Appreciate all the good in your life right now.......

"He is a fool to leave things close at hand to follow what is out of reach." Plutarch

Find an empty shoebox and cut a small hole in the top. Every day write down something good in your life on a piece of paper and put the paper in the box. Then, whenever you're starting to feel discontented, take a look inside your "blessings box" and remember what you have to be thankful for.

What better time of the year to look at all the blessings in our lives than the Holidays.
Life can be chaotic and time goes by so fast, it's so easy to forget the small precious things in our lives. We're always looking to a bigger picture, a goal in the future or something we want that we don't have yet, and we tend to forget or neglect the wonderful things that we have right here and now.

Take some steps and allow yourself to enjoy the here and know. Look around you and see this wonderful thing we call life for all it is worth. For all it's glory. Today counts just as much as tomorrow.

When you're feeling down or things look rough up ahead, remember that you can always pick yourself up and start fresh....remember the little things.....friendship, love, family, shelter, contentment, knowledge, God. There is always somewhere to go or something to do. You are never alone.

How can you make your day more special?

After a hectic week of running around. Today I will slow down and enjoy time with my family. I will watch and be amazed as they learn about their world and history and science as we go to the MD Science Center. I will enjoy this beautiful day. Listen and watch the boats on the harbor, the people that surround me, and the many things to see and do at the Science Center. I'm sure that I too will learn something new and exciting on our adventure today. I always do.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!!!

To all those veterans out there and to my dear Husband, who served his country in the Gulf War, THANK YOU!!! What a selfless act to serve our country and fight for fredom and their country!!!!
To all the men and women in Iraq right now, THANK YOU!!!!

Today, if you know someone who has served their country in the armed forces........Don't forget to say THANK YOU!!!! Let them know that what they've done or are doing is a great thing with little reward other than the gratitude of the people who live here in the United States of America and enjoy the freedom's we have here everyday.

I've been thinking......

Ideas are just floating around about things I can do on this blog. The latest, greatest idea is should I have a Life's Rule every day or one a week. I love to invite people to give examples from their lives on how they have experienced the rule in their own lives or how they may choose to apply it. But of course that would require people to actually be interested and see my blog and post. :)

I think for my own sake, I need to do what is best for me to use this site to reflect and apply it to my own life.
This will require more time and thought. Time is a problem.
Heck, I haven't even had time yet to figure out how to put my pictures on this site.
Life can be busy :) But that's okay, keeps me feeling young......ha,ha,ha.

I think that doing one Life's Rule a week is more than enough. Maybe two. I'd love to spend more time exploring each rule. Why add more to an already full plate?

So, looking back on my first two blogs I've got enough rules this week to reflect upon.

Here are some questions to ask yourself today.........and if you haven't done them.....do it soon.

1. Have you hugged your child today and told them you loved them? If you don't have children hug a friend, spouse, parent. You get the idea. Let someone know how much they mean to you. Don't put it off any longer.

2. Have you taken the time to just go for a short walk and observe the world you live in? That's right, get outside (it's a beautiful day here today) and stroll around and just look at the sky, the trees, some gardens or hang in your own yard watch the birds or listen to the sounds surrounding you.

3. Have you had a chance to be involved in something today? It could be something minor like....yeah, I helped my son learn a new game, or shared my favorite story with my kids, or started a puzzle with my husband/friend/family. It's nice to recognize the small things we do for ourselves and others each and every day.

For me there's not a day that goes by that I don't let the people I love and care for know how much they mean to me. I'm sure I could improve that a little with my friends. I tend to get self absorbed in my family and loose track of how long it's been since I've called or contacted those friends of mine that are waiting to hear from me. I should work on letting them know I'm just thinking of them and make some more room for a little "friendship" time. It doesn't have to take a lot of time, but enough time to show them I care. I can use Steve Irwin as an example there. I don't think there was a person in his life that didn't know each and every day how much he loved and cared for them. What an example.
If I was to leave this world, I would want everyone I loved to have no doubt how much they mean to me. There's just no reason in this little time we have to hold grudges and stay angry. You either move on, or work things through. Sometimes you just have to let go. I think it's easier to just walk away. Staying the course, that's hard. But when it comes to family and true friends, it's well worth it.

What can I say.........life is an adventure with it's ups and downs. Just buckle up and try to enjoy the ride as much as you can and know that when you're on a downslop, you'll eventually make your way back up again. Dig deep, stay strong, look for the good, keep the faith, and be patient.

I've got to get outside today and go listen to the birds and sit on my swing. Maybe I'll pop into the trampoline with my son for awhile and jump around. Get a few good laughs at myself and just enjoy being a kid again with my son.
When the girls come home from school I'll make sure to let them jump around too after being in that stuffy school sitting on their behinds all day with their faces in books. It will be nice for them to feel the sun on their faces and breathe in the fresh air and move their bodies.

Well enough sitting here on this computer.......I've got a life to go live.

The Leader who deserves the most praise is he who seeks no praise at all..

In wake of Election Day and reflecting on my position as a Brownie Troop co-Leader, volunteer, and parent......I thought this life's little rule was fitting: The leader who deserves the most praise is he who seeks no praise at all.

"When the best Leader's work is done the people will say, "We did it ourselves."....Hans Finzel
Look at your leadership position as a teaching opportunity. When you give an assignment, be involved with what is happening rather than watching from a distance.

I think this one is pretty simple in concept but may be difficult to execute for many. It's a fine line between Micro Managing and executing independence in those you are leading, teaching, helping, etc. I believe people lean one way or another and it takes great effort to be in the middle. It may sometimes depend on the project or position one is in also. As a Browine Leader you want your girls to have the opportunity to do things independently, yet you just can't hand them an assignment and walk away. It is simply a teaching experience. Don't just hand the child a worksheet and go off and do something else. Don't stand there giving them all the answers, but rather let them explore their options and guide them and teach them when appropriate or asked.

As a parent it is a "hands on" approach in the lives of your children. But again, there is that fine line between being too involved and letting your children exert some independence. I guess it's best to sum up the situation and figure out the best approach.
In the mean time, don't let life pass you by, don't multi-task too much that you aren't giving it your all, and the best reward comes from helping others and seeing the joy in their faces.

I know I can do it, but my children need to learn and experience that they can do it too. So they can say, "Look Mom, I did it all by myself or Look at what I can do."

Okay, does any of that make any sense? I hope so.
It is early. There's a lot to do today and it's cold, rainy and grey outside. One of those days you just want to stay home, get cozy and just hang out in your pajamas watching movies and hang out with your family. The brain just doesn't want to work on a day like today :)

Sorry, I still haven't gotten the chance to fiddle around with the site and figure out how to download some pictures.........but I promise they will be coming.
I'm attempting to merge images of my life with words of wisdom, happiness, and success. Hence, Lifes Little Rules.
This all stems for my love of my family, my love of scrapbooking, my love of photography, my love of learning, and my desire to self improve.
My counselor said to dig deep, reflect and find something inspiring to work on. So here I am.
I hope in the process to get my creative juices flowing and learn something new.

Well I need to go and start my day. Time to make some Tapatan game pieces for brownies.......don't know what that is? It's a lot like tic-tac-toe, but it is a game from the Philippines. The object is always to get "three in a row".

Phone is ringing........got to go!!!

A Happy Child is the result of a Happy Parent....

Okay, forgive me as I try to figure this all out. I promise things will get more interesting. Right now I'm playing with this and watching 3 kids because there is no school today. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!
I'm actually enjoying this long weekend with my children. I miss them terribly when they are at school, but I enjoy a few hours to myself. Children are such a blessing. They can teach you so much. Becoming a parent has taught me patience, to appreciate the little things, to understand that life isn't as complicated as we make it out to be and that love has no boundries, no end.

So with my children in mind here is my first LIFE'S LITTLE RULE : "A Happy child is the result of a happy parent." Set time aside daily for just having fun. Read a story, take a walk or just talk about your child's day. "A happy childhood is one of the best gifts that parents have in their power to bestow....Mary Cholmondeley" Too many people want to make their children into these "baby einsteins" and don't take the time to get to know who their children really are and enjoy their uniqueness and their own talents and gifts to this world. I think it is sad that in today's world kids are forced to grow up so quickly. One thing I hope to give to my children is a "childhood"......time to be creative, to create imaginary worlds, to dress up, to run free, climb trees, build secret hideways, dance wildly, hang out in their pajamas all day, spend the day capturing butterflys and creepy crawly stuff. Well you get the idea.

The second part of this is "for the parents to be happy too". Finding time for yourself and your husband isn't taking time away from your kids or family. It is building a stronger relationship with your husband and finding time to be and do something that doesn't revolve around your children. Although this does benefit your children too because you will be happier and feel more relaxed and it will make the time with your family that much better.
My husband and have been working hard on finding time each week to spend together.....just the two of us and taking an occasional weekend getaway. I can't begin to tell you the imense benefits and healing powers it has to your marriage, to your self being. I look forward to our moments alone. We might just spend a few hours at night brain storming or playing a board game or we might get real creative and surprise each other with an adventure out like bike riding on a scenic trail that goes from MD to PA or packing a picnic and planing a fantasy trip to Germany (I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one ). During these getaways I get to reconnect with my husband and feel refreshed.

Well my time is running out here today and I'm trying to figure out how to download pictures. I think I'll have to wait until my husband comes home to help me with that one.

I'm looking forward to sharing this journey called life with you and hopefully my story will inspire you or help you in some small way.