Joyfully Weary

Mini Man - this week you turned 3.   morning monkey bread w/ a train of candles The first thing you said on your birthday - other than "is it my birthday?" - was that your brother could open some of your presents. It was such a perfect example of you are, I don't know how - I can't take credit for it - but you have an innate drive to love others and be generous. Your father and I joke that you are more extroverted than the rest us combined; you are always smiling at and striking up conversations with strangers. You also love to share. Anytime I give you a treat you either ask for some for your siblings - and you actually give it to them - or you share yours. Your happily let Big Buddy take the bigger pieces. And when Little Lady can't find her shoes or blanket you are quick to offer yours. These characteristics of yours bring me so much joy. They also cause to me to pause; I so badly want to protect this sweetness in your heart.  I pray that God will ...

A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". baby's 1st cake family reunions - all my grandpa john's and grandma sadie's great grandchildren watching my boys discover and enjoy one my favorite spots to play as a kid fire pits and smores arriving home and finding not one but two packages on our front porch free carnival fun c/o our library's summer reading program that tongue! a sweet birthday morning spent with husbandie  This past week has been a busy one. It started with me driving my sister, her friend, and the kiddos all the way back to Iowa, where we attended my niece's 1st birthday party and a family reunion. The morning we left I got a stomach bug and then spent that night awake with Big Buddy as he caught the same thing. I hate it when the kids are ill but it always amazes me how mommy mode just automatically kicks in - I'm normally not a kind person at 2 a.m. but t...

We haven't been doing a ton of school work this summer but we have tried to fit in a little reading practice everyday. We are currently working our way through Bob Books and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading - I  highly recommend both. I saw this idea for paint chip word families on Pinterest several months ago and knew it would be one we'd have to try. I changed it up a little bit so that the the strips pulled through the word family cards.   My supplies: large white paint chips, various colors of paint chips, sharpie, scissors, and an x-acto knife all my paint chips are from ace hardware  Step 1: Because my colored paint chips were so wide I folded and cut them in half. Step 2: In the center of the white paint-chip, use the x-acto knife to cut two openings, at the top and bottom of the white square, the width of the color strip.  Step 3: Use the sharpie to write letters on paint chips (a list of word famili...

A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". " these are the small graces, the little moments when the miracles come... they are a reminder to the heart there is more to life than meets the eye... He is in the small graces.... small graces pointing me to the larger one... little glimpses of the kingdom come..." my little worker annual visitors  shopping silliness shopping pit stop: starbucks and homemade cookies home grown tomato bruschetta on homemade bread super twisted legs birthday candles big buddy was quite worried that mini man would blow his out crazy hair and beautiful eyes husbandie's sweet potato fries  This week my baby sister, Angel, and her friend Kim-mee came up for their annual summer shopping visit. It's an event I look forward to every year. They are only 5.5 hours aways but I don't get to see my family ...

Big Buddy - I can't believe you turned 5 this week!  It's all happened way too fast - five years cannot possible have gone by already. It feels like you should still be a baby. Almost everyday, though, you amaze me with how grown-up you are. You are extremely observant and a quick learner. This past year you've picked up so many new skills: you can ride a two wheeler, do cart wheels, write your name, make your bed, read a little bit, and so much more. Words could never express how proud I am of you, or how much joy you bring your dad and I. They also cannot express the lump left in my stomach from writing that list. I've loved watching you at every stage and I'm excited for all the new things year five is going to bring - I just wish I knew how to make it go by a little slower.  I'm incredibly thankful for pictures; they take me back to some favorite moments. Here are a few  several from the last year.