30 YEARS AGO...

tonight at 7 p.m. I was married to my husband, Jim! What an amazing time it has been. We were talking about how the time has that unique quality of "forever" and only a couple of years. I believe it may be the phenomenon of long-term relationships. Whatever it is, it is hard to believe all of the things that have happened over the years.

We started our lives with four daughters between us. Those four daughters have brought 11 grandchildren into our lives--NINE boys and two girls. I always say God has a sense of humor (in giving me so many grandsons), but it's much more than humor he has given me. One of the grandsons brought a great-granddaughter into our lives just over two years ago. We added to our own, by participating in student exchanges, four more young women whom we claim as daughters. Masha came to us at 15 as an exchange student from Russia. How I cried and grieved when I sent Masha home, thinking I might never see her again. Masha returned when she was 17 to live with us and go to college. She married, became an American citizen, and gave us two more grandchildren to share with her real parents--one boy, one girl. Next came Fernanda--our first Brazilian "daughter"--we have visited her twice and she will soon be married and have a son. Fernanda was followed by Flavia, another Brazilian, who is now married and has a baby girl. That brings the total grandchildren to 14 -1/2!

You may have noticed that I didn't tell you about a fourth girl. Her name is Carin and she came to live with us a few months after Masha came. She is from the Netherlands. We have lost touch with her, but one of my goals for 2009 is to see if I can reestablish communications with her. She was a delightful addition to our home and we miss hearing from and about her.

Of course, with additions to a family, there are always some losses. The losses were too soon, but then, that's the way it always feels. Jim's father passed away just after our second anniversary. My mother and step-father passed away just before we celebrated our tenth anniversary. My brother was gone just after we celebrated thirteen years of marriage. In the last year, we have been dealing with Jim's mother and her declining health, both physical and mental. It has brought some different perspectives to loss as we watch her slowly change. She will be 87 in January.

I believe marriage is defined by how you manage both the joys and sorrows of life. It is easy to handle the joy, but it takes great compassion and understanding to walk together through the tough times. I don't see us as unique or especially gifted, but I do see us as staying committed to one another through the highs and the lows.

We are truly blessed. And I am hopeful to see many more years ahead of us.

Pacific Coast of Mexico

Just over one week ago I returned home from a week long cruise to the Pacific Coast of Mexico. What a great time! There were 10 of us so we pretty much made our own party. We sailed into three ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. Cruising has got to be one of the best ways to relax in the world. You can do as little or as much as you want. Of course, you always hear about the food. There is no end to the food. I swam with teh dolphins in Puerto Vallarta. That may be one of my all time highlights. I felt sheer delight while in the pool with those wonderful creatures. There are no words to compare what their skin feels like nor how friendly and frisky they were while playing with us "humans". They are so large and magnificent and then as gentle as can be.

We get to go back to Cabo for a week in December. We have a time share on the Pacific Coast side of the Baja Peninsula. In fact, my new banner is a sunset shot taken a few years ago from our room at the time share. Really, we lead a very fortunate and blessed life.

My goal is to post a little more often and to start showcasing more of my Stampin' Up projects. Maybe I'll even get brave enough to try posting a tutorial.

TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG, THAT IS THE QUESTION!

What did I see for this blog when I started out? I'm not sure--maybe a place to share with family and friends that I don't see every day, maybe a place to showcase some of the things that occupy my days and bring me joy--crafts, cards, computers, church, music, Bible study. I think I know what caused me to stop blogging. It's not much of a surprise. I wanted my site to be fun and interesting and lively and eye-appealing and so much more than it is. I wanted more pictures. Since I'm using a free blog site (which I am thankful it exists), with free templates (which enabled me to even get started), it is not as interesting as many I have seen. I LOVE to visit other people's blog sites and I enjoy all that they present. But then the old "I Don't Measure Up" bug bites me and I just wish and hope to do better and do nothing. Such is the state of many of us.

So, today, here I sit, watching a Martha Stewart tv show about blogging! I'm hoping to pick up some great tips and get some information on how to improve. I have lots to research and hopefully I'll get inspired.

For now, so long, and come back to see if anything changes!

Blessings Abound

Seems like I lost my "blogger's edge" or perhaps it's "blogger's block", but it has been almost two months since I put finger to keyboard (used to be pen to paper--welcome to the 21st Century!).

I just read a friend's new blog and I was blessed. She is a beautiful writer. She is real and honest and thought-provoking. She is striving to live for Christ and run her race. She encourages each of us to run our own race. Every time I read something she has written, it touches my heart. I don't know if her blog is open or not, but check her out at http://crisnole.blogspot.com/.

More blessings abound

Yesterday, my daughter's oldest and closest friend turned 35. I was blessed to go to dinner and a musical with her, her mom, my two daughters and a third "friend" of the girls that is very close, too. We had a wonderful time, laughing and crying and sharing. These young women I've watched grow since they were girls. They have children ranging in age from 2 to almost 17. I've been down their paths and I feel for them. They are all doing a wonderful job with their families and careers. This is just the tip of the iceberg of blessings, and yet, Stefanie, the birthday girl, sent a late night email thanking US for sharing with her. My heart strings were pulled yet again.

I got to spend all of Saturday and half of Sunday with my very close friend. Evelyn, "playing" with all of our paper and ink and goodies. We were supposed to be at a retreat this weekend, but it didn't happen. So, we decided that we would play anyway. We stayed up until 4 a.m. , slept for about five hours and hit the table running. We had such good fun, that if I hadn't had the wonderful dinner and theater plans, I could have kept going. So, what's a girl to do? Well, I went back this morning to play some more! But then I needed to leave to watch one of my grandsons.

My oldest and closet friend, is Jan I. She had surgery last year on her eyes, so now I call her Jan "Eyes"--an inside joke. She is such a blessing to me. We can be together everyday or maybe weeks will go by, but I always know that she will be here for me, no matter the need. She is my sounding board, my shoulder, my bestest cheerleader...I can't even think about her not being in my life. We don't just finish each other's sentences; we finish each other's thoughts! How many people do you have in your life that you have called "friend" for 5/6ths of your life? Now that can be a very short time, if you are young. If you a 'not so young', as in my case, we are talking about 48 YEARS! You can't tell me that isn't a blessing.

Of course, my dear husband figures into my blessings equation. He is a good, kind, gentle, understanding, loving, hard working and generous man. I could go on, but there isn't enough time.

Speaking of time, I am running out of it for now. But I'm not running out of blessings. God has been so good to me. I could go on and on, but I won't. Just remember, and never forget, to count your blessings--name them one by one. They come in all shapes and sizes and all the time.

FORGET THE LOST WEEK: WHERE DID FEBRUARY GO?

I have yet to figure out how a person can be busy all of the time and not get things finished. I remain DETERMINED to continue to finish the "Clean Sweep" we have started, but for the life of me, I believe I am dragging around a 100 lb. ball and chain. It feels like I need dynamite to get me going.

At least this week we managed to shred enough papers to fill a 4-foot tall box! All this to keep our identity secure. That's certainly a sign of the times we live in. I have been going through some other old documents and items that I refer to as "memorabilia". Some of it makes me laugh, some of it makes me cry. But, I came to a really liberating decision. If it only brings back a sad memory--TOSS IT! Now that really feels good. I also decided that if it's "worth keeping", get it out of the boxes and put it in an album. Now, I'm not talking about fancy scrapbooking; I'm just talking about getting it out of a box or folder and placing it in a top-loading photo album page. At least I can flip through it easily and so can the kids and grandkids. When we are done, we don't have to shove it all back into a box, we just close the album and put it back on the shelf. It seems so simple. When I feel like it, I can go back and add a little bit of journaling to give some insight into why I wanted to keep it or what it represented to me.

Jim has been busy, when it's not raining, building a three-tier water fall in our back yard on the hill. It is a place that has been waiting forever for a water fall. I am including a picture of the "in progress" work and will update later with the finished project. Did I mention I have a very "handy" husband? Wow, the water fall doesn't look so big in this picture, but from where my husband is sitting, to the top, is about 10 - 12 feet.

Lost Week

I feel like I lost a week. Last week came and went and I hardly have anything to show for it. But wait! Maybe it wasn't really lost; maybe it was just that I didn't get things done that I planned on getting done. Because as I look back, there was a lot going on, but I didn't make progress on the CLEAN SWEEP. Here are some things we did get done:

• attended a Stampin' Up group meeting. At the end of the meeting, my group helped me to make my deadline for the card swap that was due on January 28. Thanks to my stampin' buddies. Got my swaps back yesterday and they are awesome. The whole set is done with Sale-A-Bration stamp sets that can only be earned through the end of March. Pretty cute stuff. Tried to download some pictures, but had problems--maybe later
• purchased fabric for the office curtains and cornice board (sure is nice to have a handy husband). I decided I want the curtains for be full length, so I need to go back to IKEA for another panel of fabric.
• started a new Bible study--very intense--hope I can keep up. It's a 10-week "precepts" study, developed by Kay Arthur. It covers the Sermon on the Mount.
  went to two doctor's appointments--yucky eye infection
• picked up prescriptions
• shopped at Costco, IKEA, Home Depot, WalMart
• shopped for my mother-in-law
• visited my mother-in-law
• spent hours trying to resolve computer and telephone problems....
• did a little work in my Retired Annuitant position with the State of California
• attended worship team practice
• watching the Super Bowl (as I type this) and doing laundry--always need to multi-task!

Well, like I said, maybe I did more than I thought, since what I listed above is only what I can remember. Here's to the first week in February. I'd love to send pictures of the finished office!

Sidelined

Well, while the rain comes down, down, down and Kristin and Mark are vacationing in balmy Maui, I've been spending the week with my grandson Alex. Alex is very self-contained and doesn't require much in the way of care. It has been good to spend some time with him. Of course, he goes to school during the day. That being said, it left Jim with the clean sweep activities--painting the kitchen, updating the lighting in the kitchen and living room--that's why I say I've been sidelined.

Since my last post we located a great new desk and small storage cabinet for the office. The office painting was completed last week, but I continue to work on getting everything back in place. My goal continues to be a streamlined room where it is easy to work. To think, this all began because I needed to get all of my stamping and scrapbooking stuff organized. Plus, Jim and I made a vow to go through everything in the house and garage and eliminate excess. Look for pictures when everything is back in place.

I have a card swap that is due on Monday--2 designs, 11 cards of each design--so I've been trying to work on the card designs. I've been carrying everything back and forth between my house, Alex's house and Evelyn's house--working out the design and cutting the pieces. I've completed all of the preparation for the first card; one more to go!

Tonight Alex and I are off to cheer on big brother, David, at a basketball game. Noelle is going to take Alex for the weekend. Mark ad Kristin return late Monday night. That means I won't have any excuses for not getting things done.

Who Said Clean Sweeps Were Clean?

So, there was a bomb that went off in my house. Luckily, no one was injured. Since my last post I have been going through every item pulled out of my office, sorting, tossing and trying to make progress. There are shelves and computer programs and books in my living room. My second bedroom still has all of the empty rolling storage drawers and files that need to be sorted. I have a box full of office supplies that is headed to my church's neighborhood Connection Center. Another few boxes of gift items I've purchased that I need to actually give away. There is a large stack of "who wants this good stuff" or garage sale items--really, WHERE did this all come from anyway? It doesn't sound as bad as it really is--trust me on this.

Today we purchased primer and paint and got the primer on the walls. Our goal is to get the painting done by this evening. After we paint, we want to clean and reseal the tile. Then we can decide on a desk and start putting the office back together.

Clean Sweep

Well, the holidays are over and my new year plan is to do a clean sweep of our house, room by room, including the garage. My husband, Jim, and I started by moving a side board out of an inset in our living room and creating a built-in cabinet that holds all of my papercrafting materials--stamps, papers, punches, embellishments, tools, projects, etc. It is an awesome space--it works out to be about 56 square feet to a depth of 2 feet. It's almost embarassing to have so much stuff. All of the items were stored in the home office or spare bedroom. My goal is if it doesn't fit in the cabinet, then I can't keep it.

There was a side board in the inset that was moved into the dining area. We eliminated a few things out of the side board, but one great advantage has already been realized. Because the side board is nearer to the kitchen, I have actually used my china twice since moving it! Who knew?

The next project was to open an access point on the living room side of a kitchen cabinet that was not very useful. I'm afraid I called it the cabinet "from H@##" because it was impossible to reach the items in the back corner and the opening was so small. With the new opening, I can use every square inch.

On to the office...now we are really talking about a mess. We emptied everything out except the furniture and it is truly amazing how much "stuff" I had managed to cram into one small room. There was an L-shaped desk, three 2-drawer filing cabinets, one 4' x 6' bookcase, three stacking shelving units, four 4-drawer storage boxes, three rolling storage units, a keyboard, a small roll top-type desk. We sold the L-shaped desk and one filing cabinet. The bookcase is moved into the closet. Now I'm going through everything to see what I can "give up". I want to finish within the week. Jim is painting while I am sorting. I have actually moved a few things into the closet. I have a fairly decent pile of things I'm letting go. Perhaps there is hope for me.