An Unexpected Blessing

God placed in front of me a task I knew was going to be hard. I wanted to run. I wanted to pretend it didn't exist. Yet, He told me it was my turn. My turn to step up to the plate. I told Him, I can't do this. I don't know how.

He reminded me that I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me. This was an "All'" thing. It involved hospitals, nurses, and doctors. And it wasn't even for me.

He gave me the strength to take it one step at a time. Traveling to and from, accompanying my dearest mother to the appointment along with my dear Sister, coming home and caring for her.

He gave me the wisdom that I needed to help her feel better, the energy to serve, and His love to comfort her.

He allowed me the blessing of sharing time with my mother, the privilege of caring for the wonderful woman who has taken care of me for so many years.

He wanted to use me as a blessing yet I was blessed as well.

Thank you for entrusting me as I am learning to be more like You...

Mid-Life Melancholy

I've been having rather a rough go of it these past few days. Mr Tuneful suggested it may be mid-life.

If you are familiar with the comedian Tim Hawkins, he does a bit about Things You Don't Say to your Wife...I believe the above would be one of them.

So while Mr. Tuneful should be careful to not suggest it; I do believe there is something to this "mid-life". Crisis or not.

What is it anyway? MID-LIFE...Does it mean your life is 1/2 over? Or you aren't young or old? Is it all downhill from here? Why must we feel that we have to "name" every age of our journey?

Growing older has happened so quickly yet seemed to sneak up on me. Perhaps that is why we stop and ponder what is behind and what may lie ahead when we get to this "mid-point".

Call it reflection or a touch of melancholy it is a good time to thank God for all His blessings and to look ahead to what He still has planned for me.

Puzzlement

I love to do puzzles.

For some it is a futile exercise but to me it is a relaxing pastime.

I think the March and April rains encouraged me to break out the puzzles. Since my kitchen remodel I have a rather large countertop which is perfect to work puzzles and leave them so others can add to the picture when they pass by.

So far we have completed a 300 piece over size Ivory Cat puzzle which all the family enjoyed. We had so much fun that I went in search of other puzzles we have that we have not attempted. I found one that looked doable. A 500 piece beautiful watercolor of two children....

Two weeks later I finally added the final piece! This was a rather difficult one due to the varying greens, grays, whites and blues! I was left alone to the task for most of the work until I began to get to the end and then I suddenly had many helpers! BUT my rule is the one who does the most work gets to place the last piece!

I get a lot of thinking done when I do puzzles. There is something satisfying about feeling that right piece fit perfectly into it's spot. And you always know when it doesn't EVEN if it looks like it should!

Hmmm...a lot like life don't you think? Someone once said we all have a missing piece that longs for God- a God-shaped space if you will. When that piece is in place...life isn't so puzzling.

My new challenge? A Disney puzzle I picked up a couple of years ago...no straight edges. Anyone care to join me?

Mama Tunes

Adventures in Dog-Sitting Days 2-7 and a Top Ten List

Thought you might like to know we survived our dog-sitting debut. Actually it was fairly easy except for a few incidents...such as whose room the dog was going to sleep in...etc. Poor thing was in a different room every night!

At times I think Holly wished she could just go home to have some peace and quiet. KA took it upon herself to be our guest's playmate for the week. Note: Holly does not usually play dress-up.

Our children did well keeping up with her food, water and going outside. I was rather surprised at how responsible they were. Who knew?

When it came time for our little animal friend to go back home we were all kind of sad. Mr Sugartunes agreed that it was "nice to have a dog around the house". After I picked myself up off of the floor, KA said "Mommy I miss her already".

Who knows what the future holds for us regarding owning a SMALL dog? A fully trained, not a PUPPY small dog...only time will tell. Do you hear that clinking sound? My no animal armour has been completely undone by the sweetness of a pup...hmmm, maybe we could just be the regular dog-sitters and get a fix every now and then...


and now...TOP TEN THINGS WE LEARNED WHILST DOG-SITTING:

Number 10: When dogs give you clues they need to go out, please let them out. Don't go back to sleep. I repeat Do. Not. Wait.

Number 9: Dogs are not into "dress-up"

Number 8: If you give them table scraps they won't eat their own food.

Number 7: Don't.Ring.the. Doorbell. unless you are used to having the dog become Jr. Guardian of the family.

Number 6: They really don't like their crate.

Number 5: When you leave have them stay in it anyway.

Number 4: Lucy was on to something when Snoopy would lick her and she yelled : Dog BREATH!

Number 3: Small dogs can bark really loud.

Number 2: They love to snuggle you.

and Number 1: Dogs love you no matter what.



Signed-Mrs. Sugartunes
Future dog owner?

Adventures in Dog Sitting: Day One

I have been seriously enforcing the no pet clause in my home for 12 years now. Well...Mr. Sugartunes has...ever since I gave up my beautiful black kitty named Mink all for the sake of love....

My children have TRIED and TRIED to convince us to have a pet; but alas they have been relagated to perusing the Pet Store daydreaming of which pet they would have if they could.

I broke down about 2 years ago and allowed Sandy the Hermit Crab to come home with my son. Wanting to rejoice in the "pet" we now had we had to go to the pet store. $70.00 later including a "friend" crab for Sandy we were pet owners. Sandy lasted two months/ his friend only one.

Back to my story. Yesterday, some dear friends called and asked us if we would come over and let their dog out two times a day. For some reason I thought why not let her just stay here?

For a week we are dog-sitting. She is a gentle sweet dog who loves kids and is actually known to my kids. My kids are over the moon. They can't give her enough attention. So much so that I believe she wishes she were at her home!

Dog-sitting day one....

If you look carefully...you can see the chink in my armor.

To wheat or not to wheat, that is the question...

Have you noticed lately there is a not so secret campaign against white flour? I'm all for healthier eating like having an extra piece of fruit and possibly some wheat bread, but do you really need to mess with my pasta?

I tried some last night on my kids acting like it was totally normal "bad for you" WHITE flour pasta- (the kind my great-grandmother used for YEARS). Ah...you can't fool children as my son immediately noticed the difference and pushed his plate away in disgust. Well...he usually does that with just about everything but this time I messed with his pasta! Of which he is a conniseur. He can even tell if it's NOT from the blue box...

My daughter was eating away and loving it. She just loves bow-tie pasta. And of all of us she is the most healthy eater. I added some alfredo sauce with mine and I have to say the sauce did not disguise the bland, chewier imposter of our beloved pasta.

Wheat pasta you are dead to us.

Viva la white flour!

Mangia!

I'm Baaaacckkkk....

After a two year hiatus, I've been inspired to get back to blogging! I hear some of you have been missing my special brand of humor that occurs in this blog! So hold on for some new postings! Happy Day! Mrs. T

He Is Risen

He is Risen. He is risen indeed! Happy Easter Day to you and yours. We serve a Risen Saviour-Oh Happy Day!

Double Digit Danger!

Today is my son's 10th birthday! I can't believe that 10 years ago today we were in the hospital wondering what in the world we had gotten into! He was bright-eyed and ready to party at birth and he is still that way today. The boy has two speeds "on" and "off"!
Right now he is hosting 3 other 10 year boys for a birthday sleepover. Not sure how many brian cells died before we made that decision. Check with us in the morning to see if we made it through! Or rather...Dad made it through. I plan on hiding outside with the little sibling! :)

The Most Wonderful Time

Another wonderful Christmas Day has been celebrated...Happy Birthday Jesus! And...to my daughter, mother and brother-in-law! I am truly a blessed woman to have family, friends and health. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oh, to be the Cooking Mom!

Last week I was the "Cooking Mom" for Miss Note 2's Kindergarten classroom. Each week a mom signs up to assist with center time...cooking being one activity. This is highly anticipated by each child as it is their mama who is the "celebrity guest star" for the morning.

My draw

Snap to It!

It's been awhile since I've blogged as it were. I noticed my last entry was last APRIL! Mrs. Tuneful and family have been quite busy! But....

School has begun and my Note 2 has been enjoying Kindergarten. She has been learning lots of new things as all new kinders do. Her favorite new thing is snapping her fingers! Do you remember when you learned to do that? It's quite an accomplishment for any youngster when they learn to snap their fingers loud enough to be heard!

Of course Note 2 is not just happy about being able to snap and let it go. Oh no....we snap in people's ears to prove we can snap...we snap at Mrs. Mom Tuneful when we disagree with her and so on!!! Perhaps she has learned too well the "snapping" secret.

You know the one...where you are on the phone and suddenly children appear from wherever they were to make noise or need something? You know when you start snapping and sending them out of the room with wild facial expressions???

Now that Note 2 has the snapping down I am not the only one to say "Snap to it!" Although we may have a few discussions on who does the "snapping too!"

I just hope she doesn't learn to whistle!

"You're It"-If I can figure it out!

Well...I've been tagged by my lovely sista Jillian to share Six Quirky Things about myself. The first unofficial quirk is my fear of blogging as it has taken me about 2 weeks to even answer the "tag". So if I tag someone out there in blogland no worries if you don't answer for awhile!



Okay here is the "short" list of quirks as I have many:



1. I am a split personality. No, not like "Sybil" but in temperment. You see, by the name on my blog I am a musician. But truly only half of me. The other half is a school teacher. The joke around here is that some days the "musician" wakes up and things are "free-spirited" and other days "the teacher" wakes up and takes "charge"! It truly is quirky and quite tricky for Mr. Tuneful to handle on some days. Woe to the family if the musician reigns for more than a few days!



2. When going out to eat-I generally have to have a sip of water before deciding what I want to order. I know weird!



3. I hate cleaning... but I hate things dirty. (is that a quirk?)



4. I don't mind doing laundry. Love the smell of freshly washed folded clothes



5. They never seem to get put away.





6. My final quirk of many is that I don't like bright lights and loud noise at night. So...once I'm in my jammies (which could be as early as 6:30PM :), all needs to be dim and quiet!





There you have it...my quirks. And I have no idea how to do the Mr. Linky as I accidently deleted my Sista's helpful e-mail to that effect. So00000. Sista Jillian will you please help me and tag some other lovely blogger to share?



Have a lovely Saturday...



Mrs. Tuneful

Meet Max and Sara

Have you ever been to Build-A-Bear? After avoiding this seemingless new "rite of passage" for a few years, a friend gave Note 1 and Note 2 gift cards to this institution. With a five dollar off coupon if you spent $25.00 or more, I knew we were in for not only the stuffed animal but a cute outfit to match. After being "iced in" last Friday, Mr. Tuneful and I decided a trip to the mall to use the coupons would be in order...before the Notes and I could clash anymore!
Upon entering the aforementioned store we were faced with the "decision"...which animal to stuff? So many to choose; so little time and only so much gift card! After that decision we chose outfits complete with shoes and/or slippers and then the PROCESS began...visit the stuffing machine, kiss the heart and put a little heart in the bear...then a bath (which was adorable to see the NOTES brushing out their new friends! Then came the dressing room where Mr. Tuneful got into the action by helping Note 1 dress his bear. Finally, we named the animals and printed out the birth certificates! Whew! Actually it was quite fun. I told Mr. Tuneful that I might like to get one too...he gave me a look like "you're not serious" and headed for the door! Although I may become a secret "build-a-bear" consumer and find reasons for the Notes to go "build" another! :)

Without further ado...please meet and welcome our two newest additions to the family...MAX the soccer star and SARA the pink spotted Leopard.

Will it or Won't it?

Hello all....Mrs. Tuneful is checking in with a weather report or not...I admit it I am a weather junkie. This winter thing has been interesting this year as weather bugs on tv and blog land have been trying to call it right! With today's computer technology they seem to be able to predict the exact second of the first snowflake! I find myself looking out the window trying to see if they called it correctly! Of course the teacher in me always hopes for that glorious SNOW DAY! Do you remember those as a kid? LOVED those! I know my SISTA over at Jillian's Pages is not a big fan of snow but I do have a soft spot for it! Well then, I am off to wake up my lovely children, Note 1 and Note 2~for our hopefully last day of school this week! Happy Winter for a few more weeks I think!

What A Wonderful Surprise!

Returning from a day trip away with Mr. Tuneful I opened my blog to discover my beautiful banner and some comments. This is fun! I LOVE THE BANNER! Thank you ladies! Off to get some sleep as I will be singing at church in the early morning!
Sweet dreams!
Mrs. Tuneful

I've Entered the Techno Age!

Wow! I have my own blog! Who who have thought? Thanks to my blogging Sista I am now part of the blog land. Now I just have to learn how to text message! Please join me as I blog about life here in the fast lane of family, music and how sweet it is!