Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

Okay, here it goes again.  I got more tickets for another concert.  This time…

William Joseph!!

Remember, I went to see Il Divo in April with Elin and William opened for them and I loved him even more than Il Divo (sh, don’t tell anyone) and I told Elin “If he EVER comes here, I’m going!!!”  And he is.  So I am.

I was checking my email this evening, like any other evening of the week.  There in my inbox ‘Live nation presents William Joseph in concert.’  I freak out momentarily, contemplate going to ask Jer what I should do, override THAT thought and check to see what kind of tickets are available.  Well my first try I get front row tickets and only 2 minutes to make a decision…dial up internet…no time to think.  So all sense flies out of my head as I press “purchase” and the next thing I know I’m going to see William Joseph.  Now to figure out a way to tell Jer…hmmm…

Me kneeling in front of the bed wringing my hands searching for the right words to explain my impulsiveness…”Honey, I’ve done something and please don’t be mad.  Remember how much you love me, repeat after me “I love my wife, I love my wife…” deep breath.  Okay, now think of the worst thing I could possibly do…got it?  It’s not THAT bad.  Remember when I went to see Il Divo with Elin and William Joseph opened and I said I really, really loved him and that one day I want to see him in concert and you’d love him too ’cause he’s so awesome (deep gulp of air) so I bought the cd and you DID love him and I hope you really love him because we’re sitting in the front row to go see him…in January…”

Jer looks at me with a shell shocked look of astonishment.  “When, where, when…”

“Just now.  About 2 minutes ago.  And it’s in January about 11 days after Michael Buble.”  (That’s going to be a freakin’ amazing week!  Month!!!)  Luckily for me, Jer’s very ecstatic.  He’s listening to the cd as we speak.  Woohoo!!!

My weekend started out on a nice note when my dh was so sweet and brought me these lovely roses out of the blue when he got home from work…

Then off we went for dinner and a movie while my parents (live-in babysitters) watched the kids. We went to a restaurant we’d never been to and it was AMAZING!! It was this little, nondescript Italian restaurant that Jer had read great reviews about online. Once we got past the entrance we were in this cozy little place (12-14 tables). The service was impeccable. the food was great, the presentation was beautiful and I have absolutely no complaints. We had such great personal service from our waiter (he even brought us little mugs of steaming hot water to warm our hands on when we first arrived because we had to walk a short distance in the cold wind from our car). It was all very professional and wonderful. After dinner we went to see a movie which I wasn’t too sure of at the beginning, but good won out over evil, love conquered all and I was able to let out a happy sigh at the end. So I guess it was alright.

Saturday dawned a beautiful day and after taking Ella to dance class we stopped by our house to see how it had progressed in the latter part of the week.

Since I last posted a picture (Wednesday) the roof was sheeted and the windows and doors were installed. Here’s the front view…

…and the back. Now don’t get all excited, it looks bigger than it really is. The lower level is the walk-out basement which we are probably not finishing out so it just looks huge from the back.

On Saturday evening Jer convinced me that I wanted to go for a walk/jog after the kids were in bed. I’m so glad I did (even though I didn’t want to go out) because it was an absolutely beautiful night. The air was warm, no wind and there was a light snow falling which made it so pretty in the hazy moonlight. My parents live in the country so we jogged down a gravel road and it was so peaceful. I was wishing there was a way to capture the way it felt and share it with all of you since it was too dark to take a picture.

This morning when I woke up I felt like a train had hit me, backed up and run over me again for good measure. That’s how sore I was. It took me a long time to get going. After church I baked cookies and then we were off to Chris and Tara’s for the Grey Cup (CFL football version of the Superbowl, for those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about) where we ate way more food than was necessary and unfortunately cheered for the losing team. I hate football, so this was more of a way to kill time than anything. And looking at Winnipeg’s quarterback and his blue eyes (sigh) all evening was no hardship, right Tara? The eyes looked much more startling with a helmet on making the eyebrows less of a focal point…

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend : )

Okay, sorry I’ve been posting like nuts in the last few days (keeping my sanity while living at m&d’s). You can find this weeks Blogging Beauty edition and my Wordless Wednesday below this.

Since last Wednesday we have acquired what looks very much like a house : ) Last week, this…

And this week…

They are hopefully going to finish sheeting the roof in the next 2 days and then I’ll be in need of some roofers! Anyone know any? Anyone? Ha, ha, that’s a joke because all three of the men in my family (dad, 2 brothers) are roofers. The last time we needed a roof done (on our garage) it took 6 months to get it…not even joking…built it in October, roofed in April). I’m hoping this time they are a little quicker about it, especially since it’s a house, not a garage. My dad had left our garage to my brothers to take care of it and I think they thought we were expecting it as a freebie because we’re family and they decided it wasn’t priority (wouldn’t you think family would be priority?). When they found out we were going to pay them to do it, it got done in a week…money’s thicker than blood, I suppose.

Anyway, I digress. That front left window is Ella’s bedroom and the one beside it is Aidan’s. Then is the front door set back and the garage. Our bedroom is directly behind Ella’s (across a hall). Then is the living room in the middle and to the right is the dining and kitchen with the laundry room and garage entry directly behind the garage. It’s going to be a cute house. I keep wanting to call it little because of some of the large-ish houses in the development, but it is 1500 sq ft. The house we just moved out of was 1250. Ten years ago, 1500 sq ft was HUGE. I always hoped one day I could live in a house that was that big. Now it’s just a “nice little house” to me. My goodness, my perceptions have changed. Must keep myself grounded and remembering where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. This house is such a blessing and we are very excited to be building it. I’m having tons of fun getting all my ideas in order and planning and designing…YIPEE!!! Hopefully more pictures of progress every week.

And I guess you can all tell now that I’m a Canadian since I haven’t said anything about Thanksgiving : )  But I want to wish all my American buddies a very, very happy Thanksgiving.  Eat lots of turkey for me, okay?  And maybe just one slice of pumpkin pie…but it has to have LOTS of whipping cream on it…mmm…whipping cream…

Our third segment on the tour of my blogroll takes us to a place of inspiration. Sandy at 4 Reluctant Entertainers is one of my new heroes. Why? Because hospitality and entertaining are one of my passions and she has so much good advice on how to put that passion into practical use. She has spoken to my heart on these issues time and time again. She has inspired me and made me want to do more. Sandy has way of reaching out and touching others lives through her gifting of hospitality. Her writing goes a long way to removing the fear from bringing people into your home, cooking for others, ministering to others by giving of yourself, teaching these values to the next generation of young girls (she has a group of young girls called the Balcony Girls…here’s a taste of what she’s teaching these lovelies!) and she has heaps of good advice! She has a lot of insightful things to say about relationships, raising kids and marriage…after all, her and her husband Paul have written a couple of books that sound amazing (on my list of books to buy).

What’s not to love about her? Her blog is another one of those that I don’t remember how I happened upon it, but I’m so blessed that I have. If you’re intimidated by entertaining and want to make it less complicated or desire to find simple ways to bless others, she’s a good stop to visit. Highly recommended by moi : )

For more “Wordless Wednesday” fun go here

…and I’m bringin’ sexy back! Yeah. Well at least I’ve arrived in the 21st century and my phone’s ringtone says I’m bringin’ sexy back : ) I made the giant leap and purchased…

a cell phone. The LG Fusic.

It ALL started a week ago when Jer got a new cell courtesy of work. I have to admit feeling a tad bit of jealousy. Especially when I saw him texting. I haven’t had a cell phone for 5 years (and Jer’s never had one). The one I did have way back made me mad because my so-called $25 phone was costing me $50-60 because of the stupid plan I was on. So I cancelled that and swore off cell phones. FOREVER! Until today. When I decided to get one. And I’m addicted. I LOVE texting. I mean why wouldn’t I?! I love email…I love blogging…so texting for me, the person who hates talking on a phone, is perfect! Now I can annoy people without ever having to call them. It’s lovely.

And it’s kind of a cute phone, too. Which is always a plus. Yes, it was SUPPOSED to cost $9.99/month, but we all know what a farce that is with cell phone companies…plus $8.95 for their monthly fee, plus I wanted voicemail, call display and texting, so that’s another $12, plus taxes…= $34/month. Still better than my last phone. So I think it’s okay. I think I can handle it.

Goes a little something like this…

Up the stairs, found my mp3 player, found the key for treadmill, got my exercise clothes on without pulling anything, back down the stairs, down another flight of stairs, huffed and puffed and got the treadmill at just the right angle to get it plugged in with it’s stupidly short cord, found a book and a stepping stone in our boxes of stuff surrounding the treadmill to prop up the feet so it wouldn’t wobble while I’m bustin’ my arse on it, back upstairs for the forgotten glass of water needed to keep myself hydrated, swept up the mess my walking shoes made on my mom’s clean floors (evidently I forgot to clean them after my last outdoor excursion), back downstairs, fired up the mp3 player and the treadmill and hopped on for a nice workout. Can you imagine my dismay when the dang thing died as I took my third step? Now I’m out of breath from getting ready to exercise! At least it wasn’t completely for nothing : ) That whole escapade took almost 10 minutes. If I repeat it, I’ve got my 20 minutes for the day.

No, this time it’s not about YOU (or you who don’t comment) it’s about me. You see, I’m forced to endure the hardships of dial-up internet whilst living at my parental units : ( It sucks beyond all suckiness. I just have to apologize to like half my blogroll even if you don’t care that I’m there or not. I’m there. I’ve been on your blogs this week. I’ve laughed with you. I’ve cried (okay, maybe not really cried), I’ve read EVERY.SINGLE.WORD! But for some odd reason I can’t comment on some of your blogs. Only some. Believe me, I try on all of them. It’s hit and miss really. I just wouldn’t want you to think I’m ignoring you. Or that I’ve forgotten about you. I can’t use the excuse that I haven’t been around because you can all see I’ve been posting on my blog like some freak who has nothing better to do than sit in her parents office and write meaningless fluff because she thinks someone out there cares to read it. So if you don’t hear from me and it seems I’ve just disappeared off the face of your blog…that’s my excuse. It’s not my fault. It’s the dial-up connections fault. And believe me, if I could find some form of retribution I would…you better hide, sucky dial-up, cause I’m coming to give you the beats.

Yesterday I was over at Michelle’s blog and she was having a slightly…shall we say, crazy morning and ended up with a bowl full of fun fruit.  I was laughing and then I remembered I had one of those days this past summer…

My mom was baking buns one day and I went out to pick some tomatoes for lunch and low and behold we found a cute little couple. They hit it off real nice.  Kind of fun.

Here’s proof (she asked very nicely to see the picture).

Ask if it’s okay if you don’t buy me any gifts this year, just gift certificates! My love language is gifts, not “gift-certificates!” (as per conversations with my mom this morning) Grrr…

_{***I KNOW Christmas is not about gifts and it doesn’t take ALL the fun out, it just really annoys me.  Just to clarify***}   

My father hath returned to our humble abode! Yay!!! He was released today after 18 days in the hospital. They took out all his tubes yesterday and he’s been able to have a liquid diet. His tongue is still quite swollen, but he’s able to breathe and swallow on his own now, as well as talk (somewhat muffled). My girls are SOOO excited that he’s home. Every day Aidan asks where Papa is. She’ll be happy to wake up from her nap this afternoon to find him here.

In other news our new house is well on it’s way. They framed in the basement walk-out wall on Wednesday. Yesterday the floor joists went on and today all the exterior walls are up. They want to lift the roof trusses up by Tuesday next week. Then I’ll take a picture so you can all see what it looks like…kind of.

So for the second installment of out of the book Lists to “Live by for Every Caring Family” we are touching on what our children see in us and what they learn from us.  These foundational qualities that we desire our kids to possess must first come from us.  Makes you think a little about your reaction to situations knowing that their are little eyes on us at all times…especially in our weakest of moments.

Qualities to Pass on to Your Children

• Honesty - Speak and live the truth…always!
• Responsibility - Be dependable, be trustworthy.
• Thoughtfulness - Think of others before yourself.
• Confidentiality - Don’t tell secrets, seal your lips.
• Punctuality - Be on time.
• Self-control - When under stress, stay calm.
• Patience - Fight irritability.  Be willing to wait.
• Purity - Reject anything that lowers your standards.
• Compassion - When another hurts, feel it with him.
• Diligence - Work hard.  Tough it out.

Charles R. Swindoll from Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life

…you hear your two year old in the other room talking with her sister and it sounds something like this…

“What are you doing Aidan?”

“I’m just pooping.  Just be quiet and wash tv!” (translation: mind your own business and give me some privacy!)

How about telling mommy you have to go and then use the toilet?!  Just a thought.

Next stop on our Blogroll tour is an enchanting place…‘Twas Brillig. I don’t even remember how I came to find her…perhaps through Dedee. Whatever the case, I fell in love with her blog. She’s got such a knack for writing and before I knew it, on that first visit to her place I was in her archives and hanging onto every word. I was laughing out loud. My husband was giving me weird looks and kept asking what I was reading that I found so amusing and I responded the same way, time after time “oh, just a great blog I found.” I think I actually made it through her entire archives in one sitting…my bottom was slightly numb.

I feel slightly intimidated by this woman. She has quite a following, she has a serious way with words and she is very intelligent. Some of my favorite things about her blog are her Soap Opera Sundays and her Flashback Fridays. They are humorous and witty. They apparently all actually happened to her. Maybe it’s the fact that she has had quite the interesting existence that intimidates me. My life experience seems to pale in comparison. Brillig has no lack of blog fodder and it’s truly interesting. She leaves you hanging at the end of each post banging on her door asking for more. But alas, you must wait until next week.

She’s very interactive with her blog readers and I love that she manages to evoke such a sense of community. She’s decidedly straightforward and says things the way they are, yet she’s tactful at the same time. I admire that trait. So there you have it. Go over and find out for yourself. You probably won’t be sorry…or maybe you will because you’ll have to go back all the time : )

Do you think it would work to duct tape my laptop to the treadmill so that I will get off my large-ish buttox and use it?  Just wondering.

The Plan…

Tara and I were having one of our lovely neighborly chats the other day and she mentioned that she had done the Special K Challenge and it had worked well for her. I decided I had nothing to lose…except maybe a few pounds : ) I asked her to join me on the challenge and I think she will be…right, Tara? So today is day one of my challenge which involves eating Special K cereal (and fruit if I want) for breakfast and lunch. For snacks I can have Special K snack bars and/or fruit and veggies and then for supper I can eat whatever. I’m doing it for 2 weeks and I’m hoping to use my treadmill as much as I can this winter. I want to battle the “sit-at-home-and-stuff-my-face-and-gain-all-kinds-of-winter-weight” syndrome. It usually hits around the end of September (suspiciously around the same time as all the season premiers on tv…hmmm). This year I’ve managed to hold off until now. So I’m getting better. This is actually a great eating plan for me right now because I’ve been skipping breakfasts, which I usually don’t do, but for some reason I just haven’t been getting around to eating in the morning. And lunch has been a terrible failure for me the last couple of weeks. I think in the busyness I’ve been forgoing healthy options for quick options and that is NOT helping. Not to mention all the Halloween candy. Ick. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The Update…

Yesterday my mom and Ella and I went to visit my dad. He’s now been in the hospital for 2 weeks. He’s feeling really good, the swelling on his face is almost gone and now they are waiting for the swelling on his tongue to diminish so that he can swallow and breathe on his own without the help of the tracheotomy and then he can come home. Possibly another week or so. He’s getting really bored and restless. Thank you again to everyone who has prayed for him and my family and left me encouraging comments and emails. Very much appreciated!

And now for another meme. Avery tagged me days and days ago with this one, but I’ve been so busy that I hadn’t done it until now. So here’s another 8 things, which is actually more like 56 things divided into 7 categories and then 8 more people I have to tag. Whew…

8 Things

8 things I’m passionate about:

1. God
2. my family
3. my friends
4. design
5. reading
6. blogging
7. ketchup chips
8. blogging…did I say that already?

8 things I want to do before I die:

1. see my girls grow into women who are passionate, caring, and love God with everything in them
2. travel the world
3. build my dream house
4. figure out what my dream house is : )
5. live to see my great-grandchildren
6. have a vacation home in some foreign country, preferably Italy
7. meet more blogging friends
8. wear a fabulously, fancy gown somewhere (I’m a princess at heart)

8 things I say often:

1. frickin’ awesome
2. So… (I begin sentences with it A LOT)
3. I’m bringin’ sexy back
4. Dork!
5. Awww!
6. talk quieter, please!!!
7. seriously
8. stop it!

8 books I’ve read recently:

1. “The Assignment” by Mark Andrew Olsen
2. “Angels and Demons” by Dan Brown
3. “Home” by Kelly Hoppen
4. “Secrets” by Kristen Heitzman
5. “Forgotten” by Kristen Heitzman
6. “Relentless” by Robin Parrish
7. “A Garden in Paris” by Stephanie Grace Whitson
8. “The Hilltops of Tuscany” by Stephanie Grace Whitson

8 songs that I could listen to over and over:

1. “So She Dances” by Josh Groban
2. “Lost” by Michael Buble
3. “Comatose” by Skillet
4. “Memories” by Inhabited
5. “You Decide” by Fireflight
6. “All Around me” by Flyleaf
7. “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble
8. “Never Alone” by Barlow Girl

8 things that attract me to my best friend

1. He’s compassionate
2. He’s a good father
3. He’s a good listener
4. We share a lot of the same dreams
5. He thinks I’m funny : )
6. He’s very agreeable
7. His faith in God
8. He’s a man of integrity!

8 things I’ve learned this past year:

1. that my dad is an alcoholic
2. that I’m stronger than I thought
3. that I have friends far and wide and true friendship can be made online
4. that friendships seemingly dead can be rebirthed
5. that stepping out of my comfort zone can bring some of the best times and memories
6. that Val is real and Illinois is lovely : )
7. that selling a house doesn’t have to be painful
8. that I had the BEST neighbors in the whole wide world!!

8 people who should do this meme and not complain:

1. Ruth
2. Bonnie
3. Mel
4. Esther
5. Nicole
6. Randi
7. Dedee
8. Gloria

Michelle from My Semblance of Sanity, one of my cool new blogging buddies, (waving…Hi Michelle!) tagged me to do this meme. I think I am random all on my own without having to find 8 actual things that are random about me, but I’ll try. So here it goes…

Uno - I can only speak English. I understand some German, but only enough to know if someone’s talking about me and really that’s all that’s important.

Zwei (pronounced tsvy if you don’t know German, which I don’t really) - Contrary to popular belief, I’m not really vain at all, I just pretend to be to boost my self esteem and get a few laughs in the process. So don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, kay?

Troi - I’ve gained like 10 or 15 pounds in the last 3 weeks. Randomness…

Four - Sometimes I snort when I laugh…especially if it’s really funny. And then I laugh harder. So making me laugh when I’m drinking anything, especially fizzy stuff is not a good idea. Erin spewing Pepsi from her nose…not pretty.

Foyve (that’s Australian, seriously or maybe British) - I used to spend countless hours in high school (okay, junior high before I became too cool to do this kind of retarded stuff) pretending I was Australian or British and talking with an accent. How annoying.

Sechs (I know I already did German, but I wanted to write it because it sounds like…use your imaginations, and it was funny at midnight. SO grade 3, I know) - My feet are asleep right now from sitting in the same position for so long because DIAL-UP INTERNET SUCKS. I feel better now. Sorry, I wasn’t yelling at you…

Sette (yay, Italian!) - I’ve been to Italy. I LOVE Italy. I HEART Italy! I wish sometimes that I was the product of a mad love affair my mom had with some amazing Italian dude and I could get an Italian citizenship so that I could say say I was something other than mennonite and I could travel to the “homeland of my heart” more often…not that I don’t love my dad, he’s just not useful in the “I was born or begotten in a really cool country” scenario. And yeah, I’m a mennonite. But I only eat perogies. That’s the only thing that makes me mennonite. That and maybe my awesome last name. And the fact that my mom did NOT have a sordid love affair with any Italian guy and has been married to my dad for 31 years.

OCHO (it had to be done in Spanish because for some reason when we were on our Mexico mission trip 11 years ago, every time someone heard the word “eight” everyone yelled “OCHO” at the top of their lungs…it was funny) - I LUV french fries. I craved french fries when I was pregnant (both times). I make Jer order things with french fries if my meal doesn’t come with any so that I can mooch off of him. I HAVE to eat 2 french fries at a time.  Not one…TWO.  Always.  So I eat twice as many.  Probably explains the extra 10 pounds…

And now I will tag 8 lovlies:

1. Louise
2. Michelle
3. Jenene
4. Heather
5. Becky
6. Robin
7. Tara
8. Cheeky

Well, we’re here, spending our first night back at my parents. I say BACK because exactly 2 years ago we moved in here the first time while our house was being built. Crazy how it’s exactly the same day, November 10, 2 years later and we’re doing it again whilst our next house is being built. Hear me now…THIS IS THE LAST TIME!!!!! Not the last time we build, the last time we live with my parents…or any parents…

I am very thankful that they’ve opened up their home for me and my crazy brood…okay, who are we kidding, I AM the crazy one (it was proven to me once again tonight as Jer’s eyes started to glaze over during one of my bright shiny moments).

A big bonus this time around is that we actually have a house started prior to moving into mom and dad’s.

See…

Last time we had to live at mom and dad’s for FIVE MONTHS and they only started building our house in late January sometime (remember, we moved in same date). This time we’ve actually started building before we moved. That makes me happy. The framing is to begin on Monday, YAY! And we want to have more hands on participation in this house, so we’ll be spending some quality time at the house insulating, painting, installing hardwoods and tile, prepping basement and garage floors…which means we won’t be here. This is a good thing…absence maketh the heart grow fonderish (that’s a good word…fonderish…fonderish…yup, I like it).

Anyway, we started at 9:00 this morning with moving out the appliances and big stuff with the help of some friends (thanks Jay and Dan!). Then after lunch the second wave of help arrived and they moved a lot of boxes and other larger items (thanks Dave and James!). By the time we arrived here at 7:00 p.m. Our house was almost empty. I just wanted to get a good start today and instead we got almost everything moved (and packed). I must be getting really good at this or I’m throwing out way too much stuff : ) So now we have a few more cupboards to empty out, toys to sort through and pack and then the cleaning must commence.

I was really emotional all day. I felt really, really sad. It was hard to take everything out of it’s place and pack it away. It was hard to move the girls’ stuff out of their rooms. It was hard to remove ourselves from the house. I’ve been finding that this week with all the emotions of moving, of my dad’s situation, time of the month, other stuff I’m working through, I’m a little bit of a bear. And not the warm, fuzzy kind, either. The angry, grizzly kind. I’m kind of snappy and agitated. I feel a little out of sorts with myself and I feel really bad for Jer having to put up with me. He’s doing a stellar job, though. High five!

On a bright note, I finally became inspired with a design for our new house and now I have a plan. And Erin with a plan is somethin’ else. I have paint colors picked and I know where they are going (could change at a moment’s notice, but as an interior decorator that’s my prerogative , wouldn’t you say?), I finalized my lighting (it’s going to be frickin’ awesome!!), and now I just need a house to put the plan into action. I found that when I formulated the idea in my head, I was better able to detach myself from the house we’re moving out of and focus instead on the journey ahead. In fact, I got really excited. I can’t wait to put all my ideas together. To see how it all turns out. I can’t wait for Boxing Day sales so I can shop for fabric and make curtains and buy pictures : ) I can’t wait for UPS to drop off the box at Jer’s office with our first light fixture that I ordered yesterday from Home Depot so I can hold it and look at it and dream about how it’s going to look frickin’ awesome over our dining room table.

And even though it’s only a flip house, I will still turn it into our home, get attached just like I said I would try not to and then it will be the same cycle a year from now. Kind of like how we have babies and watch them grow up and then we have to let them go into the world and be all they can be…or something…or maybe it’s not quite like that. Sounded good in my head. But I AM really tired, so that explains all the rambling junk that I just made you read, pretending to myself that you all really care and have actually made it to the bottom of the tediously, long post.

I’m going to go to bed…in my old room…at my parents…with my husband…kind of weird and gross…oh, stop, nothing’s going to happen. I’ve decided living at ma and pa’s is GREAT birth control : ) Too much information, I know. Nighty night.

While I was packing today I found a little book that I got a couple years ago and it really impacted me then.  Maybe you’ve heard of the “Lists to Live by” series.  This one was for “every caring family.”  So I’m going to post one of these lists every week in an attempt to remind myself of some of these wise words and share them with all of you out there with families.  Can’t hurt, right?

Children Learn What They Live

• If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn
• If children live with hostility, they learn to fight
• If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy (aha)
• If children live with shame, they learn to be guilty
• If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence
• If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient
• If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate
• If children live with acceptance, they learn to love
• If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves
• If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness
• If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and others
• If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live

By Dorothy Law Nolte (Author of Children Learn What They Live)