Merry Christmas!

Tory = a Wise man and Wendy = a Shepherd

It's tradition ... every year we act out the Nativity and reflect on the real reason for the season.
I hope this holiday season will be a special one for you and yours! :)

Merry Christmas!

Mom, I need a carrot for my snowman's nose ...

Snowmen fall from heaven... unassembled.
~Author Unknown

Pictured above: A little snowman assembled by my daughter - Lauren.

I love the magic of snowy December days ...

My heart grew 2 sizes today ...

With our little moments we can help make someone feel loved ...

There’s this little, old drug store in my town that I like to buy my postage stamps from. It’s not the closest mail stop by my house but I like it. I like the old feel to it and I like that it has an old-fashioned soda shop inside. I also like the fact that it’s a pharmacy and that the bulk of people that shop there are old. I love older people. I love what they know, where they have been and the stories they tell. And today, I met an older person who left footprints on my heart.

I was in a hurry – I had about 10 minutes before it was time to pick my daughter up from school. It was one of those run in and grab the stamps and dash back out trips. Only my dashing was slowed to a walk when I noticed that an older gentleman was right next to me as I hit the exit door and thought it would be a good idea to hold the door open for him as he was older, had a cane and was clutching a white paper bag holding (what I guessed was a prescription).

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed he didn’t walk through my open door but opened his own door instead. He said something like “Here we go.”

I reached my car and opened the door thinking I would just jump in and drive away. But as I was about to sit down, he asked me the following question: “Does this car get good gas mileage?”

So I didn’t get in the car – just stood holding the door open talking to the little, old man with the cane still clutching his white paper sack.

I yelled back: “Yes! I love this car – no problems, great gas mileage!”

He then replied: “My car has been good too.”

Parked next to my car was an old, green Ford Taurus. I smiled at him and realized he really wanted someone to talk to. Only I was in a pinch for time … my daughter was going to be out of school soon and I really needed to go get her.

I said the only thing that came to my mind: “I hope you have a very merry Christmas.”
He called back to me (by this time he was at his car): “The holidays are a hard time for me.”

My heart sunk. He removed his baseball cap and I could see lots of thick white hair on his head, his eyes glistened as he said: “I’m all alone. My people are gone.”

Oh, I wanted to run over and hug him. No one should be alone at Christmas.

I said: “I’m so sorry. That would be hard. I am so blessed and have my family here.”

He called back: “I grew up here. I’m all alone now – you think about that this holiday.”

I said the only thing that came to mind: “I hope you have a very nice Christmas … I mean that.”

He answered: “Thank you dear…” and tears were streaming down his face.
I drove away and let the tears run down mine. And all day I kept thinking … Wendy, you should have invited him for dinner. I even drove back by the store to see if perhaps he was still there so I could offer him a Christmas dinner invitation. No luck, no green Taurus. No little old man.

His words have stuck all day … and caused me to do some reflecting about the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas is about love, about slowing down and caring, it’s about reaching out and helping someone in need, it’s about taking time to listen and being a light for others around us.

I’m so glad I bumped into that gentleman today – our little moments reminded me that life is precious and the people around us are too.

This holiday season – slow down, listen, reach out and most of all share your love …

My son's first High School basketball game ...

Setting the scene:
First game of the season. I walk into the school gym (we traveled 2 1/2 hours away to be there) and there he was in his official high school basketball uniform and the tears started to fall. (My tears.)

What is going on? I thought to myself. And then little memories started to flood my mind. The day he was born – I was 23 and he was so little. I looked at him and knew my world had forever changed. The day he decided he needed a pair of wings – I was 25 and he wanted to fly. For the record, I made him wings for about 3 years. He never flew but he felt cool in all those wings! The day he started Kindergarten – I was older. He ran into the classroom full of wonder and awe and shouted: “Good bye Mom”! The day he started Jr. High – I didn’t want to drop him off. But I did and he loved it. (Yes, all of those little memories flashed through my mind as I sat on the hard bleachers staring at my teenage kid wearing purple and gold)!

So I let a few tears fall and enjoyed every moment of that first game. They lost by 35 points but he learned a lot and played a lot and I walked out of the gym feeling really proud of my oldest son ... who just keeps reminding me that time is a gift and what we do with it matters.

Swinging under the stars ...

Tory and Wendy Christensen - swinging.

It was one of those nights (the rare kind) nowhere we had to be … nothing urgent waiting to be done. No homework, no after school events. What did we do? We decided to take a walk. Yup, the entire family hit the street with no particular destination in mind – just being together, enjoying the cool, fall night and air.

We found ourselves at a playground full of swings, monkey bars and slides. It didn’t take long for everyone to find something to do. The kids played tag and my husband and I slipped away into the swings.

It was a lovely night - simple, relaxing and fun. When it was too dark to see we all walked home – satisfied with the time we all enjoyed together.
The memory of this evening was brought to my attention earlier this week as I was helping in my daughter’s second grade class. Each member of her class is working on a story about their family and my assignment each week is to help them complete their stories so they can have them published.

My daughter was the last student sent out to the hall (for me to help) and as she read her story to me – I couldn’t help but smile as I heard her read from the last page of her book …

“We had the best time at the park. My brothers chased me and we played tag and my Mom and Dad were swinging on the swings ….” The illustration for this page contained 3 little people playing tag and 2 little parents swinging.

Isn’t it amazing how the simple things can have such a lasting and impressionable affect on our lives?

'Scooter Lightening' Returns

Back in the 50’s having a hot car was the thing. Remember the scene from “Grease” and all the guys are in the car shop singing about the car? Well, my son who is 12 loves his scooter as much as those T-birds loved their cars – maybe even more so. He doesn’t have an actual scooter shop to sing and dance around in but he does have a passion for making his scooter ultra cool. Every time I see his ultra scooter machine I start to sing: “Scooter Lightening” …

OK back to the present - If you visit my son’s room, you’ll notice a container filled with scooter parts, bolts, hand bars, extra grips and tools. Late at night you can see the light escaping from underneath his door and hear the sound of clunky parts hitting the floor … he’d rather work on that scooter than sleep, watch TV or sometimes eat.

I knew he loved his scooter but didn’t realize just how much until the day it was stolen. Let me set the scene: It was 3:35 on a hot Thursday in August. I stopped at the scooter park to pick him up. To my amazement, I was met by five 12-year olds all talking at the same time. One of them was talking to the 911 dispatcher while the rest of them were shouting (in my face) about the events that had just occurred. Kaleb was the only one not talking. He was trying to be calm and fight back the tears. I knew something was wrong. And after gathering all the information from the crowd in front of me – I realized his favorite object in the world had been ripped off. Or should I say scooted off? Bottom line – my son was devastated.

To make a long story short, I am happy to report that we were helped by a very wonderful Officer who after getting a statement from my son was able to capture the older boy and the scooter. We went down to the Police Station to reclaim the much cherished object.

To our surprise, the Officer had the sticky fingered Thief come out and meet us and apologize for his wrong doings. It was a moment I’ll never forget. I’m hoping he won’t forget it either.

The look on my son’s face was of total relief and gratitude. His friend – The Scooter had been returned.

As we drove home, we had a few moments to talk about the choices people make and the lasting impact that each choice can and does have. I couldn’t help but say: “Kaleb I hope you never steal – look how it makes people feel.” He looked at me and said: “You don’t have to worry mom, I’ll never do that to anyone – ever.” And I said: “I know.”

Thank heavens for the little moments in life that help us grow, learn and become.
And thank heavens that ‘scooter lightening’ is home safe and sound …

Put a little love in your heart ...!

A radio moment …

Summer was great – I enjoyed every moment. And now we’re back into school and that means I’m back in the car driving kids here and there and everywhere. Thank heavens for the radio! I appreciate the entertainment and enlightenment that the daily drive mix provides.

Yesterday a song came on the oldies station and it made me think … The lyrics were: Put a little love in your heart and make the world a better place for you and me. Put a little love in your heart.

Then I switched over to a trendy station playing the hits of today: I want your ugly, I want your disease I want your everything as long as it’s free I want your love, love, love I want your love … oh, caught in a bad romance.

Do you feel the difference? I did! One is about putting love in your heart and by doing so helping create a better world for everyone. The later song is all about selfish desires with NO responsibility. Give me what’s free and make me feel good.

It seems to me that the songs, media and trend of today is more about pulling away from kindness, thoughtfulness, and responsibility – it’s more centered about what a person WANTS now. And forget about reaching out with love for another person … that seems to be a lost art form.

Can you tell that these two songs caused me to do some thinking?! Amazing how a song or two can affect a person …

I'm putting a little love in my heart and making the world a better place! You can too – if you want!

Take a good look around
And if you're lookin' down
Put a little love in your heart

History about the song -
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed by Jackie DeShannon in 1968, who composed it with her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday. In the USA, it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching #4 and rivaling the success of her signature song, "What the World Needs Now is Love".

Plan to be surprised ...

The cover for "Dan in Real Life" - Don't let it stop you ...

It's the stuff inside that counts :)!! ...

Plan to be surprised

Recently, I watched the movie – “Dan in Real Life” and was totally surprised by my response to it. First of all, let’s rewind and talk about how many times I’ve walked by this DVD and thought (due to the cover) there was no way I’d find it interesting. On the cover is a big face shot of Steve Carell – (he’s the main character in the long-running Office sitcom that still runs on TV today). I don’t love his personality on the Office and have seen the sitcom maybe 10 times. So a big photo of his face on the cover of a DVD holds no appeal for me.

We recently signed up for Netflix and get our movies instantly and some via mail. I have to say that part of me misses the DVD hunt on Friday night at the local video shop – to me, there is something very fun about bumping into people while looking for the perfect flick … and I like holding the actual product and reading the cover before checking it out. Am I the only one left on the planet who actually likes to deal with REAL people as opposed to doing everything online?

So I get the mail one day and there it is – “Dan in Real Life” via Netflix. I have no idea what the movie is about and there is no big face shot on the cover of Steve Carell – otherwise I wouldn’t watch it. A week goes by and the movie is still sitting in the red and white envelope. My husband invites me to watch a movie with him – so I do.

Can you guess what we saw? Yup – “Dan in Real Life” I was so surprised by how much I liked it – I watched it again. And it changed my opinion of Steve Carell – the guy can act and I loved his character in this movie. If you get the chance – watch it!

There is a line from the movie that I really like – Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised. I don’t know about you but I love surprises and we can only be surprised if we are open to them.

This week, open your eyes and see things around you with awe and amazement!
There are beautiful things that happen every day. Sometimes little, sometimes big – Life is full of wonderful surprises – let them in! Make plans to be surprised!

Start now … :)

The Haunted House Record … (ohhhhhh)

(1964 Album Cover)

My daughter and son have music lessons every week. The music shop where they receive their instruction is located in a shopping center in the middle of town. During their lessons, I have a half hour to wander and check out the latest arrivals in the nearby antique boutiques. Last week, my son (who is 12) joined me for my weekly ‘antique dash’ …

In one particular corner of a corner store, we found a collection of old records. The one that caught our eye was “CHILLING, THRILLING SOUNDS OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE” – we quickly started to read the back cover of the album and discovered that it contained the following sounds: Drips and splashes, Things in space, The Unsafe Bridge, Chinese Water Torture, Shipwreck and a Collection of Creaks.

I looked over and noticed that my son’s expression had changed to a hint of fear. This record was compiled by the Sound Crew at Disney in 1964. I think the main sound listed that caused my son the greatest amount of anxiety was – Screams and groans. Or perhaps his discomfort was coming from the warning at the bottom of the record which read: This particular Disneyland record, CHILLING, THRILLING Sounds of the Haunted House is not intended for young impressionable children from three to eight. It is intended for older children, teenagers and adults.

I asked my son if we should buy it for the upcoming Halloween holiday and he quickly responded (with a powerful) “NO!”

"Why not?" I asked.
"I just don’t think we would sleep if those sounds were playing in our old house.”
“Good point.” I said.

We left the record there and moved on.


PS: That little moment brings a spooky smile to my face every time I think of it.

Dream.

Nothing happens unless first we dream.- Carl Sandburg

The little things.

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
~ Robert Brault


Today’s little moments that mattered:

Taking my kids to the mall to hunt for new school clothes, shopping for school supplies, waiting in the Orthodontist office while my oldest son had his braces tightened, singing a good night song to Lauren, talking with a dear friend, pulling weeds in the front yard, singing while driving, playing with our dog – Sadie, helping a Neighbor friend with home décor ideas, reading motivational quotes and appreciating the gift of life.

PS: Tonight before you drift off to dream – take a moment and appreciate the little moments that matter in your life!

Scenes of summertime ...

Behind my Grandma's house in Afton, Wyoming - One of my favorite places on the planet. This particular dirt road holds many dear memories for me ...

Somewhere in Idaho - on the drive to Wyoming... we stopped here for a picnic.

Haystack Rock - Cannon Beach, Oregon ...

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Haystack Rock ...

On the Drive to Oregon - Mount Hood - Majestic! Inspiring! Mysterious ...

Seaside, Oregon - love the fog rolling in over the Pacific Ocean.

A heart in the sand ... :)

Right now I find myself thinking --- "WOW! What a wonderful world."

Bumping into inspiration ...

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it."
~ Jonathan Winters

PS: I bumped into the above quote today and simply had to share it ...
I like the action it requires and calls for ... don't wait around for stuff to happen. Get out there and make something happen - swim, write, run, dance, draw, create, love, laugh ... do something! :)

Muchness.

The Mad Hatter: [to Alice] You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness.

Chalk art at the Uptown Shopping Center ...

My daughter and I watched "Alice In Wonderland" this past weekend and we really enjoyed it. Tim Burton has a way of making things very creative and interesting. And Johnny Depp was the perfect Mad Hatter.

PS: It was fun to bump into the above art creations at the Chalk Art Festival on Saturday and we decided we never ever want to loose our muchness :) ...!

My moments on the Dr. Karen show ...

(Back cover of the newly released second edition of "It's the Little Moments that Matter")

I met Dr. Karen Vizer on Twitter ... And was excited to be part of her Internet/radio show!
It was an hour long program and we had a great time together talking about self love, responsibility, finding your inner brilliance, living a life of passion, and more ... Yes ... I offered lots of ideas and suggestions on how to enjoy the little moments that matter.

Feel free to listen to the show:
(Click here)

Learn more about Dr. Karen Vizer -
www.KarenVizer.com

Hold your light high ...

“Much like the lighthouse, we can be the ones standing on the jagged ledge bouncing light and love across the sea of life.”
~ Wendy Christensen It’s the Little Moments that Matter

OWN your life!

The other day as I was reading through the topics in my online in-box, there was one from Oprah.com that caught my attention. I signed up for her newsletter years ago and most often don't have time to read them. Sometimes the topic is just too good to pass up. And such a topic grabbed my eye and I felt compelled to open it up. I can’t remember what it was specifically but the thing that does stand out is the clicking journey I went on once I entered the Oprah site.

Join me! (Imagine yourself on the Oprah site with me). Look up and off to the right of the screen ... see that link? The one that says: Do you want to have your own show? I clicked on it (out of curiosity) and found myself really wanting to create a 3 minute clip pitching my idea for a show. Apparently, Oprah is on a hunt for a person to host their own show.

Yup you guessed it. I pulled out my video equipment and began to shoot a few ‘takes’ of my idea for a show. My idea is this: (working show title) Live a life you LOVE (one moment at a time). As part of the show I would invite people to share their attempts at chasing down a dream. I don’t know about you but I find it incredibly inspiring when I see others taking action to make something that matters to them REAL. I would also include segments on overcoming fear. I truly believe that fear is the main reason so many of us don’t ever begin what it is we so want to do.
I have not sent my 3 minute film piece into Oprah – but I think I might. One thing I know for sure – the more attempts we make at something the more we learn and the closer we get to making it happen.

If we never try – we’ll never see anything happen. What are you working on? What are you learning as you try the ‘seemingly impossible’?

Thought for the road: Stand up and OWN your life. Own every part of it. If you don’t …someone or something else will. Take charge and live a life you LOVE.

See it. Believe it. CREATE it ...

My "Built in 1944" binder - full of ideas, colors, plans and dreams for the old/new house :) ...

Inspiration ... :)

The journey ...

For the past 6 months my family and I have been working on our new/old house project. It was built in 1944 and needed lots of love and fixing up. We recently moved in and are enjoying the creativity and hard work that went into making this our home.

This quote came to mind tonight:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children." ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

This week - slow down and create some time to create ... :)

For more photos of our house journey please visit -
http://www.builtin1944.blogspot.com/

Life is like an old-time rail journey ...

"Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.

“The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride”

(“Big Rock Candy Mountains,” Deseret News, 12 June 1973, A4).

The little moments that matter ... enjoy them!

I was working in my yard today and had to smile about the simple things around me that add so much happiness to my life. Below are a few -

Lauren making me breakfast on Mother's Day ...


Kade and Kaleb cooking the eggs ...
(Mother's Day breakfast)

More kitchen moments ... I feel so thankful to be a MOM! :)

Thanks guys for the breakfast - I love you.

Another simple pleasure: Flowers by the front door of our new/old house. Every time I walk in or out I can't help but smile and feel thankful for the splendid world we live in. :)

What are you thankful for right now? What simple things in your life are you grateful for?

Little quote I like -
"To me life is simply an invitation to live." ~ Sean O'Casey

Be kind (especially at the grocery store) ...

Last weekend I made a quick grocery run to grab a few items at our local food store. I was so tempted to forget the trip all together when I saw the number of cars in the parking lot. Anyone else dread going grocery shopping? It’s one of those have-to-do tasks in life. Try as I may – there are some day when making the grocery run fun just isn’t happening. And trust me we’ve tried everything to make them fun.

The best game we like to play is called Grocery Store GPS - my daughter pretends to be my human GPS and in her best digital voice directs me around the store. When she is with me – I don’t mind grabbing the toilet paper and the bottle of ketchup. “You have arrived – makes it all worthwhile!”

OK back to the trip last weekend. I made this trip alone – no adorable “You have arrived” voice to make it fun. It’s just me on a mission to get the needed items and get home.

In line – 3 people in front of me with their carts heaping full of enough food to last for a month. All other lines are full of heaping carts. So I wait. And as I wait I begin to notice the attitude of shoppers around me. It becomes almost comical. And I found myself smiling – big Cheshire cat smile.

The lady directly in front of me is on the cell phone unloading her goods and is engaged in quite a loud shout with whoever is on the other line. We could all hear her frustration and anger. In the middle of the conversation she tells the checker how to do her job. She bags up her goods (all the while on the cell phone) and marches out of the store. Dark cloud on the move!

My turn to unload my cart – I look at the lady who is checking the groceries and simply ask: “How are you tonight?” Her response: “I’m tired.” And then she stopped and asked: “How are you?” And before I could respond she said: “You are very polite.”

This caught me off guard. I wanted to stop right there in the store and have a nice chat with her. I could see she was about 8 months pregnant and she did look tired. I could only imagine what a job like that could do to your nerves. As much as I dislike making the grocery run – I am always so thankful for the people who work there day in and day out – listening to that beep… item after item. And somehow, they always have a smile. The line was too long behind me to tell her all that so I looked at her and said: “Thank you, life is too short and too wonderful to not be kind.”

Now she had a Cheshire cat smile. No black clouds in that interaction.

I’ve thought about that little grocery store moment a few times this week and I couldn’t help but wonder the following – Have we become so reliant and involved with our electronic devices that we fail to recognize and interact with the people that are right in front of us? Are we so busy and consumed in ourselves that we don’t or can’t reach out to offer a word of hope to another? I hope not.

This week – slow down … look people in the eyes and recognize the beauty that is happening right in front of you! (I will too.)

Maybe just maybe if we tried living in the moment (with the electronics off) – the grocery trips would be a much better experience all together!

Valentine's Day EVE ...

Cookies by Wendy and Lauren ...! :) Off to share some Vday cheer.

Up next: Making pouches for the Valentine Aardvark!
Feel free to visit the site (and join the fun)

www.ValentineAardvark.com

What do Mick Jagger, Elaine (from Seinfeld), Napoleon Dynamite and Patrick Dempsey have in common?

Patrick Dempsey "Can't Buy Me Love" / 1987

ANSWER: When it comes to dancing ... THEY throw caution to the wind! :)
(See them in action - simply click on the gray text below and enjoy the show!)

Mick Jagger (1967) -
"Paint it Black"

Elaine from Seinfeld
Getting it started!

Napoleon Dynamite
"Vote for Pedro"

Patrick Dempsey
"Can't Buy Me Love" (1987)
African Anteater Ritual

**********************

What's your authentic style? Use it this Valentine's Day - put yourself out there and enjoy the results :) ....!

Tennis on a Tuesday afternoon at my old high school.

I picked my two sons up from middle school on Tuesday and I sensed a restless feeling in the air. Ever had a day like that? The ho-hum of our everyday routines can sometimes cause us to get an itch for something new... The answer: Tennis at the park. We dashed home and grabbed the rackets and headed off for adventure. Tennis must have been the desire of the day because the courts at the park were full. This didn't stop us! There are several courts at my old high school. :) Yes - I attended a high school and we were called THE BOMBERS. (Another blog post for another day).

Funny. (Kaleb and Kade)

Adorable ... Lauren with her pretty little ponies. Luckily, there is a park right next to the tennis courts so she and Kaleb ran off to play while Kade and I played SEVEN matches.

I won 4. Kade won 3....

(Yes! I did a victory dance)

Hello Blog! I've missed you ...

It's been too long since I posted anything new on this blog. I've been busy with a project that originates back to 1944...

{Our Restore and Restyle Project!}

Feel free to visit ...

PS: Everything in my life seems to be "under construction" ...! :)

You must keep moving ...

Can you teach me to skate backwards?

On New Year’s Eve my family and I went skating at our local skating rink. We go skating once a year and it’s always on New Year’s Eve. It’s become a tradition! Some years, the rink is packed and you can hardly move. This was not one of those years.

It snowed and the weather outside was frightful (and so were the roads). I can only assume this is why the skating numbers were low this year.

Let’s set the scene. To my right – middle school teens that had been dropped off without parents to welcome in 2010 with their friends and new inline skates they received at Christmas. In the middle us – a family of 4 (missing our oldest who chose to go to a friend party instead of skate with Mom, Dad, little sister and little brother) He was missed. To my left the elementary kids ranging from pre kindergarten to the 5th grade most were without adults. Almost everyone was wearing inline skates. That’s the cool thing now!

I believe my husband and I were the oldest skaters on the floor! I couldn’t help but notice all the really fast, talented skaters zooming around and was totally in AWE at the talent surrounding me. It was girl’s only skate (do you remember that from the 5th grade?) Me too – only I was skating with all the 5th graders and thinking Hmmmmm this brings back memories and my mind started to drift back to days long gone when I was their age. My thoughts were interrupted by a girl (probably age 10 or 11) who grabbed my arm and said – “Can you teach me to skate backwards?” I was a little taken back because I couldn’t believe she chose me out of all the fast, hipper skaters. So I said – “Yes, let’s get off to the side.”

Before I knew it I had a few girls around me all wanting to learn how to skate backwards! I started laughing and said: “Girls, I learned to skate back in the 80’s and inline skates hadn’t been invented yet.”

I then pointed to my skates and said: “These were in style back then!” They all laughed because I was the only one in the place wearing pink wheeled tennis shoe skates. Maybe they made me look like a backward skating expert?!

Nevertheless, I tried to teach them and made a few new friends. It was a great way to spend the last few hours of 2009. To you girls who want to skate backwards – keep practicing! You’ll get it…

What I know for sure: We all have something we know and can share… This year – reach out and share what you know with those around you. And don’t be afraid to ask someone (even a stranger skating around on pink wheels) to teach you something you’ve always wanted to try ...

Happy 2010 - cheers to skating backwards and forward! :)