love

Love & Be Loved: A Very McHendy Christmas

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

mchendy-christmas-2016

After family Christmas parties last weekend and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Monday was our McHendy Christmas.  A day we gather together with our “best friend family” – the McKinneys and the Hendersons – to celebrate.  We have been a McHendy friendfamily for over 25 years.

This year welcomed a few new members.  Here are the new moms with “B” and “C.”

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New moms mean…

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new grandmas…

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and grandpas…

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who nurtured while the rest of the gang…

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played crazy games like the hilarous SpeakOut – where you put a contraption in your mouth and try to enunciate what is on your card while your team mates try to guess what you are saying,

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and the social word game CodesNames, which I totally recommend for a great, easy to learn and fun to play group game.

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It was so fun to get this gang together in one place from all over the country this holiday season.  From tiny babies to adults and growing families, wings have stretched and flown, but when we’re all together, it feels just like home.

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We decided on a no-gift theme this year, and instead, contributed in a small way to a charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities, by purchasing matching #LoveandBeLoved T-shirts.  You can learn more about LoveandBeLoved here, a great organization I learned about through the receptionist at my office who heads the local chapter with her husband.  Their mission is a simple yet profound one:  It is every human being’s God given responsibility to show love, and every human being has the right to be loved regardless of their race, gender, age, sexuality, or beliefs.

Sending Love with Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Empty Bench

/ Jodi / 30 Comments

snowy-lake-and-bench-mars-pa-december-2016

The Empty Bench.

Make room…
in your heart,
in your soul,
in your home,
in your life.

Fill it with…
love,
acceptance,
warmth,
peace.

#RealMeaningofChristmas

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

She is Beautiful

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

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“She was beautiful,
but not like those girls in the magazines.
She was beautiful for the way she thought.
She was beautiful for the sparkle in her eyes
when she talked about something she loved.
She was beautiful for her ability to make other people smile
even if she was sad.
No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks.
She was beautiful deep down to her soul.
She is beautiful.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Let’s teach this to our daughters
and granddaughters
and sisters
and friends.

And….
let’s teach this to
ourselves.

#BestGiftEver #LoveYourself

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Revised Christmas To Do List

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

My Revised Christmas To Do List – I posted it last December and also the year before.

It is a great reminder every year around this time for all of us.

With only 10 days left until Christmas Eve (which to me is just as special a day  as Christmas Day), let’s not get caught up in what is not important.

I know I could.

I still have gifts to buy, let alone have anything wrapped.  I’ve barely baked, haven’t written or sent out cards yet….  The list of things I have not done yet could go on.

But the older I get, the less it matters.

I am going to cocentrate on the revised list…

I want to focus on being present, giving hugs, sending love, taking time for and with the people I love and myself.

Will you try too?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Three Things We Cry For

/ Jodi / 36 Comments
Hazel Eye with Tear Drop Watercolor 5x6 Fabriano Artistico

Hazel Eye with Tear Drop Watercolor 5×6 Fabriano Artistico

“There are three things we cry for in life:
things that are lost,
things that are found,
and things that are magnificent.”

– Douglas Coupland, author, artist, designer

Wishing you many tears of joy experiencing things that are magnificent!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Let’s Teach our Children

/ Jodi / 62 Comments

clara-10-days-old-2
Let’s teach our children…

to be kind to those who are not kind.
They need love the most.

to offer help to those who struggle.
It is in giving that we receive the most.

to be a friend to the lonely.
They are often the best friends.

to sit with those sitting alone.
They have much to share.

to look for the good in others.
That is when we learn the most about ourselves.

These are the ways we can teach our children
to change the world.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Happy Thanksgiving

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

happy-thanksgiving-2016

So very much to be thankful for…

Warm fires.
Full bellies.
Joyful laughter.
Tight hugs.
Soft candlelight.
Growing family.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Except Another Grandmother

/ Jodi / 97 Comments

clara-first-day-home-11-18-16

Mother Nature must’ve known
my joy of becoming a Grandma this week

Gifting our sweet baby girl with
a 73 degree mid-November day to come home to

For no one else
in the entire universe

Could understand the immense love
and immeasurable joy

Except perhaps…
another
Grandmother ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

There are truly not enough letters in the alphabet
or words in the dictionary
to describe how I’m feeling!! 


Lap Doggin’: A Charlie Guest Post

/ Jodi / 47 Comments

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Hi Friends –

Happy Sunday!  It’s me – your buddy, Charlie – back with a guest post.  I hear some of you have been missing me!  😉

Let’s talk laps today.

Mom is always trying to coax me to sit on her lap in the evening.

She begs…
she pleads…
she bribes…
she pretend cries…

PUULLLLLEEEEZZE!  Sheesh!

I’m just not a fan!

I much prefer to sit in my own seat – especially when it is lined with my favorite soft, chenille blankie.  I am, of course, within close enough range where Mom is very welcome, and even highly encouraged, to scratch my chin and belly and rub my ears.

I do, however, like to sit on the laps of guests that come to our home…

especially those that aren’t particularly fond of dogs and don’t understand how amazing doggie kisses are.

These are the laps I am particularly drawn to…
so I do choose to jump into those laps.

Even when they push me away.
Even when Mom says “Down Charlie!”
Even when Dad says “No Charlie!”

A dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do – right?

I wholeheartedly believe my purpose is to teach all humans that dogs are wonderful and doggie kisses are the best!

We all need a purpose – and until someone comes up with a better one.  This is mine!

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends.  Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model.  Some of his best friends are Mike theUPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house.   If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com.   If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.

Simple… Bold… Love

/ Jodi / 38 Comments
Abstract Watercolor 5x7 Arches 140lb Rough Cobalt Teal Blue Raw Sienna Cadmium Red

Abstract Watercolor 5×7 Arches 140lb Rough Cobalt Teal Blue Raw Sienna Cadmium Red

It’s really simple…

Just be bold….

and Love.

Today’s painting for #WorldWatercolorMonth is a simple abstract done with bold strokes of cobalt teal blue and raw sienna and embellished with some tiny hearts in cadmium red.  A simple, yet bold expression of the power of love.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi