Oh Holy Night...

I belong to Saint Paul's Episcopal church. This is a scene from our service on Christmas Eve. Music, candles, and prayer made our Christmas worship experience meaningful.

Altrusa International of Evansville Celebrates Forty Years!

Altrusa recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary. This picture was in the Evansville Courier on Sunday. Dr. Maria Hoover (honored guest), Birdie Harrison, Mary Winstead, Barbara Barrett and I are posing for the picture at beginning of the party.
Many people ask me, "What is Altrusa?" So I thought I'd quote the Principles of Altrusa written in 1917 by Mamie L Bass, the first President of this organization.

Altrusa is a builder of women.
Altrusa is an expression of the search for the best in character, in business and in citizenship.
Election to Altrusa is an evidence of confidence which imposes upon the recipient the obligation to strive to be true to the highest standards of life in her personal and business relations.
Altrusa,in the very derivation of its name, is committed to the philosophy of unselfishness, of the joy of giving rather than getting, and to the search for that happiness which is based upon spiritual worthines.
Altrusa is practical idealism. Its service consists not in saying great things, but in daily earnest practice of its principles.
Altrusa commends to its members an active interest in public affairs, realizing that the State is but the individual writ large.
Altrusa develops true leadership, concerned with accomplishment and not with recognition.
Membership carries with it no obligation to transact business with other members. It makes no promise of returns in any commercial species. Its rewards are in proportion to the loyalty, the unselfishness and the character of the member herself.
Altrusa expresses goodwill for all mankind. It emphasizes the good and lets the evil sink into the oblivion it merits.
Altrusa is democratic; it knows no class, no favorites, but is founded upon merit alone.
Altrusa believes that the way to progress lies not in emphasizing the faults of men and their failures to give proper recognition, at times, to women in business, but rather in arousing women to their responsibilities and their possibilities, so that their accomplishments will blaze the trail for greater things.
Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Altrusans must be good for something. Each member must be doing the piece of work that is hers in a way that puts her in the front ranks of accomplishment."

To find out more, you can go to www.altrusa.com or seek us out on Facebook and even on our blog http://altrusa6.blogspot.com . Altrusa does many wonderful things for others, and I can tell you the club here in Evansville is full of some of the warmest, most compassionate people you'll ever find.

Napoleon Peacock was at Washington Square Mall

Napoleon Peacock was at the mall and so were Evansville children with their parents and/or grandparents. Don't tell my kids this, but I've decided I'm looking forward to being a grandmother. Little kids are so much fun! Of course when my children were young there were some days I felt like I'd been hit by a truck I was so worn out. For the most part, though, I had wonderful time. Kids love stories. So do I. Reading with my children was very important to me. I read to them all individually as well as together. They grew to enjoy books and read to this day. We sought out storytimes at the libraries and "Events" similiar to Napoleon Peacock's B.E.S.T. for the Brain Party. B.E.S.T. stands for Breakfast, Exercise, and Sleep Time. Napoleon's party had something for children to do in each of those areas. When people first arrived they were greeted with Create A Breakfast and a Breakfast Walk. There was Scarf Dancing, an Obstacle Course, and the game "Napoleon Says". They also had a Story Telling Tent and a Play Acting Area. That's the sort of thing to involve children in; it means more than you'd think. The kids even got to take home a free book. Napoleon Peacock books are especially nice for those young families living in Evansville because the setting for the stories are from our local area. All I can say is, my children would have loved that! I think Daycare Providers should pay attention to this too! After all, a lot of children spend a fair amount of time at Daycare... Encourage reading and other good habits when they're young and they'll embrace them and treasure them for the rest of their lives.