52.52 motivational monday

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do

than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover.

-Mark Twain

Over the Christmas holiday we also snuck in an afternoon of graduation photos.
Many possibilities flitted through my mind as I considered this last quote of the year.
Tia, our youngest, graduates high school this year and will soon
start sailing on the trade winds as she casts off the bowlines tying her to us.
She will begin exploring and discovering.
In all likelihood, those trade winds will provide some great swells.
I can't wait to see how she chooses to ride them.

Thank you to all of you who have visited our circle of blogs over the past two years.
My creativity has been challenged.
My energy has ben challenged.
Above all, I have been able to share this journey with some fabulous folks.
Seeing what their take on quotes has been this year has been really fun.

Next up is Gloria ...

may your New Year be blessed!
 



51.52 motivational monday

Be kind whenever possible.

It is always possible.

-Dalai Lama

We are a game playing family.
We certainly have favorites and we change the game rules occasionally.
Like lately the robber doesn't even make the game.
We leave him off somewhere in the distance and 7's don't count in our games.
When we do use him ... dear hubby is known to plunk him on an unoccupied space.
For those of you who don't play this game,
that means that no one gets hurt.
So even in a game such as this ...
kindness is possible.

The countdown is on.
One more week to go.

Check out what Gloria has to share with us on this second to the last hop of the year!

50.52 motivational monday

We are not rich by what we possess but rather by what we can do without.

-Immanuel Kent

 

There they are!

 

 

Hmmm.

How do I get them up to my mouth?

 

 

Oh well.

Maybe another day.

They put me in this awkward position that ain't good for nuthin'!

 

Toys?

Nah.

Not today. 

 

This is so much fun!

 

The countdown is on to the end of this project!

Several more weeks to go.

Enjoy a trip to visit Gloria.

49.52 motivational monday

Your own problems disappear when you devote your attention

 to the problems of others.

- Unknown

Gloria
 

48.52 motivational monday

It is not length of life, but depth of life.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

So where does one go with this one?!

And why does someone wait until the last minute to try and go there?

Is the depth of life so many things?

Do we at different times in our lives seem to be skimming the surface of living

and other times diving right in?

Is the depth of life held together with the emotional ties we have with friends and loved ones?

Or do they define the depth of life?

The Thanksgiving holiday we just celebrated was full of the depth of life.

We no longer have all of our immediate loved ones at the same table anymore,

but across the miles we can share moments of that special day with them.

And for those who we share with other loved ones in town ... we get them for special moments.

Today, I'd have to say that this smile defines the depth of life. A life full of new adventure with a new bride. Not skimming the surface, but diving right in. They were sitting outside a coffee shop grabbing some wifi so they could skype with both of their families before they headed home to cook their first Thanksgiving dinner .... complete with turkey and pies.

Is there even a way to define the depth of life? We can live a short one that is incredibly shallow, or we can live one that is as deep as the deepest sea ... filled with vibrant color. I use to say a cacophony of color and symphony of sound. Oh, yes. We don't need to live long lives in order to live like that. 

We just need to really live it. 

With a depth that says we have lived.

Gloria

47.52 motivational monday

Always remember to fall asleep with a dream and wake with a purpose.

- Unknown

Or should it be the other way around?
Jari was out playing at the sand dunes this weekend.
Probably with quite a purpose.
Keeping up with the young bucks was the purpose.

To be fair, this could have happened to anyone ... it just happened to be him.
He's fine.
He'll be one aching unit this week, but his spine is intact.
The helmet not so much.

I think he was probably dreaming about more riding,
because he woke up with a purpose.
He was discharged from the hospital less than six hours ago.
The guys are sitting here planning the next trips.
Did you catch that?
Trips.

 Off to Gloria who has a houseful of boys ....
wonder what they're dreaming about over there.

46.52 motivational monday

The most important things in life aren't things.

- Quoted in bulletin of the First Christian Church in Fairfield, Illinois

One of the bestest things ever.
In the whole wide world.
This little guy gives important things a whole new meaning.
He loves to get a serious hold on the person he's hugging!

Gloria is next in our circle of important things



 

45.52 motivational monday

There is nothing worse than being a doer with nothing to do.

- Elizabeth Layton

Tia is a doer.
Stillness is not a word in her vocabulary.
She's on fast forward or stop.
There is rarely an in between speed with her.
At least around here.
It is probably a whole different story when she's out with friends.
This day she needed something to do,
other than clean her nearly impassable room,
and someone else needed something done.
The doer became the human high chair.

 

Personally, I don't really remember a time where there was a lack of things to do.

The books to read are piled high.

The laundry keeps returning.

The craft projects are piling up higher these days.

I cherish my busy existence.

My list of wants far exceed my list of needs,

even in the category of something to do.

 I have a deep sorrow for those who nothing to do.

Is the nothing to do in this quote because they choose to do nothing?

Is it because lifes circumstances have forced them into inactivity?

Is it because they haven't the courage to reach out to do something?

What is it that keeps one from being a doer?

 

I hope the answer to that question is something I never have to learn.

 

The talented Gloria

 

44.52 motivational monday

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.

- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

This little man is discovering things very quickly.
It won't be long and I'll be adding locks on my cupboard doors and drawers.
Between those moments where his brain is absorbing big things,
a little toe chewing is usually the order of the day.

Gloria

43.52 motivational monday

A sense of curiosity is nature's original school of education.

- Smiley Blanton

Notice it is the glass below the handles that has seen the curious touch
of many little humans.

While the older generation leaves an entire different finger print behind in the
satisfaction of their curiosity.

Six men  should need no further explanation, but let's see what kind of curious things
are going on in Colorado.

42.52 motivational monday

Take your work seriously but yourself lightly.

- C.W. Metcalf

 

This past weekend was one full of blessings.

So many family in town.

Housefuls of company.

We added a daughter to our family.

We celebrated with our son as he enjoyed the most special day of his life.

We're still at it this morning.

Our weekend isn't over yet.

Some have come and gone ... others are still here.
I'll share my pitiful lack of pictures with you later this week.

 

Pappa has left but the girls did get a few rounds of SkipBo in with him on Sunday.

This is a serious past time of his.

Someone should have started keeping track of how many decks of these cards

he has gone through in his life.

It is serious business ....

 

mixed with good doses of light heartedness.

 

Linking to Gloria.





41.52 motivational monday

A ship should not ride on a single anchor,

nor a life on a single hope.

-Epictetus

   Gloria's hope is over this way.

40.52 motivational monday

There is a great difference between knowing a thing

and understanding it.

-Charles Kettering and T.A. Boyd

 I know that this basketball hoop is a scant 4 feet from the neighbors fence.
I know there is a window facing the fence,
and in the direct path of the trajectory of any flying object.
As of several weeks ago there are solar panels on the roof of the same house,
once again facing in the same unfortunate direction.
I know that if I should attempt to start the game of P.I.G. or anything else
that involves launching a spherical object into that net,
a whole new level of understanding would likely be achieved.

I already know the likely results.
I am fearful that the neighbors would have an understanding of a whole different sort.

Linking to Gloria

39.52 motivational monday

There is no pillow so soft as clear conscience.

-French Proverb

 

 

 

I have a delicious problem.

I have babies in my world.

While I will readily admit that I am not a picture taker of people,

those babies are a whole different world.

Not only could I cuddle and nuzzle all day long ...

I could sit behind my camera lens.

How else would I share these precious wrinkles with you?

I know they have nothing to do with this week's quote,

but this week ...

I'm just taking the liberty of heading off track.

 

Wyatt at 8 days old 

  

Linking to Gloria

38.52 motivational monday

The older you get,

the more important it is to not act your age.

-Asleigh Brilliant

 

 I didn't really heed that advice this weekend.
Jari was Assistant Director at the Southwest Youth Days at Kamp Kipa.
I was scheduled to be on kitchen duty at the same camp.
Both of us were suppose to be at the camp at 6 pm.
Anna was scheduled for a first baby induction Friday morning.
Not a good combination.
We delayed our departure to the cool mountain air until we really couldn't anymore.
And then we acted our age, accepted our responsibility
and drove out of town.
Jari did ask me if I was going to chew my fingers off.
I informed him it was my right.
We headed up to a place where my cell phone reception is mostly limited
to one corner of a picnic table.

Wyatt Kevin made his grand entrance into our world that evening,
weighing 7 lbs 12 oz
measuring 20 inches long
perfect and healthy.

I kept on acting my age (which is highly overrated!) and finished the weekend duties.
Sunday we drove straight to meet the little love
who is beyond adorable.

 I think this little boy and his cousin will help keep us young.
At least it is my hope that they'll keep us from acting our age ...
at least once in a while.
As long as we still get our nap on Sunday afternoon we'll be good.
 

Linking to Gloria

37.52 motivational monday

Take the attitude of a student,

never be too big to ask questions,

never know too much to learn something knew.

- Og Mandino

 

I love this week's quote.
We all know the typical adult male, right?
The one who carves his own path and refuses to read instructions.
Simply because he is just way too smart to read instructions.
This weekend I found my husband in the close proximity of .....
hold on to your hat .....
an instruction manual.
At least twice.

 That piece of paper there would be instructions .. not sure if he was using them tho.

 This set he was definately reading!
I'll share the rest of this project this week.
I am quite thrilled with how the project turned out,
and had to really chuckle when he said that there is a reason
they make instructions.
This stage of life where you go back to asking more questions
ain't half bad.
 

Linking to Gloria

36.52 motivational monday

You never know when you're making a memory.

- Jim Rohn

 

"Where did you go Nana? That THING is in front of your face again!"

 

 Delectable treats.

 This week your look changed.
You learned to suck your bottom lip.
You're fighting sleep ... wanting to be a part of everything.
Nana looks at pictures and sometimes giggles.
She especially chuckles when she grabs the camera and
you look for her because she is gone.
Memory making.
Yours? Mine? Ours?

I know how fortunate I am to have you in my immediate world.
You aren't a day's car ride or plane ride away.
We may not always live this close to each other,
and who am I to say you must never leave?
So, while I have you to snuggle, giggle with,
watch with fascination as you grow ....
we'll make memories.
It is those fond memories that we return to
time and again
when we can't be near each other
or when that time of life is past.

Linking to Gloria's memory building!

And seriously ...
I won't blame you a bit if you give your computer screen a smooch right now!
 

35.52 motivational monday

If you don't like how things are, change it!

You're not a tree.

-Jim Rohn

 

 We have cacti here that could very easily be mistaken for real.
I'd venture to say that even this palm tree has some folks confused.
It appears to be a little changling.
Okay. I know the tree didn't change itself, but ....

 

Linking to Gloria ...

34.52 motivational monday

When you finally go back to your old hometown,

you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood.

- Sam Ewing

 

 

 Childhood.
Oh, the memories that are wrapped and neatly tied in our childhood homes,
or the hometowns we grew up in.

I was thinking about this week's blog post, wondering what I could do with it.
Then I thought of this beautiful painting that we had commissioned this summer.
Lavona Keskey is an artist who captures life.
To me, her art has always breathed life.
For our parent's 50th wedding anniversary we had Lavona paint our childhood home,
complete with the living that went on there, as a gift for them.
Memories were collected from siblings and added to the piece,
including the shoe kicking contest which some of you who visited
probably participated in once or twice.

The completed piece of art captures the quote for this post.
It isn't the house we long for,
it is the childhood .....

that we keep going back to.
 

Linking to Gloria

33.52 motivational monday

Your talent is God's gift to you.

What you do with it is your gift back to God.

-Leo Buscaglia

How apropos that this week's motivational monday quote should be this particular one,
when the theme for this week's Bible text is
Faithfulness in caring for God given gifts.

It was my turn on the organ yesterday at church.
Thanks to Mom, and those endless Saturday mornings bringing me to organ lessons,
I've been able to give back in one small way.
Caring for that gift, as in practicing, is a bit more challenging.
Maximizing the potential of this instrument is something
I need to devote some time to ....
giving back the gift that God has given me.

Linking to the incredibly talented Gloria ...