So today, we're getting ready to leave for NY to visit my brother. Just for a short time. I needed to water the plants and flowers so they wouldn't be keeled over when we return. Nathanael (that's what we've decided on for now--not James anymore!) loves to water the flowers. He does a pretty good job for a little guy who's destroyed these same flowers he now wants to care for.
I decided to cut the red gerbera daisies on the front porch and bring them in because they don't last too long without water. In fact, they look like me at the end of the day, wilted and bent over, if they aren't watered enough. It's interesting how God has made all of his creation the same...we all bend over when we can't go on without refreshment. hmmmmm
So, we brought the daisies in and put them in some nice cool water and placed the vase on the mantle. Nathanael excitedly jumped up on the couch and invited me, "Good! Now let's sit here together and watch them grow!" That sounded like the nicest invitation I had received in a while.
As we sat there cuddling and looking at the five slightly wilted daisies, I thought, if this is so satisfying here on Earth, to cuddle with my floppy, blond-haired, doe-eyed three-year-old watching wilted daisies "grow", how much more satisfying could heaven be? Where things don't die, but grow, and boys like to spend time just sitting with their moms? Where we have the time to just be and watch flowers grow and listen to the breath of our loved ones?
This was a small taste of heaven. And I hope I can slow down enough to watch more flowers grow.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Why I've been quiet....crickets, crickets
Hi, the two people that read this!
I've been quiet because.....my brain is somewhere in a box in the teeny garage/storage space that we have in the home. When I come across a time that I need it, I'll dig it out of the garage. For now, I've not needed a brain so much as two arms and legs, hands and feet! Taking care of my boys and my home are sucking up the time. And now, I'm doing teacher training for yoga! So, here's an excerpt of what I've been doing in my not-so-free time.
As an arm-balance and inversion acrobat, Kathryn Budig leaves most with the impression that she had to have a background in dance or gymnastics. She has neither. What she does have is joyful fearlessness which allows her to achieve amazing feats in her practice. "You have to get comfortable with falling down and failure," she points out. "You can only balance once you're okay with the fall."
Growing up in Lawrence, KS and Princeton, NJ, Kathryn was in school at the University of Virginia-Charlottesville when she first began practicing Ashtanga yoga. After graduating with a BA in English and Drama, Kathryn left for LA in 2004 to further her acting career. She then began a yoga teacher training course with Chuck Miller and her mentor, Maty Ezraty, at Yogaworks in Santa Monica, CA. Yogaworks soon hired her and she was one of the youngest instructors on their roll.
In recent years, Kathryn has been featured in publications such as Yoga Journal, Yogi Times, LA Metro, E! Entertainment, 'Y Yoga' a documentary film, and is the health expert for Quarterlife.com and Yogamates teacher/writer for Yogamates.com. She is the co-founder with Jesse Schein of 'Poses for Paws', an organization dedicated towards raising money for animal shelters through yoga. Kathryn classes are also available at Yogichocolate.com, Monthlyyogadvd.com, yogavibes.com and through Yoga Journal's DVD Yoga Therapeutics.
Her reputation has grown as a playful instructor who made arm balances and inversions accessible to everyone. Through her light and encouraging teaching style, she emphasizes the importance and ease of laughter. In teaching arm balances, she starts the students off slowly and brings laughter into the class. She points out that once the atmosphere in the class is supportive and lighthearted, the students find the poses ten times easier.
As a fellow fear junkie, I find her teaching style and philosophies inspiring. Fear can stop us from all the good we are meant to do and she uses the small examples of arm balances and inversion poses to push her students past their fears and into great potential. In an article for the Huffington Post, Budig writes:
"The yoga mat serves as a five-star rehabilitation center--with the added benefit of being mobile, personal and paparazzi-free. The yoga postures, or asanas, act as tools to harvest fear, stare it directly in its ugly face and realize you're stronger than the monster you've let grip you.
I often use arm balance and inversion work in my teachings specifically for this reason. These beautiful postures inspire and intimidate students. With an emphasis on the intimidation--at least at first.
'Oh, no. I can't do that pose,' they'll say. 'My body couldn't possibly do that.'
Of course, this is said before the pose is even attempted. The power behind that negative comment is extremely potent. When you tell yourself you can't do something--guess what? You won't. You've immediately weighed yourself down with the mental baggage of disbelief. Fear to attempt in fear that you'll fall. This leaves us stagnant and void of faith.
But yoga teaches us to say:
'You know, I've never tried this pose before. Even the thought challenges me, but the prospect is thrilling. I'm going to give it a go.'"
Failing and falling until you can stand in faith--that sounds like my walk with God. I'm ready to go try some handstands.
Bibliography
http://kathrynbudig.com/press.php
http://www.yogaworks.com/our_programs/instructor_bio.aspx?tid=67
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathryn-budig/fearless-flyer-a-lesson-i_b_515658.html?show_comment_id=44185956
http://www.yogajournal.com/podcast/
Hope to write more soon! Right now, there's an awesome thunderstorm that my boys are begging me to see......awesome.
I've been quiet because.....my brain is somewhere in a box in the teeny garage/storage space that we have in the home. When I come across a time that I need it, I'll dig it out of the garage. For now, I've not needed a brain so much as two arms and legs, hands and feet! Taking care of my boys and my home are sucking up the time. And now, I'm doing teacher training for yoga! So, here's an excerpt of what I've been doing in my not-so-free time.
As an arm-balance and inversion acrobat, Kathryn Budig leaves most with the impression that she had to have a background in dance or gymnastics. She has neither. What she does have is joyful fearlessness which allows her to achieve amazing feats in her practice. "You have to get comfortable with falling down and failure," she points out. "You can only balance once you're okay with the fall."
Growing up in Lawrence, KS and Princeton, NJ, Kathryn was in school at the University of Virginia-Charlottesville when she first began practicing Ashtanga yoga. After graduating with a BA in English and Drama, Kathryn left for LA in 2004 to further her acting career. She then began a yoga teacher training course with Chuck Miller and her mentor, Maty Ezraty, at Yogaworks in Santa Monica, CA. Yogaworks soon hired her and she was one of the youngest instructors on their roll.
In recent years, Kathryn has been featured in publications such as Yoga Journal, Yogi Times, LA Metro, E! Entertainment, 'Y Yoga' a documentary film, and is the health expert for Quarterlife.com and Yogamates teacher/writer for Yogamates.com. She is the co-founder with Jesse Schein of 'Poses for Paws', an organization dedicated towards raising money for animal shelters through yoga. Kathryn classes are also available at Yogichocolate.com, Monthlyyogadvd.com, yogavibes.com and through Yoga Journal's DVD Yoga Therapeutics.
Her reputation has grown as a playful instructor who made arm balances and inversions accessible to everyone. Through her light and encouraging teaching style, she emphasizes the importance and ease of laughter. In teaching arm balances, she starts the students off slowly and brings laughter into the class. She points out that once the atmosphere in the class is supportive and lighthearted, the students find the poses ten times easier.
As a fellow fear junkie, I find her teaching style and philosophies inspiring. Fear can stop us from all the good we are meant to do and she uses the small examples of arm balances and inversion poses to push her students past their fears and into great potential. In an article for the Huffington Post, Budig writes:
"The yoga mat serves as a five-star rehabilitation center--with the added benefit of being mobile, personal and paparazzi-free. The yoga postures, or asanas, act as tools to harvest fear, stare it directly in its ugly face and realize you're stronger than the monster you've let grip you.
I often use arm balance and inversion work in my teachings specifically for this reason. These beautiful postures inspire and intimidate students. With an emphasis on the intimidation--at least at first.
'Oh, no. I can't do that pose,' they'll say. 'My body couldn't possibly do that.'
Of course, this is said before the pose is even attempted. The power behind that negative comment is extremely potent. When you tell yourself you can't do something--guess what? You won't. You've immediately weighed yourself down with the mental baggage of disbelief. Fear to attempt in fear that you'll fall. This leaves us stagnant and void of faith.
But yoga teaches us to say:
'You know, I've never tried this pose before. Even the thought challenges me, but the prospect is thrilling. I'm going to give it a go.'"
Failing and falling until you can stand in faith--that sounds like my walk with God. I'm ready to go try some handstands.
Bibliography
http://kathrynbudig.com/press.php
http://www.yogaworks.com/our_programs/instructor_bio.aspx?tid=67
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathryn-budig/fearless-flyer-a-lesson-i_b_515658.html?show_comment_id=44185956
http://www.yogajournal.com/podcast/
Hope to write more soon! Right now, there's an awesome thunderstorm that my boys are begging me to see......awesome.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
David's first sermon
David, number three, is ten. He's usually pretty quiet being the middle child. He loves sports more than life itself and will spend most of his waking hours shooting hoops (even on a two-foot tall goal in a basement with seven-foot ceilings), throwing footballs at no one, and now even pretending he's in the middle of an intense lacrosse game in the backyard. This is all mostly on his own because his older brothers have other interests and his younger brothers are still too little. All that to say, he usually keeps himself occupied and doesn't really bother anyone. Usually.
Today, after church, we were in the car and he had been teasing Daniel, our six-year-old, who is pretty fun to tease because he whines loudly. David then began reading a magazine in the car that Daniel had been wanting to read and Daniel had asked to see it. Daniel asked Aaron very nicely if he could see it. Aaron told David to give the magazine to Daniel as a way to honor his little brother, whom he had been teasing earlier. David refused until Aaron, in a moment of slight anger, mumbled something about coming back there to straighten the situation out, opening the car door. David immediately relinquished control of his prize and jumped into a ten-year-old's tirade about how unfair the world is because his little brother "...ALWAYS gets what he wants!"
David's tirade went on for several minutes until Aaron interrupted, announcing that David would be writing a one-page essay when he got home. After writing it, he was required to read his essay to the rest of the family---even his older brothers.
Why We Speak Honorably and Not Foolishly
by David Martinez
"Things that people say might not be foolish, it depends on how you interpret it. I'm here to talk about how not to be foolish.
Kindness--instead of saying foolish things to hurt somebody, be kind and say nice things to encourage each other.
Love--instead of always being mean, we should love each other.
Hope--instead of being foolish and believing that whenever something majorly bad bad happens and you believe that you will lose everything, always have faith and hope and believe that God will take care of you and you will always be safe no matter what happens to you whether it is good or bad. Always have hope and believe that God will take care of you in any circumstance or situation.
Now I'd like to point out some of the foolish things I said in the car.
The first thing I would like to point out is when I said that Daniel gets whatever he wants whenever he wants it. That's not true at all. I realize how when Dad says that I have to give Daniel something, it's not because he wants to punish me, but he wants me to learn that I need to honor my younger brother and not be selfish have what I want."
At this point, David hit a writer's block and brought the essay into Aaron to see if that was enough (even though he only got to one of his foolish things that he had said in the car.) Aaron read the essay and decided that based on what was written up to that point, David had learned his lesson.
And when he read the essay to the rest of us, we all were reminded of these valuable lessons as well.
God used my son to remind me of the truths I've been preaching to him but have not been keeping in the forefront of my own mind and heart.
Thank you, David. It's a good thing Daniel got what he wanted.
Today, after church, we were in the car and he had been teasing Daniel, our six-year-old, who is pretty fun to tease because he whines loudly. David then began reading a magazine in the car that Daniel had been wanting to read and Daniel had asked to see it. Daniel asked Aaron very nicely if he could see it. Aaron told David to give the magazine to Daniel as a way to honor his little brother, whom he had been teasing earlier. David refused until Aaron, in a moment of slight anger, mumbled something about coming back there to straighten the situation out, opening the car door. David immediately relinquished control of his prize and jumped into a ten-year-old's tirade about how unfair the world is because his little brother "...ALWAYS gets what he wants!"
David's tirade went on for several minutes until Aaron interrupted, announcing that David would be writing a one-page essay when he got home. After writing it, he was required to read his essay to the rest of the family---even his older brothers.
Why We Speak Honorably and Not Foolishly
by David Martinez
"Things that people say might not be foolish, it depends on how you interpret it. I'm here to talk about how not to be foolish.
Kindness--instead of saying foolish things to hurt somebody, be kind and say nice things to encourage each other.
Love--instead of always being mean, we should love each other.
Hope--instead of being foolish and believing that whenever something majorly bad bad happens and you believe that you will lose everything, always have faith and hope and believe that God will take care of you and you will always be safe no matter what happens to you whether it is good or bad. Always have hope and believe that God will take care of you in any circumstance or situation.
Now I'd like to point out some of the foolish things I said in the car.
The first thing I would like to point out is when I said that Daniel gets whatever he wants whenever he wants it. That's not true at all. I realize how when Dad says that I have to give Daniel something, it's not because he wants to punish me, but he wants me to learn that I need to honor my younger brother and not be selfish have what I want."
At this point, David hit a writer's block and brought the essay into Aaron to see if that was enough (even though he only got to one of his foolish things that he had said in the car.) Aaron read the essay and decided that based on what was written up to that point, David had learned his lesson.
And when he read the essay to the rest of us, we all were reminded of these valuable lessons as well.
God used my son to remind me of the truths I've been preaching to him but have not been keeping in the forefront of my own mind and heart.
Thank you, David. It's a good thing Daniel got what he wanted.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I knew that I wouldn't do it. I knew it would be a while until I wrote again. All the while that little devil on my shoulder has been saying,"Ha. You knew you wouldn't do this. Yet again, another unfinished venture." Well, if just to shut the devil up, I'm writing.
Socks. Can I just say that I hate them? If I could invent a shoe that would never rub your feet the wrong way, or never get that cheesy smell that could be used as a dirty bomb....I would do away with socks before you could say, "Sock holes."
I pick up socks all day long! I swear they wear more than one pair every day. The socks are everywhere and always in varying states of disrepair; mismatched, holes, stained, crusty and usually at least one pair that's become wet for whatever reason (75% of the time from Nathanael James forgetting to push his pee-pee down and hitting his socks while he's sitting on the toilet.)
Then, after washing, they're even less pleasing to me. I think terrorists should be tortured by putting them in a huge roomful of unmatched socks and telling them, "Spill the beans or you're in here until they're all matched." The task drives me bonkers. And every time I'm doing socks, I'm saying in my brain, "I hate socks. I hate socks." I've thought of so many strategies. I've tried giving each boy their own color. Besides green, blue and red, what other color of sock will a boy's athletic sock be? Not enough color choices for more than three boys. I've tried different styles for each boy. Inevitably ,they will switch socks and all of a sudden one doesn't want that style anymore. No matter what I choose, there's always five or six unmatched socks left over. It's a proverbial dilemma, I know, but I think the reason I can't stand it so much is because it reminds me of what so much of my job is: daily, mindless tasks that are often unsavory and mostly unnerving.
But then, in the middle of my sock-rage, God usually sends me the message in some way--maybe through hearing a belly laugh from a cute three-year-old; or seeing my ten-year-old, David, throw a pretty football pass; or hearing my fourteen-year-old Matthew say, "Wow, Mom. How much laundry do you do every day? You work a lot of hours." (Ahhhh.....the rare, priceless veiled compliment from a teenage boy!) The message that one day, when I'm sitting alone in a quiet, clean house, folding the extra-small load of yesterday's clothes, I'll be nostalgic for a basketful of mismatched socks.
Someday, I'll write on my other favorite subject in a testoster-home -- toilets.
Socks. Can I just say that I hate them? If I could invent a shoe that would never rub your feet the wrong way, or never get that cheesy smell that could be used as a dirty bomb....I would do away with socks before you could say, "Sock holes."
I pick up socks all day long! I swear they wear more than one pair every day. The socks are everywhere and always in varying states of disrepair; mismatched, holes, stained, crusty and usually at least one pair that's become wet for whatever reason (75% of the time from Nathanael James forgetting to push his pee-pee down and hitting his socks while he's sitting on the toilet.)
Then, after washing, they're even less pleasing to me. I think terrorists should be tortured by putting them in a huge roomful of unmatched socks and telling them, "Spill the beans or you're in here until they're all matched." The task drives me bonkers. And every time I'm doing socks, I'm saying in my brain, "I hate socks. I hate socks." I've thought of so many strategies. I've tried giving each boy their own color. Besides green, blue and red, what other color of sock will a boy's athletic sock be? Not enough color choices for more than three boys. I've tried different styles for each boy. Inevitably ,they will switch socks and all of a sudden one doesn't want that style anymore. No matter what I choose, there's always five or six unmatched socks left over. It's a proverbial dilemma, I know, but I think the reason I can't stand it so much is because it reminds me of what so much of my job is: daily, mindless tasks that are often unsavory and mostly unnerving.
But then, in the middle of my sock-rage, God usually sends me the message in some way--maybe through hearing a belly laugh from a cute three-year-old; or seeing my ten-year-old, David, throw a pretty football pass; or hearing my fourteen-year-old Matthew say, "Wow, Mom. How much laundry do you do every day? You work a lot of hours." (Ahhhh.....the rare, priceless veiled compliment from a teenage boy!) The message that one day, when I'm sitting alone in a quiet, clean house, folding the extra-small load of yesterday's clothes, I'll be nostalgic for a basketful of mismatched socks.
Someday, I'll write on my other favorite subject in a testoster-home -- toilets.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
James, our 3-year-old, is allergic to gluten. And soy. And I found that out today when my new friend, Lisa, called me and told me there was a "caca" incident.
We've just moved to the neighborhood here and there's nothing like making an impression on a small neighborhood by having your child poop in their backyard. It's a quick way to be able to bathe your child in their tub. James (or Nathanael, we haven't decided which name to use yet, poor boy) had none of his almond milk left today and so I decided that soy milk mixed with it would suffice. And I had a thought, "Maybe it won't work with his digestive system?" But I forgot about that thought.
Later in the day, when Daniel, our 6-year-old, wanted to go to his new friend Alex' home after school, James (Nate (for my mother)), wanted to go too. Lisa was so kind and invited the two of them. I had two instructions: 1. Please don't be crazy as you walk to Alex' home. 2. James (Nathanael (for my husband))--Please remember to ask where the bathroom is and go to the bathroom. Daniel proceeded to inform them of James (N....I think you get it) peeing in his bed last night. Thank you, Daniel.
So, everything seemed to be going peachy until I got the call. She was so nice. I felt like the mom who doesn't tell you their child has issues but is so glad to have them out of their hair. I'm really NOT that kind of mom, but I felt like I looked like it.
I was on my way back from dropping off RJ, our 8th grader, at lacrosse practice; so I told her I'd be right over. She still sounded so nice.
I screeched into her driveway and she said she felt so bad because she didn't have any wipes or anything to take care of it because it was kind of messy. Sure enough, there he was, still standing with his pants down in the corner of the yard, smiling at me. And, yep, he's allergic to soy too.
But he was pumped because he got to have a bath in their tub and they even gave him a rubber ducky to take home. He's going to be pooping in a lot more yards from now on.
We've just moved to the neighborhood here and there's nothing like making an impression on a small neighborhood by having your child poop in their backyard. It's a quick way to be able to bathe your child in their tub. James (or Nathanael, we haven't decided which name to use yet, poor boy) had none of his almond milk left today and so I decided that soy milk mixed with it would suffice. And I had a thought, "Maybe it won't work with his digestive system?" But I forgot about that thought.
Later in the day, when Daniel, our 6-year-old, wanted to go to his new friend Alex' home after school, James (Nate (for my mother)), wanted to go too. Lisa was so kind and invited the two of them. I had two instructions: 1. Please don't be crazy as you walk to Alex' home. 2. James (Nathanael (for my husband))--Please remember to ask where the bathroom is and go to the bathroom. Daniel proceeded to inform them of James (N....I think you get it) peeing in his bed last night. Thank you, Daniel.
So, everything seemed to be going peachy until I got the call. She was so nice. I felt like the mom who doesn't tell you their child has issues but is so glad to have them out of their hair. I'm really NOT that kind of mom, but I felt like I looked like it.
I was on my way back from dropping off RJ, our 8th grader, at lacrosse practice; so I told her I'd be right over. She still sounded so nice.
I screeched into her driveway and she said she felt so bad because she didn't have any wipes or anything to take care of it because it was kind of messy. Sure enough, there he was, still standing with his pants down in the corner of the yard, smiling at me. And, yep, he's allergic to soy too.
But he was pumped because he got to have a bath in their tub and they even gave him a rubber ducky to take home. He's going to be pooping in a lot more yards from now on.
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