E at the Park

Letting her hair blow in the wind as if it is stearing her body to the ground to "accidentally" fall, looking to see if I am watching....and the drama heightens if she thinks my eyes are on her. "Push me Mommy" "Mommy I'm firsty" Mommy, I need to poopoo" "Mommy, I need a band-aid on my booboo" Sitting on the slide refusing to move just to get Ben up in arms. Making everything a castle and pretending to be the princess in need of rescue (of course). If the structure is not a "castle"its a "stage". Dancing, singing, and performing through life. Smiling one moment, pouting the next, she certainly keeps things interesting.

Ben at the park

A wonderful juxtaposition, my daughter and son. This day at the park made the contrast even more obvious and extreme. I love having two precious souls that challenge me and consume me in their own way.


Climbing on everything, jumping, hiding, falling and skinning his knees..... multiple times, studying the shapes and structures he sees, naming everything from simple squares to hexagons in his surroundings. Rolling down the grassy hills, caring not how much it hurts or itches. Stopping and staring off, in his head and thinking about his every move. It is always an adventure with Ben....a well thought out one indeed!

Guess Where We Went Yesterday?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

A few favorites of new life

Thanks again to my precious friend, Ashley, for taking a chance on me and trusting me to capture such an important moment in her life. He is simply breath-taking!

Poppy Night

An interesting weekend of expected and unexpected busy brought on an overnight stay at Nonni and Poppy's house for the kids.

But this Saturday night Nonni was away so Poppy stayed to play. The evening was complete with the ice cream man before dinner, a few shows on television, sleeping in our day clothes and poppy cakes for breakfast. I am sure many other secrets between the three of them as well!

So proud! Poppy let them order on their own!

(I do not get the fascination with sponge bob, as far as I know, they have never even seen the show)

Clearly the kids had an amazing time, sleeping from 1 to almost 430 on Sunday, Mommy and Dad-O got a needed beak,  and the kids got another glimpse into why we love the Poppy so much!

the things They Say

On a nice day, we often go for a walk that includes a stop at the "creek" down the way to throw rocks.

Yesterday we approached the creek and found it full of tadpoles. It was completely black in some places from all the tadpoles. 

I told the kids that we should not throw rocks in the creek because we may hurt the tadpoles and we certainly wanted to come back and visit them and watch them grow.

B says, "Mommy, they might die if we throw a rock at them, right?"

Mommy says, "That's right B, and we want them to live"

E then exclaims without missing a beat  "that's right Mommy, live Happily EVER AFTER!!!"

The B.I.B.L.E

The kids got a new Bible and they are loving it. 

Especially the story of Jonah and the Whale, there is just something about a grown man in a fish's belly that reels (haha) them in! 

I am truly touched when one of my babies carries this book up to me and asks me to read a story from it. And to see him read to her takes my breath away EVERY time.

A Nut in a Rut

A fun little game that B and I play during our night time routine is having a discussion on what is on the inside of a coconut. The more strange a suggestion from me, the bigger the laugh from Ben. Some of Mommy's guesses include, coke and nuts (of course) popcorn, orange juice, little fairies that come out to play when opened. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, new shoes, etc. 

As all parents can relate to, the laughter from B changes a bit after a while and the broken laugh begins to sound like a slight build up to a cry. This is when the game ends, and B comes full circle to "coconut milk is inside a coconut MOMMY!"

So this weekend, B and E got to see EXACTLY what is inside a coconut, and taste it for themselves.

This is the expression I got right before they spit it out! Just kidding, the only one who spit it out was Mommy! I do not think we will be ripping into another one to drink with dinner anytime soon, but it was a fun experiment. 

I wonder what the night time discussion will sound like now?

Thinking

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands...." 

1 Thessalonians 4:11
I really love this verse...

It makes me think.

It makes me want a simple life for myself, my husband, and my kids.

It makes me want to create, and be fulfilled by my creation.

It makes me want my kids to feel that accomplishment when creation occurs.

It makes me want to hold my tongue, and my judgement.

It makes me want to sit on my hands and shut my mouth.

It makes me want to be content with what happens in my "four wall family"

It makes me want to shut off the television and make mud pies.

It makes me want to close my bedroom door and turn over to his sleeping face.

It makes me want to stay in our pj's all day and paint, not caring if we get dirty.

It makes me want to eat great food and worry of the content not calories.

It makes me want to homeschool my babies, and give them a life they deserve.

It makes me feel like I need not worry and have faith.

It makes me think it is all worth it.

It makes me think.......

Words to live by.......

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY