Remember this old window we found in the basement?
Well, would you look at it now!!!
I will take you on a full tour of the newly painted dining room later in the week and show you where I got the idea for this (*cough*Pinterest*cough*) Off for a family gathering at the lake today. Must go get in my new temporarily rigged shower!!
Sadly, our beautiful maple tree that is surrounded by our deck, the one we have watched grow from a wee sprite to a towering shade tree, the one we have protected and loved, had to sacrifice one of it’s large limbs this past weekend. Zan did the surgery himself. The tree still looks beautiful, and now it won’t impede the roof to the new addition, but we were still sad to take such a drastic cut.
Mister enjoyed playing with the sawdust:
And he comforted our dear tree after the surgery was over.
Hard to believe this is the same boy who antagonizes his sisters at every opportunity. When Teen Girl saw these photos she said, “Aw!! He looks like a sweet boy in those pictures. Too bad he’s not like that all the time!”
‘Nuff said.
I really love this.
(Found on Etsy here.)
But I can’t help but think it would be a little self serving and a teeny weeny bit untrue if I posted this on my walls. Sure, it may be the family I would want people to see, but it’s not the family that is.
I had best print my own words….if I’m being honest, they would go something like this:
In this family,
We do messy (and Mom hates it.)
We do loud (and Mom hates that too.)
We do mad, angry, and frustrated.
We do yelling and sibling fights.
We do “Mom loses her nut.”
We do real.
We do laughter, and silly, and giggles, and fart jokes, and poop jokes, and burp jokes.
We do grumpy and happy and lazy and busy.
We do honesty.
We do love (tinged with a little hate now and then.)
We do stomping and door slamming.
We do games and movies.
We do together.
We do prayers.
We do forgiveness…
And it’s a good thing or somebody would be dead by now.
Now THAT’S family…anyone who tells you any differently is selling something. 🙂
One day at a time.
That’s how I find myself getting through these past couple of weeks…one…day…at…a…time.
It has been an emotionally charged couple of weeks. The kids are finishing up school so crazy schedules, finals, moving up ceremonies, special events, have all been clamoring for attention. The renovation started on Monday, so chaotic is an understatement. Head on over to One Fine Summer to see what has happened the last three days. So much! So exciting!
My sister in law and niece came to town Sunday through today, adding some much needed distraction and fun into the crazy.
And last Tuesday it was discovered that I had a lump in my left breast.
Can you say sideswiped? Blindsided? I felt like all the air was sucked from my world. Life has a way of doing that to you now and then, doesn’t it? Kind of like driving in winter. Everything’s going along all peachy keen, and then you hit a patch of ice and spin out of control before you even know what hit you. Monday, life was good, exciting, looking forward to all the neat stuff ahead of us. Tuesday was terrifying as my doctor said he was sending me for tests and passing me along to a breast surgeon. Wednesday was even more terrifying as my mind worked itself through all the possibilities and obsessed on the whatifs my family could be facing. And then Thursday I got my strength and faith on and wrapped it around me like a warm cloak. Pushed it all to the back of my mind, prayed through my anxious moments, and enjoyed the ensuing chaos of my world.
Yesterday afternoon I went for my ultrasound and diagnostic mammogram. The news was good… it looks like I have fluid filled cysts. Still waiting for word from the doctor with next steps and the bottom line, but at this point I am breathing a little easier than I have in days. I will not feel a sense of relief until I hear the all clear. Even then, I feel vulnerable like never before. Life has a way of reminding you that now is all we have for certain, so we had better enjoy every second of it. 🙂
I saw a quote today…it was painted on a sign in front of a house I passed. It said:
Inhale.
Hope.
Exhale.
Hope.
Repeat.
Apropos, no?
I wrote this post way back in 2008. Here, four years later, I share it again. I continue to be so blessed, surrounded by wonderful Dads. Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there, and especially to those who touch my life every day with their presence.
My father left my mother when I was two, moved 3,ooo miles away when I was eight, and left my life entirely when I was 12. On this Father’s Day, I want to thank him, wherever he is, for leaving. It was a selfish act at the time, but his absence gave the other fathers in my life the opportunity to be what he could not be, and in effect make me a better person than I would have been under his influence. I am eternally grateful, this Father’s Day, for all the other men in my life who have been my guides, my support, my teachers, mentors, and my loves.
First, the man who is Dad to me. He married my mother when I was four, and was determined to be a father to me in every sense of the word, from unconditional love, to discipline, to being there…
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A Half Hour a Day 