Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs..... I love them and hate them.... I used to color eggs every year when my sonshine's were young. It was a great activity when they were really young. A fun activity for a mother hen and her sonny chicks (see what I did there?  eggs/hen/chicks... that's called being witty...hahaha ) But as those teenage years hit it wasn't an activity they enjoyed,  can I blame them, I mean they're  100% nitty gritty cowboys .....I think they liked the eggs and egg salad sandwiches after Easter day but not the actually coloring of eggs.  But I love the way they look so I colored them anyway. I tried all sorts of creative dips and dyes and papers. My favorite was the all natural dyes.. alot of work but natural and a fun experiment with those scallywags... I mean look at these colors....

My favorite was the red cabbage... it turned blue!! And the yellow onion ... you layered all the onion skins and wrapped the eggs then set them in the liquid...pretty cool end result!

Then I tried to get creative with the white crayon.... alas, mine did not look so fancy but I tried nonetheless!!

It's been quite a few years since I've dyed eggs. The fun just isn't there anymore to do it by myself and since my nest is empty there are no chicks left to enjoy them.  That makes me a little sad.  Maybe I will dye some this year just for old times sake!! .....maybe......

Here's the "take-away" from that.. Easter eggs are pretty and colorful and creative.   Some are fancy, others are natural, some are even glittery or embellished with jewels. I like the more natural and free-hand simplistic ones, what about you?  But here's the kicker.... they are all eggs inside. they all have a yolk and a white, encased in a protective shell. It's just like we are. God has created us "Eggs" with white, brown, green/blue or speckled shells, naturally, that's how he designed us. How we decorate or dye ourselves is what makes us look different.  might have a certain style that we gravitate to or choose to hang out with but in the end we are all plain ol eggs.... look how nice we look in a wire basket collected fresh from the hen house!  The decorations and dyes are what we put on ourselves... the things we dip into, write on and stick on us. Are we trying to become pretty or are we covering up the fact that we are just plain and simple and fresh eggs?

So this Easter look at your Easter eggs in a new light.... Jesus made us plain, nutritious eggs with huge possibilities... a clean slate.... How will you decorate or hide yourself?

Palm Sunday musings

I'm feeling a bit melancholy today.... I mentioned to my hubby that Easter season feels so different since we moved to Mayberry... He hasn't had a weekend off since we moved here almost 8 years ago. I decided to work Sundays too to make it more bearable. That means Easter has been and still is a work day.... It feels weird not to be sitting in Church and singing the songs (I probably don't even know the new songs since it has been so long since I have gone to church regularly) it makes me sad that I don't have any reason to buy a fancy Easter dress or prepare easter baskets. BUT it has made me reflect deeper on the why.... the why of Easter and not getting caught up in the pomp and circumstance and theatrical portrayals of Easter. It's just me and Jesus and my rawness.

So today....Palm Sunday starts my reflection... Jesus , because he is the Son of God and was an obedient son at that, knew what was about to transpire in the next week. He knew it was the beginning of the end of his earthly life.... Knowing that, He chose His vehicle of transportation. Now mind you he could've picked a very impressive entrance ...after all it was His last chance for recognition. The horse stands for war; that's what the people wanted. They wanted a leader who would set them free from the crazy gov't of Rome. Besides a big tall horse would be impressive. But, Jesus chose to ride a donkey, a symbol of meekness, cuteness but mostly of peace. He could've come in like Royalty with all of the normal ceremonial stuff. How different are the swishing of palm branches from the click of crossed swords or the deafening blast of a twenty-one gun salute. He chose peace, lowliness and very "it's not about me" attitude. How can you not love that?
He comes in as a king... the people wanted that, they accepted him as a King who would deliver them, but He was a king who enters Jerusalem on a cute donkey... I bet some of them were thinking.."Whaaaaat?!" He then gets off and goes for a walk to a hillside. From that perspective, overlooking the city He loves, he cries....weeps for the people. I also think that since he is truly man as well as God that perhaps being in tune to his human side, He cried for himself... I want to think that He truly was able to experience his human emotions and was scared and raw but knew his Father (my Father God) would work it out for Good..(I want to believe that because I want to know that He experienced some of the emotions I experience as a silly girl) He goes on to talk to the people who had just hailed him as their King but He refuses to give a campaign speech as any earthly leader would do. Instead, He tells it like it is, predicting domestic breakdown, economic catastrophe, wars, rumors of war, earthquake, famine, and all of the horrible desolation which you and I bring upon each other. We are still bringing it on ourselves. We are so dumb. That's the kind of King He is. He tells you and me what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. He talks about more than positive thinking. He talks about more than picking yourself up by your own bootstraps. He tells you that you can't succeed ultimately in your own strength. He warns you to face up to it now and to come to Him while you can.

So today, Palm Sunday, as I sit in my old jammies not even realizing it is a Sunday, I am super thankful ..no, more than thankful......I'm grateful.. for Peace and truth and honesty and cute donkeys.

2015 roller coaster ride

 (Pinterest quote book)

Ok folks……I’m Baaaaack!   I took a few days/weeks to try and figure out a schedule that works for me… not easy for a butterfly or a silly girl who is easily distracted.  I’ve been doing some soul searching, some tweaking, some deep conversations with Jesus about how my 2015 is going to look like.  I wanted to clean out my closets, purge my pantry and get the house organized.  Well that didn’t exactly happen so that is still on my agenda. But it WILL happen … I’ll tell you all about it , I promise!!

You know it’s funny when you sit down and ask God for clarity, that He actually gives you what you ask for. I have been amazed at some of the things that have been brought to the forefront and made clear as to what path(s) I am to follow.  So follow I will.

I will let you see into my 2015 journey and will try to be as transparent as I can.. not for any ego boosting move or “hey,hey look at me, look at me” motivation. But because I know that if I am transparent then I have to be accountable and if I am accountable I will stick to something so much better. I’ve also asked Jesus to use me for His glory and the only way I know how to do that is to be seen and heard. This blog thing is the last thing I “wanted” to do but I am feeling deeply led to do it… there must be a reason for that, right?

I have to warn ya’ll tho, that I am a silly girl, a knucklehead and a sensitive soul …I cry easily. I am also a passionate soul and want you to learn everything I love and experience it with me…. thru me.  I will be goofy, funny, sad, deep, cranky, fearful, excited, cheesy and depressed.

Some things to look forward to that I will share with you…. Or pull you down my rabbit hole, so to speak…

*my walk with Jesus

*my love for hubby (aka hunka hunka burnin love) and my sonshines

*my weddings… I plan them and style them and I love them

*my hippie oils… yup…. I’m “one of those”

*my life in Mayberry

*my shenanigans

*my love for the thin blue line

If you feel so inclined…share my blog… I don’t know who Jesus wants me to touch thru my fingertips I just know He does… if you feel the urge, guess what? It might be Jesus saying . “somebody you share this with needs to “meet” barra…my silly child whom I love”

So hang on to your hats cuz it’s going to be a rollercoaster adventure…. (just ask my hubby) !

(Found on blogof.francescomugnai.com)

Toodles………. See you soon! ……………………barra

Gearing up!

Christmas is coming down today. Getting this house cleaned and ready for 2015. Getting my shopping list hammered out because my weight loss challenge starts on January 14th!  To prep for it I am going to really look at how to bring clean eating and natural things into my life...would you like to know what I am going to be purging and incorporating?
If you don't then STOP reading HERE---->    (*:*)

Ok.... here goes... keep me accountable won't you?  I will Blog my journey this month so stay tuned for that as well!!

1) Clean eating... getting rid of preservatives and additives of the chemical kind... shop the outer rows of the grocery store and farmers market as much as possible.

2) Clean Clutter... get rid of things that don't matter in the big scheme or have no sentimental value... simple beauty is what I am trying to achieve. ... this will be extremely hard for me...harder than weight loss believe it or not!

3) Clean Closet.... getting rid of clothes that don't fit (which is lots) or those I haven't worn in years, then creating a color palette to re invent my clothes/style/look

4) Clean Heart..... getting rid of my critical/judging spirit by loving more, forgiving more, praying more, trusting Jesus more

5) Clean Mind..... get rid of fears and doubts and negative self talk and less TV .... love myself.. laugh more... read more.....

6) Clean body.... get rid of unwanted fat, tone and trim, strengthen my muscles and lungs and legs.. I will do this by moving more, hydrating more, eating clean and incorporating some essential oils to help me along the weight loss journey.  See below if you want to see which ones I will use!
I'm excited!!

Clean.... simple.... honest... loving... truthful....  Join me ! 

Love...... wedded bliss!

Oh boy... back to the blogstone!

Today I have been married 31 years!.... to the same guy! Yay! It's so hard to put into words the love I have for this man, my hunka, hunka, burnin love. I loved him 35 years ago and said "I Do" 31 years ago but that was a new, young wonder love. Now it's a deep, mature, I can't live without you, you really do complete me kind of love.  The kind that is forged in fire and caressed in love. Polished with tears and buffed with romance. The sometimes sat on a shelf and got dusty kind of love but then taken down, cleaned and reused and rekindled. The love that grounded us in challenging parenting roles and almost crumbled thru crazy trials and stressful times. The kind that made me honestly think I would be a widow and wrenched my heart kind of love....twice! (FYI... not a fun place to be) BUT thru all the ups and downs and sideways places we have been through, our Now kind of love is my favorite. I thank Jesus everyday that he picked me to be this mans wife...no other woman could've handled him.... lol... just kidding!! I am honored because he is loyal and fun and honest and funny and responsible and humble and most of all he loves Jesus and me!  I am a blessed silly girl and I know it!  So CHEERS to 35 more years with him!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

On the 25th Day of December my daughter gave to me...... ( my gifts to Jesus)

ME!  .........silly girl, wife, mommy, mother-in-love, daughter, sister, friend, sinner, lover of Jesus, child of God!

As we get ready to welcome family into our home and sit and open presents, I look at the wrapped gifts. Some are so pretty with perfect bows and glistening paper and some are fancy gift bags with tons of tissue paper billowing out the top and others are more simple and plain with a name written on the tag or the ones in a trash bag with a bow (because they're too big for a gift bag or paper or a man wrapped it...lol) In the end it doesn't really matter what the wrapping looks like, because the gift inside is what matters. Sometimes I feel like the fancy wrapped gift and other times I feel like the trash bag. But inside, my heart is what Jesus wants and loves.

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus....thank you for being so awesome and not being picky about my wrapping paper!

(manger in the barn next to the Inn of Pinterest)

Merry Christmas to you and your Kin

The 24th day of December my daughter gave to me...... (my gifts to Jesus)

My Family.......  my handsome hunka hunka burnin love, my precious sonshines, my gorgeous daughter in love,  fun and loyal four legged fur babies....

I am a blessed silly girl...I truly don't deserve the wonderful people God has given me but I accept them with heartfelt gratitude. I hope I have handled them well and treat them with His grace and love. I know that sometimes when I look at them I well up with emotion, my heart filling up with so much love and pride that I think I might burst. (sometimes I do burst and it oozes out thru my fingertips and onto your screen!)  But Today I give them to Jesus for I know He will continue to bless them and keep them in the palm of His hands. That He will guide them thru life with it's ups and downs so that they may grow and learn to lean on Him and love Him more deeply.

This Christmas Eve may you feel the deep love and pride and grace that God has for you as you celebrate the birth of Sweet Baby Jesus.  He really does love me....and He really loves you too!

Merry Christmas....... may you have Joy and Laughter and oodles of Blessings in the coming year!

from my almost Mayberry little family to yours................. barra     oxoxoxoxoxo