{this moment}

from:SouleMama

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

{this moment}

from:SouleMama

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

So far so good

Many of you may remember the post how I learned about love, I felt it was time for an update on this story. On December 31st, 2013 R got his kidney! We spent New Years Eve celebrating a successful transfer and the fact that my Dad and Auntie were both doing wonderful. I am still amazed at the love and devotion that my family has for one another. I was lucky enough to be part of a surprise for my Mom, Dad and her sister. My Aunt who introduced them was able to fly to SD and ride with us to this big event. Everyone was so happy to see her and glad that she was able to make it for her sisters and R. We are so blessed to have such wonderful role models of what it means to truly care for someone other than yourself!

My Auntie got out of the hospital 2 days after her surgery and seems to being doing very well. She is back in SD and healing up before she returns to work.  My Dad got out on day 5 and is like a new man. It is amazing how quickly this type of surgery can improve ones health. Within the first day my Dad had his color back and looked like nothing even happened. He is still in Rochester doing testing and should be returning home next week sometime. So far so good with the kidney function 🙂 so please continue to keep them in your prayers!

Donation is the best give anyone can give and I know that if I was not at risk for this stupid disease I would be signing up to help someone have a life again! Click here for more information on being a living donor!

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
― Kahlil Gibran

Sporadic

My involvement with this blog had been very sporadic since I started it in 2010. What can I say, life happens and usually that takes priority over tapping out a blog post. In the past 3 months, my family has gotten strep (that was me), stomach bugs, colds/croup and possible influenza so I have been busy doctoring, cleaning, healing and hoping that soon this sickly season will disappear forever!

The twins have really been taking the brunt of all the sickness and seem to just get over something and then move on to the next strain of whatever happens to be going around at the time. They were sick 2 times before they were a year old and neither was a time that required antibiotics…in fact they have never had any antibiotics before!  I guess they are building their immune system up, but still so hard to have two little ones not feeling good. The only person in our family who has not gotten anything at all is Hayden. He has been exposed to way more than any of us, yet remains to stay healthy. I am thankful for this, because he is a great help when I am under the weather!

I guess what I am getting at is that I fear that this blog will continue to be a sporadic, who knows when I’ll get to see it again, kind of deal…at least until life slows down anyways. So to all of those, who have stuck with me and continue to read my blog thank you, I will try to be better about giving you something to occupy your precious time 🙂 but no promises on how often this will occur!

“Life is like photography. You need the negatives to develop.” – Unknown

{this moment}

from:SouleMama

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Thankful Part 2

Today is Thanksgiving, there is so much to be thankful for! It is amazing that even when times are tough all you have to do is look around and you can always find something to be grateful for. Here is my next 15, enjoy this with a little pecan pie…Things are always better with pie 🙂

16.) South Dakota; I am so thankful to have grown up in a state that is conservative, has changing seasons and that has people who are kind and considerate of others. Don’t get me wrong we have the bad too, but over all I think this is such a wonderful place to grow up and now I am raising my family here too.

17.) My parent’s house; The place that no matter where we are in life always feels like home to me. Nick often gets confused because I refer to my hometown as home, my parent’s house as home and our house at home…what can I say, these three places are comforting to me and feel like HOME!

18.) Freedom; I often see on the news places with very little rights and freedoms. It breaks my heart that even now, in these modern times, that people are still repressed and not thought of equally. I am thankful for my soldier husband and all the people to help keep us free!

19.) Technology; although sometimes it malfunctions and does not work properly is had made keeping in touch and life in general so much more easy! I was just thinking about when we were in high school and needed to meet a friend we would pick a spot and pray that they were going to be on time or else you wandered around looking for them (which usually meant you would miss them) or just waited not know if they were coming or not! My cell phone keeps these things from happening.

20.) Knowledge; who isn’t thankful for this?! I am so grateful that I have come to love learning and do so everyday!

21.) Books; they help me learn, entertain me, prepare my mind for sleep, let me live lives that I would never have, and teach me to mourn (since my book always ends and my characters are gone forever).

22.) Modern medicine; in about one weeks time R will be getting his kidney from P’s sister. I am so thankful that this is even and option or we would have had to say goodbye way before any of us were ready too. They can do just about anything these days and I am so grateful that doctors continue to learn and advance!

23.) Dave Ramsey; this man has taught me so much about money and even life! I am thankful that my husband and I work together to figure out our finances. “We live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else.”

24.) Blue; my favorite color! For so reason I am drawn to it and it makes me feel good…so yes I am thankful for blue 🙂

25.) Facebook; although I can sometimes find myself wasting so much time checking out Facebook, I am still thankful for it. I love being able to keep up with old and new friends. Sometimes our lives get so busy that these friendships fizzle out and disappear, Facebook helps us all stay connected!

26.) Pinterest; again something that I waste way to much time on, but that makes being creative so much fun! One thing that I don’t like is that sometimes I don’t know if something is my idea or something I saw on Pinterest!

27.) Coffee; a day just does not begin until I have a nice steamy cup of joe!

28.) Horses; such beautiful animals and something I have loved since I was a little girl

29.) God; anything and everything is possible because of Him. I am thankful that our heavenly Father is kind and forgiving for I am human and sin. His kingdom is where I will be someday and I am so blessed to know Him and his teachings.

30.) Pie; life is so much sweeter with pie!

Hope your thanksgiving is full of family, friends and food! Have a Blessed day!!

“Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others. All of them, from Martin Luther King Day to Arbor Day to Christmas to Valentine’s Day, are in one way or another about being thankful.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals

 

{this moment}

from:SouleMama

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Thankful part 1

I have noticed a trend on Facebook of friends and family sharing something that they are thankful for every day in the month of November. I tried it last year, but was not on Facebook everyday so I hated having to write a long list in my status to catch myself up. So this year I thought I would just do a blog post about it 🙂 With Thanksgiving just around the corner I felt it was necessary for me to share my 15 things that I am thankful for. Next week I will do 15 more things that I am thankful for 🙂

1.) My husband; Nick is my perfect match. He challenges me (not always in a good way), laughs with me, loves me even when I am weird (which is kind of a lot), is my teammate in parenting and my best friend. He is the person I would choose to spend my time with if I could only choose one person to “hangout” with, luckily I married his so he will be spending time with me for all eternity!

2.) My oldest child; Hayden whose heart is so tender. He is my sensitive, mindful child who always wants to please and make people happy. He has a kind heart and is very creative. His love of music and drawing just makes my pride shine when he shows off these talents. My silly first-born has been by far the easiest to parent, but as he gets older is becoming more challenging. These challenges usually come from the fact that as the oldest more is expected of him and he has to be my “helper” all the time with the little kids. 

3.) My second son; Elliot is my wild child. He is my challenge! The exact polar opposite of Hayden and I so we do not always see eye to eye. His determination, logic and sense of humor are so much like his father that it is no wonder that people use to call him a little Nick (Ollie is now the new little Nick). His daily “I love you most’s” melt my heart and allow me to forget all the naughty things that he does. Elliot is the child that I constantly have to redirect and keep busy or I regret it later.  life is not boring with him around!

4.) My third son; Oliver is the oldest of the twins but the tiniest of all my kids. He is my little peanut person who uses his cheesy grin and copy cat antics to wrap his Mama, Grandmas and Aunties around his little finger. Ollie gets more female attention then any of my other children and is by far the one who is always putting on a show. He is a silly little nut that thinks he should get all the attention and often demands it by squawking and squealing! I love watching his personality develop and am thankful that this little guy is part of this crazy family!

5.) My only daughter; Laney is me when I was little. She is shy and reserved (until she gets to know you), looks almost exactly like me when I was a baby and she has very expressive facial expressions (those got me in trouble when I was younger). She is much more squealy then the boys and a more dramatic which has taken some getting use too.  All the boys are in love with her and are so kind to her (most of the time) as if having a little sister were way better than having little brothers. She also has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger! I am curious to see how her personality will unfold as she gets older (tom boy like me or girly girl since she is my only girl). So thankful for a daughter to shop with when all the guys are hunting!

6.) My parents; Bob & Pam have taught me so much about life and love there is no possible way to explain what they mean to me. I am thankful that they are still a huge part of my life (I talk to my mom almost everyday) and want to be! I know I can always count on them and they are always on my team…even if they are on the bench far away from our everyday life!

7.) My older Brother; Ryan was always our protector growing up. Many people have stories about their older brothers beating on them or picking on them, I do not. He was almost always kind to us and was very laid back. We had some of the same friends in high school and hung-out quite a bit.

8.) My younger Sister; Kendra was not always a best friend of mine, but now I can’t imagine my life without her. When we were growing up, she was my competition for my parents attention and she was kind of bratty to me (she may say it was the other way around) so we did not always get along. As we have matured we have realized how important family is and I am thankful of the bond we now share 🙂

9.) My Mother-in-law and Father-in-law; Vicki and Mike are the best! I mean handpicked by God, perfect for me, better person because I know them kind of best! No words can express the gratitude I have for them and all they do for us!

10.) My Grandparents; Pearl and Paul are the soul of the Wiechmann clan! If you know any of this clan you know what a compliment that is!

11.) My extended family; aunts, uncles, cousins…you name it we still keep in touch and are very much a part of each others lives. I feel so blessed to have grown up with family all around me and love watching this family of ours grow!

12.) Our miniature dachshund; Kirby is an overweight, little weirdo that just adds to our already chaotic family! He was our first “kid” and has been with us for over 8 years.

13) Creativity; I am so thankful for my ability to create things may it be portraits/photography, blogging, repainting furniture or making gifts for my family. I love being able to do these things and share them with all of you 🙂

14.) Food; Real food makes our heart happy. It gives us sustenance and brings us closer together as a family. Family dinners prepared by Mom and enjoyed by all 🙂

15.) Our home; Although it is not our dream home and has required “fixing up” through the years, I am thankful for the memories made here and the shelter it provides for us.  We are so blessed to have such a beautiful place to call our own!

So there they are the first 15, next week I will share the another 15 things. Hopefully this is not to dull and boring but there are lots to be thankful for here, so stick around 🙂

“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.”
― Henry Ward Beecher

{this moment}

from:SouleMama

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.