Choices

What makes it a good day for you?




For me, it's simple....

For me, I am learning to appreciate ordinary days as the ideal. Uneventfulness is a good thing.

I think sometimes we forget to appreciate the ordinary and the mundane. The excitement we may crave in our lives may turn out to be an excitement that's not so good. So for me, for this time in my life, boring is good.

I'm thankful each day for my family.
For the health of my family.
For my friends.
For the health of my friends.
For good neighbors.
For not just a job, but a job I enjoy, working with people that I enjoy working with.

I'm very blessed.

We have a roof over our heads. A mortgage we can afford (with a fixed rate I might add).

We can read the Bible. We can home school our kids. We can get the medical care we need.

We have a cupboard of food. We turn on the faucet and there is running water.

Sometimes we just need to stop and take stock. No whining allowed. Because in a heartbeat, life can change.

So today, I am happy. I choose to embrace the uneventfulness of life. Each day we wake up to new choices to be made. Are we going to look at our blessings, choose to embrace the weeds of life (as the Gardening sister would say), and choose contentment regardless?

What choice will I make tomorrow morning? Will I choose to be happy? Will I choose to be content with what God has given me? Will I choose to serve others? Or will I choose materialism and selfishness? Will I choose to be discontent? Will I choose anger...anger at the economy, anger at the elections....or will I choose fear? Will I be fearful for the future?

Or will I choose to embrace the here and now, a minute at a time choosing each minute to make the most of it and be of service to those around me? I have the choice of how I spend my time. What will I do? Will I look back at the end of the day and feel that the day was spent doing what God would have chosen as the best use of my time? Or will I have whittled and wasted it away?

It's a choice. Minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day.

Lord? Can you please slow down these days and minutes? They are ticking by awful quickly. I think I'd like to enjoy them more, and so it would be helpful if life didn't fly by so fast. I want to take some time to smell the roses. The kids are growing so quickly. Grandma is slowing down. I want to freeze this time. Is that too much to ask? Maybe it is. So today, and hopefully tomorrow, I choose to be content, and say "Thank you, Lord". Life is good.

The Perfect Gift

On his second birthday, we gave Sam a birthday present that would change his life forever....

We gave him a baby sister.


I'll never forget bringing her home from the hospital 11 years ago today. Sam was so mad he threw up on me. It was the first time I ever saw my sweet baby boy furiously mad at me. At the time, it was sooo traumatic. Now we can all laugh.


Yearly Sam and Sophie campaign for separate birthday parties. I can just hear it now...."Umm. Excuse me. Could you please leave and come back for the next party in 15 minutes?"

I think they might leave and not come back.

Hey! At least they each get their own cake!

For Miss Sophia it's all about the dog stuff....



Never enough dog stuff.



It's a different story for the boys....


What's the phrase that only men understand?

Is it "whoever dies with the most guns wins? "

Well, when you're 13 it's about the nerf guns.



Or maybe it's really about the video games?

For someone at the party, it's all about bein' green. Can anyone in cyber space guess which party guest wore this shirt?

Here's a party guest who wasn't so happy... That little baby that she helped babysit and take care of, that she carried around all the time and played with and dressed up, and changed his diapers... That little baby is now taller than she is.

I'm so sorry, Laura.....another cousin passes you by...




I would tie bricks on their heads if I thought it would keep them my little babies forever.

Wait a minute...no matter how big they get, there will always be room on my lap for my little babies. No matter how big they get, they'll always be my babies!

Happy Birthday Sam and Sophia!

Special Guest Post

Once again, I've been called upon to do a guest post for my baby sister.
She's so bbbbuuuussssyyy you know. So much going on.

You know she homeschools her kids, right?

I wonder if they are celebrating International Talk Like A Pirate Day today? I just found out about it myself, and since I'm usually a step ahead (I am older and wiser), I bet they aren't.

But if they were, arrrggghhh, that would be something to hear!

Here are a few more things Sherry has learned from me, being as how, like I said, I'm older and wiser.

1. Everything about Gardening! (I never miss a chance to add a link to my blog, do I?)

2. Our grandma kept a diary and it is fascinating to read all the way through. I've been posting it for 2 years, and 9 months. Hey, if you've got some time, go back and start from the beginning to read it and get caught up. The last diary entry is in just a few months on December 31st.

3. Iced green tea from Starbucks is a lot better, and better for you, than diet Coke from McDonald's. (She's still working on learning this lesson.)

4. It's easier to grow vegetables in raised beds. See above about gardening. (Look another link!)

5. The proper way to use a hoe. (I assume Sherry isn't embarrased that I have the largest hoe collection in the world, at least the largest on the world wide web.)

Well, I could go on and on, there's so much, but time is short for me, too.

Leave a comment and tell Sherry how much you like these guest posts!

Oh, and I know that Sherry's posts are usually full of pictures and all, but I couldn't find a picture, so you all will just have to settle on that one hosta picture above that I took in her backyard.

Hope you all have a great day!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens, and Sherry's Sister.

MISSY

1994-2008

It's OK Missy.

Annie was waiting for you and she's been calling to you for a little while now.

We'll take good care of Grandma for you.

Please check on Skippy for us. You remember her, don't you? She used to come in and steal that expensive dog food that Grandma always bought for you.

See that pretty dog with the golden feathers? That's Candy. She belonged to your mommy years ago. She was a good dog too. And that Schnauzer that keeps nuzzling you? That's Mitzi. And the collie that's bounding over to say "hi"...that's Tippy. She was first. You probably don't remember Prissy, Konga, or Checkhov.....they lived here for a summer once upon a time. I'm sure they came to greet you today. Once upon a time, they were all part of our family here. Now you are part of their family there.

We'll miss you.

Friends

I know, I know. I've violated one of the cardinal rules of blogging by not posting in eons and eons. But NOW I'll find out who really loves me. Who will come back and visit me after my long absence? LOL!

We had some good friends visit from Colorado a few weeks back. Sam and his friend met in 2nd grade and even though his friend has moved here there and everywhere, his family comes back each year to visit. Each year when they return it's like they have never left. We all just pick up from where we left off.

This year, we took our friends to the State Fair (along with Princess Ruthie, of course!)


Seth is showing his niece what a cow is.

"I KNOW what a cow is, Seth"
"Geesh"


Seth was finally tall enough for his first driving experience .

And, Rebecca was finally tall enough to ride the little roller coaster.

We moms REALLY appreciated Sophie. She mothered the little girls and took good care of them which meant we moms DIDN'T have to ride the little roller coaster. Once you turn 30 (or 40) those rides give you a different sensation than they do when you are younger.

I have a love/hate, fear/fascination relationship with horses. I used to love them until a trail horse tried to end my life a few years back. Now I keep my distance.

Becca, if you are reading this, could you please whip one of these cakes up for Sophie's birthday here in a few weeks? I'm sure she would appreciate it.

Becca is our family cake maker/decorator. A few years back she entered a cake in the state fair and won. Pretty impressive!

The gardening aunt met us at the fair. She conveniently arranged for us to be in the Horticulture building during a heavy downpour.

Here she is instructing the kids on the finer aspects of gourds.

(Note the camera....if she doesn't have a camera in hand it's because she has a hoe in hand!)

OK. So while we are waiting for the rain to end.....

Rebecca, Ruth, and Seth posed for the camera! This is an interesting picture because all 3 are within 6 months of each other. It will be interesting to see how they even up in size as the years progress.

Here's the whole motley crew (I wonder what the word "motley" means? - Should I look it up before I use that word on my blog? Nahhhh......it sounds good.....I'll leave it).

Nathan and Sam are the same age as well. Someday they'll be all grown up and Nathan will probably be bigger than Sam. His mother said that her brother grew 9 inches in one year. Once Nathan has his growth spurt I'm sure he'll pay Sam back for all those head pats this year.

Always the uncle teaching the niece

("I know, Seth, I KNOW. You don't have to tell me!")

I hope they're always best friends.

I hope he always watches out for her.



Come on guys, just ONE nice picture! PLEASE?



I think it's physically impossible for boys to hold still and pose for ONE picture.






Unlike girls who are usually pretty obliging.



Here's my friend, Julie. She's threatening me about taking her picture. It's OK though. She doesn't read my blog, so we'll keep it a secret that I posted her picture, OK?

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL trip to the state fair, a WONDERFUL visit with our good friends. The kids are already talking about their next visit. They can't wait!

Summer

Where did summer go? With the temperature in the 70's and 80's and practically no humidity, it feels more like fall than summer. The public school kids start back up this coming week. Seems like just yesterday was the 4th of July, and the day before that it was May with all the hopes and dreams of the summer to come.

It's been a buggy summer.

(I found these pictures in my camera...Hmmm...wonder who took them?)

The Cicadas are in their full glory singing their summer good-bye songs.

I don't even want to know how this beetle found it's way to my kitchen table...

I love Praying Mantis. They look like little kittens when they wash their little faces.

It's been a good summer. A summer filled with friends.

A summer spent watching Victoria grow, and grow, and grow....along with the weeds....



A summer without too much television (yes, we really threw these away). One tv for watching, one for video games. Our new limit. That's all we need. (Maybe?)


Of course there are always computer games....

A summer of Webkinz discovery, and a summer spent with big brothers....

The last summer for our Linden tree we think. It looks very sad, don't you think? It was struck by lightening a few years back, and although it's tried really, really, hard, I think it's giving up. The Japanese beetles don't help.

It's really trying....it really is. But, Carol says these are not a good sign.


On a happier subject....Sophie spent a week babysitting the neighbors' dogs. She is in love with Sugar (and you too Sebastian....and Spunky). She spent the week on the neighbor's porch holding Sugar. She took her assignment very, very seriously.....
I think Diamond has had enough of other cats, and especially dogs. We found out she's two-timing us. The neighbors on the other other side of the neighborhood assumed she was a stray because she spent so much time at their house. They named her Lucy. The other neighbors named her Leechy, and their neighbors call her Boots. It's quieter on that side of the neighborhood. No screaming children. No dogs over there. And only one other cat. I think Diamond/Lucy/Leechy/Boots is a loner at heart. She has never quite forgiven us for keeping all of her kittens. She knows where the food is though.


This poor, poor child has no cats and no dogs. The closest she has come lately is when her mother (aka Martha Stewart/aka A2) threw her and her brother a Bow-Wow Ball for their Birthday party this summer.

Since he has no dog to climb on, his cousin will have to do.



The whole theme of the party was Dalmatians.


The girls even made Dalmatian-themed "paws"




There was Pin the Tail on the Puppy

There were cute treat bags, dog-themed of course.


There were even treat bags for the dogs in the family.

The only thing missing from the Bow-Wow Ball was a real puppy! I was SURE A2 would use this birthday party as a setting for bringing a puppy into their family.

BUT NOOO....

I waited and waited and waited, but no puppy appeared. :-(

How could you throw a BOW-WOW birthday party without giving the birthday boy and girl a puppy? I'm just sure that Martha Stewart would NOT approve.

I'm psychologically damaged.

Oh well. I guess I need to move on......

Uh-Oh

All I can say is it's a good thing she has a microchip.....