It's a GIRL!!!

Congratulation to Bethany Elrod!! She just found out that she and Josh are having a baby girl!

Choices

Tarsha from the Holly Springs Office sent me this email. I had read it before but I always like to remember that we have a choice every morning!! Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply: 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant Why? Because Jerry was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him 'I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time.. How do you do it?' Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life.' 'But it's not always that easy,' I protested. 'Yes it is,' Jerry said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations.. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.. It's your choice how you live your life..' Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business. He left the back door of his restaurant open And then in the morning, he was robbed by three armed men. While Jerry trying to open the safe box, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied. 'Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared' I asked? Jerry continued, 'The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man.. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,' said Jerry. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything.' 'Yes,' to bullets, I replied. Over their laughter, I told them: 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' 'Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it. The only thing that is truly yours - that no one can control or take from you is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.

Way to go Okolona!!

By now everyone should know how important goals are to Luke and the company. We set quarterly goals to encourage everyone to set their own personal goals. Crystal Dabbs set her own goal of having $100,000 loaned out in Okolona. With Crystal's hard work and the help of Nicole and Bea she met this goal. Way to go ladies! Keep up the hard work!!

Vernon CAD !!!

It was hot outside, but it was fun!! We served 200 hotdogs with smiles. We had a great crowd. We even had an officer stop by for a couple of hotdogs and he visited with us for about 30 minutes.

Charlon please tell your mother, Delores, thank you for helping us. Despite the heat, she greeted customers and helped keep everything clean. We enjoyed her company.

Janna

That Time AGAIN?????

This weekend when I was out buying supplies for our brand new kitten (thanks to one of my daughter's friends), I noticed that there are school supplies EVERYWHERE. It's probably a good time to dust off the old school supplies flyer and mail it out. By the way, way to go Heather and Tasha! Talk about the fast track to the goal!! :-) I am WAY happy for ya! Ya'll have a WONDERFUL week and remember, only YOU can make you happy!!! Yvonne

Must Be In The Water......

CONGRATULATIONS JOHNNA!!!!

A little birdie told me that Johnna became Mrs. Jeffrey Coffee yesterday afternoon. Congratulations to the happy couple!!

Yvonne

BABY UPDATES

Here is a picture of Lyla, Bellena's little bundle of joy. She is happy and well and Bellena is enjoying motherhood with her two little angels! Stefanie says that her little one is doing well.

Congratulations Jessica Steele! She found out yesterday that she is having a boy and Bethany finds out at the end of the month. We will keep you posted!

Yvonne

Normally, I do not open e-mails that my mom fowards me. They are usually long but for some reason I opened this one and would like to share it with you. Subject: FW: WE ALL NEED A TREE I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had justfinished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work,his electric drill quit and his ancient one ton truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in tomeet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a smalltree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation.. His face was wreathedin smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked me to the car. We pas sed the tree and my curiosity got thebetter of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. 'Oh, that's my trouble tree,' he replied 'I know I can't help having troubles on thejob, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wifeand the children.. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come homeand ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again.' 'Funnything is,' he smiled,' when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren'tnearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before. ' THIS ONE IS WORTH SENDING ON. God Bless, Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance. We all Need a Tree! Kim :)

We want to wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!! Enjoy your long weekend!

Yvonne, Kim, Janna and Bridget