Lessons of Life....

Tonight we were reminiscing about a time we had gone out to eat as a family. 

During our meal the waitress came over and asked Jacob if he wanted more to drink. The cup had a lid on it and when Jacob replied that he would like some more soda the waitress said, 

"Would you take your top off?" 

Jacob said yes, removed the lid and handed it to her for a refill.

Andrew immediately leaned in toward Jacob and said,

"Jacob, when a girl asks you if you would take your top off, just say no!"  

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

Years later we still laugh about that just as we still laugh about this picture....

 Mystic in her "orange helmet" young Tim made for her! 

Give More Life....

I am a blog reader.  I read the blogs of my friends and people I consider my friends although I have never met them.  The other day I read a blog post that captured my attention.  It came from Becoming Minimalist. The title of the post was 40 Ways to Give More Life.  I wanted to repost it on my blog because it spoke to my heart about what I want to strive for in my relationships with those around me.

"Of all the gifts that we could ever give to another person, none holds more potential than giving life itself. And I love the idea that every interaction I have with another human being offers me that grand opportunity.

It doesn’t matter if my next encounter is a short conversation, an email, a meal, or a 4-hour business meeting, it always offers me the same opportunity… to brighten another’s existence by breathing life into theirs.

Once correctly understood and applied, this simple, profound thought calls us to be more intentional, more thoughtful, and more persistent. It calls us to…

• Smile more.
• Hug more.
• Give more compliments.
• Write more love notes.
• Offer more forgiveness.
• Ask more follow-up questions.
• Show more interest.
• Have more compassion
• Talk to more children.
• Remember more names.
• Leave bigger tips.
• Use kinder words.
• Laugh at more jokes.
• Make more eye contact.
• Listen more intently.
• Give more time.
• Stop to catch-up longer.
• Promote others more often.
• Be more optimistic.
• Be more sympathetic.
• Be more patient.
• Celebrate more successes.
• Ask to pray more often.
• Dream bigger dreams for others.
• Cook more meals.
• Ask elders for more advice.
• Spend more time reminiscing with old friends.
• Donate more to charity.
• Remember more details.
• Sing more songs.
• Display more affection.
• Give more apologies.
• Focus less on differences.
• Invite more to come along.
• Read more books to your child.
• Offer to help more often.
• Trust more.
• Give more responsibility.
• Say more thank-you’s.

Give more life. Because there, you’ll find more for yourself as well."

"The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."

~Job 33:4~

17 Years Ago Yesterday.....

February 21st brought a birthday to our home. 

The great and fabulous Jacob celebrated his 17th birthday. 

It is getting harder for me to believe that he has lived to see the day he is already 17! In honor of his big day I decided to share a few of my favorite pictures of Jacob. :)

   Jacob has always been

funny...

                                          And creative....

                                                     

This is one of my all time favs!

 And a lady's man....

(His one leggedness is especially attractive!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jacob!

I love you! I wrote it small as to not embarrass you! ;)

Winter Has Fled....

Winter seems to have fled from outside my window. I will miss it. I enjoy the cold and the snow and the memories that are created in the cold.

We had a lovely snow that was special ordered just for Tim and Lisa when they came in December.  Lisa is from Canada and now lives in Arizona so she doesn't see much snow anymore. We ordered snow just for her! 

Today it is 66 degrees. 

Yup, I think winter has officially fled. 

I will let it go but it has to promise to come back next year! :)

Happy Valenta's Day!

In our home we love February 14th.  It's the day of love named in our honor -- St. Valenta's Day.  We love that we can wish people a Happy Valenta's Day!

To celebrate the day I made 2 dinners -- meatloaf and mashed potatoes for Tim and I and heart shaped pizzas for the kids. (We all would have done pizza but Tim doesn't do pizza well anymore.  He needs so much milk to get it down that he fills up on milk and not food. I wanted him to have a dinner he liked and could get down without a lot of trouble so two dinners it was.) 

As treat for later I had made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered strawberries. The kids were soooo happy with all the goodies! 

Hope you had a Happy Valenta's Day too! 

Can You Hear Me Now?

Abigail says funny things.  The funniest thing is that most of the time she doesn't even realize it.  Sometimes what she says makes me roll my eyes (hmmmm...maybe that's where she gets it from!).  Sometimes it makes me take a slow deep breath.  Sometimes she makes me count to 53.  Sometimes she makes me laugh out loud....like the other morning.  

Abigail is not a morning person.  She doesn't like mornings.  If she had her way she wouldn't even do mornings....until there is something she is really wanting to do. :)  She had one of those mornings a few days ago.  She was up with only one wake up call and dressed and downstairs before Annah even lifted her head off the pillow.  I loved it -- I wish she did that every morning. 

As Tim was getting ready to bring kids to school I asked Abigail to go up stairs in her room and get something for me.  She was less than thrilled, rolled her eyes and sighed and began going upstairs murmuring that she was going to be late!!!! 

Is that really MY child saying that? Somebody check her birthmark just to be sure! 

Seriously? SHE is the one who everybody waits on (unless it's something she wants to do). 

As she went up the stairs I said to Tim in a low voice, "She is the one who is always running behind!" 

Then a voice coming from the direction of the stairs said, "I can heeeaar you!"  

I replied, "Oh yeah, what did I say?" (I was sure she was just messing with me!)

Abigail replied, "You said you're blowing my mind!" 

BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Yup.....that too!

(This is one of my favorite pictures of Abigail!) 

A New Light Switch...

The kids were all in the living room tonight when Tim came in the room and said,

"I wanted to tell you that I put a new light switch in the bathroom today.  This one turns on AND off.  It's not like the other one that only stayed on....just so you know!"

BWHAHAHAHAHA!   

I think they got the message but time will tell. :)                                                              

Happy Groundhog Day!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

What do we know about Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania?

On February 2nd, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob, in front of thousands of faithful followers from all over the world, to predict the weather for the rest of the winter.

Did you know that Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

There has been only one Punxsutawney Phil. Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking “groundhog punch” (a secret recipe).
One sip, which is administered every summer at the Groundhog Picnic, gives him seven more years of life.

Contrary to popular belief, Punxsutawney Phil’s forecasts are not made in advance by an inner circle of experts. After Phil emerges from his burrow on February 2nd, he speaks to the Groundhog Club President in Groundhogese. His proclamation is then translated for the world.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

I am just wondering how that works...if spring is March 20th this year, how can it come any earlier than March 20th? And as far as I can calculate, winter is 6 more weeks regardless of what Phil says. I better stop thinking about this or I could ruin my illusions of the old fat groundhog from Pennsylvania and his predicting abilities. :)

And for the record, I think it would be neat to live in a town called Punxsutawney!

HAPPY 6 MORE WEEKS OF WINTER!