Blended ~

Faith Cake (my story)~

Ingredients you will need:

One young 20 year old girl preferably with a beautiful 8 month old baby boy....

* note to readers: and by the way has made a pack with her best friend to Never Ever marry someone divorced with children. They both lived in step-family environments, they know what it is like... this is NOT for them. Hand shake with a twist and hug!... UPDATE: They both married someone who is divorced with children and are very happy.

You will also need:

One 26 year old man with two sweet boys ages 3 and 6.

Now add in no particular order: love, humility, communication, compromise, determination, strength, endurance, caring, lots of humor, understanding, loyalty, patience, hope, wisdom, commitment, and a lot of prayers (marriage).

Baby girl comes along that melts your heart.

Blend very gently, but well. Bake.

Add Icing with your faith and sprinkles of love (my six adorable grandchildren).

I would like to make an appeal to all the divorced mothers who, for whatever reason, have assigned their parental responsibilities to another woman. Please, find it in your heart to occasionally write a note, buy a card or make a telephone call and tell that woman you appreciate her efforts and the sacrifices she is making. While we're on the subject, fathers whose ex-wives have remarried and taken the kids should do this as well.

One book that really helped me, Step-Parenting: a complete guide to the joys, frustrations and fears of step- parenting! By Jeannette Lofas with Dawn B. Sova

The Ahwahnee ~ another part of part 2

The Famous Ahwahnee, completed in 1927, was conceived to attract affluent and influential guests to Yosemite. The site for the hotel, once a village of the native Miwoks, was chosen because of its exposure to the sun and stunning views of Yosemite's icons - Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point. Unique design influences of The Ahwahnee include Art Deco, Native American, Middle Eastern and the Arts & Crafts Movement.

After a long Morning of admiring and taking in everything the National Park had to offer, we had worked up an appetite. So we decided to try the "Grand" dining at the Ahwahnee. I had the "three herb quiche with warm spinach salad and a light vinaigrette dressing". It was deliciously divine!

These pictures really do not do this Historical place justice! When you walked in, everything was glowing, warm, rustic and inviting. I could only imagine how many people have visited this beautiful hotel. If the walls could only talk ........

Day Tripping / Part 2 ~ Yosemite

The spectacular scenery of Yosemite would be famous just for its cliffs, forests and meadows, but the waterfalls give it life, movement and special interest.

When you stand outside and breath in, the icy cold air fills your lungs and wraps around you like a blanket; completely surrounding you. With each step you take, the snow crunches beneath your feet.

We stopped all along the way taking in all of this. The waterfalls were somewhat frozen in ice. But Half Dome stood in all its glory.

For more information about Yosemite National Park, you can go to: http://www.YosemitePark.com

Wishing ~

I have a very busy weekend ahead of me. Last August, My husband and I decided that much to much time gets between our visits with our family. Our six grand-children are growing so fast. So we suggested to have a "family dinner night" every two weeks, alternating houses.... it is our turn. This will take up Saturday. And tomorrow I am headed off early in the morning to see one of my sisters. I can NOT wait!

I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful weekend!

The Song of the River ~

I was reading a journal my Great Gram gave me. She would write her prayers out, poems that she loved and admired. Poems that she even wrote herself. I love this journal. She is no longer with us. But her memory is engraved in my heart.

I started thinking about some of the photos I have taken, and decided to put them on this post to go with this poem... "water runs down to the spring ~ and the spring into a turbulent fountain ~ runs down to the riotous river ~ and the river flows to the sea." It is all pretty amazing.

The Song of the River ~

The snow melts on the mountain.
And the water runs down to the spring,
And the spring in a turbulent fountain,
With a song of youth to sing,
Runs down to the riotous river,
And the river flows to the sea,
And the water again
Goes back in rain
To the hills where it used to be.
And I wonder if life's deep mystery
Isn't much like the rain and the snow
Returning through all eternity
To the places it used to know.
For life was born on the lofty heights
And flows in a laughing stream,
To the river below
Whose onward flow
Ends in a peaceful dream.
And so at last,
When our life has passed
And the river has run its course,
It again goes back,
O'er the selfsame track,
To the mountain which was its source.
So why prize life
Or why fear death,
Or dread what is to be?
The river ran
Its allotted span
Till it reached the silent sea.
Then the water harked back
To the mountain-top
To begin its course once more.
So we shall run
The course begun
Till we reach the silent shore.
Then revisit earth
In a pure rebirth
From the heart of the virgin snow.
So don't ask why
We live or die,
Or whither, or when we go,
Or wonder about the mysteries
That only God may know.

~ William Randolph Hearst

Sail away from the safe harbor ~

Trying to pass the time, waiting for the Maytag repair man who had a window to show up between 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. to come and fix my washing machine . I picked up a little book someone gave me years ago called P.S. I Love You. Flipping through the pages, I came across something that seemed so appropriate for me at this time in my life.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Twenty years from now, should I live that many more. I would be 62. I do not want to live with disappointments or regrets. I want to Explore. Dream. Discover. BUT first, I have to throw off the bowlines that keep me safe in this harbor.

Day Tripping / Part 1 ~ Ghost Town

Last Monday (Martin Luther King Holiday) I had a chance to spend the day with my Mom and Step Dad. We took a drive to Yosemite. On the way we stopped at a Chinese Camp located on Highway 49 a few miles south of Sonora. It looked as if everyone had just picked up and left everything. It is said to be known as a Ghost town. The only ghost I saw was a white owl at the St. Xavier Catholic Church Built in the year 1855….. I will tell you about it.

I was at the back of the church checking tomb stones and old iron gates out. As I slowly made my way to the side of the church, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a beautiful white owl! I must have gasped because the owl twisted its head to look at me, quite possessively. I fumbled to get my camera in place to get a shot of it, but it lifted quickly, soaring its way to the next tree. As I began to chase it, from one tree to another, and another…, it headed to the front of the church and swooped to the side. While I was running and fumbling with my camera I almost ran right into my Step Dad. Looking at me, he seemed quite startled and puzzled as to why I was running so frantically. I thought it was obvious that I was trying to find the owl and that I was on its tail.
I ask him out of breath, “Did you see it? Where did it go?”
He asked in reply, dumbfounded, but interested, “See what?”
I said, “Are you sure you didn’t see it? It was the biggest white owl with wings out to here!!” (Eyes large and stretching my arms out wide, describing the owl as a child would.)
He said, “Really!?” and then started helping me look for it… However, it was gone! It just disappeared!

Or…
Was it a ghost? (Wink)

But I had a great day!

For more information on this Chinese Camp you can go to: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/chinese.html

After a While

After a while, you learn
the subtle difference
Between holding a hand
and chaining a soul, And
you learn that love doesn't
mean leaning And
company doesn't mean
security, And you begin to
learn that kisses aren't
contracts And presents
aren't promises, And you
begin to accept your
defeats With your head up
and your eyes open With
the grace of a woman, not
the grief of a child, And
you learn to build all your
roads on today Because
tomorrow's ground is too
uncertain for plans.
And futures have a way
of falling down in
midflight.
After a while, you learn
That even sunshine burns
if you get too much.
So you plant your own
garden and decorate your
own soul, Instead of
waiting for someone to
bring you flowers.
And you learn that you
really can endure...
That you really are
strong.
And you really do have
worth.
And you learn and learn
...
With every goodbye you
learn.

By Veronica A. Shoffstall ~

My friend Darlene started her blog and asked me to check it out. She had already established friendships prior by commenting, and having been introduced to this "bloggie world" by her little sister Denise. I have to admit, seeing the blog for the first time and how it all worked seemed odd, and I felt as if I was intruding, eavesdropping on someone's conversation, or picking up someone's notes and reading them. It did not feel comfortable and I would get off the screen quickly, as if I it was something I shouldn't be doing.... obviously, I got over it.

As time went on, I witnessed the growth in the women who volunteered to do the mirror meditation. And also the encouragement, caring, positive feed back on a daily basis. I find it all so amazing!

In the last month I have gone from blog to blog. I am deeply touched and it has brought tears to my eyes to see the community of posts sharing Darlene and Marks plight and how it has affected them.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for being there for our friend. It means so very much to me. Please continue to pray, and meditate positive thoughts for Darlene and her family through this time.

Sweet Surrender

photo by angela

I was 19 when I had my first baby, 20 when I married my Husband. I was fortunate to be a stay at home mom. We raised four beautiful children together. Twenty-two years later, I guess you can say, I am experiencing "empty nest syndrome." My youngest is still at home, and going to college, but she does not need me in the same way. She is becoming her own; cutting those strings. Being a daughter, sister, momma, wife, friend and grandma is all I have ever known. Now, I have to stretch out my wings, feel the air, and know that the wind has shifted. It is time for me to take a new flight. I still hold all of these roles in my life. But for the first time I am discovering things about myself. It is exciting... A little scary. It may take me a while, but when I do surrender, it has been and always will be sweet.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous.
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us- it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

~Marianne Williamson