Make Me Smile Monday

Yesterday an old friend - and by that I mean a friend from long ago, not a friend who's old (haha!) - stopped by for a quick visit on her way past our little town. Jason and I enjoyed meeting her husband and catching up with her a little bit.

I always find there's something special about catching up with someone you haven't seen in a long time. To me, there's something really grounding about it. Somehow it reminds me that I'm still me, that the "essense" of what makes me me hasn't changed. At the same time I find it reassuring to know that I'm not stuck in the same place I was as a teenager, that a lot of growth has taken place and that life has moved on. It's also great to see when the same can be said for them. They themselves are still very much who you once knew and yet they've grown, things have changed.

I think I love making these connections so much (though it doesn't happen as often as I'd like - I definitely need to work on that!), because life does move on - as it should. And it's good! It's essential that we grow, become adults and enjoy where we are instead of living in the past. At the same time, I think we need to celebrate old friendships and remember the connections we made when we were young. They will always be a part of who we are. So...here's to the friendships of our youth!

Lessons 1, 2 and 3

I've learned a few lessons in my short time here in "blogland".

1) I've learned I should never post anything unless I feel it says exactly what I want it to. I discovered this after posting "The Common Bond". I put pressure on myself to get it posted quickly and in the end I posted it before it said what I wanted to say exactly the way I wanted it to say. It's alright and I don't hate it - but it's not quite right. Impulsively, I almost deleted it - but decided against it - letting it serve to me as a reminder to never post something unless I'm completely satisfied.

2) I've also learned to never compare myself other bloggers. It's not worth it. There will always be someone who can write better, take better pictures, be more creative than me. It could be intimidating enough to make me just throw in the towel and call it quits. Instead I'll allow myself the freedom to simply enjoy the incredible things other bloggers have to offer.

3) I've also learned to allow myself the freedom to be me. If you've looked around my blog you've likely noticed I enjoy delving into to heavier (sometimes even controversial) issues. I feel really strongly that as a whole we as Christians have allowed far too many misconceptions about who we are and what we believe. Even sadder still is that I believe that many of us - myself included - have helped them to foster and grow. I think it's happened largely out of fear. Fear that comes from never having allowed ourselves to wrestle with issues and discover for ourselves what we really believe. And how we should live. We want everyone to know we're just like everybody else. We want to be set apart and long to be relatable. We struggle to know exactly what it looks and sometimes we find ourselves retreating in fear of failure or compromising what we believe in an attempt to be relatable. We get caught up in rules instead of focusing on relationship.

In all honesty, I used to be far too black and white (in my own case this is just simply a nice way of saying legalistic) and have experienced God's grace in my life in some really big ways. So, if the stereotypes we're up against as Christians - ones I've sadly played a role in building myself - can stand in the way of someone coming to faith in Christ, it makes me feel compelled to write about them.I've had to deal with the fact that not everyone will agree with what I say and some might even take issue with it.  

I know I won't always get it right, and sometimes I might even miss it entirely. But, I'm convinced that God has provided a way to be a follower of Christ that is open, honest, appealing, embracing and real - and that it doesn't involve hiding what we really believe. I feel like life is all about discovering exactly what it looks like. Which to me really means allowing Him to show us bit by bit what it looks like and how to truly start living it. Hopefully somewhere between "Make Me Smile Mondays" and the weightier issues I write about, you'll get a glimpse of who I am, who I'm becoming, who I once was and what Christ has done in me.

Make Me Smile Monday

Our daughter S turned 8 this month. S has many typical first born traits. She's responsible and loves to take care of her younger siblings. She loves being the oldest child in our family and the first one to go out and do more "grown-up" things. I've learned a lot over the past 8 years about letting go and trusting God. The longing of my heart is that by the grace of God Jason and I will find that balance between providing a safe, secure place for her to thrive in while walking her through difficult discoveries and life lessons, the kind that unfortunately are inevitable. Jason and I have already discovered that what's involved in this is an ever changing and growing thing as she gets older.

I was so excited when S asked for a Tinkerbell Tea Party for her birthday. I was happy that she wasn't worried about having a "grown-up" party but simply having fun with her friends while remainig true to herself. I love seeing kids be kids. I don't want my children to be too eager to grow old, I want them to enjoy being young while they have the chance.

The two of us had fun picking colours and brainstorming ideas. In the end, we decided on making flower garlands with artificial flowers (she and her friends would make them together once they got here) and providing fairy wings (which I tied to the top of the chairs to also work as decorations) for everyone before they sat down to their tea party. I love the idea of using the party "supplies" as decorations.


I didn't get a picture of this table before the guests arrived but this is the aftermath. This is where I set up little Tinkerbell boxes I found at the dollar store to display the artificial flowers for making their garlands. In the foreground is one of the flower garlands we made.  



I set up extra flowers in vases around the room.     



I set up the goody bags on this table by the front door.

 

We used real tea cups and saucers I found at Value Village a few years ago, a teal blue table cloth, lilac coloured plastic forks and Tinkerbell plates and napkins. I found these sparkly blue "branches" at the dollar store and thought they made a perfect centerpiece.



These cupcakes came at the end of the party in lieu of cake after enjoying mini tarts, mini muffins grapes and white cheddar popcorn, apple juice and raspberry punch. 


P.S. I should add that the highlight of everything for me was when S came home from school the day before the party and all of the flowers and the table (minus the food and the dishes) were set up and the look of awe on her face, and the "WOW!" she exclaimed when she saw it. It was priceless! :)

Make Me Smile Monday

Whenever we went to visit my grandpa and grandma Hooysma  growing up (who we called Pake and Beppa) I could always count on some Dutch treats. It's incredible how strongly our memories can be tied to food. Jason and I moved to the Durham Region in May 2005. So we've lived here for almost 6 years. Sadly I hadn't set foot in a Dutch store in almost as many years. Both the grocery stores I use here in town have a selection of dutch food (mostly desserts) and I've indulged a few times but I do find there is something special about an entire store devoted to Dutch things. After we'd live here for a while I discovered that there's is in fact a Dutch store close by I'd been missing out on.

The winter just before Jakob was born my Beppe passed away. (Pake had already passed away several years before.)  We drove down to the funeral, had a really hard time finding the church and almost didn't make it. I'm so glad we did.

The week before Christmas I was out running errands and decided to take a few extra minutes to stop by this store. I walked in and was immediately overwhelmed by the familiarity of it all. I suppose because Beppe always had something Dutch on the table and this was my one real connection with these things I just walked in and felt like I was back with Pake and Beppe again.

I took my time and just soaked it all in, narrowing down my choices. Here's what I left with:

After picking out these three items I made my way around the rest of the room and came across a plate. It was one my Beppe used to have in her house. The funny thing is that if you'd asked me about her house I would have mentioned the Delfts Blue decorations she had everywhere and the beautiful wooden clock she had on her mantel. But this plate when I saw it it almost made me gasp!  I saw it and I could immediately imagine putting it up on the wall in my kitchen. Not because it's perfectly my style or anything, because in all honestly it isn't. But simply for the memory and the connection. I still can't believe how special the sight of this plate was to me. It made me me feel very strongly connected to my grandmother's memory. I was so tempted to buy it, they were selling it for a reasonable price but it was Christmas and we'd already spent enough. I went home and told Jason all about it and showed the kids what I'd found sharing with them the history behind it all.   

Fast forward to Christmas morning and Jason is handing me a rather conspicuous looking/feeling present. When I opened it, sure enough, this is what was inside:

Make Me Smile Monday

As you probably know by now, in addition to caring for my own three children I care for the two children of friends of ours. A little girl who's seven and a boy who's four. I avoid saying I run an at home daycare, simply because I prefer to see it as them coming and being a part of our family. The two of them have become incredibly close to our own children and both hold a very special place in my heart. Despite the fact that it may not be seen as the most glamorous job in the world, I find a great sense of purpose both in being a work-at-home mom and a care giver for these two children. It's really important to me that they both know how much I love them and that I have their best interest at heart.

Sometime over the past year the little boy I babysit (let's call him "B") began doing something really sweet. It's something he says to me on a regular basis - I'd say several times a week. One of those things that makes it all worth it and confirms to me that what I'm doing really matters.

"Mrs. Brenna"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you a question?"

"Ok." He looks at me with a sweet look on his face and by now I know what's coming.

"I love you."

"I love you, too B!"

It never ceases to me make me smile!

Simplify 101

Last year, I signed up to have Simplify 101 send me their monthly Organizing Newsletter and weekly Quick Tips. I find this month's article really interesting because it's something I've heard others wonder about as well.

What do you do with others peoples clutter?

http://www.simplify101.com/mail/display.php?M=80534&C=69a6811cf14e60ee47633e8d1e75be94&S=1007&L=45&N=629

You'll have to scroll down to the second half. Enjoy!

Books for 2011

Jason and I both got a few new books for Christmas. Yay! :) I love reading and though I go through spurts, I certainly read my fair share from year to year. New books make me excited to get reading and in my excitement I thought it would be fun to make a list of books I'd like to read in 2011. As I check the books off my list I will try and find the time to write a post sharing my thoughts on each one.

So - without further ado - here's my "books I'd like to read in 2011 wishlist" (in no particular order):

For the first time:
1) The Orthodox Heretic by Peter Rollins and Rob Bell
2) Home Court Advantage by Kevin Leman
3) Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
4) For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
5) For Men Only by Shauti and Jeff Feldhahn
6) Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
7) Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
8) Every Child Needs a Praying Mom by Fern Nichols
9) Jesus Wants to Save the Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden
10) Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
11) Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

Books I'd love to read again:
12) A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
13) Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers
14) The Divine Romance by Gene Edwards
15) The Shack by William P. Young
16) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Make Me Smile Monday

This New Years Eve Jason and I spent snuggled up on the couch watching movies (How To Train Your Dragon with the kids and then Rise of the Silver Surfer just the two of us), which we paused at 11:56 for Carson Daly's coutdown from Times Square.

It brought back warm fuzzy memories of the very first New Year's Eve we spent together on December 31st, 2000. Jason and a few friends were driving up to Huntsville from Port Perry to play at a Youth Convention taking place up there. I jumped at the chance to go with them when Jason passed on the invitation.

I remember Muskoka Bible Centre being absolutely breathtaking in the winter with the trees and buildings all covered in snow, connecting with Jason's friends, Jason giving me his coat to wear despite the fact I had my own (I suppose young love helps make a young man immune to the frigid cold), the squeaky sound of our boots against the snow on the ground, feeling a sense of connection with the message and the music shared that night, and the undoubtedly the fastest version of The Happy Song I've ever heard! I remember counting down to the new year in a crowd of people outside under a million brilliant stars, hugging each other tight. I remember holding hands for the very first time.

These memories to me are one of those reminders to really live in the moment and enjoy the time we have with family and friends. I have no photos from this night, but the memory lives on and it always makes me happy to think about. It's one one those memories that will forever be etched in my heart and my mind.