There Is Treasure Everywhere

Have I told you about this little beauty? I found her on the lawn, relaxing, waiting for me to take her home. Her drawers were stacked neatly on the curb, and everything fit so nicely in the back of the Explorer (Thanks to Colin and Brenden helping me load her up)

Look at these legs! She must have been working out all her life to keep those curves.

I think is a natural wood stain, but someone spruced her up with this great soft green color. It may have been a while back, though, as she definitely needed a little loving here.

And you cannot tell by just looking at her, but she has a bit of an odor problem. Ok, a big odor problem. I gave her a good bath last fall, had her sunbathing and airing out in the garage since then and just recently moved her in. And she still had that pesky odor problem.

Here is her birth certificate. She was born sometime between 1898 and 1925 in Grand Rapids Michigan. Her parents sound lovely. Too bad they are deceased now. From what I've seen, they had lots and lots of posterity.


You know how when one of your own children makes you crazy enough to say something like,"It's a good thing you are so cute!"?

That was me with this old gal.

I'll show you next time.

Crazy Braid

Look at this face!

Wonder what would create such a smile as this? I will tell you - it is his own fault.

Colin makes dinner for our family on Thursdays. This week he wanted to make homemade pizza in my new enamal coated cast iron dutch oven (aka "the magic pot" as everything we make in it is so delcious!) The pizza turned out great, a little doughy, but yum. He also put together a regular flat pizza, as the recipe for the dough makes lots. He even had more dough leftover. What to do with it? He braided it! Not sure if he realized he could bake it like that, but that is just what he did.

Look at that beauty! Perfectly golden (I reminded him to check it just in time!)

With a little direction, he brushed on garlic butter and sprinkled (generously!) with Parmesan Cheese. You know this is looking so good!

Can you slice that a little bit faster Colin? I can hardly wait!

Yeah, it tastes just as good as it looks. He shared with us.

Love this kid way more than the bread, by the way.

Back to School

I love back to school time. I love stocking up on all the school supplies. Brand new pencils, clean white paper and the smell of markers really make me smile. I feel our family is prepared for anything when our stash of folders and spiral notebooks is replenished. And although I am not a fan of summer ending, I have to say that I am usually ready for my kids to go back. I miss the routine and structure that comes with the school schedule. Then starting around April, I am counting down the days till summer again and all the comes with the warm weather.
So I am thrown off my schedule a little. Back to school starts in September, not January. It kind of goes against the natural order. Then again, it is good to shake things up. And that is just what I did.
Last fall I made my way back to my alma mater, Wayne State University, to meet with a counselor to chart the course for finishing my degree in Fine Arts (emphasis on Interior Design). It felt great to be back on campus - some changes, but still the same feel. I left there feeling accomplished and motivated to get this thing done. From there I went to Schoolcraft to reactivate my status and register for one class - World History (online).
It is fun to be a student again! I know I am just getting started and one online class is not "school" school, but I think I can do this. And I really want to do it, too. I am excited to learn and grow, and to study something that I love. I just hope that I can keep up. I'm planning to go slow until my schedule opens up a little. And while I am working on my BFA, I can earn another degree from Schoolcraft - Liberal Arts. So that is pretty cool, too.
The thing with the online class is that I do not need too many school supplies. Hmmm.

Christmas

So, here is a post that was suppossed to go out a little sooner than January 20th!

This Christmas was one that I will always remember. Of course I could have been more prepared, and not have as many last minute things going on, but all in all, really great.
One thing that helped, was that I did not send out Christmas cards. Tami and I made cute “Let it Snow” cards this year, and I am thinking they will make great New Year cards. I wanted to wait until we had family pictures, including Alex and Lawson. I hired Haley Davis to take them and she did a super terrific job! We went to Old Village Plymouth and had a great time, although we pretty much froze to death. Next time we should have everyone here in warmer weather. (This week it has been a high of like 19 degrees, so it could have been worse.)
The pajamas were a great success. I even made them for Darren, Lawson and David. I was a little worried on sizing, and as usual the elastic was too loose for most everyone, except Alex, which was too small (weird). But they all turned out, and I even made some for me - I pieced a bunch of leftover fabric from all the other ones and have collage pants. I had forgotten how warm flannel is! It is wonderful. I started these early in the season, but finished them up on Christmas eve.
Shopping was a little easier this year. We had already gotten gifts for Lauren (Phantom of the Opera ticket), Brenden (laptop) and Liam (DS game), and Darren and I got Michael Buble tickets. Darren got a ping pong table for the family and we have been loving it. Interesting to see who gets it, who is competitive, or who is not such a good loser. One of Colin's new year resolutions is to beat David. We shall see.
Having friends and family around us makes for a great Christmas. My dad and stepmom, and my brother and his family came over on the 22nd for dinner. Good visit, but as usual with them, a little quiet. Jeff, Tami and Cassie came the next day. What better way to celebrate the season than with Chinese food? Yum! Makes me think of "A Christmas Story". Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner with the Coltrins was as yummy as usual. There is nothing like steaks on the grill in December. We had additional guests this year as Lauren wanted to invite her future in-laws.
We had another Great Tree Disaster this year. The tree skirt was wicking all the water that we were giving the tree, and completely soaking the floor underneath. Lawson and Darren laid underneath the fully loaded tree and pushed it up (very carefully) while Alex and I pulled the completely saturated carpet remnant out. Luckily the tree stayed upright, thanks in part from the lesson learned during the Great Tree Disaster of 2007, when the tree fell over - we had tied the tree with strong thread to the wall. Another lesson learned.
Alex really wanted to open gifts while it was still dark outside. Christmas Day saw us up early (6:30ish), loving gifts given and received. Lawson made us his traditional Christmas breakfast - Biscuits and Gravy. What better way to follow that up than with cinnamon rolls? (After all the cookies and treats we had been eating, we could handle it!) Playing, napping and watching new movies filled up the rest of the day until we went to Grandma's for turkey dinner. (Yum again!) What a great day.
I loved that the radio stations have been playing Christmas music all month, and especially loved that they kept playing them for a few days after. It made the season last a little longer. Love that. I think I am just as excited anticipating Christmas Day as enjoying the actual day.
There are so many memories of Christmas's past, and loving the traditions that we have. I love how we feel so connected to each other when we have these times to share. The spirit of the season brings lots of extra joy into our home and into our hearts. Remembering the birth of Jesus Christ and the great gifts that He and Heavenly Father give to us is the greatest tradition.

Hold On, It's here somewhere... I Think

Ever have those moments when you are sure of something, and then it just is not so? Hate that.
Colin very graciously agreed to go shopping with me recently (not just because he needed some new pants either), so we headed off to Target in Canton. I know he was thrilled when we found what we needed right away and were out of there in 20 minutes. He was ready to go home.
But, I got a gift card for Christmas (from my very generous boss) for Bed, Bath and Beyond (BB&B), a very un-boy store. I was itching to treasure hunt for a bunch of things I really did not need. Colin's response to my request to go to one more store was, "oh,...ok". Good boy.
Leaving Target, I thought for sure BB&B was east. I drove that way for a bit and determined it was the other way. A quick u-turn had us heading west until we hit Canton Center Rd, pretty much the end of the shopping area. Blast, it was east. Another u-turn and we made it, just past where we turned around the first time.
We headed first to the clearance section for the after Christmas bargains, and scored a table cloth. Then on to the kitchen, laundry, fine dishes, misc, (skipping the curtain and bedding) and lastly the bath sections. I had Colin and my own arms loaded up, spending about what the gift card value was. After about 45 minutes, we made it to the check out. Sure enough, just under the amount. While the cashier patiently waited for me to unearth my gift card, I had that icky feeling that I had not put it in my wallet. Rats. After apologizing to the cashier and to Colin, we left without the treasures.
On the way home, I just had to laugh out loud. I knew it would be funny later, so I took advantage of the frustration. Colin even laughed a little.
Brenden told me that things like that seem to happen to me, that usually I was so organized, nothing ever happened, but then when it does, it's big. Not often, just when it does, it's a doozy. Hmmmm. Really? This happens to me? That made me laugh some more. Here I was feeling like such a melon-head for forgetting the card, and Brenden shares this observation and I feel better. I am human, and as much as I try to do everything just right and keep things smooth, it does not always work that way. But my family still loves me. This is something that I am sure of. What a nice feeling.
So, the next day when I went to BB&B, I knew exactly what I wanted, quicklyand confidently handed the cashier my card (that was in my wallet, thank you very much), and smiled on my way out.
Oh, I did go to a different BB&B location, just in case the cashier was not as forgiving as my family.

Things I Do Not Regret

Thinking recently about my blessings, I realized that there are some things that I have done and things I continue to do that I do not regret, that are some of my greatest blessings.

Some of the big ones -

Right off the bat, I decided that I should take good care of my body. I have seen the damage alcohol can do to a person and to families, so I knew I did not want to go that route. I have never regretted not giving into marketing and peer pressure to get involved with all that. And as time goes by, and I am more aware of all kinds of things that are damaging, and I love taking care of myself. Eating well and exercising are things I like to do, and I feel great. With guidance from God (and other, lesser professionals), I have learned so much, and have much to learn, I'm sure.

Hero and I got married pretty young. I was 19. LOTS of people thought we were too young. But I do not regret marrying that boy - never have, never will. We have learned and made mistakes together, and I think because we were young, we are more like one than two. I have no words to descibe how blessed I am to be sealed to him for eternity.

Each one of our children has his or her own specialness and we love them all soooo much. That being said, it has not always been a piece of cake being a mom. Those traits that make them so awesome are sometimes in conflict with my own, and they can make me crazy! I do not regret the decision to have a larger family (even though we are chronically poor) and I do not regret having each one in our family. They each are such a blessing to our family. We would not be complete without each one of them!

Joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Click http://murphysfavoritehero.blogspot.com/2009/05/living-life.html?zx=b96e9f2aa1229068 for thoughts on that.

And some of the smaller ones -

I never regret:

-spending time with my children, either one on one or as a family.

-going on dates with Hero.

-spending a little more money on quality stuff.

- reading a good book.

- learning all kinds of things, like playing the piano, how to cook, sewing, figuring out technology stuff and other great things.

- trying new things, even if they are a little intimidating.

- following a prompting to do good for someone.

- reading the scriptures and listening to the prophets.

- sharing.

- praying.

- listening to people I love.

- working hard.

And so many more. I am grateful that I get to choose and am accountable for those choices, because I either 1-learn from the mistake, or 2-enjoy the reward. It's a great plan, that brings so much happiness.

And few regrets.

People I've Seen That Make Me Smile

I was out running some errands recently and must have had my "look at all these neat people" eyes open. Just one of those days.
First I saw 2 people raking leaves. No big deal, right? But here is the thing - They were dressed in suits. I knew who they were. They were missionaries from the Livonia Ward (I was on that side of town), and although I have never met them, I knew them. They do things like this (among other things) - Raking someone in need's leaves. I loved watching them. Having been taught by missionaries a long time ago and working with them in different capacities over the years, I know what they are about. They sacrifice their time, money, talents, comforts, etc., to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for two years (These missionaries were men. The women serve 1 1/2 years.) at an age (19-21) that most others are focused on themselves. Watching them rake the leaves that day reminded me that serving others and serving the Lord brings the most happiness in our lives. So even though they were not serving me directly, I was blessed for having caught them in a moment of love and sacrifice.
Later that day, I saw an older (70's-ish) man riding his bike. So cool! I love to see people moving their bodies and getting out and about, whether walking, running, biking, etc. But the thing that struck me the most was that he had his cane strapped to the back of the bike. It totally made me smile! I bet his physician told him to get out and get some exercise, and here he was taking care of himself. I bet when he gets off his bike, catching his breath while getting his cane, he smiles at his accomplishment. I bet he likes being able to move as well as he does. I want to be like that. So inspiring.
That evening I saw 2 little children at a party, and I was in awe of the way they related to eachother. A little boy had walked up to a little girl and complimented her on something. Cute! I do not think they even knew one another. Was that so hard? What a great example. I love when someone compliments me, so why would I feel tounge-tied sometimes paying a compliment to another? Children are so good at saying it like it is, and although that can be a little awkward without a more mature sensor, I love their openness. Boosting other's self-esteem with sincere compliments is on my to-do list.
What do you see?