{this moment} - Inspired by soulemama A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
{this moment} - Inspired by soulemama A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
{this moment} - Inspired by soulemama A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
{this moment} - Inspired by soulemama A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Has it been a month since I last updated? Time certainly is passing at warp speed despite my best efforts to slow things down. We have been up to quite a bit the past few weeks.
We have gone from cool February days with Melody's favorite past-time...sidewalk chalk (psst! it's not just for sidewalks around here)...
to my mom's pineapple upside down cake (which big brother Mason was good enough to share with his littlest sister, Melody)...
to celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2...
to enjoying the magic of a box...
to warmer days and time to redo flowerbeds and get our garden boxes ready and planted...
to evenings nice enough to go out for a bike ride even after long days at work and school...
to a St. Patrick's day so unseasonably warm even in SC that the temperature was in the lower '80s!
What have you been up to?
Our Grace turned 7! On her actual birthday, we celebrated very low key with just Jon, the kids, my parents and me. We ordered pizza from a favorite local Italian place and we have not had pizza in so long, it was a special treat:) Grace asked for a cookie cake and we obliged. After pizza and cookie cake, we went outside and Grace discovered a new bike. As I am looking through the pictures, I realize I have no good pictures yet to do her awesome bike justice, but it is black and hot pink. Grace only just learned to ride a bike without training wheels this past winter break and was anxious to have a bigger bike. She was so very excited and I was very impressed that Jon picked it out all on his own after looking for a couple of days at different bikes.
The morning after her birthday, she had a 9:00 AM soccer game.
And that afternoon, it was time for tea party to celebrate with a couple of her friends.
All of the ladies had a marvelous time.
February 17, 2005 I welcomed Grace Ann into the world. It had been 10 years since my last child had been born and what a difference in ME that a decade had made. I was so much calmer and aware of how quickly time passes in the life of a child. Grace Ann I love you so very much and I am so proud of the person you are.
Jon came into my life when I was 38. As much as I sometimes wish we had met sooner, I also wonder if I would have appreciated all he is as a person had I been younger.
My first impression was that he was a fun-loving party guy, a talented musician, and smart. And he is all of those things. But, let me tell you about Jon.
1. Jon is a good parent.
Jon is and has been hands-on every step of the way with our now 13 month old daughter, Melody. Jon reaches out to my two oldest children (Penny & Mason) and has bonded seamlessly with my now almost 7 year old daughter, Grace.
2. Jon is a good partner at home.
Jon makes dinner most nights and makes sure I have a hot (reheat) lunch to take to work each day. He does not conform to gender stereotypes and thinks we are partners and we share chores and it is okay if he is the better cook and I am more suited to laundry. It is okay for both of us to have dishpan hands.
3. Jon is open and sincere.
He is open with his thoughts and feelings (I could use work in that area). Jon says what he means and means what he says. I never have to wonder about any hidden meanings or agenda.
4. Jon gets me.
Jon knows me well enough to know that if we have had a bit of a row, my hug and "I love you" means I am sorry.
5. Jon believes in me.
Jon never questions my abilities or tells me that my ideas are silly. If I ever come up with an idea I wish to pursue, he is on board and looking for ways to help me succeed.
I love this man and he was worth the 38 year wait.
My oldest, Penny, celebrated her 20th (!) birthday on January 8th! We had a late lunch with family and her best friends since it was the same day she returned to college after winter break. If you have any doubts as to how quickly time passes, put them to rest with my solemn word. She said it was the best birthday she ever had, and as her mom, I hope the birthdays ahead are even better still.
Here she is at her birthday lunch with her uncle and my youngest brother, Michael.
And yesterday, I ended my long weekend away from work with a one on one day with my youngest, Melody. She supervised while I did laundry, but mostly we just played and enjoyed being together with nothing planned.
She is absolutely smitten with the little tennis shoes that her aunt and uncle gave her for christmas. If she isn't wearing them, she is carrying them around:)
The oldest at 20 and the youngest at 13 months and two more between them. My joy, my world, and if daycare costs were not an issue, I would love to expand our family even more.
Don't blink.
Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that the new year is upon us.
The holidays were wonderful and spent with both the nuclear and extended families. What I was reminded of and will remember BEFORE the next winter holidays are two big things: 1) It is the family experiences that make the holidays special and should be central and 2) Material excess takes away from the experience.
In the midst of it all, our Melody turned one:)
We had a wonderful time planning family activities. We went and saw Santa and rode a little train through a park filled with holiday lights. We roasted marshmallows and Melody tasted her first marshmallow. We went to a tree farm for our tree and decorated it together, reliving the memories and making new ones as we placed the handmade ornaments from the children. We left eggnog and cookies for Santa and made our own reindeer food to leave as well. We wrapped gifts in kraft paper and used stamps and ink to decorate them. We talked about some of the various holidays that fall in the season, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Chrsitmas, and Kwanza. We watched the children each open one gift a night for three days before Santa came. We woke up crazy early on 12/25 to make sure we could all see the delight in the faces of our 6 year old and 1 year old when they came into the great room.
My one sadness was seeing how the actual experience was really lessened by too much STUFF. My oldest daughter is mortified at the thought of making things less materialistic next year, but my almost 7 year old seemed excited about making handmade gifts and scaling back next season. My teenage son does not seem to have the same family-type memories of the holidays that I have. In some ways, I feel that I have let down my older children by not doing a better job of making our celebrations more about people and less about things. I cannot undo the past, but I can be aware and do a better job NOW and in the future.
In the spirit of walking the talk, I want to will personally focus on striving to be more content. I want to will spend more time in the moment appreciating all I have for which to be grateful (and there is SO MUCH). I want to will live in the now. I hope know all the effort on MY part with MY life will make me a better model for my children, not just for holiday seasons but for living with love and gratitude EACH DAY.
I can hardly believe that today is the first day of December already. This year has really flown by!
This past weekend, we went to a tree farm. Grace and her cousin enjoyed a tracker ride and pony drawn carriage ride around the farm. We were there for hours. It was dark by the time we finally selected our tree and were ready to head home. All the walking did not tire Jon too much to get on the roof and hang the lights, though!
And back on the topic of the tree...it is a humdinger! It must be almost 10 feet tall. We decorated it Sunday night and even with all our ornaments (and we have many) it still isn't too much. While we were at it, we went ahead and hung all the other decorations in the house as well.
Today grace opened the first door of our 24 days until Christmas Santa train (aka our secular spin on an Advent calendar!). She asked to open it before school so that she could have the treat in her lunch bag for today.
In the days ahead, I have Melody's first birthday party to plan. I feel sad to think my baby is almost one! We are going with a Dr. Seuss theme and just having something small at home.
I have rambled long enough for one day.
