Am I thankful enough?

I was sitting in church yesterday and the theme was being thankful. No surprise since this is the week of Thanksgiving. Everyone is reminded to be thankful this time of year, but as the sermon began, God talked to me. He asked me if I am thankful enough? Am I thankful no matter what the circumstances are? Is being thankful my first response to trials or does it take me awhile to get there? As I sat in the pew and pondered these thoughts, I realized that I'm growing in Christ. Even 3 years ago, my response to anything going wrong would have been, why me? Why now? Why this? As I've said before, this year has been a hard one, to say the least, but I can honestly say, with God as my witness, that during this trial, I've never asked those three questions. I've never questioned God about any of this. You, who know my heart, know that I'm not trying to boast or brag about this, but I'm realizing through this trial how much God has changed my heart over the years. I no longer feel the need to question God about His plans for my life, or His interceding when life seemed to be going along ok.

If I had to choose one word to describe myself, it would be realistic or practical. Some of you would describe me as an "upbeat, optimistic" kind of person, but I would say that I'm a realist.
You know when they ask you if you see the glass as half-empty or half-full, well, I see it as both. The reality is, it IS half-empty AND half-full. Both answers are correct.

This reminded me that in life, there are two sides to every trial or circumstance. Here are just a few examples that I've experienced this year alone.
-the loss of my Dad. . .what a loss! It would have been nice to have him stick around for the 2 years that they gave us with his first diagnosis, but that would have meant that he'd have to suffer for two very long years. How could I possibly wish him back to me from Heaven?
-my heart issues. . .I was diagnosed with a heart murmur when I was a little kid. When I got pregnant for the first time, they said the murmur was actually a mitral valve prolapse. I've never had any side effects and I don't take any medications for my condition and a couple years ago I found out that I now have 2 leaking valves instead of one, but still no problems. If my heart hadn't started racing because of the increased fluid caused by the grapefruit sized mass on my ovary, I wouldn't know about the ovarian cancer.
-my surgery in June. . .before my surgery, they told me that the cancer had probably spread to my colon and that I would probably have to have a colostomy bag but instead the cancer had spread to my spleen. I've had no side effects from the removal of my spleen. My immune system seems to be working just fine.
-my hospital stay. . .with the amount of surgery that I had, I should have stayed there for 3-5 weeks, but I was released in 2 weeks. It's possible that I would have been able to go home after one week, but the allergic reaction to the morphine made that first week impossible, plus, I've never seen a bill from UNC for anything.
-chemo. . .need I say more! Chemo brought 4 of my dearest friends back into my life when life had become so busy, that we'd lost touch with each other.

My list could go on and on, but you get the picture. All of these things have negative(half-empty) connotations to them, but through them all, God always showed me the positive(half-full) side. It's not that I'm an upbeat or optimistic type of person, I just saw God in it all. How can my glass only be half-empty when God is involved? Life will always be rough, but God promises that He will always walk with me through it all. Everything that happens in life has two sides to it. My question to you is this, do you look for both sides, or are you still looking at life from just the one side? As we begin to know Him more and more, how can we ever just see the one side? No matter how much we hurt, no matter how hard life seems sometimes, how can we not see Him walking with us? It's true that bad things happen to good people but it's also true that great things happen to those whose trust is in the Lord, amen? AMEN

I Thess. 5:18 says, "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.(TLB). Being thankful, inspite of our circumstances, is what God longs for us. Begin to look at life's trials as half-full instead of half-empty. Make Christ's attitude become your attitude. Don't just thank Him for the good things in life. We've heard over and over again in sermons, that it's the trials that build our character. My little conversation with God in that pew yesterday, reminded me of how much He's helped my faith grow in Him and how much I'm slowly becoming more and more like Him everyday. Praise be to Him!! If He can mold me( yes, some of you think I'm already "moldy" enough, hee! hee!), then there's hope for everyone. I'm very stubborn and strong willed, but you already know that! Still, He keeps hanging in there with me. Is that awesome or what?? I so don't deserve any of this that comes from Him, and yet He's still walking with me. It blows my mind! To think that anyone could love me that much!! How can I not have an attitude of thanksgiving? How can ANYONE belonging to Christ, not have an attitude of thanksgiving?

So. . .thanks be to God for everything. For the good, the bad, the uninvited interruptions, for everything, thanks be to God!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheryl

Hey Gang,
I'm finally back to normal today. Yesterday was a little tiring, what with all the tutoring and church stuff in the evening, but I survived! Today, I'm feeling like my old self again. I don't really have any plans for today except playing catch up with all the stuff I haven't been able to do the past few days.

One of my goals for today is to write a note to all of my customers letting them know that I'm finished with chemo and that I'm ready to go back to work. I haven't heard anything from the school system yet, and I'm a little concerned since I heard this a.m. on the news that the school system is considering a hiring freeze. I know that it's all in God's hands, so. . .my goal right now is to possibly clean one house a day in the a.m. and my friend, Sherry G. told me that they're hiring transportation people to take the kids to after school programs. They pay $10 and hour and you don't have to have a CLD license either. It's just a thought. I have to have an income soon. I WILL receive my full Social Security benefits on Dec. 4th, so that helps. It's not much, but it's something. I also have to start paying rent again, as soon as possible. If I sound a little overwhelmed, it's because I am. My life has been put on hold for the past 5 months and now all of a sudden, I'm supposed to be able to jump right back in, and I'm not exactly sure how to do that. I think my energy level will be ok, I just need to start out slow and work up to working all day. We all know it will all work out, it always does.

Can you believe it time for the holidays already? Where has this year gone? I'm thinking that I might pull out the Christmas stuff tomorrow. It's all on my screened in back porch and it sounds like it's going to be cold this weekend, so better to pull it out when it's 50 degrees instead of 40 degrees. The kids usually come over on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we put everything up, but since I have no life right now and they are so busy, I'm thinking I might just do it myself. I don't think they'll mind. It WILL be fun to pull out all the Christmas music and all the Christmas DVD's. Maybe it will lift my spirits a little bit. Hope you all enjoy getting together with you families this Thanksgiving. I'm spending the day with the kids. I still don't know any details, but I know they're expecting me and that's all that I need to know right now.

I have so much to be thankful for. As you all know this has been a very hard year, to say the least, but I'm so blessed in so many ways. The kids all have jobs that are secure, I feel like my old self, and my chemo days are over. Need I say more!! My life will become normal and God will continue to meet my needs on a daily basis. He will lead me to a new job.

Well, I need to get the letters out to my customers today, so more another time. Love to ya' all!
Cheryl (Aunt) Sharon

Today is another day. This last treatment is kicking my butt big time! I can't seem to get my energy level back. I know that this is normal, so I'm not worried at all, just frustrated. You know how I like to stay busy. Busy for me today, is taking a shower, feeding the cats and drinking lots of water. That's about all the energy I have today.

It's very cold outside, so they say. I went out and fed the cats this a.m. but since then I've laid on the sleeper sofa, barely able to move. It's getting better. I just climbed out of the shower and climbed into my Dad's Notre Dame sweatshirt. When I Dad died in January, we all got to choose something of his to keep. I chose this sweatshirt and his Skin Bracer aftershave. On days when I'm struggling, I put it on and just remember how good he smelled. I'll stay snuggled up in the memories all day.

My body doesn't hurt as much as yesterday, I'm just exhausted today!! God has been so good to me throughout all of this. Other people have to keep working and I can honestly say that there's no way that I could have done my job the week following chemo treatments. My heart goes out to them! The body at New Hope have taken such good care of me, but now it's time for me to stand on my own two feet and get on with my life. I heard from Target, and they're not hiring. I haven't heard from anyone else yet. Hopefully the school thing will work out.

Well, my tummy is growling and I think I have just enough energy to warm up a TV dinner.
More another time

Cheryl (Aunt) Sharon

I will leave you with one funny story. Last week I was sitting on the couch watching TV and I didn't have a hat on or my wig. I was rubbing the top of my head when I discovered that there was a snarl in my hair. Now, I only have about 10-15 strands of hair left so how does something like this happen? I've had baby fine, stick straight hair my whole life, and I honestly can't remember when I've had a snarl, but somehow 3 strands of hair had managed to get snarled. I just started laughing and ended up pulling out all three strands. There was nothing else I could do. They would not unknot themselves. So. . .now I guess I'm down to 7-12 strands of hair. It's par for the course! Have a great day!

Well gang,
My side effects have started a day earlier this time. The medications are working fine though, so I'll make it. I made it out to church this morning but I was too tired to wear my wig or to try to impress anyone with how well I was feeling. It was obvious that I didn't feel up to par. Maybe I'll feel better a day earlier this time, who knows. Again, I'll be fine. It's hard to feel too bad when I know this is the last time I"ll have to work through the flu-like symptoms, you know what I mean? Besides, how bad can I really be feeling, I'm blogging for you guys, right?

I'm trying to finish the Beth Moore bible study for this evening, so I've got to make this blog short, but they're all too long anyways. If I'm up to it, I'll blog tomorrow. I just wanted to keep everyone in the loop. Oh, and Robin I loved our girls afternoon movie session with Ari. We'll have to do it again. Love to you all and thanks always for your prayers.

Cheryl, (Aunt) Sharon

just a quick checking in , . .

Just wanted to check in with all of you. Yes, today was the last day for my chemo. It went very well. We were there about 5 1/2 hrs. No problems with the IV, although the nurse did look a little nervous and commented many times while looking for just the right vein in the back of my hand to use, how glad she was that it was my last one! Made me a little nervous, I gotta tell ya', but she did great!!

Today was bitter/sweet for me. It was a very emotional today. I had so many mixed feelings today. Today was a day of victory for me and I fully believe that, but I remembered how much I wanted this victory for my dad in January of this year. Before you all start commenting back to me about how he DID receive HIS victory, I know this to be true, but I miss him so much!! He received the ultimate victory that we're all longing for. I would never wish him back here again, but I know that you understand, when I say that I miss him sooo much!! I'm so glad that he was called home before we found out any of this stuff with me. He saw me as the "Rock" of the family and I honestly don't think he could have endured watching me go through this. It wouldn't have matter that it's been fairly easy for me and I'm almost at the end of this journey already, none of that would have matter to him. This would have crushed his heart but more importantly his spirit. I'm grateful that he was spared that kind of pain. Thank you Father for just one of the good things right now.


I DID go out to dinner with the UNC ladies and my daughter Shannon was able to join us as well.
I feel ok tonight, just sleepy. The 25 mg. of Benadryl that they gave me today is still kicking my butt! It usually wears off 6-8 after, but not today. It probably doesn't help that it's been rainy here all day and in fact it's still raining tonight. That always makes people sleepy.
No other complaints though. I feel pretty good. I won't have effects until Sunday night or Monday a.m. that will last until Wed. night. The good part is that this is the last time that I will have to work around days of feeling achy or tired. God is so good!!


I'll have a CAT scan done on Friday, Dec. 5th at 9:30 and a follow-up appt. with the oncologist, Dr. Speca on Friday, Dec.12th at 8:40. I have fallen in love with Dr. Speca finally. We got off to a shaky start. I didn't feel like she was listening to what I was trying to say about my reactions to medications. but by the 4th treatment, she did a complete turn around and I've loved her every since. She's not an outwardly expressive type of person, but she was VERY expressive with me on Wed, of this week. We talked about the feeling that I'm beginning to have and she told me that her and Dr. Soper believe that I'm totally clean of cancer and have been since my surgery in June and that this chemo was only precautionary. They both believe that the CAT scan will show that there are no more cancer cells anywhere. She even hugged me,(so totally out of character for her), and told me to hang in there and that everything was going to be ok. She was looking forward to seeing me in 4 weeks and every 6 months after that. She wants to see me every 3 months but that's not the schedule that Dr. Soper,(the gynecologist has set up). They're alternating my 3 months visit between them for the next 2 years. She told me that she would miss me not coming in because I have a great sense of humor and she always feels better after our visits.

Before any of you put me up on a pedestal, don't bother. It's not like that. She likes seeing me because my case is uplifting compared to other people that she's trying to help. We talked about how different my situation is from the others around me. Most of them are coming in for a round of chemo, which will be followed by a round of radiation, then possibly surgery, and then most likely another round of chemo. That's why all of them each know each other's names. I don't hardly know any of their names. I've never had the same nurse twice until today. It was always someone different. I'm not scheduled for radiation because ovarian cancer doesn't respond to radiation, and I've already had the surgery, so I'm way ahead of the others at the cancer center. My journey(Lord willing), is almost ready to end at least for now.


My next step is job hunting. I'm feeling led to work with kids again. I've applied to be a teaching asst./substitute for the Wake County Public School System and then I've also applied to work part time for New York and Company during nights, and weekends. I applied to work at Target (mini city area), and Walmart(Knightdale). I'm waiting until the end of next week and then I'm going out to apply at Build-a-Bear and maybe a couple of other stores at Crabtree and possibly Barnes and Noble at Triangle. If you think that there's another job that I would enjoy, let me know.


My friend, Leia, has asked me to pray about writing devotionals for Lifeway to use. She's been reading my blogs and has known me now for several years and feels that my blogs are stuff that they're always looking for to help younger women with their struggles and how they can persevere through anything if their foundation is Him. I'm still praying . . .but I'd love to hear your comments. Please feel free to be honest. I'm not sure that I want to write for other people. This blog is not written for others, it's a way for me to express what God has placed on my heart and since I don't have anyone living with me right now, it's easier to write it out.


Well . . .it's hard to keep my eyes open, so time for me to call it a day. Your prayers carried me through today, so thanks. See some of you soon, and those of you in Indiana, maybe before I start working full time, I might need to make a trip to Indiana. I'll see how finances are for Dec. I miss seeing all of you. Please know that I feel exactly like I did during my last visit. I'm not hiding anything from you. I feel great most of the time and even on the 2-3 "bad" days after my treatment, it's not any worse than feeling like a have a slight case of the flu. All my medications are working still and the good news is that now my hair will begin coming back in within the next 2-3 weeks. I'll be really grateful when the eyelashes grow back. That's kind of a hassle to work around right now. The headaches are getting better. I don't know if it's because the weather is settling down, or because I'm trying to read less, and the chemo is close to being done. I can still call the oncologist for any prescriptions that I feel that I might need, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I just need to rest a little bit longer and then gradually try and get some of my life back.

Again, thanks for your prayers, they've made the difference in everything for me.
Love, Cheryl, (Aunt) Sharon
Some of you have asked why I put (Aunt) and Sharon in parenthesis. I'm known as Sharon or Aunt Sharon by all of my family in Indiana. I've never been called Cheryl by any of them, but all the rest of you know me as Cheryl so that's why. . .

not a long one this time. . .

This will not be a long blog this time, I promise. It's just an update on how I'm doing. I think the accumulative affects of chemo are beginning to hit finally, or maybe I'm just "whiny", who knows? I just know that my eyes feel like they do when I'm suffering from allergies. They feel dry and itchy. I don't have a cold but my nose is definitely drippy, too. I DID notice that my vision is getting more blurry with each passing week. It's hard for me to read my Bible right now, no matter what time of day it is. Thank goodness for the Internet. I can go to Christianity.com and pull up my own bible study page and enlarge the text for whatever I need it to be for that day. We're only up to size 16 so it's all good. I noticed yesterday that I only have about 15 eye lashes left so that might explain why my eyes feel the way that they do. It's not too bad, just irritating at times. I only have one more treatment on Friday, (GO ME!), and I've heard that the eye lashes are the first hair to grow back, so I'll make it.

Another complaint that I have is the headaches that I've been having. It's hard to know if its the chemo drugs or if it's just the weather. Don't worry, I talked to my oncologist at our last visit and she said that they could write a prescription for me, if I thought I needed it, but you know me, I'm not taking anything more than I have to. As long as over-the-counter stuff works, I'm leaving things well enough alone! I'm prone to migraines depending on the barometric pressure, so again, who knows? I'm having migraines about every 2-3 days. Some last just a couple of hours, like today, but some last 4-6 hrs. Those days are a little bit harder to handle. Today it only took 3 Extra-strength Excedrin and 2 hrs. and it's gone finally. It also might be the combination of allergies, chemo, and my eyes. I've tried reading less and that does seem to help. Like I said at the beginning, though, I could just finally be becoming ,"whiny". I suppose it was bound to happen eventually.

I think I'm going to go lie down for a little bit. The headache this a.m. has made me a little tired today and maybe I just need to rest. I'll try and be a little less whiny on my next blog. Thanks for your understanding and patience. Love ya' all. What a great support system you've all been!! You truly know the meaning of friendship.
Cheryl

what a week!!

Wow!! If I have one more person ask me if I watched the election stuff Tuesday night, I swear I will scream! I DID stay up late but I was "vegging", (is this a real word?), with a movie. It's not that I wasn't interested in what was going on, I was. I spent the day in prayer for our country. I'm not going to say who I voted for, it doesn't matter, does it? Obama won! I'm more concerned about where we go from here. I'm concerned that we finally elected a black president for the first time and I'm very concerned about the racism that is rampant in this country. I worry that he will be assassinated before he gets sworn in. Many people are upset about the outcome of this election, and we shouldn't take that lightly!

God's word says to pray for our leaders and the responsibilities that are placed on them. I will be praying for Obama, just as I would have if McCain had been elected. We should always pray for our president whether we agree with him or not. That's biblical!!

I think I'm more concerned about the "heart" condition of our country than I am about who our president is. We're living in a country where babies are aborted everyday and where states are deciding if gay marriages should become legal or not. Am I the only one who sees how far away from God the U.S. has slid? We've slid so far away from God's standards of what He said is right or wrong and yet we still ask Him to "bless us!" Why should He? Why should He bless the people who choose to walk contrary to His ways?

If we want God to "bless" our country, then we need to repent! We need to turn around and go in the opposite direction than from where we're headed. We need to value each individual life as much as He does. We need to see marriage as the union of a man and a woman only, no other conditions are acceptable. I didn't make these "rules", He did a long time ago. If you remember, God never changes, WE do, but not Him! We also need to remember that He didn't make these "rules" to make our lives harder, but because He knew what was best for us. His ways are always going to be what's best for us, but we think our ways are best, after all, times are different now, so surely we know better than He does how to fix things. Are we kidding??

I truly believe we are living in the end times. I believe the rapture is closer than we think at times. That's okay with me, I'm ready to go home, but if I'm wrong, then what do we do with the time that we have left?

The only hope that the U.S. has, is if a revival takes place very soon. We need to get back to our "roots". We need to see what's important in our lives in light of what God said was important. We need to stop going after the "stuff" for our lives and start seeing the people that God has placed in our lives. They're what's important. They're what matters to God. With God, it's always been about those whom He's created, not about the stuff that man has created for himself. God loves His people! God loves you! Do you believe that? When we grasp how much He loves us, then He uses that love to reach out to those around us with the love that only He can gives us for them. It's not something that's inside of us, but it's something that God places inside us the moment we receive the Holy Spirit in our lives.

It's the Holy Spirit that makes the difference. We get tripped up when we stop listening to His voice. When our lives get sooo busy that we don't take the time to read His word, pray, or just sit before Him in silence, then the world's voice becomes the voice that we hear. Satan tells us lies and we in a very short time begin to question our beliefs and where we stand on very important issues in our lives. We begin to rationalize that maybe God sees things a little bit differently than what we've been taught and that possibly we've misinterpreted what He meant. Is Satan good, or what? It's so important to walk daily with Him so that we continually recognize His voice and we are able to discern whose voice we're living our lives by.

I believe the key word for our times is "discernment". It's the compass for our lives. It's what guides us when there are choices to make. The definition for discern is, "to separate, distinguish between". Wow! Isn't that just what I wrote about, our being able to distinguish between whose voice we're going to live our lives by?

Every year since I became a Christian, God has always given me a special word, or special part of my life that has been the focus for that particular year. Without a doubt after writing this blog today, I know that my special word for 2009 is discernment. That's a big challenge for me! It will mean digging even deeper into His word so that I will know without a doubt, what He has to say about the choices that will be placed before me in 2009. It would be so much easier to live my life just following what the world claims to be right, but my life was bought with a great price when I was 19 years old, so. . .thanks but no thanks, I'll take the "road less traveled".

So. . .what is God saying to you today? What "word" or area of your life would God like to change, but you just can't quite let go of yet? Do you believe that He's a big enough God to trust in? He never promises us an easy life, He just promises to walk with us through it. When life gets really hard, He carries us through it. I think that's why everyone that I know loves that poem, "Footprints in the Sand". What a loving reminder of His tender love for us. It's amazing to me that He can still love me when I mess up so many times. I know, you all think I'm perfect, but He knows better, hehe!

Well, it's another long blog. I thank you for your patience in taking time out of your busy lives to connect here with me. Take heart, once I finally start working full time again, I probably won't have as much time to blog, so I think that they'll definitely be shorter ones. You just wait and see. . .

and the race begins. . .

I saw my daughters today and they asked me why I don't blog more often? I thought they were kidding! I blog usually at least once a week, most people are doing well to blog 2 times in a month! They DID suggest though, that I let you know that I'm now officially job hunting. I received a letter from Medicaid that said that they were notified that my SSI disability was being reviewed and possibly suspended. I'm not really sure why that is. Nothing has changed on my end. I still have one more treatment next Friday and then the CT scan scheduled for Dec. 5th., but I can't go without any income coming in next month, so . . .I need to find a job.

I'm filling out an application to work with the Wake County Public school system. I've always enjoyed working with kids and I know that God has given me the gift of teaching them. I can teach in terms that can make it understandable for them. I'm applying for a teacher's aide position or substituting. We'll see what happens with that.

I applied at Walmart and Target today because I have the flexibility right now of working whatever hours they have available. I'm going tomorrow to apply at New York and Company,( I love their clothes and I know that their marketing is trying to catch the "older women", like myself.)

If you know of any jobs out there that you think might interest me, let me know. I'm not really a desk type person. I like doing hands on kind of work. I like moving around while working, well,
you get the picture.

I haven't sensed God moving me in any particular direction at this point. I figure I'll apply at places and allow God to close the doors of the ones that aren't part of His plan.

I'm not trying to get ahead of God, but I need to be proactive, not reactive. I'm thinking that since Dr. Soper told me that I could go back to cleaning homes, that I might need to go back and pick up a few homes until I find something that works for me in the job market.

Anyone out there have different ideas about how I should be going about this? I'm open to suggestions. One person emailed me today and asked me if I thought about writing curriculum for Lifeway. I emailed her back and told her that I didn't know what she meant. I'll let you know what she tells me.

Well . . .I have Christmas cantata practice tonight at 7 and I need to eat before I go so. . .that's all for now. . .
Love,
Cheryl
Oh. . .
What do you think of my new design?? I'm loving it!! Feel free to suggest music that I can add and by all means enjoy my selections while you''re visiting. Katie and Shannon helped me set it up today. Thanks girls!! As you can see girls, I'm not too computer illiterate. I WAS able to come home and add to my playlist. Love ya'

the yellow brick road. . .

If you read my last blog, you know that I'm a little concerned about looking/finding a job soon. I haven't had to look for a job since I moved here in 1993. I was talking to one of the UNC gals and she said something that will hopefully stick with me for the rest of my life. It was that good!

She told me that whenever she gets worried about something, that a little song goes off inside her head. It goes something like this. . . "if I only had a brain!" Now think about that one. . if I only had a brain then I could figure my way out of this! If I only had a brain. . .I'd know exactly what needs to be done. But. . .(and this is huge!) look what God's word has to say about our thoughts compared to His. Isa 55:8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts and My ways are not your ways declares the Lord. His way of thinking if so unfathomable!! So. . . whose thoughts are better, His or mine? Pretty good, huh?

Then she told me to stop worrying about the future. Matt.6:34, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Then she told me about the yellow brick road. . . this is my favorite part! The goal for all of them in the Wizard of Oz was to get to the Emerald city to see the great "Oz". The only way that they could get there was by following the yellow brick road. one brick at a time. Our life is like that. Matthew tells us to live our lives one day at a time, ie: one yellow brick at a time.

So. . .God only requres me to take this journey one yellow brick at a time. . .one day at a time. I don't have to "fix" this and I don't have to "figure" out His plan for me. It's all in His hands and He will reveal what I need to know one step at a time. It's so much easier living life "one yellow brick" at a time. What yellow brick are you on today? What one thing has God placed in front of you today to accomplish? That's all that He requires of you for today. Tomorrow, He'll let you know that next step on your journey with Him.

Now. . .the only problem that I see with this blog, is that once you put that song. ". . .if I only had a brain" in there, you'll be humming it for the rest of the day, so I apologize ahead of time. Gotta go, my yellow brick is blogging you today and finishing up my Beth Moore bible study this a.m.

Hope you take the opportunity to vote today, if you haven't already. Our soldiers have died in other countries, so that people like us would have the freedom to vote for their leaders. Besides, Krispy Creme doughnuts, Starbucks coffee, Ben and Jerry's, and whole lot of other places are giving away free stuff if you show them your, "I voted" sticker. GO VOTE!!