Pausing Life for a Moment- Saturday Morning at Home
It was a wonderful morning of pausing the Saturday routine and enjoying just being home together.
The 2nd Annual Tissue Box Challenge
Here is what I came up with. It is a bear hugging a box based on the book Big Bear Hug. I will be sharing more about the book and how we used this bear-hugging box on Friday’s Read.Explore.Learn. post.
Here are the Tissue Box Challenge Rules:
- Reuse a tissue box to create something fun with your children.
- Create a post about your creation that includes a link to the Tissue Box Challenge or the challenge badge.
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.jdaniel4smom.com" title="JDaniel4's Mom"><img src="http://69.195.124.116/~jdanielf/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/TissueBoxChallenge2012.jpg" alt="JDaniel4's Mom" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
- Share your post on the Tissue Box Challenge linkup between April 16th –April 22nd.
- Our wonderful judge Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art will select first, second, and third prize winners.
What are the prizes?
The first prize winner will receive a $20.00 Amazon Gift Card.
The second prize winner will win a Plastic Bag Monster Activity Kit!
Please link your creation below!
This event has ended.
Pause Life for a Moment- Good Girl Gone Redneck!
I was super fortunate to meet Andrea of Good Girl Gone Redneck at the Type A Conference last summer. She is amazing! Why? She is super friendly and warm. Andrea is the type of blogger that welcomes her blog readers to join her on her writing journey and shares openly who she is. When I met her at Type A, she was exactly that way in person. Those who read her blog and those who know her in real life are both truly blessed.
Hi, everyone! I’m Andrea – otherwise known as Good Girl Gone Redneck.
When JDaniel4’s Mom asked me if I would be interested in guest posting for her, I might have squealed a little bit! I am thrilled she invited me here to share her sacred space. And I’m so honored to be here for this week’s Pause Life for a Moment.
As a mother, there are so many moments I experience with my daughter. I honestly could never even begin to capture them all. I often write them up on my blog, but what I’ve recognized is that sometimes I focus too much on the intense moments. The stresses of motherhood. The days she drives me crazy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter more than anything. But she is strong-willed (could be called stubborn), intense (highly emotional), and FIVE (have I mentioned she is five?). Many of the moments we share together are memories I capture and eventually rehash over and over again. But they’re not always the ones I want to hold onto. Or even plan to. They’re the ones where I ask myself, what could I have done differently? How could I have made it better? Easier? Less stressful? Could I have?
Why is it so hard to remind ourselves to take a breath and hold onto the good times? The moments when her eyes crinkle at the sides and remind me of my dad. When I wake her up in the mornings and her hair is all crazy and wild, and she immediately leans over and hugs me. Stretching out across her bed she practically takes me in her arms, grabs on, and won’t let go. Eyes sleepy – but bright. Her face was clear of any stress or emotion, just pure bliss. Flawless.
And instead of being frustrated when she doesn’t want to go to bed, why don’t I snap a mental picture of the way she lines up all her stuffed animals, covers them and her babies with blankets, and even gives them toy bottles? There’s almost nothing cuter, seriously.
Instead of pulling up memories of her shrieking or crying when she’s frustrated, why don’t I allow myself to truly hold onto the lyrics of her voice when she makes up a song? Or sings along with me? Or somehow sounds like a teeny opera singer – her voice projecting in song? Shouldn’t that be what I hold closest to my heart?
I think that pausing life for a moment is something we all need to do more. And yes – we’ll surely remember the not-so-fun days. The stressful times. The number of times we’ve had to say our child’s name before they actually DO what we ask of them. But isn’t motherhood about learning? Living? Loving? So our children teach us, and we learn to listen. We live incredibly full lives with and because of them. And we love them with all of our hearts.
Let’s hold onto that good stuff. Squish it really tightly and push it to the front of our brains. Make our memories flood with happiness and joy. And when we need to pause life for that moment or two – or ten – go ahead and do it. Because we’ll have a library of great things to look through when we need them. And I’m guessing that in about 8-10 years I’m really going to need them!
Pause Life for a Moment- Green Grandma
I am so blessed to have Green Grandma here today to share this amazing post. I hope that you will pause a moment after reading it to visit her wonderful blog and read about her new book Vinegar Fridays.
She truly is a wonderful writer and storyteller.
“I’m going back to Iraq,” my brand-new son-in-law said.
I stopped breathing. Tom and our daughter, Bethany, informed us they had something they needed to tell us and as we sat around the dining room table with hopes of a grandbaby on the way or something else equally wonderful, a cloak of worry descended upon me.
“My unit’s been deployed,” the Marine sergeant continued, “and I volunteered to go with them.”
I couldn’t speak. Fear gripped me with its threat of impending doom. After all, I was widowed at just 32. Was history going to repeat itself? Would my daughter hug her husband goodbye, never to see him again?
I was scared.
For the next month, I struggled to sleep. I worried constantly. I played out scenes in my head – the knock on my daughter’s door, the primal scream, I knew too well, emerging from the depths of her soul. I rushing to get there to offer her comfort that was impossible to give. My own collapsed onto the floor as I heard the news. Would he be killed, or would he come home severely maimed, altering their lives forever?
I had this worrying thing down to an art.
One day, as I ripped the previous day’s saying from my inspirational page-a-day calendar, I read these words:
I paused and read it again. Something started to happen in me … I could feel it. I started to weep.
At that moment, my life changed. Dramatically. Hopefully, forever.
As a writer, I never take for granted the gift of imagination with which God blessed me. After all, what fiction writer can be without it? It is a necessary tool of our trade; one with which, I believe, we are born. God planted the desire to write in me from the time I was a small child. Imagination. What a blessed gift! A gift I turned into a curse.
Before my first husband was killed in a flash fire, I worried about him all the time. If he was ten minutes late, I was pacing. For fifteen minutes, I was crying. Twenty minutes, I was calling the local hospitals. What a rotten way to live … for both of us. I was just so worried that he was going to die. And he did. Worrying did not prevent his death; it simply made his life with me a bit on edge. That is something I will regret forever.
Quite honestly, however, I didn’t know I had a choice.
“I’m just a worrier,” I would say, excusing this flaw in my character as an inborn trait I had no control over. “It’s just the way I am.”
The fact is I did have control over this character flaw. We all do. We can choose not to worry. For me, it was as simple as realizing I was misusing the gift God gave me. I admit it — I have a rather vivid imagination … and I was wasting it on worrying.
That morning, over five years ago, I came up with this strategy:
When I start to feel anxious, I ask myself this question – Am I projecting into the future and imaging things that might happen, or is this a legitimate concern that requires some action on my part?
If there is no real basis for my worry, I dismiss it. If, on the other hand, I’m concerned about catching a cold or whether or not I paid a bill, I proactively take steps to alleviate the concern. I take extra vitamins or wash my hands more often or check my online bank statement to see if the payment went through. Do you see the difference? A concern often requires action.
There was nothing I could do to keep my son-in-law safe. No amount of sleepless nights would prevent my daughter from early widowhood. So I rode out Tom’s deployment in prayer for him, leaving his safety in the hands of his Heavenly Father and leaving my worry in His hands, too. After all, He’s God, and He was more than happy to take it off me.
And you know what? Tom made it home safely and is now co-parenting an active little boy who, no doubt, will challenge this ‘no worry’ approach to life his grandma has. But for now, I’m worrying less and enjoying life more … letting my imagination lead me into the wonderful world of fiction.
Hana Haatainen Caye, agency principal for
Giving Others Christmas: Week 3
When I was little, there was a lot of joy when Sears Wishbook would arrive at our house.
My sisters and I had to take turns looking through the toy section. It filled many hours of our time. Every toy we could possibly think of was in it.
I think we were patient while the other two looked through it. It must have been hard though.
My mom would let us pick one toy out of the section to get for Christmas. We usually got a couple of other things too, but the toy from the Wishbook was the “big gift”.
Choosing a big gift was a huge decision! If you made the wrong choice, you ended up with a dud gift while the others enjoyed theirs.
JDaniel spent hours looking through catalogs and Sunday paper ads to create his wishlist.
I know he is getting some of the things on his wishlist. I am hoping and praying that many other children do too.
How this link up works:
There are so many in need during this Christmas season. I am hoping you will join me in giving to others in your community or beyond this holiday season.
Each week I will feature a way my family is giving to our community during the month of December. I am hoping each of you will take the time to not only give to your community but to write a blog post about it. If you do, I would love for you to link it up below and include a link to this post or this badge.
My posts will go on Sundays, but feel free to share your giving post any day of the week that works for you. The link-up will be available during the rest of the month of December and will appear on every Giving Others Christmas post.
What did we do?
We took some toys to the Toys for Tots bin at our local Big Lots. I really love the organization and it was on my way to JDaniel’s preschool.
Giving Others Christmas: Week 2
Before I tell you about this link up and share with you what we did this week, I want to tell you a story:
A mother in her early thirties stands in line at a grocery store ready to checkout. She glances at her groceries on the conveyer belt silently adding their cost up in her head. The total will come close to the cash she has in her wallet. It might go a little over. She hopes it won’t.
When the cashier finally finishes ringing up the total , it is a little over what she has.
“ I think we can do without this”, she says handing one of the items to the cashier.
“All right,” responded the cashier looking as frustrated as the mother before her. She wishes she could make the groceries fit the money the mom has in her wallet. It isn’t as if the mom is purchasing junk food or extras. The bagging area holds fruit, milk, inexpensive meat, vegetables, and a couple loaves of bread. Groceries the three children standing beside her are going to need grow and be healthy.
The mother hands over what remains in her wallet on this day near end on the month. She hopes that this won’t happen again. It is embarrassing and humbling. She hates that her girls have to see this.
This mom works hard to provide for her girls. She spends her days teaching other people’s children in a public school. She pinches her pennies and uses coupons. She makes sure her girls’ basic needs are met. There just isn’t money for extras and sometimes at the end of the month there just isn’t enough for all basics.
This is a true story.
I was one of those little girls standing beside my mom in the grocery line. It was the mid-seventies and grocery stores took only cash where we lived. You could only spend what you had. We had the basics. My mom made sure of that, but there just weren’t extras.
Even with tight times my mom taught us that there were others much worse off. She instilled in us the need to give them. I so want Jdaniel to become someone who looks out for others too.
How this link up works:
There are so many in need during this Christmas season. I am hoping you will join me in giving to others in your community or beyond this holiday season.
Each week I will feature a way my family is giving to our community during the month of December. I am hoping each of you will take the time to not only give to your community, but to write a blog post about it. If you do, I would love for you to link it up below and include a link to this post or this badge.
My posts will go on Sundays, but feel free to share your giving post any day of the week that works for you. The link up will be available during the rest of the month of December and will appear on every Giving Others Christmas post.
What did we do?
This week JDaniel and I just went to the grocery store to give to others this week. BI-Lo is the grocery store closest to our house and it also happens to be a big supporter of our favorite food pantry at the Golden Strip Emergency Relief and Resource Agency.
BI-LO has put together food boxes for you to buy filled with wonderful things that the food pantry visitor will need. You just purchase the box and they deliver it to the Golden Strip Emergency Relief and Resource Agency for you.
I give to the food pantry monthly and love that BI-Lo has made it easier to purchase and drop off the food for me.
Thankfully we haven’t needed to visit the food pantry ourselves, but there are many this year that have. They have lots of visitors.
What have you done to give Christmas to others this week?
Pausing Life for a Moment- My 3 Little Ducks
I loved reading MyLittle 3 Ducks maybe it is because I was one of three little ducks a long time ago. It maybe that Dana takes amazing pictures and write wonderful prose to go with them. I love getting to see glimpse into the wonderful family she is raising with her husband when I stop by. I know you will too.
When the amazing JDaniel4’s Mom asked me if I would like to write a post for her Pause life for a moment series of course I said yes! When I sat down to write the post for her I thought…
Do I pause for life?
What if something happens while I’m paused?
That was back in October.
Since then amazing things have happened that have helped me understand myself better.
Understand why I have to always be moving.
Understand why reading a book to myself or to my kiddos has always been so painful.
Understand why my writing never flows and my spelling is always awful.
I now know Dyslexia plays a huge part in all of those things and starting the process of overcoming it has changed my life and my family’s life.
Now I am able to…
Sit.
Sit with my kiddos and read to them.
Sit and listen to them read.
Sit and do crafts with them.
Sit with my husband and enjoy our time together.
Before October I never understood how precious time was.
JDaniel4’s Mom asking me to write this post came at the perfect time. Trying to write this post before I got help was painful and made me realize I never pause.
Did I even want to?
And did that make me a bad mom? (Of course not!)
Sitting down to write this post after I got help made me realize just how far I have come.
Now my answer would YES! Bring on the pause!
Pausing Life for a moment is such a gift and I am so grateful that I can now see that.
I had no idea Dana was working through this when I invited her to guest post, but I know Someone who must have placed her on my heart. I am so happy I listened to His still small voice.
Moments Captured- JDaniel at Age 3 and a Half
Alison of Mama Wants This and Galit of These Little Waves are hosting a wonderful link-up called Moments Captured. This is what they asked us to do capture a moment or someone you love in words and pictures and share them.
I really loved this idea. When I first read about it last week, I knew exactly which picture I wanted to use. I had just taken it during our family reunion at Mount Magazine.
It was such fun to select the words that describe JDaniel at three and a half.
They will have their link-up open all week. I would love to see what you come up with.
Reminder: My Giving Others Christmas Challenge link is open and will be open all month. I hope you will think about joining it. All you have to do is find a way to give others Christmas and share what you have done in a post.
Halloween Traditions Link Up
Welcome to the Halloween Traditions Link Up! I look forward to visiting your posts and taking in your Halloween costumes, Halloween foods, Halloween crafts and traditions or memories.
There are link ups below for your posts . Each family friendly or child related post linked up will need to have a Halloween Traditions badge or a link at the bottom of it pointing back to the Halloween Traditions Link Up. Please don’t link up more than two posts for each area.
Here is the badge:
This link up will be open from Oct. 24th and ends Nov. 2nd
Halloween Costumes
Halloween Recipes
Halloween Crafts
Halloween Traditions and Memories
Please take a moment to visit some of the other links after adding yours!
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