Joy...in paradise

Last night we watched "The Bucket List". Good movie...especially at my age!

In this movie there are two very different people facing the same event. One has all the money he could ever use but no one to share it with. The other has enough money to get through life but a family whom he dearly loves and they love him. They come together and learn many things from each other. The one to have some 'fun' that he thought he had missed and the other to learn that love of family brings greater joy than he ever imagined.

It got me thinking about how much JOY I have in my life...how much joy do I ALLOW myself to have? Is there more joy in life when kids are small or when they FINALLY grow up and you once again have a life all to yourself?

Men are that they might have joy, the scriptures tell us.

Joy isn't always being happy 24/7, I don't believe. Joy, to me, is seeing the wonderful things that happen in life amid everyday life. Joy is knowing that life can and does have it's beautiful, exciting, blissful moments. For me, it's just learning to have THOSE moments stand out ahead of the not so beautiful, exciting, blissful moments!!

Catie-Lynn, in all her 17 3/4 years of living, gave the me what-for about an expression that I use quite often since living "here in paradise". She says it makes people think my life here is terrible. I tried to explain that the reason I use this expression is because to everyone else I do live in paradise....who wouldn't want to live in a tropical country...paradise, right? She didn't buy that. SHE told me that my life wasn't as bad as I made it out to be here and that I needed to find the good things about 'paradise'!

My pride gets in the way, I will admit. I loved my big house and having all my 'things' around. I loved being able to go to the store and buy whatever I saw that I thought I needed or wanted. I loved putting my clothes in the dryer and having them come out 30 minutes later. I loved being able to pick up the phone and call whomever, whenever. I loved having air conditioning. I loved being able to get in my car and drive to see my kids and grandkids whenever I wanted.

THAT was MY paradise.

You get the idea....all things that, sometimes-ok, quite often I must admit, keep me from finding joy here and now. Except for being able to see all my kids and grandkids are 'things' that really don't bring me joy.

Life changes with each day. I want to find the joy in each of those changes...whatever they are.
I am that I might have joy. That is a great promise. That is a great blessing.

Thank you Catie-Lynn for helping me see that I really can find joy in my present paradise!!

Today I turned 54

Yes, it's hard to believe but I was indeed born in 1954 so that makes me...well, really old according to my 17 year daughter!! I remember how old my parents were when they were younger than I am now! Weird. You NEVER think you are going to THAT old...then one day you wake up and you ARE older than your parents were when they were really old!!

So, what does this all mean? It means that I need to make some changes in my life.

I will be more content with my life and how it is going.
I will see the beauty in my life and in myself.
I will love the time that I have with my family...the phone calls, the visits, the hugs, the sugars for my grandkids...since they are too few and far between.
I will look forward to tomorrow but live today and enjoy the ride.

*I have a great life.
*5 Kids who are growing up and starting their own wonderful families
*4 kids-in-law who think I'm the greatest mother-in-law
(I'm sure that's NOT because I live 2,000 miles away)
*7 grandchildren who love Grandma to come and visit...some who don't understand that yet
*a husband of 32 years who says he's glad he has me around
*friends who still call me their friend after so many years and so many miles apart
*2 sisters, 1 brother, sister & brother-in-laws...all who are special parts in my life
*Love...What more could I want.

Thank you all for being such a terrific addition to my life.

Surprise, Surprise, I do remember how to post!!!

First of all, I want to tell everyone how MUCH I LOVE LOVE LOVE my colorful hand and washcloths that my children gave to me for Mother's Day. I have a new color everyday and only have to wash towels once a week!!! (During the raining season, which seems to have gotten here already, that is a good thing since my dryer is mother nature.) What fun it is to have this little, but 'feels so good', colorful part of my life!! Thanks kids!!

Ok, so I did this silly, but interesting, thing I got from reading Brandi’s blog, where you search “(your name) needs” and this is what I got.

I discovered that I share this name with several famous people... Cindy Sheehan, Cindy Crawford, Cindy Li, Cindy McCain, Cindy Margolis and a few others who have too many X's after their names to mention!

Cindy needs…

…a tall cold glass of something

…to keep her kids out of the spotlight

…you

…our help

…to be accessorized

… cash

… to improve her social skills

…to get aggressive treatment and care

…to stay on the bus

…her beans

…comments and vote recommendations

…to release her taxes returns

…help

… your promise to support her

… to stop talking

…to be ignored

Hum? Some of these are about as true as me being ‘sleeping beauty’.

And just in case you have to ask...

I AM sleeping beauty!!

I must be dreaming!!!

Hum.....could it be true?



You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Life

ok, I've lost my boot straps. I know they are here somewhere but right now I can't find them....so I can't pull myself up with them. I'm really not sure what boot straps are in the first place so I'm not sure what I'm suppose to be looking for to tell you the truth. You'd figure that by the time I turned 53 that I'd know what they were and where to find them when I needed them...but alas, I must admit that I really don't have that information.

I decided to go to the internet...it has everything you need to know about anything, right? Right!

Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps...

"Meaning:
Improve your situation by your own efforts.

The origin of this descriptive phrase isn't known. It refers of course to boots and their straps (laces) and to the imagined feat of a lifting oneself off the ground by pulling on one's bootstraps. This impossible task is supposed to exemplify the achievement in getting out of a difficult situation by one's own efforts."

So now I know what bootstraps are and what it means....


Now I just need to do it.

To answer a few question about Mother's Day

What is too dark?
Black. Royal or navy blue are fine. No yellow or white. Prints are great...I don't have any color scheme to work with so I'm open!!

Does my youngest have to give me bathroom towels since she gave me kitchen towels for Christmas?
Only if she loves me!

Do I need anything else?
Well, since no one really asked, I'll tell you...only so that if you find the towels I asked for and just don't think that's enough...
I need a nice tablecloth for my kitchen table. Round. Plastic with some nice cushioning would be fine. I really don't want to have to wash it or put a a piece of clear plastic over it...so plastic is great! The .35 cent one (yes that's cents) I got at Garden ridge works ok but it is wearing out fast and I really hate the plastic ones here. But I'd really prefer the wash clothes and handtowels!!

Thanks for asking!! Guess I should really have put this on the family blog...nay, Next year!

For Mother's Day

I've decided what I need for Mother's Day...and I'm asking early so my kids will be able to look between now and then. This is something I usually don't do but desperate times call for desperate measures!!

I would like a nice washcloth and bathroom handtowel from each of my children. That is 5 total...no more. I would like them to be any color but white or yellow. Darker colors (but not really dark) are better than light colors for here in Costa Rica but I will take whatever color you choose. Don't care about the design but I would like nice quality material....so it can hold up to the washing and line drying I do here. Also, I do not need bath towels...only washclothes and handtowels. I don't need kitchen towels, only bathroom. Yes, I could go and buy the ones they have here in the grocery store for about a dollar each, but I don't like the quality or feel of those. Besides, it gives you kids something to get me for Mother's day!! :) And I'll be in the states so you don't even have to send them to me in Costa Rica.

Ok, now I feel really selfish...why is that?

Things as they are

On the 1st day of January I came to spend some very special time with my children and grandchildren. I love my family. They are my world and I will do about anything...even sleep on the couch...to be able to spend a few days with them. I have terrific kids even though they aren't 'kids' anymore!

*Thank you, Carlos JR, for being such a wonderful example to your sisters.
*Thanks, AC, for being here for CL and Nan (and making my blog look so beautiful).
*Thank you, MC, for being here for AC and CL and helping them get through some of the rough spots.
*Thanks, RM, for keeping in touch with all of us; for still needing us as much as we need you.
*Thank you, CL, for trying so hard to make the best of this double life we live in the US and CR.

I was to leave in the morning to return to Costa Rica, but things haven't worked out for that to happen. I had my ticket but something needs to be completed that only I, as a parent, can do for one of my kids. We tried hard to get it done but Murphy's law prevailed so I changed my ticket to stay until Wed. the 30th. I am very glad to be able to do this for her since I know this is so important to her.


However, I truly miss...










my husband and best friend.

My 7 blessings

This past weekend I was surrounded for one day with all my grandkids in Richmond. I must admit that having 4 babies 7 months and younger was a little bit noisy but it was great!! We missed Carlos SR and Mary-Carmen however. We took 2 rows at church with everyone there for the blessing of Miss Laurie Adeline Chacon. Next Sunday will be the twins blessing in Raleigh.

Miss Miriam 5 1/2
Miss Elaine 3 1/2
Miss Logan 2 3/4
Master Ben 7 months
Master Cooper 7 months
Miss Laurie 6 weeks
Master Mason 2 weeks