Her: "You're going to be a ring bear. But you won't be wearing a bear costume."

Him: "I'll wear a LION costume! Rarrrrr!!!"

Her: "Not a lion costume. A...what's it called again, mom?"

Me: "A tuxedo."

Her: "Yeah. A tuxedo." (with authority) "Very handsome."

My favorite flowers

...drawn by the hands of my favorite 5 year old. She makes me smile. Silly girl. She's fun and funny, and I am so glad that she's all mine.

More fun: I signed up for this. I've never done a swap before, so I am really excited to connect with other crafty people. I'm so glad there are people out there that organize these things. So fun!!

No t.v.

...well, one t.v. But it's little, and it's in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom. You would be amazed at how little television we watch when there isn't one handy. I used to keep the set on, nearly all day, as background noise. Yuck. What was I thinking? Background noise is now soft music, or the quiet hum of the refrigerator. So much more pleasant.

The kids do more playing. I do more reading. My husband and I do more conversing. It's great. SO. GREAT.

And! There are far more furniture configurations that will work when I don't have to allow for t.v.viewing. Woohoo!!

the Gift

Tuesday

I was doing my morning vacuuming, and had taken the broom attachment off to reach behind the stove, when I remembered a mental note I had made for myself a few weeks ago...


We had some friends over for dinner, when I looked up and noticed (*gasp*) that there were 3 dead ladybugs and one dead box elder beetle in my chandelier. Of course I hadn't taken the time to notice them before that point, and I tried really hard not to look up at the fixture (so as to call attention to the deceased) for the rest of the evening.

That night, my radar was on, and I also noticed several of those little string like cobwebs hanging like delicate garland across certain points of the room. (My goodness, do I never clean?!) I'm sure that none of my guests even realized the scuzziness around them...or if they did, they made their own mental notes to check and see if they'll still be there the next time we have them over...and to be CERTAIN to check if they had anything hanging around their own places when they got home.

Well I can clearly remember that evening how I was GOING TO REMEMBER to get out the vacuum first thing the next morning and get rid of all the junk. But as is typical for me, I didn't remember until this morning.

Dead bugs: Check

Cobwebs: Check

Something old

Awhile ago, I wanted to paint portraits of my children. Do you know how stressful that is? I couldn't handle the responsibility of capturing their features, so I went a diffrenet direction. My son has the most interesting colic (caulick, cow lick?) that swirls around the back of his head. It makes for some intersting Christmas pictures.

The hair just doens't lie down. It comes to a lovely point at the tip of his head with hair fanning back down on the sides of the point. I felt capable of capturing that in a whimsical, loose watercolor. My daughter was a little easier to characture. It was a fun project.

These images came across very poorly. I'll try and retake them a bit later.

Friday

We spent the morning with friends. Coffee, inside play, outside play. What a way to spend the day!

I decided it had been just long enough since I picked up some brushes, and really smeared my hands around a canvas...well, not necessarily canvas per se....I've been doing a lot of painting on just about any flat surface I can squeeze into a frame or stretch across a board. Recycling old materials feels just as good on my conscious as it does on my pocket book.

There's a really great sense of accomplishment and earth friendliness that comes with a finished piece made of only the junk I have on hand.

Happy weekend!

Silly things

I was remembering the other day some of the silly things I used to do when I was little. While I find my children's nuances are adorable, I am a bit less kind when remembering my own childhood quirks.

My sisters were cut from the same (sometimes dorky) cloth. The epitome of our dorkiness came while driving in any city with tall buildings. My father has a terrible fear of heights. With this bit of information, and the spirit of one-up-manship, we would be on the look out for the tallest of buildings.

Oooooh! There's a tall one, "Hey, Daddy! How would you like to jump off of that building?"

With exaggerated trepidation, "Oh, no. I would not like to jump off of that building. Waaaaaay too scary."

Then someone else would spy another tall building, and this conversation would play out over, and over, and over again.

I am so glad my children only ever ask, "How much farther?"


Am I the only one that was a bit dorkish as a child?

D.M.V.

The time has come for my driver's license renewal. In years past, I have been forced to show an unflattering photo of myself *far too often* to a complete stranger. The horror.

Every time I renew, I think, "Try and smile, look thin, but natural, happy, but casual...and innocent." I had one nice DL photo, but it was only for a short while after I got married, and I needed to renew it only a few months later. BUT! The picture was good. I liked showing that one. And of course, because I had just wed, I was thin, and didn't need to lie down my weight. ;)

I am sitting here planning my outfit, my hair style, while practicing a natural smile. Not too big. Not to wrinkling.

Now about the weight; Can you just put the number you are hoping to weigh sometime in the 4 years you'll have the card? Or what you used to weigh when you were 12? Or your weight minus appendages?

Monday

Today, we are back in to our old routine after several days of leisure. It's just as fun to come back home as it is to leave in the first place.

My garden is making some serious headway...I'll post pictures of that soon. My flowers really missed me. Thankfully, they all survived my absence.

A few projects

Found these today...



...I'm going to put them on poles and stick them in the garden. They're small, and they make me happy.

And a few pictures of my yo-yo obsession...

the wreath:





the garland:





I have several works beginning their process in my mind. I'll post more when they become a little more tangible. :)

Sunday

It's been such a nice weekend. We've been enjoying nice weather once again. I've been out tinkering in the garden, and have started some peas, tomatoes, sweet peas, and carrots inside. The peas are coming in gangbusters. The kids are having such a great time watching the little pots come to life.

I had an opportunity to sneak away for a few moments by myself the other day. I stopped in a great little shop, and nearly bought a crackly yellow and green shutter. I couldn't imagine a place for it in that moment, so didn't buy it. Since coming home, I have imagined it in about 6 different arrangements and configurations around the house, so I think I'll go back and rescue it tomorrow.

If I can get the pictures to load to the computer, I'll get some posted so you can see what the shutter ends up being. There was also a lonely little ladder living next to the shutter in the shop, so that might need to come and live here, too. Still not sure about where to put that one.

The Secret of the Stairs

I am reading The Secret of the Stairs, by Wade E. Taylor, and feeling drawn. I shared this passage from this book with two people I dearly love, that are experiencing some really intense refinement.

"We are the "product" that He is producing. He is working in our lives with the specific goal of making us conformable to the image and likeness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

'For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son' Romans 8:29a

In our day, the Lord is brining forth a people who are willing to be tested and proven in order to become all He has determined them to be, that they might be able to buy of Him "gold tried in the fire" Rev 3:18a. He is searching for those who are not spiritually lazy, or content to rest in the blessings and gifts of the Spirit, which they have freely received.

There are those who are willing to go into the wilderness and face intense hunger until they are fed by the Lord Himself. Afterwards, these will come forth victorious in the power of the Spirit to rise into this higher realm of identity with Him." (p 20)

Good Friday

We went to a lovely Good Friday Service at our church tonight. It was so meaningful. So beautiful.

The service was closed with Communion. There were several tables placed near each exit. Pastor explained that we could partake either personally, as couples, or as families--they had plates with which we could collect the bread and wine (juice) and bring them to our seats. Aaron and I quietly discussed and opted to partake as a family. He went to the Table, and gathered our portion. We encircled the kids and reminded them of what each element represented. This was both Little Miss and Little Mister's first communion experience. Typically, they do not partake of the Sacrament, but tonight felt special.

We explained The Body that was broken for us, and we ate the bread. We explained the cup, that Jesus' blood was shed for us. Little Miss made a face. Aaron explained that this cup was filled with juice, not blood, as a representation. L. Mister said, "I want to taste some blood." It was all we could do to hold the moment together.

We drank. We prayed. I tried not to cry.

It was so beautiful.

My Yo-yo Addiction

I'm hooked. I started making some fabric yo-yos last week...and I cannot stop. I adorned a wreath for my front door. I swagged a window. Right now, I'm sewing half a million jewel pastel yo-yos for Little Miss's room. How-where-why, (?) draping the windows, sewn to some pillows, in a frame, on a train, in a plane, in a box and on some sox, here and there and everywhere. I cannot stop.

Pictures to follow soon.

Seventy Degrees

It was just over seventy degrees here today. Ahhhhhh. It was heavenly! After church we played outside for 2 hours. The kids had a blast on the swing set, and dug several "rabbit holes" in the sandbox.

I grabbed a rake to remove the top dressing from the flower beds. It's so exciting to see the perennials starting to grow. It was all I could do not to grab some seeds and start planting today. I'm sure that the warm weather isn't here to stay just yet.

Somehow, I'm encouraged to know that we'll have many more days like that...very soon. Very soon.

Project-to-be

I'm not sure what these will end up as...but I am one step closer to making them into *something*.

I'm trying to come up with something fantastic - which is a lot of pressure for a few (albeit, wonderful) scraps of fabric. It hasn't told me what it wants to be just yet. I love Heather Bailey's Yo-Yo garland. Maybe it wants to be a celebratory decoration? Maybe it wants to be a doll? Or a doll quilt?

Any brilliant thoughts?

Tea time

I was hoping to take a little "me time" this afternoon. A date with my favorite author. A nice cup of tea. Sleeping babes.



But the babes didn't stay sleeping long enough for that dream to come true. My reality rarely fits my fantasy. Ah well. I'm sure Jane will take a rain check. Perhaps this evening will prove to be a better time for me.

Serenity now.....

Paper, paper, paper

I have been sitting here, cooped up in my house for the last few weeks. (Not literally, I've gotten out several times, but am feeling rather dramatic today.) And, have been hearing of all these lovely home projects that friends and family are diving into. I was not in the game. There wasn't anything for me to do. The creative juices were flowing, but I had no where to direct them. Until...

We did some organizing in our basement, and I happened upon a box of wallpaper that I had forgotten about. Voila! Home projects here I come!!

I had just enough of a neutral natural stripe to paper the wall at the top of the stairs. I love it. It added just enough jazz to the hall. Not too much, not over-the-top, just enough. Like a nice pair of earrings....not like a nice pair of earrings and 4 great necklaces and 6 fun bracelets and all the rings from my jewelry box. (*disclaimer* Over bejeweling certainly has it's place, just not a the top of my staircase.)

I was also pumped to discover this wonderful gnarled magnolia branch patterned paper that works perfectly in the bath. I'm nearly finished papering it, and can't wait to rethink the decorative elements to top it all off.

I'd better go and finish before my husband comes home from work. He just loves to be surprised by these things. At least, I think he should love to be surprised by these things.

Snowy Day

...or, Several Snowy Days. We've been blanketed. We are living in Winter Wonderland. There are few canned goods in WW. It's beautiful here, but the population is getting a bit cranky. It seems we've caught a few bad cases of cabin fever.



I saw an opportunity for some outdoor exercise this morning. After sizing up the drifts in our driveway, I turned on a movie for the kids, laid a blanket atop of my napping Knight in Shining Armor, bundled myself up and clomped outside.

There were several thigh-high drifts, which required more muscle than I'm made of to break through. I left those alone and scraped off the snow valleys, pushing a nice clear patch behind my car. Feeling pride in my accomplishment, I made a small walkway that would certainly please our Mail Carrier.

My body was getting a little worn out, but I was feeling so great...think of how much work I was saving my husband! He would be so pleased with me as well. However, the noise I was making scraping off the front steps woke him from his cat nap, and he RUSHED out to rescue me. He was aghast that I was shoveling, and was even more upset that our neighbor was working his way across our front walk with his snow blower. In my mind, said neighbor was doing us a kind-neighborly deed...while in my husband's mind, our neighbor saw a woman shoveling and was coming to the rescue himself. (We are wired so differently)

It all ended well. I got to enjoy sitting on a cleared front step and watching as my Knight shoveled through those huge drifts and cleared the remainder of the drive. My hero. :)