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Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Saving Grace

Today is a very special day for me, and to celebrate we are taking the girls to the beach for a nice family gathering. Enjoy your family and friends. Remember to find beauty in everything. Smile and be silly. Laugh and be loved. Happy Sunday my internet friend!
(You can only access the link above by asking for permission to my other blog. Do this by sending me your email address. My email address is bherealways@gmail.com)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Sometimes I like to set my freckles free

I used to date a guy who would constantly ask me if I planned on wearing any make-up. It was so annoying. "You think you should put on a little lipstick before we head out?" he'd ask as if I didn't recognize the tone that actually meant, "oh please paint your mouth red so that my homies back at the base won't think I've gone crazy and hooked up with some Pacific Amish chick."
So I learned to adjust. First lipstick, then eyeliner, then mascara. They are the mainstay of my make-up regimen. Eventually, I couldn't stand the way I looked without them. Going natural felt unnatural, if you can imagine that. I toyed with blush and eyeshadow and would wear them to appease, but could never reconcile them with my personality.
You see, I have a confession to make. I have freckles, laugh lines, and one gray hair on my left eyebrow. I wear glasses and I even tie my hair up in an untamed ponytail when I want to feel good. I am learning to love the bear faced dork I used to be. Learning to go without the gunk and letting my freckles breathe. I like me this way much better. What about the homies? A quiƩn le importa!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Forever: Take Two

Wayne asked me to marry him two nights ago. He said he'd been trying to find the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect way to do it. So, a couple of nights ago we took the kids out to dinner. Surrounded by our eight children he finally decided that there would be no perfect time than then, so while the babies wiggled around the restaurant floor he asked me to be his wife. I found out later as the older ones giggled and awed that all of them were in on it. Eight kids and not one of them let the cat out of the bag. I am impressed. I'd been wondering when he'd get to me. He made it a point to ask my father a while ago and my kids. I liked to tease him that everyone already said yes except for me, but it was important for him to do it the "proper" way and I respect that. I'm not such a warm and fuzzy girl, though I am a bit soft and squishy, but he's teaching me to slow down and appreciate things. We've both been married before and we know what it takes to commit. We are fortunate to have found one another, even if it was in the most unconventional way possible. I guess it's true. When God doesn't answer your prayers, it's probably not what's best for you anyway. I asked God to save my marriage, but that was like an alcoholic asking Him to make that bottle of wine last forever. It definitely wasn't easy, but it's completely worth it. There's nothing I can say about Wayne that could do justice to the man that he is. I knew, we knew we'd be better one day. Who could have guessed we'd get another chance at forever? I said ((((((YES))))))!!!
Wayne has an exceptional ability to listen. He heard me talk about ethical mining and my disdain for anything that was remotely associated with conflict jewelry. All of a sudden the search for a perfect ring became a search for a bloodless diamond. If you don't think that's romantic, I beg to differ. Knowing that the folks who mined, cut, polished, set and sold my ring had adequate health care and compensation, knowing that the mines that held my diamond in them were not ruthlessly scavenged, knowing that we didn't contribute to the violence that has destroyed people and villages in Africa, Angola, Burma, Brazil, etc. , and finally, knowing that this was just as important to Wayne as it is to me is the most romantic gesture in the world.
Brilliant Earth, where he found my ring was established after it's owners realized how frustrating it was to find conflict free jewelry, and though there are many other sites, this is the only place available that can track the diamonds, stones, back to their sources ensuring that they are ethically mined. Beachcomber wrote a comment about BE on one of my older posts.They also use renewable metals and give back 5% of their profit to places where the diamond trade has torn villages apart. There are pictures of Brilliant Earth jewelry on other sites, but the most gorgeous pieces are on the Soocool photography blog. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Mark 8:36 - How much is your soul worth?

"Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit; that is reserved for belief, principle, and morality"


Wayne and I were looking through some of my piles of paperwork when he came across my handouts from a workshop on Vision. Not vision as in eyesight, but seat-of-your-soul type vision. We've had to do a bit of our own forward planning based on recent occurrences and have found out that despite how gloomy our financial futures appear to be, for the first time in our lives things are looking up. You see, together we have an obscene amount of debt, just a little present we got in divorce court. It's a long story.

We got to talking about this quote you see above. Money is such a source of contention, we are all consumed by how much better things would be if only we had the money. Boy, imagine how great life would be without all this debt? But, what does money really offer? Is your degree of integrity swayed by the size of your pocket book? I think not. I believe that money is like light. It brings out the true character of a person. Wayne is an optimist by nature and believes that people can change. Bad people can become good people and vice versa. I think bad people are sometimes disguised as good people until something happens to expose them, and vice versa. True, I've seen people change, but I think they really only found their way back to their true self. I've known a lot of really nasty people try to be good and winced at how hard it was for them.

It's a difference in opinion, but one thing's for sure. We've got a great life, awesome children and no money (oh wait, I have that $2 bill in my wallet). At first it all but paralyzed me with fear, but with every day that passes I watch this amazing man smile as if he'd never been wronged, not a trace of anxiety in his voice and I realize that we are so rich, so rich indeed. If money is your bargaining piece Scorpion, you've already lost. Looong story.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

He didn't even touch my muffler

(A month and a half ago)
Your car sounds mean, but looks like a wuss.
Leave my muffler alone, it soothes me.