Author Archives: Rebecca

Happy Mother’s Day!

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I have published this poem here before, back before I wiped out previous posts and started again. I thought a repost would be appropriate for this special day.

We have been blessed with another set of fingers since taking this picture.

Oh, Lord, I Thank Thee

I thank thee for the little fingers

that get into everything

for without these little fingers

to whom else would I sing?

*

Sing of your praises

And sing of birds and bees

Sing to my little ones

Songs of elephants and fleas

*

I thank thee for the little voices

that sometimes whine and cry

for without these little voices

I would never wonder why

*

Why is the sky blue?

And why do you start us small?

Why must we eat vegetables

to grow up strong and tall?

*

I thank thee for the little eyes

that peep when they should be sleeping

for without these little eyes

what dreams would be worth keeping?

*

Keeping dreams of a big house

with laughter in each room

love and hugs and tiny dreams

you stitched together in my womb

*

I thank thee for these little children

you have placed within my care

for without these little children

joyous moments would be rare

__________

Share a precious memory of your mother or of being a mother.

Welcome! My Nephew! – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

4-23-2012

to California

with you! Hug that baby boy

for me. wrapped in love

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

Whether you’ve published zero books or ninety-seven, here is a great inside look at someone’s life after the book is done. I haven’t read Emily’s book yet, but it’s on my list.

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Moments for Mamas

I am so guilty of comparing myself to everyone else. I want my kids to be the smartest, strongest, toughest, blah, blah, blah. And I want to be the best mama in the whole wide world. It’s all a matter of pride, and when I can’t measure up I am defeated right into believing, “Why bother!” Well, because my children want me as their mother, and your children want you.

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And For the Kids

My competitive streak (see above) finds me easily addicted to competitive games, but at least this one keeps my mind thinking.

___________

What do you do to love on people too far away for your arms to hold?

Not the Same – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page. 

3-14-2012

decluttering stuff,

abandoning memories:

guilt-free opposites

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

Jon Acuff writes about how fear keeps us from finding our writing voices. I find myself giving into this every time I think, “It’s late. I’ll write tomorrow.” Unfortunately, tomorrow never comes. Be intentional about finding your voice, even if for only fifteen minutes at a time.

Moments for Mamas

Some seasons of life are a bit more difficult than others, but so often we don’t realize how much others want to help us if we would only tell them how. Glennon recounts how her sister and husband found the perfect daily gift for her sanity and joy. What do you need at this season in your life? Who can you ask?

And For the Kids

Oh, Boy! I could play on this site about cardboard projects and projects made of cardboard for the rest of the year. Well, except for the fact that every time I get a box I fill it with stuff and send it to the thrift store. :-D

__________

Decluttering can be ridiculously emotional. The pictured items lived on my dresser for years telling me stories. Then they lived in boxes for years. Determined to stop living out of boxes, I’m making some gut-wrenching decisions. What have you decluttered lately?

Daffodils and Deep Magic – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

3-8-2012

my daughter’s birthday

flower: will you still bloom when

her birthday arrives?

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

It’s always interesting to see a possible future, and every time I think, “I can get back to writing when they’re older,” this is the possible future I’m hoping for. But! I don’t want to wait thirty years. I seek the gift of the present.

Moments for Mamas

I pray often that my children will have hearts that wish to glorify God. I also struggle because I want a three-step plan that will make them behave as they ought. The three-step plan doesn’t truly exist, but God never calls us to idleness. Janae shares five actions to share God with your children. I most need reminding of number one!

And For the Kids

Have you ever seen those flashlights that you shake up to make them work? They look like awesome fun, but I found something even better: science you can use with glow in the dark Mountain Dew! On a side note: No, it is not “wasting” if you pour the Mountain Dew you don’t need down the sink drain. Seriously, you don’t need that stuff on your teeth or in your belly.

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Note: The Amazon flashlight link is an affiliate link. You are welcome to Support My Brainstorms by clicking on that link and buying anything you want from Amazon. Thanks!

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 We breathe in Spring as my oldest daughter’s birthday swoops in. What happens each year that marks the approach of your birthday?

I’m Ready! – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

11-11&12-2011

Mama, wait on me!

I want to come outside too

I have my shoes on

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

Some beautiful ladies I know, Steph and Anne, keep me accountable to weekly blogging and writing goals with our Mastermind Group phone calls. Get started making your own goals by visiting Jamie Raintree’s thoughts on setting weekly writing goals on her post at Routines for Writers.

Moments for Mamas

In the blogging world, where everything is sprinkled with fairy dust and magic, the pressure to be superwoman can be more intense than when the mother-in-law schedules a visit.* Join me in thanking one cool mom, Steph from The Cheapskate Cook, as she admits that supermom doesn’t even exist on the menu of life.

*I am not referring to my mom-in-love. We get along great, and she already knows most of my faults. ;-)

And For the Kids

Once again, I can’t say if this is more fun for the kids or the adults (like me!), but you gotta try stumping this Genie! Pick a person, real or imaginary, and answer the questions Akinator asks you about that person. Out of me and my three oldest children, only Stellaluna was able to stump the genie. She introduced Akinator to Camille from Alfred the Hedgehog on Qubo.

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I hate to let the kids outside the front door if they’re still in their jammies. (What would the neighbors think!) Unfortunately, that has caused us to miss being outside on some beautiful days. Honestly, I doubt the neighbors are really paying attention. What do your kids get out the door wearing?

Hugs! – #Blessing365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

3-5-2012

my precious nephew

this is just the beginning

of my hugs for you

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

Thinking about self-publishing your projects? I am! After all, that’s what I do here with each post. For bigger projects though, all that’s involved from editing to promoting can be a bit intimidating. But! You have options that include help from an agent even while self-publishing.

Moments for Mamas

Whether you’re a home birther yourself or the very idea scares you to death (me!), this birth story from Connie at Smockity Frocks reflects the intense beauty of every birth. (Don’t worry, Connie always keeps things pretty G-rated.)

Also, for not only moms but all women, Elizabeth from The Writer Revived celebrates the many changes of life that reflect back from the mirror.

And For the Kids

(And adults can love this too!) Are you a C. S. Lewis fan? Enjoy this complete audio collection of the Chronicles of Narnia. My children and I have been listening to The Magician’s Nephew, my favorite of the series.

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My newest nephew won’t often be near enough for me to wrap my arms around him because his daddy is serving our country as a marine and his mama is standing by her man every step of the way. What do you do to love on those far away?

Secret Hideouts – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

2-27-2012

welcome to our cave!

a place to read and pretend

and invite our friends :-)

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

How about thoughtful viewing this time instead? Erin Casey at My Writers’ Connection shares a video about 29 Ways to Stay Creative. I’m working on quite a few of these especially number 29! What do you do to stay creative?

Moments for Mamas

I’m what I would call a “natural born leader.” You might call me bossy. Sometimes though, I find myself giving instructions a little too often to my children. So I’ve been consciously greeting them kindly as my first words in the morning, instead of “What are you doing?” Janae from I Can Teach My Child makes things even simpler than that with her post Smile!

And For the Kids

Get ready to dance while you learn the books of the Bible with the Go Fish Guys in Bible Book Bop. If you like that video, check out their others available on YouTube.

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What kind of hideouts do your kids make? Or do you remember making? I remember as a kid trying to build many things including trying to make bricks from mud to build a hut. (We even added lemons from my aunt’s lemon tree to the mud so our hut would smell good!) I still find myself creating quiet places to hide so I understand my children’s need to do the same.

For Brother – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

2-13-2012

 made it for Brother

he can’t build this by himself

Then: Destruction Team!

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

If you had to choose a word for the year, what would it be? I’m trying to finish a few things. Stephanie Shackelford of Routines for Writers finds herself focusing on discovery. What about you?

Moments for Mamas

Do you ever feel tapped out? Drink up from the unquenchable well!

And For the Kids

Rhea the Memphis Redhead shared an awesome site comparing the size of things from the smallest particles to the known universe. If you’re studying the metric system this site will teach you more than a dozen worksheets about converting centimeters to kilometers. Warning to parents: The scale of the universe site features a commercial while loading that may or may not be G-rated.

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Have you experienced the blessing recently of witnessing a giving heart between children?

Capturing Spring – #Blessings365

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Even though life ain’t easy sometimes, I still want to celebrate every day! So I’ve challenged myself to take photos of my blessings and write haiku for each photo. Some days, I succeed, and other days I collapse into bed without recording any blessings for the day. Each day I resolve to try again.

Mayhaps you’re a wanna-be scrapbooker like me? Join me in this simple and hopefully daily way to record your life. Share your haiku and photographs on your blog and post the link in the comments. I’ll swing by to read of your blessings! If you tweet about this haiku project, please use #Blessings365 in your tweet. I’ll share one of my haiku each week (really!), and it may or may not have been written recently. You can share as many as you want as often as you want to participate in this project. I’m keeping it loose with the rules so we all have room to play. 

If you would like to read more about my blessings, visit the Characters of My Life area of my About Page.

2-2-2012

Mr. Groundhog? What

was your prediction? Oh, wait.

Never mind. Thanks though!

__________

Thoughtful Reading on Writing

Can you turn down a book deal without regrets? Yes, it is possible. Amy tells all! Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six

Moments for Mamas

Enjoy giving yourself a break. How often do you go to the store with your precious babies and hear, “They grow up fast. Enjoy every moment!” On comes the guilt trip. You were just counting down the minutes until bedtime!

And For the Kids

Okay, maybe this is for the kids at heart. ;-) I have to share this site with classic Nintendo games that I used to play before they started the 3-D stuff that makes me dizzy. Go check it out, and share some memories.

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Has spring sprung in your neck of the woods? Or are you predicting a surprise blizzard?

There is No Try

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Happy January!

Fair Warning: Long Post Ahead.

Enjoy!

Yoda

Creative Commons License photo credit: Big 3 News

I know. I know. I went and disappeared from the blogosphere again. I’m doing okay. I hope you haven’t worried about me. (Thank you if you have. Prayers are always appreciated, and you are welcome to shoot me an email. Anytime.)

I just don’t seem to have time to blog.

Okay, get off the floor. Stop laughing. Yes, wipe that smirk off your face too. :-P

Truly, who in the world has time for anything? We’re all busy.

I am busy, but I am also resolute.

(Stop laughing.)

Okay, I may be a little late for the resolution train. Everyone has already broken their resolutions by now, and they’ll try again next year.

I don’t actually do New Year’s Resolutions. I do brand new goals whenever the mood strikes me. Usually it happens in September with the arrival of my birthday, but I’ve been reading everyone else’s resolutions for the last few weeks, and everyone has such grand and inspiring ideas. Jon Acuff wants to hand write proverbs. Crystal Paine wants to complete the Couch to 10K Program. Elizabeth Ross just wants to become a paid writer. (That’s it? Simple! Right?) They all have more goals than I’m mentioning. As I’ve read everyone else’s resolutions, I’ve heard my internal dialogue. “Yes, I want to do that. That too. Oooh, that sounds great! My great grandchildren would treasure that, I’m sure!”

Whoa! Dreaming is a good thing, but dreams need feet and wings. They also require an actionable plan.

So, here I am making some real goals, and figuring out how to make it work. Wanna hear my goals for the year? Keep reading!

~~~

Goal One: Use 750words.com 20+ days a month. 750words is a wonderful and private thought-dump site so I can start the day without a million things rattling around in my head. If you’ve ever done morning pages or you would like a place to write without worrying about who’s looking in, check it out. It’s a lot of fun. I always laugh when my stats tell me I’m writing like an extrovert that day.

Reality Check: I would love to make the goal of writing on 750words.com every single day, and I have had a fifteen day streak since starting to use 750words.com in November, but I don’t want to “fail” this goal because a Sunday morning happened. (Note: you can use 750words at any time of day. I just find for myself that morning is best.)

Goal Two: Post 6+ Times Monthly Starting in February. This is a big one, mainly because I haven’t even been posting faithfully once a week, but marching on! I will post four #Blessing365, one update on Reece’s Rainbow, and one book review/discussion each month. Plus I’ll leave things open for other posts as the mood strikes.

Reality Check: I need to write up about one and a half posts a week to keep up with this. I’m already nervous. The book review/discussion will be my greatest hiccup. The last time I reviewed a book via blog posts, it took, oh, five or more posts to say everything I wanted to say. (Sorry, those posts are deleted, or I would point you to them. It was a good discussion.)

Goal Three: Comment regularly on several blogs. Some of my list are just blogging friends who I care about. A few others are writing related blogs that I might one day guest post for. This task is actually pretty easy at the moment. I just swing through, read, and comment while nursing Ladybug.

Reality Check: I want to commit to commenting on every post from my list of blogs and responding to several of the commenters, but that will set me up to get behind before I even get started. Bloggers still post when I go visit my parents for the day or have a family day out and about with my man and my babies.

Goal Four: Keep up with email this year. I will also work on this during nursing sessions.

Reality Check: I want to resolve to not go to bed until my inbox is empty each night, but HA! I’m not committing to that. I am, however, learning to just delete those emails that are not personal, that I would like to read, but that end up just a big part of my future to-do list while personal emails get buried in all the subscriptions.

Goal Five: Finish Ponder Thy Paths. Oh, boy, this is another big one. My Dear Email Subscribers, I extend my sincerest apologies. I didn’t hold up my end of the deal when you gave me your email. I was supposed to release a new part of Ponder Thy Paths every three months, but that has not happened. I hope you will forgive me. Somehow when I committed to working on this for fifteen minutes a day every day for the rest of my life, I didn’t think life would ever keep me from it. (Ha!) At any rate, I am working on the solution. I am working on a version of Ponder Thy Paths that can just be done. Basically, I’m switching the dates from “Monday, January 16, 2012; Martin Luther King Jr. Day” to just “January 16.” I hate leaving out the holiday references, but this way the same file can be used year after year.

Reality Check: I am working on the January through March quarter which means I am already behind, but I hope to have it done within the next week. Then I think I can complete one quarter per month. Hopefully. Then I’ll be done (DONE!) by the end of April.

Goal Six: Finish Bennett’s Week and self-publish as a full-color eBook. Maybe even a glossy paperback. This is a children’s book that will hopefully benefit all the children of Reece’s Rainbow. Modeled after the book Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward and Tomie dePaola, I wrote up a short story of an adopted child’s first week “home.” My goal is that the sales of this book will build up adoption funds for the children of Reece’s Rainbow.

Reality Check: Children’s books require illustrators, and I am not an illustrator. I have limited drawing ability, and I am painfully slow. So, I either need to find a volunteer illustrator, work out a deal for the illustrator to take a piece of the profits, or get to work on doing it myself anyway. I’ll probably end up doing it myself anyway because I truly want all of the profits to go to Reese’s Rainbow. Also, I can’t start on this project until Ponder Thy Paths is finished.

Goal Seven: Complete Outline of Witness in the Dark using Hollywood Formula from Writing Excuses and the book How To Write And Sell A Christian Novel by Gilbert Morris. This is another big one for me. I’ve been wrestling with this book for over a decade, and I’m over it! But! I still want to write it. It has been a decade of learning, and my hope is that the finished product will be better for it.

Reality Check: This is a long project! I’ve tried outlining many times before, and I get distracted by getting hooped into actual writing. Then my story gets lost somewhere along the way. So I am resolving to completely complete the outline first. Also, I can’t start on this project until Ponder Thy Paths and Bennett’s Week are completely complete.

Nice goals. What’s the plan? So glad you asked!

Before restarting this blog, I vowed not to let it take over my life again and instead set some guidelines. I took on the attitude that I would blog “when I had time.”

Stop laughing!

Okay, I know I must make time for the important things. So, although I’m not committing to a rigid schedule, I have created my Writing Hour. In an ideal world this will occur sometime between lunch and dinner while my children play, but thus far I’ve done it after my little ones were in bed each night. During my writing hour I respond to any blog comments, give fifteen minutes to my current project (Goals 5-7, one at a time), give fifteen minutes to blog improvement (Pardon the dust, and wear your hard hat!), and work on blog posts for the remaining time. My goal is five Writing Hours a week. My average since I started this a couple weeks ago? Three or four. But! That is three to four hours more than I was writing before each week, and each completed Writing Hour makes me feel awesome!

~~~

So there you have it. My big goals and plan for the year. I don’t know that I will complete all seven, but you gotta aim somewhere! Plus if I complete them all before the year is done, I’ll just make some more. After all, we can build our resolutions anytime we want, like in September.

What are your resolutions and goals for 2012? What is your plan?

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