Finding the Joy

From this very month to all of the February's that will come to pass, I am going to yearn for joy, happiness, and laughter. Just as it felt last year around my birthday, it feels the same this year. Once again, I'm going to need prayers of strength, hope, and peace. It is so hard for me to master the concept of moving on as I come to the close of another year of my life. I've been 15 months without my biggest fan, and just as I felt I was being lifted from my knees, I get knocked back down again. I know it's going to take time, I know that this grief-filled pit in my heart will never fully heal, and I know that my memories of him will always remind me of happier times... but I want to feel strength, and right now I feel that I have none. So, to my wonderful blogger-friends, I guess I'm asking you to remember me in your prayers in this next week. Pray that I can find happiness, love, and laughter because I know that is what he is experiencing right now, and that's exactly what we would be doing if he would still be here!!

Love,
JM

Symbol of your Life

For one of my education classes, we were to choose one item that we felt represented our lives to this particular day. When given this information, I left school thinking, "ONE item that represents my life- are you kidding? I have at least 20!!" But the more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to this one particular item. Not because it would be different, but because it sustained and represented both sides of my family for years and years before I was born. I found this topic very interesting because I actually got to dig into my family's history (which I love doing), and learn about very special people that I never had the opportunity to meet. This fact deeply touched my heart because, as I was reading, I realized that I was reading about grandparents I had never met, and that one day my children will be curious about their grandpa they never got to meet. It's hard to think that one day my children will never be thrown in the air and caught in his strong arms, or hear his laughter when they say something silly. It's hard because only I will know what they are missing, they will never know, because they never had it... But anyway, I'll share a little paragraph of what I chose to represent me:

Head coverings are simply a symbol that represents the Mennonite religion and its beliefs and practices. In my family, coverings worn by women have been passed down from generation to generation, developing a history of changes that time has brought to the religion. I feel that a covering represents my life to date because it is a symbol of who I am as an individual, where I come from, and the beliefs that my family stands firm upon. It describes the characteristics of the ancestors who went before me, the lives that they lived, and the faith that they believed in. They passed it down to their children so that one day it could be passed down to me and to my future family. I believe in tradition, I believe in family, and I believe that knowing where one comes from is a sense of self that can never be replaced. My family is Mennonite. Wer bist du?
(Who are you?)

~JM~

WoW!! That's a Low Price!

Want a good laugh?? Every single time I see this commercial I about fall off of the couch!! Click on this link below to view:





Hope it brightens your day:)!!

American Honey

The first time I heard this song I fell in love with it!! It makes you think back to those days when life was so free and simple.. when there wasn't a care in the world!

She grew up on a side of the road

Where the church bells ring and strong love grows

She grew up good, She grew up slow

Like American honey

Steady as a preacher

Free as a weed

Couldn't wait to get goin'

But wasn't quite ready to leave

So innocent, pure and sweet

American honey

There's a wild, wild whisper

Blowin' in the wind

Callin' out my name like a long lost friend

Oh I miss those days as the years go by

Oh nothing's sweeter than summertime

And American honey

Get caught in the race

Of this crazy life

Tryin' to be everything can make you lose your mind

I just wanna go back in time

To American honey

Gone for so long now

I gotta get back to her somehow....to American honey

I had to post some pictures that reminded me of "American honey." Hope you enjoy:) Please disregard my poofy hairstyle and 'stylish' clothing!!!

Silly smiles after a hot, summer day while enjoying some corn on the cob...

Trying to follow in the footsteps of someone you will always look up to...

Time to feel the breeze blow across your face and enjoy the world around you...
Attitude and personality that passes down with each generation..
Love, care, and humility learned from mom & dad..

Being a helper to someone, even though you may not be the best at it..:)

And finally, remembering who you are and where you came from when life tries to knock you down!!

~JM~

53rd Birthday

Well here it is... today you would be celebrating your 53rd birthday, most likely with homemade ice cream and angel food cake, and you would talk about how old you're getting while we would laugh at the thought of you with gray hair and wrinkled skin. Sometimes I think that it's more of a blessing that I never had to see you grow old and weak, instead I remember you living life until it knocked you flat on your back- I wish I could be more like that!!! You have inspired me to chase dreams that I never thought I could accomplish and to be confident in myself no matter what (which I'm still working on). I wish now more than ever I could thank you and tell you that, yes, you were right about everything you ever taught me:) I find it truly amazing that God arranges special things to happen on special days. Today I turned in my complete student teaching application, which will take place next spring. I had to laugh when I realized my advisor had asked if today would work for my appointment and as I walked out the door she told me to be very proud of myself for maintaining a 3.9 GPA for the past 3 years. I think you would've hit the floor had you known this (in high school I was more into the "social life" of things instead of my studies:)!! It's astonishing to me that you are celebrating another birthday in heaven... I've wondered all day about what you are doing at this exact moment. Probably something my mind cannot even imagine.... Right now I want to be wrapped in arms so tightly and tell you how much I love you and miss you, but I know that everything happens for a reason, and one day I'll never have to tell you good-bye ever again... Instead we'll be praising Jesus together, hand in hand, forever and ever... I love you daddy, I miss you sooo much! Happy Birthday...
I thought these turned out really neat!!! (What's Your Sign in Wash designed them)

Sisterhood Is..

*SiStErHoOd IS......

LoVe...

Laughter...

SeCrEtS...

DEPENDENCE...

Giving...

Fun, Silly, Magical, prayer-filled, and sharing, But most of all....

*SiStErHoOd is POWERFUL!!!!

~Brittany, Briona, & Baleigh 2010~

~JM~

New Years!

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.

~Hal Borland~

~JM~