Happy Birthday, Sarah-Sponda!

It's hard to find the words to say

To a strong young woman who's

Making her way,

Who's decided to grab onto  life by its

Woolly mane

And jump aboard that moving train

To wherever God may choose to send her

Not letting the bumps and bruises

Influence or hinder

Her goals she's set before herself,

Rearranging them like books

On life's massive shelf.

As God points a new direction

Her goals may vary, but not

Her affection

For the One who holds her beating heart

The One who's held it

From the start

No matter which door her choice will be

It's clear to see

Who holds the key.

Happy Birthday, Sarah

I love you with an infinite love.

Mom-Mom

Sarah Sponda

I am writing this to let you know I am always thinking of you and the situations placed in your path.
I pray for you and your family to be able to wrap your heads around what may seem a mountain at your door.  But pray, I do.  I hug you guys daily with my heart and my mind.  I cry with you and sometimes I cry for you.   I understand.  I do.

It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you are standing in the middle of "darkness".  It is easy to become fearful of what lies ahead, where to place your next step.  We all know the light is at the end.  But what we don't know and what makes our journey stressful at times is what we will encounter in that tunnel and how we will handle it.   The good thing is. . . we don't always have to go through tunnels!  Sometimes we can walk on a bridge or dance in the rain or catch snowflakes on our tongues or just sit on a pier at the river and dangle our legs taking in all the good life has given us and anticipating the best that is yet to come.

I read once when someone asked, "Why me?", the appropriate question should be, "Why not me?" I feel God has chosen you because of your strength, your faithfulness, but mostly because of your willingness.  He knew who could carry the burden, who would pray without ceasing, and who would learn to lean unashamedly on Him.  You are the middle child for a reason. You are a fulcrum.  You are the pivot on which your siblings are balanced.  It is a big job with seemingly little rewards that you can see.  But the rewards are there ~ Every.  Single.  Day.  They are your little nuggets of hope and hugs and smiles.  *They are the family and friends God has strategically placed around and about you, near and far.  They give you heartfelt, but God honoring advice.  They love you.  They do. They stand on each side of you ~ holding you up during the battle you are fighting. They offer you rest when you get weary.  They may not always be there physically, but their hearts and prayers are.  You are "sandwiched" between those who love and care for you. 

Please do not feel you are walking this journey called Life alone. 
Please feel the love that flows your way.

I love you ~ more than you will ever know.

Mom-Mom

PS:  Some of my favorite verses/quotes:

"Fear is the devil's darkroom where he takes you to develop the negative."

Ps. 119:105 ~  "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Exodus 17:11-12 ~  " 11. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed. 12. But Moses hands were heavy and they (Aaron & Hur) took a stone and put it under him and he sat thereon:  and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands , the one on the one side and the one on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."
 *we battle daily, Sarah.  We need Aarons and Hurs in our lives to help us prevail. 

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Happy Birthday to my Kindred Spirit!

This song's for you:

"I Hope You Dance"!
Because life is too short not to.

I love you more than I can say

I think about you every day!

Mom-Mom

Jump-starting July

It seems it took forever for July to get here.  Waiting on my gang from Kentucky seemed endless.  Now we are almost halfway thru the month and it seems a blur.  So, lest I forget, I shall start from the beginning and move forward (backward?), perhaps with sprinklings of "now" scattered in between. (or perhaps not). 

My boy didn't forget my birthday.  He left abruptly for town and returned with a birthday coffee for me from Starbucks.  He also took a giant leap in his culinary skills and decided to bake me a cake.  This is impressive in a couple ways:  1.  He doesn't like to cook anything that isn't chicken, pork, beef or fish related.   2. Putting something in the oven is NOT his cup of tea.

So imagine my delight when he decided to do this for his Mama.  The only downfall was the cake choice.  He was certain that Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting was my favorite.  Um, nope.  Not even close.  It's his dad's.  Bless his heart!  But, kudos to him for giving it thought.  The only way to fix that is to bake a chocolate cake with chocolate icing for his dad!

 

He's leaning on my baby!  Should I be concerned?

 

Scraping the bowl. 

 

Patting it out.  He said it is like smoothing concrete.  You pat it gently

to get the air bubbles out so it will "settle" nicely. 

I'm so grateful it didn't set up like concrete!

 

 

I love it when he cooks!  It means I don't have to he will survive on his own!  It was a delicious cake ~ even though it wasn't my favorite.  He did well.  He will be a keeper for some lucky girl. 

 

I got to celebrate it with Hubs, Ben, the Man, the Beast and Sarah Sponda.  She made sure I had candles to blow out on my cake and she made them sing "Happy Birthday" to me.  That was kind of like trying to force a child to eat green peas so nice of her!

It was a nice way to jump start our July. 

So, Alicia, keep a weathered eye open for upcoming events!

TTFN

Happy Birthday, Sarah Sponda! !

Sometimes in order to move forward we need to look back at ourselves.  Here's a little "look back" for you Sarah.
 
 A well rounded life:

You love baseball!



You tried your hand at "boxing"  ;)

 

 

You love Guards

 

 

You're just simply put ~ beautiful!

 

 

Ahh ~ can't forget swimming

 

You don't mind striking a pose now and then!

 

You have matured into such a wonderful woman.  You set standards and examples for people you don't even know are watching.  You never seem to compromise your faith or your morals.  Your goals are impressive.  Your love for family even more so.  And just as important ~ you make room for the fun things in life ~ seizing the moment!

I am so proud to be your Mom-Mom.

I love you with infinite measure.

 

Happy Birthday!

 

Love,

Mom-Mom

Back to Summer. . . . .

. . . . . now that it's fall  . . . .

My young kindred was able to come back to the shore for a few weeks in July courtesy Kelly's friend, Jenny.

Believe it or not, this was one of those very rare visits that we hardly did anything constructive. 

Sarah Sponda did finish a scrapbook she started eons ago. 

We became obsessed with outfitting Hope's bedroom with Paris-y, French-y things.  We found bargains galore for her!  Talk about being stoked, we were!   It seemed every corner we turned we found treasures.  We became the  "Make-over" team.  Two peas in a pod ~ yep, that was us.

This is my girl donning the latest fashion trend ~ men's boxers split at the crotch up the middle:

 

Ben split them when he squatted and I didn't notice until I was folding the laundry. Nothing like washing laundry just to throw it away.  Kinda like making sure you have clean undies on when you leave the house  ~  just in case you're in an accident!

 Puts a whole new spin on the phrase:  "You're getting a little too big for your britches!". 

 

 

Sarah decided she wanted to make her own rag quilt.  No argument here!  Count me in any day.  Quilt, fabric, shopping ~ what's not to love about that?   With the exception of the background fabric, she found beautiful flannels for the front.  She sat and meticulously cut her squares.  Good Girl.  She didn't get to sew any ~ ran out of time ~ imagine that!  But, she did have them ready to go for when she got home and could find the time. 

 

And speaking of time, MOST of our TIME was consumed with watching Grey's Anatomy on Net Flix.   She was hooked.  Of course I couldn't let her run that marathon all by herself even if it did mean bedtime came after 1:30AM (3:30AM on her last night here).  I was one weary gal.  But I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China! 

 

We did the usual for the rest of the summer.  Swam, bickered and waited for school to start.  

 

 

 

It was surely a strange summer this year.  Can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed a little "off". 

 

But all in all, it was memorable. 

 

Now that fall is officially here and school is in full swing maybe I will be able to keep up with the homeland news. 

 

Maybe.





We're Back. . . .

Still playing catch up here.  Summer vacation raged through our summer like a forest fire on dry kindling. 

Getting home after twelve hours in the back of an SUV with just enough leg room for a five year old takes its toll even on the youngest of us.  But we lived to tell about it!

I was holding my breath on the strawberries this year.  I was afraid they would be done by the time we got back home from KY.  But it was all good.  Plenty of berries to be had if we just worked for them.  This was Hope's first year picking.  I can't imagine not having a berry field nearby.  But they don't, so Eastern Shore Berries it was!

Hope and Sarah teamed up.

 

 

 

Looking for Rubies.

 

 

Our bounty.  (First go-round)

After they'd eaten what they could hold, it was Hope's turn to serve up some Strawberry Pie!  The process never changes.  Just the cook.  The recipe was handed down several moons ago by a sweet lady we attended church with.  I found out just this summer that it was handed down to her by a sweet lady.  I could tell you what it is, but then I'd have to kill ya.   tee-hee

Mixin' up the syrup

Oooooo. . . . . ahhhhhh. . . . . liquid Rubies!

Pouring the liquid Rubies over the red Rubies!
Makes me drool just looking at the picture.

Hope did a great job with the pie. Now all we had to do was wait for it to set up and add some homemade strawberry whipped cream.    It was  To.  Die.  For.

As if that wasn't enough, we made Strawberry Jam.  Hope and Sarah took turns helping.  Each has their own batch to claim. 

I'm supposing the jam will make its way back to KY when we go.  Both girls had to fly home at the end of their stay and couldn't take their bounty with them.  Not to worry.  I will keep it safe. 

About all they had time for was swimming and lounging.  But that was okay.  I was happy to have them here with me.

One of their favorite things to do in the pool.

Another favorite pool activity.  I wonder if you can tell which
sets of girls are most alike?

The week was short.  Very short.  All the girls have grown so much.  Not just my KY gals, but the ones here at home too.  Would it be too much to ask to put time in a bottle for just a little while?

I will leave the summer here for just a day or two.  Another birthday will be celebrated tomorrow.  (Told ya about those September birthdays.) 

 I'll be back after that ~ Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Graduation Day

I don't know a smooth way to jump into this P. A. S. T. summer, so I'm just going to do dive right in.

This past June graced us with a graduation.  Sarah Sponda.  The Middle.  My Young Kindred.  She was "Walking".  I couldn't believe it.  Still can't.  Now she's enrolled at UK.  I'm certain she's going to do great things.  Certain of it. 

I love this picture!

We were able to take Rease and Helena with us for the graduation.  It had been a long time since they traveled to KY.  They were excited to get out of school to go to Sarah's graduation!

Time flew by while we were there.  It always does.  There's never enough minutes in the day to do all we want. 

I did manage to get a good ol' hug from my one and only grand boy!  L. O. V. E.  him (and the hug)!

He.  Is. Rotten.

 Fortunately we were able to bring Hope and Sarah back home with us to officially jump start our summer!  And this is where I leave you for a couple days.  'Casue that's how long it felt like we were jammed in that vehicle! 

Catch ya in a few!

Happy Birthday, Sarah Sponda!

I can't even wrap my head around today.  You were just born last week.  I know this for a fact because  I was just nuzzling your tiny little body, breathing in the baby smells, staring in awe at yet another wonderful creation made by a loving God.

And now, now, you are turning 18!  !8!   Where.  Did. The. Time.  Go? 

 

 Where?

 

Happy Birthday my Young Kindred Spirit! 

Oh my, you are 18
How can this all be?
Wasn't it just yesterday
You were sitting on my knee.

You were running and playing
Twirling and spinning
And now you're eighteen
I sense a new beginning

To a  life that is full
Of wonder and awe
 For my Little Sarah Sponda
Who's not so little, after all.
 

 

I love you!

Mom-Mom

Summer 2012 ~ Part 5

The next few weeks will be a blurry whirlwind ~ non-stop activity ~ and gone before we can blink.

We picked Sarah-Sponda up the day after we got home.  The kiddos here were still in school and it gave Sarah and I some "one-on-one" time.  And let me tell ya, that gal kept me hoppin'!
She was able to go to Helena's awards ceremony and Rease's 5th Grade Night (which basically is 5th grade graduation ~ which means Rease is now in Middle School ~ another story by itself). Where has Time gone?  Away, you say?  I say, I must agree.

But until the other two were home for the summer we:
Visited Hobby Lobby ~ A LOT
We visited Goose on the Roof ~ A lot ~ my girl is hooked on antiquing and all things "Ball blue canning jars" ~ yep, and of course, vintagey, edgy, kinda girly in a 30's kinda way. We bonded like glue - me and her, baby, we were stuck like glue!
We she paper crafted ~ A WHOLE LOT (Sarah didn't scrapbook this time around, but that didn't stop her from buying scrap booking paper ~ you know, just in case) This is what my living room looked like for most of the summer:

This is just the floor ~ the desk was equally cluttered with paper goodness. She had all kinds of help from Itty Bitty.  I had have a desk behind the sofa (on that drop cloth you see there) that I was am going to chalk paint and put in the computer room.  Well, it was confiscated by Sarah.  There she sat, much of the days, paper crafting and watching Bones on Netflix. It had her ~ hook, line and sinker.  Now lest you think that's all this bundle of energy did, let me just add in a few more things that she/we squeezed into her agenda.  Let's see ~ there was the Mario Marathon ~ the more players, the merrier, but the more frustrating.  Death for someone was inevitable ~ usually at the hands of Goldilocks because she would get in fast and furious pace a "push us off the screen"  and kill us. Painful. But, alas, Ben, our "go to guy" would bail us out of hours of endless deaths trying to get from one level to the next so we could advance to another world ~ just to keep the insanity going!

Then we have pool time:

Sarah tried so hard to get Baby Girl to jump to her.  No, no, no.  Nothin' doin'.  So, next best thing ~ she just jumped in with her.  Itty Bitty is holding on to her goggles ~ just in case :).

We had to take a trip to Tyaskin Wharf.  Sarah wanted to go "treasure hunting" in the worst kind of way, but the tide was too high to travel to the "dig" site.  Maybe next go 'round?

Can you tell she's in Band Guard? 

 

But, I think the thing that was most enjoyable was Strawberry pickin'.  There's just something about that sweet, warm smell coming up from a sun baked earth ~ fruit leaving sweet scented stains on your hands, and the very sight of overflowing buckets of goodness picked by your own berry stained fingers!

 

 There's a "Squishy" in every pick!

"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and

he shall be my Squishy . . ."  Dory - Finding Nemo

 

 

See those berries in that shirt?  They got us in trouble.

Well, we thought we could top off

another bucket we had ~ but they wouldn't fit.  We tried to look pitiful

when we went to pay ~ but the girl very politely said they only charged

for "full" buckets ~ indicating that we weren't getting those berries for free!

 (we could either forfeit our hard work or suck it up

and get another bucket and fill it using our shirt-tail full as a "jump start")

You didn't have to ask us twice!

 

 We made pies.

 

Sarah licked the goodness from the pot. 

 

Then we she decided, as if that weren't enough, to make Strawberry Bread, and Strawberry Muffins.

You use frozen berries for those two things ~ and I think we let them thaw a Little.  Too.  Long.

Our bread was soggy as were the muffins.  But. . . . they were tasty none-the-less.

 

Of course while she was here we had to have Delmar Pizza and WAWA hoagies!  An "Eastern Shore Thang" and a family tradition.

 

Although she was only here for ten or eleven days, we packed a summer full of activities in that time frame.

And tears fell like rain when we had to say "Goodbye".   I hate goodbyes.  Just. Hate. Them.


P.S.    We can't forget the Strawberry Shortcake coffe after a morning swim!