On the Farm

Absolutely therapeutic view. Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your creation!

Out pickin'

I LOVED going to pick out my pumpkin as a kid. I always found just the right one, of course. It was a personal experience. :)

So, it was great fun to see the girls find their very own little treasures in the patch. They have good taste! Picked themselves some cuties!

Home Sweet Airstream

Maybe it's the crisp fall weather...
Or maybe it's just progressing time...
Perhaps, it's the pregnancy hormones...
Or the new rug for the hallway...

But for some reason, our little airstream is feeling more homey. This property is feeling more like home. I am thankful for my healthy little family, a good heater, and a happy little place to nest in this season. God has given me so much!

A Birthday for a 2 yr old!

Libby has such a wonderful birthday. At one point, (I think it was after the cake and presents), she spontaneously started saying, "I'm happy!" It made my mommy heart melt.

She requested oatmeal for her birthday breakfast (crazy kid), so we made it pink with sprinkles. :) Then she got to dig in the dirt, another of her favorite things. Then her Grammy showed up! For nearly an hour after Grammy's arrival, Libby would come up to Daddy, point at her, and say "Gammy!!" just in case Daddy hadn't noticed. :)

Then she opened a mother load of presents, including things like pinwheels, a flashing bouncy ball (which she wanted to sleep with), her very own "icey" for owies, and a baby doll diaper bag. The diaper bag was a hit. It came with wipes and diaper cream, which she stowed in the purse and then repeatedly talked about how she had "everyting I need!" for a trip to town.

It was a joy to celebrate 2 years with my little fiery red-headed beauty!

Back from web silence

Hello, world! Well, hello very tiny world that follows my blog. ;)

Blogging has been a low priority lately. But I have few little things on my mind, so I'm going to share.

1) we are going to meet our new addition to the family around Valentine's Day. (hence the recent lack of blogging)

2) we are living in an airstream trailer during a transition season of our lives. I have lots to say about tiny living, but not today.

3) My girls are GIRLS through and through. The crowd that says that gender is something we merely train into our children cracks me up. Have they ever HAD children?? So, here's my example... The girls and I get some outside time every day. We make a point of it, because we know that the weather will turn soon. Anyway, we don't take toys outside. The girls seem to find plenty of amusement with sticks, sand, dirt, rocks, etc. The other day, I observed Evie cradling an oblong rock in her arms, cooing maternally. She was mothering the rock! Yes, among all the dirt and grime and adventure, my little girl was as feminine as can be. God created her FEMALE, and it shows. Absolutely lovely little girl.

Getting outside

Perhaps it's closer quarters, perhaps it's the weather, but we have been enjoying the out of doors this season! It's so much fun to see my girls exploring their world (sometimes with the help of their Daddy, as you can see). I have been so used to clean little munchkins, though, so allowing them to mingle with mud has taken some doing! It's funny. I always thought I'd be totally fine with my kiddos getting down and dirty with nature, but I actually have to take deep breaths and go with it! I'm laughing at myself as I type this. Maybe I need to have some boys. Maybe it's different with boys. Anyway, my girls are loving it. Daddy gave them a bucket of water and some cups and sticks, and they poured and played for over an hour. Evie was making soup in a puddle, sprinkling sand in here and there as seasoning. It's so good to see.

At the end of the rainbow

Did you know that the pot of gold is actually Panda Express and Pier One? Makes sense to me!

Sisters

They sure have some sweet moments.

Unearthing memories

We are going through a big transition in life, which means sorting through EVERYTHING! ...even the freezer!

And here is what we found! The top tier of our wedding cake. :) My mom wrapper it up for us in a zillion layers on our wedding day, so we could eat it on our first anniversary. Hahahaha! Well, 4 1/2 years later, we finally chose to enjoy it. Well, at least to unwrap it and look at it. I was holding out no hope of it actually tasting good.

But we did brave a bite! And I'm so glad we did, because it was like time travel. It was sooo good STILL! No freezer burn! It brought me right back to that wonderful day! Mmm. Chocolate cake with raspberry cream filling and a buttercream frosting. I remember going cake tasting with Jonathan when we were engaged. I remember picking out those flavors.

What a lovely memory in the midst of the chaos of picking up one's life and putting it elsewhere.

My job is important

Sometimes I'm still not convinced of that! Isn't that sad? I spent so much time in world...this world that tells us that women should work...this world that tells us that you're wasting your education if you don't have a career...that my spongy character soaked up the message. It's taking more than a few years to wring out my sponge and let me soak up the truth.

The truth! My babies show me every day. And I see it more as they become more in tune with their surroundings. Maybe if I didn't care what worldview they grow up with, it wouldn't matter. But I do care! They are looking all around them every waking moment for information! I am their source! That is an important job!

Hush, world!! You don't know what is important anymore! Your priorities are upside down!

I will continue to stay home with my babies. I will be there to witness every bit of it. I will be there to introduce them to Jesus. I will be there to answer their questions. I will be there. It's my job!

My sweet babies. Why would I want to be anywhere else?

Mother's Day

I love my family. My sweet girls bring me so much joy, a joy I didn't know existed before they were born. We had a really nice family day together on Mother's Day. My hard-working husband made the trek to be with us. We lingered over breakfast, snuggled in our jams long after morning, wandered around town with the only goal to enjoy, and then had a delicious dinner at my favorite restaurant.

I felt very aware of the blessings in my life. To be a mother is a privilege and a reward.

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psalm 127:3 KJV)

A Sponge

I have always been a sponge. Wherever I am, I soak up the attitudes, feelings, and sometimes worldviews of those around me. To a certain extent, I shift with the wind.

I didn't recognize this when I was younger, but looking back over my life, I see it clearly.

I. Don't. Like. It.

I KNOW this is not good! I recognize the trait in other people and dislike it in them. But oh the plank in my own eye.

I also know what it stems from. I desperately want to be accepted and liked by those around me. I hate rocking the boat. I want to be in the boat where everyone thinks I am just dandy! I would rather lose "me" to gain them.

In school, I was teacher's pet. I got good grades because I wanted to be the good student and daughter.

At play, I rode horses at a barn. After I began to know Jesus, it was probably hard for anyone there (none of them Christians) to know the difference.

At my Christian college, I bonded immediately with the outgoing girls in my dorm and morphed into a somewhat jaded Christian. I lost my new passion for Jesus.

When I graduated, I began work at a hospital where I struggled desperately just to do my job. My whole purpose in nursing (to serve the hurting as Christ would) was smothered by my inexperience and desire to not look a fool in front of those crusty, sassy nurses.

Getting married was a very, very good thing. My husband has challenged me to think beyond the obvious! He is out of the box and is just fine with that. And since marrying him, I have started to look at that sponge tendency in my life.

I've tried in my own strength to resist it! I want to remain true to the TRUTH...to Him! ...no matter where I am or who I am with. I want to be filled with and secure because HE loves me! It should not matter if others even like me!

But my efforts fail.

Just tonight I had a simple revelation that probably should have come sooner. I could ask Jesus to help me not be a sponge anymore! And so I did.

Even as I write this, I wonder what people will think of my words and how they will view me. I wonder why I feel the need to blog this at all.

Oh that my Lord would quiet my heart to hear Him. I want to be healed of this "fear of man."

What is my Blankie doing at the fabric store???

...says Libby. Or at least she must have thought that!! Look at the love! Oh, it was so funny to see them both lean over with magnetic attraction and bury their little faces in the comforting pink fuzz. Such contented coos and exclamations of delight! That one Libby is snuggling happens to be the very same fabric I made her favorite blanket out of! She was overjoyed to have such a pleasure in the middle of our day of errands. :)

Fizzy Fun

I think may have enjoyed today's craft more than my kiddo. And that's saying something, because she loved it!

Ingredients:
Pan O Baking Soda
Eye Droppers
Food Coloring
White Vinegar
Eager Children

:)

I'm really enjoying Evelyn reaching an age where she can not only be trusted somewhat with messier activities, but where she really gets into them! Thank goodness for pinterest as the never ending source of fun ideas!

Perhaps we'll repeat this one again in a few years when we're working on chemistry! (yikes! Chemistry is in my future again!!)

Bleach Pen Shirt Art!

This was one of those projects that I just wanted to keep doing! I could have done it to ALL my shirts and been happy. :) but I may have regretted that later. Thus, only 3 after all. I found the directions here:

http://ladywiththeredrocker.com/2011/07/25/bleach-pen-shirts/

Then I bought my bleach pen.

Then I started the art!

This is how they turned out.

(of course, I only took one picture of the process, because I was too wrapped up in the fun!)

Visits

We were soooo happy to be spending some time with some treasured friends recently. Her little girl is right between mine in age, and it was a joy and a hoot to watch and help them play together. They live out by the ocean, so the girls got to see it for the first time! Pretty fun! Though, very cold and windy.

I also enjoyed looking through their wedding scrapbook, remembering days gone by. How I love to remember those days!

Cousins

We saw our cousins a bit ago, and they came bearing gifts of matching pink delightfulness. At least, I'm pretty sure that's how my 3 year old saw it! Well, it was pretty delightful to behold as well. :)