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Being Together!

Being Together!
All of us!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

A Lesson Learned!

I am putting myself our on a bit of a limb here.  I don't really like to show my "less than perfect" side,(you can stop laughing now!)  but I think I must. 
So here it goes, I must confess that I tend to be a bit jealous at times.  I have had moments when I have found it hard to be happy for someone else who has what I want.  When my cousin got the cabbage patch doll with the blond hair and blue eyes, after waiting for so long and I think she even had to pay for it herself; my doll, the one that I had received as a gift when they were first new, from my dear Mother, who sacrificed to buy it, didn't seem quite as wonderful anymore.  And I remember I could hardly congratulate my dear cousin.  Yikes!  But, I have since seen the error of my ways and Mom if you are reading this, I love Bianca!  Thank you so much for giving her to me!!! And congratulations my dear cousin!  I truely hope that you enjoyed every moment!
Okay, so why am I confessing this to you? Because today I came across something that only a couple of months ago would have caused those same feelings, but instead I discovered that I really like where I am and who I am! 
Last year I heard a podcast from a woman who had everything I wanted.  She was an author, a photographer, the mother of 5, Yes! I have always wanted 5 children, she was living in a cool place, and in general, seemed happy and loving her life! I don't begrudge her her joy, but I do remember feeling cranky after hearing her story. 
Well, I just stumbled upon a little clip of her talking about her blog.  She has a beautiful family, a lovely home, she even has the cool world map on the wall in her dining room!!! She is still an author, a talented photographer, she still has 5 beautiful children, BUT, I didn't feel envious of her this time.  I had great joy for who she is, what she is doing and I also realized WHY!
I am in a much better place these days. Instead of seeing what I lacked, I saw what was possible! I am living more of my authentic life, if you will.  And I can see and feel the joy and contentment it is bring me.  Is it just a coincidence that this joy and contentment has come about at the same time I have decided to turn off the T.V and get a life?  I don't think so. 
I believe that turning off the television has given me what I need to reach my own goals and to live the life I have always wanted! It has given me the quiet I need to hear what the possibilities might be and the time to see those possibilities unfold. I am grateful for this gift that I am giving to myself and to my family.  I hope that you are able to do the same!
Have an authentic day, I plan to!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

HELP!

The past couple of days have been kinda dull and "blaw"! I am guessing I am suffering from a bit of the February Blues!  A trip to Hawaii sounds about right!  I could check off one of my goals too!! But this doesn't seem to be in the cards this year... 
So I am putting it out there. When you can't get a way what do you do to conquer the cabin fever at your house?  What do/would you do with out the T.V involved?  I am hoping that you will post them on here and I will take the list and make it one of my side posts to share with everyone!
Hope you will help me out!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

In Memory of Good Old Movies!

It is just about the end of February already!  Where does the time go?  I have to say that this month was harder then the last to get through without turning the T.V on.  I am sure it has something to do with the storms we have had and the tradition that cosing in usually includes watching a good movie or three!
The other night while sitting around the table eating supper, someone said something that led us into quoting most of the Princess Bride movie! This is a classic at our house and we just about know it by heart!  Last night it was the Pink Panther movie.  Nathan and Mackenzie had Jacob and Colin and me in stitches!  Who knew they knew it so well? They had the accent down perfectly and just played off each other like they had rehearsed it!  So funny but a bit scary when I think of the movies out there that could become ingrained in their minds! Maybe someone needs to create a movie with the times tables worked into it! hehe
I am looking forward to March.  We still have a bit of winter to get through in our part of the world!  I am perusing seed catalogues and dreaming of the day I can get my hands into the dirt.  Until then we will enjoy the beauty of the season and the memories of all of those good old movies!
Hope you have a great day!  I plan to!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Memories!

I have a dear cousin who was asking family and friends for memories they have of her and their time with her.  It was really fun to sit down and think about that.  I was amazed at what I did remember and how silly some of it was.  I also found that she had a great impact on my childhood. I looked up to her and am grateful for her wonderful example. 
I have been thinking since then, about other childhood memories I have had and the memories my own children will have.  What will be their greatest memories?  Will they be happy positive ones or negative, will they be about their own lives or others lives, will they be real or virtual?  We are still talking in what I like to call "Media Memories"!  Something is said and my children, some more then others, relate the experience to some movie or T.V show they watched.  I have to tell you it makes me a bit sad!  I have tried and continue to try to give them their own cool experiences, yet it is the ones from the media that seem to be remembered the most! 
What are some of your childhood memories? 
I remember being outside, having run of the neighbourhood, digging in the dirt, fishing with my brothers, swimming in the lake, building sandcastles, tobogganing, skating on that same lake that we swam in.  Exploring the woods, finding toad stools and water lilies, climbing into my brother's tree fort and not being able to get down, climbing trees, playing house, bike riding, playing hide and go seek at night in the dark, dew worm hunting, raspberry picking, visits from cousins, finding pictures in the clouds, bonfires on the beach, swinging so high I thought I could touch the sky.
There are so many good memories. They have helped to make me who I am today. 
My worry is that the memories of today's youth are so in twined with the T.V they watch and the gaming they do that they may forget that these experiences are not real or their own. 
Okay, so maybe I am being a bit over dramatic, but seriously.  Has your child been outside to play in the real world this past week?  Not just going from the car to the school and back again, but really experiencing the great outdoors? Have you? Have you spent time together doing something other then watching the Television?  Have you turned off the computer long enough to find out how their day was at school?  I ask you these questions, but I also ask myself the same ones.  I think it is good to check-in to see just where we stand. One foot in reality and one in the virtual world?  Maybe, are we okay with that? Are our children okay with it?  Is our are family okay with it?  Are we thriving or just surviving? 
My challenge today is to be aware of the memories my family are making and to check-in to make sure we are really connecting!
I hope you have a memorable day, I plan to!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Self Declared Snow Day!

I should have kept my children home yesterday.  It was much worse than today, but I trusted that the "Powers That Be" knew what they were doing.  I guess everyone got home okay, but I am really not impressed that such a chance was taken with my children's (all children for that matter) safety at stake.  So after the craziness of yesterday we have decided that we all needed a day off! And hey, the wind is blowing and I did see some flakes a bit ago!
The plan...to figure out what to do without the T.V!  We have made waffles for breakfast, Nathan is snowblowing the driveway, Mackenzie is working on her science fair project, of which I am trying to keep my opinion to myself!  Jacob is helping with the waffles and the project.
The rest of the day?  Well we have a list!  Mackenzie wants to finish her project, sew a skirt and quilt.  Nathan wants to continue to work on taking the old snowblower apart, build a shelf and a rocket!  Jacob wants to read, play block towers, make cookies and have lots of snuggles!  I just want to enjoy the time with all of them, soaking up their ideas and their abundent energy.   I may even plant a tomato plant or two!
Take it easy today!  I plan to!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Heart Day!

Here it is, Valentine's Day!  That one day of the year set aside for the romantic in all of us.  It is snowing and blowing outside,  but warm and cozy in my snug little house.  And I have to admit that all I want to do is put in some great romantic comedy and coze up on the couch. My dear husband is away for a couple of days so really that is the only romance to be expected for the day.  I think I am justified!!
Plan B is to spend the evening with my children reading!  Nathan has been going through some of the book boxes in the basement and it is like Christmas!!  He keeps bringing up so many of our old favorites that we have forgotten about! 
So rather then zoning out in front of the tube, I think that we will all enjoy the big pot of chili that is on the stove, get into our P.J's and coze into my bed with a pile of our most favorite books! (I have added a list of some them)
Stay warm, I plan to! 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Yesterday's adventures with Jacob were wonderful!  We didn't do much of what I posted we would because he decide on a different plan!  We made yummy cookies~with him telling me to add skor bits, M&M's, pumpkin seeds, and a big chocolate kiss on the top!  Then we read one book, Andrew's Loose Tooth by Robert Munsch, we ate lunch, scrap booked a couple of pages for Mackenzie and played with blocks.

Jacob is pushing the "switch with the beater up~ not a good thing!

Jacob has a switch that we hook up to a Power link so that he can turn whatever is plugged into it on!  He had some fun with it!  Hitting it when the beater was up instead of down in the bowl!   





Helping to add the kisses!


We made them big and they are SO Yummy!



Focusing hard to push the stickers in place!




Adding the Glue!
 
Jacob getting ready to use his switch

It was truly a great day with the focus all on him! I am glad that I didn't try to do anything else but be with him.  My house is now in a bit of ciaos, but it was worth the happy boy I had and the great big hug I got from him in the afternoon.  Really this whole week has been about Jacob.  I spent the day at school with him on Tuesday and I just returned from a field trip to local SPCA. What a gift!  I'm not going much but I will post some pictures of our day yesterday. 
Hope you have a great day!  I plan to!


Jacob is Knocking down my tower~he thinks he is so funny!

His choices for  yummy cookies!
 






Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Blessing of the Unexpected!

I am being blessed today with the opportunity to be with my youngest son, Jacob.  We got a bit of snow yesterday and this morning when it was time to snow blow the drive way, we couldn't find the key.  It has fallen out somewhere and I will hopefully find it soon.
So since I can't get around the drifts in the driveway, Jacob who I am driving back and forth to school this week because the bus with the lift on it is in the shop, is stuck at home with his mother.
If this had been last year, Jacob would have spent most of day in front of some screen and I would have continued to do the norm. Cleaning, writing, cleaning, food prep, cleaning... well you get the picture! Today is going to be different! Jacob and I have done a bit of communicating (he doesn't speak verbally) and we have made a plan!!
We are going to spent the day paint pictures, building and knocking down block towers, eating yummy food, snuggling, reading some Munsch, and just cozin' in together. I am grateful for the change!  It is wonderful when life throws us a bit of something different. If we are calm we just might find some joy in it! 
Jacob is getting a bit impatient, we do have an exciting day to attend to so I will leave with this!
I hope you have an unexpected day!  I am!

Monday, February 7, 2011

The Quiet

Are you like me and finding the quiet of having the T.V off a bit much sometimes?  Again, I think it forces us to be alone with our thoughts and that can be hard.  I sometimes find myself turning on the music or a book on CD so I can drowned out the quiet. But I want to share with you a couple of things that have happened when everything was turned off and it was quiet enough to hear.
Last week I got the kids off to school and was working around the house.  I had done the dishes, been tidying up the boy's room, let the dog out, put away some clean laundry and as I was taking more clothes out of the dryer my wedding ring caught on my jeans.  It felt funny so I looked at it and saw, to my horror, that my diamond was missing!  I was so sad.  I quickly said a prayer that I would find it and began running around the house to all of the places I had been that morning looking frantically with a flash light for this tiny, little stone.  I had no luck.  So I tried again.  
This time I asked and then I listened.  The house was still and I just stood there waiting for any little thought that might help me to find it.  It came.  I simply got the idea that I should check the front hall mat.  I did and there just in front of the door where I had let the dog out that morning was my tiny, little diamond!  I don`t know what you believe, Maybe you would say it was just a coincidence, but I know it to be the Spirit whispering to me and I am grateful it was quiet enough to hear.
The other experience I had was on Tuesday last week. I was cleaning yet again, (it seems to be what I do!) when I came across my son's back pack.  Inside there was what I think was once an orange!  He is not good with back packs!  This is the second one that he has gone through in a short time and as I was cleaning it out and wondering what I could do to help him learn that he must take better care of his things, wondering if he should be the one cleaning it out, I had a thought come to me, that I could write a story about it!  So as the pack was in the washer I sat down and wrote.  It so was cool. The story just sort of came to me.  It was a great gift and as I read it to Nathan a funny little smile came upon his face.  It turned what could have been a frustrating experience into a loving, happy one.(And I dare say the story isn't half bad either.  Maybe we'll see it in print someday!) I am hopeful that he got the message!!
I am now grateful for the quiet.  I hope you will be able to feel the same way.   Once we get over the fear of being left with our own thoughts, I believe great things will happen! What quiet messages are waiting for you to hear? I hope you will take the challenge and find out!
Enjoy the quiet, I plan to!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Time to Lighten Up!

Okay, it's time to lighten up.  I can see that I've been a bit too serious over the past few posts.  It's Friday after all and it is time to have some fun!!  So what are you doing this week end?  Do you have some fun plans made?
My dear Husband, Colin, is coming home tonight after being away for the week!  My hope is to have all the gruelling house work done so that my family can just play all week end!  I hope to get out in the snow, eat some yummy food, get down to the water to see what we can see.  I've heard rumours that there might be some seals around!  Just spend some quality time together! 
I was talking to friend last night about the different types of people.  We decide that we are those who like to be at home and with our family.  There is nothing I like more then to spend time with my family.  And luck for me, my kids don't mind hanging out with their dear old parents!  I am not sure how long this will last, but for now I plan to enjoy every minute of it!  In the blink of an eye they will be gone and a new chapter will...Oops. sorry, I forgot, I am lightening up! hehehe
But really time is fleeting and I am excited that we have chosen to pause a bit, turn off the noise and have some fun together!  Hope you have a Wonderful week end!  I plan to!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Watch Your Head!

I was reminded last night of the power of media.  It has the power to get inside your head and put stuff there that you would never normally put there.  I went to a movie and really should have walked out.  I closed my eyes through many parts and kept thinking it has got to get better, but goodness some of the stuff that I did see will be stuck in my head forever. Yuck!
I feel as though I was assaulted and I was the one who waked down the dark alley and then stood there instead of running to safety. 
We have amazing minds! Think about what your brain does in just one second!  Incredible!  I want to be more careful with mine. I am careful to wear a helmet when I get on my bike or go snowmobiling, but I want to protect it from the filth that is out there too.  So I am making a vow not to watch any movie with a rating over PG.  Even PG can be questionable these days.  And not just for the year, for the rest of my life.  I am worth that!
I hope you have a great day and watch your head!  I plan to!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

ON TO FEBRUARY!

Wow!  January is over.  I can't believe how quickly time goes by.  We have finished our first month without T.V.  Over the week end when we got back from Nova Scotia the kids picked their movie and we had a movie night. We had to work out some of the kinks.  Nathan thought we should be able to have a whole day of T.V watching. Mackenzie was sad that it got too late for her to watch my movie but I didn't want to drag it out into more then one day. So we rented Despicable Me for Jacob and Mackenzie.  Nathan wanted to watch some of his Plant Earth movie and I rented Sense and Sensibility.
We all loved Despicable me!!  It really was good.  Sense and Sensibility was good, but the book was so much better as is usually the case!  I didn't watch Planet Earth with Nathan.  But he seemed quite happy with it.
It was a fun night and we really enjoyed it.  Probably more then we use to because it was something different. Maybe even something special! 
Now we are on to month two!  I wonder if we will encounter any changes this month, or have we just settled into it all.  I am excited for the time we have gained.   I am eager to get on with some fun projects and live a more full authentic life! Here's to a Fabulous February!
Would love to hear how January went for you! Hope you have great day!  I plan to!