The Sweet & The Sour

Hip Hip Hooray as I say Goodbye to 2009 its snowing.

There were ups and downs…however not enough downs to count the year a total loss and since I am young I can’t hardly imagine it was the best year of my life either. I believe that as sure as I say something is as bad as it can be…it could get worse….and what gets better then the best? I surmise that the blessed feel many….many more good things happened then bad and for the seemingly unfortunate more…and more bad things went down then good. But, by putting that out there… saying this has been the best or worst year of your life it seems only to mar your memory or lessen the likelihood of better days ahead. I don't know if I have had the worst or best year of my life yet, just 39 different years that make up who I am so far. I have seen good times, hard times, wild times, peaceful times, disappointing times, awe-inspiring times, life changing times, regrettable times…times I wish I could relive and times I wish I could forget…but this is the glory of it all….today really is just a single day. It sounds so cliché or even simple saying it but it’s the truth. So as I recap, I am thankful to be moving forward if for any reason just to see what is waiting for me. God willing I am going to live a very long time…watch my children grow....know them as adults…see them as parents…get old and then breathe my last breath….and at that time I will in all probability be unaware of just the events of 2009.

Wishing you all peace from the years past and promise for the years to come.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house there are creatures stirring...a lot of creatures stirring here. Surrounded by family and good friends I feel calm and thankful. May you all....Believe in the mystery, the miracle, and the magic. Believe in angels and natural wonders and the beauty inside people. Believe in a bright and shining new year ahead. May God's light encircle you, God's love enfold you, God's peace encourage you, and HIS presence enrich you at Christmas and always.
Blessings to All,
~Tina~

Wishing....Waiting

Wishing and Waiting for these clouds to bring snow.

Photo Credits

I love this self portrait of The Hippie hiking in the back country so she can snowboard out of bounds. I must give credit where credit is due... most of the cool pictures on my blog are often the handy work of The Hippie...and usually taken from her phone if you can believe it. Miss Independent also has quite an eye for photography but I can't seem to get near her phone long enough to pilfer pictures. I do alright with a camera just not as good as my girls...I have a great point and shoot Nikon Coolpix that I hardly know a thing about...so why I think I would like to have a Cannon Rebel is beyond me...probably because most of the amazing photography I see comes from that little wonder. Sigh, I have decided that the Rebel will have to wait though... I need a new computer long before I need a new camera.

My Babies

From time to time this is what happens when Daddy is out of town. For as long as I can remember we've always had a child in the bed with us, its only been about the last 5 years that we have had our custom king sized bed to ourselves. We practiced a type of nighttime parenting...otherwise known as co-sleeping. These two were actually born at home...in our bed. They shared nighttime space for years... funny how even now they can manage a good nights sleep in our room, to bad I can't...obviously awake taking the picture.

Patience....finally!

Definition: Patience-having the capacity to endure waiting, a delay, or provocation without becoming agitated, angry or distressed. Am I finally patient … I’m inclined to think that age and life experience has….as one might expect…. aided in this process. Or maybe it’s coming to know…..things…everything… in His good time…this I think is the pure essence of patience. So, as I approach my fortieth birthday, practically having mastered the ability to be patient (big wide grin)…I can also see that experience and circumstances have also helped me fine tune some other qualities that are closely related kin to patience….calmness, composure, diligence, endurance, fortitude, humility, persistence, poise, restraint, self-control, serenity and tolerance just to name a few. I am not always, but these days I am most often a much different person then my twenty or even thirty year old self. Oh no…don’t get me wrong I can still throw a good tantrum when necessary...Hell-O! But I am feeling more and more settled… I am thankfully embracing this time in my life…I am happy to be getting older and not younger…. I listen to my peers (and even younger acquaintances) that are terribly distressed about their coming birthdays and I really do not understand the dilemma. I can sympathize with their angst but I just don't get it....I would NOT go back for love or money…life is really, really nice on this side. Grab on ladies (and gentlemen) I figure we can’t stop it so we might as well enjoy the ride.

For a Child.....

"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6-7

Time Flies

Time flies and I can tell you how fast...this baby girl will be 18 years old in about a month. She is my oldest child, I have known her longer then any other single person on earth has. This is a time of mixed emotions for me...and for her, though she will not say its so. She expresses her desire for independence on many levels and I sense she will probably make her way from the only home she has known shortly after her birthday. Not exactly what I had planned for her...but she and I often disagree about plans. I am learning to let go. I've let go and let God so much in the past two years that I am actually getting pretty good at it. My first born....She will do fine. She will fly. She will settle into her own. She will succeed. She will fail and fall and she will pick up and carry on. She will be wonderful, awful and bounce around in between. She will eventually be happy in the skin she's in. She will never settle. She will look back and wonder and she will look ahead and know which way to go. She will always be my first child, my oldest daughter. I will always know her longest... I just may not always know her best...even so....I will always be her mother and and she my daughter and God willing we will navigate this journey well.

The Red Velvet Box

Every year, for as long as I can remember, Rob and I have had this Red Velvet Box under our Christmas Tree. In the days leading up to Christmas it eventually holds letters to Jesus. Letters of appreciation, expressions of faith and gratitude, prayer requests or just simply a written testimony. I ask my family and guests to participate in this tradition by preparing a message and slipping it into the Red Velvet Box anytime before we open presents. I want for no other gift, then these letters (which I keep year after year). I love what I hear in the letters, I am thankful for the inspiration that flows from this simple gesture. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from each member of my family. I cherish this tradition above all.

Panic Mode

Keep it simple…Simple Christmas…10 Steps to a Stress Free Christmas… it all sounds good in theory, right? Sure! But implementing this simplicity the past couple of years has been a whole other story…at least for me. Even the very basics can be daunting....I am really trying to keep my head up, eyes forward and not get bogged down by the self imposed expectations before me. The past few years I have seen Thanksgiving come and go without a plan for Christmas. What it would take for me to feel more at ease and able to find pleasure in the next two weeks is better preparation (and let’s face it, an unlimited expense account).. Next year…maybe next year I will be better prepared, it feels a bit late to start planning now…today I am making the mad dash to the finish line like a lot of other people I know. My public promise, I am not going to let this happen again in 2010.

Winter Has Arrived....Finally!

The clouds rolled in last night...and we woke up to snow!
Thank God

From: The Laundry Queen

I decided not to use my washing machine this week. Why? See my Moaning Monday post....so I was thinking I might feel better if at least wrote about laundry. Its only Wednesday and our dirty clothes are really piling up around here...which will never do! It makes me neurotic to have dirty laundry calling my name….it can swell to 5 feet high heaps for all I care…but only if its clean. Either way laundry, dirty or clean could take over our home if we aren’t careful… my children (all but The Hippie, and she has her fair share) have more clothes then they need. This family could go weeks and weeks without ever wearing an article of clothing twice....no exaggeration, especially Mamacita. This kid…. she’s a regular Imelda Marcos I tell ya, except I don’t think she has 15 mink coats stashed in her closet. In any case if I go even A DAY without doing laundry it starts to get real ugly around here. I think my obsession with doing laundry was born out necessity…even so I am thee self proclaimed Laundry Queen....ehh....it’s really more like a dictatorship…there is no democracy when it comes to laundry…this is a one-woman-rule….and everyone knows it. The only way any body else gets away with washing clothes…is if I don’t know about it. Though I have been known to leave explicit instructions to be followed precisely or risk getting shot on the spot. Yes, I am pretty sure that my children may enter adulthood lacking this important life skill… I may have done them a great disservice by prohibiting them from helping with this household chore and quite frankly if that is the greatest disservice I do them… whew, I bet they’ll be fine. The very valid question you may be asking is why am I such a totalitarian with my laundry….OH SO MANY REASONS….Do you have any idea what a black crayon resting ever so unsuspectingly in a young mans pocket can do? Nothing, in the washing machine but friends when it hits the heat of the dryer…whoa complete destruction and not just of those clothes. You may think you’ve gotten all that crayon wax cleaned up…then one day like an enemy in hiding….attack outta nowhere on a load of whites. Oh believe me; it gets better the things that can be perpetrated in a laundry room. I love the two loads into one trick…this distressed one of my machines so badly that it never ran again. Yes, children can be trained…. I know this but there are a 101 other things my sweeties can do around here… laundry is not one of them. And in my defense for my safety a warning label situated right on my washing machine states absolutely NEVER allow children to operate or to play in, with or around the washer.

I've learned a few things over the years with my love affair of sorting, treating, washing, drying and hardly ever putting away laundry(I do make everyone put away their clean clothes).

1- I don’t recommend buying a washer and dryer with all the bells and whistles…really folks they all do the same job….the middle of the line more industrious looking machines hold up and are worth every dime you saved yourself from buying the top-of-the-line kind.
2- Do not skip a pocket! Honestly, you’ll be sorry. In the seconds it takes to check for black crayons, change, Chap Stick, forgotten ipod or cell phone you will save yourself a lot future expense and grief.
3- Do not overload…resist the urge to get it done all-in-one. Loosely layer the clothes. They will launder better and will prolong the life of your machine.
4- Limit altogether or dilute liquid fabric softener. This is a hard one, I love Downy Original, but I’ve seen the inside of my own machine and that stuff does not dissolve. It’s virtually waterproof and after a while will form a thick layer in places you don’t see until the Maytag Man comes out to visit.
5- Empty the lint trap and keep the dryer free of lint and any other debris also check the dryer duct pipe from time to time…any obstruction of either of these can cause the machine to overheat and eventually stop drying altogether.
6- If you are fortunate to have an “older” washer and dryer…stand by it. Usually a small repair bill is less then buying a new machine and quite frankly they just aren’t making these things as solid anymore…and I recently learned that the warranty on a ten year old machine is better then one you can buy today. May I be so bold also to say that a one year warranty was popularized by poor product manufacturing.

I know, this is mostly common sense....but not everyone operates from a place of common sense for a couple of reasons...they just don't have it...or they have children. (One might argue that problem is one in the same). I am sure there will be more on laundry from me in the future. Stay tuned and feel free to send along any tips, tricks or experiences you may have regarding the management or mismanagement of your own laundry regimen and routines.

The Magic of Christmas

Let me first say, despite the fact that I am in a much better mood then yesterday I am still slightly/seriously disgruntled that there is no snow. You won’t see many Moaning Monday posts out of me…but I am human…and was in a real mood yesterday. Today a new day…the day that officially marks the count down to Christmas. Funny how it sneaks up on me every single year and I find myself wondering when exactly did Christmas started falling on December 25th? Don’t get me wrong… I love the holiday. I just don’t have much love for the commercialism and no love for Santa…No hate mail from those of you who encourage their children to believe by putting gifts under their tree from Santa ….I just don’t get it… don’t participate in that piece and when my children were younger I tried very hard to make sure they didn’t “ruin it” for their friends and classmates.…and we did pretty good until our sonny boy…unfortunately he broke the news a couple of times before he was able to establish the proper protocol when the subject came up. I am not ba humbug! I do like A Christmas Story…..you know… with Ralphie who desperately wants Santa Claus to bring him a Red Ryder BB Gun and his pal Flick who takes a triple dog dare to stick his tongue on the frozen flag pole. I really love the sights, sounds and smells that seem to only come around this time of year. I have always tried to put a lot thought and purpose into to our gift selections…today I was wondering when we got away from only giving three gifts per child. Rob? It seems the past couple of years we started to set the bar pretty high…. so this season my goal is to provide a more humble Christmas. I want to keep the meaning of the season at the forefront. Remind our children that we as a family really want for nothing…reinforcing the difference between a full life and a life full of things, If the spirit of Christmas is in not found in our hearts it won’t be found underneath the tree either. How does your family celebrate Christmas and what are some of your holiday traditions?