Ahhh!

Buying my friend some tulips and a vase: Wonderful

Spending time with that friend and just talking: Wonderful

Going home with no plans for the rest of the day: Wonderful

Cuddling with the Husband and watching old Lost episodes online: Wonderful

A day without anxiety attacks: Priceless.

~B

Trimming the Pine

The day after Thanksgiving has become, thanks to our children,

a holiday almost bigger than Christmas.

The Christmas music is played while the boys go into the attic and grab all the Christmas boxes.
While the girls wait and wait and watch and giggle for that magical box to appear:
See, an ornament is bought for each child the day after Christmas.
They get a chance to see it as soon as I get home--
but then it is packed away for a whole year,
until the time comes that they can actually hang it up-
-the next day after Thanksgiving.


There's the fairy that looks a lot like one of my girls in fairy-form.

The motorcycle that my son at one time wished he could ride.

That marvelous door to Narnia in tribute to all the precious Radio Theaters to which we listen.

The one that my daughter loves because her name means Dove.

The one that we have two of--one for each twin.
(Click on the picture--the details are great!)

The wonder.
The TRUE and genuine excitement about the small things.

And it is topped off with the rest of the afternoon with my little girls playing "fairies" by their beloved Christmas tree.

Ahh, Christmas.
Only Christ could have thought of this.

~B

Makes a Great Substitute When Times are Tough

Hubby,

Just think of all the money that we'll save!!

~B

Yes!! FINALLY!!!!

Our prayers have been answered--THEY are coming to
the Lifelight Festival (Septemebr 2010).

My hubby and I have already made plans
for a date that night
(and front row standing rights--everyone move out of our way).

And it's FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Thank you, Lifelight!!

~B

Dario--Can you and the wifey come with us?? ;)

Send Them to Bed with a Kiss--Repost

SEND THEM TO BED WITH A KISS

(from HeartThrobs~The Old Scrap Book 1905)

O mothers, so weary, discouraged,
Worn out with the cares of the day,
You often grow cross and impatient,
Complain of the noise and the play;
For the day brings so many vexations,
So many things go amiss;
But Mothers, whatever may vex you,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!

The dear little feet wander often,
Perhaps, from the pathway of right,
The dear little hands find new mischief
To try you from morning till night;
But think of the desolate mothers
Who'd give all the world for your bliss,
And, as thanks for your infinite blessings,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!

For some day their noise will not vex you,
The silence will hurt you far more;
You will long for their sweet childish voices,
For a sweet childish face at the door;
And to press a child's face to your bosom,
You'd give all the world for just this!
For the comfort 'twill bring you in sorrow,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!
-----------

:)

He's home.

I'm happy.

~B

The Power of Your Smile.

Dear Son,

Do you know that right now this is my favorite photo of you? It's you with a real smile on your handsome face. I asked you and your sister to pose for a photo in your TKD outfits and while I was trying to get your little sister to hold still long enough for a picture without a flash, I happened to get this beautiful, wonderful picture. Thank you for forgetting just for a flash moment to not have your "serious" face on. I love it!

~Mama

The Countdown is ON!

Hopefully~~in 24 hours ( or less) I will be in the arms of my hubby again!

~B

A Small Favor Returned

Today, I helped my mom with her new job that she got at a local store.

She has to stock these certain shelves with certain things and the system is very complicated--she had been perplexed by what she was supposed to do for some time now and the training with the job was non-existent--no training= extra confusion for an incredibly bright and wonderful older woman.

So, I went to the store and helped her, with a job that would have even overwhelmed me.

It was incredible to stay with her and help her figure out the maze that her employers had left for her to figure out all by herself--but we persisted together and we figured it all out and it took 2 1/2 hours, but we got it done.

I kept on smiling at her, remembering all the times that her and my dad helped me out when I was a teen.
~The time that I got a job delivering Valentine's Day flowers--yet didn't know where hardly ANY street names were in the town I grew up in. She took the afternoon off and helped me for HOURS.
~The time that I was working at a tiny university job and I was supposed to cut out articles from newpapers about the state that I live in--I was there for HOURS and this was before cell phones, I heard a small rap on the window and looked out and here at 2 am, was my dedicated father, checking up on his girl--and he helped me finish my job (Him and I decided I would quit soon after that).

There are too many other times to count and I am SO happy that today, I got to return ONE tiny little favor to these people that raised me so well.

Thank you, my dear parents.

~B

A Good Day for Blogging

For a long time now, I have wanted a new bed spread.

I had been just putting on our regular old, ugly looking blankets. Holey and dingy (Am I spelling those right?), they didn't do our beautiful bed justice--and I just put up with it because we aren't the type of people to go out and spend a fortune on a bed spread--we are too cheap too smart to spend that kind of money.

So, company was over a little while ago and the wife needed to go into our room for some privacy and I thought of how she would see our ultra-utilitarian {read: functional} room--with the home-school books stacked in plastic lockers on a little table and the piano/piano books on the other side of the room--oh, and just for good measure add to that the three white trash bags of stuff to take to GoodWill sitting next to the piano (among the other things my children bring in there).

I pondered what thoughts crossed her mind when she saw our very shabby bed covers and I thought for a moment that I wished that we had spent some money on one (years before anyone would have gone in there).

So after all that thinking about my bed and it's non-existent bed spread....I talked to myself about it and I talked to the Lord. I emphasized how cool it would be to have one that looked nice. like in the catalogs.

I dropped that wishful thinking and went on with my life--and then it showed up--out of nowhere....

My husband's Grandma was moving and called and asked if I wanted her old bedspread, I said yes, not thinking that it would be anything that was my style, but I wanted to honor her--and she came by and a new relationship started: me and that bed spread--beautiful.

So, now my friends, if you come into my house, I will be thrilled to let you in my still ultra-utilitarian room, (don't mind the bags of stuff and the fan)--but this time it will have a gorgeous bed in it!

Ahh! The simple life. :)

(The lighting in the picture sure makes it look nice--it's hiding all of the "useful" stuff behind the photographer. ;0)

~B

Sweet!

We got a preview of our pictures!

They are beautiful--priceless--worth every penny.

Of course, I'm not going to show you them on here,
because this blog is a secret--shh!


~B

Photo shots by fulllifephoto.com

Family Photos

Today, after a five year hiatus, we had family pictures taken by a professional--it was great.

My hubby was so encouraged that this was a photographer that wasn't all snotty and into herself--he was really impressed, as so was I!

We had a fun time, we went to a park for a while (it was FREEZING COLD) and then we went downtown, while a million marching bands were marching on by. We went to a museum, and, and, and..... it was fun. {Although I got frustrated that my children wouldn't just make "natural" faces once in a while!}

But now the problem is---WAITING. I can't stand waiting. We keep checking her photo website to see if she'll give us just ONE glimpse of what happened--we can hardly wait!!

~B

Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday today, my cousin and her friends, have renamed Spearfish, South Dakota to: (drumroll please........):
"Hug-a-Fish."

It sort of rolls off the tongue nicely, doesn't it?
;-)
~B

Christmas is Already a Memory......

Time came.
Time went.
They grow.
They bless.
They are amazing.
Thank you, Lord, for these children you have given us.
Thank you for these scrumptious memories and moments,
That are gone in a camera's flash.
And soon that will be all that is left of this time.
--------
Two older parents sitting on a couch, looking at those photos,
reminiscing about the past.
About their children.
About the past Christmas' joys.
-------
What a delightful life this has been.

~B

In the Giving of Thanks

Oh my wonderful Heavenly Father, I praise You and Your ways!
I thank You for instilling in us a hunger for You.
Blessed are those that look to You for guidance and that honor Your word.
I love You, Lord~ I am amazed at your power and your amazing ways!
Thank you for Your moral standards and your bridle on lives.
Thank you for allowing me to see Your amazing colors.
------------------------
Red and Yellow.
Black and White.
They are precious in Your sight.
You love the little children of the world.

Including me.

~B

My Two Passions

Lately, I have felt burdened, useless and replaceable. I sit and stare at the computer and wonder what life is worth if there is nothing to do. Sure, I have housework, but what value can one find in that? I can find NONE.

So, I have been feeling this empty sort of way. But then I noticed that that empty feeling would go away when I would do things that challenged my brain, instead of it just sitting there collecting dust.

I have many things that I am interested in: being a good parent, a really good wife, being involved in community things, helping others.... and the list goes on and on.

But the two things that I am unquenchingly passionate about are: learning about God and what He expects of me and learning about natural medicine.

I have had a passion for learning about homeopathy, a natural form of medicine for the past 11 years now. We went that direction when my newborn son wasn't getting better from modern medicine. We happened upon herbs and homeopathy through my cousin, who is a registered nurse. We saw results and I was sold.

Over the years, I have tried to absorb every little detail about homeopathy. I have learned a little bit more about other natural therapies, but mostly I have loved to study homeopathy.

Recently, I went to the naturopath and learned about "Rodding" and "Kineseology", things that I don't really know if I like or understand...yet. I am holding those methods at an arm's length, slowly trying to absorb what they try to accomplish with my body.

I am going to a small class this Thursday about "Muscle Testing" and homeopathy and bach flower remedies. I don't know much about the first and the third items, but my heart leaps with anticipation waiting for the class. I'm so looking forward to packing new items into my brain, something I can sit and chew on while I live my life. I need to always be learning.

I am the same way with God's Word. I get podcasts of Chip Ingram, Ravi Zecharias and other shows. I hadn't been listening to them lately, and I didn't correlate the fact that I wasn't learning with the fact that I felt useless and bored.

When I plug in a show and I do my odd jobs around the house, and I learn and learn and learn about the things that God wants from me and what He wants me to become, I feel my wings open and they start grabbing that wind that God so patiently waits for me to accept. I go to bed with God on my mind, and what my life needs to become. I look into my heart and see the darkness and I see how I need to get rid of it all and become more like Him.

I am so thankful that God has taken this opportunity to allow me to see a glimpse into my very own heart. He has allowed me to see what I need at this time to feel like I am accomplishing something.

I need to learn.
I cannot sit here and let my life go by without constantly filling my head with these two passions.

I need to learn.

~B

Global Warming?

The world is melting,
except in the state where I live!
Today we woke up to a beautiful, sticky, white blanket of snow. The girls were up
by 6:30am to go out and play in it.
~B

Absentmindedness

I have discovered that the busier I get the less I talk to God.

I get up and do my stuff and those are the times that I talk to God and feel close to Him.

Then life gets busy with exciting things, like this play, and then I don't spend much time with Him.

The busy-ness becomes the thing that fulfills in an empty sort of way. The busy-ness keeps the mind off of what really needs to be thought of.

I'm not saying that people shouldn't pursue the things that please them, like being in a play or going for a jog; whatever. I am saying that we need to be living with our eyes wide open!

It's just that the last few days with the building enthusiasm with the theatrical production happening, the thoughts have been going towards what has been going on in our life.
The quiet moments are spent thinking about these thrilling events, and not in times of prayer and contemplation.

Today, as I zoomed out of the driveway towards play practice, I almost forgot to pray. We have a family tradition of praying before we leave the driveway; it's an awesome ritual. It forces us to stop and smell the beauty that God has placed right in front of us.

So, I almost forgot to pray when I was leaving the driveway, and I suddenly realized it and told the kids that even though life is so fun and exciting right now, that we still need to realize how awesome and beautiful and holy God is. We said a word of prayer to our great Lord and then went on our way.

In this time of driving there, I realized how easy it is to leave God behind. It's easy to say, "Aw, shucks, I can pray later."

It must be like this for the 'superstars', they pursue what is exciting and beautiful; what they don't realize is how easy it is to hold that in your hands, just by realizing how exciting and beautiful our God is.

And I can see the beauty of Christ in a play, and the children that are involved, and the adults that love the children, and the stagehands that smile when they see the kids. I can see Christ in the laughter that the play will bring into someone's lives. I can see the awesomeness of Christ; but only when I look through that looking glass.

If I thought that it was only caused by the people, then I would be missing half the joy of the show.

Thank you, Lord for your magnificent things you put all around us.

~B

Playing Around

I take them to play practice a few times a week.
They are all on the timid side, two of them especially so.

The night of auditions was terrifying for them, the director made them stand on stage and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", just the four of them.
The two shy ones stood behind me trying to hide.
The other two, hands in their pockets, looked at the shy duo, wondering what to do.
The song was sung, mostly by me, and here and there you could hear their voices.

Now it is almost a month later and rehearsals are often.
Some of my children's friends are in the play and that has really opened them up,
especially the shy ones.

They try to sing with expression and with fervor.
We tell them to give it their all.
It's beautiful to watch, because they have so much talent, and they don't even recognize it.
They sing, they try to listen to what the choreographer is telling them to do.
They hold what they are supposed to hold. They make expressions like they are supposed to make.

The play is less than three weeks away.
It seems too soon.

I see my children up on that stage and I smile, close to tears, because as I watch, I see what incredible people they are growing into.

Thank you
for this
blessed
sip of life.
~B

He Still Surprises Me

If you know my husband, you won't believe what he did last night.

We were at a music festival, we were walking around looking for a food booth, I saw the lead singer of MxPx, one of my hubby's favorite bands, and I told him. He then proceeded to ask me if I would take a picture.

I took his phone, thinking that my hubby wanted a picture of himself with the lead singer being in the background (without the lead singer's knowledge??), BUT no....

He walked up to the guy, said strongly: "Mike, Can you turn for a picture?" and he responded, "Sure, Yes." and he turned around, both smiling brightly....

So, here I was with the phone in my hand trying to believe what had just happened. Trying to believe that I could press the photo button correctly....

Obviously, I did okay. But wow! This goes into the category of "If You Don't Know Me By Now."

I never, ever knew my timid, quiet hubby would do this!

~B