by Roseanna White | Dec 15, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’ll just come out and admit it–I like getting presents. I do. That surprise of ripping open the paper and finding something underneath that you didn’t choose for yourself. That feeling of appreciation that comes from knowing someone took the time to select something for you. And, well, just getting new things. 😉
I like giving presents. I like putting thought and care into what each person in my life wants and needs. I love finding those gems–like the year we gave my mother-in-law the leg lamp from her all-time favorite move, A Christmas Story. (Or as she calls it, Shoot Your Eye Out, LOL.) I love picking things that I know will make my kids squeal with delight.
But this year . . . I don’t know. We’re trying to clear some accumulated junk from our house, so I’m rather loath to bring in new junk. You know? In years past when buying for my kids, I would often just grab things to fill out the allotted funds from, say, my grandmother. To fill up the stocking.
After throwing out all the cheap toys that had broken and giving away many of the ones they just don’t play with, I’m not doing that this year. This year, my thought is, “I’m not spending the money unless I know they’ll love it.”
I think it’s a good philosophy–accept that it means I’m still not done shopping, and there are only ten days until Christmas. Aaaaggghhhh!
For someone who grew up in a family that celebrated Christmas with
Joy and generosity (even those lean years, my Mom managed to stretch each dollar so the under-the-tree looked bursting!), I feel downright guilty sometimes for choosing an approach that doesn’t result in such bulk. I’m afraid my kids will be disappointed–though we’ve never bought them a whole lot for Christmas, given how much they get everywhere else.
They never are–my kids don’t expect a gazillion gifts from us, and we try really hard to keep their focus on the giving, the giving in honor of Christ.
Still, this year . . . my daughter’s dresser is literally bursting with clothes. Literally. I cleaned out probably half their toys, and there are still so many . . . And the rest of my family?? What do they really want, really need?
Well, we solved the dilemma for the kids with these little bundles of
Joy. The two grays will be ours. =)
I was still stressing about some of the other members of our family, but last night my hubby and I went out on our annual Christmas Shopping Date, and we came up with good things for all, I think. Things that aren’t just going to clutter, but are rather going to add meaning.
See, shopping with my husband keeps me in that mindset. He’s from a family that gives only what, and when, they think will be special. I don’t always like this approach, but shopping with him keeps me from buying junk. It makes me think about how I’m spending each dollar. I needed that–that shift in focus. Our shopping date is in its third year now, and it’s a tradition I’m going to cling to just to keep myself in line. 😉
What are your shopping traditions for this often-hectic time of year?
by Roseanna White | Dec 8, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
We have two cars. The one my hubby was given when he was learning to drive–a ’95 Jeep Cherokee–and our Lincoln LS. (These aren’t actual pictures of our cars, just online images of the same models–approximately, LOL.)
Xander, the Lincoln, is ten years old but still blinged out for a car of that age. Heated seats. Rain-sensitive windshield wipers whose speed adjusts automatically depending on the rate of rain. Automatic headlights. Climate control. It’s a sweet car, and it still looks lean and mean driving around with the newer cars. 😉
Last night, in the pouring rain, I ended up driving Bartok the Jeep. (Yes, I name my cars, LOL.) Bartok was getting new tires in case we got the predicted snow last night, and I drove him home.
It was pretty funny. I got in and went, “Oh, the seat’s all wrong.” And I had to move it manually. No pushing of my pre-set button. Then–gasp–the steering wheel was all the way up! I really don’t know that I’ve ever had to move the steering wheel in the Jeep, but miraculously, my hand found that level on its first reach. (Go ahead and laugh at me. I deserve it.)
Positioning correct, I then had a new pause. It was raining, and my wipers weren’t just wiping it away. Oh, right–I have to tell them to do that. I flip them on, then realize that the world around me is dark. Headlights. Check. I pull that knob out and feel relatively set to get going.
The steering is different. The brake pedal is softer. And it takes me a good two minutes to realize I need to flip the heat on myself–which I only realize because the windows are fogging up. I’ve been known to go an entire trip without turning the heat on in the Jeep, LOL.
This always amuses me because, let’s face it, it’s basic stuff. Stuff I shouldn’t have to put so much thought into–but I’ve been spoiled by Xander. Still, we keep Bartok around. Why? Well, because nothing’s like a Jeep. It can go in the snow, it can go in the mud, it can go off road and on road and across road and do it all with cheerful gumption and enough squeaks and jingles and rattles to let you know it’s working hard. 😉
I love Bartok. I love the blingier Xander too, but driving around in the Jeep last night, it really got me thinking.
Is there a better when it comes to this sort of thing?
It all comes down to purpose. Do I drive Bartok every day? No, because it’s a two-door and hard for me to get the kids in and out of. But when the first flakes of snow start coming down, you can bet I give Xander a nice pat and say, “Take a break, buddy. Have a snow day. It’s your brother’s turn.” Same goes if we have to haul anything bigger than a paper box. And need I even say that the kids think riding in it is the most fun in the world, because it doesn’t happen often?
I think sometimes life, and those of us blundering through it, is the same way. Some of us are a little rough around the edges. Some of us hold up well against the blinged-out world, but are, in truth, pretty modest in comparison. And sometimes it’s hard to shift from one path to another, from one calling to another, from one situation to another.
Sometimes we get thrown by having to take care of things we’re not used to taking care of. On the other hand, it can be a real treat to reach for that task and see it’s already taken care of–that those headlights have already flicked on without any input from you.
But just like with my oh-so-different car-family, it’s about the particulars, the circumstances. Sometimes we need to be spoiled.
And sometimes we need to get back to the basics.
In this season of hustle and bustle, of rushing and spending, take some time out for the Bartok situations in your life. Let the bling rest. Let the polish fade. And just enjoy the simple, and all it can do for you that the complex never could.
by Roseanna White | Dec 1, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
It’s December 1. As in, December 1, 2011. As in, the official release day of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland. Give me a moment.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I’m back. 😉
So this is technically my third Release Day. But it’s the first one that was ushered in by a call from my mom that went like this:
Mom: “So do you want the news?”
Me: “What news?” as Rowyn is sitting on the counter with a giant spoonful of yogurt that’s threatening to glop its way all over everything.
Mom: “I was in WalMart today, and they had
Annapolis out!””
Me, totally ignoring pending yogurt catastrophe: “THEY DID????!!!!!!!!!! Did you take a picture?”
Mom: “Well, I did, yes. Problem is, I can’t get it off my phone. So I called your Aunt Pam and told her to go with her iPhone and take a picture and email it to me.”
LOL. So it’s been spotted. Woot!
Yep, that’s my thoughtfulness for the day. =) I’m going to be trying to set up signings here and there and everywhere, which will involve some phone calls today and tomorrow. Which I didn’t set up already because November was writing challenge month–not doing THAT in the month before a release again! LOL
Okay, happy day. I have big plans for organizing my basement today, folding laundry . . . all that fun stuff I neglected while trying to write and organize some media stuff. 😉
Happy Release Day, everyone! And remember to check out my Great
Annapolis Giveaway (linked above) and check out the ways you can rack up those entries! (Including sending me pictures of
Annapolis on a shelf in your local store. Yes, I just want to see it for the pure
Joy, LOL.)
by Roseanna White | Nov 24, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Thank you, Lord, for all You do for me. For sending Jesus to save me, for knowing me from eternity, for setting me on this path, surrounding me with friends and family, and holding my hand all through it.
Thank you, Lord, for placing me in a loving family, one that encourages and cheers me on, that holds me when I cry, that dusts off my knees when I fall. For amazing parents and a sister whose smile brightens my day. For nieces and in-laws and extended family that I love so very much.
Thank you, Lord, for my husband. Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing our lives together so early, for the ten wonderful years of marriage we’ve already had, and for the future still stretching before us.
Thank you, Lord, for these precious children with whom you’ve entrusted me. Sweet little Xoe with her generous spirit and creativity, energetic Rowyn with his whole-hearted approach to life. They are blessings beyond compare.
Thank you, Lord, for the friends to whom You’ve led me. Those from my childhood who helped me grow, those from college who will always be so dear, those I’ve met through my writing that have become close as family.
Thank you for the one I’ve lost this year, for the time you gave us together and all the lessons she taught me. Thank you for the ones still fighting, still holding on.
Thank you, Lord, for a year of blessing after journeying through the valley last year. Thank you for a year of five contracts, which just baffles and awes me after working so hard for so long. Thank you for this new book that is even now sitting beside me, and for the ever-increasing success of the ones that came before it.
Thank you, Lord, for all You do for me. For sending Jesus to save me. For knowing me from eternity. For setting me on this path. For surrounding me with friends and family. And for holding my hand all through it.
by Roseanna White | Nov 17, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’m sitting here with a little boy climbing all over me. Sitting on the arm of my chair. Hanging from my neck. Inching his finger closer and closer to my keyboard. When I send him one of those Mommy looks, he flashes those cute little dimples of his and giggles in that way only little kids can giggle–then lunges across my lap and proceeds to dangle off the chair while kicking me in the face.
Oh, yes. There’s nothing like a little kid, and especially a little boy. =)
Over the weekend my church had an open house Thanksgiving dinner and music service to celebrate our new building. After the meal, when we went up to the sanctuary for the music, my daughter and her cousins decided they wanted to sit in the pew in front of us, but Rowyn climbed into his spot on my lap and wouldn’t be budged.
As any mother can attest to, there are moments aplenty when you just want two minutes of peace. Two minutes of quiet. Two minutes without hearing, “I want Mommmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” echoing through your house.
But as any mother can attest to, when you have a sweet little one snuggled in your lap grinning up at you, frustration can’t long keep a hold on you. As I sat there in church enjoying the cuddles of my baby, I had one of those moments where I realized that this little boy would soon be a big boy, then a teenager. He will soon grow out of sitting on laps and being perfectly content in my arms. He’s my youngest, so it hit me a little harder than it did with his sister.
It’s as it should be, yes. Kids have to grow up. Parents’ roles shift and change. There are new expectations, new things to delight us. For instance, with my 6-year-old daughter, you can’t (or can, LOL) imagine the feeling it gives me when she helps someone younger or brings a smile to an elderly woman’s eyes. When she draws a truly impressive picture or astounds me with a bit of insight or logic.
As the kids grow up, they want me in different ways. And frankly, it gets frustrating when they regress and want me to do what they hadn’t for months. But thinking about it makes me ponder how the analogy works in faith.
God must really love a new Christian. Love the way they cling to Him with that innocence, with that fear that if they let go, the world may just come and get them. I bet He loves snuggling new believers in His arms and saying “Abba’s here. Shhhh. Abba’s here.”
And maybe there’s the heavenly equivalent of a bittersweet pang when He realizes that stage won’t last forever. But then, the whole point is to teach us to go out. To grow up. To learn and develop and step out–not on our own, never on our own, but with that degree of independence.
If I’m a good mama, I’m going to equip my kiddos with what they need to move beyond my lap. But it’s my prayer they never leave, not in a way that prohibits coming back, coming home, getting a hug.
It’s good to be wanted. Certainly in our walk of faith, it’s good to rely on God. But He wants us to grow from milk to meat, from uncertainty to trust in the way He’s equipped us. Just like I want the cuddles to be punctuated with them doing for themselves, He wants us to rely on Him but also rely on His teachings to go do–do what’s He’s commissioned us to do.
The adorable little monkey is hanging on my arm again, alternately making me laugh and plead, “Please, Rowyn, two minutes. Just give me two minutes to finish up.” Here’s praying that today as God looks down on me, He’s saying, “I love it when you work right there beside me, Daughter. Know I’m here, always right here . . . but don’t be afraid to go do what I’ve taught you to do.”
by Roseanna White | Nov 10, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
I’ve realized something over the last two weeks: I can’t do it all.
I know, right? SHOCKER. Call the local news! Roseanna White cannot do everything! 😉 But seriously, this was a big deal for me. This realization that I have finally reached my saturation point, that I have taken on all I can handle and maybe a little bit more.
That something’s got to give, and it’s going to have to be my stubborn determination to keep all those balls in the air.
I’ve had these days and weeks before, the ones where I feel totally overwhelmed and ready to snap. But usually, those have been from self-imposed deadlines (which I take just as seriously as outside-imposed ones, but still), from self-determined tasks.
Not so right now. Now I have obligations to others, people depending on me for things only I can do. I’d be happy to delegate–really, I would be. But can someone else write my books for me?
Um, no.
Can someone else do my editing?
Um, not really, no–not some parts of it.
Can someone else pack up all the books, manage all the lists? If we hire someone, but at the moment, I’m it.
Can someone else teach my kids?
Well, actually…
See, my husband and I decided back when we were in high school that we were going to homeschool. We knew that was what we were supposed to do to guarantee that our kids got the education we really want them to have. And I love knowing exactly what they’re taught, exactly how they’re doing. I love being able to answer their questions.
I love it–but I’m afraid that with all that’s on my plate right now, I’m not giving it the attention it needs. And I’ve had to entertain the notion this past week that at a certain point, what’s best for my kids’ education might not be me.
Ouch.
It’s hard for someone who has always been confident in her ability to do whatever she set her mind on to admit that maybe she’s let things slip too far. Maybe she’s hurting more than she’s helping. Maybe the messy house has degraded into a certifiable disaster zone, maybe the good intentions aren’t enough, maybe some things would be better off if she got her hand out of them.
But that’s where I am. And you know, realizing that is . . . freeing. All of a sudden I know that some things are going to change. And I know that it’s going to take time and work to change them. But I can hear the Lord whispering in my ear, “I ask you to do your tasks, daughter–not everyone else’s. Do them, do them well. And then let go.”
Sometimes trying to keep up is just a matter of pride, not a matter of doing what you actually should. I think that’s where I’ve been lately. But it’s finally to the point where I want to let some things go. Where the blessings in one realm are going to help me balance out the need in another. Thank you, Lord, for letting it work that way!
I don’t think change is ever easy, but you know–sometimes staying the same is even harder. There comes a time when we can’t keep up with the race we’ve entered. It doesn’t mean we should give up . . . just that we should take a different course.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.