On a Quiet Evening Walk

No, this is not me though I wish it was... the streets where I live are not as beautifully treed. I really like this image, though, because this is what I do on winter evenings... I go out by myself for a walk in the cold.

Pondering His Goodness while out this evening and Thanking Him:

65. For the awesome expanse of starry skies above.

66. For the clearness of the Big Dipper.

67. For icy cheeks.

68. For the feel of fresh cold air in my lungs.

69. For the ability to take deep breaths.

70. For health that allows my to be out walking on nights like this.

71. For the bright colored Christmas lights that light up the neighborhood.

72. For the glow through the windows of trees lit within.

73. For people who leave the blinds open while they gather
around the table to eat so that I, who am walking by, can see
the beauty and loveliness of "family".

74. For the warm coat that my dear man bought me last winter which withstands temperatures of 40 below quite tolerably well.

75. For the delight that my children show me when I come back
into the house after only twenty minutes of being gone.
"Mommy, you're home! I missed you, Mom!"

76. For the warmth pouring from our fireplace that warms me when I come in.

77. And for the warmth of loved ones surrounding me.

78. For my DH who so generously tucks the boys into bed each evening.

79. And that he takes the time to pray with them and talk with them before turning out the light.

80. For a nice slow Saturday of being home... together as a family.

*****

Learning to "live out loud"

Something about this photo of Tasha Tudor just speaks to me.
I think it's because this is the way I want to be "when I grow up".

I don't want to just stop learning things as I get older.

I want to use everyday of this beautiful life given to me to learn new things and to "live out loud". When I saw this photo in a magazine that did a story on her, I immediately ripped it out for my homemaking journal. I didn't have to even think about whether I really loved it or not. I knew that it was perfect.

One of my goals is to learn to paint with watercolor. I especially want to learn how to do closeups of flowers.

I haven't read up on Tasha Tudor at all but I just think the pictures of her are so inspiring. Take a look here if your interested.

Click on the picture to read the quote about living out loud.

fphoto Friday

My youngest, Allan. Summer of 2007

Click on the picture to see him up close... it's worth it... he really is just that cute!
(I'm not biased or anything *grin*)

More fphoto Friday pics at Natalie's blog, Married to the Preacher.

Pay it Forward Challenge

A couple of days ago I signed up over at scraps in bloom for a "Pay it Forward " challenge. I thought it would be fun and so here is the way to sign up if your interested in joining us as we share our creativity around the world. Quoted directly from Krista's blog:

• be the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me!!!
• be willing to post this challenge on your blog, (meaning, that you will then ‘pay-it-forward’, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers that leave a comment on YOUR blog!!)

as far as i can tell, the gift can be any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item.

which means, you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. (end quote)

So what da yah think? Should be fun, eh? Leave a comment if you wanna join!

And Happy Thanksgiving Day to all o' you in the United States!

In the Good and the Bad

"At all times and for everything

giving thanks

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

to God the Father" Ephesians 5:20

I am finding it easy to thank God for what I consider to be good things in my life and I know that's what He wants... That we acknowledge that we know all blessings come from Him and that we thank Him for it. But how about the times that we consider things to be not so good? The bad times. There have been a few tough things in our lives right now and I want to learn how to thank him in everything... to learn to see the good in everything and when there is just no good that I can see, to thank Him anyway, because He is in control no matter what.

So here are a few of "the bad" things that I am thankful for:

The Bad: This mess on our driveway of construction materials ... The Good: Shows that I have a hardworking husband who cares so much about our financial future that he took on this huge project of bringing in a house and renovating it from top to bottom in the hopes of making a good profit on it. The Bad: Said house is still not sold!... The Good: This has taught us some major lessons in trusting God for his perfect timing and for His provision in our lives while the finances are tight.

The Bad: Longing for another child and not having that longing fullfilled... The Good: Again, learning to trust in Him for His perfect timing. And thanking Him for the three wonderful boy blessings that He has already so lavishly bestowed upon us.

And on a lighter note: )

The Bad: Piles of Dirty Laundry needing to be washed: The Good: That I have 3 messy, happy boys and a large yard where they can run and play and get dirty.

The Bad: A stack of worn towels... The Good: We have clean water to bathe in daily, a nice bathroom and shower and at least we have towels! Also, a washing machine and dryer that are probably the culprits of this but I'm sure thankful I have them!

The Bad: Holes discovered in the knees of boy pants while folding laundry... The Good: That said boys have the energy and health to be so rambunctious.

The Bad: The sometimes grating sound of stumbling fingers over piano keys... The Good: That He has given us music and the sense of hearing to enjoy it. That the boys are so eager to learn new songs. That we have this beautiful old piano to practice on.

The Bad: Sticky fingerprints that show up so easily on my red cabinet doors... The Good: That there are little fingers in this home that put them there. That we actually have cabinets to put our food in. That we actually have food that causes the sticky fingerprints and that I got the red kitchen I've always wanted.

Gift List #'s 48 to 64

The Way it Is.

I have been wanting to write out something along these lines for quite some time now and just never seemed to be able to put the words together in my head until I came across this quote at the bottom of Prairie Chick's blog, the Prairie Prologue, and when I read it I thought, "that is pretty much exactly what I want to say!" So instead of racking my brain trying to come up with my own thing I am just going to copy... with proper quoting, of course! So here it is:

"Well, first I must just say – because the thought of another Mama out there feeling somehow inadequate just about breaks my heart – that I most certainly do not ‘do it all’. Sometimes the nature of blogs – and particularly the way that I keep mine focused for the most part on the joy - can create a bit of a false illusion. So I hope no one ever forgets that what you might see on a blog is just one paragraph of someone’s day, or what they’ve chosen to focus on from their day."

Amanda Soule from SouleMama

As an example, here is just one short half hour or so from my Friday last week. Not to say that the rest of the day was bad... it was just a regular day. I helped clean my sister's house in the morning, did some babysitting in the afternoon, threw in a bit of schoolwork for Jayden, etc., etc. You know how it goes! : )

Now, the following pictures (by themselves) may seem like I am the type of mom who bakes with my children all the time and lavishes them with yummy goodies fresh from the oven on a daily basis. The reason why I took these pictures for my blog was to remind myself in the future that I did occasionally do this kind of thing. Seriously, it's such a big deal for me to make dough and roll it out that I wanted to capture the moment in case it never happens again. Of course it will, one just can never say when. ; )

Here's how it really went:

Jayden asks me to roll out the dough for some tea biscuits I have decided to make because I am craving something sweet and I can't find anything in the house that falls into that category, not even chocolate chips! ; )

Now, I haven't baked in ages because I am finding it to be a lot easier to buy the 50% off baked goods at the grocery store when I can get there early enough in the mornings. I would love to be like "the mom who bakes bread, etc. everyday", for my kid's sake, 'cause I think it makes for some good memories, but I'm just not. I don't really like the mess and I didn't even really want Jayden to help me, but I did, and I'm happy about that.

Here is the dough sprinkled with cinnamon and coconut. If I had taken a wider shot of this picture you would have seen three pairs of little hands trying to grab a taste. Even wider? Three children. Two up on stools leaning over the counter and one ON the counter! Gasp! I know! Not very sanitary, eh? But I'm sure your kids have done it too! ; )

And here they are fresh from the oven! "Rich Tea Biscuits" from Company's Coming Cookbook, "Muffins and more". You can imagine what I was hearing while taking this picture. "Mom, can I have some? Mom, mom! Can I try some, mom?!" and so on... "Yes, but hold on! Just let me get a picture! It's not everyday that I bake, you know."

You think they're tired of me and my camera yet? I wonder what sort of memory that will make for them. I can just hear them in the future saying, "Mom was always taking pictures of the oddest things!" Hmmm...

So there you have it. My life isn't all roses but it's beautiful in it's own way and I especially wouldn't give up having messy, loud (but joyful) children for the world!

" In every season of life

there is something to celebrate."

~ painting and quote by Marjolein Bastin

I have this quote on a bookmark that I got from my dear friend.

Isn't it just so true?