52 linked: trees

We could learn a lot from trees if we took the time to really just look at how they live.

 About holding on and letting go. They let go of the old and dead. And grow anew just when the timing is just right.

About branching out when need be.

And giving-in to the wind and rain.

And turning towards the sun to soak up all of its glory.

We live on a greenbelt with several huge maples. The leaves are tiny now but will soon be huge. I think there is nothing quite as nice as watching the leaves twist and turn as a warm summer breeze blows through. And the sound is so calming. Max used to sit mesmerized by those trees when he was a baby.

The grand maple in our greenbelt. You can see more of her here and here and here.

52 Linked 2012 A new theme every week.

A few other friends are joining-in on the adventure.

Please stop by and see their interpretations of our word of the week.

Michelle, Tracey, Stacey, Heather, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Amanda, Kristin, Sara, Tracy, Lesli, Janet, Naomi, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Heidi, Kristin, Heather, Amy, Liza, and Veronica.

a little mid-week random & a selfie.

Some songs I'm loving right now: There Will Be a Day, The Hurt and the Healer, My Hope is in You (this one made me cry. Music videos are supposed to have happy endings!)

Don't look at blog statistics. Ever. Never ever. Just a bad idea.

There are only 11 days of preschool left this year. Eleven. Better start planning some activities for the summer. Summer always frightens me a bit.

Have you seen Ellen's Dance Dares? This one with Sean Hayes is my favorite.

Currently reading this book, Boundaries, for Bible Study. I am learning that I'm a fairly boundary-less person. Not good.

I love this article about projecting into the silence. I project so, SO much into the unanswered email or text. What do you project?

I really liked this Shutter Sisters article as well.

I've been really into black and white lately. I think it's partly because I have not been happy with my color edits, and they just look too busy with all of that color. But all of that black and white is kinda drab, huh?...

Been working on a Couch to 5k running program. I kind of like it. Makes the days I have to get a run in a little less daunting feeling. Already have plans to do the Couch to 10k program!

I would enjoy warm, sunny weather much more if there were no bees and wasps in the world. Scared to death people. Crazy scared. It's really dumb. And I look really foolish running from and batting at that bee or wasp. (And yes, I realize we need them both...)

Selfie taken a few weeks ago at the in-laws while we were in Seattle for spring break.

So much more to say, but my brain is in a fog this morning.

the men.

Two men...

just talking about sprinklers on a sunny, warm evening.

(Did I mention is was sunny and in the 80s here over the weekend?)

the sammy story.

So, back in January Max came home from preschool with a bright green (his favorite color) flyer in his backpack. It had information about a pet adoption event going on at one of the Petcos in Vancouver. We set it aside and planned to check it out. The week before we went to Petco I had been looking at dogs online. They were all cute, and some were older which kind of tugged at my heart. I realized after some time spent looking that I was trying to find a Maggie among those dogs. I knew my thinking was silly. Maggie was Maggie and no other dog would ever take her place. But she was my first dog and I couldn't imagine loving another dog as much as I loved my sweet Maggie. But I really wanted to find a dog with all of Maggie's wonderful characteristics - sweet, quiet, loving, always wanting to be with people. I suppose it's a bit hard to describe.

The adoption event day came and I went to check it out while Eric took Max to his sports class. I was sure I wouldn't find the right dog there, and was pretty sure it would be all old dogs, since those are the dogs that most need adopting. I walked in, past the Chihuahua puppies (super cute, but we wanted a big dog) and headed straight to a group of dogs in a little fenced off area. And there she was. So sweet and quiet among all the other barking dogs. I was a little afraid someone else would claim her, so they got her out and on a leash for me and I waited for Eric and Max to come. It was a bit like hovering over an item at a silent auction. You kind of want to stake your claim. I sat down and Sammy sat right in my lap. And to make a long story a little shorter - Eric and Max showed up, agreed I'd found a good little girl and we took her home.

A few things about Sammy: She came from California two days prior to the adoption event and was given the name Christina. But we didn't think Christina was much of a dog name, so we changed it to Sammy. When I took her to the vet the next week he figured she was about 6 months old based on looking at her teeth.Which would make her about 8 months now. She's black and tan, and if you mixed that up I'm pretty sure she'd be a brindle color similar to Maggie. She's a jumper. As in she can jump straight up and kiss you on the nose in a flash. She has a couple of cat-like qualities - like scurrying up the stairs, into our room and under our bed. She also likes to pounce on her toys. She's a barker. And a loud one at that. Or maybe I was just so used to Maggie never really barking at anything, I don't know. She's an angel when "dad" is around. Not so much when he's gone during the day. (What is it with my kids not behaving for me?) She's pretty calm for a puppy. Maggie wasn't this calm till she was five or six.

Last but not least, she's just really sweet.

It's really nice having a dog back in the house again. After a long and lonely six months without Maggie, our family feels complete again. And I have no doubt Maggie had a hand in sending Sammy our way. She's still looking out for us from God's doggie park.

52 linked: growth

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.

Henry Miller

The closer I get to forty, the less content I am to live a life that is "fine." I had never really given it much thought until when asked how my life (in general) was I replied, "It's fine." And this new friend said, "Fine is no way to live a life." She has a point. Fine is okay, but I long for more. I crave more. There is a place deep down inside that longs for something bigger. I don't know what that something bigger is supposed to look like or feel like. I do know that I need to take the time to really listen to the whispers in my ear. I do know that growth requires a willingness to give-up the thoughts and actions that are no longer working for me to make way for what's to come. I do know that I need to spend more time in prayer. And I do know He will be right there with me as I take those steps into the dark unknown.

52 Linked 2012 A new theme every week.

A few other friends are joining-in on the adventure.

Please stop by and see their interpretations of our word of the week.

Michelle, Tracey, Stacey, Heather, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Amanda, Kristin, Sara, Tracy, Lesli, Janet, Naomi, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Heidi, Kristin, Heather, Amy, Liza, and Veronica.

52 linked: work.

Work. (Long post ahead. You've been warned.)

So many thoughts on work - the work I used to do, the work I currently do at home, and the work I will do again someday when I go back out into the workforce.

The work I used to do  - I earned a BA and an MA only to end-up working a string of admin jobs I wasn't happy with. And I do know that someday when I go back to the work world I will not go back to being an admin. As Bush would say, "Not gonna do it." I served my time as an admin answering phones and making copies.

The work I currently do - I'm a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) I am so very lucky to be able to stay home with Max, especially during these early, formative years. My mother stayed home with my brother and me, and I can't imagine my childhood any differently. I knew I wanted that for my child even before I was pregnant. Being home all day, everyday, and working 24/7 is tough. Toughest job I've ever had. Hands down. I struggle with being a SAHM. I won't lie. After my maternity leave, I went back to work for a little over a month and then quit to stay home. I was 99% sure I was going to stay home, but I needed to go back just to be sure. I needed to try doing double duty before I just left the work world. Part of me wishes I had just kept working. Or at least found something part-time. I miss the intellectual stimulation. A ton. I don't miss the work, but I miss really using my brain. I don't mean to say SAHMs don't use their brains. No way. We use our brains alright! We are always "on."  But I think you all know what I mean. I long for challenge and deadlines and meetings. My mom was a SAHM who slowly earned her BA in Business over an eight year time-frame. Then she found a job when I was in Junior High and worked until I was finished with my MA. I remember her telling me that she loved staying home with us kids, but that there was something differently rewarding about being part of the workforce; about being part of something "bigger". It was a "something" that was worlds apart from the work of nurturing and teaching little ones. I get that now. I can't put it into words, but I now know exactly what she was talking about. Don't get me wrong though - I know I made the right choice staying home with Max. I can't imagine any of it playing out any differently really, even though I day-dream about what it might have looked like if I had kept working. I know my limits, and trying to balance a family and working outside the home would have put me over the edge. 

I love my job. I love waking-up to my Max alarm clock. I love that I got to see most of his "first" in life. I love that I've been able to watch him grow and learn on a daily basis. I love that because I've been there every day, he knows he can always count on me. I even love that he comes to get me in the middle of the night (even though it drives me CRAZY!!) I love that I know him better than anyone else because of all of the time we've spent together.

The work I will do again someday - My dream would be to go back to school and get a degree in "fill-in-the-blank" once Max is in school full-time. Pharmacy tech? Nursing? Phlebotomy?...I don't know for sure. I know I've always been fascinated by the medical world. If there was a way to write any college paper about something in the medical world, I did it. My Master's Thesis was all about the emotion management of medical students and how that shapes the doctor-patient relationship. (Want to read a copy of that bad-boy just let me know and I'll mail you a copy!) And then at some point I would like to be working again, doing something that intrigues me. I want to be one of those people who loves what they do. I don't mean in the sense that you love going to work each and everyday, and the long hours. But the person who really is passionate about what they are doing. My husband is a good example. He works construction (construction management) and loves that he gets to build things. He's built bridges, and marine facilities, and now light-rail. Sure, the long hours and endless meetings and changing deadlines and travel get to him, but he honestly loves what he does. (He just wishes he didn't have to work the long hours.) That's a rarity these days.

But right now all that really matters to me is that I love what I do now. I never really refer it as "work" because it isn't really (even though people always remind me that I actually do work when I mention that I don't work.) 

Being a mom or a dad isn't a "job." It's not just a series of tasks to be checked off a list: dinner - check. bath - check. teeth brushed - check. diaper changed - check.

Being a mom is the privilege of a lifetime. It's an experience that will last a lifetime if you really lean into it and absorb it all - good and bad.

Being a mom is like love at first sight every.single.day.

52 Linked 2012 A new theme every week.

A few other friends are joining-in on the adventure.

Please stop by and see their interpretations of our word of the week.

Michelle, Tracey, Stacey, Heather, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Amanda, Kristin, Sara, Tracy, Lesli, Janet, Naomi, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Heidi, Kristin, Heather, Amy, Liza, and Veronica.