Laughter IS the best medicine

When I was a little girl, I can remember my mom buying the Readers Digest magazines, and reading 'Laughter, the Best Medicine' sections to our family.  We'd laugh so hard that we'd almost, well, sometimes we did pee our pants, ok, it was me, I peed my pants.  She'd also read us a daily helping of my fave Erma Bombeck.  Sometimes I couldn't understand why Erma couldn't wait for her kids to grow up and pay their own bills, but, oh, how I get it now.   As far back as I can remember, laughter  and smiles were an important part of our family life.  During good times and bad, we always watched for the light at the end of the tunnel, we'd find the ray of sunshine, or the cloud with silver lining every time.  Some people call us crazy optimists, I just think we were happy people.  Today, I still am, even in the rough times.   I love to laugh, and cry, I'm just a mess sometimes, but, God has shown that life can be pretty good most days, and ultimately, I'll be in a place so much better than this place ever could be.  Can you imagine how much laughter and smiling we'll see in heaven?!?!  Now, I'll get to the actual point of this post, please forgive my way big A-D-D moment:)
Well, I'm notorious for being out at restaurants, grocery stores and such and listening in on observing other people and how they interact with their families.   Well, last night I happened to be out to eat with my sweet man Mr. Homemaker and noticed a few families surrounding us, and there was not one single smile, not one, on any of the 12 faces sitting around those tables, and on top of that, none of those people laughed the entire time they were sitting.  Now, don't think they were so involved with their meals that they had no time to breath, let alone talk, these families were not lookin too happy.  I may have caught all of them on a bad day, no, I don't think so.  I'm afraid that this is representive of what alot of families are going through today.  Everyone is always in a hurry, going to and fro.  Texting, myspacing , facebooking, emailing, twittering, shopping, going to movies, sporting events, practices, and on and on  I'm afraid what has happened is that with all of this technology, and entertainment, we've lost sight of some important things such as talking, laughing together, crying together, eating dinner at the table together, playing games, taking walks, communicating face to face!  It makes me sad for all of the kids who will grow up and not have memories of time spent with their parents.  And I promise you parents, if you don't make an effort now to spend valuable quality time with your kids, it's only going to get more difficult.  I've failed so many times, however, I know so many more times than not, I have succeeded.  My kids know how much I love them, and they know they can talk to me about anything, and sometimes they do:)  Take time today to get on your knees and ask God to bring joy and peace and desire for time together, to your family.  I know he will honor that prayer. 

I love you all so much, have a wonderful weekend!

rain, rain, I love the rain

picture by accent on eclectic

Right now in Oklahoma it's rainin cats and dogs,  and many families are 'stuck' inside with the kiddos, looking for some way to entertain the little toots.  Here are a few ideas to help you wait out the storm. 

I like to look at times like this as opportunities rather than a curse.  If you'll take the time to be a little creative, you'll find that being in tight spaces with little ones can be the highlight of your week!

Try the following:

• talking
• watching a movie together
• baking brownies
• playing hide and seek- ( my kids got  a real kick out of this, and still do today:)
• coloring pictures
• playing board/card games
• reading a book together
• singing songs
• making up a tale together
• play charades
• make a puzzle together
• take a nap or two
• play dress up
• put on a puppet show
• check out websites for ideas on rainy day activities
• tell stories about your childhood, your kids love to hear about you at their age!

There are hundreds of creative ways to spend time with you children during days like today.  Look at them as a blessing and enjoy, before you know it, those little ones will be out of the nest, and you'd be wishing to be 'stuck' with them again.

Blessings,

My Pop

My daddy is dependable, kind, gentle, a man of his word, strong, wise, a man of God, loving, giving, crazy about my mom, quiet,a precious daddy, a wonderful grandfather, a great hunter and fisherman, smart, creative, a great woodworker,a veteran,and a loyal little brother. My dad means so much me. He's not perfect, but, neither am I:) He's taught me so much, he's prayed for me and my family & future. It's funny how we grow more appreciative of our parents as we age, and we wish we could go back and have alot more time with them.

I'm so sad for those of you who have lost your dad, or you may not have even known him as well as you could have. My prayer for you is that you will discover just how awesome our God is at filling that void- He will be a father to the fatherless-Psalm 68:5- and who better to be there than the creator of your soul, the one who knows you better than any other, and has your best interests at heart. Have a wonderful week this week, and if you fall into the category of 'fatherless'- please allow the master of all- to be your daddy.

a change of plans

Well, tonight I was going to write about eggs, yes, eggs. But I've had a change of plans. For some reason my entire file of egg facts(weird, but, true, I have an egg file:)would not open,and now I know why. It's because I'm supposed to talk about something a little uncomfortable for me. And God has confirmed that I need to put myself out there, not in hopes of looking good, but, rather so HE will be glorified. So, get ready, here I go. I've had quite a few e mails asking that I be sure to post parenting advice on my blog, and at first I laughed, because if you really know me, you know how very proud of my kiddos I am, and how terrible I am at parenting. It's true. I'm great at the loving my kids, and spending time with my kids part, but, not so much with everything else. I can honestly say that the wonderful qualities that our kids have are the result of God's hand, the not so positive things are due to our lack of listening to God. Mr. Homemaker and I laugh often, because we KNOW the mistakes we have made, and our kids have endured. So, I will share some stories of our parenting successes and failures in the future, because I know that God can use those things in your lives, if for no other reason than to show you how much you must rely on God's wisdom when raising your children. At 17 years old, my husband and I graduated from high school and immediately walked down the aisle in an 80's style shotgun wedding, for I was with child. I myself was a child, who had grown up looking forward to the day when I could be a mama. This, however, was not the June Cleaver picture that I had planned for myself. But, we were determined to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. I was going to make sure this sweet innocent baby was well nourished, and extremely loved, and taken care of. My sweet hubby immediately took on two jobs so that we could pay rent, and doctor bills. I worked on nesting. When I look back now, I can't believe it. Have you MET a 17 year old? They can barely take care of their bedroom, much less a baby. This is where I can see God's hand in the life of this little one. This childs life was one of my main concerns. I'd never cared for someone else like this before, and he wasn't even born yet. Through the remainder of this pregnancy, we thought we had prepared for the adventure before us, however, the next 26 years has shown us that you can only prepare so much. Alot of parenting is winging it, going with your gut, sticking to your guns, and hopefully alot of begging, crying, and praying to God for that childs life. I look forward to sharing some of our lessons with you. My hope is that you will learn to let go, and allow God to mold & guide your child through your hands. Although this situation looked hopeless in the beginning. It wasn't, and I wouldn't change a thing. I can honestly say 26 years later that this journey has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. My 3 babies are such a work of art, created by a master who knows them even better than I ever could. They are not perfect, but they were mine for a few short wonderful years, and they have taught me more about God's love than I ever learned anywhere else. Thank God for children, they truly are a blessing straight from Heaven above. More to come.....

pics courtesy of woodleywonderworks/lou & magoo/reintjedevos