Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Change in scene

Hey so its finally cooling off (I guess I shouldn't say finally I hate cold weather) and it actually feels like fall! I came a cross this blog template and I thought it was beautiful and thought I'd try it out! Let me know what you think.
P.S.- Halloween is Friday and I'm still looking for a green suit and a purple suit for my sons The Riddler and Joker. (I have Batman already). I should be posting pics soon of that!
Oh and Obama will be here tomorrow! We are very excited the whole family's going. We think it would be cool for the kids to get a glimpse of the man who is posed to become the first black president of the United States. We are about to be a part of history. That is something that goes beyond party lines if you really think about it. If he wins (which I hope he does) it will be a huge (and long overdue) event. I think anyone can see the magnitude of it.
Hope everyone is having a glorious fall day.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Invisible mom...this is for you!

Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously
, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being.
I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe ..

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:


'To
My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'


In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam.
He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction.
But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder.
As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did.

Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.

We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tasty apple treat

Ok so last night I was in the mood for a taste of fall. I wanted something apply or pumpkiny and I only had apples so I thought I'd try the recipie I got from another blog and it was delicious! she calls it the best apple dessert period, and I agree! I definately felt like "fall" after eating it. I really suggest you try it, I thought putting moutain dew in a dessert would be weird but it was great! Its terrible nutrition wise but I cut the butter to 1 1/2 sticks! (Not a lot but it makes me feel better)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Neglect

I feel like I have neglected my blog! I've just been so busy with school and family stuff I just haven't had time to write. I have so much to say but not enough time right now. Maybe some time soon I'll share my thoughts on things such as the election, cooking disasters, pet peeves and social trends that I find annoying! Oh...I just signed up on Facebook so if you have a profile look me up! Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon!

background