Wonder

 

A few books have been said to change people’s lives. There are always classics on the list, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Giver, Pride and Prejudice, The Diary of a Young Girl are just a few. Harry Potter became a sensation to readers and writers alike, changing the audience of many books. A few of my other favorites on the list are The Help, The Book Thief, The Fault in our Stars, The Hiding Place and Unbroken. One book in 2013 has joined the list, Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

It’s a story of a young 12 year old boy named August who is different. August was born with physical disabilities which lead to him being home schooled. August’s parents decide that after seven years of staying home it was time for him to go to school. They enroll him in the 7^th grade and the book takes us on a journey of his first year at school.

 

 

There are so many books that have negativity; it’s nice to read something inspiring. Wonder is a book that teaches love, friendship, forgiveness, humility and wants to make you become a better person.

Wonder is an eye opening book for people of all ages, young and old. It teaches us all a lesson to not judge a book (person) by its cover, because some books may just surprise you and have a story full of love and takes you on a journey of true friendship and self-discovery. 

 

Think of your favorite books, how they have changed you and how you can include the things you learned into your life.

 

R.J. Palacio has now written other short stories with the characters from the book Wonder.

 

I've only read Pluto so far, but I would love to read them all. Shingaling is coming out in May.

 

Goals

 

A few years ago a Hummingbird made a nest in our tree. We named her Honey. We were so excited to realize two little eggs in her nest.

 

 

I think a lot about goals. I have for a really long time. I have always struggled with making it that last step. I work really hard, but I get scared. I don't want to cross the finish line, just in case it's not good enough. I've spent many years working on a story about my grandparents. I want it to be so good, perfect. I realize that it won't ever be perfect. It could always be a little better, but I have to finish. I have to take that last step.

We loved seeing the babies Pebbles and Bam Bam.  

No matter what it is in life that we want to accomplish, we have to work hard, believe in ourselves, and do it. I really need to trust myself. I love this quote, "A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch, but on it's own wings. Always believe in yourself." ~Unknown

Pebbles and Bam Bam got bigger and learned to fly. They left after a few months and we haven't seen them since.

I've used the excuse that no one believes in me or really supports me, but that doesn't matter. I need to believe in myself in all that I do and prove to others that I can do anything.

I found this cute book called Someday. It's about  goals, and how it takes little steps to achieve them. We don't always get them right away and we need to be happy in the mean time. "Someday I'll be a famous artist and make millions from my paintings, but today I'll paint the garage."

We had a family home evening lesson on Goals last week. We talked about individual goals

And then we talked about family goals we could have together.
We hung the banner up in our kitchen to see it daily.

Power of Journals

Record keeping has been around since the beginning of time. The word journal comes from the French word Jour, which means daily book or log book. People keep records for many reasons.  Without journals we wouldn’t have so much information about the past, from important historical figures like George Washington to wars that our ancestors fought.

Thousands found strength from a simple diary of a girl during tumultuous times. Anne Frank captured our hearts as she wrote during World War II. She wrote her feelings about her new journal on June 20, 1942 shortly after receiving it for her birthday. Little did she know her words changed the world.  “Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.” She later added, “Paper has more patience than people.”

I’ve found strength in the words and trials as I’ve read journals from my ancestors. One in particular my Great Grandmother Viola Stout. When she got older she had her journal made into books for her family. I've read it several times and learned so much from her writings. I never knew that as a young girl she wanted to be a writer and she had a teacher who believed in her so much that she would tutor her after school every day. Viola had many trials, after losing two daughters within months of each other she wrote, "Times like these bring a realization of our Elder Brother's suffering, far beyond our abilities to endure and live. This makes us aware our suffering is much less, can be endured. This was a year my doubts and beliefs fought the battle of faith and despair... Thanks to that special Gift the Lord gave us, Faith won, I became comforted. I reached the depths in 1929. By 1930, a new light led the way." With her words of endurance and faith I have learned that I can make it through hard times. Because she kept a journal we can learn from her experiences for many generations to come.

Spencer W. Kimball said, “Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.”

What is beauty...

You don’t have to try so hard

You don’t have to give it all away

You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don’t have to change a single thing

Take your make up off

Let your hair down

Take a breath

Look into the mirror at yourself

Don’t you like it?

Cause I like you

The lyrics in Colbie Callait’s song Try, truly has deep meaning for a lot of people. What do you do for beauty? Do you have to Try? Like most, for me it’s been a roller coaster. The media tells you to look a certain way. You have to have your hair a certain way, wear makeup all the time, and wear brand name clothing. Does it really make a difference? Do you feel better, or does it add extra pressure to you?

Although, I’ve struggled with self-esteem throughout my life, as an adult I have a better understanding of what beautiful is. I have learned that I don’t need to “try so hard” to impress others with my outward appearance. It was all within me. If I believed it, others would also.

My Grandma Budd really influenced me and my self-image. Since I can remember, she always said wonderful things to me. I was sweet, kind, and beautiful, and to never change. As I got older and became a mom she told me that I was the best mom she had ever seen. I knew it wasn’t true, but I also knew that she wasn’t lying either. In her eyes she saw beauty, she was genuine. In the last month of her life, she didn’t know my name, but she knew how she felt about me, and told me how kind and beautiful I was, I was a wonderful mother and to never change.

As women, and human beings we owe it to ourselves and to others to see the good and beauty in others. Don’t judge, but love. Remember what Audrey Hepburn said, “For beautiful eyes look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

      Dove Beauty products has had a number of ads trying to show that beauty comes from with in. I saw this video and I just loved it so much. Click HERE to watch.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A few years ago I read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for the first time. I have heard a few people say they didn't like it. They say it was boring, or slow. But to me this book was inspiring, sad, and so honest. Betty Smith is a poet. This book was a memoir of her life, but her publisher said no one would want to read a true story like that, so she called it fiction. What a tragic life, yet so beautiful the way she lived it.

 

My dad gave me this First Edition book. I was so excited. He gave it to me because my daughter's name is Brooklynn and he thought it would be fun, but he didn't realize how much I truly love the story of Francie Nolan.

 

It is funny how something can be so ordinary to someone, but to another it is a treasure. I try to look at life with that outlook to make things extraordinary. 

 

There are a lot of parts of the book I love but here is one of my favorite quotes.

 

She thought: If I open this book fifty years from now, I will be again as I am now and there will be no being old for me. There's a long long time yet before fifty years. . . millions of hours of time. But one hour has already gone since I sat here . . . one hour less to live . . . one hour gone away from all the hours of my life.

 

"Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry . . . have to much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me me sincere -- deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time, so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

 

I am not perfect. I have a lot to work on. My house isn't perfectly clean, I get upset at my kids, today I am sitting still in my pjs with no makeup on, we sometimes eat frozen pizza for dinner, but I try. I love my life, I love my kids and my husband and I try every day to be happy.

I want to live my life every minute that I can.

Let It Go

Disney movies all have a lesson that we can learn in the end. Cinderella helped us believe in true love. Aladdin  taught us that money doesn’t buy us happiness, but we provide it ourselves. Merida showed us that we hold fate inside ourselves; we have to be brave enough to find it. Beloved Dori helped us learn that when life is hard, just keep swimming.

            I love to use different experiences to teach my children. When we watch movies we talk about what we learned from it. As a family we watched Frozen and were coloring pictures. My kids asked me to draw pictures for them. As I was drawing I realized that the characters each learned a lesson and I could relate those lessons to my children.

            For my nine year old daughter Brooklynn who has suffered from anxiety, and is entering the years of self-doubt, I drew Elsa. On the back I wrote her a letter. “Brooklynn, Remember you are beautiful, talented and smart. When you get hurt, let it go. I love you.”

            Cameron is my six year old boy. He has a lot of energy and some people don’t understand him. I drew Olaf. “Cameron, I love you! I would do anything for you. Always be yourself.”

            For my little ball of fire four year old girl McKenna, I drew Anna. McKenna can be the most entertaining little thing, but she is shy and won’t let go of her mom at times. I wrote, “McKenna, Remember I always love you! Don’t be afraid, we will always be here for you.”

            So many talk about “hidden message” from movies, but I choose to find my own meaning. As a parent I choose what I want my kids to take away from their surroundings. I think that is our job. The world isn’t perfect, so I choose to find the positive. There seems to be a theme that I see in all Disney movies. Have faith in your dreams—they may come true!

            Next time you watch a movie with your family, think of what lessons you can learn from it, and use it to better your life.

Sign Language Surprise



I have always had a love for sign language and wanted to work with those hearing impaired or deaf. I started going to school for it, but due to medical reasons and my husband attending school I didn't finish. I have tried to keep it as part of my life and my kids have learned some signs.
When I saw this I was touched. How wonderful to live in a world where there was no one left out, no one felt neglected. A world with out barriers.

Click HERE to see the video.

Books

A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.

–Neil Gaiman

Since I was young I loved reading. I even made a library out of my closet in my bedroom. I used a ruler to keep the books place and made a card catalog so I could keep track of all of my books. Somewhere between Junior High and High School I wasn’t reading as much, although, I still had a love for books. I remember I wanted to start a café where people could, relax and while there, they could read my books. When my oldest was a baby I would feed her a bottle and read to her. I read her two of my childhood favorites, Charlotte’s Web and The Secret Garden.

Since then my love for reading grew. A little book called Twilight came out and I just had to read what everyone was talking about. The opinion on the series varies, in my opinion it was a fun, book of fiction that had my imagination all over the place. I couldn’t stop reading after that. I then got caught up in The Hunger Games series. I wanted to read books of all different genres.

I read for so many different reasons, to get away from reality, to capture some part of history, to laugh, cry and appreciate my life. I don’t always have time to read, I sometimes wish I was one of those people who started a book and didn’t put it down until I finished, but I’m not. I love reading, I sometimes read a book in a day, other times a week.

I have tried to get my kids to love books as well. My oldest is an avid reader and at nine years old she read 175 books in 2014. My six year old, and four year old like books, but aren’t as obsessed as I am. I will love books until the day I die, even when I cannot read. I will keep the stories in my head and always replay them over and over again.

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

- Jane Austen

Genealogy Goals

Genealogy is something I have grown to love. We have a love/hate relationship as I continue to learn the process. I often have people asking me for advice on what to do. The thing is that every tree is different. It can be really hard to know what to do, except keep looking and trying.

Maya Angelou said, “The more you know your History, the more liberated you are.”

Family history can feel time consuming, overwhelming and never ending. I have a secret, it is all of those things. It seems that just when you think you have come to the end something new pops up. One way to not stress over these things is to make small attainable goals. However, you cannot have a goal to catch up or finish your tree.

Remember to make a realistic goal, don’t set yourself up for failure. There are so many things that you can work on and be satisfied with your progress. I have listed a few ideas of goals and family history projects you can work on.

~You can choose to work on one branch of your tree and see how far you get.

~Another goal is finding stories and information about certain members of your family.

~While some want to travel to different places ancestors have lived or are buried.

~Learn how to use different genealogy programs on your computer.

~Start a journal yourself to pass on to future generations.

~Organize current genealogy papers and files.

~Attend Genealogy conferences to learn more tips and tricks.

~Revisit and assess previous research

~Choose a living family member to interview and write a biography about.

~Use Ancestry.com’s DNA source and research different places your ancestors came from.

Take a look at what you want most. For myself I would rather have less names on my tree and more pictures, and stories. I want to get to know my ancestors. You have to choose the thing you want most and work on that. Once you pick your goal, make a timeline that works with your schedule and get to work. Family history is supposed to be fun and a wonderful experience.

 

“Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” ~Linda Hogan, Native American Writer

The Story

Why do we tell stories? What is the purpose? I feel that everyone tells stories for their own reasons. Just as we all need to hear stories for different reasons, some people for inspiration and there are those who need to learn something. I love the song by Brandi Carlile called The Story.

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true... I was made for you

Genealogy, to me, is the same. I fell in love with finding other people’s stories, their trials, their joy and their inspiring moments. I have found so many untold stories of unsung heroes. Stories are hidden in journals, documents and pictures waiting to be shared.

I read a book by Jodi Picoult called The Storyteller. It’s about a woman who learns about a Nazi Soldier and Jewish girl and how their story comes together. I love this quote in the story by the young Jewish girl. “If I had to die in this hellhole, and the odds were very good that would happen, then maybe someone else would survive, and tell their children the story a girl had told them at night in the block. Fiction is like that, once it is released into the world: contagious, persistent. Like the contents of Pandora’s Box, a story that’s freely given can’t be contained anymore. It becomes infectious, spreading from the person who created it, to the person who listens, and passes it on.”

I just love that quote. Family History holds stories that are waiting to be told. My great grandmother Viola Stout wrote in her journal about why she writes. “My children and grandchildren might ask, ‘Why hash over all these things, just the facts are sufficient.’ Not for me. The unknown or heretofore untold parts of my life are the moving forces that motivated my actions and my thinking; made me what I am. We are all products of our background and our thoughts. To write my true story many things must be written that probably would be best left buried, but without which no one would really know my story nor me.”

Someday, somewhere in time, someone is waiting for the story that will help them in their life.