Five Minute Friday

Ache.

Yeah.  I'm there this morning.  My ache is to help.  To help him through the melt downs.  To shake them off of us both.  I ache to take the frustration away.  The tears he sheds.  I take comfort in knowing God feels my ache.  He hears my heart.  He's right here.  Aching with me.  With us.

God brings me a bird outside the open window.  The prettiest song.  So loud from such a tiny creature!  His song is like a release from his little body.  Giving it all he's got.  Getting it all out.  And then I feel it. 

google

Peace.  Renewal.  Calm.  The God I serve is so wonderful.  I pray I can remember this place later when the ache returns.

Join in?

Five Minute Friday

Grit

I have always loved Clint Eastwood. My father and I have bonded over many a Saturday morning film. We've been dusty, filthy, clad with corduroy elbow patches, and put in our places over and over. With glee! I just love the no nonsense vibe in every one of the films, whether he has less than 100 lines or more than I can count.

Clint is my mental image of Grit. When life gets rough and I need to borrow someone else's no nonsense sensibility, he's my go to tooth clincher, sans cigar. I can speak my mind and pretend not to care about the consequences when I don the Clint persona.

It never lasts long. Neither do those moments when you need that kind of Grit.

Five Minute Friday

I have started joining in on Gypsy Mama's 5 Minute Friday.  I don't consider myself a writer.  I am a reader, for sure!  And I love other peoples' gifts with words.  I consider myself a Thinker.  But I do love the idea of a time limit of dipping my toe in and typing what comes to mind.  No pressure.  No corrections.  (OK, I correct spelling--but that's it!)  All for the fun of it!

This week's topic:  Delight.

What a lovely place to dwell for five minutes.  Delight and Joy go hand in hand in my mind.  Being filled with God's Joy brings me Delight.  It spreads to my family.  It spreads to my daily activities.  And it shows without saying a word. 

I am delighted with food.  Chocolate that passed through my house this week was enjoyed, guilt free, by me too.  Rolling that smooth yumminess around in my mouth...delight!

My children Delighting in one another.  Oh, how wonderful.  To hear secret giggles coming from a bedroom.  A gift.

Delighting in silence.  Too much of my day is noisy.  With my thoughts, music, talking, questions, TV, tears...silence is not to be taken for granted.  I hope I am teaching that to my kiddos, too.  Be Still.  Know.  And be Delighted.

Organizing with Gussy

Gussy of Gussy Sews  has started a new (to me!)series on her gorgeous blog. She emails out a topic and sends us off on a cyber adventure to get down our interpretation. Sounded like fun to me!

The topic for this month is Organization. Oh boy. My husband would be rolling laughing if he knew I was writing about this. I'm not a slob too messy. My downfall comes in the clutter. THAT is a bad word around here.

Truth be told, I love organizing. Tools, labelers, baskets, and color coding really excite me. Ooo, and office supplies! Forgot about how much I loooove office supplies! I just about hyperventilate at the back to school sales.

When my first kiddo came along, the organized house took a hit. By the time the second one came, it was a t-total mess. That was when I discovered the world of blogs, actually. I always bought magazines with organizing info on the front cover. I picked up a particularly gorgeous one that led me to Penelope Loves Lists. This sweet blog has an adorable label that I fell in love with-to be a "Penelope," you love nice neat things. And I really do! I just had lost myself in the big C..

So, I needed to shake it up and get my house back.  Next step was getting a book. (always my answer...). This book is fantastic, however. A life changer. For real.

Organizing From the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern.

This book changed my perspective on why there is the tendency to be cluttery (shudder), how to get it together, and how to keep it working.

Now, it isn't perfect. This book is on my reread list constantly. (do you have one of those?) But it really changed my approach. And the fact that I needed to approach it.

I dream of a well oiled machine around here. But as we say in the south: "It ain't gonna happen.". I don't want to freak out about it. I do try to clean up before hubs gets home. But kinda love the toys all over. Creativity happened!

One of the biggest tips I've taken away from the book is to revisit your system about every 30 days.  Working out the kinks and staying focused on the system.  My systems are always getting an inspection by me.  Mostly when the kitchen table is piled high (again) when it should be filed away.

I love dreaming of the next project with this new ammo in my back pocket.  I want a sewing space.  I have a sewing space currently...but it's sad.  I don't want to spend time there!  So, I've already been thinking organizing before I even start.  Big work table.  (Got it.  It's cluttered.  Dang it.)  Better ironing board.  Table just for the machine.  Wheely chair.

Then the fun!  Paint colors.

benjamin moore
(Swatches are up.  I dust them.)

Wall treatment?

allen and roth wallpaper

button art

Lighting?

 doily lamp

 ball jars hanging

I've been pinning other people's craft rooms:

www.thirtysixthavenue.com

Don't you want to sew there?

easy and interchangable!

Oh, the built in bliss!  Maybe...

flickr.com

What do you think?  How do you begin a new project?  Jump in or plan plan plan?  Can't wait to hear!

Jennifer

link up!

Five Minute Friday

The Gypsy Mama offers the chance to join her beautiful blog on Fridays and write. Just five minutes. Nothing perfect. Just get it down. I am not a writer. I am a Thinker. So this is a great exercise in release for me!

Our topic this week: Real.

I have had a Real week. Jack Mac got his first case of strep throat. Our first real painful episode with sickness. His autism played quite a role in the process. He couldn't tell me what hurt. He couldn't ask for specific comfort. He couldn't tell me. But he showed me. In his own real way. Real. You can't miss the signs for hold me, mommy. Let me lay down here, mommy. My favorite was him reaching up and smoothing out my worry lines on my forehead with one finger. Real words. From one soul to another. He told me. I listened. I prayed. God answered. Jack told me he was sad. With real words! That is a huge leap in our house. The encouragement all week was Real. Another mother reaching out to me with similar situations. A speech teacher encouraging me spiritually. A random phone call from a near stranger reminding me she loves our family. This week has been so Real. All in all, my Real God showed up. It was a blessing.



Hopefully this is the link back to the Gypsy Mama website. Don't know how to work blogger from the iPad too well yet!

Happy Friday!

I did it!

Wowee wow wow wow! I did it! I just walked/ran two miles in my neighborhood!

I haven't really made any resolutions this year. I am already working on the healthy eating/weight thing. It was a huge victory this year to go through the holidays with Weight Watchers. Almost quit. Thought it was nuts. But never felt deprived! I ate what I wanted. And was smart in between the "feasts" and didn't gain it all back! Yippee!

But I have been needing a new motivation to exercise. Let's face it, I hate it. I hate to sweat. I hate to be out of breath. I hate to sweat. Maybe it's more the sweating thing...anyway, I know I will not make my goal without it. Dang it. So I need to embrace something more interesting than the DVD I keep plugging in.

So I read about the Couch to 5 K. I did the first day this morning. I can not believe I was able to do that. I can walk all day, but to run?!

Might I add that our neighborhood is the hilliest ever created. Ever.

So I kept track of which set I was on and hit it. Totally convinced I would need to call someone to come scrape me off the pavement. But I didn't! I made it! I was tempted once to flag down the garbage men and hitch a ride, but that's not uncommon, right?

Of course, the real test is if I do it again on Thursday. But why not build on this momentum? The feeling in my legs will return by then anyway...so why not?

No matter what, today was a victory. I accomplished something I have never done. Pretty cool!

Fun Friday!

A while back I decided that Fridays needed to be my day. MY DAY. My own personal Fun Friday. Kiddos are at school. At least in the morning. So I am the kind of gal that needs something to look forward to all week. Hence, my little tradition.

Fun Friday always gets thrown off when the kids are out for a break. I don't think I have taken a FF since before Thanksgiving! So you can imagine how excited I was!

I don't even have to spend any money on my outings. Sometimes I am on the hunt for supplies for a crafty project I've read about. And sometimes I just want to bum and drink coffee and people watch.

Today was a combo: project and bumming. I made a stop at the Dollar Tree. Picked up a punch balloon and some new kitchen scissors. Ok, Ok, and some M & Ms. Dang it.

Then I made my way to Goodwill. I just love Goodwill. I know I am not alone in this devotion. There is always something new to discover! I didn't even think about yarn being there! Got a Pom Pom project in the works for that beautiful white goodness I picked up. I got a bag filled with wooden clothes pins. Score!!! Some tea towels for next Christmas. And a cutie patootie bag. Yippee! A grand total of six bucks!

All in all, an awesome Fun Friday.

Saying hello to 2012

I am so excited about a new year! I am ready to take what we've learned in 2011 and run with it.

I think a little looking back is healthy. A long as you don't linger there's too long. So here's a little recap of what is sticking out in my mind about our year 2011.

~*~. Our biggest story of the year would have to be our youngest son being diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. We began that journey near the beginning of the year. By July we had an official diagnosis and no clue how to feel or cope. Yet. In the six months that followed, we were BLESSED with private therapy, a super school for him, and encouragement from our family in huge ways. My God has never been absent in this journey. He has chosen to be silent on occasion. But always when I was absent from being at His feet. Funny how that works, huh? We continue on into this year much more equipped. Baffled, yes, sometimes. Frustrated, often. Hopeful, continuously.

~*~Another (divine) glitch was when our laptop died. *sniff* It was October, I believe. Oh, how I have missed it! I never noticed how much I would open that thing up and look up some random factoid or recipe or home-design-idea-or-inspiration. We still had (have) our pc downstairs, but who wants to spend tons of time down there surfing? Tons of time...hmm...yep. Maybe too much time. For all of us! We enjoyed the hiatus and just touching base with the common sites like fb and email. I will still say I sorely missed my fav blogs during the holidays, but I know catching up will be fun! We got some Christmas money that we are going to put into fixing it. But keeping an eye on how much quality time I spend with it will be a priority.

~*~ Wow, the blessings of family. 2011 showed us just how much family means. Our little boy will not lack for therapy or help or tools. We were gifted an iPad for him in December. And how exciting to see the progress he is already making with these Autism apps! Handwriting was a big focus. And now we are branching out into eye contact and emotions. He is thriving with this amazing tool. Awesome.

~*~So looking forward to 2012. New. More of the same great habits. Strength to weed out some bad ones. Hope your New Year is shiny and bright!

Jennifer

Sundays Unplugged

This Sunday we are contentedly tired.  Birthday celebrations continue.  Preparations for school for Little Man continue. 

Grateful that God draws me nearer to Him throughout our daily activities.  To be unplugged and turn my thoughts solely to Him is refreshing. 

Encouraging. 

Centering.

Calming.

How do you get refreshed for the week to come?

Cracking the Coupon Code. Again.

Is there anyone else out there that is on and off the coupon wagon so much, your head's spinning?

School's in for the big girl.  School's almost in for the little man.  And I am determined to crack the code on this coupon thing.  Again.  I was doing pretty good with it in the spring.  But wasn't touching any of the drug stores.

A friend put me on to Southern Savers website. 

All the codes are pretty confusing, until you read Jenny's tutorial on what it all means.  I had my toe in the water already on this part.  At the beginning of the year I bought the digital download of Grocery University.  I think you can still Google the promo code I used to get a little money off, but it is money WELL spent.  I learned so much!  And I refer to the information a lot, especially now that I'm diving back in.

So here's my new goal for the rest of this month:

1.  Shop two grocery stores.

2.  Shop two pharmacy stores.

I want to see where that puts me.  If I plan ahead (a MUST with this stuff) I can get each of these stores on my route for that day anyway.  I could add one more pharmacy, if it looked like I could save even more.

I just don't want to be driving all over town, spending gas, trying to save pennies here and there.  But I want to give a true fair shake!  So here I go!  Where are my scissors...

New-today

I am joining The Gypsy Mama today for my first Five Minute Friday.  Five minutes of thoughts and creativity that is unedited and uncriticized by me.  Sounds great!

Our given topic this morning is New.

Each day is new. This topic makes me so grateful.  When yesterday was a struggle, today is new.  When I was nervous and anxious, I don't have to carry that to today.  When I said the wrong thing or acted terribly, today is the chance to start new. 

A new cup of coffee.  A new start.  Breathing in and out and embracing this day.  The chance to be my best.  To change the things I didn't like about myself yesterday.  And to be grateful.  For this new day.  A renewal of energy and perspective.  I can do it!  Today I have the opportunity again to embrace what God has given me.  And He has equipped me to thrive in my circumstances.

Have a New Day!

Sundays Unplugged

Allowing church family into the inner circle of our family.  Not easy for a very private person.

We talked in SS about forgiveness and how it's such a challenge to forgive ourselves.  And also that we are thinking about our particular situation a whole lot more than the person we need to forgive is.

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

 

Peace.  Peace comes in His presence.  Peace comes from knowledge and preparation, also.  Lord, equip me to be the advocate I need to be.

 

Grateful for the gift of fun family moments.  Dancing in the living room to cartoon music.  Celebrating the life we have!!!

 

How did you celebrate your Sunday this week?

 

 

Sundays Unplugged

Had to swallow a lot of pride today.  And, in a way, a lot of privacy.  Yet another step in acceptance of our new diagnosis.

How do you handle a sudden public announcement of something you have kept quite private? 

You trust.

You must.  After the tears subside and the selfishness of the desire for privacy is over, God steps in.  He says, "Trust me.  Don't rely so much on yourself.  Allow your church family to pray for you.  They want to love on your family."

Then the peace comes.  Slowly I remember the events of the morning.  Both kiddos have "moved up" in their Sunday School classes, even though the little boy is still working on that potty.  Even though mommy doesn't think he can handle it.  Then a wonderful gentle man takes little boy under his wing.  And success happens!  Peace.

Then little boy escapes the room.  Panic.  Where is he?  God protects me from all of it by removing me to serve elsewhere.  And the congregation enjoys some surprise comic relief when he makes it all the way to the drums.  Daddy's drums.  So familiar.  So fun!  One loud noise of praise.  He's found.  Safe.  Peace.

One loving church member's words keep ringing- "We aren't going to let you fail."

I trust you, Lord.  I swallow pride.  I feel lost at times with all these terms and appointments.  All of the education I've had so far about this mysterious and broad Autism.  And now the church family wants to be educated.  Step up.  Trust.  Be little boy's advocate.  Biggest fan. 

But remember that no one can be a bigger fan of him than God. 

And God is my biggest fan, too. 

Rejoice!

I've learned a lot this week!

Dana over at Made is celebrating three years on her blog!  To celebrate, she launched a contest last week asking for folks to make a new header for her.



 Now, I am not a graphic designer.  I'm barely a blogger!  But Dana typed a few words that really inspired me to give this contest a try. 

You. Can. Do it.
You don't have to be a graphic designer to create a spiffy blog. Most of what I've done to my site, I learned by reading online tutorials about html, how to tweak it, and how to add things to make the blog just what I want.

So I've been playing.  For a week!  And thinking to myself, "This is nuts.  There are real graphic designers out there who are going to enter this thing to win these SUPAH prizes (they are big-time super).  What am I thinking?" 

However, after sufficiently neglecting my family with phrases like, "In just a minute, honey, I'm trying to crop this one...thing..."  I decided I'd enter anyway.  Be Brave Jen!  Whatcha got to lose??

Now that the pressure I've put on myself is off, this has really been fun.  I'm learning a lot!  Mostly that Word is a challenge to use if you want to get really creative, but totally workable if you want to keep things simple. 

So I've thrown my graphic name in the hat.  I might enter two more (there's a limit of three entries).  I certainly have ideas saved away in this good ol' laptop!  But I'm ever grateful for the little push from Dana to try.  And to tell me "I can do it!" 

Have you tried something totally out of your box lately?

Sundays: Unplugged

A quiet ride to church.

Our annual "fancy dinner" to celebrate the First Day of School.

A little boy finding his words.  And using them to say, "Come on sis, let's play!"

Fun bath time.  Barbies, goggles, and one pool mask.

A loose tooth.

Excitement as we all try to sleep.

~Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul.~

Friendship





A dear friend of mine is moving.

My heart hurts.  Even though I've tried to prepare myself that this could happen, as it is the nature of her husband's business.

This is one of those "grown up" moments.  You can't prepare for this fully.  This is one of those moments where your faith is strengthened. 

Where God dwells.

I know our friendship will continue.  Our children will still grow up knowing one another.  We'll just drive to visit now.  That's the special thing about dear friends.  They will always be dear friends.  Most folks only have one or two of those.

When God brings a friend like mine into my world, you just know it's special.  A person that makes me a better Believer.  A better mother.  A better friend. 

Lord, help me to be a friend she can always rely on, whether she lives near or not.



Things I Like about Me Challenge with C Mom

I came across this challenge this morning on Twitter. 

I love it! 

We don't toot our own horns nearly enough.  I am the QUEEN of beating myself up.  Just ask my husband.  I can tear up an idea all by myself in under a minute.  The great news is I'm getting better at not doing this.  And getting better at remembering that I am "Fearfully and wonderfully made" by my God.  So I accept this challenge of listing some of the things I like about myself.

1. I love my faith.  Jesus Christ has taught me so much about life and myself.
2. I can make others laugh.   I have the gift of goofy.
3. I like the size of my fingers.  They are long and slender.  Who doesn't love that?
4. I am smart.  I never really had to work in school to get good grades.  Except for that B in Advanced English...earned that one proudly.
5. I'm a fast learner. 
6. I love to learn something new.  It makes me feel alive.
7. I love technology.  It always amazes and challenges me.
8. I am creative.  I love to create new things.
9. I am a talented musician.  God gave me that gift early on.  It was my first career.
10. I empathize with others.  I'm a good ear.
11. I am a good wife and mommy.  They are my world!

Wow!  That was so cleansing!  And surprisingly tough.  I kept deleting the little editorial comments I added to each one that were negative.  Very telling, don't you think?  Make your own list-you won't regret it!

This Lazy Day

This has been the best day so far.

We haven't done a thing!  No pressure to be anywhere or do anything.  I'm still in my nightgown!  We've vegged as a family.  Three of the four of us are feeling punky, so a day to sit on our tails was much needed to keep the summer rolling!

Going to head to the library and renew some books, check out a few new ones, and grab an armload for the kiddos.  Reading Carol Higgins Clark right now.  She's super!  Just finished this one:

It made me Google Santa Barbara and drool over the pictures.  I now want to own a vineyard, make my own wine, and seize the day! 

I've discovered that I'm reading these all out of order, but that seems to make them more endearing to me.  I already know some things about the characters' backgrounds that they don't even know!  Great summer reading.

I have a feeling my creative streak is going to explode all over me after this lazy day.  Can't wait!

Loving My Blog For ME

I started my little blog because I have fallen in love with the blog world. 

So many people who like what I like.  Who challenge my creativity.  Who inspire.

I don't necessarily want to change the world with my blog.  I thought I wanted to inspire just as much as I was being inspired. 

What I've discovered is-all of those things are good.  But they are me trying too hard.  And trying to be someone else.  I want my blog to be a place I love to come to!  And be happy when I think about it.  And when I visit.  And when I leave.  Not a pressure cooker.

So let the creativity flow.  Or not!  I'm visiting and writing because I want to.  And I can't wait to visit again.

I am rejoicing.  It's a happy place to be!

Summer is Here!

Our summer has begun here at our house.  Kids are out and hubby is out.  We are counting down the days to the beach!  Can't wait to post some pictures of our camping trip to the beach.  Our kids are young enough that each trip is drastically different from the last one. 

This year we have made a count down chain that hangs on the back door.  Little Girl tears off a link before bed each night.  Can't believe how fast that seems to be making the time go by!

This year, Little Boy is moving out of the pack and play and into a bed.  Some bed.  We aren't sure where yet.  Maybe the bunk.  Possibly the table made down.  He's going to choose!  All I know is I can hear the surf in my ears, feel the sand in my toes, and smell the coffee brewing early in the morning throughout the camper.  Already!  And each tear off of the countdown chain makes my heart leap, too!  It's like being a kid again.  And it feels grrrreat!