I Don’t Want My Children …
Do Not Handicap Your Children …
Relationships: Characteristics of a Friend
What Is a Friend?
- A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.
- A friend is a living treasure, and if you have one, you have one of the most valuable gifts in life.
- A friend is one who will always be beside you, through all the laughter, and through each and every tear.
- A friend is the one thing you can always rely on; the someone you can always open up to; the one person who always believes in you in a way that no one else seems to.
- A friend is a sanctuary.
- A friend is a smile.
- A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter where you are, no matter how close or far apart you may be.
- A friend is someone who is always there and will always-always-care.
- A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart.
- A friend is the one door that is always open.
- A friend is the one to whom you can give your key.
- A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.
– Collin McCarty
There are certain qualities in friends that truly stand out more than others. Some of those characteristics are hard to find while others are more common. What type of friend are you to others? Do you stand out and have all or at least some of these characteristics above?
We are not called to be perfect every moment of each day, however, we should be reflecting qualities of positive characteristics in our lives. We should be walking life with others. Be real and sharing. Let’s make sure we are investing in developing good character in ourselves and lasting friendships in our lives.
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
It was a busy week, but we had a lot of fun. The girls came into work with me first thing in the morning for a little bit. They helped unlock the doors, turn on lights, and get set up for the day before spending time working on their summer workbooks for some time before I took them into camp. They did a Music & Technology camp in the morning and a Rube Goldberg creative experiments in the afternoon. It was super neat seeing what cool creations they developed over the course of the week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week.
Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday –Thankful for an opportunity to spend some time chatting with the girls on the way to work and their help getting everything set up for the day.
Tuesday – Thankful to have an chance to see and hear all the neat things the girls are learning and creating in their week at Summer Camp.
Wednesday – Thankful for a dentist near home, that gets me in for an early appointment, and that I didn’t have any cavities or items that need to be done! Yay!
Thursday – Thankful for the girls curious and inquisitive minds. They are not afraid to ask questions so they can learn more from people in various areas.
Friday – Thankful for some quiet one-on-one time with Jake. It was nice to relax, catch up, chat, and spend some time together. Grateful for his thoughts and for being a sounding board regarding my crazy ideas. He brings peace, calm, and great insight to areas that am I trying to figure out.
Saturday – Thankful for an opportunity to spend time my family! We got a lot of accomplished, but also had fun together!
Sunday – Thankful for the freedom to attend church, learn, and grow. Grateful for a refreshing and much needed moments with my family.
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day.
Don’t Raise Your Kids to have More …
Relationships: Now & Forever
Forever
When I look in your eyes and see your bright smile and feel your comforting touch, when I hear all the love in those warm, caring words that encourage and cheer me so much. There’s a feeling I have that “forever” is ours, that, no matter the season or weather, Our hearts will be filled with the same kind of magic and love that first brought us together. – Emily Matthews
A great reminder for those of us who are married. Our spouses know us better than anyone else. They know how to make us laugh and push our buttons. There will be days when life is smooth and bright while other days may have a few storm clouds brewing in the distance.
Take the time to talk with your spouse. Share your heart. Spend time doing projects and fun activities together. Go on a date. Relax, snuggle, and share a hug. It doesn’t matter if you have been married for a few days or many years investing in your partner is important.
Counting My Blessings: Week In Review
It was a week packed full of a lot of emotions. With the girls wrapping up at a school they have been attending the past 7 years it has been quite a stepping stone for us. We are grateful to all the teachers and administration at Crosswell Elementary for the amount of time, energy, and attention they have invested in our girls education. They have made a positive and lasting impression on our kids. Wish we could take some of the amazing teachers with us to Middle school. We are excited to see what Middle School will bring and know that the kids will probably adjust quicker and better than at least their Mom because with them moving up a school their growing up seems more real. Love my girls and very proud of what they have accomplished over the past year! There was so much to be thankful for last week.
I want to be accountable to you so the following are snip-its of some of the things I am thankful for this past week. Counting My Blessings – Week In Review:
Monday –Thankful to have the laundry room renovation started and that we were still able to get the laundry done so none of us have to run around wearing dirty clothes!
Tuesday – Thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with the girls after school that didn’t include doing a bunch of homework. We even had a few extra minutes to do a rapid quick clean up around the house and read some more of our books together. LOVE catching both of the girls reading independently on their own during free time (for those who know our family you know that for one of our kids this is a really big deal)!
Wednesday – Thankful for time after work to spend with other Mom’s at school prepping for the kids 5th grade Graduation Celebration Party. We were able to get a lot accomplished and organized during our time together.
Thursday – Thankful for Brina’s hard work on her “Cupcakes on the Rise” Science Fair Project because we were able to see her accept a 1st Place Trophy, Medals, Certificate, and Cash Prize (we had no idea there was a cash prize as well) for the Regional Science Fair! Very proud of our Brina Bee!
Friday – Thankful for an opportunity to watch the girls Graduation and Awards Ceremony! They did fantastic and both kids received numerous awards, medals, pins, certificates, trophies and other cool awards for all that they had accomplished throughout this year. Also, Karlie received a trophy for getting all A’s her entire Elementary School years. Super proud of these kids and the effort they put into their learning. Praying they continue to have the love of learning as they get older!
What are you thankful for today? I encourage you to take the time to write down a few blessings that you have in your life today. It will help cheer you up and turn your focus on the amazing blessings you encounter each day!
Relationships: Granting Your Spouse Permission to Help YOU Heal
Rose picked by Jake from the Mother’s Day bush Karlie gave me last year! Beautiful!I am blessed to have a loving husband. He takes great care of me and the girls, loves me despite my faults, pitches in around the house, always seeking ways to teach our girls, and intentionally invests regularly time and energy into our relationship and our family.
Yet for some reason when I am tired, hurting, or discouraged he is the first person I tend to lash out at. Is it because he is near? Or is it that I trust he will continue loving me as he helps me get through the moments of hurt? Is it that he is the first person who notices that I am struggling? Is it because I allow “little stuff” to build up, get emotional, and blow the “little stuff” way out of proportion? Or is it a complex multitude of feelings and connections of life that make me think it is acceptable to snap at someone truly trying to lovingly help me?
Life is tough. It would be a lie to say that I have not gone through a multitude of various emotions over the past few months. My girls are growing up so quickly and my Momma’s heart is rejoicing yet broken over it at the same time. I have not invested the time and energy into relationships that are important to me. It has been a struggle to balance life, schedules, and times to the point that some days I feel like I am messing up everything or falling short. It feels like there are days when I am rushing through life and trying to just get what has to be accomplished done only to crash at night and re-start the process all over again the next day.
How can I be an encouraging, positive, loving light, sharing God’s grace with those around me when I feel like the walls are falling in on me? I have been praying specifically that God would break down the walls I have built up around my heart, revealed those areas I need to heal and repair, fill the holes that are plugged with the wrong motives, and work in my life, however, it is at times a very painful process.
When an animal is hurting they tend to find a safe place and withdraw into themselves. If you approach a hurt animal when they are in that safe place or feel like they are backed into a corner they have a tendency to snap at anyone reaching out to help them. Their eyes are clouded with hurt or pain, their defenses are up, and they don’t know what to do so they react in anger at anyone trying to help because it is hard for them to distinguish between someone who is trying to hurt and a person who is trying to help. I am sure vets or people who work with animals see this all the time. The animal wants to be alone in their pain, lick their wounds, and retreat to safety even though it it not the best action if they truly want to heal.
As humans we cannot and should not react the same way as an animal would. We are built to value and crave relationships. Some of our relationships may be healthy while others are pulling us down. We cannot be everything to everybody, it’s impossible, yet we can make an impact on the lives we touch. Starting with our relationship with Christ, spreading to our spouses, children, and reaching out to family, friends, co-workers, and others that we interact with in our lives. It always works best when we are living our life looking for strength, encouragement, and wisdom from the top and allowing it to filter down through our lives to the people we have the privilege of loving and living life beside.
Take time this week to spend time pray. Investigate your heart, reflect on your relationships, and start the process of breaking down the barriers we have created to falsely shield us. Those barriers are really just holding us back and blocking those who truly love and want to help us. Allow your spouse and others to speak truth into your life.
Flashback Friday: Silly Girls, Dargo, and a Fall Festival
Watching Daddy bring in a train toy! What is it!? Looks like fun!
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were 8 months old. They would get so excited to play with various toys. If you pulled out a new toy that they haven’t seen before they would eagerly check it out. The hard part was when both wanted to play with it at the same time. They were pretty good at sharing back and forth with only a few exceptions at this point. If one would take a toy away the other one would just play with another one, no big deal.
Fascinated by the moving and musical Mickey Mouse train – Karlie and Brina.
Goofy girls – Brina and Karlie
Karlie loved to “talk” with you as you changed her clothes. Her little babbling and smiles were so cute.
We have one thumb sucker (Karlie) and one two finger sucker (Brina)….oh boy. At first we thought it was “cute” until it was time to break them of it. You can take away a pacifier, but it is a little more difficult with fingers…
“Dargo what big nose and teeth you have!” – Brina
Dargo thought Karlie’s belly was the perfect chin rest. He was so gentle with the girls. They could do anything to him and he would just lay there enjoying the attention. He was a big black lab, but was so sweet with the girls.
Karlie more interested in relaxing, but Brina wants to talk and play with Dargo
Where are my Oreos?! Sneaky Karlie…. She had no idea it was food and was more interested in the crinkling of the container.
I wonder who has been watching Brina….. Daddy put the stickers on her face and it didn’t bother her at all.
My sweet babies, Brina and Karlie, playing away and totally ok with the stickers on their faces. Don’t worry we didn’t leave them on long. They weren’t easily upset by that type of stuff.
Happy Karlie Kool Kat
They loved any toys that made noise. It was hilarious when they discovered it made noise for the first time. They both stop and stare at it confused by the noise. Karlie proud of her noise making skills and Brina watching.
Their 1st local Fall Festival. They were fascinating just watching all the activities around them. Karlie got a flower and Brina got a butterfly painted on their face. They did much better with this face painting session.
Karlie won a stuffed pumpkin door prize. As soon as they handed it to her Brina immediately swiped it to investigate it further. Karlie didn’t care she was having fun.
Karlie giving us a winning smile.
Brina and Karlie shrieking and laughing as Daddy lifted them up in the air. They thought it was so much fun playing with Daddy!
They spent most of their time at home when they were eating or sleeping playing – Brina and Karlie
Brina wants the cool toy Karlie is currently playing with. Thankful that the were pretty good about sharing.
Flashback Friday: Sweet Girls (13 Months)
Sweet girl!
Today’s Flashback Friday brings us back to 2006 when the girls were just over a year old – 13 months. It was amazing how quickly the first year flew by. It is hard to think that they are now 10 years old!
Having fun!
Karlie trying to eat the “ice cream” (which is actually a bubble container) while Brina checks it out! Curious and exploring new things!
All smiles!
