Internet..take it or leave it

This is the last day of the blogathon with Jolly little life which I have been irregularly participating in. Though I had high hopes of writing five days a week with my sisters very entertaining prompts, I was overcome by other loads and had to look longingly at my computer from another task several times in the course of the last couple weeks.

 

The blog prompt today was “what would life without the internet look like for me”. I know my sister expects a full on rant but I feel my persuasions will come out a bit more moderate. I feel a calm sense of maturity sweeping over my otherwise extreme opinionated hostilities.

 

The internet and I are not the best of friends you see. The human condition is not such that can handle something so vast and informative as the cosmic internet without immoderate addiction, waste of valuable time and money, trouble and temptation. Society in general has reached a sensual plateau where self control has no proportion and social interaction on line has taken the place of social skills. Yes I have a problem with e-mails being read over dinner or a friend playing some addictive internet game on their phone when you are trying to have coffee with them. I have a problem with stupid people sharing stupid opinions on topics they have no business commenting on, regardless of free speech. We should use our intellect for good and for God as best we can never forgetting that the world is out there, people are out there, and the box is the box.

 

That being said, I appreciate the wonderful conveniences of the infamous world at ones finger tips, the resources available, the friends that can be talked face to face with, though they live around the world. At once being great and dangerous depending on which hand is holding the mouse, or the phone, or the IPAD or whatever. So to answer the question, I would adapt fine if suddenly I found myself without said internet and life would not change too drastically.

A true Danielle moment here, without the internet:

·        I would be able to spend more time with my husband because he wouldn’t be able to download every freakin’ football game out there (excuse the unnecessary explicative’s).

·        I would be less annoyed by people always on their phones, posting picture on face book and updating their status (whatever that means).

·        I wouldn’t be able to blog but would probably write a book instead entitled: Vitamin D is good… go outside.

• Yes without the internet I would perhaps miss looking up words like gymnologising or antejentacular … but then again I do have a dictionary.

 

• I would miss seeing those wal-martians perhaps (but I could always go there in person)

 

 Yet, I think I would bear the deprivation easily; however, I am mature enough to utilize it and appreciate all it has to offer, hopefully, without getting sucked into all it has to distract.

 

 Every one of us has a purpose for our life and it would behoove us all to stay true.

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

My love affair with...

Perhaps it would be better called a strong attachment than a love affair.

Yesterday I had a cleaning appointment, the less noxious of all dentist appointments in general. Being alone with my music in the car is a rare treat so I pulled out my stash in the center console and loaded the five disc changer like JoJo the circus clown with a pretty new pet, taking out Psalty the Singing songbook, Bullfrogs and Butterflies and the Transiberian Orchestra's Christmas album (yes, still listening to that).

 

 It might come as a surprise who I spent my hour with but I will tell: it was Tom Petty. A truly remarkable hour it was. I think my appreciation for Tom dated back to my days at Bible school (not as inconsistent as that might sound). I can recollect many moments throughout my childhood, developing a love of a specific song or band because of a current emotional incident. God and Roy Orbison helped me get through my first experience with young love and heartache, for instance. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Dire Straights and George Jones have a depth and symbolism that run deeper than rhythm and rock because of my dad and the introduction he gave at different pivotal points in life. So at school, a little lonely and sad; feeling the rebel side of me a little stronger than usual, I embraced Tom Petty. That's the long and short of it and the extent of my rebellion.

 

"Somewhere, somehow, somebody
Must have kicked you around some
Who knows, maybe you were kidnapped
Tied up, taken away and held for ransom
It don't really matter to me, baby
Everybody's had to fight to be free
You see you don't have to live like a refugee"
(Refugee)

I know, weird choice, the man is practically a cadaver (no offense Tom) and a voice that, well you know, it's the one and only Tom Petty voice...which about sums it up.

 

 .  

He just has this organic, everyday poetry in his lyrics that speak right at the humanity in us all. He's the singer next door. The way he changes how a word is said just to make it rhyme with his lyrics, though in actuality the word is not even a slant rhyme....awesome.

“I'm an insider, I been burned by the fire
And I've had to live with some hard promises
I've crawled through the briars -- I'm an insider

It's a circle of deception
It's a hall of strangers
It's a cage without a key
You can feel the danger
And I'm the one who oughta know
I'm the one you couldn't trust
Yeah I'm the lonely silent one
I'm the one left in the dust”
(Insider)

 

I'm not saying all his stuff is good or that you should suddenly buy all his works. I'm just saying he has something in that package of music and lyrics, style and inelegance that made me a fan long ago.

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

Advice

It was a rough weekend with my little Children not feeling their best. Yet, Monday dawned sunny and bright this morning and the house is back to its usual chipper feel.
 

The end of a January means one thing in our house and that is: marriage retreat is two weeks away! This is an important time for my husband and I who put other evening activities on hold to spend time writing and reading and praying for the divine inspiration necessary for what we have coming. We have been teaching at our Church’s marriage retreat for, I think seven years now; having started back when we were shocked and humbled to be asked, given our limited experience. We still feel the compliment in being asked as well as the immense responsibility.

 

We take this really seriously.
Since I am still participating in the Blogathon with Jolly Little Life for the remainder of this week and the prompt for today is share some great advice you have been given, I will take the opportunity to share marriage advice.

Years ago when my dad was offering my husband and I pre marriage advice, he said the words that have since rocked our world, so to speak; the words: “just be nice”. Simple advice but pointed. Only when you have lived with a person day in and day out, you are tired or irritated or just plain mad, do you realize that the simple words: just be nice, are not always so easy. However, that phrase has helped us over the years shape a marriage that is solid, that can take whatever comes and overcome.....together. Looking back I realize that some of the most trying times in our lives, could also have been some of the most damaging to our marriage if we had taken the stress and intensity out on each other, the very thing we were tempted to do. Those words ring in our heads, and the strength of our commitment, regardless of the strength of negative feelings in the moment, have helped us to fight the battles side by side instead of in opposition. Kindness is a gift we give, a gift that in it’s giving is all the more valuable when feelings are hurt or emotions are blazing. It has been a ten year exercise in self control that has kept us from those precipices that so many marriages get to when they realize they have gone too far and forgiveness and reconciliation is a hope of yesterday. Kindness is not easy but it can change ones course, having, for us, countless times defused potentially explosive situations.

These words of advice did not seem much on the outset, words that you nod at in agreement and wait for more, but these words have been remembered and played over and over in our heads as year after year we realize their full implication.  I guess my dad was just summing up what it says in the scriptures: "A gentle answer turns away wrath but harsh words stir up anger."
Marriages would last longer if we just put a fraction of the effort normally put into fighting and defending ones position, into simple yet powerful tactics of relational warfare, like: "just be nice".

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

Living with an addictive personality....ish

I use the term addiction very loosely. In my childhood we were always encouraged to find moderation; but..... if we were going to be unbalanced in anything, than to let it be beneficial, healthful and productive. Believe it or not you can be addicted to all manner of things, whether good or bad, I have learned this from a dad who was once addicted to a myriad of things from alcohol to cigarettes and from cigarettes to chewing tobacco and chewing tobacco (that was decades ago) to coffee, then to monsters, then back to coffee, then to celery and now to cabbage.

I could list little things in life that are tiny vices (for those are all I have) like coffee or chocolate (both of great importance) but there are times I decide to purge everything, go off all sugar, drink nothing but green tea and be sure I am reliant on nothing that is food or drink related except where they provide me necessary sustenance. (I get weird sometimes).

My real vice goes way back to the little pleasure that was first awakened when I read “Nate the Great” as a youngster and was solidified with all of the Nancy Drew and Mandy books.  A love for detective novels. When my dad first let me stay up a bit later and watch Sherlock Holmes I was forever lost to him, the great sleuth of 221 B Baker street. I have read the complete works of Conan Doyle several times, have poured over the fifty plus Nero Wolf novels, have been impressed repeatedly with Agatha Christy, Erle Stanley Gardner, Raymond Chandler, and Ellis Peters.   

I have read modern and period and old school mysteries and new. I might have a strange compulsion to read the end of a book, for which I am ridiculed by my siblings, not so with mysteries, I read them one page at a time till they are done. Though I go to bed at the same time as my husband, there have been occurrences, not infrequent, when his rhythmic breathing indicates sleep, that I have gone under the covers with a flashlight trying to finish a good old nail biter.

So when we speak of addictions and vices let us still learn from Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived when he says “the wise man will avoid all extremes” and make at least an effort to stay moderate except in those few things in life that require a more fanatical commitment, like serving God, being true to your spouse and a consistent, wonderful parent. We can always be crazy immoderate when it comes to goodness and love .....and detective fiction.

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Notes from a reader

Though the day has been long and one where I have felt more like a slave than a mom, and I would like nothing better than to curl up on the couch with a book, I cannot give up my continuing participation in the Blogathon just yet. I am to share my thoughts on a book recently read or a movie recently watched. Since my husband went and saw the Hobbit with all the guys, I have not been to see the one movie I was interested in viewing so movies are out and books are in.

I am still less far along in Les Miserable than I would like to admit and the reason being that the book I have in my collection is not only a hardbound of the fifteen hundred pager but a compilation of Hugo’s works. The book is like thirty pounds heavy so for someone who journeys everywhere with a book at all times, taking every spare minute to read a few pages, this ton of bricks is not a great traveler and consequently has been read infrequently. I only open its worthy pages on the couch.

 

 I have in the interim been reading The first in the Game of Thrones series, per the request of my brother. We have found in past instances, immense enjoyment over dialoguing about characters and plots, and my reading his recommendations gives me grounds for my requesting he reads some, shall I say, more culturally enhancing works. 400 pages in and I still have yet to feel an empathy or even a strong liking to any one character. Though the style is engaging, I cannot appreciate the heart of the story, though I have read my fair share of fantasy and science fiction. The crux of it is, I cannot find in the characters a goodness that shapes a true hero, or an honor that gives nobility to the knights of war, too much darkness and evil for my taste, but I will finish it first before my final judgment.

This current work of fiction creates a glaring contrast to the most recent book I finished called “Blind Love” By, Wilkie Colllins. I was first introduced to Wilkie by reading “The Woman in White” and having enjoyed the experience with his most famous work I have continued to collect his less known writings and enjoy each individual one.

 

This is not your common romance novel despite the title. Wilkie was good friends with Charles Dickens and his writings reflect a depth and continuity that is truly worthy of the friendship. Blind Love is the story of Iris, who having fallen for a man, better called “an adventurer”, who though charming and seductive, is given to vice and inconsistency’s of character, is conflicted between marriage for love to him or a preservation of her good judgment by resisting his appeals. Love triumphs as it often does but not to the changing of the man as it usually won’t. Intrigue and romance at its best, well developed and unexpected characters that you love and hate.

The story was great…. but my intense satisfaction comes in the language, the dialogue, the vocabulary of a well learned and thinking writer, the verbiage so subtle yet so eloquent that my soul is affected as my mind is engaged. The true hero of the book is the childhood friend, who loves with the love of a gentleman and whose goodness goes deeper than a superficial suitors who gets the girl at first try. Read it. I am not here to tell the story only to say that any book written by Wilkie Collins is worth a read. There are many works of fiction that could potentially make us dumber by their perusal but this is not one. So says a reader.

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

A memory

The craziest thing I ever have done (so says my dad) is pack up my three suitcases and at nineteen take a plane to Rhema Bible College in Tulsa Oklahoma. I went to find a job, buy a car and live with people I had never met. This was the first parting amongst our family and the first time I truly traumatized my dad. We sat out front of the airport terminal (this was back in the day when you could go that far) and cried together as we had been doing for weeks prior. My row was boarding and our last hug done, I gave my ticket and walked in the tunnel. I still remember turning at the corner and seeing above all the people, my dads head craning over and his hand waving goodbye. Months later when I returned for Thanksgiving, his was the first head I saw as I came down the terminal. Every visit in those years, his was the head above the crowd just waiting to meet my eyes, to say hello or goodbye, to let me know he was there, just in case I turned around. To this day, he still stands on the porch when I drive away, until I am out of sight.

It has been one of those ways he has let me know that he is there, whether I need his help or just an encouraging smile, he is there.

Sometimes I see him doing the same thing with my small children, in the simple ways they will someday understand. He stands and watches so that just in case they turn around they will see his eyes upon them, encouraging them, loving them, and making them feel important.

The Big decisions in life alter our course, but it is the small things that truly change us; the small things that give the timeless, priceless gifts we carry forever in heart and mind, the impressions indelible on the soul.
I always look back before I turn the corner.

 

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

I know you like 'em sloppy

My crockpot is my favorite inanimate object in the kitchen.... that is, right after my Vitamix and my juicer. They have names and I love them. I love to get all the ingredients cooking in the morning and enjoy the smell of what's coming for dinner all day. This recipe is a family favorite and also makes great leftovers (if you happen to have any to spare).

 

Sloppy Joes

 

2 1/2 Pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 1/4 cups catsup

1 medium bell pepper

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/3 cup water

3 Tablespoons brown sugar (I use 2 T honey)

3 Tablespoons mustard

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon chili powder

whole wheat hamburger buns 

 

Cook ground beef, onion and garlic until meat is brown. Drain fat.

Combine other ingredients in slow cooker

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Spoon onto toasted buns and enjoy!

Make a nice green salad to go along with these babies to create a great meal.

Use your crock pot... love you crock pot...says I.

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

A day in the life

 

This morning my husband and I woke up to two little people in homemade beanies and nightgowns peering at us in our beds. (Yes my son was wearing his sisters nightgown). We laughed out loud. As those two have grown and as Mason has developed more in speech, they have become great companions. Baby comes in bed for a little snuggle and we start the day. It is a busy and lively chaos as my husband gets ready for work, the kids trek out to feed the bunny and I start getting food ready for consumption. The morning has become my time with the kids and in the kitchen. I juice vegetables for a little kick start for everyone (my daughter drinks it right down like a champ though my son is not so compliant). My daughter practices piano and starts school at the kitchen table. I am available to instruct  as I get dinner planned. I am a big crock pot lover so either something is going in there or I am organizing for what will be cooked later. If I don’t get ready in the morning I end up with my fall back meals in the evening: omelets or pancakes usually, which to me is yummy but my husband likes meat so anything without is to him, only half a meal.

 

 

I try to make it on the treadmill around 9 or 10 when everyone has their little activities and baby plays in the pack n play near me. The kids have an outside play time and then its time for lunch already. I get those kids fixed up, put the  baby in the highchair and break out the violin. I thought when I decided to learn another instrument, practicing would be a difficult thing to squeeze in but I found that the kids love to listen (this also rescues my husband in the evenings from having to listen to my beginner screeching).

Baby then has a nap and the afternoons are usually for errands, piano teaching and outside responsibilities. Today we are going to bring Great Grandma and Great Grandpa some banana bread, home baked in the Hogan kitchen.

 

So this is the mellow version. Truth be told, sometimes I’m craving chocolate at 8:30. Other times I have to give myself a time out when I’m teaching my daughter math.  There have been times where I have cried in the bathroom or sat on the floor surrounded by toys and clothes and who knows what with a dazed expression on my face. I have to face it, being a stay at home mom is hard. The emotional, and mental demand is constant and doesn’t just end at five. I get to the end of the day feeling like I have not had a minute to myself. But if you really want a challenge, you can’t beat this one. I have never been so on my game as when I am juggling it all and still having the self control to smile and be in the moment with the little person saying “look what I drew mom”.

 

 

Family dinner and then bed time which is promptly (ish) at 6:30 in the winter months and then Husband and I do all the things that couldn’t get done when we had little people clamoring for attention. I clean, he works, we watch a show or read and get organized for the day to come. We take a quick break for Tangoes in which I rock him and try try try to get in bed before eleven (not great at that). I am blessed to have a man who sees the value in what I do and I am thankful for him; the hard work required of him that enables me to be a super hero at home, is no small thing . We are a team working toward a common goal: the preservation of family.

  It seems dull perhaps, to the outside observer, but I have come to realize that this is really living.

 

  

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

"Though I walk..."

“Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.”

 

The 23^rd Psalm has always been a go to for me since I was quite young. My children have the words in their hearts already just from hearing it every night before they go to sleep, its quoting being part of our bedtime routine.

 

It is particularly poignant because the world we live in is full of shadows, the devil himself, is a master of shadow play and thrives on the fear created by such. It is hard to stand on truths in a world where the senses dominate the belief systems of many. Where values exist only where they are convenient and absolutes are considered old fashioned. Because of this, we live in a world of fear, fear of all manner of things and people, fear of death and fear of suffering. Though we live in the shadow lands, we can have no fear; the promise of that scripture holds true because He is with us. This perhaps is a novel concept to some who would barely know what to do with themselves if fear wasn’t an active part of their life, and they were no longer perpetuating that fear by repeating stories and thoughts and circumstances to themselves and any who listen. Fear is a powerful motivator, and opportunist of all sorts capitalize on the actions and thoughts it induces. As I think on this passage I would just number three things:

 

       1.    We do have to walk in the valley of shadows. We can either be scared out of our minds and filled with anxiety and worry or we can walk in peace. I am a much saner and happier wife and mother and friend when I walk in peace and not stress. I can be a bringer of clarity instead of a contributor to confusion.

 

       2.      Know He is with you. “If God is for us who can be against us” With him I can fight anything, let alone fight the fear of a shadow for a shadow is not the substance of a thing.

 

       3.      Do not fear. Easier said than done? A little thing called thought displacement is key here. The repetition of fearful thoughts are hard to banish in one fell swoop so you must fight them as they come with the reverse of what is fearful. I focus on the scriptures because you can’t beat the Word of God for a powerful antagonist to the worlds ways of thinking.

Thanks to Jolly Little Life for hosting this blogathon. Today was sharing a quote that inspires you, or in this case a scripture.

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The social question

Hello Monday! Still participating in the Blogathon with Jolly Little Life this week and the first prompt is a good rant. Here she blows.
I am usually a person of even temperament and though there are certain things that irritate the deeper fibers of my nature, there are few that cause me to dive headlong into conflict or cause me to lose all sense of expression control and stare with that “how dumb are you?” look in every facial feature. Since deciding to home school my children and take the superintendence of their education into my, if not capable, then at least very loving hands, I have been annoyed on many occasions with the “aren’t you worried about their social aptitude?”. Though perhaps it shouldn’t, this inane question jogs my easy going variance tolerance odometer into high frenzy. As if the public school system is just spitting out all these high social functioning children. Statistically, kids who have less constant peer association and more adult companionship and conversation have higher IQ’s, have a quicker growing vocabulary, and a higher comprehensive level. Also, the dynamic of siblings who have learned to get along one with another on a daily basis is priceless. My three, though the littlest is only a year, love each other, learn from each other and, because of their relationship, have an agreeable desire to include others of different ages, rather than exclude those younger (which seems to be the social norm these days). Sure, some homeschoolers have their classification of social naïveté but social dysfunction is much more likely to come from broken homes than a shortage of friends. Regardless, wouldn’t a better question be more toward my qualifications anyway?

       I am just glad that homeschooling is a much more acceptable alternative these days. When my mom homeschooled her brood of six she was considered quite the trend setter and I can only imagine the weapons of defense she had to be constantly rehearsing. She is my hero.

      The world is a funny place, the more I see of it, the more I am dissatisfied with it. Excuse the verbal tirade, but really, why is “the social question” still around?

My Jolly Little Life Blogathon

My friends on the page

This is the fifth day I have been participating in the blogathon that jolly little life is hosting and having a great time taking part. Today's prompt is three literary heroes I know and love. If I must be confined to the naming of three than I must, but some of my other friends not listed might feel the insult. It is true, I have many heroes and heroin's penned on page and their life lived and their words spoken have helped shape me just as my friends of flesh and blood have.

My first hero is, of course, the one and only Mr. Darcy.

I have loved him since first reading Pride and Prejudice and I dare say my husband gets a little jealous when I start my yearly perusal of the well read pages. Once when I referred to my husband as Mr. Collins (in jest of course), he tickled me relentlessly saying "you will call me Mr. Darcy".

Hero #2 Perry Mason

I have read every one of Erle Stanley Gardners books, having a tender place in my heart for the strong jawed, broad shouldered defense attorney. His wit and intuitive sense for innocence make him an advocate for the underdog. I would hang upon his words when he would get sentimental toward Della Street but just could never get around to saying "I love you Della, marry me." ...And yes I just might have been inspired to pick a name for my son with the consideration of those books in mind but that is "irrelevant, immaterial and incompetent".

 

Hero #3 Sydney Carton

His is an obscure nomination. those who have read "A tale of two cities" cannot help but appreciate the noble nature of man fallen and then rising to give the greatest sacrifice for the greatest cause. He is neither physically striking or possessed of a personality to win admiration, rather you figure him more as a non character than any other for a long while. His journey though takes him to the highest point in heroism.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." -Sydnee Carton
Please for the love of all that is beautiful, read this book.

bonus Hero #4

As a bonus I have to throw in Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. His passionate and fiery nature coupled with his expressive articulation is a compelling combination for me. I think his character development is a masterpiece of writing and those who cannot love Mr. Rochester have, I think, only been acquainted with him on the screen and not in the book. So read before you pronounce an opinion on this very complex and remarkable creation.

"Because," he said, "I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you — especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly."

I am finding it hard to stop here:

Aragorn of "The Lord of the Rings"

Jonathon from "Dracula"

Wentworth from "Persuasion"

This year I am looking forward to all the other acquaintances I will make and the friends I will keep forever.

 

 

 

A picture says a thousand words

A resounding me

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The January big time

I have big plans for this year and at day 8 I have but faltered a little when I took some chocolate covered almonds set on the counter to tempt me at my parents. Once I averted my eyes, nay, twice, then I succumbed and ate a few. In years passed I might have fallen off the wagon for a whole day before realizing that the year was not lost merely because I ate sugar when I had determined not to. Funny as that might sound, it really depicts the past "me", not wanting to do anything by half’s and once failing, failing for awhile. I have mellowed in my age, or more so, in my years as a mother. I am learning proportion.

The year is so lovely in all it’s untraveled paths and I want to lay my footprints just right along them. However, living my life with a sense of my, above all, priority list in mind, is essential to the happiness of those who rely on me. So nice to be relied on. Here are a few things for January and beyond. I intend to evaluate at the end of each month to keep myself on task and determine what is working and what needs tweaking. (Doing this with my husband so some accountability exists, otherwise I make no bones in saying, I would be back on the chocolate wagon by February 1st. I am a highly disciplined individual but I love love love good chocolate).

My schedule has been totally reworked since starting homeschooling so a big problem has been: when do I workout. Mama needs to be exercising and that is for sure. I started small with the goal of five times a week either on the treadmill or at the gym. Also doing the squat challenge and if I can’t make it to a weight class then using my dumbbells at home. Cutting out sugar and bread. Really I just want to get back to my pre baby Drake weight which means ten pounds has to go. Focusing on getting the kids additional veggies and juicing once a day.

 To be or not to be?

I have wanted to learn an additional instrument for some time and that instrument being the violin. Being a piano teacher already and well versed in music theory I figured another classical instrument would be a good choice. However, I was not expecting to get a violin for Christmas from my mom and dad and was ecstatic when I did. Two days after Christmas I found a teacher and made an appointment. This week was my first lesson; the last few nights after the kids are in bed I get my new instrument out for a little practice. Ask me in a year to play something lovely. I call her “Stradivarius”.

Faith building. It is hard to compete with the endless inundation of negativity in this society. I do my best by detaching from some of the media implements that seem to take over the atmosphere in the home (news, television in general, music, internet  etc), but sometimes the environment just needs a little extra faith immersion. When I jog I put on the truth project from Focus on the Family so my kids, though likely not understanding, are hearing that which tells the reason why we believe what we believe. Scripture songs, teaching tapes and using stories from the old testament to illustrate every day lessons. I want my house to be a house of peace so therefore I will help create an environment where it is possible. 

I will be talking more about goals in this month of January, with the ever present truth that with God our possibilities are endless; in point, we can be better parents, better spouses, better homemakers and on and on, with the help of HIM who loves us most.

As a wife and a mom I look around and see things out of place all the time. I could jump up and fix it on the spot or I could make sure that the heart of the matter is attended to first and the other stuff, the stuff that really doesn’t matter too much, takes secondary priority. I had a firsthand reminder of this today with my little guy running a fever. He just wanted to be held and cuddled and loved, and I was there to do just that. The dishes stacked up in the sink, I never made it to the treadmill and I did what I haven’t done in months: dumped a clean pile of laundry from the dryer to the floor so I had a place for the clothes in the washer. I don’t like getting backed up in the housework but what is far worse is getting backed up in the emotional and spiritual care of the children that God has given me. Here's to keeping things in proper perspective this January.

Inspiration of today

Today the prompt for the blogathon I am participating in is “share something that inspires you”. On any given day this might be different, for I am susceptible to inspiration of all sorts. Once I was listening to one of my kids CD’s while we were all driving down the hill and suddenly I was crying over the simple lyrics in one of the songs. For days afterwards, even when driving by myself, I listened to that song. Different experiences speak to the soul at different times. We were visited this year by my husband’s parents for Christmas; the drive down from Davenport Washington was no small venture. Our house is small with an already cramped five people within, so the accommodation, if they would have it, was the trailer in the yard. Mom and Dad (so I call them), though they had offers from other friends in town, chose to stay in the trailer where little fists would knock early on cold mornings and energetic grandchildren would climb on them and help them greet the day. This was the first Christmas they had spent with us since the children were born and I watched them play and talk and read and listen to my kids day after day. I watched them help feed the little guy and make soup for us all. I watched my rambunctious five year old climb all over his Grandpa asking to be tickled and hugged and talked to. Never did Grandpa seem to get tired of it. In truth, I watched over the last two weeks the effect that special time has on children. They brighten, they glow and play and laugh as if the love they are receiving is bolstering their little confidences before my very eyes. My husbands mom and dad have truly become my second mom and dad over the years, and they are the inspiration I feel in this moment. I watched my daughter cry on her grandpa’s chest as they said goodbye tonight, knowing he will be returning home early in the morning. She called me into her room a little later and asked if she could get up really early and go out to the trailer to say goodbye. We asked Grandpa if he would wake her up to say goodbye instead and she went to sleep with that anticipation. Dad jokes that when they leave I will blog about how LONG they stayed at our house but on the contrary I am blogging about how upset I am that they didn’t stay longer and how thankful I am that they came at all. We all make an impact on the lives of those around us, especially those who love us. The impact can be, and should be, a wonderfully positive and perhaps life altering one. I am reminded of the very powerful words of one who impacted the wide world long ago, and within that wide world the seemly insignificant little people of the moment: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”.

Blogathon-Home for the holidays

Christmas has always been a special time for me, coming from a big family where the occasion to give was always taken very seriously. Since being married I have enjoyed creating new traditions as well as taking many of the family traditions from both my husbands and my own childhood. This year we took the time throughout the month of December to, in doing little things, teach our children about giving. One of my favorite activities was: going around town to find all of the Salvation army bell ringers and having the children give the change they had. For the rest of the season, every time my daughter would see the famous buckets as we were driving she would say “lets stop mom and give them something”. We often did. Another one was bringing cookies to some elderly people in our church and another was the kids taking their dollars to the dollar tree with the intention of picking out the perfect gift for their siblings (this was especially hard for my son who wants everything he sees). So the weeks leading up to Christmas were jam packed with lesson laden activities that helped us enjoy the season more than ever before. Christmas morning came and my son with his sleepy little eyes padded out of his room in his Christmas Eve red pajamas, clutching the cowboy boots he had received from his aunt the night before. On seeing the tree he said “Santa is here mom”. (a funny thing to say because we have always treated Santa as an imagined character much like Peter Pan and Spider Man. I just thought it was so cute.) We had banana fritters and hot cocoa, listened to my daughter quote the Christmas story and opened stockings. My husband kept us moving pretty quick because he was excited about loading up all the gifts stacked around the tree into the car to get over to my parents for the traditional gathering of the entire family for the best celebration you have ever seen. We packed up the car, complete with kids, presents and puppy in his kennel. My parents used to have us come whenever we wanted but if 8:30 passes, it isn’t long before we start getting calls from my sisters and brother, and they get more relentless as the minutes pass by. This isn’t annoying, it is part of the tradition that has been for years. My husband always asks “any calls yet?” with good natured expectation.

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Welcome January

Welcome to 2014! Happy New Year! It is going to be a great one. The day was filled with family, football and ….unfortunately, the last day of fat fest. Good riddance.

New Years day for our family is joined in celebration by a very special event now one year old. The birth of my son. 

 

Yes, last year I was bringing in the new year by pushing out a 9 pound 6 ouncer. A little bundle that has enhanced and blessed my life for 12 months. Happy birthday Drake!

 

The week between Christmas and New Years was just too short to adequately plan out the plethora of accomplishments I plan on tackling. However, I do not support the theory of having everything lined up before jumping in with purpose and heart. Out of all my faults, procrastination is not one of them so, though I have more yet to think over and write down, tomorrow I join the group of January fanatics.

My theme for January is: Get healthy.

Yes, I was living large in December; sugar content went way up while gym attendance went way down.

Don’t think you have to write out your five pages of resolutions, complete with diagramed plans before starting in on the "new year, better you, make over". There will be time for your bar graphs and excel spread sheets as we go along. Don't get so caught up in the planning that you forget to just take action in some small way. Do three things.

 My January three are:

1. No sugar. I could go on and on about how I feel on this subject and probably will someday. I like sweets but I feel better when I am totally off sugar (this is every sweetener but raw honey and pure maple syrup. I am a serious ingredient reader). Since I am an extremist, I can’t just eat a square of chocolate and call it good like my mom. Better to give it all up. The withdrawals only last a couple days and then the emotional desire only about  7 to 10 days. You can do it. When you don’t eat sugar (and sweeteners of all sorts), fat drops away. Just trust me on this. If you still have your favorite chocolate left over from your stocking and you can’t bear wasting it or, god forbid, giving it away and you were totally unsuccessful at eating every morsel before 2014, bag it and stick it in the freezer for a rainy day. (that rainy day better not be for a few months).

2. Get on the treadmill. Either jog on my treadmill or get to the gym for a class 5 days a week. Whatever it is you can do, do it. Just start moving.

3.  TV break. I’ve never been big on watching the tube. Too much negativity; too much waste of time. However, movies have been abundant lately. Husband and I decided to take a little fast from all of it with a couple minor exceptions: football on Sundays and Pysch when it starts airing. Going to evaluate this decision after a month. Who knows, we might like life without TV (movies, shows, news, sports) better than life with.

I am excited about making little positive changes every month.