Memoir Monday~ March 11

 

Another weekend has come and gone.

Monday is here again.

I am linking up again with my friend, Chris over at Campfire and Cleats.

This weekend was a special treat for my hubby and I. We had a afternoon and evening to ourselves. Both our children were spending the night with their cousins. So mommy and daddy were able to have a date night. This is a big deal for us. Since my son has been born, my husband and I have only been without our children maybe 3 times. My son is 9.5 years old. We have had a few date nights but even those numbers are in the single digits.

So what did we do?

We took a relaxing drive through the countryside. We drove through the mountains and then had dinner at a quiet bed and breakfast.

Snow covered mountains. Farms dotting the landscape. Baby calves being born. River rushing by from melting snow running down the mountain side. A cattle dog chasing the car. Sunlight streaming through the clouds. Holding hands. Enjoying the quiet. Small rural towns forgotten by the world. A old farmer waving a friendly Hi. Folk art along side red painted barns. An old white farm house filled with love. Chicken with a rosemary sauce. Herb crusted potatoes. A glass of white wine. A chocolate mouse dessert.

Moments like this are rare but necessary. It reminds us of why we fell in love in the first place. Moments like this remind us of the vows we spoke and what they mean.

To Love

To Honor

To Cherish

Memoir Monday~ Everyday Life

Every day. Moments that make up our life.
This week was filled with small events. Nothing major. No fun exciting events.
Instead this weekend was filled with normal, everyday moments.

A sick child. A party missed because of a dead car battery. A 20 year old  freezer that suddenly stopped working. Salvaging apples. Applesauce, stewed apples, and apple pie filling. Hours of canning. Running out of canning jars only to head to Walmart and discovering they are out of canning jars too. A simple dinner out with family. Cuddles from a sweet little girl. Another child falling to illness. A fox running across a farmer's field.  Turkey scratching for foo in a dried up corn field. Sun streaming through stain glass windows. Singing hymns. A little girl raising her voice to God in Heaven. Giggly girls in CCD. Snow flurries falling . Shopping with my little princess.

Small moments that might not be important to everyone, but they are to me. They are the moments that make up my life. They are the moments that make me who I am. They are the moments in time that shape my children. Moments that help create who they will become. Life's moments don't need to be grand or fabulous all the time. Sure big events are exciting and important, but so are the small ones.

To the little princess that has a fever, it means more to her when you sit, cuddle and share a story.
Small moments are when love shines greater.
Every small moment creates memories that will last a lifetime.


Linking up with Campfire and Cleats, Monday Mingle

Memoir Mondays~ What makes a real dad

I am linking up again with my friend, Chris, over at Campfires and Cleats.

A few days ago, we went hiking up in a state park as a family. 

Daddy had the day off and the kids enjoyed the time spent with him. 

This past weekend, daddy took the kids outside and played.

They practiced with their bow and arrows, shot their BB guns, and they got to practice throwing Lego Man's hatchet he got for his birthday.

The afternoon past in a flash but the memories will last a life time.

Watching my kids with their daddy brought up old memories for me.

I am child of divorce. My parents divorced by the time I was three and I stopped seeing my biological father by the age of 9. Thankfully God had other plans for my life. My mom remarried when I was six. My step-dad had never been married before and had never had kids, so it was all new to him. He jumped right in and never looked back. My years are filled with so many happy moments.

I remember.....

saying night time prayers, 

being sung a bicycle built for two at bedtime, 

crying in the car because he had been pulled(I thought he was going to jail) over while singing O won't you come home Bill Bailey, 

apple picking in the fall, 

eating ice cream after Mass in the summer time, 

butterfly kisses and Eskimo kisses, 

apple cider, 

Sunday morning stops at the Italian bakery...the smell of bread,

bandaging up a hurt finger not long after becoming my daddy, 

being my chauffeur for ballet,gymnastics and little girl birthday parties, 

being taught how to cook an egg, 

late night picks ups from cheering for football, basketball and soccer games, 

eating dinner late in the car while sharing news about my day, 

being scolded for riding my bike on the grass...he liked a well maintained yard, 

big dinners with his Italian family, 

watching a slide show of his far away travels from his life before kids, 

a road trip all the way to Colorado  vacations to Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, and the shore,

the day his father died,

being dropped off at college for the first time, 

back and forth trips going back and forth between school and home, 

grocery shopping to make sure I had food to eat, 

getting a pizza together before he headed back home, 

moving me into my first real apartment,

 being their for me when I planned my wedding, 

walking me down the aisle, 

and holding my children for the first time.

I could go on and on. 

The one thing I have learned in this life is any man can make a baby, but it takes a special man to become a father. I am so blessed that God chose this man for me. He has loved me unconditionally. I haven't always treated him kindly. I think most teenagers go through a period when their parents are horrible. Looking back at my behavior when I was younger, I regret so much. After I got married, I told him how much I appreciated all the stuff he did for me throughout the years. He didn't have to send me to Catholic school, buy me a car or all the fancy dresses for dances, or pay for me to got to a small private college. He did because he loved me. For that I will always be grateful.

I am so lucky to have him as my father. My children are blessed to have him in their lives.

Linking up with....Campfire and Cleats, Monday Mingle

Memoir Mondays

Stopping to smell the roses.....

What are memoirs?

Memoirs~ noun

1. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.

2. Usually, memoirs.

a. an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography.

b. the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.

3. a biography or biographical sketch.

source~ Dictionary.com

The events that shape us and make us who we are. I think people usually think about the big events in their lives.

Birthdays, getting your license, going to college, getting married, having children, deaths,  and so on.

The little moments are the ones that we easily forget or don't recognize. We don't seem to notice them when they are happening.

Hugs we give our children, wiping a tear from an eye, helping kids with schoolwork, having a tea party with a little princess are just a few. Every minute of the day is filled with events...memories being made. We are creating our own memoirs and creating someone else's at the same time. Every person we come in contact with has a chance of becoming part of our memoirs and we have the opportunity of becoming part of theirs.

I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 beautiful children. I home school so I am part of their daily lives and they are part of mine. I will admit that there are plenty of times we get so involved in the day-to-day that we lose sight of all the little gifts we are experiencing.

I came across this poem a few years ago and it made me stop and think. We celebrate all of our firsts. We know when they will occur but we never know when our lasts will happen.

Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury

Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts,
First smiles and teeth and baby steps,a sunbeam on the burst.

But one day you will move away and leave to me your past
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts…

The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips
The last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip.

The last night when you woke up crying, needing to be walked,
When last you crawled up with your blanket, wanting to be rocked.

The last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold.
The last time that you said you’d marry me when you grew old.

Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from your past
Would I have held on longer if I’d known they were your last?

Our last adventure to the park, your final midday nap,
The last time when you wore your favorite faded baseball cap.

Your last few hours of kindergarten, those last few days of first grade,
Your last at bat in Little League, last colored picture made.

I never said good-bye to all your yesterdays long passed.
So what about tomorrow will I recognize your lasts?

The last time that I comb your hair or stop a pillow fight.
The last time that I pray with you and tuck you in at night.

The last time when we cuddle with a book, just me and you
The last time you jump in our bed and sleep between us two.

The last piano lesson, last vacation to the lake.
Your last few weeks of middle school, last soccer goal you make.

I look ahead and dream of days that haven’t come to pass.
But as I do, I sometimes miss today’s sweet, precious lasts…

The last time that I help you with a math or spelling test.
The last time when I shout that yes, your room is still a mess.

The last time that you need me for a ride from here to there.
The last time that you spend the night with your old tattered bear.

My life keeps moving faster, stealing precious days that pass,
I want to hold on longer-want to recognize your lasts…

The last time that you need my help with details of a dance.
The last time that you ask me for advice about romance.

The last time that you talk to me about your hopes and dreams.
The last time that you wear a jersey for your high school team.

I’ve watched you grow and barely noticed seasons as they pass.
If I could freeze the hands of time, I’d hold on to your lasts.

For come some bright fall morning, you’ll be going far away.
College life will beckon in a brilliant sort of way.

One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss.
One last time to understand just how much you’ll be missed.

I’ll watch you leave and think how fast our time together passed.
Let me hold on longer, God, to every precious last.

I love how this poem reminds us to cherish every moment as they come.

We never know when something will be the last time. I have no idea when my son will no longer like to give hugs and kisses(hopefully never) when my daughter no longer sings into her hairbrush, or the last time my sweet little princess will reach for my hand. When will she stop climbing onto my lap? When will be the last time we walk through the woods on our nature hikes?

We take for granted so many aspects of our lives. We take for granted the people we have in our lives.

We need to appreciate all the small gifts that God gives us.

Linking up with

Memoir Mondays~ My Grandmother's House

One of my favorite memories from childhood is when I lived with my grandparents. When I was 3, my parents divorced which caused my sister, my mom and myself to move in with my grandparents.  At a time when our world was changing drastically, my grandparents were a constant. A house filled with hugs and kisses. A kitchen filled with the warm smell of oatmeal and  homemade hot chocolate. There was so such things as prepackaged oatmeal or hot chocolate.  Everything was made from scratch and with love.

My grandmother was a special lady. She was the sweetest woman I have ever known. She was filled with love and shared that feeling with everyone who crossed her path. Her faith was strong. I remember a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary that was above her bed.

                   

She had two wall resin hangings of Jesus and Mary that hung in her living room. I recently have started searching online for vintage pieces in hope I can find something similar. She attended Mass every Sunday and cleaned the church. I remember one time when I was around 8, I asked her how we knew if there really was a God. She said we just had to ask God for faith. Somethings we just have to believe in. It was a simple answer and It's all I needed.

I loved spending time with her. She talked to you and listened to all that you had to say. She made you feel like you were the most important thing in the world. She spent time playing with us. She knew who we were even when we didn't have a clue.

I loved playing shoes store with her. She had a closet of shoes. Shoes she had collected over the years. She was extremely frugal and never spent much on herself. Her expensive shoe collection was from many years. She had all types of shoes. Sandals, high heels, mid-heels, low heels, wedges, strappy, classic and so many more. She had blue, black, tan, brown, white, gold, and silver. The only color I don't remember was red. She was much too practical for that. She would sit in her armchair in the living room and pretend she was a customer. I would ask her, "What are you looking for?" She would respond with whatever she was looking for. I would then head into her closet and pull out the selections that would fit her description. I would return with my stack of boxes and then help her try on her "new" shoes. She would pretend some didn't work and then finally decide on the pair she loved.

She would play store with me and we would shop her kitchen. She would select the items she needed from my store. I would write-up her receipt and she would pay for her groceries. I would bag them into a brown paper bag.

I remember one time when I was sick with the flu. I had slept for days and finally woke up one night feeling better. She got up with me while everyone was fast asleep. She fixed me something to eat and sat with me. We talked and looked at old family photo albums.

God knew I needed a grandma like her. My father's mother turned her back on us after my parent's divorce.  She was two grandmas for my sister and I. She gave us more love than we could imagine. She made up for the hurt we experienced from the divorce.

At the time, I didn't realize the memories  we were making. I was a small child just spending time with my grandma. The days of playing and sharing secrets mean so much to me. I wouldn't trade them for all the gold in the world.  My grandparents didn't have a lot of money and didn't buy us lots of gifts but we received the greatest gift of all. LOVE! The time I spent with my grandma are precious, cherished moments. Moments that didn't last long enough. My grandma passed away at 68 years old, way to young. They say the good die young, but I think God knew she was so special and wanted her back with him in Heaven.

At first I was angry, I even asked why God would take her but leave our other grandmother who had abandoned us. I couldn't understand why God would do that. I still don't. My grandma died when I was 15. My father's mother passed away 2 years ago. She got to live to a ripe old age. At times, I still question God's motives. I know we shouldn't but sometimes I think we can't help. I recently came to the conclusion that maybe my grandma knew what was important. She got it. She knew living was about loving. She loved us. She had learned the meaning of life. I think God leaves some people on this earth  a little longer so that maybe they can figure out the real meaning of life.

I look back at my life and I think she would be proud of the woman and mother I have become. I wandered around lost  for a while. I drifted away from faith. I was focused more on trying to find happiness in worldly things.  I look back and am saddened by how I was.  I know now what is more important in life now. God and my family. I am thankful for the early lessons she taught me.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my grandma.

 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel her presence.

I am blessed that she was part of my life for 15 years.

Memoir Mondays~ Enjoying the Quiet

After a week if running everyday, it was so nice to take a moment to quietly sit among nature and breathe it all in. Feeling the cool crisp breeze across my cheek was  a wake up call.  God reminding me to Cherish the little things.

We rush around and get so busy we lose focus. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I admit i hate running around. I strongly dislike being out of the house everyday of the week. It just drives me crazy. I do it because I want the kids to have experiences, friends, and fun outside the house. They need to be exposed to culture and different activities like music, sports, dance, art, etc. There are times I have my doubts. Do kid's days really need to be filled up with all this extra social activities? I don't know. I do know that when we get over extended life gets miserable around here. People get cranky, grumpy, sleepy, whiny  and dare I say something that rhymes with witchy.

I look back at my childhood and my days filled with playing. We didn't have art classes, music lessons (we did that in church), 3 different sports, etc. I did do gymnastics and dance when I was young but I don't remember our lives revolving around it. I miss those carefree days of childhood. No worries. No fears about the future. No fears you're messing things up.

It's a shame we can't go through life with the eyes of a child. I think our world would a more pleasant place.

A life full of innocence and happiness.

Linking up with my friend Chris over at