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Growth & Gratitude Journal


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A momma dove bird built a nest too low in our front yard.  I love that the kids can see into it and gaze at the beautiful little delicate eggs, BUT yikes!!  Any storm may blow the eggs or babies out of this nest.  We'll keep an eye on it... my oldest is excited because we've rescued a baby dove before and raised it till it was ready to fly. ❤️ 

All these wild life experiences 😬  giant snake, dove with future babies, found a scorpion yesterday (killed it and collected it in a glass jar like my dad taught me... the kids like looking at it)  ugh!  I love living near/in the country, but the wildlife in the hotter months are crazy critters!

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3 hours ago, maritalbliss86 said:

I love that the kids can see into it and gaze at the beautiful little delicate eggs, BUT yikes!!  Any storm may blow the eggs or babies out of this nest. 

I've never actually seen a dove nest, but I've read about them. I think it's quite common for doves to build their nests in precarious places like that. Also, their nests tend to be very flimsy.

When I was a little kid, the boy down the street, Kevin, had a robins' nest in a shrub in his backyard. I was about 6 and Kevin was 5. We were all so excited to see the bright blue eggs.

Then Kevin took one of the eggs and crushed it in his hand. It was terrible. I still remember him grinning at us as the egg ran through his fingers. I wanted to punch him. 

His dad came out and yelled at everyone, even though Kevin was the one that crushed the egg (and took it upon himself to do so)! It has to be hard for a parent to realize their kid can be so cruel. 

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Wow that's awful 😭.  I have a similar story from childhood as well where there were these boys who threw spear grass at baby birds and eventually killed them. It was so horrible and I remember wondering how they could allow themselves to do something like that to such innocent creatures.

The main boy ended up growing up and I saw him again as adults in a church group. He never knew who I was even back then,we were different grades and everything but he was burned into my memory. He has a wife and two little kids. Made me wonder if he's still a monster like I'd remembered, or if he'd corrected his character and was actually a good dad/husband. You just never know.

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8 hours ago, maritalbliss86 said:

Grateful for the change the seasons bring.  For all the butterflies, hummingbirds and ladybugs in our yard.

I have a hummingbird feeder outside my window in my back yard and I'm especially grateful for Spring.  I need to refill the feeder often.  We use clear liquid for the feeder which doesn't have red dye in it.  I too enjoy seeing birds and butterflies.  I've seen a few colorful birds outside my son's bedroom window.

We also have a mourning dove nest outside my enclosed front door courtyard area.  We have eaves and I'm impressed by the very sheltered location they chose which protects them from predators, wind, rain, cold and heat.  The mourning doves have since raised several fledglings.  They make a melancholic cooing sound. 

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On 6/2/2021 at 4:05 PM, Cherylyn said:

I have a hummingbird feeder outside my window in my back yard and I'm especially grateful for Spring.  I need to refill the feeder often.  We use clear liquid for the feeder which doesn't have red dye in it.  I too enjoy seeing birds and butterflies.  I've seen a few colorful birds outside my son's bedroom window.

We also have a mourning dove nest outside my enclosed front door courtyard area.  We have eaves and I'm impressed by the very sheltered location they chose which protects them from predators, wind, rain, cold and heat.  The mourning doves have since raised several fledglings.  They make a melancholic cooing sound. 

That's so sweet, Cherylyn, I love the sound doves make, too.  

This is what our momma dove looks like

image.png.d900849ae9b46e2fc5b82c6ee3b1e2bc.png

A couple of years ago, a dove built her nest so low in the branches and yet over my husband's truck, that a baby dove fell out and was just sitting there on top of his hood.  We took it in and raised it ❤️❤️❤️ ugh!!!  Best experience ever!!!  Our older two boys trained it to fly from head to head, and it grew really close to us, it was a VERY loving bird.  

We ended up setting it free and it seemed really happy :D Our oldest still talks about it all the time, they named him, "Wally." 

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UGh!!!!  SOOOooo grateful for all this time my husband is off!!!  It's been so fun getting to do things we normally wouldn't, he's done some projects he's wanted to do for awhile, and yet he's still enjoying time to relax and just chill. 

Grateful we have so much wildlife, even with the scorpions and bugs... we saw a firefly while together outside last night ❤️  usually we don't see any here.  It was just so perfectly romantic.

I told him he's still the man of my dreams... it's annoying that he's STILL in them... literally, with me craving him sexually while I'm asleep!!!!  Not fair!!! ... There's actually this feeling of annoyance that I want him so bad 😂.  He loves this of course LOL.  Of course our kids make it exhausting at times, but still our life feels like a fairytale much of the time.

We had another day date today... it was really just for some regular doctor checkups, but being out like that alone together, without all our kids, it was so much fun in a peaceful way. 

It rained the whole time, but it was a beautiful rain....  Thankful for the rain and how it looks against the backdrop of a river with mature trees, blossoms and lights everywhere.

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Marital!

 

Just here to wish you all the best on a new journal! Wow! I feel kind of tragic that I won’t be able to skip back and look at your previous writing! But it’s refreshing that you are in the mood to move on! 
 

Lovely idea for a journal - it’s far too pleasant for me 😉 but if you don’t mind, I would love to pop in to read your gratitudes! It might just make me stop and be thankful for, a little while, at the very least ☺️
 

Lots of love,

Lo x

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2 hours ago, maritalbliss86 said:

That's so sweet, Cherylyn, I love the sound doves make, too.  

This is what our momma dove looks like

image.png.d900849ae9b46e2fc5b82c6ee3b1e2bc.png

A couple of years ago, a dove built her nest so low in the branches and yet over my husband's truck, that a baby dove fell out and was just sitting there on top of his hood.  We took it in and raised it ❤️❤️❤️ ugh!!!  Best experience ever!!!  Our older two boys trained it to fly from head to head, and it grew really close to us, it was a VERY loving bird.  

We ended up setting it free and it seemed really happy :D Our oldest still talks about it all the time, they named him, "Wally." 

Thank you maritalbliss84 for your mourning dove pic and what you wrote.

Thank you for sharing your story about your son raising the baby dove and setting it free. Wally is a cute name, too. ❤️

Unfortunately, we had to bury a baby dove which fell out of its nest last year.  The surviving sibling eventually flew away though. 

 

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I knew this was probably true, just based on other types of coronaviruses and what we know about immunity lasting (once you've been infected) for 10-20 years, sometimes more.  Vaccines don't provide that kind of protection, not for this kind of virus, which is why they'll be pushing boosters.

Apparently our city/area has had around 200 "breakthrough," cases, meaning people have gotten the virus even though they were fully vaccinated.

But if you've had the virus, you're going to be immune with almost certainty... and for a long long time.

 

Quote

If you’ve been infected with a mild case of COVID-19, new studies suggest your body may make antibodies against the virus for most of your life.  (From here: https://www.cbs17.com/community/health/coronavirus/if-youve-had-covid-19-protection-from-the-virus-could-be-long-lasting-new-studies-suggest/?fbclid=IwAR3AmPLue_dUZa0ZYfMMU-P9LcO-NqpJBLPuoUU3iyzlzzoN-3nA7hATB7s

 

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You’re completely right Martial. For something that is not going to be deadly for 99% of the population you are far better just getting it.

 

I actively got it on purpose for the very reasons you just mentioned! Natural immunity is so much better. I am not sure if this is the case for every disease but for corona virus’s I think this is a fact. My Mum and Dad, only 57 and 61, have both had the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and now regret it. They won’t be getting their second. Both had bad side effects from the first. I personally think they already had covid when me, my husband and the kids had it too. 
 

Also curiously, my father has suffered with terrible nose bleeds his whole life, as did his mother and he genetically passed this onto my younger sister who suffers with this still. Something to do with a weakness in the vessel walls or something like that of their noses. Anyway, since having the vaccine, first time in his life, no nose bleeds. I find this very curious as some of the more drastic side affects of this vaccine were blood clots. My Dad has this theory that it has thickened his blood. I don’t know how true this is or plausible, but it is a very strange coincidence. He has had this problem his whole life from his earliest memories to the age of 61 and now, suddenly nothing. 
 

I will definitely not be having the vaccine nor will my kids or husband. 

 

Lo x

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The baby is having a very difficult couple of days... teething and maybe an ear infection, will be taking him tomorrow if it continues this way.  

But overall I'm kind of amazed at how good it feels to let the guilt go.  How interesting that it passes away so quickly 🤔

It's like a breath of fresh air, and life is so busy anyway, we're just moving on, there's so much to do and enjoy and love and be involved in. 

I heard a Dr. Laura segment on some poor lady bemoaning her and her daughter not having a relationship with her parents and Dr. Laura kept reminding her continually that you should never feel bad about you or your child not having a relationship with unkind people.  [There you go, to my inner guilt that is fading fast!]

And the lady kept bemoaning it... like me in the other journal for sure... and Dr. Laura finally said, "You're supposed to get on with your life, not drive your car forward looking in the review mirror!"

"At what point are just going to say, "Gee, too bad I didn't have the kind of family I wish I could have had..." 

"It's yesterday, and you've got a chance to build today.  You've got a chance to build TODAY and you're minimizing the importance of that and maximizing the importance of what you didn't have/don't have."

The caller kept bemoaning the lack of relationship with her parents etc. [I do get it that this is really hard for people... very thankful my husband seems to be dealing really well with it]

Dr. Laura said, "Can you focus in on that - on your wonderful life, kids, husband and never call anyone else or me about your family?"

"Yes!  It is in the rearview mirror, and I need to leave it there." (Caller)

"One more point I need to make... In spite of those crappy parents, look at what a nice person you are and look at the nice life you've built.  

"If anything you should be throwing parties for yourself every day.  Let's have an appreciation of [Caller's Name] party tonight, and bake a cake and tell everyone there, "You know... I had crappy parents and I look at my life now, I have a wonderful husband, wonderful cat, dog, parakeet, kids, friends, wonderful home and life... I want to celebrate that in spite of all that, I'm here with all of you.  Tonight is celebrate [Caller's Name] night."

It was an 8 minute long call so I've left some stuff out, but I get it now... I shouldn't feel any guilt... if anything looking back or feeling bad is taking away from being in the moment with my kids or husband or friends or family.  I need to focus on Today... on building Today ❤️ it makes total sense.

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I have a TON of guilt regarding my father even though I shouldn’t. He should have considered himself lucky that his kids even talked to him and my brother flew across the country to fulfill his last wish. In reality he was an evil parent but I am crushed by guilt knowing I could’ve treated him better. Why????? Because I was raised to honour my elders and parents. But I need to put down that bag it’s not mine to carry. I have carried it for 50 years. 

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On 6/3/2021 at 8:42 PM, maritalbliss86 said:

A couple of years ago, a dove built her nest so low in the branches and yet over my husband's truck, that a baby dove fell out and was just sitting there on top of his hood.  We took it in and raised it ❤️❤️❤️ ugh!!!  Best experience ever!!!  Our older two boys trained it to fly from head to head, and it grew really close to us, it was a VERY loving bird.  

We ended up setting it free and it seemed really happy :D Our oldest still talks about it all the time, they named him, "Wally." 

Aw. 

We saved a baby dove, too. Poor guy (girl?) was almost frozen solid when my boyfriend brought him in. I cupped his featherless little body in my hands and sat there for I don't know how long, determined to warm some life back into him. And it worked! Eventually, the little guy was able to stir and then to sit up. 

We kept him for about two weeks. In that time, he went from a bald little nugget to a fully feathered, adult-looking dove. We gave him to a bird sanctuary. 

His name was Lovey Dovey.

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4 hours ago, Jibralta said:

I cupped his featherless little body in my hands and sat there for I don't know how long, determined to warm some life back into him. And it worked! Eventually, the little guy was able to stir and then to sit up. 

That is so sweet, Jilbralta.  I love knowing people take in animals or show kindness in things like this.  Makes the world a better place.  And you get so much out of helping them. 

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On 6/1/2021 at 12:13 PM, maritalbliss86 said:

A momma dove bird built a nest too low in our front yard.  I love that the kids can see into it and gaze at the beautiful little delicate eggs, BUT yikes!!  Any storm may blow the eggs or babies out of this nest.  We'll keep an eye on it... my oldest is excited because we've rescued a baby dove before and raised it till it was ready to fly. ❤️ 

All these wild life experiences 😬  giant snake, dove with future babies, found a scorpion yesterday (killed it and collected it in a glass jar like my dad taught me... the kids like looking at it)  ugh!  I love living near/in the country, but the wildlife in the hotter months are crazy critters!

So cool about the dove!

A big NOPE on the scorpion!

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"The process of shaping a child... shapes also the mother herself.  Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may primarily teach by her own humble, daily example."  Elizabeth Elliot

^This growth that happens as you have more children, there's just nothing like it.  AND it helps morph my ability to see younger moms and understand where they're at in feeling desperate or overwhelmed at times.  It really does change you spiritually, emotionally, and mentally (and obviously physically) to become a mother ❤️ and it's a deep, permanent change, the kind where you realize the stunning fact that you'll never be able to go back to your old self!

***

Grateful for my amazing, handy husband!!!!  He spent a lot of time building me a solid wood laundry organizer where 8 bins can fit into a beautiful bookshelf-like gift he built.  Even my mom was amazed at how beautiful it is... the natural wood and everything, and just so nice and heavy/solid.  The real deal and so practical... both words fit who he is, too LOL.

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Ok so maybe this can be part of, "growth," (?) ....

I thought I had blocked my poor MIL from being able to text me, but a text of hers got through today, thanking both of us for the pictures we sent of the kids (the professional ones came in not long ago and I thought it was a good idea to send them a box of 5x7's of the whole session).  I had sent them a link earlier once they were available to purchase online so that they could buy bigger ones, and alerted them that we would be sending them the box when it came in.

So when she thanked me of course I replied back... it just feels rude to ignore her, even if she has done that to me several times in the past.  And in the other journal I just couldn't bring myself to reply to her Mother's day text when she'd treated my husband like she has for months now... ugh 😬

It would be nicer though if they just didn't contact me at all, constantly pulling me in to their dramas, which was why I had blocked her because even her nice texts were coming across as fake and an irritation considering how she acts toward my husband.  It's like I'm this in between link she has to him, without having to really fix anything with him on her part.  But I am glad nevertheless for trying to be kind and send them pictures... I have no idea how it's going to pan out when they realize they're not in our life anymore really 😞 I imagine they'll try to include me in their dramatic group texts 🙄 but I'll ignore those.

I think my rule moving forward is going to be to reply to polite things, ignore drama.  That sounds sensible.

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