GOODBYES

Today we had our last visit with the residents at a local assisted living home.  We have been visiting them on Tuesdays for the last several months.  It has been a good experience for all of us and we will miss them when we move.


We never really planned anything.  We would just show up with a puzzle or some postcards, a few books or a favorite doll just to break the ice.  They taught us how to play marbles, they were a great audience for my son's piano playing, and delighted in just watching the kids play.  

Today we enjoyed the warm weather in the courtyard.   The kids passed around a box of shells and then lined them up according to shape.  It was a delightful morning!  I would encourage you to try it.

The young with the old - It is a gift for all involved.

TUESDAY BLESSINGS

Sixty Seconds on Tuesday

(except it's already Wednesday!)

It's all too easy for me to focus on the things my kids need to change.  I correct, guide, worry, discipline and yes, sometimes rant and rave all day.  Today I want to focus on encouragement.    I want to set aside the difficult and let the world know they are sweet little souls.

On our Tuesday trips to the nursing home they are a blessing to the residents.

They are good medicine for weary bones and a delight to those who often feel alone.  

We walk with Him when we bring our joy and smiles to those who delight in the company of children.

To see how others Walk With Him visit below.

P.S.  I'm linking to 2 sites today.  If you are here visiting from Holy Experience I'd like to introduce you to Jenny who started Sixty Seconds on Tuesday.  We share just sixty seconds of our day in a photo and a sentence and it is lovely.  

CANDYLAND

Sixty Seconds on Tuesday

I must have played this game a thousand times.  I remember playing it as a child and now I'm playing with my 4th child.  It won't be too long before she will outgrow it.  I better get in all the games I can!

RANDOM BIT #5

I occasionally like to post little stories, usually involving the strange things that come from the mouths of my children. I call them "random bits" because they don't fit into my other categories and because I can't really have a label called "strange things my children say and do that crack me up".

So without further ado...

Lovely child comes into the kitchen, curious as to this evening's menu.  Suddenly a look of horror and disgust comes over said child's face.  "Mama!' with surprise and shock. "There is NO WAY I'm eating those!" Then in almost a whisper and accompanied by a shudder of repulsion, "They have started to hatch."  

At first I said "Huh?"  And then I laughed hysterically and grabbed my camera.  Perhaps you should know that my child has a severe distrust of anything resembling mushrooms, fungus or growths of any kind.  In fact, he made a huge detour around a fallen log, on a recent nature hike, so he would not have to look upon the semicircular tree fungus growing in a neat row along the log.  The rest of us walked to the tree to investigate and I, of course,  took a few photos.
Now before you think I am a cruel mother, making my amusement from my child's phobia, I will tell you that he thinks it's so funny that I shudder if I have to drink from a styrofoam cup.  I can't help it.  I hate the feel of styrofoam on my mouth and the smell of my tea in a hot styrofoam cup.  We all have our oddities and we love each other anyway. 


I share this today for my Sixty Seconds on Tuesday post because it is the funniest 60 seconds I have had in my kitchen in a long time.  


Sorry for the weirdness today.  I promise things will be back to normal tomorrow!

SIXTY SECONDS AT THE BEACH

We are visiting family in Florida this week so here is one from the archives for my Sixty Seconds on Tuesday post.


This is one of those moments you can't get back - those first visits to the ocean with little ones.  The wonder in their faces.
I love this photo and remember the minute well. 

SIXTY SECONDS ON TUESDAY

Life is so busy that we tend to let minutes slip by uncounted, undocumented, unnoticed.  Those moments hold the potential for special memories to be cherished a lifetime. And yet I let my attention be drawn away by the never ending list.   Why do I feel that urgent pull to wash dishes, organize the pantry, and post on my blog but miss those little minutes that make relationships?

Blogging is funny.   You just stumble into people you would never meet in your everyday life.  Total strangers but people like you.  Recently I found Jenny.  She started a weekly post called Sixty Seconds on Tuesday and asked others to join in.  We will share just a minute each Tuesday that we want to remember. 

One minute, one photo, one sentence, one memory.

 Still for a moment, except for the movements of his fingers, making music on a damp spring day.