Come Monday: The Beginning

[The cool thing about having a blog is that it gives you a place to tell a story, to get healing and to remember things that might otherwise be forgotten. I hope you stay with me this week as I remember the one who changed me and a friendship that was brighter than the sun.]

In September of 1992 my life changed for so many reasons but mostly it was the horrific Hurricane that hit S. Florida just days before I was supposed to leave for college.  While my house had not been significantly damaged, the home of my soon to be roommate Jenny's was destroyed. 

She didn't want to leave her family to come to Flagler with us but when "move in" day arrived so did she with all of her belongings in black trash bags.  My Dad helped her mom and her carry all of her things into our two room suite. We picked our beds and as we unpacked we realized that we had chosen exactly the same "bed in a bag." It was probably at that moment when our friendship was sealed and locked.

I have to be honest here. I am almost certain that my two goody two shoes roommates thought that this crazy Dead loving, hippie dressed chick was an absolute nut case.  (shh, don't tell, but they were right.) But we all bonded so quickly that it was like the group of us had known each other forever.

As the year past, memories were made, our group became more solidified and Jenny and I began to develop what I would call my first "grown up" friendship. This wasn't an easy task for me.  I am a pretty hard person to get to know. I don't share easily, I tend to be a bit negative and due to some crappy childhood issues, I have a wall that is about 6 feet wide and 10 feet high between me and anyone who cares.

Jenny was the opposite of me.  She wore her heart on her sleeve. She cared about EVERYONE and I mean everyone.  Flagler is a small college and everywhere we would go, she would smile at someone and call them by name.  She was the epitome of what I wasn't. I was too naive to envy her, I just loved her and the amazing unconditional friendship that she provided.

By the end of the year, we were pretty inseparable.  She went home for the summer to work at a summer camp but before that we rented the most darling little house on Loring Street that would be the setting of our sophomore year in college.

Come Monday: A Series

A very wise women once told me that when something horrific happens to you, when something life changing occurs, that the only way to make sense of it, is to to tell your story. To tell it again and again until the hurt fades, the long night changes into day and the tears only fall when the memories make you smile. 


Over the course of the next several days, I am going to write a small series regarding the moment the sun dimmed in my life and how I have survived. It isn't meant to be a tell all and some ways it isn't even meant to be read. For me it is simply a way to tell my story, to have the catharsis that this month brings, and to tell you how one beautiful soul an changed my world. 


So here is my story. 


Come Monday....It will be alright. 

Book Praise: Stories About Jesus

Read and Share: Stories About Jesus By Gwen Ellis is a wonderful book to add to your families library! The book features thirteen well known stories about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in a simple format that’s is easy for young minds to understand.

Steve Smallman has done a wonderful job illustrating the book. The pictures are very warm and invites the child into the story. Both of my children use pictures to help them identify words and to tell "the story" over again on their own.

This is a high quality board book which is nicely over sized for the littlest hands to open and close without damaging the pages. Each story is presented on two pages. At the top of the page is the title of the story, a small illustration of the main character and the bible reference. There is a simple to read (includes many common site words too) bible passage that ends with comprehension and discussion question.

My son's favorite story is the "Coin in a Fish". I would consider this to be an uncommon story for a children's book. My six year old is just now figuring out the value of money and this is a good passage to introduce Jesus's plan for what we are given. The comprehension question and discussion lead is, "Aren't you glad Jesus always knows the best thing to do? Talk to Him about your problems" What a great way to introduce Jesus into even our little problems.

Here is the book description from the publisher:

From the bestselling Read and Share® Bible, 13 stories from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. These time-honored favorites include: The Man Who Ate Locusts, John Baptizes Jesus, Jesus Heals a Sick Boy, Jesus Brings a Girl Back to Life, Jesus Walks on Water, Jesus Loves the Children, Zacchaeus, A Blind Man Sees Again, Jesus Stops a Storm, One Lost Sheep, Jesus’ Best Friends, One Man Says Thank You, and Jesus Goes to Heaven.

Overall this a great board book for little ones. Kids learn about Jesus from his birth to the resurrection. I highly recommend adding Stories about Jesus or any of the Read and Share stories to you library.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Read and Share: Stories About Jesus By Gwen Ellis from BookSneeze/Thomas Nelson Publisher for this review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone! Click here for my full disclaimer.

My Mother's Day Wish List

My sweet husband asked me the other day what I would like for mother's day.  I started trying to put a practical list together, but let's be honest, the things that we (mother's) really want can not be purchased in a store or even won in a giveaway. Most of the things we are really looking for are the practical things that would make our life a little easier.


 So here is my top 10 Mother's Day "wish" list....

1. To actually go to the bathroom, alone for at least 5 3 minutes. Ok, who am I kidding? I would just like to go to the bathroom without a 2 year old standing there saying "lap, lap lap" over and over again.
2. To have the window fairies come and clean the windows. Not the glass but the actual windows. The tiny little crevices that are full of gunk and dirt that has been there for 8 years.
3. To have whatever that gunk in the fridge cleaned out and so spotless that I actually can pretend it is new. 
4. Oh, and once the fridge is spotless that 30 pre-made, healthy and organic meals (that my kids will actually eat) would be mysteriously appear inside. 
5. A mani, pedi, hair cut (my last one was in November), hair color (you should see the greys) and a massage WITHOUT feeling guilty or being texted 52 times during the time away.
6. A new pair of running shoes (Ok, so that one is kind of realistic but it is still on my list) 
7. Two guilt free hours to actually use said running shoes from wish number six.
8. To take a 3 hour, uninterrupted nap. Ok, I would settle for 1 hour. 
9. For my children to do everything I say, the first time I say it, for an ENTIRE DAY hour.

But the #1 thing that I would really love, is to just have my two beautiful blessings to say,"I love you, Mommy."  Because honestly, there nothing more wonderful than to hear those precious words. 

What is your Mother's Day wish? Real or Fantasy.

A Not So Hidden Rainbow!

I was driving home the other night, chit chatting on the phone, when out my passenger window I saw the most beautiful site imaginable.  Honestly, it was breathtaking.  A gigantic rainbow filled the sky and could be seen for miles all around. People were stopping on the side of the road to take pictures.  It was all I could do to make it off the highway and snap this picture before it was gone.

My blog subtitle, "Finding the Hidden Rainbows in Everyday Life" comes from a very specific moment in my life.  I was in a very dark place after the death of my best friend. I was driving home, the rain was pouring down, tears were pouring down and out of nowhere, the sun began to shine and two of the brightest rainbows appeared directly in the sky in front of me. It was God's perfect timing.

Shortly after that, my dear friend Betsy sent me a little pocket card that I still keep in my Bible. It reads:

Look for the Rainbow

Look for the rainbow when things go awry

And remember the beauty you've seen in the sky-

Reflect on its promise and think, as you do,

Of the joy and the hope that is waiting for you-

For rainbows are simply reminders we see

Of God's endless love for you and for me.

~Emily Matthews~

Do you have any rainbow stories? What beautiful pictures have been painted for you in the sky lately?

Praise & Giveaway: The Little Looster

The first thing I have to tell you about The Little Looster has nothing to do with how great the product is (it really is) but about how much fun both my kids had with the name.  When we opened the package, my son exclaimed, "Look Lu, this is for you. It has your "name" (meaning the "L's" that are all over the top) on it.  Lu looked all serious (like she knows what an L is) and said, "yep, it's mine."  When I tried to explain to Eph that the L's stood for Little Looster, he cracked up and was walking around calling Lu - Lu Lu Looster. 


In all seriousness though, my little Lu is tiny.  She was made extra small and since she potty trained at the early age of 20 months, she still needs extra help getting up and down on the potty. Even though she still uses her hands to climb up on the loo, she is still able to assert her independence. Also, when she would do it herself with her foot stool, she would get her self turned the wrong way and just cry. 


We put The Little Looster in the downstairs bathroom and Lu immediately climbed right up and sat down on the potty.  The Little Looster also offers her a place to rest her feet so she can use the muscles necessary to actually "go to the bathroom."

The Little Looster fits nicely up against the base of the toilet and does not get in the way of the adults that need to use the bathroom.  The only draw back that we found during our review is that my rather lengthy 6 year old can not comfortably sit on the toilet with the item in place.  However, he has learned just to move it over and back with his foot so there is no significant impact for him.  


Here is what The Little Looster has to say about their product:

ComfortProvides total comfort & leg support for years of use.No more painful pins-n-needles feeling when little legs are not supported. 

ConfidencePromotes complete certainty.No scary feeling of “falling in.” Kids legs do all the work. 

CleanlinessAllows children to have their hands free at all times.No need to grip the back of the toilet seat or the inner, germ covered rim.

Overall this is a great product. I would call it ingenious. It is amazing what can happen when a mom sees a need and creates it! This is definitely a must have for all potty training tots. 


The Little Looster retails for $34.99 and can be purchased directly from their website. 

Want to win one?

The Little Looster has generously offered one of my readers the chance to win this fabulous product! 

Mandatory Entry: (Must be a GFC to this blog before entering) What is your favorite feature of The Little Looster?


Extra Entries:

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#Win a Little Looster potty booster from @SunshinePraises & @loostermama. #Giveaway ends 5/9. Click here to enter http://bit.ly/mcMh9r

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Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 9th, 2011 at 11:59 EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Must be 18 years of age to enter. No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a sample product from the company. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and have not been in any way influenced. For my full disclosure statement click here.*

This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media!