No Laptop ... More Painting

I have missed my blogging friends!  I'm still waiting on my laptop to be repaired & returned, so I am still "borrowing" Dan's when he's at the office (or at church meetings such as right now).  I know that laptops are laptops ... but he has an extra monitor,  a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse all hooked to the laptop. This laptop also serves as his home office computer so it's hooked into his office server (and all that comes along with that).  It can be rather intimidating to this Granny ...

 

 

 

Long story short .... I know -- TOO LATE! -- I miss my own laptop!

And I miss my blogging friends!  I really do need to learn how to manage my time better and set aside a block of time each day to write or create or just pick up a hobby.

 

But, here's a little glimpse into what's been going on in my house lately ...

Yes ... more painting!  Our Home Depot has little sample paints that can be mixed to any color swatch -- and also transparency sheets that you paint on and then peel & stick to the wall to see what the finished product will look like!

 

                   

 

 

Since we were changing the color in the entry foyer, we wanted to update the light fixture. I sent Dan this picture and told him that I really wanted it -- he didn't buy it from me nor from Lowe's!  {By the way, it takes 18 bulbs!}

 

But, I do like the one we got {it was the first one we saw} -- my husband knows me all too well!

 



 

So ... my next project is the stairway wall and the small upstairs hallway.  Dan's already taped it off for me, so I'm ready to prepare the walls for painting.  It doesn't show very well in the pictures, but the entry is now a "Dew" color -- almost like a soft pewter ... the stairway/hall will be "Candlewick" -- a very soft yellow.  The little ones say that we're "coloring the walls" ... and we agree.

 

As I'm waiting on my laptop ... and painting and painting and painting ...

I have a couple of questions ---

 

How do you manage your time?

What do you do for you?

{hobbies, creativity, ministries, etc}

 

Hope to catch up with you again soon!

Have a blessed week, my friends

 

 

On Being Deliberate ...

Sometimes life happens ...

 

okay, every-day life happens!

 

Too often I have simply allowed my days to get away from me.  Being "semi" empty-nesters means that Dan & I have several days to ourselves -- depending on if the kids come down for the weekend or if we just get Lucy for a few days.  Every week can be a different schedule for all of us. Many days I find when I am here at home while Dan is at his office ...
I am cleaning, straightening up from our visits, sorting & organizing, painting (I really have to get back to this project) ... well, you get the picture.  I can allow my days to get away from me without really doing "anything".

 

So this is where I have begun with this year ...

 

on being deliberate

 

Here's a few areas in my everyday life on which I am on a simple endeavor

to be deliberate ... 

• Time management -- I'm the type of person who has always been task-oriented.  From being a student with class projects, tests, assignments, etc ... to the various jobs I've had in which my daily responsibilities were pretty much laid out ... to my teaching days that I had to plan lessons and teach my kids ................... and now being a stay-at-home wife & Granny -- well, my days can certainly get away from me.  I've made a few little organizational changes that are actually helping me lay out my days more effectively.  There's always always always "things to do" around the house.  But my deliberate "time management" brings my awareness to my forefront on "what" I do with my time ... from my time with God to my chores around the house to my writing & creativity ... so, yes I'm very aware that I'm the type of person who needs to spend my time deliberately.

 



• Health -- This is the area in which I have been a bit lackadaisical.  I've given up my gym membership because I cannot justify the monthly fee & going only a couple of days a week.  So ... Dan I bought a treadmill and now I can workout anytime at home and watch tv or movies on our own television.  (And I do use it several days a week anytime during the day.)  And I am "more" deliberate on eating more nutritiously ... it's much easier to grab this or grab that, but I truly am more conscious on "what" I  put in my mouth.  {Reading Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst has helped me put my eating habits in perspective}.  I'm really not a "creative" cook, but it's fun to try new healthy recipes cooking for two!

• Mind -- The things I tend to clutter my mind with ... whether it's books, tv, movies, music, Internet ... I am becoming more deliberate with the "things" I put into my brain.  We used to sing this song at church when I was a little girl "O be careful little eyes what you see. O be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love. So be careful little eyes what you see."  And then of "little ears what you hear" and "little tongue what you say" and "little hands what you do" and "little feet where you go" and "little heart whom you trust" ... you get the picture.  I've read over and over again Proverbs 16:1-3 {taking an excerpt here but please read the whole chapter} ... The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.  Being deliberate in my mind is part of my overall attitude and effects not only me but my husband, family and everybody I come in contact with during the day.  

By no means am I saying that I am "perfect" in all of my deliberations. 

What I am saying is that I am now committing ME to the purpose that God has for me.  

Being deliberate helps me focus on what I do ... what I say ... what I think ...

and it keeps my focus on living to honor the God who created me to be me.

  

 

I hope you stay warm & safe if you are in the middle of this winter storm weather ...

and just remember that after every winter ...

Spring brings a new beginning for growth and promise.

 

Have a blessed week! 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Always Taking Time ... No Matter the Season

This year is mine & Grandad's 29th "busy season" together.  If you haven't put the pieces together of my posts, my husband is a CPA ... and we are up to our eyeballs in tax season!  Tax season tends to begin earlier & earlier in our house.  Hours "gently" increase between Thanksgiving and Christmas with various work projects ... then the week between Christmas and New Year's is practically as busy as the federal deadline itself.  Right now our weeks consist of 15+ hours most days with a couple of days during the week which Grandad actually comes home "early" to spend time with Lucy & Tag.  

Tax season schedules like this are nothing new to us.  When our daughter was growing up, there were many tax season weeks where she would see her Daddy just on the weekends (Saturday evenings at best, then always on Sundays when he would try his very best not to work).  Last tax season (when G I Joe was injured) and this tax season have something in common --- they are very unusual (for various reasons this year) and so he works on Sundays. (I know some people would have a lot to say about this but God knows my husband's heart better than anyone else does). 

But I'm saying all of this to preface a point:

No matter how busy his work gets, my husband has always taken time to be with his family. 

Back when our daughter was younger, they may have only seen each other on weekends during tax season, but they made the most of their time together.  He took her on Sunday "afternoon dates" after church -- out to eat, the movies, to the park (when the weather was nice) ... anything she wanted to do, her Daddy made sure they did it.  And then after tax season (we call this period ATS), he was always a chaperone on her class spring field trips. One tradition they had ATS, he would be the one to read her a bedtime story, say prayers with her & tuck her in for the night. 
 A busy Daddy ... yet a very hands-on Daddy.

And the tax season schedule continues with these two little grands in our house.  Lucy is at the age where she "misses Grandad" (with the saddest voice she can make), while Tag runs around the house looking for "Gan-dad, Gan-dad, Gan-dad" either in our family room (where Grandad has his make-shift "home office") or our bedroom.  So when Grandad comes through the garage door on his "early" days, our house erupts in laughter, squeals & cheers for  
"Grandad's home!!! Grandad's home!!! Grandad's home!!!"  

(And I must add that when I refer to "early days", I mean he's only been at work for about 12 hours that day, then he will bring work home to do after the two little munchkins have gone to bed ... 
so he still puts in about 14 hours of work)

Looking back on our past 29 tax seasons, I certainly cannot think of better "character witnesses" to my husband than these three people ... the three who have experienced (and currently experiencing) tax season as a child.  He has never complained about tax season hours ... he has always met deadlines (which there are actually numerous ones) ... he has lived by his motto "I'll take care of it" and he always does.

He & I normally are found in the mornings having a quick breakfast together at a fast food place -- whether we take our protein bars or get a sandwich (I know, not the healthiest but ...) We chat about various things for about 20 minutes then he is off to work.  We've been talking a lot lately about some of our childhood memories.  I love reminiscing & also hearing about the mischievous little boy that he was growing up.  He's talked many times throughout the years of how his Dad was his role model of how Daddies should be with their children.  And one of the things that he has carried with him is how his Dad would "get down in the floor with us (him & his brother) and just play".  And he has modeled what his Dad taught him through his actions -- my husband has been a "hands-on" Daddy who would always take time for his daughter ... and now he is a "hands-on" Grandad who always takes time for his grandchildren.  

My daughter's "Daddy" ... my grandchildren's "Grandad" ... my husband ...

This man has shown his daughter & grandchildren how valuable they are to him.  No matter how hectic and stressful work may get --- his priorities have always been on his family.  And this man has shown his wife (that's me :) not only how valuable his family is, but also how valuable I am to him.  It's not only a testament to his walk with his Savior, but he learned the importance of putting his family as priority from his Dad -- 
so it's a family thing.

Below is a poem that I first heard read by our pastor many years ago when our daughter was just a toddler.  It describes how children look to their Daddies for guidance & how they will follow in their Daddies' footsteps one day.  Every time I read it, I think of how my Granny influenced me along with my Mother & Daddy too ... and I think of how both my husband & I influence our daughter & my grandchildren ... and they will influence our future generations.  We all have someone who is watching & following in our footsteps.  And I am beyond thankful and so overwhelmingly blessed by my husband who has always (even during his busy seasons) taken time for his family.  

"Walk a little slower daddy,"
said a child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps
and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you."

author unknown

It's my endeavor to walk a little slower ...
generations that I will never meet are yet to follow me.

 

The Most Priceless Gift ...

Granddad and I went to a wonderful Christmas Open House tonight.  This is my 2^nd year going while he has attended for several years (usually headed directly from work).  Business colleagues and other associates mingle throughout the few hours with light refreshments and lots of chatting.  It always amazes me to see Granddad “in action” and be able to meet people that he knows outside of our personal world.  I talked for awhile to Bob, while Granddad was discussing business with Andrew.  You know, we grandparents can pick each other out in an instant, and our eyes light up when we start talking about our “grands”.  And Bob is just as proud of his granddaughter (who is in college) as Granddad and I are of our little Lucy.

During this festive season, I (as well as many others) can get caught up in searching for that perfect gift to give to someone.  In the past, I know that I have traveled hundreds of miles back and forth across town just for a "perfect” gift".  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that.  Matter of fact, I believe in putting thought into the gifts I give to others.  And truth be told, just the other day I traveled across town to one specialty store just to come away with Lucy 3 plastic boats for bath-time.  (In my defense, we have searched every store from Target to Wal-Mart to Dollar Stores just to be told ‘it’s seasonal’). The look on her face was priceless when I gave her this early Christmas present.  As she knelt down to make sure those boats were real, she whispered “Thank you Nanny” still with astonishment.

But, those boats are not Lucy’s “perfect Christmas gift”.  I could get her as many boats as I could find, as many princess accessories (because every princess needs accessories), as many Disney movies, baby dolls, stuffed animals … an endless list of “stuff”.  But the perfect Christmas gift can’t be wrapped in the perfect paper topped with the perfect bow.  Nor can it be bought.  Because spending our time with Lucy is what she needs.  And that’s what Granddad and I need as well.

Bob talked tonight about how his granddaughter had lived with him and his wife for awhile, and now that she is in college, she spends every break with her grandparents.  This reminded me of how Lucy’s Mommy would spend school breaks with her grandparents – my parents.  She even lived with them for a semester during college and commuted daily to class.  Mrs. ‘Joe always loved going to Grandma & Grandpa’s house for Christmas break, Spring break, Thanksgiving, weeks during the summer … And even though we moved several hours away from my hometown, a lot of vacation time was spent going to visit family and developing relationships. 

I grew up in a different time and place.  My aunts and uncles and cousins (as well as my family) lived around my Granny.  My parents and I lived with Granny and my Aunt K until I started 2^nd grade of elementary school.  Granny had her grandkids around her all the time – and we loved being around her!  Memories of sitting with her on the back porch and talking about her childhood memories, or her vegetable garden, her flower garden, or just about anything … We weren’t poor by any means because we had something that money just couldn’t buy. 

Bob talked about that "something" tonight.  The gift of spending time with a child is priceless.  The relationship that is built will carry on for many more years than we even imagine.  When I spend time with Lucy, I’m showing her that she is the most important aspect of my life. Our little world could stop spinning at that point in time.  And as she gets older, she will pass this on to her children and grandchildren, and they will pass it on … and the relationship cycle will never end.

Building relationships takes time ... time that you can’t get back or have a “re-do” … time that is very well spent on what really matters in life.  Granddad & I are so thankful for our time that we spend with the ‘Joes … and especially for our time with Princess Lucy.  Yes, there are still a few Christmas gifts that I would like to find to wrap and place under our tree.  But the most priceless gift of all won’t be found in pretty paper under our tree.  

This gift can be found through our relationship with our 2 year old princess … 

Christmas picture with Lucy, Granny & Granddad

         

It's December ... Already?????

To quote a famous philosopher "I cannot believe it!" ... December ... already???? (Okay, so the 'famous philosopher' is actually Quincy from Disney's Little Einstein's -- yes, Granny quotes Disney often)

I had every intention to write more, organize more and read more.  But, "the best-laid schemes go astray"  (Robert Burn's poem "To a Mouse")  Oh my, I'm on a roll here with quotes, so maybe I'd better just make this a short post.  (I'm so very glad you agree with me.)

I really don't know where this year has gone.  I've told several people that it seems that time goes by faster with having a grandchild in the house than it did when the future Mrs 'Joe was growing up.  (I guess that just means that Granddad & Granny are getting older ... and hopefully wiser.) 

So tonight I just want to post a few pictures of our time with Lucy over the past couple of months.  Gracious, it seems like just yesterday the 'Joes were bringing her home from the hospital.     

And now ...

Making Halloween cookies

Of course Granddad had to help with icing & sprinkles

"I'm so sorry, Granddad. This cookie is just for Lucy!"

Lucy loves rockin' with her gourds!

Even Lucy needs a break from Rockin' out so hard.

"Did you see me a-rockin', Granny?"

If you are a grandparent, then you know how valuable our time is with our grandchildren.

If you are a soon-to-be grandparent, you will soon realize just how valuable our time is with our grandchildren.

Gracious ... it really is December!