Gratitude Challenge Week 4

A Family Member

This boy is a piece of my heart - forever walking around outside of me.

Gratitude Challenge Week 3

Family

I've been very blessed by the wonderful family I've had. The one I was born into, the one that I married into, the one that I was baptized into, and the one that my heart created. All of them are precious to me.

This was taken on the day my sweet children were baptized.

Pictures

I haven't been blogging very much lately. My life has been so busy that I just haven't had the time for photography and writing. And I'm hoping that can change very soon. If there is one thing I've learned from the craziness that has been my life for the past couple of months it is this - I only have time for a few things. And if I don't pick what is important, the unimportant will creep in and push everything else out.

So this next month I hope to make time for what means the most to me. I'll have to learn to say no a little bit better. I'll have to force myself to check the calendar first before jumping head long into something. But I want to get well and be a lot less stressed. 

This last week at the MOPS meeting we had a speaker talk about photography. While I learned a lot about camera settings and such, I also learned some other important things.

1. Photography isn't always about the perfect pose.

2. Don't let photography goals ruin a fun family moment.

3. Sometimes the unexpected photos and situations make the best picture.

So today when we headed to our photo shoot I squished my type A into a back corner and tried my best to ignore the dirty fingers that had come from climbing trees

The too small shirt that had fit only last week when we tried it on

 

And let my kids enjoy the beautiful weather and cute little park in the middle of the city.

We'll have some beautiful pictures, mostly because we had a great photographer, but also because I was more relaxed and able to enjoy the beauty around me instead of stressing about imperfect moments. 

I'm enjoying my family today. They will only be this small for a moment and I want these little moments to last as long as possible.

Reflections

This past Sabbath was my grandpa's memorial service. When I went down to see my grandparents I left with a wonderful feeling of peace and comfort. I knew when I'd see my grandpa again. It was sad, but also slightly calming. He seemed so at peace and so I could be too. I wrote my blog post about it and I cried. It was a releasing, refreshing cry. It was needed. My children cried with me.

Then a week later, he passed away. I cried then too. That time it was a missing him cry. But it still felt healing. That next week I processed my thoughts and moved on, so to speak. My grandpa is now pain free. The very next time he opens his eyes, he'll look into the lovely face of Jesus. It just doesn't get any better than that. And I felt comfort in knowing that.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. It was great getting together with family I hadn't seen in years. I saw that my dad looks an awful lot like my great uncle Charlie. 

I got to hold my cousin's little boy. 

 The cousins all rehashed why we had such a great childhood playing together. It was decided that I was the best behaved. (But it was also concluded that was because I was the most boring, with my nose in a book for long periods of time.) All in all, I had a really great visit.

But then the memorial service came. The cousins rang the church bell. While entertaining because I was spending time with my cousins, it was also nerve wracking. 

Then we heard people speak about how awesome my grandpa was. He was! He was an amazing man. But it hurt. And it brought all of that pain back again. 

I was supposed to read my blog post. I walked up to see my grandma crying on the front row. So naturally I started crying. It went all down hill from there. I made it to the second paragraph - the part about watching my dad lose his father - and I looked up to see my dad's face. And I lost it. Jon finished the rest of the blog post. And that made me feel awful. I know that it's okay, but for some reason that made me feel like I'd failed. 

I left with an empty feeling that was hard to shake. 

So I've decided something. If you die, I'm not coming to your funeral. I will look at all of my pictures of you, write a blog post about how much I miss you, and pray. But I want to heal on my own terms. 

And sadly in the last couple of years, I've attended way more funerals than one person should have to attend. And not one of them made me feel better. They were awful! So I'm going to take a break and heal my heart. 

I'm going to write and talk, but no more funerals!

Photo A Day Challenge Day 16

Family

I have the best family!

Photography Challenge Oops

I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I clearly couldn't tell what day it was. In my defense, my daughter has been sick since last night. But I still took the wrong pictures and posted for the wrong date. So here is the correct picture for the correct day.

Together

Jon is leaving on a caving trip and the kids were hugging him good-bye. 

I thought this made a sweet picture of togetherness.

Grandpa & Jack Reacher

Several months ago my grandpa was visiting and was browsing in my library. He came back into the living room all excited. Jon had quite a few books by one of his favorite authors, Lee Child. Jon had just gotten the books and hadn't read them. Jon and my grandpa share very similar tastes in books so I knew Jon was going to enjoy them if grandpa did.

Fast forward to a month ago. Jon has now read several of Lee Child's books featuring a character called Jack Reacher. When Jon saw that one of the books had been made into a movie he got a brilliant idea. We would drive the almost 9 hours to my grandpa's house and take him to the movies.

We chose to go up the weekend of my grandma's birthday so we could help her celebrate that as well.

We left the kids at my parents on Thursday night 

and headed out on Friday morning after Daddy and I ran five miles together. 

We took our time and stopped whenever we saw something that interested us. 

It was like being on a weekend long date.

Saturday night we took my grandparents out to eat for grandma's birthday and then my aunt took her home (she hates those types of movies) and we took grandpa to the movies.

My grandparents are the cutest couple! It's so wonderful to see the love and care that they have for each other. They are also a mess. =) They spent all weekend teasing and heckling each other and occasionally Jon and I.

It was a wonderful weekend and well worth the lack of sleep and stiff knees from traveling. I would do it again in a heart beat. There isn't anything more precious than my amazing family.

Photo Challenge Day 2

Father

Apparently it's Father's Day in Australia. 

My children clearly adore their dad. He probably isn't getting a lot done, but the kids feel like they are helping and follow him around like little puppies.

No comment on the goofy kid. =)

Photo Challenge Day 9

Your View Today

At my parent's house for my brother's birthday.

Photo Challenge Day 19

A Favorite Place

I found this photo when I was looking at pictures I'd taken this month. Not sure how I missed this.

Jon took it at the last race I ran. Caitlin was still a bit sleepy and very cuddly.

My favorite place is with my amazing family, wherever that might be.

A Mother's Day off course

Yesterday did NOT go as planned. The plan was to drive to Nashville early in the morning in time for a 5k. We were meeting my dad, sister and niece. My dad was also running with me.

It was supposed to be beautiful weather. Then we would go to McKays to unload more of the books I'd purchased and I could actually browse because there would be more adults than children. We would then eat out at this great restaurant, shop and go home.

Here is what actually happened. And it was the best Mother's day ever.

Somehow the alarm was set for pm instead of am. So we woke up an hour late and had to rush out the door in 10 minutes to actually make it to the start line in time.

It rained off and on the entire day. We made it to the race with only a few minutes to spare. It was raining hard enough that I had to wipe my face every few seconds just so I could see where I was going. This meant that every time I exhaled a huge bunch of mist would shoot off my face, making me look like a strange fountain. I was soaked. But it was a good run. I finished the race with the best time I've ever had, in either training or races. Turns out the guy in 3rd place veered off course and every person after him followed the same route.

Happy & dry at the beginning of the race.

 My family waiting on me to finish. Yes, that is my dad who is almost 60. Sad isn't it?!

Notice my daughter still in her pjs because we left the house too quickly?!

Me now completely soaked and pushing it because a bunch of Navy men were yelling at me. =) 

I have no idea why I give Jon the camera. I am purposely not posting the picture of me crossing the finish line. I look like death. It was a great run and I felt great. 

I have no idea why I look like I'm dying.

As I was changing at the Y (where the race took place) I realized that I only had my running shoes. In the race to leave the house I'd left my other shoes (as well as multiple other things). After a wet and squeaky walk through Target, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Converse shoes - 25 years too late. =)

My entire day was completely off course from what I'd planned and so much fun. I had a really great run, I got new shoes (have you ever heard a woman complain about that?), I was able to see some of my family, I got more store credit from McKay's that someday I'll be able to spend, I had a great time with my precious children and a wonderful day with my husband.

Last night my kids gave me the cutest necklace and we ate out (after a failed attempt to eat at the Cheesecake factory in Nashville). It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. My family is so precious to me and I enjoyed my Mother's day.

Heritage

A couple of months ago my aunt came up with the idea of reminiscing via email. The idea was to pick a topic and discuss her memories about that topic from childhood. She then sends out the email to all of the family once a week. We are then to reply with our memories. She's putting all of these into a book for my grandparents. At first I was a bit skeptical about how much I would be able to participate or "benefit". I enjoy hearing stories about when my dad grew up, but these are stories from when my grandparents were my age. I wasn't sure I could relate very well.

I've been pleasantly surprised with not only how much I enjoyed the emails, but also how it seems to  keep us all more connected. My aunt adds details to each email about what is going on in everyone's life that week and our replies add more to this.

Today my aunt chose the topic of clotheslines. She added her memories of sun dried clothes and gave a parallel between the clothesline and God. She then asked us if we could come up with some parallels. I really liked my Uncle Tom's reply and asked if I could share it with my blog readers.

We are the clothes.   The line is Christ.  The environment around the clothesline is our life here on earth.  The act of washing is the experience of confession, repentance, and forgiveness.  After the washing takes place it takes a little bit of time to be fully ready to serve (being worn is serving).  The wind and the sun is the Holy Spirit.  We must allow the HS to work in us to get us ready to serve.

 

There are several kinds of clothespins, each representing the different ways we stay connected to the line.  One clothespin represents prayer, another the reading and study of God's word, and yet another is the influence of Godly people in our lives.  There are a lot of clothespins in our lives that give the impression that they will connect us to the line but they have litlle or no gripping power. 

 

If we use no clothespins or we depend upon weak clothespins we will fall off the line and get dirty.  If this happens we have to be re-washed (forgiven) and rehung. 

 

In this analogy trials and troubles come in the form of storms.  There are storms that come that can be so violent they can rip us off the line, or they may simply get us wet and delay our readiness to be worn (used in some way to serve).  We have nothing to worry about if we have the right connection to the line, the added wind may actually dry us out quicker (make us more ready to serve).

 

I guess the neat part is the fact that when we do fall off the line we can always be re-washed and re-hung, but it is only when we're clean and dry that we're in a position to serve in any meaningful way.

 

The world is so polluted that it is very difficult, even with the best clothespins to avoid some level of dirtiness, which is why we must be washed daily.  Once washed we need the wind and sun to dry us out quickly and make us ready to be worn (service).  Our reason for being is to be worn.  If we fail to get washed we cannot effectively serve. 

 

A lifetime of service through connection to the line and the HS preparing and allowing us to serve will eventually lead us to heaven, where there will be no dirt, we'll always be clean and we will continually serve.

 

I never realized that I would be blessed spiritually through emails reminiscing about a time I wasn't yet born to. I'm thankful tonight for my family and my heavenly Father!

Photo Challenge

Heart

I have the very best family in the world. You might disagree and I actually hope you do. That means you love your family as much as I love mine. 

They are my very world and I treasure each one so much.

House Renovations - Not mine!

Many, many years ago my parents purchased a piece of property with plans to build a home while they lived in their rental house. My dad had been promising to build my sister and I a play house for several years and so he started work on that first. Then he had the idea to make it slightly larger and have the front section as the play house. Then the back would be a storage area so they could move everything from the storage unit they were paying for. Things sort of snowballed and my parents decided to add a very steep pitch to the roof to add more space upstairs and move in to the little cabin to save on rent money. This would allow my dad to be closer to work and home. 

After many years and quite a few additions and renovations my parents had a home that looked normal from the outside and was definitely liveable inside. But my mom wanted a master suite and there still weren't regular stairs in the house. This ladder has been there since I was in high school. 

It worked fine while kids were staying upstairs, but my parents weren't feeling the love and decided to add yet another addition to the house. But the roof was all wrong and several changes needed to be made. 

So this summer my dad undertook the largest and most difficult home renovation he's ever done. 

And that's saying a lot since he's a builder.

He removed the roof and walls from the second story and took the house down to the sub flooring on the second level. This way the house would look cohesive and flow well both upstairs and down.

Jon and I went to help last month. I went to document with pictures and Jon went to really work. =)

That weekend we had several rainstorms and now my dad has to replace the ceilings in the entire house. 

 Rain was pouring in everywhere and we spent part of the night mopping up water and moving things.

But the main priority was getting the house back in the dry. So at 5am I was jarred awake by the sound of sledge hammers destroying the 2nd story.

This picture isn't a complete before since my dad had already started framing for the addition and had removed shingles, trim, siding, etc.

The day couldn't pass without a game or two. So we all guessed what time the roof would be off. My brother won. 

It was miserable hot and I was kept busy delivering Gatorade and water.

 

 When I went to can pears Daddy had me take some pictures so I could show Jon the progress he'd made since we were there. 

I was really impressed.

 

It's going to be a beautiful home when they are finished. And my mom is over the moon about her new pantry. =)

My dad DID end up building my sister and I a play house. We played in it for several years before we abandoned it for more "mature" things. So my parents then turned it into a guest house.

It now has an abandoned feel since it's been neglected for several years while my parents focus on the house. But it holds some great memories so I thought I'd take some pictures before my dad's reno bug hit it as well.

These last few pictures were taken with my new (to me) camera. So more pictures of my play house and a blog about my new camera will be coming in the future.

My Dad

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful Dad!

I've always been a Daddy's girl. My dad is an amazing dad who tried to instill great work ethics, a love for God and a love for fun in his children. As little kids we (my siblings and I) would run outside to meet my dad's truck when he came in from work. We were so excited to see him that we couldn't wait for him to get inside.

He would be exhausted, but he'd still have enough time and energy to play games with us or read to us.

When I was very small my dad would wash my hair for me. It was very fine and tangled easy. My mom suggested cutting it very, very short to help with maintenance. But my dad offered to shampoo and condition my hair so that my mom wouldn't have to cut it.

I remember the mornings that my dad would take me (and later my brother and sister) to school or to meet the bus. He would joke and tell us stories. I could talk to him about everything (and poor guy - I often did just that). I never felt like he talked down to me or thought less of my thoughts because I was just a little kid.

Even now I can go to my dad for advice and know that I'll receive a prayerful, wise response.

My dad is awesome and I'm so thankful he's a part of my life.

I love you Daddy!

 

My Mom

My memory is pretty terrible, I remember only bits of my childhood.

But from what I remember my mom was great. =)

 But when I think of my mother, I think of how we related when I was a teenager and now that I'm an adult.

My mom was there when I needed her. And I think this is the thing that mattered the most growing up.

She might be small, but she would have fought to the death for me if I needed it.

When I first went to boarding school I was so homesick that apparently one of the staff members spoke with my mom and she got up one morning and drove 6 hours to come visit me. She spent several hours and then turned around and drove the 6 hours home so she could work the next day.

As a child (or teenager) you don't appreciate those things until much later. 

But even then I realized how much my mom loved me.

She has supported my decisions and encouraged me when I needed it most.

I don't know how many times I've called her all stressed out about something and vented forever.

She will listen, give advice and pray with me over the phone. 

Somehow it's easier to make the decisions once I've talked them out with her, even if she doesn't offer a word of advice. I know that whatever decision I make she'll support me and pray for me.

My mom never shows up at my house without a gift of some kind for me and now for my children.

She's always telling me how proud she is of me.

My house is full of the wonderful quilts and other things she's made for me over the years.

My mom wants to see me (and my kids) so much that she's willing to drive hours on her only day off to come see us and spend a few hours with us.

My mom is a great mother, but she's also one of my friends.

So this mother's day I was thankful for my mother and my friend.

Losing my mind

I've lost my mind. It's somewhere out there, but I can't seem to find it.

And with my mind, went my memory.

Today I got the kids ready to get in the car to run errands and couldn't find my keys. We looked everywhere, but still no keys. Finally after about an hour of searching we gave up. I sent the kids out to play and settled down for a day at home instead of errands. Then Dominic took a pretty bad spill on his bike and I went out to check on him. He was fine, but you'll never guess what I found sitting on the spoiler of the red car? My keys!

I had taken them outside last night to open the trunk so Jon and I could finish emptying it after our trip on Sunday. Thankfully Jon took my car to work this morning because we hadn't put Caitlin's carseat back together yet and so I needed his car with the carseats in it. Can you imagine what would have happened if he'd taken off in the red car w/ my keys on the spoiler. Not good things! And I would have always wondered what happened.

Unfortunately this isn't the only instance of my mind leaving me. When we were at my cousin's house Dominic asked me if he could have dessert because he'd eaten his vegetables. I told him there wasn't dessert. I should know - I'd helped prepare lunch. But then a few minutes later my cousin asked me whether she should get plates or bowls out for the dessert. I looked at her blankly and she reminded me that I had brought dessert for lunch. Sigh! Is it lying to your child if you tell him an untruth because you simply couldn't remember?

At least my cousin had a good laugh. =)

Some ramblings

Yesterday we went to Dayton so Jon could work on a roof. 

Our "trusty" gps got us almost lost three times. 

(See other blog for whole story.)

I love where I live and this trip re-enforced that for several reasons.

1. I live in a beautiful part of the country. The trip down was gorgeous and I almost cried the whole way down because we were pressed for time and I couldn't stop and take pictures. There were a million little things that inspired me on the way down.

2. The poverty level of some of the homes is astounding. It's amazing that people can live and function that way. It made me so very thankful for my little home and for my husband who makes enough that I have everything I need and tons of what I want. God has truly blessed us. I'm not saying that God hasn't blessed these people. I'm sure he has, but it just reminded me to be thankful for what I have.

3. The opportunity to be close to family has been another blessing. When you live 10 hours from the closest family member it makes it very hard to offer help or participate in family gatherings.

Here are a few of the pictures I was able to take of our trip.

I'm not a chicken person, but I was able to capture him (?) mid step.

Down a country road.

Once when we stopped to see if our gps could find an alternative route I took a few shots.

This cow was roaming free in the front yard of a house. He wasn't the only one. 

Jon slowed the car down several times for roaming cows.

Desires of my heart

 "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." Epicurus

I saw this on a facebook status and it made me think of several things that I'm thankful for.

In a direct or indirect way, all of these are things that I used to wish for and dream about.

So this quote made me stop and remember how thankful I am for them.

My wonderful family.

As a little girl and then a teenager I used to dream about the wonderful man I would meet and someday marry. The reality is even better than my dreams.

 I didn't dream as much about my kids. But I did picture myself have a boy and then a girl if I ever did have children. Amazing how God gives us the very desires of our heart.

My library!

I have ALWAYS loved books and wanted a library. I'm living my dream.

My beautiful yard!

I love flowers and use to wish that I had the time & money to have flower gardens and a beautiful lawn. I now live in a place that makes this a reality.

Slowing down

I'm the impatient type. Pretty sure I've mentioned that a few times before.

Life is to be enjoyed for sure, but I'm always looking forward to something that is going to happen in the future. Anticipation is half of the fun.

My library is coming along nicely (more on that later.). And I can hardly wait to start decorating it.

After the library is finished Jon will start putting down the hardwood floors.

And I'm so sick of this carpet that I'm dying to have that done already.

We are taking some really fun trips this year. Can't wait!

Spring and summer can't get here soon enough.

And the list goes on. . .

But last week I went to a funeral of a great, great aunt.

My grandpa is the 2nd in a family of 13. So this aunt was only about 15 years older than my grandparents.

She was 98 when she died and had a great long life.

Her husband and son (who died at 13 yrs old) had already left her. 

So she was alone except for her nieces and nephews.

At her funeral she had a few church members and her extended family.

If she hadn't cultivated friendships with her extended family there would have been no funeral and no one coming to say good bye.

This funeral was one of the "nice" ones. She was sick before she died and heading towards 100. So it wasn't unexpected. And since I now live closer I was able to go and spend several hours with all of my family, some who I hadn't seen in a long time.

 Above: Great Uncle Steve, Great Aunt Ann, Great Aunt Rita

Below: My grandpa, mom, grandma

The funeral accomplished a few things for me.

1. I am so very, very thankful to be living closer to my family. I've missed them.

2. I'm more in love with my husband and kids and so glad that Jon and I have those two little monkeys.

3. I am going to be thankful for each moment of my life and try harder to savor it. When life is close to the end, I won't have as much to look forward to and will have more to look back on. I don't want to be so primed at anticipating things that I don't have anything to look back on - no memories to savor.

So here is to savoring each and every moment of life, to enjoying the simple things, to savoring my blessings!