Listening

It's always so great when I can spend time alone with our children individually.  It is even more special when they ask directly for time set aside to "talk" or in this case for me to "listen".  Life is so very hectic and complicated, yet fun and fulfilling all at the same time right now.  Do you all remember 7th Grade??!!  I do, and let me tell you I was not even in the same register as my girl right now.  I have to really go to a place to access my 7th Grade file to recall what it was like for me.  My girl is so together, and not in a know-it-all, I got this and you don't kinda way.  No, she is more like apart from God I can do nothing and with Him all things are possible and let's be friends because you are a safe place and I like the way you care about others too.  She is the kind of friend I wish I had growing up, especially in the turbulent tween, teen years.  So, when she asks to go chat after church because she has a lot on her plate, well Fro-yo happens!!  I won't share any of our conversation here, out of respect for her privacy, but it all went well.  We even ended our little date by taking a few shots in the backyard.  She is always taking my photos, so I suggested that she join me.  That's all for now.

 Have a wonderful week!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy

The Humble Return

****Happy Fall to all, as you may have noticed this post was written a few weeks ago****

Greetings to all!  I hope you have been well since we last visited here?  I have been on the ride of my life over the summer and now in the present school year!  I have had some time to ponder, reflect and meditate on what I believe will be an exciting season in my household this school year.  There are many changes here in my little nest and I am sort of in Mama Bird mode, fiercely protective.  I feel at times like I am "learning" on the job so to speak.  It's all very fascinating and humbling to say the least.  There is much at stake here at the present  and I find myself holding on and letting go simultaneously.  

  What's going on in your nest? 

 Happy First day of Fall!

**Just a few shots from our most recent beach day**

Merry, Cheers and Joy

**This post written a few weeks ago**

The sights, sounds and wonders of the Christmas break will never be lost on me.  I failed to properly catch every moment with my camera, but my heart is full of every image imaginable!!  I am truly blessed by my family and ever so thankful for the time we all had together.  This is the 2nd week back to school and I am just settling in to the fact that the kids are gone...until the next break.  Oh wait, that's this week!! Yay!! That's a whole other post.  For now, I just want to bask and reflect on how sweet it was to have my people home for days upon weeks.  My husband was even around the whole time, memory making with all of us.  If you were a book on a shelf, this is what you would have experienced in our home:

L-youngest daughter, R=oldest daughter

With Little Bro

Beannie Boo Alvin too

My daughters spending time sharing and reading with each other.  Being loving pre-teen and teen sisters.
My son being a sweet little brother to his oldest pre-teen and teen sisters.
My son serenading me and teaching me the Waltz.( Yes, I am grooming him to make a fine husband someday)
Nap time by the fire with a lazy Rat Terrier who is happy that he found his forever family and home.
Neighbors who pop by to encourage and well wish and borrow a cup of sugar or 3.
Middle School girls who read and study and work Algebra problems on their "break".
Middle School girls who practice their Clarinets and Saxophones.
A loving husband who watches DVR'd episodes of Parenthood with me.
A loving husband who dates his wife.
Girls who like to snuggle with their mom and watch High School Musical, like the old days.
Early morning runs with my running buddy before my household wakes up.
Hot coffee and warm hugs.
Sneaking online shopping right under their noses.
My son's anticipation and adoration for Jolly our Elf on the Shelf.
Serving and spending time as a family at Christmas Eve Service at church.
No place to be any time soon.
Making homemade candy for Mr.UPS, Mr. Fedex(his name is actually, Christmas!!),  and Waste/Recycling personnel.


This line from my favorite carol that stops me...literally stops me in my tracks when I hear it or better when I feel it.  The children know that it will be on repeat and not to complain because I am in the zone.  Baking, cooking, crafting away and pondering all the while.

God rest ye, merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay Remember, Christ, our Savior was born on Christmas day, To save us all from Satan's power, when we were gone astray.....This is the most powerful lyric to me and it knocks me in my core every time.  Have I gone astray?  Am I who I say I am?

I'll leave you now since this post is way over due, but I wanted to get it out before January was over. 

Happy Birthday, Dr. King

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Merry Christmas To All and To All A Goodnight

Nativity

Merry Christmas to you and your families.  I hope that you enjoy a wonderful day filled with love and joy.

Love, Shon

Thanks Living

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Great Blue Heron, my favorite neighbor!

I guess you have wondered where might I have gone?  Or maybe why did I stop posting?  Is everything or everyone ok?  What's new?  I have been pondering many things while I have been away from this cozy little space here.  I have been fully engaged in a busy household, a tireless soccer/lacrosse/band mom, supportive wife to a traveling, executive husband, nurturing neighbor, and an avid blog reader among other things.  It has been almost a month since we last chatted here.  I have thought about writing for many days and the time was just out of reach for us to connect.  I have been so inspired by your posts and happenings on your blogs and in your lives.  I have spent may days in quiet contemplation with my Creator, seeking His wisdom on weighty matters and frivolous ones as well.  I have wondered what my days would look like if I did not have this space to chat with you or read what you have to say.  I have wondered what to discuss next?  I have wondered is there anything new to say?  Has it all been said and done?  

I know that many of us have asked these questions and will continue to ask them as long as we open ourselves up to this forum called blogging.  I might not have anything new to share with any of you now or later.  My life may continue to follow the mundane path that it currently is on.  I might post an outfit, craft, recipe or neither.  

It is all so uncertain at the moment.

  Yet, there are a few things that I am certain of....

I am eternally grateful to God for sending His Son, Jesus as a ransom for my empty, ruined life, my husband who loves every part of me(even the stubborn, not so lovable parts), my children who are truly jewels, my family who surround me with love and support even across the miles, dear friends who tell me the truth, even when it hurts, and for this little space to share my life as imperfect and flawed as it can be, with all of you who care to read and listen.  Thanks for reading and sharing with me as you have.  You are truly answers to a prayer that I prayed about having a creative outlet that would overflow and multiply.

Happy Thanksgiving....Living to you and your lovely families. 

 May God continue to enrich your lives as you share so much of yourselves with me and so many others.

A Time to Celebrate and Almost Cry

I honestly do not know where the time has gone! I mean, I have been present in my life the whole time and I am still in awe of certain events.  Take my sweet, firstborn daughter for instance, she is this super kind, otherworldly type girl that has managed to turn 13!!! as if overnight??  She enjoyed her 13th birthday last week and it is still so surreal to me.   I remember when we would read Goodnight Moon, to her when she was an infant and then almost nightly, until she could read it herself.  We just knew she was gifted because she would quote it verbatim!! Ahh, young, new parents we were.  We later realized that she had heard it so many times that she had memorized it!  LOL, yet she still managed to be smarter than us.

  I am reminded daily that oh Mom, not Mommy, I am a teenager now!! As if, I am not aware of this very real, very hard and very beautiful fact.  This whole firstborn thing is a tough one.  It's like we knew all along that this moment would come, Lord willing, yet it still is so hard to swallow.  I have not had a breakdown by any stretch, but it still is hard to comprehend.  It seems like yesterday that I was holding my tiny, 6 lbs, 4 ounce baby girl that needed me for everything and now I have a budding young lady who is preparing to forge her own path, her way!!  She humbles me, astounds me, and just plain ol' makes me scratch my head most days??  I feel at times like I am not equipped to parent her or her siblings.  I know that God called me to be her mother, but this responsibility, this privilege, this honor, at times seems too great for me.  She is far wiser than I was at her age, so confident, so content in her own skin and she looks at life with  a steely determination that she can and will accomplish whatever she wants!!  She has lofty goals set for herself and I have been charged with assisting her in any way that I can.

 The clock is ticking so fast that I wish I could hold her so tight as to prevent her from growing up, up and away.  It's amazing actually to see her transform into this young lady, yet still see the girl in her eyes.  She has beautiful sparkly, bright, wide open eyes, with a heart to match.  She has such an easy way about her.  Her laugh is contagious.  What you see is what you get.  She is..... Authentic. Unique. Brilliant. Sincere. Confident. Caring.  

Goodnight Moon!!!

 This was suppose to be a silly one..pardon the items in the back...REAL LIFE happens here.

Now she is on-board with the silly faces! My husband in our spotlight background.

Tank-Target
Necklace-Thrifted and Gifted
Bracelets-Old and New Friendship/bday bracelet
Shorts-Thrifted -Free People Similar(look at the details)
T' Shirt-Old Navy Similar
Skinny Jeans-Marshall'sSimilar

Putting up a strong front, yet crying inside.

The photos do not capture the beauty of the details in the shorts.

My View at Sunset

Just wanted to share what  I saw as I drew the drapes closed the other evening......Perfection!!

Out of the Office

Taken near my home-2011

Hello all, I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead.  I will be off the blog today taking care of some administrative details here and there.  Have a lovely one.......in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I leave you with this:

Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Back to Basics/Link up with RagstoStitches

 

 karyss4andg4by.tumblr.com

You know how no matter what new trend comes along, be it exercise, fashion, decor, insert yours __here________.  It is always so refreshing to get back to the basics?  The core of what you do, who you are?  This is true even now as we embrace a new year, a fresh start, a clean slate, new planners, diets, workout regimes, insurance plans, etc.

I was reminded of this on Sunday when our Pastor started a new series on the first weekend of the new year, entitled Breakthrough, with the first segment being focused on PRAYER!!  Wow, what is this?  Exactly what I need in many areas of my life.  The text was taken from the parables of Jesus.  Matthew 7:7-12! Where Jesus teaches on how we pray, with what attitude, how we approach our Heavenly Father, God.  How we are to ask for what we want and trust that He will give it to us.  This one point blew me away as our Pastor threw it out there.   I guess at times I am not sure how to ask God, My Heavenly Father, because maybe I think of how I would ask my earthly, biological Dad.  Did you get that?  Yes, we tend to view our Heavenly Father through the lens of a child who was disappointed perhaps by her earthly, biological father.  Rest easy my friend, as our Heavenly Father is not going to disappoint.  No, you read it correctly, He will not, can not fail us.

  To me this is textbook, elementary in that I have learned this over time as a Believer.  It is classic, authentic, vintage, original, fresh! This passage is like your favorite pair of Converse or broken in Levi's.  It is that great little black dress that you go to every time, the one you add your Grandma's pearls to and voila` the most iconic outfit in your wardrobe.

This is what prayer is to me.  This is what Jesus wanted/wants for us.  To pray and believe.  I feel as though this has been sort of on my horizon for the last few years.  I pray and feel led to pray, so no big stretch here.  I feel stretched, however with being consistent.  Our Pastor outlined a few points that I feel are so doable, like maybe I can stick with this whole consistency thing after all.  

1. We need to set aside time to pray and reflect.
2. We need to make prayer a habit.  We make good habits when we know why we are trying to achieve something/goal. i.e. I want to crash my Half Marathon time, so I need to train, etc.
3. Set a goal(for me consistently praying daily)
4. Create the environment, i.e. soft music, candles, etc.
5. Become accountable(tell someone what you are doing) girlfriends, roommates, neighbors, etc.

A few practical prayer points:

1. Personal-family, spouse, children, you
2. Work or financial needs
3. Missional-What are you doing for others?

I think this would be a great time to break out those cool journals, planners and neat apps that are brainy phones, pads,etc. have on them.  

What do you think?

I am linking up with this lady! Click here for details!

Happy Birthday, Sir

My guys at the Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial in D.C.

Iron Ladies

 

science.howstuffworks.com

I have been thinking and thinking about how hit and miss I am on this blog.  My desire is to grow it, yet the everyday gets in happens and I put it on the back burner.  There are days when I am defeated about not keeping up with the duties of blogging and days when I know that my not keeping up with the blog lends to victory in other areas.  So, I guess there is balance in it all?  

I am really grateful for the experience of blogging, sharing and meeting all of you.  I never thought that I would find a place, a voice in this realm of social networking, but I have.  I am not sure what next year holds for this blog.  I would like to believe that I would make time to plan, plan and plan some more with respect to blogging.  I am definitely looking forward to reading all of your blogs, sharing in this process and I hope you will join me here at the Chronicles.

I extend a warm hug of gratitude for all of you who take time to drop by to see what this "hit or miss" blogger might have going on.  I also extend warm hugs to all of you that run your blogs as well oiled machines!!

 You have been great inspiration and encouragement. I will leave you with this passage that sang out to me this morning: Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.  This encapsulates how I feel about you all and your blogs.  It has been such a blessing to my life this year to experience your wisdom, eloquence, style, beauty and encouragement to name a few. We must continue to be encouragement and support for each other.  We must continue to sharpen one another.  Enjoy all that God has for you this week and I look forward to all that He has for us in 2013!!

Sharpened,

Shon

Sunrise on 12/22

The day the world would end turned out to be simply beautiful! My neighbor did some research and it turns out that the Mayans believed that it was an end to the last 5000 years and that we would usher in a new 5000.  So, we got up to meet the sun as it rose over the Atlantic, and boy, what a sight to see.  We took it all in, prayed and read a scripture and just watched in awe of God's artistry. I will let the photos speak for themselves!

Half Staff

flaginfo.wordpress.com

In honor of the precious lives lost and a community forever changed, I will be off the blog today.  I encourage you all in the midst of this most difficult time, to pause, pray, reflect, serve, be the change you want to see. I thought the following passage in scripture was appropriate to leave you with. 

1 John 3:7-12

  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Our little nest

We are so blessed as a family. We have 2 girls and 1 boy in our nest. They are the sweetest little folks you would ever want to meet. They are complex, funny, intelligent, athletic, artistic, passionate about praising God with song and dance, loving, kind, faithful, loyal and just plain ol' sweet. I love our cozy nest of little folks. I delight in being their mother and it is my great pleasure to nurture, serve, support, teach and love them with all of my being.

Nothing left

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."~ Erma Bombeck

Spoken Word(s)

Ok, so as I was taking the plunge into blogdom, I ran across a really cool mommy blog via a friend's Facebook post. I loved this blog sooooooo much and the cool mommy writers and their personal blogs, that I bookmarked them immediately. There was a really neato quote on one of the blogs and it stopped me COLD in my tracks!! Enjoy!!

"Don't waste yourself in REJECTION, nor bark AGAINST the bad, but CHANT the beauty of the GOOD." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson