Treasure

Come July, it will be five years since we've lived in our house, lived in good ol' Vtown. It seems like yesterday that we moved and yet it seems a lifetime ago. Friends made, friends lost. A whole new child has altered our family for good, our dear Mr. Monkey. A new pet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, counterpart to the great turtle-pet experiment of 2004, Mr. Darcy, our red-eared slider who now dominates the pond at the Fullerton Arboretum with complete decorum, I'm sure.

I just tackled a box in my closet that has been there since we've moved and it was like opening a time capsule. Inside, I found a love note I had written to The Hubs the week Pinkalicious learned to roll over. Some old ribbon from back in the day when you'd wrap presents and then curl the ribbon up like permed bangs. And my books. Books that had once made me want to be a missionary. Books that made me a better wife. A brand-new parenting book thought lost that was replaced by a now well-worn copy on my shelf. Books from my attempt at a M.A. degree in English. Books to teach students so that they will think about the world. Books to teach me how to teach students to read and understand. A book to teach me about my grandpa, penned by my grandma. A poem exhorting me to treasure Christ more than a golden egg.

What do you do when you discover yourself in a forgotten box? The things that meant so much that have been put away, are they that way in my heart as well? Do I need to keep them to remember myself? I feel their weight in my gut.

I ponder these questions, wondering what I am made of and if it even matters. And I remember Pinks crying at the table when she learned that we can't take anything with us when we die. "I just love Kit so much, Mommy. She's my special doll," she wept in my arms. That day we talked and rejoiced together over treasures on earth and treasures in heaven. Matthew 6:19-21. I do treasure Christ more than a golden egg. I do treasure Christ more than my golden books. And through Him, I will treasure Christ more than my golden self.

Books and Choices

Did you like Library Day as a kid in school?  I LOVED it!  There has always been something magical about books to me.  I was just thinking earlier today that I could take or leave the ToysRUs toy catalog at Christmastime, but I could not have been more excited about book orders each month at school.  And as an adult, I want my house to have a room or section of rooms that looks like The Shop Around the Corner in "You've Got Mail."  I dream of living in (or at least visiting) Oxford and spending days in their libraries.  The library just offers so many choices of where you can go and who you can meet in your own private world. 

Through my mom's introduction, I made great friends with Amelia Bedelia, Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Mr. Popper, The Gilbreth Family of Cheaper by the Dozen, Harriet Welsch, Peter Hatcher and his brother, Fudge, and so many others.  On my own at the school library, I became Encyclopedia Brown's biggest fan and desperately tried to solve all his mysteries. The other series I enjoyed was Choose Your Own Adventure.  Did you ever read them? 

They were awesome because as you would move through the story, something would happen and you would have to make a choice that would determine the story.  For example, you might be forging through the jungle when you come upon a raft tied along the bank of a river.  You can choose to loose the raft and float down the river (turn the page to continue reading), or cross the river to inspect the loud noises that seem to be coming from just beyond those trees (turn to page 25 to continue reading).  It was fantastic because there were several possibilities throughout the story and you really could design the adventure as you wished. 

I thought of these books this evening as I have been mulling over the decisions I need to make about the future. The deadlines are coming quickly and the choices are quite varied from each other.  To my mom, I compared my life now with the game Life where you have to pick between two paths, but you're not guaranteed the result you want.  And later I wondered how where I am now compares to Choose Your Own Adventure.  I loved those books so much when I was younger; where is my sense of adventure now?!  But then the pieces of the puzzle fell back into place, and I found myself back at my desk in Mrs. Fulton's classroom during silent reading time, reading the first two paragraphs of each adventure choice before I would fully commit to the decision, needing to know that the adventure choice I made was the best one. The most fun.  Not a mistake.  I was in control. 

Would two paragraphs be enough for me now? Or is it merely the choosing that is bogging me down?  I think I will divert my thoughts with a good book... but which one?

Provision

For the last several years, The Hubs and I have been saving up for a vacation to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Dreams of Hawaii have drifted through my mind, or the hope of returning to London again, where we honeymooned. I had it in my mind yesterday to begin planning for next summer's romantic getaway so I went on Facebook to solicit suggestions for where we could visit. The Hubs and I discussed it several times in the afternoon.

At 11pm, when we got home from our day-trip to the coast, we found puddles of water all over the floor, slowly creeping to the lowest point in our house (perhaps the grate in the floor of the fireplace that leads to One-Eyed Willy?) originating from the refrigerator. Doing the best we could to mop it up, we emptied the ice, bought new ice from the store to fill up the fridge and freezer and keep them cool, and went to bed.

Today has been full of more puddles, repairmen, a pronouncement of death on our fridge, and a trip to Sears. This new fridge has been brought to us by... our tenth anniversary vacation fund!

I admit that I was sad for about five minutes. And those aren't sarcastic "five minutes." But why be sad, really?   I am thankful that we have the money to buy a brand new refrigerator.  I'm thankful that we have so much food that we need multiple coolers to house it while we wait for a new fridge.  I'm thankful for ice whenever I want it.  We are blessed beyond measure!

The Hubs and I could have spent a week on a beach somewhere together, but instead, we can keep food fresh and feed our family for years to come.  This is the life we wanted to celebrate, and we can celebrate it by living it.

Thank you Mom, Dad, Jim and Katherine, Aunt Rene` and Uncle Mark, Grandma Shirley and Grandma Bromiley for your generosity over Christmases and birthdays!  You have purchased us a beautiful new refrigerator and we are so thankful for YOU!!!

Birthday Present

For my birthday present this year, I went down to San Diego for the day with my friend, Susie, to take a class on needlefelting. Susie had found Valerie Hebert through Etsy and she agreed to give us a beginning lesson.  We spent 2.5 hours with Valerie in her craft room and I enjoyed everything about it.  I especially loved our conversation.

Val was so warm and opened up a dialogue with us about parenting and life.  Her oldest son is in high school and in our discussion about kids, she encouraged Susie and I to maximize the teaching time we have with our children now, imparting to them the things we want them to remember when they are sponges and eager to talk with Mom and Dad.  When adolescence hits and they begin to tune us out as they test their boundaries and individuality, they will have in their hearts the things we've said because we didn't wait until "later." That advice touched my heart and I have mulled it over often in the 4 weeks since our time together.  I was doubly blessed by my time through learning a new art and being encouraged by an experienced mom!

Here is an unfinished life project: my family!

May God give me the strength to love them more than myself.

Here is part 1 of a finished product: my needlefelted square!

I love the colors that add a richness to the design.  Val showed us how to blend colors.  If it were me on my own, there would have been three colors - pink, blue, green.  =)

I am planning on making this square into a pillow.  The fabric is purchased, but I have not decided on the color for the ribbing.  I could really pink it up, or accent the pink with the yellow.  Feel free to chip in your thoughts!

So I've decided that I really enjoy needlefelting and I'd love to do more with it!  I'm hoping to go back to Val this summer and learn how to needlefelt 3D objects (it does not require special glasses).  I tried three different times to write out an explanation about needlefelting, but it's not coming out right.  To get an idea for the beauty of needlefelting, check out Val's blog and Val's Etsy shop.  And if you read this before May 27, you can enter to win one of her cupcake pincushions!!  I was going to wait and write about my pillow when it was finished, but I get an extra entry if I link up to my blog, so I went for it and posted mid-project! =)  

Some inspiration, a new craft, a fun day with Susie, and a super cute almost-pillow - Happy Birthday to Me!

When Art Mirrors Life

Today, I turned around to find Miss Pink in the middle of her imaginative play.

"Moms," she says, "You pretend I'm homeless and you be the stranger and you can give me money so I can get food and a house.  ...Or you can give me real money and I can put it in my piggybank."

The whole thing was awkward and I was unsure of how to deal with it - like most things that happen in her day, she lives it and then pretends it with her toys.  Fortunately, it was time for lunch and her play was interrupted. I still don't know what is worse, the pretend, or the fact that her dad made her the sign.

In 2000 years...

At the end of a long day at Disneyland, The Hubs and I had split up to accomplish our final tasks and we agreed to meet at the entrance to the park.  He heroically offered to take the kids and get the stroller while I emptied the locker.  All of this was during the fireworks.

I wish I had a picture because words cannot describe what it's like to swim through the thousands of people en masse on Main Street, gawking at a fantastic show overhead. There's supposed to be a moving pathway, but most everyone who is on that path was too short-sighted to grab a spot before the show and so they're trying to watch the sky, find a spot to stand on the ground, all while walking  in the opposite direction of the focal point.  Disney employees are shouting for people to move, "Keep the line MOVING!!!!!!" The people in wheelchairs are usually tired of being overlooked and are starting to ram the legs of the ones who won't get out of the way, babies in strollers are crying because everything is so loud, and everyone stops to look each time there is a POP sound, which is every two seconds because it's a fireworks show.

I barely managed to get myself over to sidewalk in front of The Clothiers where the crowd was ending.  Everyone peeled off into the street and I was the only person who didn't stop to spectate.  The lights lit up the sky and the Haunted Mansion narration played.  Everyone oooo-ed  and ahhh-ed and I could see their faces smiling as I passed.  Soon the crowd was behind me and I was walking alone, the sounds of the show in the distance.  The train pulled up to the platform and I could hear the announcement, "The Disneyland Limited, now arriving..." and in that moment I wondered at where I was.  I thought back to my trip to Italy when I walked through the Colosseum hearing stories about the Romans and their entertainment.  In 2000 years, will any of Disneyland be left?  I walked under the bridge of the Disneyland train and I remembered touring the floor where the gladiators walked.  What will people say of Disneyland in 2000 years?  Will they talk of the Castle?  The crowds?  The train?  The firework show? What will people think of us and our days at Disneyland?  Will anyone care?  I tried to imagine being on a cruisetour to visit the ruins of a magical kingdom.  It was surreal.

People were on the other side of the train platform, still taking pictures with the floral Mickey, and I was thrust back to 2011. I was Mom and Wife again to my dear family and off we went, living our todays that will be olden times for someone else.  Life is funny that way.

Lovely Disney

I love how amid all the constructed world at Disneyland, it is truly made beautiful because of how it is accented by nature.  These are some of my glimpses during our last trip there: