Archive for March 2011
Mail a Hug Home Page Update
Thank you for visiting Mail a Hug!
We’re really excited that you are here and we are going to make your visit as enjoyable as possible!
First of all, You’ve been hugged! How does that make you feel? We want all our visitors to know that we are sending a hug your way and hoping you’ll pass it on to one of your loved ones by placing an order today with Mail a Hug!
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Mail a Hug has a vision of millions of people smiling as they open their mail because they have just received a charming card or gift from someone that cares deeply about them. That someone knows that by simply signing up with Mail a Hug, their loved one will automatically receive a special card or gift in the mail on a regular basis, hand signed with their name. It only takes a few minutes to sign up and we do all the work!
When you get a phone call or note in the mail thanking you for your thoughtfullness, you’ll have to remind yourself that you placed an order with Mail a Hug because it was so easy to sign up that, once you were done, you forgot all about it!
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At Mail a Hug we:
•CREATE charming greeting cards,
•SIGN them with your name,
•STAMP them with postage, and
•MAIL them directly to your loved one.
Click here to view our charming cards and gifts:•CARDS: www.mailahug.com/KeepInTouch.php
•GIFTS: www.mailahug.com/Gifts.php
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We’re sure you know someone who would love to receive a card in the mail from you!
Sign up today! Simply click on the “Keep in Touch Packages” tab and find that package that fits your needs.
Mail a Hug is perfect for the elderly, military troops, college students, grandchildren, and your Mom!
Don’t forget EASTER is April 24th!
Send a gift from one of our favorite affiliates:
OUR MISSION IS TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF MILLIONS, ONE HUG AT A TIME!
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Add a comment March 26, 2011
The Dangers of Calcium Deficiency in Dogs
Four in the morning is just too early to get up, but Daisy likes to arise when I do. She knows its feeding time. Afterward, she likes to crawl back into bed with either Roy or Shaanon where its nice and warm and cozy.
With eight new puppies to feed, Daisy welcomes every ounce of food and every drop of water. She’s such a great mother to those babies. They’re all strong and healthy and well fed.
I thought it was so cute that she couldn’t jump up on my bed after the puppies were born. When she was pregnant, being too fat to jump, she’d whine a little and put her paws up on the bed so I’d bend over and pick her up.
Daisy had a few tell-tale signs that she wasn’t getting enough nutrients, but I attributed them all to the arrival of the new puppies. Since she couldn’t jump up on my bed, I thought that she thought she was still pregnant. And her milk looked as if it could be fuller, but I thought the babies were drinking it as fast as she was producing it.
One morning I got up as usual and Daisy got up with me. But instead of going directly to her food dish, she just kinda laid on the floor and stared at me. I thought that maybe she just wasn’t hungry yet.
After my shower I checked on her again and she just looked at me with sad little eyes. Then she trotted off heading downstairs to go get in bed with Shaanon. Now was a good time for a cup of coffee and a little news.
Checking on Daisy was on my mind as I headed downstairs after my daily 10 oz. of morning coffee. It was a bit dark on the stairwell, with just a hint of light coming from the living room, when something appeared to me on the landing. Was it Daisy just laying there? Was she alive? Reaching down, Daisy felt limp. A screech came flooding out of my mouth, “Daisy is dying!”. Apparently, the voice was sheer panic because everyone in the house was awakened with a start!
Roy thought I was dying as I rushed Daisy upstairs swaddled in my arms! Daisy was shivering, almost spasming, and her breaths were short and forced. She scared me to death. Shaanon called the vet and was directed to the Animal Hospital in Salem. We weren’t sure she’d make it all the way to Salem.
Shaanon and Brian drove her immediately to the all night hospital. Thankfully, Daisy made the trip and the Vet instantly put an IV in her. After about ten minutes, the Vet told Shaanon and Brian that Daisy was calcium deficient and her temperature was 106 degrees. 107 degrees is critical, so we were lucky she made it in time.
The Vet told the kids that calcium deficiency is typical in small dogs, especially new mothers, and gave them a calcium supplement for Daisy, as well as some instructions on buying special dog food for her.
The puppies are still growing strong and getting bigger everyday. Daisy is a good momma and almost gave her life for her babies.
I think she’ll be getting fixed very soon…
2 comments March 18, 2011
Safe in Japan
Add a comment March 12, 2011
The Earthquake
Imagine your husband catching the early morning train to sacrificially make his hour and a half commute to work each morning cramped in a rail car like a sardine. He makes that commute so you can live nearby your mom. Afterall, you are her only child and it’s important that she see her granddaughter everyday.
8.9, the fifth largest ever, biggest in Japan since 1900, and your husband is in Tokyo at work. Power’s out, phones are down, fires are blazing, radiation is a threat, and there are so many people missing from the earthquake and tsunami that you can barely catch your breath. And you’re waiting, waiting, waiting for a phone call, a message, anything to know that he is alive. The tears roll down your cheeks. Surely he’s fine, but it’s the scariest day of your life. You need him home with you and the baby.
You don’t really believe in God, or maybe you’re just mad at him because He allowed your mom’s best friend to die from breast cancer. So, you’re mad at Him, but you pray anyway. Maybe he’ll listen this time. He has to listen. Your husband has to come home.
All the trains are down and everyone is sequestered in their buildings in which they work in downtown Tokyo. They must be scared, too. Training for an earthquake was a common thing growing up in Japan. Earthquakes happen all the time. But this time, it was different. It just wouldn’t stop. And no one could think of what to do. Hiding under the desk was one option, running outside…no one could think. The roaring, the screeching, the churning…it just wouldn’t stop.
He has to come home.
Add a comment March 12, 2011
I Want to Walk with God
OK, so you know I’ve started dilligently studying the bible because I believe God told me that all our answers to our many questions about life, work, relationships, love, family, etc. can be found in the word. I decided to begin in the beginning, Genesis, and read one chapter from it, one chapter from Psalms, one chapter from Proverbs, and one chapter from the New Testament at each reading. With my busy schedule, I’m releiving some of the pressure of reading everyday by reading mostly on my days off so I can focus better on what I’m reading and not rush through it.
Have you ever read through the bible starting at page one and going forward? Chapter five in Genesis writes about the ‘begats’; who begat whom. Today, when I looked at the first paragraph and saw that I would be reading a chapter about begats, I felt as if I would simply skim through this chapter because I was certain that I was going to be bored by it. But, doing my duty as I promised God, I began reading the bagats and actually paying attention to what I was reading.
Adam lived one hundread and thirty years, gave birth to a son, lived eight hundred and so many years, and died. This was the exact same story for each generation; born, live, give birth to a son, live for many years and having more children and then dying. But wait! Along comes Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather, and his life began as all the others. Instead of living, though, he walked with God, gave birth to a son, lived a couple hundred more years, and then WAS not. He didn’t just live, he spent his life here on earth walking with God, and then God took him up. He didn’t die.
What does that all mean? How do we walk with God on this earth instead of just living?
I want to walk with God. I want my life to be pleasing to Him. I want to see through His eyes, love with His heart, hear with His ears, forgive with His kindness and walk in His light. I want His loving arms to wrap around me as He carries me through my days.
I suppose to walk with God means to love others as He loves us, forgive as He forgives, and live not by our own understanding but trust in Him.
Today’s prayer is to be blessed enough to walk with God!
And God bless you!
Add a comment March 10, 2011
Mail a Hug—Our Story
About Mail a Hug
In May of 2004 my dad, Clifton Higbe, had a debilitating stroke that left him paralyzed and incapacitated for a couple of years. After his lengthy stay in the hospital he was moved to a nursing home so he could be cared for day and night.
His wife, Anne, visited him daily and I flew down to California from Oregon twice a month to visit him. The other residents were not so lucky. As most residents of nursing homes they had few, if any, visitors. Not only did my dad have visitors, but he received a daily greeting card in the mail from his mother-in-law, Myrtle Jensen. Each and every morning Mrytle would sit at her desk and pen a note to my father to let him know that someone was thinking about him and wishing him well. Even during the most difficult time of her life, when her husband passed, she still sat and wrote to my dad every single day.
He looked forward to the daily mail delivery with hope and anticipation. That was the hi-lite of his day (with the exception of Anne and his childrens’ visits, of course! Right dad ? ). But it warmed my heart to know that Myrtle was so steadfast in her commitment to my dad’s well-being, knowing that someone was thinking about him.
That’s where the idea of Mail a Hug began.
There are so many people in nursing homes, foster homes, military, colleges, and out of town that don’t really know when someone is thinking about them.
We all want our loved ones to know that we care and that we’re thinking about them, but we get too busy with our lives and then we forget to send a note.
The service is now available for you to send your thoughtful greetings to your loved ones without having to actually go to the store and buy a card, sit down and write it out, go to the post office and mail it. Let Mail a Hug do it for you.
Trust me, there is such gratification in knowing that you are making someone happy.
For it truly is in giving that we receive!
By the way, my dad has gone to rehabilitation over the years and has learned to transfer himself, walk short distances, and even climb the stairs to his condo. He’s had many health challenges, but his spirit is strong. He always told me he’d live to be one hundred! Only 23 years to go!
Praise be to God for watching over him!
Please click on the ‘Keep In Touch’ tab to place your order. Feel free to contact Mail a Hug with any questions or concerns. All emails will be read and a reply will be sent. Thank you.
Add a comment March 10, 2011
Update on Mike—thanks for the prayers
Just a short note to thank you for your prayers for Mike and Diana. God really is listening (I may be in big trouble for some of the things He hears me say…) and our prayers will be answered according to His will.
Cousin Diana’s MRI test results were negative and we’re all happy she is the model of health.
Mike is battling bladder cancer. Chelsea and I went to Bend this weekend to see him and my mom. They had an appointment with the oncologist Friday morning and the news was hopeful. John Hopkins is retesting the biopsy with their state-of-the-art equipment. They are more able to define specifics of the cancer and determine the stage more accurately. This was all good news and we’ll keep praying that the results come back as to allow Michael to keep his bladder.
I must say, he is a picture of positive attitude. He looks wonderful and strong and I think that will help him in the long run.
Will keep you updated. Thank you so much for the prayers.
God bless you!
Add a comment March 7, 2011
France
Thirty five years ago today I was flying on Pan Am Airlines from San Francisco to England, then hopping over to France on Air France. Thirty five years! Where has the time gone?
When I was a school girl I envisioned a life of world travel, experiencing different languages and cultures, viewing text book monuments, and eating exotic foods, all before I settled down to raise my own family. So I waited to graduate from High School and then I was off.
Graduating two days before I turned 18, I waited a month, then flew to France to become an Au Pair for a single mom with three children. Nicole was thirty years old and very cool. Lionel, Nicolas, and Natacha were the adorable children that I cared for. The kids and I got along beautifully, even though Lionel, at eleven, was much to old for a nanny, so he told me!
Mami, the grandmother, was the best French cook alive! I’m certain of it! She taught me to cook ratattouie, Boeuf Bourginon, and petites pois. Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
We skiied the alps! Sounds cool, huh? Well, we went to a ski resort in the alps and skiied. Beautiful! OK, I’m ready to go back right now.
Next time, though, I plan on hiking to the top of Mt Blanc and really getting an eye full of the alps!
I stayed in Aix Les Bains for about six months before coming home and will always remember that stay and my French family as one of the greatest times in my life.
Now I must go eat some fromage!
Bon appetite!
Add a comment March 2, 2011
