This week’s theme is “Creative.” Here is a picture of KT’s first scrapbook page. She made it when she was about 10 1/2 years old. As I had no idea how to scrapbook, we found a group at our church who had just started a group called “Faithbooking.” They lovingly took KT under their wing and after just one session with her, this is what she came up with! She is very creative and her scrapbook pages show it. 

27 Comments »

Have you all been waiting with bated breath to find out who won the cross stitch angel in the Bloggy Giveaway?

First, let me say I am SO impressed with the generosity of all of the bloggers who participated! Over 500 bloggers were giving something away this week!! And that’s only the “official” number. On Wednesday, the whole system crashed and the links had to be closed, so there were bloggers giving something away that didn’t make it on the list! WOW!

Anyway….on to business.

I consulted my Magic 8 Ball Random.org and it produced the lucky number 49 (that’s lucky number 7 squared!)

Comment number 49 was by:

Chupieandjsmama from Our Story

Congrats!!!

6 Comments »

What are memories? Just little snippets of time locked in our brains. The memory of an event, a smell, or the sting of taunts aimed at us by other school children. Some memories are close to our conscious, some buried deeper. Luckily, those memories I perceive as good memories are closer to the surface, easier to recall. The bad memories aren’t so easy to remember, which is a good thing. Probably an important protective mechanism.

Some of my best memories are simple things. Things that didn’t require a lot of thought or planning on my parent’s part. I’m not sure they realize what a big impact these things had on me. How they’ve helped me seek out ways to create memories for my own kids.

Simple things….but the things I remember clearly, like they happened yesterday…..

Like when my dad was in night school one evening a week. On those days my mom wouldn’t cook a big fancy dinner. Instead she’d make all of the things my meat-and-potatoes-dad didn’t consider a “real” dinner. On those nights we had hot dogs, or waffles, or TV dinners with the little section of apple cobbler that required pulling back the foil before cooking. Now that I’m a grownup I realize my mom did this out of simplicity, a break from the regular cooking. But as a kid I remembered it as a special night.

Another example….As a kid I loved babies. Adored them! At family get togethers my parents always knew where to find me–I’d be with the babies. Find the babies, find Karen. Because of my love for babies I seemed to gravitate towards the baby department of any store to look at the cribs and strollers and itsy-bitsy sleepers. I looked longingly at these things and dreamed of the day I’d be a mom. I remember my mom saying to me, “If I’m not around when you have children, pick them out something very special and tell them it’s from their grandma.” A little thing, but extremely meaningful and memorable to me. I’m happy to say she is still around today, and has bought the kids plenty of special things on her own, but when I think of that memory it brings tears to my eyes. Now in a happy way because I know I don’t have to take her up on her offer.

Now, as a grown up with “babies” of my own, I look for ways to make memories that will stick. And not just big earth shattering memories, the little things that mean so much. When my kids grow up, they aren’t going to say, “I remember mom used to make us healthy, well rounded meals 3 times a day. Instead, one day I could feed them big ol’ ice cream sundaes for dinner….just once. Forever they will remember the time “Mom served us ice cream for dinner.” Simple thing, big memory. Maybe an impromptu picnic, or chasing lightning bugs, or raising caterpillars and releasing the grown up butterflies. Maybe backwards day where we wear our clothes backwards, eat dinner in the morning and breakfast at night. Maybe a scavenger hunt at the park looking for bugs and rocks and leaves that are bigger than your hand. Simple things, big memories.

Kids don’t care that we moms cook healthy dinners, wash their dirty underwear, or make sure they are stocked up on toothpaste. The things they’ll remember are different from the mundane day to day life things. They’re the things out of the ordinary. They’re the things that will make them sit back and say, “Did mom go crazy? She’s serving us ice cream for dinner!”

Thanks Mom (and Dad) for all of the simple things you did to fill my life with good memories.

This post submitted to the July Writing Project over at MommaBlogga. The assignment was to write to this prompt: “Thanks, Mom.”

 

22 Comments »

One second I’m walking along fine. The next second I’m falling and using my parachute reflex. The next second I’m saying, “I hope my laptop is ok.”

I have no idea why I totally lost my footing, but I was heading out last night to take KT to her youth group meeting and that’s exactly what happened. My laptop, securely in it’s case and in a backpack, went flying out and landed in the mulch. Luckily, it’s ok, and I’ll heal. The jury is out on my wrist, it’s a bit sore, but I’d think if it was broken it’d hurt more than it does.

At least this time my concrete step injury was not a direct result of my sister tying me up and leaving me outside! Eh, Fran?

6 Comments »

Not only that, but several years ago, I had to draw blood from him to help prove their theory!

The reason is this….About 14 years ago, Mike went in for a routine eye exam to get a prescription for glasses. The puff test to screen for glaucoma came back weird so he was sent to an ophthalmologist. They diagnosed him with increased intra-occular pressure–basically a precursor to glaucoma. After questioning the family, it’s no wonder this came up. Mike’s father, grandfather, uncles, aunts, sisters, and brother all have increased eye pressure. There was such a strong family connection, that the University of Iowa wanted to have all of their blood drawn to test for a genetic marker. We never did find out the results of this study, but that wouldn’t change the life we’re living now anyway.

It’s a life of frequent eye exams and eye drops. It’s a life that included a laser surgery to correct high pressures in one eye and then an urgent trabeculectomy after the laser surgery didn’t work. It’s a life that now includes taking the kids in for eye exams as both of them have increased pressures. From the looks of it (no pun intended), glaucoma is not a diagnosis that will escape them.

The good news is early diagnosis and intervention has helped to prevent blindness and disability. Right now, it’s the best we can hope for as there is no definitive cure.

Because this is a disease that has so closely affected my family, I was excited to see Tish and Mike at BlogsWeLuv choose the Glaucoma Foundation as their charity for the upcoming Blogathon2007. Swing by their site, especially this link, and find out more about glaucoma, how it has affected their family, and how you can donate to the cause. As an added incentive, they’re giving away an Amazon.com gift card to one lucky person!

My husband may be a freak, but probably not because he has glaucoma. (wink) Here he is showing off the “bleb” that was created to control the pressure in his left eye.

8 Comments »