Monday, December 29, 2008

Winter Fun

When I was growing up and living in Utah I remember my parents packing up the family and heading to the mountains with our sleds and inner tubes to spend the day doing some serious sledding. We made a day of it. Mom made sure we had thermos after thermos full of hot chocolate. We were decked out from head to toe in sledding gear and spent the day hiking or pulling ourselves up the hill on a tow rope and then sledding down over and over again.

When we moved to Washington we lived across the street from some vacant land. There were some pretty good hills for sledding but one small one in particular with a killer ramp/jump on it. The day I flew off of that ramp and lost my inner tube causing me to land with no cushion other than the packed snow is still vivid in my mind.

This Christmas our little family traveled north to spend the holiday with Grandma Dd and Grandpa Gd. We arrived on Christmas Eve afternoon and found them at a local park with a decent sized hill for sledding. My brother and his family had come up from Southern California to spend the week.

My nieces were not used to the cold and snow but loved every minute of the sledding fun. My boys jumped on the first sled available and didn't stop until it was time to leave. My dear husband had never in his life, that he could remember, been sledding before. He was quite reluctant but once he was on the sled, he was gone, over and over again.

After just about an hour KD said, "Okay, I'm done." To which my father replied, "We used to do this for six hours." I must admit, I was ready to be done as well. I'm not as young for fit as I used to be nor was I outfitted properly.
It was fun playing in the snow but not as fun as I remember from my childhood. I guess the older I get the more boring I become.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Healing Power

The first picture I ever saw of my sweet husband was of him standing next to country singer Rhett Akins. That describes my husband to a tee. Music is his life and for that, I am grateful. He has been a great influence in my music choices and has taught me more than I ever thought I would know about any artist or genre of music in my lifetime.

Almost every story KD has told me has a song related to it somehow. I can call him up and ask him who sings almost any song and he can pretty much tell me. KD has taught me to really listen to the words...really listen to the message.

Some of the best memories I have had with my dear husband to date have been from concerts we have gone to together. My favorite is when we saw Mr. Randy Travis in concert at Kingsbury Hall in October 2005. Mr. Travis has helped KD through a lot and in fact, he sings one of KD's favorite songs of all time, "Forever and Ever, Amen." This song means a lot to KD and to his mother.

We recently lost KD's uncle and best friend to cancer. It has been difficult for all of us. Tears still fill my eyes when I think of sweet Uncle J. One of John's favorite songs was "Angels Among Us" by Alabama. Every time I hear this song my eyes swell as I think about our dear friend and uncle. We miss you J!

Music heals!
If you browse through my playlist on this blog you will see a pretty eclectic collection of songs. I love it all. I owe my husband a great deal of thanks for introducing me to such a large variety of music. Thank you my love!

I hope that as you listen to the radio in your car or your iPod, MP3 player, or whatever it is you enjoy, you listen closely to the words. Find a song that inspires you. Grow from it. Let it heal was ails you.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Tis The Season...

As much as I complain about the hordes of people that seem to come out of the woodwork and the cold weather, I really do love this time of year. I love that, for most people, the attitudes change and the generosity is overflowing.

I have been fortunate to witness an abundance of generosity in my workplace. From simple every day kindness to donations for a family who lost a loved one and have found it difficult both emotionally and financially to provide a Christmas for the four young boys in the family.

I've watched person after person bring in food for the local food bank knowing this is an especially difficult year for so many.

Not only have I been blessed to participate in this kindness, I came home from work last night to fine that my little family has also be blessed by an anonymous Samaritan. To this person I say THANK YOU!

May each of us at this wonderful time of year, as we remember the birth of God's precious Son, remember His generosity and love. And may we act in a similar manner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

What is the going rate for a tooth?


I remember when the Tooth Fairy left 25 cents for each tooth I left under my pillow. Apparently now-a-days the Tooth Fairy has been known to leave up to $20 just for one tooth (http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/03/12/toothfairy.economics/index.html).

Our oldest son has now lost four teeth and has received a dollar for each tooth. How many teeth do kids end up losing altogether? At the rate we are going Z will have more money than mom and dad by his next birthday.

We have four children, if each child loses his teeth at this same rate and if the "going rate" keeps getting higher our friend the Tooth Fairy may be bankrupt by the time B loses his first tooth.

So to the Tooth Fairy I ask, can we go back to just a quarter for each tooth for all children? Let's work on keeping it equal for everyone. That way you won't feel the pressure when a child comes home from school asking why he only got a dollar for his tooth and Sally from his class got $5. If your are not careful you will have kids trying to invent ways to lose teeth.

The economy is tough, you might want to take a hard look at your gifting habits.


Monday, December 01, 2008

I've Been Tagged


I guess I will give this tagged thing a try. We'll have to see what I can come up with as the night goes on...

Seven Random/Weird Facts About Me...
1. I once caught fast pitch softball
2. I enjoy peanut butter and pickle sandwiches
3. My favorite time of the day is dusk (my boys call it "blue dark"; it's not quite dark but not quite light either)
4. Have a hard time disciplining my boys
5. I LOVE my pancakes and waffles with lots of butter and peanut butter swimming in maple syrup
6. I met my Mr. Ledford online before online dating became popular
7. I ABSOLUTELY refuse to listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving

Seven Favorite Sports Teams
1. Utah Utes
2. Atlanta Braves (baseball)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (baseball)
4. St. Louis Rams (football)
5. Seattle Seahawks (football; don't tell my husband)
6. Utah Jazz (basketball)
7. Dallas Cowboys (football)

Seven Things I Say Most Often
1. I don't think so
2. I'm changing my name and not telling anyone what it is
3. WHATEVER!
4. Find your shoes
5. I know you didn't just say that
6. Go to bed
7. I love you too

That's the best I can do. I don't know seven people who haven't been tagged so I will just leave it as this.