Planting roots, raising souls...

Tonight I was washing my hands at the sink. They were covered in dirt from working outside. Isn't it funny how it's often simple little moments and mundane activities that can spur grand realizations?

I was just washing my hands. But as I rinsed my hands in the cool water, I realized that I was so grateful for this big blue kitchen sink. I had scrubbed and scrubbed it when we moved in. I had struggled to reach it with a 9 month pregnant belly. I had stood at it and watched from the window as the clouds rolled in and the pine trees swayed through winter storms. And now, after a long, hot, muggy summer day working in the yard, I washed the dirt from under fingernails.
Standing there- it felt familiar. It felt like home.

Some days it feels like we just moved into this house.
We have been here for nearly 9 months.

Maybe it's that we haven't let the gratefulness die. There isn't a week that goes by that we don't point out how much we love being able to live here.

But my thoughts spiraled from there (as they often do) to how much this home is just a tiny fraction of what I am so thankful for.

This weekend we planted 3 blueberry bushes.  We're planting 3 raspberry bushes next.  And a small little patch of strawberries. We've planted roots. Literally. But it's the roots you don't see that I am most grateful for. It's the invisible shoots that are tying our little family together, bringing us closer and knitting us into something that God wants from us that took me and my little thought world by surprise tonight.

I thought about how God is molding our family with the little functions and traditions and routines that we go through day by day.

We've sown grass seed in our yard, and one memory verse at a time we are doing our very best to sow God's word into our little girls.
We've attended BBQs and picnics and have fed our family in the blissful sunshine a lot lately, and every night before bed, we also feed little souls with cuddles and Bible time.
We've dug holes and filled holes and pulled weeds in the yard, and we've labored in prayer for our children, asking that He might fill in the holes of our parenting and the weeds of sin in each one of us.
In these little things, we're planting roots and raising souls.

I am grateful for the cool water that flows freely from the faucet and for the Father who's Living Water used a big blue sink to encourage my heart tonight.

She's Somebody's Hero

She knew me before I took my first breath.

She knew what foods I craved and what made me kick.

She nourished me every second since she learned of my conception and every second since I took my first gulp of air in this world.

Nourished my body with hers.

Nourished my character by speaking strong words-love words, to build me up and make me believe I was courageous and beautiful.

Nourished my heart by hiding it in hers.

Nourished my soul by introducing me to Him.

Nourished my deep hurts and pains and guided me safely through the turbulent waters of adolescence.

Nourished my wearied and worried and wonder-filled first-time mommy mind.

She doesn't mind my bad moods. Or my arrogance. Or my naivety.
She overlooks my bad habits and my annoying idiosyncrasies.

She sees only good and loveliness and hope and potential and she convinces me, if only for a few moments at a time, to see it in myself, too.

She rocks my babies now. And whispers good things to them. Building them up as she built up their mother before them.

She knew them. She knew them before they took their first breaths.

She's worn many hats and she's tied many shoes and she does it all with alarming beauty and grace and selflessness.

She's my children's grandma.
She's my hero.

I just call her Mom.

Ah, nuts!

Ah, nuts...Nutella that is.

Nutella sure has gotten a lot of attention lately, huh?

Exploding on Pinterest.

Blowing up in the news.

Um, just FYI, HOT coffee from McDonalds is HOT and a CHOCOLATE spread where the first ingredient listed is SUGAR is NOT HEALTHY. I know. Mind.Blowing.
(If you don't know what I'm talking about, search any news site for Nutella.)

Anyhoo, Nutella also got some attention in our house today.

Keith's not home tonight. And our supposed-to-be-sunny and warm day was not sunny. Or warm. Which was actually a blessing.
Before you fellow Portlanders start throwing things at me, let me clarify. I am not one of those un-Godly fascinating people who prefer rain and clouds to beautiful, blissful sunshine. I LOVE sunny days. Particularly warm, sunny days. But I was operating on very little sleep today. Not because of angel baby. She slept (unlike) a baby all night from 10pm until 7:30 this morning. Have I mentioned how adorable she is?

Yup, I know. Cuteness with baby cheeks.

No, unfortunately, my sleep deprivation state was completely the fault of numero uno. To steal a quote from a friend, when it comes to bedtime, I have the self-control of a puppy. Lately it has been worse than usual because my "late" nights have been fewer and farther between. Which also equals to I stay up later to make up for lost "me" time. As in, around 2:45am, I look at the clock, wince, and head to bed. Where I consequently get into bed and realize that I am absolutely FREEZING and feel really guilty about cuddling up to Keith to use him as a human-heater, but do it anyways. I digress.

Today I just wasn't on my game and I knew it. I woke up with a terrible headache. I decided I would WILL it to be a good day despite my exhaustion and the dull throb in my head. I was not about to ruin a perfectly good, sunny day or take out my poor choice on these little faces.

But after dressing us all in shorts and t-shirts and a onesie, the weather turned cloudy and cold. So around 10:30 I up and changed my expectations for our day. Translation: I decided that it was an EXCELLENT day to be a slacker more-flexible-and-laid-back mom.

So we played on the floor. A lot.
I sat and rocked Madi, scrolled through news feeds, and pretended to throw things for my retriever "kitten." Yes, by the way, kittens are excellent retrievers.
I fed them.
I folded a load of laundry while Natalie piled stuffed animals in a semi-circle around Madilyn's head. And then magically 3 hours had gone by and it was naptime. Oh glorious naptime!
After putting Natalie to bed, I took angel baby into my bed where I let her nurse for as long as she wanted while I read. She dozed off and I read. My babies slept for 3 blissful hours while I, yes you guessed it, read.
It.was.marvelous.
Baby asleep laying on my chest and three hours of uninterrupted reading time pretty much sums up a perfect lazy afternoon to me. Despite the persisting headache, I felt SO refreshed after this.

So I decided to make an incredibly nutritious and nourishing dinner.

Or I chatted on the phone with the hubby (who's at a work event tonight) and decided that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sounded pretty perfect.

Any guesses at which one of those is true?

But then, I took my parenting to the next level and decided why stop with peanut butter and jelly? Why not eat peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches for dinner?!
I'm pretty sure this is what Keith heard as I rustled together our gourmet meal..."Hmmm...I wonder which has less sugar- jelly or Nutella? Let's take a look. One tablespoon.....12 grams......Two tablespoons 21 grams.....Ha! I knew it would be less than jelly. AND it has protein. Double score! Chocolate sandwiches for dinner here we come!"

Can I just stop and say that I love my husband for not judging me after witnessing this via telephone? Not only did he not judge me, I think he was actually a little jealous that I got to tell our two-year-old that I made her a CHOCOLATE sandwich for DINNER!

You should have seen her face. Seriously. Many "dank you Mommy, dank you!" comments were involved. It was pretty awesome.

See the wet wipe? What's wrong with my kid? She had to wipe her face and hands after every bite because she's that much of a clean freak. It eventually got so distressing that I just fed her bites.

And this is how I so graciously ate mine.

Yes, right off the cutting board. Look away Judith Martin.

Okay, so before you start linking up a gazillion studies on the effects of poor nutrition and long-term health problems and inspirational quotes on staying organized amidst the daily chaos of homemaking, please know that this isn't exactly a common occurrence.
Laying around all day is not a typical day for me.
I have a to-do list app on my phone that has a systematically scheduled list of everything I do from the daily laundry to the once-every-six-month-smoke-alarm-check. If I could color code it, I would.
I also didn't let anything that wasn't organic or healthy pass by that cute two-year-olds lips until she was nearly 14 months old. We are far, far from where we should be when it comes to healthy eating, but I do KNOW that eating good foods is, well, good. Kinda like I know that hot coffee is, well, hot.

But doesn't everyone need a Nutella sandwich for dinner kind of day once in a while?

P.S.- Crescent rolls + dollop of Nutella: Roll up and bake=a little piece of Parisian HEAVEN. Okay, maybe not truly Parisian. Just put your children in berets and squint your eyes really tight and imagine that tower of laundry is the Eiffel Tower and you'll totally be with me on this one.

Blessed Witnesses

*Meant to post this weeks ago!

The weekend before February 13th was a very normal one.

We took Natalie to Pump It Up on Friday night.

 We went to the zoo on Saturday.

We went to church on Sunday.
And then we witnessed a miracle on Monday.

Did you catch that?

Meet our little miracle:

No, there weren't any complications with labor or delivery.
No, she wasn't rushed to NICU upon her arrival.

She was simply born.

God took a tiny piece of imperfect me

  and a tiny piece of imperfect Keith

 and made this:

A beautiful, adorable, swollen-faced little miracle.

And people still need a sign that there is an all-powerful, awe-inspiring, endlessly-loving God?

Hello world. My name is Madilyn.

Driving Miss Drive-Me-Crazy

I love my kids. I love them like crazy. But sometimes, they drive me nuts.

Today I wanted to run one errand before lunchtime.

One.

If you have/had young kids you know that this isn't something you can just do. It takes pre-planned thought, extra effort, and about 40 extra minutes of what I (un)affectionately like to call "loading time."

So after everyone was fed, dressed, burped, changed, taken to the bathroom, cleaned up, hair done, toys picked up, chores done, pacis found, diapers and wipes reloaded, and I looked presentable enough to go in public without looking like a completely frazzled mess we make it to the door. Not out the door, mind you. To the door.
I am strapping in a screaming, tired infant into her car seat and repeatedly asking my two year old to "please put on your boots. No, don't touch that, that's yucky! Please get your boots on. Here's your coat- put your arms in. Please stop twirling so we can get your arms in. Please get your boots on. Don't give her the paci unless you ask me first please. Natalie Nicole get your boots on! Will you please just get your boots on?!

Deep breaths...

Out we all go into the driveway.
Baby in. Still screaming. Little Miss Natalie is admiring the neighbors flowers.

Deep breaths...

Everyone's loaded and buckled. Baby's sucking contentedly on her paci.

"Mommy my music?"
"Not right now baby."
"Why?"
"Because Mommy doesn't want any music right now baby."
(Translation: If I have to listen to silly songs right now something or someone may get chucked out the window.)
"Why?"
(Maybe if I just ignore the question...)

"Mommy where we go now?"
"The dollar store."
"Why?"
"To buy some things."
"Why?"
"Because we need squirt bottles and a small trash can."
"Why?"
"To clean with and to put dirty wipes in."
"Why?"
"So we can keep our house clean."
"Why?"

Deep breaths...

"No more why's today baby. You can ask why tomorrow."
"Why?"

"Ask your Daddy."

B is for Back on Track

Um, not sure how this didn't get posted...since I wrote it back in April...

Yes, after a nearly eight month hiatus, we are back on track with our alphabet scriptures. This week we've been learning all about the letter B. Our verse is "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 16:30
Today we read all about Barnabus and how he showed Jesus love by sharing with others. We've kept it pretty simple otherwise- coloring bears, butterflies, and balloons.

Besides singing our verse to a tune (this week's was to the tune of "Oh Be Careful Little Eyes") we've also been singing the alpha friends songs. This week's was Benny Bear.

I didn't do a great job at taking picture of our B crafts, but here is "Rapunzel" with a background shot of the fridge with a couple of our B activities.

Cute things I want to remember...

Cute things Natalie says right now...

Surprises-
Natalie: "Mommy, pize you..."
Translation: "Mommy, I have a surprise for you..."
Usually with her head cocked to one side and her hands behind her back holding her "pize"

Sharing the love-
Natalie: "ah too!"
Translation: "I love you too!"

Name Game:
Natalie's version/Translation
Belle/Belle
Rella/Cinderella
Mimi/Minnie
We-ah-wah/Mickey (there's a story behind that one...)
Ah-Why/Super Why
Jay/Jake
Bah-ee/Barbie
Pun/Rapunzel
ella or ey-ya/anyone whose name she can't say =)

Question Time-

Wat dat?

And another couple favorites-


When told she needs to do something she doesn't want to do sometimes instead of saying "NO!" She'll slump her shoulders and say "Whyyyyy, Mommy, Whyyyyyy?!

And when happily surprised to see something (no matter how big or small) she'll raise her eyebrows, smile, and say "What?! What?!"

Traditions

I love this time of year.

There's something so comforting in the traditions of it all.  I was thinking about that tonight and couldn't help but wonder about the traditions that Jesus took part in. When He and his family celebrated Passover, what little things did they do every year to make it special? Was there a certain way that his relatives told the stories of their ancestors? Was there a game the kids all played every year? A certain song his mother sang?

What would it have been like for our God-become-man Savior to experience these celebrations, these festivals of remembrance and gratitude towards His Father..towards Himself? What a mystery it is for us.

How do you wrap your mind around a boy with skinned-up knees and calloused hands, helping his family prepare to celebrate a memory of a day that He was part of and yet not yet born? 

Did he smile fondly at mothers with children, remembering the lives-young and old-He spared that night in Egypt? Was it bittersweet, to also remember the pain, the weeping of Egyptian mothers, mourning for their lost babies, unaware of their own lost souls? Or was He caught up in being a child- doing chores for his family in the preparations, playing games with His brothers and cousins and friends?

I like to imagine that He enjoyed the traditions that His family kept, that the familiarity in them year after year sparked the same warmth in His heart that it does in mine. Since we are made in God's image, surely this isn't too far of a stretch.

Becoming a parent makes you think about things like traditions. It makes you conscious of what you are passing on-purposefully or not. It's such a joy to pass down certain Christmas traditions that I grew up with. And a privilege to witness the beginning of new ones. This year has had a great mix of both so far.

My challenge to myself this year is to be more conscious about how I present these traditions to Natalie. I want every tradition to point to Him, no matter how silly it seems. So we'll be baking cookies and giving them to neighbors and talking about how blessed we are to have an oven to bake goodies in for others. We'll be singing Christmas carols and reading about how David sung his heart out to God. We'll be opening an envelope each day to reveal another Bible story to read, another ornament to add to our Jesse tree collection. And yes, we'll even be anticipating the arrival of Santa here, and talking about how God loves a cheerful giver.

And with any luck (and a lot of Grace), this purposefulness, this pointing to Him will last into the New Year...

What a tradition that would be!

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

This line keeps ringing through my head when I consider our progress on our Alphabet Scriptures.

The letter "A" went so well. Natalie still points out A's everywhere we go and I find that the verse pops into my head at just the right moments! (A gentle answer turns anger away. Proverbs 15:1- Even if she didn't completely learn the Scripture, at least she'll have a Mommy who did!)

Right after we finished the letter A, however, we found a house to rent. A complete blessing, but a big hiccup in our Alphabet Scriptures progress!

Well, we are now settled and I was going to start with the letter B this week. But then I realized that Thursday is December 1st. 

We now interrupt your regularly schedule program for...CHRISTMAS! 

Another wonderful and blessed interruption. Christmas is such a wonderful season! When else does nearly every store blast music worshipping our Savior? When else do people decorate their yards with a baby Jesus? The opportunities to share Jesus are endless this time of year! I hope to capitalize on these opportuinities with Natalie, but I know that my human nature will probably get in the way and we'll speed through this season with little purpose. Enter a little planning and intention...

So we will be holding off on our Alphabet Scriptures until January and will be attempting to do activities based around an Advent calendar (which is still in the needs-to-be-made category.) Today is my planning day (which I decided to use as an excuse to stay in my pjs today) and hopefully by Thursday we will have 25 days of Christmas centered activities, stories, and verses to learn. 

My desire is to keep it very simple. Some days will just have a card in them with a family activity that we plan to do no matter what (like getting a Christmas tree.) Some days may just have a piece of candy in them. But hopefully most days will have an activity for us to do together to learn more about Jesus, the Christmas story, and the meaning behind some of our traditions. I also hope to pick one or two verses that we'll work on learning all month. I'd also like to do one or two activities where she can participate in giving to others and learn about generosity. This may just be goodies to our neighbors or money for the Salvation Army bell-ringers.

All prayers for creativity (or lucky Google searches) are appreciated today! =)

And Merry Christmas to all!

Oh, and here's a great website I found. I plan on using it to get started:
The Activity Mom: 2011Activity Advent Countdown

Time Capsule Tuesday-Wheeeeee

Thank goodness for Daddies! Even though I remember doing all sorts of things like this as a kid, I still don't think I could get past the mommy-heart-attack enough to have been the first to try it with her. At least not at 2.

-----------------------------------------

Okay so this is where a future adorable video will be. Unfortunately, our super smart Apple computer apparently doesn't like our Sony videocamera...so until we figure out what we need to do to convert our file types into something Apple likes- here's some snapshots of the evening. They don't compare to seeing what was actually happening, but at least you get some of the joy of the evening. Keith was pushing Natalie on the swing downstairs. She was going so high (from wall to wall!) and LOVING it!

We all had so much fun!