"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." ~e.e. Cummings

My Dad always had one thing to say to me..."just be yourself." There were years when that was tough because who I was acting like and who I wanted to be were two different people. So I had to work through the kinks.


My Mom always had one thing to say to me, too..."God go with you."
Between the two I finally figured out that I was made to be someone in particular. Now, I'm not saying I'm 100% happy with the quirks He's given me, but I can honestly say I am courageously growing up...to be myself as God goes with me.


Thanks, Mom & Dad ~ it's the best advice I've ever gotten.

~ Goal Setting ~

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? ~Fanny Brice

Monday, May 3, 2010

43 days...but who's counting?

Whew! What a year it's been! I know some of you don't live your lives in the September to August year, but when you've got two boys in school and you've been involved in school of some sort of fashion for 36 years of your life you tend to think of a year in such terms. Actually, my year goes from September to June and the two and a half months of July and August (and half of June) are simply bonus time! :o)

Whatever year you want to be thinking of I just have to say it's been quite a year!

I could complain for a bit, but that's what coffee with friends is for, so instead I'll just share a bit of what God's been doing in my life over this year that has been QUITE a year....

Top 10 Lessons learned in 2009-2010 School Year:

10) Baseball games in ANY weather are really worth attending. Both boys are playing Little League (CJ in AAA and TacoBoy in AA), and that means practice for one on Monday-Wednesday and the other Tuesday-Thursday with games usually on Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays, and always on Saturdays. And in the Pacific NW the weather can be wet, cold, windy and horrible one day and sunny and warm the next (or, as we've experienced many times this Spring wet, cold, and windy one moment with warm sun and blue skies the next!)

9) As children get older the energy needed to care for them and train them up in the way they should go is a different kind of energy...and I'm mentally exhausted!

8) Training up two young boys at the same time as you're trying to deal with adults who have a real love of Jr. High Drama means that no matter how hard you try your house will NEVER be clean because the mental exhaustion is so great that all you can do sometimes is sit in a chair and pretend you're growing gorgeous fields of healthy vegetables and creating delectable gourmet meals with those veggies through the simple click of a mouse on Farmville and Cafe World. LOL! (for my non-Facebook friends, those are games on Facebook that I have been ribbed about many times by a certain uncle.....)

7) PTA Presidency, Little League, Music Studio, Classroom Volunteering and a husband who is Small Group Liaison and Coordinator for our church, Sunday morning Video Techie at church, Small Group member and Regional Manager who travels a lot equals coordinating life FAIL.

6) Email, Telephone, smartphones with text and picture messaging as well as friends and family who offer grace for the lack of interpersonal connection due to the above equals tremendous BLESSING.

5) Seeing my boys faces when we set everything aside each Friday night for pizza and a movie as a family...PRICELESS!

4) Surprising my husband with birthday tickets for he and our other Dodger fan to the Dodger's Home Opener in LA for the two of them and his Dad and brother was the easy part. Convincing said husband that vacations are a necessity to sanity and this was all put together for his sanity was a lot harder than it should have been...but worth every repetition of explanation until he really got excited about this exciting day!

3) Having the opportunity to speak to a group of women about accepting who God has created you to be, and having them respond actively, is more wonderful than I dreamed it would be. Continuing to pray for them is the real blessing.

2) Being given the opportunity to work with a beautiful woman in her Fabulous Fifties who has always known she was meant to sing but has had life's lies thrown at her too many times to believe she could is downright spectacular. I can't think of any other word. The weekly lessons where more and more of her shell is pulled away and her voice is strengthened in praise and confidence humble me and encourage me to be more, do more and live more than anything else in my life.

1) No matter how many times I may think I fail; or how many times others let me know I didn't live up to their standards; or I see what a mess I've made of something God tunes my mind into the fact that I make mistakes, but I'm not a mistake...that I am not living for the praise of others, but for the Glory of my Heavenly Father...and that no matter what kind of mess I'm in on earth in HIM I am held together. No matter how bad this earth can seem...in HIM I find my true HOPE and Promise of a future that will blow my mind.

Well, there ya go ~ the Top 10 Lessons learned this year. There are more (MANY more) but those are the toppers. In all the hardship of this year we have had so many reasons to laugh, and for that I am thankful. We've also had many reasons to cry, and I'm thankful for those, too, because in those moments I am reminded of how very much we need each other. Here are a few quick snapshots to show you how we survive...

This was taken at the end of December during a Letterboxing jaunt (similar to geocaching, but more of a "clue" hunt than GPS based. Check it out at letterboxing.org)

We've had the opportunity to see a few movies in theaters this year (mostly thanks to the discovery of the "cheap theater." One of our absolute favorites was, "How to Train Your Dragon." Here's a picture of our two crazy dragons doing what they do best ~ make me laugh.


This one is VERY important...Heritage Dr. Pepper made with REAL SUGAR!!!! I hate (read: HATE) High Fructose Corn Syrup, and although the advertisement says it's fine in moderation I find it difficult to actually be moderate in the consumption of it when it's in absolutely-freaky-everything!! ahem. Sorry...stepping off my soapbox....let's suffice it to say that finding my favorite drink the way it should be made ~ with real sugar ~ has been a blessing straight from Heaven! :o)


We all know the value of good friends, great imaginations, and free time. This was taken just a few weeks ago on a Spring Teaser day that the neighborhood kids decided to take full advantage of in our backyard.

And finally....


We learn to laugh at ourselves. To explain this picture...It's Taco Tuesday and the boys and I had been to the theater with our friend, Jenny, to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" followed by a trip to the Barnes and Noble bookstore next door. As Scott perused the book CJ had gotten I suggested to Jenny she take a picture of the two of us for my Facebook profile. Scott had no idea I had my fingers behind his head...and Jenny happened to snap the picture just as I made this face! (there is no noise ~ it's just the face. LOL!) It's one that makes us laugh again and again and again.

Well, until we meet again....have a great "rest of the year!"
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