Possibilities

It snowed from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. There is only so much sledding, baking, homework, facebooking, and Wii -playing that can be done during these frosty days. So, Elsa, Lucas, and I decided to break out Monopoly - the junior version.

Ten minutes into the game, Luke decided that he wasn't thrilled about having to give away his money. He shoved what he had in his pockets and announced he wasn't playing anymore.

Elsa had no interest in buying any properties, even if it had a nifty name. Who wouldn't want to purchase "Clown Around Fun House" or "Sweet Treats Snack Shop?" She was content collecting her $2.00 as she passed GO.

For a brief moment, I had to wonder if these two were really my children. Where's the vision? Where's the entreprenurial spirit?

That thought quickly passed.

Elsa landed on a CHANCE square. 
Her eyes gleamed.
She was so excited about drawing from the CHANCE pile and embracing the opportunities ahead.
Clearly, my child.

A Conversation

Pray more. I should have clarified.

I pray every day, throughout the day.

Over the years,  my prayers have evolved from asking for the absurd, "Please God, let me win the lotto!"  and negotiating with the Divine - "God, if you let this happen, I promise I will..."  to prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

Often, too, I pray for others - not that their souls will be saved or that they will have/get/be whatever I think they should have/get/be. Rather, that they build a relationships with God that allows them to be moved by the Spirit.

And I pray for myself, - for guidance, for all things good, for the abundance in my life that I know God wants for me.

One of the challenges with prayer is that it's sometimes approached as a monologue. We relate to God the same way as we've gotten into the habit of doing with our earthly connections  - we  don't listen. We say what we want to say, ask questions, seek understanding, and then  we move on with our ears - and hearts - closed. That's where meditation comes into play for me.

I meditate daily...usually during the quiet of  the morning before anyone else wakes...sometimes in the evenings, after hours of facebooking and blogging, when I need to wind down. Meditation, to me, is part of the conversation - it's when I do the listening instead of the yapping.

It's difficult to put into words the calm that envelopes me when I clear my mind and sit with what God is telling me. So, I won't even try.

We ask for things in our lives and yet when God answers us, we shrug it off...we think that He's wrong in the direction He's sending us...the answer involves too much work...we keep waiting for the answer that we want to hear. By ignoring His answers, we miss the blessings - all of the gifts - He's trying to bestow on us.
 
God ALWAYS answers us. He never leaves us hanging. Just listen.

Feather Thy Nest

Elsa came home from Daisy's with pinecones covered in peanut butter and bird seeds to hang outside for our feathered friends. Coincidentally, I had just opened my Hobby Farm magazine to an article regarding how to construct shelter for birds.
Guess what we'll be doing today?

What's Old Is New Again

If you were a Brownie or Girl Scout, you'll probably remember the song that went as follows:

"Make new friends, but keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold."


Well, I've been blessed with one in the same - an old friend who has become a new friend. After more than twenty-five years of living separate lives, we've now found ourselves on the same path.  I can't imagine not having his friendship in my life for the next 25 years.

As for the song...it was never clear to me which friend - old or new - was gold and which was silver. What I am sure of is that with this sweet soul, I've double-medaled ( I don't know if this is even a word...doesn't matter...you get the picture....Tianna-speak).

Everyone Is An Artist...

Truly, I believe that to be so.

People are creative. To me, anything that someone dreams up and then takes the time to piece together, build, sew, plant, mold, dance to, paint, and so on is considered a work of art.

I used to love to draw. Why I stopped is another story, but I made it a point to include tackling various art projects on my to-do list this year. One resolution was to paint a picture ( this is a mixed media - acrylics, tissue, and loose tea). I busted this out in about 30 minutes. You can tell. It still needs to be finished. Like us, a work in progress...

Life is FUN!

Freely, I will admit, that I enjoy celebrating - anything! Pet's birthdays, someone in the neighborhood gets a new car, one of the kids - and not necessarily my own - has a new tooth coming in, promotions or demotions, break-ups and divorces, the local high school team wins a championship...you name it, I'll celebrate it. For us, most holidays begin the month before the actual date ( I'm already wearing my Kiss Me, I'm Irish tee). So, we've been gearing up for Valentine's Day for some time now. Elsa and Luke were  excited to have their friends over! We made -and ate - chocolate covered strawberries & black-bottom cupcakes (and the other moms brought cupcakes, too!), read a funny Valentine's Day story, danced around the house, played, and then went sledding!

Life is FUN!

Pamper Someone

Unlike the east coast, where feet of snow have fallen over the past couple of weeks, the town where I live in COLORADO has ony received a few inches! Usually, we are out and about in the snow, but with another round of the yucks going through the family this past week, we decided to spend most of our time indoors.

Elsa was hit the hardest this time. She was getting a little ancy after the first couple of days of  recovery, but a little pampering helped ease her out of her funk.

I started rubbing Elsa's feet when she was a baby. It soothed her. She enjoyed it...so much so that after bath, while I was diapering her, she would emphatically place her foot in front of my face...waving it at me...so I would rub it. I thought a pedicure would be an ideal way to help her relax and take her mind off of not feeling well.

First, she soaked her tootsies in warm, soapy water that smelled of tea tree oil. Then came her favorite part...the massaging of the feet and legs. She loves it. She had to put her Ranger Rick magazine down so she could lie back in the chair and close her eyes. Lastly, we added some color to her day by painting her toenails.

How nice it feels to help someone else feel better.

Laughing All The Way

The resolution reads, "Daily, laugh for long periods of time! HA!"  Although I've commented before about the laughter in my life, I thought it would be nice to bring it up again.

Elsa and I have been sick. Last night we were struck with an illness and have felt terrible all day. Yet, I keep laughing.

(Princess) Elsa decided that she wanted to stay in bed - my bed - all day. According to her, it's snuggly. So, I propped up some pillows, brought in her books and journal, and left a box of tissues. As I was walking out the door, she asked if she could have one of the brass bells  that we have placed throughout the house. That way, if she needed me, she could ring.

Ding-a-ling-a-ding a-ling...

I was summoned. She was hungry for some toast. And she wanted tea.  No problem.

As I got to the bottom of the steps...ding-a-ling...

She wanted to make sure I knew that her food and drink should be delivered on a serving tray. Princess! (Wouldn't have it any other way!)

In the midst of all this, Lucas needed to get ready for a birthday party.  Seeing that I had my hands full, he declared that he would get ready by himself because I really needed to rest after tending to Elsa.

Here's what he decided to wear...


I told you...I'm laughing all the time.

Slow down...

If you've been following along, you know that I'm ahead with my resolutions! So, I'm going to slow down a bit!

What should I tackle next?

Interesting and Disgusting

Often, we think our children can only handle information geared to their ages. Nonsense.
My children are fascinated by anatomy. They want to know the anatomical names of bones and muscles. Elsa thinks the brain and heart are amazing. And Lucas wants to know specifics about the eye and vision.
So, I teach them. We learn through the internet (Google rocks), The Magic School Bus movie series (awesome stuff!), and from my anatomy books.
Every day, they ask me questions regarding lectures I've attended.
I shared with them a piece of information that I knew would garner as many "Ewwww" sounds as it did "
Ah-ha's"!

*Red blood cells die after a certain number of days (approximately 120) and are eliminated through our poo, which is why poo is - usually - a brownish color. (Obviously, there is more to the process, but you get the picture.)

Told you...Ewwww! Ah-ha!