Sunday Sunshine & Showers

After a whirlwind of them month of May, things are slowing a bit from the breakneck pace. Sunday brought a slow, work in the yard kind of day. HandyMan mowed, I planted more in the garden, GGirl played in the sprinkler and after a great nap, MMan happily played in the play pen. It was sunny and warm and just plain enjoyable. Friends joined us in a "pot-luck" of dinner. At one point, an afternoon cloud let loose with a 5 minute downpour. GGirl, still in her swimsuit and soaked from the sprinkler, ran to the house to retrieve her umbrella. It was raining after all!

Sunday Sunshine: Spring Break Edition

...family
...cousins
...ScienceCenter
...ice cream
...lazy mornings
...laughter
...food

This week was kind of like my spring break.  Nobody in our house is currently enrolled in school, but it was a break from our norm.  Extended family came to visit which mean aunt/uncle/cousin time.  With that came meals that nourished the soul, not just the body. Conversation and laughter to rejuvenate our spirits.  It was a fantastic couple of days!

As icing on the cake I went to a one day Women of Faith conference with a bunch of friends that was just fun and refreshing.  What a great break from the norm!

Sunny Sunday

It has been a challenging week.  Today as the sun is shining and the temperature is nearing 60 I am happy to sit back and remember the graces of the past week.

:: Children seem to be feeling better snd getting over their colds, ear infection and other grunge.

:: Sunny days to play outside and work in the yard.  It's never too early to water the flowers!

:: Fun projects with the GGirl and on my own.

:: Work.

:: Bills paid.

:: Car problem found before it was catastrophic.

:: Yummy soup.

:: A very sunny Saturday AND Sunday.

Bright Spots

Taking a moment to remember the graces of the week.

My GGirl tries my patience, and challenges me at every turn.  But giggling bedtimes and watching her wow to doctor at her 4-year-old physical this week encourage me that the challenging moments are just that: moments.  When it comes to the important things, we're doing alright.

MMan has had a rough start to the week as he's working on some new teeth but rounded out the week with some solid naps and night time sleep.  I love the way he smiles and grabs my face in greeting when we've been apart.  Also the way he belly laughs at the most random things: this week it was his sister racing cars on the guitar case.  He just laughs and laughs until I wonder if he's going to take a breath or not.  It's awesome!

HandyMan has been my glue this week.  He took MMan on a particularly trying night and was up with him every couple of hours, letting me sleep.  Soundly.  For a long time.  It was glorious!

I got an evening out with the girls and some alone shopping time as well as some out-of-the-house work time - all welcome bits of respite from the daily "mom" stuff and Friday gave me some time to try out some new recipes in the kitchen, namely Cream Puffs - so easy and SO good!

February is almost over, which means we're that much closer to spring which is my favorite time of the year. And this scene, will be changing a lot over the next few weeks:

[Mostly] Media Free Sunday

Taking a moment to remember the graces of the day and week.

...insert DSL outage and relatively media free day here...

It was really refreshing!  HandyMan was home for the afternoon and evening.  He and GGirl worked on a painting project and he put the finishing touches on another project he's been working on.  I pulled up a new recipe on my kindle to try out and got some great play time in the kitchen with a friend. MMan is quickly getting the hang of crawling and learned how to get himself to standing while leaning on the guitar case.  He's just barely 7 months old.  Boy am I in trouble!

Another project I got to work on was updating our photo wall in the living room.  For a long time I've wanted to add more photos and this week I finally got frames and today I printed pictures.  I was reminded again of amazing family and friends, grand travels,  family time and fun memories.  So blessed!

The Pink Prancing Princess

So many things to be thankful for this week.  Here are just a few.
A nice line-up of blessings mark (for the most part) the end of an ordeal that was a car accident at the end of December-
:: Easy to work with car insurance.
:: Getting our car back after three weeks in the shop.
:: Getting cleared from my concussion and feeling much better.

MMan is sporting another tooth. GGirl continues to be a great big sister and helpful daughter.   This morning she was the Pink Prancing Princess- happily dancing around the living room.

Skype time with family, a high energy youth group Game Night with live music, and being caught up on work projects rounds out the week on a high note.

Blessings to you and your week to come!

Sunday Sunshine

This week was full of graces.  From not having to drive when the weather was yucky to friends who took the kids so HandyMan and I could belatedly celebrate our anniversary. Friends who will celebrate the small things in our lives, like full nights of sleep.  Baby-sitters who will let me "call in sick" for a few hours and a mandated  day off grom HandyMan all brought a bit of respite to my week.

MMan cut another tooth and stepped up his sleeping game so we all have gotten some good rest to finish out the week.

Today the sun is out and the temperatures again give hope that it won't be winter forever.

Sunday Sunshine

This week has had some challenges, bit amidst the frustrations a lot of good things emerged as well.

:: A quick visit with my parents (aka: Granny & Granddad) as we were a stop on their roadtrip south.

:: Friends who will enthusiastically play with my kids while I spend an hour or so as an exhausted blob on their couch.

:: Awesome small town family doctors.

:: An impromptu lunch date with my Kindle.

:: A friend who rescued me from having to take the kids with me when I took a very ill HandyMan in to be checked for the flu.

:: That the flu test was negative

:: An offer of more work opportunities.

:: Baking time with a friend.

:: "What can I help with mommy?" Moments with GGirl.

:: Grins and giggles from MMan.

:: 5 straight hours of sleep.

Sunday Sunshine

So many things to be thankful for this week that are recurring themes in my life: healthy family, bountiful provision, amazing friends.  Last Sunday we celebrated baptism of MMan, surrounded by friends and family.  This week in particular, the blessing of friends to help out and understanding employers has made the the days a little easier.  HandyMan's willing heart and helpful hands are always a blessing to me, and this week he has gone above and beyond filling in the gaps as I tried to balance home work and recovery from a concussion.
It has been a full and blessed week.

Sunday Sunshine - A Whirlwind Week

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  

This week seemed to fly by.  Most normal pieces of our routine were interrupted, but it was ok.  HandyMan took a very quick trip to England to celebrate his Aunt Betsy's life with other family members and arrived home safely.  Certain details of his trip could have been disasterous, but they weren't.  Friends took G-Tot for the afternoon on Sunday.  I got the house to myself and a sacked out  little girl within a half hour of her return home from her adventures.  Thanks G, D & K!

I had lots of work this week.  I enjoyed frozen cookie dough and some even made it to the oven!  G-Tot gave me lots of practice in the areas of patience and grace.   We are a week closer to meeting Itty Bitty - whenever that may be!  (Let the guessing begin!  Date?  Gender?)

While I had plans for alone shopping on Friday, our car had other ideas.  I'm thankful to have been near an exit and able to wait safely for Handy Man and the truck to come and rescue me!  And that I had made arrangements to have G-Tot elsewhere that morning!

Saturday brought peaceful time, alone time as I worked my hours at the local craft co-op where I sell my candles.  HandyMan and G-Tot got to go have their own adventures - of higher activity level than this Mama's up for these days!

It's been a good week.  If you've had a chaotic week too, take a minute to reflect on the good!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine - Time With Friends & Thoughtful Gifts

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  


My brain's a little mushy - I caught myself putting clean measuring cups in the fridge and milk in the pantry today.  So I think I'll keep this brief.  It's been a good week . . .

:: Sunshine & warm days.
:: Beautiful, thoughtful gifts.
:: Fun "thinking of you" gifts.
:: MOPs
:: Morning Out
:: Lunch with a friend.
:: Yummy cupcakes on the back porch while "kids" played.
:: A nap.
:: Evening out crafting and visiting.
:: Buddies to teach G things like how to roll down the hill in the back yard.
:: Tylenol PM & children's benadryl-ingredients for good nights of sleep during hay cutting season & final weeks of pregnancy.
:: Cold creek water.
:: Meals on the back porch.
:: When details come together and work themselves out.
:: Crossing things off the To-Do List, even when I'm completely unmotivated.

May you enjoy this week as summer quickly approaches and remember to find the gifts in your day.

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine

 Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  


This week [like so many others] has been highlighted by a lot of little things that were of great encouragement in the middle of some craziness.  I don't foresee a break in the craziness in the next couple of weeks,  I just hope to stay focused on what is really important.   Here's just a few of the things that brightened my week:


:: The "I've got your back no matter what's going on" friends
:: Flowers hanging on my front porch.
:: Black Forest Cake (made by HandyMan for Mother's Day)
:: Warm weather & sunny days
:: Baking with my little helper
:: Extra work hours
:: Un-interrupted work time
:: PB&J Picnics in the yard
:: Mom's Night Out
:: Thursday afternoon nap


So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!


Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine: Moms

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving. 


This week is Mother's Day and I'm very thankful for my daughter and the blessing it is to be her Mom and the joy it is to have Itty Bitty on the way.


I wouldn't be here, nor be the Mom I am if it weren't for my Mom.  It was a treat this week to get a quick visit from my parents as they passed through our area.  Until you're a mom, I don't think you fully realize the sacrifices your mom makes.  With all three of us kids born within four years, my poor mom must have gone four years without sleep, and then interrupted sleep for the next 6 at least!  And yet I don't remember any, exhausted-Mommy-meltdowns as a small child.  I can only hope my children don't remember mine!  


I remember cooking and baking with my mom.  She and my grandmothers gave me my first lessons in gardening, canning, sewing and crochet.  Mom taught me how to shop the best deals in the grocery store and the department store clearance racks.  From my first allowance, Mom (and Dad) taught us the invaluable skills of budgeting.  All these things that are part of my daily life now, thanks to my Mom.


Mom taught us how to pray and I know, has prayed for her children and grandchildren every day for the last 34+ years.  Love, patience, organization and faith are the traits that exude from my Mom.  I'm the Mom I am today, because of the great Mom I had.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!



So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!


Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine: The Return of Spring

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving. 

This week brought the beginning of May and with it the warm summer-like weather I've been craving so badly!  An afternoon on the back porch in a tank top did my soul good.  As did dandelion races off the bridge with G-girl, line-dried sheets, and working to the sounds of the creek.

This week also brought another "right on track" report from my doctor and the extra work hours that come to me with the month of May.  A nap, ice cream, and volunteer hands that helped to get a heavy lifting project done were great bonuses this week.

So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.

The last two weeks have been a blur including travel, illness, sunny days and cloudy.  Amid it all - here are a few things I'm thankful for as April comes to an end:

:: Friends who help out, just to help out.
:: Sunny days - and warm days!
:: Rain - our area did need it.
:: Safe travels
:: Quick stomach bugs (as opposed to the long drawn out nasty bugs)
:: Doctors we like and speedy medical treatment.
:: Budgeting and money management skills passed to me from my parents.
:: Extra work
:: Days for uninterrupted projects
:: A Little Helper who is learning to do so many new things around the house.  She particularly likes loading the washer and dryer and unloading the dryer.
:: Play dates
:: California strawberries and Florida tomatoes and the promise of the fresh produce season that's right around the corner.


So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine

"Take A Picture of Me?  Cheese!"

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  

Last weekend, after morning worship, we had a great Easter celebration with friends:  fantastic food, lots of laughter, card games and of course egg hunts.

This week brought the lab work and doctors appointment that come with  being 30 weeks pregnant.  After every appointment, I'm so thankful to have a doctor I like and that I have access to great medical facilities.

Play dates, lunch with friends, and deals on baby gear, were also highlights of this week.  On Wednesday, I got some kitchen creativity time and made homemade croissants that turned out perfect! Spring break and friends' vacations meant that G-Girl got to go play with friends and I got some breaks this week.  I love that we have friends in our life that G-Girl loves to spend time with and literally runs from the car when we drop her off, or to their cars if they pick her up.  

A routine filling of our car's tires this week caught a damaged tire before we had a blow-out and that the money was in the savings account to get the car fixed!

So many things to be thankful for, and so often I miss them.  I hope we can all seek out the things to be thankful for this week!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Easter Sunday Sunshine

The Easter Egg Inspector

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving.  

This was a relatively peaceful week.  HandyMan was out of town for two nights for work, and I had myself prepared for the craziest, and, thankfully, it didn't happen.  We had play dates, time with friends, and adventures in egg dying.  G-Girl is having a lot of fun checking on and watering her flower seeds we planted on Thursday.    It's so much fun to watch her explore the world around us.

I made some changes this week, and found my missing energy.  Well some of it anyway!  It's been nice to not feel like I'm dragging myself to get anything done.

Now that I'm a grown up, birthday money gets put towards grown up things, like appliances!  On Friday the new dishwasher came and HandyMan worked to do the finish work and get it installed.

Itty Bitty is growing and moving.  Some days my due date (June 20) seems so close, and other days it seem so far away.  Either way, I'm sure Itty Bitty's arrival will be here before we know it!

On this Easter Sunday, I'm thankful for the peace that comes through faith and the joy we have in the hope of Christ.  May you find peace and joy this week.  Take a moment to look at the signs of spring around you and celebrate life!

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday - Rainy Day - Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving. 


Sitting at home, on a rainy afternoon, and I am thankful.  Here are just a few things that have highlighted this past week


.: MOPs mornings out 
.: Childrens' play museums
.: Sunday afternoon naps
.: Birthday outings
.: Play-dates with friends
.: Daffodils that make it through frost and ice.
.: Projects finished (did you see the Green Room?)
.: Pandora.  Now that I have easy access to decent speakers and music (aka: TV moved to the Green Room) I've been playing music regularly.  I've realized how much I've missed having music around.
.: Waking rested.


It has been a full, great week.  I hope your week went well and you can look forward to the coming week with anticipation of good things.


Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine: The Little Things

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving. 

I find that part of contentment is choosing to be thankful when I really would rather whine and complain.  But, I live with a three year old and I know how tiresome whining and complaining can be. So I am choosing to be thankful for the little things:

That we have a house to keep clean.  That I have dishes to wash because we had food to eat on them.  AND that I have clean, pure water running through the plumbing in my home to wash those dishes and to drink.  I'm glad that HandyMan and I both have work to not only keep us busy but to pay the bills.  That I have clothes and linens to wash, not to mention a working washer and dryer to help with the chore.

I'm also thankful that medications are available and have done their job over the last couple of weeks.  And for fudge in the freezer on a day riddled with particularly crazy sugar cravings - and for the healthy pregnancy that likely brought on those cravings. A group of other moms to gather with regularly and share commonalities of raising young children. A certain baby sitter's who's extra curricular activities were cancelled one day this week freeing her up to come and rescue me from the 3-year-old who I really am thankful for!  HandyMan who will talk through life's challenges and help me form a strategy on how to keep my sanity.

Life is challenging and I'm convinced it's how we handle those challenges that shows our true colors.  This week, my true colors weren't always pretty.  But that's where I can take a deep breath and try to do it better next time.  How do you handle the challenges that come your way?

Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude through giving. 




This week's graces came in many forms.  Extra divine doses of patience when faced with particular challenges in parenting were a huge blessing.  Watching my daughter flourish into this little walking, talking personality has brought many moments of amusement to my days.


As I continue to regain my health after a particularly nasty cold, naps are a wonderful treat.  A date night out with Handy Man and the gracious friends who will baby-sit for us also highlighted this week.  Little chances to blog again are wonderful treats for me - I've missed it!  Work I enjoy and quiet moments as a family have rounded out this week nicely.


Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!