Snow!

I love snow. It's so beautiful. Even the houses right across the street with the snow covered trees surrounding them, white candles in the windows...so beautiful. The other thing that is great about snow is the FUN!! Oh my goodness...kids know how to have fun. If you ever just listen to their ideas and then try it. Wow, they have it nailed. Ryan was flying down our hill on his tummy and shrieked with laughter when he spun around! My heart stopped for a split second, but it was awesome to hear him have so much fun. Then the girls...Reagan runs and jumps on one and flies down and then there is Becca going it backwards. We tried different spots all piling in the sled. I am so glad I put on my stuff and headed outside. Mind you I don't have snow pants so it may take several hours for my rear to thaw out, but it was totally worth it. Once we all came inside soaking wet, I decided to not worry about the floor and just let everyone disrobe in the kitchen. It's never fun to be the last kid to get undressed while everyone else has moved on. Well, I'd love to write more but there was three cheers for hot cocoa and so I better get making it. God is so awesome to make snow so great for those who just like to look at it, those who get that warm Christmas feel in their hearts and for those who love to have a rockin good time playing in it. Thankfully He made me to love it for all three reasons!

Creating

I was in the mood tonight so I decided to make some cards. They turned out so cute that I wanted to share them with you!! I used Close to My Heart stamp set "All Decked Out" and mostly Twilight, Indian Corn Blue and Black ink. Oh and some Pansy Purple and Sunflower too! This was so much fun.

The Blue Nothing

Communication...it's vital to everyday life. Today was no different than any other day blessed with a child learning to talk. Ryan is learning to tattle. It's really annoying when Rebecca does it because she lives to tell on everyone. She trys to stop but it's like her calling in life and I believe she may need an intervention soon. However, this is new for Ryan and it makes me laugh when I hear from the other room..."I tell mom!" and I hear the pounding of little feet in my direction. "Mommy, Becca crapping" um..what?! "Becca Crapping, I say stop!" Oh well, now I am certainly feeling the need to investigate. Instead of asking Rebecca if she is indeed "crapping" (and when did we start using that word?) I simply ask what is going on. Turns out she was CLAPPING and has since stopped doing so. Well, Whew, and the fact that I was even worried about what that meant should tell you something! Then there is the "Blue Nothing." That came out nice and clear, but what on Earth does it mean? After several guesses and Ryan continuing to say, "blue nothing" I finally follow my own rule and actually look where he is pointing...oh...Blueberry Muffin! LOL I just love this stage and it helps that he is so unbelievably sweet. The other stages are fun too, don't get me wrong, but there isn't anything quite like the Blue Nothing.

Adjusting the Sails

I was thinking the other day about the different stages of life that we go through as we grow and change. Some of us go with the flow, excited for each new change, others dig in their oars and try to prevent anything new from encroaching on their comfort zone. I have discovered that if we don't adjust our sails in life, one day we will look up and realize that we don't know who we are or what we are doing. One way that strikes me most is motherhood. Sometimes it's so easy to get lost in being Mom and Wife and Caretaker, that we completely lose sight of who we are. What do I like? What would I do if I had free time? What does it feel like to be rested? LOL Seriously, though, if we don't learn to adjust to new phases in life we will most certainly become lost. I am already thinking of next fall when my last little one will begin preschool. Part of me is super excited and the other part is sad to see this phase of life end. Most of the time, I love getting to be home and enjoy each child as they learn and grow. I know for a time I'll be sad to see that go and then I will pull out of the parking lot completely "free." It will be time to adjust the sails. If my entire self is wrapped up in my children, husband and family, it may sound noble, but sooner or later I will cease to be the person they love for I will have become lost. I must take the time to nurture myself and the things that I love. My daughter was surprised the other day when I told her that I do in fact like to have fun. That right there is proof that I am guilty of getting lost in the everyday. My children benefit from seeing me do the things I love and when they question my actions I get to enrich their lives with my own experiences. What a gift that is to me and to them. Next time you take time for yourself, don't feel guilty, know that it is necessary to take care of you so you can continue to give so unselfishly to others. It's your quiet offering to your family and your friends and it's amazing. So when a new wind blows, don't fight it. Adjust your sails so you can reach the full potential of the new phase of life as you enter it and most assuredly pass through to the next!

It's My Gift!!

Reagan is a funny girl. Yesterday I took a step back and realized that she has a wonderful sense of humor. More often than not I am all caught up in making sure that she is using manners and being respectful. I am not saying that's bad, but too often I worry about what other people are thinking about her behavior and I miss those moments that make up my daughters personality. She is a beautiful and fun girl. I have never seen anyone be able to make EVERYTHING a game. Sometimes she takes it too far and I get frustrated and question, "Why can't you calm down?" and her response is, "I thought everyone was having so much fun, I didn't want to ruin that." It's amazing what we learn when we actually listen for a different perspective on the same situation. We had company Saturday night and while I was thinking that this man must think our children are hyper-spazes who don't listen, He ended the night by saying, "I am not sure the last time I have seen my son have so much fun!" Wow, what a compliment and all that praise goes right to Reagan, the creator of all things fun. I need to loosen up. Yesterday while Nana and PopPop were over we were all at the table and Reagan had something that made us all laugh. Nana told her she was so funny and Reagan, without missing a beat says, "well what can I say, It's my gift!!" We all laughed some more. She does have a gift. She brings joy and love to the lives of everyone she knows. I still have people, from a group we were involved with last year, still come up to me and tell me how much they miss Reagan's hugs. She has a sense about her and she knows when someone just needs unconditional love. She does have a gift and I am blessed to witness this gift bloom. I see a good many years when I will hold my breath hoping she doesn't cross a line, and being grateful when words escape her, but for the most part I will begin to just enjoy the gift that has been given to me...Reagan

First Snow!!

I am so excited, it snowed last night!! It's enough to cover the grass and trees and it's still coming down. It looks so beautiful out there. It is taking every ounce of self control that I have not to go wake up the kids so they can see too!! I guess the parent of reason is invading my brain telling me the snow won't melt before they get up. Guess I know what I am going to do today...Buy Boots and gloves and maybe an extra sled. Ryan is totally going to have a blast this year!!! I am SO glad we got all of those leaves picked up on Wednesday. That would have been a mess. Well I just had to share. If I can get a good picture of it later, I will post then.

God's Favorite Prayer?

Tonight before bed I was praying with Rebecca. I took a turn, she took a turn. Somewhere in between hoping that God and Jesus had a great day she says this, "God, do you know what I learned today? I learned a song about letters and it went like this..." and she sang the song and told Him how she hadn't heard it before. It wasn't some save the world prayer, but a prayer that I believe embodies what Jesus meant when He said we were to have child like faith. In that moment she spoke to God as if she were talking to someone familiar. Like you would if a grandparent called and asked, "what did you do today?" My heart is just overwhelmed because my daughter is learning that God does in fact "want to know what she learned today." He is a God of relationship not just religious actions. Tonight I got to see first hand a miracle of faith as I peeked at my daughter while she spoke to her Heavenly Father. I know God tells us to come to Him with our petitions, but I bet He especially loves when we come and say, "Guess what I learned today..."

Playing Pretend

Yesterday, Rebecca and I were pretending that she was the teacher and I was the student. It's only her and I in the room. What is funny is that when she wants me to pretend something else, like I am a student of a different name, she whispers so quietly her instructions of what we are doing, that I can barely hear her. She says it as if talking in a normal voice will somehow disrupt this pretend world and someone will discover we are not actually teacher and student! It was quite funny. NOW CLASS PLEASE GET OUT YOUR PAPERS...mommy, pretend you are ava...AND DRAW SOMETHING THAT STARTS WITH "J." LOL She's a crack up too!!

Bing!!

My funny little boy is at it again. I was asking him some questions the other day like, what is this?...Apple, What is that?...tree, What is this?...he pauses...then says, "BING!" So I tell him the answer and he repeats it. Now I am working a theory and sure enough, if he doesn't know the answer he says, "Bing." LOL next question please...I'll take animals for 200. LOL I have no idea where he got that from. Cracks me up to no end though.

Got Leaves??

This is a portion of our back yard. If you look to the right you'll see that one of the three giant trees still has quite a few leaves on it. Well we waited and this past weekend we raked and blew leaves. That took several hours. I have the sore back to prove it!! Once we finally finished we had a pile that is bigger than me!! 15 bags of mulched leaves later we still have a good size pile back there. However, in the mean time, Reagan and the kids and I have had a great time jumping in the pile. I even did a few flips and taught Reagan how. I am so grateful I didn't find a stick to impale me!! LOL As Ron and I were sucking and mulching the leaves, i decided there must be a better way. You'd think my poor husband would know by now that when I try to re-invent a "way" that it's probably not going to work. He was a good sport and tried with me anyway. The leaf blower blows and then there is a different attachment that sucks up the leaves and then blows them into a bag all mulched up. However the bag fills up really fast. So I look at that and think...hmmm....what if we just put a garbage bag on the end then we can just fill it up and not have to stop so often. GREAT IDEA!!! Here is what we failed to consider: The leaf bag is made of heavy material, it actually attaches to the machine and it has a zipper. In hindsight we see how all of these parts are critical. So we take off the bag, Ron holds the garbage bag and I turn on the leaf blower. In less than one second, critical pieces of the leaf bag flash before us as Hurricane force winds whip through the garbage bag creating a tunnel of wind and mulched leaves. After shock wears off, we start to laugh and begin to fumble to turn the darn thing off. Not only is there wind, but flying around us and at us are mulched leaves and sticks. I am sure if a neighbor is looking out their window, they are thinking..."look at those two retards!" We finally get the leaf blower or "leaf condense-a-nator" as we named it, turned off and there we stand; Covered from head to toe in mulched leaves, doubled over in laughter! Without a word, Ron turns and goes to get the proper bag and attaches it. I point out the obvious of how, "I guess that's why you can't do that," and we continue the long process of sucking up the leaves. We are the reason there are warning labels. Someone in the warning label lab must have relatives like us and so they pick their brains and write it down...WARNING DO NOT TRY TO USE A TRASH BAG TO VACUUM/MULCH LEAVES!!!

Feeling Creative

So I've come to terms with the fact that I am not a "creator" but a "copier." Although on first glimpse I decide that I should feel bad about that, I decided it's a waste of time. I am so amazed at what some people can create from a blank piece of paper!! Give me a blank piece of paper and I will stare at it until it turns brown from age. Show me someone Else's idea and I will take that same piece of paper and replicate what I see with a few touches of my own. I'm OK with that. Maybe someday when I am not saying..."Just a minute..." every two seconds I will create something from scratch, but for now I am content gleaning knowledge from true Creators. I made this today.
I wish I had written down the name of the woman who created it (next time I will)but here is my version of this gift bag. I just love this!! I am busy thinking of all of the things you could put in here like candles, coffee, candy, lotion...you get the idea. I am going to make one out of my Christmas paper and see how it comes out. The cool part is there is a small box in the bottom so it doesn't tip over and it gives support to whatever you put in there. Very cool. So thank you to the creator of this project for the chance to make it, your time was well spent!!!

Living in the Present

I read a book recently and the question was posed, "Where do you live? Do you live in the past unable to let go of hurt and pain, or reliving when times were "good?" or do you live in the future worrying about what is to come and what will be? Or do you live in the present enjoying each moment as it comes?" As I thought about this question I realized that I was living in the future but that future was fear based and defined by my past. Let me explain. Based on certain relationships in my life, I was living my present trying to make sure I didn't mess up my future. My relationships with my children have always been a big one. I am always hoping that I don't mess up so much that in the future, to them, I will become an obligation instead of a desire to be with. The hard part of living like that is that we focus so much on what we don't want, that that's exactly what we tend to become. What our eyes focus on begins to consume us. With much prayer and a complete breakthrough, I believe that I have begun to live in the present. I still plan for the future but I don't stress over it. I still look to the past, but as a visit and to see lessons learned, not to live. The joy I have discovered is being able to step back in a present moment and soak it all in. To really experience each emotion and capture the memory in my mind is beyond words. Sunday morning was one of those times. We had just woken up and the kids were piled in our room, laughing and talking. It was calm and not rushed. Then we went downstairs and had a nice breakfast. We topped off the morning by going to church together. That is what a Sunday, in my mind, is supposed to look like. To others it was a nothing special kind of day, but to me it was a glimpse of exactly what I have always wanted for my family. To just enjoy each other and build a lifetime of great moments. The future is built on what I do now, not on imagined fears but present reality. I'm just thankful that I figured it out now, when I hopefully have lots of time, to really live in the present and take in a great life comprised of everyday moments.

Fall Pictures

Well this is for everyone who has been sending hints my way that they would like new pictures of my children. So today as the kids played outside I tried to get a good shot. Here are the ones I got of Rebecca. You will have to tell me which one you like best.
Next are the pictures of Reagan. Trying to get her NOT to pose is a feat in itself. She has a "new look" every year. This year is better than last, but still I tried to catch her natural look because it is by far the best.





Then there is Ryan who appearently has no idea what to do when I say, "look at mommy and smile!" He looks at the ground, the sky, his sisters, basically everywhere but at me. Needless to say I could NOT get a picture of the three of them together, but I think I caught some cool ones of Ry when he didn't know I was watching!

More Candy!!!

Halloween this year was so much fun. We had our friends from last years preschool come over and go with us. We also walked with the neighbors as well. It was a blast getting 5 children ready to go and by the time it was Ryan's turn to get his costume on he was all excited.
Well excited until I had to get something out of the car and he discovered that we were going to walk our street first before we headed over to the "good neighborhood!" He really didn't know what we were doing so we basically drag him to the first door because, darn it, we are GOING to have fun. He wasn't overly impressed and then we had to walk passed the car again so he threw another fit. Ugh.
At the second house he started to notice that when we go to the door something amazing happens...perfect strangers (who we aren't supposed to talk to) give us candy (that we aren't supposed to take from strangers) and mom and dad are happy about this. After the third house he went running to the next yelling, "more can-ne, more can-ne!!" Now you have to picture him in this mouse outfit just bouncing along yelling with tremendous excitement about getting more candy...it was so much fun to watch. I really do hope I remember it always. Rebecca was a cat or leopard or tiger...you get the idea. A cat in very loose terms. Now all that came with this $20 costume was this skimpy, thin leotard. So underneath I made her wear long johns and we found a black boa to put around her neck so she wouldn't freeze to death.
Apparently the costume companies haven't figured out yet that the end of October in most places is rather chilly and that they should make costumes a little warmer so we don't have to bury them beneath coats! Anyway, once we got her make up on and her ears on her head, she was the cutest "cat" I've ever seen. She busied herself trying to eat Ryan since he was a mouse and all. I guess all those episodes of "Tom and Jerry" finally paid off! She had a blast trick or treating until we came to one house.
As she came away from the stairs she calls my name and says, with big tears in her eyes, "Mommy, I just saw the scariest thing and I just don't think I can go on, maybe we should go home!" Did I mention that the girls in my house are a bit dramatic?? So I followed that up with the most unusual example. I replied with, "Rebecca you know how the neighbors have bloody limbs in the front yard?" she says, "yes" I remind her that they are only made of plastic. Now she's feeling a little better...who knew bloody limbs could come in handy? Anyway, I walked a few more houses with her up to the door and then she was fine again. Thank you dear neighbors for the bloody limbs thrown about your yard!! Anyway, she also had a great time.
Reagan was a spider witch.
Now we normally don't do witches or scary things, but this year she had a party to attend. Being all of eight and wanting to not "look like a dork" we splurged a little on her costume. Now I hate spiders, but this was actually pretty...in a spider web sort of way. Anyway, I was so proud of Reagan because she made sure to watch out for all of the little kids. Especially Ryan. She even fell back from the crowd of kids to wait for him and make sure he got his candy. She was kind and thoughtful and for a split second I thought that perhaps I am not COMPLETELY failing as a parent. Thank goodness for those moments because sometimes I wonder what the heck is going on!!!
The next night, Halloween, oh, that's right, yes here we don't trick or treat on Halloween, we do it on an obscure night like...Thursday. Yes we like to do that here so that we can all keep our children up late, feed them candy and then try to wake them up in the morning so their groggy minds can try to learn something. I digress. The party was a hit. Reagan met some new girls and simply had the best time ever.
Now I hope she never goes for the Gothic look, but I couldn't help but think that she was beautiful with the makeup on and I felt like a got a glimpse of the future.
Very weird. All in all we had a wonderful time and I just hope my tired brain will help me remember this year forever. All I have to say is that if you can, walk with a two year old on Halloween night, it will make you smile for days!!

Soooo Old?

I was spending some time with Rebecca the other night at bed time and we were discussing things we wanted to decorate her room with. She requested a bulletin board and when I asked why she replied, "So I can hang all the beautiful things that remind me of you after you die." Not realizing that I was on deaths door I asked her why she thought I was going to die and she said, "I just figured that since you are so old that you were going to die soon." Nice. I guess I need to start using that microderm abrasion a little more often!!! Needless to say, I informed her that I didn't have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel and that I should at least pull through until she's out of school. Yikes..I guess I remember when thirty...something...seemed insanely old. Now it's me... old, old lady.

Monday Madness!!

The title is courtesy of Kathleen...Thank You! What is Monday Madness? Well I have decided that every Monday I will make, I mean give my family the opportunity to try something we don't normally eat. Last week it was Mango, it got mixed reviews. Rebecca said no thank you, Reagan thought it was great...at first and then had her fill, Ryan wouldn't touch it and since he's two...well, oh well, Ron thought it wasn't too bad and I wasn't super crazy about it either. Now I have had it in a jar as strange as that sounds and that was pretty good, so maybe I just didn't get a good one. i don't know. Anyway, tonight's mission: Make Butternut Squash taste good. Of course I went straight to allrecipes.com my favorite recipe site and typed in squash...OK, confession, I didn't know what kind it was. I went to the store saw "winter squash" and thought...we've never had that!! So after a little research, thank you wikipedia and you tube (had to learn how to cut it) I went back to the recipes. So I put butter in the pan, always a crowd pleaser, and threw in some onion...no I did not throw up in my mouth at the thought of that, and let it cook. While that was assaulting my senses, I cut up my squash and then peeled it and then cubed it. The onion is definitely soft now so in goes the squash. Reagan wants to try it raw and I said no. I know you should let them try it, but I know my daughter and I know it's nasty raw and if she tastes it nasty there will be gaging and crying to taste it when it's "good" later. So I'm moving it around, salt, pepper, Cinnamon, nutmeg (yay I finally get to use my pinch of nutmeg from the bottomless jar)and let it work. Oh did I say I was toasting pecans too? So cook until soft...no problem, soft they are, at least most of them, and at the end toss in a tablespoon of brown sugar! That cannot be bad. Oh yeah and the toasted pecans. I give Rebecca a taste and out flare the nostrils and her hand goes over her mouth as she shakes her head, No! Reagan takes a bite and instantly starts negotiating how many bites she will have to eat at dinner time. I go to give her another bite, she politely refuses. Ryan, well I am starting to think that if it's orange, he's not interested, but I am going to try to get him to take a bite. I think it's pretty good. Will I shout HOORAY and make it once a week? No, but I could be a seasonal treat! Ron has not tasted it yet so I will have to come back and edit his response later!! I'll let you know how it goes, oh and in case you are wondering, Reagan only has to eat 5 small pieces...like the size of peanut M&M's. Hopefully she'll live.

Edit: Ron actually thought it was pretty good and ate his portion. When I asked what he thought and he said, "not bad." I figured I'd ask the million dollar question, "Would you eat it again?" When he said yes I fell off my chair. Ryan did not want the mysterious orange food Rebecca was gaging over. Imagine that.

The Cat and The Woodchuck

Our backyard is a sanctuary for animals. We have about 6 different kinds of birds, endless squirrels, A family of 4 bunnies, a woodchuck and occasionally a couple of deer. Every morning, afternoon and evening the bunnies and the woodchuck come out of the trees to eat. I think they are getting ready for winter because you'd think they were all teenage boys as of late. Eating constantly!! Well this morning a orange and white cat decided to join the breakfast club. However, the cat eyeballed the woodchuck (chuck is his name, they all have names but I won't bore you) too long. I know this because instead of keeping everyone on the "take another bite" schedule of our own breakfast, I was watching out the window. Naturally the girls noticed so they came to watch. So here is Chuck watching the cat and the cat is watching chuck and all of a sudden backs start to arch. Hmmm...never seen fat ole Chuck do that before. I decide in my good Mothering to inform the girls that this could go in a bad direction. And because I am such a good mommy I tell them if one attacks the other they are to close their eyes and I will tell them what happens. So now Chuck is trying to do the right thing and walk away...I pointed that out to the kids..."see you should always try to walk away from a fight." Now I am narrating and Chuck says to...fluffy...for lack of a better name (the cat hasn't been around long enough to be named) "fluffy, I don't wanna fight you man...walk away cat." and Fluffy says, "take one more step, chunky, and I'm gonna take you out in front of those kids" Well chuck took another step and, like Ryan does pretends to do something else and then takes off running. He's remarkably fast for the body to leg ratio! Fluffy follows and they chase each other into the trees. Now we are all standing there listening..."you hear anything?" I got three No's and of course one yes. The yes comes from the hypochondriac of the family (no it's not me, I am miss worst case scenario) This person can hear yelps and hisses from the cat and Chuck. OK, I don't think so. We figured we just wait to see who would come out of the trees victorious, but the timer rang and we had to leave for school. I am happy to report that Chuck made his scheduled appearance at dinner time. No sign of Fluffy. I don't think the cat is welcome for meals anymore. I'll let you know if we see him or start to smell a foul smell coming from the trees. Normally my children get to experience mating or birth from nature so this was a nice change of pace!

Home or Hotel?

I recently read a book that asked this question, "Is your house a home or a hotel for your children?" At that time, I was definitely running a hotel. I was doing everything for our kiddos and starting to resent the fact that they expected it. Well after I read this book, things got shaken up!! The girls have regular chores and certain expectations of what they need to do everyday. It has changed our home drastically. A few of the things the girls do are: Empty the dishwasher (Reagan does the dishes, Rebecca does the silverware 2. Help pick up the house at the end of the day 3. Clean up their dirty clothes after a shower 4. do their own laundry and keep their rooms clean with a vacuum and dusting once a week. They do get an allowance, but they can only lose money if I have to do a job for them or if they hire someone else to accomplish their responsibility. At first I wasn't sure how this was going to work, but I have to say it has helped relieve my burden a ton! Anyway, the best part so far is this, yesterday I noticed Reagan's room was getting a touch messy and her bed wasn't made. So I did it for her. It was so cool to see her come home from school go up in her room and yell, "THANKS MOM!" I got the opportunity to bless her instead of feel taken advantage of. That has been awesome. It has given me joy back in surprising them with a job already done! The other great thing is we have started giving them allowance. They are a bunch of savers!! LOL No one wants to spend their money now that they are seeing it add up. It's cool to watch them learn that not everything is worth having. Lastly, I have to tell you about Ryan who is picking things up just by watching. Lately his favorite past time is to play in the sink. With a stool he can reach to turn the water on and play. Last night I let him play for a while so he got out some cups and was having a grand time. At some point he decided while he was there he would brush his teeth. So I told him to brush his teeth and then he needed to be done. I could not believe it when I walked in the bathroom after he was done...we'll I couldn't believe he actually turned the water off the first time I asked!...He had put all of his cups away and done his 2 year old best to clean up without me asking!! That was so cool. Is it really possible that I am going to end with an easy child??? I guess the lesson that I have learned is that I can do everything for everybody thinking I am being a great mom and in the process burn myself out into a resentful mess. Or I can delegate some of the responsibilities to my children and give them a happy mom and teach them to contribute to our family. When the choice is home or hotel, we remember quickly that a hotel is only fun for so long but it always feels great to come home!

Back to School

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything. The beginning of the school year is always a little crazy. I started to realize just how lax our routine had become over the summer. Now we have our feet under us again and things are running nice and smooth. The first day of school is always interesting. Each child deals with it differently and I find myself dealing with each of their emotions all at once. Reagan is always nervous.
She is so much like me. She sat at the breakfast table unable to eat because the inevitable stomachache had shown up. I couldn't say I blamed her because I had the same one. I was busy hoping she'd like her teacher and that she would find a friend in her class, and countless other thoughts that every parent of every child has. Then there was Rebecca just as excited as ever.
Not a care in the world just ready to get going. The ache in my heart was for her. The fact that she is growing up faster then I can keep up with gives me that ache in my chest. For her I hoped that she would find her class room. She seems so small to me, yet the confidence she has makes me so proud! We are two weeks in and everyone is doing great. Reagan pulls out her daily homework and gets it done right after school. It helps that the neighbor and I have a deal and both of our children must do their work before they can play. It works wonders. Rebecca is doing so well at getting ready for school and coming home and telling me everyday that, "someone has homework!" however it is NEVER her...always me. LOL Before I know it all three will be getting on that school bus and I am told that I will rejoice. For now, I nurse the ache in my heart knowing that being a parent will always be bitter sweet and it will always go too fast in some ways and not fast enough in others. I am just thankful that I get to be here to witness their lives. That is truly the best gift I've ever been given.
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Getting Creative

Well I finally took some time to create something!! This is a desk calendar for 2009! In the blank areas I can put pictures of my family or a trip or nature or whatever. I am super pleased with how this turned out. Ron wants me to make him one, but I need to make it a little more masculine!! Wouldn't want him to get picked on for the girly calendar!!