One Word At A Time: Summer

By MAD21

Summer. In our corner of the world it means hot and humid, thunderstorms, green grass and beautiful flowers and plants. But for me, summer means a whole lot more.

It means time.

Growing up and even during my young adulthood I remember people around me always talking about loving summer, not the season per se, but the time of year. Honestly, I never really understood it. Obviously as a child I loved summer because it meant no school and sometimes a family vacation, but in all the years leading up to parenthood, summer was just like any other time... just hotter. Work schedules and extracurricular activities continued on throughout the year without much thought.

Until this past year…

I am entering a different phase of parenthood. We are past the years of potty training and strollers, bottles and baby food, and teaching our girls to walk and talk. My oldest was in half-day Kindergarten last year and my youngest in a three-year-old Pre-K class two mornings a week. We had soccer, gymnastics and horse-riding lessons, along with birthday parties, play dates and homework. The end of the school year was so busy for us I don’t even remember May.

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A Beautiful Symphony

By Pat

I've always known God is a music lover. If not, He wouldn't have endowed certain people with beautiful voices, or the ability to play a musical instrument or compose. When you add those talents together, you have a symphony orchestra. If used separately, a concert pianist. But any way you look at it, what a wonderful sound it is to hear lovely music, and how God must enjoy listening!

I have envisioned God listening to a stirring classical piece...sitting back, eyes closed, just relaxing, much as I do. But recently, I was struck by a sound that made me realize I could be wrong. I was kneeling at my little granddaughter's bed one night not long ago, helping her with her prayers, and as she repeated my words (and even remembered to add a person I didn't remind her about), I knew without a doubt that THIS was God's favorite music. Hearing His little ones stumble their way though a bedtime prayer, learning to end their day with thanks, must make God smile beautifully. And since we are all God's "little ones," I believe with all my heart that the sounds of our voices lifted to Him in prayer are, indeed, a beautiful symphony.

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Life Is Funny: Fireworks

By MAD21

Our family had an awesome 4th of July. It's one of my kids most favorite holidays. Who can blame them? Good food, family, friends, a parade AND fireworks all in the same day.

We had gotten a great spot to watch the local fireworks that evening. This year was particularly good as many of the neighbors around the area had acquired some pretty cool (albeit illegal) fireworks. We literally had nearly a 360 degree view of fireworks. It was awesome.

At some point in the evening, my oldest asked about why there were so many fireworks going off around us. We just explained which ones were the ones we actually came to see (the town sponsored fireworks), and that the others were from people who were probably having parties and had purchased some for them to enjoy.

When the majority of the large fireworks were done, we collected all of our stuff and started heading back for the car. Some other fireworks started going off in the sky and our youngest got excited yelling, "Look sister! More fireworks!" To which my oldest responded, "That's not for us, that's for the neighborhoods."

Apparently, we were not supposed to watch and enjoy them because they weren't meant for us. It was really funny. They were happy to know that it was ok for us to stop and watch them before we left.

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.

Tasty Bites: Brown Rice Penne Pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

It sometimes gets difficult for me to write a post with a recipe, because it’s so seldom I follow even my own recipes. Summer meals can be frustrating to prepare because we simply don’t want to spend time in the kitchen. Yet there’s a bounty of garden produce just begging to be cooked! Some days I will throw together the most random of foods and actually come up with some semblance of dinner. This was one of those days. No recipe, just a little starving spontaneity that I want to share.

After a long day at work, a quick stop at the gym, and a 15 mile bike ride, I came home starving. I had cleaned some Brussels sprouts the day before, slicing them in half and peeling off the browned outer leaves. As I stood staring in the fridge, I grabbed the first few things I could find: the sprouts, a package of Baby Bella mushrooms, a small chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a near-empty goat cheese container, and a handful of fresh herbs from the pots on my patio. The result in about 20 minutes tasted so good (perhaps part of it was the starving factor), I quickly wrote it down what I did because I know how some people need an actual recipe (you know who you are)! All measurements are pretty accurate but you can substitute just about any vegetable, any type of mushroom, herb, or grain.

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YOB: Next Up... Greece and Egypt

By Lara

I am aware that it's not on the Year of the Birthday list; however, I am currently on a cruise enjoying an optional excursion in Egypt. That is correct. Egypt. I am prepared with my Egyptian tourist visa and everything.

It's actually a funny story involving one trip getting cancelled and another trip becoming available. My friend Mandi wanted to go to Athens to visit her friend Bruce. As I had no desire to impose on Bruce for an extended period of time, I agreed to go with her so long as we went on some sort of a tour.

Mandi suggested that I start looking for tours. I found my dream tour. One week in Greece. One week cruising the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Once I saw that there was an optional excursion to Egypt during which we would see the pyramids and take a river boat up the Nile, I was SOLD.

It was slightly more difficult to sell Mandi on my two week dream tour encompassing three continents. Fortunately, I have been blessed with the gift of encouragement. I encouraged Mandi to agree that this tour rocked. Soon we had booked our flights and sent in our tour reservations. Yay!

And now I'm here. In Egypt. Rest assured that I will have plenty of stories to tell when I get back. I will also have pictures. I'm excited.