Changes!

Hey everyone!  Long time no talk.  :)

I did let my domain go.  So, to get to this blog it you have to use the URL Smallinspirations.blogspot.com
instead of dandeliondayz dot com.   That no longer will get you to my blog...that I no longer write on anyway!  :)

Anyway  - just an update.  Maybe there will be more...  :)

Thankful for 15 Years of Marriage Today!

My 11 year old daughter has started watching a couple shows on TLC called Four Weddings and Say Yes to the Dress.   Sometimes I sit with her to watch the brides plan their weddings and pick out the perfect dress so that it all comes together on their special day. 

One recent afternoon, she asked to see my wedding dress.  So, we got it out.  She tried on my shoes - they fit her and they do not fit me anymore!  Ack!   She tried on the veil - sniff sniff.   She told me that she loved my dress but thought she'd want one of her own.  Of course.  Then she spun around my room in that veil dreaming of who she might meet at the end of THE aisle one day. 

She said, "Do you remember your wedding day like it was the most special day of your life?"
Absolutely.  It was.

In her sweet little girl mind, she is thinking of the wedding - the dress, the veil, the flowers and where it will be - the beach!   I can handle that! 

So, I took the opportunity to tell her that while the wedding was awesome and a day I'll never forget, that marrying the right guy is the most important.

"How do you know when you have the right guy?" she asked
***

I am celebrating 15 years of marriage today.   As a young bride, I lived under this goal to at least make it to 14 years - I don't even know that I thought about marriage past that.    My parents divorced after 14 years of marriage.  I guess in some strange way, I always thought that if I made it past then we were home free!  :) 

What I know now is that I just married the right guy for me.

How do I know that?

• He's the one who I can't imagine doing life without - even when life with him is not perfect.
• He's the one who loved me when I gained 80 pounds with our first child, 70 with the second and 60 with our third and still told me that I was beautiful. 
• He's the one who still makes me laugh.   
• He loves Jesus. 
• The one who still works hard to make me happy. 
• The one who provides for us,leads our family, he wants to be the one who talks to his kids about money,dating, how to be respectful, have God talks and all that stuff we need to tell our kids!
• He believes in me and he supports me in using the gifts God has given me.
• He makes dinner AND cleans up AND mows the lawn! 
• He books trips for us to go away - tonight we will be HERE! (And got a good deal to top it off!)
• I could go on and on... but this is for sure... for me, he is the right guy. 

The advice I'd like to give my daughter is this:   Marry someone who will love God like you love God.  Marry someone who believes that commitment and friendship are the most important parts of a marriage.  Marry someone who when the goin' gets tough will stick it out, will work hard to grow and will love you more because of it.  Marry someone who works hard.  Marry for love.  Marry to make a family.  Marry for joy.   Marry for companionship.  Marry because you have fun together.  Marry because he makes you laugh.  Marry for life.  

Gratitude - Word of the Year 2012

Okay, so I've struggled with this one.   Gratitude. 

A friend of mine says the word chooses you.  So it seems. 

Last year it was WAIT and wait I did.   I waited for that year to be over!   It was truly a year of waiting.  A year of trusting (although, I don't know how good I was at that).  A year of surrendering (most of the time not without a fight).  A tremendous year of growth and survival.  It was a year that at the end, you say something like, "I waited it out and I lived to tell about it!" 

So, as I headed into 2012, I have to say I was relieved to have a fresh start - to not have things looming over my family that were unknown and scary.  Although, I guess life is pretty unknown and scary.  It was for that reason that I really felt my word was going to be LIVE.   I was tired of living in that looming shadow of the unknown and I so was drawn several times to the word LIVE as to not be held back for what God really wanted me to do this year.  

Initially, I was drawn to a favorite verse -  John 10:10  - I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

That verse eventually led me to THIS verse... 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ¹⁶ Rejoice always; ¹⁷ pray without ceasing; ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

It's easy to be thankful when life is going your way.  It's easy to open your sunroof and look into a Carolina blue sky and thank God for your life when pretty much all is well.   

What I found out this last year while I was doing all that waiting, was that I was also becoming a bit embittered. I didn't like waiting and my heart was starting to harden.   Ick - not a good way to find yourself. 

Sure, I was living through it!  But not joyfully.  Not to those living through it with me, anyway.  

Being thankful, having a heart of gratitude -  it's in ALL circumstances.  Not just when the sky is blue.  Not just when life is going your way.  

So, this life? This full life I'm to LIVE because of my faith in Jesus?  I can't have it without an obedient life of gratitude.

 To LIVE is to be THANKFUL.  

This Should Keep Me Organized, Right?

Fall has given me a little boost of creativity around my house.   This weekend alone could have provided fodder for at least 3 blog posts!  But alas, I do not have time to post about the caramel apples I made with my kids or the Halloween decorating we did.  Although, I did let them have a little more freedom outside this year.  My bushes are covered in that fake cobweb and big black spiders!     It's cute - Mums and pumpkins just will not do for this crowd anymore! 

I did do one very necessary project that I thought I'd share.   I have been forgetting A TON of really important things lately.   Older age, too busy, distracted by other things in life - not sure.  So, I needed something that I could record these things and see them right when I leave the house! 

 Look! A New Chalkboard!!!



Taped around the outside of where I wanted to paint.  For this, I used an old frame that I removed the glass and picture from.  I just held it on the wall and drew around the inside of the frame.   Then I painted chalkboard paint right on the wall.





Removed tape - a little paint did seep through but that's okay because I'm adding the frame. 



Hung the frame.   This allows me to remove the frame and clean the chalkboard right on the wall!

And there is a little ledge for my chalk built right in!



I also added hooks for my keys and the dog's leash. LOVE!!!



I liked the way it turned out and it was so easy!!!  I can't imagine that I will every forget anything again!