Time marches on

This is really for all you mothers out there. You dads can read too, but you may not "feel" what I do. :) Do you remember when you child was born? Does it matter how long ago that was? They could have been born 6 months ago or 30 years ago...you STILL remember it. You remember everything that happened, how they grew up, the cute things they said, how sweet they were (and sometimes how mischevious), etc.

For my oldest, Chris, I don't remember his birth because I'm not his birth mother. I am by today's terms his "step-mother", but I am his mom. I call him my bonus child. He came as a bonus when I married his dad! He has been "mine" since he was 2 and I wouldn't trade him for anything. I tell him he's my "favorite child I never had". :)

This past Saturday I had the privilege of taking our oldest to have his senior pictures made. If you know anything about me, you know I absolutely love pictures. I have them hanging/sitting all over my house and enjoy putting them in scrapbooks. I love the memories they bring back. I love being able, if only for just a moment, to go "back in time" and remember someone or something as it used to be.

Looking at these photos--and trying to pick out the best ones--brings back a lot of memories. It is amazing how fast he has grown from this cute little 2 year old who could carry on an adult conversation to a very handsome young man. Have there been bumps along the way? Sure! Everyone has those. But for a short moment, I can look at these pictures and stop time. I can keep him from growing up, but then imagine him with a family. I can look back in time to when he was young, but then see him as he is now. I can remember the difficult times, but also remember the good ones! You know what I mean!

The other sad part is knowing I have to do this 2 more times! Well, not really sad....I am so excited to see my boys growing into men! It has been a blessing to watch them change and learn. It will be difficult, each in its own way, but I'm excited about it too.

Today and every day thank God for your children! They are precious--even if they aren't little anymore. God cares about them as much now as He ever did. Mine need lots more prayer now they're older. They will have to fly from the nest soon. This is both exciting and troubling, but VERY necessary. If the mama bird didn't give those baby birds a push, they would never fly. So, give them what they need and give them back to God. He has only loaned them to us for a short time.

Dislaimer: To anyone who reads this who has lost a child by miscarriage or death, I do not wish to make you sad. God does only "loan" us our children. If you have pictures, remember them with those. If you don't, use the pictures He has given you in your mind. Either way, thank Him everyday for whatever time you had them.

Hearts

I LOVE having a digital camera! Remember the "good ole' days" when we had slides, disc cameras, 110, polaroids, 35 mm? We bought film for a few pics and waited forever to develop it because it was expensive to do so.

Now, with the age of digital we can take as many pictures as our memory cards will hold. If they are full, we burn them to disks or upload them to a picture site and start over. Sometimes we even go buy a new memory card to hold all of them.






Today, as I was cleaning off and burning to CDs my collection of pictures, I felt a little sad. I always get nervous that something will happen to my beloved pictures and I would be upset if that happened.....although it never does. :)



Scrapbooking and taking pictures are two of my favorite things to do. I love pictures and everything about them. I love the stories they tell and the memories they bring back. They are so full of color and even if they're black and white they are still vibrant in their own way!






Enjoy your pictures today and clear off your memory cards so you can record more memories. :)

Grilling

Do you know anything better to do on a warm afternoon?

Isn't grilling one of the best smells? A favorite thing that the warm weather brings is the smell of food wafting through the air with the gentle breeze.

I particularly like the fact that my husband is a much better griller than I am. Am I afraid to admit that? Absolutely not! I know I can cook. I also know that it's smart to not get between a man and his grill. It's a beautiful thing! :)

Yummy! Can you smell the burgers? Hershey can!

He is patiently waiting on a bite! He loves it when Brian grills. :)

The tools of the trade! UH OH--One's missing! Wonder where that could be?

Well, at least we got to eat good--it was great! I'm already longing for the next time.

Bursting Forth

Okay, so I really love flowers. I love the way they are hiding below the surface during a long, cold winter. I love how at the first sign of warmth, they start creeping out...trying to catch a peek to see if it's safe yet. Then the frost hits again and they just curl up, hoping to savor some warmth they caught the day before. Before you know it you see all these green things growing seemingly from every direction. Trees are budding, grass is greening, flowers are sprouting. You wake up one morning only to find spurts of color. And knowing it won't be the last...there's more to come. There will soon be colors everywhere--vibrant, warm, radiant colors. It will bring a smile to your face to pull in your driveway each day just to see it!

I feel like that's how we are with God. Before we become a Christian, we are kind of "hiding out". Looking around to see what everyone else is doing and wondering if it's safe for us to do it too. Then, we accept Christ, but we are still observing everyone else. Trying to decide how we should act or what we should feel. Then we are surrounded by others who believe the same as we do. They become our friends and family in the faith. We feel strong when we are with them, but sometimes still look to them for approval. Eventually, we burst forth--in our own way. We don't wait on the rest of them to "catch up". We aren't trying to please them anymore--we are trying to please the ONE that matters. We know there is more in store.....He IS coming back.

"In Christ Alone"Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart TownendCopyright © 2001

In Christ alone my hope is found;He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

This song is what I think of when I'm working in this flower bed. I do not have a green thumb and most of my life have killed every plant I've owned. I am happy to say that my flower bed is thriving right now--but not really because of me. I have the plants that won't easily die...the plant and neglect, God will do the rest. :) That's my kind of flower bed!

May God be working on your heart--that you will be "bursting forth in glorious day" today!

Changing Seasons

This is my beautiful, semi-green flower bed. Things are popping up everywhere! :)

Not only are we dealing with the changing from Winter to Spring--which I love!!!!
We are dealing with the changing from Little League baseball to Junior League baseball--which I don't love! :) Well, let me put it this way--I do like it because it means my youngest is growing up and in 2 more seasons will be playing high school baseball. (We miss that a lot this year!) But, it means we must leave a familiar team, familiar coaches, players and parents to a new group. Not that they won't be just as familiar by the end of 2 years, but it's hard all the same.

Saturday--a beautiful Spring day, was the day for Hunter to tryout. Now tryouts for baseball aren't something extremely gruelling or physically hard and everyone makes a team. The boys have to hit 3 balls (1 bunt, 1 hit and one hit & run to 3rd base) and field 3 ground balls from the short stop position. Then, these coaches take notes and go "draft" these boys. Poor coaches really don't get to see a lot of the ability of the players, but just a snapshot. Then, they have to decide who they want as their 1st, 2nd, etc. Well, that is hoping that no one who gets to choose before them chooses their "favorites". :)

It is definitely a mentally tough day, however. As a player you want to do your best and hopefully show only your best skills. As a parent, you want your son to get picked on a great team with a great coach. Not only for the ability to win, because to me that's secondary, but the ability to learn more about the game. Junior League is it----it's right before High School. This is where the buck stops. Once you go to High School a tryout means that some won't make the team.

That will be more difficult waiting on than the phone call we waited on on Saturday afternoon. I was so frustrated because our internet was down--which meant our phone was out--so I couldn't forward our phone calls to my cell phone. It took me forever to remember how to check the voicemail remotely because we use the answering machine for that. So, here I was fretting. We got the phone call on Brian's cell phone while we were at the mall looking at baseball equipment. I should have known they would try the 2nd number, but you know how it is when you're waiting on something. :) Well, he's on the Dodgers. What does that mean? We aren't familiar with the coach (although we've been told he's a great coach), we don't know anyone else on the team (until practice today), there are just a lot of unknowns--except the color is blue (and everyone knows how much I "love" blue-NOT). :) ha ha!

Well, we have our first practice tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes. God has us on this team for a reason. We know it will be a great season and look forward to being able to post about it. I will keep you updated. So today, as I left the garage, I put the folding chairs and my bag with a blanket in it back in the Envoy--Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time at the ballpark. :)

UPDATE: Okay, okay. So we have what seems to be a great team, Hunter made some new friends and reconnected with some old ones, and the coaches were great. Here are a couple pics from tonight's practice. I was a good mom and stayed at the top of the hill and didn't hug the fence to get great shots--but come game time you better believe I will! So, check in often. Hopefully I will have a new camera soon, so maybe great shots even from the hill. :)

Forgiveness--for them or for you?

I just got finished reading The Shack (http://www.theshackbook.com/). Wow! It is a book about a man who has an abusive childhood and loses one of his children. He goes back to the place where his daughter was murdered and finds God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit there.

There is so much jam packed into this 246 pg, very easy to read book. Some people have argued that it is not a true description of the Trinity. I believe it is a great book, very descriptive and has so many things in it that tell you exactly who the Trinity is and why Christ had to suffer and die for us. Granted, the picture of what God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit look like may not be what I've always imagined (or been taught), but there is a reason for each of their physical appearances in the story. I believe it would be a great book of healing for those who have known God, but have blamed him for something horrible that happened in their own life or who have "fallen away" from him.

It speaks so much to how we should forgive and love and how HARD it is to truly do those things. It has great examples of how we judge others without wanting to be judged ourselves. We expect others to pay for the wrongs they have committed and be punished, yet when we harbor anger toward someone we are the ones who are being punished. Is there such a thing as "true" forgiveness? Yes, through Christ there is. Not only does it encourage you to forgive others, but it also encourages you to forgive yourself.

With that said, this is not a book that should replace the bible, nor does it quote the bible...it is a work of fiction. Read it with an open mind--open by saying that you already believe in Christ and this just puts in layman's terms what He longs for us to have in Him. He wants us to dwell with Him and allow Him to control our lives.

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper, not to harm you, to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Music is AWESOME!

I LOVE music! It is such a huge part of my life. I probably know the words to thousands of songs--some secular, some Christian. I love picking out a song that applies to a particular moment or something someone has said. So if you said "Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny." I would start belting out "The sun'll come out...tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow...there'll be sun!" Or if you said "I'm ready to get out of here." I would start "I know you wanna leave me, but I refuse to let you go!" ha! See how fun this is! Well, some people think it's fun and some don't. I have to be careful at work because I do it ALL the time. It's just who I am. Music is awesome and I know if I didn't have music, I would find a way to make music.

So, the perfect thing for me to do is to be all by myself--not that I don't enjoy friends because I do--and turn the radio on K-LOVE (because I love the variety of songs) and spread out all my scrapbooking stuff and sit at my dining room table and sing while I scrap. I don't want anyone to come in and talk to me because that's distracting. Singing to 50 different songs, however, is not distracting. Why? Because I don't have to think. I have all these songs in my head and I sing without thinking. I don't think....I wonder if that's the right note...what comes next.....do I sound okay...I just sing!!!!!

Sometimes we need to spend time enjoying what we do. Yes, we all have laundry or dishes that we could/should be doing. I prefer to enjoy life! "This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!" Hope you are rejoicing today!

Do you have something in your life that you love to do? I would love to hear about it! Post a comment!

"Honey Do"

Yesterday I started making a "Honey Do" list. Actually typing it in the computer and adding to it as things come to mind. I've never done this before. It's always been a list in my brain (sharing space with all the other things in there) and never really being fulfilled. There's always that one, simple thing that you forget. And so, it gets put off yet again for another time.

I never realized how hard making this list would be. I just thought I could mentally go through each room in my house--forgetting that our house is bigger than any house we've ever lived in. Not a mansion to some, but pretty darn big to us! That sounded easy enough....I started with the dining room and made my list there and continued to the kitchen and so on. Well, the problem is that I would get to another room and then remember some little something in a different room. It's now become like the never-ending list! Today at work my boss mentioned something about her tub and I pulled out a post-it note from my handy pop up dispenser and scribbled a very important note on it. One to remind me to add that to my list!!!!!

I know a lot of this stems from this being our first house, but a lot of it is because I am sometimes OCD with things. I want everything to be "just so" when people come over. I am a horrible hostess because I spend so much time straightening up or loading the dishwasher instead of visiting with friends. I'm trying to be less like this and more relaxed, but I feel your house is a reflection of who you are. Although I don't really care what people think about me as far as my personality (like I'm loud or rude or whatever), I do care what they think of my house. Pretty petty, huh?

Well, I guess everyone has something that they are that way with. It could be their looks, their kids, their cars, etc. I know that whether a new light fixture is added or whether the office finally gets painted that it doesn't really matter in the long run. I just keep adding to my list and know that there will always be something that can be put on it. :)

Teenage Drivers

Teenagers, Cars and Permits--OH MY!

Do you get nervous when you see a young driver beside you? Sometimes I do. Now that I have yet my 2nd child that is learning to drive I am slightly less apprehensive, but still do not "look forward" to sitting in the passenger seat while he's driving. :)

I don't know about you, but driving was what I looked forward to as a teenager! I got my permit the day I turned 15 and my license the day I turned 16! I couldn't wait. Now, for our boys, they had several steps they had to complete before they could get their permit and license. First, they had to have good grades (A's & B's only). Driving and learning to drive take time, so they can't take time away from studies if they aren't doing well in school. Second, they had to pass the online permit test twice. Well, it's really not that hard, but we didn't want to waste our time at the DMV (and if you've been there lately you know) for them to fail the test. Third, they must continue making good grades and following our rules and the rules of the road in order to continue driving. Fourth and finally, NO driving my Envoy!!!! Driving practice can only happen in the Impala, the old hunting Jimmy or Charley's bug--which isn't running yet.

Driving is a privilege, not a right. It must be treated with respect and they were told that any disobeying of the driving rules such as talking on the cell phone or carting friends without permission would result in automatic suspension of their privilege. Talk about being tough!

Well, Charley has done well so far...and talk about proud! I think he showed everyone at church and school his permit within the first 2 days after he got it. Well, I have to admit, I'm pretty proud too. It shows they are growing up, becoming young men and learning how to work for something they want.

I pray that God will continue to show us how to mold these young men into adulthood and teach them what it means to be a man of God. It isn't always an easy or fun journey, but it is an adventure! I will take it for as long as it is given to me.

Here's a picture of Charley with his permit and also driving. Beware of the white Impala coming to a road near you! :)