Saturday, January 31, 2015

End of a Mini-Epoch

Sometimes I have hypothetical conversations in my head.  Like, after noticing a man in the grocery store take a second look at the whistling girl (me), the head-conversation ran like this: 

(Man) "Why are you so happy?"  

(Me) "Oh, I don't know...because the sun is defying the thermometer today.  And because I'll be bringing a stinkin' awesome fruit and veggie selection to the Super Bowl party tomorrow.  And because I JUST FINISHED PAINTING THE CHURCH HALLWAY!"  


So this church hallway painting project?  I originally meant it to be a summer project--you know, while Andy was home to play with the boys.  And so, because the Rest Of Life still happens, and because I'm a very slow meticulous painter, and apparently a gross under-estimator...

...this project is concluded on January 31st, 2015.  Hooray!  Here is a sampling of the hallway mural work for you:



Next up: the nursery.  Noah's Neighborhood is about to have a serious makeover.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Getting a Fresh Wind

Andy and I ate a weird dinner of reconstituted turkey casserole while the boys were still sleeping.  Turkey casserole apparently doesn't freeze well, but freshly sauteed onion and celery and some homemade croutons made it bearable.  

When they did wake up, all they wanted was to cuddle.  Well, what Lincoln wanted was NOT to cuddle, but to be sitting on Andy's lap without Andy touching him at all.  He's kind of a weird kid sometimes :0)  

So we put a movie on.  And hubby and I promptly fell asleep.  

We came to at 7:36, when Lincoln finally started asking for food.  

Andy went to bed (he deserves a break, being under the weather and short on sleep all week long).  

And somehow I got a fresh wind.  The boys had paper-plate dinners with all major food groups represented (a baby carrot and some grapes definitely redeem hot dogs and croutons!), while I washed a few dishes...which turned into all the dishes...and the house is pretty well picked up...and the boys are making marker masterpieces.  

And I wrote you a blog post.  Remarkable!


Sunday, January 18, 2015

But It's OK

Sometimes I wonder why I should bother to write things to you, because it's all been said already.  Why would the world need another post encouraging mamas, or giving tips to be better organized, or reminding you that thankfulness makes a difference, or sharing my own children's moments or the views out my window?  There's so much of it already, it's overwhelming!  

But we forget, don't we?  So, so quickly, we forget to be mindful of a larger perspective than our day is dictating to us.  

And who am I to assume that you have found the same wonderful encouragement that I have today?  After all, overwhelming tasks are often avoided, even the good ones.  

And if I don't share pieces of my life with you, what's the point?  We are wired for relationship.  I need you, and you need me.  We fulfill and satisfy heart-needs in each other when we share life.  

Anyway, sitting here to put thoughts into words organizes my brain, and allows me to think more deeply, to form more fully the thoughts "on my mind" but not especially rooted in my soul.  And these thoughts, they need deeper roots.  They need to bear fruit in me, and by sitting down to write I allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate my Soil more intentionally.  

You may think I'm wonderful about perspective things.  I know this to be probably true because I think it about some of the wonderful people I know, and feel bad inside about my frequent failures in comparison.  

But I want to let you know: I'm messy too.  A Lot Of The Time I feel like I'm not good enough.  And usually dwelling on that goes ahead and makes me grumpy, so that even the good I've done in a day is spoiled by my grumping around.  

I KNOW it's hard to pare down, I KNOW there's a lot on the plate, and I KNOW just how many options there are for how to use a day, an hour, a few minutes.  

I am determined to learn and grow and change, with at least a vague notion of what my life would be if I could only...(praypassionately, putthefooddown, exerciseconsistently, affordamonthlymassage, studyscripturedeeply, writeachildren'sbook, writeathousandthankyounotes, becheerfulwithmyfamily, forgiveforever, washthedishes, putthelaundryaway, haveboundlessmercyandgrace, pulltheweeds, speakmyheart, etc).  

But it's ok.  

I am learning.  I am growing.  I am changing.  

Little acorns from oak trees grow.  

Learn to love what must be done.  

Choose the right next thing.  

So I write.  


Saturday, January 3, 2015

And So We Begin


On Monday, Lincoln will enter a new era: that of the school child!  After several months of irregular school at home, we realized that in order for him (for all of us) to be emotionally and physically prepared for full-day kindergarten next fall he needed to be in a classroom now.  
He will spend the rest of this school year in morning pre-k at our local elementary school, and (other than a much-adjusted morning schedule for me) we are all excited about the start of this new season.  
On the last day before Christmas vacation, we visited his classroom.  Andy got to come too, because his district had already begun vacation, and we thoroughly enjoyed observing while Lincoln joined with his classmates as they rotated through Centers, watercoloring, doing seat work, and calendar time all together.  We are very happy with his teacher and classroom environment, both from our own interactions and feedback we've gotten from friends with older kids.  
The above pictures were taken outside the main entrance to his school we before we headed out to lunch to celebrate his "first day"; he was in the mood for a goofy photo shoot.  That might have had something to do with the cupcakes everybody shared to celebrate a classmate's birthday...

Despite our excitement, we're going to need His grace for this new season!  Probably me more than any of us, as mornings will suddenly look very different from my usual relaxed quiet times and leisurely breakfasts.  I plan to drive Lincoln to school instead of putting him on the bus, so the clock will become very important :0)