Archive for Gratituesday
The Gift of Spring
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I know spring is coming. It can’t be far away, after all this is March. Surely the groundhog’s shadow is only good for a few more days (weeks?)
This winter has been the snowiest on record for this area since 1978. (I looked out the window while I was typing this and it’s snowing…again!) That was the year that students went to school one day after Christmas then missed the rest of January due to snow. My boys haven’t missed that much, but they have missed enough that it’s going to be late in the year before they get out for summer vacation.
I know I am not the only one yearning for spring. I hear it in the voices of my Facebook friends, especially those who have been cooped up in the house with little children all winter. Believe me, I remember what that is like. It seems like the weather will never be warm enough to let them outside to play. It feels like there always be snow on the ground. That someone will always have the sniffles, a fever, or an upset stomach.
And then one day the snow melts. The sun shines. The daffodils bloom. You notice the tiny leaves have begun to appear on the willow tree. The grass turns green and begins to need mowing. Winter is finally over and another spring has begun.
Everything is colorful and seems to be growing right before your very eyes.
Even kids.
I grow kids...not flowers!
Especially kids!
Blessings from Above
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Today I am having shooting stars of random thoughts pinging around in my head. On Tuesdays I talk about something I am thankful for but today I just can’t seem to limit it to one thing, so I made a list of Things I am Grateful For. Here it is….
1. Yesterday I heard something dripping in the bathroom. I was fairly certain I had turned the shower off so I got up and went to investigate. Water was leaking from the ceiling! The drywall was ruined and there was water all over the floor. At first I was upset, then I realized how many folks in Haiti (and other places) don’t even have a roof over their heads. I am grateful for my roof…even when it leaks.
2. Yesterday was sort of a day of small disasters. The next thing that happened was I had my digital camera in the pocket of my hoodie because I always keep it with me. I got out of the car and the camera fell into a huge puddle of water. Yes, I was annoyed but truthfully it wasn’t that great of a camera and I had been thinking about getting another one. On a scale of one to ten dumping a camera in a puddle is only about a two if kept in perspective. Remember the phrase, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” There are just too many other problems in the world to focus on minor inconveniences like a camera in a puddle. I’m thankful for technology that allows me to do what I love, even if I am accident prone.
3. We still have snow on the ground and I have been in hibernation mode now since Christmas. I keep a stack of books by my bed and I have been devouring one book after another. I’m thankful for my friend, Patty, who sends me books after she reads them. I’m thankful for my new Kindle that my sweet husband gave me for Christmas, so if Patty hasn’t sent me a shipment I can download something to read. My latest favorite book (Patty gave me this one) was The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb.
4. And finally I am thankful for yesterday’s BIG, BIG news. To be a part of a magazine like GRAND is a dream come true!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Happy Tuesday to you. What are you thankful for today?
Giving Thanks for Those Who Care for Others
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Every Tuesday is Gratituesday here at NanaHood so you are probably familiar with the above icon. Hopefully you have visited my friend Laura at Heavenly Homemakers. If you haven’t, I recommend you do so. She is one busy lady and I love reading about her life and her boys.
Recently she had a story on about her grandmother and I asked her permission to share it with you.
My Nana is 83 years old, but she acts like she’s 63. (I totally hope I have her genes!) She can still get down on the floor and play with her great-grandkids, she goes out to lunch with her friends, she goes shopping…she’s so much fun!
Laura and her family with her grandmother in 2008
Lately, something really cool has been happening between my Nana and me.
Email.
She lives in Arkansas, so we only see each other at family reunions every other year or so. Lately, we’ve been emailing back and forth. They are such treasured emails. I’ve been loving it! She writes of memories of me when I was born and she came to help my mom…she tells me sweet things I said to her when I was a little girl…she encourages me as I parent my boys.
It has been the neatest thing. I plan to save these emails from her in a folder because they are so wonderful to read.
One of Nana’s favorite words is “precious”. Nana has told me hundreds of times how precious I am and how precious Matt is and how precious my boys are. And my nana is precious too.
For years she has taken care of her handicapped brother, who is a few years younger than she is.
I’m so thankful for my precious Nana.
Laura
Laura’s story about her grandmother and the fact that she’s cared for a handicapped brother made me think of my grandmother, Grandma Layne. Some of my earliest memories of my grandmother involve watching her care for her invalid mother-in-law. Ma, as we called her. Ma was unable to walk or even stand. My grandmother cared for her for many years. Looking back I know that as a child I didn’t understand or appreciate the amount of work, love and patience it took. I know it had to be physicallyand mentally exhausting, but I don’t remember my grandmother ever complaining.
And so today I’m giving thanks for those who care for the sick, the handicapped, the less fortunate. God bless you and keep you strong!
Giving Thanks for Those Who Help Others
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Just this past Sunday our minister gave a very visual and appropriate analogy about good intentions. He said that he would like to lose some weight (and so would I) but that just “thinking” about losing weight isn’t going to get the job done. If he really wants to lose weight he is going to have to follow those good intentions up with some action. I thought about that yesterday when my daughter mentioned she had plans to go work out later in the afternoon. “Wish me luck, Mom,” she said. “I’ve been riding around with my work out clothes in the back seat for a week and so far I haven’t made it to the gym!”
How well I know the feeling. I want to do better. I want to lose weight, but do I want to bad enough to really do something about it?
The same principles apply to helping others. I hate watching commercials on television that show children who are hungry and suffering, but do I hate it enough to do something about it?
Yesterday I announced that January would be “Less of Me Month” at NanaHood. Every day this month I’m going to post an article that spotlights ways to reach out to others. And today I’m giving thanks for all my readers who know that changing the world starts with changing ourselves and learning to think a little more of others and a little less of me.
Today’s story….
Bone Marrow Registry – How to Become a Donor
by Rachel Paxton – http://www.christian-parent.com
It used to be if you wanted to become a bone marrow donor, you had to have a surgical procedure done to remove the bone marrow for the recipient.
Not anymore! More than 90% of donations today are done through the blood system. No surgery, and no pain.
To become a possible bone marrow donor, all you have to do is go to the Be the Match Registry (http://www.marrow.org). Fill out the registration form, and they will send you a cheek swab kit in the mail. After they receive your kit back they will put your name on the registry if you are determined to be a good candidate.
A bone marrow match is much more complex than a regular blood donor match. The tissues have to match exactly, which means that you only have an approximately 1 in 4,000 chance of actually becoming a donor.
Joining this registry will help someone who is in need of a bone marrow transplant. It could save their life. My brother-in-law donated his bone marrow to a 2-yr-old boy, and the transplant saved the boy’s life. The boy is now 8 years old.
This subject is near and dear to my heart…my mother passed away last year from complications resulting from leukemia. Her illness showed me how important it is for people to take the time to share their blood, platelets, and bone marrow with others. If can make the difference between life and death.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of five. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and more, visit http://www.Christian-Parent.com
The Power to Believe
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Saturday night we had a surprise birthday party for our twins, Grant and Russell. It was their 18th birthday and we wanted to make it special.
It was a great party and so today I’m giving thanks (again) for the twins. (Blessing number one)They were my best Christmas present ever!
In order to surprise them my brother and sister-in-law volunteered to have the party at their house. What a wonderful blessing to have loving family nearby!(Blessing number two)
My daughter took helium filled balloons to decorate with and after the party Abby, who is four, decided she wanted to tie the balloons to her to see if she would float up in the air.
My wonderful sister-in-law attaching balloons to Abby
After the balloons were attached then she climbed the stairs and tried to fly! Of course we were close by just in case she decided to try jumping off something.
Reaching for the sky (or the moose head)
When lift off failed she told Uncle Gabe he could take them outside and set them free.
I didn't really mean it!
After they were in the air she decided she wanted them back. Uncle Gabe felt bad but what’s done is done!
Watching Abby try to fly made me think about the power to believe. (Blessing number three) We all have it, but as we grow older so does the power to doubt.
Remember these verses from Mark chapter 9? A man was asking Jesus to help his son and he said, 22 The evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can.”
Jesus replied, 23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly replied, “I do believe, but help me not to doubt!”
And so today I give thanks for many things but especially the power to believe, knowing that fear and doubt are human traits that can be conquered through study of God’s word and prayer.
Increase my faith, dear Lord. Help me to be as trusting as a child…your child. Amen
Christmas memories
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The gravel road to my grandfather’s house always seemed longer on Christmas Eve, probably because of my excitement. I couldn’t wait to get there. The huge, old house would be filled with relatives, good food and presents. My cousins and I were seated at the children’s table in the kitchen, while the adults ate in the dining room. I remember looking into the dining room and wishing I was old enough to sit there and share their secrets. I suppose every little girl is in a hurry to grow up and cross the divide from childhood into the mysterious land of the grown ups, and I was no different.
One of our family traditions evolved around bird hunting. The men would begin hunting quail around Thanksgiving and then we would have enough by Christmas for my aunt to fry a huge platter for our meal. Besides the fact that we had quail for dinner the only other thing I remember about the food was that it took way too long for the adults to eat. We were finished in five to ten minutes.
The tree was in the living room and when everyone was finally finished eating and we all crowded in there the room seemed much smaller. One year Santa made a surprise visit. My cousin Martha and I had our pictures made with him and for years I based my belief in Santa on those pictures. It wasn’t until I was in about 4th or 5th grade that I realized the Santa in the picture was wearing glasses just like my grandfathers!
Several of the people who sat at the adult table during my childhood are no longer with us. My grandfather died in 1980, just weeks before Bill and I married. My mother died in 1990 and my father in 1995. My Uncle Johnny died within the last two years. My cousins are grown with families of their own and we no longer gather at my grandfather’s house (even though my aunt and uncle still live there). Nothing stays the same forever and while I can’t go back in time, I can and do hold cherish those memories.
This week I met and made an online friend from Canada who also loves Christmas and has her own blog about it. I asked her to tell my readers about her blog and her post follows mine. Today is Gratituesday and before I go I want to give a special thanks to my Aunt Mary Alice and Uncle Lee for their part in making my childhood Christmas’s so magical. And I would like to ask my readers to post a comment and share one of their favorite holiday memories. Blessings to each of you and load those cameras! Fill your photo albums full of special moments!
“Oh No! I Thought I Had Another Week!”
I live in a small cottage in the middle of a forest, in northern Ontario. It’s a lovely place, very quiet and serene. In winter, blue jays come to raid the suet block I put out for them and fight the inevitable squirrel for sunflower seeds. In the summer, I am entertained by Roger Moore, son of Dennis Moore The Lupin Bandit; a groundhog (similar to a woodchuck) who lives in the bank that shelters my cottage from the country highway. Unlike his father, Roger leaves my lupins alone, for which I am grateful.
It might sound like a lonely life to some, but it’s very rich, enlivened by frequent visits from my grandchildren. It’s true, I don’t get out much – I’m wheelchair-disabled. I created my own job online to support myself. I love my work passionately, but especially at this time of year, I really miss my mother, sister and brother-in-law, and mother-in-law and her wonderful husband, who live too far away to visit. I usually compensate for it by being a workaholic, and not realizing it’s Christmas Eve until the day before. My most constant refrain, the last few years, has been: “Oh no! I thought I had another week!”
Not this year! In October, I found myself missing quiet evenings doing crafts with my mom and sister so much, I decided to create a Christmas blog. I figured we could share our Christmas crafting experiences, recipes and memories virtually. I secretly plan to read every post on my Christmas blog come Christmas morning, so I’ll feel like I’m at a big Christmas party with everybody.
ChristmasNorth.com has become a very joyous and grounding experience, keeping me in the “now”, well aware of the minutes ticking away before Christmas, and how they relate to the “big day”. I’m still too busy to breathe with my sales copywriting business, but taking that forty minutes off to write a post, or upload a guest post, has become something I really look forward to, every day. It’s time for me – and the people I care about. And one of the most wonderful parts has been the people I meet or have reconnected with, guest posting on the pages of my Christmas blog.
And it’s been great fun doing Christmas crafts with my grandchildren. We’re actually in good shape for Christmas, this year!
So if you have time to write a short guest post for ChristmasNorth.com, I would love to meet you – and share some Christmas memories, recipes or crafting tips.
“Marya Miller is a busy sales copywriter who nevertheless believes in stopping (however briefly) to smell the pine needles. You can catch her relaxing for a few precious moments at her blog, ChristmasNorth.com.”
