One Word - 2010

One word. That's it. No lengthy resolutions spanning into paragraphs of promises that are hard to keep. No spectacular goal that seems to get farther and farther out of reach as the new year progresses. My friend, Connie, has inspired me to choose one simple little word – a word that will ring in my thoughts throughout the new year. A word that can be easily be remembered and called upon when I need it most. One word that I will apply in my life to make me a better person in the year twenty ten.
As I contemplated my life and what 2010 may bring, I knew I needed a powerful word. A word that would represent resilience in old battles and entrepreneurship in new endeavors. I have a lot planned for the coming year, many of these plans have been in the works for a very long time. Plans that have now become a passion. In all my efforts, in my relationships with people, old and new, past and yet to come I need THIS – this one word:



You see, I lack courage quite often. I cower down in the name of peace and relent myself to the world around me. I receive 100 praises and allow one criticism to send me plummeting. I tend to care entirely too much about the one and don't appreciate enough the 100. I'm a lot like the lion, in the Wizard of Oz. If I can only get my courage, and keep it, I will be okay – more than okay. So, in 2010, I'm following my yellow brick road. I'm getting my courage.
My beautiful – oh so beautiful – children will give me courage, my unbelievably wonderful husband will be my rock, my friends will be my sounding board and my courage will remain. I will be able, with courage, to melt away the wicked witches of self-doubt and hopefully sway the arrows of mean people as well. No, I wont be perfect, but I will have the courage to keep trying.

I look forward to building on budding friendships this year. I feel my friends – and you know who you are – are kindred spirits. We will be courageous together!! Happy New Year to all. We are all blessed to see 2010 and to have the freedom to follow whichever yellow brick road that takes YOU where you need to be!

10 Again....

Most people don't know that I love Science Fiction. I'm a serious Trekkie - one of the things Travis and I had in common when we started dating which I thought was WAY cool. Anyway, while perusing Amazon, where I spend way too much money on books, I stumbled upon a title that stopped me in my tracks and opened the flood gates on many wonderful memories. There it was, "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet." I read this book when I was 10. I vividly remember picking it up at the bookmobile and reading it constantly until it was finished. I renewed it over and over all summer long. Upon it's completion, I forced my little brother to read it - and then the incredible adventure began. We spend all summer building pretend spaceships in the woods - designing control panels, concocting recipes for rocket fuel, drawing sketches of designs for space travel. This was probably the last summer I was really a "kid" before the middle school years kicked in. This book made me a SciFi fan. I ordered it a re-read it with very different eyes. I was worried that re-reading it would spoil the magic of it all, but it didn't. It re-lit my belief that amazing things are possible. And to quote a main character from the book,"You can never doubt. You must not doubt." I can't wait to share this book with my boys. This should be exciting...




Follow my blog with bloglovin

POTW

I think the one reason I loved college so much was that I loved a good challenge. Challenge keeps the motivation going and prompts learning, and learning new things is good! Challenge also makes up step out of our comfort zones. So, I have a challenge for all my friends who love to take pictures!! If you click a pic with your cell phone or are more high tech, everyone can do this! POTW stands for Photo of the Week. Starting in January, our goal is to try to take one photo a week that fits our theme/assignment and blog it. There are no rules – it's all in your interpretation of the theme. We should get some very different photos depending of the interpretations of these themes. I hope some of you will play along. I can't wait to see what we all come up with. NO RULES – just FUN. If your photo leaves a lot to the imagination you may want a brief explanation of why you took that particular photo. I found a list very similar list to this but changed it all up to suit us! We can't exactly take many snow pics....
I will email this list to anyone who wants it!

POTW

01/04 beginning
01/11 home
01/18 sweet
01/25 handmade
02/01 signs
02/08 peace and comfort
02/15 books
02/22 personality
03/01 time
03/08 simple pleasures
03/15 old
03/22 spring has sprung
03/29 then and now
04/05 shoes
04/12 goals
04/19 nature
04/26 favorites
05/03 eye spy
05/10 keys and locks
05/17 planes, trains, or automobiles
05/24 barns
05/31 storytime
06/07 talents
06/14 color
06/24 architecture
06/28 action
07/05 sunrise or sunset
07/12 water
07/19 bloom
07/26 round things
08/02 from the garden
08/09 frolic and play
08/16 sand/dirt
08/23 into the wild!
08/30 in the air
09/06 style
09/13 travel
09/20 shadows
09/27 autumn beginnings
10/04 windows and doors
10/11 paths, or walks on them
10/18 family
10/25 haunted
11/01 the little things
11/08 old school
11/15 words
11/22 light
11/29 laughter
12/06 soft and fluffy
12/13 loose ends
12/20 brrr!
12/27 finales

Lovin' Life!

Are you loving your life? I'll have to say that despite typical ups and down and frustrations that plague even the best of us, I can actually say that I am enjoying my life. I am where I want to be doing what I want to do – what else is there? I have four healthy, growing, annoying, hilarious, crazy children and Travis – the love of my life!! I've been up late studying and reading lately and the sleep-deprivation is even thrilling. I'm learning so much and everyday I can put something new into practice. There is so much this world has to offer - we just need to embrace it. I'm learning to ignore negative influences and contention – let's face it, misery DOES love company and I don't care to be there to appease them.
Found this quote and I love it, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck So let's do it people!!! Use what you have, follow your passion.

This is my happy girl on Thanksgiving Day. All the boys were passed out in the house after too much of Grandma's cooking!

The Pink Camellias

On what should have been an average Monday, the day has wrapped with some lovely moments and some good memories. I think I've mentioned before about how Lacey collects things on our walks. She loves to have something in her hands. Rocks and sticks suffice, but if she can get her hands on a flower she is absolutely giddy. I so hope that she marries a romantic who will send her “pretty flowers” on a regular basis. Last week she got thorns in her fingers from insisting on a rose from her Daddy's rose bushes, and today she spied the lovely, plump, fluffy, pink Camellia blossoms on the Camellia bush. I really didn't want her to pull them off. I explained to her that once they were picked they would start to die and that they would be prettier for much longer if we left them on the bush. Her response, “Well, we can take a picture and then we will have them for a long time.” She is so MY child it is ridiculous. How did I not see this coming? So, we picked three choice blossoms, only three. We found a pretty glass from the kitchen cabinet and arranged them. Lacey went to her room and promptly returned with her camera, an old film camera that I gave her so she wouldn't get any ideas about using mine. We walked the yard and placed the little arrangement in various locations. Each time, she would take a picture, and then I would take one. I was trying to pay attention to the light, trying to find the perfect sun-kissed but covered spot. She had lots of suggestions as well. We ended up with a photo that I love, and a memory that I love even more. I will print this photo and hang it in Lacey's room. One day I will show Lacey's children the photo and will tell them the story of the pink Camellias, about how their mother suggested that a picture would make the pretty flowers last a long time. I guess she was right...

The Sewing Box

This little sewing box holds a special place in my heart. It's been put away, for safe keeping, but I decided to bring it out and once again and make it a part of my home. Perhaps I remembered it due to the time of year – the coming of Christmas. This box once belonged to my paternal grandmother. She passed away a few years before my birth so I never had the opportunity to meet her. I've been told we a lot alike – same height, same build, and both have a love of sewing. But alas, this post is not about sewing or my sweet grandmother, it's about saving.

This antique box was a part of my bedroom growing up. It was always there, on my shelf, dresser, chest-of-drawers. I moved it around but it was always there. As a child of about 10 or 11 I really loved it. Not because is was antique or a keepsake, but because it had a “secret compartment.” Having two younger brothers, “secrets” were invaluable. The little tomato pin cushion could be lifted to reveal this compartment that I swore nobody knew was there except for me.
One day in the summer I embarked upon a self-imposed challenge. I decided that I wanted to buy everyone a Christmas gift with my own money. No help from the adults. I would start in the summer so I would have enough saved by December. The “secret compartment” would hold the loot and I wouldn't tell a soul what I was planning to do. So, for months and months I squirreled away my nickels and dimes in the sewing box. I would volunteer to help with the laundry in order to collect the change my dad left in his pant pockets. I would clean the kitchen and get a quarter – BIG money for our family at the time. I would regularly move the couch cushions to find more change. I honestly remember walking through parking lots looking at my feet just in case someone had dropped a penny or two! My endeavors were fruitful. My heart, full of pride, announced that I would be buying everyone a gift with my own money. I don't recall what I purchased for everyone. I do remember buying my grandma, my mother's mom, and pair of knee highs because I noticed hers had holes, and a tin of hard candy – her favorite. What has stuck with me is the feeling - the feeling of working hard, accomplishing a goal and getting to show love for my family in a way I had never done before. I have never forgotten what the accomplishment felt like. This lesson has carried over into my adult life. I want something, I work, I save, and it makes me appreciate to have what I've worked so hard for. I think if I could simply go out and buy everything I wanted, the appreciation would be greatly diminished., and the “newness” would wear off way too quickly.
So, I look at this sewing box – complete with the same little calico fabric scraps I placed in them as a child, and it makes me happy. It represents lessons I want to teach my children, and lessons I need to continue to implement in my adulthood. It represents how sometimes having less makes you love more, work harder, and in the end, find that you were never lacking to begin with.

With what you have...

I was talking with a friend today about fund raising, when something from my past came to mind. Once upon a time, I devoted my entire life to playing the flute. I still do not know exactly why I majored in English instead of music performance, but English felt right at the time. I spent most of my four years in college in the Music department, practicing flute way more than studying my English texts. But here's the story:
In the sixth grade, I wanted to be in the band in the worst way. I didn't figure we would be able to afford an instrument, but I had to ask anyway. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. My dad told me they would do everything they could to get me a flute, but I had to practice or it would be sold. I had to be serious about it. So, I played on the borrowed school flute for a while. The director let me come in at lunch and play too. We had a night meeting where the music stores brought in their instruments for sale. We looked at some used ones, but my parents just weren't liking them. I'm not sure why, because I knew a flute for me would be many sacrifices in other places. I didn't say a word, I just followed and watched. They settled on a brand new Artley flute and I was in AWE. My hands were shaking when I got home and took it from the case. I started practicing and played late into the night. My parents didn't even make me go to bed. By the night's end I was playing the last songs in the beginner songbook. Those were supposed to take me months to get to. This went on for many years. My junior year in high school, I auditioned for region band. I won first chair, beating about 500 other flute players. This meant I was ranked #1 in the eastern counties of SC. Now, if I had been a football player, this would have been on the news. I digress! Having made region band (they picked 12 flute players)I had the opportunity to audition for All-State band. I would complete against all the winners from every district in SC. Well, my flute broke. Two weeks before auditions. We went to have it repaired and the repairman said that it was just completely worn out. “How long do you practice each day?” The repairman couldn't understand how every pad, gear, screw was completely worn out. I had been practicing 2-3 hours everyday for 6 years. He said I needed a new flute – it was beyond repair. I went home empty handed and locked my room door and cried. Two weeks away from what I had worked so hard for and it was about to all be gone. A brand new flute was out of the question for us at this time. I prayed. I put it in the Lord's hands and asked for Him to help me. Saturday morning came around and my parents went to garage sales. When they came home my dad was beaming from ear to ear. He handed me a flute and said, “This lady bought it for her daughter who never practiced. It looks like new, and it was only $50. Play it for me and make sure it works." My dad, being raised Baptist, always wanted me to play “Amazing Grace.” I played. It was perfect. I was so happy.

Two weeks later, I auditioned for State and placed 8th chair. At this point I had won out over 550 players. As I sat in state band rehearsals, I was surrounded, ahead of me and below me by girls with $3000+ flutes. And there I was, the only one, with my $50 garage sale flute and I was still happy. If you want something bad enough, you take what you have and you give it 100%. Work your hardest, and you will be blessed. Our example was a child born in a stable and raised as a carpenter. Give it all you've got, never give up, and you will be happy. My parents had to ask me to STOP practicing. I drove them insane I know, but I'm so glad. Music has been a blessing in my life and it was worth every minute I practiced.
Work with what you have, add faith and hard work, and everything else falls into place.

Metamorphosis

This time of year brings back many memories. Fall changes everything in the air; smells, textures, colors, it's all in the process of metamorphosis. This time of year, in 2004, I was in the middle of a divorce. I had made the decision to move out of my house (his house), and move into MY house. Seeing as I had a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and no job, this was going to be difficult to say the least. But I had decided to make it happen. So, I prayed, and then I prayed some more, and more. You get the idea. Finally one day I had some news that my aunt and uncle's rental mobile home was vacant and the rent was only $200 a month. It was a quick walk right through the woods to my parents home, and I knew my boys would love that! Excitedly, my dad and I went to check it out. It was hard to swallow. Holes in the wall (I could see the OUTSIDE from the inside), rats nests in the oven – it was falling apart. My dad looked at me, I looked at him. He said something like, “we can make it work.” I believed him – I always believe my daddy. So, the work began. I watched my dad constantly turn trash to treasure, he made something out of nothing over and over again. He used scraps and leftovers from other projects. We painted, hammered, patched and prayed. My mom cleaned and cleaned until the whole place reeked of the wonderfully sanitized smell of Clorox. The day came and 5 elders from the church in 3 pick-ups moved everything I owned all in one trip, and then unloaded it in my new home. It was home. The metamorphosis had begun. From wife to single mom, homeowner to renter, together to alone. What should have been a sad day, and I did shed a few tears, ended up being remarkable. I KNEW I could make it, I was independent, my boys were happy and I would be okay. To this day my boys still comment about how much they loved our little “trailer in the woods,” It was the happiest stop on earth. They often recount their wonderful memories of that home. I felt like it was a spot blessed from above. I discovered through this process that I thrive on independence. Being forced to make all the decisions all the time brought me “back to life,” and it was a good life. A family member told me, “It's so nice to have Christy back.” Perhaps we all need a "metamorphosis" in our lives, perhaps we all need something to bring us "back to life.”
Photos taken in October 2004 on the property where I was renting:

Clouds

I aimed my camera heavenward today and snapped a shot of these beautiful clouds. I don't know why I took this photo - maybe it was just because the clouds were so perfectly "pillowish," or maybe it was because today is the only day I will stand under THIS sky. Life changes so fast, from instant to instant, breath to breath.
The flu has run like wildfire through my home for the past two weeks. We are finally coming out of its clutches and I am feeling so thankful. It was a great joy to witness these beautiful clouds, another day. Fall is here and I can already picture its warm colors perforating the skyline. Sometimes it's just enough to be alive.

Joy in Your Posterity

My children make me happy, they make me crazy, ill, frustrated, proud, jubilant, joyous, afraid [insert your own adjective here], being a mother causes one to run the gamut of emotions! Yet it's this very roller coaster ride that causes me to wake up each morning glad to be alive, happy to have another day to be a mom, blessed just to have those sweet spirits around me for a little longer. In the end, it is this joy and/or pain that children bring that makes my life so fulfilling. This week's joy:

~Having Caleb recommend a book to ME, instead of vice versa. WOW. It's a book I haven't read too. I'm very excited about this.
~Having Lacey request a “group hug” from her brothers.
~Having Dylan tell me, “I need to get organized.” I had to ask him to repeat that one!
~All my boys had their noses in a book on the way to school this morning.
~Watching and listening as Lacey sang her baby doll to sleep.
~Cody finally setting his own alarm clock and waking himself now.
~Watching Lacey dance -- I fight the tears back every week!
~Caleb, “It's okay if I outgrow you Mama. That just means I'll be able to take care of you better one day.”

Little moments, sweet memories, joy in my posterity.