Monday, June 29, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Eight
You are my strong girl! You are quick to notice an empty bird feeder and refill it with seed. You take account of new buds and sprouts and are constantly assessing the state of the yard - bringing little reports of the plants - which you know by name. You can not hide your excitement for life springing up in the natural world around you. You love the animals and walk with them as your friends.
As of late you have been using your early-morning energy to bless our family with made-from scratch pancakes and waffles. It is strange to sit in the living room beside Papa and read together while you joyfully labor in the kitchen cracking eggs, turning on the gas, flipping, and singing. I'm not sure how long this phase will last, but it has been a blessing!
You are constantly asking how you can help - washing dishes, carrying things to and fro, and showering us with your joyful strength.
You have a very specific vision for how your life will look when you grow up, and I love seeing Bro and Raindrop listening in awe to how you will have a farm with lots of animals (that you do not eat), a house with one room and no electricity...
You are also quick to worry, and I say to you, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it - if we ever do." And you say, "what if...what if...what if..." I pray you will grow in faith to see that no matter what happens in the little futures of everyday life, Jesus will be with you there!
I love you, my strong girl!
Mama
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Thirty-Five
The day was busy and full. My main task was sorting and separating all the artwork from the year and choosing which pieces from which students should be displayed at the museum on Saturday. We have about 45 students, and wanted to choose around 20 pieces for each of the 8 displays, which meant that over half of the students' work was not chosen for any given category. Yet, we wanted to make sure that the students were more or less equally represented. It was like putting together a giant puzzle - trying to juggle which artwork was "the best" and which student needed more pieces displayed. On Thursday we will take the chosen artwork and weave them together to create a beautiful display.
I have been thinking a lot about the essence of things. For instance, what makes a piece of art more beautiful than another piece of art? Or what makes a house or a city feel like home? What makes community spring up in one place but not in another? How does loneliness get a foothold even in the midst of deep, enduring joy?
A few months ago Hubry and I went on a walk during my free hour at school. It works out perfectly to have a Monday afternoon "date" in this way because the kids are all in class, and the school is walking distance to the Kennesaw Mountain trails. We had recently heard the news that he would not be considered any further for an interesting job prospect, and yet we weren't feeling "at home" where we lived. And so the walk was a prayer walk - a time to beg the Creator to make straight paths for us, to help us feel connected, to show us where His heart was breaking in our city - to make us feel at home when we did not, and to give us many, many, many opportunities to help others to feel at home.
Though these same prayers had been prayed many times throughout the past year-and-a-half, something tangible started blooming on that walk - in those prayers.
Yesterday Hubry came to my school again to have a free hour birthday walk. As we moved through the shade of the trees, I heard the creation echo that He is here, right here in our midst. A deep gratitude settled over us as we remembered those prayers from a few months earlier, and gave testimony to God at work in our lives. In just a few short months, Hubry has made some significant connections with other local men, we have decided not to apply for other jobs but to stay put for a while, we have started looking for a house to buy, and we have had several opportunities to help others feel at home. God is no more with us now than he was before, but this has been a season of seeing some of those long-felt prayers answered.
It is also a season of waiting. Waiting to see how he will answer other prayers, and trying to be faithful in thanksgiving, and patient in longing. At the end of my hardest day, when I try my best to complain about my lot, His goodness is so overpowering. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places (as a roommate of mine used to quote in college).
So how does it feel to be 35? I would say there is a steadiness to it - a grounding. Options are closing, and I am feeling more and more comfortable with myself - this shell where I get to live out home and community and longing and patience. And in general, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I am so thankful for my husband who is my best friend and the love of my life, and for my children, who sprinkle my days with joy and chaos. I am thankful for friends, and family and even weeds with little purple blossoms. I am thankful for the baby birds in the yard and the mothers who drop worms into their mouths. I am thankful for eyes to see beauty and a heart to drink it in.
I have been thinking a lot about the essence of things. For instance, what makes a piece of art more beautiful than another piece of art? Or what makes a house or a city feel like home? What makes community spring up in one place but not in another? How does loneliness get a foothold even in the midst of deep, enduring joy?
A few months ago Hubry and I went on a walk during my free hour at school. It works out perfectly to have a Monday afternoon "date" in this way because the kids are all in class, and the school is walking distance to the Kennesaw Mountain trails. We had recently heard the news that he would not be considered any further for an interesting job prospect, and yet we weren't feeling "at home" where we lived. And so the walk was a prayer walk - a time to beg the Creator to make straight paths for us, to help us feel connected, to show us where His heart was breaking in our city - to make us feel at home when we did not, and to give us many, many, many opportunities to help others to feel at home.
Though these same prayers had been prayed many times throughout the past year-and-a-half, something tangible started blooming on that walk - in those prayers.
Yesterday Hubry came to my school again to have a free hour birthday walk. As we moved through the shade of the trees, I heard the creation echo that He is here, right here in our midst. A deep gratitude settled over us as we remembered those prayers from a few months earlier, and gave testimony to God at work in our lives. In just a few short months, Hubry has made some significant connections with other local men, we have decided not to apply for other jobs but to stay put for a while, we have started looking for a house to buy, and we have had several opportunities to help others feel at home. God is no more with us now than he was before, but this has been a season of seeing some of those long-felt prayers answered.
It is also a season of waiting. Waiting to see how he will answer other prayers, and trying to be faithful in thanksgiving, and patient in longing. At the end of my hardest day, when I try my best to complain about my lot, His goodness is so overpowering. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places (as a roommate of mine used to quote in college).
So how does it feel to be 35? I would say there is a steadiness to it - a grounding. Options are closing, and I am feeling more and more comfortable with myself - this shell where I get to live out home and community and longing and patience. And in general, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I am so thankful for my husband who is my best friend and the love of my life, and for my children, who sprinkle my days with joy and chaos. I am thankful for friends, and family and even weeds with little purple blossoms. I am thankful for the baby birds in the yard and the mothers who drop worms into their mouths. I am thankful for eyes to see beauty and a heart to drink it in.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Magic Candles and Birthday Balloons
We went to the store for 6 balloons and came back with 10. All the ladies of the store kept giving everyone balloons and wishing Bro happy birthday. It was so sweet.
BRO is 6!
Bro turned 6 on Thursday! It was so sweet to stop as a family and give thanks for this son of ours. He is careful and detail-oriented, competitive and justice-focused, extremely silly, and an all around passionate boy. And... he is FAST!
We brought popsicles to Kilometer Kids to share with his teammates, then came home to a dinner of squash-tomato soup with blueberry coffee cake. I always love seeing what the kids are going to choose for their special dinner and dessert :)
We love you, son of our right hand!
We brought popsicles to Kilometer Kids to share with his teammates, then came home to a dinner of squash-tomato soup with blueberry coffee cake. I always love seeing what the kids are going to choose for their special dinner and dessert :)
We love you, son of our right hand!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Ladybug Eggs
The kids actually saw the ladybugs mating, and then watched them lay the eggs. Then the kids marked the tree with a knife as a sign "not to bother the eggs." Hope all the animals and birds catch the meaning :)
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
DC: The National Arboretum
On Saturday the weather significantly warmed back up, so I decided to drive the kids over to the National Arboretum - just on the outskirts of town. They were really craving some green space, and even though the ground was saturated from the rains the day before, they played and played and played in the gardens and open fields.
One cool thing about the arboretum is that a pair of bald eagles are currently nesting in the park. We didn't get to see the actual eagles, but we did get to see their nest (from quite far away).
The kids favorite part of the arboretum was the bonsai house. They couldn't wait to tell Hubry all about the tiny trees so beautifully tended.
One cool thing about the arboretum is that a pair of bald eagles are currently nesting in the park. We didn't get to see the actual eagles, but we did get to see their nest (from quite far away).
 |
| We waited at this fence a good while to see if the eagles would return to their nest. Alas they did not. |
The entrance to the bonsai room
Songbird practicing her photography skills
"Mom, take a picture of me by this beautiful rock!"
Finally we meandered out to the original columns of the National Capital. The Capital building required new pillars in the mid 1900's, so they eventually decided to move the old ones to a grassy meadow at the National arboretum.
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