i have talented, wonderful friends.......

my entry title says it all.
it's true.
i have amazingly talented friends.
i don't have hours to tell you all the good in them but let me try to name a few.....

one friend loves to bake. she's good at it. i'm thankful she also likes to share. her chocolate chip cookies are unlike anyone else. very crumbly and buttery.

one friend has the gift of creativity. everything she does turns to 'gold', she's always thinking of how to make everything and anything crafty. i could spend hours picking her brain on how she does it.

one friend has the gift of hospitality. walking into her home always makes me feel loved.

i have a friend who has the gift of making my children worship the ground she walks on. they feel like they are the most important kid in the world when they are with her.

one friend has a gift of decorating. she just knows how to make it 'cute'.

one friend has a green thumb. something i will probably never have in this lifetime. that's why i like her. she helps me.

one friend always has encouraging words for me. when i'm down, she usually can tell. she'll always have something to say to cheer me up.

i have a friend that is always making me laugh. i know she'd be the one to go bungee jumping with me...just because it sounds like an adventure!

i have a friend that always makes me feel like i'm important to her, that she'll love me no matter what.

and a very small handful of my friends would even be considered to posses more than one of these qualities above. :) how lucky are they!
all these friends, in one way or another makes me strive to be better. a better mom, wife, friend, woman of God.

i have been blessed.i am surrounded by wonderful, creative, beautiful, brilliant, and sometime very spontaneous friends. thank you girls...you know who you are...i love you. :)

thinking he's SO sneaky...

my boys, like most children, have a hard time remembering to put the shovels, rakes, loppers, buckets, ANYTHING THEY CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON! so when the boys got home from school, we took a walk out into our 'woods'(a big row of overgrown bushes,if you ask me) and picked EVERYTHING up.
my dad and i decided that the best way to stop all the tool-tossin'(good word, huh?) was to lock it up in the shed.
well, this has made max crazy. not because he's lost access to all the "fun stuff" but because we wouldn't tell him where the key is hidden. he has been begging me just to tell him, 'just a hint'. he's spent the last 20 mins. outside, searching every spot he could think of. he came in with this sweet little grin.

"so, any luck?" i asked.
max says, "I FOUND IT!" (KNOWING dumb well he didn't have a clue)
pretending to be shocked, i said, "really?? where did you find it?"
in the sweetest, most serious face he can muster, he says "since you know where it is,and i do too, why don't you just tell me where YOU THINK IT IS and i'll tell you if you're right."

i actually paused, thinking, just for a moment and then quickly came to my senses...."NO, I AM NOT TELLING YOU WHERE THE KEY IS YOU LITTLE BUGGER".

he slaps his hand on his knee,smiles and says "oh well, can't say i didn't try!"

this struck me so terribly funny. thought you'd like to share in a little chuckle. it's friday after all...i know i need a bit of comic relief! some of US more than others!!

love hurts...

tonight, as i was tucking my dear jackson in bed, he wrapped his little arms around my neck and squeezed me as hard as a 7 year old can hug.
"mom,i'm sorry if this hugs hurts. i'm not going to let you go."

"oh really, jackson, you're arms are going to get VERY sore." i said.

"silly mom, don't you know that love hurts sometimes?"

oh, out of the mouth of babes! such wisdom. leave it to a kid to put things in perspective. every bit of stress that these children give me, i'd wouldn't trade them for anything! hurt or not, i'll take it.

Enough.....

i got this email from my aunt mary (i love & miss you) today. i loved this...wanted to pass it on to you,my blog followers. :)i wish you all ENOUGH.....


Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments
together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother
said, 'I love you, and I wish you
enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our
life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I
ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.'


They kissed, and the daughter left.
The mother walked over to the window where I was seated.
Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I
tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in
by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing
it would be forever?'

Yes, I have,' I replied.
'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever
good-bye?'

'I am old, and she lives so far
away. I have challenges ahead, and the reality is -
her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.


'When you were saying good-bye,
I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what
that means?'

She began to smile. 'That's
a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My
parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment
and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she
smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you
enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life
filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

Then, turning toward me, she shared
the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your
attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.


I wish you enough rain to
appreciate the sun even more.


I wish you enough happiness to keep
your spirit alive and everlasting.


I wish you enough pain so that even
the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy
your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to
appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you
through the final good-bye.


Then, she began to cry, and walked
away.

They say, it takes a minute to find
a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love
them, but an entire life to forget them.