Rainy Day Box

Good Wednesday morning!

I’ve added the rest of our 4th of July pics to the Gallery this morning. I’ll move on to a different “subject” tomorrow. I may check on the caterpillar tree to see if any progress has been made. (With my luck, the butterflies flew away… yesterday. We’ll see.

AND THE WINNER IS… MANDI ADAMS! That’s right. MANDI has won the second Butt Naked Candle Contest! I will be delivering her Butt Naked Candle to her home sometime this weekend. I may even take a picture of her accepting this AWESOME prize. You just never know.

Congratulations!

RANDOMNESS - I looked in my July 2009 Archives, and found this little nugget about Summer. In lieu of anything exciting to exaggerate about this morning, I thought I'd re-post. I do that from time to time. I forgot I wrote it, so I assume you forgot, too.

Well, we skipped through Spring, and now we find ourselves in the throes of Summer. Personally, I am no longer in the Summer is my Season of Life. However, it was an incredible season.

I married Mikie at 26 and had the kids at 29, 33 and 35. Starting my family at the beginning of Summer was definitely exciting and wonderful. However, as everyone knows, your Summer energy level is definitely not the same as your Spring energy level. At least it wasn't for me. By the time Roxie arrived, I could tell a HUGE difference in how I kept up with two little boys and a baby girl, and how someone ten years my junior did the exact same thing. (Code for THEY WEREN'T COUNTING DOWN THE HOURS, MINUTES AND SECONDS FOR NAP TIME EVERY DAY!)

As much as I love Autumn, I know in my heart of hearts Summer will always be the Season of Life I cherish and remember the most fondly. It's the season in which I was able to do what I think I was meant to do... become a wife and a mom (with much smaller kids, of course).

My Summer was exciting, exhausting, exhilarating and so much more fulfilling than my Spring. Now, if I could have gone through my Summer and kept my Spring body... that would have definitely been a plus. But, that's not how it works, is it? Well, not for me, anyway. (Add a note of bitterness to that last sentence.)

Looking back, I know how quickly Summer flew by. You hear it every day during a regular summer season. "Summer is so short." "Summer doesn't last as long as it should." "I didn't get everything done I wanted to this Summer."

It's just another reminder why "moments matter," and why time spent with the people you love is the MOST important time of all... no matter what Season of Life you are currently going through.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3-4.

Wednesday Wisdom - During Sunday morning’s sermon, our pastor shared some quotes from this country’s Founding Fathers which were very moving. I thought I’d post a few of them this morning, plus a few others I found as well.

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?" Thomas Jefferson

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religious, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.” Patrick Henry

We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.” James Madison

And although he wasn’t a Founding Father, I believe he knew what he was talking about when he said the following:

“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under." Ronald Reagan

I often wonder what these men would think if they could read today's newspaper or watch a couple of hours of CNN News. I imagine there would be a great deal of sadness and disappointment in their hearts.

Rainy Day Box

I found this idea during my wanderings on the Internet… and I liked it.

The author suggested having the kids decorate a fairly large plastic box and lid. After the box is decorated, it is Mom’s job to fill it with books, craft projects, DVDs, books on tapes and a new game or two.

The next rainy summer day that comes around, you don’t have to be worried about entertaining little ones all day. Just pull out the Rainy Day Box and pick one or two things out during the day for the kids to enjoy.

I used to do this for the kids when they were sick. I kept a Sick Box filled with a new coloring books AND crayons. (New crayons ALWAYS make you feel better.) I also kept a few new books and a video or two the kids hadn’t watched for awhile.

But I like the Rainy Day Box idea, too.

I was window shopping at Homewood Toy and Hobby Shop recently, and I couldn’t help but notice what a unique variety of craft kits and toys they offer. They had kits I had never even thought of before. And they weren’t too pricey, either. Something totally different and unplanned for a rainy day would make it a very fun day, too. (I may make a Rainy Day Box just for ME!)

NOTE - Don’t forget to make a giant fort in the den with blankets, chairs, pillows and such for the book reading part of your Rainy Day Celebration. Reading in a fort is always more fun than reading on the couch. Just saying!

Have a fun Wednesday. Encourage someone today, by word or by deed. I’ll be back in the morning with Blog Linkage and a fun summer date.

Take care, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda