With a flip of the page …

As a child, I remember reading The Little House on the Prairie series and being so drawn into them that I would stay up late to read. I would read and read and read, flipping the pages just eating up Laura's adventures. My mom would call up, "Finish the chapter and turn out the lights!" Read, flip, read, flip, I would become completely absorbed in the story. Then I would flip the page and there would be just one lone paragraph left in the chapter. I would be caught off guard. The chapter had gone by so very quickly.

I often see my life as a book. Chapters breaking up the stages of my life with titles such as; Finding Mr. Right, My Life as a Bridezilla, Throwing Up For Nine Months, on and on the chapters unfold. For the past five years I have been contently wrapped in a chapter entitled "Mommy and Me." My life has followed the pattern of a stay at home mom with two little girls. Morning play groups or Mommy and Me class, home for lunch, afternoon nap, play, run errands, get ready for dinner. That has been the rhythm of my days.

Last Monday afternoon, I went to the science museum with my sister and her children. As I was driving around the parking lot, waiting for a spot, I watched moms with young toddlers leaving the museum. They left in pairs and small groups, pushing their toddlers in strollers. A few were pregnant with baby number two. Watching those women, I was suddenly very aware that I'm not them anymore. I was rather surprised to realize it. When had that happened? How many days in the last few years have I done the 10 am at the museum play date? 75, 162, 724? But when had I done it recently? Hum… I can't remember. With Sarah getting ready to head to kindergarten and Emily in programs 3 days a week, that's just not our life anymore. Last week, I accepted a part time position at my church. It is the first time I have worked outside of the house in 5 years. I am excited about the position, but it too brings changes to our life.

Sitting in the museum parking lot, I flipped the page in my own life story, and saw a lone lingering paragraph. The Mommy and Me chapter is coming to a close. I can't be purely cliché or stoic, I am excited about our next chapter but I am sad to see this one end. It was a sweet chapter, that passed all too quickly.

Things people shouldn’t say …

Four years ago, my friend Fara was at an ice cream shop when a woman came up to her and asked her when she was due. She wasn't pregnant. Her husband found this humorous of course, but Fara was totally traumatized. Needless to say, when it was time to order her ice cream, she had lost her appetite. Since then Fara has coined the phrase, "If you don't know, don't say it!" Don't rub women's pudgy bellies, don't ask about due dates, don't ask people if they are really sick or very tired. Just don't say it!

A few weeks ago, we had an insurance adjuster at our house looking into a roof leak. I introduced him to Sarah and Emily, who quickly became his little shadows as he walked around our house. My husband Pete came out of his office and the adjuster said, "Oh this must be your son?" Pete and I looked at him and cracked up, assuming it was just a slip of the tongue. Pete made some joke calling me Mama. The adjuster just stood there confused. To my horror, I realized that he actually thought Pete was my son! Pete found this hysterical – for weeks actually. I suggested we switch insurance agents.

This afternoon, the girls and I were out shopping and a woman in line in front of us turned around and asked if the girls were my grandchildren! What! I'm not even sure it's mathematically possible! When I got over my shock, I replied, "No, I am their mother." The women replied, "Oh, I didn't know." Please lady, dig your hole a little deeper, and make me feel even better.

So this is my public plea to follow Fara's sage advice "If you don't know, don't say it!" And since I am feeling like I apparently need a makeover, or something, I want to hear your stories of moronic comments – because you know, misery loves company.

Family Lent Project…

One of the new traditions that Pete and I want to start this Easter is to have a family giving project. We want the girls to focus on giving to others as we get ready to celebrate our Savior who gave his life for us. Thursday night we sat down and did our devotion and then talk about what we want our project to be. Pete and I had spoken earlier in the day about it. I wanted to have a plan that we steered Sarah toward. Pete thought that we should just see what she wanted to do. Such a nice dad - such a control freak mommy. I had a pen and paper and we brainstormed who we wanted to help, what we had to give and how we wanted to give it.

For who we wanted to help, we wrote down; our neighbors, the elderly, and kids who need toys. Sarah's suggestion was the last one, so we went with that. Then we talked about what we had to give, we wrote down; toys and clothes we no longer use, money, Sarah can sing to people, Emily and Sarah can draw pictures, Mommy can make yummy food, Daddy can fix computers. Putting all our ideas together we decided to help an organization called Warren Village. Several of my friends have been involved in this organization, including my friend Betsy's company Camp Experience. Warren Village's website has a list of needed items. We blocked a March 1^st off on our calendar to spend the day cleaning out our closet and the garage of extra items. We blocked off March 8^th to deliver our items. We are also going to try to adopt a family through Warren Village, who we can provide Easter gifts for the kids and a monetary gift to the parent. I think that will be a good way to make it personal and real for Sarah. I want her to be able to pick out gifts for a child whose name we actually know.

God was so amazingly present in our planning. We came up with the amount of $100 we wanted to collect to give to the family we adopt. Pete suggested we go around the house and pick up all the change and lose money we had laying around. It came to $27! Then Pete suggested that he and Sarah donate the coins they have been rolling and saving. The new total was $85! We discussed how we can save another $15 to use and decided as a family to forgo going out for lunch after church. Voile! We are at $100 and we are only 3 days into it. I can not imagine what our total will be in a few weeks. Another great thing was that two summers ago Pete over bought sandbox sand by – and I mean WAY over bought. The bags have been sitting in our garage and annoying us since then. Well guess what the first item on Warren Village's wish list is? You got it, sandbox sand! Well they will get lots! I love that. I'll keep you posted as our project continues.

Little update on little Emily's academic career: Yes, she did get in to two days of preschool next year, as I had hoped. So my tardiness in showing up for registration at 6 am will not scar her academic progress. Thanks for all your e-mails and concern. J

The Great Valentine…

Over the year's I have been blessed with many great Valentine's Days. As a child, my mom would always have the breakfast table decorated with heart napkins and plates. We would have cards and small gifts on our plates. I remember one year my dad gave my mom and me gold love charms for our necklaces. It was always a special day as a child. When I met Pete, Valentine's Day took on a different meaning. He has been a wonderful Valentine over the past 13 years and surprised me with many sweet, touching and special gifts. But last year, Sarah, who was four at the time, gave me my greatest Valentine yet.

We were driving to school. Sarah was excited about her class party and the little valentine's she had made for her teachers. From her car seat she said, "Mommy, you don't have to be sad that Valentine's Day is over tomorrow." This gave me a chuckle, since I don't really care that much about Valentine's Day. But I played along, "Oh good,why is that honey?" "Well Mommy," she was very serious now, "Jesus loves you soooooo much, He wants to be your Valentine everyday."

With that, I did what any self respecting mom would do, I started to cry and nearly crashed the mini van. Oh the faith of a child. It blows me away. I had spent 32 years of my life celebrating Valentine's Day, and never once correlated the day to the One who loved me so much He laid down His life for me. It is so true. He wants to be our Valentine everyday. His life is our amazing gift.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

I don't think I'll ever look at Valentine's Day the same. Thank you my sweet Sarah. Happy Valentine's Day!

February’s drawing – forcing a little spring …

Well here we are at February 12^th and I haven't announced February's drawing yet. Shame! I have had it picked out for a while, but I am having technical difficulties with my camera – okay, I admit it, I lost my camera – anyways, the drawing is for …. drumroll please ….. a paperwhite flower kit including bulbs and a pot . I will get up a picture of the real thing ASAP. Since we are going to have six more weeks of winter, I think it is time to force along some spring, or at least some spring flowers. Planting (or forcing) bulbs indoors is one of my favorite winter things. There is just something so magical about watching the green shoot emerge and grow over into a beautiful flower in the course of a couple short weeks. I love to garden outside during the summer, but I don't think I ever really see the growth of those flowers as much as I do a bulb sitting on my kitchen table. Especially this time of year, when the winter blues are likely to strike, there is nothing better to me than seeing a pot of bulbs growing in our house. If you would like some flowers for Easter, plant paperwhites this week – they take about 6 weeks to bloom.

What does your family do to keep away the winter blues? I would love to hear your ideas. I love to read your comments so keep them coming. Each time you leave a comment in the month of February, you will be entered in the drawing. I will announce the winner on March 1^st. Good Luck

Kicking off Lent

Last night, I spoke at our church's Family Lent Night. It was a great night of crafts, games and discussing the meaning of Lent. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 day period of Lent. Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for celebrating the resurrection of our Savior on Easter morning. The families who attended last night received a booklet I wrote titled, "Let's Celebrate Our Savior." It contains 12 devotions and 5 family activities for the season of lent. Starting this Friday I will be posting a weekly family devotion for the season of Lent. I hope these devotions will be a tool for you to have some great family time together while drawing closer to the Lord this Easter season. Here are some pictures from last night. Enjoy.

Super Tuesday …

They drove in the dark of night, snow flying in the frozen February air. It was still hours before the doors would open, but they wanted to make sure they were in line. An ordinary mother, we'll call her Lisa, pulls her minivan into the parking lot. Her heart sinks when she sees the line of cars waiting before her. She thought she had arrived early enough to be one of the first, to make sure she had a spot in line. How wrongly she had misjudged her neighbors. Each of the people waiting had just one thing on their mind, their children's future. They wanted their voices heard, their preferences known. They couldn't take another year like this past year. Things had to change. They demanded more for their children.

As the doors opened, people charged. Tempers rose. Panic began to set in. The horrible, sinking truth hit Lisa, she was too late. She would not get in. Her opinions would be tossed aside. Her desires left unfulfilled. "This is America!" Lisa yelled. "I was here three hours before the doors opened. I should have gotten in. I should have had my say!" But Lisa was just one of many passionate women, left out in the cold on Super Tuesday, just one of the many who arrived too late for preschool registration at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Preschool.

Yes, I will admit it. My cover is lame. I am Lisa. I am that mom who foolishly thought I could show up three hours before registration and get a good spot in line. The verdict is not in yet, but I think I have failed my precious Emily. I think she may not get in to two day playschool for 3 year olds next year. I know… you can say it … it's tragic. People actually went to the church at 9:30 last night for registration that started at 9:15 this morning. Those are some really passionate parents. (feel free to substitute the word "passionate" with any other word you see fit.)

Since today actually is Super Tuesday, it made me start thinking about the larger decisions that are being made in our country. I wonder how many passionate voter and caucus goers are out there? Anywhere in the 24 states that are holding primaries and caucuses, did people line up at 9:30 last night just make sure they had their say today? Wouldn't it be amazing it people did? Can you imagine a country where people got so passionate about the state of our country (and the world for that matter) that they stayed up all night to make sure their voice was heard? Can you imagine a country where people took their children's future so seriously, that they were as passionate about their country's leadership as they are about their toddler's preschool teacher? Wouldn't it be amazing?

With over 29,000 soldiers and nearly 1 million civilians dead in Iraq, with a deficit to large to comprehend, and an educational system failing so many of our children, maybe today would be a good day to start creating that America, instead of just imagining it.

Primaries and Caucuses really do matter, if you live in one of the following states, yours in today.

Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia

Four more weeks of winter - one more winter walk

Okay, so Saturday the groundhog said we have four more weeks of winter. Since snow is falling here today and the mountains are expecting up to 2 feet, I actually don't think we needed a groundhog to tell us that winter is here to stay - for a while at least! So here is one final winter walk idea.

Why not turn your kids into super eco heroes? I don't know why, but their seems to be alot of garbage lying around our neighborhood. Loose papers and soda cans everyone. We have decided to have super eco hero walks around our neighborhood. Let your kids create a super hero badge to put on their coat. In our house super hero badges include a lot of glitter glue - we are sparkly heroes around here! Get out the construction paper, stickers, markers - whatever you have and set your kids to work at making their own super eco hero badges.

After your badges are made, give each person a plastic grocery bag to carry on your walk. As you go, see who can be the biggest super eco hero and fill their bag with trash. Your kids will learn a great lesson about not littering and your neighbors will thank you. Happy Walking

And the winner is ...

And the winner of the first Celebrated Family giveaway is Manya! Congratulations my wonderful friend. Although there were some comments saying those who will be using this card to purchase an ice coffee to drink by the pool should be swiftly elimated by those of us up here in the artic tundra - the card is on its way to sunny Miami. Thanks for all your great comments this month.

I will post the prize for February tomorrow. I'm going to wait to see what the Groundhog sees tomorrow before I pick a prize. Will it be more winter or is spring on the way?