Ingenious Anjella

This is Anjella.
She has 8 kids.
She's ingenious.

Her kids have mealtime aprons.
Personalized mealtime aprons.
7 of her 8 kids are boys
and bibs just weren't cutting it.

Isn't that the smartest thing you've ever heard?

I think I need one of these for my hubby.
He's always staining his clothes.

You Made Me Love You

Tears are sometimes the only appropriate way to communicate what we feel.

Tears for little girls that grow up.
Tears for the privilege of being their mom.
Tears for perfect lyrics.
Tears for the clock that ticks too fast.

Crazy Caroline

We have been having challenges with Caroline.

Since the day she was born.

What a crazy kid.

We have nicknamed her Crazy Caroline.

We have Adorable Abigail.

Sweet Sophia.

Beautiful Bella.

and

Crazy Caroline.

Maybe we should say

Crazy Cute Caroline

so that she won't grow up with 

black sheep syndrome.

Anyway,

our most recent challenge

has been that Caroline

learned how to open doors.

She is always trying to make an escape.

Can't say that I blame her.

Well, as you all know

at our new rental home

one of the conditions of the lease

is that our pets are outdoor pets.

It has been nice not having the dog

under foot.

She loves her cozy house in the garage

where she can go outside

as she pleases.

Imagine my surprise when

I got out of the shower the other day

and found this.

At least she wasn't out in the street

barefoot.

Not the dog, silly.

Caroline.

She sure does make for some great blog material.

Hankerin for The Hunger

Hey book club.

You are all invited to Utah to see the midnight premiere with me.

Who needs Twilight?

My monster's attitude of gratitude

I meant to post this picture for Halloween.

Oops.

Sophia made some pretty cool art pieces

with her birthday clay.

In an upcoming post I will show you

Caroline torturing the poor things.

One tooth at a time.

This morning I found a worksheet 

Sophia brought home from school.

I thought it was poignant

into the mind of a child that is truly grateful.

T eachers

H appiness

A merica

N ets

K indness

S ophia

G reatness

 I nternet

V acations

I ce Cream

N iceness

G randparents

I think I am grateful for all the same things, but I most enjoyed her insight into "nets". 

What would we do without nets?

I've been posting daily on facebook things I am grateful for. I thought you may like to hear.

I have adopted an attitude of gratitude in my life in the past few years

and it has changed my very nature. 

I have so much more joy than I used to when I thought so negatively all the time.

Count your blessing. Every day this month tell us something you are thankful for. Big or small. Day 1 - I am thankful that I am not diabetic. I am pretty sure I would be dead sometime in the last 24 hours.

Day 2 of gratitude (Did I start this? because if I did that's cool) I am grateful that I understand that when I love myself AND others at equal levels I am happiest

3: I am grateful for all my ladies (whichever state or religion they belong to). Laughing with the ladies last night at church was the highlight of my birthday.

Day 4: Today I am grateful for prayer. God is always there for me and He really does speak when we learn to listen.

Day 5 (belated) I am grateful that families can be together forever.

Day 6 (belated) I am grateful for amazing parents who although flawed are amazing examples of Christ-like love and devotion.

Day 7 (belated) I am grateful for a body that although flawed can work and serve. I am grateful for a sister with whom I can ALWAYS laugh. Love you Renee Wills Rymer. I am grateful that God got me home throw the snow-storm last night and that I had full confidence that he would protect me with a voice of warning.

Day 8: I am grateful for the great minds who put words on a page that touch my heart and mind. Books are quite possibly my best friends.

Day 9: I am thankful that I have been blessed with such a strong love for my husband and that I have the assurance that he loves me too because today I really need that. ROFL When are we ever going to get the honeymoon phase?

Day 10: I am grateful for the privilege of being a mother. My daughters amaze me every day. They are growing so fast and are always so beautiful. My daughters are God's way of telling me that I can't be all that bad. Thank you God for entrusting them to me and letting me watch them become amazing young ladies.

Day 11: I am grateful for a toddler who will watch TV. Even if this makes me a bad mom (especially for admitting it publicly) I get some much needed scripture/prayer/meditation time in the mornings when she watches TV.

Day 12: I'm thankful for old photo albums and great memories. Man, we thought our lives were hard when we had three kids under 4; those were good old days...I need to remember that on the hard days now.

Day 12: (I guess this is really a second entry for yesterday since today is Day 13. What can I say? Sundays make me extra grateful. :)Today I am grateful that my husband and I have made such great progress...we can actually go over the budget and still be speaking. It only took 14+ years for us to finally meet in the middle. Now, he spends the money and I tell him not to.

Day 13: Today we had a lesson at church about The Millennium. We discussed how the ones who won't be destroyed by fire will be the good people of all faiths and even the good people who were agnostic. Came home to many status updates from friends of all religions who went to church anywhere and everywhere today...so grateful for so many GREAT friends who are indeed GOOD people. Hope to see you all at The Second Coming.

Day 14: I am grateful for sleep, even if I have to take medication to get it. It's so nice to wake up in the morning knowing you were able to rest your mind and body.

We love our Veteran

We were so happy when we got the word

last month

that Uncle Tyler got home

to his base in Italy

safe and sound

from being deployed

We are so grateful for the sacrifices he makes for his countrymen.

We are also grateful for the sacrifices made by his family.

Thank you to all our service people.

You are our nation's greatest assets.

Book Review - The Watsons Go To Birmingham

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I can't believe I never read this book until this year. WOW! Another great recommendation by my local librarian. This book was written by Christopher Paul Curtis, and was nominated for many awards including The Caldecott. It is beyond me why this book didn't win and Bud Not Buddy did. Bud Not Buddy was also a great read, but this book was phenomenal. Phe-nom-e-nal!

The characters are so real and the story so honest that I really truly thought it was a work of non-fiction the whole time I was reading.

The Weird Watsons are loveable. So loveable. So real. So funny. The book has a very light feel to it until the very end when the family of 5 takes a trip to Birmingham, where they come face to face with an ugly part of American history: the racism and hatred in the South during the civil rights movement.

This book was emotional. It was raw. It was funny. It was so real. I felt like I was a fly on the wall to the home of the Watsons and to the soul of each member of the family. They are all absolutely entertaining and it's fun to spy on a family dynamic that is fun.

The end was perfection. Pure perfection with the most unlikely of heroes. I don't want to give away too much, but once again love conquers all.


View all my reviews

Oatmilk

Mommy, I love oatmilk.

This one is too hot.

Blow on my oatmilk Phia.

Just right.

I love you baby bear.

I love you Momma bear.

An Empty Well

I throw quarters in
but there is no splash.
I make my wish
as it clunks at the bottom.

I go elsewhere for water and wishes
because the well is empty.
I start making my wishes
for the well to fill
and keep dropping dimes.

I know someday the well
may be full of money
but then I will buy water
and make my greatest wish true.

Wells were made for wishes and water.