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*The Grandkids Are Coming!* 4/16/02 ______________________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Can't get enough inspirational stories in your life? Would you like to send a unique gift to your friends and family? Then order a personalized autographed copy of the inspirational book: Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" by Michael T. Powers for only $13.95. And best of all, we'll pay the shipping! Michael is an award winning writer whose stories have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines around the world and in the following books: Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart 2, Stories for the Teen's Heart 2, Heartwarmers, God Allows U-Turns Volumes 1, 3, and 4, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, and in the upcoming books: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Story Collection and The Miracle of Boys. He has signed several contracts for future Chicken Soup and other inspirational books. Still not convinced? You can preview his book by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_powers AOL Users click here! To order your autographed copy have a check or money order for $13.95 for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 (Please allow about 2 weeks for delivery.) _________________________________________ The Grandkids Are Coming!! By Betty King The grandkids are coming; it's time to go grocery shopping You need plenty of good nourishing food; you think. The grandkids could care less as long as you have plenty of snack food, junk food and lots of cereal. Buying a box of cereal can take a great deal of time. The cereal isle at the supermarket takes up the same amount of space as a regulation size football field. There are more kinds of cereals than there are days of the year. You need to set aside a week to shop for just the right box to purchase. You'll need a day just to walk up and down the isles, a couple or three days to read the names and the ingredients. Another day and a phone call are needed to find out what kind the kids like. Then a day trying to figure out where on the shelves they've hid those favorite selections. When you finally find the kind they want and you see the price you grasp for breath! Then you fork over a week's salary for ump-teen boxes of cereal. "It's a racket, I tell you, nothing but a racket!" People stare at you wondering whom you're talking to, "They didn't have all these cereals when I was a kid and I survived!!" You're heard still mumbling to yourself as you unload the grocery cart, piling the boxes of sugar into the trunk. "We didn't have to have breakfast in all shapes, sizes and colors when I was growing up -- and all that sugar -- they're going to have sugar diabetes." You rant and rave all the way home. You shove a trunk load of cereal into a cabinet that is already crammed full of potato chips, snack cakes, fruit roll ups, candy bars, cereal bars and all the things kids eat when they're not eating cereal. After you cram all the boxes in your cabinet you open the refrigerator door for a final check and there among the cheeses for toasted cheese sandwiches are dips for the chips and three cases of can sodas and fruit drinks, but only one gallon of milk. You know full well it'll take more milk than that for all that cereal, so you decide another trip to the store is required. But first you open the freezer door just to check it one last time, out falls a box of Popsicles and a couple of crammed in ice cream cartons. There are only three pizzas and you determine that'll never be enough for their growing appetites, so you add that to your mental list as you grab the keys and head once more for the car. "I can't afford all these grandkids." Your next-door neighbor standing in her driveway hears you grumbling to yourself. You don't even look up and acknowledge her presence as you're already in the grandkid focus mode. After all they'll be here soon and things will get crazy!! Your house, refrigerator, cabinets, yard and your life will never be the same! You return just in time to shove your final purchases in they're allotted place; you look around at the sparkling clean sliding glass door and the newly vacuumed carpet. Everything is in its place and the furniture is shinning. The doorbell rings, "We're here!" They're voices echo several times. A quick kiss is received; they head for the kitchen, "Whatcha got for snacks, we're hungry?" The next two weeks are exhausting. They want to eat every meal at McDonald's; cartoons are the news of the day. You know where they're at by following the trail of wet towels and dirty clothes. You can't see out the sliding glass door because you gave up using the Windex. The windows are frosting up because the freezer and refrigerator are opened while first one kid or the other stands for fifteen minutes trying to determine what is going to materialize before their eyes. You fall in bed every night totally drained! Two weeks pass; their vacation is over and you look like your own grandma! "We had a great time grandma and grandpa, we'll be back soon." They kiss you good-bye wrapping their arms around your neck, they look for your tears to fall; they always do, they know that. " I love you" are exchanged and the departure is as usual, a sad time and a relief. You and grandpa collapse in your easy chairs, shaking your heads, you swear your "getting too old for this." The next day the house is straightened, furniture waxed, doors shining again, refrigerator cleaned out and half eaten left over boxes of stale cereal thrown away. The next few weeks' boredom sets in; you hear yourself saying over the phone. " When are you kids coming back out to see us again?" After all you say to yourself -- "they're really no trouble." "Oh yeah sure!!" Grandpa says with a gleam in his eye. Betty King baking2@msn.com (after April 26 she can be reached via email at: baking2@charter.net) Write Betty and let her know your thoughts on her story! _______________________________ Betty has lived with MS for 36 years and is planning on wheeling on down the road for as many more as God will allow. She is a Heartwarmer's Gem and has been married to Bill, the best thing since wheels for 45 years. She writes for a variety of mediums and is widely published on the Internet. She is currently working on a collection of short stories for a future book. She says, "I happen to have lived with MS for the last 35 years but continue to live a full life in spite of some of the hardships I've faced. God has blessed me and showed me much through living with MS and has been with me each day along the way! Though I'm not able to do all the things I use to with my grandchildren I still look forward to their visits. They have all grown up riding with me on my three wheel motorized scooter." _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! For sixty years, I have served as Pastor and Professor of Theology, and wondered just how "regular" people felt--and Roger Dean Kiser, Sr. has put my feelings into words. Happily, I have felt the depth of their sorrow, the warmth of their love, and the grace of their caring. And The DAY is Coming when I shall know as I am known. WWWPres@aol.com Michael, I want to thank you for running Roger Dean Kiser's story today. It gave me a reason to cry, which we all need sometimes. It also made me realize that it really is okay to just hug someone and tell them that we love them. Life sometimes changes so quickly that we have to waddle through so many emotions in a short period of time. Many of those situations end in total confusion and great sadness. I shall forever think of Mr. Kiser, Sr., as the "Loving Orphan", though he may not see himself that way. He truly does share so much of that love with we who are blessed enough to receive his stories. I wish he could believe how much some of us have come to care about him, and, in a way, to love him. God Bless You, Michael, and your family, as well as Mr. Kiser, Sr. and his family. Lucy, TygresHart@aol.com _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you too, can become great." --Mark Twain Verse for the Day: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Psalm 1:1 Kid's Thought For The Day: "Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets kicked." Parent's Thought For The Day "My father used to tell me, 'When Abraham Lincoln was your age, Abraham Lincoln had a job. When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he walked twelve miles to get to school.' I said, 'Dad, when Lincoln was your age, he was President, okay?'" -- Andy Andrews Coach's Thought For The Day "Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold wither becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind." --Leonardo da Vinci "Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say." --Sharon O'Brien Deep Thought For The Day: "When my grandparents arrived in this country from Germany, they were dirty, frightened, and penniless. I swear, that's the last time we let them vacation by themselves." ___________________________________________ REQUESTS: Hi, I just wanted to thank everyone who prayed for my Grandma when her health was in a very precarious situation last week. I'd like to specially thanks those who sent me emails to lift up my spirit. Prayers can really make miracles happen! Grandma was moved out of the intensive care unit last Saturday and may be allowed to go home within the week. God bless you all, Alex, AUSTA@amkor.com ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no \_\/\ \ longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I \_\/ live in the body I live for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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