Krista Michelle....The Quiet One

Back in 1980 I would go to the doctor and he would say, "You are having another boy, Jackie", and I would say "No, this is just a nice quiet little girl."  I was right and he was wrong.  As I am trying to think back, I can't remember my due date but,  I think it was the 19th.  I went into labor on the 20th and she was born at 1:07pm on the 21st.  She was perfect, not one blemish.  That was because she did not help at all to get here.  She left that all up to me.  The labor was not really all that bad, but the delivery was work.  Mike was very ornery because he carried her out and would not tell anyone whether she was a girl or a boy.  We did not know those things in advance back then, even though I did have an ultra sound with her....they just were not clear like they are today.  Mike was one of four boys so his family really wanted a girl.  There were also already two grandsons.  When we finally told everyone that it was Krista Michelle, Mike's dad said, "You finally did something right."  Even as a she grew she remained our  quiet child.  Now, along with quiet sometimes comes sneaky.  That's two adjectives that describe our Krista....quiet and sneaky.

She was and still is a great gift to our family.  She looked so much like her Nan Naw, Mary Jo.  Mary Jo was diagnosed with a brain tumor when Krista was 3 months old, so her looking like her and so much like her in other ways was rather ironic.  She was an easy keeper.  She had hazel eyes like my dad and she had very fair skin like me.  She had light blond hair and we had to check to make sure she was breathing because she was so quiet.  This was the complete opposite of her brother.  He got moved out of our room at night when he was about 2 weeks old because he made so much noise.

Mary Jo kept her the last four weeks of school when I had to go back, but we took her to day care when school started back in the fall.  They fought over her at the baby sitter. She absolutely hated being put down on the floor, so she didn't crawl until she was 9 months old.  Then she was walking very well by 10 months. Ryan loved her and thought he was big enough to carry her around.  He really wasn't big enough. She pointed at what she wanted and Ryan got it for her.  She didn't really talk much at all until after she was two.  This was definitely the opposite of her brother.  She remained quiet throughout grade school.  She was so quiet that even after she got older and had a sister 16 months younger than her, there were people who only knew we had Ryan and Amanda.  They would be like, "I didn't know you had three kids".  I'm telling you, she was a very quiet child and could entertain herself.

Krista was also very good at climbing out of her car seat.  They were not as good as the ones today, but I would buckle her in and the next thing I knew she was out.  She has always been able to do just about anything she puts her mind to.  She will practice over and over until she can do it.  This became very clear when she decided to roller skate.  If at first you don't succeed try, try again was her motto.

Krista was also my puny child.  She was in and out of the hospital a couple of times before she was a year old.  We put her through the infectious disease center at Children's Hospital.  She just didn't have a very good immune system.  She got that from Mary Jo too.  She's allergic to many antibiotics and other meds.  I am happy that after going through the allergy clinic twice and getting older we found a bio- cranial chiropractor that has been able to help her be much healthier.  Let me tell you, it has made a wonderful difference in her life.  Being sick is not fun.

Krista is tenacious and I mean that in a good way.  If you want something done and done right just ask her to do it.  Today she has a degree from Oklahoma State University, a husband, a son and another one on the way, and is special events planner for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.  She loves wrestling and loves her job working with all the people involved in wrestling.  She has spent her birthday since 1998 at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament.

Krista Michelle McComas Graff, I am so glad that God saw fit to let me be your mother.  You have made your dad and I proud.  What a blessing you and your family are to us.  This has been a great 33 years and may you have many more.

What is Religious Freedom Supposed to Be???

What does it mean to be free.  Why did our ancestors come across those waters so many years ago.  We all know the little saying Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.  We also know he was looking for a short cut to India.  We hear that many came to the America's to have religious freedom.  Many of these people who came for religious freedom were being made to worship a church that had been established by their government.  So......... what does religious freedom really mean.  This is when and where the separation of State and Church came into being.  Does that mean we must be free to do whatever we want to do anywhere we want in the name of religious freedom.  I REALLY don't think that is what our founding fathers had in mind.  I think what they were trying to say was that each and everyone one of us should have the right to worship who we want, and not be forced to worship who the government tells us to.  That means EVERYONE has a right to be religious or not.

I am a Christian and proud of it.  I pray anywhere and anytime I want.  That does not mean that I have to get down on my knees and say my prayer out loud so everyone can hear it.  I DO NOT PRAY FOR SHOW.  My prayers are between myself and God.  I choose to believe that the life I lead will be my testament to the fact that I am a Christian.  I am not perfect and I ask God in prayer every day to help me to be a better Christian.  This does not mean that I never share the word of God with others, but it does mean that I chose when and where to do that.  Not to just do it so people can look at me and think I am trying to put myself above others.  I was taught to pray by my parents and other Christians who made up the church I attended.  My parents were not really keen on the idea that someone at my school teaching me to pray, reading the Bible to me, or someone from another church coming to school to recruit us to come to a church revival.  All these things happened at school.  If Christians are allowed to do this, then any other religion should be allowed to practice their religion at school.  Most of us really would not like that.  That means that those who do NOT Believe in God should be allowed to practice their non religion.  I'm sure not very many people would be comfortable with that.  YOU have religious freedom, I have religious freedom, and so does everyone else.

I may upset some with this blog, but I truly believe that we can teach our children to have good morals without teaching religion in our schools.  If you truly want your child taught religion at school, then you should send them to a church affiliated school that you trust to teach your child these things.  I don't begrudge anyone who feels strongly about it to do that.  Mike and I chose to teach the Bible to our own children at home and at the church of our choice.  Mike and I did that so that our children would be prepared for the world out there that awaited them.  They choose to do the same with their children.  Just as my children learned from their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, Sunday school teachers, and ministers our grandchildren are learning from that same infrastructure.

So when I say I really am not for putting prayer and reading the Bible back in school, don't judge me and think that I don't believe in the Bible or Prayer....nothing is further from the truth.  At the school I taught at the last 20 years we gave each child a full minute to say a silent prayer if that is what they wanted to do.  They also allowed the students to gather at the pole to pray, but this is all voluntary and not forced.  The school does not come off as anti prayer or Bible.  They just respect the rights of all people not just those who proclaim to be Christian.

Our country was not founded on religious freedom but on FREEDOM.  Freedom for all, not just for some, but for ALL.  I don't have to agree with their beliefs, but I do have to understand that this country says they do have the same freedom I do.

March is JJ's Month!!!!

Well here it is March.  I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun.  Time flies anyway.  I retired May 2010.  Since that time my life seems so busy.  Mike says I traded a paying job for  many non-paying job.  The thing is I can say yes if I want or NO.  Well, most of the time I CAN say no, but I don't.  I have been preparing myself for the fact that the next two weeks are going to be very busy.  My grandkids are coming to stay with us.  JJ and Amara will be here tomorrow and then Dominic will be here next week end.  I hope that the weather cooperates so they can play outside.  They all love to play outside.  I am excited for them to be here.  They don't come as much as they used to, but they do come when they have a break at school.  They are all growing up so much.  It's hard to believe that JJ will be 8 years old next week.  It's hard to put into words just how much I love this boy.

JJ is one of the sweetest boys that I know.  He still comes up to me and says "GiGi I need a hug."  Believe me I cherish each of those hugs, because it won't be long before he thinks he's too big to give me one.  I hope he always wants a hug.  He is very smart and makes good grades at school.  He's such a likeable kid, because he has such a good heart.  He is a peace maker.  He can't stand for anyone to be mad at him.  He gets his feelings hurt pretty easy though.  He loves to go to church and help out with the jobs they allow young boys to do.  He loves his sister and is very protective of her....of course until she gets into his stuff.

JJ loves all sports.  He loves to watch and play just about any sport.  He is 8 and has already played baseball, basketball, soccer, flag football, rides his bike, four wheeler, scooter and does anything else that he can be active at.  He loves to help his Bop.  I am quite sure he will be a good athlete.  He works very hard at everything his does.

I must say that JJ has been a very large blessing to our family.  Born on St. Patricks Day, he must be lucky.  He is just about as good as it gets in the way of 8 year old boys.  I love you JJ!

A Drive Through Memory Lane!!!

The month of January is a hard month.  November is Thanksgiving, December is Christmas and even though it is cold, its a warm time in our hearts.  We get together with family and friends.  Football season and tailgating comes to an end.  I guess we should look at January as a new beginning and in a way it sort of is.  People make New Years Resolutions that they may or may not keep, but it is just a let down sort of month.  It is hard to keep up the good time feeling that has been going on through the holidays.

The month of January is a very hard month for my family because you see it was January 14th when my daughters lost their best friend, their brother, my husband lost his buddy, his son and I lost one of the dearest people im my life, my son.  It has been 16 years since he left us.  Sixteen long years in some ways and others, it seems like yesterday.

Mike and I took quite a little drive down memory lane this past week.  It was trifold.... You see the cemetery where Ryan's body lies is called Memory Lane.  So a drive out there is a for real drive through memory lane.  Then the other day we drove up to Binger to eat at one of our kids favorite places to eat when they were little.  I even had the fried chicken salad I always had.  From there we drove west to Three Way and then turned and went through Oney.  That is where I went to school and where Ryan and Krista started to school.  Then it was on south to Grandview Ranch where I grew up and where my children spent 5 of their best years of their lives too.  Nothing looks the same, but the memories are there.  I thought about my dad and the times I ran 3/4 of a mile down the road just to ride home on the tractor with him.  I thought about my kids playing under the same tree my brothers and I played under....by the way..... that tree is still there.  So many good memories.

After we left the area where I grew up we drove to our farm of sorts...72 acres of trees, Peck's Country, the sandrock hills.  This is the real memory lane for our family.  This is the place where we raised our kids.  I said 72 acres of trees...that's not really true any more.  The 72 acres of trees and the house burned up on father's day, June 19, 2011.  It really does not look the same.  I am not sure that the trees will ever grow back in our lifetime.  The drought has not helped.  Mike, Richard, Dewayne, JJ and Dustin have done some work to make it better, but there is a long way to go.  My kids loved this place and it is so hard to look at it like it is today.  We have our memories and thank goodness no one can take those from you.

So Mike and I took a real visit down memory lane, and drove down the roads of our memory lane, but we also took a virtual one remembering all the good times we had before January 14, 1997.  There have been many people ask how did you get through 1997, because we lost my mother that year too.  I was talking to a very good friend yesterday who has also experienced loss in her life.  She told me that she liked to think of it like this,  God is always there to pull you through the hard times, if you can just hold on tight enough to let him get you through it.  I can tell you that it was not always easy to hold on, sometimes it was just by a thread but we have made it this far.  There's not a day that goes by that we don't think of Ryan and remember him.  In our books he was a very special person.  I want to share with you a dedication that one of Ryan's wrestling coaches wrote about him.  I think it expresses how many people who knew Ryan felt

I can say this.....Ryan was a fighter....he never gave up!  One of our dear friends always called him Rambunctious Ryan and it always seem to fit him.  Because of his attitude, we too shall continue on, even when it is difficult and we don't understand.  We have made many good memories since he left us and we have many more to make in the future, but a couple of times a year...or a day....we think about those old memories and smile, and thank God we had you for 21 years.

The Important Things in Life

This fall all my Grand children started to school.  JJ is in second grade, Dominic is in Pre-K and so is miss Amara.  JJ and Amara go to school in OKC.  Dominic goes to school in Stillwater.  I have taught in several schools all across the state of Oklahoma.  I have worked as an Assistant County Superintendent, been a teacher of Kindergarten all the way up to 8th grade.  I have been on the school board for almost 2 years now.  I have taught in a very small school and what I would call a medium sized school.  I raised 3 children who went to public school and then I had 1 child go back east to a prep school and on to a military academy, plus 2 more who went to a state university.  Where am I going with this, I'm never really sure until I start writing where the story is going to go.  The one thing I know is that education has always been and always will be important to me and my family.

There are many ways that you can go to educate your children.  You can educate at home, which no matter what any Good parent does this.  You can send your child to private school.  You can also send them to public school.  When I grew up I went to a very small rural school in Southwest Oklahoma.  My dad was President of the school board for years.  My parents never said, do you want to go to college.  They asked me questions like, What college do you want to go to? or What will you major in when you go to college.  I chose a private, Christian school to begin with, but later transferred to Oklahoma State University to finish school.  Both schools were excellent and I made many lasting friends at both schools.  I also have many life long friends from that small rural school in Caddo County.

When Ryan was going in to 4th grade we decided to move in to the Anadarko School District.  The school was about 10 times bigger than Oney where he had been going to school.  We took a chance, but he adjusted well.  Anadarko is a very diverse community.  My children made friends with Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican, Asian and yes Caucasian students.  Mike and I felt that living in Anadarko was preparing our children for real life.  I feel we were able to accomplish what we set out to do.  Our children had friends from all races, religions and walks of life.  They went to public school and maybe they were exposed to some things in life that are not so good, but they learned at an early age how to select the people to hang out with.  We did many hours of home schooling I must say.  Mike was the go to Math tutor for our children and most of their friends.  I was the go to person to help write essays and speeches.  I sat many hours teaching my children at home how to outline and study. 

As I grew up I was in school clubs like 4-H and FHA.  My own children were in many groups some of which included Boy Scouts, Camp Fires, 4-H, FBLA, Student Council and more.  These clubs do so much to help shape our children.  Of course, they were also involved in their church, just as I was.  They all played sports and learned how to get along with their teammates.

If after 58 years of life I can give one piece of advice to my younger friends it is this:  Provide your child with many diverse activities, teach them right from wrong, be a good example of what you are preaching and always, always be involved in whatever your child is doing.  Take time, make time!!  I have been volunteering in my grandchildren's school for the last 3 years.  They love having me come and I get many more blessings by being there than they do.  Get to know your child's teacher.  Do Not just go to the school on parent/teacher conference day.  Do Not just go to the school when your child is in trouble.  Volunteer, help out your school.  Ask what you can do to help out at the school.  Go help at lunch time with playground duty, watch the cafeteria.  There are so many things that adults, parents can do.  Talk to your child when they come home.  Look at the papers they bring home.  Ask questions about what they are learning.  Listen to your child read, and read to them.  These are the things you can do to help your child become an adult that is an asset to society.

Last but certainly not least, hug your child, kiss your child and praise your child.  Let them know how much you love them.  This is not to say that your should over inflate their egos to the point that they think the world owes them.  There is such a thing as humility too, but help them to have a healthy self esteem.  Help them learn to be Good Citizens!  The best education, gift you can give your child can not be bought with money.....it is LOVE.

Orr Family Farm Pumpkin Patch Pre-K 2012

Orr Family Farm, first field day for Amara.

Our pretty girl, posing for me.

I met the NHES Pre-K at the Orr Family Farm in south OKC.  We had so much fun.  The farm was crawling with little people.  I had two kids....Amara and Aubrey.  They were so excited to ride the horses, feed the animals, go on a hayride, slide down the giant slide and bounce on the air pillows.  They were really surprised when I showed up with chicken nuggets too.

Miss Amara holding her little pumpkin.

Amanda joined us and got to share in Amara's excitement.  It is good that NHES still lets these kiddos go on field trips.  I am sure some of these kids had never been to any kind of farm.  They were very excited about ridding the bus too.  Adults forget how new all these experiences are to little children.

Each child gets to pick out their own pumpkin to take home.  This too is exciting for them.  Amara wanted a little pumpkin because she is little.  I am so glad that I have retired and I am able to go and share in these once in a lifetime experiences with my grandkids.  I am really blessed.  Hope you enjoy the pictures of the kids on this special day.

Ms. Luster's Class

The Rattlesnake Run 2012!!!!!!!

Nichols Hills Elementary School has an annual Rattlesnake Run to help raise money for their school.  This money goes to furnish things for the kids at the school.  It even helps pay for bus drivers so the children in this school can go on field trips.  Each child is ask to get at least $25.00 in donations.  Each student then pledges to run at least 1 mile.  Since the elementary school does not have a track, the students are bused to one of the middle schools that does have a track.  It takes many volunteers to run this race.  Three years ago I volunteered to help for an hour and ended up staying all day. Last year Mike and I volunteered to help and stayed all day.  This year Amanda, Mike and I all  three helped with this.  We had so much fun watching kids from 4 years old to 12 years old run at least 1 mile.  One four year old ran 1.5 miles in about 20 minutes.  Some of them are amazing.  Others struggle, but they smile when you encourage them and tell them they can do it.   Many parents come just to watch their child run and you can see it on their face how excited they are to have mom or dad there to watch them.

This year many of the middle school students, some who went to this elementary school, came out to cheer on the runners.  The cheerleaders dressed in the cheer outfits and stayed out there all day cheering on these little kids.  The kids loved it.

Someone else donated water and snacks for the students.  They come one grade level at a time.  The Pre-K and 6th grade ran together and the rest of the grades were just that one grade.  Of course this fun raiser also promotes a healthy lifestyle.  I was happy to see that even the students that one might consider over-weight were still able to run/walk their mile.  I was proud of them and I know they were proud of themselves.