That moment...

...when your baby toddles away from you for the first time.

And you know. You just know. This is just the first little peepy step in letting her go....allowing her to become the lovely lady that Jesus has created her to be....allowing her to follow him to perhaps the furthest {and maybe most dangerous} parts of the earth. Trusting her into the hands of her heavenly Father.

My children are young and I am called to watch over them with diligence today. But slowly I know that I need to be releasing them into what feels like a cruel and dangerous world. I feel like I know nothing about this process and frankly-- it scares me to death.

I'm scared of the kind of mom I might be to my teenagers.....

will I be fearful and controlling???

Or...

Will I be able to trust the One who has created and called each one of them by name?

just half a day in the life of a mom

Today:

Josh and Christopher pumped up balloons with a small air pump and sent them flying around the house. {UFO followed by a jet stream of spit}

Before breakfast the boys moved all the furniture around in the living room in order to create an indoor volley ball court.

The almost one year old dumped a bowl of cooked oatmeal on her head. {outfit #3 coming right up for the day}

The neighbor girl keeps bopping in to ask if it is play time yet. "NOOOOOOOOO……. For Pete's sake….it's not even 12:30!!!!!"

Christopher got stung in the ear…..of all places. He's walking around looking like a lopsided Dumbo.
 

Angeline and Christopher were both victimized by a spherical hurled by my second born.

A  fight broke out at noon over…..get this….a bag of chips!!!!!!!!!

Someone was biting into the raw potatoes that I just dug to use for dinner that I am preparing for a friend.

There are 7 kids….wait….I mean…. 8 kids running around this yard that need some supervision. Actually, there are 9 counting myself.

There are smashed chips, bikes, strollers, balls, tennis rackets strewn all over the driveway.

I couldn't even carry a conversation with a good friend when I phoned her a few minutes ago.

And now my kids are biking all over the neighborhood without my permission.  Oh… and there are about 5 disputes going on around me about who is riding which bike.

I wonder when I'll get my ironing done? And what about that dress I started sewing yesterday?

 It's 12:45 pm.

Dear Lord……

I am so tired.

Please strengthen me for this hour.

 

Mr. Lopsided Dumbo

 

Miss Oatmeal Head (now I know how to make glue)

 

Ultimate Stress Reliever: look at your naughty child through a tennis racket and think prison bars. It works. You'll be laughing before you know what hit you. Especially if your kid happens to play along with the game like this guy!!!

 

 

 

Peace out, folks.....from the mom with the glazed gaze...

a beautiful non-traditional flowerbed

I am passionate about urban living even though I do not consider my current living accommodations to be exactly urban.

I love cities.

I especially love when I see the creativity of urban dwellers to bring color and vegetation into their mostly greyish cement world. I am inspired as I observe how city folks utilize and maximize their small spaces.


I recently noticed a glorious burst of color on an early morning walk in my neighborhood.

 I thought this was such a clever way to use that thin strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street.

 

I felt like sitting down right there on the sidewalk to bask in the beautiful colors. Instead I snapped a few pictures.

 

It is just not true that you have to give up all love of gardening to live in the city. You only need to think outside of that 5 acre garden you have out in your back yard.

 

I'm still listening and learning and reading and full of lots of  crazy ideas when it comes to urban gardening.

 

 

 

 

Summer Snack

This summer with all the kids being home all day long and with all their hyper active activities it seems that I am CONSTANTLY either shopping for or preparing or serving food.

The latest big hit around here has been "chocolate-drizzled-frozen-banana-chips". I just made up that name, but I think it's a good name because it perfectly describes all that there is to describe about this particular snack.

This snack is very simple to prepare and  also promises to satisfy a growling stomach for at least 20 minutes.

This is how we prepare our "Chocolate-drizzled-frozen-banana-chips"

-slice bananas

-arrange on flat serving dish

-drizzle with chocolate (we use store bought chocolate syrup)

-pop into the freezer for about 1 hr.

-pop out of the freezer

-eat

*if you allow the bananas to completely thaw they will become a mush pile. They are at their best about 5 minutes after you take them from the freezer.

"YES!!!!!!! Snack time!!!!!!!!"

Chocolate Drizzled Frozen Banana Chips = happy smiles