filling big shoes!

I think all of us at some point in our lives feel like we will never be able to fill the big shoes, of other's who have gone before us. This photo of my granddaughters standing in their Daddy and Mommy's shoes reminded me of that.I remember as a young girl looking a new Mom's and wondering how they could handle and juggle all that Motherhood gave you, plus life? Then as a young Mom myself, I remember wondering how I could ever love another child or handle the extra responsibility that it would take to have two kids?

Then as I have gotten older I realize that life happens to all of us, and that is exactly how we fill the big shoes. We keep going, keep breathing, keep trying, keep asking for help and ...day by day, month by month and year by year, we grow and develop into who we are suppose to be.

Tonight one of friend's stop by to say hi, because she and her family were in town. She is the same age as my kids and became like one of the family, years ago when she was in High School. As I watched her and listened to her, I realize how much she has grown in those 10 or so years. She is truly and amazing young lady, wife, Mother, daughter and friend.

How grateful I am to have her in our life! I really am grateful for all the people in our life who have become like members of our family. They truly make life special. It makes me realize how much we all can help each other grow, if we will but take the time and effort that goes with it. Yes, time and experience is all we need to become WHO WE REALLY NEED TO BE!  Growth, change is necessary and sometimes a bit painful, but...soooo worth it!

Good night dear friends!

"Life is simple, it's just not easy."  ~Author Unknown

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished.  If you're alive, it isn't."  ~Richard Bach

"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."  ~Emily Dickinson

Attitude

Well, it is Monday night and I am finally taking over my blog again. My sweet daughter Lauren did it for me, while I was busy at the Quilt Market. How grateful I am that she took the time to do that.  Amy did it for me the last time I was out of town. They both did an amazing job, so good that I was afraid you wouldn't want me back!  :)

It has been interesting to see the concern the whole family has for my blog. I am constantly asked  "Have you done your blog yet?" "What are you going to write about today?" I think my family realizes how much this blog has done for me, and hopefully has done for others. It is true, some days when I am feeling low and wondering if I am making progress at all, I go back and read some of my old posts, and realize I am making progress...no matter how slow it is.

Tonight I am at my oldest brother's house with him and his wife. I have to admit, I love their house. Probably because she decorates it with the true country motive. I mean my house is country too, but hers is actually like you went back in time. She goes to tons of Estate sales and garage sells, and has quite the eye for decorating. It is fun to look around and see all the treasures she has found. Actually all my sister-in-laws are all quite the decorators, all different but all incredible.

I need to head to bed, I hope that you enjoy this sweet story of attitude. I also hope you enjoyed my daughter's posts as much as I did, and I hope you are as glad to see me back, as I am to be back?

Good night dear friends!

Shoes

 

As Gandhi stepped aboard a train one day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions, Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did so, Gandhi smiled. "The poor man who finds the shoes lying on the track," he replied, "will now have a pair he can use."
~ Unknown

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from appexperience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."   ~ Martha Washington

"Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars."  ~ Frederick Langbridge

Shoes

 

I had a hard time deciding this morning what shoes I could wear to church today. As you know my knee surgery was a few weeks ago and even though I am walking pretty good, the type of shoes that I wear...make a real difference if I am going to hurt or not.  Yes, I am 50 years old and I obviously know that it really doesn't matter what shoes I wear to go to church, but I have always tried to look my best when getting ready to worship on the Sabbath. We have always taught the kids, that the reason we wear our best is so that we show respect to the Lord; but also we tend to act differently when dressed appropriately. I try to remind them to never become casual with their relationship with the Lord, or casual in their clothing that they wear to church.

So I had to realize that my thoughts about my ugly comfortable shoes today was wrong. I know better and when I see others who have to come to church in a comfortable clothes or shoes, I don't think bad and judge them. I actually wonder if it is because of their back pain or from something else. So I wasted time and energy on something that was no of importance. I was just feeling sorry for myself, sorry that I can't wear regular shoes because of my back and now my knees. How shallow I have been. My oldest brother lost both of his legs in the Vietnam war, I won't even tell you what he would have said to me, if he would have heard me complaining this morning? Yes, I need to try harder. When I read this story (which I will try to share part of with you) it reminded me to once again...to put things in perspective. I need to be more than grateful that I am able to attend church, that I can even walk, that I have feet and I can afford shoes. Yes, once again...even at the ripe old age of 50...I am still learning!

The Ugly Old Hat

I've always felt fiercely loyal to people that others tend to look down on, and I noticed a lonely old widow at church who didn't seem to me to get much attention. So I adopted her as my grandma. I was 14. She lived close by my Jr. high school, and I would drag my group of friends over there and make her day by having lunch with her and introducing my friends, and looking at her pictures and listening to her stories. In church, I always took care to sit her with my family and make a huge fuss over her. Well, one Easter, I showed up in a pretty pastel dress my mom had sewn for me, and this sister was so excited to show me what she had brought me. She said I just COULDN'T go to church without an Easter bonnet. I think she was from Denmark and bonnets were the thing there. She gave me this terribly old hat that was black and had white lace on it.

It really didn't go at all with my dress and was obviously old and out of style to boot, but when my friends told me I looked ugly in it, I held my head high and jutted out my chin (sign of stubbornness) and said I was NOT going to hurt an old woman's feelings just for the sake of fashion. I wore that ugly old hat all day long to each meeting and stared back at everyone who stared with a gutsy "so what about it?" look in the eye. Nobody said a word. This little adopted grandma was so terribly thrilled that I wore her old hat and gave it to me as a present.

Would you doubt me for a moment if I told you that I still have that old hat and that it is one of my very most precious, prized possessions? ~ Linda Cherry 1997 The Idea Door

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." ~ Winston Churchill

"When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about." ~ Albert Einstein