Memory Lane - Part 3

I almost forgot about these Memory Lane posts!

Forgive me for messing up the "order" of things. In Part 2 I was still a mere babe of a few months old. But these are the pictures that really touched me today, so this is what you're gettin'!

In these photos, I'm between 2 and 3 years old...about my Sammy's age. Is it me or does she look a little like me?

I just adore this first picture. First of all, I have CURLS! I've had stick straight hair as long as I can remember. Oh...I hope that doesn't mean Sammy's going to lose her beautiful curls. Maybe I'll just never cut her hair so we don't have to worry.

Second, see that high chair? Every one of my babies has sat in that exact high chair...metal tray and "genuine Naugahyde" seat and all. At one point, my Dad put that material (was going to say fabric, but I'm not sure it works!) on the high chair and our dining room chairs. Those dining room chairs now sit in my dining room! Although I replaced the Naugahyde with a more traditional fabric. Clearly, I did so before having children. These days I'm thinking of putting some Naugahyde back on! That Daddy of mine...he knows his stuff.

And third - the cake. My Mom made us a double-decker chocolate cake with chocolate frosting every single birthday. It's still my favorite. My mom? She knows her stuff too.



Hey, look at that plate! I have a bowl that matches that plate in my cupboard right now. I just love having little bits and pieces of my childhood around my house :)

Can I just say...it bugs me that these two pictures have such different color tones. Flash in one but not the other maybe?



Here's my beautiful Mama and Grandma showering me with gifts. Look at that cheesy grin again...



Looks like I got a big-wheel for my birthday. And that grin again...I'm detecting a pattern here. The thought of my Mom and Dad giving me a big-wheel for my 2nd birthday absolutely blows my mind. Although at the time, I NEVER would have known because I had every single thing my little girl heart desired...but looking back (and from stories Mom and Dad tell), we were B.R.O.K.E. back then. Mom and Dad were very young and Dad was in school. Let's see...if I was turning two, then we were living in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Dad was going to school to get his degree in nursing.



Here's that silly grin again. See? I had everything I ever wanted...my Mommy and Daddy. The needs of a little girl are really quite simple. Hey, look at the old picture of Grandma and Grandpa!


I gasped when I saw this picture...my Sammy "does the dishes" every single day! She cracked me up yesterday. She said, "Mama, I want to do the dishes with you."

"Well, sweetie, but I'm not doing the dishes. I'm vacuuming right now."
"Okay, I see."
(pause)
"Mama?"
"Yeah?"
"Mama, I want to do the dishes without you."

This picture was taken in my Grandma's house. Man...that kitchen saw a lot of parties, a lot of card playing, and a lot of yummy meals. Evidently, it also saw some remodeling because I don't remember it looking like that at all!

Uh oh. It looks like these pictures don't quite belong in this time line, but I love them, so I'm including them today. This is me with my Grandpa (Dad's Dad). Isn't he handsome? This photo was taken at his house - it seemed he always had a comfy chair in that particular corner. If my memory is right, there was a bedroom off this family room which held Grandma's organ. She played for their church. See that painting on the wall? Grandpa's brother (Father Rich) was an incredible artist...and a priest...we didn't call him Fr. Rich for nothin'. My Catholic roots run deep. Grandpa loved the church.

Oh. Yes they did.

Let's see...1976...I had just turned 3 years old. This is just how old my Sammy is right now. I don't know where they got the idea to take these crazy New Year's pictures...I assure you that this tradition didn't last many years. Thankfully. :)

Stay tuned for the next installment of Memory Lane - this is fun!

The Daily Grind

Is anyone else out there feeling like they're working double time only to get half as much done these days? Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just hormones. In the words of my very wise and understanding husband, "What isn't all about hormones around here?!"

Do You See What I See?

I took these pictures a month or so ago. There isn't nearly this much green to be found in our yard these days. Do you see it yet?


To be honest, I probably wouldn't have seen him either. I saw him because he was walking across the sidewalk leading to my front door! Just like that...walking by. I was worried he'd get stomped on by the kids who were excited to see him, so I picked him up and put him on this nearby lily.

See that? He's saying "Thank you...thank you very much."

Just look how incredible he is! Macro photography...getting a really close look at something you might not normally be able to see very well...is some of my favorite photography to shoot. I look at it and think, "Wow, Lord! You are a true artist! Does your creativity ever end? Good job on this one...such amazing detail and beauty!"

Actually...I'm really just thankful for the randomness of evolution. There was a time when all genetic material was floating around in the sludge of the unformed earth....and eventually everything just worked out the way it is now. Some of the sludge evolved into this fine specimen, some into a bird, some into a tree, some into the mold, and some into my babies. Wow...now that's quite the story!

"What? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I'm a bug, and even I know that!"

"This is crazy talk. I'm outa here."

****************************************************

"Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Romans 1:19-20

Miscellany

Is Miscellany a real word?

- Do you know what I just now noticed? There's a tiny (itty-bitty-tiny) "D Rose Photography" in the bottom left of all my photos! Guess who didn't put them there...me! Guess who did...my wonderful miraculous Adobe Lightroom. Have I told you how much I love that program? This would be a great place to do all sorts of links to my past posts about Lightroom, but I'm not in the mood. Sorry.

- My Thomas is teething - pushing through some molars, poor guy. He's been cranky lately, but I didn't think to check for teeth. You'd think I'd know how to do this mommy thing now that I have an entire bushel of kiddos! I was playing with him yesterday, and when he tipped his head back and laughed a glorious and drooly belly laugh...I saw black and blue gums. That can't feel good!

- On my mind a lot lately? (see...I picked just the right title)

How do we gracefully share the gospel with someone who is going to face the Lord soon? I have a family member who's 85 years old with progressing lung cancer. I have the impression that she doesn't have much fight left in her. Years ago, I talked with her about Jesus and salvation, and the response I got was "I'm a good person, I'm not worried." She IS a good person...but does she know the saving power of Jesus? I don't know. Maybe it's too personal? Maybe it's not my business?

Maybe...but I still would like to have a conversation with her because what if she doesn't know! It's so tough for me. Easy to sit here and write about Him...but it seems that every time there's a face to face conversation, I end up offending someone. I'm not afraid to rock the boat and say what needs to be said...I just want the truth to be *heard*. Oh Lord, give me a more gentle and loving voice when I'm speaking your Truth!

- Another thing on my mind lately is food storage. What? Huh? I know...I'm all over the place today...not feeling my best and not up for graceful transitions between subjects. Anyway...food storage. I know a handful of people who are looking around at our political and economic situation lately, and they're worried to the point of stock-piling some food. Some are even talking "civil war". I could hardly believe my ears! What about you? Are you worried? I mean more than talking passionately about it over coffee worried...I mean stockpiling food and weapons worried? I don't know if I am yet, but it's sure giving me something to think about.

- Well, Clara should be home from school soon and I'm still sitting here in the yoga pants and t-shirt that I threw on as I rolled out of bed. Sammy's still in PJ's too. Did I mention I'm not feeling that great? Oh, why bother trying to fool you. I'm totally not showered or dressed by noon half the days of the week. My parents raised me right...don't know quite where I went wrong ;)

Sammy's screaming "MY ABOOON!!" from the living room. That means she let it go and it's dancing with the ceiling fan. I'd better run. Have a great day everyone.

Look Who's 3!

My sweet little Samantha turned 3 last Friday! Oh boy, did we ever have fun at her "Kinkerbell" party yesterday :) She just loves being the center of attention...what 3 year old doesn't?

It's tricky business getting those little baby fingers into the right "3" position, but she got it figured out.

Mom, can we be done taking birthday pictures now? I wanna go play with my green balloon.

I love you, my sweet Sammy Ruth.

We got everything all decked out in Tinkerbell for the party. We even played "pin the star on Tink's wand". Of course, it wouldn't be a party without a pinata stuffed to the gills with left-over Halloween candy. I was sort of glad we couldn't find a Tinkerbell shaped pinata - it would have been a little disturbing to have the kids beat her with a stick - we settled for a rainbow instead :)

Coloring is also a standard activity at our parties. Just google "free coloring pages Tinkerbell" (or whatever character you're looking for), and you'll find lots of great stuff. I prefer to right click on the image, and save it to my computer. Then I print the image...that way you don't get text printed out at the top of your coloring page (usually the web address...very annoying).

Of course, there were so many cute presents to open. We have such incredibly loving and generous family and friends!

This is one of my sisters, Tiffany. I have two sisters. I've already introduced you to my sister Megan. Hmmm...I need to do a "tell all" on Tiff...I've got the goods on her! Just kidding, Tiff, I won't tell. (Actually, I'm mostly just fearful of what she'd have to share about me!) Isn't she purty? I think so - my sisters are both so beautiful :)

And then...there was...the cake. Oh, the cake. I love to make fun cakes for my kids' parties. I've made Bob the Builder, Elmo, and this horse for a cowgirl party, and a monkey for a jungle party. I usually have moderate success, and feel good about the cake. It's a labor of love for me...I look so forward to that "wow!" look on their face when they see their special cake that Mommy made just for them.

Sammy, of course, wanted a Tinkerbell cake. I was determined to deliver, and given my history of reasonably nice cakes, I was confident in my ability to make her one. I found this awesome site, and learned a neat method for transferring the image to a cake. I found the image I wanted, did all the prep necessary, and got to making the cake.

Let me introduce you to our birthday cake. We lovingly called it "Skeletor in a Green Dress":

As you can see, it didn't exactly turn out (at ALL) like the picture I was working from. But at least it only took me about 4 hours to make Skeletor!

It all turned out fine though. It was a tasty cake, and when Sammy saw it she squealed "KINKERBELL!" to my delight (and extreme relief). I was a bit worried that she'd have nightmares about goblins in green dresses and fairy wings, but it looks like 3 year olds are a bit blind to details (thank you, Lord).

And the three little candles burned just fine on the scary cake. Although, I was a bit concerned about lighting the candles because the last time Sammy saw lit birthday candles, she started screaming and crying in fear, "NO FIRE! NO! NO! FIIIIIIIRE!" But that was my cake with 35 candles on it - it was quite the blaze. I guess I can understand her thinking we were burning the house down. Sometimes I wish I had to make this stuff up!

And here's a fun little clip of Sammy talking about her party - so cute!

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

You make me and your Daddy so very proud. You are sweet, gentle, generous, and silly. You love to snuggle....and you simply spread joy everywhere you go. You love music, playing pretend with your dolls, and doing art. You also love to be a mommy - always helping with Thomas or walking around with your baby under your shirt "feeding" her :)

You're spunky as all get-out. Last night when I was tucking you in to bed, you were so very tired. I kept giving you hugs and kisses, and you'd had enough. Finally, you said, "Mommy no more kisses. You making me canky (cranky). You go out now. I sweep." Daddy and I giggled all night about that one!

I can't wait to see what you have ahead of you! But, oh, little one...you carry with you a huge and fragile piece of my heart, so please don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up and get away from this Mommy who loves you so much...but who sometimes makes you "canky" ;)

I love you,

Mommy

The Miracle Of My Changed Heart

(cross-posted at Moms In The Right)

I thought I'd take this STLS to share a personal story of God's work in my life. I think of it as a miracle because it's something that I worked and worked at...put all I had into it...only to fail miserably. I made zero ground in reaching my goal. It wasn't until I gave it to God and asked for his help that I saw any change. And it wasn't just ANY change...it was a night and day, life-changing, permanent change.

I'm not proud to say it out loud, but there was a time in my life when I felt hate for another human being. Not just strong dislike. Not a preference for not spending time with her. I hated her. (No, I'm not naming names - doesn't really matter anyway). I absolutely felt my blood boil when I was with her. There were times when I even considered uprooting our entire lives to move and get away from this individual.

Again, I'm not at all proud of my feelings at that time. But I feel that I have to share them with you to be able to really describe what God did for me.

I knew that my feelings were wrong. There wasn't even a particular event or conversation that "justified" my feelings. I simply felt hate for her. And do you know what I hated even more than her? The fact that I felt the way I did. I'm on the verge of tears just telling you about it!

I tried to change my heart, I really did. I forced myself to think about the good in her. I tried to remind myself that hate is a sin, and that I needed to stop. After a while, I decided to just act the part....act like I liked or loved her. I went out of my way to say nice things...to do nice things...to smile and be nice. I figured, "hey, I can't change how I feel, but I can choose how to behave." I hoped that my feelings would change with my behavior. It didn't work either.

It got to a point where I was on the verge of being consumed by it. I laid awake at night thinking of her. I dreaded seeing her. I had imaginary conversations with her in my mind. Seriously...it was eating me alive, and I was miserable.

But you know how sin can be? How it can be miserable in some ways and sickeningly sweet in other ways? That's how this was. I felt somehow justified or self-righteous in my anger toward her. I admit...there was a part of me way down deep inside that didn't want to change. It was a vicious battle going on in my own soul. Finally...I couldn't take it anymore.

I don't know why it took me so long to ask for help. I'm a stubborn one, I admit. But I finally asked God for help - I cried out to him in desperation when I didn't know where else to turn.

"Lord, I need a miracle! I don't know what to do to change my own heart. I've tried everything I can think of, but nothing works! I can change how I look...how I act...but I have no idea how to change how I feel. Please, Lord. Please change how I feel toward this person. Help me to stop feeling hate. Better yet, if you will, please help me to love her."

Oh boy, did he deliver!

I've seen miracles of provision. I've seen miracles of faith and healing. But this miracle? It seems the most amazing of all to me. I don't know if it will be as amazing to you because I don't think I have the proper words to fully describe my thoroughly ugly heart before and my thoroughly loving heart after God's work.

I can say with joy and thanksgiving that God changed my very heart. He changed how I felt. Does it seem that your feelings are beyond change or control? I'm here to testify that they are not.

I'm here to testify that a person I once hated, I now love. Truly and completely. I care about her. I feel like hugging her and crying with joy every time I see her. It's as if God took a small piece of his love for her, and simply put it in my heart. That love? It fixes a lot of ugliness. But it doesn't simply cover - it heals. That ugly wound of hatred in my heart was healed.

I've since had the privilege of apologizing to that woman. I had the joy of sharing with her what God had done in my heart (it was a joyful privilege, but I was trembling and crying the whole time I confessed to her and asked her forgiveness). I hope that she can feel my love for her...no, God's love through me...for her.

The reason for my sharing this with you is to encourage you. Do you have something in your life that you know shouldn't be there? Do you want to get rid of it, but don't know how? Maybe you know it's wrong, but there's a small part of you that doesn't really want to change? Or do you feel that there's no hope for that 'something' in your life...that it's just the way you are, the way you were born, the way you're meant to be?

I shared my story to let you know that there is always hope of healing in our wonderful Jesus. He can change what seems to be unchangeable. He can heal deep wounds that have been there for what seems forever, and with seemingly no hope of getting better. And if we don't really 100% want to change? He can still work on your heart. Even our willingness to be transformed can be something he gives us.

But we have to surrender those hurts, those sins, those heart and lifestyle conditions to him. I pray that you'll read this today and be encouraged and inspired to trust the One who made you and who loves you like no other. If you do, you'll never be disappointed by the results. He is trustworthy.

"As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day." 1 Samuel 10:9 (emphasis mine)

"Blessed be God, the willing and the doing are from Him, and by faith you look to Him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself." (Fit For The Master's Use by F.B. Meyer)


Has God touched your heart in a healing way? Please share!

Milestones

My sweet Clara Rose lost her first tooth today! It's been dangling precariously for days now, but she wouldn't let me pull it for her. She thought she'd like me to pull it like I did with Ben's tooth, but she lost the nerve at the very end.

And then she came home today with exciting news - she'd lost her tooth on the bus to school (thank you, Lord, that she didn't lose it)! I have a sneaking suspicion that she wanted to lose it at school so she could get the special "tooth necklace" and sticker. The necklace "tooth" opens, and they put the tooth in there and tape it up.

Gums, gross. But just look at those pretty green eyes! Man, I love this little girl.

She was excited to tell me all about it :)

AND - my baby boy is walking! Walking, I say, walking!! He took some first steps before we left for our vacation, but I think walking has finally become his preferred method of travel. So cute!


(A warning...as much as I'd love to say that "no children were harmed during the making of this film", you'll be able to see for yourself that it's not true. He was mostly ticked off though...not even a bruise to show for it. Promise. Please don't call CPS on me.)

Times, they are a changin'. First steps? Never again (sniff).