Link to a giveaway!

My cousin Saskia recently started making and selling these cute dolls



and she's doing a giveaway!

You can read more about her dolls and enter the giveaway HERE. Good luck and have fun!

P.S. You can also visit her Etsy shop HERE, where she sells her dolls and these cute cloth shoes too!

Ponyo

So this week is spring break for William and Aaron. We don't have the money to spend on a vacation or even a day trip, so I was trying to think of fun "special" things to do with the kids. Since it has been raining for the entire break thus far, we have to stick to indoor activities. I thought, if we had the money, we would probably go somewhere and stay overnight. So I thought a "sleepover" in the living room would be fun. We pulled out pillows and blankets for the kids and popped popcorn and sat back with them to watch the new animated film "Ponyo."

Ponyo is a variation of the story of the Little Mermaid. She is a magical little fish/girl who is found by a human boy. The two of them form a fast friendship. They are separated when Ponyo's father comes to take her back to the ocean. Ponyo is such a funny little creature! She uses her magic to change into a little girl and find her friend. She is so silly and cute! If Leonora met Ponyo, I think they would be best friends. We were all giggling outloud at her excitement. The director, Hayao Miyazaki has a special gift for portraying children in true form. It was certainly a fun movie for Aaron and I and the kids. I was also pleasantly surprised that there is a reference to breastfeeding when Ponyo wants to feed soup to a baby. The mother says the baby is too young, but she will eat the soup and it will help her make milk for the baby. It's so rare to see breastfeeding portrayed in such an honest and simple way. It seems that most movies and tv shows like to turn it into a joke. Ponyo then insists on giving the mother more food "for milk." In spite of all her silly antics, she does want to be helpful. The themes are about being in balance with nature and loving each other in all our forms. The characters are lovable and realistic. The animation (as with all Ghibli films) is truly art.

After watching Ponyo, the two older kids camped out in the living room. Aaron and I were a little bit of party poopers and decided to sleep in our own beds! I think it's safe to say that Ponyo will be a new favorite for our kids.

Here's a trailer that shows some of Ponyo's personality:

Adversity

Maybe it's because I'm getting older. Maybe I'm just more aware. Maybe there's more heartache in the world today. It seems like everyday I come across more stories of distress, more pain, more grief. I feel like I've experienced my share of all of this, but when I look around and see others struggling with their own hardships, I sometimes think things aren't so bad for me. Maybe it's just that I'm not grieving anymore. I struggle with life's ups and downs like anyone, of course. It's just that now I'm through it, now that the worst things I've had to face are past, my own life seems much brighter. Now I find that most of my tears and worries are for others. Other mothers who have lost babies, the young mother who is now a young widow, illnesses-sometimes terminal-that never care how old or young their victims are, accidents, divorce, and other tragedies seem to be everywhere. Adversity is inescapable. Yet, I am living proof that it doesn't go on forever.

It's not as though I woke up one day and went, "huh, I think I'm all better now! What a great experience that was!" It was all very gradual. One day, I smiled, and thought it felt strange. But it became less strange as the phenomenon repeated itself. Then one day I laughed and remembered what it was like to feel happy. As time went on, I was able to visit with friends and family without constantly thinking of how things could have been different. Then one day I was surprised to discover that I had recovered and that things looked much better, but the change had been so gradual, I could not pick out a moment or day that things were suddenly better.

It was still a little while before I could feel like my own suffering served some purpose. I had faith that it did, but I couldn't even begin to fathom what that purpose was. Even now, I can't claim to fully understand the reasons for my own trials, but I have begun to see some purpose in them. Probably one of the greatest things they have given me is understanding. Sometimes it seems a little crazy to be grateful for understanding someone's suffering, but without that understanding, it is difficult to show compassion. It happens all the time where some well meaning individual makes things worse while trying to comfort someone who is grieving. Understanding leads to compassion. Compassion leads to healing. Healing leads to understanding. There was nothing more comforting to me than to feel that someone understood my pain.

Another comfort to me is that I have always felt that life has a plan. There is nothing that comes our way that doesn't have a purpose. Sometimes the reason is clear, but most of the time, it isn't. So we muddle through as best as we can until we are able to emerge from the fog and see things clearly again. When I think about this, I often think of my son William's surgeries. William was born with a fairly severe case of bi-lateral clubbed feet-meaning both of his feet were bent and turned inward and upward. We tried casting his feet for the first 10 months of his life to see if they could be manually forced to point forward. The casting helped, but not enough. So then there was surgery. He was only 10 months old for his first surgery and 11 months for his second (a follow-up of the first). He quickly healed and forgot those procedures. Two years later, he had another surgery. We knew it would be harder on him than his first two were, but took some comfort in knowing that he at least didn't remember the first time, and would have fewer fears before the operation. He happily went off to the operating room. Of course, the return trip was not so happy. So when he had to have a fourth surgery last spring, we knew it would be tough on him. We explained to him what would happen, and quickly saw his fear in his expression. We tried to reassure him that everything would be okay, and tried to answer his repeated "why's." Ultimately, it was difficult for him to understand our explanations. He couldn't understand that although he could walk, this would help him walk better. And we knew he could run, but this would help him run faster and trip less. His focus was only on the extreme pain and inconvenience of the surgery and subsequent recovery. Of course, we wanted to help make the experience as comfortable as possible, but we knew he was going to have to suffer and that his suffering was necessary for him to be able to improve and grow.

I imagine that this is similar to how Heavenly Father feels as He witnesses our suffering. He knows that the pains we have will help us to grow and change and ultimately bless our lives. Of course He does not wish for us to suffer, but he knows it is necessary for us to progress and improve.

It's still hard for me to view certain trials as a blessing, but I do feel that the things I have learned and the ways I have grown have been blessings. I know that who I am today is directly related to those experiences. It is true-adversity does make us stronger. It makes us kinder. It gives us more perspective and sympathy for those around us. It shapes our lives. So, as I watch those I know struggling through the metamorphic change that adversity brings, I try to help them. I know that they will need help to get through their struggles because we all do! But I also know that ultimately, they will be better for the trouble they experience. They may not know today or tomorrow or even next year what the purpose of their struggles is, but there is a purpose. God may allow us to suffer, but I believe that He does not let us suffer needlessly.

Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1

I've been wanting to post something about this for a while. Something deep. Something profound. But after a great deal of thought, there seems to be nothing that I can say that this doesn't already say for itself. So I will just say this: I love this piece. I think it proves wrong anyone who thinks that Bach's music is not emotional. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU_QR_FTt3E