Seven Baskets Full.

sharing the grace i received this morning...the little happening showing me, God is with me.

background - my stomach has been in knots worrying about alyssa, my first born girl, how she won’t talk about her college preferences, or anything really.  i’ve been praying for our relationship.  this teen rebellion against mom has been killing me.  the eye rolls, the snippy comments, the walking on egg shells, the not knowing what i can or can not say or ask...it often sends me to bed in tears.

alyssa and  her friends have this little wednesday lunch thingy.  the moms take  turns bringing a home cooked meal to this little group of friends.  she sprung  this on me last week, two days before my week. now, apparently the  other moms live for this opportunity...but i was in a panic!  i can’t  cook...what do i bring that will stay warm...what would finicky teen girls  want to eat...yada yada. not to mention, i can't mess this up...she needs me again!

the day prior to my wednesday date, i took a deep breath and  set off on a field trip to the grocery store. i got a little of this and a little of that thinking i could surely pull some kind of pasta thingy together and I would win them over with some home baked cookies.   that i can do!

on my way out of Giant parking lot i  receive a text from alyssa, “how about Panera bread bowls?” the travelers behind me must have been wondering who was this cukey lady jumping  for joy at the red light! 

that evening Alyssa informed me that my week was  postponed till the following wednesday because some of the girls would not be  in school.

so today is my week and 7 bread bowl soups from Panera it  is!  i started my morning off making some homemade M&M cookies.   in between batches i read today’s mass readings and my morning devotion...titled- SEVEN  baskets full.  the story where Jesus feeds the crowd with seven loaves of bread.  Matthew  15:37.  “the number 7 is used to represent completeness or fullness.   Jesus is ready to give us more than we need.  trust that God will provide for each of us more than enough.”
 

i resisted the urge to  photo copy the devotion and staple it to the Panera bag.  i think that may be more than enough for any 17 year old.  :)  i’m going with yesterday’s  devotion that “a warm embrace can speak more powerfully than a scripture  passage”.  or in this case...some warm soup!

the scripture passage  was for me, this morning, timed perfectly for today, seven bread bowls for seven friends.  i’m trusting that my prayer for them will be more than  enough!

today is the anniversary of my father-in-law's entrance into heaven.  he had a special bond with his peanut, alyssa, his first born grandchild. 
i believe he is intervening and all will be well! 

              gather
 

  

                          

                                                                               share

 this part handmade by ME!

Skeletons in the Closet

i am literally putting the skeletons back in the closet.  goodbye halloween.  christmas is around the corner!  my glittery bony friends share a space in our 3rd floor "box room" with the other treasures that i either can't part with or really just haven't gotten around to pitching.   boxes never even opened since our move here 12 years ago and other "stuff" block a path to the christmas decorations.  the skeleton is out...i'm a secret hoarder!
i set off on an organizational tangent.  i pack full one car load of yesterday's treasures, to be shipped to our local thrift store, with the hope of some of it being rediscovered.  i am squeezing in thanksgiving...thinking gratitude as i survey the goods.
i finally part with the maternity clothes (11 years in storage).  i know friends who can't wait to rid themselves of these monster clothes.  why have I held on to these silly parachute items?  if by chance i was graced with pregnancy again, one would hoot and holler if i actually wore these!  holding on to that precious time when my baby girls were safe and sound in the womb?  now the oldest is preparing to leave the nest and college admission letters clutter the desk. 
time to part with the baby blankets, burp cloths, changing pads, toddler shoes, and the beatrice potter mobile.  in the box they go...  but wait...  i see that little blob of a bunny that sat in her crib awaiting her arrival.  i bring it to my face and breathe deep and smell the sweet scent of my once little girls.  i am reminded of my dream to be a mommy which came forth four times.  i have hope that by letting them go, giving them back to God, i will make room for more dreams.  thank you, my little rediscovered velveteen rabbit, for holding onto this sweet fragrance for me today.  you are coming with me out of the closet.  you will sit upon a shelf in my new creative space and encourage me to hope, to dream, to fly.

September Roses...Celebrate!

 

Gathered this morning from my garden to share with a friend who just became a new grandma of a beautiful baby girl!

Celebrating with her!

I love this girl!

I love this girl

she's the absoulute best

she's such a great teacher I

passed my math test.

she's kind she's loving

she's awesome she's cool

she's neat she's smart

she's an artist to!  well

your in for a suprise

cause guess what she's

you!  Happy Birthday Mom!

       -written by my Lindsay Lou, my brown-eyed girl, when she was about 8 or 9 years old. 
Don't ya just love the spelling.  :)

Now 16...hoping she'll see me again through these eyes.

Finding Grace

Today I confessed to my 11 yr. old daughter, Grace, that I started a blog.  My little secret...though, if discovered, open for all the world to read.
Grace, at that "Bridge to Teribithian" age...still child-like...full of courage and possibility and wonder...she loved it!
Wide eyed she says, "Can you teach me how to make one?"
What's so amazing about Grace?
She frees me to fly!

Heaven is under our feet...

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

-Henry David Thoreau
This image captures a summer's happy day with friends at the The Arboretum at Penn State.  What a surprise when I opened our local paper and learned it was selected as Photo of the Month!

Dreams Take Flight

-my entry for a local poetry contest...

not selected but memorable...

   the day I found the courage 

to share my WORDS.

Finding Louisa

Finding Louisa... at about the time when I was reading Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, the name or forms of the name "Louisa" seemed to be everywhere whispering to me...to the point where I thought maybe there was this little girl out there waiting to be found.

     I now believe Finding Louisa to be more about...

finding sanctuary, 

   finding my voice, 

      finding courage, 

          finding kindred spirits, 

                      finding my soul, 

                           finding my inner child...