Favorite Quotes...

Gaily bedight
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old,
This knight so bold
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength,
Failed him at length
He met a pilgrim shadow
"Shadow,"said he,
"Where can it be
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains
Of the moon,
Over the Valley of the Shadow.
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shadow replied
"If you seek for Eldorado."

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

The only way to preserve your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.

Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that 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

For attractive lips,
Speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes,
Seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure,
Share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair,
Let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise,
Walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things,
Have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,
And redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
You will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
One for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
-Audrey Hepburn

So...you would think that I would be used to packing up boxes by now. This is the fifth move in three years. Uuggghhhhhhh!!!! Only this move is different...I now have two little bear cubs - and all their toys - to prepare for the move. My son is definitely fine with moving. Everytime I tell him that he is moving to a house with a slide and a swing in the backyard, he smiles and says, "Slide!" Sometimes he even claps.

Lately I have been working on my attitude. I set up glasses with water in them and think, "half-full...half-full...not half-empty...half-full..." Ever the cynic, I am having a little trouble with this. I am trying, though...really trying. I'm not going to think about how dirty the house is now...about how much I am going to have to clean it before we move in. I am not going to think about all of the boxes that I have to pack, then unpack. I am not going to think about how weird a big, empty house can feel. I am going to think about how I am not going to have to contend with neighbors who eat food that smells as if it only belongs in the toliet. I am going to think about how my clothes will actually smell like detergent when I pull them out of the dryer instead of stinky rotten meat. I am going to think about how nice it will be to work on my tan when the babies are outside in a little swimming pool.(With me right there with them, of course.) I am going to think about how nice it will be when I can do the grocery shopping again - thanks to the absence of two flights of stairs and a crowded parking lot. And I am going to think about how a library will be close again! Yeah for books! Yeah for Clifford the dog coming to visit the library in May!!!

I dreamed last night that I was nominated for "How Do I Look?" - which I have already decided that I would rather be on "What Not to Wear"...Anyway...I was trying to be upset when people threw away my old clothes and criticized my dress, but I could hardly contain and mask my excitement at the thought of a makeover. It is pretty bad when I thought that the woman with the 6 month old baby on "Ten Years Younger" looked great compared to me.

I think that the important thing for me to remember is that I need to enjoy each and every second of my life. It doesn't matter how old and tired I feel. It doesn't matter if I cringe every time that I look in a mirror or step on the scales. It doesn't matter that I haven't a clue as to how to style my hair because I haven't done it in so long. It doesn't matter if I am always behind on my housework or if dinner burns every night because I have to change diapers and chase down babies in the middle of cooking it. These are happy times. I realize that when I look in my babies' faces. When I can finally let go and let myself play with them...things are great. When they are grown and gone, I'll have a wonderfully immaculate, beautifully decorated house...and I'll be the cleanest - can you believe I'll shower everyday, sometimes 3 times a day?!! - best groomed, ultra -toned woman you ever did see. And I know that I will feel as if a piece of me is missing. I don't want to miss this time to be close to my children...to get to know them...to watch them grow up. God has really blessed me by allowing me to be the primary care giver for my children. I am so thankful for the fact that I don't have to drop them off anywhere for another woman to watch them take their first steps or teach them how to use the potty...This is a blessing. This may not be the life for everyone, but it is for me. And I am going to enjoy every second of it.

So - just a little update.

I recently had to get a new cell phone...and due to bear saliva in the phone, they could not transfer my numbers...All this to say - if you read this and your number was in my phone, give me a call.

We finally found a house to rent. It seems to be pretty nice...but lately I have been a little off on my estimation of what "nice" is. It is not an apartment. That's definitely a good thing. We thought that we would be safer just moving into a gated complex when we first moved here since we didn't know what areas of town were the preferred areas...Hah! The gates only keep people trapped in the complex - they don't keep people out...unless you honestly live there. Then they are a pain in the hunkus. I am going to have to get used to cleaning a big space again...But it does have a back yard. It's almost a whole acre...and they told us that deer occassionally come into the back yard, too. Can you tell that that excites me? It has a wooden playset - which excited my little boy greatly. (I could tell by the way he started shouting "slide!" and clapping his hands when he saw it...) And...everybody has a their own bedroom with one still left over. Nice. And we are not buying - though we might have the option later on - so, if we hate the area and the house, we ain't stuck with it. The town that we are moving to is small...and the mountains of North Georgia are in view.

We have found a church that we like. That's a first for me in the last ten years of my life. So far, I have greatly appreciated the absence of the "doctrines of men." The people are genuinely friendly. And there are no sermons on "tithe"..."church membership"..."love"..."happiness" or anyother "feel good" topic under the sun that some preachers like to build a sermon about from bits and pieces of verses in whatever translation best fits what they feel should be said. The Word of God is read. And then it is accepted. No choosing which verses are more important...No more thinking that God changed His mind after He gave a commandment. No more thinking..."Where did it say that in the Bible? Was that the Bible or Paradise Lost? Oh, well, just got to take it on faith."

The kids are doing GREAT!! My little boy has developed a love for pickles and chocolate ice cream. Sooooo goooood!!!!! My little princess is eating her veggies and fruits, rolling over, and doing her best to start crawling. I can't believe how fast they grow up. I had a wonderful dream last night that Princess and I took a girl's weekend to Charleston for shopping and the beach. It was so much fun...and she was such a grown-up, beautiful young lady. It made me a little sad to think of her growing up, but it also showed me that time will only bring more good things for me and my little brood.

And then there is pessimistic little me...just wondering when the bad stuff will happen...I'm probably going to find out that the house is haunted, one of us will get sick on the moving weekend, and the church that we are going to will suddenly get a case of pretentious-holier-than-thou-itis. But, you know what? I am just going to wait until it happens. Nothing like that ever really takes me by surprise. Right now, I am just going to be happy - despite that thought that alot of people that I care about are about 4 hours away...At least they are only 4 hours away. God has blessed me ALOT. And I just want to enjoy His blessings.

Only a quarter of the new year has gone by...Wow. And already so much has happened. We found a church to worship in...we have started to meet people...I have learned my way around to the grocery store, shopping...and we have found a house to possibly rent. So, why do I still feel sick when I read reviews written by Yankees who have moved to my hometown? I was trying to compare the rating that this website gave to Sugar Hill (where we might possibly want to live) and Lexington...and, of course, they had a place for people to write reviews...I had to read it. This Yankee from Colorado wrote in to say that either you got used to the accents and the people or you just hated them. Please! And then she said how much she loved all of the culture of the Low Country...and her air conditioner...and "the blacks" were nice - right after she called the locals a bunch of prejudiced bigots. Maybe I'm a little silly, but that just made me plain mad.

Somedays I am sooooooo homesick that I could die. Soooooo homesick....soooooo homesick. South Carolina air just is so much sweeter and so much easier to breath. The roads feel better under my tires. The sun shines a little brighter. The birds sing a little more. And it's changing so much that when I go back home finally - if I ever do - it won't even feel like the same place. People are moving in and changing everything...and then I have to think, aren't I doing kind of the same thing here? I've moved here...but I don't care to change anything. I just want a little piece of land to make something grow in and a place to play with my children.

I just want to cry some days. Instead, I pray. And pray. And pray. And after 7 months of praying...God is still telling me that I need to stay here for the present. I don't believe in a "secular" portion of my life. My whole life is the Lord's. And nothing happens without a reason. Even if I never know what that reason is...He does. I am His child. He knows what is best. And I praise Him that He has put me where He wants - even if it is not where I necessarily would choose to be. If this is where He wants me, this is where I want to be. I surrender.

God is teaching me so much. I can see how His plan for me is unfolding. My family will not celebrate Easter this year. Now before you brand me a heretic...let me ask you...what is better? Is it better to confuse my children by teaching them that a bunny and an egg from a Celtic fertility ritual held at this time of year is a Christian symbol of "new life" that we use to celebrate the resurrection of Christ...even if the dates of the Passover (the whole reason for the Last Supper) don't coincide with the dates for Easter? or does it make more sense to celebrate the Passover...and the completion of the Passover - Christ's blood protecting us from death. Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He commanded us to remember His death. Long before Christ came to earth, God commanded His people to celebrate the Passover. Christ celebrated the Passover during His life on earth. Please tell me why the church in general doesn't celebrate the Passover...or why they celebrate it only partially?

All right...more on this later - most likely...It's time to chase my kids around this tiny apartment.