Five Minute Friday: Bare

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back here and invite others to join.
3. Go buck wild with encouragement for the five minuter who linked up before you.

Linking up to and writing from Lisa-Jo Baker's prompt today: BARE

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This Mama's feet are bare. Almost always bare. Cold, scruffy, unkempt, bare. Four toenails have the slightest hint of red polish reminiscent of the kind pedi/mani gift Hubby bought me in November. It was  a treat for a busy Mama to have someone care about my bare feet. They were warm, smooth, snazzy and adorable (and yes, my petite feet can actually be adorable) for two weeks but now long past their prime. These bare feet show a piece of my life. I awake when The Baby awakes...up quickly ;) to feed her...no time for slippers... Now she's fed but needs diapered and clothed.  Then The Boy is awake and needs to use the potty, wriggle into those big boy undies, soccer pants and favorite Broncos sweatshirt. Boy almost always puts on his own socks and hiking boots. His feet are not bare. They are decked out in "boyness". We head downstairs for breakfast. Mama still in jammies half the time but barefooted all the time. It's a lovely, busy cold-toed life I lead. What a wonderful world. My bare feet show a glimpse of my life. I am not a supermodel with pristine, polished toes stuffed into pumps. I am not a beach babe with pink sparkle polish poking from the sand. I am a mother, a wife, a chef, a maid, a teacher with busy, bare feet but a warm, full heart. In the end, toes don't matter.

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FiveMinuteFriday: Again

Writing for five minutes to record my thoughts yet not over-thinking it...I forgot to do this post on the actual Friday Lisa-Jo Baker put it up (1/25/13) but wanted to catch up.  Here goes...the topic...AGAIN

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The priceless, repetitive words of my babies. Use your imagination to translate the "toddler speak".

Liam:

• "Pay, Dada, pay" as soon as Daddy returns from work. Again the next day and the next day.
• Pinching my arm as he snuggled and nursed. Again, four hours later. Again, leaving bruises.
• "Watch a wideo"...oh, boy, Caillou again?
• Charming with his whole body "wiggle, wiggle" as she showed off for guests again.
• "Pueba, Pu-na-na, Pueek" again and again as his sister laughs at his made up language. Don't try to translate toddler speak on that one. We're at a loss for its actual meaning.

Mia:

• Pulling my hair, playing with my necklace and my ears as she snuggles and nurses. Again, as my head jerks down from the tug. Again, as I giggle from her ear tickles.
• Doing the "shake, shake" of her head on command. Again. And while I try to give her sweet potatoes again...hmmm.
• Giggles galore at her goofy brother...again. The best sound in the world, again and forever.
• Grabbing for her little ceramic bunnies from her Great Grandma Florence ever time we pass her bookshelf. Again as we leave. Again as we turn on her sound machine. Again, this time with a whine when we don't have time to snuggle ceramic bunnies.
• The little fingers gripping and pulling and crimping as she must pull to standing again. On the ottoman again. On the train table as she destroys it again. On the tupperware drawer again.

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In the picture above Liam is "paying" with his Dada as he flies through the air like a spaceship. Mia is mezmorized by her ceramic bunnies from Great Grandma.

Five Minute Friday: Afraid

Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s finger paint with words.

Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not. Here’s how to play along:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Go leave some comment props for the five minute artist who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on the prompt:

Afraid

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I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

I don't consider myself afraid of much. Oh, except The Tower of Doom at Six Flags. Ha! Never again, never again.

I don't tend to dwell on the "what ifs" and I'm not into "doom and gloom". I know Christ has my future all planned out. He has faithfully directed my steps for so long.

I distinctly remember memorizing John 16:33 when I was young and just started studying The Word on my own. It has always stuck with me through the years. I wonder why. Will there come a day when I am faced with unfathomable trouble? Will I be able to abide in His peace?  There is tragedy in this world that makes a lump rise in my throat and tears pour down my cheeks. Oh, Dear God, the "babies" lost: Jessica Ridgeway, the Connecticut Kindergarteners, the 2 year old classmate of a friend's son all taken in an instant. THAT is my fear! My babies, a tragedy of my own. Please, Dear God, no!  Maybe this verse has stuck with me to remind me that God went through it all. He overcame this world. He conquered this world. He conquered death. There should be no sting. He even knows what it is like to lose a son.

Peace...peace...be still my fears. Jesus has overcome.

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Five Minute Friday: Cherished

It's Friday again! Yahoo! Today's FiveMinuteFriday from lisajobaker.com is to be focused on the word "cherished".

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I have several special moments of my wedding day 6 1/2 years ago engraved in my memory that I will cherish forever.

My dad coming into the Bride's Room on my wedding day to hold my hand, give me love and send me off with his blessing. He was sensitive, strong and his special blessing spoken before I was given away is a treasure.

In our ceremony, our pastor had us hold hands and focus on the other. He spoke softly, "These are the hands that will hold you." "These are the hands that will wipe away tears." "These are the hands that will labor and work for you, for your home, for your family."

I remember walking past family and friends as we left our wedding. What a feeling of excitement. Our hearts were full of joy, love and anticipation. We got in Derrick's parents' special, fancy, red Civic... the "zoom, zoom" :). It was full of balloons, we drove away and were embarking on our lives together as a family. Fun filled the car.

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FiveMinuteFriday: Dive

Five Minute Friday Challenge from Lisa-Jo Baker: So, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.  Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

Today's Topic:  Dive

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2nd wedding anniversary. July 2008. Crested Butte, CO. Whitewater rafting. Bravery. Dive.

That list above is pretty standard, especially if you grew up in beautiful Colorado as I did.  I had been whitewater rafting before. It's a fun thrill. On this anniversary trip we took a dive. Our guide only asked the cool, brave, young ones to leave the safety of our raft and hike up a cliff overlooking the river. And we were supposed to jump. After all, this rock was appropriately named, Jump Rock. I was apprehensive for sure but it looked like a safe landing. I walk to the edge a couple times. Hubby is encouraging me. We're the cool ones, I have to do this. The guide counts......... ONE ......... TWO...THREE so quickly I don't totally think. I just jump. I think I screamed until I hit the water. Kinda wondering how deep I went, just pushing for the surface. I did it!  I'm so cool! (except that I was so tense hitting the water I get an instant headache and a stiff neck for a couple days. Not so cool.) Then Hubby jumped too but I always knew he was cool. The extreme mountain unicycling kind of cool. It was a 12 foot cliff, no, 17, no 27 feet, maybe. Haha.<-- Help me out cool hubby of mine! I think one other youngin from our rafting group jumped - huh, maybe I'm not so cool. :(  But I.did.take.the.dive (well, "jump", you're not allowed to dive.)

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My First #FiveMinuteFriday

This is going to be crazy but here goes.
I'm in need of a reboot, a rebirth, a revelation.

I found Lisa-Jo Baker's blog and will follow her guidelines for a Five Minute Friday post. I'm nervous. This is not what readers of my little family blog are used to, that is, if anyone even reads it anymore. At last post, my sweet daughter was 5 weeks old, yeah...now she's 8.5 months...hmmm, sorry about that Readers. Anyway, I will try this Five Minute Friday gig each Friday for 52 days. I know, random, the reasoning for that is another post. Knock yourself out if you're interested: Jonacuff'sblog


Today's topic: OPPORTUNITY

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When I checked the topic just after 10pm last night I thought of Louis Armstrongs' song, What a Wonderful World. I thought of New Year's Resolutions. I think I'll combine them.

I see trees of green........ red roses too 
I see them bloom..... for me and for you 
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world. 

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white 
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights 
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world. 

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow 
They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know 
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world 

There is opportunity is green trees, red roses, blue skies and oh my, is there opportunity in babies crying, and watching them grow. Watching them GROW. In that lies my "opportunity" this week. Liam has been rockin' the big boy underwear for six days. He'll be spending his first night in his big boy bed tonight. (Without his beloved "pah"s (pacifiers), I might add). Oh, the opportunity. What a wonderful world ahead of him. Not because he wears underwear like the rest of us and sleeps in a bed without bars and bumpers but actually, yes, because he wears underwear (super cute Lego Star Wars and Thomas undies) and yes because his bed is a sweet, blue car. He is conquering his world. He is finding out it is wonderful. I am inspired to savor his lasts, his firsts and be as optimistic about my future and my opportunities as he. I want to watch those green leaves flip and dance, smell the sweetness of a red, red rose, lie down to spot the white shapes surrounded by the blue sky. When my "babies" cry for me, I'll take it. When they grow, I will watch with bated breath.  Breathe deeply the sweetness of my babies growing.


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Well, I didn't get to the New Year's Resolution part but there you have it. My first post in more that seven months and my first #FiveMinuteFriday post.