cuddle bug

last night chosen one stayed with his dad. first night home after knee surgery.

wise one was staying with a friend.

that meant rowdy one and i shared a big ole king size bed.

we both enjoyed it.

he may be ten but he will not pass up a chance to cuddle with his momma!

i feel a change a coming.....

that is what wise one told me today. and then he asked if he could wear his purple "church" shirt to school. the polo? yeah that one! (him thinking it a church only shirt cracked me up)

let's go back in history.

at 3 - sleeveless all the time.
at 5 - pants with jacket all. the. time.
at 8 - shirts with skulls and nothing else printed on them. (seriously)
at 9 - t shirts only. not a skull in sight please!
at 10 - WHITE t shirts only. they can have something on them but white only.
now at 12 - polo shirts are the going thing!

i smiled last night when he told me "he felt a change a coming".....these are all changes i can handle. the driving change, no...no. the dating change...please no. the college change, have mercy on my heart. the serious girlfriend home for christmas change....flash before my eyes. the buying a house, having a kid change.....i am long gone now.

change is good. some might say. i say....depends on the change. the change of shirts is about as much change as i want from him at the moment.

well and maybe the change of him picking up his shoes!

cherishing the sweetness......

lyn

amazed

i am always amazed at the light in my kinder kids eyes when they see art. it fascinates me. they are curious. they get close to see. they ask questions. they state what they see or what they think is out of place. they oohhh and aaahhhh. they are natural art enthusiast. naturals. they take it all in. then try to figure it out. they laugh out loud. they know what to respect and be quiet.

i put several monet pictures on the wall from a small calendar. i have one little boy who i will see just staring at them. any free time he is at the wall. staring. thinking. kneeling. what is he thinking, i wonder. what does he see? what does he like? how is this shaping his brain or opinion or critical thinking?

i will never know if this exposure is helping them. but i think it is. i think they are the better for this introduction. for many, it may be the only glimpse of art......other than tattoos. the only part i hate is that i have to censor what i show them. i understand but i don't like it. of course i would not show them inappropriate things but i love the Birth of Venus and my kid kids did a in depth study on it. wise one was 6-7 and rowdy one was 4-5, so the same age as my kinder kids. they appreciated the beauty. and they saw that uncovered things are not something to laugh at or immediately think inappropriate. oh to be able to share it all.

i will share what i can, for now....

lyn

to cherish

cherish was an interesting word for me to pick. it was the one that kept popping into my head so i went with it. it was odd to me. not something i say in my normal conversations. cherish. i cherish you. nope never said that to anyone. i cherish this. again, don't think i ever said that. but the idea to cherish things spoke to me. to cherish........i actually looked up the definition to make sure i understood it.

cherish - to cling fondly to, to care tenderly for, to hold dear.

yep, that is what i was looking for.

this week i have noticed i am in a moment and cherish pops into my head. a whisper of sorts, "cherish this" "pay attention" "stop, take this all in"

i have been listening.

- a classroom of 5 yr olds singing as they do their artwork
-deep talks with the resident 12 yr old, don't happen as much as they used to
-a smile from chosen one
-a hug, from anyone
-a plead to be petted, four legged one truly calms my heart
-dinner, together, at our table
-sunrise

i am listening......

lyn

prayin

tonight as i drove my boys home, after a very long day of school and college and family obligations, we heard Better Than a Hallelujah by amy grant. i love this song. i sing it loudly when i hear it. as i was driving i lost my breath.....the soldier's plea not to let him die.........



i lost my breath and my boys saw. tears started flowing. we sung the rest of the song. we pulled in the driveway and i grabbed their hands......



Heavenly Father,


we lift up every soldier in every land fighting for freedom and justice. we may not understand the whys and hows and time frame. we may not agree with things that are set in motion but we lift all these soldiers up to you. for protection. for comfort. for guidance. when lonely nights happen and tears for home flow, hold them. when fear enters their bodies, hold them. when pain, emotional or physical occurs, hold them.

In Jesus Name We Pray. Amen.

and then we sat. for less than a minute no one moved. our teary eyes met at the same time and i cherished them.

lyn

chance to win

go over to house of smiths to check out the silhouette giveaway!

http://bit.ly/f76z6v

mlk

today has been a rough day.

tempers flare.

tears flow.

voices raise.

hearts break...a bit.

after things have calmed and exhaustion sets in...i wander outside to the garage. there i see a MOUNTAIN of laundry. and laugh........and laugh......and LAUGH. and in times like these laughter turns to tears. tears, tiredness. and comfort.

i have a family that doesn't always get along and work together. i have a family that goes thru to many clothes, that have to be washed. i have a family that gets annoyed with each other. i have a family....so many things i could say. but the most important is............i have a family.

to love.

to comfort.

to believe in.

that's good enough for me.

i am blessed.

lyn

words to remember

not nice, not true, not necessary, then don't say it.

or think it.

or wish it.

or live it.

ho hum

i am continuing to "release" into 2011. AND i have "cherish"ed quite a bit too. i am stopping to notice more. to listen more. to see more.

i am trying to grow. i am trying my hardest to grow. i think i like it. i am excited.

lyn

new year

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end ~ semisonic