I'm sure I am in no way the only one who ever wishes this. Ever since childhood, there have been characters in books that I have wished so much they were real...that it hurt my heart to know they weren't. Of course, this just means the author has written so powerfully, clearly, and emotionally that I've become attached in this way. The way only a good author can. So here's my list for now. Of book characters I wish were real, that I knew, that I was friends with, or could BE like.
*Lucy Pevensie from the Narnia series. We named our daughter after her. She is brave, loves the Lord (Aslan), stands up for what is right, and loves her siblings.
*Beatrice Prior from Divergent and Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games. They are strong young women, smart, loyal to their families and friends. Fight for the side of Right.
*Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Hagrid
*Maniac Jeffrey Magee
*Alice Cullen
*Gregor the Overlander
*Mrs. Whatsit
*Peeta Mellark
*Percy Jackson
*Jo March
*Tobias Eaton
*Nanny from The Willougbys
So this is all for now. But I am forever adding to this list and I know I've missed a bunch already. This just means I "have to" go back and reread. ;)
Saturday, May 12, 2012
May Top 10 List
Top 10 Reasons I Love Being Their Mom
(in no particular order)
1. The sound of their laughter is infectious.
2. I had to work to get them, that makes my motherhood earned and a reward even more than usual.
3. dandelion bouquets
4. I'm always the most important person in their life...along with their dad.
5. made up songs about me
6. I see myself in their eyes, their toes, their imaginative stories, and the way they play together.
7. dress up in costumes and perform shows for me
8. shmoodling
9. When someone gives them something they really do appreciate it.
10. They have love in their heart for Jesus.
(in no particular order)
1. The sound of their laughter is infectious.
2. I had to work to get them, that makes my motherhood earned and a reward even more than usual.
3. dandelion bouquets
4. I'm always the most important person in their life...along with their dad.
5. made up songs about me
6. I see myself in their eyes, their toes, their imaginative stories, and the way they play together.
7. dress up in costumes and perform shows for me
8. shmoodling
9. When someone gives them something they really do appreciate it.
10. They have love in their heart for Jesus.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
from where I'm sitting
There have been several Facebook posts floating around all with a similar theme. They tell you to look around "from where you are sitting" and name 10 things that you see, or list the CDs currently in your player, or last 5 songs played on your iPod, or books on your nightstand. The intent, I THINK, is to give others a snapshot into your life currently. Your interests at this moment. So tonight, while I've been grumbling over getting dinner on the table while supervising homework and helping to find the "right" show 'n tell item, I thought I would get some perspective on my life "from where I'm sitting."
1. On the kitchen counter is a homemade birthday cake with crooked letters and smeared frosting. I turned 42 years old yesterday. Mark and the kids waited until I left for work, then baked me a cake. They love me, and I loved having a birthday cake!
2. There are dirty dishes on the counter waiting to be washed and put away. I cooked for my family tonight and although I was grumbling at the time because there was so much else going on at the same time; I enjoyed having us all sitting at the table together and hearing their stories. It won't be long and the kids will be in and out on their own schedules....not at the dinner table with us.
3. The refrigerator is covered with photos of friends and family I love the most, artwork by the kids, and magnets that make us smile. I think a family fridge can tell you a lot about a person. But maybe that's another blog.
4. My dogs. Sophie is curled up on the kitchen rug and won't leave my side. She's waiting for me to either go upstairs to watch Glee in bed, or get to the couch to watch Glee. Either way....she is ready to snuggle up and is getting impatient.
5. I can see my husband at the computer in the other room. It's POSSIBLE that he's working, but chances are he's playing darts online or watching something Blackhawks related. :)
6. I see a large pile of school papers that the kids have brought home this week already. Just like in my own classroom, teachers are doing end of year assessments, projects, and work that was on bulletins boards came down to spruce them up for Open House with new stuff. Some I will keep, like a few writing pieces, others will make their way into the trash without being seen by the kids who brought them home.
7. From where I'm sitting I can also hear the guns at the shooting range nearby. By now I am mostly used to this sound, after 15 years here it's commonplace. But after a long winter with the windows and doors closed, it's much more noticeable now that they are open and I can hear it. It's one sound I never thought I would have to explain to my kids.
8. Here I can also see a pretty pot of flowers that a new friend gave to me for my birthday. I'm thankful for her and glad we've become friends. And I'm eager to get into the garden!!
9. I can see my cell phone...and it's making me want to play Words with Friends. But I have laundry to do.
and number 10.....
I hear the dryer and the washing machine chiming so it must be time for me to get back to the laundry for sure. I am glad I have family around me to care for, but wish there wasn't so much to wash and fold. :)
Anyway...it had been awhile since writing and I was feeling overwhelmed with my to-do list at home. Rather than flip out, I wanted to get perspective and look at things from where I'm sitting with a positive attitude. So there you go. Until next time...
1. On the kitchen counter is a homemade birthday cake with crooked letters and smeared frosting. I turned 42 years old yesterday. Mark and the kids waited until I left for work, then baked me a cake. They love me, and I loved having a birthday cake!
2. There are dirty dishes on the counter waiting to be washed and put away. I cooked for my family tonight and although I was grumbling at the time because there was so much else going on at the same time; I enjoyed having us all sitting at the table together and hearing their stories. It won't be long and the kids will be in and out on their own schedules....not at the dinner table with us.
3. The refrigerator is covered with photos of friends and family I love the most, artwork by the kids, and magnets that make us smile. I think a family fridge can tell you a lot about a person. But maybe that's another blog.
4. My dogs. Sophie is curled up on the kitchen rug and won't leave my side. She's waiting for me to either go upstairs to watch Glee in bed, or get to the couch to watch Glee. Either way....she is ready to snuggle up and is getting impatient.
5. I can see my husband at the computer in the other room. It's POSSIBLE that he's working, but chances are he's playing darts online or watching something Blackhawks related. :)
6. I see a large pile of school papers that the kids have brought home this week already. Just like in my own classroom, teachers are doing end of year assessments, projects, and work that was on bulletins boards came down to spruce them up for Open House with new stuff. Some I will keep, like a few writing pieces, others will make their way into the trash without being seen by the kids who brought them home.
7. From where I'm sitting I can also hear the guns at the shooting range nearby. By now I am mostly used to this sound, after 15 years here it's commonplace. But after a long winter with the windows and doors closed, it's much more noticeable now that they are open and I can hear it. It's one sound I never thought I would have to explain to my kids.
8. Here I can also see a pretty pot of flowers that a new friend gave to me for my birthday. I'm thankful for her and glad we've become friends. And I'm eager to get into the garden!!
9. I can see my cell phone...and it's making me want to play Words with Friends. But I have laundry to do.
and number 10.....
I hear the dryer and the washing machine chiming so it must be time for me to get back to the laundry for sure. I am glad I have family around me to care for, but wish there wasn't so much to wash and fold. :)
Anyway...it had been awhile since writing and I was feeling overwhelmed with my to-do list at home. Rather than flip out, I wanted to get perspective and look at things from where I'm sitting with a positive attitude. So there you go. Until next time...
Monday, February 20, 2012
and they lived happily ever after
Mark and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday. In this day and age, and considering all that life can throw your way in general, I am very proud of this. On the snowy, cold day that we said "I do" to each other we really couldn't have any idea what that really meant. Three step-sons, two children and a grandchild later...we are only just beginning to figure it out. But God put us together for better and for worse--we've seen both. He put us together in sickness and in health--we've see both. For richer and for poorer--we've seen both. And we're only just beginning. To celebrate, we finally made arrangements for a weekend away without kids. We didn't want to be gone too far so we decided to stay in Chicago. We booked a nice hotel, ate delicious food, shopped, talked, drank wine, saw a comedy show, napped. It was a great comfort knowing that our kids were excited for their planned sleepovers with family members, and we could enjoy the time with each other. Here's to many more years to come; to living happily ever after.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
how getting kicked out of the blood drive turned out to be a good thing
Two weeks ago, our church held a blood drive. I haven't given in a very long time and by the time our worship service was over, something had grabbed hold of my heart so hard that I just knew that I was going to donate that day. I whispered over to Mark what my plans were. He looked surprised, knowing that I'm no fan of needles, but said "good for you." He took the kids to get a little snack, and enjoyed a cup of coffee for himself and would wait for me while I gave. So I hesitantly walked in and began facing the multitude of questions that are in the giant folder of information required for a happy, healthy blood donation. No, haven't been out of the country (boooo). No, haven't had -insert scary disease name here- (yayyyy). Done. Next, I was sent on to the screening panel of wonderful people at Heartland Blood Center. On a sidenote, they really ARE an amazing group of people doing honorable work! This is the part that you answer a couple of verifying questions, get your blood pressure taken, and a finger prick to float your blood in some sort of liquid to check for something very official. This is also the part that I failed.
The gentleman working on my chart frowned, and decided to take my blood pressure again, And again. Then he went and retrieved another friend to take it again on my other arm before stamping my paperwork with a "denied" block and apologized ----but my blood pressure is too high to donate blood today. Then I had to face the music and tell my husband. And call my doctor. Honestly, I've been thinking about calling the doctor for many weeks. I just haven't felt "right" but there hasn't been anything concrete or serious enough to get me to make that call. Until now. So I called. He got me in right away --conveniently on the same day I already took off to take my son to his own check up. I figured it was nothing...but that wasn't quite right.
So the nurse took my blood pressure. Three times. And then stared in my face asking me "so how do you feel RIGHT NOW?" ("a little freaked out that you're staring me down ...thanks.") She went to get our long-time doctor (awesome!) and I could hear her talking to him in the hallway about my blood pressure. ("Look at her BP and she's just sitting there without chest pain or anything!") Ugh. Doctor and I talk, he takes my pressure too, does what he does and wants to see me next week. Turns out much of my feeling "not right" is due to super high blood pressure that can be managed with a bunch of meds. So....although I was bummed that I couldn't give blood....I am happy that it resulted in a visit to avoid scary things like "permanent heart and kidney damage" and clearly resulted in saving someone's life. Mine.Thanks be to God. And getting kicked out of the blood drive.
The gentleman working on my chart frowned, and decided to take my blood pressure again, And again. Then he went and retrieved another friend to take it again on my other arm before stamping my paperwork with a "denied" block and apologized ----but my blood pressure is too high to donate blood today. Then I had to face the music and tell my husband. And call my doctor. Honestly, I've been thinking about calling the doctor for many weeks. I just haven't felt "right" but there hasn't been anything concrete or serious enough to get me to make that call. Until now. So I called. He got me in right away --conveniently on the same day I already took off to take my son to his own check up. I figured it was nothing...but that wasn't quite right.
So the nurse took my blood pressure. Three times. And then stared in my face asking me "so how do you feel RIGHT NOW?" ("a little freaked out that you're staring me down ...thanks.") She went to get our long-time doctor (awesome!) and I could hear her talking to him in the hallway about my blood pressure. ("Look at her BP and she's just sitting there without chest pain or anything!") Ugh. Doctor and I talk, he takes my pressure too, does what he does and wants to see me next week. Turns out much of my feeling "not right" is due to super high blood pressure that can be managed with a bunch of meds. So....although I was bummed that I couldn't give blood....I am happy that it resulted in a visit to avoid scary things like "permanent heart and kidney damage" and clearly resulted in saving someone's life. Mine.Thanks be to God. And getting kicked out of the blood drive.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
blah! or maybe not...
I came out the house this morning to get into my car and before I could even set down my coffee cup I noticed the little bit of frost on my windshield. I took a quick look around the yard noticed more of the white stuff on the grass, on the flowerbeds, on the bird feeder and mailbox. Driving to work I saw the gross, dingy remants of what used to be someone's snowman, but all it is now is a pathetic, dirty lump of ice. Covered in slush. Covered in cold. That's what I told like about February...the cold and wet and dark. It's this time of year when I REALLY get "blah". The days are still dark and cold. (did I mention cold?) Everything looks gray, brown or beige. I WANT to see THIS:
But instead I have to be content with flower and seed catalogs and looking back at our summer fun photos! Tonight I just can't seem to get warm so I'm looking at lots of our summer vacation pictures. It actually makes me start thinking about this year's Spring Break, and even in to summer plans. Which makes me happy. And excited...and looking forward to warm weather that is sure to be coming soon. So maybe it's not "blah" that's going to win tonight.
Monday, February 6, 2012
blogs and inspiration
I've been reading some wonderful blogs lately. The Zielke Hut, miss mustard seed, Whimsical Perspective and Blondie in Bombay to name a few. The blogs are written about very different experiences, too. Family life and faith, travel, design, creativity....but they all have ONE thing in common. They are written by FABULOUS women that I admire on many different levels. I realized that I haven't written in my own blog in a long, long time. (October????!!!) I miss it. It's an outlet for me, therapy of some kind I guess. But I am inspired by these wonderful women. Today has been a crummy day after a few other crummy days and I'm feeling a little unsatisfied and sad. After seeing their photos and reading their recent posts...I'm feeling inspired to get up and get writing again. Thank you ladies!
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