Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Math Manipulatives

As I'm cleaning and packing for the school year's end, this container of poker chips was returned from one of my students' class. I found these poker chips at a Dollar Tree store some years ago. What an inexpensive way to gets and use math manipulatives!

Now they will probably end up in my car with the stuff I'm taking home for summer school!

If I have posted this idea before, please excuse me as it is the end of the school year and my brain is southern deep fried!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

AGGGH! Snake!

I have to apologize as lately I have been posting articles rather than my day-to-day activities and ideas for working with our kids. The reason is that the paperwork is overwhelming and my caseload grew from seven schools and fifteen children to nine schools and twenty-two children. On top of that, I have admin who have felt that I should have school duty like a regular classroom teacher and just work my way around that. We have also had a busy semester with IEPs as many of them done by a certain date in the Fall had to be revisited this semester.

Why is this Child Playing with Snake in a Bucket?
Because he's a snake handler, that's why! Actually, it's a "Grow Snake" and of course it is a toy. I would not have been in the room to snap the photo if it had been real.

He's learning braille and there is a contraction for "OW" (dots 2, 4, 6). As he spelled aloud some words that contained the letters O-W one of the words, as you can figure, was the word "grow." The snake is supposed to double in size if left in water over night, so I allowed him to fill the bucket with water, take the snake from the package, and put the snake in the bucket of water.

Then we wrote a sentence about what he thought would happen using the word "grow" using the new contraction.

In braille the sentence "The snake will grow" has some previous signs like the T-H-E sign and the W for the word "will." We can lengthen it using "T-M" for "tomorrow" or "T-N" for "tonight."

"The snake will grow tonight. Tomorrow it will be big."

When you get up, do and apply rather than just write the word over and over you're more likely to remember it and how to write it.

Another concept was reinforced with this simple exercise
was sequencing. His mom told me that he couldn't get off the bus before he started telling all that had happened and why he was coming home with a wet snake in his bookbag.

Message from Mom to his visual impairments specialist: "Well...thanks for the snake...I think."

Glaucoma--Hair Loss Explained

http://hair-losssite.com/2011/05/14/glaucoma-drug/

Visual Impairments Specialist
Westminster Elementary School
http://lee.ebrschools.org/kathynicholslee
http://www.kathyskids.org
http://teacherweb.com/LA/RobertELeeHigh/MrsMichael/t.aspx
http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com

Monday, May 16, 2011

Two Genes Linked to Severe Glaucoma Identified

http://www.medindia.net/news/Two-Genes-Linked-To-Severe-Glaucoma-Identified-84888-1.htm

Marketwire news release

Eye Remember, Canada-Do You?
CNIB Reminds Canadians to Enter the Eye Remember Photo Contest Before May 18th
May 12, 2011 11:00 ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 12, 2011) - May is Vision Health Month, and CNIB is reminding Canadians that there is just one week left to submit a memorable photo in the exciting Eye Remember contest.
Visit http://www.eyeremember.ca/ and upload a photograph that represents a cherished memory – whether it's a shot from your honeymoon, a memory from a cherished vacation spot or an old black and white that makes you smile. Contestants are also asked to include a brief description of why the photograph reminds them to be proactive about their vision health.
All uploaded photos will be reviewed by three

Healthy Vision Month

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2011/nei-12.htm

My Life Story

This is an e-mail from (Nigerian Tribune) sent by Ms. Kathy. You may also find the following link interesting: http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/you-a-eye/21791-the-story-of-my-life

Researchers Outline Key Risk Factors for Glaucoma

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/boomer-health/articles/2011/05/09/researchers-outline-key-risk-factors-for-glaucoma

Tell senators: Don't spend another $5.3 million a year on tax breaks for private and religious schools!

Duh!

MsKathyssLogo2.gif picture by mskathy0724

http://www.kathyskids.org

Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Louisiana Federation of Teachers
To: mskathy0724@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 6:01 PM
Subject: Tell senators: Don't spend another $5.3 million a year on tax breaks for private and religious schools!

Don't spend another $5.3 million a year on tax breaks for private and religious schools!

Please click here to take action!

With Louisiana facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, you'd think the last thing lawmakers would consider is another special interest tax break that would add $5.3 million to the deficit. But that is exactly what SB 13 by Sen. Rob Marionneaux (D-Livonia) would do.

The state already allows parents of children in private and religious schools to deduct 50% of the tuition and fees they pay from their state income taxes. SB 13 would remove the 50% cap on those deductions, making the deduction equal to the full amount paid, up to $5,000 per child.

Please click on the link to learn more and to tell your senator that you oppose adding more tax breaks while our budget is in crisis.

Please click here to take action!

EdLog: News commentary and analysis

Follow LFT on Facebook

Ask a friend to join the LFT Action Center

LFT on the Web

KARACHI 10 years back SHC upholds colour-blind student’s right to study engineering

Can you believe this was even going on in this century?http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=46413&Cat=4&dt=5/12/2011

http://lee.ebrschools.org/kathynicholslee
http://www.kathyskids.org
http://teacherweb.com/LA/RobertELeeHigh/MrsMichael/t.aspx
http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com

Putnam City West Senior Doesn’t Let Blindness Slow Her

The Following Article Was Sent By: mskathy

Personal Message To You:

Putnam City West senior doesn't let blindness slow her

Help along the way

It almost seemed unfair when concert choir teacher Karen Hinkle told students to watch for her cues. Putnam City West High School senior Hannah Kinsey couldn't watch. She can't see.
Click Here For the Full Article

Lions walk to stop blindness

Story:
Lions walk to stop blindness
The North Platte Telegraph Lions Club members from across Nebraska met in North Platte Friday and participated in the Strides: Lions Walk for Diabetes Awareness.
The walk coincided with the club's state convention at the Quality Inn and Suites and wound around two miles worth of trails from the motel to the Recreation Center. Participants paid $10 to join in and were also encouraged to collect pledges.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2011/05/14/news/40001871.txt

The Most Important Food for Healthy Eyes

The Most Important Food for Healthy Eyes (No, it's Not Carrots)
Posted By Dr. Mercola | May 14 2011 By Dr. Mercola Do you have any idea what
causes wild Pacific salmon to have its color? It is one of the
Following link http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Nutrition/Food/most_important_food_for_healthy_eyes-05113110502.html was sent to you by mskathy

Preschoolers Walk for H.O.P.E.

Ms. Kathy thought you would be interested in this:
	Preschoolers Walk for H.O.P.E. The Early School at TBA supports a classmate's charity: Help Overcome Pediatric Epilepsy.... By Adrienne Mand Lewin Read more »

‘Stone killer’ becomes inmate missionary

http://www.kathyskids.org

Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

From: Nick Sigur
Subject: 'Stone killer' becomes inmate missionary

Thanks to Morris Talley for pointing out two articles which appeared in the Baton Rouge Advocate. Always one to one up Morris when possible. I have placed the articles in this email. It's about time the Louisiana Press begins to notice the Miracle of Hope which has been unfolding at Angola for years. Take a few minutes and read this email. Wait until you have time to really read it and be blessed.

Prentice Robinson, an inmate minister at Louisiana State Penitentiary, leads other inmates in prayer for Warden Burl Cain, right, during a worship service after Cain mentioned that his wife was sick.

Click Image to Enlarge

RICHARD ALAN HANNON/The Advocate

Prentice Robinson, an inmate minister at Louisiana State Penitentiary, leads other inmates in prayer for Warden Burl Cain, right, during a worship service after Cain mentioned that his wife was sick.

Warden: Seminary helped lower violence

By GEORGE MORRIS
Advocate staff writer
Published: Mar 6, 2010

ANGOLA — When he asked New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to start teaching at Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1996, Warden Burl Cain had a problem to solve. He didn't think it would change the prison. He certainly didn't see it changing other prisons.

"I wasn't that smart," Cain said.

But that, Cain insists, is what has happened.

Angola, once considered America's most dangerous prison, has seen violence cut by more than half since the seminary opened in 1998. In that year, there were 870 violent incidents (defined as murder, escape, suicide, assaults on staff and assaults on inmates). In 2009, that number was 362.

While other factors — an aging population, disciplinary strategies — may play a role, Cain said the seminary program has been key tochanging the culture of a prison that houses more than 5,000 inmates, nearly all of whom have life sentences.

One of them, Ron Hicks, received a seminary degree and is the pastor of United Methodist Men, one of about 50 inmate-run churches that operate at Angola. He has been at the prison since 1991 and has seen it evolve. Prison rape and other acts of inmate-on-inmate violence are not the problems they once were, Hicks said.

"You don't see fights. You don't see all these things," he said. "You could take a walk down the hall right now. You won't hear people acting crazy, because God has come in here and healed the minds of these men, really changed their lives.

"I know people think … 'jailhouse religion.' That's not what it is. It's the real deal. God is real in this place and he's real in the hearts of men, and men are changed and are being changed. … God has changed our lives, and the evidence is there. Come and see."

Angola had inmate-led churches long before Cain arrived in 1995. That same year, Congress eliminated Pell Grant funding that had paid for inmates to receive higher education. The Rev. T.W. Terrell, then director of the area Judson Baptist Association, suggested the New Orleans Seminary might offer a degree-granting program.

"I said, 'You have lost your mind. They would never do that,' " Cain said. "He said, 'Yes they would. I believe they would.'"

The program quickly became popular — and not only with Christians. Some Muslim inmates signed up, drawn by the opportunity to get an accredited college degree. Any inmate who qualifies academically is admitted, said the Rev. John Robson, who oversees the prison seminary program. The prison has had to strengthen its GED program because of the seminary's popularity.

"It's not Sunday school," Robson said. "They learn Greek and Hebrew."

Once the seminary began producing graduates, a question arose: what to do with them? Two answers emerged. The first was to spread them among the prison population.

"We didn't put them in one spot," Cain said. "You want to let them all mix just like you do in a community. They immediately started having an impact because they'd read their Bibles and do Bible studies, and (inmates) started getting more moral."

Chaplain Robert Toney said the inmate churches are in a wide array of Christian denominations as well as other religions such as the Jewish, Islamic and Rastafarian faiths. He estimates about 2,800 of the inmates participate, with meetings taking place every day in several prison chapels and other meeting rooms.

"We don't have gangs," Robson said. "We have churches."

The churches do more than worship services and Bible studies. Ministers participate in the prison's hospice program, caring for inmates in the late stages of terminal illnesses, as well as help fellow inmates go through difficult times.

There is no shortage of such times. Separation from family members who don't or can't visit is a frequent issue. Younger offenders who have long sentences must come to grips spending life in prison. Hicks knows this from experience; he's been in prison since 1990, just over half his life.

"I couldn't even comprehend a life sentence," he said. "I was only 19. I hadn't started living. Here I am in this cell, and I began to pray. I had an experience with God when I was real young. I just cried out to God and said you're going to have to help me."

The different churches work together, Hicks said. If a minister finds an inmate with a need, the minister will work with him regardless of what church, if any, he belongs to.

"I believe this 100 percent," Hicks said. "We could take the church that's here and set it in any community in America and I'm positive that it's going to make a difference in that community."

Many outside religious organizations conduct prison ministry at Angola. But, since the seminary program has strengthened the inmate churches, Cain said he has reduced the number of outside ministry groups he lets in, and not just because the meeting schedule has gotten tight.

"Half the preachers in the Southern Baptist Convention — I talk about them because I'm Baptist — don't have the education or the full four-year seminary degree that our inmates have," Cain said. "So, you had a lot of people trying to come and minister to them that were not the biblical scholars that the inmates are. So, we passed them. That was pretty cool, wasn't it?"

'A very calming influence'

The idea came — as ideas often do — out of nowhere.

"I was in the shower … and I thought, 'What am I going to do with all these preachers? I've got a prison full of them,' " Cain said. "We'll just send missionaries to the other ones."

Although Cain oversees the largest and by far the best-known of Louisiana's penitentiaries, it houses only a small percentage of the state's inmates. If seminary-trained prisoners could have a positive influence on Angola, he reasoned, they could do the same elsewhere.

He turned first to Dixon Correctional Institution, where he had been warden before coming to Angola and whose warden then, James LeBlanc, is now DOC secretary. LeBlanc was initially skeptical the missionaries might have agendas that threatened security.

"But Burl is persuasive as he can be," LeBlanc said. "He convinced us to give it a shot. He said, 'I think you'll like what you'll find out.'

"Man, was he right. It was unbelievable."

Having the missionaries — all of whom volunteer to be there — provided a resource when a chaplain was unavailable, LeBlanc said. They soon earned enough trust to receive special ID badges that let them move throughout the prison.

"They were well-trained, professional," LeBlanc said. "You could tell in the atmosphere of the prison where they were practicing. We saw a big difference in inmate-on-inmate assaults, inmate-on-staff assaults, just on disciplinary activity."

The B.B. Rayburn Correctional Center in Angie has 11 graduates of the seminary at Angola, seven serving as the chaplain's orderlies and four working as tutors in Rayburn's educational program. As with Angola, they are scattered throughout all sections of the prison except the maximum security cellblock, which they visit regularly, Rayburn Warden Robert Tanner said.

Like Angola, Rayburn is a less violent place since their arrival, Tanner said. From 2003 through 2009, total assaults decreased by 40.4 percent, inmate-on-inmate assaults decreased by 37.8 percent and inmate-on-staff assaults decreased by 71.2, Tanner said.

"We think it's had a very positive impact on our operations," Tanner said. "They're a very calming influence on the population."

Cain and LeBlanc hope the impact will extend beyond the prisons. Most Angola inmates will die there, but statewide, about 15,000 offenders are released each year, Assistant Warden Cathy Fontenot said. True success will be reflected by former inmates touched by the program not committing crime after being released, Cain said.

It is too early to tell if this is happening. Hicks is confident.

"There's no question about it. If a person gets born again and gives his heart to Christ and gets nourished in the word and gets discipled, the chance of him committing a crime again is very slim," he said. "By sending those missionaries into those institutions, it's meeting a great need."

With roughly half of the offenders under Department of Corrections supervision serving their sentences in parish jails, the idea of inmate missionaries going there has been discussed, Fontenot said.

"We have talked unofficially with sheriffs about the possibility, but … that sheriff would have to be very comfortable that the population he supervises would not think that they're threatened in any way," Fontenot said.

Robson hopes it happens, saying inmate missionaries could influence the inmates most likely to return to freedom.

"Nobody can confront an inmate like another inmate," Robson said. "The streets of Louisiana can be changed, and these are the men who can do it with God's help."

That, Cain said, has been an ingredient in the program from the start.

"None of us can claim credit, and I love it, because I want to claim credit but I can't claim credit," he said. "I didn't do it. It was an accident. That makes you think there truly is divine intervention."

'Stone killer' becomes inmate missionary

Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola inmate Donald Biermann goes by the nickname 'Carolina.' Biermann recently returned to Angola from Forcht-Wade Correctional Center in Keithville. He spent 18 months there as part of the inmate missionary program for graduates of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's studies.

Click Image to Enlarge

RICHARD ALAN HANNON/The Advocate

ANGOLA — Ten years ago, Donald "Carolina" Biermann was "Angola at its worst," Louisiana State Penitentiary Warden Burl Cain said.

"A stone killer," Cain said. "He would fight you. He was mean. He was a cellblock man."

Now, Cain calls Biermann a success story.

Biermann recently returned to Angola from Forcht-Wade Correctional Center in Keithville. He had spent 18 months there as part of the inmate missionary program for graduates of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's studies.

While there, he led Bible studies and gently tended the most basic needs of dying men in the prison hospice program.

"If you ever told me at any time in my life that I'd have washed a naked man, we'd have had some real serious problems," said Biermann, 53, serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. "I can tell you that God will bring you to that point where you desire to do that so they don't feel shame and humiliation in their dying hour, that they can die with dignity."

Biermann's journey to that point includes being imprisoned in three states. Figuring he'd never be paroled, Biermann decided to make the best of prison life.

But he couldn't. The inner rage that led him into prison wouldn't let him alone.

"That hate still stays inside of you and manifests itself in everything you do," he said. "At the very moment I met Christ, it was on my mind that weekend to hurt somebody seriously. That's how full of that rage I was, not because of anything they did to me.

"The only two emotions I knew up until I met Jesus was hate and indifference. There was no middle ground."

Nine years ago, Biermann put his faith in Jesus Christ, and began to cry. And cry. And cry for two weeks. He said it was the first time he'd cried since he was 7 years old.

"Even the nonbelievers said, 'God has got him,' " he said. "I fought with God because I didn't believe in him, but I couldn't deny what was happening inside of me. I didn't have that hate anymore. I couldn't hate. I started looking at people as human beings for the first time in my life. They weren't objects of my hate. They weren't potential victims."

What they became was objects of ministry. Biermann completed NOBTS' seminary training and volunteered to accept a transfer to Forcht-Wade, which had far less in the way of spiritual programs than Angola. Biermann said he started a 15-week course defending Christian doctrines and spoke about his faith to anyone who would listen. Many would not, especially at the start.

"Even the inmate population did not receive me very well at first," he said. "There is a lot of distrust in this environment no matter where you go. It's difficult to have people come to you and tell you they have a problem."

The highlight of his ministry there, Biermann said, was tending to hospice patients. He recalls sitting with one man dying of esophageal cancer whose pain was so great that he'd yell and curse. Biermann convinced him to say "Help me, Jesus" when the pain was bad.

"I sat on the side of his bed and he just held my hand, and he mouthed to me, 'You're a good man,' " Biermann said. "I watched this man die with a peaceful countenance, and it's probably one of the most awesome times I have truly felt God's forgiveness in my life."

"It is so important that people understand the importance of inmates being able to minister to other inmates. We can love each other. There is a lot of callous indifference in this environment, and it's hard for a man to leave this world not feeling that love, and they need that love of Christ. That's probably one of the greatest things God has done in here."

Biermann left Forcht-Wade after it was reclassified as a facility for drug offenders. Although most of his friends are at Angola, he is willing to be an inmate missionary again.

"I'll go anywhere … they feel that I will be useful," he said. "For me, it's just another opportunity."

Friday, May 13, 2011

Louisiana Animals

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Perkins Scout: Education for Students with Blindness or Visual Impairments

"Classroom teachers will find information on providing access to the curriculum for students who are blind or visually impaired. These teaching tips, educational strategies, accommodations, and instructional adaptations are useful in both inclusive and special education settings."

http://www.perkins.org/resources/scout/education/

Cosmetic Contacts can be dangerous

I used to post warnings every year for Halloween but it looks like Lady Gaga has made me have to revisit this!

http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=14627002

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A Joke just for women

heeheehee!

http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

--- On Mon, 8/10/09, Jennifer wrote:

The BEST!

Life is good

EVE: 'I've got a problem.'
GOD: 'What's the problem, Eve?'
EVE: 'I know that you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, as well as that hilarious comedic snake, but I'm just not happy.'
GOD: 'And why is that Eve?'
EVE: 'I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples.'
GOD: 'Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you.'
EVE: 'Man? What is that?'
GOD: 'A flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vain; all in all, he'll give you a hard time. But he'll be bigger, faster and will like to hunt and kill things. I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. He will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about. He won't be as smart as you, so he will also need your advice to think properly.'
EVE: 'Sounds great, but what's the catch?'
GOD: 'Well... you can have him on one condition.'
EVE: 'And what's that, dear God? '
GOD: 'As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring... so you'll have to let him believe that I made him first. And it will have to be our little secret...you know, woman to woman."

Davis Vision Launches New Commercial Website and Facebook® Page | Virtual-Strategy Magazine

http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2011/05/10/davis-vision-launches-new-commercial-website-and-facebook%C2%AE-page?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dcad737b1d03655%2C0

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Lakeshore update--Batten's Disease

Article Title:
Lakeshore update To view the contents on http://www.htrnews.com/, go to:
http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201105100412/MAN0101/105100493

(Cortical Visual Impairments) Decluttering could help child's vision

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/content/news/local/2011/05/10/%E2%80%98de-cluttering%E2%80%99-could-help-child%E2%80%99s-vision

Monday, May 9, 2011

Glaucoma Detection

I read this article at OSNSuperSite.com and thought you might be interested:
Structural imaging most effective for early glaucoma detection
I found this article at OSNSuperSite.com and thought you might be interested.

184,000 Ghanaians Are Blind

The following page from the "Daily Guide Ghana" web site has been sent to you by Ms. Kathy
You can access it at the following URL:
http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10535&Itemid=245

St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired Celebrate 100th Year.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.prlog.org/10866076-st-louis-society-for-the-blind-and-visually-impaired-launching-new-logo-to-celebrate-100th-year.html&ct=ga&cad=:s1:f2:v0:d1:i0:lt:e3:p3:t1282106846:&cd=9BgamzMZpQ0&usg=AFQjCNGizksGMLdJu9k8ZfMnGs9emDVh8A

Boy to Travel From Ireland to US to Treat Batten's Disease

In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0301/1224291080672.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments:

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Sent from IP :

Fw: The sandpiper

Thanks Colleen. Saw this years ago. Will save it on my blog this time as I share it with others in this reply. It reminds me of what children's art and letters do when we take them inside the prison.

http://www.kathyskids.org
Ms. Kathy's Kids Blog: http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com/

The Sandpiper

by Robert Peterson
She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live.
I drive to this beach, a distance of three or four miles, whenever the world
begins to close in on me. She was building a sand castle or something
and looked up, her eyes as blue as the sea.
"Hello," she said.
I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to bother with a small child.
"I'm building," she said.
"I see that. What is it?" I asked, not really caring.
"Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand."
That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my shoes.
A sandpiper glided by.
"That's a joy," the child said.
"It's a what?"
"It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy."
The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye joy, I muttered to myself,
hello pain, and turned to walk on. I was depressed, my life seemed
completely out of balance.
"What's your name?" She wouldn't give up.
"Robert," I answered. "I'm Robert Peterson."
"Mine's Wendy... I'm six."
"Hi, Wendy."
She giggled. "You're funny," she said.
In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked on.
Her musical giggle followed me.
"Come again, Mr. P," she called. "We'll have another happy day."
The next few days consisted of a group of unruly Boy Scouts , PTA meetings,
and an ailing mother. The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out
of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I said to myself, gathering up my coat.
The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me. The breeze was
chilly but I strode along, trying to recapture the serenity I needed.
"Hello, Mr. P," she said. "Do you want to play?"
"What did you have in mind?" I asked, with a twinge of annoyance.
"I don't know. You say."
"How about charades?" I asked sarcastically.
The tinkling laughter burst forth again. "I don't know what that is."
"Then let's just walk."
Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness of her face.
"Where do you live?" I asked.
"Over there." She pointed toward a row of summer cottages.
Strange, I thought, in winter.
"Where do you go to school?"
"I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation"
She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the beach, but my mind was on other things. When I left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day.
Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.
Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy. I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt
like demanding she keep her child at home.
"Look, if you don't mind," I said crossly when Wendy caught up with me, "I'd rather be alone today." She seemed unusually pale and out of breath.
"Why?" she asked.
I turned to her and shouted, "Because my mother died!" and thought, My God, why was I saying this to a little child?
"Oh," she said quietly, "then this is a bad day."
"Yes," I said, "and yesterday and the day before and -- oh, go away!"
"Did it hurt?" she inquired.
"Did what hurt?" I was exasperated with her, with myself.
"When she died?"
"Of course it hurt!" I snapped, misunderstanding, wrapped up in myself. I strode off.
A month or so after that, when I next went to the beach, she wasn't there. Feeling guilty, ashamed, and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up to the
cottage after my walk and knocked at the door. A drawn looking young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door.
"Hello," I said, "I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your little girl today and wondered where she was."
"Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance, please, accept my apologies."
"Not at all --! she's a delightful child." I said, suddenly realizing that I meant what I had just said.
"Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had leukemia Maybe she didn't tell you."
Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch my breath.
"She loved this beach, so when she asked to come, we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the
last few weeks, she declined rapidly..." Her voice faltered, "She left something for you, if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment while I look?"
I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared envelope with "MR. P" printed in bold childish
letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues -- a yellow beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed:
A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had almost forgotten to love opened wide. I took Wendy's mother in my arms. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,
I'm so sorry," I uttered over and over, and we wept together. The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six words -- one for each
year of her life -- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and undemanding love.
A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the color of sand -- who taught me the gift of love.
________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert Peterson. It happened over 20 years ago and the incident changed his life forever. It serves as a reminder
to all of us that we need to take time to enjoy living and life and each other. The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.
Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of everyday traumas can make us lose focus about what is truly important or what is only a momentary setback
or crisis.
This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra hug, and by all means, take a moment... even if it is only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
This comes from someone's heart, and is read by many and now I share it with you..
May God Bless everyone who receives this! There are NO coincidences!
Everything that happens to us happens for a reason. Never brush aside anyone as insignificant. Who knows what they can teach us?
________________________________________________________________________
I wish for you, a Sandpiper.

Why We Miss What is Right in Front of Our Eyes?

http://www.medindia.net/news/Why-We-Miss-What-is-Right-in-Front-of-Our-Eyes-83867-1.htm

Inattention Blindness

Miniature horses also affected by blindness | Horsetalk.co.nz - International horse news

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/04/141.shtml?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4daf2436149f9d97%2C0
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PakTribune - NeNow an Eye Jab that Cures Blindness!

Hello
Your Friend Ms. Kathy has forwarded you an interesting story from the website of PakTribune.
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=238425
Thank you.
PakTribune
(c) Copyright PakTribune.com
http://www.paktribune.com/

Usher's Syndrome Types

http://www.eyehealthguide.net/usher-syndrome-and-its-types.html

Visual Impairments Specialist
Westminster Elementary School
http://lee.ebrschools.org/kathynicholslee
http://www.kathyskids.org
http://mskathy.proboards30.com
http://mskathyskids.blogspot.com

Fwd: Winn Weekend

Greetings all! We have been asked by the Winn administration to post postpone Winn #34 originally scheduled to start this Thursday. Winn will be housing some of the Angola evacuees being moved due to the threat of flooding and the administration did not feel that they had the resources to accommodate these new residents and host a Kairos weekend. Needless to say, this is a blow to the leader, Bobby Taylor, who has invested a significant amount of time preparing the team for this work as well as the rest of the team and the residents that were scheduled to attend. Please be in prayer for these individuals as they deal with this loss. As of now, Angola's June weekend is still on the track, but that is certainly subject to change.

God is in control of this situation and His timing is always perfect. Unfortunately, in our mortal flesh, we sometime struggle with understanding His ways. As we surrender to His will, let us all seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and join together to support each other as we walk through this part of our journey.

I'm sure that Bobby would appreciate an email of encouragement (jr460@bellsouth.net).