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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Pause Life for a Moment- Stories from the Shoebox

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I am so excited to have Adrienne of Stories from the Shoebox sharing here today. I love the word pictures she paints in her blog posts. She had been blessed with very special gifts. Her gifts are the words that she weaves and the way she makes you feel like you’ve been asked to join her on her journey through life.

After reading the post before, please take a moment to visit her blog.

When JDaniel4’s Mom invited me to guest post on Pause Life for a Moment, I was so excited and flattered. She wants me to come over and write for her? Um… Yes, please. I accepted with glee!
JDaniel4 has got to be one of the happiest kids on the planet, don’t you think? He’s got one creative and loving mama! I think she’s one smart cookie and I love coming over here to read her blog, so the fact that I get to write here is such a treat!
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Pausing life.
Oh, the hardest thing to do sometimes stops, isn’t it?
When I got to thinking about pausing life, I didn’t just think of pressing pause on the activities of the business in the day-to-day of parenting, but my heart actually ached with the thought of pausing this chapter of life that seems to be slipping away from me.
I am a wife, mother, and child of God. I want to embrace the calling He has given me. Not just for a moment, but for the whole season. I don’t want to wait to be “in the mood” for this blessing of motherhood. I want to hunger for it more than anything else in this world.
A wise woman I love and admire told me something I will never forget. She said, “When I was your age all we ever talked about was what we would do once the kids were grown. Now that they are, we all sit around talking about the things we wish we had done with them.”
I don’t want to do that.
We have pictures of the boys all over our fridge. When I walked by them today, I noticed the children staring back at me was once my babies. Their sweet faces are hardly recognizable today. Where did those baby faces go? Why does it have to happen so fast? I almost cried.
It seems like those pictures were taken last week. I looked into the living room in desperation, hoping to find the children in the pictures. Instead, I found a young man speaking with a deep voice and another boy who looked just like the older one used to. Sigh…
I wish I could freeze life right now!
But, I can’t.
But, there are things we can do to make sure we’re pausing life.
I’m not going to make a list…
We all have the list. I won’t bore you with mine. But, I will leave you with one word to think about.
Contentment.
Until we learn to find contentment in this season of life, we will always be looking for what’s ahead. All the while we’ll be missing what’s right in front of us. Didn’t we once look ahead to the season we have now? We’re here! We’re living it! We have so much to be thankful for. Soak it in.
We live in a world that lies to us by making us feel less than if we are content with what we have or where we are in life. We come from a society that is never satisfied. Always wanting more. More time, more money, more kids, more, more, more…We have to fight the desire in our hearts and crave what we have.
We have to pause our hearts.
That’s how I think we can all pause life.

Pause Life for a Moment- Good Girl Gone Redneck!

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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- Kir Corner

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Everyone needs people in their lives that will encourage and cheer for them when they are down or blue. People need others who will give them high fives when they are done something well too. Kir of Kir Corner kind of blogger that does both. She encourages her words in comments as well as posts that make you want to cheer and cry. Sometimes it can happen in the same post.

She does all this while working, raising twin boys, and being a wonderful wife. Kir is quite a lady.

I am so thrilled to have Kir sharing with us today. After reading her post here, please stop by her blog and read a post or two.

When my friend asked me to write for PAUSE LIFE for a MOMENT, my first thought was a favorite song of mine by country singer, Kenny Chesney.

“Don’t Blink” is a story of a man on his 102nd birthday who after being asked for advice about “what life is about?” answers with these two words.

“Don’t Blink”.

I find it inspiring and moving and encourage you to seek out the lyrics or the song online and spend a few minutes listening to its words.

Thank you so much for asking me to be here today, it is truly an HONOR to be in your space my friend.

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As a self-professed lover of TV I am quite familiar with the Pause Button. I often like to imagine that DVRs were an invention with me in mind.

The truth is I very rarely watch anything in “REAL TIME” anymore. I mean, really who has the time for it? I can sleep, or fold clothes or make dinner or watch CARS 2 for the 117th time with my twin sons and never really miss a thing. Later I find I can fold clothes or make dinner or work on a blog post and still keep up with my favorite shows, the remote never far away from my hands.

For it never fails that LIFE intervenes.

“I need more milk mommy!”

“Please come and watch me go, potty mommy!”

“Can you tell me the story about Finn McMissle one more time mommy?? “

Each time the stories I get lost in are PAUSED for a moment, while I handle the duties of being a mother. I revel in that role so much so that even if my sighs are loud and my footsteps heavy on the stairs as I go to fetch something for one of them, my heart is light and happy that I get to do it.

You see my life was paused for four years as I waited to see if I would ever become a mom. Many times you’re life moves at a lightning-fast pace and you cannot keep up, that wasn’t the case for me as I battled infertility. My days, months, and years had become one long, drawn-out moment in the dark where I truly could never see a light at the end of that tunnel. In truth I would have done anything to be able to hit the PLAY button and continue the show.

It’s funny to look back and see how slow and sad that time of my life was, especially now when I’m working full time, writing a blog, attempting a book, raising my beautiful sons, and trying my best to be a good wife.

I need that Pause button now more than ever.

I look around me these days and see life racing by, my sons growing in every moment of every day and my mind packed with little moments, little instances, little significant stages that I want to write down so I don’t forget.

Once again the ability to stop and take a breath, to stand still for a moment and take everything in for better or worse is welcome. I used to find the sound of my own heartbeat so lonely but with the addition of two more that beat in time with it, it is an echo I love to hear.

Life is never really that accommodating anymore.

It passes and takes your little moments with it. Like a stream that looks calm on the surface, it is forever flowing underneath carrying those precious seconds with it. I find that in those times, I am grateful for the sparkles on the water, those small shimmers of memories that will fill up my heart for the time when I have the rare but sweet opportunity to reach the remote and press PAUSE.

Pause Life for a Moment- My Front Porch Swing

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I was blessed to meet Ashley of My Front Porch Swing at the Type A Conference and see her again at the SITS Bloggy Bootcamp in Atlanta  last year. What an amazing lady!
Why do I say that  she amazing? I could mean that she is amazing because she is a talented writer who writes not only for her own blog but for Business 2 Blogger. I could mean that she amazing because she can transfer blogs to WordPress! I could mean that she amazing because she also holds several other jobs that are blog related while also being a devoted wife and mom.
I could say the things I listed above but, what is really amazing is the grace with which she lives her life! Ashley is an wonderful mom, terrific friend to many in the blog world, a woman who knows how to live life to the fullest, and above all a women of grace.
I am truly honored that she is sharing here today. Please take a moment to pause after reading this post to visit her blog. I promise you will be blessed if you do.

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up a half hour later than I usually do. Have you ever noticed how this can set the tone for your entire day? I work from home, so between that and juggling school schedules and events, my days rely very much on a schedule. But this particular day? That schedule was off. So, I rushed.

I rushed through our morning routine- I rushed through my morning cup of coffee. I rushed my kids through breakfast.

I rushed my son onto the bus. I rushed my daughter to preschool drop off.

I rushed through my emails and more coffee. I spent the day spinning my wheels, so to speak, trying to get things done.

I rushed to get my daughter from school on time. I rushed home and through lunch and part of the afternoon. I rushed out the door to grab my son from the bus stop.

The bus was late. On a day where I had been nothing but behind, of course the bus was late. When my son finally arrived, he came bounding off of the bus in excitement. He had gotten a prize at school and he was so excited. He chattered away with my daughter excitedly chiming in to her big brother. She grabbed his hand and they walked down the sidewalk in front of me. As I followed behind, listening to their excited conversation, I had a memory of him holding her as a newborn- now, here they were, two siblings lost in conversation.

The time goes quickly and my how things change. But that moment stunned me into realizing just how much time I spend rushing.

I walked home a little slower. I put some things away. I gathered my kids in my arms and smothered them with kisses (much to my son’s chagrin). I put laundry aside, work on hold, and everything else in the background. That afternoon, I did nothing but enjoy being with my kids. And I’m so glad I did.

Life is busy. There are things to get done, deadlines to meet, places to be, and activities to attend. But you only get to live once and every so often, you have to remember to pause life. Because it won’t pause for you.

 

Please stop by and visit her blog letting her know how much you enjoyed this post.

 

 

Pause Life for a Moment- Early Morning Blogging Stress

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Pause Life for a Moment

Sometimes things just don’t work out! Today instead of sharing a Pause Life for a Moment post I was supposed to be a part of a Valentine’s Day Hop with Kid Bloggers and hosting an Alouette Cheese giveaway tied to visiting the other blogs on the hop.

This morning I woke up and found that the post had gone up but, the script for you to link up wasn’t visible. I could see it in the Html but, but on the live post, there wasn’t anything.

I tried for almost an hour to figure out what was wrong and couldn’t. Tension started climbing up my back and into my head. I asked my husband to look at it and he couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Neither of us is even close to being experts in Html but, but we did what we could. Tension continued to tighten up my body.

Thankfully JDaniel slept through the whole event. If he had gotten up at this usual time, he would have wanted breakfast and to play with mom. I would have been more stressed out than I was and he could have the pleasure or displeasure of starting the day with a stressed-out mom.

So, I ended up pulling the post and reworking the giveaway to just being a traditional giveaway on my site all before JDaniel got up.

When he called to see if it was morning yet, the changes had been made and I was able to do our morning snuggle. The tension started to fade a little.

I was still carrying some of the tension about having to make the change and trying to think about what I could have done to fix it when I put together his breakfast. When the honey bear container dripped honey on the table instead of on JDaniel’s bagel, I felt the tension start to rise again.

Honey on the table isn’t something to be frustrated about in a house where a boy spills things on the table and the floor often. Breathe! I reminded myself that I just needed to breathe.

My husband gave me a kiss goodbye and gave me the look as he headed out the door to go to work. The look that reminds me that I need to pause to pray. The look that communicates that it is time to grab my Bible and hand my day over to God. The look that says that it is going to get better if I just let go of trying to control things I can’t change.

So after taking JDaniel to preschool I did all of those things that my heart told me my husband was communicating in his loving look.

Things look a whole lot better now.

Please if you get a chance stop by and see the wonderful creations the Kid Bloggers have made along with others who have linked up. Here is a link to Mama Peapod’s post on the Valentine’s Day Hop.

Pause Life for a Moment- Green Grandma

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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.

The Misuse of Imagination

“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:



Worry is the misuse of imagination. – Anonymous


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

SPEECHLESS, is an award-winning writer, editor and voice-over talent serving the creative needs of clients worldwide. She leads Writers at Work, a Pittsburgh-based monthly writing workshop and leads workshops at writers’ conferences. Her first book, Vinegar Fridays, based on a popular feature of her blog, Green Grandma, was released in November 2011.

Pause Life for a Moment- Amy’s Assorted Adventures in Africa

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I met Amy Morrow of Amy’s Assorted Adventures in Africa during SIT #commenthour on Twitter. She was one of the featured blogs that week. The next week while both attending the #commenthour Amy sent me a tweet stating that she was glad to see me there again.

It was like having a new friend reach out and welcome to gathering except this new friend was all the way in Africa. What a wonderful feeling!

I went on a short-term missions trip to in North Africa many years ago and loved getting to meet many wonderful people. Amy is in a different part of Africa and she is blessed to get to meet and work with many wonderful babies and families every day!

She is an amazing lady. I hope that after you read her post you pause for a moment and visit her blog.

Amy's Assorted Adventures

In a world filled with electronic devices, it can be easy to fall into the trap of too much. Even those of us living in the middle of the African bush is not immune. I’ll catch myself watching TV while surfing the web or cross-stitching, AND checking email and Facebook on my phone. It’s all too much!

I’m often asked how I can manage to get so much done. I homeschool, my teenagers, run a charity, direct the care of 22 children at our orphanage and look after whichever newborn or ill (sometimes hospice care) infants that come to our door, while carrying out life in the bush. That is a lot of hats. 

Part of what allows me to do this amount of work is my ability to multitask. However, this skill that comes in handy during work hours can be a handicap during down times. Rather than giving my full concentration to one task, I’m spread over a few things at once. My kids have complained that I don’t always give them my full attention when they speak to me. I try, but my mind will often jump all over the place from topic to topic. I’m listening, but I’m not really hearing. Can any of you relate to this?

A few times a week we have what is called load shedding where we lose electricity for a few hours in the evening. This allows Zambia to share the load of electric demands among all the residents of this small sub-Saharan, African country.

 
We have an inverter which charges batteries whenever there is electricity and when the batteries run out (or are destroyed by lightning [http://admafrica.blogspot.com/2011/11/africa-wins-this-round.html]), we also have a generator so we can power our lights at night. 

Now, to add to our challenges, for the next six weeks we will be losing power three days a week so that fiber optics can be laid along the high tension lines running from the capital to a city in the north of Zambia. This small country (it’s the size of Texas) has so few electric lines that even work that won’t benefit us still affects us. This makes us crazy!

However, these next few weeks can be seen as a chance to Pause Life for a Moment. The other day, the power had been off all day. We turned on the generator for a couple hours in the morning so the teenagers could use their computers and the internet to do school work, and I got some office work done. In the afternoon though, everything was off. No fans were turning, no computers humming, no TV playing, no rock & roll playlists blaring. It was quiet.—Well, as quiet as a house can be with 22 preschoolers running around anyway. 

This particular afternoon, it was peaceful. The sun was hidden behind clouds and it had been raining off and on all day which created an almost lazy feel to the day. 

We had run out of gas for our stove and were forced to cook on a brazier (a little metal bucket type contraption you fill with charcoal and set your pot on top of) that evening. We planned a spicy, one-pot lentil and rice dish that we love. I prepped all the ingredients and carried them out to the porch on a tray so I would have them nearby as I needed them.

My big kids and I gathered on our front porch and either read or chatted while watching the coals turn red, then white until it was time to put the pot on top and begin the meal. There was no hurry—no way to hurry anything along even if we wanted to—and we knew dinner would probably be late, but that was OK. We were sitting together and enjoying a moment of peace. Every once in a while, a child would run up to discuss something with us before heading back to play and the care of their nanny. We weren’t working and could fully enjoy their funny conversations or handmade offerings of grass bracelets or bits of paper glued together. My teenagers chattered away about nothing and everything, and for once they had my full attention. It was a wonderful evening.

Pausing life for a moment may not always be our first choice, but those moments are worth taking advantage of when they happen along.

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Helping to Build with Couch Cushions

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I heard a loud screech an ran downstairs to see what was the matter.
As I came down the stairs I saw a couch cushion creation!
JDaniel was so upset! I couldn’t figure out a first what was the problem and he couldn’t spit out the words.
After getting him to calm down a little, he explained that the cushion in the front kept falling over. When the cushion fell over the calculator and the spoon would fall to the ground.
Cushion Creation- Trying to Get It to Balance
This didn’t seem devastating enough to me to lead to a scream but, it was for him. JDaniel was totally frustrated.

“Let’s think this through,” I said sitting on the floor beside him. “Maybe we can have some of the books stick out a little bit behind the cushion and they can support the pillow,” I suggested.

“We can try,” JDaniel commented. When we did try it worked fairly well.

With the crisis averted JDaniel was able to get back to work on his creation. I decided to stay near creation central to offer more help if it was needed.

Once one keyboard was up, we added a second and JDaniel to add a few other items.

Cushion Creation- Sitting Down

JDaniel told me as we worked on this project that he needs a chair to sit on in the front and a work area in the back for his friend to work in later in the day. Due to all the items in the back, his friend would need to stand I was informed.

We spent a lot of time building this cushion creation but, JDaniel didn’t try sitting in it until after he had gotten dressed for the day.

Cushion creations we discovered are not a stable area to sit in. As soon as JDaniel sat down, the chair he was sitting on started to learn forward. The chair continued to lean forward causing his knees to touch the cushions. When the cushions started to lean forward too, the whole front including JDaniel started falling.

I was able to catch JDaniel and right the chair. The cushions and everything else spilled onto the floor.

Frustration filled the area once more.  It is so hard when something you build doesn’t work.

I tried to talk to him about the need for a structure to have a firm foundation and recommended removing the front cushion so the chair could rest on the wood floor. I tried pointing out the building it on the soft area would cause any structure to fall.

JDaniel didn’t want any part of changing the design plan. His idea was to put the chair back on the cushion and just not sit in it again ever.

We left the cushion creation up and walked through the great divide between the chairs until early afternoon when the heating and air conditioning man came to do the semiannual check-up and needed to get to the vent behind the cushion with the hook on it.

It is hard when JDaniel gets creative ideas that don’t seem to come together. The best thing I can do is try to help him work them out. Listening to what it has envisioned and trying to help bring them to reality is all I can really do.

I really love it when opportunities like this come up that we can work on together. I do wish he wouldn’t be frustrated by the challenges that come with creating.

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday, Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop, and some other places.

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Pause Life for a Moment- Being Like Dad

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Being with Dad

My son wants to be like his dad so much! He wants to do what he is doing and “help” with chores he does around the house. Mostly he just want to be around him.
Cold Coffee
Almost morning my husband fixes coffee. JDaniel has decided that he needs to have coffee in the morning too.
There is a problem. He doesn’t like coffee. JDaniel has taken a few sips of my husbands and decided that it is terrible. It is even worse when it is still warm.
My brilliant husband has invented a solution to JDaniel problem of wanting to have coffee like dad and wanting something he thinks tastes great. All you have to do is mix cold water, milk, and a little sugar and you have cold coffee! This yummy beverage doesn’t even need to be served in a coffee cup.
It is just wonderful in a sippy cup or small plastic glass.
Sitting With a Book
At various times during the day when my husband is home, he can be found sitting in this red leather chair reading the Bible or the newspaper.
If you are a little boy like Jdaniel, you have wanted to do the same thing. 
You grab one of the wooden chairs from your wooden table and chair set and you drag it over to where your dad is sitting. The chair is then placed beside your father’s chair in just the right spot.
Then you have to scurry to the living room and grab a copy of Frog and Toad are Friends or another favorite piece of literature and bring it back to the reading area. 
Once you have something to read, you can finally sit with your dad and look just like he does. You can silently look at the pictures in the book and pretend to read it and be just like dad.
Doing Laundry
Every Sunday afternoon my husband does laundry. I do most of the laundry during the week but, he does his work pants and shirts on Sunday.
Almost every Sunday he has a small boy standing on a plastic white stepstool by his side in the laundry room.
They do the same steps with my husband giving him directions as to the next step every week.
I can hear these words coming out of the laundry room :
“Wrap the pants around the agitator carefully.”
“Don’t stuff the clothes in or they won’t get clean.”
“If you scrub a little Shout on stains with a toothbrush, you can get rid of the stains. Now scrub carefully but, put a little pressure on the brush.
Trimming Trees
I trim the bushes in the yard but, apparently boys trim trees.
When my guys head out to trim trees, I am told that I can stay inside by JDaniel.
He really doesn’t trim the trees. He mostly gathers up the branches and twigs and takes them to the curb.
Although there are times he breaks pieces off of low hanging branches or tries to scrape off the bark.
How do I know about all these events in my guys lives? I tend to peek around corners or out windows and I listen in to their guy talk.
Pausing to see how my guys interact brings me such joy. Yes, I could consider the time they are off together as my downtime. (There are times that I do just let them go off.) 
There are times when hearing them chat and seeing them together makes my day. I love getting to see and hear these memories in the making.
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Pausing Life for Moment- Thinking About This Series

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When I first started Pause Life for a Moment last spring, it was supposed to be a short series of guest post leading up to Easter. Well, it didn’t end when Easter came. It has continued to be a part of my weekly line up of posts.

During the month of December and a few other times during the year instead of having guest posts, I wrote the posts myself.

I found that I really enjoyed sharing ways to pause life along with lessons I was learning during pauses. It occurred to me that I could change the series to being my posts with a link up for others to share that Pause Life for a Moment post. After a lot of prayers and pausing about making this change, I decided that it is a great idea, but not the right time to make that change.

The reason the series started in the first place was to share with you bloggers that you may not have read before.

I don’t tend to have specific blogging niche that I follow when reading blogs. The blogs I am drawn to cover a wide spectrum. There are a few things all the blogs have in common. They are that they are written by amazing women that love their families, love writing, and are passionate about what they write about.

If you have followed the series from the beginning, you know that there have only been a few Pause Life for a Moment posts are even about the same theme. Those that have been similar are different in that the teller brings to their post their own life experiences.

Due to my indecision about the direction of this series, a line up of guest posters hasn’t been set up for the new year. I will be e-mailing several people this week to see if they are interested in sharing in the coming weeks.

I know some of you are thinking I hope she contacts me. If that is what you are thinking, I would love to hear from you. I can’t 100% promise that you will be picked. Why? When I contact someone about guest posting, I have read their blog for a while. This has given me a sense of their writing style and way of approaching writing. If you let me know you would like to guest post, I will start to follow your writing for a short time and see if we would be a good fit.

This post is not my ordinary Pause Life for a Moment post but, I did want to pause and let you know where I think this series is going.

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