merry christmas 2011!

books!

just ordered a bunch of these. it'll be better than christmas next week when the amazon.com box arrives at my door!

reminder to myself

i posted this comment on a friend's blog the other day and can't help but think since then that it was really directed towards myself.

"one day in the midst of moving cross country with 4 small kids ages 12 weeks, 2, 4, and 6 i was telling my mother that i felt like i was never going to get it together.

her response? you won't. don't waste you time and energy feeling guilty about it. you never 'arrive' in life. it is a constant state of learning, stretching, changing and growing - and none of those involves peace. we can only create peace with how we approach those things. with hope, gratitude and optimism.

wise words that i have to remind myself of daily. we are all in some state of crazy in our lives. you are a good mom, a good person, and your life is good. hold onto those truths. that's all that matters."

i really needed to hear that.

perhaps it will ring true to some of you.

how max lost his tooth

pretty sure max is the coolest kid ever. he begged us to do it this way. enjoy!

Mother's Day 2011

I really wanted to get a picture with my kids for mother's day. of course nothing ever really goes as planned, so this is the best we could come up with. paul was busy with meetings before and after church, so i had to use self timer and small ones as photographers. good thing those kids are cute as can be - no matter what!

sweet ella

jack...who was not happy to be photographed. glad we caught a smile!

max in what might be his last picture taken with his front baby teeth. more on that later...you won't want to miss it.

do you think nora minds having her picture taken? nope! i love it!

two attempts and the self timer.

i'm so happy i get to be a mom. hope it was a great day for all!

2011 reading challenge

a friend of mine posted this challenge on her blog and since i LOVE to read i thought i'd join in.

read a book in 2011 for every letter of the alphabet.
(as seen here).

make a list of 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet.
don't count THE and A at the beginnings of the titles.
The X can have an "x" anywhere in the title.

here is my a-z list of books for 2011. let me know if i should change anything because i hate to wast precious reading time with mediocre books. join in if you so desire!



A - Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
B - Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
C - Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
D - Dairy Queen - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
E - East of Eden - John Steinbeck
F - Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
G - Gentleman and players - Joanne Harris
H - Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffennegger
I - In the Woods - Tana French
J - Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
K - Killer Angels - Michael Shaara
L - Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
M - Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
N - Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
O - Operating Instructions: A Journal of my sons first year - Anne Lamott
P - Peace like a River - Leif Enger
Q - Sarah's Quilt - Nancy E. Turner (i know i'm cheating a little on this one but "Q" was hard!)
R - The Rhythm of Life: Living Everyday with Passion and Purpose - Matthew Kelly
S - Still Alice - Lisa Genova
T - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
U - Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
V - Villette - Charlotte Bronte
W - Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
X - eXtremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
Y - 5000 Year Leap - Cleon Skousen
Z - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

MLK

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”

“I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Martin Luther King Jr.

happy new year - 2011

PACE

"we women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. we have

to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is

comfortable for us. we have to develop the maturity to stop trying

to prove something. we have to learn to be content with what we

are."

- marjorie pay hinckley

choosing 'pace' as my word for 2011 has been on my mind for a couple of months now, but when i read the above quote it was a done deal. it is dead on. it also didn't hurt that it contained two of the words that i have chosen as my 'word of the year' in the past. i was new to blogging and hadn't written about 'patience' in 2006, or 'simplify' in 2007, but in 2008 i wrote about my word 'gentle'. in 2009 i had chosen 'focus', and this past year my word has been 'contentment'. i've re-read these posts and had to laugh at how similar my feelings have been in choosing each of them. i guess i'm just finding different ways to learn the same lessons.

i wrote a bit in my 'gentle' post about how i tend to do everything at a hurried pace. i'm not sure why that is, but i'm starting to drive myself crazy. for instance a few months ago, when the weather was still really hot, i found myself in front of the fridge filling up water bottles to send with the kids to school. as i was forced to stand there waiting for the seeming trickle of water to fill up the contrastingly enormous bottles i was overcome with the feeling that i was not being efficient enough. i mean i was trapped holding this bottle under the dispenser and i couldn't even reach a washcloth to wipe the counter with my other hand while i waited. there wasn't anything on the stove for me to stir, and there was no way the child who needed her hair brushed was going to oblige. i'm embarrassed to say that it was torture. right when i thought i was going to go nuts with all my nervous energy, i realized i had a true problem. who in the world cannot stand still for 2 minutes without feeling lazy? me...that's who. i mean i was filling up the water bottles, but that was the only thing i was doing...and it wasn't enough. like i said...i have a problem. that is when i truly decided that i need to do something about it. i don't have to be doing 100 things at the same time to be effective. in fact, i'm pretty sure the opposite is true. i have failed to give my full attention to any one task or person for years. what a waste. i desire to live more fully in each moment and savor the everyday.

i recently came across another quote that really inspired me, and seems to relay a similar message. it is one from helen keller. it reads:

"i long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but my duty is to accomplish humble tasks as if they were noble and great." (and i would add at the end: ...because they are)

oh how i wish i could sear that into my soul. i have been enjoying my most favorite christmas present (because i didn't get what i really wanted which was kids who always spoke kindly, got along famously, and listened the first time...but where's the fun in that right?!) which is the complete set of little house on the prairie episodes. i loved that show with all my heart as a child, and probably even more so as an adult and mother. i have found myself longing to be just like ma ingalls. she embodies the above quote. yes yes i know it's a t.v. show and there isn't anyone quite that perfect, but i can strive to be like that no?! she is sweet, good, loving, selfless, and kind. i know if i can pace myself better then i can get that much closer to becoming like caroline ingalls.
so happy new year to all, and here's to slowing down our pace a little. take time to really see, hear, and enjoy all the things our beautiful lives have to offer. we are blessed, i am blessed, and i'm going to do my best to live like mother theresa said, 'do small things with great love'.