I'm moving!

Come find me at my new blog, Living Love.

be like a tree

"...he shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water; that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper." from Psalm 1

We are in the gorgeous season of plump berries, rapidly growing squash, tomatoes that seemingly ripen overnight. Still enjoying from the freezer the sweet strawberries, and looking forward to the juicy peaches that are coming soon.

Fruitfulness that just asks to be enjoyed. Abundance delights and fills us with its beauty and flavor.

And this is exactly what I've come to realize is, perhaps, the greatest gift I can ever give my children.

Since having our first baby, I've gotten excited about a lot of things that I thought were really important for our children. Not to say that these things aren't at all valuable....but as I've weeded through them all, had another child, and gone through a few moves, I think I've had an opportunity to evaluate, over and over, what is important. What's important for me, what's important for our family, what's actually important for our children.

It has never been so clear to me how simple it all is.

"Parenting" is not a divorced area of life that you can read books about, study-up on, get your ducks lined up and check off. It is not a separate series of lessons you must conquer before earning the badge: "effective parent". It is not a bag of tricks which must be memorized and applied at appropriate times.

It's all about growing. And, I'm not talking about the children. I'm talking about me.

It's not what I can give them, do for them, prove to them, teach them, impress upon them, or expound for them.

In so many ways, it comes down to: me. That's it. The most profound impact I will have in my children's lives will be the life I live out in front of them.

Because growth is contagious. Abundance is enticing. The man God calls "blessed" is a verdant tree, planted by a cool, rushing stream; that bears delicious fruit. As my children view the grace of God flowing into my sinner's heart, they will thirst for it. As they watch me change because of the love of Jesus applied to my spirit, they will long to know Him, too.

God doesn't call me to be perfect, to know-it-all, to have eyes in the back of my head, or to exhaust myself trying to be the super-mom that my kids don't need.

Take all that stuff away that we Mamas pressure ourselves over (whatever are your areas - I have mine!)...all the time I can devote to reading books about whatever (crafts, parenting, discipline, health, routines....) That stuff won't be worth much in the story of our family.

I am just so thankful that God continues to call out to me to seek after that which He knows is most desirable.

He calls me to sit at His feet, to come to Him for rest, to seek after His wisdom, to learn from His humble heart and find peace. And in that living as His child, I will give my children the most precious gift I could ever imagine.


"seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Our little family: soon-to-be FIVE!

That's right! There will soon be five in our family. We're expecting baby #3 to arrive sometime in January of 2011! As Graeme said when we told him: "Mama, God gave us another baby!!"

I am feeling fine so far. I am often ready to fall asleep at 8:30 and finding myself craving protein and vegetables. I think I'm around 6 weeks, but an ultrasound in a few weeks will hopefully help pinpoint a more precise timetable. Then we can safely add on 2 weeks to that and get a pretty accurate idea of when the baby will arrive. Wouldn't it be something if I were actually early this time? Not holding my breath.....

Boy or Girl, I cannot wait to meet our new baby! Graeme thinks the baby is a girl...I just know it will be as precious as these two:

a poem and some news

The News:

I'll be moving blogs in the very near future. I've done a lot of thinking about blogging, and have a different direction I'd like to go, which will be reflected in the new blog. I enjoy writing and journaling a lot, and this blog is kind of stuck in a rut. So I'm going to go more towards the journaling side of blogging, though I'll be including plenty of pictures and recipes still - it's unavoidable ;-)

So stick with me. Stay tuned. I've already got the new blog up, but have some tweaking to do before I'm ready to announce it.

And the Poem:
Trust me, not the greatest. It's been awhile since Poem Composition 101. But I literally composed this one day while taking a shower, and thought it fairly quaint and descriptive. It made me laugh as I made it up - hope it makes you laugh, too!

An Ode to Laundry

Laundry, will you never end?
I'd really like to be your friend!
To you I ever try to be
faithful; but, as you can see,
I fail in that - most miserably.

I guess I could see this as my chance
(while ironing shirt and folding pants)
to learn lessons of patience, discipline, grace;
of everything having its own place;
of making sure my house isn't a disgrace.

All of these, sure, are possibilities.
But, Laundry, I don't mind saying: "Please,
(and I pause, with a bright, persausive smile)
"Could you, just every once-in-a-while
go rest in someone else's pile?"

days with my boys

we're moving this weekend...but since I'm sore and tired from all the boxing and lifting and painting and such, and not up for much blogging, I thought I'd post some pictures of some of our favorite moments - probably the two things my boys love to do best are:

read




and play outside!




my heart is full with love of these two munchkins! Cole is talking up a storm these days - will try to post some soon =)

Daybook

Outside my window::
:: a very still night after a lovely, nippy, sunny day.

I am listening to::
:: pages turn as my husband studies here in the office. This counts as "together time" right now. Flight school has begun, and the first 4 weeks are the most intense (and most crucial). So I get a chance for more time on the computer while he studies aeronautics and weather patterns and the basics of physics.

I am wearing::
:: not-so-stylish black velour pants with an apple-green shirt. and sneaker ankle socks.

I am thankful for::
:: spontaneity (and spell check because I couldn't spell it). A bit of out-of-the-ordinary can turn a long day into a full day. Big difference.

I am pondering::
:: living a faithful story. Making the hard choice when no one except God would know. Being kind, loving, gentle and purposeful, even though only my children see it. Read the whole post here, but here is the inspiring summary:

...don't resist the trials--they will be the making of your character, the galvanizing of your integrity, the defining of a great story of your king working on your behalf in the history of His redeeming the world back to himself. Your opportunity to show forth your true love for Him.

I am reading::
:: Time magazine and Teaching your Children Values

from the Kitchen::
:: baking day tomorrow! Meatloaf and mashed potatoes tonight. Four more days until grocery day, so a week of freezer/pantry cooking ahead.

I am thinking::
:: that no day is risk-free in my husband's line of work (or anybodys, I realize)...a T-34 crashed last night in New Orleans, killing the instructor. The student pilot was okay, thankfully...but made me realize that what my husband does is full of risk. Thankful that a Sovereign God knows exactly how many days each of us have; my husband will be with us as long as my Father ordains. Praying that is a long time =)

around the House::
:: going through the boxes and piles again, in anticipation of our upcoming in-town move. Is it possible to get addicted to this? My favorite part of moving is going through all of our stuff and weeding out the unused things; discovering something that I'd forgotten about; reminding myself of a project that really does need to be started (or finished).

I am creating::
:: a picture prayer journal for our family. Been on my mind for awhile to do, but put it on the top priority for my week. A journal full of pictures of family and friends for us to pray through after dinner. Gives a face for the children to know who we're praying for, and also gives us a opportunity to track how God works in their lives. Can't wait to get it done and USE it!

one of my Favorite Things::
:: nursing my babies at night. pure peace and trust.

from our day::

:: We took a spontaneous trip to the Riverwalk here in Milton for a picnic lunch. After sitting on a blanket (for all of 4 minutes - I thought that was pretty good!) and mostly wandering around while eating crackers and pasta salad and yogurt, we bundled up for a jaunt along the river. The seagulls seemed interested in us; no less interested than my boys were in them. I think Cole tried to verbalize "sea. gull." and Graeme laughed every time they flew away when we got too close. Then we stopped by the Milton bakery for a chocolate chip cookie (and a donut as a treat for Daddy). It was so much fun.

One of my favorite authors...

...is releasing her new book, Dancing with my Father, today.

I can't wait to read it! I recently finished Sally Clarkson's Mission of Motherhood. It came at a wonderful time for me, and changed my perspective on what this Mothering business is all about. It is the best book on Motherhood out there (at least, I should say, from what I've read and seen, which is a good bit.)

If you can find her book at the library, order it from Amazon or from wholeheartpress (the Clarkson's website), I highly recommend that you do.

I'd like to find the time to right up a post about both Sally's book, and Clay's (Heartfelt Discipline). Meanwhile, just go read it! =)