion and massive government intrusion into our economic lives, sees things very differently.   So let's not pretend these fundamental differences don't matter. How we choose will define our future. As Lincoln said, the nation "will become all one thing, or all the other."

God's Spirals

When God planned the spiral, He had more than numbers, beauty, and dynamic symmetry in mind. He wants me to thrill at the tiny accuracy of His Creation. He longs to reveal Himself by sharing His wisdom and love. Won't you bow in admiration and reverent worship with me? "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," says the LORD, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 Global spirals appear in air and sea currents, rotating in one direction in the northern hemisphere and the opposite in the southern hemisphere. In an area of high pressure, winds blow clockwise in an outward spiral, usually bringing fair weather. Owtwardly expanding spirals are all good and bring growth or life-giving benefits, but ever since sin entered our world, destructive patterns have come in the form of reversed spirals. In areas of stormy weather, low pressure winds spiral inward in a counterclockwise pattern. Destructive cyclones blow inward toward the center, and the enemy must delight in the fury of hurricanes and typhoons and tornados with winds up to 300 mph, causing massive damage and loss of property and life. Satan surely becomes outraged when he sees God expanding my spiral of growth toward eternal joy as I focus on things above that are not of this world. The devil uses anything he can (from tv, to fashion, to over-consumption of anything) to turn my thoughts from God and His Word. Gradually my life would turn inward, centered on my own selfish desires. Spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally, my selfish thoughts would grow smaller and less spiritual, possibly spiralling out of control, like a hurricane, headed toward self-destruction. God can and does reverse Satan's spiral if I claim the promise of Jeremiah 29:11-14, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and pray to Me and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," says the LORD, "and I will bring you back from your captivity." Yes, God planned for my life to expand by His spiral. I am called to reach out away from my selfish center and grow by His power. He longs to enlarge my capacity to receive more and more of His character. Daily He will impart wisdom, love, strength, and joy! No limit! With God, I have infinite possibilities to become like Him spiritually, physicaly, mentally, and emotionally. I claim His promise to "...supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" ~Philippians 4:19 ~ a limitless spiral of hope on into eternity, you should too! ~\0/~