Daily Inspiration from a 4 Year Old

This is the time of year that mother's begin recieving those special handmade gifts from their kids.  I just recieved one such gift from my four-year-old daughter.  It was a marigold that her preschool teacher helped her lovingly plant in a play-doh cup.  My daughter had decorated the cup and on it were the words, "I love my mom because she makes me oatmeal for breakfast."
I can't begin to tell you how many days I make the oatmeal for her on auto-pilot. I am so busy getting everyone out the door in the morning I don't stop and think about the oatmeal. While I do want to be sure to send my kids out the door with a full belly, and since we live in Montana, something warm in them is a big plus, more often then not, it is simply a bowl of instant oatmeal I have heated in the microwave.   Before I was a stay at home mom, I was a social worker and I placed kids in foster care.  I now take for granted that my daughter starts her day with something warm in her tummy. There are so many kids out there that don't have that luxury.  I am blessed with knowing my daughter does not take her oatmeal for granted and I am thankful to her for reminding me that it truly is the simple everyday joys that we often take for granted that make life worthwhile.
Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there. Please feel free to share your favorite saying or everyday joy from your child with us. 

Love Is

My ten year wedding anniversary is coming up.  While on a recent flight to a family wedding I was given much time to ponder love, or rather what it means to love someone with all your heart and soul and for that person to love you back - completely and without reservation.  What does it mean to commit yourself to one person for the rest of your life? I don't believe love can be defined as it is ever changing forms.  Love just is.
Ask a mother of a newborn child and she may say love is miraculous.

Ask a couple on their wedding day and they may say love is bliss!




Ask a mother sending her child on their first day of kindergarten.  She may say love is a protective shield that never leaves you.

Ask a brother with a little sister and he may say love is annoying.

Ask a father of a sick child and he may say love is painful.

Ask a father who is sending his son to war and he may say love is nobel.  Ask a mother and she may say love is frightening.

Ask a parent who has ever lost a child, and they may say love is unbearable.

Ask a man who has just laid his wife to rest after fifty years together and he may say love  is neverending.

Whatever form love may take on any given day there is one thing I know.  Love is not always easy.  Nor is it hard.  While sometimes it doesn't show itself, love is always there.  Love knows no boundaries.  You can never love too little or too much. 

Love just is.


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The Wedding of Her Dreams

My little sister just got married.  It was her dream wedding.  Growing up on a farm in southwest Kansas, our family did not give much thought to the ocean or the beach.  While we often thought it would be a wonderful place to visit, there was no urgency to get there. Our family vacations led us to the mountains and what this rich land had to offer. My sister, however, developed a passion for the ocean.  Once she got older, her trips drew her to the coast.  When she met a fell in love with the man of her dreams (a fellow Kansan), the wedding planning began.  She surprised us all when she told us she was getting married on Coronado Island.  I am a traditionalist.  Why not get married in the church in our home town? Why are we all traveling across the country to a beach? Let me tell you why - it was her dream.  And if there is one thing my family has always done, it has supported dreams.  My parents may not have always understood or agreed with our choices about the directions we have taken in life, but they have always supported them.  So we all bought our plane tickets and began planning a wedding hundreds of miles away.

After much preparation, planning and phone calls, the day finally came.  I knew this day would be special - my sister was getting married afterall.  What I did not know, is just how perfect it would be.  There was a small attendance - only the bride and groom's immediate family and closest friends were there - over half of which had a part in the wedding. The setting was simply stunning.  The crashing of the ocean waves, the cool breeze in the air, the sun warming the sand beneath our feet.  While we were not in a church, I believe we could not have gotten much closer to God. His presence was everywhere. As my Dad walked the bride down the steps, many beach goers stopped to observe this moment. It was a perfect day - a day of hopes and dreams - and I could not be happier for my sister and her new husband.  I wish them the very best life has to offer.  May their journey together be blessed with good health, happiness, and a lifetime of love.