belie: 1a: to give a false impression of 2a: to show (something) to be false or wrong

I love this tree in our front garden.

It belies the stress I am feeling today.

I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up to be

the Secretary/Treasurer for Daughter's of the Utah Pioneers.

Mother's Day sometimes feels like

a reminder of my shortcomings as a mother

rather than a celebration of being a mother 

(and I'm still being reminded).

I have a child that is obsessing about one thing after the other,

after the other, after the other, after the other

 and I am having a hard time with it.

etc. etc. etc.

I know it could be worse.

I know I'll get over it.

The following is a little how I feel, although I do have plenty of times to rest and relax

(it's the standing on my head thing

that I can relate too,

figuratively not literally):

The man (or woman) who doesn't relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, 

now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots 

and standing on his head

for the edification of the pathologist 

and trained nurse,

a little later on.--Elbert Hubbard

That's me.

Alaska girl.

Britni is trying to make the most of Alaska. 

It is a little dreary and a little difficult at the moment.

They don't have a car and she is the office girl on-call all day.

But she is ecstatic to be with Adam.

He is her oasis in the dismal not-yet-spring surroundings.

She bought a cute little bike and added a basket.

She now can ride her bike around town carrying her camera wherever she goes.

She is loving photography and took these cool shots of these cool buildings.

Boy, I miss that girl!

Happiness...

There is one thing about following blogs: 

  that you find more blogs to follow.

There are a lot of fascinating and talented people out there!

One blog that I recently found is called 

Collage of Life

one woman's view...

She recently wrote an amazing tribute to her mother,

who is loving, tenacious, talented 

and all those things that I would 

love to be.

 Jeanne writes so beautifully

that instantly she brought

her mother to life 

on a page.

For some reason Jeanne found me

and sweetly wrote me a note.

 Today she talked about

Happiness Moments

and mentioned me (among four other people).

What an honor!

One of the great things about having a blog 

is that it does remind me of reasons to be 

happy!

So here is my list of things that make me happy:

(not in order of importance or inclusiveness)

Seeing the beauty of the Earth.

Not just the spectacular places

but I love seeing 

 a flower in the garden,

a deer in the valley below us

or a colorful sunset in the distance.
It really is all spectacular!

Being with Jeff.

It doesn't have to be in a tropical setting (although that makes me happy too),

it can be walking down the street,

going to lunch,

or just holding hands on the couch.

My family.

I love the talking, laughing or even the silence,

when they are around.

The good things about having animals.

They can bring such love and laughter to a home.

Making friends and having friends.
 

Getting an unexpected compliment.

The fact that Jeff will go to the store for me 

and buy anything I ask.

Anything.

Having a project turn out better than expected.

Having something good to look forward to.

Like a trip,

 a lunch out,

a good book,

a fun movie, 

a project

or peace and quiet.

Knowing that I can do better tomorrow

and try again.

Today.

It's breathtaking how green it is outside our windows.
This doesn't do justice to the green that is streaming through our banks of windows throughout our home.
Stunning.

These last two are from my back porch.
It's raining today so it will even be more green in the days to come.
I love it!

One of my sisters sent my mother these beautiful flowers, but times twenty, for Mother's Day.
My mother gave me this one strand.
Beautiful.

This one is a little put out and jealous.
But she's still our little girl.
I know, she's a dog.
Our baby is a 6 foot 3 inch, shoe size 14 wearing, 16 year old, still growing boy.
Let us have our fun.

And we ARE having fun with this 2.6 pound fluff ball of cuteness!
Still, so sweet.
Even though we now have several wet spots scattered around the house.
Puppies.

A few thoughts on being a Mother...

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.---Elizabeth Stone

Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.---Lin Yutang

While we try to teach our children all about life,

Our children teach us what life is all about.---Angela Schwindt

The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him."

I absolutely adore my children! I hope they know that!

"One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is."---Erma Bombeck

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing.---Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Sweet little new puppy.

We went to Sam's Club to buy stuff for a salad and dessert for Mother's Day.
We noticed someone had cute little puppies and we had to go "just see".
I can't believe we came home with a sweet little puppy that we named Frodo.

This is one of the biggest reasons why we got him.

This shows how tiny he is.

He is so sweet.
I hope we did the right thing.
We are not always the brightest bunch but how could we not get him?