As my plate seems to be constantly overflowing these days and I'm juggling too many balls at once, I have to clear my plate and place a few balls in the nearby basket. I will be spending the next 2 weeks being selfish. My husband insists that I need to be "more selfish," so that's my plan for the next couple of weeks. Well, that's not entirely true. I just need a little time to unwind, work on my WIP, update my website, enjoy some good music, and do a few other things for myself.
It's also time for some reflection on my part. During this time of "selfishness," I want to focus on God and the bigger picture in life. I also plan to use these weeks to become closer to my husband and my boys. My next two weeks will be full of enjoying the little things.
Tomorrow, March 23rd, I will be celebrating 11 years of marriage with my wonderful husband. Our love story can be found here. We have big plans for our evening. It will start with grinders for dinner, homemade dessert, and New Moon on blu-ray. If all goes well, we might actually have a chance to go out on the weekend as well. Happy 11th Anniversary C! I love you!
My blog schedule should return to normal on Monday, April 5, 2010
My 100th blog celebration should also take place in April!
Happy Easter on April 4th Everyone!
The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances. ~Robert Flat
For my husband...
My favorite gospel song in honor of Easter and our Savior Jesus Christ...
On my way to school, work, and other various destinations in my life, I used to listen to the radio icon Paul Harvey. His Rest of the Story program always held interesting stories that gave you a bigger insight into someone or something that you already knew. Clearly, his "and now you know... the rest of the story..." was the perfect tag line to every radio episode.
As I posted my final blog of 2009, and took a blogger's vacation, I neglected to give you the rest of the story regarding my leave of blog-o-sphere absence. Of course, it was easy to assume that Christmas had hijacked my brain and body so I was unable to post a tidbit of reading material. While that is true in a sense, there is still more to my blog vacation story. I'd like to share a piece of it with you today.
The Wednesday evening before my last blog post, my husband received a phone call from his dad. C was told that his grandmother, lovingly referred to as Nana, was not doing well and would be going off of dialysis after the holidays. We had planned to visit her, in our other home state of Maine, over Spring Break in April. The news not own threw a monkey wrench into our plans, but left us feeling a strong sense of sadness. Nana suffers from Alzheimer’s, diabetes, & kidney failure (among other health issues) and we were hoping to spend some time with her before she left us to spend a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow with God.
After talking to my husband, I told him that we were going to have a chance to say goodbye to his adoring grandmother. Our son, O, was almost on Christmas break and I was certain that C's work would allow him to take his vacation time on short notice, due to the situation. As Christmas was quickly approaching, I finished up all of the projects and preparations for the big day, while planning out our packing list. It was a busy week trying to get ready for the blessed holiday and a long road trip to Maine, but I knew that I would never regret the hectic days. The day after Christmas, we rolled out of our driveway and headed to spend some time with our family & friends on the East coast.
Two days on the road with two young boys is never an easy task, but it was so worth it. When we rolled into my father-in-law's driveway that Sunday night, we shared a small Christmas celebration before heading to bed. Our week would be busy and we knew it would go by much too quickly, so plenty of rest was in order. As it was a whirlwind, I feel as though we were in fast forward nearly the entire time. Gratefully, we were able to visit with most of our friends & family at least once, visit our favorite place in Maine (even if it was unbearably cold), and eat at a few of our favorite Maine food locations. Most importantly, we were able to spend a couple of hours with Nana.
When we visited, Nana was having a good day. She knew who we were and although she could not remember when the boys were born, or how far apart they were, she understood that O & M were our children. I believe we were given a gift that day, as she has had much harder days in most recent weeks. Nana said a few little things that we will carry with us, and we were able to let her know that she means so much to us. It seemed as though the time went by all too quickly, but as though we were in slow motion at the same time. Leaving her room was more difficult than I think my husband or I had imagined. Before we left, she said the words, "I hope to see you again..." and we told her that she would.
With all my heart, I know those words to be the truth. Nana is a woman of strong Christian faith, and we know we will see her again in Heaven. When it is time, she will be welcomed into the loving arms of God, just as she has often opened her arms to her many sons, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other family members, & friends. We have been so very blessed to have been a part of her life.
I admit I'm having a tough time getting back into the swing of things today! Maybe it's due to the 1 1/2 weeks I was on my blog vacation or the fact that it's the end of Summer as we know it in our household. School has started back up and my youngest, M, and I are missing O. I guess this sense of bitter sweetness tends to put me out of my element.
I'm sure you are brimming with curiosity as to what I have been doing the entire time I've been away, so here is my Summer essay, I mean my Blog Vacation recap.
Since I last left you, I have spent little time on the computer. Why you ask? Partly because our Internet access went down for days, but mostly because I simply had a plan. My kids and I would squeeze the last drops of fun out of every single day, before my son's Summer vacation was over, and have even more memories to cherish for a lifetime. I assumed that time would cooperate with me and slow down just enough so that the first day of school wouldn't come quite so quickly. Of course, we all know that time likes to frustrate just about everybody and it refused to comply. Regardless, the rest of the plan went fairly well.
On the final Friday evening of August 2009, I went out with my friend Mary Beth (check out her blog) and got a couple of hours with other adults. My family enjoyed some cleaning, okay they didn't really enjoy that part, and a baseball game over the weekend before the final week of Summer officially began. Once it did, we practiced getting up early and going through our typical morning school routine. We held our final lunch box experiments during the week to determine the best way to keep juice cold while keeping water hot for oatmeal. Library books were read, movies watched, and games played. A school open house was held mid week, and we attended to meet the new teacher and explore the new school. My stomach had been in nervous knots about the big changes not only my to son's day, but mine as well. For me, meeting the teacher and introducing myself to some of the staff members helped to loosen those knots. It helped even more when the music teacher, who my son had last year, stopped us and told us that she's excited to have O back this year. What an amazing feeling it is to have a teacher tell you that your child is one that makes teachers want to teach and enjoy their jobs! Before I knew it, Friday had arrived... I swear time decided to push the fast forward button on me... and it was my last "normal" day with my boys. I sighed heavily when I realized this fact upon waking and looked at my boys sleeping in my big bed, they came into our room in the wee morning hours. I decided to let them sleep in a little, while I snuggled with them and admired their sweet little faces. Our final normal week day included a trip out for lunch and a crafty sock puppet project. Can you stand the excitement? I know, it's just too much.
Our final weekend of the Summer vacation did have more excitement to it. Calming our 2 boys on Saturday morning was a bit more difficult than normal. They were ready to battle over the best spot in front of the window by the door while waiting for visitors from Maine.... Grampa & Pamm! I was able to briefly distract them with their first entry in the scrapbooking journal they are keeping this year. My husband and I asked them to clean their rooms multiple times, and kept having them check to be certain they didn't miss anything. We offered tv, games, and playtime often, but the only thing they wanted to do was watch out the window. My adored father-in-law and his much loved significant other, were not going to arrive until the afternoon, but it didn't matter to my boys. They were bubbling with excitement and nobody was going to reposition their train of thought.
Finally, the knock on the door came and footsteps were heard running in that direction. It didn't take long before my boys were literally climbing all over their Grampa! After convincing the boys to let Grampa & Pamm get settled, we all prepared to head out to meet up with my Mom and celebrate her birthday at a loved local pizza place. By the time we got home that night, everyone was more than tired. The following day was full of family fun and dinner out. Unfortunately, the visit was much too short and bed time came far too quickly. Monday morning was spent missing Grampa & Pamm and wishing Maine & Michigan weren't so far apart. We are already counting down the days until we get to see Grampa again for Christmas!
Labor day was all about having a little fun and being prepared for the first day of school. It was a nice quiet day to just be with my family and reflect on all of the moments we've shared over this past Summer. That's where Summer ended and a new school year began. Where the bitter sweetness of seeing my kids grow up just a little more brought tears to my eyes. This is where my blog vacation story ends.
With only 1 week left before school starts (I'm squeezing in lots of fun time with my kids), Maine family visiting soon (YAY!), and an upcoming holiday weekend (an extra day with my hubby), I'll be taking a blogging vacation! I will be back to posting on Wednesday, September 9, 2009! Today however, I have rolled 2 blogs into 1. Enjoy!!!
P.S. I have discovered a new fairy that I wanted to share in honor of the upcoming school year...
I have a very special treat for everyone today... A blog guest star! He begged for this opportunity and is very excited to share his brilliant post for you today. Introducing, my son, O!
Star Wars 7: Sciwalkrs Hope
Acros the younvrs, Jeadi won the battle. And the won agein. And then the ships arivde.
The End
I hope you enjoyed this guest post and I apologize that the drawings to accompany this story are not scanned into our computer at this time. However, some original photos by the author have been added for your viewing pleasure. Obviously, my son is hopeful that George Lucas will create more movies for the Star Wars saga. May the force be with you!
Got a comment for my guest blogger & Star Wars fan? I'll be sure to share these comments with him as he's quite excited to be a blogger!
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Part 2
I am so proud of my boys! I love them with every piece of my heart. When the day comes that I am not here to tell them, God willing that will be a very very very long time from now, they will without a doubt know it to be true.
One of the best parts of being a Mom is the gifts that our children give us. No, not the flowers or homemade cards, although those are very dear to my heart, but the endless gifts that are not purchased in any store. We get to explore the world all over again through their innocent eyes, dream and hope amazing things without "rules", and feel an unbelievable sense of admiration directed at us for no other reason than we are Mom. Holding the title of Mom, Mommy, Mum, or Mama brings blessings that you never knew existed until you are bestowed with the honor.
As a Mom myself, I hold a deeper appreciation for the woman who raised me. I admire her for all that she has done for me and my 3 siblings, as well as all that she has survived. My Mother is a strong woman. She often gives more than she receives, and has as strong sense of compassion for others. I'm very grateful to have her in my life. She's not just an outstanding Mom & Grandma, but an unbelievable person.
I want to take this moment to honor her and say...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
We love you!
September 6, 2009
If you have kids, what "gifts" do they give to you? Did becoming a mom make you have more admiration for your own mother? What is your favorite part of being Mom?
