"Life" Books

  • "Life" Books,  Consider This...,  Let's be Real

    Just a Little Conversation, Please.

    In all my years of life, on the vast land that I grew up on, never have I experienced the abundance of “cooing” a mourning dove can produce! When we moved to a neighborhood, the noises were all new to me, and quite an adjustment. (I knew that I was sensitive to noise and light, but it must just be how I am wired, because I am still just as sensitive as I was five years ago.) However, we always had bird feeders close to our house, and all around our house. Front yard, back yard, any where you could look out a window, there was a bird feeder. That…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Consider This...,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Let's be Real

    Heart and Mind

    What is your thoughts on comments like these: “Kids will be kids.” “They are just in the terrible twos phase.” “He/She is quite the handful.” “You have your hands full!” My thoughts, can you guess? I’m not a fan. Indeed, I am the first to advocate for kids to be kids! Let them play! Good golly, adults need to chill and join in playing more often. However, this comment is very rarely ever used for this reason. Instead it’s used as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. So is the terrible twos, and all the age related undercutting comments about tweens, teens, and all in between. The latter two comments are…

  • "Life" Books,  Adoption,  Aunt-ing,  Being "Single",  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  Grief,  Jesus,  Let's be Real,  Migraines,  Mommy,  My Little,  Single Parenting

    Worth Fighting For

    “Fighting Words” by Ellie Holcomb Fear is like a broken recordSame old songs of accusation playLike “Who are you to speak the truth”“Just look at all your failures and mistakes”“And if they really knew you”“There’s no way they could love you anyway” The enemy keeps talkingTelling me to hide my face in shameWhispering that everything I’ve done will drive the Father’s Love awaySaying, “It’s too late for hoping”“That something in your heart could ever change.” My debt is paid, oh, I’ve been set freeAnd You gave Your life up to rescue meYou say that I am worth fighting forAnd Grace is like waves that keep crashing on the shore Fight…

  • "Life" Books,  About,  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Grief,  Jesus,  Let's be Real,  Migraines,  Mommy

    Keep It Boring!

    Please excuse my absence last week. Life caught up with me and just had one of those weeks. If you know me, you know how true this quote above is! 😂 I began writing this post this past Sunday, just to put some of the wording in perspective 😉. And I will be wrapping it up with today’s thoughts. I just finished an hour of making med bags for 14 days. I’ve gone through every possible way of trying to attempt to make taking medicine easier on a daily basis, so I ask that you hold back you opinion on how many baggies this takes in a year or how…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...

    Tylenol? You’re Kidding me, right?!

    Please excuse my bluntness… This week my feathers are more than ruffled, more like I’ve been electrocuted. Heck, I’ve even have eczema breaking out where I have never had it before- my ears, my chin, my face, my scalp! Geez!!! Enough about me… and on to what has my nerves on edge. Tylenol. Autism. Hepatitis. Hate. Misinformation. Yes, I am going to address these things because lives depend on these truth. We are literally talking life and death here with these things. I will give you the sites and information to back it up. First: Tylenol. As someone whose only option of over the counter pain relief is Tylenol/acetaminophen, due…

  • "Life" Books,  Chronic Illness,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...

    Souls and Stories

    There is a two year old boy undergoing hip surgery today. Let that sink in – block out the distractions – and go back and read this sentence. And this is only one out of many children undergoing procedures today. I don’t know this little boy or his family personally, but the algorithm of instagram has introduced me to them. His name is Jackson. He loves Waffle House and he gets very excited about ice cream. He has blown the minds of his doctors with his growth and progress, and continues to grow and be such a light for my heart, and I am sure for many around the world.…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  My Little

    Discovery through Children Book Collecting

    “Expand the definition of ‘reading’ to include non-fiction, humor, graphic novels, magazines, action adventure, and, yes, even websites. It’s the pleasure of reading that counts; the focus will naturally broaden. A boy won’t read shark books forever.” –Jon Scieszka “I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that will turn them on to the joy of reading and turn them into lifelong readers.”–James Patterson If you don’t know that I am borderline obsessed with children’s books, well, today you will know for sure. The picture today is only a glimpse of my first attempt at “downsizing”…

  • "Life" Books,  GRANDparents,  Memories

    Wanna Pack of Nabs?

    “The stories of older generations aren’t relics of the past, they’re seeds for the future we build together.” -Maya Angelou Grandparents Day is this coming Sunday, this has always been a special day that is close to my heart, here are some reasons why: I was blessed to have all four of my grandparents in my life, close by, all of my “growing up” years. They all passed when I was in my twenties. I love that I was able to see them become great-grandparents, and that I have been able to see my parents become grandparents. Not everybody has this chance, opportunity, or situation. And I am incredibly grateful…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  Grief,  Jesus

    Stand Beside Them

    "May God bless you withdiscomfort at easy answers,half truths, and superficialrelationships, so that youmay live deep within your heart.May God bless you with angerat injustice, oppression,and exploration of people,so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.Many God bless you with tearsto shed for those who sufferfrom pain, rejection, starvation and war, so thatyou may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turntheir pain to joy.May God bless you with enoughfoolishness to believe thatyou can make a difference inthis world, so that you cando what others claim cannot be done.Amen." - A Franciscan Blessing I encourage you to read this blessing a couple of times, and really…

  • "Life" Books,  Aunt-ing,  Children,  Family,  GRANDparents,  Memories,  Siblings

    NaNa Brings Me Marshmallows

    “People say I’m ‘good with kids.’ But really I’m just a grown-up who vividly remembers how positively and deeply it affects a child to be treated with kindness and respect. I just make sure to offer the same to every child I know.” – Nancy Kopman School days. There are not many days that I can remember that I wasn’t eagerly waiting for the day to be over, and the time had arrived for me to line up for “car riders.” I can still feel this overwhelming deep breath. The sight of a gold mini van, or wood panel mini van, or green volvo station wagon, or white Nissan, or…