quotes

The Art of Marraige

Posted on November 13, 2009 Written by Tonya

Although we just got home from four days in the Bay Area where we were visiting your grandparents, we are off tonight to Arizona to attend a wedding. You are already a jet setter and you aren’t even six months old yet! I appreciate how good you have been with all of the traveling and new faces.

My dear friend Karin has asked me to read the following at her wedding tomorrow. I am honored and thankful for the reminder of what marriage is and isn’t.

When you enter into marriage, you enter into life’s most important relationship. It is a gift given to bring comfort when there is sorrow, peace when there is unrest, laughter when there is happiness, and love when it is shared.

A successful marriage is not something that just happens. It takes work, it takes understanding, and it takes time. Most importantly, it takes a commitment from both of you – a commitment to do whatever it takes to make your relationship thrive and not just simply survive. A good marriage must be nurtured. Listen to these “words of wisdom” on how to create a successful marriage from a little book entitled The Art of Marriage by Wilferd A. Peterson:

The little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say I love you at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all ages.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives; it is facing the world together.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is the common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing of a relationship in which independence is equal, the dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal.
And finally, it is not only marrying the right person, it is being the right person.

The best is yet to be and I promise that we will lay low all next week.

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Grandparents

Posted on November 10, 2009 Written by Tonya

My mother, your grandmother would have been 60 years young today. I’m sorry she didn’t live long enough to meet you. She would have been head over heels for you and an amazing grandmother. I find comfort in knowing that she and my dad are watching over us from wherever their spirits may be acting as our guardian angels. Every time I look at you, I see them and I hope you are are able to feel their spirit too. Rest In Peace, Mommy.

This week, we are in the Bay Area visiting your daddy’s parents and they give you enough love for four grandparents and then some! They are wonderful to you and you have definitely added an extra twinkle in their eyes. With that in mind, here are some quotes about the beauty, love and importance of grandparents:

“Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.” – Author Unknown

“What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.” – Rudolph Giuliani

“There’s no place like home except Grandma’s.” – Author Unknown

“Grandchildren don’t stay young forever, which is good because Pop-pops have only so many horsey rides in them.” – Gene Perret

“Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete.” – Marcy DeMaree

“Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.” – Lois Wyse

“It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace.” – Christopher Morley

“Sometimes our grandmas and grandpas are like grand-angels.” – Lexie Saige

“To become a grandparent is to enjoy one of the few pleasures in life for which the consequences have already been paid.” – Robert Braul

“If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is no fun for old people like it!” – Hannah Whithall Smith

“It’s such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother – that’s why the world calls her grandmother.” – Author Unknown

“A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do.” – Lois Wyse
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“Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet.” – Gene Perret

“If your baby is “beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,” you’re the grandma.” – Teresa Bloomingdale

“Grandparents are similar to a piece of string – handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren.” – Author Unknown

“What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I’d like to say that grandparents are God’s gifts to children. And if they can but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they can mature at a fast rate.” – Bill Cosby

“You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Irish Saying

“A grandmother is a mother who has a second chance.” – Author Unknown

“No cowboy was ever faster on the draw than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet.” – Author Unknown

My personal favorite:

“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” – Alex Haley

The best is yet to be.

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Enjoying This Moment

Posted on November 4, 2009 Written by Tonya

A simple thought for today…nothing more and nothing less:

The best is yet to be.

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Babies

Posted on October 26, 2009 Written by Tonya

Sometimes I look at you and can’t even believe how amazing the miracle of like is. Two people met, fell in love, said “I do” and together made a human being. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. It’s mind boggling and wonderful. Babies are only babies for so long, so here are some quotes that celebrate these little creatures:

“That’s the strange thing about being a mother: until you have a baby, you don’t even realize how much you were missing one.” – Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts: A Novel

“Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it’s what you want before you commit.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

“The cultural idiom of motherhood, and the only one that people find bearable, is that once a woman has produced a child she bonds with it in utter devotion, forgets her own wishes, and sacrifices herself for her baby. When she does not slip easily into this role, she risks the accusation of being a bad mother.” – Sheila Kitzinger, The Year After Childbirth

“I like beginnings because they’re so full of promise. The first page of a book, the first day of a job, the first time you buy yourself flowers, the first date with a new man, the first touch, the first kiss, the first kick of a good liquor, the first moment you hold your own baby. I like beginnings because I know there’s always more to come.” – Shyma Perera, Bitter Sweet Symphony

“A baby is born with a need to be loved and never outgrows it.” – Frank A. Clark

“Babies are necessary to grown-ups. A new baby is like the beginning of all things –wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. In a world that is cutting down its trees to build highways, losing its earth to concrete… babies are almost the only remaining link with nature, with the natural world of living things from which we spring.” – Eda J. Le Shan

“A woman has two smiles that an angel might envy – the smile that accepts a lover before words are uttered, and the smile that lights on the first born babe, and assures it of a mother’s love.” – Thomas C. Haliburton

“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” – Carl Sandburg

My personal favorite:

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.” – Don Herrold

The best is yet to be.

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In Memoriam

Posted on October 15, 2009 Written by Tonya

Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.
– Eskimo Proverb

Kathryn Ruppert Adams
November 10, 1948 – October 15, 2007

Michael Stephen Adams
January 28, 1947 – October 15, 2007

Rest In Peace.

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Children Learn What They Live

Posted on October 7, 2009 Written by Tonya

I love that the following passage is on a plaque that hung on my bedroom wall growing up and is now hanging in Lucas’ room:

Children Learn What They Live
Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

What wonderful parenting advice! Children mirror what they see at home and this illustrates what they should be witnessing and what we will strive for in our house. After all, aren’t the best lessons learned at home?

The best is yet to be.

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Bibliophilia

Posted on October 4, 2009 Written by Tonya

I don’t know if it’s because both my parents were educators, because they read to me as a child, or because I loved (and love) hanging out at bookstores and libraries, but my first word was “book”.

I read to you everyday. Sadly, aside from children’s books and parenting reference guides, I haven’t done much leisure reading since you were born. I love reading and I miss it very much. There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book. Historical fiction modern day fiction are suspense novels are my favorite.

I love how books can transport you to another place and time and introduce you to interesting characters that you don’t normally encounter in your day-to-day life. I enjoy the relaxation of reading, especially when hours have passed and I don’t even realize it because I’m so enthralled in a good book. Sitting quietly with a juicy epic is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures and brings me a lot of peace.

My Book Facts:

I am a founding member of a book club called JUGS (Just Us Girls) that my friends and I started almost seven (!) years ago and I live for our monthly meetings. Our discussions are always lively, fun and thought provoking. If it weren’t for our group, there are many books I would have missed out on.

I will never start a book without finishing it, no matter how much I may want to throw it into the fireplace (i.e. Saving Graces, a terrible JUGS selection).

I always start books in bed.

One of my very best friends is in my life today because we initially bonded over books. Thank goodness for Kay Scarpetta!

Since 1999, I have kept a list of every book I have read maintaining an average of 35books per year. My father also kept a list of the books he read and I often turn to it for recommendations.

My Top 10 favorite books (in no particular order) are:
1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
10. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Love her or hate her, I believe Oprah Winfrey single-handedly got our nation reading again when she established her book club in 1996. I am currently reading her latest selection, Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan and so far it’s fabulous.

Quotes I have collected about books and reading:

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books.” – Anonymous

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. – Groucho Marx

“Each time we re-read a book we get more out of it because we put more into it. A different person is reading it, and therefore it is a different book.” – Murial Clark

“You are the same today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.” – Charles Jones

“Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.” – Louis L’Amour

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” – Dr. Seuss

“Do your bit to save humanity from lapsing back into barbarity by reading all the novels you can.” – Richard Hughes

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him, and travel in his company.” – Andre Gide

“Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” – P. J. O’Rourke

My personal favorite:

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” – Oscar Wilde

Ah, so many books, so little time!

The best is yet to be…one page at a time.

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To Sleep, Perchance To Dream

Posted on September 28, 2009 Written by Tonya

Sleep and I haven’t been too friendly lately and boy, do I miss it! I should be napping when you nap, but that doesn’t work out too well for me. I have never been a napper, besides when would I blog, let alone get dressed, eat, or do the piles and piles of laundry you create?

Your dad and I take turns getting up with you at night and most mornings, he is kind enough to care for you and let me sleep in as long as possible before he has to get ready to go to work, but for the past few weeks (just when you were almost sleeping through the night!?) you have been getting up almost every two hours and our mornings start sometimes as early as 5:30 AM, so we are all very sleep deprived.

I’ve collected quotes for as long as I can remember and here are a few from the archives on sleep, glorious sleep:

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish proverb

“Life is something that happens when you can’t get to sleep.” – Fran Lebowitz

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.” – Anthony Burgess

“That we are not much sicker and much madder than we are is due exclusively to that most blessed and blessing of all natural graces, sleep.” – Aldous Huxley

“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” – William Penn

“Not being able to sleep is terrible. You have the misery of having partied all night… without the satisfaction.” – Lynn Johnston

“There is only one thing people like that is good for them; a good night’s sleep.” – Edgar Watson Howe

“Money will buy you a bed, but not a good night’s sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend. – Zig Ziglar

“Sleep is like the unicorn, it is rumored to exist but I doubt I will see any.” – Anonymous

My personal favorite:

“People who say they “sleep like a baby” usually don’t have one.” – Leo J. Burke

The best is yet to be (and here’s hoping it involves sweet sweet dreams!).

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Trial And Error

Posted on September 14, 2009 Written by Tonya

“Here we have a baby. It is composed of a bald head and a pair of lungs.” – Eugene Field

Supposedly a baby has six distinctive cries, but for the life of me I still don’t know which is which. According to my baby bible, What To Expect When You’re Expecting they are:

1. I’m hungry: Listen and look for a rhythmic, repetitive cry, combined with other signals such as rooting for the bottle or sucking his fingers.
2. I’m tired: You’ll hear a cry that starts slowly and builds in intensity and is accompanied by yawns or eye-rubs.
3. I’m stressed out: Get ready for a fussy, whiny cry; he may try to turn his head or body away from overstimulating sights or sounds.
4. I’ve got colic: You’ll likely know it by the intense screams, accompanied by fidgeting movements; often occurs in the late afternoon or evening.
5. I’m in pain here: Listen for a loud, intense, out-of-the-ordinary cry that comes on suddenly (at a time or in a way that’s unusual for your baby).
6. I’m not feeling so well: You’ll hear soft whimpers; usually very different from his normal cries.

Seriously, if a gun was held to my head, I might be able to identify two….pain (but who doesn’t know that cry? It’s make your ears bleed, high-pitched and piercing) and hunger. Does this make me a terrible mother or just clueless? Maybe I just don’t have an ear for them yet?

I think the important thing for me, is that I know you’re not crying just to be annoying. You are not crying because you are just a fussy baby, you actually do need something and eventually I figure it out.

The best is yet to be.

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The Art of Marraige

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