All posts in Bits Of My Personality

One Year Ago! SO THANKFUL! (nine)

by admin on January 29, 2011 in Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), People In My Heart with 4 Comments

(My Dad and his eldest daughters.)

My family grew by 8 in one day! My sisters found us and with them we gained their husbands and two nieces and two nephews! It all started with the call Kathleen made. Then there was a search on facebook and I spotted a photo of Kathleen and Amber and just knew. We all took our turns contacting one another. Yes we where all a bit stunned but there was also a tone of being thankful; it was time.

(There they are! MY FOUR SIBLINGS! Funny thing about this picture is I am pretty sure Jesse is the tallest of the five of us and he is sitting while the other three try to look like the tallest!)

(ALWAYS wanted sisters!)

Amber joined facebook and as I helped her walk through that we got to know one another more. I still will scroll and scroll back to our very early communications and sit and read in wonder. My heart will probably always swell with thankfulness when I think of their families being part of my life.

(Kathleen and Amber catch up on their big sister duties, poor Jesse…)

(Amber being a bossy big sister… well actually we where playing some ridiculously embarrassing game the first time we got together, to help lighten the mood I suppose! Too fun really!)

(Sibling love, at our first rock concert together! The first rock concert is very important when getting to know family!)

What a wonderful way to be reminded to be so thankful for all the members of your family, even the ones you have always known and had regular contact with. We always knew we where a crew of five kids but to go officially from the three to the five was a dream come true.

My Clans Women!

by admin on January 26, 2011 in Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, People In My Heart with No comments

(Our 4 generations photo when my eldest daughter was only a few weeks old.)

For many of us it is a shock when we finally realize and must admit we are like our mothers. For others we strive to be JUST like them because of our overly positive perception of the woman who raised us.

I just might be a little unique in my willingness to let my mother and my grandmother inspire who I am, mostly because I have been like this all my life, yes even through my teen years! I had to learn to just be myself when keeping up with my ‘perfect mom ideals’ became impossible and yet I am pleased to see areas where Mom and Grandma Smith have directly added to who I am. My children already are unlike me in so many ways, and like me in other ways. Perhaps my daughters will not be as excited to spend a whole Saturday at formal teas and yard sales with their mom and grandmother. Perhaps they will not be so thrilled to dress in vintage and second hand attire. But then again, perhaps they will like those things.

Stuff is stuff… however, their stuff, my moms and my grandmothers, reminds me of our similarities and I LOVE TO BE REMINDED OF THAT! My house is speckled with stuff that reminds me of them and my heart is as cluttered with memories of them.

(A photo of best friends! My grandmother and her aunt Ruth, taken the summer I got engaged when I stayed with them for a while. I can’t leave Aunt Ruth out of a conversation about my clans women! LINK HERE!)

There is a warm feeling in my heart when ever I wear my grandmothers clip on earrings. I enjoy her cheery yellow bread box and take pride in using her bread bowl to make my weekly batch. Her hands pounded down the dough in that bowl!

The red apron Mom made me is just like the yellow one she always put on and so I feel like a REAL mom when I wear it. I buy my pants from her favorite shop because she is right, they are so comfy and sharp looking! When she tells me it is okay, she made the same errors as a mom I realize there is hope! I don’t remember her screwing up, I have so much grace toward the women in my clan… I pray my girls will be the same.

When I look in the mirror and see my mother I am thankful. I look, hoping, to see my grandmother too… When I say something one of them always said I chuckle and hope that means I am tough and yet feminine like they where.

As much as I have put my own stamp on this families female collection I realize deep down I still like to try and be like my mom and my grandma…

P.S.
For more related links CLICK HERE and HERE and not to leave my mom out of the link thing, HERE🙂

TTFN

Robbie Burns Day

by admin on January 25, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, My Romance with No comments

HAPPY ROBBIE BURNS DAY!

Not having had too many opportunities in our lives to celebrate our Scottish culture, Garnet and I took the opportunity available to us, this past weekend, and went on a date to our first ‘Robbie Burns Supper’. It was an incredible night of Scottish tradition and culture.

I was VERY excited and had unbridled enthusiasm for every part of the evening. Although my man found the bagpipes loud I was carried away by them. The dancers where amazing, from the very traditional, modernized to the folk dancers. There where wee girls up to senior men performing for us. One little boy in his kilt and diaper kept following his older sisters around (they where performing) and he was just too cute to even describe! When the Scottish elders where piped in I was more then into the clapping, then the haggis was piped in and I was bursting while I clapped.

I was honestly looking forward to trying haggis for the first time! Here was my chance to dive into true Scottish tradition! Listening to the ode to the haggis had me grinning from ear to ear… right up until I tried it. It was… alright… not being able to smell apparently was an advantage for me but honestly it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had always imagined. I had assumed you had to have the steal strength and fire-y disposition of a true SCOT to be able to handle it but it wasn’t so bad.

(Due to my camera being old, it died after only a couple pictures so this is the only picture I got of me. I am in the van, eagerly waiting for my man to lock up so we can go. We both dressed up and looked great, only wish I had a picture of us together.)

The highlight of the whole evening was when the folk dancers asked for volunteers. I had tried to get my man out dancing to one of their events only weeks before and it hadn’t worked out. He had a look of horror while I had a look of joy… here was my chance! I jumped out of my seat and had him on the dancing floor before he knew what hit him. They call out the instructions very clearly so although it was the very first time we had danced together in public we did alright. I learned to avoid his toe crushing feet (he needs to work on that for my sake) and he learned to guide me… I laughed so hard when he ran me into another lady (whose husband was as nervous as mine) and I told him ‘you are supposed to lead dear.’ his look of surprise told me we really where TRUE amateurs at this! Oh but we both laughed as we did our best. He had to admit by the time we where done that it was great fun. I found it purely romantic to dance and laugh so heartily with my Scottish man.

(My good friend’s Dad giving the toast to Robbie Burns.)

Are we going next year? You bet! Are we going to dance together again? Totally! Especially once we get some lessons!

TTFN

Robbie Burns Day

by admin on January 24, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, My Romance with No comments

HAPPY ROBBIE BURNS DAY!

Not having had too many opportunities in our lives to celebrate our Scottish culture, Garnet and I took the opportunity available to us and went on a date to our first ‘Robbie Burns Day Supper’. It was an incredible night of Scottish tradition and culture.

I was VERY excited and had unbridled enthusiasm for every part of the evening. Although my man found the bagpipes loud I was carried away by them. The dancers where amazing, from the very traditional, modernized to the folk dancers. There where wee girls up to senior men performing for us. On little boy in his kilt and diaper kept following his older sisters around (they where performing) and he was just too cute to even describe! When the Scottish elders where piped in I was more then into the clapping, then the haggis was piped in and I was bursting while I clapped.

(My good friend’s Dad giving the toast to Robbie Burns.)

Are we going next year? You bet! Are we going to dance together again? Totally! Especially once we get some lessons!

TTFN

Keep Warm:)

by admin on January 20, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Little Things, The Pet with No comments

(My Baby Boy and his cousin, mesmerized by the record snow fall we got this year!)

I have been running all week, break neck speed, to get all my errands done and now I am happy to awake to a -40 kinda day so I can stay home, guiltless! There is an endless list of things I need to do at home today…

Timtams waiting to be filled with coffee and then devoured.
Strong coffee waiting to be perked on the stove.
Bread dough rising and waiting to eventually be baked and eaten.
Endless laundry baskets full of clothing waiting to be folded.
A cinderella story movie waiting to be watched by my babies and I for the first time.
A couple books waiting to be read just before I fall asleep on the couch come nap time.
All this done while I enjoy my kids, enjoying the company of my dog, enjoy my home and make a real effort to look at the bright side of winter, it makes you more appreciative warm places with people you love.

Blessings to you all on this winter-y day. May you find things to smile about and be warm enough that when you smile your lips do not freeze to your teeth!

P.S. It is supposed to warm up soon I hear! Perhaps even later today!!

TTFN

Thank GOD for Mercy! (seven)

by admin on January 17, 2011 in Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful) with 1 Comment

(Who are those two kids with their first kid!!??)

We all develop emotional habits that effect our behavior. Certain situations create emotional reactions in us and those emotions can lead to other emotions and it can all become a nasty habit.

I have been a person who reacts to much in life with anger, in an attempt to keep down and protect my real feelings. I later reprimand myself to the point of depression for angry outbursts. I was SO THANKFUL to listen to a message today that once again directed my attention away from the I to the HIM. I am writing this out in hopes that the simple yet brilliant truth that hit me during the message will remain, stick, that I will GET IT.

We can learn so much from our babies… children come sign sealed and delivered with the ability to accept love and the wisdom to not turn away mercy.

So I get angry, so I am not perfect, so habits seem so strong they threaten to define me… I loose sight of all the Lord has to offer me through my bad behavior, MERCY being the biggest gift I forget about and then squirm about receiving. Mercy comes in and I need to get over myself. It doesn’t matter how rotten I have been I need to ignore my prideful pull toward making it right and being good on my own and let the Lord clean me up, forgive me and grow me into something beautiful. It isn’t about how much I screw up, it is about how much he loves me.

When I brought my babies home I loved them because they existed. I loved them into growing. No matter how rotten I can be the Lord loves and that is the beauty of mercy. Jesus Christ loves me into growing.

P.S. Here is the link to the sermon I heard today, RIGHT HERE… I hope to go through it again as my kids where pretty noisy for a large portion so I feel like I missed out… the mommies reading this aren’t surprised by that at all, he he he.

TTFN

Best Of Both Worlds

by admin on January 13, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, The Pet with No comments

I truly enjoy the contrast in these two pictures.

One could get two very different impressions of my dog and my relationship from both. Am I a pampering doggy mommy (I can tell you RIGHT NOW I am honestly uncomfortable with the term doggy mommy… but moving on…) or the dog owner who enjoys the company of her side kick?

One could also gain two different ideas about my dog and my personalities. Am I the genteel lady of the house with her little pooch or am I the tomboy type with her d-o-g buddy?

Truth be told if he could get away with it Riddick would be a pampered (over sized) lap dog but I have too much fun hiking and running with him and he really does love to get out there and just take off. I enjoy all things feminine, I find pleasure in the domestic side of my life, but more and more I get so much energy out of working up a sweat in the great outdoors.

So I suppose we are a good team, since we both enjoy the best of both worlds:)

TTFN

Hair

by admin on January 6, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Mama Heart Mushings with 2 Comments

(Baby Boy doing Mama’s hair.)

Eldest Damsel has a whole lot of hair now. She likes it down but this mama can’t handle it looking scruffy or flopping in her face so I am forever looking for new things to do with her hair that we both like. French braids have been the big deal of late. We are trying them in different ways and even Little Woman has got involved. Now Little Woman is another story, she LOVES getting her hair done. This girl told me when she grows up she wants to be a doctor so she can do peoples hair. I explained that wasn’t what doctors do. She informed me she wanted to do that badly and I let her know she for sure could but they are called hair stylists, not doctors. She sat so nicely for me as I put her first french braids in. We might not do it again soon as her hair is a little short for it yet and when I saw tears in her eyes over it I just couldn’t put her through that again. Baby Boy is not one to be left out so he lately has developed an interest in the brushes and combs around here. I try real hard to find the time to sit still for him so he can brush my hair. It is so very cute when he gets the brush and orders me ‘Sit, sit down. Sit down Mom’ as he pats the couch! I know I need to soak the attention up from my boy.

So ends the hair chronicles for now.

(the wrap around french braid variation, on Eldest Damsel)

TTFN

Anger For Thankfulness (five)

by admin on January 6, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with 1 Comment

In my experience, spend years pushing down feelings, perfecting numbness and you will be left with panic filled anger, rage really. This type of anger is unique and powerful because it appears to be an effective shield.

After getting scared enough to begin letting go of my numbness I started putting more trust then I ever had before in the Lord; trusting him to take care of me in all my states of mind and heart. What a gift… and that truth clicked for me…came wrapped up with a bow the last time I had a public… moment.

At a study I had broke down in tears. I settled myself down and then said, for myself as much as or perhaps more then for them, ‘I would apologies but that would only come out of my pride and fear of appearing weak and needy… Truth is I have spent too long breaking out of numbness. This… this is a gift.’ The ladies around me smiled and accepted that… I sat there clinging to hope that I believed it too.

Today I am deeply thankful for feeling and for the Lord breaking down my walks of numbness before I broke myself permanently with it.

This came to mind today as I shared with a friend my fears about learning thankfulness this year. I do see thankfulness as a God given strength, when authentically from the heart…yet I have confused anger with strength and a shield for so long that feeling called to put it down to make room for thankfulness makes me feel vulnerable…

I sat thinking about this idea of surrendering anger. I was surprised to find in myself the trust was deeper then the pride and I was indeed deeply thankful for the Lord breaking down that final wall that always threatens to shut me into the trap of numbness again. I am so very very thankful to dispose of numbness and this prideful anger. Most of all I am so very thankful to trust that the Lord can continue to handle what spills out of me as a result.

TTFN

Carry On Keeping The Winter Wind At My Back

by admin on January 2, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Holiday Messages, Life Keeps Changing with 2 Comments

I know it is a matter of days before I will have to take down the Christmas decorations… I am holding out because I always find it harder to be cheery this time of year once the Christmas decor is gone. Winter here is long, very cold and very snowy with short days and long nights.

HOWEVER this year feels so different since I have been able to get out lots and I may be discovering a really joy in winter sport. Jogging in the winter accomplishes so much more with less distance. Sledding and skating are super fun and I always have company since I can make my kids go with me. I am loving hiking with my dog loving pal and looking forward to finally getting my skis waxed for cross country. I hope to try snowshoeing again and have the boots that can click right into them.

Winter seems less bleak since I don’t feel hindered from GETTING OUT THERE. Here’s to activity and joy in the snow! I hope my optimism keeps up and outlasts this season. Here’s hoping the bone chilling winter wind stays at my back (a tweak on the old Irish blessing).

Merry Winter to you all and may you find warmth of heart no matter the weather:)