The True Christmas Spirit

The above painting is one My talented Giant created a few years back.  It used to bother me SO much, but I have come to really appreciate some things this painting now means to me.  I like it so much so that I leave it up all year long now. I'm not sure what Moses inspiration was for the above painting, but I have an inkling he was trying to make a statement. Giggle.  Moses ... make a statement? Psh...  that's just crazy talk! (insert a huge dose of sarcasm) Now that I have gotten over my offense of the above statement I  have some thoughts about this Creepy, Crazy-eyed Santa as well now. The first of which is the very obvious fact that this is the face of a man/Santa who does NOT have the true Christmas spirit. Or what we have come to know as the peaceful, joyful, and loving face of Santa.  It actually reflects quite the opposite of the that.  This Crazy- eyed Santa reminds me of the frenzy we can all put ourselves in come every December 1st. Enter Buddy the Elf quote, "You're not Santa. You sit on a throne of lies. You smell like beef and cheese!" Oh, how I love me some Buddy the Elf... Rut roh... I feel myself getting distracted from the point I wanted to make here. I suppose why I wanted to write this post is because often times by the end of December that face up there may as well be MY face. Ok... maybe my eyes aren't blue and I'm not a man but whatever you get the point!! I need a few reminders (just a few), and maybe you need them too, that Christmas is about SO much more than the temporal high of retail therapy.  There is something magical about this time of year no doubt about it, but I'm left wondering why it doesn't last? And why is it that this "spirit of Christmas" comes over us all, and the world becomes kinder and people seem more at peace?   I'm going to try and answer some of those questions. At the same time, I'd like to relate to you Beloved reader, what I think the full portion of the beauty of Christmas really is all about. Bare with me as we follow down Dickens road of Christmas Past, Present and Future.  Not really... I just added that for dramatic effect!

I woke up this morning with this deep thought about Christmas and the true spirit of Christmas. We have all heard it said that the best things in this life are free, and while I completely, whole heartedly believe that, why is it that every Christmas season I work myself right up into a full blown tizzy about what to get for who, and how much money it's costing, and how there isn't enough hours in the day to get all the crafting, baking and gifts done, nor all the memories jammed pack with my Fab 4 kids, and so on and so forth.  I literally wasn't sleeping the first week of this month because of all the thoughts running through my brain. 
Can anyone else out there relate?  And then I read this scripture  ; "Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and decomposes(in the using), but strive and work and produce rather for the lasting food which endures continually unto life eternal; the Son of Man will give, (furnish) you that, for God the Father has authorized and certified Him and put His seal of endorsement upon Him." John 6:26
Hmm... lasting food?  A complete and utter stop of toiling, doing, producing? Gifts that keep on giving? Eternal Food? Does that mean I don't have to grocery shop ever again? ;) What does that even look like? As I read this scripture I was reminded about the app I installed Nov 28th  on my phone called, Advent. It consists of daily scriptures all about Jesus arrival to earth.  It was an easy way to remind myself to be determined in having a different attitude this Christmas.  I also really wanted to participate in Advent this year. The word Advent is derived from the latin word that means, "Coming"  So Advent is a time to remember "The Lord is Coming"  Well, as a Christ follower I know the Lord has come,  and will come again, but as we approach the day we have chosen here in America to celebrate as his birthday I wanted to keep my focus on that phrase.... "The Lord is Coming"
This Christmas season I  wanted to be really purposeful to prepare my heart for HIS coming. I wanted to treat Christmas day like a day that I would prepare my house(my house being my heart) for like a visit from the President. In doing this I realized my thoughts keep coming back to what the greatest thing about Christmas is. If I'm being honest I have to say it has been a challenge. Refer to the paragraph above where I admit that I wasn't sleeping the first week of this month. In my mind and heart I believe the reason Christmas is so special is because we celebrate  the greatest gift to humanity. That is the one and only fully man and fully God, Jesus Christ. 

But, in my actions and reactions I wasn't staying there.

On staying there.

   His arrival to this planet over 2000 years ago is what we are all still talking about today.  And his walk on this planet for only 33 years is what has eternally changed my life and the lives of so many other people. I say all of this because  whether you believe in Jesus or not you can appreciate the words that he said and the love that he gave to so many. Unlike Santa Clause  HE IS REAL!! HE IS STILL ALIVE!! And  You participate in the "Christmas Spirit" every year by doing what  HE DID! You do unto others as you would have them do to you.  You give more than you get.  You love big and judge small. These are all principles and teachings that are from the heart of God. HE is the Father of Christmas.
Those of us who really truly do believe in him, we above all others should be getting that overwhelming sense of peace that some only experience around this time of year.  We have been given that gift for everyday of our lives. A peace that surpasses understanding is what we all long and look for.  If you don't have it, then may I suggest you look to the greatest gift that was ever given. He came as a baby. He died as a 33 year old man. He lived for you to know you are BELOVED. He heals. He restores. He gives peace. Jesus.
Selah.


 

So This Just Happened.

Over this past weekend something really big happened in our household.

Even though my 16 year old daughter told me over and over it wasn't a big deal somehow my heart did not get that memo.

I tried to hold it together. I really did. But then this happened.

She pinned a flower on a boy.  Who told her she could do that? Oh wait, I guess we did.  That's right it's all coming back to me now. We were sitting at the kitchen table I'm pretty sure I had only one cup of coffee flowing thru my veins when she asked her dad and I if she could go to the JA dance with a "friend" who is a boy. Now, in my defense I did say that I only had ONE cup of coffee. Mom's cannot be held responsible for anything they say until the SECOND cup of coffee is consumed.
Obviously that rule didn't pan out here because, WE said yes! The plural word there being WE. The operative word there being "SAID." The debatable word there being YES. We said it, but my heart didn't really mean it.

I mean ....  What I meant to say is ... NO. NO you cannot go to any dances with any boys. NO you cannot wear a dress so beautiful and look so stunning that it takes my breath away. NO you cannot pin a flower on a boy when you were dressing up dolls like yesterday. NO you cannot drive away in a car with that boy when you were just learning to ride your bike a minute ago. NO you cannot grow up. NO. Can I do that? I mean, can I take it all back? That's a rhetorical question. Sigh. I realize that I can't turn back time and say no where I previously said yes. I realize I can't stop this train, thank you very much John Mayer. I just, well I just wish sometimes this life would give you a little warning before you witness big life events like this. Daughters who become young women right before your eyes.

Please chime in all you parents who have walked this uncharted territory. I have to share a song that Emma's Auntie Gina sent me that same week. I'll admit it  did give me a little chuckle. I hope you enjoy it  AND  Pray for me.  

MoNoSco turns 19 years old

Today I get to celebrate a second birthday. Well, technically the world calls this day my anniversary, but to me it feels like a second birthday. It's MoNoSco's birthday today and I am 19 years old with this guy. We got married June 3, 1995.

I remember when I was a 19 year old girl who got engaged to a 21 year old young man. I told a young, 21 year old Moses, "Won't it be SO cool when we have been together longer than we were alive apart from each other?" And now this year marks that date for me.  We have been together 20 years. Married for 19 years. Known of each other for 22 years. That's A lotta years. If you are interested in those years, the beginning years of our LOVE STORY you can read about them here; MoNoSco Love Story Together our names make up Mo No Sco. Moses+Noël+Scofield= MoNoSco
That's what he's etching on the wall at the old Genoa Bar. MoNoSco... It's a pretty great name if you ask me. 

It seems only right that our name should be etched in stone at the place we got married 19 years ago.

We didn't get married at that bar, but we were in Genoa NV 19 years ago at this time.

19 years ago on this day I was only 20 years old. 

Now, I sit here as an almost 40 year old woman and I can remember that day like it was yesterday.

I wasn't nervous.

I didn't have cold feet.

I was 100% sure that my commitment, promise, and covenant to Moses was one life choice I would NEVER regret. 

And I can honestly say, that after all these years I am beyond thankful for this beautiful thing called marriage.

We have had SO much fun together traveling along life's highways and byways, and low-ways.

There is still no one else I'd rather spend my day with and as I sit here and think about us and all the years that have gone by it fills my heart to overflowing that I have been lucky in LOVE.

I have been so very fortunate to grow up beside this man named Moses. 

Being married to him has taught me more than I could ever possibly imagine it would have.

And I have yet, to find a way to fully express how much I love him.

Good thing I have the rest of my life to figure out a way to do just that, 

but for now,

I think I still like the way Billy Holiday sang it on our wedding day 

Oh Happy Happy Day MoNoSco!!

THE GRAND OPENING

Today is the day. The day they've been talking about. The day they've been dreaming about. The day they jump in and change the world one art piece at a time. 

There have been countless phone calls. There have been so many, many texts. There have been tattoo conventions.

There has been laughter There have been prayers There has been planning and prepping. There has even been mopping.

There has been blood, sweat, and tears.
(Mostly sweat, not a lot of blood, and TEARS OF JOY)
All for this moment.

What an EVENT RENO NEVADA Please come in and support the arts ;)
945 West Moana Lane - Phone 775-209-1612

18 years

18 years.

18 years of love notes.

18 years of laughter.

18 years of morning coffee talks.

18 years of wonder.

18 years of memories.

18 years of  live music.

18 years of SNL nights. 

18 years of sleeping in on the weekend.

18 years of baseball games.

18 years of groceries.

18 years of cooking together.

18 years of laundry.

18 years of dreaming.

18 years of surprises.

18 years of  Christmas morning.

18 years of tenacity. 

18 years of long, deep, questioning conversations.

18 years of prayers.

18 years of forgiveness.

18 years of silly faces. 

18 years of hugs.

18 years of houses.

18 years of  VW adventures.

18 years of parties.

18 years of kisses.

18 years of sun.

18 years of rain.

18 years of loving you like nobody's loved you.

Happy Birthday To My Giant

40 years. My Giant is 40 years old today. I have known him, really known him for 19 of those years, so almost half of his life. And then I knew of him a few years before that, but that's a different story for a different day. Of the 16 years I didn't really know him I have had to piece together some of his childhood. I get some of those pieces from his dad,  A lot from his mom, some from his Aunties and Uncles, I got quite an ear full from his sister before she went on to be with Jesus(what I would give to get more from her now, and to hear her razz him about being OLD) and then of course quite a bit from his cousin Derek.
Today I want to talk about what I KNOW about TheMoses.
He is funny. He is generous. He is forgiving.

He is sincere always. He is never dull. He is a deep, deep thinker. 

He is strong.  He is resourceful. He is patient.

He is steady. He is a Christ Follower. He is a really good dad.

He is shy. (hard to believe but it's really true) He is smart, not just smart, but wise. He is fully present, but only in the spot he dwells.

He doesn't like the gym. He doesn't work out, but gets a work out from his LIFE everyday. He is a good Uncle.

He is a firm believer in asking questions and therefore has a few conspiracies under his belt. He has an incredible work ethic. He can fix anything.

He is an artist. He is a random facts library. He is a trustworthy man.

He is a teacher. He doesn't like to read books. He likes to watch documentaries.

He likes a lot video games. He is a pessimist married to THE ETERNAL optimist(we kinda make a good team) He is a carpenter.
He is a fall asleep when his head hits the pillow kind of guy. He is a REALLY, REALLY good cook. Really. He a terrible baker. (Sorry babe it's true though)
He is just. He is fair. He is a good friend.
He is a man of few words. He always has a side project going on or building plans in progress. He has a really good B.S. detector.
HE IS A GOOD MAN.
It's hard to put into words the measure of a man that has had 40 years. I would have to agree completely with MLKjr. on the quote below though, The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
These are only some facts, likes, and dislikes but to really KNOW a person you have to go to the heart and soul of a man. What is his heart and soul? What does he live for? What would he die for? What consumes his every waking moment?
In regards to his heart I can honestly say, that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, Moses has a beautiful heart, one that is as big, as he is tall. He would like you to believe otherwise, but don't be fooled He is a gentle Giant. He would and has bent over backwards for family, friends, and even strangers. He gives even from a place of being in need, and as far as his soul look at his everyday life. He slaves away so that his family can live well. While he sacrifices we enjoy. While he labors we play.  I know what he lives for, I see this everyday at the butt-crack of dawn, o-dark-thirty he lives to provide. Not only is he living for us, but in some ways, no... in a lot of ways HE has had to die for us too. The dreams and aspirations that have long been in his mind have been pushed to the side under the weights of responsibility. 
He is a good man.
My Giant, You spent 20 years without me and   Now 20 years with me. Here's to another 20+20 maybe even + 20 more!! There is truly for you xo 

Thankful Thursday

This thankful thursday morning I am happy to report the flu bug has left the building. 

I managed to escape it's clutches this time, Thank YOU Jesus, but the rest of my (minus Em) family did not. It was a gnarly bug this one and I'm so glad that even though it came on hard, it left fast.

I'm thankful for sisters. My sisters and I group text on a daily basis and sometimes a note from them can change the whole course of my day. It is a relief to know that they are always praying for me and they always have my back. Jenny and Gina are two women in this life that make me feel like I'm the richest woman on planet earth. Not with material possessions, but rich with love and devotion. They remind me that even though my girls might squabble as all teen girls do they eventually will come back around and remember they have a best friend for life. 

Sisters.

I heart them.

I'm thankful that my terrible,  horrible, itchy, scratchy, no good, very annoying, rash is also on it's way out of my life, I hope and pray never to return. It has been lingering for 3 weeks now, and although it was not totally painful it was beyond annoying and bothersome, so I'm glad it's loosing it's strength and leaving me a weakling in it's wake. I'm thankful for brothers. My brothers Jeremy and Greg are two men in my life that constantly remind me of the JOY that is BOY. Raising two boys, and seeing their friendship develop is really another thing that I'm grateful for. It reminds me of scriptures that say, "There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" which is in reference to our friendship to Jesus. That means a brothers friendship must be pretty darn close to be closer to us than the Lover of Our Souls.  Brothers. I heart them.

And finally, I'm thankful for My Giant. He works faithfully, and consistently to provide for this big family and I am grateful for his leading. I'm thankful for his character and that it is one I can admire and be proud of. I'm thankful that he knows Jesus, and loves Jesus, and honors Jesus. I'm praying for him with a group of other women who are going through the book The Power of A Praying Wife, by Stormie Omartian. If you want to join along, I will be posting here my highlights from the book, every Wednesday for the next month.  What are YOU thankful for this thursday? Linking up Here;

A New Tattoo

I got a new tattoo last night. Not many of you know this but, my Giant is a tattoo artist.

All the ink I have came from him except the two crosses on my fingers. Those are the handy work of "Slick Rick" from Sparks NV. What a hot dog that guy was. So the story goes like this, back in 2008 I had saved some money for Mo to get a new tattoo for his father's day present. Upon giving him the money he said, "Why don't I just order a tattoo gun and try to tattoo myself? Worse case scenario is I'll end up with some funny marks and a great story"  We got a kit for 200 bucks, it came with a DVD, some fake skin, and Mo taught himself how to permanently mark his body with ink.  Crazy, right?

Right, well my son Solomon is also an artist like his dad. 

When I asked Mo for a new tattoo with the theme "Smile At The Rain" he said, let's have Sol draw it.

So the drawing above is my 11 year olds version of,  Smile At The Rain.

I'd say he's following in those big footsteps wouldn't you?

  It's funny, I never thought I would be a person that would have tattoos.  I certainly never imagined my kids would draw up tattoos for me. I wasn't your rebellious teen who couldn't wait to show her parents that she had a mind of her own so she went out and got a unicorn on her hip. Nope. That wasn't me. But, here I am all inked up by my boys and their creative genius, and I gotta tell ya it makes me smile SO big. This new art reminds me of that fact that in this life there will be rain,  but when you learn to smile at those rainy days, you learn the key to a happy life. It also kinda reminds me of one of favorite musicals. Today I'm singing in the rain people, and it feels pretty damn good.

Flashback Friday

My Flashback for you this week is a movie called Move Over Darling. It is a movie about a woman who comes back from being supposedly dead for almost 5 years. She returns to find that her husband has moved on and married another and the whole movie is about her trying to stop them from consummating the marriage. It's actually quite comical the lengths they are both willing to go to keep this new bride out of the loop. The husband then finds out that his old wife was stuck on an island the whole time with a good looking fella.  The old wife tries to lie and say it was an ugly man that she wasn't attracted to. She even sets up a fake meeting using Don Knotts as the "ugly guy from the island" so that her husband won't be jealous. Because, who could be jealous of Don Knotts? Poor Don Knotts, always gets cast as the ugly, goofy guy. Anyways, it's your classic funny old movie and I thought it was really cute.

It brought up all kinds of questions like what would you do if your loved one was dead? 

How long would you wait before "moving on" so to speak?

I have always said since the moment Mo and I married that if he ever passed away I wouldn't re-marry. I got hitched when I was only 20 years old so that was quite a shocking thing to say back then, but I always felt like I couldn't imagine my life with any other. Not much has changed between then and now, except that we reproduced. And I'm too old and too tired, my plate is too full and.... Man Alive that Sounds Terrible!!

Mo used to say that he would re-marry when we were younger, (It used to hurt my feelings) but last night I heard him say that now he doesn't think he would.  That made me laugh, because I feel I have broken him. I know what he means though, because after all these years of marriage where we have had our fair share of UPs and DOWNs, you realize that a good marriage is hard work, and I think neither one of us are willing to work this hard again, ya know? Anyways,  It is such a funny hypothetical conversation to have with your person, and I suggest that if you do decide to have this talk remember that it's not real. 

They aren't really cheating on you !!

Moving on...

Now it's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read, grab a cute lil VW button and link it up. Don't forget to at least comment on one other link up, that's where all the fun happens.  Powered by Linky Tools
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