In case you're wondering or simply haven't heard there have been major changes at our house.
A new phone number, a new address and a new name. Additional photos will be forthcoming but this will give you a hint as to what I've been doing.
... of the kids at the fair. They love the rides so don't let some of the looks fool you.
There is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse.
But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will
notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes
of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner
has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a
good home for him..
This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the
sound of a bell.. Looking around for the source of
the sound, you will see that it comes from the
smaller horse in the field.
Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.
It lets the blind friend know where the other
horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two horses, you'll see
that the horse with the bell is always checking on the
blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for
the bell and then slowly walk to where the other
horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter
of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and
looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't
too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses, God does not
throw us away just because we are not perfect or
because we have problems or challenges..
He watches over us and even brings others into our
lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by
the little ringing bell of those who God places in
our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others
to find their way....
Good friends are like that... you may not always
see them, but you know they are always there.
Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....
Leave the rest to God !
I received this post in my email today. I cannot give credit to its author because the name hasn't been shared with me. However, it's such a wonderful sentiment for this time of year. So as you're opening packages and thinking about feasting, please be aware of the bells around you. Merry Christmas and much love from our house to yours.
Thanksgiving this year was different for us in that we elected not to travel to family even though the weather would have allowed. Instead we decided to focus on our blessings and demonstrate our thanks for them - something we felt was much better than worrying about how much food we could eat or how many football games we could watch.
We demonstrated our thankfulness for good health by getting some good exercise at the gym. Boychild is working on his Personal Fitness merit badge and I was smack dab in the middle of the area biggest loser contest so for both of us, working out was important. I was able to show him some new exercises, with and without using hand held weights, that he could incorporate into his own fitness routine. And he had a great time trying new exercise equipment.
We demonstrated our thankfulness for family by calling those relatives we were not able to see due to our lack of travel (and in at least one instance due to their own lack of travel as well) and by sharing stories of relatives who have passed. Today would have been the birthday of my maternal grandmother (80th) who died 3.5 years ago - she was especially in our thoughts that day.
We demonstrated our thankfulness for food on our table and a roof over our heads by volunteering to help with a dinner put on by one of the local churches - over 400 meals were served that day. Our job? We elected to do clean up because no one ever wants to do it. The kids were great at wiping tables and folding table clothes. They put a lot of energy into stacking chairs, sweeping and mopping floors. And when it was all said and done, they expressed they had fun. Fun?? Yeah, it really was. We've already decided we'll do it again in 2 years unless we make definitive plans to travel by Halloween. (The kids are with their dad every other year and we, of course, cannot obligate them to do anything during their "dad holidays")
We demonstrated our thankfulness for furry beings by taking care of several cats for a family who was traveling for the holiday. Except for the fact that the kids were very hungry by that time, they would have liked to have stayed longer to pet and play with the cats. Girlchild is still hoping that one day she'll have a cat of her own.
We demonstrated our thankfulness for friends by stopping in to visit with some of my football watching friends; catching up and having a bit of dinner. Part of the dinner proceeds actually went to support the Parental Stress Center so we felt like we were contributing something there as well by spending our money on that dinner rather than one we cooked at home. And boy oh boy was there plenty of food. We had enough left overs for another whole meal at home the next day!
We came home and started a marathon monopoly game - it's still sitting on the coffee table waiting to be finished: just when you think someone is about to be bankrupt and out of the game, along comes "Free Parking". Ahhhh, gotta love free parking! I imagine if we don't finish the game this coming weekend we'll call it quits and start over (or start a different game).
It was a great day and full of some very non-traditional things for our family. But we loved every moment (including the mopping - it was another work out dontcha know!) and were blessed to be together as a family. We've decided that we don't need a huge mess at home in the kitchen or a stressful trip to see extended family to show how thankful we are for our many blessings.
Boychild and girlchild earned their green belt in karate in the early part of summer.
Then they worked hard and had the chance to earn their next belt.
This one is purple. Notice they've changed uniform colors as well because now they are on the Black Belt Team - which basically means black belt track commitment plus a few extra things in their lessons. Girlchild is all about being coordinated these days: notice the purple hair ties to go with the purple belt.
Boychild has been working on his wood carving skills and is very fascinated with the various weapons we may eventually have the chance to work with in karate - for now he's limited to num chuks along with his hands and feet.
We traveled home for my 25th high school reunion and hosted a "preunion" gathering on Saturday so that our traveling families could get together in an informal environment, especially since some of us had conflicting plans for that evening. The kids even made a new friend.
This was our conflicting plans. Cousins!
And of course (Great) Grandma Ruthie, who will always be more important than pasta dinners with people we haven't talked to in 25 years.
We've had some goof around moments: boychild calls this the hip nerd (or the "appropriate" punk).
And we've had some very serious moments: girlchild stressed immensely about her new eyeglasses and wouldn't let anyone take her picture so she took one herself. Now she loves the way the glasses open up the world around her.
One of us has done a lot of losing, while the other 2 have done a lot of growing.
So what have you been up to?
