I love flowers.
I adore flowers.
Flowers make my heart sing.
Flowers make my heart leap with joy.
However, there are some flowers I can live without...
Anxiously anticipating the end of ragweed season.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Gratitude...counting the gifts
Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us.
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
... dirty dishes--that I have dishes and a family that's been fed.
... open windows, a cool breeze, a certain crispness in the air.
... surviving my adventure with the stairs.
... the smell of blackberry cobbler baking in the oven.
... the anticipation of "fall" foods.
... unlimited texting.
... learning along with the boy as we study together. (He talks, I listen. Oh, how I am grateful that he still talks to me.)
... open windows, a cool breeze, a certain crispness in the air.
... surviving my adventure with the stairs.
... the smell of blackberry cobbler baking in the oven.
... the anticipation of "fall" foods.
... unlimited texting.
... learning along with the boy as we study together. (He talks, I listen. Oh, how I am grateful that he still talks to me.)
"In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy." ~ Albert Clarke
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Ordinary
I am a contradiction sometimes.
Some days I find myself lamenting over the ordinariness of my days. Every day seems to be a bit of the same...get up, get ready (for what depends on the day and the mood of the various occupants of the house), get everyone else up, fix various forms of food, wash various forms of clothing, head off to work, head back home, fix more food, maneuver around the moods of the various occupants of the house, and do whatever else comes along with just living.
Then there are the other days. The days when I think about the "new normal." This certainly has been the year for it. First the wedding. Then the endless illnesses with all three various occupants of this house. The Graduation. More illness. Surgery. College. A Diagnosis. Learning to live with chronic illness. On those days I wonder where "ordinary" went. Not to worry though. More than likely, the next morning I will wake up, get up, get ready...you get the picture.
This week I've been thinking about the ordinary. Thinking about blogging and how I never seemed to think about anything to say when I was near a computer. How I missed blogging...even the mundane little tidbits that make up my life. I actually even thought about how the dogs hadn't done anything interesting or exciting to share on here as I've done in days past.
Until Wednesday.
Morning.
6:40 in the morning to be precise.
That was about the time that I decided to carry down a load of laundry to wash before leaving for work.
Apparently that was also about the time the "dogs race each other down the stairs" event was scheduled to begin.
Unbeknownst to me.
If only we'd had a video camera trained on the stairs. I'm sure I could have won the top prize on AFV.
Regardless, as I was swept from the top step to the bottom step in a matter of moments, laundry and phone still clutched in my hand, (perhaps it might have been better to drop one or both and try to stop my fall...) the irony did not escape me. Well, it escaped me until after I burst into tears, called Josh and told him that the dogs tried to kill me.
I did survive though. With a bruised thigh or two, a banged up elbow, sore armpits (which makes me wonder if I tried to flap my arms like a chicken and fly on the way down), and sore tops of my feet. (and what on earth is up with that? Did I try to hit the brake on the way down?)
Kind of gives me a new appreciation for the ordinary though...
He looks so innocent, doesn't he?
Some days I find myself lamenting over the ordinariness of my days. Every day seems to be a bit of the same...get up, get ready (for what depends on the day and the mood of the various occupants of the house), get everyone else up, fix various forms of food, wash various forms of clothing, head off to work, head back home, fix more food, maneuver around the moods of the various occupants of the house, and do whatever else comes along with just living.
Then there are the other days. The days when I think about the "new normal." This certainly has been the year for it. First the wedding. Then the endless illnesses with all three various occupants of this house. The Graduation. More illness. Surgery. College. A Diagnosis. Learning to live with chronic illness. On those days I wonder where "ordinary" went. Not to worry though. More than likely, the next morning I will wake up, get up, get ready...you get the picture.
This week I've been thinking about the ordinary. Thinking about blogging and how I never seemed to think about anything to say when I was near a computer. How I missed blogging...even the mundane little tidbits that make up my life. I actually even thought about how the dogs hadn't done anything interesting or exciting to share on here as I've done in days past.
Until Wednesday.
Morning.
6:40 in the morning to be precise.
That was about the time that I decided to carry down a load of laundry to wash before leaving for work.
Apparently that was also about the time the "dogs race each other down the stairs" event was scheduled to begin.
Unbeknownst to me.
If only we'd had a video camera trained on the stairs. I'm sure I could have won the top prize on AFV.
Regardless, as I was swept from the top step to the bottom step in a matter of moments, laundry and phone still clutched in my hand, (perhaps it might have been better to drop one or both and try to stop my fall...) the irony did not escape me. Well, it escaped me until after I burst into tears, called Josh and told him that the dogs tried to kill me.
I did survive though. With a bruised thigh or two, a banged up elbow, sore armpits (which makes me wonder if I tried to flap my arms like a chicken and fly on the way down), and sore tops of my feet. (and what on earth is up with that? Did I try to hit the brake on the way down?)
Kind of gives me a new appreciation for the ordinary though...
He looks so innocent, doesn't he?Monday, September 20, 2010
Gratitude
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." - Epictetus
***the first tint of fall showing up in our trees...***two letters from Amisha...
"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." - Henry Ward Beecher
***improvement from the boy's physical therapy...
***cooler mornings...
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” — Thornton Wilder
***Conversations with my father and my son...***a heritage...
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward
***the opportunity to fix breakfast for both my children..."To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." Johannes A. Gaertner
Saturday, September 18, 2010
2010 seems like the longest year.
Or maybe it is 2011 and no one told me. (Nope, that can't be true. If it were, we would be on another year of insurance deductibles and I'm sure someone would be letting me know.)
I think I've spent the biggest portion of this year in doctor's offices or hospitals or waiting for results from the aforementioned visits.
Anyway, after much contemplation, rumination, and excogitation, the doctors appear to have a diagnosis for Jonathan. It seems he has a type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This accounts for the extreme pain in his joints, difficulty getting around and the falling/joints "giving way." While there is no cure, it can be managed with certain types of medication and physical therapy. He will also have regular tests done on his heart to see if there has been any change in the elasticity of the heart valves.
All in all though, it's not an insurmountable obstacle. He began physical therapy last week and the therapist is already beginning to see a strengthening of his tendons and Jonathan is beginning to see a lessening of his pain level. (a four instead of a six all the time.)
God is good.
And faithful.
We are grateful to have a diagnosis. We are grateful that, while not curable, it is manageable. We are grateful that Jonathan did not want to be a lumberjack or football player when he grew up. His life's ambitions are still obtainable even with physical limitations.
God is good.
Or maybe it is 2011 and no one told me. (Nope, that can't be true. If it were, we would be on another year of insurance deductibles and I'm sure someone would be letting me know.)
I think I've spent the biggest portion of this year in doctor's offices or hospitals or waiting for results from the aforementioned visits.
Anyway, after much contemplation, rumination, and excogitation, the doctors appear to have a diagnosis for Jonathan. It seems he has a type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This accounts for the extreme pain in his joints, difficulty getting around and the falling/joints "giving way." While there is no cure, it can be managed with certain types of medication and physical therapy. He will also have regular tests done on his heart to see if there has been any change in the elasticity of the heart valves.
All in all though, it's not an insurmountable obstacle. He began physical therapy last week and the therapist is already beginning to see a strengthening of his tendons and Jonathan is beginning to see a lessening of his pain level. (a four instead of a six all the time.)
God is good.
And faithful.
We are grateful to have a diagnosis. We are grateful that, while not curable, it is manageable. We are grateful that Jonathan did not want to be a lumberjack or football player when he grew up. His life's ambitions are still obtainable even with physical limitations.
God is good.
Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
--What Faith Can Do by Kutless
The LORD is the strength of my life... Psalm 27.1
Friday, September 10, 2010
Peckish
Dictionary.com defines the word "peckish" as "rather irritable." That mostly describes my mood today. I could offer reasons but that doesn't really excuse it.
So I'll be working on that the remainder of the day.
Because "peckish" is kind of like chicken pox. If I have it and allow it to come in contact with other human beings in the house, before long we are all itchy.
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