"The greatest thing a human being ever does in this world 

is to see something...

To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion,

all in one."

-John Ruskin 

 

If you've been following me the last couple days, 

you will have read about my new found love of contacts.

My eyesight used to be bad, but not that bad. 

I used to wear glasses only when I drove and in class to see the whiteboard. Then I graduated, and didn't have anymore whiteboards to look at...I never liked the way I looked in glasses, so if I didn't have to wear them I didn't. I wore them for the movies, which we rarely went too, and the theater, which we went too even less. 

Then this last year I started noticing that the world was getting a little more blurry, until one day I couldn't see anything clear past my hand. 

I had to wear my glasses to even function...

but I never could find a pair that fit my face right. 

You know how some people look amazing in glasses?

I just don't think I'm one of them. 

I never wore contacts because my eyesight wasn't bad enough...

Well now it is. 

Now with contacts, I can see clearly now, 

and the world is so much more beautiful.

I like to think I was kind of like Monet, 

but I'm no where near that talented 

when it comes to paint and canvas.

Sarah mentioned several artists.

Sarah Abbott 

Pablo Picasso  

Paul Klee  

Paul Cezanne

"In a way nobody sees a flower really, 

it is so small,

we haven't the time-

and to see takes time,

like to have a friend takes time."

-Georgia O'Keeffe 

 

"To see takes time.

We haven't the time.

Here is the unrelenting truth and it's chilling to the soul...

Never forget that the gift of vision was so important that when God created the world, the first command was for Light in order to see, and after the Great Creator was finished with each day's task, He glanced back on his handiwork and 

'saw that it was good.'

We need to see how good it is, too."

Please share, what are some of your favorite things to see?

Mine is the sunrise at my mom's house. 
I could literally watch it every day.

Or a picture of yourself rockin' your glasses.

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Gratitude Journal

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1) Good friends. I am learning more and more every day that good friends are hard to come by, and that I'm so blessed.

2) A home so I don't have to be caught out in the wind.

3) Swim lessons. Second day....Riley is doing really really well, Jacob is stubborn, and Chase cried the entire time....Two down, eight to go.

4) Sweet potato mash...yum.

5) Walmart now has the grocery section, so I could do both the grocery shopping and the other little things I needed, like beach towels. Jacob picked Cars, Chase TMNT, and Riley Moana. She was adamant, she wanted Moana, not Frozen. 

6) I saw a mom today at the park that had a 4 seat stroller, two kids in the stroller, two on bikes, and one she told me in kindergarden? Maybe it was first grade. Anyways, if you all thought I was supermom, this woman was almost wearing a cape. Seeing her brood made me feel like I was not alone, and that I wasn't the only one with a giant stroller and dog tagging along. It was comforting.

April 24th - Taste

"Taste is the younger sister of our sense of smell,

dependent on her sibling's guidance for a head start

but eager to strike out on her own as soon as she's able..."

Did you know that children have more taste buds than adults? And that they wear out and regenerate? And that as you get older they don't always regenerate, that's why the older you get the more salt you like to put on your food because you can't taste as much. 

"The primary definition of 'taste' describes the sensory faculty 

that enables us to distinguish substances dissolved in the mouth 

as sweet, sour, bitter, or salty.

But the other definition of 'taste' describes the mental faculty 

by which we discern or appreciate things for the joy they bring us.

Today let us explore ways to increase our capacity for pleasure

-our taste for life-

by delighting in this simple, yet highly sophisticated sense."

Sarah suggests first going to ethnic grocery stores, 

and to be open and curious. 

Second she suggests cleaning out your spice cabinet next. 

"Variety, after all, is the spice of life, 

and fresh spices provide our sense of taste with variety."

She tells the story of how when she finally cleaned out her spice cabinet, the first time in 11 years, she found she had 11 cans of poultry spice and pumpkin pie spice. She purchased new spices every Thanksgiving because she was "a frazzled, disorganized homecarer [who didn't have] a clue she had spices left over from the previous year and of course didn't want to be caught short."

I can't wait to show you my ethnic grocery store finds, 

and the contents of my spice cabinet.

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Gratitude Journal

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1) A busy and productive day. I got so much laundry done, and a grocery list done, and the piano tuned (even though I didn't actually do that, Mr Fritz did), and Costco done, and swim lessons done, and dinner done, and helped a friend (although, Robbie did that, not me)...When you lay it all out like that it doesn't sound like much, but today was go go go and it was good. Tiring, but good.

2) Swim lessons. I'm so grateful that we got in the first week, the training week, at Jan Thomas, because that means that it's half the price! And when you've got three kids, it adds up quick. I'm also very very grateful that we can afford to pay for lessons, because I would really hate to do it. I get enough crying during the day, I'm glad I don't have to dunk them under water too.

Before

 3) Chocolate. 

4) Beans and rice.

5) Old movies. Rewatching Casper for the first time in YEARS. 

April 23rd - Scent

"For the sense of smell, 

almost more than any other,

has the power to recall memories

and it's a pity that we use it so little."

-Rachel Carson 

Every person, every home, and every place has a particular scent.

"Smells spur memories, but they also rouse our dozy senses,

pamper and indulge us, define our self-image,

stir the cauldron of our seductiveness, warn us of danger,

lead us into temptation, fan our religious fervor,

accompany us to heaven, wed us to fashion, [and] steep us in luxury."

-Diane Ackerman 

The loss of your sense of smell is called anosmia. 

"Today, let us delight in the simple pleasure of our sense of smell. 

Indulge yourself with comfort aromas...

Today, when you inhale something wonderful, 

offer a prayer of thanksgiving for this marvelous gift."

Some of my favorite scents...

Tarweed. 

It smells a little like maple syrup to me, and reminds me of my dad 

when he comes him covered in stickers after working on the ranch.

Grandma's perfume. 

I don't know what it is, but I smell it and think of her.

My mom's perfume.

I really should learn the names of these perfumes shouldn't I.

Some of my perfumes. 

Pink Grapefruit, Forever Elizabeth.

My sister's perfume, Fantasy.

The smell of just about any flower, or any good food.

Pledge and Swiffer. 

Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo.

Dove soap and head and shoulders...that's what Robbie smells like.

A good dog smell, not a bad dog smell.

There are too many...I'm just gonna stop right there. 

How about you? 

What are some of your favorite scents?

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Gratitude Journal

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1) Church today was pretty freaking awesome. I can't wait to read the speech that was talked about, A Banquet of Consequences.

2) I was in a foul mood, the kids were in a foul mood...Robbie was not. He kept us up all day.

3) I finally got a refill on one of my prescriptions. Switching insurance and finding a new doctor really sucks, but I'd rather have insurance and finally found a doctor and just barely gotten my prescription and gone through all that hassle than to not have any of it at all........

4) It's 8:20 and I have a whole evening ahead of me.

5) Home.