digging holes

we are back, folks.

the holidays pretty much took over our lives this year and we had fun.

now i'm aching for a nap.

because our family lives all over texas, we had an interesting time going from place to place to see everybody. we even had an extra visit with little miss during our break and we loved every minute we were able to spend with her!

we usually try to alternate thanksgiving and Christmas with the hubs' side of the family and mine.

this year that didn't work out either time but hey, that's life.

when the weather was nice, we played outside as much as possible.

when the weather was awful, we played games like skip-bo and had lots of fun.

many thanks to both sides of our family for putting up with us for days on end. 

we kinda take over a joint when we come to visit. 

and there's always the possibility my children will literally blow up your house because they do not understand pilot lights and greatly desire to blow them out like candles which then leads to a house filling with gas but i digress.

(thanks again, family)

the boys came up with the game above a few visits ago and i'm thinking of copyrighting it.

you can actually play it. 

on cardboard.

and it makes sense.

it's amazing what an abundance of time inside without too much TV can do for a person's imagination.

way to go, gents.

one of the days we had "snow." 

the boys made this snow man.

it's texas and we take what we can get.

now here's a story that will fascinate you.

truly, it's riveting...

the boys dug a hole.

yep.

"a hole," you say, "that's not too exciting. what was it for? what was the goal?"

well, friend, i have no answer for you.

these young gentlemen, left to their own devices in the wilderness, decided to start digging back in the summer. 

and they took up the charge again this winter. 

and now it's big enough to fit a dead body should we ever have the need.

after a day and a half digging, i asked them what the goal was for this extravaganza of skill and labor. 

they said they were digging for gold.

we kept asking them if they were digging to china and one child, not knowing that was a common place to try to dig to, got very frustrated and said, "no! why do people keep asking us that?!"

good, good times.

it should be noted that at one point, we asked every child (including a sweet friend who came to visit) if they wanted to dig up a stump that ACTUALLY needed digging up. 

no one came to our aid.

my children, digging for the heck of it. 

but ask 'em to do real work, and they ignore you.

ah, parenting.

hope y'all had a lovely holiday season!

holiday post

 we recently had our pics done so we could send out Christmas cards for the first time in years. 

the photographer was so nice. i told her when we began that i didn't want a ton of pics of us looking at the camera and smiling. i wanted fun pictures that show who we are as a family.

she obliged.

we had a great time and bribed the children with dairy queen blizzards after.

it was a win-win.

we wanted to include a little year in review on our cards so we can catch up with people.

and vistaprint knows i'm a wordy lady, so their cards capped me at about a sentence per person. 

this was a challenge.

challenge accepted.

i finished up the cards and got them ordered and can't wait to send them out.

but i thought i'd share here what wouldn't fit on the card.

2015 has been rough.

we are truly blessed and thankful.

we lost our sweet little lady when she was reunified with her dad.

we ached for months before losing her and our hearts still hurt that we don't get to spend every day with her.

some of us are still dealing with the fallout. 

this has been the hardest year by far that the hubs and i have dealt with, and i'm so thankful God has grown our marriage through the trying circumstances we've experienced. 

and the hard stuff has equipped us to minister to those around us better and with more compassion.

we have had more days of sleeping in and watching too much tv and being lazy.

i personally have had to adjust my expectations of how life should be.

we have had more homework and reading assignments than ever before. 

and interesting dynamics have come up between our children and the people they meet and want to share life with. 

we have had opportunities for growth and change.

we have dealt with these with healthy and sometimes unhealthy attitudes.

God has been patient with us as we are being conformed to His image.

i am not sure i'll have another chance to blog before the new year and i just wanted to say 

that sometimes the idea of sharing in this space is daunting. 

i have nothing original to say and no poetic way to say it.

i don't have hundreds of readers or book deals. 

but i am thankful that i get to come here, put the words out there, and sweet, faithful friends read it and can hopefully be encouraged by the words. 

--i know i am encouraged by so many of yours. 

may your holidays be absolutely lovely.

--filled with twinkling lights, beautiful songs, sweet memory making, scrumptious treats, 

and most of all a focus on Jesus Christ as our Savior and King.

children's books

our family goes to the library about once a week. now that the boys are in school all day, sometimes i'll go and pick up a bag full of books for them on my own. we keep them on a shelf in the living room where they are easily accessible.

this summer the boys tended to bring home short chapter books. --of the spongebob or goosebumps variety. i don't like either of those, but since they are put at eye-level with a bunch of bright colors, the kids are prone to get them. but we have a few rules: one, it needs to be appropriate (this varies house to house).  i do not read comic books to them. they are annoying. comic books are not intended to be read aloud, so after years of not enjoying myself, i finally told them i wouldn't do it anymore but they are more than welcome to bring them home. second, we can read a book or two you like, but then it's my turn to share something i like. this opened the door for them to pick out whatever books they enjoy (they pick the same types of books over and over) and still be introduced to something new. i mean, a mom can only endure so many captain underpants or george brown class clown books before i just need someone to wear all their clothes and have a nice adventure. please. so this meeting half-way business has been good!

i'm an avid reader, but what i've noticed is that books i know are delightful tend to be books that my children don't enjoy so much.

i figured i'd share a few lovely gems that we all like. this is by no means any sort of comprehensive list of wonderful children's books, but i thought if there's one in there that you haven't read, you could give it a try! 

for littler ones:

make way for ducklings (there is actually a tour in Boston related to this book)

kristina caterina and the box (out of print, but it's worth the buy on amazon)

elephant and piggy books (the boys have learned to read with feeling when they read these aloud)

the monster at the end of this book (the kids used to giggle through this)

for a little bit older:

the billy and blaze series (love the illustrations!)

alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (quotable)

i need my monster (voices are fun to do on this one)

the day the crayons quit (i laugh out loud every time. who knew crayons could be so emotional?)

virginia lee burton books (classic! and lovely illustrations)

and two novels we've enjoyed: 

almost super (novel) (the boys liked it when i did the voices of the weird family members)

wonder (novel) (teaches a lot about compassion)

one of my most favorite moments EVER is the drive home from the library. the boys beg to hold and look at the books they've picked and the ride home is filled with blissful silence while all their heads are down, silently reading their new finds. it's pretty stinking amazing. truly.

enjoy your weekend!

easily brainwashed, coming of age stories, and dense bread

i think i might be brain-washable. truly. or at least very impressionable.

i read books or see inspiring movies and for a brief moment, i'm totally sold.

sign me up! i'm in! what are we doing again?

i've been reading the harry potter series and in between each book, i'm reading a totally different type of book. a palate cleanser, if you will.

this last book was called "little beach street bakery," and i thoroughly enjoyed it. it is not deep. it does not have some political agenda. it is simply a nice book. i find that my favorite types of books tend to be ones where people find their niche. it doesn't have to be a coming of age story, but they usually are in some sense. in this book, the woman enjoys baking bread. the book includes several recipes in the back.

well, i decided after reading a few hundred pages about a baker...to try to be a baker. just for fun.

to be honest, though, i think this new season of our lives has thrown me for a loop. having a bit of free time and not having every second tied up with cps and visits and court dates and sweet kids needing me constantly...it's made me a bit...unsure. outside forces seemed to dictate our lives for so long, it's weird and a bit unsettling to be able to decide how i think my time should be spent. apparently i'm trying to fill  up that time with hobbies of fictional characters.

anyway...

i used to bake with my mom on lazy saturdays. the house would smell amazing. the kneading was fun and messy. and in the end, you had this awesome product that you made...with your bare hands!

so this weekend i baked some bread.

it was not the best bread you have ever tasted, but i enjoyed doing it.

before i started, i told my husband i wanted to do it because i was reading a book about it, and he was awesome.

he didn't laugh out loud at me wanting to try something new.

he didn't roll his eyes at the newest hobby i am taking on that will probably die out in a few weeks.

he offered to go to the store and get what i needed to start.

stand-up guy, huh! love that kid.

and i enjoyed myself.

in the end, we had two loaves of kinda dense bread. the boys were so excited.

"you made this?! how?!" (apparently i have failed them in some way because they can't believe someone can make something from scratch. surprise, kids! food doesn't have to come from containers!)

i told them i wanted to try something new.

so even if i stink at it, at least i'm trying, right?

and that's half the fun.

how to get all the stuff done...wait...nope that's not it

i seriously am getting nothing done, y'all.

for reals.

i started out this academic year with four kids going into school and myself only having a tiny job.

--that's what i call it. because it's tiny.

and what did i think would happen?

clean bathrooms

clean house in general

folded laundry

a tidy yard

birds would sing and butterflies would dance and all would be peaceful and well

these dreams have all been ripped to shreds. and i'm trying to figure out what actually matters.

does it matter that all the clothes are folded all the time?

probably not.

(it never really has...shhh... don't say anything.)

but does it matter that my rose bush is getting so large it's warping our fence that we share with a neighbor? um yeah. i should really get on that.

do y'all ever feel this way? --like the list is too long and your productivity level is too small?

and all i really want to do is drink a yummy fancy coffee and take a nap.

can i get a hallelujah!?

i keep rewriting lists and making new sets of priorities and then nothing sticks.

on paper a schedule of cleaning and kicking booty looks easy-peasy. in reality, small daily tasks add up quickly and my bigger goals get left by the wayside. i plan like one thing a day to get done so i can feel like a successful contributor of society.

--i fed the dogs today. they will live!

--i returned that thing from target from like a month ago that didn't fit you. you're welcome.

--didn't i do these dishes yesterday? you mean we use them daily?

these blogs where people renovate their children's bedrooms and write biographies about christian poets and lead conferences about effective prayer and are president of the PTA and look good while doing it? dang. if they make you feel bad, come sit by me. we have a play house that we half-constructed months ago with a 2x4 holding it together since we haven't put a roof on it. bam. there's productivity for you. --making things safe enough not to physically harm children until we can actually get our act together and finish a pretty simple project.

but can i find time to read the entire harry potter series in a month? yes.

or watch tv on hulu plus in my pajamas? most definitely.

--what are you trying to say?

...if by your silence you are saying that if these things were truly a priority, i would make time for them. and that the truly important things will work themselves out. and there's only 24 hours in a day. and in three men walking there surely is my teacher. and there's no "i" in team. and absence makes the heart grow fonder. and one in the hand is worth two in the bush... then i say you are wise beyond your years.

thanks for all the wisdom and i'm gonna take all that advice to heart.

--just as soon as i watch this next episode of brooklyn 99.

sweet reminders

tonight was cozy. pandora played the passion pit station. and i made a chicken and pepper stir-fry, affectionately referred to in our house as "amanda's chicken." (thanks, college roommate and dear friend!)

tonight a candle was lit on the table and a kid played piano (banged out random notes i should say) while i cooked in an apron, partly because i love aprons and partly because i am quite the clumsy chef. 

there was screaming and some harsh words between brothers and even a child leaving in a huff to go outside and calm down. there was speech therapy and too much homework and too many tears. it was a bit crazy, i'm not gonna lie, but most days are like that here.

but i have to say it... it was lovely. 

having some time in our home in the afternoon after a long week has been a sweet blessing. 

having time to let a kid throw a fit and not rush off to another activity only to arrive late, to have a relaxed evening where everybody gets their reading minutes done (miracle of miracles)...this is rare. 

there's really no point to this post except that as i was cooking and washing dishes and calming kids down, i was suddenly struck with how thankful i am for my blessings. 

in a season where it's been easy to look at what we've lost, God sweetly reminds me of a million ways He has blessed me.

how has He blessed you?

lofty goals for fall

i've been thinking about those evenings when you're outside well after it gets dark. the kids are running around and yet the pace of the night is slow and easy. when funky music spills out the windows while the grill sizzles and the screen door slams with kids helping to set the table outside. 

and all of a sudden it gets chilly and you need a sweater to stay comfy? 

in commercials, these things happen in the summer.

in commercials, people don't live here. 

something the media calls "fall" or what i call "finally tolerable weather" waits to make its appearance here until late october. but now that we're finding our groove with school, i like to start setting more realistic goals...because the ones i set at the beginning of the school year... yeah, let's not talk about it.

(instead of making new year's goals, i like to make goals according to the season on the calendar and our season of life.)

these are super lofty goals, people. 

be dumbstruck by my loftiness.

work out and spend less...

weeks of catching up with friends after busy summers means i'm spending and eating out too much. i need to trim the fat a bit. pun intended. my work out plan never consists of running, weights, yada yada yada. it usually is made up of: eat more green things, drink less dr pepper, walk instead of take the car a few times a week. like i said...lofty. 

pick flowers...

the people who lived in this house before us had some green thumbs. the yard was beautiful when we moved in, and i have tried pretty dang hard to not kill everything. so far it's going ok. the fruit of this is that we usually have some lovely things growing around our place. few things make me happier than bright colors popping out from a mason jar above my sink. 

open some windows and eat outside...

my goal with this? do it as much as possible. 

allow for time at home...

i really love evenings at home. and i really enjoy having people over for dinner. when i plan too many activities, we're all rushed, over-tired, and seem to enjoy everything a bit less. by making sure we spend a bit of time at home, i'm trying to ensure a certain amount of rest and relaxation.

ride my bike...

this summer i wanted a cruiser bike so badly i could hardly stand it. and then i bought one. and then i remembered that it is summer and way too stinking hot to ride it anywhere. so i've been biding my time for cooler weather when i can ride it to the boys' school or to my job. i can't wait!

what are your lofty goals for this upcoming season? 

eat a caramel apple? 

bake a pie? 

buy a fall-scented candle?