Life and Times of the Sharp Family

Do you know my father-in-law? If you don't know Rob Sharp, you're really missing out. This side-burned, cut-off wearing, motorcycle-drivin' ex-trucker used to intimidate the heck out of me when my husband and I first began dating (almost TWELVE YEARS AGO). But, then, I got to know him.  Despite his rough exterior, he is big teddy bear on the inside.  He loves to read books, and cries at sentimental movies.  Sometimes he cries at sentimental commercials. He speaks his mind in brutal honestly.  I personally find his bluntness refreshing and admirable.  I especially enjoy watching other people's reactions to his openness when they are experiencing it for the first time.  I truly wish I could be more like him in this regard.  And maybe I could be if I wasn't such a non-confrontational wiener. He is extremely intelligent and never shies away from sharing his take on a subject.  But, he still listens respectfully to you even if he happe...

I don't actually like knitting, but I am thankful for it today.   I should rephrase that.  I don't like knitting yet .  My grandmother and mom assure me that after a while I will love it.  It will be a breeze, it will alleviate stress, blah, blah, blah.   I am thankful because my grandmother is teaching me how to do it.  This means some quality one-on-one time with her while she patiently shows me over and over again how to do something she can do with her eyes closed.  Literally.  I'm sure she wants to scream when I screw up in the same ways over and over again, but she doesn't.   I started working on a scarf 4 separate times tonight, and had to take out all of the stitches I did and start over again each time.  2 hours worth of work, and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing.  Not one single stitch. But in my mind, it was time well spent.   Thank God for knitting!   Lord, thank you for giving me an activity to share with my grandmother.  Thank you for her...

I know some of you out there are "winter-haters" but I do have to admit that I absolutely love winter. The more snow the better. Today, I was reminded of my love for the winter outdoors while I was traipsing through my grandparents' property in Clare, Michigan.  It is, in fact, 40 beautifully wooded acres that my grandpa bought for a ridiculously low amount many years ago.  I have many memories of the back 40: My grandpa with Breslin on the John Deere, 2007 When I was small, my grandpa used to haul my brother and I around in his rickety old trailer as he drove his big John Deere tractor around picking up wood to burn in his wood furnace.  To this day, the trailer has a license plate that reads "World's Best Grandpa" nailed to its back. When I was a bit older, I spent countless hours running around building imaginary castles out of my grandpa's deerblinds and fighting villians valiantly--with sticks. In high school, to keep up my mileage for cr...

My least favorite day of the entire year is today.  It's the day when all of the Christmas decorations come down.  All of the ornaments get packed away, and the tree leaves a sea of needles on the carpet as it goes out the door.  In the midst of this sad process, Colby and I took a break to make lunch for our kids.  Grilled cheese sandwiches were on the menu.  The first sandwich we gave to Dharia, who dug in hungrily.  When we asked Breslin if he would also like a grilled cheese, he anxiously replied, "But I need a boy cheese sandwich, not a girl cheese sandwich!"  We laughed and laughed.  The rest of the day as I was working, every time I thought of boy cheese, I had to stop and smile. Thank God for Boy Cheese Sandwiches! Lord, thank you for inserting these precious moments into my life that bring sun to a dreary day.  In your name I pray, amen.

Over the past couple of days, AJ has acquired a new habit of turning to me with a wide open mouth and planting a big, fat wet one on my face. A lot of times, it is accompanied by drool...somtimes snot. No matter how disgusting it is, it is always followed by a giant smile on my baby's face. And no how matter how rotten my mood is, it's impossible to see AJ smile without smiling myself. Thank God for AJ Kisses! Lord, thank you for my daughter and for her new way of showing me her affection. Help me to never take that for granted and to cherish each slobbery kiss. Help me to never forget the many ways she has brought such joy to my life at this young age. In your name I pray, amen.

Today, every time someone said "Merry Christmas" to Breslin, he always replied, "Yeah, Merry Christmas." It made me smile every time. My son, so polite. So OCD. So happy. So...Breslin. Thank God for the Merry Christmas Repeat! Lord, thank you for my son and for the funny things he says and does that make me smile. Thank you that he is the unique and wonderful person that he is. Help me to always cherish this and to help cultivate his own distinctive personality. In your name I pray, Amen.

I know, an odd choice for Christmas day, right? Well, my husband proposed to me 8 years ago on Christmas day. This (for the past 8 years, anyhow) has made Christmas even more special than normal. You should know, however, that the ring that I am so thankful for today is not the same one that Colby gave me so long ago as he looked up at me from one knee and whispered, "Will you marry me?" I haven't worn that ring since July of 2009, when I was triathlon training and it went missing during a particularly grueling training session. I had ridden my bike from my house in Albion to Lime Lake in Spring Arbor. Then I jumped in the lake for a 1 mile swim. Somewhere in that time, the ring that I so loved--the ring my husband had proposed to me with, sodered to the ring that he gave me on our wedding day--fell from my finger. It still makes me feel as if I've been punched in the stomach every time I think of it. I frantically combed the sides of the roads between my house and Li...

Every Christmas Eve... There is beef stew in the crock pot. Mmmmmmm. Yummy. There is (ahem) wine. Some years there is more wine than others. There is the Christmas Story (Luke Chapter 2) and also The Night Before Christmas . Read aloud. This year, it was read aloud over Breslin's cries of "BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE QUIET!" There are new jammies for everyone. There is a fire in the fireplace. Every Christmas Day... There are cinnamon rolls. This year they will be homemade. There are stockings FIRST and presents SECOND. There is a nap. (Which in and of itself is something to be thankful for!) Thank God for our family's Christmas Traditions! They are our very own, and they remind us of what life is really all about. Thank you, Lord, for Christmas traditions that are celebrated year after year. Thank you for the birth of your son, which is the reason for our celebration in the first place. Help us to cherish the time we spend together tonight and tomorrow, while rej...

Three wild kids, Make for one wild ride. That's why I'm glad You're on my side. But tonight You seemed pretty stressed, As all three Cried out in distress. You'd eaten a lot of Skittles The night before. You threw the rest away, To avoid eating more. But as the children's voices grew, Out of the trash came the skittles you threw. You ate them all and pretty quick Garbage skittles seemed to do the trick. A smile on your face And a spring in your step If garbage skittles make us laugh-- What the heck? I'm thankful for you and the weirdness you bring, I couldn't do this without you You're my everything. Thank God for my husband and Garbage Skittles Therapy! Thank you, Lord, for Colby and for the way he can always make me laugh and smile no matter how stressed out we both may be. Please help our relationship to continue to grow. Please help us to always be on the lookout for ways to laugh together through all of life's trials. In your name I pray, amen.

This post will not do justice to the way my heart truly feels about my daughters. They bring so much joy to my heart that it feels like its going to swell up and burst little glittery confetti everywhere. And, why did God choose ME to care for such two amazingly beautiful, funny little creatures? After looking through these pictures, listening to this Taylor Swift song, and writing this post, I feel like I could spend 365 days counting all of the things I love about my daughters. But, that's not really the point. So, here is pathetic attempt to show how very grateful I am for these two loves of my life... --- Ponytails. Sweet smiles. Kisses. Pink. Butterfly wings. I am so thankful for my girls today. I know how I was as a teenager, and it scares me to death to think that they will most likely give me the same grief I gave my mom. But for now, they are sweet and joyful and I am their favorite person in the world. Your little hands wrapped around my finger And it's so quiet in th...

So, here goes...day 1. I'm not trying to set a precedent here, I'm just trying to be true to my commitment and to follow through with what I set out to do for the next 365 days. So please forgive me if this post isn't as monumental as one might expect for a day 1 of a year long resolution. Today, I am thankful for the interval training that I did in the middle of the day. If you are not a runner, maybe you don't know what intervals are. Interval training involves bursts of extremely high intensity work followed by a period of recovery. They are tough, no doubt about it. As a cross-country coach, I can tell you that when we announce that a day is an "interval day", the announcement is usually followed by much groaning and gnashing of teeth from the athletes. Today began in a kind of funk for me. No real reason, just not on top of my game. By the time midday came around, I didn't even feel like running, to be perfectly honest. But, I did. I donned ...

Maybe you wonder what drives me the most crazy as a high school teacher. Without hesitation, I can tell you that the sense of entitlement that most teenagers bring with them to class is the most disturbing thing to me about our young people. What do these kids think? Seriously, you haven't turned in over 50% of your homework assignments and you wonder why you aren't passing the class? Really, I should provide you with a pencil if you don't come to class prepared? Are you actually accusing me of losing your homework? I get the feeling that if it was up to them, they could just show up to class and get an A. Come to think of it, they probably would rather not even come to class. Maybe just check in via text. Today, I ran across a blog that belonged to an old friend of mine. She made a resolution to post a blog every day for a year about something she was grateful for. I read it and was amazed and inspired for this attitude she had cultivated in her own life. The concept of in...

Getting a Christmas tree is a big deal in the Sharp household. And not just in the fact that it requires dressing three children under the age of 4 in appropriate gear for tromping around in the woods in the cold. It's my second most favorite day of the year (after Christmas, of course) and it is steeped in rich tradition: The tree is real and is cut down with a handsaw by my fabulous husband. The tree is decorated while eating pizza. We watch a Christmas movie afterwards. The whole thing might not seem like much to you, but it is really quite magical for us. And this year was no exception, even though we had some issues with the lights which required me making a last minute run to Dollar General. Yikes. Breslin is really starting to get into the Christmas spirit. Yesterday when I picked him up from daycare, I asked if he had a good day. He said, "Yeah. I want to go home and see my Christmas tree, though." I was delighted. Then, at night, he asked, "Where are the ...