4 Years!

Here's to the 4 years of blessings brought to us by the little man we call Eric!

Things That Make Me Happy

Secret Santa

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101215/ap_on_re_us/us_secret_santa

I keep trying to think of something profound to write, but the article speaks for itself.  I wish these were the people who made headlines every day.  I think it's significant that he not only handed out the cash, but took the time to get to know their stories as well.  I love it.

Recent Happenings

My little ones have been busy the past couple of months doing what they do best - being themselves!  I happened to catch some of it on film.

Here's Matthew doing laundry,

 Paying bills,

Putting a fresh trash bag in the trashcan for me,

And putting the soap in the dishwasher for me!  He is such a big helper!

But perhaps my favorite, is when he "did the floors" for me.  He grabbed the mop and then tried to put it down, but was scared to let it go because it wouldn't stay up right.  "Present mommy" was quick to want to go help him.  "Future mommy" wanted to remember this little moment forever - and she grabbed the camera and got this on tape:

Eric is still finding new and exciting things to learn everyday.  Here he is decorating a tree for the first time:

He has also been working on spelling.  He has amazed us with his ability to just start spelling with no coaxing or "cheating" by looking at the word.  I did however get tickled when he wanted me to tell him what this word was:

Where did he get that word?

Love my kids!! 

Merry Christmas!!

Deliriously Happy

For the past couple of months I have been planning a reunion with 3 of my friends from Harding.  Every time we talk and make plans I get immensely giddy like a kid at Christmas.  I didn't realize how much I have missed everybody.  I haven't been back to Harding since 2000....so this is a big deal to me.  Getting the chance to re-live those college days will be so refreshing.  I've been thinking a lot about the relationships I formed there.   How you really become family because you are stuck living with each other.  You go through a lot with the people you meet at college.  Outside of immediate family, these are the people who see you at your worst, who take care of you when you are sick, who encourage you when you are sad, who call you up to go find trouble in sleepy little towns.  I miss that period in my life.  I wish all of life could be like that.  College is the only time in your life where you are living in a community of people your age, who are doing the exact same thing you are doing, which seems to make things much easier on many different levels.  Seeing these people again will be like seeing family.  It is already bringing me so much joy I can hardly contain it.  These people are so much a part of me.  I am so grateful for Facebook which brought us all out of our corners of the world and connected us.  It is a sad thing to lose contact with someone and not know how or where to find them.  Facebook makes that so easy.  And I'm thankful that everyone's spouses (including mine) are releasing them to have this little weekend get-away.  I have a feeling we'll spend a lot of time planning when we're going to get together again, except with our families!  I know there will be a future blog about the trip.  I just had to get some of this excitement out tonight so I could get some sleep!

Grocery Option

It's been a while since I've mentioned anything about whole/organic eating.  I found this today and thought some of you might be interested.  There is a website called Farm Fresh To You which will deliver a box of organic fruits and vegetables for as low as $25.  I would totally be doing this if they had it in our area.  You can customize your box by taking out what you don't like and adding what you do.  You can do veggies only, fruit only, or a mix.  I think this is fantastic.  Click here to check it out for yourself and see if it's available in your area!  A small box looks like this:

	2	lb	Our Farm	Orange Satsuma Mandarin
	1	lb	Washington	Apple Braeburn
	1	bu	Our Farm	Carrot Nantes
	1	bu	Our Farm	Romanesco Green
	1	bu	Our Farm	Chard Mixed
	1	bu	Our Farm	Kale Lacinato / Dino
	1	cnt	Our Farm	Cabbage Red
	1	bu	Bakersfield	Lettuce Green Leaf

1

cnt

Our Farm

Radicchio Treviso

My "Thankful" Lessons

I know this is about a month premature, but December is a very busy month for us and I wanted to make sure I got this posted! 

I wanted to write a blog about what I learned this year simply by using my status message to recognize someone else for a day.

Lesson #1:  I'M SELFISH

I can't tell you HOW many times I got on Facebook and just wanted to complain!!  I was upset, hurt, sick, whatever..and just wanted everyone to know about it.  I realized I had been using my status message to vent quite a bit.  Remembering my promise to use the status message to uplift others, taught me to be a more positive, encouraging person.

Lesson #2:  BEING THANKFUL IS HARD AND UNEXPRESSED GRATITUDE ISN'T GRATITUDE AT ALL.

Obviously, I didn't make it through my friend list in one year.  Why?  Because it takes effort to express gratitude.  I have spent a lot of my life feeling thankful.  I know I'm thankful for each one of you.  I learned that isn't always easy to express.  It took time to reflect on each relationship.  To meditate on what it was that I liked best about each person.  To pick the words that would be meaningful to another.  Doesn't sound hard.  Try it.  :)  But if I didn't take the time to express that in words, then no one would ever know.  So it didn't matter how much you meant to me until it was expressed.  I learned that I need to take time to make SURE people in my life know they are important to me.  People need to know.  The people in your life need to know.

Lesson #3:  SMALL GESTURES MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES

I have spent my life wanting to do something big.  I just wanted to the opportunity to do something so amazing that would be remembered for all time.  And that something had to be done better than anybody else could do it.  I just wanted to be the BEST at something - anything.  But I'm not that talented.  And I get the feeling God isn't interested in making me a star anytime soon.  But what I learned this year, is that I don't have to do anything big to make a difference.  I don't have to be the best either.  I just have to take the time to pay attention to the small details.

I wasn't sure how people would react to this little undertaking of mine.  It made me nervous.  I was surprised and blessed more than I could imagine.  I watched as by simply saying "thank you" people were brought to tears or expressed gratitude in hearing how they had made a difference in a life.  Some told me it was just what they needed to hear that day.  The ones I didn't get to, surprised me by sending messages to let me know  they were anxious "for their day" or to make sure that I was going to write about them too.  This always made me smile.  People desperately wanting to hear kind words.  I don't think people hear nice things nearly enough.  Individuals don't know if what they do or what they say makes a difference because nobody tells them.  Why do we wait for someone to die to say nice things about them?  Don't wait!!!  The people in your life want to know NOW.  They NEED to hear you tell them they are important to you.  I have been far more blessed than I ever imagined.  I started this so that I could grow as a Christian.  I wanted to be a better person.  I wanted to be less selfish.  People have been so kind this past year through all my posts.  It has been so amazing.

Lesson #4:  GRATITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS

One of my favorite things about publicly posting about how awesome someone was, was that others could add to it.  By posting the status message, it gave others an opportunity to express how they felt about that person too.  How awesome is that?  Others took on the task of going through THEIR friend lists and publicly thanking them as well.  I loved seeing that.  I loved seeing the responses. 

I've learned a lot.  I think I've grown a little.  I still have a long way to go.  I'm not done being thankful yet!  There are many more people to acknowledge.  Many more people who need to know how important they are to me.  I look forward to continuing this journey.  Don't give up on me yet!

Thank you to all who have spurred me on.  I've needed it! 

HAAAH HAAH!

We have created a little monster out of Mattmoo.  He is in LOVE with the cat in the hat.  Eric has a small collection of Dr. Seuss books and Matthew will often bring them to me and point to the cat in the hat. 

Haah haah! 

Yes!  The cat in the hat.  Very good!

HAAH HAAH!  HAAH HAAH! HAAH HAAH!

The cat in the hat!!  YES!  I see it!  The cat in the hat!!

HAAAAAH HAAAAAAH!  HAAAAAAAAH HAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I haven't figured out how to get him to stop saying it.  I just pray that he will be distracted by something else very quickly!  I try reading the books to him, but he's not interested.  He points to every character and says, (you know it's coming!)  Haah, Hah!

Thanks Dr. Seuss.

Trial

My sister in law is joining all these blogging communities and I thought I'd try it just once and see what happens.