bits of sunshine

11.10.11

isaac said:  wouldn't it be cool to live where we could hear trains and see them out our window?

i said:  i used to live in an apartment that was so close to train tracks that if i was on the phone when a train went by, i'd have to shout "i'll call you back later!" and hang up, because i couldn't hear anything when a train was going by.

he said:  did i stand at the window and watch?

i said:  that was before i had you.  that was even before i was married to dad.

he said:  wow.  that was a long time ago.

i said:  yeah.  yeah, it was.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  

ben and i married each other 10 years ago today.

10 years.

wow.  so good.

it's funny to remember things that were before ben + i . . .

and crazy that we still have more memories and things to tell each other . . .

i love that we play and tease and have fun . . .

and that we've learned how to be gentle with each other . . .

i'm so thankful for our love, our friendship, and each day and year we get to spend together.

happy anniversary, ben.

i love you.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  

you,friends, can read more about us, if you like:

11.10.08

11.10.09

11.10.10

11.13.11

we had a perfect sort of afternoon and evening together on saturday - we celebrated early.

we'll see what we cook up for tonight . . . probably chocolate and a movie after the kids are in bed . . .

.: a girl who is 8 :.

(which means i am mom to an 8 year-old, which is crazy to me) 

{Madelaine on September 9, 2011 - her 8th birthday - on the shore of the harbor in Grand Marais, MN}

she is so grown up in so many ways 
so beautiful 
often i can see just what she'll look like at 18 
and yet so silly
and such a sweet little 8 year-old  girl  

for her birthday i found a card that says:

it's the little things that make life so sweet

and we wrote little things she does that we love:
playing piano
singing
her laugh
the kind things she does for others
her cool outfits
how she loves frogs  
the way she empathizes with the people she loves 
the way she loves Jesus
the notes she writes
the loads of laundry she does 
all her help in the kitchen 
the times she helps isaac pick up his messes 
the little gifts she puts together on random days 
all her coloring and drawing 
reading, reading, reading

it was so fun to watch her read her card
the little half smile on her face
the knowledge that we all love her so very much

Happy New Year, Miss Maddie-Moo.  Happy Birthday, to you.

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!

a boy who is 6

he turned 6 today.  i love him a lot.  he's just downright awesome.  i love being his mom.  what more can i say?

Advent :: a Season of Hope

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope."  Romans 5:  3-4

What a beautiful end result.  Hope.  

Not just endurance.  Which is necessary to living.

Not just character.  Which is admirable. 

But hope.  Something to hold onto.  To wrap my heart around.  To wrap around my heart.  To dig into.  To taste.  To cling to as life rushes and eddies and buffets.  Hope.  Hope produced in me.  Through the sufferings which are part of this life.  Through my suffering I may rejoice.  For I know Hope and His Name is Jesus.  I am lead by Hope, the gift God has given, the gift of Hope, the Holy Spirit who indwells me.  I am filled and sealed with Hope.  I may rejoice, even though I have not yet seen.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled wth an inexpressible and glorious joy!"  I Peter 1:8

Joy inexpressible.  Joy unexplainable.  Joy that fills. 

Joy that lives in tension with my melancholy.  The finite shell of me, the Infinite Who lives within me.  And in this tension there is beauty.  There is depth.  A realness tugs at my soul.  A deep sense of the fragile here and now. 

{betsy ::  red and green. light and dark. joy and heartache. everything feels fragile.}

(I love to read over at habit, and a few days ago - the particular picture and post above just stopped me and joined my thoughts about Hope.)

I am filled with a longing to live every day with endurance.  To live every situation with a strong character.  To live every moment with hope.  To share the hope that I have in as many tangible ways with as many people as I possibly can.  For even when nothing makes sense, there is Hope, there is joy.  And I will live in and live out this joyful hope.

May you be filled with hope and joy today, my friends.

Love,  E

isaac in the morning + bread in my new kitchen

isaac was taking pictures while i wrote my blog post . . . i thought you might like to see the pictures he took ::

yesterday morning i got out my things and made bread! 

did you hear my heart singing???

bread rising at 7:30 am in my new beautiful kitchen . . . yes, my heart was singing! 

a slow fall morning outside my window . . . green glass on the ledge . . . a card from a dear friend . . .

and then the sun did this for me!  are you sure you couldn't hear my heart singing?  even in the netherlands or canada or north dakota or wyoming or australia or slovakia?  or wherever you read me from?  are you sure?

because my heart was singing for joy, shouting for joy within me, and resting with gratefulness and gratitude.  the verse-a-day yesterday said "return home and tell how much God has done for you."  i'm home now.  i'll work on telling you how much God has done for me.  starting with making my heart sing while i made bread for my family. 

i hope your heart is singing today. 

7 years old today!

Miss Maddie, you are so special, and more wonderous than you know.

So, last night Ben and I were teasing her that she shouldn't really get to celebrate until tomorrow, because she wasn't born until 11:24 pm . . . but, I guess I have a few little things out for her this morning.  She'll get little surprises all day today.  :) 

And I am the mother of a 7-year-old . . . wow!

Sunday Morning

. woke to rain . but thought of the  fruit slush in the freezer . filled water balloons . the rain stopped . the sky stayed overcast just long enough for us to finish our part in the parade . the sun came out in time for us to enjoy the rest of the day .  

mother's day

Mommy & Maddie

in curly-cue letters

in crayon.

colored over with hearts.

out for a "date"

just the two of us.

at her suggestion

for Mother's Day.

the biggest dessert i've ever seen!

we ate and ate and ate

 

 

we had so much fun, visiting and coloring.  :)

on mother's day morning,

isaac gave me a necklace and earrings that matched perfectly with what i was wearing!

and i got to be with my mom and my grandma

and it was sunny!

it was a lovely day!

Happy St. Patty's Day to ye!

And top o' the mornin''!  Be the sun a-shinin'?  Be the birds a-singin'?

Here's wishin' you lots o' smiles and green and good luck today!

And here's a tidbit about St. Patrick (from here) ::

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. Born in the late Fourth Century in Scotland, he was kidnapped as a teenager and shipped to Ireland to work as a shepherd in the mountains, where he spent his time in prayer. He escaped to Great Britain, where he reportedly had a vision telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, he joined the priesthood and did just that. He is credited with converting much of Ireland to Christianity. He died in the mid-Fifth Century, on March 17.

(Does is strike anyone else as just a little bit odd that Patrick was a monk who witnessed Christianity to many, many Irish people, but people celebrate him by imbibing in very much alcohol?    I realize that the focus of the day has changed from St. Patrick himself to Irish pride and a great celebration of good cheer and all things happy and green.  But . . . well . . . food for thought I guess.) 

And I still wish you all sunshine and good cheer today!  And kiss somebody, whether they are Irish or not.  ;)