Kim, AKA Cinderella

For the last several years, I have been incredibly blessed to have what I affectionately call, "my handler."  I teach a "Bridge to Kindergarten" class and Kim is my aide.

I truly love being a teacher.  I love to daydream about new adventures to take the kids on.  I love to try new ways to help them learn to read.  I love to do the unexpected.  I long to leave a lasting impression on the kid's hearts.

When you are a dreamer, however, you often sacrifice the ability to look at the details.  That is where Kim comes in.  In the last three years she has always been there for me.  I often think about a surgeon and how he slightly turns and the nurse has the tool he needs right there and ready for him.  He doesn't even have to say a word.  That is what Kim does for me.  She is always ready and has already anticipated what I need.  She is always ready with the supplies and usually has everything ready for me 3 weeks ahead of time.  I am truly blessed to have her.

I think what matters the most to me though, is that she never criticizes or gets frustrated when I am a little flighty, she is just ready with such joy.  If she has to clean up one of my spontaneous messes, she just smiles and gives the kids a hug.

My co-worker and I lovingly call her, "Cindy" (short for Cinderella), because she is always doing chores for us.  In fact we had a Cinderella birthday celebration in her honor.  A handsome prince came and everything!

If I had to pick a pair of shoes for her it would definitely be the ones I have posted.  She is always comfortably stylish!  She does everything she can to do the best job possible, but always with a heart of humility and servanthood.  One of the many blessings of school starting back up is that I will have my beloved "handler," sister, and friend again.

Thank you, Kim.  See you soon!

The "Bucket List" Me

I have to say, I have more shoes now than I have ever had.  I have great tennis shoes, boots, snow boots, flip-flops, "Toms," and even some "Yellow Box" shoes.  I have tennis shoes to try to stay healthy by walking everyday.  I have boots to help me be taller once in awhile.  I have snow boots because I love to go home to Colorado as much as possible.  I have flip-flops, well because they are the closest thing to being barefoot, which is what I ALWAYS prefer.  I have a pair of "Toms" and some "Yellow Box" shoes because I wanted to move past one pair of black shoes and one pair of brown shoes and indulge a little bit!

For the most part, I am a very simple person.  I really could care less about fashion, but I try to look nice every once in awhile.  I am almost always practical and if you came to my house, no matter how prestigious you are, I would prefer to take off my shoes, fold my legs up under me, and listen to whatever is on your heart for hours and hours.  Shoes can be so unnecessary!

There is another side to me, however.  I took this picture of a dear friend and when I was looking at it tonight it reminded me of "The Bucket List Me."  This is the lady that believes the sky is the limit.  This is the lady that is willing to do whatever God asks her to do, wherever and whenever.  This is the lady that dreams.  This is the lady that is a little off her rocker!

Here is my "bucket list," shoes or no shoes:

• Write and publish a book
• Give special needs training in Colorado
• Give special needs training in another country that is out of my comfort zone
• Make a difference in the world and never know it
• Go to Alaska and Switzerland
• Teach more people how to read
• Lead children with special needs to Christ
• See my whole family love God 
• And my husband has instructions to put a big piece of cheesecake in my mouth and take me skydiving if I find out my time is running short :)

And that my friend, is the "Bucket List Me."

Steffani

Dear Steffani,

Of course you are on my list to talk about!  You have a lot of shoes to pick from, girl.  I always thought I would write about your black shoes with the bling on them.  You like those shoes and so do I.  We have had a lot of adventures together with those shoes!  We have gone to California and shopped, ate in all kinds of restaurants, raced for parking spots and had a lot of laughs.  They have gone to Starbucks numerous times and at all times of the day and night.  They are part of our history.

I will never forget your yellow shoes.  Every time you where them you say you love them and a little while later you say, "Oh yeah, these are the shoes that hurt my feet."  They remind me that as an employer you are always willing and ready to walk through the hard stuff.  You never ask anything of an employee that you are not willing to do yourself.  In fact, you usually do the hard stuff for us.  I have so much respect for you as an employer and leader, Steffani.  You always go before us and set the example.

I have seen you give so sacrificially of your time, your talents, your love and even your possessions.  You have given people the coat off your back, the purse off your arm, and the shoes off your feet.  You never think of anything as yours, only God's.

The shoes I love the most, however, are your tennis shoes.  They have been there for me during the hardest challenges of my life.  You have walked the road with me whenever I needed you.  You have
walked beside me as a mentor, as an accountability partner, as an employer, as a sister, and a friend.

I love you and consider you to be one of the great blessings in my life.

Deana

Sarah

     Sarah was born with a love for Minnie Mouse.  She had Minnie Mouse sheets and three years of Minnie Mouse birthday parties.  She was always happy and always smiling.

     During the teen years, Sarah had a love for Disney princesses.  She and her close friends all chose the princess they most resembled and gave one another appropriate gifts for their chosen identity.  We had princess birthdays and princess proms.
     I remember on her wedding day we had an argument over her shoes.  I wanted her to wear beautiful "glass slippers," but she wanted to be barefoot.  You see, Sarah has always had an image in her mind of what beautiful was.
     Now I look at Sarah's "glass slippers" at age 22.  I love them.  They are Sarah.  I have seen her wear them to work.  I have seen her wear them to the pool.  I have seen her wear them with a beautiful dress (but only for a few minutes!)  They are crazy, but they are Sarah, and that is why I love them!

     If I were to pick a word for Sarah, it would be "Endurance" and her shoes rightly represent it.  She bought her shoes because she loved them, but soon heard they would build up the muscles in her legs on her runs and build her endurance for the harder runs.
     Sarah has never been afraid of hard work or doing what it takes to be stronger.  This used to be true of only her physical condition, but now it is emotional as well.  Sarah has been through more trials than many of us experience in a life time and I am continually amazed by her endurance through a trial and overwhelmed by her ability to adapt to the challenges before her.

     Sarah has gained a lot of strength and understanding of who she is as a young woman.  She understands that she has gifts to offer the world.  She has a vision for what she wants to do and the confidence to reach her goals.  Her beauty has deepened because she now understands what beauty truly is.

     Sarah's motivation is based on her love for her daughter.  She has endured a number of changes, but her endurance to do what is right is inspiring.  She is a wonderful momma.
     Sarah is in the midst of a long race.  Sometimes she is in tennis shoes and sometimes she is in "Vibram Five Fingers."  Sometimes she is behind a stroller and sometimes she is taking a moment to herself.  One thing is for certain, she will endure and will endure with grace.

     

Bethany

     It was only a moment ago that I was cross-stitching "I love Grandma and Grandpa" on a newborn 

t-shirt.  Bill and I were so excited when we found out we were going to be expanding our family.  At the time we were living in a tiny, white frame, 600 square foot house in Denver, Colorado.  We didn't have a penny to our name and had rented the house from a gracious lady with the promise that we would have a well-paying job soon.  Bill was attending seminary and I had a temporary part-time job. We were too happy to be afraid of all the responsibility.  We felt too blessed to be overwhelmed by our lack of money.

     Bill soon found a great job working for an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and we started getting things in order.  The pregnancy went very smoothly.  I loved almost every minute of being pregnant and we anxiously awaited Bethany's arrival.

     Bethany was born 19 inches long and a weight of 7 pounds 1.5 ounces.  She was healthy and absolutely beautiful.    My best friend, Ann, had her baby across the hall from us in the hospital just a few hours after Bethany was born.  We were so excited to be entering motherhood together.  Neither one of us knew what we were doing, but we knew we had each other and great husbands by our sides.

     We took Bethany home and the next month was full of sleepy days and awake nights.  We took turns letting each other sleep and loved on our sweet Bethany.  It wasn't long before we had concerns over Bethany's weight.  She couldn't gain weight.  After many doctors visits, hospital visits, blood draws, nursing and nutrition evaluations, we still didn't have any answers, nor did we have any weight gain.  Bethany was being nursed and given formula and cereal with formula mixed in it throughout the day and she still didn't gain weight.  My mother flew out for support and finally we found a doctor that had some answers.  He diagnosed her with "Renal Tubular Acidosis."  He said that within weeks of taking the medicine she would be fine and she was.  We were so grateful for the huge and quick turnaround in her health.  

     In those early days Bill and I were determined for her.  We were determined to find the answers.  We were determined to give her anything she needed.  It wasn't long, however, before we saw the determination in Bethany.  At the age of four, she was determined to be able to read American Girl books by the end of the year.  The books are written for a second or third grade level, so I told her that would be pretty tough since she didn't know how to read yet.  After catching Bethany under blankets with a flashlight reading books and finding her in the bathtub reading books, we realized how determined she was to reach her goal and amazingly, she did.

     As a student, Bethany was incredibly determined.  I taught her at home the first 10 years and she was a wonderful student.  She was motivated, interested, and pushed herself every step of the way.  She loved to learn.  Later she went into public school for ninth grade.  It wasn't long before she was determined to graduate early and she finished school one month after she turned 17.  I had to beg her to walk the stage 8 months later.  I couldn't understand then why it wasn't important to Bethany, but now I know.  It was because she was already on to new goals and was determined to meet them.

     I always wanted my daughters to be strong, independent, and able to stand on their own two feet when they were grown.  It made for some colorful moments during the teen years, but she is an amazingly strong, independent and successful woman.  She never ceases to amaze me!

     Since Bethany's graduation, she became fluent in sign language and spanish, tutored adults in literacy, built trails in Oregon and Washington while carrying a 60-70 pound pack (she only weighed 100 pounds) and welded a bike and took it to Italy where she rode around the coast.  Then she rode her bike to Mexico and back.  It was only in the last 100 miles she discovered she was pregnant.  I will never forget her saying, "Mom, I knew something was wrong because I just couldn't make the last 100 miles (this was after riding 700 miles)."

     Yesterday marked the achievement of another goal for Bethany.  While working part-time counseling mothers (mostly in Spanish), being a wife and a mother of a two-year old, Bethany finished her degree in Community Health.  She graduated from Texas Women's University Magna Cum Laude.  She often got up at five or six in the morning to work on her studies.  

     Living Shoes is about the stories behind each pair of shoes.  It would take a huge pile of shoes to show all of the dimensions of Bethany, but her historic Harley-Davidson steel-toed boots incapsulate her determination the most.  I have learned many things from Bethany, but I am always inspired by her determination.  I am proud of her goals and the great lengths she takes to reach them.  I don't know where the next part of her journey will take her, but I see so much of my mom and dad in her.  She has such a huge heart for the marginalized in society, for those that don't have a voice, and for people that need to be heard.  I am very proud of her.

From dictionary.com:

de·ter·mi·na·tion   [dih-tur-muh-ney-shuhn]  Show IPA

noun

1  the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.

     

Living Shoes will be here soon!

     It has been a year since I attended the "Colorado Christian Writer's Conference."  It has been my goal to get one of my books published before the year was up.  The first book is currently in the publishing process.  I should have the first copies in my hands in a few weeks.  It has been an exciting journey and I have learned more than I thought possible about the publishing process.  I am so thankful for all of the old and new friends that have helped me along the way.  

     Living Shoes is my first book, written for my children.  May it be a blessing to them, to their children, and to each of you.  My second book, Living Grace, is about my journey in special needs ministry and will start the publishing process in the fall.  It is currently being critiqued by a variety of friends.

     I will keep you posted on release dates but until then, I hope you will read my variety of short stories written from the lessons of a medley of shoes.

Behind every pair of shoes...

Behind every pair of shoes there is a story.  When I was a little girl, my father and I used to play a game whenever we would go shopping with my mother.  We would run off to the shoe department at the closest department store and let the games begin...

Dad would pick out a pair of shoes and ask me who they reminded me of.  If I guessed the friend or relative he was thinking of, I would get a point.  Then it would be his turn to guess who I was thinking of.  We would try to choose the most outrageous shoes we could find and every selection seemed to trigger an old family story and we would get lost in reminiscing.  We had a great time and never seemed to tire of playing it.

This little game gave me the idea for the book, "Living Shoes."  Since those early years of childhood I have looked at shoes differently.  There is a story behind every one of them.  In my blog I will share a picture of some shoes and the story behind them.  You will be inspired and touched by the stories I will share with you.  This blog will lead to the eventual release of my book, "Living Shoes."

I hope you will enjoy reading the stories of people I have found interesting throughout my journey.

Blessings-

Deana