Moments Cherished

Family is everything

Thanks Jeffrey and Aimee and Seamus too……I had a great day!!!

Pick Your Battles and Learn About Stripes

Oh back when Kaylee was starting school, the battle of “what to wear” had emerged. And being a first time mom, with all sorts of insecurities, I was so good at putting out the outfit the night before. Putting out the coordinating ensemble that I thought would best represent my daughter. Well after huge disagreements, which can end up violent and fustrating even at 3 years old, I was given some of the best advice I have ever heard.

Pick your battles.

Well, Maddy, being the second child, gets a lot less direction with her attire. Her clothes are clean and usually the hand-me-downs of the fashion guru older sister. She has never really worn the same clothes the same way. This is an outfit I couldn’t pass up a picture on. Her older sister never even would put this dress on………very different girls. She has style and I wouldn’t change a thing and look forward to every mornings’ fashion show.

My Karate Girl

Maddy is starting her second term at Karate…Taekwondo at the local YMCA. They teach the International Taekwondo Federation, and the same belt structure and movement sequences are taught at ITF centers around the world.

Building a Cathredal or Invisible Mom

(I received this through email….one mom to another, and I want to keep it close. Especially when I am feeling really low, and wondering if all I am doing is going to make a difference. I did not write this, I am merely sharing the message.)

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.

Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on t he phone?” Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, “What time is it?”

I’m a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?” I’m a car to order, “Right around 5:30, please.”

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studi ed history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude – but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, and she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten bac k from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, “I brought you this.” It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: “To Charlotte,  with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.” 

In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.” And the workman replied, “Because God sees.”I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.”

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You’re gonna love it there.”

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Georgie Turns 5

Wow, our little George turned 5 today. Yesterday was spent celebrating at the Villa with family and friends, due to the fact it was the weekend. Today, his actual birthday, was spent quietly at home, just mum and George. He even made his own cake…………

Among many presents his biggest surprise was his own goldfish guitar. We have been so excited to give him this. Recently we went to a Premier Guitar Festival, where Georgies dad’s cousin Muriel Anderson played and hosted at an All Star Guitar Night. Well, we saw this funky little guitar and knew it was for George. I think Greg and I should get each other ear plugs for xmas this year!!??!!

And………dual purpose gift.

Craft Fairing and a Bit of Babysitting

Starting off the month of December with a few visits to local craft fairs on Linda’s sleigh…..

This ornament was hand carved by a local artist, my first Santa of the season.

There was also a showdown of fist versus spoon…….the sweet potato won, and my first time babysitting my beautiful nephew Seamus went without incident. I have slightly chapped lips…..too much kissing possibly?