Put Them All Together, They Spell 'MOTHER'

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

~Abraham Lincoln

Happy Easter

"The greatest man in history had no servants, yet they called Him Master.  He had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.  He had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.  He had no army, yet kings feared Him.  He won no miliary battles, yet He conquered the world.  He committed no crime, yet they cruified Him.  He was burried in a tomb, yet He lives today."

Happy Valentine's Day!

I spent the morning with my mom, laughing over Starbucks coffee, the afternoon with 17 of the coolest first graders this side of the Seneca and the evening with my fellas.

Perfect!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Forgiveness

In my life I have made mistakes.  I have made poor decisions.  I have done or said things that were inappropriate and down right wrong.  I am not perfect.

I have tried, with each poor decision, to learn a lesson.  Some lessons have been easier to learn then others.  I am still trying.  I am not perfect.

I have made peace with mistakes I have made and in turn found forgiveness from others.  I have owned up to my wrong doings and forgiven myself.  Some forgiveness is harder to achieve then others.  I am not perfect.

I have forgiven those who have wronged me.  In realizing I am not perfect I have learned that others are not perfect either. 

These are some of the most beautiful lessons that life has taught me. 

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." -Buddha

On Hearts and Happiness

Jakob and I made wax paper hearts today after school.  It was so easy, even for me, a totally uncrafty gal.  Jakob thought it was totally neat.  They turned out beautiful and now decorate all of our windows.   They make me happy and help chase away the February Blues.

Earlier today Aaron and I took a trip to WalMart for some groceries.  It was a sweet little mid-day date and we laughed at how lame it was that we were calling a trip to WalMart a "mid-day date".  It was cold and the wind was whipping around really hard but we were happy in our warm car with our hot cups of coffee.

At the moment Aaron and Jake are snuggling in the family room watching Mario cartoons while I start dinner.  My life makes me happy. 



Last night at bedtime Jakob told Aaron and I how he was so glad to be alive and that he loved his life. 

Me too sweetheart, me too.

Aaron

You are Truth.

You are Brilliance and Love.

You are Passion.

You are Honestly and Sincerity.

You are Strength.

You are Kindness and Patience.

You are Laughter and Happiness.

Happy 38th Birthday, my Love.

We Can All Make A Difference!

Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation

Christmas came and Christmas went.  It was lovely. 

As lovely as the holidays were, I was so glad to have de-cluttered and de-Christmased my home. 

Marching forward into a brand new year with a fresh new start.

We have assumed control.  We have assumed control. 

We have assumed control.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Lights, Lights

And more lights!

My Grandmother's Nativity

Just a couple, three, four of my favorites

A owl in our tree

Star of Wonder!

The Greatest Part of the Season

Jakob is so excited that Christmas is just a few short days away.  It's all he talks about.  It's adorable.  While I was in the shower, through the closed bathroom door, he told me of his grand plan to wake up on Christmas Eve, sneak out of his room, into the hallway, through the kitchen to the family room in order to catch ol' Saint Nick in the act.  He stood there for a solid ten minutes talking...he's six, that's a looooong time.  Then when he was finished he paused a moment and said..."Oh no!  Do you think Santa HEARD me?"

I love that picture I snapped of him just a bit ago.  I wish I could tell you he was watching a sweet Christmas movie but he's playing Mario Super Smashbros.  I will tell you though the sweetest thing about it is he is singing  Santa Claus is Coming to Town on the top of his lungs, in funny, different voices.

The magic is the greatest part of the season.

This Just In...

It's Freakin' Freezing!

The Craziness of the Holiday Season

Yesterday I took Jakob to the mall to see Santa.  He was so nervous to see the Big Man that one would have thought he was atop the naughty list, which he is not by any means, but once he saw St. Nick all his fears were gone. 

It wasn't until we left the mall and had to make a pit-stop at Starbucks, because I NEEDED a Peppermint Mocha Jakob had to pee, did all that nervous energy come seeping out of his pores.  He couldn't even help himself.  It was like watching someone shake a bottle of Pepsi and popping the lid. 

As for me, I had a jolly good time watching him be so goofy and at times forgetting to use his inside voice.  And we laughed and laughed until tears ran down our faces.

Distracted

Woke up burried in snow.  School was called on its account, so  we got to stay in our jammies a little bit longer.  I spent the better part of 2 hours getting up to the hospital where my mom was having surgery.  The hospital is forty five minutes away most days. 

I sat with my father and my siblings, happy we were all able to be up there with him and for her.  I got to see her in her lovely blue hair cover...blue is definately her color.  Told her I loved her, kissed her good-bye and wished her good luck. 

Unfortunately I couldn't stay as long as I would have wanted to because Aaron had to be to work and Jake was unexpectedly home from school.  So I had to turn around and head back out into the blistery winter day.  Two hours later I got home and Aaron went off to work.

Jakob was playing video games but I could tell he was easily distracted.  As if someone from outside was whispering his name.  Finally he asked to put on his snow gear and head outside.  I was so glad for the distraction. 

I watched him make a make-shift sledding hill and listened to him giggle in delight.  All of a sudden I remembered how it felt, how you'd leave your belly somewhere halfway down your little hill and giggle the rest of the way down.  Snow tickles.

I lost myself out there for a little while.   Forgot that I was thirty five and laughed like I was six.  Three hours passed and I decided it was time to come in for soup.   I was so glad for the distraction.

Cold

The snow hasn't stopped since early this morning.  It's that heavy, wet kind of snow.  The kind that is hard to shovel.  The kind that makes me pray that I have a tube of icey/hot in the medicine cabinet.

The kind of snow that makes you grateful for not having anywhere to go and a fridge full of food.

The kind of snow that makes everything look brand new.  Untarnished.

Magic

Yesterday the wind was relentless.  It whipped and it howled and brought with it fridged temperatures.  It was toasty inside.  I put on a big pot of soup that we warmed ourselves with all day.  After cleaning, which seemed to last forever, I went down to the basement, dusted off the Christmas bins and decided it was as good a day as any to start decorating for the holiday.  Besides it had been snowing all day.  Nothing says Christmas more then the first snow on the day after Thanksgiving.

Jakob was in heaven.  Each box he opened the brighter his smile got.  I put on the Elvis Christmas cd we have and we rocked it out.  We had such a great time shaking our groove thangs and finding sweet spots to showcase our Christmas treasures.  Then we shut the lights off and just let the glow of our lighted snowflakes lull us off to sleep, where I am sure there were sugar plums dancing.

EAT HAM!

And we did...

We also had one of these guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There has been a lot going on in my neck of the woods.  Some good, some bad, most AWESOME! 

I am so thankful for change, personal growth and confidence.

I am so thankful for a beautiful and healthy family.

I am so thankful that my husband rocks his job and finally has a sense of security.

I am so thankful that my son loves school and is excelling.

I am so thankful for friends who unconditionally love and support.

I am so thankful for this little spot on the internet.

I am so thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

RUN!

Don't walk over to see what NieNie has going on!

http://nienie-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/tamron-lens-review.

Date Night

Money has been seriously tight here in our household.  We have enough to pay the bills but nothing left over for fun.  We make our own fun but it's good for everyone to get out once in awhile and I certainly cannot tell you how long it has been since Aaron and I have been out without Jakob.  It's been THAT long.

If there is one person in our life who understands the importance of all of the above it is Jonah, my brother-in-law, who suprised us last week when he called from Nevada asking if Aaron and I would like a night out on the town, on him, in the coolest way imaginable!  Yesterday the mailman delivered our night out on the town in the form of two tickets to the Dave Matthews Band concert at the HSBA Arena this evening! 

We are so appreciative of Jonah's generosity.  He explains it this way...when he was going through medical school and needed companionship, free food, a place to crash, free laundry services and so on Aaron and I always gave it to him...whenever or whatever he needed.  I miss the days of Jonah showing up to do laundry and leaving a week later...that's A LOT of laundry folks.  Now he is all the way across the country and we miss him all the time.

Thank you Jonah for being you!