A Blessed Calm After the Lemon Storm

I just returned from walking the girls to the bus stop. I must say it is so beautiful outside and it was very easy to let the morning "talk" to me. Just walking in the brisk air, smelling bacon cooking somewhere - probably the diner down the street, seeing the sun stream its glory above the rooftops, and admiring the gem-like glisten of the leftover rain and dew on the grass brings a calm to my spirit. I welcomed it this morning. Running thru the conversation that I had with Heidi yesterday and again digesting what she said made more sense to me than the "bombardment" of lemons I had been receiving. She reminded me that God sometimes lets us do a great deal of leg work for something we "want" just so it can be used for something someone else "needs". Although that "want" wasn't the onset of the "storm", it softened the blow to see a different picture of events. That, my friends, was the lemonade from that nasty storm. Add to that the friends that prayed for me and a daughter that saw beyond my anxiety to the needs of another, and the lemonade just gets sweeter.

"Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower so sweet,
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."
Peter, Paul & Mary

My analogy -

• the sweet flower - the calm and beauty of our lives - when everything is going good - growing us strong to accept the lemons that will surely follow
• the fruit of the lemon - our trials - when we are reminded that the sweet flower must mature into a healthy fruit - even at the expense of being a little "bitter" tasting
• the outcome - the sweet beverage we can make from such a tart, but beautiful fruit - the operative word is can - we must choose to make the lemonade :)

I thank God for my Lemon Storms and the sugar cubes of friends he has give me to sweeten my life and I thank Him for the calm that follows after the storms!

A Day in the Life of a Princess Tomboy

This post is mostly for Christie. After reading her post about Graham and his little lady friends and shiny knives, I thought it might be good to enlighten her on the lives of Princess Tomboys.
As you can see, Helena fits the bill as far as a Princess goes (as do all little girls - some more obvious than others), but she also wears many other "crowns" and wears them well!

• She is a casual princess
• She is an eco-friendly kinda gal - she makes her own "make-up" (note the exquisite eyebrows)
• She can spackle and patch walls - with supervision of course
• She can "cook"
• She is "outdoorsy" and not afraid of the cold
• She loves "changing her appearance" - princess to tigress
• She will and does chase toads - even if they are in deep holes
• She likes swimming and tries new things - such as "snorkeling"
• She can wield a hammer with the best of them
• She is an educated Princess
  

And although I didn't picture these -

• She loves her babies
• She is technology savvy - learning her way around the computer
• Has a sweet voice and loves to sing
• And. . . . sometimes - wise beyond her years

She will make some handsome Prince - hint, hint - ;) a wonderful Princess someday - not that I believe in arranged marriages or anything - (that's what you think - lol! ! ).

So, Christie - you do well to supervise the doings of little girls - but don't let their cute little faces fool you for one minute! Most of them can and do hold their own! ! !

Hope this enlightens you a bit :). After all, that's what friends are for !!

My Lemon Tree - Again

It seems life never lets me settle for more than just a moment at a time. Just when I start to feel the least bit comfortable in my "world" - life - very rudely - throws lemons at me. Now, I am not generally squeamish when it comes to getting bombarded by lemons, but sometimes - just once in a while, I would like to get to that calm place and sit for more than just 5 minutes. (Not literally, of course). By nature, I love being home - fussing over the things that make my home wonderful to me and mine. But lately - because of the lemon trees - it seems that not only my life but my nest is ruffled. It almost makes me wonder if Home is where I need to be right now. I don't want to share the reason for this last lemon storm, not right now anyway.

But, I must say, in my heart of hearts, I know God allows me this "pleasure" of being bombarded. It's just that sometimes I'm not sure how to make lemonade of the mess. That's where I am now. Before - I had a goal but my recipe for lemonade was shot down. Right now - I'm more in a quandary of sorts. Do I go back to the original goal I had? Do I look for a different "recipe"? I'm not exactly sure of where to start.

I am sure of one thing, though, and that is even when this storm passes - and it will - there will be more. So I suppose I have answered my own questions - I know I am being forged. I know God is teaching me something. I just have to be quiet long enough to listen to what He says!

And that is ok. I have grown accustomed to these raging storms. (Not comfortable, but accustomed to). So, Barb, just be still and listen!

Happy Birthday, Seth!

Happy Birthday to you ! ! !

It's hard to believe that you - the baby whose head I dropped the baby food jar on yesterday - turns 18 TODAY!

How does it feel to be an 18 year old "baby" - just kidding - lol! ! !

Have a wonderful day!

I love you

Aunt Crickett

Amish Fellowship

Yesterday Kelly and Kenny invited us to dinner at Kelly's home. (Kenny is Kelly's beau, now turned fiance'!) He sells Amish lawn furniture and sheds. His suppliers are here for vacation and they, along with Kenny's grandma and us, were there. I found out they have been to Chincoteague,the girls anyway and Kenny has taken them tubing and the the guys were getting up early this morning to go hunting.
There were 3 couples - young - in their 20's. I have to admit - wasn't quite sure what to expect as far as their personalities. But you can learn a lot about people at a dinner table. They could be, and were, hysterical. Wonderful sense of humor! They seemed very comfortable, which made me, at least, feel comfortable. I think Rease was really taken with them! She told me she wanted to take a picture of them and take it to school and show her teacher who she had dinner with :)! ! (hmm. . .don't think that's allowed). They spoke with an accent and a language that sounded like it could be Dutch - but now don't hold me to that, and that in itself was intriguing. So most of the night Kenny and Scott talked with the same accent - too funny!
They don't drive cars, so how did they get here? They hire a driver - not Amish, obviously - to bring them here! His name was Scott and he was at dinner, too. This is one of a few questions I had brewing in my head. Some others were:

• How did they get here? - Answered
• I didn't know they wore bathing suits - obviously so
• I didn't know they went tubing - obviously so
• I didn't know they went swimming- duh
• How do they feel about all these modern conveniences - electricity, tv's, cars, clothes, etc. . - not answered
• Just how primitive do most of them live? - not answered
• Just how Amish "savvy" am I? - obviously not very

The meal was wonderful, as was the company. The only regret is that I didn't get right in the middle of it all and get answers to my questions! !

What I learned is - don't pass by an opportunity to see or do something different, or socialize with someone different when the opportunity presents itself. And . . . . as I tell the kids - don't be afraid to ask questions! !

A Puffy Cloud Day

Today was not quite a "perfect puffy cloud" day, but it was close! It was hard for me to concentrate on all the work I had to do. All I could think of was going outside and laying on my back and trying to make images out of the clouds! Worse than a kid - hey - what can I say - lol!

Happy Birthday, Todd!

Happy Birthday, Todd.
You are fast approaching the top of that hill ! ! ! ! !
How does it feel to be approaching old man status?
Hope you have/had a wonderful day!

Sorry I don't have a pic of you :(

Jury Duty

There's nothing more disturbing than going to the mail box and getting an envelope with the return address of "The Circuit Court of Wicomico County, Anne Taylor". It can only mean one of two things: 1. - you have to register for duty (which I already had) or 2. - you are being "invited" to join them at any given time for a period of one month. So . . . you know which one it was. I am "invited". My first phone call to see if I can come and be a part of a bigger and better thing, to exercise my moral and legal right (which, for the record, I don't mind relinquishing) is the evening of September 30th. Lucky me - I get to call and see if my number is "up"! I am, by the way, on Petit Four. As if that makes me feel better. You can't imagine the excuses I came up with in my head as to why I couldn't or shouldn't serve! Shame on me - well, not really. My stomach gets in knots just thinking about it. What if I a get a murder case, or even a theft. My thinking is: "if you are here, there must be a good reason". I can hear it now (from the accused) - "Your honor, I didn't know those extra clothes were in my bag", yea, right. Or - "Your honor, I didn't know he was going to stand in front of that bullet!" Oh - give me a break!

Well, anyway, pray, that if I do get picked, that I can do a good job and be objective. It is after all, my God given right as a citizen!

How's that for a stab at enthusiasm?

TV - "less"

A couple days ago I was reading Christie's blog about going without cable. It really inspired me - again. Bob and I have been talking about it for a while, but since our TV is a dinosaur, we decided to wait until we could get a new one so we could a least watch local news and some of our fall favs.

Well, yesterday Bob got up before me (as almost always is the case - tee hee). He came into the bedroom, woke me up, and said - "the TV is dead". All I could do was smile (don't think this made him happy). We didn't suffer so much yesterday because we were all busy - Bob working on someones car and Ben and I, on the deck (another story in itself).

Last night was the challenge. You know its bad (here anyway) when ALL go to WM to shop!
Had a late dinner - and watched Bob watch the back of his eyelids! Thank goodness Ben and I can find things to do on the computer!

But the real question is - when will we grace our home with a new TV, (before "LOST" comes on, I'm sure), and where will we put the "lovely" thing when we do get it? Hmmm. . .

And . . . . . why does such a luxury cost a king's ransom - not to mention the cable bill - which is what sparked our whole conversation about going "cable-less" in the first place. I was glad to see that we weren't the only ones with that motive when I read Christie's blog.

So - for the time being - we are not only cable-less, but TV-less, as well. And that means no DVD's either ! ! !

Happy Birthday to my Hubby! !

Today is Bob's birthday - or as some affectionately call him:

• Earnest
• Bing Crosby
• Pop-pop
• Dad
• Old Man
• Old Timer
• UB
• Beat - a - Bob
• Bony Ole Bugger
  

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

Happy birthday to my oldest! ! ! Your day officially "began" at 8:59am!

I am truly blessed to have you as a daughter - and like I told Kelly - He graciously gave you both to just ME! ! :)

I hope you have a wonderful day!

I love and miss you!

MOM

Happy Birthday, Junior!

Happy birthday to you! !

Hope your day is filled with wonderful memories, love and laughter!

Love ya

Aunt Crickett

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

It looks like it was my week to forget to post birthday wishes and to beg for forgiveness! I am so sorry I missed yours yesterday - I hope it was a wonderful one!

Love ya bushels
Aunt Crickett

PS - don't ever lose that smile :)! !

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Greg,

I am so sorry I didn't post on your special day on Sunday :( - please forgive me? Hope you had a wonderful day - heard you had lasagna :).

I like the picture I chose, because it shows your true side - I especially like your "head light"! ! !

Much love

Crickett

I've Been Replaced :(

School is in full swing for all. Helena - our little tomboy princess started kindergarten this year :(

She was VERY eager (not so much for mom and me). She loves it. (how quickly I was replaced -sob!) Today we were 5 minutes from leaving to go meet the bus. She is in the kitchen and calls out to me. As I turn around I see her hurling all over the kitchen floor (not a good thing). I run grab the garbage can for her and as she is throwing up, she is crying because she CAN'T go to school! ! She was not a happy camper that she had to miss school. She was, in fact, quite contrary about it.

And all summer I fretted about her missing me - so much for loyalty - LOL ! ! !

Change

I know, it's only September 3rd and I'm already amping up for fall. I can't help it. The last few days have been wonderfully cool, crisp and breezy. A little sun, a few clouds, what more could one want for the onset of fall?

I had to change my background - couldn't help myself there either. It's in my blood - change, that is. I could change things around all the time if I had the money and the time to do it. Bob and Ben, on the other hand, like things the same. Bob, especially, can't stand change - makes him nuts. If I could I would rearrange the bathroom - LOL ! ! !

I have heard its a sign of some kind of "issue"? ? Well, if that's the only sign of insanity I exhibit - then bring it on -

The way I see it, change "never hurt nobody". Hold that thought - geese flying over - sounds beautiful! ! Okay - all's cool. (I think that's a sign of something, too - getting side tracked, I mean).

As you can probably tell, I'm in some kind of complacent, laid back mood. Don't know why - but I'm glad I'm here right now, for tomorrow may bring about it's own change. I don't get the chance to let my spirit lay low very often, but when I do - let me tell ya - its WONDERFUL. I'm sitting here just typing whatever drifts into my head and listening to to cicadas outside. They have a certain urgency in their sound, I think. Like they know there is only a certain amount of time to get done what they need to.

It doesn't hurt, either, to have a friend send you the most hysterical email you've read in forever. I laughed so hard I had tears running off my chin and my sides and stomach hurt. I chuckle now just thinking about it!. THANKS, HEIDI! ! !

Well, I guess I need to be a little productive and maybe put away some laundry. I did stain some on the deck today. Heidi warned me of the holes. I told her it wasn't the holes now I had to consider, but being up on the deck without any rails. I feel movement around me when I'm NOT moving - I have to squat to get my bearings. (She suggested bungee cords - tee-hee.) I know - its another quirky thing I've got going on in my head. I'm beginning to wonder if I didn't have all these quirks, what would be going on in there???

Yea - somehow I've wandered away from the topic of change - well, actually not, I've been changing direction this whole post - hahahahahaha! ! ! !

Things That Make you go "Hmmmm. . ."

Some of the things that go thru Helena's head:

• Ben is watching "The Return of the Mummy" - Helena is watching the guy that's all bones covered in slime - talking "ancient language" to his now almost mortal love. Slimy guy is fondling love's hair. Helena looks at me and says - " I wonder if he's got bad breath". Hmmm. . . . .
• In anticipation of going to school today Helena asked me yesterday - "Mom-Mom, do I have my rabies shots for school?" Hmmmm. . . . . :)
• Of course she, being the tomboy princess that she is, is intrigued with all the tools Ben uses to build the deck with. On occasion she will ask him if he needs his "screw gun" (drill) hmmm. . . .
• This summer her favorite swim suit was, of course, her zucchini (tank-kini) hmmm. . .

Stay tuned - I'm sure there will be more - her mind never sleeps and the way she looks at life is refreshing, to say the least! !

"Anger is the Seed of Love"

The other night when I was on my way to a "Scramp Therapy" session, I was listening to Dr. Dobson on the radio. I only caught the last 10 minutes or so. The program was titled: The Power of Forgiveness in Marriage. Guest speakers were Dr. Gary Smalley and Pastor Ted Cunningham. They also co-wrote a book about the same. I finally was able to listen to whole message yesterday!

Although the message was geared toward marriage, the first half (day 1) was about anger Pastor Cunningham harbored. Dr. Smalley was a member of the church at the time and became Pastor Cunningham's advisor - so to speak. These are the things he told him that spoke to me:

• Bury anger dead - never bury it alive. If you don't resolve the problem and forgive, it will resurface at a later time.


• Unresolved anger is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to get sick. Harboring anger actually wounds us.


• Anger is the seed of love. Anger closes our hearts - God allows us to work thru our anger to get to the other side. . That one was hard for me to digest. Just how can love be an end result of anger? Is it that once you have forgiven whatever the circumstance, you can move forward and totally see or understand the situation? Maybe see what caused the anger?

I'm still pondering these things. I know I have harbored a lot of anger in my life, and I know the times that I allowed myselft to forgive, I was able to move on and "let go" of what was holding me down. Now, I know I am angry with some things in my life right now and I'm not sure how to go about forgiving, but I am working on that.