“Grandmotherhood initiated me into a world of play, where all things became fresh, alive, and honest again through my grandchildren’s eyes. Mostly, it retaught me love.” ― Sue Monk Kidd
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Another fun day in Grandma-land. My morning was pretty quiet, filled with emails, Facebook, a little tidying up, walking the dog, and working on my ornament projects. Then, the little ones came home from school and daycare. That’s when the nonstop action began.
Can anyone say “Balloon fight!”Two against one, not fair!
I guess we have to relearn how to play through the eyes of the children. Thank goodness they just had balloons and they are little girls. I think little boys would not have been as gentle with Grandma.
“Do not come into agreement with fear. Activate your faith, live in victory, speak over your life and expect great things to come your way.”- Germany Kent
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An absolutely gorgeous Sunday morning here in North Texas. The temperature was still in the 60’s this morning. I was so excited to sift through my closet to look for a sweater instead of a sleeveless blouse to wear to church. Yes, a sweater! It was a tiny bit chilly, but not quite sock monkey hat weather yet. 🤦♀️ Not to worry, it’s 85° this afternoon.
When I pulled into the church parking lot at 8:25 am, a couple of hot air balloons were landing across the street. Cool!
Today’s Gospel is the story of the mustard seed. Even the tiniest mustard seed has great potential.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
“Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'”
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My take on it…. this is a tough one. It may sound like as servants, we should never feel complacent or entitled. But rather, I think it means that if we are faithful servants of God, we complete our tasks and follow His commandments without looking for praise or reward. The reward is in the doing, not in the praise or expected reward. When we have completed one task, we should look for another. There will always be more to do. “We May eat and drink” when the master is finished.
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We had another baptism this morning. Mary Katherine was baptized and welcomed this morning.
Such a good baby. Not a tear or a whimper. She did pull away a little when the strange dude wearing a long green dress reached over to touch her forehead. 🤦♀️
After Mass, I stopped at McD. Both Helene and Jerry are out of town and Patricia was having breakfast with her son. But, I invited Danna, my CRHP sister, to stop for coffee if she had time. We hadn’t had a nice long chat since our CRHP women’s retreat in 2018. A lot of catching up to do.
Ashleigh also stopped in with her daughter for a little while, but they were having a nice mother-daughter breakfast.
Today, my little “You’re Already Amazing” daily calendar had some nice words of advice for me. I’d like to think I’m working on those things. Well, except the “race” part. No more running for me, bad knee and all that. 🤦♀️
“There have been so many good days and so many bad days, but today is the best day I’ll have until tomorrow.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”
~Jack Canfield
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I don’t know about you, but I really get inspired by many of the quotes and words of wisdom shared by my many Facebook friends. I just checked, and I currently have 730 close and personal Facebook friends. I think half of them are relatives. I have a lot of relatives. (Just kidding.) But, I do enjoy keeping up with their photos, life events, travels, tragedies and happy times. It makes me feel close to people that I rarely get to see in person.
Sometimes, I am even inspired to make a phone call or two to afore mentioned people. I just got off the phone with Auntie Ann. Actually, she’s my awesome sister-in-law who moved to Colorado, but my sons and I still call her Auntie Ann. We haven’t talked since her birthday on May. Sweet lady. (If you miss someone, and they’re in your thoughts, give them a call.)
So, a few thoughtful words of wisdom from family and friends.
Create your own happiness. No one can do it for you.Watch out what you say to yourself and others. Be kind.I like that… “If you want more kindness in the world, put it there.” YOU… you can make a difference. “Never regret a day in your life…” That’s one of my favorites. I wouldn’t change a thing. There have been so many good days and so many bad days, but today is the best day I’ll have until tomorrow.
“If you’re dumb, surround yourself with smart people. If you’re smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you.”
Aaron Sorkin
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Inspiration comes in many shapes and forms and from many different sources. I spend way too much time on Facebook. But, I do find many inspirational quotes from friends that I like to save and share.
Some inspirational words of wisdom…
Some days you’ll move mountains in your dreams and stay in bed all day.Old Abe had it right. “A house divided….” Do you see a 9 or a 6? It depends on your view. Sometimes you have to look from the other side.
I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday! Keep on keepin’ on. 🤗
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” ― Ernest Hemingway
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I know a lot of people complain about Facebook. Sometimes it’s a love-hate relationship, but I personally love being able to see what my family, grandkids, cousins, and old friends are up to. I love the photos, updates, sunsets, babies, funny jokes, and I really enjoy the words of wisdom that people share. (I delete or scroll past the negative bad mouthing, nasty cartoons, and political controversy crap.)
Some words of wisdom from my Fabulous Facebook Friends….
The last one is one of my favorites. “I have decided that this will be a very good day.”
I hope you have a wonderful day, too. Happy Saturday!
“Wake up thankful, see beauty everywhere, share, care, and never stop learning.”
~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis
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One of the many self-help podcasts and webinars I’ve been listening to suggested that getting up early, meditating, exercising, and eating healthier could not only improve your body, but also your mind. Those of you who know me well know that I rarely go to sleep before 1 or 2 am, and getting out of bed somewhere before noon. I am AMAZING! I can change my habits.
I’ve been getting up before 7am, saying my novena, listening to my Formed Daily Reflection, and out the door for my walk before 8 am. I’ve been averaging 2 to 3 miles a day, sometimes more. (See beauty)
After my strenuous streamy walk, I sat on the bench and soaked in the sun, admired my view, and listened to the birds chirping their happy songs. (See beauty)My neighbor cats followed me home, and Juno tried to walk inside with me. I’m keeping an eye on them while Miss Kathy is out of town a few days. (Care)
Today was garbage pick up day. It was already super hot out there, so when I heard the truck churning down the street, I ran out to give the very nice driver some cookies and a cold Dr. Pepper. He had the biggest smile on his appreciative face. (Sharing is caring)
After drinking a lot of water, I worked on an on-line writing workshop with Nadia Colburn. I was going to make a smoothie, but when I grabbed a few frozen blueberries and popped them in my mouth, I decided to just eat frozen blueberries for breakfast while I wrote. They were delicious and refreshing. (Eating healthy and keep learning)
This motivated me before heading over to the MillHouse for our in person writing group called Words With Friends. (More learning)
On my way to the east side, I stopped by Towne Creek Senior Apartments to drop off a couple of cases of bottled water for their community closet. I’ll be there Friday, but I’ll already have so much to carry. (Sharing)
Our writing group was great. Such a great group of talented creative ladies. Thank you, Melissa Cantu, for always challenging and inspiring. (Learning)
I found a feather outside at the MIllHouse on my way to my car. (Lucky)
Talk about sharing, Andrea Holmes had posted on Facebook that she was organizing her studio at MillHouse and had a whole bunch of extra cool art supplies for anyone who wanted them. I arrived early and picked out some awesome paints, papers, and other art supplies. (Sometimes others share)
By 7 pm, I was actually hungry. I made a great big salad. Yum. Perhaps I’ll splurge and have a glass of wine later. After all, grapes are very healthy, even in liquid form, right?
What a busy beautiful healthy sharing caring learning kinda Wednesday.
Toni Andrukaitis 