My Girls

As challenging as it is to be a Girl Scout leader, I love my girls! I have had the same core group of girls now for four years and it is such an amazing journey to see them as they grow and develop. They are beginning to go through bodily changes and their emotions are ever-evolving, but they are still girls at heart! They love to giggle and play but also discuss serious issues as well. As exhausted as I have been lately, I would do anything for my girls! They make me hopeful for the future and it is such an honor to walk this sacred journey with them as they discover who they are and where they are going in life!

Sorrow and Joy

I completely lost the month of September with the start of school and sports activities. Our schedules became hectic and busy. Amidst all the chaos, I received the call from my Dad that has completely changed my view on things for the moment. My younger brother took his own life at the age of 41. He had been struggling with a back injury and the pain medications for them. He left behind two beautiful daughters ages 7 and 5. This has been heartbreaking for everyone.
Prayer and life have allowed me to continue on as best I can. Teaching preschool and seeing the joy in the eyes of young children as they sing and dance and play has allowed me to focus on the joyful moments. The sorrow comes in the quiet. Life is consistently made up of the constant moments of sorrow and joy. Through the pain, we see life in a new light and it makes the joyful moments seem more real. I treasure my children now more than ever and feel even more driven to share life with them in a positive and loving way. God bless all those affected by mental illness and families struggling with the loss of a loved one as a result of suicide.

Hot Stuff

Wow... it's hot here in Texas. Today is day 19 of temperatures over 100 degrees. This is a record for Texas! It's too hot to do much of anything outside. My plants and the grass are all burning up. We try to water the yard every few days which helps a little. It hasn't rained much this summer and Texas is experiencing a severe drought. I've been spending most of the summer cleaning and organizing so I haven't been quite as crafty. I have a few projects to show off, however.

The Fruits of Summer

For the fourth of July, I endeavored another "from scratch" creation. Lemon Blueberry Buckle with whipped cream and strawberries. I found the recipe online and it comes from a book called Rustic Desserts. Last summer, I made Hummingbird Cake from scratch. I love baking in the summer because I have the time ( I teach and have summers off) and the patience to try new things. I used fresh Texas blueberries and it was delicious! My family is coming to visit from Louisiana and I want to try Blueberry Stuffed French Toast for them. I also found a popsicle recipe with a simple syrup, fresh blueberries and Blueberry-Pomegranate juice. This weekend, I would also like to try grilling some fresh peaches served with ice cream. The fresh fruits and vegetables of summer are so delicious. I taught my daughter to make Bruschetta yesterday from fresh French bread, fresh basil pesto, Roma tomatoes and mozzarella cheese! Heavenly! I need to learn to make a summer stew now! In addition to all the new recipes and cooking, I've been trying to get "my house in order" in more ways than one. Working on organizing rooms (an endless task), but more importantly, trying to make time for prayer, reflection and creativity in my life.
Thank you, Lord, for all of my blessings!

Out with the old, In with the new

It's my birthday today and a good time to reflect on all the good things in my life. Recently, I had to part ways with my van. Ten years and 170,000 miles of living and my van had served it's purpose. Still, it was sad to goodbye to the van and the memories. I began wondering why I felt so emotional when they hauled it away. I think it's due to the fact that our society doesn't always value things when they are old. "Out with the old, in with the new." Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy my new vehicle and that new car smell. But more and more, I realize that we need to appreciate what we have. I find it to be a real spiritual struggle for myself.I am trying to appreciate both the old and the new in life. Welcome to the best half of my life. It just keeps getting better!

Change is Blowin' in the Wind

Wow, I am tired. Just finished another amazing year as a preschool teacher. I have a t-shirt that says " There is no exercise better for your heart than picking up a young child". I think that says it all. My youngest, Boo-Bear, just graduated from preschool. Of course, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'll now have Fridays all to myself and not have him under foot at work all the time. But on the other hand, I'll have Fridays all to myself and not have him under foot at work all the time. I will miss him so much when he starts Kindergarten. He just lights up my day. He always asks me to give him some love and showers me with kisses! I know how quickly this stage is passing away. Motherhood is such a wonderful blessing! Change is coming quickly and some days I open my arms wide to feel the winds of change blowin'. Other days, I want to run away and hide from it all. Change comes calling whether we are prepared for it or not. I'm praying that I'm prepared for losing my little man to Kindergarten next fall!

Happy Easter

One of the nicest holidays this season. Enjoyed watching some excellent old movies related to the faith. "Ten Commandments" and "King of Kings" were very inspiring and reminded me of the importance of Easter. I baked a ham and tried a new recipe, Potatoes Florentine. Delicious.The Easter Bunny hid eggs in the back yard and left loads of candy. Beautiful music at church. Nice evening walk in the cool breeze with my family. Life just doesn't get much better. O.K., maybe drinking mojitos on the beach in Pensacola! To top off the day, we rented "The King's Speech" starring Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth. Excellent movie! I can see now why Colin Firth (aka Mr. Darcy) won the Academy Award for his portrayal of King George VI of England.Also watched the final episode of "Upstairs, Downstairs" on Masterpiece Theatre. I think I got enough of my British influence for the week. Oh, wait, the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is on Friday!! More British culture!! Makes me miss my honeymoon trip to England, Ireland and Wales!

Teaching Heart Mom: Links to Love

Teaching Heart Mom: Links to Love

New PB Inspirations

The inspiration from PB just keep comin'. I'm in love with these distressed terrariums. I think I may try to make my own DIY version though.I think that I will let Boo Bear help me with these. He loves to get dirty!

Beautiful Potting stand

Beautiful inspiration from Pottery Barn for a potting stand.Love this idea!

French Country Island

Beautiful example of what I would love to see in my kitchen! I absolutely adore the distressed look of this kitchen island. Most especially, I love the wine rack and cook book shelf as well as the ornate posts on the corners. Adore, adore, adore. I am dreaming about a kitchen redo (someday) and am going to keep this in my mind as how I want my cabinets redone. I've thought about redoing the island myself, however, we have stock cabinetry and a friend tried doing this with little success. I also don't have the beautiful features of this island. Dreaming of a french country kitchen in Texas!

Garden Potential

Wonderful idea! A garden journal to keep track of plants and the joy of watching them bloom!

Thinking about my new flower bed and getting ideas for what to plant. I love the potential that spring brings. The potential of what could be... a dream.... that may or may not happen.... the beauty that nature brings to us as a gift... I love most to see my antique roses blooming in my backyard and think of my friend Rhonda and our trek down to  Needville. A gentleman's wife died and the rosary was her idea. Once she passed, he didn't have the heart to keep it going, so he sold off all of the inventory. My friend and I gathered up some antique beauties and planted them in our yards. Rhonda moved to the city and I don't get to see her as much these days. I always remember her friendship when I see my beautiful roses blossoming in the summer sun!

Inspired by spring

The weather has been gorgeous in Texas the last few weeks. Cleaned out flower beds and ready for some spring blossoms. I'm getting ready to purchase some bedding plants for the pots out back and trying to clean up the yard a bit. Daddy-O pruned my antique rose bushes and cleared out the old Morning Glory bush. I absolutely love to see my beautiful roses blooming away in the summer sun. At some point though, it just gets too hot to enjoy the yard and everything goes a little crazy out there. By August, my beds look overrun, But by for the next few months, they're beautiful. I am going to get a new camera and hope to begin posting pictures. It's a very busy time for me with work and scouts right now. Looking forward to spring break and getting some productive house cleaning/yard cleaning done. Bring on the sunshine!!

Wonderful experiences

Our Girl Scout troop went to visit residents at an area assisted living center. It was so inspiring to see how much the girls enjoyed it. My daughter couldn't stop talking about how nice one lady was. It made it miss her Baba (who passed away in October) and her Nana in Louisiana. Amazing to see the impact the young have on the old and vice versa.

All things in Good Time

Still trying to figure out how to copy and paste pictures from the web onto my blog. I tried sending a photo from my new smart phone to my Facebook account with no luck. Working on learning all these new things! I took some photos of our Valentine's dinner and now I need to learn how to get them posted. All things in due time! My Valentine's pie didn't turn out too well. The brownie part on the bottom didn't fully cook and I tried to put it back in the oven. Oh well, next time, I'll pre-bake the brownie portion a little first and try it that way. I think that it was because I baked it in a round cake pan instead of a sheet cake pan. Nice dinner with my family! I love staying at home and having a nice steak dinner with them all! Daddy-o uncorked a nice merlot too! I'm very relaxed as I type this..... goodnight! z..z..z..z..z...z..

Getting Ready for Spring with Valentine's Bulbs

Even though it's wet and cold outside, my mind is already envisioning my spring garden. I'm only hoping that my antique roses survived another winter. They are so beautiful every summer. For Valentine's, Daddy-o let me purchase some Peony bulbs (red and pink) and some Hollyhocks for my flower garden that I had put in last spring. As soon as it warms up, it looks like we'll be weeding the bed. I'll take some before and after pictures to add to my blog later.

Don't Take it Personally

I often ask myself "Why do I take things so personally?" I seem to get easily upset by comments made by people around me. I''m guessing it's because I'm too much of a people pleaser. "Impossible task", I often tell myself. The only one who ends up with the short end of the stick is me!

Superbowl Chili

It's Superbowl Sunday and Daddy-O made his delicious homemade chili! My contribution was a store bought cheesecake (our family favorite). Checking out some of my favorite blogs tonite. I'm a little disappointed that PBS Masterpiece Theatre came on early tonite! Hopefully it's on DVR! Don't have the heart to make Daddy-O give up the downstairs t.v. since he's watching the Superbowl!
I've been getting ready for Valentine's day. I watercolored a picture for Daddy-O and have some cute items for the kiddos! The Arctic blast last week kept us cooped up in the house all day Friday (no school) and let us have an all day "pajama day"! Spent the day watching movies, taking naps and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace! Houstonians don't deal with ice and/or snow very well so we stayed inside and off the roads. There were numerous accidents due to the ice according to the news reports! Getting ready for a milder weather week and my preschoolers are working on Valentine's this week!
Found this cute idea for a Valentine's banner at the following link:
http://mrscummingsrx.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dscn1028.jpg

What a mess...

Nothing else can describe my home lately.... I seem to say these words on a daily basis... I sigh and say "What a mess!" Tonite, I cleaned up the craft/kid supply area in the laundry room. What a mess! Nice and neat now (more or less). Can't get creative with so much mess staring at me. I get distracted by priorities. "Little man" (my son) still won't go poop on the potty. What a mess! He just turned 5!! Help....not too sure the exact cause of the problem, so I'm starting with the doctor to see if it's a physical problem. I tried cleaning out closets last weekend! What a mess! My guest room is now filled with boxes from my mother-in-law's home. I have no idea where I'm going to put everything! Well, enough venting about the mess. I at least accomplished cleaning one tiny area. I guess life is messy... don't want to miss out on the important things worrying too much about the "mess"!

Staying up late tonite working on lessons for February. Ready to get a good night's sleep. Hopefully, I'll have time to revisit my new blog later in the week and add some photos and other fun stuff. Having lots of fun with this.

Jumping in Feet First

Well, here I am starting my first blog entry. At age 44, the technology changes sometimes overwhelm me. So, for Christmas, Daddy-O (my hubby), gave me my first ever laptop!! Yippee!! I feel like such a grown up now and I play on it for hours. I discovered crafting and decorating blogs and here I am "jumping in feet first" and having a lot of fun. We'll see what tomorrow brings. My daughter and I are hoping to start putting a few handmade items on an Etsy store soon and I look forward to entering the wonderful world of "blogdom"!