Another Revelation

A thing called Love

halfmyheart — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:32:11 +0000

The first time our eyes met was on a Sunday in October of 1998. Church had ended and we were both talking to our friends. Like a pull from a magnet our gazes met from across the room and we both gravitated towards each other.

“Hi,” you said, “I’m Chris.”
“Hello,” I said, “I’m Kim.”
“I know. You are the singer girl.”, you said.

Summer of 1999

Somehow you obtained my phone number (some meddling from a friend and my sister) and called me that night. We talked for a few hours and I held a smile the entire time. After two weeks of dating, we discussed marriage. We both agreed that our parents might snap and decided to wait six months. A few weeks before our six month mark, you had dinner with my parents and asked for my hand. We were engaged soon after and married a year later.

May 2000

In a whirlwind we left for flight school. Moved again, had two kids. Moved again… but through it all there was a thing called love. The glue that holds us together.

Jan 2011

The way you walk

halfmyheart — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:10:42 +0000

Almost every morning, I walk my dog Sammy. I pass the same cars leaving for work, I pass the same people on their walks… we nod and wave. A strange thing happens when I pass someone different. Somehow, my rear end gets bigger. Not literally, of course, but when I see someone coming out of their house or standing in their yard – I become self-conscious of how I walk. My leg twitches and I start to walk funny. Maybe I’m vain, they probably aren’t even glancing my way.

In other rambling, Valentine’s day is coming. I’ve been married for 11 and a half years and we have yet to celebrate it. Thanks Hallmark for another glorified excuse to charge me extra at dinner with my husband. Do we really need a day dedicated to love? Do people live the other 364 days of the year forgetting to love? No, Hallmark needed an excuse to sell pink and red cards, candy and chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, I do love me some pink – and chocolate, but I don’t want to pay double the cost for a reese’s cup because it is shaped like a heart. (Sure the hearts and easter egg shapes DO somehow taste better than the regular shaped cups… how do they do that?) Anyway, I will be attending a Girl Scout meeting that night… should be fun. What do you like to do (or not do) for Valentine’s day?

ah, love

Ski week

halfmyheart — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:06 +0000

There is a week in January that is dubbed, “Ski week”. The local high schoolers are testing the entire week, so we dismiss 2 hours early each day and then the following week, we get off Monday and Tuesday. In the words of my 8 year old (that loves school), “Why do we get out of school if only the highschoolers are testing?” You nailed that one on the head girl!

The girls have never been skiing. After all, ice skating was a big feat, so I wasn’t sure the kids were up to this task. I went back and forth on whether to even take the 8 year old, since she tends to be whiney when learning new things. She doesn’t neccessarily give up, but she will struggle her way through with a sour face and the noises to go with it. In the end, we enrolled both kids in a 2 hour class/4 hour pass. They learned how to move their feet sans skis, then with one ski on, then with both skis. When they went up the magic carpet to go down the bunny hill, I left. I didn’t want to be a distraction OR an excuse to quit. I came back and hour later and was shocked to see that both of my girls were getting on the ski lift to go down a pretty long hill. Pride swelled up in my heart when I saw them coming down the hill – the 9 year old by herself and the 8 year old holding on to an instructors pole. As the 8 year old skied up to me, she had a sour look on her face, but got back in line for the lift. I was more nervous about her not getting a seat on the lift fast enough than I was about her falling down the hill. When they came back around, she was skiing alone! Needless-to-say, after the lesson both girls spent the next two hours going down the slopes with daddy. I am so proud of both of them!

Since the kids had off 2 days in a row, the day before was spent ice skating! I told the 8 year old (after she fell) that falling on the ice hurt way more than falling in the snow. I talked skiing up all day – I think it worked!

Old Wounds

halfmyheart — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:12:27 +0000

Remember the saying, “time heals old wounds”? Well, it is somewhat true… That is until something triggers your memory and the wound reopens and hurts more than you remember.

What things trigger your memories? For me it is music or scents. A song will come on and if there is a memory associated with it – good or bad – it comes flooding back. The same thing can be said for scents. A whiff of something I’ve smelled before and where I was or who I was with usually invades my thoughts. Strangely enough, no music or scents are really associated with one old wound… The loss of our dog, Rusty, last year. However, having our new pup around triggers good memories… Which sometimes makes me sad.

Along the same lines, I am ~~producing~~ creating an iMovie called “A Decade of ( child’s name)” for her birthday which is in a few months. It is unbelievable that I’ve been a mom for almost 10 years. Scary, really. It is really hard for me to remember how she was at 2 years old… Thank goodness for old pictures and movies. Too bad the quality wasn’t great… Or that most of the early years are on those small 8 mm cassettes. (I remember those being so cool! The latest modern technology. Speaking of technology… I am trying out writing this on my new iPad2! Woot!) hopefully the movie turns out great and it will be something she watches many times. I am hoping to also make her a baby book. There are a few old albums that I started with baby pics, but it ends after everything went digital. I’m going to scan the old pics and make an online book to print. Besides that, what do you buy a 10 year old???

Matching vests… with Grampy.

Super Mom, uh-huh

halfmyheart — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:13:10 +0000

Not to toot my own horn, but I pretty much “did it all” the other day. Scene.

Wake up, make school lunches, substitute teach half day, pass child in hallway who exclaims “my ear hurts”, takes child to doctor, gets antibiotic, flea bomb the entire house, take dog and child to pick up sister-in-law and drive to the airport… and arrive home by 4:15 to make dinner.

End Scene.

I realize that it has been a few months since my last post. Not only did I get so overwhelmed by the school year, but then the holiday’s happened… and fleas. Yes, poor sweet mini golden pup attracted fleas, six weeks ago. After many – every two week applications of back and forth Frontline to Advantage doses, Capstar instant kill pills and flea bombing the house for the 3rd time… I’m hoping we are done. I mean, each time we will be flea free for a week or so and then BAM, another population of fleas is born. The vet blames the unusual warm weather and claims that 50% of her clients are having flea issues. Not only do I have to spray the furniture, carpets, baseboards and bedding with flea spray, but then after we arrive back home 3 hours later, I have to wash, mop and vacuum it all. It is a pain. We are all itchy. I take two showers a day because I can’t get rid of “that feeling”.

Speaking of the cute little mini golden pup – he loves our Christmas tree ornaments. This is his first Christmas. He slept through the tree trimming – didn’t seem phased by it at all… then suddenly the next day he seemed surprised that a tree was in our house with a ton of nice goodies for him to eat. At first he was only interested in the round ones – why are all these balls on the tree? After those were gone or put up high, it was time to grab anything within reach. Maybe mommy won’t notice if I hide behind this chair with it. Chomp Chomp. I have placed a container with coins in it next to the tree – so if I catch the ornament thief near the tree, I can shake it. So far this has not discouraged him to steal a shiny treat when I’m not in the room.

In other news, today is “Polar Express” day at school. The kids get to wear their pajama’s to school and towards the end of the day they will watch the movie and have hot chocolate. Somehow, I had a lapse in reasoning and volunteered myself to make 3 gallons of hot chocolate. I bet I will look cute lugging the huge gatorade container in to school.

Lunch Time

halfmyheart — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:24:02 +0000

Life. I exist because the Lord made me, in His image to glorify and worship Him.

My calling is to be a great wife and mother, which I strive to do everyday. I figure out my faults and work on doing better. I pray for my marriage, my kids health and for their future husbands. I look for ways to help others, like tomorrow I am taking dinner to a friend that just had a baby. I feel like my every move is me – trying harder to be more like Jesus. Yet, I fail.

I’m only human. After all.

Well that doesn’t seem like a good excuse to fail.

I have hobbies… passions, just like the next Joe. Some of these passions include singing, writing and graphic arts. I also like to volunteer my time at the elementary school. I join teams or book clubs because I like to. No one is forcing me to sing on the worship team at church. No one forces me to read a book and then talk about it with a group of girls over wine. I DO because I WANT.

I volunteer because I am using my time and talents to serve others. I go to serve because I like to help out. No one told me that I had to volunteer. I DO because I WANT.

———————————————–

The other day I witnessed something. A cute, sweet little girl came up to my daughter, put her arm around her and proclaimed, “You WILL sit next to me at lunch.” My daughter, being a bit shy and sweet herself replied, “I would like to sit with Judy today. I sat with you every day this year so far.” To which the little girl replied, “No, you are sitting with me!” … and so she did. She also cried about it later.

There are many forms of bullying. Some know they are doing it, some do not. How might we solve an issue like this? A sweet little girl telling others what to do… I am at a loss.

————————————————

I leave you with a funny:

The whole point in writing songs is to publish them… my daughter, age 7 brought a handful of papers to me the other night. It was pages of words that she had written. She was glowing and a bit embarrassed for me to read them. She claimed that it was a bunch of silly, crazy songs that she had made up – but maybe she should just throw them away – quick!… because after all, The whole point in writing songs is to publish them – and these are waaayyyy to silly to publish.

How can I keep from singing Your Name? I am loved by the King and it makes my heart - want to sing

Funny bones…

halfmyheart — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:54:47 +0000

The funny part about funny bones is nothing. I mean really, who came up with that?

Instead of harping on all that has happened in the last two weeks (earthquake, hurricanes, flooding), I am going to share a few funnies.

Remember Rusty? Our old faithful one eyed Golden Retriever who wouldn’t walk over grates. I love how dogs have quirks. Sammy, our 8 month old pup is not afraid of much. He sat with us on the Fourth of July to watch fireworks – unfazed. He walks over grates or other obstructions without hesitating. Thunder is his friend. However, Sammy will not go up or downstairs at our house. It is not that he dislikes stairs, he has gone up and down plenty of them that are outside… but it is something about the carpet (texture?) that he doesn’t like. He has made it upstairs a few times (when he was little enough to still squeeze himself on the hardwood part of the stairs) and then proceeded to either chew up kids toys or pee… so, I’m fine with the fact that he has a carpet aversion.

another Sammy quirk...

My kids think they are comedians. So much so that both of them can recite entire sets of Brian Regan. In fact, if you were a fly on the wall at our house, you would frequently hear conversations where each person replies with a line or two from a set. Just this morning as husband was leaving for work, the following conversation took place:

Husband: “Bye guys, have a good day.”
Kids: “You too!”
Husband: “Take Luck”
Kids: “Take care of the luck you might have…”

Okay – so it is only funny if you have listened to BR…

What I think is funny is when my little comedians come up with their own material. Whether it is funny or not – it is pretty cute when they think what they said was a winner.

In other news… did I mention that the youngest finally learned how to ride her bike sans training wheels? Hooo Weee, what a day.

husband running with 7 year old…

… and we finally bought a tree to place Rusty under…

goodbye friend...

oh yeah, and the first day of school…

do I really have a 4th and 2nd grader?

and for the fun of it… an easy, yummy recipe that I made up:

White bean and Black bean (or half and half) Soup:

2 cans Cannelli beans
1 clove garlic
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/2 and 1/2 (about a 1/2 of a cup)

blend, heat

1 can black beans
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/2 and 1/2 (about 1/2 a cup)

blend, add some sweet corn, heat

Ladle white bean on one side of the bowl and black bean on the other side of the bowl to create the half and half look… eat.

Little Women

halfmyheart — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:02:24 +0000

My number one calling in life is to raise little women of faith.

It’s hard, children that believe in tooth fairies and Santa Claus. I mean, I’ve tried to explain that Santa was a person named St. Nick – who was a good man that gave presents to children. They get that… but… yet. The other day I actually overheard a conversation with the girls and their friends. It was about the tooth fairy and it sounded like this: “The tooth fairy is a small little fairy that comes and brings you money and takes your teeth.” ”Really? because I always assumed that it was just my mom since the tooth fairy is always late or forgets.” ”Oh no, the tooth fairy is really a scary monster that loves to steal teeth, but then feels guilty for taking them and that’s why he leaves you money!”

The Easter bunny is an easy one. Maybe. My 9 year old exclaimed about two years ago that it was really creepy for a grown man to dress up as a bunny and break into our houses, just to give them candy. I was like… um, yeah… that IS creepy. So again… where does that leave us? Do you have faith in him or are you just trusting this grown man to not steal anything in our house?

When the kids and I talk about Jesus and salvation, they can tell me that they have a personal relationship with Jesus and that they believe He died on the cross for our sins so that we might live in heaven with Him forever when we die. We have had discussions about “the body and the blood” (communion) and why they represent what they do and how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross (the shedding of his blood) was what he did (die) for us so that we might have a life with Him (in heaven). Whew. They understand and yet, they don’t. They are only 7 and 9 years old. I can only keep reading to them, discussing with them and praying for them (and with them).

It is my calling.

A walk to remember

halfmyheart — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:33:22 +0000

There were days, the past four months to be exact, that I loved walking with you. I trained you to heal at my side or at my heal. You were a good little pup that listened well. I decided to start jogging with you, pick up the pace a bit and at first, you were hesitant. You lagged behind a bit, but after many days of encouraging words from me, you started to trot at my side. Then one day last week, you decided to sniff. Something clicked in your little brain that you were now the Alpha and at any passing moment you can stop completely or charge ahead. We will be running a nice pace when all of the sudden you plant all fours in a stand still just to sniff someone’s grass. Then, like nothing happened at all, you will bolt forward, glancing back at me – your eyes saying, “come on human, I thought we were jogging?” Sigh.

yeah, I've got it made

Sour Grapes

halfmyheart — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:10:50 +0000

I’ve been thinking of starting a book club. I love to read but often felt that if I joined a book club then I’d have to give in to the current book the club was reading and then have to make time to discuss it. I know, so petty. I am a spur of the moment reader. I see a book that looks good, feels good (yes, sometimes texture matters) and the summary has to grab me.

Anyway, I finally decided that a club that discussed books AND wine was the club choice for me. I am no connoisseur, I just love wine… especially reds. I would love to say that I know the difference of a three year old cabernet sauvignon to a day old pinot noir, but atlas, I digress.

I’ve been playing with some club names that I think are witty… let me know what you think! I’ve picked one, which I will list last…

Reading between the wines

Grapes for thought

Winey women book club

As the page turns

A novel idea

At second glance

The book case

Wine by the book

Chapter One

And… dun, dun, dun –dun: The Book Vine

My 9 year old even designed a logo for me. (She also picked a club name, Wine stop reading? – good eh?)