Ray's House of Love Party

And his last name is Willis! I think you guys are long lost twins.

Nice picture, William!

Ray, I just read some of those posts of Denise's. I hadn't realized she said those things. That's too bad.

maestrowork said:

Celeste, it was unfortunate. Start with this thread (post #6) and read on. But that's not the whole story... You can click on her profile and do a search on her most recent posts.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12011&page=1

Click to expand...

Whoa! I wasn't expecting that.

Very nice family, William.

Ray, after you posted the link, I went to the Texas thread again. That and other posts by Denise is why I quit reading the thread. I happen to like many people on this board, whether I've met them or not, and I felt her comments were totally out of hand.

Unfortunately for many, you've guided me back to a thread in which I was warned to stay away from. I've spent this entire time reading every post since you posted the link.

What a discussion! As I've stated to you and Sara, don't get me started when it comes to politics and religion. Uh oh. I should have stayed away.

Oh oh. I hope whatever I said in that thread did not disturb you too much.

No not at all. Actually nothing said by anyone in the thread disturbed me. The topic of politics, rights, religion, and government involvement are the disturbing factors to me. I even got a few chuckles out of the entire reading process. I tend to mother people, so it's probably better I stayed out of the thread until after Denise was banned. Some may not have liked my tactful words I would have used to put her in her place with the way she used derogatory statements against people in general and Jenna herself.

But I do have a few good "facts" to post when I write my brainstorm and let it stew for a bit before posting.

William - What an awesome picture. Really lovely. (But I promise - I won't dishonor those nice words with an emoticon, even though I really want to include one here.)

Hi Jill

thanks guys. actually it's not family without mom. (we rarely get to be in the picture together; one of us is usually behind the camera)

You have a beautiful family, William!

William,
You need a tripod. They're only $20 at WalMart. You need to get the entire family in one pic. Wonderful family. No smilies, but real big grins for you.

Adorable, precious and invaluable. You're blessed, I'm sure.

I understand (or I think I understand) how Joanne feels about discussing politics and religion. I tend to be very passionate about certain topics and I'm very stubborn, so it's usually better for me to simply keep my mouth shut. I have seen certain topics discussed and even though I really wanted to say something, I didn't.

Now, at home is a different thing. If I'm with my family, people who know me well, I'm pretty willing to give my opinion, say what I have to say. And sometimes it does get heated. I always try to be tactful, phrase things very carefully.

I noticed on one thread that Denise mentioned she'd been drinking so that probably had something to do with her attitude/state of mind.

I was going to post a pic of The boys & me, but can't find a good one to post right now, but I gotta show you the new avatar I made of myself. I was funnin' around with photoshop and was going to use this as my avatar, but I'm having that problem getting the pic to upload again. Anyway...I put two sides of my face together. Check it out!

Ain't I gorgeous! LMAO!!

My thought is, we can always discuss anything as adults... but we should always show respect for others and be willing to agree to disagree when things get heated. When we find ourselves being pushed over the edge, that's when we should chill, back down, and think twice before we say something... at least that's what I try to do. Sometimes I can get carried away, BUT I'd never get down to personal attacks or childish behavoir...

But I think it's important for us to be heard, if we have something important to say. Whether the other people agree or not doesn't really matter to me.

That's how I look at things.

Kate, my family doesn't even like my comments on these subjects. I have very strong feelings about certain issues and I'm not one bit afraid to state them. Sometimes I'm not very tactful with my suggestions for altering certain individuals for crimes they've committed.

You look like my 3rd grade teacher, Celeste. Boy I had such a crush on her.


LOL

LOL, Ray

LMAO!!!

Celeste - We love you just the way you are - with or without a symmetrical face!

Ray, thanks. I just spent five minutes reading the Texas thread and having my eyeballs dried from being in a state of shock.

I'm sorry that Denise got banned, but she was disrespectful to Jenna and to everyone else. I just hope things quiet down soon.

I don't like discussing politics or religion. Both are sore issues with me, especially religion. I have a tendency to get into people's faces about their idea of values.

Anyway....one a lighter note. William, you have a wonderful family. I bet they're proud of you.

-Elaine

My thought is, we can always discuss anything as adults... but we should always show respect for others and be willing to agree to disagree when things get heated. When we find ourselves being pushed over the edge, that's when we should chill, back down, and think twice before we say something... at least that's what I try to do. Sometimes I can get carried away, BUT I'd never get down to personal attacks or childish behavoir...

Click to expand...

I agree with you, Ray. And I also understand what Joanne and Kate are saying. I'll never forget having an all night and all morning debate with a close friend about abortion. We kept going round and round and neither of us was going to change his or her mind. But I never, ever, ever wanted to stop him from responding, so long as the debate continued in a way that showed he was listening to me - even though he disagreed with me - and I showed him that what he had to say was important to me, even though I didn't agree with it.

How else do we learn anything about the world outside ours if we don't listen and ask and listen some more?

Ray and Jill.