Monday, March 28, 2011

So this is life ...

da de da daaaaaa
(m hmm m hmmm)

It is what runs through my head as I take in the scene around me:
The water running in the sink, washing out a jar;
a piece of French toast cooking on the stove, with 3 more on the plate;
2 tuna sandwiches on one counter;
4 sippy cups lined up on the other counter;

I fill 3 and go to put the lemonade away only to realize that I still need that lemonade for the 4th, so I prop the fridge door open with my foot, grab the lemonade, fill that last cup, and then throw it back into the fridge.
I laugh at myself and hum.

"so this is liiiiiiiiiiiiiife"
to the tune of that Cinderella song.
I don't even know why that is the song running through my mind,
I haven't heard it in years upon years.


Bread crust in the shape of a "u"

"so this is liiiiiiiiiiife"


letter trains made out of magnets across my bedroom floor
da de da daaaaaaaa
(mm hm mm hmmmmm)


Little toes and fingers that excitedly point to the letters,
proudly proclaiming,
"E, O, R, T, A!"
none of which is correct
"so thiiiiiiiis is liiiiiiiiiiiife"


And isn't this life grand?

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sweet Saturday Mornings

For snuggles and smiles.
Sweetness and sighs. 


Breakfast and blessings. 
Blankets and basking in love.



Friday, March 18, 2011

Project 52: Week 10: Self - Freestyle

So, I'm extremely late on this. 
I even missed the deadline for getting to Sandi! 
Gah.
I hadn't done that at all up until this last week. 
I had gotten every week in before the deadline. 
Fail.
I did e-mail Sandi and got it to her the next day but she has a crazy life and didn't have time to throw it in the facebook album.
(Which I totally understand!)

But ... time escaped me. Life took over. 
Chaos ensued. 


This week's assignment was easy and hard. 
Self-portrait: freestyle. 
No guidelines
No restrictions
No restraints
No rules

Whoa. 

My first and original idea and actual image were a little too scandalous for the eyes of the world! So, it's reserved for the eyes of my man. ;o)

Here are the others I came up with:




^Runner up!^

^Actual submission!^

I lub my books. 


Friday, March 11, 2011

I live for little moments ... like this ...

I've had this blog post in my head since Wednesday but sickness hit us and I have been washing sheets and blankets non-stop since Tuesday morning. 
It is now Friday morning and I put load 11 in the washer an hour ago. 
I still have 3 to go ... 

So, I'm taking a break while the children do room time and blanket time to work on some pictures and get this blog out of my head and into cyber space. 

Wednesday. 
Wednesday was a great day. 
Seriously!
The funny thing?
There was nothing at all spectacular about it, it was just ... normal.
Clara cut a tooth, threw up because of it, so I washed all her bedding. 
Then during her morning nap she had diarrhea that leaked and I had to wash all her bedding again. 
This in addition to the 3 washes from Tuesday!
She got 2 baths and was all the rage in her penguin towel - blowing bubbles and toddling around. 
Because she toddles now. 
She's not a baby. She's a toddler. 
Which I will never utter aloud. I will forever be in denial. 



Emma and I made 2 loaves of bread (sweet bread and English muffin bread) but for a good part of the time she just watched over the other 3 - playing but also helping and I loved it.


And when she was helping me with the bread, the boys were being adorable! They were playing really well together and recreating Toy Story with their Buzz and Woody toys. 


My children often rock the "no-pants" look, in case you were wondering. 


For whatever reason I just loved it. I felt refreshed and encouraged and thankful. So very thankful. 


And Clara ... she just warms my heart. 
Her little toddle is adorable and her little butt that sticks out - especially when she's wearing cloth. 
And she got new jammies that just make her that much MORE adorable! 

See that butt? See what I mean? 

She's rocking John Deere jammies AND holding a tractor. Daddy is SO proud. 
Maybe she'll marry a farmer. 
Kassi, is Callen going to be a farmer? Lol. 



Oh, I can't handle the cuteness any more. 

* * * 

Then later tonight when I was finishing the dinner dishes Emma was making coffee for everyone (pretend of course) and gave me a cup and Wyatt a cup. 

Wyatt looked up at me and says, "I can drink da coffee mama?" And while it seems so litte, I think it's incredibly adorable and fruitful that he actually ASKED me for permission to drink the coffee. 
So many times their little wills (especially that 2-3 year time when they push as hard as they can) just rear and they don't seem to care what you think or what you want them to do. 

Why does that even matter?
The truth? It matters far more than we like to think. 
It shows submission to authority.
It shows that he is under my authority and at that moment he was content and happy to be under my authority. 
And if I want to make ANY difference in his heart and his life, he HAS to be under my authority. 
Not being under authority breeds selfishness, rebellion, discontent, and hard-heartedness. 
In that moment, he was cheerfully submissive to my authority. 
If I want to hold his heart, I have to be his authority. 
He has to know that he answers to me, that I answer to Daddy, and that Daddy answers to Christ. 
Build this in your children and you will win.
What a wonderful thing to see in my nearly 3 year old! 

THAT is why it so blessed my heart to hear him ask for permission. 

So, despite the insane amount of laundry I have been doing, I know I am blessed. 
While I may have lost sight of that a bit last night, 
I am daily reminded that 
God is good 
and 
I AM blessed. 

Project 52: Week 9: Street Life

This week's assignment was street photography. 
I had big dreams. 
But reality, well, reality is 4 children 4 years old and younger with a hubby who works late and isn't home until bedtime. 
Therefore, my desires and ambitions for strolling around the cities' darker places finding those haunting, intriguing images that I think of when I think of "street life" were not in the cards this week. 
And I'm ok with that. 
This photography thing is slow paced for me and that's how it should be right now. 

So, I decided if I wanted to complete this assignment I was going to have to stage it. 
So I dressed the children in old, ripped, ill-fitting clothes and gave them hotdogs to eat by hand, without buns, and sent them outside (in 20* weather) with no shoes, just socks. 
Crazy right? 
Well, we worked fast and they warmed up inside real quickly. :o)

Here are the images I chose from:

Messy faces, dirty socks, snow, garbage. Close to what I was going for but looks staged. 

This was the runner up. I thought it was funny that they were interacting with one another and that Wyatt really wanted to share his hot dog with Emma!

Submission! Who can resist feet? It just felt right to me. 


Someday, I'll hit the streets of Minneapolis and capture real street life, but for now, this is great. 

Monday, March 07, 2011

The Shame of Fatigue & a Give-away

I subscribed to a blog called: Raising Homemakers and I love it!
Today there was a beautiful post about the shame of fatigue and the myth that we aren't allowed to be weary if we're "just" working at home.
Of course we'll be weary! 
Of course we'll get tired!
Of course we'll get discouraged and frustrated!
That is what brings us back to the cross of Christ. 
And it doesn't or shouldn't matter whether we are wearied while building at home or we're out in the work force or in school and wearied from that work. 

Why is being home diminished such?
Why is it not worthy of being viewed as noble WORK? 
It is HARD work. 

Harder than working 9-5 most days, in my, very personal opinion!

I hope to write more on this later but for now I need to mention the give-away on that blog!

and read the wonderful post about fatigue.
Then, towards the end, you'll get filled in on all the wonderful details of the book give-away:
Joyfully at Home

I'm really hoping to win this, of course, because I know that I struggle daily with my joy - inwardly and outwardly! 

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Project 52: Week 8: It's a Bug's Life

Week 8 assignment: a Bug's Life:
| anything from the perspective of a bug |

I went with my first idea this week, though not executed in the way that I was originally thinking. 
I wanted a cookie. 
A huge, ginormous cookie. 
With a bite out of it and crumbs along the floor. 

I also wanted you to be able to see a titch of the floor and at least part of the chair leg. 
You know, like the cookie got set down and forgotten about. 
Why you would ever forget about a cookie, I really don't know, but go with me here, it was what I had in my head. 

I was also stuck on this idea that it should be mostly the cookie in view because, well, if you're a teeny tiny bug, then your focus would be this "giant" cookie! 
It would be all you saw. 

Here were my top contenders for images:

1. You see the cookie as the main goal but the middle crumbs are in focus most.

2. Crumbs are in focus. I'm lookin' at those tasty crumb morsels.

3. Eye on the prize! I'm gettin' that cookie if it's the last thing I do!

4. Up close and personal with those crumbies. This was the runner up. 

5. Actual submission!
The only thing I really regret is the processing. I wish I would have edited it differently. 



Cheerio!