two beatings one culprit

two stories of physical beatings arrived at my work doorstep today. three days before christmas.

one was about one of our clients--one who i know, who seems to be an honest, kind, gentle spirit--who was going home around 7pm on Friday night and, 3 blocks from his house, 3 men beat him up (he had several stitches above his left eyebrow & said he had a concussion), stole his voicebox (he had throat cancer and uses one of those machine thingys to talk, and now can't), stole $6, stole his bike, stole, from what i can tell, at least some of his dignity. he was totally out of it, and wants to leave his apartment, is what he wrote down for me.

the second was from a random woman from south dakota--i'm not sure how she got my contact info.--who moved down here 3 weeks ago & has been living w/ her boyfriend's family. sat. night (perhaps also at 7pm, perhaps not), she was also beaten up...by her boyfriend. she has a 12-year old daughter and a 10-year old son and broke down crying during one of her conversations because she just doesn't know what the hell to do. i think we found a place that can donate presents--one of her biggest concerns--and we're working on a place to stay (she only has money for one more night after tonight); she is nervous b/c being from south dakota, she and her children aren't used to being around drug addicts and other scary situations that she is rightfully afraid of encountering at the shelters where she'll likely end up.

i consistently notice that lots of the violence i've witnessed/heard about is rooted in desperation...for money, for love, for respect. i guess that's just one more argument for the whole "abundance for all" thing...abundance not of quantity, but of quality. if we treat other people better so that they get their fill, so to speak, maybe we all won't be so desperate. it just hurts my heart what people have to go through.

Loooong overdue pictures!!!!

Fun in Atlanta with munchkins...Ella is SUCH a good big cousin, Jackson is now a big boy, officially, Maia is just a big kid & definitely plays baby dolls with Ella (and by herself...freaking adorable!), and well, Connor gives 'em all a run for their money...now 13+ pounds! My sisters, well, are still ridiculous. And two of my favorite people in the world! It's so awesome to "pick up where we left off"...especially when we haven't had skizzy time w/ just us since a LONG time ago!

I was definitely determined to get a REAL good picture...can you tell by my consistent smile, and # of pictures??? I guess it makes up for all of the times I have (and continue to) be pretty damn ridiculous in pictures.

Not too bad, for 1a.m., eh? :)

Next, a new visitor for Pep-tup!

That's right...Lucy is definitely visiting for an indefinite while...she was kinda over living in Atlanta, wanted to have some quality time with her aunt & cousin, & thought she had a lot to offer the city of NOLA. We agree.

The girls sunbathing...a common occurrence when it's not negative 12!

i rediscovered this quotation yesterday and am so inspired by it.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes.
-Charles R. Swindoll

reason #4,387 i love kids

somehow ella ended up at lunch w/ miss usa the other day (yes, this is 10 months after she had dinner with cinderella in disney world for her 4th birthday, and 1 month after having her 2nd trip to disney world); in response to the lovely lady's offer of her autograph, my awesome godchild says,
"i don't want you to write on my picture."
definitely one of my favorite stories ever.