Small Successes

Recognizing the small things we accomplish each week helps us realize that even when it doesn't seem like it, we are getting things done! To link up your Small Successes each Thursday, go to CatholicMom.com. Here's the link.

1) My SIL gave us her old TV, so I switched it out w/ our very old one. Then, I cleaned, decluttered, & reorganized our entertainment center.

2) I started making some plans & purchases for a possible money-maker idea I mentioned about a month ago. (I'm still not ready to divulge the idea, though.)

3) With the help of my other SIL, I was able to fix our driver's side van window. It was stuck about 4 inches down & it wouldn't budge. She suggested pressing the button while at the same time, pulling the window. It wouldn't move, so I pushed it down instead & the motor started working again. Just in time, too...today's high is near 100 & the weekend is going to be in the 90s.

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful for a peaceful resolution to an incident w/ a neighborhood child yesterday. Dared by other kids, he popped all of our munchkins' bike tires w/ thumbtack. His father was very helpful & offered to patch the tires for us.

2) I'm thankful for the beautiful weather we've had the past couple of days...mid to upper 70s, breezy, & refreshing. We're in for a HOT weekend, so I soaked up what I could!

3) I'm thankful for my parents & their 46 years of marriage (as of June 25)...what a wonderful example they've set for my sister & me.

4) I'm thankful for a delicious dinner w/ my dear hubby on Sunday. My parents gave us an Olive Garden gift card for our anniversary & we had a wonderful meal, enjoying a bit of time just to ourselves.

5) I'm thankful for a dear college friend who loaned us both Season One & Two of Downton Abbey. What a great series! Casinodad & I are hooked! I love the scenery, costumes, music, & characters...esp. Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess. She is a HOOT! Enjoy these "Top 10 Maggie Moments." My favorite is #8.

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Casinodad for his sincerity. When we were dating, his maternal grandmother was living w/ his family. One afternoon, I had the opportunity to sit w/ her alone & we happened to talk about Casinodad. I mentioned how sweet he was & she agreed, saying that he was very sincere. To this day, he has remained sincere in his words & actions.

2) Lovin' Casinodad for his new love of grilling. Until this year, he's never had much interest, but just the past couple months, he's really taken to it. For Father's Day, I put together a binder w/ grilling tips & recipes. He's spent many evenings the past week reading it & planning the great meals he'll make for us.

3) Lovin' Casinodad for the extra time he spends w/ the munchkins in the evenings, reading or playing games w/ them.

"On My Mind"

I always have ideas running through my head in regards to blog posts I'd love to write. However, the time & words often elude me! Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, the words below the YouTube link came to mind & they seemed to fit the melody of "In My Life" from Les Miserables.

On My Mind by Munchesmom

On my mind,
There are so many thoughts and ideas I long to pursue.

On my mind,
There are so many feelings and things that I want to see written for you.

It's so tough...it's so tough to find time to write.
Yet I try...I make time for my sanity though time is tight.

Small Successes

Recognizing the small things we accomplish each week helps us realize that even when it doesn't seem like it, we are getting things done! To link up your Small Successes each Thursday, go to CatholicMom.com. Here's the link.

1) I deep cleaned our downstairs restroom, even getting on my hands & knees to scrub the floor.

2) I cleaned & reorganized The Saint's toy/book shelf in the corner of our living room, including gathering 1/3 of his stuff to either sell at a garage sale or donate.

3) I weeded our garden & planted zinnia seeds out front around one tree & our mailbox.

"Like A Shepherd" -Toddler Style

The following video is our precious little toddler, The Saint. Each night (for the past couple months), when I put him to bed, I sing "Like a Shepherd" to him. About a month ago, he decided to join me in singing & he is just so precious. So, I thought I'd share his cute little voice w/ you.

A Thankful Woman's Book of ANNIVERSARY Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

Honoring our anniversary today...

1) I'm thankful for 14 years of marriage to Casinodad...through good times & bad, sickness & health, births & deaths, we have only grown stronger in our faith & love for one another.

2) I'm thankful that even on his stressful, busy workday, Casinodad took the time, 15 1/2 years ago, to step aside & talk to me, asking for my phone number.

3) I'm thankful that our union has been blessed with four beautiful children.


4) I'm thankful for the beautiful hanging bouquets of flowers he surprised me with yesterday...one basket of purple petunias & one basket of white wishbone flowers. They are gorgeous editions to our porch.


5) I'm thankful that we both made the "choice" to stay together, even after our first argument & other trials over the years. With previous boyfriends, the first argument would be the last...with Casinodad, I chose to work through the issue & we've only grown stronger.

What is Love?

One recent Saturday at work, K (one of the ladies from the kitchen) came up to the front office. She grabbed a sheet of paper & a Sharpie, then wrote in large letters at the top, "WHAT IS LOVE?" Another of the kitchen employees wanted to know, either for a class or just for his own interest (I can't remember which), so K was helping him out by asking around. She left the paper w/ me & said she'd be back for it later.

What is Love?

WOW! That's a BIG question w/ so many different answers...as we found out w/ this little exercise. I sat & pondered for a while. He only needed a brief sentence or two, but there was no way I could narrow such a large topic down. So, I did the best I could.

K came up later to pick mine up. She read it over & gave me a thumbs-up, but I didn't have a chance to talk to her at that time because I was about to give a tour of the facility.

She stopped by the office on her way out that afternoon & told me what others had said.

* One person likened love to the pain of a lightning bolt striking your stomach. (This was a person who's been married for about 20 years & apparently it's not a happy marriage.)

* One single lady said, "I love money."

* K said something about feeling flutters, like butterfly wings, in your chest.

When the young man from the kitchen got to mine he said, "I just wanted a sentence, but she wrote book! A good one, but it's a book!"

So, what did I say? I don't remember it word-for-word & am now wishing I'd made a copy first, but the following is similar to my response.

Love is a choice -- choosing to stay with someone after the initial infatuation wears off; choosing to stick w/ that person through good times & bad.

Love is that sweet toddler cupping your face in his chubby little hands & smothering your cheeks w/ kisses.

Love is your child choosing to do something to help you out, even when you didn't ask.

But above all,

LOVE IS GOD and GOD IS LOVE
Unconditional, Everlasting, & Fulfilling

The following song is one of my favorites about love...

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Casinodad for his financial mind. While I am the one who balances our checkbook (I won't let him touch it anymore...LOL!), he is the one who really looks out for our long-term investments & insurance policies.

2) Lovin' Casinodad for seeing & pointing out the good in my life, even when I have trouble seeing it.

3) Lovin' Casinodad for our 14 years of marriage (as of tomorrow!) Through thick & thin, ups & downs, we have stuck together & only grown stronger in our love & faith!

Small Successes

Recognizing the small things we accomplish each week helps us realize that even when it doesn't seem like it, we are getting things done!

1) I cleaned out & reorganized our school cabinet. Boy was there a lot of trash & junk in there!

2) I got the munchkins to the library to sign all of us up for the summer reading program.

3) I took our van in for an oil change & to have a couple of noises checked out.

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful for one of our local Kroger stores. We stop there after church on Sunday mornings because we've found that they mark down breads & meats then. We've gotten loaves of bread for 35 cents, meats for a fraction of their cost, & so much more! Since we freeze our bread & meat, we don't have to worry about them going to waste before they get used.

2) I'm thankful that our garden is off to a great start. It's been about a week & a half since we started it & the seeds are starting to sprout.

3) I'm thankful for the nice rain shower we had the other day.

4) I'm thankful for cousins who play well together & love spending time w/ each other. Yesterday, we spent the day at my parents' house & we didn't hear much of the munchkins & their cousins while they were off playing.

5) I'm stealing this one from Judy's list last week...I've often posted how I'm thankful for books & libraries, but I've taken for granted the ability I've been blessed w/ to enjoy them. So, for this week, I'm thankful for the ability to read.

Lovin' My Husband

Join us each week at Judy's blog, A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, to share how wonderful your husband is.

In this day & age, where so many women belittle, complain about, & just plain take their husbands for granted, Judy has created this wonderful meme. Each Tuesday, we celebrate our husbands by choosing three things we love about them. The hardest part of this meme? Narrowing it down to only three things!

1) Lovin' Casinodad for letting me purchase five bottles of Move Free w/ Vitamin D supplements. At least $22.99 per bottle, I usually get them when on sale buy one get on free or 1/2 price. Kroger received an excess of vitamins & supplements and didn't have enough room, so they marked them as clearance. I got them for $6 each (plus I had coupons that gave me a total of $9 off)! How could I pass that up? So, thanks hubby for letting me get them!

2) Lovin' Casinodad for his empathetic nature. He is genuine in his love & concern for others. He hurts when others hurt, esp. when there's nothing else he can do but pray.

3) Lovin' Casinodad for his wonderful hugs.