Traveling Salesman

So Mr. Norris flies to one spot and then drives and drives and drives...My biggest worry is getting a call from some sheriff somewhere saying that he's been in an accident....But seeing that he makes the time to be able to visit spots like this I think that he'll be ok.

Who You Are...

I often have these lyrics run through my mind as I face each day.

A friend gave me a copy of this song on tape about a million years ago

when tape was still used and it was what I needed.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded that the right choice is rarely the easy choice.

So here is getting up tomorrow and making some more hard choices.

We are way more awesome than we give ourselves credit for.

by: Hilary Weeks

I know you wonder if you'll ever have a day

when the kids stay calm, the laundry's done, and the dishes are put away.

And sometimes you feel like your days are spent and gone

and the question running through your mind is what have I gotten done?

And when you finally have a moment to slow down at the end of you day

I know Father would say

Believe in what you're doing

Believe in who you are

Hold tight to the truth that you're a daughter of God

Believe in who you're becoming

Believe in who you are

It may seem simple - all the little things you do.

But the lives you touch matter so much.

And there's no one else like you.

And Father needs you to stand tall and faithful to be all you can be.

Oh, if you could see what he sees.

You'd believe in what you're doing

You'd believe in who you are

Hold tight to the truth that you're a daughter of God

Believe in who you're becoming

Believe in who you are

When it's hard to believe in yourself and you feel like you're beginning to doubt

Remember

He believes in what you're doing

He believes in who you are

Don't lose sight of the truth that you're a daughter of God

That he believes in who you're becoming

He believes in who you are...

The Invisible Woman

I LOVE this video!!!

Summer CRAZINESS

So where are you going this summer? Our summer is packed and it hasn't even started yet. There will be some of this.

A lot of this

and this...



There is a little bit of this....


Oh and this one week....

and this the next....


Plus we have a lot of this....


and maybe a we can squeeze in some of these...


Most of all though I just want a little of this...


Hope your summer is equally fun and that we all see Labor Day in one piece ; )

Peace..& Quiet

Here is Peace.....

AND

Here is QUIET!!!!

Why is it that is seems so hard to find these moments...

What awesome kids & what a tender mercy!

Motherhood

Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood

This morning I have had this quote going through my mind as the following occurred:

Puppy pooped in bed

Three year old breaks a dozen eggs

Nine year old doesn't listen

Six year old doesn't want to brush hair

I have come to the conclusion that I have to FIND the nobility and joy.

The joy doesn't just happen.

If/when it does if I am not finding it then I'll miss it.

With the passing of Mother's Day on Sunday I have realized that motherhood is the hardest job that anyone will ever do or want to do.

So much of what we do is ignored or just expected and therefore NOT appreciated.

No one will say thanks for making sure I have shoes to wear

OR

Thanks for making sure we didn't bounce checks

OR

Thanks for feeding me... and my dog.... and my crab

OR

Thanks for not doing the stuff you really want to do so that you are

ALWAYS there

OR

Thanks for reminding me to bathe

You won't hear that

BUT

if you are really lucky you will have a toddler that screamed for an HOUR

snuggle up with you and you won't even care that you are in the middle of figuring out what is for dinner

OR

you will be able to have a child wrap their arms around you and say

"I LOVE YOU"

OR

your daughter will willingly play with her little brothers for an hour so you can think for 2 seconds

AND

if you are really lucky....

you will survive another day and know it ended better than it started.

So here is to hoping that my day ends better than it started!

:)

Reminiscing on TREES

So while listening to Kathryn Stockett last night she said something that has been on my mind all night and now all morning.
Ms. Stockett: There is so much sky here. It is just beautiful and goes on and on. (to paraphrase.)
Yes, Ms. Stockett we have sky but you, you have TREES. Trees that Mother Nature herself raised up and no landscaper or builder had to plant. Trees that drink water like we drink in air. Trees so big and beautiful. Trees that say climb me, hang a tire swing, lay in my immense branches. Trees that droop to the ground and reach to the sky. Trees that catch misteltoe and Spanish moss that looks like the grey mane of a distinguished woman.
Oak trees that are so large a tree house would be a mansion in it's great branches. Bald cypress trees that have lived through war, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought and keep on going.
Pine trees that reach heavenward and beg to have you climb to the top and hang precariously as the wind blows and you stretch to see to the end of the block over the other trees.

Magnolias that say touch my waxy leaves and smell my beautiful flowers. Crepe Myrtles that have delicate buds that if you know how to you can make blossom in your hand.

Oh how I miss the trees that were my childhood playground. There is nothing better than hiding in the branches of a tree. Climbing higher and higher each year in the neighborhood pine trees. Picking pecans during the eye of a hurricane so they won't all blow away. Walking through a jungle of trees on little trails that only us kids could fit through. Passing a gardenia and having the fragrance fill your senses. Seeing trees that were once mere bushes. Having color from azaleas & blue hydrangeas that you didn't even have to try to grow.

I wish that my kids had that. Even though they don't, during our last snow storm- two weeks ago- Son #1 crawled under the willow bush to knock of the snow and exclaimed, "Mom it's beautiful under hear." What would he think of my trees?

Meeting an Author

Thanks to The Denver Post I was able to find out that Kathryn Stockett was going to be at a local bookstore doing a Q&A and book signing. Kathryn Stockett is the breakout author of The Help - which I previously posted about. I am not usually one to go to these type of things but Mr. Norris was in town and I thought what the heck.
I arrived at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch and grabbed my number and my seat waiting for about an hour to hear Ms. Stockett's lovely voice. She was indeed a lovely lady and answered some good questions.
* She was rejected about 60 times for this book! Amazing the tenacity this little lady has. Boy do those publishers and agents hate themselves now.
* The cover with the 3 little birds has absolutely NOTHING to do with the story. No hidden meaning. No unique perspective. NOTHING! To quote Ms. Stockett:
"We found a lovely black and white picture of a black hand holding a white child's hand. I thought it was perfect but everyone was worried that people would think that the book was about race. (eyes roll) So after 60 rejections and going through tons of covers I didn't give a rat's (you know what- my substitution) what the cover looked like.
* She did not model Skeeter after herself. As she stated, "Skeeter was homely"
* She writes books about women for women and so the men are secondary. She modeled Skeeter's daddy after her grandfather and just wanted him to be considered a really good man.
* There is a movie coming and Steven Speilberg has picked it up. The lady who does the voice of Minnie on the audio book will be Minnie in the Movie.
* She is working on another book for women about women. Probably in the next three years. This will also be set in Mississippi but during the Depression.

Although I didn't get to ask my question in the general forum I did ask it when I got up to get my book signed. So what was my profound question?????
Are you gonna do a cookbook of Minnie's recipes?
She said that she hasn't really thought about it but that if she were to do it the proceeds would go to a charity. So email her and ask her for those recipes and then maybe it will happen.

It was interesting to hear how she came to be an author and it even made me think, could I do that?

I am NOT my BODY ... or my Mind

Many of you have heard the story of Stephanie Nielson (nieniedialogues.blogspot.com). (This woman is AMAZING!) She has an outlook and perspective on life that I long for... She can embrace the small and ignore the unimportant better than anyone else that I have ever seen.
After posting about my thighs and thinking about how unnecessarily some of us augment our bodies or worry about them this video made me pause. I am not my body!!! And even more importantly I am not my mind. I can lose both and I will still be a daughter of GOD! I can go through awful situations and it does not matter how terrible things become it only matters how I deal with it...There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I just have to keep my eyes open!
(Thanks Cara for sharing this with me! You ROCK!)