give it a whirl

Flight

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 11 May 2016 15:58:00 +0000

I remember what seems likes feel forever ago, what it meant to show my Son how to use a dictionary. And for the record, they do not teach dictionary use in schools any longer. Now I am doing it.
Needed the definition of:

flight (insert funny characters) 1. the act of flying, manner or power of flying. 2. The distance flown. 3. A group of things flying together..and etc

Did you ever know that the reason migratory birds fly in a V shape is that it increases their lift and reduces drag so they can fly longer and more efficiently?
These are not geese, but actually Pelicans we saw along the Mississippi River Sunday while visiting my Mom.
My Mom taught me to fly. To keep moving forward. To keep seeking happiness. To stay together. She also taught me to look for the special things in life.
From a distance, we assumed these birds were Geese. When they got closer and we looked harder we realized they were Pelicans. Had we just assumed what we thought originally and not paid attention, we wouldn't have seen the Pelicans.
Everyday is a day to pay attention. To not assume. To know that at any moment anything can happen. To know that one day, you will be on your own and not have the benefit of others for an increase in lift and a decrease in drag.

Always look closely. You never know what you will see.

There are many beautiful things hidden right before our eyes.

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Mon, 02 May 2016 17:26:00 +0000

Nerves (of steel?)

Yman had his Muny Orientation yesterday. When we walked up the ramp, he immediately saw some of the high school kids he dances with and bee lined for them. High fives and hugs were handed out and he was feeling pretty confident. While we waited, another performer he had met at call backs saw him, gave a fist bump and was off. Confidence was showing in him and I was having an extremely proud Mom Moment.
Orientation went well. Questions asked and answered. Then we went on a tour backstage of Muny. What an amazing place. You can feel and see the history all around you.
Then the big moment happened. We were on the stage. Confidence gave way to Awe and Nervousness! It's a lot of seats!

I said "Now imagine them full of people!" His eyes got really big and he just kinda starred.
He never really said he was nervous but his mannerisms showed otherwise.

We finished up with our tour and departed. He was so very excited and I am so proud of him!

When we were home and waiting for dinner to finish cooking, we let the chicks have a roam in the yard. I think they were nervous also, staying together, moving together throughout their new surroundings. I was nervous they would get into somewhere I wouldn't be able to retrieve them from.

So I called out my Chicken Hawk. Needless to say, he thought I was overreacting a little bit and said there was nothing to be nervous or worry about and he doesn't need to watch the chickens (he needed a screen time break anyway). So he went and sat and watched over the nervous chicks. I would look at him and he would roll his eyes! After a bit, I would look at him and he would smile back at me. I think watching the chicks did him so good!

New things keep happening with this family for sure. Luckily we have nerves of steel and can take on any new challenge. Proud Mom day for sure!

bubbles

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Sun, 01 May 2016 04:35:00 +0000

bubbles: the cute little things your children blow out of dish soap and water; the dish water soap walls we all hope to put ourselves in and float around in like fairies; our personal space that we hope no one will invade; everyone else's personal space that we hope we will not tread on.

You know what? They get broken. Life changer

I am a huge fan of bubbles. Globe bubbles especially. The bubbles that can show me the world. Some of my globes light up, some are flat, some are round. They are bubbles of the Earth.
They have unstoppable means. Go from here to there in a heartbeat, a swipe of the ball, a turn of the page, a look in a book.
A piece of hail that has traveled so far to fall

The bubbles I am not a fan of are the bubbles that get popped so easily. One wrong word, and destruction happens. One wrong glance based on a viewpoint of that moment. POP!! bubble bursted. Friendship lost, first impression lost, everything lost.
I personally thought the Wubble Bubble would be awesome but the first time it hit a blade of grass, it bursted too.
Some bubbles that cannot be burst are the one's you trust. They come in a small few select varieties. And are mostly found with the people you love when you least expect it. And they come in the shape of a heart...

experiential education

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 05:46:00 +0000

This past Saturday, I helped host a conference on Experiential Education.

If you don't know what that means, it may very well mean you are already doing it and don't realize that it has a title. Doesn't matter how old you are or at what stage of your education you are in, or who you are teaching.

The title of this conference was: Buzzwords.
Grit
Mindset
Project Based Learning

These 3 buzzzwords were the focus.
How do we teach Grit? and What is it? other than a very vague term for a breakfast dish.
How do we change Mindset? Because the sky is always Blue, but can be a different color.
How do we show that 1+1 can equal two, but 2 can be infinite?

It became quite aware to me from early on, that I was already teaching this to my kids.

GRIT
You will fail. There is never a doubt, No matter how well you do, but at some point, you will fail. You will fail someone else's perspective on what you should be, You will fail on your report card on how well you should have done in a class. You will fail on a first impression. We all fail. Grit is how you get up from that. How you are taught to brush it off and keep going.

They thought Charley was a girl trying to get into the Boys dressing room for his performances..Aka: failing someone else's perspective. He made it very clear who he was and why he was there.

MINDSET
" I can't do that" "I'm not capable" " I'm not sure"
With the right guidance can turn into "I haven't tried this before but am willing too", "I have failed before but it taught me what I know what not to do again", "This could be a fun challenge"
This is what I teach my kiddos; Change your mindset, change your lives. It's only what YOU believe that can keep you from accomplishing your goals.
So many times people have heard that my boys dance and they cringe without thinking they are being noticed for doing so. My boys immediately see it...they are children after all, and immediately think how stupid people can be, which leads them back to Grit. and how they have to be that much more resilient and smarter than everyone else

That leaves Project Based Learning (PBL).
This can be a touchy subject because it can take on curricula from an hour to a whole semester.
Or it can take on a half hour to a year.
How do you brush your teeth to how do you raise a garden that produces vegetables.

Helping to plan this conference has been an eye opener for me. More so in the fact that these 3 Buzzwords are how I have raised my children all along. It was how I was raised, and how I was taught.
Most importantly I was taught that you don't get a trophy unless you earn it, and unless you can figure out what you are doing wrong, you can not improve to ever succeed. And that determines your level of Grit, Mindset, and how you will solve your problem.

Was a Snow Day

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 05:18:00 +0000

An unexpected snow day. Maybe 3 inches of really dry snow.
None the less, a snow day: no school, hot chocolate, lots of wet clothes, and:

a Sister who said "Let's go!",

boys in their element,

hanging from trees,

and getting along to find their way home.

Because they had work to do...

(have to admit, Bellie did all the work. I was in bed with a fever and was sad to miss it all).

I love my kids. How they embrace and trust each other is a gift for me.

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 03:18:00 +0000

Patience

watching grass grow
waiting for water to boil

the truth of it is, you either have it or you don't.
because when you need it, it is out of your control.

Hard

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 05:50:00 +0000

a friend of mine recently said that "Life is hard"
I replied," yes it can be".

Life can be hard from all angles:
life
death
accomplishments
disappointments
poverty
wealth
the list goes on.

What makes life hard is not seeing the blessings in front of you. The simple things that make you smile. The things that may only last a second but give you goose bumps. The things that make you take a look back and remember.

my life is very busy, but not hard.

hard would be devastating. and I have already seen what devastating can do to a life.
Life is Amazing. You take the downs with the highs. The Lows with the Blows, And you keep on with what you feel makes a difference.
Because those goose bump feelings only happen when there is a reason, hard or not.

4+ years

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 06:35:00 +0000

I have been off of of this blog for four plus years. I have missed it, but there was way to much going on for me to take the time to type out, or could put into words. My beloved Mother passed away. I found my Birth Parents. The kids and I have traveled. A new set of eyes have come across me.
I was on Facebook during that time. I still do not believe that social media is evil, it can just be too much to manage. I just believe it needs to be more intentional.
My intention with this blog is to keep my family informed of our doings, to showcase my children's accomplishments, and to rant a bit. I hope to find some new followers in the process because my life is anything but boring!
I look forward to sharing my crazy life with those who wish to follow...
I can guarantee you will enjoy the ride!

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:21:00 +0000

Oh my goodness! It's July!! So much we have to catch up on here!!! Soon!

I will let you know that this Summer so far has been absolutely amazing!!

Summer

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Hi, Ms. Bellie here. If you don't have a Kirkwood Pool pass, you really need to get one. The Kirkwood Pool is so cool. The kiddie pool goes to about 2 feet deep and it has a water playground and small waterslide called "The Watering Hole". In the family pool, the water gets to 4 feet deep and is just a free for all pool. A lot of space to really swim. The Big Pool is awesome to. The shallowest is 4 feet deep and it gets to 12 feet deep. It's a good pool for real swimmers. There's something called the Lazy River which is kind of like a river that circles all of the pools. You go around in intertubes. The water is 3 feet deep there. My favorite part of the Kirkwood Pool is the waterslides, (of course!) They start from about 30 feet high and spiral all the way down to the bottom into a 3 water-zone. There are two water slides. One is white and is just like a normal slide. You can look over all the swimming pools as you go down. The other is a green slide. It's covered and has the fastest, coldest, rushing water in Kirkwood Pool. It's pitch black inside and goes really fast. It's my favorite.

There are these two bands that rock on youtube that I love. One is named Karmin, where they do covers of different songs, but their original songs are better. Another is Cimorelli. It's these sisters who also do covers of songs, but the less capable singers sing the melody, so they don't need instruments. I highly recommend watching Cimorelli "Price Tag" by Jessie J. An amazing song with amazing singers... and two little rappers. Hope everyone has a great summer! Ms. Bellie has left the building.

Always Amazed...

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:34:00 +0000

When I was a very young girl, my family was driving to my Mom's hometown of Advance.

My sister and I were in the big, bench, backseat, trying to keep our feet out of each other's faces, looking out the windows at all the rows of crops that seemed to run along the road with you. Rain started coming down. Big huge drops of rain that you knew meant a storm coming. We followed the raindrops as they ran down the glass of the windows.

Out of one of these drops, I saw a cow. A cow out standing in the middle of a field getting pelted by hard, big raindrops. Not far from the cow was a barn. I asked my Mother: "Why doesn't the cow go into the barn to get out of the rain?". Mom answered: "Because it doesn't know any better."

Simple. So, so simple.
Some of the most simple things that we now long for in this day and age of instant everything.

A desk that holds so many thoughts from a man who divided our Country and caused a great War.

A cook stove that could serve hundreds, or a small family.

A fence row that can take boys away from Wii into flying spells.

A girl who searches for so much knowledge.

And a Mom who still really wants the simple things. No matter how hard they might be able to grasp (especially a decent, smiling, photo)!

Sorry!

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:22:00 +0000

After hearing things like:

"When you feed monkeys, they can grow wings and fly!"

"When you feed Parrots, they can come sit on your table and chew! I just made that one up!"

"1st is the Worst, 2nd is the Best, 3rd is the lady with the Treasure Chest! But that doesn't mean it is full! It might be empty!"

"I'm so glad another family goes to 7-11 as much as we do!"

"Where's the comics that show the lil girl throwin up Mama? That was sooo funny!!"

After hearing all of this verbage come out of the mouths of my family, the last thing I really wanted to do was sit down and play Sorry! with them!
Don't get me wrong, I do love playing games with my kiddos, but this time I knew that chaos was going to continue and I wasn't sure if my stomach muscles could handle anymore laughing!

Instead, I started dinner, laughing the whole time and then finally grabbed the video camera!

America's Funniest Home Videos would be proud to get a copy of this!!
Enjoy!

The look on Hubby's face says it all!

Fourth Grade Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:09:00 +0000

The City of Jefferson, Missouri is where I spent today with Ms. Bellie on her Fourth Grade trip to our state Capital.

The excitement of getting on a tour bus with television monitors, all dressed up, and spending a bunch of "free" time with friends was palpable!

Giggling like one of these 4th graders was a blast, but I was certainly not ready for the depth this trip held in store for us!

Our first stop was the Capital Building. I had been here before a longggggg time ago and it was fun to see what memories I had stored away that came back to me.

We were greeted by our own Representative and Senator, and the building itself was very welcoming.

It said "MOM" on all the staircases and landings!

As we walked on our own through part of the museum, the students had time to absorb everything around them before a formal tour began. They experienced uniforms and artifacts, replicas and tools from every different War the United States has been involved in.

I went through my mind of family history. Civil War = check, WWI = check, WW2 = check, Vietnam = check, Korea = check, Ship Builders = check, Clerks = check, All Brances = check. Surprisingly, I knew more about our family than I thought I did. Paying attention, and listening carefully paid off for me today. Telling my daughter who in our family fought in what Wars meant a lot to me. Letting her hear all of this while visually sucking in details made me feel really old, however! And I do have to admit, I will always be partial to Navy Men (I think it might be the uniform)!

The classes worked their way through the House Lounge which houses one of the most amazing murals sculpted and then painted by Thomas Hart Burton.

The History of Missouri is depicted in an extraordinary manner when seen in egg shell paint and family faces.

The students moved on into the Gallery of the House of Representatives. To our surprise, we were able to hear some of the debate on HCS HB 276 233 & 274.

If I thought I felt old while going through our family history, I really felt old listening to this debate: What is the original definition of Free Speech?

Not only have we heard this argument before, but this time I was looking at Ms. Bellie, realizing she has NOT heard this argument before (unless you include "when it is appropriate to use the word toot").

Reality pretty much slapped me across the face at this point! Why? Because:

-my baby girl, who is no longer a baby, who I held in my arms and sobbed as the Towers came down will never know a world without War. And that is normal. The United States has been at War the whole of my boy's lives.

-no matter when I think about War, there is always an association with it.

-arguments are still had about who can serve in a war.

-arguments are still had concerning who is able to protest a war and how.

And the biggest kicker was this:

The Senate wall states "Nothing is Politically Right that is Morally Wrong" and I started wondering why then, the above bill was being debated.

Maybe if some of the engraved sayings and rules were being followed we wouldn't have a debate over children reading these books sitting out on the Governor's Library Desk:

And then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't have to worry about children acting like this without something bad happening...

And then one day, maybe, just maybe, when I am really, really old, children can look up at this and have their own impression about how beautiful the world could be without war...

Until then, I have resolved that the history of our families and our heritage start becoming more forefront in my children's minds. Maybe, just maybe, they will be smarter than the rest of us about history repeating itself.

Hmmmmm...

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 02:12:00 +0000

Something I noticed last night! I was looking at Mr. Stinky and kept thinking he reminded me of someone.
Interesting!

In like a lion

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:45:00 +0000

The transition into Spring always seems to find me searching for something that I can't ever put my hands on until the end of the month.

Schedules

Weather

Growing = plants, attitudes, children

Souls = where they want to go, and where they want to stay, and how to get them there

Home = what needs to be done, and what needs to be changed

Winter is almost over and a whole new season starts to begin. Leo is roaring quite loudly.

And I hear it loud and clear.

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Today I had diamonds show up at my house

A multitude of them in fascinating shapes and sizes.
Each one holding so much promise and reflection...
tracks from our friendly racoon

views from above:

and views from the inside:

Today has been a day where you think you know where you are going, but then you get thrown off guard.
I'll take it though, because each part of every day, has a part of my heart that will speak to me forever. Great storms can do that to a person. Especially whirlwinds and so called blizzards.

Ice, the News, and Snow

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:13:00 +0000

Ice = hate.
Hate is a word I do not let my children use.
Ice, well, that is one we are allowed to hate, be scared of, not ignore, and not think fondly of, shall we say.

The News in St. Louis today did a good job of putting us all in a panic. Schools, shopping malls, banks, restaurants; all closed. The mantra for the day "Stay off the roads" "Ice is here" "10in of snow coming!"
"Snowocalypse, Iceamgedden Iceapoolosa, and Snowmagedden" is how this event played out on Facebook. All events that stated we should join!

Well we did. We stayed home (well some of us anyway). One and a half inches of sleet later, we are informed there will be No Snow.
Really, No Snow? They were comparing this to the snow of 1982 when I was 10 years old and we built snow forts out of banks that were 8 feet high. No snow.

Should the media and superintendents be turned into LaughingStocks?
   -maybe
   -maybe not

Would I have been able to give a better forecast?
   -maybe
   -maybe not

Would I be shocked if the forecast media went the way of Vanilla?
   -maybe
   -maybe not

But it was nice today that we were able to let go of our responsibilities and do what we wanted to do. If nothing else, just get caught up on everything. Tomorrow, we will be able to finish what was started today. And once again, the kiddo's rhythm will be completely thrown off. Due to playing Wii:
   -maybe
   -maybe not

Sometimes, no matter what, it just seems right that we are all able to take a day off. Well, most of us anyway.
Top down days ARE coming!! We don't need media for that!!

Wow Friday again?!?

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:05:00 +0000

In 1.5 hours it will be Friday again. The time can go so fast!!
This week we danced, slept, danced, ~~fought over~~ played Wii, laughed, had parent/teacher conferences and made Aliens.

We also relished in the fact that the temperature has gone up, just a tiny bit, but enough to make a difference in feeling the sun on your face or not. The sun on our faces always makes us smile.

We also looked at the calendar and realized:

ADT is almost finished. It has been a remarkable journey, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to participate! More to come on this in the coming week! Dress rehearsal tomorrow, and then shows on Saturday and Sunday.

The boys are doing extremely well at school. Their teachers just adore them! I just wish their teachers could see them at home. Their report cards would be a lot different!

I have to start planning for all the coming spring events! Mr. Stinky wants to play soccer again and Mr. Mischief wants to play t-ball. Oh, and Ms. Bellie wants to try out for Muny. Which also makes me realize that I need to hire a driver, because there is no way I can make it to all of these events alone!!

All in all, what has seemed like a long week, once again went by in the blink of an eye. It was nice to soak up our fun and accomplishments and help out some people throughout our journey!

Have a great weekend!

A Real Fish Story

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Let me just say, I don't like to lie to my children. I really don't. But last night, a lie had to "made", it hasn't been "told" yet and hopefully by the time Mr. Stinky is able to read, he won't want to read this blog to read about it!

Last night was fish bowl cleaning night. We had put it off for too long and the time had come.

Mr. Stinky's fish is a beautiful red Betta with blue that veins through its fins. Volcano is very active and loves when the kiddos come up to the fish bowl so that he can show off his "mane" that bettas have.

Rocky-Dino-Rocky was Mr. Stinky's first fish that was given to him on his 4th birthday. RDR lived a happy life and passed away right after Mr. Stinky's 5th birthday. RDR's death was extremely hard on him. We explained that everything living, eventually dies. It is the life cycle, and it is okay to be upset and sad. For RDR's passing we gave Mr. Stinky two options: bury RDR or flush RDR. When he heard the word "flush" he became hysterical. He did not want his beloved fish flushed down the toilet!

Twenty minutes later we had constructed a small tombstone out of popsicle sticks and stood in the garden for RDR's funeral. By this time, all three kiddos were crying and extremely sad. That afternoon we went and picked out Volcano.

After cleaning Volcano's bowl last night and placing him back in his rightful place I hear my husband very quietly call my name to come upstairs. When I reached the landing, he said "Get in here!". I walked to into our bedroom to see Volcano in a plastic cup, motionless at the bottom. Through my gasps I decided that very minute I was going to go out and buy a new fish to replace him. I could not bear to go through the hysterics and turmoil again about the death of fish. After all, the ground here is frozen solid so a funeral would be out of the question.

I drove as quickly as possible to the nearest pet store, grabbed a worker and screamed "Help ME! I need a replacement fish right now!". Luckily the nice gal did not think I had lost my mind, but was very disappointed that they did not have a Betta that looked like Volcano. Immediately, we decided that if Mr. Stinky noticed that the blue on this new Betta wasn't there, we could say that it was only dirt to begin with and it washed off when we cleaned the water!

With the new fish on the seat warmer next to me, I drove home as fast as possible. When I entered the back door, Ms. Bellie caught me to come upstairs. I figured out she knew, and asked her to please NOT tell her brothers what we were doing! You will not believe what she had to say:

"Volcano is ALIVE!" What? How could the fish that I just saw sunk in the bottom of a cup that was certainly dead and not breathing come back to life?? We're not sure how it happened but it did!! There he was swimming around like nothing had ever happened!! Such relief was on all our faces with big smiles because no lies would have to be told!!

So now I'm trying to figure out how to explain that we have TWO fish and what the new fish is going to go in!?! My brain was tired from the event so I thought I would think it over while I ate my supper.

After supper, I thought it best to go back up and check on Volcano. Sure enough he was doing just fine!! Hallelujah! A miracle happened at our house!!

Not fifteen minutes later, I went up to start the shower. Volcano was once again at the bottom. Not moving, not breathing, looking more dead than a fish should look. With huge disappointment we took a minute to gather ourselves. The minute dwindled to seconds as we hear little feet starting up the stairs towards us. With a swift motion we scooped Volcano out of the bowl, and in a panic, Volcano was removed and the new, beautiful red Volcano with no blue on him whatsoever was placed into the bowl. Whew. It was over.

We started back down the stairs when Mr. Mischief asked "did you just go potty, I heard the toilet flush?".

And so, I have a feeling that this little lie might haunt me forever!

This Moment = Down Time

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:33:00 +0000

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Sponsored by SouleMama

with hours of dancing ahead, this is how she spends her downtime. Love it.

Getting Ready for a snow day!

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:43:00 +0000

Whatever a snow day does include is this:
hot chocolate
chicken noodle soup
and prayers for those on the road!

Hot chocolate = 2 cups hot milk (microwave milk at 2:30) then add
1 tbsp hot choc. mix, stir until dissolved then add
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels, stir until melted
+ 1/4 cup marshmallows
and serve!

peace and happy sledding!

Growth Spurt

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:01:00 +0000

You know how sometimes you turn around and look at your children, or your friends children, or your grandchildren and say "When did you get so big?"? Well, not only have I asked that of my children, I've asked that of myself. During the past two months, I have had a huge "growth spurt" in spirit, knowledge, wisdom, and unfortunately, pant size too (but that's not what I want to talk about!).

During the past two months I have realized:

My daughter is no longer a little girl. She is dancing-her-toes-off tween. She is no longer a huge fan of "Disney" singers. She has stretched out to music that can only be digested by tweens (and their mothers, hey it tends to grow on you) and also some really cool country music. I'm having fun finding out what can be tolerated by both of us, and she is so good about finding the middle ground. She has also found her passion, dancing. Morning, noon, and night the child dances and LOVES it!

My boys want to be BIG and sweet and kind. And they want to behave, even though at times they still don't! They have shown their hearts to all the people they care about, and at times, can manipulate that love to get them what they want! They are both such smart boys, and I realize that there really aren't any babies in this house anymore.

Children sometimes have to be parents/caregivers. The past two days, I have a tummy bug, and my kiddos have gone out of their way to make sure I was taken care of. The "are you feeling better Mom?" has been asked again and again. This is a hard lesson for all of us, but it is true.

But most importantly, I have realized with all of these growth spurts, the most important thing to do is pay attention. Because the most important wisdom I have been given over the past two months, is that you never get your time back. And I would hate not to remember all that is going on with us now.

Rep-re-sent

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 02:55:00 +0000

Represent
1. to present to the mind
2. to present a likeness of
3. to describe
4. to stand for; symbolize
5. to be the equivalent of
6. to act
7. to act in place of, esp. by conferred authority
8. to serve as a specimen, example of, etc.

1. This Sunday, I "represented". I was present to the mind that it is the first Sunday of Advent. I "presented" my children with gifts of Christmas stuffed animals that were given to me as a child and that I will always hold special in my heart. Each Advent I present these animals to my children to take care of so that each Advent season, they are able to love them all over again.
2. To present a likeness to God is not always easy when raising three children, who on occasion, can test my patience and my emotions. Advent always reminds me to present more of a likeness to God, but also to present a likeness to a mom with extreme patience, maybe June Cleaver!
3. To describe what Advent is to my children is always a wonder to me. I don't know how we do it, but we do. We explain the stories of the Bible and pray that they get something out of it. So far, it has seemed to work, but I honestly don't know how!
4. Our family stands for Christianity. We symbolize it in the placing of the Advent Calendar, the Wreathes, the Christmas Tree, the finger puppets, the Ornaments that represent all of Jesus' sacrifices and strongholds. The symbols that show we are a family in and amongst ourselves, and also a family in God's world.
5. We try to be equivalent of all of the families that have gone before us by sacrificing, arguing, bickering, and celebrating our love for each other. There is no greater love than what we hold dearest to our hearts, and that of each other.
6. My husband and I always try to teach ourselves and our children to act as children of God: We must respect each other no matter what the differences, and we must love each other at all costs. This can sometimes teach hard lessons for each of us, but that is what we choose. This seems to be the hardest lesson of all for us to stomach, but we do so knowing forgiveness is our salvation.
7. Conferred authority has allowed me to set up a Care Calendar for a dear friend fighting Breast Cancer, allowed me to set up a prayer group for under-estimated wives, and has sent great strength to those who need healing.
8. I try to live my life to the best of my ability. I serve not to be recognized, but to set an example for those who come after me; my children. I have always been taught to take what you see, throw out what doesn't seem right and emulate the rest. When children are raised to do what they see, they will do it.
I'm not perfect.
But I try as hard as I can to strive for perfection for my family.
I know I will succeed because they will have their our thoughts and morals that will be different than mine. Being raised in a family with strong beliefs, we all try to represent each other to the best of our abilities.
I wish all of you a blessed Advent season as we re-learn, again, what we should make important to our lives.

I'm Free!

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:32:00 +0000

It is with great pleasure that I announce my first ever guest blogger! Miss Bellie has great experience and wisdom to share from her 10 years on this Earth, and this little Lady always has my heart. She is my biggest fan and I hers. I asked her to join me this evening so that we can all remember what is important in life from a very simple perspective.

Hey, it's me, Miss Bellie.
I am here to tell you that no matter what you have you should be thankful for it.
I, personally am thankful for my family and house. I am most thankful for the feeling of riding a horse in the woods. So quiet and peaceful. It really gives me time to think. I think of all the problems I deal with and solve them. The faint, calm tweeting of birds releases all the stress from my body.
As it gets closer to December, the cold, and more time with family, I count all my blessings, but I leave room for more. Because once christmas comes around, OH BOY! You have no idea how excited I am. Thank you for letting me talk to you.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Miss Bellie:)

We can all leave room for more blessings in our life! Especially when our time together will increase!
I love you dear girl! Thank you for sharing with us!!

Just this little ol' blog of mine

noreply@blogger.com (giveitawhirl3) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:30:00 +0000

To be honest with all of you, I didn't really realize that this little ol' blog of mine would be missed as much as it has been! I know there are readers, but I didn't realize there were enough to ask me where I have been! So, I'm back! And very excited about some of the changes that will take place here! I feel very humbled and loved! Thank you!!!

There are so many reasons why I haven't been sharing our "going ons" around here. But each reason has taught me to process, reflect, and pray, and then make sure my words are sound and secure and can be shared with everyone.

I hope all you will enjoy the subtle changes that you will see. I try to do things simply, and I hope my space here will reflect that!