Though the milk be poured out by the toddler
Upon mattress and the floor,
Yet will I praise Him!
Though the cat has dug up the garden
And the duck has eaten the beans,
Yet will I praise Him!
Though the water be on the cookbook
And the trays in the oven be burnt,
Though I am yelling at the children
And the blahs of self-pity knock at my door,
Yet will I praise Him!
For He, yes the Lord, gives me peace,
He lifts me above the chaos of motherhood,
He gives me grace to smile
And strength to clean up,
He pours out His love upon me
That I might pass it on!
Adapted by Karen Goodsell, Australia
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Mind of a Child
Wouldn't you love to know what is going in their heads sometimes? I think if the boys continue on with this video too much there may be less in their heads than when they started.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Something Old And Something New
In my life it is usually the simplest things that get me excited. I can recall, practically to the day, when I saw my first blue M&M. I had been wishing for blue M&Ms my whole life and when the Mars company made the switch from light brown to blue I was euphoric for a month.
I been working on a little sprucing up in the living room and my first task is completed. A friend of mine helped me recover the cushions for our rocking chair. As we placed the new cushions I got an adreneline rush almost like the one I had sky diving (though a little more short lived.)
This is a chair that we inherited from Tyler's parents when we got married. I don't know if it was the chair he was rocked in as a baby, but it still has history. Now this history has a fresh face.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I been working on a little sprucing up in the living room and my first task is completed. A friend of mine helped me recover the cushions for our rocking chair. As we placed the new cushions I got an adreneline rush almost like the one I had sky diving (though a little more short lived.)
This is a chair that we inherited from Tyler's parents when we got married. I don't know if it was the chair he was rocked in as a baby, but it still has history. Now this history has a fresh face.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Little Miss Suzy Homemaker
I have to preface these pictures with an explanation of the two conflicting parts that reside within me. (I'm saying parts instead of people, but that is up for debate.) One part of me loves little cutesy things like food shaped into animals. In college, for example, I designed a color-coded chore wheel with spinning hand for the six of us living in the Prospect house. The other part of me loathes anything cutesy at all.
As a case in point, I made some egg salad sandwiches the other week to take to a Women's Leadership meeting at church. I felt inspired to cut the sandwiches into heart shapes. The inspired part of me was thrilled with the way they turned out. The loathing part of me thought, "That is so girlie-girlie!" In the past I've described myself as being a bit of a schizo. At the leadership meeting my friend, Pam, commented on the sandwiches with, "Byranie, you are such a paradox." I've decided I like "paradox" better than "schizo".
I don't know why these two parts of me can't get along. I suspect the anti-cute part of me stems from being raised in Colorado. There seems to be a lot of Colorado girls with a "I am tough!" attitude, at least, there seemed to be a lot of those girls at my university. Part of it may also have to do with wanting to seem like a serious intellectual (okay, I can hear those of you who know me laughing) and not being able to reconcile Jello race cars with academic fervor.
Whatever the case may be, most of me really enjoyed the way these cookies turned out. My lengthy preface was to appease the part of me that has not matured enough to "get over it".
I love sugar cookies and I saw this idea to make stained-glass sugar cookies by adding crushed candy. First, you bake the cookies. Then you add the crushed candy (I used jolly ranchers) and pop them back in the oven for about 5 minutes until the candy melts. I couldn't believe it worked so easily and I also couldn't wait for the chance to share them with you. (I should note that these cookies look better than they taste. I didn't feel like the jolly rancher flavor did much for the sugar cookie. Maybe a cinnamon hard candy would taste better.)
Now I'm getting fancy.
As a case in point, I made some egg salad sandwiches the other week to take to a Women's Leadership meeting at church. I felt inspired to cut the sandwiches into heart shapes. The inspired part of me was thrilled with the way they turned out. The loathing part of me thought, "That is so girlie-girlie!" In the past I've described myself as being a bit of a schizo. At the leadership meeting my friend, Pam, commented on the sandwiches with, "Byranie, you are such a paradox." I've decided I like "paradox" better than "schizo".
I don't know why these two parts of me can't get along. I suspect the anti-cute part of me stems from being raised in Colorado. There seems to be a lot of Colorado girls with a "I am tough!" attitude, at least, there seemed to be a lot of those girls at my university. Part of it may also have to do with wanting to seem like a serious intellectual (okay, I can hear those of you who know me laughing) and not being able to reconcile Jello race cars with academic fervor.
Whatever the case may be, most of me really enjoyed the way these cookies turned out. My lengthy preface was to appease the part of me that has not matured enough to "get over it".
I love sugar cookies and I saw this idea to make stained-glass sugar cookies by adding crushed candy. First, you bake the cookies. Then you add the crushed candy (I used jolly ranchers) and pop them back in the oven for about 5 minutes until the candy melts. I couldn't believe it worked so easily and I also couldn't wait for the chance to share them with you. (I should note that these cookies look better than they taste. I didn't feel like the jolly rancher flavor did much for the sugar cookie. Maybe a cinnamon hard candy would taste better.)
Now I'm getting fancy.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Parenting a la Mary Poppins
The boys recently saw Mary Poppins for the first time and one of their favorite parts is the cleaning of the nursery as Mary Poppins sings "A Spoon Full of Sugar". I remember, as a child, wishing I could snap my fingers to clean my room. (I could still use that little trick.) Watching the movie as a mom I have noticed new aspects, particularly how strict Mary Poppins is with the children, yet how much they love their nanny with the "sweet disposition".Micah told me last week he doesn't like it when I use my stern voice. I told him that mommys need to use a stern voice with boys that are not listening. Then I decided to borrow a page out of Mary Poppins and I told him that just like Mary Poppins I am "kind, but extremely firm." Sigh, if only I could maintain that balance. Maybe the real secret is a funky hat and a birdsong.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Car Wash
I think my efforts to teach the boys to keep their toys clean and put away are paying off. I opened the dishwasher this morning and found this little surprise that made me smile. Nice and clean and ready to race.
Hiking in Sonoma
We went on a beautiful hike in Sonoma this weekend. It was a short loop and Moose did great trooping up the steep sections. BiggiE was pretty pleased with his vantage point from the pack carrier. A sign at the trailhead warned that mountain lions had been spotted on the trail. Moose asked us to read the sign and then would periodically ask if we were on the mountain lion trail as we hiked. We tried to reassure him that mountain lions didn't really like being around people and that we would be safe if we stayed all together. It seems hard to help preschoolers to find the balance of being safe, but not afraid.
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