Saturday was the third annual Jim Franklin Bike Giveaway. Over 200 kids, including three of mine, received free bicycles and safety helmets.  It was such a fantastic event, with lots of fun activities for all the kids in addition to the giveaway. This year has been tough and for my youngest kids to get the bikes they’ve been wanting was absolutely fantastic. There is no way we would have been able to do this for them. Thank you to all the volunteers and everyone who donated to make this possible. THANK YOU!

Click here to view photos from the event.

back in business baby!, originally uploaded by lomokev.

My Christmas List, IN PICTURES

For the past couple of days it has rained almost nonstop. All around us, we heard about snow: White Sands, El Paso, Anthony. There is snow in the mountains, even snow on the outskirts of town. BUT NO SNOW AT MY HOUSE. The kids are in a feverish state of excitement, wanting to build snowmen and have snowball fights. There was a little snow on the top of my car that we were able to scrape together into a half dozen snowballs. School is delayed today because of the weather and I have kids crowding around the windows, shrieking every time the rain turns into snow.  The slushy stuff won’t stick because everything is so wet and it just isn’t cold enough.

In other news, you might have noticed a lot of cameraphone pictures from me lately. Last week, I wasn’t able to upload pictures to my computer. It said that the files on my CF card were corrupted. I finally broke down and bought a new card. Seven hundred pictures later I tried to get them off the card and the files were corrupted. Two computers, four cords and two card readers later I still don’t have a single photo. I’m scared to death that it’s a problem with my camera.  Any photographers out there have any ideas? I feel lost without my camera.

RED OR GREEN ENCHILADA PLATES! For sale tomorrow (Wednesday) for pickup or DELIVERY. Plates include your choice of chile, rice, beans, salad and dessert. In Las Cruces? Email me with the number of plates you need. Please include the type of chile (onions?), the address for delivery and your preferred delivery time.

This afternoon I took Mikal to see her mom and grandma. They live in a senior apartment complex and it isn’t unusual to see older people toodling around in wheelchairs or walkers. Today, at the stop sign, an older woman approached me. She asked for a ride to Walgreens. The ‘old’ Walgreens was three blocks away. The ‘new’ Walgreens is four blocks away but there is a busy street to cross and a lot of traffic. I didn’t really have the time or the energy, but how could I say no?

Annie (that’s her name) was going for cigarettes. On the way she talked about how hard it is to quit smoking. Smoking a cigarette is her big treat and she looks forward to it all day. Kids, believe me when I tell you that you do NOT want to start smoking! She was missing most of her teeth and her clothes didn’t fit. She had a walker to help her because diabetes had done a number on her feet. Speaking of feet, she wasn’t wearing shoes. Her feet were so swollen that she couldn’t get them on. It looked like her skin was about to split open. We had a hard time getting her up and into the van so I offered to go in the store for her. She was $.22 short so I fumbled around in the bottom of my purse to make up the difference. On the way back to her house she chattered on about how thankful she was for the ride.  Walking four blocks and back was hard on her feet. Her nurse is always telling her not to walk so much. I joked that maybe she should get a prescription for her smokes and get them mailed to her. For one second her face lit up until she realized I was joking and we laughed together. She seemed genuinely happy and content when I dropped her off.

I spent just fifteen minutes with her, but it made me grateful for the things I have and the people in my life. Thank you.

Or in my case, what next? The past year has been full of drama and trouble. It seems like I don’t have time to catch my breath before the next thing hits. There is always something new to worry about. I need to narrow my focus and deal with one thing at a time.