Today I became a little more blonde. And it feels so good!
The aging process hasn't decided I was too worthy to bother with! Lately I look in the mirror and am so surprised by the face staring back at me. I sometimes have to stop and look again. I have white hair starting to frame my face. My eyes are more sunken and baggy and my complexion a bit sallow. My pores are huge too. It makes me wonder how my grandmother feels when she sees her reflection.
It's not that I really believe I am immune to looking older or aging. It's just that I don't feel it. My mind still hasn't comprehended that I'm a grown up. Things I thought I would have figured out by now are still NOT figured out. I still feel 22, hence I guess I think I should look 22. And since my "gray coverage" this afternoon, I still probably don't look 22. But I'd settle with 26!
I also had my first Lip Wax! Wahoouch! I thought maybe I should do it since I'm a grown up now ... you know ... getting my hair colored regularly ... an all! ha!ha!
Well, that's enough vanity for one post! Beside's I'm off to do a facial mask!! (Smile!)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
BFF: MOM-Style or Ode To Gail
I have not had a post lately ... because I've been reading so many blogs lately that by the time I get around to doing my own, I'm exhausted, or have just spent too long on the computer.
But in my blog reading Beth Moore from Living Proof Ministries made an entry about how glad her daughter had good mom friends, and how much she appreciated having a mom friend. This led Sarah from In the Midst of It to post about her mom friend and Clemntine from What's up Buttercup to talk about her mom friend experiences. And it just so happens that my best mom friend just created a post about me being her best mom friend, and so.....
It's my turn to tell you about Gail, my best mom friend!
(A mom friend to me is different than say school friends, college friends, work friends, etc. What makes a mom friend is 1. We are both moms 2. We need each other to talk about the mom thing and the wife thing and all the other roles we play and 3. We would be best buddies even if we didn't have kids or husbands or other roles to play because there is so much more we appreciate about each other.)
Here's my side of the story of meeting Gail. I saw her at a women's bible study that I had just started attending so I didn't know many people and I was trying to learn everyone's name and sizing them up in my mind. When I saw Gail, I thought, "Oh, she's very pretty and she sings so beautifully, and she seems so nice. I wonder if I'll ever get to know her." And the next week, she sat right behind me, singing to Jesus in her beautiful voice. And then we happened to be in the same Bible study class and sat right next to each other! We chatted a little bit ... small talk and I think it was mostly about our husbands ... how they were BIG sports fans and would probably get along well together. I was pregnant with Eric and Gail was excited for me I could tell. I know I left the church that day happier and remember even telling Kevin about meeting her. We shared small talk a few times and when I missed Bible study a few weeks in a row, she called me to check on me. And then she kept calling and invited Kevin and I to her house for New Year's Eve. And then she came to see me in the hospital when Eric was born with the cutest little outfit.
Well, I have been in love with her and our friendship since the first day I met her and I am sooooo blessed and thankful for her taking the lead early in our friendship because, to be honest, I thought she was too nice and pretty and talented to want to be my friend. And it's not because my self esteem is that low, but it's just what I thought in my silly old head.
I hadn't had a great friend since college, so Gail was a Godsend. She and I had BOTH been praying to meet another woman friend to connect with in a special meaningful friendship and I can say in all truth, it has been such a sweet and blessed answer from God.
Last night, she and I went shopping and she helped me find the perfect curtain rods and valances for my living room. Afterward we stopped for a cup of tea and coffee and we chatted non-stop and laughed and giggled and it was sooooo wonderful! If I could bottle the evenings joy and sell it, it would be worth thousands!!
Thank you Gail! You always make me want to be a better person. You are just beautiful, gifted, kind, generous, loving, motivated, organized, neat, fun, and smart. You are a great wife and mom. I learn so much from you. And you are the best darn tea brewer I know! It tastes so much better when you make it.
So thank you God for Gail! "Jennie + Gail = Best Friends Forever"
But in my blog reading Beth Moore from Living Proof Ministries made an entry about how glad her daughter had good mom friends, and how much she appreciated having a mom friend. This led Sarah from In the Midst of It to post about her mom friend and Clemntine from What's up Buttercup to talk about her mom friend experiences. And it just so happens that my best mom friend just created a post about me being her best mom friend, and so.....
It's my turn to tell you about Gail, my best mom friend!
(A mom friend to me is different than say school friends, college friends, work friends, etc. What makes a mom friend is 1. We are both moms 2. We need each other to talk about the mom thing and the wife thing and all the other roles we play and 3. We would be best buddies even if we didn't have kids or husbands or other roles to play because there is so much more we appreciate about each other.)
Here's my side of the story of meeting Gail. I saw her at a women's bible study that I had just started attending so I didn't know many people and I was trying to learn everyone's name and sizing them up in my mind. When I saw Gail, I thought, "Oh, she's very pretty and she sings so beautifully, and she seems so nice. I wonder if I'll ever get to know her." And the next week, she sat right behind me, singing to Jesus in her beautiful voice. And then we happened to be in the same Bible study class and sat right next to each other! We chatted a little bit ... small talk and I think it was mostly about our husbands ... how they were BIG sports fans and would probably get along well together. I was pregnant with Eric and Gail was excited for me I could tell. I know I left the church that day happier and remember even telling Kevin about meeting her. We shared small talk a few times and when I missed Bible study a few weeks in a row, she called me to check on me. And then she kept calling and invited Kevin and I to her house for New Year's Eve. And then she came to see me in the hospital when Eric was born with the cutest little outfit.
Well, I have been in love with her and our friendship since the first day I met her and I am sooooo blessed and thankful for her taking the lead early in our friendship because, to be honest, I thought she was too nice and pretty and talented to want to be my friend. And it's not because my self esteem is that low, but it's just what I thought in my silly old head.
I hadn't had a great friend since college, so Gail was a Godsend. She and I had BOTH been praying to meet another woman friend to connect with in a special meaningful friendship and I can say in all truth, it has been such a sweet and blessed answer from God.
Last night, she and I went shopping and she helped me find the perfect curtain rods and valances for my living room. Afterward we stopped for a cup of tea and coffee and we chatted non-stop and laughed and giggled and it was sooooo wonderful! If I could bottle the evenings joy and sell it, it would be worth thousands!!
Thank you Gail! You always make me want to be a better person. You are just beautiful, gifted, kind, generous, loving, motivated, organized, neat, fun, and smart. You are a great wife and mom. I learn so much from you. And you are the best darn tea brewer I know! It tastes so much better when you make it.
So thank you God for Gail! "Jennie + Gail = Best Friends Forever"
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Oh be careful little mouth what you say!
For my oh so few readers, I would like to apologize for the length of the last post! I was really on a roll!
Yesterday, my sister and I, along with her sweet mother-in-law, Clara, went to a Ladies Easter Tea at the Montrose Bible Conference. It was so nice to take a much needed respite in the middle of a busy week to reflect on Holy Week and Easter. The music, a dramatic monologue, and the message all served my need to just worship with Jesus.
I love church, but sometimes I do get caught up in the details and miss the Holy Spirit filling up my soul. An attitude of worship has new meaning to me now that I'm a mother. I hope it doesn't sound selfish, but I just love to be fed and filled with our Lord uninterrupted.
The speaker yesterday at our tea, gave a wonderful message on taking care how we use our words. It sounds pretty obvious, but we are ALL guilty of not using our words to honor God. I know I am much quicker to speak than to listen. I rarely think before I speak. And while I don't want to admit to being guilty of the G word (gossip), I know that I am. She gave some examples that really hit home too! I was definitely "Rootching" in my chair, and not just because the room was Hot! Or was it really hot? Anyway, she also gave some advice on how to be more honorable to others and to God with what we say ... and don't say. I pray that it stays in my heart and that as I try to do better in this area of my life, it becomes a healthy habit!
I've also noticed that Eric is a little bolder with his language too now that he is talking more. He is getting to be a pretty good/bad backtalker. I guess we have something in common to work on together!
Yesterday, my sister and I, along with her sweet mother-in-law, Clara, went to a Ladies Easter Tea at the Montrose Bible Conference. It was so nice to take a much needed respite in the middle of a busy week to reflect on Holy Week and Easter. The music, a dramatic monologue, and the message all served my need to just worship with Jesus.
I love church, but sometimes I do get caught up in the details and miss the Holy Spirit filling up my soul. An attitude of worship has new meaning to me now that I'm a mother. I hope it doesn't sound selfish, but I just love to be fed and filled with our Lord uninterrupted.
The speaker yesterday at our tea, gave a wonderful message on taking care how we use our words. It sounds pretty obvious, but we are ALL guilty of not using our words to honor God. I know I am much quicker to speak than to listen. I rarely think before I speak. And while I don't want to admit to being guilty of the G word (gossip), I know that I am. She gave some examples that really hit home too! I was definitely "Rootching" in my chair, and not just because the room was Hot! Or was it really hot? Anyway, she also gave some advice on how to be more honorable to others and to God with what we say ... and don't say. I pray that it stays in my heart and that as I try to do better in this area of my life, it becomes a healthy habit!
I've also noticed that Eric is a little bolder with his language too now that he is talking more. He is getting to be a pretty good/bad backtalker. I guess we have something in common to work on together!
Monday, April 02, 2007
Recognizing what its all about
Last Friday I got to thinking, "I'll bet there are lots of Easter egg hunts tomorrow ... And I'll bet Eric is old enough and smart enough now to get the hang of finding Easter eggs (at least I hope he finally is!)." So on Saturday morning I called my friend Missy, who is really into these kinds of things, to see if she was taking her kids to any egg hunts. Of course, they were planning to go to 3 of them!!! We agreed to meet up at the first one and go from there. I was a bit hesitant to commit to all three. I was thinking one would be fine. Well it turns out that we both went to an egg hunt at 1o am on Sat. morning on Third Ave, but who knew that there were two different egg hunts going on ... on the same street at the same time!!
I thought the egg hunt I was at was at a Rec. Center because all the activity was going on behind the Rec. center building. I saw the deranged looking Easter Bunny, the crowd of people with basket-carrying children, but I couldn't find Missy. I was a few minutes late also and all the 1-4 yr. olds were already in the fenced in area picking up eggs. All my hype for Eric having a great time at an Easter egg hunt was starting to dwindle ... disappointments were piling up. Eric was still happy to see the crazy looking Easter Bunny, and watch a bunch of balloons that had come loose drift slowly away. We could have left right then and he would have been just as happy. when we got there.
I was trying to decide what to do ... when they announced that 5-8 yr olds were next and could come into the fenced in area and line up. A mom will do anything for her child to experience what children are supposed to experience, so I asked if we could join these "big" kids. It was no problem and there were several other "under 5" children whose parents must have been late also. We lined up ... all 50 or so children and look into the basketball court sized area in front of us with maybe (and that's a big maybe) 100 pastel plastic eggs. The woman in charge instructed us that parents could help children under 3 pick up eggs, but they were only allowed to pick up 3 eggs for their child. All children picking up their own eggs could pick up as many as they could. My heart sank. How on earth were we going to get eggs for our basket?! I was never good at math, but I could see the ratio of eggs to kids was going to equal disappointed kids! I started to reason how thankful I was that Eric was too little to really understand the competition, when our line of greedy egg grabbers started inching closer to the field of eggs. What should I do? Maintain position. Move up too. Tell them to move back. Why was this feeling like a moral dilemma?? We held to the rules and stayed where we were and then the woman in charge said, "Go!" I urged Eric forward and in the rush for booty, a small cache of 3 eggs were overlooked. I herded Eric toward them and he managed to pick up 2 of them before the third was snatched away even as he reached for it. I relaxed. Eric did what we were there to do. We even gave one of his precious eggs to a little boy who didn't have any.
And then we went to stand in the VERY LONG line to redeem our eggs for prizes (or in our case: egg for prize). There were sad children who didn't get any eggs and then there were bold ones boasting of their 8 and 10 egg bounty. I also learned at this point that I wasn't at the rec. center, but at a nursing home, and in addition to prizes (even to those who didn't get any eggs) they had hot dogs, chips, and drinks. We chatted with a few moms and kids in line around us, but I was still feeling a little irritated at the whole process. Why didn't they tell all the kids they could only pick up 3 eggs at most? How could some parents encourage their kids to get the most instead of sharing with those crying ones who weren't fast enough? Good grief! An Easter egg hunt should NOT be Survival of the Fittest. Even as I was thinking about this, a woman from the local paper told us they had taken our picture and asked for our names. So much for smiling! I didn't even know the camera was on us.
Inside, nursing home employees were passing out prizes, dishing out hot dogs, and serving their young guests. And their residents, young at heart, if not of body, looked on. The staff had arranged that the exit would take guests through the halls of the facility past the residents, who were mostly all in the hallway, and then to the parking lot. As we threw our trash away and organized our basket, egg and prize plasic inflatable rabbit, it occurred to me that all the work that went into this event was not about prizes, polite and charitable children and parents, Easter Bunnys, or served hot dogs. It was about bringing joy to people confined to a care facility who probably don't see many young faces close up throughout the year. And for me and I hope others, awareness of a population of our society who are often forgotten. I felt like the Grinch whose heart had also grown 3 sizes that day. I encouraged Eric to say thank you to people and "Happy Easter!". I had him give Hi-5's to as many as I could. The smiles he got bring tears to my eyes even now. God bless him. God bless them all.
I will always remember this Easter Egg Hunt and what I learned. And I pray I will teach it to Eric and apply it to all areas of my life. I thought it was about finding Easter eggs, prizes and the "Ultimate" experience. No. It wasn't that at all.
It's like life. I tend to get bogged down thinking about the details. I think it's about finding contentment instead of being content. I am after the "Ultimate" experience.
No. It's about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. And his grace and mercy and love. Amen!
It reminds me of the line in a worship song .... "It's all about you, Jesus. It's not about me, as if you should do things my way. You alone are God, and I surrender. I surrender to your ways.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for my self centeredness. Forgive me too for being so critical of situations around me and failing to see You and your goodness. Lord, when I am like this, my mind is closed to you, and I don't want to be closed from you at all. I know that with Jesus, all things are possible. Thank you. I thank you for all those who work in nursing homes and care for those who are sick, and weak, and too unwell to care for themselves. I pray that you would keep their hearts from being hardened and help them be renewed in showing love and kindness to their patients. Father, I pray for all these people who are patients in nursing homes. Father, if they do not know you, I pray that they would come to put their hope and trust in you. I pray that they all would know your presence, your peace, and your abiding love. Thank you for allowing Eric and I to touch a few of their hearts in just a small way. Lord, I pray you were reflected in our smiles and handshakes and hi-fives. Show us more ways that we may serve you and bring joy to others who particularly need it. and Help us to Surrender to You. Amen.
I thought the egg hunt I was at was at a Rec. Center because all the activity was going on behind the Rec. center building. I saw the deranged looking Easter Bunny, the crowd of people with basket-carrying children, but I couldn't find Missy. I was a few minutes late also and all the 1-4 yr. olds were already in the fenced in area picking up eggs. All my hype for Eric having a great time at an Easter egg hunt was starting to dwindle ... disappointments were piling up. Eric was still happy to see the crazy looking Easter Bunny, and watch a bunch of balloons that had come loose drift slowly away. We could have left right then and he would have been just as happy. when we got there.
I was trying to decide what to do ... when they announced that 5-8 yr olds were next and could come into the fenced in area and line up. A mom will do anything for her child to experience what children are supposed to experience, so I asked if we could join these "big" kids. It was no problem and there were several other "under 5" children whose parents must have been late also. We lined up ... all 50 or so children and look into the basketball court sized area in front of us with maybe (and that's a big maybe) 100 pastel plastic eggs. The woman in charge instructed us that parents could help children under 3 pick up eggs, but they were only allowed to pick up 3 eggs for their child. All children picking up their own eggs could pick up as many as they could. My heart sank. How on earth were we going to get eggs for our basket?! I was never good at math, but I could see the ratio of eggs to kids was going to equal disappointed kids! I started to reason how thankful I was that Eric was too little to really understand the competition, when our line of greedy egg grabbers started inching closer to the field of eggs. What should I do? Maintain position. Move up too. Tell them to move back. Why was this feeling like a moral dilemma?? We held to the rules and stayed where we were and then the woman in charge said, "Go!" I urged Eric forward and in the rush for booty, a small cache of 3 eggs were overlooked. I herded Eric toward them and he managed to pick up 2 of them before the third was snatched away even as he reached for it. I relaxed. Eric did what we were there to do. We even gave one of his precious eggs to a little boy who didn't have any.
And then we went to stand in the VERY LONG line to redeem our eggs for prizes (or in our case: egg for prize). There were sad children who didn't get any eggs and then there were bold ones boasting of their 8 and 10 egg bounty. I also learned at this point that I wasn't at the rec. center, but at a nursing home, and in addition to prizes (even to those who didn't get any eggs) they had hot dogs, chips, and drinks. We chatted with a few moms and kids in line around us, but I was still feeling a little irritated at the whole process. Why didn't they tell all the kids they could only pick up 3 eggs at most? How could some parents encourage their kids to get the most instead of sharing with those crying ones who weren't fast enough? Good grief! An Easter egg hunt should NOT be Survival of the Fittest. Even as I was thinking about this, a woman from the local paper told us they had taken our picture and asked for our names. So much for smiling! I didn't even know the camera was on us.
Inside, nursing home employees were passing out prizes, dishing out hot dogs, and serving their young guests. And their residents, young at heart, if not of body, looked on. The staff had arranged that the exit would take guests through the halls of the facility past the residents, who were mostly all in the hallway, and then to the parking lot. As we threw our trash away and organized our basket, egg and prize plasic inflatable rabbit, it occurred to me that all the work that went into this event was not about prizes, polite and charitable children and parents, Easter Bunnys, or served hot dogs. It was about bringing joy to people confined to a care facility who probably don't see many young faces close up throughout the year. And for me and I hope others, awareness of a population of our society who are often forgotten. I felt like the Grinch whose heart had also grown 3 sizes that day. I encouraged Eric to say thank you to people and "Happy Easter!". I had him give Hi-5's to as many as I could. The smiles he got bring tears to my eyes even now. God bless him. God bless them all.
I will always remember this Easter Egg Hunt and what I learned. And I pray I will teach it to Eric and apply it to all areas of my life. I thought it was about finding Easter eggs, prizes and the "Ultimate" experience. No. It wasn't that at all.
It's like life. I tend to get bogged down thinking about the details. I think it's about finding contentment instead of being content. I am after the "Ultimate" experience.
No. It's about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. And his grace and mercy and love. Amen!
It reminds me of the line in a worship song .... "It's all about you, Jesus. It's not about me, as if you should do things my way. You alone are God, and I surrender. I surrender to your ways.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for my self centeredness. Forgive me too for being so critical of situations around me and failing to see You and your goodness. Lord, when I am like this, my mind is closed to you, and I don't want to be closed from you at all. I know that with Jesus, all things are possible. Thank you. I thank you for all those who work in nursing homes and care for those who are sick, and weak, and too unwell to care for themselves. I pray that you would keep their hearts from being hardened and help them be renewed in showing love and kindness to their patients. Father, I pray for all these people who are patients in nursing homes. Father, if they do not know you, I pray that they would come to put their hope and trust in you. I pray that they all would know your presence, your peace, and your abiding love. Thank you for allowing Eric and I to touch a few of their hearts in just a small way. Lord, I pray you were reflected in our smiles and handshakes and hi-fives. Show us more ways that we may serve you and bring joy to others who particularly need it. and Help us to Surrender to You. Amen.
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