Remember When | Winter Wonderland

Do you remember when winter was synonimus with playing in the snow after dark, and making snow angels, even if the "snow" was only a quarter inch thick? When we whined about having to don scarves and mittens before venturing forth, but if we lost one we cried because it was our "favorite"? Remember going to Grama's for hot cocoa and Christmas dinner, and our favorite part of the holidays was playing outside with our cousins and siblings until we couldn't feel our fingers or toes, and our cheeks were so red they resembled shiny tree ornaments? Do you remember those days of carefree snowy excitement? I do. I miss them. I want to bring them back...

Simple Life | Priorities and Dreams

I feel inspired. Brin, of My Messy, Thrilling Life, is a brilliant writer, and a woman of deep faith and beautiful vision. I have been reading her work for a few months now, and I am finally taking the time to read her blog from the begining (way back in 2005). Freeman House, an old farmhouse somewhere between Wichita and Texas, pops up frequently in her writings, always in the sad, past tense, and I am finally learning about the magnificent place! How I long for the simple life she so eloquently describes...

Creating a Charmed Life by Victoria Moran is a book I hope to read soon. Charmed, simple - I want these things in my life, and I finally realized that I am the only one who can acheive those goals; I have to determine for myself what is important to me, and then put those beliefs into action. I want a quiet life of home, hearth, family and service. I feel it in my soul; I need to slow down, and focus on what matters.

I have always been one of those people who is good at most things I try, and for years I have believed this tendency must mean that I am meant to do something big, something important. What I never took into account was that doing what I was created to do doesn't mean that I have to do everything! And who, besides God, is to say what is "important", anyway?

I've been doing a great deal of thinking lately, about what really matters to me. Knowing God, and having a personal, intimate relationship with Him is at the top of the list, though I am shamed to admit that this was not the case until recently. These past few years have been difficult ones, and I allowed my circumstances to drive a wedge - a wall of silence and bitterness - between myself and His holiness. I am done with that now. It has been like living without oxygen.

What is really important to me...

Family. My husband is my best of best friends; he is my confidant, my lover, my hero. The one I turn to when I need grounding, and the one that I cling to when in need of comfort. He is my sunshine when all else is dark, and I love him more thoroughly than I can even begin to express! After God, he embodies what is important to me.

Relationships. We have a large family, between us; I love all, and like most, which is (I hope) the same as can be said by them of me! We are so distant, geographically, from family I love, it grieves me at times. I hope to travel, or have them as guests, many times in the years to come. I am excited to soon live near my beautiful niece, and I can't wait to meet my nephew when he makes his debut this spring! When I think of simplicity and joy, I imagine a life where I can devote myself to family; to being the best aunty I can be, and to sharing the joys and sorrows of life with those I love.

Home. A place of my own. Ah, the joy and peace I feel when I even think of it! I don't want anything fancy; simplicity is my friend, cozy and quaint my neighbors. I would love to own an old farmhouse, old and in need of a tender touch, with a small parcel of land and maybe an old barn. I would love to put that old farmhouse back together again, room by room, piece by piece, and restore to her that old time charm and serenity of kinder years. I want a home with character, personality. I want to name my home, like Brin did with Freeman House. And I want to spend my days there, growing old with my beloved husband, surrounded by family, friends, children and grandchildren, and die in my bed, and old woman at peace with God and life.

Build A Better Pillow

I wish, I wish, I had a picture for you today! I woke up this morning from the best nights sleep in months, only to discover that my pillow was actually -

*drumroll please*

MY DOG.

Nick says he came up sometime in the early A.M.'s and when I rolled over I grabbed him instead of my pillow and he just stayed there until I woke up! And he was so excited when I finally did - licking and happy whining ensued as has never been heard or seen before! It was nice, and very wet.