Today’s topic for the Carnival of Beauty is “Aging Gracefully.” HA! I almost skipped out on this one. I wrote a rough draft yesterday, trying to be humorous about it — then I remembered I’m not funny; it sounded like someone trying to BE funny. But I thought of another idea as I drove home a few minutes ago after dropping off my son at preschool.

When I was 19, I spent a month living with a French family an hour outside of Paris. One weekend, we went to visit an aunt and uncle who lived in Antwerp, Belgium. We were sitting outside in a cafe one afternoon, and I didn’t say much — my command of the French language limited me to a few trite phrases and lots of smiling. These French meals usually lasted at least two hours, so I had plenty of time to people watch. I kept seeing young men hurrying by, dressed in business suits, with chains attached from their belt loop to their briefcase.

Finally, I asked someone, “Why do they do that?” And they explained to me, “The suitcase. It’s full of diamonds.”

Oh, diamonds. Those rare and valuable jewels that are a girl’s best friend. Valuable enough that a man would attach a briefcase containing these treasures to his hip.

Years later, I heard a speaker say we’re all like diamonds, and God is constantly refining us, polishing us, cutting away our rough spots so that we can sparkle like a rare and beautiful jewel.

So, this is what aging is to me. We’re being polished in this process of growing older. I can’t say it any better than Carol of She Lives, who says this:

What we put inside of ourselves in the way of food, drugs, even our very thoughts, all have an effect on our physical bodies. If what we put inside of our bodies is pure, free of chemicals and toxins, and if we maintain pure thought lives, free of worry and bitterness, if we exercise in moderation and avoid extremes, we can actually slow down and even reverse the negative effects time can wreak on our physical selves. We can age gracefully. We can age in God’s grace.

Thank you, Carol. That last sentence is something I’ll always keep with me. I like to think that in the process of refinement, I’ll learn to give myself more grace as well as others around me. If someone offends me, I should continue to love through God’s grace … and not let that offense dull my sparkle. If I mess up in my own life, I can let go of my self-loathing and sense of failure by knowing I’m God’s child, and to Him, I’m perfect. I’ll always mess up this side of heaven. The older we get we realize more how imperfect our world is here, and we long for that place we cannot see without faith.

One day, I’d love to go to a diamond cave somewhere and see how a diamond looks when it’s uncovered from the ground, all gray and dusty. Then I want to go visit a jeweler and watch the process of how a diamond goes from dull to brilliant. That would be an exciting process to see.

We’re not a diamond hidden in a briefcase, attached by chain to a man’s hip; we’re a rare and beautiful treasure, being polished by our Master Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

I can’t thank all of you enough for surrounding me with encouraging comments over the weekend. Your words meant so much — and I have read and reread everything you wrote, wondering if God is speaking to me through any of your words. I know that He is, and I know without a doubt that’s why I’ve been blogging this year. I can’t believe you’re out there. There is no way in the world I could have written my Saturday post thinking it would disappear into a black hole. Thank you for reading my dream; your words have watered that seed a little bit, and now we’ll see what God chooses to do.

A REALLY funny thing happened only a few hours after I wrote that! You know I wrote about how my dream is to take my children through an open fruit market somewhere near the sea — in a different culture. Well, later in the afternoon, I went with my parents and daughters to a 90th birthday party of a special family friend. The party was at a gorgeous old country club, right by a lake that had one of those fountains in the middle of it. The surrounding gardens were exquisite, vibrant with tropical hues of purple, red, and gold.

Inside the club, the room was set up like a tea party, and one table was overflowing with piles of fresh fruit — slices of juicy pineapple, strawberries, and melons. There were wooden skewers, and I told my girls, “Oh, look — we can make fruit shish-kabobs.” We started putting the fruit on the skewers, and then my mom came over and noticed the CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN.

I’ve never in my life seen one of these — but you take the fruit on the skewer and dip it into this ever-flowing fountain of pure chocolate — voila. Chocolate-dipped sweetness. We had a blast with that discovery! Talk about a fresh fruit market!

One whole side of this ornately decorated room was windows, overlooking the lake and golf course. I saw a boy about my son’s age striding toward the course with a green leather bag of golf clubs slung over his shoulder. Like every other player, he was decked out in golf shoes, khaki pants, and a solid-color cotton shirt. I thought to myself, “This is so far from our lifestyle. I can’t even imagine.” Then it hit me — this was my “cross-cultural experience.” So, you see — I got to enjoy my fruit in a different culture after all.

This morning, I was able to witness another extraordinary miracle. If you get a chance to hear today’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast, I hope you can. James Dobon is interviewing Duane Miller, the pastor of the church in Houston who once lost his voice because of a virus. For three years, he couldn’t speak above a raspy whisper. He had to step down as pastor, but his Sunday school class begged him to teach. They rigged up a very sensitive microphone and attached it directly to his lips so everyone could hear his whisper. The doctors told him he would never be able to speak again, and that his raspy teaching was causing even more harm to his permanently damaged vocal chords.

He was Beth Moore’s pastor, and I’d read his story in Week 3 of the Believing God study, but I honestly couldn’t imagine it. Here’s how Beth described what happened:

One Sunday morning at our church he rasped his way through part of a lesson on the Psalms with the help of his sensitized microphone … Duane taught his class that morning that God is neither a genie in a bottle nor an apathetic bystander … By this time the pain in Duane’s throat was excruciating.

He continued the lesson with the mention of the next benefit: He redeems my life from the pit. He started to refer to his own ordeal, but the moment the word pit slipped from his mouth, whatever seemed to have choked him for more than three years suddenly released. Before the ears of his loving class and prayer warriors, God performed a miracle!

It’s true. It’s on tape, the whole thing. During the interview, James Dobson played the tape, and I got to hear this miracle take place. There’s a moment when Duane Miller pauses, as his voice suddenly booms strong … and you can hear the whole class gasp, then start laughing and clapping, and they spontaneosly sing the Doxology:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

This radio broadcast is called “Breaking the Silence,” and you can listen to it here.

Carol of She Lives is hosting this week’s Carnival of Beauty on the topic of “The Beauty of Aging Gracefully.” Ha! Send her something by 3 pm tomorrow — I’ll be curious to see what everyone comes up with.

P.S. For the ladies in the Beth Moore LBY group — so many of you have shared over the weekend how cool it is that we’re able to write out our thoughts and read what we’re all learning. Many of us are the type who wouldn’t say a word in a group of 30 women — we’d just listen.

I encourage you to PRINT OUT your weekly blog post that goes along with the lesson, including all of the comments people send you. Put this in your notebook along with your homework. I know without a doubt we’re all going to use these notes someday for something. So far, at least two of you have used this study to give you strength to speak in front of large groups.

These notes will help us remember what we’re learning and to show others the fellowship we’ve discovered. You never know — maybe our study will be a prototype for others to follow. Just think of all the housebound people in the world, or those in hospitals, who can’t get to a group meeting. Our study group may be a solution to help these people enjoy interacting with others from their homes or hospital beds. Eight more weeks to go!

You can probably tell I’ve got the beach on my mind this week, can’t you? Here’s another excuse to think about sand and surf. An author who writes mystery books set on islands! And … she’s an award-winning playwright and a grandmother. Everybody say hello to Vonda Skinner Skelton!

Best of all, Mrs. Skelton is a woman of faith who loves connecting with people through writing — AND I’ve met her in person in Nashville. She’s a beautiful woman with a kind heart, who gave me a big ol’ hug. So, I had to invite her to come visit us here.

Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection!

Thanks for inviting me, Heather.

I have to tell you, I’ve read your mystery books, and they’re set in places I’m familiar with, on Tybee and Amelia Islands, off the coast of Georgia. Can you tell us how you got started writing mysteries for children?

I’m always asked what gave me the great idea to start an island mystery series. Well, I hate to admit it, but I didn’t have the idea at all. The truth is, it just happened! The first book was set on Tybee Island because we had visited there when I was a child, and the second one was on Amelia Island because that’s where my oldest grandchildren live.

You’re a grandmother! Can you tell us a little about your family?

I’d love to! My sweet husband, Gary, and I were high school sweethearts and have now been married for 36 years. Our oldest daughter, Christina is married to Todd and they live on Amelia Island, Florida. They are the parents of our oldest grandchildren, Garrett (10) and Ellie (7). They are the stars along with Bitsy in the Amelia Island book. Our youngest daughter, Nicole, is married to Steve, and they have Cole (5) and Mallory (2), who will be in the third book, set on Hilton Head Island.

What do your grandchildren think about you writing mystery books?

I’m blessed to have an extremely supportive family, and the grandkids think it’s really cool that I write books, especially when I go to their schools. And Garrett and Ellie enjoyed their own moment in the spotlight when they, too, were asked to sign books because they were characters in the Amelia Island mystery!

Oh, that sounds like fun! Your grandkids get to help you sign books. I bet they give you a lot of ideas for writing.

Yes, they’ve given me a few ideas for the books, but I find I use their stories most often when I speak at Christian women’s events. The hilarious things they say often fit well with a point I’m trying to make as I speak. There’s nothing like the innocent words of a child to get a point across!

Oh, I know all about those cute things kids say. And if I don’t write them down, I’ll forget! So, do you think a person can write books for children even if their children are grown?

Definitely! I didn’t write until my kids were grown. I also think that some of us are better able to recognize the humor in life as we get older. When I was a young wife and mother, I was so focused on trying to do things right and raise responsible kids, that I often missed the laughter in situations.

And now, as I look back on my childhood, I see so much more than I did back then. The passing of years has helped me see the love my parents had for us and the sacrifices they made; for the struggles they had as a young couple with no money and four kids. I didn’t see the beauty of the experience back then. I do now, and I cherish it.

Now, can you tell us about your mysteries?

I’d love to. My first book, Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island, introduces Bitsy, a 12-year-old tomboy from a poor family who always manages to get into trouble. She’s the oldest of three girls and her mother is expecting the fourth child at any time—and Bitsy’s not happy about it. The family travels to Tybee Island to test her father’s newest invention, suntan lotion. Bitsy and her cousin, Matt, decide to search for buried treasure, but instead discover more than they bargained for.

I remember that in the book. I thought it was so funny that Bitsy’s dad was trying to get them to test out his invention by using homemade suntan lotion on half their body and the leading brand on the other half! Did any of these things happen to you in real life?

Yes, believe it or not, my daddy was one of those great characters who was always going to invent something or come up with a great business deal that would make our family rich. Did we ever get rich? No! But he left a great collection of true stories for me to write about!

I’ve used lots of things that really did happen to me or someone I know and put them in my fictional books. Remember the bully getting his head caught in the porch rail on Amelia Island? That really happened to my brother when we were kids. (And I have to admit, I DID enjoy smearing him with mayonnaise and butter to get him out!)

Remember Bitsy’s Bangles? Well, believe it or not, I really had a jewelry business when I was 12-years-old, thanks to my dad. That’s the joy of fiction—you can do anything you want! You simply use the facts that would drive the story. But then take other scenes from your life, or other peoples’ lives, and use them any way you want—within reason, of course.

Wow! You’re getting me interested in writing some children’s fiction someday! Now, what about your second book?

In Bitsy and the Mystery at Amelia Island, Bitsy heads to Amelia Island, Florida to visit her friends, Garrett and Ellie. Although she has just turned over a new leaf—to live at peace with everyone, her resolution quickly dissolves when she has a run-in with the neighborhood bully, Ernie Van Tache. In this book, the kids search for a “ghost,” run from a “witch,” and attempt to discover what’s so important about a mysterious family portrait, all of which teaches Bitsy the true meaning of “the best things in life.”

How in the world did you come up with ideas for your books?

When I decided to write my first book, I knew several things before I started. I knew I wanted my book to be a mystery because I love to read mysteries; I knew I wanted it to be a book for kids because I love kids and enjoy interacting with them.

I also knew I wanted it to be based on my own family; and I knew I wanted the story to be set at Tybee Island, Georgia because it held special memories for me. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that Tybee had a lighthouse and abandoned forts, which are both great for mysteries.) But I had one little problem—I didn’t have a mystery! So I grabbed my mother and we headed down to Tybee Island to do some research.

That sounds like a fun place to do some research. But how did you find the mystery angle?

I guess you want me to be honest here, so I’ll admit my ignorance: I never realized Blackbeard the Pirate was a real person. I know, I know. I’m probably the only adult in America who didn’t know that little tidbit of information, but I didn’t.

Well, while doing my research, I discovered that not only was Blackbeard the Pirate real, but he really had spent time on Tybee Island. But not only was he a real person who had been on Tybee Island, I also found out there is speculation that perhaps, just maybe, there is still undiscovered buried treasure on Tybee Island! So voila! I had my mystery!

And what about researching on Amelia Island?

It was just as easy to decide to put my second book on Amelia Island, Florida, because, as I said, that’s where my two oldest grandchildren live. Again, I never even thought about the fact that it would make two books set on islands. All I was thinking about was that I could make trips down there for research, spend time with my grandchildren, and have a legitimate tax deduction! Of course, once the book came out, I had to do book signings there, too. (Oh, the struggles of writing!)

Again, I didn’t have any idea what the mystery was going to be until I went down there for research. That’s when I discovered that Amelia Island is very old, dating back to the 1500’s. And, as is often true of old towns, Amelia Island has an active ghost tour industry. So of course, I had to take a ghost tour.

A ghost tour! What did you discover?

That’s when I heard the true story of a nun who died in 1877 while caring for the sick during an outbreak of yellow fever. But the legend says that her ghost rises up out of the cemetery and walks into the church. Suddenly I had my mystery! And although the book does not involve “real” ghosts, the kids have to recognize that the bad guy is the one behind the mysterious occurrences.

By the time the second book was done, I realized it would be fun to continue the island theme. And now kids ask me what island Bitsy is going to next! In case you want to know, it’s set on Hilton Head Island, SC, and involves loggerhead turtles. It’s scheduled to be released in the spring of 2007.

We went to Hilton Head Island last summer and loved it. We’ll have to read your third book when it comes out. And I see you’ll be forced to do another author tour at the beach. With your grandkids of course! Do you have any advice for us if we’d like to write something about a trip we take?

I’d definitely say do your research. Find out the history of the area. But don’t just go to official places like museums and such. Talk to people who live in the area; get a flavor for the culture, for their way of doing things; find out about events that aren’t common knowledge.

For Bitsy at Tybee Island, I talked to a lady who had had a beach house there for years. I didn’t know her, but just knocked on her door and told her I was writing a children’s mystery. I told her I wanted to talk to someone who had lived on the island for a while. She invited me in and we talked for hours. She told me story after story of things that had happened to them and others on the island—many of which ended up in the book.

Remember the rat? True story. Remember the broken bridge and someone trying to get to the hospital? True story (although in real life, they got off safely). And the kids digging up the skeleton? Yep, you guessed it—true story.

For Amelia Island, I talked with a couple of women who had grown up there. They told me about their own experiences of hunting for ghosts and the teenage dares to tempt the “Pogy Witch Woman” out of hiding. I went to the cemetery where the nuns were buried and took a tour of the house that once was the convent. All those details make the location come alive and help you develop your story.

How do you remember all these details? Does it help to take pictures?

Yes! Take lots of pictures. You’ll be surprised at how much you forget the landscape or the color of the house or the layout of the building. But don’t just take pictures of things you plan to include. Snap photos of anything that looks unusual or out of place. The scene in which the bad guy is captured at Amelia was developed simply because I took a picture of a crane beside the river. I never intended to use a crane in the book, but the story invented itself through the pictures.

Well, Vonda, this has just been too much fun hearing all these behind-the-scene details about your writing! Now, I can’t wait for you to come back tomorrow and tell us how you became a four-time award-winning playwright because I know there are some moms out there who have a flair for drama!

You can learn more about Vonda Skinner Skelton on her website. If you’d like more details on how she got started writing, here’s an interview with her at this site.

There are a whole lot of blessings going around today that I wanted to share with you.

First of all, we’ve had a big celebration over at Susan’s new blog — she has been searching for answers to some spiritual questions lately and finally found the ANSWER! After communicating with some members of our Beth Moore Bible Study, Susan is beginning a new journey! (Thanks, Jeana!) You can read more about this on Carol’s blog — but please visit Susan and wish her a note of encouragement. Isn’t this awesome news? What better reason do we have for blogging than to help lead someone to a relationship with Christ?

The Carnival of Beauty is up at MzEllen & Co on the topic of “technology.” If you have a chance, there are some thoughtful essays on how technology has brought many blessings to our world today.

Be sure to visit the new April edition of Darlene’s Christian Women Online magazine. I’m always amazed at how pretty the photos and graphics are that accompany the stories. If you’re in need of a positive place to read a few minutes, this magazine is full of inspiration. I’ve also joined her new webring.

Darlene is too funny! I had to laugh while reading her Letter from the Editor about how life changes as we head into our 40s.

So, if she happens to be reading this post, here’s something I saw in an author’s autobiography last week:

They say “life begins at forty.” A certain phase of mine certainly did, for I was just forty when my first novel was published.

(Does that make you feel like you’re in good company, Darlene?)

I’ve given this some thought. Do any of you out there agree that life begins at 40? Those of you who are over age 40, did anything happen to you in this new decade that you could share with us?

I’m looking forward to turning 40 — which is only a few years away for me. I started thinking about how I’ve spent the last few decades:

Ages 0-5 — Infancy. Learned how to walk and talk … and haven’t stopped since!

Elementary school — Early academics, spiritual awakening with a sincere child-like faith. Prepared for middle school.

Middle school — Began to realize I liked some subjects better than others. Developed hobbies. Prepared for high school.

High school — Prepared for college. Started thinking about my future husband … and began looking for him! (Why, oh why, was I even thinking about that when I was 16? I should have been doing more volunteer work in my community, helping others. There’s no rush to hurry on to college and marriage!)

College — Prepared for a career by narrowing down the subjects I studied. Began seriously trying to figure out if I would be single for the rest of my life or if God had other plans for me. Constant focus was on the future. Time of amazing spiritual growth for me.

20s and 30s — For most women, these are the busy foundational years of marriage and childbearing/ childraising. I’m sure you moms agree — things ain’t the same with your body, mind, and spirit after you go through the transformation of becoming a mother. During these years, the constant demands of small children are first and foremost on our minds.

40s — OK! Does life begin now? These are the years when our kids might be older and more independent. We might even be able to have time to take a shower and put on make-up! Our husband may be more settled in a career. I don’t know — I’m not there yet. I’m just thinking it might take my mind off getting older if I could look forward to the excitement of having a little more “me-time” than I do now.

What do you think?

Many thanks to a Mom 2 Mom reader, Luanne, who visited us from the Philippines and left a message in yesterday’s comments. I’ve added this map and picture. What a lovely place!

Luanne writes:

“I live on an island! Maybe not the sort you have in mind, but a tropical island nevertheless. I live on the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines. We are missionaries and have lived here for 18 years. The weather is usually warm humid and sunny, or warm and humid and rainy.

The best part for me is that there is green everywhere I look! I can’t hear the ocean from my house. We live in the city, and the sound of traffic is what I hear most of the time. But we have a nice yard and in the mornings I hear exotic bird sounds, and in the evenings, our local geckos sound off, as well as the occasional frog.

It is April, summer in the Philippines, and the neem tree outside my window is in bloom! The wonderful smell of those flowers will be floating through the house for over a month! I look forward to April all year!

We can drive about an hour and go to a white sands beach. It is in a bay, so there are no big waves. Big shady trees grow practically to the water line. The water is warm and blue, and the snorkeling is amazing! It is like flying over another world, a world of strange shapes and flashing colors. Amazing to think there is a world like that under the water that God made, and so few have seen! What other wonders might there be that are yet undiscovered?

We buy most of our food at the open market. The fish is fresh and smells like the ocean. We love the fruit here, lansones, marang, durian, rambutan, mangosteen, mangos, pomelo, guavas, nangka, guyabano, atis, to name a few! The sad and battered tropical fruits you see in the grocery stores in America for such high prices, are nothing like the real thing we have here!

At the supermarket we can find the more familiar vegetables, many of which are grown in the mountains; broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, cauliflower and even zuccini along with things like ferns, fresh bamboo shoots, taro roots and bitter gourd. We like to cook with coconut milk, lemon grass and ginger.

We have a large house and two guest rooms… wanna come? :-)”

My answer: YES! Now I have at least two people I want to visit in the Philippines!

I’ve been noticing that my Travel category in this blog is a bit wimpy. I mostly focus here on books and parenting issues. But if you’re like me, blessed with little ones at home, you may have to do a lot of your adventure-seeking from your armchair (or should I say rocking chair? Or maybe I should even say laundry room, after seeing a picture of a mom tapping away on her laptop a la washing machine over at the recent contest on Mommy Net).

Did you know people all over the world are writing travel blogs? This technology did not EXIST when I did some international traveling in my late teens/early 20s. As I mentioned once, when I lived in Japan, I spent every evening writing letters, one by one, BY HAND telling my family and friends (and my special pen pal who later became my husband) all about my adventures living overseas.

But now the technology is here to be able to update everyone instantly — with words and pictures. This is also useful for anyone preparing for a trip somewhere. I mean — why read a guidebook that was written like two years ago when you can read about a traveler eating in a trendy bistro this morning?

The best site I’ve found so far is one called Travel Blog: Live Travel Journals. Have you heard of this site yet? I recently went to Rome — and before that, I climbed a mountain with a traveler somewhere along the coast of South America! The pictures are stunning. Of course, since the blogs are not edited, you never know what you might read. But for the most part, I’ve been interested to hear people’s fascinating stories.

You can choose any continent in the world, and hundreds of countries. The site owners pick different blogs to feature on the home page — I’m not sure if they’re updated daily or maybe weekly. Today’s front page features:

— On March 30th, a traveler named Keith took pictures and wrote about seeing humpback whales off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

— An explorer dubbed Honest Abe reports on sheep herding and eating curry on the island of Fiji.

— A traveler shared views of life on Penang, a large island off the northwestern coast of Malaysia.

— An April Fool’s Bike Ride through Pittsburgh (I suppose exotic to someone).

— A duo who call themselves “Cumberland Sausage” share pictures of a Holi Festival in Udaipur, India. You won’t believe their pictures. And they close their brief post with this: “No more blogs for a month I’m afraid, we’re off trekking in Nepal.” Ughhh!!

You gotta love it. I can travel the world for free via reading these people’s blogs — and you can too.

With two more months until summer, I’d love to hear back from you readers who don’t live in America. I know you’re out there! You may not realize it, but your home is very exotic to me. I know where a few of you live, but I’d love to learn more. Can you write me and tell me what it’s like? You don’t have to send a picture — I can probably find one on Google.

Do you live on an island? Anywhere near the ocean? I don’t. So in my opinion, you’re on vacation year-round. I want to know what the ocean sounds like for you. What color is the sand? Do you eat fish from the sea, and what kinds? Do you cook it at home or eat it at a restaurant?

You don’t need a blog to write — and you can email me, and I’ll use only your first name or initial. I just think it would be so interesting to use this blog technology to bring the world to my home — and yours.

If anyone else knows a good travel website, I’d love to hear about it.

(Sigh … bigtime sigh.)

Edit: (after much sighing) — If anyone reading this happens to live on an island and is in need of a family to herd your sheep for a while, we’d be happy to consider your offer. I think I’m kidding, but I might not be.

I’m clinging to this one today. Anyone agree?

It is no great matter to associate with the good and gentle; for this is a naturally pleasing to all, and everyone willingly enjoyeth peace, and loveth those best that agree with him. But to be able to live peaceably with hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most commendable thing.

Thomas a Kempis
Thomas a Kempis Biography And Works

It’s April. Can you believe it? We’ve made it through winter. In our house, we survived spring break last week. Now, I feel like we’re coasting through the next two months until school is out at the end of May.

So, I’ve been poring over our calendar trying to decide what we’ll do this summer. We’ve got one trip planned (YEA!), and my kids are already asking me, “How many days until we go on our trip?” Add that to “How many days until my birthday?” (my almost 6-year-old) and “How many more days of school?” and you can see why I’m living in the future!

It may already be too late, but I’ve got to get on the phone with some of my mom maven friends who seem to know everything and find out whose kids are signed up for which camp or activity. Summer’s when I catch up with a lot of friends who I don’t see as often during the school year because they homeschool or their kids go to a different school. So, we try to coordinate our plans so our kids can play together while we hang out and gab.

I also try to take my kids to a pool somewhere at least three times a week. Honestly, this is not my idea of relaxation because my younger ones need me to get in the water with them. I don’t get to lounge along the side of the pool lost in a good book — I’ve got to be IN the water constantly. It’s fun when I find another mom with her kids there to talk to. But some days when we go to the city pool, I’m the only mom there — except for the day camp workers. So I end up playing Marco Polo and Ring around the Rosy with other people’s kids, and they hang on my shoulders — and I feel COMPLETELY worn out by the time we get home.

But I do this because my kids MUST know how to swim. We’re around water so much — a lot of people in our area live near lakes and ponds — and some people have backyard pools. Right now, I think only two of my kids are strong swimmers, so I’ve got to keep diligent about teaching the younger ones, which means lots of practice.

In giving all this some thought, here’s my news — I’ve decided to take a break from blogging over the summer. We’ll be on the go so much I won’t have time to be on the computer. I know this won’t be a big deal to those of you who’ve subscribed to me via Bloglines because you can tell when I’ve updated. But I’m very loyal to you — and I don’t want to suddenly slack off without giving you some warning! Mom 2 Mom Connection will be very quiet during the months of June and July. School starts back in early August, and that’s when I plan to get back to blogging.

Our Beth Moore Living Beyond Yourself Study will go for the next nine weeks and end on June 2. Sallie has her new Carnival of Beauty schedule posted on her site up until the end of May as well. The last topic is “Beginnings and Endings,” which I think is an appropriate way for me to end my first season of blogging. (By the way, my 6-month blogiversary was last week — 226 posts!)

Over the summer break, I even plan to turn off my comments so I won’t be obsessed tempted to check in. I’ve just GOT to. I want my children to remember all the fun summers they had growing up — and this is their childhood! Between going to the pool, library summer reading program, the park, ice-cream shop, vacation, and a couple of day camps they enjoy, my job as “special events coordinator” and “elite transportation service provider” takes up all my time!

Until then, I’m so excited I’ve got several interviews lined up with moms who’ve done outstanding things. This week, we’re going to be visited by a GRANDMOTHER who is out and about writing children’s mystery books that take place on islands, and she’s also a three-time award-winning playwright. I absolutely can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s AMAZING!

P.S. Don’t forget — those of you who like writing for the Carnival of Beauty. Today at 3 pm is the deadline on the topic of “Technology” over at MzEllen & Co. That’s a really interesting topic — I can’t wait to see what people come up with!

I have a cousin who once handed me her business card, a simple white rectangle, emblazoned in black letters with her name, address, phone number, and the descriptive phrase, “Domestic Goddess.” That made me laugh then, as it does now. She IS a wonderful cook and homemaker, and a world-class grandma. She sent me a letter recently with some pictures and included her new card, “Domestic Goddess, retired.” She’s a widow now.

I love her sense of humor. But I have to tell you I had a glimpse of a true domestic diva the other day when I flipped channels on our TV and saw Martha Pullen, sitting at her sewing machine, telling her audience the proper way to stitch white zig zag onto lace using the zig-zag stitch on a sewing machine.

Are you familiar with Martha Pullen? I used to subscribe to her magazine, Sew Beautiful, and she always wrote the most uplifting letter from the editor, complete with scriptures. She also has a program on public television called Sewing With Martha.

If you’re at all interested in sewing, you’ll love everything about Martha. Here’s how I first heard about her. I had a close friend a few years ago who was REALLY into heirloom children’s clothing. She talked about Martha Pullen this, Martha Pullen that every other sentence. Our first two children were the exact same age, so we spent a lot of time talking while our kids played. Finally, I admitted to her that I didn’t know how to sew — even though my mom had shown me a few simple things growing up. Sewing machines just scared me!

We saw an ad in the newspaper for sewing machines, and she said she’d help me pick one out. So we went shopping together, and I came home with a nicer one than the ad offered, but she assured me it was a good price. Then I went over to her house once a week, and she taught me how to turn the machine on and not be scared it would bite me, thread a needle and wind it around all these places on my machine so it would sew, trace and cut out a pattern, and make a little sundress for my daughter. It was full of all kinds of weird mistakes, but I took her picture wearing it, and it made me so happy that I made something!

Then we moved. Oh, how I missed that friendship. We moved to the country, and I didn’t have any friends for the first several months. So I tried to keep sewing to give myself something creative to do, and it gave me an excuse to call my old friend and tell her what I was making. Thinking back, I realize that’s what kept me trying to sew — I wanted to keep finding a reason to connect with her because the first thing she always asked was, “So, what are you working on?”

I finally discovered a store about an hour from my house that taught smocking and embroidery lessons, and I went and took a few classes. I was the youngest one in my class. It was me and a few sweet grandmothers — who were all excellent seamstresses. I kept stabbing my finger and bleeding on the fabric. I felt like I had two left hands, and I couldn’t keep up. It was so embarrassing to ask the simplest questions!

But this is all I had to do to keep myself occupied while we adjusted to our new town. Finally, we found a church where I made some friends with moms of young children, and I made a few friends who also liked to sew. One Easter, we all went a little crazy and bought a bunch of fabric. I taught one friend how to smock, and there were four of us who all made matching clothes for our kids. It was a fun time.

Those were simpler days for me — and who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get back into it. It really is exciting to make things with fabric and thread — and it can be a joy for young women to see their creativity blossom into something beautiful to wear. Right now, I DO NOT have the patience for it. That hobby requires keeping up with so much STUFF. (Fabric, notions, patterns, magazines with ideas, crafty this and that…)

Since God has blessed me with three daughters, I don’t want them to grow up being scared of a sewing machine like their poor mom. One of the best things my friend taught me is that even though babies and little girls will outgrow their dresses, dolls never will! So one day, I’d love to make doll clothes. Maybe that day will come when I’m a grandmother. What a happy thought!

For now, I’ll sneak a peek at the domestic queen herself, Martha Pullen, and see what she’s up to. And say a prayer for my friend who is on my mind today, who I still miss very much.

Here’s a note to the other 29 ladies in the Beth Moore group — and to anyone else who’s joining along with us in our endeavor to study Living Beyond Yourself. Don’t give up! I’ve been to many of your blogs over the weekend, and we ladies have a lot of stuff going on in our lives! This is only the second week of the study, and I know some of you are already behind and feeling bad about it.

It doesn’t matter! Whatever you have going on — kids demanding your attention, a house full of company, spring break, suitcases full of dirty laundry from returning from trips, earthquakes (someone in our group blogged about an earthquake last week!) You don’t have to do every bit of the homework — and you don’t have to blog about anything profound. It’s very intimidating to be “on” every day you post something — especially when there are hundreds (thousands?) of people who are reading your words and criticizing you (good or bad).

If you can just turn on the video or audio and listen to Beth Moore’s teaching, that’s the most important thing in this study, I feel. Because she’s in the Word so much while she’s teaching, and she’s digging deeper than many of us have been in a while. Even if you can only listen to one segment, it’s still better than nothing.

We’ve got nine more weeks — we can do it! This group will go until June 2. Now what would be more fun than getting dressed up in a cute new outfit and going out with your friends to hear a speaker like Beth Moore? We’d of course go out for dessert afterward and laugh a lot, right? So that’s what we’re doing here, when we download the video onto our computers — in our own time, when the kids are napping or asleep (or crawling all over us…)

Here’s a verse for you [with my interruptions]:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses [the other members of this LBY group!], let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles [worrying that we’re behind], and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us [the next nine weeks, until June 2].

Hebrews 12:1-3

It’s all about JOY!

I needed to read this verse today — because I’m weary. There’s something funky going on in the April atmosphere around here, and I’ve lost my voice (it sounds all scratchy), and I’m behind on all the yukky, boring things I need to spend my time doing. So, I’m going to write out this verse and hang it up on the wall in three places in my house: over my kitchen sink (where I’ve got to spend a lot of time today), in my laundry room (which is not really a room, only a closet; I’ve got to spend a lot of time there too), and over my bathroom sink (because I’m feeling really, really discouraged about my weight that is never going to come off. Now that my baby is turning one, can it still be called postpartum?)

I’m looking forward to what Beth has to teach me this week — and although I may not come up with anything profound to write, I know I’ll be blessed for at least digging into the Word.