Winter Returns

Ah, yesterday was refreshing with the warm sun melting most of the snow and the kids being able to play outside without coats or even a jacket on! The boys enjoyed splashing about in the puddles and completely covering themselves in mud. I was able to air out the house and bring that fresh, crisp smell back inside. (Although, now, I see just how much dusting I need to do. LOL!) The sunshine seemed to linger longer than normal and following me where ever I went. The geese even cooed "hello" on their way to Canada. Ah, yes, spring must be here!

HA! Yesterday was just a treat - a harbinger of warmer times in the distance, as alas, today it is winter yet again. The wonders of winter! Winter always reminds me of what is important in life. It is when the warmth of our home and family seems to beckon us to tend to it even more - to enjoy the blessing of security it provides against the frigid temperatures and outside elements. It is when we most look forward to returning home to our families and we remember just how blessed we are to be in their warm bosom. Today, we will celebrate the return of winter by keeping one another warm and cozy while we enjoy reading books together and making a delicious treat to warm our tummies and our souls. It is the simple things that are the most rewarding.

Please excuse me as I cuddle up with my little ones while I read them book upon book under the warm blanket on the couch. If only DH could be here to share this time with us it would be PERFECT!

Enjoy your day - whatever the weather!

Beautiful Blessings

• The quick and easy recovery of my grandma who had a heart attack and splint put in a week ago.
• The boys giggling as they are playing in the backyard. Such a beautiful sound!!
• The unseasonably warm day.
• The presents of my wonderful husband who is working from home today.
• The peace of knowing that all that *needs* to be accomplished will be.
• Our loving and supportive extended family.
• The time to spending reading on topics of interest to me.
• The rich resources available to us at our public library. (Our oldest son checked a framed print out to display in our home - he wanted it for his bedroom, but we aren't so sure it will be in one piece if left in there. LOL!)
• Watching our oldest go into the prints room at the library and see one that he said was "beautiful" and ask if he could check it out (we had never done so before). It was great to see in interest in art and appreciate its beauty.
• The geese returning from the South.

What has blessed your life today?

What is...

What is tomorrow without today?
What is a marriage without love?
What is the future without hope?
What is food without nourishment?
What is an embrace without caring?
What is knowledge without learning?
What is friendship without sharing?
What is love without giving of ourselves?

All of these are empty vessels if without the substance behind them that make each a wonderful blessing. I choose these blessings with their beautiful meanings intact. May your life be full of these blessings and many more!

Just Keep Swimming

A funny picture just popped into my mind as I opened this post. Dori from Finding Nemo singing, "Just keep swimming." How often that is our mantra. Just keep on keeping on. Today we didn't accomplish everything that I would have liked, but we did get quite a bit done. The chores that aren't completed will wait until tomorrow as we just keep going about our day until we are able to complete all of the items on our list. We have slowed our pace and are taking more time to enjoy our daily lives. As some tasks pile up keeping me feeling "just keep swimming," I am also appreciating each and every day more - even if less is being done.

Wishing for Perfection

Have you ever found yourself barraged by internal turmoil? It is at this point in my life that I am both liberated and confined. I am liberated in the sense that I know who I am, who I would like to be and what I am capable of. I am confined in the sense as I have a family to take care of (which I very much love doing!) and do not have the freedom to pursue my dreams in the way one can tend to them as a single person. This is not to say that I wish I didn't have my wonderful family - alas, it is my wonderful family which is truly my biggest dream. I simply wish that I were a more complete person so that I could fulfill the needs and wants of the precious people all around me more wholly and be completely satisfied myself. I always wanted to be little Miss Susie Homemaker (pre-prison, lol) who could take care of the house, her children, her husband, and herself effortlessly (or at least without falling to complete pieces). But, that is not who I am. I still dream of being that person, but at least I know that is not really the person that I am and have reduced the amount of times which I compare myself to that "perfect mom/wife." I wish that I could have the perfect (tidy and ALWAYS company-ready) house, the perfect way of raising my children (one in which I felt that I was the one in control all of the time), the perfect relationship with my husband, and enough time AND energy to pursue personal interests and hobbies. As the kids get older and I am grasping a better handle of keeping the house under control, I inch towards this elusive dream of perfection. But, as for today, I settle for the perfection of two precious sons sleeping peacefully after a fun-filled day and the time to sit and blog for self purposes. That is as close to perfection as this day will come and I am content with that!

Does Guitar Hero Count as Music Education?

eWell, our boys just LOVE playing along when we play Guitar Hero! (I haven't the heart yet to let them use the actual game instruments; they use their regular preschool instruments and microphones to play and sing along as well as a guitar that doesn't work anymore.) DH went out of town on business this morning for most, if not all, of this week. So, the boys and I had a singfest with Guitar Hero tonight. They picked the songs and "played" along with the guitar or sang at the TOP of their lungs. It was GREAT!! I wish that we could have stayed up all night playing together, but well, I'm not crazy. :-) Well, it got me to thinking as I watch them bopping, dancing and singing along to the music that they are learning alot by playing this game: rhythm, tempo, beats, tones, math (they always say that music is based off math), etc. So, can't I just play Guitar Hero with them for the music, language (they are learning new words and phrases and applying them in and out of context), and math portions of our homeschooling???? Hmmm.... Maybe.... ;-)

Wonderful Winter Day!

Today was one of those wonderful winter days! DH took our boys, the two neighbor boys and myself sledding. It was a blast! (Okay, I only went down once and it was on a SMALL hill and even then I said some things on the way down that Mom would have washed my mouth out with soap for - oops!) All of the boys had a blast sledding down the big hill with the exception of the little one (2-1/2 years old). The little one prefers to stay with me at the top and provide moral support such as "Awesome, Daddy!" "You okay?" and "Good job!" It is too cute! But, our older son (4-1/2 years old) LOVES going down the long STEEP slopes!! He doesn't even mind when he gets a little snow in his face if he wipes out. It is such a treat to watch him and see how much fun he is having! Daddy even enjoyed the slopes. He had made sure to get a sled that would hold his adult body. He had just as much fun as the younger boys.

I even remembered to take my camera to capture it all - until it was time to walk out the door! UGH! I was the last one ready as I got everyone else ready so in the rush, I forgot to grab the camera. But, we have some terrific memories! Then, we all came back to the house for hot cocoa and some Guitar Hero. What could be better than that? We had a great day!