Mimi the Halloween Fairy

One of the things that has been rather depressing about not being in our home for the past 4 weeks is not being able to properly decorate for Fall and Halloween. Normally our porch would be decorated with pumpkins and all things harvest related.

My mom, who is the most awesome Mimi ever, came over to the Destin-house one day last week and worked her magic. The kids were thrilled! They loved the surprise!

Thank you, Mimi, for this wonderful suprise! I wish you had been here to hear the squeals!

Home is....

"Keep close to Nature's heart... 

and break clear away, once in awhile, 

and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. 

Wash your spirit clean."

-John Muir

What my Montana looks like in my memories

They say home is where the heart is - but what if your heart and soul are in two different places?

My family - they are my heart - my life, my love.

My soul - it’s rooted deep in the mountains - buried in a canyon, a valley, a ridgeline. It’s lost at the end of a winding trail somewhere between the Prairies and the Rockies, the Little Belts, the Missouri river.

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” - John Muir

Every Autumn I fight the wanderlust that calls to my soul. It’s a mountain melancholy song that sings to my entire being - tempting me and tormenting me at the same time.

The past years I’ve sought solace in the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. I also spent a few days in the mountains surrounding Seattle with a kindred spirit from my past. I left my heart in Florida when I made that trip and it was a good thing my heart was in Florida - otherwise I might not have returned.

Fifteen years ago I left Montana - I’ve never returned. I’m afraid that if I did go back I would not want to come back to Florida. I’ve spent the past 12 years here in Florida trying to learn to love it.

There are things I love about my life here. I love it when the weather changes so the mornings are crisp. The cool breezes coat my anxious soul with a thin layer of patience as I anticipate the cooler season here. The days I can take my family outside to enjoy nature without an army of mosquitoes, biting flies and danger of heat stroke are few and far between. The beach at sunset is breathtaking but despite the childish joy of my children as they relish the sand and sea - I have not learned to like the sensation of sand between my toes. I would take a sunset over the prairies in an instant.

I suffer from much guilt at my unrest. Three beautiful, healthy children - a husband who loves me unconditionally - and I am often unhappy with the location of our life.

Last year I missed the mountains - the timing of my pregnancy’s ending and my normal trip to Georgia with the kids clashed and I was not able to travel that distance. Our usual winter vacation found us traveling south to visit my parents’ in their new home instead of traveling north as we had considered. Life sometime necessitates change that is unwelcome. I mourned the loss of my yearly reconnection with the mountains almost as much as I mourned the moving of my parents 8+ hours away.

Having no family close by to spend time with breaks my heart. I miss my mom and dad being here. They were the glue that kept my siblings and I together. I still see my brother and sister some, but not as nearly as we would like. Family - something so important to me - scattered in a moment when I most needed them around me last year. We were all depressed about this. It was an unwelcome change for us all. Having never had close family nearby as a child - I found myself spoiled the past 7 years having my mother minutes away. Welcoming a baby without the constant support and presence of my mom was so very different and difficult.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,

 places to play in and pray in, 

where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” 

-John Muir

This mountain melancholy is hitting me harder than normal this year because Michael and I are trying to decide where we want to live the rest of our lives here in the Panhandle. I feel like my dissatisfaction in Florida is causing me to be indecisive. How can I choose a place to live and raise my children here when it’s not the place I want to be?

We want it to be our last home - the one where our children will be tweens and teenagers, graduate high school and move on to college  - maybe even get dressed for a wedding or two, or three. It’s because of this that I feel this immense pressure.

There is no room for mistakes.

What if the place we decided upon isn’t right? What if we hate being so far away from our current life in Niceville? What if we hate the schools? What if my friends never come to visit?

I feel like I’m giving up a lot of what I want in life by choosing to go out to Santa Rosa Beach. I’ve always wanted a farmhouse, room for my kids to run, maybe a few chickens and room for a garden. If my kids are in public school I want it to be a place where I can be involved and not burdened by rules that prohibit me from their classrooms. I’m eager to go back to homeschooling honestly. I miss my flexibility and I’m tired of fighting with Wyatt over how to write his lower case A’s because the way I teach is different from the way his teacher does. Who cares if he colors outside the lines?

Mike wants something new and in a neighborhood where there are lots of other kids.

I want those things, too, but I how much am I willing to compromise?

I know I can’t live on the what if’s.

Mike said we can go spend some time up in the mountains soon and maybe that will help me out of this funk and clear my head. The cooler weather that comes eventually will help too I hope.

I know that I’m also out of sorts because we’ve been living in a rental for almost 3 weeks with 1 more week to go. I’m tired of driving to Niceville and back to Destin every day. I’m ever more resentful every day of the rush to get up, eat breakfast, get in the car routine. I hate the “get in the van, back home, do homework, do your reading, eat dinner, get ready for bed routine.” I’m tired of trying to fit the love and wonder of life into less than 48 hours on the weekend (because let’s be honest Sunday evenings are back into the same old routine.)
Hopefully my mountain melancholy will pass or at least be lessened for a while. I find that if I can at least stifle it for most of the year I can get by.

I’ve been trying so hard to love life here.

So for now I’ll concentrate on the butterfly migrations passing through and try not to think too hard about wanting to be like the butterflies myself.

Camping - It was fun while it lasted...

It was a good idea - while it lasted, that is.

Growing up in England and Montana  - I camped a lot. Naturally I want to share this experience with my little family. Now I'm not ready to go into the Bob Marshall Wilderness with them - but I thought it might be fun to do a trial night in my parent's backyard. We were going to practice camping, that is.

Apparently we need a lot more practice!

Overall things went well - we set up the tent quickly and moved in with our inflatable air mattress, blankets and pillows. The kids had a blast playing in the tent through the afternoon and early evening. For dinner we roasted hot dogs over the campfire I built and nurtured in my parent's outdoor fireplace. I roasted some ears of corn and baked some amazing melt-in-your-mouth potatoes. For the grown-ups I grilled ribeyes (we were really roughing it!). The kids had a blast eating the hot dogs on their roasting sticks and the adults moved inside (mosquitoes were getting bad) and enjoyed their meal. After dinner we roasted marshmallows although I was the only one besides my mom who ate any. Maddie enjoyed cooking them, but then refused to eat any!

Mike came by after his fishing trip and enjoyed a steak and potato while I fussed over the nasty bite on his leg - from a wahoo (fish). The kids had baths and were relaxed and ready for bed so we made our way out to the tent after a rousing game of finding batteries for the flashlight (rolls eyes).

We got out into the tent and I noticed that the air mattress was deflated considerably a little low. Being the Girl Scout that I am not I had planned head and ran an extension cord out to the tent so I could adjust the mattress if needed. I added some air and the kids piled on for bedtime stories.

Wyatt immediately started complaining that he didn't like the tent and wanted to go inside and sleep with Mimi. I made it through two stories and he was relentless so I unzipped the door, padded back inside and begged my mom to let him sleep inside. I think he would have just come inside on his own if I didn't try to plea on his behalf - he was determined not to sleep outside. Ten minutes later he was asleep in her bed.

Maddie and I chatted for a while about the stars and other silly things that people discuss late at night under the stars. As she prattled on I could feel the air seeping out of the mattress as my body seemed to drift lower and lower. I must have fallen asleep eventually - Maddie was snoring quite loudly and the dewpoint had been reached as everything in the tent was damp.

Instead of up high on the mattress we were rather engulfed in it and I decided that the tent was a lost cause at the same moment Maddie awoke and exclaimed that she had to pee NOW.

I gathered up our pillows and blankets and somehow managed to get both of our shoes on and the door unzipped and rezipped and she raced into the house - only to race back to where I was trying to walk and not drop anything on the ground - because she couldn't open the door. I don't think she was really awake honestly!

Crisis averted I helped her to the bathroom then explained to my mom our dire situation with the mattress. We devised a sleeping plan that included leaving my dad in the spare room (where he retired after losing his side of the bed to Wyatt) and moving Wyatt to my sister's bed and putting Maddie in with my mom. Unfortunately this puts poor Natalie on the couch, but she'll stay up watching her Anime movies until who knows when so she typically doesn't mind terribly. I moved her pillows and blankets and wrote her a cute note from Wyatt explaining our dilemma and left her a piece of chocolate.

So now I'm inside (actually relieved at the moment) where I'm swatting at imaginary bugs because my skin is crawling and itchy. I'm also now (not thankfully at all) experiencing the allergies that everyone has been complaining about that I've smugly avoided until my brief stint in the backyard "camping." Thankfully my mom gave me a zyrtec and I'll be less itchy in the morning.

So hopefully the next adventure will be more successful - only time will tell.

At least we tried, right? I'd much rather pack up and come inside my parents house than have to pack up camp at 1 a.m. and go home!

Siren Call

Where to start - that's the question I'm always faced with when I give in to the writer's block I am dealing with on a daily basis. It's not that I don't want to write or that I have nothing to write about - rather it's the opposite - there are so many things I want to write about and ponder - but I'm choosing to not write and here I am months later depressed at the lack of writing and feeling rather like I'm going to implode if I don't start writing again.

Every year around the time of Fall - or Indian Summer - I get melancholy for the mountains - Montana - specifically. It's been 13 years since I left my home state - with my family. We've never been back. I am pining for the mountains, the prairies - for Monarch and Neihart - for Memorial Falls - for the view from the back porch of our house. I miss the bluffs of the Missouri river - the Giant Springs park and the monstrous falls of my town's namesake : Great Falls.

I feel trapped in Florida. I love my husband and my kids and my family - and I have a few very dear friends here - but there's nothing else that keeps me wanting to stay here. Maybe it's just my eternal wanderlust  - but I want to be elsewhere.

Go ahead and judge me but I hate the South. All I see here is intolerance and judgement. I'm not ignorant - I know that those things exist everywhere - it just seems to me that they exist even more HERE in the South than other parts of the country where I've lived (and I've lived in several places of our great country, plus abroad for 6 years of my life!). I've seen lots of positive things here as well - but it's hard to keep seeing the beauty when you're seeing so much ugly.

It's possible that I'm just burned out - on people, on heat, humidity and the lack of elevation - the constant barrage of mosquitoes, the oil spill, the days upon days without a break of silence and time for myself.

I went to the beach last night with Wyatt. Just me and him - we took a blanket and a frisbee and went to watch the sun dip into the water. It was pretty and as the light waned and the temperature dropped I found a brief moment of quiet as Wyatt was happily playing in the sand and I wrote in my journal in the first time in forever. We were almost alone on the beach - there was a couple probably several hundred feet away. And then a large family came down the beach access and plopped their stuff just feet away from me. I mean they had the whole beach - why did they have to interrupt my little bit of solitude? When the woman started taking pictures (it was dark out!) with her larger than life flash - I found myself increasingly irritated as the night sky was lit up over and over by something that was no act of nature. We packed up and left.

So where does all this leave me? I'm not sure. The kids and I are packing up and heading to the mountains in TN in a week or two (once maddie's arm is healed). Mike can't come because he's trying to recap lost fishing money now that snapper season is open on the weekends.

I had a small meltdown last night when I told him I thought I needed a break and wanted to take a trip by myself somewhere in November. I'm debating between going to MT or Seattle where my good friend lives. I'm leaning towards Seattle because she's a kindred spirit and she gets what my issues are! She understands completely and it would be great to spend some time with her (and meet her newest little one).

The mountains call to my soul and I've been burying their song in the depths of my heart for too long. It's like a siren call - I need to go.

baby wanderlust

As the days and months and now years have flown by and my little boy is almost 3 I find myself yearning for another baby. 

Well sometimes.

You see there are so many things to take into consideration and I just don't know what the "right" choice is in this situation.

We have no maternity coverage - or rather I have none. My insurance will cover certain complications and will actually cover a c-section interestingly. They won't cover prenatal care with an OB or a midwife, or the hospital bill if it's a vaginal delivery.

And on the topic of c-sections - I've had two and I really don't want to have another unless it's truly medically necessary.

What I'd like instead is to have a baby at home - in the water - with a midwife, a doula and my supportive friends and family members surrounding me (ok, maybe not that many of them...). 

I've never tried to have a baby - I labored with maddie for about 6 hours and then had an elective section. Wyatt was an "emergency" repeat at a hospital that doesn't even do vbac's so I would have been out of luck there anyways.

I had a lot of complications in my pregnancies - but I wonder how many would resolve themselves under the care of a great midwife who was actually interested in me, my baby and my birth experience vs. an ob who had some of those concerns but wasn't as concerned about the way it happened. I have significantly eliminated the stresses that caused my complications with wyatt's pregnancy and don't foresee them re-entering our lives at any point. 

but on another note - I'm at a point in my mothering journey where it's finally getting easy - my kids play well together on their own - I can get things done around the house (sometimes) - although it's never as tidy as I'd like and the laundry will never be caught up -ever!

I've started working with a wonderful certified nurse midwife - I'm so excited to attend my first homebirth next month it's silly! Would a baby interfere tremendously - would I still be able to attend births? How much would pregnancy and morning sickness interfere with my ability to be a good birth assistant? 

But on the other hand - my older friends who are done having kids said they just "knew" when they were done. I don't "know" that. I don't have this overwhelming feeling that I'm done and my family is complete. My wise friends tell me this means that perhaps I'm not.

My husband seems to be on the fence. He says he's happy with our two children - we have one boy and one girl. However he also said he's ok if it just "happens" and we aren't "trying." That is confusing to me - the planner. We timed both of my previous pregnancies - we had to. They didn't just happen. Maybe that's what he is banking on - 

So what happens now? Where do I find the answers? I still find myself disappointed slightly every month when it doesn't just happen (but that's another entirely different discussion... I know how it works.)

just thinking out loud. 

Who needs a dog, really?

Often times my friends with dogs have commented that there don't seem to be as many crumbs on the floors and messes to pick up as they're stuck in the middle of messy toddler years.

Sometimes I look at my floor and think to myself - we really should get a dog - it would really help my floors look more clean.

But then I think about all responsibility that dogs require- way more attention than cats! And I am convinced that we will remain at this time - a cat-only family.

And really - who needs a dog, when you have a kitten that acts just like one - but is small enough to get into - say - the high chair and clean up from dinner?

"Natural" Birth

I've struggled with my perceptions about what is normal in birth and what is acceptable. Maddie has always been curious about my scar - asking what it was and I've always been very up front with her about it. 

It's where the doctor cut into my belly to help you be born - is what I've always told her. 

My daughter knows more about breast feeding than most toddlers - she's often with me when I'm assisting a new mom with positioning and questions. For that same reason - my husband is almost as knowledgeable (and actually thinks he knows as much, he is silly sometimes!).

But I'll admit that for all the knowledge I have now - education I did not have when I was pregnant with Maddie nor was it anything shared with me during my pregnancy with Wyatt - normal, natural childbirth is not something we know in this family. 

Our "natural" is birth by c-section. For whatever reason - that's just our normal at this point. If there's ever another baby (secretly hoping still) and if I can at least find a doctor who will let me try - I'll attempt a VBAC and probably take a Bradley class even though I have read the book. As much as I'd like - there will be no home births for us and no midwife care either because my history is too complicated and risky. My tendency towards pre-term labor is enough to scare any midwife away! Add in all the other issues I've faced during both pregnancies my dream of a "normal" pregnancy and birth just might not be possible - but I can still hope, right? I'm thinking I might head to The Farm and see if they'll take me!

I digress...

Back to our "normal and natural" - 

This afternoon Maddie was standing in front of the mirror - telling herself a story and goes on to say that she went to the hospital to have a baby and the doctor cut it out of her tummy. I quickly jumped in to explain to her that most babies are not "cut" out of their mommies tummies, but that their moms push them out. 

She refused to change her story.

So I am conflicted. 

Yes there is a problem in this country with too many c-sections for non-medical reasons. I've had one of those births. It was my choice - I own my decision. I have dealt with the guilt and remorse I've experienced and I'm at peace with it. I can't change it - so why stress over it?

What I haven't considered is the fact that this is how my daughter was born - it's her experience. How would she or will she feel when she hears someone criticize how she was born? Her birth is just as beautiful and special as any other baby's birth - because the birth of a baby is always a beautiful and awe-inspiring event - no matter how they enter the world. 

Her birth is hers - no one else's. It might not be the "norm" but it's her "normal." It doesn't mean that she'll go on to make a similar choice for herself and I hope that she's exposed to more choices in childbirthing options than what I was when I was expecting her. 

So my dear Madeleine - it's ok to know how you were born and there is no shame in it for you or your loving mother. Not all babies are born the way you were so that makes you extra special. You are loved and will always be loved no matter the choices you make in your life. 

If I ever forget that you have the right to remind me that I am not holding up my oath and pledge of motherhood - to love unconditionally. I love you.

Kitchen Khaos

Maddie has dragged her laundry basket full of stuffed animals into the dining area of the kitchen. I moved a few things around yesterday and the large mirror, usually on the wall - is propped up against the huge armoire that I've decided to get rid of (anyone want to buy it?). They've had the most fun making faces in front of it - having tantrums in front of it and getting to see their silly faces.

Maddie keeps trying to squish up Wyatt's face and he's saying "OW" over and over.

Now he's hitting her because she won't make room for him in the basket - his leg was stuck it turns out and she was laying on top of it.

She's wearing the much anticipated Belle dress and her sparkly red shoes (which go rather well with the red roses on it).

Wyatt just came out of the living room with the extension and furniture attachment for the vacuum cleaner - and is sweeping the floor. Maddie says she's taking a bath in the basket - and asked Wyatt to scrub her down with the long handled brush.

There's bread rising, steaks marinating and the promise of an hour or two by myself after a good meal. I can't wait for 7 o'clock to get here!

Foot update

Well my podiatrist got me in this morning and after an ultrasound he decided it was a fluid filled cyst - and drained it (ouch) and injected it with cortisone. It's my third cortisone injection since May, which makes me a bit wary, but what's a girl to do when it works and surgery is so expensive?

This is the third cyst - possibly more than that as we don't really know what is going on with the other cyst that is thankfully dormant at the moment.

Surgery seems unavoidable for now - but I'm stalling as much as possible.

More foot woes

I was just remarking to myself last night that my foot really hasn't been bothering me lately - thinking how fortunate I was.

I woke up this morning with a new mass/lump that is incredibly painful. The whole side of my foot - the outside part is HOT and burning, too. This worries me - a sudden manifestation of a lump with no injury is scary.

Even though it's super early I left a message for my podiatrist - I guess there'll be no escaping the MRI he suggested.

Motherhood - in reflection

There's a moment in every mother's life when suddenly she's struck by the awesomeness of what she has in her life - children, husband, stability, love, friends.

I find that as each day goes by I let go of the things I know are just not realistic for me and my family.

For instance - I am creative and crafty, but lack the personal organization to keep my house mostly tidy. I clean sporadically - most on emotional whims rather than routine and schedule. Often I am embarrassed by my lack of tidiness - I often use my children as a (rather good) excuse. They literally tear rooms apart as I'm cleaning and tidying - so often I just give up and let them do their thing. 

Time has taught me that it's the little moments that are most important - not if I got the dishes washed or the house vacuumed. It's stopping to dance with my toddlers in the kitchen - on an eternally gritty, sandy floor (no matter how many times I sweep!). 

I find my joy and happiness in their smiles and laughs as we do silly things - making "collections" of wild, green things from our yard and neighborhoods - all the while getting in little lessons about ecology and horticulture (who would have guessed?). 

We chase slugs and snails and dig worms out of our compost pile - getting filthy as the next person digging in the dirt - but we're learning about how things break down and return to the earth and how that in turn gives us compost that our worms find yummy and makes our plants grow strong. 

You know my kids can survive without Noggin or other TV programs - no matter how much they protest and I'm always amazed (but shouldn't be) when we've had a day without television and things are so much smoother. There are still tantrums, but fewer and less intense. (This goes for days without refined sugar, too). 

I'm still trying to convince my husband that there is life without television. That's his way to unwind and God forbid I take something like that away from him. My response is God forbid he learn how to relax another way - like taking a bike ride or getting some project done around the house. Time will work on him, I hope. I'd like to have no TV on when he's home and the kids are up. I'm still trying to convince him that Family Guy is not a good role model for our children or him - not as parents and not as Christians. 

Learning to let go is hard for me, but day by day I'm giving up obligations and commitments that I've made. I'm replacing them with nothing - just spontaneity - something I'm really good at these days!

When most people are routine and structured - I prefer the opposite. There are parts of my life that I'd like to have that order in - like my house! But when it comes to everyday life - I find that the days are too short for rigid structure and life must be lived in the moment - no matter what that moment is supposed to be or becomes in a split second. 

I'm trying to let go of materialism - my kids are getting more natural toys - homemade playthings - toys that let them use their imagination. I'm slowly phasing out a lot of the plastic toys - not just because of concern about toxins, but because I'm starting to agree that less is more and I should be the one teaching my kids their colors and numbers - not some singing piece of plastic!

I'm thrilled that at 20 months Wyatt could count to 2 and now he can count to three and jumps to five. He recognizes the color "pink" (what else would his first color be than pink - with a princess obsessed sister?) His second color recognition was blue - and he's working on green now. 

Maddie is gifted - and Wyatt will probably be considered gifted as well. I'm not bragging, but my kids are sharp - they're articulate and at times wise beyond their years.

Speaking of kids - (rambling here) - I read an article in Parenting this month that said kids who lie tend to be gifted. There's apparently research showing that gifted children are good liars. 

This just irks me - as a parent trying to teach her children morals and values - the fact that society says it's ok to lie and that smart kids lie often as children just bothers me - a lot. I think it's a sign of where our society has gone and is going - that lying is considered a virtue or symptom of giftedness. 

Lying is not ok - and anyone who thinks so has a skewed perception of reality.

But back to my wonderful mothering ramblings...

This new child of ours - the orange tabby feline variety - thinks he's my baby. Where ever I am - he wants to be and he's incredibly spoiled. One day - for fun - I stuck him in my Moby Wrap and now he's always wanting to be up close and cuddled. He was in my lap a few minutes ago - and kept trying to get up under my chin (I'm not sure what he was thinking). I finally got irritated with him and went and put on one of my moby wraps (or a homemade one actually). I popped him into it and after a few minutes of squirming, biting and clawing to get comfortable and let me know I was his mommy - he went to sleep - purring and all snuggled up in there. 

I swear he thinks he's a kangaroo!

Love Notes

Tonight as I was putting Maddie to bed I noticed a piece of paper stuck to the wall over the head of her bed.

It was from my mom and said, "I love you Maddie, love Mimi."

I remarked about it to her and she said - rather aloofly - yeah I know it's there - like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

However I think it's pretty special and a symbol of all things wonderful in the world of family and grandparenting.

What a blessing to have my parents so close by - it was something I never got to experience as a child - the extended family. I'm glad my children have this experience.

Thanks mom - that was very special :)

Maddie's Story

This afternoon Maddie wanted to write a story and asked that I write down the words for her - on a black piece of paper with a white crayon.


There was a beautiful mermaid with a crown like what I have. I had a crown and then I wished to be a Belle Mermaid tomorrow night at the royal village. Then we let the princess of America kiss her brother and then she kisses the King and then kisses her brother again and then kisses the Queen Mermaid. Then the princess enjoyed her princess ornament and went to her mermaid castle to see all her friends and play at the mermaid castle playground. Then they got a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. The End.

Quiet Devotion

I admit that I have been negligent in my readings of the scripture. It's hard to get a few quiet moments throughout the day and there always seems to be something more pressing and important - like laundry or mopping - that needs to be done while little ones are sleeping.

This morning I woke up to get Wyatt who was standing in his crib - complaining that the kitten had once again snuck into bed with him - and also requesting his morning mama milk. I brought him back to bed and nursed him for quite a while - a good 10-15 minutes - which is rare for him these days.

Once I heard Mike's truck revving up I slipped out of bed and grabbed my "Mom's Devotional" Bible. It's dusty, but the words are still good!

I tend to go more on randomness - opening my Bible to a section and trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide me to a meaningful passage. I've never been disappointed either. 

This morning I knew I wanted to read in the new testament and was aiming for Colossians, but ended up in Ephesians. This particular Bible has daily readings and I was looking for a Tuesday and jumped at the first one I thumbed through after passing up Acts and Romans. 

The title of the passage was "Ordering Our Options" and used Ephesians 5:15-16 as the passage. It's an interesting coincidence that the devotion talks about choosing where we will serve in the church - as our church is starting its annual messages about serving God. I think the theme this year is "Dirty Jobs: Messy, but Rewarding."

"Be very careful, then, how you live- not unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16

The devotion also talked about how studying the scriptures will help us to set our priorities in life. There is great value in spending time with God - and not just in church on Sunday mornings. 

I pray that I will make God and scripture study a priority in my life. I know that when I do spend time in His word that I am more at peace in my life - making me a better mother and wife and friend. 

Going on in my Bible I wanted to write down two other passages that stood out to me this morning. Maybe they will speak to you and bless you in your life today.

"And this is my prayer, that your love may about more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God." 

Philippians 1:9-11

*****

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceful and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once and then warn him a second time. After that have nothing to do with him."

Titus 3:1-10

Best Friends

I've lost count of the years that Becca and I have been friends - her oldest is 5 and a half now - so it's been at least 6 years. We were friends before Mike and I were dating so add another year or so and it's been a long time.

I've always told her that she's my Diana - (Anne of Green Gables allusion) - she's my bosom buddy. I don't know where I'd be as a mother or without a friend like her.

She's the reason I don't give up on one day being organized - she

 is the reason I succeeded in breastfeeding my firstborn - when there was no one else to ask for help. We encourage each other in our roles as mothers and wives.

We are each other's lightning rods - and if you don't have a lightning rod - you need to find yourself one!

A year and a half ago I took some silly pictures of me and Becca with my new laptop and today when she popped in I took some updated (and much more flattering - at least the pretty one was) pictures.

Becca - I love you - you're beautiful and have a great smile - and your smooshed face is endearing even if you think it's just silly. 

Sometimes we have to take time to be silly!

Silly faces of the morning

It's been a rather perfect morning today - for a Monday at least!

We've been singing and dancing, folding clothes, washing dishes - the kids have been playing outside and are now playing well inside. Wyatt is tromping around in Maddie's princess tennis shoes. I'm wearing a crown and Maddie is calling me Queen Anne - what could be better?

As is our tradition - it was time for some more silly faces - and I must say that Wyatt is really getting into it now!






Our Silly Cat, Pumpkin- he climbed into the "pocket" of my apron yesterday - all by himself.






More Silly Pictures: