Inside Out - Lisa Rugglesa thousand times I’ve failed, still your mercy remains

I love my girls school! Chloe’s teacher has asked parents to come in and read every Friday. Today was my day. I was able to pick any book and spend time reading and talking for 20 mins. I had a great time. Unfortunately, I brought the camera but forgot to ask the teacher to take a pic.

I picked one of my all time favorite books. It inspires me every time I read it.

I’ve included the book. Take a minute and read it, you will enjoy it!

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’ t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

We finally celebrated Grandma Ruggles Birthday last week. We aren’t telling how old.

In good old Ruggles tradition, Brad made crepes for breakfast. Yummy! My girls always love it when Daddy makes the crepes. We filled them with apples, blackberries and whip cream.

Not healthy but delicious!

The girls couldn’t wait to give Grandma her presents.

We watched www.lifechurch.tv and then hung out and played with the girls.

Later in the afternoon we took Grandma and Grandpa out to dinner and did a little bit of shopping.

The girls have sure loved seeing their Grandma again!

and we had to try and get a couple family shots.

If you look at Brad’s blog, the pic he has is 3 years old. Pretty sad.

The girls couldn’t help but ham it up a bit for the camera.

We sure love our Grandma!  Happy Birthday!

Every year on vacation, Brad starts a vacation beard. He always shaves at the end of the vacation. I’m always happy to see it go. About a month ago, we went camping and the beard began.

It is still here.

To be honest the beard sort of creeps me out. When Brad kisses me and my eyes are shut I feel like I’m cheating on him. It just isn’t right.

It is prickly. The girls scream when he comes near them for hugs and kisses.

And yet, it is still here.

These two are cousins, the older one is my niece Lindsay and the younger, my little “sweet pea Emily.” They are both the second born in their family.

Lindsay was quite the little spit fire when she was a kid. She gave everyone a run for their money and at times got into lots of mischief! I also remember a bit of an ornery streak. Why does she give me hope? She gives me hope because my little Emily is a LOT like Lindsay use to be! There are days I shake my head and wonder what is in Em’s mind.

Lindsay came to spend 10 days with us and they were awesome! She is an amazing girl with dreams bigger than most people! She is spirited and determined to find out who she was created to be. She loves people, loves experiencing new things but is also comfortable in her own skin.

Emily will not be exactly like Lindsay. She will have her own journey and life. But, it is neat to see how a pesky little girl can develop into an amazing young woman!

Hmmmm….. What can I do to liven things up around here?

Look at me, aren’t I so adorable?

Then again, don’t you dare cross me…….

If you get to bored, I will turn into the class clown and things will get interesting!

Who you lookin at!

Aww shucks, I’m just messing with you all, seriously look at this face. So sweet!

THATS MY GIRL!!!

Our family went out to an Italian restaurant and had some delicious food. Chloe is allergic to wheat, dairy, soy, gluten products and about 18 other foods. Rather than focusing on foods she can’t have, we try to keep her mind on what she is allowed to eat. She can eat fruit, vegetables and meats.

For a skinny little 7 year old, this girl sure can eat! This was a huge bowl of soup and she finished every bite of it! Some dinners Chloe eats more than Brad or I!

Some days are harder for Chloe than others. Some days, she just wants to eat regular ice cream with other kids but then has to weigh if it is worth getting sick afterwards. There are days she just makes the choice and there are days we have floods of tears and frustration.

She has learned to find the good in her allergies and be thankful. Is it still hard? You bet, but I’m really proud of her.

She is an amazing little girl, learning discipline at a young age. Having to daily weigh the consequences of her actions. She has to choose how she is going to deal with her allergies.

Chloe’s allergies are often a reminder to me. It always seems simple when it is someone else’s problem. But, how will I deal with the difficult situations thrown at me?

Will I allow them to take over my life?
Will I seek God in the middle of them and choose to have the best attitude possible?
Will I look for God’s miracle’s in the middle of chaos?
Will I choose peace or turmoil?

What do you do when God tells you no?

Chloe is off to school. The girls and I are really excited that we live close enough to walk to school everyday.

This afternoon I get to spend time with Emily in her Kindergarten class. She starts the school year with a tea party. I will have pics later today.

I have been really excited for the new year. As we left Chloe in a new school, with a new teacher, I felt a little emotional. I could feel the tears in my eyes.

She is in second grade and we have done this three times already but I still felt a little bit of sadness. I will be praying for her all day. I can’t wait to hear about her day!

Last night I was sitting out on our deck enjoying the beautiful evening while Brad was reading stories to the girls. When I came in, this is what I found.

It made my heart melt!

We have lost our camera cord. It is driving me crazy! I can’t take good pics until the new one arrives!

Chloe, really wanted to start a blog. We are holding her off on anything that the public can read for now. But Daddy set her up with a private journal. Here is one of her entries. I’m so proud of her!

10 resons i love my dad

1. he is cool
2. he is fun
3. he wrestles with us
4. he works hard for us
5. he plays with us
6. he feeds us
7. he chases us
8. he tells us stories
9. he love me
10. he is special

So, the other day we were hanging at the pool and I brought sidewalk chalk out for the kids to play with. Before long, my man sits down and starts drawing with the kids.

Here is his sidewalk chalk pic!

Seriously, could we have just drawn a couple stick figures or a cute little flower. Nope! He draws a mountain with waterfalls! With very few color choices! I

If I had felt like it, I’m sure I could have done much better. Just joking, the only thing I can draw is a cute little fuzzy guy that I have been drawing since 2nd grade. For some reason my artistic skills seem to have stayed on a 2nd grade level. Oh well!

I sure hope our girls get his artistic abilities!