Gentle Reminder

Isn't that a beautiful sunset?
Well it sure didn't happen tonight.  They're calling for snow.
Snow.
I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Got back earlier this afternoon from our women's retreat.  It was a wonderful time of encouragement and refreshment.  Played 13 rounds of nerts- very fun.  Then stayed up talking with a dear friend until 1:00.  So I am tired but gladly so.
Brian's parents graciously helped out with the kids- they all had a great time it sounded like.
I have to say it was a bit hard for me to be "all there."  I missed being at home.   I was so looking forward to a little time away and I did enjoy it but it just doesn't feel quite right to be away from my family.  That was somewhat convicting.  I thought about how often I grumble about having to do this, that, and the other.
And while I was away, I just wanted to be able to do this, that, or the other.
It was a gentle reminder to strive for contentment and thankfulness in all things.

Spring?

Well so much for warm spring weather.  It's chilly today!  But, that didn't stop us from picking up milkshakes on our way home from CC to celebrate today- last day for the year!  (We'll keep working at home but for this year, CC is done.)
Lucy had her first real trip to the park earlier in the week.  By real I mean she was actually down exploring and playing instead of watching from the stroller.  No more watching from the sidelines for me for a while!

She and Sammy don't always agree on what is "helpful" but today she allowed his "big brothering."

The Peepers

I love having the windows open.
I love seeing the curtains blowing gently in the breeze.
Tonight I was upstairs folding some laundry and listening to the peepers through the open windows.
What a pleasant sound they make.
The funny thing was, all at once, they were silent.
And I have no idea why.
I stopped what I was doing to just listen and in a few minutes, I heard one, then another, then they were all singing again.
Does anyone know why they would all fall silent at the same time?

Listening to them reminded me of being at my grandma's in the summer time.  I don't know if we were listening to peepers or cicadas or what but I always liked listening to them make their songs in the trees after the sun went down.
There was no air conditioning but I remember the evenings always being nice and cool so the windows were open.
It was kind of like a lullaby, sending us off to sleep each night.

Waiting Her Turn

Soccer Saturday

Spring soccer started saturday- how's that for alliteration and I didn't even try.
We have a new soccer player in the house- Kayla.
I expected her to be a little timid on the field.
I was wrong.
She was fast.
She was fierce.
Well,  not really.  But she was a little more aggressive than I thought she would be.
She did have a great time- that's what's important.

My "green shark" is number 4.  That was my field hockey number in high school.

Love this girl.

Jack and Lucy watching the game.  It's a little hard for Lucy to be at the soccer field and not be able to have the "ball-ball."

Could he be a little tired of these soccer games already?

All tuckered out.

Butter and the Moon

I'm not sure where to start here because I have lots of fun pictures and stories to share.
I'll start with two words.
Brown.  Butter.
I cannot even begin to tell you how good it smells.
And when we mixed it with brown sugar and vanilla, it made me smile.
The finished product, brown butter toffee blondies, is in the oven now.  I'll let you know how they taste but I can't imagine that they will be anything but delicious!  Not healthy in any way, but delicious.

I guess the other thing for now is the supermoon.
We loaded everyone up in the van last night at dusk to drive about two minutes from our house to a spot where we could have a clear view of the horizon.
Cloudy.
We watched and waited.
We passed the binoculars around- not sure why- it was supposed to be a super moon, right?
But, no moon and everyone was getting tired.

It was getting past bedtime for the littler ones so we decided to head home.
As soon as we got home, I took Lucy up to her room to put her to bed, looked out the window, and there was the moon.
So, everyone got back in the van and off we went.
I have to say, it did not seem all that much bigger to me.
But, it was beautiful.  And I am so glad we were out there to see it.
Maybe in thirty years the kids will say, "Remember that time mom and dad took us to that parking lot so we could look for the supermoon..."

Dads and Daughters

photo by my young friend, Geneva H.

A "young"friend of mine put together a slide show of some of her favorite photos and set it to music.  Loved it.  Of course some of my cuties are in it but even without them, it was really good.
It got me to thinking about dads and daughters.  At first I was thinking how proud her parents must be.  Then I noticed a picture of her dad looking at a little one whom I'm guessing is his niece.
Then I thought of Brian with his girls, me and my dad.
I remember at my wedding, seeing the tears stream down my dad's face.
I've seen how Brian is sometimes overwhelmed as he watches his daughters.
I've heard stories of Brian's dad just about moving heaven and earth for his little girl.
I've watched how my brother quickly was wrapped around his baby girl's finger.
Fathers, daughters.
Grandfathers, granddaughters.
There is something precious about those relationships.  Of course a dad's love for his boy is no less strong, just different.  They are both sweet things.
And how sad when it hasn't been a sweet thing.
The older I get, and maybe partly the older my children get, the more thankful I am for my own dad and his love for me.
I have been so blessed with a wonderful mom and dad and grandparents.
I know that gift has never been a small thing, but now I begin to see just how big it is.

Rainy Day Reading

Can you think of a better way to spend a cold and rainy afternoon?

This looks great to me.

 A couple of the books in his pile:

This is a really sweet book we found last week at the library.  The end took me a little by surprise so you might want to read it yourself before reading it to a young one.  All the kids liked it.  It rhymes the whole way through and gives lots to talk about.

I loved this one!  So full of wonderful language for children to listen to.  Just the way I picture an adventure for a young boy in the country.  It's long but it kept Sammy's attention the whole way through.

Both of these books are recommended in Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt.  In it, she makes suggestions for reading to kids of all ages.  It's a great resource that I often check before heading to the library. 

Happy Reading!

Cuteness

Saturday morning pancakes can only mean one thing- messy goodness.

We moved Lucy to the table from her high chair.  She and Sammy look so cute sitting there together.

I think she enjoyed her blueberry pancakes!

15 Months

It's time for a good Lucy update. She just turned 15 months and is so full of sweetness.
A few things to know about Lucy:
She gives great hugs.  She puts her little arms around your neck and squeezes, her cheek next to yours, sometimes playing with your hair.  All you have to do is say "Hug, Lucy?"

She's also a talker.  Has been for a while.  I don't think we've had a baby that jabbers like she does. Sometimes it's almost like she's having a conversation with you, complete with pauses and expressions.  So funny.  She has about 10 "real" words.

And the men.  She still loves for men to hold her.  Even men she barely knows.  Now this, I've never seen anything like.  The other night she was with a young friend of mine.  Then she saw someone else's dad, whom she didn't know.  Got down, walked over to him, and held up her arms.  Of course he picked her up.  And she was just as happy as could be.

I guess one of the last things to note is how much she enjoys looking at books.  She talks through them, too.  Here she is with Kayla, who is becoming a book worm in her own right.  I was so glad to catch the girls in this picture.

The Old Stuff

The other night I was on my way to pick up Kayla.  I took along a cd I hadn't listened to in a while- Neil Diamond.
And I turned it up.
Loudly.
And I sang with Neil.
Loudly.
"September Morn."
"Hello."
"America."
"Forever in  Blue Jeans."
I loved it.
Then it hit me.
These songs don't seem that old to me.  But they should.  They should be the "oldies".  Right?
Ohhhh...
Am I getting old enough to still enjoy the songs that are old and lame to young people?
I think so.
I have to wonder when my children will begin to say "Oh Mom..come on."  Although I don't usually listen with them around.  So maybe that will come a bit later.
But it's ok.  There's nothing wrong with the old stuff.

Rainy Wednesday

It is a rainy Wednesday and I kind of like it.  Everyone is either reading or napping now (I'd like to do both) and we've got some cool rise french bread resting in the fridge.  I love making this because one, it reminds me of our Berry Ridge friends and two, it will smell so good when we bake it and taste so good when we eat it.  No little red hens around here- Kayla did most of the work again.  It will be a little treat for Brian when he gets home.  Chili and homemade bread.  Perfect.
Now the house- not so perfect.  I'm stepping over all kinds of stuff.  Coats, crumbs, toys, recycling boxes that Lucy likes to spread around, books, pencils, and who knows what else.  So much needs doing.  I guess we'll get to it later.  A friend of mine and I see it like this:
If someone comes over, they will leave thinking one of two ways:
1-They will feel better about the state of their own house, knowing it is not as bad as ours
OR
2- They will feel better because they are not the only ones with homes that can quickly hit a downward spiral.
It's a win-win for them!
Ha.
Well, off to enjoy a little quiet of my own.
Enjoy the afternoon.

Sunday Thoughts

I noticed this little one sitting on the train table this morning.  No one else was around.  She was so quiet.
I guess alone moments don't come that often for her.  She was looking at a book, I think.
It seemed like a nice way to spend a rainy morning before church.

A few things that made me smile today.
Jack got ready for church and came down in a yellow polo.  He just stood and looked at me.  Like he needed some affirmation.  So I told him I thought he looked really nice.  He scrunched up his face and said, "Well, Mom, I've never really thought of yellow as being my color."  Ha.  I laughed out loud.

Then there was Samuel waiting for church to begin.  His legs straight out in front of him, feet covered in cowboy boots, as he sat in his chair.  His orange and yellow plaid shirt along with his red and silver striped tie that he loves.  And his little hands folded together as he leaned slightly forward, a contemplative look on his face.  I often wonder what he's thinking.  When he saw me looking at him, he smiled and came to sit in my lap.  Good stuff.

The other was during the service.  I watched Kayla as she followed along in the hymnal and later with the songs on the overhead.  The responsive reading in the bulletin.
Trying to sing with the congregation.
Participate in worship.
My heart swelled at this.  At the sweetness of it, yes.
But also that this is only the beginning of learning what it means to worship God.  A very good place to start.  And yet there is so much more.  I pray that she, and all the kids, can learn what it means to truly worship Him in all of life, in spirit and in truth.

Jack's 9

How did we get from this

to this

to this?

I know everyone says it but it happens so fast.  

I remember seeing him for the first time.  I was bone tired but it didn't matter.  There's such a sense of wonder about any new baby, but especially your first.  There he was, with that head full of dark, dark hair.  This one that had grown inside of me, kicking, stretching, making himself known.  

Causing such excitement, anticipation, joy.  

I remember holding him and just staring, taking it all in. 

And now here he is, half-way to "adulthood."

I learn so much watching this one grow.

He surprises me.  

He makes me laugh.  

He makes me smile.  

He loves his brother and sisters. 

He reminds me to pray.

He gives me great cause to be thankful.

Happy Birthday Jack!  We love you. 

It's another birthday eve.  Jack will be 9  tomorrow.  THAT is hard to believe.  I love getting ready for my kids' birthdays.  It's fun for them to have a special day.
Today has been a pretty good one.  Yesterday, uugghhh.  No particular reason as I look back on it but my own heart.  So often I'd love to blame away a bad day but if I'm honest, I can't do it.  I called Brian mid-day and told him I wanted to quit.  He gently told me I have the one job you can't quit.  By dinner, things were looking up.  And now, I'm really looking forward to some "Candleford" tonight with Brian.  We're on the last set of season 1.  I find myself thinking about the characters during the day- speculating about their lives, their choices, what's next...
Anyway, off to get these little ones to bed.  Have a good night!