goodbye... and maybe hello again...

Hey, it's my final post at "more on the other side"... don't be sad, it's not like I posted much anyway.

I have started a new blog called punkinhood that will chronicle the "life and times of punkin". So, if you're interested in reading about the details of life in the punkin'hood, feel free to check out the new place and subscribe!

I promise I'll be trying to posting more regularly over there!

happy mother's day 2010

I'm the luckiest mom in the world.

I've added this post to Wordless Wednesday at Two of a kind, working on a full house and 5 minutes for mom

happy easter

He is not here; He has risen!

sweet shot: winter favorite

I'm joining Darcy from Life With My 3 Boybarians for her very first Sweet Shot Day by sharing my favorite picture from this winter.

I just absolutely love everything about it (and have left it unedited).

To see more Sweet Shots,visit:

the end is near...

Dear Blogosphere,

It's the end of the world as we know it. And I feel fine... how about you?

In the end, it won't have mattered how popular your blog was, how many subscribers you had, or how many times you were retweeted on twitter. It won’t have mattered how many friends you had on Facebook (do you even remember half of your “friends” from high school?) or what your Bejeweled Blitz score was.

No, what will matter is what is left behind:

- Yourself. Were you true to yourself? Now that your blog is gone, will people who read it know the real you? Or is there just an image of what you wanted people to think of you left?

- Your family. Did you represent them well? Did you speak kindly of them? Or were you constantly sharing negative stories and causing people to form opinions of them that aren’t the opinions you’d really like them to have?

- The relationships you made with people you hadn’t yet met. Are they genuine relationships? Or were they only formed to get you more page hits or to make you feel popular? Did they mean enough to you that you will pick up the phone and talk to them or dare I say write them a letter? Or will you still try to meet them, even if there aren’t any blog conferences left?

Once the internet is gone, life will go on. Will you be content with what remains? I sure hope I will be. My goal is to be real, with hopefully a little humor thrown in now and then. But since time is ticking, I’ve got to go and print off my blog so it’s not gone forever (oh and play one more game of Bejeweled Blitz…)!
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This post is an entry into Mabel's Labels BlogHer '10 Contest. It's based off the hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the Internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?

sunday reflection

You're Beautiful

by Phil Wickham

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then You died and then You rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

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The lyrics are great, but if you haven't heard this song, you are missing out.

silver and gold

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver

And the other's gold.

For anyone who is a former girl scout, sorry for getting that song stuck in your head, but it's been on constant play (in a round) in my head for a couple of weeks.

It all started as I drove away from my bestest friend's house a few weeks ago. It had been far too long since I had seen her. As in, she had a baby four months ago, and I hadn't met the precious little one yet (yes, I am a bad friend - I'll spare you the excuses). And even while she was still pregnant, I can't really remember the last time we had any real time together.

And no, she doesn't live hours and hours away. Just 20 minutes. Sad, isn't it? This is just one of the side effects of life getting in the way. And while I missed her, life was busy for both of us (see aforementioned new baby for her... see many excuses from me that I'm not mentioning). But I didn't realize just how much I missed her until I was driving away a few weeks ago and that song popped into my head out of nowhere.

You just can't replace a great friend.

I've seen her twice since that first time a few weeks ago. And I'm just amazed at how our time together has been so easy and smooth. It's as if no time at all has passed. It's been wonderful.

Just today, after my most recent visit with her, I told my husband how much I realized that our visits together are different than with any other friends. It was a simple visit - Punkin and I went over to her house, so Punkin could continue to get to know her two boys and give hugs to their new little sister and so my friend and I could just chat and catch up. She apologized for not really "stopping" the entire time we were there - she continued doing the tasks that she needed to do - and we gabbed and laughed the whole time. I told her that she didn't need to apologize - I actually think it's great that she's comfortable enough to not feel like she needs to "entertain" me. I just felt at home.

I love how after all these months, we just fell right back into step with each other, as if we didn't miss a beat. I'm blessed to count her as a friend.