I saw this quite a while ago and thought it would be appropriate to do it now, as we begin a new year…It really made me think.

A. Name 8 things you are passionate about:

1.God
2.My husband
3.my boys
4.teaching
5.blogging
6.books
7.art
8.my home

B. Name 8 things you say often:

1.”Hey, my friend”
2.”What do you want me to pick up for supper?”/”Why don’t you pick up something?”
3.”Debit”
4.”You’re just not right!”
5.”That’s a beautiful thing!”
6.”I’m glad you’re my______”
7.”Now where could I have put that?”
8.”I love you more”

C. Name 8 books you would read again:

1.Bible
2.Of Mice and Men
3.To Kill A Mockingbird
4.The Purpose Driven Life
5.Faith Is Not A Feeling
6.The Red Tent
7.I Feel Bad About My Neck
8.The ‘PURSE’ Driven Life

D. Name 8 songs you never get tired of hearing:

1.You Are My Hiding Place
2.When You Call On Jesus
3.Breath Of Heaven
4.Mary, Did You Know?
5.What A Wonderful World
6.You Light Up My Life
7.You’ve Got A Friend
8.I Can Only Imagine

E. Name 8 movies you would purchase:

1.Mrs.Potter
2.My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3.Phenomenom
4.Somewhere In Time
5.Fried Green Tomatoes
6.Gone With the Wind
7.Pretty Woman
8.The Shawshank Redemption

F. Name 8 things you hope to do before you die:

1.See Alex get better
2.Write a book
3.Move into our new house
4.Have grandchildren
5.Travel to Europe
6.Have a beach house
7.lose weight
8.Get my closet organized

G. Name 8 Changes you plan to make in 2008:

1.lose weight
2 get rid of clutter and things I don’t need
3.do more Bible Study
4.TRY to cook more
5.start writing Pop’s book
6.spend more time in my studio…doing the creative thing
7.take a trip with MOM, JOY, DIL, NIECES
8.change my address

Now, how about you? What are your 8 things? I’m not going to tag anyone specifically, but I just know the “B” club will play along. And if you’d like to be considered for entrance into the “B” Club…this would be a good start! Have fun!

I have been helping Tara, my niece, for the past 2 days. They have moved to Bush Mountain, and it is beautiful! They are going to love living there! Here is a pic of the house. Don’t you just love that porch? It goes all the way around the house. They got all their stuff moved in…and then we went to work. We bought new sofa and recliner, new book cases, new rugs for the great room and dining room, things for the bath and kitchen, and decorative accessories. So yesterday, we worked on the bookcases and the kitchen, hanging pictures, etc. Both the rugs had to go back…we got them too small. Don’t the book cases look nice? Tara is an avid reader, and has wanted to be able to display her books. Now she can. She and Joy took the rugs back and I haven’t seen the new ones yet. Know it is going to look so nice when we finish it. Will says to not look at the yard, his first big job is to get it sodded and build a walkway. He’ll have it looking great in no time…if he can stay away from those sweet, innocent deer that live nearby.

It is almost gone…2007, that is. Almost a memory, a thing of the past. It was a good year, and I will be sad to see it go…but not really. With it go the things I wish I could do again, the times I wish I had paid attention more, the times I didn’t stop, but barrelled on, the times I should have spoken up, but kept silent, and the times I kept silent, but should have spoken up. With it go the regrets, the missed opportunities, the mistakes. And hopefully a wiser me starts down this new road. I’ve heard it said that everything you have gone through and experienced is what makes you who you are today. So, then, I am compilation of these regrets, these mistakes. True…but, then I am also made up of the joys and happiness I have experienced this year. Many happy times with family, and fun times spent with friends. Fun seeing other lands, travelling, experiencing a different kind of living. Lessons learned while teaching, patience learned by being impatient. Joy experienced watching boys grow into men, and soar off to see the world for themselves. Watching talent spring forth and grow and become even greater. Watching wisdom take hold and gentleness bloom in the midst of suffering. Watching brotherly love in action. Seeing dreams come closer to reality, and new dreams following close behind. Seeing God answer some prayers with “yes,” but some with “wait”. And learning to wait…and wait.
This then has been my 2007. And it will be a big part of my 2008. For the ‘more things change, the more they stay the same’…so I’ve heard. And there really is ‘nothing new under the sun’…so the Bible says. What WILL change is my reactions, my understanding, and my outlook…with God’s help.
So, come on in, 2008…I’m ready…and excited…and hopeful.

One of my blogging friends got an award that looked like this…I <3 your blog. She wasn't sure what it meant until it was explained to her that <3 looks like a sideways heart. Therefore...I love your blog. This reminded me of the years when my boys went through the “not cool to be seen with your mom” years. We were best left hidden away along with all the other embarrassing things in the world.. Of course, we still were expected to carry out our motherly duties…but we must not draw attention to ourselves in any way. Now, my boys have always been very demonstrative, and had never minded hugging or kissing. As a matter of fact, at this time in their lives, they would still crawl up in my lap for some Mama Love. But, of course, none of their peers could know this…their ‘cool factor’ would plummet to new lows,,,and they would forever be tagged as a mama’s boy, or something even worse. So, we made up our own secret signals that no one else knew…so that we could send a hug to one another and no one would be the wiser. Crossing your index and middle finger (like for good luck)…meant a hug. Making a circle with the thumb and index finger, the flicking the index finger was a kiss flying through the air. If I needed to write them a note of send something to them, I always signed it 303. Can you figure out why? 303…look at it sideways…it spells MOM. And, this is how we maneuvered those yucky years when the boys were finding their independence from parents…learning to deal with peer pressure…and deciding if having a Mom was OK, or the biggest hindrance to their ranking among the cool group. I will have to say, this didn’t last very long. Soon, they were back to giving me a quick peck before getting out of the car. Occasionally, they still felt the need to revert to the our ‘private code.’ But, it all became a thing of the past when they decided they would make their own decisions as to what was ‘cool’ or not. I must say it was nice to be through with that. I think, that especially in raising young men, we need to be sensitive to these feelings, help them deal with them, and wait for them to outgrow it! And they will!
‘Cause every mom with male children knows that nothing warms your heart more than a big ‘ole bear hug from your sweet boy.

Thank-you, my sweet boys, for blessing me with your hugs!