Mothers and Friends

If you tell me everything that is wrong with the world,

I will feel small and wonder why I should try.

But, if you show me how I can do anything if I work hard, I will do it with all my heart.

If you berate me for my failures and flaws, I will berate myself for them too.

But, if you encourage me to try again, I will, and I will like myself for it.

If you tell me all the reasons I "can't," I will believe you.

But, if you tell me the reasons why I can, I will believe in myself.

We all need a cheerleader, a person who believes in us, hopes for us, holds us up, and hears us out. 

I need that person.

And I got two.

Mom, thanks for knowing that if you just remind me of where I come from, I will remember where I am going.  Thanks for seeing the good in me when I made you look really hard.  Thanks for encouraging me when I discouraged you.  Thanks for being my friend.

Mother-in-law, thanks for loving me like I am yours.  Thanks for always being there to help, always reminding me that hard work is hard-won worth.  Thanks for being my friend.

Thank you both for teaching me how to mother by mothering me.

And thanks for still mothering this 32 year old woman who sometimes still feels small, scared, and unsure of herself.

I love you with all that I am.



Christmas Recap

See, if I would just sit down and organize my thoughts into blog posts each day, I wouldn't have to do a big recap and spend an hour trying to understand the many intricacies of Picasa Web Albums. 

Resolution 2011:  Blog more often.

Christmas this year was very nice for our family.  It began on a sour note, as the kids reasoned out that Santa is a farce.  This didn't really make me too sad, as Santa (along with the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy) just creeps me out.  Come on, parents.  We are always telling the kids not to let strangers in the house, and then we leave cookies out so a creeper in a red suit can come into our house while we sleep to "bring gifts" to our children?  How does this fit with our parenting philosophy?  Plus, Christmas is about JESUS.  Anyway, the truth is out, and the kids called me Santa all week before Christmas....I did not like that, as I kept picturing myself portly with lots of facial hair.  The first gift my children received from us was:

A kitten!  Her name is Stella, and she came to our home complete with an intestinal parasite, which has made us consider changing her name to Smella. 

Then, Christmas morning, our neighbors left the girls a gift on the front porch:

It was pretty much a better surprise than if Santa had brought it.  Our neighbors are better than Santa...and way less creepy, I might add.

God gave us a lovely Christmas gift also:

Snow!  He also gave us Jesus and the hope of eternal salvation, but the pictures people paint of Jesus creep me out almost as much as the pictures of Santa.   Come on, people, Jesus was from the Middle East!  Why is he always white skinned and gazing beseechingly into the distance?  Apparently, I got another rant for Christmas.

The girls opened their gifts,

and we headed out to my parents' house for Christmas Breakfast, the highlight of the season.

Brother and I...by the way, I don't know what my brother-in-law is doing behind us. 

My niece, whom my grandmother refers to as "Beauty," which is obviously befitting.

I don't have many photos from that morning, because everyone was giving me this look:

The "I am in my pj's, put away the camera" look.

Breakfast was fun and delicious, and we spent the day with our family.  We spent Christmas Eve with the Husband's family, but I forgot to take my camera at all there (bad blogger).

I will close by sharing two of the wonderful gifts I received this year:

Hello, dutch oven! 

Be still, my heart...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, full of the hope of Jesus Christ, the love of family and friends, and the blessings of the joy and peace that come with the season...at least they do when that Santa-creeper stays on the other side of the street ;)

A Whole Box of Gratitude

It seems to me that the Thanksgiving holiday has simply become a time to anticipate Christmas and begin crafting the list of things we want to receive this holiday season. I am just as guilty, as I have already received my Christmas present from the Husband, that sweet man:

While I am very grateful for the thoughtful gift, as I am a complete nerd and will be using it all of the time, I don't want to see this season as just another opportunity to add things to my house.  I want to use this season to add gratitude to my life.

So, in the spirit of not being totally materialistic this Thanksgiving, I have created a Gratitude Box. Oh, the things the we can do with shoe boxes.

The idea is that we will simply write things we are thankful for on a slip of paper and add them to the box in the days until Thanksgiving.

Then, on Thanksgiving day, we will open the box and read all the wonderful blessings we have recognized in our lives. 

Some of us are totally into it.

I wonder what hers will say, as she is just learning to write.  I am guessing "Mom" and "Dad" and "Curlyjo" will be easy enough, but whether or not she will stick to other short-vowel words remains to be seen. 

I know I am thankful for the privilege of being there to teach her those words and then watch her use them to thank the Lord.

What a blessing.

Just Because...

I just love this picture. 

It was taken on Easter Sunday, at my Grandmother's house, after a huge dinner with all of my wonderful family.

Which I also love. 

Funny how a simple picture of nothing at all, really, can bring up visions of things that mean so much.

Some People...

Some people are just a joy to be around.

Some people remind me of my younger self.

Some people feel just like family.

Some people are beautiful, always.

Some people bear one another's burdens, even when the burden is dishes from Easter dinner.

And some people are blessed--richly, extravagantly, undeservedly--to know just such people.

Happy Easter from The Husband and I. 

My Pretty Beets

I was making a beautiful salad for Easter dinner tomorrow, which required roasting some walnuts and canned beets.  I quickly lost focus when I drained the beets from the can...

and I made a flower out of beets and walnuts. 

Does anyone else think beets are absolutely beautiful? 

I was so into that beet flower that I burned the walnuts that were toasting in the oven.  Oh, well. I can just use my flower stem. 

By the way,

GET THIS COOKBOOK. 

Even if you are not vegetarian or vegan. 

Then make the Beet Salad out of the cookbook. 

But watch out for the beets. 

They can be very distracting.