Faith Grows Daily

2009-08-06T07:27:00.000-04:00

What kind of a mother hen are you?

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What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

2009-01-31T08:21:00.001-05:00

(TAG! YOU ARE IT! Copy and post this on your blog ASAP!) What is this?
Well, you’re supposed to bold the things you’ve done so readers
can find out how you've led an awesome life so far.
Here's what I have done in blue...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Been water or snow skiing
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill .
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Climbed to the top of the Washington Monument
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching No, but I've gone dolphin watching in the Atlantic Ocean
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Been to the National Zoo in Washington, DC
67.Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden on a motorcycle (see #77)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Been kayaking or canoeing
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

My Husband's Surgery

2009-01-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

For what I've been doing the past month go to:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/parkewest

this is a website set up to keep our family and friends updated on Parke's open heart surgery and recovery.

Thanks for visiting.

I would love comments!

I'm a Better Blog Reader than Writer

2008-11-04T11:38:00.005-05:00

I love reading your blogs! In my mind, I have made many new friends and I know you, but you don't know me. I am a much better blog reader than a blog writer. I have always loved to read, so that stands to reason. It doesn't matter that no one is reading this blog, I am going to make an effort to document the things that I feel.

Today is Election Day. In this country we are quite priviledged to be allowed to vote and elect our leaders. Whether we agree or not with the outcome, we will have a peaceable exchanging of the offices. Look around the world and see how many countries do not have that. I'm feeling quite emotional right now thinking about what a great and blessed country we live in. The election has been ugly, but hopefully those memories will fade and we will try to be a "united" nation of individual states. It's going to be hard because right now we are so divided in our views of whom should be our president. I woke up in the middle of the night and I prayed and prayed for God to lead us forward and to soften people's hearts toward their enemies. That's a dramatic word, enemies, but it sounded so Biblical, I used it. But we as Christians need to be reminded that Satan is our enemy, not our fellow Americans.

I have used my first tool, my vote, and I will continue to use my strongest tool, Prayer, for a peaceful and democratic America where no one is hungry and all children are loved! A nation that others will look up to for inspiration rather than a nation that others look to with hatred and jealousy. Just my feelings.

Brenda

Finding my Friends

2008-09-12T07:07:00.007-04:00

Last post I wrote about losing my friends. I'm starting to find them. They were not really lost.

I was.

I don't want everything I write about to be sad, because it's too hard to go back later and reread it. I've done that with journaling and I didn't like it. Maybe I had a bad day and wrote about it, but 6 months later, I didn't feel the same way and it was depressing to relive those emotions.

Saying that...I feel like things take so much effort and I'm continually crawling up out of a hole.

But when I see daylight, I'm happier. So that's what I am going to focus on. The Happy!

I've spent more time with friends and Bible Study gals lately and I'm so grateful for those times.

Yesterday our Bible Study group gathered for lunch to celebrate one gal's birthday. We usually pick a local restaurant and go out for breakfast or lunch, but this time she opted for a potluck luncheon. It was fabulous! Several of us have "food issues" or allergies, so everyone is very considerate and modifies their recipes to accommodate the others. We had a delicious, healthy, abundant lunch and topped it off with my low-fat chocolate cheesecake cupcakes. Yummy!

We met at noon and when I left at 3pm, they were still going strong.

We're studying Max Lucado's James and I plan to post about what I experience with this study.

We've had dinner with dear friends at a beautiful, historic Richmond hotel. We had our son's girlfriend's parents over for dinner. And last night I had dinner with ladies I used to work with. We meet once a month for dinner, but I don't think I've been able to join them since June. Last night we had a great time. We laughed a lot and for a couple of hours, we enjoyed each other's company as well as listened to each other's problems. That's the good thing about friends. They will laugh with you or cry with you and love you during both.

The River

2008-09-01T08:17:00.001-04:00

We had a great time at "the river". We boated, provided waves for some kayakers, my nephews jet-skied and we pulled them and my niece on a tube behind the boat. My nephews are 19 & 16 and my brother, their dad, could not shake them off that tube. And he tried, but they are so young and so strong they held on.My family has had so much fun and made so many special memories during the past 30 yrs at that cottage. And it's there that I miss my Dad the most. He loved it!!!
Oh, then we ate! With so many cooks bringing food, it was a feast. But the best part for my mom, was that all of her children and about 1/2 of her grandchildren were there together at one time.It was a great afternoon and a beautiful evening.

Friends

2008-08-22T09:23:00.006-04:00

I've just realized that I am losing my friends. It's happened gradually in the past 4 years. May, 2004, my husband and I were in a serious motorcycle accident.
Is there any other kind?

We had multiple injuries, but we can walk and talk so we are very lucky. Blessed. Still not quite right. My most serious injury was a fractured ankle. I was in a wheelchair for 3 months because I also had a broken shoulder which prevented me from using crutches. So my dear daughter, who had to postpone her wedding for 3 months, had to push and pull me everywhere all summer of 2004. She was wonderful: loving and patient with not a shred of resentment. She was so grateful to God that we were alive.

Anyway, after 2 more surgeries, countless hours of PT and a mountain of pain pills, I am still not quite right. I can walk, but not without pain. Lots of pain. I look in the mirror and I see the pain etched in my face. It does not make me feel better to know that I could be so much worse. My personal pain is eating away at my soul.

And that's why I feel so disconnected from my friends. When we came home from the hospital (I was in for 7 days, P was in for 10 days), our friends and family came in droves. We did not have to prepare a meal for 6 weeks. We were on prayer lists all over the world. And we knew we were being lifted up! But now that I have had such a rough time, I don't see my friends much. I had a business with lots of ladies that became friends, but I no longer am able to continue to work it. I just don't feel like socializing, entertaining or even chatting on the phone like I used to. I love that people are concerned, but I hate that conversations revolve around how I'm feeling and what the doctors are planning next. So I have retreated into a shell. And that's not where I want to be.

I have had my next door neighbor's son's birthday present sitting in the dining room since June, because it's too much effort to take it over.

So, I am going to intentionally make plans and reconnect with all of my dear friends. I need friends in my life and I want to be somebody that they need in their lives.

Yesterday, after my doctor visit, I had lunch with a good friend and then we went and got pedicures. I think that's a pretty good start.

Dead Wood

2008-08-14T07:43:00.010-04:00

If I could transfer my thoughts onto this computer screen, I would have several posts by now.

But since that technology has not yet been developed, I will type and try to get my thoughts in order.

This week I have been doing lots of "yard work". For some it's work, for me it's therapy. And believe me, I have lots of reasons to need therapy, but that's another story. In one of my "sessions", I clipped and pruned dead branches from my azaleas. Looking at the bushes I could not easily see the dead branches, but when I crouched down, pulled the branches aside and got to the heart of the bush, there is was! Deadwood. Oh, I love to prune! I know you don't prune azaleas at this time of year, but I'm pretty sure there will be no spring blossoms on the dead branches. When outside, I usually spend time with God. I leave my ipod off so I won't be distracted by Brad Paisley. As I was cutting and talking to God, I thought about all the deadwood we all have hidden under our pretty branches. All the sins. All the bad thoughts. All the bad deeds. All the good deeds gone undone. We're just like the azalea bushes. The deadwood needs to come out in order for the light to reach our hearts. The pruning took place over a couple of days and each time I went back to a bush, I noticed more and more tender, new leaves that were hidden deep within the dead branches were now flourishing. In my pruning, I let more sunshine in so those little guys could grow and not be crowded out by the all deadwood. I kept thinking about us, God's people, and how we all need more light to shine through our exterior and reach our hearts. Like the azaleas, we never stop growing. By getting rid of our deadwood, we will be happier, healthier Christians.

My First Blog

2008-07-29T08:26:00.003-04:00

I have been trying for a couple of weeks to begin this blog. I think that when I get in the groove, it will become easier, but it's hard for me to start.
My life has taken so many twists and turns in my 50+ years. We got married young, while I was still in x-ray school, on my parents anniversary. We thought that would soften the blow of us getting married so young. Seems to be working...36 years so far. I can't imagine my life with anyone else. I worked as an x-ray tech before retiring at 24 to have my daughter. Really, all I ever wanted to do was be a wife and mother. My own mother had very strong views of working mothers and sacrificing, so that was transferred to me. Growing up, most of my friends' moms were SAHMs, or as they were called, Housewives and that was the norm for us. Now I know that the sacrificing goes both ways.

Five years after K-A was born, we welcomed our son, the 4th. When he was born one of the nurses asked me if we had chosen a name and I said, "that child has been named for 10 years". He is the last male in a large family with the family last name. I had no choice!

In the next years, we lived a typical life in a typical neighborhood with typical friends. At least that's how I see it. I was a Mom, a Wife, a Daughter, a Sister, a Friend as well as a pre-school volunteer, room mother, driver, nurse, chief cook and bottle washer. I enjoyed my life and enjoyed playing with my children. I hope they remember it the same way. I spent many hours at dancing school, a horse farm during riding lessons, at various ball fields as well as at music stores for guitar lessons and trying out guitars and special effects pedals.

It's so unbelivable how fast it as gone by.

Now our nest is empty and we have brought our dogs inside to spoil and love on.

Next installment will be the next chapter.