What Are Little Girls Made Of?

This is what my little girl is made of...

And that's right, I said little.

She may be the oldest of the four.
She may be 15 and 1/2..don't forget the 1/2!
She may be right on the brink of driving.
She may be old enough to babysit.
She may be a...cough! sputter!...sophomore in high school.

But she is still my little girl.



So...

What is Carrie made of?
What is Carrie made of?

Blue toenails and guitar licks





And some basketball tricks,



That's what Carrie is made of.

Did I forget to mention pink?
She's always been made of pink.



Enjoying the simple life,

What Are Little Boys Made Of? Part 3

What is Matthew made of?
What is Matthew made of?



Basketballs and a "warm wap"







And a "nice book" before nap,



That's what Matthew is made of.

And sticky breakfast bars and "I wub yooooooo!" and lawnmower rides and Cars and kisses and hugs and silly smiles and dimples and popsicles and blond sticky-up hair and flip flops and going on a bear hunt and Jingle Bells and ...

Enjoying the simple things,

A Good Heritage

Psalm 16:6 says, "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage." (Amplified Version)

It was 18 years ago today that I married the love of my life.

I had a praying mom who prayed often for the little boy who would one day be the man that I married.

And Mom would live to meet the man that she had prayed for as a little boy.
She would live to get to know him and his family very well.
She would live long enough to do some daydreaming about her grandchildren.
She would live long enough to walk side-by-side with me as we put the wedding plans into motion.

But she wouldn't be there on the day of our wedding.



I love remembering what the associate pastor, Pastor Joe, told me after our ceremony.
He had just finished reading the Love Chapter from the Bible and stepped outside for a moment.
The sun was shining, and at the time Pastor Dave would have been pronouncing us husband and wife, rain started falling.
For just a brief moment.
While the sun was shining.
Mom's tears of happiness falling down.



I didn't start out this day thinking about my mom, but as I sat looking through pictures, I couldn't help but get caught up in the memories of that day.

And how thankful I am to have been surrounded by people who loved us so much and who were as happy as we were.
Our parents and our grandparents smiled as much as we did, and I'm sure suffered from tired smile muscles just like we did.

"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage."



And now this evening, all these years later, Paul and I sat at the local Mexican restaurant and said a prayer of thanks.
Thanks for each other.
Thanks for giving us a family.
Thanks for those who have walked before us.
And prayers that our children would one day echo the Words from Psalm 16:6.



Maybe?



Happy Anniversary, Paul!
I love you.
Always.

Enjoying the simple things,

What Are Little Boys Made Of? Part 2

With all fairness to William, I must say that he is no longer "A" little boy.

At his last physical, he measured exactly 1/4 inch taller than his mom.
Something that he has been reminding me of ever since.

But...he is still "MY" little boy.

What is William made of?
What is William made of?



Robots and knives







And lawnmower rides,



That's what William is made of.

And so much more!

Enjoying the simple things,

What Are Little Boys Made Of? Part 1

The other night before bed, the kids and I were all hanging out in the boys' room talking.

I asked Josh if he was made of "frogs and snails and puppy dog tails."
He gave me this look like he thought I was crazy.



Obviously, I have failed in the Nursery Rhyme department with my little boys.

Carrie repeated the verse for me, while boosting my confidence a little at the same time.

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

And while we're at it...

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.


So, Josh, if not made of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails, what then?

What is Joshua made of?
What is Joshua made of?

Rocks and sticks





And lightsaber tricks,









That's what Joshua is made of.

He was much more pleased with that rhyme than with the original.

Enjoying the simple things,

Hot House Flowers

Dear Debbie,

I was in Meijer this past Monday picking up some oranges and cantaloupes, potatoes and apples. As William and I were walking toward the checkout lanes, we passed the floral department and I could smell them.

Those beautiful spring flowers that you always referred to as "hot house flowers."
I can remember how excited you would become when you would visit our local Kroger to find that a shipment of the those beautiful flowers had arrived.

Now when I see them and smell them, I think of you.

So, after looking them all over very carefully, I chose a small pot of bright yellow daffodils, in honor of you!



They have been an especially cheerful addition to my kitchen this week...a week when the winter winds have howled and a thick coat of ice has covered everything in sight.









Even warmer and friendlier than that pot of daffodils have been the phone calls and emails that I have received from you this week.

I love you, dear Debbie, and miss and pray for you every single day,

The Trees Are Alive!

The trees are alive!
I know they are.

(Cue William singing "The Trees Are Alive!" to the tune of "The Hills Are Alive.")

I have heard them in the middle of the night shaking off the thick layers of ice that enshroud them.

And this morning, I went outside to get a closer look at the beautiful light show that God was putting on...starring the trees!















The supporting roles are being played by the Forsythia...



...and the Live Forevers!



Not to mention the props in the play.
The birdbath...



and the bridge.



The trees are alive!
Have you ever seen a tree steam?
It's hard to capture in a picture, but this tree, and the others in my yard, have steam rolling off of them!
Hurry! Go look!



Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Enjoy the sunshine today!

A Reason to Celebrate

Dear Carrie, William, Josh, and Matty,

February 2...Groundhog Day!

As a little girl, your Grandma Carolyn did a great job of celebrating life.
She loved to make special days very special.
She was very good at creating traditions.

It was from Mom that I learned how important traditions are...how important it is to have traditions to ground us. Especially important are those traditions once we are grown--and those loved ones are no longer with us.

Groundhog Day is one of those days that I think is fun to make special--just because.

I love tuning in, early on February 2, to see what the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylavania are doing.
I love to see that chubby groundhog pulled out of his "burrow" to tell us whether we will have an early spring or not.
I love hearing your "ooohhhhhhs" and "aaahhhhhhs" and giggles over that furry guy with the big nose. William, you even asked if we could keep a pet groundhog.

My groundhogs have red noses because we just made it through a winter ice storm that left it very cold outside. His nose is red because he is cold.



Last night, we talked about what Groundhog Day is.
This morning, before you woke up, I made Groundhog Day muffins.

And, very appropriately--even though accidentally, my groundhogs looked scared.
Appropriately because they had a big fireworks show over Gobbler's Knob to the music of Star Wars right before dragging that poor little guy out of his tree trunk!



Did you know that February 2 is also called Candlemas?

The event is described in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:22–40). According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn, in obedience to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15).

In the United Kingdom, good weather at Candlemas is taken to indicate severe winter weather later:

"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright,
Winter will have another bite.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again."

It is also alleged to be the date that bears emerge from hibernation to inspect the weather as well as wolves, who if they choose to return to their lairs on this day is interpreted as meaning severe weather will continue for another forty days at least.



This morning, we watched Phil being pulled out of his tree trunk on Gobbler's Knob.

We watched the Club President of the Inner Circle speak "Groundhogese" to Phil.

We watched as Phil predicted that spring is "right around the corner."

"Of these 115 predictions on record so far, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring 15 times (13%). As to his accuracy, according to the StormFax Weather Almanac and records kept since 1887, Phil's predictions have been correct 39% of the time."

And then we ate breakfast!







I know that I've told you this story many times, but I'm going to tell you again.

When I was about 8 years old, I was taking a walk down the lane to Uncle Roland's house. Walking faithfully by my side was my dog Tippy.
It was a hot afternoon in the summertime, and we had almost made it all the way down the lane when a groundhog "jumped" out at me and Tippy!
My Tippy-dog took off after that groundhog...and I high-tailed it as fast as I could back up the lane to my house!
When I got home, I was out-of-breath and very afraid for Tippy. I could just imagine that mean old groundhog tearing Tippy apart!
I cried and waited for Tippy while Grandma Carolyn guaranteed that Tippy would be just fine.
And she was right.
After a while, Tippy came trotting up the lane.
I filled a big bowl of water for her. I even remember putting ice cubes in the bowl for her--because she deserved it!

That's my first groundhog story.
Now I have more.

Groundhogs.
Even a prognosticating rodent is reason to celebrate.

And...one day, I think that we should plan on making that trip to Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and be among all those crazy people up before dawn to wait on a groundhog to tell them whether it will be an early spring or not.

In fact, I think that one is going on my "bucket list" right now.

Enjoying the Journey,