Stressed out?

My very dearest friend Valerie always has a positive outlook for me when I need it and when I don't. She shared this with us on facebook this morning and well of course it was just what I needed to hear! I know why God put Valerie in my life 35 years ago! Thanks Val and I hope you have a great day today!

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked,

"How heavy is this glass of water? "

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. "

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

And my favorite...

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

Monday 1/26/09

Thank you Aunt Maria and Uncle Don for my T-shirt from your cruise and for my hair bow!!




It has been awhile since my last post and well there really is not much going on. We all are experiencing cabin fever and are so ready for spring. I am hoping to work my schedule this summer so I have one day a week off with Emily so we can do fun stuff together. I do want to give a big congrats to my childhood friend Kristina who had her first baby last week, a boy named Jack Riley Liszkiewicz . He was a whopping 10 lbs and 23" long. Congrats Liszkiewicz/Muse families!

Gary's job is still holding strong in spite of some scary rumors that things with the company were not good. Pray-fully things will continue to go forward. I heard today the company I worked for, for almost 9 years, Precision Twist Drill Co. just laid off the credit/collections department along with some other positions and the credit functions will now be handled in Canada. Come on!! I am really tired of hearing of this. These jobs need to be kept here in America! Gary always remindes me he feels very blessed to have the job he does and I know he is right. So please say a prayer for those dozen people who just lost their jobs last week.


On a lighter note:




I have been warned that the two's are not nearly as bad as the three's, I conceed to that notion already and we are only a month and half into the threes, however as I look at this picture I know God always grants me more love and tolerance than I could ever muster on my own. 99.9% of the time Emily makes me smile and laugh, she is just too darn cute for cryin-out-loud. This is Emily's new saying along with "oh my gosh"!

Dylan and Sophie were here for a visit this weekend, here are some pics of Dylan I was able to snap, he also is too darn cute for words!!

Gary will do anything for love!

Here are some pictures of Emily and Gary this afternoon. I had to spend some time doing a deep cleaning on our bathroom downstairs and Gary was keeping Emily occupied for me. When I went to check on them this is what I found them up to. This is one of those priceless moments I would not trade for anything!

Fun Weekend

This past weekend we went to a new water park resort in Gurnee called Key Lime Cove. Right now they are running a grand opening special, buy one night get one night free. We were able to take advantage of that special and had a great time. It is a great place for family entertainment. Emily loved playing in the water and even was brave enough for the little slides. She said next time she will try the bigger slides. I'm not sure I am ready for that. There was a lot for Emily to do other than swim too. On Saturday night there was a dance party for the kids with a DJ. Emily loved the dancing and the bubble machine. The only sad part was my niece Sophie went with us and at around 11:30 Friday night woke up with the stomach flu. All she wanted was her Mom and Dad, understandably. Gary met my brother-n-law half way so Sophie could go home. She is feeling much better now and hopefully she will be able to join us next time. We are planning on going back soon. Here are some pictures of our little swimmer/dancer.

Building the toy box

After this Christmas/Birthday celebrations Emily needed to be more organized. We went to Toys-R-Us and bought her a new toy box. Here are some pictures of Emily and Gary putting the toy box together. This man has the most patience of anyone I know. It was a hoot sitting back and watching all this happen. Enjoy the pictures.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To all our family and friends we would like to wish a very happy, healthy and blessed new year. May this year ahead of us bring opportunities to be an example of God's love and the chance to show our compassion and tolerance to all of God's children. I pray that as our new President elect takes office, God guilds him with all the many difficult tasks he has facing him. I pray this new year brings renewed faith in our government and great country to those who have lost their faith and hope in America, possibly due to lost jobs and/or homes. That they find their strength in God as only he can provide. I pray for our family, that God continues to hold us up in our grief over the loss of Ryan and Grandpa Tom and that each day God takes a little bit more of that grief from our hearts. We all have a new start today, to change what we want to change and to continue to do what works in our lives. My goals for 2009 are to live the words of Christ more diligently, to be more of service to God and his Church. To be a better citizen and to help my fellow American when and where I can. To be a better mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend and to take a little more time for my self and spiritual health. So friends and family may God bless you in all your endeavours for 2009!