February 10th: I Love....

...powerful quotes.   

Like this one I stumbled upon the other day.

"Courage doesn't always roar.  

Sometimes courage is the little voice 

at the end of the day that says 

I'll try again tomorrow." 

~Mary Anne Radmacher

February 5th: I Love....

.....Texas.

This video says it all.  

My fellow Texans will totally get it.

Think you might see this if you
watch the Superbowl
(which is in Dallas, TEXAS) tomorrow.

Yee Haw.

February 4th: I Love.....

....snow!

I can say that I love snow since I'm not knee deep in it.

I can say that I love snow since I don't have to shovel it
on a regular basis.

I can say that I love snow since I'm not stuck at home 

with the kids after consecutive snow days in a row...

pulling my hair out and going stir-crazy.

Last night brought us only a light dusting...

pretty much what you would expect as far as 

snowfall in South Texas.

But it was just enough.

The pups loved it.

 

So did the kids.






Here is an example of what can happen

when you let your sister dress you.

An attempt at throwing a snowball.

Deven's goggle mark.  

 

Which morphed into a happy snow face.

After awhile...we had had enough fun for the time being.  

It was time to go inside and thaw out...

which is only possible with hot chocolate, I'm told.

Apparently this light dusting of snow covered 

significant ice patches on the rode...

hence, our SNOW DAY---staying home from school.

So far I've had to break up 4 fights 

and put 1 kid in a time-out.  

It's only 10am.

Think it might be a long day.

Thankfully, we're thawing out tomorrow.  Sunny and 65.

Unpredictable, ever-changing Texas weather at its best.

February 3rd: I Love....

...mornings.

And I think I always have.  Just ask my family and peeps...I'm a self-proclaimed "annoyingly cheerful morning person." 

Call me crazy (and I have plenty of friends out there who will), but I love waking up.  I love that first cup of coffee.  I love how excited the puppies are when I greet them and scoop them up out of their kennel.  I love putting the pups on the kids' beds...watching their little tongues kiss the children to a full state of wakefulness.  I love breakfast foods. 

Now there are some in my family (Animesh & Priya to be specific) who do not feel as I do about mornings.  In fact, where those two are concerned, the word grumpy comes to mind.  And they freely admit that so I can blog this without guilt.

But the boys and I are early-birds.  Catching the proverbial worm at sunrise.

Just don't expect me to answer the phone past 9:00pm.  I'll be asleep by then.

February 1st: I Love...

...this quote on Brene's blog.  

Thanks, Brene, for sharing this.   

How powerfully this captures what it means to

love deeply and completely....

and vulnerably.

Last February I was inspired by a friend to 

share month-long blog posts 

capturing people & places & things that I love.

This February I'm hoping 

to do the same.

And I'm also hoping that you'll be back to visit...

and also to share some of those people & places & things 

that you love.

The Last 34 Days

I can't be sure, but this might be my longest blogging dry spell yet.  I've thought about posting something here and there, but the inspiration never sticks around for too long.  The lack of blogging certainly has nothing to do with the lack of activity around these parts.  Because there has been lots of activity.  Let me see what memories I can extract from my nearly 41-year old brain....

In the last 34 days:

...we celebrated the birth of our Christ and rung in 2011 with sweet friends.  

...we have had more jammie days than I can count thanks to Christmas holidays and 4-day weekends (yes, we've already had a 4 day weekend).

...as a result of those jammie days each member of the family has perfected a Wii sport.  Daddy, golf.  Deven, basketball.  Priya, sword fighting.  Trevor, baseball.  And me?  Well, archery, of course. 

...I have knit 5 scarves from start to finish.  Priya has knit 2.

...I have NOT taken my Christmas tree down.  :) 

...Deven turned into a mean Scrabble opponent.

...Daddy cleaned out the garage.  Amen.  And amen.

...the kids and I have watched our new favorite movie, "Despicable Me," so many times ("oh yeah!") that we can quote entire scenes at the dinner table.  Driving Daddy absolutely insane ("not cool.")  Maybe Daddy will have a brilliant idea ("light bulb") and hide the movie from us.  Because we are out of control ("booyah!").

...I've cooked more meals at home.

...I've spent more days at home while the kids are in school.  Getting things accomplished.

...I joined the gym again.  Because after a triathlon-drought last year, there are races to be raced in this year.  I'm aiming for 4.

...my hair has finally grown out enough to be put in a pony-tail--albeit a messy one at that.  Pony-tails are saving me from whacking it all off (again).   Yea!

...we have cheered on our San Antonio Spurs at many games as they work to win another championship!  GO SPURS GO!

...we have cheered on Deven as he began his basketball season.  Number 8.  The age he turns in May.  I think I am going to cry.

...our family grew by 8 feet.  Meet Linus & Lucy...our little brother & sister Shih-poos.  They are precious.  They keep us on our toes.  But they sure do bring a whole lotta love to our family.

They joined our family December 24th, and the kids have been on cloud 9 ever since.  They love to keep each other company and don't annoy big beagle brother Spridle.  Too much.

Basically, the last 34 days I have made a concerted effort to focus on my 2011 Word of the Year:  Peace.  Like the quote says above in the margin...peace doesn't mean that my life...our lives...will always be quiet or calm or organized or easy.  Peace means to be in the middle of the craziness...and still be quiet and calm in my heart.  Knowing that it's all good in the 'hood.

Because it really is.

Christmas Reflections

I took this picture the other night...captivated by the reflection of the tree in the window.  I loved the imagery...especially since I've been so reflective lately.

This time of year can be so magical.  The children's excitement and wonder are contagious.  The decorations and lights remind us of this special month.  The reason for the season can inspire us to grow closer with God and journey further into relationship with Him.  But for some, this time of year can be hard.  Really hard. 

The last few days my mind has been filled with thoughts and prayers for friends who, during this holiday season, are struggling in relationships, praying loved ones through surgeries and illnesses, and mourning the loss of loved ones or the loss of relationships that once brought them joy.

And, if all of that isn't enough,  a tragedy occurred yesterday...something so incredibly sad that caused me to pause in the middle of my crazy, running-out-of-control day to hug my children a little tighter and to tell my husband just how much I love him and appreciate him.

The tragedy didn't affect our family directly.  But it was someone Animesh and I both knew.  And the story that surrounds this situation is heart-breaking.  Out of respect for this family I won't share details.  Let's just say that it is so very, very sad.

I write all of this not to be a "debbie-downer" at Christmastime but out of my belief that we experience difficulties and tragedies occur for reasons we may or may not understand on earth.  Personally, I believe that God has opened my eyes to these situations in order that I may cling to Him more tightly and worship Him more as I stand firm in my belief that He is the One True God who reigns over all the earth....even during difficult times.

Emmanuel.  God is with us.  No matter what.

And THAT is a Christmas message to be joyful about.