Onward We Go

Roses of Life

I've dreamed many dreams that never came true. I've seen them vanish at dawn. But I've realized enough of my dreams, Thank God, To make me want to dream on.

I've prayed many prayers, when it seemed no answers came, Though I waited patient and long, But sure answers have come to enough of my prayers To make me keep praying on.

I've trusted many a friend that failed And left me to weep alone, But I've found enough of my friends true blue To make me keep trusting on.

I've sown many seeds that fell by the way For the birds to feed upon, But I have held enough golden sheaves in my hands To make me keep sowing on.

I've drained the cup of disappointment and pain And gone many days without song, But I've sipped enough nectar from the roses of life To make me want to live on.

Author Unknown

A Bowl Full Of Cherries

Monday Ciolino's, our favorite produce market, had cherries on sale for $1.99/lb.- a good price for cherries.
We bought 3 big bags.

Wednesday they went on sale there for $1.59/lb.
Couldn't pass that up so we bought more. A LOT more.

We just got their add for next week.

Monday they are on sale for .98/lb.

I have never eaten so many cherries in my life!

Peek A Boo



Picture taken by Emma Muth

Eat More Chocolate!

• Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.
• To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy product. So candy bars are a health food.
• Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit; so eat as many as you want.
• If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
• Problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.
• Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.
• If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. (We're testing this with other snack foods as well.)
• If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?
• Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. Therefore, you need to eat more chocolate.
• Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.
• A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?
• If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?
• If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't let that happen, can you?

Chocolate anyone?

Embarrassing Moment # 1,930,021

It was a nice evening tonight. We were outside most of the evening, so enjoying the cool air and gentle breeze.
Our neighbor and her little boy stopped by to chat. The kids enjoyed running around playing. Ah, how sweet they were.
When the mosquitoes started using the kids as a buffet table we decided it was time to call it an evening and go inside.
Just when I was bending down to tell the sweet little curly haired boy goodnight I hear this loud RRRRIIIPPPPP.
I gasped in horror and thought to myself, "It just can't be!". Yeah, it was.
My jeans, cheap dollar store jeans, ripped completely up and down the backside.
Yeppers. Sure did.
Right there in the driveway for the neighbor lady and the whole neighborhood for that matter, to see. To see more than I ever care for them to see actually.
Tell me, friends, how does one respond to this?
Thankfully, my sweet neighbor friend had the decency not to laugh...too hard.
I actually think I laughed harder because in spite of the fact it was my backside waving in the cool gentle breeze, it was stinkin' funny. Besides it was either that or shriek.
Too bad I can never show my face to her again. I liked her.
Moral of the story: Cheap jeans aren't worth it. I paid $5 for them brand new. Should have been my first clue, ya think?  And just in case you were wondering, and you know you were...they weren't too tight. Actually they fit me really well. They were comfy even. They were just thin and cheap.
Sadly though, they were one of my favorite pair because they were thin. I liked that. Not any more.
I'm a thick denim girl from here on out. Fool me once and all that.

Have a good laugh!

Nothing left for the imagination there! It was all laid bare.

As you can see, LITERALLY from top to bottom!

Just One More, Mommy

Time for bed.
Lydia doesn't want to go to sleep.
She wants to stall. She's getting very good at it.
Tricky too.
She's found my soft spot. Smart little thing.

Lydia, from her crib: (smacks lips) that's her language for kiss. She stands up and puckers up expectantly.
Always done just as I put my hand on the door knob to leave.

Mommy: Okay, Baby girl. One more kiss.
     Notice the big smile on Baby girls face.
Mommy gives big smacking kisses.
Okay, time for bed. Sleep tight, Mommy loves you.

Lydia: Bye Bye

Mommy gets to the door

Lydia: (smacks lips)

Repeat scenario a few more times. More hugs. More lovin'. More stallin'.

Finally, I slip out the door to the sound of more smacks.
She flops down, sucks her thumb and out she goes.

Knowing she is loved and safe.

I love being that little girls mommy!

Childlike Joy

Philippians is one of my favorite books. It has a lot to chew on and I find myself going there time and time again for different needs. It, along with the Psalms, is my "comfort" book. I have spent so much time there, it's so familiar. It's a comfortable happy place to be for me. Spending time soaking up old truths and finding new things that encourage and refresh my spirit.
Last night I was laying in bed, not even close to sleep, and my mind was flitting from thought to thought about all that has gone on this summer and the situation we are in now.
We've gone through a lot as a family. We have struggled. We have cried. We have hurt. We have also shared joy, answered prayer, peace and sweet moments as memories were made.
But in the recesses of my heart last night this phrase from Philippians washed over my soul, whispering peace and gladness from the only source of true joy on earth.
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS. AGAIN I WILL SAY, REJOICE! (Phil. 4:4)
I remember someone saying one time that the kind of rejoicing we should feel in our hearts is an exuberant, gleeful joy coming from the deepest part of our soul in response to the LORD and His love for us. No matter the circumstance of life.
I love love love the words exuberant and gleeful.
The picture I get in my mind is of Lydia when her daddy walks in the door from work. Her eyes start sparkling. She jumps around and runs head long into him all the while squealing and clapping her hands. Now that, that's exuberant and gleeful joy.
When's the last time you have experienced that type of joy and rejoicing in your heart over the knowledge that your Heavenly Father has come to you and has chosen to abide with you?
The world finds happiness in many things. They rejoice over many temporal things or people but they soon find that joy diminishes quickly. It can never last. It wasn't meant to. So they search on, looking for the thing that will satisfy the longing, fill the internal hole that aches to be filled with a lasting source of real peace and joy. No where will they find it until they look to God. Even on their best days. The Christian however, can tap into that lasting peace and joy even on the worst of days. Because we know that true rejoicing can only be done in the LORD.
Even in the situations that would cause anxiety and fear. Even when you hurt. Even when you feel alone and that no one understands. We can rejoice because the God of all comfort, the sovereign God of all, the God who loves and cares for us is not only near us, but holds us and is in charge of whatever the care of our heart may be.
With that thought burned into our hearts, could we do anything less than rejoice? With the truth that "God's got this" why do we worry and fret and stew? Methinks if we aren't rejoicing we haven't really got that truth internalized yet. Oh, well, hmmmm. Ouch.
There should be a great deal of rejoicing among believers yet we so often grumble. We worry. We allow concerns and pain to overcome us instead of dwelling in the truth that in Christ we overcome them.
Concentrating on His Word and not on the world brings joy. Dwelling in His presense and not on the pain brings peace. Focusing on His faithfulness not on how others have failed us produces praise.
Am I the only when who needs to be reminded today that God is worthy of our praise in every situation? Worthy of a heart that rejoices in Him every day. We have every reason to find fullness of joy in Him and no reason at all to spend our time feeling empty and broken.
With that in mind, go be exuberant and gleeful today!

I Can't Help It- This Is Funny

In honor of the fact we are thinking about a mini-van and for those of you who have already gone down that road.
Come on, admit it, you can identify with it.

*REMINDER* Go to the bottom of the page and stop the music player first.

Twirling

One of my favorite “mommy” tools is our video monitor. It’s a wonderful way to spy on keep a motheryly eye on Lydia while she’s sleeping-or supposed to be.
Today while I’m taking a much needed "me moment", Lydia is in her crib, NOT sleeping. Minding her own business, doing whatever it takes not to sleep. She has no idea she is cracking me up. Oh my but she’s funny, that girl.
Right now she has discovered that the cute little summer skirt she has on will twirl if she spins. So she’s in the middle of her crib, spinning and playing with her skirt and falling down and giggling. She’ll tire herself out soon and off to sweet dream land she'll go. But for now she is busy being a giggly little girl.
She's so girly some times. I love that.
Every day she makes new "girly" discoveries. I adore watching her discover them.
*Baby dolls
*Shoes- oh how the girl does love her shoes. Or anyone's shoes for that matter.
*Jewelry- She loves all things glittery and shiny. Watch out, boys, someday she'll be an expensive date!
*Dancing- Although this isn't a totally girl thing, she does it very girl-like. It's all swirls and twirls and abandoning herself to the music in a sweet, giddy, giggly, totally free and happy way.
*Purses- Anything baglike with a handle. She slings it on her arm and off she goes. There's an addiction in the making.
*Dressing up- She gets very excited on Sundays and as soon as she gets dressed she runs to daddy, turns a full circle and completely expects him to go on and on about how pretty she is.


See? I'm not raising a tom boy at my house, that's for sure. Oh what fun she is!!!!

Back In The Blogging Game...Maybe

You may have noticed that I haven't been around much lately.
Honestly, I'd all but given up on this here corner of the web. Time, energy and motivation have been in short supply.
However, I just can't give it up entirely. There's something about this blog that keeps me sane.
It is my creative outlet. It's my vent. It's my way to climb up on my fancy little soap box and let the world (or 5 people) know what's on my mind. It's fun.
So, I may not post as often as I used to but I still need to know it's here. I guess what it comes down to is that this really is more for me than anyone else. How very selfish of me. I used to get very discouraged that so few people read it but with the new knowledge that it's for me and not for the world at large I am empowered anew to keep this baby chugging along....however slowly the chugs may be at times.
So, my faithful few, keep clompin' along with me. There's still more points along this here path and I'm glad your making the way with me.