What is YOUR Legacy?

Mindlessly driving to work yesterday, the song “Legacy” by Nichole Nordeman came on. Suddenly, the weight of these lyrics were on my heart:

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

It made me think, What is MY legacy?

Do I chose to love? Am I leaving a mark? Do I point to God enough?

I don’t know that I always do, but I try. I’m not perfect and still a sinner saved by grace. Everyday, in small and big ways, I try to touch others and let Jesus’ love shine through me.

So how about YOU? What is YOUR legacy? Take a moment RIGHT NOW, just ten seconds, close your eyes, and what is on your heart? What is YOUR legacy?

I’ve included the video in case you haven’t heard/seen this song. It’s absolutely beautiful!

My Uncle (Part Two)

(I received so many good comments/questions on part one, I felt I needed to do a part two. To read part one, go here.)

He was Santa Claus. That is my fondest and clearest memory of my uncle. Remember, I was six at the time.

After his death, his wife Joan continued to bring their two boys, Matt and Scotty, around on the holidays. When I was seven, my mom married my step dad and moved to the country. Joan brought the boys up several times to hang out with my brothers.

One winter, my crazy, country brothers gave those city boys a ride on our snowmobiles. First to take off was my half brother Conrad. He gunned it so hard that Matt went flying off the back. Then, my step brother Todd took off with Scotty holding on for dear life. By the time they got back to our trailer house, both cousins looked like they were in shock. Knowing my brothers, they gave those city boys a ride they wouldn’t soon forget.

As my cousins got older, they started to question what happened to their dad. One time in particular, Matt, the older one, asked my grandma about his dad. My grandma, being the wise matriarch she is, told him he needed to talk to his mom. Soon after that, we stopped seeing the boys altogether.

I heard rumors both boys eventually dropped out of school, were in and out of jail, and in general were struggling through life. I knew they lived in the Big City. I got word that Scotty actually lived not only in my district, but in my assigned area back when I worked patrol. One evening, we had a shots fired call in the area. We knocked on a few doors, his included. He never answered, although I hoped he had. I kept seeing the same truck parked outside, but never anyone around. To this day, no one in my mom’s family has heard from either boy, now men. And we are pretty certain they were never told the truth about their dad’s death.

*Author's note: This is a true story. Only the names have been changed.

Share YOUR family stories at:

Friday Follow

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Leave me a comment so I can link back and follow you too!

Join in over at One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! Just click on the button below:

I Risked My Life Yesterday

This is what I did yesterday

With a crazy bunch of fun middle schoolers

In uniform

With my gun on

'Nuff said...

And NO, you can't see pictures of it!!!

A Moment

"Contemplating Life"

Or not...

Link up at Seven Clown Circus or

“Mama Guilt Mondays” Meme

Why talk about Mama Guilt, you ask? Because I think it’s good to share so we know we’re not alone. We all struggle in this wonderful, chaotic, ever challenging thing called motherhood! See the MckLinky at the bottom of this post to link up.

* * * * * * *

I NEVER go out. EVER! I guess after spending 40 hours a week away from my little guys, it's hard to spend even a second away from them outside of work. But this past Saturday, I met up with some friends for dinner.

Problem was, Sprout wasn't having any of it. "Mama, I wanna come," or "I'll be good," and the hardest, "But Daddy doesn't sing the Goodnight Song like you do!" UGH, talk about Mama Guilt!

So, I asked him if he wanted to pretend to get ready with me…

 Every boy needs at least five hair clips, right?

And no, honey, that’s not a scissors.

 

Oh, you already have a natural glow, my sweetheart!

 

Good job, I think you’re getting the hang of this!

 

Wait, NO! Not in your nose!

So the question is, should my Mama Guilt be:

1. I went out Saturday night.

2. I allowed my SON to wear hairclips and pretend to apply makeup.

3. I actually posted pictures of it!

Do YOU have any Mama Guilt on your mind today? Blog about it, funny or serious, post a link back here on your blog, then come back here and enter your post link into the MckLinky.

Or feel free to write about YOUR Mama Guilt in the Comments below.

 

What’s In YOUR Cabinet???

  

Cubbie, what exactly…

 

 

are you…

 

 looking for???

 

(Don’t forget to stop back for Mama Guilt Mondays meme. Share your stories of motherhood by linking up.)

Friday Follow

** Regular visitors, please scroll down to the next post. It's a piece of memoir that I didn't want getting confused with the Friday Follow because of the nature of it. **

I love meeting new bloggers! Thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment so I can link back and follow you too!

Join in over at One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! Just click on the button below:

My Uncle

He was murdered when I was six.

I remember the news coverage. I was sitting on my Grandma and Grandpa's shaggy living room carpet. The TV screen showed the gurney with my uncle's body being brought down the steps of the duplex.

The family rumor was that his wife was cheating on him. When he returned home one day, he caught her in bed with another man. My uncle threatened her lover with a knife. Her lover pulled out a gun and shot him.

That's about all I ever knew of the story until last year. On a whim, I happened to ask the Homicide Commander if I could see the file, since it's a closed case and public record. See, it happened in the Big City, the city I work for.

He said sure, he would let Sgt. Davis, the cold case investigator, know since she's the one with access to all the archives. Sgt. Davis, or Liz, also happens to be my friend. She had no idea I had an uncle murdered in the city. No one on the department did. It's not something I really like to advertise.

I asked Liz to remove the crime scene photos, I just didn't need to see that. I sat down in one of the interrogation rooms with the overstuffed, disintegrating file folder. As I dug through the mounds of sketches, handwritten incident reports, and property sheets, I was able to piece together what really happened that night.

Contrary to my family's version of the story, my uncle actually went over to the lover's house. They apparently were friends. They had a few beers. Then, my uncle confronted the lover about the affair. There was a scuffle. The neighbor said he heard my uncle pleading, "Don't shoot me, don't shoot me", then shots rang out. By the time the police arrived, my uncle was dead.

The lover claimed, when interviewed, my uncle came at him with a knife, so he shot him in self defense. The jury didn't buy it. The lover went to prison, guilty of manslaughter.

And it turns out, my aunt was never even there.

Author's Note: This is a true story, only the names have been changed. My uncle was my mom's brother and his wife eventually distanced herself from the family, taking their two children with her.

Link up at "Family Fridays" over at The Peterson Family or Keeping Up With the Schultz Family.

Back to Reality

Sorry my friends, just a little bit longer…

and soon enough…

we'll be sitting in those plastic Adirondack chairs again!

Link up at The Long Road to China and Seven Clown Circus

Mama Guilt Mondays

Yesterday, we skipped church (I know, I know, yes, I feel guilty)

but LOOK at what we did instead!

We visited our local indoor flower gardens and
it was WARM inside.

Wonderfully, tropically warm!

Enjoy, my friend!

Soak up these beautiful reds, blues, pinks and greens.

I hope you liked this little break from winter reality.
I know we did!

Do YOU have any Mama Guilt on your mind today?
Feel free to link up or share in the comments!

What a Man!

My DH is...

an avid telemark skier

an intense road biker

a loving husband

(this is my favorite picture because

I was 3 months pregnant with Sprout at the time)

a caring father

and a great daddy!

Thank you, sweetheart, for all you do!

Happy Valentines Day!

(Go check out other great pics at Mama M's!)

I Just Knew It!

When I saw this gazebo, I just knew it! What, you ask?

Well first, it's time for...

Mama M's Five Question Friday!

1. What is the one thing your love does for you that you can't live without?

Wipes the boogers from my kiddos noses!!! Seriously, give me blood, vomit, whatever, but I HATE boogers! ;-)

2. When did you know your love was "the one"?

The moment I met him! As soon as he walked in the door at our first day of singles small group at church, I just felt it! (Ask him, so did he!)

3. Does your love have a special ringtone on your cell?

Ok, don't laugh...promise??? "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett.

4. What are you attracted to most in your special someone?

His morals and values. He's a good guy, a Christian, and a great daddy!

5. Did you know when/where he/she was going to pop the big question?

Someday, I'll tell the whole story! Nutshell: he rented a cabin on a BIG lake. When we pulled up, I saw the above mentioned Gazebo off the back of the cabin, and I just knew! Sure enough, later that day, with the sun setting and the waves crashing, he asked me to be his wife!



T.G.I.F. my friends! What are YOU doing this weekend??? Valentine's plans? Us, we are staying in and having a nice, late dinner after kiddos go to bed!

Tell Us About That Scar

Photo Credit

There's not a cop on the job that, after five years on, doesn't have a scar or two. It's just part of what we do.

I had about two years on when I was sent to a burglary in progress call. O'Neal* answered up as back-up. While enroute, we were updated that the neighbors were now chasing the burglar through the alley. O'Neal beat me to the alley and I was on his heels. We both slammed our squads into park and bolted towards the screaming in the back of one of the yards. O'Neal flew over the fence like a wild gazelle. As I attempted to do the same, he yelled back,

"Be careful, it's double fenced!"

Thanks a lot, I was in midair at the time. I cleared the first fence but came down not onto ground, but a lower lying fence made of chicken wire or barbwire. I felt my leg stick. Subconsciously, I knew it wasn't a good thing, but adrenaline and chaos were reining in my mind at that moment. I unstuck my leg from the fence and continued over it. I ran up to where the neighbors had the burglar pinned down. O'Neal and I cuffed and searched him all while holding off the angry mob of bystanders. We walked the burglar around to O'Neal's squad and got him secured in the back seat. I told O'Neal I would meet him down at HQ after I got my info for the burglary.

Back at HQ, the adrenaline started to wear off and the pain in my leg started to seep in. Once in the report writing room, I found an open computer and grabbed one of the thread bare chairs. I knew it wasn't a good sign when I noticed the bottom of my polyester uniform pants were sticking to my leg. The next sight I saw was a totally red sock that used to be white sticking out of the top of my Rocky boot. And further up my leg, two jagged,bloody puncture wounds.

O'Neal's response, "I told you it was double fenced!"

Thanks alot, buddy! Considering I just had a tetanus shot a month earlier, I just dug out a first aid kit from the squad trunk, wrapped my leg up tight, and hoped I wouldn't be chasing anyone else for the rest of my shift.

Thirteen years later, the scars are barely visible. Do I miss those days? You bet! I enjoy being an investigator now, but I tell ya, those early years in my career were the best!

*Not his real name.

* * * * * * *

Thanks to Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It for her Writer's Workshop. This true story is based on her #3 prompt: "Tell us about that scar."

Black and White Wednesday

Those eyes

My sweet baby boy

Are what everyone sees

So big, so bright, so beautiful

May they ever have wonder

May they always shine

Those eyes

Link up at The Long Road to China