Sunshine Break

We woke to the comforting sounds of rain on our roof. We don't get a lot of rain here, so it was nice and cozy. Throughout the morning the clouds dissipated and the sun shone bright and cheery. We quickly pulled on socks, shoes and jackets to head outside for the first time in way too long.

The snow from over a month ago had finally melted away. Our new walker was utterly delighted to explore on her own two feet.

A puddle perfect for jumping into, riding through, and splashing rocks was filled with the sky and the sun.

It was a beautiful break in the middle of winter.

Right Now

Right now...

I'm sitting at the computer, drinking coffee, listening to instrumental Christmas music on Pandora, enjoying my quiet morning house as the sun comes up on a snowy world.
Only one of my four children is awake...and he is quietly watching Little Bear while he drinks his morning milk.
Wait...a happy squeal from the little one's room...my one year old daughter is now awake. I'll let her play in her crib for a couple of minutes.

Today...
There will be a Christmas, oops, I mean a Holiday party at school for my two oldest. Sending cranberry muffins and candy canes.
So, at home we will have our own little party with our little 3 year-old friend, who I care for during the day, my 2 1/2 year-old son, and my one year old daughter. I am thinking...mini cupcakes to sprinkle and a Christmas story...if I have the chance, maybe I'll whip up some sugar cookie dough for Christmas shapes and frosting and sprinkles...but as I write this I think the mini cupcakes will be much easier and just as fun.

A few minutes later...
Well, three out of four children are now up and our little friend is here. Little one year old miss is eating fist-fulls of scrambled eggs, two others are squabbling (as usual), and one is back to his milk and Little Bear...time for me to get us all going.

Home

We are home.

We were away for a whopping five weeks! It was a long time to be away, but it was nice to have time to see friends and family more than once and get some time to relax and enjoy the summer up in our old stomping grounds. We played at the lake, the park, various Grama's houses.

We visited with friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, Gramas, Grampas and Papas.

We met Smokey.

We boated, floated, picnic-ed, and barbecued. We went though lots of sunscreen and flip flops.

We got new teeth.

Not that you can see them in this photo...

And we experienced a few firsts.

We had a great time.

But it's so nice to be home.

Now the school year is just around the corner, but we are going to try to squeeze in a little more summer magic.

Side note:

I am in the process of assessing my purpose here on this blog. I'm contemplating different directions that I want to take. I want to be more consistent with posting. So, if anyone is out there, if anyone is reading, please don't give up on me. I will be back soon!

June Joys

... dapples of sunlight on dimples...




...shady hats...

...strawberry rhubarb pie...

...baby quail...

...and don't forget...

school's out

cherries

roses

peonies

farmer's markets

days at the beach

lazy afternoons

picnics

cricket song

sleeping with open windows

~ah, so many things to love about June...

Then, we also have Father's Day and my son's second birthday...

Lots going on around here. Parties to plan, gardening to attempt, children to feed and occupy...I'm currently trying to map out a summer schedule and activities that will accommodate four children with a wide range of ages, interests, personalities, and capabilities; as well as a mommy who would really like everyone to be happy and sweet and peaceful all the time...I know, I'm dreaming here, but June is such a dreamy month, don't you think?

Come on, tell me what you love about June...I really want to know!

Feeling the Sun

It's shaping up to be a warm weekend and even warmer week ahead! Hooray!

Here are some sunny fun plans for the next few days:

Make Ice necklaces with the kids...what a fun idea!

Garden, garden, garden...till, plant, weed...I feel so behind in this area, now is the time to catch up.

Make kites, blow bubbles, go on a hike...have a picnic or BBQ.

Maybe a little tree climbin'...

And I can't forget to just spend some time sitting, with my eyes closed, feeling the sun on my face.

Have a great weekend!

Simple Priorities

It can be a little overwhelming to find myself a mother of four. How can I meet each child's individual needs? It is frustrating when two or more of my children need something from me at the same time. Not a lot gets done during the day with a newborn and toddler in the house. So I've been pondering what's important to me right now. A perfect house? Gourmet meals? Lavish Christmas plans?
Nope.
What is important to me right now are happy, healthy children and meaningful Christmas memories.

So, my to-do list for December:

*plan easy, healthy meals to enjoy as a family
*throw in one load of laundry a day
*keep gifts simple and shop online when possible
*bake cookies with big girls
*play chase with my little man
*dance with sweet baby
*read a Christmas book to the kids at bedtime each night
*tell my husband I love him

Oh, and I can't forget:

*Ask the Lord for help each day, and be thankful for all He has blessed me with

There.
Simple, right? Well, better than trying to do everything.

A Mother

"...admonish the young women to love their...children..."
Titus 2:4

I was one of those girls who loved playing with dolls. In fact, I think I played with my dolls until 8th grade! My sister and I would have all kinds of adventures with our babies. All through growing up, I couldn't wait to be a mommy. I waited all through my twenties, and then finally at 31, I was a teacher, I was still single and I had just bought my own house. I decided I needed to fill it, and my time, with children. I became a foster parent. I was tired of waiting for a husband. I could help these children, and I could "play" mommy.

I happily fixed up an extra bedroom, went to my foster parent classes, bought diapers and clothes and toys. Finally I got my first child; a 23 month-old little girl. Wow, was I in for a big surprise. Being a mom was HARD!

In all the preparation that I did, I failed to take time to think about what it meant to be a mom, or what kind of mom I wanted to be. So for the next few years I flew by the seat of my pants as I tried to mother this little girl and her sister, too. (Of course, the fact that I didn't know that I would get to keep them during the first two years made it difficult as well.) But, gradually, as I've been able to finally get through the fog of exhaustion and emotions, I've put some thought into mothering.

Here is what I want to do as a mother:

*see each child as an individual person

*meet each child's individual needs-

-physical: nourishment, sleep, cleanliness, clothing, health

-emotional: nurturing, love

-spiritual: self-discipline, Godly character

-intellectual: encourage personal talents and interests, learning, critical thinking

My Goals for Mothering:

1. Meet their needs with a joyful heart

2. Cherish and enjoy each child

3. Instill Godly character and values by living them myself

4. Create good memories with them

5. Instill healthy habits-eating healthfully, chores, self-care

6. Establish one-on-one time with each child

Sometimes (well, much of the time) in the day-to-day busyness of caring for my children, I forget how extremely blessed I am to have each and every one of them. I want to remember that they are gifts that I need to cherish each day. God has entrusted them into my care, and I have this huge responsibility to do my best for them. Thankfully, the Lord is always there to help me! I definitely couldn't do it without Him.

Now that I've made my list I need to think about ways to put each idea into practice. I have been doing a lot of this already of course, but I want to make sure I'm meeting those needs the best that I can. If I don't make a plan, I tend to float around only accomplishing the absolutely necessary-such as feeding them :). I want to do more than just survive!

If anyone is interested, I'll try to share my ideas for meeting my children's needs joyfully and creatively. And I'd love to hear other's ideas. Leave a comment with your ideas, or let me know if you would like to hear more about what I want to do with my kids. Thanks!

Coming soon in this little Home Making series: The Household Manager

First Days of Fall

Well, our weather isn't exactly fall-ish, but I have embraced this new season in the kitchen, at least. I've made curry pumpkin soup (which we thought was ok), vegetable beef soup (which we all liked), applesauce from our apples (very tart), and a batch of my Great Grandma Kelley's ginger cookies (which everyone loved). Tomorrow might have me whipping up our favorite potato corn chowder, we'll see if the mood strikes me.

We, well, really just the kids, have been enjoying the apples from our trees. Especially my little man. Here he is sampling from the apple bowl (I took these without a flash, cause the evening light was so nice, but they turned out blurry for some reason. However, I like how they look.)

Especially that last one. I like the light and the shadows. Kinda like impressionist paintings.

Here's to fall!

The Nursery

So I found my 14 month old son playing in his room this morning-all by himself. It was great. He must have been occupied for a good 15 minutes or so. I snuck in to snap some pics:




Then I decided to get a few photos depicting the paint color I picked out. This will be the baby girl's room, too, so I decided on this blue/green called 'vintage map' by Martha Stewart. This blanket gave me the idea--see the polka dots?

I think it is perfect for a boy and girl's room. Not too boyish or too girly. Here is the top of baby girl's dresser:

And here are some of little man's things. The paint looks a lot darker in this photo:

I am really happy with the paint. We almost didn't take the time to paint the kid's rooms right away, but my prego hormones took over and my mom and husband had to comply. They did a great job!

I'll post pics of the big girls' room soon. It's, uh, a little bit of a disaster at the moment.

A Nice Day

I had a nice day today. Let me list for you just what made it so nice:

My son's sweet and silly smiles as he ate his breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
(I'm not sure why he was so happy at meal times today!)

Scrubbing the kitchen counters and sink with warm, soapy, water infused with lavender oil. (The lavender actually makes this chore fun, and my kitchen still smells like lavender.)

Homemade pumpkin bread and muffins. To snack on all day.
(Yum.)

Picking up two cheerful girls from school.
(I am so glad they like it.)

Fried potatoes and chicken-apple-gouda sausage for dinner.
(Love this sausage, thanks, Sarah!)

Playing outside in the evening sun.
(Isn't it gorgeous?)