Extraordinary-ness of Sept 14

My goal was to post every day about the extraordinary-ness of September, and even though I’ve missed a few days of posting, there has not been a day that has failed to present me with at least one glimpse of extraordinary, mixed up in my extra-ordinary life.

But I have to tell you about last night. Because it was extraordinary. I would even have to say, super-extraordinary.

Our general membership meeting for the Junior League was scheduled for last night, and even with the rain, there were over 500 women in attendance. We were honored to have Liz Murray come speak to us about her story of perseverance and determination.

Liz grew up in the Bronx, where her parents were unemployed drug addicts, using their welfare check more to support their habit than to make sure their girls had food to eat. She ended up in a group home at 13 and then was homeless 2 years later. After her Mother died of AIDS, Liz was faced with the decision to either continue living life with no purpose, destined to repeat the cycle her parents had introduced to her, or to make a change and transform her life. She chose change.

She started by taking inventory of what she had, and this is what she came up with: she had two feet, two hands, a brain in her head, bus transportation, and free education. That’s it. No money, no home, no food, no place to shower. But she realized that she had enough to make something of herself, and at 17, she started high school. She crammed 4 years of high school into 2 years, graduated top in her class (while sleeping on park benches and on friends' floors), and landed a full scholarship to Harvard.

Last night, amidst a sea of Junior League highlights and Prada bags, Liz Murray challenged us to stop looking at what we don’t have and focus on what we do have. She challenged us to realize our potential – to wake up every morning and ask ourselves, “What if…?” She challenged us to take accountability for what we are doing with our lives. She challenged us to shed our pride and judgment and to just love other people. And she challenged us to make a difference in someone else's life.

An extraordinary woman. An extraordinary story. Extraordinary inspiration.

You can find information about Liz, the Lifetime movie about her life, and what she's doing now on her website.

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 9

Sometimes the small things in life make for the extraordinary. Tonight, it was belly-laughing with Chris and ChellBell. Being silly and crazy at bedtime, laughing so hard that we had to hold our stomachs from the pain, no sound coming out, just tears pouring down.

Moments like that are too few and far between, but worth the wait.

And ChellBell will sleep well tonight.

What was extraordinary in your world today?

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 8

What is extraordinary about today?

For the 66th time, my Dad will celebrate another year of life today. And those of us who are lucky enough to know him, celebrate alongside of him. Let me tell you about him…

My Dad always has a good joke to tell.
He sets his DVR to record shows that he thinks I will like.
He is a gifted writer.
He has beautiful handwriting.
He taught me to dream big.
If he can see it in his head, he can build it, sculpt it, draw it, paint it.
He is the fix-it guy with cars and leaky pipes and gadgets.
He retired as the Director of Advertising for the Air Force.
He grew up in a family that mocked education, but he worked his way through college and then completed a Masters degree.
He has been married and faithful to my mother for 42 years.
He still gets emotional when he talks about how much he loves “his girls” – my Mom, my sister, and me.
He has a keen sense of right and wrong, and he chooses to do what is right.
He tells my husband that he loves him and is proud to call him “son”.
The only thing more important to my Dad than his family is his faith in Christ.
Daddy sees things in analogies. He looks around and sees how daily, routine things can help us understand bigger truths.
He is humble.
He is an engaging speaker.
People like to follow him.
He has a passion for showing people who God is.

I respect him as a man, not just as my Dad. To me, he is a drum in the band, keeping time, keeping everyone on course. If he were to stop or get off-beat, we would all be lost. He is one of the rare people who can look back on life and know that he made a difference. Not just to one person, but to hundreds. I doubt he’d ever do that, because he keeps looking ahead, looking to see what comes next. And if anyone is grateful for the impact he’s had, he would attribute it all to God.

Extraordinary, indeed.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 7

I am a self-admitted Late Bloomer. Coming into the home-stretch just a little bit later than most people I know, but getting there nonetheless.

My late-bloomer-ness is in the area of reading. Shamefully, I have never been a reader. I mean, of actual grown-up books. Bedtime stories, no problem. Blogs and magazines, no problem. Articles where I can read start to finish and get closure in one sitting, no problem. But a real book. Yeah, um, that's been a problem. I have tried. Seriously I've tried really hard. I have stacks of books with dog-eared pages about 3 chapters in. But that's where it has stopped.

Until recently. Okay, don't laugh -- it started with Twilight. I picked up the first book at Becca's house about a month ago and read it between Austin and Dallas on our way home from a visit. And instead of going home, I made Chris drive straight to Borders to get the rest of the series, which, like most of you, I finished in a week.

Then, keeping with Stephanie Meyer, I read The Host. And then Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. And then The Help by Kathryn Stockett. And tonight I just finished The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I have Shelter Me, Pillars of the Earth and The Time Traveler's Wife sitting by my bed, ready to start.

I love this new world I've found -- it has been extraordinary to soak in these amazing stories. What book have you read recently that you would recommend?

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 6

I was thinking about my monthly notes to ChellBell this morning and was reminded that God, the One who breathed the universe into existence, the One to whom the earth is a grain of sand, even as big and holy as He is, that same God gets all tickled about me, the same way I feel about ChellBell. He gets overwhelmed with his love for his children. He's crazy about us! The way I feel about ChellBell is just a fraction of what God feels for me -- what God feels for us.

And that, to me, is extraordinary.

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 5

There has probably been a time or two when someone has called me Spoiled.

(I'm sure it's only been a time or two.)

But after today, it is confirmed. I AM spoiled. (But it's YOUR fault.)

See, it all started with Shawn, and her ultra-fantastic birthday swap, where we got to send a box of goodies to a fellow blogger as well as receive a box from one of the participants.

My box came from Sara over at A View To My Life. Spoiled, I tell you! Look at all these great things:

See what I mean? Votive holders, a candle, coasters, books, a magnet notepad, flip calendar, lotion, stamps, and photo edges. One thing you can't see are all these hand-made cards that Sara, no doubt, spent a ton of time on. Thanks so much, Sara, for a great swap box. And thanks, Shawn, for letting us celebrate your birthday with you!

If that isn't spoiled enough, I've gotten a couple of awards from really neat bloggy-friends:

This neat "friends" award came from Heather at Visions of Sugarplums, Kelli at Outside My Kitchen Window, and Mandy at Mandy's Life After 30. I'm so appreciate of good friends in blog-land and glad that I have gotten to know these neat women!

Can you believe that Mandy spoiled me with three (yes, I said THREE) more awards?!

You MUST go visit Mandy's blog -- she's such a great, candid writer! She says what's on her mind and "keeps it real"!

It is extraordinary to be spoiled! What extraordinary thing did YOU uncover today?

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 4

Dear ChellBell,

I decided to blog every day this month about the extraordinary things in my life. Sometimes as we get older, everything becomes, well, a little routine. There are amazing things that get lost in all the normal day-to-day things, like working and making dinner and brushing teeth.

Today you turn 97 months old. One of my absolute favorite things to do is to write every month about how you're growing up, how much joy you've brought to my life, and all the things we've done in the past month. The only thing that tops writing about you each month is just watching you each month and living life day-in and day-out with you. You, my friend, are extraordinary. Seriously, you top my list of extraoridnary-ness.

Not to say that we don't have our moments (mornings are still pretty hard for us, aren't they?), but it's nothing that a little talk or a small package of Pop Rocks can't fix.

We have packed a lot into this 97th month, haven't we? Wrapping up the summer, spending a week in Sanibel, and you starting the 3rd grade! Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it all!

Third grade is tough, ChellBell. It's the year where the teachers start treating you like a big-kid (almost a grown-up) and teach you about being responsible. There will be times when you will just want to throw your pencil down or not read a chapter or not study for a test. But taking responsibility is one of the things you need to do to grow up.

Just remember that when you get frustrated, or when you make a mistake, or when you want to give up, remember that I've been there. I was a third grader once. I once was 97 months old. And I know what it's like. And I will help you through. Because that's what Moms are for. And that's what friends do for each other.

I love you, my ChellBell. You are as extraordinary as extraordinary can be.

Love,
Mama

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 3

Thursday. Ahhh... Thankfully Friday is right around the corner, and a long weekend is on it's way.

The great thing about committing to blogging about the extraordinary-ness of each day in September, is that I'm constantly on the look-out for something fantastic to happen.

Today, the extraordinary came in the form of a zucchini. (Yes, a zucchini. Stop laughing!) This zucchini was given to me by a co-worker who hit the jackpot at her Uncle's garden last weekend. Seriously, this extraordinary zucchini was longer than ChellBell was at birth and weighed about 4 pounds.

I stuffed it with ground buffalo (our new replacement for beef), tomatoes, corn, and Italian seasonings, and topped it with cheese. And it was GOOD! My anti-zucchini family ate seconds! Even better, we took the seeds out of the middle stringy part and roasted them just like pumpkin seeds.

Take a look:

Rivaling the zucchini for extraordinary today was the scoop of chocolate-jalapeno gelato I ate at Paciugo. Seriously, have you ever heard of such a thing? Spicy, rich chocolate gelato -- yumola!

Not a bad day! What was extraordinary in your life today?

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 2

You may have read that I am challenging myself to find the Extraordinary Moments in my Extra-Ordinary Life, and to blog about it each day during the month of September.

Today ended on a pretty extraordinary note. My friend Gretchen called from Chicago to tell me that her baby girl was born this evening, a full week before she was scheduled to have a c-section.

New babies are definitely something to celebrate. But THIS baby... well, there's a story to tell.

Gretch had a really hard time getting pregnant with her first baby -- lots of attempts at IUI and many heart-breaking rounds of IVF. Gretch moved to Dallas during the whole ordeal, and we met in a shoe store. She let me walk through her journey with her, and we both learned a lot about each other and ourselves. And just when it looked like it wasn't her lot in life to have a baby, she tried invitro one more time, and baby Hadley was born.

And then one day Gretchen ended up pregnant again. With no invitro. No help. The old fashioned way. And little Lottie -- we called her "the miracle baby" -- was born.

Then life got a little complicated, and their family moved back north for a new job, which didn't go as planned, and they ended up in the thick of the 2009 downturn with a couple homes to sell. And in the midst of all of that... you guessed it -- she got pregnant.

And today, just weeks after their homes were sold and her husband started a new job, Gretchen's third baby girl was born. She was a week early -- no overnight bag had been packed, the camera wasn't ready, and the phone wasn't charged. But Margot came anyway.

Gretch just keeps moving forward. Never giving up, just rolling with the punches that life throws her way. Maybe with a temper-tantrum here and there, but she always gets up and moves forward. And she loves life. She loves it in the good moments, and even in the moments where it feels like the last thread has unravelled.

Congratulations, my friend. YOU are extraordinary!

xoxox