vintage mommy

being still

2012-01-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

We had such a good day yesterday! School holidays are cherished around here. We've homeschooled up until this year and I think we just really miss each other. We miss being together. One of the things I noticed yesterday about myself was that I felt calm. We didn't have to be anywhere at any specific time. No rushing to the car. No rushing out of the car. No rushing to the potty before getting into the car (times 4). I know it's unrealistic for me to declare everyday a holiday. And I know that just because I do have to rush my kids out the door from time to time doesn't mean I'm doing something wrong as a mom. It's just part of life. For goodness sake! There are 6 of us under this roof. Things are going to be hectic at times. But I know that stillness is good for me.

My big brother preached a message recently on the book of Ruth and something he said has stuck in my head during these past months of craziness for our family.

"'Spread the corner of your garment over me' (Ruth 3:9), needs to be the prayer of our hearts every single day."

I loved this! I can just imagine Ruth at Boaz's feet, waiting to be rescued from her state of affairs. Back in those days, being a young widow without any family to speak of was not a good thing--we think we have financial or social hurdles to overcome. Yet we read of her quietly waiting at Boaz's feet, very aware of her need to be rescued.

I want to live like this. Right at Jesus' feet crying out daily, "Spread the corner of your garment over me." Every time I try to rescue myself it doesn't work and I end up frustrated with myself or with my kids--the poor things.

Yesterday was a good reminder for me to be still once in awhile and to ask Jesus to cover me with His grace.

remember

2012-01-14T21:20:00.000-08:00

As I glanced through one of my journals tonight, I saw this page from last winter.

It resonated with me once again...

"Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning."
--Lamentations 3:21-23

Let me not forget His mercies, for I keep a grip on hope when I remember.

yummy, easy toffee

2012-01-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

We made this yummy toffee a few nights ago. Have you tried it? It's super easy.

Here's a link to the recipe...

All you do is lay out saltine crackers on a baking sheet...

Bring 1 cup of brown sugar and1 cup of butter to a boil, pour it over the crackers, bake it at 400 degrees for about five minutes, then pour 2 cups of chocolate chips on top. The chocolate chips will melt as you spread them over the crackers. I like to sprinkle chopped almonds on top.

Stick the pan in the fridge for about an hour then crack the toffee into pieces!

around the house

2012-01-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few random shots that I took around the house last month, if anyone is interested...if anything, my mom will be. :)

This is the living room from the front door.

Looking into the dining room from the living room

Looking into the living room from the dining room

Looking into the dining room from the kitchen--there used to be a wall there. I love my new view!

My room

In the upstairs hallway looking into 2 of the bedrooms

View of the front yard from the living room window

I know this is blurry, but I wanted you all to check out our view tonight...I had to zoom in so you could see the mountain.

I know you can't tell from this picture, but its peak was a bright, bright pink at dusk.

just planning ahead

2012-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

photo found here

My Christmas decorations are still up, but I'm mentally in gear for Valentine's Day. Anyone want to come pack up Christmas for me?

photo found here

I love this garland with tiny pink, red and white hearts.

photo found here

Since I don't crochet, I think I'll make a few of these out of paper.

merry christmas and a kitchen preview

2011-12-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year in our new home! I think we're finally starting to feel settled. Little by little we're getting things unpacked and put away. I laughed this morning when I thought about adding Christmas presents to the mix. And next week we have a birthday with a certain young man turning 9. It just never ends! Boxes, boxes and more boxes.

One of the things we love about our home is the amount of company we've had since we've moved. It seems we're on the way to and from everywhere and lots of people have stopped by en route. Yesterday we had friends stop by on their way home to Idaho. This evening, some good friends of ours from Spokane will spend the night on their way down to Southern California. Sometime tomorrow Phil's aunt and uncle will stop by on their way home from Portland, and this weekend his cousin will stop by on her way home from Salem.

We were able to spend Christmas weekend in California with both of our families. The 5 siblings on my side of the family were together again after 4 years. The last time we were together was at my little sister's wedding back in 2007. It was fun to watch all the cousins play together.

Phil had to work Tuesday morning, so he and I left Monday afternoon. We've been kid-less for the past 2 days. :( Our kids stayed behind in Northern California with Phil's parents so they could play with their cousins who arrived from Southern California late the night before. My sister-in-law is driving my 4 and the cousins up to Oregon right now. They'll arrive this evening and stay through the weekend. Confusing? Let me interpret...f-u-n...and lots of it!!!

We miss our Spokane winters and all the snow, so instead we play in the leaf pile out front.

The kitchen is coming along nicely. I was able to unpack my dishes last week. No more washing plastic plates in the bathroom sink!!!

Hope your Christmas was wonderful, too.

a yummy [early] christmas morning

2011-12-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

red velvet pancake batter in my new jadeite mixing bowl from Gracie

Today was Christmas morning at our house, since we'll be celebrating with family this weekend. When we unpacked last month, I was so sad to find a broken jadeite mixing bowl in one of our kitchen boxes. Gracie told Phil that she wanted to find one for me for Christmas, so they searched on Ebay, found one and ordered it. I was so surprised this morning!

yummy vanilla bean cream cheese frosting

Christmas on a plate

...and peppermint hot chocolate to go with

home

2011-12-13T22:43:00.000-08:00

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort."

-Jane Austen

Sorry for another kitchen post.
I'm just having so much fun in here.

It feels so good to be able to cook again and to wear my apron again.
It's the little things...

I always sigh a big sigh as I tie on my apron strings again after a long trip. It just means I'm home again and all's right with the world.

the sweetest day

2011-12-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

sweet little red coat ornament found here

We had such a good day today.
It was the first day our family was able to enjoy our brand new kitchen! Phil and I stayed up until 4 a.m. putting things together, installing appliances and unpacking boxes.

It looks so nice in here...the new kitchen, that is.
That's where I've planted myself for most of the day. We slept in this morning, came downstairs, plugged in our espresso maker, then just sat at the counter and drank coffee to our hearts' content.

The kids made themselves comfortable at the counter, too, and played with play-doh and perler beads. In fact, almost our entire day was spent in the kitchen, then we bundled up and drove down the street to a little town to enjoy a little window shopping and a horse-drawn carriage ride.

Are you curious to know what I cooked my first day using the oven? I'm almost too embarrassed to say. I had big plans, you see, but I asked my kids what they wanted and they picked Annie's macaroni and cheese for lunch and Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza for dinner.

When I'm through here, I'm going to heat up on my new stovetop two mugs of the Spiced Cranberry Cider that I found at Trader Joe's.
It's true what they say about hard work and enjoying the fruit of your labor.
We drink this yummy cider every year, but I think it's going to taste extra yummy this year.

the countertops

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

I had such a difficult time taking pictures of the new countertops. I didn't want to use the flash, because it would glare against the surface, but without the flash, the picture is dark and you can't see the movement of the pattern.

Here's a picture of the sample off the website. I wanted a white marble look, but everything I read said marble isn't the best choice for kitchen countertops. I was able to find something in quartz that resembles marble.

hello there, part 2

2011-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

I guess it isn't fair to write a post about being super overwhelmed and just leave it at that. A week ago I felt paralyzed by everything that needed to be done and by the things that had happened which were out of my control.

Last week a very dear friend of mine came to visit. God knew I needed her here. We've been friends for nearly a decade. There's just something about being with people who know you well...people who don't mind if you can't muster up words to say anything important. I felt like I had nothing to give. I couldn't even cook her meals, because of the state of my kitchen.

The truth is, I've been so busy since we moved from Washington this summer, that I haven't really settled in yet. We stayed with family in California for a month, then moved into a hotel for two months while we waited for escrow to close. We've lived in our new home six weeks now, all the while doing major renovations. It's been a crazy few months, to say the least.

But what I've loved about this crazy season is seeing how relentless Jesus has been in pursuing my heart. I can't really explain it, but I feel it. I've doubted Him and questioned Him, even blamed Him for things. But then I find my bearings again because He rescues me from self-pity. I'll never know why. I've been ugly these past few months. I won't lie.

I just can't stop thinking about and grieving over what we left behind in Spokane. Have you ever heard Sara Groves' song "Painting Pictures of Egypt"?

...The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

When I went to her concert last month in Spokane, she opened with this song. I was hoping she'd sing it that evening, but she opened with it. It made me cry, of course. My sweet friend, Andi, held my hand and said, "That was for you." I think it was.

I've always thought I relate well with the Israelites. Something about needing to learn the same lessons over and over again, and how God parted the Red Sea for them and it just wasn't enough...as if God would really perform miracles on their behalf and then dump them off in the wilderness to fend for themselves. I love this line from Joy Williams' song, "Beautiful Redemption"

I've walked with sand from the ocean floor on my feet
To turn and say, 'you left me'

I wonder if the Israelites still had sand from the Red Sea's floor between their toes when they spewed out complaints from doubting hearts. Unfortunately, I can relate.

This past Saturday I told my husband and my friend from out-of-town that I felt paralyzed, like I couldn't function among the stress of the boxes and the paint and the microwave and the laundry. Later that evening we found out that her flight home, which was scheduled for the following morning, was cancelled due to weather. Cancelled. Just like that. Our airport is tiny, so her chances of getting home the next day were very slim. Phil thought it would be best if she made arrangements to fly out of the busier airport 3 hours north of us. So we (she and I) packed our things and left right away. We decided to stay overnight in a hotel near the airport so we could be there first thing in the morning. What a whirlwind!

I must say, this whole cancelled flight thing was no accident. Do I really think Jesus would allow that flight to be cancelled so He could restore my soul in the midst of all the chaos? Yes, I think He would do that and I think He did. I realize there were probably a few more factors that played into this whole thing, but my weary heart was certainly one of them. I was gifted several hours of drive-time and the chance to listen to music that turned my heart to worshiping Jesus instead of doubting Him. It truly was a gift. I had this thought last night, that maybe my kitchen isn't the only thing being renovated around here.

my almost-done dream kitchen

2011-12-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd take a few minutes to post pictures of our kitchen...things are really coming along!

The countertops will be installed tomorrow morning and we still need to put up the trim, the baseboards, a few more cabinet doors and the cabinet door knobs.

I love the view from the kitchen with the far wall removed. There was a tiny bit of space between the end of the counter and that wall--too small for a table--it seemed like such a waste of space. The countertop on the peninsula will extend out about a foot so we can tuck stools underneath.

Original hardwood floors (c. 1925)

The freshly-painted white cabinets make the kitchen look so bright and cheery!

See this post for a few before pictures.

hello there

2011-11-30T00:18:00.000-08:00

I've hesitated to blog, because I fear my updates will sound like one long list of complaints. When people inquire as to how things are going with the house and I fill them in, the usual responses are something like, "You're kidding me!" I'm really not complaining--just filling people in.

These are the facts...We don't have a kitchen. We hosted Thanksgiving. I wash dishes in the bathroom sink. I cook with a crockpot, a griddle and a microwave. We've had company staying with us since day one. Our kitchen flooded. The flu went through our house when the plumbing wasn't working so there was no washing, no flushing and no bathing for about 36 hours. My husband has been working crazy-long hours. It's almost 12:30 a.m. and he's still in surgery. It's quite possible that I've cried more in the last 2 months than I have in the last 2 years.

Does this not sound like one complaint after another? I don't mean for it to be. I haven't always maintained a stellar attitude, I admit, but I do know that this chaos will pass.

So now I'll fill you in on the details...

Our kitchen is still in the works, but we converted the downstairs bedroom into a makeshift kitchen. We set up our kitchen table and a little pantry and work area. I've been able to cook with our griddle, crockpot and a microwave the previous owner left behind. The bathroom is just around the corner, so it's not like I'm lugging dirty dishes all over the house.

We've had company staying with us for the past month and a half, but they certainly didn't come for a vacation. They've worked hard. And with Phil's long hours at work, we've needed all the help we could get.

Our kitchen flooded this past weekend when we pulled the plug in the upstairs tub. First the downstairs toilet overflowed, followed by the downstairs shower stall. Then the inevitable happened. Our kitchen sink has not yet been installed, because we're waiting for our countertops to be installed. We hadn't gotten around to putting those plastic caps on the pipes in the kitchen, so water of course gushed out of the pipes onto the floor...the newly-stained hardwood floor that still had plastic tarp over it. You'd think that the tarp would've helped contain most of the water. Nope! It was on the tarp. It was under the tarp. It was under the cabinets that are now nailed to the floor waiting for countertops. Yesterday we noticed that the floor is starting to buckle from moisture trapped beneath. And guess what we had done 2 days before this mishap? We moved all of our boxes from the dining room into the kitchen so we wouldn't have to eat our Thanksgiving dinner in the downstairs bedroom. By the time we discovered the water in the kitchen, our boxes were sitting in a puddle of water.

All the while, one of my girls came down with the flu. And water certainly is a necessity when the flu comes for a visit, but there was to be no flushing, no laundry and no bathing until further notice. All weekend we kept hearing glub, glub, glub, so Phil poured something lethal down the drain before bed on Sunday night. Monday morning as he was leaving for work, the glub we heard proved to be very productive and the septic backed up into the shower. It wasn't pretty. He quickly called in to our homeowner's insurance agent and she made arrangements for a plumber to come over pronto. Thankfully, he fixed the problem.

The kids are still loving school. They love it so much. One of my very best friends is flying in from Iowa tomorrow night and staying until Sunday. I can't wait! Last night we went by our storage unit and grabbed our Christmas decorations. Hopefully we'll get the house decorated this week. Two weeks ago I was able to fly up to Spokane for a weekend. I was able to see this little miracle celebrate 1 year of life and attend this concert with dear friends. It was such a special trip.

I'll try to post pictures soon!

upstairs bathroom

2011-11-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

before

It's so fun to paint when you really enjoy the color you're working with. Here's the upstairs bathroom. We're not done yet. I still need to apply a second coat of paint and we're waiting on the flooring to come in. I picked out a black and white hexagonal tile.

down comes the wall...

2011-11-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

All done! I LOVE this change. It really opens up the kitchen. Please ignore the mess and imagine a really great dining room back there. :)

outside

2011-11-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

We don't really like the idea of ivy growing up the side of the house, but at least it's pretty.

We'll have to tend to this after the kitchen is done.

I'm loving this view from my bedroom window! It'll be nice to actually have time to sit in these chairs (courtesy of our wonderful neighbor in Spokane) once we get a few more projects done around the house.

in the girls' room

2011-11-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

I found this corner hutch for the girls' room this week, and they decided to display their special tea sets from Papa (my Dad) on it along with a few of their American Girl accessories.

One of the things I love about this hutch is the knobs. I had these very same ones on my dresser drawers when I was their age.

the girls' room

2011-11-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to find time to use the Internet since we've moved out of the hotel and into our house. Yesterday I found a few minutes but I couldn't get the pictures off of my camera. I have so many pictures to share, but for now I'll just post these two...a before and after picture of the girls' room.

We've had so much fun in their room! The color we chose was a soft pink called ballet slippers. We still need to paint the trim and the closet door white. The girls and I have been reading a story-a-day from a fairy tale book and yesterday we read The Elves and the Shoemaker. I told them that our house was built in 1925 for the shoemaker here in town. We tried to imagine where his little elves might have hidden. Gracie picked the attic, and Lily picked the chimney. :)

my hero

2011-10-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

I love this man!
I tell you, there isn't much that he can't do.
Every time a problem arises, he's able to fix it.
Just like that.

Electrical? No problem.
Plumbing? He'll just move the pipes over, thank you.
Knock out this wall over here...
Raise that floor over there...
Pour cement to fill in this hole...

You name it? Done.

He's pretty amazing.

the boys' room

2011-10-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken when we walked through with our realtor and the previous owner was still living in the house. It's my only "before" picture of this bedroom.

The first thing we did was pull up the carpet, then we tackled the wallpaper. Unlike the wallpaper in the girls' room which came down in sheets, this stuff had to be picked and scraped off. It took 3 days!

One of my little helpers

The night I started on this room, I immediately felt discouraged because the stuff was caked onto the wall. I sat there and asked God for help. About a half an hour later one of my boys came into the room, sat down and started to work alongside of me.

Then he asked, "Want me to sing to you?"

"Deep in the hundred acre wood

Where Christopher Robin plays..."

So we sat there together for almost 2 hours peeling wallpaper, talking, and singing "Winnie the Pooh."

When we stopped by the Home Depot to look at counter tops he found a paint color called Christopher Robin's Swing.

So here it is...the new and improved boys' bedroom in Christopher Robin's Swing.

becoming home

2011-10-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

all done peeling the wallpaper in the boys' room--it only took me 3 days

Today was our big day!!! Phil rented a U-Haul to move our things from storage into our new house! The kids were overjoyed to see their things again. It felt like Christmas morning, for sure.

We still have a little ways to go, but things are coming along well enough. We'll probably be able to check out of the hotel within the next couple of days.

The kitchen floor is sanded and ready to be stained.

It was so good to see our things again! Seeing them in the new house certainly makes it feel like home.

kids, floors and more

2011-10-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

I must say, I have the best kids! They've done so well this year with all of our craziness. As I was upstairs tonight peeling wallpaper, I could hear them playing together happily and I thought about all the transitions they've gone through so far this year...

we started packing in late June and they lived in a pretty toy-less house for the month of July

we drove down to Oregon, put our things in storage, stayed in a couple of hotels in order to look for a house, then went camping on the California Coast

we drove down to California to stay with family. During that time we flew down to Arizona for a family wedding and then Phil and I drove back up to Oregon for another house hunting trip

we moved up to Oregon and into our hotel room August 29 so the kids could start school and Phil could start work

they started a new school, which is really a big deal, because they started school--they've been homeschooled up until now

we've visited a few churches since our move, which means they have to try new classes every Sunday

we've taken 2 quick (5-hour drive) weekend trips down to California for family parties

and for the past week and a half, we've been to our new home daily to do repairs and renovations. The kids just explore and play while we work and then we hop back into the car to sleep at the hotel

They're great kids, I tell you! And I'm so proud of them.

Here's what's going on at the house...

We're plugging away in the kitchen. Phil is going to knock out this wall to open up the kitchen into the dining room.

The kitchen is basically gutted. I've sanded the cabinets and have started to paint them white.

Phil's sister is staying with us and she broke up all the floor tile and hauled it outside to our dump pile. Under the ceramic tile, she found 4 layers of linoleum flooring. Four layers, folks!

Once they stripped it down, look what they found...

Yep! That's hardwood flooring, and it matches the older hardwood in the rest of the house! A friend of ours from California is up this weekend and he's sanding the floor for us right now. I had a really great slate-colored tile picked out, but I'm hoping the hardwood cleans up nicely.

my little helpers

2011-10-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

My fingers are so sore from peeling wallpaper.
It's a good thing I had these two little helpers today.

They asked if they could work in their room while I worked in the bathroom.
I wish you could have heard them giggle and sing as they worked.
It was so sweet!

just dreaming

2011-10-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

I think I need this.

plugging away

2011-10-16T00:16:00.000-07:00

We had such a looooooooong, yet productive day yesterday! We have awesome friends and family who work hard and who work quickly! In a little over 24 hours, we had the carpet out of every room (including one bathroom) in this 2100 square foot house. They pulled up carpet, padding, tack boards and every single staple in the entire house, sanded, then swept all the dust, applied a coat of paint thinner and finished up with a coat of finish. We also peeled more wallpaper and sanded several kitchen cupboard doors.

We were able to drive down to a flooring store and to Lowe's and pick out the kitchen and bathroom flooring, the kitchen counter tops and sink, and we bought the paint for the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen walls and the kitchen cupboards. A friend of mine came with us--while her husband was pulling staples out of the floor--and she picked out the perfect red for the front door, the back door, and for the french door dividing the kitchen and the mudroom.

Here's the upstairs hallway looking into my room (left) and the girls' room (right). The upstairs bathroom is to the left of my room.

my bedroom

looking down the stairs from outside of my bedroom

The hardwood upstairs and in the downstairs bedroom are made from a different wood. The slats are a lot wider and the color is nice and rich.

where the oven used to be...

It's been fun discovering all sorts of things that have been covered up in this old house.

Here they covered up the large cold air return vent in the downstairs hallway.

This was the bathroom with carpet...not a good idea for little boys! When I removed some of the wallpaper, I found a hand-painted mural hidden beneath.

This is what we found when we pulled off a set of kitchen cabinet doors...old flour or potato bins that pull out with hinges on the bottom. There are two stacked on top of each other.

I love these floors!

The kids had so much fun playing on one of the carpet scraps we pulled outside onto the back patio.

I know this isn't a great picture. I wanted to take a picture of the house at night without the flash. This is what I saw as I drove up to the house last night and it took my breath away. It's like it's all lit up inside!

renovations underway

2011-10-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've been bitten by the renovation bug! At first I thought we'd just make a few changes here and there, but today I said it. The tell-tale sign of someone who's gone off the deep end...

I actually uttered these words, "Yeah, I think we could knock out that wall."

What?!

So here's what we're up to in this new house of ours. The kitchen wallpaper is coming down. Have I mentioned that there's wallpaper in EVERY room of the house? Baby steps.

This is the wall that will come down. We're going to open the kitchen up to the dining room. We decided this after I removed the wallpaper. :)

The plan this week is to paint the cabinets white and the walls a soft, buttery yellow. As I was peeling the wallpaper, I noticed a huge change in the feeling of the room. It was so dark with the maroon wallpaper and dark cabinets.

My husband removed the carpet from the living room, dining room, downstairs hallway and the stairs. Here's a before shot:

This is what we found when we pulled back the carpet:

Lovely "during" shot:

After:

We had such a great day today. A couple of family members and a friend drove up from California and will stay the weekend to help us with lots of projects like pulling up all the staples from the floor, knocking out walls and painting.

And then we were abundantly blessed by new friends who brought over dinner and dined with us on the patio out back. As it got dark, all the kids took off running and they played in the field with flashlights. It was the perfect ending to such a sweet, sweet day.

I must mention one very traumatic event. I took my sister-in-law out to the shed that holds the water tank and I saw a dead rat. I almost threw up. Welcome to the country, Jenny. I'll never forget that image as long as I live. Why couldn't it have been a mouse? Yuck! I don't like mice, either, but if I had to chose one over the other, I would definitely choose mice. I can't even believe I just typed that. I wouldn't choose rodents for anything. I hate them.

So, the renovations are underway. They can be a bit stressful, no? I took the kids back to the hotel tonight while the others stayed to finish up a few things. I know they'll be longer than they said they would. I have a feeling this is what it's going to be like for awhile. I know, because I said we were only going to paint, and now I have them knocking out a wall. It's kinda fun, though, when you start to see progress. But not when you happen upon dead rats.

memo to self: laugh

2011-10-13T11:16:00.001-07:00

At bedtime the other night, my boys asked me, "Mom, why don't you laugh anymore?"

Ouch!

I try so hard to keep it together on the outside, but when I'm home with the people I love most, my comfort zone, I let them see all the ugly stuff.

And the sad thing is, I don't even realize it. I guess I could blame the chaos of the move; but honestly, if it wasn't the move, I would probably find something else to blame. There's always something else, right?

I want my kids to remember me as a happy mom.

Time to go back and read this again.

i'm home

2011-10-11T22:38:00.001-07:00

I could write 10 blog posts about today. Really, I could. But it was just too wonderful for words. Our realtor called this morning and said he was going pick up our keys later in the afternoon. I waited and waited and faithfully carried my phone with me--even into the bathroom. Just in case. He called while the kids were playing on the playground after school.

As we drove out to our new home along those beautiful, autumn-filled country roads, my heart was so full. There was beauty all around me. And then I looked into my rear view mirror...beauty, still. My kids' sweet, smiling faces looked back at me. "We're going home, Mommy!"

When I drove onto the property, I felt like I was trespassing. This was the first time I've been there without our realtor present. I wasn't sure what to do. Do we just go inside?

Let me just say that my kids played and played and played! Funny thing...they were so happy in this new house of ours with absolutely no toys. It sure makes a mommy happy...especially one that's been cooped up in a hotel for awhile. I loved walking around barefoot and feeling the grass between my toes. I loved hearing my girls say, "Let's play Little House on the Prairie," and then, "Let's play Anne of Green Gables." I would have joined them, but I wanted to explore, too. We explored inside, then outside and everywhere in between.

My favorite memory of the day though, is this. When my happy toes and I went back inside, the house was extremely quiet. The kids didn't answer when I called, so I headed upstairs. This is what I saw as I walked into one of the bedrooms...just a little bit of light shining from underneath the closet door. There they were, playing clubhouse!

We lingered for about 2 hours before heading back to the hotel. We'll stay there until this weekend when Phil will be off from work. But we'll head up there again tomorrow to do a little more dreaming and to put 4 little pumpkins on our new front porch.

stuff I need

2011-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite books is Casey the Greedy Young Cowboy where little Casey makes this extremely long list entitled "Stuff I Need" and fills it with all sorts of crazy stuff. He learns his lesson in the end, of course, and realizes that family is more important than stuff.

Well, after living in a hotel for a month, I now have my own crazy little list. I realize these things aren't super important and if our storage unit burned down today and we lost everything, I'd be o.k. But here's my list anyway...

Stuff I Need:

my big, comfy couch
my books
my crockpot to make yummy fall soups and stews
my pillow
my aprons
my panini maker
my pillow
my Jane Austen movies
my green and white polkadot spoon for stirring my coffee
my pillow

Yes, in the end I'll learn my lesson and realize that people are more important than everything on this list. But for now, this is stuff I need.

he listens

2011-09-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! Who knew that moving could be so crazy? I used to think that the last time we moved was a big deal--the time we moved with a 4 year old, a 3 year old and almost 2 year old twins. I think that was easier, because as long as their toys and beds came along with us and we found a great park and a library with lots of books we were all good.

Now we have 4 kids who are very aware of what we've left behind. They're very aware of the fact that all of their belongings have been in storage since July and they won't get to see these things until November. One of my girls asked, "Why couldn't we just bring one little piece of wood from my bed?" Ouch. If I knew back then that it would have made things a little easier for her, I would have. But I didn't know.

Trying to keep it all together and keep everyone happy has been difficult, to say the least. But I'm so thankful God cares when I'm overwhelmed or lonely. I'm in such good hands.

"I love the Lord...because He bends down to listen." --Psalm 116

This is such a beautiful picture to me--that God, the Maker of the entire universe, would bend down to listen to little 'ol me.

making a home

2011-09-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

...my attempt to make our hotel room feel a little more like home during my favorite season.

kitchen dreaming

2011-09-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

One more month until we get the keys to our new house! There are a few little {big} projects we'd like to do before moving in, so I've been dreaming away. I hate spending money, so we'll see how much of my dreaming becomes reality. The home was built in 1925. I can imagine the kitchen was as dreamy as anything, but it was "updated" to brown, orange, gold and maroon. I know, makes me cringe, too. So here are a few ideas that are spinning around in my head...

I can't decide if I want to remove the maroon wallpaper and paint the walls white or this soft, buttery yellow. What do you think?

My accent colors will be red and this tiffany blue/turquoise.
I'd like to change out or paint the dark brown cabinets to white in order to brighten up the room a bit. I also want to remove a couple of cabinet doors to expose my turquoise and red dishes.

The current countertops are a golden tile with thick grout. I would love to change it out with this milky white marble, but boy is it pricey!

The current flooring is a golden yellow ceramic tile with orange and brown flowers. I really like this tile, but I'm thinking it might be a little too busy for a kitchen. What do you think? It might look better in a bathroom--which leaves me searching for flooring ideas. Any thoughts?

I love this subway tile for the backsplash. Right now the countertop tile is extended up the wall for the backsplash.

And now for this little issue...

The house is brick, painted white on the outside. My husband said that when we remove the wallpaper, we could keep going and remove the plaster on the exterior wall and expose the brick on that one wall. I love this idea, but I'm wondering if it would go well with the bright yellow and white. I'd like to brighten up the kitchen and I'm wondering if the brick would be too dark. And would it look good with the white tile and white marble? Hmmm...

roots

2011-09-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Grandma, 90, with 13 or her 16 grandchildren and lots of great grandchildren

Both of my Grandmas' birthdays are 1 day apart. One turned 82 on Saturday and one turned 90 on Sunday. Because we live only 5 hours from our family instead of 17 when we lived in Spokane, we were able to join in the birthday celebrations this past weekend. It was such a special time. We haven't been together since Grandpa's funeral back in 2003. My oldest was only 8 months old.

I'm so glad that my kids will know their Great Grandmas. My husband is so good about having our kids connect with them. Because of him, they've seen both of their Great Grandmas 3 times in the last 9 months. He says it doesn't matter if we drive 10 hours and stay only 1 hour. It's worth it. I'm glad they'll know these women and their little houses. They'll have memories of playing in their backyards like I do.

No matter how busy we are, it's important for us to take time to connect with the past. As we drove home last night, I kept thinking about an article that I tore out of a magazine and stashed away in my address book years ago. It's called "Grandma's Hands," written by Kent Nerburn...

"Did you have a good time at Grandma's? Did you hold her hand? When Grandma was little, her grandma used to hold her hand just like that. And you know what? Her grandma's hand had once held the reins of a team of oxen that were pulling a covered wagon. When you were holding Grandma's hand, you were touching back all the way to the pioneers. She can help you touch faraway places."

Do my kids even know what a privilege it is to know these two beautiful women--to know and to connect with anyone who was born in 1921 and 1929? No, of course not. But it's my job--no, it's my privilege to teach them.

bff

2011-09-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Meet my friend Katie. We met back in 1987 when we were in Jr. High and quickly became best friends. I love that I just used the words best friends, Jr. High and the 80's all in one sentence. They go together, don't they? We had so much fun together. I remember stretching out our Walkman earphones so we could both have an earpiece to "sneak-listen" to Richard Marx. Sorry, Mom.

She's in Oregon this week so we've been able to catch up after all these years. I vacationed here with her family 21 years ago--we can hardly believe it's been that long. We decided to go to the mall today, because that's what old friends from Jr. High do.

When my girls and I drove out to pick her up this morning, they asked me all kinds of questions about Miss Katie. I told them that we used to save up our babysitting money so we could go to the mall to buy clothes, and that one year for my birthday she gave me Salon Selectives shampoo, conditioner, mousse and hairspray because I loved how it smelled like apples.

It's so fun to meet up with someone from your past--someone with whom you can just pick up where you left off, no matter how long it's been.

three letters

2011-09-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

With the kids in school this year (we've homeschooled up until now), I've had lots of "think time" this week. The boys are in school all day and my girls are in half day Kindergarten, so I'm not quite sure what to do with my time while staying in a hotel in a new city.

Yesterday I drove up to my husband's work just to look at the directory in the lobby. He told me they had just placed his name on it and I wanted to take a peek. I know it sounds silly, but it took my breath away. Seeing those three little letters after his name...PA-C...made me so happy. Then I had this thought...no one who glances at that directory will ever know how those letters have impacted our little family. No one will know that those three letters after his name are a testament to what God has lovingly brought us through. I wish they could, though. It changed us, and I want everyone to know about it.

My husband used to be a firefighter. Five years ago, he was injured at work. One day, as he was driving an ambulance on a call, a truck crossed the double yellow lines on the highway and struck him head-on. The other driver was killed instantly; Phil survived, but sustained several injuries that would end his 18-year career as a firefighter. He had 3 surgeries that following year. Things at home were probably very hectic...I don't really remember much, though. I'm sure it was God's grace. Our girls were only 3 months old and our boys were 1 and 3. All four of them were in diapers. It's all a blur now. When I watch our home movies, I'm so glad to see that the kids were happy. They just toddled around, laughed and played with their toys. It was probably a good thing that they were all so young and didn't taste the bitter aftermath as we did. We prayed and prayed for healing from physical injuries, Post Traumatic Stress, and direction for what to do next. God directed Phil's heart to pursue a new career as a Physician Assistant, and he was accepted into the University of Washington's Physician Assistant program.

Four years ago, we moved from Northern California to Spokane, WA, so he could attend school. I remember wondering how I would survive without the help and support of all of our family and friends in California, but I quickly learned that when God leads, He also provides. Spokane will always hold a special place in my heart. So far, it's the best place I've ever lived. I think it's because it's the first time in my life where I had to depend completely on God and He proved Himself to be ever faithful. I watched my husband heal, my kids grow, and I watched my own heart grow as I learned to trust when I couldn't see. I loved our little 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house. I remember wondering how all 6 of us would manage in such a tight space, but we always had room enough--even for out-of-town guests and weekly preschool playdates that would number in the 20's! I learned that God makes much out of little.

Now we've moved to the state of Oregon. I'm anticipating that God will fill our lives as He did in Spokane. I'm really hoping that He will, because waves of sadness come over me when I think about our life up there. I miss people and places and my heart is breaking. So yesterday when I walked into the lobby at Phil's work and saw those three little letters...PA-C...after his name, my heart leaped. Those three letters mean God has carried us through darkness. He's been good to us--beauty from ashes, is all I can think of. Beauty from ashes. He's redeemed something that was so ugly at first glance. Five years ago, I remember thinking, "What are you going to do with all of this, God? It hurts so much." God never let go of me. I feel mended. These glimpses of why, these answers, are so sweet and so dear to me. This transition time for our family will unveil a few more answers, I'm sure. I don't want to miss any of them.

I need to write this, because it makes me sad to think that no one who walks into that lobby and sees his name on that directory will know this. But now you do.

back to school

2011-09-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight is First-Day-of-School Eve here in our hotel room (more on that later). My kids are going into third grade, first grade and kindergarten. We've homeschooled since day one, but this year all 4 are going to school. We're all so excited; in fact, my husband starts his new job tomorrow, as well! People keep asking me if I'm excited to have time to myself. The answer is no. I'm really going to miss them. But I'm just as excited as they are because I'm excited for them. We've been bustling about doing our Back to School shopping (my first time ever) and it's been so much fun. When I'm through typing, I'm going to pack their little lunches--something I've always dreamed of! When I taught school, I would check out my students' lunches and say to myself, "When I'm a mom, I'm going to pack..."

Now, about the hotel...we don't get the keys to our new home until the middle of next month, but Phil needed to start his job and the kids needed to start school. So instead of renting a house for 1 1/2 months, we're staying in an extended-stay hotel. It was easier than unpacking our belongings and getting utilities and Internet hooked up--not to mention there's a pool, continental breakfast and housekeeping. :) We have a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom suite with a kitchenette.

We're just so, so excited about tomorrow!

home

2011-08-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

"Home is where we tie one end of the thread of life."
Martin Buxbaum

After a month and a half of searching for another home, God very graciously provided this beautiful home for us. We're praying that its inspection goes well next week. If it does, we'll take possession mid-October, because the seller requested a 60 day escrow.

Here's a quick re-cap of our busy, busy month:

Many of our wonderful friends came over to help us pack up our home and load up the moving truck the day before our move

I turned 37

We had very dear friends make the trek with us--this was just so, so comforting

The men unloaded all of our belongings into a storage unit (because we still didn't have a house)

We camped for a few days on the California Coast

We celebrated our 12th anniversary

We drove down to visit and to stay with family in California

We flew down to Arizona for my niece's wedding

We drove back up to Oregon to house hunt, once again

We found this beautiful home, put in an offer and it was accepted the following day

We drove down to the Bay Area to visit with more family

We're all so excited to move into our new home. The kids are excited to see it, because they weren't with us when we walked through it. Seriously...October can't come soon enough!

this makes me sad...

2011-07-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Phil is taking down our playset this afternoon. It makes me so sad. The other night I sorted through a few drawers in the kitchen and noticed I had several sippy cups which we haven't used in over 2 years. I didn't even know they were in there. As I sorted through the drawer, I got all choked up. I'm not just leaving behind friends and a city that I love. It feels like I'm leaving behind something greater--part of my kids' childhood--and it hurts. They were all so small when we moved up here 4 years ago. We had diapers, bottles, sippy cups, high chairs, car seats and training wheels. None of these are coming with us next week.

finding a home

2011-07-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

my kitchen table at the moment

We received word this week that the seller of the home we'd like to purchase does not want to fix the items we requested. Some of the things that need to be fixed or updated would require permits, and all of this would come out of our pockets at this point. We thought it best to walk away and look for another home to purchase. This should be interesting, considering the fact that we have to be out of our home in 2 weeks.

This morning as I thought about our current situation, I heard something very familiar running around inside my head. It sounded like something I've read in the book of Exodus, right after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea--after they sang their song of deliverance and then demanded, moaned and complained, uttering these words...

“What are we going to drink?”

“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

...and right after crossing the Red Sea, too! I remember reading this thinking, "Come on, you guys! God just parted a SEA for you!"

But oh, that temptation is so strong right now, even though our house sold without putting it on the market--without even having to show it--the equivalent of a Red Sea crossing in my book!

moving update

2011-07-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to leave everyone up in the air with my "now we wait" post. The truth is, we're still waiting! We did buy a house in Oregon. The sellers accepted our offer and we thought it was a done-deal. But then we got the home inspection back. It was 45 pages long! The original owner still lives there, so the home hasn't changed hands in over 55 years, which means the home has never been inspected. It's a good, solid house, but lots of things don't meet code. We're waiting to hear back from our realtor to see how much the seller is willing to fix. So in the meantime, we're looking online for rentals in the area. We have to be out of our house in 3 weeks and we don't have enough time to go back down again to house hunt. I don't know where I'll be unpacking my boxes in 3 weeks. It's kind of unsettling.

But on a brighter note, God worked a miracle on our behalf! Our home in Washington sold 2 days after we "bought" our new home. And the story is simply amazing!

Last month, our neighbor 2 doors down walked up the street and mentioned to my husband that he was thinking about buying our house, and to let him know when we were ready to sell. Phil walked over to his house a couple of weeks ago, talked for a few minutes and our house was sold! Just like that. No showings, no weeding out the flower beds or touching up the trim and baseboards--sold!

So I'm kind of excited to see what God has in store for our family in 3 weeks. He surely hasn't forgotten about us. :)

something to laugh about

2011-07-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

In reference to this post on laughing...

I often call my boys "brothers" and my girls "sisters." Today in Costco, I called to my girls and said, "Come on, Sisters." And sure enough, as I turned around there were two nuns right behind me loading bags of chips into their cart.

What are the odds?

do you laugh?

2011-07-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

"I am the happiest creature in the world...I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

--Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

I'm studying the book of Proverbs right now, and I can't help but notice how many references there are to laughter and cheerfulness. It's no coincidence, I know, because every time I start one of these Bible studies, something always hits home and relates to my present circumstance.

Right now, we're buying and selling a house and moving to a new state--all with 4 children. I'm learning that it's absolutely necessary for me to keep a sense of humor. Otherwise it's so easy to despair when things don't go my way.

My kids need me to be happy right now. And not just a superficial happy with a fake smile. I mean real joy. Joy that can be found only in Jesus. I'll be 37 this month and you know what? He hasn't failed me yet. I wish I would've known this 10 years ago, because I probably would not have worried so much about the things that always work themselves out.

Here are a few verses that keep me going these days...

"A glad heart makes a happy face." Proverbs 15:13

"For the happy heart, life is a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Proverbs 15:30

"When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain." Proverbs 16:15

"A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

Oh, and especially this one...

"She laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25

now we wait...

2011-06-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

my girls outside of a dream home

Our house hunting trip has come and gone. Now we wait...

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but we put in an offer on a house yesterday (not the one in the picture above) and I've already decorated each of the rooms in my head. Oh, and did I mention that I've already been to Lowe's and have in my possession all the paint chips for each room? You know, just in case. My palette is ready to go.

Waiting is sometimes difficult for me because I like knowing. I like to be certain of things, like the way I feel about my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's the best ever and I'm certain of it. It makes me happy every time I bake them because they always turn out yummy. I can say this only because it's not really my recipe, but a friend's--otherwise I'd be bragging. :) But you know that feeling when you try a new recipe for the first time? You're a little excited, but a little nervous at the same time, because it might not turn out the way you expected? Maybe this isn't the best analogy, but that's what this whole putting in an offer thing feels like to me--exciting but scary.

farm chicks show 2011

2011-06-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

I love that this amazing show has become
an annual tradition for me and my lovely friend, Andi.
Each year, we enjoy it more and more.
Maybe it's because we know what to expect by now--
as opposed to my first year when I nearly
hyperventilated upon entering the building.

But maybe not.
You think you're going to see the same stuff you saw last year,
and then you're blown away (again) by the creativity
of these amazing women all in one place to sell their wares.

I think my style changes every year, too.
In the past, the colors red and green made me drool.
This year, I was drawn to the blues and grays.
I loved the maps, globes and school supplies.

oh, but I still love green!

These were from my friend Becca's booth.

And here's my friend Courtney's booth.

Funny thing: when I picked Andi up in the morning,
we had on matching outfits.
Even our purses matched.
And as we left the show, both of us carried
large, school atlas maps over our shoulders. :)

chalkboard placemat

2011-05-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip down to California, my mom gave me this
wonderful chalkboard placemat made by a friend of ours.

Did you know you could purchase chalkboard oilcloth? Who knew!?
We love it!

what we're reading...

2011-05-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

After reading to my girls this afternoon, I glanced down at the couch and loved the sight of this!

just talking to myself

2011-05-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've had a few thoughts running around inside my head for a few weeks now and oh, how they resonated with this post by Ann Voskamp. I've mentioned here before that I'm entering a new phase of parenting. My oldest just turned 8 in January. Being a parent just feels different now. I thought I'd have it down by now (ha ha). Don't worry, I don't.

There are so many things I want to teach them and so many things I want to do with them. One thing I found myself doing when they were younger was to tell myself, "Don't worry, Jen, they're still young. You'll get to that." Did you ever do that in the toddler years and then suddenly find yourself with school-aged children? We still haven't gotten to some of those things.

So here are a few of the thoughts that have been swimming through my head...

...only one of your kids can ride a bike without training wheels...one!
...none of your kids can tie their own shoes...none!
...none of your kids are signed up for music lessons...none!
...your kids should be better swimmers by now.

Three weeks ago as I was driving home from the grocery store, I realized part of the problem. God is so good to give wisdom when we ask. He always comes through (James 1:5). As far as music lessons go, I really, really want my kids to have them. Why? Because I quit them. It's as simple as that, and it might seem reasonable enough, but here's what I discovered about myself...I think I want to raise my kids to be better versions of me. I want to redeem some of my faults and my shortcomings by raising children that make better choices than I did. I'm finding that this puts an awful lot of pressure on a child--learn to do this because mommy can't. Of course I would never say that to my children. But I don't want to live like I'm saying it. Saying it without my words.

My kids are precious. They're individuals. They're not me.
The only One I want them to strive to be like is Jesus.

new shirts

2011-05-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

I appliqued little cupcake shirts for my girls the other night and hung them in their room so they'd see them first thing the next morning.

Here's the first peep I heard from their room...

"Look! I hope those are for us!"

easy mango salsa quesadillas

2011-05-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

It's summertime on a plate!
We haven't even experienced spring weather up here yet, but oh well.

Mix together:
1 mango, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of salsa
1/4 tsp cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken breast, cooked (optional)

Butter one side of a flour tortilla and place mango salsa on one half of the tortilla
Sprinkle with cheese
Fold over and place quesadilla on a grill, griddle or cast iron skillet, turning once until both sides are brown and salsa is heated through.

Garnish with a bit of the mango salsa and cilantro leaves

Enjoy!

sarah jane studios

2011-05-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

{source}

I first discovered Sarah Jane Studios when I read this post on Sew Mama Sew.

Last year, I purchased one of her calendars which I featured on my blog in this post.

I read recently that the lovely Miss Sarah Jane is debuting
a pattern and fabric line sometime this month!
I can't wait!

{source}

tag sale

2011-04-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

This has been a very busy week with lots of fun things planned, and boy am I exhausted! I left the house early this morning to pick up a friend and head up to this Tag Sale.

There were super great prices! I spent all of $3.50 on these little treasures...

a milkglass, jadeite-looking dish with bunny lid

great fabric scraps and a vintage pillowcase

a shower curtain that I'll use as a drop cloth or tablecloth when the kids are doing messy crafts

sweet little jack and jill pillow

a little royal wedding party

2011-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I had two very wonderful friends over to watch the Royal Wedding. They arrived around 1:00 a.m. and we had a such a sweet time together. I tried to sleep beforehand, but I only managed to get about an hour of sleep because I was so giddy with excitement with all the preparations.

There was food to prepare, tulle to hang, and British flags and party favors to make. Yes, I know it seems a little over the top. I even planned an outfit to wear--a blue dress and black cardigan sweater like Kate wore when she and William announced their engagement.

By the way, this is the best scone recipe ever!
And if you don't like lavender or Earl Grey, you can easily substitute them with another flavor.

Here are the favors.
The blue gem and foil are supposed to be Diana's sapphire ring.
I was a little disappointed that the tea bags were yellow, because they didn't go with my color scheme of red and blue.
But I was so relieved to see that the Queen wore yellow to the wedding...perfect!

princess jenny

2011-04-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

Do any of you have Royal Wedding plans? I certainly do, but nothing spectacular. I think I'll stay up tonight and watch it live. I'll bake/make a couple of things off of this site--a royal wedding-inspired menu by Epicurious.

Just last night I went into World Market to buy culinary lavender for my scones. When the clerk glanced down at my items, she said, "Ooh, are you having a royal wedding party?" All I could do was shrug, giggle and say, "Um, yes."

I feel kind of foolish about it, maybe a little girlish, too, but I just can't help it! Diana was married two days after my 7th birthday--the perfect age for a little girl to be enamored with princesses and weddings.

I remember it so vividly. We lived in San Francisco and watched it on T.V. the following morning. For months after, I played Diana. I took my Strawberry Shortcake bedspread, gathered it around my neck and walked down our stairs, pretending it was my wedding train trailing behind me. I played tennis outside pretending I was on my honeymoon. I'm not sure if she played tennis on her honeymoon, but apparently that's what I thought people did on their honeymoons. I called myself Princess Jenny.

My girls are 5 and I want them to have just as much fun with this as I did when I was a girl.

A friend of mine sent me the link to this site with lots of fun royal wedding ideas for kids. I adore these Princess Kate paper dolls with Disney princess outfits!

Do you have any royal wedding plans or are you thoroughly annoyed by all the hype?

my new crush

2011-04-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you're looking at real estate online
and you love, love, love the seller's furniture?
I think I could eat that couch up!
These rooms have 1963 written all over them...aren't they great?
Love this kitchen!

easter weekend

2011-04-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

flowers at Pike Place Market, Seattle

How was your Easter weekend?
Ours was glorious!
The week leading up to Easter was a little crazy.
We were in California all week, flew home Friday night and then left early, early Saturday morning for a 5-hour drive over to Seattle for the weekend.

The weather was perfect on Saturday, about 70 degrees with sunny, clear skies.
We walked around Pike Place Market and enjoyed the Aquarium.
Downtown Seattle is by far one of my favorite places on the planet.

On Sunday morning, we drove out to Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, for Mars Hill Church's Easter Celebration.
After driving around for an hour looking for parking and walking about 10 blocks in the rain with 4 children, we finally made our way into the stadium and found seats.
All of the parking woes, and the walking, and the rain were well worth it!
We snuggled up under our blankets--I'm so glad fleece blankets do well in the rain--and were blessed, blessed, blessed!
Pastor Mark preached a great message on who Jesus is.

This, I loved..."Jesus was not a good man...He is the God-Man. The Bible says there are none that do good."

There is nothing redeemable in man.
We all need Jesus.
It was all so, so good.

A quick Starbucks warm-up stop after the service.
Hot chocolate and lattes all around. :)

Then we headed up north to Arlington to visit our wonderful friends for Easter lunch.
They had Easter baskets and an egg hunt for our kids!

Hope your Easter was wonderful, too!

a child's garden of songs

2011-04-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

I have a poor little sick guy here with me tonight.
He's making requests, all watery-eyed and shivery,
for Popsicles and 7-up.
What a sweet boy.

We listened to this CD after dinner tonight
while snuggled up on the couch.
We love to read from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I was so excited to find this CD at the library last week.
It's such a sweet recording with Celtic-style music.

When "The Land of Counterpane" began to play,
he looked up at me, smiled
and quoted a couple of the lines.
I love this boy!

"When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day."

Now he's explaining to me why fevers
are necessary when you're sick.
I'd better go.
This is the cutest Science lesson
...ever!

embroidery 101

2011-04-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been inspired to try embroidery,
thanks to a sweet friend and very creative
Farm Chicks vendor, Courtney.

She's always working on something cute--most likely trying to
stock up her booth for this year's Farm Chicks Show.

At Christa's baby shower, we asked the guests
to decorate onesies for Baby Ella.
I wasn't going to make one, but I couldn't resist all the adorable fabric.
It's like it was calling to me.

Now I think I might understand a crafter's obsession with cute fabric
and why one might justify collecting and possibly hoarding a large stash of quilting fabric.
I think I'm on the verge!
Maybe.

So here's my little creation for Baby Ella.
I'm so thankful that Courtney was there to help me get going.
It was frustrating at first, because I had to start over 3 times.
But now I can't wait to get started on another project!

baby ella

2011-04-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends and I had the privilege of throwing a shower for one amazing friend, Christa, and her sweet little Ella Louise.

Simply put, Ella is a miracle. She was born with heart complications about 2 months before her due date and spent the first 70 days of her little life in the NICU.

And when I say privilege, I mean it with all of my heart.

I feel so honored to know Christa. Even praying for her sweet family during this time has felt like a privilege.

So many creative girls worked so hard to make everything beautiful!

I love all the sweet details that went into this special day.

beautiful artwork...

yummy food...

and little onesies to decorate.

We love you, Sweet Baby Ella!
We pray that God will continue to strengthen your little heart.
Our own hearts have been strengthened by knowing you
and by praying for you
and by seeing our amazing Creator
work a miracle in your little life.

xoxo

life in these parts

2011-04-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of my purple girl

We love spring up here in the northwest! After our long, bleak winters, the sunshine feels so nice! My youngest daughter, lover of all things purple, noticed this crocus out in our front yard. I love each budding sign of spring around here!

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold...
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only for an hour."

from "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
--Robert Frost

That's what's going on outside...inside our home is just as sweet. I've really been enjoying my kids lately. Sometimes I forget that stopping everything to read a library book can reset the whole tone in our home. This past month I remembered. And what a difference it makes. The kids forget they're disgruntled or bored when we're lost in the pages of a good book. Puzzles and games have the same effect. It took me a few years of parenting to realize this. I think I'm so busy and have so much to do, but sometimes all they need from me is 5 minutes. Then I go back to making dinner and they run off to play and everything's good. Why do I think these interruptions will set me back 5 years? I think I read this in one of Sally Clarkson's books--my children are not interruptions in my day. They are my work (and I don't use the term "work" here as negative or burdensome). Maybe the laundry and the dishes are my interruptions. :)

Now that we're out of the baby stage and my oldest is 8, I often do a double take and think, how did we get here already? Where did the time go? Are they really all school-aged?

"...her early leaf's a flower; but only for an hour."

So, as I said earlier, I've really been enjoying my kids lately. They're growing, but I'm growing, too. I'm learning that good parenting is partly good perspective. It's difficult if you think it's difficult, delightful if you think it's delightful. I realize there's more to it than that. Trust me, I know. But I also feel the deep ache that tells me this season is short and I'd rather have more delightful moments than difficult ones. So we're going to read more books, play more games and do more puzzles. And if it ever warms up, we'll play outside and enjoy the springtime.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year."

"A Prayer in Spring"
--Robert Frost

Happy Spring, Everyone!

yummy!

2011-03-19T21:02:00.001-07:00

This was SUCH a delicious recipe. I just had to share it. It's a quick chicken potpie topped with sourdough bread cubes instead of pie crust, featured in this month's issue of Sunset Magazine. Here's the link if you're interested.

4 years

2011-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in this post that my husband finished school recently and is looking for a job. Right now, in fact--he's interviewing today miles from home. When we first moved here, I remember thinking we'd get back to regular life after graduation. You know what? I would say these past 4 years of life have been the best ever. How is that? I wanted to rush through them, as if they were something to be endured.

I think I've grown as a wife and mom. We're about 17 hours away from our families and I was so lonely at first. Depending on God was a good thing for me. Hard, but good. He soon filled my loneliness with sweet friendships. It's an amazing thing that God can fill any void. He's proved this to me, and that's why this time for me is bittersweet. My husband is interviewing elsewhere right now, as in not here. But I think we'll be o.k.

Never again do I want to say that I'm living in an in-between state. Life happens there, too. God works there, too. And He has.

winter days

2011-02-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

"Now the winter seemed long.
Laura and Mary began to be tired
of staying always in the house." --Laura Ingalls Wilder

Been having a few of these days lately...

this month, I want to remember...

2011-02-27T12:21:00.001-08:00

I really, really adore you, February!
Your colors, your holidays--they make your weather
a little more bearable.

Sugar is highly over rated.
My husband and I went on an after Christmas,
six-week, no sugar/no bread diet
and I can honestly say that
sugar doesn't taste as good as I remember.
This is good.

Snow on the beach.
This is the Pacific Ocean, folks!
We visited the Oregon Coast this past week
and it snowed.
I never want to forget this!

home, moving on, etc.

2011-02-21T20:27:00.001-08:00

(source)

Have you ever had a time in your life when absolutely everything was up-in-the-air? Right now is one of those times for me--but I'm not complaining.

My husband just graduated from Physician Assistant school, and I'm so very proud of him. Now we're in the job search process. We had certain areas in which we were focusing our search, but the PA job market, as we're learning, is slim right now. We've had to broaden our search just a bit. Okay, maybe more than just a bit. We've gone from looking on the West Coast to ummm, everywhere. This means that by the end of this year, I could be living...anywhere.

It's kind of exciting, but the truth is, I'm a little sad to leave behind our little house. It's the sweetest little 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a terrific fenced-in back yard, complete with big trees, a strawberry patch and garden. I love our hardwood floors and the colors of our walls (which were painted by the previous owner). I love our city, too! And the longer I live here, the more I love it. And then there are the wonderful friends we've made here. I don't even want to think about leaving them behind. :(

But here's the exciting part. I was apprehensive when we moved away from home four years ago in order for my husband to go to school, but God worked out every.last.detail--like our walls being painted colors I would have chosen myself. I'm confident that wherever our family lands, God will do amazing things yet again. He's good to us, and He's good. This is exciting to me.

Everything is up-in-the-air right now and I'm just not sure if I should begin packing up our life here.

in our little house...

2011-02-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

we've been wishing and waiting for snow
baking
exchanging valentines
dieting
avoiding chocolate (see above)
reading
organizing toys
attending ice skating lessons (not in our home, of course)
playing games
homeschooling
hosting parties
jumping on the couch
listening to Adventures in Odyssey
drinking lots of coffee

hope your February has been a cozy one, too!

be mine

2011-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

our valentine pancake batter

Happy Valentine's Day!

On this day I'm so thankful to know the source of true love...

..."this is love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
--1 John 4:10

and so very thankful that it's free!

"Thy love is such I can no way repay." --Anne Bradstreet

2011-01-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

"If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”

--Pooh Bear

One of my favorite Pooh Bear quotes!
Last week a friend and I were talking about these sweet stories.
If you've never read them to your kids, you must!
I always get choked up when
Christopher Robin is about to go off to school.
As wonderful as it is to watch our kids grow and learn new things,
why is it also one of the hardest things to do?

This past month, my oldest son turned 8.
Eight!
That's one more than 7, one less than 9!
I'm not quite sure how this happened.
This afternoon, I studied his sweet face as he spoke to me of nintendo,
and I noticed that his jaw is widening, as that of a young man's.
Little by little he has turned his attention toward what we've always called "big boy toys."
And in case you didn't know, big boy toys are just a little more expensive than little boy toys.

in the secret of his presence

2011-01-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

(click here to listen)

Would you like to know the sweetness
Of the secret of the Lord?

Go and hide beneath His shadow:
This shall then be your reward;

And whene'er you leave the silence
Of that happy meeting place,

You must mind and bear the image
Of the Master in you face.

my winter eden

2011-01-03T20:40:00.001-08:00

glorious red in my winter eden

A winter garden...lifts existence on a plane of snow
One level higher than the earth below,
One level nearer heaven overhead,
And last year's berries shining scarlet red.

from "A Winter Eden" by Robert Frost

advent

2010-12-13T10:57:00.001-08:00

"The people living in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."

Matthew 4:16

away

2010-12-03T20:24:00.001-08:00

five of my most favorite people

Where did November go? Can it really be December already?

We've been away for awhile--a very long while, in fact.

We left home October 22 and returned just this week.

Here's what we've been up to:

A 17 hour drive down to Northern California (my husband drove straight through!)
A week spent here in Grass Valley
A visit with family in Los Angeles
A shopping day at the American Girl Store
A trip to Disneyland
A camping trip in the Grand Canyon
A visit with family in Mesa, Arizona
A visit with family in Tucson, Arizona
A beautiful drive up the California Coast on Highway 1--we saw the sun set as we drove!
A visit with family in the Bay Area
A tour of the Jelly Belly Factory
A visit with family in Northern California where we celebrated my girls' 5th birthday, Thanksgiving and my husband's birthday
A chance to hear my big brother preach at his church
A visit with family in Portland, Oregon
A crazy drive home in the snow--with no chains and no snow tires (they were back home, of course)

Whew! Now back to reality.

I've been scurrying about trying to organize my life.

Tonight as I prepared dinner, I put on my apron for the first time since I've been home and as I tied its strings, I sighed and felt a huge weight of stress lift.
It's a little piece of home that brought comfort right away.

october

2010-10-06T08:36:00.001-07:00

Such a beautiful month, October!

Up here in the Northwest, just about now, our gardens are in full-bloom.

Yes, we really do have to wait this long.

But all around town there are beautiful signs of fall emerging, too.

Just yesterday, this little pumpkin asked to go home with me. :)

I said, "Yes," of course.

Another thing I love about October is making pumpkin everything--Play-doh, pizzas, soup, crafts, and chili.

Last night we had these waffles for dinner.

Yum!

They were excellent with syrup, a dollop or fresh whipped cream and chopped pecans sprinkled on top.

It was like fall on a plate.

And if I'm missing summer,

I have only to go sit on the little bench in my garden

for this spectacular view.

from my garden

2010-08-21T22:03:00.002-07:00

"Earth laughs in flowers."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

lil' makeover

2010-08-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

I don't sew very often because the only good spot for my sewing machine is on our kitchen table.

If ever I need to work on a project, it needs to be put away before meal times and depending on the project, that's not always convenient.

This afternoon I reclaimed a section of the basement and cleared off a table that held boxes and piles of random things.

It felt good to clean up this area!

It still looks very basement-ish with the unpainted wall,
the pipes and the exposed ductwork,

but I already love being in this space.

his and hers

2010-08-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

eleven years

2010-08-01T18:58:00.001-07:00

We celebrated our 11th anniversary yesterday
with dinner in the backyard
after tucking the kids into bed for the night.

It's the little things, year after year that make life so sweet.
This year I'll remember...

a pretty table for 2

flowers from the garden

a yummy dinner

bluegrass music,
bare feet and candlelight
on a breezy, summer evening.

nikki mcclure

2010-07-01T08:44:00.001-07:00

I love Nikki McClure's latest book entitled, Mama, Is It Summer Yet?
The pictures are so enchanting.
Here are a few other prints of hers that I adore...

the farm chicks show

2010-06-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

Another great year at The Farm Chicks Show! I felt like I was better prepared this year, knowing what to expect when I walked through the door. Last year I was completely overwhelmed by all of the beautiful displays and the amount of crafty goodness! This year, my friend and I decided that we would just take it all in, not get stressed out and know that we would leave there with the things God would want us to have to enjoy in our homes. That took a huge weight off my mind. Last year I felt like I was in a race with the other shoppers to see who could find all the cutest stuff first.

This year I went at a much slower pace and spent lots of time browsing in the booths. The vendors put lots of time and effort into planning their booths. Many were works of art! This year I was able to appreciate the beauty of the booths themselves, not just the items for sale inside of them.

Here are the things I purchased this year...

Last year I was on the look-out for a red tray that I could convert into a magnet board for my kitchen. I found these two polka dot t.v. trays at this friend's booth, along with these old milk bottle cap magnets. My husband is going to hang both of them on the wall next to our computer in the kitchen. I can't wait!

I also found these adorable vintage paper dolls. I plan to make magnets with them.

These vintage flashcards were too cute to pass up!

I also found this "Great Grandma necklace." Made of plastic beads, it reminds me of something from my Great Grandma's jewelry box.

Here's a sweet surprise from this friend...she knew I loved this pillow and bought it for me when I was wasn't watching. My girls have been playing with it all weekend.

And of course I was completely giddy when Serena said hello to me!!! I guess she remembered me from last year's cookbook signing--probably because I made a fool of myself with my expert-giddiness. :)

life around these parts

2010-05-31T11:13:00.001-07:00

Last night we enjoyed our first s'mores of the season

complete with a bit of singing 'round the fire.

Our strawberry patch is looking quite promising!

It looks like we're ready for June around here.

And just this morning, one our painted ladies emerged from her chrysalis.

The kids are watching intently to see the amazing changes that are taking place within our live butterfly garden.

dinner with friends

2010-05-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

I just found this picture and realized that I meant to post it months ago!

A few months ago, our family hosted an Italian dinner night with dear friends.

Each of us contributed something...

antipasto salad

bread sticks

spaghetti

tiramisu (my ultimate weakness)

sparkling Italian soda

and drippy candles.

stuffed french toast

2010-05-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

This recipe for stuffed French toast (sent to me by the same friend who makes yummy pound cake) is oh-so-good!

I made up several little French toast "sandwiches," put them in the freezer over night, and then baked them on a well-buttered cookie sheet for about 30 minutes the next day.

a happy little party

2010-05-10T20:46:00.001-07:00

Several months ago, I spotted tissue paper pom-pom kits in the craft section at Wal-Mart.

I wanted to make a few to decorate for a birthday party, but our Wal-Mart has scaled down its craft section and, sadly, they were all gone.

I searched online and found these super easy instructions to make them.

Seeing them suspended from my kitchen ceiling still makes me happy!

This also makes me happy...

A dear friend brought all of the ingredients to make yummy strawberry trifle.

The pound cake was made from scratch.

And it was real pound cake--she used a whole pound of butter. :)

des moines and back

2010-05-04T22:21:00.001-07:00

white chocolate raspberry, mint chocolate and German chocolate cheesecake bites

Last month I was able to fly out to Des Moines, Iowa, to visit a friend from college.

Eating, shopping, napping, talking with an old friend--what could be better?

One day we stopped by her cousin's fabulous restaurant called flarah's.

I enjoyed quiche and a wonderful chocolate blueberry salad for lunch--it was amazing!

If you're ever in the Des Moines area you must stop by for a delicious bite to eat.

hidden in my heart

2010-04-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying this beautiful lullaby CD.

I've learned that mommies need lullabies just as much as our babies do.

And lullabies aren't just for bedtime...

Sometimes my heart needs a good calming at the kitchen sink,

or in the schoolroom,

or beside the bathtub as I'm trying in vain to bathe squirmy children.

If I could, I'd purchase a copy for each of my friends!

easter blessings

2010-04-04T22:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!
Our family enjoyed a blessed day.
Amid the excitement of tearing open Easter baskets
and searching for eggs in the backyard,
I'm going to treasure this sweet prayer offered at bedtime by my little one in pink jammies, hands folded...

"Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross and forgiving me"

I love that she didn't miss Him today among all of the eggs and the candy.
It makes me smile.

"Christ is risen
and my soul knows
sweet salvation!"

excuses. excuses.

2010-03-24T00:00:00.001-07:00

It seems lots of us are apologizing for our lack of blogging lately.
Is it the change in the weather?
Here's one of my excuses, and I promise it's a good one!

I was able to spend last week in Oklahoma visiting my little sister and her sweet-as-can-be, brand new baby boy.

I had the hardest time saying goodbye.
I found myself swaying back and forth in the airport as I waited to board my flight.

Probably from doing lots of this all week...

And then I came home to this...

O.k., make that two good excuses!

hints of spring

2010-02-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what happened, but we've had the most uneventful winter this year.

Little green shoots are already poking their heads up all around the yard.

And recently I've smelled that hint of spring in the air.

Thoughts of spring now occupy my mind--kids playing out back, Easter dresses, working in the garden, and Cadbury Mini Eggs (yum!).

a bit of advice

2010-02-10T14:20:00.000-08:00

"Mothers from miles around worried about Zuckerman's swing. They feared some child would fall off. But no child ever did. Children almost always hang onto things tighter than their parents think they will."

--E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

Isn't that the truth?

Sometimes good parenting advice pops up where I least expected it--

such a good reminder to let my kids be kids.

fondue

2010-01-30T19:39:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to have a couple of dear friends over tomorrow night for fondue and Emma.

On the menu:

dark chocolate sauce

strawberries

bananas

cheesecake

pound cake

pretzels

marshmallows

dried cherries

Do you fondue?

Do you prefer dark chocolate, white chocolate, cheese?

What do you like to dip?