Tribute to America ~ Caleb & Micah style

Okay ~ so here it is...the video of the boys on Memorial Day morning. (you can tell it's morning by the sound of my voice ~ Man! I sound tired! ~ must be all that rockin' out I did at the Kutlass/TobyMac/Third Day concert on Saturday)

ANYWAY...I digress...this isn't about the awesome concert we went to on Saturday night (which also included Aaron Schust), but about the boys and their tribute to Memorial Day. Hope you enjoy it...and I hope it actually works this time!!!

If not, click on the link above in the title and it will take you to the actual youtube site ~ at which I have changed the video from private to public for your viewing pleasure. (I know...I know...you're welcome! :) )

It seems strange to say "Happy Memorial Day." It's along the lines of "Good Friday" and such....a day that, in it's foundation, is about remembering in honor those who have died so we can live in our country of freedom. The video below is one I found on Youtube ~ of all I've seen I like this one best. I think you'll understand why..... enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

I wanted to take the time yesterday to write a special Mother's Day message to all the Moms who have touched my life. However, since it was Mother's Day I got to be taken care of and enjoy the day myself. So....today I just want to take a moment and say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! to all of you who have taken on the role of being a role-model, caretaker and caregiver, hospitality clerk, psychoanalyst, guest relations specialist, chef, cabbie, referee, counselor and pastor to children of any age. You are a treasure who has been commissioned by God to make this world a better place by doing your job to the best of the abilities He has instilled in you. Thank you to my own Mom ~ a beautiful lady I am proud to rise up and call blessed, and to Shelley ~ another Mom I am proud to know and share a life with. God bless you all!!

Here's a poem I found online that I think pretty much sums up Motherhood to me.... I hope you enjoy it!

When God Made Mothers

By Tricia Stertz
Couriers For Christ
Omron, Wisconsin

When God made the world He was pleased with it all,
And had sweet communion with man 'til the fall.
But when Satan's dread vict'ry that day led to sin,
God paused, and He thought, I need someone to win
The hearts of the little ones ere they grow cold,
And they yield to sin's temptings and stray from the fold.

And so God made Mothers with hearts brimmed with love.
To them He commissioned this charge from above;
To pray for their little ones, fervently, daily;
To laugh with them, cry with them, play with them gayly;
To teach them the truths from the Scriptures of old;
To be strong and gentle, to be meek and bold;
To wash little feet whenher own feet were aching;
TO mend broken hearts when her own heart was breaking.

And so God made Mothers and planned 'twould be so,
When her children were grown that she must let them go;
With eyes filled with tears, yet her heart full of joy
To know she'd done best for her girl or her boy.
And God said, when surveying His work (so I'm told)
A God-fearing Mother is worth more than gold!

Chris is Home!

there's so much to be thankful for...and I wanted to update you all on my brother-in-law, Chris. He's home for a while now. He was able to come home on Friday (May 4) where he and Tami welcomed their granddaughter, Avalynn Claire, to the world. (She was born Friday morning.)

So ~ I wanted to let you know they're home for a while...but they'll be heading back down later this month for more skin grafts. Here are Tami's last e-mails with the oldest being first.....

May 1, 2007
Chris will be going into surgery in the morning to put a temporary cover over his open foot. The covering is called integra which consist of shark and cow cartilege with a silicon layer. Pray that the "temp covering" will take so Chris can come home for the time until his skin graft. Also pray for our family as Andrea (our daughter in law) is having a little girl on Friday - Andrea and Isaiah (2 yr old) grandson live with us. Bethany is finished with UNL on Friday and will be moving back home for the summer. I have finals next week for the 2 classes I am taking at the local community college. So if you would remember us, I am feeling a little stretched. Tami

May 2, 2007:
Praise and update about Chris' surgery today. They put the integra covering on Chris' foot and stitched up the incision above his ankle. The dressing stays on for 5 days before they will change it. Dr. Hau said that the foot looked real good and that Chris may be able to go home on Friday. Chris is guardedly optimistic. He really wants to get home. He has done great and is such an encouragement to me and many others.

Please continue to pray for our family, we are going to have a new granddaughter on Friday. Pray that we all will see how God has blessed us and truly cares for us every day and in so many ways. Thank you, your prayers are a treasure that have incredible impact and value!

May 5, 2007
Yesterday the surgeon came in and took a look at Chris' foot and was pleased with how it was looking. So the pick line came out (IV) and we loaded up and headed to Norfolk. Chris is on oral meds and will go back next Friday to have the dressing changed and looked at. I get to be the nurse for the week, I am sooo not nurse material, but God is faithful and Chris has been great and understanding. We were able to go to the hospital and see our new grandaughter who is beautiful. Thank you for your continued prayers, a few weeks before this all started I was praying that I would be able to praise him in the storm (song from Casting Crowns and also when Paul chose to praise the Lord in prison). It has been such an incredible blessing to praise HIM and have my eyes on HIM in this whole thing. We have been blessed! No words come to give the depth of praise in what He is doing and for who HE is!

If you'd like to send a card or anything to help them out (refer to my April 27th post), please send it to their church ~

Chris & Tami Graham
c/o Christ Is King Community Church
203 S 8th St, Norfolk, NE 68701

Thanks, everyone, for your prayers ~ we are so appreciative!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

A video of Garret McCauley, right, and his brother, Miles McCauley, second from right, won $100,000 Sunday on the television show “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” They are holding an autographed photo of the show’s host, Tom Bergeron. From left are parents Mike and Molly McCauley and son Kevin. (Mike Salsbury/The Columbian)




Okay, this is crazy ~ I can't believe I have the opportunity to say this, but....

MY FRIEND, MOLLY, AND HER FAMILY WON AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS $100,000.00 GRAND PRIZE!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to the entire McCauley family ~ it couldn't have happened to better people! WOO HOO!!!!!

That's all.

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Edit & Addition:

Here is the article that ran in the Tuesday "Columbian" here in Vancouver ~ I don't have a link to a video of it, yet, but when I get it ~ trust me, it'll be here!

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
BY MIKE BAILEY, Columbian staff writer

If Miles McCauley's future includes a college degree, the 8-year-old can credit a tube of diaper-rash cream and his older brother, Garret, for providing the funds.

Garret, now 10, painted Miles' face with the cream about seven years ago. Because the boys' mother, Molly McCauley, caught the antics on tape, the Ridgefield family is $110,000 richer.

The money came from ABC-TV's "America's Funniest Home Videos." First, the video was chosen as a weekly $10,000 winner in February. It then beat seven other weekly winners in Sunday's episode to claim the grand prize of $100,000.

The family already used part of the $10,000 for a visit to Disneyland; another vacation will come from the $100,000 in winnings. "But most will be put away for college for the boys," Molly McCauley said.

That includes younger brother, Kevin, 6, as well as Garret and Miles.

McCauley said she often tapes events at home when her husband, Mike, is working as a pilot for UPS.

"Most of the time, though, the camera is out of film, or the batteries are dead," she said. "But when I saw the back of Miles' neck was covered in the cream, I grabbed the camera and started filming."

In the video, Molly McCauley asked Garret what he had done.

Miles responded, saying his brother had painted him with sauce, a term the family used to describe the diaper-rash cream. Garret had lathered up his brother because Miles had a blemish on his face.

Just after Miles turned his head toward the camera, the video ends.

"The batteries went dead," Molly McCauley said.

But there was enough on the tape to impress the show's producer and make it one of the top three videos for the February show.

A studio audience vote determines the weekly winners. Three times each season, the audience chooses a $100,000 winner from between six and eight weekly winners.

The vote for the most recent $100,000 contest was made by visitors to Walt Disney World.

About 40 friends and family members were at the McCauley home Sunday to watch the show. The visitors did not know the McCauleys had won until it aired.

McCauley's said her sister, Lori Young of Ridgefield, gets credit for the windfall.

"(Lori) said if I didn't, she was going to take the tape and send it in and she wasn't going to share any of the prize money if it won," McCauley said.

Although the McCauley brothers now have a hefty college fund, they weren't too happy after the show was over on Sunday.

"They were crying before they went to bed," McCauley said. "They were sad to see this all come to an end."

"They wanted to know Sunday if they would ever see (host Tom Bergeron) again. They think of him as Uncle Tom now."