Doing What I LOVE...

Educating our children tops this list!!!

I LOVE the blessing of homeschooling all these wonderful children of mine!

I LOVE having my kiddos home with me!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing their eyes light up when that "ah-ha" moment hits...
I love sharing my favorite stories with them from when I was a little child, and I love that they bring those books back to me time and again to hear more.

I recently pulled out the one book that I remember owning as a little girl...
It is my favorite, quite possibly because I spent so many hours turning its pages.
This little gem of a book that I am referring to was written by Richard Scarry and published in 1973...yep, vintage!!!  And it's still a keeper, even in its sad state of repair!
It has officially been LOVED TO DEATH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love this little tidbit that I found about him:
Mr. Scarry, who was born in Boston and moved to Switzerland in 1968, once wrote: 
"It's a precious thing to be communicating to children, 
helping them discover the gift of language and thought. 
I'm happy to be doing it."

He also shared these words...and this sooooo perfectly fits my experience!
"I'm not interested in creating a book that is read once and then placed on the shelf and forgotten.  I am very happy when people write that they have worn out my books, or that they are held together by Scotch tape. I consider that the ultimate compliment." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the cheery sunshine on the first page, 
to the sleepy moon on the last
I am captivated.

The stories are simple,
the poems sweet,
the messages pure,
the illustrations colorful and fully engaging.
The stories speak to your heart,
they resonate goodness
and hope...
They make you feel as though it is perfectly wonderful and normal to lay upon the grass just watching all the creepy crawlies and magnificent buzzing insects...
as you turn the pages, fabulous things happen inside of you, smiles and laughter freely come from within and explode exuberantly...

When I hold this wonderfully worn out book in my hands,
I am just like a little child again,
it is Magical and transforming,
I feel refreshed, alive, safe and happy.
I marvel and can't help but smile as the pages turn...
my heart is filled with joy as the words from those pages spring from my mouth to the ears of my sweet children.

When I share those words,
I feel as though
I am sharing part of me...
such a BIG part of me,
the part of me that never really grew up,
the part of me that still loves to dream and imagine...
the part of me that longs for moments spent laying beneath the stars or the clouds...
the part of me that loves exploring all this life holds...
the part of me that is ready at a moments notice to go rolling down the hillside, chase the butterflies, or catch the tadpoles...

When I am with my kids, the REAL me is NEVER afraid to come out...
I am as goofy, as silly, as wacko as I could ever desire to be...
I am filled with excitement and joy...
I am filled to overflowing when their joy and excitement meet up with mine ~
it's like the little person in me is playing with the little people I've created...
and we are kindred spirits
doing what WE love...

Two Wolves...which will win?

I had a whoppin' large group of teens for a home school teen party at our home just Friday night...
with a big group of teens, also comes a big group of moms...
LOVE it when that happens!!!

There were so many amazing conversations taking place, 
but one that will stick with me is the following story that my friend, Jessica, shared that evening.  I love it!!!  
I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do...
and even more I hope it will cause you to stop and think about some of the "wolves" in your life!

From a Cherokee legend:

There is a story about an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life.
"A fight is going on inside of me,"
he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight,
and it is between two wolves."

One is evil:
He is anger, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, and ego."

He continued,
"The other is good:
He is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, 
generosity, truth,
compassion and faith.

The same fight is going on inside you ~ 
and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, 
"Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, 
"The one you feed."

Time to SHINE!

I attended a business meeting earlier this week...

I've attended many in the past,

but 

this one

touched me in a way that was 

different...

I have had some "Dreams", if you will,

that I keep putting on the back burner

waiting for the "right" time...

That night,

something was said that may just have changed

my thought process...

Just two little words...

"BE DELIBERATE"

BUT

when you think about what those two words mean to you...

they become a whole lot more!!!

When I heard them

something inside of me

starting jumping up and down

needing to get out

needing to make things happen

the need I felt was FABULOUS

and Surprising

and Invigorating

and a little Scary...

But not too scary to stop me!!!

This year, 

I will shine!

I will live my life without fear,

without doubt,

without question,

I am just going to jump in with both feet 

and make AMAZING THINGS happen!!!

On my mirror, 

I will read these statements each & every morning ~

And this one...

A message I NEEDED desperately to see!

MY LIFE

really is my message...

and by darn it,

I'm gonna make it GOOD!

Watch out 2013...

I AM GOING TO ROCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Another Happy Moment in time...

And YES, I must share it with YOU!!!

For all who know me well, you know that this has not been the easiest year of my life...
FULL
of many hard days...
Might be the hardest year I can ever remember.

BUT it has also been
filled with many amazing days of growth
and understanding of me
and who I'm becoming...
and
of who I was and
who I AM...
A Year of learning a whole lot of stuff
about me...
and about looking on the bright side of things.
A year of learning to accept that I am not really in control of everything, in fact, I'm not really in control of ANYTHING...I'm just along for the ride ~ and quite a ride it has been!!!

It has been 7 months,
yep, let's count 'em
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Dang...that is a lot of months...
anyway,
it has been 7 VERY LONNNNNNGGGGGG months
since I've been behind the wheel of a car...

Not because I didn't long to be there,
not because I was a bad girl and lost my privileges
not because I didn't have a car to drive about...
but because
my body decided to take a little break from
Life...
It decided I needed to STOP
just about EVERYTHING.
immediately.
without question.
without argument.
just STOP!

Well,
my HAPPY MOMENT
that I must share
cause I just can't keep such amazing things to myself
is that I am FINALLY behind the wheel again!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am okay...
I avoid certain areas,
BUT
I am out there again...

AND
one day
hopefully sooner than later
I
WILL
DRIVE
MY
YELLOW
SLUG BUG!!!

(First, I need to buy it...minor detail)
But that is my silly dream ~ to drive about in an adorable little yellow slug bug...gerber daisy riding along happily beside me ~ sunroof open allowing all that sunshine to warm my shoulders, wind ruffling my hair and all my favorite music just playin' away!!!

But what you must know is that
just a month ago
I had resigned myself to never leaving my home again
alone...
I was okay with it...
(most of the time)
there were days I had a little fit,
it was not what I wanted...

but my health was returning,
my brain was functioning again,
I was able to finally walk around by myself
without the aid of my husband or my children,
I could open a book and enjoy reading once again,
life wasn't fully "normal" or as I had known previously,
but I could pretty much do as I wished (within reason)...
so I was pleased.

AND NOW...
Just a short time later,
I am feeling ALMOST completely back to ME!!!!

So there is my Happy Moment that needed to go out to all of the people that I love so much!!!
Thanks for sharing in my little happy party!!!

Don't worry about tomorrow...

When I saw this little gem, I have to say my heart cried out just a bit.

I have been so guilty of this.
And I am so grateful for the awareness that this brought to me.

Do you find yourself rushing life along as you try to "form" that little child of yours into what you believe they should become one day?

I wish with every ounce of my being to focus on who they are TODAY.
I want to see them for the wonderful person they are right here and now.
I want to enjoy the wonder of my little children,
I want to see through their eyes
and their hearts.
I wish to feel the magic that is so alive within them.
I wish to relish in the moment with them
and to look back on our days together
with the biggest smile my face can muster.

IF I am doing this...
they will become exactly who they are to become,
and I needn't worry myself about it one teeny tiny little bit.

All will be well.
No
All will be WONDERFUL!!!!

Bears, Mermaids and Whales...Oh My!!!!

So it seems to me that most, if not all, women are somewhat obsessed by who they are, what they look like, what others think of them…
We forever compare ourselves to others...

Instead of fearing the Lions, Tigers and Bears in our lives...
our fears are based out of not being good enough, 
or looking fine enough, 
or fitting in just so...
we desire to become 
or to look like 
or to be as popular as
this person 
or that person...

 

I just have to share a couple short stories with you...
they'll give you something to think about and hopefully add a little laughter to your day!  ;)

 

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption read: 

"This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?" 

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way: 

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends
(dolphins, seals, curious humans),
they are sexually active
and raise their children with great tenderness. 

They entertain like crazy with dolphins
and eat lots of prawns.
They swim all day
and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on Cd's.
They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires. 

Mermaids do not exist. 

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality:
woman or fish?
They would have no sex life
and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely,
but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side? 

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale. 

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends. We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself:
"How amazing am I ?! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her response!

And the next story....well, it just makes me giggle!!

In My Next Life I Want To Be A Bear

In my next life I want to be a bear.

If you're a bear, you get to hibernate. 

You do nothing but sleep for six months.

I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid.

I could deal with that, too.

If you're a bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake to partially grown, cute cuddly cubs.

I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too.

I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. 

He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat. 

He KNOWS not to get between you and the food.

Yup..... Gonna be a bear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Although these both make me laugh just a little, 

I have to admit I truly have no real desire to be a bear or a mermaid or a whale…

They all have their benefits ~ 

there are times that I think I could deal with having an extended nap, especially when it’s cold outside!  

I love the beautiful life of the whale 

and let’s face it, who wouldn't enjoy having the body of a mermaid (with the addition of a couple of legs)?

But since I’m never going to be 

a bear 

or a whale 

or a mermaid, 

I will focus on what I can become… 

I can become the very best ME there is!

There is no reason I can't have the body I dream of...
if I am willing to work hard enough for it...
why bother dreaming of looking like a mermaid???  
I can make anything I wish happen if it is important enough to me.
And I'm already living a life better than that of the bear or the whale...
If I REALLY wish to have that extended nap,
well, I'll just go climb under the covers and get up when I feel like it and that will be okay...and my little "cubs" can join me if they wish to.  
Not too often do I feel the need to swat anyone around me, but if so...well, I guess I could do that, too..so you might wanna watch out!.  ;)
Someday I just might be lucky enough to see all the wonder and beauty that the whale enjoys, but if not...that is okay...I see so much that they are never blessed to witness.
So, yea...
I think being ME is pretty alright
and I'm pretty alright...
so no real need to be a bear or a mermaid or even a whale.

I believe our true happiness comes when we finally really like the person we are ~
when we can look in the mirror and say to our reflection…

"You are one amazing person…"

Happy New Year

I came across this today and just wished to share it with you...
may you be blessed with all that is good, enriching and joyful this new year!!!

"What shall I wish thee?
Treasures of earth? 
Songs in the springtime,
Pleasure and mirth?
Flowers on thy pathway,
Skies ever clear?
Would this ensure thee
A Happy New Year?

What shall I wish thee?
What can be found
Bringing thee sunshine
All the year round?
Lasting and dear,
That shall ensure thee
A Happy New Year.

Faith that increaseth,
Walking in light;
Hope that aboundeth,
Happy and bright;
Love that is perfect,
Casting out fear;
These shall insure thee
A Happy New Year." 
-  Frances Ridley Havergal, A Happy New Year