Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Childhood Magic

We've all felt it. The childish excitement. The wonder. The desperate hoping. We wake up in the morning, throw the covers off, pray a silent prayer, and run to the window. Is it there? Has it come? We peer outside to see the rooftops covered in white. The ground has been frosted with a sparkling blanket, and tiny little flakes flutter magically from the sky. They pile neatly along the edges of our window, and if we look very closely, we can see the detail of a tiny flake that has just landed. The dirty old world of yesterday has been transformed in to a stunning land of white. And then it hits us. It's happened! It's actually happened! The moment we've been waiting for has arrived! We run out of our rooms, shouting the joyful proclamation to anyone who can hear. "It's snowing! It's snowing!"

Beyond the constraints of time, this feeling of expectation and excitement has remained the same in children throughout our country - and perhaps even the world. And it's no different for my children today. As I tucked my little ones into bed on Sunday night, their final thoughts were full of anticipation for the next morning. Will the Glorious Change take place as they slumber? What magic will greet them when they awake? As soon as the clocks in their bedrooms change from 5:59 to 6:00 they know they can finally get out of bed. They run to their windows and look outside. It's here! It's come! Sweet elation! I hear the sound of my children running to my room, as I snuggle deeper beneath my warm blankets. And then I hear the rejoicing of my children. "Mommy! Daddy! It's raining!" I'm suddenly awakened to the stark contrast of my childhood versus my children's.




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Friday, December 04, 2009

Beautiful Words

Today I read Ephesians 1-4. I don't see how anyone can read those chapters and not smile. It's so full of beautiful descriptive phrases! Take a minute to read through these slowly. Let their words settle into your heart and echo through your mind as you go about your day.

Established in love
Love that surpasses knowledge
Fullness of God
In accordance with his pleasure and will
To the praise of his glorious grace
Freely given
Riches of God's grace
Lavished on us
Mystery of his will
Good pleasure
Praise of his glory
Riches of his glorious inheritance
Great love for us
Rich in mercy
Incomparable riches of his grace
Expressed in his kindness
Gift of God
We are God's workmanship
He himself is our peace
Unsearchable riches of Christ
Rooted and established in love
Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine
Gifts to men

Funny Friday #3


Thursday, December 03, 2009

Things That Make Me Smile #4

I'm smiling *lots* this week, after a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

THANKFUL that I have great inlaws who I love & get along with well.

LOVED Thanksgiving dinner, even if there were 30+ people, 1/2 of whom i didn't know. :)

HAPPY that Thanksgiving wasn't at my house, so I didn't have to deal with the mess! (sorry, Linda.)

LOVED having Chris home this last weekend. With all of the work he's been doing lately, we haven't seen much of him. This weekend was a *great* re-connect.

LOVE that we got our christmas tree up on Sunday, and LOVE the way the house feels when it's decorated for Christmas.

THANKFUL that we were able to get some much needed clothes for the kids and me.

SMILING because even though my last good pair of jeans got a hole in them, at least I have clothes to wear.

LOVED watching the (first) Star Wars trilogy with the kids this weekend. It was so fun watching them discover the story for the first time. The boys LOVED all of the fighting scenes, but all of the kids want to know why people kept cutting of each other's hands and arms instead of just killing each other. :)

HAPPY that Chloe & Gideon just finished two of their workbooks in school.

THANKFUL for Alexander Graham Bell for inventing the telephone, because i don't know how I would survive without my regular chats with my mom

which reminds me that I'm THANKFUL for Bill Gates for inventing the internet, which will helps me get lots of my last minute Christmas shopping done, *and* allows me to keep up with friends around the world. AMAZING!

oh! and of course, i can't forget that I'm THANKFUL for all those Black Friday deals! We got a great new computer that works nicely (though i'm still getting used to the new Windows program). I'm THRILLED that i'll finally be able to burn CD's again --and that the computer came with at "free" printer, so now I can print things again! Yay for technology! :)

and speaking of Black Friday, i actually really ENJOYED my crack-of-dawn shopping (or should I say sitting in line?) experience. it was quite an adventure (maybe i'll post the story sometime), and since i just love people-watching, i had a blast observing the mayhem that is Black Friday. Also, i got to have some nice conversations with the people who stood in line with me for an hour and a half.

There's so much more that i could write about, because is was just a week full of smiles for me. But i'll leave it at that, because I wouldn't want to bore my faithful readers.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Gift-tastic Tuesday


Well, i'm a little late on my Magnanimous Monday, simply because I forgot. But i'm glad I did, because I found something WONDERFUL to post about today! I found a great blog/website called rethinkingchristmas.com . Their focus is on getting away from the materialism of Christmas, & getting back to the spirit of the holiday. Among other things, they suggested these great ideas:

Purchase a Christmas wreath from This Site, and you will provide vitamins for a Guatemalan child for 1 year.

or

give a T-shirt as a gift: If you buy one of These Shirts, Aklesia will donate a school uniform or piece of apparel to a child in need.
or buy one of These Shirts, and $1 of your payment will go toward thesoldproject.com , which is dedicated to fighting child prostitution.

if T-shirts aren't your thing, consider buying jewelry from NightLight, who's procedes go to help those who have been sexually enslaved or exploited.

I think these are amazing ways to make your gifts count for more than just Christmas. Not only are they something nice for the receiver, but they help to change lives. I plan to order from these sites as much as I'm able for the holidays, and I hope you will do the same.

Know of any other places to buy gifts that have a double purpose? let me know!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Funny Friday #2

I just love readers digest, for the main reason that they have good jokes. :) Whenever I visit the chiropractor (which is more often than I would like), I like to read the funny snippets from the magazine. So, since many people will begin decorating for the holidays today, I thought I'd post this little blurb from Reader's Digest.

What Your Christmas Tree Says About You
White Lights You ask houseguests to remove their shoes
Mulitcolored lights you're an extrovert
Blinking lights you have attention deficit disorder.

Homemade ornaments You have lots of children
Strung popcorn you have too much time on your hands
Red balls only you wish you lived in a department store.

Yellow star on top you're traditional
Glowing Santa on top you shop at Kitsch'R'Us
Cutoff top You didn't measure the tree

Vague evergreen smell you bought a healthy tree
Strong evergreen smell you sprayed your tree with pine-sol
Just plain smelly there's a dead bird in your tree

-Rebecca Munsterer

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Things That Make Me Smile (AKA Thankful Thursday)

As much as I was enjoying my cheesey alliterations, I've decided to rename my Thankful Thursdays. Those of you who know me well would understand how I hate having to fit into a box (unless, I suppose, it's an oddly shaped, multi-colored box that's tied with lots of funky ribbons and finished with a lovely smelling flower tucked on top). So the Thankful Thursday thing was just too restrictive. What if I don't want to say THANKFUL every time? What if I want to say that I'm HAPPY about something...or that LOVE something? So. I'm taking Thankful Thursdays out of its squishy little square box, and i'm re-wrapping it into a purple, oval-shaped box, tied with orange and brown ribbons, and I'm adding a little pink fresia for an extra touch . :)

So.. today, I am

THANKFUL for warm fuzzy socks

HAPPY that we'll be buying a new computer on Friday. This one's been on its way out for awhile, but we've been keeping it on life support until windows came out w/a new version. hooray! Can't wait to have everything working beautifully again. :)

LOVE chocolate ice cream drumsticks. What is it about chocolate that's so comforting to women? And why isn't it as effective on men? Someone needs to do a study!

THANKFUL for the beautiful weather we've had this week. Mid 70's!

SMILING about the time I got to spend with friends at the beach. :)

THANKFUL for the time I got to spend with my friend, Shelley, making salsa & hanging out at the beach.

LOVING the africam video. I mentioned this awhile ago, on the blog, but i stopped watching it & eventually forgot about it. But a friend mentioned it on facebook, & i've started checking it out again. It's so fun to watch live video feed all the way from africa! So far we've seen lots of birds, several sunsets, some wildabeasts, boars, deer things, and a cheetah. Right now, as I'm writing, we're watching a bird weave a nest, piece by piece. it's amazing!

THANKFUL that our church finished a *major* part of their construction project & will be able to move on to other things. And I'm EXCITED to watch it grow more beautiful as external touches are added.

SMILING about the movie that I was reading about. It was rated PG-13 for "Mayhem". How random is that?

LOVING the new songs I bought for my ipod over the last week --esp. Guy Davis' "Grandma is Dancing" --which I think i'll have to buy for my mom.

AMAZED at how faithfully God has cared for me & provided everything I've needed. In awe of His goodness.

Thankful Thursday #3 Preface

well, this being THE biggest Thankful Thursday of the year, let me wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We will be spending the day with Chris's family. I always enjoy visiting with them, but am especially looking forward to it today, because we've seen each other so seldom this year.

and now on with the Thankful Thursday post...


Monday, November 23, 2009

Magnanimous Monday #5

Today, in honor of Thanksgiving, leave some Thanksgiving flowers on the doorstep of a neighbor, to brighten their day. :)

My kids carved out a pumpkin & planted a small flower in it. We gave it to an elderly neighbor with a Thanksgiving note.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Madnanimous Monday follow-up

Thought you might enjoy seeing what we left for our mailman this week. The kids all had tons of fun making pictures and notes. Evelyn's was great. she's started doing this new thing where she scribble writes. So she covered a sheet of paper in her "writing" & then she read it to me & i wrote it so that an adult could read it. I regret not taking a picture of it. But here are the pics I *did* take. interestingly, the mailman took the notes, but left the balloons.





Funny Friday

considering the title of my blog, not only is it important to smile, but it's important to laugh. And since i just can't help myself with these cheesy alliterations, i thought i'd post funny things on fridays. :)

So...today, being the first Funny Friday of How to Smile, i'd like to share an amazingly hilarious blog with you. My sister-in-law, Jody, just introduced me to it today. I read his first real post, & i was laughing so hard by the first paragraph, that tears were streaming from my eyes, and i could hardly get through the rest. This man just has a perfect way with words. So without further ado, you must check out Life Between Naps and at very minimun read his post titled, "Raisin Ruby"

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Thankful Thursday #2

Today, I am THANKFUL for the holidays. What a wonderful lovely spirit is in the air, thinking about family & thanksgiving, & christmas.

I've been listening to Christmas music this week, to help get me in the mood for a Christmas party I'm helping with. The music inspired me to hunt for more, on itunes. I'm so THANKFUL that I found the song, "Sleigh Ride" by Barenaked Ladies. LOVE it!!

i'm also THANKFUL for my camera. Photography is such a release for me. I just love exploring life through my lens, & dicsovering beauty in a different way.

I'm THANKFUL for foundmagazine.com, & the laugh I often get from exploring their site.

I'm THANKFUL for my friend, Shelley, who left a giant boquet of lillies (my favorite flower) on my car this week. And i'm THANKFUL that my house has been filled with their amazing aroma all week long!

I'm also THANKFUL for my friend Melissa who took a chunk of time out of her day to give me & Chloe haircuts...I just love getting my hair done! Which make me THANKFUL for my hair! bcause hair is just FUN! :)

I'm THANKFUL that my car's leaky windshield was fixed & it was all taken care of under warranty. And i'm THANKFUL that the warranty covered a rental car for us, so I had transportation the whole time it was in the shop. And the tiny car I drove made me especially THANKFUL for our great big roomy car. AND, i'm THANKFUL for the mechanic who changed my car radio's favorite button to play the Spanish station, because it gave me a good laugh.

Which reminds me that I'm always THANKFUL for a good laugh.

I've also been thinking about all the little things that i don't even notice in my life. I'm so THANKFUL for fingers. I can't imagine what life would be like without them. Take the time today, to think of all the things you use your fingers for. And thank God for his amazing creation!

I'm THANKFUL that I get to spend so much time with my amazing children, because i homeschool -- which makes me THANKFUL for the freedom I have in this country to do that. And i'm THANKFUL for all the amazing books we get to read together. We just finished reading Robin Hood. What a great story!!!

Which also reminds me that i'm THANKFUL for youtube, because when none of the video stores carried Robin Hood for me to watch with the kids, we were able to watch it on youtube (even though it *was* in 10 parts) :)

And as I sit here & ramble to you, eating my chocloate chips & marshmallows, I'm THANKFUL for tastebuds which make eating so very interesting. And i'm THANKFUL for computers and the internet. However did we survive before the internet??

editted 8:01pm: i forgot to add that i'm THANKFUL that I decided declare a school holiday on Monday & organize the house. We super-cleaned the playroom and both the kids' bedrooms. They were sparkly and roomy & pretty for a whole afternoon!!