Class of 2011

It did not hit me until today. That little red headed baby I brought home from the hospital 16 years ago, is going to grow up and leave home. I didn't think about it much when she started middle school, still so far away. When she got her braces off, I couldn't believe how much older she looked, but I didn't realize she was growing up. When we bought her a car last year, I wasn't too worried, she still had a whole year before she could drive. When her Dad called me and told me she passed her driver's test I didn't stop smiling the entire day. When she announced she was ready to find a job, and she filled out an application all by herself I was so proud of her.


But today........I paid for her class ring and suddenly it dawned on me. Grown girls wear class rings. Class rings mean that you will soon graduate from high school. Class rings are the things high school memories are made of. *Gulp* *tear* It won't be much longer will it?

It's all about tradeoffs...

Sometimes, now that I'm middle aged, I miss so much having sweet little babies around the house. I miss those sweet feet, baby breath and toothless smiles. I miss kissing the sweet spot in their necks. I miss hearing them yell "Daddy's home" and run to door to collect kisses from him. I miss smashed flowers offered up from sweaty hands.
But life I've learned is all about seasons. You could call it trade offs. Those days are gone, but when I had babies in my arms I didn't experience........

a date night with my husband on a weeknight. Wayne took me to the movies and dinner tonight. We had uninterrupted conversation at dinner, he even held my hand. He asked me about my day, and told me about his. It was all about us. Nice.

time to run every night. It's nice to have time at night to run. Just me and my ipod. I do my best problem solving when I run. These days I can get up early and get it done, or leave a noisy house and run in the quiet by myself.

sending my newly licensed daughter on errands. Don't feel like battling Walmart? No problem, send the girls. Oh by the way, drop your sister off at the orthodontist and stop by the library. I'll be taking a long hot bath.

the freedom that comes from knowing I NEVER do the dishes anymore. I don't even rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. No, that job belongs to two other people at my house.

the fun of all day shopping adventures. No worries about naps, they can go as long as me now.

Sure, I miss having babies, but you know what? This new season in my life rocks! I enjoyed every part of the young years, and I fully expect to enjoy grand babies. For today, I don't want to look back or look forward, but just live in today. Thankful for where God has brought me for this short time. After years of pouring yourself out, He lets you have a little back, and it's nice!

Happy Birthday Kathy

Today is your day!

you are the big 4-0

(plus or minus a few, but I'll never tell)

wink wink!

Love,

your little sister

Let it rain

Right now I am sitting here and listening to the rain fall, The window is open and I can smell the rain. It reminds me of when I was a little girl. We lived in a small house that had a big bedroom that my little sister and I shared. We had no air conditioning in the summer besides a window unit, but we did have an old attic fan. At night, we opened the windows and the attic fan would cool us down. In the middle of a July summer night, the curtains would billow out over us as we lay in our beds while the attic fan whirled. The sound would nudge us into sleep,and when it rained the sound of rain on a rooftop would make our journey to sleep land come all the quicker. To a little girl, perfect contentment comes in the form of a gentle breeze, cotton nightgowns and the smell of rain. Today perfect contentment is sitting on the porch swing next to Wayne, watching the lightening and smelling the rain coming.

Freedom Day

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves

be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!

Gal. 5:1

Goodwill loot

Well, today was the perfect day! I took the day off. Slept in until 8am. Then got up and ran 3 miles. I am trying to motivate myself, so I am really trying to run at least 3 miles every day for 30 days. (You can follow my progress on FB) When I got back I pulled my lazy girls out of bed and off we went to our favorite shopping destination: Goodwill and Salvation Army. Inherited the bargain gene from my mother who can size up a yard sale in 10 seconds. My girls are as in love with a bargain as I am. They were raised with the phrase "You can get it if its on sale" burned into their psyche. Maybe that's why they love thrift store shopping. I usually get them whatever they find.
After scouring through the racks we hit the motherload! Now it is absolutely essential to have a game plan at Goodwill or you will get completely overwhelmed with the mass of junk. We were on a mission for jeans and khakis. you can always get the wardrobe staples in mint condition at GW.
For $20 bucks we scored:
J Jill bag (with tags)
Sevens jeans
Banana Republic blouse
Eddie Bauer khaki crop pants
Couple pairs of shorts for the girls
2 records for Leslie
Dress for Ginny

Very productive day. I am laughing as I write this post.... I am so much like my mother. She is never content just to tell you what she found at a yard sale/thrift shop. She must also tell you the name brand and how much she paid for it. I guess I am my mom made over!

Now all our treasures are being washed (disinfected on hot) and we are getting ready to dig into a pile of nachos! Hope your Thursday was as fun as mine!

It doesn't cost a dime to own it.....

but I'd rather have it than a million dollars..........


.........peace of mind.
.........hearing my girls laugh while washing dishes.
.........Wayne's sweet kisses
.........God's approval.


What about you? Fill in the blank...........