NEW EXPERIENCES...

Two of our g'kids start a 2-day a week preschool program today. I'm excited for them and only a little nervous. I am, after all, their g'mom.

Before Alexis' arrival Zach was in a wonderful program where he did very well. His former teacher is a wonderful, caring woman. She still attends many Z-events and he's been very blessed to have Miss Lisa in his life. So, aside from the fact that he's now firmly in his wonderful/terrible two's, I'm not worried about him (maybe his teacher, but hey, if you choose to work with 2-years olds...)

This will be a brand-new experience for Alexis. Between family and friends she's been around other children a good bit, but I think it will be new for her to have a caretaker who isn't a member of her family. She's so sweet and easy-going, though, that I don't think this will be a problem.

All this to say that I'm saying extra prayers for these two precious kiddos today. I hope and pray for wonderful experiences with caring people in an atmosphere of wonder and play!

MILESTONE...

This handsome young man is our dear Matthew. He's our oldest grandchild and this is his pre-school graduation picture.

Milestones or stepping stones...they mean the same. They (and we) are all on journies of 1000+ miles, and all, begin with those very first steps.

We don't get to share in as many of his steps as we would like but our hearts partake in each one.

NEW (Spring) PURSUITS

Over the weekend Abbey took us on a trip to the local Home Improvement store. She wanted a rose bush. It was also time to get tomatoes started again. So...before long we were loading a rose bush, plant food, 2 tomato plants, a random plant, and a beautiful pink dahlia we found (specific hybrid to aid in breast cancer research). I thought the dahlia was going to be mine but Abbey had other ideas. She's also taken over care of the peonies in our back yard planted by her grandfather many years ago. Over the weekend we found out the he had planted those because they reminded him of his mother; they had been her favorite flowers. Time to grab the watering can!

Spring is such a wonderful time of year!

Random Thoughts

...in no particular order

Easter - Celebrating with joy the wonder of this day. Reflecting on my relationship with Jesus and being so thankful for God's incredible gift!

Remember to "Be still..." It sounds odd to say that I miss my blog. Ok, so I'm odd. I do miss my blog...I miss feeling inspired enough to write something - OR - energized enough. There are many things which that applies to; baking, cooking, reading, knitting, playing board games with the kids, etc... Families today are on treadmills set way too fast. Do we view our worth by how busy we are? How full our calendar is? Maybe that's why I particularly love Psalm 46:10 where we are told to "Be still and know that I am God"

Royal Wedding...Yes, I must admit that I'm following some of the hoopla concerning the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton (and NO, I do not read supermarket tabloids). I feel a little embarrassed by this but counter by saying that I have a 10-year old princess of my own and she's enthralled with the whole thing. We're anxious to see 'the dress,' the carriage ride, and the couple's balcony appearance. I was brought up reading fairy-tales and this is the closest thing we have to them. So, laugh if you must, I can handle it. I'll just send my fairy godmother after you!

Cars - We recently purchased two cars for our family. I find it interesting (and humorous) to see the process of 'getting to know,' and then, personalizing, our cars. For me, it has included some of the following...

• Transitioning from seeing it as 'a car' to 'my car.'


• Establishing a relationship; My car! We're a team! We'll take care of each other! Then...a trip to the dealer for a glitch. Still happy but a touch more cautious.


• Designed custom front-plate


• Applied for personalized SC license plate


• Set radio stations


• New key ring


• Purchased floor mats (a little sporty-looking AND practical)

I spend a lot of time in my car. I want it to reflect 'me,' - at least a little bit. This has been a good start but we hopefully have a number of years to spend together, and hey, I still have a rearview mirror, bumper, and back windshield for my canvas. Oh, and for the record, I see my husband doing many of the same things with his car!

Hobbies - What an incredible time to pick up a new hobby! I started knitting about a year ago. I'm an ok knitter at this point. I can tell you, however, that I wouldn't be any kind of a knitter (except a failed one) without the tools and technology we have available now. Online magazines, online patterns, YouTube videos, EBooks, Video classes, online yarn shops, knitting specific blogs, Ravelry (think of FaceBook for knitting), Skype, and so much more. If you've ever had a hobby or interest you wanted to pursue, there's never been a better time!

Graduation - Our oldest son, Darrell, is graduating from University of South Carolina - Upstate in 9-days. I can't begin to convey how proud, happy, and excited I am about this. Congratulations, Darrell!

Cocoa Krispies, really? - A blast from the past...I was reminded how much I (still) love Cocoa Krispies cereal. Just eat them fast because they get soggy (but oh so chocolatey) pretty fast. So, on that note, have a wonderful week and don't be afraid to eat your favorite childhood cereal (and maybe a pb&j for lunch!). Got milk?

Milestones

What a Week -

In the span of 5 days we have 3 family members reaching significant milestones...

Our youngest grandchild, beautiful Alexis Collins Richards, reached her 1st birthday yesterday. As she is the true 'baby' in the family, we are reluctant to let go of her infancy and yet marvel at her achievements, giggles, kisses, and words 'nigh-nigh' as she waves on her way to bed. Through these days and all those to come, I thank God for the blessings that are our grandchildren.

Our youngest son, Christopher Scott Wiren, with the ticking of the clock, leaves his childhood behind...shedding its outgrown attire for the new, better-fitting wardrobe of the teenager. He is such an interesting, fun, smart, and kind young man. The years leading to this point have been filled with joy...almost as bright as his smile when he shares a vision he stored in his mind and relays in gread detail to anyone who will listen. Almost as bright as the sparkle in his eye when he's being mischievous or enjoying something witty or funny. Words are inadequate, but through these days and all those to come, I thank God for the blessings that are our children.

Our middle daughter, Elisa Kiley Wiren Richards, beautiful in every way, turns 25 this week. She's shrugging off the last lingering bits of the teenager without losing her sense of fun. Easily fitting are the coats of Wife, Mother, Career Woman, Deans-List Student, Daughter, Sister. That's not to say she won't pull out the old prom gown to see if it still fits (and it does), or pulls out the high school yearbook, only to marvel at how far she's come since then. She's on a road that is difficult, to say the least...then again, she knows that taking the easy route rarely gets you where you want to go. The days are long yet the hours too few, the responsibilities great, but the reward...priceless. She's chosen an excellent partner to travel with and they make the load lighter for each other. Just keep going a bit longer and the view is Spectacular! With a mental slideshow playing; snippets of the days and times gone by, while looking forward to the ones still to come, I thank God for the blessings that are our cihldren.

For the blessings that are my life.

Thank You, Lord...

The Power of Kind Words...

Every now and then we come across a story that speaks to our heart. The type of story you tuck away to be retrieved again and again. The following story has been one of those to me. I heard that the author is Elizabeth Silance Ballard but have not verified that. I'm also posting this without the appropriate copyright recognitions. That said, I share this story here in the hope that it touches you as it has me.

*********************************************************************************

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other

students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between

each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could

say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment

and, as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.



That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a

separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday, she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the

entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered.

"I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were some of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents,

but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another.

That group of students moved on. Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the

funeral of that special student.

She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before.

He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved

him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers, who acted as pall bearer, came up to her.

"Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked.

She nodded: "Yes."

Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a

luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notepaper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.

The teacher knew, without looking, that the papers were the

ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's

classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around.

Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's

in the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."

Then Vickie, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group.

" I carry this with me at all times," Vickie said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

A Year Has Come and Gone...

Wow! I can't believe it's been a year since I've written. I don't know why, but somehow this blog was pushed and shoved to the background of this crazy adventure I know as 'My Life.'

Kenneth visited here this morning and I realized how much I missed having posts on here. Miss being able to look back and be reminded of things that may not stay in memory but are so nice to revisit.

The biggest news of the last year was the arrival of our newest granddaughter, Alexis Collins Richards, born March 19, 2010. She is such a beautiful, happy, and precious baby girl!

We've all aged a year...hopefully with a little more wisdom and knowledge than in the years before.

We've had memorable adventures in Florida,both with my father and Ken's mother. That's where, among other things, Kenneth went parasailing for the first time (and loved it!). We got to experience the beauty and majesty of the Statue of Liberty, and visited Washington DC again last October. Kenneth and I celebrated another anniversary (and while I didn't think it was possible, I'm even more head-over-heels in love with my husband now than I was the day we married). Darrell is in his last semester of his senior year at University of South Carolina Upstate. Christopher seems to be growing in feet rather than inches, and Abbey is a go-getter in anything she decides to tackle (especially arts/crafts, and cooking). We got to spend some time with Matthew (but not enough...never enough), Shannon and Josh are doing well, as are Elisa and Rob. We still have Trudy (Stupid dog) and Izzie. Cats have come and gone and there's mostly just one around these days. We've had joys, and sorrows, and we've been blessed to come through it all stronger than ever.

As for hobbies, I did leave the loom knitting behind and decided to try my hand (pun intended) with traditional knitting. It's been a rocky road but I've been enjoying it tremendously. I don't get too many projects done because I'm always in learning mode. Once I get one concept I rush to the next. It's kind of funny/sad that I'm working on a scarf for Abbey (I don't know if it's still or again!). Darrell is taking guitar lessons and really enjoying it. He really wants to get good and it shows. He sure didn't practice like this when he was playing trumpet in his high school marching band! Abbey is enjoying art and sewing classes, and Christopher is advancing admirably in Scouts. We didn't get a chance to go family camping this year - it would have been nice, but there will be times that work out for us, I'm sure.


I plan to keep writing here. I really have missed it. It feels really good to post here again.

God's continued blessings...

Loom Knitting Hobby Update...

I've been having a great time with my loom knitting. Friday evening I finished
up a scarf for my youngest daughter. I had started it a few weeks ago...ran
short of yarn...got the yarn....put the project in one of my knitting bags...and
promptly forgot it. I'm glad to say her hat now has its matching scarf. This was
a pretty combination of a light pink strand and a strand of ivory with teeny
bits of gold through it.

It's not very exciting but I just finished a simple (warm) black scarf with
fringe last night. It's occurred to me several times that my wardrobe really
needed a simple black scarf. How funny is that? Well, now I have one.

I also made a newborn hat last Sunday while we drove to a nearby town for a job
my husband had to do. Our middle daughter is expecting next month. I'm worried
that it's too small, though. We'll see once Alexis gets here. I'm also working
with my 9-yr old daughter, Abbey, on her knitting adventure...she has a scarf in
progress as well as a hat for her newest niece. She'll probably make a dozen
before the baby even gets here on 3/19.

Abbey also just went to a party for two of her best friends (birthday for twins)
and gave them looms, yarn, instructions and a list of websites. Great idea to
share this love of loom-knitting!

Also on a loom at the moment is a tube scarf using two yarns. One is a
combination of navy blue, maroon, brown, and tan. The second yarn is an ivory. I
love how they look together. I should pick that one up again this evening - I
took a break to knit the black scarf. Since it's a tube pattern it uses twice as
much yarn and takes twice as long. I think I'll love it, though.

Dishcloths and a baby afghan are in the plans, as well as joining the pieces of
the cart cover. I really need to finish that up and get that box checked off.


Hope everyone is staying warm, happy, and loom knitting away!

Good Days...

We're having fun in February. Our weather has been a bit unusual these days but such a nice change from the norm. We dont' see much snow in these parts, and while we haven't had much, we have had some, and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

We have February birthdays...
Our sister-in-law, Vivienne, celebrated her birthday on the 9th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VIVIENNE!

Four days later we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday with a nice dinner at a new restaurant in the area. We had most of the family together and I always love that. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMOMMY! WE LOVE YOU!

Valentine's Day was fun. Kenneth and I don't get into the whole Valentine thing too much - don't really like the idea of Hallmark/FTD/Vermont Bear Co. telling us we need to show our love to each other. We like doing that in our own ways all through the year. But...with that said, we do have a Hershey Kiss we trade each year and my husband always manages to do something sweet for me on that day.

I am so happy to be involved in two 'Life Group' Bible studies which began this week. One is for women it's the 'Fingerprints of God' study by Jennifer Rothschild. The second is one my husband and I are in together and it's by Gary Smalley and John Trent called 'The Blessing.'

Our church uses the phrase 'intentional relationships' in regard to our Life Groups. That has really stuck with me...We don't always have the easiest time in social situations and find we shy away from them. As a large family, we stay very busy and involved in family activities/events - it's easy to have that be our focus. We have to intentionally step out (comfort zones?) by participating in these groups. Discomfort aside, it really is a win/win situation as these groups enrich our spiritual walk as well as open our lives up to these 'intentional relationships.' We've certainly been blessed in the past by the folks we've shared life with in our church and life groups. I have no doubt the same will be true this time around.

We have another 10-days left in February. It's often a very cold time of year. I hope you stay warm...literally and figuratively.