At the end of a long week, it's so nice to know there's a Saturday and Sunday. Counting these blessings today:
1. Rainy day = more time in the house
2. A new shredder = a neater, more organized home office
3. Forsythia and daffodils are blooming in our backyard
4. Aroma of chocolate truffle coffee in the kitchen
5. Homemade chicken salad in the fridge = lunch at home
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Roads We Travel
I visited my daughter last week. It was my great privilege to volunteer in her classroom for five days in a row. It is such a wonderful feeling to watch your daughter teach.....to watch the children as she holds them in the palm of her hand....to watch the light bulbs turn on in a child's mind...to play games with children......and also to have the time to reflect on the power a teacher has on children. A teacher's influence is incredible.
One afternoon on the way home, we stopped to capture this picture. I'm captivated by it. I'm not sure I would have believed this was a real place, without seeing it with my own eyes...I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed it was simply a road in a neighborhood....but it is.....A road in the North Pole....that's actually very close to Santa's house!
This picture has helped me think about the roads we've traveled....and how one really doesn't know where a road in life will lead. Since my daughter is an only child, friends have always been very special to her. While she was growing up we made sure that she played with lots of children. We often lived near families that had 4 or 5 children....so she had instant access to children. Spending time with friends has been a big part of her life because we valued making friends and having opportunities for her to do things with friends.
It was our honor to meet one of her new friends this past week. We went to dinner and enjoyed getting to know her. We were also able to spend time with the teachers our daughter works with.... When your only daughter lives over 4,000 miles away....it's important for this mother to know that a new road has led to friendships.
We've traveled many roads and lived in many places....we have learned that the special friends one makes along the way gives life meaning. I'm counting my blessings for our special friends....those people we've met along the way who have shared our lives with us.....and enriched our lives with their friendship.....and for my daughter's friends.....I'm blessed....and I know she is. To Friendship..... Love and Hugs!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Memories
I love decorating our house for Christmas...the tree, the mantel, and wreaths on the windows and doors. My decorations aren't fancy. My collection of ornaments and the things on my mantle are all gifts from family and friends through the years. Each ornament on the tree and each Santa in my collection, hold treasured memories that warm my heart throughout the holiday season. I think that's why I continue to use them each year. One of the greatest Christmas blessings I have are memories...the sharing of our lives with each other. To the readers of this post, thank you for letting me share my life with you. My wish for you is that you will be showered with many blessings throughout the new year. Happy 2011.
Christmas Tins
My mother always has a stash of things she bakes for Christmas. There are "tins" of choices......cheese wafers, candied pecans, fudge, divinity, white trash, not to mention the cakes, cookies, and pies galore. I think this is the reason that I love "tins". I have a small collection of Christmas tins. I display them in my kitchen during December. However, most years, my tins have been empty for the simple reason that we have spent the holidays traveling to our parents' homes for Christmas. This year, our daughter and her husband will spend some time at our house during the holidays. Now it's my turn to fill up the tins. I think they will enjoy this tradition, don't you?
Christmas Memories....As a little girl, I remember my mother decorating our Christmas tree. I helped her hang a few ornaments, but I imagine she did the bulk of the work. I had one special ornament, a red velvet reindeer. She always let me hang it on the tree. When we were at my mother's recently, my nephews showed me a small tree they had helped my mother decorate. They delightfully showed me the red reindeer and announced "this is yours".
In December, our daughter sent us a picture of her Christmas tree. It is decorated with ornaments we had collected. Each year since she was born, I purchased two Christmas ornaments---two for her and the same two for me. We always tried to find ornaments to remind us of something special that occured that year. Even though our daughter is living over 4,000 miles away, I was amazed at how connected I felt to her knowing that her tree was decorated with the same ornaments as ours. Little did my mother know that she gave me the love of sharing Christmas ornaments with my daughter....and I hope my daughter will share this same love with her children. Traditions....memory makers.
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