Happy Mother's Day

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~Washington Irving

Wishing all of my Mommy friends and families a very Happy Mother's Day filled with an abundance of love, laughter and joy!! I leave you with some of my favorite pictures of Little Chick and myself.

My Greatest Blessing!

Proud Mama Hen

"I thank you God for the most amazing day; for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes."

e.e. cummings

Today Little Chick did her first flip backwards on the monkey bar rings! Not only did she do one, but her determined nature (not sure where she got that-hmmmmm) motivated her to repeat it twenty times in a row. Of course I did the Mama Hen dance and got my digital camera and video camera. To see her light up each time she successfully flipped over and saw me doing a cheer, filled my heart with such infinite joy! I took a moment to look up at the crystal blue sky and at the wind blowing through the magnificently green trees and then back at Little Chick. Taking a deep breath in I said, "Thank you dear Lord, for I am truly blessed."

As you know, I have been talking about finding "balance" and taking time in my busy day to really stop and reflect. Today was the first time in a very long time that I was able to feel a moment of ultimate peace and happiness in the calm of the moment.

Thanksgiving Thursday

When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and look out
upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who says it has to be November to truly evaluate what we are thankful for? Sadly, I think so many of us (including myself) get so caught up in our daily hectic lives, that we don't take the time to stop and conscientiously give thanks to the many, many blessings we have been given. My father told us every day to say thank you to God for our gifts of health, family, shelter, and love. I do pray every night, but there are quite a few hours in each day that I get a bit lost in the craziness of accomplishing my daily tasks. I think it is so important for all of us to stop throughout our busy "routines" and "schedules" and simply show our gratitude for all that should be cherished in our lives.

Here are just a few of my many blessing:

Finch Birdies

It is that time again! Spring is here and Little Chick loves feeding the birds. In the words of my daughter, "The Finch birdies!" She also feeds the seagulls, ducks, geese and the occasional dog that happens to be in the path of bread crumbs (sorry owners). Little Chick is a nature lover and all of God's creatures are her friends.

There is nothing so beautiful and amazing as the affection and genuine care a child has for her fellow animals. I love my Little Chick!!!!!

When You Give You Get

"When you give you get."

This quote holds a special place in my heart. Recently I have had to remind myself of the meaning behind it. After my Dad passed away I had gone through a very tough time. What made it even more difficult was that my really good "friends" of the time were not there for me. They had been there for the many elaborate dinners I had cooked (I love to entertain Martha Stewart style), they were there for the big parties at my parent's house, and they were there for hanging out at my apartment every weekend. BUT where were they when I was sinking as low as I could possibly go?

There was a new friend I had just met at the time who has since become like a sister to me. That takes us back to the "friends for a season, a reason, and for a lifetime." It was obvious that the fair weather friends needed to go. And through this experience God had brought some real angels into my life. They cared for me and sat by my side until I was able to get my feet back on the ground.

When I was finally up to it, I flew to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a week to sooth my soul. I had lived there for two years when I was younger and I had wonderful friends waiting to cheer me up. One night after dinner one of my friend's buddies (who I had never met before) was sitting next to me at a coffee house. He had asked me why I was so sad. I explained to him about my father's passing and continued to divulge all the pain I felt from my "good friends" not being there for me. I told him about all of the wonderful things I had done for them and how I really loved each one of them. I went on and on about them not giving back to me the care I so lovingly had given them in such a traumatic point in my life. When I needed my friends most!

He then took a silver bracelet from his wrist and placed it on my own. He squeezed it shut without letting go. While wrapping both of his hands around my wrist he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "When you give you get." I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I said, "But what about the people who I cared and did so much for?" He told me that we should never look to receive back from the place we had shown our kindness. He said that we all must keep on giving and it will come back to us from other places. He reminded me that we should not give looking to receive.

It was a valuable lesson for me and twelve years later I have had to recall that encounter. With all of the things I have filled my schedule with lately and the huge projects I did for Little Chick's school I have to say that I was hurt that I did not receive any thanks for the hard work I had done to help out. However, after putting it all into perspective and remembering what my friend had told me, I realized that the only one I truly did all that work for was Little Chick. She had said she was proud of me and that is all I needed.

Being a giver at heart can be difficult at times, because we do not always receive the response we wish for. But I know for sure that when we give we truly do get. It may not be from the receiver, it may not be right away, but it does always come back.

Smile Sunday

Smile Sunday is a day to reflect and think positively for the upcoming week. Here is a quote to ponder and a silly picture to put a smile on your face. May your week be a great one!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough,

and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to

clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into

a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

Proud Mama Hen Moment

Little Chick's first smiley

face with legs!

A Juggling Act

Last week I talked about getting inspired. I mentioned how my father taught us, through his example, to live each day positively and full of kind doings for others. Lately I have been taking on far more than the twenty-four hour day will allow me to do (so much for trying to find "balance" in my life). My motivation for all of this getting inspired is Little Chick. My entire day is filled to capacity with things that I do for and with my daughter. Like my Dad, I want her to learn through my example. However, the one thing that I am not so good at is finding the time I need for myself to recharge. We all need it, but how many of us really set aside the proper time we actually require to re energize?

Having waited as long as I did to finally have Little Chick, I guess there is a part of me that simply can't let go of being a super dedicated mom for even a moment to refuel my individual being. This is where the "balance" I so desperately need comes into play. It is also the part where I have to remind myself (as all parents do) that without recharging our inner battery we will simply fizzle out.

The past few weeks I volunteered to do some special things in Little Chick's school for teacher appreciation week. It all sounded great when I offered and my creative mind was proud of what I was going to do, but the reality was that "time" was limited for me to be able to accomplish everything to the degree of what I consider well done. I am a bit of a perfectionist and have a hard time doing mediocre projects. So there I was up late every night working on getting each task done. My family kept saying that no one will ever know the amount of time and work that I did on these projects, but it came down to what I knew and most importantly what Little Chick saw her mommy preparing for her classroom.

This morning I brought the finished project to my daughter's school. As I started hanging my art pieces, Little Chick said to everyone that walked by, "Look what mommy made! I'm so proud of her." It was all worth it!!

In a parent's world it comes down to a juggling act each day. We have to prioritize and make sure that our children's needs are completely met emotionally, physically and spiritually. While perhaps these projects were entirely too time consuming for what my schedule allows for these days, the end result was truly priceless. I had accomplished what my father had done for us - teaching through example. Creating balance and recharging my inner self is still looming over my head. I guess we all have to start by recognizing exactly what will help us to refuel our minds, bodies and spirits. Next, we have to make the time to do it. And finally, we have to get rid of the "guilt" that comes with doing something purely for ourselves (something I so desperately need to learn).