I Hope You Dance: A Mother's Letter to her Kindergartner

I recently penned this little letter to my new kindergarten girl.  She started school late last week, but this will be her first full week as a kindergartner.  It has been such a fun and exciting time in our family- buying school supplies for the first time, talking about how "big girl" elementary school would work, adjusting bed times and our daily routines, and on and on and on.  In any case, I thought I would share this milestone with you all.   

But honestly, I think you can substitute "Kindergarten" with any grade, or any big "first" for that matter, as you read on through these thoughts below.   It is so important to encourage our little ones, even when they aren't so little anymore.  And so important to lift up our teachers.  They have such big and wonderful jobs to do.  And I am grateful for everyone who positively impacts my little girl.

Today begins a big, new, fresh chapter in this family. Today, Lexi starts Kindergarten and we are THRILLED for her. Such a big step for such a big girl. So on this day- on this journey that begins anew for you- I wish so many things. Lexi girl, today and all throughout your years, I hope you will:

• respect, 

• listen, 

• play, 

• volunteer, 

• befriend, 

• observe, 

• learn, 

• be kind,

• conquer,

• help,

• behave,

• relate,

• remember,

• sing, 

• notice, 

• include,

• think,

• congratulate, 

• smile, 

• inquire, 

• cheer, 

• be fierce, 

• create, 

• love,

• encourage, 

• show pride,

• cooperate,

• grow, 

• skip, 

• thrive, 

• understand,

• be thoughtful, 

• sympathize, 

• lead, 

• follow, 

(and know when to do each.)

And always remember to:

• BE YOU, 

• SOAR, 

• DANCE.

I hope you dance. 

Now, today, every day, for all the years to come, ALWAYS. 

I hope you dance.

Opt for Optimism

I have started a 30-day challenge called Opt for Optimism, and I am inviting you all to join me.  It's fun and completely free of charge, and very uplifting for the spirit.   The mission is simple- to put optimism into action by completing a small challenge each day for 30 days.  You know, they say if you do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit....  Some of these challenges are personal reminders.  Others are random acts of kindness.  It's all good.   Good for the soul.  Good for you and for each other.   Let's do this. 

So how does this work?  You just visit the Opt For Optimism Website, and enter your email address to sign up for the challenge.  After that, you will begin to receive a daily email with a small challenge for you to complete. It's that easy.  It's all done on the honor system so there is no one to answer to other than yourself.  But these challenges are simple and fun and will certainly get you thinking and hopefully putting those thoughts into action too.  

My first challenge was to compile a list of at least 5 things I am grateful for and post it somewhere I will see everyday.   I posted my little list on the bathroom mirror so I see it first thing each day and again before I go to bed at night.  

Today I am on a mission to leave a kind note on a stranger's car.  I already have a note tucked into my purse just waiting to hop onto someone's windshield at some point today.  I know if I received an uplifting note on my car, it would brighten up my day so much.  I hope this does the same for someone else.   Remember, you never know what others are going through and how much your light might brighten their day.

Let's all try to shine a little brighter, ok?  Today, tomorrow, always.  

One Man's Trash: Vintage Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Pull String Toys

Have I got a blast from the past for you!!  Actually two of them.  My favorite father-in-law sent me home with these vintage Chatter Chum Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pull string toys a couple weeks ago, and it was like taking a walk down memory lane.  He bought them while out rummaging around recently and wondered if we would want them for our vintage toy collection.  

They are both from the Mattel company and dated 1976, which makes these prize toys 42 years young this year.  Amazingly, they both still work.  They just needed a little cleaning, but now that that's all done, these beauties are back in business. 

Here's a look at some of the details from Mickey Mouse.  Made in Hong Kong, 1976, by the Mattel Toy Company.

And on the inside of his ear, he is labeled "Walt Disney Productions", which would have dated this toy to somewhere between 1940-1986, if he had not been otherwise dated.  In 1986, Walt Disney Productions officially changed its name to The Walt Disney Company, as it operates today.

As I mentioned, both toys are in great shape and still work well.  It appears that the more you pull on their pull strings, the more they have to say.  In some cases, pulling the string out to different lengths appears to generate different phrases.

The Mickey Mouse toy says:

• See you real soon. 
• Here I am, Mickey Mouse. 
• That tickles...  Hahaha!
• How 'bout some cheese, please?
• Mouseketeers have big ears.
• M-I-C-K-E-Y
• Oh, boy! Hahaha!
• Are you a Mouseketeer too?

The Donald Duck toy says: 

• Sneezes (achoooooo!)
• Hello, hello!  Hahaha!
• I'm Donald Duck!
• Oh, boy!
• Uh oh! Hahaha!
• Oh my goodness!

What my father-in-law didn't know when he gave these to me is that I have a special connection to one of these toys.  I actually had the Mickey Mouse pull string toy when I was a little girl.  I remember it well.  I played with it all the time, and I still remembered a lot of the little phrases that Mickey said.  In fact, Harris Sister Donna and I both had one of these, so there were actually two of these in our household way back when.

And wouldn't you know, we have a picture of the two of us with our Mickey Mouse toys, taken on our second birthday.  Here we are with our Mickeys.   That's me, Deanna, on the left, and Donna on the right. 

All I can say is - It's a small world after all.  It's a small world after all.  It's a small world after all.  It's a small, small world.  

Karaoke and Corona

Are you in the market for a new feel-good, warm-weather, fun-loving, bring-on-the-good-times kind of song?  Well, I've got just the tune for you to try. It's my new go-to song for the weekend, and it's called Karaoke and Corona. Just mentioning the name of this tune is already putting you in the mood for the weekend, right?

And if you aren't already familiar with the band, let me introduce you to O'Shea.   They are an award-winning country music husband and wife duo from Australia- two of the most talented and genuinely humble artists/musicians/good people I have had the pleasure of meeting. They are the real deal, and so is their music.  In fact, they just launched their most recent album, 61-615, which pays homage to their roots in Australia (61 is the country code there) as well as their country music home here in Nashville (615 is the area code here.)  You can learn all about Mark and Jay, and their amazing music here: http://therealoshea.com/.

But back to Karaoke and Corona!  It was recently taken for a spin on The Highway on Sirius XM.  What a huge deal!!  And it's such a fun and funky summertime anthem.  I just can't wait to hear more.  Here's the click for the video.  It's tons of fun too!  So, what are you listening to these days?

A Letter From Santa

Last year, when my in-laws moved closer to our part of the world, they went through a lot of their belongings, as we tend to do when we are preparing for a big move, and my mother-in-law came across a wonderful letter that she received from Santa when she was a little girl.  She passed it along to me because she thought I would appreciate it.  And boy was she right!!

It was still tucked away inside it's original envelope, dated December 21, 1953, complete with the Santa Claus, IN postmark.  Her mother saved it for her for many years, and then she kept it for many years herself.  Now, I share it with you because it's too special not to. 

Here's a look at the special letter inside. Just look at the letterhead.  I love it!!

And here's the full letter.  (You can click on the image to view a larger photo.) 

Signed by Santa himself.  

The letter reads: 

Hello there- 

Just the other day, I got the nicest letter from you, and because it was so nice, I'm answering it myself.  My helpers are just finishing up the biggest and best bagful of surprises ever. 

It's a pretty big job making sure that everybody gets their share, but Mrs. Claus and I can do it because we've spent hundreds of years learning what boys and girls like to find underneath their trees Christmas morning. 

Remember, if you don't find every single thing on your list, it's just because some of it went to your friend down the street or in the next town or maybe even across the ocean. 

I'll be around Christmas Eve.  'Til then, here's a very Merry Christmas from -

Santa Claus

Oh how sweet and special and magical.  And oh to find a letter like this from Santa himself.  What a wonderful surprise that must have been.  

Creative parents have come up with all sorts of ways to do similar things over the years.  But I will close by sharing a little tip with you.  There is only one place in whole entire world that bears the Santa Claus postmark.  Santa Claus is in fact a real little town in Indiana.  (We have been there and seen it first hand.)  And there is a sure-fired way to receive a letter similar to this one with that special postmark on it.  

Just send your letter to Santa to: 

SANTA CLAUS

P.O. BOX 1

SANTA CLAUS, IN 47579

As long as your letter to Santa has been received by December 21, 2017, and a legible return address is included in the letter, the child will receive a reply.  And it's FREE!!

Merry Christmas, my friends!

Total Eclipse Fever

The countdown has been on for weeks, if not months, in my part of the world. In truth, we have been patiently waiting for this day for the past 38 years, to be exact. Today was the total solar eclipse that spanned the entire continental United States of America, which is why today's event was so special. In other words, no matter what part of the country you are in, you would likely have had some view of the eclipse.  For me, I am fortunate enough to live in Nashville, the largest city in the path of totality for this solar eclipse.  What a happy coincidence, let me tell you!

Here's a look at the eclipse in Nashville, as captured by my friend, Max Garner, of Hill Valley Photography.

So I didn't have to drive for many many miles to see totality, as so many people did. Or even leave my own backyard for that matter, though you could take your pick of watch parties and events in this area.  I did in fact view the total eclipse this afternoon from my own back deck and it was every bit as spectacular as I could have ever imagined.   Armed with my eclipse glasses, I scoped out the best viewing area from my backyard earlier today. The partial eclipse began shortly after noon, with totality occurring just before 1:30 pm.  And then almost as quickly as totality occurred, within a couple of minutes, the moon started to pull to the other side of the sun and a crescent of sunlight began to appear once again.

For some reason, I just thought that the eclipse would be so much darker.  But what I discovered was that even in totality, the sun is still high high in the sky between 12 and 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and even the tiniest sliver of sunlight poking out just before going completely dark and just after provides plenty of light outside still. In fact I took a short video from my viewing location about five minutes before the complete solar eclipse, and as you can see there was still tons of light in our backyard. However I'm sure many of you also noticed the wonderful crescent shaped slivers of light that filter down from the trees. You can see them in my video below. I also took lots of pictures. So fascinating!

In addition, when the totality of the eclipse occurred here, the crickets and cicadas started chirping out of nowhere like it was suddenly night time. And as soon as the sun started to peek back out minutes after the total eclipse, birds started chirping like the sun was coming up for the first time all day.  Oh Heavenly Father, we all bow down.

As it turns out, solar eclipses are actually not all that rare. Generally speaking, there are typically at least two solar eclipses that occur somewhere on our planet each year.   Oftentimes, they occur over the vast oceans, just creating shadows in the middle of the water that very few actually see.   In fact the next solar eclipse that the United States will see is scheduled to occur in just seven years, in 2024. However that eclipse will travel from north to south over a small swath of the country, unlike the eclipse that we experienced today.

It occurred to me today that this entire nation came together to witness a special and wonderful occurrence.   Peaceful. Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. And in this day of unity, there is very little focus, in my world at least, on the negative, on the things that separate and divide us. For a few moments, there was only focus on this perfectly spectacular gift from Heaven above.  Let's all try to have more days like this. What do you say?

Heaven South

Brad Paisley just released a new album today, for the first time in three years.  And among the new releases is a song called Heaven South.  As a long time Brad Paisley fan, of course I like it.  But once I caught a glimpse of the video, I was sold even more.  He actually filmed the video in our own backyard- downtown Franklin, TN.  GASP!!!

We have lived here for years.  It is just a few miles south of Nashville (perhaps appropriately lending itself to the song title "Heaven South") and has all the small town southern charm that you could ever hope for.  It's a modern day Norman Rockwell painting come to life.  It's also home to many of the great country music stars old and new- Brad Paisley included.   What a beautiful place to call home!  

Brad Paisley hasn't even released this video yet to his YouTube channel, but he did pop it out on his official Facebook page yesterday, and my little town has once again become "Facebook famous"!  

Here's the video:  https://www.facebook.com/bradpaisley/videos/10156013139368098/.

   

Yep, that's our town square, our courthouse, our local theatre, our main street, and our little back roads.  Yes, we live in Heaven South.  We kind of always knew it. 

Finding a Little Free Library Near You

In honor of National Library Week, which falls on the second full week of April each year, and National Bookmobile Day, which falls on the Wednesday of that week, I thought I'd remind you guys of Little Free Libraries, which is one of the newer ways to scout out books.

The idea of the bookmobile started in the 1800s in England.

Concerned that the library was not reaching everyone that it could, a Maryland librarian started the first bookmobile in the United States in the early 1900s.

While bookmobiles are still in service, they are more rare than they once were. Possibly as rare as a paper library card? This is my library card from my childhood, and today's library cards look nothing like this. This one was certainly well loved.

The first Little Free Library was built in 2009, and the movement is still going strong.

A Little Free Library is a neighborhood book exchange where people passing by can take a book to read or leave a book for someone else to find. In order to keep a Little Free Library stocked with new books, it's a good idea to bring a few books to share each time you visit.

While most of them look like little houses with a protective roof and door to keep the books safe from inclement weather, some people have gotten really creative with the design of their Little Free Libraries.

This one's a colorful, whimsical design:

This one's designed to look like one of Britain's iconic red phone boxes:

This beach Little Free Library is made of a hollowed out piece of driftwood:

And this one looks like Dr. Who's TARDIS (a blue British police box):

The first day of our Spring Break, I took the boys to the Little Free Library in our neighborhood. The one in our neighborhood is less than a mile from our house, so it only took a nice early morning walk with the dogs to visit.

It is designed to look like a little house, and the interior is wallpapered with book pages.

We left a set of level 1-3 readers that the boys have grown out of:

Two storybooks, and a set of bookmarks:

Aidyn found a copy of Bridge to Terabithia, and Jaxon found a new in package Disney Haunted Mansion Pop-Up Book and Amelia Bedelia Helps Out:

If you'd like to find a registered Little Free Library near you, you can visit this Little Free Library map. As of November 2016, there were 50,000 registered Little Free Libraries worldwide.

If you find that you don't have a Little Free Library in your area, you can start your own with a little information about how to start a Little Free Library.

This is definitely a fun activity that you should get your kids interested in and a sure-fire way to help beat summer boredom. 

For another way to get free books for kids under age 5, sign up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Make sure to check out our big list of 100 Things to Do This Summer for other great ideas or check out 40 Books Your Kids Should Read for some great summertime reading ideas.

Happy reading!

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An Old World Christmas

Harris Sister Misty and I recently had the opportunity to visit eight Old World countries in one weekend! Of course, we did that by visiting the St. Nicholas European Christmas Market in Cary, NC, which features vendors with wares from Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Scandinavia (representing more than one country), and Mexico. 

Also featured were Baba's Kitchen for kolach rolls, pierogi, kielbasa, and other handmade goodies, Niche de Noel for an assortment of gift and decorative items, and a variety of pop-up vendors. Country tents, Baba's Kitchen, and Niche de Noel are labelled with these charming, old-fashioned street signs to help you navigate the market and determine where your newly found treasure hails from.

This quaint little market was best described as a treasure hunt! Set up in the tradition of an outdoor European Christmas Market, shoppers can stroll through each "country" and enjoy the best of European baked goods, decorative items, gifts, and both new and vintage items for the home. Here's a look at some of the beautiful items we spied while we were there:

Handmade Czech Glass Christmas Trees

Russian Nesting Dolls

Vintage Linens

The Legend of the Nutcracker

Handmade Preserves and Mustards

Misty and I had such a fantastic time scouring this quaint, old-world European Market for gorgeous handmade and vintage Christmas decorations as well as some unique gifts and stocking stuffers! And of course, we came home with a few goodies for ourselves: 

Misty scored one of those beautiful handmade Czech glass Christmas trees, a set of old-world ornaments, a hand-carved crucifix, homemade German mustard, and a box of chocolates for a Christmas present.

I scored a basket of traditional colored vintage glass ornaments including four pine cone shaped ornaments and a Santa ornament, a folding paper frieze from Sweden showing an elf-like Santa, and a few more goodies that are not pictured because they may be viewed by a reader of this blog. ;-) 

After we were finished shopping, we also enjoyed a Slavic lunch while listening to the Little German Band. They played mostly traditional Christmas music, but also the Beer Barrel Polka (which I had not heard in 16 years - since my wedding)!  

Czech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Tips for First-Time Visitors

Because this is an outdoor market, make sure to keep the weather in mind and dress appropriately for your shopping adventure. However, do not let that deter you from this wonderful experience. Now in their eighth year, this traditional Old World Market experience is still going strong and is definitely an annual tradition that you should start with your family.

Market parking is available on-site, across and down the street, on neighboring side streets, and via shuttle or a short walk down the sidewalk from the Lowes Foods parking lot on the corner of Tryon and Cary Parkway. We opted to park in the Lowes Foods parking lot and it really was a short walk directly to the market. Parking on-site is limited, but there is plenty of parking in the Lowes Foods shopping center.

Cash and credit cards are accepted at this market. You'll pay separately for any purchases at pop-up vendors, and collect all your goods and pay once at the main register tent for the country, Baba's Kitchen, and Niche de Noel tents. 

All vendors that we visited offered plastic bags, but you may also want to bring a reusable shopping bag with you to bring your finds home with you.

They have wrapped up the Christmas Market for this year, but please follow them on Facebook. for updates on their upcoming Easter Market and next year's Christmas Market. Follow them on Pinterest to see what types of treasures they'll have at the Market, including the pastries and other baked goodies you'll be able to find there.