Everything I Have

Hmmmm... I wonder if this might make a interesting project?!?!? I bet it would be pretty mind blowing to document all of my clothes, shoes and handbags in this fashion! Would you have more than you thought you did? Would your possessions seem more or less important after this process? Maybe it would help me reinvent my wardrobe!

(By artist Simon Evans via Black Eiffel)

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Abra Kadabra....

"Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
Colossians 3:23 

"Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." 
Ephesians 6:6

Cleaning the kitchen is my least favorite chore. I really hate it. I love to cook. I love to bake. But it makes such a mess. I've tried to get a handle on my mess for years. My husband cleans the kitchen for me often, but as the days get longer, he is gone more and even I, with my huge dislike for cleaning the kitchen, can't expect him to do it all the time. A housekeeper would be a nice option, or have my mom live with me. Now there's an idea, but I have a feeling I would still be avoiding the real issue. God can change my heart and my attitude, but he won't clean my kitchen. Emma's tried using her pink princess wand and even that doesn't work, to both Emma's and my dismay. The solution is to just do it. Pray for a good attitude, because I need it!

"He must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need."
Ephesians 4:28

For what chore do you wish a pink princess wand would work its magic?

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Grace and Ease

This look caught my eye for its simple glamour. A grey tee, denim jacket, wool overcoat, and black denim is really all it takes to look chic when you have the help of a pair of truly AMAZING shoes!




In other news, I received a little shout out (if you will) from Nadine at the lovely blog Anmtuig! So nice! In turn, I will pass this award on to Freckle Farm and Field Guided, two inspiring blogs and great reads!


Thanks for reading!!!

xo,
Roberta Jane Read More.. Read More..

Shoe Heaven

Remember this lovely girl and her unreal collection of shoes? The Selby shot her (her, being stylist Elisa Nalin) at her home in Paris and her gaggle of gorgeous shoes is even more impressive than I originally thought!!!


How adorable is she in the striped top and that huge smile! And I am definitely adding this photo to the "hair file"!



(The Selby does it again) Read More.. Read More..

TOM TOM Jewelry

Discovered this new jewelry line via Daily Candy... I love the use of varied size chains, metals and ribbons. The necklaces are equal parts edgy and feminine. And you know I love a good nautical theme (The first necklace is named Swallowed By The Sea)!


More of TOM TOM Jewelry Here. Read More.. Read More..

Detesting lying lips

Every day is full of disciplinary challenges with my two little children. Mandy is in to throwing fits, throwing plates and silverware, and hitting -- that is for another topic. Arg. And Emma has taken to lying about things great or small. I confront every disobedience with what I believe is an appropriate punishment. The challenge comes with the girls' age difference and their understanding of different punishments. When I put Emma in "time-out",  known as the naughty seat at our house, Mandy LOVES to join her. She pats Emma's back if she's crying and tries to give her a hug. Usually Emma shouts, "I'm not in the mood!", but Mandy doesn't care.

The other day Emma blamed Mandy for writing in ink all over my jumbo wall calendar. My calendar is the brains of this household, so keeping it organized and scribble free is a priority. I was mad and I also know Mandy couldn't have done it. I seriously don't know why I ever thought I was smarter than my parents -- sorry mom and dad!  Mandy would have had to be at least a foot taller, be able to uncap a pen, scribble in straight lines like writing, recap the pen, move the stool she used to climb up on and then disappear into the bedroom and resume playing with the kitchen. Not likely. Emma was immediately given a punishment for lying plus put on the naughty seat to think about what she had done; not only destroying my property but lying to get someone else in trouble. Before I knew it, Mandy was on the step beside Emma comforting her. Mandy got up when Emma was still throwing her "I wish I hadn't been caught fit" and returned with two books which happened to be Bibles. Emma calmed right down and started "reading" her familiar Bible stories to Mandy. It was an excellent opportunity and I opened up one of the Bibles (an actually New Testament) and read to them what God had to say about disobedience. I couldn't resist the picture, praying that this was a lesson learned.

"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in (children) who are truthful." Prov. 12:22

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I am a Granola Mama

I did not set out on this post to illicit the most comments  I've ever received (non give-away related). Neither did I expect that each commenter would be so passionate about granola living and write a 5 page thesis in the comment box. I love it! It makes me feel good, down to my sock with sandals, that my friends and family are just as weird as I am. 

I used to make fun of Granola Mamas when I was a kid. My family ran in the homeschool crowd and we used to see a lot of them. They seemed so weird and counter-culture. A Granola Mama, if you are not familiar, is a definite stereotype made up by me with help from my sister when we were kids. It is a fitting description of a select group of women.

This is what a Granola Mama looks like: She is a mom, usually a home-school mom, who wears turtle-necks with jumpers she sews for herself and her daughters, and she wears socks with Birkenstock sandals; she has at least 5 children who were all born at home and those babies never wore store-bought disposable diapers; She recycles everything even going so far as to make cute crafts from household left-overs (tin-can pen holders and costumes made from cardboard boxes); she cooks from scratch and going to McDonald’s is considered a field-trip once every 5 years; she grows her own vegetables and fruit and cans them all so she is more than organic; also, she treats all her family’s ailments homeopathically and she must have an aloe plant in her kitchen; and she most definitely makes her own granola and eats it every morning for breakfast.

I saw these kinds of women as extremely weird when I was growing up. The lifestyle choices a Granola Mama accepts looked so hard. My own mother had her touches of granola-ish-ness, but thankfully she didn’t wear turtlenecks with jumpers after 1986. My mom made my sister and I can things we grew in the garden, she had an aloe plant and I am pretty sure her children never wore disposable diapers. Now that I am a mom, I’ve become more and more like the stereotype I thought was so outlandish. I can almost certainly sat I am well on my way.

Here are some of the ways I am a Granola Mama:

• I am a home-school mom to my 4 year old. I can’t say I love it, but it is the best educational and environmental choice for us right now.

• Although I don’t sew jumpers (yet), I do enjoy sewing.
  

• My sandal of choice is the Chaco, not the Birkenstock, but they're close. I have actually worn them with socks, but only to put mail in the box. I’ve been temped though to wear that look out in public in the winter… so very, very tempted. They are so comfortable.

• I love the idea of having a home birth. I probably would have done labor and delivery at home with a midwife for Mandy's birth, but I chickened out. Then I watched The Business of Being Born and wished I would have. 
  

• I just bought clothe diapers for Mandy. I’ve used disposable diapers for my hospital-born-children for nearly 4 ½ years and finally got sick and tired of spending $40 a month on something I throw away. I bought Tiny Bumz (click here) or Coolababy diapers, similar to Fuzzy Bunz, that I purchased from my sister-in-law, Kelly who got them for her baby and toddler. I really like the diapers and will be buying a few more. They are well made and I love using them. I’m doing laundry anyway, it hasn’t been difficult at all to wash them and re-use. This makes so much sense to me. And Mandy is so darn cute in clothe diapers. 

• Recycling is super fun for me. I am such a nerd, but I actually enjoy being able to take-in everything from cardboard to milk jugs to my recycling center in town. I even use clothe shopping bags for my groceries. That I sewed myself, of course.

• I cook from scratch the majority of the time and eating out is a rare treat, although going to McDonld’s isn’t called a field-trip, yet.

• I love growing my own produce. I’m not very good at it, but I’m getting better as the years go on. I also love to preserve by canning summer’s harvest.

• Yesterday I went to Alternative Health and Herbs and bought a whole bunch of homeopathic remedies for common maladies. I had some oil for ear aches made by them and it works splendidly. Emma had an ear infection this week and this stuff helped it heal and took away the pain in a day. This topic deserves a post all its own. 

• I make my own granola and eat it every morning. Here is the recipe. 
  

Is there hope for me? Probably not. How much of a Granola Mama are you?

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Quilting 101

I'm not sure where all my blog commenters went. I've missed you. Even my husband, who lives for the comments, asked why people weren't commenting. It can't be my bad breath or the fact that I didn't get dressed today that has turned you off. It must be that I am not talking about subjects stimulating for my intelligent audience. So here we go.... quliting. I knew that would draw you in.

Yesterday I went out to a friend's house for a new-fangled quilting bee. It was so entirely fun. I loved every minute. The ladies who were there were from my MOPS group (mothers of pre-schoolers). Our host has a long-arm machine quilting business and was generous with her home and invited us over to make a table runner and then quilt it on her machine.

There were 5 of us piecing away. The patterns was sort of complicated and made me think more than normal. I was going to do my taxes this week, but I'll have to wait now since I used all my brain power for the next month.

We all brought our own fabric and it was interesting to see people's personalities come out in their selections.

And then it came time to machine quilt. Oh, it was fun. The machine stitches when you move the handles and no matter how slow or fast or jerky you go, the stitches are uniform. I LOVED it and did an overall "meander." Our host does fancy patterns on her quilts; they are breathtaking and it inspired me to finish one of the quilt projects I have started and have her machine quilt it for me. My inspiration will probably fade as my brain power returns, so this could be my last quilting post for awhile. Too bad for you.

We all got a chance to quilt our own projects. Some said, "Oh, that was fun!" while others said, "Ah, I didn't like that. It was way too hard." Different peronalities again.

I brought home my table runner and put the binding on it today. I spent an hour hand stitching about 1/3 of it and then my brain power returned in a small spurt and I got out the Stitch Witchery (fabric bond -- like glue). I bonded the rest with the iron and you seriously can't tell the difference between my hour's worth of work and the 5 minute lazy woman's work.

My dear mom once received a table runner as a gift and proclaimed, "I love it! It will cover my crack perfectly!" It's been a family joke ever since. And, interestingly this table runner does perfectly cover my crack -- the crack in my table that is.

I am so happy with how my project turned out. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the patterned piece on the end is a print of vintage spice packages. I fell in love with it and purchased way too much. Part of my purchasing enough fabric for about 14 table runners was due to the fact my children were running around the store playing with fabric sample quarters. Emma pronounces fabric like fag-gitt, so hearing her say, "I love this fag-gitt!" was disturbing to say the least. I asked her to please refer to it as clothe.

These are the table runners done by the ladies. Mine is the top middle one. We all used the same pattern and I loved seeing how the different fabric choices brought out a uniqueness in each project. I could make a beautiful parallel between the quilts and how God weaves and blesses our lives, but my kids are whining and I think it is dinner time. Gotta run!

So there you have it -- a stimulating quilting post. If this doesn't bring on the commenting, I don't know what will.

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The good.... what else is there?

I catch people giving me “the look” when I am out and about with my husband and girls. The look is usually given by older ladies, but I’ve seen it on faces of all kinds of people; it involves a tilt of the head, a softness in the eyes, and a wistful expression. The person will sometimes say things like, “They grow up so fast,” or “Time flies,” and “I remember my children at this age like it was yesterday.” This week a man in line at the grocery store said, “Man, I remember when my kids were that age. It could be crazy sometimes, but they sure were fun. All five of them!” He had long white hair and a frizzy beard and was dressed in orange hip-waders; probably a hardworking fisherman since we were at the Oregon Coast (the fishy smell he wore helped my stereotype as well). One day his little ones were clamoring for his attention and now he said they don’t want to be seen with him, “Dad’s not cool, you know.”

I tend to think people are delusional when they give me “the look” and say, “Enjoy this time.” I smile and nod and am polite, but all the while I wonder where the real memories went. Seriously, did they forget the ankle biting, and interruptions, and spilled milk for the 4th meal in a row? Do they not remember getting up multiple times a night to check a baby’s cry or the tantrums that a toddler has in public? It’s great that they think so fantastically of their children’s younger days, but they are not based in reality. They can’t be.

Tuesday we went to the beach for 2 nights. It was a long week leading up to it and a month’s worth of sickness were behind us. I imagined walks on the beach, calm play, peaceful naps and sleeping late at our 2 bedroom resort accommodations. My first mistake was adding “sleep,” “calm” and “peaceful” to the picture of my expectations. The girls were lively as usual and good parenting doesn’t get to take a vacation. I found myself longing for a quiet time away with just my husband. I tried to think of a way to get a baby-sitter for a few days so I could have my sleep, calm, and peace (and my husband all to myself). Desiring to be away from my chaotic children put me a bad mood.

We ate out at my favorite restaurant and I felt the tension and irritation rising. Then I saw a women across the isle give our family “the look.” She was about my mom’s age with a man who I assume was her husband. I read enough emotion on her face to know that she was remembering perfect days with little children and she missed it, even though she was alone with her husband. In that instant, I was given a gift of seeing my family through her eyes. I looked at my handsome husband, the amazing father to my children. I smiled at him, grateful for the love I saw reflecting back at me in his perfect blue eyes. My children weren’t being bad really, just being children and I saw how precious they were. Mandy was sucking water from the plastic cup lid, forgetting the straw. She was getting pretty wet, but she was dressed cute and flashed me the hugest grin at her accomplishment of getting water out of the cup. Emma, in all her spirited fashion style was wearing a skirt and pants and her purple puffy coat. She colored her fish themed coloring paper with the concentration of Michael Angelo. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world. I am sure my change in attitude effected the rest of our time there. 

I resolved after that to try to view my family as that stranger saw us. I would remember the good, deal with the bad and then forget about it. I want to remember the snuggles, the giggles, the happiest and the funniest moments, not the ankle biting and all that other stuff. I look forward to being that lady in the grocery store who says to a young mom with a screaming toddler, “They don’t stay this age for long. Enjoy them while they last.” When I look back on these days, I want to be delusional. And it will be my right, as I see it.

We went swimming 3 times, watched cartoons, tried to convince Mandy to eat something other than fish crackers, Emma slept in 2 different beds for the 2 nights we were there, and I watched my fill of HGTV. It was a really beautiful time. 

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Watch out: precious cute kids ahead...

This is Josiah and he is in the running for cutest baby of 2008. This is the same newspaper contest that both Emma and Mandy entered and neither of them won, so we know it is a random drawing and not actually based on angelic cuteness. 

I love my nephews to pieces. It is treat to be submersed in camo, browns, and manly fonts since my world usually revolves around all things girly. We played at the park this week with the boys and pretended it wasn't terribly cold. Snow flakes were falling from the sky as the sun tried in vain to peak out. It was strange weather, but still super cute boys.

Emma also thinks very highly of her cool boy cousins. 

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31 Dates in 31 Days

I just stumbled onto a blog that is so fun. It is written by a New York city woman who just turned 31 and is determined to find the man of her dreams in 30 dates with 30 different guys. She's a good girl (Catholic I think) and the posts are well written and funny -- I like reading a little romance. I had a lot of catching up to do since it almost the 14th. I kept saying, "this is the last one," as I read and read. She will repeat a date with one guy Valentine's Day. How cute it this?

http://31datesin31days.blogspot.com/ Read More.. Read More..

Tagged to share photos

I was tagged by Amanda to share a photo with you. The rules are:

• find the 5th picture folder on your computer
• choose the 5th picture in the file
• Post and explain the picture
• tag 5 people

This is a different kind of "tag" game because it gives the allusion that you are peaking into my hard drive. The picture below is from the file I imported from my old computer. They are my favorite pictures, the ones that are in photo albums already, but I still love to look at them from time to time. The 5th picture from that file is one of Emma in '06. It makes my heart go pitter-patter. I love everything about this photo; I love Emma's profile, her soft wispy hair blowing in the breeze, the ruggedness of the tractor, and how I can feel the evening sun warming my face.

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Then I was tagged by Kellie to share a photo. The rules are:

• Find the 4th picture folder on my computer
• Choose the 4th picture from that folder
• Post and explain the picture
• Tag 4 people to do the same

The 4th folder on my computer is called "Photography Favorites." After a photo shoot, I used to  keep the pictures on my hard drive for a few months and then delete all but a few of my favorites. Now I save the whole session to a disc immediately and I don't save them on my hard drive, but this folder is left over from my old method. The 4th pictures from that folder is one of Grace and Cody in the Fall of 2007. They are the children of a friend of mine and I love taking pictures of them. They are so darling. This picture was taken at Dallas City Park in the arboretum on the perfect fall day. As with everything in autumn, I love the colors. Grace and Cody's interaction is priceless.

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Instead of tagging 5 + 4 people to play this photo sharing game, I think I will just do 5 and call it even. I tag:

• Hillary
• Jessi
• Kelleigh
• Andrea
• Lisa

Whether you choose to share your 4th or 5th folder/picture is up to you.

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Soft Buttery Pretzels

I have a confession to make. I've never had a pretzel from the mall. You know the ones where you watch them make the dough and smell the soft, buttery, morsels cook. Lord knows I've been temped to purchase one of these salty temptations, but I've always controlled myself. Thanks to my mother, I have a terrible time buying food from vendors at the mall, the fair, or theme parks. She instilled me in the value of a dollar and I've never been the same since. She would run math problems for my sister and I, showing how much the prices were increased in places like this simply because people were hungry and had no other option. Our family always had another option and it was called bring our own food. I was humiliated by this as a child. I couldn't understand why my mother insisted on making sandwiches in our motel room before we headed to Disney Land in 1989. My dad's family traveled with us and ate out every meal, even at Disney Land. I was insanely jealous watching them eat greasy hamburgers and fries while I ate warm ham and cheese on wheat bread. Then, in 2004 Jeff and I found ourselves at a Food-4-Less in Anaheim, CA buying bread, jam, peanut butter, and apples as we prepared for 2 days in Disney Land. We estimated we saved about $150 on food that trip. Without even trying, I had married a man who was raised with the same frugal mentality. 

Because I love to cook and bake, we often find ourselves at home eating food I prepare. I splurge on nicer ingredients every now and then and we rarely eat out. When we do eat out, both my husband and I have to control ourselves and not think about the money that we are wasting. I dwell on the fact that I will not have to set one foot in the kitchen to help clean up and my dirty dishes are whisked away and not by me or by a 4 year old who may or may not drop them on the way to the kitchen. Just last night we feasted on salmon that I baked with lemon and rosemary, fried red potatoes, green beans and fresh bread hot from the oven. This gourmet meal was less than $6 for our whole family and I have leftovers! My husbands wonders why we would ever eat out with food this good and he is completely spoiled. Then I remind him of the messy kitchen. Cleaning the kitchen is my #1 least favorite household chore.

Was I talking about something in particular? Oh yes, pretzels. Mall pretzels. I recently tried a recipe for Soft Buttery Pretzels that Lindsay submitted on Food Love. They are supposed to be a replica of the mall pretzels that I've never eaten, only dreamt about and then didn't buy because they cost too much. I have to say that these delicious buttery pretzels are exactly how I imagined they should be. They are soft. They are chewy. And I will never be the same. Try them and save yourself some money. :) Pack them in the little baggy and eat them in the food court at the mall and get a taste of money saving satisfaction as you and you alone know that you just saved yourself a few bucks.

Emma's been sick the last few days. In one way, having a child who can communicate her symptoms is a relief, but those symptoms don't always make a lot of sense. She woke up with a high fever on Wednesday complaining that her frote, head, and fingers hurt. She slept most of the day and yesterday she was fine until last night when she had another fever of 103 and said her door and blanket were hurting her. She's spent a lot of time on the couch telling her sister to get away from her because she's "not in the mood to play." This morning she is asking me for ice cream. I don't have any ice cream, but she requested that we go to the Bar-Mort and buy some. I have a terrible time resisting a feverish child, so I may end up going out for ice cream. I also need to return library books and buy some milk. I am fully aware that this is how the germs get spread, but seriously, I don't think I can handle another day trapped in this house making pretzels and salmon and chicken bbq pizza and then eating the leftovers. So, I'll go buy ice cream (for my sick child only). That will make me feel much better.

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Jeep, Canada Style

A Canadian friend sent me this video clip and it really made me laugh. If you watch it and don't find it funny at all, then it must be true that I spent too much time in Canada when I attended college there. I am one of them. I want to live in an igloo and drive a dog sled team, no, make that a Jeep.

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Get Set for School

I've been frustrated for some time because I can't teach Emma preschool basics like the alphabet and numbers. I'm convinced there is nothing wrong with Emma's intelligence (maybe mine), but anything needing memorization just falls out of her pretty little head. I tried to no avail to teach her and even her daddy tried to help her in the evenings. No amount of reciting could get her past G in the alphabet or 5 in numbers. She was frustrated and we were frustrated. She avoided our teaching sessions like the plague. Even though I know I shouldn't compare, it was hard to see other children her age and younger who were saying the alphabet forward and backward, in Spanish, while standing on one foot. I kept praying, "Give me wisdom, God. I don't know what to do!" (James 1:5).

A while back a lady at church, Patty, asked me to watch her 2 year old daughter a few mornings while she did some tutoring for the school district. Patty takes special needs kids who are not progressing in the classroom and tutors them for a short time one-on-one to determine what is keeping the child from learning. Patty was an amazing resource for me as she told me that I need to determine Emma's learning style. She recommended a curriculum called "Handwriting Without Tears." I immediately checked it out online and ordered the preschool book and the kindergarten book. They were only $6.95 each and I've been blown away by the thought and ingenuity of this technique.

"Get Set For School" is designed to use associations to teach the basics like letters, colors, numbers, and shapes. Instead of auditory learning that makes Emma and myself crazy, this uses spacial practice and lots of pictures. The first book is for 4-5 year olds and seems to be the perfect stage for Emma. She can do all the assignments easily without frustration. I could have started this book at least a year ago with Emma and it would have really helped, although we would have moved through the lessons slower. It's kind of fun to cruise through something for a change!

The book starts with colors and shapes using coloring as the learning tool. Also available through HWT are several different systems using dough, wooden shapes, and Mat Man (a large scale shape thing). All of the different teaching aids are reasonably priced, but designed for children with different learning styles (the entire pre-school kit is around $100 and includes tons of stuff). I haven't quite figured out how Emma learns best, so I decided to wait and see how I liked the basic book and go from there.

Emma loves to trace the shapes. It is perfect for her because she enjoys coloring and drawing. She took to curriculum like a fish to water. Instead of wrestling and fighting about one little letter and then giving up, I have to cut off the school time so she retains all the information she is gobbling up like her favorite food.

For letters, the book shows how to properly draw each letter while associating the letter with a subject that starts with that letter: D for duck. These ducks are swimming in a pond and the child is to trace the line to make the shape.

Instead of going through the alphabet chronologically, this book teaches the letters by how they are shaped. It makes so much more sense to Emma and to me. This is her first letter assignment -- L. She did it the first time without my instruction because it is so logical to her.

Even the way this book teaches numbers is fantastic. Look how many associations are made with the number 4!

The way Emma is pealing through "Get Set for School," I am thankful I also ordered the Kindergarten book, "Letters and Numbers For Me." It is an introduction to reading and combining letter sounds.

As you can tell, I am more than a little excited about this curriculum. Helping my child learn is exhilarating. I'm quite ready for any info-mercial that Handwriting Without Tears may want me to star in. Hope my passion about this helped you either to remember to pray when you lack wisdom, to figure out how your child learns and avoid some frustrations, or even given you an idea to help you educate for the basics at home. And if you weren't helped by any of those things, you may be interested to know that I used my new lens to take these pictures and it was SO much fun.

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Good morning. I think.

If you are not a morning person, then likely you find people who wake up happy and alert to be rather, well, annoying. I am not a morning person, but God entrusted one into my care and her name is Emma. Her internal clock of radiant sunshine wakes her before dawn and she can be heard singing from her room as she prepares to get up and go the bathroom. Sometimes she goes back to bed to read a books while waiting for the rest of the household to get up and sometimes she wanders the house looking for excitement. A few mornings ago we went downstairs to find that she had made a bed next to the wood stove in the living room. She was happily cozied up looking at books and singing a happy tune even before the sun was up. All her cheerful ruckus wakes up Grumpy, I mean Mandy, and so our day begins.

Her sister, a girl after my own heart, is slow to be happy in the morning. Mandy needs a good 15 minutes of snuggling with mom or dad (or any handy adult) before she is willing to greet the day. And even then she just lifts her head up to see what her cheerful sister is up to and then she says, "Hi." She plops her head back down onto whoever is giving her love and sucks her thumb and strokes her incredibly stinky blanket. If it wasn't for that stinky thing, I could probably charge admission and people would pay money for Mandy's hugs. She doesn't really care who she is snuggling up with and it feels like world peace when she has her arms flung around your neck. Maybe a true morning person wouldn't appreciate all her needed snuggling when there is a day wasting away, but I need that time just as much as Mandy.

(Although she is by far the more outgoing one of our children, Mandy takes a lot of time to warm up in the morning)

This brings me to yesterday when the kind daddy had gone downstairs to get the crying Mandy from her crib. He was undoubtedly snuggling up with our snuggly child in her warm room in the comfy chair. He was feeling world peace envelop him and that left me with the ray of sunshine who burst into my curtain darkened haven and said, "Good morning!" as she turned on the light. I grumbled something about it being far too early and she jumped and hopped up onto the bed next to me. She said, "Come-on. Let's get up" and, "You can do it!"  I replied something about let's just sleep awhile, not that that was even remotely possible with a ray of sunshine hopping about on my pillow. Emma said, "Come-on. My tummy said, 'I'm hungry.'" She finally cajoled me into sitting up and then she took my hand and pulled until I was standing by my bed. She continued to pull me, intending to sweep me down the stairs to prepare breakfast for her, I am sure. I stopped her and said that I needed to quickly make the bed. I took 20 seconds to tidy up the sheets and duvet. If I don't make the bed first thing in the morning, I will likely crawl back into it when no one is looking (let's not talk about the Proverbs Woman right now). Emma, all the while, was chattering on about how she wanted oatmeal, the pink kind, and how Mandy was up already and look, there's the sun! As I completed the task, she whipped up a huge smile and exclaimed, "That's a girl, Mommy. You did a good job!" I suddenly felt just a little encouraged, less grumpy, and ready to start the day. And I did start the day, whether I wanted to or not. 

Oh, those dear morning people. You have to love them, because the alternative isn't possible while they are around.

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