TELL THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM.

Yesterday morning a man in our church (Tobias) passed away. It wasn't old age it was an accident. He was riding his motorcycle to work and it was extremely foggy out. He hit a semi truck that was turning onto another road. Why am I telling everyone this? I just want you all to know that even though I haven't seen most of you in years, I still think about all of you. For some of you it's been over 20 years and for most it's been 10 - 15 years since I've seen you. I miss not being able to see family and friends for so long. I haven't seen my two brothers for 3 or 4 years and they live in Lewiston Idaho. Before that I hadn't seen them since my dad's funeral in 1995. That's 8 years!!! I feel so bad about letting that much time go by without seeing them. They are my brothers and I really do miss them. None of you live too far away, and I have no excuse for not seeing all of you more often. One of my nephews and his family live in Alaska, and they are the farthest away. A few of you live right here in Washington. Things have to change. I don't ever remember having a family reunion, do any of you think it's time? I feel the same way about the friends I haven't seen for so many years. Life is too short and I miss you all very much! Love Josie

MELHNI JEAN SACASAN IS THE GIRL WE SPONSER IN THE PHILIPPINES. CLICK ON EACH LETTER TO READ

Melhni Jean is an amazing young lady. We got this picture when we first started sponsoring her. She was seven years old and she is now fourteen and in her second year of high school. Since we became her sponsor her family has grown. Her mother has had three more children in the last seven years. Melhni hopes to become a teacher someday, and I want her dream to come true. She is a child that would make any parent proud. I'm proud of her for doing her best in school. Because she is being sponsored she is in a program called Immaculate conception children's program. If one child is sponsored in a family the whole family has access to medical care. I think it's awesome! Whatever she decides to do in life she will definitely make a difference in this world. When we get a letter from her it makes me smile. She knows how much I love her and how proud she has made me. The second letter we received just the other day. Everyone have a good day. We received another letter two days later and she told us about her new baby brother. That makes six kids! It's a little difficult for me to understand why her parents are having more children when they don't have enough money to send any of their kids to school and sometimes they don't have enough food. Her father is a carpenter and he works off and on. Now there are four more children and they couldn't provide for the ones they already had. I'm not saying that their children should not be sponsored, because I hope that they will. What I am saying is that her parents do not seem to be very responsible.

Pacific Science Center

Christine entered a drawing at the Pacific Science Center and she won. This is the article they put on their website. She is planning to sell it so she can buy something she will use. Someone is going to get a killer deal. Because she won it she is selling it for the nice price. She didn't want me to send the picture of her sitting on the larvae at the Science Center, but I liked it so she said it was ok. http://www.pacsci.org/articles/gameon_091106.html

MY CRAZY GIRL. JUST A PICTURE I CAME ACROSS.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS :)

I know it's a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but this way if you think that family and friends would be interested in doing this or something like it, it gives everyone time to pass it on. I think it's super cool. Ashley added her rabbitry link (she told me to tell all of you to check it out sometime) to the blog along with some others that I had asked her to put on for me. For all of the adults this Christmas we are buying an animal in their name. The animal/animals you buy go to families that depend on them for their survival. Heifer International. It's one of the links she put on. If you're like me and don't know what to get the adults in your family for Christmas, this is perfect. We don't need more stuff and most of the time we don't know what everyone wants anyway. It's not any fun to give a gift and wonder if the person will like it or use it. The girls will pick out what animal/animals they want to buy and then send a card to each adult that tells them what animal they chose for each of them. No trying to guess what to get everyone, no wrapping paper and no waiting in line at the post office involved. Everyone gets the perfect gift. You guys have a great day. Heifer.org is an organization that supplies animals and training to families in need. You purchase the animal / animals of your choice and the families receive the necessary training to raise them on their own. Your gift recipients will love hearing about how the gift you have made in their honor is helping families around the world. You can print a card from their site to send to each person or you can e-mail a card to them.

WE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

October 9th and 10th phone your senators and join in the Uganda Lobby day. Check out the links below to watch a few minutes of what is happening in our country, to forever change what is happening in Uganda. Everyone have a good day! http://www.invisiblechildren.com/mailers/lobbyday/video/ Info about the Northern Uganda lobby day. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMovement/lobbyDay/

PUYALLUP FAIR - SEPTEMBER 2006

Fair season is officially over. We spent the weekend on the fairgrounds staying in the dorms. I mentioned in an earlier post that the jail must have gotten new beds and then donated these bunks to the fairgrounds. The girls showed their rabbits the same as they did at our Lynden fair. At the state fair the difference is they are competing against all of the blue ribbon winners from all over the state. They did really well. Both of the girls got blue ribbons. The kids that won the grand champion in each division definitely deserved it. This is the fourth year that Ashley and I have gone, and the first year for Christine. We see some of the same people every year and we have fun hanging out with them. The best part of being in a crowd of hundreds of people is watching the kids that are not around animals often or not at all, get so excited when they see them. It's just so different for us because we have grown up with animals. Christine made some crafts while learning about salmon, made a new friend, went fishing for trout, watched other kids show their horses, dogs, goats and cows, walked the fairgrounds a hundred times with me and played with other kids. The picture of her in the green 4-H apron is when she was doing barn duty. All the 4-H kids are required to do a minimum of two hours of sweeping the barn, feeding the rabbits and answering questions people might have. The flowers are dahlias for sale (the bulbs) on display in the floral barn. I just thought they were pretty. Our 4-H club has meetings all year round and it takes so much time and energy (something I don't seem to have enough of these days) to get ready for the fair every year. When we got home late Sunday night I was soooooooooo incredibly tired. You would think I was ninety years old. These girls keep me so busy. Talking about being tired..... I need to go to bed. This is early for me so that's exciting. NEED SLEEP! Everyone have a great day!

1985 - Freshman year in high school

The one and only time I was royalty in high school. Princess Josie and Prince Jory on the right. I wish someone would have told me that the hoop in my dress looked like a tent. What was I thinking? Dancing with the hoop was a little difficult. I kept every dress from every dance I went to in high school. I didn't keep the hoop because I had rented it. Thank goodness!

THE B&B DRIVE IN - SOAP LAKE

We went to visit my mom at the end of August. Every few trips we go to the B&B for lunch. I started working there when I was 14 years old. For such a small town it was busy all Summer long. It's been repainted on the outside, but that's about all that's changed in 24 Years! The girls that work there are usually teenagers. I think it's so cool that the phones you use to place your order are still there along with the original menu. I liked working there, but I missed hanging out with my friends. I was scheduled to work on the 4th of July for three years in a row. I was always hoping to get just one 4th of July off. My friends would come in and order something and then head for the beach to watch the fireworks. They would say "see ya after work." Yeah, and after the fireworks were over. My friend Becky came up every Summer and spent a few weeks at my house. She hung out with my friends while I was working. I missed not being able to spend more time with her. I was trying to remember what my pay was, and I'm thinking it was like $2.50 - $3.00 an hour. $3.00 is probably pushing it. I also think it's cool that they still have their original sign. Ahhh the memories. Oh, and when you lift the receiver to place your order it makes a buzzing sound behind the counter where the girls work. Some of you have been there so you know what I mean. It's just so loud and obnoxious. If any of you are ever in Soap Lake when I'm there visiting, I'll take you out to lunch. Have a super day!

Christine at the Lynden fair.

Christine is on the far right with her rabbit. Christine has been in our rabbit 4-H club for as long as Ashley has, but she couldn’t show her rabbit until this year. You have to be 9 years old or going into the 4th grade. They have a primary show and tell for younger kids but you don’t get a premium for any ribbons that you win. This year she was signed up in rabbits and arts and crafts. When she enrolls again in October she wants to add cooking and cats to her 4-H project list. Christine showed her rabbit (Baby) as a novice since this was her first year showing. She did great. She won a blue ribbon for fit and show. Fit and show is when you go in front of a judge and answer any questions about rabbits and to show them your knowledge of rabbit handling. Her rabbit won a red ribbon/second place for type which means how the rabbit is built and how well she meets the standard for the Holland Lop. Christine entered a bracelet, necklace, stepping stone, her cigar box guitar ( super fun to make and about $12.00 in materials to make it. It rocks.) and her rabbit poster. She received $51.00 in premiums this year. One of her favorite things to do is called 4-H in action. It’s where you sit inside the rabbit barn and hold your rabbit so people can pet it and ask questions. You can do 4-H in action for any project you are signed up in. She made a paper flower in the 4-H barn where some kids were doing 4-H in action for crafts. I didn’t take any pictures of her on the rides this year. We were all so busy. I wish I could go on the rides with her, but after I had Ashley I couldn’t stomach them at all. I loved going on the rides. I have gone a few times since then with Ashley and Christine, but it only takes one ride and the rest of the day is shot. I get sooooooooooooooo sick and it takes hours for me to feel better. We were all so tired when the fair was over. My house had been neglected all week because we were at the fair most of the time, but it was worth every minute.

Me and my Dad. My dad was 57 years old in this picture

Click to enlarge. Me and my dad (Jay). I was 7 years old. I asked my parents when I was younger if they chose my name because they wanted to keep the J thing going. Jay, Janice and Josie. They said that I was named after my grandmother. I asked them what they would have named a boy if they had had one. Jodi Jay Felton. Is Jodi a boy's name? Yeah, I think they wanted to keep the J thing going. My parents had planned on having two children, but I guess I gave my mother too much trouble during delivery. Ashley said to me once, "Ohhhh, so that's what's wrong, you went a little too long without oxygen." Isn't she nice. My pony Flash. His name says it all. Too fast for me and he was a little too much for me to handle. He was the first pony that ever bucked me off. He was not one of my favorite ponies.

ON WORK AND FAMILY

I was talking the other day to a friend who is a military wife. Her husband is in Iraq for a year. She has three kids and no family nearby. For the next year she will be living as a single mother. It has to be hard when your husband is gone for so long, but look at how many husbands are in the military. She misses him "like crazy." Her huband was able to be with her when all of their children were born, but some men in the military are not able to hold their child for the first time until they return home. Some of my friends complain that their husbands work too many hours or that their husbands are gone for weeks at a time for work. For about two years my friend that recently moved was home with her kids, and without her husband for three weeks out of the month while he was traveling for work. Two years, but it's better than being gone for a year at a time. Another friend of mine only sees her husband on the weekends. I know that being a single mother can be very challenging at times. I think they are very fortunate that they are able to be home with their kids, and not have to work outside the home. Sometimes it's difficult for them to see just how lucky they are. I know they feel like they are raising their kids alone sometimes, but they are able to be home full time because their husbands work so hard. I think every woman that has a great husband should be thankful if their husband is able to be home most evenings or weekends. There are so many husbands and fathers overseas, and so many wives and mothers that miss them. I told my friend with the husband in Iraq that I'm sure her husband misses her and the kids just as much as they miss him, " LIKE CRAZY!"

I'M SURE SOME OF YOU ARE LEARNING THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ME THROUGH MY BLOG. MAKE A BLOG, I WANT TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT ALL OF YOU.

Some people might think that I spend too much time talking about the less fortunate. Ashley talks about her rabbits and birds because they are her passion. Christine talks about becoming a veterinarian because she loves animals. We all have something that we are passionate about, and that's a good thing. The other day I was going to an apppointment. At almost every freeway exit there is a homeless person holding a cardboard sign. Occasionally I will hand someone a few bucks out my car window. I know there is no way of knowing what they will spend the money on; beer, drugs, food? A young man was standing at the corner of the freeway entrance and his sign said, "need food." When I was done with my appointment I went to the grocery store because I had decided that giving food was much better than giving money. I parked across the street and carried the groceries over to him. He said thank you, and he gave me a hug. I told him that he was so welcome. A happy tear ran down my cheek. It doesn't take much for me to get emotional about something. Whenever I see someone handing a few bucks to someone less fortunate, I give them a thumbs up. Giving is really the best feeling, especially when the recipients are so grateful. I want my girls to have a giving heart. Hey, if I had Bill Gate's bank account I could make a huge difference. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave five hundred million dollars to fight aids and malaria around the world. He and his wife travel to third world countries and meet the people they are helping. They definitely know what it's all about. Talking about what Chirstine wants to do when she grows up reminds me of what I wanted to be when I was a young girl. I'm not sure why, but I wanted to become an astronaut. Maybe it had something to do with speed and the unknown. I do remember telling my mom that I wanted to go as far as I could into space in a lifetime. The universe never ends and that's mind boggling to me. Ok, I'm almost done. Back to the cardboard signs. One day I saw a man holding a sign that said, "I won't lie I just want a beer." I wonder how many people gave him money that day? Maybe he hit the jackpot because he was being honest. Have a good day!

Another year at the fair. Our fair lasts six days and we are there all day, every day, doing 4-H stuff.

Ashley at the Lynden fair August-2006 Next will be Christine at the fair. The red train car is hers. Click on pic to enlarge The kids in our club on the ferris wheel. Ashley did soooooo good this year. She is the president of our rabbit and cavy club (Carrot Critters) and she is also in a poultry club. She is signed up for; rabbit, poultry, arts and crafts, horticulture, photography, teen leadership, cats and dogs. She has never shown a cat or a dog but she plans to in the future. She sold three rabbits in what they call a meat pen which is an auction where people bid on the different animals. She sold a trio last year and again this year. She received a total of $620.00 in premium money. So, where do I start? She entered flowers, jewelry, photos, posters, rabbbits, guinea pigs, chickens, chuckars and she brought her quail to display in the poultry barn. The Circus was this years theme for cage decorations. Every year each rabbit club chooses a different theme. Each member of our group decorated their own train car to put on the front of their rabbits cage. Our group also entered a club banner which they did a great job on, and a table display. The kids get ribbons and premiums for each item entered. The banner got a blue ribbon and all together the club got $60.00 in premiums. Ashley won overall showing her guinea pig and her chicken. This means that she won best out of all the divisions, novice, junior, intermediate and senior. Because she won overall she went on to round robin. Round robin is a competition where the overall winners from the poultry, rabbits, cavies, dogs and cats compete with each other to win it all. She won round robin last year showing rabbits and because you can’t win round robbin twice showing the same animal she showed her chicken. So, once again this year she had to show and answer questions about chickens, rabbits, cavies, dogs and cats and once again she won. Mr. Haulenbass from one of the feed stores donated a belt buckle and a $100.00 check to the winner. She also received a rosette, which is a ribbon. Next she is on to the State fair in Puyallup. We have gone for the last three years, so this will be our fourth year at the Puyallup fair. It’s so much fun. We stay in the dorms on the fair grounds for the weekend. She shows her rabbit against the other winners from all the counties in the state. This will be the first year that Christine gets to go. She was finally able to show her rabbit this year even though she has been in 4-H for years. The kids have to be 9 years old to compete. The dorms have row after row of small prison size bunk beds. Each bed has a number (like a prisoner would) and some don’t have a mattress. The ones that do have a mattress are duck taped everywhere. I think one of the jails got new bunks and they donated the old ones to the dorms on the fairgrounds. It doesn’t bother me in the least, but family and friends thought it was pretty bad after they saw pictures. The fair charges $3.00 a night for each person to stay in the dorms and we stay for two nights. Before Ashley started showing rabbits I had only been to the state fair once when I was thirteen to participate in the horse judging. I have told Ashley in the past that it would be great if she could make some money on her rabbits and birds. She told me that people don’t make money on their hobbies, they do it because they enjoy it. Yes that is true, but because she sells some of her birds and rabbits I thought she might make a little profit or at least break even. About a month ago she told me that she had made a profit of $1,067 this year. Her animals take up so much of her time and money, but it is her passion and she made some money with her hobby and I think it’s great.