Just a Woman with a Sharpie: 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Halloween 2010

A Pirate

A Leopard Adidas Princess

A Cheesy Mario

Delilah was a little confused about the entire tradition

Sugar Crash

Not a choke hold

Dylan catching a golf cart ride in his five fingers as a cowboy ref?
(Uncle James' skate board from 1985)

Sharpie Make-up

Dylan's Precise Pumpkin Carving

Intense Delaney Grace

Proud Drexel

The Pumpkin Boy

Lil David's Masterpiece

While carving the pumpkins outside on the grass the kids thought it would be super cool to grow a bunch of pumpkins. Mom, they said very confidently, we will dig the holes and water the 'soon to be' PUMPKIN PATCH everyday. We promise. You won't have to do a thing.

Sounded like they were petitioning for a family dog.

OK, sure.

Hoping that at least one of the kids doesn't take after me.

My black thumb that is.

I mean, surely I can keep a house plant alive BUT anything beyond that forget it.

When I'm outside I want to be playing, swimming or kicking a ball with the kids.

(lets be honest here)

'Watching' the kids doing ALL of those things.

NOT

Weeding, pruning, cutting or digging up......anything.

First Pumpkin Plant Sprout

Shame on me for not having any FAITH with the kids 'farming plans'

I LOVE FALL

Reason #88 is this pretty yellow tree.

No, I don't know what kind of tree it is.

BUT

It's awesome.

It's right outside my window.

It's FAITHFUL

Every October.

Just for me.

That's what kinda tree it is.

Oh, did I mention.....

It's my neighbors tree?

They have green thumbs for sure.

Spending hours on end, every weekend, working on the yard.

Weeding, pruning,cutting and digging.

I laid down on the other side of the street to snap some pictures.

A million thoughts went through my head.

Wow, their grass is so much softer than ours.

Oh geez, I hope they don't come home right now.

Wish I could bottle this Autumn breeze.

So glad GOD made us all different.

With different gifts to share.

Thank you GOD for the interesting change of seasons.

IN NATURE

AND

IN MY HEART.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

LITTLE GESTURE-BIG WORLD

How about a blog 'homework' assignment?

Awesome, I knew you would be up for.

Let's review the saying;

It's the thought that counts

Thoughts are FREE

Sometimes they are good,

sometimes not so good.

My thoughts,

probably like yours turn into ideas.

Ideas turn into projects.

Sometimes big, sometimes small.

You know what I'm saying

I should make this for so-in-so

I should mail this to so-in-so

I should do that for so-in-so

I should give this to so-in-so

BUT

This big ole messy world causes us to shove those nice little gestures for others into the back of our mind.

WHY?

Cause it takes a little extra effort.

Cause it makes us think outside of SELF.

Cause we are busy.

Well that's really lame.

We can do better than that.

Being on the recieving end of a BEAUTIFUL

little gesture can be huge!

It can totally make your day, week, month......

Or maybe you will always remember the thoughtfulness and continue to pass on the LOVE.

So.....class....are you still there?

Are you still listening?

Ok, great.

TODAY: Practice A Random Act of Kindness

MONEY TO SPEND: Up to you.

TIME TO SPEND: Up to you.

LOVE TO SHARE: A huge amount.

Below are some A plus examples.

A personalized Starbuck giftcard recieved via SNAIL MAIL

(love getting letters the Pony Express way)

Thank you Jessica for treating me to a...

VENTI

SKIM

QUAD SHOT

TWO PUMP

EXTRA HOT

NO WHIP

MOCHA
Was so excited about the gesture, I framed it.

The cutest coffee mug ever, it even matches the paint color in my dining room.

Thank you Heather, a fellow DANCING QUEEN herself.

(drinking out of it as I type this post)

A dedicated McLeod member surprised me one day

with a personalized CD of songs we could use in Zumba Class.

Thank You Janine

(she also made me a chocolate pound cake, I ate it too fast to get a good picture)

The perfect sized journal to put in my MOM magic bag.

Coffee cups with fun sayings.

(I'm sensing a theme)

Thank you BFF Jennie, the latest verse jotted down in it.

ROMANS 15:13

A lively fun loving dancing lady in her 60's greeted me at the gym

with a fabulous smelling rose and sweet note.

(what girl doesn't like to get flowers?)

Thank you Molly!

A padded envelope filled with new highlighter sharpies. NO NOTE!

Real friends don't need to explain anything.

The gesture spoke a million written words.

Thank you Cristina, my oldest friendship ever!

Found this note one groggy morning by my coffee maker.

Written on a ripped up piece of scrap paper.

My 8 year old mimicking LOVE notes found in her lunch box.

Thank you Delaney, love the sharpie color picked.

BIG OR LITTLE

EXSPENSIVE OR NOT

YOU DECIDE

EITHER WAY

IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A quiet moment miraculously fell into my lap the other day. Kids were fed and entertaining themselves nicely. I scoot to the empty computer that around these parts is seldom open.

Hhhhmmmm what should I blog about? Haiti......yes, I would love to but those stories are heavy hearted. I need some serious time for those posts, to sort through my ripped up messy journal and deep thoughts, to make sure I get it just right. No time for that. The kids "good behavior" will surely run out soon. I decide instead to browse and stroll down memory lane. I head directly to my picture folders from the last six months. How could I have so many pictures? I have trouble remembering yesterday afternoon yet quiz me about a particular picture and I will tell you a detailed story. What the weather was like, who was misbehaving, what time of day it was, what we ate for lunch........oh yeah, I even remember I was wearing my end of the month wedgie underwear when I took that one. I'm just saying......

Picking out only a few of my favorites seems futile. Ask someone to name their favorite song of ALL time? They immediately shout out a title, certain they have picked the right one. No, no, no wait not that one. They stutter, look around thinking hard and shout out another, no, no, no wait. Can I pick a few? We all know it's too hard to choose. Replayed songs jump start memories and stories almost forgotten. Good times, bad times and maybe even sad times. The people that were in your life at the time it hit the charts

I'm so thankful pictures do the same for me.

(Like a Rolling Stone, Brown Eyed Girl and Hotel California. Just in case you are wondering)

ONLY JESUS

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John