Thanks, Ladies

By Mare Ball @ ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK
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I just spent an hour reading posts on this blog, and I felt such a connection with so many writers.  Women had written about things I am dealing with myself.  I often find that when I come here.  Women of faith who are moms are the most poignant writers on the planet.

Non-moms and men can be great writers too, I'm not dismissing any one's efforts.  I simply enjoy this little corner of Blogwarts.  Moms who are committed to serving God are honest about their struggles, and quick to encourage others.  The world needs more of these traits.

Gratitude for the writers here kicks off my list of things I'm grateful for recently.  It's been a rough month, but when I examine my life, there are always blessings to be found.

2.  Extra funds that came in this month.  We're replacing a door that's been torn up by a dog that's no longer with us and three grown children that no longer live here. 

3.  That fact that despite almost daily flooding rains here in central Florida, no water has seeped into our sliding glass back door.

4.  TooJays restaurant.  They make an awesome Reuben sandwich.

5.  19 Kids and Counting.  I admire the Dugger family and how they live their lives.  It's encouraging.

6.  That, at the moment, my parents (91 and 94) are stable.

7.  That our teacher-daughter and some of her students are safely back from a two-week field trip to Ireland.

8.   That my daughter brought me back from Ireland some lovely tiger's eye earrings.

9.   Men's L.L Bean Oxford shirts.  Best wrinkle-resistant shirts ever.

10. MSM, the natural supplement that helps with pain and inflammation.  I pray it can keep me off meds for fibromyalgia/RA.

11. The lawyer I spent an hour with last week.  Did you know patterned Christmas paper and patterned fabric are copyrighted?  I didn't either.

12. Flannel sheets.  They're cozy all year round.

What has blessed you this week?

Five Guys

by Mare Ball @ ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK

This past weekend, a good friend of our son's got married.  My son and his friend have been buddies since second grade.  In high school, they became friends with three other guys, and these five guys have stayed in touch through college and into the early years of marriage.  They're rarely all together anymore, but at this wedding, four buddies stood up with their mutual friend, the groom.

The bride and groom were lovely and all the festivities were great, but what kept pulling at my heart was seeing these five buddies all grown up.   They used to be scrawny kids, and then gangly teens, but now they are broad-shouldered, employed young men, one of them a father.  It made my heart ache in a tender, beautiful way.

There were hundreds of pictures taken at the wedding/reception, most of which I've not seen yet, but this picture stole my heart.

Four grown buddies watching the groom and his new wife cut the cake (our son is second from the left.)  Their tux jackets came off after the wedding ceremony, and their shirts are a bit rumpled from line dancing.  Throughout the reception, they laughed and joked like they did in high school.  They posed for endless pictures, slow danced with their wives, and helped clean up when the party was over.   

I love these boys.  I love that they stay in touch and help one another out when needed.  I love that they respect adults and tolerate hugs from their moms, and other moms.  So quickly, boys turn in to men.

If you have a little boy, steal as many smooches as you can.  Wrestle with him, and play baseball with him, and teach him how to be a gentleman.  Tell him how God designed him to protect girls from dragons and young women from players.  Give him a sense of pride in the strength and provision abilities of the male psyche.  Assure him God has a plan for his life.

Then, some day, when he stands up for a buddy at a wedding - or at his own wedding - you will have tears of gratitude and love in your eyes. 

A Year with MMW

by Mare Ball from Adventures in the Ballpark

I recently passed my one year anniversary writing for Mormon Mommy Writers.  On February 22, 2013, my first post appeared here: NEW KID ON THE BLOCK.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to show up here twice a month and share my heart.  I'm grateful for all comments and the insights of other contributors here.  It was through MMW that I was first published (as a contributor to Choose to Write), for which I will be forever grateful.

Since I came on board here, I've taken a marketing course, mostly finished my WIP, written a book proposal, and am in communication with two editors.  I have written posts for two other blogs.  If I had not been invited to be a regular part of MMW, I'm sure I would not have made such progress in my writing career.  Even though, at times, I'm rushed or dragging my feet on what to write, it's been very beneficial to have a writing deadline and commitment.  Thank you, MMW gals, and especially Nikki Wilson for investing in me.  

As I looked over my previous posts, I decided this was my favorite: WRITING IS LIKE MOTHERHOOD.  Considering the name of this blog, it seems fitting.  I wanted to share it again, because I didn't know how else to commemorate my time here.  I wanted to share my love for motherhood and writing, and this post does that.  If you've read it, feel free to click to Facebook.  I won't be offended.

What I've learned this year is to keep plugging away.  Writing is a marathon, not a sprint.  We never know whose heart we might touch, whose life we might improve because of something we crafted.

If you love to write, God has placed that in your makeup.  If we honor Him in our efforts, I believe we will win.  Success might not look like our original vision, but I'm learning that's part of the journey.  

   

Skinny Cow and Electrical Tape - These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

by Mare Ball

It's getting chilly here in Florida, and I'm enjoying making apple dumplings and wearing my snowman sweater now and then.  (I'm normally in flip-flops and shorts.)  Facebook is full of gratitude posts, and I'm thinking of trying a new cranberry salad recipe for Thanksgiving.

I love autumn.  It's my favorite season.  I was married in October solely because that's when trees show off their colors.  I love the cool breezes in November and the fact that Christmas is peeking around the corner.

I won't be posting again until Black Friday, so I wanted to share a few things I'm grateful for this year - outside of family and relative health, which I recognize every year.  These are just simple things that make me smile.

1.  My gym, where membership is only ten bucks a month.  I don't make it there every day, so I appreciate the fact that I'm wasting only thirty-three cents on the days I'm not checking in.

2.  My PT Cruiser.  It fits my behind.   

3.  CVS weekly sales.  Nothing beats .99 Puffs or Dawn dish washing liquid. 

4.  Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.  We've gotten away from fat ice cream completely and don't even miss it.

5.  Fresh salmon all year round.  With maple syrup and a bit of lemon. I only wish it was thirty-three cents a day like the gym.

6.  That Mom, who's fairly reserved, can still make me chuckle.  Like the fact that she calls her pantiliners "ipads." 

7.  Coconut oil.  It's a great moisturizer and, mixed with baking soda, a wonderful, natural toothpaste. 

8.  Dental hygienists and proctologists.  No, really.  What if no one wanted those jobs?  Just imagine. Whatever they're paid, it's not enough.

9.  Pocket calculators.  I haven't had to do math in my head for a decade.  And I wasn't very good at it then.

10.  Can openers that take off the lid from the side, so there are no sharp edges.  This enables me to use the lids and cans for all kinds of things.

11.  Electrical tape.  I've just discovered it's a super craft tape, and it comes in all kinds of colors.  It enables me to make stuff like this.
                                                           
                                       

(Notice the tin can with no sharp edges.)

12.  My clothesline.  I hang clothes out all year long.  I feel like I'm pulling one over on the electric company.  I'm sure it doesn't care, but it makes me feel like I'm smarter than the average bear.

13.  IKEA.  I love roaming around in that store.  The plastic bag holder and the washcloths with loops on them make me so happy.

14.  Flannel sheets.  We use them all the time, even in the summer.  Cotton sheets are crinkly and loud.

15.  Cream of Mushroom soup.  You just can't replicate that stuff.  I've tried, and I've failed.  I bought two cans today.  Green Bean Casserole, I'm ready.

16.  Those Liberty Mutual commercials where the tree drops on the car, or the car door gets snapped off by another car whizzing past - they crack me up every time.  Humans.   

17.  Cookie cutters.  I've collected all kinds over the years, and they bring such creativity and fun to sugar cookie dough.  If I had to carve swans or reindeer by hand, we'd just have circle cookies cut out with a glass.

18.  That God's graces are new every day.  Because, everyday, I need a do-over.
   

Accidental Blessings

Sometimes life intervenes, and the plans you had...well, they just don't matter anymore.

My plan to write a post for MMW this week changed when our daughter was in a car accident last week.  In another state.

I needed to write about it, but it took me a week to process it.  I posted that piece on my blog HERE, and I invite you to join me there to see how good God is even amidst damaging events.

I can only bow before Him and say, thank you, thank you, thank you.

You're Going to Get Tired of Me

Two days in a row of Cheri? Sorry about that. ;) I was glad to be able to help Nikki out in a pinch.

Yesterday, I found myself inadvertently counting my blessings. It's been an awesome week, as things go. First of all, Bryan is HOME with us finally (and on a job interview right now, so fingers crossed). He got in around midnight Tuesday/Wednesday, and woke up the kids for school Wednesday morning. It was better than when we surprised them with Disneyland, seriously. The oldest was first, since he has to get up early for seminary. He couldn't disengage his "Cheshire Cat grin" all morning. Then he woke up the girls. The youngest hit her head on the bunk bed in her rush to hug Daddy and didn't even notice. He woke up the twins last and ended up sandwiched between them in a big hug. I sent the happiest kids on Earth to school that morning--and not just because they were on the cusp of a 5 day weekend.

Wednesday afternoon we had parent/teacher conferences. I've vented a little in various places about how frustrating it's been struggling with my older daughter and school. A few weeks ago, we had an emergency meeting with her teachers, the principal, her, me and Dad-via-phone. Ever since then, though, she's been a model student and brought all her failing grades up to passing. Her lowest grade is just 2 points away from being a C. Considering she was failing three subjects just a few weeks ago--that's pretty amazing. I'm so proud of her that she's taken the responsibility to improve and try and do all those things she's supposed to do anyway. It's not the end of the solution, but it's a step.

My youngest is also doing fantastic in her class. Straight A's, that girl. She just loves school (I love that stage).

Thursday we celebrated Bryan's birthday. So glad that he was here for it. Since I got my son's cold, he did most of the cooking but everything (except my potato rolls lol) turned out great.

I guess, in all this, I'm trying to say how fantastic this week has been, and how easy it is to feel gratitude and peace when things are going well. It's been a dark time, and I'm happy to see the sun again.

One of my sons once said, in response to the hymn "Count your Blessings," that to do so is impossible, because there are too many. That's a great attitude to have, but a difficult one to maintain. So, just in case some of you are struggling today, my advice--and my son's--is to take a few minutes to think of the good things in your life. Sometimes those things are as basic as getting out of bed, or a hug from your child, but they can be larger things, too.

What are your blessings today?

Thanking My Heavenly Father for Unanswered Prayers

I've had a few reflective days where looking back on it all I'm so grateful for the little unanswered prayers in my life.  Those prayers that were so huge and desperate at the time... in the end, saved me so much more heartache.

Like the time I begged the Lord to let me stay in my beautiful home in Chatteris, England, even though the promptings to leave could not be ignored and eventually we did.  Moving when I was 8 months pregnant.

Or when I begged the Lord a few weeks later to not take my husband to Iraq until after the baby (our sixth) was born.  So things would work out and he could see her.  When she was a week overdue and my husband left, and the doctors were not able to induce me due to complications, it was when I nearly cursed God.  Nearly.  I felt it was the hardest thing I ever had to do--be over nine months pregnant with so many children and say goodbye to my husband.  I was scared, and angry... and in a new place where I knew no one.

Only to find a week later and a prolapsed umbilical cord... Had I not moved, had my husband stayed, had anything at all been different--so many little miracles in a row--I wouldn't be laughing with my 4 year old today.  They say it was a miracle she survived at all... I know for a fact, had my husband been there or had I lived 30 minutes from the hospital in my old house, my life would've been so much more miserable than it was the few weeks before.

My Heavenly Father knew, that even though he was breaking my heart, I really, really wanted to have a baby in my arms, more than I wanted my husband there to witness her death or a beautiful house to bury her nearby.  He knew much more than I did--

And it was this lesson, the lesson when I nearly cursed my God, that I realized no matter what unanswered prayers I'm given, no matter what trials, or disappointments come my way, I will realize and see that I do not know the big picture, that my Heavenly Father does love me and watches out for me.  I will never (nearly) curse Him again.

I also realize and own the fact, he could take anyone I love at any moment... but if he did, it would be okay.  Because each day is a blessing with them.  Each moment a precious gift, and I will be grateful for all the gifts and learning opportunities I am given--even if they are for just a moment.

So just remember, if the burden you carry seems too hard at the moment, and you feel as if you're asked to do too many things you didn't count on, be grateful.  Get on your knees and thank God for every trial in your life.  Because you do not know what would happen if things were different.  Had you stayed in that home.  Had your husband continued to work for that company...

Or had your book been published when you thought it should've been.  Lol!  He has his hand in everything.
Everything happens for a reason.  Be truly grateful for all those reasons.  And every unanswered prayer.

--Jenni James

Psst!  It's finally here!  My book is finally here!  I held in my hands on Thursday at my very first signing.  (it was at a booksellers convention, for buyers from around the US, Canada, England, etc. to decide if they want to sell my book in their store.  I'm very happy to say Pride & Popularity will be in stores very soon! Eeep.