And really, this hasn't been a completely wonderful week. Instead of having a simple cataract removed on Tuesday, my mom found out that she has Macular Degeneration...something that her own mother lost her eye sight with at about the same age.
When I first heard the news, I felt so upset...my hormones this week were already doing a circus act, so hearing this when I was just waiting to hear how her "simple operation" had gone put me into a bit of a tail spin.
But God gave me many verses when I opened up the Bible that seemed to jump right out at me to encourage my heart. Amazing how He truly speaks to us though His word when we need it the most. And I know, no matter what a person's age is, God can still heal...He is not limited by anything!
I wanted to now focus in on the positive, and what better way then to finally join in with "Fav Five".
But before I jump into it, I wanted to thank both Brenda and Lisa for giving me the Lemonade Award...
Thank you so much, ladies, for honoring me with it just when it would bless me this week! I promise to try and honor ten others with this on my next post.
Edited to add: I had also meant to thank Mary, from Mary's Writing Nook, who made the adorable birthday button in my sidebar...that she did that just for me completely touched me!
But without further adieu, Here are my Fav Five...
1) Birthday Celebrations (See previous posts!)
2) My Little Electric Blankie A couple years ago, my husband gave me one of those personal electric blankets...since I'm usually the one that's cold, it goes right over my side of the bed...toasty warm and everyone's happy!
3) Watching me nine year old perform.... First, in her little Missionettes play this week. They were putting on a Christmas play even though Christmas is long over, in order to earn a special badge they were working on. My daughter was Gabriel! :) Secondly, knowing we well see her in her second violin recital on Saturday morning. Really, Yo-Yo Ma has nothing to be afraid of...but I am so proud of her the way she has been practicing and improving lately!
4) Looking forward to going to my aunt's 80th birthday this weekend...picking my mom up for it on the way (it's her only sister) and seeing my 'boy cousins' whom I haven't seen in a few years!
5) And last but certainly not least... Sitting each day this week with my six year old as she reads to me, improving just a little bit more each day. Her older sister began reading a bit earlier than she had, but suddenly it seems to be clicking with her- and it's like watching a butterfly emerge...beautiful and exciting!
Thank you for letting me share these with you...and for the second time this week, remember just how blessed I really am!
Thank you, everyone, for your birthday wishes! (And for not yelling at me for confessing my moment of birthday blues...)
As it turned out, most of the plans actually materialized after all. (Which made me feel truly humbled and completely blessed!) But even if they hadn't, I think I would have been just fine.
My husband actually came home feeling better on Friday night and wanted to take me out to dinner! Although he hoped I would venture out and try someplace new, his unadventurous wife picked her old stand-by, The Olive Garden...at least I always know I'll be getting wonderful food there!
The girls sniffles subsided and they went on to spend the night with their uncle and aunt...and it turned out they spoiled them with taking them out not just for dinner but for breakfast the next morning!
I did spend the first few hours of my birthday alone while my husband had to work, but really, it was nice and relaxing... My mom called during that time to wish me a happy birthday.She was so sweet and telling me that she could still remember how it felt when I had been growing inside her! Amazing that time can never erase that for those of us that have experienced that miracle.
Then the rest of the day was filled with family time!My sister in law graciously had us over for cake with her family...(My 18 month old nephew was more than eager to let the festivities begin!)
and then my husband and girls later that night presented me with YET ANOTHER CAKE! Needless to say, I did my Wii Fit today! ;)
My husband and girls gave me more presents than I even expected! (They got part of them thanks to the after-Christmas sales!) Since I didn't get jammies for Christmas, I got two new pairs for my birthday...And a scrumptious, cuddly new robe! My oldest and I posed in our robes (I gave her robe to her for Christmas) right before bed and after baths on that birthday evening... and we felt as cozy as we looked!
I also got candles, bath soaps, a gorgeous mug
and the new book from the famous family of 20...
...along with new book light to read it!
My handsome husband, in spite of not feeling one hundred percent, was such a sweetheart...but you can tell, he is feeling just a bit tired by the end of that evening, can't you?
And I have to admit, but the next day, I was feeling a little post-birthday exhaustion, myself!
But today, I had my virtual Wii run and I'm feeling great...(and yes, you really have to run...not just "virtually run"!)
And after my initial mourning of my new number, I've now decided to embrace it.
Hello, my name is Tammy and I am 46.
46!!!! forty-six...FORTY-SiiiiiiiX....
Wow, that was so freeing...;)
I'm reminded of the episode of Cosby when beautiful Claire was turning 46...and Cliff made a sign for her reversing the digits so it read, "Happy 64th Birthday!" hehe
And here I have to insert one of the most romantic things my husband has ever said to me...better than anything Hallmark could write...and I don't think he'll mind if I share it. He told me that it was an amazing phenomenon to him that not only did I still look young, but that I was actually getting prettier with every passing year and it was incredible to watch. He said it with such complete sincerity and amazement that I just nearly cried...
Yep, I think I'll keep him. ;)
Edited to add: If you think of it, please say a prayer for my mom who will be having a cataract removed this Tuesday! She loves to read and even had a blog she posts in once in a blue moon...thanks in advance!
Although this Saturday is my birthday, I almost invited you to my "pity" party, rather than my birthday party. Now, doesn't that sound fun? ;)
We had it all planned ...the girls would be staying with their uncle and aunt overnight tonight and my husband would take me out to dinner and then have a rare night of having the house to ourselves.Then we'd get the girls on Saturday- my actual birthday- and just have a nice relaxed time of cake, pizza and a few gifts.
But alas, my husband has to do inventory both today and in the morning...and on top of that, he has been sick all week with what's probably bronchitis. He won't go to the doctor until inventory is over...and in the meantime, he is a coughing machine...not exactly a prime candidate for a romantic evening alone.
And now the girls are sneezing and coughing a little. Sigh...
When I first got up this morning, I felt a little discouraged. And it doesn't help, I know, that my hormones are in overdrive this week...
Or that I am not excited about my new number. How in the world did I get to be this old, anyway...?
But when I was sitting with my girls on the sofa, where we usually start our day by praying together, I told them let's just talk to Jesus and tell him our feelings and then give everything to Him. And so we did.
Amazing how God can grant peace when we seek Him in the midst of circumstances not going our way!
Oh, I know...you might be saying that these are not big problems at all. And you'd be right, compared to so many people who are dealing with real issues.
But God still understands even when we're simply feeling discouraged and a little sad. He wants us to come to Him in those times, and be real with Him. And it's then when He gently puts things into perspective.
As my girls lovingly cuddled with me and we all purposely thought of happy, cheery thoughts for the morning, we began to start realizing all the things we had to be thankful for.
And suddenly it became so clear. I felt so thankful for the love of my children...my husband...my family. They are the best earthly gifts I could ever hope to have...
And most of all, grateful that I have an understanding Heavenly Father that loves me...all the time.
So now, as I write this, I'm still uncertain of the weekend plans. (Although my sister in law graciously just e-mailed me to ask if she could host a small gathering at her house for me tomorrow night...so sweet!)
But I honestly feel like all of my well being doesn't hinge on whether my birthday goes perfectly as planned now.
Because I got a reality check... I'm SO BLESSED!!!
If you school at home, you're welcome to join in by telling us a little about what's happening in your own little "school house"...show pictures of the latest projects, tell us about the current favorite learning activity you're doing with your child\children, share your favorite books or even where school time takes place! Be sure to grab the button and link your name, too!
Since I currently lead the book report group for our home school group, I thought I'd share a little bit about that...
We meet before regular activity time once a month, and all ages are welcome. I have a different theme picked for each month (animals, historical fiction, ect) so it's fun to see what everyone decides to read for our themes...and what they come up with to go along with the reports!
This past week the monthly theme was "Far-away places".
My nine year old decided to read a book I had previously picked up at a yard sale, called "Jenny Lind and the Listening Cat" by Francis Cavanah.
It was the partial biography of the 19th century Swedish singer, Jenny Lind, during her childhood and youth, and of course, mostly took place in Sweden.
My daughter now is able to compose her own reports all on her own and I usually only help her brainstorm ideas for something to enhance it, such as a craft, drawing, ect.
Besides making a collage with a printed photography of Jenny Lind, along with a map of Sweden, she really wanted something else unique.
We ended up finding a recipe online for Swedish fork cookies and decided to try them!
So easy to make and a perfect cookie to try with grade school children!
After mixing the ingredients, you roll them in the cinnamin mix...then press them with a fork.
(Tip: You may have to add a bit more flour than is called for to avoid dough from being too sticky. Also, re-dipping fork into the cinnamon mixture works well!)
And though the photo didn't turn out all that great, trust me...they're pretty YUM!
(Recipe at the end of this post!)
My six year old is still an "emerging reader" but has been blossoming in it the past few weeks.
She read a "Step into Reading" book based on the recent movie she received for Christmas- Wall-e!
She absolutely loves this character!
Her strength and gift seems to be in her art.
Here is the picture that she drew...
If you've seen the movie, you'll probably recognize this scene where Eve sees how Wall-e protected her through the storms...so sweet...
The other children in our book report group also did such a great job...I love that not only does it hopefully encourage them to read, but to be creative, too!
(Not to mention, help them to be able to speak in front of a group...never my forte'!) ;)
It's been no secret whom I was voting for...and not voting for...this past November. Nevertheless, I think it's our duty as Christians to pray for the new leader...truly pray for him. And because there is no denying that this particular inauguration is a historic one, the girls and I will be watching and discussing it as part of our learning.
Remember to keep our new leader and his family in your prayers!
I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into our "classroom" this month and I'm hoping that a few others of you will join in, as well!
I was hoping to participate in Show and Tell Friday today, but alas, our main computer- which downloads the pictures- is down right now. Hopefully next week!
So, this will just have to be a sort of condensed "catch up" post...
But before I forget, remember our next Home School Open House is this coming Tuesday!!!
Please feel free to grab the button and join in...there should be a Mr. Linky and I love to see what everyone else is doing!
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While we did have a December "deep freeze", we are now enjoying sunshine and balmy weather up in the 50's lately while the rest of you shiver in parkas. ;)
Our family has all been enjoying our new Wii Fit that my wonderful husband surprised us with at Christmas. My nine year old especially is the Wii Champion... However, I do my share, too. You can pick either a male or female coach...I have the guy and I named him Raoul...
On a more serious note, I found out today that my mom is going to need surgery to remove a cataract at the end of this month. She has had this surgery before many years ago...but now she's 81, so I hope you'll pray with me for all to go smoothly for her. She is as sharp as a tack and loves to read all the time, so I'm praying that her eye sight in that eye is restored to her well.
I'm heading down there just to visit and spend the night at her place this weekend while my husband and girls hang out at home...It's always fun to get away once in a great while and just relax by myself with Mom....usually chatting and watching old movies! EDITED: Oh bummer...found out we need to postpone our visit...hubby is working late and since my dog recently ate my cell phone and all, it just wasn't working out this time!
As I mentioned in my last post, our family loved watching Anne of Green Gables together (and the girls and I listened to the CD at bedtime) so we all became very much immersed in the world of Avonlea. So much so that my six year old made her own paper dolls of the characters!
(However, she did re-enact the one famous scene and had a paper Anne break an invisible slate over poor paper Gilbert's head!)
We are thinking seriously of visiting Prince Edward Island, home of Anne, sometime in the not to distant future! Right now, it's just in the dreaming and checking out stage...but even my husband is all set to go! (But he wants to make a pit stop in NYC...hmmm.)
And how did it get to be so close to turning another number already? I'm not sure I'm liking that so much... Even though my birthday looms ever so near, we probably won't be doing anything big this year. It's not like last year when it was a sort of "half- milestone" and I ended up having three days of celebrations...whew! (Part 2 was also here...)
But...the girls are excited to be staying over night with a favorite uncle and aunt while my husband takes me out to dinner...and then we get to stay home and pretend we're at a fancy Bed and Breakfast! Still, that could be fun...;)
But for now, I'll leave you with memories of a favorite childhood birthday of mine...my seventh, to be exact!
Anyone remember Farrell's and the mountains of ice cream in those big silver bowls as the waiters sang and clapped? I obviously felt a little shy as all eyes turned toward me with all the birthday commotion, though! And it's hard for me to believe that my youngest daughter will be turning this age on her next birthday, too...sigh... Blessings!
It was great reading all of your responses in my last post...I think the topic of balancing on-line friendships with face-to-face relationships is something most of us are keeping in mind in this day and age. And something we constantly need to ask God for guidance about!
So, speaking of on-line friendships, I have gotten behind on replying to most of your posts this week...We've been back to schooling full time and all that goes with it.
Like actually getting up in the morning. ;)
And here's another segue...
I can't forget that our next Home School Open House is going to be next week... On Tuesday, the 20th! So tell all of your home schooling blogging friends and come join us! (Rules are here)
You might remember my posting about the movie, Fireproof this past fall.
We were blessed to have a chance to see it a second time at church this past Friday night! We had actually missed the first fifteen minutes of the movie the first time, so it was great to finally see the missing beginning scenes! I already reviewed it but I just have to restate a bit here: If you haven't already seen it, go...or order the DVD about to be released. In spite of a few minor actors that give less than stellar performances, it is obvious that God is using this film in so many ways. Kirk Cameron gives a moving performance....and there are some tense action scenes...along with plenty of humor, too.
But most of all, it gave us a whole new outlook on how precious marriage really is.
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Another film our whole family has been enjoying together is the 1985 version of Anne of Green Gables.
I remember being captivated by this version when they first aired it back then...and now my girls are being equally entranced.
And would you believe even my action-loving hubby, the lone guy in our house of girldom...the man who has to go upstairs alone to catch his nice sci-fi or war movie now and then ... he absolutely loves this story, too! (And ladies, who can resist a husband who will watch Anne with you!)
And one more thing...although the purpose of my previous post was to remind myself that I can't forget cultivating face to face friendships, I must say that so many of you that I have come to know in the two and half years of blogging have become what I would consider friends.
Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." — Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)
Maybe I had too many advils today due to a headache...but I felt like waxing philosophical tonight! (*Edited at the end)
I have recently been introduced to the joys of Facebook. As if I didn't already spend enough time on the computer through blogging!
I am trying to manage my time, though...and now that we've started schooling full force again after Christmas break, I don't have nearly enough time to fritter away. (I think that's my new favorite word...)
But there is something compelling about mingling with friends...and friends of friends...and friends you thought you'd forgotten...and names and faces you barely know but you went to school with their brother's cousin and there they are, wanting to be your facebook friend! And why is it so intriguing for us to read what everyone is "doing right now"? I mean, why do I care that my cousin's sister in law is munching on crackerjacks at the moment? But somehow I do...
I tell you I am totally drawn to it all....and so are thousands of others across the country. So, why do you think that is?
Maybe because we all need to feel "connected" to others somehow. And the irony of this age is that the more technology has advanced, the further it has isolated us from connecting to others face to face. So perhaps our society is hungry for closeness and connection again. So what do we do? We "virtually connect with people"...not face to face...but with facebook!
Something else that I've noticed is that most of everyone's list of friends are not really all friends at all...but acquaintances. I know the word "friend" sounds ...well, friendlier...but it would be far more truthful to label our list "acquaintances", don't you think?
In fact, a true friend is so rare...and if you have even one in your life, you are truly blessed. And no one...not even any earthly best friend... can compare to Jesus and Who He wants to be in our life. "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friendwhostickscloserthan a brother." All of this said, I still am currently drawn to Facebook...I like occasionally chatting with others that I know, or keeping up to date with them...and finding old college friends after decades. There's no denying all that can be interesting and just plain fun!
But in the meantime, hopefully I won't lose sight of two important things: Although my list of "friends" may actually include real friends...a true friend is so much more than a name on Facebook.
And secondly, I never want to be so encased in a virtual world (facebook, blogging or even e-mail) that I forget that we were really created for giving our friends and family honest to goodness hugs, looking at one another in the eye...and smiling at those around us...
face to face.
So, what are your thoughts? Have you ever struggled with balancing computer time and cultivating face to face friendships? *Edited to add that I wouldn't trade my blogging friends for anything...because some of you have become what I consider "true" friends!
Finally...Part 2! I had meant to post yesterday but somehow it just didn't happen! Somehow all I wanted to do was be lazy....zzzzzzz
But first, I want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!
Normally, we just watch movies and some of us snooze until midnight...but this year, we had some family over- and amazingly, we all stayed awake to blow horns and bang pans! (Well, except for little cousin Sammy...)
We're kind of all mixed around here...no one is sitting by their spouses....since some of us hurried over before the camera timer went off!
But let's go back in time...to the day after Christmas...
We went down and got my mom (who is 81) and she was able to stay two nights with us.We opened presents, played games, watched movies...but I think her favorite time of all was singing with our new karaoke machine!
Now, my mom is an excellent singer...she has sung solos in church when she was younger and sang at my wedding...
And it was fun to hear her sing again! We even sang our traditional Silver Bells together and I had my husband videotape it. Maybe if I get brave, I'll share it with you later! ;)
When we drove her home, I was peppering her with questions...what was her favorite Christmas memory? Her favorite toy she received while growing up in the Depression? I'm interested because she's my mom...but also because she is a living historian to our family and she holds memories that can be passed onto to us first hand.
It was truly a treasured time having her here.Now, it's time to take down all the Christmas decorations. And though a part of me wants to organize and all...it's always SO sad for us to pack away the decorations and say good-bye to our beloved tree. The tree seems to become a member of our family! Hmmm....maybe I'll leave it up just one more day...
So when do you usually put your tree and decorations away? Wishing all of you a blessed New Year!
Thank you so much, ladies, for honoring me with it just when it would bless me this week!
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