April 29, 2011

You Can't Have Too Much Pink

There's a girl in this house who loves pink.

And there's a little girl in this house who loves pink, too.

Shockingly, her Easter dress was blue with white polka-dots.

But everything else was pink.





And in this family, with all that pink comes an equal amount of blue.







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Got Pink? Go HERE.

April 27, 2011

My Last Shred of Sanity

Because having two 3-year-olds just isn't enough...

Because teaching obedience, respect, and brotherly love to toddlers is so easy...

Because I love potty training...

Because my house is too clean...

Because I have so much time on my hands...

Because I wasn't sure what I was going to do with that last shred of sanity...

...we got a dog. A puppy, really.

And not just any run-of-the-mill puppy. Nope. We don't do things the easy way around here. Ever.

We got a pure-bred German Shepherd who will need lots of socializing, lots of exercise, and lots of training before reaching adulthood in order to prevent that weird German Shepherd syndrome. And yes, I'm sure some of you are shrieking and wondering why we would get a dog that eats babies. But after some research, we learned they don't actually eat people....even small ones. We learned the reasons why they turn out to be weird, hyper, and stupid dogs....much like the German Shepherds I remember from my past. They are typically a reflection of their owners....or at least the efforts their owners put into their training.

And because I am never weird or hyper, this will be easy.








And no. I'm not in a sarcastic mood today.

April 22, 2011

When the Rooster Crows

The palm branches are visible underfoot, trampled and bruised, but still bearing evidence to the entry of the King only a few days earlier.



In the excitement, in the hustle and bustle, in the movement of the mob, did anyone wonder why the King of all came not on a stallion or a Lexus or a Mercedes but rather chose to come in on a humble donkey?

As people squeazed close to get a look, to toss their branch, to lay their cloak; as emotions ran high and spines tingled, did anyone wonder what a commitment to follow this King might look like?



Yes it was joyous to praise the King when everybody was doing it, when it was trendy, when it was "in." But how many of the people who shouted "Hosanna!" and tossed their branches with the mob at the beginning of the week (John 12:12-13), shouted "Crucify Him!" and crushed the branches beneath their feet with the mob at the end of the week (John 19:5-16)?

How do I react to the King when He's not in fashion? Am I following Him, or am I following the mob?

And when the rooster crows, what regrets will I have? (Matt 26:33-35, 69-75)

In Search of Spring

Spring has been a bit illusive this year.

A few warms days one week. Snow the next. Icy winds. Precipitation falling from the sky in every conceivable form. And an endless string of days with no sunshine.

But despite winter's lingering grasp on us up here in the northern portion of the Midwest, we are slowly noticing some signs of spring.

Crinkled rhubarb leaves emerge from the deep dark depths. It's just a taste of all the gardening glory to come, and I'm trying. to. be. patient.




We are slowly shedding layers of clothing....and replacing them with layers of mud.



We're venturing to the park,


and venturing down the road...


...in search of spring.

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Spring's out there. I promise. Go see for yourself HERE.

April 14, 2011

Reasons to Smile

Lots of reasons to smile around here now that spring has finally arrived.

Just being outside is reason enough to smile. And having almost all of our snow melt in about a week and half gives us even more reason. One 65 degree day and one 71 degree took care of the last of the snow, and since these photos were taken, the grass has started to green.



Ava is back to "treasure collecting," one of her favorite pass times, and that makes me smile.




Despite the mess of it all, mud makes us all smile. And muddin' out in the driveway with a motorcycle is worthy of lots of smiles.....and laundry.



Other reasons to smile? Strawberry plants arriving in the mail. My beautiful garden drying off. Wearing flip flops to town. The way the husband and I are agonizing over whether or not to get a dog - we have never been this commitment shy - it humors me.

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for more smiles, click HERE

April 13, 2011

Real Life

It's been awhile again since I've sat here pecking away at the keys, logging life, finding beauty, making sense out of it all, and laughing at myself.

There's a lot I could say, catch up on, and remember.......

....but do you know?

Sping is here! I've been soaking it up, getting muddy and wind-whipped.

And a weird thing happened in the past few weeks. I spent a surprisingly greater amount of time with people, lots of different people and their kids, in the past couple weeks than with the blinking cursor.

I've been taking part in real life, and speaking of real life, I met my first blogging friend in person the other day. We weren't total strangers as I know her parents, but if it hadn't been for this cyber-world, we likely never would have had the reason to meet. She blogged about our morning together HERE, and it was such a pleasure to see her smiling face in person and to watch her adorable two-year olds. She's another mother of twins, and you can read about her adventures over at loving on you.

The rest of the real life I've been experiencing lately speaks for itself with this week's and last week's list:

I'm thanking God for:
#221. 4 sun-kissed faces sitting around the supper table
#222. cracking the window a bit during bedtime with the kids to lay and listen to the all swans camped out in our "back yard"
#223. toddlers re-discovering their little fenced in play area
#224. watching their adventures from the kitchen window
#225. Momma and Ava time watching an amazing high school production of Beauty and the Beast
#226. Daddy and Jack-Jack time playing working with tools and tractors
#227. the sweet smell of spring
#228. pushing, pushing, pushing toddlers in swings
#229. Ava singing, singing, singing while she swings
#230. the *squish* of the ground beneath mud boots
#231. snow melted off the garden!
#232. garden seed arriving in the mail
#234. grilling
#235. sitting on the deck reading a book
#236. the feeling of sun on bare skin!
#237. the endless chirping of so many birds
#238. the sound of the sliding screen door
#239. the sound of The Friend's piped out truck coming rumbling down the road
#240. so many little boys....do we realize, do I grasp that the next generation of men (and women) is playing at our feet and we're shaping them?