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Monday, April 19, 2010

Around Mumsys is our guest on Blogazine!

I have to be one of the luckest bloggers in the world to keep receiving such great stories from all of you! This story will be one you want soon forget and neither will you forget the sweet lady that was kind enough to share it with us. Would you believe we share the same name Maggie! So welcome lovely Maggie to Blogazine and into your hearts!





I am new to Blogger and by no means am I on the same level as the wonderful blog writers I have found here. I told my hubby the other day how much I love reading the blogs on Blogger, but since starting mine i feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I am not a writer, I do not make and/or sell anything nor do I do any of the other things that I have found some of you do who blog here. I have seen the results of a lot of great talent on all the blogs I have visited.
I was surprised and a little nervous but I felt honored when Maggie asked me to write about myself for her Blogazine. Thank you, sweet Maggie.

My name is also Maggie. My oldest son began calling me “Mumsy” many years
ago so I use that name for all my online activities.

I knew at a very young age and dreamed of what I wanted to do when I grew up, most of which came to pass but not in the way I thought that it would. I wanted to have a wonderful, handsome husband, 12 children and be a nurse.
I started trying to fulfill that dream at a very young age. I married at 16 against my mother’s wishes and advice. That marriage ended after 10 years with the only good thing coming from it being a wonderful son. My ex took our son and left the state where we were living. With the help of a lady in our governor’s office I finally found him after 20 years. There is no way to describe the feeling I had when I held that man in my arms. He was 8 years old when he was taken from me and 28 when I saw him again. I only gave birth to the one son and after miscarrying and having to have a hysterectomy at the age of 29 I thought my dream of having 12 children had been crushed, but it hadn’t, my children were just going to come to me in a different way than I expected them to.

My first time to help a child was when I was about 11 years old, my sister was 9. There was a little girl who was probably between 2 and 3 years old that we would see on the street near our home now and then. We did not know where the little girl lived. She was always dirty and her hair was all in tangles. One day I told my sister that we were going to clean that little girl up. We took her inside our house, gave her a bath, washed and ironed her dress, shampooed and fixed her hair then put her back out on the street where we found her. We never saw the little girl again after that. Today I would never dare do anything like that for I am sure I would be accused of kidnapping or be sued for something. It was a summer day in 1950 when we cleaned that little girl up.

I moved back to Arkansas after my marriage ended and started a new life. A man I worked with kept telling me that I would get along well with his cousin and kept asking me to double date with him, his lady friend and his cousin. I was pretty much down on men coming out of an abusive marriage and kept refusing the invitation. He told me that his cousin looked like Kirk Douglas and he was the sweetest guy I would ever meet. After several months of him not giving up on asking me I finally told him if he would promise to leave me alone about dating for ever after I would go out one time with his cousin.

The four of us went out one Saturday night. The only thing about his cousin that looked like Kirk Douglas was the way he combed his hair, but he was right about the guy being the sweetest one I would ever meet. We saw each other every night and some days after that and married 6 months later. That was over 40 years ago and we are still together and enjoy life very much. My hubby and son were abandoned by his first wife. His son was a teenager when we married, he and I got along from the get go and have a wonderful relationship still.

After we had been married 3 years we became foster parents for the state of Arkansas and for our local humane society. We fostered children for a little over 18 years and adopted 5 of our foster children.

Most of the children we took in were special needs children. After the first few years we only parented and cared for drug babies, severely physically abused babies, sexually abused babies, aids babies, babies who were not expected to live long or had extreme disabilities and those that were failure to thrive. That brought about my wish to become a nurse. I do not have a degree in nursing but I have been taught many procedures and care tactics that are performed by nurses. I learned about disorders, diseases, machines and medical terms and issues that I never knew existed until we began caring for those precious little babies with little or no hope of living for long or at all.

We saw many children find loving adoptive parents, some reunited with biological parents and some went to live with grandparents or other relatives. We still see and hear from some of them once in awhile. I still remember every child well and miss them and think about them often.

We are now retired from fostering children and my hubby has retired from carrying the mail. We still take in animals we find in need of a home if we have the room and the means to care for them although we no longer foster for the humane society either. Enough of those sweet critters find their way to us without us being foster parents. We now have 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 guinea pigs and a hamster that keep us entertained.
Hubby and I enjoy working in the yard and piddling around the house. We have 5 wonderful grands, 3 boys and 2 girls and 2 precious great grands a boy and a girl.

My cup of dreams is running over with much more than I could ever have hoped for, I have a terrific hubby, 7 children and those precious grands. I was blessed to have cared for 117 precious foster children and as many or more sweet critters. Then to find such wonderful people here at Blogger, the blessings just keep coming. I love life and I am so thankful for everyone and everything that I share it with.

Mumsy’s Place http://flashpages.prodigy.net/millmag/Index.htm is my personal website where I have true stories about some of the children and critters if you would be interested in learning more about me and my life and then I also have my blog here on Blogger http://aroundmumsys.blogspot.com/

Borrowing the words from a song…who could ask for anything more?

Wow what a genuine loving person to come into our lives. Aren't we lucky to have met this Maggie today? I can not thank you enough Maggie for writing this for all of us. You are a blessing!

Remember everyone has a story to tell and we would love to read yours on one of the Blogazine post. So don't be shy send in your story to grandmayellowhairsblogazine@gmail.com....  be sure and include a picture too.

Love to all
Maggie

28 comments:

Janet Metzger, Artist said...

Wow...what a fabulous woman! Thank you for bringing her to our attention...we all need to hear uplifting stories like hers. I will be checking out her blog...;-)

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Hi Maggie,
Thank you for bringing the story of this amazing woman's life into our world. She has so much love in her heart and it oozes out of evey word she spoke.
She is truly blessed and is an inspiration to all of us.

hugs
Sissie

Arkansas Patti said...

What a lovely person with such a big heart. Thanks for the intro. Will check her out.

Linda said...

I'm so glad we got to meet another 'Maggie'! What a precious, giving, loving woman. Thanks for telling us your story!

Unknown said...

Maggie,
what a great story, there certainly are some very compassionate people out there. Good job finding them. Blessings Meg

Jane Carlstrom said...

Mumsy Maggie, So glad to meet you. Hmmm, I think you write beautifully. Sharing your life with foster children and now via blogs is a precious gift. Hugs, Jane

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful story of real life with real sorrows and real triumphs. Mumsy, those kids were lucky to get you as their mom.

Debby said...

Hi Maggie. Another great story and another wonderful Maggie. Thanks for sharing. I will check out her sites. Hope your week goes well.

Andrea said...

You are truly a blessing to everyone your life touches...I praise GOD for the internet...You are touching so many!
Hugs, andrea

Anonymous said...

What a lovely lady! Inside and out.
Thanks for sharing, the both of you!
Suz in the Tules

Bunnym said...

WOW! Maggie, I think you have plenty to blog about. What a wonderful and caring person you are and I truly admire you and your devotion to children and animals. I will check out your blog this morning.

Maggie May...thanks again for bringing such wonderful people to our attention. Had it not been for you, we never would have met these great bloggers and heard their stories.
Hope you and Pearl are doing well.

tootles,
bunny

lostworld said...

That was such a positive story. So much hope!! May God bless Maggie - both of you. I love happy endings and I'm so happy for Maggie - may her cup of dreams keep brimming forever and ever. We need more like Maggie!!

p.s.- I love your blog. It IS the cutest blog on the block :-D

Susan Anderson said...

I LOVED reading this. No wonder the face of your guest "Maggie" looks so open and loving.

I will be visiting her blog very soon. And boy, am I glad I found yours! (Thanks, Lisa.)

=)

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

What a beautiful lady with an amazing story. Thank you Maggie once again to bring us to another fabulous blogger. I will be sure to pop over to meet her.

You girl, have yourself a wonderfully blessed weed!!!

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Mumzy sounds like such a wonderful woman. What a lifetime of service and dedication!
I love her dimples.

Cherrie said...

Another great guest; thank you for introducing her to us!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, sweet Maggie for sending all the wonderful ladies who have come to visit my blog today as a result of your Blogazine. I have been visiting them and I sure hope I have not forgotten any of them. Everyone has great blogs.

Hope your day has been a good one. Leaving you lots of warm hugs. You are such a blessing to us all!

Diane at Crafty Passions said...

Hi Maggie !

Your guest today sounds like a wonderful person ! Talk about dedication !
I received your pans and they are lovely, I made french toast on the griddle, they were delish !!
Thank you so much !!!
Diane

sjmcdowell said...

Maggie,

Thank you Maggie for having this wonderful lady share her wonderful and heartwarming story with all of us. When life gives you lemons then make lemonade!! What a wonderful world this would be if we had more Maggies like the both of you!!!

God Bless All,

Susan

Sniffles and Smiles said...

What a lovely story...Thank you, both Maggies! This was a really encouraging and uplifting post! ~Janine XO

Vicki/Jake said...

Must be the name.....
Thanks for sharing this awesome lady and I'll go visit her next. Still in the moving mode and will be so glad to be done with it!

I'll be back blogging in the normal mode soon..

Know I think of ya always (o:

Libbie said...

Hey there...Maggie it is so true that every woman has a story to tell...what a beautiful story today indeed! I love her already! I better get over & visit her :)

Maggie I loved your last message! I am glad you know I love you so much!!!! Maybe we should all chip in & hire topless men to clean that place of your rightup...now that would cheer a gal up :)

Jenny said...

What a great post! I came to say Hi from Diane who is so excited about her Paula Deen prize and I find this wonderful post!

Thank you!

Oh, and "HI!"

Melanie said...

LOVED reading your story! Wow, that is amazing. You have certainly inspired me! May God continue to bless you richly.

with love,
Melanie

Dandelion and Daisy said...

Just discovered your blog...what a great idea, there are indeed so many wonderful woman doing great things and "Mumsy" is a great example. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to take care of that many sick children and what big hearts both she and her husband have.

June said...

Maggie it is such a treat to be able to read about Maggie's life. I am in awe of all she has accomplished in her life and think she must be one special lady.
Thanks for bringing her story to us.
hugs

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

This was a treat to read about another Maggies life. What a wonderful blessing she is to everyone lucky enough to have her in their life. Now we are blessed to be able to get to know her through her lovely site.
Thanks again Maggie for writing this for all of us.
Love
Maggie

Carole Burant said...

This world needs more people like Maggie. What a wonderful caring and loving person she is. Those children and animals are so blessed that they had her in their lives. This really is a feel good story:-) xoxo