Looking Through Windows

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Birthday Month

At our house, the month of February is filled with birthdays- three of our own, plus numerous aunts and cousins.  

Growing up, it felt as if February belonged to my sister and I.  Our birthdays, three days apart, were often celebrated together.   That, along with the fact that February's birthstone is purple, made me feel as if it were a month for girls.

Then my sister and I both had sons born in 'our' month.

The funny thing about being a mom is that instantly, you are more than happy to share a treasured thing with your children.   

I happily and joyfully celebrated the birthdays of my two boys over the past two weeks.  

One son, on the verge of being a man, brings humor to our family on a daily basis.  He is a gentleman- the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to date.  Seriously. He's sweet to his sisters and helpful to all of us.  Kind, charming, generous and fun to be around, he has a strong conscience of right and wrong and lives by it.

My youngest son (my baby boy) has a ready smile at all times, can be on the serious side- he's a man of few words for the most part- but a deep thinker.  He has ambitious goals and a loving heart.  He often sees life in black or white, but fights for the underdog and hates injustice.
 

These babies of mine- now young men- make my heart swell with joy. 
 Where did all those baby and toddler and little-boy years go?  Once upon a time, they seemed they'd never end.  

All those days and years of picking up after them, washing mud and jam off their little bodies, hugging them close when they got hurt and praising all the of the neat rocks and sword drawings and other items they brought to me for inspection.

Nights of bathwater splashed everywhere and jammies to be zipped, stories to be read, questions to be answered and backs to be scratched.   How I would give to have one more day with them as little boys, their arms wrapped around my neck, giggling or snuggling with me.

Time with children is precious!

Promise to myself: I will do my best to not take for granted any of the time I have left with them in my home- before the grow up and go out into the world as men.

Great Article: The Death of Pretty

Photo by Muffet

This past summer, my husband commented on how much the beauty of women has changed.

  As a family, we'd been overhauling our t.v. watching by including more of 'The Virginian', 'The Andy Griffith Show' and other wholesome shows of yesteryear. 
  One thing we noticed immediately, was that women and girls wore modest clothing.  Not only that, but they took time to style their hair in feminine and becoming styles.  Over all, the females were much more feminine.   
 Watching these older shows have led to quite a few discussions on the changing times.  For instance, when I told my children that virtually everyone used to tuck in their shirts-they could hardly believe it.   They've also noticed that as a whole, men were more respectful of women and girls, and good morals were much more common.


 My husband was saddened by the changes in women.  He said he began to notice how many women today look cheap- with so much make up, over-processed hair and clothing that leaves nothing to the imagination.  Not only that, but they tend to be more crude with their language and harsh, without as much true cheerfulness and kindness or feminine traits.  He said he realized that it was refreshing to watch these older shows and see women the way they used to be.


I've pondered that, and when I read an article entitled, 'The Death of Pretty' by Pat Archbold, I realized other men are noticing these changes, too.  It's a great article and you can read it HERE.
I also love the following quote:
 

“Women of God can never be like women of the world.

The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.

There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.

There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.

We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.

We have enough greed; we need more goodness.

We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.

We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

~Margaret D. Nadauld 

The Writing on the Wall

From my house to yours....

Another Year, Another Birthday

They keep comin'.  

Year after year...and now I'm realizing Dolly Parton was right when she said, “Time marches on and sooner or later you realize it is marching across your face.” 

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Time does march on and leaves its trace behind.  Still, I'm SO blessed!  Blessed to have my little girls bring me breakfast in bed, to have a tender embrace from my husband before he cleans the entire kitchen, blessed to have my children gather around to celebrate their mother's birthday, blessed to have birthday hugs and messages from family near and far.

 I feel so loved!

Even though I don't always relish the idea of growing older...and older, I don't think I'd give up one laugh line.  'Cause I've got lots- and the memories that created them are precious!

 Content copyright © 2012 by Jessa at Graceful Landing