Love Yourself

Good Morning Beloved Reader.

Let's start this blog off on the right foot, or I guess if you prefer the left foot that's fine too, but let's start by talking about a quote shall we?

 “If you put a small value on yourself, rest as- 

sured that the world will not raise your price.” 

I absolutely love the above quote.  It makes me think of this scripture;
"Love your neighbor as you LOVE yourself"
We will come back to that later, because It also makes me think about those two beauties in the above picture.
Why? You ask.
Well,  I have noticed something, I'm not sure when it happened but my girls have turned into young women, and not just ANY young women. They are young women who walk around with a healthy dose of value, self worth, confidence, and wisdom.
It seemed like only yesterday that they were playing with dolls and giving each other rides around the house in the laundry baskets.  And now they look like this;

The one on the left is only 14 people.  FOURTEEN!! The one on the right ... well let's not mention how old she's going to be in a few months!
Back to the one on the left...
I'm pretty sure I'm not going to let her wear that red lipstick anymore. (Insert emoticon with a straight face and eyes wide open)  Ahem...  I'm also pretty sure I want her new favorite accessory of choice to be a brown paper bag with only the eye sockets cut out!! It's a good thing her dad is a GIANT named Moses or I'd be really worried.   But, you know I'm really not that worried because back to that quote up there this girl, my girl Chloe, has a high value for herself that I'm fairly certain will keep her from most things that most moms would worry about with a 14 year old daughter that looks like she's  TWENTY TWO!!
Yes, I'm raising two beautiful girls that not only value themselves but they truly are wise beyond their years. I know with complete certainty that this value and wisdom comes from their personal relationships with Jesus so I'm not about to take credit for it.
  But I also know that this world works night and day to try and de-value them. The world and it's message to these young women is working over time to tell them they aren't skinny enough, pretty enough, athletic enough, rich enough, witty enough, smart enough,  enough. enough.  enough.
I tire so quickly of that message.  In fact every new day I need a new message.  I need to hear that I'm loved, valued, appreciated, honored, treasured and so on and so forth.  I know that my girls need to hear this as well. And I would bet my 1966 vw buggy named Lucy Blue that it's a message YOU need to hear as well!
This message raises the price of my value by immeasurable numbers.  This message is one I can find readily available to me at any given moment.  It's also where I have read over a thousand times' "Love your neighbor as YOU LOVE YOURSELF"
A few weeks back my friend who also happens to be a Pastor and a really great teacher, he spoke about loving yourself. It struck a chord with me because I think that for me it's easier to love my neighbor than it is to love myself. I don't know about you all but sometimes I need a healthy dose of self love. Not to become conceited and narcissistic but just to bring back into line my true worth. I really do think that ONLY after I receive that self love message am I able to truly go out and love my neighbor.
Did you know that you beloved reader were purchased with a price?

Raise your price today.

Love yourself.

Listen to the message that says this;

1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Everyday Jesus sits waiting for us to listen to HIS message for us. 

He tries to speak to us in the trees of bright yellow, and the birds taking flight.

He tries to tell us that he made all of the beautiful things on this earth for us to enjoy and be filled with joy. 

I wonder, are we listening?

May Babies

*Warning there might be some Blaggin and heavy sentimental Sighing ahead.

Blaggin- The combo of bragging and blogging.

These are my May babies.

The one on the left is my oldest Emma who will be sweet 16 on the 28th of this month,

and 

The one on the right is Chloe who will be 14 tomorrow.

Beloved reader please ...

A heavy, sentimental  

S I G H 

is needed 

from us all right now.

Sometimes I look at these girls and I can hardly believe that almost 16 years ago I became a mother for the first time. It seems like only yesterday they were babies.  Emma wasn't even quite 2 yet when I gave birth to Chloe. At her second birthday party she was given the greatest gift in her life, a sister, a best friend, and the role of being the oldest. She has astounded me ever since as a first born child. She is beyond responsible and at times I forget who is the parent in this household.  (Not really, I just said that for dramatic affect.) And Chloe has always had a soft spot with me because we are both second born children.  She has never complained about having hand me down clothes and she looks up to her sister like I looked up to mine. She is generous and so soft spoken that at times I have to drag it out of her what she really wants out of life.  For instance, this whole month even though her birthday comes before Emma's she has been scheming and planning her sisters birthday party, with no regard for her own.  S I G H.... I can't even begin to put into words what joy they both give me. From the moment Emma was born my role in life changed as well. I was no longer just wife, sister, daughter, cousin, teacher, friend... I was now a Mother. The role of motherhood has been one that I have felt privileged, honored and completely blown away that I have been given for 16 YEARS now.  Believe it or don't... I'm kinda still in shock that I birthed 4 human beings.  I know, I should probably be used to this role, being that it has been 16 years but, every now and then I catch a glimpse of my children who are so grown up, so mature, so not babies anymore, and I think how the H E double Hockey Sticks did that happen? I have told both my girls before that they have made my first years of Motherhood so easy. And I tell them, on the regular, they make me look good! Actually, I say it more like  "D A M N girls you are making me look so good right now!!" Knowing full well, that I can't take credit for their choices and who God made them to be.

 These two young women, My May Babies (who are not babies anymore) woke up early on Mother's Day and cleaned my house, made breakfast, and wrote me love notes that would make a stone cold hearted Robot come to tears. I could brag about them til the cows come home(I don't have any cows but I think they must come home kinda late in the day) because they are just THAT amazing, but let me just share the essentials with you Beloved Reader. These two young ladies, on a regular basis make me laugh and remind me that life is full of excitement, new adventure, and tremendous beauty. These two May Babes, both love Jesus with all their hearts and to me well... that is everything. I'm excited to see how they will enter into young adult years.  As they begin to spread their wings and fly I pray I know when to open up that bird cage. And I hope that they will continue to include me in their everyday lives. I take great comfort in knowing that my own Mom is one of my very best friends, and I hope that tradish continues. 

Would you be so kind as to wish these two lovelies a Happy Birthday and to pray for this momma because my sentimental heart is on overload. 

Spring Break 2014

Today marked the end of Spring Break for our camp and I have to say I'm a tad bit bummed.  I gotta tell ya, it has been so nice to have the extra time with my Fab 4.  We actually got two weeks for Spring Break this year. Can't I get a Whoop Whoop!! I enjoy hanging out with my Fab 4 so much. Sometimes I wonder why I share them with the rest of the world, ever?  I suppose it wouldn't be healthy if I did keep them all to myself, like the mom in Tangled. "Mother knows best listen to your Mumzy!"  Ha ha, that song just popped into my head right now.  Scurry.  (Insert emoticon with a straight face and eyes wide open) 00 - Before you go calling CPS know that I have in FACT, been sharing my kiddos and plan to continue sharing them, it's just sometimes when I look at them I think that mom in the Disney movie Tangled might have been on to something. I digress. For the first part of our Spring Break we traveled to Paradise, CA. where my Aunt Linda and Uncle Gene live.

The above pic was taken from their front porch. I haven't been there in years because it was a bit too far to travel from WA. but from NV it's only about a 3 hour drive and I plan on making it lots more in the future. It was a wonderful time with family and my eldest Spawn even did some recording with her band called  In Between Simple. If I knew how to share the songs here believe me, I would but alas... I am just not that tech savy. I need to figure that out, because I am their biggest fan.  Gotta promote ya know !

While I was there, I drank out of that mug up there. It belongs to my Aunt Linda and it was my favorite mug in her cupboard because of the saying on it. I prayed that prayer the entire time I was there and hope to pray it the rest of my life.  "Lord help me to see thing through Your eyes!" I really do wish it was possible to keep that perspective all the time. So often I get caught up in things that don't really matter.  Things that in comparison to eternity, the bigger picture, just won't even register on my radar. Oh, to be always seeing things through the eyes of Jesus. Speaking of seeing things through Jesus eyes, the tail end of our Spring Break I had the immense pleasure of taking my girls to a Joyce Meyer Conference in Sacramento. (More on this later)

As long as I live on this planet there will never, ever be a better place for me than in the House of God with all His thousands of kids praising him. I love, love, love to hear the people of God come together and give glory to the King of Kings. 

There truly is nothing greater, except maybe seeing your children praise the King with all their hearts, souls, and minds.

I can't get over how my girls have grown and right before my eyes turned into two of my most favorite young women to hang out with. I love to hear how they think and what their dreams are. My cup overflows with joy for the memories we were able to make over the past two weeks.  And as they headed back out into the world today, I thought of how fast the time is flying by. They only have 59 more days of this school year. That's just nutts!!  Why do I torture myself with thoughts like this.  It's a snowball, one finished Spring Break turns into their Graduation which then turns into a Wedding Day, and so on and so forth. When they all stepped out of the car this morning... I might have shed a tear like the day when they first went off to Kindergarden.  I'm not gonna lie, I think I did. But, hey I warned you... I'm a sentimental heart. I can't help myself.  The important thing to remember is that I didn't lock them in a tower ;)

Happy Birthday Chloe

How does it happen?

A young, sweet, little Lo Lo

Manages to grow, and grow

 And grow, and grow

And then before you know it .....

Becomes a full blown teenager!

Happy Birthday Chloe Nashelle, you can stop growing now!

50's Village Photo Shoot

On Friday my friend Dana who is now my neighbor here at the Villiage(yes I live with a Village of people, more on that later) did a fun little 50's retro photo shoot with all of the girls here at 9567. These are our girls, minus Shain who is Dana's youngest daughter. 

From Left to Right;

My daughter Chloe on left

Middle is my daughter Emma 

And Rio who is Dana's daughter, is the Cutie there on the right end.

*Notice the kicked up leg of my Chloe girl on the end there. 

Take note that this Sass a Frass is ONLY12.

Put a pin in that side-note, we will come back to that later.

Back to Dana the artist behind the camera. She just bought a fancy pants camera that I am drooling over and trying really hard not to break commandment number 6 or 7... ya know the one that says something about not coveting your neighbors belongings, or Fancy Pants Camera. 

This is my daughter Emma. She was going for a school girl/librarian look.

 I think she pretty much nailed it.
Dana did such a good job capturing them all that I now know I have no need to purchase School pictures EVER
again.

I've never been a fan of Lifetouch or any other school pic that just shuttles our kids in like cattle before the camera lens.  They take one snap and call it good, even though our kids aren't smiling, hair is a mess, and then they want hundreds of dollars for these lame shots.
Umm..
Yep...
NOPE!!
Am I alone here? Does anyone else feel the same about the lame school photos?
I would much rather have something like this for Chloe's start to her Jr. High Days.

Moving on,
This is my daughter Chloe aka Lo Lo.

Remember the one with her leg kicked up there at the top of the page?

Don't forget we are coming back to this here 

Little Hot Tamale in a minute. She wore the dress that was my Maid of Honor Dress in sister Jen's wedding last summer. Do you recognize the dress Auntie Jen? Well, I have to say it looks much, much cuter on her.

And this is Rio, Dana's daughter who also lives here now. I had so much fun getting this girl out of her comfort zone and dolling her up. Doesn't she just rock those vintage sunglasses? It was so fun to see all our girls dressed up in an old fashioned style. I absolutely had a blast doing hair and makeup and seeing how they did each others hair and makeup brought me right back to the days of doing this kind of thing with my sisters. 

LOVE.

And then cousin Derek's new wife Samantha also lives here at the Village. 

She wore this dress that I bought a long time ago for a good friend who never wore it. She gave the dress back to my daughter Emma in April and Em wore it for her Jr. High School Grad.

It is an amazing vintage dress that looked lovely on Sam. 

Well, and it's not hard to make Samantha look lovely. 

She is a very pretty lady.

In the picture below we going for the no smile, serious look that you see in all the really old photos.

Can someone please tell me why they went for the no smile look in all the pictures back then? It's so weird to me that they all look so sad and serious. It also really bums me out that I never got to see very many pics of my great grandparents who I know were happy Italians, but in the pics they look like they just heard of someone's death.

We had so much fun playing dress up for the day. 

So now you know, what to do on a Hot Summer day with no where to go and nothing else to do? 

Have a fun impromptu photo shoot. 

It was great fun for the whole Village.

Ok and then here is the reason I wanted to come back to that kicked up leg that my daughter Chloe had;

Umm... I am not allowing this 12 YEAR OLD GIRL

out of the house.

ANYMORE. 

EVER!!

And then of course there was some time for lil' ole  me to get in front of that camera. 

Got to tell you that I much prefer being behind the camera rather than in front, but it was a blast. 

Dana is such a good photographer, and I am so excited about her new business to photograph the little ones. (more on that later)

Have I ever told you of my love for all things vintage, retro, old,  or antique? 

Well now you know.

Makeup, Chloe, and Me

This is not a fashion blog by any means. I say that as a disclaimer because I don't want you coming back here looking for fashion tips. You will be sadly disappointed.
A while back though, actually it was during Snow-Apocalypse when we were all bored out of our minds from being snowed in for several days, I was inspired by my daughter Chloe to post a makeup blog. And yes, sometimes I do have blog drafts waiting in the wings for that long. For a day just like today. Tip Me Tuesday.
So where was I? Oh yeah,
This is not a fashion blog, but that was a run on sentence. And your welcome.

My daughter Chloe shares the same gene as her momma, the aspiring to be a fashionista gene. Hmm... what's that you say? You have never heard of this gene? Well, now you have.

The "desire to be a fashionista gene" is one that people are born with. You either have it or you don't. Now I don't really have it. I just aspire to have it. Chloe on the other hand, the girl has got it going on Like Donkey Kong!! Or whateva.
In fact I would venture to say that she is no longer in the class of desire as much as she is in the IN crowd of a full blown, certified Fashionista. Basically she's not a wanna be like her mother.

(And yes I did try to use as many decals on that photo to cover up my messy kitchen. Don't judge)

I would like to say I taught her everything she knows, but on a regular basis I am blown away by her fashionista skillz! She's got that sass. She's got that frass. She's a sass a frass! Hee hee hee, there's a lot of ass hidden in that sentence there.

Chloe loves makeup and she really is an artist already with the makeup brushes. She spent her own money one time on all new makeup brushes and I just, sigh... well I just love this about her. She is a girl after my own heart.

You see because ever since I was little girl I have always seen makeup as a fun way to express yourself. When other girls were still playing with Barbie I was getting hooked on the stuff called mascara that comes out of that pink and green bottle. I can't really relate to the women who don't like to wear makeup or who once they have worn makeup can't wait to get it off. I mean, I'm not saying we can't be friends, I just might want to give you a makeover if you wouldn't be offended. Please?

I would like to point out at this time that the above picture makes me very nervous. Glitter that close to the eye, is not recommended. That was a public safety announcement and your welcome. AGAIN.

So the Tip for Tuesday is do the world a favor, wear make-up. No wait. I am so not that hardcore. Umm.. the tip for Tuesday is that if you want to be a fashionista follow in Chloe's footsteps not mine. No wait that's not it either. Ok for real the tip for Tuesday is don't get glitter anywhere near your eyes ever! Trust me, I am for realz on this one people.

Also I'm not sure what the woman in this photo was trying to express... hmm... maybe her love for Burger King? Now, I ask you does that picture make you hungry for a Whopper or... does it make you want to break out the mascara. I'm thinking BK's marketing team might need some help.

Ok I guess I should give you one more make up tip because I'm a giver. I like to give.

SO to make your eyes look bigger wear a lighter color on the inside and a darker color on the outside with eye shadow and also don't put eyeliner on the bottom only on the top. To make eyelashes look longer focus on the lashes on the outside not the inside of your eye lid. And always put concealer under your eyes even if you don't have dark circles or bags it just helps the rest of your eye makeup stand out.
Oh did I mention that I used to work for a company that was like Mary Kay but it was called Beauti Control? That's right people you just got tipped from a Beauti- Control consultant who now wears Mary Kay.

Sometimes I make myself laugh. You know who else makes me laugh, that lady right down there. Check her OUT! She is funny and nonsensical.

Linked up here

Happy Birthday to My Lo Lo

When Chloe was still in my womb I noticed something very different about her right away. If her older sister who was only 2 at the time would lean on my belly or sit on my lap and lean back, Lo Lo would kick and kick until she moved.

Or if My Giant would hug a little too close again, it was the same thing. She would kick him away, as if to say, "Hey dude, this is my BELLY, and there is limited space already as it is, SO BACK OFF GIANT!" I feel she knew her dad was a GIANT before she even met him.

If I laid down, and she wasn't liking my position on the bed, she let me know. So before she was even born we had to change her name. We were going to name her Gracie Ellen, but then she kinda named herself because we thought... this lil one is no Gracie, she needs something a bit more firey.

I'm not sure exactly which one of those name books we read but the one we did said that her name Chloe means fresh blooming and Nashelle means fire. So in a sense her name means fresh blooming fire. Now if you know Chloe you would know that of all the Fab 4 children she is one sensitive, passionate, sweet cookie. Well, she's not a cookie but she makes good cookies. These character traits are a beautiful gift that God has given her, but it is also something that from the time she was iddy-biddy we have had to help her with. Not her sweetness so much as the passion and sensitivity thingy.

When she was a new born I would sing her name to her in a sing songy kind of way. I love to sing, and this is was what I did with her older sister Emma who loved it. I thought nothing of it, until I realized that she was very moved by what I was singing and she would begin to cry. I might have been offended that my singing was just that bad, but I have had many other happy audiences to say otherwise. So I just thought it was the song. I tried other songs. If it was a happy song she would laugh until she cried. If it was a sad song she would cry, until she laughed and then she would cry some more.

Music moves her.

If I would raise my voice, which occasionally happens in loud italian families, she would cry.

Tone of Voice moves her.

If I would cry, she would cry. If her sister would cry she would cry. If MY GIANT.. well he never cried but you get the idea.

Emotions move her.

Needless to say it was at this point in my parenting that I realized I was going to have to change my parenting for this sweet little soul. What worked for her strong, will-full, somewhat stubborn older sister Emma, was not going to work for this sensitive, passionate little person.
I often felt like a bull in a china shop with her. Me being a big scary bull, her being a fragile beautiful tea cup. She has taught me and still continues to teach me to simmer down. Can I get a witness that we have to parent each child according to their individual needs? Can I also get a witness that our kids can teach us as much as we are trying to teach them ?
They don't tell you that in Lamaze class. They don't tell you that you will learn as much as you teach. This is not what you think will happen going into this gig called parenting. No one says you will need an internal parental dial that you can tweek for each kid, on any given day, at any given hour, or moment. There is no manual. There is no perfect way to parent. There is only you and your child and in our case The Holy Spirit leading me into all wisdom(thanks be to Baby Jesus)

She has taught me so much in the 12 years that she has been here. Seeing life through Chloe's eyes is something I truly love to do. Unlike her older sister Emma, I have to draw things out of that beautiful brain of hers. She is an incredible young lady who genuinely cares for others so much. She has Crazy good rhythm, and a witty sense of humor. I feel honored to be her mom, and I can't believe this is the last year before she enters the official teen years.

Happy Birthday to My Beautiful, Sweet, Sensitive Lo Lo.
YOU ARE THE BOMB DIGGITY!!

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P.S I am being spotlighted today on this here link up called Welcome Wednesday. It's the first blog spotlight I've ever had and I'm kinda, really, super, excited about it. If you haven't checked out this blogger site you should.

P.S.S I also get to eat cake today.

P.S.S.S Tomorrow I have one of funniest blogs I think I have ever written. Maybe?

P.Sx4- If you read this YOU ARE MY BLOG READING HERO, and you must really like me, which means I really like you, which means we are now a part of a mutual admiration society.
Welcome to my club!

P.Sx Whatever- I have one more thing to say and I realize those PS's borderline on being obnoxious but if you have wandered over from Welcome Wednesday, first YAY! 2. I will comment you back and D. I will even follow you back BUT not today. Today I am birthday partying it UP with my girl <3