Discovering my gentle little girl knows exactly how, and delights in, playing with dolls.
The solitary walk I was able to enjoy.
Holding my two year old during the only moments in the day that he can sit still; just after waking up from his nap.
Starting a homemade washcloth.
Finding myself in that familiar place; my kitchen, with a little one in my arms. Were we dancing? We often are.
A little note of explaination to the few folks who may have seen my vanishing blog entry yesterday; I took it down because it made me uncomfortable. I felt like I shared something too personal to explain properly. ((hugs))
Something I will be looking forward to today: Rich said this morning, “It’s way too hot for you to cook dinner tonight so I’m taking you out. A jean skirt would be nice. Not too long. And a tank top with a pony tail. I wouldn’t even mind if you went shopping today. I’ll look forward to seeing you later.”
Mind you, he didn’t say these things as rapidly as I just typed them. There were many thoughtful pauses in between each sentence. And one other request that I can’t publish. The meaning is clear: He loves me. And I am blessed,
happy,
thankful,
overwhelmed much of the time,
but so grateful for this stage in life which is teaching me so very much.
I would just love it if you would maybe *pretty please* share a special little moment from your week, for us all to read and smile over, in the comments section.
Good to be Home 
ah Shanda….i completely get taking down a post cuz it felt too personal…but, if it helps to know that one of the ones who read it and commented, thought about it off and on all day and it was not only a blessing, but a challenge to me because of my own walk right now.i think i’m gonna do a ‘this moment’ post later on today thanks to your inspiration. =)((hugs!!))♥
Last night, at bedtime, my 4yr old son had a book on Ancient Greek Armies. He was looking at the pictures, picking out weapons, armor, horses etc for himself and for me. When he’d get to a page with the picture of a battle on it, he’d pretend to fight it out. He was just so happy/content with life and having so much fun with the book. I felt like it was a moment frozen in time.
Asking my husband what he wanted for supper and he suggested going out! 🙂 It was just a”order at the counter”restaurant but it was a sweet time to reconnect after a busy week.
3 moments:Watching, staring, and smooching up my happy 7 month old. Enjoying every moment with her.Watching my kids outside determined to learn how to ride their bikes. “I am not going to stop ever, till I get this” one said. Then one coming in and excited “mommy, I did it! I can ride my bike all by myself!” A big accomplishment since she has been waiting since last year to learn how to ride her bike!and finally —Laying in bed sleeping but hearing my husband come into bed late telling me very sweetly “I love you.” I could feel his heart with his words that he expressed!
I had taken my Sweet Mama, my daughter and my grandbaby to the mall on Wednesday, a quick stop for lunch at Chick-fil-a, and to pick up soap at Bath and Body Works and then into Yankee Candle for a quick perusal and coupon use. Sweet Mama was waiting outside the door on the main drag of the mall and one of my Precious Daddy’s remaining brothers (there are only three of the eight) just happened to be passing by. She told him that I was in Yankee Candle, and he came in to say “hi”. I hugged his neck and it felt a little bit like I was hugging my Daddy. I saw my Daddy’s eyes behind his glasses, and for just a moment, the thing that has been the most “wrong” with my world for five and half years felt almost suspended. And then he was gone, and my life was real again. And while I was typing this, your play list song of Kathryn Scott’s was playing that said, “Nothing can can take me from your great love — I belong to YOU!” and this created a second breath taking moment, because even as I sit here with tears drenching my house coat, I am reminded of my Heavenly Father, and that NOTHING can separate me from HIS GREAT LOVE!!! ” . . . no pain or death or sorrow, not weakness, nor failure, no broken dream or promise, Nothing can take me from YOUR great love. . .”Thank you, Shanda-girl. Love you!
Lots of special moments with my Texas daughter visiting and her sisters and brothers coming over to see her.
Morning Shanda…….A special moment was picking the first five of my yellow cherry tomatoes…so satisfying….thankful for the Sun and Rain that helped me grow them…..every morning a Special moment when I read your Blog…….Have a blessed and above all a HAPPY, HAPPY Weekend….Brenda
Our oldest daughter (who lives here, but is always busy) came with our granddaughter (Sunday afternoon) and stayed (spent the night) for several days. She took her little sisters (my 3 youngest daughters) swimming at her apartment pool (Wednesday) and brought them back for dinner. She and JanaLyn left here after dinner Wednesday night. I gave her a hug and told her it felt like she had flown in from a different state and we had to catch up on each others lives!!!!! We talked and talked and talked . . . ! LOL! We talked about God & churches. We talked about relationships with guys AND girlfriends. We talked about movies. We talked about how to get red juice stains out of a white t-shirt. We talked about clothes (she went through my closet and ooohed and aaaaaahed) and she tried on different combinations from my closet. We even sat in the big master bathroom (me sitting in front of my make up mirror) and experimented with make up! When she went home, I felt like I was 28yo instead of 58yo!!!!
I really enjoy how you find the goodness(es :)) in the middle of busyness. It helps remind me to do the same. My moment for this week was staring joyfully in the eyes of my baby girl and marveling yet again at this creation called a daughter. Such a sweet sweet blessing. (And so are her three brothers, too – but yesterday I was specifically appreciating her. :))
Such a sweet husband you have. =) I love surprises like that…and requests for certain clothes and other special things not to be published. 😉 It does make a wife feel loved and blessed.You are a very blessed woman. Love the picture of you and Seth…it’s so cute. I have had lots of wonderful moments this week. One that especially stands out is making up silly songs with my daughters and laughing and laughing at our lyrics.Happy Weekend to you. =)
A special moment this week for me was that our oldest daughter who lives out of state sent us a text message telling us she loved us.
Finding the first few ripe strawberries, and eating them right there- all warm from the sun. Sunshine and feeling HOT here in AK. Feeling whimsical one day and putting my hair in two braids, then having my husband tell me he liked my hair that way (I’ve had a few more “braid” days since then 😉 ). Having special friends here to visit and making yummy food for them. Getting up before everyone else, and making your muffin recipe with fresh blueberries. Love you, Shan!
this might sound silly….but it was a fun moment in my week. Living in a small town has it’s advantages, and one of them is that the local post office staff treat me as a friend. So I went in to retrieve my mail from my little box one day this week…the box is located third from the bottom. I didn’t bend over to look in on this day. I simply unlocked the little door, and reached in for my mail. Just that quick, my sweet postman reached his hand out from the back side of the box & grabbed my hand!! He had seen me coming in the door and “surprised ” me…as well as the other customers who heard my screech. What a fun little trick on an otherwise average day!! (o:
A wonderful trip with my husband ALONE!! We waited four years for that little trip and it was WONDERFUL. The sun, sand and his arms. SIGH. Coming home is always nice as well. It was very refreshing and a huge blessing. Gina G.
Sounds like you’ve got a good man there! My special moment this week was discovering a new book that I love to read to my 5-month old son. It’s called “The Night You Were Born,” and I highly recommend it!
You’re so blessed. 🙂 A special moment this week: the kids and I skipped church Wednesday night and went to Fuddruckers. We sat at the table for over two hours- giggling, talking, making plans and did I mention giggling. 🙂 It was a nice “down” time and refueling on eachother. :)Jakey this week asked me to make him a paper airplane. I later saw it in his top drawer with “made by mom” written on it as if it’s a special keepsake. It kinda made me teary eyed. ;)Earlier this week Mike brought me a pile of old children’s books. He said “You’ve never told me that you like old childrens books, but I noticed a lot of them on your bookcase and being as they were titles I recognized from childhood, I figured they were yours and not the kids.” Just the thoughtfulness was a happy, warm fuzzy. 😉
ohhh what a blessed time of loving on by your husband. I am glad to hear that you and RIch communicate on things like that…that he lets you know that he finds you attractive but then shares what he might like you to wear to a special occasion so you aren’t worried not knowing how to dress for the surprise. love the moments of you with Seth. so hard to believe he’s getting soooo big. wow…what a cute little man. while i haven’t had kids of my own i have many friends who have them and some of my fav moments are when kids are just waking up…are still a bit cuddly and just have that softness on their face. look at little miss Sarah playing with dolls almost as big as her, i can just imagine her carrying them around with her 😉 i missed your disappearing post…but I know that sometimes i write things and i’m not sure that i want others to read them…and sometimes i wonder if i should have shared things. Whether you choose to share a moment or not, is your perogative…know that you are in my prayer sand thoughts regardless. love you.
I had a special unexpected time with my three older grandchildren along with my dear mother-in-law who did not have air conditioning in her room at her assisted living. It was so sweet seeing my 3 grandchildren loving on her and including her in conversations. She is 94 and they are 9,10,11. Had special time of teaching my 9 year old grandaughter how to make cornbread and doing some baking in the kitchen. She made us pudding for dessert! We have recently become an empty nest and God has given me great, wonderful times to focus on my sweet children’s children. My husband and I have wonderful times together and are enjoying our new phase! God has blessed me immensely. Thank you, Shanda, for being so real!
Lovely sweet post with your little lovies, and so obvious your hubby loves you! I love seeing you holding Seth, and your BABY playing so lovingly with her babies!I had lots of sweet moments with my big kids here this week, but I savor the moments Bob and I had last night when he got home. He was so tired with a late night, early morning and estate business with his brother on top of his job. I told him to take a nap while I made dinner, but we sat and quietly talked for about half an hour, and he said that was sweet rest for him.
I enjoyed a re-connecting time with my husband this past week…we took a run together. I’ve just recently started running (he’s been running for a while) and it was fun and energizing to exercise together. We were able to tease, talk a little smack, just talk and encourage one another. Fun! Shanda, I’ve been enjoying your blog for some time now and just love the simple and REAL way that you view your family and life in general.
My special moment this week i would have to say is taking the kids down to the Lake to cool off after dinner, but wait!Thats not JUST it. Shortly after we got there EVERYONE had left and it was so peaceful just the kids and I and the entire Lake to ourselves! Now THATS what I’m talking about! 😉
Love this post and the way Rich communicates himself to you…My moment(s) of the week:*hearing the Lord speak to me regarding an area of my life that needs deliberate attention…*sipping smoothies in the yard swing with our girls…talking…laughing…sharing…Thank you for who you are and the way you share your heart! Hope you enjoyed the time with Your Man!:o)www.simpleandsurrendered.blogspot.com
Best part of this week for me was after a very stressful day went outside to turn the water off in the garden just after sunset and there were fireflies everywhere! Called all the kiddo’s outside and just stood there watching the night for all the bright little pops of glow! Perfect way to just unwind!Have a wonderful date night lucky lady!
I was able to SKYPE with my two year old grandson yesterday. Hearing him say, “AYE UV U, GAMMA!” was wonderful!
What a lovely blog! There is such a sweet spirit about it! I will definitely be back (seen on Rachel’s [foreveranaotneygirl] blog as inspired by you]!A sweet memory from the week… has yet to happen. 🙂 My husband informed me last night that he is giving me the day off today, and so after some food prep for company for Sunday lunch, I will be off. I giddy with excitement! As much as I adore my family, there is something about solitude that refreshes my soul like nothing else.
For us it was our first trip to a restaurant with all three children to find some relief from the skeltering heat. It was wonderful and the place perfect for our family. Simple food, wonderful waiter and the knowing that-hey we can do this occasionally-was a wonderful way to end what was becoming a miserable day!
What a sweet picture of Sarah playing with the dolls:) We got a puppy last night so that is the memory of our week:)
My moment: The family and I went to a friend’s BBQ this past Saturday and while I was inside socializing with the girls and he was outside with the guys he sent me a text message that said, ” Hi baby, I love you….you are sexy.” I felt like a giddy school girl responding and then later walking outside and catching his eye…knowingly 🙂
So sweet! You have a good man there Shanda! My moment for sure, was getting an envelope in the mail and waiting ALL day until all the chores were done before I allowed myself to see what was in it, and it did not dissapoint! I showed Steve and kept saying “Do you see why I love her?”
I haven’t been on xanga in awhile so I am happy to be back and come to my favorite blog…YOURS! And read what you have been up too. I am having a very rough week this week and when I clicked on this enty “Blessings” came on and I am sitting here in tears knowing it was God’s little way to minister to my heart. I love the picture of your little one with the dolls. So sweet. I look forward to catching up with your blog life 🙂
@ErinLynae – You are so sweet to me. Yes, that song is such an encouragment! Thanks, friend!