A New Year is HERE!!

I am one that hates change...do you? It is simply my reluctance to embrace the unknown. As I get older and watch the years slip by SO quickly I mourn the passing of the year.

One MAJOR change in the last four years is my attachment to my blog friends. Happy New Year to each and EVERY one of you! My family, my dear friends with whom I interact and see regularly and to my dear friends in the blog world that I have NEVER met and most likely will NEVER meet but I hold so dear and finally to my many lurkers who visit regularly..then slip away...I appreciate you all!

Highlights of Christmas 2009!
Sam PRETENDING to be asleep in hopes that Santa will come sooner!

We are SO blessed to have GRANDPARENTS! Our Nana Boo spent Christmas with us as well as Gramps and Lil Gram. I have to make note here: look CLOSELY at Madeleine...she LOVES GLITZ, COLOR and VARIETY...this is the way she would like to dress EVERY DAY!

Nana is good fun and loves to play games. Em got a checker board and I am pretty sure Nana Boo beat her!

Nana taught me to knit when I was about Madeleine's age...Nana's hands are not so good any more but she managed to teach Madeleine how to knit and then supervised the project!


Happy 2010!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

I awoke this a.m. to a beautiful blanket of snow. I stood on the porch and just listened to the UTTER STILLNESS and QUIET that the snow brings to The Glen. I am overwhelmed with DEEP appreciation for these brief moments filled with peace and utter satisfaction. The front door opened and a lovely, sleepy faced girl with dark brown eyes tumbles out in footie pajamas and fluffy robe...she puts her arms up for me to hold her warmly in the crisp, snowy cold.

A moment like this is a gift. I am so thankful.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Best wishes from our house to yours!!!





Your visits to The Glen are a blessing to me!

Linus knows how to say it all!

The excitement is mounting...

The annual making of the Gingerbread Men commenced with GREAT excitement and a GREAT mess! Each day the kids count down the days and mark it on our chalk board. One cannot help but get caught up in the ANTICIPATION!




I so enjoy your visits to The Glen. I am unsure about how much visiting I am going to get done in the next week but want you all to know that I wish you a BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

A gift

A gift is pure
when it is given
from the heart
to the right person
at the right time
and at the right
place, and when
we expect nothing
in return.

~Bhagavad Gita

Sunday Snapshot

Emma is my middle child, and in so many ways she stereotypically plays the part of middle child. Yet, on the contrary, I would NEVER call her a peacekeeper. She is a little mother and adores her baby brother fiercely. She rough houses with her older brothers and WINS. She loves her sister and directs her on a daily basis and gets away with it MOST of the time. She loves fiercely and protectively and oftentimes wears her heart on her sleeve. She secretly wants to be the DIVA and ACTOR and POP SINGER in this photograph yet has a deep shyness that overcomes her at times. I adore her sweetness, the way she cuddles up to me and when passing by me kisses me on the forehead. She serves her siblings and shows her love for them by cooking them breakfast or bringing them a favorite treat. She is a gem...a priceless treasure. We are blessed to have her.

We interrupt this day for a very important announcement...

THERE IS A MESS TO CLEAN UP ON AISLE FIVE!!!!

It is a very busy day...parties, baking, gifts to wrap, errands to run, house to tidy...you get it...and THEN I found this:

Yes...I have five kiddos and most of them are TOO old to do "creative graffiti" and vandalism to the furniture...but the telling answer to WHO is responsible is...

...the train laying next to the marker...Sam does not go ANYWHERE without a train in his hand, in his pocket....some where near his body...AND you can tell he tried to clean it...see the white area in the upper left corner???

Now...how do I go about TRYING to get PINK HIGHLIGHTER out of a denim chair?? IDEAS anyone???

Whispering secrets of days of old...

I am a collector of old linens...aprons and kitchen linens are my main interest...up until recently I thought this was a very unique thing to do...but through you, my bloggy friends, I have realized that this is a VERY popular thing to do. My interest began 19 plus years ago when my "Mamaw" died. My grandmother was a very simple woman and she did not have many worldly things but the legacy she left was her love of God and family. She ministered to her family through cooking...oh did she cook! Not only did she raise and feed nine children, she fed an OCEAN of grandchildren over the course of her life. I had the privilege of growing up in the house next store...I tasted her delicious meals and treats on a regular basis. Fried chicken and fruit pie from her kitchen was absolutely incredible. Mamaw wore aprons...Mamaw also wore "house dresses." These dresses were a very simple style and they were typically made out of basic floral print fabric. I loved these dresses and aprons. When she died I took some of her aprons and house dresses...someone said, "They are stained and worn...put them in the rag bag" but to me they were a memory I could not let go. Oh, one of those dresses I used to make a rabbit doll for My Emma and a pillow that sits on her bed...another I just kept because it is clearly stained with tomato juice, mostly likely from the COUNTLESS jars of tomatoes she canned every year. I now stop at estate sales and garage sales and sift through the linens...picking up one because it is beautiful or unique in some way. I hang it in my kitchen or dry my dishes with it and know it has its own unique story of a woman who served in some manner...such a simple thing whispering of adventures of the past...

For more HISTORY go to Theme Thursday.

First posted 9/08.

Christmas challenge

It is sad to me, that at Christmas we think MORE of doing nice things for others. People are quick to donate a coat to a child in need or give a grocery card to a family who would have no decent Christmas dinner. But, these needs are ever present NOT just at Christmas. I am challenged in that I bustle around stores at TOP speed not even looking at the faces of those around me let alone making eye contact and SMILING. Sure, you will get those that when you speak to them will surely look at you like you are a FREAK...smile and speak anyway!

So here is my challenge for you TODAY. As you go about your day, NO MATTER what you are doing or WHERE you are...actively engage in a RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS. Get a cart for someone at Walmart; hold the door; give that extra 40% off coupon to the lady looking at sweaters; as you are getting your coffee, pay for the coffee of the person behind you; give a pack of those beautiful disposable pocket tissues to someone. Staying home today?...no problem...make a batch of cookies and take a plate of those first fruits to the neighbor; call your friend and tell her to bring her three year old over for three hours and go shopping; rearrange your teenager's bedroom in a cool way that will make her smile when she gets home from school; wrap an old Christmas story book in festive paper and let your toddler open it before nap and cuddle and read it to them.
The possibilities are ENDLESS!

So I say to you...CHARGE!!! It will be fun!

Hey, and if you feel so inclined I would LOVE to hear what you did! Write me a comment or an e-mail!

(first published 12/08)

A CHRISTMAS visit from a cute little friend.

The door bell rang today and I was SO surprised to find two cute little friends outside the door! I love a surprise...and especially one SO ADORABLE!

I invited these furry critters right into the house! You see, my girls had JUST watched Holly and Hal's Christmas Adventure on television and LOVED it...they fell in love with these adorable Moose!

My girls FREAKED out when they came home from school to discover that our friends from BSM Media and Mom Select had sent us our very own Holly and Hal Moose directly from Build A Bear.
I DID get the girls to let me have a photo opportunity before whisking them off for a ski adventure down The Glen stairs!

They DO look adorable under the tree don't they??

Celebrating Lil Gram

The love of a grandparent...there is NOTHING like it. My folks were most excellent parents...but they are FANTASTICAL grandparents to our kiddos. WHAT a HUGE BLESSING they are to us EVERY day!My sweet Momma celebrated a birthday and we truly celebrate HER!

Emma is our culinary queen (she LOVES all the food channels) and she RELISHED baking a cake for her Gram. Sam was a late talker and when he did start talking he started calling his beloved grandmother, "Lil Gram." We ALL get a kick out of it!

My mom and her ZOO CREW! She constantly is doing wonderful things for her grandkids!

Thanks Mom! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Maria

Christmas is such a joyous time yet there are SO MANY that are hurting...they are ALL around us...family strife, abuse, broken families, those without jobs, those that are homeless, those fighting illness...my heart aches in particular for all the children that are longing/wishing for a family this Christmas. I love this song...it offers such HOPE.


My friend Linny put this on her blog...

Oh Lord Jesus, break our hearts
with the things that break yours....

A blessed and peaceful Sunday to you.

Ponder THIS!

In this season of family, shopping, festivity, reflection, and reverence I find myself ACTUALLY pondering things like:


Which way do you like your toilet paper hung on the roll?
Over or Under????


Such a SMALL thing yet for some...an important thing!

Theme Thursday - SNOW DAY!!!!!

"There is something joyful about storms that interrupt routine. Snow or freezing rain suddenly releases you from expectations, performance demands, and the tyranny of appointments and schedules. And unlike illness, it is largely a corporate rather than individual experience. One can almost hear a unified sigh rise from the nearby city and surrounding countryside where Nature has intervened to give respite to the weary humans slogging it out within her purview. All those affected this way are united by a mutual excuse, and the heart is suddenly and unexpectedly a little giddy. There will be no apologies needed for not showing up to some commitment or other. Everyone understands and shares in this singular justification, and the sudden alleviation of the pressure to produce makes the heart merry."

THE SHACK, William P. Young

For more snow day antics go to Theme Thursday.

NEARLY Wordless Wednesday!

I declare that winter has officially arrived at The Glen. It is amazing to spend days in tropical weather only to fly home to 30 degrees! But, in my idyllic little world, it is NOT Christmas without snow so it is good to be home!!!




Happy Anniversary to my dear Hubbie today!! I know he will be stopping by for a visit!

Theme Thursday - My friend... FOR LIFE.

My best friend and I have skipped The Glen for a few days...we are off for some vacation...our favorite vacation...beach, sun, good books, good food, ahhhhhh, see you next week friends!

My girls did the chalk board for us before we left...sweet huh?

Find more friends atTheme Thursday. Go ahead you know you want to...go on!

I am grateful for YOU!

I started blogging as we prepared to go and get Sam in China. That placed me in the category of MOM BLOG or FAMILY BLOG...a dime a dozen out there...carefully writing down the details of our lives for our kids to enjoy some day. VERY GOOD STUFF!

But...blogging has evolved into SO MUCH more for me! Meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, languages, music and learning so MANY new things everyday. It is absolutely titillating! (OH how I love THAT word!) NOT just mom's and dad's posting about their adorable child's first birthday...serious writers, foodies, people who simply BLOW SMOKE or spin a good tale or create amazing poems, comedians and genius' of sarcasm, those who take beautiful photographs or create works of art whether in paint, jewelry or FOOD! Many sharing parts of their lives they would NEVER share if given the opportunity to do so one on one. I also love reading the books and products you have recommended, joining you for Cyber parties and taking part in your generous giveaways!

Thank you all for popping in from time to time to check in on The Glen. Your comments and your e-mails are treasures to me!