Talking to Strangers

I'm going to express how I truly feel about something and I really hope that people will take this to heart!

When I was little, maybe four or five my parents taught me something very important, Do not talk to strangers!

If someone other than my parents were picking me up for school, I would ask them for the password and if they didn't know it, I knew that it wasn't OK to leave with them. If my sisters and I were playing outside, one of our parents was there with us. I don't know that I ever fully understood why we had a password or why we were under constant supervision but I now appreciate all my parents did to protect me when I was younger.

I am completely disturbed by the number of sex offenders in our country (over 600.000) and in South Carolina alone there are over 11,000!!! Hello, there is a major problem here!

Also, the number of missing children is out of control as well! 800,000 children younger than 18 are missing each year, or an average of 2,000 children reported missing each day.

I know a large number of the missing children are abducted by a family member or someone they know and this statistic does include runaways but even still we should be so careful!

If you do any of these things I'm about to mention...reevaluate! I understand that you can't always keep and eye on your children or protect them constantly but I believe that we should do as much as we can to protect them and then all that is left to do is to trust God.

First, we aren't living in the 50's or the 60's or for that matter even the 90's! You must not let your kids roam the toy section at Wal-Mart alone, or walk home from school alone, or play outside without supervision! It takes just a second for someone to kidnap a child! (Most females who are abducted are murdered within 24 hours).

Secondly, don't have a double standard! Don't tell your kids not to talk to strangers and then post their name and gender on the back of your car, or for that matter just their gender!!

When I see these stickers I think about just how much information has been given! All some creep would have to say to your child is, "Oh, Izze I found your cat Tigger, you should come with me!" I mean really! or Hi, Jonah, I'm know your dad Pete we are good friends!" In my opinion, this is the equivalent of serving your child to a predator on a silver platter!

I know some people are going to think that this is not a reality but it is dangerous and you really can not trust other people!

Know what your kids are doing online and on their cell phones!

Parents should have the passwords to their kids Facebook and Myspace accounts. If they don't want you to have the passwords, they shouldn't have the privilege of using the Internet. I also think parents should keep track of who your kids are texting and and talking to no instant messenger! Having a cell phone and using the Internet are both privileges and the parent should have total control!

Also, know who your kids are hanging out with and know the parents of the kids your children are hanging out with! Along these same lines, if you use daycare ask if they do background checks on all the workers and do your own background checks if necessary. In the past I would get so mad at my parents when I was a teenager because there were times that they would say "No, you can stay the night with that person", or "I don't think you should hang out with them." I understand now that my parents knew a lot more about the situation than I did and though I was ungrateful then I am so thankful now!

Lastly, Talk to your children ask them questions. Let them know that they can talk to you about anything.

I know that I am not a parent but I feel like people are underestimating the dangers that face our children today! Take this to heart and please keep your children close!

I love Fall!

I know its been way too long since I've posted but I'm back!

I love this time of year for several reasons:

• This is the time of year I met Tim
• Its getting cooler outside
• The leaves are changing
• Thanksgiving and Christmas are around the corner!

The fall season makes me think about traditions. I love how each family has their own way that they celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love how marriage allows you to merge family traditions and even create new ones. God is so good to give us all the blessing of marriage and family.

Last year was our first year of marriage and we started what I hope becomes a long time tradition of ours,,,carving pumpkins. Last year was fun but I chose the most difficult pattern for my pumpkin... lesson learned. I chose a much easier pattern this time around it worked! Tim carved a skull and cross bones and I carved and spooky cat.
Our pumpkins for this year!

Leaving on a jet plane...

As I mentioned in my last blog, Tim's grandad has gone Home to be with the Lord. So this weekend we will be traveling to Oklahoma... please pray for safe travel.

Tim and I have only been together for a year and three months... and since I meet Tim I have become quite the traveling lady. In the past year and three months I have I've made like six flights to three different states not including connecting flights and one flight to Mexico for our awesome honeymoon! I've been to Oregon twice, Texas, California, Mexico and the next stop is Oklahoma. I love going different places it fun and exciting but I really hate packing and flying.

For me packing is not an easy task... you have to plan ahead and I'm not exactly a planner. I normally don't know what I'm going to wear until about twenty minutes before I'm leaving for an event... work, shopping or whatever it is I'm going to be doing. So to avoid over packing you have to kind of pick out what you are wearing for the week or how ever long you are going to be traveling! I don't enjoy this part of going on trips at all!

Next up is flying... it not all that bad but to be honest I have never really been comfortable on a flight... if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Lastly, When going on a trip I feel like the house needs to be clean, so before I leave I need to clean the house. I hate coming home to a mess.

I need to stop this blogging and start planning to pack and clean.

I hope everyone enjoys their Thursday!

New Year 2009!

For starters... Christmas was amazing as usual at the Roberts' house. We really missed my grandpa though because he had to be in the hospital. He is now in a rehabilation nursing home and doing so much better, he will be home in no time.

Though it was mine and Tim's first new year as a married couple we didn't really have any big plans. Tim made a trip to Oklahoma to see his grandpa and he made it back to SC just in time to ring in the new year... though we missed it by three minutes because we both fell asleep on the couch. Oh well, Dick Clarks Rockin' New Years Eve is losing it charm.

Please keep Tim and his family in your prayers. On January 13th his Grandpa Jared passed away. We will be making a trip out to Oklahoma for the funeral this weekend. So please pray for safe travel for all of the family, as we are literally spread out all over the country.

It has been a really busy start to the New Year! Not only with our personal lives but with our jobs as well. In our line of work (higher education), the start of a new semester is always busy and interesting to say the least. Tim is also very busy finishing up his last few classes for this year, so that is keeping him really busy. At least he will be getting a short break from April until June. Then he only has one year left until he has is Masters!!!!!I'm so proud of him!

Though we have been really busy we have made the time to join the YMCA and start working out! We are also trying to eat healthier... the key word there is trying. I hope we can lose all of our newlywed weight gain!

I hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far... and I'm going to trying to keep up with this blogging so everyone will know the happenings of the Jared household!


Happy 2009!

Christmas, Christmas Time is Near

I am so excited about Christmas! We decorated our tree this past week, and I must say it is so cute! While Tim and I were in Oregon for Thanksgiving we did a lot of our shopping (taking advantage of no sales tax)! We still have a few gifts to pick up here and there and I can't wait to finish up!

I love that Christmas is full of fun traditions... every year on Christmas Eve we all get together and eat nick knacks (sausage balls, crackers and cheese, finger sandwiches, chicken fingers, and the list could go on). Then the sisters exchange gift and now it will be the sisters and brother in laws! I love that our family has grown and how having more people around makes the season even better!

On Christmas day we still wake up around 7am, even though all of us are in our 20's we are all kids at heart! We go into to the living room to find that Santa has left us gifts... we open those and talk about what we received, while thanking everyone for the wonderful gifts. Then comes the best part of all we have a wonderful breakfast and then just a few hours later we have Christmas dinner! Normally everyone falls into a temporary coma for several hours before for we all head out to the movies! We go to the movies every year on Christmas day, the movie this year is Marley & Me. I am so excited about spending time with my family during Christmas!

Weekend Plans

I know its only Monday, but I am so excited about the weekend! On Friday, I'm leaving work at lunch time and Tim and I are headed out to stay at The Red Horse Inn. The Red Horse is a bed and breakfast I worked at during college. Thanks to the owners Roger and Mary for the free nights stay as a wedding gift to us! When I worked there I always said that one day when I got married, I would bring my husband back to stay at the inn. Its in Tryon, SC and its so beautiful! The stay at the Red Horse will only being our fun weekend. I'm off on Monday and Tuesday for Clemson's fall break and for election day (GO VOTE!). So on Monday, we are heading down to Atlanta to hang out for a couple of days, we are going to Ikea of course and on Tuesday we plan on touring the CNN building... though I wish it were Fox News I'm sure I will enjoy the tour. We also have plans to go to the New World of Coke. I'm so excited about getting out of town and spending some time in the city!!!

Thankful...

So... I feel that I've been very slack when it comes to blogging... sorry... I'll do better.

This past month has been busy but I'm not sure why... weeks seem to blur together sometimes. My 25th birthday has come and gone and I don't really feel older, but I don't like that I'm 5 years from 30 :( I had a great birthday and each year I'm reminded how wonderful my family is... they all treated me like a queen... which I totally don't deserve.

I'm so thankful for all the wonderful people God has placed in my life.