She took a deep breath in, held it… and then slowly let it out. But for the mess of breakfast dishes, and the almond milk left sitting out again, it would be hard to tell there was a crew of kids in that kitchen only minutes before. Gazing out the window she spotted the big yellow bus pull away… with her crew of kids. Turning back to the dishes she sighed deeply and hugged her mug of coffee close.
All posts in Life Keeps Changing
Prancing
Some times I feel so much better then I have come to expect that I think about prancing through the day. As long as I am still at home I can assume everyone will understand and not be weirded out by it… that thought leaves pretty much the moment I am locking the door and jumping into the van… even before I am out of the driveway. Good mornings really do warrant something though, don’t they? Today I went with it and got a ‘to do’ done that I had been easily putting off. The prancing and dancing came later… once I had returned home 🙂
32 and Counting
I have made a big change this year. I am going to be willing and open to help, ready and available for healing, and always ready to fertilize hopefulness. Brave, for me, has been redefined, no longer does it mean a strong stance and serious face, but a thankful stance and an honest face.
Labour
Four times I had been to this part of the hospital. Four times, and yet it wasn’t all that familiar. My memories where blurred with the nervous energy of a mother in pain; a mother in labour. This time I took in it all, all but the pain. My memories of this birth will forever be sharper then the birth of my very own babies.
Something New
Yup, this is the new blog… under construction, that should be pretty evident. I want to welcome those who have popped or linked over because of my little blurb on facebook.
A New Home
Garnet is setting up a new blogging home for me!! It is well under way and should be ready to launch SOON!
Thirty Something
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| (their beautiful sparkling young eyes) |
Turning thirty did make a difference… at least for this lady… I am well over thirty now. Looking back I had no idea it would change anything, which is a naive thought because everything changes things… every day brings change and just breathing means you are growing, changing and lets face it… aging.
I was thrilled with the hope that I would suddenly be taken more seriously, once I left the 20s behind… ironically much the same feeling I had as I left my teens behind… now I realize the whole ‘taken seriously’ thing is pride and I don’t want to be too serious about life or I will not age gracefully.
Age gracefully… oh… that has been my plan the whole time I was young… now I took off my glasses and could see myself clearly for the first time since childhood (thanks to contacts) and realised age had been sneaking up on me as it does everyone else… only mine had been hiding behind some dark frames…and I hadn’t noticed for a long time. The initial realisation had me teary and I was horrified at my human, and very womanly, response. I was worried mostly that others would notice, and be as shocked at the change as me, and perhaps be unhappy with me.
Beauty fades if it is just a skin deep thing.
Obviously some insecurities where rubbed a little raw as I glanced, through contacts, at the over thirty me.
I alone can decide how I am going to react to aging…
Had a good look at my children. Looking them in the eyes (their beautiful sparkling young eyes) I decided I have to be mom first. Would I ever stand for my daughters seeing their beauty as only skin deep? Or my boys overly worrying about their short lived handsome features? When I behold my loved ones all I want is for them to find eternal beauty in the potters hands… so…
I remembered how I have ALWAYS had an abundance of grace toward my mothers looks, almost romanticism… she has and always will be beautiful!
Contemplated the stunning ladies who have mentored me and written on my heart. Most where elderly when I knew them, skin deep beauty had faded to a story of life lived on their skin. Their secret wasn’t cosmetic surgery but eyes still sparkling with love, life and passion. They had hearts ablaze for Christ and so they oozed fruits of the spirit…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
~Galatians 5:22&23 (ASV)~
meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
~Galatians 5:22&23 (ASV)~
… fruits of the Spirit… something/someone that can’t be bottled and sold… except perhaps bottled into our hearts… as long as we invite Christ’s Spirit to flow in our lives, he will be there to transform us into true and ageless beauty!
But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
~2 Corinthians 3:18 (ASV)~
TTFN
Spring Activity
Spring makes family time SO easy!
All of a sudden our yard, front or back, is a wonderful place to be!
Readers are popping up all over the yard, following the sunny spots really. The front step is a favorite place to sit. Just the other day my mother (in law) and I sat upon it and enjoyed tea in the sun together.
All the sports equipment is reappearing. It emerges from the garage and is instantly spread all around the yard. Catch with Dad is a favorite. In the above picture we are enjoying the front yard, during a part of the day with more sun there. My littlest man is wearing his biking helmet, though he didn’t bike much. It just happens to be a favorite outdoor fashion accessory of his.
Our drive way takes up the whole west side of our yard. It, the driveway, is taken up by a large collection of pine cones. They are forever falling, thus providing forever fun. My five year old collects them like nobodies business. One minute they are eggs, next minute she is just the maid trying to keep this yard clean (by golly) and later they became newspapers. She would pass them off to her older two siblings who (TRUTHFULLY) then bike up and down the block throwing a pine cone into each yard; calling at each stop ‘NEWSPAPER’! I laughed so hard and didn’t want to ruin their fun but kept my fingers crossed that the neighbors would forgive us…
Speaking of bikes, you bet the bikes are out and busy! All four of our crew are now puttering around. The bigger two are so good at it they could motor all over the city, if they where so inclined.
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| (The kids working on a dinosaur excavation toy in the back yard.) |
Back yard fun has included a lot of clean up, all the winter gunk seems to collect there. But, there has been fun too. Just today the kids where digging up dinosaur bones ( an Easter present from their grandparents). The other day they got to dig in the backyard sandbox for the FIRST time this year and it took a lot to talk them back out. Of course the back yard is home to the famous apple trees and my eldest is often up there pushing her monkey child limits. She likes to go up high enough to see her friends house (two blocks up in our crescent) and then try to signal her to come over and play.
Neighborhood kids are popping up left right and center. They zero in on our yard like puppies to bacon. I smile, set my limits, enforce my limits and let them enjoy the yard with my children as long as they behave.
Basically I know it is spring because I have gone from demanding the kids “Get out side and get fresh air”, to demanding they “Get inside ALREADY”!
TTFN
Mud Hunters
Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.
~Quoted by
Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You
MARCH means mud, at least this year!
My youngest two and my niece went hunting for mud and puddles. We where impressively successful, in spite of snow and ice still being around.
While the park was dry enough they only used the slides and monkey bars a short while. Most of the our time was spent with sticks in hand exploring the mud. A couple times the girls worried me, almost toppling over right into the mud, but most of the time we basked in the squishy sounds of mud below our rubber boots.
A few of us went home with wet feet, those of us brave enough to wade into the deep puddles soon learned why Mama doesn’t. I decided not to worry about them getting all a mess… somehow we all ended up going home in good spirits… wet feet and muddy clothing and all.
Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
~Doug Larson
TTFN
On A Quiet Day
Rough start to the day, but these chocolate drop cookies, I had whipped up last night, where a slightly sweet invite back into the world of appetite.
The recipe is from my ‘Salem Church’ cookbook… a book that means so much to me personally (used to be my home church). Each recipe holds a name I usually recognition, a woman I know or knew of, this makes me smile and feel like they have shared them just with me… Never do the recipes taste as good, prepared by myself, as they did at the church functions, prepared by THE holder of the recipe…
It is a not much kind of day. My littlest guy and I are in our pj’s and I am working on feeling better.
Iron-man is keeping him company. He is a big superhero fan and although we have cut down on most of the toys around here he sure enjoys the ones we kept. His iron-man toy used to be his big brothers, but my bigger guy never was as into the whole superhero thing.
So my boy and his toy have been doing everything together. Morning cartoons, ‘iron-man armored up’ of course. Breakfast was together. They wanted oranges, yogurt and honey toast. If I ask my little guy to come up stairs he has to fly iron-man the whole way, with sound effects and all. Iron man has been really busy shooting the bad guys all over my house and I appreciate that, gotta clean out the riff raff.
You can’t find better company then a boy and his superhero.
Such a different time of my life this is. I choose the do nothing days, slowing things down is up to me. Used to be with babies and toddlers all around slow and not much was the normal kind of day. Now the nothing days are the special days.
TTFN
