Sunday, April 3, 2011

Ultimate Blog Party: Recording Precious Memories



To help celebrate the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2011 I thought I'd share some precious memories with you of when my sons were young. I'm also giving away THREE prizes!


When my boys were little I wrote a few poems to journal what they were like at that particular age and what my priorities were as their Mom.  Now I look back and have sweet reminiscences and wished the years hadn’t passed by so quickly. I am so glad I did, as now they are 24 and almost 23. Perhaps this will encourage you to jot down some of the memories of your own little ones or the special children in your life.

MAKE precious MEMORIES
SPEND a quantity of quality TIME
CELEBRATE special occasions,
and EVERYDAY occasions
TREASURE every MOMENT



Justin Bradford (1992)




Brandon Michael (1993)

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While He’s Still Two (Brandon 2yrs. old)
Looking for bugs.

Now is the time to get things done . . .
sit on a blanket
in the warm sun.
Laugh at the monkeys
on a trip to the zoo -
Enjoying precious moments while he’s still two.

Now is the time to discover books . . .
Sesamee Street,
bulldozers,
how a bug looks.
Sow seeds of laughter,
learn how to pray,
learn his own language,
And cuddle my little one at the end of the day.

On the slide at the zoo!
Later there’ll be time
to talk on the phone,
read my own book,
have time alone.
Organize closets,
and polish the copper
so it looks new -

Later on . . . when he’s not still two.


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While He’s Still Small (Brandon 3-4 yrs. old)

Feeding his bulldozer obsession.
Now is the time to get things done . . .
Make new friends
with wee little ones.
Build stuff with Legos,
making green bread -
boys will be boys;
teach him how to share his toys.
Learning good manners,
little sticker charts.
Do craft projects and have lots of fun.

Now is the time to do things our own special way -
Read favorite stories
His favorite "Piggy" puppet!
and then read them again,
line things all up
so they all look the same.
Sit upside down,
reciting his numbers,
Kisses times two
goodnight prayers.
Count all the blessings at the end of the day.

Caught a big one!
Later there will be time . . .
for adult conversation,
taking a bath,
eating hot meals.
As for keeping the house neat
and sorting my stuff,
time right now there isn’t enough.
Yet, these moments are precious
I wouldn’t trade them at all;

These things will come later . . . when he’s not so small.

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A Boy Only Three (Justin 3 yrs. old)

 Now is the time to get things done . . .
consider the lilies
with my little one.
Admire the moon
and the fish of the sea -
Share the adventures of a boy only three.

Now is the time to learn something new -
crafts for children,
making costumes.
To cherish the sparkle
Fishing like Dad and Grampa.
of his eyes so blue.
Dinosuar puzzles,
A B C’s,
Bible verses for him and for me.

Later there’ll be time to do my own thing,
maybe write a book -
something inspiring.
Arrange some flowers,
do something for me -

Later on . . . when he’s not only three.


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Dubbing him a knight.
Sir Justin Jumps Alot
A Boy Just Four (Justin 4 yrs. old)

Now is the time to get things done . . .
wade in the water,
sit in the sun;
squish my toes
in the mud by the door -
Explore the world of a boy just four.

Now is the time to study books,
flowers,
snails,
how a cloud looks;
to ponder “up”,
where God sleeps at night,
And why mosquitoes take such bites.
First Lobster "Up in Maine"

Later there’ll be time
to sew and clean,
paint the hall
that soft new green;
to make new drapes,
refinish the floor -

Later on . . . when’s he’s not just four.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom’s turn . . .




Now They Are Grown (Reflections of a Mother)

Now is the time to consider what’s done . . .
Affirm the good choices
of my two sons.
Now young men -
responsible,
driven,
they are finding their way.
faithful sons,
best friends,
loyal brothers.
So hard to believe
how time has passed.
Living and working out on their own.
The Lord lent them to me, now they are grown.

Now is the time for a mother to ponder. . .
Recall motherhood years
of blessed wonder.
Pour through pictures
happy memories I greet;
Cherishing memories,
so very sweet.
Hold in my heart
with a sense of pride -
Nurturing spirits,
shaping character,
maturing steps,
Every drop of love . . . hoping all will abide.

At last I have time to do my own thing . . .
Read favorite books,
talk on the phone,
spend time writing,
enjoy time alone.
Organize keepsakes,
reminisce over tea -
Give up the guilt;
free to be me.
Persue my own aspirations,
reach for my dreams -
After all of these years, I’ve many many it seems.

Now is the time, I’ve plenty to spare . . .
So I remind my sons that I’ll always care.
Occasional guidance,
wisdom for the way,
these things remain devoted to prayer.
One thing they learned
that no matter how old,
a secure place remains
in the heart of their mother.
Yes, now my little boys
have flown from my nest.
And later is here . . . I am so blessed!




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY PRIZES

To celebrate with 5 Minutes for Mom

I'm offering prizes to three winners who comment
on this post from now until April 8th.
(Chosen with Random.org.)

To be eligible to win please share one precious thing about a special little one you know: a favorite toy, a quirkly little thing they do, something funny they said, something that warms your heart and will warm mine and those who read the comments. And you can also share something about a pet, if you wish!
Extra entries for those who sign up to follow my blog (or already do), follow me on facebook, follow me on twitter, retweet this post, repost this on facebook. INCLUDE THESE IN YOUR COMMENT.
{When tweeting use hash tag #UBP11}

That's a lot of chances to win!

All entrants must include their email addy as such:  myname [at] mymail [dot] com
And now for the prizes . . .

PRIZE 1


Postcards with verses/quotes about mothering,
"Heartstrings" inspirational book and book mark -
enclosed in a beautiful book box.
PRIZE 2
Scrapbooking stickers and papers for
your family pets!


PRIZE 3
A journal to write down your special memories!
Your choice, pink or blue.


Thank you for visiting! I do hope to see you again!
Be sure to drop by 5 Minutes for Mom for more of
the Ultimate Blog Party 2011!

26 comments:

  1. You truly have a way with words. I love your poetry and your inspiration to write it to memorialize your boys at those specific ages is fabulous.

    One of my favorite memories about my son (now 20) is when he was 3 years old. On a hot summer day, as he washed his "car", an old beat up motorized power wheels car that Papa found at a yard sale for five bucks, how he would pay attention to the tires and really scrub them. I think he got more wet than the car to be honest! How my Joseph loved that car. Now, he is meticulous with his real car...guess some things don't change.

    Christina
    http://www.trendsettingmom.com/2011/04/ultimate-blog-party-2011.html

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  2. What wonderful poetry! Love those old photos - reminds me of my childhood. Now following you from the blog hop. http://tvstake.blogspot.com

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  3. Thank you for sharing your poems, Carla. They were very touching alongside the boys' photos. What a wonderful post! I really enjoyed it and relate as my own first born is nearly grown! I'm trying to treasure each day I have left at home with my big boys while enjoying all the little moments with my little girls! Tough to do when you're in the middle of all the busyness we call "life"!


    www.dirigochristianhomeschool.blogspot.com

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  4. I love your poems. What a precious way to remember those special memories!

    Our Silly-Head is confident now and oh-so-sweet, but I remember the days when she would not let us leave. Would. NOT. Let. Us. Leave!

    She'd wrap her surprisingly strong little chubby arms around my leg and scream bloody murder while the babysitter or doting grandmother would grab her 'round the waist and do their best to pry her off.

    It was nerve wracking and ugly; Good thing she was so cute!

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  5. What sweet suggestions. As a Sandwich Generation granny nanny, I am right there with you in recommending to savor your sweet family memories. In 30 years, dust and cobwebs will STILL be around, but those sweet little tykes - will be all grown up!

    Then, you might have NEW sweet little grand-tykes - a be able to create even more joy-filled family memories, like my three grandsons and I playing tag in the back yard on a regular basis, or tea parties with the sweet granddaughters! Very sweet, indeed! :)

    Thanks for a lovely visit for the Ultimate Blog Party 2011!

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  6. Wow, you have a very beautiful blog, can't wait till I get to that point. I am following too. Thanks for visiting!

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  7. What a nice blog. Nice to meet you.

    My youngest enjoys Buzz my middle loves anything girly and my oldest is all about Legos. It is fun watching them grow and change.

    Please stop by my blog,
    Amy @ Missional Mama
    http://missionalmamassoul.blogspot.com/

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  8. Beautiful blog. Love how you wrote about your children, how special. I try to enjoy every moment, I know it is fleeting.
    Thanks for stopping by.
    God Bless,
    Shelley

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  9. Hi Carla -

    What handsome young men! Thanks for sharing your memories.

    BTW, you have an award at my blog today. :)

    Blessings,
    Susan

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  10. I love the way you took the pictures with your boys! I like the one with the two of them together as young boys. I need to do that with my little one.

    My son loves trains! He hears them afar off even when I don't notice them. Anything has the potential to become a train...a crayon, blocks, etc. Thomas and Friends is his favorite show!

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  11. Such a wonderful way to remember your boys.
    That is exactly why I started my blog is so I can keep up with our exciting & everyday little things.
    Thank you for visiting my blog.
    I do hope you will come back.

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  12. Wow! I love...and can SO identify with...the poems about your sons. I have two sons as well, now 31 and 28 (I have a 24-year-old daughter too), and now two little grandsons ages 18 mos and 4, to which these poems now apply.

    I love your blog and am now following. What a lovely writer you are! I'd love to read your novels.

    I hope you'll check out my book/reading blog:

    http://cindysbookclub.blogspot.com

    Blessings. I'll definitely be back!

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  13. What precious little boys--and handsome big boys! I don't have children, but I claim my nieces and nephew.

    When one of my nieces, who was always VERY active, was about four years old, she was annoying all of the older folks who were visiting in our living room. I was in the dining room studying (college classes). I called her to come visit with me so she wouldn't get into trouble. I gave her one of my psychology books to "read." After a few moments of turning pages rather more quickly than I did, she looked up at me and said "Thank you, Aunt Sylvia, for letting me study with you."

    She wanted to be part of somebody's activities. She still loves to be in the middle of things.

    Sylvia

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  14. I'm so glad I hopped over from UBP11 to visit your blog. I love the poem. What a precious gift to give your boys when they have their own families and how priceless it will be for them to hsare the same with their kids.

    I have 2 little ones....5 yrs old and 10 mos. They're growing so fast! I still remember my daughter telling us less than a year ago that she would stay with us forever. She went on to say that she planned to marry Mama and Daddy and we'd live happily ever after!


    Do hop over to say hi when you have the time
    http://energizerbunnysmommyreports.blogspot.com/2011/04/big-welcome-to-all-my-ubp-11-visitors.html

    Blessings,

    Marina

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  15. Thanks for stopping by the blog party! I appreciate all your great comments and compliments on the poems and my sons pics. I do appreciate your stopping by and hope to see you again!

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  16. I loved your post for the Ultimate Party! What a journey! In pictures and worlds. Amazing!
    Follow me too!
    http://celebratewomantoday.blogspot.com/2011/04/ultimate-blog-party-2011-celebrate-with.html

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  17. Thanks for stopping by Ordinary Inspirations! Love meeting new faces. Thanks for the chance to win.

    Love,
    Traci

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  18. Thanks for stopping by Science Fiction Mommy. I believe we also connected last year (and that I'm still following you from that.)

    I've never been much into poetry, but that was a fun way to think about the beauty of those early years. I'm realizing I should probably write down all the quirky routines my son has created for his bedtime in his short 2.5 years. Like touching all the animals in his mural (our version of Goodnight Moon?), making me offer water and kisses to his loveys before him, learning how to climb into bed by himself and repeating it several times each night, playing with the lightswitch before bed--each time one of these became a routine, he would move on to something else. Two is a fun age.

    Thanks for the chance to win, and good luck with your own writing!

    --Eileen
    sciencefictionmommy@gmail.com

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  19. Nearly the deadline, but I wanted to leave a comment before this ended. :-) A special moment? There have been SO MANY but some of my favorite are with one of my younger siblings. She is very expressive and can be comical at times. Just the other day we were sitting there talking and she made a comment in such a grown up voice, used all the correct words (she is two), and scrunched up her nose in an oh-so adorable smile that I just couldnt help but grab her in my arms and hug her tight. She is so precious! :-D

    ~ Katy
    agirlslegacy(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. I love hearing your stories of the little ones in your lives! Thank you for sharing them! And thanks for all the follows!

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  21. I love your poetry! Your boys are so precious! Memories are the best! Some of my greatest memories with my girls are baking and doing countless crafts with them and going on picnics. They each have a great sense of humor. They used to stand on the coffee table and Alicia would sing with all her might, and Mandy would preach like Papa! They are such treasures from God! Thank you for such a special chance to reminisce. I am a follower of your blog and thru network blogs. I retweeted your blog party and signed up for email subscriptions. I just couldn't find you on twitter!(klams4) Thank you, Carla!!
    http://www.lynnesfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com
    http://www.pattersonpoetry.blogspot.com

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  22. (Forgot to say that I posted it to my facebook page too.)

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  23. Beautiful poetry! My fav memory is my daughters ever changing name, she loves to change it about every day, if Im lucky shell stick with one for a day or 2.

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  25. Forgot to say following via GFC and Twitter.

    Stop by and say hi if you have a moment! www.flipflopmama.com

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  26. its looks like a wonderful birthday party ideas...food,music,dance and some kids birthday party games are also necessary to make a birthday party memorable...

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