You Have To See This

Are you crying as much as me right now?

In the midst of all of our crazy home improvement projects, I really needed this beautiful reminder. Carpet choices and paint colors somehow don't seem all that important now.

Merry Christmas! (Better Late Than Never)

From our family to yours!

I'll be back after the New Year and I can't wait to read all of your wonderful holiday stories and see all of your beautiful pictures!

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I originally planned on posting this on Christmas Eve but stuff got in the way......you know how that goes, right? Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I promise to visit all of my blog friends in the upcoming week! I can't wait to read about your holidays and to see what you are up to now. As for me, I am exhausted (I know, shocker) and today is the day that I begin my organization transformation!

Basically, I'll be cleaning my house. But in an organizing and transforming kind of way.

2010 is my year to finally get my act together! I'm going to clean like I've never cleaned before. I'm going to organize like I've never organized before. I'm going to containerize (as in storage containers and LOTS of them) like I've never containerized before. I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!

Sorry, I got a little carried away there for a second.

So, let the games begin. 'Cuz Pajama Mama is in da house and she's ready to get her clean on!

For shizzle.

Thanks For The Reminder, Mr. Schultz

Go tell it on the mountain Linus. You 'da man.

An Angel Among Us

In Loving Memory of Noah Biorkman

"He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth,

with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." - Genesis 28:11-13

My prayers and sympathy to this sweet little angel's family and loved ones. May the Prince of Peace comfort you during this unimaginable time.

If you wish, you can read more about Noah's passing here.

For Noah

On Saturday, Ben and Ali made cards for 5 year old Noah Biorkman. As I mentioned in a recent post, Noah has been battling cancer for a couple years but doctors are now saying that this little guy may only live two more weeks. Noah's wish was to celebrate Christmas with his family this past weekend (November 6-8) and to receive lots of Christmas cards.

If you or your children wish to send a Christmas card to Noah, you can mail it to:

Noah Biorkman

1141 Fountain View Circle

South Lyon, Michigan 48178

Be sure to pray for Noah and his parents and family, who I'm sure are praying for a miracle. Click here to read a little bit more about this brave little boy and to view a short video of Noah.

Christmas For Noah

This breaks my heart, I don't even know what to say. Noah Biorkman is an adorable 5 year old little boy who lives in Michigan. He has been battling cancer for a couple of years and his doctors now say he may only have a couple weeks to live. His family has asked him what he would like to do this weekend (November 6th-8th) and Noah said he wants to celebrate Christmas.

And the thing Noah wants more than anything in the world is to get lots of Christmas cards. Such a small thing that would mean the world to this brave little guy. And I'm sure to his parents and family, too.

Tomorrow, the kids and I are going to send cards. I think I might ask the kids if they would like to make cards for little Noah.

If you feel led and want to help make a beautiful child's dream come true, will you please send Noah a Christmas card? All it will cost is the price of a card (unless you make one) and a stamp.

Please go here if you would like to read a little more about Noah.

If you wish to send a card, Noah's address is:

Noah Biorkman - 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon, Michigan, 48178

Please keep Noah and his family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend and over the next few weeks. What a heart-wrenching time this must be for this family. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Noah!

Picture Day Was A Bust

Ben stayed home from school today.

Again.

He was coughing up a storm this morning so I had to make the call.

Again.

I was kind of disappointed for him to miss today because it was picture day. All of my preparations down the drain. And by preparations, I mean giving Ben a quick haircut last night and picking out a cool "picture" outfit. I know he will eventually have his picture taken on the make-up day at the end of November but it's not the same as having it taken as a group with your class. I was bummed.

Ben, he could care less. He was just happy to play Wii all day.

But who is the one who is going to have to re-cut his hair in a month and pick out the same cool outfit again? I mean, really people, how much energy do you think I have? It's like you don't know me at all.

Anyway, we were home all day and basically did nothing. Except for all the Wii playing. And all the cartoon watching. And all the chicken noodle soup eating.

It was a looooong day but I had lots of opportunities to "give" on day 2 of my 29 Day Giving Challenge. Mostly involving one coughing child and his kind of coughing sister. I know these are things I would do anyway, without the challenge, because I am a Mom. But I have to say, the meaning behind giving is more present in my mind ever since I started this challenge.

All of three days ago.

Seriously, before the challenge, I might have viewed having to dispense cough medicine and reminding the kids to wash their hands for the 100th time and the stress that comes with taking care of your children when they are sick to be a chore - something I have to do because I am their Mother after all. And although that is true, I am starting to see it differently. It is a gift to take care of someone you love when they don't feel good, not a chore. Stressful at times, yes, but I am giving them tender loving care. I never really looked it at that way before.

So, throughout the very long day (again, did I mention it was a looooong day?) I found myself actually appreciating the situation. The fact that I am a Mom with two wonderful children is such a blessing. And although it isn't easy sometimes being a Mom, I have been given this gift from God.

And since He has so generously given to me, I'm pretty sure He would enjoy me working on being a different kind of giver. This challenge is already changing my attitude about how I give to my children and husband. And they are so very worth this shift in my outlook.

I can't wait to see what else I discover in the next 27 days!

PS - Everyone is sleeping now and I don't hear any coughing. Thank you, Lord!

Day 1 - Giving Challenge

Today is Day 1 in my 29 Day Giving Challenge. It has been in my thoughts most of the day.

I didn't pick one specific thing to "give" today and then checked it off my "to-do" list. Instead, surprisingly, I was reminded to "give" throughout the day. Some of the things I did are things I might normally do but today my perspective was different. My attitude changed a little. I don't know how or why but doing these things just felt different today.

Here's what I did today in the way of "giving":

On Tuesdays, Ben is allowed to get pizza for lunch at school. Normally, we give him $5. This morning he asked if he could have an extra dollar to get bread sticks. My first reaction would be to tell him no, that $5 is more than enough to get a couple slices of pizza and something to drink. However, I found myself agreeing to give him that extra dollar. You would have thought I promised him a million dollars! He was so excited that I said yes and so happy that he would be able to get bread sticks with his pizza order. His smile and "thank you, Mommy" made my morning brighter. And it was a rainy morning!

After home school this morning, Ali asked if I would play Barbies. The girl loves her Barbies! Me, not so much. I am more of a Go Fish or Tic Tac Toe kind of woman. Not that I don't like Barbies themselves because I do. Jenn and I grew up playing with Barbies and we had THE best Barbie house ever. The house was built by my Dad and it was made of all wood, with paneling, three floors and a garage! It was nearly 5 feet tall. It was completely furnished with cool wicker furniture and it even had carpeting. My Mom still has it but I haven't been able to get her to give it up yet......hey Mom, you always said when we have daughters, we could have it......we have daughters now......how about it?? :) Anyway, back to Ali. So, she asked me to play Barbies. Usually, I try to get out of it by suggesting we play something else. ANYTHING ELSE. But today, I wanted to give to my daughter. So, I gave her my time and played her favorite thing in the whole wide world of the US of A - Barbies. It actually was a lot of fun and you will be happy to know that we had a great time with our Barbies at a wedding, at cheerleading practice, getting a snack at the mall and playing "Dance, Dance Revolution." Boy, those girls know how to party.

Ray had a very hard day at work. His leg was giving him problems and he was in a lot of pain after a long day of climbing ladders and climbing over walls. When he got home he joked that, although my incredibly tasty leftover mostacolli was very tempting to have for dinner, he wouldn't stop me if I wanted to drive to Quizno's and pick him up an extra large cheese steak sandwich. He's thoughtful like that. And even though I was tired and it was raining, I got out of my pajamas (oh, I kid......I kept my pajamas on) and drove to the next town over to get my man a cheese steak sandwich. And it felt good. Tasted pretty good, too.

The last thing I gave today was totally random. I was reading some new blogs and I came across across a blog called The Daily Dakin, written by a Mommy with a little boy who has a rare neuromuscular disease. She has such a bright and optimistic disposition and her little guy Dakin is just adorable. I am inspired by her and look forward to reading her entire blog and getting to know her and Dakin much better. In the meantime, I gave to Dakin and his Mommy by signing a petition to help with research and finding a cure for this rare disease. I don't normally sign things online but because of this challenge, I felt compelled. If you would like to get to know Dakin, you can read all about him at The Daily Dakin.

See you tomorrow.

Changing Lives One Gift At A Time

Today I signed up to do the "29 Day Giving Challenge." I was inspired to do so after watching an interview this morning of Cami Walker on the Today Show. After struggeling with multiple sclerosis and the pain and depression that accompanied her illness, Cami was encouraged to try giving for 29 days to see if it changed her perspective in any way. So, after a sleepless night at 3:00 in the morning, Cami decided to give the idea a try. Not only did it change her perspective about her illness, it changed her life in ways she never could have imagined! On day 14 of giving, she no longer needed to walk with her cane! You can read Cami's entire story at http://www.29gifts.org/ where you can also sign up for the 29 Day Giving Challenge. The gifts of giving can be whatever it is you feel compelled and able to do. Maybe you feel led to call a friend, who is going through a difficult time, to offer a few words of encouragement. Or maybe you want to make your husband his favorite dinner because he has had a tough week at work. Or maybe you smile and say hello to a stranger. Or maybe you have a few extra dollars and decide to pay for the cutomer behind you at McDonald's. Or maybe you bake some cookies for your eldery neighbor and deliver them as an unexpectied surprise. Or maybe......well, you get the idea!

I am really excited to begin my challenge tomorrow. I believe it will be the beginning of something really special. I'll be sure to post about my experience, as I begin this wonderful challenge!

To My Better Half

Happy Sweetest Day, Honey!!!

Here's to another 22 more Sweetest Days together!

Love,

Me