It's Been Too Long

Hi Everyone!  I am sure you probably think I have fallen off  the edge of the earth, since it has been over a month since I blogged.  It has been an eventful month. 

On May 21st, our "B" had her very first dance recital.  I think she might have been a bit nervous the night before her big performance, but the actual  day of the event she seemed so very excited.  Of course, "B" had her very own cheering section/fan base present in the auditorium.  The owner of the studio did something very smart, I thought.  She had the dress rehearsel for the recital the day of the actual show. To me, this  would be especially beneficial to the little ones who have never been on a stage before.  Their first experience of being on stage would occur shortly before their actual performance, so they would know what to expect  and they wouldn't have  time to forget what it  was like.  When it  came time for "B"  to dance, she was totally amazing!  It is truly hard  to count in how many ways she surpassed our expectations.  My DIL has  the video up on her blog, so if you would like to take  a peek at  "B's" outstanding  performance let me know.  We are all so proud of her!

Sweet "B" ready to go to her recital!

The next big event of the month occurred on June 2nd. Our Noah graduated from elementary school.We are all so proud of him. He received a number of awards - Most Improved in Language, Artist of  the Month, Top Ten in the Science Fair, Honor Roll - I'm sure I missed some. I can't believe he will be going to Middle School next year. He is still a very sweet, loving boy. I am hoping he will continue to be as he becomes a teenager. I'm betting he will.

Noah (in the orange shirt) and one of his friends after graduation.

Okay, now can any of you guess who these fine people are?

I know, I know - we haven't changed a bit, right?  Allan and I celebrated  our 38th  anniversary on June 2.  It's hard for me to believe that  much time has passed, since this  photo was  taken.  God has blessed me in so many ways with this man.  I realize I am one of those very fortunate people who can honestly say I found and married my soulmate.  I  love you, Allan.

Tomorrow is "B's" 5th  birthday party!  Her actual birthday is  June 21st.  I can't believe she is  5 years old.  I will try to post  some photos  of  her special  day next week. 

Bye for now!

What Does It Mean to Be a Mom

Hi everyone!  I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Mine was perfect.  Sunday morning we went to Christ Church of Magnolia where our son is the pastor.  Following church, my sweet son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter took us out to lunch.  My Mother's Day gift was the coolest, self-inking address stamp.  I love it so much!  On the way home, we stopped by our daughter's house.  She, along with her husband and my two precious grandsons gave me a charm for my bracelet.  It has the sweetest mother and child on it.  I am so blessed to have such a sweet family.  Oh, and  I don't want to forget the lovely perfume and  body lotion set my wonderful husband gave me.  Thanks, Babe!

Now on to the subject of this entry.  What does it mean to be a Mom?   I am one  of those  really antiquated women who knew from the time I was a little girl God's plan for me  was to be a wife and a mother.  My baby dolls were the best cared for in town.   Flash forward to 1976 when I had my first "real" baby.  Our daughter was born during Allan's last semester of law school.   Believe it or not,  we planned it  this  way.  (I know.  What were we  thinking?)  We  had one car,  Allan was working  and going to school,  and I was home with a baby who only slept in 15 minute intervals, who was allergic  to milk, and who suffered from colic for the first three months of her life.   I  loved  this baby more than life itself, but the ideas I had of being the perfect Mom disappeared.  I found out being a Mom means accepting the fact you aren't perfect, and still trying really hard anyway.

When our daughter was around 4 months old, we moved back  to Florida.  The hardest  part of this was  not  having  any family around.    Our son was  born in 1978.  He slept a lot and was such an easy baby.  I guess this was God's gift to me to balance out the difficulties of my first experience.  Don't get me wrong.  I never blamed  our baby daughter for the rough road we traveled together.  I blamed myself.  Somehow I just knew her problems  were the  result of my shortcomings as her mother.  For me, being a Mom meant  carrying  a lot of guilt.

After the baby stage, things smoothed out for me, and I began to get a little more confident in my abilities to mother my children.  I was a room mother for one or both, and I weathered the challenges that seemed to present themselves even  when our children were young.  I tried to rely on  my intuition which I have always regarded as God's way of guiding  Mom's, and for the most part this never let me down.  I did find that sometimes what my intuition told me to do flew in the face of what was currently regarded as the more popular (and/or acceptable) methods of child rearing.  For instance, I was (and still am) a believer in seeing each child as an individual.  Some are  ready for certain experiences before others,  some have to ponder new skills and figure them out before they attempt them while others like to literally hit the ground running.  I have just always believed there is a distinct purpose for each  stage of life ~ babyhood, toddlerhood, childhood,  preteen, adolescence ~ you get the picture.  And I truly believe each stage should be experienced in the way that comes naturally to each individual child.  (I will explain  how I came to this conclusion  another time.)  This is when I  learned a Mom has to be a devoted advocate for her child/children.  She must also be strong enough to buck the system and to fight for what she thinks is right  for her child, even if it means  confrontation  with said system.  Now I knew being a Mom meant being strong in your convictions and being brave when it comes to defending  them.

The teenage years were the toughest for me  as a Mom.   We faced a lot of challenges during  those years as a family.  No matter  what the struggles we were  going  through,  Allan and  I always participated in our children's activities.  We also continued to be advocates for our children when necessary.   In retrospect, we realize we trusted our children too much, and we also really were clueless as to the amount of peer pressure they were dealing with.  I think, as a Mom, I felt the fact I had always put my children before almost everything else would somehow protect them from all potential negative influences.  I believed, since I had always regarded them as gifts from God, that God Himself would somehow imbue them with extraordinary heavenly protection.  I know.  It's hard to believe I could be so naive.  This is when I learned being a Mom is really, really tough.

In 1995, Casey had his accident.  I won't go into the details here.  I may never really discuss them, because the facts don't exactly match a lot of the information that has circulated in the last going  on 16 years.  I have always believed I should let people believe what  they will, because I still have my son and this should be enough.  I will say this  was the longest, darkest time of our lives.  Before you start thinking, "Okay,  now here comes the  pity party.",  I have to say it also began a time of miracles and of closer communion with God for our family.  I am contemplating doing  a "miracle" post now and then.  It isn't my intention  to preach (Our son  is so much better at that than I am.) nor is my intention to project an attitude of self-righteousness.  I only want to encourage those who might read  this  blog and find hope through my life experiences.

But I digress.  The whole  point  of  this  post was to try to touch briefly on what  I feel it means  to be  a Mom.  Let me  see if I can say it simply and concisely.  Being a Mom means wanting  the best for your child and at the same time being a little  forgiving of yourself if you can't always give your best.  Being  a  Mom  means following your instincts and doing  what you believe is best for your individual child rather than to conform to what everyone else thinks you should or should not be doing.  Being  a Mom is loving  your child for who he/she is, not for his/her exceptional  intelligence,  his/her outstanding talent, or his/her "cute as a button" appearance.  Being  a Mom is realizing that parenting books can be helpful, but also realizing every child is different.  It's okay to use these books as references , but not as parental laws that are to govern  every child.  Being a Mom is not comparing your child's development unfavorably with another child's.  No child has ever gone to kindergarten  in diapers, for instance, so don't fret if your child isn't potty trained by the time he/she is two (or 18 months or whatever the goal of the moment is).  Being  a Mom is loving  your teenager even when they are at their most frustrating and also having the strength to be their parent, not their friend.  Being a Mom is letting your children fly away when the time comes ~ with no strings attached.  It also means letting your children know the door to your heart remains forever open any time they need to return and sit with you awhile.

Until next time. . . 

Around Sugar Land

As most of you know I live in Sugar Land which is a suburb of Houston.  Our family moved to this area in 1991, so we have witnessed a lot of the changes that have occurred in our neighborhood in the last 20 years.  And there have been a lot of changes.

When we first moved out here, there was no mall, no movie theatre, no hospitals ~ no a lot of things.  We used to see herds of deer when we would  drive up the ramp to get on Highway 59.  We also had a lot of deer sightings ~ such beautiful, graceful animals.  There was a lot of open spaces which are now all built up.  Don't get me wrong.  I love having so many of the things I need and want between 5 and 10 minutes away from where  I live.  On the other hand, I sometimes miss the natural, untouched feeling of living so close to nature. 

When I began my photographic journey, I decided I would search my neighborhood for things people don't expect to find in such a well established area. I have to say I have been pretty amazed at some of the things I have seen. If my photography has done nothing else, it has taught me to be a lot more cognizant of what is around me. I thought I would share some of the photos of the things I have discovered in my own "backyard".

I guess what I want you to think about today is what you might be missing by not taking the time to look around you.  We all get so busy, we miss some really special moments.  I hope you enjoy the photos.  I truly loved taking them.

Until next time. . .

Artsy Wednesday

Hey everyone!  I have actually been doing some scrapbooking lately.  There are kit clubs from which, for a certain fee every month you can get a box of goodies to scrap with.  I had long admired pages where people used kits from My Creative Scrapbook.  So, last month, I took the plunge and signed up to receive their Limited Edition kit on a monthly basis.  I received my first one, and I was amazed at all of the product they included.  The colors are delicious and the embellishments are plentiful.  I have already done four layouts with this kit, and I still have plenty left over to do several more.  If you are a scrapbooker, I highly recommend that you look into My Creative Scrapbook's  kits.  They have the Limited Edition kit, a regular kit, an album kit, and several other options.  It is well worth the money, if you are a scrap addict like I am.  Their website is www.mycreativescrapbook.com. 

Now for the layouts:

Aren't the papers and the embellishments beautiful!  I know there must be a lot of work that goes into these kits.  I am just really excited to be able to have access to them  on  a monthly basis.  If you ever see anything on any of my LO's you have questions about, please let me know.  I would love to share the things I have learned in the years I have been participating  in this awesome hobby.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  Ours was truly blessed.  We went to C3Magnolia to hear Casey preach, then we went out to dinner with our wonderful extended family.  I hope yours was filled with joy.

Until next time. . .

Best Intentions

When last I posted here,  I had ever intention of getting another post up in a few days.  As usual, life intervened, and I am just now able to collect my thoughts.  For those of you who are in your 20's,  30's, etc., I want to tell you self discovery is an ongoing  thing.  I think if we stop learning  things about ourselves we have reached a time in our lives where we need to find someone to motivate us to keep ardently searching to discover what we are about at  that certain stage of our life.

I have just reached the top of the precipice before jumping off next year into a new decade.  Perhaps this is why I have been doing so much internal investigation of late.  I think I have finally reached  a point where I want to make peace with who I am ~ the real me ~ not the person other people think or project  or tell me I should be.  Here are the few of the things I have made peace with:

1) I am an artistic person ~ and for this reason I may see things a bit differently from a lot of my peers ~ and that's  O.K.  I need to express  myself the way that feels true to me.  Anything else  is insincere.

2) I believe in the rightness of selflessness ~ to a degree.  That being said, it is important that this not become your life force to the point you lose yourself.  I am still working on finding a balance on this one.

3) I need to really work  on getting rid of perfectionism in my life in regards to the things that don't matter.  Some perfectionism  is  good, but it is very easy to let this rule your life. 

4) I haven't picked up my camera  in a few days.  I also haven't posted for several of the prompts in the class, because they didn't touch my heart.  I would have made myself do something or shoot something  to post before ~ because  it  was what I was supposed to do.   I am finally learning,  since I am not being graded on this project ~ it is O.K. to skip a few prompts because forcing  myself  to participate will  end up frustrating me and producing insincere and inferior shots.  I  guess it's the old  quality versus quantity thing.

5) My body is healthy (thank  God),  but I am still trying to learn my limitations.  What I have learned  is, when I am exercising, I don't think  I have any limitations: hence, I overdo and end up hurt or sick.  Before continue doing what I have been doing, I need  to come to terms with what I can safely do today rather than what I  was able to do 20 or more years ago.  This one is turning out to be a bit tricky.

These thoughts of mine are probably a  bit boring to anyone  who decides to peruse them.  I understand.  The reason I posted them was more to prompt you to think about your life and how you're living it now,  rather than waiting to take inventory 20 or more years from now.  Like a friend of mine told me one time "This  ain't no dress rehearsel".  Better to live the performance that is your life to your utmost fulfillment rather than to regret what you have are haven't done when it is time for the last curtain call. 

Have a happy Easter and a  blessed one.  I will be back next week with something less serious and more fun.

Happy Sunday!

Despite my very best intentions, I haven't blogged in a couple of days.  I think one  of the main reasons I have held off is because I am trying to figure out how I want this to go.  I am very bad about overthinking  things.  Add that to my perfectionism, you can probably figure out why I make  everything so complicated.

I decided on Sunday's I might make it my "faith" or "about God" post.  I have been doing the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF - wonderful Bible studies) study on Isaiah this year.  I have read the book of Isaiah before, but I don't think I really understood all of the ramifications.  Some people find Isaiah very difficult to digest.  They also find it depressing.  I have to say for all of the punishment God bestows on His people in this book of the Bible, I have to say the most prevailing  message I have gotten is one of encouragement and promise.  If you haven't read this book of  the Bible, I really encourage you to do so.  One of the questions for today was "what person do you know personally who has had the most affect on you because of God's light showing through them?" or something  to that affect.  I thought about it for a along time, and I ended up saying that God has always been my light.  I came to faith at the age of 10, and I have to say for some reason God was just there for me.  I never doubted He heard me when I prayed.  If you asked me how I knew this at such a young age (and growing up in a home where going to church was an irregular occurrence at best), I would have to say I really don't know.  I just knew.  . . . and I remember when I prayed literally focusing on a light.   I have to say I don't know where I would be without God.  He has held  me up more times than I can count. 

Here are today's photos:

I will be back soon.  I will give you an easy recipe next week at some point.  It is a wonderful casserole - easy and yummy.  The recipe is one my Mom gave me.  She was an awesome cook.  Miss you, Mom!

Oh and Casey, thanks so much for being the first person  to follow my blog!  Love you!

It's Never Too Late ~ To Learn Something New

Well,  I guess it is mighty good I didn't tell anyone about my blog before now, because it was totally IMPOSSIBLE to find me.  I finally told my kids about my venture into the blogosphere, and fortunately my extremely computer literate son found several blogs under this name, but none of them were mine.  He told me all I should have to do is change my URL (Up until then,  I didn't even know I had a URL!).  Hmmmmm!  Anyhoo, I learned something new ~  I learned how to change my URL all by myself, so now I can be located.

Any of you who haven't check out Layla Palmer's blog or website really must do so.   I mentioned before it is called The Letter Cottage but, since I inherited my sweet mother's tendency to change the names of things, I told you wrong.  The web address is http://www.theletteredcottage.com/.  Layla and her husband just redecorated a small room (They called it a  reading room.) and made it into a guest bedroom!  This is a tiny room, ya'll,  but it turned out to be perfect ~ so warm and cozy.  I also confirmed the web address for Big Picture Classes ~ and it is http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/.  I just started Jenni Bowlin's class on everything vintage.  If I make something cool, I will be sure to show you a picture of it. 

Now for today's photos ~

As you can probably tell,  I was quite taken with the water drops on my roses and on my grass. I am taking a photography class call "Picture Spring" from Tracey Clark at BPC.  I took it last year, so it's fun to compare the shots I posted last year with the ones I am taking/posting this year to see how my perspective has changed.  The one of the grass was loads of fun ~ kidding ~ since I was down on my belly in the wet grass to take it.  I'm still trying  to decide which "grass" shot I should post at BPC.  Maybe I will share a few more with you, so you can  help me decide. 

Last, but not least, a shout out to my grandson Noah who rocked his baseball game last night!  WAY TO GO NOAH!!  Unfortunately, I wasn't there to see his magic on the field, but I am still just as pleased as punch (for my younger readers ~ that means I'm REAL happy) for him.

Also,  to our "B" girl ~ thanks for all of the hugs on Sunday.  Nonnie cherishes every one of them!

Until next  time . . . .

It's Never Too Late ~ To Realize It's Not Always Possible to Blog

Hey Everyone!  Well, when I first started my blog, I thought it should be NO PROBLEM for me to blog everyday.  See ~ it is never too late to fool yourself into believing your life is really YOURS! Ha!  Since I am truly working on not being such a perfectionist, this is a good place for me to start by letting it be OKAY for me to not blog every day.  IT'S OKAY is a favorite mantra of an extremely talented lady ~ Ali Edwards.  She is a wife, Mom, designer, journaler (I don't think that's a word, but you know what I mean.), scrapbooker extraordinaire.  She has an amazing blog for those who find yourself either at a similar stage in life or are a crafter, journaler (I know ~ I said it again.) soul-searcher, etc.  I don't have the link to her blog, but if you google Ali Edwards, I'm sure you will find it.  I really need to figure out how to give you those links here.  I'm a novice, so give me a little time to get it done.

Okay, now it is picture time:

These are some shots I took around  the corner from my house.  My DH suggested I take a walk over to the creek to see if I could search out any photo ops.  Let me tell you, the man has a sixth sense about these things.  Some of you know I live in a very populated area of Sugar Land and that this creek runs right along a pretty busy street.  Even so, there were plenty of things that caught my eye.  I will be sharing some of the things I found with you along the way.

One more thing ~ If you are a crafter or photographer ~ in any sense of the word, you need to check out Big Picture Classes.  This is a site where they offer some of the most wonderful online classes for people like us.  I have taken a number of the ones they have offered, and I have learned so much.  Stacy Julian is one of the creators.  I had the pleasure of taking a class from her several years ago.  She has been a part of the scrapbooking industry for quite awhile.  She also knows the importance of offering classes in all areas of crafting and photography.  Check it out.

Oh, just one more thing.  My son, Pastor Casey, is having his church launch tomorrow.  I am so proud of him, Steph, and Braelyn.  If any of you are in the Magnolia area and are looking for a church, this would be a great place for you to go.   (And I'm truly not just saying that because Pastor Casey is my son.)  His testimony is truly a "God" story.  I don't think anyone could hear it without being inspired.

Ya'll  have a great weekend!

I  thought I would start off today's post with a shot of my azaleas.  These bushes were originally in front of my house.  We eventually moved them to the backyard and they are OH! so much happier.  I always  know Spring is here when they start to bloom.

I haven't shared with anyone I am here yet - in blogland.  I'm not sure why that is.  I guess I have looked at way too many AWESOME blogs, so I feel  safer not opening myself up.  I know - I need to get over it.

For all of you who love antiques, country decor, and really cool DYI projects, I would like to share a couple of blogs with you.  One is called the Lettered Cottage.  This belongs to Layla Palmer.  She and her husband create some amazing things.  They are also doing  alot of reconstruction  on their home.  I love this blog.  There is always something knew to see that will inspire me.  I hope it will do the same for you.  The other blog is called the Polished Pebble.  The  authoress of this wonderful blog is Kelley.  She is a master of decorating in such creative ways.  In fact, she is so good at it, her prior home was bought in tact - furniture, decor everything!!!!  Check these out if you love to decorate and need some inspiration.

Need to work on a photo assignment.  See you tomorrow ~ whoever "you" will eventually be!  :)

It's Never Too Late - To start blogging

I have paid lip service (for my potential younger readers who weren't privy to all of the wonderful and quaint sayings of my parents' generation ~ this means "talking about") to creating a blog for a very long time.  I don't know why I found doing this so intimidating.  I have no idea what kind of shape this blog will take over time.  I have so many possibilities going around and around in my head.  I have looked at so many beautiful blogs ~ oh wait ~ maybe this is why I found having my own blog intimidating.  Smile  Anyhoo,  I'm hoping to at least create something that will be thoughtful yet entertaining, creative as well as interesting.  I guess for now I will just take it a day at a time.