Goodness!

..... meant in more ways than one.

1. Kind of sad and surprising -- Goodness! This is the LAST issue of Country Home! Unbelievable. I'm a magazine lover, and this has been one of my constants for so many years. Run out and get the last issue. It's a good one.

2. Kind of frightening -- Goodness! This is serious, but I thought it important to bring it up here. One of my BFFs called yesterday. Her 14-year-old daughter had been "sexted" - that's texting inappropriate requests for inappropriate photos and deeds -- by two boys who are supposed to be her friends. Thankfully, she had the sense to immediately show her mother who is just like me and immediately called the parents of the boys and then forwarded those texts to the parents. One parent has been hard to find. The other set of parents were shocked and immediately dealt with their son, talked with him, decided on a very strong and appropriate punishment, and had him call both my friend and her daughter and apologize, which I understand was quite sincere. The other boy, nothing.

You know, my teenage daughter has had a couple of incidents since November. She is the nurturing type and wants to "help" others, and twice she has taken on issues that are way beyond her. We've told her to bring those to us so we can help her sort them out, but with texting and Facebook and My Space and e-mailing ----- things can get WAY out of control, and they nearly did. Again, because I'm quick to fix things and am wide open and don't keep secrets or hold back when it comes to my kids, I jumped on this, and all parents have been in touch regarding the separate situations. After the second scene, my husband and I told our daughter that for the rest of the holidays and into the new school year, we wanted her to take a break from electronic relationships. Not as a punishment, as she (nearly) didn't do anything wrong except try to handle things beyond her abilities, but just for a break!

We told her, as I passed on to my friend above, not to carry on a friendship electronically. Use texting and the other stuff to share quick, unimportant info - like, "I'll be there in five minutes, okay?" and fun photos and stories, but not to carry on and build a friendship through black and white words. Talk on the phone!!! Meet out for ice cream or coffee!!! Talk a walk together!!! Please, get to know each other personally, face to face!!!

When I spoke to the young lady above, as her mom asked me to, I told her that God created each of us In His Image for a good and specific purpose. If we are created In His Image for good, then sending a naked image across the text lines would definitely be tearing down that plan. I told her not to cry feeling sorry for herself. She might be frustrated and hurt but not to feel like this was her fault. Those boys have succumbed to what our society has degraded sex to be. There seems to be no limits to what children are attempting to do. I encouraged her to know that she is valued above all things and to listen to her parents and tell them whatever comes her way so that she has their protection and love to guard her and guide her and allow her to grow into the lovely young woman she is becoming.

Parents, guard your children. Set boundaries! Explain why it's important to take a rest from all the media and just spend time with family and read and be quiet and talk together. Look over their electronic conversations. Talk about IMPORTANT issues. Teach them to live wisely and with good reputation. One mom said she makes her teenagers turn in their phones at 10:00 PM, and the phones go on the chargers in mom and dad's room. That's an excellent idea.

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3. Kind of yummy -- Goodness! This is such a great recipe! This is The Farm Chicks Dark Chocolate Butter Cake! Yum, yum, yum. After creaming the butter and sugar in this recipe for five minutes, it looked like frosting. I have never mixed up a batter that was so silky. It baked up beautiful. Their suggestion is to put a nice berry sauce on top of the cake. However, I, of course, wanted to frost it with fudge frosting. Pas necessaire! It is so yummy without - and, you know, that's saying a lot for me! Anyway, I did have a bowl of frosting nearby and had the cake with and without frosting. It's quite sweet with the frosting and just quite perfect with the berry sauce. Try it out.

Hey, do you like the new dishtowel I embroidered? This one is MINE (for once)!

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4. Kind of - no, VERY - sweet -- Goodness! Very nice blog friends. Two of them recently passed on blog awards to me. And, I have to say, the sentiments of both mean a lot to me.

First, Ravenhill had this goodness:

Proximidade is described as:
'This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement!

Then, Nannybird Crafts had this goodness:

This award is given to those bloggers who show great Attitude and/or Gratitude.

Why I appreciate this coming from these ladies is each of those sentiments has turned out to be exactly the way I feel about befriending them and many of you. Thank you so much!