Fly high, little girl!

Everything is better with a bow on top of your head!

Choosing joy

While two grown men argue and smirk and lie their way through the precious moments of my October evening, I choose joy!   When a misinformed  manager stands before a hard working group of exhausted, overworked nurses and tells them that "Obamacare" is taking away their shift differential, sorry.....but I'm going to  choose joy! ( and I'm smart enough to see that this announcement came just before the election....wonder who they  want ME to vote for?).   When I am counting the change in my pocket to see if I can afford a cup of coffee on my way to work, while the amount of money being spent on this presidential campaign would feed a family of 4 for a year.....I WILL choose joy!     When the rich politician sits before me on national tv and tells me we need to send MORE of our young men and women to fight a war that isn't ours........to send MY SON for the fourth time in harms way, I CHOOSE JOY!   I also choose to stand up and say.....enough! This is enough!    I choose to turn off this tv and take a couple deep breaths and hope that I really didn't just hear him say that!    Maybe it's  time we ALL CHOOSE JOY!  And say ENOUGH to the nasty, negative battle politics has become!  Thank you, beautiful blue butterfly, for helping me to choose joy tonight........and on old movie,  over the outrage that MY tax dollars just paid for!  I choose joy.  

Posted with Blogsy

Happy Birthday Norah!

In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter 

There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future 

For the lessons of life there is no better teacher 

Than the look in the eyes of a child 

Air Supply

Norah

(Latin) honored,  honorable ; (Old Greek) bright one, shining one ;
  an Irish name for Honora

Lessons we've learned from our two year old...

every day is better with 
a little ice cream and long nap

a sticky kiss is the best kiss

you're never too old for a good loud cry

the world is huge and amazing and ready to explore

bugs (and spiders and flowers 
and  butterflies ) are cool

if in doubt, put it in your mouth

to play is a childs work...and this one works overtime!

pop tarts and root beer and Dora
 and Grandpa make for a great breakfast

all the problems of the world can be
 solved with 30 minutes in a swing

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

(to those whose  birthday's I've missed in my blogging break
....I'll be catching up with you!)

In the right light....

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. 

 ~Aaron Rose

At the front end of another October weekend in the Midwest.    It's planned to include one midget football game (one game closer to their championship), one fall baseball game, one junior football game (second to the last we're told) in Tecumseh, one trip to the pumpkin patch, one Husker game  to watch , one Sooner game for Joe to enjoy,  two 12 hour shifts to be worked birthing babies, one pot of chili to be simmered, several birthday cards to be crafted (October is our busiest birthday month in this family),  one dirty dog to bathe,  one closet door to fix, and several honey crisp apples just waiting for caramel dip!  Sounds like there's not enough hours in the next two days.....but sure hoping for the right light to make it all extraordinary!  Good luck to Nathan, Keegan and Kaiden in their weekend adventures.  And  to that little grand baby waiting to make his appearance.....stay put, buddy.  Grandma's coming to meet you!  Enjoy the light, all of you!  May you all have an extraordinary weekend!

Hello October!

Bittersweet October.  

The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause 

between the opposing miseries of summer and winter

.  ~Carol Bishop Hipps

Hello football!

       

Nathan and Lincoln Execs C....still undefeated!

Hello foggy mornings!

The sun, peaking through the pines.

Hello Fall Ball!

Sunny weekend games in the dirt!

the Braves & Keegan in their fall league.

Hello beauty in the ordinary....

seeds of things to come...

Hello creepy crawlies...

dew drops on spider webs...

Welcome Fall, Y'all!

A Place To Call Home

How beautifully leaves grow old. 
How full of light and color are their last days. ~John Burroughs

Simple joy lines the roadways of Nebraska  in volumes this October. Yellows and oranges and browns and reds and greens flutter in the breeze like beckoning fingers, welcoming us to this glorious season of change. Our days are filled with sunshine, football, baseball, the sweet taste of apples, and  chili bubbling on the back burner, (served steaming hot over Frito's and cheese).  Our lives are  covered with the fine dust of a long  hot, dry  summer which is now quickly becoming a memory. Our nights are chilly  and come served up with a few more hours of  darkness and an extra blanket on top!   We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of blessing number 12...... soon to join this ragtag band of warriors, some 1500 miles away in the Puget Sound.  We couldn't be more excited! And after much deliberation, I've decided this blended family of ours needs a place to find its stories. A place to share its triumphs and its successes and failures for the future. A place to share our dreams and our memories. A place to record the past and preserve it for those to come.  A place to share our   history, our pictures, our recipes, our love and  a laugh or two!   So, to baby # 12, a mere 2 weeks from joining this crazy crew........welcome to the family, little man! You are so loved already! To the friends and family that visit here.... read on, comment often!   Jump in with both feet and share your life with   those of us  scattered across this country.     And remember always, that no matter how long the journey or how winding the road.......we start ...and end.......with family!    

Smile

People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile. 

Lee Mildon

Sheltered in an old  teacup planter, surrounded by volunteer petunias, and threatened by wayward bindweed..... this persistent little daisy smiles!  And on a day when it's the only sunshine to be found....her smile is all that matters!  Simple joy in a chipped china cup in my own backyard... and a lesson in life that grows there!