bits of sunshine

another two girl afternoon

this time with my mom

i needed to drive to a town about 45 minutes away to order more homeschool supplies at a curriculum fair.  by ordering at the fair, not online, i saved 10% + got free shipping!  totally worth the drive.

anyway, i had told my mom i was going, and she asked to ride along! 

so much fun!  we had a great chat on the way there: she told me about my dad's new job opportunity, i had an opporunity to tell her a bit more about how i do school stuff with maddie and isaac, we talked about j.i. packer and john piper and the esv translation, we talked about playing piano and reading and probably some other stuff.  we enjoyed lunch together, we poked around in a music store a bit (i listened to a guy play guitar while mom picked out some music to use with her piano students), then we poked through an antique shop.  we actually only made it through the main level - there was an upstairs and a downstairs, too, but time has a way of continuing to march on, even when a mom and her girl are having the best of times.

mom bought me a cup of coffee for the drive home, and i bought us a chocolate to share.  and we chit-chattered about coffee and pie and sewing projects and hair styles. 

i don't often get to spend time with just my mom.  this was another just-what-we-needed, two-girl afternoon.

two girls . . . an afternoon

Yesterday afternoon, Maddie and I dropped Isaac off with Ben at the jobsite.

Then Maddie and I went walking by the river. 

{It really wasn't warm enough to go without a coat, but Maddie layered up and decided she could wear this spring green sweater.}

{Even though it is still cold, snow is slowly melting and icy water is rushing over the dam.}

We went to the library, and stopped at the grocery store for ice cream.  Then we poked through a thrift shop. 

{Maddie's find}

{My find}

Back home, we decided to mix up some cookies. 

These cookies, if you want to know.  And Maddie did almost all the measuring and all the mixing.

We needed this little afternoon of together.  It was just right.

here and now

sitting on my green couch
in the sunshine
in comfy, cozy, ratty clothes

kids outside
playing, imagining

me
here
taking in words
spilling out words

thinking about Ben
coming home
thinking about kissing him
long and deep

thinking about other friends
other places

feeling nostalgic -
i read a bog post from another hemisphere and
i can feel the end of summer feelings . . .
even though, here,
i'm waiting for spring and for summer -
for our browns to give way to fresh greens
even as other greens fade to yellow and orange and brown . . .

i'm thinking of others missing dear ones
thinking of dear ones i miss 

i'm thinking of a friend in the sun, in the ocean,
in the car with the wind in her hair . . .
it's good to think of another -
another person,
another season,
another place,
another time . . .
sometimes, thinking about another
lets me appreciate here and now all the more

here and now
i'm going to go stand in the shower
let the water course over me

when i'm dried
and i've put my mascara on
i'm going to go sit in the sun
and watch my children

and wait for ben to come home
so we can all be together
here
at home
now

Happy Little Pea

a song ::

 

and a recipe ::

  the recipe is for Pea Pesto, and I think you should make some and eat it while you listen to the Happy Little Pea song.  Here's how to make the Pesto ::

** thaw some frozen peas (1-2 cups) ** throw them in the blender ** peel and core an avacado (if you wish) and throw it in the blender, too ** add some veg oil of your choice (a TBS or 2) ** throw in some garlic (minced, fresh or powdered) ** and some basil (a few tsps, dried) ** squeeze in some lemon juice (half a lemon, a whole lemon, it's up to you) ** blend like crazy ** sprinkle with parmesan ** eat on chips or toast or pasta or pizza or whatever you wish **

A Fresh, Spring Green Taste to go with a Fresh, Spring Green Song

Can you help but smile?

sunshine?

yes!  yesterday afternoon, and again this morning!

I'm not a doctor and I don't know the technical terminology, but I do know that sunshine activates our happiness glands.  ~Jessi Lane Adams

guest blogger

me.

i'm the guest blogger.

over at my husband's blog  ::

BENNY'S FIRE

i got to talk about him a bit (i love talking about him!). 

and about these pictures.

i'm wishing you all a most lovely day!

sunshine?

ummm . . . .

we're making our own.

and our own springtime.

and a river.

and paintings.

and we're listening to music.(this and this and this)

and we finished this very fun, funny story today.  (maddie, isaac and i all highly recommend it.  i'm not positive, but i think zoe recommends it, too.)

and we ate fresh bread - warm, gooey cinamon and fresh flax with honey from our friends' backyard. 

seriously the most yummy honey i've ever eaten!

so - sunshine?  yes.  most definitely yes.

31

So.  I am now officially "in my 30's" and I'm good with it.

Another blogger is going to turn 30 in a month or so and she was wondering how turning 30 was for people who already have and if those who haven't turned 30 yet are worried about it.

I wasn't worried about turning 30 . . . I actually remember feeling kind of weird about 29 - the last year of my 20's - and being sort of relieved about turning 30. 

And I was just reading over my post from my 30th birthday - that was a fun list to write.  :)

My birthday has been just about perfect. 

• The sun shone brightly all day on my birthday. 
• A lot of snow melted. 
• My kiddos woke me with an envelope stuffed with cards they had made, a necklace Isaac had made, a string of beads Maddie had made and a whole pile of pennies. 
  
  
• The mailman delivered a package with sandals and home-raised honey and a journal made from elephant poo (yes.  really made from elephant poo). 
  
  
• My mom and dad had a birthday party for me in the evening.
•  My mom made me an angel food cake with 7 minute frosting, and Maddie and I had made the strawberry oreo dessert today, too (Ben was out of town and couldn't get home in time to make it before the party) - so we had lots of sticky, gooey goodness.  {Maddie took down the instructions over the phone - I think we can forgive the backwards letters "b" and "e" in place of "c"}
• One of my good friends gave me a special pot to plant one of my violets in.
• My mom made me a pretty apron.
• My sister-in-law gave me tulips.
• On Monday my dad watched my kids so my mom could take me out for coffee.
• Ben and some friends are taking me out for dinner on Thursday.
• Last week a box of fabric - all sorts of bits and bigger pieces came to me from my friend Elissa - oh the ideas!
• My sis sent me a lovely card and note.

And just some random thoughts about being "in my 30's" :: 

The last year was a whirlwind - some of the whirl I shared here, and some I didn't.  But, I think that this year will be a year of settling.  Settling into our home.  Settling in to my job.  Settling in to what works for us for learning and teaching.  Ben and my brother have been working out some changes in the way they run their business and there is some settling going on there, too.  Settling in to the way that we are going to live Church - not just have a ritual of "going to church." Settling in to tracking our finances and working on some debt reduction and peaceful control of what goes out.  It feels like we are on track with these things, like we are slowly but surely getting somewhere.

Even through the whirlwind of last year, some things have settled for us.  When Ben and I were dating, we had this sort of list of things we wanted to accomplish by the time we were 30.  One of the things was that we would like to build and be in our house by the time we were 30.  We moved into our house when we were both still 30!  This is pretty amazing.

I feel like so many things have just settled in Ben's and my relationship.  We are both so comfortable with each other, but we both challange each other and bring out the best in each other.  We've learned how to do this over the past almost-10 years.  I am so. very. thankful for this man of mine. 

Our kids are awesome.  They are still little enough to tickle and wrestle and play and goof and sit on my lap and snuggle, but they are big enough to pitch in with chores (dishes and wood and cleaning), so that we can accomplish our "work" faster and have more time for other fun.  And that "work" becomes a lot more like fun when we do it together.  They are also learning to read and write and do "school" stuff - and it is so cool to watch them get things! They are also getting it about wanting to be a blessing to other people.  They love to write and send letters and cards and make and give gifts.  They are definitely Ben and my children, but they are also growing to be our friends.  Our favorite times are when we do things all together - all four of us.  We are settling. 

So - I'm liking this "30's" thing.  I'm liking it a lot!

one sunny day

Morning ::

Noon ::

Night ::

they both fell asleep with their bedside lamps on . . . i had to snap a pic before i turned off the lights and kissed their sleepy cheeks . . .

What a lovely day.

midnight wanderings

Some nights at work (make that 6 nights out of the last 7), I wander around blog land in between rounds and answering lights . . . I've found some new-to-me blogs that are fast becoming favorites.  Maybe you've visited some of them.  Maybe you haven't.  I recomend a visit, you just might find some inspiration and a bit of sunshine or two.

• Stitched in Color
• Crafty MSP
• Maureen Cracknell Handmade
• A Little Hut
• thistle downs wool design

 

The pictures in this post are of a string quilt that Maddie and I are working on together! 

We are doing a quilt-as-you-go, so no paper-piecing.  I like how this is working a lot!  And the organic-line quilting is a great way for Maddie to practice using the machine.  Also, squaring up our squares is a great way for her to practice using a rotary cutter.  We should be able to make a lot of progress next week as I don't have to work nearly so much!

Happy Weekend, my Friends!