Summer Days

How has everyone's summer been going so far? Well I hope. Does the heat and humidity bother anyone else. I just feel like I'm dragging when I'm out in the heat. We were out of town this past weekend for my nephew's graduation party. I slept on a very hard mattress. My neck, back and shoulders are extremely tight. I also haven't been sleeping well. I'm not sure why. I treated myself to a massage with some birthday money I received. It's so expensive, but it always makes me feel a little bit better. My insurance will only pay for massage if it's an acute condition. I have been in a flare for about five days. When I'm in the middle of one I feel like it will never end. I have to make it a point to remind my self that "this too shall pass" I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and rearrange my priorities and to do list. All of a sudden certain things don't seem as important.

My son started basketball camp this week, so that has helped keep him occupied and allowed me to rest a little. My daughter is now a teenager as of this month. I can't believe it. She is pretty self reliable. I wish I could do more for them. I'm sure all mothers feel this way at times. I have to remind myself as long as I give them what I'm able ,while taking care of their mother at the same time, will be enough. God will make up for the rest.

Have You ever felt just Plain Agitated By Life In General?

Tomorrow is my kids last day of school. My last day at work (I'm a preschool teacher) was two weeks ago. I was looking forward to lazy, warm days with no agenda and no troubles. Who am I kidding? Why would I think life would be perfect just because it's warm outside and I'm not working?



I have a few things I'm trying to take care of and they are not working out as smoothly as I planned. Nothing earth shattering. Just day to day living. My son fell and hurt himself last week playing basketball at school. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion. He started vomiting later on that night so I took him to the ER. They did a cat scan. Everything looked o.k concussion wise, but they found something they weren't expecting to find. It's called an arachnoid cyst. Most likely he was born with it. He has never had any symptoms. If he continues to have no symptoms nothing will be done. If he does develop symptoms they'll have to drain it. He has to have an MRI done and an appointment with a neurosurgeon. I am about ready to pull my hair out just trying to schedule the MRI. He has to have sedation because I can't see him sitting perfectly still for forty- five minutes. It's hard to get one of these appointments and the test is conflicting with summer camp. I am trying to reschedule without having to wait too long. I'm sure part of my aggravation is nerves. I don't want to admit that. I'm hoping and praying he will never have symptoms. I am reminding myself that this is not terminal. God is in charge, not me. He will take me where I need to go.

Easter blessings

I went back home for Easter and visited my dad, sister, and stepmother. My dad is getting ready to retire and move into a much smaller home. They are trying to downsize as much as they can. They had a basement full of stuff that did not sell at the garage sale. I had great fun looking through the things they collected through the years. I even found some treasures to call my own. I think it's great fun turning someone else's cast offs into something new and useful or beautiful. My husband was quite thrilled that I came home with a van full of "new" stuff! My dad also gave me some old photos to go through and keep. Some of them were of me and my sister as children, my grandma as a little girl, my great grandparents, etc. I enjoyed sharing our heritage with my kids. Our last morning there my dad made them a breakfast called "Fit For A King" The kids had fun trying to guess what it was. My dad said his mom use to make it for him. it was a cinnamon dish constructed like a log cabin.

My ten year old son got to spend lots of quality one on one time with his grandpa playing basketball, throwing the football around, and reading stories that he had written. My daughter spent time with him too and also took great delight in playing with their cat. She said that she liked the fact that he had "attitude"! I had a surprise when I got home. My husband had stayed home for part of the weekend and painted the living room. I had picked out the paint awhile ago but we never got around to painting. It's a beautiful golden color. I love it! I'm so glad i got to relax with my family. It was just what I needed!

RELAXING ON THE BEACH!

I know it's been way to long since I posted last. There's been many things going on. My family and I got home from vacation on August 30th. We were able to take a late vacation because the kids didn't have to start school until September 3rd. The only thing I didn't like about vacationing late was that as soon as we came home we had to get ready for school. There was know time to settle into being home again. I am not complaining though. We had a lovely vacation.

We went to Holland Michigan for the first time. My husband had been there before on business and said it was very pretty on Lake Michigan. There were sand dunes and lots of waves and a lighthouse. It was almost like being on the ocean. It was sooooo relaxing. Basically our biggest decisions were whether to eat potato chips or pretzels with lunch. Should we leave for the beach

at 9 or 10. Such decisions! I read for hours with my feet in the sand. The water was too cold to swim but the kids managed to brave the icy water. We rented an apartment above someone's beach house. Our room was surrounded by windows overlooking the lake. The kids shared the other bedroom. The apartment was smaller than expected but I actually liked it that way. We had no choice but to interact with our family. It was so nice. I'm trying to figure out how to bring back a little bit of the beach to our home. Now it's back to reality!!

The Simple Things

Sometimes it's a good idea to remember the simple things in life. Those little things that are so important to us , but we tend to forget. Especially when we have a limited amount of energy to spend on activities. Sometimes just a smile from a stranger or a dandelion given to us by our child can mean the world to us. Here are some of the simple things that I am grateful for:

1. Scrapbooking

2. Hugs

3. Holding hands with a loved one

4. Listening to music that inspires us.

5. Writing in a journal

6. Writing on a blog

7. Eating a really good piece of cake

8. Praying with someone

9. Laughing with our children

10.Looking at the stars

What are some of the things you like to do? Please let me know.

I Am Enough For God

I came across this song last week for the first time. I am familiar with the David Crowder band and have some of their cd's, but had never heard of this song. I was pretty much in bed for most of the week. My kids are in school still because of a strike. I was actually grateful for that this week. I was feeling like I didn't have much to offer this week, to God or anyone else.
These words reminded me that God will take whatever we have available at the moment. He knows that we are still giving our all, even when that "all" doesn't seem like much. He still enjoys us when we are in His presence. The song is on my playlist at the bottom of the blog. Just click on it. Remember: You are enough for God!

Artist: David Crowder
Lord I'm tired So tired from walking And Lord I'm so alone And Lord the dark Is creeping in Creeping up To swallow me I think I'll stop Rest here a while Chorus: And this is all that I can say right now And this is all that I can give And this is all that I can say right now And this is all that I can give, thats my everything And didn't You see me cry'n? And didn't You hear me call Your name? Wasn't it You I gave my heart to? I wish You'd remember Where you sat it down Chorus: And this is all that I can say right now, i know its not much. But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything. This is all that I can say right now [right now], i know its not much. But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything. Bridge: I didn't notice You were standing here I didn't know that That was You holding me I didn't notice You were cry'n too I didn't know that That was You washing my feet And this is all that I can say right now, oh i know its not much. But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything. This is all that I can say right now [right now], i know its not much. But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything. And this is all that I can say right now, oh i know its not much. But this is all that I can give, yeah thats my everything. yeah thats my everything [2x] everything........

Summer Activities

Hello everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have not been feeling well. I thought with school being out moms could use some tips on how to keep kids occupied with fun activities. I know this is hard when our energy is limited and we face physical limitations as well. I found some helpful tips on summer activities that can be found at http://www.fromonemomtoanother.com/. I hope you can use some of them.

Blessings,
Tanya