I know a lot of us nod our heads and agree, but please let me encourage you to really ACT on these feelings. Take a minute to ask yourself if you're doing anything differently this year...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Less gifts - more PRESENCE
This has been going around a bunch, but in case you haven't seen it already, please take a minute to watch this...Thanks!
I know a lot of us nod our heads and agree, but please let me encourage you to really ACT on these feelings. Take a minute to ask yourself if you're doing anything differently this year...
I know a lot of us nod our heads and agree, but please let me encourage you to really ACT on these feelings. Take a minute to ask yourself if you're doing anything differently this year...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
30 days of thankfulness - day 28
I am thankful for my sewing machine. Dave got it for me a while back and I think it was my most 'favoritest' gift ever! I don't really know how to sew, but that's beside the point right now! I really wanted one b/c it represents the Mom/wife I want to be. Since then I have learned a lot and made a few things...recently I have made even more. I have been gaining confidence! For mostly straight stitches, mind you, but this is huge for me. I am thankful that Dave got that for me and the best part was that he listened to all my hints!! So thank you honey...and I hope to post soon about some of my sewing adventures...I am thankful for my sewing machine.
30 days of thankfulness - day 27
I am thankful for my blogging friends! There are so many bloggers out there that inspire me...
There's Joyce (who alerted me to this whole 30 days of thankfulness challenge)
Bethany (who is seriously super-mom - she builds! she cooks! she teaches! she draws! she writes! and WELL!)
Elizabeth (who cracks me up)
Revka (who is so creative)
Holly (who holds it all together as a mom of many and keeps it simple)
Shawn (who is a dad, in case you didn't already figure that out, that gives me 'the other perspective' and gives me the drive to beef up so I can carry my kids around in a pack!)
Rachel (who is so much like me, reflective and contemplative)
Jenni (who also makes me laugh, but questions things in this world too)
Jennifer (who has so many green ideas to get a family started)
and Tracy (who inspired me to write my own blog)
Now guess how many of these ladies (and Shawn) I know in real life? I would love to meet them all, of course, and I hope that someday that might happen...I pray for all these ladies (and Shawn) even though I don't know them. I know that by writing a blog, they have the power to reach and influence other people by their words and the stories of their lives that they choose to share. You have no idea (ok maybe you do, but that's the cliche) how many people mention something they saw me write about on my blog. "I never thought of trying that..." or "We really should ride our bikes more!" or "Hey - where can I get one of those??" The point is that these bloggers inspire me and I am grateful for them. Some of them read my blog, too, and leave comments which I appreciate (btw, that's not required - if I mentioned you and you don't read my blog, no worries! =) I'm not fishing for a compliment or comment...) . Anyway, it's gotten to the point that, yes, I call some of them friends even if we have never met! I am thankful for my blogging friends.
There's Joyce (who alerted me to this whole 30 days of thankfulness challenge)
Bethany (who is seriously super-mom - she builds! she cooks! she teaches! she draws! she writes! and WELL!)
Elizabeth (who cracks me up)
Revka (who is so creative)
Holly (who holds it all together as a mom of many and keeps it simple)
Shawn (who is a dad, in case you didn't already figure that out, that gives me 'the other perspective' and gives me the drive to beef up so I can carry my kids around in a pack!)
Rachel (who is so much like me, reflective and contemplative)
Jenni (who also makes me laugh, but questions things in this world too)
Jennifer (who has so many green ideas to get a family started)
and Tracy (who inspired me to write my own blog)
Now guess how many of these ladies (and Shawn) I know in real life? I would love to meet them all, of course, and I hope that someday that might happen...I pray for all these ladies (and Shawn) even though I don't know them. I know that by writing a blog, they have the power to reach and influence other people by their words and the stories of their lives that they choose to share. You have no idea (ok maybe you do, but that's the cliche) how many people mention something they saw me write about on my blog. "I never thought of trying that..." or "We really should ride our bikes more!" or "Hey - where can I get one of those??" The point is that these bloggers inspire me and I am grateful for them. Some of them read my blog, too, and leave comments which I appreciate (btw, that's not required - if I mentioned you and you don't read my blog, no worries! =) I'm not fishing for a compliment or comment...) . Anyway, it's gotten to the point that, yes, I call some of them friends even if we have never met! I am thankful for my blogging friends.
30 days of thankfulness - day 26
(We have all been sick lately, w/me getting the worst of it! So...I'm playing catch up at the end of the month in a big way. Bear w/me as I slowly get these up...)
I am thankful for our freedom of choice when it comes to education. So many times people assume that since I'm a licensed teacher and a Christian, that must mean I plan to homeschool my kids. I don't. I'm not trying to start debate over that, this is not the place! My point is simply the fact that I am so happy we can be in a place where we can all choose what we believe is best. I have friends who homeschool, friends who send their kids to public school, friends who send their kids to Christian, Lutheran or whatever private school, and friends whose kids do some kind of hybrid charter-homeschool thing. We can all choose what we like and no one hassles us about it (at least, they shouldn't!) or puts us in jail if we choose the wrong thing. Another aspect of all this is that we should be thankful our girls can attend school...sometimes I think we take that for granted too! As a teacher, as a parent and as a community member, I am thankful for our freedom of choice when it comes to education.
I am thankful for our freedom of choice when it comes to education. So many times people assume that since I'm a licensed teacher and a Christian, that must mean I plan to homeschool my kids. I don't. I'm not trying to start debate over that, this is not the place! My point is simply the fact that I am so happy we can be in a place where we can all choose what we believe is best. I have friends who homeschool, friends who send their kids to public school, friends who send their kids to Christian, Lutheran or whatever private school, and friends whose kids do some kind of hybrid charter-homeschool thing. We can all choose what we like and no one hassles us about it (at least, they shouldn't!) or puts us in jail if we choose the wrong thing. Another aspect of all this is that we should be thankful our girls can attend school...sometimes I think we take that for granted too! As a teacher, as a parent and as a community member, I am thankful for our freedom of choice when it comes to education.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
30 days of thankfulness - day 25
I am thankful for my bathrobe. It's old (I got it when I left for college) and pilly and unfashionable, but don't get weirded out if I tell you I wear it every day. Most afternoons, when it's just me at home and the boys are asleep, I'm cold. That's b/c I'm too cheap to turn the heat up! But I have a simple cheap solution. I put my bathrobe on. That's right, over my clothes. I don't care if you know it! It keeps me warm. I have no shame! The only problem is that we got these new doors (where is she going w/this? Hold on...) and they don't have peep holes. So if anyone unexpected ever knocks on the door (which rarely happens in the middle of the afternoon!), I have to remember to take it off b/c random people probably don't want to see me in my bathrobe even if I have clothes on underneath!! Still! I am thankful for my bathrobe.
(Oh Joyce! Is the month nearly over yet?? I am thankful for so many things but I seem to be finding myself telling stories and secrets for no apparent reason! 5 more days!!!)
(Oh Joyce! Is the month nearly over yet?? I am thankful for so many things but I seem to be finding myself telling stories and secrets for no apparent reason! 5 more days!!!)
Monday, November 24, 2008
30 days of thankfulness - day 24 (warning - it's long!)
I am thankful for Dave. He is 31 years old today!! Happy Birthday honey! Here are 31 reasons why I love him...
1) He has curly hair...
2) and blue eyes.
3) He is tall (dark and handsome too!)
4) He makes me laugh.
5) He loves his family - that's one of the major reasons I fell in love w/him.
6) He loves sports like me.
7) He speaks Spanish, like me - that's how we started getting to know each other. In college we both attended InterVarsity Christian Fellowship together, but when our junior year started, it turned out we had a lot of classes together. He would always bring the crossword puzzle from the newspaper and I would fill in the stuff he didn't know! Sometimes, he'd be paying attention in class and I would sneakily fill it all out! He hated that but I think he loved it too =) He even asked me to marry him in Spanish!
8) He wants 12 kids, like me!
9) He is smart.
10) He's a hard worker.
11) He lets me stay home w/our kids. I am very fortunate that he is willing to work, help us budget and that he finds it beneficial to our kids. He encourages me a lot!
12) He takes care of me.
13) He plays music - the best part is that he is one of those guys who doesn't really read music, he just jams out to whatever he feels like! A while back he was in a jazz combo (we miss the gigs Shiji had!!) and I had so much fun going to all these coffeehouses and swing dancing! Dave loves to play blues and jazz, but also likes worship music and will play classical if you ask...
14) He was the first person to get me to do a Bible study (I think it helped that I had a huge crush on him, obviously!!). I had never done anything like that before and he asked if we could read/study the book of Job together. Yeah - the book of Job? For my first time? Yeah...that book is filled w/so much...angst and stuff!! I learned a lot. But by now I'm a lot more comfortable doing stuff like that. And I still love reading/studying w/him!
15) He likes outdoor activities like camping, biking, going to parks, etc
16) He's willing to partake in 'all that tree-hugger stuff' as he calls it! He was a little resistant to things like using hankies and what not at first, but he's totally on board now. In fact, he even catches me cheating sometimes! He has commented more than once on how he is glad we are making changes.
17) He dances like a goof, so naturally that makes me look good! LOL! I'm kidding, I know I'm a goofy dancer too! After we got married, we took a dance class together and we had some swing lessons. It was fun...even though I still don't let him lead!
18) He likes going to oddball touristy stuff when we're on vacation. Have you seen the stone cement sculptures in WI? Or that one house that has a car sunk into their front yard? I have dragged DW to enough of these 'off the beaten path' type things that he actually gets excited and finds some of his own now too.
19) He can and does smother me w/kisses!
20) He keeps me warm when we go camping and I'm sooooo coldddddd! When we were on our honeymoon, we were camping in Canada (do I need to explain that there was snow in JUNE??) and I couldn't sleep b/c my body kept shaking and bouncing from the cold. Dave wrapped his arms around my head and told me to relax and go to sleep, that he would keep me warm. I giggled so hard b/c I told him the headlines tomorrow would be about how this newly married couple was found dead in their tent and it looked like the guy smothered the girl!! All I remember after that was waking up warm...so it worked! Anyway, he is always about 30* warmer than I am so he keeps me warm a lot.
21) He is compassionate for others, like his students or foster kids, etc...
22) He reminds me of his dad. I used to get annoyed by stuff like that, but now that Dad is Home, I love seeing things in Dave that remind me of him.
23) He thinks I'm beautiful and he buys me flowers!
24) He's a great tutor/mentor. He loved being a middle school teacher...he loves having kids at the house over the summer to work on math and stuff. He enjoys getting to know them in a smaller setting and teaching to their strengths and weaknesses.
25) He gets along w/my family. He loves to talk sports w/my Dad and brother and teases my mom =) His favorite story to tell is the one where he went downstairs to talk to my dad about asking to marry me. He says he never saw the TV go off so fast!! If you ask him, he will tell you more about that story, he loves it...
26) He shares what he learns/has learned w/me. He's always teaching me music stuff (I'm always forgetting!), cooking stuff and football stuff. He was taking some classes through the Institute of Creation Research and would always share what he was learning about. I love that stuff! That's a big part of why I became a Christian! But I guess that's another story you're all still waiting on...sorry, I'll get on that sometime over this holiday weekend.
27) He still wants to grow old w/me, after almost 10 years.
28) He pulls out my wayward white hairs! Now don't you all go commenting and telling me that's a bad thing to do! I don't care. If the white ones want to hang out w/the brown ones, they are free to do so as long as they lay down nice and straight. As soon as they start standing up and getting all zigzaggy, they are pulled. And no I will never dye my hair. So just let it be. And yes, I don't really have good genes for hair color so you can just get used to seeing me w/white hair...
29) He loves me every second, even when I am irrational, inconsolable, and incommunicative. He CHOOSES to love ME. He chooses to love me and keep God at the center of our marriage.
30) He respects my body. When we first started dating, I had 'experience' and he didn't. The first big date we had was to the Madison farmer's market, to be followed by a UWBadgers game. As we walked around the capitol square, he ASKED to hold my HAND. I swear I must have stopped in my tracks b/c every guy I had ever 'dated' or 'flirted' w/, tried to do so much more w/o ever asking. They didn't really respect my body and I guess neither did I b/c I let them...at any rate, here was this guy asking to hold my hand. I was thinking, "Who does this??" But I was also thinking, "OH I am soooo going to marry this guy!" And then I was thinking, "I'd better say YES before he gives up on me!" So I said yes and he held my hand and then he dragged the puddle that was me all over town for the rest of the day =)
31) He is the man God chose for me!
I am thankful for Dave!
1) He has curly hair...
2) and blue eyes.
3) He is tall (dark and handsome too!)
4) He makes me laugh.
5) He loves his family - that's one of the major reasons I fell in love w/him.
6) He loves sports like me.
7) He speaks Spanish, like me - that's how we started getting to know each other. In college we both attended InterVarsity Christian Fellowship together, but when our junior year started, it turned out we had a lot of classes together. He would always bring the crossword puzzle from the newspaper and I would fill in the stuff he didn't know! Sometimes, he'd be paying attention in class and I would sneakily fill it all out! He hated that but I think he loved it too =) He even asked me to marry him in Spanish!
8) He wants 12 kids, like me!
9) He is smart.
10) He's a hard worker.
11) He lets me stay home w/our kids. I am very fortunate that he is willing to work, help us budget and that he finds it beneficial to our kids. He encourages me a lot!
12) He takes care of me.
13) He plays music - the best part is that he is one of those guys who doesn't really read music, he just jams out to whatever he feels like! A while back he was in a jazz combo (we miss the gigs Shiji had!!) and I had so much fun going to all these coffeehouses and swing dancing! Dave loves to play blues and jazz, but also likes worship music and will play classical if you ask...
14) He was the first person to get me to do a Bible study (I think it helped that I had a huge crush on him, obviously!!). I had never done anything like that before and he asked if we could read/study the book of Job together. Yeah - the book of Job? For my first time? Yeah...that book is filled w/so much...angst and stuff!! I learned a lot. But by now I'm a lot more comfortable doing stuff like that. And I still love reading/studying w/him!
15) He likes outdoor activities like camping, biking, going to parks, etc
16) He's willing to partake in 'all that tree-hugger stuff' as he calls it! He was a little resistant to things like using hankies and what not at first, but he's totally on board now. In fact, he even catches me cheating sometimes! He has commented more than once on how he is glad we are making changes.
17) He dances like a goof, so naturally that makes me look good! LOL! I'm kidding, I know I'm a goofy dancer too! After we got married, we took a dance class together and we had some swing lessons. It was fun...even though I still don't let him lead!
18) He likes going to oddball touristy stuff when we're on vacation. Have you seen the stone cement sculptures in WI? Or that one house that has a car sunk into their front yard? I have dragged DW to enough of these 'off the beaten path' type things that he actually gets excited and finds some of his own now too.
19) He can and does smother me w/kisses!
20) He keeps me warm when we go camping and I'm sooooo coldddddd! When we were on our honeymoon, we were camping in Canada (do I need to explain that there was snow in JUNE??) and I couldn't sleep b/c my body kept shaking and bouncing from the cold. Dave wrapped his arms around my head and told me to relax and go to sleep, that he would keep me warm. I giggled so hard b/c I told him the headlines tomorrow would be about how this newly married couple was found dead in their tent and it looked like the guy smothered the girl!! All I remember after that was waking up warm...so it worked! Anyway, he is always about 30* warmer than I am so he keeps me warm a lot.
21) He is compassionate for others, like his students or foster kids, etc...
22) He reminds me of his dad. I used to get annoyed by stuff like that, but now that Dad is Home, I love seeing things in Dave that remind me of him.
23) He thinks I'm beautiful and he buys me flowers!
24) He's a great tutor/mentor. He loved being a middle school teacher...he loves having kids at the house over the summer to work on math and stuff. He enjoys getting to know them in a smaller setting and teaching to their strengths and weaknesses.
25) He gets along w/my family. He loves to talk sports w/my Dad and brother and teases my mom =) His favorite story to tell is the one where he went downstairs to talk to my dad about asking to marry me. He says he never saw the TV go off so fast!! If you ask him, he will tell you more about that story, he loves it...
26) He shares what he learns/has learned w/me. He's always teaching me music stuff (I'm always forgetting!), cooking stuff and football stuff. He was taking some classes through the Institute of Creation Research and would always share what he was learning about. I love that stuff! That's a big part of why I became a Christian! But I guess that's another story you're all still waiting on...sorry, I'll get on that sometime over this holiday weekend.
27) He still wants to grow old w/me, after almost 10 years.
28) He pulls out my wayward white hairs! Now don't you all go commenting and telling me that's a bad thing to do! I don't care. If the white ones want to hang out w/the brown ones, they are free to do so as long as they lay down nice and straight. As soon as they start standing up and getting all zigzaggy, they are pulled. And no I will never dye my hair. So just let it be. And yes, I don't really have good genes for hair color so you can just get used to seeing me w/white hair...
29) He loves me every second, even when I am irrational, inconsolable, and incommunicative. He CHOOSES to love ME. He chooses to love me and keep God at the center of our marriage.
30) He respects my body. When we first started dating, I had 'experience' and he didn't. The first big date we had was to the Madison farmer's market, to be followed by a UWBadgers game. As we walked around the capitol square, he ASKED to hold my HAND. I swear I must have stopped in my tracks b/c every guy I had ever 'dated' or 'flirted' w/, tried to do so much more w/o ever asking. They didn't really respect my body and I guess neither did I b/c I let them...at any rate, here was this guy asking to hold my hand. I was thinking, "Who does this??" But I was also thinking, "OH I am soooo going to marry this guy!" And then I was thinking, "I'd better say YES before he gives up on me!" So I said yes and he held my hand and then he dragged the puddle that was me all over town for the rest of the day =)
31) He is the man God chose for me!
I am thankful for Dave!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
30 days of thankfulness - day 23
I am thankful for our library. Yeah, this is a lame one, I guess...but seriously, I have saved a lot of money by going to the library! I get books that give me ideas, books that teach, books to read, books to read to Mo and books w/pics I like to drool over (organized homes, mostly!). We go there to let Mo play sometimes on cold winter days, to read and to check out movies. Sometimes they have story time...I also like to read the posters. They have this huge wall where they post notices about community events (remember how earlier I mentioned I know tons of activities in town?). I'm sure there are many more reasons to love the library and I'm sure you all have one too, so it's not that big of a deal, but still! I am thankful for our library.
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