Celebrating in Heaven

Seventy-nine years ago today was my mother's birthday. I know she is celebrating in style in heaven today. My mom always knew how to make our birthdays special and I am sure Jesus is there with her helping to make her day perfect! Love you, mom.

Happy Day, Dad!

Today is this little boy's birthday!!!! He is my pop!!!!

My dad is such a terrific guy. We all wish we were there to celebrate his birthday with him. My father is such a wonderful example to all of us and he has such a huge heart. I am so thankful every day to say that he is my father. I have been truly blessed to grow up in a loving home with awesome parents. And I am even more thankful to have developed such an important relationship with my father as an adult.

Jim Jam (the iPod man), we love ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Books

Recently, I finished reading The Undomestic Goddess. It was a light read and a fun little diversion from some of the heavier books I have chosen lately. The best part of reading this book was that I took it with me on the Wilmington field trip. It took us over 4 hours to travel each way. I was happy for this light-hearted story as we made our way down the road surrounded by tons of noisy 4th graders.

I am planning to read this book, The Shack, next. I have heard so many different things about it. I am eager to form my own opinion.

When I was teaching fourth grade, Bridge to Terabithia was one of my favorite stories to read aloud. It is a great tale of fantasy, friendship, and sadness. Lily chose this book for her last AR book. She really enjoyed the story and I enjoyed rereading it. This time with my very own little 4th grader.

Sunshine and a Good Read

So, yesterday the sun was shining...brightly!!!! And the girls and I headed outside with our books and magazines for some girl time in the sun. It was the perfect way to kick off the Spring season. In addition to reading, we cleaned around the backyard, did some weeding, and freshened up the deck.

But, one of the real highlights of the day was watching Shelly read her Dick and Jane book. So exciting when they begin reading on their own.

These Dick and Jane books were given to Shelly a few years ago by my mom and dad. They are the perfect way to get new readers going. The repetition involved in the stories makes them the perfect way to get young readers started.

It was a good day. Glad to see the sun shining and happy to hear my Kindergartener reading.

Save Some Time

I've been thinking about things that make life easier and help to move it along smoothly. So, as I ponder this idea, I came up with a few of my favorite time savers/life easers.

1. Paying my bills online. I formerly DREADED paying bills. It meant getting out the check book, filling out the bill pay slip, entering it in the checkbook register, sticking it in the envelope and hoping I had stamps for mailing the bill. This process for each bill took so much time. But once I began paying bills online it was done in a snap and I saved money while doing it!

2. When we make travel plans I like to stop by Priceline and check out the good deals on airfare and hotels. I recently snagged a hotel that was going for $250 for $90!! Love a good deal.

3. I love to read blogs, but keeping up with clicking on each individual blog to see if they had updated can be a huge time waster. So, I added all my blogs of interest into Bloglines. Now, I click on Bloglines and can see updated blogs highlighted. Quick and easy.

4. I am addicted to my tarts and I love the Yankee candle electric burner. Tarts are so yummy smelling in the house, but the chore of burning tea lights can make the tarts a little less fun. So, in enters the electric burner. Perfect for burning the tarts and no extra items needed. Also, the electric burners are much more practical in a home with children.

5. Laundry---I am a firm believer in getting the laundry out of the dryer, folded, and put away immediately. My children are a part of this process. They are 9 & 6 and can put away their clothes with minimal assistance from me. I am needed to help Shelly hang her shirts and dresses and that is about it.

6. DVR!!! Oh, goodness what did we do before this wonderful invention? Love being able to rewind and pause during a show. But, I also love recording my favorite shows to watch whenever I want.

7. Redbox! It costs $1 plus tax to rent a movie for one night. You can't beat that. And, you can return your movies to any Redbox site...an added bonus.

8. The night before the garbage goes out I clean out the refrigerator. This helps to eliminate leftovers from being in there too long and keeps me on top of the cleaning process.

Ok, that concludes my ideas for now. But, I hope to come back with more time savers soon. Oh, and here's a tip---want to save time, stay away from Facebook. I am speaking from experience that it just drains your time. I still check it out, but just keep it to a minimum.

Art Lessons with Lily

Last night Lily asked if she could do a craft with me and Shelly. So after their shower/bath we set to work on the craft with Lily as our instructor. She did a fabulous job of recreating a craft they had done that day in Art class at school.

This craft is a nice recycle use of any old magazines you have around the house.

You take three magazine pages and trace a circle on each page using a CD.

Cut out the circles and then fold them in half twice (until it looks like an ice cream cone).

 For the background circle trim a small amount off of the top (away from the point of the cone) of the cone using a unique cutting design. For the middle circle, do the same but move further down the cone for the cutting design. And, finally with the third circle, cut close to the point of the cone with a fancy cutting design.

Open each circle and layer them with the largest circle on the bottom, next the middle circle, and then the small circle. You can use glue or tape to adhere them to one another.

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Now, with another magazine page, fold it in a small fold three times using the longest side of the paper. After the third fold, begin rolling the paper tightly. Tape the end of the paper tightly into the roll. Now you have a stem.

Tape the flower to the stem. Using a final page of the magazine, cut out leaves and tape to the stem.

Loved these little Spring flowers!!! We are displaying them on the mantle...so cute. And, I'm so impressed with our little Art instructor!!!

At Peace

One year ago today, we buried my mother in her hometown of Greenville, Pennsylvania. The weather that morning was cool and the sun was trying to come out. My sisters, aunt, and father were there for the graveside service. Some of the most comforting words to me were spoken that morning by the minister and I cried so much that it hurt. I watched as my dad picked up a handful of the earth surrounding her grave and sprinkled it on top of the box holding her ashes. It was an image I will never forget, a closure I wasn't prepared for, and a final good bye that was overwhelming.

I do know my mother is resting and is at peace back home. I often think of her in heaven. My images consists of her in a comfy chair knitting an afghan with our family pets, Lucy and Mini, at her feet. I know she is happy and watching over us all.

Lift

Another wonderful excerpt from Kelly Corrigan. She just seems like the coolest person. Great, great writer!!!

8 Hours + on the Road

On Friday morning at 6:00 AM,  Lily and I headed on a charter bus with the 4th grade to Wilmington, NC. It was a 4.5 hour drive and we visited the battleship The North Carolina. Then we went to the aquarium and took the ferry to Southport. At the end of the day, we boarded the bus and headed back to school. We arrived home at 10:30 PM. It was quite a day, but fun times were had. Here are some of the photos from our trip. Most of them taken by Lily!

Battleship Pictures:
(the girls were intrigued with the bathrooms)

Aquarium Pictures (check out the purple jellyfish!):

Grieving and Therapy

I recently read an interesting post on this blog and was inspired to think about what has been important to me since the loss of my wonderful mother. I have spent the last year grieving her loss and it has been a therapeutic process, albeit lonely. I am just coming out of a year-long fog. Some of the things that have provided me with the most comfort have been:



1. Acknowledgement from others that I have lost my best friend and I am grieving. I have found this is difficult for some people, but for those who do it...it has been a blessing in my life.


2. Yancey's White Cheddar Cheese with Horseradish from Costco.


3. My daughters' love and presence in my life that will continue my mother's legacy.


4. Chocolate Covered Raisins


5. Panera's Greek Salad


6. My podcasts of the Bob & Sheri show (love their humor).


7. Being with my family in Virginia Beach and just being in VB!


8. My father's strength and wonderful example of how to live life.


9. Putting on some of my mother's jewelry and thinking of her.

10. Reading books---Comfort, The Glass Castle, The Lovely Bones, etc.---I love a good story.

11. Special K with red berries cereal

12. Talking to my sister and sharing our feelings and memories...huge in my life to have someone who can relate.

13. Laughing at The Office. In the summer I became obsessed with the past episodes of The Office and have watched it constantly. It ALWAYS makes me laugh.

14. Photography...taking pictures, digital scrapbooking, looking at old pictures.

15. My husband's love and support and that he listens to me.

16. The many dreams I have of my mother. She comes to me in all forms in these dreams and I love to see her and hear her talk and laugh.

I'm thankful for my mother's love, I'm thankful for the process of grieving, and I am thankful for the diversions that help get me through the days.

A Red Door & The Sun

This weekend was so pretty outside. The sun was shining and we were able to get out and enjoy every little bit of it. My dad was here for a visit. And, John painted the front door red, changed the door hardware, and repainted the front porch lights. Feeling fresh on the front porch, now!