An Attitude of Encouragement

Encouragement is an art. One that some people would say I am really good at and others would probably find utterly laughable that I would categorize myself as an encouraging person. For every person that I encourage, there are probably several that I overlook. It is very easy for me to encourage the ones I love or people I admire, but for the people I may not know as well, or, to be honest, people I don't like very much, encouragement is far from my mind.

Recently I read a blog post by a woman who said she missed handwritten mail. She posted to her twitter page asking people who wanted handwritten cards to send her their address and she would write them a card or two to brighten up their mailboxes. She was surprised to find that her inbox was loaded with emails from people who wanted "fun mail". She wrote dozens of notes to strangers, and days later began receiving thankful replies from the recipients.

It wasn't the handiness of the gesture or the novelty of receiving mail that isn't a bill that warmed people's hearts, it was the encouragement this simple effort offered. Many, if not most, of those people probably sent off their addresses thinking this woman is never going to respond so when she did the blessing was all the sweeter.

I look across my life and I can think of those people I don't know very well, or those I don't care for and am wondering what might happen if I wrote them a little note? One of my very best friends joked to me a few years back, commenting how much she didn't like me when we first met. I irritated her and completely rubbed her the wrong way. Everything I said and did was annoying and immature in her eyes. I had always suspected this and we chuckled when she finally admitted it.

What changed is that she began to encourage me as a woman, a believer, a wife, and later, a mother. By encouraging me, her heart softened towards me. Encouragement has a funny way of doing that. We can't stay angry or aloof with those God calls us to encourage. We may begin encouraging in hopes of changing the other person, but it's usually us who is going to be changed.

Tomorrow I start work in the moms ministry at church, the perfect field for encouragement, becuase we all know us moms need a ton of encouragement. (That is not sarcasm, that is truth)

On that note, if you are in the Sacramento area and would like to join us, please do so every other Wednesday 9:30-11 at the Arcade Church Fellowship Hall, 3927 Marconi Ave, starting September 5th.. I'll be there, with an encouraging word!

Small Things on a Friday

We are so apt to pay attention to the big things in our lives, aren't we? Weddings, births, vacations, emergencies, parties, milestones. Big things. Often we forget about the little things that keep us going day to day. Morning routines, daily habits, workplace friends, conversations with our family. Life can feel monotonous at times, but when those little daily happenings don't happen anymore we notice them. It should serve as a reminder that those small things, really aren't small after all. When Tyler was a baby I used to look at him laid out on a blanket on the floor and will him to do something. Roll over, sit up, crawl, talk. Of course, the next thought was Don't grow up! A losing battle, obviously.

This week's moments included watching my son record his Fresno adventures in his Book of Friends. This kid has a whole journal devoted to his friends. He writes up a description of each one and asks me to take pictures of them when we are together so he can paste them up in his book. This morning he worked hard on his book, coloring and stapling and writing. He included the friends he made at Dinkey Creek and all his VBS buddies from this last week.

As a kid I moved around a ton. By fourth grade I had lived in three states and attended four schools and by the end of high school I had gone to three more schools. These aren’t the best circumstances for lifelong friendships, though I do have a couple friends from junior high still. My kids will have the opportunity to grow up with friends they have had since infancy, which is something I have always wanted. It's small, while really not being small at all.

In 1993 my parents moved us back to Sacramento, which is where they both grew up. Gunther's has been a part of my memory since I was a little girl. One of my earliest memories is of going with my Grandpa to pick up my uncle who worked at Gunther's. I remember the wooden booths and clown cones and the thrill of still being in the ice cream shop after it closed while my uncle swept up. The best thing about Gunther's is that it never changed. It's still the same ice cream shop that my uncle worked at as a teenager, that I went to as a kid, that my grandmother went to as a college student. I love being able to give these little memories to my kids.

While our lives have lots of big, memorable moments, those small moments are what hold us together. Our kids sweetly helping each other with homework, Friday afternoon trips to get ice cream, long summer days at the pool, trips to the fair, laughing about classic tv together, road trips with endless games of "I Spy", morning snuggles before the day starts...the list is endless. The beauty of camera phones is the ability to capture really teeny tiny moments, some of which are so fleeting I miss them completely. The big moments are really just occasional exclamation points in the stories of our lives. The small ones are what make the story real.

it's the little things

A few of the "little things" that have blessed and encouraged me this week:
A sweet message from my dear friend, Nikki, in response to my posts about body image. Nikki and her husband, Jordan, are missionaries in Manila and are expecting their first baby in a few months, which is SO EXCITING! I love her and wish that she lived close by. I don't have a picture of her, but please do visit her blog and say hello.

Proud boy! With a mouth full of ice cream.

 Good grades!! Both my kids got fantastic grades this year and earned themselves a free ice cream at a local parlor. I am especially proud of my boy, who had a great year. Repeating first grade was the best thing we ever did for him. I am so proud of his improvement. This kid reads for fun now.

SUMMER! We had our first full day of summer yesterday. It was amazing. Farmers market, playdate, afternoon at the river. It does not get any  better. Also, I am tired.

The cove we played at yesterday. We have been awake 3 hours and the whole time my son has been begging to go back.

Forever Friends. Forever friends are hard to come by. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with more forever friends than anyone has any right to have. Aaron and my very first forever friend was a wonderful man named Jason. We have loved him like a brother for the last ten years. Two years ago Jason introduced us to Carolyn who would, a year later, become his wife. Within minutes of meeting her I knew that she would also become a forever friend. She and I have probably the most honest and real friendship I have ever had. We laugh together and cry together and pray for each other. I love Carolyn. Oh, and Jason, too.

Aaron and Jason

Beautiful Carolyn and me

Jason and Carolyn are leaving Sacramento to start a new adventure in Nashville while Jason pursues his PHD and Vanderbilt University. I couldn't be more proud of what he is doing while also being miserable that he is taking his sweet wife away from me.There are two consolations to this: 1) both their entire families live here, so they have to come back to visit and 2) I am adding "visit Nashville" to the Life List.

These are a few of our forever friends. There are no less than eight beautiful people missing from this photo.

A blog that I really enjoy, Hello Hue, encourages her readers to remember and be thankful for the little blessings in life. Each week, on Fridays, she lists all those who have participated in "it's the little things" that way we can all read about, and hopefully be encouraged by, each others blessings.

Disneyland ::Who We Met::

Because you all were dying to know (or because I am too lazy to come up with a better blog post) I will show you a bunch of pictures of my kids in Disneyland without you. We missed you, though! No. Really. 

We managed to go to Disneyland and not see a single Princess. Some would call this a success, but I think my daughters would disagree. Not that they were in the least unhappy with who they did meet. Note to grandmothers: yes, I will be giving you copies of all the pictures; no, it won't happen this week. Soon!

So that this isn't the most boring post ever for everyone else, here is some unscolicited advice: if your kids are at all interested in charaters GO TO A CHARACTER MEAL.

Seriously. It's worth it to be able to sit down, enjoy a mediocre meal and have all the characters come to you. It saved us hours in hunting down characters and whining from our son who couldn't give a rip if he saw a singe one. It also satiated the girls' need for character interaction enough so that not meeting princesses was really no big deal. Wheew!

Our youngest daughter is super into characters even though she kept saying things like "How does the guy see?" "Why won't the guy in there talk to me?" "Is it hot in there for the guy, mommy?" I spent half the time shushing her so she wouldn't destroy other kids' dreams. Princesses, by the way, she completely buys as real because they are "people" not costumes. Hilarious, that kid. And way too smart for us.

Disneyland ::it's a small world::

If you know me at all, you know that I am pretty nuts about Disneyland, which is actually kind of funny because I generally hate places/events with large numbers of people. However, the adorableness that is Disney got the better of me and I am truly in my happy place in the Happiest Place on Earth. Include my family in that scenario and I am over the moon.

We just got back from, quite possibly, the best family vacation ever at Disneyland. We went with Aaron's parents and the kids, my sister, and Aaron's brother's family. One of our best friends and her honey also decided to take their vacation and overlap ours. Our kids are 8, 6, and 3, so I was mildly freaked out that they would be evil monsters for three days demanding princesses and pirates and Jedi and screaming when they didn't get their way.

This did not happen. They were amazing and sweet. Our girls weren't in the least bit disappointed that not a single princess was met and our son was only heartbroken for a second that he wasn't chosen for the Jedi Academy. Besides, they know me well, both my daughter promptly reminded me "There is always next time, Mom!"

As any loyal fan of Disney can attest, more pictures were taken in and of the park than anyone ever needs to see, but I'm going to slowly share them all with you, anyway.

it's a small world

Always Magical

Disney certainly gives cynics plenty to be cynical about: market over-saturation, mediocre movies, high prices, large crowds, crappy pay and benefits for those who work there, etc, etc. Regardless, I still find it magical, even though I probably shouldn't. No place on earth can make our kids speechless and grin till it hurts quite like Disney. Charlotte has never been to the parks and even though we couldn't do a full Disney trip the character breakfast was perfect for her to get her first taste of the crazy delight that is Disney.

The obligatory family picture that they then tried to sell to us for $30. Insert cynical statement here _____. This is the crappy one from my camera. Naturally we all looked tan and gorgeous and thin in their version.

 

Pluto hugs

Can you tell Charlotte was a bit freaked by Captain Hook?

Kisses for Chip (or Dale)

Baloo. Lily enjoyed this more than anyone. She grinned the whole time and I don't think she actually ate anything!

My favorite picture of Lily. Best smile ever.

For weeks leading up to this Tyler declared he was waaaay too old and that we had to tell the characters NOT to speak to him. You can see how that turned out.

This is the part that I think overwhelmed Charlotte. Actually she was probably less overwhelmed and more confused as to why strangers were singing to her.

The cupcake makes up for the singing awkwardness.

The highlight for my daughters. Lily was adorable. Charlotte was happy to see Cinderella but maybe a little over it at this point.

Hi 5'in Mickey Michael Jordan style.

Can you totally tell my husband was humoring me at this point?

While the Sacramento Valley has scenery by the buckets and is beautiful in its own right, it doesn't have sandy beaches for miles and deep blue water as far as the eye can see. As much as I love the foothills, my soul finds rest and peace at the ocean. Since my brother and his family moved back to Sacramento from Southern California two years ago, I haven't visited or glimpsed the ocean except for the occasional trip to the Bay Area, which just isn't the same.

It was time, people. I suspect Tyler is wired the same way I am. He has been talking about missing the beach about as long as I have. He even recently said he'd rather go to the beach than Disneyland which for a kid is pretty impressive. It's also mighty convenient given our current survival mode on the job/finance front. We were blessed with the means to travel down south to visit my aunt and uncle in their new hometown of Encinitas last weekend.

My uncle recently moved there to be the City Manager (yay Gus!) and earlier this summer he strongly encouraged us to come visit him. You don't have to ask me twice to come visit you at your house less than two miles from some of the prettiest beaches in the state. We were only there for a few nights; with three kids the whole household guest/fish stinking rule definitely holds fast. You know, "after three days house-guests and fish start to stink." I think we left just in time. At least my aunt kept saying "Next time we'll have to see such and such sight/building/beach/park." So I'd say that's a good sign. Or she's really polite, it could really go either way.

 

Charlotte loves her Uncle Gus!

Aunt Tee and the kiddies at the Fellowship Gardens

As a blogger I always wonder if I should share vacation photos. I know for some people look at someone else's vacation photos is torture, but I figure if you follow blogs in the first place perhaps that isn't your issue, right? If it is this week will likely be a good one to skip, I'll be talkin up the vacay a bit.

Bring It.

Two more weeks. In two more weeks the madness of school begins again, this time with two! Lily starts kindergarten and boy are we excited. Since last year's decision to have Tyler do 1st grade again we are doubly grateful that God laid it on our hearts to have Lily start kindergarten this year rather than last year. She has an October birthday so she would have been four for two full months of kindergarten and it just felt young.

It's a blessing that is for sure. Our kids are friends, yes, but competitive to the core. I can't imagine what being in the same grade would have done for their relationship. Maybe nothing. Maybe it would have been awful. I'm just glad we don't have to find out.

I'm not a weepy mom come the first day of school. I honestly thought I would be given my penchant for tears during commercials and birthdays and memorable family moments. It might be that my emotions are clouded with early mornings, and lunch making and homework battles. At least that has been our experience thus far. I think I have conquered the early morning thing much to my husband's relief. He took care of getting Tyler ready and out the door last year, but those days were numbered.

The kids had 8:30 am tennis and swim lessons all summer that required me to be dressed and out the door at 8 am, so we know I'm capable, if not willing. At least for dropping kids off at school I don't actually have to get dressed, right?

Let's Go Fly A Kite

Great, now I have that song stuck in my head!

I forgot to post about Tyler's kite flying at school, so I am doing it now. It's mostly driven by the fact that he is spending the week with friends out of town and it's nice to see his sweet face even if only on the blog. He has gleefully informed us that he "doesn't miss us at all' and we should let him stay a whole extra week. It's only day 3 of 7 though I don't think he'll be missing us terribly after 7 days either.

 You see, our friends have 4 BOYS. He is in pure Lego, Hot Wheel, Nerf gun, video game, wrestling heaven right now. It's truly no wonder he's in no hurry back to us. I know as his mother I should be heart broken that he doesn't miss us and the only tears he's shed are over the fact that I won't promise he can stay another week, but frankly I'm thrilled he's getting the boy time he needs. Sisters just aren't the same.
 

Underground Gardens, Fresno CA

 Those of you who we talk to on a regular basis know that since December Aaron has been looking for a new job. It's been pretty stressful. We have had our ups and downs as we have hoped for certain opportunities to work out only to find that they aren't going to.

While it's frustrating and stressful, it's also a chance to really trust God and what He has for us. There have been moments where I thought (and told people, lol) "If he doesn't get this job I'm really going to wonder where God is in all this!" I have my Debbie-downer moments, but really overall we are both really excited for the future.

The knowledge that this life and these trials and blessings are His very best for us is a constant comfort. In our worldly perspective a trial is never perceived as a blessing, but he know that God's promises are so much better than our own and that we don't always understand what He is doing in our lives until later.

All we know now is that we have much to be thankful for. We are healthy, our kids are healthy. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table. We have friends and family who love us. We have never truly experienced want. Our needs have always been met.

It would be nice to have that dream job, but until then we will be patient and praise God for what we do have.

I ♥ Sacramento {Sacramento County Fair}

 Yay! The County Fair is this weekend! For some reason I love the County Fair, but hate the State Fair. Probably because the County Fair still has cool competitions in baking, canning, table setting (Huh? Yeah.), baking and flower arranging. It's less crowded and less likely to have rowdy teenagers. It's cheaper and smaller and BETTER.

I love the County Fair. Where else can you get a cupcake and then just to your left find "Psychic Advice" from a "Consultant"?

...or stare into a frightening mass of bees behind glass and try fresh honey...

...and see horses up close and be afraid of them like the city kid you are...or watch the horse acrobats strut their stuff (heh) for prizes and ribbons?

 Where else can you pet mini horses, which you are far less afraid of...

...and get sickeningly sweet cotton candies from the Candy Factory....
...and feel sorry for rainbow hued sheep...

...and cuddle with baby goats?

At the County Fair.

May 26-30
Admission $5 13 and up
kids 12 and under free