Great Mattress Deal

An update on the mattress fund! I found an amazing mattress at Costco that has a great coupon ($115 off). It is fancier than I had hoped to find, but it is such a good price and Blake said, "We should just get that one for them." So...I am hoping to get a few more donations. There is the matter of sheets, too. I have a mattress cover I can give them, but we will need to buy some sheets, they just have double sheets. Anyway, just thought I would update you all. Those sending checks, please pop them in the mail. I hope to complete this joyous transaction by this weekend!

Meet our new baby!

We have another R to introduce you to...This is Rascal! He is not quite 6 months old, he is a purebred Black Lab, and we are adopting him from Ryan and Sarah. He has such a sweet disposition and fits his definition perfectly: Rascal: One that is playfully mischievous.

Update on Mattress Collection

I currently have $200 pledged (as of 1-29)...Thank you everyone. I think It will cost about $320 total. If anyone who hasn't pledged yet, has been thinking about it, we still have a need! See post below if you are totally lost.

Some Friends Need Our Help

Hello, faithful readers! I am putting on my PWOprah hat and asking for some responses. A wonderful couple, who we all know very well, but whose names I will keep anonymous for the moment, are really in need of a new Queen mattress. They are very tight, financially, and buying one on their own will just not be feasible. They have several children and they have many demands on their lives, and I just thought it would be great if a few families could chip in and we could collectively meet this very practical need of theirs. What do you say? Even $10 would help pay the tax or delivery fee on such a big item. Email me, or leave a comment here and I will get in touch of you.

Look Alikes

I think that these photos of my dad resemble my sister's little boy, Aidan.

My Daddy and His Brothers

From left to right: Ed (my dad), Ken, Ron, and Dick Schoolcraft
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I scanned this photo today of my dad and his 3 brothers. So cute!

My new obsession

My children and I are fully consumed with the joy and the need to accumulate millions of tiny little people and their belongings and play acting with these tiny people until our brains feel dusty and empty of creative purpose. Playmobil has become my new chocolate.

What's Inspiring You To Live Your Best Life?

Inspiration....I often am moved purely by inspiration. Obligation is also a factor that gets me going in a productive direction, but I much prefer inspiration to be the catalyst. How about you?

Here are some things that inspire me to live my best life.

Great People. In this list, I would include those around me that I see everyday, such as my husband, my girlfriends, my church family. I also look to the well known "greats", such as Mother Teresa, Oprah, MLK Jr., Mattie Stepanek .

Great Works and Creativity. Bach, Van Gogh, Jane Austin, Da Vinci, and yes, even Bill Gates, inspire me with what they have created. Inventors, organizers of great systems, artists, this group of people inspire me to realize that there are no limits. Mankind is an amazing creation that can create amazing things. I am driven to try harder, explore my natural giftings, make time for creativity to flourish in my day. Put down the laundry and write. Have the kids load the dishwasher and play my flute.

Tragedy. This inspires me to give, sacrifice, empathize, walk in the shoes of my fellow man, and to make a difference in the lives of the hurting, disappointed and the shattered. I feel like I have an ability to function well in a trauma, seeing the needs of others, and keeping a cool head. I know I can really shine during tragic times and I am often looking to fulfill such needs for people. We are all human, we all hurt, and we can give comfort because we ourselves have been comforted by him who created such a blessed way of coping with the worst days of our lives.

Examples, bad and good. These inspire me to embrace or about face(sorry for the rhyme). I have never been one that has to goof a thing up on my own to get the point of a matter. I can learn from the mistakes of others. I can also learn from the successes of others. I can glean their "tips" and "tricks" in accomplishing a tough task. I love picking people's brains for how they make it all happen in their lives and I love reading the personal stories of great overcomers.

Books. What can I say about books? I feel like they are the air that I breathe, a lot of the times. If I had the time, and was unemployed and not needed by 5 beautiful, highly demanding children, I would be reading my way through the library at least 6 hours a day. And I love to be read to. Audio books are my new candy. I download them to my ipod and as I work out at the Y, some talented actor is reading to me, bringing the story to life. Weather it is information or imagination, a book is my best friend.

The Mirror. This inspires me to change the most. I just read a book about a man who was in a drug rehab place. He had such a struggle looking at himself in the eyes. He could look at every other part of his face, but he always stopped at his lower lashes. He was filled with shame. I feel like if you can truly stare at your own soul through your eyes in a mirror, you can learn a lot about yourself. If you quiet your mind and your thoughts long enough to gaze at the truth of who you are, you will run and hide, or embrace a new path, or rejoice at where you have come. We have to be honest with ourselves. I am not a good liar, accept when it comes to myself.

So...Your turn...What inspires you to live you best life?

Friendship

Friendship comes in many shapes and sizes. I hope we all have a generous list of people who surround our lives with fun, help in time of need, and large ears and soft shoulders. I have spent the past few days really thinking of my circle of friends. I am amazed at what different roles they all fill in my life. I have friends I chat with daily via email and blogs and IM. I have friends that I see weekly at church or at the kids co-op, etc. I have friends that I receive airmail from and my heart does a flip-flop, just as it did when I got off the bus in high school, went to the mail box, and saw that familiar, yet foreign sticker on the envelope.

I have friends who would die for me and friends who might. I have friends who will watch all my children for an afternoon, and those who can take only one at a time. I have friends who live far and friends who vote for the same city council members. I have friends who are easy to be with and yes, some who are more high maintenance, but I love them both the same.

I have friends who count on me and friends who don't inform me of their life's troubles until they are comfortably in the clear of them. But most importantly, I have more friends than I can even wrap my mind around, could I give you a count if you asked? No. I can't even guesstimate. I guess I could quote to you the number of Christmas cards I make each year, but that just doesn't seem to cover it...And I am adding more friends as I cruise along this life. Maybe not daily, but certainly with each passing season, I seem to meet, greet and add to my list of people I know and admire. It is amazing how the heart can just keep stretching to hold more and more love for more and more people. I think it has infinite stretching capabilities.

The one New Years Resolution I hope to fulfill each day is to be a better friend to all those who would call me theirs. Starting with my sweet husband, and on down the line, I would like to be more dependable, more available, more thoughtful and more present for my friends this year.

Delurking Week

Have you been a Lurker here? Have you read but not commented? Let me know who you are. I promise to visit your blog in return! On another blog that I love, the writer promised the loss of weight and the defeat of terrorism to occur for all who commented. I can only hope these things upon you and the world, but what have we got to lose, right?

Elizabeth of Hungary 1207-1231

Today I read to my kids out of the book Trial and Triumph. It is our church history living book. Often, the characters they feature are amazing, but today, we met a truly uplifting woman who was married to Louis, Prince of Germany. Her name was Elizabeth and she was a princess from Hungary. In her lifetime, there was a great famine in France and the people were starving. She did more than anyone could have done for these people, including using up all of the treasury to feed 900 a day at the castle, as well as hand delivering food to a nearby village for those too weak to travel. She received such criticism from those in power at the castle, criticism from all accept her dear husband, Prince Louis. He exalted all she did, encouraged her to do more, and silenced all her accusers. Unfortunately, he died of a fever while off fighting a "Holy" war and those who were against her, kicked her and her four children, all heirs of the throne, out of the castle. She and her children were forced to beg and she eventually got sick herself and died at the age of 24.

I encourage all to read about her. I am going to do more research about her. Suddenly the name Elizabeth, is the sweetest name I know. (Not meant to mock the great hymn) I truly did her bio an injustice. There is so much more to her story.

Started a path I was on 7 years ago.

Today I started to walk down a familiar path. Today I consumed 1114 calories, drank 8 glasses of water. Peed at least 8 different times! Ha! And it is so amazing how one day can bring your whole life back into control. I am following the Prism diet. I had great success on this eating plan 7 years ago, after the birth of my third child. I am confident of the success I will have this time around...I just wonder why it took me this long to return to what works for me. For anyone interested, I have a blog that you can join to journal your own health path. Several ladies belong to it and it is a great forum to encourage one another.

Happy Birthday to the Man of My Dreams!

Here he is, the man of my dreams, hanging out on the computer, with his gift table in the background. We have a family tradition of "the gift table." The night before a birthday, I stay up after the special one has gone to bed, and I wrap and decorate their table for them to wake up to. It is like having your own personal Christmas Morning! Usually, the gifts are all opened in the morning, before Blake heads to work, but Blake had to leave so early this morning, he decided to wait until he gets home to open them.
Oh, honey! You look so dapper in your bow tie! This look really works for you, babe. I just have to tell you that you mean the world to me. You really are the center of my life. Each day with you is a gift and I love seeing how you strive to be a better person and challenge yourself to grow and change for the better. Truth be told, I would love you if you were the same guy I married 13 years ago....you are my hero, my love, my best friend, my joy. I hope today and the rest of this year treats you kindly and that you can look back with absolutely no regrets. I hope you find the peace that you seek this year. I know it is there, waiting for you. God bless you, honey. I am so proud to be your wife! Love, Jules

Motto for the year!

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Mother Teresa